Anambra state governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, Wednesday, imposed a sum of N100,000 as taxation for display of ceremonial banners like burial and weddings across the State.

The governor also imposed N5,000 as taxation for pasting of posters in any part of the State, adding that whoever fails to remove the advertorials within the stipulated time for their removals would be taxed continuously until they adhered to the rule.

The tax rates were contained in a viral letter addressed to the National President, Anambra State Association of Town Unions (ASATU) and signed by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Anambra State Signage and Advertisment Agency, Mr Tony Odili Ujubuon͂u.

The letter entitled, regulation of ceremonial adverts, explained that the agency would work in partnership with ASATU to recover the taxes as source of internally generated revenue and to curb menace of ‘non-commercial adverts’ in the state.

It reads, “The tariff below serves as a guide to what is payable; sixes, description, amount and duration of the taxes are: 4 X 6FT N5,000 for 2 weeks; 8 X 10FT N20,000 for 2 weeks; above 10FT square are N100,000 monthly; and N5000 for posters for two weeks.

“Note that directional signs leading to the venue which can come in 1x 2ft size will not be charged. It is also important to bear in mind that after the duration of this period, any such board that is left standing will attract a penalty in the sum of the amount initially paid. This penalty is paid weekly.

“The Agency, in fulfillment of its statutory obligation, is not unmindful of the menace associated with non-commercial adverts that have literally occupied our out-of-home space. These adverts come in the form of obituary, religious, wedding and sundry flex, banners and posters.

“These materials tend to deface the environment and pose a threat to the aesthetics of our communities. In line with Mr. Governor’s avowed aim of building a prosperous, livable and smart city state in Anambra, the Agency sees the need to regulate the use of these materials in manners that are decent and orderly.

“Because this is a phenomenon that is associated with all the communities and villages in Anambra State, we hope to administer this process in partnership with the Town Unions. It is our wish that the Town Union will take up the responsibility of informing the villages and hamlets.

“Others to be informed are kindreds, churches and any such bodies within their towns that from the 1st of November, 2022, the Agency will begin the enforcement and collection of levies on all such posters and flex used for any of such ceremonies. We have written to you because we have always regarded you as progress partners in the development of Anambra State.”

Doctors Recruited From Nigeria, Others To Work In UK Hospitals Lament Exploitation, ‘Slave Labour’

They also say they are so overworked they fear that they might put patients' health at risk.

Doctors recruited from poor countries to work in UK hospitals have lamented that they are being exploited.

They also say they are so overworked they fear that they might put patients' health at risk.

A BBC investigation has found evidence that doctors from Nigeria are being recruited by a British healthcare company and expected to work in private hospitals under conditions not allowed in the National Health Service.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has described the situation as "shocking" and says the sector needs to be brought in line with NHS working practices.

Meanwhile, no fewer than 6,068 medical doctors have moved to the UK since Muhammadu Buhari became Nigerian President in 2015.

According to data obtained from the General Medical Council of the UK, the total number of Nigeria-trained doctors who migrated to the UK as of August 30, 2022 stood at 10,096, The PUNCH reports.

Checks showed that the General Medical Council in the UK licensed at least 353 Nigerian-trained doctors between June 10, 2021 and September 20, 2021.

The BBC has spoken to several foreign medics - including a young Nigerian doctor who worked at the private Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital in 2021.

Augustine Enekwechi says his hours were extreme - on-call 24 hours a day for a week at a time - and that he was unable to leave the hospital grounds. He says working there felt like being in "a prison".

The tiredness was so intense, he says, there were times he worried he couldn't properly function.

"I knew that working tired puts the patients at risk and puts myself also at risk, as well for litigation," he says. "I felt powerless… helpless, you know, constant stress and thinking something could go wrong."

Nuffield Health disputes those working hours, saying its doctors are offered regular breaks, time off between shifts, and the ability to swap shifts if needed. The company adds that "the health and wellbeing of patients and hospital team members" is its priority.

Augustine was hired out to the Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital from a private company - NES Healthcare. It specialises in employing doctors from overseas, many from Nigeria, and using them as Resident Medical Officers, or RMOs - live-in doctors found mainly in the private sector.

Augustine says he was so excited to be offered a job that he barely looked at the NES contract. In fact, it opted him out of legislation that protects UK workers from excessive working hours - the Working Time Directive - and left him vulnerable to a range of punishing salary deductions.

Augustine is not alone; there are many other medical practitioners facing similar problems. The BMA and the front-line lobbying group the Doctors' Association has given the BBC's File on 4 and Newsnight exclusive access to the findings of a questionnaire put to 188 Resident Medical Officers. Most of the doctors were employed by NES but some were with other employers.

It found that 92% had been recruited from Africa and most - 81% - were from Nigeria. The majority complained about excessive working hours and unfair salary deductions.

For years now, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against the "active recruitment" of doctors and nurses from developing countries with severe shortages of medical personnel. The WHO has compiled a list of 47 such countries - most of them in Africa. The UK government has incorporated that list into its own code of practice - calling it the "red list". In effect, it makes Nigeria a no-go destination for British medical recruiters.

So how did the doctors come to be working in the UK in the first place? We travelled to Nigeria and witnessed another troubling side to this story.

In an exam hall in Lagos, the country's biggest city, BBC found hundreds of doctors queuing to take what's called a Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board test - or PLAB 1. The paper is set by the General Medical Council in London and is the first step required by the British medical authorities to secure a licence to work in the UK.

The doctors we spoke to said they were attracted by the potential of higher salaries and better working conditions. The event was being overseen by staff from the British Council - an organisation sponsored by the Foreign Office.

The GMC also offers the exams in several other red-list countries - Ghana, Sudan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Both the GMC and British Council deny they are involved in "active recruitment" and say they're simply helping provide a service for doctors wanting to come to the UK independently - something that is allowed under the guidelines.

In Augustine's case, he was studying for the second part of those PLAB exams in the UK, when he was approached by NES Healthcare and later offered visa sponsorship and a potential job.

While that does appear to have been "active recruitment" - NES says it wasn't, because it is not a recruitment agency and, as such, only engages with doctors from overseas once they've already committed to practising in the UK. But the Department of Health and Social Care told us the UK code of practice did apply to NES - so the company was in breach of it.

BBC spoke to several African doctors recruited in this way by NES. They all had similar stories about what the terms and conditions of their contracts meant in reality, once they had been hired out to private UK hospitals.

"It's not humanly possible to do that every day for seven days," says Dr Femi Johnson.

[b]Dr Femi Johnson was sent to a different hospital to Augustine, but says he was also expected to work 14 to 16-hour days and then be on call overnight. "I was burnt out," he says. "I was tired, I needed sleep. It's not humanly possible to do that every day for seven days."

But when he needed a break because he was too exhausted to continue, NES were entitled to deduct money from his salary. The company says that is to cover the cost of finding a replacement doctor, but Femi says it leaves NES doctors in a terrible dilemma.

"In situations like that, I always make that internal discussion with my inner self - 'Femi are you doing right by yourself and are you doing right by the patient?'" he tells us. "Unfortunately, I haven't always been able to answer that question."

"This is a slave-type work," says Dr Jenny Vaughan from the Doctors' Association.

Some NES doctors have received help from Dr Jenny Vaughan from the Doctors' Association. She receives many complaints from Resident Medical Officers and says the UK healthcare system has developed into two tiers - one for NHS doctors, the other for international recruits working in the private sector.

NHS doctors can only be scheduled to work up to 48 hours, and if they request, up to 72 hours a week.

"No doctor in the NHS does more than four nights consecutively because we know that it's frankly not safe," says Dr Vaughan.

"This is a slave-type work with… excess hours, the like of which we thought had been gone 30 years ago.

"It is not acceptable for patients for patient-safety reasons. It is not acceptable for doctors. "

Emma Runswick of the BMA describes the situation as "so exploitative it beggars belief".[/b]

We took our findings to the BMA - and its deputy chair, Emma Runswick. She told us the situation was a "disgrace to UK medicine".

"Our international colleagues have come a long way to the UK, and have found conditions so exploitative it beggars belief."

NES Healthcare told BBC that its "feedback about doctors' experiences" with the company was "extremely positive". It says it provides doctors "with a safe and supportive route to pursue their career choice in the National Health Service, and in the UK healthcare system more generally, and that their work is of "great benefit to the British public."

October 10, 2022

As Buhari, Obi sympathize with victims

THE sailor of the boat that capsized weekend at Umunankwo in Ogbaru local government area of Anambra State in which many people died, Mr. Desmond Amaugo, said yesterday that he was forced to embark on the ill-fated trip by female traders who were desperate to dispose of their crops harvested prematurely due to this year’s flood that submerged their farms before the maturity of the planted crops.

Amaugo spoke as President Muhammadu Buhari expressed sadness over the boat accident.

This is even as the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi expressed shock at the level of flooding, which has caused serious devastations in different parts of the country, including Anambra State.

Amaugo, however, said that contrary to reports that 85 people were on board the boat, the actual number was 48.

The boat was carrying mostly women and children at the time of the incident.

He said: “I did not want to embark on that trip, but the people, mostly women, who were desperate to go to Nkwo Ogbakuba market to sell premature crops harvested from flooded farms, begged me to ferry them to the market.

“The market women besieged my house and persuaded me to sail them to Ogbakuba. Having taken off, the wave became too severe and all my attempts to control it failed. The water waves knocked the boat against the pillars of Umunnakwo/Ossomala bridge against all efforts I made to stabilize it.

“Suddenly, the boat capsized. It was terrible seeing people struggle for life.”

He said that the search team recovered 10 more bodies yesterday, adding that efforts were still being made to recover others.

Many people, including family members of the victims, were at the site of the incident, trying to see if the bodies of their relations could be found.

As the recovered corpses were brought to the shore, most of them could not contain their tears. Mr. Bernard Achonu from Isiala Mbano, Imo State, who resides in Mputu community said he lost his wife and three children aged between two and six years.

He said that his family joined the boat to move to a safe area as the flood had submerged almost all houses in the communities in Ogbaru, regretting that the attempt to secure them had turned out to be a misadventure.

Another person, Sebastian Umeorji, who said he was still searching for the body of his wife was sobbing uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, the entire Ogbaru local government area has been cut off from the rest of Anambra State as the River Niger has overflown on the Onitsha – Atani- Osomala – Ogwu -Ikpele road, which is the only access route to the local government.

The Ogbaru local government headquarters at Atani, the Divisional Police headquarters, the Atani campus of the Federal Polytechnic, schools, and churches in the local government have all been submerged.

Buhari, Obi sympathize with flood victims

The President according to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu has directed all other rescue and relief agencies to rush to the site of the accident.

He also directed the relevant agencies of government to check the safety protocols on these transport ferries to make sure such incidents are avoided in the future.

President Buhari said he was saddened by the boat accident and directed that all possible efforts be made to account for all the passengers.

“I pray for the repose of the souls of the deceased and for everyone’s safety, as well as the well-being of the family members of the victims of this tragic accident,” said the President.

In a release signed personally by Obi, he said he was saddened to behold the devastation caused by floods in different parts of the country. “Considering the level of widespread suffering in the land, anything that adds to the suffering of the people, such as the flood is heart-breaking,” Obi said while assuring all those affected that he shares in their sorrows.

He also pointed out that the destruction of 10,000 hectares of rice farms belonging to Olams Nigeria Limited in Nassarawa State, by floods, is a huge loss to the nation. He regretted that such flooding of farmlands cause huge losses to their owners and would result in food scarcity in the future.

Recalling when such flooding took place in Anambra State in 2012 when he was the Governor, Obi said he remembered how the then Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Oseloka Obaze, informed him at 2 pm about the disaster and how he toured the entire flood-ravaged communities and joined the rescue operations.

Oyo State Governor, [b]Seyi Makinde, has appealed to the National Population Commission to avoid guess work and manipulation in the coming census.

The governor, who said the population of the state should not be anything less than 15 million said any figure below that is false and inaccurate.

Speaking in Ibadan on Wednesday at stakeholders’ forum organised by NPC, Makinde, who was represented by his deputy, Bayo Lawal, said NPopC had not been fair to Oyo State in the last censuses.

He called on the people of the state to cooperate with NPopC officials during the exercise while describing it as an important economic and other plannings by the government.

Lawal said, “Census is very important for us as a government. It is not about politics, religion or culture. It is about the number of the people in each local government, the state and Nigeria.

“By my experience, NPopC has not done well for us. Chief Obafemi Awolowo said the 1973 census was unrealistic and since then, they started projection. The 1991 census was worse than that of 1973. I am saying this as the government of Oyo State and you take it to your headquarters that they are shortchanging Oyo State.

“We learnt in school that Ibadan is the largest city in West Africa. Aside from Ibadan, there are other cities like Ogbomoso, Oyo, Saki, Eruwa, Oke-Ogun. But now they said Kano, Kaduna and Rivers States are bigger than Oyo State. Why do some small states have more population than Oyo State?

“Census is very important. Let all monarchs support it. It is used for economic consideration.

“All hands must be on deck. It should not be left for the government alone. This government is ready to support the NPopC in order to carry out accurate census.

“As it stands today, the population of Oyo State from NPopC is not up to 10 million.
“Be accurate and impartial. Declare what you capture. If the population of the state is less than 15 million, it is false and inaccurate. Do your work accurately.’’

The Federal Commissioner, NPopC, Oyo State, Dr Eyitayo Oyetunji, asked for the cooperation of stakeholders. He assured the people that the commission was ready to conduct the best census ever in the history of the country.

“I am proud to inform you that for the first time in the history of the conduct of censuses in Nigeria, the commission is set to conduct a fully digital census that is transformational and that will incorporate geo-referenced census data to meet the best international standards and provide the data needs for the development aspiration of our nation,” he added.

The Christian Association of Nigeria; the Muslim community; a retired Archbishop of Methodist Church Nigeria, Ayo Ladigbolu and others at the forum urged full participation of the people in the exercise.

By Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation On Oct 1, 2022

- PDP candidate, governor meet in Abuja

- Similar promise was made to Igbo on Tuesday

Worried by the danger posed to his ambition in next year’s presidential election by the camp of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) flag bearer, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has offered the governor a new deal.

Both men met on Thursday in Abuja in a fresh bid to patch up their differences, with Atiku promising to support Wike’s own presidential bid in 2027 if he (Wike) agreed to sheathe his sword and support him (Atiku) in the 2023 election.

The duo and their supporters have been locked in a face-off since June when the former vice president overlooked Wike and picked Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate.

Previous efforts to reconcile them had failed to yield any positive result.

Atiku even appeared to have decided to ignore Wike, and proceeded with his campaign while the Rivers State Governor and his supporters threatened to have nothing to do with the Atiku presidential campaign.

Five of the 11 state governors elected on the platform of PDP are in Wike’s camp, leading to a major crack in the party.

However, a fresh effort brought them together on Thursday where Atiku pleaded with Wike to prevail on his camp to join the campaign train of PDP.

Sources close to the meeting said the PDP presidential candidate offered to back Wike for the presidency in 2027.

Wike was non-committal to Atiku because of past breaches of commitment, it was gathered.

The governor reportedly said he would consult his group and revert to Atiku.

Sources also told The Nation that Wike was not excited about the 2027 prospect in view of a similar promise made by Atiku to the Igbo during a meeting with PDP stakeholders in Enugu earlier this week.

According to investigation, Atiku met with Wike behind closed doors at the governor’s personal residence in Asokoro District in Abuja.

A source, who was privy to what transpired, said: “Again, Atiku extended the olive branch to Wike. He pleaded with the governor to look at the bigger picture of winning the 2023 poll.

“He asked Wike to prevail on his group to join the PDP campaign train.

“Atiku promised to be fair to all PDP members despite the differences of the past few weeks which were caused by the outcome of the party’s presidential primaries.”

Another highly-placed source said Atiku offered to “support Wike in 2027 if he gives necessary support to him in the ongoing campaign.

“Wike was not forthcoming and he avoided an outright commitment to Atiku’s request to be part of the PDP campaign team.

“He told Atiku that he would go and consult with his team and get back to him.

“So, he has kept Atiku in suspense again. We don’t know what the governor and his strategists will say.”

A source in Wike’s camp said: “The governor wasn’t excited about the 2027 poll prospect because he made the Igbo a similar offer in Enugu a few days ago.

“The major challenge which Wike felt Atiku did not address was trust deficit. Our camp is of the opinion that Atiku doesn’t walk the talk on any agreement or issue because of pressure here and there.

“This crisis would not have reached this level if Atiku had kept faith with London talks and unwritten agreement with Wike.

“Our group will soon meet on the latest overtures from Atiku.”

2023: You’re beating drums of religious war, Northern Christian Youths tell Dogara, others

By Luminous Jannamike, Abuja

AHEAD of the 2023 elections, the Northern Christian Youth Initiative (NYCI) has condemned the activities of politicians using religion under any guise as basis for their political rallies and electioneering campaigns.

The group condemned the attacks by former speaker of the house of Representative, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, and the erstwhile secretary to the government of the Federation (SGF) Babachir Lawal, on the same-faith ticket decision of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

It would be recalled that Dogara and Lawal, who are APC chieftains and some Church leaders had argued against the emergence of two Muslims as the party’s flag bearers for the 2023 polls, saying it was against religious balancing.

But the Northern Christian Youths argued that the overemphasis on the ruling party’s choice of a standard bearers of the same faith at the expense of other critical issues by the duo or Dogara and Lawal could plunge the country into a religious war.

NCYI’s Convener, Hon. Mike Msuaan Msuaan, in a statement on Friday night, insisted the both men were staunch supporters of the candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He said, “As a matter of fact, Babachir Lawal authored very damaging write ups against the Vice president of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo himself a Christian and a presidential aspirant in the APC primary that produced Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Babachir Lawal, demeaned his fellow Christian, in support of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who is a Muslim. Hon. Dogara was also a known supporter of Tinubu.

“We did not find Both Hon. Yakubu Dogara and Babachir Lawal canvassing votes for any Christian candidate during the APC primary. We expect the duo who have become accidental defenders of the Christian faith to have stood for either, Prof Osibanjo or Hon. Rotimi Ameachi who where also top presidential contenders during the party primary.

"We expect that people who have held such exalted positions like those held by Hon. Dogara and Babachir Lawal in the past would be cautious in sowing seeds of division, be it religious, ethnic or regional. Hon. Dogara was not elected as a member of the house of representative and subsequently the speaker of the house of representative on the basis of his faith, neither was Babachir Lawal appointed SGF because of his region. They both found themselves into office to uphold the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“A school of thought has it that both Dogara and Babachir nursed intentions of becoming vice presidential candidates to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and worked for his emergence. Their inability to to secure such endorsement is touted as the singular selfish reason they have become very bitter and are moving round sowing seeds of division.

“The resort to divisive machinations in the manner Hon. Dogara and Babachir have resorted to, after losing out in the consideration for vice presidency is unbecoming of statesmen who have risen to such exalted positions of leadership in the country they intend to destroy now is condemnable.

“Hon. Dogara have won elections in a nearly Muslim dominated constituency. The electorates did not vote for him on the basis of his religious inclination, or consideration, neither where they voting him to represent any religious group at the National Assembly.

“The build up to the 2023 general and the contending interests will no doubt generate tension in the country on its own. Leaders like the former speaker of the house of representative and the SGF who should champion the vanguard for a peaceful, free and credible elections must not embark on voyages to heat up the polity in the name of settling political goals.”

The group, therefore, cautioned the Christian Association of Nigeria CAN and Christians generally to be weary of the sudden defence and interest politicians like Hon. Dogara and Babachir Lawal seem to have for the defence of Christianity when in reality they supported a Muslim candidate to emerge as the presidential candidate of the APC.

“The country is facing economic challenges, security issues such as Kidnappings, banditry, Boko Haram, herders and farmers crisis are issues that we must urgently address as a matter of national emergency. This is the time to look for leaders who have the competence to tackle these problems and unite the country.

“NCYI completely condemns the activities of Dogara and Babachir as capable of causing religious war and endangering northern Christians,” the statement added.

PlayMaker14:
Brethren, all these Songs of Solomon you're writing is not necessary... Is the urinating machine called Tinubu fit to lead us?

PlayMaker14:
The Op ask a very simple question?

Why body dey pepper you like who Tinubu urine touch?

The crisis rocking the nation’s main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party deepened on Wednesday as Governor Nyesom Wike’s team reportedly pulled out of the campaign Council of the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

This came following a meeting early on Wednesday morning in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

Our correspondent gathered that members of the Rivers State Governor’s team vowed not to play any role in Atiku’s campaign ahead of the 2023 general elections.

They insisted that the National Chairman of the PDP, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, must resign for them to rescind their decision.

Wike had called for Ayu’s resignation following the outcome of the party’s presidential primary won by Atiku.

A source in government who does not want his name mentioned confirmed this to our reporter on Wednesday.

Details later…

A former deputy national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Olabode George lamented that the party has nothing to campaign against the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in the So Suth-West.

The PDP chieftain made this assertion on Friday while speaking on The Morning Show on Arise TV.

Although he did not directly mention Tinubu’s name in his remarks, he, however, alluded to the difficulty PDP will encounter in campaigning against the presidential candidate of APC if South-West is not given a national role in the party’s structure.

His words, “But how do I go on the campaign trip in the South-West and tell the people that look, we are ready and you must vote for our candidate? We must realise that the opposition party has its own presidential candidate from the South-West and he (Tinubu) will tell them (voters) I have the presidential ticket, what does the PDP have on its ticket for South-West?

“Let’s assume the south has the presidential ticket, vice presidential ticket and chairmanship position, how will our PDP brothers from the north take it? Will they be happy? All I am saying is to ensure justice and fairness and if they say they don’t want it, history will be on the side of the truth.

“And if at this age I can’t tell the truth, then what am I doing in politics? It is not a matter of forcing Ayu out. Remember, Ayu himself stated and I quote him: “If the presidential candidate emerges from the north, he will resign as the chairman of the party to allow the balancing”. We are simply just saying “let us be mindful and don’t let us overdrive this,” he said.

George’s concern comes on the heels of his backing for the resignation of the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.

According to him, Ayu’s resignation became imperative to ensure balance in the party. He argued that Ayu’s resignation will help PDP convince Nigerians as the right party to vote for during next year’s election.

He said the calls for Ayu’s resignation was in line with the constitution, saying the PDP chairman had himself promised to resign from his position if a northerner emerged as the party’s presidential candidate.

However, George reiterated that zoning is more important now than it was in 1998/1999.

The elder statesman, who noted that he had been part of the party’s system for a long time, said he knew what was right for the party.

He said, “In fact, the need to have zoning now is more important than in 1998/1999. Maybe some of these people don’t understand the concept that led to the thought processes of our founding fathers. Because it is an unwritten law it is up for debate and I hope we have the opportunity to put it down in writing and everybody will be able to read it.

“Those saying they don’t believe in it (zoning) and don’t want it are saying that because they don’t understand what brought about it but I am talking because I was part of the system from the very beginning and we have a saying from my part of the world that when you have old people in any association, they (old people) always make sure they correct the mistakes of the young ones and I am trying to refer us to that concept (zoning) that was established and brought about sanity to the nation.

“Now that we are trying to manoeuvre the concept that came from us to suit certain purposes and personal ambitions, it is going to drive us to the canvass and that is what I am saying.

“We are not asking Ayu that he should be zoned out or forced to resign. We are asking for this in the sense of oneness and inclusivity for him to throw in the towel and let us balance the top positions. We are going to campaign in my zone and we want our party to win. If it is not going to affect the party, I won’t bother,” he said.

16th September 2022

Some of the 286 foreigners conferred with Nigerian citizenship on Thursday have explained why they chose to become Nigerians at a time the country was going through some challenges.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that 208 of them were conferred citizenship status by naturalisation and the remaining 78 by registration.

A German businessman, Mr Hubertus Diers, explained why he chose to become a Nigerian after 42 years traversing all the nook and cranny of the country.

Dier, who runs a company, DIPOX’ Industrial Flooring Solutions, spoke after he was conferred with Nigerian citizenship at a ceremony held at the Federal Ministry of Interior, in Abuja.

The German is among the 286 foreigners including 86 Lebanese, 14 Britons, and four Americans conferred with Nigerian citizenship.

Diers explained that he applied for Nigerian citizenship over five years ago and was happy that his long-time dream had come to fruition.

According to him, it will now be easier to run his business and live with his family.

“I have invested and founded a company in Nigeria. My first trip to Nigeria was in 1979; I have executed some projects in Umuahia, installing industrial floors for some companies and those floors are still in use to date.

“Over 42 years now I have been living mainly in Nigeria, I have many other opportunities and offers, but I did not follow up.

“In the 90s, I was in Ghana, but comparing its business life with that of Nigeria, it’s not the kind of country for my business.”

He said that the number of years he had spent in Nigeria, business opportunities and the hospitable nature of Nigerians, made him apply to become a Nigerian.

“I have traversed all the nook and cranny of Nigeria, I can say I know Nigeria better than my life, installing industrial floors,“ he said.

A Briton, Mr Jack Osankare, who has lived in Nigeria for about two decades, said he decided to seek Nigerian citizenship about 10 years ago, to enable him settle down as a Nigerian and go about his business seamlessly.

He expressed delight now that his dream has come through.

“Nigeria is a country I so much love and would want to retire here. I love Nigerians because they are respectful, hospitable and treat foreigners like their brothers and sisters,” he said.

Another recipient, Mrs Darakhshan Khalid, a Pakistani, said she had been living in Nigeria over a decade ago shortly after getting married to her Pakistani husband.

She also said that she had been struggling to become a citizen of Nigeria over the years, but to no avail until now.

“I like everything about the country, its citizens, the environment generally. Nigerians are very accommodating and hospitable and I have always seen Nigeria as my second home,” Khalid said.

They all pledged to contribute meaningfully to the development of the country.

In his speech, Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, said it was a good decision for them to have chosen to become citizens of Nigeria.

“I am proud to be part of you this afternoon having decided to take up the citizenship of our great nation, Nigeria, in spite of the challenges the country is passing through.

“I assure you that you will not regret your decision and Nigeria will continue to treat you as one of us, irrespective of the status of your citizenship,“ he said.

The minister urged them to continue to be good ambassadors of the country.

“I pray that the almighty God will continue to bless you all in integration as you have now become part of us, “Aregbesola said.

Also, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore, said those conferred with Nigerian citizenship proved themselves and contributed immensely to the economic development of the country.

“I, therefore, encourage you to continue in that direction by adding value to the economic development of the country.

“No doubt you have the capacity, you are recognised and encouraged to continue to do more for your country, Nigeria.

“I congratulate you all and will continue to encourage you to be the best you have always been.

“We are all citizens now and it is our hope that as soon as the ministry got approval from the Federal Government, we will attend to another set.

“We thank you all for the determination to join us as Nigerians in this trying time when sometimes we are even receiving requests from foreigners to renounce their citizenship,“ Belgore said. (NAN).

By Michael Ovat - Awka On Sep 12, 2022

Media aide to the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Mr Peter Obi, Comrade Valentine Obienyem, has debunked rumour making round that his boss was attacked in Abuja.

Obienyem in a statement urged the public to ignore the rumour and described it as a falsehood.

He said Peter Obi is hale and hearty.

According to him, “The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, and by the grace of God, fueled by his merit, the next President of Nigeria, Mr Peter Obi,  is back to the country. In the last three weeks, he traversed the world, convincing Nigerians of the need to take back their country and move in sync with the rest of the world. 

“Kindly ignore the falsehood making the rounds that he was attacked. May God forbid that even the very thought of such barbarism be visited on him. 

“Obi has consistently reiterated his belief that politics should always be devoid of violence. This remains his political credo.   

“It is pertinent to note that the news, coming shortly after Festus Keyamo’s press release, alleging a plan by Obi to stage manage his own assassination is worrisome. It shows that the devil may be at work in endless and familiar scheming.

“We shall continue to entrust Mr Peter Obi into the protection of the Almighty, while he ensures he is adequately protected to see through the work of re-building Nigeria that providence has entrusted unto him.”

Asks Nigerians and the world to beware of purveyors of falsehood, mischief makers

By Tribune Online On Sep 7, 2022

Executive Director of the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation and Chairman, African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc, Ambassador Dr Olatokunbo Awolowo Dusumu has asked members of the public to ignore a fake news being circulated in her name on the Bola Tinubu/ Kashim Shettima presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The fake news being circulated online by some news platforms and on social media falsely quoted Awolowo Dosumu as warning Nigerians of a plot to get rid of Tinubu in favour of Shettima if they win the 2023 presidential election.

Awolowo Dosumu described the report as false, mischievous and wicked stating that she had not spoken with any journalist in recent times on any matter whatsoever including the 2023 presidential election and the candidates thereof.

“I am not in partisan politics and I have not been in partisan politics for decades. I have neither endorsed nor condemned any candidate or party. I have no intention to do so. I refuse to be dragged into a matter I know nothing about. I advise whoever is behind this wicked lie to make better use of their time for the progress and development of our country, Nigeria,” she said.

Awolowo Dosumu urged Nigerians and the entire world to assist the country, in every way they can, as we navigate through these trying times and to ignore all confusionists and purveyors of patent falsehood.

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has distanced himself from the rally organised in Ibadan, the state capital on Saturday by supporters of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of Labour Party.

Makinde who was rumoured to have attended the rally refuted the claims in statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary , Taiwo Adisa.

The statement signed by Adisa disputed the claim on some blogs that Makinde participated in the rally of supporters of Peter Obi, otherwise known as ‘Obidients’

Adisa said his principal is yet to return to Nigeria from his annual leave and as such, could not have participated in the Ibadan Obidients.’

The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to an online publication, which indicated that Governor Makinde was spotted among the Obidients during a rally in Ibadan, on Saturday, September 3, 2022.

“To say the least, the publication is a falsehood, packaged to deceive the unsuspecting.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Governor Makinde was nowhere near Ibadan when the said rally held. A Yoruba adage says one person cannot stand in twos. How is it possible for the governor who was observing the last days of his leave outside the country to be spotted among the so-called Obidients in Ibadan?

“While we will not begrudge the Obidients’ desire to propagate their candidate, we will not oblige anyone the luxury of dragging the reputation of the Governor of Oyo State on accounts of false claims.”

The Federal Government, has advised Nigerians intending to travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to be guided by the new visa regime in the country.

The government, in a statement issued Thursday night by the Spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Francisca Omayuli, said: “The attention of the Federal Government of Nigeria has been drawn to a video on the social media, showing purportedly stranded Nigerians, who arrived the Airport in Dubai, UAE on 29th August, 2022, but were denied entry into the country, despite having valid visas.

“The Nigerian Mission in Dubai has clarified that most of the supposedly stranded Nigerians were issued with family visas, only to arrive Dubai alone without any family member. Consequently, they were denied entry and advised to return to their country and apply for the appropriate visas. However, those persons allowed entry into the country have their family members in the UAE. While those who claimed their family members were on another flight, were told to wait at the airport, pending their arrival.

“The general public is invited to note and be guided that the Government of the UAE has introduced a new visa regime and has stopped issuing tourist visas to persons under the age of 40 years, except for those applying for family visas.”

The government further said it was instructive for prospective visa applicants to indicate clearly, their visa preferences without any ambiguity.

The government also called on Nigerians to respect the immigration laws of other countries so as to avoid unwarranted treatments.

ODION OKONOFUA

August 31, 2022 11:18 PM

Nollywood actress Victoria Inyama has described seventy percent of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi's supporters as 'Zombidients' and 'Obi supporters.'

The movie star made this known while reacting to a post shared on Instagram by popular On-Air personality, Daddy Freeze.

Daddy Freeze had taken to his IG page on Wednesday, August 31, 2022, where he categorised the presidential hopeful's supporters into three categories.

"Peter Obi supporters can be classified into 3 main groups: 1: Obidients: Amazing guys who understand his philosophy and support him passionately.

2: Zombidients: These ones just dey follow Obi cluelessly with their eyes closed as the name suggests," he wrote.

"3: Obi supporters: A coagulation of Louts and touts lurking online and offline, ready to jump and attack anyone who doesn’t support Obi. Which of these do you fall into? ~FRZ."

Inyama then took to the comment section of the post where she blasted the supporters of the politician.

"Number 2 and 3 are major 70% Ask what they are supporting him for and no clue ����," she wrote.

Obi's candidacy has been warmly received in many quarters, especially by some of your favourite celebrities.

Since the election season began, several Nigerian celebrities have been vocal about not just their choices but also about citizens' participation in the forthcoming elections.

In July, Nigerian comedian Okey Bakassi said his love for the country was pure until Buhari happened.

"I lost my "virginity" under Buhari's administration...yes!...my love for Nigerian was pure and unbroken until Buhari happened to us in 2015. I can't recognise my beloved country anymore," he tweeted.

The comedian has never hidden his dissatisfaction with the style and manner the current administration has managed the affairs of the nation.

Lagos State Government, through the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, LAMATA, has commenced the pilot phase of the use of buses powered by Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, for passenger operations on Marina/CMS to Lekki and Ajah-Epe bus routes.

The measure was in a bid to reduce tail pipe emission into the atmosphere by public transport buses.

Managing Director, LAMATA, Mrs. Abimbola Akinajo, who disclosed this on Monday, said under the pilot phase, 10 high occupancy vehicles would be deployed for the service.

Akinajo explained that the operation franchised to a bus operating company named Femadec will progressively increase the number of buses to 100 after data had proven the sustainability of the use of CNG.

According to her, “LAMATA has over the years been involved in studies aimed at alternative fuel energy sources in transport operations. The deployment of buses powered by CNG will provide useful data for future decision on wholesome wide use of such buses for passenger transit operations in Lagos.

“CNG burns cleaner and reduces carbon monoxide by more than 80 per cent when compared to traditional petrol and diesel. CNG powered vehicles also run quieter than gasoline and diesel vehicles, which results in less noise pollution.

“The bus operating company will have its operational base at the Ajah Terminal and make use of the bus shelters along the Lekki-Epe corridor for its operation.

“The fare card, Cowry, will be used to pay for services on the buses.”

August 15, 2022

By Chinedu Adonu

The management of Ethiopian Airlines has called on South Easterners to make use of the Akanu-Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, for overseas travel, instead of going to Lagos or Abuja to board flights.

Speaking to journalists briefly after moving around the major streets of Enugu metropolis to create awareness and sensitise the public, the Traffic and Sales Manager of the company, Henok Sirak, said that there is a flat rate for international flight tickets for Enugu and Lagos Airports.

He said the awareness was to increase the number of international passengers from Enugu Terminal.

“We organised this awareness to meet our target in Enugu. Since it was made an international airport, we have been flying three times a week but we are going to fly four times a week — Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

“People of Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi, Port-Harcourt, Imo, and Abia can now fly and cargo their import and export from Akanu-Ibiam International Airport, Enugu to over 125 destinations and routes in over five continents including, Asia, Africa, South America, North America, and Europe. We give full-fledged passenger-cargo service.

“We have the same price for flights leaving from Lagos, Abuja, and Enugu for cargo. So, customers from Enugu don’t need to bother sending their cargo to Abuja and Lagos since the price is the same. That’s the advantage we give to the people of the South East and Port-Harcourt. We have adjusted the price so that passengers can get the benefits of using Enugu airport.

“Finally, I am appealing to all the South Easterners traveling to use Ethiopian Airlines and fly from Enugu to any part of the world. We are operating with a modern aircraft. we are currently using Boeing 787".

August 5, 2022

[i]For the first time after the presidential primaries and selection of running mate which resulted in a crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, met, yesterday, to hammer out solutions to the logjam.

Atiku and Wike’s meeting notwithstanding, a PDP leader said the Rivers State governor may work against Atiku if the issues were not properly handled.

The source said: “Wike will not leave the PDP but he will act as a spoiler. Very soon, those who Atiku does not favour, whether in the choice of the campaign council or he misfires, are those Wike will latch on and use against the PDP candidate. He will be an opposition within the opposition.

"Once he launches an attack against Atiku, he will just declare for Peter Obi.

“He is secretly supporting Peter Obi. It will be the same thing Rauf Aregbesola did to them in Osun State. Though Aregbesola did not decamp, he only instructed his supporters to back Ademola Adeleke. It is the same card Wike may play during the campaigns.”

Indeed, a chieftain of the party in Port Harcourt, said: “The onus is on Atiku and Ayu to lead their charge on being open to bringing something to the table, except they want to confirm that they induced Reuben Abati to send the message that a man who kept PDP afloat when all others jumped ship and when the party was sinking does not deserve some respect and recognition in the party’s power sharing equation.

“So, it is not about Wike’s people patronising Atiku and Ayu. Demands and terms have been speculated in the public space. It is not for Wike or his associates to advertise or debate them in the media. When mutual understanding is reached, people will know because Wike is an open person who despises backyard talks.”

However, another top party source said: “Atiku and Wike know what is at hand. They know that the 2023 presidential election is make-or-mar for the PDP and there is a need for them to resolve their differences so that we face the election with a united front.”

Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta, says Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), does not have the needed experience to lead Nigeria.

Okowa, who is the vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), spoke in an interview with BBC pidgin.

While admitting that Obi has experience from being a former governor, he, however, added that it is not “deep” enough to lead Nigeria.

[b]“I did not say he won’t have any votes, he will have. But what I’m saying is that he’s not a new candidate. It has not been long since he left PDP. You know he was in APGA before, from APGA he came to PDP. It hasn’t been long since he left (PDP) so he cannot say anything about PDP because that’s where he was before,” he said.

“Some of us are still here. At every party, there are good people and bad people. But today’s Nigeria is very troubled and we need the right person. That is why I am appealing to our youths be wise and vote well, they should not be blinded by the concept of a false change because that is how they raved on Jonathan in 2015.

“His (Obi) previous experience is not enough for this one (presidency), it will be hard. His experience is not deep enough. Even as a current governor ruling in a time of crisis, I know how hard it is. I even want to learn under Atiku because he has experience with the federal government. The thing is not easy. For them to have handled the economy at that time and made it something better, offering hope, creating jobs, and filtering the society, was not easy because it’s a bigger thing. So someone is supposed to learn through that. If you look at Obi’s experience you’ll know it’s small.[/b]

Speaking on the crisis in the PDP, Okowa said Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers, is his friend and that he is making an effort to reach out to him.

“We’ve been talking internally, everything is being settled. You know that when something happens and everybody can’t agree, it’s settled bit by bit. That is what we’re still working on from the inside. We are finding a way to talk I’ll say, he is my friend, I am his friend, and we will find a way to talk,” he said.

“Atiku has said his own version of what happened, and I am sure that version he said is the true position. I am also not saying that Wike is lying, but if someone carries their anger, it is important to air your views. For us in the party, it’s about how to bring everybody together, how all of us can work together. Wike is still a very important member of the party, he has worked so hard for the party as many of us have worked hard too so we pray that everything comes together and we talk. I’m sure very soon we’ll be sitting down.”

The decision of Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the PDP, to name Okowa as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election caused division in the party.

Some party stakeholders, including Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue, had expressed concerns over Atiku’s decision to ignore Wike, who was recommended for the position by the party’s national working committee (NWC). Wike placed second in the party’s presidential primary election which took place in May.

But in a recent interview, Atiku said the panel did not choose Wike and that he did not pick Wike as his running mate because he wanted someone he could work with “amicably”.

Responding to the claims made by the PDP presidential candidate in the interview, Wike accused Atiku of lying, saying he would speak on the matter soon.

By Dennis Agbo

Former Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governorship Aspirant in Enugu State, Denge Dr. Josef Umunnakwe Onoh has shed more light on the reason why he is campaigning for the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to become the next President of Nigeria, despite their different political party affiliations.

According to Onoh, his insistence on Tinubu is anchored on the Southern Nigeria leaders, particularly the Southern Governors, which comprised of both PDP and APC governors, who met in Asaba, Enugu, and Lagos, respectively, where they insisted that the next president of Nigeria, come 2023, must emerge from the southern part of Nigeria.

Onoh said that despite his being a member of the PDP, he will vote for all candidates of the PDP, particularly in his home Enugu state, but will not support the party’s presidential candidate because his party, the PDP, chose to select a northern presidential candidate, even when the party’s constitution stipulates that power should oscillate between southern and northern parts of Nigeria.

He also noted that he was oblivious that Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party was from the southeast and holds him in high esteem, but that his reservation for Obi was Obi’s inability to form team players, always believing that he (Obi) is the only one that can salvage the country single-handedly.

Onoh, however, said that Tinubu has a pedigree going for him such as his detribalized nature, none religious extremism, performance in leadership and national political clout which made him foster a coalition of political parties across national divides that formed the APC.

He said he was not moved by emotions or religious sentiments and does not need a political office to make a success; hence he is bold to speak the truth despite who is offended.

“Let me give you a brief fact about Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, hence I’ll sail and sink with his presidential ambition without regret and I urge all sincere well- meaningful southern governors irrespective of party affiliations to stand by Jagaban. Tinubu introduced Digital Economy to governance through Lagos Tax Administration. I believe he can repeat that at the national level. As a Governor, he created 37 Local Government Council Development Areas (LCDAs). This is a major part of the restructuring that many are only clamoring for now.

“He was first to break the master plan machinery of elections rigging in Nigeria thereby helping to reclaim South West states lost mandates from PDP. Tinubu was also the leader who started the Telecommunication revolution in Nigeria through Econet before it became a national success in the telecom sector.

“Tinubu was the first politician to start Economic Summit, and this speaks about the visionary sagacity of the man. He pioneered the Treasury Single Account (TSA). This was later adopted by the Federal Government with much success. He was about to put an end to the electricity problem by starting the Independent Power Project in partnership with Enron in Lagos state. If not for Obasanjo and PDP government that forced him to give up the power to the national grid, there wouldn’t be the problem of electricity in Lagos state by now.

“Bola Tinubu was the first Governor to involve Nigerians from other states to work and become officials of Lagos state government; He was the first and last Governor who governed his state for years without the full Federal Allocation from Abuja. He brought innovation to education when he began to appoint Pupils who excelled academically as Acting Governors of Lagos,” Onoh recalled.

On the issue of the APC Presidential candidate’s age and fitness for office, Onoh said it was ridiculous that inexperienced youths who are taking part in politics for the first time were the champions of the propaganda.

“My position on the issue of age is simple, Ronald Regan wasn’t a young man when he ran for the office of the president of the United States of America, yet he remains one of the greatest US presidents. Ronald Reagan quipped during the 1984 presidential debates when asked if at 73 he is too old to be President and he said, ‘I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience,’ hence Asiwaju or his supporters will not make age or religion an issue of his campaign.”

Onoh stated that when the Southern Governors met and adopted the position of producing a southern as the next president, they were not particular that such a President must emerge from either the PDP or from the APC; must be a Christian or a Muslim, stressing that the southern governors took the decision in the interest of Nigeria.

He said that if the Governors had zoned the Presidency to the North, he would have supported the PDP presidential candidate from Adamawa state, but since Tinubu has emerged in line with the position of the Southern governors, he is bound to abide by the wish of the southern Nigeria leaders. He, therefore, urged all Southern Governors to abide by the decision they took and support Bola Tinubu who is from the Southern part of Nigeria so that they can men of their words.

“I do not have a problem with Atiku, if it was zoned to the north, but I will not support an Atiku presidency because he was not part of the agreement that the southern governors reached. We cannot say that we want to be president and turn around to play second fiddle, to accept the vice presidency. The issue that the southern governors presented for inclusive government are the issues that every southern should be looking at.

“We shall only fault Asiwaju Tinubu if he cannot deliver on the issues. I hold Peter Obi in high esteem and I love his running for the presidency, but the problem I have with him is that he is always self-referral. Okey Ndibe has also made such an observation and Obi has not shown that he can delegate duties to anybody. It has always been I peter Obi did, I peter will do this and that.

“I am still in PDP and I will defend to the end the position of the southern governors in their meetings, particularly the one they held in Enugu. The situation in the country does not require playing along religious lines besides, Tinubu’s liberalism on religion clearly shows his wealth of experience, but any Southern candidate that can deliver on the mandates of the southern governors is more important to me. This is not an anti-party affair but for the greater good of Nigeria”

Onoh also extended regards to the flutist Musician, Tee Mac for clarifying on his previous statement about Tinubu, stating that Tee Mac’s clarification brought out the real man of honour in him.

By Victoria Edeme

31st July 2022

Actress Judy Austin, on Sunday hailed her actor husband, Yul Edochie, as the best director in Nollywood.

In a lengthy post on Instagram, the actor’s second wife showered prayers and praises on her husband, describing him as the “kindest man I know.”

She noted that though nobody was perfect, Yul was 98% good and that made him perfect for her.

Hailing her husband, Judy wrote, “His Excellency, Ezedike 1 of Nteje @yuledochie Your strength and resilience is worth studying in the university. You’re the kindest man I know. You are A GOOD MAN!

“God will continue to bless and uplift you cause he knows how beautiful and kind your heart is. Your children are so lucky to have you as a father.

“You’re the best director in Nollywood and I’m saying this authoritatively! Your artistic interpretation is nothing short of extraordinary! And I pray your talents will continue to grow and be a huge blessing to this world!

“No one is perfect but you’re 98% good and that’s what I consider perfection!

“I pray that God Almighty in his infinite mercy continues to guide, protect and direct everything you do my husband.”

This is coming few days after Yul unfollowed his first wife, May, on Instagram.

The actor had come under backlash after he announced his marriage to Judy, adding that they’ve both welcomed a child.

His first wife of 17 years, May, has four children with the actor.

Police Apprehend Three INEC Officers For Creating Illegal PVC Registration Unit In Church Hall

LATEST NEWS
By Subair Mohammed On Jul 29, 2022

Officers of the Ijeshatedo police station have apprehended three Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) staff for conspiring with a parish priest of St Brigigs Catholic Church, Ijeshatedo, Lagos, to create an illegal permanent voter’s card registration unit in the church auditorium for members.

The INEC staff including Mrs Rita, Mr Ikechukwu Izuchukwu and Miss Agbokhna Ebigun, were arrested following a complaint by the Chairman, Residents Association, Raji Azeem, to the police about ploys by the church to disenfranchise some members of the public.

According to Azeem, residents have waited to no avail at the INEC recognised registration centre only to discover that electoral officers have been camped at Catholic Church hall attending to members of the church.

He said, “The INEC registration officers, according to INEC provision should be stationed at 9A, Imam Thanni but this was not to be. We have been here awaiting their arrival but when we discovered that they were not forthcoming, we were worried.

"Only for us to discover that they have been camped at the St Brigigs Catholic Church auditorium on the influence of the parish priest registering only members of the church while we were in the queue waiting. It was a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise us.

"The House 9A Imam Thanni registration centre has remained a constant polling unit since 1983. But the priest decided to play the religious cards by inducing the electoral officers to register only his church members.

"The church members have been around since 5 am but we were unaware of their plan until we busted them in action and handed them over to the police at the Ijeshatedo police station. The arrested INEC officers have been crying and begging for their misdeeds.

"But they were granted bail by the IPO, Inspector Shola so that they can continue with the registration. He instructed them to return after the exercise and that they should discontinue the exercise at the church hall and move to the venue approved by INEC.”

Another resident, Omolabake Ishola, said the news that political thugs invaded the venue of the registration exercise is false.
According to her, the media platforms are deliberately distorting the truth of the matter.

According to her, “There were no thugs at the registering venue contrary to what is being reported by some media houses. The fact of the matter is that the INEC officers have been compromised and they decided to register only members of the Catholic Church while other residents were left out.

We have been around since 8 am only to discover that INEC officers are at the church hall registering church members. This isn’t fair enough. From what we heard, the Parishioner had announced that he had made arrangements for the electoral officers to come to the church hall to register all members. But we should ask ourselves, is there a registration centre at the church hall? We have to be truthful with ourselves.”

Confirming the arrest of the three INEC staff, the Spokesman of the Lagos state police command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin said they were found within the church premises registering members.

He said, “The INEC officials were assigned to Imam Thanni Street by House 9A for today’s exercise. They were, however, found within the church premises. Residents raised concerns and informed the police. The DPO Ijeshatedo swung into action and brought the INEC officials to the station.”

Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, on Friday, cautioned Africa’s most popular reality TV show, BBNaija to prevent housemates from using the platform to campaign for their preferred presidential candidates.

This is coming following a subtle campaign for Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi by Head of House, Eloswag on Thursday.

Vanguard reported that Eloswag stylishly campaigned for Obi and his running mate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed when he wore a hoodie with the inscription ‘Be obedient and useful.’

In a veiled message to complain about Eloswag’s action, Omokri who had earlier said BBNaijaS7 had distracted Obi’s supporters, said such an exhibition could polarize viewers.

Omokri, via his Twitter handle, said: Dear @BBNaija, Your show is much watched in Nigeria. It is beneficial to be apolitical. Actions on the programme can polarise viewers, which is something that may have real world implications. Perhaps you may want to take greater care to forestall a reoccurrence.”

Some of Obi’s followers on Twitter had reacted to his comment, displaying displeasure on Friday.


@Wisdom90601417 tweeted, “No dey disguise. Say you want them to disqualify the young man who wore a branded hoodie of “Be obedient and useful”. Witch hunting is bad oga.”

“If it were about Atiku, would you say the same? I don’t take anyone staying abroad and talking about Nigeria serious, including you, Mr. Reno,” @kalutobest reacted.


“What he doesn’t know is that after PO in terms of probability of winning, it’s now BAT afterwards, Atiku, @israeldejiii. “But people like Reno would keep on deceiving Atiku that he can win till he wastes money on an election they know he can’t win.”

@GOODLUCKUMEDA said, “You once said the Obidients will be watching @BBNaija. Now that the show has started and forget about Peter Obi; now someone has decided to be Obidiently Yusful, You still have an issue?”

“Had it been it was Atiku one of the housemates (who) wore to the show, your words would be different? You probably (would) be singing (the) praise of support for the dude, the fact that you and your candidate lost to capture the heart of people even in a National show. You should be ashamed sir,” @iamdammybee added.

MATTHEW OCHEI examines the battle of supremacy between the incumbent Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, and a former governor of the state, James Ibori, over the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship ticket.

There are fears among the Peoples Democratic Party members in Delta State that the name of the party’s governorship candidate may not be on the Independent National Electoral Commission’s list come 2023 general elections following the cold war between two leaders of the party in the state, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and one of his predecessors, James Ibori.

The battle deepened on Friday, July 22, 2022, when INEC published the particulars of the candidates nominated by political parties for the 2023 governorship and state Assembly elections in all the constituencies nationwide.

Surprisingly, the details of Sheriff Oborevwori, who won the party governorship primary and had his name submitted to the INEC, were not among those published by the electoral umpire as eligible to contest the governorship election in 2023.

The PDP members are worried that the party may not participate in the 2023 governorship election in the state.

The state’s INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Monday Udoh-Tom, confirmed that the PDP in Delta had yet to have a candidate for next year’s governorship election, adding that there were no details of any candidate for the party.

He stated, “We have no particulars of any candidate for the PDP as far as the governorship election is concerned because they (PDP members) are in court. When the matter is determined, we will have the particulars of one of them.

“You will recall that there was a court judgment that disqualified one of them, and he filed for a stay of execution and also appealed the judgment.

“As a result, we cannot act on the case of the PDP for now until the Appeal Court delivers judgment,” Udoh-Tom said.

The current Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Oborevwori, won the PDP governorship primary on May 25 but his closest rival and former Chief of Staff to Okowa, David Edevbie, approached an Abuja High Court seeking Oborevwori’s disqualification on grounds of discrepancies in the certificates he presented.

The High Court subsequently granted Edevbie’s prayers by disqualifying Oborevwori and declaring the plaintiff as the party’s candidate.

Although Oborevwori filed an appeal against the judgment, Edevbie’s supporters have been jubilant, claiming that INEC recognised their principal as a candidate by issuing him form E13B.

Edevbie was the commissioner for Finance in Okowa’s first tenure, Chief of Staff in his second tenure, and now Ibori’s anointed candidate.

Although he was in the United Kingdom serving a prison term, Ibori could be said to be instrumental in the election of Okowa as the state governor in 2015.

The PDP in Delta State last Saturday held its mega rally in Ozoro in the Isoko North Local Government Area of the state to unveil its governorship candidate and receive defectors from the opposition political parties but got disappointed on Friday as its candidate’s name was missing from the list.

But prominent party leaders boycotted the rally even as there was no official unveiling of the Delta PDP governorship candidate as expected.

Among those absent from the rally were Ibori; a former Governor of the state, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan; Senator James Manager, representing Delta South; and the state Deputy Governor, Kingsley Otuaro.

Dignitaries at the mega rally included the Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu; Oborevwori; and House of Assembly aspirants; party leaders; and political appointees across the three senatorial districts.

Addressing the party members, the vice presidential candidate of the party, Okowa, said the victory of the PDP in the just concluded Osun State governorship election was to make a statement to rescue Nigeria.

Okowa, who received the defectors from the All Progressives Congress and All Progressive Grand Alliance, boasted that a similar victory would happen in the state where the party would win the governorship, national and state assembly seats, and others.

Okowa, who was miffed by recent remarks that the party in the state was dying, said, “I heard some people saying the PDP is dying in Delta State. Why are they deceiving themselves?” People will come out to vote for the PDP in all the local government areas in the state.

“Whatever is going on in the party today is a normal democratic process; so, there is nothing to worry about, no cause for alarm, and no cause to fear.”

“We are not boasting but on the day of the election, our people will come out and vote, and in the next election, we are going to win all available seats-from the Assembly to the Presidency.

“In 2019, they (the opposition) got two local government areas, but in 2023 we will win the entire 25 local government areas.

“It is about Nigeria, youths, women. We cannot continue to suffer. Enough is enough. Those who have just joined us are members of the party, with no discrimination. “In September, the campaign will start. You will hear us loud and clear,” Okowa assured.

“2023 is about youths and women of Nigeria and we cannot continue to suffer and stay hungry. We must definitely move forward, “he stated.

The state Chairman of the party, Mr Kingsley Esiso, urged party faithful to remain calm, adding that INEC had asked stakeholders to be calm until court processes were exhausted.

He stated, “As the state chairman of this great party, it is my responsibility to educate our people on the developments in the party.

“Some weeks ago, our party conducted one of the freest and fairest governorship primaries in Delta State, and a candidate emerged, and our party has dutifully submitted the name of that candidate.

“It is our responsibility to stand and defend the outcome of that primary. The issue before the court has nothing to do with the integrity and credibility of that primary.

“By the action of INEC on Friday, we have been told in the PDP to wait patiently for the outcome of the court judgment,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the Director of Operations of the David Edevbie Campaign Organisation, Mr. Julius Akpovoka, blamed the party for taking sides in the suit challenging the eligibility of Oborevwori.

Akpovoka, who said this during a chat with journalists in Asaba last week, said Edevbie was very happy when he came out second at the primary.

He said, “It is a case of a second to be the first. We are happy that Edevbie came out second after the primary because we know that Edevbie’s name must be on the ballot list. I am the principal agent for Edevbie. The primary was transparent. We know that the second position is close to the first position based on the facts of the case.

“All of us are members of the PDP, so Edevbie is now the candidate of the party. This is what everyone should embrace. In no time, our principal will embark on reconciliation to bring everybody together.

“ Oborevwori’s case is not new. It is also clear that there are discrepancies in his certificates. We are not shocked by the judgment of the high court.”

“I don’t see the Supreme Court dismissing the judgment of the High Court because the matter was very clear. It is a case of age and discrepancies in certificates. The party should do its best if it wants to win the election. In football, you cannot leave your best player on the bench and play second best. You will lose the game. That’s what we are facing.”

With the raging war, there are speculations that Okowa may be considering adopting a plan B in the event of Oborevwori’s failure at the Appeal Court.

The speculations are coming against the backdrop of rumours that Okowa’s immediate past Chief of Staff, Mr. Festus Agas, had reportedly picked up the governorship form to contest under the Accord party.

A social analyst and human rights activist, Mr. Victor Ojei, in an interview with The PUNCH, said with the look of things, the PDP may not have a candidate in the 2023 general election.

He said, “The reason why the PDP candidate was not on the list was possibly INEC received letter from Edevbie notifying them about the court judgement.As I speak to you now, the judges are on vacation, which most likely to end in the second week of September.”

Another political analyst, Mr. Peter Ejiro, described the development in the PDP as supremacy battle between the two leaders of the party in the state.

“My brother, what you see now playing out in the PDP is a battle of supremacy. Don’t forget that recently a Commissioner in the state said that Ibori is not Okowa’s godfather.”

By Segun Adewole

27th July, 2022

The identities of the two Nigerian men who were shot dead on Saturday by gunmen at the ATL Lounge in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, have been revealed.

According to a GoFundMe account opened by one Adam Abdul, who claims to be a cousin to one of them, the men are Chibueze Momah (22), and Tosin Awaroshegbe (25).

Abdul wrote, “Eze and Tosin were both diligent workers who served as security guards for many lounges in Vaughan. They were loved and cherished by many in the community. Their story was only getting started as they had both recently graduated. Eze was set to make his way into the tech industry and Tosin our beloved engineer. Unfortunately, their time was cut short. It is our hope to raise $50,000 for each respective family to help with funeral costs and to reunite their bodies with their families.”

Also, a Twitter user @DrFunmilayo, confirmed their identities, adding that she was close to Tosin because they grew up together.

“He had just completed his Masters and was working as a security guard to make extra cash. He was only doing his job when he got killed. I only met Eze about two weeks ago in Canada. He was such a sweet guy. When I heard Tosin got shot, I texted Eze to find out if he was okay, only to find out that Eze was shot as well. They both died on the spot,” she tweeted.

The York Regional Police, in a statement signed by one Constable Maniva Armstrong, revealed that a 20-year-old female was hospitalised after the shooting.

The statement read, “On Saturday, July 23, 2022, at approximately 3.30am, York Regional Police responded to a nightclub in the area of Highway 7 and Keele Street for a report of a shooting. When officers arrived at the scene, they located three victims with gunshot wounds.

“A 25-year-old male and a 22-year-old male were pronounced deceased at the scene.

“A 20-year-old female victim was transported to hospital suffering from a serious gunshot wound. The victim is currently recovering in hospital.

“The suspect(s) fled the scene prior to police arriving.

“Officers are appealing to any witnesses who may have been in the area or in the establishment at the time who have not yet spoken to police to please come forward.

“Investigators are also seeking any cell phone video or photographs from inside or outside the establishment, video surveillance from the area, or anyone that may have captured dashcam video on the roadways.”

Efforts to reach the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, proved abortive, as messages and calls to her phone were not answered as of press time.

REVEALED: Peter Obi administration’s $12.24m investment in International Breweries now worth $5.38m

In a 2018 interview, Peter Obi said he invested $20 million in International Breweries on behalf of Anambra state as a governor.

Obi’s claim was in response to questions on economic development, Anambra politics and his presidential ambition.

“… Anambra state is the single-highest shareholder in that facility. I invested in it, over $20 million,” Obi had said.

“It is worth almost $100 [million] today. That’s what government should do.”

TheCable had previously fact-checked some of the claims.

Chukwuma Soludo, governor of Anambra, also debunked a recent statement ascribed to him regarding the investment.

International Breweries (IB) Plc is a subsidiary of the world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) — a multinational drink and brewing giant based in Leuven, Belgium.

In its 2021 audited financial statement, the company said it holds 43 percent economic interest in International Breweries Plc, a publicly listed company in Nigeria.

According to a report by The Nation, AB InBev merged its Nigerian operations under a single corporate entity in 2017. It had three indirect Nigerian subsidiaries — International Breweries Plc, Intafact Beverages Limited and Pabod Breweries Limited. SABMiller Nigeria Holdings BV — another subsidiary of AB InBev — was also a major stakeholder in Intafact and Pabod.

ANAMBRA’S INVESTMENT

In a statement made available to TheCable on Tuesday, Ifeatu Onejeme, Anambra’s commissioner of finance, confirmed that Peter Obi’s administration invested the sum of N1,955,535,247.00 (an equivalent of approximately $12,616,356.43 at the then average CBN exchange rate of N155.00/$1) in Intafact Beverages Limited, a green-field brewery set up in Onitsha by SABMiller Breweries of South Africa in 2012.

Onejeme added that the state government still holds 407,321,264 ordinary shares of International Breweries Plc in exchange for the Intafact Beverages Limited investment.

“Based on the NGX closing price of N5.50 as of 20/6/22, these shares were valued at N2,240,266,952 on that date,” the statement reads in part.

“Based on the Central Bank of Nigeria I&E exchange rate of N415.75/US$1.00 on same June 20, 2022, this investment was valued at an equivalent of approximately US$5,388,495.37 (and at N604/$1.00 parallel market rate, only US$3,709,051.24).”

IB PLC’S SHAREHOLDERS & THEIR CURRENT STAKES

Checks by TheCable showed that International Breweries has two major shareholders with stakes above 5 percent. The highest shareholder is AB INBEV Nigeria Holdings BV with 72.03 percent followed by Brauhaase International Management GMBH with 8.85 percent. These details are contained in the company’s financial report dated March 2022.

*AB INBEV NIGERIA HOLDINGS BV – 78.44%
*BRAUHAASE INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT *GMBH – 8.85%
*FREE FLOAT – 11.03%.

Further checks showed that these individuals/ special purpose vehicles (a subsidiary company that is formed to undertake a specific business purpose) are part of the company’s minority stakeholders. They include:

Olugbenga Awomolo – 1.24%
Michael Onochie Ajukwu – 0.27%
Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe – 0.15%
Akintoye Sunday Omole – 0.01%
Peter Nwokike Anugwu – 0.02%