₦airaland Forum

Two Nigerians have been reportedly killed off the shores of Gbanken Beach in Grand Kru, Liberia, while aboard the Ophelia Panana, a Japan-bound ship.

According to AllAfrica.com, 12 other Nigerians were rescued by members of a Liberian joint task force while trying to escape from being killed by the ship’s crew between September 11 and 12.

The Nigerians were believed to be stowaways trying to make it to Japan by illegally boarding the ship.

The crew members, believed to be either Chinese or Japanese nationals, reportedly killed the two men and dumped their bodies in the ocean, while the 12 survivors managed to swim to the shores of Gbanken Beach, where they were rescued by the task force.

The Nigerians were said to be carrying multiple wounds on their bodies when they were rescued. Those killed on the ship were identified as Frank and Osas Velurobo.

According to Chris Teah, the task force’s head, the ship left Lagos around September 5.
“The ship was less than a mile from the shore. Six Nigerians swam and came on shore. They told us that they were 14 Nigerians and they were told that they were going to Japan. They believed that the crew on the ship could be Japanese or Chinese because they look alike,” Teah said.

Teah said the Nigerians were discovered in their hiding place after they banged on the ship to request food from the crew. This was after they had spent five days onboard without food or water.

“They were discovered up the deep sea by the crew. They (crew) sprayed hot water on them and two of their colleagues were killed. Six persons swam to get on shore. According to the Nigerians, they got on the ship clandestinely, but when they left Nigeria some five days ago, they went out of food. They started hitting the yacht so that the crew could get the information that people were on board the ship,” Teah said.

“The crew came and rescued them. They and the crew were like cool for like two days and the third day, they started maltreating them up to the time they hit the soil of Liberia [sic].

“Four more persons were rescued from the ship directly and the last two were thrown into the ocean by the guys (crew). The two that were reported killed, we didn’t see them and we don’t know whether they were killed on the Liberian soil or it happened at deep sea.”

Teah said a total of 12 Nigerians were rescued and brought to the shore by his team. He also said that the rescued men were in the custody of the country’s joint security.

A video has surfaced online showing people mourning over dead bodies laid on the grass.

The video being shared on WhatsApp shows corpses of children and adults lying on the ground with their loved ones crying over them. Those said to have narrowly escaped death can also be seen receiving medical attention.

According to a voice in the video, those being mourned died in Nnewi, Anambra state after they picked calls from a phone number which starts with +666999.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, I don’t understand what is happening in this country anymore.

“This is the latest news we hear nowadays, there is a particular number that calls people now, when you pick up the call, they use it to kill people. Yesterday, they used the number to kill 100 people in Nnewi,” the voice said in Pidgin English.

“Please when you hear this voice note, send it, pass it on to others. When this number calls you, please don’t pick it up. The number is +666999, please if this number calls you, don’t pick it up.”

The voice also urged people to share the video with their loved ones so they can be in the know.

A close look at the video shows that it was shared from a TikTok account named G Best.

Apart from WhatsApp, the video has also been shared on Twitter on September 1, where it gathered over 2, 940 views.

The post was also shared on multiple accounts on Facebook.

Verification

TheCable subjected the video to keyframe analysis on InVID a toolkit used to identify the source of visual content on the internet.

Running a reverse image search on the keyframes of the video, it was established that the video was from a stampede that occurred at a church outreach in Port Harcourt, Rivers state.

On May 28, 2022, no fewer than 31 persons were confirmed dead in a stampede at a ‘Shop for free’ programme organised by a pentecostal church, Kings Assembly at the Polo Club in Port Harcourt.

“From foodstuff to household items, furniture and supplies, clothes, shoes and sundry items for adults and kids, there is no limit to the gift items that are given out during this event,” a statement on the church’s website reads.

The church was said to have slated the event for 9 am on the said date but people arrived as early as 6:30 am to partake in the event.

Later on, some sportsmen arrived at the Polo Club, an opportunity the crowd seized to access the church’s tent. Unfortunately, a stampede occurred resulting in the death of about thirty persons.

The video was shared at the time on social media capturing moments people were mourning their loved ones while injured persons were being resuscitated.

TheCable reported the incident when it happened in late May.

Verdict

The claim that people died in Anambra as a result of picking calls from a strange telephone number (+666999) is false. Rather a stampede occurred in Port Harcourt three months ago, leading to the deaths of dozens of people.

By Seun Adeuyi


Sonia, the daughter of Ike Ekweremadu, Nigeria’s former Deputy Senate President, has made a public appeal for kidney donation.

The lawmaker’s daughter made the appeal amid the ordeal of her parents who landed in trouble in the quest to save her.

He and his wife were arrested in June when they tried to get a kidney donor for Sonia, who is in mid 20s.

Prosecutors had arraigned the couple in court over alleged trafficking and attempt to harvest the organs of an underage.

Beatrice, the lawmaker’s wife, was later granted bail while he is currently in custody pending October when his case would be heard.

In an Instagram post on Monday, Sonia, who is based in the UK, asked members of the public to assist her.

“I, Sonia Ekweremadu, hereby appeal to the general public to come to my aid and save my life. I am 25 years old and a graduate of Media and Communications, University of Coventry. I dropped out of my post-graduate studies at the University of Newcastle in 2019 when I was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease, FSGS.

“Nephrotic Syndrome. My family has battled to save my life and has taken me to various hospitals, but the illness persisted and kept degenerating. I am alive today by the special grace of God. I am presently in London, UK, receiving 5 Hours of dialysis 3-4 times a week. This is at the expense of my family as I am not qualified for NHS due to my immigration status.

“The last 3 years have been extremely challenging. The charges being faced by my parents in London presently, are directly connected to my illness and have complicated matter for me and my family.

“I do not intend to delve into details of this unfortunate development as the matter is still in Court. I am however optimistic that the truth will prevail and it will end in praise to God. In the circumstance above, I am appealing to anybody whom it may please to assist me willingly with a kidney donation in the name of God. This appeal would have been utterly unnecessary as every member of my family is eager to donate their kidney to me, knowing that I would do the same for any of them. Regrettably, comprehensive medical examination showed that my case of nephrotic syndrome is a genetic illness and the doctors advised against donation from any of my family members, as it would likely reoccur.

“Anybody that is moved by this appeal and wishes to donate his or her kidney to me may send an email to helpsonialive@gmail.com and include his or her name, phone number, email address and place of residence.

“Please, note that under the laws of England and Wales, organ donation must be purely driven by compassion and therefore no reward is involved. Finally, I have decided to commit and dedicate myself to helping people with the challenges of kidney disease, upon my full recovery. Thank you and God bless you.”

The Director of Media and Public Affairs and Official Spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, on Monday, alleged that the presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi, was planning to fake an assassination attempt on himself and hire some supporters dressed in the APC caps and T-shirts to attack some of his party offices.

This is even as the Minister of State for Labour and Employment accused the former Anambra governor of circulating a hate-filled video online to disparage the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

Keyamo made the claim in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday.

While challenging Obi to reveal the source and name(s) of the culprits behind the nebulous WhatsApp message, the minister noted that it was obvious Obi deliberately concocted the message and circulated the offensive video himself as a campaign strategy.

The allegation is coming hours after Labour Party held a two-day retreat for its national officers, trade unions and party candidates.

The statement partly read, “Our attention has been drawn to an offensive, hate-filled video made and circulated by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, in which he accused an amorphous and non-existent “Tinubu’s Group” of spreading a WhatsApp message calling on the Yoruba people not to vote for him. The purported message, according to Mr. Obi, forewarned the Yoruba that a vote for Obi would be a vote for a seaport in South-South and South-East.

“We are also aware that plans are afoot by Mr. Peter Obi to fake an assassination attempt on himself and hire Labour Party boys dressed in the APC caps and T-shirts to attack some Labour Party offices. It is all part of the “US Plan”. It is the first in a series of incendiary actions planned by this ill-prepared but desperate candidate.

“Firstly, we vehemently deny the existence of any of such “Tinubu group” that made and circulated such a message. All groups supporting the APC presidential candidate and his running-mate have clear designations with well-known promoters. In addition, it is only messages released by the APC Presidential Campaign Council that are officially authorised and for which we take responsibility.

“As the takeoff date for campaigns draw closer, Mr. Peter Obi has suddenly realised that Nigerians are beginning to burst his bubbles as his messages are bereft of ideas, depth and clear-cut solutions to our challenges. His messages are only full of false data and highfalutin jargons in what is clearly a disingenuous ruse to distract a scrutiny of his empty records as a Governor of Anambra State and nothing else. Hence, his easy recourse to playing ethnic card and fanning the ember of hate.

At the Peter Obi event in New York
“We have in on good authority that part of the “US Strategy” (just like the failed “Dubai Strategy” his former boss and himself adopted in 2019) was to return to the country and spread ethnic hatred amongst the voters and cause chaos, then pose as the victim. They have just begun that plot by orchestrating and circulating the said video.

“We find it utterly disgusting, demeaning and insulting to the sensitivities and sensibilities of Nigerians for a presidential candidate of the ilk of Peter Obi to make such a video parroting a spurious, unverified and sham message that has the potential of deepening our fault lines as a nation and further promoting ethnic tensions. This is completely unbecoming of a presidential candidate that hopes to unite this country.

“Again, we note that Mr. OBJ’s latest stunt is consistent with what is now widely perceived as his adoption of hate as campaign strategy, having consistently failed to rein in his known and identifiable supporters, mostly domiciled on social media, threatening political opponents with violence and death.

“We call on all well-meaning Nigerians, irrespective of ethnic origins or political divides, to rise up and condemn this tactless tactics and cheap maneuver by a desperate non-starter of a presidential candidate who has decided to resort to crude revisionism, ethnic jingoism and crass insensitivity with a view to whipping up undeserved sentiment to fuel his faltering ambition that is nothing but a flash in a pan. Our advice to Mr. Peter Obi is to quit the race if he has nothing more to tell Nigerians.”

Reacting to Keyamo’s allegation, Obi’s Media Aide, Emeka Obasi, described it as fallacious.

The former Anambra State governor’s image maker said he was surprised it was coming from a personality like Keyamo.

He said, “It is a fallacy! You media people should also know when you see something fallacious. Does Peter looks like someone who pretends or fakes things? What do we gain to start faking assassination attempt? Are they in anyway trying to carry out such attempt and seeking on blaming Obi for it? The public deserves to know and that’swhat we should put up in the press.

“Does Keyamo knows more than we know and just using this opportunity to cry wolf? What is his plan for uttering this kind of stupid statement? Does he think Obi is part of the Old Order who are always desperatefor power? Whenever he says ‘Go and verify’, does it look like scheming?

“But we are aware of what Keyamo has done before. It is not out of place for him to say things like Obi is attempting to fake his assassination attempt? It is a terrible thing to say.”

By Leon Usigbe

DESPITE having a vote of confidence passed in his favour during the last meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the national chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, faces critical times ahead as his adversaries have ostensibly concluded plans to ramp up pressure on him to step aside. 

Credible party sources revealed to the Nigerian Tribune, on Sunday, that beyond the remarks by Governor Nyesom Wike and other prominent opponents of Ayu in PDP, part of the strategy that will unfold this week is the use of political pressure groups and surrogates to engage the media to press for the resignation of the party boss. 

The Rivers governor has already dismissed the vote of confidence passed in Ayu as a charade that is of no effect given the fact that such action had not helped former PDP chairmen who had found themselves in similar situations in the past. 

“This week you are going to see an upsurge in activities to get Ayu out of office. There will be more groups and individuals coming out to demand the removal of Ayu. He has to go because that is the only way left to salvage the party unity. 

“Wike has been able to build a coalition to demand for the post of national chairman. So, it is no longer what anyone can wish away. Ayu has to go,” a top source within the Wike group argued. 

The source added: “If Ayu thinks he will survive because of the vote of confidence, he has not learnt from history. Apart from Solomon Lar, nobody else had a vote of confidence passed in him and remained in office as PDP national chairman until the end of his tenure.” 

Findings revealed that even though Wike has remained resolute on his membership of the PDP, he is said to be willing to do all that is necessary to stop the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, from winning the election unless he first facilitates the correction of the seeming imbalance in the organogram of the main opposition party by allowing the ouster of Ayu and his replacement by a southerner. 

However, Atiku’s camp was still adamant on Sunday that the party must be guided by its constitution rather than the desires of the first runner-up in the presidential primary. 

Citing the role of Governor Wike in the removal and replacement of former PDP national chairmen, a senior insider in the Atiku campaign told the Nigerian Tribune that the Rivers governor ought not to have any problem with the decision of NEC to pass a vote of confidence in Ayu. The source admonished that the Rivers State governor must resist the temptation of pushing for the removal and appointment of all party chairman at the slightest excuse. 

The source maintained: “Wike cannot be in the business of making and unmaking national chairmen of the party. The same Wike was the one who brought (Modu) Sherrif and removed him. He brought (Uche) Secondus and removed him. He brought (Ahmed) Makarfi and saw him out. So, the question you ask yourself is, has it become a fashion now for him to be enthroning and dethroning chairmen.” The Atiku group is, however, confident that the issue between the Rivers governor and the national chairman of the party will be resolved and Wike will remain in the PDP. 

It said: “This issue will be resolved. Wike is not going anywhere and the people that are with him. Look at it. Wike is not going anywhere and all of them that are doing this thing are not going anywhere. It is going to be resolved. You will see what will happen. “Leave all that matter. Wike has about 40 candidates who are running for election. Where are they going to go to? Who is he going to partner with? Don’t forget that the presidential election comes before every other election. “If it has got to that point, it’s ok, fine; we want to deny Atiku; we want the PDP to be defeated. What is the guarantee that those people will support his presidential candidate, his senatorial candidates, House of Representatives, state House of Assembly, and all of that? 

“So, that is it. That is where our confidence comes from. If you want to know, go back to (Olusegun) Obasanjo in 2003. Look at what he did to the Alliance for Democracy (AD) people after they had reached a deal with him.”

Chairman of Oyo State Western Nigerian Security Network, codenamed Amotekun, General Kunle Togun (retd) has threatened to the use of bees and poisonous snakes to attack bandits terrorizing the state and region.

Togun who stated this while delivering a lecture at the special meeting of Oke-Ogun Development Consultative Forum (ODCF) held at the weekend in Otu Township Hall, Otu, Itesiwaju local government area of the state called on the Federal Government to allow operatives of the outfit to make use of AK 47 and other standard weapons to fight banditry in the Southwestern states

He declared that Oyo State was the number one target of the foreign bandits because of the vast land space that is close to foreign borders and body of thick forest where they could hide and attack the people, especially in the Oke-Ogun region.

Togun said, ”During the COVID-19 global restriction, these people were allowed into Nigeria and every corner of the country they wished without hindrance, President Buhari is their backer and we all know.

“These people were coming to Oke-Ogun in trailers and some of our traditional rulers allowed this in their domains despite the fact that people took pictures and videos which they posted online, we will not stop talking about it.

”For us to maintain peace and keep these bandits away we will resort to the use of bees and poisonous snakes, I have traveled as far as ‘Ibariba’ area to see great hunters on this, this can even change the perspective of warfare in the world, instead of physical weaponry, let us use wild animals for once.”

Carter Oshodin, a staff member of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), has committed suicide in Edo State.

The deceased, who works as a data entry staff in the institution, committed suicide over alleged financial difficulty as a result of the strike by academic and non-academic Unions in Universities.

It was gathered that the deceased had been complaining of hardship and begged for financial support from neighbours within the University’s premises.

One of Oshodin’s Facebook friends simply identified as, Edward, revealed that Oshodin had lamented about how he could not pay for his daughter’s fee.

He said, “He committed suicide on Friday and according to a post on his Facebook, he said he was facing financial difficulties and could pay the school fees of his two young daughters. It is a pathetic situation.”

Meanwhile, the Edo State Police Command Public Relations Officer who confirmed the incident said, the incident was not officially reported at the police station.

“Yes, the command happens to be aware of it by following up events and processes in the state not that the family of the man who committed suicide reported it officially.”

“The case remains unreported to date but we are aware of it because of our interest in following event in the state.”

Government-owned universities have been shut since February over dispute between the Federal Government and academic unions.

Kaduna-based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has called on the Department of State Services (DSS) to either release Tukur Mamu or charge him to court.

Citing the law, Gumi said anybody arrested over an alleged crime needs to be taken to court within 24 hours.

Daily Trust had reported how Mamu, who negotiated the release of some of the victims of the Kaduna -Abuja train attack, was arrested at Cairo International Airport on his way to Saudi Arabia for Lesser Hajj.

He was deported back and picked up by the DSS at Kano International Airport.

The DSS subsequently said Mamu has questions to answer on the rising insecurity in the country.

During his weekly preaching at Sultan Bello Mosque, Gumi said Mamu was arrested because of his role in assisting victims of terrorist attacks.

The cleric, who said God has a way of testing a believer, added that the arrest of Mamu was God’s way of testing his faith, praying that Mamu would overcome it.

“Take him to court to face trial. Keeping him in custody despite being a family man was just to intimidate him. This intimidation is also terrorism. Arresting people unjustly is also terrorism; just like the terrorists do by going to somebody’s house to kidnap him.

“How can we continue in this situation under a government that is about to wind up? Our hope is for them to finish successfully not in a bad light. It’s not about Tukur Mamu, you all know that whenever they arrest innocent people, I always talk, not to talk of someone that I know and I’m only advising the government to release him so that we can apologize to him to forget what happened.”

FG expressed disappointment that Nigerian doctors practicing abroad are being underpriced compared to their counterparts from other countries.

The head of civil service of the federation (HoCSF), Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan, made this known on Tuesday at a meeting with the leadership of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Abuja.

In a statement signed by the deputy director of information in the office of the Head of Service of the Federation, Mohammed Ahmed, Yemi-Esan advised the association to discourage young doctors from seeking greener pastures abroad, since they are being lowly priced because of their large population.

Yemi-Esan, while responding to demands by the body for an increase in their hazard allowances, urged the doctors to always remember that the government has done a lot for them with their sponsorship.

She lamented the rate at which resident doctors travel abroad to practice without serving the country adding that the government has done a lot for them.

The Head of Service further said that they should be considerate in their demands, having in mind dwindling government revenue and, most importantly, value addition to the polity.

Earlier, the president of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr Uche Rowland Ojinmah, commended the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan for repositioning the Federal Civil Service for greater performance and national economic growth.

By Abdulyassar Abdulhamid

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has said those saying he wants to destroy Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because he lost the presidential ticket of the party are sick.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar had defeated Wike and other contestants at the presidential primaries of the party in May.

Peace talks were held between Atiku’s camp and that of Wike but no deal has been reached yet.

On Thursday the BoT chair of the party, Walid Jibrin, steeped down, a decision many attributed to the internal wrangling in the PDP.

But speaking at the Commissioning of the Ahoada Campus of the State University of Science on Thursday. Wike said, “Some of you don’t know what is happening. You are being deceived; they are telling you Wike is causing problem. Wike is not causing problem; Wike is bringing peace to the country. Wike is advocating for justice, Wike is advocating for equity, and Wike is advocating for fairness.

“We have finished with presidential primary. It is over and it is over. So, when people say, ‘You want to destroy the party because you didn’t win the primary’, I think they are sick, they have some mental problem.”

Ex-aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, reacted to the visit of the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, to the former President.

Reacting and sharing pictures from the visit on Wednesday, Omokri hailed Jonathan’s composure amid what he described as attacks on him by Tinubu from 2010 to 2015, saying the ex-President never bore a grudge despite this.

He described Jonathan as the best leader Nigeria had.

The PUNCH had reported that Tinubu, Tuesday night, paid a scheduled visit to Jonathan in Abuja.

The meeting, which was held behind closed doors in Jonathan’s residence, was in continuation of Tinubu’s nationwide consultation with critical stakeholders.

Tinubu, who was accompanied by his running mate, Senator Kashim Shetimma, led a delegation of five APC governors. They included the Governor of Plateau State and Director-General of his Presidential Campaign Council, Simon Lalong; his Ogun State counterpart, Dapo Abiodun; Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawale; Jigawa State Governor, Abubakar Badaru and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

While the details of the meeting was not made public, a source in Tinubu’s camp told our correspondent that the visit was an extension of the APC national leader’s consultation with major stakeholders in the polity ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

“His visit to Jonathan shouldn’t come to anyone as a surprise. Tinubu holds no grudges with any political leader whether within the party or in the opposition,” the source had said.

Reacting via a tweet, Omokiri said, “H.E @GEJonathan, the best leader that Nigeria ever had. Look at his Godly gesture. Bola @officialABAT spent the five years between 2010-2015 insulting, attacking and lying against Jonathan. Even after GEJ left office, he continued. Yet, Jonathan never bore a grudge!”

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), says the outcome of investigation into the death of Itunu Babalola, the Nigerian lady who was ‘wrongfully jailed’ in Cote D’Ivoire, will shock many.

Dabiri-Erewa disclosed this while responding to questions at a media briefing at the state house in Abuja on Thursday.

Speaking on efforts made by the commission to get justice for the deceased, Dabiri-Erewa said a Nigerian who claimed to be investigating the circumstances surrounding Babalola’s death visited her before her demise.

The NIDCOM chairperson said Babalola might have been implicated by those who she regards as friends.

Dabiri-Erewa also lamented that the lack of CCTV footage has made it difficult to ‘really’ identify the suspect whom she described as ‘dark, male who had a relationship with the girl’.

“The case is in court and I would not want to pre-empt what is in court but there are some sad things about that,” she said.

“Somebody visited her before she died, I’m saying this for the first time and that person is a Nigerian.

“If there was CCTV, they would tell us who that Nigerian is, and it’s one person who has been going about saying that he’s doing some investigations. It’s deeper than that.

“When that comes out, you may be shocked, and again, because she’s late and the father is still mourning, it’s difficult but somebody, a Nigerian who claims to be investigating had a relationship with that girl and visited that girl and something happened to her.

“If it was a developed country, there would be CCTV and they would point that guy out. So, they’re still looking at it.

“I don’t think the police in Cote D’Ivoire did anything, sometimes we’re our biggest enemies. It’s deep, loaded but something deeper happened to that girl that goes right back to who she called her friend. Who were her friends? Who implicated her? Who went to visit her? Some male… dark…that claims he’s investigating.”

By Adebola Adewara

The United States Government has honoured Deborah Samuel, the 200-level student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education (SSCOE), Sokoto, who was stoned to death on campus by some Islamic extremists for blasphemy on May 12.

Deborah’s picture was uploaded on the website of the US Office of Religious Freedom, which is saddled with the responsibility of promoting universal respect for freedom of religion or belief.

This was done to mark the fourth US International Day Commemorating the Victims of Violence Based on Religion or Belief on August 22.

“In May, a mob brutally stoned, flogged and burnt to death college student, Deborah Samuel, in Nigeria, in an attack fuelled by hatred and blasphemy allegations, even as authorities attempted to stop it,” the office stated on its website.

“We honour her life as we continue the work to end such vicious violence.”

In a series of tweets on Tuesday, Rashad Hussain, the US Ambassador-at-Large, who heads the office, stated that too many people around the world who face violence based on their religion or belief are not heard because oppression keeps them hidden from view or it is too dangerous for their names to be shared.

Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, also stated that the failure to protect the right to freedom of religion or belief threatens the enjoyment of this right by all.

“Religious freedom is a key element of an open and stable society. Without it, people aren’t able to make their fullest contribution to their country’s success,” Blinken noted

“Whenever human rights are denied, it ignites tension and breeds division.”

The Chinese government has revealed plans to forgive 23 interest-free loans to 17 African countries.

China also revealed its intention to provide food assistance to struggling nations.

The Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, disclosed the plans in a post on the ministry’s website.

The Minister failed to specify which countries owed the money or the amount of the loans.

“China will waive the 23 interest-free loans for 17 African countries that had matured by the end of 2021,” Mr Wang said at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, according to a statement.

He pledged that China would continue actively supporting and participating in the construction of major infrastructure projects in Africa through financing, investment and assistance.

“We will also continue to increase imports from Africa, support the greater development of Africa’s agricultural and manufacturing sectors, and expand co-operation in emerging industries such as the digital economy, health, green and low-carbon sectors.”

“What Africa wishes for is a favourable and amicable cooperation environment, not the zero-sum Cold War mentality,” Wang said, according to the post.

Since the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation took place in Senegal in November 2021, Beijing has delivered $3 billion of $10 billion of credit facilities pledged to African financial institutions, Wang said in the speech.

In addition, this year, China has agreed to tariff-free entry to 98% of exports from 12 African countries and has provided emergency food assistance to Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea, he said.

“So far this year, China has signed exchange of letters with 12 African countries on zero tariff for 98% of their export items to China. We have provided emergency food assistance to Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea. More African agricultural produce has reached the Chinese market through the green lanes,” he added.

By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo


Alhaji Ibrahim Masari,a close associate of the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had said that after meeting the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike in London, they are confident that Wike would now work for the success of Tinubu come 2023.

Alhaji Ibrahim Masari who spoke from London, told the BBC Hausa on Wednesday,that it’s true Tinubu met Wike and they would continue to meet in due course.

According to him,” the meeting was basically on the 2023 Presidential election and by God’s grace, we are going to work with His Excellency, Governor Nyeson Wike ,he will assist and we are going to win the election with ease,by the will of God. “

Asked on whether Wike was intending to join the APC in order to assist Tinubu win election, Masari said he was not in position to say if Wike would join the PDP , adding that Wike does not have to leave the PDP before he could assist anyone that he wants to help.

” This is because Wike is a big politician, a Governor and he has control in some other states apart from his state. He is good to the people and has associated with his people peacefully. By the grace of God, he will be of help to us.”

Asked if the new political romance would last considering the fact that Atiku’s camp too,is still trying to pacify Wike, Masari explained that ” well, only God knows what would happen next. But what we are seeing now, what has transpired is that we are going to work with Wike and he will be useful to us.”


” If you could remember, it was APC that caused the failure of APC in Bauchi, it was members of the party that led to the defeat of the Governor from their own party. In Adamawa too. So what I want people to understand, someone can still assist you even without joining your party if he wants to.”

“Furthermore, with the widespread acceptance of His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Nigerians, I can assure you by the will of God he is going to win the election, with or without help. But there is the Hausa adage which says even if you’re beautiful, you should add to it by taking bath. So it’s not only about Wike, we are also talking with many other Governors.”

He said their political alliance with Wike would not make the likes of former Minister Rotimi Amaechi and other APC members in Rivers State to feel sidelined, as they are ever ready to carry all of them along.

” Nobody will do anything that will hurt Rotimi Amaechi, he is a party member, a formidable member of the APC,’ he said.

By Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye


Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, at the 46th Session of the State House Briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, reeled out what he termed the outstanding successes and “remarkable feats” in the key areas of justice reforms, the fight against corruption and good governance under the Buhari led administration in the 18 months of his second term, which translated to improvement in justice, dispensation and efficiency of the Nigerian jurisprudence.


What are the achievements of the Justice Ministry in 18 months under Muhammadu Buhari’s second term?

As we all are aware, the justice sector, as with every other sector, has continued to witness some challenges in consideration of which we made efforts to identify the recurring challenges and impediment to the administration of justice. Through the instrumentality of the Office of the Attorney General, all justice sector stakeholders have built consensus which identified these challenges that resulted in deployment and adoption of the first ever national justice policy in 2017.

Following this landmark achievement of consensus building among the stakeholders, all justice sector institutions across the country have continued to collaborate and provide frameworks to the realisation of the objectives set out in the national justice policy. It is our firm expectation that the full implementation of the proposals in the national policy on the justice sector would lead to greater synergy and shared knowledge amongst all stakeholders involved in the administration of justice.

Well, let me state for the record that when we talk of criminal prosecution, there are certain undertones associated with it. At some point in this country, we were confronted with the challenges relating to the speedy administration of justice but arising from the consensus building between the legislature and the executive, we were able to come up with administration of Criminal Justice Act and its implementation by which speedy distillation of justice of high profile criminal cases was enhanced.

When we’re confronted with a further challenge associated with the fact that those involved in the high profile anti-corruption cases were indeed using the proceeds of the crime in contention, to force a greater challenge arising from their movements, deployment of such sources, we equally came up with Executive Order No.6, which will restrict movement of the people involved in high profile cases, which equally restrict their access to funding. So, on the basis of that, we laid the foundation for prosecution.

By way of criminal prosecution at the Federal Ministry of Justice, I’m not talking about the entire prosecution because other agencies of government, EFCC, NDLEA, ICPC are equally involved in direct prosecution.

So, Federal Ministry of Justice within 18 months period under review, was actively involved in prosecution of 312 criminal cases for various offenses, including terrorism, maritime offenses, armed robbery, cybercrime, kidnapping, among others. We have so far secured over 1000 convictions on terrorism within the period in consideration.

Again, convictions were secured in 45 cases by Complex Casework Group (CCG). The group is a unit established in the Federal Ministry of Justice that requires specialisation and prosecution of certain special cases that border on maritime and associated special cases and the ministry through this group has succeeded in securing 45 convictions that relate to maritime and official Task Force on electricity offenses.


Joint investigation committee

As you know, for the success of criminal conviction, there is indeed a need for extensive investigation that must naturally stand the test of proof in court, which must be translated and processed into an actionable evidence.

So, arising from the consensus building arrangement, it is no longer business as usual, where the case in contention requires multi-stakeholders, connectivity collaboration. The Federal Ministry of Justice has created an avenue for collective participation as it relates to investigation. For example, if you are talking of terrorism, it is only natural that other agencies of government that are involved in an investigative process associated with terrorism cases be involved. So for example, the DSS, the military may be involved in certain cases that have to do with field operations. And when it has to do with economic crime cases, it is only logical that the EFCC must be involved, and in governance cases, the ICPC must naturally be involved. So, what I’m saying in essence is that the consensus building arrangement is paying off.

The Federal Ministry of Justice is equally engaged with the International Criminal Court in an ongoing prosecution of certain potential ICC cases to obviate the trigger for any ICC prosecution.

At the international level, there is also an engagement taken into consideration that we are engaging in the North East for example, the Boko Haram; in the South East the IPOB, and in the Northwest and central for example, the bandits and all such things. All these things by the rule of international engagement and the setup of which Nigeria is a member, there are certain codes of conduct that are expected to be complied with. And when you are operating in breach of those codes of conduct, the actions or inactions may eventually translate to a considerable case before International Criminal Court.

So we are equally working together as a system to ensure at the end of the day, that nothing adverse comes our way as a nation in terms of breaches associated with international code of conduct, of engagement, both military and otherwise.

Again, out of desire to deploy technology into what we are doing as far as governance is concerned. As far as the fight against corruption is concerned, we have deployed a state of the art case management system known as INTELA. And this is a smart case management system that not only warehouses all terrorism related cases, from 2017 to date but also intelligently provides needed statistics.

For your information, Nigeria is not operating alone in the fight against terrorism, anti-corruption programmes and associated things. And it is only logical that information and intelligence reports are being shared. The idea of remaining analogue and manual in operations we felt is not good enough for the system as it relates to international engagement.

So we have now succeeded in putting in place a technologically based case management object arrangement which will now enable us to respond rapidly and speedily to international inquiries arising from our international engagement responsibilities on mutual legal assistance among others.

So, all cases relating to terrorism, I’m talking about the local cases with particular reference to Kainji trial; as you rightly know, the terrorism cases have been prosecuted in Kianji. The ministry through the CTG unit is coordinating the next phase of terrorism related case trials in collaboration with the federal high court, the Legal Aid Council and the Defence Headquarters. The ministry has concluded remodeling action towards structure at the Wawa containment Kainji, to accommodate courtrooms, judge’s chambers, living accommodation, lawyers dressing room and conveniences to make them conducive for judges, witnesses, as well as defendant.

So we are not only confronting terrorism head on but we are taking steps to make all necessary provisions as it relates to facilities and indeed kind of having a sustainable arrangement for the prosecution of terrorism cases. What obtains before the coming in of this administration was an adhoc arrangement whereby periodically arrangements are made for prosecution of these cases. But we are now taking steps to ensure at the end of the day that a sustainable arrangement, both in terms of facilities, structures, and indeed, as it relates to capacity building are put in place for addressing, checkmating and confronting terrorism cases head on.

A man was reportedly arrested by police in Bayelsa State for allegedly beating up a lady because she refused him sex.

The incident reportedly occurred at the popular PDP Road junction by Isaac Boro express in Yenagoa, on Monday, August 22.

The suspect claimed that the lady collected N5,000 from him after she agreed to sleep with him but later changed her mind and refused to return the said money.

In the last three weeks, bank customers across the country have had cause to complain about poor services by lenders, especially with regard to tech application delays and outright failure. Funds transfer among customers in some cases now take an upward of two weeks to either drop in the receiver’s account or reversed to the sender.

Besides this obvious development, information is rife that most of the banks are working round the clock to manage internal tech problems that have suddenly hit them due to mass resignation of tech experts, who are travelling out of the country for greener pastures.

Besides the current wave of managing the crisis, the fear of succession has also gripped some of the establishments as the old hands are likely to end up not having anyone to take over from them. Fears that the quality of ser vice provided by the banks in the country might even worsen in the coming months are growing, findings by New Telegraph has shown.

Wave of resignations Indeed, industry sources believe that banks are set to be hit by a great wave of resignations in September as a lot of their employees are booked to obtain their visas by the end of this month. At the post-Bankers’ Committee meeting press briefing held in April, the Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank Plc, Abubakar Suleiman, told reporters that the industry had been hit by an exodus of tech talents.

He said: “So many of our very experienced talents, especially in the area of software engineering, are either leaving the industry or leaving the country,” a development he referred to as a “great resignation.”

Suleiman stated that the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), the umbrella professional body for lenders in the country, would “drive the process of training more skills in the area where we see deficits,” adding that the bank CEOs at the meeting discussed plans to fund training for new tech-focused staffers to replace those who have left.

There have been reports on social media in recent times that Nigerian banks are facing frequent system breakdown and other ITrelated challenges as most of their tech engineers have resigned to join digital firms in the country’s booming fintech sector, especially the global conglomerate, Amazon, which began operations in Nigeria’s e-commerce space a few months ago.

Attractions

However, New Telegraph gathered that it was not only techfocused staff of the banks who are quitting to take up juicy appointments both within and outside the country.

An Assistant Head of Operations at the branch of a Tier 1 bank, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told New Telegraph’s correspondent that he recently obtained his visa to pursue a Masters degree programme in the United Kingdom and would be leaving the country with his family next month.

According to him, he decided to apply for the visa, following encouragement from several former colleagues who resigned in the last few months and have secured jobs or admissions for post graduate programmes either in Europe or Canada.

The bank official said: “Despite the fact that the tough economy in Nigeria has been leading many bank staff in the last seven years to resign to seek better opportunities outside the country, I was not too keen on making that move.

“However, as economic conditions and insecurity have worsened since early this year, my wife and I decided that I should try my luck and apply for a UK visa. I was pleasantly surprised to be informed that my application was successful.”

He disclosed that his immediate superior, the Head of Operations at the branch, had also obtained a UK visa and would be submitting his resignation letter in the coming days.

“The situation (wave of resignations in the industry) is really very serious and I’m wondering how banks are going to cope in terms of service delivery, if it continues. I can tell you that out of every 10 bank employees that you speak with today, at least four will tell you that they are making serious plans to “japa” (local parlance for leaving the country for greener pastures abroad).

A lot of my colleagues are already complaining of being overworked because staff who resigned months ago are yet to be replaced,” he said.

Downturn in economy Another middle level bank staff at a Tier I bank branch in Lagos, who echoed similar views, predicted that the wave of resignations would increase in the coming months as economic conditions and governance issues in the country continue to deteriorate ahead of the general election next year.

He said, “A lot of people are trying to ‘japa’ due to the situation in the country. The naira is heading towards N1,000 per dollar; the prices of goods and services (inflation) are accelerating at an alarming rate; students of government-owned higher institutions have been at home for over six months now because of the strike embarked upon by their teachers and the rising wave of killings and kidnapping cases across the nation, are making many people to believe that with the election next year drawing near, governance will completely collapse.

Thus, the only option left for any serious person is to travel abroad.”

The bank official revealed that in a bid to tackle the crisis, the financial institution she works for had reduced the minimum academic qualification required for people applying for permanent staff positions to Second Class Lower (2/2) University Degree from Second Class Upper (2/1).

She, however, said that the lowering of the academic qualification did not appear to be stemming the wave of resignations as many of the young permanent staff employed by the bank in recent times have quit after only two years to accept better offers outside the industry.

“Most of the young people that are even lucky to be employed as permanent staff by banks are not even interested in spending more than three or four years in the industry. After about two years, you will hear that they have either emigrated to Canada or are doing remote work,” she said.

Automation not the solution The bank official debunked the view that increasing automation would mitigate the impact of the resignations on the quality of service provided by the banks. She argued that while most bank operations are automated, there are still services that require the human element, pointing out that a lot of bank customers in the country prefer to visit bank branches to resolve issues that could have been addressed from the comfort of their homes.

Commenting on the wave of resignations and its likely impact on the industry, the President of the Bank Customers Association of Nigeria (BCAN), Dr Uju Ogubunka, told New Telegraph that “the impact is already being felt. Many experienced and skilled bankers are already resigning for greener pastures abroad. It is a reality.” According to him, the resignations will adversely impact the industry as “service quality will go down and people will complain and all that.”

Ogubunka, who noted that the wave of resignations was not peculiar to the banking industry, said that he knew a lot of people in other sectors of the economy who are also planning to quit their jobs to look for better employment offers outside the country. He attributed the development to the tough economy, pointing out that it was in the nature of human beings to emigrate in search of a better life.

“That is why we are asking that it is very important that all the focus should be on improving the Nigerian economy,” he stated.

On his part, the CEO of BIC Consulting Services, Dr Boniface Chizea, said that he could not predict to what level the great resignation will get to before it would start to impact the banks negatively. He noted that while automation is helping the banks to cope with the resignation of key staff, the industry would be concerned if the number of exiting staff continues to head north.

Chizea said: “There are countries out there, like Canada, that have labour shortage. So, people will want to move to such places to search for work. That is why we must tackle our economic problems.

What is causing the high inflation; the depreciation of the naira?” Blessing in disguise Last week, in his address at the pre-media briefing for the CIBN’s 15th Annual Banking and Finance Conference (ABFC), scheduled for September 13 – 14, Suleiman, who is the Chairman of the Consultative Committee of the conference, announced that an ongoing research finding on, “Analysis of Human Capital Attrition in a Global Context: A Case Study of the Financial Services Industry,” would be shared for information of stakeholders and value addition to the 15th ABFC.

Responding to a question on what measures the banking industry is taking to address the great resignation, he said: “With reference to the Chinese word for crisis, which also means opportunity, our attitude is that Nigeria is not lacking in healthy, young people, who are willing and are able to work.

“Therefore, if we see ourselves losing talent, the best response is to actually focus on converting those young people as replacement for those who are leaving.”

He further disclosed that “the industry, as a collective, is putting together a plan that will enable us support individuals who are looking to acquire skills in the area of technology and all other fields where we have skills shortage. The thinking is that actually, we can turn the crisis into an opportunity.”

The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Lekan Balogun, has condemned the disruption of chieftaincy installation by hoodlums believed to have been hired by some prospective Mogajis and Baales.

The installation which was held on Monday was said to have been disrupted by the hoodlums and this was said to have forced the monarch to suspend the activities.

It was learnt that there were contentions concerning the choice of some of the chiefs and the Olubadan condemned the resort to the use of miscreants to address the issue.

Oba Balogun, in a statement signed by his Personal Assistant (Media), Oladele Ogunsola, expressed disappointment at the unruly behaviour of the supporters of the prospective chiefs.

He said the disruption led to the abrupt end of the programme shortly after the installation of only three out of 10 chiefs slated for the day.

“It was a sad scene, seeing miscreants storming the palace, where, accompanied by my members of council seated to perform the traditional rites throwing decorum to the wind in abeyance of the exalted and majestic positions of my members of the Council.

“Kabiyesi, who reiterated his commitment to equity, fairness and justice in the exercise of his traditional role maintained that whoever, after thorough investigation of the incident, anyone found culpable among his staff on whatever might have led to the ugly disruption would be properly sanctioned.

“He empathized with the other chiefs, who had no contentious issue, but, whose installation could not be performed due to the disruption caused by the miscreants, assuring them that what happened was a mere delay and not denial, adding, “their installation would be performed unfailingly at the next exercise”.

Oba Balogun equally charged every family presenting candidates for the positions of Baales and Mogajis to do their homework properly to avoid a repeat of Monday’s incident just as he warned against unruly behaviour.

He advised that they should ensure that their family members who may accompany them to the palace conduct themselves in an orderly manner as anyone found in the habit of bringing miscreants to the palace will be sanctioned.

He also insisted that every chieftaincy matter should be routed through his Personal Assistant on Chieftaincy Matters, Chief Isiaka Akinpelu.

He said, “I have made it clear to the members of the public when the palace was reorganised on the need to ensure that chieftaincy matters are made less cumbersome for me and my members of the council by going through Chief Akinpelu, whose appointment was made solely to have smooth and stress-free procedures on promotion and installation of Chiefs.”

The monarch maintained that anybody who deals with any other person on chieftaincy matters outside of Chief Akinpelu does so at his or her own risk, noting that the palace would not entertain any complaint in that regard after his repeated pronouncement.

COOL10:
Adekunle's presentation alone will make them win.

President Omaluegwuoku Progressive Initiative (OPI), Ginika Tor, has explained why the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, has yet to visit the South East geopolitical zone to sell his candidacy.

Tor, while unveiling the Tinubu Campaign Strategies and Support Office in Abuja, said the delay by Tinubu was aimed at ensuring that the ranks of his supporters in the zone were effectively mobilised.

“Tinubu holds Ndigbo in high esteem. He is bidding his time to take his campaign trail to the South East geopolitical zone with a big bang. His supporters are everywhere in the zone. We have been talking, planning and strategising for his visit,” she noted.

The Federal Character Commission (FCC) official faulted the notion that Tinubu would not attract the desired votes from Ndigbo to actualise his presidential ambition in 2023.

The APC chieftain, who met with Ndigbo residents in key states of the six geopolitical zones of the country, reiterated the call on Ndigbo to get to the mainstream of Nigerian politics to actualise the quest for the emergence of a President of Igbo extraction in the years ahead.

Tor said her group was initially rooting for a South East presidential candidate, but filed behind Tinubu when he emerged as the party’s flag bearer.

Jude Idimogu, representing Oshodi/Isolo II in Lagos State House of Assembly, assured that Tinubu would address the marginalisation of Ndigbo in the country.

However, hundreds of youths and supporters of APC from the North Central converged in Abuja, yesterday, to protest against the Muslim-Muslim ticket adopted by the party.

The demonstrators, under the aegis of North Central Progressives Youth (NCPY), began the protest at Unity Fountain and ended it at the Presidential Villa.

Chanting solidarity songs, the youths from the six North Central states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) held banners with inscriptions: ‘APC presidential ticket must be for all faith’, ‘Shettima must go now, All Christians say no to Islamisation of APC presidential ticket’, ‘Tinubu and Shettima must do the needful, it is our constitutional right’, ‘Don’t destroy the unity of Nigeria’, among others.

President of NCPY, Musa Attah, described Tinubu, as a man loved and adored by Nigerians, but added that his only obstacle to the presidential seat is his running mate, Sen. Kashim Shettima.

He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on the former Lagos governor to replace Shettima with a Christian for the good of the party and Nigeria.

In Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu Solidarity Vanguard (BATS-Vanguard) is set for inauguration on Thursday, August 25.

BATS-Vanguard is headed by the founder, Dr. Dare Owotomobi, while Dr. Shakirudeen Anifowose is the chairman, Lagos branch.

According to Anifowose, the group is independent and not sponsored by any personality.

“We want someone that can deliver results, performance-based results, not just promises; that is why we choose to work for Tinubu,” he said.

Anifowose explained that their support for Tinubu was hinged on trust for his political philosophy that prioritises the development of human capital and economy.

He highlighted that the group would make use of social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to mobilise people.

“We are bringing to the fore a knowledge-driven campaign based on huge contributions of Tinubu to the country’s democracy, coupled with his untiring efforts as a nation and people builder over the years,” Anifowose added.

Also Chairman, Publicity Committee, Lagos chapter, Daniel Abiodun, said: “You cannot become a leader except God ordained you. Tinubu has footprints all over Nigeria. He has helped and lifted many people. He doesn’t discriminate on the basis of religion. I urge Nigerians to support him, as he has what it takes to move the nation to its promise land.”

The Republic of the Niger, Republic of Benin and Togolese Republic did not pay a N5.86 billion electricity debt in 2020 from an invoice of N16.31bn issued to them by the Nigerian Electricity Market (NEM) for the year.

According to the report for 2020 released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the companies for each of the countries are Societe Nigerienne d’electricite (SNE), Societe Beninoise d’Energie Electrique (SBEE) and Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo (CEET) respectively.

The remittances showed that the Nigerian Market Operator (MO) gave the countries N16.31bn from which they paid N10.45bn for the services received from MO, while N5.86bn was outstanding.

Ajaokuta Steel Company Ltd, termed a special customer in Nigeria, and its host community did not pay anything after consuming N1.08bn worth of electricity in the year. The invoice from Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) to the company was N930m, while that of MO was N150m. NERC recommended in the report that, “MO and NBET must activate the relevant safeguards against continued non-settlement of market obligations by these market participants.”

Also, in 2020 NERC issued five new generation licences and renewed three others which would add 667.70 megawatts (MW) to the grid. The new licences can add 235MW while the renewed licences were for 346MW capacity of electricity generation. It also gave approval to 33 Meter Asset Providers (MAPs) and certified 17 Meter Service Providers (MSPs).

On metering, the report indicated that 537,400 meters were installed for consumers in 2020, a 60.4 per cent higher figure than the 334,896 meters installed in 2019.

Despite this, the huge metering gap for end-use customers is still a key challenge in the industry. Registered customers grew to 11,841,819 (11.8m) in 2020 but just 4,666,191 (4.6m) or 39.40 per cent of them were metered.

“Therefore, 60.60 per cent of the registered electricity customers are on estimated billing contributing to apathy toward payment for electricity bills,” it stated.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has struck out a suit seeking nullification of submission of the name of Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the last July 26 election.

The judge on Thursday struck down the suit on the ground that the plaintiff lacked locus standi to institute the case.

The plaintiff in the suit, Awoyemi Oluwatayo Lukman, had dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the PDP and Adeleke before the court seeking order to void and set aside the submission of Adeleke’s name to INEC on grounds of alleged unlawful action.

The grouse of the plaintiff was that Adeleke’s name was hurriedly submitted by PDP on March 11 as against between March 14 to 18 as contained in the INEC guidelines.

Adeleke’s name having not been submitted within the period fixed by INEC, the plaintiff asked the court to declare the submission, illegal, unlawful, null, and void and be set aside.

He claimed that INEC must be bound by its official guidelines and that anything done outside the guidelines is against the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

However, in his judgment, Justice Obiora Egwuatu struck out the suit on the ground that the said Awoyemi Oluwatayo Lukman lacked locus standi to have instituted the case.

The Judge held also that the suit was statute barred having been fixed outside the 14 days stipulated by Section 285 of the 1999 Constitution that all pre-election suits must be filed within 14 days whereas, the instant suit was filed after 28 days.

From next week, Nigerians will be able to open an eNaira wallet and conduct transactions by simply using a designated USSD code on any phone.

To carry out these transactions, Nigerians will only have to dail *997 from their phones.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele stated these at the Grand Finale of the 2022 eNaira Hackathon in Abuja.

According to him: “Nigerians, both banked and unbanked, will be able to open an eNaira wallet and conduct transactions by simply dialling *997 from their phones.

“Shortly after this, both merchants and consumers with bank accounts can use the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) to transfer and receive eNaira to any bank account”.

“This will further deepen the integration of the eNaira with the existing national payment infrastructure”.

The CBN Governor reiterated his “promise to increase the level of Financial Inclusion in the Country because just like the Naira, the eNaira is expected to be accessible to all Nigerians . And would provide more possibilities to bring in the unbanked into the digital economy”.

By Luminous Jannamike, Abuja

A group of Chinese hackers has attacked several government agencies and defense companies in Russia, a cybersecurity company, Kaspersky Laboratory, has said.

The Chinese hacker group, identified as TA428, was alleged to be behind the recent numerous cyber espionage attacks on the military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation.

Experts said the attacks which featured the deployment of phishing emails that contained sensitive information and malicious code, were first discovered in January 2022.

According to a global affairs analyst, Mr Emesakoru Enifome, the computer networks of dozens of targets in several countries including Russia were compromised as a result.

in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, he said: “According to available information, a report by the cybersecurity company, Kaspersky Laboratory, which appeared to a limited circle of Russian politicians, it is noted that the government-linked Chinese hacker group TA428 is behind numerous attacks on the military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation.

“Russian Kaspersky Lab researchers are convinced that the attacks were aimed at industrial enterprises, design bureaus and research institutes, government institutions, ministries, and departments in several Eastern European countries such as Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as Afghanistan.

“According to them, the data shows that the purpose of this series of attacks was cyber espionage. The cyber attacks were first discovered in January 2022.

“Hackers used phishing emails containing sensitive information about compromised organizations and malicious code to deploy the PortDoor malware to infiltrate computer networks.

“As a result, the networks of dozens of targets were compromised, and in some cases, their entire IT infrastructure was even captured.”

Disgruntled aspirants who participated at the March 26 National Convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress have vowed to take the leadership of the party to court over its failure to refund the payment for their Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms.

The development is coming four months after they were asked to step down for the current National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and other members of the National Working Committee.

Some affected politicians who spoke in separate interviews expressed concerns that they have explored and exhausted all their options with the only obstacle being the national chairman.

Depending on the category of the expression of interest and nomination forms, the 126 aspirants who contested various positions were made to cough up between N20 and N2.5 million.

At the end of the exercise, APC raked in well over N700 million with an additional N3 billion generated among stakeholders and party members ahead of the presidential primary.

There were also complaints that despite the huge revenue generated by the leadership of the party between March and August, ad hoc workers, staff and affected party members who were engaged were equally not paid their welfare allowances.


Aspirants asked to withdraw at National Convention

The affected aspirants who stepped down for Adamu in the category of National Chairman included Senator Umar Al-Makura, Salihu Mustapha, Muhammed Sani Musa, Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar, Senator George Akume and Mohammed Etsu.

Those in the category of National Deputy Chairman (North), who withdrew for the consensus candidacy of Senator Abubakar Kyari, were Yakubu Dogara, Faruq Aliyu, Sunny Sylvester Monidefe, Senator Ken Nnamani, Malam Isa Yuguda and Emmanuel Joseph.

For the post of the National Secretary, three aspirants which included former Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu; Oyedele Ifeoluwa and Prof Olaiya Olaitan were sacrificed for the candidacy of Senator Iyiola Omisore.

In the category of National Vice Chairman (South-South), Yekini Nabena and Worgu Chambers were asked to step down for Victor Giadom.

Aside from the aforementioned aspirants, there are 113 other aggrieved politicians who are also yet to be refunded.

One of the affected candidates, who spoke with our correspondent in confidence, vowed to recoup their nomination forms before Adamu is kicked out of office.


Adamu ‘deliberately’ delaying refund

He said, “We know how much was raised at the convention and even the APC presidential primary. So what is the problem? We the party members are equally aware of how much was doled out for Osun and Ekiti elections. I still don’t get why Adamu is finding it hard to comply with the directive of the president.

“The only reason we delayed in taking this issue to court until now was to avoid putting our presidential candidate, Asiwaju, in a bad light. But as it stands, we have no option but to head for court. Everybody knows what took place at the convention where we had to step down cannot be called an election. Perhaps, that’s why some of them in the NWC including Adamu has been acting with impunity.”

In one of the letters written to Adamu dated June 21 and appended by 107 signatories, the aggrieved aspirants also accused the party leadership of excluding them from active participation and assignments at the last party primaries for the election of various candidates.

The letter partly read, “Your Excellency, recall that President Muhammadu Buhari in his speech at the convention directed that for those who agreed to step down, the party should refund the money they paid for the purchase of expression of interest and nomination forms.

“For the record, it is not worthy to envisage the reality of the huge expenses we incurred in our campaigns, which amount was far beyond the cost of purchase of forms.

“Our able chairman, we want to assure you and the APC leadership that we will give our best to ensure the party emerges victorious in the forthcoming 2023 general election.

“While yet not being discouraged, we wish to express that we were excluded from the lists of just concluded party primaries committee assignments for the election of our various party candidates for the general elections.”

Speaking with The PUNCH, one of the affected aspirants from North Central, Yusuf Elaigwe, however, expressed optimism when he told our reporter that he is still keeping with Adamu over the issue.

“I can’t comment on it. But there is progress. I will be having a meeting with the national chairman on it next week,” he said.

Another aspirant, Sunny Sylvester Monidefe, who stepped down for Kyari confirmed that they have written to Adamu.

Monidefe, however, expressed frustration that the chairman has yet to reach out concerning details on how they hope to refund them.

According to him, it was hard having meetings with many of the affected candidates because the majority are not residents in Abuja and only come around only when they have official duties to attend.

In a separate phone conversation, former communications minister, Adebayo Shittu, told our correspondent that the APC national chairman has reassured them that they will be fully refunded.

Shittu stated that though they are angry, there was no plan to file a suit against the leadership of the party as alleged.

“I don’t think that is true. Nobody will do that. I have spoken personally with the national chairman of the party too and he has reassured me that discussions are ongoing to pay us. We are still hopeful it will be resolved,” he said.


The matter is receiving attention – Spokesman

Responding to the development in a phone interview, National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, said the matter ‘is receiving attention and will resolve it soon.’

“I am sure the party will resolve it. The APC just came out of the primaries. They are dealing with it.”

In a related development, APC national vice chairman (North-west), Salihu Lukman, expressed regret over the delay, which he said was being looked into.

Lukman made the clarification in Abuja on Sunday.

He said, “It is part of the unfortunate internal challenges. Administratively, this should have been resolved long ago. For instance, in my case, about four people stepped down for me and they have been talking to me. I have been drawing the attention of the party and I think now it is clear that the party has to resolve it as quickly as possible. I can assure you that it is going to happen,” Lukman said.

By Abubakar Ahmadu Maishanu


Three months after leading his associates to defect from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) with great fanfare in Kano, a former governor of the state, Ibrahim Shekarau, appears set to dump his new party.

On Tuesday, Mr Shekarau’s spokesperson, Yau Sule, said the former governor who is the sitting senator for the Kano Central District, will meet the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday in Abuja as his group explores its options ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Mr Sule said Mr Shekarau’s followers had been left unhappy by happenings in the NNPP since their defection to the party.

It was gathered that the group had been demanding that the party implement the terms of the agreement it reached with it before the defection of its members.

Mr Sule said both sides had agreed that an unspecified number of the former governor’s associates would be awarded nomination tickets for the general elections.

“Before accepting the offer to join the NNPP, we presented our proposals to the NNPP, which they accepted. Unfortunately, they deceived us. None of the agreements reached before defecting to the NNPP was fulfilled by Mr Kwankwaso,” the spokesperson said.

A founding member of the APC, Mr Shekarau had moved to the NNPP with thousands of his supporters on 18 May, following a disagreement with Governor Abdullahi Ganduje over the leadership of the ruling party in the state.

Mr Shekarau was the presidential candidate of the defunct All Nigeria People’s Party in 2011 and was one of the leaders of the party in the alliance talks with the leaders of the other legacy parties that resulted in the formation of the APC in 2013.

However, he defected from the party to the then ruling PDP in 2014, in protest against the new party handing over its structures in Kano to then Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, who had defected with some other governors and lawmakers from the PDP.

But Mr Shekarau rejoined the APC in 2018 after the party dissolved its Kano State Executive Committee and constituted a caretaker committee to absorb the associates of the same Mr Kwankwaso, who returned to the party that year.

It was thus a surprise when Mr Shekarau led his group to join Mr Kwankwaso who had left the PDP once again to run for president on the ticket of the NNPP.

Although he was awarded the senatorial ticket of the party, it emerged from the list of candidates submitted by the NNPP to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that. his associates got none.

The tension in the NNPP aggravated following the closure of substitution of candidates by INEC. Rival political parties, including the APC and the PDP, have since been reaching out to the group to exploit the situation.

Mr Shekarau and his associates have since met with the PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the party’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.

He has also met with the vice presidential candidate of the APC, Kashim Shettima and has scheduled another meeting for Wednesday with Mr Tinubu.

Mr Sule said Mr Shekarau called a meeting of the Shura Council, the group’s highest decision-making body, on Sunday to brief the members on the challenges with the NNPP. and the proposals that had been made to the group by both the APC and PDP.

Mr Sule said because the meeting could not agree on whether to move into the PDP or the APC, it set up a 30-member committee to look into the development and recommend a way forward.

“The 30-member committee will present its recommendations this Thursday. So, it is after that our next line of action will be made public,” he also told Daily Trust.

Mr Sule said the council would also reach out to the national leadership of the NNPP as the Shekarau group has not foreclosed remaining in the party.

Our reporter made efforts to speak with Mr Kwankwaso and the leadership of the NNPP on the matter but they did not respond to calls to their known phone numbers.

By Hassan Ibrahim


The Borno Chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and its chieftain who was a gubernatorial aspirant during 2019 election Hon Mohammed Umara Kumalia, are currently locked in a war of words over his exit from from the party.

The State Working Committee of APC said Kumalia was stopped from being a card-carrying member of the party for alleged anti-party activities.

But Kumalia is maintaining that he tendered his resignation to the party authorities on 21st March, 2022.

In a swift reaction to Kumalia’s letter of resignation, the Borno APC insisted that the APC has not received any letter from Hon. Kumalia, alleging that the letter of resignation signed on behalf of Kumalia which is circulation in the social media was not only backdated, but fake.

“Your purported letter of resignation dated the 21st day of March, 2022 was not received by the party in either the Ward, Local Government or State Secretariats of the party, hence it is an afterthought on your part to cover up your deficiencies.”

“The party further states that you remain suspended from the party on all the allegations contained in the letter of suspension from Limanti Ward.” the APC said in a letter.

Daily Trust gathered that the faceoff between the APC and Kumalia started in the aftermath of the 2018 party primaries when he instituted various court cases against the party over the election of incumbent Governor Babagana Umara Zulum as the party’s candidate.

Kumalia was Minority Leader, House of Representatives between 1999 and 2007.

Nigeria was destined to be world football champions by the year 2020, what we achieved was world poverty champions. This we have momentarily lost to India in 2021 after a three-year reign though we are working assiduously to regain the crown. Also, Nigeria was expected by others, to be one of the 20 largest economies in the world (others projected these worthy aims for us), what we achieved was 31st from 26th position.

Professor Sheriffdeen Tella captured the quagmire we are in in his July 18, 2022 article, titled, Nigeria refuses to win against poverty and hunger, published by The PUNCH. In the article, he paraphrased a speech by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, warning that the war against poverty was more difficult to overcome than armed rebellion. Like most advice the grand old man gave, it was roundly ignored and here we are today—the poverty capital of the world!

Yet the warning signs were there. Not long ago it was made known that 80% of the world’s poverty would reside in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria. What a paradox, the two resource-richest African countries housing eight out of 10 of the world’s poorest. Yet Nigerian leaders of thought harp on each region having resources that will transform their regions. That having resources does make a country rich should be the takeaway lesson of the last few decades.

This lesson is known in other climes as other races in the world have stopped whining because they lost out in the resource lottery. While dependency on resources dulled the thinking of the resource-rich, it spurred the resource-poor to put on their thinking caps and exit the poverty trap. These countries also escaped the upheavals that resources attract, while the DRC and Nigeria are bedevilled by crises over resources, adding to the poverty count in both countries.

Population growth and poverty: The accepted wisdom is that high population growth rate is not good; low growth is good. There is ambivalence about this as countries that imbibed this demographic policy are now beset with an ageing and declining population, while Africa has a youth bulge that will deliver if incentivised. Otherwise, as has been the case, the poverty indices will worsen. Nigeria is a two-edged sword in this regard with an Afghanistan-type demographic North and a South-East Asia demographic South. One seems a liability, the other an asset.

Today we are dwelling on how we have become poverty champions not how we will turn a liability—our Afghanistan North—into an asset and avoid an asset spiralling to a liability. Let it be made known that the Nigerian state is directly responsible for impoverishing the Nigerian people but not without the connivance of the people of Nigeria.

How Nigerian governments create poverty: Allow me to illustrate actions governments deploy that directly swell the poverty numbers. To put food on the table for their families our unemployed youths offer community services by collecting refuse from homes rather than us dumping it along the wayside. Enter the state and waste management boards and they plan to eliminate these young cart pushers and push them further into poverty. I have enjoyed the services of the cart pushers for about 10 years and I was approached by agents of a waste management board, asking me to patronise them and demarketing the cart pushers calling all of them criminals.

Same with Okada owners, another endeavour of impoverished Nigerians to earn a living and put food on the table for their families. What does the government do? Drive them off the roads and crush their okadas. Saloons or sedans are not crushed, okadas are. Then the okada owners are told to come to lease some government minibuses to have them become enslaved to the people in government.

Kiosks and sheds set up by the struggling unemployed are destroyed for aesthetic reasons, throwing the owners into penury and forgetting that finer things of life become accepted by the general public when per capita GDP crosses a threshold of about $5,000—a figure Nigeria is receding from after achieving near $3,000 per capita income. Gentlemen, peradventure you think I am an armchair critic of the government, please read earlier writings of Nigeria attaining trillion dollar status and improving our per capita income.

We saw governments dispossess people of their land, faking public use but selling to private entities. This is the reason I say we, the people, are in sync with governments in impoverishing Nigerians. The Land Use decree never handed ancestral lands to state governments, they were to mediate obtaining land for public use not to keep taking more and more land from either side of the original tract for any public road. We the people now opine that “land belongs to state governments.” The decree has not been amended and we have handed our lands to governors. Thank God the Magodo landlords were persistent and stayed on the case for almost 40 years.

The dousing of endeavours of aspiring entrepreneurs spilt over into ride-hailing apps for motorbikes. Rather than our governments encouraging nurturing hustlers into the next BUA Group chairman, Abdul Samad Rabiu, or the CEO of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, our governments destroy them. They also go on to criminalise the okada riders, the cart pushers the crude oil refiners so as to hang them. Politicians now profit from the poverty they create by weaponising it. They throw crumbs at some thugs, who become their private militia. They are confident they can rabble rouse the electorate and administer stomach infrastructure on them.

These are direct ways our governments increase our poverty count individual by individual. The whole population gets impoverished by policy choices foisted on the nation. The naira, which is currently spiralling out of control, is a result of the government’s alternate economic model foisted on Nigerians by the central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele. Under the former economic orthodoxy, the naira lost 100% of its value in 16 years. Under the people-centred Emefiele model, the naira lost 400% of its value in seven and half years. Our president liked it and reappointed the CBN governor for a job well done. Meaning we are saddled with a CBN governor, whose policies worsened our currency as never seen before.

To fiscal policies that ensure poverty reign. One is our vile misconception of equating Federal Government revenues with the well-being of the larger economy. Yes, they are linked but not always positively. With our current policies, the relationship is an inverse one. Government revenue was down when they chose to borrow heavily without repairing the economy and a return to robust growth that will pay off loans. The chicken is home to roost and revenue can’t cover servicing of loans. Yet they were warned against pursuing loans with the state of our economy seven years back. Now in these hard times, I am sure fiscal authorities are thinking of more taxes, meaning more burden on people and businesses and further depression, a catch-22 situation brought by fiscal rascality. In short, if revenues go up from taxation the economy will come down.

What to do: The CBN has started to pursue a program to restore the long-term health of our currency with its RT TO 200BN NON-OIL EXPORTS that should eventually lead to the influx of hard currencies, shore up our reserves and lead to the ability to defend the naira against currency speculators. Yet for reasons best known to him, Emefiele refuses to go the whole hog, bite the bullet and eliminate arbitrage between official CBN rates and parallel markets.

Our fiscal authorities have bullets of theirs to bite. Subsidy removal was cleverly kicked down the road for the next government to deal with after being thoroughly abused and inflated beyond recognition. However, we the governed are complicit because the government was roundly hailed on each of its pauperising moves. Yes, we and our leaders walked hand in hand to receive the trophy.

Islie:
Cc ,lalasticlala