₦airaland Forum

A Deputy Director, Mrs. Maimuna Lami Gogo Shiru, was over the weekend awarded with the Presidential Distinguished Public Service Award for successfully saving over N7 trillion in the cases she handled on behalf of the federal government.

She was of the 31 civil servants conferred with meritorious awards to conclude the activities of the 2023 Civil Service Week celebration.

Gogo, who is the Director of Civil Litigation and Public Law at the Ministry of Justice successfully completed over 200 cases on behalf of federal government including a case between the Registered Trustees of SERAP vs Chairman Code of Conduct wherein the federal government was saved from liability in the sum of N12 billion and Registered Trustees of Original Inhabitants of FCT Vs FGN where the latter was saved from a liability to the tune of N4 trillion.

She also saved the federal government the sum of $47.8 million in the matter against Panic Alert System.

Another awardee was Issac Anum, of the Ministry of Science and Technology, who initiated the memo that led to the formation of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and was also in the team that drafted the memo that midwife the formation of National Board for Technology Incubation.

Each of the 31 recipient of the outstanding award received N500,000 from the Aig-Imokhude Foundation while the star prize of a brand new 2022 JAC JS4 SUV was won by Mrs. Juwon Olayiwola of the Federal Ministry of Education; a 2-bedroom semi-detached bungalow won by Mr Kevin Nwachukwu of Service Welfare Office (OHCSF) and the third price, a plot of land was allocated to Mrs. Chukweke Stella Oluchi, of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).

Meanwhile President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has described the civil service as a fulcrum for governance, whose vision and mission were predicated on implementation of policies and programmes that will enhance national economic and multi-dimensional growth.
The president, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, made this disclosure at the Rewards and Recognition Ceremony/Gala Nite marking the concluding activities of the 2023 Civil Service Week celebration.

He noted that the event was a social gathering to appreciate the uncommon, exemplary and commendable performances of deserving civil servants.

He said the annual ritual was essential for the ongoing improvement in service delivery geared towards ensuring good governance, leading to rapid socio-economic development of our dear country.

According to him the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) would require a fit-for-purpose African Public Administration to succeed, which interrogates intra-African trade and productivity of the continent against the backdrop of the ambitious aspirations of Agenda 2063.

He added it was this that inspired the theme for this year’s Civil Service Week: “Digitalisation of Work Processes in the Public Service: A Gateway to Efficient Resource Utilisation and National Development,” further concretised the cardinal role digital technology plays in today’s workspaces, especially, in evolving a capable Public Service.

Tinubu also extolled the Aig-Imoukhede Foundation for instituting a N41 million endowment fund to reward deserving civil servants annually.

The move according to the president, would drive public sector transformation for improved public service delivery in the country.

He pledged that his administration would accord the necessary attention to prioritise the welfare of civil servants.

In his words: “As you must have noticed, the private sector is becoming more interested and committed to the value proposition of the civil servants. Their support is commendable. I am informed particularly of the support of the AIG-Imoukhuede Foundation.

“It is on record that the Foundation has instituted an endowment fund with N41,000,000.00 to reward deserving civil servants annually. The onus is now on the body of civil servants to collectively show greater dedication to its ideals.”

He therefore appreciated the Federal Civil Service as the custodian of public trust, and promise to empower it in order for them to consolidate on the gains of the on-going reforms, while also introducing further smart and radical policies and administrative measures to make the civil service more virile, competent, accountable and citizen-centred in the delivery of public services.

“It is fitting that the awardees today be adequately celebrated with fanfare. Award and recognition are instituted to motivate personnel and stimulate healthy competition among them for the delivery of high-quality services. The officers who have been adjudged worthy of recognition and awards today, are exemplars of the right values being promoted by the ongoing reforms in the Service,” he said.

“This initiative must be sustained. Let me therefore specially commend each and every one of the awardees for their dedication to service. The recognition given here today though a reward; is also a call to greater service. Be reassured that the country of your dream is possible,” he averred.

He noted his administration counts on the Public Service and the Federal Civil Service in particular, to deliver on their promise of a renewed hope even as the federal government would be unfolding very explicit cues for action in no distant time.

Tinubu said many tough, but needful policy and paradigm shifts would be emplaced to reposition governance for efficiency, effectiveness and productivity, saying that to match the expectations of the present administration, the civil service must increase its reform pace.

Allwell Onyesoh, the senator representing Rivers east, on Monday, questioned Bello Muhammad, a ministerial nominee over his academic certificates.

The senators during the special plenary session screened the ministerial nominees whose names were sent to the upper legislative chamber last week by President Bola Tinubu.

After introducing himself and speaking about his experience, senators began asking Muhammad questions.

Onyesoh questioned Muhammed, who is from Sokoto, over his senior secondary school certificate examination (SSCE) result, saying from the credentials submitted, the nominee only has two credits

“I’ve been looking for your school certificate. I saw one. You sat for five subjects with (but you have) two credits,” Onyesoh said

“I don’t know how. I want to imagine that you still have another (SSCE result) to bring. If not, I would want you to explain how you got into university with that (two credits).”

In response, Muhammed told the lawmakers that he has other SSCE results in which he “passed all” subjects, adding that he did not attach them to his CV.

“I have other secondary school results which I have all passed. That is not attached to my CV because we are talking of a secondary school certificate,” he said.

“I want to remind the distinguished senator which I know he very much knows that with the qualification of secondary school certificate as enshrined in the constitution, we can stand for an election up to the presidential election.”

“So, I didn’t bother you with such certificates. But I know those are the qualifications for that.”


‘YOU CAN’T CONCEAL YOUR CERTIFICATES’

Senate President Godswill Akpabio, interrupted him, noting that there is a difference between standing for an election and being nominated to serve as a minister.

“You are saying that you chose what to give to the senate. You chose the qualification to bring before the senate because of the constitutional provision that a secondary school certificate is what is required to stand for election,” Akpabio said.

“You’re not coming to stand for election, you’re coming to be a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. So, which are the other certificates you concealed? Which are the other certificates you did not put in your CV?”

But Muhammed explained further that the result he submitted to the red chamber is his first in which he passed with only two credits, noting that there are other SSCEs he sat and made all subjects.

“I sat for another examination and I have passed but I don’t want to attach another qualification,” he said.

Lawmakers shouted in disagreement after his comments, leading to rowdiness in the chamber.

In an attempt to maintain decorum, Akpabio asked Muhammed to submit all his certificates to the clerk.

He said all nominees must present all their certificates in totality, “including the number of children they have” and the number of houses”.

The senate president said Nigerians have a right to know the detail of their ministerial nominees.

“So, you don’t choose and pick,” he said.

Similarly, the senators also grilled Joseph Utsev, a nominee from Benue, over what appeared to be a discrepancy in his biodata.

While addressing the lawmakers, Utsev said he was born in Benue on December 2, 1980, and attended the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, where he studied civil engineering and graduated in 2004.

The nominee said he completed the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Kaduna in 2006. And then proceeded to obtain his master’s degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 2007, and later earned his doctorate from the same university in 2011.

However, Tokunbo Abiru, senator representing Lagos east senatorial district, requested Utsev to clarify his biodata.

“You graduated in 2004 meaning that you probably would have spent nine years for your first degree. I just need you to clarify those data starting from primary school, while it took you that long to get your first degree despite the academic brilliance you have exhibited,” Abiru asked the nominee.

Utsev explained that there is a discrepancy in his biodata, adding that he was also affected during the delay of the ASUU strike.

President Bola Tinubu has approved provision of buses to the students’ bodies of all universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the country.

Dele Alake, Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications & Strategy, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.

He said the development was in furtherance of the President’s desire to ease the burden of the fuel subsidy removal on students of higher institutions of learning,

“The desire of the President is to see that students can access their campuses without much difficulty as a result of higher transportation costs.

“The provision of the buses will also remove the burden of additional cost of daily commuting on parents and guardians.

“In line with his promise to ensure no Nigerian student abandons his or her educational pursuits as a result of lack of money and economic circumstances of their parents, President Tinubu has also approved the removal of all restrictions on the students’ loan to make it available to any student or household that may desire it,” the statement read

Alake added that the president also warned authorities of all federal institutions against “arbitrary” increase of fees.

“Similarly, President Tinubu has directed the authorities in all Federal Institutions of higher learning to avoid arbitrary increase in sundry fees payable and where possible defer further increase so that parents and students don’t face too many difficulties.”

“While it is important to reiterate that President Tinubu has directed release of over 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains to families in 36 states and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the government is working to ensure that vulnerable students can also benefit from conditional cash transfers and food distribution.

“The Federal Government salutes the courage, wisdom and partnership of Nigerian Students as our country navigates this challenging time.

“President Tinubu will continue to prioritise education and the needs of the students, improve welfare of teaching and non-academic staff and invest in infrastructure to make our institutions of higher learning become more globally competitive.”

There are growing concerns over efforts by Nigerians to adopt alternative automotive fuel as the current conversion statistics for various categories of vehicles from petrol to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) have has been described as outrageous and likely to complicate government’s efforts in addressing the rising cost of pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also called petrol, LEADERSHIP learnt.

From the data obtained by our correspondent, conversion of petrol vehicles of 1.6 litre engine would cost between N300,000 and N400,000 while tricycles with 4 Stroke Engine will cost between N100,000 to N200,000.

However, lorries and vans will cost as high as N1.8 million while 4 Stroke Petrol generator engines will cost about N90,000.

On the economic scale, a converted petrol vehicle can only consume N40 per kilometre which saves the owner 40 per cent, while a tricycle consumes N10 per kilometre with savings of between 50-75 per cent against petrol while a converted truck consumes N360 per kilometre.

The document suggests a palliative package of N200 billion to support conversion of one million vehicles, N200 billion to convert two million tricycles and about N250 billion for five million power generating sets.

Data obtained by LEADERSHIP from the Nigeria LPG Association (NLPGA), provides cost differentials between a gas engine truck and a diesel engine truck as well as conversion costs for other categories of petrol engines.

Following the removal of petrol subsidy and escalating cost of pump price of petrol in the country, Nigerians are now seeking alternative automotive fuels, especially gas which has been described as affordable and environmentally friendly.

However, experts have warned of the consequences of patronising quacks in the conversion process.

The federal government had, in 2020, put in motion programmes aimed at utilising the country’s huge gas reserves, which include the National Gas Expansion Programme and the National Autogas Roll-out Initiative.

Government sees the availability of autogas as an alternative fuel that will afford Nigerians a cheaper, cleaner and eco-friendly option, with lesser impact on vehicles. It projected that about one million cars would be converted before the end of 2021.

The PwC Nigeria also estimates that economic activities stimulated by the domestic utilisation of Nigeria’s recoverable proven gas reserve has the potential to generate a Gross Value Add, GVA, of $18.3 billion yearly to the domestic economy and $10.5 billion through direct economic value addition, with Liquified Natural Gas (LPG) contributing $1.3 billion, and its excess allied components, Propane and Butane, contributing a further $2 billion of this, which compares to generating annual export value of $7 billion.

Also, PwC projected that harnessing the country’s proven reserves for domestic utilisation can also support 6.5 million full time equivalent jobs annually.

However, in driving the programme, the NLPGA has released a joint document with the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA), the Association of Local Distributors of Gas and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

LPG group further explained what engines can use autogas , the various types of autogas, commercial benefits of autogas and proposed palliatives that government can embrace and offer to the public.

The NLPGA said it is already investing in research and training and has already unveiled a training and resource centre project which on completion will provide over 30 areas of study in a curriculum based on the field of gas operations, usage and safety among others.

The managing director, Asiko Energy, and president of the Nigerian LPG Association, Felix Ekundayo, recently spoke on liquefied petroleum gas (cooking gas) price movements in Nigeria as well as the implications of converting fuel consumption vehicles to compressed natural gas.

Ekundayo raised concerns about infrastructure gap and conversion costs, which may drive people to engage the services of unqualified persons.

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A coalition of civil society organisations, on Monday, stormed the streets of Osogbo, Osun State capital, to protest against economic hardship, among other challenges being faced by Nigerians.

The protesters were against the recent petrol subsidy removal, Naira floating and other reforms of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.

Recall that the group had a week ago issued a seven-day ultimatum to the federal government within which to put in place palliatives to cushion the effects of the removal of petrol subsidy on Nigerians.

The chairman of the coalition, Comrade Waheed Lawal, insisted that there was no gainsaying the fact that there is poverty, hunger, confusion and frustration in the land, adding that anger was bottling up and that it was just a time of time for Nigerians to vent their anger.

Consequently, members of the Human Rights group took to the streets after converging at Ayetoro area of Osogbo at about 8am, moving to major areas of the city with placards to press home their demands.

Comprehensive palliatives promised by President Bola Tinubu to cushion the effects of the removal of petrol subsidy may take a while to come, going by the slow pace of work of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) the President has raised for the assignment.

The committee had been constituted on June 19 with a time frame of eight weeks to deliver on its mandate.

The implication is that by August 18, the committee’s report should be delivered to the government to enable it work on the comprehensive package of palliatives for Nigerians.

The panel is chaired by Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State with members such as Governors Bala Mohammed of Bauchi, Charles Soludo of Anambra, Uba Sani of Kaduna and Hyacindu Alia of Benue, as well representatives of the Organised Labour and Civil Society Organisations.

But a member of the committee says more than one month after, they were not going at the anticipated speed, saying the deadline for the assignment may not be met unless the government fast-tracked the process.

“So far, we have stayed more than one month and we feel that we are not going at the speed we anticipated”, Trade Union Congress (TUC) President, Mr Festus Osifoh, who is representing TUC on the committee, said after its meeting in Abuja. “We want government to fast-track the action to ensure that between now and the next two weeks; all the committees must have submitted their reports so that the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) can conclude its work immediately because we cannot continue to blow grammar while Nigerians are suffering and trekking long distances to work”.

Osifo noted that the Federal Government gave a two-month ultimatum for discussions to be concluded on both sides.

His words: “As of today (last Thursday), we have formed technical committees on cash transfers, intervention funds, reduction of cost of governance, fixing energy and power, developing CNG as an alternative to PMS and fixing of refineries.

“We also have technical committees on education and health as well as mass transit.
“Government gave a timeline of eight weeks, beginning from June 19. Going by that calculation, eight weeks is going to end by August 19.

“We are ready to work because the plight of Nigerian workers is a great concern to us. “Anything that would affect Nigerian workers is what we fight to correct.

“Beyond the workers, it is also about the well-being of the masses because we have a lot of Nigerians that are today unemployed.

“What we are canvassing across these technical committees is to ensure that whatever is put in place should be aimed at alternative and cheaper energy like the CNG.

“There should also be a consideration for palliatives that would better the lives of the people and the issue of reduction of cost governance.”

Earlier, the committee Chairman had assured that Nigerians would have a cause to smile soon as the body was doing its best to bring succour and ease current difficulties.

“The committee sat and deliberated on possible ways to cushion the effects of subsidy removal and very soon Nigerians will start reaping the benefits of this”, the Kebbi governor had said.

“We are determined to come up with a good and suitable outcome that will benefit Nigerians, therefore, be rest assured that the committee is up to the task.

“All we need is patience, support and cooperation from all Nigerians to enable us to achieve the set goals and objectives of establishing the committee by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”

QUOTE: We cannot continue to blow grammar while Nigerians are suffering and trekking long distances to work

The Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) has predicted that the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential election will not be overturned by the court.

EIU, which had projected that Tinubu would win the presidential poll, also predicted in its latest report that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi would emerge a formidable force in 2027.The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the last presidential election.

Tinubu defeated 17 other candidates who took part in the election. He scored a total of 8,794,726 votes to emerge victorious.INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who announced the final results, said the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar came second with a total of 6,984,520 votes in the election.

Obi came third in the election with a total of 6,101,533 votes while Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria’s People Party (NNPP) came fourth with 1,496,687 votes.Both Atiku and Obi are challenging Tinubu’s victory at the Presidential Election Petitions Court.

EIU had predicted before the 2023 general election that Tinubu would win the presidential poll.In its latest report released at the weekend, EIU noted that the presidential candidate of the LP, Obi would emerge a formidable force in 2027, pointing out that the court would not overturn Tinubu’s victory in the February 25 presidential poll.

“Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, won the February presidential election with only 36.6 per cent of the vote. The result is being contested in court, but EIU does not expect it to be overturned. Mr. Tinubu prioritised winning the Muslim north, and calls for secession from the Christian-majority south will grow louder,” EIU said in its latest report.

The report noted that Tinubu came to power in May after an election in February in which he won 37 per cent of the vote on a turnout of 27 per cent.According to EIU, Tinubu took over from Muhammadu Buhari, his predecessor from the same party, the APC. The report added that Tinubu has shrugged off low popularity to begin a campaign of market reform on a scale and intensity that is virtually unparalleled in Nigerian history.

“He has deregulated the foreign-exchange market and petrol pricing -reforms that will deliver a stronger economy in the medium to long run but that mean short-term pain for consumers. The capacity to shield households from rising prices is limited owing to a tiny fiscal footprint. In a country already grappling with multiple security crises that are fuelled by high unemployment (a third of the workforce in 2020, the most recent official data) and widespread poverty, the potential for mass unrest is a major risk to both the smooth implementation of reforms and the ability of the government to survive its first term. Inflation when Mr. Tinubu came to power in May was 22.6 per cent and will rise sharply over 2023 and into 2024. As the president’s low level of political capital erodes, EIU expects his reform agenda to lose momentum,” the report explained.

“The APC won a majority in the upper house and the largest number of seats in the lower house. Nigerian politics is fluid, with party allegiances often more about political convenience than ideology. Frustration with the two-party system was made evident by support for Peter Obi of the fringe Labour Party in the presidential election. Backed by unions, he will undoubtedly build the party’s profile and become a more formidable force ahead of the next election, in 2027,” EIU added.

Founded in 1946, EIU forecasts economic trends, political forces and industry developments in countries of the world.They combine data, analysis and forecasting to guide informed decisions by businesses and policymakers.

By Abdulyassar Abdulhamid


Tweeps have knocked former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, as an old video showing the ex-governor boasting he would not be a minister resurfaced.

Wike and the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were at daggers drawn after Wike lost the presidential bid and vice presidential slot in the build-up to the general elections.

The crisis led to the formation of G5 composed of five state governors led by Wike, who worked against the party during the 2023 presidential election.

During the campaign, Wike, who backed President Bola Tinubu to win the poll, had said he was not interested in becoming a minister.
“Only one person can be a minister from a state; I will not be a minister. I will not. I am not a liability; Rivers State is an asset. So if you don’t want to win an election, it’s your business. I’m not the one running the election. He who wears the shoes knows where it pinches him,” Wike had said in the video.

However, his name appeared on the ministerial list the President sent to the National Assembly on Thursday for screening.

Since the old video resurfaced, the former governor has come under criticism for what some Nigerians described as “double-standard”.

A user, Tunde Adeparusi, said Nigerian politicians sought public office for personal gains.

He said, “Shameless soul! It’s a clear proof that most Nigerian policians seek public office for personal gains. They don’t really care about the citizens.”

That Naija Guy said, “First Wike wanted to be the presidential candidate of PDP, he failed. He then went for the VP seat, then again he failed. Then he worked tirelessly to rig the presidential election for APC which he has criticised for 8 years. Now he has been rewarded for this criminality.”

Foreign05 said, “You shouldn’t talk or say a thing like that because you and i know that this is politics especially that of Nigeria,so there’s no cheap politician coz if you were in these guys shoe you’d do more than them,no pretends pls….

But rushbanana wrote, “He said he will not b a minister to @atiku cabinet not tinubu. Make una get am right. Una go cry die… he was not talking about tinubu government but atiku @GovWike carry go sir, No mind all these social media people wey no know anything. Coming online to talk rubbish all d to.”

“You will just post 20 seconds from an entire statement so you can say rubbish. I dare you to post the full statement make shame catch you,” another Twitter user, Familiar Spirit, wrote.

Onyic Foundation said Wike had finally agreed to be “a liability” contrary to his vow.

Hillary B Eji stated, “This is what Wike have reduced himself too… someone that picked presidential ticket now he’s happy for been a minister lol”

“Dino Melaye once said to Wike when you drink don’t talk, when you talk don’t drink, very nonsense greedy man… I can’t stop watching this video,” Ernesto Martins wrote.

Following the submission of the first set of ministerial nominees to the Senate, indications have emerged that President Bola Tinubu will restructure some of the ministries of the Federal Government by merging some, creating new ones and scrapping others.

Saturday PUNCH investigation revealed that the decision to restructure the ministries was in line with the recommendations of the Stephen Oronsaye report on the restructuring of the civil service as this paper had earlier reported that Tinubu would implement some of the recommendations in the report.

According to findings, the Federal ministries of Education, Youths and Sports Development, Agricultural and Rural Development, Solid Minerals, Works and Housing, Power; Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development are some of those being considered for restructuring. The restructuring of some of the ministries will also give birth to new ministries.

Findings by our correspondents on Friday indicated that there were plans underway to unbundle the Ministry of Education into two; the Ministry of Tertiary Education and the Ministry of Basic Education to be in charge of primary and secondary levels of education.

While it is not clear if the President will appoint two ministers to oversee the new ministries, sources in the civil service noted that the decision to create two ministries would improve the quality of service delivery in the two sectors.

The Ministry of Works and Housing will be unbundled with the Ministry of Works to focus on federal roads and highways, while the Ministry of Housing will be restructured and financed to stimulate economic growth.

It was also gathered that the Ministry of Humanitarian, Social Development and Disaster Management would be restructured into the Ministry of Human Development with social development as part of its functions.

Similarly, the Federal Ministry of Transportation will be unbundled to become the Ministry of Railways and Rail Transport and the Ministry of Waterways and Marine Transportation.

The Ministry of Information will now be known as the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, with the National Orientation Agency now playing a huge role in the dissemination of information to the public.

New ministries of Solid Minerals and Iron and Steel Development will also be created.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development may be unbundled with the Rural Development Department being transferred to the Ministry of Human Development.

Sources in the Presidency also told Saturday PUNCH that the Ministry of Budgeting and National Planning would be similarly restructured with the budgeting aspect merged with the Ministry of Finance, while national planning would be moved to the new Ministry of Statistics that would be created.

Under the current Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the commerce component may be moved to the Ministry of Trade and Investment, while the industry component will be moved to the new Ministry of Employment and Industry.

The Ministry of Solid Petroleum is to emerge from the current Ministry of Petroleum Resources and will be responsible for bitumen and tar sand, while the Ministry of Interior may be restructured to handle identity, birth and death registration as well as immigration issues. The National Population Commission may be moved to the new Ministry of Statistics, while the Ministry of Labour and Productivity will be renamed the Ministry of Employment and Industry.

The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, during an interaction with journalists on Thursday following the submission of the list of ministerial nominees hinted at the restructuring of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government.

Earlier, a committee set up by the President had recommended a speedy implementation of the Oronsaye report and the merger of some revenue-generating agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Nigeria Customs Service, and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency into the Nigerian Revenue Service in order to enable an efficient collection of all direct and indirect taxes, as well as levies on behalf of the Federal Government.

According to submissions made by a sub-committee of the National Economy Council, the policy will be aided by the passage of an Emergency Economic Reform Bill, which will grant the President special powers to drive the economic reform agenda and support the delivery of sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

But the Oronsaye report established that there are 541 Federal Government parastatals, commissions and agencies (statutory and non-statutory) and recommended that 263 of the statutory agencies should be reduced to 161, while 38 agencies should be abolished and 52 should be merged.

The panel also recommended that 14 of the agencies should revert to departments in ministries.

The government later set up a White Paper Drafting Committee headed by the then Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, SAN, to study the recommendations and to produce a White Paper on the report.

While it is not quite clear that the Tinubu administration will scrap some ministries and agencies in line with the Oransanye report, experts and analysts are of the opinion that the restructuring process will favour some ministries and push toward steady implementation of government policies


Experts give opinions

A professor of Economics at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Sherifdeen Tella, said the merger of ministries and creation of new ones depended on the policy direction and priorities of the government.

He also called for the separation of the works and housing ministry, while a ministry of economic development should be created.

Speaking in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents on Friday, Tella said, “Certainly, the ministries to be merged or created will depend on the government’s priority. For example, the Ministry of Works and Housing should be separated into two ministries or housing can be joined to another relevant ministry.

“The current Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning should also be disbanded. The Ministry of Economic Planning should be created, while finance and budget planning can be merged.

“They can merge Trade and Investment into the finance ministry but on the condition of efficiency. If it is unyielding, there is no need for a merger.”

On his part, a professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Uyo, Akpan Ekpo, called for the immediate dismantling of the humanitarian ministry and recommended that the education ministry should be separated into higher education and primary and secondary education ministries.

He said the Ministry of Finance and National Planning should be separated and called for the creation of a standalone Ministry of Economic Development.

Ekpo stated, “The government should dismantle the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management. There should be a Ministry of Economic Development separate from the Ministry of Finance

“The education ministry should be split into two; a part should be solely for higher education, while another should be created for primary and secondary education.”

A political analyst, Prof Kamilu Fage, urged the President to concentrate on strengthening the ministries for efficient service delivery rather than creating new ones to reward political allies.

He also said there was a need for a reduction in the cost of governance in view of the current economic realities.

Fage said, “One of our major problems in Nigeria is the high cost of governance. We have so many duplicated ministries, which is why the previous government had the Oronsaye committee that came out with the proposal for a merger.

“On the splitting of ministries, you have to be careful not to overstretch issues. We should consider the economic condition of the country and be weary of performance so that we don’t have so many ministries just to pay political supporters. What the President should do is to arrange things in such a way that we will have functional organisations.”


Supporting Fage’s view, a political analyst, Ezenwa Nwagwu, noted that previous mergers of the MDAs by past administrations had not translated into effective service delivery to Nigerians

He said, “It is not about splitting or merging ministries. This is not the first time such a thing is happening. The question is what did we get when past governments did merger and splitting of ministries?

“What the President needs to concentrate on is service delivery outcomes by matching service delivery with resources. If it does not translate to efficient service delivery, it is a waste of time whether you merge or continue with what you have.”

An educationist and National Coordinator, Concerned Parents and Educators Initiative, Mrs Kemi Koleowo, stated that the move to split the Ministry of Education into two was laudable.

She said, “For a long tie, I think the Ministry of Education has become too large for one person to run. We need to separate primary and secondary education from tertiary education to give the desired attention for them to move forward. For a long time, they have been short-changed. When you have a community that is large and not properly attended to, you’ll realise that developments will not get to the grassroots that they are meant to get to.

“In this case, this is a laudable development that they want to put in place. For quite some time, basic education in Nigeria has been bastardised, which is the foundation to prepare students to get into tertiary institutions. This is long overdue and a welcome development.”

Speaking on the development, the Executive Director, Centre for Transparency Advocacy, Faith Nwadishi, stated that for years, the body had advocated for a reduction in the cost of governance, adding that the move to create new ministries was wrong.

She noted, “When we advocated for cutting the cost of governance, the past administration tried to do this by merging some ministries. For example, the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning were two different ministries in the past and many other ministries like that. Due to this, we have seen that with the merger of some of these ministries in the past, we didn’t get full efficiency. What I would have loved to see before the creation or separation of ministries is that there should have been a study to show that these ministries are inefficient due to being merged, thus, the need to create new ministries because a state of emergency has been declared on a particular ministry.”

Nwadishi stated that the creation of new ministries would call for the need to open offices for more political associates, ministers and junior ministers, who would head them and that was against the plan to cut the cost of governance.


Niger’s new ministries

The Niger State Head of Service, Salisu Abubakar, has explained why Governor Mohammed Bago recently increased the number of ministries from 23 to 30.

Abubakar said it was aimed at recruiting more people into the civil service and also absorbing casual workers, some of whom he noted had been in that position for 20 years.

The HoS made this known while speaking at the handing and taking over ceremony of the new permanent secretaries of the ministries of Work and Infrastructural Development, Hassan Etsu, and Power and Renewable Energy, Lucky Barau.

He said over the years he had been calling for the recruitment of more people and the absorption of casual workers into the civil service, and was happy that the governor created the opportunity.

Abubakar stated, “We have 30 ministries now from 23. It’s part of what gives me joy because it is expanding opportunities for civil servants. Before now, I was opportune to be in a position to advise the previous government to do recruitment. And anytime we move for recruitment, they will ask us to show them the source of funding. I’m just telling you the reason why salaries were moved to the Head of Service and later it was moved to the Ministry of Science and Technology.

“When we made that submission that there’s a need for recruitment in the service, they said we should show them where to get the money for it. When we did the exercise, they said we should identify the BVN against salaries, but what happened at the end of the day, only 100 related officers were employed, while 3,000 political appointees were employed; that was what happened. Then the second time I was in tertiary, there was a need for recruitment in tertiary and they said we must show evidence where that money will come from. That was how salary now moved from Head of Service to meet us in tertiary. We did the same exercise; we did a lot of savings and yet civil servants were not employed.

“So, with the coming of the new sheriff, we presented all these issues to him and he said if we want posterity to judge us right actually, we must recruit because as it is now, the service that is supposed to be a pyramid is now becoming an inverted pyramid.

“Now, we don’t have officers on level 6, level 7, level 8, level 9, even level 10 are very few. We are trying to do a census on how to get this thing right and we said the best way to go about it is to create newer ministries, which our boss approved. Now, we have the Ministry of Energy and Power; we have the Ministry of Primary Healthcare, Ministry of Nomadic and Pastoral Affairs, Ministry of Humanitarian and Disaster Management and we have the Ministry for Small, Medium and Vocational Skills Development and Entrepreneurship.

“The essence of these ministries is to create space for new recruitment. We have 434 directors in the ministries. Now, if you take a census of 30 ministries with a minimum of six directors in each ministry, 212 deputy directors and 24 assistant directors in each ministry, that is how we will move so that the pyramid will keep on expanding below. So, you can see that opportunities are being created.”

The HoS gave an assurance that with the support of the staff members of the ministries, the days of casual workers were over.

Danladi was barred In 2019 from contesting or holding political offices over alleged certificate forgery and age falsification.

President Bola Tinubu's ministerial nominee from Taraba State, Senator Sani Danladi was barred in 2019 from contesting or holding political offices for 10 years over forgery, SaharaReporters can report.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Thursday afternoon read out the 28 ministerial nominees sent in by President Bola Tinubu for screening at the National Assembly.

Former Governors of Ebonyi and Rivers states, Dave Umahi and Nyesom Wike, made Tinubu’s ministerial list read on the floor of the Senate.

Former Kaduna Governor, Nasir El-Rufai and a former Acting Governor of Taraba State, Senator Sani Danladi also made the list.

However, a publication on the Taraba State website confirmed how Danladi was barred In 2019 from contesting or holding political offices over alleged certificate forgery and age falsification.

Prior to the 2019 general elections, a High Court in Jalingo had disqualified Abubakar Sani Danladi from contesting the election after it was found that he presented a forged document to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The case went on to the Court of Appeal before the election and to the Supreme Court after the election, where the apex court affirmed the judgement of the lower court confirming that the certificate presented by Sani Danladi to the INEC was fake and forged.

It was in the same judgement that the Supreme Court barred Sani Danladi from contesting any election until after 10 years.

The Gazette done by Taraba State reads in part; "A five man Panel of the Supreme Court of Nigeria sitting in Abuja today the 5th day of July, 2019 and composed of The Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria Tanko Mohammed JSC, Mary Peter Odili JSC, Olukayode Ariwoola JSC, Paul Galumje JSC and Uwani Abbaji JSC have dismissed the Appeal filed by Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi the purported APC Governorship candidate in the 2019 Taraba state Governorship election which challenges his disqualification by the Federal High Court, Jalingo.

"The Supreme Court dismissed the Appeal for being incompetent and failing to meet the requirements of the law.

"Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi was disqualified from contesting the 2019 Governorship election in Taraba state on the 6th day of March, 2019 by the Federal High Court, Jalingo presided over by Honorable Justice Stephen Dalyop Pam.

"However, on the 7th day of March, 2019 the Court of Appeal sitting in Yola and composed of Chidi Nwaoma Uwa JCA (Presiding), James Shehu Abiriyi JCA and Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero JCA granted an interim stay of status quo in favour of Sani Abubakar Danladi which enabled him to stand for the March 9th, 2019 Governorship election in Taraba state.

"The Court of Appeal sitting in Yola subsequently and still composed of the above mentioned Justices later heard the Appeal of Sani Abubakar Danladi on the merit and struck out the Appeal for being incompetent on the 3rd May 2019.

"Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi further Appealed to the Supreme Court against the judgement of the Court of Appeal which Appeal the Supreme Court have struck out/dismissed today for being incompetent and failing to meet the requirements of the law.

"1. The judgement of the Supreme Court against the Appeal of Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi today the 5th day of July, 2019 means that the Judgement of the Federal High Court, Jalingo which disqualified Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi from contesting the March 9th, 2019 Governorship election in Taraba state still subsist and has full effect because as it stands now; the Federal High Court judgement have not been altered nor set aside by the Supreme Court which is the highest court in Nigeria.

"a. As it stands today, it is deemed by the law that APC had no candidate in the March 9th Governorship election held in Taraba state.

"b. Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi (Sani Contact) was not the candidate of APC in the March 9th, 2019 Governorship election in Taraba state.

"c. Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi never contested the March 9th, 2019 Governorship election in Taraba state against Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku; and Sani was not recognized by APC as their candidate. He is neither recognised by INEC as a candidate for APC during the election.

"d. Every vote cast (Score) for Sani Abubakar Danladi and APC in the March 9th, 2019 Governorship election in Taraba state was colossal and amounted to nothing.”

"EFFECT OF THE JUDGEMENT ON ALHAJI SANI ABUBAKAR DANLADI’S POLITICAL CAREER AND FUTURE. Sani Abubakar Danladi destroyed himself and committed political suicide by presenting a questionable WAEC certificate to INEC and lying on oath in his form CF001 before the 2019 election about his age.

"By virtue of the judgement, Sani Abubakar Danladi is finished politically and morally. Sani now stands a chance to be sent to prison should the appropriate and relevant investigative and prosecutory institutions in Taraba state receive his documents in their table. Lying on oath in INEC form CF001 and using a WAEC certificate that does not belong to him to obtain political benefit are both criminal. “

"The Taraba state government is also under a heavy moral and legal obligation to do the needful by raising a GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPER recognising the judgement and thereafter Gazette/Publish same in the official Gazette of the state; and this shall imply that Sani Abubakar Danladi shall not be qualified to contest for; nor hold any political office from the date of the Gazette to a period of ten years. Taraba state government do not have a choice in this regard except to Gazette the judgement else the government will be accused of aiding and abetting crime," the statement added.

The Federal Capital Territory Commissioner of Police, Haruna Garba, has lamented that some undisclosed persons drop the command’s emergency numbers with loan shark companies to obtain loans.

He also said non-state actors had also been engaging the emergency lines.

The CP, however, warned those behind the acts to desist, saying that the police would ensure they are brought to book.

Garba stated this in a statement by the command spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, on Friday.

It partly read, “In the same vein, the CP enjoins non-state actors who have been engaging the Police emergency lines in their mischievous posts, aimed at misleading members of the public and those submitting same to obtain loans to desist from such and only use the emergency lines for its intended purpose as deliberate steps will be taken to arrest and prosecute the purveyors of these illegal acts.”

Garba also denied a viral report that kidnappers wore police uniforms to abduct 17 residents in the Apo area of Abuja.

“The Commissioner of Police FCT hereby wish to inform members of the public that contrary to the falsehood making the rounds on media platforms alleging that kidnappers who adorned the Police uniform to perpetrate their illicit acts have kidnapped 17 persons from the Apo area in Abuja is a figment of the author’s imagination as no incident of such happened within the FCT,” the statement added.

She said the CP urged residents to cooperate with the police for improved service delivery.

“He equally tasks FCT residents to take advantage of the Police Control Room numbers in reporting suspicious activities: 08032003913, 08061581938, 07057337653, and 08028940883,” she added.

Nigeria’s former aviation minister, Hadi Sirika, has arrived at the headquarters of the Department of State Services (DSS) for questioning, SaharaReporters can report.

SaharaReporters learnt that Sirika arrived at the headquarters of the country’s secret police on Thursday in a Range Rover SUV.

"Hadi Sirika was invited by the DSS for questioning. He is being grilled; he arrived in a Range Rover SUV," a security source told SaharaReporters.

Sirika was the aviation minister in former President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.

Sirika and some of Nigeria Air have been facing the heat over the recent 'launch' of the airline in Abuja.

The acting Managing Director of Nigeria Air, Captain Dapo Olumide, recently revealed more information about the ‘fraudulent’ launch of the airline by the Buhari-led government at the twilight of the administration.

The administration had unveiled a Boeing 737-800 aircraft belonging to Ethiopian Airlines as a “Nigerian Air” plane.

SaharaReporters in May reported that the plane unveiled by Buhari as Nigerian Air a few days before he left office, was over 10 years old and belonged to Ethiopian Airlines.

Its registration number is ET-APL.

Plane Spotters, a platform which takes an inventory of aircraft, revealed its Mode is S Q4005C and its Serial Number is 40965/4075.

It noted, “The first flight was an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft. Then it became Malawi Airlines on 16th February 2014. It was then acquired again by Ethiopian Airlines in 2015 and has been operating under Ethiopian Air since then."

When Olumide appeared before the Senate Committee on Aviation, he confirmed that the aircraft that flew in with the logo of Nigeria Air was chartered from the Ethiopian Airline for the purpose of unveiling the Nigeria Air logo.

Olumide told the Senate Committee that Nigeria did not have an operating licence for full flight operations, noting that the processes to acquire the license were still in the early stages but the Buhari-led government used the chartered Ethiopian aircraft to show Nigerians and investors what the logo looks like.

The minister said at a recent Arise News interview that the landing of the Ethiopian aircraft in Abuja was “a marketing strategy.”

A man in Katsina State has reportedly divorced his 14-year old house wife for allowing a male medical practioner attend to her while giving birth to his baby.

The teenage mother, who was divorced by the husband, was said to have had a complicated child birth, resulting to being rushed to the hospital where there was no female medical practioner on ground to attend to her. As a result, the only male medical practioner available attended to her during labour, a development that led to the crash of her marriage.

Although the lady was said to have given birth successfully, her husband’s joy was cut short when he rushed to the hospital to realize that the medical practitioner that attended to the wife during labour was a male. Peeved by the development, he subsequently divorced the wife.

The Executive Director of Nana Women and Girls Empowerment Initiative, Dr. Fatima Adamu, who disclosed this, Thursday, in Abuja, while speaking as a keynote speaker at the Human Resources for Health Production Dialogue, appealed to governments, especially state governments to ensure there was equity in the recruitment and deployment of medical personnel to rural communities.

The event which was organised with a view to revolutionizing the country’s healthcare system, had stakeholders calling for accountability and prudence in healthcare training institutions.

Adamu, who has over 15 years of engaging and advocating for increase in production of nurses and midwives in the country, insisted that governments, especially state governments need to take up the responsibility to produce their own health workers as according to her,”there is no short cut about it.”

“A 14- year old Fulani girl in Katsina State,she delivered and had difficulty with delivery, so we had to take her to the hospital and after the delivery, the husband divorced her because she was attended by a man. This young girl was divorced all because she was attended by a man during delivery,”she lamented.

The women’s rights activist lamented that Nigeria was producing medical doctors far below its need.

“There is shortage of health workers despite the production.We are producing health workers far below our need. Our average population growth is 3.2 , but our annual production of nurses and midwives is 2.6,so definitely,there is gap. That is the latest data available that could be accessed,”she added.

Also speaking,Mr. Paul McDermott, Director of USAID/Nigeria HPN Office, represented by
Mieko mickay, recognizing the pivotal role of students and tutors,also encouraged them to foster positive behaviors that promote a culture of supportive and collaborative learning.

On his part, the Country Director of USAID Health Workforce Management,HWM, Dr. Andy Omoluabi, stressed the critical role that human resources for health play in strengthening the country’s healthcare system, especially primary health care workers such as nurses, midwives, and community health extension workers.

According to him, despite the evident importance of these healthcare workers, Nigeria faces numerous challenges in producing enough skilled personnel, particularly at the primary health care level.

He said:”Some of the identified key challenges, include shortages of qualified tutors and trainers, inadequate learning environments, and difficulties with adapting and delivering training curricula, despite revisions made in collaboration with regulatory bodies.”

One of the most pressing concerns highlighted during the event was the alarming burden of maternal and child mortality in Nigeria. Shockingly, Nigeria shoulders over 34% of the global burden of maternal death and has become the world’s highest contributor to deaths among children under five years.

The Department of State Services (DSS) says it has begun investigation on the clash that happened within the premises of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos on Tuesday.

Daily Trust had reported how DSS operatives and prison officials clashed during the arraignment of the former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.

Spokesman of the secret police, Peter Afunanya, described the clash as “unfortunate”, disclosing that the incident was being probed.

“The public will recall that Mr Godwin Emefiele, suspended CBN Governor, was arraigned at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, on 25th July, 2023. The Service has noted the incident that took place between its staff and those of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) and wish to state as follows:

“The incident was unfortunate and does not in any way reflect the professional disposition of the DSS; The Service did not and would never encourage the incident under reference. The Service has tremendous respect for the Judiciary as an Arm and Institution of Government and will not go out of its way to undermine it. The DSS recognises the Judiciary as a critical component in nation building, national development and security management. Also, the Service has robust working relationship with sister Security and Law Enforcement agencies including the NCoS;

“While noting that the personnel from both Agencies exhibited undue overzealousness, the Service has further initiated detailed investigations into the matter. This is with a view to identifying the role played by specific persons as well as undertaking disciplinary actions if necessary and drawing some lessons going forward.”

Afunanya said the secret police did not break any law with the way Emefiele’s case is being handled, alleging that some persons were trying to discredit the leadership of the agency.

“For emphasis, the DSS has not broken any laws in handling the Emefiele Case despite efforts by some elements to skew the narratives to the contrary. The Service had since alerted the public of sinister plots to discredit its leadership. In pursuit of its assignments, it will strive to remain professional, maintain ethical standards and high sense of discipline. The Service will ensure that it will not be used for clout and fame chasing or delusional heroism.

“It will, however, remain focused on its national security mandate and, therefore, enjoin well-meaning Nigerians to support it in achieving the desired security goals for the nation. It is imperative to note that we have no other country but Nigeria. We should join hands, with love and tolerance, to build it.”

By Chinagorom Ugwu


Despite Umana Umana repudiating a fake letter which surfaced on Facebook recently, some people in Akwa Ibom State have latched on to it to unjustly attack the former minister of Niger Delta Affairs.

The fake letter, addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, sought to portray Mr Umana as an “ethnic champion” and a promoter of division within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom, while it (the letter) appeared as though it was campaigning for the former minister to be included in President Bola Tinubu’s yet-to-be-announced cabinet.

The letter bears the name of a faceless group, Akwa Ibom APC Renaissance, as its author.

It said that Mr Umana should be appointed a minister just because he is an Ibibio, the major ethnic nationality in Akwa Ibom.


Umana reacts

“We want to make it crystal clear that Mr Umana has nothing to do with this letter, and that the group is not acting at the behest of the former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs,” Iboro Otongaran, a spokesperson to Mr Umana, said in a statement on Friday.

“Contrary to the impression that the letter and those behind it want to create, Mr Umana is not an ethnic champion.

“In all the roles he has had the privilege to play at the state and national levels Umana has always acted in the national interest, prioritising competence, fairness and equity above other considerations. And over the years, Umana has demonstrated his loyalty to the APC and has been unstinting in his efforts to build and defend the unity of the party at both the state and national levels,” the statement added.

Mr Umana’s statement did not, however, stop the APC in Akwa Ibom from attacking him.

The APC spokesperson in the state, OtoAbasi Udo, said in a statement on Friday that Mr Umana should not be appointed a minister.

Mr Udo, without proof, said that Mr Umana did not work for President Tinubu’s victory in the presidential election in Akwa Ibom, an allegation that has been rehashed by some people within the APC.

“Did he win his ward for APC? Did he win his local government, Nsit Ubium, for APC? Did he win his federal constituency, for APC? Did he win his senatorial district, Uyo, for APC? Did he win his state, Akwa Ibom, for APC?” Mr Udo, a lawyer, said in the statement.

Mr Umana won his polling unit in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, for Mr Tinubu and the APC in the last general elections.

Before the elections, Mr Umana had reportedly provided financial support to the APC in the state, including the party’s governorship candidate, Mr Udofia, and several of the party’s candidates for the House of Assembly elections, at least six people who are knowledgeable about this told PREMIUM TIMES.

He was coordinating Mr Tinubu’s presidential campaign rally in Uyo.

The Peoples Democratic Party has, however, remained the dominant party in Akwa Ibom since the return of democratic governance in Nigeria in 1999.

PREMIUM TIMES, Monday, asked the APC spokesperson in Akwa Ibom, Mr Udo, if he was aware that Mr Umana had distanced himself from the Akwa Ibom APC Renaissance and its letter.

“Yes, I am aware. But we had published our reaction before they (Umana) came out with their statement,” he responded.

Mr Udo said “we stand by our statement,” despite Mr Umana distancing himself from the Akwa Ibom APC Renaissance.

He said the Chairperson of the APC in Akwa Ibom, Stephen Ntukekpo, had authorised the issuance of the statement.

Mr Ntukekpo did not respond to calls and a text message seeking comment from him.


The fake letter

The fake letter was authored and pushed into social media with the main intention to attack Mr Umana’s credibility before President Tinubu and the APC national leadership because of the race for ministerial appointments, investigation by PREMIUM TIMES revealed.

Apart from Mr Umana, a former presidential aide, Ita Enang, the 2023 APC governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom, Akan Udofia, and a former commissioner in the state, Victor Atai, are among those in the state reportedly interested in becoming Mr Tinubu’s minister.

President Tinubu has till Friday, 28 July, to constitute his cabinet, going by Nigeria’s constitution.

The letter that the Akwa Ibom APC and a few others have relied upon to attack Mr Umana had a fake address, Plot 87, D-Line, Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo.

The owners of the property have issued a statement, saying that it “is an expanse of gated bungalow that does not accommodate any offices, be it private or commercial”.

The names on the letter appeared to be non-existent, according to findings by this newspaper.

PREMIUM TIMES used some fact-checking tools – Google Reverse Image and Tin Eye Reverse Search – to search for the origin of the letter. The search led our reporters to Samuel Mbosoh, a chieftain of the APC in Onna Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

Mr Mbosoh had posted the letter on his Facebook page on 21 July, at 12:44 p.m.

“I think it is fake,” he said of the letter when our reporter interviewed him on the phone, Monday evening.

Despite his acknowledgement that the letter was fake, Mr Mbosoh had used it as a basis to attack the former minister on Facebook.

“Umana Okon Umana should be able to produce election results from his units, wards and local government area,” Mr Mbosoh said – a similar line used in a statement issued by the APC spokesperson in Akwa Ibom.

Upon our reporter’s inquiry, the APC chieftain said he downloaded the letter from a WhatsApp group that is exclusive to the APC members but he declined to provide the name and phone contact of the person that he claimed published the fake letter on the WhatsApp platform.

Mr Mbosoh later sent a text message to the reporter, asking him not to mention his name in the story “to avoid having (a) problem with me”.


Reactions from APC chieftains

Several APC chieftains in Akwa Ibom have come out in defence of Mr Umana.

Edet Ikotidem, a lawyer and a former House of Representatives candidate of the APC in Akwa Ibom, told PREMIUM TIMES, Monday, “Umana Okon Umana did everything, he funded the activities of the APC in the state. I am a witness. Even the presidential rally in Uyo, he bankrolled the rally.”

“I was appointed into the 2023 APC governorship campaign committee, Umana gave all of us money to go back to our respective areas to work for the APC in that election.

“Umana from 2015 contributed to the foundation of the APC in Nigeria. He footed the APC bills for the governorship and presidential elections in Akwa Ibom in 2015. That was the only election the APC truly won in Akwa Ibom,” Mr Ikotidem said.

“What they are trying to do against Umana is very wrong, it is blatant lies,” he added.

Sunny Jackson, an entrepreneur and an APC leader in Akwa Ibom, corroborated Mr Ikotidem’s remarks.

“Umana has been funding the APC since 2015 when he contested the governorship election. Even Tinubu himself has knowledge of Umana’s contribution to the APC in Akwa Ibom,” Mr Jackson told this newspaper.

“These are blackmailers,” he said of those accusing Mr Umana of not working for the APC and President Tinubu’s victory in the election.

Forty-eight hours to the public presentation of the composition of the various standing committees of the National Assembly, there is discontent at the way the exercise has been handled in the two chambers of the federal legislature.

LEADERSHIP gathered that lawmakers in both chambers trembled with anger, especially at the weekend. A majority of the lawmakers are nursing the hurt of being unfairly treated by the handlers of the exercise in the Presidency.

The names of the federal lawmakers allocated to the various committees in the Senate and House of Representatives are expected to be made public during plenary on Thursday, ahead of the six-week recess by the two chambers.

LEADERSHIP had on Friday run an exclusive report that the composition of the standing committees of the Senate and House of Representatives had been hijacked by the Presidency.

This action has fostered anger and disappointment in the National Assembly.

LEADERSHIP gathered that tension was palpable, particularly in the House of Representatives during plenary on Thursday.

This newspaper gathered that the anger in the House was further accentuated when information about the exercise leaked to the aggrieved members.

One of the lawmakers in the House of Representatives told LEADERSHIP that the exercise was tilted in favour of the emerging Lagos cabal and their cronies in other states and Committees allocated to the South-West.

The source identified the Grade A committees unilaterally allocated to the state by the presidential aide as Finance, Defence, Industry and House Services.

According to our source, Hon. Babajimi Benson, who represents Ikorodu Federal Constituency of Lagos State, has been slated to head the House Committee on Defence, while his Epe Federal Constituency counterpart, Hon. Tasir Wale Raji, is to chair the Committee on House Services, which our embittered source described as “purely transactional unpretentiously.”

Similarly, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, representative of Akoko North East/Akoko North West Federal Constituency of Ondo State, who is regarded as the most powerful House member outside Lagos State, has been scheduled to chair the House Committee on Works, which was rejected by Borno lawmaker, Hon. Muktar Betara.

Tunji-Ojo, reported to be eyeing the Ondo State governorship seat, was the chairman of the scandalous House Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in the 9th Assembly.

Also, barring any last minute alteration of the list, a son of the late Alaafin of Oyo, Hon. Akeem Adeyemi, who represents Oyo Federal Constituency of Oyo State, has been selected as chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, a slot previously regarded as an exclusive preservation of the lawmakers from the Northern axis of the country.

LEADERSHIP learnt that House members from the North were livid over the choice of Adeyemi to head the prestigious committee.

In the same vein, the highly lucrative Committee on Appropriation has been allocated to Hon. Abubakar Kabir Bichi, who is representing Bichi Federal Constituency of Kano State. Bichi headed the House Committee on Works in the 9th Assembly.

Hon. Boma Goodhead, representing Akuku-Toru/Asari-Toru Federal Constituency of Rivers State, is tipped for House Committee chairman on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). She is a younger sibling to a Niger Delta militant leader, Mujarhedeen Asari-Dokubo. It is considered a reward for Asari-Dokubo’s firm support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Meanwhile, LEADERSHIP learnt that Betara rejected the chairmanship of the House Committee on Works, proposed to him by the handlers of the exercise.

Betara, a front-runner for the speakership of the House in the 10th Assembly before he was persuaded to step down, was chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation in the 9th Assembly.

LEADERSHIP gathered that Betara is unhappy that the Presidency reneged on the promise made to him before his withdrawal from the contest for the position of the House speaker.

LEADERSHIP gathered that Betara was promised, among other things, that he would return as chairman of the appropriation committee of the 10th House of Representatives as well as the reservation of an undisclosed percentage of the committee chairmanship slots for his teeming supporters in the House.

Members loyal to Betara are reported to be spoiling for a showdown with the leadership of the House over their fate.

To this end, investigation by LEADERSHIP further revealed that Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, who left the country to attend the 18th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Commonwealth (CSPOC), African Region in Yaounde, Cameroon, decided to stay back at Cameroon’s capital city for few days after the event, apparently to ward-off pressures from House members, back home.

Abbas’s reluctance to return to the country apparently stemmed from the resultant frustration occasioned by the hijack of his statutory responsibility of handling the allotment of the chairmanship of the committees in the House by forces in the Presidency, who helped him to power and his apparent helplessness in the unfolding drama.

However, while Abbas is in Cameroon, his main support network, Task Group, which midwifed his election, is protesting alleged marginalisation in the scheme of things in the House.

The group, which met at a popular hotel behind the Police Headquarters, Asokoro, Abuja, on Wednesday night, expressed disappointment that the interest of its members was not being properly “projected, protected and harnessed to secure befitting roles in the leadership structure of the House, especially the allocation of the leadership of the various committees of the House.”

Consequently, the group, with a membership strength of about 200 House members, resolved and dispatched the chief whip and minority leader of the House, Hon. Bello Kumo and Hon. Kingsley Chinda, respectively, to interface with Abbas and Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, over their fate.

Kumo and Chinda are chairman and deputy chairman of the group, respectively.

One of our sources in the House of Representatives, who craved anonymity, said, “We have the feelers from the Presidency that four of the seven Grade A committees allocated to the South West have been given to Lagos State, with Hon. Babajimi Benson to pick the chairmanship of Defence Committee; Hon. Wale Raji to serve as chairman of House Services, among others. Also, Hon. Abubakar Kabir Bichi from Kano State is to be announced as chairman of the prestigious House Committee on Appropriation.

“Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo is billed to become the chairman of the House Committee on Works while the son of deceased Oyo monarch, Hon. Akeem Adeyemi, is slated to pick the chairmanship of the House Committee on Agriculture, though his anticipated nomination is being attacked by members from the North, who believe that major agricultural practices take place in the North.”

“The member, representing Biu/Bayo/Shani Federal Constituency of Borno State, Hon. Muktar Betara, who was approached to pick the chairmanship of the House Committee on Works rejected the offer because the gesture was at variance with the promise the Presidency made to him before he stepped down for Rt. Hon, Abbas for the election of the speakership position of the House. He was promised the chairmanship of the appropriation committee and inclusion of his teeming supporters as chairmen of other various committees in the House.

The source added, “You can see that Betara and his teeming supporters are also angry and aggrieved. They are spoiling for war with the House leadership. The same way, you can see that members of the Task Group, the support base of Speaker Tajudeen Abbas ahead of his election on June 13, are also unhappy. While Mr. Speaker decided to stay back in Yaounde after the CSPOC conference, to avoid pressures over the composition of the House committee, for which he could not provide any explanation or information, members of his support group are protesting perceived marginalisation back home here in Abuja.

He declared that in the National Assembly, especially the House of Representatives, the Lagos cabal and their associates and cronies from other states are firmly in-charge.

“Many members cannot condone their unbridled arrogance as they ignore and snub their colleagues at will. They willfully ignored normal pleasantries and phone calls. These attitudes had reinforced anger and resentment in the House. Hours ahead of the announcement of the committee during plenary on Thursday are going to be tension-soaked,” added the source, who re-affirmed his pleas that his name should not be mentioned in print.

Betara could not be reached for his reaction to the report. The lawmaker did not respond to calls and text messages.

Abbas could also not be accessed for his reaction to the story.

On her part, the chairman, House Ad-hoc Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Khadija Bukar Abba, ignored messages sent to her mobile phone on the matter.

It was however gathered that the immediate past chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Aliyu Muktar Betara, may be given back his Committee as part of the agreement reached with him to step down from the Speakership contest.

The federal government has revealed that it will, in the coming days, streamline its taxes from 52 to 10 in order to promote efficiency and accountability.

The special adviser to the president on revenue, Zacch Adedeji, stated this yesterday during the virtual TOPAZ 88 second lecture series, which had the title, “Revenue Challenges and Opportunities in Nigeria Today.”

Adedeji noted that because of multiple taxations, compliance and trust in tax payment had become a huge challenge in Nigeria.

“What the federal government is doing right now is to ensure that the poor breathe. The aim of this administration is to tax prosperity and not poverty and tax the fruit, not the seed.

“This is why, in the coming days when the tax committee is constituted, we will ensure that we streamline our taxes from 52 to 10 because we have realised that it is very difficult to have compliance due to so many taxes

“What we want to do now is to ensure that regulators focus on regulations while agencies in charge of tax collections will collect. For instance, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) collects 3 per cent freight duty, but it is not their duty. Their duty is to secure the waterways. Collection of freights is the sole responsibility of the Nigerian Ports Authority. This is the reason we have leakages because we don’t know how much we have.

“However, if we streamline and harmonise these taxes, we will know how much we have and then we can effectively utilise them,” he said.

Speaking further, the presidential adviser also revealed that once the Senate constitutes its standing committees, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) will be renamed to the Nigerian Revenue Service.

Explaining the rationale behind the name change, he said the idea was to ensure that all taxes due to the federal government becomes the sole responsibility of the federal government, as well as to avoid duplications.

He further revealed that the federal government will deploy technology in ensuring effectiveness and accountability in its tax collections.

By Olasunkanmi Akoni


Following the sudden increment in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, known as petrol from N488 to between N568 and N617 per litre, civil servants in Lagos state have resorted to shifting operations across board to cushion the effect of the increment.

Vanguard learned that since the fuel subsidy and the latest fuel hike, workers have resorted to a kind of shift service of one-day-on, one-day-off.

According to a worker, that is what most of the ministries staff are doing now to relieve staff of financial stress occasioned by the fuel hike.

Consequently, most private vehicle owners in Lagos have decided to board public transportation to their offices and various destinations with the erstwhile gridlock often witnessed across Lagos metropolis reduced drastically in recent times as most of the highways visited witnessed free flow of traffic across the state.

Most of the areas visited include Egbeda-Iyana-Ipaja-Dopemu-Ikeja-Oshodi axis; Ikotun-Isolo axis; Agege-Yaba-Ikorodu Road-CMS-Ikoyi axis, among others.

Also, residents have been left with no choice but to resort to trekking as means of transportation due to hikes in fares, with many unable to afford the exorbitant fares.

The metropolis, which is like a ghost town compared to the sea-of-cars-on-the-road it was known for, has continued to witness commuters trekking to their various destinations on a daily basis. The inability to cope with the rising transport fares has forced people from different walks of life to embark on long walks despite the scorching sun.

Commercial buses and taxis have recorded a considerable drop in patronage, as more commuters have taken to alternative commercial transportation like Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, and trekking, particularly, short-distance journeys.

Civil servants

This development is being felt across various sectors. Lagos civil servants are not left out in the hardship as most of them have embarked on shift operations to reduce the financial impact.

While the government has acknowledged the concerns raised by the public regarding the fuel price hike, immediate relief for residents remains elusive. The situation has prompted calls for urgent intervention to address the economic challenges faced by Nigerians and to alleviate the burden of transportation costs.

As residents of Lagos continue to adapt to the new reality of trekking long distances, many are yearning for a relief package in the much expected “palliative” as promised by President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government to address, cushion the fuel price crisis and restore affordable transportation options for all citizens.

Recently, Lagos State Public Service organized a public lecture for workers on the need to evolve and embrace digital operations as part of measures to reduce the effects of fuel subsidy removal on effective service delivery in the state.

State Head of Service, HoS, Hakeem Muri-Okunola, spoke at an event to kick-off the commemoration of the “2023 Public Service Week,” and gave highlights on the public lecture, tagged: “Building and Sustaining Digitalized Service”.

Muri-Okunola explained: “As of today, we all understand the issue around the fuel increase which has actually affected the purchasing power with the fact that civil servants have to come to work through road transportation. Some travel in their private vehicles, while others in public buses.

“So, the topic of the lecture was actually picked in order for civil service to explore the new way of work, the digitalised mode of operations that are going on all over the world, the remote way of working.

“We want to explore how civil servants can work from home. This, we know will require a lot of change in the public service rules and operations.

“So, it is tailored in order to understand the new way of working all over the world. The communique of the lecture would be submitted to the state government for consideration and implementation.”

Workers and residents speak

Some of the workers and residents who spoke to Vanguard, mostly under anonymity, narrated how they have been coping with the economic situation in the county.

Commercial bus drivers have hiked the transport fares as high as 300 per cent. A journey that earlier cost N200, is now N600, while a journey of N100 is between N250 and N300 across the state metropolis.

A journey from Ikotun to CMS which used to be N1,000 has gone up as high as N3,000.

A worker, simply identified as Idowu, who resides in the Alimosho area of the state, lamented how he has dropped his car at home and dumped the commercial bus to join the Lagos State staff bus in order to avoid the high cost of fuel on his meagre salary.

Idowu, narrated: “The hike in petrol has forced me to drop my car at home, I now join the staff bus home and to the office now because I cannot afford the daily cost of fuel.”

Also Mrs. Adeola, who lives in the Ifako-Ijaiye area, told Vanguard that most of the ministries have adopted one day on and one day off for workers to limit the number of days at work due to the situation in the country.

Adeola stated, “Since the fuel subsidy and the latest fuel hike. We have resorted to a kind of shift service of one-day-on, one-day-off among staff.

“That is what most of the ministries staff are doing now. This is to relieve staff of financial stress occasioned by the fuel hike.

“Though, we are working from home in most cases. If you take random check around the ministries you will find out exactly what I just told you.”

Meanwhile, a check by our correspondent revealed that most workers operate on shift basis presently, as few workers were seen in most of the offices visited.

A senior official, who des not want to be named, simply told Vanguard, “Anyway, everyone is still regular at their respective offices, just that many were thankful for the provision of staff bus that conveys them to and fro, as that’s the only support at this tough time for now.”

A resident, Ayo Elemide, insisted that the new subsidy regime, which enjoyed the endorsement of the APC-led administration, was worsening an already dire economic situation.

According to Elemide, “The increase is worsening the already suffocating economic situation on Nigerians and could crumble the country if not quickly addressed.

“It is appalling that instead of seeking ways to stabilize and grow the economy, the government has abandoned the primary purpose of providing welfare to Nigerians. Nigerians do not deserve what they are getting from the present government.

“I have been abandoned by two vehicles to board a commercial bus to work which is considerably low to driving. I have even scaled down on the number of days I report at work. The hardship is overwhelming.”

Cash transfer register: We’ll come out with a stance in due course — Lagos govt

On the rejection of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s cash transfer register, Lagos State Government said efforts are on to evolve a comprehensive register that will capture a reasonable number of residents in due course

The Chief Press Secretary to the state Governor, Gboyega Akosile, who spoke to our correspondent, simply said, “We are taking a holistic look at the development and Lagos State, being a centre of excellence will soon come out with a stance on this.

“Lagos State already has a similar document called Social Register, though it is not comprehensive because series of dynamics have taken place. I just want to assure you that very soon Lagos will come with a definite register. There is a template for it already.”

Commuters scramble for rickety BRT bus amidst dwindling services

Meanwhile, residents have also resorted to boarding Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, foregoing the yellow buses, popularly called “Danfo,” despite limited buses and dedicated routes with dwindling services.

About 15 years after Lagos launched it’s first set of BRT schemes, it was gathered that most of the buses have become a shadow of what they used to be, with many losing their former luxurious facilities and gradually looking rickety like their LAGBUS counterparts.

Checks by Vanguard revealed that Lagos first launched it’s BRT buses in 2008 with many of the buses air-conditioned and fully fitted with mobile phone charging ports.

For most users of the BRT buses, the comfort and ability to charge their mobile phones while in transit endeared them to the new transport mode.

But these days, the cooling system of most of the BRT buses has stopped working, so most of the windows are always open. Even the charging ports are no longer working.

Mr. James Owolabi lamented, “The cooling system has stopped working. The charging ports have packed up. It’s like sitting inside the regular Molue or LAGBUS.

“But for it’s dedicated lanes and reasonable fare most of us would have stopped using it every day.”

Responding, the regulatory body of BRT, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Agency, LAMATA, through the Consultant, Communication and Public Affairs, Kola Ojelabi, said, “On the cooling system in the BRT buses, they are working but have to be switched off as part of cost-saving measures.

“We don’t want the operators to use the fact that they are using AC in the buses to increase fare. We do care about the enormous burden on the average commuter.

“But the major challenges the operator is facing today are galloping maintenance cost, operations, and lack of spare parts, especially in the face of huge cost of sourcing foreign currencies for their procurements.”

PDP, LP, Falana kick

Following the increment the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the Labour Party, LP, rejected the hike, describing it as an act of provocation by the All Progressives Congress, APC-led administration against Nigerians.

While the PDP accused the APC of extreme insensitivity and callousness towards Nigerians, the LP, on its part, said it was just the beginning of hard times Nigerians will be facing under the current administration.

Also, human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, insisted that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL, should be restrained from further fixing the prices of petroleum products in the country.

Falana, also noted that having liberalised the NNPCL, the company should be restrained from further fixing the prices of petroleum products in the country.

The legal luminary, in a statement, said: “In his inauguration address delivered on May 29, 2023, President Bola Tinubu announced that his administration will govern the country under the rule of law.

“The people of Nigeria were taken aback when the NNPL increased the pump price of petrol from N500 to N617. After increasing the price, the NNPCL turned round to claim that it was fixed by market forces.

“It is submitted that the increase of the pump price of petrol by the NNPCL is an affront to the rule of law on the ground that it is illegal in every material in particular,” he said.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives, resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to look into the incessant increase in fuel prices.

The resolution followed a motion of urgent national importance, titled ‘The need to investigate the incessant increase in fuel pump price’, moved by Ikenga Ugochinyere at plenary.

However, an amendment moved by another lawmaker urged the House to direct the NNPCL to suspend the new pump price of N617 and revert to the old price of N540 was put to vote by the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Benjamin Kalu.

Lawmakers unanimously rejected the amendment, shouting ‘NAY’.

Moving the motion, Ugochinyere noted that the incessant hike in fuel prices had, in turn, caused hardship for Nigerians.

According to him, the high cost of transportation will, in the coming days, lead to a hike in food prices in the market.

The lawmaker said: “Mr Speaker, this is the peoples’ House and we represent the Nigeria people. Very soon with the way things are going, fuel will be sold for N1,000 per litre.”

He, however, urged the House to set up an ad hoc committee to summon the Group Managing Director of the NNPCL to look into the increase in fuel price.

A scandalous romance orchestrated by a 38-year-old woman has sparked a paternity row over an 11-year-old girl between a member of the Fasehun faction of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) and an official of the National Union of Road Transport Workers Union (NURTW), reports Head of Investigation Desk, KUNLE AKINRINADE.


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If Fatimoh Oloyede were a footballer, she would most likely make exploits as a dribbler. The mother of five had ‘ingeniously’ played two men into a dubious romance and deceived both to believe that they fathered her ‘only daughter’, Damola.

She had sustained the game of deceit for about 11 years until a few weeks ago when her castle of lies collapsed like a pack of cards as the two men found out that she had been deceiving them to believe they are the girl’s father.

The 38-year-old woman impregnated by a man in Ibadan had left the Southwest city for Lagos and lived with a man named Oluwasegun Benson for three months, telling him that she was pregnant with his child. Thereafter, she told Benson that she was going to visit her mother in Ibadan but instead went to the house of her other Lagos-based lover, Sharafa Biliaminu, where she stayed for another two months and also told him that she was pregnant for him. She then returned to Ibadan where she was eventually delivered of a baby girl that has since become the subject of a serious paternity row.

Fatimah was however interdicted by the operatives of the Frederick Fasehun-led faction of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Ifako-Ijaiye Chapter, when a member of the group, Sharafa, who is one of the two men laying claim to Damola’s paternity, discovered that Fatimoh had introduced the girl to another man as her father and had taken her to live in the man’s house.

Narrating his experience with Fatimoh in a chat with our reporter, Biliaminu said: “My name is Sharafa Biliaminu. I met Fatimoh through one of my sisters.

“She actually lured me into an affair after accompanying one of my acquaintances to a party I organised in Mushin, Lagos. I slept with her several times and she became pregnant.

“She told me that her father died and I gave her some money to visit Ibadan where he claimed her father was living.

“I did not accompany her on the trip because she had yet to formally introduce me to her family as her husband.

“I collected her mother’s phone number, but when I called the woman to commiserate with her, she vehemently denied that her husband (Fatimoh’s father) was dead, so I became confused.

“Although she told me that she was delivered of my child, I was upset when she said that her family members had named the baby Damola.

“She brought the baby to my house at Alagbado (Lagos), dumped her at my door, and bolted. But my mother, Mama Mushin, who is now late, took the baby from me and nursed her till she (mother) died.

“After my mother’s death, I encountered Fatimoh again while I was returning home with my boss. I even slept with her on that day.

“She asked after her daughter and requested to take the girl to live with her. I agreed.

“After some time, the girl came to my house one day and told me that her mother took her to the home of one of my brothers. I was startled.

“I later discovered that Fatimoh actually took Damola to another man, and I trailed her to the man’s (Benson’s) residence.

“I later discovered that Fatimoh took my daughter to Benson and also told him that Damola was his daughter. It was on that basis that I informed the leader of my faction of OPC and we arrested her.”

Giving his own account of the paternity saga, Benson said that Fatimoh was adept at leaving his house for her mother’s residence at Ibadan whenever she was pregnant and she would call to inform him that she had been delivered of a baby.

Benson recalled that he ignited the affair with Fatimoh about 20 years ago when he was fond of revelling at a beer joint in the Agege part of Lagos State.

Benson said: “I am an operative of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the Agege area of Lagos State. I work at one of the parks there.

“Usually, after the day’s work, there is a beer joint in town where we usually relax, and that was where I met Fatimoh who was then one of the attendants.

“One of my friends was actually dating her friend and I also started dating her around 2002/2003. She would sleep in my hotel room and return to where she was living because I had not got my personal accommodation then.

“She later told me that she was pregnant for me, and I declined responsibility because I knew that she lied a lot, and because she was working at a beer parlour where people like her are exposed to men.

“But she insisted that I was responsible for the pregnancy and I accepted. Shortly after, she vanished for about eight months and returned with a baby boy named Jibola, claiming that the baby was mine.

“I told her that I would accept the baby but I would not take her as my wife. I also promised that I would take charge of the boy’s upkeep.

“She said her brother and mother were the ones that named the baby, and I was giving her money for the baby. By then, I had got my own apartment and she started pleading with my younger sister to talk to me so that I could take her back. It was my sister that took her to my father and my father told me that I should accept her back.

“She moved in with me and we started living together as a couple. She took in again and disappeared when the pregnancy was five months old.

“She said she was visiting her mother, and a few months later, she called me on the phone, saying that she had been delivered of a baby girl and that I should send the name of the baby. I disagreed and told her to bring the baby to Lagos for proper christening.

“She later returned with the baby girl (Damola) and I refused to accept that the baby was mine. But after being persuaded by people, I accepted her and the baby and we lived together for about one and a half years until she left me again and only recently returned with the baby to be engulfed the current controversy.”

Fatimoh, however, explained that neither Sharafa nor Benson is the father of Damola. She explained that the real father of the girl is an Ibadan-based drummer identified simply as Bayo.

She said she could not explain what led her to deceive the duo to believe that they fathered her daughter.

She said: “My name is Fatimoh Adedeji. I am from Oje Compound in Ibadan, Oyo State. I am 38 years old. I

“I don’t live in Lagos. I live in Igbeti part of Oyo State. Benson Oloyede asked me to see him in Lagos, and I told him to wait till this week when I would be able to visit him at Agege, Lagos.

“Benson is my husband and Sharafa too is my husband. I met them at different times and places, but it was Benson I met before Sharafa.

“I met Benson while I was a beer parlour attendant in Agege. By then I had already had a son called Kayode with a man who is deceased.

“I would not lie; I was already dating Benson before my former husband died. I was shuttling between Agege and Ibadan where my husband was resident before he died.

“Along the line, I got pregnant and Benson told me that he was not responsible for the pregnancy, hence I returned to Ibadan hoping that I would deliver the baby there.

“I subsequently came back to the Kollington area of Alagbado, a Lagos suburb where I was assisting a woman to sell some items in a store. It was there that I met Sharafa’s sister (now deceased) who urged me to marry her brother because he had no wife at home.

“By then, the pregnancy was already three months old, and I explained to Sharafa’s sister who promised to give me a substance that could help abort the pregnancy so I could marry Sharafa.

“I took the substance and I believed the pregnancy was terminated because I saw blood after ingesting it.

“However, when I returned to Ibadan two months after, I noticed that my stomach was bulging. I visited a hospital for tests, which confirmed that the pregnancy was intact and five months old.

“My husband in Ibadan, who is now deceased, believed he was responsible for the pregnancy. Sharafa, who I spent more than two months with, believed the pregnancy was his, and Benson, who had initially denied the pregnancy, later accepted it because I insisted that he was the one that slept with me.

“However, it was Sharafa that threw a party on the day the baby was named.

“The baby, a girl, is more than 11 years old now. I don’t know how I managed to deceive three men to believe they are the father of my daughter.

“I did not live permanently with any of the three men. The real father of my daughter is called Bayo, hence neither Sharafa nor Benson is her father.

“I lied to Bayo, a drummer with a popular Fuji artiste, Tiri Leather, in Ibadan that I was coming back to Lagos to work. In Lagos, I spent more time with Benson than I did with Sharafa.

“I was never pregnant for Sharafa; it was his late sister that arranged our relationship.

“Sharafa actually asked me to come take my daughter after his mother (Mama Mushin) died. I was then living at Pelewura area of Lagos Island.

“He explained to me that the person he asked to take care of the girl was spending the money he gave him to take care of my daughter on betting.

“My first husband was Abideen. We had an Islamic wedding but he is late now.

“I have five children; four boys and a girl (Damola). I am pregnant with the sixth child.

“Damola’s real father, Bayo, knows there is a paternity issue with Damola. My present husband lives in Igbeti (Oyo State) and he is not aware that I am enmeshed in an issue like this.

“I don’t intend to date or have children for either Sharafa or Benson again because God has provided me with my own husband, and I cannot leave my daughter with them.”

Wearing a rather sullen look, Damola revealed how her embattled mother introduced her to two different men as her father.

She said: “My name is Damola Oloyede. From infancy, I was living with the mother of Daddy Sharafa called Mama Mushin until the woman died and my mother took me to Daddy Oloyede, who she told me is my father’s younger brother.

“She warned that I must embrace him and address him as my daddy. I did as she instructed until I returned to Daddy Sharafa and opened up on what happened and how my mother took me to another man (Benson), who she claimed was my father.”

Pleading for forgiveness from the men for her indiscretions, Fatimoh said: “I want Sharafa and Benson to forgive me and let go of this matter for the sake of God, because I don’t want my new husband to know about this matter at all.

“I don’t want the matter to destroy my new marriage.”

‘Japa:’ Nigerians face hard times

Many Nigerians planning to leave the country to the UK, US or Canada, among other countries, are facing hard times coping with exorbitant tickets.

Sources in the travel industry told our correspondent that while the airlines have released low inventories, which are very few, those low fares have been fully booked for July, August, up to September.

A passenger who travelled to Canada two weeks ago via one of the East African carriers said she paid over N2.7m for her flight.

“I had to sell off my car to raise the money; it wasn’t easy. Although I had an issue, which according to them was responsible for the expensive cost of the ticket, it is still on the high side. They said there was a mix-up on the travel date.”

Toluwani, who got an admission in the UK and she is expected to resume in August, said she might consider going to Cotonou if it is possible because the ticket price is too high in Nigeria.

“I am yet to book my flight, but I am being told I would need about N2m for a flight to the UK. Where will I get that?”

A travel agent who simply identifies herself as Jenny said, “What many people are doing now is to put a distress sale on their properties to be able to raise money for tickets.”

While the exchange rate was given as one of the reasons for the high fares, finding shows that there is no significant exchange rate difference for naira and the CFA.

As at Friday, July 21, 2023, one dollar exchanged at CFA 588.96West African, which equals N791.01, while for Ghana Cedis, one dollar equals 11.67, which translates to N790.74.

Another issue cited is the ease of doing business, which observers say might not be a sufficient ground for the huge difference.

A 2019 ease of doing business score in West Africa, published by statista.com indicated that Ghana led with 59.22 on a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 is the best possible performance in doing business. The country ranked highest, compared to other West African countries. Côte d’Ivoire and Cape Verde followed with scores of 58 and 55.95 respectively. Guinea Bissau achieved 42.85 score points, representing the lowest in comparison to the other West African countries. However, Nigeria scored 52.89; Benin 51.42; Liberia 43.51.


Stakeholders speak

The founding partner/executive director of General Sales and Solution Management Limited (GSSM), an aviation consultancy firm, Babatunde Adeniji, said there was no justification to make the comparison.

He described the ticket differences as “unbalanced comparisons,” asking, “Is the cost of doing business in Cotonou and Nigeria the same?

“It was not rigorous enough and simplistic to reach such a conclusion,” he said, adding that he would not believe the claim of rip-off by foreign airlines.

“Basically, any investment, including business, involves weighing your risk against your rewards. The higher the risk, the higher the reward. Exchange rate risk is a high risk. So they must manage it while trying for higher rewards.”

The secretary-general of the Aviation Roundtable and Safety Initiative, Mr Olumide Ohunayo, said the solution to higher fares was for Nigerian carriers to participate in the market.

Daily Trust Saturday reports that no Nigerian carrier is operating to any European route at the moment, especially the highly lucrative London route.

Last week, the chairman of Air Peace, Mr Allen Onyema, said his move to start a London route was being frustrated by authorities in the UK, adding that his intention was to crash fares as it is a misnomer for a one-way ticket to London to cost over N2m.

But Ohunayo told our correspondent that the Nigerian government should go beyond designating a local carrier to another country, saying it must provide the full complement of diplomatic support through the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Aviation and Justice.

He said, “The continued increase in tickets on the Nigerian routes is because there is high demand, which is not being met by capacity. That’s why we are having this issue. It is sad that as popular as the London route is, with 21 frequencies only being used to the maximum by British carriers, there is none from Nigerian operators. What’s wrong?

“If the scheduled airlines cannot start the London route, let the chartered airlines be representing Nigerians.

“For any Nigerian airline carrying the Nigerian flags, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justices and Aviation must support the airlines and take all encumbrances away from the airline.

“The moment you ask an airline to go to a country, all the international protocols must be activated to support this airline, it must not be a government-owned airline before you support it. Virgin Atlantic is being supported by the British government on issues that have to do with international trade.

“We saw a belated fight to support Air Peace on the Dubai route after the damage had been done. The demand is here.”

An aviation consultant and airline operator, Captain Ibrahim Mshelia blamed the exorbitant fares in Nigeria on the operating environment.

Mshelia, who is the chairman/chief executive officer of West Links Airline said, “The infrastructure and processes passengers and visiting airlines go through in Nigeria are dilapidated and most unfriendly. The cost of services in Nigeria to visiting airlines and domestic ones, to drop and pick up passengers, is much higher in Nigeria than elsewhere as the government has over-employed people who are often unprofessional and too many that the agencies have to create multiple charges to raise money to meet up with the internally generated revenue. The visiting airlines need to recover their costs, so it is the travellers who pay.

“These are basically the issues. The Nigerian airspace is the most unfriendly and most expensive in the region.”

Also, Group Captain John Ojikutu, the immediate past secretary of the Aviation Roundtable, said given that aviation is traded in dollars, Nigeria should “find the economic way to reduce the value of naira against the dollar as it was in the 1980s and 1990s when it was N40/$.”

“An average airfare was N4,000 or $100. Fuel then was refined locally and not imported at forex costs. So don’t expect airfares to be less, plus the cost of imported fuel for one leg.”

Ojikutu also pointed at what he called security and fuel management, which added to the cost of operation for foreign airlines.

“How many of you know that most EU airlines have secondary security screening for international passengers and hold-baggage? Domestic airlines are complaining of fuel contamination; have you heard such complaint from foreign airlines? If foreign airlines are managing all these on their own, it is at a cost.

“Lastly, what are you doing for the MTN that pays service providers in naira to repatriate their naira earnings in dollars, which you cannot do for foreign airlines that pay for services in dollars to repatriate their earnings?”

..Nigerians pay 3 times higher

...FG must resolve trapped funds to ease business – Agents

...Citizens selling property to ‘Japa’


There is no end in sight to the continued spike in international fares as Nigerian travellers to other parts of the world pay more than three times higher than what their counterparts in neighbouring countries pay on some routes, checks by Daily Trust Saturday have shown.

Our correspondent reports that stakeholders and travellers had decried the high airfares in Nigeria, but little did they know that travellers in neighbouring countries, such as Ghana, Benin Republic, Niger, among other West African neighbours, pay far less on the same class of ticket.

Recently, a social media post went viral about how Lagos to London costs $1,636 (1.3m) and Cotonou to London costs $469 (N380,000) on the same date and airline.

However, checks by Daily Trust Saturday indicate that virtually all the neighbouring countries enjoy far cheaper airfares than Nigeria despite the high travel demand.

Some analysts, however, said the dynamics of demand and supply were at play, coupled with the fact that Nigeria lacks the capacity for reciprocity.

The Lagos-London route remains a reference point because of its busy nature with Nigerians thronging the United Kingdom for businesses, education, and those seeking greener pastures.

A direct flight from Lagos to London is about six hours, 30 minutes.

Turkish Airlines appears to be the most expensive of the tickets, with a Lagos-London flight costing as much as $3,534 (N2.7m) while the lowest advertised fare is $1,432 (N1.1m).

However, the same flight for Cotonou costs between $475 (N368, 837) and $601 (N466, 676).

Also, Accra to London on Turkish Airlines is $701 (544,326) while Niamey, Niger Republic to London costs $918 (N712,827).

Apart from Lagos-London, a check on Lagos-Amsterdam on the same Turkish Airlines put the fare at $1,797 while the same route for Accra is $751.

Checks on British Airways, a United Kingdom (UK) carrier, indicate that the Lagos-London one-way economy ticket costs 2,698pounds or N2.7million at the exchange rate of N957 while Accra-London with a longer flight time costs 2,416pounds or N2.4m or 35,958 GHC.

There was no BA flight from Cotonou for the month of July but only available for Sierra-Leone and Liberia at the ticket cost of 2,866pounds and 3,167 respectively.

For Ethiopian Airlines, the lowest fare for Lagos-London ticket is N941, 930 and the highest being N1,552, 349 at the time of checking.

However, compared to Cotonou, it is higher as the Cotonou-London ticket is as low as N603, 900 for a longer distance of seven hours, 31 minutes.

For Accra-London on Ethiopian Airlines, the ticket goes for N673, 225. It is equally cheaper from Lome, Togo and Monrovia, Liberia.

Another airline checked by our correspondent is Rwand Air, which fixed its fare at N2, 013,037.


Low naira value, biz environment responsible

Stakeholders said the business environment, naira depreciation and the trapped funds were some of the factors that have increased international flight tickets in Nigeria.

More so, they said the principle of demand and supply, worsened by the absence of any Nigerian carrier on the European routes, had worsened the plight of air travellers.

At the time of filing this report, the airline’s rate of exchange was N803 to one dollar from N776, while foreign airlines’ trapped funds in Nigeria hit over $800m.

The president of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA), Mrs Susan Akporiaye, said the comparison of Nigeria and neighbouring countries in terms of airfares would be unfair.

She said the economic situation in Nigeria was not the same as Cotonou or Ghana, where there is relative stability in their exchange market.

The NANTA president said airlines were not selling their lower tickets because of the trapped funds. She, however, recalled that before the economic situation deteriorated, the travel agencies made a presentation to the National Assembly five years ago, lamenting over the expensive fares charged by foreign airlines, and called on them to enact a law to make the fares to be at par with what is charged in the neighbouring countries, but nothing was done.

She said, “But doing that comparison now would be unfair because Cotonou does not have the crisis we have in the Nigerian market.

“Presently, the airlines are not selling their low fares and our exchange rate has gone up, so doing that comparison now won’t be fair.

“It has always been like that. Nigeria’s fares are higher than other places, even before this crisis. When everything was normal and our exchange rate was N200, our fares were still higher in the Nigeria market.


NANTA President

“I remember that we took this issue up with our lawmakers over and again but they did not do anything about it.”

She said a fair comparison could only be made when things become normal.

“When things go back to normalcy we can do a proper comparison. Of course, it is a known fact that prices in Nigeria are always higher, and the only explanation airlines in Nigeria give is that it is about the law of supply and demand.

“For us in Nigeria, travelling is a demand; hence the reason the prices in our country cannot be the same as Accra,” she added.


‘Japa:’ Nigerians face hard times

Many Nigerians planning to leave the country to the UK, US or Canada, among other countries, are facing hard times coping with exorbitant tickets.

Sources in the travel industry told our correspondent that while the airlines have released low inventories, which are very few, those low fares have been fully booked for July, August, up to September.

A passenger who travelled to Canada two weeks ago via one of the East African carriers said she paid over N2.7m for her flight.

“I had to sell off my car to raise the money; it wasn’t easy. Although I had an issue, which according to them was responsible for the expensive cost of the ticket, it is still on the high side. They said there was a mix-up on the travel date.”

Toluwani, who got an admission in the UK and she is expected to resume in August, said she might consider going to Cotonou if it is possible because the ticket price is too high in Nigeria.

“I am yet to book my flight, but I am being told I would need about N2m for a flight to the UK. Where will I get that?”

A travel agent who simply identifies herself as Jenny said, “What many people are doing now is to put a distress sale on their properties to be able to raise money for tickets.”

While the exchange rate was given as one of the reasons for the high fares, finding shows that there is no significant exchange rate difference for naira and the CFA.

As at Friday, July 21, 2023, one dollar exchanged at CFA 588.96West African, which equals N791.01, while for Ghana Cedis, one dollar equals 11.67, which translates to N790.74.

Another issue cited is the ease of doing business, which observers say might not be a sufficient ground for the huge difference.

A 2019 ease of doing business score in West Africa, published by statista.com indicated that Ghana led with 59.22 on a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 is the best possible performance in doing business. The country ranked highest, compared to other West African countries. Côte d’Ivoire and Cape Verde followed with scores of 58 and 55.95 respectively. Guinea Bissau achieved 42.85 score points, representing the lowest in comparison to the other West African countries. However, Nigeria scored 52.89; Benin 51.42; Liberia 43.51.


Stakeholders speak

The founding partner/executive director of General Sales and Solution Management Limited (GSSM), an aviation consultancy firm, Babatunde Adeniji, said there was no justification to make the comparison.

He described the ticket differences as “unbalanced comparisons,” asking, “Is the cost of doing business in Cotonou and Nigeria the same?

“It was not rigorous enough and simplistic to reach such a conclusion,” he said, adding that he would not believe the claim of rip-off by foreign airlines.

“Basically, any investment, including business, involves weighing your risk against your rewards. The higher the risk, the higher the reward. Exchange rate risk is a high risk. So they must manage it while trying for higher rewards.”

The secretary-general of the Aviation Roundtable and Safety Initiative, Mr Olumide Ohunayo, said the solution to higher fares was for Nigerian carriers to participate in the market.

Daily Trust Saturday reports that no Nigerian carrier is operating to any European route at the moment, especially the highly lucrative London route.

Last week, the chairman of Air Peace, Mr Allen Onyema, said his move to start a London route was being frustrated by authorities in the UK, adding that his intention was to crash fares as it is a misnomer for a one-way ticket to London to cost over N2m.

But Ohunayo told our correspondent that the Nigerian government should go beyond designating a local carrier to another country, saying it must provide the full complement of diplomatic support through the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Aviation and Justice.

He said, “The continued increase in tickets on the Nigerian routes is because there is high demand, which is not being met by capacity. That’s why we are having this issue. It is sad that as popular as the London route is, with 21 frequencies only being used to the maximum by British carriers, there is none from Nigerian operators. What’s wrong?

“If the scheduled airlines cannot start the London route, let the chartered airlines be representing Nigerians.

“For any Nigerian airline carrying the Nigerian flags, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justices and Aviation must support the airlines and take all encumbrances away from the airline.

“The moment you ask an airline to go to a country, all the international protocols must be activated to support this airline, it must not be a government-owned airline before you support it. Virgin Atlantic is being supported by the British government on issues that have to do with international trade.

“We saw a belated fight to support Air Peace on the Dubai route after the damage had been done. The demand is here.”

An aviation consultant and airline operator, Captain Ibrahim Mshelia blamed the exorbitant fares in Nigeria on the operating environment.

Mshelia, who is the chairman/chief executive officer of West Links Airline said, “The infrastructure and processes passengers and visiting airlines go through in Nigeria are dilapidated and most unfriendly. The cost of services in Nigeria to visiting airlines and domestic ones, to drop and pick up passengers, is much higher in Nigeria than elsewhere as the government has over-employed people who are often unprofessional and too many that the agencies have to create multiple charges to raise money to meet up with the internally generated revenue. The visiting airlines need to recover their costs, so it is the travellers who pay.

“These are basically the issues. The Nigerian airspace is the most unfriendly and most expensive in the region.”

Also, Group Captain John Ojikutu, the immediate past secretary of the Aviation Roundtable, said given that aviation is traded in dollars, Nigeria should “find the economic way to reduce the value of naira against the dollar as it was in the 1980s and 1990s when it was N40/$.”

“An average airfare was N4,000 or $100. Fuel then was refined locally and not imported at forex costs. So don’t expect airfares to be less, plus the cost of imported fuel for one leg.”

Ojikutu also pointed at what he called security and fuel management, which added to the cost of operation for foreign airlines.

“How many of you know that most EU airlines have secondary security screening for international passengers and hold-baggage? Domestic airlines are complaining of fuel contamination; have you heard such complaint from foreign airlines? If foreign airlines are managing all these on their own, it is at a cost.

“Lastly, what are you doing for the MTN that pays service providers in naira to repatriate their naira earnings in dollars, which you cannot do for foreign airlines that pay for services in dollars to repatriate their earnings?”

(NANTA), Mrs Susan Akporiaye, said the comparison of Nigeria and neighbouring countries in terms of airfares would be unfair.

She said the economic situation in Nigeria was not the same as Cotonou or Ghana, where there is relative stability in their exchange market.

The NANTA president said airlines were not selling their lower tickets because of the trapped funds. She, however, recalled that before the economic situation deteriorated, the travel agencies made a presentation to the National Assembly five years ago, lamenting over the expensive fares charged by foreign airlines, and called on them to enact a law to make the fares to be at par with what is charged in the neighbouring countries, but nothing was done.

She said, “But doing that comparison now would be unfair because Cotonou does not have the crisis we have in the Nigerian market.

“Presently, the airlines are not selling their low fares and our exchange rate has gone up, so doing that comparison now won’t be fair.

“It has always been like that. Nigeria’s fares are higher than other places, even before this crisis. When everything was normal and our exchange rate was N200, our fares were still higher in the Nigeria market.

“I remember that we took this issue up with our lawmakers over and again but they did not do anything about it.”

She said a fair comparison could only be made when things become normal.

“When things go back to normalcy we can do a proper comparison. Of course, it is a known fact that prices in Nigeria are always higher, and the only explanation airlines in Nigeria give is that it is about the law of supply and demand.

“For us in Nigeria, travelling is a demand; hence the reason the prices in our country cannot be the same as Accra,” she added.

The acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulkarim Chukkol, has threatened to decisively deal with any of its staff who leak confidential information.

According to him, the staff members take an oath of secrecy during the process of getting the job, stressing that anyone found culpable would be dismissed.

Chukkol stated this at EFCC Academy, Karu, Abuja on Friday during the passing-out ceremony of the EFCC Detective Superintendent Course 9.

He said no fewer than 318 cadets participated in the course, adding that they would be absorbed into the commission.

Chukkol said the step was taken to boost the manpower of the commission to fight growing graft in the country to a standstill

He said, “Today, we are witnessing the passing-out of a crop of cadets who 12 months ago, were carefully selected out of thousands of applicants.

“You have all been sworn to the oaths of allegiance and secrecy to be loyal to the nation and the EFCC as well as treat in strict confidence any information that comes to your knowledge in the course of carrying out your duty.

“Any act of corruption, disloyalty, disobedience to constituted authority, and insubordination will be decisively dealt with and the defaulters are shown the exit door.”

He lamented the growing spate of corruption in both public and private sectors, insisting that operatives of the commission would put up a fierce battle through enforcement.

Chukkol said, “The EFCC as you know, is championing the fight against these unwholesome acts being perpetrated by unscrupulous persons whose aim is gaining illicit wealth at the expense of the safety and security of the generality of the public and the image of our dear nation.

“Trends in economic and financial crimes keep evolving and the EFCC must continue to put up a fierce battle against them by prevention through sensitisation and enforcement to serve as deterrence.”

Speaking in the same vein, the Secretary to the Commission, George Ekpungu urged the graduands to uphold the highest levels of integrity and honesty and exhibit appreciable standards of decorum wherever they find themselves.

“We are EFCC, we uphold integrity, honesty, and the highest standards. What you are witnessing today, a lot of people sacrificed so many things. You must above all, operate in integrity. I am saying this today because I am the Chairman of the Appointment, Promotion, and Discipline Committee.

“If you do compromise your office, you will be sent back home to your parents. So parents caution your children on illegalities and avoid putting them under unnecessary pressure,” he said.

Earlier, the Commandant of the EFCC Academy, Ayo Olowoniyi called on the cadets to be guided by the truth wherever they go.

Vehicular movements in most parts of Nigeria have continued to drop as many roads and streets are deserted with very few cars plying them, checks by Daily Trust have shown.

Millions of private and commercial vehicle owners have parked them at home even as traders and civil servants who could not afford high fares remained indoors with many of them saying they were waiting for a miracle to happen.

Those who spoke to Daily Trust said the development was the direct consequence of the recent hike in the price of petrol with a litre sold in major filling stations in Lagos at N568 from the previous N480-N490. The commodity is sold at N617 in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and higher in some places in the far North.


Kano

The number of vehicles on the major roads in Kano has nosedived compared to a couple of days before the latest hike.

Only commercial tricycles were seen sparingly on major roads while the number of private vehicles has declined.

During a visit to the State Secretariat, housing most of the ministries and departments, it was observed that the number of vehicles being grounded has increased.

Even before the latest increase, Daily Trust had reported that majority of civil servants on the payroll of the state government said they could not use their vehicles for 30 days without grounding them to wait for their salaries.

The minimum wage for civil servants in the state is N30,600 with a full tank of an average private car (with 60 litre tank capacity) now costing over N37, 000.

The situation is similar or worse for business owners and artisans in the state.

A trader, Aminu Inuwa, said, “I have since stopped bringing my goods from the market with commercial vehicles due to the fare they are charging us. I have a tricycle and that’s what I now use to bring my goods to the shop even if it will take me three rounds to and from the market to bring everything down to the shop.”

A vehicle mechanic, Umar Hussain, said, “We only come to the workshop to chat and go home. We used to repair cars non-stop every day and even have to leave some for the next day; but now we are literally jobless.”


Lagos

Our correspondents who monitored the traffic situation in and around the Lagos metropolis, from Ojodu-Ogunnusi Road, Ikeja, Ojota, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, and Tollgate down to the Third Mainland Bridge, report that there are very few cars on the roads.

As of 11:20am, the 3rd Mainland Bridge was completely free of traffic gridlock down to Ikoyi, Victoria Island, and Marina.

Also, reports from Agege-Pen Cinema, Iju Road, and Oba Akran Avenue indicated that roads were deserted with few cars seen plying the once bustling roads.

A Lagos resident, Alesh Akeem, who is an artist but could not leave his house, said, “The reason is very simple. I go to the Island virtually every day and before coming from the Island to the Mainland I used to buy N5,000 fuel which could take me like two to three days but now I have to buy N15,000 worth of fuel which might not last more than two days.

“If I have to go to work every day of the week, it is like N15,000 multiplied by four days which is N60,000 a week and N240,000 a month spent on fuel for transport only. You can’t even use any of the ride-hailing services; that is definitely not an option,” he said.


FCT

The increment is having negative consequences on social activities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Daily Trust observed that even though they have the product in stock, filling stations were virtually empty with only a few motorists patronising them.

Many residents said they decided to stay indoors, while others abandoned their private cars to board commercial vehicles.

It was observed that heavy traffic, which usually occurred during the peak periods in busy areas like Area 11, Wuse 2, Gwarimpa, Kubwa and Nyanya, among others, has fizzled away.

One of our reporters who visited the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, yesterday, observed that all the phases of the complex were virtually deserted.

This is evident in the parking space adjacent to the complex which is half occupied, and same thing in the different lobbies of the buildings.

Even the lifts which were usually stampeded by long queues were yesterday a ghost of their former selves. Our reporter was told that it is only high-level cadre staff and essential service staff that were coming to work regularly.

A mid-cadre staff member at the Federal Secretariat Phase I, Edward Emmanuel, said he would drop his car as he could no longer bear buying fuel from his salary.

“Yesterday I bought N10,000 fuel which was just 16 litres that only took me from my house to the federal secretariat and back home.

“What workers are going through now is more than excruciating. We cannot cope any longer. They (the government) should do something so that something will not happen,” he said.

Another staff, Ibrahim Abdullahi, told our reporter that based on his own estimate from their office, there was a significant reduction of staff reporting for work by more than 50 per cent.

“We now use what we call ‘local arrangement’ whereby some of us would come to work and cover for others. Even though this might work as a stop-gap measure, it will certainly affect productivity in the future,” he said.

When our reporter visited the office of the Head of Service of the Federation, he was told that he could not be attended to without prior arrangement.

But an official, who spoke off the record, said the government was aware of the situation. “Let me be frank with you, most of the thumb-in points that workers register their presence have been switched off.

“We feign ignorance to what is happening because there is nothing we can do. How can you punish an employee that the whole of his salary would not pay for his transport for the month?” he asked.

Many staff interviewed by our reporter were of the view that the government should revert to the status quo – the subsidy regime, adding that it should stay for a while until the refineries are fixed.

A trader in Kubwa, Halima Bello, said many people in her area had abandoned their vehicles at home due to the fuel price increment.

Meanwhile, in separate interviews with our correspondents, artisans spoken to said the situation was having negative effect on their businesses as they were now recording low patronage.

A hair stylist, Joy Enogieru, said, “It has not been easy. The epileptic power supply, coupled with the fuel hike, is slowing down the business. Sometimes, when customers want to do retouching and setting, if there is no light and I don’t have fuel in the generator due to the cost, I will just tell them to go somewhere else.”

Emeka Chukwudi, a barber, said: “The situation is really affecting my business because after increasing my barbing fee, quite a number of customers stopped coming to my shop. Before this administration came into power, I used at least N2, 000 fuel daily, but now it’s no longer the case.”


Borno

One of our correspondents who drove round Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno, observed a massive reduction of private vehicles on the major roads with only commercial tricycles were plying the roads.

Mustapha Ibrahim, the chairman of Gamboru Market Keke NAPEP operators, said the fuel increase has made life very difficult for them, and they could not see any relief in sight.

“A litre of fuel costs N630 but passengers are not willing to adjust to the increase in fares. Sometimes, you will fuel the bike and ride a long distance without getting a single passenger. You will burn the fuel and return home with nothing,” he said.

Alhaji Inuwa, a federal civil servant, lamented that his salary as a level 08/2 officer is less than N60, 000, and now spends N1,200 on transport to work daily.

“We want Zulum to also reduce the working days or find a way of relieving workers from the difficulty we are facing. I’m afraid that workers will soon start skipping offices if something urgent is not done,” he said.

A single mother, Sa’adatu Miringa, said with her meagre salary, she’s struggling to feed and take care of her transport fare to the office.

“I struggle to pay my children’s school fees, my transport fare and food. Things are just too much for me and the salary is too meagre,” she said.


FG insensitive, Ondo workers

Civil servants in the Ondo State, on Thursday, kicked against the increase in fuel pump price.

The workers, through their union, described the increase in fuel price weeks after a similar exercise was announced without any attendant palliatives as “wicked”.

Rising from an emergency meeting in Akure, the workers criticised the action of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led federal government, stating that the administration had continued to be insensitive to the plight of the common man.

They stated this in a communiqué issued after the meeting signed by the NLC Chairman, Victor Amoko; secretary, Amos Sunday; TUC chairman, Clement Fatuase; Secretary, Gideon Bakare; JNC chairman, Ademola Adeniji and secretary, Adeleye Foluke Esther.

The workers resolved that the Ondo State government should as a matter of urgency roll out palliatives for them and the masses to ease the agonies inflicted as a result of the hike in the price of PMS.

“All outstanding salaries and allowances owed the workers of the state should be paid immediately,” they said.


NULGE demands 300% salary increment

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), on Thursday, demanded an upward review of workers’ salaries by 300 per cent as minimum wage in both government and private sectors, saying that is the only way to cushion the present hardship in the country.

The union also demanded special rural allowances for workers across 774 recognised local government areas in the country while basic infrastructures are being put in place to encourage them to continue serving in the rural areas and to also discourage rural-urban migration.

NULGE President Ambali Olatunji, who stated this in Abuja in an interview with journalists shortly after the emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the union, also cautioned the federal government to judiciously utilise the $800m World Bank loan it secured.

“Considering the hardship brought about by the removal of fuel subsidy on local government staff, it is the position of NULGE that there should be a 300% rise in the minimum wage for all local government workers and other public servants including private sector workers,” he said.

The Federal Government through the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has said it will release a list of illegal (unregistered) digital loan apps operating in Nigeria.

It also said it would delist two legal (registered) loan apps from Google Play Store for harassing Nigerians.

According to the FCCPC on Thursday, it had added digital money lenders that had refused or failed to register under its guidelines on its watchlist for strict surveillance and necessary action.

In a statement signed by the Executive Vice Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer, Babatunde Irukera, the FCCPC said, “The commission has also placed digital money lenders that have refused or failed to register under the guidelines on its watchlist for strict surveillance and necessary action.

“The list of those digital money lenders will be made available on the commission’s website.

“The Commission will continue to scrutinise listed DMLs and periodically update the list to ensure only businesses that consistently and completely comply with the spirit and intention of the regulatory framework are allowed to do business legally in Nigeria.”

It advised Nigerians to exercise restraint and discretion in selecting digital money lenders and specifically, recommended that consumers only patronise digital lenders on its approved list to avoid falling victim to illegal and prohibited lending and recovery practices.

Commenting on the permanently delisted digital lenders, the FCCPC listed them as Sycamore Integrated Solutions Limited and Orange Loan, and Purple Credit Limited, along with their respective apps — ‘Getloan’ and ‘Camelloan.’

It stated that it came to this decision after investigating the apps.

The commission said, “In the course of the commission’s continuing investigation and tracking of these illegally operating digital money lenders, the commission has discovered duplicity by at least two otherwise legally registered digital money lenders on the commission’s approval list.”

It noted that the firms had also engaged in the use of APK to attract borrowers to a process and practice that is illegal and unregulated.

About 180 loan apps have been registered (partially or fully) and approved, by the FCCPC, to operate in Nigeria.

The National Economic Council (NEC) presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima, has dumped the national social register under Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for lack of credibility.

The council, instead, proposed the implementation of a cash transfer programme for states based on their social registers and a cash reward policy for public servants for six months.

The decision was part of the outcome of the over five hours meeting by members of the council at the state house on Thursday.

The house of representatives has asked the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) not to approve the proposed increase in electricity tariffs.

The lower legislative chamber passed the resolution during a plenary session on Thursday, following the adoption of a motion sponsored by Sani Madaki, a member of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) from Kano.

In the past weeks, reports had spread that electricity tariffs would be increased by 40 percent due to spiralling petrol prices.

The increase was said to be contingent on the 2022 multi-year tariff order (MYTO), which is due for a bi-annual review this month.

There were indications yesterday that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the governors on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) may have endorsed immediate past Kano State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, as replacement for the erstwhile national chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu.

With the development, it is likely that the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc which produced former President Muhammadu Buhari may have again taken a back seat in the scheme of things in the party’s leadership.

LEADERSHIP had reported on Tuesday that former governor of Nasarawa State, Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, who is an ardent member of the CPC bloc, and Senator Sani Musa from Niger State were being considered as possible replacements for Adamu.

However, it was learnt last night that despite pressure on President Tinubu to retain the chairmanship position in the North Central, he settled for Ganduje, apparently to pacify the North West zone which had insisted on producing the Senate President of the 10th Assembly.

It was also gathered that four APC governors, including chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma; his Kwara State counterpart and two others led to meet with Tinubu at the presidential villa yesterday.

At the meeting, the president was said to have briefed the former Kano governor of the plan to make him APC national chairman, instead of minister as earlier planned.

According to reports, Ganduje who had made Tinubu’s ministerial list was asked to nominate someone as his replacement from Kano State.

The news of Adamu and Omisore’s resignation broke on Sunday night but was not confirmed until Monday after the National Working Committee (NWC) meeting of the party.

A source within the party who confirmed the development said the choice of Ganduje as the new chairman would be unveiled at the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting which was postponed indefinitely on Monday.

It was also learnt that a former Senate spokesman in the 9th Assembly, Senator Ajibola Basiru, from Osun State has been tipped to replace the erstwhile party’s national secretary, Iyiola Omisore, who tendered his resignation letter alongside Adamu.

On the choice of Ganduje as the next APC chairman, an online paper quoted a source as saying: “President Tinubu has settled for the former Kano state governor Ganduje to replace Senator Abdullahi Adamu as the party’s national chairman.

“The President had listed Ganduje as one of the nominees for ministerial appointment but because of his trust and confidence in the former governor, President Tinubu has to change his mind and asked two governors (Governor Hope Uzodimma and the Kwara state governor) to persuade Ganduje into another assignment.

“The president also asked him (Ganduje) to nominate another person from Kano for the ministerial job. I can confirm to you that four serving governors of APC, including Imo and Kwara governors led the former governor Ganduje to a meeting with the President on Wednesday afternoon. The purpose of that meeting was for President Tinubu to brief Ganduje directly about the new assignment.”

But speaking after a meeting of the APC governors at Imo Goverors Lodge last night, chairman of the PGF, Governor Uzodimma refused to comment on the development.

Addressing journalists after the meeting, Uzodimma neither confirmed nor denied that Ganduje had been contacted to become the next national chairman of the party.

When confronted with the question he simply ended the interview with journalists and joined his colleagues as they left the Lodge.

Deputy national chairman of the party, Senator Abubakar Kyari, had on Monday announced Adamu’s exit as chairman after a meeting of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) at the party’s national secretariat, Abuja.

He said, “We are here to address the happenings and recent developments regarding the party. The NWC wishes to inform you about the resignation of the National Chairman Senator Abdullahi Adamu and that of the National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore.

“My humble self as the deputy national chairman (North) to assume the office of the acting national chairman, consequently too, the deputy national secretary, Barrister Festus Fuanter, will now assume the office of acting national secretary of the All Progressives Congress.”

He also said the proposed national caucus and NEC meetings slated for today and tomorrow have been postponed.

He said, “With the recent development, we implore everybody here that the proposed National Caucus and National Executive Committee meetings slated for July 18 and 19, 2023 are hereby postponed. This postponement is not indefinite. A new date will be communicated in the nearest future”.

He also refuted reports suggesting that the presidency and the party may have deployed operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to arrest Adamu and Omisore.

He stated: “There are no allegations against them. Both of them resigned voluntarily and that is what is available at this moment. The details of their resignation will be made known to you in the nearest future”.

Adamu reportedly tendered his resignation letter on Sunday on the orders of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

It became clear that Adamu had resigned his position as national chairman when Kyari, who arrived at the party’s national secretariat at about 10:35am, led a team of seven other members of the NWC to a meeting in his office.

Kyari’s official car was also parked in the space reserved for the national chairman.

The former national secretary, Omisore, who arrived at the national secretariat at about 11:20am was said to have been barred from the ongoing NWC meeting.

Omisore, who left the secretariat as soon as he came in, said he was going to meet Adamu, noting that he did not know why the former Nasarawa governor was not at the secretariat.

Adebayo Folorunsho-Francis and Dirisu Yakubu


The new leadership of the All Progressives Congress has written to intimate President Bola Tinubu on the postponement of the long awaited National Caucus and National Executive Committee meetings, The PUNCH learnt.

The development is coming barely 24 hours after the Acting National Chairman of the APC, Senator Abubakar Kyari, announced the resignation of his successor, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and National Secretary, Iyiola Omisore.

This was even as multiple sources confirmed that the National Working Committee might be looking towards October to convene a National Convention to complete the transition of filling up the vacant offices.

Aside from the offices of the National Chairman and secretary, other positions that are presently vacant includes Deputy National Publicity Secretary, formerly occupied by Murtala Ajaka, who is running for the office of Kogi governor on the platform of Social Democratic Party and National Welfare Officer, which was previously occupied by the late Friday Nwosu.

Speaking exclusively with The PUNCH, National Vice Chairman for South East, Dr Ijeoma Arodiogbu noted though the ruling party would eventually hold the convention, he however stressed that caucus and NEC meetings were of priority.

He said, “We are still preparing for our NEC and National Caucus meeting. It is after we have those two meetings that we will know the direction of the party. Nobody is talking about Convention. It is the caucus and NEC meetings that we are focus on for now.”

Asked to confirm if the new leadership of the party is planning to have a private meeting with the president, the NWC member nodded.

“Yes. In fact, we have sent a letter to the president to intimate him about our decision to postpone both the caucus and NEC meetings. So we are in the planning stage because of the new leadership,” he said.

On whether the exit of Kyari and few notable persons being considered for ministerial positions will create an additional vacuum before an emergency Convention takes place, Arodiogbu disagreed.

“No. The people being considered for ministerial appointments already know themselves and they are keen on retaining the party’s position like myself. Whatever backing we take, it is something we will, as a party, decides on the best way to fill them before the NEC.

“The date for the NEC has not been decided yet. My own thinking is maybe towards the end of the year. You know the planning of congress is not something that will happen within the one month. I don’t think so. We are more concerned with the NEC happening within the next two weeks. But then, the government must settle down first by announcing and inaugurating the cabinet,” he noted.

Continuing, the national vice chairman for South-East admitted that though having a frozen account as a result of the change in leadership may slightly cause a delay in staff salaries and the day-to-day running of the party’s affairs, he expressed optimism they will find a way around it.

An informed source at the party secretariat also confirmed that some representatives of the APC leadership that may include the national chairman, secretary and an undisclosed person are preparing to visit the president.

He also disclosed that several names, which include former governors and heavyweights in the North-Central and Souty West are currently being considered to replace both Adamu and Omisore.

“Definitely, they (NWC) are due to meet with the president any moment for them to decide on the all important NEC and caucus meetings. It is a must they meet to agree on the new dates.

Speaking on possible replacement for the post of substantive national chairman, the source fingered former governor of Nasarawa State, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura; former governor of Niger State, Abu Lolo; former Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, Silas Ali Agara and former governor of Plateau State.

He, however, exempted strong conviction Lolo may not be given the opportunity because he lacked the governor doesn’t have the capacity to ‘proeprly manage people.’

“Where the real problem lies is in who replaces Omisore as substantive national secretary. There is the general notion that Isaac Kekemeke should be allowed to occupy the position. There is also that urgent need to pick somebody from Osun to strengthen the state and rally the APC supporters after the last disastrous election where we lost virtually all the elective seats. But the question is who? Aside from former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, Osun currently has no heavyweights outside the camp of the rebellious Aregbesola’s faction.

“But I must say the focus of the NWC at the moment are NEC, reuniting party members and fine-tuning the audit report. That is the focus for now. I am sure after the NEC, fixing the National Convention shouldn’t go beyond October. The real challenge I think we have now is if Kyari, who is expected to be announced as a minister soon, will be made to stay the course till a substantive national chairman emerges or resign his position immediately.

“I understand the National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, is also coming back to the country from London today. I believe you are aware he travelled two weeks ago for his daughter’s graduation and seized the opportunity to stay off the radar. Quite a lot of people have been bombing us with calls on why he stayed back when the national headquarters of the party is on fire.

“But again, you can’t blame him that much. Haven’t you been wondering why Omisore has been the one signing press statements and making announcements in the last one month? That’s the level we have sunk as a party,” he stated.

When The PUNCH paid a scheduled visit to the party secretariat on Wednesday, the heavy security presence and retinue of officials were no longer there.

Our correspondent also observed the spaces at the car park reserved exclusively for the SUVs of Adamu and Omisore have been occupied by vehicles of the acting national chairman and the secretary.

The mood and ambience also suggested that the staff at the national headquarters have also come to accept the change in leadership as each person went about their activities, albeit with extreme caution.

Efforts made to reach the APC Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, for reaction was unsuccessful

Meanwhile, as the party intensifies search for a new national chairman, a chieftain of the party, Garus Gololo, has ruled out the possibility of Abiodun Faleke succeeding the former Nasarawa State governor.

Gololo premised his stand on the fact that Faleke represents Ikeja Federal Constituency of Lagos State and as such, does not qualify for consideration for the vacant office even though he is originally from Kogi State.

This is just as the retired army general told one of our correspondents that the party would retain the chairmanship in the North Central geo-political zone comprising Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Kwara, Benue and Kogi States.

Speaking exclusively with our correspondent, Gololo said, “Faleke can never become the APC National Chairman because he represents Lagos State in the National Assembly even though he is originally from Kogi State. It is not possible for us to have a President from Lagos State and a party chairman from the same Lagos. He is trying to be smart but it is not going to be possible.

“Faleke may push for this (National Chairmanship of the APC) but we are not going to accept it. He is a lawmaker from Lagos State, not a lawmaker from Kogi State. If he knows he is from Kogi State, let him go and register as a member of the party in his State’s constituency. I am solidly behind Al-Makura. He is a good material for the job who can hold the party firmly.”

On whom is likely to succeed Adamu, Gololo said the party would decide on the matter.

“It is a party decision, but I am a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress. I don’t know what the party will decide. The National Chairmanship of the APC will still be retained in the North Central. We may still retain it in Nasarawa because we are targeting the former Governor of that State, Tanko Al-Makura. We also have Sani Musa from Niger State in mind,” he said.

On the likely successor to Iyiola Omisore who was swept away alongside Adamu as National Secretary, the APC chieftain said in the interest of fairness, a new party scribe must be of South-East extraction.

“If we want to be fair to all sections of the country, the next National Secretary should come from the South-East. The President is from the South-West, the secretary of the party is not supposed to come from the South-West.

“We did our convention before the elections, but I think this is the opportunity to bring a sense of balance in the power equation of the party. The secretary should come from the South-East,” he added.

Alex Enumah in Abuja


Constitutional and human rights lawyers in Abuja, numbering about 60, yesterday, stormed the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to commence a committal to prison proceedings against the Director General of the State Security Service (SSS), Mr. Yusuf Bichi, over alleged violation of multiple judgments and orders of court directing the release of former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele from custody.

The consortium of lawyers led by Mr. Maxwell Opara and Ahmed Tijani, specifically are asking the court to commit the DSS DG to prison until he purges himself of the contempt.

Since Emefiele’s suspension and arrest since June 10, 2023, the DSS, last week, charged him with illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

A copy of the charges showed that the case was filed on Thursday (13 July), the same day an FCT High Court gave the DSS one-week ultimatum to either charge him in court or release him.

The security agency accused Emefiele of possessing a single-barrel shotgun (JOJEFF MAGNUM 8371) without a licence; an offence said to be contrary to Section 4 of the Firearms Act, and punishable under Section 27 (1b) of the same Act.

In the second count, the DSS charged him with illegally possessing 23 rounds of live ammunition (cartridges) without a licence. The offence was also said to be contrary to Section 8 of the Firearms and punishable under Section 27 (1)(b)(il) of the same Act.

However, in their motion filed before the court for the issuing of Form 48 and Form 49, which are the forms to commence proceedings to commit a contemnor to prison, the lawyers said by the judgments and orders of Justice M. A. Hassan, Justice Hamza Muazu and Justice Bello Kawu, the DG DSS ought to have released Emefiele from detention.

In the affidavit in support of the application, the consortium deposed to the fact, Hon. Justice M. A. Hassan, restrained the respondents in that suit, particularly, the State Security Service from arresting, detaining, or interrogating Emefiele for offences connected to terrorism financing, money laundering, round tripping, financial crimes of national security dimension etc.

It was their deposition that despite the clear and positive orders of Justice Hassan, the State Security Service still went ahead to arrest and detain Emefiele and had detained him for well over a month while shopping for evidence “which does not exist.”

Addressing newsmen shortly after filing their processes at the Registry of the court, Opara said the group would pursue the matter to its logical conclusion and ensure that the DSS DG was sent to prison so as to serve as a deterrent to other heads of security agencies and top government officials that contempt of court and gross abuse of their offices for personal vendetta would no longer be tolerated.

Also, the lawyers called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately relieve Bichi of his appointment as DG of the DSS, “for having obviously misled the President that Emefiele had committed heinous crimes against the State only for him to now file a charge of possession of a validly registered pump action rifle against him.”

“Is it not clear enough to Nigerians that that the SSS is persecuting Mr. Emefiele if after holding him for five weeks they can only file a ridiculous charge of possessing a validly registered pump action gun?” Mr. Opara asked. He continued: “If possessing a validly registered pump action gun is a crime worthy of being held in perpetuity, what has the SSS done to the person threatening Nigerians from a particular section of the country with an assault rifle? This clearly shows the travail of Mr. Emefiele is more for political reasons than for any other.”

He concluded by questioning that assuming there was no valid court order, since the DSS had been unable to find any evidence against Mr. Emefiele, he was entitled to his release.

“How much more now that three different courts have ordered his release, the SSS is still holding him in unlawful detention and violating all his rights, hence the reason why the consortium will ensure Bichi ends up being committed to prison,” he added.

Meanwhile, a civil rights advocacy group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA), yesterday, said it was shameful that the DSS which had failed to arrest ex-Niger Delta agitator, Asari Dokubo, was pressing charges against the suspended Governor of the CBN, for alleged illegal possession of firearms.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, also queried why all the bandits brandishing military grade weapons in videos have not been arrested and prosecuted by the DSS.

Onwubiko said, “The fresh charge against Godwin Emefiele is laughable. More laughable is that the DSS spent several man-hours, resources, to track the suspended CBN governor.

“Then, why is Asari Dokubo whose viral video trended whereby he brandished military assault rifles and threatening to bring fire and brimstone on Nigeria not arrested and charged for illegal possession of firearms?

“Why are all the Fulani bandits brandishing military grade weapons in videos not arrested and prosecuted?

“This Emefiele’s matter has been reduced to child’s play by the DSS and this is a crying shame that scores of gunmen are killing, maiming and destroying people in the South East in the guise of enforcing sit at home orders of Simon Ekpa but the DSS can quickly arrest Emefiele detain him for many weeks and charge him for possession of firearms whereas the real mass killers in the South East are allowed to operate freely.”

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A Nigerian man identified as Tembu Ebere has confirmed that he partially went blind while attempting to cry for seven days to set a record in the Guinness World Records.

This is as the craze to achieve feats of endurance sweeps across the country after a chef, Hilda Baci, in May officially broke the record for the longest cooking marathon (individual), with a time of 93 hours 11 minutes.

Ebere, who confirmed his health issues to BBC said that he forced himself to cry for seven days for the record but along the line, he went temporarily blind.

Ebere, who has been attempting to cry non-stop for seven days said that he experienced headaches, puffy eyes and a swollen face and went partially blind for 45 minutes amid his efforts.

He told BBC, “I had to re-strategise and reduce my wailing,” adding that he was determined to cry for one week as he planned despite the difficulties he encountered.

Guinness World Records has seen a surge in record-breaking attempts from Nigeria in recent months after Baci's cooking marathon which attracted public attention.

Unable to contain the crazed surge, Guinness World Records recently warned saying, "Please enough of the record-a-thons," after someone reportedly broached the idea of not one, but two separate attempts - an "idea-a-thon" and a "puff-puff-a-thon".

A young Nigerian television personality was sexually brutalised by criminals shortly after concluding a shift over the weekend, Peoples Gazette learnt.

The 18-year-old woman, attached to a private station in Lapai, Niger State, was on her way home on Saturday when she received a call asking her to show up at Kobo Primary School in the community, about 150 kilometres west of the Nigerian capital Abuja, police said.

Upon arrival, the assailants promptly drugged and took turns to rape her in one of the school’s classrooms, police spokesman Abiodun Wasiu, told The Gazette on Tuesday morning. Her phone was also collected and searched by the assaulters, and Nigerian early and middle schools are closed on weekends.

The Gazette has withheld the victim’s contact on privacy grounds. But a family member said she would still come forward to tell her story after receiving proper medical treatment.

She was able to identify one of her attackers after the incident, and police said two people were taken into custody as investigation intensified into the matter.

“We are still investigating, and we are making efforts to arrest more suspects,” Mr Abiodun said. “Whatever the situation is, we’ll let the public know later.” It was not immediately clear whether the suspects, whose identities the police said would be released shortly, had reached their legal representatives.