₦airaland Forum

Following the alleged irregularities of over N1.2 billion unearthed in the Federal Government’s audit report in the 2015, 2016 and 2017 finances of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Imo State and the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA), the authorities of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri may have commenced subterranean moves to clear its name in the alleged scandal.

This was as the management of the University of Abuja, led by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abdul-Rasheed Na’allah said that it was not aware of such fraudulent activities in the finances of the university.

Na’allah, who assumed office as the Vice-Chancellor of the university in July 2019, was said to have taken over from Prof. Michael Adikwu, who held sway at the institution between 2014 and 2019, when the alleged financial infractions were alleged to have been committed. 

The alleged financial report that indicted the management of FUTO and University of Abuja respectively, according to stakeholders, suggests lack of fiscal discipline and outright recklessness in financial management of the universities leading to hundreds of millions of naira alleged to be spent or paid to contractors in breach of the laid down fiscal rules and regulations.

Though efforts to reach the Vice-Chancellor of FUTO, Prof. Francis Eze proved abortive and text message sent to his phone was not replied, sources in the university, however, hinted that the institution might have commenced the process of clearing its name from the indicting and incriminating audit report.

Meanwhile, another impeccable source in the university, who also craved anonymity, told our Correspondent that though he might not know the stage of the damage control effort, he expressed optimism that the university was not resting on its oars over the scandal issue.

“Based on our stand, we believe that most of the claims against the university are unsubstantiated. However, I can tell you for certain that the necessary documents had been sorted out and some officials of the university have been dispatched to Abuja to the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, with relevant documents to deflate some of the claims on which the scandal was generated,” the source added.
 
The Chairman of the university chapter of the National Association of Academics in Technology (NAAT), Mr. Prince Agugbama, said though the union was aware of the scandal allegations, it is still in the realm of allegations and there is nothing the union could do about that at present.

He, however, regretted that “the university had been in the news for the wrong reasons,” saying: “Nevertheless, it is still an allegation as no court of competent jurisdiction has made a pronouncement on the matter. We will rather wait until an investigation into the matter is carried out and as a matter of fact, we urge the relevant authorities to do the needful by thoroughly investigating the matter and anyone found culpable should be made to face the music. So, we cannot say much until we see the report of the investigation by competent authorities.”

This was as the university lecturers, under their umbrella union, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), FUTO chapter, declined comments on the issue, saying the union had nothing to say yet until it had more details on the fraud allegations levelled against the authorities of the institution.

The Chairman of ASUU-FUTO, Dr. Christopher Ikoh said: “You know it is unfair to start talking about issues you do not have sufficient information about. We are still trying to get details of the audit report and within the week, we may have to engage the university management. It is only after that we can be competent to talk about the issue.”

However, the national body of the Academic Staff Union of Universities has berated the Federal Government over the allegations for falling short in its responsibilities to curb misappropriation of funds and other financial excesses in the university system, especially in the federal institutions.

ASUU National  President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, while reacting to a report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation on irregularities in the 2015, 2016 and 2017 finances of the University of Abuja and Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), accused the government of negligence over the N1.2 billion fraud.

The report reads in part: “During the periodic checks conducted at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, for the period between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2017, the following were observed; payments without raising payment vouchers to the tune of N43,543,129.34; payments totalling N43,543,129.34 were made without raising payment vouchers in violation of Financial Regulation 601, which provides that payment vouchers must be raised before any payment is made.

“Response from the university on the above issue failed to address the issue.

“The recommendation is that the Vice-Chancellor has been requested to account for the sum of N43,543,129. Also, sanctions stated in financial regulation 106 should be imposed on the Vice-Chancellor.

“Also, payment of unapproved allowances to the tune of N244,325,021.26. It was observed from sampled payment vouchers that a total of N244,325,021.26 was paid to staff as allowances for recharge cards, council incentives, security shift, contract addition allowances, among others from personnel cost between 2016 and 2017. Similarly, the documents conveying approval for such payments from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission could not be made available during the periodic check.”

For the University of Abuja, the report noted that the institution had unaccounted payments of N17,924,585; payment of unapproved allowances at N84,748,382, among other infractions.

The report added: “During the periodic checks of the University of Abuja for the 2015 financial year, the following observations were made. One, unaccounted payments – N17, 924,585; 27 payment vouchers totaling N17,924,585 were paid to a staff of the university for printing services and jobs. The amount should have been made direct to the University Bookshop or University     Printing Press rather than personal account of the officer.

“However, there was no record of utilisation of the various amounts collected by the payee in order to ascertain transparency, probity and accountability of the transactions. Our recommendation is that the Vice-Chancellor is required to account for the sum of 17,924,585 and forward evidence to me for confirmation.

“Also, payment of unapproved allowances is put at N84,748,382. Furthermore, there is diversion of funds through fictitious contracts which is put at N23,921,250.”

Meanwhile, key stakeholders in the system are calling on relevant anti-graft agencies including the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) to launch comprehensive investigations into the various transactions in the affected universities with a view to recovering allegedly misused funds and return same to the federal treasury.

The university authorities, according to them, should also ensure strict compliance with relevant fiscal provisions and procurement laws in the implementation of new contracts.”
 
But, ASUU while raising concerns that contrary to the laws establishing the university, the Governing Council of each university, which are in charge of the finances and personnel of universities, said they are having a field day running the system as they pleased.

According to Ogunyemi, the visitation exercise(s) to universities by government in accordance to the Act establishing the universities, which is designed to interrogate and check excesses of the governing councils, was last conducted almost 10 years ago.

Ogunyemi said: “Accordingly, the Visitation exercise should ordinarily be carried out at least once in the five-year life span of governing councils, or more when there were suspected cases of financial mismanagement.

“The system actually has a way of checking financial excesses or recklessness of the university management before such matters become so terrible. We have been crying out that government has not been playing its role as expected in ensuring that the governance of the universities is carried out as appropriate and as specified by law.

“The governing councils are expected to be checked through regular conduct of visitations to the institutions. The law says that there must be at least one visitation exercise and where it becomes necessary especially when there are suspected cases of fraudulent practices the process can be initiated and carried out more than once in five years, which means at least once in the life of a governing council. And, if the situation is correctly applied any case of corruption would have been nipped in the bud before it gets out of hand.

“The last visitation exercise was carried out in January/February 2011; and for almost 10 years now, no visitation exercise had been conducted in any of the universities. We cannot say that the governing councils are corrupt until I have the evidence. But, I am also not saying that they are saints. Governing councils are supposed to manage the universities finances and personnel very well.

“If they have that role to play, it is not when they are not playing the roles as expected of them that funds would be properly applied and where government is also not performing its role as the visitor, the government should be blamed. In the case of federal universities, the Visitor is the President. Where a visitor is not playing the roles expected of him, most especially through the conduct of visitation exercise to track what is happening in the university, it will be difficult to actually curtail the excesses of governing councils.”

The ASUU President, who threw the union’s weight behind the government to hammer anyone found guilty and culpable to have indulged in acts of fund misappropriation in a university, called for intensive investigations to fish out perpetrators of the financial crime against the system.

He added: “It should be taken through the due process, if there are cases of allegations of misappropriation thorough investigations must be carried out and if anybody is found culpable, the union is not against justice taking its course. We are not against the law being applied accordingly. We have never supported any acts of corruption and we will never support any.
 
“What we always insist on is that the process must be thorough and clear of bias so if those cases are being proven beyond any reasonable doubt, we are not going to stand in the way of justice.”

On the financial infractions hanging over UNIABUJA within the period under review, Ogunyemi specifically lamented that the report did not come as a surprise to the union given the fraudulent dance steps that had been adorning the institution.

Unfortunately, he also expressed regret that all efforts to uncover the fraudulent practices engulfing the university had proved abortive, especially with government’s insincerity in carrying out its functions to the letter towards ensuring enforcement of appropriate sanction on erring parties to keep the system sane and devoid of criminal activities.

“In the case of the University of Abuja, it is actually not surprising some unpleasant things were detected because there was a time we called for a visitation panel to the university. There was a special visitation to the University of Abuja, but the white paper was never released, and by not releasing the white paper, those who could have been found culpable of acts of misdemeanor were not punished. Indeed, when they could not be exposed early enough and where sanctions are not activated and applied appropriately, the crime will continue to thrive.

ASUU further noted: “We believe that if we follow our rules and laws, and the Establishment Act of the Universities, we have in place mechanisms for tracking acts of corruption and nipping them in the bud.

“What the establishment Act says is that where a governing council is found to be corrupt or incompetent, such council should be dissolved immediately and another one constituted. Since that is not happening, those members in council can do what they like in the university and they get away with it especially if they have discovered that those before them perpetrated something similar in the system and got away with it.

“The governing council has a lot of work to do in ensuring that universities finances are not misapplied. Of course, financial crime will continue to thrive where there is room for it.”

The National Assembly and the Federal Ministry of Environment are said to be putting the finishing touches to a bill meant to outlaw the production of plastics in Nigeria. It was gathered that the bill is meant to protect aquatic life in the Gulf of Guinea, of which Nigeria’s territorial waters is directly linked to.

A member of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Sen. Tolulope Odebiyi, disclosed this in Lagos at the launch of the Maritime Action Plan for Marine Litter and Plastics Management in Nigeria. Sen. Odebiyi, who drafted the proposed bill, represented the Chairman of the committee, Sen. Danjuma Goje, at the occasion.

The lawmaker said the bill would be harmonised with input from the Federal Ministry of Environment to make a holistic law that would impose tough sanctions on the production of organic polymers.

He stressed that the National Assembly was solidly behind the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in the presentation and implementation of the action plan, which envisions the elimination of land-based sources of marine litter within five years. The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Environment, Hon Johnson Oghuma, also stressed the lower chamber’s commitment to a cleaner environment.

Oghuma said the house was always prepared to assist the executive in the implementation of policies. The Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, lamented that Nigeria was among the 20 countries generating more than 80 per cent of the land-based plastic waste that ended up in the oceans.

Dr. Peterside said the event was organised to raise public awareness about the deleterious effects of marine pollution and chart a national roadmap on solution to the menace. Making further remarks after Dr., Peterside, Sen. Odebiyi said, “I am happy NIMASA has taken the lead in ensuring that our waterways and all our water bodies are clean, safe and a vital source of economic activity for us in this country.”

He added that, “I drafted a bill with regard to plastic pollution and proliferation of plastics in the country. The issue is getting to an alarming state. “NIMASA has taken the lead. But this is the backend of it. We also have to look at the frontend. We are spending billions of naira tiding up the environment; we also have people making billions of naira contributing to this menace.

That is where the bill is aiming. You cannot continue to generate pollution, clog our waterways, cause erosion, flooding and all kinds of things, and some people are making money, knowing fully well that their product is contributing to the pollution.”

The senator also said, “The senate is very much interested in this issue. We see the environment as a vital economic resource for us in this country. We will be working with NIMASA, Federal Ministry of Environment and all the other agencies.”

The Chairman, House Committee on Environment, elaborated that: “We are ready, and by the grace of God, I represent the Speaker in the Committee on Environment. Every legislation on the environment is jealously guarded by the committee. I urge everybody, wherever you are, behave like NIMASA, help us to save our environment.”

By Onozure Dania
A 16-year-old boy, Adekunle Ayomikun, who allegedly hid in the toilet of a bank overnight and stole N340,000 was yesterday, remanded at Special Correctional Centre for boys in Oregun, by a Lagos magistrate’s court sitting in Igbosere.

The defendant, who is facing a count charge of stealing preferred against him by the Police, was docked before Magistrate K. O. Doja-Ojo.

However, the teenager pleaded guilty to the charge against him.

When Magistrate Doja-Ojo asked him, how he got into the bank, Ayomikun told her that he entered the bank around 4 pm during banking hours and locked himself in the toilet.

He said: “After closing hours at night I went to the bulk room of the bank where I saw money, and I took N340,000 and kept it in my pocket.

“I had a lighter with me, so when I was trying to come out of the bank, the lighter attracted the security guards at the bank who saw me, then I ran back into the toilet and locked myself up, again.”

Ayomikun also added that when he eventually came out of the toilet, the security guards searched him and they recovered N340,000, from him.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Inspector Peace Chukwudi, had told the court that the teenager committed the offence on February 19, 2020.
She said the incident occurred at about 8:30 pm, at FCMB branch, Ajah.

Chukwudi said the defendant who stole N340,000, property of FCMB, was represented by one Mary Ikwuako.

According to her, the offence is punishable under Section 28 of the criminal law of Lagos State 2015.

Consequently, Magistrate Doja-Ojo remanded him at the Special Correctional Centre for boys in Oregun. The case was adjourned till April 15.

Zamfara’s Governor Bello Matawalle of the Peoples Democratic Party will switch political allegiance to the All Progressives Congress soon.

Former governor of the state and three-term Senator Ahmed Sani Yarima confidently said this in a newspaper interview published on Monday.

Yarima, who as governor appointed Matawalle to run the Ministry of Local Government said the political switch is in the works and is ‘most likely”.

“Yes. We are working and we are talking. Every politician tries to get more people to their party especially governors. If I can have governors with me, the party will be better off”, he told Daily Trust.

Asked how far the APC had gone to woo Matawalle, Yarima responded:

“I think we have gone very far”.

A FORMER Director of Navy Accounts, Rear Admiral Tahir Yusuf, has permanently forfeited about N500 million to the Federal Government.

Rear Admiral Yusuf, who was second-in-command to the Chief of Account and Budget, Naval Headquarters (NHQ),, according to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), held the cash in seven accounts with two banks.

Five of the accounts, the EFCC said in court documents, were kept in the name of a company – Bitmas Enterprises – while the other two accounts were held in Yusuf’s name in another bank.

The total amount Yusuf forfeited to the Federal Government as a result of an order of permanent forfeiture issued on February 20, 2020 by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, is N392,695,857.87; $91,955.38; £15,050.
Justice Ojukwu made the order of permanent forfeiture while ruling on an application to that effect filed by the EFCC.

The court disregarded claim by Yusuf, who was saddled with verifying and authenticating of documents before payments and keep custody of Nigeria Navy balance, that he made the money through legitimate means.

The court had, on October 26, 2018, in a ruling on an application by the EFCC, granted an order for interim forfeiture of the money and ordered the anti-graft agency to publish the order in a national daily for any interested party to claim the money.

It was in reaction to the advertisement that Yusuf filed a counter-affidavit, claiming ownership of the money and arguing that the funds were from legitimate sources.

In response, the EFCC faulted Yusuf’s claim and disclosed that the ex-Naval chief was investigated with two others – Rear Admiral Babajide Oguntola and Commander Bello Mohammed – “all of the Nigerian Navy in an alleged case of conspiracy, abuse of office and money laundering”.

The EFCC said, in the course of investigation, it found the seven accounts (corporate and personal) linked to Yusuf, with the following details: In Zenith Bank accounts 1011701670 (N32,268,758.50); 9000617386 (N320,132,530.57); 1011904172 (N2,414,034.39); 5360132431 ($34,875.00); 5060017083 (£15,050.00) – all held in the name of Bitmas Enterprises.

Two other accounts – 2120012772 ($57,080.38) and 1060100885 (N2,390,987.69) – were held in Skye Bank in Yusuf’s name.

Court documents also revealed that Yusuf had made a proposal for plea bargain to the EFCC, in which he allegedly volunteered to forfeit N200 million, which the EFCC rejected.

GOVERNORS are worried about the depletion of the Excess Crude Account (ECA) and the resurgence of insecurity especially the upsurge of Boko Haram attacks, it was learnt at the weekend.

Also of concern to the states helmsmen is the reluctance of the Federal Government to tinker with the revenue allocation formula which they believe is desirable.

The governors expressed shock that they were neither consulted nor informed as stakeholders on what warranted the withdrawal from the ECA, which was suddenly depleted from $325million to $70million in one month.

The ECA matter and the deepening insecurity will be part of the agenda of the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting on Thursday.

In the last two weeks, Boko Haram insurgents have renewed attacks on parts of the Northeast —Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

It was not clear if the governors will stick to their position that President Muhammadu Buhari should rejig the security architecture or adopt the President’s decision to retain the Service Chiefs.

A governor, who spoke in confidence, said: “The governors are going to the NEC meeting with three issues bordering on security, ECA and reconciliation of oil revenue and allocation.

“Most of the governors are in favour of the change of guards in the military to allow for fresh ideas. But the President seems to have some intelligence at his disposal which has made him to retain the Service chiefs.

“The governors have been very careful in their position on the continuous stay in office of Service Chiefs but said “the reality is that things (strategies) are not working”.

“We are ready to go to NEC with new ideas on how to address the increasing security challenges at hand. The President is not bound by our advice but we do not want the situation to get worse.

“Being a sensitive matter, we will discreetly make our recommendations to the President on the way forward. It is indisputable that we need fresh ideas in managing our security architecture.”

On ECA cash, another governor said: “Certainly, we want NEC to address this depletion of ECA Account from $325million to $70million in one month because we were not consulted.

“We will expect the Federal Government to lay the cards on the table at the NEC session. There is no way the Federal Government can withdraw from ECA without the permission of stakeholders, especially states
.
“We want to know why they depleted the account and what went wrong. Some commentators have started blaming state governors without knowing that we were not aware of the huge depletion within a month.

“The NEC is expected to reconcile oil receipts and allocations to states by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). The reconciliation is necessary in order to ascertain that what is given to the states is their statutory shares.”

There were indications at the weekend that the much-awaited new revenue allocation formula might not be in place soon.

It was gathered that the Federal Government “has been slowing down” in its approach to the new formula because of cash crunch.

The Federal Government is not keen because its oil revenue forecast for the year is not in line with its target.”

Another source said: “Governors are aware that the Federal Government is not keen any way. The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) is doing the paper work but the economic realities do not support any new formula now.

“The attitude of the Federal Government is not surprising because it is in a challenging situation. The estimation/ forecast of oil revenue is bad.”

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2002 invoked an Executive Order to allocate the revenue as follows: Federal Government (54.68%), states (24.72%) and local governments (20.60%).

In March 2004, the then Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, issued a letter modifying that the Executive Order had increased states allocation to 26.72% and reduced Federal Government’s share to 52.68%.

RMAFC in September 2004 submitted a new formula to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, who forwarded it to the National Assembly for consideration in line with Section 162(2) of the 1999 Constitution.

The proposal with the National Assembly made the following recommendations:
Federal Government (53.69%); states (31.10%); and local government areas (15.21 %.).

Out of the Federal Government’s allocation, 6.5% is reserved for Special Funds, leaving the FG with 47.19%

The breakdown of the 6.5% is as follows: Ecological Fund (1.50%); Solid Mineral Fund (1.75%), National Reserve Fund (1.50%) and Agricultural Development Fund (1.75%).

The revenue allocation formula currently in use is: Federal Government (52%); States (26.72%); and the 770 local government areas (20.60%).
In anticipation of a review, the governors raised a six-man committee, headed by Babatunde Fashola, then the governor of Lagos State.

Other members of the committee are ex-governors Murtala Nyako; Sullivan Chime; Babangida Aliyu; Rotimi Amaechi; and Aliyu Wamakko.

The panel recommended a new formula as follows: FG (35%); States (42%); and LGAs (23%).
It was learnt that the committee’s recommendation is still subsisting although no action has been taken.

AFEEZ HANAFI
Quiet and unassuming, he went about life so easily that nothing suggested he had worries tucked in his heart. At age 21, a first degree in Quantity Survey was already done and dusted.

Everything appeared smooth sailing for Toju Daibo until last Saturday when the fresh graduate of the University of Lagos reportedly plunged into the lagoon from the Third Mainland Bridge. The sudden turn of events has raised lots of questions, many of which still beg for answers.

He had hurriedly disembarked from an Uber car that morning on the pretext that he had stomach upset and was nauseous. The car had picked him up in front of a hospital close to Sosanya Street, Gbagada-Soluyi en route to Ikeja airport where he would board a flight to Abuja – his parents’ place of residence.

Many concluded Daibo could have been battling depression in silence, snowballing into suicide. But for his family who knew him as “an easy-going, kind-hearted, wonderful boy all along,” the narrative stood fact on its head.

“Toju (Daibo) on his normal self will never jump into the Lagoon,” his sister, Omasan, said.

With many beautiful plans queuing for the young man, Omasan and other members of the family saw no reason why Daibo would end his own life.

“He studied Quantity Survey at the University of Lagos and just graduated; the plan his father has for him was to further his study in Canada after the National Youth Service Corps. He does not do drugs or touches substances or cracks,” Daibo’s mother, Kemi, told Channels Television.

“We have not heard anything from the police. His body has not been found and I want them to find him; everybody is just keeping quiet as if he does not have people. Toju is somebody; he has a family. They should find him, where is he? What happened to him? Where is Toju?” she bemoaned.

Weird as it is, Daibo was not the first person to willingly jump to their death on the Third Mainland Bridge.

Creepy suicide on alluring lagoon

Stretched on 11.8 kilometres length (7.3 miles), the nation’s longest bridge cuddles the sprawling lagoon to reveal astounding scenery. With an average of 117,000 vehicular traffic on a daily basis making it the busiest road in the country, the flyover since it was opened in 1990 has served as the major route from Mainland to Lagos Island, Victoria Island, Lekki, Ajah and Epe, where thousands of Lagosians work in government establishments, local and multinational firms and embassies.

However, in the recent times, especially in the last three years, the dark side of the bridge as a preferred suicide spot has manifested on several occasions.

In March 2017, a medical doctor, Allwell Orji, asked his driver to park on the bridge while he disembarked and hurriedly plunged into the lagoon.

A few days later, a textile dealer on Lagos Island, Titilayo Momoh, contemplated suicide at the same spot but was rescued by policemen on patrol before she jumped into the lagoon.

The 65-year-old woman said she was tired of life as a result of a huge debt hanging on her neck.

In November 2018, a middle-aged man and official of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Sheriff Oladejo, went on a suicide mission on the bridge.

That day, there was light traffic along UNILAG waterfront end of the bridge as a result of a vehicle that broke down on the road.

Oladejo, who was sitting at the back of a car, hurriedly opened the door, clung to the railings of the bridge and jumped into the water.

In May 2019, an unemployed Accounting graduate attempted suicide at the spot but was rescued by some Rapid Response Squad men. Five months later, in October 2019, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency rescued one Ayinla Rilwan, who attempted to dive into the lagoon from the bridge.

On February 2, 2020, police team from Bariga Division on routine traffic patrol sighted a 65-year-old man, Awolusi Olusegun, trying to jump into the water and came to his rescue.

Sunday PUNCH learnt that his son, Damilola, told the police that the sexagenarian was depressed and receiving treatment at the Yaba Military Hospital.

About 10 kilometers from the Third Mainland Bridge, one 36-year-old Ikechukwu Ibeh, on a suicide mission was rescued on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 by LASEMA officials in the marine unit after he plunged into the lagoon from the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge.

Though disturbing, bridge suicide is not only in Lagos. Cities in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, among others, have recorded hundreds of suicides on their bridges.

For instance, The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, US, has recorded about 1,500 suicides – the highest number across the world with an average of 30 suicides per year – since it was completed in 1937, Opentravel.com revealed.

Connecting the city of San Francisco on the northern tip to Marin County, the bridge has become favourite spot for those who want to end their lives. It is said people travel to San Francisco specifically to jump off the bridge – 1.7 miles long and 245 feet above the water.

However, in the light of the incessant suicides, the US government commenced the construction of Suicide Deterrent System in 2017 and it’s expected to be completed in 2023. The net barrier is being placed 20 feet below the sidewalk, extending 20 feet out from the bridge.

“The selected design allows open, scenic vistas to remain intact, while preventing anyone from easily jumping to the water below. The net will have minimal impacts to the architecture,” said the firm handling the barrier construction.

Opened in 1918 in Toronto, the Prince Edward Viaduct was constructed to aid traffic but it later turned out to serve a different purpose. With over 400 suicides, the bridge ranked as the second most fatal flyover in the world after the Golden Gate Bridge. At its peak in 1997, the suicide rate averaged one person every 22 days.

This ugly trend prompted the construction of a suicide barrier, called the Luminous Veil along the bridge. The construction was completed in 2003 at a cost of $5.5m. It is built of 9,000 rods, each five metres tall and spaced 12.7 cm (five inches) apart and held in place by steel frame. There has been no suicide at the spot since the construction of the barrier according to Opentravel.com.

The Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, UK, is also a notable suicide site with 1,000 deaths recorded since it opened in 1864. New barriers were mounted in 1998 to stem the tide.

Another bridge often used for suicide is The Jacques Cartier Bridge in Quebec, Canada. Inaugurated in 1930, it parades approximately 35.4million vehicular movement annually, making it the second busiest bridge in Canada.

Ironically, it is also infamous as the busiest suicide bridge in the country with 140 deaths recorded so far. In 2004, a suicide prevention barrier was installed to deter would-be victims.


Keeping suicidal persons away from the bridge

A psychologist at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof. Toba Elegbeleye, told Sunday PUNCH that many people opted for bridge suicide because it offered an easy way to end it all.

“It is cheaper and makes suicide commission an absolute mission because the victim is not likely to be rescued alive,” he said.

A civil engineer and former Chairman Nigeria Society of Engineers, Mr Olatunde Jaiyesimi, said building a barrier across the Third Mainland Bridge would deter suicide to some extent, adding that such cannot be a lasting solution.

He said, “Bridges are designed to carry people over water and at the same time to make the scenery beautiful. The moment you put structures there to prevent people from jumping over, it will look odd.

“But if the barrier is incorporated in the original design, it can be created in such a way that it will prevent people from finding it easy (to jump from the bridge). The barrier should be done in such a way that it does not disrupt the scenery.”

Jaiyesinmi noted that regular police patrol of the bridge and construction of watchtowers would go a long way in monitoring suicide attempts.

“There is hardly anything that can prevent anybody who is determined to commit suicide. But if the security men see the person at that moment, they can quickly come to the rescue,” he added.

A former Director of Department of State Services, Mr Mike Ejiofor, said security-wise, little effort could be made to stop people from committing suicide especially on bridges.

The Chairman, Apex Safety and Security Consultants maintained that most suicide cases were impacts of hard times Nigerians were experiencing, urging the government to address unemployment and ‘provide basic welfare for the people.’

Recent suicide cases

A number of suicide cases involving depressed breadwinners, students, lecturers and lovers have been recorded across Nigeria, some of which were captured in Sunday PUNCH’s special report of May 19, 2019, titled ‘Rising suicide crisis: How 250 psychiatrists battle 60 million mental cases.’ But the trend continues to worsen.

In May 31, 2019, a student at the Department of Hospitality Management Technology, Lagos State Polytechnic, Ezekiel Mayowa, killed himself after he was reportedly dumped by his girlfriend.

The 34-year-old part-time student was said to have taken a poisonous substance suspected to be sniper.

Moments before he committed suicide, he posted a video on Facebook, explaining why he took the decision. In the three-minute-18-second video, Mayowa lamented how his lover, one Bolaji Temmy, whom he had dated for nine years, ended the relationship after she commenced NYSC programme.

Amid sobs, Mayowa, the president of his department students’ association, said he made several efforts to reconcile with his estranged lover to no avail.

Within three months’ interval, two live-in lovers in the Shibiri area of Lagos, Adenike Fatai and Bayo Atanda, also ended their lives. The boyfriend, a tailor, reportedly gulped sniper sometime in June 2019.

In the wake of his girlfriend’s death, Fatai went into depression and followed suit in September. Although her mother, Tawa, told our correspondent she never thought her “happy-looking” daughter was contemplating suicide, her Facebook posts prior to the incident hovered around death and depression.

On January 11, 2020, the Enugu State Police Command confirmed that a serving NYSC member in the state, Motunrayo Bolufemi, committed suicide.

Bolufemi, a Batch C corps member serving in Girls Secondary School, Ibagwa-Aka, Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area of the state, took her life two days earlier when she allegedly drank a substance suspected to be sniper.

Pretty and cheerful-looking, there was no clear pointer that the Kogi State indigene was depressed, let alone nursing such thought, until a suicide note was found in her room. “I did this because I see nothing worth living for in this world,” the note read in parnging hardship in the country to the lack of family and social support system have been attributed to the spate of suicide in Nigeria.

Amid growing unemployment rate in the country with over 87 million people living on less than $1.90 a day according to the World Poverty Clock, individuals were preoccupied with the struggle to eke out a living.

Speaking further, Elegbeleye said Nigeria’s social structure had been stripped of social bonding it used to enjoy, with more people now becoming individualistic.

He stated, “Our social structure is taking a different shape from what we used to know. The previous structure is becoming unmanageable and individuals are becoming more individualistic, meaning that nobody really cares about the feelings of the next person.

“People now live alone without the family support. If it were in those old days, when one was down, the family would be there to support them; the extended family would be a safety net.

“The way out is to improve on the economy and create jobs for people. Professional counsellors should also be given a place in society.”

On his part, a lecturer at the Department of Sociology, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Dr Ayankunle Omobowale, stated that many victims reached a state of anomie–a situation whereby they were disappointed they could not meet societal expectations perceived as the norm.

He said, “Usually when an individual is unable to achieve societal expectations that are seen as ideal, the person could experience a state of anomie. And once an individual gets to that state of hopelessness, if there are no social networks around to cushion the psychological effect of that state, the person can decide to commit suicide.”

At that stage, the sociologist said the victim would have lost the appreciation of self-existence, social environment and death ultimately became “an achievement” they would desire.

Omobowale said researches showed that a depressed person with strong social network around them had limited chance of committing suicide as they could find succour and hope in their immediate environment, whereas a person lacking social network was at high risk of suicide.

He added, “When there is more individualisation of a person and the social network is restricted, they may not be able to overcome the state of anomie. Our society of today is more individualised than ever. It is achievement-oriented and survival of the fittest. Even many religious organisations concentrate faith around achievement and not necessarily around salvation.

“The way out is providing social support. There is no environment without poverty. US is one of the wealthiest countries today but in the same US, there are a large number of homeless people living on the streets.

“It is important to have social support system within the family and work environment. There should be a state policy to provide social support for the citizenry. As long as society is more individualised, we are going to have more rate of suicides.”

A psychiatrist at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Adeoye Oyewole, said although suicides could have some genetic underpinning, he attributed the bulk of the cases to socio-economic problems and lack of family support system.

He said, “More people are depressed. There is more serious socio-economy downturn and the commonest mental illness is depression – a commonest psychiatric disorder that leads to suicide. People are owed 10 months salaries; parents cannot perform their responsibilities and the government is not immediately concerned. Young people are escaping into relationships that are not realistic.

“The family unit needs to be reconstructed and reinvigorated. Husband and wife must learn to cooperate and provide platform for their children to grow. The extended family must also be strengthened. Families in the neighbourhood must support one another. Religious leaders should also preach love and encourage living together, helping the poor.

“Our society is getting highly westernised, but we don’t have the facilities that can sustain the western life. We don’t have social welfare facilities that they have.”

The scholar urged the government to come up with policies that would protect the vulnerable people in society, noting that depression was unavoidable in a situation where people worked hard, yet found it difficult to survive.

He added, “Intelligent government that can collect more money from the rich and distribute to the poor is what we need now. People are living below the poverty line.

“The number of psychiatric hospitals is about 200 and a lot of our younger colleagues are moving out of Nigeria. We must all be on alert. Religious and social clusters should provide facilities where people can talk to counsellors and seek help. Then, referral to the psychiatrists will be easier where necessary.”

Oyewole also urged the Nollywood industry to preoccupy movies more on theme of resilience of human spirit rather than portraying man as vulnerable and fragile “beings who can die any moment.” He said such storyline would assist people to be more determined amid challenges.

The family of late Laetitia Naankang Dagan, have fixed the burial of their daughter for Friday, February 21, 2020.

Dagan, an Assistant Director of Administration in the State House, Abuja, was murdered Monday night.

Dagan, who lived in a boys quarters on 22 Road, B Close, EFAB City Estate, Lokogoma, Abuja, was allegedly molested before the assailants set her ablaze.

Her remains will be interred at her family burial ground at Kwoor, in Kwalla community of Plateau State.

Meanwhile, the FCT Police Command has nabbed one suspect in connection with the killing.

A statement by the command’s spokesman, DSP Anjuguri Manzah, said preliminary investigation by the Criminal Investigation Department led to the arrest of one Edirin Ohonre.

Manzah said Ohonre was suspected to have conspired with others now at large to perpetrate the crime.

adetunjioludami:
It could be a cover up joor, they might have settled some people With lifetime lasting cash and as we no they carry out executions again in Nigeria, anyone they arrest would still go free

The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) came under criticism following an outburst against the commission by the Senate and Minister of Works for openly protecting telecoms companies over increasing cases of dropped calls.

The attack came following the public hearing on a motion titled: “Increasing rate of drop calls and other unwholesome practices by telecom network operators in Nigeria that had robbed Nigerians of their hard earned billions of Naira.”

The public hearing was organised by the Senate Committee on Communications in Abuja on Wednesday. The NCC had accused the Federal Ministry of Works of contracting construction of projects to contractors who cut cables of telecom companies, resulting into the drop calls.

The NCC Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity, Mr Bako Wakil, said telecoms service providers had become victims of multiple taxation by states and Federal Government.

He also cited cases of vandalism of telecoms installations by criminals due to insecurity. He said with the overstretched subscribers base, it was not easy for telecom service providers to provide the required capacity of infrastructure to adequately cover the country.

He further blamed the state and federal governments for the high cost of right of ways, saying that in some states it is N5,000 per meter, while it could be higher in some others. He stated that in a particular month, they recorded 1,065 fiber cable cuts, even as he listed banditry, intermittent shutdown of service stations, poor power supply as part of the causes of drop calls, noting that such challenges happened only in Nigeria.

However, responding to the above claims by the NCC director, the Minister of Works, Mr Babatunde Fashola, slammed the NCC, saying that government over the past 20 years had divested in state assets.

He said that laws had also been made within the period to ensure adequate regulations, emphasising that a regulatory agency had enormous powers and must have a different nationalistic mindset if it must succeed.

According to him, the defence of double taxation by the state and federal governments on telecoms companies is ill-conceived, saying that such should not be coming from NCC that should regulate the companies.

He further dispelled the claim by NCC that there were poor power supply to the telecoms companies, reminding the senate that telecoms companies were asked to purchase their powers directly from the generating companies and bypass the distribution companies, yet they refused.

The minister, who was visibly angry over the submissions made by the NCC, urged the senate to invite more technical people to help them understand what was actually happening with regards to the drop calls.

He revealed that at the onset of telecoms deregulation, the telecoms companies were asked to co-locate their cables, masts and installations, for better security, cheaper right of way and to avoid cutting of cables by contractors, but they refused and rather went to court to challenge government. He said the head of the regulatory agency must be on the side of Nigerians, while encouraging investors.

According to him, it is a question of service delivery to Nigerians. Sen. Bamidele Opeyemi (APC-Ekiti) also berated the NCC for being on the side of telecoms operators.

He said the matter affected almost every Nigerian and no telecoms company accounted for the costs incurred by costumers from drop calls.

This, he said, was not allowed in other countries, regretting that everything goes in Nigeria due to collusion between regulators and operators at the detriment of poor Nigerians.

A Nigerian man almost killed his wife after a DNA test he took showed that he is not the biological father of their kids.

The man who is a Canada-based citizen decided to fly his family with him to stay together in Canada.

The man discovered that he had been living in the fools’ paradise over the paternity of his kids after the Canadian Embassy requested a test to prove the children are his.

The DNA test results proved that the man is not the biological father of any of the three (3) children he had proudly believed were all his.

According to a Twitter account, the disappointed man got angry and battered his wife to stupor even as she lost 4 teeth in the process.

…As soldiers raid community, raze houses



JOS — GUNMEN suspected to be herdsmen have attacked men of Sector Five of the Special Task Force, Operation Save Haven (OPSH), killing two soldiers and injuring one at X-Land of Barkin Ladi Local Government area of Plateau.

An eye witness and resident of the area, who preferred anonymity, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the incident occurred on Sunday.

The eye witness said the soldiers who were angered by the incident gave the community two days to provide their attackers, and on Tuesday allegedly raided the area and burnt down scores of houses.

The eye witness who said the houses burnt largely belonged to the Fulani settlers in the community, added that the army also made some arrests during the raid.

“On Sunday, gunmen attacked soldiers of the sector five, killed two personnel and ran into the houses of Fulani settlers living here in X-Land.

“Soldiers came and had a meeting with the Fulanis and told them to provide the culprits but they failed to, and yesterday (Tuesday) soldiers came and raided the community.

“They burnt down many houses, over 100 and arrested some persons,” the eye witness said.
Efforts to reach the Spokesperson of the task force, Maj. Ibrahim Shittu, on the matter was unsuccessful, as he replied the several calls put across with a text message.

The text message reads: “I have seen your text, will get back to you on it, please”.

But ASP Obah Ogaba, the Public Relations Officer of the Plateau Police Command, confirmed the incident.

“It is true that gunmen ambushed security personnel of sector five, opened fire on them, killed two soldiers and injured one.

“The issue of burnt houses is not the key matter, but soldiers are attacked and two were killed and this is the major concern, here” he said.

chariisGRACE:
If you believe this story, you need prayer.
The Cabals in Aso Rock are responsible for her death.
They are hiding something.

RIP Naankang

Kemi Olaitan holds a conversation with Dr. Kunle Olajide, the Secretary General of Yoruba Council of Elders, on South-west regional security outfit, Operation Amotekun and the performance of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari

South-west governors and the Federal Government seem to have reached an agreement on the Western Nigeria Security Network, Operation Amotekun. Do you think this is the best way to go?

There is nothing wrong in having an agreement. For now, the terms of the agreement have not been made known. Beyond what we all read in the media, we have not seen the details of the agreement. But whatever the agreement is, the Yoruba people would not accept that the security outfit be subsumed under the community policing system but that the two work together.

It must not be part of community policing because community policing is part of the Nigeria Police system that takes order from Abuja. Amotekun should be such that orders must only come from Ibadan, the other state capitals in the South-west region and Gbongan, which may be the headquarters of the security outfit. In other words, Operation Amotekun must be such that it must be peopled by indigenes of the South-west states. To put it under the Nigeria Police through the community policing would not be acceptable to us.


A top official of Miyyeti Allah has called on the South-west to forget Amotekun if it wants to clinch the Presidency in 2023, what is your view on this?

It is quite unfortunate that we are dignifying those that are calling themselves Miyyeti Allah. The space accorded them in the media is unnecessary. It is nothing but an association of herdsmen. Because they have access to the media, they are misusing the opportunity.

On the statement credited to the Miyyeti Allah official, the Presidency of a country like Nigeria certainly cannot be determined by an association whose members cannot be more than 500,000. The association only came to limelight through the criminal activities of its members such as destroying farmlands, kidnapping and raping of women.

To us in the South-west region, there must be a new constitution before the next election so as to reform our leadership process. This is because the system is ladden with corruption, for anybody to become the President such a person would spend nothing less than N100 billion, traversing the country in private jets, buying vehicles and as well as having coordinators. And whoever spends such a huge amount through his or her own money and those donated, such a person must be corrupt as he or she will be accountable to those who assisted along the way.

In the past, it was not like this. Indeed, during the First Republic, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, contested and won election in his district in the present Bauchi State to become the first Prime Minister of Nigeria. Also, the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, contested and won election in his Remo division area and became the Premier of Western region. However, the present system is too expensive and the remuneration too juicy with most politicians becoming businessmen overnight instead of focusing on service delivery.

The remuneration must be reviewed such that it should not be different from that of the civil service. The time has come for the country to move back to true federalism, Nigeria is nothing but a federation of different people coming together under certain rules.

Life is sacred and self-preservation is an inalienable right of everybody, we need a constitution such that the local governments and states would have the right to come together and protect their people. It must be the duty of the legislators in our state Houses of Assembly to give us legislation on Operation Amotekun, such as, when there is misbehaviour on the part of the personnel and most especially funding. It must has nothing to do with Abuja.

The Transparency International has rated the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari low on the fight against corruption. Are you not worried given the much touted claim by the government that it is winning the war?

I am not surprised by the rating given the country by Transparency International. The reason for this is simple. There is no leadership that evolved through the present faulty system that can successfully fight corruption. Indeed every form of injustice is corruption. Take the case of a Senator that spends close to N200 million to get into position, how do you expect him not to be corrupt?

Thus all the anti-corruption agencies from the ICPC to EFCC are just merely blowing the fire with hand fan leaving the flame. The flame is nothing but effective constitution. Except we address this, the country would just be moving in circles in the fight against corruption. But unfortunately, time is running out for the country, no thanks to the massive youth unemployment, infrastructure collapsing every day and a nation with population close to 200 million people grappling with less than 5,000 megawatts of electricity.

And my fear is that the country may explode very soon. Those at the helm of affairs must be very careful because you can only fool some people sometime, not all the people all the time.

A Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Chairman in a local government area in Adamawa State was recently beheaded by members of the Boko Haram. Do you share the view of the national leadership of CAN that Christians are being persecuted in the country?

It is clearly obvious that Christians are under siege in the country. Take for instance the South-west, from available records, the herders have not less than 1,000 cells in the region, unleashing havoc on helpless people. The most unfortunate thing about it is that nobody is being prosecuted for the crimes. The daughter of the Afenifere leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, was killed and till today, nothing has been heard about the case.

Everything points to the fact that there is a programme of Islamisation going on in the country and the earlier the administration of President Buhari puts a stop to it, the better for the country as a whole.

ABUJA – The purported feud between the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd) and the Chief of Staff (COS) to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, has been described as a plot to undermine President Muhammadu Buhari’s kitchen cabinet.

The Presidential Support Committee (PSC), which stated this Tuesday, dismissed the media report suggesting a crack between the duo.

Recall that on Monday, a report claimed that the NSA, in a memo dated December 9, 2019, had fired a warning memo to all service chiefs to desist from taking further directives from Kyari, the president’s Chief of Staff who, according to the report, sometimes issues the directives without the knowledge and approval of the president, a practice Monguno purportedly said had added to government’s failure to contain insecurity.

But, in a statement by its Director of Communication and Strategic Planning, Mallam Gidado Ibrahim, the PSC described the report as “Preposterous, spurious, callous and entirely a tissue of lies aimed at forcing concocted lies down the throat of Nigerians.

“The online medium stood journalism ethics on its head in the manner it presented the report. It is nothing more than hallucination. The story is certainly a case of the voice of Jacob, but the hand of Esau. This is a sponsored story premeditated at rubbishing the working relationship among the president’s kitchen cabinet.

“The story should be told to the marines, instead of any rational being. why and how on earth would the president’s Chief of Staff be accused of frustrating the fight against insurgency that is killing his own people in Borno State?

“The purported crack in the president’s team is undoubtedly the figment of mischief makers’ imagination. They earn a living through blackmail, propaganda and deceit. President Buhari and his team have refused to be distracted by the onslaught of unpatriotic and thoroughly corrupt elements, who survives on crises.

“President’s Buhari’s team is intact and working tirelessly on achieving the enthronement of peace and prosperity among Nigerians for all to feel the impact of government, as against the wishes of mindless criminals, who are manipulating and sponsoring the media space against the president and his men.”

A young lady and her little child, on Sunday, died in Bomadi, a creek town in Delta State, after allegedly drinking a substance suspected to be Sniper.

Details of the incident were sketchy as of the time of filing in this report but Tribune Online gathered that the woman, Miss Pigha Koboye (22), took her life after the father of the child denied his paternity.

A source told the Nigerian Tribune that the lady said the father of her child denied his paternity and that was why she poisoned herself and the child.

Residents of the area where the incident occurred trooped to the Bomadi General Hospital to ascertain the authenticity of the report, just as some people blamed her for the ‘silly’ decision.

No medical personnel was willing to comment on the incident when the Tribune Online made enquires on Monday evening.

On January 12, 2020, exactly 27 days after their wedding, newlyweds, Sa’adatu Muhammad Babangida and her husband Najib Ahmad were at home in Jos when she complained of toothache. At about 10:30pm she went to the kitchen to brew some java pepper (a blend of coffee) that would help alleviate her pains.

Najib waited in the bedroom but soon heard an explosion from within the house. Most of the ceiling caved in, as did most of their newly-minted lives in what the husband, Najib, would describe as “a terrible moment.” A gas explosion in the kitchen had left Sa’adatu badly burnt, crying for help.

“I started hearing Sa’adatu from the room crying
“Inna liLlahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un,” (to God we belong and to God we shall return.) I then concluded that something dreadful had happened to my lovely wife,” Najib said.

He found his wife on the kitchen floor, writhing in pain, half of her body covered in burns. He rushed her to the Jos University Teaching Hospital where he hoped she could be treated.

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Wedding Day: Najib and late Sa'adatu on their wedding day, 26 days before the explosion

What he did not know at the time was that his wife had began her journey to death, which would eventually end on February 3rd when she died from the injuries she sustained in the explosion.

Most of her life after that explosion was spent in the hospital, her body, apart from her face, wrapped in a gauze. In those days, her relatives were optimistic she was going to recover because she seemed to be responding to treatment. She was even smiling at visitors.

Her mother Hadiza Muhammad Babangida was so confident of her daughter’s recovery that the last time she saw her, she assured her daughter of that.

“My last moment with Sa’adatu was on Saturday, February 1, when I visited her in the hospital. We looked at each other smiling. I prayed and blessed her. I rubbed her head, encouraging and condoling her that she would, by the grace of Allah, survive to recount the story of her tragedy of suffering and celebrate her good health,” she said.

Sa’adat asked her mother if she was sure.

“Yes, of course, you will survive the injuries because myself and other well-wishers have been praying for your recovery and are never worried,” she said.

Two days later, she received calls that her daughter was gone for good.

Sa’adatu was 30 at the time of her death. A graduate of Micro Biology from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, she was enlisted into the N-Power programme and was attached to a Jos North Local Government Primary Healthcare as lab assistant.

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Asia Muhammad Babangida, Sa’adatu’s sister said her sister would be missed

From her stipend, her mother said, her daughter was generous and supported her family.
“Sa’adat lived a life worthy of emulation,” he mother said, speaking softly. “She was a genius, a God-sent person and heroine of Babangida’s family, who often understood your problems before you shared them with her. She was relentless towards giving out her best to the family from the little she earned as an N-power beneficiary. To my knowledge, nobody has ever said anything bad about her. Her deeds would continue to be remembered.”

Her generosity of spirit was testified to by her husband, who said that despite her obvious pain during her time in the hospital, his wife expressed joy that he was safe from the disaster.

For him, the 26 days of bliss he spent with his wife before the accident would remain something he would treasure as he recalled how they met and fell in love.

“Within just one year of courtship, we fell in love and became engaged because of the understanding we had, not knowing that our marriage was going to be intercepted by such an unfortunate incident,” he said.

He would remember those 26 days for the love and care his wife showed him and the mutual respect and appreciation they had for each other. He described her as a God-fearing woman who would often commit to prayers and spent time reciting the Holy Qur’an.

If there was any regret, it was that he was not there the moment she breathed her last.

“I left her on the sickbed with the doctors for Asr prayers without knowing I would not return to meet her alive,” the grief-stricken husband said.
She died a few minutes after he left the room, with doctors trying and failing to save her life.

Her sister Asia, 27, described the life her sister shared with Najib as “adorable”

“Her adorable married life that was cut short by this unfortunate incident shall remain pitiful to all of us, her relations as her demise came to us with huge sorrow,” Asia said. “We shall continue to share the pain of her irreplaceable loss for as long as we live.”

Her mother, Hadiza, echoed the sentiment.

“The Almighty Allah knows why He took her at the moment we enjoyed her presence. I will live to remember Sa’adat for everything she used to do,” she said.

“Sa’adat would always give us good advice. In fact, she handled everything. Her loss is indeed touching,” her sister, Asia, added.

One of the advice she gave her husband Najib on her deathbed would stay with him forever.

In one of their last moments together, Najib said his wife left a verbal will to him asking him to maintain good relations with her family, saying, “I should not allow anything to break my relationship with members of her family and live peacefully with whoever I relate with.”

With both families united in a short-lived marriage, they have a life of mutual mourning to share going forward.

Najib now knows that on the night of January 12 when the ceiling caved in on him from that explosion, it was a whole world that fell on him and the short life he lived with Sa’adatu.

The consumer price index, which measures inflation, rose to 12.13% in January; hitting its highest point in 21 months.

According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday, the index increased from the 11.98% recorded in December.

The last time inflation was in this region was in April 2018.

“The consumer price index, (CPI) which measures inflation increased by 12.13% (year-on-year) in January 2020. This is 0.15 percentage points higher than the rate recorded in December 2019 (11.98%).

“On a month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 0.87% in January 2020, this is 0.02% rate higher than the rate recorded in December 2019 (0.85%).”

According to the report, the urban inflation rate rose to 12.78% on a year-on-year in January 2020 from 12.62% in December 2019, while the rural inflation rate increased by 11.54% in January 2020 from 11.41% in December 2019.

“The composite food index rose by 14.85% in January 2020 compared to 14.67% in December 2019,” the report read.

“This rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, meat, oils and fats, potatoes, yam and other tubers and fish

“In January 2020, food inflation on a year on year basis was highest in Sokoto (19.08%), Ogun (18.72%) and Nasarawa (17.07%), while Bayelsa (12.91%), Delta (11.57%) and Benue (11.33%) recorded the slowest rise.”

On month on month basis, 2020 food inflation was highest in Ondo (2.95%), Anambra (2.61%) and Abuja (2.57%), while Benue, Kogi and River recorded price deflation (general decrease in the general price level of food or a negative food inflation rate).

Leke Baiyewu, Abuja


The House of Representatives has resolved to acquire Toyota Camry 2020 model for members as official cars, otherwise called utility vehicles.

The resolution was reached at an executive (closed-door) session held on February 5, 2020, The PUNCH reliably learnt on Friday.

A source in the chamber, who spoke on condition of anonymity as members were forbidden from disclosing details of the discussions at the closed-door meeting, said the National Assembly would purchase 400 exotic cars. The lawmaker, however, kept mum on the cost of each car.

When contacted on Sunday, a representative of Elizade Nigeria Limited, a foremost Toyota brand distributor, said the 2020 model had yet to arrive in the country.

The representative, however, said the 2019 model was N26.75m and N35.75m (for V6 engine).

The 2020 model is expected to be costlier.

A check on the website of Toyota showed that the price of the car, depending on the variants, is between $25,000 (N9,000,000 at N360 to a dollar) and $35,000 (N12,600,000), excluding the cost of shipping, import duty which is 70 per cent of the net cost and other clearing charges and taxes at the port.

For instance, those with higher specification, as the National Assembly usually goes for higher range of vehicles, are XLE at $29,455; XLE V6 at $34,580; XSE at $30,005 and XSE V6 at $35,130.

At the meeting, the lawmakers were said to have rejected Nigerian brands, insisting on foreign ones, preferably imported and not locally assembled.

The lawmaker said a proposal to patronise Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing, a Nigerian brand based in Nnewi, Anambra State, was rejected.

The lawmaker said, “It is Toyota Camry 2020. Manga will supply 300 of the vehicles. The person who supplied the Senate will supply the remaining 100. Someone suggested Innoson. I feel he was being sarcastic. He is from Anambra.”

Already, about 14 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado Jeeps were said to have already been shared to the presiding and principal officers as well as chairmen of select House committees.

Giving the breakdown of how the vehicles would be shared, the source said the 400 saloon cars would be allocated to each of the 360 members and some top management staff, Chiefs of Staff to the two presiding officers as well as some of their special advisers and assistants.

Another member of the House, who also declined to be named, said some of the vehicles had been supplied while new members who did not get committee appointments would be the beneficiaries of the first batch.

The Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Chief Sunday Oduntan, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) has said that the 11 electricity distribution (Discos) will not commence implementation of the extraordinary tariff review of MYTO-2015 until they get the go ahead from the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

Speaking with The Nation on phone, he noted that the power firms were yet to get the go- ahead from the commission.

He however admitted that the power distributors will kickstart the implementation of the new tariff when the commission gives the directive.

His words: “The DisCos cannot do anything until the regulator says so. The regulator has not asked us to charge the new tariffs. They (NERC) has the say. Once they ( NERC) says we should start, we will start charging.”

The NERC’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Dr. Usman Abba Arabi, didn’t pick his call when our correspondent called on phone to confirm whether the new tariff will become effective on April 1.

He did not reply the text message that The Nation sent to him on the matter as well.

The Federal Government is considering an intervention of a digital government agency, Galaxy Backbone, for Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) platform, insisting that no going back in enrolling all its employees, including university lecturers on the platform.

Daily Trust reports that IPPIS Secretariat is a Department under the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, responsible for payment of salaries and wages directly to Government employee’s bank account with appropriate deductions and remittances of 3rd party payments.

Those 3rd parties include: Federal Inland Revenue Service, State Boards of Internal Revenue, National Health Insurance Scheme, National Housing Fund, Pension Fund Administrator, Cooperative Societies, Trade Unions Dues, Association Dues and Bank Loans.

The Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, while fielding questions from newsmen in Abuja after a meeting with the Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone, Muhammad Abubakar, explained that reform in public finance management is necessitated by great loss in revenue generation.

“As you are aware, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation drives all the reforms around Public Finance Management: The TSA, IFSAS implementation, GIPMIS programme, the strategic revenue growth initiative, the audit modernization and a host of others as well as e-Collections.

“So, these reform initiatives revolve around ICT tools and we believe this is your area of core mandate and you have capacity. We believe we should also patronize you as a government company, looking inwards rather than going too much far away, consulting foreign nations, even within. We will continue to do that,” he said.

No fewer than 459 MDAs on IPPIS Platform as at 31st June, 2017. The department is responsible for processing and payment of salary to over Three hundred thousand (300,000) Federal Government Employees across the 459 MDAs.
In his reaction, Galaxy Backbone boss, Abubakar promised that the agency would ensure quality delivery.

The Medical and Dental Consultant’s Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), says its members will pull out from all Teaching Hospitals in the country if the National University Commission (NUC), fails to withdraw the circular issued to Nigerian Universities that all medical doctors lecturing in the universities and medical colleges must possess PhD certificates before they would be allowed to lecture.

The NUC had on December 24, last year issued a circular directing all University Vice Chancellors and Registrars, National Postgraduate Medical College not to allow doctors who were not PhD holders to lecture in the universities, a decision that was vehemently faulted by the doctors.

In their resolve to take a final stand on the NUC’s decision, the association through its National President, Prof. Kenneth Ozoilo said the group had on January 31, issued 24-day ultimatum for the NUC to withdraw its earlier decision, else it will ask its members to stay away from all hospitals across the country, citing that the ultimatum is expiring in the next 10 days.
Ozoilo, a consultant at Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), made the disclosure on Friday during a press conference held in Jos, the Plateau State Capital.

According to the group, PhD certificate though relevant but “doesn’t add value to any kind of treatment” adding that for a PhD holder to lecture efficiently, they have to be trained and get practical experience from the field.

MDCAN which described the NUC’s decision as punitive and acting in error, noted however that having fellowship acquired through residency was more vigorous which could be equated with PhD certificate, explaining that “residency training is purposeful while PhD is cosmetics.”

The group however frowned at NUC’s refusal to respond to the series of letters sent to it with a view to restrategise it’s position, nothing that doctors were not into any squabble with the commission but rather an appeal to maintain the status quo.

Manchester City could reportedly be stripped of the Premier League title they won in 2014 if they are deemed to have breached financial rules.

City have been banned from European competition for the next two seasons by UEFA due to “serious breaches” of their financial fair play rules.

The club have appealed against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but if it is upheld it is likely that the Premier League will also investigate their past dealings.

And according to the Daily Mail a commission could deduct points retrospectively, meaning their 2014 title win may be in danger.

City won the league in the 2013/2014 season in one of the closest title races in recent years, finishing on 86 points- just four ahead of their nearest challengers Liverpool.

But UEFA have stated that the period between 2012-2016 was when City overstated their sponsorship income, meaning that in theory the 2014 title win could be stripped and handed to Liverpool retrospectively.

Awka – THE Deputy President General of Ifite Ogwari Community in Ayamelum local government area of Anambra State, Chief Nwaora Ikeoala and the town’s chief security officer, Chief Michael Akamala have been detained at the Anambra State Police headquarters in Awka over the alleged killing of three herdsmen and some cows after the destruction of cultivated large farmlands in the area by Fulani herdsmen.

But the two community leaders, who spoke from their detention at the Special Investigation Bureau, SIB, Awka, on Sunday insisted that they never killed anybody, even as they admitted meeting after an attack on their farms to access the level of damage to crops by the herdsmen in line with the directive of the state government’s special security task force on farmers- herdsmen relationship in the state.

The state Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Baba Maiyaki, who also spoke with reporters, said three herdsmen lost their lives, but only one body was recovered, adding that it was the reason the community leaders were being detained, while investigation into the matter was continuing.

Vanguard gathered that the community leaders were arrested shortly after they held a meeting with Governor Willie Obiano, who was said to be worried about the increasing level of insecurity in the area.

Narrating their ordeal, the Deputy PG for Ifite Ogwari said: “We were in a meeting to access the damage done on our farms by the herdsmen when the Divisional Police Officer for our area called me and demanded to see us. When we went, he took us to many places and ended up at a mortuary at Adani but we did not see any dead body. Since then, we have been in detention without knowing what our offence was.”

He said his community was living peacefully with the herdsmen until the recent incident following the alleged invasion of the area by another set of herdsmen.

A nongovernmental organization, the Igbo Mandate Congress, which had intervened in the matter, claimed that it was the leadership of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria MACBAN, in the South East that alleged that youths of Ifite-Ogwari killed some herders and 108 cows between December 20, 2019 and January 27, 2020.

Director General of Igbo Mandate Congress, Reverend Obinna Akukwe said the organization has been following up the issue since Miyetti Allah leaders raised the alarm last week, adding that a preliminary report had already been sent to Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, and members of the diplomatic community on the situation at Ifite-Ogwari, which, according to him, was capable of turning Anambra State into a theatre of war.

He said: “The community leaders of Ifite-Ogwari are being detained at the insistence of leaders of Miyetti Allah in the South East. The police justified their incarceration on the mantra that they are still investigating and looking for the killers of the herdsmen and the 108 cows.

Community, Kill Eight, Injure Several Others
“The legal adviser to the community, Mr. Michael Chukwuemeka, has been denied proper access to the detained elders and the Deputy President General is in bad state of health.

“Top officials of Anambra State government told IMC that Governor Obiano recently asked the Commissioner of Police to release the elders, but the Police declined, insisting that only order from Abuja can guarantee their release.

“The elders and youths of Ifite-Ogwari had made repeated efforts to get the attention of the state government to the tension, and they were repeatedly told to forgive their enemies for the sake of national unity. They claimed that at no point between December and January did the youth mobilize against the Fulani.”

“If anybody ever died, as claimed by Miyetti Allah, it could be as a result of a private clash between an infuriated farmer and herdsman, and the community was not involved in it.

“Igbo Mandate Congress advises Governor Obiano to stop taxing the Ifite Ogwari community, and pay from state coffers the N38 million the Miyetti Allah demanded for the allegedly killed 108 cows. The governor should also pay N18 million for the destroyed farmlands and N18 million for rehabilitation of families whose daughters and mothers have been senselessly raped since the state failed to protect the community after repeated alarms.”

It also urged the police to order the release of the community leaders and pay them compensation for what the groups described as illegal detention, even as it advised the youths of Ifite Ogwari to suspend any planned reaction and allow a solution to be worked out by concerned Igbo leaders.

In response to their female partners’ yarn for more thrusting, by screaming harder, harder, many young Nigerian men are being ushered in to their early graves with this energy-boosting songs during the sexscapde. The deaths are blamed also on indiscriminate use of sex enhancement drugs by men to come out victorious in a marathon sex contest with their partner contest. CHIJIOKE IREMEKA reports

The expression, ‘run today to fight tomorrow’ is the best form of advice giving to an amateur fighter, who prides himself a hero of war, if he must live to tell the story of how he conquered.

“Work does not finish in the farm; do the ones you can and leave the rest for tomorrow,” is also another maxim that cautions the workers to take a break and continue the next day, if they must reap the fruit of their labour.

The above wise sayings try to caution those who would rather want to finish a task without a break not to be in a hurry to finish a job that has the capacity of sending them to their early graves.

Unfortunately, many Nigerian men have shunned these sayings and resorted to both physical and artificial strengthening to attempt the finishing of a job, which ordinarily will never be finished in their life time, the feat which neither those ahead of them were able to accomplish.

Regrettably, the effect has been heartrending as it occasionally leads to untimely deaths among active young Nigerian men who feel they have the where withdal to have a clean slate of this job in a few minutes.

Thus, there has been rising cases of young Nigerian men who have gone to their early graves while embarking on marathon consensual sex escapade with their female partners.

Sunday Telegraph learnt that more people will still embark on this journey of no return should they bent on responding to ‘harder harder’ expression and screaming of their female partners during sexual intercourse.

Wisdom tells one to cut back on this escapade despite the stimulating songs of harder! harder, from the female partners who had been translated into another planet. Trying to patronise such reassuring and energy-boosting sexual euphonium of one’s partners had proved tragic in some situation.

In a number of cases, some of them who defied this basic and simple instinct to ractionalise at the sound of harder harder, thought they were coming, jerking, not knowing they were actually kissing the earth, friends and well-wishers, goodbye.

Thus, “Consensual sex is sending Nigerian men to their early grerves. It’s because of all these fake sex enhancement drugs that are now everywhere. And sometimes, these men have some underlying sicknesses which wouldn’t allow them use these sex enhancement drugs.

“Whatever the case might be, Bleep your Bleep with common sense. Do small and walk away. Don’t go the marathon way. It kills,” said Mr. Fred Ejiofor, who applied common sense when his partner screamed harder, harder, while acting an empty stomach.

Ejiofor had had flings with different girls of different background; ethnic and tribe save for a Hausa lady, which he tried all he could to test to know the difference between a Hausa girl and the rest of other tribes.

He said: “I have had consensual sex with a number of girls across tribes in Nigeria except for a Hausa. One day, my company sent me to the North to monitor a survey.

“When I got there, I met some appealing ladies who saw me as a prince. At a point, I had an eye on one of them, thinking she was a Hausa because she dressed like them, wore hijab and spoke their language.

“That was in Kaduna. One thing led to the other and she visited my hotel room on that Sunday morning. It was then I knew she was an Edo girl and not even a Muslim.

“After some discussion, we got in the mood and saddled on it. At this time, I have not had my breakfast or anything strong. It was that day that I feared Edo women. She was young and innocent-looking but was fire with all the sexual frolics.

“I did the one I could and she asked me to go through the back. Oh my goodness, she taught me what I never knew in my whole sex life. She shook her ass nonstop and asked me to use both my hands and joystick.

“At a point when I hit her hard, she let loose her mouth and started screaming harder! Harder! I thought she was close to ending the first round not knowing the job had just begun.

“Initially, I followed her with the harder scream. Indeed, I propelled harder until I started seeing stars. Of course, I was panting, trying to help her reach orgasm. She was busy screaming harder, harder, twisting and wining her ass. I went on like that until I had to stop with the excuse that I want to eat as I have not taken anything.

“I left for Kaduna GRA where I could get Igbo food yet she waited for me. Knowing that I didn’t have the strength to continue, I delayed my return to the hotel room. You can imagine what would have happened to me if I had taken some cheap drugs. I might pour everything and die there.

“Seeing the magnitude of the work I had done, I waited for her to rain praises on me but she only said, ‘well, you tried, may be because you have not eaten.’ I said in my mind, this lady is looking for whom to kill. Comparing our ages, she is small girl where I am but I feared her greatly.

“If one is not careful, he will join many other men who have poured out everything in them and pour out their brain and died. Sex is meant to be enjoyed not endured. I almost died. When she left, I took enough malt and yoghurt to get myself back.”

Sunday Telegraph learnt that the majority of deaths due to cardiovascular causes during sex occur in males.

It was learnt that a number of deaths during consensual sex have been linked to the use of other prescription or recreational drugs, such as cocaine.

According to a new study, men are more likely to die during sex than women.

The findings, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, indicate that sex is responsible for one in 100 sudden cardiac arrests in men. While, only one in 1,000 women are at risk.

The study examined 4,557 cardiac arrests over several years in Portland, Oregon. And research showed that 34 cases occurred during sexual intercourse or in the following hour.

It was learnt that men suffered two-thirds
of overall cardiac arrests but in terms of sex-induced heart complications, 32 out of 34 cases were male. The ages of patients who suffered sudden cardiac arrest during sex ranged from 34 to 83.

Though it is not exactly clear why men are more likely to die during sex than women.
A cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, Dr. Sumeet Chugh, revealed that it may be as a consequence to dangerous medications which did not show up in the study.

He said: “Though sudden cardiac arrest during sexual activity was witnessed by a partner, bystander CPR was performed in only one third of the cases.”

An earlier report published in 2012 also suggested some further possible reasons.
The study stated: “The majority (75 percent) were having extramarital sexual activity, in most cases with a younger partner in an unfamiliar setting and/or after excessive food and alcohol consumption.”

According to the British Heart Foundation, approximately 10,000 people die in the UK each year from cardiac arrest.

Dr. Ngozi Obiora death can occur during consensual sex for a number of reasons due to the physical strain of the activity, or unusual extenuating circumstances.

She said: “There are various euphemisms for death during sex, including dying in the saddle. Sexual intimacy, as well as orgasms, increases levels of the hormone oxytocin, also known as the love hormone, which helps people bond and build trust.

“Sexual activity is also known as one of many mood repair strategies, which means it can be used to help dissipate feelings of sadness or depression.”

According to the 2011 meta-analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Association, each additional hour of sexual activity per week resulted in an increased risk of two to three myocardial infractions and one sudden cardiac death per 10,000 person-years.

She continued: “Sexual intercourse can also trigger a subarachnoid hemorrhage via the Valsalva maneuver. A 2011 meta-analysis published in Journal of Sexual Medicine found that men who were unfaithful were significantly more likely than those who were faithful to experience severe or fatal cardiac events during sex.

“Basilar artery dissection has also been reported in connection with sexual activity, though most coital cephalalgia is gentle in nature. Deaths during consensual sex only account for approximately 0.6 per cent of all sudden deaths.

“Viagra, although generally considered to be a safe drug, has been linked to sudden cardiovascular death during sexual activity among elderly or otherwise infirm men. The majority of deaths due to cardiovascular causes during sex do occur in males.

“A number of deaths during consensual sex have been linked to the use of other prescription or recreational drugs, such as cocaine. The heart condition endothelial dysfunction is a contributing cause to both atherosclerosis and erectile dysfunction.

“Because of the link between these conditions, rates of coronary heart disease are higher among patients with erectile dysfunction. One treatment for erectile dysfunction is GMP-specific phosphodiesterase type five inhibitors, which enable patients to resume having sex despite having a cardiac condition, by lowering blood pressure.

“These drugs, including sildenafil, inhibit the action of the phosphodiesterase, allowing for a higher concentration of cyclic GMP in the penis when it is physically stimulated. Cyclic GMP is a second messenger in the nitric oxide pathway, responsible for erections via the vasodilating function of nitric oxide.

“Sudden cardiac death can be caused by myocardial ischemia, and the physical activity of sexual intercourse in patients with coronary artery disease can result in myocardial ischemia.
“The phosphodiesterase can act as a potentiator for other drugs which lower blood pressure and which could be used to treat heart conditions, and so may be contraindicated to prevent negative health consequences.”

Recently, a lawyer died after overdose of sex enhancement drugs in a hotel with a prostitute who claimed to have started the job few weeks back.

The family wanted to place charges on the girl and send her to jail for murder of the lawyer but the video licked and saved the innocent girl.

Also, recall that the lifeless body of a man said to be a former Manager of the defunct National Electricity Power Authority (NEPA) in Ebonyi State has reportedly been found in a hotel in Abakaliki, capital of Ebonyi State.

The deceased, according to sources, died during marathon sex with his lover, one Mrs. Uzoamaka (surname withheld), said to be a nursing mother who was recently delivered of a baby about a month ago.

However, it was gathered that the incident took place in a hotel owned by the wife of an influential politician in the state located along Abakaliki/Enugu Expressway.

According to sources, wife of the deceased and his lover are both nursing their babies said to be about one month old each.

The female lover, a hair stylist, was said to have had her last child 11 years ago before she took in again. Before the incident, the deceased was said to have given Mrs. Uzoamaka a ride from where they believably sealed a deal to head to the hotel to have sex.

She was said to have withdrawn some money from the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) of a commercial bank located along Ezza Road, Abakaliki before the deceased picked her in his car.

Also, a middle-aged man, identified as Davy, slumped and died during the seventh round of a sex competition with a lady.

According to a report, the incident occurred in the Ikotun area of Lagos State.

It was gathered that the deceased argued with a lady, identified as Loveth, that he was stronger in bed and would last longer in a sex escapade.
Davy had put N50, 000 as a stake to be given to Loveth if she defeated him in a sex romp. Both parties agreed and moved to a hotel to test their capabilities.

It was gathered that Davy went through the 6th unshaken until the 7th round where he lost his zeal and collapsed on top of Loveth.

The lady panicked and raised alarm to the hotel management who later reported the issue to the Ikotun Police Division.

Loveth explained what transpired between her and the deceased to the SCIID Panti Yaba where she was transferred to.

“This incident is increasing day by day just because most of us don’t know their health status. If you have HBP, and you continue pounding 60 times per seconds because you want to please the woman, my brother you will die,” said Sex therapist, Dr. Leo Illoegbuman.

He said: “If you know you have such health issues. Do some MouthAction before climbing. I don’t blame the man is just that it happened with a side chick. It would have still happen with the wife some day when they are making love and I guess no body will hear how he die.

“You will only hear he die in his sleep. May God help us! Sex is sending men to grave so much. It’s because of all these fake sexual enhancement drugs that’s now everywhere. At the same time, these men might have underlying sicknesses.”

The crisis within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and in the major opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has heightened fears over their chances in this year’s governorship election in Edo State, reports

Osagie Otabor in Bénin

THE crisis rocking the two major political parties in Edo State, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is getting worse and assuming a worrisome dimension. In the APC, the political divide is widening by the day between supporters of Governor Godwin Obaseki’s second term bid and those bent on stopping his second term ambition, who perhaps have the backing of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole while the PDP has been divided over who would pick the party’s ticket.

Moreover, the Oshiomhole supporters, led by Col David Imuse, has been looking for accommodation in Bénin City for the purpose of having a rival state party secretariat but property owners are said to be unwilling to take the risk of letting out their building for fear of demolition owing to the example set by Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State.

Unlike in 2012 and 2016 when the APC went into electoral contest as a united force, the party has become badly battered and deeply entrenched in crisis. The Edo APC got caught up with the fight between Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and Governor Godwin Obaseki. As at now, there is only one party secretariat in the state. Apart from the State Chairman, Secretary and Publicity Secretary, all other positions are still intact. Col. David Imuse and Barr. Anselm Ojezua are however laying claims to the chairmanship position. Engr. Lawrence Okah and Hon Osamudiame Edekere are the two State Secretaries while Chris Azebamwan and Pastor Joseph Osagiede are both Publicity Secretaries.
Eight members of the Edo APC State Executive led by Col Imuse are operating from Abuja. Engr. Okah, Azebamwan and the State Woman Leader, Betty Okoebor are with Imuse and loyal to Oshiomhole while Barr. Ojezua and other party executives are loyal to Governor Obaseki and his second term bid.

What has broken down among the warring factions is trust. Oshiomhole had expressed disappointment at what he termed betrayal of his political godson, Shaibu, while Obaseki at a meeting with some leaders said Oshiomhole must apologise before he would be accepted back into the party. He said he was disappointed that he no longer understands the man he once shared a common interest to salvage Edo State.

Besides the issue of trust, another factor is the question of leadership of the party. APC members loyal to Oshiomhole are refusing to accept Obaseki as the leader of the party in the state. They argued that in a state where a National Chairman hails from, the governor seizes to be the party leader. But when confronted with questions that Oshiomhole as governor never allowed Oyegun to be the party leader in Edo, they said Oyegun was never assertive and did not carry people ‘along’.

However, the crisis took another dimension early this year when residents woke up to news of explosions going off at residences of opponents of Obaseki as well as attacks on some APC chieftains.

Already, Pastor Ize-Iyamu and Barr Idahagbon had accused the state government of being responsible for the series of attacks.

But the Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, and Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Barr. Paul Ohonbamu, who responded separately, said the Edo APC was peaceful until the EPM and its enablers commenced their nefarious activities across the state.

Ohonbamu said it was a ploy to make Edo look unsafe and to pave way for a state of emergency to be declared by President Buhari.

Can Akande committee resolve face-off?
It is yet to be ascertained if the APC National Reconciliation Committee, headed by Chief Bisi Akande, could bring peace to the party. Obaseki and his support group, the Obaseki Shaibu Movement have backed the Akande-led committee. How the committee will resolve the crisis is what many are waiting to see.

PDP also at crossroads

The Edo State PDP is also presently at a cross road. It is battling to vacate a court order that stopped it from further conduct of its congresses after its ward congresses were held on February 1st.

Three of its members, Hon Eruanga Gallant, Victor Idiakheoa and Jide Obalowoshe, have secured an interim injunction restraining the PDP from conducting the local government congresses scheduled to hold on February 8th.
The court, presided over by Justice Joy Okeaya-lnneh, also restrained the PDP and INEC from announcing, publishing and recognising the ward congresses results earlier conducted by the party.

Eruaga was beaten to pulp during the conduct of the ward congresses. In some areas, party members complained of absence of election officers, imposition of ward executives, amongst others.

Chairman of the Edo PDP congresses, Governor Seyi Mankinde of Oyo State had told reporters that the ward congresses were hitch free and successful.

The quest to pick the party’s ticket is what is causing a huge divide in the party. It is the belief of PDP leaders that the crisis in the APC would provide a leeway for it to return to power in the state. Aspirants presently seeking to get the PDP ticket are Hon Omoregie Ogbeide Ihama, Barr. Kenneth Imasuagbon, Hon Ifaluyi Isibor and Gideon Ikhine, while those who have declared interest to replace Chief Orbih are Engr. Fred Okah, Hon Chief Omi Imosili, Tony Aziegbemi and Hon Silver Peter.

How both parties played its cards in their present crisis would determine who will win the September 19 governorship election.

Hanan Buhari, the daughter of the President, Maj.Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has refused to respond to allegations levelled against her by a trader, Anthony Okolie, who was detained for 10 weeks for using a telephone line previously used by Hanan.

At the hearing of a suit filed against Hanan on Wednesday, her lawyer, M.E. Sheriff, told the court that there was no response to the allegations because there was no need for a response.

He, however, filed a written address in opposition to the originating motion on notice.

Recall that Okolie had through his lawyer, Tope Akinyode, sued Hanan, the Department of State Services and telecommunications company, MTN, over his 10-week detention in DSS in custody.

In the suit, with number FHC/ASB/CS/3/2020, Okolie is seeking an order to “compel the respondents (DSS, Hanan and MTN) jointly or severally to pay the applicant the sum of N500,000,000 as general and aggravated damages for the gross and unlawful violation of the applicant’s right to acquire moveable properties, freedom of movement and self dignity.”

The PUNCH reports that when the case was heard by Justice Nnamdi Dimgba at a Federal High Court in Asaba on Wednesday, Hanan’s lawyer said there was no response to the allegations yet.

“My lord, we didn’t file a counter-affidavit but a written address.

Justice Dimgba, who seemed surprised, said, “Why didn’t you file a counter-affidavit?”

Responding, Hanan’s lawyer said, “We didn’t file because we haven’t found a reason to file a counter-affidavit.”

The judge subsequently responded, “What do you mean you haven’t seen a reason? Sheriff, how can you not see a reason? Somebody has accused you. Even if it is to say, ‘I didn’t do so’, can’t you respond? You’re saying you did not see a reason. Sheriff, what kind of things is this?”

The lawyer for the DSS, E.E. Daobri, who is also the Principal Staff Officer, Legal Services, DSS, said he did not receive the necessary documents from the DSS headquarters in Abuja on time and thus was unable to file a counter-affidavit.

He asked for a two-week adjournment.

The lawyer to the applicant, Akinyode, asked the court to ensure that the matter was given expedited action, alleging that he and his client were being trailed constantly by the DSS.

Justice Dimgba stated, “If this is true, Daobri, tell your men to stop it. They need their liberty to be able to come to court.”

The judge adjourned the matter till March 3, 2020.