By Seye Olumide,


Barely 154 days after taking office, there is growing discontent in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s camp, especially among his close allies and party elders, with his style of governance and some of his policy decisions.

According to findings by our correspondent, the situation has become more precarious with the alleged inability of his allies and party elders unable to have access to the President, advise him on their observations or even register their displeasures with some of his actions and inactions.

This development has led to insinuations that President Tinubu might be going through a similar scenario as his predecessor, former President Muhammadu Buhari, whose government was allegedly hijacked by a cabal, which controlled access to him.

The long list of disenchanted stakeholders include, All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders, especially from the Southwest and Northwest, Muslim stakeholders and Yoruba stakeholders, including elders and young professionals, as well as traditional rulers.

A series of policies introduced by President Tinubu since assuming office have left Nigerians facing varying degrees of economic hardships. Recall that only few days ago, the apex Yoruba socio-cultural body, Afenifere, called government’s attention to the state of insecurity across the country, urging that something be done to stem the ugly development.

Feelers from the President’s allies have it that they believe there is a compelling need for him to cautiously begin to look inward with a view to engaging with the people and assuaging their pains.

Within the political circle, especially among members of the ruling APC and regional stakeholders, there are deep-seated grievances that President Tinubu’s appointments have been lopsided and largely in favour of the Southwest geo-political zone.

Leaders of the party, especially from Southwest and Northwest, are said to be currently unhappy that their political interests have not been taken into consideration in all the appointments made so far by him, such that some of them have decided to remain silent and keep their distance from the presidency.

One of the political blocs said to be discontented with Tinubu’s style of appointment is the Southwest and Northwest Muslim stakeholders in the ruling party.

They allege being short-changed in spite of their votes giving Tinubu victory in the presidential poll. Specifically, there are concerns within the APC that President Tinubu might have abandoned some of the party elders, who are known to be his allies since 1999, and other party adherents who went to the trenches with him during the presidential primary election and campaigns.

Making further allusions to a new cabal in Aso Villa, which determines who gets what and who sees the President, party sources close to the Presidency told The Guardian that this situation might be more devastating to governance than what operated under the immediate past administration.

Besides, The Guardian also reliably gathered that the excruciating high cost of living occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal, the exchange rate and other indices that are making life unbearable for Nigerians, is seriously unsettling some of Tinubu’s allies, who believe that things could be done differently to bring succour to the masses.
They expressed fears that should the economic crunch continue, aside from the incumbent administration losing credibility, the situation would rubbish the long-term integrity of the Southwest zone in terms of governance.

WITHIN the APC, the discussion in some quarters is the current disposition of the likes of former Governors of Osun and Ogun states, Chief Bisi Akande and Aremo Segun Osoba, other elder statesmen and Yoruba sons and daughters, who served in the immediate past government, to President Tinubu’s administration.

While our correspondent observed that some of them have deliberately kept a distance from the government, sources close to the party said Chief Akande and Osoba and others who were considered as Tinubu’s Man Friday, are today more or less treated like outsiders under the incumbent administration.

Chief Akande, perceived as one of the closest allies to the President, is alleged to have lamented to party stalwarts on how difficult it has been for him to assess the Villa, let alone, having opportunity to discuss issues of importance or convey the feelings of Nigerians to Tinubu in recent times.

While it is not clear whether Akande is currently in the country, part of the octogenarian’s lamentation to close friends is that he has not even been consulted on some far reaching decisions of the administration.

For instance, a party source claimed that Akande was not carried along about Tinubu’s decision to use former Governor of Kano State, Umar Ganduje, as APC’s national chairman just as the former Osun State governor was said to have feigned ignorance of the selection of Ajibola Basiru, a senator, as the national secretary of APC.

Even the former governor of Ogun State, who happens to be one of the first elders to commend President Tinubu for having the boldness to remove fuel subsidy, may have also withdrawn.

Although the former managing director of Daily Times commendation on subsidy removal was seen as an honest anticipation the decision was well thought out and would break the monopoly and greed of oil barons, he is said to be finding it difficult to fathom how the economic situation is turning out today.

On another hand, members of the Lagos State APC Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) are also reeling in pain, not just over appointments, but the way the country is running. One of them lamented how his children asked him, “Is this all that your Tinubu has to offer?”

Another party stalwart told The Guardian that instead of the expected enthusiasm that federal power has eventually shifted to the Southwest and is particularly in the hands of Tinubu, members of the ruling party in the region are unhappy.

For instance, the Oyo State chapter of APC is not pretending over how it has been short-changed in terms of ministerial appointments. A party member, who didn’t want his name in print, said, “What belonged to the chapter in terms of ministerial appointment was ceded to a member of another party, who in turn picked his aides even outside the party. There is no sign that such people are even making plans to return to the party to rebuild or organise it?”

It is the same feeling within the Ekiti, Ondo and Ogun state chapters of the APC. However, some party men are convinced President Tinubu will soon turn the table around, said whatever any of the Yoruba elders are experiencing under Tinubu now, serves them right.

According to one of the party faithful, because the majority of the elders have benefited unduly, “they cannot face the President to tell him the truth.”

Another member of APC, however, called for more time for President Tinubu, saying, “it is too early to criticise his government based on ethnic sentiments or economic performance.” He said though it may be true that several members of APC were disillusioned about Tinubu’s appointments, which according to him favoured more Christians than Muslims, “they are not enough reasons to fault or condemn Mr. President.”

He added: “The issue is that Tinubu is only trying to run away from the Muslim-Muslim ticket blackmail. But if you do a critical observation, the Southwest and Northwest Muslims, whose votes made Tinubu president, are really not benefitting unlike the South South and Southeast Christians, who contributed less to Tinubu’s victory. It is unimaginable that Tinubu offered the Ministry of Works and FERMA to Southeast despite the kind of antagonism he faced from that region.”

He also faulted the northerners, who are claiming that Tinubu is trying to Yorubanise governance. “If you take a critical look at Buhari’s government, the critical positions were given to Katsina State. Under Jonathan, the South South people also dominated the entire place. But that’s not the case under Tinubu.”

On the economy, a former General Secretary of Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), Dr. Kunle Olajide, said the crisis of economy is a global challenge and Nigeria is not exempted.

He advised APC members to do away with sentiments over appointments and, instead, put the country above all other considerations. He assured that the incumbent administration would turn Nigeria around for good over time.

The President of Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum, Akin Malaolu, is of the opinion that the economy today has exposed Tinubu administration’s inability to handle the mess.

He said, “we have studied his economic policies, his grandstanding and we have been proven right after critical assessments done, that both President Tinubu and his advisers are ignorant of the processes they are driving.

“The first error President Tinubu made was to completely ignore the areas of comparative advantage before liberalisation of the energy sector and our currency. He destroyed first what he should have secured, which were energy security with subsidy and national currency, the Naira. Primarily, he should have focused on productivity, particularly, in the area of energy security, domestic production of energy sources, increasing agricultural activities and securing the export platforms, and fighting insecurity in a decent order.”

Yoruba Ronu added that the main focus of productivity is industrialisation, putting money into the private sector, creating foundries and starting machine tools factories to assist industrialisation and employment. “This area of comparative advantage will assist the economy, increase the activities of small and medium scale industries and earn foreign exchange through exports,” it added.

APC Supporter Accused Of ₦22bn Theft Among New RECs Appointed By Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu appointed Etekamba Umoren as the new Akwa Ibom State REC despite his party activities and links to Senate President Akpabio and previous embezzlement cases.

Umoren was one of the 10 new Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) Tinubu appointed on Wednesday.

In its statement, the State House said that Tinubu expected the appointees to abide by the highest standards of professional and ethical conduct in discharging their duties.

However, FIJ has found that Umoren showed his partisan bias towards the All Progressives Congress and Akpabio many times.

Section 141 of the Electoral Act 2022 states that “No person holding an elective office to which this Act relates or a registered member of a political party shall be eligible for or be appointed to carry out the duties of a returning officer, an electoral officer, presiding officer or a poll clerk.”

While all electoral officers can deny being card-carrying members of any political party, a clearly determined partisan allegiance questions the ability of such officers to act transparently while discharging their duties.

Back in 2018, Governor Udom Emmanuel removed Umoren from his position as Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government. Umoren had been described as an ally of Akpabio. It was Akpabio who appointed Umoren as secretary to the state government while he was governor.

Akpabio, who was once a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), became a member of the APC and this led to conflicts between him and Emmanuel, his successor and PDP governor.

Aniete Okon, a PDP chieftain and senator, had claimed that Umoren’s removal had nothing to do with the PDP’s rift with Akpabio at the time.

Umoren showed support for Akpabio numerous times afterwards. He took it a step further to align with the APC with his comments following the 2019 elections.

“APC candidates won at the fields and collation centres but lost in the process of declaring the results by INEC officials; this is unacceptable to us. We have all the evidence and I want to assure you that Senator Akpabio will reclaim his mandate at the tribunal,” Umoren said in March 2019.

Umoren was accused alongside Akpabio and Udo Isobara, the former Accountant General of Akwa Ibom, of embezzling no less than N22 billion at the end of Akpabio’s tenure as governor in 2015.

Akwa Ibom received about N1.6 trillion from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) between June 2007 and May 2014, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

Leo Ekpenyong, a lawyer and activist, is one of the Akwa Ibom indigenes who accused Umoren and Akpabio of looting their state’s treasury.

“Between January and December 2014, it is on record that the trio of Godswill Akpabio, Mr. Etekamba Umoren and Mr. Udo Isobara made illegal but substantial withdrawals of cash from a designated state government-owned account with Zenith Bank with account number: 1010375881 amounting to N22.1 billion,” Ekpenyong stated in a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“It is worthy of note that reasons for such ungodly cash withdrawals against financial regulations and due process laws range between sundry use and unjustifiable expenditures by Godswill Akpabio and his numerous surrogates and proxies.

“For example, a whopping N18 billion was withdrawn fraudulently from the state FAAC account with the United Bank for Africa in tranches of N10 million and above by Mr. Isobara in a surreptitious manner to conceal their dishonest intention.”

The EFCC detained and interrogated Akpabio, who denied the accusations.

The federal government, on Friday, launched the long-awaited Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Initiative with the handing over of two CNG-fueled buses to the management of the State House.

Speaking at the official launch of the initiative at Presidential Villa, Abuja, Chairman of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (P-CNGi), Mr Zacch Adedeji, who performed the handing over ceremony, disclosed that the launch also involved the opening of seven pilot conversion centres nationwide.

Adedeji, who is also the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), further disclosed that the government has waived the Value Added Tax (VAT) on CNG purchases as well as seeking duty waivers for value-chain.

Chairman of the initiative, who was represented at the launching event by the Authority Chief Executive Officer of the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Farouk Ahmed, also disclosed that plans are underway for the government to establish multiple conversion centres across the country in the next two weeks.

“I’m pleased to announce that there are currently seven conversion centres in Nigeria and the government is actively working to establish more of them. These plans will be rolled out, starting this afternoon, by the initiative.

“This project is not only about conversion of vehicles but also about generating employment opportunities. It demonstrates President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to both environmental sustainability and economic growth.

“Moreover, it is my pleasure as your Chief Tax Officer, a position I hold alongside as Chairman of this initiative, to announce that we will be waiving the Value Added Tax on CNG purchases as well as seeking duty waivers for value-chain.

“The goal is to build a sustainable future, leveraging our own cheap and clean energy source; gas”, he said.

Adedeji emphasized that the delivery of the CNG project demonstrates President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to both environmental sustainability and economic growth in Nigeria.

He implored Nigerians to consider the buses as a symbol of a new beginning, “a journey towards the future, where the power of tomorrow starts today. Let this be a beacon for our country, Nigeria, and an inspiration to the world”.

The Committee Chairman stressed that the buses running on compressed natural gas are not just a technical achievement, but a symbol of President Tinubu’s administration’s commitment to spearheading an energy revolution.

The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, said Nigeria is the eighth-largest gas-producing nation in the world and with 70%, of its hydrocarbon gas possession will strengthen the nation’s gradual transition from petrol-powered vehicles to gas–powered transit vehicles.

Gov. Abdulrazaq called on the private sector to invest in the CNG Bus programme, he emphasized that Universities in Nigeria will be the first beneficiaries of the buses and all state governments will also key into the program

This is the first major change to come. We all know that apart from having abundant gas resources, I think number eight in the world in gas reserves, gas is a cheaper means of transportation and cheaper means of energy.

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“I remember former President Obasanjo established the Olokola Free Trade Zone because he wanted that zone to be powered by gas solely. So, as we transit forward, I encourage the private sector to invest in this gas programme.

“I commend the President as well because this programme, aside from kicking off at the Government House, our universities will be the first beneficiaries of the buses and all state governments will also key into this.

“Also, from my state, we’re going to invest massively and encourage our businessmen to invest massively in this transition. I can only praise Mr President that it our dreams are being fulfilled step by step.” The Chairman NGF added.

Project Director of the Presidential CNG Initiative, Engr. Micheal Oluwagbemi disclosed that State governments have already indicated investment interest in the CNG Buses, he mentioned that the Rivers State Government have already acquired a good number to ease the transportation challenges of the state.

Speaking on the Cost of Conversion, Oluwagbemi revealed that the current cost of conversion varies from the model and type of vehicle, he added that the President has ensured that as part of P-CNGi, the committee will incentivize the cost for the Nigerian populace.

The Project coordinator assured that Nigerians will be able to achieve conversion at a lower cost.

“Nigeria is a gas country with a very small quantity of crude oil, The President wants to make sure that the Nigerian public is not subjected to the price of transportation occasioned by international conflagration rather than being able to use the gas that Nigeria produces by Nigerian people such that jobs are also created at home instead of exported abroad.

“The current cost of conversion varies from the model and type of vehicle but the President has ensured that as part of PCNGI, we will look into that cost by helping and incentivizing Nigerians,” Oluwagbemi added.

He disclosed that immediately, the Federal government ordered 55000 conversion kits as part of the immediate palliative.

“Various stakeholders, such as the Labour unions, and mass transit bus operators. Either state or private will be able to benefit from those conversion kits

Receiving the CNG Buses on behalf of the State House, the Permanent Secretary, State House, Engr. Olusesan Adebiyi said that the provision of the buses will enhance the efficiency of staff and enhance their punctuality at work

He assured the P-CNGI and partners that all operational buses of the State House will be converted to gas-powered vehicles.

“For the P-CNGi, I want to assure you to prepare for us because henceforth, all the staff buses we’ll have to buy from you and I can assure you we’ll soon set out to consult you and enter negotiations with you for not just purchase, but also maintenance.

The State House has some fuel dumps and I want to assure you right away that one of our fuel dumps will be converted to CNG with immediate effect, to guarantee frequent fueling of these I’ve discussed with you as well on the issue of maintenance.

“I want to also assure you that we will agree with you because one, this is new in Nigeria, and the spares are not readily available, so why not meet the manufacturers? The fact that these buses were assembled in Nigeria, it’s all Nigeria-made, is one thing that I will not forget in a hurry because as an engineer, I’ve been praying for this to happen and now it’s happening in my lifetime.

“The provision of this bus will enhance the efficiency of our staff, will enhance their punctuality to work and will also enhance speedy delivery of service in the entire State House. Staff listen to me, you know that I don’t come late, so now you don’t have reason to come late, since buses are available to take you to work.

Managing Director of OMAA Motors, managing partner of PCNGI, Chinedu Oguegbu lauded the patronage of made-in-Nigeria vehicles by the federal government saying that it is a way of deepening industrialization

Oguegbu stressed that the deployment of the CNG buses to ease transportation challenges in Nigeria will go beyond the natural gas value chain, he added that it will create thousands of jobs for the youths.

“This is going to go beyond the natural gas value-chain, this is going to create thousands of jobs for the youths and not just like basic tech, what we’re talking about natural gas vehicles, as we progress in Nigeria and after coming up, the technology that we’ll develop here, the talents that we’ll build here, we’ll be able to use this and export to other African countries that have similar initiatives.

The Chief Of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajibiamila officially flagged off the initiative.

The Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, His Excellency Olaf Scholz, will visit Nigeria on October 29-30, 2023, at the invitation of Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

This will be the first visit of a German Head of Government to Nigeria since the inauguration of the new government.

The visit aims to strengthen bilateral relations between Germany and Nigeria, two natural partners as the strongest economy and the most populous country on their respective continents.

Scholz will meet with Tinubu, ECOWAS Commission President Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, representatives of Nigerian civil society, and Nigerian start-up entrepreneurs. He will also open a Nigeria-German Business Conference and take part in a tour of Lagos.

Scholz will be accompanied by a delegation of high-ranking German business people and a cultural delegation. The visit is also aimed at intensifying economic and cultural relations between the two countries and exploring opportunities for investment in Nigeria.

“The German Embassy in Nigeria is honoured to welcome Chancellor Scholz and looks forward to continuing to work on strengthening the important and warm bilateral relations between Germany and Nigeria,” a statement from the embassy said.

The visit of Chancellor Scholz to Nigeria is a significant event in the bilateral relations between the two countries. It comes at a time when Nigeria is seeking to strengthen its ties with key international partners, and Germany is eager to expand its presence in Africa.

The visit is also a sign of the growing importance of Nigeria in the global economy and politics. As Africa’s largest economy and most populous country, Nigeria is playing an increasingly influential role on the continent and in the world.

The visit is expected to boost bilateral cooperation in a number of areas, including trade, investment, security, and development. It is also likely to generate new opportunities for Nigerian businesses and entrepreneurs.

By Abdullateef Aliyu


The Group Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines, Mr. Mesfin Tasew has provided an insight into the involvement of the East African Airline in the setting up of Nigeria Air, saying the airline almost withdrew but the government insisted it should continue with the process.

This is the first time the Ethiopian Airlines leadership would speak on the controversy over the airline which dogged the last minutes of the immediate past administration.

Former Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika had floated the airline on May 27 which did not see the light of the day as it was later discovered that a plane belonging to ET was used to conduct a demonstration flight against the dictate of the process for the establishment of a new airline.

Daily Trust reports that the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) had sued the Federal Government challenging the selection of Ethiopian Airlines as the preferred bidders to midwife the proces.

But speaking with some Nigerian journalists in Addis Ababa, the Airline’s CEO stated that the East African carrier never had any plan to set up an airline in Nigeria but was invited by the federal government to partner with it to establish a national carrier, Nigeria Air.

It also explained that the federal government requested that the Nigeria Air logo be painted on the Ethiopian Airlines aircraft be painted for inspection and the airline agreed.


FG asked us to paint our aircraft Nigeria logo for Nigeria Air unveiling

“At one point, that leadership of Nigeria Air, which doesn’t include Ethiopian Airlines, asked us to bring aircraft painted with Nigerian logo to facilitate the progress of the Air Operators’ Certificate. So, we agreed with that, we took out one of our aircraft, we painted it with Nigerian logo, we flew it, it was for demonstration by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for their inspection. So, after two days, we brought back the aircraft, repainted it with Ethiopian logo and it is flying. So, while we were here, waiting for the decision of the court, now there was a change of government that took place.”

He said the airline at first resisted the invitation to set up the airline but later agreed due to long relationship it has with Nigeria where it operates to four cities.

He said while Ethiopian Airlines and the Nigeran government were preparing the shareholding, it received message that some companies and airlines in Nigeria were defaming Ethiopian Airlines and the federal government and had gone to court and obtained a court order to stop the establishment of Nigeria Air.

This prompted Ethiopian Airlines to want to withdraw, but the Nigerian government insisted that it should continue the process of establishing the national carrier for the most populous nation in Africa.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines said that until now the airline had not decided whether to continue the process to establish Nigeria Air but the federal government said it should continue with the groundwork until the court vacates the order, insisting that it was not cancelling the project.

Tasew emphasized that Nigeria Air was already established before Ethiopian Airlines was invited to partner with it.

He also noted that Nigerians would benefit hugely from the national carrier if eventually established because the federal government said that Nigeria does not have dependable airlines in the domestic and international market.

Tasew said, “Ethiopian Airlines didn’t have any intention or plan to setup an airline in Nigeria. In May of 2022, when I took my current responsibility (as Group CEO), a request came from the Nigerian government asking ET (Ethiopian Airlines) to participate in a bid and help the Nigerian government to set up a Nigerian flag carrier. It came in writing.

“Initially we didn’t want to go into that. We said we have other initiatives in other countries and we were busy. But the Nigerian government insisted that Ethiopian Airlines is an African airline, it has to help the Nigerian government in setting up the national carrier. So, we had to respect them. We serve the Nigerian public and government by flying to four cities in Nigeria; we couldn’t say no, we cannot come and help you. So, we had to submit proposal, we had to respect the Nigerian government.

“And we thought that the Nigerian government had choices, ET being one; because they had also requested other airlines in the Middle East, Europe to participate in the bid. I don’t know whether they participated or not. We submitted our proposal and we received a letter from the Ministry of Aviation, saying that Ethiopian Airlines has been selected to be a partner to set up the airline.

“Then the Nigerian government wanted the structure of investors to be Nigerian investing institutions and the Nigerian government wanted only 5 per cent shares to ensure that they have presence in the airline and to facilitate the establishment of the airline. We had a lot of discussions, we agreed but we had some differences in some points.


‘How Nigerian Airlines, firms started defaming Ethiopian Government, Airline’

“And while we were preparing the shareholder agreement, then we heard that some companies in Nigeria including airlines started defaming and objecting the establishment of the airline and defaming the name of the government and Ethiopian Airlines. At that time, we thought that if the Nigerian government doesn’t want it, the Nigerian public doesn’t want it, we could as well withdraw.

“But the Nigerian government insisted that no, that this is a strategic issue for Nigeria and we have to continue. When this group of people went to court, and brought a court order, we had to defend ourselves, we had to go to the court, together with the Nigerian government, including the Ministry of Transport.

“We had to defend ourselves. So, until now, it is not yet decided, as far as we know, it is under the court. But the Nigerian government insisted that we had to continue the background work until the court case gets decision.

“Nigeria Air was established before us; it is already established by the Nigerian government before we were invited. It has its own leadership, it was doing a lot of things, it had started requesting for the Air Operators’ Certificate (AOC), making preparations. So, when we came in, it was a matter of restructuring the ownership of that Nigeria Air. For your information, the logo was already defined by them, it was not by Ethiopian Airlines. And we thought that if Nigeria Air is established, the benefit will be for Nigerian public, for Nigerian government.

“Because when we talked to the Nigerian government, why do you want to set up a new airline? They said they don’t have dependable airlines within Nigeria and they wanted an airline that can provide dependable service that departs and arrives on time; that doesn’t cancel flights on the domestic market and also on the international market.

“The Nigerian government believes that airfares charged by foreign airlines are so high that the Nigerian public is at a disadvantage. So, the intention of the Nigerian government was to set up a very, very strong, reliable, dependable national carrier that services both the domestic market and the international. And we believe in it. that is why we wanted to move forward with it.”

Tasew said the federal government promised to get back to Ethiopian Airlines with a decision and the East African carrier agreed.

“In the first place, it was not our initiative, it was the initiative of the government. Now, if the government wants us to cancel the project, it is fine with us. We have no problem. If the government want us to continue with the project, the government has to solve the legal case in court. Otherwise, we are willing to support the Nigerian government in the establishment of the national carrier. So, we leave the decision to the Nigerian government.

“We have no issues; we will not be disappointed if it is cancelled. We are just there to help. And if the parties ask us to help, change their mind, change its strategy, we are fine with that. This is what we told the Minister; that we respect whatever decision of the Nigerian government.”


‘We’ve no intention to kill Nigerian airlines’

“But in our opinion, what has been said in the media is completely wrong. If we go there, our goal is not to kill Nigerian airlines, absolutely not. We have no intention of killing Nigerian airlines. Definitely we have to set up a reliable airline, we have to provide the service that fits the needs of the Nigerian public. In fact, they have to be strong.

“If these airlines cannot be strong, they cannot compete. If they cannot compete, then some of them can go out of business. It is not peculiar to air transport business, in any business where there is competition. The stronger ones will grow, the weak ones will get dwarfed.

“So, a strong airline will force the other airlines to revisit their efficiency. To revisit their operation, to provide more dependable service from which at the end of the day the Nigerian pubic will benefit. So, they said if Ethiopian Airlines comes, it will kill us, no. We have no intention of killing them but to provide good service. And some say no, they will come with all their old aircraft, no; that is wrong. We will come with good young airplanes.

“It may not just be brand new but airplanes like the (Boeing 737) MAX. In fact, hoping that the airline will materialize, we had signed lease agreement from Canada to lease three 737 MAX, which are one and half years old. They are brand new aircraft. Now, Nigeria said no we don’t need it,” he said.

The Senate has justified the purchase of 2023 model of the Toyota Landcruiser for members at the contract price of about N160 million each.

This is in addition to the bullet proof vehicles being purchased for Senate President Godswill Akpabio and his deputy, Barau Jibrin.

The move had generated heavy criticism, with some Nigerians lampooning the parliamentarians for being insensitive to the plight of Nigerians amid high cost of living.

The Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) said procuring SUVs for federal lawmakers was provocative at a time that most families can barely feed their members three square meals per day, and hospitals and roads are collapsing rapidly across the country.

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) asked the Federal High Court in Lagos to stop the National Assembly from procuring and taking delivery of exotic and bulletproof cars for members and principal officials pending the hearing and determination of the applications for injunction filed by the organization.

But the Red Chamber defended the purchase of the SUVs, saying lawmakers needed the vehicles for their operations.

Briefing reporters at the National Assembly, Abuja, the chairman, Committee on Senate services, Sunday Karimi (APC, Kogi) said the criticism was uncalled for as members of the other arms of government use similar vehicles.

He urged critics to beam their search light on ministers and members of state assemblies.

He said, “A minister has more than three land cruisers, Prado and other vehicles and you are not asking them questions, why us? The issue of buying vehicles for National Assembly members, you know it is a reoccurring issue. It occurs every assembly, it will always come up.

“If you got to state houses of assembly today, check out, most of them before they were even inaugurated, the governor would have bought vehicles for them even local government chairmen. I drove the vehicle my local government chairman uses. So, why National Assembly?

“These vehicles that you see, go to Nigerian roads today, If I go home once, my senatorial district, I come back spending a lot on my vehicles because our roads are bad.”

Karimi said the Senate settled for Toyota Landcruiser against a local product after a comparative of analysis of cost, technical issues and durability of Nigeria roads.

“We want something that we can maintain for another four years. It is not the decisions of the senators alone, we did an analysis before arriving at Land cruiser,” he said.

On the issue of cost, Karimi said, “When I came to the Senate, when they gave me their liability. They have a liability of over N16 billion that is made up of different thing including vehicles purchased for members of 7th, 8th and 9th assemblies.

“If you are a businessman and you supply vehicles for somebody in 2014 or 2015 or so and up till now they are owing you. I am not trying to defend anybody.

“If a Landcruiser in the market let say it is A cost, you don’t expect somebody that will supply it to supply it at the price they are selling it in the market.

“It has to leave a margin and the civil service rule for supply allows for 25% margin, plus 7.5% VAT. Out of that 25% margin, they will still remove 5% tax from it.

“You are telling someone to supply when the clients may even end up not making payment for three years and you want him to supply at the price they are selling in the market, it is not possible.”

Rev Oscar Mukahanana

A United Methodist Church Reverend identified as Oscar Mukahanana reportedly killed himself after his adultery scandal was leaked in the church’s WhatsApp group.

Reports revealed that Mukahanana was the Harare East District Superintendent in Zimbabwe, who engaged in an extra-marital affair with a female youth in the church.

The audio of his secret meeting and conversation with the lady leaked on WhatsApp group of the church.

He reportedly talked about how happy he was that he gave the girl a good session before her menstrual cycle.

After the audio leaked on the Whatsapp group, his church members subjected him to an object of mockery as they began to forward it to other groups.

Local media said they even created memes, ridiculing the District Superintendent over the adultery scandal.

Mukahanana who felt humiliated and embarrassed over the matter then commit suicide on Friday when he could not withstand the shame.

Confirming the death of the cleric, UMC Harare District said in a statement, “It is with heavy heart to announce to you the untimely death of our Beloveth District Superintendent Rev Oscar Mukahanana of the Harare East District.

“The Office of the Bishop shall be informing the church of developments and funeral arrangements. As a Church, you are being cordially requested to support the Mukahanana family through your prayers.”

Agency Report


The United States warned Monday that any Gaza ceasefire by Israel would benefit Hamas, as the European Union considers a call for a humanitarian pause.

A ceasefire would “give Hamas the ability to rest, to refit and to get ready to continue launching terrorist attacks against Israel,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

“You can understand perfectly clearly why that’s an intolerable situation for Israel, as it would be an intolerable situation for any country that has suffered such a brutal terrorist attack and continues to see the terrorist threat right on its border,” he said.

Miller said that the United States was separately working to ensure a flow of humanitarian relief into Gaza, with a US envoy, David Satterfield, on the ground working “intensively” on aid.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said earlier Monday that he expected the bloc’s leaders to back a call for a pause in fighting to let in aid.

“I believe that the idea of a humanitarian pause to facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid, which would allow displaced persons to find shelter, is something that the leaders will support,” Borrell said after talks with EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

By Daily Trust


The United States warned Monday that any Gaza ceasefire by Israel would benefit Hamas, as the European Union considers a call for a humanitarian pause.

A ceasefire would “give Hamas the ability to rest, to refit and to get ready to continue launching terrorist attacks against Israel,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

“You can understand perfectly clearly why that’s an intolerable situation for Israel, as it would be an intolerable situation for any country that has suffered such a brutal terrorist attack and continues to see the terrorist threat right on its border,” he said.

Miller said that the United States was separately working to ensure a flow of humanitarian relief into Gaza, with a US envoy, David Satterfield, on the ground working “intensively” on aid.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said earlier Monday that he expected the bloc’s leaders to back a call for a pause in fighting to let in aid.

“I believe that the idea of a humanitarian pause to facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid, which would allow displaced persons to find shelter, is something that the leaders will support,” Borrell said after talks with EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

Israel’s defence minister said Sunday that the war against Hamas could take “months” but insisted it would be the last against the Gaza militant group.

Yoav Gallant stepped up the war of words with Hamas as he spoke with forces gathered for an expected ground invasion of the Palestinian territory in response to the shock Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.

“It will take one month, two months, three months, and at the end there will be no more Hamas,” Gallant said at an air force base whose location was not given by the defence ministry.

“Before Hamas makes contact with our tanks and our infantry, they will know the shells from our air force.”

He added that Israel’s fighter jets “know how to make this precise, qualitative and mortal”.

“This should be the last war in Gaza, for the simple reason that there will be no more Hamas,” Gallant said.

Israel, which has repeatedly vowed to eradicate Hamas from Gaza, says its air raids target Hamas commanders and infrastructure.

The Hamas-run health ministry said Sunday that more than 4,600 people have been killed in the strikes so far, including 1,873 children.

The Hamas attacks across the border were the worst suffered by Israel since its creation, leaving some 1,400 dead.

Hamas fighters and Israeli forces engaged in limited clashes inside Gaza on Sunday as the Israeli military ramped up airstrikes on the Palestinian enclave ahead of what it described as the “next stage” of its war on the militant group.

Hamas claimed its fighters had destroyed two Israeli military bulldozers and a tank in an ambush near the Gazan city of Khan Younis, forcing Israeli troops to retreat without their vehicles. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed its forces had been operating inside Gaza during the incident, and said an IDF tank struck militants who had fired on its troops.

The episode appeared to be one of the first skirmishes between the two sides on the ground inside the strip since war broke out after Hamas’ deadly October 7 attack on Israel, which killed more than 1,400 people. On October 13, the IDF said it had carried out raids inside Gaza.

Sunday’s clashes came as the IDF prepares for a potential ground operation in Gaza, amassing huge numbers of troops at the border and pounding the densely populated enclave with near-constant airstrikes in the last two weeks.

Officials at several hospitals in Gaza said they were overwhelmed with casualties on Sunday, with one describing a “bloody day” and another hospital scaling back dialysis treatments amid electricity and fuel shortages.

More than 4,600 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s retaliation for the Hamas attack began two weeks ago, the Gazan health ministry said.

Sources in Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza said there had been five air-strikes as of Sunday morning. Videos showed the hospital receiving over a dozen bodies wrapped in shrouds, while grieving family members try to identify them.

It has become the practice for parents in Gaza to write their children’s names on their legs to help identify them, should either they or the children be killed.

CNN filmed a toddler and three children who had been killed, with their names written in Arabic on their calves. All four were seen lying on stretchers placed on the floor in an overfilled room.

With the hospital’s morgue full, some bodies are being kept in the surrounding grounds, while wounded people, including children, line the corridors.

Jide Orintunsin, Abuja


The Kogi State government on Sunday said security foiled an assassination attempt on the state governor, Yahaya Bello, a few kilometres away from Abuja, on his way to an official engagement from Lokoja.

A statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Kingsley Fanwo in Abuja said the attack occurred at about 4 p.m. on Sunday, October 22, 2023.

He said: “The attackers who were dressed in military uniforms waylaid the Governor’s convoy and started shooting sporadically at his vehicle and other vehicles in the convoy. It took the swift intervention of the security personnel attached to the Governor to foil the satanic plans of the unknown soldiers.

“The attacks were at three different points, the last barricade being around Kwali Federal Capital Territory at about 4.20 pm.”

Fanwo further said these strange attacks have been properly documented at security offices in the state and at the national level for prompt and thorough investigations to avert future occurrences.

The Commissioner, in the statement, fingered some unidentified elements who are bent on painting Kogi unsafe ahead of the Governorship election slated for November 11, 2023.

He however said the government “will spare nothing to ensure our citizens are not subjected to security threats by desperate politicians sponsoring violence and terrorism.

Fanwo added: “We call on the citizens to remain vigilant and report suspicious movements in the domain to relevant security agencies. It is the responsibility of the Government to ensure security and we want to assure you that the peace we have enjoyed as a state in the last eight years won’t be lost on the altar of violent politics.”

Since then, more than 4,300 Palestinians, mainly civilians, have been killed in relentless Israeli bombardments, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Israeli troops on Saturday raided the West Bank home of a senior Hamas leader and detained members of his family, witnesses said.

Saleh al-Aruri is the deputy to Hamas’ overall leader, Ismail Haniyeh, and one of the founders of the Islamist group’s military wing.

Based in Lebanon, he is a key target for Israel following the October 7 attacks when Hamas militants from Gaza stormed into southern Israel and killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and seized more than 200 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

Since then, more than 4,300 Palestinians, mainly civilians, have been killed in relentless Israeli bombardments, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Troops entered Aruri’s home in Arura village, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of Ramallah, at dawn on Saturday, arresting more than 20 people, including one of his brothers and nine of his nephews, mayor Ali al-Khasib and witnesses told AFP.

Dozens more were pulled in for questioning.

Outside the house, troops put up a banner of the Hamas deputy against the background of an Israeli flag that read: “This was the house of Saleh Aruri and has become the headquarters of Abu al-Nimer — Israeli intelligence”, witnesses said, with images of it widely shared online.

Village residents said Abu al-Nimer was an alias for the Israeli intelligence officer responsible for the area.

In a statement, the army said the raid was jointly staged with the Shin Beth internal security service and resulted in the arrests of “dozens of Hamas members” among them relatives of Aruri. It confirmed using the house “for the detention and questioning of activists”.

Israel has accused Aruri, who was named Haniyeh’s deputy in 2017, of organising several attacks.

He spent almost 20 years in Israeli prisons and was freed in 2010 on condition that he go into exile.

Since the Gaza conflict erupted, dozens of people have been killed in incidents with Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.

Written by Patrick Ochoga


The Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, has frowned at a dance by a groom, Izoduwa Imasuen, at his traditional wedding ceremony in which the groom and his men danced and twirled the traditional Eben (Royal Scepter).

The wedding ceremony, which was captured in a video that has gone viral on the social media, has incurred the wrath of the revered monarch, for undermining the age-long tradition of the Benin Kingdom.

The Oba, in a statement dated October 18, 2023, and signed by the Esere of Benin, Chief S. O. Obamwonyi, described the action of the celebrants as an abomination, aberration and a distortion of Benin traditional marriage processes and procedures.

He warned that only chieftaincy title-holders are traditionally allowed to twirl the Eben while paying homage to the Oba of Benin, and it’s never a part of wedding ceremony.

The statement read: “The attention of the Benin Traditional Council has been drawn to a recent traditional marriage ceremony of one Izoduwa Imasuen which took place on 26th August, 2023.

“It was observed that during the marriage ceremony, Izoduwa Imasuen and his groom’s men were twirling the traditional Eben while dancing during the marriage ceremony.

“The general public should note that this act by lzoduwa Imasuen is an abomination, aberration and a distortion of Benin traditional marriage processes and procedures.

“The twirling of Eben in Benin customs and tradition is by chieftaincy title holders while paying homage to the Oba of Benin. Twirling of Eben is never a part of marriage ceremony.

“The Palace of the Oba of Benin condemns this act by lzoduwa Imasuen and his groom’s men in all ramifications.

“His Roya! Majesty, Oba of Benin has instructed the Ewaise group to place a curse on all those that are undermining and bringing into frivolities and disrepute our highly valued age-long tradition.

“The general public especially those that are planning traditional marriages should endeavour to stick to the acceptable customs and tradition, and avoid bastardization and self-imposed curses.”

The Israeli Army said on Friday that most of the hostages being held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant Palestinian organisation are still alive.

However, the army did not say where they got the information and it cannot be independently verified.

Tensions have been particularly high in the wake of bloody attacks and massacres in Israel on Oct. 7 carried out by Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organisation by the European Union, the United States and Israel.

About 203 hostages are being held in the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave, including more than 20 children and teenagers, according to Israeli military sources.

Between 10 and 20 hostages are elderly people over 60, it said.

Between 100 to 200 people are still missing since the unprecedented attack getting to two weeks ago.

Labour Party lawmakers in the National Assembly have ignored the advice of the party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure, not to be a part of the luxury official vehicles being planned for legislators.

Abure had, in a statement on Monday, said the National Assembly leadership was planning to buy a Sport Utility Vehicle worth N160m for each lawmaker.

Abure, who described the alleged plan as insensitive and condemnable given the dire economic situation in the country, urged lawmakers elected on the platform of the Labour Party not to be a part of the profligate spending.

But when asked on Thursday whether LP lawmakers would do as Abure said, the lawmaker representing Delta Aniocha North and South, Ngozi Okolie, said Abure’s demands were unrealistic particularly because he had yet to provide them with alternatives to carry out their jobs.

The LP lawmaker said, “The SUVs are meant to aid our jobs as lawmakers, particularly as it relates to our oversight functions.

“Yes, he can say that the economy is struggling but having one official vehicle as federal lawmakers isn’t frivolous; it’s a necessity.”

Okolie noted that Nigerians were quick to attack lawmakers over things like this whereas politicians at the state level get more benefits than federal lawmakers.

He said, “Commissioners and House of Assembly members get up to two to three of such cars whereas National Assembly members are only getting one car each, yet he (Abure) is complaining and telling us not to collect it. Does he have any to give to us?

“Is he going to give us work tools to carry out our jobs or does he have an alternative for us? Has Abure told the members in his state in Edo, not to take the official vehicles given to them?”

The lawmaker further argued that it was cheaper to buy those vehicles than hire one every time they needed to go on an oversight.

Similarly, the lawmaker representing Igbo Etiti and Uzo-Uwani constituencies in Enugu State, Stainless Nwodo, said President Bola Tinubu deserved commendation for approving such vehicles for lawmakers.

Nwodo said, “National Assembly members should pray for the President and give him three ‘Gbosas’ for his magnanimity to the lawmakers.

“Nobody in the National Assembly is against the SUV, when the SUV comes, we will collect it and use it to bring more benefits to our constituencies; because in the real sense, it is for the constituents.”

The lawmaker added, “I don’t want to believe the chairman of the party said so, because did he give us any vehicle to do our jobs?

“Attributing his reason to economic hardship is pure blackmail. In the first instance, the vehicle is for each constituency, not the personal vehicle for the members.

“Also, we need these SUVs to ply the bad roads in our constituencies when we need to visit them and deliver goodies to them. This is why the Speaker and the Senate President decided that SUVs are better to visit our constituencies.

“My own stance is that I will take the SUV and use it to deliver dividends to my constituents.”

On his part, the lawmaker representing Edo South Senatorial District, Neda Imasuen, said he would wait for the vehicles to arrive before making a decision.

Senator Imasuen said, “I’d urge you to wait until that happens, then we will revisit the issue. I wouldn’t want to count my chickens before they hatch.

“Labour Party has eight senators out of 109 and about 35 in the House of Representatives out of 360. So, I don’t know if it would make any difference if the lawmakers in the party take it or not.

“I don’t think telling them to take or reject would make any difference, I don’t think it would affect anything.

“Having said that, we haven’t been given any vehicle yet, but they said they would give.”

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has cautioned resident doctors in Abuja against threatening to embark on industrial action.

Wike said he would not pay doctors who embark on strike while he’s a minister, adding that he’s ready to contend with them in court.

Addressing resident doctors, Wike said he would make more money when they embark on industrial action.

“Make your recommendations, and we will see the ones we can do and those we can’t do. Don’t threaten me with a strike because I don’t like it. When you go on strike, I save money; even if you come back, I won’t pay; we will determine it in court.

“It’s not about promises but the reality on ground, I don’t believe in theory,” Wike said.

Recently, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, have been on-and-off industrial actions due to the Federal Government’s failure to meet its demands.

The doctors’ demands, among many others, include the immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), tangible steps on the “upward review” of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), and payment of all salary arrears owed its members since 2015.

The doctors also want the immediate massive recruitment of clinical staff in the hospitals and the abolishment of the bureaucratic limitations to the immediate replacement of doctors and nurses who leave the system.

They also want the immediate review of hazard allowance by all the state governments as well as private tertiary health institutions where any form of residency training is done.

Nigeria still has a long way to go in recovering from the slump in foreign exchange inflows into the economy as the country is projected to suffer further decline.

A new report by PWC said the decline in global trade growth may also adversely affect Nigeria’s trade balance in addition to FX inflows.

Nigeria currently battles to meet forex obligations despite the floating of naira, which has further widened disparity between the official and the parallel market.

The exchange rate between the naira and dollar further devalued on Tuesday at the Investors & Exporters (I&E FX Window) selling at N848/$ according to data from FMDQ website before closing at N775 on Wednesday.

At the parallel market, the dollar exchanged for N1,100, according to checks by our correspondent at a popular parallel market in Lagos.

Amidst this worsening dollar crisis, there are fears the worst is yet to come as the PWC report suggests.

It would be recalled that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report last week indicated that importation of foreign currencies into Nigeria dropped to $1bn in the second quarter of 2023.

The NBS in the report titled, Nigeria Capital Importation Q2 2023, said the figure was a 32.9 per cent lower when compared to the $1.535bn paid into the Nigerian economy during the same period in the second quarter of 2022 and down by 9.04 percent from the 1.13bn in Q1 2023.

But PWC in its Nigerian Economic Outlook for the month of October stated that decline in global trade growth may adversely affect Nigeria’s trade balance and FX inflows.

According to the report, remittance flows to low and middle-income countries are expected to remain resilient but slow to $656 billion (2022: $647 billion), which represents growth of 1.4% by 2023 compared to 8% growth in 2022.

The slow growth is due to the softening of economic activity in remittance source countries, limiting employment and wage gains for migrants. Remittance flows to Sub-Saharan Africa in 2022 was largely driven by strong remittance growth in Tanzania (25%), Rwanda (21%), Uganda (17%), Ghana (12%), and Kenya (8.5%).

“Though remittances to Nigeria accounted for 38% of the total flows to the region, it increased by only 3.3% to $20.1billion.

The report further observed that there has been a rise in the inflows of FX from autonomous or non-CBN sources, which has led to the widening divergence between the official and parallel market rates.

It said, “Since 2007, the FX inflows from autonomous sources exceeded inflows from the CBN. The implication of official interventions may not accurately reflect the market demand and supply dynamics as annual inflows are skewed towards unofficial sources.”

The report further pointed out that the sustained rise in public debt may negatively affect the country’s credit ratings, subsequently increasing the cost of borrowing.

“The rise in Nigeria’s public debt to N87.4 trillion in Q2 2023 could be attributed to the impact of securitisation of ways & means, and the naira devaluation.

“Foreign suppliers may not accept letters of credit amid unsettled $7 billion FX obligations to domestic lenders. This may lead to less imports of the much-needed inputs and goods for manufacturing and retail/wholesale trade, which may heighten inflationary pressures and negatively impact GDP growth.

“Nigeria debt service to revenue ratio increased to 96% in 2022 raising concerns about its widening fiscal deficit, high debt servicing to revenue and rising debt to GDP ratios.”

The report highlighted five suggestions, which include Boosting of Investors’ Confidence – Clear Nigeria FX Management Story; Manage for flexibility and shocks – withstand external shocks with a pocket of sequenced policy execution; Short-term fix to enhance foreign exchange liquidity; Deepening of financial markets and Longer term sectoral policy to maximise exports or deepen domestic consumption.

Director/CEO, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf in a chat with our correspondent yesterday said it will take time before Nigeria recovers from the drop in capital importation.

He said, “You know a lot of things have gone wrong and some of those things that have gone wrong are very fundamental and they have badly affected the confidence of investors and you know when confidence is broken, it takes time to regain it back.

“The way out is what the government has been trying to do, first to clear the backlog of foreign exchange obligations and the maturing obligations, the outstanding letters of credits and the currency swaps. Because if you don’t clear those backlogs, it would be sending very bad signals to other investors across the world and they would not bring their money no matter what you do.”

He said Nigeria must scale up efforts to earn foreign exchange, adding that Nigeria must also reduce importation of petroleum products, which he said is putting a lot of pressure on the nation’s foreign exchange.

There was laughter in the Senate on Wednesday when the Senate President Godswill Akpabio told acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, not to use him a[/b]s an example in anti-corruption fight.

Olukoyede, who appeared before the Senate for screening on Wednesday, had cited Akpabio’s name as an example in his presentation on investigating a graft case but suddenly stopped when he realised the mood of lawmakers in the Chamber.
[b]
“If we are investigating the Senate President for example…” Olukoyede said, prompting lawmakers to burst into laughter.

The laughter became louder when Akpabio told the EFCC nominee not to cite his name as an example in the investigation of a corruption case.

Akpabio said, “I’m very glad that the nominee wants to use the Senate President as an example. But Mr nominee, leave the Senate President for now, look at this direction (pointing at the seats of opposition lawmakers).”

Mr Olukoyede, after the loud laughter, continued his speech without mentioning anyone’s name, saying “If you are fighting corruption, you become the enemy of everybody.”

Akpabio has a N108.1 billion alleged theft of funds case before the anti-graft agency.

The commission commenced investigation of the former Akwa Ibom governor after a petition by an Abuja-based lawyer and activist, Leo Ekpenyong.

The EFCC had detained Akpabio over alleged fraud, but he has consistently maintained innocence.

By Adewale Sanyaolu

There are strong indications that the December production date for the commencement of operations at the Port Harcourt refinery may eventually not be achieved as Daily Sun findings have revealed.

The Port Harcourt refinery has been undergoing rehabilitation works since 2019 when NNPCL first awarded a $50 million contract to Tecnimont SPA and Tecnimont Nigeria Ltd (TNL) to carry out total integrity check and equipment inspections of the complex.

This was followed by the full backing of the Federal Government in 2021 when the Federal Executive Council(FEC) awarded contract for a project sum of $1.5 billion.

In August, Group CEO, NNPC Limited, Mr. Mele Kyari, in company of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, his counterpart , Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo; and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ambassador Gabriel T. Aduda, had said during an inspection tour of the rehabilitation work that considering the level of progress recorded in the PHRC rehabilitation project, the plant will come back on stream by December this year.

Leader of the Concerned Youth of Eleme, Mr. Johnson Emere Mba-Ngie, in a telephone interview yesterday, lamented that several petitions written to the Senate, House of Reps, Army and NNPC over gross violation of the Local Content Act were not responded to.

Ngei said section five of the Community Guidelines of the Local Content Act, being implemented by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), especially in the area of employment, has been grossly violated.

He said a project engaging over 3,000 workers was meant to have a community liaison office but never had one because less than 100 community were engaged on the project.

Ngie said the December deadline was a ruse as the series of protests by community youths will continue to impact the project delivery date

He further alleged that the community was being shortchanged as job slots were being sold from N200,000 to N2 million depending on the position.

Ngei disclosed that the community had already staged three protests but the company remained adamant, especially as the contractors, Tecnimont, a subsidiary of Italy’s Maire Tecnimont.

In a similar vein, an Eleme community youth leader, Mr. Ken Eppie, told Daily Sun in a telephone interview yesterday, that due to issues around host community hostilities among other challenges, early hopes of the refinery coming on stream in December was not feasible. He alleged that the original builders of the refinery and the major contractor handing the rehabilitation works, Maire Tecnimont SPA, Eni SPA (a subsidiary of Nigerian Agip Oil Company) had in its wisdom decided to marginalise the community by not engaging the youths for some non-core technical aspect of the job. He said less than 0.01 per cent of youths in Eleme were considered for jobs in the refinery, a development which he said is a violation of the Local Content Act.

He explained that the youths have staged more than two protests to register its displeasure over the marginalization of the youths.

“Some sub-contractors have not been working. They were brought in to connect pipes but the pipes on ground did not match specifications. They have a valve or an elbow joint for, let’s say, 40 inches that ordinarily should be fitted by another 40 inches pipe, but they have 20 inches pipes. This is the situation as I speak with you but somebody will just address the media that the refinery will start in two months,” a source said.

A former refinery manager of Warri and Kaduna refineries, Engr Babajide Soyode, had said he has issues with the NNPC over the work being done at the Port Harcourt refinery.

Soyode in a keynote address at the 6th international conference organised by the Centre for Gas, Refining, and Petrochemicals (CGRP) of the University of Port Harcourt demanded for handover of the refineries to private hands and never to import modular refinery units but to rather fabricate the components locally.

He insisted that the rehabilitation work going on and gulping billions of dollars would not yield standard grade of petroleum.

He said: “That is why I quarrel with the NNPC rehabilitation. It is a waste of money. The refinery cannot meet specification because what they produce has a lot of Sulphur. Dangote in Lagos will produce its own specification. It means two grades will be in the market.

“The Port Harcourt product will have a lot of Sulphur. You can’t run your car well in your truck with that grade.”

Rejecting rehabilitation instead of upgrade which would come at the same amount, the expert described what is happening as; “Atrophy of industrial imagination,” regretting that “our imagination is dead.”

John Alechenu, Abuja


After a tense Senate session which culminated in a closed session, Vanguard has learnt late on Tuesday, that flayed nerves were calm during the closed session.

This, it was learnt followed the decision of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio to offer explanations while having the relevant sections of the Senate rules read out to put the matter in proper perspective.

A source privy to what transpired behind closed doors told Vanguard that although the ugly incident was tabled “by one or two Senators, “ the matter was subsequently resolved after Senators went through provisions of the rule book.

The source who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter for fear of retribution, said, “It was mere coincidence that Senator Ndume stepped out at the time we decided to have a closed session.

“The closed session was not accidental , we had planned to hold it to discuss details of logistics for our retreat holding in Uyo, beginning from tomorrow after plenary.

“We had to discuss when and where we will meet for the trip as well as executive communications from the President preparatory to taking the matter on the floor.”

Pressed for further details about the executive communication, the source said, “Its about the confirmation of the Chief Executive of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC nothing unusual.

“You see, we look at these and other similar issues before going public during plenary.

“There is no crisis as is being speculated, Senator Ndume who went out came back in and took part in the closed session, if he truly staged a walk out, he would not have returned.

“Besides, no part of our rules says Senators cannot step out either to ease themselves of attend to something during sittings.”

Senator Ndume could however not be reached for comments as he left the Senate chambers soon after the days sitting.

By Muhammad Bukar


In a surprising turn of events, the Kano State Police Command has trained and converted 50 hardened criminals to Police Constables.

The idea behind the development, according to investigations by DAILY POST, was to use the repentant criminals against their colleagues who have refused to repent and shun criminal activities.

The Commissioner of Police, CP, Mohammed Usaini Gumel, while addressing the 50 selected repentant thugs drawn from Dala, Fagge, Ungogo, Municipal and Gwale LGAs of Kano State, upon the completion of the two-month in-take training as members of the Nigeria Police Special Constabulary, noted that they were lucky for deciding to turn a new leaf.

Addressing the men, the CP said, “Today is a happy day for the good people of Kano State and the Police Command because we passed out fifty youths from the two hundred and twenty-two repentant thugs who have since surrendered themselves and promised never to engage in thuggery activities (Fadan Daba) and other social vices that have been bedevilling the state especially during the 2nd quarter of the year 2023.”

He further recalled that about three months earlier, the Police Command invited some identified individuals believed to be behind the escalation of thuggery (Fadan Yan Daba) and other heinous crimes in the state for dialogue.

A total of 222 repentant thugs were received, he said.

The CP added, “We have forwarded their details to the State Governor during our friendly football match with them at Sani Abacha Stadium Kofar Mata, Kano, for them to be supported by way of engaging them in some life-changing programs.

“It is from this number that fifty (50) volunteered to work with the Police and to contribute to the security and development of the state.

“Taking into consideration their commitment to ensuring peace in the state since their repentance, we trained them in classes and the field and kitted them as members of the Special Constabulary.

“Today, they proved to us that the security of Kano is their concern and they will not allow any insecurity elements to jeopardize the peace being enjoyed in the state.”

Gumel appreciated the supervising officers of the Command for their efforts in crime fighting and further urged them to continue with community policing engagements with key stakeholders in their areas of responsibilities.

He reiterated that any officer who cannot inspire public confidence or gain people’s trust was not fit for any sensitive office, and further charged the supervising officers to redouble their efforts as the reward of good work is more work.

The CP, in the same vein, directed the officers to work closely with members of the Police Special Constabulary posted back to their communities.

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and officers of the Nigeria Police Force have engaged in a physical tussle over the arrest of a police Inspector’s wife allegedly caught with a bag of Cannabis Sativa and other illicit drugs.

SaharaReporters gathered that the incident happened around 11am on Monday inside A Division police station in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.

According to multiple sources, the wife of the police inspector was arrested while distributing the marijuana from her husband’s car, an ash Volkswagen parked inside the station.

However, when the NDLEA operatives moved to take her away with the vehicle, some policemen challenged them and it led to a fight.

“A police Inspector's wife was arrested by NDLEA yesterday inside A division in Kogi. Bags of cannabis sativa, an ash Volkswagen belonging to her husband were recovered. However, her husband’s police colleagues clashed with the NDLEA officers until their boss came in,” a source told SaharaReporters.

Another source added, “It happened at A division police post. The husband parked the car in front his office. His wife was arrested while distributing the cannabis sativa. However, some policemen tried to stop the NDLEA officers from carrying out their lawful duty until the situation was calmed by the Assistant Commissioner of Police heading the division.

“The woman and her husband’s car containing the bags of weeds and other illicit drugs were later taken to NDLEA office in Lokoja for further investigation. She has so far admitted to the act. The question is; who were her customers inside a police station?”

The NDLEA operatives have in the past arrested several top police officers for drug crimes in the country.

Of note was the arrest of suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, and three others for drug offences, whose trial is still ongoing.

SaharaReporters earlier in the year reported that at the court on Kyari’s case, although the prosecution had previously called witnesses, the lead prosecuting lawyer stated that the current set of witnesses needed to be protected because their identities could not be revealed to the public.

Although some lawyers who had cases in court objected to the decision, the judge asked for their patience.

Uju Kennedy-Ohaneye, minister of women affairs, has threatened to sue the United Nations (UN) for allegedly mismanaging funds meant for Nigeria.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Monday, Kennedy-Ohaneye accused the UN of obtaining funds on behalf of the country without remitting them.

The minister said if the global body does not furnish her ministry with the necessary records on or before November 15, she would take legal action.

“I stand here as the minister of women affairs to demand from the UN, the account of all the monies they sourced from donors in Nigeria’s name. We want to see the account of what they did,” she said.

“If you don’t give us this account, at least let Nigerians see what is going on, then you [UN] apologise to them.

“From 16th of October to November 15, if we don’t get those reports for Nigerians to see, we are heading to court. [They have] from 16th October to November 8.

“They will get our pre-action letter that is to prepare that by 15th we are heading to court and I am promising Nigerians that by 15th you will hear the lawsuit number.”

The minister did not state the specific amount the UN allegedly took on behalf of Nigeria or what the funds were meant for.

Human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, has declared that the appointment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission chairmen from the same geopolitical zone is unlawful and against the Federal Character Principle.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria made the declaration during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Monday.

According to Falana, if the chairman of the EFCC is from the northern region, then the chairman of the ICPC should be appointed from the southern region.

The recently appointed chairman of EFCC, Mr Ola Olukoyede and the ICPC Chairman, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye are both from the South-West geopolitical zone.

Condemning Tinubu’s appointment of Olukoyede as EFCC chairman who is also from the South-West just like the current ICPC chairman, Falana said, “There is no issue; the only issue that has been raised has to be considered by the government is that we have in this country, the Federal Character Commission Act and also by the virtue of Section 14 of the constitution, appointments must reflect Federal Character.

“If you are going to have the EFCC and the ICPC, the heads cannot come from same zone. If there are two positions in the public service, one must go to the North, and one must go to the South. If there are four, two must go to the South, and two must go to the North. If there are six, one must go to each geopolitical zone. That is the law in Nigeria today.”

He added that though Olukoyede is very much qualified to head the EFCC, he (Falana) is not comfortable with the fact that the heads of both anti-graft agencies are from the South-West geopolitical zone.

“So, I am not comfortable with the fact that the heads of the EFCC and the ICPC are from the same zone. Apart from that, Mr Ola Olukoyede is eminently qualified to head the EFCC. My colleagues who have criticised the appointment have not looked at the relevant provisions of the EFCC which is Section 2”, he submitted.

Recall that on October 12, 2023, the President, Bola Tinubu appointed Mr Olukoyede as the new EFCC chairman amid controversies.

Mr Olukoyede’s appointment followed the controversial resignation of embattled ex-EFCC chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, who was suspended on June 14, 2023 and detained by the Department of State Services over allegations of abuse of office.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has narrated how he was stuck for hours on the Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta expressway as a result of bad road.

The Senate President said this at the grand finale of the Yewa Cultural Festival in Ilaro in the Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State this weekend.

Akpabio, who was accompanied by 70 senators to the event, said he insisted on driving to the venue for him to have first-hand experience of what people go through on the road everyday, adding that it took his team more than two hours to drive to Ilaro from Lagos.

He said: “When I was coming, I decided to pass through the Lagos-Abeokuta, Papalanto-Ilaro road to experience the pain you people are facing on the road.

“I spent about two hours in traffic along Papalanto-Ilaro road because two tankers fell on the road. I really sympathise with you. I went through what you people are passing through on daily basis.

“I am giving Governor Abiodun the Senate support in rehabilitation of these important roads.

“I was determined to go through the road that you go through. Now, I have seen what you have been seeing. From today, I prophesy that your roads are done.

“Yewaland has the greatest number of industries that local government can ever have in Nigeria, just five local governments.

“Therefore, we recognise the need to use the best set of contractors to do your roads because of the wear and tear. I assure you that we will be working with our brother, Dapo Abiodun. Your lives will not be the same again.

“The 10th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is going to get the list of things you want us to do here.”

Akpabio, who was conferred with the chieftaincy title of ‘Fiwagboye’ of Yewaland by the Yewa Traditional Council, further called on youths in Yewaland and the state to stay off drugs and other fraudulent activities, assuring them that their lives would be better when they stayed clean.

On his part, Governor Abiodun pleaded with the Senate to prevail on the Federal Government to transfer the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta Road to the state, saying it is import to the socio-economic development of the state.

The governor said it took him three hours to drive from Abeokuta to Ilaro, noting that efforts made by the state to ensure the transfer of the road did not yield any positive results.

Abiodun said his administration is currently concluding discussions on the reconstruction of the Abeokuta-Olorunda-Imeko and the Abeokuta-Iborro-Ilaro roads.

He said: “I also want to announce to you that I am currently concluding discussions with the Minister of Works on the reconstruction of the Abeokuta-Olorunda-Imeko road and the completion of the Abeokuta-Iborro-Ilaro road. This will complement the Imasayi-Iborro-Ayetoro road.

“Mr Senate President, it took me three hours to get here from Abeokuta. I am sure it took you just as much to get here from Lagos because of the deplorable state of Lagos-Abeokuta Road. Mr Senate President, please help us with the Federal Government to transfer this road to us. This road is very key to our socio-economic economic development.”

The Israeli military said Saturday that the bodies of some hostages abducted by Hamas militants had been found during operations inside Gaza this week.

“We have found and located some bodies in the perimeter in the Gaza Strip of Israelis that were abducted,” a military spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, told a briefing.

Israel says that at least 120 people were abducted when Hamas fighters launched attacks inside Israel on October 7 that left at least 1,300 dead.

The Israeli military has since staged “localised” raids inside Gaza to back an air onslaught on the territory that the Hamas government says has left at least 2,215 dead.

Lerner said the bodies of hostages were found on these “small, close-perimeter raids into the Gaza Strip”.

The Israeli military has carried out air raids on thousands of Hamas targets in Gaza, the spokesman said.

“They include quality targets such as drone facilities, they include naval facilities, they include command and control facilities, they include all of the rocket facilities,” Lerner said.

“Our assessment suggests that at this time Hamas are in a state of disarray, they have no idea what the situation is above ground, they have escaped into the tunnels.”

Government officials also indicated that more time would be given for civilians to leave the north of the territory ahead of an expected full-scale ground offensive.

Lerner did not say there is a deadline to leave north Gaza but told the briefing: “We have extended once again because we realised that there is a huge amount of people that need to get out. We are continuing to encourage the population in the north of the Gaza Strip and Gaza City to go south and get out of harm’s way.”

Foreign ministry spokesman Lior Haiat told the briefing that Israel is not demanding that Palestinians leave Gaza but just to get out of the north.

“We gave them (civilians) the time to do so and we will continue to give civilians time to leave the places that we think Hamas is using for its terrorist infrastructure,” Haiat said.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has been appointed as the Chairman of the African Governors’ Forum of the World Bank.

The African Governors’ Forum is a platform for African finance ministers and central bank governors to engage with the World Bank on issues of mutual interest.

The African Caucus was established in 1963 to strengthen the voice of African Governors.

A statement by the Federal Ministry of Finance on its official X (formerly Twitter) account, said that this marks the first time Nigeria has assumed the role of Chairman in 60 years.

It said: ‘’World Bank Appointment: Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Mr. Wale Edun has been appointed to Chair the African Governors’ Forum of the World Bank.

“This marks the first time Nigeria has assumed the role of Chairman in 60 years.

‘’The appointment presents a unique opportunity for Nigeria and the implementation of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.’’

According to the IMF’s guiding principles for the caucus, the forum’s Chairman is determined by rotation based on the alphabetical order of African countries.

This system ensures that each country takes its turn to lead the group, preventing one nation from chairing the forum twice while others have yet to assume the role.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, might be inching closer to joining the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) following a meeting between his loyalists within APC and the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party led by Dr. Abdulahi Ganduje.

Recently the media was awash with reports that Wike would soon join APC.

Nevertheless, the news of Wike’s impending arrival did not go down well with the faction of the party loyal to a former Governor of Rivers State and the immediate past Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, who immediately kicked against it.

However, the ruling party recently included the name of Wike in the campaign council for the Bayelsa state governorship election slated for November 11, which further gave credence to his planned defection to the ruling party. Alhough the party later retracted.

But the meeting between the leadership of APC Rivers State and the NWC was held at the national secretariat yesterday in Abuja.

The delegation led by Tony Okocha, a former Chief of Staff to Amaechi told Ganduje that whenever they wanted to be considered for appointments, the party should contact Wike who he described as the “political infantry” in the state.

Okocha expressed dismay that a faction of the party in Rivers State led by Tonye Cole and Dakuku Peterside recently paid courtesy visit to the NWC, lobbying for political appointments despite working against the party.

He alleged that prior to the election, Amaechi called a meeting where he informed them that he had struck a deal with the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and directed them to vote the PDP against the party’s candidate, Bola Tinubu.

Okocha said: “In Rivers State, the leader of the slant which Cole and Dakuku, et al, belonged, had helmed up alliances with the PDP Presidential Candidate, HE, Atiku Abubakar. Atiku and not Tinubu should be voted for in the presidential election.

“This wicked resolve against the APC in Rivers was openly announced in a meeting at the instance of the leader at his private residence in Port Harcourt, thickly attended by Mr. Cole, Dakuku, Chukwudi Dimkpa, et al, members of the innermost caucus.

“It was handed down that Tinubu must fail in Rivers State. They were mandated to transport to their supporters in the 6,868 polling units, 319 wards and 23 local government areas in Rivers State.

“We have pictorial, visual and individual testimonies to this. So, how did they contribute to the party’s presidential victory in Rivers State and unable to deliver their members who contested National Assembly elections on the same day?”

Okocha said since 1999, PDP had always won both the presidential and governorship elections back to back in Rivers State.

He added: “How did APC win the presidential election in Rivers State, while the PDP won 13 out of 15 federal constituencies in Rivers State, losing one to the APC and One to the Labour Party?

“How did the PDP win all three Senatorial seats in Rivers State? How did PDP trounce the APC to a distant second position in the governorship election in Rivers State?

“What magic could have made it impossible for the PDP not to win the Presidential Election in Rivers State, even after Amaechi, et al, voted for the PDP in their units and wards?”

Okocha therefore, challenged them to show the results of the Presidential election in their various polling units when next they come to the party secretariat.

He noted that their incessant visits to the National Secretariat of the party smack of sinister motives, saying otherwise, why should the essence of their visits, not bother on how the fragmented APC Rivers would be rebuilt.

According to him, why the rush to Abuja, assuming there are skirmishes in APC Rivers to resolve? Is the Rivers State APC chapter in controversy with the National APC? Why is the knack for benefits palpable in their presentations?

Okocha maintained that they never supported the party nor were they sincere in their hearts to be happy that President Tinubu made it to the presidency.

He stated: “Mr. Chairman, we summarise that the only group in APC Rivers State legitimate to seek compensation for the victory of APC/Tinubu in RIvers State, is the one here.

“Please contact us for our dues and appointments through the leader of the Political infantry in Rivers State, who is serving in the Federal Cabinet presently.”

Responding, Ganduje urged the political actors in the state not to overheat the polity.

He noted that the travails of APC in Rivers started in 2015 when the party had a government and lost a government.

Ganduje said: “I could recall vividly that the governor said at that time, people should not go out for voting some few hours before voting because he complained of intimidation.

“We said how can a ruling government prevent his people to go out and vote. I said no doubt we have lost this election? Because whatever you do, you didn’t even go to vote, then how do you claim that you have won the election?

“That was the beginning of the travail, i don’t want to go into details. Because you have mentioned more than the details I know.”

The chairman admitted that the party in Rivers State was highly fictionalised, that is a fact about it.

Ganduje noted, “Our party in River State is highly fictionalized, that is a fact about it. Our party in Rivers state was killed by litigations, that one is a fact.

“And one important question that you asked. How come we won the presidential election and lost the state election? You said that was a miracle. Yes, if you say a miracle, there must be a messiah.”

The chairman commended the faction for working for the party during the election, saying without them, Tinubu could not have become the president of this country.

Ganduje noted: “But what we are saying, yes, there is confusion in the party, but we don’t want members to overheat the system. We are focused, we are organised, we work scientifically in politics.

“And therefore, give us an enabling environment, give us a chance so that we can put a round peg in a round hole, square peg in a square hole, so that we maintain our dignity as a party.

“We have to capitalise on what we have, we have to capitalise on the fact that we have won the national election in River State. We are not expecting anything less again, but give us a chance to see how we can have both the states and the national election together.

“Whatever it is, we have received your address and the party will come in and see how we can get a solid party leadership so that we can move forward. But what we are begging, do not to overheat the system.

“Overheating the system, some will go for litigation and then a vicious cycle will come again. We don’t want too much analysis because they say too much analysis leads to paralysis.”

Ganduje urged them to give the leadership of the party a chance to consult, and look at the constitution of APC to make things right.

A former Accountant General of the Federation unilaterally signed the Federal Government’s 2019 financial statement of N26tn, according to an audit report.

The revelation came during the consideration of the audit report by the Senate Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Senator Ahmed Wadada.

In a 2019 report submitted to the National Assembly, the Auditor-General of the Federation said the then Accountant General single-handedly signed the document without counter-signing by the then Minister of Finance, against financial regulation.

The office of the Auditor-General quoted provisions of the Financial Regulations to support its claim.

Paragraph 103 of the Financial Regulations states that: “The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria assigned to the Minister of Finance the responsibility for all financial business of the government of the federation, while Paragraph 105 of the FR empowers the Minister of Finance to issue, from time to time, financial regulations, which is of general applications to ministries, extra-ministerial offices and other arms of government.

“By implication, the Honorable Minister of Finance in Nigeria is the Chief Executive Officer on government financial matters.”

Ahmed Idris was the Accountant-General of the Federation at that time. He was suspended from the office over an allegation of financial malfeasance amounting to N109bn.

The audit report said, “The Accountant-General of the Federation was the only officer of the Federal Government of Nigeria that signed the consolidated statement of financial position without indicating his FRC of Nigeria registration number, a component that carries the approval of the CFS, contrary to the extant regulation.

“There was no signature with FRC of Nigeria registration number of the Honorable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position.

“The above anomalies could be attributed to weakness in the internal control system in the consolidation process.”

Responding to the report, the acting Accountant General of the Federation, Toyin Madein, said she was not the Accountant General at the time of signing the financial statement.