₦airaland Forum

Jamaican financial authorities have launched an investigation into a company holding investments for eight-times Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt after reports that he may have lost millions to large scale fraud.
Jamaica’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) said in a statement that it had placed the firm, Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL), in “enhanced oversight” while it conducts the probe.

Bolt’s manager Nugent Walker told the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper that the retired sprinter, one of the greatest athletes of all time, has had investments with the company for over a decade.

“All the relevant steps have been taken to come to the bottom of this,” Walker told the paper, saying the athlete had noticed discrepancies with his account on Wednesday.

“He’s been with this entity over 10 years… His entire portfolio is being reviewed,” he added.

The newspaper said millions of dollars were reported missing from Bolt’s account. Walker was not immediately available for comment.

SSL did not respond to calls made to their office on Friday.

The FSC said it was “aware of reports of allegations of fraud at one of its licensees, Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL).”

“The FSC has issued Directions to SSL. These Directions which were dispatched to the company on Thursday January 12, 2023 are a supervisory tool to allow the FSC to engage an entity in a process of enhanced oversight,” the body said in their statement.

The FSC said the oversight process would allow them to have a “full view of the integrity of the transactions being conducted, including the movement of funds, and of securities into and out of SSL.”

“The FSC will simultaneously continue its investigations into matters related to SSL,” they added.

Bolt retired from athletics in 2017 after a stellar career which in addition to eight Olympic golds included 11 World Championship gold medals.

Bolt sprung to global fame at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 when he won the 100m and 200m sprints, setting new world records in both races.

The Jamaican went on to win both races in the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Games.

Bolt’s 100m time of 9.572, set in Berlin in 2009, remains the world record and he also retains the fastest time in 200m.

AFP

AHMED OLUWASANJO AND ADEFEMOLA AKINTADE


The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has warned Nigerians to be wary of the Presidency and Supreme Court, recently identified and designated high corruption risk agencies under President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime.

Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, National Boundary Commission and National Population Commission, agencies directly under the Presidency, are on the list of the country’s corruption watchdog’s ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) with high corruption risk.

The ICPC disclosed that 52 MDAs were classified as having ‘High Corruption Risk (HCR)’ following their failure to answer an Ethics and Integrity (EICS) enquiry filed in 2022.

“Fifty-two MDAs declined to respond to the Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (EICS) deployed in 2022 by ICPC,” ICPC tweeted Friday morning. “They were classified as ‘High Corruption Risk’ (HCR) and are flagged for the attention of the public and for further inquiries and actions. #transparency #compliance.”

Other government institutions on the list are the Court of Appeal, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Federal Civil Service Commission, etc.

Peoples Gazette in June published several reports detailing the grievances of Supreme Court justices against the leadership of the then-Chief Justice of Nigeria, Muhammad Tanko, who tendered his resignation shortly after the revolt against him.

Some associates of President Muhammadu Buhari are leading the fight to stop Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS) from arresting Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, SaharaReporters has gathered.

The President’s associates led by Mamman Daura, a nephew and close confidant of the President and Nasir El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna State may also be behind various protests, rallies and news reports supporting the CBN boss against the DSS.

Multiple groups and civil society organisations have raised the alarm that there is a plot to frame Emefiele for terrorism and remove him from office.

However, the DSS swiftly warned against being used to “undermine” its investigations, although it did not specifically name Emefiele.

Peter Afunanya, DSS spokesperson, said the service would not be distracted by those seeking to use “propaganda” to undermine its lawful investigations.

However, sources told SaharaReporters that some monarchs – Obas and Emirs – have been lobbied and deployed to beg on behalf of Emefiele and convince the President and Director-General of the DSS of the need to let Emefiele be.

It was also learnt that Mamman Daura and El-Rufai were “working hard and doing everything within their power to wage war against the DG of DSS (Yusuf Bichi)”.

“They have deployed Obas and Emirs to beg on behalf of Emefiele and Governor Nasir El-Rufai leading the charge to fight for him,” one of the sources said.

Emefiele was said to have helped the Kaduna governor secure a World Bank loan worth $350 million.

“Emefiele helped Governor El-Rufai to secure $350m world bank loan out of which the governor made for himself N70 per dollar after the cash was sold to Aliko Dangote.

“Emefiele has serious stakes in 12 banks. He needs to explain how he got money to be a major stakeholder in 12 banks. He has stakes in Tita, Globus, Providence, Union Bank, big interest in First Bank and others,” a source said.

“Mamman Daura is still working hard for him not to be arrested. He is still waging war against the Director-General of the DSS and other top officials.”

A source had earlier told SaharaReporters that Emefiele was not yet back in the country as reported by some online newspapers.


BACKGROUND

The CBN governor has been away from the country for several weeks following the investigation of several allegations against him, including corruption.

The DSS had said preliminary investigation revealed various acts of terrorism financing, fraudulent activities perpetrated by Emefiele and his involvement in economic crimes of national security dimension.

But a Federal High Court in Maitama, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja recently issued an order restraining the DSS from arresting, detaining or questioning Emefiele.

On Thursday, there were reports online that the apex bank boss was back in Nigeria but a source told SaharaReporters that he is still abroad.

The source noted that the secret police is on alert and would arrest Emefiele regardless of his antics and the recent court ruling.

Emefiele was part of President Muhammadu Buhari’s entourage to the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington DC between December 13 and 15, 2022.

While Buhari returned to Abuja a day after the summit, the CBN governor deliberately decided to delay his return to Nigeria.

“Emefiele is not back in Nigeria as reported by some platforms. DSS is still looking for him. DSS operatives are on alert.

“All the CBN directors have abandoned him except Kingsley Obiora and Aishah Ahmad. The report that he was back in Nigeria is false. He has nowhere to hide,” one of the sources said.

Obiora is the Deputy Governor in charge of Economic Policy at the CBN while Aishah Ahmad was appointed Deputy Governor on March 23, 2018. Prior to her appointment at the CBN, Aishah was Executive Director, Retail Banking at Diamond Bank PLC. In December 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari asked the Senate to confirm the nomination of Aishah for re-appointment as deputy governor of the CBN, along with Edward Adamu.

SaharaReporters had reported how the CBN boss perfected plans to cover up his corruption records in the last eight years.

Emefiele, who has been governor since 2014, is the first person to serve two terms at the head of Nigeria’s apex bank in nearly 20 years.

He was first appointed by then-President Goodluck Jonathan in June 2014, after Sarah Alade served out the term of the suspended Lamido Sanusi.

Multiple sources told SaharaReporters how Emefiele secretly sent the names of Aishah and Adamu, Deputy Governor, Corporate Services Directorate to President Buhari for renewal.

The move by Emefiele to nominate his stooges for re-appointment was part of his plans to cover his corruption records in the bank.

“Emefiele has secretly sent Aisha and Edward’s names for renewal months before time to stop the next government from appointing their own candidate and to allow them to cover his back,” a source in the bank had told SaharaReporters.

“He has paid the Villa cabals millions in dollars to get the renewals approved. Edward was that one on the audio SaharaReporters exclusively leaked.

“Aishah (Ahmad) is that deputy governor that Samaila Isa Funtua and his son brought.”

In contravention of the CBN act, Emefiele in 2021 joined the ruling All Progressives Congress.

The action was against Section 9 of the CBN Act, 2007, which stated: “The Governor and the Deputy Governors shall devote the whole of their time to the service of the bank and while holding office shall not engage in any full or part-time employment or vocation whether remunerated or not except such personal or charitable causes as may be determined by the Board and which do not conflict with or detract from their full-time duties.”

According to the chairman of Ward 6 in the Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State, Nduka Erikpume, the CBN governor had registered as an APC member.

“Yes, he has registered since February 2021. He is our member,” Erikpume had said.

Amid widespread condemnations in 2022, the CBN governor headed to a Federal High Court in Abuja to seek a constitutional interpretation of his non-resignation while pursuing his political interests.

Pan-Igbo sociopolitical pressure group, South East Revival Group (SERG), has knocked Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, over recent comments purportedly against Igbo, saying the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate has already lost the support of Ndigbo in the forthcoming election.

SERG described the “soaked sliced bread” statement by Tinubu as taking deep-seated hatred for the Igbo too far, adding that the words were beyond mere insult, as some would be made to believe.

A signed statement, yesterday, by National President, Chief Willy Ezugwu, quoted the presidential flag bearer as saying: “Until Bola Tinubu becomes the president of Nigeria, we will not give you but a soaked sliced bread.”

The statement reads: “The insinuation that Igbo will languish in longer marginalisation unless Tinubu becomes president is an acknowledgement that the APC deliberately schemed out the South East region since 2015.

“Tinubu’s comments represent refreshed version of President Muhammadu Buhari’s comment that he would not treat the South East equally with the North that voted for him.

“These comments by the APC presidential candidate are an expression of the party’s disdain for the South East region.

“Recall that several sources have revealed that in build up to the APC presidential primary election, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as an aspirant, boycotted South East delegates of his party, saying campaigning in the South East was a waste of time.

“True to his words, he never wasted his time reaching out to his party’s delegates in the region, yet they voted massively for him, either by hook or by crook.”

SERG noted further: “He is taking his disregard for the South East too far. When his anointed Governor, Babajide Raji Fashola, deported Igbo from Lagos State and dumped them at the Onitsha Bridge Head in the middle of the night, where was Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu?

“When his ally and the Oba of Lagos threatened Igbo would drown in the lagoon if they voted against his preferred candidate, where was Tinubu’s voice as a democrat?
“A Tinubu presidency will be a disaster, as he has continued to exhibit the distinguishing characteristics of not only a civilian dictator but also a religious bigot masquerading as a liberal Muslim.

“His choice of a Muslim running mate is a deliberate expression of his real self, as having no regard for Christians. And now, he blew the final whistle that signalled the climax of his hatred for the South East region.

“We also monitored a report indicating that Tinubu’s hatred for the South East also rubbed off on the traditional institution, as some highly embarrassed Enugu traditional rulers, led by State Chairman of Traditional Rulers’ Council, Igwe Lawrence Agubuzo, were snubbed, disrespected and insulted by the APC presidential candidate after waiting several hours for his arrival.

“Can Tinubu openly snub an Oba in the South West or an Emir in the North?”

Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah, has disclosed what the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, told him when they met at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Kukah spoke during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today.

During his Christmas message, Kukah had accused Buhari’s administration of nepotism, saying the president had failed in fulfilling his campaign promises to Nigerians.

Responding, Femi Adesina came hard on the bishop, saying he (Kukah) had failed as a moral authority.

Kukah said, “I always tell people that frankly I don’t worry about criticism because I consider myself as an academic. I never take offense when somebody doesn’t agree with me.

“Femi has got a job to do, he is actually being paid to do the job. I got my own job. But there is nothing personal about it. I read a lot of their criticisms; they don’t bother me because some of them are meant to move away from the things I had said.

“I read his statement; I didn’t think there is any reason for me to respond to what they have to say. And I remember the last time I was in the Villa, Femi said to me rather jokingly ‘Bishop you are always criticizing my government; so you have come today. I told him I was criticizing government before you came and I will criticize government when you are gone.”

The Integrity Group of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also known as the G-5, yesterday failed to reveal their presidential candidate for the February election as expected.

The five PDP governors said they will never work for any opposition candidate in the presidential election but insisted that the party must do the needful before the general election.

The G-5, including Governor’s Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) and Seyi Makinde (Oyo), were expected to reveal their preferred presidential candidate on January 5 (yesterday) in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, during Makinde’s second term campaign.


G-5

But they failed to do so, giving fillip to reports that the governors are yet to reach a consensus on which candidate to support.

The governors had recently returned from a trip to London where they were said to have deliberated on which of the candidates to support among PDP’s Atiku Abubakar, Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP).

LEADERSHIP had reported that amid threats of sanctions against them by the party’s national leadership, the governors said they cannot be intimidated.

While Wike and Makinde were said to have been disposed to Tinubu, Ortom was leaning towards Obi, whom he had openly endorsed.

LEADERSHIP further reported that Governors Ugwuanyi and Ikpeazu were not ready to support Tinubu for fear of backlash since Obi, who is from the South East as them, is also on the ballot.

The two Southeastern governors have remained silent, refusing to openly declare support for any of the candidates.

The G-5 governors had resolved not to work for Atiku’s presidential bid unless the PDP national chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, a northerner, is replaced by a southerner for geo-political balancing of power.

Addressing a mammoth crowd at the flag-off campaign of Governor Seyi Makinde re-election bid in Ibadan, leader of the G5 governors, Wike, said Makinde will tell them who to vote at the presidential polls.

He urged the Oyo citizens to re-elect Makinde who he described as a leader who had performed excellently.

He said, “Vote for Governor Seyi Makinde, vote for all senatorial candidates, vote for all House of Assembly candidates, but the other one, Seyi will tell you”.

Also speaking, Ortom declared that the group will work for the party’s candidate in their states.

He however did not mention the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku. He said the group would work for all PDP candidates in this year’s general election.

According to Ortom, the G5 governors are committed members of PDP and are working round the clock to ensure that the party wins all elections in their respective states.

He said the G5 governors and other members of the party working with them in the integrity group are “committed members of the PDP in their various states” and would work to ensure that candidates of the party in their states are elected in the forthcoming polls.

The governor explained that the problem of the PDP at the national level is prolonged as a result of failure of the leadership of the party to deploy its internal conflict resolution mechanisms to settle issues that arose after the national convention.

He hailed Makinde’s commitment to development of Oyo State and expressed optimism that the people of the state would return him for a second term.

Governor Seyi Makinde had told party candidates that the group would never work for any opposition candidate in the presidential election, but insisted that the party must do the needful before the general election.


Bwala Insists Tinubu Met G-5 In London

Meanwhile, the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, yesterday insisted that the G-5 governors met with the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, in London.

Spokesman of the Atiku campaign, Daniel Bwala, who stated during an Arise TV morning programme, however, revealed that Tinubu turned down the demand of the G-5 governors.

This is coming a few days after Tinubu and G-5 governors had denied meeting in London.

But when asked about the meeting, Bwala said, “They met here in Kensington in London but the meeting deadlocked.

“One of the reasons that the meeting in London did not pull through is their alleged demand; the demand that the G-5 came with could not be accommodated given the fact that the damage that they thought they were capable of doing had not happened after five months. Atiku is still considered as leading.

“Now we have made concerted efforts to reconcile and the doors are still open. There is no part of the structure of this party that has not engaged with Wike and his group in a bid to reconcile. One of their demands is for Ayu to resign and we have gone through this path, why we think it can’t happen. Nobody can ask him to resign unless he chooses to resign; he was elected by the party and there are constitutional provisions and guidelines that led to his emergence as national chairman.

“That movement has not damaged us. It has not reduced our followership. In fact they have expanded beyond the number or nucleus of that campaign.

“And the more time went by, people have come to realise that the campaign is not about equity, justice and fairness but about interest aggregation and factoring.

“Even if you have an interest you can sit in a political party and negotiate. But this stop-Atiku-by-all-means target and agenda is not working,” he said.

He said despite the “masquerade dances, melodramatic events and flights around the world and meetings upon meetings” a projection by Thisday Newspaper showed that PDP is in the lead ahead of the polls.

“Maybe there is something about PDP which shows that its time has come and there is nothing you can do to stop it.”

He said there is no way Nigerians would go back to APC after all they have suffered in the last seven years.

P/HARCOURT – Lauretta Onochie, Chairman, Governing Board of the Niger Delta Development Commis­sion (NDDC), has declared that money meant for the agency and by extension, development of the Niger Delta, was squandered in Abuja, Lagos, United Kingdom, Dubai, among oth­ers, by people whose responsibility was to develop the region, thereby impoverishing people of the region.

Onochie, who said this fol­lowing the resumption of responsibilities by the new board, expressed dissatisfaction with the impact of the agency on the region, describing it as shame­ful not just to the Niger Delta re­gion but to Nigeria in general.

She made the disclosures when she addressed management and staff of the com­mission at the agency’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

“Today, is a historic day. I’m not just for the people of Niger Delta, but for the women of Ni­geria. And being a historic day, we have a lot of things going on today.

“Like the MD had said ear­lier, he has said a lot I would have said. But, let me remind us why we are here. This (NDDC) is an organisation, a commis­sion that was commissioned specifically for the people of Niger Delta. It is an interventionist agency that is supposed to bring about prosperity; it is supposed to bring development in our region.

“This organization was setup in the year 2000. And, if you go round the Niger Delta till date, there is little or nothing to show for it. NDDC has been a shame of the Niger Delta and a shame of our nation. For the President Muhammadu Buhari’s admin­istration has been determined to turn things around.

“As I said yesterday, at our inauguration, he (Buhari) never does things in his own interest. Everything he does, he does in the interest of Nigerians. And this board you see here represents that interest.
“We are here to reposition NDDC. We are here to serve people of the Niger Delta and by extension people of Nigeria. We are here to do things differ­ently.

Onochie added that “when I returned from the diaspora in 2014 to join his (Buhari) campaign, what I heard everywhere was ‘that’s not how we do it here. Madam, this is not London; this is not UK’.

“We are going to do things differently and we don’t want to hear that story. We have come with ideas”.

Earlier, the new Managing Director/Chief Executive Offi­cer (MD/CEO) of the commission, Samuel Ogbuku, said it was an auspicious day, which witnessed official handing over from outgoing MD to the successor.

“Well, as a board that has just officially resumed today, at the NDDC headquarters, I want to first of all assure you that we are not to antagonise anybody. We are here to also depend on your experience. NDDC administration needs experience. We need your sup­port we need your cooperation.

“We are not here like one party handing over from one party. We are not here to fight anybody. We are all people from Niger Delta. I want all of you to be rest assured that, based on your competence, you are going to be working with this administration. We are definitely not going to look at mediocrity. Everything has been based on your competence. If you show ingenuity, you have a chance to work with us.”

The new MD/CEO assured that an enabling working environment would be provided for the staff for them to demonstrate their ingenuity, because they were carriers of stigmatisation.

“Out there, everybody be­lieves that NDDC has failed. So, you are stigmatised to the part of the failure. I am saying what people out there are saying. It may not be fact, it could just be an assumption. But, the staff work here seems to have some level of stigmatisation. I don’t blame you; may be, you have not been given the enabling environment.

“I believe all of here are well experienced, well trained to give the people of Niger Delta the best.”

On the handover note, Og­buku said it was detailed and he and members of the governing body would go through the recommendations and other issues.

In his handing over note, the outgoing MD, Engr. Emmanuel Audu, pledged to work with the new board to succeed.

A Shari’a Court sitting in Kano on Wednesday, ordered the remand of two brothers, Saifullahi Hamisu, Mujahid Hamisu and one Hassana Surajo, in a correctional centre for allegedly enticing a married woman.

The defendants, who live at Bachirawa Quarters, Kano, are facing a three-count charge of aiding, abetting and enticing a married woman.

The prosecutor, Mr Aliyu Abideen, told the court that one Abubakar Ahmad of Fagge Quarters, Kano, reported the matter at the SCID Bompai Kano on Dec. 22, 2022.

Abideen alleged that on the same date, at about 4pm, the defendant criminally conspired and trespassed into the house of the complainant situated at Dorayi Quarters, Kano.

“The defendants pretended to be relatives of the complainant’s wife (Fatima Alhassan).

“As a result, the complainant discovered that the first defendant, Saifullahi, was enticing his wife and that they were chatting on WhatsApp.

“The said Saifullahi was the ex-boyfriend of the complaint’s wife.”

Saifullahi pleaded not guilty, while the second and third defendants pleaded guilty to the charge.

He said the offence contravened the Kano State Shari’a Law.

Malam Nura Yusuf-Ahmad ordered that the defendants be remanded in a correctional centre.

He adjourned the matter until Feb. 17 for hearing. (NAN)

There is confusion in the Tudun Wada Dankadai community at Tudun Wada Local Council in Kano State, following an alleged transfusion of infectious blood on a female patient.

The blood, allegedly infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was said to have been administered by an alleged fake doctor on the innocent patient who was diagnosed with Malaria.

Besides, an investigation conducted by a special committee on the activities of fake health personnel in the community revealed there were not less than 130 health centres and patent pharmacies.

In an interview with journalists in Kano, Chairman of the committee in Tudun Wada Dankadai community, Alhaji Abubakar Musa Karafe disclosed that investigation revealed that out of 130 fake doctors, only one has a secondary school certificate.

Alhaji Karafe stressed that after thorough checks, the committee also discovered one of the health workers is an electrical engineer who owns an eight-bed hospital and is treating different illnesses in the community.

He said: “It is even worse how one of the fake doctors transfused HIV positive blood in one woman who attended his clinic for treatment of malaria, unknown to her she was being treated by an unqualified person.

“It is disheartening that we even found an electrical engineer operating a private hospital, attending to patients, administering drugs, drips, blood and even attending to pregnant women. One of them, like I said, infected a woman with HIV positive blood.

“We even found one who is a traditional medicine vendor, but he attended to cholera patients. We had to evacuate the patient to hospital for proper treatments. Most of them don’t even have basic knowledge about health. One of them said he is a nurse but we discovered he has only a secondary school leaving certificate,” he added.

The investigation was commissioned by the council following a series of complaints received from residents over proliferation of private hospitals and the attendant health burden.

When contacted, Executive Secretary, Private Health Institution Management Agency (PHIMA), Usman Tijjani confirmed the incident,but maintained that government is taking necessary measures to curb the medical quackery in the area.

Tijjani who spoke through Director Operations, Isa Isyaku, said, an anti-quackery bill is underway in the state to checkmate the activities of the quacks.

The Commissioner of Cooperatives and SMEs Development in Bauchi State, Haj. Sa’adatu Bello Kirfi has tendered her resignation from her appointment in the state executive council.

Her resignation comes barely 24 hours after her father, Alh. Muhammadu Bello Kirfi was removed as the Wazirin Bauchi.

Sa’adatu’s notified the government about her resignation in a letter dated Wednesday, January 4, 2023, addressed to the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed through the Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

Titled "Letter of Resignation," she wrote: “Your Excellency, I wish to humbly tender my resignation as a member, Bauchi State Executive Council and Hon. Commissioner Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs Development, Bauchi State with immediate effect.”

“I wish to thank His Excellency the Executive Governor for giving me the opportunity to serve my State under your Administration," she added.

The police have defended Drambi Vandi, a cop under investigation for killing a pregnant Lagos lawyer, Bolanle Raheem. The Nigerian police claimed Mr Vandi might have acted under a spell.

Police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi, speaking on Splash FM Radio in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, in a recent interview, described Mr Vandi as a “very nice man” and likely a victim of diabolical manipulation.

“I’m sure many elders will know what they called efun, edi, aransi, asasi, ebilu… Whatever that happens in the physical realm is controlled in the spiritual realm. That’s the spiritual aspect of it,” said the police in defence of the cop.

Mr Adejobi added, “The man was never a drunk. In fact, I was told he is a very nice man. I know him… The guy has been a very good man. Forget the story that he was this or that while in Niger. He was never in Niger state command.”

“He is a very nice man. I think he is from Plateau state…”, Mr ‘Adejobi said.

Mr Vandi was arrested for shooting and killing Ms Raheem on Christmas Day.

He was arraigned before the Chief Magistrate Court, Yaba, on one count of murder and remanded at the Ikoyi Prisons pending legal advice from the director of public prosecution (DPP).

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council has appealed to the people of Rivers State to pray for Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.

This is as Wike has urged the people of the state not to vote for any political party or candidates who does not mean well for the state and its development in the 2023 general election.

The state chairman of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Lee Maeba, in a statement made available to newsmen in Port Harcourt yesterday, stated that the governor needs the prayers of the people now than ever before.

The statement reads in part: “As we return all gratitude to the Almighty God for granting us life into a new year, I urge you all to stand on the right side of history as you remain consistent and resolute in maintaining the democratic history of our dear State by voting massively for the presidential and vice presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, His Excellencies Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa in the February 25th presidential elections.

“At the same time, I beseech you all to pray for the governor of our dear state, Chief Barrister Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, as you all know that he needs our prayers now than ever before.”

Meanwhile, Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has said Rivers people must vote wisely, and only for the party and candidates that love Rivers State and are ready to advance and defend its interest.

Wike, who disclosed this in a statewide New Year broadcast, said voters in the state must shun those candidates who would fail the state and neglect its aspirations.

The governor reiterated it was not in the character of his administration to interfere with or limit the constitutional rights of politicians and their parties to hold electioneering campaigns and canvass for votes across the length and breadth of the state.

He said: “But we must be reminded that the laws and regulations restricting open political activities in public schools and residential areas are being implemented to prevent the destructive tendencies and public nuisance usually associated with such events when things go wrong.

“Ours is a state governed by laws, and no person, group, party, or association has the right to disobey the laws of the state managing campaign activities in public schools and expect us to keep quiet.

“Any political party or candidate that wishes to hold campaigns in public schools must comply with the law by simply securing the government’s approval after paying the required security deposit before the rally.”

Wike said anyone or party with strong feelings against the legitimacy of the extant laws is free to approach the Courts for appropriate redress instead of deliberately misinterpreting their intendment, and mounting unnecessary resistance to the authority of the Government to enforce the laws of the land meant for the protection of the public.

The governor said: “Let it be known that no amount of threat of violence will dissuade us from enforcing these and other laws to keep Rivers State safe, peaceful and secure before, during and after the 2023 general elections.

“Consequently, any person, group, political party or association that dares the resolve of the government on this issue can only have their fingers badly burnt by the legal consequences of their ill-advised actions.”

He acknowledged that 2022 was another challenging year for Nigeria and the generality of her people due to the dire economic situations that had prevailed for too long.

The governor, however, noted that Rivers people and residents have every reason to thank God for the prevailing peace, the successes recorded by his administration, and the opportunity to look forward confidently to the promise of a new beginning with the New Year.

He declared that governing Rivers State had been a mixed bag of challenges, excitement and fulfilment since 2015, saying that at the onset, his administration inherited challenges that looked frightening and overwhelming.

The governor said with the expected seamless succession in the governance of the state in 2023, people of the state can be more hopeful for the continuity that is needed to consolidate the progress on the concrete foundations already laid that would take Rivers State to the next level of sustainable peace, security, development and prosperity.

He stated that his administration has worked hard with the security agencies to keep Rivers State peaceful, safe and secure throughout 2022, adding that the state government spared no effort, resources or commitment to achieve the peace and sense of security everyone now enjoys.

Wike said: “Going around the State, we can see several private and public investment projects in Port Harcourt and other places, indicative of the healthy state of our economy, investors’ increasing confidence and the economic benefits derived from the modern infrastructures we have provided, which has no equal across the country.

“It is barely five months for us to exit the stage for our successor, but our commitment to more project delivery and better the lots of our people is still strong.

“I assure you, therefore, that we shall endeavour to complete almost all ongoing projects, including the ones now being flagged-off, before the end of our tenure.”

https://alexis.lindaikejisblog.com/photos/shares/63b430f388cc0.jpg


A wedding was disrupted before the bride even made her first outing after families began fighting over seasoning cubes.

According to a vendor who was at the wedding, the bride, from Ebonyi state, was supposed to have three outings in three different dresses during her traditional marriage.

However, before she even made her first appearance, the families started quarrelling about seasoning cubes.

The vendor said one group expressed their displeasure that the groom's family did not include seasoning cubes in the items brought for the wife's family.

However, another group insisted that seasoning cubes were not included in the list.

This led to an argument that soon escalated.

A video shared online shows people angrily leaving the wedding venue, including the groom.

Following an attempted murder on her husband, the estranged wife of former member of House of Representatives, Robinson Uwak, has been ordered to be remanded in Suleja Correctional Centre.

The Inspector General of Police arraigned Kazia Uwak, Joseph Utum, and Ibiang Ofem, before the A Grade I Area Court in Nyanya, Abuja, on charges of joint act and attempt to commit grievous bodily harm on the ex-lawmaker.

The charges were brought under Sections 95, 79, 248 of the penal code.

Following their arraignment and not guilty plea, Justice M. Inuwa, in a remand warrant dated December 15, 2022, ordered Kaizia’s remand at the Nigerian Correctional Service custodial centre in Suleja, Niger State, while Utum and Ofem were remanded in Keffi.

The police first information report, said the defendants were arrested for agreeing to do away with Uwak to enable Kaizia convert and inherit his valuable properties worth millions of naira in FCT, Port Harcourt and Uyo.

The police alleged that in furtherance of the agreement, Kazia on May 27, 2022, took kitchen a knife to stab Uwak, while he was asleep, adding that if she had succeeded to stab him, “it would have resulted in his death or bodily harm.”

“All these were done in pursuant to your agreement. And you are thereby committed to the above offence,” the police said.

The federal government has on Friday, declared December 26, 27 and January 2, 2023, as public holidays.

The ministry of interior announced the festive season holidays in a statement issued on Friday.

The public holidays are to mark Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day celebrations respectively.

Omotayo, the wife of on-air-personality Kayode Ojuolape Oladotun popularly known as Do2dtun, has filed for separation from the Cool FM’s host over allegations of forced abortion, domestic violence and emotional abuse.

The duo got married in 2013 and the marriage produced two children.

However, Omotayo instituted a divorce proceeding before Justice A. I Akobi of Court 23, High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, in Suit Number: GWD/PET/25/2021, sometime in November 2021 over allegations of “unending reckless emotional abuse, forced abortion and vicious domestic violence” by Do2dtun which has adversely impacted her health and general well-being.

The court documents signed by Omotayo’s lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, the Managing Partner of Abuja-based Law Corridor, said the OAP forced his wife to abort her third pregnancy as a married woman. The court subsequently granted the divided custody of the children, which Omotayo did not oppose pending the final determination of the suit in court.

Do2dtun, on December 14, 2022, allegedly stormed Omotayo’s Abuja residence with some policemen and forcefully broke into her premises and assaulted her gateman and staff, she had refused to disclose her actual whereabouts and that he hauled insults on her person.

Omotayo, through her lawyer, Olajengbesi, thereafter, petitioned the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Criminal Investigation Department, Abuja on unlawful entry, malicious damage, criminal trespass and unlawful use of Policemen by Do2dtun.

The petition dated December 14, 2022 and stamped to show receipt by the office of the DIG, said the invasion left Omotayo in a “state of emotional distress and fear of imminent danger in the hands of the Defendant (Do2dtun), who remains volatile and unpredictable”.

“In view of the facts stated in this petition, we humbly request that you use your good office to conduct a dispassionate investigation into our client’s petition and cause an appropriate action in line with the law to be taken against the Defendant in order to guarantee the safety of our client and for the interest of justice.

“In addition to the above, we request that the identity of the Nigeria Police Officers who engaged in the unlawful act at the bidding of the Defendant be made known to the public and necessary action be taken against them so as to preserve the integrity of the Nigeria Police that has been painstakingly built over the years,” the petition read in part, the petition said.

While sharing a video of a damaged door, she accused the duo of being responsible for the dented door and an injury on her wrist.


Sina, son of the Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke has been called out by his wife, Korth, who accused him of domestic violence.

On her Instagram stories on Monday, Korth accused Sina popularly known as Sina Rambo and his sister of violence, as she shared videos, chats, and pictures to prove her claims.

While sharing a video of a damaged door, she accused the duo of being responsible for the dented door and an injury on her wrist.

Korth further shared a chat exchange between her and Sina Rambo where he accused her of having extramarital affairs and referred to her with unprinted words.

She added that the marriage was over as she refused to succumb to abuse.

Korth also called out her husband, who is the son of the Osun State Governor for owing her, as she asked him to pay back the money he owed her.

Sharing a receipt of the money she sent to him, Korth wrote, “Later they will say Adeleke is my only achievement. Sina pay me my money you owe me from America and nigeria. Beg beg. How many people do you have to fight with over bills? Or until them jack you for neck again like it just happened.”

Showing a mark on her hand, Korth alleged that Sina’s sister inflicted an injury on her.

In a series of posts, she wrote, “After having a caesarian section and him rushing me out the hospital because he couldn’t get no weed. I had COVID=19 in labour, after my CS.

“I left the hospital this n** ain’t help with no chores! Three days after caesarean (section), you told me to cook rice for you. You can’t even make tea yourself! SMH!

“During pregnancy, I was turned into a nanny! Nine months pregnant, (I was) bending and cleaning house up and down because he can’t even pick up after himself. But truly, venting this now, I be mumu.

“For y’all saying keep it private, the marriage is over and that’s why I am finally saying this. No, I will not succumb to abuse. I am not that girl, it’s enough.”

Ademola Adegbite


Two secondary school students of Monatan High School, Ibadan, Oyo State, have been arrested by men of the state police command for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl.

The incident happened around 8pm at Moricas community in the Oluyole Local Government Area of the state.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the victim was lured into an uncomplicated building at the weekend and raped by the suspects.

A police source said, “The suspects are between 17 and 18 years; they are in SSS three and one, while the victim is in SSS one.

“She was raped about two weeks ago and when her school mates heard about the incident, they called her and started threatening her that they would expose her unless she settled them financially. She actually gave them that money, but they later rejected it and insisted on having fun with her.

“She initially agreed, but something else happened which caused commotion among them. A landlady who was not far from the scene raised the alarm. This led to the arrest of the two suspects, while the third boy is now at large.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adewale Osifeso, confirmed the incident, adding that investigation was ongoing.

by Jonathan Nda-Isaiah


36 Governors of the Federation under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) have come down hard on the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba, over claims that State governments were responsible for the rising poverty rate in the country.

LEADERSHIP recalls that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had recently disclosed that 133 million Nigerians were poor.

According to the governors, the minister got it totally wrong, adding that his attacks on the governors was totally unnecessary.

In a statement by the spokesman of the NGF, Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, the governors said rather, it was the federal government that has abandoned its promise and primary responsibility to the citizens.

Describing the minister’s assertions as diversionary, governors said it’s the responsibility of the federal government to provide security for the citizens.

Rising poverty

The governors said it’s because of the worsening insecurity that people in the rural areas abandoned their farms.

The governors said: “the tirade early this week by the Minister of state for Budget and National Planning Clement Agba, on the 36 Governors, where he blamed them for the rising poverty index in the country comes to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum as a surprise. The Minister got his message totally wrong.

“His attacks are not only unnecessary, but they represent a brazen descent into selective amnesia. It is also diversionary as far as the Governors are concerned.

“The Minister who should be responding to a question demanding to know what he and his colleague, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, were doing to ameliorate the hardship Nigerians are facing attempted to defray the notion that rising levels of hunger and lack were peculiar to Nigeria.

“True as that may be Mr. Agba went further to explain that their government, through many of its social security programs, has been dedicating resources to alleviating hardship, and then goes further to accuse state governors of misdirecting resources to projects that have no impact on the people.

“While rightly pointing out that that 72% of the poverty in Nigeria is found in the rural areas, the Minister said that the rural populace had been abandoned by governors.

“This assertion is not only preposterous and without any empirical basis, but also very far from the truth. It is Mr. Clement Agba’s veiled and deliberate effort, as a minister, to protect his paymasters and politicize very critical issues of national importance.

“Instead of answering the question thrown at him by journalists, Mr. Agba veered his attention to soft targets that happen to be 36 Governors.

“It is the opinion of the Governors that the dereliction that the Minister is talking about lies, strictly speaking, at the doorstep of the Federal Government which he represents, in this scenario.

“First and foremost, the primary duty of any government is to ensure the security of lives and property, without which no sensible human activity takes place.

“But the Federal Government which is responsible for the security of lives and property has been unable to fulfil this covenant with the people thus allowing bandits, insurgents, and kidnappers to turn the country into a killing field, maiming and abducting people, in schools market squares and even on their farmlands.

“This dereliction of duty from the center is the main reason why people have been unable to engage in regular agrarian activity and in commerce. Today, rural areas are insecure, markets are unsafe, surety of travels are improbable and life for the common people generally is harsh and brutish.

“The question is, how can a defenceless rural population maintain a sustainable lifestyle of peace and harmony when their lives are cut prematurely, and they wallow permanently in danger?

“How does a minister whose government has been unable to ensure security, law and order have the temerity to blame governors?”

An Indian woman, homemaker, avid traveller, blogger and YouTuber, Najira Noushad, drove around 3,000km from her hometown in the southern Indian State of Kerala to reach Doha in Qatar, to support Messi and Argentina at the ongoing 2022 World Cup tournament.

Football fans, who could afford match tickets and air tickets are in Doha for the World Cup, which brings together the best footballers. Some enthusiasts go to great lengths to attend matches. For others, the journey to the host nation is part of the experience.

Two French fans pedalled 8,000km from Paris to Doha on their cycles. A Saudi fan walked from Jeddah to watch the World Cup. There are others like Najira, who opted to drive from the southern Indian State of Kerala.

The Keralite drove around 3,000km from Kannur to Doha to watch her favourite team. She brought along her five children for the drive in an SUV named Olu (meaning She or Girl in Malayalam language). With a vehicle stocked with groceries, utensils, a stove and a bed, Najira has turned her Mahindra Thar into a home on wheels.

The 33-year-old started her journey on October 15 with Kerala minister, Anthony Raju, flagging her off in Kannur. Najira headed to Mumbai via Coimbatore and caught a ship to Oman. She then drove through the UAE and Saudi Arabia before entering Qatar.

The social media influencer has been documenting her 49-day trip and posting photos and videos on Instagram (@naajinoushi_solo_momtraveller).


In the UAE, she even hitched a ride on a truck. Najira also found time to snap selfies at the Burj Khalifa and Museum of the Future in Dubai.

The Qatari government, impressed by her passion for football, waived off all charges and welcomed her at the Abu Samra border between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. She’s become a media darling with television stations and newspapers seeking interviews.

Najira is no stranger to the Gulf countries. She lives in Oman and holds an Omani driving licence, valid in Gulf Cooperation Council countries. So, she’s familiar with the roads in the region.

“I live in Oman with my husband and children, but I wanted to start this drive from my hometown of Thalaserry in Kannur. So I came down to India,” Najira told The Hindu newspaper in India.

How did she catch the football bug? “My mother’s sister [aunt] and brothers are crazy about it [football], and I remember them shouting and clapping and shrieking in delight when their team won.” Their enthusiasm rubbed off on Najira at age 14.

Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, on Friday criticised those condemning the newly redesigned naira notes after they were officially unveiled by the Nigerian leader last week.

What happened: Many Twitter and Facebook users took a swipe at the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for what they described as an unimpressive design.

But responding to the critics via his weekly column, Adesina mocked them, asking disparagers to “create their own economy.

What he said: “They have tried to deride the new notes. Oh, it’s a mere coloring of the old ones with crayon. No rigour has gone into the exercise. Kidnappers will now start asking for ransom in hard currencies. Bla bla bla.

“They have an option: refuse to embrace the new notes, hoard the old ones, and continue presenting them as legal tender after January 31, next year. They will then have to create their own economy. Lol,” he wrote.

How Nigerians felt about the change: Since the announcement of the change of naira notes, many Nigerians have criticized the idea; saying, it will not necessarily benefit the economy in any way. However, it till zap money out of the system as it costs a lot to print new currency notes.

How much is CBN spending to print new naira notes: N75. 52 billion was spent on printing new naira notes in 2019; and N58. 07 billion in 2020 respectively. However, the apex bank is yet to disclose what it'll cost to print and circulate the new notes.

Aliyu Abdulhameed, Managing Director of the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), has been removed from office Daily Trust can report.

Daily Trust gathered that the removal may not be unconnected with multiple allegations of corruption.

Daily Trust had in January this year carried out an investigation on how a multi-billion naira loan guaranteed by NIRSAL for three investor companies for the cultivation to harvest of 20,000 hectares of dry season wheat in Kano and Jigawa was allegedly diverted by the companies in connivance with NIRSAL officials.

Abdulhameed had denied the allegation saying they were mastermind by faceless individuals to tarnish his image and that of the organisation.

However, following the report, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) invited him and other officials of NIRSAL for questioning over their roles in the wheat project scandal.

Apart from the EFCC, the ICPC and the Police had also launched their investigations into the matter.

Insider sources who confirmed the development said following a directive from the Presidency, the MD was ousted last Thursday afternoon and escorted out of premises shortly after he briefly addressed staff.

Although he was yet to officially handover, a source who wouldn’t want to be named said the Board of NIRSAL was billed to name an acting MD.

Both the MD, Abdulhameed and NIRSAL’s spokesperson, Anne Ihugba, did not respond to calls and text messages sent to them to respond to the development.

A Nigerian lawmaker, Senator Biodun Olujimi, sponsor of the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill in the Senate, has alleged that wives of male lawmakers opposed the proposition of 18 years as the minimum age for marriage.

She said the wives of her male colleagues also rejected the gender bill before their husbands thrashed it in the Senate.

Senator Olujimi made the allegation while speaking at a one-day Policy Dialogue on the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill in Nigeria, organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies with the support of the UN Women and Canadian Government.

ThisDay reports that Senator Olujimi explained that she and other female senators decided to engage the wives of her male colleagues in the upper legislative chamber so that they could influence their spouses to support the gender bill.

Unfortunately, the engagement with the senators, according to her, was a disaster as the majority of them rejected the bill based on their religious sentiments and beliefs.

“The issue of the GEO Bill is important to me not only because I am a woman but because it is just and proper to do the right thing. About 51.2 percent of Nigeria's population are women.

“That portion of the society must be taken care of. The bill has suffered in three different assemblies and the reason is very simple. It is because it is based on gender. If it were to be a general issue, it would have passed.

“I brought it up in the last Senate because I discovered that there was no law governing the affairs of women generally and I felt that it was not good enough.

“The rejection of the bill in the 9th Assembly was not the fault of men. It was based on the nuances of the women.

“What happened was that we, female senators, gathered all the wives of our male colleagues for a meeting where we pleaded with them to help us talk to their husbands to support the bill.

“We were very surprised when the majority of the senators’ spouses responded that they would not do such things because their religious conviction has taken care of such issues already.

“We tried everything possible to convince them but they did not change their minds. For instance, they were not in support of making 18 years, as the age of marriage. They also said Islam had taken care of the issue of women regarding inheritance.

“So, the first issue we had against the bill was with women. That of the men came later. It was because the men said they were not conversant with the word ‘equality’ because the husband is not supposed to have equal rights at home with the wife,” Senator Olujimi said.

However, the female lawmaker said she had met with religious organisations, civil society groups and international agencies to discuss the frustrations the bill had encountered.

According to her, the outcome of the series of meetings she has had so far led to the reintroduction of another bill captioned “Gender and Equitable Opportunities Bill, 2022.”

She expressed optimism that the new bill, which has passed its first reading in the Senate, would be passed before the end of the 9th Assembly, as she pointed out that the contentious issues that bordered on religion had been removed from the new bill.

The Rivers Police said its officers have arrested two students at the Community Secondary School, Nkpolu Oroworukwo, in Mile Diobu, Port Harcourt, for allegedly entangling themselves in erotic acts in an isolated classroom within the school premises.

It was gathered that the two senior secondary school two students were allegedly engaged in the act, unknown to them that they were being recorded on video by one of their classmates.

Their classmate who discreetly took the video of the erotic scene then sent it to a fellow student through WhatsApp which in turn drew the attention of some students.

Soon afterwards, the attention of the management of the school was drawn to the situation, when a male teacher stumbled on the video on the phone of one of the students the video was transferred to.

Our correspondent gathered that the school management then invited the police from the Nkpolu Divisional Police headquarters in Mile, Port Harcourt, leading to the arrest of two students involved in the love triangle.

Also arrested were a male student who took the video and another of same-sex whom the video was transferred to.

A parent of one of the arrested students, who did not want her name in print for fear of being stigmatised, confirmed the incident to our reporter but declined further comments.

When contacted, the Principal of the School, Mrs. Patience Nwachukwu, expressed sadness over the situation, saying the affected students were a bad influence and that such behaviour could not be condoned.

She said, “Those children are a bad influence and we can’t condone that. After now they will have to be expelled from the school.

“I will still have to get to my boss to report and tell them the action I intend to take. But that is what I think is the best, because if they go unpunished tomorrow others will join and nothing will happen.”

The spokesperson for the State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, could not be reached for her comments as her mobile telephone was not connecting as of the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, a rights group, the Centre for Basic Rights Protection and Accountability Campaign, said it was informed of the incident by a parent of one of the arrested students.

The national coordinator of the group, Prince Wiro, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Thursday, however, pleaded that the students should be cautioned and released afterwards.

Wiro also said the school should rise to the occasion by invoking internal mechanisms and mete out appropriate punishment to the students.

He said, “A mother to one of the arrested students informed me of the incident on Wednesday night (November 30).

“I think ordinarily it is a matter the school can handle through their internal disciplinary measures. But if the management of the school in its wisdom decides to hand them over to the police for cautionary measures, it is not out of place.

“However, I would have expected that the police to release all the students after cautioning them, rather than releasing some of the students and holding onto some, from the information at our disposal.”

Udom Emmanuel, governor of Akwa Ibom, said “small men” in the PDP will go and prostrate before the big men who are unhappy in the party in order for PDP to win the 2023 elections.

Emmanuel, the chairman of the PDP presidential campaign council, spoke in a recent interview with ThisDay newspaper.

He admitted that PDP made some mistakes but expressed optimism that the internal wrangling will soon be over.

Emmanual said every vote is important if the PDP must win the 2023 elections.

The governor said: “We are trying to take the right step. That’s why you are asking about a few issues in our party, and I said, of course, we are making progress. We’ll resolve all issues. You can’t let anybody go in an election; every vote matters.

“Every single person is important in politics, not to talk of when you’re talking about very big men. Small men like us will go and prostrate ourselves before them: please oh, big men, don’t let us down. I’m into this game to win. I don’t think anybody will get to this point and be doing permutation. What kind of permutation?

“But they are not unhappy with me as Udom Emmanuel. Did they tell you they were unhappy with the party? Four of them are candidates of the party. They hold tickets of the party. They’re members of the party; you are getting it wrong.

“Even spoons and plates hit themselves and create a lot of noise; that doesn’t mean they’ve broken. It doesn’t mean they’ve broken. I think that is the situation here. For the fact that people are unhappy, it is inevitable, definitely inevitable, with a large party like PDP. It is the largest party in the whole of Africa.

“So, certainly, we all make mistakes. I must also confess as a party, we’ve made mistakes, and as individuals, we’ve made mistakes. But these mistakes, I can assure you, will not break us. We are trying to come back, review and then reappraise and see how we can move forward, and I can assure you, we’ll do that.”

Emmanuel added that the PDP will win the 2023 elections and that he wouldn’t have been the chairman of the party’s presidential campaign council if he wasn’t sure of victory.

“I say I’m not looking at any permutation. I’m going into this (election) with optimism because if I’m going with permutation, it means I shouldn’t be the chairman of the campaign council. I’m going with optimism. I would not have accepted being the chairman if I was not optimistic that I’m going to win. So, we are in the race to win. There’s no permutation in this case at all,” he said.

Five governors of the PDP led by Nyesom Wike of Rivers have been at the forefront of calls for Iyorchia Ayu to step down as national chairman of the PDP, on the grounds that the presidential candidate and chairman cannot be from the same region.

By Gbenga Oloniniran


The National Association of Nigerian Students has apologised to Aisha Buhari, wife of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), over the arrest of a student of the Federal University, Dutse Jigawa, Aminu Mohammed, by the Nigeria Police.

Condemnations had trailed the reported arrest of Mohammed over a tweet on the First Lady. Notable Nigerians including social activist, Aisha Yesufu, knocked Aisha for allegedly using her power against the student.

While initial reports were that Mohammed was arrested by the Department of State Services, NANS revealed that he was rather arrested by the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, who traced Mohammed to Jigawa where he was picked up.

NANS in a statement on Tuesday by its President, Usman Barambu, apologised on behalf of the Nigerian students to the First Lady, while also calling for Mohammed’s release.

“The leadership of NANS received with concern the news of the unlawful arrest of Mohammed by the Nigeria Police on the instruction of Aisha Buhari. Upon receiving the news, I, Mohammed’s family and friends swung into action to trace the whereabouts of Mohammed. After some days of searching, we got the information that he was at the police unit in Wuse Zone 2. I met with Mohammed at the police custody.

“It was alleged that Mohammed some weeks back posted Aisha Buhari’s picture on Twitter with the caption “Su mama anchi kudin talakawa an koshi” (translated from Hausa to ‘the mother has gotten fatter by eating masses’ money’).

“Just like the normal way angry citizens have different ways of expression on the social media. On November 18, 2022, the police from Abuja tracked Mohammed to the Federal University Dutse and picked him without any written/verbal invitation or informing the school management or his family,” Barambu narrated.

The NANS President said Mohammed was taken straight to the Presidential Villa where he was allegedly brutalised, beaten, maltreated and humiliated by the police “on the orders of Aisha Buhari, after which he was unlawfully detained at a police facility at Wuse Zone II till date. I, alongside our team of lawyers, met with Mohammed at the police facility where he confirmed the incident to me. Until now, Mohammed has not been arraigned by any competent court of law or granted bail by the police.”

“We want to, on behalf of all the Nigerian students, tender our unreserved apology to the First Lady Aisha Buhari, for the action of Mohammed which might have caused her and her family pains. However, as leaders and public office holders, we must overlook some criticisms if we want to really forge ahead and do the right thing,” Barambu said.

“We demand a detailed explanation by the Nigeria Police on why they will go to the school premises and ‘kidnap’ a student without due process and took him straight to the Presidential Villa where he was brutalised which violates his fundamental human rights,” the statement said.

NANS said Mohammed had sustained various injuries and had not accessed any proper medical attention. “We call on the police as a matter of national interest and urgency to release Mohammed unconditionally or be prepared to face the Nigerian students.

“However, we are calling on our teeming students to be careful and apply decorum in dealing with people especially our leaders. They should be mindful of what they post on social media.

“We want to inform the general public to be patient as we await response and actions from the Inspector General of Police on a letter earlier sent to his office,” the president added.

Disagreeing with the national body, the South-West zone of NANS, in another statement by its Public Relations Officer, Giwa Temitope, condemned the alleged action of the First Lady, saying Mohammed’s rights were grossly violated.

“The conduct of Aisha and the security officers involved in the brutality meted out to Mohammed is highly condemnable and shows that Aisha does not tolerate dissent. In a democratic dispensation, one would have expected the wife of the President to have instituted a case against the student (if at all there is any) rather than resort to violence.

“In so far it has been established that the student was ‘abducted’ by the police and then ferried to the Presidential Villa where he was tortured on the order of Aisha and then locked up at a police facility at Wuse II, the wife of the President and everyone involved have erred and violated his (Mohammed’s) right to dignity of human persons as guaranteed under Section 34 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

“Our position as an association is that the wife of the President has exhibited conduct against the provisions of the Nigerian law which has therefore invalidated whatever case they might have against him,” Temitope said.

Ademola Adeleke has been sworn in as Osun State governor at the Osogbo city stadium.

Speaking after his swearing-in, Adeleke said he is aware of the expectations from the residents in the state and that he will be a servant to all.

The governor said his reforms would cut across education, security, healthcare, infrastructure, local government administration, judiciary, and public service, adding that his administration will be labour-friendly workers in the state.

“I am well aware of the fact that my responsibility as governor and chief security entails meeting the expectation of our people,” Adeleke said.

PDP members at Adeleke’s inauguration include Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the PDP; Iyorchia Ayu, PDP national chairman; Bukola Saraki, former senate president; former governors, and pop star David Adeleke known as Davido.

Notable absentees include Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike, Oyo State governor Seyi Makinde and other members of the Integrity Group, who are at loggerheads with the leadership of the PDP and its candidate Atiku.

Adeleke, who contested the governorship election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), defeated Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who was seeking re-election.

Adeleke secured 403, 371 votes to defeat Oyetola who polled 375,027 votes.

PDP Governors’ Forum, under the leadership of Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the Governor of Sokoto State, has congratulated Adeleke, on his inauguration as Governor of Osun State.

The forum in a statement on Sunday noted that Adeleke’s July 2022 victory at the polls was a testimony to the gallant efforts, hard-work, teamwork, skillful campaigns, efficient resource allocation, openness, and humility exhibited by His Excellency over the years.

“At the campaigns, he concentrated on issues that mattered most to Osun people and they in turn responded in kind with their votes, bestowing on him and the PDP an earth-shaking victory of historic proportions.

“This proves once again that God’s time is the best. He chooses the time and the place.

“This mandate has all the trapping of the love and prayers of the people. The PDP – GF looks forward to a very engaging and prosperous first tenure for Governor Adeleke and enjoin all the people of the state to continue to pray for him, support him with their undiluted loyalty, as his heart is full of love and concern for their wellbeing.”

By DAMILARE FAMUYIWA


A good vendor who’s yet-to-be identified in Ogun, has confessed to a fetish practise, which sees her cooking with her bathing water to increase her sales.

The food vendor made this confession on a Wazobia FM programme in which she called in.

While admitting to having been engaging in this fetish practice for two years on the instruction of a native doctor in Edo State, the woman said all the dishes she sells daily are cooked with the same water she washes her body with.

According to her, the native doctor gave her the instruction after she approached him for help to increase her sales.

Revealing that her business has been booming for the last two years that she started cooking with water from her body, the food vendor stated that she paid the native doctor a sum of N200,000.

“When I was selling food two years ago, my sales record was very good. Do you know what I was doing?” She queried the presenters, as she revealed that “at the time, I was operating in Mowe, Ogun State.”

“I would use the water I washed my body with to cook for my customers. Business was so good, such that they kept patronising me. It was a native doctor from Edo State, whom I met through my friend, that gave me this instruction.

“I practises this fetish activity for several years, during which many people ate my food,” she added.

When asked if she’s still into the practice, the food vendor said even though she doesn’t like it, her life has since experienced a significant turnaround. Hence, she’s still cooking with her bathing water.

A mother of one of the abducted students of Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri, in Kebbi State, has passed away after she learnt that her daughter was impregnated by a terrorist in captivity, PRNigeria learnt from credible sources.

The sources, who pleaded for anonymity, said the mother died as a result of ‘grave emotional and psychological trauma’.

The pregnant young mother is among 11 remaining female students yet to be released after gunmen abducted over 100 students and eight teachers after killing a policeman in the mixed boarding school on June 17, 2021.

A few days after the abduction, security operatives succeeded in rescuing some of the students and teachers while others escaped from the gunmen in the process of taking them away. The bandits also released the teachers and 30 of the students after ransom payments.

On the tragic demise of one of the mothers of the kidnapped students, a close family relative of the deceased told PRNigeria that the mother collapsed when the news of her daughter’s pregnancy broke.

“Before she passed away, our sister was bitterly worried about the condition of her abducted daughter. She was hit by a stroke and became paralyzed after the sad news.

“She kept asking herself why would the terrorists have the guts to sleep with her 15-year-old daughter, and impregnate her, in the process. She maintained that she could not welcome her daughter with a bastard, meaning she will have hatred for the child her daughter will deliver for their abductors,” said the family relative.

In a related development, while some guardians are eagerly waiting for the release of their daughters, others are silently dying from the stigma of having grandchildren that would be called ‘bastards’.

“We are hearing that some parents of the FGC Yauri female are confused on how to handle their daughters returning home eventually with babies, fathered by criminals. It is something that gives them serious worry.

“As such, they might show empathy for their daughters’ plight, but not necessarily to the children their daughters delivered for the terrorists,” a source in Kebbi State, where FGC Birnin Yauri is located, told PRNigeria.

Early this month, PRNigeria reported that a 16-year-old girl, who was among the remaining 11 female students of FGC Yauri gave birth to a baby boy in abductors’ forest camp

In another report last Sunday, PRNigeria disclosed that armed bandits during the weekend organized a feast for the child of one of the female students in hostage.

A local source who had confirmed the news of the ‘naming ceremony’ of the child, disclosed that two other students in the terrorists’ den also gave birth to a baby girl and boy.

“There are about four other female students who are pregnant now. One of them is due to give birth any moment from now,” he had said.

The 11 schoolgirls remain in captivity despite payment of ransom and prisoner swaps, at different times.

Meanwhile, one of the parents of the abducted female students who spoke to PRNigeria on phone called on the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd)and Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Gen. Leo Irabor and to intervene and ensure their children’s release.

“In the name of God Almighty, we call for that special committee constituted by the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Lucky Irabor, to take charge and resolve it as quickly as possible as it did with Kaduna train passengers.

“We learn about how the remaining abducted passengers were released after six months in captivity through the efforts by the Irabor Committee and the endorsement of NSA Monguno.

The Presidential Villa plans to spend N14.8bn on Internet access, stationery and telephone charges, among others, under the Federal Government’s planned expenditure captured in the 2023 budget.

In the budget, N67.1m was budgeted for Internet access to the Villa, while stationery and computer consumables would be N79m.

A further breakdown of the budget also showed that N35.9m was allocated for electricity charges, telephone charges and water rates each got N306.2m, N6m and N40.6m respectively.

Out of the total budget for the Villa, N1.6bn would be spent on personnel cost.

Meanwhile, the sum of N35m was budgeted for books and newspapers, with newspapers alone taking N26.4m and books gulping N8.5m.

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Friday, presented to a joint session of the National Assembly a budget proposal of N20.51tn for the 2023 fiscal year.

The budget is about N750bn higher than the N19.76tn earlier proposed in the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper.

Ahead of the Federal Government budget presentation, the House of Representatives, on Thursday, passed the 2023–2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, which the President earlier presented to the National Assembly.

The passage followed the consideration of the report of the Committee on Finance.

The House approved an aggregate FGN expenditure of N19.76tn, made up of total recurrent (non-debt) of N8.53tn; personnel costs (MDAs) of N827.8bn; capital expenditure (exclusive of transfers), N3.96tn; special intervention (recurrent) of N350bn; and special intervention (capital) of N7bn.

There was pandemonium in Kaduna on Sunday, as Police dispersed traders who trooped out to the streets to jubilate over court ruling ordering Governor Nasir El-Rufai to pay compensations for demolishing their shops and market in the city.

The tension escalated on Sunday evening when armed police stormed Kasuwan Barci and Tudun Wada area of Kaduna metropolis, shooting tear gas and live bullets in the air, as shop owners trooped to the streets, demanding Governor El-rufai to obey court order by paying them compensation over their demolished shops and markets.

The jubilation followed an order of Kaduna State High Court, asking the state government to reinstate each of the shop owners in Kasuwan Barci back into the market.

The affected shop owners called on the government to respect the rule of law by obeying the court order. However, as the traders were set to embark on a peaceful protest, armed policemen stormed the venue and told them that, “there is an order from above to stop the protest”.

Consequently, some officers and men of the Police force who were at the scene of the protest, immediately stopped the leaders from addressing their members and newsmen.

The Police were also seen pulling down all the canopies arranged for the event along Kasuwan Barci axis of Dutsima road in Tudun Wada.

This later led to serious confrontation with the sister security agency; the Kaduna State Vigilante Service (KADVIS), which had earlier given security, cover to the traders at the venue.

The armed policemen resorted to tear gassing the crowd and firing live bullets in the air to disperse them, in a show of superiority. But a few hours later, the shop owners regrouped at another location and addressed newsmen.

Recall that the court had on September 28, 2022, delivered judgment in favour of the plaintiffs (shop owners) and ordered Kaduna State government to adequately compensate them .

The state government had taken over the market and subsequently demolished the old structure sometime in March 2020, while about 4,600 shop owners were affected. All the market locations in the state were also affected by the demolition.

Dissatisfied with the action of the state government, traders of Kasuwan Barci and Raga markets all within the Kaduna metropolis, approached the court to interpret the extent of powers of the state government over the markets.

In his judgment. Justice Edward Andow declared that the Kaduna State government lacks the constitutional powers to unilaterally takeover Kasuwan Barci market in the way and manner it did. It ordered the government to pay compensations.


In jubilation of the court order, the shop owners flooded the street of Kaduna State at the weekend, urging the government not to deny them their right as pronounced by the court.
Addressing newsmen, Chairman of the shop owners, Alhaji Abdullahi Maikano Kaya-kaya, explained that after receiving the vacation notice, the shop owners sought an audience with the state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, which was granted, but they could not reach any agreement.

He explained that the shop owners pleaded with the Governor to either allow them build the shops themselves by using the authorized government building plan or give them another space to relocate, pending when the government would rebuild the shops since the Governor promised returning the shops to the real owners.

He said: “Our expectations was that, since government is aware that we built our shops ourselves on the land given to us by government, they should have either relocated the market or have adequately compensated us but instead, they ignored us and went ahead to demolish the shops.

“It is our prayer that the Kaduna State Government will respect this judgment by reinstating us back into the market and compensate us accordingly, because many shop owners have died, some are sick, while a few have relocated to other towns due to the demolition.”

Udora Orizu writes that the move by some Senators and House of Representatives members to impeach President Muhammadu Buhari over worsening insecurity in the country may not be feasible as they appear to have diverse views on the issue.

On July 27, 2022, some members of the National Assembly across party lines, before embarking on their two months annual vacation had vowed to commence an impeachment process against President Muhammadu Buhari over his failure to curb the worsening insecurity in the country.

At the plenary that day, the Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Phillip Aduda, had moved a point of order seeking to discuss insecurity on the floor of the Senate but the President of the Senate, Dr Ahmed Lawan, ruled him out of order. Aduda, then led his colleagues to the Senate Press Centre where he told journalists that President Buhari would be shown the way out if he failed to tackle insecurity within next six weeks.

The issue of insecurity has been the crux of everyday discussion during plenary in both chambers of the National Assembly. The lawmakers had on several occasions in the past expressed fears over the worsening insecurity in the country.

The President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, shortly after the National Assembly vacated for the holidays, summoned the security chiefs to a marathon meeting where he described the security situation as frightening.

In recent times, many Nigerians have expressed major concern over the deteriorating security and economic situation. Few weeks back, terrorists freed 69 Boko Haram commanders in Kuje correctional centre; attacked troops on the Bwari-Kubwa Road, Abuja, killing a captain, a lieutenant and six soldiers, and injured many others, attacked a checkpoint at Zuma Rock. The reoccurring attacks led the government to immediately shut down schools in the FCT.

According to Section 143 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), nine steps are required to impeach the President. They include, “The first step made it mandatory for the National Assembly (both chambers) to send a notice of any allegation in writing alleging gross misconduct on the part of the President, to him. The notice must be signed by not less than one-third of the members of the National Assembly (both the Senate and House of Representatives) and it would be presented to the Senate President. The Senate President, in the second step, must within seven days, serve the President and each member of the National Assembly with a copy of the notice of allegation.

“The President of the country in the third step, has a right of reply (he/she does not have to reply however), and any such statement in reply to the allegation must be served on each member of the National Assembly. Step four requires that within 14 days of the presentation of the notice to the Senate President, each chamber of the National Assembly shall resolve by motion without any debate whether or not the allegation shall be investigated. Such motion needs to be passed by at least two-thirds majority of all members of each chamber of the National Assembly.

“In the fifth step, if the motion fails to reach the two-thirds majority, the process immediately stops, and no further action would be taken. However, if the two-thirds majority is obtained and the motion is passed, then the Senate President will within seven days of the passing of the motion, request the Chief Justice of Nigeria to appoint a panel of seven persons who in his opinion are of unquestionable integrity to investigate the allegations.”


Previous Moves by Lawmakers to Impeach Buhari

The latest move is however not the first time the lawmakers tried to impeach President Buhari. In 2018, Senators in the 8th Assembly were divided along political lines following a motion for the President’s impeachment. Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Mathew Uroghide, moved the motion for the impeachment of Buhari over his approval and withdrawal of $496 million from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) without the lawmakers’ consent.

Buhari, had in a letter to the Senators explained that he gave an anticipatory approval to purchase of Super Tocano aircraft from the U.S government because of time constraint and a hope that the lawmakers will raise no objection.

But, Uroghide had stood to condemn the act of the President. Seconding the motion, Senator ChukwukaUtazi, (Enugu-PDP) played down the justification that the President gave that he is only asking that the money should be considered as supplementary budget as the process of approving the main budget is still ongoing. He opined that President Buhari should be punished for the ‘impeachable offence’ he committed.

But some APC senators accused the opposition Senators of conspiring to impeach Buhari.

Senate Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Ibn Na’ Allah, pleaded with the lawmakers to exercise caution in making the next move. He proposed that the issue be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Legal Matters to advise on the best approach.

In December 2020, leader of the PDP caucus in the 9th Assembly, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, reacting to the killing of 43 rice farmers in Zambarmari area of Borno State, called on Nigerians to compel their representatives in the National Assembly to immediately commence impeachment proceedings against the President.

However, the House leadership in a statement by Chairman of the Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, dismissed the call as an opinion of a member of the opposition.

Kalu, in the statement titled ‘Re: Nigeria saddled with the circus…Hon Kingsley Chinda and his lone voyage of impeachment call,’ said the opinion “does not represent the weakest opinion of the minority caucus of the 9th House”.


Divergent Views Trail the Latest Move

As Nigerians await the lawmakers next move when the ultimatum expires on September 20, 2022, many are of the view that the exercise was already belated because of the time frame available to actualise the constitutional procedure.

Nigerians have also asserted that the general election slated for February next year would have been concluded and a new president would have been elected before the National Assembly would conclude the impeachment process. As the expiration of the ultimatum draws nearer lawmakers in both chambers in separate interviews with newsmen have expressed divergent views on the matter, leading to the belief that the impeachment won’t be carried out once they resume plenary.

The Senator representing Bauchi North Senatorial District, AdamuBulkachuwa, in an interview revealed that majority of members of the Senate are in support of the move to impeach the President. Bulkachuwa, who is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, said almost all members of the Senate backed the move when the lawmakers went in an executive session at the plenary July 27.

A Peoples Democratic Party Senator representing Osun East senatorial district, Francis Fadahunsi, on his part, said it was not true that the opposition were retreating on their move to impeach the President.


When asked if they are backtracking on their resolve, He said, “Who said so? Who are the opposition (lawmakers) that met? You did an interview with Senator GershomBassey who said that we meant what we said. Those people saying such are not feeling fine. Even northern senators are in support of the impeachment; you heard Senator Clifford (Ordia) from Edo, Senator Bulkachuwa (Mohammed) and the rest. So, who are those that told them so?’’

He hinted that Senators would remove the Senate President from office in advancement of the moves against Buhari.

According to him: “Bulkachuwa had earlier moved the motion but the Senate President shot him down because we were not around. Very soon, we will push him out of the place instead of dying one after the other and keeping silent.”

Speaking in the same vein, the Senator representing Benue North West Senatorial District, OrkerJev, also dismissed the insinuation that the opposition Senators had stepped down the impeachment move.

The Deputy Minority Whip, Senator DanjumaLa’ah, also said the opposition Senators had yet to jettison the impeachment threat.

Also, the Deputy Minority Leader of the House, Hon. Toby Okechukwu, debunked the report that the impeachment threat had died.

But, the House spokesman, Hon. Benjamin Kalu’s (APC, Abia) view on the matter differed from that of his colleagues.

Kalu who stressed the constitutional procedures required to impeach a President said, “When the people called for impeachment, which they said would start in two months’ time, the question should be, We are in August. How many months more does this particular administration have before winding down? We are talking about nine months, if you calculate from September to May. You said you were giving Mr. President six weeks to allow Mr. President to fix things, and if not, you would call for impeachment. If you are going to take two months out of the nine months, what is left is seven months.

“You need about one-third of the National Assembly members to agree that a notice should be presented to the President of the Senate alleging misconduct by Mr. President. It will take a lot of time to get one-third of the National Assembly members, especially considering this season of elections and campaigns. We are talking about raising the two-thirds in a period when people are busy with electioneering, and I don’t see that happening in one month or two months. So, the three months that are left will take us to February of next year when we have the general elections.”

Also, some PDP lawmakers in the House have said they were uninterested in the impeachment threats against the President because they don’t have enough time to do so.

Aside the timing, they also said the presiding officers of both chambers of the National Assembly, are Buhari’s henchmen who would strongly frustrate the plan to remove him.

One of the lawmakers who pleaded anonymity said “We called on members of NASS to commence impeachment of Mr. President two years ago and we also urged Nigerians to call on their Representatives to commence impeachment. We did so because we identified the incompetence of the present administration and its irresponsive posture to the yearnings of the people and its glaring inability to protect the lives of Nigerians which is a fundamental constitutional breach.

“Perhaps members were then either too busy or just laid back to appreciate what we were saying. It was branded a personal call. Both Nigerians and parliamentarians, including the Press, played it down. The present call for impeachment only vindicates us and very sincerely is coming late in the day and not much benefit will come to the masses. I respect the parliament for even rising up at all but I will not be surprised to hear that the call has been dropped.

He stated further, “I pray that Nigerian Lives matter to all of us in various public offices. This insecurity is like rainfall, it doesn’t discriminate on grounds of political leaning, tribe or religion. It falls on all roofs. We cannot tell who will be a victim. Extreme measure is required because its an extreme situation that we find ourselves now.”

Another lawmaker who also spoke anonymously said, “I am not aware. I was never in support of the impeachment considering the time it will require to see the process through, more so that the presiding officers in both chambers are the president’s yes men.”

While the presidency in reaction to the threat by the lawmakers has described it as a bluff and a waste of the country’s time, Nigerians will know if the federal lawmakers will still commence the impeachment process when they resume the last leg of their legislative activities on September 20, 2022.