₦airaland Forum

Acting under pressure from supporters pushing for political relevance, the federal government may have decided to dissolve the boards of federal agencies and parastatals, THISDAY has learnt.


However, because some of the positions are tenured, it is not certain how far it would be implemented, but there are strong indications that the Presidency may have given the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the go-ahead to dissolve and reconstitute the managements and boards of the agencies and parastatals.

The green light to dissolve to board of parastatals has already alerted political lobbyists who are gearing up to be appointed in the event of the dissolution of the boards of the federal parastatals.

However, when contacted yesterday on the issue, the Director Information OSGF, Willie Bassey, said he was unaware of such presidential approval. There are about 42 agencies and parastatals directly under the supervision of the OSGF, that directly help the government in the daily running of varying and specific, oversight and administrative functions.

The dissolution of the boards is expected to help President Bola Tinubu to shape the agenda of his own administration. Some senior civil servants who spoke to THISDAY last night, said that it would not be out of place for Tinubu to dissolve the boards of federal parastatals inherited from former President Muhammadu Buhari.

They noted that his predecessor also carried out a similar cleansing exercise in 2015 when he aproved the dissolution of the governing boards of federal parastatals, agencies and institutions.

Under Buhari’s instruction, the chief executive officers of the affected parastatals, agencies and institutions were directed to refer all matters requiring the attention of their boards to the president, through the Permanent Secretaries of their supervising ministries.

Similarly, Buhari had also constituted the boards of the six aviation agencies less than 24 hours to the end of his administration after the agencies operated without boards for close to a decade, despite that their Acts make the constitution of boards mandatory.

The agencies were the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the recently created Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).However, the appointments were not confirmed as the ninth Senate could not ratify them before its dissolution and the subsequent inauguration of a new government on May 29.

Another busy week unfolded at the seat of power as President Bola Tinubu engaged with various groups to promote his visions and plans for Nigeria.

On Wednesday, Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives, officially assumed the role of Chief of Staff to the President.

Notably on Thursday, President Tinubu appointed eight special advisers to his administration, including Dele Alake as the Special Adviser for Special Duties, Communications, and Strategy, Mr. Yau Darazo as the Special Adviser for Political and Intergovernmental Affairs, Wale Edun as the Special Adviser for Monetary Policies, Mrs. Olu Verheijen as the Special Adviser for Energy, Mr. Zachaeus Adedeji as the Special Adviser for Revenue, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu as the Special Adviser for Security, Mr. John Ugochukwu Uwajumogu as the Special Adviser for Industry, Trade, and Investment, and Dr. (Mrs.) Salma Ibrahim Anas as the Special Adviser for Health.

Looking at this list, one might assume that the President has already formed his cabinet. The major sectors of the government, such as security, economy, and health, are well represented. Undoubtedly, these individuals will form Tinubu’s kitchen cabinet and will be instrumental in driving his renewed hope agenda.

The list consists of individuals who have proven themselves in their respective fields, and it is evident that the President’s primary focus lies on the economy.

One notable aspect of the list is that each appointee has a minimum of 20 years of experience in their respective fields.

I also anticipate that the ministerial list will be utilized to accommodate politicians, including former governors, as a form of political settlement.

Indeed, it is expected that the President will send the ministerial list to the Senate in a few weeks. According to the new law, the President has a 60-day window to submit his ministerial nominees to the Senate.

In fulfillment of one of his promises to liberalize education funding in the country, the President signed the Students Loan Bill into law on Monday. Furthermore, he met with the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and pledged to allocate more resources to the education sector. The President emphasized that poverty should not hinder access to education, highlighting the transformative power of education in combating poverty.

During the week, the President also inaugurated the National Economic Council, with the Vice President at the helm. He urged state governors to deliver good governance to their citizens. The President reminded them that they have no excuse for failure, as they actively sought their positions through campaigns and pleas.

The President took decisive actions as well. He suspended the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, and initiated efforts to establish a uniform exchange rate. Additionally, he held meetings with former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and General Abubakar Abdulsalami, as well as former Emir of Kano Lamido Sanusi, Bisi Akande, and Tanko Yakasai.

On Friday, the President met with former Niger Delta militant Asari Dokubo. Afterward, he informed State House correspondents that 99 percent of oil theft and bunkering in the Niger Delta is carried out by the Nigerian military, specifically the Army and Navy.

The President expressed that even if one billion contracts were awarded to combat oil theft and bunkering in the region, it would be ineffective as the kingpins are heavily armed by the Army and Navy. He volunteered to tackle this menace, assuring that he would receive full protection from the Tinubu administration.

In summary, In summary, the week was marked by President Tinubu’s active engagement with various groups and the formation of his kitchen cabinet through the appointment of special advisers.

The President’s focus on key sectors such as the economy, security, and health is evident in the selection of experienced individuals to drive his agenda.

As the Tinubu administration continues to take shape, these developments provide insights into the President’s priorities, strategies, and efforts to steer the nation toward progress and prosperity.

The race for the remaining principal offices in the 10th National Assembly is already gathering steam, with political leaders and other stakeholders from the Southeast pushing for one of Dr.Orji Kalu (Abia North),Chief David Umahi (Ebonyi South) and Chief Osita Izunaso (Imo West) to be considered for the position of Senate leader.
Supporters of Alhaji AbdulAziz Yari are also making a case for him to get the position as compensation for his loss of the Senate President election to Chief Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday.

Kalu and Izunaso also showed initial interest in the office but could not go far in the face of overwhelming odds against them.

All four will have Mohammed Ali Ndume (APC – Borno South) and Opeyemi Bamidele (APC – Ekiti Central) to contend with in the battle for the Senate Leader, according to an investigation by The Nation.

Mr. Peter Akpatason (Akoko-Edo) is being tipped for the HoR Leader position.

A source said political leaders from the Southeast are currently reaching out to the leadership of the Senate, APC leadership and other stakeholders to consider zoning the position of Senate Leader to the geo-political zone with a view to giving members of the party in the zone a sense of belonging.

It was gathered that the Southeast caucus in the Senate has already held exploratory talks with some party leaders on the matter.

“As at today (Friday), we have already taken a decision as a caucus to put the contest for the Senate presidency behind us and push for what we can get,” a source said yesterday.

“Not only that, we have also started discussing with leaders of our party and other stakeholders.

“We have similarly reached out to the Senate leadership. We are talking as a group and we are united on this.

“Our request is that the position of Senate Leader should be exclusively micro zoned to the Southeast to give APC chieftains and members in our zone the sense of belonging we have been clamouring for.

“It is bad enough that the zone lost out in the battle for the Senate presidency and the speakership. But it will be cheering news if we are considered for the Senate leadership seat,” the source, a senator from the zone, said.

The Nation also gathered that some prominent chieftains of the party have met in Abuja to discuss the possibility of backing one of Kalu and Izunaso for the position.

The meeting was attended by some serving and former senators, National Working Committee (NWC) members and other APC bigwigs from the Southeast.

“We will meet again. The reason for the meeting is to prevent a repeat of the situation where two or more of our people will be dragging the same position.

“Yes, we want to appeal to the leaderships of the Senate and APC not to again overlook the Southeast in sharing the remaining principal positions of the Senate.

“But first, we want to be able to speak with one voice about who we will push forward for the position we want,” an NWC member said.

A coalition of youth groups from the Southeast, S/East Leaders Forum (SELF), wants APC and Senators to support Kalu to emerge Senate Leader to compensate the zone for its perseverance in support of the party and President Bola Tinubu.

Dr. Daniel Okwuagu and Prince Nobert Ofulue, Convener and Secretary of the group respectively, said: “Nigeria must create room for inclusiveness, and this is the right thing to do.”

In the case of Yari, his chief backers for the Senate Leader are said to be essentially the same people who rooted for him in his failed ambition to be Senate president.

They argue that the Northwest should provide the occupier of the position, having given Tinubu more votes than any other region during the election.

They also believe that making him Senate Leader, Yari would be healed of the wounds inflicted on him and his supporters.

Those for the Southeast contend that it should get the position having failed to produce the Senate President.

A source said the APC will still have a say on which zone gets what.

The party, he said, may wade in the way it did in the race for the principal officers of the National Assembly.

The Nation also gathered yesterday that Ndume wishes to return to the position of Senate leader which he held between 2016 and January 10, 2017 when his colleagues in the APC impeached him.

He contested the position of Deputy Senate President in the 8th Senate and that of Senate President in the 9th Senate. He was the Chairman, Senate Committee on Army in the 9th Senate.

He equally signified his interest to contest the position of Senate President in the 10th Senate but later stepped down his ambition following the zoning of the position to the South-South by the APC.

He was the Director General of the Senate President Godswill Akpabio/Barau Jibrin Campaign organisation and successfully delivered the two candidates last Tuesday.

The case for Bamidele is based on the tradition that Senate Leader often comes from the President’s zone.

He was elected to represent Ekiti Central Senatorial District in the Senate in 2019 and was appointed Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters.

Opeyemi equally played a pivotal role in the emergence of Akpabio as Senate President.

The minority parties – Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with 35 Senators, Labour Party with eight Senators, Social Democratic Party (SDP) and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) with two senators each and All Progressives Grand Alliance and Young Progressives Party (YPP) with one Senator each – are yet to decide on how to share the minority positions in the 10th Senate.

The PDP is expected to produce the Senate Minority Leader.

Party sources said the immediate past governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and his counterpart from Bayelsa State, Henry Seriake Dickson, may slug it out for the position.

The two of them belong to Atiku Abubakar who currently calls the shots in the party.

The party has, however, not zoned the position but is expected to do so in the coming days.

The zoning formula of the party and its alliance and agreement with other minority parties will likely determine who occupies the positions of deputy Minority Leader, Minority Whip and Deputy Minority Whip.

A source said the Labour Party with eight senators is strategising on how to occupy any of the minority positions.

Former Senate Minority Leader in the 9th Senate, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, when contacted on the phone yesterday, said he was in his village for a reception being organised in his honour.

He said he was not aware of who and who might have been penciled down for positions.

When asked to confirm rumours of his planned defection from APGA to any of the majority parties, he said: “I am not going anywhere.”

It is strongly believed that Hon Peter Akpatason from Edo State may emerge as HoR leader if the APC zones the position to the South-South.


G5, mainstream PDP in battle royal for HoR positions

The G5 group in the PDP and the mainstream party appear to be poised for a fresh battle in the contest for minority positions in the House of Representatives.

Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers) a loyalist of former Rivers governor, Nyesom Wike, wants to be the next Minority Leader, but he is facing opposition from Beni Lar from Plateau and Laori Komati from Adamawa.

Chinda was the Co-Chairman of the Joint Task 10th Assembly that mobilised members for election of Tajudeen Abass and Benjamin Kalu as Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively.

His role has not gone down well with the PDP leadership which sees him as doing the bidding of Wike.

Party sources said yesterday that his role may deny him the party’s backing in the zoning of the positions irrespective of the fact that the majority of PDP Reps recently endorsed him at a recent meeting in Abuja.

The PDP is yet to zone positions in the 10th National Assembly.


APC yet to take decision on zoning principal offices

Sources in the APC said yesterday that no decision had yet been taken on the zoning of the remaining principal positions in the 10th National Assembly.

Investigation at the party’s NWC showed that the committee is yet to take a position on the sharing arrangement.

The Nation gathered that the issue was merely mentioned at the last meeting of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) but not discussed in details.

“One of my colleagues brought the matter to our notice during our last NWC meeting, but it was not discussed,” a source said.

He added: “The inability of the NWC to be proactive was responsible for the face-off we had during the constitution of the Presidential Campaign Council.

“Again, it took Mr. President’s intervention before we had the consensus zoning arrangement for the presiding officers’ positions for the National Assembly.

“The ideal thing is for the party in concert with the President, to drive the process.

“The (NWC) that should midwife the process is leaving everything to the last minute and vacuum is not allowed in politics.”

A chieftain of the party, Clifford Ejimogu, said the zoning of the principal positions would require more considerations than the zoning of the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the 10th National Assembly.

According to him, “concessions were made during the just concluded inauguration of the National Assembly for the emergence of its leaders, the party will have to consider some of these agreements and concessions made for the smooth and free elections of Assembly leaders on Tuesday.

“For the sharing of the principal offices both in the Senate and House of Representatives, the process will require consultations with the newly elected leaders of the National Assembly on the agreement reached with other aspirants, especially those that stepped down in the two chambers.

“Nobody also knows the agreement Mr President must have struck with all the other aspirants while pushing the Akpabio/Abbas project.

“My suggestion is that the party should utilise the current adjournment by the two chambers to consult and ensure even distribution among the geopolitical zones.”

There are 97 oil producing countries in the world, the top three being the United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Among these three, Saudi Arabia and Russia top the list of oil exporting countries in the world, as the United States of America consumes most of the fuel produced in the country.

In 2022, the total oil produced in the world averaged 80,618,895 barrels per day. About 70 per cent of this figure came from the top 10 countries. Aside from the aforementioned top three, other major oil producers include Canada, Brazil, China, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Iran and Kuwait.

OPEC member countries, combined, produce 58 per cent of the world’s petroleum. Not every oil producing country in the world belongs to OPEC. Only 13 out of the 97 oil producing countries belong to OPEC. Nigeria currently occupies the 15th position among the 97 oil producing countries in the world accounting for about 1,316, 415 barrels per day.

Among the OPEC member countries, however, Nigeria is ranked 6th, behind Saudi Arabia, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Iran and Kuwait. Other OPEC countries ranked below Nigeria, in descending order, include Algeria, Angola, Libya, Venezuela, Republic of Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

Saturday Sun checks reveal that the country offering the cheapest PMS in the world is Venezuela. Venezuela is an OPEC country from South America, but it doesn’t rank among the top 20 oil producing countries in the world. In fact, it ranks below Nigeria, and occupies the 22nd position, but it still has a considerable amount of oil reserves.

The cost of PMS is also cheap in Libya, with a litre costing just N14. Libya is the fourth largest oil producer in Africa, after Nigeria, Algeria and Angola. Iran makes up the number of the countries in the world where PMS is cheapest to buy from a filling station.

Among the top four oil producing countries in Africa, PMS costs the most in Nigeria. Before the recent removal of fuel subsidy, the cost of PMS was slightly higher in Nigeria compared to Algeria, Angola and Libya.

After Libya, the cheapest place to buy fuel in Africa is Angola, where a litre currently sells for N122. It is followed by Algeria, where a litre is sold for N156. At N185 per litre before the recent hike, Nigeria was among the top ten countries in the world with the cheapest gasoline rate per litre.

But with the recent hike, Nigeria has joined the league of nations where gasoline is fairly expensive to buy. A litre of fuel, at N488 in the commercial city of Lagos, where it is the cheapest, is still higher than what presently obtains in Egypt, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Witar, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Sudan, Indonesia, Colombia, Malaysia, Oman, etcetera.

Countries from around the world where the price of a litre of PMS is in the same range, slightly higher or cheaper than Nigeria’s, by 2nd week of June, 2023, include Syria (N473), Paraguay (N476), Panama (487), Brazil (N489), Benin Republic (N492), Philippines (N492), Botswana (N495), Sierra Leone (N506), Australia (N512), Ethiopia (N521), Togo (N530), Burundi (N533), South Africa (N535), Ghana (N544), China (N544) and Japan (N558). The Principality of Monaco and Hong Kong are the two most expensive places in the world to buy a litre of PMS (N1,031 and N1,374 respectively).

Cost of petrol in some oil producing countries

Venezuela N2; Libya N14; Iran N13; Angola N122; Algeria N156; Kuwait N158; Egypt N173; Kazakhstan N224; Nigeria N488; Iraq N264; Qatar N266; Saudi Arabia N287; Ecuador N292; Russia N299; Sudan N405; Indonesia N391; Colombia N323; India N582; Norway N959; Mexico N652; Brazil N482; UAE N357; Canada N624

Cost of living in some OPEC countries

Saturday Sun investigations show that, while the cost of living is lower in North African oil producing countries like Algeria and Libya, cost of living in Angola and Gabon is higher than it is in Nigeria.


Algeria

The North African nation of Algeria is currently the second highest oil producing country in Africa after Nigeria. On the average, the cost of living in Algeria is 8.4 per cent lower than in Nigeria. Rent in Algeria is, on average, 80.2 per cent lower than in Nigeria.

Meal at an inexpensive Restaurant is N1,009; Meal for 2 people, Mid-range restaurant, Three-course: N6, 729. McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent combo meal) N1,682; Domestic beer (50 cl) N672.91; Imported beer (33 cl litre) N841.14; Coke/Pepsi (0.33 cl) N225.07; Water (0.33 cl) N93.82; Milk (1 litre) N360; Loaf of Fresh White Bread (500g) N74.80; Rice (white), (1kg) N518.03; Eggs (regular) (12) N696.98; Local Cheese (1kg) N3,154.21; Chicken Filets (1kg) N1,973.34; Beef Round (1kg) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) N5,302.17; Apples (1kg) N1,246.39; Banana (1kg) N1,351.08; Oranges (1kg) N631.44; Tomato (1kg) N319.75;

Potato (1kg) N265.40; Onion (1kg) N188.05; Lettuce (1 head) n239.10; Water (1.5 litre bottle) N122.89; Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) N3,028.10; Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) N1,110; One-way Bus Ticket (Local) N84.11; Taxi 1km (Normal Tariff) N201.87; Taxi 1 hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) N1,682.28; Gasoline (1 litre) N146.87; Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) N11,775,945; Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) N11,863,893.70.

Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 85m2 Apartment N19,840.95

Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) N13,513.81

Sports And Leisure

Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult N8,086.44; Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat N1,682.

Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child N27,947.93

1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 or Similar) N15,676.91; 1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) N30,422.50; 1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes N33,471.21;

Apartment (1 bedroom) rent in City Centre N79,336.54; Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre N48,944.74; Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre N129,340.24; Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre N85,272.80


Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) N121,976.54


Libya

Cost of living in Libya is, on average, 20.6 per cent lower than in Nigeria. In fact, rent in Libya is 76.3% lower than in Nigeria on the average.

Meal in an inexpensive restaurant: N1,911.50; Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course: N11,469.02; McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal): N1,876.74;

Domestic non-alcoholic beer (50 cl): N382; Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (33 cl): N286.73;

Coke/Pepsi (33 cl): N216.82; Water (33 litre cl): N75.27; Milk (regular), (1 litre): N427.74; Loaf of Fresh White Bread (500g) N177.66; Rice (white), (1kg) N450.35; Eggs (regular) (12) N613.35; Local Cheese (1kg): N2,752.26; Chicken Fillets (1kg) N1,443.26; Beef Round (1kg) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) : N3,902.49; Apples (1kg): N798.29; Banana (1kg): M544.30; Oranges (1kg); N378.56; Tomato (1kg): N267.51; Potato (1kg): N298.16; Onion (1kg): N293.37; Lettuce (1 head) N264.16; Water (1.5 liter bottle): N117.73; Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range): N669.03; Domestic Non-Alcoholic Beer (50 cl bottle): N367.66;

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (33 cl bottle): N376.33; Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro): N1,051.33

One-way Bus Ticket (Local Transport) N191.15; Taxi 1km (Normal Tariff) N469; Taxi 1 hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) N2,628; Gasoline (1 litre) N14

Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) N7,168,134.80

Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) N6,944,230

Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 85m2 Apartment N14,054

Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) N12,505

Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult N10,731.23; Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) N6,753.41; Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat N2,389.38

Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child N30,602.53

1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) N15,053.08; 1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) N21,280.03; 1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes N25,996.44

Apartment (1 bedroom) rent per month in City Centre: N82,649.46; Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre: N49,561.05; Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre N180,530.80 per month: Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre M97,450.03 per month;

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) N140,095


Angola

Saturday Sun checks reveal that the cost of living in Angola is, on average, 71.7 per cent higher than in Nigeria. Rent in Angola is, on average, 128.9 per cent higher than in Nigeria.

Meal in an Average Restaurant N3,609.39; Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course N27,860.03; McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) N3,914.22

Domestic Beer (50 cl) N897.97; Imported Beer (33cl) N587.50: Coke/Pepsi (33 cl) N821.81

Water (33 cl) N537.19; Milk (1 litre) N805; Loaf of Fresh White Bread (500g) N758.70; Rice (white), (1kg) N409.59: Eggs (regular) (12) N1,227.44; Local Cheese (1kg) N4,902.03

Chicken Filets (1kg) N2,888.03; Beef Round (1kg) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) N5,856.47; Apples (1kg) N1,379.30; Banana (1kg) N378.33; Oranges (1kg) N1,951.89;

Tomato (1kg) N894.74; Potato (1kg) N765.10; Onion (1kg) N790.58; Lettuce (1 head) N514.44; Water (1.5 litre bottle) N259.82; Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) N4,181.79; Domestic Beer (50 cl) N316.62; Imported Beer (33 cl); N395.26; Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) N1,097.11;

One-way Bus Ticket (Local Transport) N161.44; Taxi 1km (Normal Tariff) N769.06;

Taxi 1 hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) N3,683.97; Gasoline (1 litre) N164.24;

Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) N9,640,793.96

Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) N12,295,980.55

Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 85m2 Apartment N35,962.49

Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) N85,818.44; Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult N18,441.22; Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat N2,496.63

Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child N234,295.42

1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 or Similar) N44,186.71; 1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) N116,380.40; 1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes N109,643.84

Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre N159,712.68 rent per month; Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre N37,231.06 per month; Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre N3,168,238.46; Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre N601,647.05

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) N1,508,611.40


Gabon

The cost of living in Gabon, from Saturday Sun findings, is, on average, 96 per cent higher than in Nigeria. Rent in Gabon is, on average, 45.1 per cent higher than in Nigeria.

Meal at Inexpensive Restaurant N7,282.80; Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course N37,900.52; McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) N5,495.58

Domestic Beer (50 cl) N454.81; Imported Beer (33 cl); N758.01; Coke/Pepsi (33 cl) N397.96

Water (33 cl) N397.96; Milk (1 litre) N914.35; Loaf of Fresh White Bread (500g) N720.11

Rice (white), (1kg) N1,070.69; Eggs (regular) (12) N1,572.87; Local Cheese (1kg) N4,263.81; Chicken Filets (1kg) N4,396.46; Beef Round (1kg) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) N1,440.22; Apples (1kg) N1,465.49; Banana (1kg) N1,642.36 Oranges (1kg) N2,236.13; Tomato (1kg) N1,212.82; Potato (1kg) N1,061.21

Onion (1kg) N1,421.27; Lettuce (1 head) N947.51; Water (1.5 litre bottle) N644.31;

Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) N3,790.05; Domestic Beer (50 cl) N480.07

Imported Beer (33 cl) N884: Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) N1,137.02;

One-way Bus Ticket (Local Trans) Taxi 1km (Normal Tariff) N568.51

Taxi 1 hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) N7,580.10; Gasoline (1 litre) N494.60

Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) N14,023,192.80

Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) N12,128,166.75

Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 85m2 Apartment N50,534.03

Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) N31,583.77

Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult N31,267.93; Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat N3,790.0

Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child N61,904.18

1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) N24,003.66; 1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) N36,005.50; 1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes N43,585.60

Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre N492,706.77 per month; Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre N265,303.65 per month; Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre N1,212,816.67; Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre N593,774.83

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) N202,136.11

Members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) yesterday staged a peaceful protest in Lagos over the exclusion of their members from distribution of petroleum products by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

IPMAN members at a peaceful rally staged at their office in Apapa called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the matter in order to save their business

The Secretary of IPMAN/NNPC PDO Forum, Folalu Ebenezer who addressed the press during protest, declared their total support for fuel subsidy removal, but called on the president to beam his search light on various atrocities being committed by the personnel of NNPCL.

Ebenezer said many months after the payment its members made they are yet to get product supply.

“Some of our members have tickets up to nine months before the fuel subsidy removal by the Federal Government but have not been able to load products paid for even till now. Before the latest decision, there had been an increment in January 2023 in which our members were obligated to pay an additional One million and seventy two thousand naira per ticket.

“Even after the payment of this unexpected increment, our members are yet to lift the products as promised. Presently our members have over 4,500 tickets, including 500 Dynamic tickets, yet to drop on NNPCL’s portal.

“However, after this latest announcement of the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government, NNPCL is now asking IPMAN members who already have tickets for the products, to pay additional N13,702,000 on each ticket to the NNPCL”, he said.

In its reaction the NNPCL Coordinator Private Depots Operation, Lagos, Alhaji Jallo Mohammed, said ‘’The bulk purchase agreement has every detail and condition and provision, which is that whether you make payment for any product, it is not guaranteed that you get that product on the spot, it is subject to the product availability, so when you are doing business with somebody with the agreement you signed on this. If something like this happens, how will you blame such an organisation, but for a detailed enquiry, you can send your enquiry to our corporate affairs commission.’

Tragedy struck yesterday at Adeseun Ogundoyin Polytechnic, Eruwa where the lifeless body of a National Diploma (ND) 2 Mass Communication student was found dead in her room with matchet cuts and her eyes plucked out.

The student, simply identified as Dasola was among those writing the ongoing first-semester examination in the school.

As of the time of filing this report, the circumstances surrounding her murder are still not known.

Vanguard gathered that late Dasola’s friend, her coursemate, who did not see her around to sit for the examination on Thursday, went to her house, around the Ile Idibo area and found her door locked from outside suggesting that no one was inside the room.

It was learnt that some of her neighbours who were her mates were perceiving a terrible odour and decided to look around and while peeping through her window, they found her body lying lifeless.

They reportedly raised an alarm which attracted attention from those around.

It was gathered that the school’s management had been alerted and hurriedly suspended the ongoing examination for a day as a sign of respect for the deceased’s soul.

However, the Eruwa Police Division has been informed and arranged for the evacuation of the corpse from the room to be deposited at the General Hospital, Eruwa, while police commenced an investigation to fish out her killers.

JP Morgan, an American multinational financial services firm, says the naira is expected to appreciate, and trade at about N600 to the dollar in the coming months.

The financial institution made the projection in a statement on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced the unification of all segments of the forex exchange (FX) market, signalling that the exchange rate will now be decided by market forces.

The apex bank’s new policy followed a declaration by President Bolu Tinubu that the “monetary policy needs thorough house cleaning. The Central Bank must work towards a unified exchange rate”.

TheCable had reported on Wednesday that the naira, during trading hours, sold for between N750 and N755 per dollar before appreciating to close at N664.04.

Analysing the naira float, JP Morgan said although it would take a few days for the dollar/naira spot to stabilise, it fully anticipates an initial overshoot towards the parallel market rate of below 750 or higher.

“While it will take a few days for USD/NGN spot to settle, we fully expect an initial overshoot towards the parallel market rate of -750 or higher, after which, we expect USD/NGN to settle in the high 600s over [the] coming months,” the statement reads.

“We remain long USD/NGN via non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) as well as OW emerging markets bond index global diversified (EMBIGD) index as we expect further positive catalysts to materialise in the near-term.

“We believe there is room for incremental positive surprises with respect to reform depth and execution speed. We had high expectations for the new administrations reform agenda, however, the speed of execution has proven to be a positive surprise.”


‘HIGH PETROL PRICE COULD SPIKE HEADLINE INFLATION TO 20%’

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu had pronounced that the petrol subsidy payments had stopped, while delivering his his inaugural speech on May 29.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited immediately adjusted the pump price across its retail outlets nationwide.

JP Morgan said the surge in the country’s petrol price could culminate in a headline inflation increase from 22.41 percent in May 2023, to the 25 percent mark in June 2023.

“The near tripling of fuel prices could see headline inflation jump closer to the 25 percent mark in June and remain firmly above 20% for the rest of the year,” the bank said.

“However, fuel subsidies accounted for 1.7 percent of GDP in 2022 and a complete removal will be positive for the fiscal accounts, although we expect that some portion of the savings will be targeted towards social spending.

“Of course, a weaker exchange rate means the government would receive higher naira revenues from oil and gas exports.

“We believe the devaluing of the naira yesterday could have a more limited impact on headline inflation given a substantial part of the informal economy accessed dollars at the much higher parallel market rate.”

According to JP Morgan, the new policies on both FX and petrol prices will need “some ironing out once a cabinet is announced, we believe there is room for more near-term reform execution surprises”.

Aliko Dangote and Abdulsamad Rabiu, Nigerian billionaires listed among the 500 richest men in the world, have lost $5.85 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index (BBI).

The BBI is a daily ranking of the world’s richest people. It provides details on the calculations of net worth analysis on each billionaire’s profile page.

Data on the portal as at June 15, 2023, showed negative changes in the calculations of the wealth of the Nigerian businessmen.

The index revealed that Dangote, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Dangote Group, lost about $3.12 billion in the latest update.

Similarly, Rabiu, CEO of BUA Group, was said to have lost $2.73 billion from his wealth.

The losses occurred just 24 hours after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) floated the country’s currency.

TheCable understands that changes in the foreign exchange markets occasioned by the recent floating of the naira may have contributed to the billionaires’ losses.

The currency float exchange rate system allows the local currency to be set by the forces of demand and supply within the foreign exchange market.

In Nigeria, this means the elimination of a fixed price for forex trading within the country. This removes the direct intervention of the CBN from the forex market.

Meanwhile, the unification of the Nigeria’s FX system had a quick effect on the market.

On Wednesday, after trading between N700 to N755 to the greenback, the naira closed at N664/dollar at the investors and exporters (I&E) window, according to data from FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange.

The I&E foreign exchange (FX) window is the country’s official exchange rate trading platform. It is a segment for investors, exporters, and end-users, which allows for FX trades to be made at exchange rates determined based on prevailing market realities.

Perhaps the only official task that the 9th Senate performed for President Bola Tinubu was approving his list of Special Advisers. Exactly a week after he took over the reigns of government from ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, at the time, announced that the President sent a list of 20 Special Advisers that he sought approval for.

Expectedly, the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly granted the request, but the question on the lips of many Nigerians was, ‘Who are those on the list?’ as the names were not reeled out at the senate.

The answer to that question came in the third week of Tinubu’s presidency. In a statement on Thursday, Abiodun Oladunjoye, Director Information, State House, disclosed the identities of eight, meaning that 12 are yet to be known by people outside government. Well, since we have some names, let’s dig a little into their background.


DELE ALAKE

If there’s one man who knows the president up close, it is his new Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy. In and out of power, Alake has remained in the good books of President Tinubu. Only few allies and family members had access to the podium where the president took his oath of office on May 29, 2023, Alake was one of such persons.

A journalist, activist and technocrat, Alake served as Commissioner for Information and Strategy between 1999 and 2007 when the president governed Lagos. He went out of the political radar after then, playing some roles from the background.

He was Communication Advisor and Confidant of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola – winner of the annulled June 12 1993 Presidential election.


WALE EDUN

After President Tinubu won the February election, one of the early steps he took was to fill the slots reserved for him in the then Presidential Transition Committee. Tinubu appointed two persons, one a former governor in the person of Senator Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, and Wale Edun, another ally who like Alake, served him as commissioner.

Edun, a British trained financial expert with many years in the banking sector, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of London and a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Sussex, England. He worked at Chase Merchant Bank from 1980 to 1986. While at Chase, he gained foreign experience at Lehman Brothers and Chase Manhattan Capital Markets Corporation on Wall Street in New York, USA.

He co-founded and served as Executive Director of Investment Banking & Trust Company Limited, now Stanbic IBTC Plc, in 1989. Denham Management Limited was established by him in 1994. In addition to serving on the boards of several other businesses, Wale is the Chair of Chapel Hill Denham Group, a prominent investment bank in Lagos.


NUHU RIBADU

Lawyer, police officer and politician, Tinubu’s Special Adviser, Security Matters, was born 21 November, 1960, He has held different public offices, including Chairman of the Petroleum Revenue Task Force, but the most notable public role is that of pioneer Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). When ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo formed the EFCC in 2003, he said he needed an effective hand to man the agency and Ribadu came highly recommended.

Due to Ribadu’s sterling performance, Obasanjo reappointed him in 2007. He was also elevated to the rank of Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police. But the change of power – Obasanjo left office weeks after the promotion – affected Ribadu. He was removed from office and had a running battle with the government of late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

Three years after he went out of prominence, Ribadu bounced, joining the race for Nigeria’s number one position. It was the party, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) founded by the incumbent president, that gave Ribadu the platform to run, meaning that his relationship with Tinubu spans more than a decade.

Ribadu studied law at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Kaduna State from 1980 until 1983, receiving a Bachelor of Laws degree. Following a year at the Nigerian Law School, he was called to Bar in 1984. He also earned a Master’s of Laws degree from the same university. He is a TED Fellow and a Senior Fellow in St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford, UK. In April 2009, he became a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development.


OLU VERHEIJEN

Verheijen, who is the Special Adviser, Energy, is an Advisor for the Energy for Growth Hub. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in the gas and renewables sectors across Sub-Saharan Africa, and is currently Managing Director at Latimer Energy, a consulting firm advising clients on value optimization in acquisition, development and management of energy assets. Previously, she was a Partner at Persistent, an early stage investment firm with a pan-African portfolio of distributed renewables companies, a Deal Lead at Shell and advised on gas commercialization and M&A transactions, and worked for Moody’s Investors Service in New York.

She is the Founder/CEO of BFA Foundation which funds scholarships for women and other disadvantaged groups to expand their career advancement opportunities in high growth sectors, including the energy sector. She is also an angel investor across various sectors and serves as a Trustee of the Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Association of Nigeria. She has a BA from Long Island University and Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.


ZACHAEUS ADEDEJI

The Special Adviser, Revenue is an astute accountant, corporate tax and public finance development expert. He has over 15 years of experience in corporate accounting, public service administration and public service advisory.

He was Commissioner for Finance in Oyo State, between the year 2011 and 2015 under the administration of Governor Abiola Ajimobi.

According to reports, he holds a record of not incurring a new debt for the state while in office as well as reducing the state’s debt exposure by 50%. He served as the fifth Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC)

He is the co-founder and managing partner of RTR, a financial consulting firm that provides financial advisory and policy development services to public administrators and private institutions in West Africa. He holds a first class degree in Accounting from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and a certificate in Comparative Tax Policy and Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.


SALMA IBRAHIM ANAS

The new Special Adviser, Health is a former Borno State Commissioner for Health, She served as Commissioner during Governor Kashim Shettima’s first term. It was a time when Boko Haram insurgency was at its peak.

With tens of thousands of deaths from the insurgency and many residents suffering from physical and psychological trauma, Mrs Anas-Kolo’s used her office to establish rehabilitation centres that provided trauma management and psycho-social support as well as provide counselling for women and girls negatively affected by insurgency.

She is the daughter of former Borno State deputy governor, Ibrahim Anas.


YAN DARAZO

Darazo was Special Adviser on Special Duties to former President Muhammadu Buhari, and now Special Adviser, Political and Intergovernmental Affairs to President Tinubu.


JOHN UWAJUMOGU

Other than his appointment as Special Adviser, Industry, Trade and Investment, nothing else was found on this .presidential aide at the time of this report.

The federal government is set to introduce tuition fees in federal universities, polytechnics and other tertiary institutions following the signing of the Student Loan Bill by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Daily Trust reports.

The bill, which is now an act of parliament was signed on Monday, a development widely celebrated in many quarters without understanding the implication of the new law for the millions of prospective students who rely on tuition-free higher institutions of learning to acquire knowledge.

Educationists and other stakeholders said this would have wider implications.

In Nigeria, tuition, which runs into hundreds of thousands of naira or even millions of naira in private universities, is free in government schools at both national and state levels.

The situation has been the same since independence, even though some charges for other issues such as accommodation, departmental, and course registration, among others vary from one institution to another.

The waiver of tuition has given millions of students the opportunity to go to school, but observers say the introduction of a student loan scheme by the federal government means an end to tuition-free education.

There was no immediate response from the Federal Ministry of Education

What the law says

Clause 3 of the Students Loan Act says: “The loans referred to in this Act shall be granted to students only for the payment of tuition fees.”

This clause contravenes the existing provision that says tuition is free in public institutions.

Meanwhile, the question of tuition in Nigerian institutions is a constitutional matter vide Chapter 2 of the amended 1999 Constitution. By the provisions of that chapter, no publicly owned institution is permitted and it is illegal for any one of them to charge tuition fees on any citizen of the country.

According to the Act establishing the law, the Student Loan Bill would provide easy access to higher education for indigent Nigerians through interest-free loans from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.

As enacted by the National, the Act shall apply to all matters pertaining to the application and grant of loans to Nigerians seeking higher education into institutions of higher learning in Nigeria through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.

“All students seeking higher education in any public institution of higher learning in Nigeria shall have equal right to access the loans under this Act without any discrimination arising from gender, religion, tribe, position or disability of any kind,” the act reads.

It, however, noted that the grant of the loan to any student under the Act shall be subject to the applicant satisfying the requirements and conditions set out under this Act.

Many students will leave school – ASUU

When Daily Trust contacted the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, he said the bill is not new as it has been on for a long time.

He said: “A country where more than 133 million are living below the poverty line and you want to introduce tuition fees? It will be counterproductive.

“Every Nigerian should know what is going to happen next and there may likely be another bill waiting for signature that will introduce tuition fees. If the bill indicated that the loan is to pay tuition fees and there are no tuition fees in Nigerian universities, then what is your next approach,” he asked.

He, however, noted that the union is yet to have access to the accurate copy and that they needed to get it and study it.

“We have said long ago, in 2017, to President Buhari when they came up with the issue of tuition fees, that every student will pay N1 million and we said you cannot put that in our agreement and you cannot use that to negotiate with us and with the nature of the country we have today, there is no way that will work.

“What will happen is that the majority of students whose parents cannot afford it will pull out of school in anger and you know what that means, they will fight the society back. But let us get the correct information first before knowing the next steps,” he added.

A professor at the University of Abuja, Ben Ugwoke, said going by the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, no public institution pays tuition fees. That is, all public institutions in Nigeria are tuition-free.

“However, due to underfunding, the governing councils or boards of these public institutions are permitted by the laws establishing the institutions to determine appropriate charges and levies that students should pay to cover specific costs.

“The bill signed into law does not abrogate the various acts of the National Assembly establishing the public institutions which enable them to levy students appropriately. The new students’ loan act did not in any way abolish the current or future regime of charges students of public institutions in Nigeria currently pay.

“Let me hazard a guess that the new act has laid a formal basis for the various governing organs of the public institutions in Nigeria to levy higher charges on students,” he said.

According to him, “To the naive, it means relief but to my mind, I think it means higher charges are on the horizon for students.”

For Professor Nasiru Medugu Idris of Nasarawa State University Keffi, “Tuition fees will remain the same or even higher. This is because the students’ loan will strictly be for the purpose of tuition fees. So no abolition of tuition fees in Nigerian universities.”

He said parents might think that it is a kind of relief for them but actually this is not because students’ living expenses per semester are very huge.

“School’s tuition fee maybe 10 to 20 per cent of students’ expenditure per semester. Therefore parents and students should not celebrate the signing of the act for now until they have accessed the loan first,” he said.

Meanwhile, when Daily Trust contacted the Federal Ministry of Education to clarify clause 3 of the act, via a text message to the Permanent Secretary, David Adejo, through the Director of Press, Bem Ben Goong, the director said the ministry will address a press conference on Wednesday to clarify all issues and as such had no comment.

Key players in the country’s downstream sub-sector of the oil and gas industry are seeking access to foreign exchange at a rate that will be friendly to their bottom-line. They also expressed concerns over what they described as haphazard implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), especially, with regard to the withdrawal of petrol subsidy.

The marketers have accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) of tactically retaining monopoly of products importation to swing the market to its benefit.

To avert what may lead to another round of scarcity across the country, LEADERSHIP gathered that stakeholders in the industry are gathering in Abuja today to engage the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA to seek proper interpretation of licence issuance with regard to product import.

An impeccable industry source, who confided in our Correspondent, said the situation may lead to marketers rejecting NNPCL products if government refuses to fully liberate the market.

“If the PIA seeks to fully deregulate the market, then it would be ready to allow competition and create a level playing field. What we are asking is that government should not allow NNPCL to access foreign exchange at official exchange rate and expect independent or major marketers to source forex from the parallel market.

“Again, the issuance of import licence should not be the responsibility of the NNPCL, but the NMDPRA, whose responsibility it is to create all the needed opportunities for the market to thrive,” our source said.

Our source said the emergency gathering in Abuja will determine where the market will swing in the next few days.

The source said if marketers are denied forex and they discover that NNPCL products are higher than what it is signifying, then they will have no option but to reject the products.

The implication would be scarcity which will defeat the aim of the Act.

LEADERSHIP reports that, recently, President Bola Tinubu met with marketers in Abuja to discuss modalities for addressing challenges posed by the subsidy removal.

Addressing newsmen after the meeting, Mrs. Winifred Akpani, chairman of Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), said the courtesy visit was to express the major oil marketers’ utmost support to the federal government.

A Deputy Director with Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Mr. Yisa Usman, was arraigned yesterday on allegations bordering on threatening Mrs. Raheemat Oloyede on phone with intent to blackmail her husband, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, the board’s registrar.

Usman was arraigned by the police on behalf of the Federal Government on a five-count charge before Justice Nkeonye Maha of a Federal High Court in Abuja.


He allegedly committed the offence [/b] with Abdulfatai Usman, said to be on the run, between February 14, 2022 and February 15, 2022.

They were alleged to have intentionally communicated through a network computer system with phone number: +447529723948 with Mrs. Oloyede “a communication which is grossly offensive, indecent, criminal intimidation for the purpose of causing inconvenience or needless anxiety” to her.

The accused were alleged to have committed the offence contrary to Section 24(1)(a) & 1(b) of the Cybercrime Act 2015.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Usman is a sole defendant in the charge, dated March 29 but filed March 30.

He pleaded not guilty to all the counts after the charge was read to him.

Police prosecutor, Eristo Asaph, made an application for a trial date after the defendant took the plea.

But Moses Balogun, who appeared for Usman, applied for a bail.

“Having pleaded not guilty, we shall be applying for a bail, my lord,” he said.

The lawyer informed the court that a bail application, dated and filed on June 7, had been served on the prosecution on same day.

Read Also: JAMB, tertiary institutions decide admission cut-off marks June 24

Balogun said the motion on notice was brought pursuant to sections 35 and 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution and in compliance with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) and under the inherent jurisdiction of the court.

He told the court that during the investigation of the matter and while Usman was admitted to an administrative bail, he complied with the terms of the bail.

The lawyer, who said Usman was a deputy director, prayed the court to grant him bail on liberal terms or self-recognition pending the hearing and determination of the case.

Asaph did not oppose the application.

In a ruling, Justice Maha admitted Usman to a bail in the sum of N2 million with a surety who must be a civil servant on Level 14 and must own a landed property within the jurisdiction of the court.

She ruled that the defendant and the surety must submit their travel documents and a passport photograph each to the court’s registrar.

In the alternative, the judge held that the surety could also be a responsible citizen with evidence of tax payment for a period of two years and must have a landed property within the jurisdiction of the court.

She said the surety must also depose to an affidavit of means.

Justice Maha ordered that Usman should be remanded at a correctional centre pending the perfection of his bail and adjourned the matter till October 26 for trial.

But Balogun, who prayed the court to order a release of his client to him pending the perfection of his bail within five days, pledged to write an undertaking to the effect.

The judge granted the plea and ordered that the undertaking must be completed before the close of work.

Retired General Ibrahim Babangida, a former military president, has tasked Nigerian leaders to explore the gains of the 12 June 1993 presidential election, toward deepening democracy in the country.

Mr Babangida spoke in Minna with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Nigeria’s democracy and the journey so far.

“The gains of June 12, 1993, presidential election have not been exploited by political leaders in succeeding elections in Nigeria.

“It was adjudged the freest and fairest election in Nigeria, yet politicians have blatantly ignored that beauty; the beauty of credible elections.

“Remember, it was an election Nigerians came out en mass to choose their leaders, irrespective of their cultural/traditional and religious affiliations,” he said.

The former president who spoke through his media aide, Kassim Afegbua, said that although Nigeria’s democracy had recorded some growth, there were still many grounds to be covered.

“There is thuggery in politics in Nigeria, too many litigations in Nigeria, too many issues that transparent elections ought to have addressed,” he said.

Mr Babangida decried increasing voter apathy in Nigeria’s election, attributing it to insincerity by the leaders resulting in a lack of trust by the electorate.

“June 12 should naturally encourage more voters to endorse democracy and election, but the turnout during our election is gradually declining.

“Right now there is voter apathy, that’s the more reason why something must be done to ensure mass participation in election,” he said.

He said that the country’s democracy had gotten more advanced with some achievements, urging Nigerian politicians to work toward making it better.

“Nigeria’s democracy is getting more and more older. Democracy has come to stay but despite the imperfections, we can still get our arts together to correct some of the issues and continue on that trajectory.

“It is a learning curve and a work in progress. Our leaders must continue to invest their time, energy and resources to deepen democracy and sustain democratic ideals,” he said.
NAN reports that the Supreme Military Council under the leadership of Mr Babangida annulled the June 12, 1993 presidential election adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the country.

Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party ( NNPP) and former Governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has called the bluff of the immediate past Governor of Kano state, Abdullahi Ganduje who said he would’ve slapped him at the Presidential Villa, describing Ganduje as a person who was confused while making the “slapping ” remarks.

” I heard that he ( Ganduje) said he would’ve slapped me, but I’m here. He was just confused. These are all my boys politically. They can’t even look at me straight on the face if we meet. He was in a confused state when he said that, these my political boys if they see me they lower their gaze,” Kwankwaso said.

He told the BBC Hausa Service in an interview monitored on Saturday morning, that he met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for about 2 hours at the Presidential Villa and was able to convinced him on the alleged land deals and other infractions of the erstwhile Ganduje administration in Kano state, adding that the President was so ” surprised with the revelations .”

He alleged that Ganduje had among others, allocated lands at the Kano Race Course to his friends and family members, a development that now made it hard for people who wanted to indulge in sporting activities and other exercises, to find a place.

According to him, even the Eid praying ground where Muslims converged to pray during Sallah, was not sparred by Ganduje who had allegedly allowed shops to be built round the holy place where the Emir and many other important dignitaries had prayed, thereby compromising the security of the Eid Prayer ground.

Kwankwaso disclosed that there were possibilities the Tinubu administration may engage some of them from the opposition in his government, and did not ruled out if he may eventually make it in the forthcoming ministerial list of the new administration.

Nigerian crude grades are failing to attract buyers from Europe, China and India as traders, to cut cost, shift to a blend of WTI (the main oil benchmark for North America) and Brazilian grades as a substitute for the country’s highly sought-after sweet crude.

Top crude grades of Africa’s biggest oil producer, Bonny Light, Forcados and Brass, have a reputation for being light in sulphur, a quality that has made them the darling of refineries in Europe and Asia.

But traders are flocking to the Urals crude blend because they see the Nigerian grades as relatively pricey, with traders reluctant to offload the country’s cargoes, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights.

That had driven Nigeria’s premium grade Bonny Light to 50 cents per barrel discount to Dated Brent on 6 June.

“WAF (West Africa) is losing out to alternatives in Europe – WTI, Midland and Brazilian grades have been consistently undercutting differentials, and sellers of Nigerian barrels just cannot find demand in Europe,” the research house said, quoting a source.

The development adds more pain to the woes of Nigeria, where output hit a multi-decade low of below 1 million barrels a day last year. Already, the nation has struggled to contain incidents of oil theft on a grand scale in the far south which sapped as much as $1 billion from the government’s revenue in the first quarter of the year.

That production level is less than half of the country’s current daily capacity of 2.2 million barrels.

On account of a price ceiling placed on the crude oil from Russia following its war with Ukraine, which has made the grade cheaper, African crude graders are struggling to find patronage from refiners in Asia, outsold by the Urals crude.

“I don’t think Nigeria can sustain competition with WTI Midland mixed with Brazil, it’s been a long time now since we have seen Europe able to absorb Nigerian exports,” a source told S&P Global Commodity Insights.

It comes as an early blow to plans by newly-inaugurated President Bola Tinubu to bolster production and buck up oil earnings, at a time the government is spending nearly everything it earns to service debt.

President Tinubu had promised in his manifesto ahead of the February presidential election to scale up Nigeria’s daily output to 2.6 million barrels by 2027 and 4 million come 2030.

That compares to April’s production (condensate inclusive), which fell 17.8 per cent to 1.25 million bpd.

“Nigerian producers have to lower prices to compete,” said Uwadiae Osadiaye, a chartered financial analyst with Lagos-based FBNQuest.

Joe Biden got confused over British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s title when the pair met in the White House, welcoming him as “Mr President.”

The U.S. President swiftly corrected himself, joking that he had “promoted” Sunak.

The 80-year-old, seated across from Sunak for the bilateral meeting, said: “Well, Mr President – Mr President, I just promoted you. Mr Prime Minister, it’s great to have you back.”

Sunak, who appeared to laugh off the error, has not been to the White House before as prime minister, only taking office last October.

Biden told him: “In the past few months we have met each other in San Diego and then we met in Belfast and we met in Hiroshima.

“And now we’re here we’re going to solve all the problems of the world in the next 20 minutes.”

This is not the first time the U.S. president has appeared to fumble his words recently.

In April, during his visit to the Republic of Ireland, Biden appeared to confuse the name of the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team with the Black and Tans, a controversial War of Independence-era police force in Ireland.

And while he heaped praise on the strength of the UK-U.S. relationship on Thursday, saying it was in “real good shape”, he has not always been so diplomatic.

In May, he claimed that he visited the island of Ireland to ensure the “Brits didn’t screw around” amid ongoing concern over the peace process and the impact of Brexit.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday explained that it suspended its scheduled strike because recognised the willingness of the federal government for continuous engagement and to offer reasonable palliatives in due course to cushion the effect of the removal of subsidy on petrol.

The Congress said it also considered the mood of the socio-polity in the last elections and the need to pursue national stability before deciding to shelve its planned nationwide strike over fuel subsidy removal.

The labour centre, in a communique issued at the end of an emergency National Executive Council (NEC), signed by the national president, Comrade Joe Ajaero, and the general secretary, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja, said it also took into account the court injunction restraining the congress from proceeding with the proposed nationwide strike.

It further stated that even though it accepted the ruling of National Industrial Court (NIC), it disapproved of the ‘continuous weaponisation of the instrument of Exparte injunction’ by the court in favour of the government against the interests of Nigerian workers.

The labour centre described the ruling as flawed and called on the federal government to comply with the laws of the land, especially as it concerns obedience to the rulings of the courts and its brazen disregard to the 2023 Appropriation Act.

Part of the communique reads, “To, therefore, support and accept the decision of the leadership of Congress to suspend the proposed strike in compliance with the flawed rulings of the NIC and also allow negotiations to flow freely and enable final agreement during or after the 19th June, 2023 negotiation round with the federal government, all affiliates and state councils of Congress are hereby directed to suspend further action and mobilisation until the outcome of the final negotiations.”

Among the resolutions agreed between the federal government delegation led by the chief of staff to the president, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) include a proposal for wage increase and review of the $800 million World Bank financed cash transfer scheme and proposed inclusion of low-income earners in the programme.

Also, the proposal includes the implementation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversion programme earlier agreed with labour centres in 2021 which would reduce vehicles dependence on fuel and save the federal government billions of naira.

In a related development, the House of Representatives has commended the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for shelving its earlier planned strike and accepting to continue to dialogue with the federal government over the removal of fuel subsidy.

The NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) had on Monday cancelled the planned indefinite nationwide strike to protest last week’s withdrawal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu.

The House’s resolution followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by Hon. Idem Unyime (PDP, Akwa Ibom).

Hon Unyime acknowledged the possible impact of the industrial action on the economy and livelihoods of the people, stating that the directive to shelve the planned strike was in the best interest of the nation.

The lawmaker agreed that the billions of dollars spent on subsidy from 2015 to date could be channeled to development projects in the country.

Adopting the motion, the House urged the federal government to ensure it implements the resolutions reached at its meeting with Labour.


Air Peace Slams N1.7bn Suit On NLC, TUC Over Flight Disruptions

Meanwhile, the management of Air Peace has slammed a N1.7 billion suit on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) over the alleged disruption of its operations by the unions and its officers.

The airline is asking the Federal High Court in Lagos to award it N1 billion as general damages, N450 million as special damages and N250 million as exemplary damages.

Also joined in the suit as defendants are the president of NLC, Joe Ajaero, his TUC counterpart, Festus Osifoh, Emmanuel Ugboaja and Nuhu Toro.

Air Peace asked the court to declare that given the compassionate nature of aviation ordinarily, and particularly in the current climate of pervasive fear of insecurity over long-distance travels within Nigeria by other modes of transportation, the defendants’ calculated precipitation of grounding all its flights throughout Nigeria for the reason that it is responsible for the majority of air-passenger and goods flights in the country to cause substantial nationwide paralysis, constitutes condemnable sabotage of the national economy and security.

The plaintiffs also asked the court for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants by themselves, their agents/servants/privies or otherwise, however, from repeating/continuing the acts of intimidation and coercion against it.

The airline, in an affidavit attached to the suit, averred that on May 3, 2023, its employees on duty were confronted by a noisy mob which invaded their offices, check-in counters and work areas at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, and the Murtala Mohammed Airport Terminal 1 (MM1) premises, essentially disrupting their work, disorganising and upturning tables, unplugging and pushing away desktops and personal computers used by the employees, some of whom sustained injuries in the commotion.

It also claimed that from the songs they sang and the instructions that the apparent leaders loudly issued during the disruption, it immediately became clear that the mob causing the disruptive scene were members of the NLC and TUC, some of whom got into violent altercations, injuring some of the airline’s customers and staff who voiced their frustrations at the disruption of their travel plans by the defendants’ antics.

The plaintiffs also stated that the defendants’ actions had inevitable ripple effects on its operations in other airports in the country, including the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, and Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri, all of which the plaintiff’s scheduled flights could not take off from or land.

It added that the defendants, as the plaintiff was to learn later, had some grouse against the governor of Imo State, Chief Hope Uzodimma, and to “punish him” decided upon a total shutdown of Imo State beginning from Wednesday, May 3, 2023, as was stated among other things in their joint communiqué of May 1, 2023.

Air Peace said Lagos is the operational hub and nerve centre of the airline operations, and that a direct consequence of the defendants’ unlawful invasion of its work areas/offices and forcible prevention of its functions, as detailed above, was the cancellation of its flights billed for different destinations.

Also, it said, several Air Peace members of staff suffered physical molestation and incurred bruises which led to psychological trauma and hospital visitations for treatments, with some having to miss work in order to recover.

In addition to the financial losses, the plaintiff said it had also suffered a grave injury to its business reputation, not only in the eyes of its flying customers but also in those of the general public and its investors.

It further stated that its lawyers wrote letters dated May 12, 2023 to the defendants, demanding that they promptly make amends for their unjustifiable, grievous and malicious injuries to it, but which demand they have disregarded and are instead threatening more disturbance and harm to its operations.

The plaintiff, therefore, submitted that the defendants’ conduct in the circumstances of this suit and leading to its significant losses are egregiously malicious, scandalous and most deserving of reproach by the award of exemplary damages.

By Tijani Labaran


A student of Physics in the Federal University Lokoja (FUL) in Kogi State, identified simply as Williams, was reportedly stabbed to death on Saturday by an SS3 student for allegedly toasting the secondary student’s elder sister.

City & Crime reports that before the incident in the late Williams’ father’s compound at the 200 Housing Estate (Old Poly Quarters) in Lokoja, the victim, it was gathered, was having issues bothering on love with the sister of the assailant.

A source explained that Williams’ assailant came to the compound in the Old Poly Quarters demanding to see him to assist him in a particular subject, feigning to be preparing for WAEC exams.

City & Crime gathered that the late Williams’ father who did not suspect the ulterior motive of the assailant pointed Williams’ room to him and that he went into the room and stabbed Williams in the stomach and rushed out of the house.

Williams was said to have died before his family could rush him to the Specialist Hospital, Lokoja.

City & Crime further learnt that the suspect was later arrested by the police.

The spokesman of FUL, Mr Daniel Iyke, who confirmed the incident, said, “The police are on the matter. The thing is that the student lived with his parents. The stabbing happened in his house as alleged.”

The Kogi State Police Command’s spokesman, SP William Aya, did not respond to a call and an SMS on the incident.

Oluremi Tinubu, the wife of President Bola Tinibu, on Monday in Abuja, assumed office as Nigeria’s First Lady.

Mrs Tinubu who arrived at the First Lady’s wing was accompanied by her security aides.

The first lady on arrival, was received by the Permanent Secretary of the State House, Mr Tijjani Umar and other Head of Units in the First Lady’s Office.

Mrs Tinubu was therefore guided on a tour of offices within the first lady’s wing, comprising the Administrative, ICT, Catering, Media and Protocol Units.

Mrs Tinubu was born on Sept. 21, 1960 to Itsekiri mother and Yoruba father.

She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from the University of Ife, and has undertake several courses in some higher institutions.

She served as the wife of Lagos State Governor between 1999 and 2007 and thereafter was elected Senator representing Lagos Central in the Senate.

Mrs Tinubu executed many philanthropic activities to alleviate the plight of vulnerable people in her Constituency.

NAN

Following the hike in transport fare, occasioned by fuel subsidy removal, the Kwara State government has reduced the working days to three days per week.

The state’s Head of Service, Mrs Susan Oluwole announced the palliative in a statement on Monday.

The statement signed by Oluwole’s press secretary, Murtala Atoyebi reads: “The Kwara State Government has taken temporary measures to ease the burden of public workers in the State following the astronomical hike in transport fare.

“The State Head of Service, Mrs Susan Modupe Oluwole announced today that the State Governor, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has directed that the work days be reduced from five days to three days per week for every worker.

“She explained that the measure was to relieve the state workers of the hardship being experienced as a result of the fuel subsidy removal announced by the Federal Government.

“Mrs Oluwole directed all Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the State to immediately work out a format indicating the alternating work days for each worker under them.

“The Head of Service however, warned the workers not to abuse the magnanimity of the Governor, stressing that the regular monitoring of MDAs by her office would be intensified to ensure strict compliance.”

NYSC in responses filed in the Abuja court, submitted documentary proofs that point to a possible case of forgery against the Enugu State governor.

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has responded to the suit brought against it by the newly sworn-in Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, over his controversial NYSC discharge certificate.

NYSC in responses filed in the Abuja court, submitted documentary proofs that point to a possible case of forgery against the Enugu State governor.

A deposition at the Federal High Court, Abuja, taken from the Assistant Director in the Corps Certification Department, Mrs. Rhoda Dawa, revealed that the discharge certificate that Governor Mbah claimed was issued to him did not emanate from the NYSC.

Documents submitted to the court by the NYSC to prove that the Enugu State governor may have submitted a forged discharge certificate include the alleged forged certificate Mbah submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, a photocopy of the original copy of the certificate that was to be issued to Mbah, a date sheet showing where discharged corps members signed for their certificates, another data sheet with the names of unclaimed certificates, official circulars authorising the destruction of unclaimed certificates, photographs of the incineration of the unclaimed discharge certificates, samples of the NYSC discharge certificates during the period the governor was supposed to have performed his compulsory national service, Police and Department of State Services’ letters of investigation, among others.

SaharaReporters had reported that Governor Mbah, in his court filings, claimed that he duly completed his national youth service and was given a certificate of discharge.

The governor earlier sued the NYSC, claiming N20 billion in damages for what he described as conspiracy, deceit, and misrepresentation of facts.

Mbah is also seeking a declaration that he participated in the NYSC scheme for one calendar year via a call-up letter numbered FRN/2001/800351 with the Lagos code LA/01/1532.

He argued that the declaration must state that he was issued a certificate of national service numbered A808297 upon completing his service year in 2003.

But contrary to these claims, the NYSC, in its deposition, which SaharaReporters sighted on Sunday, insisted that the Enugu State governor did not complete his service year and that the certificate of discharge he parades was not issued by the body.

To prove its claim, the NYSC filed as evidence, the data sheet where Mbah was to have signed and collected his discharge certificate, saying that while the certificate presented by the Enugu governor bears the serial number - A808297, the one prepared for him, but which he did not collect, bore the serial number - 673517.

In what looks like forensic evidence, the NYSC made reference to the calligraphic writing on Mbah’s certificate and stated that the style of the writing on the governor’s certificate was quite different from the one on all other certificates issued to discharged corps members during his batch.

Stating that the corps directorate hired one person for the calligraphic writings on all certificates, it insisted that there was no way Mbah’s own could be different from those of other corps members that passed out during the same period.

“The 1" Respondent's (NYSC) National Directorate Headquarters issued the Certificates for the Members of the Service Corps in Lagos State, including the Certificate of the Applicant, using a Certificate Issuance Register.

“The register indicated the basic data of the Members of the Service Corps, including their State Code, name, Call-Up Number, and Certificate Number in serial form. A copy of the relevant page of the Certificate Issuance Register at the National Directorate Headquarters, showing the Applicant in asterisks with Certificate Number 673517, is attached herewith and marked as Exhibit ‘NYSC 5,’” the NYSC said in its deposition.

The NYSC also stated that contrary to Mbah’s claim that his probable date of discharge was September 15, 2002, his probable date of discharge upon completing his programme at the Nigerian Law School, was September 15, 2003.

It was further averred that Peter Mbah was not issued any discharge certificate by the NYSC because he did not complete his service year, even when he was mobilised for the same.

The NYSC further noted that the discharge certificate prepared for him was later returned to its headquarters, along with other unclaimed certificates, after which it was destroyed along with other unclaimed certificates, in the presence of security operatives.

“Following the 1" Respondent's Top Management's directive on 18th August 2021, all the outdated, unused, and cancelled Certificates of National Service and Certificates of Exemption, Certificates of absconded Members of the Service Corps, including the Applicant's Certificate Number A673517 which he was not available to collect, have been disposed of by incineration,” the NYSC further said in its deposition.

The reported drop in the price of cooking gas in the country has ignited heated reactions among Nigerians on Twitter.

On Sunday, Wale Adedayo, a freelance writer, took to the microblogging platform to share a receipt for cooking gas purchased on June 1.

The receipt showed that 12.5 kg of cooking gas — which reportedly ranged between N9,375 and N13,000 in May — now goes for N6,950.

“12.5kg of Cooking Gas in May – N9375, 12.5Kg of Cooking Gas in June – N6950. Maybe…just maybe…we should speak out when prices go down too. This feels good,” he wrote.

The receipt was also shared by many others on Twitter in different contexts.

The development comes on the heels of controversies trailing President Bola Tinubu’s announcement that “fuel subsidy is gone“.

Some users argued that the drop in the price of gas is an indication that the price of petrol will also crash with time, when the subsidy is finally removed.

Others also said the government deserves to be applauded for the current price of gas.


WHAT DETERMINES THE PRICE OF GAS?

Unlike petrol, cooking gas is not subsidised by the government. This means that the price of cooking gas is majorly determined by market forces.

Speaking on this, Leo Ukpong, a professor of Financial Economics at American University School of Business, Yola, Adamawa state, described the reported drop in price as a “supply-driven phenomenon”.

“The production of gas is very different from the refinery process of petrol. In the first place, gas was not subsidised, so it is not part of the whole subsidy issue. Petrol or PMS was subsidised but the price of cooking gas has always been determined by market forces,” he told TheCable.

“Cooking gas is basically demand and supply. The drop in price could be due to an increase in supply. If that is the case, it means the gas plants in the country are now more efficient. I think it is a supply-driven phenomenon.”

By Chinagorom Ugwu


A yet-to-be-identified woman has stabbed a baby girl to death in Imo State, South-east Nigeria.

The suspect was said to have walked into a compound and stabbed the baby.

The incident happened on 28 May at Works Layout, Owerri, the state capital, PREMIUM TIMES gathered.

A video clip which has gone viral on social media showed the victim being interrogated by angry residents.

“Who be this girl? You carry knife kill person, kill small baby?” a voice yelled at the lady in pidgin English.

In the clip, the victim, about five-years-old, was seen being carried out of the compound by a woman believed to be her mother.

The mother of the victim, in tears, appeared to be taking the child to a hospital.


‘I was instructed by the Holy Spirit’

The angry residents descended on the suspect, a young lady in her late twenties — beating her up and dragging her violently.

She was clad in navy-blue jean trousers and a pink shirt with white stripes.

Asked why she committed the act, the light-skinned lady said she was sent by God to kill the child.

“It is God in Heaven that sent me. The Holy Spirit asked me to kill her,” she stated.

“Take me to the police station,” she said repeatedly.

“If I get there (police station), they should shoot me, do whatever they want with me.”

When contacted on Friday, the police spokesperson in Imo State, Henry Okoye, confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES, but did not give the identity of the suspect.

Mr Okoye, an assistant superintendent of police, said the young lady had been arrested, saying she would face the law after investigation.

“The young lady was reported (to the police) by a public-spirited resident of Works Layout that she used a very sharp knife to stab the child repeatedly on her stomach, the young girl was rushed to the hospital but she was confirmed dead on arrival by doctors on duty,” the police spokesperson said.

Four years after the immediate past Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, unveiled the name and logo of the proposed national carrier at the Farnborough International Airshow, London, Nigeria Air, was eventually unveiled last week to much controversy, outrage and ridicule.

In disobedience of a Federal High Court ruling which ordered the Federal Government to stay action on the setting up of Nigeria Air, a Boeing 737 800 Max with “Nigeria Air” inscribed on it, registration number, ET-APL, Mode S Q4005C and serial number 40965/4075, flew into the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja on May 26, and was received with much flourish by Sirika and his team.

This launch was supposed to herald the much touted national carrier which has gulped billions in over seven years and the entire country’s media were present to witness the historic event. Hardly had the aircraft touched the runway when the registration number showed that it belonged to a foreign airline. It later emerged that the aircraft belongs to Ethiopian Airlines (ET) but was previously operated by Malawian Airlines, one of ET’s other subsidiaries. Apparently, Sirika had contacted ET and asked them to provide an aircraft which would be presented as Nigeria Air in order to beat the deadline he gave. The aircraft itself which became part of Malawi Airlines on 16th February 2014 was released to ET on August 12, 2015. It is about 11 years old and carried out its first flight with the ET logo on June 22, 2012. When the aircraft landed at the Abuja airport on Friday, May 26, 2023, it was greeted with a water salute, an action which is usually used to mark the first flight of an aircraft to an airport.

By Saturday evening, flight radar24 showed the aircraft had left Abuja airport and was enroute Addis Ababa from Central African Republic. On Sunday morning, the flight tracker showed the plane had landed at Ethiopia and on Wednesday, May 31, the aircraft was fully back with ET and had commenced its usual Addis Ababa –Mogadishu route.

The outrage that greeted this discovery was swift. A former Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Roland Iyayi, described it as a monumental fraud.

“I think it is a monumental fraud to assume that by conniving with Ethiopian Airlines, having an aircraft that was on commercial flight for ET on May 21 or maybe a week ago, flying into Tel Aviv on an ET405 flight to fly into Abuja only for static display and then taken out, would mean to birth an airline. I can tell you that the deck house of Nigeria Air stuck on it has been removed and rebranded for ET to be put back in service. So, all that we saw a few days ago was a charade by the outgoing Minister of Aviation, possibly to sort of block out, considering the fact that in the last seven to eight years, we have had about N85.42bn in allocation to Nigeria Air, which is supposedly a private enterprise,” he said.


Where it went wrong

When Sirika came on board as minister seven years ago, one of the projects he promised to deliver is a national carrier which would be the envy of the African continent. To achieve this, he said the government would be seeking foreign investors to enter into a private partnership with the Federal Government. Industry stakeholders were optimistic about his ambitious plans while domestic airlines were cautious.

At a media event held on September 24, 2022, in Abuja, Sirika informed the public that after searching for investors, the Federal Government had selected 76-year-old ET Consortium as the preferred bidder for Nigeria Air. He told the gathering that ET scored 89 percent as regards the technical bid and 15 out of 20 in respect of the financial bid. The minister said the Request for Proposal (RFP) under the Public Private Partnership (Act), governed by Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) regarding Nigeria Air was not yet completed.

Saturday Sun gathered that former President Muhammadu Buhari gave the approval for the deal to be finalised after he was said to have been convinced by Sirika that the Federal Government would not be making any monetary investments. But there was strong pushback from industry stakeholders when Sirika announced some of the modalities for the deal: Carrier would be driven by the private sector and the Nigerian government would retain only 5 per cent stake in it, while ET will have a 49 per cent stake and 46 per cent of the airline would be owned by Nigerian investors (MRS and SACHOL). The government also said it would raise $250 million from the private sector and that 20 aircraft with petrol engines had been ordered for training purposes, nine of which had been delivered.

Reports show that at least N85.42 billion was budgeted for the national carrier project in seven years. The Federal Government had in 2019 budgeted N47 billion and between 2020 and 2022 an additional N14.6 billion was budgeted, while yet another N24 billion was captured in the 2023 budget for the carrier but with nothing to show for it.


Pushback

After it was revealed that ET will have 49 per cent stake, making it the largest shareholder, industry experts pushed back strongly, expressing their discontent with the model, saying that having a competitor as a major shareholder in the country’s national carrier would completely annihilate Nigerian airlines from the onset. They also argued that the partnership would only help ET achieve its target to dominate the African market as it had formed similar agreements in eight other African countries. Experts say the deal will create cabotage and destroy the industry, citing the case of Virgin Nigeria which had a similar model that eventually fizzled out.

The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) were the first to take a definitive action against Sirika, as eight domestic airlines dragged the Federal Government to court late last year, listing Nigerian Air, Ethiopian Airlines, Sirika, and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, as defendants.

Among other prayers, the airlines asked the court to stop the national carrier deal and withdraw the Air Transport Licence already issued to Nigeria Air by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). AON also claimed that the firm which served as Transaction Adviser for the transaction, was incorporated in March last year and alleged that the company was linked to the aviation minister. On November 12, last year, the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos granted an order of interim injunction restraining the Federal Government from executing the proposed draft agreement establishing a national carrier between ET and Nigeria.

Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa who granted the order, ruled that an Order of Maintenance of Status Quo by all the parties in the suit from taking any further step(s) in relation to the subject matter of the suit pending when the determination of the Motion on Notice is granted. Sirika pushed back on the AON, insisting that nothing would stop the carrier from taking off before May 29. He lashed out at the domestic airlines, saying that he had approached them and asked them to invest in the project but that none of them obliged.


Unanswered questions

Industry stakeholders have privately wondered to Saturday Sun why Sirika was hell bent on unveiling a carrier and what personal interest he had in the project that he was ready to disobey court orders, which could cost the industry much reputational damage internationally. How much is ET bringing in? Why has the intricate details of the agreement not been made public? Other contentious issues, which experts say are unethical, is the opacity and lack of transparency in the deal. Questions have been raised as to why MRS and SAHCOL, listed as private investors, are yet to inform their shareholders via the capital market of their decision to invest in Nigeria Air. By law, the unveiling of the aircraft and the inaugural flight which took place on May 26 can be rightly said to be illegal as the carrier has not been issued with an Air Operators Certificate (AOC) by the NCAA, which is the authorised regulator. At the moment Nigeria Air is at stage one of the AOC procedure.

Granting an AOC to Nigeria Air without going through the five step legal procedure will be considered an infraction by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Not only would the NCAA be penalized, Nigeria could be blacklisted by aviation safety agencies like the US FAA and the EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency). The spokesperson of AON and Chief Executive Officer of United Nigeria Airlines, Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, said what happened on May 26 was a show of shame and a scam, insisting that Nigeria Air is dead on arrival.

“It is a joke taken too far because there is nothing Nigerian in Nigeria Air. We are in court and we have documents about this charade called Nigeria Air which would make anyone ashamed. They have talked about millions of dollars that would be raised. If it is an equity of ET, the money would have been deposited in the Central Bank of Nigeria. So who paid the money? We have other partners in the business like MRS and these guys don’t know what is happening in the business, they are not interested. So something is happening somewhere. Besides, if after eight years of talking about Nigeria Air and all that we saw was an old Ethiopian airline aircraft, it is so absurd.

“The aircraft was decorated to confuse Nigerians. It is mandatory in ICAO law for any aircraft to be registered as a Nigerian aircraft, it must have 5N which is a Nigerian registration number and it can only be done if you bought it outright or you have a dry lease on it and not a wet lease. But none of this is the case because our investigations showed that none of the documents of this aircraft is in NCAA. It just took off in Ethiopia and landed in Abuja. For you to do this kind of show of shame, you have to have gotten to stage five of your AOC. The first stage is that you have to express your interest to get an AOC and the second stage is that the NCAA will review your application, evaluate it and if it is okay, you go and submit your manuals. The fifth and the final stage is the flight demonstration and operation. The AOC process of the so called Nigeria Air is still in stage one, the reason being that Sirika and his co-travellers didn’t want to go through the process.

“Part of our concern is that if the NCAA had not resisted and Sirika had succeeded, the international bodies would have questioned the credibility of our AOC. Ethiopian airline said they have 49 per cent stake in Nigeria and if we have to sell our airspace to anyone, it should sell for about $300 billion because of our population. Nigerian travellers constitute about 40 per cent of Ethiopian Airlines passengers worldwide, so as at today, we have not been told how much they invested.

“Another thing we found out from their business plan is that ET might be coming to kill the operators in Nigeria because Nigerians need only one airline. This document is in court. It is not our document, it is what they presented to the government and they were specific that they would use predatory price in the first six months of their operation. Predatory price means that for instance, if we are charging N50, 000 to Abuja, they would start with N15, 000. You know why they can do that? It is because Sirika had granted them 15 years tax break and they had indemnified all the loans they would take anywhere in the world.

“Thank God that NCAA refused to be cajoled and for that reason, some of the actors who stood their ground were removed from NCAA. The NCAA DG survived removal because there is a provision in the new civil aviation act that before the DG is removed, you must get the consent of the Senate, otherwise , many people have paid the price for standing their grounds. ICAO is coming to audit NCAA and if anything untoward is found, it would affect the entire industry,” Okonkwo said.

But Sirika defended the choice of ET, saying that he had held six meetings with Nigerian airlines on the need to buy shares in the new carrier but that his overtures were rebuffed. At the Aviation Breakfast Meeting with the theme, “Aviation in Nigeria: What Next?” he said: “I begged the airlines to own stakes in Nigeria Air but they declined. They were not interested, only for them to say things that we do not understand. The AON are scared that the new airline would lower fares. Any decrease or increase in fares would have to go through the NCAA and stakeholders. These fears are unfounded. I told them this airline would not be given preferential treatment. None of them can complain that I turned down their request. We are ever ready to support Nigerian airlines to Dubai, etc.”


More pushback

National president of Aircraft and Pilot Association of Nigeria, Alex Nwuba, said the launch is a fallout of a last minute push of the minister to bring about the dream he has had that he went against all modes of common sense

“Due to the darkness by which this process came about, it has led to a lot of conjecture. People don’t even understand how a government that serves its people will float a carrier and when it comes, we are all confused. Is it Nigeria Air or is it Ethiopia Airlines? It has the painting of Nigeria Air on it but it has the registration number of Ethiopia. This is just a fallout of a last minute push of the minister to bring about the dream he has had that he went against all modes of common sense. He would have said, “It is too late now as we have been doing this for seven years and what we couldn’t do in seven years, we can’t suddenly push it through the system in 24 hours and then still have something that we can be proud of. Nigeria wants a national carrier and an expanded air space. The question often asked is why we need many airlines but we don’t remember that the nature of domestic aviation in the future is not just about Nigeria. There is a Single Air Traffic Market and Nigeria must be prepared for that market space.

“Sirika said that he invited carriers from around the world to partner with Nigeria on the launch of a national carrier and then he came back and said that only one airline signified interest. How can that be? Suddenly we heard that the only airline that was interested was ET. They chose to come in and become the biggest shareholder in a non-competitive process which forestalls Nigeria’s possibility to be a leading aviation economy and it doesn’t solve the challenge of capital flight.

“We have been telling Sirika that his plan will not work. The entire domestic airlines took the Federal Government to court and the court stopped the process, yet, we saw an aircraft flying in defiance of the court order. What signal are we giving international aviation? We are decimating the industry because what Ethiopian is doing is to kill the domestic airlines. The minister said he scored 100 percent in all of his projects and the industry scored him zero except in the aspect of appointing good heads of agencies but he didn’t let them do their jobs. He didn’t let give them the independent structure to do their jobs very well even though they tried their best. Nigerian Air has a great CEO that can put together a great airline in the form Nigeria would want to have. But have you ever heard a word from him? Do you know who he is? Sirika wanted to bulldoze his way to get what he wanted simply because it satisfies his ego. The court says he should not proceed with it but Sirika went ahead with impunity and we saw the result.

“I am in many aviation organisations and forums and I can barely find anyone in support of the Nigeria Air though there are those around him who say yes to everything he does simply because they are benefiting from it. One cannot really say what encouraged the minister to go ahead in conflict with the entire industry. He can argue that the domestic airlines are doing this because they want to protect themselves but that is the right thing to do. Sirika failed to step up and support domestic airlines especially after COVID-19. The fact is that he went against common sense. We wanted someone who is an aviator at the ministerial level but the entire industry was shocked that the man we thought would be our saviour became the one that would lead us into a ditch. We want to have a national carrier to expand our reach to be competitive under the single air traffic market.

“The court ordered the government to stop action on Nigeria Air until we can determine whether what is being done is in the interest of Nigeria, and Sirika defied the order by throwing in our face, a new national carrier, a flagrant abuse of court process. No one knows the agreement reached with Ethiopian airlines and we don’t know if this is a situation where if stopped, Nigeria would have to pay penalties for default because no one knows the content of the contract signed,” Nwuba said.

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are currently quizzing a former governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, over misappropriation of funds to the tune of N4 billion.

Our correspondent learnt that Fayemi, also a former Minister of Mines and Steel Development during President Muhammadu Buhari’s first term, was still undergoing interrogation at about 4:15pm on Thursday at Ilorin zonal command of the anti-graft agency.

A crack detective of the commission at the EFCC headquarters told Daily Trust that the former governor honoured the invitation earlier extended to him.

“He’s only in our Ilorin zonal office basically to answer some questions that bordered on alleged fraud of N4 billion belonging to Ekiti State. He would likely be released tonight or tomorrow morning after explanations,” the detective said.

The spokesman of the anti-graft, Wilson Uwujaren, also confirmed Fayemi’s presence at the commission’s custody to our correspondent but declined further comment.

“Yes, it is true. He’s with us. He’s in Ilorin zonal office answering questions but I won’t make further comments on that,” Uwujaren told Daily Trust.

ABUJA- Strong indications, yesterday, suggested that senators, mainly from the South West, have called for a meeting for tomorrow, where they would take a decision to work towards reviewing their position on choice of leadership of the Senate.

This is coming amid speculations that the candidacy of former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, may have hit a brick wall, as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is said to have withdrawn his support for him in the contest for the Senate President in the 10th National Assembly.

Recall that the All Progressives Congress, APC, had announced the endorsement of Senator Godswill Akpabio and three others for the topmost positions in the National Assembly.

Senator Akpabio from South-South was endorsed for Senate president, Senator Jubrin Barau from North-West for Deputy Senate President, Tajudeen Abass, North-West for speaker, House of Representatives and Kanu, South-East, for deputy speaker.

This did not, however, go down well with some members of the party, especially those aspiring for the position of presiding offices in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, following the protests and condemnation that trailed the party’s endorsements.

According to a senator from one of the states in the South West, the meeting is for senators from the zone to know the outcome of a crucial meeting of the leading tendency among the senators-elect scheduled for Thursday which they have strategically asked some of their members to attend.

President Tinubu is said to have heeded the advice of his trusted political allies by tacitly withdrawing his support for Akpabio.

The President, sources said, was resolute in running a corruption-free government, with emphasis on strengthening all the existing policies and institutions concerned with anti-corruption towards achieving this goal.

In his inaugural speech, Tinubu declared pointedly that his government would take” proactive steps such as championing a credit culture to discourage corruption, while strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of the various anti-corruption agencies.”

With this statement, the source said ”most of us have come to the full realization of the fact that President Bola Tinubu would not for anything support any senator with myriads of cases of corruption in the anti-graft agencies after declaring before the world that he would strengthen and make them more effective.”

A senator from one of the state in the S-West confided in Vanguard: “We have seen the follies in remaining in this camp, it will not work. We have fixed a meeting for Thursday where we are going to chart our next line of action.”

However, the Director General for the Akpabio/Barau Stability Group, Senator Ali Ndume, APC, Borno South, said in his reaction to the development yesterday: “It is not surprising that whenever a politically exposed person is contesting elections, some people would be sponsored to raise issues against him or her.

“Don’t forget that President Bola Tinubu was also severally accused when he was campaigning to be president.”

“We are not actually bothered about what the sponsored groups are saying about Akpabio, the anti-graft agencies know what to do. Why are they teaching them what to do?

“They are alleging that some corrupt activities took place under his watch at the NDDC but they did not say he misappropriated funds as governor or as minister.

“Akpabio was not the accounting officer of the NDDC, he only supervised the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

“They also accused him of not constituting the board of the NDDC but that also was not his job. The president of the country is saddled with such responsibility.”

The Department of State Services (DSS) has vacated the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Ikoyi, Lagos in conformity with the directive of President Bola Tinubu.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the DSS who had on Tuesday morning barricaded the office of anti-corruption agency vacated the office on Tuesday night as directed by the president.

The president had on Tuesday evening ordered the DSS to vacate the office immediately, saying if there were issues between the, “two important agencies of government”, they would be resolved amicably.

As at the time of filing this report LEADERSHIP observed that normalcy seems to have been restored at the EFCC offices on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, as there were no signs of barriers or barricades around the building which had prevented the agency’s officials to access the building on Tuesday.

It would be recalled that the operatives of the DSS on early Tuesday morning stormed the Lagos office of the EFCC, preventing officials of the anti-graft agency from gaining access to their office in Ikoyi.

The EFCC in a statement on its official Facebook page had described the siege as shocking, noting that it has wider implications for Nigeria’s fight against economic and financial crimes.

“The operatives of the Lagos Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, arrived at their office on No. 15 Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, this morning, May 30, 2023, to be denied entry by agents of the Department of State Services, DSS, who had barricaded the entrance with armoured personnel carriers.

“This development is strange to the Commission given that we have cohabited with the DSS in that facility for 20 years without incident.

“By denying operatives access to their offices, the Commission’s operations at its largest hub with over 500 personnel, hundreds of exhibits, and many suspects in detention have been disrupted.

“Cases scheduled for court hearing today have been aborted, while many suspects who had been invited for questioning are left unattended.

“Even more alarming is that suspects in detention are left without care with grave implications for their rights as inmates.

“All of these have wilder implications for the nation’s fight against economic and financial crimes.

“The siege is inconsistent with the synergy expected of agencies working for the same government and nation, especially when there are ongoing discussions on the matter,” the statement read.

As the drama unfolded, the DSS in a statement by its spokesman, Peter Afunanya, denied barricading the EFCC office and preventing EFCC officials from entering the building.

According to the DSS statement, “The attention of the Department of State Services (DSS) has been drawn to some media reports that it barricaded the EFCC from entering its Lagos office.

“It is not correct that the DSS barred EFCC from entering its office. No. It is not true. The Service is only occupying its own facility where it is carrying out its official and statutory responsibility.

“By the way, there is no controversy over No 15A Awolowo Road as being insinuated by the media. Did the EFCC tell you it is contesting the ownership of the building? I will be surprised if it is contesting the ownership.

“Awolowo Road was NSO headquarters. SSS/DSS started from there. It is common knowledge. It is a historical fact. Check it out.

Dozens of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government misused N3.8 trillion they received from the Service Wide Votes (SWV) in four years, according to a Senate report.

Service Wide Votes is the government’s contingency fund in the annual budget.

The Senate Public Accounts Committee had probed the disbursement of N5 trillion from the SWV to more than 200 government agencies between 2017 and 2021, when ex-President Muhammadu Buhari was in power.

The committee, chaired by Senator Matthew Urhoghide, invited 207 government agencies for the investigation, but only 119 agencies appeared.

The panel presented its report to the Senate during Wednesday’s plenary and its recommendations were adopted.

Urhoghide, while presenting the report, said his committee after investigation discovered that many agencies collected fund from SWV without recourse to the National Assembly committees that is mandated by law to oversight the agencies.

He said some of the MDAs did not make formal requests for the money that was sent to them by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

He said where the approval of Mr. President was sought and obtained, some MDAs used the resources for unrelated expenditure purpose.

The senator said some MDAs collected the fund for projects that were already budgeted for in the Appropriation Acts over the years.

He said, “Hundreds of Billions of Naira were claimed to have been used for the purposes of paying salary shortfalls whereas such agencies had already collected appropriation for personnel emolument and were on the IPPIS platform.

“In some instances, huge sums Of money were thrown at agencies which they didn’t apply for/or are not in the know of where the money came from and for what purpose.

“The IPPIS intervention towards meeting insufficiencies or shortfalls in Personnel Costs has been bastardized and running into huge sums of money needing legislative scrutiny.

“Most of the MDAs involved in the period under review deliberately avoided the Committee’s invitation for appearance and refused to make submissions, perhaps for lack of satisfactory explanations on the utilization of the funds released to them.”

The senate, after adopting the committee’s recommendations, urged the Executive to use supplementary budget approach to meet emergencies instead of Service Wide Vote, which it said amounts to affront/erosion of the approval powers of the National Assembly.

The committee also recommended that the Auditor-General for the Federation should be given full access by the Accountant General and other MDAs to audit Service Wide Vote expenditures annually and report to the National Assembly.

It also called for in-depth investigation into the operations of IPPIS to stern the rising cases of irregularities in the system.

Some of the affected agencies are: Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Transportation, Health, Works and Housing, Information and Culture, Mines and Steal Development, Police Affairs, Defence, Youths and Sports, Petroleum and Aviation.

Others are: State House, Budget Office, Presidential Fleet, Nigerian Army, Navy, Airforce, NAFDAC, Civil Defence, Presidential Amnesty Programme, FERMA, NEMA, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Debt Management Office, INEC, North East Development Commission (NEDC), Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA), National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA), National Examination Council (NECO), among others.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says it is ready to issue licences to companies interested in petrol importation.

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer of NMDPRA, said the criteria for importing kerosene and diesel will be applicable for the importation of the product.

However, Ahmed said several conditions have to be met before the applicants are granted licences.

“There are a lot of conditions to be met before you are given a licence to import petrol,” he said.

“I cannot give you all the rundown now but I can tell you that just the way marketers import diesel or jet kero, there are conditions for all that and the same condition will apply to those who want to import premium motor spirit (PMS).”

Only companies that are lessees producing crude oil and/or condensates or who are holders of crude oil refining licences are eligible to supply wholesale petroleum liquids (including petrol importation), according to section 197 (2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

While the PIA empowers the NMDPRA to issue licences to refiners or producers of crude oil, the regulation, in sections 73 (3) and 111 (1), provides that the minister of petroleum must approve such licences.

Currently, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) is the last-resort supplier, tasked with importing refined petrol to ensure adequate supply and distribution in the country.

Through the direct sale, direct purchase (DSDP) scheme, the country exports crude oil and exchanges it for refined petroleum products.

by Yejide Gbenga-Ogundare


Following her unwavering commitment to making a positive impact in her immediate community, the Mayor of the City of Houston, Sylvester Turner, has honoured a Nigerian businesswoman, Ms. Ifeoma Okengwu by declaring May 2, 2023, as ‘Ms. Ifeoma Okengwu Day’ in Houston.

The Mayor in a statement urged all citizens to join in honouring and thanking Ms. Ifeoma Okengwu for her dedication and service to the community.

The declaration issued by the Mayor reads “Whereas, Ms. Ifeoma Okengwu is a remarkable businesswoman and entrepreneur who has made significant contributions to the community; and,

“Whereas, Ms. Ifeoma Okengwu is the owner of a property company that has served as inspiration for those in the community to realize that they can achieve their dreams, and one day own their own homes. With her passion for real estate and her dedication to helping others, she has truly made a difference in the lives of many; and,

“Whereas, Ms. Ifeoma Okengww’s property company has been instrumental in the development of affordable housing for low income families, in addition to the revitalisation of distressed neighbourhoods that improve the quality of life for all; and,

“Whereas, Ms. Ifeoma Okengwu’s tireless efforts to assist families with homeownership have not gone unnoticed. Her property company has received numerous awards and continues to receive recognition for its contributions to the community; and,

“Whereas, The City of Houston commends Ms. Ifeoma Okengwu for her unwavering commitment to making a positive impact in the community. She is an inspiration to everyone she encounters and a testament to what can be achieved through hard work, dedication, and a genuine desire to help others.

“Therefore, I, Sylvester Turner, Mayor of the City of Houston, hereby proclaim May 2, 2023, as Ms. Ifeoma Okengwu Day in Houston, Texas and urge all citizens to join us in honouring and thanking Ms. Ifeoma Okengwu for her dedication and service to the community.”

In her acceptance, the honouree, Ms. Ifeoma Okengwu expressed gratitude for the honour adding that it filled her with immense pride and joy

She stated that “being acknowledged by the Mayor is a true honour and a testament to the hard work and passion that my team and I put into making a positive impact on our community. This proclamation serves as a reminder of the power of unity and the importance of collaboration. Together, we can achieve greatness!

“I am deeply grateful to the Mayor of Houston @sylvesterturner and the entire community for their unwavering support and belief in our mission. This recognition strengthens my resolve to work even harder and create more meaningful experiences for everyone.

“I also want to recognize our Congress woman @sheilajacksonlee @repjacksonlee for representing not only Texas congressional seat but women as a whole in United States of America, I appreciate you ma’am

“I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to my amazing team members, partners, and followers who have been instrumental in this journey. This achievement wouldn’t have been possible without your dedication and unwavering belief in our vision.

“As we celebrate this milestone, I am reminded of the responsibility we have to serve our community with greater dedication, innovation, and passion. Together, let’s continue to make Houston an extraordinary place to live, work, and thrive! God Bless USA, God bless Texas,” she said.