By Seun Adeuyi


Spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, says he has never collected bribe since he joined the police.

Adejobi said this on Monday while responding to an X user who asked him to swear by his “village deity” that he had never accepted a bribe since joining the force.

The verified user posed the question after Adejobi wrote: “Police administrative bail is free. If anyone demands bail money, you too demand an invoice or receipt to prove payment. If he can’t issue it, dont pay. That is a fraud. I have said this severally. Thanks”.

The man went on to ask Adejobi if he had never been involved in bribery, Adejobi responded saying that since joining the police force in 2005, he has never accepted bribe.

He further disclosed that as a crowned prince of Owu, it would be “ridiculous” for him to accept bribes.

“I have answered this. PR is in me. I joined NIPR in 2004 before I joined the police in 2005. I have been a PR man before I even applied to join the police. I even reject gifts. Many people on Twitter have been willing to recharge my phone, but i appeal to them not to do.

“Those who know me know I reject gifts, let alone bribe. I am a crowned prince of Owu, so it’s ridiculous to take a bribe. If you do well, Nigerians are very nice and ready to appreciate you, and bless you in all areas, if you are a nice officer,” the police PRO wrote.

Daily Trust reports that there have been several documented cases of Nigerian police officers involved in extortion.

Last years, a report from a survey conducted by the NOI Polls revealed that 73 per cent of Nigerians do not trust the personnel of the Nigerian Police Police.

The survey conducted by NOIPolls, a research organisation and Afrobarometer’s national partner for Nigeria and presented in Abuja, was collated through face-to-face interviews within the past year and fieldwork in March 2022.

Also, 73 per cent of Nigerians said “most” or “all” police are corrupt, which is the worse among public institutions like the parliament.

In 2016, the World Internal Security and Police Index (WISPI) rated Nigeria Police Force (NPF) as the worst in the world.

The WISPI was produced by two bodies – the International Police Science Association and the Institute for Economics and Peace.

The report measured the ability of the police to address internal security issues. The police in 127 countries were assessed across four key areas and that of Nigeria scored the least in those areas.

The Cement Producers Association of Nigeria has warned that the ongoing plan of the federal government to introduce concrete roads will raise the price of cement to N9,000 per bag from the current price of N5,000.

It also called on the current administration to permanently address the perennial cement price hike problem by facilitating larger participation in the cement industry, noting that Nigerians have no business buying cement for more than N5,600 per bag.

The association, in a statement jointly signed by the National Chairman, Prince David Iweta and National Secretary Chief Reagan Ufomba, on Sunday, commended the works Minister’s position on cement-made roads but warned of dire consequences, if the supply end is not addressed properly.

As a solution, the cement producers urged the government to lay more emphasis on road design that allows both cement technology and asphalt pavement to run concurrently and provide ample time for a smooth transition that allows contractors to invest in commensurate and requisite equipment and retooling.

The statement read, “Our findings from various parts of the country show that cement sells for as high as N6000 per bag in the rainy season. Our prediction is that it will sell for over N9,000 per bag in the dry season, especially with the pronouncement of the Honourable Minister of Works on cement technology and the marching order on housing by Mr President if the government does not take proactive steps.

“While we commend the Honourable Minister’s position on cement-made roads, we warn of the dire consequences if the supply end is not properly addressed. In fact, it would amount to dereliction of duty not to intervene. And the time is now. To do otherwise is to continue in a worsening pipe dream that prices would suddenly drop on this essential input that will continue to drain the purse of Nigerians, render them homeless, encourage chaos between demand and supply, and worsen the infrastructure deficit it sets out to cure, and lead to an unprecedented price hike.

“We also call on the Honourable Minister of Works to lay more emphasis on the design criteria of roads that allow both cement technology and Asphalt pavement to run concurrently, in turn, will provide ample time for a smooth transition that allows contractors to invest in commensurate and requisite equipment and retooling. We must also as a nation regulate static and dynamic load traffic by introducing weighbridges at access points on our highways. Working in sync with contractors, and allied Ministries of Trade and Investment, Transport, Environment and Finance on realistic policy on cement is most desirable at this critical time.”

The association further requested the government to conclude the backward integration policy of the late Yar’adua administration that was already bringing availability and affordability of cement in the country.

It added, “There has been so much comment on cement and cement pricing of late. What our nation needs is cement that is available and affordable. And this cannot be achieved by mere wishes, faulty policies and programmes, without breaking the chain of monopoly and favouritisms. Nigerians are tired of waiting for a downturn in the price of cement and for decent and affordable housing.

“We call on the Tinubu government to permanently solve this perennial cement price hike problem by expanding participation in the sector with companies who have verifiable evidence of local investment, including greenfield licenses and quarrying. As a matter of fact, we call on the government to more specifically conclude the backward integration policy of the late Yar’adua administration which was already bearing availability and affordability fruits.

“As patriots, it is our view that the government reintroduces backward integration policy and the conclusion of old ones. Consequently, the government cannot be seen to approbate and reprobate by deregulating issues of petroleum products and foreign exchange on one hand and regulating on pricing of cement, essential goods and services on another. There is a need for policy harmonisation and convergence between fiscal and monetary policies.

“Finally, we call on the government to urgently intervene in the foreign exchange market, intervene in restructuring bad loans of manufacturers, and review palliative modules. The cry for elusive FDI will be drastically reduced if all manufacturing concerns are revived. The government must be decisive in the kind of economic policies it intends to foist on the people,” the statement concluded.

The Special Assistant on Public Communications to former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, Phrank Shaibu, has urged Nigerians to be weary of what he described as a deliberate ploy by the President Bola Tinubu’s administration to use propaganda to deceive citizens.

Shaibu in a statement in Abuja, on Sunday, said Nigerians shouldn’t be deceived by the apology issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale and others because “they are only sorry they got caught.”

According to him, the President’s handlers have been caught in at least 10 embarrassing lies which are part of the orchestrated propaganda siege on Nigerians over a 117 days period.

He further said, “The fact that Tinubu has more media aides than economic and security advisers is enough to prove that his administration would rely on propaganda as a state policy.

“My advice to the Nigerian media is to always fact-check any claim made by this government as this would help maintain their credibility. If the Tinubu government says it is morning, go outside to verify if the sun is shining.”

Shaibu further said, “These are the 10 lies of the Tinubu regime I have compiled so far:


“1. The first lie that was told by Bola Tinubu was in his inaugural speech, where he stated that petrol subsidy is gone. With oil prices now at $94 per barrel and naira exchanging at N1,000/$1, the price of diesel has risen to about N1,000 per litre while petrol remains at about N620 per litre. It is obvious to the discerning mind that petrol is now being subsidised, a position which all oil marketers have espoused. Nigerians should not be deceived. Tinubu’s claim that there is no subsidy is a lie from the pit of hell, and the fact that they are even hiding the information means there is no transparency, and the money is probably being stolen again.

“2. The second lie told by these charlatans was that the United Arab Emirates had lifted the visa ban on Nigerians immediately and that all Nigerians were free to visit Dubai. This lie was well celebrated by many undiscerning Nigerians whose only crime was to believe the deceptive words of an illegitimate government. UAE authorities later confirmed to CNN that it was all a lie. What a national embarrassment!

“3. A third lie told by this deceptive government is that Tinubu was the first African President to ring the NASDAQ bell. It has since been established that Malawian President, Jakaya Kikwete, rang the bell on September 21, 2011.

“4. Another lie was a statement issued by Ajuri Ngelale on August 27, 2023 where US Presidential Envoy and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Molly Phee, was quoted as saying, “President Joe Biden is asking to meet with you on the sidelines of UNGA and you are the only African leader he has requested to meet. It is a mark of his high regard for your leadership.” Well, this has turned out to be another embarrassing lie as Tinubu has departed UNGA and never met President Biden.

“5. A fifth lie was a claim made by Tinubu on the floor of NASDAQ where he stated that “We have retooled the exchange rate to a reliable, dependable one figure floating of the naira. You are free to take in your money and bring out your money.” But this is another lie from the pit of hell. The exchange rate on the I&E Window is about N780/$1, while the rate at the parallel market is about N1,000/$1. Besides, foreign airlines still have over $600m funds stuck in Nigeria. Tinubu, therefore, lied when he said “you are free to take in your money and bring out your money.”

“6. On August 14, 2023, the Nigerian government said on its official Twitter handle that the Nigerian Air Force struck terrorists gathering at Kurebe in Shiroro LGA in Niger State. The government claimed that the terrorists were neutralised. Well, Premium Times has now revealed in its latest report that this is nothing but propaganda as those who were killed were innocent civilians. Is it not tragic that the Bola Tinubu administration has now infected the military with its lies? Indeed, once the head of the fish is rotten, the body cannot escape corruption.

“7. As part of Bola Tinubu’s propaganda programme, the Central Bank of Nigeria said on September 6, 2023 that within two weeks, it would inject $10 billion into the foreign exchange market to clear the FX backlog. Days after the deadline passed, not a single cent has been injected into the system as the naira continues its free fall. The institution that Tinubu’s leadership cannot destroy does not exist.

“8. In his inaugural speech, Tinubu said, “As your President, I shall serve with prejudice towards none.” But this has turned out to be another barefaced lie. Tinubu has been running a government of the clannish, by the clannish and for the clannish, with all key appointments in every sector going to a section of the country including CBN, FIRS, customs, army, police, immigration while he himself is the petroleum and gas minister. Tinubu appointed 10 ministers from the southwest and only five from the southeast. If this isn’t prejudice, I don’t know what it is.

“9.) Last month, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited claimed they had obtained an Afrexim loan of $3bn with which it would help stabilise the naira. We raised the alarm that it was all a ruse to deceive Nigerians. Now, we have been justified as the naira is now trading at $1/N1,000 on the black market, while Afrexim Bank has refused to speak on it. This was just audio money.

“10. Perhaps the biggest scam and deceit of the Tinubu administration was the Student Loan Act, which he signed on June 12. The new law provides loans for students’ tuition only. It doesn’t cover any other educational expenses. After the law was signed, all federal government schools began increasing school fees. But Dele Alake, the Special Adviser on Media as he then was, said in a statement that tuition in all government schools remains free and that the only fees that were increased were accommodation, laboratory, library and other costs. So if tuition is free and the Students Loan Act covers only tuition fee, that means the Student Loan Act is pointless, and no money will be released. In essence, Tinubu’s government has prodded government schools to increase fees while no loans will be given to the students. This is the height of deception and wickedness.”

A Pregnant 19-year-old girl rescued by a Good Samaritan in Awka, Anambra State has lamented that the man responsible for her pregnancy infected her with HIV and dumped her.

The Nation gathered that the victim’s boyfriend identified as Chibuike, sent her parking after getting her pregnant.

She was later handed over to a group of health workers who referred her to the Anambra State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare.

Narrating her ordeal, the six-month pregnant girl said she had been homeless after she was chased out of the house following discovery that she was HIV positive.

“I had been in a relationship with my boyfriend, Chibuike, for three years before he chased me out of the house after discovering I have HIV, and I have been homeless since then,” she said.

While revealing her parents’ disappointment over her predicament, the lady thanked the state government for accepting to take care of her.

Earlier, the State Coordinator, Network of People Living with HIV in Nigeria (NEPWHAN), Mrs Gladys Ezembu, while handing the girl over to the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo, said the victim was brought to her organisation by a Good Samaritan.

“A good Samaritan saw her stranded and decided to bring her to us. We ran some tests on her and discovered she is a carrier of the virus.

“We immediately placed her on medication to prevent the unborn child from contracting the virus,” she said.

Responding, Commissioner Obinabo appreciated the group for not abandoning the girl, promising to provide her with shelter pending her delivery.

She also pledged to ensure the victim was quickly registered for ante-natal and at the same time commenced tracing her parents for further investigation.

The president of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, clocked 100 days in office this week. He was elected to the position on June 13 in a keenly contested poll shaped by intrigues, acrimony and high-wired politics which observers described as a heavily monetized election due to the role money played in the race.

Akpabio polled 63 votes to defeat his lone challenger, Abdulaziz Yari, a former governor of Zamfara State, who secured 46 votes.

Soon after Akpabio emerged as the number three citizen, the jostle for principal offices also caused disquiet among senators in both majority and minority caucuses.

After days of intense lobbying and politicking, Akpabio on July 4 announced the emergence of principal officers, which he said was in line with agreements by the caucuses of the majority and the minority parties.

But a few hours after the announcement, Abdullahi Adamu, the then APC national chairman, disowned the list, saying the party was not involved in the process that threw up the principal officers.

Some top party chieftains saw Adamu’s action as lack of respect for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was said to have endorsed the names of principal officers announced by the Senate President.

Notwithstanding the controversies that shaped the emergence of its leaders, the 10th Senate had a smooth take-off.

Unlike his predecessors, Akpabio has been piloting the affairs of the Red Chamber without a legislative agenda, which specifies areas the parliament intends to achieve with legislations.

He had promised to partner with the executive for the sole benefit of Nigerians.

Within three months, the 10th Senate under Akpabio had considered some requests seeking the parliament’s nod from the presidency, including loans, confirmation of nominees and budget amendment.

The Red Chamber sat through odd hours and non-legislative days to screen and confirm ministerial nominees. It closed plenary a few minutes to 11pm on August 7, ensuring that all businesses of the day were attended to. Out of the 48 nominees sent by President Tinubu, 45 were approved. The remaining three were rejected over security clearance.

Daily Trust reports that the Senate had, through oversight, intervened on some national issues.

Akpabio had led his colleagues in engaging the leadership of labour unions to suspend nationwide strikes by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)/Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).

“Because of the intervention of the President of the Senate, who is the number three citizen and the assurance he has given us, our planned national protest has been cancelled while the decision on the ongoing strike would be taken as soon as we meet,” Dr Emeka Innocent Orji, NARD National President, had told reporters after meeting behind closed door with Akpabio and other Principal Officers of the Senate.

The Senate also considered a motion asking the federal government to halt the proposed 40 percent hike in electricity tariff. Following the parliament’s resolution, relevant authorities in the power sector suspended the planned tariff increment.

Similarly, the Red Chamber also declined to approve military action in Niger Republic.


Impeachment plot, other controversies

These gains were, however, overshadowed by the controversies that rocked Akpabio’s Senate presidency in the last three months.

The Senate is yet to resume from its long recess when the report of an alleged plot to impeach the Senate President filtered in, with pro and anti-Akpabio groups trading blames.

It was reported last weekend that some northern lawmakers had commenced moves to impeach Akpabio and had already met in Saudi Arabia to perfect the plot.

The anti-Akpabio lawmakers were said to be irked by the damage being done to governance by what they called imaginary impeachment plot targeted at pitching senators against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

They expressed worries that instead of creating synergy between the executive arm of government and the legislature for meaningful national development, Akpabio had created an imaginary war between the two vital arms of government.

Senator Elisha Ishaku Abbo (Adamawa) had, in a statement, claimed that loyalists of the Senate President sponsored the report to set northern senators against President Tinubu, urging Akpabio to call his camp to order.

But the camp of the Senate President claimed that some rivals regrouped using as a reason his apparent failure to check the lopsided appointments by the president in favour of the Yoruba, especially in the financial sector.

Sources within Akpabio group said some former northern governors and at least one from the South-South were behind the move.

“The main issue is our fear that Akpabio cannot check this Yorubanisation of the financial system that is going on now.

“Yes, the reason why you can see that northerners are mostly involved is that most of those being removed and replaced with Yoruba are northerners,” a source in Akpabio’s camp said.

He claimed that the main objective of the dissident senators was to enthrone a Senate president the group believes can checkmate President Bola Tinubu.

Akpabio had dismissed the report of the impeachment move, describing it as complete imaginations and sometimes laced with malice, saying the Senate under his leadership is stable.


‘Holiday allowance’ saga

The “holiday enjoyment allowance” remark by the Senate President on August 7 shortly before adjourning plenary for a long recess had attracted heavy criticism.

Apparently forgetting that the proceeding was being captured on live camera, Akpabio stated that, “to enable all of us to enjoy our holiday, a token has been sent to our various bank accounts by the Clerk of the National Assembly.’’

Upon being told by some of his colleagues that the live coverage of the event was still on, he quickly retracted, and said, “I withdraw that statement. To allow you to enjoy your holiday, the Senate president has sent prayers to your mailboxes to assist you to go on a safe journey and return.”

The “holiday bonus” comment came weeks after the lawmakers were allocated N70 billion to support their “working conditions” in an amended 2022 supplementary appropriation act.

Nigerians lampooned the Senate President, saying it was very unfortunate that such a statement could be made by Akpabio at a time when Nigerians are still waiting for any form of succour from the government, following the subsidy removal.


‘Let the poor breathe’

The sarcastic “Let the poor breathe” comment by Akpabio-led 10th Senate amid the prevailing economic hardship attracted widespread anger from Nigerians.

In an apparent solidarity with the masses, the Senate had passed an important resolution to cause the suspension of the proposed electricity tariff hike by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the electricity distribution companies in a manner many considered ridiculous.

“The prayer is that, let the poor breathe, and Senator Mustapha has seconded that the poor should breathe. Those who are in support of the additional prayer that the poor should be allowed to breathe, say ‘ayes’ and those who are against say ‘nay,’” Akpabio had said jocularly.

In response, the senators said, “Aye”, to which Akpabio said, “The ayes have it! The poor must be allowed to breathe.”

This remark was spontaneously followed by laughter that resonated with the rest of the senators.

While some condemned the action as a brazen mockery of ordinary masses they are elected to defend, others said it represented sarcasm, a sense of triumph over an attempt to suffocate the poor and a response to the Senate president’s humorous gesture.

Akpabio’s media team had defended the statement, saying the ‘let the poor breathe’ remark “was to firmly reject any plan of increasing electricity tariffs for Nigerians, considering the ongoing economic challenges that Nigerians are faced with.


Speedy loan approval

In what seemed like the continuation of the 9th Senate’s practice, the Red Chamber under Akpabio speedily approved a request by President Tinubu to borrow $800m from the World Bank to scale up the national social safety net programme.

The parliament also gave accelerated approval to Tinubu’s request to amend the N819.5bn 2022 supplementary budget.

Both requests were approved 24 hours after Tinubu sent them to the parliament. Critics had decried the speed with which the borrowing requests were approved without thorough work.


Ministerial screening

The Senate had promised that it would be thorough in scrutinising the records, antecedents, suitability and competence of the individuals nominated to occupy ministerial positions.

While the Senators were praised by some for sitting through odd hours to complete the screening exercise before going on annual recess, they were, however, bashed by others for lack of proper grilling of nominees, some of whom, especially their former colleagues, were asked to merely take a bow and leave.

One nominee was asked to take a bow and go not because of her track record but simply for the reason that she got emotional.

Critics said the discrepancies noticed in the nominees’ records — such as one who is currently an NYSC member, another whose records showed that he did the national youth service at a time he was a member of the National Assembly as well as the one who started primary school at age of three — but not satisfactorily resolved before confirmation was a reflection of a job not thoroughly done.

There was pandemonium on Saturday immediately after the commencement of the opening ceremony of the 7th National Youth Games (NYG) in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

The pandemonium followed the sudden collapse of a gate to the main bowl of the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba on a middle-aged woman said to be one of the athletes.

The victim, SaharaReporters gathered was immediately rushed in an ambulance to a yet-to-be-disclosed medical facility within the capital city.

According to eyewitness accounts, the condition of the victim could not be handled by medical personnel at the clinic stationed at the stadium for the ongoing National Youth games.

Last week before the commencement of the National Youths Games in Asaba, the state capital, some Delta State athletes camped for the National Youth Games (NYG) had protested against what they termed "poor feeding conditions, poor water and electricity supply as well as unhygienic environment" in their camp in Delta State.

The young males and females athletes who are between the ages of 10 to 20 had accused the chairman of the state Sports Commission, Tonobok Okowa and officials of the commission of taking advantage of them to amass wealth saying he never bothered about their welfare especially in the areas of good food, water and electricity supply in their camp.

The athletes had also accused the commission's chairman, Tonobok Okowa, who is the younger brother to the immediate past governor of the state, Ifeanyi Okowa and one Festus Owhojero, director of Audit department of awarding the cooking contracts in the athletes camps and supply of other consumable items to their sisters, wives, relations and girlfriends.

The dependence of the Nigerian banking sector on the Central Bank of Nigeira (CBN) soared this month with banks’ borrowings from the apex bank jumping from N323.97 billion in August to N3.03 trillion in September, signalling a severe liquidity squeeze in the period.

LEADERSHIP Weekend checks reveal that this represents a whopping 835 per cent increase over the level in August.

In a similar trend, the apex bank has invested almost N10 trillion to different sectors of the economy over the last few years with little to show it.

Data from the CBN website showed that from the beginning of this month up until the close of business on Friday, September 22, the total borrowings of banks from the CBN stood at N3.028 trillion. This is as against N323.97 billion that was accessed by banks between the beginning of August up until August 22, 2023.

The borrowings were accessed via the Standing Lending facility of the CBN. The Standing Lending Facility (SLF) is a line of short-term credit available for commercial banks to draw on when they need to meet immediate short-term withdrawals from their customers.

A net SLF is often an indication of a liquidity squeeze in commercial banks usually due to the central bank’s monetary policy or a symptom that banks have a lot of non-performing loans that they are unable to recover.

Analysts say the expanding SLFs are due to monetary tightening by the central banks to curb demand for forex as well as curb inflation, which is piling pressure on commercial banks to borrow money.

Over the last two years, the apex bank has embarked on an unprecedented monetary squeeze relying on its Cash Reserve Requirement and Loan to deposit ratio policies to sequester billions from commercial banks on a weekly basis.

Meanwhile, the Monetary Policy Committee of the apex bank continues to maintain that the banking sector remains sound. According to members of the committee in their personal statements at the last meeting held in July, the Nigerian banking industry has so far remained resilient.

A member of the MPC, Adenikinju Festus, who also affirmed the resilience of the banking industry explained that CAR had declined to 11.2 per cent in June 2023 from 13 per cent in May 2023, though still within the prudential requirement of between 10 – 15 per cent.

He furthered that NPL ratio declined from 4.5 per cent in May 2023 to 4.1 per cent in April 2023 while liquidity ratio LR) rose to 48.4 per cent in June 2023, from 44.5 per cent in May 2023. This is above the minimum 30 per cent recommended by the prudential requirement.

Adenikinju noted that both the Return on Equity and Returns on Asset increased between May 2023 and Junel 2023. ROE rose from 22.8 per cent to 32.2 per cent; while ROA increased from 1.7 per cent in May 2023 to 2.3 per cent by June 2023.

Interest margins to total operating income declined from 59.8 per cent in May 2023 to 48.2 per cent in June 2023. Similarly, operating cost to total operating income declined from 70.7 per cent to 62.1 per cent between May and June 2023.

Asides these, he noted that all the measures of banking size, assets, deposits, and credits also rose, with total assets of the banking industry growing by N30.92 trillion or 47.21 per cent between end-June 2022 and 2023. Industry credit increased by N10.75 trillion or 39.73 per cent between end June 2022 and end-June 2023. Gross credit has been on an upward trajectory since 2019. Total industry deposits increased by N15.92 trillion or 37.86 per cent between the end of June 2022 and 2023.

He however stressed that the high operating cost environment of the banking sector should be concerning and needs to be addressed. “In other climes, the ratio is 23.5 per cent in Turkey, 50.6 per cent in Brazil, 41.0 per cent in Malaysia, 62.0 per cent in South Africa, 43.2 per cent in Angola, 35.2 per cent in Egypt, Kenya is 45.2 per cent and Ghana, 46.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, LEADERSHIP checks revealed that the CBN has disbursed N9.714 trillion in financial interventions to different sectors of the economy in the last three years.

Data from the CBN’s Development Finance Department (DFD) indicate that the largest chunk of the disbursement, totaling N3.166 trillion or 32.6 percent, went to manufacturing and industries.

Other disbursements made from the N9.714 trillion are: N2.243 trillion or 23.1 percent to energy and infrastructure: N2.214 or 22.8 percent to agriculture; N1.010 trillion or 10.4 percent to services; N689.694 billion or 7.1 percent to Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs); N233.136 billion or 2.4 percent to export and N135.996 billion or 1.4 percent to health.

The bank maintains that it’s Development Finance Department is committed to the goal of sustainable economic growth.


MPC 2022 update

According to data compiled from official statements contained in the monetary policy communique of the apex bank, the CBN disbursed a cumulative total of N4.81 trillion in intervention funds to the private sector of the Nigerian economy as of November 2022, a 6.9% increase from N4.5 trillion two months earlier.

According to the update the CBN provided in the MPC communiqué, between September and October 2022, under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), the Bank disbursed N41.02 billion to several agricultural projects.

The cumulative disbursement under the Programme amounted to N1.07 trillion to over 4.6 million smallholder farmers cultivating 21 commodities across the country.

The Bank also disbursed N300 billion to finance large-scale agricultural projects under the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS), bringing the cumulative disbursement to N745.31 billion.

The CBN released the sum of N48.30 billion under the N1 trillion Real Sector Facility to seven new real sector projects in agriculture, manufacturing, and services. Cumulative disbursement under this Facility stood at N2.15 trillion to 437 projects across the country as at November 2022.

The breakdown of the disbursement in the Real Sector Facility includes projects in manufacturing (240), agriculture (91), services (93) and mining sector (13).

Under the 100 for 100 Policy on Production and Productivity (PPP), the Bank disbursed the sum of N20.78 billion to nine (9) projects in healthcare, manufacturing, and services, amounting to a cumulative disbursement of N114.17 billion across 71 projects.

A sum of N4 billion was disbursed under the Intervention Facility for the National Gas Expansion Programme (IFNGEP) to promote the adoption of compressed natural gas (CNG) for transportation and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking.

Under the healthcare sector, the Bank disbursed N5.02 billion to four (4) healthcare projects under the Healthcare Sector Intervention Facility (HSIF), bringing the cumulative disbursement to N135.56 billion for 135 projects in pharmaceuticals (33), hospitals (60) and other services (42).

The CBN disbursed N1.33 billion under the Agribusiness/Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme (AgSMEIS). With this, cumulative disbursement rose to N150.22 billion.

Under the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (MSMEDF), the apex bank disbursed N10 billion between September and October 2022, bringing the cumulative disbursement to N96.08 billion.

Under Export Facilitation Initiative (EFI), the Bank provided support for export-oriented projects to the tune of N5.34 billion, pushing the cumulative disbursement under this intervention to N44.58 billion within the period under review.

The agitation for Yoruba nation gained prominence in the South-west geopolitical zone mid-2021. The agitation which was championed by Chief Sunday Adeyemo popularly known as Sunday Igboho became intense in the dying days of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari who was accused of nepotism and giving undue advantage to his Fulani tribesmen to the detriment of other nationalities.

The agitators even vowed that the 2023 general elections would not hold and that the agitation was not about a Yoruba president but to restructure the country.

The Federal Government was however determined to crush the agitation as the operatives of the Department of State Services on July 1 2021 invaded Ibadan residence of Igboho where some of occupants of the house lost their lives while Igboho himself narrowly escaped being killed.

Igboho later fled the country but was arrested at the neighbouring Benin Republic on his way to Germany. But with the emergence of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a Yoruba man as the president, the agitators for a separate country for Yoruba people appeared to have lost their voice.

Some argued that since their kinsman is now in control of affairs at the national level, the agitators have no other choice than to abandon the struggle.

Some Yoruba leaders and elders who spoke on the issue explained why the agitation may have died a natural death.

Yoruba will not work against President Tinubu —Oyewole, YCE scribe

In his reaction, Secretary of the Yoruba Council of Elders, YCE, Chief Oladipo Oyewole said the agitation for Yoruba Nation may have died down following the emergence of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as President of Nigeria. Oyewole, in his reaction said: “The situation in Nigeria at independence was such that each region was to be encouraged to develop its potentials to the fullest such that there would be growth, stability and all round development. Fundamental arrangements were made for each region to develop at its pace.

No sooner did we gain independence than the plan for regional development took another flight and unhealthy rivalry seeped in to tear us apart and ever since that time we started losing it. This is the foundation for the agitation for Yoruba Nation for total liberation.

Yoruba Nation was indeed poised to put an end to the obvious enslavement of Yoruba within Nigeria. At that time, the Yoruba people were seriously threatened and that situation encouraged every hamlet in Yoruba land to prepare for their internal independence.

Our people were being decimated and the main drive of our detractors was not just to establish a grazing route but to claim the soil of Nigeria up to the Atlantic Ocean. That had to be resisted. So, Sunday Igboho and Professor Akintoye came forth.

Now, with the emergence of President Bola Tinubu as President of Nigeria, should Yoruba people work against him? The answer is no.”

Impunity, gross injustice of last govt prompted the agitation —Kunle Olajide

In his contributions, the former Secretary General, Yoruba Council of Elders, Dr Kunle Olajide said the agitation for the Oodua Nation was declared based on the high level of impunity and injustice of the last administration.

According to him, “the agitation from the beginning was because of gross injustice under the last administration, the injustice at that time was unbearable. We now have a president who is very just and administering the country fairly, promoting peace and unity through his actions and programmes.

Therefore, there might be no need for further agitation. There is strength in togetherness rather than fragmentation, what everybody requires is fairness and justice and once that is embedded in government programmes and policies, there will be less agitation for separatism.

We now have leadership we were looking for—Chief Akin Fasae, Afenifere chieftain

Chief Akin Fasae, Chieftain of the pan Yoruba nation organization, Afenifere, told Vanguard that “Even before the election of President Bola Tinubu, the agitation was dead on arrival, agitation of a separate Yoruba nation is not possible. Why do we want to have a separate nation, there is no way a Yoruba nation can give us the peace and development we are looking for.

What are we looking for, we are looking for leadership, now our own leadership has been given to us. They should cooperate with the President, they should go and tell the President how the Yoruba as an entity should be treated. They should go and tell him what they want.

And by the way who are those people even agitating for it, what is their pedigree, the only person they have there is Senator Akintoye, who is he leading? If we want to have a Yoruba nation, all our representatives, including the Governors and President have to be part of the agitation and is that possible? It is not possible. These people agitating for Yoruba nation must have something they are not telling us”.

There’s consensus to give Tinubu a chance —Yemi Aboderin, Osun OPC Co-ordinator

Similarly, the Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, Coordinator in Osun state, Yemi Aboderin disclosed that the agitation was not over yet, and that the agitators were keenly watching developments in the country keenly.

He said, “we have not stopped the agitation yet, we are only watching developments in the country especially, with regards to insecurity in southwest.

The fact that Bola Tinubu became the President does not stop agitation for Oodua Republic but there is a consensus to give him time to know how well he will perform. If the situation that prompted the people to agitate resurfaces, we might have to go back to the street, demanding that autonomous region. But for now, we want to stay and see how well the new administration will perform, particularly on the welfare and security of the people.

Agitators merely reacting, not prosecuting serious agenda —Mr Ayo Fadaka

Mr Ayo Fadaka, former South-West Zonal Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, said, “No serious thinking person was involved in the Oodua Republic movement, irrespective of the fact that some intellectuals were active within those movements.

However I must state that the growth of separatist groups then was triggered by the nepotistic agenda of the out-gone Buhari government, the agitators were merely reacting and not prosecuting a serious agenda.

The expectation of many technocrats and the politically savvy people was to refashion our Constitution to accommodate a proper federalism, that will give due cognisance to the prevailing ethnic demarcations that constitute Nigeria.

A federalism that will discard the current States structure obtainable in Nigeria, but concentrate on the heterogeneity of our nation.

For instance, those regarded as Western Ibos or Ika should be merged with their kith and kin across the Niger while the Yoruba in Kwara and Kogi too should join other Yoruba in the South West, then we will all begin a process where every component unit of the nation will be able to grow according to their individual or unique ethos that will play a dominant role in its educational structure.

To think that because Tinubu is now President is responsible for the demise of that agitation is to beg the issue, Nigeria must be reorganised and restructured and I believe this will re- establish the dreams of our founding fathers who held tenaciously to the concept of federalism.

Conflict of interest responsible for decline in agitation —Ambassador Yemi Farounmbi

According to Ambassador Yemi Farounmbi, ”Those agitating for Oodua Republic, apart from the likes of Professor Banji Akintoye, are relatively unknown people, either in business, politics, industrial sector or even religion.

It has been largely fuelled by those living outside Nigeria. It has been Yoruba in diaspora that are on the fore front of the agitation. It was later that some freedom fighters against violent Fulani invaders joined the agitation.

Then there was division among the various groups because of conflict of interest. So, there has been a decline in image making among the agitators for the Oodua Republic, the decline was not because the President is Yoruba, but conflict of interest. The personalisation of the movement is largely responsible for the decline in the agitation.

The agitation may even gain momentum if there’s large scale insecurity against the interest of Yoruba man.

The Yoruba man doesn’t engage in such agitation because of position or for the Presidency. What was more responsible for Oodua Republic agitation was due to the Fulani herdsmen menace and it appears that the then President and Presidency were taking sides with the herders while kidnappers came along with it. The Yoruba believed their lives and property were not safe and if such situation repeats itself again, you are likely to have such agitation.

The Yoruba never agitate for position, but when you begin to inconvenience them in their own territory, then they can go to any extent to ensure the safety of their lives and property. So, if under the Tinubu’s presidency, the Yoruba are faced with such insecurity, they will agitate again.

We’re waiting for the promised Renewed Hope —Kole Omololu, Afenifere Chieftain

On his part, Abagun Kole Omololu, Afenifere Chieftain, said that “agitation for a Yoruba country is a legitimate right of the agitators under the human rights charter of both the United Nations and the African Union. Southern Sudan has just got her own separate country. Yoruba country has everything an Independent Nation has.

Yoruba land has homogeneity in every thing God created, it has a population of 52m to England’s 56m as a separate country. It is bigger than most countries of Western Europe apart from Germany and France, it has an international airport and seaports with highly educated citizenry.

Yoruba is the 5th most researched language in the world. Citizens of this sort of enclave will want to have their destiny in their hands. Most importantly they are a very proud people who believe that they are part of world history.

The last Buhari-Fulani government seriously pushed citizens to the cliff edge. Criminals were holding citizens to ransom and the government of the day could not rescue them or seemed to be encouraging it.

With Tinubu as president, what Yoruba want is good government, who is in power is insignificant, whether he is Hausa, Igbo, Efik, Ijaw or Idoma. Tinubu was the best candidate presented for 2023 election.

Agitators are waiting for the promise of the Renewed Hope. The bulk of ordinary Yoruba citizens believe in the agitation excluding the elites who believe that Yoruba Nation is strategy of last result. Once there is a convergence of these two schools of thoughts, the agitation will be very strong.

I believe in unity of Nigeria —Chief Bayo Idowu

Another prominent member of Ekiti Council of Elders, Chief Bayo Idowu said, “I don’t pray for Yoruba separation, I am not one of the proponents of Yoruba nation, but what I believe is the unity of Nigeria, I am a federalist, if Yoruba breaks away what do we want? What do we want to achieve? I have spoken with Prof Banji Akintoye, I saw him getting into cul-de-sac.

What do we want to achieve with Yoruba nation, is Nigeria sending us away? What is our limitation in Nigeria now that we want to break away. Let me tell you this, Professor Akintoye is not our leader, there was no where we sat him down to elect him as our leader.

Who are those people agitating for Yoruba nation now, is the agitation not going down? Are the agitators those who are politically, economically and politically disadvantaged, are we marginalized in Nigeria political distribution of offices? Those are questions we have to interrogate”

The ‘irunmoles’ have taken over physical agitation —Otunba Tayo Onayemi, Convener, YCL

On his part, the Convener Yoruba Commitment Leaders (YCL), Otunba Tayo Onayemi said the struggle for the actualization of Yoruba Nation is still on course and very much alive. He said, “It’s sheer wishful thinking and calamitous for anyone or group of people to harbor the idea of the death or waning strength/tempo of our agitation for a free Yoruba nation at this hour or in the nearest future.

The spirituality and cultural evolution/connotation of the agitation cannot be over emphasized as the spirit of Oduduwa has been awaken to consciousness and the ‘irunmoles’ have taken over from the physical primary front of the agitation. We are daily assured of the imperative and imminent birth of Yoruba nation even with the events happening in Nigeria now.

It’s there for everyone to see and feel. In all history, the separatist agitation, be it violent or peaceful like our own, has always had to go through metamorphosis of life before the reality and the reality in our own case, is in sight.

However, Yoruba nation has had its own teething problems like the attempt on the life of our leader, Chief Sunday Igboho, his subsequent and continued house arrest in Cotonou and the the Greek gift of the Nigerian President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to Yoruba nation are all aimed at trapping us and clipping our wings.

But we know that we are proudly Yoruba, we think deeply and think reasonably before we act. The thoughts are ongoing,we are studying the situations delicately and we are due to come up with a bang soon.

We earnestly yearn for our own Nation where equity, justice, fairplay and abundant but equal opportunities will be available to the populace. That’s what Yoruba nation is to us and this dream shall come to pass gloriously for us soon in Yorubaland. Amen”.

Tinubu’s presidency won’t stop agitation — Dr Victor Taiwo, Initiator, YCE

The Initiator, Yoruba Council of Elders, Dr Victor Taiwo also argued that the self determination struggle has never died down. “The agitation has never stopped, it has always been there, it is on as we have always maintained.

Even if this government carries out the restructuring and practice true federalism, it won’t stop the agitation for self determination, it’s a different ball game. The self determination remains sacrosanct forever.

So, we remain focused on the self determination aspect of the projects with all convictions that this will be the last resort.

Okechukwu Nnodim, Opeoluwani Akintayo and Gift Habib


The Federal Government may spend about N1.68tn as subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, from September to December this year, an analysis of data provided by oil marketers and the sector has shown.

PMS dealers stated on Thursday that the pump price of petrol should be between N890 to N900/litre based on the fall of the naira against the United States dollar and the surge in the price of crude in the international market.

Petrol currently sells at between N598 and N617/litre depending on the location of purchase, fuelling suspicion that the commodity is being subsidised by the Federal Government.

The government and the NNPCL have not officially admitted that subsidy on petrol has been reintroduced. President Bola Tinubu had on May 29 announced ended the subsidy regime during his inaugural address.

The government subsidises PMS through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. NNPCL is the sole importer of PMS. Other marketers stopped PMS imports due to their inability to access foreign exchange.

The removal of subsidy led to an increase in the pump price of petrol from about N198/litre in May to the current rate of N617/litre. But the fall of the naira coupled with the rise in crude oil price have continued to mount pressure on the cost of PMS.

Dealers in the downstream oil sector explained that the cost of crude oil and the exchange rate of the naira-dollar accounted for over 80 per cent of the cost of PMS.

Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, rose to about $95/barrel on Thursday. It had peaked to $97/barrel the preceding day, which was the highest figure in 2023.

Oil had started the year at about $82/barrel, dipped to $70/barrel in June, but traded above $94/barrel in the past week.

Also, The PUNCH reported on Thursday that the naira continued its downward trend after exchanging to the dollar at 980 on the parallel market on Wednesday.

A week earlier, the naira was exchanged to the dollar at 950/$.

However, on the FMDQ at the Investor & Exporter forex window, the naira appreciated slightly after closing at 770.71/$ on Wednesday from 776.76/$ on Tuesday.

The forex crisis and the recent rise in crude price, according to oil marketers, have made it impossible for petrol price to still remain at N617/litre. They insisted the government had quietly reintroduced fuel subsidy.

A media report on Thursday indicated the Federal Government paid N169.4bn subsidy in August, 2023.

Quoting a Federal Account Allocation Committee document, the report said the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas paid $275m as dividends to Nigeria via NNPCL.

NNPCL, according to the report, used $220m (N169.4bn at N770/$) out of the $275m to pay for the PMS subsidy in the review month.

“I told you earlier that there is no way that the government will sustain the price of petrol at N617/litre without paying subsidy on it, going by the continued fall of the naira,” the National Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, told The PUNCH on Thursday.

He added, “The dollar is almost N990 at the parallel market currently, and you can see the effect of this on the pump price of diesel. Diesel is close to N1,000/litre, so the retail price of PMS should be around N890 to N900/litre.

“Therefore, it is better the government assists the masses by paying subsidy. From our records, in the United States, the super product or petrol is sold around $3.9, which is close to about N3,000/litre.

“The premium product is sold at about $2.89, which is over N2,000/litre. And if you check in other African countries you will find out that the product is being sold at between N1,200 and N1,500. But going by the forex rate in Nigeria, it should be around N900/litre.”

It was gathered that the subsidised ex-depot price of petrol as sold by NNPCL, was between N585 and N600 depending on area of purchase.

By subtracting the ex-depot cost of N600/litre from the projected unsubsidised rate of N890/litre, that the government may have been spending about N290/litre as subsidy currently.

In July, data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority showed that between June 1 to June 28, 2023, which was described as the post-deregulation period, the total petrol consumption across the country was 1.36 billion litres, while the average daily consumption was put at 48.43 million litres.

With an average daily consumption of 48.43 million litres and an estimated subsidy of N290/litre, the government could be incurring N14.04bn as subsidy daily, while this could rise to N421.3bn monthly.

This could rise to as high as N1.68tn for the months of September, October, November and December 2023, should the naira continues its fall against the dollar and crude price maintains its upward surge.


Subsidy consumes trillions

Before Tinubu announced the end of fuel subsidy in May, the scheme had consumed trillions of naira from the government’s purse.

In October 2022, The PUNCH reported that the government of former President Muhammadu Buhari had spent about N6.88tn in subsidising petrol at the time.

This was based on data obtained from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

NEITI report showed that fuel subsidies gulped N316.7bn in 2015; N99bn in 2016; N141.63bn in 2017; N722.3bn in 2018; N578.07bn in 2019; and N134bn in 2020.

Although the NEITI report did not state the amount spent in 2021 and 2022, figures obtained from NNPCL indicated that fuel subsidy jumped to N1.43tn in 2021.

NNPCL data also showed that petrol subsidy gulped N2.565tn between January and August last year. The oil company, however, described its subsidy spending as under-recovery.

The latest report on 169.4bn spent on subsidy in August indicates more billions of naira might be spent on the commodity from September to December 2023.


Comments

Commenting on the government’s decision to reportedly reintroduce fuel subsidy, the National Secretary, IPMAN, Chief John Kekeocha, said it was obvious the price of petrol was now higher than N617/litre.

He commended the government for considering the plights of its citizens, but stressed that the government should come out clean on subsidy.

“The government must come out clean on subsidy. We know it is not possible to be running full deregulation at the current price of petrol. However, it is commendable that they are considering the plights of the masses,” the IPMAN official stated.

Officials of the NNPCL and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority stayed mute on the subject when contacted.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Satellite Depot, IPMAN, Akin Akinrinade, said a rise in the pump price of diesel, a deregulated product, should mean a corresponding rise in the pump price of petrol which was also recently deregulated with the official ending of the subsidy regime in June.

He said, “Ex-depot price of diesel is around N989 per litre while at the pump it is now selling at N1000 per litre. Ex-depot price of petrol at DAPPMAN depots is between N572-N575 per litre, while NNPCL depots sell at N556.5 per litre.

“But you know the price of petrol at the pump has remained the same for a while now despite the increase in crude oil price at the international market. I think the government is doing everything it can to keep petrol prices the same due to the political nature of the product.”

He added, “However, there could be other means by which the government is subsidising it. For instance; local levies such as NIMASA, NPA and other levies are currently being paid in naira, no longer in dollars. So, if the government is working on that; it can also reflect on the prices of petrol by bringing it down. And as you know, no marketer brings in petrol due to the high price of forex. They claim they don’t have access to dollars at the CBN rate. So, it’s only NNPC that is bringing in products.”

An unconfirmed source told The PUNCH “subsidies is back.”

He said, “You know President Tinubu in his inaugural speech said the government would intervene if need be. So that is exactly what is happening. Because if not for that; going by what is happening now, using CBN’s official rate, petrol should be selling for N625 per litre in Lagos and higher prices going up north. But what we have at the pump is still around N580 per litre. But if you use black market rate, petrol should be around N800 per litre in Lagos. But we should be careful not to set the country on fire since we know the government is currently discussing with Labour,” the source said, asking not to be quoted.

Brent international price had reached $95 a barrel in the week, with Nigeria’s sweet crude also selling at around N100 per barrel.

“Any kindergarten would know that the government has returned to paying subsidies. I think we should be asking the NNPC to tell us the magic they are performing to keep prices the same for a while now,” a top source among the oil marketers told The PUNCH on Thursday.

The President, IPMAN, Chinedu Okoronkwo, said there was no need for speculation on the return of subsidies.

“The good thing is that NNPC is still importing and we are their major customers, so why should we be disturbing ourselves? Speculating will only throw the country into chaos. We believe the NNPC knows what to do, and they are doing exactly that. The Federal Government has assured us that the refineries will start working by December, and we know the NNPC has enough stock to last us till then, and even beyond,” he said.

According to a report by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, subsidies had cost the country about N1.99tn from 2015 to 2020.

Also reports by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee showed that petrol subsidy cost N1.57tn in 2021, and N1.27tn from January to May 2022.

The sum of N3tn was also budgeted for subsidy from June 2022 to June 2023.


CSOs react

The Chairman, Centre for Anti-corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, said it would be difficult for the government to maintain a balance in petroleum price in the hands of private sector individuals.

Adeniran noted, “It is practically impossible for the government to maintain a steady balance in the price of petroleum products in the hands of business men and women that are running the cartel. They will always find a way of making things difficult for Nigerians and force the hands of the government backward towards ensuring that there is one form of subsidy or the other because without the subsidy, they are not used to doing honest business. They will find a way of embarrassing the government by ensuring that there is no adequate supply of petroleum products or making their cartel increase the cost of petroleum products.

“The new government that is just consolidating its stay in power want to avoid the embarrassment and by so doing, it will look backwards and succumb to the blackmail of the oil cartel. Those who are also speculating on forex, they have ensured that the exchange rate is stepped higher. Once the foreign exchange is on the high side, there is a ready excuse for the oil marketers to increase the price so that government can pay them extra at the expense of Nigerians.”

Speaking with our correspondent, the Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Rafsanjani slammed the FG for lack of transparency and accountability to public trust.

Rafsanjani, said “We cannot over-emphasise the instrumentality of transparency and accountability to public trust and confidence as key drivers of good governance.

“We as citizens must continue to call out the government on the opacity around petroleum sector governance and how it has continued to impoverish Nigerians.”

He said citizens would continue to suffer the effect of the removal or reintroduction of petrol subsidies, until the government embraces sincerity both in its intentions and actions.

The Executive Director explained further, “The lies and misinformation are endless. The NNPCL seems to continuously overstep its boundaries and disseminate half-truths. Where does the NNPC derive the authority to make arbitrary deductions for subsidy payments that have been declared removed by the President?

“This is a recurrence of the 2020 House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts probe into the questionable withdrawals of over $21bn from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) dividends account by the NNPC.

“No official statements have been made as to whether subsidies are back, but in principle and practice, we are back in a subsidy regime, if you consider that international crude prices has crossed $95 a barrel and the exchange rate is now N920 per dollar. The government needs to be clear and decisive in its actions. But these actions must be informed by policies and plans that are technically sound, publicly acceptable and administratively feasible.”

He advised that “We must build a democracy centered on public trust and accountability.”

An Anambra-based man, simply identified as Chinedu, has been arrested for allegedly uploading a woman’s nude videos on the social media after she refused to pay him the sum of three thousand Naira (N3,000) he had demanded in order to delete the video.

The suspect, a native of Ezinato community in Awka South Local Government Area of the State, was said to have chatted the victim up via WhatsApp and Facebook, and requested her to give him the money he requested in order for the video not to go viral on social media and for him not to send the video to her husband.

“I chatted the woman and told her that I have her nude video, and that she should pay me N3000 if she doesn’t want the video to go viral,” he confessed.

When asked how he got the video, the shaggy and jaggy-looking young man claimed that it was his friend, Chiagozie Nwafor (also from Ezinato community), who sent it to him and told him that he would want them to use it to extort from the victim.

Although available information revealed that the victim (the woman) lost her memory card sometime early this year, after which someone chatted her up some months later and told her that he had her nude video.

Interrogated by Mrs. Ify Obinabo, the State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, the suspect claimed that he deleted the video after chatting the victim and after she refused to send the money.

He however, claimed that he didn’t know that his friend eventually leaked the video on the social media after the victim refused ‘to cooperate and dance to their tune’.

He attested that the video was later traded for N3000 on Facebook and was gotten by many people who told the victim that they got the video from him.

Speaking on the incident after interrogating the suspect at her office in Awka, Commissioner Obinabo maintained that Anambra State Government abhors and has laws that prohibits rascality of any kind and would legally deal with anybody found wanting.

“This administration of Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo abhors rascality and stupidity, and will never allow anybody who blackmails or exposes someone else’s nude video to go scout free,” she said.

It was gathered that the suspect is currently in the custody of the Anambra State Police Command and would be arraigned before the Children, Sexual and Gender Based Violence Court in Awka.

Controversial journalist, David Hundeyin, has appealed to the Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo, not to allow the Nigerian government to repatriate him from Ghana.

Hundeyin, who is currently seeking asylum in Ghana, made the appeal in a video shared via his X account, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday night.

Before the 2023 general elections, the journalist had published an expose against the then All Progressives Congress (APC) flag bearer and current president, Bola Tinubu titled, ‘Bola Ahmed Tinubu: From Drug Lord To Presidential Candidate.’

Speaking in the newly released video, Hundeyin claimed that the Nigerian government was after him because he leaked a secret document on the plan of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to invade Niger Republic.

According to him: “I fled Nigeria in 2020 and I applied for asylum in Ghana in early 2021. In May 2022, I was granted refugee status in Ghana and subsequently I was also issued a Ghanaian refugee passport, which I have subsequently used extensively to travel across Africa and around the world.

“Last month, when there was the ongoing back and forth between those who wanted to go to war within the ECOWAS bloc against the coup regime in Niger something happened.

“The Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu made a move to deploy Nigerian Special Forces illegally into Nigerian territories to enforce a no fly zone which is a euphemism for essentially staging an unprovoked military attack against an independent sovereign nation and the friendly country to Nigeria.

“As was expected, most people in the Nigerian government and Nigerian military and in the citizenry at large, weren’t at all on board with this. But Tinubu was clearly desperate to start this war with Niger, the war that nobody wanted.

“Subsequently a secret document was leaked to me, a document which contained basically, attack instructions. Basically, staging plans for this illegal invasion of Niger. And I knew that by putting these documents out, I could potentially stop the catastrophic invasion which would lead to an immense and unnecessary loss of West African life. So that’s exactly what I did.

“Early August, I put out these documents and it had the desired effect. It did in fact stop the invasion. Subsequently, Tinubu then tried to seek permission from Nigeria’s Senate to deploy the Nigerian military to Niger. The Senate knocked this back and to all intents and purposes, the invasion essentially became a stillbirth, it didn’t happen.

“It would have been something that would have been catastrophic and would have benefited nobody except the President himself.

“Now, after I leaked this document, I was made aware from several sources that the Nigerian military establishment and Nigerian intelligence establishments became essentially particularly enraged with me. I’ve been a person of interest for a long time. But with that, I became designated as something of an enemy of states.

“As fortune or bad luck would have it, just the month before this happened…The fact that I do travel with the Ghanaian passport that I do travel with, I had become exposed to the public, through no fault of my own, following a very unfortunate event in Zimbabwe, after which the permanent secretary at the Zimbabwean Ministry of Information, probably thinking that he was scoring a point against some sort of foreign journalists, following issues with foreign journalists decided to tweet to a global audience the fact that I did claim asylum in Ghana, and that I travel with the Ghanaian travel documents. As a result of this, the Nigerian establishment knew who to speak to, if they wanted to get a hold.

“So I was informed that the Nigerian intelligence agency, I’m not sure whether it was the National Intelligence Agency or the Defense Intelligence Agency. But one of these foreign intelligence institutions dispatched a jet to Accra to basically have me illegally rendered to Nigeria.

“Apparently, they wrote a letter to the Ghanaian government accusing me of apparently aiding terrorism by supposedly revealing the locations of soldiers and apparently, I was also guilty of treason.

“It seemed as if the matter was going to end there. More recently, I’ve come to find out that the Tinubu government is still trying very hard to to enact some sort of illegal rendition. The latest tactic apparently is to lean on the Ghanaian government, and accused me of having apparently sabotage that ECOWAS mission and in so doing, basically compromised the bloc security of the ECOWAS region, in which case Ghana, being itself an ECOWAS member is then obligated to cancel my asylum to revoke my refugee status and to revoke my Ghanaian passport.

“The Nigerian documents hope is that in revoking my passports, whatever travel privileges or visa or residency privileges, I enjoy anywhere in the world will be will be compromised. And as a result, it will then be more possible for them using the various avenues that are available to obviously a nation state to have somebody extradited or somebody illegally rendered.”

While appealing to President Akufo-Addo, he said: “I want to urge the Ghanaian president to resist the temptation to allow an illegitimate Nigerian president to push Ghana into breaking international law. There is a law that forbids the illegal repatriation of political refugees back to the country that they fled from where they are going to face persecution.

“It’s very well known that if for whatever reason I were to be returned to Nigeria, I would not survive it. This is not a secret.”

Hundeyin has been surrounded in a web of controversies such as attacking revered Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka over the 2023 Presidential election.

Recently, he attacked a notable Nigerian publisher whom he accused of shielding the alleged drug case of President Tinubu.

Operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) in Ogun State have arrested a serving member of the State House of Assembly (OGHA), Hon. Damilare Bello Mohammed, for his alleged involvement in the rival secret cult clashes that occurred in Sagamu town, where eight persons were killed last weekend.

The lawmaker, who was recently elected on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to represent Sagamu State Constituency 1, was arrested alongside five other suspected cultists allegedly involved in the cult violence.

The five other suspects; Debbo Animashaun, Bamidele Saheed, Ismaila Onitire, Adewale Otesanya and Tobi Owoade, were arrested by the DSS operatives during a sting operation after a tip-off at the early hours of Thursday within the residence of the lawmaker.

A statement issued by ‘Lekan Adeniran, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Governor Dapo Abiodun, said the DSS had since Wednesday tracked the six suspected cultists to the official residence of the lawmaker, where he was allegedly providing shelter to the cultists.

Adeniran, in the statement, disclosed that the suspects are presently undergoing interrogation in DSS custody after many dangerous weapons, including guns, were recovered from them.

LEADERSHIP recalls that the same Hon. Bello was earlier in February this year, arrested by the DSS for allegedly masterminding the violent protest that took place in Sagamu where irate youths vandalised about 10 banks and other public infrastructure over the naira redesign policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

There was mild drama at the Oyo State secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC), yesterday, when angry members of the party pelted the National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje and his entourage, who were on a visit with sachets of pure water over alleged marginalisation and ill-treatment meted to the chapter.

Before the drama, Ganduje had assured the party faithful that APC would restructure itself right from the ward to local government, state and federal level for it to attract more members.

Ganduje, who first visited the palace of Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Lekan Balogun, thereafter proceeded on a private visit to the Ibadan residence of Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, where the incumbent governor is recuperating following his return from a three months medical trip from Germany.

Ganduje said he appreciated the Oyo chapter for the job well done during the last general elections, which according to him resulted in the victory of President Bola Tinubu.

The visit somehow turned sour, as some aggrieved members of the party protested what it described as APC national body working against their governorship candidate, Senator Teslim Folarin, in the March 18 gubernatorial poll.

The protesters started shouting the name of Folarin and were simultaneously pelting sachets of water at Ganduje and his entourage, which included the National Vice Chairman, Southwest, Isaac Kekemeke; Ayo Afolabi, former Minister of Communication, Bayo Shittu among others, as they were about leaving the party secretariat.

It was gathered that part of their grievances was President Tinubu’s choice of not picking a member of the party as minister, but decided to appoint Mr. Bayo Adelabu, who was the gubernatorial candidate of Accord Party in the last election. They lamented that up till now, Adelabu, who was given the works ministry, is yet to return to APC.

They booed Ganduje, saying the National Working Committee (NWC) has practically destroyed the Oyo chapter as a result of its continuous romance with Governor Seyi Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). It was also alleged that the Oyo State government on the governor’s directive, provided all the logistics, security, vehicles among others for Ganduje and his entourage.

In his remarks, the Oyo APC chairman, Isaac Omodewu, expressed displeasure that the state chapter is yet to be duly compensated for the work it did for the emergence of President Tinubu in the last election.

He said: “As events that heralded the last general elections are still fresh in our memory, we must inform you that Oyo APC remains an unsung hero because we got little support but we delivered beyond expectations. In spite of the fact that we had no sitting governor in Oyo, electioneering was quite challenging as we had to face a lot of hostilities from the PDP government in the state. All these attacks were documented and reported but unfortunately, the same people behind the attacks are now the one laying claim to our hard-earned victory at the February 25 presidential poll.”

Responding, Ganduje appealed to all conflicting factions and stakeholders within the state to set aside their differences and prioritise peace for the success of the party. He acknowledged the internal crisis within the party, emphasizing that the party’s national leadership is well aware of the situation and is advocating for unity to strengthen the party.

While recognising the dedicated efforts of party members in securing victory during the last presidential election, he emphasised the importance of unity moving forward.

RECEIVING Ganduje, Akeredolu expressed confidence in the capacity of the National Chairman to move the party forward. Akeredolu stated that Ganduje’s extensive experience garnered from serving two terms as Kano governor, has equipped him adequately to steer the party towards significant progress and development.

The Ondo governor also disclosed that God has answered his prayers over his health, but solicited for more prayers from everyone. He expressed gratitude to God for keeping him alive, adding that he is back to his duties.

He said: “I thank God for the gift of life for all of us. I personally want to express my gratitude that I’m alive and well. We are back by the grace of God.”

The governor further expressed his appreciation for the chairman’s directive for state party structures to maintain appropriate offices. “You will know that we have a befitting office when you visit Akure. After the Abuja office, it’s the Ondo office that we can be proud of.

“I want to thank you all for coming. I know that the Lord has answered my prayers, but I need more. My Chairman, I know you are capable, and you can count on my support anytime. The party has survived, and it must continue to take full control of the country’s affairs,” Akeredolu declared.

Earlier, the National Chairman noted that the governor is extremely important to the party and the country. Ganduje, while acknowledging the party’s consistent prayers for the governor, emphasised that they could not forget about the good governance he has been offering Ondo and the country.

“We are here solely to see you after your prolonged absence from the country. You hold extreme importance to us in APC and the country. We prayed intensively for your health.

“We cannot forget the good governance you have been providing for Ondo and Nigeria at large. When one of us faces health challenges, we feel it too. We have come with our Bishop to offer prayers for your health,” Ganduje said.

Ganduje informed the governor that the party’s National Working Committee underwent a reformation during his absence. “In your absence, the NWC was reformed. The National Chairman and the National Secretary of the party both resigned. Prior to this, there were gaps due to resignations or deaths.

Members of the House of Representatives on Friday were shocked to the marrow as the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) publicly justified the sales of 82 vehicles for the sum of N5.8 million over the past 12 years.

Trouble started when the NIMASA Executive Director, Mr. Chudi Offodile, announced during the resumed investigative hearing into the disposal of public property by the Agencies between 2010 and 2022 to unravel the extent of illegal auctioning of public property and non-remittance of revenue realised into the Consolidated Revenue Fund’, chaired by Hon. Julius Ihonbvere, that due process was followed.

The documents presented and obtained by the Nigerian Tribune showed that a Peugeot Expert Ambulance with a market value of N200,000 was sold at a forced liquidation or auction value of N95,000; a Honda Civic Saloon Car with a market value of N170,000 was sold at N76,500; a Toyota Hilux (Grounded) with a market value of N300,000 was sold at N140,000; another Toyota Hilux (Accidental) with a market value of N200,000 was sold at N96,000; and another Toyota Hilux (Grounded) with a market value of N250,000 was sold at N115,000.

In the same vein, two units of Toyota Hilux, which were at the time of inspection in the custody of Carbotage Consultant in Lagos and put at N1 million market value, were sold at N470,000 each for forced liquidation or auction value; a Honda Civic put at N210,000 was sold at N95,000; a Honda City put at N190,000 market value was sold at N80,000, among others.

Through its office in Abuja, a Toyota Hilux put at N500,000 market value was sold at N245,000; a Toyota Avensis put at N300,000 market value was sold at N145,000; a Toyota Corolla put at N300,000 market value was sold at N147,000; and two units of Honda Civic put at N90,000 market value were sold at N30,000 each, among others.

Other lawmakers who spoke during the investigative hearing demanded documentary evidence of funds remitted into the CRF account as provided by extant provisions of the Procurement Act, Proceeds of Crimes Act, and other known legislation or financial regulations.

In his presentation, Mr Offodile, who denied knowledge of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 on the remittance of the funds generated from the sale of public assets, however, affirmed that the proceeds of sales were paid by the Auctioneers into NIMASA’s coffers.

When asked whether the Agency has a mechanic’s workshop where faulty vehicles can be repaired, Mr. Offodile answered in the negative.

While expressing surprise that most of the vehicles displayed in the document presented to the Ad-hoc Committee didn’t show that they are old or not in good condition, Hon. Ihonbvere said: “Looking at them (pictures of vehicles captured in the documents), some of them are looking new,” adding that for Nigerians, a 13-year-old Toyota Hilux is not old.”

Hon. Ihonbvere thereafter narrated how a former Edo State Governor engaged a female mechanic to fix some of the vehicles tagged as unserviceable and recovered over 100 vehicles while other spare parts were stored.

He explained that over 100 vehicles fixed by the female mechanic were deployed to various MDAs, thereby blocking financial leakages.

Hon. Ihonbvere specifically expressed concern over the rationale behind the placement of an advertisement on March 29, 2022, calling for a public auction of NIMASA vehicles and the sale of all the vehicles on March 30, 2022, through forced liquidation or auction.

While alleging that the move “leaves us with the impression that it’s a pre-arrangement,” the Majority Leader argued that the process contravened the extant Public Procurement Act to dispose of public assets within 24 hours.

Hon. Ihonbvere, who disclosed that the Ad-hoc Committee is in the custody of petitions against NIMASA alleging that the vehicles were sold to some officials and staff of the Agency, maintained that the Auctioneers engaged by NIMASA were merely hired to rubber stamp the fictitious insider trading.

Hence, the lawmakers requested a list of all the Auctioneers as well as beneficiaries of the vehicles, the original cost of the vehicles and invoices, a letter of contract awards for the auctioning of the assets to the auctioneers, and relevant approvals obtained from the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing as well as the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

One of the lawmakers expressed worry about why the Agency only carried out sales of vehicles and did not have any record of sales of computers and other office equipment within the period under review.

Hon. Ihonbvere, who requested the registers of all the assets of NIMASA and other MDAs, disclosed that the asset registers would be computerised in the state-of-the-art library, which is currently under construction within the National Assembly complex, to be commissioned by the end of September 2023.

In the same vein, the lawmakers quizzed the Sokoto River Basin’s delegation over indiscriminate sales of public assets to the management of the Agency in breach of the extant Public Procurement Act at ridiculous prices.

To this end, Hon. Ihonbvere directed the delegation from NIMASA and the Sokoto River Basin to provide relevant documents that will aid the ongoing investigation. The ad hoc Committee is expected to resume hearings on Wednesday, September 20, 2023.

Anti-subsidy removal forces and Electricity Distribution Companies are fighting back.

While fuel importers are pressing for the retracing of steps from subsidy removal and payment of outstanding subsidy, electricity distribution companies are protesting against the postponement of the tariff hike.

Yesterday, it was alleged that fuel Importers and the distribution companies (DisCos) were behind the plot to impeach Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Sources said while fuel importers are angry with Akpabio and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for not paying them, at least, two additional months fuel subsidy, following the reversal of the policy, DisCos are said to be moving against the Senate President for allowing Senators to kill their plan to increase electricity tariffs by 40 per cent.

However, the Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), to the Senate President, Eseme Eyiboh, said “there is no cause for alarm.”

Dismissing the impeachment plot, he said “the Senate is harmonious, united and ready to jumpstart its legislative act.”

Eyiboh insisted that the 10th Senate would not be distracted by the machinations of blackmailers.

There were agitations against Akpabio at the weekend fuelled from outside, but which sources said were attributed to disaffection over committee appointments to divert attention.

However, while Akpabio actually faced some heat from some senators who complained about what they described as “Yorubanisation of financial system and economy,” he, more importantly, came under criticism from fuel importers and electricity distribution companies for trampling with their business interests.

The Senate President has been chided in reports over alleged lopsided distribution of ‘juicy committee appointments’ in favour of his supporters who supported his bid for the leadership of the National Assembly.

A source said senators from the North, particularly former governors, and one senator from the Southsouth are presenting All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator Elisha Abbo from Adamawa State the face of the anti-Akpabio group

Abbo has accused Akpabio of marginalising his rivals in the leadership contest and their supporters in the distribution of top committee positions.

However, a source close to the Abbo group disclosed that the grouse of the group is beyond committee appointments.

He said: “The main issue is our fear that Akpabio cannot check this Yorubanisation of the financial system that is going on now.”

The source alluded to recent appointments in Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), pointing out that they were dominated by the Southwest.

He added: “The reason why you can see that Northerners are mostly involved is that most of those being removed and replaced with Yoruba are northerners.”

It was further gathered that the aim of the aggrieved senators is to enthrone a Senate President who can checkmate President Bola Tinubu.

According to the source, the group is liaising with other aggrieved stakeholders, especially petrol importers who believed that they were were shortchanged after reaching agreements with the President and Akpabio on the payment of subsidy to them.

It was gathered that an arrangement had been reached with the presidency that funds generated from the removal of fuel subsidy would be used to settle petrol importers within the first two months of the removal.

The source disclosed that the importers are protesting because the N2 trillion saved through subsidy removal was channelled towards palliatives intervention.

Another interest group said to have infiltrated the ranks of the dissident senators were some Electricity Distribution companies, who had also allegedly reached an agreement with the presidency and Akpabio for an upward review of 40 per cent of tariff.

That agreement was, however, discountenanced on the Senate floor by Akpabio.

The source pointed out that Northern business interest groups were more affected by the decision not to pay the petrol importers.

But, Eyiboh chided those mounting campaigns against Akpabio, describing them as blackmailers.

He maintained that the Senate will not be distracted.

Eyiboh said: “The Senate is united, harmonious and ready to jumpstart productive legislative activities upon resumption from vacation.

“So, no amount of blackmail, especially from the blackmail corridor, will distract the Senate’s collective resolve to give back to the Nigerian people the benefits of the trust they invested in the 10th Senate.

“The 10th Senate under the leadership of Senator Godswill Akpabio has so far demonstrated its avowed commitment to an independent, reform-minded and strong Senate.”

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), a civil society group, has accused President Bola Tinubu of nepotism, alleging that most of the key appointments in his government were allotted to Nigerians from his ethnic group.

HURIWA made this known in a statement issued by its coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, stressing that the recent appointments of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service given to Yoruba people are an attestation.

“With President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent approval of the nomination of Olayemi Cardoso to serve as the substantive new Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), some 48 hours after appointing Zachaeus Adedeji as the acting chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, the strong perception that the President is pushing an unseemly pro-ethnic agenda became worryingly stronger,” the group said.

“Adedeji is to “serve in an acting capacity for 90 days before his subsequent confirmation as the substantive chairman of FIRS for a term of four years in the first instance.

”With a little over 100 days on the saddle, the President’s appointments have shown he appears to have special consideration for people from his South-West region, especially those with links to Lagos State.”

The group cautioned Tinubu, who it accused of assembling his Yoruba and Lagos connections into his government, not to follow the path of his predecessor, former President Muhamamdu Buhari, who reportedly did the same during his eight years in power, stressing that the

It said, “If President Tinubu’s appointment of new service (chiefs) sparked new hope and drew deserved plaudits in that it recognised the nation’s diversity, his subsequent appointments curiously depart from that template.

“That the disastrous, previous administration of General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) towed a visionless, divisive path, in the overwhelming tribalistic appointments it made, should never excuse this course that fundamentally degrades the legitimate dream of a new, progressive, inclusive Nigerian state.

“Today, the stakes are extremely high and Nigerians are mindful that a failure to achieve democratic stability, through a meritorious, transparent, inclusive governance process may imperil the country’s future as a coherent state. Mere political rewards and seeming ethnic nationalism should not drive the national journey. It is a perilous, avoidable option.

“The Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), strongly believes that this is the wrong path to thread, especially against the background of deep mistrust, misery, political and economic dislocations brazenly birthed by the predecessor administration. We believe that like Caesar’s Wife, the Tinubu administration ought to be above suspicion.

“We recall here that the central driving mantra and foundational philosophy on which the ruling All Progressives Congress sold its presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, now President, to Nigerians, was “Renewed Hope.” Nigerians bought into it and voted the Asiwaju and APC to power because it deeply resonated with the populace. But what is the reality?

“Key appointments traversing the nation’s crucial security, judicial and economic sectors are now unabashedly cornered by the South-West region. A quick, non-exhaustive check-list would include: Petroleum Minister: Bola Tinubu; Chief of Staff: Femi Gbajabiamila; Minister of Justice: Lateef Fagbemi; Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun; Acting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Folashodun Shonubi who now gives way to a substantive CBN boss Olayemi Cardoso.

“Others include: Minister of Marine & Blue Economy: Bunmi Tunji-Ojo; Minister of Communication, Innovation & Digital Economy: Bosun Tijan; simultaneously, the Chairman of Senate Committee on ICT, Afolabi Salisu, and that of House of Representatives, Adedeji Olajide Odidiomo are both from the South-West; Minister of Power: Adebayo Adelabu; Minister of Transport: Adegboyega Oyetola; Minister of Solid Minerals: Dele Alake; Chief of Army Staff: General Taoreed Lagbaja; Police IG: Kayode Egbetokun; Comptroller-General Customs: Adewale Adeniyi; Comptroller-General Immigration: Adepoju Carol Wura-Ola; FIRS Chairman: Zacchaeus. Adedeji, et cetera.”

Speaking in the same vein, the National Publicity Secretary of the apex Northern socio-cultural and political organization, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Professor Tukur Muhammad-Baba, knocked Tinubu for giving sensitive and lucrative appointments to persons from the South-West part.

Muhammad-Baba, a professor of Sociology, said this in an interview with New Telegraph, and maintained that he spoke in his personal capacity because the Northern group had yet to deliberate on the issue, describing the appointments so far as should not be encouraged in a “deeply fractious federation” like Nigeria.

The ACF spokesman also berated the immediate past administration of Buhari for also indulging in sectional appointments but added that it is not an excuse as someone has to break the circle of such appointments.

Muhammad- Baba said, “From all indications, most, if not all sensitive or “lucrative” assignments are being given to persons of Southwest extraction.

“It’s not ideal in a deeply fractious federation like ours. But the Constitution gives absolute power to the President to make such appointments. A part of the Constitution directs that such appointments must reflect the social diversity of the country in terms of “balancing” of place of origin, indigeneship, ethnicity, religion, etc.”

By James Abraham


The Federal Government has again invited the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress to a meeting in order to resolve issues over the looming industrial action.

The meeting between the two parties had been scheduled for Monday September 18,2023.

This was disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday, by the Director Information, Ministry of Labour and Employment ,Olajide Oshundun.

Oshundun said, “The Minister of Labour and Employment Simon Bako Lalong has again invited the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC for another meeting over its planned indefinite strike.

“The Minister who directed the Department of Trade Unions Services and Industrial Relations to convene a meeting with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for Monday 18th September 2023 said it was important that the Unions sit with Government to resolve all pending matters to avert further disruption to the economy.

“According to the Minister, the administration of President Bola Tinubu will always engage the organised labour and respond to its concerns after due consultation and negotiations in order to guarantee industrial harmony which is critical to the attainment of the Renewed Hope Agenda”

The PUNCH reports that the latest invitation by the federal government is coming days after The Nigeria Labour Congress ended it’s two-day warning strike after shunning an earlier meeting with the Federal Government to embark on the strike over increasing hardship and suffering across the country caused by the removal of fuel subsidy.

The NLC had given notice of a two-day warning strike to protest the excruciating mass suffering and impoverishment experienced around the country, threatening a total and indefinite shutdown of the economy within 14 working days or 21 days after the warning strike, if government did not take steps to address the hardship being experienced across the country.

The Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Muhammed Shehu, says political office holders in Nigeria do not earn outrageous emoluments as speculated by Nigerians.

Mr Shehu, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja, said some civil servants are earning more than ministers and legislators, adding that politicians have yet to see a salary increment since 2007.

“I want to disabuse the minds of Nigerians. It is not true that people are getting jumbo salaries. “The monthly salary of Mr President is less than N1.5 million; that of a minister is not even up to one million naira.

“I know of an average CBN worker who is not even a director, who earns more than a minister.

“People in NNPC, NCC, ports authority earn huge salaries. What is the salary of a governor? What is the salary of a legislator?” He said.


Recent attempt to increase salaries of public servants

An official of RMAFC had in June stated that a 114 per cent salary increase has been approved for political office holders.

Many Nigerians criticised the proposal at a time when citizens are being asked to adjust to increased prices of goods and services as a result of government policies such as the removal of subsidy on petrol.

However, Dele Alake, the then spokesperson to President Bola Tinubu, denied the claim, noting that the president is yet to give his approval.

Reacting to the planned increment of salaries, Mr Shehu said that it is the constitutional responsibility of RMAFC to determine and review the salaries of executive, legislative and judicial officers.

He said salaries of political office holders have not been reviewed since 2007.

“From 2008 till date there had not been any single review,” Mr Shehu said.

“We are Nigerians, we are not going to start talking about reviewing salaries of political office holders now because of the challenges that the government is facing.

“As a commission, we are going to do our work but we are not going to say we will do it now.

“We will do it when the climate is right and then we will take it forward to the stakeholders for them to decide on what to do,” he said.


Legislators not earning jumbo salaries but operating cost — RAMFC

Speaking on the earnings of senators and members of the House of Representatives, Mr Shehu said what Nigerians consider to be “jumbo salaries” is “operating cost”.

“I know some people will say members of the National Assembly get up to N10 million or N11 million monthly.

“Those are not salaries, they are like operating costs of running their offices which in other societies the legislator does not have to see because there is a structure.

“Once you get elected, you make that structure from your constituency office to computers to logistics to the size of your constituency.

Mr Shehu stated further that legislators ought to submit receipts for proper documentation and accountability.

“Wherever you have constituency office, the workers you hire, It is the National Assembly Service commission that is supposed to take care of that.

“But the Nigerian system allows the legislator to be given a certain amount and then he deals with that and retires the receipts,” Mr Shehu said.

Top politicians strongly opposed to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, plan to oust him when the Senate resumes later this month.

The forces are reported to be upset that the former Akwa Ibom State Governor is playing the role of a lap dog for President Tinubu rather than serving the overall interest of lawmakers and Nigerians.

They alleged that Akpabio’s closeness to the President has made him not pay full attention to his colleagues and work hard enough to meet the expectations of Nigerians despite the challenges in the country.

Reliable sources confirmed that some of the aggrieved Senators led by two former North West governors, want to use the recent slip made by Akpabio that “prayers’ had been sent to their mailboxes for celebrations to punish him.

A top source in the National Assembly, who is familiar with the plot, said that the anti-Akpabio group had already held several meetings in Saudi Arabia and Ilorin to perfect plans to impeach him upon Senate resumption.

The top NASS source said, “Among the “sins” of Senator Akpabio, is his alleged “highly-subordinated relationship with President Bola Tinubu.

“Also, the “token’ slip by the Senate President on the day of adjournment for the subsisting recess, is said to form the basis of the move to serve him the famous “banana peel” treatment.

It was gathered that although the Senate President had since clarified what he meant by “prayer” and withdrawn it, his gaffe did not go down well with many of his colleagues, who had expressed their concerns publicly.

“All of these are preparatory to the 2027 general elections where a new “hybrid party” is expected to be floated by the arrowheads of the scheme,” the source close to lawmakers and security men said.

“Plans are in top gear by some Senators to remove the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

“ I can tell you confidently that there are four Senators spearheading the plot and two of the lawmakers are former governors from the North West geo-political zone of the country.

“As a matter of fact, they had consulted one of their colleagues chairing a sensitive committee of the upper chamber over the sinister move.

“To firm up their game plan, they met in Saudi Arabia recently, and also in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, with the same agenda to remove the Senate President”, the source hinted.

Another source noted that: “There are plans to establish a hybrid party, ahead of the 2027 elections.

“The plan is to draw membership of the yet-to-be-named political platform from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and opposition parties, especially the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

“They intend to replicate the ‘tsunami’ that hit the then-ruling PDP in 2014, where many heavyweights of the party moved to form what is today the SPC.

Written by Ejike Ejike


Some aggrieved senators have started making moves to impeach the Senate president, Senator Godswill Akpabio, when the Senate reconvenes on September 26, 2023.

LEADERSHIP Weekend investigations revealed that two prominent senators from the North West and other senators across the national assembly are already meeting and mapping out plans to carry out the daring move.

According to sources who revealed these, the senators believe that the senate president is a rubber stamp for the presidency and may not be able to carry out his duty effectively.

They are also planning to not only impeach the senate president but to make the leadership of the senate not favorable to the presidency thereby, creating uncomfortable situation for the president.

Part of the plans, our investigations showed, include floating a new political party, which will be spearheaded by a former governor from the North West, who is a high ranking member of the senate and will likely be contesting for presidency under the new party.

The idea of the new party is to unsettle the current political parties, especially the ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC) and serve as alternative for Nigerians come 2027.

These senators who are already meeting, had recently met in Kwara State, where the idea of the political party was nurtured and agreed upon.

The sources also said that they are currently meeting in Saudi Arabia where they are perfecting plans to ensure that the Senate President is impeached when the national assembly reconvenes.

Part of their propaganda is to use the current economic situations in the country and the situations in Niger Republic to garner support of other senators against the Senate President thereby pushing for his impeachment for not tackling the presidency on these issues.

It would be noted that the senate president has been having issues with some aggrieved senators after announcing the leadership of different committees in the senate, which didn’t go down well with them.

Also, he had stirred controversy following a viral video in which he stated that the Clerk of the National Assembly had credited accounts of the senators with tokens to enable them enjoy their holidays.

“In order to enable all of us to enjoy our holidays, a token has been sent to our various accounts by the Clerk of the National Assembly,” Akpabio had said.

However, he quickly recanted after he was reminded that the comments had gone public by saying what he meant to say was that he had sent prayers to the email boxes of the legislators.

This followed calls by a civil society advocacy group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), for his impeachment.

In a statement, HURIWA called for him to step aside and subject himself to the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), for investigation for violating the relevant laws on lawful allowances or be impeached without further waste of time.

There was a mild drama in a wedding ceremony in a church in Calabar, Cross River State, when the bride’s father and a cleric disagreed on who between the two had the power to declare the couple as husband and wife.

The wedding, held on 9 September at Liberty Gospel Church, Calabar, was live streamed on Facebook.

The groom was Francis Mbosowo and the bride, Kubiat, according to the information on the Facebook page.

Helen Ukpabio, an apostle and founder of the church, who officiated the wedding, publicly asked the bride’s father if the groom had fulfilled all the traditional requirements before the church could go ahead to “join them as husband and wife”.

“[b]They are already husband and wife,” the bride’s father responded. The congregants laughed out loud[/b].

“No, they are not until we pronounce them,” Mrs Ukpabio said to the man.

“But has he satisfied you?” She asked him.

“They are already husband and wife,” the bride’s father responded again, sounding adamant. The congregants, again, laughed out loud.

The exchange between the cleric and the bride’s father, quite an uncommon scene in a wedding ceremony usually considered a solemn event, especially the moment where a priest is about to declare a couple husband and wife, appeared to have provided entertainment for the congregants at the Liberty Gospel Church.

“Okay, did you hear what I said?” Mrs Ukpabio asked the bride’s father, who turned around and gazed at the apostle who was standing at the podium, a few metres away from where the groom, the bride and their families stood.

“I said, has he satisfied you? You are not coming (here) to make a pronouncement. I will make the pronouncement,” Mrs Ukpabio said firmly.

“Has he satisfied you?” Mrs Ukpabio asked again.

The man did not respond. There was silence inside the church. The man glanced at his daughter and the man who would be her husband. The three spoke among themselves in low tones.


‘No, you didn’t join them’

The apostle repeated the question in the Efik language, in case the man did not understand English.

The man said he understood the question she was asking.

He told the apostle he had pronounced the couple as husband and wife during the traditional marriage rites, which took place a few days before the church wedding.

“No, you didn’t join them,” the apostle said to him. “I am the one to join them together, in the name of Jesus.”

“Did this young man satisfy you according to the tradition of your list? You gave him a list, did he satisfy you?” she asked for the eighth time.

“If you said you had joined them together, we dismiss (from here) and everybody goes away.”

Mrs Ukpabio was getting frustrated with the man’s attitude, it appeared. “What’s the problem here? Has this man given you your traditional rights?” she asked him again.

“Yes, he had given!” The man, who now appeared to have finally given up, responded. The congregants burst into laughter. The groom laughed too.

“Eehee! That’s what you should have said.”

The apostle asked the groom’s family if they knew the bride, and if they were willing to accept her into their family. They responded in the affirmative.

Mr Ukpabio continued with the wedding ceremony, including the groom unveiling the bride, the exchange of marital vows and rings, before she finally declared the couple as husband and wife.

“In the Mighty name of Jesus! Our father, a new home has begun,” she prayed for the couple.

“Our father, we declare that every other foundation that someone had laid on account of these people is hereby destroyed, and destroyed, and destroyed, and destroyed. We scattered, we uproot, we cast out, (and) we burn with fire in the name of Jesus!”

“Amen!” the congregants chorused.


Fundamental question

Church wedding (some people call it ‘white wedding’) is a culture that was handed down to Nigerians by the Europeans through colonisation.

Some Nigerians prefer to go to the church for their wedding after doing it the traditional way. There are still others who would love to add a third one – court marriage.

Mrs Ukpabio was simply following a time-honoured ceremony in a typical Christian wedding in Nigeria where the church seeks the consent of both parents before pronouncing a couple husband and wife but the action of the bride’s father raises a fundamental question of when a marriage could be said to have really taken place – is it when a priest makes a declaration or when the parents of the bride and the groom give their consent, during a traditional ceremony?

“I have seen people marry without their parent’s consent. The exact moment a marriage is said to have taken place can vary from place to place and country to country,” Eno Adams, from Akwa Ibom State, said in May in a response to a question posed by a PREMIUM TIMES reporter.

“Some might consider it to be when the couple says ‘I do’ or equivalent affirming words, while others might consider it to be when the official pronounces them married, or when the marriage is legally registered. Regardless, the key point is that marriage typically involves a combination of a legal process (obtaining a licence and registering the marriage) and a ceremonial act (the wedding ceremony).”

The Federal Government has inaugurated a 15-man Inter-Ministerial Committee to organise the celebration of Nigeria’s 63rd Independence Day anniversary.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, who inaugurated the committee on Thursday in Abuja, also rolled out activities lined up for the 63rd Independence anniversary celebration.

Akume who is the chairman of the committee said the proposed activities for the celebration would be subject to finalization by the committee.

He said it was constituted to plan, organise and execute all approved activities befitting Nigeria’s 63rd Independence anniversary celebration on October 1, 2023.

According to him, on October 1, there would be presidential broadcast by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as part of the programmes lined up for the celebration.

Members of the committee include: Minister of Information and Culture; Minister of Interior, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister Foreign of Affairs, Minister of the FCT, National Security Adviser, Inspector-General of Police, Director-General, Department of State Services and Commander, Guards Brigade.

Others are: Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Permanent Secretary, Special Services Office, Permanent Secretary’, Ecological Project Office, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health and Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Affairs Office.

Akume said the celebration of the 63rd independence anniversary has provided an opportunity to reflect on the contributions and sacrifices of the national heroes and heroines who fought for the independence of Nigeria from the colonial masters.

“The celebration also affords the government an opportunity to showcase its achievements in dealing with myriads of challenges in social and economic sectors confronting the nation,” he said.

The SGF told members of the committee which held its inaugural meeting after they were inaugurated that time was of essence regarding the preparation for the 63rd Independence anniversary celebration.

He said that there would be a world press briefing 25th September, Church Service on 1st October, Juma’at Service 29th September, Symposium/Public Lecture on 28th September, Presidential Broadcast on 1st October; and Parade on 2nd October, 2023.

The Federal Government, on Thursday, said there was no timeframe for resumption of Emirates and Etihad flights that were put on hold amid the diplomatic row between Nigeria and the United Arabs Emirates (UAE).

After a meeting between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his Nigerian counterpart, Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on Monday in Abu Dhabi, Ajuri Ngelale, Presidential spokesman, had said both leaders reached a historic agreement, which resulted in the immediate cessation of the visa ban placed on Nigerian travelers.

He added that both Etihad Airlines and Emirates Airlines were to immediately resume flight schedules into and out of Nigeria, “without any further delay”.

But the UAE authorities were silent on the visa ban lift and resumption of flights by its airlines, sparking curiosity among Nigerians.

In its statement, the Middle East country said Nigeria and the UAE would work together to reinforce their ties and explore opportunities for further bilateral collaborations.

But speaking speaking during the Aviation Africa Summit in Abuja on Thursday, Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, said the terms of agreements were being finalised.

He said: “So, we are beginning to work out all the tiny details. I have met with Emirate before I left UAE, and we are working out the details. We cannot say the time frame. Kicking off an airline operation again on a route, does not mean you will go and grab one empty plane sitting in a place.

“There is no idle plane sitting anywhere, they have to reschedule their flights and restart their routes again. All kinds of permission will be taken from local authorities and of course, I made the point in speaking with them and I made it clear that they will have to give our airlines reciprocal rights under our Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASAs).

“That is the point I insisted on, and they did say that any spot we need, they will give us as much as we give them those spots within Nigeria.”

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Thursday said that the former governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, is not just the FCT Minister but his adviser.

Tinubu stated this when he welcomed the high-powered 62-man delegation from Rivers state, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He told Rivers State stakeholders that he has heard their cries on infrastructure development especially on the dilapidated Elementary junction-Onne axis of the East West Road linking the Port Harcourt Refinery.

The President in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale was quoted as saying: “The Honourable Minister, Wike, is not just the Minister of FCT, he is also my adviser and an admirer of mine. He has hit the ground running and he should be encouraged by the State”.

Advising the younger generation to be more patient with the processes of government, the President said, “I am the Captain and Chief Salesman of the country. We have to reverse the trend and achieve possibilities within a short period of time. Our people have high expectations for us. I pledge to work hard, and I pray to God to put me on the right path, not to disappoint Nigerians,” the President concluded.

Dauda Biu, the corps marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), says personnel have been mandated to stop entering the vehicles of offenders during seizure.

Bisi Kazeem, FRSC spokesperson, in a statement on Thursday, said Biu made the clarification while dismissing a “wrongly couched” memo currently making the rounds.

Kazeem said the memo in question relates to a directive issued to commanding officers, which called for an end to the practice of placing patrol operatives in the vehicles of offenders during impoundment.

The spokesperson said the original directive was issued in a memo dated September 12 2023, with reference FRSC/HQ/OPS/94/VOLXVI/094.

He added that the memo was titled: ‘Immediate ban on the placing of staff in offenders vehicles to escort for Impoundment’.

“This was however, interpreted as a complete ban on the impoundment of vehicles by the corps,” NAN quoted Kazeem as saying.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the corps marshal’s directive was a correction of an earlier one saying impoundment of vehicles have been banned, captured under paragraph III of the aforementioned memo.

“However, the corps marshal only banned placing of staff in offenders vehicles to escort for impoundment by patrol teams under any guise of traffic infraction committed with immediate effect.

“The corps regrets any confusion caused by the earlier memo, and would like to inform the public that the current position of the corps was as outlined in the corrected directive.”

The proposed strike by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) will be counter-productive if it goes ahead, private employers of labour cautioned yesterday.

According to them, the NLC should seek better opportunities for its members to cushion subsidy removal pain through dialogue with the government.

Early in the month, NLC President Joe Ajaero called out workers on a two-day warning strike, but it attracted mixed compliance on September 5 and 6.

Announcing the warning strike, Ajaero, who shunned a meeting called by Labour Minister Simon Lalong, said a “total shut down of the economy” would follow in 14 days unless the government reversed the pump price of petrol to pre-May 29, among other reasons.

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) which declined to join the NLC for the warning strike opted for a dialogue with the government within two weeks.

In a September 8 letter to the government, the TUC said it is expecting a response from the government on its proposals.

The NLC has, however, opted to go ahead with its plan to mobilise workers for an indefinite strike.

But, a former Vice President of the NLC Comrade Issa Aremu said the industrial action is preventable.



Aremu, who is Director General of Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS) said: “Strikes are just the means not to an end. The end is improved welfare for working men and women at this challenging times.

“I know that President Tinubu is concerned about the plight of all. His quotable quote is ‘let’s the poor breath.’

Aremu said Lalong has demonstrated commitment to dialogue with NLC and TUC.

He stressed: “Strikes are therefore, preventable. I think both government and organised labor will soon find a common ground.

“Strike is certainly not inevitable, indeed it is preventable but rewarding negotiations and compromises by the two parties.”

The Director-General of the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Mr. Adewale-Smart Oyerinde, who featured on a Television programme last night, said the proposed strike will be counter-productive, adding that it will hurt employers and employees.

The NECA boss, who applauded the Federal Government for the steps taken so far, however, said there was need for the government to do more.

He said: “The approval of N5billion to each state is a step, because if the money is well spent in a state economy, it will trigger some level of consumption, which will also go back into production.

“We are also aware that the government is sharing rice. But, these efforts are not enough.”

Oyerinde said the strike will not in any way address the challenges confronting employers, employees the generality of Nigerians.

In his view, it is possible for parties in the dispute to renegotiate already agreed terms.

Oyerinde added: “Our position remains the same on the issue. And that is, if you negotiate, courtesy demands that you live up to the terms of negotiation.

“But, if anything arises that makes it difficult to live up to the terms of the negotiation, there is opportunity to renegotiate the terms that have been agreed upon, if you don’t have the capacity to implement.”

The DG said going on strike will distress stakeholders.

He stressed: “For us as employers, though we are paying beyond the minimum wage and we have also gone to provide succour, palliatives, welfare packages to make life easier for employees in the private sector, notwithstanding the fact that employers are currently bleeding and facing multi-dimensional challenges.

“But, we have done well, as the President had also commended the employers in his August broadcast. A strike at this point will do two or three things.

”One, it will hinder the ability of the employers to meet their obligations and this will affect, not only the public sector, but even the workers.

“When you go on strike, it will put the employers in double jeopardy, especially when we are not the protagonist and antagonists. And that remains our position.”

Oyerinde urged the government to do everything possible to avert the industrial crisis.

He said: “We are calling on the government to do all that is necessary to avoid the strike.

“But if the strike should happen, it will be counter-productive for both employers and the workers.”

Oyerinde said government should look at the payment of multiple taxes, VAT on diesel and petrol, creation of an enabling environment, and the forex challenge.

NLC Head of Information Benson Upah said the planned nationwide strike by the NLC was on track.

But the Director of Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour, Olajide Oshundun, said the ministry was yet to receive any notice of strike from the NLC.

A member of the National Working Committee of the NLC said there was no need for a fresh notice as the communique issued at the end of the NEC meeting of the Congress on September 1, was enough for the government.

Upah said the government had “not done anything to suggest that it was committed to the promises it made.

”The government has not done anything which will suggest that it was committed to the promises it has made. Our plans remain on course unless something dramatic happens,” he added.


TUC awaits govt action on proposals

FEDERAL Government’s action on some of the proposals by the TUC to cushion the impacts of fuel subsidy removal is still being awaited, the union has said.

On September 4, Lalong asked for two weeks from the leadership of the TUC to communicate the proposals to President Tinubu and the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

The two-week window expires on Monday.

But international engagements in New Delhi, India and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) have kept the President busy since last week.

An official of the Labour and Employment Ministry told The Nation that Lalong has been unable to table the proposals by Labour before the appropriate authority.

It was further learnt that government representatives and Labour leaders have not met since the September 4 parley, which was shunned by the NLC.

The government called the meeting to avert the two-day warning strike called by the NLC.

The Federal Government promised to work on the TUC proposals.

The ministry official said: “No official discussion between government and Labour. But we are hoping that very soon the discussion will start again.

“You know the minister requested for two weeks for the President to come back. The minister will take the proposals by Labour to the President. There are demands on the president’s table.

“The president is already aware that there was a two-day warning strike by the NLC and there are discussions behind the scenes. I am sure the President will tell Nigerians what to expect.”

Some of the TUC proposals are the implementation of palliatives; wage awards; tax exemptions and allowances to public sector workers; modalities for the N70 billion for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs); the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers(NURTW) crisis, among others.

Osifo told The Nation that the congress was waiting for the outcome of the minister’s response.

The TUC letter dated September 8 reads: “I convey to you, compliments from the National Administrative Council (NAC) of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), especially the President, Comrade (Engr) Festus Osifo and wish to draw your attention to the above subject matter.

“This letter is a follow-up to the last meeting held in your office on the 2nd day of September 2023. You can recall that in the last meeting sir, we promised not to wait until the expiration of two weeks before reaching out but will bring any information that could further add value to your pending presentation before the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presentation.

“We equally raised the issues of Taxation and the need for the government to grant tax waivers to employees that earn low income in public and private sectors as well as those in the informal sector.

“We highlighted the need for effective collaboration with the minister of Finance and the coordinating minister for the economy who has made some comments around these in the past.

“It is critical to resolve this urgently as we also implore your Excellency to bring the attention of the Taiwo Oyedele-led committee on taxation and fiscal reforms recently set up by the President to this.

“Honorable minister sir, another critical issue that should be reviewed is the collection of levies in dollars on petroleum products imported into the country by NIMASA and NPA.

“This act tends to lead to a further upward surge in the prices of PMS whenever the naira depreciates against the dollar as recently noticed during the floating of the naira.

“We hereby call on your office to liaise further with the above-mentioned reform committee or bring this to the attention of the FEC which could compel the two agencies to immediately start charging their levies and taxes in dollars.

“While we await your intervention, please accept the renewed assurances of our regards.”

Nigerian-born Adeyemo, the highest-ranking member of the African diaspora in President Joe Biden’s administration, emigrated from Nigeria to the United States as a child.

The United States Deputy Treasury Secretary, Wally Adeyemo, is scheduled to visit Nigeria to strengthen economic ties between the US and the West African giant.

During the meeting, 42-year-old Adeyemo is expected to meet with key government officials, business leaders, and representatives from various sectors.

Nigerian-born Adeyemo, the highest-ranking member of the African diaspora in President Joe Biden’s administration, emigrated from Nigeria to the United States as a child.

The US Government in a statement on WordPress said, “We are excited to announce that the Deputy Treasury Secretary will soon be making a highly anticipated visit to Nigeria in a significant effort to strengthen economic ties between the United States and Nigeria.

“This visit comes at a crucial time when both countries have recognized the immense potential for collaboration and mutual growth. Nigeria, with its vibrant economy and abundant resources, offers a vast array of opportunities for foreign investment, while the United States, as a global economic powerhouse, brings extensive expertise and capital to the table.

“During the visit, the Deputy Treasury Secretary will engage in a series of high-level meetings with key government officials, business leaders, and representatives from various sectors. The discussions will revolve around enhancing trade relations, exploring avenues for investment, and addressing any potential barriers that hinder the bilateral economic relationship.

“Nigeria, as Africa’s largest economy, has witnessed remarkable transformation in recent years. The government’s commitment to economic reforms, infrastructure development, and diversification has attracted substantial foreign interest.

“The visit by the Deputy Treasury Secretary further reinforces the United States’ recognition of Nigeria’s potential as a strategic economic partner.

“The agenda of the visit will encompass several crucial topics. Discussions will include exploring avenues for increased trade, with a focus on areas such as energy, agriculture, technology, and finance.

“Both countries will seek to identify areas of complementarity and develop synergistic investment strategies to maximize mutual benefits.

“Furthermore, discussions around financial cooperation, including the fostering of greater collaboration between banking and financial institutions, will be prioritized.

“The Deputy Treasury Secretary’s visit aims to facilitate dialogue and create the necessary framework for increased coordination between the two nations’ financial sectors, thereby enabling smoother international business transactions and enhanced economic cooperation.”

The US said it “recognizes Nigeria’s potential as a leading force in the region and seeks to support its economic growth and stability”.

“Through this visit, the Deputy Treasury Secretary aims to foster a stronger partnership, marked by trust, transparency, and shared prosperity,” it said.

“As the visit concludes, we anticipate the signing of several memoranda of understanding and bilateral agreements that will serve as a foundation for deeper economic collaboration.

“While challenges undoubtedly exist, the commitment and determination displayed by both countries indicate a strong desire to overcome obstacles and foster a long-lasting and mutually beneficial economic relationship.

“The visit of the Deputy Treasury Secretary holds great promise for Nigeria and the United States alike.

“By harnessing the potential of this robust economic partnership, both countries can unlock new opportunities, fuel innovation and growth, and contribute to the overall prosperity of their peoples. We eagerly await the outcomes of this historic visit and anticipate a brighter future for the economic relations between Nigeria and the United States.”

“It’s one of those opportunities to go to a place that means a lot to me personally, but also to go to a place that means a lot to me professionally, just given that Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy with a huge demographic boom,” Mr. Adeyemo said in an interview with The New York Times.

“It’s just a great chance for me to talk about how we can deepen the economic relationship and the strategic relationship at a moment when Nigeria has a government that’s already taken really important steps in terms of economic reform.”

The Labour Party may be considering legal action against Comrade Lamidi Apapa and his supporters in the party over what it described as fake news.

National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party (LP), Pastor Obiora Ifoh, in a WhatsApp group rebuttal, said the news of the Supreme Court judgement on the Imo State gubernatorial matter between Maduka vs. Ukegbu and the LP was fake, which constituted a cybercrime offence punishable under the law.

According to him, there was never a Supreme Court judgement on the Imo State gubernatorial matter between Maduka vs Ukegbu and LP on the said date.

The spokesman of the Labour Party said reports that stated that the Supreme Court had ruled on the matter between Maduka vs. Ukegbu and LP were unfounded as there was no such matter.

His words: “At the Supreme Court yesterday, the three matters that came up for hearing had nothing to do with Apapa.

“This is cybercrime, and the party will be exploring legal options against the originators and dispensers of this fake news. They are also subjecting the judiciary to opprobrium.

Pastor Ifoh, who charged media men to be careful with the report that promotes fake news and makes such platforms liable for cybercrime, said the claim of a CTC of the Judgement to be produced in 48 hours would further unearth the claim.

The rebuttal reads in part: The Supreme Court has not heard, not to talk of giving judgment on the Imo State governorship matter between Maduka v. Ukegbu and LP.

“Only yesterday, Apapa Group attempted to file their appeal at the Supreme Court, and they requested that a lawyer not known to the Labour Party be served as representing the party and that it be served at an address that is different from the party’s National Headquarters.

“Their evil plot was exposed. They had gone ahead to spread fake news that the Supreme Court had given judgment, and they even assured that the CTC would be made available within 48 hours.

“At least this failed plot will expose them more. Their desperation is unbelievable. Kindly distance yourself from Apapa and his gang, as they are out to manipulate the media space and destroy some people’s careers,” Pastor Ifoh stated.

The United States chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has stated that any Nigerian who “disrupts” the visit of President Bola Tinubu with protests “will face arrest and prosecution to the fullest extent of the legal framework.”

The APC said Nigerians living in US must be wary of a planned protest ahead of President Tinubu’s visit to the United Nations General Assembly on September 20.

Tinubu is expected to address the 78th Session of the high-level UNGA General Debate at the UN headquarters in New York.

He will be the fifth African leader to speak on day one of the gathering, according to the list of speakers released by the Office of the General Assembly President.

The President’s proposed visit has however generated mixed feelings with some Nigerians in the Diaspora saying they would resist his coming.

Reacting in a statement issued on Tuesday, the Chairman of the United States chapter of the APC, Prof. Tai Balofin, claimed that a suspended party member, Adesegun Labinjo, was allegedly masterminding the rally.

The statement partly read, “It has recently come to our attention that certain individuals are planning to stage a rally during President Tinubu’s visit to the United Nations. This planned rally directly responds to a gathering planned by a suspended individual, Mr. Labinjo, who claims to be the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, on September 20, 2023.

“The repercussions of Mr Labinjo’s rally have given rise to concerns of potential disruption and chaos from the Obidients who plan to put the reputation of the president into disparage. In light of this situation, we wish to inform the public and all concerned parties that we have taken swift action to notify the appropriate authorities regarding this unnecessary and potentially disruptive plan.

“The Chairman of APC USA, Prof. Tai Balofin, has issued a stern warning to those considering disrupting any sideline events or the visit of President Tinubu. He emphasizes that any individual who violates the law will face arrest and prosecution to the fullest extent of the legal framework.

“We fully recognise and respect the principles of freedom of speech and association, which are fundamental to a democratic society. However, we urge all citizens to exercise these rights responsibly and in a manner that does not tarnish the reputation of our President.

“It is important to remember that the election results and legal proceedings have been settled, and it is time to accept the outcome gracefully. Another opportunity for political participation will arise in the upcoming 2027 elections, and individuals are encouraged to participate through legitimate means.”

Mrs Kehinde Kamal, a 45-year-old mother of four, from the Rikkos community of Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State, could not have believed that the result of her medical evaluation after a complaint about abdominal pain to a doctor in Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), could be way worse than what was expected.

Mrs Kamal was reported to have lost her right kidney during an operation that had nothing to do with the organ.

On Wednesday, the husband of Kehinde Busari Kamal reported Noah Kekere of Murna Clinic and Maternity located at Yanshanu Community of Jos North to the Nasarawa Gwong Police Division, accusing him of removing his wife’s kidney during an operation in 2018.

According to residents of Jos, the accused doctor popularly known as ‘Yellow’ had been in the community for more than 25 years, operating as a doctor, adding that hundreds of patients used to troop to the hospital for medical attention because he charged less compared to other medical centres, and that he could perform an operation on credit.

The husband said the doctor had originally told them an appendix was discovered on Kehinde which needed urgent operation, alleging that unknown to them, the doctor removed Kehinde’s right kidney during the operation.

Efforts to get the reaction of the accused doctor who is currently in police custody were unsuccessful but the spokesperson of the state police command said they were investigating the matter.

Curiously, while in police custody, Kekere started exhibiting funny behaviours of mad people and he was rushed to JUTH.

However, even when the outcome of the evaluation of Kehinde’s status was revealed to her that one of her kidneys was removed, she at first found it difficult to understand what “kidney” meant because the word sounded strange to her.

“When my abdomen kept paining me, I approached JUTH for further examination of my health status so as to understand what the cause really was.

“On getting to JUTH, a doctor after hearing my complaint, thoroughly examined my stomach and asked me to go for scanning. After the scanning and the results were out, the doctor asked me which kind of operation I underwent that my stomach was cut to that magnitude.

“I told him it was an appendix. The doctor further asked where the first operation was carried out and I told him it was at Murna Clinic. He then disclosed to me that one of my kidneys was removed,” the victim said. “Kidney! I asked. I didn’t know what kidney meant but I quickly called my husband to inform him that the result of the evaluation at JUTH indicated that my kidney was removed.”

Mrs Kamal said before she approached the teaching hospital, sometime in January 2018, she was feeling pain in her stomach and she went to Murna Clinic and Maternity seeking medical attention. There Dr. Noah Kekere, who was alleged to have removed her right kidney, told her that an appendix was discovered on her and she needed to be operated on urgently, adding that if it was not handled quickly, it could cause her death.

“He charged us N80,000 which we paid and thereafter, he carried out the surgery. I spent six days in the hospital. After six months, the side of the operation started causing me pain. My husband said I should go back to Dr. Kekere to lay my complaint which I did. He prescribed some medicines for me. After taking the medicine the pain was eased for some time. But not long after, the same pain started again.

“I continued to report to him about the pain at regular intervals. Whenever I complained, he would either give me some tablets or injections, but a few days after, the pain would return.

“When I kept complaining, he told me I needed another surgery as another disease was discovered in my stomach and would cause me N60,000,” the victim said. “But I thought what if the second operation was carried out and it was also not successful? I was scared because the first operation was yet to be healed and the Dr was suggesting another one. I then decided to go to JUTH for further consultation,” she added.

Kehinde said when the result of the scanning issued by JUTH showed that her kidney was removed, and it was shown to him, Dr Kekere denied anything to do with it and the police ordered that another scan be conducted at Fertile Ground Hospital in Jos South where the result also showed that a kidney was removed.

Explaining her illness, Mrs Kamal said: “I was never in my lifetime admitted in a hospital or underwent surgery until 2018 when I was first operated on by Dr Kekere. I gave birth to all my four children in JUTH and never had any record of surgery.”

Asked what she wants, she said: “I want Dr Kekere to pay the price of what he has committed. I will never forgive him. Let the law takes its course.”


I have been having sleepless nights over the matter – Husband

Explaining how he felt about the incident, Kehinde’s husband said he has been having sleepless nights since the discovery of the missing kidney because he couldn’t imagine how the doctor, whom they trusted, could go to the extent of removing his wife’s kidney without his knowledge.

“I have been having sleepless nights and unable to eat because of what has happened to my wife. I am completely confused. This woman has been suffering for the past five years. Whenever the stomach pain started, especially at night, both of us would not sleep.

“Dr Kekere confessed before the commissioner of police during interrogation that the deed had been done and they should have mercy on him. And it was from there that the police discovered that he was not a medical expert. He was then detained by the police. My prayer is that I want the relevant authorities to do justice to my wife.

Our records don’t show Kekere is a medical doctor – NMA

Soon after the discovery of the missing kidney, alleged to have been removed by Dr Kekere, the Plateau State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), began an investigation as to whether or not the embattled doctor was actually a member of the association.

Speaking on whether Dr Kekere was a medical doctor, Dr Bapigaan William Audu, the NMA chairman in the state, said, “Our records do not show that the person accused is a medical doctor. What we have at our secretariat and the investigation we have carried out, he is actually not a doctor and therefore not our member.

“For now, we cannot say the allegation was true because the police are doing their investigation. But all we know is he is not a medical doctor from our records. We are going to come out with an informed decision on the matter. We are looking at different aspects of the matter as well as different facts available at the moment. So, I think things will be clearer by Monday or Tuesday.”

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has asked deposit money banks (DMBs) to stop utilising gains from the revaluation of the naira to pay dividends or finance operations.

CBN said a review of the foreign exchange (FX) regime change showed the banks are in a position to profit from the policy because of its potential to significantly increase the naira value of banks’ foreign currency (FCY) assets and liabilities.

The apex bank gave the directive in a letter, titled: ‘Impact of Recent FX Policy Reforms: Prudential Guidance to the Banking Sector,’ which was dated September 11, 2023, and signed by Haruna Mustafa, CBN’s director of the banking supervision department.

A revaluation of a currency occurs when the value of a currency is increased relative to another currency in a fixed exchange rate regime.

On June 14, the CBN officially unified the multiple FX rate systems, collapsing all FX windows into the investors’ and exporters’ (I&E) window.

The policy resulted in the depreciation of the local currency by about 63 percent, causing significant levels of volatility in the FX market.

In the letter, the financial regulator said the transition from the multiple exchange rates regime to a single rate could result in varying levels of FX revaluation gains.

The apex bank, however, said the policy could also lead to losses across the industry.

“Additional implications of the FX policy reforms may include breaches of single obligor and net open position limits, possible increase in asset quality risks and pressure on industry capital adequacy,” the statement reads.

The CBN also issued guidelines on how banks can manage the impact of FX reform.

“Treatment of FX Revaluation Gains: Banks are required to exercise utmost prudence and set aside the FCY revaluation gains as a counter-cyclical buffer to cushion any future adverse movements in the FX rate. In this regard, banks shall not utilize such FX revaluation gains to pay dividend or meet operating expenses,” the CBN said.

“Single Obligor Limit (SOL): Banks that inadvertently breach the Single Obligor – Limit (SOL) due to the FX policy will be granted forbearance upon application to the CB. The forbearance shall apply only to existing facilities as at the effective date of this policy. Such banks shall be exempted from the regulatory deductions on the excess above the SOL limit in their CAR computation.

“Net Open Position (NOP) Limit: Banks that exceed the NOP prudential limits due to the FX revaluation shall be granted forbearance for the breach upon application to the CBN.

“Existing prudential regulations on capital adequacy, dividend payments and FCY borrowing limits shall continue to apply.”

The apex also directed banks to immediately implement the measures.