https://thestreetjournal.org/police-kills-three-ipob-esn-members-during-gun-duel-in-imo/

The Imo State Police operatives have killed three suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, in a gun battle and one officer was injured in Agwa, Oguta Local Government Area of Imo state.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, spokesperson, Michael Abattam, disclosed this during the parade of some of the lifeless bodies of the suspects at the command’s headquarters in Owerri, on Thursday, January 19, 2023.

According to Vanguard, the police said the incident happened on Wednesday, January 18, 2023 and that they moved into action, based on a distress call they received from the Agwa community that the community was under attack by hoodlums.

They said at first, the hoodlums attacked the office of the Agwa Central Vigilante group and as they were heading to attack the Agwa police station, on getting there the police tactical teams engaged them. The police killed three of the said hoodlums and one of the officers was injured. The police said three vehicles belonging to the hoodlums were recovered.

Also, the Police said they are still trailing other suspects who fled into the bushes with gunshot injuries.

On how it happened the police said: “Sequel to the command’s determination to curb the menace of terrorism in the state, today 18/01/2023 at about 1130hrs, in response to a distress call that, hoodlums suspected to be members of the Proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate Eastern Security Network (ESN) had attacked Agwa Central Vigilante Group, burning down their office and are proceeding to attack and set ablaze Agwa Police Station both in Oguta LGA of Imo State, the combatant Command’s Tactical Teams swiftly mobilized to the area.

“Having been informed that the hoodlums had cordoned the station, the police operatives tactically manoeuvred their way into the station joined the operatives of the division and professionally engaged the hoodlums in a fierce gun duel, and in the process three of the hoodlums were neutralized while others scampered for safety into the adjoining bushes with various degrees of gunshot wounds, abandoning three of their operational vehicles.”

“The operatives on combing the bush, the following Items were recovered : (1) two (2) Pump Action guns, (2) two (2) Double Barrel guns, (3) twenty-four (24) rounds or live ammunition, (4) twelve (12) expended cartridges,(5) one (1) Improvised Explosive Device, (6) three (3) operational vehicles – one green coloured Lexus 470GL, one black coloured Toyota Highlander, one Oxblood coloured minibus, (6) two (2) motorcycles, (7) one (1) iron box, ( one (1) travelling bag and assorted charms.

“Investigation is in progress, the gallant operatives are not relenting in their efforts to arrest the fleeing members of the terrorist group. Meanwhile, one of the police operatives who sustained a minor bullet injury was rushed to the hospital for treatment and he is in a stable condition,” police said.

https://thestreetjournal.org/new-zealands-prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-announces-resignation/

New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has said she is resigning, in an unexpected announcement that came as she confirmed a national election for October 2023.

At the party’s first caucus meeting of the year on Thursday, January 19, 2023, Ardern said she “no longer had enough in the tank” to do the job. “It’s time,” she added.

“I’m leaving, because with such a privileged role comes responsibility – the responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not. I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It’s that simple,” she said.

Her term as prime minister will conclude no later than 7 February, 2023, but she will continue as an MP until the election this year, The Guardian UK disclosed.

“I am human, politicians are human. We give all that we can for as long as we can. And then it’s time. And for me, it’s time,” she said.

Ardern said she had reflected over the summer break on whether she had the energy to continue in the role, and had concluded she did not.

Ardern became the world’s youngest female head of government when she was elected prime minister in 2017 at 37.

She has led New Zealand through the Covid-19 pandemic, and a series of disasters including the terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, and the White Island volcanic eruption.

“This has been the most fulfilling five and a half years of my life. But it’s also had its challenges – among an agenda focused on housing, child poverty and climate change, we encountered a … domestic terror event, a major natural disaster, a global pandemic, and an economic crisis,” she said.

According to her, she will like to be remembered “as someone who always tried to be kind”.

“I hope I leave New Zealanders with a belief that you can be kind, but strong, empathetic but decisive, optimistic but focused. And that you can be your own kind of leader – one who knows when it’s time to go,” Ardern said.

Over the past year (2022), Ardern has faced a significant increase in threats of violence, particularly from conspiracy theorist and anti-vaccine groups infuriated by the country’s vaccine mandates and lockdowns. She said, however, that the increased risk associated with the job were not behind her decision to step down.

“I don’t want to leave the impression that the adversity you face in politics is the reason that people exit. Yes, it does have an impact. We are humans after all, but that was not the basis of my decision,” she said.

Ardern said she had no future plans, other than to spend more time with her family.

She thanked her partner, Clarke Gayford, and daughter Neve, whom she gave birth to while holding office, as “the ones that have sacrificed the most out of all of us”.

“To Neve: Mum is looking forward to being there when you start school this year. And to Clarke – let’s finally get married.”

The prime minister’s announcement came as a shock to many New Zealanders. During a brief flurry of speculation over Ardern’s possible resignation in late 2022, the prime minister said she had no intention of doing so. In the weeks leading up to Thursday’s (January 19) announcement, there were no clues or leaks to suggest her resignation was on the cards.

The news arrives as New Zealand enters a closely fought election year, with the date of the vote announced for 14 October, 2023. Polling over recent months had placed the Ardern-led Labour party slightly behind the opposition National.

Ardern said her decline in the polls did not prompt her decision to leave.

“I’m not leaving because I believe we can’t win the election, but because I believe we can and will, and we need a fresh set of shoulders for that challenge,” she said.

Who will replace Ardern is not yet clear: the deputy leader and finance minister, Grant Robertson, who would be considered a frontrunner, said on Thursday, January 19 that he would not be seeking the position.“I am not putting myself forward to be a candidate for the leadership of the Labour party,” he said.

The Labour caucus has seven days to find out whether a new candidate holds more than two-thirds of support within caucus to become the new leader and prime minister. A caucus vote for a new leader will take place on 22 January, 2023. If no one meets that threshold level of support, the leadership contest will go to the wider Labour membership.

The National leader, Christopher Luxon, said Ardern had “made a significant contribution to New Zealand, in what is a difficult and demanding job” and called her a “strong ambassador for New Zealand on the world stage”.

“Her leadership in the aftermath of the Christchurch terror attacks was simultaneously strong and compassionate, and is something she can be proud of,” he added.

The prime minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, paid tribute to Ardern, saying she “has shown the world how to lead with intellect and strength … She has demonstrated that empathy and insight are powerful leadership qualities.”

https://thestreetjournal.org/2023-politicians-paying-social-media-influencers-to-spread-false-information-about-opponents-ahead-of-general-election-bbc-reveals/

An investigation by the BBC global disinformation team has uncovered how Nigerian social media influencers are paid by candidates of political parties to spread false information about their opponents ahead of the 2023 general election.

Some whistle-blowers, while making this known on Wednesday, January 18, said that political parties give out cash, lavish gifts, government contracts and even political appointments to social media influencers for their work during the campaign period.

According to the whistle-blowers, the hired influencers are sometimes given an idea that they should frame in their own words.

At other times, they are given the actual tweets that need to be published at specific times.

They added that these influencers are paid based on the number of followers they have.

The whistle-blowers further noted that payment happens mostly in cash in order to avoid a paper trail.

A politician simply identified as Godiya, stated that, “We’ve paid an influencer up to N20 million for spreading false information about one of our opponents.

“We’ve also given people gifts. While others prefer to hear ‘What do you want to do when we assume power?’ because they’re interested in taking appointments or contracts.

“We use images that may not even be relevant to the story we are trying to spin.

“We can take pictures from East Africa in the 1990s in war zones and attach them to a tweet about how my ethnic group is being killed.

“When people get emotional, they retweet, they like, and it gets traction,” she added.

Similarly, a influencer, with almost 150,000 Facebook followers, said that he is paid by political parties to post completely false stories about political opponents.

He noted that he does not do it openly but rather plants false stories through other micro-influencers he hires.

Similarly, Rabi’u Biyora, a major influencer known for supporting the All Progressives Congress (APC) said that he was “wooed” by an opposition party to stop promoting APC, and give his support to their candidate instead.

https://thestreetjournal.org/edo-train-attack-police-arrests-two-monarchs-five-others-over-involvement-in-abduction-of-20-passengers/

The Edo State government has said that two traditional rulers and five other persons have been arrested in connection with the kidnapping of 20 passengers from Igueben train station in Edo state on January 7, 2023.

The Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, disclosed this on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, in Benin, the state capital, after the state executive council meeting, Daily Trust disclosed.

“The success story in the kidnapping is that seven persons and two village chiefs have been arrested in connection with the incident.”

He added that two persons remaining in captivity of the kidnappers had been rescued by security agencies.

https://thestreetjournal.org/fg-borrowed-4-85bn-from-china-france-three-others-in-last-eight-years-dmo/

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has said that the federal government borrowed $4.85 billion from five countries between June 30, 2015 and October 30, 2022.

Data from the external loans reports of the DMO showed that within the period, Nigeria’s borrowings from the five countries increased by 206.96 percent from $1.58 billion in June 2015 to $4.85 billion by October 2022.

The five countries include China, France, Japan, India and Germany.

In June 2015, Nigeria borrowed $1.39 billion from the Exim Bank of China, $140.25 million from Agence Francaise Development in France, $43.10 million from Japan International Cooperation Agency, $11.73 million Kreditanstalt Fur Wiederaufbua in Germany.

By September 2022, the bilateral debt profile increased with Nigeria owing China $4.09 billion.

It also owed France $526.48 million, Japan $57.11 million, Germany $153.06 million, and India $27.17 million.

Based on the data from DMO, the nation’s first accumulated debt from India under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was recorded to be $14.79 million in 2018.

However, China has been Nigeria’s largest bilateral creditor over the years, according to The Punch.

The federal government had sought loan facilities from Chinese lenders to implement several infrastructural projects, including standard gauge rail lines.

In a document titled, ‘Status of Chinese loans as at September 30, 2021’, the DMO disclosed that 15 projects were funded with Chinese loans, and four of the 15 projects are rail-related.

The federal government recently spent $548.67 million (N246.11 billion) to service railway-related debts between 2016 and 2022.

The nation’s current bilateral debt was 12.24 percent of the total external debt of $39.66 billion, excluding states’ external debt.

Recall that Nigeria’s total external debt rose from $10.32 billion on June 30, 2015 to $40.06 billion as at June 30, 2022.

It covered external borrowings by the federal government and states.

The nation’s external debt ballooned as the naira lost value, increasing Nigeria’s debt service burden and worsening its ability to service debt.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently said that the long-term rate of the depreciation of the naira equated to a loss of 10.6 percent of its value annually since 1973.

According to the IMF, this rate was 1.5 times higher than the long-term rate of the currencies of other emerging markets and developing economies at 7.2 percent and sub-Saharan Africa at seven percent over the same time period.

Also, the Bank of America recently said that Nigeria’s local currency unit was set to weaken further next year as its current exchange rate to the dollar was well above fair value.

The special advisor to the director (Custom Union and Taxation in ECOWAS), Gbenga Falana, while emphasising that the debt profile of most of the countries in the sub-region was mounting, stressed the need for West African countries to look inwardly and finance local projects through effective domestic resource mobilisation.

Experts have continued to warn that the continued increase in the nation’s debt stock, portends some risks for the country.

The managing director/chief executive officer of Cowry Asset Management Limited, Johnson Chukwu, while speaking on Wednesday, January 18, said that the high external debt would impose a huge debt service on the economy.

Chukwu said that, “This will impose a huge debt service on the economy, particularly at a period when we have low revenue from oil sales.

“If the revenue from oil sales does not improve, then the federal government will be struggling to meet that debt service obligation to foreign lenders.”

However, he noted that Nigeria could service its foreign debt at the current level, but a constant increase in debt without a corresponding increase in foreign currency earnings could put the country in a difficult position.

In addition, the Chief Executive Officer of SD& Capital Management, Idakolo Gbolade, cautioned the federal government against constant borrowing, adding that it should examine how it borrowed to save the unborn generation from unending debt.

He said that, “Government borrowing to fund infrastructure is not bad but the problem is that the projects should be made to repay the loans.

“The government needs to look into this. For example, projects like roads should be tolled, and the proceeds used for repayments.”

https://thestreetjournal.org/emt-not-same-as-nec-oby-ezekwesili-replies-atikus-media-aide-paul-ibe-clarifies-differences/

Oby Ezekwesili, former minister of education has explained that Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) didn’t head the Economic Management Team (EMT) during his time as vice president.

Abubakar, who was vice president during the tenure of Olusegun Obasanjo, between 1999 and 2007, had claimed during a presentation on Monday in Lagos, that he headed the Economic Management Team as vice president.

The claim was refuted by Ezekwesili who advised the former vice president to stop misleading the public.

Ezekwesili’s rebuke, however, attracted angry responses from supporters of Abubakar, particularly his media aide, Paul Ibe who insisted that he was head of the economic team as vice president.

But providing further insights in a tweet, Ezekwesili noted that Atiku headed the National Economic Council (NEC) as vice president, but not the EMT which according to her, was headed by Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former minister of finance.

Ezekwesili said, “There is a difference between the Economic Management Team set up for the 1st time ever in 2003 by President Obasanjo and the National Economic Council established by the 1999 Constitution as amended; Section 153(1) and Paragraphs 18 & 19 of Part I of the Third Schedule.

“The Presidential Economic Management Team (we called it “The Economic Team” for brevity) was a Technical Team of 12 persons from a range of expertise whom President Obasanjo constituted to drive Nigeria’s Economic Reform Agenda during his 2nd Term in office 2003-2007.

“In constituting the Economic Team, we designed it @ two levels of Leadership:

1. Political Leadership: The President Olusegun Obasanjo

2. Technical Leadership: The Minister of Finance, Dr Okonjo-Iweala.

Our Team also had Thematic Issues Lead, e.g. I was for Good Governance.

“At the Political Leadership level of the Economic Team, the then President, Olusegun Obasanjo instituted a Weekly Meeting before the Federal Executive Council where he would meet with us his Economic Team to discuss the Economic Reform Agenda. The President was Chair.

“As Chair of the Political Leadership Level of the Economic Team, the then President decided (usually with the counsel of his Economic Team) which sectoral Ministers, or Heads of Agencies, Parastatals and Departments joined this Weekly Wednesday meeting held before FEC meeting.

“As Chair of the Technical Level Leadership, the then Minister of Finance was the Head of our Technocratic Team of 12 persons which met in her office at the Ministry statutorily weekly and as often as necessary daily as we designed and began implementing the Economic Reforms.

“There is no sincere basis for confusing the work of the Presidential Economic Management Team that I described in the previous tweets with the National Economic Council, provided for in the Constitution and chaired by a Vice President. The functions are not the same at all. None.

“National Economic Council consists of:
(a) Vice-President as the Chairman;
(b) the Governor of each State of the Federation; and
(c) the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria established under the Central Bank of Nigeria Decree 1991 or any enactment replacing that Decree.

“Constitutionally, National Economic Council advises the President concerning the economic affairs of the Federation, and in particular on measures necessary for the co¬ordination of the economic planning efforts or economic programmes of the various Governments of the Federation.

“The National Economic Council which former Vice President Atiku constitutionally chaired and now by Professor Osinbajo is really an advisory organ that provides opportunity for the Federal Government and States of the Federation to discuss our Economy for coordination purpose.

“The 1999 Constitution also has the Vice President as the Chairperson of the National Council on Privatization. In that capacity, it is the duty of the Vice President to supervise the work of the Bureau for Public Enterprise BPE on behalf of the President.”

https://thestreetjournal.org/my-govt-has-spent-1bn-to-recover-territories-seized-by-terrorists-in-last-eight-years-buhari/

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, January 17, said that the federal government has spent $1 billion to reclaim territories seized by terrorists in the last eight years.

The president made this known shortly after receiving the “Award for strengthening peace in Africa” conferred on him by the Abu Dhabi Peace Forum in Nouakchott, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

Buhari stated that, “Although we are winning the war, however, as a country and sub-region, we continue to be negatively impacted by events in Libya, the Central Africa Republic, and the war in Ukraine.”

The president premised his argument on the free circulation of “all sorts of small and light weapons” orchestrated by foreign fighters.

He also noted that the idleness of African youths and non-inclusion in discussing issues that concern them is providing a steady recruitment pool for the extremist organisations wreaking havoc in various parts of the continent.

He, therefore, urged leaders to place a premium on youth development, with more seriousness and actionable ideas in promoting skills acquisitions while discouraging idleness.

President Buhari, in his statement, said that, “When I assumed power in 2015, Boko Haram held about two-thirds of Borno state, half of Yobe state, and a couple of local government areas in Adamawa state, all states in the north-east region of Nigeria.

“We have been able to retrieve these swathes of territories by investing over $1 billion to acquire hard and software weaponry from the US and other friendly countries to carry out sustained operations against insurgency since 2015,” he added.

According to him, these funds would have been better spent on critical infrastructure such as healthcare and education.

Buhari noted that, “Our Armed Forces and those of our partners in the Multinational Joint Task Force (consisting of Chad, Niger, Cameroon, Benin Republic and Nigeria) continue to demonstrate great bravery while paying the ultimate price in securing our collective freedom.

“Despite the difficult times we face, we continue to spend very scarce and lean resources to ensure that we have a well-resourced military force to take on this task.

“Ideally, these are resources that could be spent on education, healthcare, infrastructure and other social services, but without peace, we have learnt the hard way that our children cannot go to school or seek good healthcare,” he added.

He explained that the scenario created serious instability and served as a litmus test for member countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission in devising means to restore the livelihoods within the region, The Punch reports.

The president urged his counterparts to concretize efforts to curtail and possibly prevent the circulation of small arms and light weapons and the festering of foreign fighters into Africa.

In his remarks, the president of the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, said that the award was given to Buhari for providing good leadership, promoting peace in a multi-ethnic, multicultural and multi-linguistic country like Nigeria and extending his experience and wisdom to other African countries.

https://thestreetjournal.org/broda-shaggi-sabinus-taaooma-top-2022-list-of-skit-makers/

Entertainer, Samuel Perry aka Broda Shaggi, has emerged the number one skit maker on Instagram in Nigeria in the year 2022.

This is according to a list published by digital analytics firm, Dataleum, on Monday. The firm also publishes quarterly reports on the skit making sector of the entertainment industry.

Following Broda Shaggi on the Top Five Nigerian Skit Makers List 2023 were Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Ejekwu aka Mr Funny or Sabinus.

He is followed closely by Brainjotter, Cute Abiola and Taaooma.

From January to December 2022, Broda Shaggi posted 270 skits on his Instagram page which got him over 175 million views. The skit maker topped the chart in the first quarter of 2022, and followed closely in the second place in the remaining quarters.

For Sabinus, the content creator topped the charts from Q2 to Q4, except in Q1 where he took the second spot.

He also recorded impressive growth in his followers as he moved from 1.7 million followers at the end of Q1 to 3.4 million followers as of December 2022.

Sabinus garnered over 169 million views from 191 skits.

Others in the top five include, Brainjotter with 95.9 million views followed by Cute Abiola with 94.5 million views.

The only female in the top five was Taaooma, who got 88 million views from her 109 skits posted on her Instagram page.

https://thestreetjournal.org/customs-ntercepts-illegal-military-police-gadgets-hard-drugs-worth-n13-8bn-at-lagos-airport/

The Murtala Muhammed Airport Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has said it intercepted hard drugs, military and police hardware at the cargo section of the airport.

The Customs Area Controller, Sambo Dangaladima, on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, said 162 cartons of banned tramadol hydrochloride 225 and 250mg, military and police hardware were intercepted at the Skyway Aviation Handling Company.

Explaining further, he said the drugs originated from India and Pakistan and were routed through Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, PUNCH disclosed.

Dangaladima said the drugs had an estimated duty-paid value of N13.8bn.

He said, “These milligrams (225 and 250mg) are above allowable thresholds as contained in extant laws. The hard drugs originated from India and Pakistan and they were routed through Addis-Ababa to Lagos.

“In summary, we have a total of 162 cartons, 92,387 packs, 929,970 sachets, and 9,299,700 tablets of tramadol hydrochloride with a value of N13.8bn.”

He noted that the command would hand over the seized drugs to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The customs boss said 309 pieces of military helmets, 106 pieces of military armless jackets, 352 pieces of ballistic body armoured pads, and 119 pieces of police badges were also intercepted by the command.

Others are five pieces of bullet-proof jackets, 33 pieces of body side ballistic pads, and 105 pieces of ballistic chest plates.

“The suspect connected to this importation could not provide the end user certificate which is the lawful prerequisite for such importation. We have detained the suspects and the military wares, while investigation is ongoing.

“We are very mindful of the fact that 2023 is an election year in Nigeria; the inflow of traffic of these hard drugs that induce our youths to do extraordinary things (when taken) are bound to increase,” he added.

Meanwhile, the command stated that it generated N69bn between January and December 2022.

https://thestreetjournal.org/fg-borrowing-funds-to-import-fuel-34bn-external-reserves-enough-to-withstand-global-recession-finance-minister-zainab-ahmed/

The federal government, on Tuesday, January 17, said that it borrows funds to buy fuel into the country.

The minister of finance, budget and national planning, Zainab Ahmed, made this known on Tuesday, according to The Punch.

Ahmed confirmed that there was a possibility of global economic recession this year, but stressed that the nation’s foreign reserves were healthy enough to withstand the shocks.

The minister also stated that the federal government, at some point, had to borrow funds to buy Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, despite the huge subsidy spending on the commodity.

Ahmed insisted on ending the fuel subsidy policy this year, adding that it would be done gradually from the second quarter of this year.

The minister said that, “We have to exit fuel subsidy, because that is also a very significant contributory factor.

“You can look at it in two ways; it is revenue that would have come to the government but it doesn’t because it has been spent on fuel subsidy.

“Also, where there is nothing for the government to buy the refined petroleum products, we have to borrow to buy the petroleum products.

“So if you take that out, that’s about N3.25 trillion, and that is a significant relief,” she added.

Ahmed, while explaining why the fuel subsidy was not removed in June 2022 despite the plan of the government to halt it at the time, said that it was a decision that was taken by the federal government due to the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened inflation.

“Removal of fuel subsidy at that time would have increased the burden on the citizens, and the president does not want to contemplate a situation where measures are taken that further burdens the citizenry,” she said.

“So the decision was to extend the period from June 2022 to 18 months, beginning from January 2022.

“So in June 2023, we should be able to exit. The good thing is that we hear a consistent message that everybody is saying this thing needs to go and that it is not serving the majority of Nigerians.

“I listened to some of the new leaders campaigning for the next round of leadership in the country and they are saying that they will get rid of it very quickly,” Ahmed added.

She further stated that the ambitious N10 trillion revenue target of the federal government, as projected in the 2023 budget, would be met, based on various measures that had been put in place.

The minister, while commenting on the possibility of a global economic recession, said that, “Clearly there is going to be a decline in growth, and why we are having this decline in growth is because of the sustained economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve seen the resurgence of COVID-19 in some developed economies, especially China, and also the effect of the Russia-Ukraine war that is having a global impact.

“The quantitative easing that is being implemented by central banks across the world also contributes to the high cost of interest, resulting in the high inflation rate, and this means that people’s spending power is weakened.

“So these are all indications that there will be a global recession,” Ahmed added.

The minister also noted that the country would be able to withstand another recession this year, going by its current reserves.

She said that, “It is true that our reserves was $60 billion during the first global recession. Our reserves are now down to $34 billion, and that is still a healthy level.

“It means that we will be able to meet at least six months of imports and other expenses into the country.

“It means that we can withstand another global shock if we are able to carry through a coordinated response between the monetary, fiscal as well as trade authorities.

“We have learnt a lot from the experience that we went through during the COVID-19 period, and it shows that when we plan well, we can actually withstand the shocks.

“You’ll recall that Nigeria’s economy did go into recession during the COVID-19 period because of that coordinated response, which had not just government, but also the private sector contributing to the effort.

“Also, at that time we were able to scale back on some categories of government spending to enable us to invest more in the healthcare sector.

“So with the right policies, we can weather another global recession,” Ahmed added.

The minister, while reacting to concerns that the federal government’s revenue projection of over N10 trillion for 2023 was too optimistic, stated that a lot of measures were on the ground to realise this target.

She said that, “I will say that if you look at the numbers, the performance of the 2022 budget, you will see that the oil and gas sector contribution was about 35 percent, while the non-oil sector had the largest contribution.

“But not only that, the non-oil sector contribution outperformed the budget by a very large proportion, for example, Company Income Tax outperformed the budget by 158 percent.

“So there are some foundational measures that have been taken which enabled the non-oil sector revenue to grow on a consistent basis, and not just by a little number, but a quite significant number.”

Ahmed further pointed out that the oil sector’s contribution which was minimal in 2022 was looking good to pick up in 2023.

She said that, “The measures that the government has taken, a combined effort of security and intelligence agencies’ work, have resulted in improving production in the oil and gas sector, and it looks like it would continue.

“Most of the fields that were previously not producing at the levels that they were supposed to produce, can now produce at maximum capacity.

“Also, oil price in the international market is still at a very reasonably high level.

“We are also doing a lot to encourage investments in gas, so as to get incremental streams of income that will come from that sector.

“We’ve also introduced some new excise duties and some taxes, the full effect of which we will see this year,” Ahmed added.

https://thestreetjournal.org/naf-airstrike-kills-two-boko-haram-commanders-40-members-in-niger/

Precision airstrikes undertaken by the Air Component of Operation Whirl Stroke in Shiroro, Niger State, have killed two wanted Boko Haram commanders, Abu Ubaida and Mallam Yusuf Abba, together with about 40 of their foot soldiers at an abandoned warehouse in Kurebe, a popular community in Shiroro local government area.

Military sources said Abu Ubaida and Yusuf Abba met their Waterloo when airstrikes conducted by a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) hit their enclave recently, Leadership reports.

“It would be recalled that on December 22, 2022, a NAF aircraft struck a terrorists’ gathering at Kurebe in Shiroro local government area. Several terrorists were killed, but it was unclear if any of the terrorist kingpins was killed eliminated in the air attacks.

“Consequently, after the said airstrike, preliminary investigations via exploitation of several sources revealed that there was underground in the warehouse where the terrorists run to hide whenever a NAF aircraft flies over the area.

“It was also revealed that the terrorists hibernate within the location with bikes seen at different occasions carrying fertilizers to the warehouse. These fertilisers are used by the terrorists to produce Improvised Explosive Device(s) (IEDs).”

An intelligence operative said NAF fighter jets were dispatched with the mission of ensuring total destruction of the warehouse and annihilation of the terrorists.

The NAF spokesperson, Air Commodore Wap Maigida, confirmed the successful airstrikes, noting that their Air Component will continue to sustain the offensive operations against the Boko Haram elements.

He said that all NAF Operational Commanders, in keeping to the directive of the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, are making sure that terrorists and collaborators are denied any breathing space.

https://thestreetjournal.org/2023-pdp-will-win-all-elections-in-rivers-it-is-fight-to-finish-wike-boasts/

The governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, has said that the forthcoming general election will be a fight to finish in the state.

Wike boasted that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Rivers state chapter, is going to win all the positions at the end of the elections.

The governor made this known at the flag-off of the party’s campaign rally held at the Felix Obuah Pavilion, Omoku town in Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government area (ONELGA) of the state, on Monday, January 16.

Wike emphasised that at previous times when PDP went into election it won the governorship, senatorial, house of representatives and state of assembly seats, adding that the situation will not be different in the forthcoming elections.

The governor explained that when Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Abua/Odual, Ahoada East, Ahoada West local government areas of the state experienced flooding last year, the state government was abandoned to solve its problems, Leadership reports.

Wike stated that, “That is how you know those who hate Rivers state , that is how you know those who love us.

“If you hate Rivers state, we will not give you our votes. We will only give our vote to those who love Rivers state.

“You have to listen to your leaders through the DG (director-general) of the campaign. They will come back to you, sit you down and tell you where we are heading to.

“It is a fight to finish. Do not be afraid. We are going to win all the elections at the end of the day. You know that we have always won. We will continue to win.

“We have never failed in anything we have told you. Success has always been with us. God has been with us.

“This time is not going to be different. God will continue to lead us,” he added.

Wike further noted that on arrival in Omoku town for the rally, they visited the Oba who gave them his blessings.

He said that, “Oba has done the traditional thing by blessing us and telling us to go to the field. He assured us that his people are there and will be with us.

“It’s obvious that he can be trusted because we have seen it today.”

The governor also urged the people not to listen to candidates and leaders of other political parties who may come to them to solicit their votes.

He pointed out that such persons failed the state when they had the opportunity to fulfil promises they made and to deliver development projects to the people of Rivers state.

Wike implored the people to repeat the level of support that they gave to the PDP in 2015 and 2019 in order to consolidate what his administration has already started in the state.

He noted that he made promises to the people of ONELGA before he became the state governor, adding that he has delivered development projects in the area in fulfilment of those promises.

Wike added that even though the immediate past administration awarded the internal roads in Omoku for reconstruction and abandoned them, on assumption of office, he ensured that the job was done.

He mentioned that his administration would inaugurate the Kregeni to Omoku Road, and the Omoku-Egbema dualisation road by the end of February.

He further stated that the phase two of Ahoada-Omoku road has already been awarded to a contractor.

The PDP governorship candidate in the state, Siminialayi Fubara, while speaking on Monday, recounted the successes of the Wike-led administration.

He said that if elected into office there will be further development, particularly in ONELGA where the phase two of the Ahoada-Omoku road will be completed to ease mobility in the area.

Fubara urged the residents of the state to ensure that they deliver overwhelming votes for the PDP in the forthcoming general elections.

https://thestreetjournal.org/we-injected-15-3bn-into-the-economy-to-stabilize-naira-despite-currency-depreciation-in-2022-cbn/

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Monday, January 16, said that it injected $15.3 billion into the economy to stabilize the value of naira in 2022.

This was obtained in the banking sector regulator’s monthly and quarterly economic report on foreign exchange market developments.

The report noted that $4.86 billion, $4.81 billion and $4.18 billion were injected into the economy during the first, second and third quarters of 2022, respectively, while $1.46 billion was injected in October.

The CBN stated that, “Total foreign exchange sales to authorized dealers by the bank, at $4.86 billion, decreased by 5.8 percent, compared with the previous quarter’s level.

“Disaggregation shows that foreign exchange sales at interbank/invisibles and SMIS windows declined by 16.9 percent and 10.8 percent to $1.46 billion and $1.79 billion, respectively, relative to the levels in the preceding quarter.

“Similarly, SME interventions and sales at the Investors & Exporters (I & E) window, decreased by 2.0 percent and 26.7 percent, compared with the amounts in the preceding quarter.”

The apex bank added that matured swap contracts rose by 187.33 percent, relative to the previous quarter’s level.

In the second quarter, the CBN stated that, “Total foreign exchange sales to authorised dealers by the bank at $4.81 billion, decreased by 0.9 percent, compared with the level in the preceding quarter.

“Disaggregation shows that SME interventions and sales at the investors & exporters window declined by 8.6 percent and 41.3 percent, relative to the preceding quarter.

“However, interbank/invisibles and SMIS windows, increased by 5.3 percent and 14.7 percent to $0.48 billion and $2.05 billion, compared with the amounts in the preceding quarter.”

Similarly, the CBN stated that matured swap contracts rose by 34.6 percent to $1.11 billion, relative to the previous quarter’s level, according to The Punch.

In the third quarter of 2022, the apex bank stated that, “Total foreign exchange sales to authorized dealers by the Bank decreased in the review period.

“Foreign exchange sales at $4.18 billion, decreased by 13.1 percent, below the level in the preceding quarter.

“A disaggregation shows that foreign exchange sales at the Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) and Investors’ and Exporters’ windows, decreased by 10.5 percent and 4.3 percent to $1.83 billion and $0.79 billion, respectively.

“Similarly, matured swap contracts fell by 48.9 percent, relative to the second quarter of 2022.”

However, the apex bank noted that sales at the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and interbank/invisibles windows increased by 32.4 per cent and 10.0 percent to $0.46 billion and $0.53 billion, respectively, relative to the levels in the preceding quarter.

The CBN added that, “Total foreign exchange sales to authorized dealers by the bank was $1.46 billion, an increase of 31.7 percent, relative to $1.11 billion in September.”

The apex bank noted that a disaggregation showed that foreign exchange sales at the SMES, SMIS, and the invisibles window increased by 27.0 percent, 21.2 percent and 61.2 percent to $0.15 billion, $0.58 billion, and $0.24 billion, respectively, relative to the previous month’s levels.

Recall that the naira as of December 30, 2022, exchanged at N440 per dollar on the I & E window, but in the parallel market where a large part of the demand is settled, the local currency faced the highest level of volatility in its over 50 years’ history where it met series of devaluations and adjustments based on market realities.

It was not only devalued by 60 percent in the last 18 years but in 2001 alone, its value was slashed 27 percent and its value has over the years, continued to plummet rapidly.

There are allegations of foreign exchange hoarding against commercial banks, with customers claiming that dollars meant for the retail end of the market are not getting to beneficiaries.

This practice has worsened dollar scarcity and volatility in the forex market, with foreign investors having a rethink on investing in the economy, fearing that they may not be able to repatriate funds at the expiration of their investments.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in 2022, advised CBN to allow commercial banks determine dollar buy-sale rates to boost foreign capital inflows to the economy.

The multilateral institution noted that a unified and market-clearing exchange rate remains critical to enhancing confidence of foreign investors and attracting more foreign capital to the economy.

Meanwhile, the Bank of America (BoA), in October 2022, said that while the naira will come under increasing pressure “due to limited government external borrowing in 2023,” devaluation is unlikely to happen until after the forthcoming general elections.

https://thestreetjournal.org/kenyan-police-arrests-man-for-killing-friend-extorting-money-from-deceased-family/


A Kenyan man, Stephen Karanja Njomo, has been arrested and detained for 21 days to assist police in the investigation into the mysterious death of his friend, Victor Wangai Kiragu.

It was gathered that Njomo allegedly extorted money from the deceased’s family residing overseas for about three weeks without their knowledge.

Njomo at the Makadara Law Court in Nairobi on Monday, January 16, 2023 was ordered to remain in police custody until February 6, 2023.

According to the investigating officer, Police Constable (PC) Benjamin Wangila, the accused is now being investigated for the offence of murdering the deceased, Victor Wangai Kiragu.

Wangila told Magistrate Mercy Thibaru that police believe Mr Njomo may have been involved in the murder of his friend Kiragu.

In a supporting affidavit, PC Wangila told the court that Kiragu was first reported as a missing person by his brother Samuel Chege at Kahawa West.

The magistrate heard the family members began searching for him in various hospitals, prison facilities and mortuaries among other places within the city.

His body was finally traced at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) mortuary on January 10, 2023 labeled as an unknown African male adult.

The information obtained from KNH indicated that the deceased was taken there as a referral case from St Francis Community Hospital on December 1, 2022 and was admitted there for specialized treatment until he succumbed on December 9, 2022.

The family of the deceased went back to Kahawa West to report the discovery of their relative’s body at the KNH morgue and they were then referred to DCI Kasarani, Kenya, for investigations.

https://thestreetjournal.org/an-influential-entertainer-tried-to-make-me-his-gay-partner-for-open-doors-in-the-industry-says-actor-kunle-remi/

Nollywood actor Kunle Remi has revealed that just before entering the entertainment industry, he was introduced to an entertainer who tried to make him his gay partner.

Kunle in a recent interview said he was still an undergraduate at the University of Ibadan when a friend introduced him to someone who was to guide him in the industry.

He said when he got to meet the said entertainer, the man asked him to be his gay partner before showing him the ropes in the industry.

According to him, the said entertainer painted a picture of not being able to make it unless he bends his arse.

When asked to call out the influential entertainer, he claimed he was still looking for the person.

https://thestreetjournal.org/dss-officials-arrest-ex-lp-presidential-campaign-dg-doyin-okupe-at-lagos-airport/

The immediate past director-general of the Labour Party (LP), Doyin Okupe, has been arrested by officials of the Department of States Service (DSS) at the Murtala Mohammed international airport, Lagos state.

This was disclosed on Facebook by one of his lawyers, Tolu Babaleye, on Thursday, January 12.

According to Babaleye, Okupe was on his way to London, United Kingdom, when he was arrested, The Whistler reports.

He alleged that before Okupe’s arrest, DSS officials asked the former DG of LP’s presidential campaign council to provide the court processes where he paid the fine option following his money laundering conviction by the federal high court, Abuja.

Recall that Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, on December 19, 2022, found Okupe guilty of receiving over N240 million cash from former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki.

Justice Ojukwu, while delivering the judgment, held that the action of Okupe, who is the first defendant in the suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), violated the money laundering act.

While stating that the act provides that no individual or organization shall receive any sum above N5 million and N10 million respectively without passing through a financial institution, the judge held that “there is no evidence that the money passed through a financial institution.”

According to Justice Ojukwu, the NSA is not a financial institution, adding that even if the president had authorized the funds, he did not specifically state that the money must be paid in cash.

Consequently, the court held that Okupe was guilty in counts 34, 35, 36, and 59.

The judge, however, found the defendant not guilty in counts 1 to 33 on the grounds that the prosecution failed to establish the charge of money laundering and criminal breach of trust and corruption against the NSA.

In counts 34 to 59 upon which Okupe was convicted, he received various sums of money ranging from N10 million on different occasions from 2012 to 2015 when he was a senior special adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan.

Consequently, Justice Ojukwu sentenced Okupe to two years in prison on count 34 with an option of a fine of N500,000.

The court also sentenced him to two years imprisonment on counts 35 to 59 with an option of N500,000 fine.

However, the LP presidential campaign council (PCC), on December 19, said that Okupe, paid N13 million fine following his conviction.

Okupe, on December 20, stepped down from his position as the director-general of the party’s presidential campaign council.

He announced his resignation in a letter addressed to Peter Obi, LP presidential candidate.

https://thestreetjournal.org/court-orders-airtel-to-pay-n20m-damages-to-nollywood-actor-adewole-ojo-over-copyright-infringement/

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered Airtel Networks Limited – a telecommunication firm, to pay Adewole Ojo a Nollywood actor, N20 million in damages for using his photographs to advertise its products without his authorisation or consent.

In suit no. FHC/L/CS/130/2015 filed by the Law Firm of Olumide Babalola LP in November 2015, Ojo accused Airtel of using his pictures to market their telephone number portability options without seeking his consent or compensating him for such use.

The suit suffered several adjournments but in a judgment delivered by Justice O.O. Oguntoyinbo in September 2022, the court ordered declared Airtel’s unauthorised use an infringement of copyright and awarded the sum of N20 million in damages to Ojo.

https://thestreetjournal.org/terrorists-kill-community-leader-abduct-four-women-in-kaduna/

A community leader, Malam Ibrahim Abdullahi and his nephew have been killed by terrorists at their residence in Unguwar Mai Awo village, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The terrorists also abducted four other women, including a nursing mother during the attack in the community located near the popular Maraban Jos along the Kaduna-Zaria expressway.

They stormed the community in the early hours of Wednesday, January 11, 2023, shooting sporadically to terrify the villagers.

A source from the community, Abdullahi Auwal, said two members of the community were injured during the attack and they were later taken to an undisclosed hospital for medical attention.

“They killed a community leader and also Chairman of Fityanul Islam First Aid group of the area, Malam Ibrahim Abdullahi and his nephew Zakari Yau. Four women including a nursing mother were also abducted by the terrorists,” Auwal explained.

https://thestreetjournal.org/unknown-gunmen-kill-intending-couple-in-imo-graphic-photos/

An intending couple, Mba Ifeoma Gloria and Eremezie Tochukwu Martin, whose wedding was slated for January 18, 2023, have been killed by yet-to-be-identified gunmen at Arondizuogu in the Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo state.

Residents of the community say the intending couple was taking a ride in the groom’s brother’s tricycle when they were attacked by gunmen who killed the three of them on Wednesday, January 11, 2023.

Troubled by the incessant killings and kidnappings in their community, members of the community came out en mass on same Wednesday to lay curses on the assailants perpetrating the crime.

They also claim that the assailants have invaded their community and specialize in stealing flashy cars and killing their owners.

The state police command is yet to comment on this unfortunate incident.

https://thestreetjournal.org/2023-were-in-talks-with-over-11-political-parties-for-alliance-ahead-of-general-election-pdp/

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has confirmed that talks are ongoing with over 11 other political parties who have approached the party for a working alliance ahead of the forthcoming general election.

This development came 24 hours after similar talks took place between the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC), and other political parties including the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The PDP deputy national publicity secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, on Thursday, January 12, said that the party has commenced talks with over 11 political parties, adding that the main opposition party is open to have more parties on board, The Punch reports.

Abdullahi said that, “There are a good number of them, but it will not be wise to publicly list them out.

“The last time I checked, we were in talks with over 11 of them.

“They approached us to express their willingness to partner with us towards ensuring credible elections in 2023.

“That is the way they made their intention known to us, but you and I know what that means.

“These are parties with candidates who are not strong enough. I can confirm to you that there is a working arrangement, and we want to see more of such parties or groups. Together, we will salvage this country.

“They know the strength of PDP and the pedigree of its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar,” he added.

It is worth noting that in the 2019 general election, the Peoples Coalition Party (PCP) and the All Grassroots Alliance (AGA) similarly endorsed Atiku when he ran for the presidency on the platform of PDP.

https://thestreetjournal.org/buhari-renews-appointment-of-mining-cadastre-office-dg-obadiah-nkom/

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Obadiah Nkom as the director-general of the Nigeria mining cadastre office for a second and final term of four years with effect from January 12.

This was disclosed in a statement by President Buhari’s spokesperson, Femi Adesina, on Tuesday.

Nkom was first appointed on January 12, 2019, for an initial period of four years.

Under the leadership of Nkom in the past four years, the mining cadastre office recorded 86 percent increase in revenue generation, raking in over N8.9 billion between 2019 and 2021 compared to N4.8 billion generated by the office from 2016 to 2018, according to VON.

This also accounts for about 50 percent of the contribution of the ministry of mines and steel development to the economy.

His recently-unveiled reforms in the automation of the mining cadastre system have revolutionalised mineral title administration and management.

In addition, during Nkom’s first term, the Nigeria mining cadastre office was named the best agency of the federal government in the category of digital innovation awards for the year 2022, under the auspices of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), for adding value to the activities of the cadastre office.

https://thestreetjournal.org/buhari-reconstitutes-cmd-niser-governing-boards/

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the reconstitution of the governing councils of Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) and the Centre for Management Development (CMD).

The announcement of the presidential approval was contained in a statement issued by the director of information in the federal ministry of budget and national planning, Folasade Boriowo, The News Guru reports.

The statement reads, “The ministry of finance, budget and national planning hereby announces the approval by the president and commander-in-chief of the federal republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, of the reconstitution of the governing councils of Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) and the Centre for Management Development (CMD).

“Membership of council of NISER includes Dr. Emmanuel O. Imafidon (chairman), Dr. Hauwa V. Ibrahim, Professor Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, Sabiu Zakari, Kalli Gazali, Professor Benedict N. Akanegbu, and Felicia I. Onibon (members).

“Other members of the council are the director of institute, permanent secretary, federal ministry of industries or his representative, director (Macro) in the ministry of budget and national planning, the statistician general, National Bureau of Statistics, and director of research, Central Bank of Nigeria.

“The council of CMD comprises of Mrs. Binta F. Shuaibu (chairman), Barrister Marie O. Idaomi, Professor Muhammad A. Mainoma, Olawale Joseph Ademola, and, Bitrus D. Chinoko (incumbent director-general of the centre).

“The membership of the council of CMD also consists of a representative each from the ministry of budget and national planning, National Universities Commission, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, National Youth Service Corps, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Industrial Training Fund, and Central Bank of Nigeria.

“This announcement is preparatory to the inauguration of the two governing councils by the minister of state for budget and national planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, which will take place on a date to be announced soon.”

https://thestreetjournal.org/atikus-ex-aide-accuses-him-of-diverting-public-funds-during-time-as-vp-vows-to-release-more-evidence-photos-video/

Michael Achimugu, a former media aide to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has promised to release another video clip on Atiku’s corrupt deeds after the party’s presidential campaign spokesperson, Dino Melaye, called him a fraudster.

Achimugu, who was appointed the media director for Atiku Support Organisation on September 5, 2021, and was also appointed as a member of his presidential election technical committee in September 2021, on Sunday, January 8, published a video clip on his YouTube channel of an audio tape purported to be a phone conversation between him and Atiku.

During the conversation, the PDP presidential candidate admitted to opening companies known as Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) during his time as the nation’s vice-president.

Achimugu alleged that Atiku opened SPVs, which are also known as shell companies, to ensure that diverted funds would not be traced to him.

He urged Nigerians not to vote for Atiku for the sake of their children and grandchildren, warning Atiku’s attack dogs not to pursue him because there are “affidavit of facts” that would be released if such should happen.

Achimugu, in the video clip, also claimed that the PDP presidential flagbearer admitted to him that former Plateau state governor, Joshua Dariye, paid the sum of N100 million into the account of Marine Float, a firm set up and controlled by Atiku and his cronies.

However, Dino Melaye, on Monday, January 9, dismissed Achimugu’s allegations and accused him of working with the camp of the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu.

Melaye also accused him of being a fraudster and an attention seeker.

He stated that, “What sort of media aide is he? Where is his appointment letter? Let him tell us one publication he made on behalf of Atiku Abubakar.

“I don’t talk to these young fraudsters. He is only looking for attention after collecting money from the ruling party.

“He should stop ranting because we are only focused on more serious matters,” Melaye added.

However, Achimugu, while reacting to Melaye’s comment in a video clip on Monday, posted the copies of his 2021 appointment letter as Atiku’s media aide.

He added that he will publish more evidence in days to come, PM News reports.

https://thestreetjournal.org/us-police-dismisses-four-officers-for-having-sex-with-female-colleague-on-duty/

Four United States (US) police officers from the Nashville suburb of La Vergne have been fired for allegedly having sex on duty with a female colleague, who was also fired.

Patrol officer, Maegan Hall of La Vergne Police Department is at the forefront of the investigation after it was revealed in December 2022, that she ‘engaged in a sexual relationship’ with at least four male officers.

Fellow patrol officers Juan Lugo-Perez, Lewis Powell, detective Seneca Shields, and Sergeant Henry Ty McGowan admitted to the accusations, with Shields claiming he had MouthAction with Hall in the department’s gym while on duty.

Hall, who is married, is also accused of revealing her breast while at a steamy ‘family’ Memorial Day boat party with patrol officer Patrick Magliocco, who was suspended, and fellow officers David Durham and Eric Staats.

‘Magliocco said that Staats, himself, Durham and Hall were in the hot tub when Hall’s top came off’ before the two went off to have sex in the bathroom, a report reads.

K-9 officer Larry Holladay and patrol officer Gavin Schoeberl were also suspended and charged with sexual harassment after exchanging sexual images with Hall.

The hot tub party, also attended by several of the male officers’ wives, was hosted on Staats’ boat where Magliocco was seen pouring vodka down Hall’s throat moments before she took off her top.

The report reads that ‘Hall’s top came off and Staats helped put it back on because “he was trying to protect her.”

Hall then pulled Magliocco into the restroom and asked if he ‘wanted sex and then later gave him MouthAction when they got off the boat.

Hall was open about her relationships with the other officers and once bragged to Magliocco about Officer Powell’s private part after performing MouthAction on him while on duty, according to the report.
Durham and Staats claim they didn’t have an inappropriate relationship with Hall.

Powell, who is married, initially denied having a sexual relationship with Hall several times and claimed that ‘everybody knows she has multiple partners.’ He later confessed.
He revealed that one day Hall’s husband walked in on her and his wife and wasn’t on board with the open relationship.

‘At one party, Hall and Magliocco’s wife started kissing and Hall’s husband came in the room and seemed upset,’ the report reads.
Hall appeared to keep her sexual relationships a secret from her husband and asked other officers to borrow money to book hotels.

Magilocco said that he was concerned for Hall’s mental health since she became heavily intoxicated at his house party in early December (2022) and drove home ‘drunk.’
‘Hall voiced “harmful thoughts” and on multiple occasions said that she should not be alone,’ the report reads.

Magilocco reported his concerns to the department on December 8, 2022.

Hall told Officer Holladay, who was suspended for sending explicit images, that she had ‘bad days.’

Holladay told investigators that he once invited Hall and other officers to his home to watch football and there was ‘heavy drinking.’
‘Holladay reported that there was talk of a party with him, Hall, and Holladay’s ex,’ the report heads. ‘Holladay reported nothing happened at the party.’

The officer admitted to having a sexual relationship with Hall and meeting her in hotel rooms for sex. Their last encounter was in mid-November (2022).

Before Hall was officially hired on the force, she had met up at Officer McGowan’s house with her husband and another female.
At the time, Hall was a candidate and had taken her clothes off along with the other female.

‘Hall’s husband got upset,’ the report reads. ‘During that visit, McGowan admitted to taking out his private part with Hall in the room and taking a photo of it. He sent that photo to Hall.’

McGowan denied having sex with Hall but revealed explicit photos and videos he received from her.
Another employee revealed McGowan approached her while on duty and choked her.

He was terminated amid the sexual engagement and workplace violence allegations.

Hall initially denied having a sexual relationship with all the men except for Holladay, which she insisted was only at his house or in hotels.
But she admitted to ‘sending nude images to other officers on shift including Holladay, Magliocco, and Officer Schoeberl.’

She later backtracked and confessed about Magliocco but denied being involved with his wife.
‘Magliocco had discussed having a party with Magliocco’s wife; however, nothing ever happened on that topic,’ the report reads.

Hall also confirmed that she had sexual relations with Lugo-Perez and Powell.
Lugo-Perez initially denied the claims to investigators but later admitted he had sex with Hall while at the Go Cart USA in Murfreesboro. He also confessed to sending and receiving nude images with Hall.

Hall confessed to an ongoing relationship with McGowan despite his pushback and denial.
‘Hall confirmed she had sex twice with McGowan, most recently on [December 4] at his house in La Vergne,’ the report reads. ‘Hall [said] that she and McGowan had been “close forever and one time he told her to ‘use me’ if she ever wanted to have sex.” Hall confirmed she and McGowan would send nudes back and forth.’

https://thestreetjournal.org/22-year-old-lady-confesses-to-carrying-out-attacks-killings-for-her-terrorist-group-in-eastern-nigeria-video/

A 22-year-old female terrorist has confessed to carrying out attacks and killings for her group.

The lady who showed no remorse when being questioned, gave out names of her superiors who sent them out for the attacks.

She further revealed that she doesn’t know the “crime” the monarch they recently attacked committed against her group.

The lady who confessed to killing five people so far, also led security operatives to the graves where they were buried.

https://thestreetjournal.org/28-governors-accumulate-n5-8trn-debts-for-incoming-administrations/

The governors of 28 states who are leaving office on May 29 or running for re-election, and the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have piled up N5.8 trillion sub-national debts amid an economic crunch.

The debt figures were based on an analysis of the sub-national debts reports by the Debt Management Office (DMO).

Out of the 28 states, 11 governors will be seeking re-election in March.

They include Governors Mohammed Yahaya of Gombe state, Babagana Zulum of Borno state, Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa state, Seyi Makinde of Oyo state, Mai Buni of Yobe state, Bello Matawalle of Zamfara state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos state, Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa state, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi state, and Abdulrahman Abdulrazak of Kwara state.

Those that will not be seeking re-elections are Emannuel Udom of Akwa Ibom state, Samuel Ortom of Benue state, Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state, David Umahi of Ebonyi state, Mohammed Abubakar of Gombe state, Aminu Masari of Katsina state, Bello Bagudu of Kebbi state, Abubakar Bello of Niger state, Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state, Simon Lalong of Plateau state, and Darius Ishaku of Taraba state.

Other governors that are not seeking re-election include the Kaduna state governor, Nasiru El-Rufai, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia state, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu state, Ben Ayade of Cross Rivers state, and Nyesom Wike of Rivers state.

The sub-national debts are classified into domestic-borrowings from local creditors and external-borrowings from foreign or international creditors like the World Bank.

The domestic and external debts published on the DMO’s website were as of September 30 and June 30, 2022, respectively.

According to the reports, sub-national domestic debts were about N4.38 trillion, while their external debts were about $3.15 billion or N1.42 trillion based on the exchange rate of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of N449.53 to a dollar as of Thursday, January 5.

The data further shows that Lagos state has the highest debt, with N877.04bn domestic debt and $1.27 billion foreign debt.

It is followed by Kaduna state, with a domestic debt of N86.86 billion and external debt of $586.78 million.

The third highest debt is Rivers state, with a domestic debt of N225.51 billion and foreign debt of $140.18 million.

In the fourth highest debtor position is Cross Rivers state, with N175.2 billion domestic debt and $215.75 million external debt.

It is followed by Ogun state with N241.78 billion domestic debt and $122.73 million foreign debt.

Others include Bauchi (N144.28 billion domestic debt and $172.76 million external debt), Enugu (N89.89 billion and $123.02 million), Kano (N125.19 billion and $109.42 million), Abia (N104.57 billion and $95.63 million) and Adamawa (N122.48 billion and $77.01 million).

Other debtor states are Akwa Ibom (N219.62 billion and $46.567 million), Benue (N143.37 billion and $30.47 million), Borno (N96.33 billion and $18.7 million), Delta (N272.61 billion and $60.05 million), Ebonyi (N67.06 billion and $59.84 million), Gombe (N139.1 billion and $46.93 million), Jigawa (N44.41 billion and $27.61 million), Katsina (N62.37 billion and $55.82 million), Kebbi (N60.13 billion and $42.40 million), Kwara (N109.55 billion and $45.94 million), and Nasarawa (N72.63 billion and $53.73 million).

Also on the list are Niger (N98.26 billion and $69.27 million), Oyo (N160.07 billion and $76.97 million), Plateau (N151.90 billion and $33.74 million), Sokoto (N85.58 billion and $37.13 million), Taraba (N90.81 billion and $22.28 million), Yobe (N92.86 billion and $23.09 million) and Zamfara (N109.69 billion and $29.33 million).

The FCT had a domestic debt of N112.49 billion and external debt of $25.38 million.

These states and the FCT owed up to 81.72 percent of the N5.36 trillion sub-national domestic debts and 69.08 percent of $4.56 billion external debts.

The director, portfolio management department of the DMO, Dele Afolabi, while speaking on Thursday, noted that each state was expected to send in quarterly information on their domestic debts.

Afolabi added that by being transparent with their debt profiles, states would be able to access more funding.

He further noted that the debt servicing is done by the federal government but it is deducted from the federal allocation to the states, The Punch reports.

In its December 2022 edition of the Nigeria development update, the World Bank noted that states’ debts would rise above 200 percent of the revenue generated in 2022 and 2023.

The report reads, “Debt levels for an average state are estimated to increase from 154.6 percent of revenues in 2021 to above 200 percent of revenues in both 2022 and 2023.”

According to the Washington-based bank, the increase in debts will be due to low allocation from the federation account, which will likely weaken the fiscal condition of the states.

The report added that, “The fiscal condition of sub-national governments is expected to weaken in 2022, as federation account transfers for the average state are estimated to decline due to weak net oil revenue collection.

“For an average state, statutory transfers, which is the main source of state revenue, are estimated to decline by 5.5 per cent and internally generated revenue is estimated to remain at broadly the same levels as in 2021 (declining slightly by 0.8 percent).

“Nevertheless, total revenues for an average state are estimated to remain broadly unchanged in nominal terms as gains in VAT revenues are estimated to offset the declines in statutory transfers.

“However, expenditure is expected to increase by almost 4 percent for an average state in nominal terms, especially capital expenditure, which is estimated to increase by 17.3 percent in nominal terms in the run-up to the 2023 general election.

“Consequently, the fiscal deficit of an average state is estimated to reach 37.9 percent of revenues in 2022, as opposed to 31 percent of revenues in 2021 and 17 percent of revenues in 2020.

‘’Recurrent expenditure between 2021 and 2022 is estimated to have contracted by almost 5.4 percent for an average state, raising concerns about accumulation of arrears.

“These trends are estimated to continue in 2023 with the fiscal position of the states weakening.”

The global lender had earlier said that Nigerian states will likely lose N18.8bn in oil and gas revenues in 2022, as worsening revenue collection at the federation level increases budgetary pressures for the states.

According to the bank, the declining revenue from the federation level has put many states in a precarious fiscal position.

https://thestreetjournal.org/cultists-set-man-ablaze-in-ondo-conceal-dump-body-inside-gutter/

Fear has gripped residents of Oke Aro, Akure, the Ondo State capital, over the dumping of the burnt body of a yet-to-be-identified man, concealed in a sack in a gutter by alleged cult members.

The residents woke up on Wednesday, January 4, 2022, to find a sack where the victim was concealed in the drainage around Green Park in the Akure metropolis of Ondo state, Vanguard disclosed.

One of the residents, Bayo Oladejo, wondered why the victim was burnt after being murdered by his assailants.

Oladejo said: “This is a cult war. They dealt with the victim. They not only killed him but also set his body ablaze. The victim was dumped at that particular location as there was no sign that his body was burnt where it was dumped.”

Meanwhile, residents of the area have called on the local government authorities to help evacuate the body to avoid an epidemic.

The Ondo state police spokesperson, Funmi Odunlami, confirmed that a case of a corpse concealed in a sack was dumped in a gutter in the Oke-Aro area of the state capital.

Odunlami said: “The message we got was that a shop was burning. But by the time we got there, we saw a sack in the gutter. Observing the content closely, we discovered it was a dead and burnt human.”

She said the bag was dumped there in the early hours of the day at about 7 am while everyone was doing their everyday business.

She advised people not to keep quiet at times like this, and should be more careful of the happenings within and around their communities.

Odunlami said investigations have commenced.

https://thestreetjournal.org/seven-persons-die-in-auto-crash-after-attending-apcs-presidential-campaign-rally-in-kano/

Seven people from Kwanar Dangora town in Kiru LGA have died in a motor accident along Kano – Zaria road.

They were returning from the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate’s campaign rally in Kano on Wednesday, January 4, 2023, Daily Trust disclosed.

Witnesses said the accident occurred around 6pm on same Wednesday when their Golf car collided with an oil tanker.

Ten people were said to be aboard when the accident occurred in Kano.

A resident of the town, Tukur Lawan, said five people died on the spot while two others were declared dead at the Murtala Muhammed Hospital in Kano.

“We all attended the rally, and on our way back, the tragic incident occurred. We woke up today full of sorrow.

“After they collided, the tanker detached from the vehicle and crushed the Golf car against the barricade on the road,” he said.

He listed the deceased to include Bala Kariya, Barau Kariya, Hamza Huntu, Danladi Gidan Algaita, Musbahu Gidan Diraman, Yakubu Gidan Diraman and Lawan Gidan Diraman.

Another resident, Mahmud Abubakar Kiru, said the whole town was shocked, including the political leaders who attended the funeral prayers held at different villages in Kano state.

He said members of the national and state assemblies, among them, the senator representing Kano South, Kabiru Gaya, attended the funeral prayers, as well as other political office holders.

However, when contacted, the spokesman for the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Abdullahi A. Labaran, said they had yet to receive information about the accident.

https://thestreetjournal.org/2023-inec-moves-collection-of-pvcs-to-wards-establishes-collation-centre-committee-for-presidential-poll/

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has moved the collection of permanent voter cards (PVCs) to the 8,809 registration wards across the country.

The commission, in December 2022, fixed December 12 to January 22 for the collection of PVCs in all the 774 local government areas.

INEC, at the time, said that it would devolve collection of PVCs to the 8,809 registration areas/wards from January 6 to January 15, 2023, after which the exercise will revert to the LGA offices until January 22 when the process will end, The Punch reports.

In a statement signed by Festus Okoye, national commissioner and chairman, information and voter committee, on Thursday, January 5, INEC called on all eligible registrants to collect their PVCs from registration areas from Friday, January 6.

“All those that applied for replacement of lost, damaged, or defaced PVCs can collect their PVCs at the registration area/wards during this period and the same thing applies to those that registered prior to the 2019 general election and are yet to collect their cards,” the statement reads.

“The PVCs of those that applied for transfer are available for collection in the local governments and registration areas where they intend to vote and not in the state or local government where they carried out the transfer.

“The commission appreciates the patience and understanding of Nigerians who trooped to our various local government offices to collect their PVCs.

“In making the cards available for collection, the commission is also working to ensure that the process is simple and hitch-free for Nigerians.”

The commission also announced that the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja will serve as the national situation room and collation centre for the 2023 general election.

INEC added that it has, therefore, established two committees.

The first is the collation centre committee, which will be responsible for the collation of presidential results from the states, adding that Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, will be the chairman of the committee.

The second is the situation room and collation centre committee, which will be responsible for the preparation of the venue, seating arrangement, utilities and services, security, the accreditation of party agents, national and international observers, and the media.

Members of this committee include May Agbamuche-Mbu, national commissioner, who will serve as chairman, as well as Abdullahi Abdu Zuru, national commissioner, and Festus Okoye.

https://thestreetjournal.org/2023-vote-pdp-for-governorship-state-national-assembly-but-for-presidential-candidate-makinde-will-tell-you-who-to-vote-for-soon-wike-tells-oyo-residents-video/

The governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, has said that his counterpart from Oyo state, Seyi Makinde, will tell the residents of the state the presidential candidate to vote for in the forthcoming general election soon.

Wike, who is one of the aggrieved PDP governors, also known as G5, made this known in Ibadan, Oyo state capital, on Thursday, January 5.

The G5, on Thursday, arrived at the ancient Mapo hall in Ibadan, to flag off the re-election campaign of one of their members, Seyi Makinde.

Other members of the G5 include Abia state governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom, and Enugu state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

Wike urged the residents of the state to cast their votes for all candidates vying for various seats in the 2023 general elections under the platform of the party, The Vanguard reports.

He described Governor Makinde as someone who believes in fairness, equity and justice, and has done well to deserve a second term in office.

Wike said that, “Governor Seyi Makinde has done well, the only way is for him to go back to complete the good work that he has started.

“During the gubernatorial election, vote for Governor Seyi Makinde. Also, vote for all PDP candidates vying for governorship, senate and house of assembly seats.

“But concerning the other one (presidential poll), Seyi Makinde will tell you soon.

“We believe in justice, fairness, honesty and equity, hence our reason for urging you to support the just governor God has given you in Oyo state.

“Makinde has done well since 2019 and the only way we can appreciate him is to return him to government to enable him complete the good works which he has started,” he added.

In addition, other members of the G5 in their separate remarks at the programme, thanked members of the party for their unflinching support for Governor Makinde.

They also described Makinde as a vibrant leader who has what it takes to move the state to enviable heights.

Recall that since the emergence of former vice-president, Abubakar Atiku, as PDP presidential candidate, there have been intensified moves by some aggrieved governors of the party, known as G5, for Ayu’s replacement by a candidate from the south.

They argued that the party’s flag bearer for the 2023 presidential poll, and the national chairman, cannot come from the same geo-political zone.

The aggrieved governors also stated that they want Ayu to be replaced by a candidate from the south for the purpose of equity and political balance.

https://thestreetjournal.org/alex-ekubos-sister-defends-his-sexuality-claims-he-had-sex-with-estranged-fiancee-fancy-acholonu-during-5-year-relationship/

The last has not been heard about the controversial split between Nollywood actor, Alex Ekubo and his model fiancee, Fancy Acholonu.

Acholonu has been washing their dirty linen in public for some days now after revealing that she was tricked by Ekubo to make a public apology to him yet he still dumped her.

She also revealed that they were never intimate in their five years of being together and he never had sex with the curvy women he cheated on her for.

The actor’s elder sister, Ifeoma has come to his defence.

Speaking out in an online interview with Obodo Oyibo TV, Ifeoma cleared the air on the ongoing controversy between the estranged lovers.

She spoke about Ekubo’s sexuality and shut down rumours that her brother is gay and slammed Acholonu for fueling such reports with her ‘live in your truth’ statement and that they never had sex during their five years relationship.

She insisted that her brother isn’t gay and faulted Acholonu for spreading false rumours about him. Ifeoma claimed that the two made love in January 2022 after they made up few weeks after she called off their wedding and as such, the gay reports isn’t true.

https://thestreetjournal.org/consumers-fume-as-electricity-distribution-companies-secretly-increase-tariff-nationwide/

Electricity distribution companies (Discos) have secretly increased the tariff payable by power consumers across the country.

Although most of the Discos did not make this public, electricity users have kicked against the move, describing it as “a perfect robbery” amidst the harsh economic realities in Nigeria currently.

A resident of a Lagos highbrow estate, Oye Sola, while reacting to the price hike, said that, “Electricity tariff is now N72.2 per unit. Another price hike from N66. I suspect they are going to N100. A higher price for poorer services.”

Another customer of Ikeja Disco identified as Ola Busari said that, “They are just milking us. This is a perfect robbery. Discos need to be checked.”

Another Lagos resident named Olojede, while speaking on Wednesday, January 4, said that, “They increased prices without informing us. There was no official communication to us whatsoever.”

However, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), in its multi-year tariff order, provides a 15-year tariff path for the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) with limited minor reviews each year.

It states that reviews are in the light of changes in a limited number of parameters such as inflation, interest rates, exchange rates and generation capacity, and major reviews every five years when all of the inputs were reviewed with the stakeholders.

NERC, however, did not announce the latest hike in tariff, which a power distribution company attributed to the regulator on Wednesday.

A Twitter user, Oyibo Ediri, on Wednesday, accused the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) of secretly increasing the tariff in December, alleging that the firm raised the rate for non-maximum demand customers by N12.65, The Punch reports.

The Twitter user stated that, “AEDC has quietly increased the cost of electricity. Cost increased from N57.55 in December to N68.2 for tariff.

“There was no official statement from @aedcelectricity or @NERCNG on the increase. These people won’t stop to fleece us.”

The AEDC, while replying to the tweet, via its official Twitter handle, @aedcelectricity, explained that the tariff hike was based on the order of NERC.

“Good day, please be informed that the increase in Tariff is in compliance with NERC order,” the Disco stated.

Also, a Twitter user, while reacting to the response of AEDC, asked the power firm to provide the current rates approved by the NERC.

“Kindly make the current rates available as ordered by @NERCNG. Thank you,” the Twitter user stated.

Another Twitter user, Justin David, who reacted to the request by Ediri, then said that, “We await your response @aedcelectricity.”

However, the Disco did not make any further comment nor did it reply to the requests of the power consumers.

The response could not be obtained from the power regulator as of Wednesday.

Meanwhile, on NERC’s website, the commission explained that one of its primary functions as contained in section 32 (d) of the electric power sector reform act, 2005, was to ensure that the prices charged were fair to customers.

NERC stated that, “In pursuant to the authority given under section 76 of the EPSR act 2005, the commission established a methodology for determining electricity tariff in NESI and subsequently issued a tariff order called the multi-year tariff order (MYTO) that sets out tariffs for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in Nigeria.

“The purpose of the MYTO is to set cost-reflective tariffs which will allow the power sector to be properly funded and functional.

“It provides a 15-year tariff path for the NESI with limited minor reviews each year in the light of changes in a limited number of parameters (such as inflation, interest rates, exchange rates and generation capacity) and major reviews every five years, when all of the inputs are reviewed with the stakeholders.”

The national secretary, Nigeria Electricity Consumer Advocacy Network (NECAN), Uket Obonga, while speaking on Wednesday, confirmed the increase in tariff, but stated that it was in line with the MYTO.

He said that, “They (Discos) are transiting to the new tariff policy that takes effect from January. On January 1 this year, around 4 pm, I had over 300 units in my meter, but to confirm whether there is an increment, I had to buy some units online.

“I bought units of N2,000, which is supposed to be about 26 or 27 units, but what I saw there was about 21 units, which is confirmation that there is a tariff increase according to the current MYTO.

“They moved into a new tariff policy on January 1. But there have been other arbitrary increments outside the MYTO policy.

“However, the one that took effect now is based on the MYTO, as captured in the MYTO 2020 order.”