₦airaland Forum

Mohammed Adamu, on Sunday, revealed the requirements for officers to be trained in the new police tactical team to replace the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

He said the training of selected officers for the Special Weapons and Tactics team would commence on Monday, October 19, 2020.

The IGP noted that no ex-SARS operatives were shortlisted in the SWAT team.

Adamu also explained that “the officers selected for the training are young, smart and energetic officers who have acquired not less than seven (7) years working experience with clean service records – no pending disciplinary matters, no record of violation of rights of citizens or misuse of firearms – and are physically fit to withstand the rigour of SWAT Training and Operations.

“The selected officers shall be subjected to physical fitness test, medical and toxicology screening etc and those found to be unsuitable shall be discharged.”

This was contained in a statement on Sunday by the Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba. The statement was titled, ‘NPF New Tactical Team Commences Training Monday Oct 19’.

Adamu promised Nigerians that the SWAT team “will operate within very high professional and ethical standards, rule of law and dictates of best international policing practices.”

He also disclosed that to ensure adequate training and screening of SWAT operatives, the Nigeria Police Force has partnered the International Committee of the Red Cross and other development partners for the training which begins tomorrow at the Police Mobile Force Training School, Ila Oragun, Osun State and the PMF Training School, Ende Hills, Nasarawa State.

He said the ICRC “will handle topics touching on humanitarian laws, police conduct in conflict situation, human rights standard especially in the use of force and firearms, arrest and detention amongst others.

“Other areas of the training program will include modern-day police ethics and values, intelligence-led policing, operation planning/tactical decision-making processes, hostage rescue tactics and operation, weapon handling, first aid/basic life-saving skills, stress/fear management, police-citizens relations and emotional intelligence etc.

“The training modules will be handled by other carefully selected development partners, security experts as well as veterans from the civil society and human rights community.”

The IGP sought the cooperation of Nigerians “in the ongoing development drive for a new and reformed Nigeria Police Force” while “he enjoined them to be patient and to believe in the reform processes which are all directed at ensuring the security, safety and rights of all.”

For about two weeks now, the #EndSARS protests have been taking place across major cities in the country with youths calling for the reform of the police force.

Major highways across the country have been blocked thereby grounding economic activities.

The youths have been resolute and firm in their stand that they would not leave the streets until the much-needed reforms were actualised.

ByTaiwo-Hassan Adebayo

A multi-billion-naira contract to rehabilitate a section of Nigeria’s Eastern Railway Line was awarded to an unregistered entity in a process that reeked of corruption, regulatory failure, collusion, and defiance of Nigeria’s public procurement rules, an investigation by PREMIUM TIMES has shown.

That malfeasance was committed during the administration of Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s immediate past president, who lost his re-election bid in 2015 in part due to charges that his government did not confront corruption frontally.

But officials under the current Muhammadu Buhari administration have also not proven to be better. They have helped to sustain a web of subterfuge devised to cover the fraud that started under Mr Jonathan.

A setup named Eser Contracting and Industry Company Incorporated, promoted by Turkish firm Eser, was awarded the contract to rehabilitate the 463 KM Port Harcourt-Makurdi section of the Eastern Railway line for N19.2 billion in March 2011. But it has no legal capacity for the work as it has no required certificate of incorporation, a CAC search revealed.

Our investigation showed the setup has possible connections with persons – Adekemi Alokolaro, nee Sijuwade, and her husband, Ola Alokolaro – who share family ties with Adeseyi Sijwuade, then Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation. For several years Mr Sijuwade has been a subject of contract fraud and corruption probes by the National Assembly and security and anti-graft operatives.

The couple, Mr and Mrs Alokolaro, did not respond to an emailed request for comment. So did Mr Sijuwade, who was contacted by phone call, WhatsApp message and SMS.

The railway rehabilitation work was divided into three sections: 463 KM Port Harcourt-Makurdi; 1016 KM Makurdi-Kuru; and 640 KM Kuru to Maiduguri, all at once awarded to three different contractors in March 2011.

This article extends PREMIUM TIMES’ investigative reporting on Nigeria’s Eastern railway fraud, after an earlier story of how a company, Lingo Nigeria Limited, took public money for work not done and had Nigerian taxpayers and two foreign firms, from Czech and China, as victims.

Lingo was awarded the Kuru-Maiduguri section for N23.7 billion. CGGC Global Projects Nigeria Limited was charged with rehabilitating the segment that runs from Makurdi to Kuru for N24.5 billion.

Nine years after the contracts were awarded, the rehabilitation work has failed despite huge funds already sunk, dashing the hopes of people, especially traders, who had in the past several years relied on train service. The government has now decided to wrest the contracts from the companies, who have submitted their exit plans on the government’s request.

Of the three contracts, two – the Port-Harcourt-Makurdi section and Kuru-Maiduguri section – given to Lingo and Eser respectively were associated with procurement fraud, our investigations showed. And while our earlier article described the contract awarded to Lingo as the most problematic, the procurement process involving Eser pushes the limits of impunity.

We did not find the third contract given to CGGC to have been associated with any procurement fraud. However, as our field investigation involving travel across several states showed, CGGC also did jobs, which on-the-ground railway staff complained was perfunctory – a similar complaint as that made by the staff at the section handled by Eser.

The staff said it was the shoddy job that made the Eastern line now virtually unusable and not different from its state before the rehabilitation contract, if not worse.

Against the rules

In the invitation-to-bid advert for the contracts placed in the November-December 2010 edition of Federal Tenders Journal, the railway corporation required prospective contractors to submit a valid certificate of incorporation — a statutory requirement.

However, this requirement was brushed aside in the consideration of the bid submitted by Eser Contracting and Industry Company Incorporated even as the process moved from the railway corporation to the Bureau of Procurement Procurement (BPP), and the ministry of transport and the presidency before the contract was awarded.

The Public Procurement Act charges the BPP with the responsibility of preventing “fraudulent and unfair procurement” and applying administrative sanctions “where necessary”.

But the BPP failed in this responsibility as it issued a “Certificate of No Objection” to clear the way for the railway corporation to award the legally non-existent company the contract. Also, it was the certificate issued by the BPP that the then Transport Minister, Yusuf Suleiman, cited in requesting anticipatory approval for the award of the contract from Mr Jonathan.

The ministerial request was made on March 25, 2011, a day after the BPP’s certificate was issued, and was approved on March 28, 2011, by Mr Jonathan, official records obtained by PREMIUM TIMES show. It was in November of the following year that the Federal Executive Council endorsed the Eser contract alongside the two other sections as the president had in March 2011 hurriedly given anticipatory approval.

BPP did not comment after repeated requests via email and a Freedom of Information Act letter.

Legal expert, Jiti Ogunye, said a foreign firm participating in the procurement process in Nigeria will still have to incorporate an entity in the country to satisfy the “legal capacity” requirement stipulated in the Public Procurement Act.

The Cover: Enters Eser West Africa

After the non-existent Eser Contracting and Industry Company Incorporated was given the contract in March 2011, the promoters devised a way to smoothen the irregularities. The plan was to register a new company, thus birthing Eser West Africa Limited.

Eser West Africa Limited was registered in June 2011, three months after the contract was awarded, and that entity has since carried on with the contract, engaging with officials, including those of Mr Buhari. The name “Eser West Africa” appears on boards at the construction site at the railway station in Port Harcourt.

But Eser West Africa had not been registered at the time the contract was awarded and it was not the entity that was formally awarded the contract, according to records from BPP, NRC, transport ministry, State House, and FEC.

Yet, till date, despite its not being the original contract beneficiary and being without a certificate of incorporation at the time the contract was awarded, officials have continued to engage with Eser West Africa and use that name in official communications relating to the Eastern railway line rehabilitation contract.

While our investigation established that Eser Contracting and Industry Company Incorporated has no certificate of incorporation in Nigeria, it remains uncertain if it satisfied other requirements, such as tax clearance and audited accounts for the preceding three years, in the advert for the contracts.

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) replied an FOI request for the entity’s tax status as well as that of the later-registered Eser West Africa created to smoothen the procurement fraud. The tax agency, however, declined any disclosure.

“The information you have requested concerning the companies cannot be disclosed by virtue of the provision,” the FIRS wrote, referring to Section 14(1) (b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, which requires public institutions to deny applications for information regarding taxpayers and the assessment or collection of their tax.


Family link

An initial procurement process for the Eastern line rehabilitation contract was cancelled by then transport minister, Mr Suleiman, over allegations of fraud and irregularities. Among the companies that benefited in that cancelled initial process was Eser Nigeria Contracting Company Limited, registered in March 2009, just before bidding opened.

That was the first appearance of Eser in railway procurement activities. Eser Nigeria Contracting – different from the legally non-existent Eser Contracting and Industry Company Incorporated and Eser West Africa, registered in June 2011 ostensibly to smoothen irregularities – has among its owners and directors Project Niche Limited, alongside Lihan Adiloglu, a Turkish businessman, according to incorporation filings we obtained.

Project Niche is owned and directed by Mr and Mrs Alokolaro, who represent that company as directors on the board of Eser Nigeria Contracting, according to incorporation filings. Mrs Alokolaro, a daughter of the late Ooni of Ile-Ife, Okunade Sijuwade, shares family ties with Mr Sijuwade, who oversaw the procurement process. This is the possible link our investigation showed may exist between Mr Sijuwade’s family members and promoters of Eser.

Also, an Eser-associated company, Espro Asphalt, has Mrs Alokolaro as one of its directors alongside Eser Contracting and Industry, represented by Cagatay Tezsezen.

Eser could not be reached for comments. Nothing resulted from our visit to the Lagos address the company listed in its incorporations filings. Security staff at the building said the company does not operate from that address. An email to the address listed on the website of its parent company based in Turkey was not replied.

Then minister, Mr Suleiman, said determining the validity of the claims made by Eser was outside his charge as minister.

“I honestly was not aware,” he said. “Everything about tendering, due diligence and all that were by the railway corporation as well as the BPP. As a minister, I was not the accounting officer and was only transmitting letters to the President for approval. But I had power to cancel or review if there was genuine complaint. But I got no complaints. I cancelled the initial process because of complaints about irregularities.”


“Not rehabilitation really”

PREMIUM TIMES investigation included the tracking of the work done by the contractors in Rivers, Abia, Enugu, Benue, Nasarawa and Kaduna States, which the Eastern Railway line transverses before linking Kuru in Plateau State and going through Bauchi and Gombe States before terminating in Borno State. We had earlier conducted fieldwork from Kuru to Gombe for our earlier report.

At the railway station in Port Harcourt, a board bearing “Eser West Africa” as the contractor stands conspicuously at the entrance. This company, though found to have taken the contract in ways that violate Nigeria’s law, worked from Port Harcourt to Makurdi, the endpoint of the section it was assigned, railway staff on the ground and community sources said.

Inside Makurdi station where a staff said balance stones were used by CGGC to make the rails appear new though old rails kept in the stores were used.

However, the staff also said the rehabilitation work was only done by Eser in selected places, especially areas close to stations.

“I can’t say that was true rehabilitation,” one staff said, echoing the concerns of others in Otukpo, Benue State. And what the staff complained was manipulation and abuse of their labour rights. They said Eser “used us to do their contract and did not pay us. They manipulated that we were doing our normal official work but they collected billions to do the work and hire workers.”

At least three persons corroborated this claim. Then, the staff further alleged that Eser used old rails and accessories that were kept in stores for the rehabilitation work.

The staff did not agree to be named because of fear they could be punished by authorities.

In what appears to support the claim of the complaining staff, PREMIUM TIMES observed that old rails of BS-60 model with dates that preceded independence were still on the tracks, which in various places have been covered by trash, sand and bushes.

After Eser’s work, trains started using the track but stopped in 2017. “But trains were just derailing because of the nature of the work they (Eser) did,” one staff said.

However, PREMIUM TIMES confirmed that daily service between Port Harcourt and Aba only stopped due to the COVID-19 restrictions based on interviews with staff and several persons who had used the service.

“It is a safer and cheaper way of travelling,” Tunde Lasisi, a trader in Port Harcourt said, adding that train service was his means of sending goods to Aba, the commercial nerve centre of Abia State.

In Makurdi, where CGGC started its work, one senior staff on the ground, who only agreed to speak without being identified by name, largely corroborated the claims of his colleagues previously interviewed in the section handled by Eser.

Submerged track outside Otukpo station, said to be untouched for rehabilitation by residents and railway staff.

“They only put balance stones to make the track look new,” the staff said. “They replaced the rails but they used the old ones in the store and they used our men.”

Yet that was limited to within the station yard, the staff said, explaining that rehabilitation did not take place in the wider Makurdi area.

Recalling the January 2015 inauguration of “modern trains” for Port Harcourt-Makurdi service by Mr Jonathan’s deputy, former Vice President Namadi Sambo, the staff said, “We only rode the train within the yard, between the level crossings. It was all formality but the VP may not know about the type of work that was done.”

The staff further said that “passenger service started but trains were derailing. So, the loss was too much. We stopped in 2017, two years after the rehabilitation.”

In Lafia, a staff member said CGGC worked outside the station but “if they worked well, why are trains not working? Why is our service not effective. They used old materials already kept in stores.”

In Kafanchan, Kaduna State, connected to the Eastern Railway line through a spur line, a staff said, “they (CGGC) worked here but only skeletal rehabilitation. It was not rehabilitation really. They did some kilometres and left some.

The staff said service that followed the rehabilitation lasted only for a “short period”

The company did not work up to Kuru Junction and it also did not work on the branch line from Kuru to Jos station, PREMIUM TIMES confirmed.

CGGC did not comment for this report. A text message was not replied and an official ended a call abruptly as our reporter introduced himself and explained he wanted to make inquiries on the Eastern rail line project. Repeated calls were ignored.

No part of the section rehabilitated by CGGC is now used for train service. And except between Port Harcourt and Aba before COVID-19, the Eastern Railway line is not functioning despite several billions of naira pumped into the project.

The frontline staff on the ground are only reporting to stations daily without any real work, they said.


Seeking N5.5 billion in exit plan

As the N67.3 billion rehabilitation contract has failed, authorities are planning a fresh procurement process and have asked the failed contractors to submit exit plans.

PREMIUM TIMES had previously reported how Lingo, the contractor awarded the Kuru-Maiduguri section, requested N9.2 billion, after being previously paid at least N9.4 billion, despite underperforming on the contract. Government’s assessors have now rejected Lingo’s claim and concluded the company instead owed the country N1.6 billion for being overpaid, corroborating PREMIUM TIMES’ findings that the company made inaccurate claims about its work. The company is also being investigated by the anti-graft agency, EFCC.

Three children of Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano State, has been positioned to take over from Tijjani Jobe, lawmaker representing Dawakin-Tofa/Tofa/Rimin Gado Federal Constituency.

SaharaReporters had earlier on Friday reported how Jobe was on Sunday attacked by angry youth in his constituency.

The youth alleged that he did not deliver the dividends of democracy to them.

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The incident happened when the lawmaker went to inaugurate a project at Gulu, a village under Rimin Gado Local Government Area.

A source told SaharaReporters on Friday that all was not well with Governor Ganduje and Jobe and his attack might not be unrelated to that.

It was gathered that Umar, Aseeya and Abdulaziz Ganduje have already started jostling to take over from the lawmaker with their father’s support.

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The governor, it was learnt, ordered Jobe to stop the construction of Rimingado-Gulu Road in his constituency.

A source said Ganduje called the lawmaker on phone on Tuesday night and directed him to demobilise the contractors from site or he would order their arrest.

The lawmaker, however, denied being attacked by his constituents, adding that the news of the incident was orchestrated by his detractors.

Two families who lost their loved ones after police officers fired live ammunition to #EndSARS protesters in Ogbomoso on Sunday have come under unbridled police intimidation, according to People's Gazette.

The online news outlet reported that the police leadership stepped in after Taiwo Adeoye and Moshood' Akeju' Abdulganiu were killed by officers, prevailing on their families not to pursue an investigation into the killings.

Babalola Sarafa, a police superintendent and divisional police officer in Ogbomoso, successfully hustled the families into swearing affidavits, rejecting an autopsy on the victims and demanding their immediate burial.

The families were also compelled to swear that they do not want the police murder of their loved ones investigated or prosecuted.

The DPO quickly wrote to LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, asking the chief medical director to release the bodies to the families for burial immediately.

But the plot was thwarted after Hussein Afolabi, a criminal law expert who has been advising the families, told the families the implications of going ahead with the police's scheme.

Babalola and the Force Headquarters did not return separate requests seeking comments from the Gazette on Thursday evening.

Adeoye and Abdulganiu were murdered by police officers when they joined other citizens to participate in the worldwide march to demand an end to police brutality in downtown Ogbomoso, a historic Yoruba settlement just 100 kilometres north of Ibadan.

While Abdulganiu was killed at the protest venue, Adeoye was murdered when residents besieged the palace of the town's traditional ruler to mourn the dead and challenge police's use of lethal force in responding to their protests.

The previous day, residents of the town had witnessed similar chaos when police fatally shot Jimoh Isiaq, a 20-year-old technical apprentice. Isiaq was summarily buried in line with his Muslim faith, preempting autopsy.

But the circumstances that surrounded the killing of Adeoye and Abdulganiu were more fluid and consequential for both the police and the Nigerian government.

For one, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, was present at the palace when Adeoye was killed. He had made an emergency trip to Ogbomoso, his hometown, to condole with the families of Mr Isiaq and encourage peace in the #EndSARS protest.

But when the community youth descended on the palace with the corpse of Abdulganiu, Dare's police orderlies and soldiers reportedly opened fire in a bid to save their principal, killing Adeoye and wounding several others, witnesses told Peoples Gazette.

Shortly after he hurried out of the palace, Dare moved to take charge of emerging narrative out of Ogbomoso, tweeting without evidence that the protesters were hoodlums who tried to kill, maim and wreck the palace.

The minister's tweetstorm was silent on how his orderlies opened fire, much fewer condolences and investigation.

The police's handling of the matter and Dare's apparent cover-up tactics provided a serious ground for a thorough investigation, but the officer saw the families as less challenging to intimidate into helping them suppress autopsy, Gazette's findings showed.

Governor Seyi Makinde had promised a thorough investigation into the violence unleashed against the protesters by the police when he visited the deceased's families on Tuesday, including an autopsy and ballistic examinations.

Fearful of all potential inquiries into the killings, Sarafa approached the families, after discussing with Ogbomoso area commander, Yemi Oyeniyi, and Oyo police commissioner, Nwachukwu Enwonwu, police sources said.

The police asked Adeyemi Adeoye, a member of Adeoye's family, to swear an affidavit for his body's release without an autopsy.

Fasilat Abdulganiu and Lawal Tajudeen, who described themselves as members of Abdulganiu's family, also swore affidavit for the release of his remains without an autopsy.

The affidavits were sworn between October 13 and 14, and Sarafa subsequently wrote to the chief medical director of LAUTECH Teaching Hospital to release the bodies.

But after Afolabi caught wind of the plot, he asked the families to withdraw the affidavit from the police and allow investigations to continue.

"The police have no powers to compel a family to swear an affidavit against an autopsy," Afolabi said.

"We will ensure that justice is done in this case."

The newspaper confirmed that LAUTECH Teaching Hospital had conducted autopsies for the victims, and preliminary reports would be made public shortly.

The intimidation of both families came as Nigerians are demanding a thorough investigation into police's handling of the #EndSARS protesters across the country, which Amnesty International said had left at least ten killed by officers.

The End Insecurity Now protest is regrouping in Kano after suspected thugs attacked protesters on the streets, injuring many and destroying protest banners.

Thugs disrupted the protest meant to begin Thursday morning across the 19 northern states.

“We were marching peacefully when thugs and hoodlums invaded the protest, injuring up to 30 people, tearing our banners,” a protester Dr Mohammed Ibrahim told Daily Trust in Kano.

They were attacked along BUK Road at Kofar Famfo.

The movement had issued public notice of its protest to begin Thursday and informed police for protection.

Protesters said police abandoned them at the start of the attack.

“The police was supposed to be guarding us, because we had told them exactly the roads we would be following,” a protester said.

They say police reappeared after the attack, and protesters are regrouping to resume.

The End Insecurity Now protest has also been on in Kaduna, protesting banditry, kidnapping, rapes, Boko Haram insurgency and killings in the region.

By Abubakar Ahmadu Maishanu

A retired police officer, Fulani Kwajafa, who championed the formation of the now-disbanded Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) has said that he regrets creating it.

He also said that the police formation had derailed from what it was created to do at inception

Mr Kwajafa, in an interview with BBC Hausa Service Thursday programme, said SARS was formed when the then military head of state Muhammadu Buhari ordered the then Inspector-General of Police, Etim Inyang, to come up with a strategy to fight rampant armed-robbery incidents in the country.

Mr Inyang served as IGP between 1983 to 1986. He was preceded in office by Sunday Adewusi while Gambo Jimeta succeeded him.

How SARS was formed

Mr Kwajafa said there was an upsurge in violent criminal activities which prompted then military head of state, Mr Buhari, to direct Mr Inyang and his lieutenants to do anything to stem the tide of armed robbery incidents in the country or lose their job.

“The IGP called me that we should do something to save the country from armed robbery incidents; I accepted the offer and requested for time and materials. I then mobilised personnel for the task,” Mr Kwajafa recounted.

”Four months after the formation of SARS in 1984, the unit flushed out the criminals and there was peace all over following the successful operation,” he said.

Regrets

The retired police officer said he was disturbed by the stories he heard about how the disbanded SARS operatives violated the rights of Nigerians and even killed some of them.

“The stories I am hearing about the activities of SARS is damaging; I ruled that even among the SARS there are armed robbers,” Mr Kwajafa said.

Nigerian Army threatens decisive action against “subversive elements, trouble makers”
#EndSARS protests signifies impending revolution – Shehu Sani

“This is not the SARS we formed in the 80s, I use to be ashamed that I am the person that created the SARS because of their activities, had it been I knew such things will happen, I could not have created the unit, Mr Kwajafa added.

He said those that knew the activities of initial SARS will say it’s Mr Kwajafa that formed it.

He said the controversial police unit had derailed from its official rules of engagement and responsibilities.

Endless #EndSARS protests

There have been several protests across some cities in the country calling for extensive police reforms, end to police brutality, extortion, intimidation, harassment, among other vices, levelled against the Nigeria Police Force.

The protests have created some casualties. The Amnesty International conservatively put the figure of those who have died so far, at least as, 10.

In their separate reactions to the ongoing protests, the IGP, Mohammed Adamu, has disbanded SARS and replaced it with SWATS while President Muhammadu Buhari has acceded to the Five-Point Demand of the protesters.

Mr Buhari also promised extensive police reforms but yet to spell out the details of how the reforms will go and when.

As of the time of filing this report, the protests were still ongoing.

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

Intels Services Nigeria Limited has terminated the employment of no fewer than 600 workers in Rivers and Warri operational areas after it recently declared 30 workers redundant.

In a swift reaction, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, Wednesday, gave the management of Intels a seven-day ultimatum to withdraw the sack letters and recall the affected workers or face total shut down of its operations nationwide.

Vanguard gathered that the affected workers were mostly employees of Associate Maritime Services, AMS, a subsidiary of Intels, reportedly sacked three days ago leading to industrial unrest by aggrieved workers since Monday.

In a letter of ultimatum to the Managing Director, Intels Nig. Ltd, Onne Port, Rivers State, Secretary-General of MWUN, Felix Akingboye, said: “Over the years the welfare benefits of your employees (Intels Nig. Ltd.) and that of your subsidiary Company, AMS, has always been the product of joint negotiation between your Management and the Union.

“In other words, the employees of the Principal (Intels Nigeria Ltd) and its subsidiary, AMS, enjoy the same welfare benefits.

“Recently, your management declared about 30 of its employees redundant and the Union was duly consulted, and a joint communiqué between management and the union was issued after due negotiation.

“Regrettably, however, we are informed that your management has terminated its contract with AMS which has led to over 600 workers (who are our members) being declared redundant without due recourse to the Union for the negotiation of their terminal benefits.

“Letters of termination/redundancy, we are informed, had already been served on the workers. This unfair labour practice is not acceptable to us.

“I have been directed to issue your management with a seven-day notice effective from the date of this ultimatum, within which to withdrawal all the letters of termination/redundancy served on the workers and recall them to duty, otherwise we shall be compelled to withdraw our services from your terminal at the expiration of the notice.”

The union added that “we demand that status quo ante should remain, pending when a management/Union meeting is convened to negotiate their exit and payment of terminal benefits.”

Niyi Akinnaso

ORDINARILY, the celebration of a nation’s independence anniversary is an occasion for reckoning and self-assessment. The nation’s gains and failures are evaluated by the government and the governed. In the process, gifts are exchanged between the government and the people. Such gifts are often symbolic, rather than material.

The government’s symbolic gifts are often packaged in a speech by the nation’s leader, as witnessed on the occasion of Nigeria’s independence anniversary on October 1, 2020. Perhaps unkowingly, the President invited symbolic gifts of counsel from the citizens in Paragraph 9 of his speech: “Sixty years of nationhood provides an opportunity to ask ourselves questions on the extent to which we have sustained the aspirations of our founding fathers. Where did we do the right things? Are we on course? If not, where did we stray and how can we remedy and retrace our steps?” The gifts of counsel discussed below are various attempts to identify where things went wrong and how they could be remedied.

As usual, one-time military Head of State and two-term President, General Olusegun Obasanjo, initiated the series of citizens’ symbolic gifts on September 11, 2020. The shattered debris of the World Trade Centre, plane-bombed by a terrorist attack on the United States on September 11, 2001, lurked in the background as a coincidental backdrop for Obasanjo’s warning against the disintegration of Nigeria in the face of what he aptly described as “mismanagement of diversity and socio-economic development of our country”.

The “mismanagement” has engendered various indices of possible failure-terrorism, banditry, sectarianism, nepotism, kidnapping, religious and ethnic bigotry, a depressed economy, rising inflation, separatist agitations, and so on. The thrust of Obasanjo’s statement was a call to mend broken and breaking fences in order to avert state failure, realising that “… even if Nigeria is broken up, the separated parts will still be neighbors … they will have to find accommodation as neighbors or they will be ever at war.”

Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, followed with an endorsement of Obasanjo’s advice and chastised government functionaries for the insolent response in which Obasanjo was described, among other things, as “Divider-in-Chief”.

A few days later, Lt. General Alani Akinrinade, former Chief of Army Staff and later Chief of Defence Staff, offered his own gift of counsel to Buhari through Lt General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, the present Chief of Army Staff, on the occasion of the latter’s visit to commission projects in Osun, Akinrinade’s home state.

After highlighting popular public perception of President Buhari in mainstream and social media as an ethnic bigot, a religious fundamentalist, a purveyor of lopsided appointments, and a failed fighter against terrorism, Akinrinade called on him to take charge: “He needs to stand on his table against the motley crowd of advisers and take a firm stand on their organisation of our country, physically, politically, economically and socially.” The veiled reference to Buhari’s aloofness, torpidity, and tardiness cannot be missed in Akinriande’s speech. The key solution he suggested is the restructuring of the country, which he likened to “reorganisation” in the Army.

More recently, three respected clergymen came up independently with their own offerings, all reinforcing a similar message to President Buhari: Act quickly to avoid disaster in the face of various problems facing the country today.

Admitting that “Nigeria is sick unto death”, Catholic Bishop Emeritus of Lagos, Cardinal-Priest, Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, highlighted four significant sources of downfall to avoid, namely, (1) selfishness; (2) falsehood; (3) the 1999 Constitution; and (4) “those who would manipulate our ethnic, religious and regional differences to attain and remain in power”. Echoes of Obasanjo’s and Akinrinade’s gifts are unmistakable.


The Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah, sees Nigeria literally as “a pool of blood”, starting with the cold-blooded murder of our first Prime Minister, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, in the name of a military coup in 1966. Today, “After 60 years of bloodletting, blood has become embedded in our culture of existence”, Kukah added. He concluded that “our country now looks like a boiling pot in which everyone is trying to escape” owing to disrespect for the nation’s Constitution, sectionalism, and failure to fulfill campaign promises.

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, completes the trilogy of gifts by Men of God. Without mincing words, he advised the Federal Government to pay immediate attention to restructuring the country in order to provide a lasting solution to Nigeria’s economic challenges and separatist agitations. Adeboye recommended adaptation of aspects of presidential and parliamentary systems as well as the inclusion of traditional rulers in governance, by constituting a House of Chiefs.

The language of the above presentations may appear strident, conveying a sense of urgency. Nevertheless, the call for restructuring the country is an old song. Two national conferences have even been held, each suggesting various forms of modification of the current structure.

Central to these suggestions is the need to restructure the country in order to make it more governable and more responsive to the people’s yearnings and aspirations. This was also the key message of the Nigeria Governors Forum, as echoed by its Chairman, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, following the meeting of all 36 state governors last week. The Governors called for two types of restructuring. One, they want their present loans restructured. Two, they want the country restructured. Specifically, they called for the devolution of powers and fiscal federalism.

The average age of the six interventionists discussed earlier is 80! The Buhari administration may not always agree with their views. However, dismissing them with a wave of the hand and calling any of them names is the height of insolence, as acknowledged by Professor Soyinka: “In place of reasoned response and openness to some serious dialogue, what this nation has been obliged to endure has been insolent distractions from garrulous and coarsened functionaries, apologists and sectarian opportunists.”

By rejecting the gifts of counsel and remaining impervious to the calls for restructuring, Buhari is perpetuating widespread public perception of a sectarian leader, who panders largely to a particular ethnic group. The persistent resistance of leaders of that ethnic group to restructuring is all too familiar.

Yet, restructuring would have been Buhari’s major legacy had he listened. But whether he does or not, this country will be restructured sooner or later.

President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, initiated moves to unbundle the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and create a new body, Proceeds of Crime Recovery and Management Agency.

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, who read a letter from President Buhari on the proposed bill tagged: “Proceeds of Crime Bill” said it would address the problem of lack of transparency and accountability associated with the management of recovered funds by anti-corruption agencies in the country.

Buhari in the letter explained that the transmission of the piece of legislation to the National Assembly for consideration followed its approval by the Federal Executive Council.

According to the letter dated October 6, the agency would be critical in sustaining the fight against corruption, money laundering and illicit movement of stolen funds through the banking system and across Nigerian borders.

“An important feature of the bill is the creation of the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Agency. The objects of the agency include the enforcement and administration of the provisions of the bill and the coordination of the recovery and management of the proceeds and instrumentalities of unlawful activity in Nigeria in all collaboration with anti-corruption and other law enforcement agencies.


“Most importantly, the agency will ensure that Nigerians can benefit from proceeds of crime by ensuring that once recovery is made, the properties and assets will be secured and that the final forfeitures granted through a court order can be paid into the Confiscated and Forfeited Account to be domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

If signed into law, the bill will stop the EFCC and six other anti-corruption agencies from securing freezing orders on suspicious bank accounts under investigation

The other agencies, include Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC); National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA); Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU); National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP); Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and the police.

“The Proceeds of Crime Bill is essential and critical in building and enduring and sustainable foundation for the fight against corruption, money laundering and illicit movement of stolen funds through the banking system and across the Nigerian borders. The bill will also improve the ability of law enforcement agencies to seize, freeze, and confiscated stolen assets in Nigeria while observing all related constitutional and human rights laws,” the President said.

When the Bukola Saraki-led senate passed the bill last year, the EFCC, headed by suspended acting chairman, Ibrahim Magu, opposed it and urged President Buhari to reject it.

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tuesday joined the protests calling for wider reforms of the Nigeria police following the disbandment of the infamous Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) after the outcry by Nigerian youths.

Sanwo-Olu was seen among protesters on the street of Lagos matching against the brutality of the unit of the police.

Nigerians across states have been protesting for days against the actions of SARS which has led to the death of some citizens.

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The Independent National Electoral Commission has presented certificate of return to Ondo Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and the Deputy Governor-elect, Lucky Ayedatiwa.

Ondo Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ambassador Rufus Akeju, who presented the certificate of return to Akeredolu and Aiyedatiwa, urged the Governor to continue to provide basic services, basic amenities and infrastructure for the masses.

Akeredolu hailed the electoral body for conducting free and fair elections.

Akeredolu pledged to provide more infrastructural development across the state.

New refining capacities expected to come on stream in Nigeria and other African countries in the next few years may increase pressure on existing plants on the continent, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has said.

OPEC, in its newly released 2020 World Oil Outlook, estimated refining capacity additions between 2020 and 2025 at around 5.2 million barrels per day based on the review of announced and planned refinery projects.

“Significant capacity additions are also expected in Africa in the medium-term period. Additions of new refining capacity are clearly in line with oil demand growth expectations, which show positive trends in most developing countries,” it said.

According to the report, the additions expected in Africa total around 0.8 million bpd or 15 per cent of the global volume.

It said, “The largest project expected to come online is the Dangote refinery in Nigeria in 2022, as well as several smaller projects in Egypt and Algeria.

“This significant increase in refining capacity is somewhat larger than incremental demand in the medium-term and could help to reduce product imports, especially in West Africa.”

According to OPEC, in Latin America and Africa, there are a number of old and inefficient refineries that have relatively low utilisation rates.

It said, “The new refining capacities, which are projected to come online in the medium to long-term, may increase pressure on these existing plants with two ways out – either closure or refurbishment.

“Both markets are expected to grow considerably, which would support refurbishment of older plants. However, due to the lack of financing and rising internal competition, some of these plants may be closed in the coming years.”

The oil cartel noted that the crisis caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 might lead to delays of some projects in this outlook, thus shifting commissioning dates from the first period towards the second half of the medium-term.

“Furthermore, the uncertainty is even higher for projects in the second half of the medium-term period. Consequently, it is possible that some projects expected to go online in the medium-term period may become operational only after 2025,” it added.

OPEC said the expected start-up of new refining capacity in Africa in the medium term could reduce exports from Europe to the continent.

Africa is projected to add 2.9 million bpd of distillation capacity by 2045, according to OPEC.

It said while the refining capacity additions in the medium-term are estimated at 0.8 million bpd, refinery additions in the period 2025–2030 are expected to be above 0.9 million bpd.

A family member of a 13-year-old girl has narrated how the victim was abducted and gang-raped by seven men gang in the old Port Harcourt town axis of Rivers State.

The victim’s elder sister, Charity Isaiah, who spoke on a radio station, 92.3 Nigeria Info, in Port Harcourt on Thursday, said the teenager was also battered.

Charity explained that one of the alleged rapists was their neighbour, adding that he called the young girl as if he wanted to send her on an errand.

The sister also alleged that her young sister was abducted for three months and was only found on September 18.

Charity said, “That evening she wanted to have a bath, the guy called her as though he wanted to send her a message. The guy then changed her clothes; wore his own on her and used something to cover her face.

“Together with his friends, they took her somewhere, where they slept with her every day. They gave her hard drugs to take and she was just there.”

She urged the police not to compromise in the investigation of the alleged crime.

The state police spokesman, Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed the incident, adding, “We are still investigating the matter.”

Oe Udoh Okon has allegedly killed his wife by bathing her in acid at the Mbiakpan Ikot Edim village in the Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa State.

It was gathered that the incident happened on Friday as the man allegedly poured acid on his wife as a result of a minor disagreement and fled to an unknown destination.

According to a source, the wife was rushed to an undisclosed hospital in Uyo by good Samaritans, where she died on Saturday as a result of severe acid burns.

The source told our correspondent on Sunday that one Solomon Martins, a vigilante, and his colleagues heard the woman screaming for help around 1pm near their duty posts and rushed to the scene.

“On getting there, they discovered that the man poured acid on her and ran away,” the source added.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Odiko Macdon, who confirmed the incident, said the police, with the assistance of the youth, had launched a manhunt for Okon, adding that he would soon be apprehended.

He said the Commissioner of police, Andrew Amiengheme, was miffed at the incident, wondering why a man would commit such a wicked act against his wife with whom he had raised children.

Macdon stated, “I can confirm that information to be true and the husband, who bathed his wife with acid, unfortunately has absconded. I will like to say that the police are closed to apprehending him. The police are not working alone but with the assistance of the youths of the community, and they have vowed to ensure that justice is done.

“It is an unfortunate incident; the Commissioner of Police is miffed at the development and has vowed to ensure that family values are respected in the state. He gave an assurance that such form of domestic violence or any other form of violence would not be tolerated in the state.”

By Wale Odunsi


Sunday Dare, Minister of Youths and Sports, has been attacked.

He and others including the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Oladunni Oyewumi, were stoned on Sunday.

The incident occurred at a meeting at the monarch’s palace.

Dare gave a brief of the incident on Twitter.

The minister noted that the youths demanding End SARS are peaceful but that the protests have been hijacked.

“Hoodlums, thugs & miscreants disrupted stakeholders meeting in Soun’s palace now-invading, stoning and breaking doors, glasses.

“Soun, myself and council chiefs were scurried into safety by the police and DSS. Ogbomoso youth are law-abiding. But hoodlums have taken over”, he tweeted.

The spokesman for the ruling All Progressives Congress has blamed the Peoples Democratic Party for creating the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the police which was scrapped by the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, on Sunday.

The spokesman for the APC, Yekini Nabena, said this in a series of tweets on Sunday while reacting to the scrap of the police outfit.

“Who created SARS? PDP,” Nabena tweeted.

Nabena, in a further statement signed on behalf of the APC, said the scrapping of SARS showed the resolve of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to ensure police reforms.

He, therefore, called on civil society organisations and Nigerians as a whole to work with the IG to ensure that the reforms are holistic.

The APC spokesman wrote, “The APC welcomes the disbandment of the Special Anti Robbery Squad and views the responsive decision as a major and concrete step towards. President Muhammadu Buhari affirmed resolve to achieve better policing and necessary reforms.

“From the recent #BlackLivesMatter social movement to other global clamours for review of police operations particularly in regard to citizens they are empowered to protect, the need for police reforms in Nigeria is urgent and continuous.

“With benefit of experience and public outcry over the operations of the now disbanded SARS, the APC is confident that the new policing arrangement promised by the Inspector-General of Police, Adamu Mohammed, will balance the need to effectively combat armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes in the country and ensure humane, professional and accountable police operations.

“We call on Nigerians to take advantage of the citizens’ and strategic stakeholders’ forum which is being formed to regularly interface with Police leadership at all levels and advise on police activities as they affect the general public.”

THE decision of the Federal Government to reactivate old grazing routes across the country as part of measures to end herders-farmers clashes has sparked angry reactions from the governors, ethnic groups and bodies which condemn the decision as divisive and one that can lead to anarchy.

Sunday Tribune also authoritatively gathered on Saturday that the decision is not on the table of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) though the president claimed he held discussions with state governors.

An authoritative source privy to the operations of the NGF, who spoke to Sunday Tribune on the directive issued by President Muhammadu Buhari on fresh plans to recover the grazing routes observed that at no time did the Governors’ Forum deliberate on the subject matter, urging that the forum should not be dragged into such controversy.

According to the source who pleaded anonymity, since the power on Land Use as encapsulated in the 1999 Constitution is vested in the state governors, the NGF is insulated from taking any decision on how each state should run its affairs.

He, however, stressed that the onus is on the presidency to give details of the “recovery” of grazing routes in order to allay fears of Nigerians.

The source further observed that the forum is a platform where collective decision is taken on behalf of subnational government rather than individual issue.

Reacting to development, Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, on Saturday, restated the opposition of the state to RUGA settlement or similar policy proposed by the Federal Government.

Speaking to Sunday Tribune, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Terver Akase, said there is no need to have a discussion with the Federal Government over its renewed determination to trace old grazing routes and hand them over the Fulani herdsmen.

According to him, the people and government of Benue State a long time ago rejected RUGA and their opposition to the programme stands.

“The people and Benue State government rejected RUGA a long time ago. So, we don’t see ourselves embracing it. There is no going back on that,” he said.

On the money voted for RUGA, the governor reiterated his call for the antigraft agency to probe the RUGA contract. According to the governor, contracts were awarded and money was appropriated for it. “Is it not in order that questions be asked regarding how the funds were spent? Benue is not part of states to rediscover grazing route,” he said.

He said that there is no gazetted grazing route in Benue, adding that the president could not be referring to the state if he actually gave such directive.


Elder statesman and Afenifere chieftain, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, says the Federal Government’s renewed interest in RUGA system has shown President Buhari has not abandoned his quest to take over people’s land for cattle herders rather than ending clashes between cattle owners and farmers.

“Does this not show that the Federal Government has not abandoned its quest to take over land in states as routes for cattle herders?

Is RUGA policy, which has taken off in some states, not about taking care of the cattle herders rather than ending their clashes with farmers?

“We know. It is only those who are stubborn that will not know. All we are saying is that, has he got the constitutional right to do so? It is just going to cause constitutional crisis.

“Under the Land Use Act, he cannot. The governor of a state has the power. When we say the man is desperate to rule as a dictator, Nigerians think we are joking. All he is doing now is the plan made under the military regime by the section of the country controlling the country.

“That is why we are doing all the hue and cry. He is imposing a constitution written by some section of the country for the country. This is not our constitution but an imposed constitution.

“Unless they restructure the country now, the country will break. He is being defiant. He cannot get that done solely because it has to pass through the legislative arm. Secondly, he has to change the constitution.

“What happens to the money the Federal Government is spending on RUGA if they are still working on routes for the cattle to graze?

“The moment he still has the power, that is what he is doing. That is why most of us are saying they must change the constitution now. He wants to commit the nation.

“We say oil is no longer profitable, but he is using the money to explore oil in the North. He is spending the money they have not got. And that is part of restructuring.

“If we restructure the country and we share the money according to derivation, he can’t use all these monies. So, when we are talking about restructuring, people don’t understand.

“We are saying go back to federalism, go back to the constitution the founding fathers agreed to before Independence and I could mention the constitution agreed to by Sardauna Ahmadu Bello, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Tafawa Balewa.

“We cannot deny it because the constitution we use now is imposed on us by the military in 1966. It is a military constitution. That is why he is allowing the Fulani herdsmen going to every nook and cranny of the South armed.”


Plan, invitation to anarchy —Middle Belt Forum

Also reacting, the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has described the directive as retrogression and an invitation to anarchy. This is just as the Berom Educational and Cultural Organisation (BECO) says such decision would trigger more problems and further create more routes for terrorists to flood the country.

MBF’s national president, Dr Bitrus Pogu, said the government was not realistic in its directive, nothing that rather than move the country forward, it would engender retrogression.

“This government is not always realistic in anything it does and this is unfortunate. Where are the cattle routes today? Even the Central Business District of Abuja may be a cattle route. Instead of moving forward, this government is retrogressive.

“Instead of cattle ranch, they want to create cattle routes so that cattle from all over West Africa will be traversing Nigeria. Does the government want to take people to the medieval age?

“What is wrong with ranching? This government invested a lot in providing facilities for Fulani to change their style to ranching and stay in one place and provide folders for their animals,” he said.

Pogu strongly advised government to rather retrace its step and move with modern ways of doing things.

Also speaking, a university lecturer and secretary of the Plateau State Ranching Committee, Professor John Wade, said the decision was welcomed, but called for dialogues among stakeholders.

According to him, what will make the directive an uphill task to accomplish is that most of the routes are no longer in existence since they have been overtaken by development.

“The other impossibility is that some of the routes are already overtaken by development. For example most of the gigantic structures you are seeing today like Aso Rock, Sheraton Hotel might have been built on old cattle routes. So, it will be impossible to reclaim them.

“Where the problem can escalate is where the old route is already overtaken by development. It will be difficult to just go and override them. But those routes that are still intact and fall within gazetted grazing reserve, these ones can be properly utilized, developed and integrated into the ranching programme. It is a question of socio-economic conflict,” he said.

He further warned that there must be consultation with the stakeholders at the different levels to avoid problem because many of the routes pass through one indigenous routes or the other. BECO, through its leader, Mr Gyang Dudu, said the directive would not see the light of day.

“The truth is that government is not being sincere; they are directing their energy to protect one section of the country against the other. This will only favour the Fulani and that is all. The cattle business is individual business, why is government concerned about private business? Government should avoid what will trigger more problems; they should think beyond old standard,” he said.


Afenifere flays Buhari’s govt

While condemning the decision, pan-Yoruba sociopolitical group, Afenifere, described such move as an agenda to which President Muhammadu Buhari’s is “incorrigibly committed.”

National publicity secretary of Afenifere, Mr Yinka Odumakin, told Sunday Tribune, that Buhari had not, in the five years he has been in office, shown commitment to anything that can unite Nigerians, except playing the interest of one ethnic group against the other.

According to Afenifere’s spokesperson, the new move to revive the grazing routes and reserves in pursuant of RUGA is an agenda in Buhari’s government’s “we” and “them” order to which it is “incorrigibly committed.”

This was just as he said that the Southern and Middle- Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) was already in court to challenge the move to foist on the people of Nigeria such an order having to do with grazing routes and reserves.

Speaking further, Odumakin said the money so far committed to RUGA meant nothing, being proceeds from oil and gas.

“The money they are spending on RUGA means nothing as it is proceeds of oil and gas. It is the agenda they are running that matters,” he said.


Nobody has contacted us for discussion on grazing route —Lagos govt

The Lagos State government has said that it is yet to be contacted by the Federal Government for any discussion in respect of reviving the grazing routes and reserves across the country as indicated in the statement issued by the presidency.

The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, made this known while speaking to Sunday Tribune by telephone, saying that no message has been received so far whether from the minister or any other source.

Omotoso, however, said the state government would know what to say when such contact was eventually made.

“No message has been sent to Lagos, whether from the ministers or any other source, Lagos hasn’t got anything yet. So, I mean if they come to Lagos, come to us, we know what to say. But nobody has come to discuss anything with us,” he said.


Buhari’s directive political —Gan Allah

In his own reaction, the national secretary of Gan Allah Fulani Development Association (GAFDA), Ibrahim Abdullahi, has described the directive by President Buhari on RUGA as a political statement.

Speaking in an interview on Saturday, Abdullahi noted that no government, previous or current, has taken real measure to end the issue of grazing in the country.

According to him, “some people in government will just coin phrases like RUGA, colony and so on purportedly to bring confusion in the land and make it look as if these policies are meant to benefit the Fulani alone.

“We are always at the receiving end. But no government official has contacted us about the recent statement made by President Buhari that he wants to reclaim grazing routes that had been taken or destroyed.”

The Fulani leader noted that what the country needed is a livestock development programme which would involve every Nigerian since animal husbandry is now a business and not the sole right of a particular tribe.

He alleged that the last Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, compounded the whole thing by demanding that every state should give 500 hectares of land for the RUGA.

“You see this is a political statement. If you are demanding such land from the state governments, no governor will agree to this demand. Whose land will the governor take for this project?

“Ogbeh should have known that there are some grazing reserves that were created by the colonial masters. So, we all know that these reserves were made to serve for the rearing of animals.

“When Sardauna came, he paid compensation to all the people whose land was taken and converted them to grazing reserves. The 1965 grazing reserves laws provided for that.

“Now, for you to come and say governors should give 500 hectares while the grazing reserves that are supposed to be the property of the pastorialists were not developed or gazetted, it is just politics or any attempt to create confusion.

“So, all these grazing reserves should be gazetted and then handed over to the Fulani. Then those who have not benefitted, it is then you think of additional land,” he said.

By Emmanuel Elebeke



The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami says the substitution of NIPOST with the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS in the collection of Stamp Duty is an injustice to the Post that must be fought to until it is reversed.

The Minister made the observation at the weekend while marking the 2020 World Post day in Abuja.

Pantami said the injustice meted out to NIPOST only came to his notice after the final decision had been taken but vowed to fight the injustice until reversed in the interest of NIPOST.

‘‘I came to know what happened to stamp duty when the final decision had been taken, the same with the chair Senate committee. She was not aware and she was in the National Assembly. Sometimes, some chief executives fail to inform you at the right time to make a decision.


‘‘I was outside the country when it happened, though I reached out to the president of the Senate at that time it was absolutely late. Sometimes, when your CEO fails to notify about certain things, this is what usually happens. Otherwise, this bill was initiated by NIPOST, not by any other institution of government, it was taken to National Assembly by NIPOST.

‘‘At the initial stage, we got the endorsement of the minister of finance supervising the institution collecting tax, and I have a copy of the letter and she officially endorsed NIPOST to collect stamps duties. But when NIPOST started the process, they collected some money, then other tax collectors came and along the process. They went and hijacked the process before the final decision and the name of NIPOST was substituted with another.

‘‘On this, I personally wrote a letter to Mr. President over five times and I engaged my boss, President Buhari, three times physically on this. I raised the issue in Federal Executive Chamber at least four times and I have written a letter to the minister of finance at least three times.

‘‘We will continue to fight for the impression. I hate injustice and I don’t tolerate injustice. I assume you will fight for you legally until the injustice is done.’’

On the ongoing NIPOST reform, the Minister said the post had already been unbundled into three units and is only waiting for approval of the take-off fund.

‘‘Our Postal service is on the verge of being transformed. As I came into office, I realize the challenges facing NIPOST were higher than any other Parastatal under the ministry of communication and the digital economy.

‘‘Firstly because of their staff capacity is more than 12, 800 staff. Secondly, they exist in each and every local government meaning they have offices in 774 places, thirdly there is no government support when it comes to budget, moreover, NIPOST has been made to generate itself.


Looking at the dilapidated nature of the structures in the country, I realize immediately that we have a lot of challenges to tackle. One of the initiatives we came up with was giving my approval to unbundle the NIPOST.

‘‘I personally approved the establishment of the branches under NIPOST; NIPOST Transport and logistics company, NIPOST property Company and NIPOST microfinance Bank. So far, two of this company have started and we are in touch with Mr. President on how to get the take-off grant to start their activities.’’

While implementing the reforms, Pantami said the focus is to create a regulator and make operators fully independent in line with the global best practice based on modern based practice.

‘‘For me, operators should be independent of the regulator but in NIPOST what has been inherited is the same institution regulates and operate. This is contrary to global best practices. Hence, with the support of our leaders and the National Assembly, particularly the chairman of our committee, we are working on a NIPOST reform bill which would create regulator.’’

Earlier in his address, the Postmaster General of NIPOST, Dr. Ismail Adebayo Adewusi said the NIPOST is determined to ensuring the success of the Government’s reform effort of the Postal Industry, especially the unbundling of organization into strategic companies which it believed would not only create job opportunities for Nigerians but would equally provide more revenue to the government to enable it to carry out its functions effectively.

He assured that the Post would continue to explore various ways and means to make the Postal Industry in Nigeria a very important player and valuable partner in the development of the nation’s economy through its activities.

This year’s World Post Day celebration marks the 146th anniversary of the creation of the Universal Postal Union, a specialized agency of the United Nations founded on October 9, 1874.

World Post Day is a day set aside to celebrate the establishment of the union.

The day also represents an opportunity for postal authorities in all countries of the world to educate government officials and the public of the important and invaluable contributions which Postal services make in the socio-economic development of nations.

The highlight of the programmes was the public presentation of the compendium of Nigerian Postage stamps 1914-2014, performed by the Minister for Communication and Digital Economy; Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Patami).

The National Security Adviser to the President retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno, says N712 billion has remained unaccounted for by former officials of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

Monguno stated this when he addressed State House correspondents after presenting the recently appointed interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, retired Col. Milland Dokio, to President Muhammadu Buhari, at the State House, Abuja on Friday.

He frowned at the way and manner the amnesty programme was plagued by a lot of corruption, waste and mismanagement of funds by the previous administrators.

He said: “A lot of things happened to catapult the whole programme into other issues that originally were not intended.

“The predatory instincts of certain individuals came into the fore and the programme was turned upside down and, as a result of this, as the administrator has just said, there was a lot of corruption, waste, the mismanagement within this period.

“A whopping N712 billion was wasted basically unaccounted for, and this is due to so many issues, corruption being the main.

“Now, we realised that if the focus of the people, who are supposed to drive this programme, is to capsize the programme by allowing their own personal interest to come in, then we are all going to be in trouble because the Niger Delta is in trouble and, consequently, it will extend to the rest of the federation.

“I had to take this step to advise Mr President that this waste cannot go on, this programme is not supposed to be an open-ended programme.

“There is no place on the surface of this earth where programmes that are supposed to be palliatives will continue forever,’’ he said.

The NSA further explained that he recommended the interim Administrator to the president because the programme needed someone who would not be pushed around and would not also succumb to socio-cultural and political issues.

He said: “The idea is to bring someone with the strength of character, sense of purpose, someone who is able to deal with this from the short, medium to long term.

“Someone who is not going to be pushed around; someone that will not succumb to socio cultural-political issues, and someone to clean up the stable and stabilise the region for the people of the Niger Delta region.

“I must also add that he has been receiving a lot of cooperation, help from certain ministries, like the ministry of transportation, environment and, of course, as time goes on, other people will key in.”

Monguno expressed the hope that the new administrator would address the endemic corruption facing the programme as soon as possible.

In his remarks, the new administrator of the Amnesty programme, tired Col. Milland Dokio, pledged to refocus the programme to its original mandate of developing and securing the Niger Delta region.

According to him, the ultimate success of the Amnesty programme lies in its ability to move ex-agitators from their previous lifestyles to sustainable livelihoods as peaceful members of their communities and net contributors to the economy.

There is uncertainty about the fate of the chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu and five commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as their tenure ends on November 9, this year.

This comes as 31 days to the end of their tenure, processes for the renewal or appointment of a new chairman and commissioners have not commenced.

The appointment of the chairman of INEC and commissioners entails nomination by the president, ratification by the Council of State and confirmation by the Senate. A process analysts say could take some time to conclude.

However, it was gathered that underground scheming over the position of chairman has commenced.

There are speculations that an influential politician is responsible for the inaction on the matter.

Reports say the politician is plotting to plant someone in that position as part of efforts to actualize his 2023 ambition.

Also, a senior government official told Daily Trust in confidence that two national commissioners are in the front line of those working to take over from Yakubu, in the event that his tenure is not renewed by President Buhari.

However, when contacted, the presidency told Daily Trust that “We are now in October’’, insinuating that there was still time to take action on the matter.

Civil Society groups have expressed concern over the development, saying any delay could affect the successes recorded in the conduct of elections in the country.

They noted that those in charge at the moment need to know their fate so that they can concentrate properly on the job and that if new appointments are going to be made, the process should have started to avoid a vacuum and also ensure that only the right persons are given the job.

If Yakubu gets the president’s nod, he would be the first INEC chairman to have a second term.

It would be recalled that the appointment of Yakubu, a professor of Political History and International Studies, was ratified after the president’s nomination during an emergency Council of State meeting held on October 21, 2015.

It was at the same meeting that the council ratified the appointments of five national commissioners; Mrs Amina Bala Zakari (Jigawa) who had acted as INEC chairman.

She now represents the North-west; Dr. Antonia Taiye Okoosi-Simbine (Kogi), North-central; Alhaji Baba Shettima Arfo (Borno), North-east; Dr. Mohammed Mustafa Lecky (Edo), South-south and Prince Adedeji Solomon Soyebi (Ogun), South-west.

The appointments of the chairman of the electoral body and five commissioners were confirmed by the Senate on October 29, 2015.

Daily Trust reports that President Muhammadu Buhari swore in Yakubu alongside the five commissioners on November 9, 2015, at the council chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, for a five year tenure.

The affairs of the country’s electoral body was handed over to Yakubu on same day by Amina Zakari, who had acted as the chairman of the commission, following the expiration of Professor Attahiru Jega’s tenure on June 31, 2015.

Except for Amina Zakari and Prince Adedeji Soyebi, Yakubu and the three national commissioners are qualified for re – appointment.

The commission is being run by the chairman, 12 national commissioners and 37 Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) who are in charge of the 36 states and FCT.

The seven national commissioners whose tenure is not lapsing on November 9 are; Air Vice Marshal Ahmed Mu’azu, Malam Mohammed Kudu Haruna, Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu, Engr. Abubakar Nahuche, Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu, Dr. Adekunle Ogunmola, and Barrister Festus Okoye.

‘Silence on renewal, appointment dangerous’
The Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said “it has become a pattern with this government that appointments and confirmation of so many agencies are not being done on timely basis, creating acting positions or not even appointing anybody though it is mandatory to appoint persons into those agencies’’.

According to him, failure to do that creates accountability gaps and affects efficient and effective running of these offices.

“Therefore, there is need for government to respect laws mandating appointments of public officials to comply with legal provisions for proper governance.

“Places like INEC must not be without proper renewal or appointments of its leadership both at the level of commissioners and chairman,” Rafsanjani said.

Also speaking, the Executive Director, Young People’s Initiative for Credible Leadership (YPICL), Comrade Abdulwahab Ekekhide, said the president should not be slow in making the appointments, as such could be dangerous for the polity.

He noted that INEC was a very important institution in the country and no vacuum should be permitted.

“INEC cannot even conduct an election without a chairman and even forming a quorum.

“We have governorship election in Anambra after Ondo, and elections can’t hold without the composition INEC.

“We urge the president to avoid a constitutional problem that could compromise our electoral process,” Ekekhide said.

The trio of the Director, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Idayat Hassan; the Chairman Partners for Electoral Reforms (PER) and Co-convener, Say No Campaign (SNC) Ezenwa Nwagwu; and the Executive Director, Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA), Faith Nwadishi, also faulted the development and called on the government to take the right action on the matter.

A political strategist and communication consultant, Dr. Abbati Bako, on his part, said the presidency may be taking its time on the appointment to ensure that things are done properly in such a way that Nigeria gets commendation from all stakeholders.


Options for Buhari – Lawyers

Speaking on the issue, Yusuf Ali (SAN), said since the tenure of the current INEC chairman is lapsing in November, an acting chairman could be appointed in his place, explaining that there is no time limit for the acting role.

Also speaking, Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud (SAN), said section 156(3) of constitution allows reappointment of the chairman and members for the same period of time.

Hameed Ajibola Jimoh Esq said Section 318 of the Nigerian Constitution, 1999 highlights the role of the Interpretation Act to the constitution which explains the powers of the president to either reappoint the INEC chairman and the commissioners, appoint other individuals or appoint persons in acting capacity.


Five INEC chairmen in 22 years

Set up by former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, in 1998 to replace the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON), INEC in the last 22 years has had five chairmen including Yakubu.

The first person to head the commission was Justice Ephraim Akpata, who was in office for only two years (1998-2000). Akpata conducted the 1999 general elections.

Following Akpata’s death in 2000, Dr. Abel Guobadia was appointed by President Olusegun Obasanjo, making him the second chairman of the commission.

Guobadia, who conducted the 2003 general elections bowed out of the commission in May 2005.

In 2005, Professor Maurice Iwu took over the chairmanship of the electoral body.

He was also appointed by Obasanjo.

Iwu, who was the third chairman of INEC conducted the 2007 general elections.

He was in charge of the commission between 2005 and 2010.

When Iwu was ousted, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan nominated a renowned political scientist from Kebbi State, Professor Attahiru Jega, as the INEC chairman on June 8, 2010.

Jega conducted two general elections, 2011 and 2015.

It was after the completion of Jega’s five years tenure that Professor Mahmood Yakubu from Bauchi State was appointed in 2015.

He conducted the 2019 general elections.


We’re in October – Presidency

Contacted on the development, the Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said: “We are now in October”.

The Council of State is expected to advise President Buhari on the appointment of new INEC Chairman.

A meeting of Council of State to be convened and chaired by President Buhari is expected to hold virtually.

The council had on August 27, 2020 ratified the appointment of two new legal practitioners as members of the Federal Judicial Service Commission.

Before the August meeting of the Council, its last meeting was on January 23, 2019, where it deliberated on issues around the 2019 general elections.

An Israeli study has suggested that mild to severe cases of the respiratory ailment arising from COVID-19 could result in reduced fertility in men. These are the findings of the study published in the medical journal ‘Fertility and Sterility’. Study author Dr. Dan Aderka of the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, told the Jerusalem Post, which first published the study, that male COVID- 19 patients with moderate disease saw a 50 per cent reduction in sperm volume, concentration and motility even 30 days post diagnosis.

Sperm motility describes the ability of sperm to move properly through the female reproductive tract or through water to reach the egg. Sperm motility can also be thought of as the quality, which is a factor in successful conception; sperm that do not “swim” properly will not reach the egg in order to fertilize it.

.According to Aderka, the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 was found in 13 per cent of the sperm of those screened. Additionally, tests of 12 COVID-19 patients who had died showed moderate to severe changes in the testicular cells supporting sperm development and others producing testosterone, which induces sperm division and multiplication.


Aderka said he believes the connection between COVID and reduced fertility is due to the fact that the SARS-CoV-2 virus binds to the ACE2 receptor on the surface of the cell of the Sertoli and Leydig cells of the testis, the ‘Newsmax’ reported. The same receptors are on the cells of lungs, kidneys and hearts. Sertoli cells support sperm maturation while Leydig cells produce testosterone. Aderka said the coronavirus binds to the ACE2 receptors and destroys the cells, which causes infertility, the report stated.

“As normal sperm maturation takes 70 to 75 days, it is possible that if we are doing a sperm examination two and a half months after recovery, we may see even more reduced fertility,”Aderka said. “It could be even more detrimental.” Aderka told the Post that it was unknown if the effects on the quality and quantity of the sperm are permanent, but said more research would be needed to establish this. He however claimed that the same patients will need to be reexamined in six months and a year from now, which his team is planning.

Labour’s push for the reversal of hike in electricity tariffs may have hit the brickwall.

This is because of the high cost of gas – the critical component used by the Generating Companies (GenCos) to power their plants.

The GenCos sell power to the Distribution Companies (DisCos) which take it to the end-users.

Highly-placed sources close to the committee set up by the Federal Government to look into the pricing of electricity said there has been no agreement among committee members as to whether gas is subsidised or not.

Labour threatens to call workers out on strike to protest last month electricity tariffs.

The setting up of a seven-man committee to review the electricity tariffs is the product of negotiation to starve off the industrial action.

The government also compelled the DisCos to put on hold for two weeks, the new tariffs to enable the committee to meet and submit a report.

The deadline for the committee expires this weekend.

The Technical Committee is made up of Minister of State for Labour and Employment Festus Keyamo, (Chairman); Minister of State Power, Godwin Jedy-Agba – member; Chairman, National Electricity Regulatory Commission, Prof. James Momoh – member and the Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Infrastructure, Ahmad Rufai Zakari as Secretary.

Others are: Dr. Onoho’Omhen Ebhohimhen – member (NLC); Deputy President of the NLC and Secretary-General, Nigeria Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Comrade Joe Ajaero – member; Comrade Chris Okonkwo – member (TUC) and a representative of Power Distribution Companies (DisCos) – member.

It was gathered that one of the recommendations on the table is a further halt in the implementation of the new tariffs beyond the two weeks.

The source said: “We have not really concluded. We will conclude this week, but the conclusion of the work of the committee this weekend cannot give us what Nigerians are looking for. It is not a factor that you just wake up and say it is this amount and it is not this amount. There are some other determinants.

“Let me give you this without making reference to the work of the committee. The greater chunk of the money is spent on gas. Gas is their main source of generation. They had to now dollarise gas before they now price it at the GenCos.

“If GenCos now allegedly buy gas in dollar, then they now pass the dollar price to consumers.

“If we are able to address this matter by looking at policy directives especially on gas pricing, if we go through that process, then definitely we are going to puncture the issue of tariff no matter what they are going to pay.

But where we are having serious divergence is on the issue of whether actually there was subsidy. Some of us said there is no subsidy but the government is claiming there is subsidy.

“These are still not things you can do within two weeks. So, the work of the committee may take more time to look at it critically. We are trying to see if there is anything we can do in order to submit our report within two weeks deadline.

“But the job that will lead to a reversal is not a job of two weeks. Some of them require policy direction.

“We will revert to the house at the end of the two weeks to submit our report. If they succeed on sitting in this freeze (suspend the implementation of the tariff) until the final report is done, fine.

“If we are able to get this minor relief until the final report is done, fine. That is what we are working on for now. We are still working but we have not fully agreed on anything to push out to the people now.”

The source said the two weeks given to the committee to work on the issue was not enough.

“We are working tomorrow through the weekend. We have done a lot of reading and consultations with stakeholders. We need to tidy up our report and submit and take another directive.

“You can’t do within two weeks and say reverse. If you know how these people are buying gas, the question will be — should they buy it at this rate? We will find out. We also need to look at the policy in the oil and gas sector in terms of dollarising gas before.

On the need to further suspend the implementation of the new tariff, another source said: “Those are things we have not agreed upon. These things are on the table, options are on the table. Before the weekend we will concretise those options.

“Even those things you are saying now we have not agreed on them until they are ratified by our bosses. But options are on the table.”

Keyamo declined to comment on the work of the committee when contacted last night.

He said: “We are making progress. When the larger house meets, most likely this weekend, the details of the communique may be made known but like I said we are making progress, the details I cannot reveal now but we are making progress.”

The Seven-man Technical Sub-committee to review the increase in electricity tariff by the Federal Government was inaugurated on September 28.

The committee had its first sitting at the minister’s conference room last month.

The committee was set up at the end of a marathon meeting between the Federal Government and organised labour to avert last month’s planned strike.

The committee is expected to examine the justifications for the new policy in view of the need for the validation of the basis for the new cost reflective tariff as a result of the conflicting information from the field which appeared different from the data presented to justify the new policy by NERC and metering deployment challenges.

The other mandates of the committee are as follows:

° To look at the different Electricity Distribution Company (DISCOs) and their different electricity tariff vis-à-vis NERC order and mandate.

° Examine and advise government on the issues that have hindered the deployment of the six million meters.

° To look into the NERC Act under review with a view to expanding its representation to include organised labour.

By Davies Iheamnachor

Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have recovered a baby boy sold out by his grandmother, Victoria Christopher, and arrested the suspect and two others.

Victoria had abducted the baby and sold him for an undisclosed amount to child traffickers, over failure of the little boy’s father to pay for the wife’s bride price.

Mother of the little baby, Anthonia Christopher, said she managed to inform her husband of the development, in spite of threats from her mother.

Anthonia narrated: “My mother told me that she was going to sell the baby because my husband had not fully married me and I begged her not to, but she said if I continued resisting her from selling the baby, she is going to strangle me and my baby to death.

“Reaching on Thursday morning, the buyers came and took my baby away, as I could not bear it, I asked my mother why she sold my baby and she said if I exposed her, she would kill me.

Father of the baby, Christian Duru, said after his wife informed him of the crime, he informed the police, at Trans Amadi Division who immediately swung into action.

He said: “My wife called me in the night crying that her mother is wicked and has sold our baby boy.

“She described the place they were and pleaded with me to get there immediately, that her mother was looking for a new house to move to and also planning to destroy their sim cards so I could not reach them anymore.

“Immediately, I went to the police and logged a complaint and the police moved swiftly to the place and caught my mother-in-law when she was about to leave.”

“When my wife was about to give birth, her mother came to our house and insisted to take my wife somewhere for a check, meanwhile the last time my mother-in-law visited us and said she was going to take my wife to a place where she would give birth I refused and told her that I have already registered her somewhere else in Port Harcourt.”

However, the Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Police Command, SP. Nnamdi Omoni, who confirmed the development, said the suspect would be brought to the command on Thursday.

Omoni noted that details of police findings and report would be disclosed to the public.

By Fredrick Nwabufo

I believe you have all noticed. Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo is regaining his stature and waxing reformist on some of the problems dogging Nigeria. He is breaking out of the supposed cabal-stitched straitjacket into a tinderbox of chutzpah. It seems he has elected to remove the duct tape from his mouth at this time. But it is puzzling why the vice-president is picking this time in the life of the administration he represents to pipe up. Is there a 2023 graph under plot?

Really, Nigerians pined to hear Osinbajo, a professor of law and senior advocate of Nigeria, talk up when the Buhari administration dispatched DSS agents to desecrate the residences of judges in the most ungodly hour. Nigerians strained their ears in vanished hope that even a whisper of condemnation against the assault on journalists and activists by the government will be let out by the vice-president. Even if not spoken, there are unspoken gestures the vice-president could have used to convey his position on the extra-judicial exertions of the administration if he really differed.

Yes, Nigerians longed to hear Osinbajo speak up for those massacred in Southern Kaduna; those kidnapped and killed by bandits. The vice-president held so much promise even in a very unpromising government. There was wild jubilation when he was acting president – at the time President Muhammadu Buhari was on a medical sojourn in London. But he failed to level up to the expectations. He simply refused to call a spade a spade when the graves of innocents were being dug.

However, Osinbajo appears to be speaking up, or spouting off now – whichever way you want to look at it. His belated activism though approving, flagellates cynicism. He veered off the old, dribbling path when he said in September poverty was deepening daily in the country – against the government’s duplicitous stance that it is cutting hunger by the torso through its social investment schemes.

In his words: ‘’… every single day the poverty situation and the economic distortions deepen….”

Also, just a few days ago, Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), said at an event where he represented Osinbajo that there were ‘’cracks in the walls’’ and that Nigeria risked a breakup. Even though Osinbajo did not make the statement himself, his bearing on the current state of the country speaks well enough.

In addition, the vice-president recently spoke in favour of merit over federal character in appointment into government offices. For me, this is a real dig at the spleen of an administration that has chalked up notoriety for sectional, zero calibre and incompetent appointments.

He said: “I need to make this point because time and time again, we get arguments around whether the appointment of persons into public institutions should be based on federal character. The dominant principle should be merit.’’

Therefore, it is not nonplussing that the quick-witted intervention of Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), on the restructuring debate rankled a certain camp at the presidency. Adeboye is the spiritual father and mentor of Osinbajo. You can tell that they both soup in the same ideological bowl.

Without any scintilla of doubt, Adeboye’s deposition that if Nigeria is not restructured it will break up is beyond reproach.

The cleric said the obvious but with a roar: “Why can’t we have a system of government that will create what I will call the United States of Nigeria? Let me explain. We all know that we must restructure. It is either, we restructure or we break up; you don’t have to be a prophet to know that one. That is certain – restructure or we break up.

“Now, we don’t want to break up, God forbid. In restructuring, why don’t we have a Nigerian kind of democracy? At the federal level, why don’t we have a president and a prime minister?”

Really, it is disturbing that a section of the presidency is picking a bone with this patent fact. The section of the presidency in the pursuit of its agenda against the other, dug into the mud for slingshots under the cover of a polarising debate. My deduction, Osinbajo is the subject of Garba Shehu’s press statement glibly targeting Adeboye and others of kindred opinion. Though Shehu did not mention the name of the cleric explicitly, the trajectory of the dart was clear. The press statement was needless in that virulent form.

‘’The Garba Shehu section of the presidency’’ cannot openly respond to the utterances by the other feuding section of the presidency without sending out a vibe of discordance at the villa, so proxies and associates take the hit. It is a one of kind presidency.

Osinbajo must maintain his candid-speaking tempo, if he wants the warmth and approval of the masses. But it will not come easy because he is a part of the system citizens are railing against. He must go beyond words and walk the rope. He must be genuine about of his ‘’activism’’. If it is the 2023 election that he is angling for by his reformist public statements, then Nigerians have already seen through his insincerity.

Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Police authorities have commenced the criminal trial against a former governor of Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

In the charge marked CR/993/2020 and dated September 23, 2020, the office of the Inspector-General of Police accused Ohakim of fraud and false information.

The former Governor was equally accused of using the name of the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, SAN, to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians.

In addition, the prosecution alleged that Ohakim claimed in his statement to the police that he gave Lady Chinyere Lilian Amuchienwa the sum of N100 million for his governorship in 2019, which he could not prove in the statement.

The Police said the former Governor will soon be arraigned in court.


The three-count charge against Ohakim, signed by Mr Stanley Nwodo read:

‘That you Ikedi Ohakim, on or about the 23rd day of May 2019 at Asokoro, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did unlawfully gave false information against one Chinyere Amuchienwa, that she threatened you with gun knowing it to be false and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 140 of the Penal Code Law of the Northern Nigeria, 1968.

”That you Ikedi Ohakim, on or about the 23rd day of May 2019, at Asokoro, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did unlawfully gave false information against one Chinyere Amuchienwa, that you have a plot of land for sale at Lagos state, knowing it to be false and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 140 of the Penal Code Law of the Northern Nigeria, 1968.

‘That you Ikedi Ohakim on or about the 23rd day of May 2019 at Asokoro, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did unlawfully used derogatory the name of Raji Fashola as the owner of the purported land situated at Ikeja, Lagos state and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 140 of the Penal Code Law of the Northern Nigeria, 1968.’

In a related development, an Upper Area Court sitting in Mpape, Abuja, has sentenced one Kingsley Ogam, who is said to be working for the former Governor to eight months in prison with an option of N30,000 fine.

In the charge marked CR/496/2020, Ogam was sentenced to prison on September 24, 2020.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), Ogam was arraigned before the court for defamation of character, injurious falsehood and criminal intimidation.

The prosecution said the offence is punishable under Section 392, 393 and 397 of the Penal Code Law.

Ogam was said to have defamed the character of Lady Chinyere Lilian Amuchienwa.

He was sentenced to prison by Mohammad Maraca after he pleaded guilty to the charges against him.

The court also ordered him to write an apology letter to Amuchienwa.

The judge instructed that Kingsley Ogam should tender an apology to lady Amuchienwa of which she rejected

Also, a certain Chinedu Opereke was arrested alongside Kingsley Ogam and was remanded in Suleja prison by the court.

The former Governor was also supposed to be arraigned before the Upper Area Court for conspiracy.

He was invited on September 10 by the police in relation to a petition against him by Lady Amuchienwa, over alleged defamation of character, injurious falsehood and criminal intimidation.

But rather than honouring his invitation, Ohakim rushed to a high court in Imo State for the enforcement of his fundamental human rights.

In the application filed at the High Court of Justice of Imo state, with suit number HON/717/2020, he asked for an order of the court stopping the police from inviting, arresting and detaining him.

After listening to the motion, Justice VI Onyeka granted the order

However, a thorough look at the document shows that the motion was filed on September 10, 2020, assigned same day and the order granted the same day.

Maina, who is standing trial on a 12-count money laundering charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, was admitted to bail in the trial presided over by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, was admitted to bail in the trial presided over by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

by SaharaReporters, New York Oct 05, 2020
Senator Ali Ndume has submitted fake and forged documents to perfect the bail of former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, from prison.

Maina, who is standing trial on a 12-count money laundering charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, was admitted to bail in the trial presided over by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Maina was initially admitted to bail in the sum of N1bn with two sureties in like sum.

Both sureties must be serving Nigerian senators with no criminal cases before the court and must have fully developed landed property in Maitama or Asokoro district of Abuja.

After being unable to meet his bail term, the judge varied the bail for Maina to produce one senator, who must sign a bail bond in the sum of N500m and accompany Maina to court on every trial day.

Ndume, subsequently agreed to stand surety for Maina but rather than present original documents, he submitted forged documents to the court to perfect Maina’s bail.

According to Global Transparency and Anti-corruption Network, Ndume presented the property documents of a house owned by one Ahmed Lawal, deceiving the court that it was his.

Ndume also presented a forged Irrevocable Power of Attorney on the property, adding that the property in question had previously been forfeited to the government in a separate case.

In a letter written to the EFCC, the anti-corruption network described as “monumental and gigantic fraud” the forging of documents by Ndume for the bail of Maina.

The letter reads, “We wish to bring to your notice that the documents submitted in relation to the property Plot No: 158 Asokoro District bring No 93 Yakubu Gowon Street, Asokoro (subject property) the collateral used for the bail of Abdulrasheed Maina in the above criminal charge are forged and/or fraudulently misrepresented.

“The subject property is the corporate office of Fiscal Responsibility Commission Abuja, a Federal Government agency.

“The subject property is No 93 Yakubu Gowon Street, Asokoro, a property covered by C of O No: 17dew-d743Z-6e31r-e6D2u-10 in the name of Lawal Ahmed, which is forfeited to the Federal Government and handed over to Fiscal Responsibility Commission Abuja, for use as their office and therefore does not in any way belong to Senator Ali Ndume, the bail surety to Abdulrasheed Maina. The presentation of the property by Sen. Ali Ndume as collateral for bail is a gigantic fraud.

“The so called Irrevocable Power of Attorney dated 14, February 2018 that purported to irrevocably appoint Senator Ali Ndume, as the attorney of Lawal Ahmed over the subject property is also a fraudulent document since the property is forfeited to the Federal Government.

“The representation that the so-called Irrevocable Power of Attorney dated 14th February 2018 between Lawal Ahmed and Sen. Ali Ndume is registered at Abuja Geographic Information Services (AGIS) is a fraudulent misrepresentation as no such Power of Attorney has ever been registered at AGIS.”

The group also revealed that the photograph of the property known as Manor Terrace was submitted and fraudulently misrepresented as being Plot 158 Asokoro District covered by the C of O and by the purported Power of Attorney, whereas, Plot 158 Asokoro District is numbered as No: 93 Yakubu Gowon Crescent Asokoro, situated four property blocks away from ECOWAS Secretariat.

The Global Transparency and Anti-corruption Network called for fresh charges to be instituted into the case of Maina and Ndume.

The group raised the alarm that with the presentation of forged documents, Maina could easily abscond the country and flee trial.

“With these monumental fraud and forgeries the court was misled into certifying that Abdulrasheed Maina had fulfilled his bail conditions which led to his release from prison, setting the stage for an imminent flight and disappearance of Maina and making a mockery of the judicial and prosecutorial systems of the nation and above all rewarding impunity and brigandage.

“The enormity and scale of the fraud perpetrated by Abdulrasheed Maina and his accomplices should necessarily lead to fresh criminal charges, apart from the above titled charge for which he is presently being prosecuted.”

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the just concluded governorship election in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu has left out the name of former national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, in acknowledging the contributions of party leaders and others in the pursuit of his political ambition during the election.

Oshiomhole was instrumental to Ize-Iyamu returning to APC from the PDP as well as emerging the governorship candidate of the party.

Ize-lyamu suffered a second electoral defeat in his eight years struggle to become the governor of Edo state.

Obaseki defeated Ize-Iyamu with 307,955 votes as against 223,619 votes polled by Ize-Iyamu

Speaking in a statement where he declared that he would not approach the Election petition tribunal to challenge the election results, however, acknowledged the role some APC leaders played before and during the election.

“Let me once again whole heartedly thank the President and Commander – in- Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammad Buhari (GCFR), for his statesmanship and support throughout the election campaign.

“We thank the National Leadership of our party led by HE Mai Mala Buni, Governor of Yobe State; our National Campaign Council led by HE Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, Governor of Kano State; APC Governors; leaders and members of the National Assembly and other leaders of our party at both national and state levels for their immense contributions.

“We also sincerely thank HRM Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare ll, the Oba of Benin; the Otaru of Auchi, Alhaji Aliru Momoh, Ikelebe lll, and our other Royal Fathers for their unceasing prayers for the peace of the state before, during and after the election”.

But the name of the former APC national chairman, Comrade Oshiomole, who played a frontline role in canvassing support for the APC candidate was missing in his acknowledgement list.

https://www.independent.ng/wp-content/uploads/The-Children.jpg

The police in Kano at the weekend launched a massive manhunt on one Hauwa, a middle aged housewife suspected to have slaughtered two of her biological children at Diso quarters, Gwale Local government area of Kano metropolis.

The incident which occurred on Saturday afternoon was a climax of a broken relationship between Hauwa and her heartthrob, Ibrahim Haruna Aminu who took a second wife recently.

The two children at the centre of tragic incident were identified as Yusuf Ibrahim, and his younger sister Zahra’u, aged 5, and 3 respectively.

A brother in law to the suspect, Sadiq Haruna Aminu told newsmen that relationship between his brother and his wife “snowball to deep seated jealousy, and envy shortly after the latter swelled the family with a new wife” culminating on the horrendous act on Saturday.

Aminu revealed that ‘’the children were stabbed severally by Hauwa and this was confirmed by Zainab, the eldest of the children that is 10-years old.”

He explained that before now, Hauwa has no traces of mental illness, but couldn’t be ruled out now considering the magnitude of the dastardly act.

In his reaction, Malam Ahmad Bello, the ward head (Diso) told reporters that the incident occurred when the husband was away in a separate apartment with his new wife.

Bello who expressed shock over the tragic incident said it would have been ideal for Huawa to seek divorce instead of taking law onto her hands.

DSP Abdullahi Haruna, Spokesman, Kano Police Command while confirming the story said the command is already investigating the situation.

By Elo Edremoda,


The Chief Priest of the Igbudu community in Warri South council area of Delta, Victor Alawuru, has been stabbed to death for allegedly impregnating a Muslim lady.

The Nation learned the incident, which happened along Degbori Street in the Hausa Quarters axis of the community, left people running helter-skelter in the neighbourhood on Friday evening.

It was gathered youths of the Igbudu market sought to launch a retaliatory attack on the hoodlums believed to be some ‘Hausa boys’.

The victim, 23, was said to be a grandson of Alawuru, a popular family name in Warri and Udu areas, and only took up his priestly duties about two years ago.

According to residents, the victim impregnated a ‘Hausa lady’, which did not go well with her Muslim parents, who are against the relationship based on religious differences.

Some others claimed that he (the victim) was killed because he rejected the pregnancy.

It was gathered the deceased had gone for a festival on the street when he was attacked and stabbed by hoodlums reportedly from the Hausa enclave.

“The deceased was killed because a Hausa lady got pregnant for him. He allegedly rejected the pregnancy. The incident has brought serious tension,” a source claimed.

Another source said: “The hoodlums who are believed to be from the Hausa community attacked and stabbed him to death on Thursday.

“The Igbudu community youths are angry over the death of the deceased. Thus, fighting, robbery, and a riot broke out between the Urhobo and Hausa groups.

“The ever-busy Igbudu market was forcefully closed on Friday evening as traders ran away for the safety of their lives. And there are fears that the youths may avenge the death of the chief priest.

“The incident is a bad one because cult groups have taken over the fight. The last person that was killed by the same group during the lockdown was the younger brother of Mr. Victor. The people of the priest are angry”.

A senior police source at the Warri Area Command revealed that the parents wanted the girl to terminate the pregnancy but she refused.

“They said a Hausa girl was pregnant for him and the parents wanted her to terminate the pregnancy but she ran to the police station.

“So the girl said Christian girls do get pregnant for Muslims so why can’t she? And she decided to keep the pregnancy.

“They were having a festival in that area and the said chief priest was passing. They said some Hausa boys now pointed that ‘look at the man that brought disgrace (impregnating the Hausa girl) to us’ and one of them stabbed him to death,” the police source disclosed.

Asked if the chief priest had rejected the pregnancy, the Police said “he didn’t. They said their daughter shouldn’t have been pregnant for a non-Muslim”.

Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Onome Onovwakpoyeya, confirmed the killing of the chief priest by suspected ‘Hausa boys’.

“Yes, the chief priest was killed but not because he was a chief priest. The area is calm now,” the PPRO said.

Sometimes in April 6, 2015, you raised your voice against the issue of piracy. Of course, it became controversial. What is the situation now?

Well, nothing much has changed. What has only changed is the fact that we have alternative distribution channels, which is the online streaming. It seems to be killing DVD. The piracy online is even worse than the one perpetrated through the DVD. However, the likes of streaming companies like Netflix, to a large extent, have come to rescue film makers. This is because before now, if a film was made, you only had just three distribution channels. These included the Cinema. If your film is a cinema standard, you can explore that window and then you have African Magic or terrestrial television, and then you could go on to DVD. Right now, the television or terrestrial TV and even African Magic don’t seem to be taking a lot of contents. What this means is that not much revenue is coming from that window, same with the cinemas, of course, because of Covid-19 and all of that.

So how do film makers make their money?

Well, you can make some money through cinemas, but once you are out of cinemas, what do you do with the film? But with streaming, if you go on Netflix now, you will see more than 100 Nigerian contents there. Some of these films are acquired just to stream them in Africa and maybe in the UK, and some of them are acquired for global views. Recently, Netflix released a press statement, announcing that it has just acquired some new films which are being shown. I mean which are acquired as Netflix original. And if the film is Netflix original, it means it is showing globally, it means it is going to be subtitled in like 50 something languages. Interestingly, the pirates still get to copy these films from those platforms and then they put it on YouTube and in some of their own personal websites. I believe it is up to filmmakers to find a way to bring those links down, if they can. It’s tough because it is distributed among several links. So, it’s difficult to completely eliminate piracy, but if you are really monetising your film legitimately and you think you have covered a chunk of your revenue, at least you’ll be a bit relaxed, that all you labour is not lost.

What is your assessment of the film industry in Nigeria today? Will you say they are reflective of the current situation in the land?

I can’t speak for other people, but for me, I’m always conscious of shooting films that have substance. And when I say substance, it must reflect who we are. It must talk about social issues. Yes, entertainment is key but there are other values; it must be educative, informative, and that is why I have my own followers who are die-hard fans. And they do that because these are things they want to keep in the archives and also to show their children. These are not films they watch once and forget easily. They always want to go back to those films. And I have seen a couple of people like my mentor, Tunde Kelani, whose films are mostly satires. He seems to follow the same kind of trend and there are few other people like that. There are few other people who rather would cover the glamour and the development aspect of the country, showing the rich, showing all of those things. So, there is nothing bad in having different flavours but for us, substance is key.

Some critics believe some Nigerian film makers find it difficult to criticise governments in their works because some actors have pitched their tents with politicians, with many of them serving as aides. How correct is this?

Well, I wouldn’t really say yes because even in America, you get to see a lot of people come out and support political parties and presidential aspirants and we have some people who will come out and criticise them. Whether they get paid for it or whether they get remunerated for what they do or for lending their voice, I don’t know and really, I don’t care. But around here, it’s the same. We have some people, who will stand for something and we also have some people who will do it for money because, of course, I wouldn’t say there is hunger in the land but I will say that fingers are not equal. People have needs and they have their plan on how to make ends meet. Musicians also do it. People in the art space are influential. So, whether they get paid for that or not is not really the thing. If politicians are going to them, it is because they know that they have voice.

What is your take on the view that it’s only the female actors that are breaking even as the number of big girls flaunting their exotic cars and expensive mansions on social media keep rising? What is happening to the men?

Nothing happened to the men. I think a lot of the females in industry are also entrepreneurs. If you go to their pages or blogs, it’s either they are selling jewelry or they are selling clothing. Does the revenue from those clothing amount to owning a house? I don’t know, but different people have different ways of structuring deals. For example, some of them are ambassadors to some of these real estates agents. They can do a deal and say okay be our ambassador for five years, this house is N40 million, okay we will give you part cash, part barter and so there are different ways to strike a deal and the male actors like AY and all of those guys are doing well.

The period of lockdown created different scenarios to different people. How did you organise yourself during this period?

It is true that we all went through the lockdown phase and all of that, but it was a busy period for us because, number one, the Covid-19 lockdown started just as we finished shooting our latest film, The Citation. After shooting, the next stage was post-production and this required staying in the studio to do the work. So that sort of fits into our next line of action. Asides The Citation, we were renovating our new Hub, ‘the KAH’, The Kunle Afolayan Hub, when the lockdown started. We were renovating at that time. So, it also gave us a bit of time, for our people to work and get ready for post-Covid-19 dispensation. But most importantly, it gave me that time to really sit back and plan future projects. I was able to read a lot of books because I was looking at doing some book adaptations. And that really gave me enough time to read series of books from different genres. I watched a lot of films from different genres. So, it was as if I was re-energised and it also has given me the time to reflect and spend time with my family. So, I would say, to a large extent, 60 percent of the lockdown period was a sort of advantage for me.

Can you shed more light on the Kunle Afolayan Hub you talked about?

KAH is going to be a one stop place for creative people, not just film people, because within the hub, we are having a film and television academy and that is called KAH Film and Television Academy. We already have a studio, a sound studio and an editing studio. We’re going to have a sound stage, where people can come in and then create sets, do video shoot and photo shoot. We are going to have a 120-seater cinema within the hub, I mean within the same space. And we are also going to have a bar and a restaurant where people can come in, sit, relax and eat. We are going to be doing live band. So, it’s a cultural centre pretty much. And there will be a shop for arts and crafts and all of that.

It’s natural to ask for the source of funding for this gigantic project. Who is bankrolling you?

Well, we actually accessed loans. We accessed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) Creative Industry Loan, which we got through Access Bank Plc and we have completed the first phase because the loan was only able to take us through the first phase. It was for the renovation of the building that occupies the production side, Golden Effects, which is the equipment side. Then part of the film school will have the space downstairs. Now the next phase that is being constructed is the Cinema- KAH’ Cinema, restaurant and bar and then a studio where people can come and shoot and all of that. So that is in the works now. Well, if we have enough funds, we are hoping that by December, the whole hub should have been completed.

How much was the loan?

I will not like to disclose that.


What motivated you to begin acquiring old cars?

I’m a collector of vintage cars. I have like four of these vintage cars and I started that when we did October 1 and it was because it was so difficult getting cars that were in vogue in the 1960s or of 1950s. Of course, we were able to pull it off. If you go to South Africa and you want to shoot a film that was set in 1920, the cars are there. If you go to Europe you will get what you need but in Nigeria, we don’t have such opportunity even if you go to the museum, hardly will you see such cars. So, I just told myself, if I believe I’m going to be in this space for a while, I needed to do something, and to me, these are not personal collections. It’s because of work. Now, I’m working on a project that is set in 1986. I know all these my cars can actually fit in and then I’m going to actually need about 50 more because we need to create Lagos Island in 1986. So, when I’m working, those are the things in my head. I realise that there are other passionate people who have similar passion for these old cars, so I joined two clubs of vintage car owners. This makes it easy for me to go to our groups and tell them I need some of these vintage cars and in that way, we can make an amazing film, you know, it all started when we did October 1.

When should your fans be expecting another blockbuster movie, like The Figurine that won more than 5 major awards in the African Movie Academy?

Well, October 1 won more awards even at AMVCA and the rest of them but I think The Citation is in that category. Again, sometimes, it’s up to the film maker to decide how you want to position your film. You can make a film and say, look I’m not submitting for festivals or I’m not submitting for awards. It’s your film and then you can make some films and then there will be some sort of restrictions after selling it to platforms. A lot of people don’t understand these things. So, The Citation has been acquired by Netflix and it is going to go to Netflix in November. It means that we may not be able to submit it for anything that is happening this year, maybe until next year. And if you don’t submit a film at a particular time, you probably have lost out. We are working on several other films. We have another film set in the 18th century. So we will keep working.


When should we expect The Citation to hit the Nigerian cinema?

Well, we are not taking it to the cinema, but we have started doing private screening. However, it’s going on Netflix exclusive on the 6th of November.


Nigeria has just entered another round of recession. Do you have any fear that the development may affect patronage of the entertainment offerings?

When they say there is recession, what comes to mind is there has always been recession. So, I don’t know why they are saying we just entered recession. The recession had always been there. And we have always managed, we have always coped. I just hope that we get out of it in time if there is anything like recession at all. I believe since I was born in this country, there has always been austerity and recession.


You once worked in the banking industry. Has there been a reason to regret dumping the banking job for the entertainment industry?

It is impossible. But it was such a good start because that has helped in structuring the business side of what we do today. If I was only wearing the cap the likes of my father were wearing, you know, most of them died broke because they were in that industry for fame and the money came and went. When they released a film, they made money, before they made another film, the were broke. There wasn’t a proper structure that helped sustainability and that really affected my father before he died and I saw that in a lot of his contemporaries as well. Yes, I worked in a bank but this has helped me a lot in my career in the film industry. My relationship with a lot of experts in the industry – from public relations, marketing and brand – have really helped in shaping the proper entertainment company I have today.

Entertainers are known to surrounded by a bevy of women. Are you going for a second wife?

If you look at the economy, that is not happening these days. In the past, the environment, society and culture permitted actors to marry many wives. A lot has changed. It does not mean that if you want to, anybody will kill you. It’s your prerogative but there are some factors you will have to consider. I think I’m more well to do than my father when he was my age, but if you look at the economy and then you put it on a scale, the children and the school they attend now is all private and expensive. It’s just not worth it. But if God says you will do it, nothing can stop it.


There used to be collaboration between Nigerian and Ghanaian movie industry operators. Is it still in existence?

I think they still do it but it’s not like in the past. Like I said, a lot of those films, those straight DVD films are dying because people are now watching films on their phones. So, a lot of people are not buying DVDs anymore and then if you want to get to the scale where you can have your film on Netflix or on YouTube, the production quality has to be better. In The Citation, we have one Ghanaian actor. At least, I have worked with a few of them but I don’t use them except the story allows it. The Citation is set in the university and since we have lot of Nigerian students in Ghana and a lot of Ghanaian students in Nigeria, it was natural to have a Ghanaian actor.


What is your message to Nigerian students who wants to take acting as a career?

I always say if you are opportune to attend a university and, maybe you studied creative arts, performing arts, theatre arts and dramatic arts, don’t limit your focus to just one line. In this field, especially on the technical side, some of the crew members that work for us do so at the GRIP department. The GRIP handles the crane, the track and all these things. A lot of them are not university graduates. But quite a number of them earn as much as N1 million on a project, a project of four weeks. So that is why learning crafts is one of the things I’m doing for my children now. If you have the talent to be an actor and then you find yourself in a space where production is going on, nothing should stop you from saying I want to intern in costume department, oh , I want to intern in makeup department, I want to intern in camera department, because this has happened a lot of times. There are a lot of people who are into costumes but when you want to do a production you realise that they can double as a makeup artist, so it means they can actually earn from two ends, so they are not stuck. There are a lot of people who are gaffers. Gaffers are the people who handle the lights but they also fit in when they come to GRIP department. So, what I would say to people especially people who are trying to learn film making is to learn as much or as many of the departments as they can. Because when the opportunity opens you just realise that oh, you can actually fit in here or you can fit in there. You must equip yourself with enough knowledge and then there’s also the business side to film making. These are all the things we are going to be teaching in KAH film school.


If you say the era of film marketers is gone, it means film makers will no longer blame marketers for the poor quality of their films anymore. Is this what you are saying?

Now, most of them have moved to YouTube. In fact, it’s as if every marketer in Idumota now has a channel on YouTube. Now they do digital distribution, that is one platform. Of course, you can also make money and it is open to everybody. If you are a fan of so-so film, you know where to go to. You will, maybe, go to YouTube or go to HBO or you go to iTunes and Amazon.

What are your plans to assist old actors, with many of them living in penury?

The thing is, I have feelings for their set. There is a film on Netflix, The Bridge. It was produced by Lasu Re but I directed it. Though we both worked on it and in that film, I decided that I was going to bring back almost all of them, so we had Baba Eda, Jimo Aliyu, Olowomojuore, Iya Awero, Oga Bello and many of them like that. I’m doing this because these guys don’t have retirement benefits and in fact, they are not supposed to even retire because they are actors. So, as long as they are fit and their sight is good, why not.?There is a film we are working on, it’s going to be like Oyo Empire setting in the 18th century. So imagine you want to do that kind of a film and Aderupoko will not be there, it is impossible. The likes of Baba Eda and Baba Wande, a lot of them will naturally fit in. For me, I always like to get a blend of the old generation, the set after them, our own generation and the ones coming behind us.


Do you feature in other people’s films especially your siblings who are also into film business?

I don’t mind featuring in people’s films. If they call me, why not? I will go. But the thing is, my brother Gabriel Afolayan is not a producer. It’s not like he has produced, but I’ve worked with him on a couple of things not even just one thing. I did one film with Moji, my sister one time. The thing is, logically it is wrong. Like if I’m acting in a film and then you now bring any of them to act, they will act as my brother or my sister. They can’t act any other role because it waters down the film. It is not even professionally logical but there is nothing stopping me from acting in their films. I mean, everybody is grown. So if anybody is doing anything and requires support, we support one another.

The Pipeline Products Marketing Company (PPMC) may crash the prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) petrol this month, The Nation learnt at the weekend.

Speaking with The Nation on phone, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) National Vice President, Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi, said the marketers are looking forward to a downward review of the ex-depot price for October.

He based his forecast on the decline crude prices. The Brent Crude that was $40 per barrel is today $39. 38.

He however, said the marketers were expecting announcement of the new price from the PPMC, which is a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

But Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) had last month said the price of petrol is not solely a factor of crude oil prices.

Its Executive Secretary, Abdulkadir Saidu, dropped hint marketers have the approval for fixing the prices of petrol because it has been deregulated.

According to the agency, only market forces determine the prices of any deregulated product.

The Federal Government deregulated the product in March this year.

Last month, the PPMC pegged the ex-depot price at N151. 56 per litre and deliberately shirked the responsibility of announcing the pump price.

With the leverage, the marketers across the country have sold the PMS for between N158 and N162 per litre.

In that month of September the Brent Crude sold for $46 per barrel.

The PPMC had on 2nd September, 2020 in a brief internal memo with ref: “PPMC /IB/LS/020, dates September 2, 2020, the company said “a new product price adjustment has been effected on our payment platform.

“To this end the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) is now one hundred and fifty one naira, fifty six kobo (N151.61) per litre.”

The Head Depot Manager, D.O. Agbalaya, who signed the memo said: “This is effective from 2nd September, 2020.”

The price of the Brent crude was $46 per barrel on Friday.

The marketers sold petrol for between N145.80 to N150 per litre in the month of August.

PPPRA had on August 4 approved an ex-depot price of N138.62 per litre for the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS ) petrol and kept the pump price to its chest.

The agency reviewed it upward by N6 from its previous N132.00 per litre of July.

The Federal Government based its hike on the increase in the prices of crude oil in the month of August.

The Brent Crude sold that for $43.24 per barrel in July rose to $44.03 per barrel in August.

It deregulated the product in March this year.

In the month of July, the agency had approved a pump price of a band of N140.80 to N143.80 per litre.

It was the first time that the agency approved a new price after the removal of petrol subsidy.

Prior to the July 1 hike, the agency had on May 1, approved price band of N121.50 to N123.50 per litre for the product.