₦airaland Forum

By Mumini AbdulKareem

The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Basic Education and Services on Tuesday warned governors in the country to prioritize basic education or be ready to face the consequences.

The chairman of the committee, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, said this in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, at the end of a two-day oversight visit to inspect completed and ongoing UBEC-SUBEB projects in the state.

According to him, “I would like to advise state governments to take basic education seriously in their own interest. Bulletproof cars, dogs and barbed wire cannot save them from the anger of uneducated, abused and marginalised children in the consequences”.

He said no efforts will be spared to sanction the states found to have diverted the UBEC grants.

“There are penalties for states where UBEC allocated critical infrastructure to some state governments but were abandoned. We are amending the UBEC Act so that UBEC can retrieve such facilities and put them to public use,” Ihonvbere added.

“We are looking at ways to compel compliance with the law of the land; a situation whereby states that have not accessed the marching grant or have accessed it but used it wrongly will face some penalties.”

The committee chairman also hinted that state governments that comply with UBEC’s action plans will be rewarded with more support to serve as an encouragement to do more.

“At the level of the committee, the National Assembly and the UBEC, states that utilized UBEC grants perfectly like Kwara will get additional support as a reward, so that it will encourage them to do more,” Ihonvbere added.

The committee specifically applauded Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for “quality service delivery seen in the management of the Universal Basic Education Commission matching grants, saying the state deserves a pat on the back for the quality of the schools and other facilities funded from the money so far accessed.

“What we have seen so far in Kwara is of high quality and satisfactory. There is evidence of focus and commitment, and a clear interest in promoting basic education and empowering our children to survive in an increasingly complex technology driven global system”

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja


A report by Proshare, a market intelligence and data analytics firm, has said that oil theft persists in Nigeria because all the institutions of state lack the will and determination to end the menace.

In the report which dived deep into the magnitude of crude oil theft in Nigeria, the firm stated that the ‘business’ has become the soft underbelly of Nigeria’s economic cash cow.

“Nigeria’s oil sector has seen turbo-thievery in recent years as state institutions have lacked the will and determination to address the problem frontally. Oil thieves have become increasingly daring, sophisticated, and prosperous.

“ The financial power of the oil thieves has reinforced their sophistication and encouraged them to morph from pussy cats into lions. Redemption of the sector will require the federal government to be intolerant of crude oil theft and determined to stop it, including placing surveillance over its personnel and adopting top-of-the range technology to monitor the network of domestic onshore pipelines,” it noted.

The report observed that making a comparison between the actual gross earnings from oil and the estimated value of stolen oil, for instance, N1.03 trillion, up to 54 per cent of actual gross oil revenue earned in the first half of 2021, was lost to crude oil thieves. “This marks a notable deterioration compared to previous years,” it said.

In 2017 with an average crude oil price of $54.3/barrel, Nigeria, it said, lost an estimated N1.56 trillion, an equivalent of 38.2 per cent of actual gross oil revenue of N1.89 trillion.

“Except for 2020, when average crude oil prices tanked to $42/barrel, lost revenue on account of crude oil theft has continued to increase,” the report stated, stressing that “there are no garlands for efforts, only results.”

The report noted that the government must be purpose-driven and result-oriented to reduce revenue leakages from the activities of oil thieves and improve the country’s debt-to-revenue ratio. The report writers noted that hard work towards eliminating crude oil theft was not an option but the only game in town.

“Nigeria needs to improve its fiscal revenue, and one relatively quick fix would be to block the revenue leakages caused by pipeline vandals and oil pirates. To win the peace, the government may first need to wage war,” the market intelligence firm explained.

In its executive summary of the report titled: “Anatomy of Crude Oil Theft in Nigeria: Understanding the Graft, Impact and Implications”, it also reviewed some feasible alternatives to resolve the industry challenges.

The report noted that the pricing economics of the oil business must be suitable to avoid theft and diversion of crude oil. It recommended that a market-oriented perspective of the sector should be adopted.

The report’s authors argued that the sectorial governance of the industry should prioritise price discovery through a market mechanism that ensures efficiency, effectiveness, and equity. It also concludes that the concept of a blue economy is a national economic strategy whose time has come.

Crude oil theft in Nigeria’s Delta area, it argued, is not the casual roguery of a ragtag band of militants but a well-structured and coordinated criminal enterprise.

The enterprise, it maintained, comprises a network of highly placed individuals from different walks of life, from the military to politics, commerce, and banking.

“ The players are entrenched, ruthless, and unforgiving. The oil vandals’ vast connections and deep pockets make them formidable and explain the difficulty in dislodging them.

“The prominent role of non-state actors in crude oil market disruption will not be ended by the finer points of fiscal economics alone; it would require the political firmness and commitment of the federal government to take on the illegal local oil cartels.

“Unfortunately, this outcome is far-fetched. Oil pirates and their political associates are pod partners. Rich oil vandals support the funding of election campaigns of politicians who would be remiss in supporting any decisive government action that would adversely affect the interests of their electoral piggy banks.

“The complex relationship between politicians, illegal oil bunkers, and local oil communities makes a firm resolution of the problem more improbable than impossible,” it said.

By Biodun Busari


Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo has fired back at critics of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, questioning the authenticity of his family.

Keyamo said this in a conversation held on a Twitter Spaces Programme organised by the ABAT (Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu) media team on Sunday.

Tinubu’s family

The lawyer argued that the former Lagos state governor’s family has not disowned him, and anyone still raising an issue on it is fabricating lies.

Keyamo said, “We can’t stay in our houses and manufacture cock and bull stories about families. If the families you say he claims to be part of has not come out to deny their illustrious son, then what is your headache?”

Speaking on the issue of the alleged falsity of Tinubu’s certificate, Keyamo said, “PDP seriously wanted Lagos and Asiwaju held firm if he ever presented a false certificate back in 1999 and now, PDP and INEC will have feasted on it and used it in disqualifying him from contesting.”

Bullion vans in 2019

On the issue of Bullion vans driven to the residence of the APC National Leader prior to the 2019 general elections, the minister dared Nigerians to come up with evidence.

He, then, added that Tinubu has met all the requirements to vie for the most coveted political office in Nigeria.

“On the question of Bullion van in Asiwaju’s house, if I may ask, how much was in it? Whoever makes a claim or allegation should come with proof. Bullion vans are for hire, they are not the property of anyone.

“Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is overqualified to contest for the position of the President of Nigeria as he has met the minimum qualification required by the law Section 131(d).”

Corruption’s allegations

Keyamo also quoted the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu, that Tinubu has been probed many times by the anti-graft agencies.

He said he should be in jail by now if he was found culpable of any corruption allegations levelled against him.

“Ribadu said during his time, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was one of the most investigated ex-governor, as seriously as the PDP wanted to bring him down if they found anything Asiwaju will have been in jail by now.”

By Ademola Olonilua

A popular Nollywood actor, Ernest Obi, has opined that any man who does not sexually satisfy his partner should be locked up in a room for three months. The actor, while reacting to a viral video which shows a woman being paraded by the police for Kidnapping her husband who deprived her of sex.

Obi who took to his Instagram account shared a clip of the video as he took to the caption section to air his opinion. Explaining that he does not supports kidnap or violence, the movie star while citing his wife as an example said men must always tend to their ‘husband duties’.

The actor stated, “Her first reason is the most cogent for me and if it is true, I support her. Any man who does not satisfy someone’s daughter sexually should be locked up in a room for 3 months. What does my wife @eviernestobi call it again… husbandly duties… I sincerely don’t know where she got those words from…but I agree with it wholeheartedly.

“But jokes apart, though I will never support kidnapping for any reason, I think it is wrong in all ramifications to deprive your spouse and children, of the care they deserve, sexual etc. I pray she finds peace.”

Determined to wipe out terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and other criminals terrorising the peace of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Nigerian armed forces and counterparts from the police, Department of State Services (DSS), Civil Defence and other security agencies have embarked on raids of hotspots within and outside the FCT.

The raids, which have been going on for sometime, had resulted in the arrest of over 10 suspected bandits, terrorists, and informants working for the criminals.

Daily Sun gathered that the operation has also led to the destruction of several camps and strongholds of criminals located in some remote parts of the FCT.

Also, suspected criminal hideouts in motor-parks like Jabi, Zuba, Kaduna road and popular markets in the city centre and area councils have been destroyed.

The security agencies also destroyed camps used by scavengers for their activities and set their equipment on fire.

A security source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said soldiers working in conjunction with hunters, local vigilante groups, and community leaders in the area council have also beefed up security in and around schools in the area to forestall any attack as schools resumes this week.

Daily Sun further gathered that terrorist camps around Kuje, Abaji, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Masaka and some parts of Nasarawa, Kogi, Niger and Kaduna states were destroyed during the operations that were being conducted round the clock.

According to a source, “Some criminals who took advantage of the forests and bushes in the FCT to relocate and carry out their nefarious activities are now lamenting because of the huge loses they incurred from the operations.

“To get to the location of criminals, the soldiers and the security agents have resorted to using motorcycles because of the rains to get to the hinterland.”

The development is also said to have been yielding very positive results.

So far, the military and security agencies have raided places like Abaji, Kwali, Gwagwalada, Masaka, Mararaba, Keffi, Karu abbatoir, Kugbo, Karshi, Mpape, Zuba, Gwagwa, Area One, Utako market, Karmo, Bwari, Jabi, Nyanya, Lugbe and Kuje, among other hotspots.

As schools resume, security has been beefed up, especially in boarding schools, to ensure the safety of schoolchildren, teachers and other academic staff. It was gathered that the security deployment include plainclothes operatives. For now, all trading in and around boarding schools are prohibited, to avoid the criminals using the opportunity to carry out attacks.

A security source told Daily Sun, that people who don’t have any business in those schools would not be allowed to gain entry into such schools. The move it was gathered has become necessary especially at this time when admissions are ongoing.

FCT, Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, confirmed the development and assured the public of their safety.

By Gbenga Oloniniran

Nigeria-born American professor, Uju Anya, has made more comments on late Queen Elizabeth II of England, saying she was unapologetic and would stand by her words.

Anya, whose comments on Queen Elizabeth had sparked reactions across the world, further defended her comments, questioning how the Queen’s crown was gotten in the first place. She alleged that the crown was not her own but “plundered from the lands they exploited and extracted.”

She said this in an interview with foreign-based news platform, The CUT.

Anya said, “Queen Elizabeth was representative of the cult of white womanhood. There’s this notion that she was this little-old-lady grandma type with her little hats and her purses and little dogs and everything — as if she inhabited this place or this space in the imaginary, this public image, as someone who didn’t have a hand in the bloodshed of her Crown. How did she have that Crown? Even the crowns she wears are looted, and plundered from the lands they exploited and extracted from. The entire treasury is a legacy of thievery that was achieved by murder, by enslavement, and it didn’t stop after independence.”

Speaking on what the Twitter reactions she got after her comment was like for her, she said she had even been locked out of Twitter.

“I’m trying to do okay. I haven’t been on Twitter because I’m locked out, but the hate is coming into my email inbox. People are saying, ‘Oh, I don’t know what you’re on about because the queen oversaw the independence of Nigeria and Trinidad.’ That’s meaningless. They were still Commonwealth nations. They have independence in a figurehead way, while Britain installed puppet leaders that bowed to the queen.

“Even the name Nigeria is from the British. They created this fiction of a country by just arbitrarily drawing lines around territories and saying, ‘Okay, this belongs to the British; this is what we’re going to call it,” and joining independent nations who had nothing to do with each other, didn’t speak each other’s language. And also electing certain groups they favored to be the rulers. This is the history of the monarchy, and the queen was the head of the monarchy. Whether she was involved in day-to-day decisions or not, she existed because of those decisions. She never once opened her mouth to say sorry for the role of her government in the slaughter of three million civilians,” she told The Cut.

Her position has generated mixed reactions, with many hailing her while others said she went too far.

The unapologetic American professor, however, maintained that slavery and colonialism was not abstract to her, but caused direct pain to her.

“Coloniser is not an abstract term for me. It’s not just something I read about in history books or a word I throw around. It’s something that has directly affected my life and continues to through this day. It is deeply offensive for anyone to presume to tell me that I have to cry over the death of somebody who killed my people, or I have to be respectful in their passing. For what? Who are they to me except a violent oppressor?” She said.

She also said she did not wish the queen death but only wanted her to feel what others felt.

“In my tweet, I did not wish her death. I did not tell anyone to kill her. I said nothing except wishing her the pain in death that she caused for millions of people. There’s not going to be any apology from me. I stand by what I said. As a direct recipient of her governance and as the child of colonial subjects, I reserve the right to say what this woman’s life and monarchy and the history of the British monarchy as a whole means to me.

“Speak no ill of the dead’ is a weapon that’s levelled against the oppressed to silence them, to lionise oppressors, and to sanitise their history. What respect am I supposed to have for her, for her family? “Oh, well, her family is mourning her. My family is mourning as well,” Anya said.

https://nation-media-assets.storage.googleapis.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/10054718/Emir.jpg

There’s no wedding like a royal wedding, especially when the couple are from two highly respected royal houses.

Kano experienced a big celebration recently when the son of the Emir of Kibiya, Alhaji Umar Usman, married the daughter of Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero.

The marriage fatiha was held at the Kano Emir’s palace with State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, presiding after payment of N200,000 as dowry.

The Chief Imam of Kano, Professor Sani Zahraddeen, blessed the couple with prayers and advice.

“Marriage is a very important institution in society. Allah has directed every Muslim adult who is gainfully employed or has a means of livelihood to marry a woman he loves and the two, start up their home in love and harmony,” he said.

Princess Rukayyah rocked an exotic cream outfit with gold embroidery for her henna party (pre-wedding event). She was joined by family and friends as she celebrated her special moment.

Dignitaries spotted at the wedding of Rukayyah and Usman included former Vice President Namadi Sambo; Minister of State for Works and Housing, Umar El-Yakubu; Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle former governor of Sokoto State, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko; and a host of others.

Eighteen days to the commencement of presidential campaigns, the sources of funding of campaign activities by the leading candidates remain a mystery as they have refused to disclose how they will raise money to sell their programmes to the electorate.

According to the timetable of the Independent Electoral Commission, campaigns for next year’s presidential election will begin on Wednesday, September 28, 2022.

Presidential campaigns in the country usually involves a lot of logistics such as candidates and party officials travelling to all states capitals to address rallies, where they sell their manifestos, mobilisation of supporters to such rallies, purchasing vehicles, printing souvenirs like T-shirts and fez caps as well as posters, placing advertisements in newspapers, online media, TV and radio stations, among others.

Section 88 of the Electoral Act, 2022 pegs the amount a presidential candidate can spend to prosecute an election at N5bn, while the sum an individual or entity can donate to the candidate is N50m.

However, responding to inquiries from Saturday PUNCH on the sources of funding for the 2023 presidential poll, the Director of Media and Publicity for the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, said the party candidate’s strategy of raising funds for his campaign was not for media consumption.

He said, “Why should we be discussing that on the pages of newspapers? I can’t say anything. You will have to wait until a fund raising committee has been set up. Our directorate of the presidential campaign council is not dealing with all issues.

“But when members of the fund raising committee come on board, you will know the right person to ask that question. Until that is done, we can’t tell you anything on how we hope to raise funds.”

Tinubu self-made –Shittu

Also, the Director-General of the Asiwaju Tinubu-Shettima Coalition for Good Governance, Adebayo Shittu, argued that the candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s plan to raise a budget for his presidential campaign should not be a subject of discourse or the business of the public.

The former Minister of Communications noted that his principal “is a self-made man who doesn’t need external funding for electioneering activities.”

Shittu said, “This was evident long before he became the governor of Lagos State when he supported human rights organisations and several freedom fighters all over. We will not allow anything illegal to be done in our name. Even if you go out to raise money, there are positions of the law, which have to be complied with. Anybody attempting to do that must first look at the law.

“Asiwaju has the resources and can equally count on many other men of goodwill for support. As you must have heard, several people have been coming out willingly to ask how they can help with his campaign.

“I have been running this campaign for a while now without demanding one kobo from anybody. It has been my brain, efforts and money all the way. I have equally seen several people doing the same across the country.”

Asked to confirm reports that some governors and National Assembly members might be levied for the campaign, Shittu maintained that it remained a speculation “in the figment of the imagination of those making it.”

Atiku’s campaign structure

Responding to questions about how the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, would finance his election, the Atiku Campaign Council spokesperson, Daniel Bwala, said, “All the questions you are asking should be directed to INEC, because the law mandates us only to give INEC reports on the questions you are asking.”

Prodded further, he said, “Can a candidate fund an election without a campaign structure? Has the campaign structure been announced? When we get to the bridge, we will cross it; how do you want us to raise funds? I believe we will have to wait until the campaign structure is out; then, you can ask questions related to the campaign, because it is the campaign structure that sees our budget. To cross a bridge, you have to get to the bridge before you cross it.”

But the Media Adviser to Atiku, Paul Ibe, stated that his principal would raise money in line with the constitution.

Ibe said, “Atiku Abubakar will raise his campaign funds in line with the constitution of the country and the legal provision. He will not go outside of that; you can be sure of that.

“Atiku will not raise his funds in any shape or form that is illegal or in breach of the constitutional provision. He will comply with whatever provision the Electoral Act and the constitution spell out in raising funds for the campaign; whatever the law forbids, he will not do.”

Obi’s funding

The spokesman for the Peter Obi Support Network, Onwuasoanya Jones, said Nigerians had started donating to the ‘Obidient’ political movement to actualise the presidential ambition of the candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.

He added that the candidate would not spend up to the N5bn stipulated by the Electoral Act for the 2023 election.

Asked how much the LP flag bearer was hoping to raise, Jones stated that his supporters were targeting N1bn.

He said, “Peter Obi is a wealthy man, with all sense of modesty. If he was interested in unbridled acquisition of wealth, he wouldn’t be looking for $150m or N1bn, which I learnt the various support groups have vowed to contribute to his campaign. He is far richer than that.

“For the records, Peter Obi is not involved in any fundraising and he won’t control how one naira of whatever is realised is spent. This is money being contributed by the numerous support groups championing his candidacy.”

When asked how much had been raised so far, the Obi campaigner noted, “I cannot tell you how much has been realised because I am not in charge of the collection and the groups are running their programmes independent of the POSN and the Peter Obi team, but I can tell you that if Nigerians need to contribute N100tn to make Peter Obi president, millions of Nigerians, including, the poorest of the poor, are ready to put their life savings to realise the Peter Obi presidency, because they see it as an investment in a better future for themselves and their children.”

Similarly, the Convener, Women for Peter Obi, Ebere Obiesie, said the campaign budget of the group was not ready on account of the ongoing aggressive grassroots mobilisation project.

She explained that there were different components of a political campaign budget, adding that the WPO had been careful to select expenses that were essential to help it run a successful campaign.

She said, “Hopefully, we should have an implementable comprehensive budget before the campaigns begin. We have assembled a smart team drawn from relevant units in our organisation – finance and accounts, planning and strategy, and mobilisation and logistics – that has developed a robust fundraising framework for our campaign and grassroots mobilisation. A number of strategies will be deployed for our fundraising.”

Obiesie stated that the WPO was considering the option of a special dinner to raise funds to boost Obi’s campaign, but would not levy governors and politicians.

She added, “Women are happy to contribute their N1,000, N3,000, N5,000, N20,000, N100,000 etc in this ‘Obidient’ movement. Never before has anyone witnessed this level of resolve and commitment by Nigerians, especially the women. It’s simply amazing.

“Nevertheless, we’re open to strategic partnership with credible aspirants on this all-important project of rescuing Nigeria from bad leadership and electing transformational leaders across the political leadership spectrum. The focus is on reaching as many voters as possible with our persuasive ‘from consumption to production’ message to get them to vote for our candidates.

“We have the WPO Diaspora across North America, the UK and Europe. They play different lots of roles, especially in data management, research, strategy and engagement with their friends and families in Nigeria. The WPO’s Diaspora support base is solid and growing.”


Group tackles Shittu

Shittu, however, said the LP presidential candidate would soon run into trouble with his obsession for raising funds from Nigerians in the Diaspora.

“If Obi tries it, he will be breaking the law. Any attempt to bring in money raised by people in the Diaspora to Nigeria will result in him burning his fingers. People who know him very well said he has no intention of bringing money down to Nigeria for any campaign. He just wants to con people and divert such resources to further invest in his businesses,” Shittu stated.

Responding to the allegation, Jones stated, “Adebayo Shittu is apparently jittery about Peter Obi’s unassailable acceptability across Nigeria. So, like others who are officials of their campaign setup, he will rather sling mud instead of looking for strategic ways to compete with the people’s President.

“Peter Obi was Chairman of Fidelity Bank at a time when a lot of attention was primed on the banking sector, and we know how many bank chief executives have been sent to jail over allegations of fraud and sharp practices, but not even a day was Peter Obi invited for interrogation by any agency in this country.

“Peter Obi was governor of Anambra State for eight years and on the platform of an opposition party. Not a dime of Anambra money was stolen or diverted. So, what will he be doing with money contributed by Nigerians abroad seeking a better country?”


Security during rallies

Meanwhile, the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, has said the police would provide security during campaign rallies.

He stated that the presidential candidates were constitutionally entitled to police guards, adding that as ex-governors and a former Vice-President, they had rights to personal security.

Adejobi said, “The presidential candidates are by provisions of the law entitled to police security. Every former president, vice-president and governor has the right to have security around them. So, by virtue of their personalities and social status, they already have policemen and other security agents attached to them.

“There are also provisions to provide security for VVIPs, whether in politics, business or royalty, and the diplomatic corps, and for those who apply, the police will assess their applications and treat them accordingly.”

The woman, who was adopted as a child, claimed she made the discovery when the pair decided to take DNA tests together to find more about their families – but she has not yet shared the results with her partner

When you spend years with one partner, you will likely experience numerous important milestones together.

The same is true for one couple who have enjoyed six happy years in a relationship and done “everything” you would expect a couple that has spent that many years together to do. From meeting each other’s families, to planning their future, the pair thought they had each found their other half.

But the couple’s future has been left hanging in the balance, and their happiness crushed, following a shock discovery.

The couple has been left heartbroken after learning they are actually brother and sister – never realising, since they were both adopted at any early age.

But when DNA tests, taken in the hope of finding more about themselves, revealed a truth they never expected, the couple were left with a heartbreaking dilemma.

The jaw-dropping story was revealed after the girlfriend shared their experience in a post to Reddit forum “offmychest”.

Posting as u/LetsSinWith the woman claimed: “I just found out that I’ve been dating my biological brother for 6 years.”

She explained: “I am 30 and my brother is 32. I’m just going to call him my boyfriend for the majority of the time while I type this. I feel weird about this. I was adopted as a baby but I didn’t know that I was adopted until I was in high school.

“It didn’t feel betrayed or care much. I love my parents and my parents love me. Who cares if they aren’t my real parents.

“My boyfriend was also adopted and when we met it was one of the things we sort of bonded over. We both didn’t learn we were adopted until high school and we both were lucky and had good families. We weren’t passed around from foster home to foster home.

“Our relationship was and still is great. We understood each other very fast. We were attracted to each other quickly. I’ve never met someone and felt immediate attraction and familiarity.

“Now I know that the comfort and familiarity is because he’s my brother. Not my half-brother. He is my full brother.

“We’ve done everything a couple that has been together for 6 years could do. We’ve said we love each other, we’ve had sex, we’ve celebrated anniversaries, we’ve met each other’s families.

“I’m just glad we both agreed early on that we don’t want to have kids so that has never happened. I don’t want to deal with the health risks and have to raise a child and them know that their parents are siblings.

She continued: “I discovered it when we did the DNA test thing to see our ancestry and what exactly we are. I ordered two for us, we spit in the tube, and sent it out. It took like a month for the results to come back and I was excited to see what we were but before I could even get to that. I saw that we were siblings.
“I was SHOCKED to say the least. I only just found out this information and I haven’t told my boyfriend. I’m really hoping they made a mistake but things are kind of starting to make sense to me now.

“We always get the ‘you guys look so alike’ or ‘he’s the male version of you.’ Long before this test we’ve always gotten compared. We always just laughed it off but I have spent the morning looking at pictures of us together and realizing that we really do look so alike.

“It’s freaking me out and I don’t know what I should do. I still love my boyfriend/brother and we have been together for 6 years. We have a house together and a whole comfortable life. I’m hoping that this test is wrong and will do a real test soon but I’m panicking. I still see him as the love of my life.”

In a later update, she added: “I posted this the other day in but since then I showed him the results and he realized that we’re siblings. He doesn’t want to freak out or make any big decisions until we get a real test somewhere. But I can tell he is freaked out and it was odd laying in bed next to him.”

The post has since gone viral and has been shared to numerous platforms, including @twohottakes, the TikTok account for a podcast which sees the hosts react to Reddit posts.

Responding to a video about the post, which has racked up over 14 million views, commenters shared their sympathy for the couple.

One person wrote: ” That would probably be devastating.”

Another agreed: “That’s a really sad situation. Imagine how hard that would be to digest.”

Twitter has deleted the tweets by Uju Anya, a lecturer at the Carnegie Mellon University, USA, over her remarks regarding Queen Elizabeth II of England.

The microblogging site deleted the message hours after it was posted on Tuesday.

“This tweet violated the Twitter rules,” the micro-blogging platform noted.

A few hours before the Queen’s death, Anya had criticised the late monarch in a series of tweets and wished her “excruciating pain”.

The Nigerian-born academic had accused the late monarch of sponsoring the “genocide” that led to her family being displaced.

“I heard the chief monarch of a thieving raping genocidal empire is finally dying. May her pain be excruciating,” the now-deleted tweets read in part.

Her tweets generated thousands of mixed reactions. While many people condemned her, others agreed with what she wrote.

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, was one of those who reacted to Anya’s tweets.

“This is someone supposedly working to make the world better? I don’t think so. Wow,” he tweeted.

Carnegie University, which also reacted to the development, had said although it believes in “free expression”, it does not condone the views expressed by the professor.

“We do not condone the offensive and objectionable messages posted by Uju Anya today on her personal social media account,” the post reads.

“Free expression is core to the mission of higher education, however, the views she shared absolutely do not represent the values of the institution nor the standards of discourse we seek to foster.”

Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday. She was aged 96 and was the longest-serving British monarch at the time of her death.

Brazilian woman, 19, 'gives birth to twins with DIFFERENT fathers after having sex with two men on the same day'

The woman, who wants to remain anonymous but is from Mineiros, Brazil, had sex with two different men on the same day and became pregnant from both of them.

A woman has given birth to twins with different biological fathers.

According to DailyMail, the 19-year-old woman is from Brazil.

It was gathered that the woman had sex with with both men on the same day.

The young mum took a paternity test to confirm who the father of her babies was and she was astonished when she discovered her babies were from two different men.

The woman, who wants to remain anonymous but is from Mineiros, Brazil, had sex with two different men on the same day and became pregnant from both of them, according to local media.

She reportedly said: "I was surprised by the results. I didn't know this could happen. They are very similar."

Her doctor, identified as Tulio Jorge Franco, said that her case is extremely rare - and described it as a "one in a million" situation.

The medic said there are only around 20 other cases worldwide of heteroparental superfecundation, as it is known scientifically.

It occurs when a second ova released during the same menstrual cycle is additionally fertilised by the sperm cells of a different man in separate s3xual intercourse, the National Library of Medicine explains.

The young mum's doctor reportedly said: "It is possible to happen when two eggs from the same mother are fertilised by different men. The babies share the mother's genetic material, but they grow in different placentas."

He added: "It's extremely rare. It's one in a million. I never imagined that I would see a case like this in my life."

The woman is said to have explained that her babies look very similar but after eight months, doubts began to emerge about who the father was.

So when they were eight months old, she got DNA from the man she thought was the father.

However, the test only came back as a positive match for one of her two children.

She did the test again but the result was again positive for just one child.

That is when she remembered that she had had intercourse with another man that day.

She said: "I remembered that I had had sex with another man and called him to take the test, which was positive."

The babies are now 16-month-old tots but the case was only revealed by the doctor this week, according to local media.

The mum said that one of the two men is officially registering at the registry office and taking care of both children.

The teenage mum said: "He takes care of both of them, helps me a lot to create and gives them all the necessary support they need."

No fewer than 22 supposed retired Directors and Deputy Directors in the Federal Ministry of Education have been re-appointed as Principals of some Federal Government Colleges, FGCs, PRNigeria has learnt.

They were re-appointed after participating in a Computer Based Test, CBT, on the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th of last month (August).

PRNigeria gathered that 22 of them were retired at various points last year.

However, they never quit their positions as Principals of Unity Schools, when they were due for retirement last year, it was discovered.

It was also gathered that their retirement was necessitated by the fact that they had attained the mandatory age of retirement and also the required active years in service.

But credible sources in the Federal Ministry of Education told PRNigeria that the 22 re-appointed principals in question did not retire, initially.

“They remained in office, even though they were not on the government’s payroll any longer,” one of them said.

The Sources who did not want their names mentioned over fear of victimization, said top officials in the Federal Ministry of Education who conducted the CBT exam for prospective principals, may be behind the ‘reinstatement’ of the ‘retired’ principals (who were already Directors and Deputy Directors), having relied on a federal government circular which was only gazetted in April this year.

According to the sources, some serving principals, who are not yet due for retirement, were deliberately ‘screened out’ during the CTB exercise, to accommodate the 22 retired ones.

One of the sources, in a phone chat with PRNigeria, said those who facilitated the ‘retention’ of the 22 principals would have dubiously exploited the pronouncement of President Muhammadu Buhari on teachers’ service year, in 2020. They also doubted if the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu is aware of the development.

According to him: “Buhari made the pronouncement on the elongation of teachers’ service year, through the Education Minister, Alhaji Adamu Adamu on the occasion of the 2020 World’s Teachers’ Day.

“But it was in 2021 that a Bill on the elongation of teachers’ service year was drafted and sent to the National Assembly.

“However, nothing was done on the Bill until late 2021 when the House of Representatives passed it, and then the Senate too, concurred, on the 9th of February 2022. And President Buhari signed it into law on the 7th of April 2022. There is already a gazette on this”.

The source went on: “Since then, those who are due for retirement have been kept in office, as they await an official pronouncement on whether to leave or stay.

“Many principals who are supposed to retire since 2021 before the coming of the bill, have continued to occupy their seats, even though they are considered to be retired”.

Another source, who said they are ready to ‘fight’ against the injustice meted on some serving principals schemed out during the CBT exam for principals’ re-appointment, however, called for Buhari’s intervention.

He said, “The re-appointment of the 22 retired principals is against the presidential directive on the elongation of service for teachers.

“And has also invalidated the gazette that was released on the 7th of April this year, which states the requirements for the elongation and those that are qualified for the elongation”.

Meanwhile, PRNigeria gathered that an induction ceremony was held today for 112 Unity Schools’ principals, with the 22 re-appointed principals inclusive.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Education Ministry, Ben Bem Goong, did not respond to our reporter’s multiple phone calls, at press time.

by Sunday Isuwa

In order to avoid manipulation of their results at the polling units, the Labour Party (LP) has declared that doctors, nurses and other medical professionals will serve as their agents in the 2023 presidential election.

National chairman of the Labour Party, Barr Julius Abure, said Nigerians are ready to take back their country, adding that the party will ensure that they block every loophole for rigging.

Speaking when Docs&Medics4PeterObi, a movement by healthcare professionals to install a frugal, pragmatic and responsible government led by Mr Peter Obi and Sen Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, visited his office, Abure said he wants the list of all the medical personnels across the country so that they can serve as the party’s agents at the polling units.

“The support we are getting is unprecedented. Let me commend the medical doctors, nurses and other health personnel for supporting Peter Obi.

“The level of work and the amount of passion you have out into this project is unprecedented. Medical Doctors, Nurses and other health personnel will act as our agents in their polling units,“ Abure said, adding that they are ahead of people who may want to rig the election.

He further said, “We are ahead of the people who are planning to rig the election at the polling units level. The current electoral act has made our votes secured and stop rigging at the polling unit through the electronic transmission of election results.

“Send the list of Doctors and nurses at the polling units since they can’t be compromised at the polling. They will serve as our agents. If the medical people are there, our votes will count.

“Come 2023, I am convinced that we will win the election. The political narrative of Nigeria will change. That is why I am no longer sleeping. The Labour Party and Peter Obi will bring good governance. When the time comes for campaigns, when we roll out our plans, other parties will park their things and go. Ensure we deliver Peter Obi in 2023,” Abure said.

Speaking, the leader of Docs&Medics4PeterObi, Dr Uche Uzoukwu said their association is in all the polling units adding that they are out to influence 100,000 Nigeria Health practitioners to mobilize more than 30 million citizens to take back their country and vote for the Labour Party at the presidential election in 2023.

Uzoukwu said medical doctors who are leaving the country are asking the people staying back whether their heads are not correct.

“We will stay and take back our country. The nurses, Pharmacist Laboratory including the security personnel working in the hospital have formed state groups, local government groups and are now moving to the ward level.

“We have inaugurated our ward leaders, now moving down to the polling units. We want to grow to 500,000 medical workers and encourage them to get in touch with 50 people which will give us 25 million votes for Peter Obi.

“We are now into town hall meetings and medical outreaches. We call the people for medical outreaches and after treating them, we tell the people the labour party logo and encourage them to collect their PVCs and vote,” Uzoukwu added.

Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS), has begun an investigation into the video of Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, threatening people to shoot anyone saying bad things about his administration.

A source at the agency told SaharaReporters on Tuesday night that the video had been brought to the attention of the secret police.

“Senior intelligence officers have seen the video and it’s being investigated here at the headquarters in Abuja,” the source said.

Bello also in the video bragged that he could handle a gun better than the people he was addressing, despite not being a security agent.

“If I hear any rumour or hear anybody murmuring, even if it’s in the person’s room and I said I want to see the person and you cannot provide him, then be prepared to be the person’s substitute,” Bello who contested the ruling All Progressives Congress presidential primary was heard saying in the video.

“That’s why I’m saying it loud and clear for everyone to hear. Not just Ihima, not just about Ebira but the whole of Kogi. Because some of those people who are prepared to do evil, may be some of them are older than me.

“You cannot hold gun more than me. For that, everyone should receive and disseminate the message. Record and play it for them that I’m ready this time around.”

In December 2019, thugs said to be loyal to Bello and the ruling APC burnt opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s women leader, Salome Abuh, to death over some scuffle during the governorship election.

In April 2021, violent youths working for the Kogi governor descended on two middle-aged protesters who were pasting Buhari-Must-Go posters in Lokoja.

The APC youths flogged the two protesters, filmed them and brutalised them before they were later handed over to policemen.

A few days later, the state government in a statement supported mob action against the youths, saying they were from Benue State.

“The Kogi State Government wishes to commend the gallant and ever vigilant youths of the state for rising to the occasion to crush the ungodly campaign by some imported and sponsored youths who came to the State to campaign against President Muhammadu Buhari.

“The sponsored youths congregated at Benue State from where they moved to Kogi State and began to paint walls as well as display anti-Buhari posters that were printed in a South-South state,” the state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Kingsley Fanwo had said.

During the APC presidential primaries in earlier this year, some of Bello’s supporters were arrested by the police after guns and ammunition were found on them.

Some of them were arrested in vehicles branded with the logo of the Kogi governor.

by Yusuf Babalola

The Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, said it intercepted 20 drums of Calcium Carbide smuggled into the country from neighbouring countries.

Speaking to journalists, the acting Customs Area Controller, FOU, Zone A, Ag. Compt. Hussein Ejibunu, who said the drums were intercepted in Ogun State, also stated that 41 pieces of military camouflage bags were also intercepted.

According to Ejibunu, the calcium carbide is highly inflammable as it can be used to manufacture Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and could cause danger to life and property.

He further disclosed that the carbide is controlled and must come with end users certificate from the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).

He said, “20 drums of Calcium Carbide were seized in Ogun State. It is instructive to emphasise that such importation raises concerns of national security. This is because it is a chemical used in the manufacture of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and could cause danger to life and property.

“Allowing things like this chemical into the society uncontrollably, could create serious security challenge for the country because carbide is highly flammable, reactive and can cause explosion hazards when mixed with other chemicals and exposed to water or moisture. It forms flammable acetylene gas that could be used to endanger lives by lawless persons.

“This is aside other health hazards, the chemical on exposure can irritate the mouth, nose and throat if not properly handled. Inhaling Calcium Carbide can irritate the lungs. Higher exposures may cause a build-up of fluid in the lungs and could lead to emergency medical situation. Its importation is, therefore, strictly controlled from the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA),” Ejibunu said.

Also, the Customs chief disclosed that the unit intercepted nine trucks load of foreign parboiled rice, 56,725 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as Petrol, among others worth N579.4million.

By John Ofikhenua,


Without subsidy, petrol will sell for N462 per litre, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited said yesterday.

It said the average international market-determined landing cost in the second quarter of this year was $1,283 per metric tonne.


Marketing and distribution cost is N46/litre, it said.

A combination of the cost elements translates to a retail pump price of N462/litre, an average subsidy of N297/litre and an annual estimate of N6.5 trillion on the assumption of 60 million litres of daily premium motor spirit (PMS or petrol) supply.

The NPPC offered to submit itself for a forensic audit of fuel supply and subsidy management.

It insisted that the daily fuel supply is 68 million litres.

In a statement by Group General Manager, Mallam Garba Deen Muhammad, the NNPC said the average supply corresponded with the imports.

He was reacting to last Thursday’s comments by Comptroller-General of Customs Hameed Ali, who said he found it hard to understand why the NNPC, which put Nigeria’s daily fuel consumption at 60 million litres, releases 98 million litres into the market.


He spoke during an interactive session with the House of Representatives Committee on Finance on the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Frame and Fiscal Strategy Paper.

Ali said: “If we are consuming 60 million litres of PMS per day by their own computation, why would you allow the release of 98 million litres per day?

“If you know this is our consumption, why would you allow that release?

“Scientifically, you cannot tell me that if I fill my tank today, tomorrow I will fill the same tank with the same quantity of fuel.

“If I am operating a fuel station today and I go to Minna depot, lift petrol and take it to Kaduna, I may get to Kaduna in the evening and offload that fuel.

“There is no way I would have sold off that petrol immediately to warrant another load.

“So, how did you get to 60 million litres per day? That is my question.

“On the issue of smuggling, if you release 98 million litres in actual and 60 million litres is used, the balance should be 38 million litres.

“How many trucks will carry 38 million litres every day? Which road are they following and where are they carrying this thing to?”

Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, speaking when she appeared before the panel on August 18, put the projected daily payment for fuel subsidy at N18.39 billion.

“The total amount of subsidy per day is N18.397 billion per day,” she said.

“So, if you are projecting for the full year, it would be N6.715 trillion. If you are projecting for half a year, it would be 50 per cent of that.”

According to the minister, this was calculated using the information provided by the NNPC.

She said the information showed that 64.96 million litres of fuel are the projected average daily truck out.

She also said N1.774 trillion was paid to independent oil marketers as subsidy in four years.

Yesterday, the NPPC said between January and August 2022, “the total volume of PMS imported into the country was 16.46 billion litres, which translates to an average supply of 68 million litres per day”.

It added: “Similarly, import in the year 2021 was 22.35 billion litres, which translated to an average supply of 61 million litres per day”.

The NNPC said the average daily evacuation (depot truck out) from January to August 2022 “stands at 67million litres per day as reported by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA)”.

It added: “Daily evacuation (depot load outs) records of the NMDPRA do carry daily oscillation ranging from as low as four million litres to as high as 100 million litres per day.”

The company said rising crude oil prices and PMS supply costs above the NMDPRA cap had caused oil marketing companies’ withdrawal from PMS import since the fourth quarter of 2017.

“In the light of these challenges, NNPC has remained the supplier of last resort and continues to transparently report the monthly PMS cost under-recoveries to the relevant authorities,” it said.

On cost, NNPC said the average international market-determined landing cost in Q2 2022 was US$1,283/MT, while the approved marketing and distribution cost is N46/litre.

It said the combination of these cost elements “translates to the retail pump price of N462/litre, an average subsidy of N297/litre and an annual estimate of N6.5 trillion on the assumption of 60 million litres daily PMS supply”.

The NNPC promised to ensure “compliance with an existing governance framework that requires the participation of relevant government agencies in all PMS discharge operations”.

These include the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Customs Service, and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), among others.

It acknowledged the possibilities of criminal activities in the PMS supply and distribution value chain.

“As a responsible business entity, NNPC will continue to engage and work with relevant agencies of the government to curtail smuggling of PMS and contain any other criminal activities,” it said.

The company also pledged to deliver “on our mandate of ensuring energy security for our country with integrity and transparency”.

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Enugu State, Uchenna Nnaji, on Sunday, said that the current crisis rocking the party was predicated on the campaign money for the state.

Nnaji, who spoke at an emergency stakeholders meeting held at the South-East zonal office of the party, said if the anticipated campaign fund from the APC’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, would be a source of destabilisation for the party, the fund should instead be withheld until after the election.

“The current crisis in Enugu APC is all about Tinubu’s Campaign money. The so-called stakeholders are fighting to be in charge and preside over the disbursement of Tinubu’s money.

“We don’t want the campaign money of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu to prosecute the 2023 general election in Enugu State. By the special Grace of God, we will use Enugu APC resources to prosecute the election in 2023 and after the election, the party will refund us. It is Tinubu’s money that is causing the crisis in Enugu APC.

“After this emergency meeting, I will go to Abuja tomorrow (Monday) to tell the national chairman of the party that we don’t want campaign funds. On Tuesday I will meet our presidential candidate, Tinubu and I will tell him the same thing.”

Nnaji, however, appealed to ‘Abuja stakeholders’ to come home and join him in the grassroots mobilisation of support for the party so that the party will win the election.

According to him, he, alongside Agballah and his executives has so far travelled across 184 wards and 204 communities across 13 LGs in the state ahead of the election in 2023.

“It is unprecedented in the history of the party in the state and shows how prepared we are to not only contest the election but also win,” he said.

He regretted that now that the party is being repositioned to win an election, the mischief makers are trying to remove the executives of the party just about six months before the election. “We want to be small but effective.”

Nnaji maintained that the APC had never been a political party in Enugu State till when Agballah came on board as chairman but “we have awakened and held the promise of a better future for our people.

“Our leaders who want Agballah removed were not even paying for their ward offices across communities. Now, we have come to make the system work again and they want to remove us. Our executives are doing well and deserve every support they need. No other party can embark on the kind of tour we have embarked upon.”

Meanwhile, the party faithful that attended the meeting unanimously passed a vote of confidence on Chief Agballah-led executive of the party.

By Baba Martins

Following the inability of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to reign in the warring factions in the party, the Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike and some of his allies have again returned to London for another round of meetings.

Atiku met with Wike and some of his allies in London two weeks ago. The Presidential Candidate had reportedly spoken with the governors on the need for the PDP to go into next year’s election united.

Ayu, National Chairman of the party, renewed hostility by exchanging words in the media.

After the heated exchange, Wike and his loyalists, including Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, headed for London.

Daily Trust reliably gathered that the London meeting is meant for strategy ahead of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the National Working Committee (NWC) meetings that will hold before the establishment of the PDP campaign council later in the week.

The London meeting Daily Trust also understands has to do with whether the Wike Camp should accept a role in the council or not.

A source told Daily Trust that after the meeting with the Presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar in London, both parties were hopeful of a truce.

“The Wike Camp were hopeful that Atiku will prevail on the National Chairman Ayu to give up his position. But the event of the last few days might have changed the dynamics of the whole crisis. It is like both parties are not letting go. I believe they want to re-strategise and decide what their level of participation will be in the campaign council,” the source said.

Last week, Wike had promised that “something will soon happen” in the PDP, though he did not mention what exactly that is.

The Rivers governor had also said he would assist the National Chairman of the party to make the PDP lose the 2023 elections since according to him Ayu himself did not want the party to win.

This was after he accused the Chairman of the party of refusing to step down because of the N14 billion in the account of the party.

The main party organs are expected to meet this week to endorse the composition of the campaign council.

The organs will also look at the crisis in the party and see whether they can still salvage the situation.

Meanwhile, the Chief Press Secretary to the Benue State Governor Nathaniel Ikyur, told Daily Trust that his principal has traveled out of the country, but on a two-week vacation.

He said :”Yes the Governor has traveled and he traveled with the Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and he is expected back in the country on the 16th of this month.”

On whether he is not going to be back of the NEC meeting of the party slated for Thursday this week, Ikyur said, “No he is not going to be back before then, he is coming back on the 16th. The Governor is on a two weeks vacation, but may be his Deputy will represent him at the meeting.”

by Yusuf Babalola

The federal government has halted the construction of the Port Harcourt-Maidugiri Eastern rail line due to insecurity and vandalism of railway infrastructure on the corridor.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Transportation, Engr. Mu’azu Sambo, during the inspection of the project, on Friday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

According to the minister, China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCEC), the contractor handling the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the project, had complained of attacks on its workers along the Abia State axis.

Sambo, who was obviously very displeased by the acts, condemned them in strong terms, pointing out that in the history of Nigeria, no administration has invested more in rail infrastructure like the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He used the opportunity to call on the media and the judiciary to collaborate with the Ministry to ensure that economic saboteurs are not only exposed but prosecuted and sentenced speedily to serve as deterrence to others.

On the report that the funds meant for the Eastern rail line is diverted to other projects, the Minister said it was fake news as the progress made so far is from the 15% of the counterpart funding by Nigeria while the 85% to be provided by foreign parterners was still being negotiated.

MICHAEL AKINOLA


A 32-year old man, Ado Noah, has caused serious problem between two single ladies, Mary Obi and her friend, Janet Eneh, in Lagos State after Mary told Janet that she had been enjoying her lover, Noah and had slept with him severally without her knowledge.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the revelation caused serious rift between them to the extent that they were said to have engaged in a public fight in the compound over the matter.

The incident happened at Oredapo Street, Shasha area of Lagos, where they reside.
According to their neighbours, Janet was shocked after she discovered that her bosom friend was secretly sleeping with her man, Noah, and Mary told her that she loved Noah as well and had been sleeping with him.

The squabble also involved some other neighbours, who challenged Janet and reportedly called her a thief and greedy person for not sharing Noah with her friend, Mary.

The alleged unruly conduct was reported to the Police at Shasha Division and the Police arrested both Noah, Mary and three of their neighbours, Emmanuel Mathias, Junior Egbe and Rose Michael, for conduct likely to cause breach of public peace.

During interrogation, the neighbours reportedly told the Police that they were aware that Noah was dating both of them and it was Janet’s greed that caused the whole trouble, which brought them to the Police.
However, the Police found them culpable and subsequently charged them before the Ejigbo Magistrates Court for the alleged offence.
They pleaded not guilty before the Court.

The prosecutor, Inspector Simeon Njue, then asked the Court to give a date for hearing since they pleaded not guilty to enable the Police to prove that they actually committed the alleged offence.

The Presiding Magistrate, Mrs. A.K. Dosumu, granted them bail in the sum of N50,000 with one responsible surety in like sum. They were remanded in the Correctional Centre at Kirikiri town, Lagos, pending when they will perfect their bail conditions while the matter was adjourned till 1st September, 2022.

However when the matter came up on 1st September, the prosecutor informed the Court that the defendants were absent in Court because they were not brought by the prison officers and consequently the matter was further adjourned till a later date for hearing.

Presidential candidates in the 2023 general election are to pay N10 million to erect billboards and posters in Kogi.

This follows the passage of the State’s Signage Agency Establishment Law by the House of Assembly during its sitting in Lokoja.

The legislators, who considered the bill clause by clause at plenary, said the law would regulate the outdoor display of signage and advertisements in the state.

The law also aims at curbing the indiscriminate pasting of posters on sidewalks, walls, bridges and public buildings in the state.

By the new law, all governorship candidates are to pay N5 million; senatorial candidates, N2 million; and House of Representatives, N1 million.

The law also stipulates that House of Assembly and Council Chairmanship candidates are to pay N500, 000 each.

Consequently, the law provides for the establishment of a signage agency saddled with regulatory functions.

This means that until permits are issued no politician, political party or organisation can erect any billboard or paste a poster at any designated place in the state.

There is currently outrage on social media over the attack on music star, Yinka Ayefele, by an operative of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Ekiti state.

The incident occurred in Iloro Ekiti, where Ayefele entertained guests at an event and the officer in question allegedly attempted to take money from his car but when resisted, he punched the singer in the mouth and also threatened to shoot him for refusing to give them money.

Commenting via Facebook, one Ola Olaleye wrote: “It’s a pity that Yinka Ayefele didn’t allow his boys to discipline the insane man. I believe that NSCDC will still fish out the wicked man and discloth him. The reason being that he assaulted a disabled person he was expected to protect just for the sake of money. Ayefele is free to do whatever it pleases him to do with his hard earned money. Please finally let your lawyers go to court on this issue. They need to be thought a lesson.”

Lasisi Karimot Oluwafunke, another Facebook user wrote, “That’s what an ordinary person is facing everyday….. Countless people have been killed through this or the other but because nobody knows them they suffer for free ……I Sha pray that None of us fall victims of something bad.”

Gbadebo Adefumike, also a Facebook user, said, “I don’t just know why everything about Nigeria always irritating, imagine a security personnel acted is such manner, even them area boys are no more misbehaving again like those things called themselves a security whatever.”

Reacting to the incident, Olusola Odumosu, spokesman of NSCDC, said the Commandant-General, Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, mni, had ordered immediate investigation.

“The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps condemn in very strong terms such untoward attitude which is unbecoming of an officer of the law. The Corps under the leadership of Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, mni, has zero tolerance for corruption, indiscipline and any atrocious behaviour inimical to the safety and security of the citizens of this country.”

“We do not in anyway condone any act of recklessness, impudence or assault on any individual or group of persons nor Infringement on the fundamental human rights of citizens whether highly or lowly placed. Consequently, the Commandant General has ordered that all concerned officers be identified and summoned immediately to the National Headquarters for necessary disciplinary action.

“He has directed the Ekiti State Commandant to without delay commence full scale investigation into the incident to establish the veracity of the allegation and the level of involvement and culpability of all the officers fingered in the matter.”

He also tendered an unreserved apology to the singer “and everyone affected by this condemnable and horrendous act which contradicts the Corps tenets, rules of engagement and standard operating procedure. The Corps is a friendly force with “humility and integrity in service delivery” as its watchword”.

By Omeiza Ajayi, ABUJA


THE scheduled meeting of 21 presidential aspirants of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Abuja could not hold, yesterday, despite series of pre-event publicity in the days leading to the parley.

The roundtable earlier slated for 2pm at Transcorp Hilton, was for the aspirants to come up with viable strategies to support the APC standard bearer, Bola Tinubu, to win the February presidential election.

Although no official reason was given for the postponement of the meeting, it was gathered that most of the aspirants who were invited to the parley were non-committal.

Convener of the meeting, Dr Nicolas Felix, had earlier said the aspirants had indicated their readiness to attend the meeting.

However, in a message sent to one of the aspirants and seen by Vanguard, Felix implied that the meeting had been postponed indefinitely.

The message reads; “Good day your Excellency. Please be informed that the strategic meeting of 2023 Presidential Aspirants of the All Progressives Congress, APC, scheduled to hold on Wednesday, the 31st of August has be postponed.

“A new date for the meeting will be communicated soon. Apologies for any inconvenience(s) that this might cause. Stay blessed.”


Aspirants didn’t communicate readiness —Source

Vanguard, however, gathered that some of the aspirants did not communicate their readiness to attend the meeting.

The source, who spoke in confidence, said: “Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has travelled. Senate President Ahmad Lawan did not formally respond to the invitation, likewise former Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi.”

Suggesting that there could be cracks within the ranks of the presidential aspirants, especially with regards to Tinubu’s candidacy, the source said the party’s standard bearer still has a lot of reaching out to do.

Another source said: “It seems some of these aspirants are yet to come to terms with our presidential candidate because some of them are not seen to be rallying the needed support for the party yet.

“All of them were well informed about this meeting. The organisers even sent out public statements twice to remind them but some did not show interest at all.”


NANS takes protest to APC secretariat

Meanwhile, the election the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, slated for Thursday has torn the APC leaders against one another.

To this end, a group of the APC youths, yesterday, stormed the national secretariat to protest the purported choice of the national chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, for the NANS’ presidency.

Security was immediately beefed up around the secretariat as the combined security forces guarding the ‘Buhari House’ battled to quell the protest.

It was gathered that an aspirant for position of National Youth Leader, Segun Dada who had stepped down for the current youth leader, Dayo Israel had led a delegation to brief the party’s leadership over NANS election.

A source, who spoke under anonymity said: “Dada’s attempt and desperation to force his way with his delegation resulted in the police using teargas on him and others, which infuriated them, leading to the situation becoming rowdy.

“Yes, Dada was on a genuine mission to brief the leadership on how PDP elements in APC have hijacked the election, as directed by the youth leader.

“But what we cannot understand was why he came with those hefty boys that fought the security agents. It was bad that the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the party was molested by those boys that came with Dada.

“One of the candidates for today’s election, Umar Farouk from BUK Kano is Tinubu’s choice, while Usman Baba Kankia from ABU Zaria was the initial choice of Abullahi Adamu and the presidency.

“However, Usman Baranbu from Federal University Dutse is the popular choice of student leaders and stakeholders. So, what happened at the secretariat was a display of forces and a dress rehearsal and litmus test of what to expect during Thursday’s NANS election.”

By Ishola Oludare

A commercial motorcyclist has connived with other men to gang-rape an 18-year-old female passenger in Ogun State.

The incident, DAILY POST learnt, happened on Tuesday at Ogijo, Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun.

Police said two of those who had forceful intercourse with the teenager, Emmanuel Thompson and Joshua Godwin, had been arrested.

Ogun State Police spokesperson, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed that the victim reported the incident at the Ogijo police division, leading to the arrest of the suspects.

The victim (name withheld) had told the police that she boarded a commercial motorcycle at about 8:00 am from MRI company area to Ogijo bus stop on Tuesday; “but on the way going, the rider who carried another male passenger with her suddenly diverted to another route, while the other male passenger started threatening to kill her if she did not cooperate with them.”

Oyeyemi said the teenager reported that “they forcefully took her to a room in one house in the area, where two other men were waiting for them.

“On getting there, the two men they met in the room and the accompanied male passenger took turns to have sex with her forcefully.”

Acting on the report, the DPO of Ogijo division, CSP Onatufe Umoh, was said to have detailed his detectives to the scene, where two of the suspects were apprehended as other accomplices escaped.

“The two arrested suspects have confessed to the commission of the crime.”

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in Ogun, Lanre Bankole, has directed the transfer of the suspects to the State CIID for further investigation and diligent prosecution.

Also, Bankole directed that the fleeing members of the gang be hunted for and brought to book.

By Victor Edozie

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has said some retired military generals in the country threatened to use their CIA contacts to deal with him if he did not do their bidding.

The Central Intelligence Agency of America (CIA) is the US intelligence service tasked with gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily through the use of human intelligence (HUMINT) and performing covert actions

Speaking in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, on Wednesday, Wike described as unfortunate the inability of those retired generals to use their contacts to solve the Boko Haram insurgency.

The governor spoke while flagging off internal road networks at Igwurita, Rivers.

“Some people threatened that they are former generals, they are close to the CIA in America and they can deal with us. I said listen, no problem. If you are close to America CIA , why don’t you use it to solve Boko Haram problem. Is it on my body (me) you’ll use it? Nigeria has a serious problem and you are close to CIA, you know them as former generals, why not use that contact and solve Nigeria’s problem?

“You want to use it to threaten me? Who are you that I should come and do your bidding? I say no to that. I will do the bidding of Nigerians, not the bidding of few people who believe that if they are not there, it should be their children.

“No other child should come up outside theirs. I will not do that. So, all of us, prepare because a day shall come and Rivers State shall take a decision on what to do.”

Wike said if President Muhammadu Buhari does not renege on his pledge not to interfere with the conduct of the 2023 general elections, the All Progressives Congress (APC) will be doomed.

Such resolve, governor Wike noted means that president Buhari is serious about leaving an enduring legacy of conducting free and fair election.

“I thank Mr. President that he wants to leave a legacy of conducting a free and fair election.”

Governor Wike alleged that the APC-led federal government through the immediate past Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, deployed the Nigerian Army to allegedly rig the 2019 general elections in Rivers State , but the people resisted and thwarted their scheme.

The governor also said he was in doubt of the promise made by the Independent National Electoral Commission( INEC) to deliver a better election.

“My problem is INEC, whether they will do what they said they will do. They are making promises now. I don’t know whether they will keep to it. If INEC will keep to the promises that Nigeria will get a better election, I will be so happy. Everybody will see with their eyes, Abuja does not vote. It is the people here that will vote.”

The Labour party says it is not a social media party, vowing to win the 2023 elections.

The National Publicity Secretary of the Party, Comrade Arabambi Abayomi, who stated this in Lagos, said there are more than 22 million registered voters who have indicated interest in the party.

He said Nigerians are yearning for change as the ruling All progressives Congress, APC, has failed to meet the expectations of the people.

“We are not a social media political party. The people that are conducting our rallies across the states are human beings. We are the new phenomenon, the uncommon political party that will move our nation from consumption to production. As I speak now, with the number of support groups that have registered with their Voters cards and telephone numbers, we have 22 million Nigerians with us.

“And we are expecting more before December. Nigerians are yearning for change; they have gone through a lot and they know the person they want to lead them. You can see that all across Nigeria, the movement is so massive because Peter Obi is the only pan-Nigeria candidate who the people trust. These are Nigerians asking for positive change,” he said.

He urged the APC-led government to get ready to vacate office in 2023, noting that nomination of card-carry members and former aspirants as Resident Electoral Commissioners will not save the party from defeat.

Abayomi also used the opportunity to present Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour as the authentic governorship candidate of the party in Lagos.

While presenting the certificate of return to the candidate on behalf of the national leadership of the party, he said the controversy that trailed the LP governorship primaries was unnecessary.

Recall that former caretaker chairman of the party in Lagos, Ifagbami Awamaridi, had insisted that he remained the chairman and governorship candidate of the party, having won the primaries earlier conducted and his name published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

However, Abayomi maintained that Awamaridi was a placeholder and voluntarily resigned as recommended by law, which he said necessitated the conduct of the substitute primary witnessed by INEC. He challenged Awamaridi to go to court if he feels cheated.

“The emergence of Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour as the 2023 Lagos state governorship candidate of the LP followed all necessary laws, regulations and guidelines as provided in our Constitution, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and INEC guidelines.


“Simply to put the records straight, Awamaridi was the chairman of the LP Lagos state Caretaker Committee at one point. He was made a placeholder for the governorship primary election, thus, his name was submitted as the governorship candidate since Lagos LP was yet to finally conclude all the required processes.

“The placeholder status given to Mr Ifagbemi Awamaridi was one from which he formally tendered official resignation. Awamaridi’s letter of resignation was willfully, voluntarily and clearly signed and tendered. Of course, documents don’t lie. He has ceased to be our gubernatorial candidate,” he added.

Abayomi also inaugurated the newly appointed 24-man caretaker executive committee of the party in the state on behalf of the National Working Committee of the party.

The governorship candidate, Gbadebo, who expressed delight that the party has clarified the controversy surrounding the conduct of the primary, said he will win the governorship election.

He said Lagosians want to see development and impact of the revenue generated by the state.

By Ronald Adamolekun


Fidelity Bank has agreed to take over the United Kingdom unit of Nigeria’s second oldest lender, Union Bank, the former said Tuesday.

It is the latest phase in the train of divestments by the latter which, beginning late last year, saw Union Bank offload 90 per cent of its shareholding to a new owner, Titan Trust.

Fidelity Bank will be acquiring Union Bank UK 100 per cent if the deal goes through, according to a binding agreement between the two stated in a regulatory filing published by the Nigerian Exchange and seen by PREMIUM TIMES.

On Monday, a federal high court in Abuja dismissed the case of the federal government which sought to extradite Abba Kyari, suspended deputy commissioner of police, to the United States for criminal prosecution.

The court, in its judgment, attributed the failure of the case to the negligence of Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF).

Inyang Ekwo, the presiding judge, said as the chief law officer of the federation, Malami ought to have known that the application was bound to fail since Kyari is already standing trial on criminal charges, on another matter, before a competent court in Nigeria.


BACKGROUND

Kyari is wanted in the US over alleged conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft.

A grand jury had, on April 29, 2021, filed an indictment against him with the approval of the US district court for the Central District of California, after which a warrant was issued for his arrest.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had also revealed how Kyari allegedly collaborated with Hushpuppi to jail one of his associates after a dispute over a $1.1 million scam on Qatari businesspeople.

On August 26, Usman Baba, inspector-general of police (IGP), received the report of the panel set up to probe the allegations against Kyari.

The police thereafter sent the report to Malami for legal advice.

In his advice, Malami said there was a prima facie case of money laundering and that further investigations should be conducted into the matter.

However, in a February 4, 2022 letter issued through Mohammed Abubakar, director of public prosecutions, ministry of justice, and addressed to the IGP, the AGF said there is no sufficient proof that Kyari was involved in money laundering.


ENTER THE NDLEA ANGLE

While Nigerians were still mulling over the conspiracy allegation between Kyari and Hushpuppi, the NDLEA on February 14 declared the controversial ‘supercop’ wanted for drug trafficking “over his involvement in a 25kg cocaine deal”.

Hours later, the police announced his arrest and subsequent transfer to the custody of the NDLEA.

On February 28, the anti-drug agency filed an eight-count charge against Kyari and six others.

Shortly after, Malami proceeded to file the application for his extradition to the US on March 1.

Explaining the reason for the delay, Malami had said that the process of extradition is cumbersome and multifaceted.

But in dismissing the suit, the presiding judge held that the AGF filed the application in bad faith.

“I find that this application was brought in bad faith,” the judge said.


‘MALAMI OUGHT NOT TO HAVE BROUGHT THE APPLICATION’

As the chief law officer of the federation, Malami has legal powers to institute and undertake, take over and continue or discontinue any criminal proceedings at any time before judgement as provided for in Section 174(1)(a)(b)(c) of the 1999 constitution as amended.

The AGF can be said to perform oversight functions over the police, EFCC, ICPC, and NDLEA in the sense that the justice ministry is aware of every criminal charge filed.

The presiding judge noted this when he said: “The applicant, being the attorney-general of the federation, is in a position to know that Mr Kyari is standing trial on offences bordering on the provisions of the NDLEA Act, and ought not to have brought this (extradition) application.”

The court questioned why the AGF requested extradition since he had also given the NDLEA a fiat to bring charges relating to drug trafficking against Kyari.

Kyari had among other things, in a counter-affidavit in opposition to the suit, insisted that he could not be extradited because of the pending drug trafficking charge.

However, Malami had noted that the extradition suit could proceed since the offences Kyari was facing in Nigeria are not the same as that for which he is wanted in the US.

But in its judgment, the court held that the application is in breach of Section 3 (f) of the Extradition Act, and that it is incompetent.

“The AGF could not say that he was not aware of the pending proceeding against the defendant which was entered against him(Kyari) by the NDLEA,” the judge said.