₦airaland Forum

DUE to backlash from Nigerians, the Department of English of Benue State University has cancelled one of its first semester final year examination paper for the 2020/2021 session over the ‘cheapness’ of the examination questions. 

The code of the course in question, whose examination was meant to last for three hours, is ENG 405 (English for Specific Purposes) and it is a three-credit course. Many students, scholars and professors – in and outside the country – have reacted to the action by the department. 

Some opined that the questions were simple to the extent a first-year English student could correctly answer them within an hour. 

One of the people who critised the department was Moses Ochonu, a Professor of African Studies at the Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States. 

Ochonu lamented that this is one of the reasons everyone is graduating with a First Class nowadays, and that the lecturer who set the questions is a member of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), protected by and enjoying the perks of its centrally negotiated contract. 

“ASUU will tell you that it is only government neglect that is killing university education,” Ochonu said, adding that “You won’t hear anything from them on these types of scandalously poor teaching/teachers.” 

Another person, Iorkegh Donatus, stressed that there is something fundamentally wrong somewhere, that he was a graduate of the department. “I can vouch for their thoroughness. We have very great ambassadors of the department including Su’eddie, who was the finalist in this year’s NLNG Prize,” Donatus said. 

“I am happy that the Head of Department has moved swiftly by cancelling the paper.” The Head of the English Department, Professor Moses Tsenongu − in a memo dated 16th of December and seen by Sunday Tribune − apologised to the university community for the embarrassing academic incompetence in the course, taking responsibility for the letdown. Tsenongu admitted that the incident has taught him to pay equal attention to the performance of all staff, regardless of rank. 

“The perpetrator of this shameful act will be appropriately sanctioned,” the memo reads, adding that “Adequate measures have been put in place to forestall a repeat of this sad occurrence.”

The perceived solidarity among the G-5 governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), might be put to test soon, as recent overtures made by the camp of the presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar to reach out to aggrieved parties might have started yielding fruits.

This is even as the Vice Presidential candidate of the PDP and governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, has been mandated to lead the fresh reconciliation moves.

The G-5 governors are Nyesom Wike of Rivers State; Seyi Makinde of Oyo State; Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State; Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State; and Samuel Ortom of Benue State.

The quintet has been at loggerheads with the leadership of the party since the emergence of Atiku as the presidential candidate of the PDP.

Though the other four governors beside Wike were not on the ballot as presidential aspirants, they’ve however supported the agitation spearheaded by Wike that the national chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu should step down and pave the way for a Southern replacement.

Atiku’s several attempts to reconcile with the G-5 governors have not been productive, as it appears that Wike, who is the leader of the group, is unwilling to embrace peace until his conditions are met.

With barely two month to the elections, it was gathered that two members of the G-5 governors, especially Ikpeazu and Ortom, might be softening their stance.

Though the duo has not openly declared their support for Atiku, Saturday Sun gathered that their aides and political allies were already mounting pressure on them to soft-pedal.

Already, Ikpeazu’s media aide, Enyinnaya Appolos, has sponsored campaign posters in Abia, State containing the photos of Atiku, Ikpeazu, the governorship candidate and National Assembly candidates. The caption of the poster is ‘5Over5’.

So far, Ikpeazu has not attended any campaign rally of Atiku, but it was gathered that the PDP foot soldiers in Abia State have been instructed to campaign for the presidential candidate of the party to avoid a division in the state chapter of the ruling party.

A PDP source said Ikpeazu’s action may have been informed by the fact that he’s a senatorial candidate and is careful not to be left in the cold if Atiku eventually wins next year at the polls. The source said the governors are careful not to be seen to have dumped Wike, who incidentally, is the only member of the G-5 governors who is not a candidate in next year’s general elections.

Ikpeazu, Ortom and Ugwuanyi are senatorial candidates, while Makinde is running for another term in office.

On the other hand, Okowa, has repeatedly met with Ortom, as parts of moves to secure his support.

Ortom, like Ikpeazu, has not openly declared his support for Atiku, but the PDP source said the Benue governor might soon direct members of the party in the state to work for the presidential candidate.

The PDP member revealed that there are plans by members of Atiku’s camp to meet with Ugwuanyi, who has no personal grouse with Atiku and has not openly attacked the PDP candidate, before the end of the year. It was learnt that Atiku’s camp believes reconciliation with Ugwuanyi is important to help galvanise votes for Atiku in the South East.

Unlike the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku currently has no governor from the South East, openly supporting him, despite his strong outing in the region in 2019.

The source said: “Atiku said during the week that he had met Wike about five times. That might mean that the party is done begging him, since the Atiku camp believes that Wike has been frustrating all the reconciliation moves so far made.

“But members of the Atiku camp are working on the fact that, unfortunately for Wike, other governors are candidates and they need the party, as much as the party needs them. If they campaign against Atiku in their states, it will backfire.

“That’s why the vice presidential candidate of the PDP, Okowa is now leading the new reconciliation moves. Their target is to bring the other four governors to the fold. They’re succeeding already, I can assure you.

“If you’ve noticed, Ortom and Ikpeazu have become less critical of Atiku. Same thing for Makinde. Ugwuanyi has never attacked Atiku before. Right now, I can assure you that the crisis will soon be over. As for Wike, we believe he will move over eventually.

“The party has not completely ruled out further moves, but Wike needs to show that he’s ready for the reconciliation.”

The crisis is also believed to have played a role in the suspension of a traditional titled expected to be bestowed on Atiku by Olubadan of Ibadan land, Oba Olalekan Balogun.

In a December 7 letter to Atiku by the traditional ruler, the PDP flag bearer had been informed of plans to have the traditional title of Aare Akogun of Ibadanland conferred in him.

But in a new statement issued on December 12, the ceremony has been suspended. A palace source said the conferment of honorary title on Atiku was put on hold based on the decision of the Olubadan Advisory Council.

Another source said the state government might have played a role in the hurried suspension over the lingering face-off of the G-5 governors, including Makinde, with Atiku.

Meanwhile, a member of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Ebenezer Babatope, has told Saturday Sun that the party’s elders will soon meet and find a lasting solution to the crisis.

He said the issues threatening the peace of the party were normal in a political party setting, adding that the crisis would soon be resolved by the elders who are members of the BoT.

When contacted, one of the spokesmen of the PDP Presidential campaign Council, Charles Aniagwu, said “all I know is that continuously the leaders of the party have continued to approach members of the G-5. It is a continuous process; because we believe that we need to move together as one party. We will continue to talk. One day, we will be able to find a common ground.”

Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity says some Nigerians openly criticise his principal but still sneak into the Presidential Villa to see him.

In an article titled, ‘Buhari At 80: No Malicious Bone In His Body’ and shared on his official Facebook page on Thursday, Adesina described the president as a man with a large heart.

He narrated how Buhari related with some of his ‘critics’ such as Nyesom Wike of Rivers State; Matthew Hassan Kukah, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese; Femi Fani-Kayode and former Governor of Ekiti, Ayo Fayose.

He wrote, “This story came to mind as I reflect on President Muhammadu Buhari’s 80th birthday December 17, 2022. This is a man I have served for almost 8 years, and it never ceases to baffle me how large hearted he is, particularly to those who have arrayed themselves against him, and how he responds to them, when they meet.

“Some examples. Perhaps the Governor who has excoriated the President most is Nyesom Wike of Rivers State. Until very recently, when he showed some conciliation, he had accused Buhari of everything under the sun, including attempted murder. If they were rival wives sharing a husband, it couldn’t have been worse.

“But there was the President, simply minding his business, and ignoring the much younger man in Rivers State. He still gave the State everything that was its due.

“Some weeks ago, the President was invited to commission the newly built ultra-modern complex of the Body of Benchers in Abuja. As a member of the organization, Gov Wike was on the receiving line. Face to face with one of his harshest critics. What would the President do? Would he separate his teacup and saucer, and walk by? But no. Buhari shook the Governor warmly. ‘When two enemies shake hands, a suffering soul shoots out of Purgatory,’ wrote someone whose name I can’t readily recall now. But for President Buhari, this man simply has no enemy. Wike is just a Governor of one of the federations units (sic) in the country, and deserves his respect. Amazing!

“How about Ayo Fayose, the Irunmole (ethereal spirit) that eats jollof rice. The former Ekiti State Governor had taken a stand against Buhari since 2014, during the campaigns. There was that infamous advertisement he placed in newspapers, displaying a coffin, and insinuating that if Buhari was elected, he would not last the distance. Fayose’s party was beaten black and blue, and entered President Buhari.

“What would an average, vengeful person have done, if he were in the mould of the man with the teacup and saucer? When Buhari came, the Ekiti House of Assembly was largely populated by APC members, whom Fayose had inherited. What to do? Just give a directive: remove that Governor within a week, and he directs the Inspector General of Police to lock down the Assembly chamber. But not Buhari. Why? Because he has no malicious bone in his body. Fayose served out his term, and I remember the President giving him a warm handshake during a Council of State meeting at the Presidential Villa.

“Matthew Hassan Kukah. The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese. What has he not thrown at the President? Everything, including the kitchen sink. In fact, he uses language you wouldn’t expect an altar boy to employ. He has been after not just the President, even we his spokesmen have not been spared. He had opened fire on me and my colleague, Mallam Garba Shehu. Trust us, we returned fire for fire, till we decided to ignore him.

“And there came Bishop Kukah to the Villa some weeks ago, with the Peace Committee headed by former Head of State, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar. Trust the teacup and saucer man, the Bishop would not have got a handshake. But what did Buhari do? He exchanged banters with Kukah, and they were caught on camera, laughing together. When the cleric should have gotten a blow to the solar plexus. Lol.

“Femi Fani-Kayode. My friend, brother and kinsman. What has the President not suffered in his hands? Tons of abuses, malediction, ill will. But when the latter had his Damascus road experience, and found his way back to the APC, who received him at the Presidential Villa? Buhari. I tell you, this man has no malicious bone in his body. How about Gov Samuel Ortom, and many others? Story for another day.

“I see some people on television in the morning, abusing both the father and mother of the President. And I get to his residence at dinner time, to see those people at dinner table with him. How large-hearted can a person be?

“I’m sure God must have considered all the virtues Muhammadu Buhari has, and thus decided to spare him. He that has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger, says the Good Book. (Job 17:9). This Buhari not only has clean hands, he also has a clean heart.

“Imagine year 2017, when the President had severe health challenges. Between January and August of that year, he was in and out of the country many times, attending to his health. He could have been a goner, but God said no. And God has the final say, no matter what man may wish or desire. And same Buhari is now 80. “Simply amazing! Glory be to God. By the grace of God, in another five months, the President will land safely. And he will take his well deserved rest, playing with his grandchildren and great grandchildren in his Daura hometown. He’s the man God has shown mercy.”

Twitter Inc.’s live audio service, Twitter Spaces, is down after a number of journalists that had just been suspended from the social network found they could still participate in it.

Twitter owner Elon Musk said late Thursday night that the company was fixing an old bug and the audio service “should be working tomorrow.”

Earlier in the evening, Musk’s network threw reporters from CNN, the Washington Post and the New York Times, among others, into a seven-day suspension for allegedly disclosing the location of his private jet.

BuzzFeed News reporter Katie Notopoulos went live on Twitter Spaces to discuss the abrupt spate of bans — which came without communication to either the journalists or their publications — and was joined by Drew Harwell of the Washington Post and Matt Binder of Mashable, two of the suspended reporters.

Their tweets were no longer visible and they could not post new ones, however, they were still allowed to speak on the Spaces service.

Musk dropped in on the session as well, after it accumulated thousands of listeners, to say tersely that anyone who doxxes — gives personal location information about another person — will be suspended.

The journalists countered that they had not posted any real-time flight data, as he alleged, but by then the billionaire had quit the call. The dialogue drew more than 40,000 listeners at its peak.

Twitter Spaces went down while Notopoulos’ session was still ongoing, disconnecting everyone, she said in a later tweet. No recording or information about that session is available on Twitter now.

ADEFEMOLA AKINTADE


Twitter did not negotiate with President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime to overturn the microblogging site’s seven-month ban earlier this year, said a whistleblower complaint filed by Twitter’s former security head, Peiter Mudge Zatko.

“The Nigerian government blocked Twitter in June 2021, then falsely claimed to be in negotiations with Twitter executives; Twitter’s failure to correct the false record on many reported non-existent discussions with the Nigerian government permitted Nigeria to negotiate unilaterally through media and dictate unfavourable terms for final resolution,” stated the whistleblower document which exposed the violations, material misrepresentations and fraud by Twitter Inc.

The information in the document runs counter to statements by information minister Lai Mohammed, who repeatedly claimed the regime was in talks with Twitter about lifting the ban.

In the Protected Whistleblower Disclosure, Mr Zatko stressed that Twitter did not refute the minister’s report, thus encouraging misinformation through their silence and giving the Buhari regime a chance to stifle free speech.

“Twitter’s deliberate decision to refrain from correcting misinformation about Twitter’s proposed negotiations with the Nigerian government directly harmed Twitter shareholders,” the document claimed, “permitting the Nigerian government to impose various conditions on the platform harmed free expression rights and democratic accountability for Nigerian citizens.”

Twitter did not immediately return requests seeking comments and clarity on the matter.

Mr Mohammed also had yet to respond to messages of enquiry sent to his telephone.

The Buhari regime had restricted the social network’s operations in Nigeria after a violence-inciting tweet was deleted from the president’s handle in June 2021.

Mr Buhari had threatened genocide against the Igbo-dominated South-East in the tweet that violated Twitter’s policy on violence and abusive behaviour

From Clement A. Oloyede (Kano) & Maryam Ahmadu-Suka (Kaduna)


At least two top former aides of Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, have been appointed into the campaign council of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) for next year’s governorship election in Kano.

Those appointed into the campaign council of the NNPP in a list sighted by Daily Trust at the weekend include Ali Makoda, the immediate past Chief of Staff (CoS) to Ganduje, and Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado, the suspended Chairman of the state’s Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission, who contested for the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after he left the All Progressives Congress (APC).

While Makoda was appointed as the Director General of the NNPP Campaign Management Directorate; Rimingado, who has not announced his defection to the party, was appointed director in charge of security and surveillance.

Daily Trust reports that with Governor Ganduje backing his Deputy, Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, as the flag bearer of the APC, and former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso backing his in-law, Abba Kabir Yusuf, of the NNPP for the state’s top job, many analysts have said the 2023 governorship election in the state could be a repeat match of the 2019 poll which Ganduje won after inconclusive and rerun elections.

But a crisis within the APC before the party’s primaries had pushed out several of the party’s stalwarts while others also joined the party from other parties.

Notable among those that left the APC is Makoda; former speaker of the state assembly, Alhassan Rurum, who is a serving federal lawmaker; and ex-federal lawmaker, Kawu Sumaila; as well as Rimingado who left earlier since he fell out with the governor.

Also, a former associate of Kwankwaso and former SSG, Rabiu Suleiman Bichi, has since left the leadership of the Kwankwasiyya movement and teamed up with Ganduje and now leads the governorship campaign council of the APC in the state.

A source in the leadership of the NNPP told Daily Trust yesterday that the choice of both Makoda and Rimingado was strategic and not just to send a message but to achieve victory.

He added that they were aware that Rimingado played a similar role but unofficially for the APC in the 2019 elections.

Confirming his appointment to Daily Trust, Rimingado said although he was not consulted before he was given the appointment, he had decided to accept it because it showed that the party valued his contributions and that he would give his best to ensure the party’s victory despite not yet being a card-carrying member of the party.

Meanwhile, the NNPP has flagged off its governorship campaign in the state at Kwanar Dangora in Kiru LGA.

Speaking at the event, the governorship candidate, Abba Kabir Yusuf, promised to ensure that the campaign was issue-based, while assuring the mammoth crowd that turned out for the event that his administration would prioritise infrastructural development of not only Kano metropolitan area, but also the rural communities.

Also speaking at the campaign flag off, Makoda, said he felt fulfilled to be back in the Kwankwasiyya family in the NNPP and would ensure that the NNPP took over the government house in 2023.


Tinubu will defeat Kwankwaso in Kano — State gov’t

Meanwhile, the Kano State Government has said the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, would defeat the presidential candidate of the NNPP, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, in next year’s elections.

Commissioner for Information in Kano State, Muhammad Garba, who spoke at a lecture organised by the Kaduna League of Veteran Journalists, with the theme: “Let’s Talk Nigeria”, said Tinubu would defeat Kwankwaso like MKO Abiola did to Bashir in the 1993 general polls.

He said, “History will repeat itself in the 2023 general elections, as the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will defeat a former governor of the state, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, like MKO Abiola did to Bashir Tofa during the 1993 presidential election.”

From Molly Kilete, Abuja


There is palpable tension in the Nigerian Armed Forces over plans to promote about 500 officers to the ranks of one star and two stars Generals this week, in Abuja, Daily Sun has gathered.

Over 500 officers from the Army, Navy and the Air Force due for promotion to their next ranks have completed their interviews with the various promotion boards set up by the services.

The affected officers are expected to wear their new ranks of Brigadier Generals and Major Generals in the Army, Commodores and Rear Admirals in the Nigerian Navy, and Air Commodores and Air Vice Marshals in the Nigerian Air Force, respectively, all things being equal.

Daily Sun gathered that an already intense lobby is going underground by the beneficiaries who are using everything in their powers, including political bigwigs, top government officials, clerics, traditional rulers and other top people in the society to lobby the Chief of Defence Staff and the various service chiefs to get them promoted.

Sources told Daily Sun that the selection board expected to sit this week would, among others, scrutinise the list and report of the promotion boards, which sat sometimes in November, with a view to make recommendations and approve the names of those who passed the interview for promotion to their next ranks.

It was gathered that over 200 officers from the army, 140 from the navy and another 150 from the air force would wear their ranks before Christmas.

Sources told Daily Sun that the selection board would submit its report to the army council before the end of the week. It was also gathered that the army council is expected to sit next week, all things being equal, for final approval, after which the names of the successful candidates would be published with a date announced for the decoration ceremony.

The army council, which has the Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi, as chairman

The Management of Jumoke Hospital in Lagos State has reportedly caused havoc and put the lives of their patients in jeopardy having mistakenly employed two jobless men as Medical Doctors without the basic knowledge of the profession.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the two jobless fake doctors, Poroye Franklin, 26 and Ayodele Busiga, 36, have been arrested for harming the patients, who came to the hospital before it was discovered that they were fake doctors.

The incident happened at Ifelodun Street in Ejigbo/Orisubare Road, Ejigbo, Lagos, where the hospital is located.

The suspects were said to have forged Doctors License with folio number, 89686 and presented to the hospital management for employment as medical doctors on 1st January, 2022 and were employed without the management verifying if actually they graduated from Medical School.

However, while they were working, they were said to have relied on Google medical search to treat patients in the hospital and in most cases, the condition of some patients worsened due to wrong diagnosis.

The suspicion was finally exposed after their activity was reported to the Police at Area M Idimu Command and the Area Commander ordered for their investigation.

They were arrested and detained at the Command for interrogation where it was discovered that they were fake doctors and had been putting the lives of patients in the hospital in grave danger.

Having been found culpable after thorough interrogation, the Police charged them before the Ejigbo Magistrates Court for conspiracy and impersonation by causing harm to the patients coming to the hospital.

The first defendant, Franklin, admitted that he committed the alleged offence and pleaded guilty while the second defendant, Busiga, pleaded not guilty.

Hence the prosecutor, Supol Benedict Aigbokhan, then asked the Court to give a date for facts and sentence and hearing the first and second defendants respectively.

The Presiding Magistrate, Mrs. K.A. Ariyo, ordered the first defendant to be remanded in custody pending when he will be brought for facts and sentence while the second defendant was granted bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum.
They were remanded at the Correctional Centre at Kirikiri town, Lagos, pending when he will perfect his bail conditions while the matter was adjourned till 20th December, 2022, for hearing.

Bandits have abducted the wife and four children of a member, Zamfara State House of Assembly, Aminu Ardo Jangebe.

Also abducted were his two neighbours, Alhaji Yahaya and Sa,adu Mainama.

Speaking to The PUNCH on the phone, an indigene of the town, Sani Abubakar said the bandits arrived the town around 11 o’clock pm on Thursday and began to shoot sporadically to scare away people.

Abubakar explained that many people took to their heels on hearing the gunshots, while others shut their doors to avoid abduction.

He said the bandits went straight to the residence of Aminu Ardo where they broke the gate to gain entry.

“Immediately the bandits entered into the house, they abducted the wife of the Honourable member and his four children.

“As they were coming out of the house, they spotted two of his neighbours, MalamYahaya and Sa,adu Mainama who they also abducted,” he said.

Abubakar said the bandits also took away a motorcycle belonging to one of the abducted persons.

Frantic efforts were made to speak to the lawmaker proved abortive as he did not pick up several calls put through to his phone.

The state’s Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Ibrahim Dosara, also did not pick up his phone although he confirmed the incident to BBC Hausa.

Contacted for comment on the issue, the state’s Police Command Spokesperson, Mohammed Shehu, said “I will get more details”.

However, Shehu did not respond up to the time of filing this report.

A suspect, one Anthony Onuoha, who was arrested by the Ebonyi State police command over alleged car theft, on Thursday, confessed to having worked with over 30 election riggers during last year’s Anambra election in favour of Prof. Charles Soludo.

Onuoha, who was paraded alongside other suspects, alleged that they were hired by one Uche General, to rig the governorship election for the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.

The suspect alleged that they were given a car and fifty thousand naira after the election.

According to him: “Last year November, a car was given to me after governor Soludo’s election, because I was involved as one of the 30 persons that were kept in one place to work for APGA. We were promised to be given a car and fifty thousand naira after the election.

“What attracted me to work for APGA was the car and not the fifty thousand naira. I went to Anambra State that November; I was picked by one Mr. Uche General, I don’t know his surname. Uche General was the one in charge of the section.”

“The role I played there was that we were kept at Awka North to thumbprint ballot papers on that day of the election. We thumb-printed for APGA governorship candidate, Charles Soludo, and we agreed that at the end of the day, we will be given a car and fifty thousand naira, which they did.

“We are nine persons that were given a car out of over thirty persons that were hired for the job. This car was given to me by them and the fifty thousand naira to fuel it,” he alleged.

However, in a swift reaction, the Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Charles Soludo, who spoke to DAILY POST through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Christian Aburime, said the suspect, Onuoha, should be made to face the wrath of the law.

Soludo denied having any deal with the suspect during the last Anambra State election.

According to him: “The police should take full wrath of the law against the suspect. We don’t know him, he is just telling lies to get off the hook. He is a common criminal and nobody knows him. Moreover, it was BVAS that was used during that last year election in Anambra State. So, where did they do the thumbprinting?

“We don’t know him. We don’t know who he is. He must be a criminal and that is why he is in the police net. APGA won an election that was declared the most free and fair election in Nigeria.”

“There was no such thumbprinting in that Anambra election. It was BVAS that INEC deployed in that election. We don’t know that guy, the governor of Anambra State does not know him. And APGA as a political party does not know him. The guy is on his own and he should face and carry his cross,” he stressed.

Barely a day after the 48-hour ultimatum by the Department of State Services, DSS, to stakeholders in the oil and gas industry, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL, has released 1.9 billion litres of petrol.

DSS had given the NNPCL, oil marketers and other stakeholders a 48-hour ultimatum to make PMS known as petrol, available for Nigerians.

This was contained in a briefing by the secret service spokesperson, Dr Peter Afunanya on Thursday.

In reaction to the ultimatum, the NNPC, Group Chief Executive Officer, Mallam Mele Kyari later announced the determination of the company to release the 1.9billion litres of fuel.

Kyari, who was represented by the NNPC Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajiya assured Nigerians of the availability of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS.

“We have also directed operation team to engage in 24hours loading of PMS in the next couple of days and make sure some outlets operate 24hours without compromising security in order to bring quick relief to the people,” he stated.

Earlier, the Chief Executive, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Engr. Farouk Ahmed pledged to collaborate with the NNPC and all stakeholders in order to make sure issues regarding supply of petroleum products are well addressed and to ensure smooth access.

Major stakeholders in the sector, the Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) reiterated commitment to end the scarcity.

Seized vehicles worth several billions of naira are currently rotting away at various Customs commands across the country, LEADERSHIP can report.

The vehicles which were seized from smugglers are idling as the electronic auction (e-auction) platform of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has become inefficient and failed public test.

The rotting vehicles can be found at various commands in Ogun, Oyo, Lagos, Owerri, Kaduna, Borno, Katsina, Bauchi, and Kano among others.

The vehicles, LEADERSHIP gathered, belong to the exotic class such as Toyota Land Cruiser, Toyota Highlander, Mercedes Benz G Wagon and various Mercedes Benz 4Matic models.

Others are Hummer, Mercedes Benz, Range Rover Evolution, Ford Edge, Toyota Hilux, various models of Lexus, Porsche cars and a host of other Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) from Honda, Mazda, Ford and Toyota brands.

Before now, the service engaged in manual auctioning which had always been successful and helped to decongest their various warehouses across the country, however, since the introduction of e-auction platform, seized vehicles, many of which have reportedly gone through the process of court condemnation and are awaiting auction, have lost their street value.

Many of the vehicles have deteriorated and sources in the service said the once exotic vehicles are being sold as scrap to scavengers because of years of abandonment.

Speaking exclusively to LEADERSHIP, the coordinator, 100 percent compliance, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Ibrahim Tanko, said the e- auction failed because of lack of transparency from the Customs.

According to him, the system has been corrupted, and not good for the society, hence should be corrected and redesigned.

Tanko said, “e-auction is government policy, it’s not for anyone to decide. When vehicles are seized, the right of ownership has been taken away from the owner; that property becomes government property, and it’s for the government to decide.

“We know they have corrupted the system and someone somewhere is corrupting the system and this isn’t good for society. Some people didn’t know that the auction was going on because it’s one-sided,” he concluded.

On his part, a freight forwarder, Frank Oniekezie, said the e-auction process was a skewed process that cannot provide the needed result due to corruption.

According to him, smuggled food items are taken to the internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp and then the vehicles are seized.

“It’s not that they can’t auction it, and people say most of the time they are allocated to their cronies in the form of auction sales.

“If they are doing transparent auction sales, there is no reason for this doubt to be there. Also, when vehicles are caught, they should give the owner two-times the price of the vehicles to pay; that should serve as a deterrent, instead of seizing it.

“However, if you go to their various warehouses, you won’t see most of the vehicles there because they must have allocated them to cronies and that’s not the solution,” Oniekezie said.

In June 2021, SaharaReporters reported that 14,000 beneficiaries of the N-Power programme were being owed for five months.

Some top government officials introduced over 70,000 ghost workers into the N-Power Programme and fraudulently diverted billions of naira into their pockets, SaharaReporters has gathered.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission on Tuesday detained music star, Oladapo Oyebanji, popularly known as D’banj, over the alleged diversion of N-Power funds in collaboration with some government officials.

Meanwhile, a source at the humanitarian ministry on Wednesday night told SaharaReporters that top government officials have been using cronies to siphon funds under the social intervention programmes under President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.

“70,000 names were infused into N-Power by officials of the Buhari regime in the last four years.

“The fake list costs Nigeria N2.1 billion per year while original N-Power candidates are left unpaid,” the source added.

In June 2021, SaharaReporters reported that 14,000 beneficiaries of the N-Power programme were being owed for five months.

N-Power is a youth empowerment scheme sponsored by the Nigerian Government under the Social Investment Program (SIP).

Other programmes under the scheme include Home Grown School Feeding, Tradermoni, Marketmoni and the Conditional Cash Transfer in the 36 states of the country.

SaharaReporters gathered that since the social investment programme of the Nigerian Government was moved to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, the minister, Sadiya Farouq, had been making attempts to stop some of the programmes under the scheme.

Aside from announcing that beneficiaries would be laid off, she had also refused to release funds for the school feeding programme in some states.

Some of the beneficiaries who spoke to SaharaReporters said they could no longer meet their needs.

They asked the government to reconsider their plight as Nigerian citizens and law-abiding youths who were energetic and hard-working towards national development having contributed to the education sector.

“The minister claimed she has paid us, but till now, none of us has yet to see a kobo. We are really suffering,” a beneficiary had told SaharaReporters.

In September 2021, some disengaged beneficiaries of the N-Power scheme insisted on proceeding with their planned nationwide protest despite the statement by the Nigerian government to commence payment of their unpaid stipends.

Hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries of the scheme were affected by the disengagement.

According to a statement issued by Mrs. Azuka Ogugua, the ICPC's spokeswoman on Wednesday, D'banj is under investigation for fraud connected to the programme.

The statement read: “In line with its mandate, the commission had received numerous petitions on the diversion of N-Power funds running into billions of naira following the approval and release of such funds to the beneficiaries by the Federal Government. Many N-Power beneficiaries had complained over the non-receipt of the monthly funds in spite of payment by the Government.

“About 10 persons have been invited by the ICPC over the last few months in connection with the N-Power fraud, and have been granted administrative bail after their detention. Several invitations to Mr. Oladipo Daniel Oyebanjo, to appear before a team of investigators were ignored and not honoured.

“Mr. Oyebanjo turned in himself and was taken into custody at the ICPC Headquarters on Tuesday, 6th December, 2022, and is currently assisting the investigators to unravel the circumstances of the fraud allegations by the petitioners.

“The investigation will be all-encompassing and also be extended to other collaborators of the fraud and the banks where the beneficiaries’ accounts are domiciled.”

But in a statement issued on Wednesday through Maryam El-yakub Musa. Esq., Asst. Team Head, Litigation, LAW CORRIDOR, D’banj denied the allegations and urged the public not to get carried by the “media trial”.

Noting that it was to set the records straight, D’banj’s legal representatives raised some points, saying: “It is instructive to state foremost that the report concerning the arrest and detention of Mr. Daniel Oladapo Oyebanjo is misconceived, malicious and prejudicial to the justice system anywhere in the world and we would advise that the general public be well guided.

“We acknowledge the fact that the ICPC is currently investigating allegations of diversion of N-POWER funds as already stated by the Commission and we continue to hold the expectation that the Commission will stay the course of professionalism in this matter.

“For the record, D’banj has no such contractual or incidental relationship whatsoever with any group or persons within or outside government in relation to the disbursement, operations, access or control of the operation of any government fund through an agency or its subsidiaries.”

N-Power is one of the Muhammadu Buhari-led government’s social investment programmes aimed at tackling youth unemployment and re-energizing public service delivery in four key sectors: education, agriculture, health and vocational training.

According to the government, it spends about N15 billion monthly as stipends on nearly 500,000 volunteers.

Most beneficiaries receive a stipend of N30,000, which is about $67 at the current N445 exchange rate. The government has often delayed the payment of the stipend from inception.

SaharaReporters have reported protests by the beneficiaries over the government’s non-payment of their monthly stipends.

Meanwhile, the Buhari administration has been commending itself for initiating the programme which started in 2016, describing it as one of its major achievements, even though it is deeply eaten by corruption. However, the government says it is one of the largest post-tertiary job schemes in Africa.

The National Social Investment Programmes NSIP (an initiative the N-Power scheme is one of its elements), which was formerly under the office of the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and managed by Hajia Maryam Uwais, special adviser to the president on social intervention, was moved to the ministry of humanitarian affairs, disaster management, and social development on October 1, 2019.

The N-Power scheme had sub-components as N-Teach, N-Agro and N-Health.

Promoters, shareholders and owners of financial institutions must henceforth disclose now be obliged to the sources of their wealth when applying for a license from the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN).

This is in an effort to ensure that laundered funds or terrorism inflows do not find their way into establishing financial institutions in the country.

This is even as the country is grappling with corruption, terrorism, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, and increased insecurity across the states.

The new stipulation is provided in the Guidelines for ‘Licensing Banks and Other Financial institutions in Nigerian on Anti Money Laundering, Combating Financing Terrorism and Countering Proliferation Financing of Weapons of Mass Destruction.’

CBN, in a circular issued by the director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Chibuzo Efobi, said the guidelines was part of efforts at promoting compliance with AML/CFT/CPF laws and regulations. The guideline represents the minimum requirements for licensing new financial institutions.

The guideline, which is applicable to both new and pending request for license, requires that promoters of financial institutions are required, in addition to complying with other licensing requirements specified in relevant institution-type guidelines, to submit with the application for Approval-in-Principle, a completed and personally signed beneficial owners’ declaration Form and notarised statement of net-worth for all beneficial owners.

The police in Germany have arrested 25 individuals across the country over an alleged plot to overthrow the government.

The suspects were alleged to be members of the Reichsbürger (Citizens of the Reich) movement.

The Reichsbürger is a far-right movement that does not believe in the legitimacy of the modern German state.

According to the BBC, reports from Germany suggest that the far-right group was planning to attack the Reichstag, the parliament building, and seize power.

Heinrich X111, a 71-year-old man, is alleged to have been at the heart of the movement’s alleged plot to overthrow the government.

Marco Buschmann, Germany’s justice minister, posted on Twitter saying the federal prosecutor-general is investigating a suspected terrorist network with ties to the Reichsbürger movement.

Buschmann said there is suspicion that the movement is planning an armed attack on constitutional bodies.

“Democracy is well defended: Since this morning, a major anti-terror operation has been taking place,” the minister said.

“The Federal Public Prosecutor is investigating a suspected terrorist network from the Reich citizen milieu. There is a suspicion that an armed attack on constitutional bodies was planned.”

By Matthew Ochei


The Ward-to-Ward campaign train of the Peoples Democratic Party in Delta North Senatorial District on Tuesday was prevented by angry youths of Oko Community who said the politicians only make fake political promises.

The youths in their numbers prevented especially the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, from entering the community over failure to address community challenges as a lawmaker over the years.

It took the effort of the senatorial candidate, Ned Nwoko, after hours to calm the nerves of unrepentant youths.

The youths who reluctantly listened to Nwoko lamented the difficulties the community had faced over the years.

Speaking on behalf of the group, the youth leader said the community is tired of fake promises from politicians.

“Since 1999, PDP had been coming here to campaign but after elections they never remember Oko community. No road, no electricity among others social amenities.

“We have been voting for this PDP in all elections but nothing to show for it. Elumelu had been coming and making fake promises.

“And he is coming again to deceive us for fourth time, that’s our anger and we don’t want such promises again,” the youth leader said.

The youths however, compelled Elumelu and others to go to the community shrine for an oath that they will address the community’s plight, especially the roads, if elected.

Meanwhile, Nwoko assured the community that roads from Oko to Ndokwa East all the way through Isoko to Warri would be done.

Nwoko also promised to address the flooding menace that had been ravaging the community on yearly basis.

A high court in Lagos has dismissed a case filed by one Ademola Onitiju, a tenant, who sued his landlady for not selling her house to him.

In 2021, Onitiju, a retired air commodore and legal practitioner, took Theodosia Ogunnaike, the landlady of a four-bedroom duplex at Dolphin Estate in Ikoyi, to court for selling the property to another person after his initial negotiation with her.

The 59-year-old tenant, who started residing in the house in December 2015, said the property was first offered to him as first option to purchase but he did not pay for it immediately. Onitiju said he was initially asked to pay N170 million for the property, but he offered to pay N90 million instead, which was rejected by the landlady.

The retired airforce officer said during the renegotiation process, he sold two family properties to enable him to match the purchase price of N135 million which was later requested for. He said he asked for a bank account detail to pay the purchase price, but he was not provided with any until the property was sold out to one Samuel Dare, a retired colonel.

Onitiju admitted that the defendants did not ask him to sell the two family properties, “but they did by conduct when they insisted on the N135 million purchase price”. He also told the court that he does not have evidence of where the N135 million was lodged.

The tenant asked the court to set aside the sale of the property to the retired colonel.

Ogunnaike, a widow, said the property belongs to her daughter but she was managing it for her. The landlady said Onitiju used to pay his N4.5 million annual rent to her bank account and the rent was not increased during his stay, while they had a cordial relationship.

The landlady said the offer to buy the house was first made to Onitiju, but he did not have money to pay. Then, she terminated the offer made to the retired airforce officer after he made two counter offers of N90 million and N1oo million, and the sale of the property was thrown open to the public.

In her ruling on June 20, 2022, Bola Okikiolu-Ighile, the presiding judge, said Onitiju’s evidence before the court did not support any of the reliefs sought by him, and his case was bereft of facts. She subsequently dismissed the case.

“I find it difficult to grant any of the reliefs sought in the claims (i)-(vii). The claimant shall relinquish possession of the property to the new owners forthwith,” the judge ruled.

Onitiju has, however, appealed against the judgment.

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, has apparently dodged most of the questions from the audience after his appearance at Chatham House, stirring negative reactions among many Nigerians.

Mr Tinubu, who was at the United Kingdom’s elite foreign and policy think-tank institution, spoke about his plans for security, economy, and foreign policy for Nigeria if elected president next year.

Asked about how he intended to tackle challenges plaguing the country, the APC standard bearer seemingly dodged questions, directing some members of his entourage to respond to the questions.

Mr Tinubu said the decision to assign these questions to the team members was a sign of teamwork.

In a video circulating on Twitter, Mr Tinubu was heard saying: “I have an unbreakable team. To demonstrate that, I would choose the first question assigned to Dele Alake, and the second assigned to Nasir El-Rufai, and the third question to Ben Ayade.”

Reacting to the development, some Nigerians on social media expressed their disappointment with the former Lagos State governor’s seeming inability to answer the questions posed before him.

Below are some of the reactions:

@VictorIsreal, tweeted “Omo! They asked Tinubu questions and he directed El-Rufai and Ayade to answer the questions. He said he believes in teamwork. Imagine asking Peter Obi a question on national TV and he directs Kenneth Okonkwo to answer it. That’s how ridiculous It sounded. Nigerians open your eyes.”.

Another user @FemiOyedun1, said the APC candidate would never win the election, “For every question directed to the APC presidential candidate at the Chatham House. Dele Alake, El Rufai, and Ben Ayade are the ones answering, he even eyes Sanwoolu to answer a certain question. He said it was teamwork. By God’s grace, Bola Tinubu won’t be Nigeria’s president.”

@Ifedapo Daniel, noted that the ex-Lagos governor is a major disaster, Nigerians must avoid in 2023,”

“Bola Tinubu is the biggest disaster Nigerians must avoid in 2023! He was being asked questions at the Chatham House, his proxies were the ones answering! How did we get here? At this point, if you’re planning to vote for APC, thunder must strike you down oo!”, he tweeted.

Another user, Princeujay, said “Dele Alake, El-Rufai, and Ben Ayade had to borrow Tinubu their brains to answer questions at the Chatham House in London. National humiliation and shame to APC to have a brain-dead man as a Presidential candidate”.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson of the PDP presidential campaign council Daniel Bwala, described Mr Tinubu’s Chatham House appearance as a show of shame.

He said: “Chatham House show of shame. You want to be the president but avoiding answering questions, instead, you are re-directing the answers to El-Rufai, Alake, and co.

“Nigerians want to be governed by a person, not a robot who cannot exercise independent thought in answering questions”

By Abimbola Abatta

Suleiman Babachir Lawal, the Twitter user who accused Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing of selling subpar products is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

A letter obtained from his Facebook page revealed that Lawal was appointed a member of the Logistics and Support Services for Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council on November 22.

FIJ had published a report revealing that Lawal deleted his account after shortly after making the claim on Twitter.

Many Nigerians have questioned his “unfounded” accusations and resultant deactivation of his Twitter account. Unable to directly call him out on Twitter since his account has been deleted, Nigerians who are not pleased with the APC loyalist’s allegation have gone to Facebook to demand an explanation from him.

“Hello, I think you mistakenly deleted your tweets and Twitter account before seeing a very important reply to a post you made. Anyway, Innoson Vehicles is looking for you and your father to explain your tweet o. Please don’t delete your Facebook mistakenly too,” Chinyere Adaugo Iroemeh commented under Lawal’s last post on his Facebook page.
Donald Santiago Leo, another Facebook user, wrote, “Go and answer Innoson. He’s committed to ensuring you’re legally and practically satisfied. Ready to replace your father’s car so he can have better one for his farm work.”

Ifeanyichukwu Muo also wrote, “Why the pull-down syndrome in this bad economy of Nigeria? Why the blatant lies against Innoson motors? Do you wish the firm to close because of unnecessary sentiments? Don’t you consider the workers and their respective dependants? Well, every action must be paid here or thereafter.”

An Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) was at the weekend stabbed to death in a fracas between some naval personnel and policemen in Lagos State.

Three other passersby also sustained varying degrees of wounds in the bloody fracas that occurred in the Satellite town of Lagos.

The fracas caused heavy pandemonium in the area as shop owners fled for fear of being caught up in the fight.

Many people were injured as the angry naval personnel were said to have attacked passersby who tried to mediate in the clash between the two security agencies.

A commercial bus driver, Steven Ogbodeto, said he saw a police patrol team arguing over an undisclosed issue with some navy officers. He said he had stopped to see if he could wade in and settle the dispute, but that the naval personnel went wild and began to fight the policemen.

A police officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as he was not supposed to speak with the press, said: “The naval personnel stabbed our men with jack knives. We were able to rush our men and three other passersby to Adeyemi Private Hospital, but ASP Abion Hezikel could not make it as he was confirmed dead by the doctor on duty. Anyway, the other officers and three passersby who were so stabbed were treated and discharged.

“Two of the naval personnel have been arrested while two others are at large, but we have reported the incident to the military authorities to enable them to release the other two fleeing personnel of the Navy.”

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the attack on policemen on duty, adding that the case was under investigation.

He said the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Panti, Yaba, Lagos, while the corpse of the deceased had been deposited at a public mortuary in Yaba.

However, the Command Information Officer, Western Naval Command, Edward Yeibo, told our correspondent on phone that the fracas started as a result of a traffic infraction between two naval ratings and some policemen in the area.

Yeibo, a commander with the Nigerian Navy, said in the process, some policemen, along with some urchins who arrived at the scene started a fight with the ratings.

“Some policemen arrived at the scene on a motorcycle and started firing. Presently, an investigation is being conducted to ascertain the actual cause of the incident. The outcome of the investigation would be made public,” he said.

Though wife of the Nigerian president, Aisha Buhari, has discontinued her defamation case against Aminu Adamu, the final year student of the Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State, the court of public opinion cannot afford to throw the issue into the dustbin. In what was the Nigerian First Lady’s most recent controversy, having allegedly ordered the arrest and detention of the university student, massive flaks against her and the futility of continuing the matter, it was said, must have necessitated the withdrawal of the apparently dead-on-arrival matter.

Aside the above, the concept of the First Lady and its implications for the social health of society today deserves to be re-examined. The cliché, “behind every great man is a great woman” has led political scientists, psychologists, sociologists and philosophers to look intently into the texture of the characters of spouses of rulers of the world. This is because, mere concentration on political actors and their policies have failed to unravel, in many cases, why they behave the way they do. With the arrest, detention and alleged torture of Adamu on the orders of Mrs. Buhari, the question of who Aisha Buhari really is has been more compelling. Is she a villain dressed in the robe of power or a victim of the icing on the cake of power?

On a Twitter post, Adamu had attributed the bloat in the physique of the First Lady to and symbolizing excessive romance with the Nigerian national pot of soup. Adamu had specifically tweeted: Su mama anchi kudin talkawa ankoshi, which translates to “the mother has gotten fat on masses money.” He accompanied this tweet with a puffed-up picture of the First Lady. Piqued by what she must have considered a plebeian audacity, Aisha was reported to have ordered the young man’s arrest and his rough parceling to the Nigerian presidential villa, where he was allegedly tortured and remanded in prison.

The truth is that, the First Lady and the Nigeria Police which charged Adamu for defamation by his tweet, perhaps due to the many decades of military rule, do not understand the proper concept of democracy; nor do they have a whiff of what representative democracy is all about. When purged of all the unnecessary icing of its highfalutin definition, representative democracy, which we practice in Nigeria, is a give-and-take concept. Also known as indirect democracy, it is a type of democracy where elected people act to represent a group of people. It is a system practiced by nearly all western-styled democracy, its typical examples being the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Broken down to its granules, in representative democracy, the people, aware of the disorder it would have meant for everybody to be in parliament and Government Houses at the same time, place the power to govern them in the hands of their representatives who they elect in a periodic election ritual.

Representative democracy has its origin in the Roman Republic, which was the first known state in the Western world to practice it. Romans sold this system to the world in which, though supreme power lay in the hands of the people, they ceded this power to their elected representatives who then wield the power on their behalf. In most instances, these are representatives who are felt to have superior knowledge of administering society or who possess some rare qualities that are not found in the generality of the people. The people however reserve the power and right to withdraw such powers in the form of recall from the parliament and impeachment of this erring representative by their representatives in the parliament.

To focus the attention of these representatives on the business of governance, the people make available to them some measure of comfort which they get from their consolidated national pool, their national patrimony. The house built in the people’s name and with their resources, which is christened Government House, is made available to these representatives to live in, free of charge. The ones who could not live in this house are rewarded in cash called Housing Allowance. It is not because they are more entitled to live therein than the people who they represent. They also eat free food, paid from the patrimony of the people. For their time which is sacrificed, they are paid salaries and other allowances. The health and wellbeing of these representatives are the bother of the state. Thus, in many democracies, they are treated free of charge from the pool of the people’s money. In fact, so that they are not distracted, the state also pays for their children’s schooling and their wives’ comfort. The representative needed not to be distracted looking for food, shelter and bothering about the wellbeing of his spouse. So the state caters for virtually all the family members of the representative.

In the 2023 budget estimate, the offices of Aisha’s husband, President Buhari and his Vice-President, will spend the sum of N11.92bnillion on local and foreign trips, as well as on the presidential air fleet. It is inclusive of the sum of N1.58bn which was earmarked for aircraft maintenance and another N1.60bn which was allocated for the overhaul of the Gulfstream GV and CL605 aircraft engines of the presidential office. In the same vein, the Office of the President was slated to spend N2.49bn on local and foreign trips and the Vice-President’s office, N846.61m. Fuelling of these aircraft, according to the budget, will cost the Nigerian taxpayers which comprised the poor and the rich, the sum of N250m, while N650m will be spent to purchase a new mobile helicopter landing pad.

In the same budget, the sum of N40.45m was penciled for the construction and equipping of a new presidential kitchen and a total of N508.71m to be spent on foodstuffs and refreshments, amount which stands at N331.79m and N176.92m for the offices of the President and Vice-President respectively. I am not aware that the above sums emanated from the private wealth of Mrs. Buhari’s husband or from proceeds of his cows in Daura. She can only be allowed to claim that she had not eaten the poor people of Nigeria’s money if any of the amounts earmarked for the Villa feeding and comfort does not have her participation in them in the last seven and half years.

It was this same Mrs. Buhari whose daughter, Hanan stirred the hornet’s nest when she was conveyed by the Presidential jet to attend the Durbar in Bauchi. By Nigerian governmental convention, it is only the President, First Lady, Vice-President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, former Presidents and a Presidential delegation, who are allowed to use the Presidential jet. It will also be recalled that, in that year’s budget, the amount voted for the Presidential jets was N8.5bn. Hanan, who graduated in Photography from the Ravensbourne University, London, was said to have gone to Bauchi on special invitation as special guest of honour of the Emir of Bauchi, Rilwanu Adamu.

Photographs of her Hanan disembarking from the presidential plane and being welcomed by Gombe State officials went viral around this time. The Emir was said to have invited her to the Durbar so that she could take photographs of the celebration, Bauchi architecture, as well as some other cultural sites in the state. While Mrs. Buhari’s daughter was engaged in this unconscionable abuse of office and waste of tax payers’ money by this act, it beggars belief that the same woman would be miffed by allegation that she was chopping poor Nigerian people’s money. Before getting into office, her husband, then Major General Buhari, was trenchant in his criticism of the Goodluck Jonathan government and the ones before him, for expending public funds on unjustifiable things.

For all our food and the comfort of our collective home called Aso Villa where she lives, all we ask from the First Lady is tolerance. She would only have had a defence in court if she could present verifiable and irrefutable evidence that she spends her personally earned money and not money belonging to the poor and the rich of Nigeria, to feed herself in the last seven and half years plus. If she could not, she would lack every right to litigate against a 24-year old Nigerian who claimed that the Nigerian people’s money, with which she feeds, must have been responsible for her bloated physique. She might however have had a defence if she could provide evidence to show that her recently acquired shepopotamus-size image – apologies to the nil discretion in an earlier statement by Prof Wole Soyinka so describing Mrs. Goodluck Jonathan – was as a result of a health challenge and not from proceeds of Nigerian people’s money which she chops legitimately.

With apparent dearth of Paparazzi journalism in Nigeria, the type that unearthed several hidden details of Princess Diana’s liaison with her Arab consort, Dodi Fayed, scholars must rise to the people’s rescue and begin to piece Aso Villa jigsaws together. Perhaps by so doing, they could arrive at the current frame of mind and a fitting psychoanalysis of the office of the First Lady under Buhari. Except for photo-op sessions, there have been allegations of no love lost between Aisha and the Nigerian president. Specific suggestions have even sidled into public discourse that the First Lady does not enjoy spousal attention from her husband.

The first absurd manifestation of this in the public was Mrs. Buhari’s open antagonism and criticisms of her husband’s government in the early years of the administration. This was so notoriously manifest that many people concluded that if indeed the couple lived together as husband and wife and indeed shared affection, she could have offered those pieces of advice in the presidential closet. In 2019, while appearing on a Lagos television show, Aisha was asked why she was always criticizing her husband in the public rather than have “pillow talk” conversations with him that symbolizes spousal affinity and interaction, she had replied, “there is no pillow in the villa. No,” She however attributed this to their busy schedule.

Again, the brawl at the Villa between her and leader of Aso Rock’s cabal, Mamman Daura, revealed an ugly underbelly of the relationship between Aisha and her husband. What came to limelight was that the two live in different apartments in the Villa. The brawl between Daura’s daughter and the First Lady showed that there was an attempt to de-room Mrs. Buhari in favour of Daura’s daughter. On top of this, a couple of years ago, the First Lady packed her belongings out of her «matrimonial home» and made the UAE her home. These absurd revelations should interest scholars of the social health of Nigeria’s seat of power

Psycho analysis would need to be made of these mis-matrimonial manifestations in the First Family, so as to decipher whether Mrs. Buhari’s current fly off the handle had a direct correlation to her matrimonial frustration. It was the same despotic disposition that Ondo State people saw in Feyi George, wife of their military governor, Naval Officer Olabode George, in the 1990s. The “couple” had left office before it came to the fore that that marriage was for the press and in actual fact, the two actors were miles apart and merely acting marriage. Scholars would thus need to help us unravel whether Nigerians are witnessing another marriage of convenience between Aisha and her husband, the Nigerian president. If this is it, we may then begin to see a connect or corollary between some disjunctive manifestations in power at Aso Rock and this spousal spat.

No woman would live with a fib that intent analysis of Aso Rock matrimony portrays as presidential family without an occasional urge to bare the fangs of a tiger. It is not unlikely that what the world saw in the Adamu tackling was an attempt to grasp at straw which the “power wielder” mis-perceived as power through that unnecessary anger at Adamu. This is because Mrs. Buhari looks too charming and matronly to behave in a manner that could only have been advertised by Mrs. Idi Amin Dada.

What Mrs. Buhari did with Adamu was a crude and naked abuse of power. If she wasn’t wrong by her act, then our fathers and mothers who died in the bid to dethrone military rule and embrace democracy died in vain. People died and were maimed for us to be where we are today, the courtyard of free speech. Free speech can only be checkmated by defamation and not baring of a wolf’s claws. It is an antithesis to use democratic office to harass anyone like a despot. Why what Aisha Buhari did to Adamu was an oxymoronic tragedy to the Nigerian people is that, by that act, she got our people to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

The Lagos State Government has said it has concluded arrangement to commence the issuance of International Driver’s Permit, effective from the present month, December, 2022.

The state Director, Vehicle Inspection Service, VIS, Engr. Akin-George Fashola stated this while receiving the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Engr. Abdulhafiz Toriola, during an official visit to the Head Office of the VIS at Ojodu, Lagos, on Thursday, saying all stakeholders have been engaged and the issuance process has been finalised.

According to Fashola, the issuance of the International Certificates for vehicles and International Driver’s Permits is in line with international requirements as specified in section 326 (U) of the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law, (TSRL) 2018, some of which he said include; class or description of vehicle and examination on the vehicle.

He also said private registered vehicles that are within five years from the date of manufacture shall be exempted from the mandatory computerised routine inspection carried out by the VIS as stated in schedule 1, section 326 (10) of the State’s TSRL, 2018, noting that Pre-Registration inspections (Auto Vin) would have recorded such vehicles for exemption and all that would be required from the owners of such vehicles is to get Exemption Certificate from the VIS.

Fashola said the exclusion is one of the ways to prevent the computerized vehicles inspection centres across the state from being over clogged with vehicles.

The Director also disclosed that the VIS has commenced clamp down on rickety commercial vehicles without proper documentation and safety standards as prescribed, in section 12 (2) of the State’s TSRL, 2018.

He solicited for the support of other law enforcement agencies in ensuring that Lagos roads are free of rickety vehicles.

Addressing the Vehicle Inspection Officers, Toriola enjoined them to work in line with the mandate of the VIS by ensuring that all motor vehicles plying the roads across the state meets safety standards in line with International best practices.

He equally urged the directorate to intensify its advocacy and safety drive especially at this yuletide season, calling on officers to come up with new initiatives that will improve their mode of operations.

Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, says there is a provision to tax cryptocurrency and other digital assets in the 2022 finance bill.

According to a statement released by Laolu Akande, spokesperson to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Ahmed updated the national economic council (NEC) on the main features of the bill at an extraordinary virtual meeting on Thursday.

The minister said the proposed bill is anchored on five fundamental policy drivers.

She listed the drivers as tax equity, climate change, job creation/ economic growth, tax incentives’ reform and revenue generation/tax administration.

She said that the bill sought to amend relevant taxes, excises and duty statutes in line with the macroeconomic policy reforms of the federal government.

According to Ahmed, the bill also aims to amend and make further provisions in specific laws in connection with the public financial management of the federation.

She said other aspects of the finance bill include chargeable assets; exclusion of losses and replacement of business assets.

“For instance, under the Tax Equity pillar, all sectors of the economy would be brought into the tax net including Capital Gains Tax from digital assets, cable undertakings, lottery and gaming business,” the statement quoted Ahmed as saying.

“Similarly, under the Climate Change and Green Growth pillar of the bill, there would be incentives for the natural gas sector and discouragement of gas flaring.

“Under the pillar of Tax Incentives’ Reforms, there would be new deductions for Research and Development, and Investment Tax Credits; Reconstruction Investment Allowance; Rural Investment Allowance; Incomes in Convertible Currencies to be exempt, among others.

“Also the bill contains an amendment under Chargeable Assets stating that “subject to any exceptions provided by this Act”, all forms of property shall be assets for this Act, whether situated in Nigeria or not, including options, debts, digital assets and incorporeal property generally.”

The minister said the proposed bill clarified the taxation of cryptocurrency and other digital assets in line with the government’s policy thrust of enhancing cross-border and international taxation of growing e-commerce with emerging markets.

She said that by doing so, Nigeria would join the league of jurisdictions currently taxing digital assets, including the UK, the US, Australia, India, Kenya and South Africa.

After Ahmed’s presentation, the governors of Sokoto, Borno, Kaduna, Kebbi and Ogun states, among others, commented on the bill.

Following their comments, the NEC resolved to update the draft finance bill with additional inputs from state governors as the bill goes ahead to the federal executive council (FEC) before the president sends it to the national assembly.

In 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directed banks to close accounts of persons or entities involved in cryptocurrency transactions within their systems.

The apex bank further urged citizens to desist from crypto assets, warning that they are used to fund illegal dealings.

Lawmakers exchange blows in Senegal’s parliament over insult to pro-opposition religious leader

Lawmakers exchanged blows and hurled a chair in Senegal’s parliament on Thursday over a perceived insult towards an influential pro-opposition religious leader.

An opposition MP slapped legislator Amy Ndiaye over her remarks, according to images on television and social media that were authenticated by AFP.

She responded by throwing a chair at him and then fell to the ground, where she was helped by fellow members of her group.

A fistfight then erupted among MPs before the speaker suspended the session.

The bust-up erupted during a vote on the justice ministry’s budget for 2023.

It was sparked by remarks Ndiaye made about Serigne Moustapha Sy, a Muslim leader who supports the opposition but is not a lawmaker.

On November 27, she accused him of betraying his word and disrespecting President Macky Sall, according to media reports.

MP Abba Mbaye told an opposition TV channel that opposition lawmakers would oppose any resumption of parliamentary work “until this lady has apologised”.

Some members of the governing coalition, as well as feminist activists, lashed the physical attack on Ndiaye, which coincided with an awareness campaign about violence against women and girls.

Senegal is widely viewed as a beacon of stability and democracy in West Africa – a region notorious for coups and dictatorships.

Legislative elections in July led to a virtual tie, requiring Sall’s party to forge a coalition to stay in power.

Sall was elected to a seven-year term in 2012 and re-elected for a five-year tenure in 2019.

He has not divulged his plans for the next presidential vote, due in 2024.

Oshiomhole went further to say, “You (Atiku) can’t manage your household, you are a serial divorcee and you want to preach unity and family to me?"

The Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organization has slammed the former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, over his vituperation against the Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 general election.

The former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Deputy Director-General of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Organisation, had while featuring in Channels TV programme described Atiku as a “serial betrayer” and a “serial divorcee” who could not unite Nigeria.

Oshiomhole went further to say, “You (Atiku) can’t manage your household, you are a serial divorcee and you want to preach unity and family to me?

“PDP governors said we can’t trust him (Atiku), every agreement we made with him, he broke it; he is a serial betrayer of agreements."

Reacting to comments, Atiku campaign organisation, described Oshiomhole as an unstable and falsehearted character who should be disregarded by Nigerians, while asking where he kept his foreign wife.

The team noted that Oshiomhole was distraught by the increasing popularity of the PDP presidential candidate and had now resorted to hauling insults and vituperations against the person of Atiku.

Atiku’s team was quoted to have said, “Oshiomhole is behaving like someone suffering from acute Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD). This can only explain why the former APC National Chairman, who was disgraced out of office, continues as a chattering roller coaster and a musical chair politician who specializes in making unfounded comments and inventing fictitious claims against others just to draw undue attention to himself.

“Nigerians can recall how Oshiomhole in 2016 described Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as an impostor, a fake pastor, rusticated student, a career dropout, acid bath assailant, liar, treasury looter; an incompetent and questionable character, who is only good for night meetings and not fit to be the governor of Edo state, only to turn around in 2020 to state that these damaging allegations were mere political statements.

“Nigerians expect Adams Oshiomhole to note that the Presidential Campaign addresses serious issues and is not a platform for throwing tantrums and irresponsible commentaries.

“In that regard, Nigerians are not ready to accept such an apparent HPD attitude from him towards the nation’s preferred leader, Atiku Abubakar.

“In any case, Nigerians will not be surprised to see Adams Oshiomhole turning around at Atiku Abubakar’s inevitable victory and inauguration on May 29, 2023, to condemn Asiwaju Tinubu and declare his current unsavory comments against Atiku Abubakar as mere political statements.

“If Oshiomhole has honour or means well for this nation, he ought to have resigned as Deputy Director General of Asiwaju/Shettima Presidential Campaign after series of shameful revelations of reported allegations touching on the integrity of the APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu."

They added, "Instead of forum-shopping from one television station to the other, Oshiomhole ought to be explaining Tinubu’s deluge of questioning over alleged forgery, perjury, treasury looting; inconsistencies in age, name ancestry, educational qualifications as well as the link to nefarious trafficking that led to his forfeiture of a whopping sum of $460,000 to the United States of America in a narcotic matter.

“Oshiomhole should help his candidate (Tinubu) to account for how the photograph of former Governor Donald Duke was allegedly stolen and used for Asiwaju documentary to campaign as a candidate for the 2023 election.

"Our campaign holds that contrary to the garments of unity which Oshiomhole is forcing on Tinubu, the Presidential Candidate of the APC lacks antecedents that will showcase him as a believer in a truly united and indivisible Nigeria.”

The Atiku team added that “It is imperative to note this accounts for the discussion gaining traction in the public space where Asiwaju Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, is alleged to be plotting the relocation of the Federal Capital from Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, back to Lagos, despite denials by his campaign.

Moreover, Oshiomhole is not in any position to preach about matrimonial competence and sanctimony as he has not explained the whereabouts of his imported foreign wife to Nigerians.

“It is important for Oshiomhole to note that Nigerians have moved beyond Tinubu as they have already attained consensus across the political, ethnic and religious divides to vote in Atiku Abubakar as a pan-Nigerian and unifier that will rescue our nation from the shambolic rule of the divisive, insensitive and corrupt APC.

“Of course, Nigerians have come to a consensus that our nation needs a visionary leader, like Atiku Abubakar and certainly not a bat with its inadequacies, specie inconsistencies and aversion to light.”

The wife of a former governor of Ekiti State, Bisi Fayemi, has petitioned the police, demanding an investigation of a woman, Mrs Abimbola Olajumoke Olawumi.

In the petition dated November 14 and addressed to the commissioner of police through her lawyer, Mr Luke Ekene Mbam of Octodas Attorneys (Topmost Chambers), she accused the woman of cyberbullying, cyberstalking, criminal, incessant and unabated social media attacks.

Mrs Fayemi who is invoking the provisions of the Cyber Crimes Act 2015, stressed that Abimbola, in spreading malicious falsehood against her, had so far failed to come out with any proof or evidence.

She said she was left with no option but to petition the police to clear her name and protect her image and reputation which she had built over the years.

Olawumi had in several posts on her Facebook accused Mrs Fayemi of shielding “family members” from arrest and prosecution for alleged sexual offences.

She also accused the former governor’s wife of money laundering to the tune of N500 million in Dubai and stealing a sum of N710 million a few weeks after the inauguration of her husband as governor in 2018.

Olawumi, while responding to the petition in a post said, “Rest assured that I’m fine”.

“I’m not moved a bit, because I can defend whatever I have written in court.

“She was arrested with N500 million Ekiti money in Dubai in 2018. The evidence will be tendered in court, I only await the CTC.”

The Nigerian National Merit Award has stated that the 32 nominees for the Nigerian National Order of Merit’s 2022 edition were not qualified.

The quasi-academic agency said the nominees did not pass the prerequisite exam.

A total of 32 nominations/applications for the award were received, according to Prof. Shakarau Aku, Chairman of the NNMA Governing Board, who spoke to the media in Abuja, PUNCH reports.

He said there were 14 applicants in the humanities, nine in medicine, five in engineering and technology, and four in the sciences.

Aku said, “The nominations went through the standard assessment process. However, after going through the rigorous process of assessment exercise, none was adjudged to have merited the Nigerian National Order of Merit Award for this year 2022. So, in this year’s exercise, no winner emerged.”

The NNMA was established by Act No. 53 of 1979 and amended by Act No. 96 of 1992, now LFN 122 of 2004.

The NNMA as an agency is charged with selecting all intellectual and creative contributions in all areas of human endeavour and rewarding unique contributions by awarding the NNOM.

Aku said, “The forum is organised to deliberate on salient issues of national interest, allowing the laureates to channel their views into policymaking and thus contribute to national discourse.

“This year’s Forum, the 13th Forum, is scheduled to hold from Tuesday, December 6 through Wednesday, December 7, 2022, from 9am to 5pm daily at the Merit House, Complex, Maitama, Abuja.”

The Borno State Government, yesterday, said 90 per cent of die-hard Boko Haram insurgents were dead just as it attributed the mass surrender of members of the sect to the death of their leader, Ibrahim Shakau, as well as the operations of the military.

This is as the military authorities, yesterday, also said some 1,952 terror suspects were undergoing investigation in the North-east, while some 900 suspects were to go on trial next January.

It further clarified that, contrary to insinuations of abortion of pregnancies of female terror suspects impregnated by insurgents, the military was not aware of such development, having received escaping female suspects, subjected them to screening, medical treatment and aided deliveries of babies, who were alive and healthy and under the care of the military.

But taking journalists round the Hajj Camp in Maiduguri, which housed 14,804 repentant insurgents and families, Special Adviser on Security to the Borno State government, Brig.Gen Abdulrasaq Ishaq (rtd), said about 90 per cent of die-hard Boko Haram insurgents had died.

He equally explained that of the number housed in the three camps, married males were 3,472, single males 1,773, spouses, 4,438, male children, 2,691 and female children 2,497, noting that 5000 fighters and their families were living in the three camps as well.

On his part, the Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, Maj Gen Christopher Musa, while speaking in Maiduguri, said 82,237 insurgents and their families had surrendered so far, out of which 16,577 were active male fighters, 52,44 men, women and 96 children.

He stated that of the 276 kidnapped Chibok girls, 57 escaped, 117 were released while 11 were rescued this year.

Eleven of the Chibok girls, who recently escaped captivity now have 25 children, adding that, in all, 180 girls were out of captivity while 96 remained in captivity.

Addressing newsmen too at the Joint Investigation Center, Operation Hadin Kai, Captain Adeniyi Oluwagbenga, said 1,952 combatants were in detention, including 23 females and 11 children.

He affirmed that 900 Boko Haram members would go on trial in Niger State while 323 were sent to Operation Safe Corridor in Gombe State for rehabilitation.

He further explained that the trial of the suspects was moved to Niger State following the difficulty in accessing witnesses while some lawyers refused to go to Maiduguri for the trial.

“Most suspects are awaiting prosecution. The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), has assured that by January, more than 900 of them will be moved to Niger State for prosecution. Some lawyers refused to come to Maiduguri for trial hence it can’t be held in Maiduguri,” he said.

In a separate interview, the Borno State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Zoyara Gambo, said the 11 Chibok Girls, who recently escaped captivity had 25 children, adding that government was already taking care of the young mothers.

In a chat with some of them, the young mothers expressed their desire to return to school like some of their colleagues.

“We want to go back to school like others. We are not happy,” they said.

MICHAEL AKINOLA

A 17-year old boy, Ezekiel Itoro, has landed in trouble after he was singled out for allegedly impregnating a 16-year old girl, who equally had sex with five other persons within one month in their neighbourhood in Lagos State.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the incident happened at Oremeji Street, Olodi Apapa, where Itoro lives with the victim and five other teenagers linked with the sex romp.

The victim was said to have slept with Itoro and five other teenagers between June and July 2022 before she became pregnant.

When her parents asked to know who Impregnated her, she mentioned Itoro and five other people now at large, who equally had sex with her within the period she became pregnant.

Since Itoro was mentioned, the matter was reported to the Police in the area and he was arrested. He was later transferred to the Gender Section of the Police Command for interrogation over the conduct.

During interrogation, the victim was said to have mentioned Itoro and five other persons but was not sure who among them that actually Impregnated her within the period she had sex with them.

However, the Police found Itoro culpable and he was charged before the Ogba Magistrates Court for statutory rape and impregnating a minor.

He pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned.
The prosecutor, Inspector Lucky Ihiehie, asked the Court to give a date for hearing since he pleaded not guilty to enable the Police to prove that he actually committed the alleged offence.

The Presiding Magistrate, Mrs. O.A. Layinka, granted Itoro bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum, who must show evidence of means of livelihood.

He was remanded in Juvenile home pending when he will perfect his bail conditions while matter was adjourned till 25th January, 2023, for mention.

The defendant risks several years of imprisonment if he is tried and found guilty before the Court for the alleged offence despite the fact that he is still a minor under the law of Lagos State.

Troops of operation Hadin Kai have reportedly bombed vehicles conveying fighters of the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), killing scores of insurgents in the process.

According to Zagazola Makama, a publication focused on the Lake Chad region, the incident happened on Sunday as the insurgents moved around the axis of Kau-Shoro’a in Damboa LGA.

The insurgents were said to have been killed by the Super Tucano light attack aircraft recently acquired by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

The development comes weeks after two ISWAP leaders were killed in an airstrike by troops of operation Hadin Kai in the Lake Chad region.

Ali Kwaya and Bukar Mainoka, the ISWAP leaders, along with other insurgents, were said to have gathered to launch an attack on the troops when they were killed with rockets and bombs fired at their enclave.

Also, on November 6, the Borno police command repelled an attack by ISWAP fighters in Magumeri town in Borno.

The ISWAP fighters stormed a divisional police command in the town in gun trucks and motorcycles at about 12:35am.

The attack triggered a gun battle between the police operatives and the insurgents, after which Bitrus Umaru, identified as a police inspector, was shot in the stomach and right leg.