₦airaland Forum

By Joseph Adeiye



Remi Tinubu, the wife of Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, offered women in Kano N2 million as “transport fare” after a campaign programme on Wednesday.

Tinubu had convened a town hall meeting with women in the APC for the party’s presidential candidate.

At the end of the televised programme, Tinubu told the attendees that she would give them N2 million fare because of the unavailability of naira notes.

“Thank you very much. I forgot to tell you that we know some people came in, they don’t have transport fare, and we know how the cash crunch has bothered us a lot. So we have a token, between me and Mrs Shettima, of N2 million,” she said.

“We’ve given our first lady here wrappers and we will be planning to send rice to her for the door-to-door campaign as well. So, we thank you so much. I’ll see you around, I will be back.”

In a brief to the diplomatic community on the recent monetary policy decisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Godwin Emefiele, the CBN governor, claimed that politicians were illegally buying the new naira notes. Emefiele failed to mention the politicians that might be guilty of such purchase of banknotes.

“The CBN has also noticed that some politicians are buying the new notes and storing them for political purposes,” Emefiele said at the brief on Tuesday.

The CBN says that cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities should not exceed N100,000 and N500,000, respectively per week.

By Fadehan Oyeyemi


Drama erupted in Supreme Court on Wednesday when Edo and Bayelsa States pitched their tents with the Federal Government in suit by other States against the Federal Government on implementation of the Cashless Policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

Edo, represented by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, told a panel of seven Justices of the Apex Court that it was in support of the Cashless Policy Regime and sought to be joined as respondent.

Bayelsa State followed suit when through its counsel, Mr Damian Dodo, SAN, it announced support for the Federal Government and applied to be joined as respondent in the matter.

However, six other states, Lagos, Cross River, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo and Sokoto joined their counterparts, Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara in the legal battle against the Federal Government.

The six States in their respective motions for joinder pitched their tents with the three aggrieved States that initially ignited the legal battle.

Their joinder motion was moved by Mr Samuel Ologunorisa, SAN, and was granted by Justice John Okoro who presided over the matter.

The Court directed the plaintiffs to amend their originating summons to reflect the name of the six fresh plaintiffs.

In the same vein, Bayelsa and Edo, through Mr Damian Dodo, SAN, moved their application for joinder as respondents and was granted by Justice John Okoro following no objection on the issue.

Justice Okoro also directed the Federal Government, Edo and Bayelsa to amend their statements of defense to reflect the new position of the case.

Meanwhile, hearing in the suit has been shifted to Wednesday February 22 following consensus by the parties.

In another drama, River State has filed a separate suit against the Federal Government on the same matter.

Rivers through its counsel, Mr Emmanuel Ukala, SAN, declined to team up with other States, adding that it would prefer to do its case separately.

By Abdulyassar Abdulhamid


The National Director of Publicity and Advocacy of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has said that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu are aging.

Dr Baba-Ahmed stated this while discussing 2023 elections during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today.

He said Atiku and Tinubu need experienced people with integrity around them to succeed if elected president in 2023.

“Most of the front runners now are Atiku and Tinubu are aging and even at their best, they can’t do everything they want to do. They need excellent sort of people around them, people with knowledge on how fix Nigeria. This is the most important thing.

“The second thing is to find people with integrity, not those who will convert public money to theirs. They should be good, competent people full of idea and people who have evidence that they fear good.”

Alex Enumah, Udora Orizu in Abuja, Fidelis David in Akure, James Sowole in Abeokuta, Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt and Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

All eyes would be focused on the apex court as hearing in the suit challenging the powers of the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stop the use of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 begins today at the Supreme Court in Abuja.

This was just as Ogun State Government has filed an application at the Supreme Court seeking to join Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara States in the suit.

Ogun joining the suit confirmed THISDAY’s recent report that as part of efforts to deliberately stall the Supreme Court ruling, governors of some of the All Progressives Congress (APC) states have chosen to continue to file for joinder in the matter.

The suit which was originally filed by the three northern states has since been joined by Ondo, Kano, Ekiti and now Ogun states. Rivers had also indicating its preparedness to do same.

Sources at the Federal Ministry of Justice, had disclosed to THISDAY that the design of the state governors, who were joining the Supreme Court suit was to delay the judgement and have the old currency run till after the election.

One of the sources, who pleaded to remain anonymous had said, “It is the design of the governors, who are adding many joinder suits, to delay the judgement and try to keep the state of affairs whereby the old currency would continue to be in use, while they lobby Supreme Court justices so that they cannot reach a judgement, and to push the Supreme Court decision on this matter until after the presidential election.

“They want to use the cash for the presidential election. So, they are adding more joinder suits to delay the outcome of the judgement so that the two currencies can work together. So, what we see is that the vote-buyers are fighting back.”

The Supreme Court being the final court in the country joined in the matter which had generated intense controversy, when it last week halted the federal government from proceeding to stop the use of the old banknotes from February 10, 2023.

Justice John Okoro, who gave the restraining order against the federal government, held that the order would subsist until today, when it would hear the case of the aggrieved states.

The action of the apex court was sequel to an exparte application brought before it on February 3, by the Attorneys-General of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara States.

Since its order on February 8, the apex court has come under heavy knocks by some critics of the administration for venturing into what they believed was the exclusive of the executive, although some others including senior lawyers saw nothing wrong in the action of the apex court since the order made was a temporary one.

When the matter comes up today, it would be expected that the issue of jurisdiction which is very crucial in any case must first be resolved.

More worrisome is the issue of enforceability of the said order, which has further thrown the nation into confusion as some commercial banks and businesses despite the order of the apex court and the pledge by the federal government to obey the order have continued to reject the old naira notes.

Also, lawyers and litigants are being prevented from filing court processes at the Lagos High Court, as officials insisted they would only accept new naira notes.

In the suit marked: SC/CV/162/2023 and filed on February 3, plaintiffs are seeking among other things, a declaration that the demonetisation policy of the federation being currently carried out by the CBN under the directive of the president was not in compliance with the extant provisions of the constitution and CBN Act, 2007 and actual laws on the subject.

Besides, plaintiffs wanted a declaration that the three-month notice given by the federal government through the CBN under the directive of the president, the expiration of which was expected to render the old banknotes inadmissible as legal tender, was in gross violation of the provisions of Section 20(3) of the CBN Act 2007, which specifies that reasonable notice must be given before such a policy.

Although, Mr. Mahmood Magaji, SAN, the lawyer representing the AGF who was the sole respondent in the suit, was present during the hearing and subsequent grant of the ex parte application he however filed the government’s objection to the suit.

The federal government in the Notice of Preliminary Objection dated February 8, claimed that the Supreme Court lacked the necessary jurisdiction to entertain the suit in the first place.

According to their argument, the plaintiffs ought to have commenced the suit before a Federal High Court and not at the Supreme Court.

Besides, the respondent argued that “the plaintiffs have equally not shown reasonable cause of action” against it.

Besides the objection, the AGF, Abubakar Malami also stated that the federal government would take steps to vacate the order when the court resumes, on the grounds that the law allows the government to challenge any order that it is not pleased with and that the government will do so in this instant case by the instrumentality of the law.

Last weekend, governors of the 36 states of the federation rose from a meeting in Abuja with a resolution to direct their Attorneys General to review the suit with a view to consolidating the legal reliefs pursued by the states.

Ogun Joins Suit as Abiodun Reads Riot Act to Banks

Ogun State Government has filed an application at the Supreme Court of Nigeria, seeking to join Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara States, in the suit.

The state, in a Motion of Notice filed by its counsel, Afe Babalola and Co, on February 13, sought to be joined as 4th plaintiff/applicant, in a suit number SC/CV/162/2023.

The applicant in the Notice further stated that it sought to be a co-plaintiff for the just and effective determination in the suit instituted by the other three plaintiffs.

The plaintiff also notified the Supreme Court that it shall rely on all the processes already filed in this action in addition to the affidavit in support of the application.

Listing 13 grounds upon which the application was predicated, the plaintiff submitted among others, that the implementation of the federal government-sanctioned policy had thus far negatively affected the citizens all over the federation which includes Ogun State, and left several residents of the state stranded, cash strapped and frustrated leading to riots, grievous interruption of commercial activities, and a gradual economic downturn in the state.

“The implementation of the policy has totally paralyzed and brought to standstill the economic activities of Ogun State and also severely impaired the government’s ability to deliver on its economic agenda to the people,” it stated.

Also, Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, yesterday read riot act to commercial banks, operating in the state, warning that the state government would shut down any bank operating in the state that refused to accept the old naira notes.

The warning was sequel to complaints received from the people by the state government that commercial banks and some filling stations were rejecting the old naira notes as legal tender.

The governor spoke yesterday, while addressing market men women at Itoku Kampala market in Abeokuta, as part of his reelection campaign to Abeokuta North Local Government Areas.

Abiodun, who frowned at the action of the banks, noted that since the new naira notes was not available, commercial banks must accept the old notes to ease the suffering of the people.

Wike Faults Policy

Governor Nyesom Wike said implementation of the naira swap policy by the CBN was political, adding that it has worsened the living condition of the poor across the country.

The Rivers State governor said Nigerians were suffering as a result of the tactless implementation of the naira swap policy, and urged government to urgently ameliorate the condition of the people.

Wike made the remark yesterday, during the official presentation of letter of nomination on the “award of Independent Man of the Year 2022,” on him by the management of Independent Newspapers, at the Government House, Port Harcourt.

The governor stressed that the essence of government and its agency such as CBN, was not to inflict hardship of the masses, but to cushion it.

“We are in a difficult situation now. It doesn’t matter what anybody may say. The truth must be told at all times. Nigerians are suffering now and as a people we owe that responsibility to cushion the level of hardship that Nigerians are facing, we are not to worsen the situation,” he added.

Wike said people were not necessarily opposed to the redesigning of the N1000, N500 and N200 notes, but were concerned about the implementation of the policy and the hardship it has inflicted on the masses.

Gbajabiamila Says Relief Underway

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has expressed delight with the recent ruling of the Supreme Court on the matter.

Gbajabiamila, while speaking in Lagos, yesterday, during the launch of the second edition of GbajaRide community transportation initiative, said the House of Representatives under his leadership has been on the side of the people, working tirelessly to rescue them from economic saboteurs seeking to derail the successes of President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC administration.

He said he was glad that the judiciary also confirmed House’s position on the implementation of the naira redesign policy of the central bank, and that relief was underway.

Ganduje Threatens to Sanction Erring Banks, Business Owners

Kano state government has warned that it would not hesitate to revoke operational licences of major business owners or take action against anyone who refuses to accept the old naira notes as a means of transaction.

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, who handed down the warning in a statement issued by the commissioner for information and internal affairs, Malam Muhammad Garba and made available to THISDAY, yesterday, said the old naira notes were still legal tender.

The governor noted that it came to the notice of the government that some business owners such as supermarkets, malls, banks, restaurants, hotels, traders in markets, filling stations, motor parks, among others, were in the habit of rejecting the old naira notes in business transaction.

Ganduje further observed that the non-acceptance by some selfish individuals was further worsening the already tensed situation exacerbated by the non-availability of the new naira notes.

Armed Policemen Take over Ondo CBN Office to Prevent Attack

Armed policemen yesterday took over the premises of the CBN located in the Alagbaka area of Akure, the Ondo state capital to prevent attack by angry bank customers. The customers were angry over the rejection of the old naira notes by commercial banks and other business centres in the state.

On Monday, commercial motorcyclists and drivers, traders, civil servants, businessmen, and women besieged their various banks in exchange for the old notes for the new ones but were turned back by the officials.

Some of the customers who spoke with journalists revealed that the banks were no longer collecting the old notes despite the supreme court order.

Mr Emmanuel Adeniyi said, “the Automated Teller Machines (ATM), of the commercial banks, are still dispensing the old notes and they are rejecting the notes from us, what kind of impunity is that?”

Belgian goalkeeper Arne Espeel collapsed and died during a match while playing for Belgian side Winkel Sport B.

The 25-year-old goalkeeper collapsed on the pitch straight after saving a penalty against Westrozebeke at Sint-Eloois-Winkel, West Flanders Province.

Emergency ran onto the pitch to try to resuscitate the goalkeeper, using a defibrillator but it was too late.

Shortly after he was taken to the hospital, Espeel was confirmed dead.

The club in a statement expressed sadness and sorrow and condoled the player’s family and friends.

“Winkel Sport is in very deep mourning at the sudden passing of goalkeeper Arne Espeel,” the club stated.

A veteran journalist and rights activist, Mr. Richard Akinnola, has accused the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, of an unprecedented step to gag the public and stop criticising and subjecting apex court’s judgments to public scrutiny.

Akinnola in an open letter to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, titled: ‘I Would Criticise The Supreme Court’, said what he would not subscribed to are personal and scurrilous attacks of justices.

“With the greatest respect my Lord, your judgments are subject to public scrutiny, particularly when they impart on public policy or political processes. Perhaps, my Lord is oblivious of the perception out there in the public domain, that the Supreme Court in the past couple years has been compromised, compared to the Supreme Court of yore during the time of Kayode Eso, Otutu Obaseki,” he stated.

According to him, while the Supreme Court has a lot to do to change the public perception, the apex court could not achieve it through threats and gagging members of the public from criticising its judgments.

The statement read: “In the past 40 years, l have written on the judiciary, right from the time Chief Justices Atanda Fatai-Williams, George Sowemimo, Ayo Irikefe, till date and l haven’t seen a situation where the Supreme Court would attempt to gag members of the public, legal practitioners inclusive, from criticising the judgments or even conducts of judicial officers.”

“Apart from being an infringement on Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), it portends grave danger to the administration of justice.

“I have, in the past risen to defend the judgments of the Supreme Court, not just as articles but in book form. See “The Sokoto Election Debacle and the Supreme Court” (2012) and “In Defence of the Supreme Court: Rivers state Election judgment”(2017).

“My Lord, if l defended the Supreme Court in the past by putting issues in proper perspective, beyond emotive vituperation, why wouldn’t l have the locus now to disagree, criticise or even upbraid its judgements in respect of the Senatorial seats of Yobe and Akwa Ibom as they relate to Ahmed Lawan and Godswill Akpabio?


“As a matter of fact, C.C. Nweze, JSC, who read the lead judgment in the Lawan’s matter has been a long-time friend right from when he was on the High court Bench, Enugu. A cerebral, highly articulate, intellectually deep, incorruptible and uncompromising judicial officer for whom l have tremendous respect. I cannot, by any stretch of imagination denigrate him but l disagree with his judgment and l have the right to do disagree and make public.

“So, why should l be gagged for disagreeing with the majority judgment? Interestingly, the same highly respected Nweze, JSC, in his lone dissenting judgment in respect of the controversial Imo State governorship judgment of 2020, had stated in his dissent, that the majority judgment “will continue to haunt our electoral jurisprudence for a long time”. This presupposes that the court’s judgment would have to pass through the litmus test of scholarly and public scrutiny.

“As a matter of fact, in my analysis of the judgment, l described it as Supreme Injustice. In 2008, after the controversial Supreme Court judgment in respect of Amaechi v. Omehia, Gani Fawehinmi (of blessed memory), in his criticism of the judgment, he described it as “perverse”. Heavens didn’t fall. Till now, Nigerians are still debating the propriety of the 1979 twelve two-thirds judgment of the Supreme Court in the Awolowo v. Shagari election. Heavens have not fallen. So, why now?

“My Lord, the Supreme Court has a lot to do to change the public perception about it, because justice is rooted in public confidence and this cannot be achieved by threats and gagging members of the public from criticising its judgments.

“May l end this letter, my Lord, with these quotes: “Judges and court alike are open to criticism and if reasonable argument or expostulation is offered against any judicial act as contrary to law or public good, no court could or would treat that as contempt of court”

-Lord Russel in Reg. v. Gray (1990) 2QB 40.

“Justice has no place in darkness and secrecy. When a judge sits on a case, he himself is on trial…If there is any misconduct on his part, any bias or prejudice, there is a reporter to keep an eye on him”.

-Lord Denning (Address before High court journalists Association, Dec.3, 1964).

“Justice is not a cloistered virtue. She must be allowed to suffer the scrutiny and respectful, even through outspoken comments of ordinary men”.

-Lord Atkin (Ambard v. AG of Trinidad and Tobago (1936) AC 322.

“Having said that, with profound respect my Lord, l want to put you on notice that I would criticise the Supreme Court judgments if and when necessary.”

Crack has occurred in Governor Nyesom Wike’s camp in Cross River as Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Senator Sandy Onor, shunned the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar’s rally in Calabar, while the state Chairman, Venatius Ikem, Cross River South senatorial candidate, Ntufam Ekpo Okon, and others attended.

Hitherto, Onor, Ikem, Okon, former governor of the state, Mr Donald Duke, House of Representatives member for Calabar Municipality/Odukpani Constituency, Ntufam Eta Mbora, former Deputy Governor of the state, Mr Efiok Cobham and others were in the same camp with Wike and never identified with the Atiku camp in the state, led by former Governor Liyel Imoke and the senator representing Cross River South Senatorial, Gershom Bassey.

The party secretariat on Mary Slessor Avenue does not have Atiku’s posters.

But at the Atiku presidential rally, yesterday, at the U. J. Esuene Stadium, Ntufam Okon, Mbora, Ikem were present while Onor, former Governor, Duke, former Deputy Governor, Cobham, and a few others were absent.

But speaking at the rally, Atiku thanked the people of Cross River for their continuous support for PDP and urged them to vote for PDP both in the state and presidency, promising to expand and make the Calabar port functional.

The presidential candidate assured the people that restructuring the country would be a major policy in his government when voted in as the president, saying: “One thing you must understand, the moment Calabar Port is expanded, it will attract factories and businesses and will be of benefits to the people of Cross River.”

Atiku added: “I promise you, if you vote for PDP for the President and governorship, we will work together with your governor and legislators.”

Imoke assured the presidential candidate of the state’s PDP’s vote.

He said: “Cross River is PDP, we know you are our friends. In spite of all the seeming challenges, we remain in PDP. I assure you that on February 25, our people who are here in their numbers will vote for PDP.”

Similarly, Bassey said: “We have never lost a governorship election in Cross River State and 2023 will not be different. We are solidly behind you and we will support you and your government when you come into power, come May 29, 2023.”

There was pandemonium around the Ibom Plaza area of Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital yesterday following the alarm raised by a man that claimed that his manhood had been snatched.

Narrating his ordeal, the victim, who identified himself as Patrick Peters, a member of the youths volunteers in the MOD Department of Christ the King’s Catholic Church, Wellington Bassey Way, Uyo, said Yahoo Boys hypnotized him with a white handkerchief, which he explained, was casually flung around his penile region and he felt sudden shocking sensation on his body.

Peters, who was on his way to the Church Monday morning for routine clean-up, LEADERSHIP gathered, was accosted by the suspects, who engaged him in a brief conversation before performing the white handkerchief rituals, leading to the ‘dead’ of his manhood.

He said, “During interaction with them (the suspects), I felt something had left me because I was no longer myself. I immediately sauntered into my Church that’s close by the Plaza for sudden check, but discovered my manhood has shrunk, weak and lifeless.

“I tried peeing, but couldn’t. It was at that point that I ran in search of them, and was lucky to see them escaping into the adjoining Ikot Ekpene road by the Plaza. I raised the alarm, paraded them back to my Church. They denied collecting my manhood, and that compelled the Church authorities to impress it on them the more, to no avail.”

At that point of persistent denial by the suspects, it was learnt, a willing woman volunteered to test him, but no response, forcing the victim to call his girlfriend, who also arrived, tried as she could to revive her man’s organ, but failed after several attempts.

“We thought his inability to respond could be due to psychological issues, and that prompted us to ask him to send for his girlfriend. She came, tried and couldn’t raise the lifeless organ. It was at that point the soldiers standing guard at the Plaza since the #EndSARS fracas two years ago were called in. They came into the Church, and bundled them away,” one of the worshippers recalled.

However, checks by LEADERSHIP revealed that the suspects were temporarily detained at the Ibom Plaza location of the Army detachment, before they were handed over to the police for effective investigations and prosecution.

One Ekemini Bassey, a dealer in used clothes at the Plaza, recalled that the soldiers had about two weeks ago, apprehended another suspect, who snatched another man’s organ, but was arrested after sporadic shooting by soldiers, who pursued and overpowered him, after abandoning his vehicle and fled on foot along the Wellington Bassey Way, for fear of being lynched.

The police public relations officer (PPRO), SP Odiko Macdon, could not pick his calls to ascertain whether the command has received the suspects from the soldiers.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) controlled states of creating artificial scarcity of the new naira notes. PDP in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba, yesterday, accused six APC state governors of coordinating the hoarding of new Naira notes for the vote buying scheme of the party ahead of the February 25 presidential election.

PDP said in the statement: “The APC leaders having realised that they cannot win in the 2023 general elections, sabotaged the system and diverted the new naira notes so as to create widespread social unrest to justify their plan to derail the elections and truncate our democracy. “It is instructive to state that the controversial naira redesign and swap policies are programmes of the APC administration which is also completely in control of the production and circulation of the new notes.”

The party described as wicked, unpardonable and hypocritical that the same APC leaders were involved in intercepting and hoarding of new notes and going about trying to hoodwink Nigerians by posturing as though they are concerned about their plight.

Buba Galadima, a chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), has narrated how President Muhammadu Buhari reportedly sacked one of his uncles over naira redesign in 1984.

Buhari, a retired Army major general, served as the country’s military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 August 1985, after taking power in a military coup d’état.

Speaking in an interview on Trust TV’s Daily Politics, Galadima commented on the current hardship in the land as a result of naira redesign policy.

The estranged ally of Buhari also narrated how his uncle who served as a commissioner under Buhari lost his job after he pleaded that the period of naira swap be extended in 1984.

“…Hassan Albadawi, who was Buhari’s commissioner for education when he was the governor of North Eastern State and later became the sole administrator at Gamboru Ngala on the border with Chad and Cameroon, appeared on television 9 o’clock news and begged the president to extend the time of naira swap because people in his constituency had no access to banks. Before the news ended, another message came, a special announcement, that he thereby dismissed the chairman of that local community,” Galadima said in the Trust TV interview.

Daily Trust reports that the extended deadline to phase out the old notes was Friday, 10 February.

However, the Supreme Court gave an order restraining the CBN from enforcing the deadline for the phasing out of the N200, N500 and N1,000 notes, pending the hearing of a lawsuit brought by three northern states challenging the new currency redesign. It adjourned that hearing until 15 February.

The Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, is challenging that interim ruling by the Supreme Court and the central bank has not spoken on how it intends to comply with the ruling, thus leaving Nigerians confused.

President Buhari held an emergency meeting of the National Council of State on Friday to discuss crucial issues affecting the country including the currency crisis. However, Buhari has not taken a decision on the cash crunch.

Parts of Nigeria have descended into chaos as frustrated Nigerians besieged ATM units in a bid to access their own money.

Violent protests have been recorded in parts of the country, including in Ogun, Oyo and Akwa Ibom in the country’s south, and social media is awash with lamentations of suffering Nigerians, who are not able to access their funds for transactions.

The current naira scarcity, occasioned by the currency swap policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is taking a toll on healthcare services across the country.

Patients are increasingly denied access to care at health facilities as many of the facilities operate mainly cash-only systems or have poor e-payment systems. These facilities turn down transfers, insisting on cash payments before attending to patients.

Investigations by Daily Trust on Sunday revealed that as a result of these, many of the patients die at home or the facilities, or get worse while waiting to get cash to pay and access care.

Our reporters gathered that even at health facilities that operate e-payments systems, the absence of the alternative of cash payments due to naira scarcity had led to such long queues and network issues that patients get worse or are denied care all together.

Pregnant woman dies over naira scarcity

It was a bitter experience for the family of James Auta, a resident of Kasuwar Magani in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, who lost his pregnant wife due to failure to access cash in his bank and Point of Sale (POS) channels.

The incident happened early this month after Auta’s wife went into labour but was rejected, simply because her husband couldn’t make payment due to naira scarcity.

Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that the woman died at home after giving birth but continued to bleed.

The incident caused concerns across the state as patients and their family members found it difficult to make payments to access treatments due to the naira shortage.

Findings revealed that some patients face rejection in some hospitals for lack of cash.

Auwal Sani, whose younger brother was admitted at a private hospital at the Kudenda area of Kaduna said, “We face the same situation as hospital staff refuse to accept transfer; they prefer cash, which we don’t have. However, they now allow us to make cash transfer since naira is scarce.”

To mitigate the present challenges, the Kaduna State Government, through the Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS), directed all public hospitals to accept electronic transfer for all payments.

In his reaction, the executive chairman of the Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service, Dr Ziad Abubakar noted that the state had already abolished cash payments.

“Before the currency swap, the Kaduna State Government had abolished cash payments, pursuant to section 51 of the Kaduna State Tax Codification and Consolidation Law, 2020. So, there is no justification for public hospitals to reject electronic cash transfers,’’ he said.

He acknowledged that ‘’the currency swap of the federal government has brought a lot of challenges to all the sectors of Nigeria’s economy.’’

He, however, said that in spite of the present situation, electronic cash transfer remained the only option of payment in public hospitals in the state going by the Tax Codification Law.

The commissioner for health in the state, Amina Baloni, could not be reached as her phone line failed to connect.

Emergency cases abandoned in Abuja

Uche’s younger brother slumped due to extremely low sugar level despite that he was rushed to one of the tertiary public hospitals in Abuja.

He narrated that the emergency unit of the hospital was almost empty.

“There were very few patients as the medical practitioners were only willing to attend to patients that had already made payments.

“I was asked to make payment before medical attention would be given to my brother. On getting to the cash point, they made it clear that they were not receiving transfers.

“They had four POS machines but none of them was working. They rejected all bank cards as there was no service. So, we were told that the hospital would only take cash. And I didn’t have any cash on me because of the naira scarcity.

“It was at that point that one of the nurses confided in us that the hospital lost a patient because his family members couldn’t make cash payments for him to be treated.

“Looking around, I saw other families looking as if all hope had been lost as they were yet to access cash to pay for their relatives in need of emergency care.

“We had to leave the hospital and rush to the bureau de change at Wuse Zone 3, where I luckily got enough cash to take to the hospital and pay so that they would start treating my brother that night,” he narrated.

Daily Trust on Sunday learnt that Uche’s experience is one among many across public and private hospitals in Abuja since the naira scarcity started. Many lives have been put at risk.

Another caregiver identified as Bose also narrated her experience when she took her sick mother to a hospital.

She said, “We only had N1, 000 cash on us, which we used for transportation during the first lap of the journey. The last lap was N500 and we didn’t have the money. The drivers we approached insisted on cash. They refused to allow me transfer money to them. So we had to trek to the hospital. Getting there, the hospital’s POS was not working and they said no transfer. They said they were yet to receive transfers some people claimed to have made some days earlier. We sat there waiting before network was restored. And by then, my mother was getting weak.

“This whole thing is like punishment. Why would cash be scarce and POS and transfer would become more difficult too? Thank God that my mother was treated and we had to call and beg a friend to take us home.”

Patients, caregivers decry hardship in Borno

When Daily Trust on Sunday visited some hospitals in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, the situation was also tense as many patients and caregivers complained about slow services due to cash scarcity.

It was learnt that the payment system at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) is centralised, so transactions were made in cash or into the hospital’s account, using POS. However, patients are facing hardship due to scarcity of naira.

“We were not given prescribed drugs by the pharmacy until we paid in cash. This kept many patients stranded,” a patient who preferred not to be identified said.

Another patient, Aisha Kaomi, said the cash crunch was having effects on patients, caregivers and services rendered.

“Since I was rushed to this hospital 19 days ago, my husband always covers a long distance to visit me twice every day (from Abuja Talakawa to UMTH). He passes through a lot of pains.

“It has brought unbearable pain to us as a family. My husband queued at the ATM yesterday but couldn’t get money to buy some drugs prescribed for me.

Today, he left the hospital at 4am to the bank but he is not yet back as I am talking to you now at 12:40pm,” she said.

She appealed to the federal government to make money available to the people so that patients would be properly attended to.

Another patient on admission, Raheem Abdullahi said, “We are suffering; government should look into our plight. Many people don’t have cash to pay Keke Napep operators or medicine stores, and they don’t accept transfers due to bad network.

“If you go to the ATMs in Maiduguri you would see thousands of people queuing under the scotching sun. We are begging the CBN to look into our situation and show some mercy. We can’t get our drugs and basic needs.

“We stay in long queues to get cash; and POS machines occasionally fail or decline transaction but would debit you.

“A man was lamenting that a POS issued a declined message. And it was the only money he had and wanted to buy the drugs prescribed for his child. Now, nobody knows where the man would find money to treat his child. This is a very pathetic situation.”

Poor e-payment system in Kano

In Kano, majority of the hospitals operate an analogue system of collecting cash for consultancy, medical bills or other charges.

Daily Trust on Sunday reports that the present naira crunch has subjected many patients, including those on admission, to difficulties as most hospitals only collect cash.

When our correspondent went round some of the hospitals, they were congested, with people narrating divergent scenarios and experiences.

A patient, Musa Saidu, said he went to the hospital by 6:00am but could not see a doctor because of cash scarcity.

“Network has been the major issue here. They have POS but there is no network; and I don’t have cash to pay. I am in pain right now, but I have no option than to go back home. I watch people passing me on the queue because they have cash,” he lamented.

A caregiver to a patient who was on a wheelchair said she suffered a lot because they were out of cash until someone helped them.

“She is battling with diabetes and it has been a long time since we came here. The hospital we are attending is far and we are not sure they would accept e-payment; and her condition is worsening. If not that someone pitied her situation, anything could happen; but we thank God. What remains for us now is to see the doctor,” she said.

At the Abubakar Imam Urology Hospital, patients were seen battling with cash issues as the facility was not using any banking system for payment.

Daily Trust on Sunday, however, learnt that the hospital rushed to open an account in Polaris Bank for people to deposit but there were challenges.

“It is not easy for us here because we never used a bank account; we collect cash. But seeing the difficulties people went into last week, the management of the hospital brought one account, yet people are suffering. The network problem is the major obstacle now,” the staff member who craved anonymity said.

At Sir Sunusi Hospital, a patient narrated how a woman almost gave birth on a bare floor and her family had to rush her back home.

“They came here last week but did not have money to pay for hospital charges. They were waiting for someone to bring cash but he didn’t get it. When she started showing symptoms of delivery to the extent that blood started coming out, they quietly rushed her back home.

“Many incidents similar to this had happened on that day but they don’t want anyone to know. In fact, it was said that one of the patients died here,” a patient who came for the second time in the midst of the crisis, Hassana Ibrahim, said.

A senior administrative officer in the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, who asked not to be named, said, “I am not authorised to talk about this, but the situation is almost the same everywhere. We don’t have a sustainable and reliable e-payment system. Honestly, people are suffering.”

Efforts to get government officials speak on the situation were not successful as the commissioner for health in the state, Dr Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa, did not respond to calls and text message by our correspondent at the time of filing this report.

Similarly, findings revealed that a number of health facilities in Lagos turn down cash transfers and insist on cash before attending to patients.

A nurse at the Oko Awo Youth-friendly Healthcare Centre, located at Lagos Island West Local Government Area, Catherine Chinyere, said the naira scarcity led to a reduction in the influx of patients.

Another nurse at Onilekere Primary Healthcare Centre, Ikeja, Nnenna Oparajiaku, confirmed that patients who did not stay far from the facility were still accessing their services.

“Patients still walk in here to be attended to, irrespective of the naira scarcity. But we are no longer recording many new patients at our antenatal clinics. We are only seeing old patients,” she said.

A nursing mother identified as Rose, who visited the health centre for immunisation, said she had been well attended to.

Many rural dwellers denied care in Bayelsa

Although no patient has lost his/her life in Bayelsa State due to the current naira scarcity in the country, the crisis has dealt a big blow to healthcare services.

The worst affected are those in rural areas, especially during emergencies, as online banking is not prominent in rural settings.

When Daily Trust on Sunday visited the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) and the Bayelsa Specialist Hospital in Yenagoa, only few patients were seen in most of the wards, unlike what obtained before the naira scarcity.

It was gathered that as a result of this, most people prefer treating their ailments at home through traditional methods.

Yiaga Africa, a civil society organisation (CSO), has published its findings on the mock accreditation exercise recently conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

On February 4, INEC conducted the mock accreditation in parts of the country.

In its report, YIAGA highlighted its observations on the use of the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) devices, uploading of result sheets to the viewing portal, presence of security operatives and party agents, voter turnout, as well as the issue of missing names on the voters’ register.

“At least four polling officials were present in the polling units where the mock exercise held with an average of one female official. Security personnel were also present in 82% of the polling units,” the report reads in part.

“Party agents for APC were present in 61% of polling units, party agents for PDP were present in 56% of polling units, party agents for LP were present in 22% of polling units, NNPP party agents in 13% of polling units, SDP party agents in 9% of polling units and party agents for APGA in 8% of polling units.

“In 98% of polling units, the BVAS functioned properly. However, in 2% of polling units, the BVAS malfunctioned, and it was fixed. For instance, the BVAS malfunctioned in Zinaria International Sch, Mararaba PU (25-04-11-111) in Karu ward of Karu LGA in Nasarawa, Tsamiyan Gwamna PU (08-04-01-007) in Balbaya ward of Bayo LGA in Borno, Sarkin Noma, GDSS Dakka PU (34-02-09-007) of Gang Dole ward in Bali LGA, Taraba and S/Gari Jaka Mai Famfo/Kofar PU (36-08-06-007) of Kungurki ward in Kaura Nomoda LGA Zamfara. The malfunctioning of the device did not significantly disrupt the process.

“Yiaga Africa observers reported cases of missing names of the voter register. In 11% of polling units, voters whose names were not on the register of voters and the BVAS were denied accreditation.

“55% of observers indicated they were very satisfied with the conduct of the mock exercise, 40% of observers reported they were satisfied and, 4% of observers indicated they were not satisfied with the conduct of the mock accreditation exercise.

“Of the 36 states and the FCT, only 15 states uploaded data on the IReV during the mock accreditation. The states include Abia, Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Ondo, Rivers, Plateau, Oyo, Taraba and Sokoto.

“Only 82 Polling units uploaded the total number of accredited voters on the BVAS, to the IReV portal. All the 15 states that uploaded mock result sheets on the IReV also transmitted accreditation data except Oyo, Plateau, Edo and Ebonyi states. Of the 94 result sheets uploaded, only 16 result sheets were clear and readable.

“Yiaga Africa observed discrepancies in the total number of accredited voters uploaded by the BVAS and the total number of accredited voters recorded on the mock result sheets.”

In its recommendations, Yiaga Africa asked INEC to make its report on the BVAS testing public; notify voters via text message, emails or phone calls on migration of polling units; proper education of electoral officials on recording results to avoid discrepancies; and for INEC to ensure that all BVAS devices are in top condition before deployment for the general election.

Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu on Thursday paid homage to the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar before proceeding to venue of the campaign rally in the state.

Tinubu in company of President Muhammadu Buhari and APC Governors were at the Sultan’s palace to seek his blessings for the party’s victory in the forthcoming general elections.

Speaking to the Sultan, Tinubu said: “We are here win to election and also seek your blessings. And you cannot reject it because the President and Commander-in-Chief is here. How can you reject?”

Ahead of the February and March general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has revealed actions it would take if the Bimodal Voter Registration Systems, BVAS is snatched by thugs on election day.

The Commission’s Deputy Director of Information and Communications Technology, Lawrence Bayode said on Wednesday that the electoral body has a system meant to deactivate any BVAS that is snatched.

Bayode who spoke on Channels Television’s special election programme noted that “if a BVAS is snatched, we already have a system in place that can deactivate that particular BVAS.

The (hoodlums) cannot take over the accreditation process because the device is designed to push the accredited voters to the back end,” he said.

According to Bayode, if the thugs take the device to other places where they will manipulate the data on the device, the Presiding Officer, PO of the polling unit will report the incident.

“If such a thing happens, the PO reports and from the back-end, that device is deactivated so that the person who took away that device will not be able to do anything with the device,” he said.

With the lingering shortage of new notes showing no sign of abating, thus fuelling anger among Nigerians, some banks in the country have started taking measures to protect their employees and avert possible attacks by irate customers, findings by New Telegraph has shown.

Specifically, an email sent to its employees by a leading commercial bank, over the weekend, which was sighted by New Telegraph’s correspondent, advised them on measures to adopt, including dressing down, whenever they report for duty for the rest of this week.

The email partly read: “In view of the ongoing nationwide Naira Redesign and cash swap, it has become imperative that we design an appropriate response to manage the situation within and around our branches effectively. “Considering the potential upsurge in the number of customers who will visit our branches and channels for cash withdrawals and other ancillary businesses, Exco hereby directs that: “All Regional Bank Heads, Branch Leaders and all Relationship Officers are to resume in their banking halls by 8am Monday to personally manage this crisis.

“All Sales Staff are to join the Operations Team to contain this situation by attending to customers who visit our branches very politely to keep tempers down. All non-essential relationship calls outside the branch should be suspended throughout this week “Branch Leaders should provide strong leadership by showing empathy and calmly engaging the customers.

All branches are to ensure there are canopies and chairs for customers around our ATMs in addition to orderly queue management. “Relationship Officers are to take turns in supervising ATMs at their locations. Customers are to make a single withdrawal limited to one debit card only. “Tally numbers should be given as the customers at the gate. Only five customers for small branches and 10 for big branches should be let into the banking hall at a time.”

The email further stated that when available funds are exhausted, customers should be politely asked to come back the next day, adding that, “Payment the subsequent day must start from where it stopped the previous day.”

In addition, the email said that Branch Leaders should make provision for soft drinks for customers. According to the email, if there is any negative press or video associated with poor handling of the cash swap activities, the Branch Leader at such a location will be held responsible. “We are clearly in a crisis situation which has shown high possibility of degenerating to mass protests.

This is a call for calmness and wisdom to avert loss of lives or property. Please dress down tomorrow and the rest of the week. This directive is from management,” the email said. New Telegraph reports that with the fuel scarcity and new naira shortage disrupting business activities in markets, restaurants, banks, and major sales outlets across the country, some angry citizens, last Friday vented their anger by embarking on street protests in states such as Lagos, Oyo, Edo and Ondo, while others attacked bank branches and facilities.

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),Mr. Godwin Emefiele, held a press conference in Lagos last Friday where he assured Nigerians of the apex bank’s capacity to produce and circulate appropriate amounts of the new naira notes. Although the CBN Governor admitted hiccups in the implementation process, he said he would not promise a “further extension” of the deadline.

By Ibrahim Adeyemi

Politics is a game of persuasion. It is the psychological warfare of winning people’s hearts to do the bidding of an individual or a group. But propaganda is a major tool politicians employ to fight political and psychological battles. It is a smart way to tell people black is white and make them believe it.

At the moment, election merchants are at the peak of displaying their propagandistic prowess ahead of the forthcoming general elections. From rebranding and marketing their candidates to pushing narratives, political parties do their best to be on top of their games.

It is no longer the survival of the fittest; it is, of course, the survival of the smartest. And being the best in the arts of propaganda could skyrocket the chances of winning the polls in the peoples’ minds which may, in turn, translate to election victory.


What is propaganda?

Propaganda is simply a scientific tool used by an individual or a group to shape the public perception of a person or a product. Mariam Webster, an American online English dictionary, says propaganda is ideas or statements that are often false or exaggerated and spread to help a cause, a political leader, a government, etc.

“Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behaviour to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist,” said Garth Jowett, a communications professor at the University of Houston in the United States.

However, as the political landscape of Nigeria shifts towards another general election, here are some of the propaganda techniques deployed by most Nigerian politicians.


Name-calling and profiling

When politicians are stereotypical of an individual or a political group, their agenda mostly promotes an awful perception of their opponents to arouse public rejection. In most cases, these politicians use simple terminologies to label or give a negative description of an individual or group.

On January 7, 2023, for instance, Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), described Atiku Abukar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as “Mr Sell Everything” and called Peter Obi of the Labour Party “Mr Stingy”

“My people, you cannot entrust your future or that of our nation to Mr Sell Everything, Atiku, or Mr Stingy, Obi,” Mr Tinubu said during APC’s rally in Ondo State. And in the same pattern but positively, he described himself as “Mr Progressive Good Governance Tinubu”, asking Nigerians to trust him.

Propagandists often use this method to dodge fact-based opinions on public issues to tame and name their opponents so the public can see them in a bad light.


Playing the common man

If you see a typical Nigerian politician stopping by the roadside to buy roasted corn, entering a local restaurant to eat local meals, or even taking a sachet of water, don’t fall for such humility, especially during an election period. Politicians use this propaganda technique to make the common man feel loved or remembered.

At the moment, Peter Obi of the Labour party seems to be the most-discussed politician using this propagandistic strategy. During the previous general elections and electioneering when he was running mate to Atiku Abubakar, then PDP’s presidential candidate, Mr Obi was hugely criticised for claiming he had only one wristwatch he had used for 17 years and two pairs of black shoes. But social media users dug out old photos of Mr Obi where he was spotted with different wristwatches.

Since then, he has been reputed for always playing to be a common man. Recently, he had been seen mostly in black clothes at airports carrying his luggage without being aided by anyone. This propaganda strategy worked like magic because many of his supporters would describe him as the presidential candidate with a simple personality.

But make no mistake: Mr Obi is not the only one fond of this strategy. Neary all Nigerian politicians that have contested elections in the recent time have been seen using this method. Tunde Ajaja of the Punch Newspaper examined several plots of politicians during election seasons; he also documented how the public manipulative displays have failed to solve the country’s economic and social problems here.


Playing politics with words

Good politicians are users of words. As James Humes, a renowned presidential speechwriter, once said, “The art of communication is the language of leadership.” The masterful use of words can sway audiences or electorates to keep less focused on important matters. It is a manipulative strategy to distract listeners using glad words, euphemisms and over-simplifying complex matters.

According to Sapoboxie, a propaganda and public relations website, this strategy uses important-sounding “glad words” with little or no real meaning. High-sounding words are also seen as “glittering generalities” that cannot be proved or disproved.

The first Nigerian politician of the moment that comes to mind regarding the ability to manipulate people with fantastic use of words is Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Mr Osinbajo, a law professor, had been widely glorified for speeches that made Nigerians less critical of complex issues battling their lives.

At the APC presidential primary election, for instance, Mr Osinbajo stole the show when he delivered a speech widely applauded by many Nigerians, including those against his presidential ambition. See an excerpt of his speech here:

It is possible to establish a technology economy here in Nigeria; it is possible to establish a bitumen processing industry in Ondo, gold processing in Zamfara and Osun, and exploit and process the finest precious metals and stones in the world in Benue, in Plateau and most of the North Central states. We can exploit oil and gas in the Niger Delta, South East, and even Bauchi and Gombe States.

It is possible to manufacture our vehicles in Nnewi. Already, Innoson Motors they are doing great things there. We can open up steel plants in Kogi, establish Africa’s largest industrial city between Ogun and Lagos. We can establish the biggest gas and petrochemical plants in the world in the Niger Delta; we can sell fertilizer to Africa as we already have one of the largest plants in the world, the Dangote refinery. We can sell shoes to the world— already the Aba Shoe Cluster in Abia State sells over a million pairs of footwear every week to the rest of Africa.

We can manufacture our weapons and ammunition locally, DICON in Kaduna is already manufacturing munitions, and Proforce, a Nigerian company, is making armoured mobile platforms here in Nigeria.

We can build drones, helicopters and planes. Our Air Force is already manufacturing air platforms. And God helps us; in two decades, we can become the first nation on earth to send an all-black team of astronauts to the moon. We have the talent, the resources and the resourcefulness to be one of the world’s leading economies. We have the guts and the confidence to beat the world. We can run an open, honest and transparent government, ensure the rule of law; can secure our nation from terrorism. We can provide good-paying jobs for millions of young people.

If the masterful use of words solely won elections, Mr Osinbajo could have been declared the winner of the presidential primary of the APC. He delivered a speech that raised the hope of the delegates and listeners across Nigeria.

However, the hypnotising words of Mr Osinbajo above could make the people less concerned about asking questions about how he intended to achieve all his campaign promises.


The testimonial method

This is a common propaganda technique among Nigerian politicians. It is a device used to gain public acceptance. Politicians seek power by visiting famous individuals or highly influential persons for endorsement. It is during election seasons, for instance, that palaces and places of traditional rulers and religious leaders become very busy as politicians pay homage to seek their blessings.

During elections, you also see popular musicians and dramatists throwing weights behind the politicians of their choice. Propagandists believe getting these influential individuals’ endorsements can determine a politician’s popularity and victory.

Seeking the endorsement or acceptance of a widely loved person or an influential individual is called “testimonial” among propagandists and psychologists, according to Propaganda Critic

Misleading testimonials are usually obvious, said propagandistic.com, a website guiding readers on decoding manipulative propaganda. It added that “most of us have probably seen through this rhetorical trick at some time or another. But here’s the thing: We are far more likely to see through the deception if the celebrity is someone we do not respect. When an admired celebrity provides the testimonial, we are much less likely to be critical”.

“Testimonial” is so important in political propaganda that no serious politician dares to toy with it. When Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigeria’s president, endorsed Peter Obi of the Labour Party as his preferred presidential candidate, many southwest leaders criticised him for leaving his fellow Yoruba man, Bola Tinubu, to support an Igbo man. Supporters of Mr Tinubu were angry about such an endorsement because Mr Obasanjo is regarded as one of the few respected elder statesmen in the country.


The lesser of two evils

In 2019, many Nigerians were convinced President Muhammadu Buhari did not perform well enough to deserve a second term. But the narrative of APC supporters and adherents was that Mr Buhari was a lesser evil when compared with his major opponent, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP.

Balarabe Musa, a Nigerian politician, for instance, said during the last general electioneering: “Buhari has failed, but Atiku will fail even more because of Atiku’s connection with some forces, among them are former presidents, who are the root of the rot we are now facing in this.

“Nigerians want to know the qualitative and demonstrative character and differences between Atiku and Buhari, APC and PDP. There’s nothing. So it’s a question of choice between two devils.”

Here, Mr Musa was indirectly campaigning for Mr Buhari using what propagandists call “the least evil propaganda”. It is a manipulative way to downplay one evil against another. Or asking people to choose between two disappointing things because one is more disappointing than the other.

Fast-forward to 2023, the same strategy would be used to sell Peter Obi’s presidential ambition to Nigerians. The narrative pushed to the public is that Mr Obi is a lesser evil when compared with other presidential candidates, who have been described as “corrupt old folks” or “moneybag politicians.”

“Peter Obi doesn’t enjoy this massive love and support among Nigerians because he is a saint or without blemish,” said Okon Ime Bishop, Nollywood film-maker famously known as Okon Lagos. “He has admitted openly that he is not a saint. He is loved because he is in the race. He is a lesser evil and not a saint.”

No fewer than 14 out of the 18 registered political parties have raised the alarm that opponents of the Naira swap policy will allegedly unleash mayhem in the country from Thursday this week in order to compel the postponement of the 2023 elections.

The political parties also threatened to withdraw all participation from the 2023 general election if the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) succumb to pressure and cancel or suspend the cash withdrawal limit and Naira redesign policies.

This position was made known on Monday at a joint world press conference by the Forum of Chairmen of Nigerian Political Parties and Forum of Candidates for the 2023 General Election.

The candidates forum comprised contestants for Presidential, National Assembly, Governorship and House of Assembly seats in the forthcoming 2023 elections.

In the text read by the Spokesperson of the Forum, Chief Barr. Kenneth Udeze, who is the National Chairman of Action Alliance (AA) and flanked by other national chairmen of political parties, presidential, governorship, senatorial and House of Representatives as well as House of Assembly candidates, declared that: “We hereby announce our resolution that at least 14 of the 18 political parties in Nigeria will not be interested in the 2023 general election and indeed we shall withdraw all our participation from the electoral process if these currency policies are suspended or cancelled or if the deadline is further shifted.”

The Forum stated that the policy will enhance the credibility of the 2023 election “In fact if these policies are implemented fully and without shifting the deadline of 10th February, 2023 date, President Muhammadu Buhari would have taken a very huge step closer to fulfilling his promise to the world that the 2023 general election would be credible, free and fair.”

Continuing, Chief Udeze raised the alarm saying, “We have intercepted very credible intelligence of a well-financed plot to instigate violent disturbances, incite and provoke civil unrest aimed at undermining the President and causing a shift in the election date or causing his administration to come to an abrupt end.

“We were approached to lend our support, generous promises were made but we believe that Nigeria comes first before any other mundane consideration.

“These evil plans are targeted at coinciding the disturbances with the 7 day grace Mr. President asked Nigerians to grant him to solve the problem of the Naira crunch.”

The political parties and the candidates thereafter passed a resounding vote of confidence on the two CBN policies and commended President Buhari for his rare courage in taking the tough decisions for the good the people.

The group called on bank CEOs to do what is right and not abuse their offices to bring hardship to the people.

“We are warning bank managers, because we have our eyes on them, let what happened before not happen again where CBN delivered the new notes to them and many of them delivered it to the warehouses of some politicians while some began to trade on it following the artificial scarcity which they caused.

“POS operators who are mostly agents of the banks cannot get money from the banks. ATM machines are not working, Bank online applications are not now working yet CBN delivered enough cash to these banks,” they stated.

THE House of Representatives has said there was no going back on the removal of subsidy, noting that the completion of Dangote Refinery was what was holding back its removal.

Chairman of the Committee on the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, Adebayo Balogun, said at the just concluded commissioning of Lekki Deep Seaport in Lagos, that subsidy would be removed as soon as the refinery came on stream.

Arthur Eze backs FG's new monetary policy
Balogun, who represents Ibeju Lekki Federal constituency of Lagos State, said fuel subsidy would be removed by April, adding that going by the Petroleum Industry Act, subsidy was to be removed by June this year.

He explained that the PIA had to be amended for subsidy to be removed in June but noted that the Federal Government had said it planned to remove it by April.

According to him, subsidy cannot be removed if Dangote and other refineries are not ready.

He said: “In the PIA, subsidy was meant to be removed in June but we had to amend the Act to fast forward it to April because the Federal Government said it will be removed by April.

“The removal cannot be done if Dangote and other refineries are not ready and so that means all these things will come up in the next one or two months.

“You know Dangote refinery also has the petrol-chemical plant which will bring the chemical we use for plastics, pharmaceuticals and others and these are the things we spend billions of dollars to import every year and this will open up other opportunities for people.”

These are not the best of times for the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The other day, the director, Civil Society Liaison, in the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Hajia Naja’atu Muhammad, resigned from the PCC and the APC. She has been spilling the beans regarding her association with Tinubu. She said, among others, that everything about the APC presidential candidate revolved around money. Besides, there are doubts about the cordiality of Tinubu’s relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari and some key figures in his party.

Last week, the former Lagos State Governor could not bear the internal heat anymore. At the APC campaign rally in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, he said the powers that be wanted to scuttle his chances at the election. He snarled: “They are full of mischief. They want to create fuel crisis; they have started creating fuel crisis. But forget about it, put your mind at rest. I am assuring you, I, Asiwaju, will end fuel scarcity. Let the price of fuel continue to increase, they are the ones that know where they are hoarding it. They are hoarding naira notes, they are hoarding fuel. We will vote and we will win. If they like, they can change the ink in the naira note, we will shock them. We will win the election.”

Recall that during the run-up to the APC presidential primary election last year, Tinubu, in the same Abeokuta, cried out over what he felt was an attempt to edge him out of the presidential race. He reeled out how he helped Buhari to become President, blurting out his now famous quote, “emilokan” (It’s my turn). As he reportedly put it, “It is my time. I’m educated. I’m experienced. I have been serving people for a long time. Bring me the presidency, it is my turn.”

Tinubu and his handlers have repeatedly denied any rift with the President. When negative reactions trailed his “emilokan” statement last year, Tinubu recanted. According to him, he has high regard and respect for Buhari and will never denigrate him. He said he only desired a level-playing ground for all aspirants and an adherence to stipulated rules and due process.

Also, when he and his handlers realized the implications of his latest statement in Abeokuta, they went for damage control. In a statement, director, media and publicity APC Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu did not mention, blame or accuse President Buhari for the current challenges in the country.

“Asiwaju Tinubu was only averting government’s attention to the sabotage being carried out by some fifth columnists in the system, possibly working in cahoots with the PDP,” he said.

Excuse me! Here is a presidential candidate of a ruling party denouncing the policies of his own government and someone is telling us cock-and-bull stories! The PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, hit the nail on the head. Atiku, through his special assistant, public communication, Phrank Shaibu, said Tinubu had become frustrated by his inability to stop the cashless policy and currency redesign of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that would curb vote-buying in the forthcoming election.

The point here is that the APC and its presidential candidate have engaged in unsuccessful attempts at a whitewash. Why is it that, out of the 18 presidential candidates, only Tinubu is crying foul over the naira redesign? On the eve of the 2019 presidential election, two bullion vans entered his premises on Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi, Lagos. Is he angry because this may not be possible anymore with the new CBN policy?

It is becoming increasingly clear that Buhari’s heart is not with Tinubu. On the eve of the primary election of the APC in June last year, the national chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, announced that the consensus presidential candidate of the party was Senate President Ahmad Lawan. Adamu reportedly said then that he arrived at the choice after consultation with Buhari. The plot failed because other National Working Committee (NWC) members refused to ratify the decision. Since then, Buhari has been doing some other things, which subtly indicate that he has lost favour with Tinubu. Forget the public show of raising his party’s candidate’s hand at rallies. Do you expect him to do otherwise? As President from the ruling party, he cannot openly show support for another candidate. That would be sacrilegious! I strongly feel he is tagging along with his party’s candidate just to fulfill all righteousness.

Elder statesman, Tanko Yakasai, had this same feeling. He said recently that he was doubtful if Buhari was happy with the candidature of Tinubu: “Definitely, the personality of Tinubu doesn’t make him happy from my assessment of the situation.”

The Presidency attacked him, saying the times were hard and the old man, perhaps, needed a bit of help. Buhari’s senior special assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, said Yakasai’s questioning of the loyalty of Buhari stood in sharp contrast with the actions of the President. He cited Buhari’s attendance at a rally in Bauchi in support of the standard-bearer of the party as an example. Saying Buhari was scheduled to make further appearances at campaign events in the coming weeks, Shehu added that the President’s support for Tinubu was unquestioned.

Shehu is doing his work. He couldn’t have said otherwise. The President had maintained on many occasions that he would leave a legacy of free and fair elections to Nigerians. Sometime in March 2022, at the national convention of the APC in Abuja, he warned politicians to de-emphasise money politics. He enjoined the new NWC members to ensure that party primaries were not influenced by “highest bidders.” Contrary to the President’s admonition, the highest bidders still had their way.

To further show how aloof Buhari is from his party’s candidate, he stated recently that “Nigerians should vote for whoever they like from whichever party. Nobody will be allowed to mobilize resources and thugs to intimidate people in any constituency. That is what I want to go down into Nigerian history for.”

What is not very certain is the candidate Buhari is rooting for. It may shock you to know that it may not even be Atiku Abubakar.

Intrigue is the name of politics in Nigeria. We have seen and will still see a good dose of it before the crucial presidential election coming up on February 25, 2023. The onus is on Nigerians, especially voters, to dispassionately examine every political message coming their way and refuse to be fooled this time. As progressive Nigerians have continued to say, we must take back our country. The wiles of the wicked ones will not succeed this time.

The All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, has dismissed speculations by opposition political parties that miscreants attacked President Muhammadu Buhari during his Kano visit on Monday.

Tinubu said Buhari was warmly received in Kano, contrary to speculations by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Speaking through his Director of Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu described the alleged attack on Buhari as ‘fake news’ from PDP.

He said the attack on Buhari must have happened only in the mind of PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba.

Ologunagba had linked the attack on Buhari to Tinubu.

He said the attack on Buhari was treasonable and a sacrilegious assault on national sovereignty.

However, Tinubu said the attack was imagination in the “evil mind” of PDP’s spokesperson.

A statement by Onanuga reads partly: “We are not surprised to read of the imaginary attack on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria being peddled by the PDP since the party has nothing tangible to tell Nigerians from its crumbling presidential campaign.

“This so-called attack on Buhari must have happened only in the fertile imagination of the PDP National Publicity Secretary.

“Buhari was warmly received in Kano State by the good people and government of the state where he commissioned eight hugely impactful projects.”

A man in his mid-30s, Tochukwu Ihenacho, on Saturday, beat his younger brother, Philip Ihenacho, to a state of coma for spending N5,000 new notes given to him to keep.

The incident, it was gathered, happened in the Pipeline area of Kubwa, a satellite town in Bwari Area Council of the FCT.

A witness, Hassan Aliyu, told our reporter that, “Last Tuesday, Tochukuwu gave Philip his younger brother N5,000 new notes to keep for him. They live together. You know how difficult it is to get the new notes.

On Saturday, Tochukuwu requested for the money. After he was told it had been spent, he beat his younger brother to a state of unconsciousness. Neighbours had to come to his rescue and rushed him to the hospital.”

Our reporter, who was at the house where the incident happened, observed that Philip had recovered.

The management of the Federal Polytechnic Nekede in Imo, says it has begun investigations into the identity of a female student, who gloated about her graduation on TikTok.

The yet-to-be identified female student had gloated on TikTok that she graduated with the help of God and private parts.

In a statement issued by the polytechnic’s registrar, Eucharia Anuna on Monday, the institution condemned the video, saying it was blasphemous and antithetical that the student peddled the name of God in her “deleterious act.”

“Management considers the action of the student as most unacceptable and preposterous. The Federal Polytechnic Nekede prides itself as an institution with high academic and moral standards. Both staff and students are quite aware of the consequences of any misconduct,” the polytechnic’s statement said.

It added, “In an unprecedented move, management through the various disciplinary committees, had released hot lines through which students can report any act of exploitation or corruption.

According to the statement, the rector of the institution is a clergyman and has been “committed and consistent in instilling discipline in our students through seminars, solemn assemblies,” sensitisation outreaches and publications.

“When our investigations are over, we shall make our findings and pronouncements public. It is in our purview to ensure that only students found worthy in learning and character are certified,” said the school. “This is a commitment to which we shall remain consistently resolute.”

(NAN)

An Ugandan court had ordered a woman to pay back a total of 9.4 million shillings ($2,550; £2,060) to her ex-fiancé for failing to marry him after four years of marital relationship.

Magistrate Asanasio Mukobi of the court in Kanungu gave the verdict on Thursday saying the woman, Fortunate Kyarikunda broke her promise to Richard Tumwine.

Mukobi said the amount was what Tumwine paid for Kyarikunda’s law studies and legal fees as financial damages for causing him psychological anguish, BBC said.

Kyarikunda had said her parents did not give consent to the marriage because Tumwine was older than her.

Ruling, the court said it was “unreasonable, a misrepresentation and a fraud” for the defendant to argue that her parents told her not to marry an older man.

The magistrate said she “had all the opportunity to reject the plaintiff’s love requests at the earliest point possible and avoid interfering with his financial obligations.”

Reports, however, said it was not certain if Kyarikunda will appeal against the judgment as verdict was flawed because an engagement, unlike a marriage, should not be legally binding.

A 42-year-old housewife, Lola Abdulsalam, has been remanded at Oke Kura Correctional Centre, Ilorin, Kwara State for allegedly pouring hot water on her senior co-wife, Abdulsalam Bilikisu.

The police on Friday filed a two-count first information report against Lola, bordering on causing grievous hurt and defamation of character, contrary to sections 247 and 292 of the penal code.

According to the police, the defendant reportedly insulted and assaulted Bilikisu while she was removing a dead rat at the backdoor.

“The defendant (Lola) started beating her (Bilikisu) with a broom, calling her a witch and later went into the kitchen to get boiled water from the fire and poured it on her body, leaving her face, breasts and other parts of her body severely burnt.

“The victim was later rushed to Cottage Hospital, Olorunshogo, Ilorin, where she was admitted for treatment,” the charge sheet reads.

The prosecutor, ASP Zacheus Folorunsho, urged the court to remand the accused in custody pending the completion of police investigation on the matter.

Magistrate Ibrahim Dasuki, who presided over the matter, granted the prosecutor’s application and adjourned the matter to March 6, 2023.

ByCletus Ukpong


Claim

Godswill Akpabio, the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for the 2023 election in Akwa Ibom North-West District, flagged off his campaign on Wednesday with a lie that Peter Ogban, a professor jailed over 2019 election fraud in the state was used to “rob him” of “victory”.

Mr Ogban, a professor of Soil Science at the University of Calabar, was the returning officer in the district election in 2019.

“You people voted overwhelmingly for me, but some people colluded to rob me of my victory. The professor who was used to rob me of that victory in 2019 is now in jail,” Mr Akpabio said at a rally in Oruk Anam Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

This is not the first time Mr Akpabio would be making such a false claim even when the facts – testimonies and evidence in court – clearly showed that the disgraced professor falsified some results of the 2019 election in the Akwa Ibom North-West District in Mr Akpabio’s favour.

Shortly after a State High Court in Uyo, on 25 March, 2021, convicted and sentenced Mr Ogban to three years imprisonment and a fine of N100, 000 for fraudulent manipulation of the 2019 election results, and publishing and announcing of false results, Mr Akpabio claimed he was a victim of the election fraud and that he had been vindicated by the judgment.

“He (Akpabio) is vindicated that the perpetrators of the electoral fraud are being brought to justice, at last the chickens are coming home to roost,” Anietie Ekong, who was a spokesperson then to Mr Akpabio, said in a statement in Abuja.

Mr Akpabio was the minister of Niger Delta Affairs, an appointment he got as some kind of compensation from President Muhammadu Buhari after he lost the 2019 senatorial election.

Mr Ekong said the jailed professor “joined the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Akwa Ibom State, Mike Igini, to deny him (Akpabio) victory in the election”.

“In that election, Akpabio’s votes totaling about 61,329 scored at his home Local Government Area – Essien Udim, having been collated, were not announced by Ogban in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

“Rather, Ogban who served as the Senatorial District Returning Officer joined the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Uyo where the votes and scores of Akpabio were cancelled in various polling units and collation centers of various LGAs constituting Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District.

“This was including 61,329 votes of his home LGA,” Mr Ekong said.

“Mr Ogban was not working for Mr Akpabio who had challenged the election result at the tribunal”, Mr Ekong said.

Continuing, Mr Ekong said: “For the avoidance of doubt Ogban never announced Akpabio as the winner of any election, instead he cancelled his lawful votes and announced his opponent as the winner of the manipulated election.

“It is the height of mischief for anyone to say that a man who arbitrarily cancelled lawfully collated votes of the APC and announced PDP winner of the election was working for Akpabio.

“In due time, we believe all the conspirators will be brought to justice as Ogban, either through the judiciary or divine intervention.”


Evidence

Mr Akpabio, who was seeking a second term in the Nigerian Senate, was the APC candidate for the 2019 senatorial election in the Akwa Ibom North-west District. He first contested the district election and won in 2015 as a PDP candidate before he defected to the APC in 2018.

The PDP candidate, Christopher Ekpenyong, a former deputy governor of Akwa Ibom, was Mr Akpabio’s major rival in the 2019 senatorial election.

As previously reported by PREMIUM TIMES, before his conviction and sentencing, Mr Ogban, in one of the court sessions, clearly told the court how the results of the 2019 Akwa Ibom North-west District election were falsified in Oruk Anam and Etim Ekpo local government areas to give the APC an unfair advantage over its main rival, the PDP.

For instance, 5,000 fake votes were added to the APC’s score in Oruk Anam Local Government Area in the election.

Mr Ogban, during cross examination by the prosecution counsel, admitted that the votes he entered for both APC and the PDP in the two local government areas were not taken from results collated at the constituency.

As his defence, Mr Ogban said the votes he entered were “read out” to him by the local government areas returning officers.

However, two witnesses of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) – John Enoidem and Itemobong Ekaidem – contradicted the professor’s claim.

The witnesses, who are university lecturers, were collation officers in the two local government areas. They told the court that what Mr Ogban entered as scores for APC and PDP were not what they presented to him.

The Guardian newspaper captured the court session where the two INEC witnesses were cross examined.

“In their testimonies, they said the results they collated at the council level, which were presented to Ogban, differed from the results he finally declared.

“For the Oruk Anam Council result, Enoidem noted that while his result showed that the APC scored 10,534 votes and the PDP 25,123 votes, the accused declared that the APC polled 15,534, while PDP got 20,123 votes.

“He, thereby, reduced PDP’s votes by 5,000 and increased APC score by the same number of ballots. Ekaidem added that while the results for Etim Ekpo Council showed that APC scored 2,671 votes and PDP got 6,603, the result Ogban finally declared showed that APC scored 5,671 votes compared to PDP’s 3,306, amounting to a difference of 3,000 in favour of the former,” the paper reported.

During the 2019 Akwa Ibom North-West District election, Mr Akpabio’s challenger, Mr Ekpenyong of the PDP, was leading with a wide margin until the APC scrambled for “suspicious” votes which they could use to change the election course.

INEC, at some point, suspended the announcement of the election results in Essien Udim Local Government Area where Mr Akpabio hails from.

“If we accept the results from the local government area, Akpabio’s votes will overshoot that of Chris Ekpenyong,” an INEC official had told PREMIUM TIMES.

“There are issues in the results which we are yet to be resolved,” the official had said.

The elections in the area were marred by pockets of violence.

“I have records of presiding officers who were speaking to me in low tones because of where they were and what was going on. God gave the returning officer wisdom, and today he is alive,” the then Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Igini had said, when he told journalists and representatives of political parties why the commission could not announce the results from Essien Udim.

INEC later conducted a rerun election in Essien Udim, as ordered by the Court of Appeal, Calabar, following a suit filed by Mr Akpabio.

But Mr Akpabio backed out of the election, leaving the PDP to win easily, even though the election was still characterised by violence, including INEC officials being held hostage in Mr Akpabio’s ward.


What the disgraced professor said

Before he received his jail sentence, Mr Ogban, while begging the judge, Augustine Odokwo, to have mercy on him, said his case was an “eye-opener”.

“This is an eye-opener for anyone who participated in local, state or national activities to do so with dexterity and not take anything for granted to avoid an innocent person being embarrassed,” he said to the judge.

“I should be pardoned for the inability to do this which is why I am here today. I plead that you grant me 100 per cent mercy and allow me to go and continue with my responsibilities.

“If I lose my source of income, it means all of my dependents I have mentioned will suffer, especially the condition of my aged mother,” the professor said in court.


Conclusion

Mr Akpabio lied that the jailed professor, Mr Ogban, rigged the 2019 senatorial election in Akwa Ibom North-west District for the PDP candidate; available evidence showed that he rigged the election for Mr Akpabio.

There are numerous claims circulating on social media that suggest billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote, is the ‘Owner of Nigeria’, as a result of his Wikipedia profile being suggested by the Google search algorithm whenever ‘Who is the owner of Nigeria’ is searched.

It appears that for some time now, Google’s search algorithm has been consistently promoting information that is either inaccurate or, when there is no relevant article, it displays a random profile from Wikipedia.

Still, on Thursday, some Nigerian social media users searched for “The owner of Nigeria” on Google and the search engine displayed Aliko Dangote’s profile from Wikipedia as the result, which caused misinformation and propaganda to spread on Twitter.

Many individuals took to Twitter with screenshots of the Google search result, urging others to do the same in order to confirm it. This led to many people conducting the same search and sharing the results across various social media platforms, and as a result, many people came to believe that Aliko Dangote, the wealthiest man in Africa, owns the country of Nigeria, which has a population of over 220 million people.

Popular Nigerian comedian, Helen Paul, recently posted how a Google search showed that Dangote is the owner of Nigeria.

Taking to her official Instagram page, the media personality posted a screenshot of a Google search asking who owns the country.

The comedian did not seem to be laughing as she explained her observations about ‘the owner’ of Nigeria. She wrote: “Who is the owner of Nigeria on Google? “The owner doesn’t post much on the social media. The owner is always giving us gentle smile. The owner does not drag on social media. The owner doesn’t post family & friends on social media. Oh….. What A owner.”

But there is no legal or constitutional basis for the claim that Aliko Dangote is the owner of Nigeria.

LEADERSHIP conducted the same search for ‘Who is the owner of Nigeria’ on Google and the search result showed Aliko Dangote.

However, the same search was also conducted for other countries and the results showed the billionaire of each country being listed as the owner of that country. This was even the case for China, where Jack Ma was shown as the owner of China.

The reason for this misinformation is not far-fetched. The problem is Google algorithm error.

One of the key benefits of ChatGPT, the AI bot, is that it can provide accurate and reliable information. In this case, it would inform you that Aliko Dangote is not the owner of Nigeria. In contrast, Google search algorithm may suggest an answer even if it is based on false or misleading information.

This is not the first instance where Google’s search algorithm has spread false information. In the past, there were similar errors such as when it suggested that Agbani Darego was the ugliest Nigerian woman.

These incidents occurred because Google is simply a search engine that displays articles that have already been written on the internet. When it cannot find a relevant article for a specific query, it often displays random names from Wikipedia.

It is important to note that the information being spread on social media, claiming that Aliko Dangote is the owner of Nigeria, is false. Nigeria is a sovereign nation, governed by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with a President as the Head of State and government. The president is elected by the people through a democratic process. Dangote is a successful businessman, but he does not own the country. The Google search algorithm result that suggests his Wikipedia profile as “the owner of Nigeria” is misleading, because the platform only gives you what has been published on the internet, and once it can’t find relevant information, it displays random names from Wikipedia.

The United States has expressed confidence in the ability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct the 2023 elections.

Mary Beth Leonard, U.S ambassador to Nigeria, said this at the 20th Daily Trust Dialogue in Abuja.

Leonard said the US favours no candidate but seeks a peaceful and transparent election in Nigeria.

She said, “The United States supports credible and transparent elections that will reflect the will of the people in a process that will be conducted peacefully. We have confidence in INEC to conduct the elections.

“2023 is an opportunity for Nigeria to claim its place as the democratic leader in Africa. We favour no candidate. We favour open and transparent elections conducted in a peaceful process. This is the foundation of democracy and legitimate transfer of power.

“It’s good that we reflect on the fact that since 1999, Nigerians voters have successfully exercise their democratic rights. For more than two decades, Nigeria has demonstrated to Africa and the world its strong commitment to peaceful and transparent elections.”

She said that at a time when democracy is being tampered with in many places in Africa, the practice is deepening in Nigeria.

In his welcome address, Malam Kabir Yusuf, Chairman, Media Trust Group, said this year’s dialogue is special because it is coming a month before the general elections.

He said the dialogue is Media Trust’s little contribution to the the efforts to bring peace to the country.

He welcomed the guests to the occasion chaired by Archbishop (Emeritus) John Cardinal Onaiyekan, HRH Alhaji Ismaila Mohammed, former chairman, First Bank of Nigeria and first female chairman of First Bank, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, Professor of Political Science and member of the Board of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Prof. Jibrin Ibrahim, Lecturer, Analysis of Business Problems, Lagos Business School. Dr. Yetunde Anibaba and Human Capacity Development Specialist and CEO, Heltoni Services Limited, Dr. Eugene Enahoro.

Among the dignitaries in attendance are Alhaji Ibrahim Shema, former governor of Katsina State; Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, spokesman Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF); Mr Festus Okoye, National Commissioner, Information and Voter Education, INEC.

By Muawiya Shuaibu


As the 2023 general election approaches, a former All Progressives Congress (APC) Chieftain Hajiya Najaatu Muhammad has said that she will not repeat the mistake made on Buhari for Tinubu, the party’s presidential candidate.

Najaatu said she followed Buhari blindfolded without an agenda and that mistake shouldn’t be repeated.

In an interview on Trust TV’s Daily Politics, Najaatu said she followed Buhari since 2022 and finally betrayed the trust on him.

She said, “I followed Buhari and millions of people followed Buhari because they thought he will change Nigeria for the better but we never gave him an agenda, we never gave him demands, we never had an agreement with him about what we want. So this time around we have to learn from experience.

“Buhari discarded all of his followers, he discarded each and every one of us. None of us was taken to the Villa. And all the promises he made concerning corruption, security, agriculture and giving Nigerians an enabling environment, he didn’t fulfil it.

Najaatu continued, “He is serving on the most corrupt government Nigeria has ever had, he pardoned some of the biggest thieves in Nigeria. You hear of billions stolen by a particular individual and the story goes under the carpet.

“Right now we are hearing of trillions, so what is he saying, he gives directives and counter directives are given, he has failed us, he has failed on his promises. Having said that, if I can make a mistake on Buhari I can not make another mistake on Asiwaju.”

She also said Tinubu told her he doesn’t have any blueprint for the north but he will have a blueprint when he wins. More so, she added that she didn’t know the severity of Tinubu’s health condition until she met with him in London.