An Edo State Magistrate Court has struck out a charge against a Nigerian for riding a tricycle in a Government Reserved Area (GRA) and another charge against another person for videoing a police arrest.

The operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, New Etete Division on July 26, 2022, arrested one Brighton Odion, a tricycle rider who was riding along Limit Road, off Sapele Road in Benin City, where the riding of tricycles has been barred.

The police accused him of violating the governor's order on riding in a restricted area and was subsequently charged to court when he refused to bribe them.

The police also arrested one Mr. Vision Nelson for taking pictures of Odion's arrest.

He was charged alongside Odion for being an unregistered photographer and unlicensed journalist and for using his Android phone to record the arrest.

But delivering judgment on Thursday, the court ruled in favour of the accused and consequently struck out the charges against the duo.

The Chief Magistrate in Evbuoriaria Magistrate Court 5, Sapele Road, Benin City, held in his ruling in the case between NPF and EDOCSO that "videoing or recording in a public place is not an offence, citizens have rights to do recordings anywhere, anytime."

The magistrate also held that there is no law in Edo State banning or restricting the movement of tricycles (keke) from major roads or streets. "Tricycles can move from one point to another without any form of restriction," the court said.

The court in striking out the charges, held that the case lacks merit, adding that the police were unable to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The judge, therefore, ruled that the case should be struck out for lack of merit before the law.

The Edo Civil Society Organisations were represented by Bar. Dele Igbinedion's chamber.

Reacting to the judgment in a statement issued on Friday, the Interim Public Relations Officer, EDOCSO, Leftist Aliyu Umweni, said justice can be delayed but can never be denied.

The group, however, called on the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force to ensure that those with requisite knowledge of both the Police Act and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended and other relevant laws are deployed to man divisions.

"We want to use this medium to charge the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force to always do diligent work in putting only well-trained, educated and exposed personnel to head police formations in order to reduce similar embarrassment and ridicule to the force.

"It would appear the police just want to charge suspects to court for charging sake without minding the final implication of the outcome which are not limited to making a caricature of the force and emboldening criminals to challenge such charge in court and not to talk about the wastage of time, resources of the country for frivolous and unintelligent pursuit of a non-existent criminal case.

"If the institutions in Nigeria know what they are doing, the DPO or whoever charged this case to court would be reprimanded and possibly defaulted for dragging the police force into ridicule and shame.

"At any rate, the statement has been made loud and clear that the court is made for everyone to sue for justice and truth. We will continue to urge citizens to pursue matters in court. The day citizens will wake up and start suing intimidating and oppressive institutions in Nigeria, only then we will be on our way to total liberation from the internal feudal lords.

"Going forward, any more harassment of tricycle riders in Edo state by police officers would be seen as contempt of court and the appropriate steps will be taken on such officer(s).

"EDOCSO will ensure the full wrath of the law takes its course. Those that have heard this should inform those that have not."

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has told the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, that there is no order, be it interim, interlocutory or perpetual, from either the National Industrial Court or any other court restraining Nigerian workers from participating in peaceful rallies convened by it.

It also reminded the Federal Government, through the Solicitor-General, that there is a subsisting judgement that the right to demonstrate and protest on matters of public concern was in the public interest, which individuals must possess and exercise without impediment as long as no wrongful act was done.

The Labour Centre stated these via a letter from Falana chambers to the Permanent Secretary/Solicitor-General, with the title ”Re-NLC in contempt of court,” signed by Sam Ogala Esq.

The letter is coming on the heels of organised labour’s proposed protest for Wednesday, August 2, over the removal of subsidy on petrol, its attendant hardship on Nigerians and the inability of the government to roll out palliatives to cushion the harsh effect of the stoppage of subsidy payment.

The letter read: “In your reaction to the decision of Nigerian workers to participate in peaceful rallies to protest the worsening economic crisis in the country, you were reported to have accused the leaders of Nigeria Labour Congress of treating the order of the National Industrial Court with contempt.

“Contrary to your unwarranted allegation, the Nigeria Labour Congress does not intend to disobey the ex parte order of the National Industrial Court to the effect that ‘The defendants/Respondents are hereby restrained from embarking on the planned industrial action/or strike of any nature, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice, dated June 5, 2023.’

“You will agree with us that the National Industrial Court or any other court has not granted an order of interim, interlocutory or perpetual injunction restraining Nigerian workers from participating in peaceful rallies convened by the Nigeria Labour Congress.

“Since the constitutional right of Nigerian workers to protest peacefully cannot by any stretch of imagination be classified as an industrial action or strike of any nature, you ought not to have threatened our client with contempt of court.

“It is pertinent to draw your attention to the case of Inspector-General of Police v All Nigeria Peoples Party (2008) 12 WRN 65 where the court upheld the fundamental right of Nigerians to protest without police permit. In the leading judgment of the court, Justice Adekeye said as follows:

“The right to demonstrate and the right to protest on matters of public concern are rights which are in the public interest and that which individuals must possess, and which they should exercise without impediment as long as no wrongful act is done.

“If as speculated by law enforcement agents that breach of the peace would occur, our criminal code has made adequate provisions for sanctions against breakdown of law and order so that the requirement of permit as a conditionality to holding meetings and rallies can no longer be justified in a democratic society.

”Finally, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly are part of democratic rights of every citizen of the republic; our legislature must guard these rights jealously as they are part of the foundation upon which the government itself rests.

“Having advised the Nigeria Labour Congress and its allies to conduct the rallies peacefully, you may wish to advise the Nigeria Police Force to comply with section 83(4) of the Police Establishment Act 2020, which states that ‘where a person or organization notifies the police of his or its intention to hold a public meeting, rally or procession on a public highway or such meetings in a place where the public has access to, the police officer responsible for the area where the meeting rally or procession will take place shall mobilize personnel to provide security cover for the meeting, rally or procession.”

State governments are yet to allocate funds, set up structures and initiate the exercise of capturing poor and vulnerable citizens in state generated social registers to unable cash transfers as part of palliatives to cushion the removal of the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit by the federal government.

This is in spite of the fact that the governors in the July 20 National Economic Council meeting unanimously rejected to use National Social Register that was put together by the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO) over several years with support from the World Bank

The Bola Tinubu government had planned to make cash transfers of N8000 each to 12 million vulnerable households from an $800 million World Bank loan and N500 billion approved by the National Assembly.

President Tinubu, however, later ordered for a review of the planned N8000 cash transfers after a public outcry over the meagerness of the budgeted amount. The presidency has however since remained silent both on the c ash transfer and efforts of the state governors to ditch the National Social Register.

Reports suggest that some states are relying on the federal government palliatives and have their own programmes to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal, like adding N10,000 to the salaries of civil servants.

Investigation by LEADERSHIP Sunday however show that not a single state has taken the necessary step to offer the Tinubu government a credible replacement for the National Social Register which the governors have discredited and waiting for the states to generate their own registers could mean poor Nigerian might have to wait till the end of the year to get benefits from subsidy palliatives.

The Anambra state governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo describes the use of the proposed federal government social register as inappropriate.

He stated that the social register compiled federal government personnel is open to manipulation in a manner that those captured as the “poorest of the poor in our society” in the register might not be the real poor people targeted.

He rather stated that for the the actual people targeted under the programme to captured in the register, the compilation of the social register has to be done by the officials of the component local governments across the country, as according to him, they have access to the “formal and informal mechanisms” for communicating to their local populace, and, determining their poverty levels.

He, also, faulted the proposal to run the social register using digital mechanism as according to him, virtually all those targeted at the programme who he stated constituted about 25 percent of the country’s over 200million people do not have both bank accounts and telephones , therefore, it would be difficult to distribute any government poverty alleviation items to them either through digital means or the banks.

Besides, Professor Soludo insisted that the social register if compiled as being proposed by the federal government would lack “integrity test”.

Press secretary to the governor, Mr. Christian Aburime said Soludo has explained the position of governors during the briefing after the last national executive council meeting.

Soludo said, “The poorest of people, about 25 percent of Nigerians are totally compact, and, they don’t have access to telephones, these are the poorest of the poor of our society”.


Soludo argued, “We think that we should go back to the drawing board. And if you are delivering a such national or federal programme, it has to be generated via the constituent governments that are there at the grassroots; they will generate the social register using formal and informal mechanisms that are comprehensive, that meet creteria of the stress test; that you can call our people in the village, and, people will come and confirm that these are vulnerable people if you are targeting the vulnerable people.

But in a number of states, the only available structures for capturing poor citizens are those initiated by National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office

Niger State has a special coordinating unit in charge of Social support programmes and currently contains data from all the 25 Local Government Area, political wards.

It was however gathered that, not all the communities were covered due to security challenges in some parts of the states.

Data however obtained from the National Social Safety Nets Project (NASSP) coordinating office signed by the acting Coordinator Abubakar Mohammed Kwatachi

Showed it comprises 308,407 households and 1,321,295 individuals.

The Social Register serves as a comprehensive database of Poor and Vulnerable Households (PVHHS) containing information about the socio – economic status of each household and their respective communities.

Consequently the data revealed that it plays a crucial role in identifying potential beneficiaries of policies and social programmes aimed at addressing poverty and vulnerability.

The Kwara State government on its part, says will soon announce the modalities for the building of social register for distribution of palliatives to the people to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal in the state. Meanwhile, large number of the poor are awaiting the palliatives.

The chief press secretary to governor of the state, Rafiu Ajakaye disclosed this while rolling out the government’s approved palliatives for the civil servants, artisans and other groups in the state.

“Modalities for occasional distribution of food to poor and most vulnerable households are to be activated in the next few days.

“This shall be nonpartisan, and would be coordinated by a government team to be supported by respected stakeholders who would get inputs from traditional rulers, religious bodies, market leaders, trade unionists, and community based organisations to generate the lists of beneficiaries and disburse accordingly,” Ajakaye stated.

LEADERSHIP Sunday, however, gathered that the State Social Investment Programme (KWASSIP) will be responsible for registering the petty traders and artisans that would benefit from the N500m worth of conditional support that the governor has approved as palliatives for the medium and small enterprises in the state.

In Katsina, the tate government is yet to assign responsibility for collecting names and data for its own social register, but the last government under Aminu Bello Masari, already has a compiled record of poor households in the State Empowerment and Social Intervention Agency.

Findings showed that the agency has over 27, 000 records of poor and vulnerable households from the 34 local government areas and 361 ward levels, and they often benefited from every intervention in the state.

Aside from this, there are also indications of the State Empowerment and Social Intervention agency has installed data, phone numbers, and account details including the BVN of all the beneficiaries, mostly women and youths across the state.

Efforts to get comments from the agency failed, as the Governor is yet to appoint the Senior Special Adviser to the office at the time of filling this report.

The Rivers State government is also yet to begin the building of social register as directed by the National Economic Council (NEC) during its last meeting.

An official of the state government, who pleaded for anonymity, told LEADERSHIP Weekend, that although Governor Siminalayi Fubara was represented at the NEC meeting by his deputy, Professor Ngozi Ordu, nothing has been done.

He said: “Our governor was represented by his deputy at the meeting. Although nothing’s has been done about the social register, we believe that very soon the state government will take action on that.”

In Bayelsa State, the State Operations Coordinating Unit (SOCU) which is an agency under the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning is saddled with the responsibility of collecting and updating the social register in the state.

According to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Wisdom Ebiye Sawyer, who spoke to LEADERSHIP Sunday in his office in Yenagoa, the majority of the populace see social register as beneficial register.

He further explained that the social register gives some variables, some data about these households and members of the households from which one can harvest the beneficial register for a particular purpose that the government or any intervention agency want to use it for.

He said, “Social register is not only for the poor and vulnerable as we think. Beneficial register is the one that has the vulnerable and those people that have maybe challenges. So you harvest it from the social register. It has about 138 indicators; we are looking at both economic and non-economic.

“For example, we want to know if you are working or not working, how many members are in the house, how much do you earn and all the rest, that is if you are breaking down to economic. For non economic, you can look at other things, the household variables around the households whether you have some social amenities.

“Let’s say you have a particular programme, maybe you want to do cash transfer, you now know that among these people, there are people that are vulnerable having look at their socio-economic status, you then harvest those ones having looked at the data on the social register.

“So it gives us a guide among the people we have collated, which of the households that are poor and vulnerable, so we can give appreciate interventions if we want to assist them in terms of food and other interventions by different agencies

“In the process of doing this social register, the communities are involved. We do community sensitization, involve community members, so it is difficult for you to give us somebody that is rich and somebody that is poor and we go for authentication and verification”, he said.

While speaking on the current national social registry project like the poor and vulnerable registration, Sawyer said the state is currently carrying out an updating exercise that cuts across the 8 local government areas in the state, from the LGAs, down to the Wards which consists of communities, households and houses inside.

He said, “We have about 130,997 households, 503,756 members in 76 Wards that are updated as at yesterday. 26 political Wards are yet to be updated. It is an ongoing process because it requires funds for the team to go to those households to get all these things.

“If we have the funding which is what SOCU needed to complete the process, they would have completed the 26 Wards. There is an initial register before, now we are updating it. You know some people died, some people traveled and all that. So the process is still on. If we have the funds now as we speak which the governor is committed, in less than 3 weeks or one month, we can update the remaining 26 Wards.”

The Chairperson, Federal Character Commission (FCC), Muheeba Dankaka, says the commission was like a marketplace for selling job slots before she assumed office, stating that an attempt to stop the alleged corruption pitted her against some commissioners.

Dankaka made the revelation during the week while appearing before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating alleged job racketeering and abuse of Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) by Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs).

The House had directed the chairperson and all the 36 commissioners of the commission to appear on Wednesday after she failed to do so on Tuesday.

The chairperson who appeared with some of the commissioners was accused of alleged job racketeering and abuse of extant laws and the FCC establishment Act by some of the commissioners tagged ‘Integrity Group’.

Speaking before the committee, the commissioner representing Osun State in the commission, Abdulrazak Adewuyi and his counterpart representing Rivers State, Okwacha Augustine alleged that the chairperson had been running the commission in violation of Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Section 2 of the FCC Act and other extant laws.

However, Dankaka denied the allegations and accused the commissioners from the ‘Integrity Group’ of mischief and blackmail.

She said that the commissioners making the allegations had been on her neck as a result of her refusal to compromise.

In a viral video of the panel session, Dankaka said her move to stop the sale of job slots at the commission on her assumption of office did not go down well with some of the commissioners.

She said, “Before I came here, I have made my name. I have made my money. Let me tell you a small story. Some of them (commissioners) have reasons why they are attacking me. When I first came in, most of them were my close people. All of them were always in my office, but what they wanted me to do I told them I cannot do it.

“I am a very quiet person and I keep certain secrets as executive chairman. I have to swallow certain things and leave everything in the hands of God. Before I came to this place, they were selling (job) slots. The place was like a market. And you can find out from the people living in Abuja if I am lying.

“When I came in, I met all the commissioners and told them I don’t want anything that will destroy me and my family. All of them can bear me witness.”

The chairperson alleged that a commissioner bought a landed property and promised the seller to pay for it with job slots, but she thwarted the plan.

The Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, consequently directed that the chairperson should submit her response to the allegations in writing as well as submit all documents required for the investigation and submit on Friday.

He added that the chairperson should appear with all the 36 commissioners on Monday for the resumed investigative hearing.

By Abdulyassar Abdulhamid


Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has said it is not fair for him to return as minister at his current age.

El-Rufai stated this in an old video of him discussing with some unidentified people.

The former governor was the minister of the Federal Capital Territory from 2003 to 2007 under the Obaanjo administration.

But his name is on the ministerial list President Bola Ahmed Tinubu forwarded to the National Assembly for screening.

Speaking in Hausa, he said, “You became a minister at forty-three and after twenty years then you become a minister at sixty-three? What of your children and younger brothers? Will they not become ministers? Is the position meant for you alone? I don’t like this. Let go of this topic.

“Thank God I was lucky that I became Minister of Abuja when I was forty-three-old. Next year I will clock sixty-three. Then I will go back. So, nobody among my younger brothers and children is capable of becoming a minister? You fail when you fail to train those to succeed you. I have trained a lot of people who are capable of succeeding in many areas.”

The video is currently trending on social media.

Nigeria’s fuel subsidy removal is affecting refineries far away in Europe and threatening to squeeze European refiners, Reuters reports.

The average monthly West African (WAF) gasoline imports fell by 56 per cent in the second quarter compared with the first, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

North America and West Africa, with Nigeria at the top, historically have been the top two destinations for petrol exports from Europe (which produces more petrol than it uses), Reuters reported.

So far, benchmark profit margins for gasoline in northwestern Europe have hovered at around $27 a barrel, Reuters said, citing Refinitiv Eikon data.

“They have been supported by demand from North America, a shortage of high-quality blending materials, disruption caused by low water levels inland and local refinery outages,” the report reads.

“But analysts say the reduction of flows following the upheaval in Nigeria will increase pressure on European refiners, and any winners are likely to be newer Middle Eastern refineries.”

At the end of May, President Bola Tinubu announced that the petrol subsidy regime was over.

Petrol demand in response fell by 35 per cent, according to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

According to Jeremy Parker of the CITAC consultancy, which focuses on Africa’s downstream energy industry, onshore petrol reserves in Nigeria have increased to 960,000 tonnes from an average of 613,000 tonnes between January and June, signalling a decline in demand.

“Meanwhile, the black market for smuggled subsidised Nigerian fuel in Togo and neighbouring Benin and Cameroon has collapsed, further reducing demand for shipments via Nigeria,” Reuters said.

“There is no reliable data on how much fuel was smuggled out of Nigeria under the subsidy regime, but a comparison of estimates from official and independent sources indicate more than a third of petrol could have left state oil firm NNPC’s depots every day to be sold illegally abroad.

“Without the subsidy, the financial incentive for smuggling disappears.”

“The key point is that demand from West Africa is drying up,” Reuters quoted Raj Rajendran, Refinitiv lead oil analyst, as saying.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest crude oil producer, relies heavily on imports because of its inadequate domestic refining capacity.

“Imports, however, are increasingly unaffordable as Nigeria’s naira has weakened to record lows since the central bank removed currency restrictions in June. At the same time, inflation is near two-decade highs,” Reuters said.

“The huge, much-delayed Dangote refinery was designed to address the domestic supply shortfall, but full 650,000 barrel per day production is unlikely before the second quarter of 2025, CITAC estimates.”

Regardless, it is possible that the demand for petrol would not fully recover in the country, Analysts told Reuters.

Recall that the NMDPRA said the volume of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, consumed across the country in the first half of 2023 was 11.26 billion litres, with consumption reducing by an average of about 18.5 million litres daily in June, after the removal of subsidy on petrol, following the pronouncement by President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023.

Data from the Authority showed that between January 1 and May 28, 2023, which was the pre-deregulation period, the total amount of petrol consumed nationwide was about 9.9 billion litres.

The average consumption for the 148-day period was put at 66.9 million litres, indicating the country consumed an average of 66.9 million litres of petrol daily during the five-month period when subsidy on petrol was still in place.

But figures from the NMDPRA indicated that between June 1 to June 28, 2023, which was described as the post-deregulation period, the total petrol consumption across the country was 1.36 billion litres, while the average daily consumption was put at 48.43 million litres.

An analysis of the data showed that the difference between the average monthly consumption figures during the pre-deregulation and post-deregulation periods was about 18.5 million litres.

This implies that the average daily consumption of petrol across the country reduced by about 18.5 million litres after subsidy on the commodity was stopped by the federal government.

It was, however, observed that petrol consumption rose above 100 million litres in some days, while it fell to below 10 million litres in a few other days.

A random pick of petrol consumption figures contained in the NMDPRA report, for instance, showed that on March 8, April 20, and May 16, Nigerians consumed 103.6 million litres, 105.02 million litres, and 101.9 million litres respectively.

These were during the ore-deregulation days, as figures from the post-deregulation period indicated that the country never consumed beyond 78.84 million litres all through the 28-day period captured in the document.

The 78.84 million litres was consumed on June 20, and it was the highest consumption figure during the post-deregulation period, while the lowest figure during the same period was the 470,000 litres that was consumed nationwide on June 11.

AUTHOR: Wasilat Azeez


Some commercial banks in the country have increased the salaries and allowances of their employees to help them cope with the rising cost of living.

Checks by TheCable showed that the banks include Wema Bank, Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Union Bank.

In a statement on Friday, UBA said its board of directors have announced the implementation of a cost of living adjustment for its staff effective immediately.

UBA said although it had previously implemented cost of living adjustment for staff on October 1, 2021 and more recently on April 1, 2023, the persistent economic challenges faced by employees and the broader society as a whole informed the unanimous decision to again implement another adjustment.

“We are aware of the impact of recent economic policy pronouncements on prices and your capacity to meet your financial commitments to family and personal needs,” Oliver Alawuba, the bank’s chief executive officer, said.

“As an organisation focused on the well-being of our people, I am pleased to inform you that the Board of UBA Plc has approved a Welfare Allowance for all employees.”

Alawuba explained that the decision to adjust the staff’s remuneration package once again demonstrates UBA’s unwavering commitment to maintaining the standard of living for its employees at a level that is commensurate with prevailing economic conditions.

“This move will serve to alleviate the financial burdens faced by our staff and their families, reinforcing the bank’s position as a responsible and caring employer,” he explained.

Earlier this week, Wema Bank announced a raise in the salaries of its workers to cushion the effect of petrol subsidy removal.

The bank said the current economic realities, which had witnessed recent spikes in fuel, electricity, and other prices, required employers to prioritise the welfare of their workers.

“Wema Bank’s vision extends beyond its bottom line; with this salary increase for its staff, the bank expects the ripple effect of positive change to extend to the wider industry and world of work,” Ololade Ogungbenro, the bank’s divisional head, people, brand & culture, said in a statement.

“Wema Bank’s unwavering support for its employees lies at the heart of this expected transformation.

“The impact of this salary increase bears more than mere numbers on a pay slip, employees are experiencing a renewed sense of motivation and dedication to their roles, knowing that their hard work is genuinely recognised and rewarded.”

Similarly, Zenith Bank announced an implementation of a company-wide salary increment for all its staff to address the prevailing economic challenges resulting from the removal of petrol subsidy.

GTBank also said it increased salaries of its junior and contract staff in line with rising inflation. The bank said the raise took effect from July 2023.

TheCable’s findings also revealed that Union Bank raised the salaries of all its workers due to the high cost of living and impact of subsidy removal on employees’ transportation costs.

“Other banks were increasing theirs so we had to to remain competitive. The salaries of old contract workers have been increased from about N89,000 to N140,000 plus. For new ones, it was increased to N120,000 plus,” a mid-level employee of Union Bank told TheCable.

Some Nigerians have taken to social media to berate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the 28-man ministerial nominees list he submitted to the National Assembly for screening and confirmation.

The ministerial list, which includes former governors Nyesom Wike and Nasir El-Rufai, along with 26 others, has continued to stir reactions on social media.

Some netizens, however, have condemned the list, describing it as the recycling of old politicians who, in the past, have wrecked the country.

Reacting to the list on Twitter, former senator and activist, Sheu Sani said, “The Ministerial list; The President embraced some Serpents with a known history of treachery and rewarded some vultures for playing the Judas. Appeasing a snake in a palace doesn’t spare the King.”

Another Twitter user, @Morris_Monye wrote, “Honestly that Ministerial list is like “You be my guy, come and use this one hold body” list. Does BAT genuinely believe in his heart that those people on the list have what it takes to turn the country around. A leader is as good as his team. Look at OBJ and GEJ’s team.”

“Ministerial position has become a compensation slot rather than being the list of technocrats who can make difference. List filled with Ex gov, Senators and Reps. Nothing for those who waited to be leaders of tomorrow.” @Mykoladoo opined.

@jessecarson007 tweeted, “I’m extremely disappointed at the list! Can’t believe how he is recruiting the same guys who wrecked the country.”

“So we have been waiting for His political compensation and thanks for helping me list for more than two months? Na this one wants to help Nigeria out of the mess?” @CEOchrysolite Tweeted.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has sued Governor Ademola Adeleke for appointing himself as the state’s Commissioner for Works.

In the suit filed at the Osun State High Court in Osogbo, the state capital, the APC also sued Mr Adeleke’s deputy, Kola Adewusi, over his appointment as the Commissioner for Sports and Special Needs.

Mr Adeleke disclosed his and his deputy’s commissioner portfolios while inaugurating 25 commissioners in Osogbo on 19 July.

But the APC, through its lawyer, Sherif Oluyombo, has urged the court to determine whether Mr Adeleke’s action of appointing himself and Mr Adewusi as commissioners is not a violation of Section 183 of the Nigerian constitution.

Specifically, the party is asking the court to determine whether “a state governor can… during the period when he holds office as governor, hold any other executive office.

Referencing Section 192(2) and (5) of the Nigerian constitution, the plaintiff prayed the court to determine whether “a person can be validly appointed a commissioner of the government of a state if his nomination is not forwarded to and received by the State’s House of Assembly for purposes of confirmation.”

Prayers

Aside from Messrs Adeleke and Adewusi, the plaintiff listed the Osun State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice and the Osun State House of Assembly as defendants.

It urged the court to declare Messrs Adeleke and Adewusi’s appointments as commissioners “unconstitutional.”

The APC prayed the court for an order “nullifying” Mr Adeleke’s “appointment of himself as the commissioner for works for Osun State for being invalid, null and void contrary to sections 183 and 192(2) and (5) of the Constitution…”

The party is equally praying to the court for an order “nullifying” the appointment of Mr Adewusi as the State commissioner for sports and special needs for being “invalid and contrary” to the constitution.

Furthermore, the plaintiff urged the court to restrain Mr Adeleke from “parading himself and/or performing the functions of the office of the commissioner for works for Osun State while he holds the office of governor of the state.”

Similarly, the APC prayed the court to restrain Mr Adewusi from “parading himself as commissioner…until he is nominated as such by” by Mr Adeleke, and the former’s nomination goes through parliamentary screening for the “purposes of confirmation.”

The suit was filed on 21 July but has not been assigned to a judge for a hearing.

PREMIUM TIMES reported last Wednesday that Mr Adeleke appointed himself and his deputy as commissioners.

Mr Adeleke defeated former Governor Adegbyega Oyetola of the APC to emerge as governor last year.

By Ojoma Akor


The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) on Tuesday night declared an indefinite nationwide strike.

President of the association, Dr Orji Emeka Innocent, said the strike will commence at 12 midnight on Tuesday.

He said the strike was declared during the National Executive Council meeting of the association in Lagos.

According to Innocent, the major demands of the association are : immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) , immediate release of the circular on one-for-one replacement , payment of skipping arrears and upward review of CONMESS in line with full salary restoration to the 2014 value of CONMESS.

A mild drama is playing out at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos between operatives of Department of State Services, DSS, and official of Nigeria Correctional Service, NCS, over custody of the suspended Central Bank Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele.

Emefiele was arraigned today by the DSS for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition but was granted bail in the sum of N20million with one surety.

While Emefiele’s lawyers are still in court trying to perfect his bail conditions, a mild drama is playing out within the court premises between DSS and NCS over who will take custody of the defendant.

Two Hilux vehicles belonging to the two government agencies are currently positioned near the entrance of the court.

Sources told Vanguard that there are moves by the DSS to rearrest Emefiele despite the bail granted to him by the court.

Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria has issued a fresh two-week ultimatum, demanding that the federal government fast track planned palliatives measures to ease the burden on the citizens caused by the fuel subsidy removal.

The stipulated time frame came in the light of the federal government’s apparent delay, several weeks after it hosted organised labour in a meeting where both parties agreed on the palliatives.

TUC said it felt that the Presidential Steering Committee is not working at an anticipated speed while Nigerians are suffering.

The labour centre at a briefing with journalists in Abuja said that the congress would no longer continue to hear “big grammar” around the proposed palliatives while Nigerians trek long distances to their places of business.

TUC national president, Comrade Festus Osifo, asked the Presidential Steering Committee on the palliatives to conclude its work quickly to meet the yearnings of “battered” Nigerian masses.

Osifo also demanded that the federal government lead by example and reduce the cost of governance rather than pushing the burden of the subsidy removal and making an injury to the poor Nigerians.

The congress vowed to mobilise action against the National Assembly if the legislative arm failed to justify the planned purchase of exotic vehicles for its members.

“We all know the suffering that Nigerian workers are passing today and indeed the entire Nigerian masses.

We understand the difficulty that workers are passing through as it stands today,” he noted.

He said,” We want the government to fast track and ensure that between now and the next two weeks all the committees must have submitted their work.”

He added that this is one of those things they felt that as the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, they must bring to the limelight, saying that they would do everything possible to ensure that the government listens to them and the government fast track these processes.

“Government cannot continuously ask the workers and the Nigeria masses to continuously tie their belts. We have adjusted our belt while in government, they are continuously increasing the largesse.

“If they tell us that it is not a business as usual, it should not be to the detriment of the battered Nigeria masses or the downtrodden Nigerian workers. They should live by example… in a situation whereby they are pushing a log of poverty to the masses and they are living in affluence, we will not allow that to work”, he added.

Other issues raised at the briefing include; government decisive action against insecurity, reinstatement of the Lagos State chapter of RTEAN, and policies that will support a good exchange rate, among others.

Oil marketers are clamouring that market indicators should determine the price movement of Premium Motor Spirit, commonly known as petrol, even if it means the price could potentially reach N700. This comes after a 165 per cent increase in petrol prices to N500 following President Bola Tinubu’s announcement regarding the removal of subsidy for the product, OPEOLUWANI AKINTAYO writes

Oil marketers have insisted that the current prices of petrol in the country were not a true reflection of the market. They were projecting a further price review this month, less than two months after the price of petrol was hiked from N189 per litre to N500.

Their demand was granted when some filling stations operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited reviewed their pump price of petrol from N537/litre to N617/litre across the country on Tuesday.

A former Chairman of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria and Chief Executive Officer, 11 Plc, Tunji Oyebanji, told The PUNCH in a chat that oil prices would reflect current market realities.

According to him, this is what is obtainable in other neighbouring African countries that import petrol.

“If the prices in neighbouring countries reflect true market prices and our own do not, there is still a danger. Until we all import at the new exchange rate and know what the price is and compare it with our neighbours, we won’t know the exact situation. Likely, the differential will not be so much,” Oyebanji claimed.

Checks by The PUNCH revealed that while PMS price per litre sells for around N617 in Nigeria, the product goes for around N1,169 in Mali; Ivory Coast: N986; Cameroon: N986; Ghana: N948, Togo: N945, and Benin: N877.

The National Controller of Operations, Mike Osatuyi, recently told our correspondent that the price of petrol could likely increase to N600/N700 and above starting in July.

“What I am seeing is around N600 and above, depending on the exchange rate, the current crude price at the international price, and landing cost. Those in Lagos will pay around N600, those outside Lagos around N600 plus, while those in the north would be paying anything from N700 and above,” he said.

Oyebanji added that competition was healthy for the downstream sector, as it would allow for fair play.

“The bottom line is that there will be an adjustment in price. Yes, it may go up now. It could also drop depending on the exchange rate. But the good thing is that products would be everywhere, and if you see that yours is more expensive than those of the filling stations around you, you will be forced to bring down prices so that customers can come and buy. There would be healthy competition, which is good for the market,” he continued.

For Osatuyi, the current price of petrol is a “transitional price”. He hinted that marketers were expecting a roadmap from the Federal Government following subsidy removal.

“We are expecting a roadmap from the Federal Government following the meeting with labour. Labour has said they are giving the government two months to come up with the roadmap. We are also expecting the roadmap on how to deepen the use of Compressed Natural Gas.

“Already, three marketers have been confirmed to start bringing in products starting from July. That is when we would know the real price of products because it would definitely increase. This current price is just a transitional price,” he mentioned.

Oyebanji also warned of the return of smuggling if market forces are not allowed to control the market.

“Would we not see tankers being diverted again to our neighbours? The price differential between us and our neighbours, apart from greed, what else could account for this level of disparity in these June figures?” he wondered.

Oyebanji also declared that depot owners were resorting to both local and foreign loans to finance importation.

“It is not like we are just getting importation licenses. We have been licensed, but we stopped importing because it was no longer profitable. Now, everybody is trying to see what we can do. Some people will raise money and borrow from abroad, while others will borrow from local banks. It is not just three companies that would be importing. Many companies are currently running around to start bringing in products. But we won’t be shouting about it on the pages of newspapers,” he said.

Also, a source at a depot in Lagos, who does not want his name in print, hinted that more importers were currently being licensed.

He added that smuggling or diversion of products to neighbouring countries would continue if full deregulation was not allowed to take its course.

“Where do countries like Ghana, Benin, and Cameroun get their products from? Is it not from Nigeria?” he asked.


“The prices of products will depend on market fundamentals. And as we speak, Customs is delaying some AGO (diesel) vessels because of the 7.5 per cent VAT. Any cost incurred by marketers would be added to the landing cost, and then to the pump price. The marketers would also have to add profit because they must make a profit,” he said.

The Chairman of IPMAN Satellite Depot, Akin Akinrinade, told The PUNCH that marketers were still loading products at government-regulated price of N496 per litre.

“There are currently products in the country and we are loading at a government price of N496.50 per litre. But because of the new forex policy of the central bank, naira has shot up to around N765/ $1. Until new products start coming in, we won’t know the exact extent to which the new policy would affect our business,” he said.

A recent report by Reuters stated since Nigeria scrapped fuel subsidy, black market fuel vendors and commercial drivers in Cameroon, Benin and Togo had seen their businesses collapse due to low supplies and high prices.

“In Cotonou, the commercial capital of Benin, which is about 60 km from Nigeria, queues have been building up at official petrol stations and some have been unable to meet the sudden surge in demand, especially from “zemidjan”, the local word for motorcycle-taxis.

“Before, we were selling about 2,000 litres per day, but now we’re selling up to 7,000 litres per day,” said a worker at the JNP fuel station, who gave his first name as Janvier. He had just turned away four customers because supplies had run out,” Reuters reported.

“The zemidjan-men are even fighting to get served,” said Janvier.

According to the report, in Benin and Togo, small nations to the west of Nigeria, contraband fuel vendors have lost both supplies and customers while formerly sleepy official petrol stations are suddenly busy.

“At Hilacondji, a border crossing between Togo and Benin, some black market fuel stalls were shut, while at others vendors waited among rows of empty plastic jerrycans for potential deliveries,” the report added.

It quoted one Ayi Hilla who had been making a living from selling contraband fuel for 10 years as saying that many black marketers had gone into fishing or other small businesses.

According to the data, global oil prices upon which local petrol is priced have come under pressure, and would mean a reduction in price in July.

Petrol is showing an over-recovery of between 11 and 19 cents per litre, while diesel is showing the opposite in a range of 14 to 19 cents per litre. The price of motor spirit will decrease by 19 cents from $2.80 to cost $2.61 per litre.

According to Bloomberg analysis, oil has dropped around 13 per cent this year, partly due to Russia’s robust exports but also reflecting monetary tightening in the US and a lacklustre economic recovery in China.

“China’s economy continues to show signs of losing momentum as recent data showed slowed spending on everything from holiday travel to cars and homes,” it said.


However, while countries with stronger currencies would see local petrol prices drop, Nigeria on the other hand would not, as it recently devalued the naira.

Nigeria’s central bank allowed the local currency to drop as much as 39 per cent at the official market days after President Bola Tinubu suspended the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who oversaw the much-criticised multiple exchange rates.

Multiple exchange rates under Emefiele were introduced to tackle the country’s foreign currency shortages, but it made an insignificant impact.

The dollar shortage affected the cost of importation, petrol inclusive.

Traders said the central bank had removed trading restrictions on the official market, which has driven the naira to almost 800/$ at the official market.

An energy expert, Bala Zaka, criticised the Federal Government for deregulating the downstream sector.

“When I was explaining what deregulation means right before May 29, many people didn’t understand. Nigeria’s economy is too weak for deregulation. Where is the Dangote refinery? Has it started refining since it was commissioned? Just look at what has happened to the naira. It has been devalued and approaching N900 on the black market.

“Very soon, we won’t be able to afford the basic things of life because even before you drive from your house to Kara on the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, your tank would have drained to half already. Now, if you try to challenge oil marketers, they can sue you.

“The likes of IPMAN, MOMAN are after profit maximaisation and not after the well-being of the masses. But if people like us talk; it would seem we are kicking against the government. The minimum wage can’t even buy a bag of rice. I have never been in support of full deregulation,” he argued.

An academic economist and professor of Economics at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Tella Sheriffdeen, advised the government to activate local refining.

“Actually, since the exchange rate is now determined by market forces, depreciation of naira will make oil prices go up. Government has to be hard on oil importers to make sure they are not colluding with economic parasites who will want to jack up prices to force the government to bring back subsidies.

“Secondly, the government must insist on domestic productivity by the refineries and Dangote. It is just that the government should have plan B to make fuel available by all means,” he noted.

Report: How World Bank, States Built National Social Register

The National Social Register used by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari for its conditional cash transfer was an aggregate of all states’ social registries from the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, according to a World Bank, empowered Newswire reports.This was contrary to reports emanating from the last National Economic Council (NEC) meeting suggesting that the register was a top -down database from the federal government and questioning its credibility.

It revealed that in a presentation to NEC last Thursday, by the Nigeria Country Director of the World Bank, Mr. Shubham Chaudhuri, indicated that in developing what became the National Social Register, each State Governor through their Budget and Planning Ministries built up the registries and merely forwarded same to the federal government who then adopted it for its National Social Investment Programmes, particularly the Conditional Cash Transfers.In the presentation of the World Bank last week to NEC, the Country Director stated that in the development of the State Registers, there were three stages: geographical selection, community based selection and Enumeration/Data Processing & Storage.

Under geographical selection LGAs, wards communities were prioritised based on levels of poverty and vulnerability.According to Chaudhuri’s presentation “two approaches were employed: using poverty headcount and using high resolution poverty maps based on satellite imagery. A multi-sectoral team at the LGA level was involved in the ranking exercise.”He added that there was a community-based targeting team comprising state and LGA officials and households were visited by this officials and digital identification information collected where available.

Furthermore, when done, the data was stored “in the State Social Registry Database supported through a management information system managed by a State Operations Coordinating Office,” set up by the state governors themselves.In fact, World Bank and federal government sources also revealed that the bank was fully involved in the process of developing the Registers state by state and also funded the enumerators who were appointed by the state governors. “The whole process had started during the Jonathan Administration when 8 States were already developing the Register with the technical assistance of the World Bank, and the rest of the States came on board during the Buhari Administration.”

It further quoted World Bank sources to have further asserted that several of the states have also been using the Registries for different state-based schemes and local initiatives since, wondering how the same NEC to whom the Country Director made the 25 slides presentation concluded that the National Social Register lacked integrity.“As we speak several States Governments are using the Registries up till now,” World Bank, FG NSIP and disclosed.The sources explained that, “prior to June 2015, the development of the Social Register was a contractual process that involved the direct engagement of the States Governments with the World Bank.”

It was added that, “when the new Buhari Administration then adopted the idea as part of its National Social Investment Programme, the World Bank working with the State and Federal Governments, provided the Guidelines utilised in making the Register a National database. The World Bank’s guidelines firmly provided a community-based approach, in accordance with international best practices.”

Chaudhuri, had told THISDAY in an interview earlier this year, that the National Social Safety Net Programme was part of the support for Nigeria’s vision for establishing a social protection system.He had said: “This was spearheaded by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and the idea being that like more and more developing countries around the world and even here in Africa –Ethiopia, Kenya, etc, the government needs to have a programme that can do two things – Help people who are poor climb out of poverty.

“Many NGOs were involved in the process and it was a bottom-up process as communities were asked to identify the most vulnerable among them. Now that register has over 16 million households nationwide and it is maintained by the National Social Safety Coordination Office (NASSCO).“There were some conditions attached. It was agreed that all payments had to be digital, either through a bank account or mobile wallet and that it must not be catch. Everything was to be identified biometrically either through BVN or National Identity Number.”

Emmanuel Addeh, Sunday Aborisade and Emameh Gabriel in Abuja

The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has called on President Bola Tinubu to take five-pronged approaches to prevent the country from total socio-economic dislocation, one of which is for the president to seek debt relief from the country’s major creditors.The recommendation by Afenifere came just as the National Chairman of the South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA), Senator Adedayo Adeyeye, appealed to Nigerians to remain calm in the face of current pains and hardship caused by the removal of fuel subsidy by the Tinubu-led administration.

Also, Fitch Solutions, a global provider of credit, debt market as well as country and industry risk research, at the weekend predicted that the current economic reforms embarked upon by the Tinubu government would dim Nigeria’s short-term outlook, predicting that average inflation rate would hit 25.1 per cent this year, amid spiking poverty.The recommendation by Afenifere was contained in statement signed yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi.The recommendations also included drastic reduction in emoluments, slash in the size of government, ways to go about palliatives and to halt the recent hike in tuition fees.

Ajayi said the current economic quagmire facing Nigeria needed far-reaching and deep-rooted steps to be ameliorated.Consequently, he suggested that: “One of such steps is to seek debt relief from our major creditors. Another is to drastically reduce the size of government at all levels. Third is to block areas of leakages of public resources, especially finance. Fourth is to embark on policies or programmes that are capable of engaging millions of unemployed people, old and young, in the country.

“The fifth step is to ensure that security and safety of lives and properties become permanent feature in the Nigeria firmament.”Ajayi pointed out that, “Nigeria is the fourth most indebted country in the world, with a $13 billion debt burden as of June 30, 2022 according to the United Nations’ International Development Association (IDA).”

According to Ajayi, the five steps suggested would have to be pursued simultaneously for the inherent benefits to be harnessed effectively and on time.He added: “At the moment, Nigeria’s debt profile is so huge that it is spending about 97 per cent of its revenue to service debts, according to many official sources including the Debt Management Office (DMO), Federal Budget Office, Ministry of Finance and the World Bank.

“The situation is such that very soon there may be no more fund for the provision of social services and infrastructure. To prevent attendant possible social chaos in this respect, President Tinubu needs to embark on diplomatic shuttles to get debt forgiveness from our creditors.“Doing so would certainly be herculean in view of a similar benefit we enjoyed under former President Olusegun Obasanjo circa 2005 but which we later mismanaged.

“But given the potential of Nigeria and the possibility of President Tinubu to convince everyone that his own administration is going to be different, it is possible that the creditors may listen to the plea.”The Afenifere spokesperson opined however that for such a plea to succeed, there was an, “urgent need to drastically cut down on the emolument of public officials, especially political office holders, block the holes through which public funds leak and wage a serious war against corrupt officers – presently in or out of office.”

It noted that it was only by doing these three things that “those we approach for debt forgiveness would listen to us.”He pointed for instance, that, “the National Assembly cornering N70 billion out of the N500 billion announced for palliatives is not only uncalled for, it demonstrated clearly how insensitive our elected officers are to the plight of average Nigerians.“The president should prevail on them to rescind their decision in this regard.”He said the country’s debt burdens explains why infrastructural development stagnated, social services virtually grounded to a halt and cost of living spiked, unemployment soared – leading to an increase in crime rates and increasing loss of faith in the country as reflected in the Japa syndrome (the tendency by many to want to emigrate).

Ajayi called on the Tinubu’s administration to make the resuscitation of moribund industries in the country one of its major priorities, stating that doing so would create employment, reduce crimes, boost the nation’s economy, strengthen the naira and earn the country foreign exchange.“Government should refrain from increasing taxes and fees for now but explore ways of enhancing productivity and reduce pains,” the group advised.He commended President Tinubu for the decision to review the N8,000 palliative meant to cushion the effect of subsidy removal.According to Ajayi, “Palliatives, to be really helpful and effective should be welfare-enhancing in nature and not be in form of unregulated cash dole-out. Such a money should rather be channeled towards the things that cash is used for.”He said for instance, passenger and luggage vehicles could be procured and allocated to all the local government areas in the country and boats earmarked for riverine areas.

He suggested that the, “vehicles should be put at the disposal of local government authorities and transport unions across the country so as to be of benefits to the target audience – the masses. Fares for the vehicles should be about one-fifth or a quarter of the prevailing rates.“The vehicles should be given to the transport unions at a highly concessionary rate. Similarly, government can buy food items directly from farmers and make them available at very cheap prices in designated areas”.

As a lasting solution to the high cost of petroleum products, he advised that conducive atmosphere should be provided for private importers to import them with relative ease while efforts are geared towards making the refineries in the country commence production for the commodities not only to be available, but to be cheaper. Their availability, he said, “would also boost the economy and earn the country foreign exchange.”The Afenifere spokesman stressed the need for the president to prevail on electricity distribution companies to stop their attempts to increase tariffs for now.“For one, there has been not much improvement in electricity supply to justify tariff increase. But more importantly, Nigerian masses are presently over-burdened with sundry taxes and high costs for services and commodities.

“The Discos must not be allowed to deepen the miseries of hapless Nigerians. Similarly, recent hikes in school fees across the country should be rescinded so as to prevent more hardship for the people and higher number of school drop-outs,” he added.Meanwhile, Adeyeye has appealed to Nigerians to remain calm in the current pains and hardship caused by the removal of petrol subsidy.Adeyeye, who was Senate spokesperson in the 9th National Assembly, made the appeal in a statement he personally signed and made available to journalists in Abuja, yesterday.He explained that the hardship was much now because the decision taken by Tinubu should have been carried out by successive administration, in the last 15 years.

He, nevertheless, assured that situations would soon improve and that Nigerians would laugh last.Part of the statement read, “The removal of oil subsidy and the new exchange rate regime of the President Bola Tinubu for now, has led to inflationary pressure. This is causing some hardship on the part of the masses.“As the saying goes, there is no gain without pains. Like the president has said that while trying to give birth, one must go through the pains of labour, however when the child is born, the safe birth will keep the mother happy.

“Her pain of a few hours would therefore lead to everlasting joy.“Nigerians should see the economic reforms of president Bola Tinubu from that perspective. If President Bola Tinubu has not taken those steps, it could have led to a complete crash of the Nigerian economy with its attendant social, economic and political implications.“The pains we are currently going through, will soon go and by this time next year by the grace of God, Nigerians would begin to see the results of the steps that the president has taken.

“The president is just about 60 days in office. He still has over 46 more months to spend in his first term of 48 months, having spent just two.“President Bola Tinubu is taking decisions that should have been taken over 15 years ago.“Nigerians should give President Tinubu some time, to allow his policies to mature and for us to begin to see the positive effects.“The president has said he understands the pains of Nigeria, we should just exercise patience, ultimately Nigerians would give glory to God, along the line,” Adeyeye added.


Fitch: Nigeria’s Inflation to Average 25.1% in 2023 as Poverty Rate Spikes

Meamwhile, Fitch has predicted that inflation rate in the country would hit 25.1 per cent this year, amid spiking poverty.Since he took over the reins of power in the country, Tinubu has ended Nigeria’s prolonged petrol subsidy regime and has halted the country’s divergent foreign exchange rate.As expected, both decisions have led to a spike in the pump price of petrol while the exchange rate has recently exceeded N800/$, causing uproar among the citizenry.

In the report themed: “Key Economic Reforms Dim Nigeria’s Short-Term Economic Growth Outlook”, Fitch projected that the country’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth would slow to 2.7 per cent in 2023, down from 3.3 per cent in 2022, as rapidly increasing living costs weigh on domestic demand.However, Fitch noted that economic growth would accelerate modestly to 3.2 per cent in 2024, while domestic demand will remain poor due to high inflation, favourable trade dynamics following the start-up of the Dangote refinery which is expected to support growth.“We project that real GDP growth in Nigeria will slow to 2.7 per cent in 2023, down from 3.3 per cent in 2022, as rapidly increasing living costs weigh on domestic demand,” it stated.

It added that the assumed uptick in economic activity in Q2, 2023 will not be maintained in H2, 2023 on soaring consumer prices as economic reforms weaken domestic consumption.“Indeed, the naira has lost 40 per cent of its value against the US dollar since the liberalisation of the exchange rate on June 16.“These reforms will exert significant upward pressure on consumer prices in H2, 2023, with inflation set to average 25.1 per cent in 2023, the highest annual rate since the 1990s. This will further erode consumers’ purchasing power, clouding the outlook for private consumption,” Fitch stated.According to Fitch, efforts to alleviate the impact of rising inflation on households would yield limited results.

On Tinubu’s plan to borrow $800 million from the World Bank to scale up the country’s National Social Safety Net Programme, which would likely impact 12 million low-income households that would receive a monthly payment of N8,000 ($10.30) for six months, Fitch noted that it would have little or no impact.“However, considering our estimate that the average monthly disposable income per household in Nigeria stands at N143,500, an N8,000 hand-out will only increase household incomes by roughly 6 per cent, well below the inflation rate, which will surpass 25 per cent y-o-y in the coming months.

“Given our expectation that real wages will drop and poverty rates will increase, we expect that private consumption will decline by four per cent in 2023, from a contraction of 3.5 per cent in 2022, shaving off 2.7 percentage points (pp) from headline GDP growth,” the report added.Fitch said the outlook for fixed investment also remains downbeat, with weak economic conditions resulting in a slowdown in loan uptake in Q4, 2022, implying that domestic investment will weaken.On a cheering note, it stated that net exports will offer some relief to the Nigerian economy in 2023, projecting that crude production in Nigeria will increase by 7.0 per cent this year – following a three-year contraction – as security agreements and wider efforts to reduce theft pay off and increases Nigeria’s export potential.

“Indeed, crude output rose by 3.3 per cent y-o-y in H1, 2023 to an average of 1.3 million barrels per day. While we believe that liquids production will moderate somewhat compared to the H1, 2023 output, the year-on-year growth figure will remain positive due to favourable base effects.“Given that hydrocarbons account for roughly 90 per cent of Nigeria’s total exports, this will improve the country’s external trade outlook in H2, 2023,” it stated.Meanwhile, Fitch stated that it expects a substantial contraction in imports as a result of weak domestic consumption, noting that rapidly rising inflation on the back of the fuel subsidy removal and the liberalisation of the exchange rate will reduce demand for imported consumer products and capital items over H2, 2023.

The organisation predicted that economic growth would accelerate modestly to 3.2 per cent in 2024 even as the removal of the fuel subsidy and the devaluation of the exchange rate would keep consumer price growth elevated, particularly in H1, 2024.“Indeed, we project that inflation will average 23.4 per cent in 2024, continuing to put pressure on purchasing power. However, weak domestic consumption and the start-up of the Dangote refinery will also ensure that import growth will remain in contractionary territory.“Our oil & gas team expects that production at the new refinery – which was commissioned in May 2023 – will start in Q4, 2023, reducing the need for imported fuel (Nigeria’s largest import product) through 2024.

“With oil production – and thus exports – continuing to expand in 2024 on a more secure and rehabilitated midstream network, exports will continue to outpace imports, providing tailwinds to growth,” the firm stated.Looking beyond 2024, Fitch said it believed that economic reforms and the start-up of the Dangote refinery would improve economic conditions. A more liberal exchange rate regime and a lower dependence on imported fuel, it said, would ease foreign currency shortages, improve business sentiment and result in a gradual return of international investors to Nigeria.

“This will lead to stronger fixed capital formation and more employment opportunities, supporting private consumption. In addition, improving public finances should allow the government to increase expenditure on growth-generating investment projects.“While downside risks to our long-term views are substantial, these dynamics have led us to increase our 2023-2032 average growth forecast to 4.2 per cent from our previous projection of 3.6 per cent,” Fitch stated.

The wife of Ebonyi State Governor, Mrs Mary-Maudline Uzoamaka Nwifuru has described the ongoing 130-hour marathon entertainment by a popular Master of Ceremonies from the state, Walter Chukwuemeka as epic in all ramifications.

Chukwuemeka has been on non-stop 130 hours of entertainment since early last week with varieties of entertainment which will end today to set a world record in the entertainment industry.

People from different places have been trooping into Citihub, a popular entertainment center in Abakaliki the venue of the 130-hour marathon entertainment to get entertained and cheer up Chukwuemeka popularly known as MC Walter.

As of the time of this report, MC Walter Chukwuemeka has passed 115 hours in the marathon entertainment.

Mrs. Nwifuru in a post on her Facebook page said although MC Walter took a difficult challenge by embarking on the 130 hours of non-stop entertainment, he has placed Ebonyi State on a global map through the event.

She said “There is a truism that “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” — Tim Notke, it is also said that “Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.” — Coco Chanel. The most influential poet opined thus “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” — Maya Angelou,

“Mc-Walter Chukwuemeka has proven himself beyond all reasonable doubts that these quotes are nothing short of the truth.

‘He has risen from the dust to engrave his name in the sands of time. This is epic in all ramifications.

“He has gone on to place himself and Ebonyi State on the global map in this regard, one we will continue to applaud with every sense of duty and love.

“His resilient spirit and consistency of purpose are resolves worthy of emulation.

“He has taken on a difficult challenge, the road less traveled and he’s making all the difference.

“I, therefore, encourage other teeming youths to embrace these honourable qualities and enjoin the rest of the world to celebrate a brand new star that has emerged from the Salt of the Nation” .

Nigeria’s International electricity customers- ers-Togo, Benin and Niger are owing Nigeria $18.29 million for electricity consumed in 2022, the Ni- Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), has said. The international customers include Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo of Benin Republic, (CEET); Société Béninoise d’Energie Electrique (SBEE) and NIGELEC-electric power generation and transmission utility in Niger.

Data from NERC’s quarterly report, which was obtained by Saturday Telegraph yesterday, showed that Nigeria exported a total value of electricity of $50.9 million (N23.5 billion) in 2022. According to the report, Transcorp-SBEE, Main-stream-NIGELEC, the fourth quarter of 2022, received invoices of $3.44 million; Paras-SBEE, $3.03 million and Odukpani-CEET, $2.02 million to the market operators.

From the report, out of the total invoice received in the period, Mainstream-NI-GELEC remitted $5.44 million; Transcorp-SBEE remitted $0.93 million; , while no remittance was made to the MO by Paras-SBEE and Odukpani-CEET. NERC said, “In the third quarter, a total invoice of $11.05 million was received by the companies as follows; Transcorp-SBEE, Mainstream-NIGELEC and Odukpani-CEET received invoices of $1.85 million, $5.67 million and $1.71 million respectively from MO and made remittances of $1.20 million, $5.55 million and $1.67 million respectively.

However, no remittance was made to the MO by Pa- ras-SBEE against an invoice of $1.92 million. “In the second quarter of 2022, Transcorp-SBEE and Mainstream-NIGELEC received invoices of $2.42 million and $5.56 million from MO and remitted $2.42 million and $5.55 million re- respectively. “Paras-SBEE and Oduk- pani-CEET also received in- voices of $2.39 million and $2.03 million respectively from the market operators during the period but no payment was made by these customers.

“During the same period, Ajaokuta Steel Company was invoiced ₦264.76 million and ₦66.71 million by NBET and MO respectively, however, it made no remittance. “Similarly, NERC stated that in the first quarter of 2022, bilateral customers; Paras-SBEE, Transcorp-SBEE, and Mainstream-NI-GERLEC received invoices of $2.72 million, $2.74 million and $4.61 million from MO and each remitted $2.72 million, $2.74 million, and $4.52 million respectively.” It added, “No payment was made by Odukpani-CEET as it received an invoice of $3.42 million from MO during the period.”

Written by Chika Izuora


The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has affirmed that the firm actually made a profit of N674.1billion in 2021.

The latest facts appeared to contradict some views by notable individuals and institutions on the activities of the oil company in recent years.

Sources familiar with NNPC Ltd and its operations told our correspondent in Abuja on Thursday that the available facts had laid bare some key issues for better understanding of the activities of the company.

One of the sources described the N674.1billion as the highest profit figure to be recorded by the organisation in its 46-year-old history.

The source also said that the emerging facts were released to provide current and true information, to redirect and educate the public adequately for a better understanding of issues in the company.

It was learnt that some highly placed individuals and institutions have pilloried the NNPC in recent times, “churning out inaccurate information on the operations of the company, to de-market the establishment.’’

The source noted that the development had visibly put the company in the eye of the storm, stoking confusion and misleading stakeholders and the general public on the activities of the company at present.

According to emerging facts, the NNPC posted its first profit in 44 years in 2020, recording a profit of N287 billion from a loss of N803 billion posted earlier in 2018.

The company had similarly recorded a loss of N1.7 billion in 2019 before it returned to profit-making in recent years, arising from critical business strategies adopted by the company’s management lately.

The emerging facts detailed what it described as speculative and misleading allegations that needed to be explained for better understanding of the role of the NNPC in nation-building.

It also cited what it described as untrue that “the NNPC has been notorious for befuddled accounting, waste, losses, run-down refineries and non-remittances of cash, due to the federation account.’’

The emerging facts explained that the essence of the making the facts public was to bring out basic truths on various issues agitating the minds of people and to keep the records straight.

It also explained that the NNPCL had posted all its financial statements from 2015 to 2022, noting that certain claims could be verified in the office of the Auditor-general of the Federation, rather than misinforming the public.

On the allegation that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration wasted $19 billion to rehabilitate four state-owned refineries without result — that the same amount the Dangote Group had invested in its 650,000-barrel per-day refinery, the emerging facts described the allegation as an attempt to mislead Nigerians.


“The totality of the spending inclusive of salaries and wages of workers can’t be compared with what it will cost to set up Dangote refinery,’’ a source in NNPC argued.

Another source also shed light on a statement that the Goodluck Jonathan administration had said it would borrow $1.6 billion for Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) but that under Buhari, the NNPC also borrowed additional $1.5 billion for the same TAM.

The source explained that the figures were wrong, saying that the company, which represented the Federal Government in its efforts to rehabilitate the refineries through an Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract with its partners had spent only its approved counterpart funding.

It added that the details were clearly spelt out in the memorandum of understanding signed for the respective refineries.

“For the records, the cost approved by the Federal Government for the rehabilitation of the nation’s three refineries are $1.5bn; $740m and $548m for Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri refineries, respectively.

“The two EPC contractors are Tecnimont (France), which handles the Port Harcourt Refinery rehabilitation and Daewoo (South Korea) which oversees the quick-fix projects at both Kaduna and Warri refineries.

“Under President Goodluck Jonathan, no money was borrowed for turn-around maintenance. Under President Buhari, only $1 billion was borrowed. Rehabilitation is still on-going.’’

The source also dismissed allegations by a committee of the House of Representatives that the company failed to transfer N2 trillion to the federation account after the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) came into effect in 2021 and that Buhari unveiled a company worth $64 billion (N28 trillion at N450/$1), but that only $58.8 billion or N26 trillion was transferred.

It disclosed further that the net book value of assets transferred to NNPC as at July 1, 2022 amounted to $58.8 billion worth of assets and not cash.

“This figure is without the Nigerian Pipeline and Storage Company (NPSC) which has all the depots and pipeline network that was transferred to NNPC in 2022.

“That figure didn’t include NPSC which wasn’t moved initially at the time of being a limited liability company. So how much are we worth in asset?’’

On another allegation by members of the House of Representatives that equipment worth $250 million the NNPC ordered for the Port Harcourt Refinery years ago had not been accounted for, the source explained that over 100 containers with materials meant for the refineries were left to rot at Nigerian Ports.

“This was before Buhari’s administration and it was attributed to the reckless procurement process in the past.

“Things started to change for the better with the rehab programme in 2021. This follow-up also led to the reduction in the cost of turnaround maintenance,’’ according to the source.

We learnt that lawmakers had also alleged that NNPC Ltd. had claimed to have 25 subsidiaries, whereas on record only 21 could be accounted for.

However, the source explained that there were 25 subsidiaries in NNPC Ltd. prior to re-organisation.

“All unviable subsidiaries were shut down in a bid to reduce overhead cost and optimise revenue.

“Businesses with duplicated functions were merged for economies of scale and optimisation and new units were created like new energies, leading to reduction in the number of subsidiaries from 25 to 21,’’ the source disclosed.

A state prosecutor on Thursday asked a London court to order the confiscation of more than 100 million pounds ($129 million) from Nigerian politician and ex-Delta State governor, James Ibori, Reuters report.

Ibori had earlier been convicted for fraud in the United Kingdom and the ex-governor spent years in prison in Britain.

Ibori was extradited in 2011 from Dubai to London, where he was charged with laundering a “corruptly acquired fortune”.

He pleaded guilty in 2012 to 10 counts of fraud and money laundering and received a 13-year jail sentence, an outcome hailed by Britain as a landmark in the struggle against corruption.

With its highly developed financial and legal services and lucrative property market, Britain is a global money-laundering hub, but it is rare for the foreign kleptocrats it attracts to be prosecuted and Ibori’s case remains an outlier.

After more than a decade of legal wrangling and court delays, attempts by prosecutors to confiscate funds considered to be the benefits of Ibori’s fraudulent activities now appear close to conclusion.

Judge David Tomlinson of Southwark Crown Court has made factual findings regarding the funds.

At a hearing on Thursday, both sides made competing arguments about how the confiscation figure should be calculated, taking into account the judge’s findings.

He is expected to finalise and formally issue his order on Friday or shortly afterward.

Lead prosecution counsel, Jonathan Kinnear, told the court that the total amount that should be confiscated from Ibori was 101.5 million pounds and that if he did not pay up he should be sentenced to between five and 10 years in prison.

Having served half of his prison sentence in pre- and post-trial detention, as is common, Ibori returned to Nigeria in 2017 and did not attend Thursday’s hearing.

He told Reuters by text message he planned to appeal against the confiscation order.

Ibori remains influential and well-connected in Nigerian politics. President Bola Tinubu, who was inaugurated in May, has hosted Ibori twice at the presidential villa, along with other former governors.

Britain has pledged to return any money recovered from Ibori to Nigeria. In 2021, it returned 4.2 million pounds that had been confiscated from Ibori’s ex-wife and his sister, who also served jail time for helping him launder money. ($1 = 0.7745 pounds)

President Bola Tinubu has filed a motion to quash subpoena before the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Chicago, USA, against a fresh petition by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.

Atiku had on July 11 filed the petition seeking to obtain further details of Tinubu’s academic records at the Chicago State University.

Documents sought by Atiku, through his counsel, Angela M. Liu, include record of his admission and acceptance at the university, dates of attendance including degrees, awards and honours attained by Tinubu at the university, among others.

Atiku informed the court that Tinubu subpoena was to test the truth and veracity of Mr. Tinubu’s assertions, adding that he is currently the President of Nigeria and is facing various court proceedings concerning his election and the authenticity of documents relating to his attendance at Chicago State University.

But in a reply to the petition, Tinubu’s counsel, Victor P. Henderson on July 19, asked the court to strike it out as no judge of the court heard and granted Atiku the subpoena.

He contends that the petition was presumptive invalid for providing only six days for compliance, which was less than 14 days provided under Rules 219 and 137 of the Illinois Supreme Court Rules.

He said Atiku engaged himself in an “improper fishing expedition about a foreign public official utilising the Illinois court’s subpoena power.”

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has removed Felix Akinbinu as the Regional General Manager for the Southwest at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.

Two others – Mrs Uguama Cecelia and Mr Ayodele Sunday – were also redeployed along with Akinbinu.

An internal memo with Ref: FAAN/HQ/MD/19A/Vol.15/34 and dated July 12, 2023, disclosed the new postings of the three airport workers.

According to the memo, Akinbinu was moved to Regional Airport Services, Cecelia was moved from Regional Airport Services to Airfield Services while Sunday was moved from Airfield Services to become the Regional General Manager for the Southwest.

The memo was signed by the Managing Director of FAAN, Kabir Yusuf Mohammed, who added that: “You are required to ensure handover and takeover on or before Friday 14th July 2023.”

This comes after the stealing of the runway lighting system at the airport which has caused international embarrassment for the country.

The lighting which was installed in November 2022 enabled planes to use the runway at night.

The lighting system was stolen in May, weeks after rehabilitation work started on the runway, causing the diversion of international flights to the domestic runway known as Runway 18L.

SaharaReporters had reported that the stolen lighting system on the domestic runway 18 Runway/36Left of the airport was reinstalled about eight months ago.

FAAN had launched an investigation into the theft. Meanwhile, a source had told SaharaReporters that the criminals took advantage of the fact that the runway had been closed for months for maintenance to steal the lighting system.

SaharaReporters had also reported that the failure by the FAAN management led by its Managing Director, Kabir Yusuf Mohammed, to provide vehicles for patrols, and deploy officers from moribund airports to beef up security, among others contributed to the lapses and the theft.

According to the source, it was a disaster waiting to happen considering the shoddy management of the airport under Mohammed.

“The FAAN MD had been looking for ways to rid of Akinbinu before this incident so he has used this opportunity to do that. In reality, those of us at the airport know that they are not doing anything to address what happened or prevent a future occurrence. This is just an opportunity to put their own people where they want.

“It’s been four weeks since the lighting system was stolen but nothing has been done to prevent it from happening again. All the recommendations made in the past have been ignored.

“The major issue here is that the FAAN MD is yet to provide vehicles for patrols, deploy officers from moribund airports to beef up security, fix the issues raised regarding perimeter fence and others.

“There has been no attempt whatsoever to address any of the issues by the MD or the management,” the source had said.

Sources had also blamed a "syndicate" of workers at the airport along with "accomplices from outside" for a series of thefts at the airport.

A source had told SaharaReporters that Mohammed, a ‘surrogate’ of former aviation minister, Hadi Sirika who became MD of FAAN exactly a week before the exit of Sirika as the minister, had been plotting to maintain his position as FAAN MD and Akinbinu because of his perceived closeness to the presidency.

"This decision comes in light of the recent incident involving stolen airfield lighting. It is believed that the MD, who has been plotting to maintain his position, views Mr. Akinbinu Felix as a significant competitor due to his close ties with the presidency.

"Mr. Akinbinu had only been in office for two months at Murtala Muhammed International Airport before the incident occurred," the source had said.

SaharaReporters had also reported that Mohammed suspended some members of staff, the head of security and the head of fire departments at FAAN following the incident.

This event, which caused significant frustration amongst FAAN and sector insiders, highlights the airport’s security vulnerabilities.

The thieves managed to remove substantial components undetected, which has been attributed to potential internal sabotage and the dense surrounding forest, which offers ample cover.

It’s been noted that this is not the first theft at the Lagos airport. Prior incidents, including the theft of navigational equipment by workers of a FAAN sister agency, point to a systemic issue with security breaches.

FAAN staff members, who spoke to SaharaReporters on condition of anonymity, revealed that the Lagos airport was grossly understaffed even though the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, employed close to 1,500 staff within his tenure.

The minister had posted less than 10 per cent of the staff to the Lagos airport.

One of the sources had blamed the management of the airport for the stealing, adding that security personnel had advised that the systems should be moved to a more secure place pending installation but they refused. He noted that theft was still going on, adding that people entered the perimeter almost every day.

"The minister throughout his stay, before he left, employed close to 1,500 (altogether) fire and security staff. He brought less than 10% to Lagos.

"And, in actual fact, the recruitment was done for Lagos alone for security. But when they did this recruitment, they will take them, bring them from the North, and take them to moribund airports that are not functional.

"I am talking about manpower now. Lagos is heavily short-staffed. Even after the construction of the second terminal, they refused to recruit for the airport and neither were staff from non-active airports brought to Lagos. But they want the security to do magic.

"Two, there are no functional security vehicles. At the time they came for inspection, there was only one functional patrol vehicle.

"These patrol vehicles are supposed to also escort aircraft, and as the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Aviation came for inspection, there was only one fictional patrol vehicle. These are the requests security has made over time.

"As we speak, the security arm works for over 12 hours in Lagos because of a shortage of manpower. We work for over 12 hours with the promise that we will be paid for working for those hours. The management has refused to pay them. But the management keeps spending money on elephant projects. If you ask them how much they spend on cutting grass at the airport, you will be shocked.

"FAAN should be challenged to publish how much they use to cut grass in a year. And those grasses are most times not properly cut. There is no single perimeter fence that is not covered with bush.

"The delimitation at the airside of the airport is appalling.

“It is obvious that FAAN management had to suspend the suspended officers to cover their inadequacies and their tracks.”

Sources told SaharaReporters that the MMA had urged the FAAN to clear vegetation along the perimeter stretches from the Diplomatic Carpark to the NAHCO Complex for a clear view but they did not heed the recommendation.

It was learnt that the management recommended repairing and rebuilding dilapidated and collapsed portions of the perimeter fence to the standard height with anti-climbing wire topping.

“Also, this was ignored,” one of the sources told SaharaReporters.

“FAAN was also asked to reinforce drainage canals at Cement and Orisumbare with burglar-proof materials but as usual, nothing was done,” one of the sources said.

“The recommendations include dismantling the make-shift bridge at the Ajao axis and reconstructing the drainage canal but to date, they were not attended to.”

SaharaReporters gathered that in one of the memos to the management, the authorities were advised to reinforce openings at the Apron drainage canal and airside/landside boundary at Gate 9 with burglar-proof materials.

“One of the recommendations was that adequate attention should be given to vegetation control along the perimeter road and that holes in the perimeter fence should be blocked but nothing was done. They were also advised to apprehend those responsible for creating those problems, but that was also ignored.

“It was advised that they should replace missing metal rail protectors at Ejigbo Canal to enforce watertight security at the airport but nothing was done,” one of the sources had said.

A source close to the day-to-day running of the airport told SaharaReporters categorically that had the authorities heeded recommendations captured in several memos from different departments, "the issue of theft wouldn't have arisen or become a topic of discussion today".

Efforts made by SaharaReporters to speak to the Managing Director of FAAN, Mohammed, were unsuccessful as he did not answer his calls or reply to a text message sent to him.

However, when the FAAN spokesperson, Mrs. Faithful Avokerie Hope-Ivbaze, was also contacted on the telephone, she asked our reporter to send her a text message.

She had yet to reply to the text message at the time of filing this report.

Mr Gbenga Komolafe, Managing Director of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), said new equipment has been acquired by the commission to monitor every litre of oil taken from Nigeria.

According to Komolafe, the new initiative will create a paradigm shift in oil-related revenue generation in the country.

Komolafe disclosed this on Tuesday at an event organised by HEDA Resource Centre and Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch (CFTI).

The two-day programme two-day National Anti-Corruption Conference held in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital with the theme ‘Nigeria and the Fight against Corruption: Reviewing the Buhari Regime and Setting Agenda for the Tinubu Administration’ ends today (Wednesday).

It was attended by no fewer than 80 participants drawn from across the country, foreign countries along with representatives of institutional bodies.

The summit comes on the 20th anniversary of the African Union, AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption declaration which took place in July 2003.

Earlier at the event, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Femi Falana, said billions of dollars were being lost by Nigeria to oil theft and the refusal of oil companies to pay the total expected taxes amounting to billions of naira over the years.

Falana said such behaviours had failed to attract any sanctions.

He said Nigeria also failed to put a mechanism in place to determine how many litres of oil are taken from the country’s onshore and offshore.

Falana, while delivering his lead presentation on the theme: Effective recovery of illicit assets and blocking opportunities for Illicit Financial Flow; Role of international frameworks, Bodies, Courts and instruments in a context of new dispensation, described Illicit financial flow as a challenge for the country.

“Illicit financial flow is a challenge to Nigeria and the recent devaluation of Nigeria’s currency. Civil servants cannot live on their salaries which might draw them to corruption,” he said.

HEDA Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, noted that there had been no reason to believe that there was going to be any serious fight against corruption given the experiences in the past years.

He said Nigeria’s hope is rekindled by the iron-cast will of Nigerians and the irresistible wind of change blowing against corruption across the world, which Nigeria cannot exempt itself from.

Suraju said there was a need to set an agenda for constructive CSO engagement with the new government in Nigeria to develop a framework for good governance.

President Bola Tinubu was tasked with the immediate need to decisively fight corruption to halt the country’s possible drift into a major economic crisis amidst reports that Nigeria loses about $60 billion every year to corruption.

HEDA observed that Nigeria with a debt portfolio of N77 trillion, inflation rate of 23 per cent, and GDP of 2.35 per cent coupled with unrelenting zeal for graft by public officials, the new government needs to take a bold step to block waste, stop corruption and recreate new public confidence to save the country from social crisis.

Some of the agenda set for the new government include fast-tracking the whistleblower law, paying backlog of royalties by oil companies, getting anti-corruption courts to speed up prosecution of corruption cases, and implementing the public procurement law.

The National Assembly was also charged to affirm Nigeria’s readiness to join the international Special Task Force on Corruption (SATF) to enable the efficient recovery of illicit funds.

Participants also listed the retrieval of billions of naira paid as oil subsidies in the past years, oil theft, public funds stolen by political actors and a significant cut in the cost of governance as some of the critical steps that Tinubu should take to save the country.

Represented at the event were Vice President Kashim Shettima, Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, National Security Adviser, Mr Nuhu Ribadu, the National Assembly, the Judiciary, Ministry of Interior and international partners, the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, the United States and Dutch Embassies, MacArthur Foundation, World Bank, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, labour, media and the civil society.

Ribadu expressed the commitment of the Tinubu-led administration to build the capacity of investigators, as part of efforts to enhance the war against corruption in the civil service and Nigeria as a whole.

Ribadu, who was represented by the Special Adviser, Legal Department, NSA, Anthony Oluborode, maintained that a cap would be placed on fiscal expenditures for the construction of government buildings and salaries related compensation, packages of elected officials, adding that such expenditure will have a low priority in the Tinubu-led administration and transparent.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the disclosure of the spending details of about USD$5 billion Abacha loot recovered by the governments of former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari.

The court ordered the government of President Bola Tinubu to “disclose the exact amount of money stolen by General Sani Abacha from Nigeria, and the total amount of Abacha loot recovered and all agreements signed on same by the governments of former presidents Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan and Buhari.”

The judgment was delivered last week by Justice James Kolawole Omotosho following a Freedom of Information suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/407/2020, brought by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).

In his judgment, Justice Omotosho held that, “In the final analysis, the application by SERAP is meritorious and the Federal Government through the Ministry of Finance is hereby ordered to furnish SERAP with the full spending details of about $5bn Abacha loot within 7 days of this judgment.”

Plans by some critical stakeholders in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to draft former Senate President, Bukola Saraki to become the party’s national chairman and rebuild the party may have hit a brick wall.

The party has been experiencing internal crisis before, during and after the general elections. The party’s National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu was replaced with the deputy national chairman, (North), Umar Damagum in acting capacity after it lost the presidential election to the incumbent, President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Troubled by the state of affairs in the party, some of the critical stakeholders gathered last week in Abuja to brainstorm on how to bring the party back to relevance.

According to a reliable source, the stakeholders planned to bring Saraki as the chairman of the party, considering his clout, influence and reach in and outside the country.

“Though the critical stakeholders have not informed Saraki or the party of their intentions, some associates of the former Kwara State governor, who were privy to the plan, met on Tuesday in Abuja and moved against the plan.

“They contended that Saraki had brought the party back to life after persuading many former members who had defected to the APC to return to the opposition party. But they regretted that the immediate past leadership of the party had, because of their personal wars and vested interests, destroyed the party completely. They said Saraki should not be brought in to start laboring all over again,” the source said.

Saturday Sun also gathered that the party had not decided on what to do with the G-5 governors that contributed to the party’s failure in the presidential election, even though various organs of the party had been meeting to take a decision on the fate of the then governors.

Another source told the newspaper: “The party is meeting; the National Working Committee (NWC) has met, the Board of Trustees (BoT) has met. A special committee called the Select committee met penultimate week. It is expected that as these segmented organs have met, the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting would be called where decision on the G-5 governors and other problems bedeviling the party will be taken. But I don’t know when,” the source emphasised.

National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Debo Ologunagba, said the issue of bringing Saraki or not was in the realm of speculations, noting that the party could not make any comments on that. He said the party as an organization was not aware of any such plan.

How I manipulated my score —Chinedu

Chinedu Ifesinachi John, a 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination candidate, who had planned to study medicine at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, also confessed that the fear that he might not be offered the programme of his choice with the score he had, propelled him to alter his UTME result. On further interrogation, he stated that he used the telephone number of his sister, Chinecheremi John Ifemkpa, and saved her number as ‘55019’ a sort code used by JAMB for official communications with candidates to create profiles, check UTME results among others. He added that he simply used the number to send the edited result from his sister’s phone to his own for it to appear as if it was sent by JAMB to substantiate his allegation of multiple results.

The journey of his confession was very interesting and dramatic. The first stage started with Chinedu alleging that in 2019, his JAMB score was tampered with as well as his 2020 UTME.

Chinedu, a son of a contractor, had through his lawyer, Barrister Akaiwe Ikeazor, petitioned JAMB alleging that the Board had tampered with his 2021 UTME result while praying that he should be allowed to take the UTME again. He claimed that the Board had issued him two results: the first reading 380, while the second one was alleged to have been 265.

The Board ignored his letter knowing that he was parading a manipulated result as the Board had already identified and flagged eleven candidates including Chinedu, who had manipulated their 2021 UTME results and forwarded same to the Vice-Chancellors of their chosen institutions. However, when his lawyer wrote a second letter and threatened to press for N1billion damages, the Board then felt that it was necessary for it to do the needful.

The Board therefore invited the candidate to come forward with his lawyer and substantiate his claims. Poised to make its investigation open and transparent to all stakeholders, the Board invited the Educational Correspondents Association of Nigeria, Public Complaints Commission, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the Nigeria Human Rights Commission, SERVICOM, representatives of security agencies, among others, to witness the proceedings to ensure that fairness and equity were done to all parties.

The Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, after listening to Chinedu’s lawyer and father, who had accompanied him to the Board’s Headquarters, gave the duo five minutes to meet privately with Chinedu to ask him to confess his manipulation of the result and if he does not and the truth is placed before him it will be too late as he would be handed over to the police.

The second stage of the drama unfolded after the recommended meeting with Chinedu and he had remained adamant. JAMB then asked him to present his evidence as he claimed that a text message was sent to him. When he showed the message on his phone, the technical team knew the message was faked as one of the security features was absent, a signature sign, featured by other messages that emanated from the Board’s 55019.

JAMB went further by calling for the history of its communications with Chinedu from the Telco number being used by Chinedu. The details of all messages sent to him were displayed from the creation of profile for registration up to the request for the result and what was sent to him. It was at this stage that his lawyer got a rude awakening to the futility of the case. Furthermore, it was in the course of the proceedings that it came to light that Chinedu must be one of those candidates thrown up by tutorial centres and when confronted with this fact, he confessed that he belonged to a tutorial group. The modus operandi of the group was to promise candidates all kinds of scores.

It was, therefore, owing to the refusal of the candidate to own up to his crime, that the Board, through its security instruments, had proceeded to establish, in the presence of all that the message sent to Chinedu came from a phone number saved as ‘55019’ which, as he later confessed, belonged to his sister who was also a UTME candidate.

A pensive and remorseful Chinedu pleaded guilty to the crime after he was confronted with the facts of what he had done as he pleaded for clemency. Chinedu had then turned towards his father, who had vowed that his son could not do anything untoward, “I’m so sorry for putting you through this embarrassing situation.

I was afraid I’ll not get the programme I wanted and had to do this, I’ve learnt my lesson.” He said, “In 2021, I decided to leave medicine and surgery for them. So I picked petroleum engineering. When the result came it was not what I expected. To ensure that I succeeded in getting the Board to reschedule me for another examination, I used my sister’s telephone number which I had saved as 55019, type the results that bore 380 and sent it to myself.” Chinedu, who had sat the 2019, 2020 and 2021 UTME, had disclosed that he had wanted to study medicine and surgery at the University of Ibadan in 2019 and 2020.

Baffled by the confession of his client, the lawyer said, “I am shocked and very embarrassed by this boy’s attitude. I had asked him several times but he kept telling me lies. This circumstance has further enhanced my belief in the credibility of JAMB as an institution and Prof. Oloyede as an epitome of integrity. However, I plead for mercy for my client.”

By Omeiza Ajayi & Joseph Erunke


Globally, success or failure in the examination is the criterion for future prospects. Too much emphasis is placed on paper qualifications without any thought of the ability of the individual to put into practice the knowledge he claimed to have acquired

In this respect, certificates are seen as means to an end. Thus, all means whether straight or crooked are employed to acquire them.

It has been revealed that the desperation by candidates for the high scores to enable them to study their dream courses at the university and pressure from their parents push them into falsifying their Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results. The culprits who were nabbed by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and confessed to falsifying their JAMB results also disclosed how examination syndicates which specialised in fake upgrade of results of candidates operated.

In the recent case, Miss Mmesoma Ejikeme, a student of Anglican Girls Secondary School, Nnewi, Anambra, sat for the 2023 UTME and claimed to have scored 362. On July 2 this year however, JAMB, in a statement by its Head of Public Affairs and Protocol, Dr Fabian Benjamin accused the girl of manipulating her UTME score from 249 to 362. Miss Mmesoma and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) have therefore engaged in accusations and counter-accusations over the authenticity of the candidate’s claim of scoring 362 in the 2023 UTME.

With the acclaimed 362 score, Mmesoma said she was the highest scorer in the examination as against the 360 reportedly scored by another candidate, Umeh Ukechinyere. JAMB said that based on its record, Miss Ukechinyere scored the highest mark in the 2023 UTME and not Miss Mmesoma.

In a video which has since gone viral on social media, Miss Mmesoma displayed a notification of a result slip containing the 362 score, which she claimed was generated from the JAMB portal. But the examination body has since disclaimed the document, saying it stopped using such format for result slips in 2021. Meanwhile, JAMB has announced the withdrawal of the candidate’s 249 score, and suspended her from taking the examinations for the next three years.


It’s unfair, it wasn’t my fault – Mmesoma

Explaining her role in the matter, Mmesoma said it was not her fault and that the three-year ban placed on her by JAMB was unfair. She said; “After our exams, I went to JAMB portal to get my result but it directed me to another server and that was where I printed that slip from. I did not go to any computer centre. The only SMS I sent to them was through the JAMB support system and there was no reply. After all said and done, I now saw that I got 249. Then I sent them a text message through the JAMB support system to know what really happened”.

On the three-year ban placed on her by JAMB and the withdrawal of her result, Mmesoma said; “I am sad about it because it was not my fault that I printed my result like that and they said that I forged it. It is not my fault. So, it is not fair for JAMB to ban me”.

Sources at the JAMB however said the operators of the portal from where she printed the fake result are already on the run and the security operatives are on their trail.


Why Mmesoma’s case was trending ——JAMB

Earlier, JAMB spokesman, Dr Fabian Benjamin said the examination body has nothing against Mmesoma as it has been dealing with such issues before now. He said the only reason the current incident has been trending was because Mmesoma consistently insisted that the fake result she paraded was real, despite being confronted with superior evidence of her original result.

“It is a very simple issue that if anyone looks at the document that was being paraded, you could see that there was a problem. We have a process, from registration, conduct of exam and result management. The result she paraded was last used in 2021. Even the address of the JAMB CBT centre on her slip was not complete. We send out complete addresses. Otherwise, how is a candidate supposed to locate his or her centre? We don’t have anything against this girl. The highest score is from the same Anambra and also Igbo. If you go to the internet, you will see very funny softwares on how to fake JAMB results for fun. They tag it for fun, meaning that it does not reflect in the database of JAMB. The software is JAMB fake results for fun”, Benjamin added.


I knew result Mmesoma was parading was fake——Chidoka, owner of the CBT Centre

But in what seems to be in defence of JAMB, Mr Osita Chidoka, Nigeria’s former Aviation Minister whose foundation owns the Computer Based Test (CBT) Centre where the embattled Ejikeme Mmesoma sat her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), has spoken up on what he knows about the controversies surrounding the result obtained by the candidate. Mr Chidoka raised some questions that suggest that the candidate’s paraded score is fake.

In an opinion piece he wrote, Mr Chidoka said: “Miss Nmesoma Ejikeme took her 2023 JAMB at my foundation’s Computer-Based Testing (CBT) Centre at Obosi. I got some calls from worried friends about Nmesoma’s result, which had Thomas Chidoka Center as her examination centre. I allayed their worries that the result issue had nothing to do with the examination centre.

“I observed two significant red flags when I saw her result online. First, our centre is no longer addressed as Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development on the JAMB portal since 2021. The correct name on the JAMB portal and Main Examination Slip is Nkemefuna Foundation (Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development). Due to the difference in our CAC registration details, JAMB insisted we change to Nkemefuna Foundation with Thomas Chidoka in a bracket as an identifier. We implemented the name change in 2021. Her result showing Thomas Chidoka without the Nkemefuna Foundation, which was on her Main Examination slip, raised my suspicion about the genuineness of the result. The second red flag was the result template. A cursory review of some of those who took the last examination at our centre showed a different result slip template with the candidate’s passport picture, JAMB watermarks, and no mention of the name of the examination centre. I gave the young Nmesoma the benefit of the doubt and waited to see if she would explain how she got the result, which is obviously not the result template that Jamb used in 2023. I knew it was fake”.


We’re considering prosecuting Mmesoma, others —JAMB

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB has said it was considering prosecuting all those who forged its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, to serve as deterrent to people with intention of faking its results in future.

JAMB particularly said the issue of Mmesoma Joy Ejikeme, the Anambra schoolgirl, who scored 249 but manipulated it to 360 and one Atung Gerald from Kaduna, who never participated in the 2023 UTME but forged the result and scored himself 380, will not be swept under the carpet.

Although the board said it has concluded its investigation on Mmesoma, it said it would only act when investigations being handled by independent investigative agency it involved in the matter was released.

Spokesperson of JAMB, Fabian Benjamin who said this on Friday, ruled out sole involvement of Mmesoma in the unwholesome act, noting that she may have been assisted by some dubious elements to perpetuate the act.

“Mmesoma is actually a teenager, that is our challenge now but the security agency involved in her case is profiling her. We suspect she might not be the original initiator of the act. Whoever is behind it will be exposed and prosecuted appropriately with others found involved in similar act. We found a case of one person in Kaduna State who did not obtain UTME document at all and did not write our examination but he went somewhere, forged result and scored himself 380 and he was being celebrated before we exposed him, this character will also be prosecuted, “he said.


Culprits’ confession

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) smashed a syndicate which specialized in fake upgrade of results of candidates that took the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). The syndicate had opened a WhatsApp account to trick gullible candidates who wanted to increase their score in order to have undeserved advantage. Parading a kingpin and agent of the syndicate in Abuja, the Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, said the culprit was arrested during a courtesy call by a delegation of Public Complaints Commission (PCC).

The JAMB Registrar said the suspect named Adah Eche sat the 2019 UTME and scored 153 but decided to engage an examination syndicate to increase his scores. The suspect who doubled as a middleman for the candidates seeking higher scores collected huge sums of money from these candidates for onward transmission to the syndicate. The Board got overwhelming evidence of payments and banking transactions in connection with result upgrades during his interrogation as well as other documents.

According to Prof Oloyede, “following the complaint by the candidate and the visit to PCC, we decided to pick his letter of complaint and two others to address their issues and he happened to be the first person we picked and he actually wrote a letter of complaint to us knowing full well that he faked his result.

What we did was to invite him to come and pick his admission letter and he came. What such people do not know is that we have a bar code for every result which helps us verify its authenticity but this fake one has the barcode of a supermarket and was reading invalid barcode on our own platform.

“We have checked our own platform and seen that he has checked his result three consecutive times via 55019 and was replied same number of times with his original result which is 153, yet he insisted that he did not know the one with 290 was fake.”

Prof. Oloyede said the suspect owned up to the crime when confronted with overwhelming evidence of his criminal acts and printout of faked 200 score for himself, before the purported upgrade to 290 which he claimed to have originated from JAMB result checker code “55019”.

Detailed investigation revealed that Mr. Adah Eche was not alone but had been patronised for possible illicit upgrade and faking of result by some candidates whose names, registration numbers were made available to us by Mr. Eche. The Board therefore withdraws and invalidates the results of the four candidates found to have been involved in the illicit attempt to fake JAMB result.

Also, on July 4 2019 JAMB apprehended one Cletus Kokowa for ‘upgrading’ his Unified Tertiary Matriculation Board (UTME) score from 162 to 206 with the aid of a fraudster. Kokowa with candidate registration number 95329290ED became the second candidate to be apprehended with the aid of an intelligence gathering mechanism deployed by the Board after Adah Eche was apprehended for a similar offence the previous month.

Kokowa confessed before the Management of the Board that he paid ten thousand naira (N10, 000) to an examination syndicate to upgrade his score after contacting them through a WhatsApp group a few weeks earlier. The syndicate had informed him that his score could be upgraded from 162 to 206. He added that the fraudsters later sent a fake result screenshot depicting the new score of 206 to him.

During investigation, he said, “those guys sent a mail to me that they could help me upgrade my score. I then sent them my registration number and email. When the results were out, they sent a screenshot of 206 which they claimed was my score. Then, one of them called me asking me to pay them their money. I later went to JAMB website to check and found my score was still 162. I was confused. I had heard that upgrading scores is impossible, an attempt to do it is an offence but I didn’t really believe it. I didn’t tell my daddy and my uncle about my dealings with the syndicate.”

However, when Kokowa’s result remained unchanged, in the JAMB portal, his father wrote a letter of complaint to the Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, stating, inter alia, that, “I am craving your indulgence to quickly rectify the score to place my child on good stead to secure admission in his second choice of institution because your inability to swiftly address the issue at hand has led to forfeiture of my son’s Nigerian Defence Academy admission opportunity”. The Board subsequently invited Kokowa who came with his uncle, an army officer. After investigations, he confessed to the crime and was handed over to law enforcement agents.

The Registrar said, “One of the popular claims candidates usually make is that JAMB issued two different UTME results to them. It is not true because their results were processed using cutting-edge information and communication technology tools. When this boy came with his complaint, we applied to appropriate quarters to furnish us with his records and it was discovered that he had contacted fraudsters who gave him a fake result. In fact, what we discovered was that the result given to him was a superimposition of another candidate’s result on his own”.


Son of Professor of Medicine nabbed

Another candidate, Kingsley Unekwe, son of a Professor of Medicine in one of the leading Nigerian universities was nabbed by the Board for tampering with his UTME result. Unekwe has petitioned JAMB that he had been issued two different results and was subsequently invited to come and substantiate his claim. The Board, through its instruments and findings, was able to establish, in the presence of his mother, that Unekwe had tampered with his UTME result.

The young man thereafter confessed that he had contracted a ‘result upgrade’ syndicate to falsify his result. As a result, his original score of 201 was jerked up to 269. This he did to enable him pursue his dream of studying medicine at the university.

When asked as to why he engaged in the nefarious act, he claimed it was the pressure from his parents that he should study medicine that forced him to seek ways of falsifying his score as the original score from JAMB would not get him into medicine. Unekwe pleaded guilty, feigning ignorance of the seriousness of his crime and asked the Board to forgive him for his action.

Unekwe was the fifth candidate to be apprehended by the Board for result falsification.

Ayodele Oluwafemi


Adamu Bulkachuwa, a former senator, has filed a suit at the federal high court in Abuja, seeking to stop the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) from investigating him.

On June 10, the former senator, while speaking at the 9th senate valedictory session, said Zainab Bulkachuwa, his wife, used her position as a judge to favour his colleagues in the red chamber.

Zainab, a former president of the court of appeal, was the first female to hold the position.

Bulkachuwa’s comments sparked outrage, with many Nigerians calling for investigations into his claim.

However, the former appeal court president had denied Bulkachuwa’s claim, saying she never compromised her office on partisan grounds.

Owing to the development, TheCable understands that the ICPC has commenced an investigation and invited Bulkachuwa for questioning.

Bulkachuwa was scheduled to appear at the ICPC office on July 6 but he filed a suit to stop the invitation before the scheduled date.

It was learnt that the counsel of the former senator had given the commission a commitment that his client would honour the July 6 date.

In a suit filed on Monday, Bulkachuwa asked for the court’s declaration that the commission’s invitation is “ultra vires, illegal, arbitrary, oppressive, unconstitutional and a gross violation and a likelihood of continuous infraction of the applicant’s fundamental human right as guaranteed by sections 34, 35, 36, 37, 41 and 46 of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended)”.

He also asked the court to interpret section 1 of the legislative houses (Powers and Privileges) Act 2017, which confers immunity on him from any civil or criminal litigation in respect of any utterance he makes on the floor of the upper chamber.

“A declaration that the applicant is entitled to freedom of speech/expression by Section 39(1) of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria (as amended) and as exercise by his other senators’ colleagues and having not been so afforded by the leadership of the ninth (9th) senate, cannot be held liable for the unintended inference of an inchoate speech/statement/expression,” the suit reads.

“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents jointly and severally, particularly the 4th respondent (ICPC), acting directly or indirectly through their agents, officers, privies, assigns and any other persons by whomsoever or however constituted from inviting, harassing, intimidating and/or compelling the applicant to appear before the respondents pending the hearing and determination of suit no: FHC/ABJ/CS/895/2023 at the Federal High Court, Abuja.”

Those joined as respondents in the suit are: attorney-general of the federation, the clerk of the national assembly, Department of State Services (DSS), the ICPC, and Nigeria Police Force.

Police operatives from the Gender Section of the Lagos State Command have arrested four 17-year old boys, who allegedly conspired and gang raped a 16-year old girl, recorded their various sex actions and uploaded same on the social media.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the boys, Taofik Jimoh, Oduyebo Samson, Adegoke Oluwatimileh and Adesanya Aduragbemi, have been charged before the Court over their alleged conduct.

The incident happened on 3rd June, 2023, at Oshikomaya Street, Ikosi Ketu area of Lagos State.

They were alleged to have lured the girl into the apartment, forcefully removed her clothes and had sex with her one after the other.

While they engaged her in the sex romp, they recorded their various actions with their mobile phones and uploaded same on WhatsApp platforms and tiktok social media.

Having satisfied themselves, they allowed her to go but warned her not to tell anyone about it and threatened to deal with her if she reveals it to anyone.

However, the girl was unable to bear the trauma and she revealed what happened to her parents. The matter was reported to the Police and they were arrested. They were later transferred to the Gender Section of the Command for interrogation over their alleged conduct.

After thorough interrogation, the Police found them culpable and subsequently charged them before the Ogba Magistrate Court for defilement, which attracts several years of imprisonment or life imprisonment.

The Court did not take their plea when they were arraigned after the prosecutor, Supol Akeem Raji, asked the Court to refer the matter to the DPP for legal advice and directed the prosecutor to duplicate the file and send it to DPP.

The matter was adjourned for mention for the report of the DPP’s advice to be available, which will determine if the matter will be transferred to the High Court or not over jurisdiction.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered that the matter may likely be transferred to the High Court for defilement if the DPP’s report finds them culpable and recommends their trial despite their age in line with the Criminal Laws of the State.

By Ademola Olonilua


Doctors were shocked after discovering that a Singapore man’s throat discomfort was caused by an eight-legged mollusk that had become stuck in his gullet.

The unnamed patient had reportedly first realized something was awry after he started vomiting following a meal that included the cephalopod.

The diner also had trouble swallowing, prompting him to pay a visit to the Tan Tock Seng Hospital, nypost.com reports. Doctors conducted a CT scan, which revealed a super-dense mass in the man’s esophagus.

A subsequent esophagogastroduodenoscopy — a gastrointestinal examination involving a small, flexible tube — showed a tentacled octopus lodged two inches from the esophagus-stomach border like something out of Ridley Scott’s “Alien.”

After initial attempts to push or extract the interloper were unsuccessful, medics navigated the endoscope past the octopus into the stomach and retroflexed it.

They then used forceps to grasp the critter’s head and remove it from the patient. Thankfully, the patient recovered well following surgery and was discharged after two days.

Apparently, food obstructions are among the most common problems encountered at the hospital, per the facility’s physicians, who say items will pass spontaneously in 80% to 90% of cases.

Meanwhile, endoscopic intervention is necessary in 10% to 20% of cases, while 1% of them require surgery.

“The ‘push technique’ is the primary method recommended with high success rates, however applying excessive force can cause esophageal perforation,” said the medical team.

Unfortunately, this is far from the first time a cephalopod has gone down the wrong pipe.

In 2016, a 2-year-old boy in Wichita, Kansas, had to be hospitalized after getting an octopus lodged in his throat during an apparent sushi session gone awry.

Meanwhile, approximately six people die a year from eating sannakji, the live octopus dish that’s a delicacy in South Korea.

Fatalities are generally caused when the suckers adhere to the sides of the diner’s throat, causing the victim to asphyxiate. This risk is heightened when the tentacles are cut longer or the critter is eaten whole, generally as part of a soju-inspired stunt.

A consultancy deal orchestrated by Zainab Ahmed, former minister of finance, budget and national planning, is raising eyebrows in the power sector, with several insiders telling TheCable it is “illegal” and “a waste of public funds”.

To execute a Make-up Gas Reprocessing (MUGR) deal, the ministry appointed a “transaction adviser” in an arrangement that some fear might land the federal government in legal challenges.

Make-up gas (MUG) is the gas a power generation company (GenCo) has already paid for but has, for one reason or another, not utilised during the year.

A gas supply agreement (GSA), a bilateral transaction executed by a GenCo and a gas supplier, spells out terms for a review of the clauses.

Ahmed had proposed that Nigeria could covert the MUG to liquified natural gas (LNG) and export to earn revenue for the federation.

She sought and got the approval of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

However, there are now questions as to the involvement of Ahmed Zakari & Co, an accounting firm, as transaction advisers in what is purely a bilateral agreement between Calabar Generation Company Limited (Calabar GenCo) and Accugas Ltd.

Calabar GenCo is owned by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), which belongs to the three tiers of government, while Accugas is a private company.

“Accugas and NDPHC were already discussing the extension of the sunset date for the utilisation of the MUG without the involvement of any consultant or adviser. Both parties subsequently executed an addendum to the GSA that provides for the MUG to be utilised within seven years,” an official of the ministry of finance told TheCable.

“The implication is that at the time Zainab Ahmed executed the transaction agreement with Ahmed Zakari & Co in September 2022, they all knew that there was really nothing for the firm to do, beside being paid for doing nothing.”

TheCable could not confirm the exact fees Zakari & Co is being paid but sources said it is dollars.

According to an industry insider who spoke with TheCable, “The standard practice with respect to the utilisation of MUG is for the buyer to contact the seller and for both contracting parties to negotiate alternative durations for the utilisation of the MUG. This is necessary because it is gas that the buyer has already paid for. There is usually no requirement for a third party to get involved. Indeed, because the GSA is a bilateral agreement, it will cease to be so if third and fourth parties get involved.

“What would usually happen is for the two parties to concede doing one of the following or both: one, renegotiate the take-or-pay quantity upon which the GSA was executed or, two, extend the sunset date for the utilisation of the MUG.”


CURIOUS CONTRACT

Moyi Dahiru, then special assistant on power to Ahmed, had led the discussions with the power sector stakeholders to discuss the MUGR proposal early 2022.

In attendance were officials of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc, NDPHC Ltd, Accugas and Azura.

An official of the ministry of finance told TheCable: “Azura made it clear to Mr Dahiru that they do not have any business with the MUGR, particularly because the government is not a party to the GSA.”

However, NDPHC — which manages the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP), including 10 GenCos — did not raise any objections, reportedly because it did not want to upset ministry officials who process the payment of the gas invoices every month.

In February 2022, Ahmed secured an approval from Buhari to retain the accounting firm of Ahmad Zakari & Co as the transaction adviser.

This became effective from September 5, 2022 when the firm signed the agreement with the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), represented by the ministry of finance.

“Ahmad Zakari & Co’s agreement is of no effect, but money is being paid to the firm for doing nothing,” an official of the ministry of finance, who declined to be named for fear of victimisation, told TheCable.

“The truth is that top government officials usually connived with some of the principal members of staff in the Presidential Villa to mislead Buhari into signing all kinds of things, including appointments for the most unqualified persons and dubious payments.”


‘PRESIDENTIAL APPROVAL’

On May 24, 2023, Aliyu Ahmed, the permanent secretary in the ministry of finance, wrote a letter to Total Energies with the title ‘Make-Up gas re-purpose transaction, conveyance of extracts of presidential approval of global framework transaction’, conveying the directive of the government on the treatment of the MUG by GenCos.

The make-up gas belonging to Calabar GenCo is under the MUGR.

“If I were to advise President Bola Tinubu, he should direct the ministry of finance to stop all payments to Ahmed Zakari & Co and ask the ministry to submit a report of the payments that have been made to the firm so far and for what purposes,” an official said.

“President Tinubu should ask for all the agreements under this MUGR and demand a copy of the addendum which the Accugas executed with the NDPHC that extended the sunset date for the utilisation of the MUG to seven years.”

TheCable has contacted the media office of the former finance minister for comments.

TheCable understands that Dahiru has been putting pressure on Calabar GenCo to execute the deal since he left office with the former finance minister.

The economy is in a bind, inevitably spurring the call by the Tinubu administration for sacrifice on the part of the citizenry to pull the nation out.

On his inauguration day, President Bola Tinubu removed subsidy on petrol that had cost the nation trillions of Naira as part of the sacrifice.

He has since followed up with the merging of the multiple foreign exchange rates, a situation that has led to the depreciation of the Naira at the official window.

The implication is not lost on the citizenry who now have to cope with the attendant inflation.

And arising from the foreign exchange rates merger was the announcement last week that electricity tariff would go up as power distribution companies said the concession they were getting from the official window was gone and this would raise their cost of production.

The announcement has since been reversed but the hike is only a matter of time as the reversal came about because due process was not followed and the tariff had not been approved by the authorities

Also last week, indications emerged that vehicle owners will have to pay yearly for proof of ownership contrary to the outgoing era that makes the payment one-off in the life of a vehicle.

Other belt-tightening measures to free funds for government to meet its obligations may soon follow.

But amid the call on the citizenry for sacrifice to pull Nigeria out of the woods, many people are worried about jumbo cost of governance occasioned by what some call questionable budgetary allocations by government at different levels.

For instance, the Buhari administration made provisions of N11.92 billion for feeding and foreign trips of the President and Vice President in the 2023 Budget of the Federal Government which Tinubu and VP Shettima have now inherited.

A breakdown shows that N331.79 million would be spent on the President’s feeding while that of his deputy is N176.92m.

When put together, the nation would be spending N508.71 on food and refreshments for their President and VP at the end of the fiscal year.

Local and foreign trips for the President and his vice would cost over N3 billion.

N2.49 billion was earmarked for the office of the President while his deputy gets N846.61 million.

Also included are N1.58bn earmarked for aircraft maintenance and N1.60bn allocated for overhauling of Gulfstream GV and CL605 aircraft engines.


10 aircraft

Sunday Vanguard recalls that in the heat of the criticism generated by the huge budgetary allocation for aircraft maintenance during the Buhari administration, then spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, said there were 10 planes in the presidential fleet.

They include two AgustaWestland AW 139 helicopters, two AugustaWestland 101 helicopters, two Falcons 7X, one Hawker Sidley 4000, Boeing Business Jet, Boeing 737-800 or NAF 001, one Gulfstream 550, one Gulfstream V and one Gulfstream 500.

It could not be established if any aircraft was added to the fleet between when the former presidential spokesperson made the disclosure and now.

Economists argue that even rich countries like the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) don’t feed their President and Prime Minister respectively, saying it is an anomaly for a poor nation like Nigeria to vote humongous funds to feed its leaders.

They also contend that very few countries across the world maintain as many as 10 planes in their presidential fleet as Nigeria does.

For instance, according to them, when the leaders of some of these countries use planes in the presidential fleet for personal purposes, they pay.

Nigeria’s bureaucracy is also seen as bloated, thus consuming a large chunk of government revenues.

For example, the National Assembly, NASS, in the 2003 Appropriation Act, was allocated N328.1 billion, the highest in 23 years.

A breakdown shows that the funds were tied to several purposes, with some still generating ripples.

One such is N16, 520, 653, 763 budgeted for Senators and members of the House of Representatives’ aides.

There is also N8.5billion for National Assembly liabilities, the details of which weren’t spelled out.

Also, N100 billion was approved for Zonal Intervention Programmes, ZIPs, otherwise known as Constituency Projects.

The money, which is for the 469 federal legislators, has been an issue of controversy as lawmakers are often accused of mismanagement of funds meant for such projects.

Only last week, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass, appointed 33 aides, bringing the number of his appointees to 35.

Abass argued that the appointments would ensure effective delivery of his agenda for the House. The last occupant of the office had no fewer than 33 aides.

In 2016, a NAN report pegged the number of legislative aides at 2,570.

According to the National Assembly Act, each lawmaker is entitled to five aides.

The Act says the Senate President is entitled to 45 aides, his deputy 30 and 20 each for principal officers.

For the Speaker of the House, the Act provides 35 assistants for him, Deputy Speaker, 15, and 10 each for the six principal officers.

Consequently, there are fears that by the time Senate President Godswill Akpabio and other principal officers of the National Assembly finish appointing their aides, Nigeria’s leaders at the NASS level may end up having over 1, 000 aides.

Now add this to the cost of running the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) at the federal level.

State level

Across the states, the situation is not entirely different as new governors have so far retained the bloated bureaucracy of their predecessors.

All these are happening in a nation facing a N77 trillion debt crisis.

Only recently, the Debt Management Office, DMO, warned the Federal Government against additional borrowing, saying 73.5 percent of revenue generated this year would be used to service debt.

According to the DMO, the projected FGN Debt Service to Revenue ratio of 73.5 percent for 2023 is high and cannot support higher levels of borrowing, and is also a threat to debt sustainability.

Consequently, it advised government to focus on increasing revenue generation.


Slim government

Some concerned Nigerians told Sunday Vanguard it would be wrong for the Tinubu administration to tell Nigerians to make sacrifices and still ignore the urgent need for reduction in the cost of governance.

The authorities, drawn from key sectors including the academia, however, suggested ways government can reduce the size of governance and plug leakages.

In an earlier interview with this paper, the Labour Party, LP, last Thursday, accused the ruling party at the federal level, the All Progressives Congress, APC, of showing early signs of continuing “the wasteful lifestyle” of its predecessor.

Acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, said it was an irony that the administration would ask Nigerians to “tighten their belts and make sacrifices” while living in opulence.

On his part, Chairman, HEDA Resource Centre, Mr. Olarenwaju Aregbabo, said there is no better time to reduce cost of governance but now.


Budget

Aregbabo said: “It is really a very serious issue that we must actually contend with. It is a concern. Unfortunately, we focus much on the Presidency, beyond what we also have at the state level. We have state governors who have allocations outside the security votes. At the federal level, apart from the budget for food in the President’s house, there is also an allowance given to the President and the Vice President to take care of whatever it is they have to take care of daily.

“In advanced countries, if a President is inviting anybody to lunch or dinner, it is from his or her pocket and not from the government purse. It is not for the President to create a situation where you have money going for everything.

“It is very important that we continue to bring this out in the open. A number of those who are meant to talk about this are not talking because they also benefit from it. So, for the few of us who are really concerned about it, it’s necessary that we keep raising questions.


Oronsaye Panel report

“As it is now, Nigeria cannot afford an increment in the salaries of public office holders, except government knows what most of us don’t know.

“I support to some extent, the implementation of the Oronsaye Panel report on merging of agencies. That is why many public servants can afford to stroll into the office and stroll out when they like. Most of them don’t have any purpose for being in the office. And, when you merge some of these agencies, they become better.

“There is a need for a complete and holistic assessment of the workforce in the country. The multiplicity of Ministries, Departments and Agencies creates room for ghost workers.

“There is a need to know the real cost of services because many parts of our budgets are heavily padded and this makes it possible for them to replicate what is in the budget every year without monitoring what was implemented and what was not implemented.

“If we can block the leakages and ensure that the services we pay for are needed, they will improve.’’


Wasteful spending

Making his position known, Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, Auwal Rafsanjani, said: “If the new administration headed by President Bola Tinubu is committed to reducing the cost of governance in Nigeria, he must not repeat the mistake of wasteful spending and flamboyant governance in this country. We have suffered at the hands of some few political elites who have squandered the resources of this country at local, state and national levels. Therefore, if Tinubu is interested in reducing the waste and diversion of taxpayers’ money, he must cut wasteful spending.

“We expect that Tinubu will block those leakages and make governance more efficient by reducing the large number of unproductive political appointees. He must deal with this issue as quickly as possible so that government can deliver good governance to Nigerians. Doing this will make Bola Tinubu one of the best-performing Presidents.

“He has to minimize spending and make government effective as well as transparent. If he continues like the previous administration, it means there is no difference between him and the previous governments who failed to deal with these issues.

“For example, we do not need to have this flamboyant and large number of aides that are unproductive and without clear roles. Some state governments have thousands of aides. What we need is the creation of a viable economy and job opportunities for people to be gainfully employed. We have seen how a former Rivers State governor appointed several aides. Today, they have all lost their jobs. If he had used the resources to put in place infrastructure, create jobs, boost industrialisation and manufacturing, it would have been useful for Rivers State people and government.”


Unnecessary expenditure

On his part, Chairman of Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law, NBA-SPIDEL, Dr Monday Ubani, said: “If we don’t change the idea of unnecessary expenditure on governance, we won’t have enough money to develop infrastructure. Currently, there is no standard road in Nigeria. One cannot take off from Lagos to the East on a smooth ride or Lagos to Abuja. The railway system is non-functional. There is no internet-connectivity. It is the same for electricity. The moment we don’t have money to make investments that would attract investors, we will remain where we are because the Dollar will always be higher than Naira.

“I thought this government would do something in terms of expenditure but I cannot see prudence. He has removed fuel subsidy, which has made prices of things skyrocket. The World Bank has also said that over 40 per cent of Nigerians will relapse into poverty due to the removal of subsidy. Our government has to be certain of what it does because a lot of people are living in abject poverty. Any position that has no relevance to our economic growth should be done away with.”

Economic analyst and Vice Executive Chairman, High Cap Securities Limited, David Adonri, said: “I am surprised that the cost of governance inherited by this administration has not been reduced and expenditure rationalised. If we intend to heal our economy or initiate a process that would enable it to recover quickly, the cost of administration has to be drastically reduced because policies that were recently introduced like the unification of exchange rate and removal of fuel subsidy are going to drive up inflation.


Financial stability

“The only means through which the Federal Government can manage the situation, especially as it affects its financial stability, is to reduce expenditure drastically. With inflation, government will have to pay more for a lot of goods and services. If expenses are not rationalized, government will go into debt, leading to an increase in economic deficit. The current administration needs to go back to the drawing board to see how it can cut costs in all areas.”

Lending his voice, a senior lecturer at Lagos Business School, Dr Austin Nweze, said: “Whatever thing a leader does is based on his personal value system. John Adams said there are two types of education: the first teaches a person how to make a living and the second teaches one how to live. The second type of education is based on one’s value system. If your value system is a life of opulence, it will show in your character, the same goes for being prudent.

“The government that we have is that of state capture, they are not interested in what happens to the economy and the well-being of the citizens. The cost of governance is high and people who invested in their elections want to recoup their money. To cut down the cost of governance, you have to invest it in health, education and entrepreneurship. Invest in those things that would generate wealth for the people, not what will take away wealth from the people. Currently, there is between 30 and 33 per cent adult unemployment and over 55 per cent youth unemployment. How does such an economy grow? By making sacrifices from the top, domestic production can be increased for the economy to take off. There has to be a deliberate attempt to revive the economy by cutting the cost of governance. The sacrifice has to come from the political class who live an ostentatious life or what I will also call a life of opulence.”


Don’t compound woes of Nigerians, CSOs warn

Meanwhile, some Civil Society Organizations, CSOs, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard, advised the current administration not to toe Buhari’s path.

Specifically, Convener, Nigeria Youth Coalition, NYC, and Yoruba Council Worldwide, YCW, Oba Oladotun Hassan, urged Tinubu to, as a matter of urgency, begin to stand by his campaign promises.

His words: “I will serve a strong note of caution that Mr. President shouldn’t go the same way his predecessor operated.

“And the reason we elected him is for him to heal our wounds. So, he should see himself as a healer, rather than adding more salt to our injuries. We need to reduce costs. The removal of subsidy is there and we are still bearing it because of his appeal for patience for us to be on the same page with him.

“He shouldn’t compound our woes. In as much as the out-gone President presented a budget, he should as a matter of urgency, review the budget as regards the cost of governance. ‘’

Also, the Convener, Concerned Nigerians, Deji Adeyanju, questioned why the President and political appointees spend so much money on things that do not improve the livelihood of Nigerians.

He said: “Nigeria is one of the poverty capitals of the world, which is very unfortunate. You saw the President’s convoy upon his return from London. Why should the President of the poverty capital be driving a 120-car convoy? It makes no sense.

“Why should we even be buying vehicles for politicians and civil servants in the country? Nigeria is too broke for our politicians to be living extravagantly. People are no longer going into public service for service. People are going into public service for luxury and leisure.

“Everything should be sacrificial. You should stop paying salaries to politicians. It makes no sense. We should not be buying official cars for public servants. Except maybe the Ministry of Health where they need an ambulance and police where they need patrol cars to chase armed robbers and the Ministry of Works where we should have heavy-duty vehicles to repair our roads”.

On his part, Professor, Williams Ijoma, said: “Nigeria’s present reality requires nothing short of a holistic reform of its governance structure, system and process. Such efforts must, of necessity, begin with drastic reductions in personnel and overhead costs. If we are to survive as a nation, we must turn this moment of profound crisis into an opportunity to make the hard choices we have long deferred but can no longer avoid.

“As part of the cost-cutting measures, federal and state governments should reduce the size of their cabinets through amendment of the constitution and limit the number of advisers and assistants. Bills pending before national and state assemblies seeking to set up new agencies of government should be rejected. The report of the Steve Oronsaye Panel should be revisited and strictly implemented.’’