₦airaland Forum

By Seun Adeuyi

Popular columnist and fierce critic of the the President Muhammadu Buhari government, Farooq Kperogi, has slammed the National Leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, over the outcome of the Lagos APC governorship primaries.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, whom Tinubu endorsed for a second term, clinched the party’s ticket at the primaries, which was fraught with controversies over the exclusion of the two aspirants who bought forms to challenge Sanwo-Olu.

The duo of Wale Oluwo, a former Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources in the state, and Abdul-Ahmed Mustapha, a former Permanent Secretary, were barred from Mobolaji Johnson Arena (Onikan Stadium), venue of the primaries.

Adamu Yuguda, chairman of the five-man electoral committee, later said only the incumbent governor was cleared for the exercise.

Mr Yuguda said: “We are aware that three aspirants bought forms for Lagos state. Three accredited for the screening. One was cleared, two were not cleared. So, we are only attending to those that have been cleared, the aspirant that has been cleared by the two committees,” he had said.

But responding, Oluwo accused the electoral committee of conspiring with some politicians to manipulate the exercise.

The issue of denying the aspirants access to the venue of the election generated a heated debate on Thursday.

Reacting in a Facebook post, Kperogi said karma was waiting for Tinubu at the APC presidential primary, which begins on Sunday.

“Tinubu endorsed a disgraceful coronation of his handpicked stooge in the Lagos governorship primary “election” and shut out 2 other contestants who paid nomination fees. But he wants a fair contest for his presidential ambition in Abuja and chafes at consensus. Karma is waiting for him in Abuja this weekend!,” Kperogi said.

By Abdullateef Salau


Former President Goodluck Jonathan has condemned the ongoing primaries for the 2023 elections.

There have been reports of how aspirants having been inducing delegates to vote for them.

Daily Trust had reported how the son of Jonathan’s former deputy, Namadi Sambo, demanded a refund from delegates who collected his money but failed to vote for him.

Speaking on Thursday in Abuja at a book launch titled “Political Party Governance” authored by Dr. Mohammed Wakil, a former Minister of State, Power, Jonathan said it was disgraceful to induce delegates to get their votes and then request for refund after failing to secure tickets.

Jonathan said: “These whole primaries going on across the country is a mess. This is not a standard practice. The process has failed.

“We cannot use the process to elect president, governors, senators and House of Representatives members and others.

“The process is already failed, which is not good for the country. But we will manage and move on.

“We pray that good people should come. I hope that what happened this year, 2022 will not happen again in this country.”

The former president, therefore, urged the National Assembly to make laws to criminalise inducement of delegates and electorate.

He also asked the legislature to expunge from the Electoral Act, the sections that state how political parties should select candidates for elections.

Jonathan said: “The National Assembly can’t make laws and lock all political parties together. Parties have different ways of nominating candidates and the process is enshrined in their constitutions.

“Creating a situation where all parties must have the same way of selecting candidates is nonsense. Parties are not parastatals of government.

“The National Assembly can’t make laws to strangulate political parties. Section 84 should be expunged from the Electoral Act.”

By Oladeinde Olawoyin


Glencore International A.G. and Glencore Ltd., both part of a Switzerland-based multi-national commodity trading and mining firm named in massive bribery of officials of Nigeria’s state-owned oil company, have pleaded guilty and agreed to pay over $1.1 billion fine over their involvement in a corruption scheme.

The firms’ pleas are meant to resolve the United States’ government’s investigations into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and a commodity price manipulation scheme.

A United States’ Department of Justice press statement on Monday said that the guilty pleas are part of coordinated resolutions with criminal and civil authorities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil.

“The rule of law requires that there not be one rule for the powerful and another for the powerless; one rule for the rich and another for the poor,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.

“The Justice Department will continue to bring to bear its resources on these types of cases, no matter the company and no matter the individual.”

Last July, a PREMIUM TIMES’ report detailed how a former United Kingdom-based trader for Glencore Plc, Anthony Stimler, bribed officials in Nigeria in exchange for favourable contracts from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

Mr Stimler, acting through subsidiaries of Glencore, conspired with others to make millions of U.S. dollars in corrupt bribe payments to officials in Nigeria. The former trader pleaded guilty over what prosecutors in the United States described as his role in a scheme to bribe and he admitted to conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and commit money laundering at a hearing in Manhattan federal court conducted by video.

Prosecutors said millions of dollars in bribes were paid to officials in Nigeria, in exchange for NNPC awarding oil contracts and providing “more lucrative grades of oil on more favorable delivery terms.”


Charges

The US’ Department of Justice said that charges in the FCPA matter arise out of a decade-long scheme by Glencore and its subsidiaries to make and conceal corrupt payments and bribes through intermediaries for the benefit of foreign officials across multiple countries.

Pursuant to a plea agreement, Glencore has agreed to a criminal fine of more than $428 million and to criminal forfeiture and disgorgement of more than $272 million. Glencore has also agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for three years.

The department has agreed to credit nearly $256 million in payments that Glencore makes to resolve related parallel investigations by other domestic and foreign authorities.

“Separately, Glencore Ltd. admitted to engaging in a multi-year scheme to manipulate fuel oil prices at two of the busiest commercial shipping ports in the U.S,” the statement said.

“As part of the plea agreement, Glencore Ltd. agreed to pay a criminal fine of over $341 million, pay forfeiture of over $144 million, and retain an independent compliance monitor for three years. The department has agreed to credit up to one-half of the criminal fine and forfeiture against penalties Glencore Ltd. pays to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in a related, parallel civil proceeding.”

Sentencing has been scheduled in the market manipulation case for June 24, and a control date for sentencing in the FCPA case has been set for October 3.


Nigeria, DRC cases

Between 2007 and 2018, Glencore and its subsidiaries caused approximately $79.6 million in payments to be made to intermediary companies in order to secure improper advantages to obtain and retain business with state-owned and state-controlled entities in the West African countries of Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Equatorial Guinea.

The DoJ noted that Glencore concealed the bribe payments by entering into sham consulting agreements, paying inflated invoices, and using intermediary companies to make corrupt payments to foreign officials.

“For example, in Nigeria, Glencore and Glencore’s U.K. subsidiaries entered into multiple agreements to purchase crude oil and refined petroleum products from Nigeria’s state-owned and state-controlled oil company,” it said.

“Glencore and its subsidiaries engaged two intermediaries to pursue business opportunities and other improper business advantages, including the award of crude oil contracts, while knowing that the intermediaries would make bribe payments to Nigerian government officials to obtain such business. In Nigeria alone, Glencore and its subsidiaries paid more than $52 million to the intermediaries, intending that those funds be used, at least in part, to pay bribes to Nigerian officials.”

In the DRC, Glencore admitted that it conspired to and did corruptly offer and pay approximately $27.5 million to third parties, while intending for a portion of the payments to be used as bribes to DRC officials, in order to secure improper business advantages.

Glencore also admitted to the bribery of officials in Brazil and Venezuela. In Brazil, the company caused approximately $147,202 to be used, at least in part, as corrupt payments for Brazilian officials. In Venezuela, Glencore admitted to conspiring to secure improper business advantages by paying over $1.2 million to an intermediary company that made corrupt payments for the benefit of a Venezuelan official.


Glencore’s Denial

When details of its Mr Stimler’s involvement in the bribery scheme was reported in July 2021, Glencore Plc described the trader’s plea as unacceptable, adding that “the conduct has no place in Glencore.”

“Glencore has cooperated fully with the department of justice and other authorities in their investigations and continues to do so,” it said.

“Glencore has taken a number of remedial measures in light of what it has learned during the investigation. Glencore has significantly enhanced its ethics and compliance programme over the last few years with a view to developing a best in class programme.”

But the company has kept mum about details of the United States’ Department of Justice revelation on Monday.

The NNPC on its part has failed to react to the developments since details of the bribery scheme became public last July. Efforts to speak with the corporation’s spokesperson failed Tuesday morning as his known telephone number could not be reached.

More than 24 hours after its operatives whisked away former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha from his Abuja home, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has yet to interrogate him.

His daughter Uloma Nwosu, who stated this last night, said: “Since his(Okorocha) arrest, no official of the EFCC has spoken to him; he has not been interrogated, despite the desperation to arrest him.”

Mrs Nwosu said after visiting the Senator representing Imo West Senatorial Zone, that the arrest of her father was more political than what the anti-graft agency wanted Nigerians to believe.

She said: “Everyone saw how they invaded his home shooting as if they were arresting a terrorist.

“It is obvious now that the EFCC’s intention is to keep him until after the APC primaries, but we are relying on the judiciary to proffer justice as the last hope of the common man.”

Mrs Nwosu appreciated Nigerians for their solidarity, saying that the Senator was in high spirits.

The EFCC operatives besieged Okorocha’s Maitama home for hours on Tuesday morning accused the former governor of jumping administrative bail earlier granted him.

Idowu Abdullahi


The National Youth Service Corps says the lawmaker representing Anambra-North senatorial district, Stella Oduah, did not complete the mandatory one-year NYSC programme.

The NYSC said this in a letter marked NYSC/DHQ/PPRU/783/Vol III.

In a letter by the Director-General of the NYSC which was signed on his behalf by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Eddy Megwa, the agency said Oduah commenced her NYSC programme in 1982 but absconded.

The letter was in response to an inquiry by a group known as the Concerned Anambra North PDP Stakeholders.

In the previous letter, the group had written a letter to the NYSC accusing some officials of the agency of colluding with Oduah to hide the truth.

In its response, titled, ‘Re: Doubtful NYSC Participation Collusion of Some Unscrupulous Staff of NYSC Concerning Stella Adaeze Oduah (Senator), Save the Image and Reputation of the Scheme’, the NYSC denied colluding with Oduah to hide the truth.

The letter read in part, “In response to your request, we wish to state that the facts of the matter remain as follows: Stella Adaeze Oduah was mobilised for national service in 1982/1983 service year and deployed to Lagos State.


“After the orientation course, she absconded and never completed the national service. The consequence of this is that she is not qualified for the issuance of the certificate of national service.”

Section 2 (1) of the NYSC Act makes it obligatory for every Nigerian who graduates to “ make himself available for service for a continuous period of one year from the date specified in the call-up instrument served upon him.”

According to the NYSC Act, the four categories of individuals exempted from the national service are those who graduated above the age of 30, those who have served in the Armed Forces or the Nigeria Police for a period of more than nine months; those who served in intelligence organisations and individuals who bagged national honours before graduation.

It remains unclear how Oduah’s failure to complete her NYSC escaped the scrutiny of agencies like the Department of State Services which usually vet ministerial nominees.

In her form CF001 forms submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission in 2019, Oduah claimed that she completed her NYSC but her certificate was missing along with other credentials.

An affidavit she deposed to read in part, “Sometime in 2010 while in transit from Akili Ozizor in Ogbaru local government area to Abuja, I discovered that some of my personal belongings were missing.

“The missing documents are the originals of my West African School Certificate of 1978 from Zixon Secondary School Ozubulu, First School Leaving Certificate from St. John Odoakpu Onitsha; Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Certificate 1982 from St. Paul’s College Lawrence Virginia USA; National Youth Service Corps certificate 1983, national identity card, United States of America Social Security card with numbers in it.”

Oduah, who served as Minister of Aviation before she was relieved of her duties by former President Goodluck Jonathan, also came under scrutiny in January 2014 when Sahara Reporters quoted authorities at St. Paul’s College, where Mrs. Oduah claimed she studied for Bachelor and Masters degrees, as saying they did not award her an MBA at any time as the university does not even have a graduate school or graduate programme.

The PUNCH learnt that a petition had been sent to the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, asking the PDP to disqualify Oduah who has been screened to contest in the primary.

The group, Concerned Anambra North PDP Stakeholders, in a letter dated April 26, 2022, attached all necessary evidence to the party. However, there had been no response.

The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Debo Ologunagba, did not respond to calls on Wednesday.

In a chat with The PUNCH, Lagos-based lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, noted that a Federal High Court had already ruled that possessing an NYSC certificate was not a condition for holding public office.

Effiong, however, said Oduah’s claim on oath that she possessed an NYSC certificate when she knew this to be false amounted to perjury and disqualification.

“The court has ruled that the NYSC Act cannot be superior to the 1999 constitution which already outlines the prerequisites for holding public office. However, if she claimed on oath that she possesses an NYSC certificate when she had none, then this is perjury and is also grounds for disqualification,” said Effiong.

Attempts to get a response from Oduah proved abortive as her telephone line indicated that it was switched off. Also there was no response to a text message sent to her

By Aliyu Jalal

There is seeming political tension in the country as Nigerians expect the flag bearers of the two leading political parties – the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – for the 2023 general elections to emerge this week.

While there is a total of 38 aspirants in the race for the presidential tickets of the leading parties, there are also some perceivable uncertainties from both ends, as contenders from the two parties are enmeshed in a web of internal politics around the selection of their presidential candidates.

While some aspirants are travelling from one state to another meeting with delegates, many others have gone silent in their bid for the highest office in the country since they obtained the presidential forms.

Daily Trust chronicles the candidates from the two parties who have seemingly gone underground after collecting the presidential forms in their respective parties.

ALL PROGRESSIVE CONGRESS (APC)

Pastor Tunde Bakare

Popular Pentecostal pastor, Tunde Bakare declared interest in the 2023 presidential race on Saturday, May 4 during a virtual programme tittled ‘Unveiling Project 16 to Nigerians in diaspora,’ before purchasing the APC presidential forms on Thursday, May 8. The founder of Citadel Global Community Church is a native of Ogun State who was President Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate in 2011 when the latter ran unsuccessfully in that year’s presidential poll. Unlike aspirants like the APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who have been active in wooing delegates, little has been heard of Bakare’s political activities ahead of the primary.


Prof. Ben Ayade

The Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade received his APC presidential forms reportedly purchased for him by some groups including the AREWA Youths on Monday, May 9. The former legislator was a member of the Nigeria’s 7th Senate before becoming the governor of Cross River State in 2015 after which he was reelected in 2019. He was a member of the PDP before defecting to the ruling APC on Thursday, May 20, 2021. Like Bakare, Ayade has also been largely passive seeking support for his presidential ambition.


Dave Umahi

Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State picked the presidential nomination forms of the APC on Thursday, April 28. Umahi who joined the APC in November 2020 from the PDP – the party on whose platform he won two governorship elections – had previously been the deputy governor and PDP Chairman in the State. However, he had been inactive in terms of consultation across the states.


Dimeji Bankole

The former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, purchased the APC presidential expression of interest and nomination forms on Friday, May 6. He was the 9th Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, who was elected at the age of 37, as the youngest Speaker in the history of the House. In 2019, he contested in the Ogun State gubernatorial election under the platform of Action Democratic Party. Little or nothing has been heard of his political activities since he obtained the forms.


Muhammed Badaru Abubakar

Jigawa State governor, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar is also one of the APC members who purchased the party’s presidential forms to succeed President Buhari, having acquired the N100 million forms on May 5. Badaru is also the Chairman, Presidential Committee on Fertilizer and also the Chairman, Presidential Committee on Non-Oil Revenue.


Godswill Akpabio

Godswill Akpabio is the immediate ex-minister of Niger Delta Affairs who resigned from his miniaterial position on May 11, after purchasing the APC forms to contest for the president in 2023. The former two-term governor served as Governor of Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria from May 29, 2007 to May 29, 2015.


Rocha Okorocha

Roachas Okorocha is a former Imo State governor and Senator representing Imo West who joined the presidential race after a group named New Nigeria Movement had procured the APC presidential forms for him on April 29. He is one of the seven presidential aspirants of the APC who on Sunday, reached an agreement to throw their weight behind any South-East consensus candidate the party endorses ahead of the May 29 primary election. Until his arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday, noise about his presidential ambition had drastically dwindled after he obtained the forms


Ibikunle Amosun

The former governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun also obtained the one hundred million naira APC presidential forms. The Ogun Central senator officially declared his intention to contest the 2023 presidency on Thursday at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)


Anyim Pius Anyim

A coalition of about 350 groups on March 24, purchased the expression of interest and presidential nomination forms for former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim. But unlike his co-contestants such as former President Atiku Abubakar and former Senate President Bukola Saraki, little or nothing is known of Anyim’s consultation after he obtained the forms.


Sam Ohuabunwa

The former Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company, Mr Sam Ohuabunwa is also one of those who obtained the PDP presidential forms but has not been active afterwards.


Dele Momodu

The Nigerian journalist and publisher of Ovation International Magazine, Dele Momodu picked the PDP presidential forms on March 25. He was active before picking the forms but went underground afterwards.


Ayodele Fayose

former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose
A former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose

The former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, picked the preidential forms of the PDP on April 6 amid political theatrics which died down shortly afterwards.

Governor Udom Emmanuel

Akwa lbom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, joined the 2023 PDP presidential race, when the Brekete family, a popular reality show which focuses on human rights issues in Nigeria, presented to him on Thursday April 7, the presidential nomination forms they reportedly bought for him.

By Idowu Isamotu


Security operative who are currently laying siege to the Abuja residence of a former governor of Imo state, Rochas Okorocha, have fired sporadic gunshots to disperse supporters of the lawmakers.

The protesters, mostly women and journalists monitoring the development are currently scampering for safety.

The operatives are insisting that they would not leave the premises unless the politician is arrested.

After securing just two votes at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries in Kaduna North Federal Constituency of the House of Representatives, Adam Namadi, son of former Vice-President Namadi Sambo, has reportedly asked delegates to refund the N2 million each he doled out before the election.

Namadi, who had promised to add N1.5 million to the amount given to each of the delegates, secured the least votes among the three contenders.

The delegates raked in millions of naira from the aspirants who appeared in a hurry to outspend one another.

At the end, Samaila Suleiman, the incumbent representative of the constituency carried the day as he defeated Namadi and Shehu Usman ABG.

Suleiman, who recently decamped from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP, won with 22 votes against Shehu Usman ABG who polled 14 votes.

Delegates told Daily Trust that Suleiman had distributed between N3.5m and N4m to each delegate while ABG gave out N2.5m in cash and Namadi had distributed N2m to delegates.

However, having lost the contest, both ABG and Namadi demanded an immediate refund.

Suleiman, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Special Duties, left the APC following the interest of Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s eldest son in his seat at the green chamber.

By Oladeinde Olawoyin


With the introduction of the new tax on phone calls to fund the provision of healthcare to vulnerable Nigerians, sundry taxes on telephone calls in Nigeria have shot up by 300 per cent in the last three years.

The taxes include a five per cent excise duty placed on telephone recharge cards and vouchers, nine per cent healthcare levy, and the 7.5% Value Added Tax (VAT).

In effect, a total of 21.5 per cent tax has been placed on calls in Nigeria, a significant increase from the five per cent VAT charged on calls barely three years ago. This represents an over 300 per cent increase in taxes placed on calls by subscribers in the country.


Vulnerable Fund

The Nigerian government last week introduced a new tax on phone calls to fund the provision of healthcare to vulnerable Nigerians who cannot afford the cost of medical care. President Muhammadu Buhari said the National Health Insurance Authority Bill 2022 will ensure coverage of 83 million poor Nigerians who cannot afford to pay premiums.

The new law creates a vulnerable group fund that will be financed through a new telecommunications tax charged on phone calls at not less than one kobo per second of GSM calls. It will also be funded through a basic health care provision fund, health insurance levy, special intervention fund, as well as any investment proceeds, donations and gifts to the authority.

With an average call rate of 11 Kobo per second, the new law implies at least nine per cent charge on every second of phone calls in the country.

A phone call model used to illustrate the story
A phone call model used to illustrate the story
The new law comes into effect shortly after Mr Buhari approved the collection of five per cent as excise duty on telephone recharge cards and vouchers in May.

Earlier in the month, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, directed the Nigerian Customs to create a tariff line for the collection of the excise on mobile telephones, electricity meters (components) and set up boxes at five per cent.

The government is expected to raise at least N150 billion from the duty while Customs will pocket about N10 billion, a 7 per cent collection fee.

In the first quarter of 2020, the Nigerian government increased the Value-Added Tax (VAT) rate from 5 to 7.5 per cent.


Impact

The new healthcare tax and its possible impact have generated conversations across social media platforms, with many Nigerians divided in their support of and opposition to the policy. While many praised the idea for its expected impact on the poor and vulnerable, others expressed reservation on the management of the fund.

In his intervention on Monday, Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader at PwC, Taiwo Oyedele, warned of the possible implication of burdening the telecom sector with taxes. According to the tax expert, the sector is linked to other sectors and the tax burden can affect the growth of other sectors of the economy.

“The telecom sector is an enabler for other sectors of the economy. It is important to avoid excessive taxation which may directly hamper the sector and indirectly hurt other sectors and the economy as a whole,” he tweeted.

There are concerns this might help increase the popuaton of financially excluded people. Increased tax can cut savings ad induce poverty, a driver of financial exclusion.

By Seun Opejobi


Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has described Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as President Muhammadu Buhari’s number one confidante.

El-Rufai said Osinbajo had earned the respect of Buhari, state governors, and Nigerians in general.

He spoke during Osinbajo’s consultative meeting with delegates of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kaduna yesterday.

El-Rufai noted that Osinbajo has earned the respect of the President, governors, and Nigerians due to the way he conducts the affairs of the National Economic Council, NEC.

According to El-Rufai: “Osinbajo is the number one confidante of President Muhammadu Buhari, and has the respect of all the governors of Nigeria, across party lines, because of the way and manner he steers the affairs of the National Economic Council.

“He’s not just here because he is running for President. He is here because he has a close affinity with the government and people of Kaduna State. I want those that don’t know, our party leaders and delegates, to know that Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has always shown uncommon love for the people of Kaduna State.”

By Kunle Oderemi And Leon Usigbe


FIVE factors may account for the seeming disposition of President Muhammadu Buhari towards giving his assent to the amendment in the Electoral Act 2022, Nigerian Tribune learnt on Sunday. 

This is coming as the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alleged that the action of the President not to sign the amendment was part of a plot to extend the tenure of his administration beyond May 29, 2023. 

The guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) require that parties submit the list of their delegates seven days to the convention. 

In the amendment, Section 84( provides for automatic or statutory delegates, who The section seeks to include as delegates the president, vice president, National assembly members, governors and their deputies, other statutory delegates. 

The provision is a sharp contrast to the section in the Electoral Act 2022 signed by the president, which states: “By virtue of Section 84( of the Electoral Act 2022, delegates to vote at the indirect primaries and national convention of political parties to elect candidates for election s shall be those democratically elected for that purpose.” 

Nigerian Tribune was informed on Sunday that one of the reasons the president is hesitant to assent to the amendment was because of the need to whittle down the perceived undue influence of some presidential aspirants regarded as wielding awesome influence in the political space.

Such contestants are said to be among the 26 aspirants seeking the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) cutting across the geopolitical zones. 

One of the aspirants said to be from the southern part of the country has succeeded in lobbying some governors with considerable influence on delegates to the incoming primaries. 

The fear in the official circle, according to the sources, is that a presidential assent to the amendment will boost the chance of any of those powerful aspirants emerging as the candidate of the political parties, as the amendment provides for a huge number of statutory delegates. It was also learnt that the authorities were not happy with the members of the National Assembly chose to add the provision of statutory delegates by breaching a mutual agreement with the executive arm of government that the legislature should delete apart of Section 84 of the original Electoral Act 2022 signed by the president. 

“Buhari is also extracting a pound of flesh from the National Assembly. They quickly added statutory delegates, but ignored a mutual agreement to delete a part of Section 84,” the source stressed. 

The quest to bequeath a ‘legacy of probity’ in the political transition programme, was also said to be another reason for the action of the president, just he was said be concerned about the cost implications of implementing the amendment in the electoral law by the political parties. 

“He is also worried about huge cost and management of delegates. Statutory delegates will increase the number of delegates in APC from about 2, 200 to about 12,000. It is expensive for aspirants and even. In terms of money for logistics and other expenditures to incur on delegates. So, it could worsen corruption,” the source stated. 

The other reason said to have informed the lukewarm attitude of the president to the amendment was the fact that some of the 18 registered political parties had commenced the conduct of primaries to pick candidates for the 2023 general election maintaining: “If the amendment is signed now, it means such political parties will have to start all over again.” 

Meanwhile, the PDP has alleged that President Buhari was being pressured to delay the signing of the Electoral Act amendment by elements in the APC intent on foisting tenure elongation on the country. 

The party, therefore, warned the APC to perish the thoughts of subverting the electoral process “as part of its desperation to elongate its abysmal tenure beyond May 29, 2023.” 

The PDP made the submission in a statement issued by Honourable Debo Ologunagba, its national publicity secretary on Sunday, alerting Nigerian on what it saw as the plot by the APC to use orchestrated insecurity and political uncertainty to derail the electoral process, stall the 2023 general election and create a situation to justify a tenure elongation. 

The PDP alleged: “There are revelations that desperate APC leaders are behind the delay by President Muhammadu Buhari in signing the amendment to the Electoral Act 2022 so as to frustrate the smooth conduct of primaries by political parties and derail the entire electoral process. 

“It is not surprising to the PDP that Mr President was again “absent” having travelled to the United Arab Emirate and abandoned his constitutional duty of signing the crucial amendment to the Electoral Act. 

“This attitude of Mr President to an issue that is critical to our electoral system is consistent with APC’s plot to cause confusion in the polity, orchestrate an unconducive environment for elections, stall the 2023 general elections and achieve a rumoured third term agenda. 

“The regularity of the electoral process as well as the confidence of the people in the certainty of timelines and outcomes of elections are the hallmarks of democracy, which the APC has been dislocating apparently with the view to undermining the electoral process.” 

The PDP observed that the failure of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mohammed Bello, to swear in the newly elected FCT Area Council administrations last week was part of the ploy for the APC tenure elongation plan. The PDP said it was concerned about APC’s exposed plot to deploy such despicable underhand methods to subvert elections in 2023 where they do not favour APC candidates.

By Taiwo-Hassan Adebayo

Nigeria’s retired general and politician, Jeremiah Useni, has forfeited 1.9 million British pounds hidden in bank accounts on the Island of Jersey, a court in that country ruled on Thursday, according to a local newspaper.

Bailiwick Express reported that the Royal Court of Jersey seized the funds kept in four accounts at the Standard Chartered Bank over a period of 15 years begining in 1986 when the old soldier first opened an account in the name of “Tim Shani.”

It has since turned out Tim Shani is a fake name the former minister used in concealing his loot.

Mr Useni, 79, was a Lieutenant General in the Nigerian Army and close ally of late kleptocrat Sani Abacha under whom he served as Minister for the Federal Capital Territory. He later represented Plateau South in the Nigerian Senate between 2015 and 2019.

In 2006, a probe by the Office of the National Security Adviser under President Olusegun Obasanjo indicted Mr Useni. The probe report exclusively obtained by PREMIUM TIMES said Mr Useni acquired real estate, hospitality, petrol service, and farm assets from illicit sources.

Two of the assets identified in the probe report – Tim Tali Motels, Langtang, and Tim Tali Farms, Gwagwalada – have names similar to the fictitious name he used in Jersey.

In 2001, the Standard Chartered Bank in Jersey wrote Mr Useni – who was then known to the bank as “Tim Shani” – that newly enacted stricter anti-money regulations required him to submit a certifified copy of his passport.

Responding six months later, he continued to present himself falsely as “Mr Shani” and then requested that the funds in his accounts be transferred to a Nigerian bank account. His request was rejected, and in 2003, the matter triggered law enforcement actions, leading to the freezing of the suspicious accounts.

After four years of repeated attempts by Mr Useni’s lawyer to unfreeze the accounts, he finally disclosed his true identity and his ownership of the accounts in 2007.

While making that disclosure, he claimed to have derived his wealth from multiple businesses including transportation, hospitality, petrol stations, property investment, and personal savings. He said he decided to hide his wealth offshore for “security” because of the instability in Nigeria.

The businesses he cited as sources of his wealth were similar to those listed by the Obasanjo era probe as having been illegally acquired in Nigeria.

He was said to have provided no information about his income in the 1980s and 1990s to explain the provenance of his wealth but he said he had used the non existent “Tim Shani” to open the accounts based on advice from his agent to use a “coded password name”

Jersey’s Attorney General concluded that he had done so to hide his connection with the funds and conceal their likely criminal source.

“The Attorney General believes that the Shani accounts were created to hold, hide and conceal bribes or other proceeds of corruption received by Useni during the period he held office,” Bailiwick Express quoted the court as saying before ordering the forfeited funds be transferred to Jersey’s Criminal Offences Confiscation Fund.

“The payments into the Shani accounts were more likely than not for the purposes or on account of exercising political influence over the award of lucrative contracts to foreign and Nigerian companies for the supply of industrial or commercial services in Nigeria.”

Mr Useni’s Jersey lawyer had reportedly tried to explain the source of the funds as cash gifts from friends and well-wishers during festive seasons in accordance with Nigerian culture. In addition, the lawyer claimed there was no Code of Conduct for public officers in Nigeria at the time the purported gifts were received.

The court rejected the explanations as absurd and incredible.

“The affidavits of [Gen Useni] have not satisfied the Court that the property held in the bank accounts is not tainted property and on the application of the Attorney General, we will make a Forfeiture Order in relation to that property,” the court concluded, according to Bailiwick Express.

Between 2003 and 2020, at least $470 million – stolen and laundered through the U.S. by late Mr Abacha and family and associates such as Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu – was repatriated to Nigeria from Jersey.

However, the court did not rule that the 1.9 million pounds recovered from Mr Useni be transferred to Nigeria.

Mr Useni did not answer calls or reply a text message seeking his comment on Friday.

Apostle Folorunso Alakija is unarguably one of the female entrepreneurs in the world taking charge of their financial futures and changing the rules of the game. Although their net worth has been affected by recent economic tension, most of them have been growing their wealth through responsible and sustainable investing. And Alakija is a great example.

As she creams off more wealth from the volatile oil and gas sector, the Ikorodu, Lagos-born billionaire has been growing her investment in the high-yielding luxury property business too. Her real estate firm, Dayspring Property Development Company, has a rich portfolio including the Rose of Sharon Tower in Victoria Island and Project Delta in Ikoyi. But her latest and completed project is the FAMFA Tower which is the flagship.

The one-of-a-kind curvaceous skyscraper has changed the skyline of the highbrow Alfred Rewane Road in Ikoyi that hosted several iconic high-rise buildings with its significant presence. The 22-floor edifice —said to cost over N60 billion— is reportedly self-financed by the oil tycoon with no loans from any bank. The edifice will be used for commercial purposes with the last five floors strictly for Alakija’s personal and corporate use, and the rest rented out to interested tenants.

Built by Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, amenities and features provided in the tower designed to make it as structurally efficient as possible include: a gymnasium, helipad (with a dedicated waiting lounge), 266 car park spaces, raised access floors, and select granite finishes. The building’s façade comprises extensive high-performance unitized curtain walling with integrated façade lighting, ballistic performance considerations in select areas, and aluminium cladding.

Alakija’s first venture was a fashion label —Supreme Stitches— whose customers included notable power brokers and their spouses. In 1993, the 71-year old woman’s fortune changed when she got an oil prospecting licence which was later converted to an oil mining lease leading to the birth of Famfa Oil, a Nigerian oil exploration company with a stake in Agbami Oilfield, a prolific offshore asset.

Few days after operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Mr. Ahmed Idris the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), in connection with an alleged diversion of funds and money laundering activities to the tune of N80billion, fresh facts have emerged that more officials might soon be picked up by the anti-graft agency.

According to the anti-graft agency, investigation showed that the AGF raked in the funds through bogus consultancies and other illegal activities, using proxies, family members and close associates. The funds, according to EFCC, were laundered through real estate investments in Kano and Abuja.

Mr. Idris was arrested after failing to honour invitations by the EFCC to respond to issues connected to the fraudulent acts. A competent source in EFCC who pleaded not to be named, told Saturday Sun that more staff, highly-placed persons and other interested government officials involved in the financial heist, will be arrested soon.

The source said what the public knows is a scratch on the surface compared to what further investigation by the anti-graft agency has so far revealed. He said the AGF was due for retirement about two years ago, but was reportedly extended by the presidency, despite the clear violation of the civil service rule.

The source said through a clandestine move, Idris used many pseudo names to invest in and outside of Nigeria. He wondered how a public officer who should catch thieves, has now become the thief. He listed United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and other Scandinavian countries, where the Idris starched the funds as investments. The EFCC source said the agency has already commenced moves to recover some of the assets, while reaching out to countries suspected to he harbouring some of the looted funds. He said when investigations are concluded, Idris will be charged to court. The source said Idris is working with operatives to bring a closure to the issue.

Meanwhile, fresh facts have emerged that the Senate committee on Public Accounts’ negligence and compromise to properly supervise the AGF’s office, may have led to the financial sleaze.

By law, the Senate committee is constitutionally mandated to supervise activities of the AGF’s office. However, the committee headed by Senator Matthew Urhoghide, has repeatedly failed to hold Idris to account.

The law requires that the office of the AGF submits an audit report to the Senate committee on Public Accounts. The Senate committee, by law, is expected to carry out a comprehensive verification of claims made in the report by the AGF’s office.

However, the committee, in the last seven years, has failed to comprehensively perform this role. It has also failed to present a report to the Senate for a proper deliberation and therefore, a position on financial malfeasance by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). With the new revelation and arrest of the AGF by EFCC, there are fears that the Senate leadership may tinker with the leadership of the committee for optimal performance. Senate sources said the issue will he extensively debated when the Senate reconvenes in June, after the primaries of political parties.

The Osinbajo Campaign Media Team May 19, 2022 have said they have seen an outlandish news report that a so-called “Osinbajo Campaign Organisation has said that it would provide hotel accommodation for more than 7,000 All Progressives Congress delegates across the country during the party’s presidential primary election.”

In a statement, the campaign office said attributing such a claim to Senator Babafemi Ojudu, Special Adviser to the President, in the Office of the Vice-President, the report falsely claimed that “Ojudu announced this to delegates in Minna, while wooing them to vote for Osinbajo during the party’s primaries.”

The statement reads “For the records, Senator Ojudu at no time made such a claim and the Osinbajo Campaign team has no such plans. Such reported offers of free accommodation and free food should be ignored.

“The Vice President continues to spend time interacting directly with the APC delegates and stakeholders across the states answering their questions on issues of politics and governance.

“It is the plan and intention of the Osinbajo Campaign Team to keep engaging the APC delegates on the major issues of the day, exchanging ideas on how to move the country forward and forging a partnership of stakeholders whose collaboration would go beyond the 2023 elections.”

By Alhasan Farouk

Unless drastic interventions are made, next year’s general election may prove difficult for our nation as desperate attempts by various sides of the union to ensure that they wrest power, especially the presidency.

President Muhammadu Buhari from the North West, as incumbent, has received widespread criticism from several segments of the society for what has been termed a lopsided appointment policy in Nigeria’s security architecture and several MDAs where the North has been unduly favoured. With the recent spate of insecurity, banditry, herder-farmer violence, IPOB disruptions, and separatist group agitations it is apparent that the nation has never been more divided.

With a fractious polity where ethnic and religious strife have seen sectional violence come to the fore in the North Central, South East, South West, the South is eager to stake a claim to the presidency to sooth frayed nerves across the country. Nigeria’s fragile unity is indeed at stake.

The dramatic but dangerous tussle is best observed in the country’s ruling party, the All Progressives Congress. Formed in 2014 as an alliance between the north and south to oust the PDP which had held power for 16 years prior, President Muhammadu Buhari emerged as its flagbearer, representing the north, and with a promise to surrender power to the south in a high-stake power sharing formula designed to promote inclusion and a sense of belonging.

Political activities this year, including the primaries of the political parties, are meant to set the stage for a change of guard. However, in the APC, several key northern figures, emboldened by their control of the party, particularly with the recent emergence of Senator Abdullahi Adamu, as the chairman of the party, are exploring strategies to keep power and leave the southern region out in the cold.

Multiple sources have alleged a secret plot being orchestrated by northern power brokers to facilitate the nomination of either Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, the Governor of Jigawa State, or the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, as its presidential candidate, despite the expectation that the Southern bloc of the party should produce its nominee.

The allegation of a northern agenda to retain power is strengthened by the delays and postponements that have characterised the party’s candidate-selection process.

Also alleged is a plot to install Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the PDP president ousted in 2015 and whom the APC famously reviled as incompetent, corrupt, and lacking in leadership. His consideration, according to the sources, should be the next preferred – and fail-safe – option to a northern candidate, considering the constitutional limits, which means the former president, having served another term prior, can only serve another four years before power is promptly returned to the North.

But this is shortsighted given the fact that there is a constitutional limitation to the Jonathan project as a recent constitutional amendment prohibits anyone who has sworn to the oath relating to the presidency more than twice from running a third time. The proponents of this Jonathan project are up for a legal tussle.

It’s no different in the opposition PDP where similar patterns are noticed. After the emergence of a Northern chairman, the party, too, has refused to zone its presidential ticket, amplifying fears that a Northerner, Atiku Abubakar, could once again work his way to the top, creating an implosive prospect of an all-Northern affair in 2023. This is what the Northern leadership in APC is putting forward as a justification for its Northern candidate plan.

The reaction of the Southern to this prospect is easily predictable. Sentiments of Nigeria being a colonial administrative project that funneled wealth from the resource-rich South to the desert and trouble-plagued North is still rife in the region, especially among the intellectual who are increasingly revisiting the country’s history and animating secessionist agenda that regained popularity over recent alleged nepotism.

The apparent mismanagement of the party processes, due largely to the greed and megalomania of vested interest in the North, who do not care about the region but their personal aggrandizement and are terrified by the prospect of life without the cover of federal power and immunity, may not augur well for the country.

So far, the political leaders of the southern region, especially in the West, who control the media, have kept their rhetoric from the mainstream, hoping that a change of power in 2023 may help alleviate the fears of the people and rekindle interest in the preservation of the union. But if they get schemed out of the political play by the northern powerbrokers, they too may reconsider their position, and with that reality comes the real threat of Nigeria coming undone. The center of Nigeria is not holding and the APC’s final act, unless it changes course, may be to preside over the country’s disintegration.

A senior Army officer, Brigadier General S. Fulani has been attacked by gunmen in Abuja.

Sources told SaharaReporters that the Army General was attacked on Wednesday evening around Life Camp in the nation’s capital.

He was said to be going to his house in the area.

The gunmen also left with Fulani’s Toyota Venza vehicle marked ABJ41JB.

“Abuja is no more safe, imagine a General attacked easily. Our boss, Brigadier General S. Fulani was attacked by armed criminals around Life Camp, Abuja.

“The criminals also carted away his vehicle.”

Abuja, the nation’s capital has seen a surge in the activities of gunmen in recent months.

A few months ago, the FCT Administration raised the alarm that bandits and other criminals being forced out of key Northern states were relocating to towns around Abuja.

By Clement A. Oloyede

Another crisis is currently brewing in the Kano chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) as the endorsed deputy governorship candidate, Murtala Sule Garo, is reportedly mulling defection.

Garo, the immediate past Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in the state, was endorsed by Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and paired with current deputy governor, Nasir Gawuna (as governor) to fly the flag of the party in the 2023 gubernatorial election.

However, following a peace parley between Ganduje and Senator Barau Jibrin, a political arch-enemy of Garo from Kano North senatorial zone, Garo was said to have felt slighted.

Ganduje agreed to step down for Barau for Kano North senatorial ticket after the Senator abandoned his gubernatorial ambition.

Sources said Garo felt Barau, aside being his political enemy, played major roles as one of the leaders of the factional G-7 that has been trying to wrest the control of the party away from their camp and should not have been welcomed back to the fold after the Supreme Court judgment firmly placed the party in the hands of the governor.

It was gathered that the governor and Barau visited Garo at his residence in the midnight of Wednesday to settle the grievances and make him rescind his plan to dump the ticket and the party.

But sources close to the former commissioner said even after the meeting, Garo remained unsure with the arrangement and refused to give a definite answer as to the request.

“He is planning to meet with his associates and make concrete decision, but he is still very sad about the development (Barau back in the fold) but he has not defected or abandoned the ticket,” one source, who asked not to be named, said.

Garo is also said to be worried over the chain of defection hitting the ruling party in Kano, which many believe may affect the party’s fortunes in 2023.

It was further gathered that Garo may be considering joining the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), which has been gathering momentum in Kano and has attracted many aggrieved APC bigwigs, including Senator Ibrahim Shekarau.

The national leader of NNPP, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is an in-law to Garo and was instrumental in establishing him as a formidable politician in the state.

Kwankwaso brought him into the mainstream Kano politics as the Organising Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2007.

The Nigeria police have announced the arrest of 31 suspects connected with major violent crimes including kidnapping, culpable homicide, rape and unlawful possession of firearms.

Among them are two suspected kidnappers, Umar Muhammed, 40, from Mitchika in Adamawa State, and Musa Buba, 29, who confessed to killing and beheading a victim, even after collecting ransom.

A statement signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said, “Operatives of the FIB-STS equally apprehended the duo of Umar Muhammed aged 40 years old from Mitchika in Adamawa State, and Musa Buba aged 29 years old from Hong in Adamawa State, who are famous for their kidnapping activities.

“They were arrested at the market, upon credible intelligence that they would be there to buy food items for their kidnap victims. They confessed to many heinous crimes including the killing and beheading of one Alhaji Mai Gome, even after ransom payment had been made.”

Similarly, the police announced the arrest of a “five-man trans-border syndicate who carries out kidnapping operations in between Adamawa State in Nigeria, and Burha, Fituha, and Kesu in Cameroun”.

The statement continued, “The gang which comprises Abubakar Mohammed, aged 28, Shehu Mohammed, aged 38, Abdullahi Ali aged 30, Abubakar Ali, aged 18, and Hussaini Sule, aged 18, all males from Mubi, Adamawa State, targets wealthy individuals who possess beautiful houses or cars.

“They confessed to the kidnap and multiple rapes of a newly wedded woman at Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno state whom they released upon receipt of a million-naira ransom. They were apprehended by operatives of the FIB-STS after collecting a ransom sum of 2 million Naira for one Alhaji Moni of Buladega Village on the 11th of May, 2022.”

The police said the Force Intelligence Bureau Special Tactical Squad (FIB-STS) operatives also recovered a total of 61 firearms including “41 AK rifles, 8 Type 06 rifles, 4 Light Assault Rifles (LAR), 4 pump action guns, 2 locally made firearms, 1 G3 rifle, 1 Dane gun, 376 rounds of live ammunition of different calibres, and a cash sum of two million naira, from the suspects in the course of investigations”.
Adejobi said all the suspects would be arraigned in court on the completion of investigations.

Bandit terrorists have reportedly abducted many travellers along Abuja-Kaduna expressway on Tuesday.

A source told BBC Hausa that the incident occurred at Katari town around 4:30pm.

According to the source, many empty vehicles were sighted by either sides of the road, signifying that the occupants were either abducted or had fled into the bush.

The source said the incident drew heavy presence of security operatives along the road.

Spokesman for the Kaduna Police Command, Mohammed Jalige, could not be reached for comment at the time of filing this report.

Oyinkan Olasanoye,

There are palpable fears of job loss in the financial sector as banks move to contain rising high operating costs.

In the first quarter of the year, the cost of diesel rose from N225 to over N750, an increase of over 230 per cent. The impact on business operations has forced some banks to adopt new survival measures, including office hour rationalisation.

Official banking hours, which used to be 8am to 4pm now vary depending on specific organisation and branches. For instance, First Bank and GTBank took the lead in reducing the hours of operations.

In a statement made available on its official website on April 10, Firstbank said it has revised operating opening and closing hours effective from Monday, April, 11.

Although, the bank did not adduce any reason for the action, it was gathered that the rising cost of diesel and difficult operating environment were part of the reasons.

According to the bank: “We have revised our banking hours across all our locations. The revised opening and closing hours will be effective from Monday, April 11, 2022.” The bank said that while some of its branches will maintain the status quo, other branches will function between the hours of 8:00 am and 3:00 pm, 8:00 am and 2:00 pm, 8:00 am and 1:00 pm and 10:00 am and 3:00 pm accordingly.

Similarly, GTBank reduced its operating closing hours from 5:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. over alleged incessant increase in diesel pump price.

The bank advised customers to consider digital banking options for any transactions beyond its new operating hours.
The Guardian gathered that other deposit money banks are strategising on how to cushion the effects of the harsh operating environment.

The strategies range from rationalisation, reduction in pay to closing down some branches regarded as ‘loss centres,’ as well as banning or outsourcing the operations of dispatch riders, for those that have not done so.

These developments are coming in the wake of the incessant national grid collapses that leave the country in darkness, forcing organisations to heavily rely on diesel for their operations.

Implementing the strategies, The Guardian gathered, would increase the already high rate of unemployment in the country.

When The Guardian sought the views of labour leaders in the sector, President of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), Oyinkan Olasanoye, who confirmed the development, said the union was already in discussions with the banks’ managements.

She said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has given the banks the go ahead if they wish to sack but they must get approval before embarking on the move.


However, she said the union wants due process to be followed. According to her, there is a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for affected members.

She said in the banking sector, about 60 per cent of workers are contract staff. She said the CBA does not cover the contract or outsourced staff as they are not members of the union.

President of the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), Anthony Abakpa, who claimed not to be aware of any sack, said the union is not going to seat back and watch, as it was ready to confront the issues headlong.

He said workers are not the cause of increase in fuel or diesel and should not be used as measures for mass retrenchment.

However, if there would be a sack, he said there are processes and procedures that must be followed.

“Outsourced staff are entitled to have freedom to have a choice of belonging to the labour union of their choice. Though outsourced workers have no job security, they may not be hired and fired by banks without the prior knowledge of the outsourcing agencies. They are entitled to other entitlements like full staff but there is a limit to those entitlements. And their conditions of work depend on the outsourcing agencies. The fight against outsourcing may take a long time to fight and win because of the directive from CBN and because the outsourcing agents have licence and they are supposed to operate within the guidelines given to them by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment,” he said.

On what their salary structure is, he said it differs in banks as most of them grow through career paths, assessments and promotions.

For some, the least paid is between N50,000 and N80,000, while it is thrice the amount for a regular employee.

Abakpa, who bemoaned outsourcing practice, said it was a way of holding on to people’s destiny, where they will not get any terminal benefit at the end of the day unlike regular workers.


“We are not relenting, we are still pushing to the National Assembly to look at the issue critically. We have met with them and we are still following up. We met with labour too, where we have the joint negotiation committee in place and once that scales through, every individual will smile in our sector,” he said.

An expert in financial dealings, Thomas Olawale, said banks might be retrenching because they needed more digitally-savvy employees, due to the current state of things now.

He said with the creation of new roles, the competition for experts is increasing on the online and digital space.

He said the high cost of diesel may not trigger a sack since it will be a short-term shock (the Russia-Ukraine war) but the need for experts since banks are now totally venturing into the online and digital space.

Already, with the current review of the nation’s labour law, the organised labour has demanded a regulation and manual to regularise ‘non-permanent’ staff of banks.

President of NLC, Ayuba Wabba, who said this in Lagos recently, lamented the many unfriendly labour practices in the banking sector, some of which, he said, predated the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said the congress and the leadership of NUBIFIE had beckoned on the CBN, the labour and employment ministry and the Bankers’ Committee, seeking practical solutions to the dysfunctions in the system.

Citing some instances, he said the last CBA in the banking sub-sector was done in 2005. He said: “The CBA was due for review in 2007. Our affiliates in the banking sector wrote to the CBN on the need to review the current CBA. Banks were also written to address the issues of CBA and ‘non-permanent’ staff in their payroll. Sadly, up till date, nothing concrete has come out of those engagements.

He said the two committees on CBA and outsourced staff, chaired by the Minister of Labour and Employment and the Permanent Secretary respectively, have met a couple of times, expecting that the conclusion of the assignment of the two committees and the release of their reports to the public should be expedited.

“Our expectation is that the report of these two committees should establish follow-up actions on CBN’s earlier directive to banks to shelve further sack of their staff and downward restructuring of wages through surveillance and stiff sanctions against erring banks; constitution of a Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) for immediate review of the CBA in the banking sector and demand on the CBN to issue a circular to all banks to desist from designating their employees as ‘non-permanent’ staff,” he said.

Ahead of the governorship and presidential primaries of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governors have intensified moves to electorally secure their states.

How? They want to secure their tickets, and those of their allies and wield strong influence on delegates from the states at the presidential primaries of the parties, a source told Vanguard, yesterday.

“All the governors are going for total control to secure their states for themselves. They want to secure their positions and those of their associates at all levels, including the presidential ticket.

“They want to determine who will pick the tickets for their parties. They see the primaries as the main election. For them, losing the primaries means losing 2023,” a source whose principal had secured all positions in his state told Vanguard.

“Apart from my oga (a northern governor) all the other governors are pursuing the same goal although some of them are being fought by some ministers, serving senators and political heavyweights; they are, however, ready to have their way,” the source added.


12 govs seeking re-election

No fewer than 12 of the 36 governors are seeking re-election for a second term. Osun State Governor Gboyega Oyetola is the APC candidate for the June 18 governorship election in the state.

Of the remaining 11, no fewer than five have emerged as consensus candidates. The remaining six are in pole position to pick second term tickets.

States with first term governors are Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Borno, Yobe, Kwara and Nasarawa

Governors that have secured their re-election tickets without much challenge include Professor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno; Mai Mala Buni of Yobe; Mohammed Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe; and Dr Bello Matawalle of Zamfara.

Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi is running for the PDP presidential ticket and is said to have his re-election ticket in the kitty if the presidential journey is aborted.

In Lagos, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu got the endorsement of the Governor’s Advisory Council, GAC and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

However, he has Wale Oluwo, said to be supported by his immediate predecessor, Akinwunmi Ambode, to face the APC flag.

Governors Dapo Abiodun (Ogun) and Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa) are also riding on the support of major stakeholders of their states.

With the defection of the former governor of Zamfara State, Abdul Aziz Yari; and Senator Kabiru Garba Mafara and their supporters to the PDP, the coast is clear for Governor Matawalle in Zamfara.

Indeed, Matawalle led all stakeholders of the ruling APC in the state to submit collectively the nomination forms of all aspirants last week.

To prevent a repeat of the 2019 scenario in Zamfara where the party lost all elective offices from the governorship to the state House of Assembly seats due to invalidly conducted primaries in the state, the governor has unified forces in Zamfara APC.

Speaking to journalists after submitting the forms, Matawalle said: “As you can see, we are here today to submit our nomination forms from the governorship, Senate, House of Representatives and state assembly, all from Zamfara state candidates.

“You see me here with lots of prominent people from Zamfara State, our former governor, Ahmad Sani Yerima (presidential aspirant), Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, some of the senators from the National Assembly, members of the House of Representatives and all House of Assembly candidate from Zamfara State have come here to submit our forms, which we have come to do jointly to the organizing secretary of the party.”

The negotiations between the Federal Government and the abductors of no fewer than 68 Abuja-Kaduna train passengers may have deadlocked following the insistence of the gunmen on the release of their commanders in exchange for the abductees.

The PUNCH gathered that the gang insisted on a swap of their men in custody with the passengers kidnapped during an attack on the train at Katari, Kaduna, on March 28.

Our correspondent learnt that the Federal Government is seeking foreign assistance and technical expertise to resolve the impasse.

About eight persons were killed and 26 others injured when gunmen bombed the rail track and fired gunshots at the Kaduna-bound train.

So far, the gunmen had released three hostages, including the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture, Alwan Hassan; Sadique, son of Ango Abdullahi, convener of the Northern Elders Forum and a pregnant woman who breathed air of freedom on Saturday.

A woman was reported to have delivered a baby girl in the camp of the kidnappers believed to be affiliated with the Boko Haram terrorist group.

A security source privy to the negotiations said, “The negotiation has literally broken down; the bandits/terrorists are still insisting on swapping their commanders in custody with the abducted passengers. The government is seeking foreign assistance to resolve the deadlock.”

A security expert said the decision to seek foreign assistance was in order, noting that the United States, United Kingdom and other Western countries have the expertise to assist the country.

Meanwhile, the United States has again insisted that the military must conform to the Arms Export Control Act, the Foreign Assistance Act and other international norms in the deployment and use of the Super Tucano in the country.

The US government stated that the AECA applies to the sale of military hardwares to all its allies and partners.

It, therefore, cautioned against the use of the Super Tucano in areas that encroached on traditional law enforcement roles.

The US Embassy’s response to an inquiry by The PUNCH on whether the military can deploy the aircraft against bandits in the North-West region that have been designated terrorists by the FG following an order by Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on November 25, 2021, stated, “We recognise the multiple security challenges confronting Nigeria and appreciate the ongoing deliberations of the judiciary, the government, and the military to address insecurity while respecting human rights.

“We are pleased that the Nigerian Air Force has used the A-29 Super Tucanos successfully against the Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa sects. The sale of the A-29 Super Tucanos is governed by the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, the Foreign Assistance Act, and other applicable statutes, and their use must conform with international norms as articulated in the United Nations Charter.

“The AECA applies to sales to all of our allies and partners and it generally cautions against uses that encroach on traditional law enforcement roles. We are proud to partner with the government of Nigeria towards shared goals.”

By Mohammed Babangida


The gunmen who attacked a Kaduna-bound train in March have released one of the passengers they abducted on what they claim was compassionate ground.

Daily Nigerian newspaper is reporting that the woman, whose name was not given, was released because she is pregnant.

She is one of the two pregnant women abducted by the bandits, as the gunmen are referred to locally. The other pregnant woman gave birth to a child in captivity.

The bandits had on March 28 attacked the train around the Katari and Rijana axis of Kaduna. They killed at least nine people, wounded several others and abducted several others.

They later released the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture, Alwan Hassan, after the payment of a ransom. The bandits, however, said he was released on compassionate grounds too.


Released captive

In two-minute video footage, the released pregnant passenger said the bandits treated them with respect in captivity.

She said they were provided with food and medication.

The freed passenger also confirmed that the other pregnant woman gave birth to a child.

“Peace be on to you all. I’m among the Kaduna train passengers abducted by bandits on the 28 of March. They took us into the bush without stating their reasons but we thank God because they didn’t maltreat us and they fed us well. We conducted our fasting and if you’re sick they give you medication.

“They look at our conditions, especially like me whose continued staying there may pose danger to our health, especially considering my pregnancy has reached an advanced stage that’s why they decided to release me on compassionate ground.


Photos of the captives

“I call on government to consider the plights of the people (passengers) left in the bush with the bandits. They (government) should sit with them (bandits) and listen to their demands so that they could understand each other even for the sake of those still in captivity so they will be released,” she said.

Although the bandits that attacked the train have not clearly stated what they want, observers including an academic who has studied their activities say they want a prisoner exchange with the government.

A social historian and lecturer at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Murtala Ahmed-Rufai, said the demands are known to the federal government, the Kaduna State Government and security agencies.

He said that based on his investigations, the attack was orchestrated by the duo of Dogo Gide and Ali Kawajo, two notorious bandit leaders believed to have ties with two terror groups: Ansaru and Boko Haram.

“Dogo Gide is known for making demands whenever he abducts people with relations to government. These requests are always the same. He and Kawajo have some commanders that were captured at different times and places by security agents. Even when he abducted the FGC Yauri students, he didn’t demand money but prisoner swap,” he told PREMIUM TIMES.

The federal government has, however, not given in to the demands of the bandits but has repeatedly said it is working to ensure freedom for the captives.

By Peter Moses


The Lagos West Senator, Olamilekan Adeola (Yayi), says his return to Ogun State politics, after about 20 years in Lagos State, started on a rough note due to stiff resistance from his kinsmen and some political leaders.

Adeola, who is now seeking to represent Ogun West at the senate, said this on Saturday in Ilaro, Yewa South Local Government Area, shortly after he was conferred with a top chieftaincy title, Aremo of Yewaland.

The conferment was part of the 10th year coronation anniversary of the Olu of Ilaro and Paramount Ruler of Yewaland, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle, on Saturday.

The Senator who spoke with newsmen at the event said it was a rough battle switching his political base from Lagos to Ogun.

Adeola, however, said what started on a rough note “is now as smooth as ever” because his people have embraced and showed him love.

Last week, a group presented him with the N20million APC senatorial nomination form to him, where he broke down in tears.

Speaking against the backdrop, he said “It was least expected. When I made my initial approach to return back home, I was faced with a lot of challenges from my people.

“Now, if my people now turn around and appreciate me to the extent of putting money together to buy my form for me, I believe it is a big deal and I sincerely appreciate them. We started rough but now it’s as smooth as ever.”

He said the Aremo of Yewaland title bestowed on him was not politically motivated, but rather an appreciation of his contribution to the development of the region.

“I strongly believe that this chieftaincy title is not politically motivated. I just believe it is in appreciation and the belief in me by my people that I can do everything that’s humanly possible to contribute my own quota to the development of the land.

“So, when it comes to politics, I strongly believe that that is a different ball game and different terrain entirely.”

On the challenges of development in Yewaland, Adeola said he knows where the shoe pinches and he would leverage on his legislative experiences to bring meaningful development to the region, if elected as Ogun West Senator.

In his remarks, Governor Dapo Abiodun told Adeola and other honourees that the chieftaincy title bestowed on them was a call to duty and they could not afford to fail.

He also applauded the Olu of Ilaro and paramount ruler of Yewaland, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle on his tenth anniversary on the throne of his forefathers.

The event attracted Ogun Deputy Governor, Engr Noimot Salako – Oyedele, her Lagos counterpart, Babafemi Hamzat, former Ogun Governors, Olusegun Osoba and Otunba Gbenga Daniel, the Alake and paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, the Akarigbo and paramount ruler of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, the Agura of Gbagura, Oba Saburee Bakre, members of the National Assembly, and stalwarts of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Senators present at the event were, Tokunbo Abiru(Lagos East), Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central), Ibrahim Oloriegbe(Kwara Central), Ayo Akinyelure( Ondo Central), Aderele Oriolowo(Osun West) and Ibrahim Hadejia(Jigawa North East).

Abdulmumin Jibrin, a top campaigner for All Progressives Congress chieftain, Bola Tinubu, has given reasons for dumping the presidential campaign of the ex-governor of Lagos State.

In a statement on Saturday, Jibrin said he had no choice but to quit Tinubu’s campaign after his exit from the APC to the New Nigeria People’s Party led by former Kano State governor and NNPP presidential aspirant, Rabiu Kwankwaso.

The former member of the House of Representatives, however, reiterated that he had no issues with Tinubu but with Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano.

In his statement titled, ‘Why I left the APC – Hon Abdulmumin Jibrin’, the ex-lawmaker said his political life had been miserable in the last seven years due to the overbearing nature of the party’s leaders in his home state.

He said, “In my twenty-three years of postgraduate experience, the last seven years were my most unremarkable, so much that my long-established career almost reached a point of utter implosion…

“The horrifying disappointments of my past seven years revolved around this character who’s determined to destroy anybody that activates his glaring inferiority complex. His sadistic instincts make him quite a frightening ally, so much that he feels the need to treat his allies as the marginalized black Africans in apartheid-era South Africans to feel a sense of superiority and misguided advantage. I dedicated everything to the political interests of this man, but he kept asking for more. This circus became too embarrassing that I had to take a step back for soul-searching to redeem myself. There’s a difference between service for the common good and a quest to be worshipped by one’s allies. We must never confuse loyalty with slavery.”

“This man yearned for that and put me through a mentally draining phase in my life that I had to step aside to reflect on my political choices. It’s unsurprising that all his political principals and lieutenants are deserting him, and he risks becoming an island at the end of his stewardship.

“When he tried to lure me back a few days ago in a lengthy phone conversation, I asked him a question to stir up deep introspection on his demoralizing interpersonal relations. I asked if, as a father, he would want others to treat his children in the fashion he treats us his political allies and lieutenants. At the appropriate time, I intend to discuss the viciousness of this man in detail,” he added.

Continuing, Jibrin said, “However, my exit from the APC means I’ve ceased to be involved in the presidential campaign of Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The fact is, no individual can be a significant minus in Asiwaju’s campaign. The campaign is armor-built and designed to excel even without me. Based on the passion and dedication of the team invested in his aspiration, not even Asiwaju can stop his campaign let alone an Abdulmumin Jibrin.

“I want to appeal to the public to avoid overestimating my relevance to the team and stop the rumour and creating all sort of theories around this matter. I have my value but it will not take away anything from the menu I saw on the BAT campaign table.

“For the avoidance of doubt, let me clarify that I have no problem whatsoever with Asiwaju. We have never for once had issues. My problems were local and all politics are local. Asiwaju took a sincere interest in me and gave me the free hands to participate in his project, and my exit from the party doesn’t erase my respect for him and belief in his capacity and vision to redeem the fortunes of Nigeria.

“Asiwaju did his best to intervene to prevent my exit from the party. Not because it would affect his campaign in any way but for the genuine likeness he has for me. Unfortunately, wherever this man after my career function, I feel a sense of obligation to flee for my political safety. It’s one toxicity I’m no longer prepared to endure, and I do want to use this opportunity to apologize to the entire BAT family across the country for whatever embarrassment or inconvenience my sudden exit from the APC must’ve caused.

“I have already met Asiwaju to tender my apology, and he will continue to be a father to me and his house, my home.”

The corpse of Deborah Samuel, student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, who was burnt to death on Thursday for alleged blasphemy, has arrived Tunga Magajiya in Rijau local government area of Niger State.

The Nation gathered that Deborah’s mother has been unconscious since she heard of her death while the father has been inconsolable.

The family is in a meeting to determine how the burial will take place.

The Nation learnt that when the body was on its way to Niger State, the Sokoto State Government called it should be returned as body has become government property.

But her family insisted she would be buried today.

Speaking to The Nation, Pastor of the family, who is in charge of 1st ECWA in Tunga Magajiya, Pastor Emmanuel Maaji, confirmed the family wants her buried on Saturday.

He said the family is not happy with the way the government is handling the issue with kid gloves.

He disclosed that the body of Deborah was brought in a chartered bus, adding that immediately after the driver dropped the body, he returned to Sokoto.

He said that Deborah had been living with family members in Sokoto since her primary school days, lamenting she died like she did.

“The government only called and said that it is not right for the family to take the body like that without informing them. They said that they shouldn’t bury the body as the body is for the government and not for the family. They asked them to put the body in the mortuary,” Maaji stated.

The brother of Deborah’s father said that he will speak to The Nation later as they are planning the burial and holding meetings.

The CAN Coordinator of Rijau Local Government area, Reverend Danjuma Doma, confirmed the family and church were preparing for the burial.

“We are preparing for the burial. She will be buried today. We are all here to give the family support. We will update you on the situation as it goes,” he informed.

By Bisi Abidoye


Even after President Muhammadu Buhari held a valedictory session on Friday for 10 ministers who had declared interest in elective offices, some of them are still scheming to hang on to their offices, PREMIUM TIMES’ can authoritatively report.

The president held the session for ministers who had picked the expression of interest and nomination forms to participate in the primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mihamned, the outgoing ministers that attended the session were Rotimi Amaechi (Transportation), Chris Ngige (Labour and Employment), Godswill Akpabio (Niger Delta Affairs), Ogbonnaya Onu (Science and Technological Innovation), Timipre Sylva State for Petroleum Resources), Tayo Alasoadura (State for Niger Delta Affairs), Pauline Tallen (Women Affairs), Uche Ogar (State for Mines and Steel Development), Abubakar Malami (Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice) and Emeka Nwajuba (State for Education), who was absent but with a permission.

At the time of that event, only three of the ministers had submitted their letters of resignation.

Six of the ministers had declared interest in the presidential race, two in governorship races and two in senatorial races.

However, hours after the valedictory session, Mr Ngige issued a statement to announce his withdrawal from the presidential race and his intention to remain in his position as Minister of Labour and Employment.

In the letter, Mr Ngige said: “Today, 13th May, 2022, I had an audience with the President, Muhammadu Buhari as a follow up to the one I earlier had with him on 11th May, 2022.
“Having also consulted widely with my family, constituents, supporters and well-wishers, it is my pleasure to announce the withdrawal of my interest and earlier decision to contest the office of the President in the 2023 general elections.

“As a result of this, will NOT be participating in any of the internal party processes of the said election, starting with the primary. took this momentous decision firstly in the overall interest of the nation, in order to enable me concentrate on my job, and assist the President and the Government, whether the difficult last lap, in the life of the administration and secondly for other family reasons.

“I have since communicated this decision to the President and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.”

Also, Mr Malami, who earlier on Friday had tweeted that he had submitted his resignation letter, later deleted the tweet, sparking speculations that he had withdrawn the letter.

Sources at the presidency disclosed that nine of the ministers were hoping to hang on to their positions, until the president dropped the bombshell directing them to resign by Monday.

According to the sources, the president was aware of their reluctance to leave and had for over a week blocked them from seeing him. The sources all asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the issue.

“It is unlikely that the president will allow them back, not even Ngige who has issued a public statement on his withdrawal from the presidential race,” one of the sources said, adding, “They are just wasting their time.

“The president knew they wanted to have their cake and eat it so he waited for them to commit themselves by picking the nomination forms before asking them to leave.

“Only the Minister of State for Education, Nwajiuba, resigned on his own volition. All the others planned to keep their positions. They were relying on the provision of the Constitution which requires political appointees to leave about three months to the elections.

“The president initially gave them until Monday to resign but shocked them again by summoning them to the valedictory session on Friday, even though only a few of them had submitted their resignation letters by then.”

According to the sources, the president invited only the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, to the ceremony, apart from the departing ministers.

At the valedictory session on Friday, Mr Buhari said he would be quick in appointing replacements for the departing ministers who he wished good luck in their political ambitions.

As of Friday night, sources said Mr Malami had not turned in his letter of resignation, even though he is considered favourite to pick the APC governorship ticket in Kebbi.

The former minister ignited consternation across the country after it was reported that he donated 30 Mercedes and Toyota Prado SUVs to APC officials and statutory delegates in the state.

Mr Malami had been pursuing the removal of Section 64(12) of the Electoral Act 2022 which requires political appointees to resign before they can participate as delegates or candidates in party primaries.

After a high court in Umuahia, Abia State declared the section unconstitutional, Mr Malami said he would immediately expunge it before gazzetting the Act.

However, the National Assembly appealled the judgement, following which the Court of Appeal nullified it, although it also agreed that the section is unconstitutional.

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Back in 2003, Annabel (not real name) had a flourishing banking career in one of the new generation banks. Due to her outstanding performance and dedication to duty, she was rewarded by the bank with rapid promotion. With fat pay cheque as a branch manager and family vacation abroad, life was sweet until suddenly, everything came crashing down.

From the comfort of her beautiful home, Annabel found herself in the prison where she spent three years in detention over huge sums of money she had taken from customers’ accounts to assist her immediate boss who was in trouble. In this edition, she narrates to Encounter her grace to grass story, how being in prison saved her life and intriguing lifestyle of the female prisoners.


How it began

I never imagined that I will find myself in prison one day. As the problem I had at work began to unfold, it occurred to me that I might eventually go to prison over the matter. At that point, the thought of prison began to flash on my mind. Ironically, every step I took to avoid going to prison got me into more trouble. I was in prison for three and half years as an awaiting trial inmate. I was given a very stringent bail condition and since I couldn’t meet the terms, I had to remain in prison.


Problem

I had an immediate boss who joined our bank from another bank. Before he left us, he had a problem with our bank and was highly indebted to us. So he requested my assistance saying that the police were after him. He particularly pleaded with me to remove some money from my high networth clients’ accounts to cover his own transactions and that within two weeks, he would repay the money. He kept crying and pleading with me that he would lose his job if he didn’t repay his indebtedness to the bank which was as a result of some forex investment transactions which he claimed were hanging.

Without doing my own investigation to ascertain whether what he was saying was true, I just gave him the huge money that he requested. He did all the documentations and being the head then, he had the authority to liquidate the bad investment. I co-signed the liquidation as his assistant. Days turned into weeks, months and years, still there was no sign on his part about repaying the money I took from customers’ accounts. After waiting for a while, I became worried. I later discovered the he was actually a very dubious person as some serious bad loans were also linked to him. He was asked to leave the bank majorly because of those bad loans.

At that point, I became really jittery but he further assured me that once he gets a job, he will repay the money I took from customers’ accounts. Even after he got a new job, he still didn’t show seriousness about giving me the money. One day, he called me to say that he needed a million to sort out a matter which had to do with the problem and he had been locked up in a police station somewhere. I still sent him the money believing he will sort out the matter as he promised.

I became a manager after he was sacked. After a while, customers began to ask for their funds. When the matter was getting out of hand, I began to take money from other customers to pay those that were really troubling me. So it became a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. I was really confused because my former boss refused to pay back the money. On one occasion, he paid about one quarter of the fund and that was all.

I soon realised I was alone in the problem and kept looking for ways to pacify the affected customers but every action I took, got me deeper into trouble until the bubble burst and a customer got the police to arrest me. I also fell victim to another colleague who offered to introduce me to import business from which I could use the profit to settle the problem I had in my bank. She ended up defrauding me and never returned the money I gave her. I was really in total mess during that period.


Detention at SFU

I was detained at the Police Special Fraud Unit, SFU for about a month while investigation was ongoing in the matter. I had a horrible experience while in SFU because they were always extorting me. I practically funded the entire investigation as they will demand money from me whenever they want to go out for investigation. The police was able to recover some money from the second colleague who deceived me but the amount was not enough to settle my debt to the bank. I also gave them about N5 million and the proceeds from some of my properties which I sold. At some point, I was granted administrative bail but the officer kept extorting me. I went through mental and emotional torture because any time they were broke, they will storm my house to demand for money. I was eventually arraigned in court over alleged fraud.

Trial

After my initial arraignment, the matter suffered several adjournments until I was granted bail in very strong terms. The condition attached to the bail was like bringing back my grandmother from the grave.

My lawyer eventually requested for variation of the bail conditions after I had spent about three years in prison and the court was magnanimous enough to grant it which led to my release. This was about 11 years ago. At some point, the trial was transferred to another judge and then subsequently to another judge again. Each time we move to one court, the matter would start afresh. I also spent huge amount of money on several lawyers for that long period.

Inside Kirikiri female prison

When I got to the Kirikiri female prison, the place was really horrible but I wasn’t much interested in the state of the place because I was preoccupied with my problem and how to get out of it. As time went on, I began to adjust to the life there after hearing stories of other inmates especially the murder and kidnap cases. I became relaxed because I felt my case was not as bad compared to other female inmates. Adjusting to the regimented lifestyle was also a problem for me because I was not used to it. Immediately they opened the cell, inmates would start running to different places like church or playground like school children.

Engagement in prison

I am a very restless person so I spent my time in prison getting involved in a lot of things. I enrolled for a course in the National Open University and also began to teach some of the inmates preparing for the examination. The activities actually helped me to keep my mind off from my problems.

Lesbianism in prison

I never had any personal encounter about sex amongst inmates in the prison but I heard a lot of stories about it happening. I was told that a lady in my cell was a lesbian but there was no way I could confirm it because she never approached me. The cell was not even conducive for the act but I learnt the lesbians amongst us still find a way to have sex in the tight cell. I saw some inmates who I was told were lesbians but how they found space to have sex inside the tight cell baffled me. Most times the officer in charge would go round the prison warning that any inmate found having sex would be severely punished. The warning always comes as a shock to me because I often wonder how inmates manage to have sex in such congested cell.

Sexual urge

I don’t know about others but the problem I faced didn’t give me time to even think about sex. Before my time in the prison, I never imagined that I could stay off sex for long, but when I got in there and with the problems I had, the urge for sex just vanished. It was the least of my worries. I was involved in a lot of activities like teaching, and church work that sex never crossed my mind for the three years I spent in prison. At a time, I even began to wonder if I was still normal as a woman.

I believe that if your mind is occupied, sexual thoughts will not come. Men may not be able to stay for long without sex but women can actually stay for years without having sex. Whenever NGOs hold programmes in the prison and men are part of the team, inmates will be in frenzy to attend the programme so that they can see men. When I see how they rush and blush just to see men, I often marvel. There is this rumour that male officers sleep with female inmates but I can tell you from my experience that it is a lie. Any inmate you see pregnant or with a new baby must have been pregnant before coming into the prison or gave birth there. Whenever there is a male visitor to the prison, a female warder must always be with him throughout the duration of his stay.

Advocates for conjugal right

I think the Nigerian law on the rights of prisoners should be reviewed to allow inmates to have conjugal right. It is necessary because sex, especially for married inmates, is something that they should not be deprived of. A lot of homes and marriages have been destroyed due to lack of sex as a result of one of the partners being incarcerated. It is sad that even during visitation, couples are not allowed to spend long time together to discuss. The situation is changing but the restrictions are still there.

Punishment

Punishment is part of the prison system and I believe that without punishment, the place would really be a total mess. Phones are not allowed inside the prison but you would still find inmates that have phones and make calls any time they like. I have witnessed when an inmate was caught with a phone and was kept in a single cell. Inside that single cell, there is no space for movement and the inmate would only stand or sit. The inmate was also deprived of food for days, would also urinate and defecate there. I experienced it once and I can tell you that it was hell inside hell.

Feeding

The food in the prison was very terrible that even a hungry dog will reject it. We eat beans every morning throughout the week. The eba and egusi soup served in the afternoon is without fish or meat. It is only on special occasions like Christmas, New Year, Easter celebration that we eat small pieces of meat.

Sober reflection

I didn’t plan to go to the prison but I can tell you that the experience had a significant impact on my life. Sometimes I feel bad knowing where I could have been if the problem that sent me there didn’t occur, but I still remain grateful to God because it could have been worse for me too. Sometimes too, I wish I could just erase my brain so that I don’t remember anything.

Those were my thoughts then but when I came out, I started appreciating all that I went through. I am still trying to properly reintegrate into the society but my experience in prison has helped me to be strong. My story was really about falling from grace to grass and I was always thinking of committing suicide just to end it all. At the onset of my problem before I got into the prison, any time I drove through the 3rd Mainland bridge, I always had the mind to just park my car and jump into the lagoon. On several occasions, I almost did it because I could not imagine how I would be able to get out of the trouble I got myself into. Ironically when I got into the prison and began to hear other inmates’ cases, I realised that my case was not as bad as I had thought. The suicide thought vanished immediately since then.

The Dangote Group has disclosed that it would soon stop accessing foreign exchange (forex) from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The conglomerate has also revealed that it would expand its operations into the steel sector.

Group Managing Director, Dangote Group, Mr. Olakunle Alake, made this disclosure during a panel discussion at the Infrastructure Solutions Summit organized by the African Finance Corporation (AFC) in Abuja, yesterday.

According to him, “We do have something right now that we are trying to complete. I think this is the major project and that is our major focus right now. In another couple of years, we will not go to Central Bank for foreign exchange for any of our activities, because at the end of the day, it’s a double situation, you import product which means you are creating jobs outside Nigeria and you struggle to get the forex.

“You drill for oil, you export oil, you don’t refine it. That way you are just killing employment. Our focus is two things. One, we make sure we look at things that can be produced locally, we create employment that way and we create value that way”.

He added that Dangote was planning to invest heavily in the steel sector of the economy.

According to him, “apart from the oil and gas project that we are doing, we are also one of the key stakeholders that has supported the government in terms of infrastructure tax credit scheme and we are using local banks to build that capacity across Nigeria.

“For us, steel is one of the key areas. You recall that years back government decided that steel was major and set up Ajaokuta Steel and Delta Steel.”

From Abubakar Sadiq Mohd, Zaria

Security operatives stationed around Galadimawa axis of Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna have arrested Abdul Adamu Kinkiba, Councilor of Soba Local Government Area of the state.

Kinkiba was reportedly arrested with an AK 47 close to a den of the bandits terrorising residents.

Sources said the councillor was carrying the gun on a motorcycle when he was intercepted.

According to a vigilante source, Kinkiba said the gun was given to him by somebody who he could not remember his name.

“He said he was told that the gun was meant for the convoy of someone. According to him, he was instructed to park immediately after the bridge near Galadimawa forest (a known hideout of bandits), where somebody would collect the gun.”

The chairman of Soba local government area, Engineer Suleiman Yahaya Richifa, confirmed that the suspect is the councilor representing Kinkiba ward in the council.

He, however, declined to speak further, adding, “I’m in serious grief about the news. Please allow me to overcome my shock.”

Daily Trust understands that the suspect has been taken to the Kaduna State Police Command headquarters for further interrogation.


SOURCE

Security operatives on surveillance around the Galadimawa axis of Giwa Local Government Area arrested the councillor with an AK-47 rifle near a hideout for bandits.


Abdul Adamu Kinkiba, a councillor from Soba Local Government Council of Kaduna State has been arrested with a firearm, allegedly for onward delivery to bandits, SaharaReporters learnt.


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Security operatives on surveillance around the Galadimawa axis of Giwa Local Government Area arrested the councillor with an AK-47 rifle near a hideout for bandits.

In a viral video, Kinkiba said he could not remember who gave him the rifle, just as he could also not remember who he was to deliver it to.

“I was told that the gun was meant for the convoy of someone. I was instructed to park immediately after the bridge near Galadimawa forest (a known hideout of bandits), where somebody would collect the gun," Kinkiba said in Hausa.

It was said that Kinkiba had been supplying firearms to bandits one at a time.

The chairman of Soba Local Government Area, Engineer Suleiman Yahaya Richifa, confirmed that the suspect is the councillor representing Kinkiba ward in the council.

He, however, declined to speak further, adding, “I’m in serious grief about the news. Please allow me to overcome my shock.”