₦airaland Forum

Rivers State Governor, Mr Nyesom Wike has expressed disappointment over the exclusion of Rivers State from states that are to benefit from the projects to be executed with the fresh loan that the Federal Government is seeking to obtain from the World Bank.

This is as he observed that Nigeria must encourage federating states to harness their resources and generate revenues, including Value Added Tax (VAT) to advance their development.

He described as a sheer act of discrimination the Federal Government’s exclusion of Rivers State as one of the states that would benefit from projects for which it is seeking fresh foreign loans to execute.

The Governor made the observation when the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of the SUN (Newspaper) Publishing Limited, Mr. Onuoha Ukeh led a delegation to present a letter of nomination to him as the SUN Man of the Year 2020 Award at Government House, Port Harcourt on Monday.

He said; “Look at the money that Federal Government has gone to borrow from the World Bank. Of all the projects, in all the states, Federal Government did not include Rivers State.

“Look at the list of projects that states will benefit from this money they’re borrowing from the World Bank, that they have sent to National Assembly for approval, the only states that are not benefitting is Rivers State.

“It is the prerogative of Mr. President; if he says he does not like Rivers State, if the ruling party says they don’t like Rivers State, I won’t kill myself. But leave the one that the law says I should be the one to collect so that I will be able to develop my own state,” he stressed.

The governor observed that there are mounted attempts to frustrate federating states like Rivers, to actualise the constitutional provisions that empower them to harness their resources and revenues, particularly VAT.

He decried the situation where the legality of states collecting VAT is not considered on the merit of the law by some public commentators including state executives, rather, they are politicising it and looking at it from the prism of ethnicity and religion.

According to Governor Wike, what the FIRS was doing was illegal and could be likened to robbing from the states.

He said; “You don’t even need to be a lawyer to know that VAT is not in items 58 and 59 of the second schedule of the 1999 Constitution as amended. Everybody knows that. It is not even in the concurrent list. Therefore, it falls under the residual list. It is not arguable. That yesterday nothing happens does not mean that today nothing will happen, or tomorrow something will not happen.

“Nigeria should encourage states to be strong enough to have resources to develop their states. we are in a federal system where we are practicing a unitary system. Everybody at the end of the month will run to Abuja to share money. Nobody comes back to the state to think, how do I develop my state.”

Wike explained that the contest against the collection of the Valued Added Tax (VAT) was started by Lagos State which had sued the Federal Government at the Supreme Court. According to him, Rivers State only avoided their pitfall by suing the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, which is an agency of the Federal Government, that was illegally collecting the tax in the state.

The governor explained: “The issue of VAT did not start from Rivers State alone. It started in Lagos State when Lagos State challenged it in Supreme Court. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court said you (Lagos) shouldn’t have sued the Federal Government. All you would have done was to sue the agency. ”

He further observed that rather than commend Rivers State government for seeking to entrench fiscal federalism and constitutionalism, a particular state governor had threatened that the judgement of the court that declared that States and not FIRS are entitled to collect VAT within their jurisdiction, will not stand.

He urged those demanding for a brothers’ keeper consideration to first appreciate the position of the law and situate it rightly.

“Some people say, be your brother’s keeper. I have no problem being my brother’s keeper but why not come out and say, let us tell ourselves the simple truth. As it is being provided in the law, who is the person responsible to collect the VAT.

“When you agree to that, that it is the state, then we can sit down to look at the different problems of states. And not to say be your brother’s keeper while you’re doing an illegal thing, in disobeying what the law says you should not do.”

Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike (right) receiving a letter of nomination as SUN Man of the Year 2020 from the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of the SUN (Newspaper) Publishing Limited, Mr. Onuoha Ukeh (left) at Government House, Port Harcourt, on Monday.

Speaking further, Governor Wike explained that beyond the provision of infrastructure, his administration is seeking a law that will provide comfortable accommodation for judicial officers on retirement.

The reason, he said, is to ensure that, while in service, the judicial officers can concentrate on their jobs without cutting corners and avoid corrupt practices.

According to him, Governor Wike was unanimously selected for his remarkable contributions to the socio-economic development of Nigeria and promotion of fiscal federalism with his position on VAT, which will help in the restructuring of Nigeria.

“Today, His Excellency has guided Nigeria to true federalism with the issue of VAT. Knowing what fiscal federalism should be His Excellency went to court to challenge the collection of VAT and the Court stated that actually, the States should collect VAT. And that is laying the foundation for true federalism and fiscal federalism.”

Ukeh commended Governor Wike for the sterling performance in office and infrastructural revolution taking place in Rivers State.

A travel agent, named Maria Silvia scammed Manchester United striker, Cristiano Ronaldo, out of £250,000 (about N140 million) after the football star entrusted her with his credit cards and pin.

The 53-year-old travel agent also scammed Ronaldo’s super-agent Jorge Mendes of £14,000 and Manchester United winger, Nani, of over £1,500.

Due to her wrongdoing, Silvia got a four-year suspended prison sentence on Sunday after being earlier convicted by a Porto criminal court in 2017, Sun Sports reported.

It was also revealed that Ronaldo was targeted as a victim of Silvia’s scamming spree for three years between February 2007 and July 2010.

Quoting a renowned Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Noticias, Sun Sports reported that the 36-year-old Ronaldo submitted a statement to the police in 2011.

The paper read, “The travel agent had to plug the hole in the firm’s accounts. She, therefore, began to bill those trips to Cristiano Ronaldo, who had an account at Geostar and for practical reasons, handed the agent a virtual credit card and pin code. It was a green route to taking money out.”

According to the newspaper, the £245,770 scammed from Ronaldo corresponded with around 200 trips that he never made between Portugal to the US, Africa, and other European countries.

The travel agent, who currently works as a cleaner, was first interrogated in 2013 before her eventual sentence on Sunday, September 19, 2021.

As part of her court deal, she had agreed to repay her firm a sum of £7,680 sparing her prison sentence.

Despite growing for a shift in presidential power to the South, leaders of 17 political parties and other civil society groups have endorsed the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, ahead of 2023 Presidency.

At their inaugural rally in Asaba, Delta State capital at the weekend, the groups under the umbrella of Coalition of Atiku Support Groups Initiative (CASGI) declared that ethnicity or political divide should not determine who should become president of Nigeria in 2023.

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Inaugurating the Delta State Chapter of CASGI, the Director General, Comrade Obinna Okorie, said “CASGI (irrespective of different political affiliations) believes and align with His excellency Alhaji Atiku Abubakar GCON political ideology and his capacity to lead”.

According to him, “Today’s Nigeria have witnessed the highest level of insecurity, unemployment, youth restiveness and acute borrowing with unproductivity, which have endangered our great nation”.

Comrade Okorie described the ‘CASGI ATIKU 2023 PROJECT’ as a pan Nigerian project, which cuts across ethnicity, political party affiliations and other subterranean considerations.

CASGI DG therefore urged “the PDP to give His Excellency Atiku Abunakar the presidential ticket come 2023 reason being that Atiku Abubakar is most placed to lead PDP back to power considering his last performance and his demonstrability of wealth creation and economy building.”

Comrade Okorie said, “Atiku has shown himself a pan-Nigerian, who comprehends the in-depth heterogeneity of a multi religious and multi-cultural society like Nigeria.

“Atiku Abubakar has the dominant political configurations across the regions and party lines.”

Reacting to insinuations from political quarters against a Fulani to Fulani transmission of presidential power in 2023, the CASGI leader said, “Atiku ethnicity as a Fulani is not a disadvantage but an advantage.”
“The much touted Fulani agenda is not an ethnic affair but a personal issue.

“Atiku is a bridge-builder, who married three wives from the three major tribes in Nigeria, Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa; indicating his indicating detribalised disposition.

“He believes no one particular ethnic group should have the preeminence over others in the Nigerian project.”

Comrade Okorie took swipe at the averment of the Southern Governors Forum, who insisted on power shift to Southern Nigeria in 2023, describing the governors position as self serving.

“The Southern Governors Forum is not a political party and they are not masses or the electorates who are the ultimate decider”, he quipped.

On the rumoured ambition of immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan to re-contest in 2023, Okorie dismissed the ambition as inconsequential.

He noted that even his most trusted loyalist and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Woke, has said he work against the former president.
Earlier in his welcome, the Delta State coordinator of CASGI, Hon. Jeff Ezeagwu, said notable PDP chieftains in Delta State, including billionaire philanthropist, Prince Ned Nwoko are in support of CASGI in Delta State.

Chuks Okocha in Abuja



Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, and the Governor of Oyo State, Mr. Seyi Makinde, are set to clash in a battle for the control of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the race for the chairmanship of the main opposition party gets tougher, THISDAY has learnt.

THISDAY gathered that before the alliance between Makinde and Wike collapsed, the two governors were backing the former governor of Osun State, Col. Olagunsoye Oyinlola (rtd) as the next national chairman of the party.

Investigation however revealed that Wike has now thrown his weight behind the Deputy Vice Chairman of the party in the South-south, Mr. Dan Orbih, while Atiku and Makinde are behind the chairmanship aspiration of the former governorship candidate of the party in Ondo State, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN).

On the other hand, former governors and ex-ministers in the main opposition party have thrown their weight behind Oyinlola, ahead of next month’s National Convention of the party.

This is coming as the governors elected on the platform of the PDP have called on the Ebonyi State Governor, Mr. Dave Umahi, to face his frustrations and the misrule of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and bother less on how the PDP would zone the 2023 presidential ticket.

A source privy to the PDP power game told THISDAY that the Rivers State governor withdrew his support for Oyinlola because he would not want a national chairman who will be “taking instructions from Ota (referring to former President Olusegun Obasanjo) and Minna (referring to former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd)).”

“Makinde later learnt that his Rivers State counterpart was no longer on the same page with him, as he was supporting Dan Orbih against their earlier plan of installing Oyinlola. After a meeting with the former vice president, Makinde shifted his support to Jegede,” the source explained.

The intrigues on who becomes the national chairman have continued as former governors of PDP and ex-ministers are said to have backed Oyinlola.

The former governors and ex-ministers were said to have insisted that the next national chairman of the party should not emerge from a PDP-controlled state to avoid the fate suffered by the embattled National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, in the hands of Wike.

The former governors are said to be strongly supporting Oyinlola because his state, Osun, is currently governed by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

As the committee of the PDP for zoning of offices in the National Working Committee (NWC) begins sitting, new calculations have emerged for the zoning of the office of the leadership of the party.

It was reliably gathered that the position of the national chairman would be zoned to the entire South or North, instead of micro zoning it to a particular zone or state.

It was learnt that the 44-member zoning committee led by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State which commenced sitting yesterday, is faced with the difficult choice of whether the chairman of the party should come from North or South, a decision that will also have implications on where the next presidential candidate of the party for the 2023 election will come from.

A top PDP source told THISDAY that the committee headed by Ugwuanyi has decided to be fair to any of the national chairmanship aspirants from the South by ensuring that the office is open to all.

According to the source, this is to avoid any litigation against anyone claiming that his or her constitutional right has been abridged.

“It has been decided that the office of the national chairman would be thrown open and by so doing, all interested persons from the South are free to contest.

“This is mainly for the national chairmanship position. But we intend to be slightly different in approach for other offices of the NWC,” the source said.

The source added that the offices of the two deputy chairmen for the South and North would not be micro-zoned to states, but to the zones that had earlier produced them in the pre-2017 national convention.

However, it is expected that the entire work of Governor Ugwuanyi’s committee would be subject to the final ratification of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.

Meanwhile, leaders of PDP in the six states in the South-west have sent a strong message to the leadership of the party on the need to zone the post of national chairman to the zone in the forthcoming national convention.

The South-west PDP leaders believe the chairmanship should be specifically zoned to the South-west to compensate for the 2017 situation in which it was unjustly denied the slot after the post had been zoned to it.

They also argued that the denial of the zone of the post of chairman in 2017 led to the dwindling fortunes of the party in the zone.

The South-west PDP leaders noted that the zone has two governorship polls pending in Ekiti and Osun states before the 2023 general election, insisting that having the national chairmanship slot would help seal victory in two states, thereby boosting the chances of the party in the 2023 general election.


PDP Govs Tackle Umahi over Party’s Presidential Ticket

Meanwhile, the governors elected on the platform of the PDP have called on the Ebonyi State Governor, Mr. Dave Umahi, to face his frustration and the misrule of his party, the APC, and bother less on how the PDP would zone the 2023 presidential ticket.

The governors expressed outrage over what they described as an attempt by Umahi, who illegally and immorally sits on a PDP mandate and calls himself an APC governor, to turn the truth on its head.

Umahi had on Friday mocked the governors of the PDP in the Southern Governors’ Forum who joined in adopting the resolution for power shift to the South, saying their body language shows the PDP won’t zone the presidency to the South.

Umahi, who spoke on a live TV programme, alleged that the PDP governors at the meeting in Enugu were being dishonest with their claim that they are keen about the 2023 presidency going to the South.

According to a statement by the Director General of the PDP Governors Forum, Hon. Cyril Maduabum, “Governor Umahi left PDP for APC, according to him, because of the love he has for President Buhari, among other flimsy reasons, irrespective of the maladministration and daily incidents of destruction of lives and properties currently going on in Ebonyi State and the entire country under the watch of APC.

“Governor Umahi sabotaged the PDP in 2019 elections in his quest to deliver 25 per cent to his APC benefactors. It took the determined resistance of Ebonyi State people to checkmate him. It was good riddance that he subsequently left PDP for APC instead of continuing his role as an APC mole,” the statement said.

On the issue of zoning, the PDP governors said, “we advise Governor Umahi to face his frustrations in APC and not drag PDP and her governors into it. PDP is an independent political party with workable structures and methods of doing things. It’s not an appendage of the APC or indeed any other association or group.”

The PDP governors said that the party would take its decision on the issue of zoning political offices at the appropriate time, stating that, “even the APC has not taken any decision yet on zoning.

“Different groups and interests are advancing arguments to defend their positions as is required in a democracy. At the end of the day, decisions will be taken by each political party,” the PDP governors said.

A staff of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation, LSDPC, Akinlolu Ajayi was rescued as he attempted to jump into the Lagoon from Third Mainland Bridge to commit suicide.

He was promptly rescued by officers of the Lagos Police Command.

A statement issued by Police Public Relations Officer of the command, Adekunle Ajisebutu on Saturday said “the Lagos State Police Command has once again demonstrated its commitment to the protection of lives and property of the citizens as it saved the life of a middle-aged man who attempted to commit suicide in Lagos recently.

“The incident happened at about 0925hrs of 15th September, 2021 when one Akinlolu Ajayi, 54, a staff member of LSDPC Town Planning, Ilupeju, resident at No.1, Owodunni Street, Oworonsoki was seen on the Third Mainland Bridge trying to jump into the lagoon at the UNILAG waterfront.”

He said Pronto, the anti-crime patrol team of the Bariga Police Division on a routine patrol of the area, immediately rescued the man and took him into protective custody.

Ajisebutu said the Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, having directed that the man’s family should be contacted for necessary action, appealed to members of the public not to take their own lives no matter the challenges they were currently facing.

“According to the CP, such challenges are merely ephemeral. The Police boss further warns that such condemnable act is not only morally wrong but is also criminal.

“Meanwhile the suspect has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for investigation and subsequent prosecution,” he said.

Amid Federal Government’s concern over many Nigerians’ reluctance to take the Covid-19 vaccine and its plan to impose sanctions on those who refuse the vaccine when it is made available to all, some states have said they do not intend to force anyone to take the vaccine.

The states, including Enugu, Taraba, Cross River, Ogun, Bauchi and Abia, said they would keep appealing to their residents to take the vaccine instead of adopting strict measures to compel them.

Bothered about the low vaccination level across the country and the deadly nature of the Delta variant that is now in the country, the Federal Government had said it was exploring ways of making vaccines more available to all Nigerians and that it would not hesitate to “apply the basic rule of law” against people who refused the vaccine because they would be endangering the lives of others.

The Executive Director, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Faisal Shuaib, on August 31, said, “The Presidential Steering Committee and the Federal Ministry of Health are exploring ways of making vaccines more available to all Nigerians, including federal civil servants and corporate entities.

“Once these vaccines are made equitably available to all Nigerians, then we will need to have a frank discussion about justice, fairness and liberty that exist around vaccine hesitancy. If some individuals refuse to take the vaccine, hence endangering those who have or those who could not due to medical exemptions, then we have to apply the basic rule of law, which stipulates that your human right stops where mine begins.

“So, you have a right to refuse vaccines, but you do not have the right to endanger the health of others.”

Meanwhile, the six states ruled out such measures, saying they would continue to appeal to their residents.

In Enugu State, the Commissioner for Information and spokesperson for the state Action Committee on Covid-19, Mr Chidi Aroh, told one of our correspondents in an interview that the state would respect the fundamental rights of every resident of the state.

He added, “I know that in Enugu State, we encourage people to take vaccine but rest assured that in encouraging people to take vaccine, Enugu is a state that is guided by the law. We are going to respect the fundamental rights of everybody as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“So, in all we do, we will be guided by the process of the law and the administration will do everything within the extant laws. However, we say that it is proper for people to go and get vaccinated but we will not do what is illegal to get people vaccinated.”

In Taraba State, the Commissioner for Health and Chairman of the state task force on COVID-19, Dr Innocent Vakkai, in an interview with one of our correspondents in Jalingo, the state capital, appealed to the residents to take the vaccine to prevent the spread of the virus.

Vakkai said, “Though Edo State has made vaccination cards compulsory for entry into public places, for us in Taraba, we are appealing to residents to come out and get vaccinated. We received 60,000 doses of Moderna vaccine last week and I want to appeal to residents to come out and get vaccinated to avoid the spread of the virus.”

In Cross River State, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Betta Edu, said residents were already taking the vaccine, thus there would be no need to force them to take it.

Edu said, “We have asked people to take the vaccine and Cross Riverians are taking it. In the first phase, Cross River was the highest for covering the target population. We had over 117 per cent. We even exhausted our vaccine and could not get the vaccine to give people the second dose for eight weeks.

“So, there is no need to force them. As we speak now, over 60,000 Cross Riverians have taken the new vaccine brought to us and more are still taking it. In fact, we will soon exhaust what we have and we will need more. So, making it compulsory is not necessary.”

In Ogun State, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, in an interview with one of our correspondents on Friday, ruled out the option of barring persons who had not been vaccinated from its facilities.

Coker said, “Ogun State has experienced cooperation from residents who have engaged the vaccination campaign wholeheartedly. We are vaccinating over 7,000 individuals daily, so the situation in Ogun State does not require such restrictions.

“What I would like to encourage people to do is to wear their masks properly in public as this is still the most effective way of curtailing the spread of the virus while we continue the vaccination campaign which is planned to continue until the fourth quarter of next year.”

In Abia State, the Executive Director of the state Primary Healthcare Agency, Dr Chinagorom Adindu, said the residents of the state would take it as enlightenment campaign was ongoing.

He said, “At the moment, we have not considered that. Abians are highly literate and are willingly taking it. However, the state government has embarked on mass enlightenment to convince more residents to take the vaccine.”

Also, in Bauchi State, the Executive Chairman of the state Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Rilwan Mohammed, said the state had no plan to restrict people that had not been vaccinated from public facilities.

Mohammed, who is the Chairman of Contact and Surveillance Sub-Committee of the Task Force on COVID-19 in the state, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents on Friday, said, “There is no plan on that; we have yet to discuss that at the committee level.

“My Chairman is the deputy governor and he has not said anything on that and we have not discussed it.”

Osun, Ebonyi back FG, Ondo plan enforcement

In Osun State, the Special Adviser to Governor Adegboyega Oyetola on Public Health, Dr ‘Siji Olamiju, said with the way the virus was spreading, those planning to take stringent measures over vaccination might be justified.

In Edo State, for example, the state government, led by Governor Godwin Obaseki, had mandated people of the state to take the vaccine; warning that as from September 15, anyone who had not been vaccinated would not be allowed into public places such as banks and worship centres.

Despite the ex parte order granted by the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt restraining the governor from enforcing his order mandating all residents of the state to get vaccinated, people without proof of vaccination were prevented from entering the state secretariat on Wednesday.

Olamiju, however, noted that residents of the state had been coming for vaccination.

Olamiju said, “COVID-19 has come to stay. We just have to devise means of living with it in a way that it will not mar our existence as a people.

“As we see some other states making some stringent means, it is worth it. This pandemic is spreading. Here, we are looking at our indices and we are analysing them. If our indices point at doing the same, Mr Governor will not hesitate to do anything that will safeguard the healthy living of the people.”

In Ebonyi State, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Daniel Umezuruike, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents in Abakaliki on Friday, said it had a plan to enforce compulsory vaccination but it won’t do so now because a good number of the population had not been vaccinated.

Umezuruike said, “Yes, we have that in mind but we have not started measures geared towards barring persons that are not vaccinated from entering government offices or public places. The reason is that over 50 per cent of the population has not been vaccinated and so there is no point doing that now.

“Enforcing such measures now may not be the best. But you can do such a thing when you are sure you have vaccinated up to 50 per cent of the population. It is at that point you can come up with such measures. We will do it, but we have not started. “

The Ondo State Government also said it would make vaccination compulsory as soon as the quantity of vaccine available was enough to go round.

The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Donald Ojogo, in an interview with one of our correspondents said the process of making the vaccination compulsory was ongoing.

He added, “It was a major issue and indeed the resolution at the last State Executive Council meeting. Aside from measures already being put in place for compliance by residents, the Head of Service was mandated by Council to drive the compulsory vaccination in the public service.”


COVID-19 deaths hit 2,647 as recovery rate drops by 70%

Meanwhile, information from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control says the country has recorded no fewer than 200,957 confirmed cases as of September 16, 2021.

Out of the figure, 189,346 have been treated and discharged while the nation has so far recorded 2,647 fatalities.

The NCDC also revealed that between August 31 and September 5, 2021, a total of 6,246 individuals were discharged but between September 6 and September 12, only 1,880 individuals recovered, signifying a significant drop of 69.9 per cent recovery in one week.

Despite the increasing number of cases since the presence of the Delta variant was announced in July 2021, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency which monitors vaccination in the country in its daily update stated that as of September 16, 2021, only 1.6 per cent of the population had been fully vaccinated with first and second doses.

According to the NPHCDA, 4,255,621 eligible citizens have been vaccinated with the first dose, which amounts to 3.8 per cent while only 1,745,663 have been fully vaccinated with both the first and second doses, representing 1.6 per cent of the population.

Experts and the World Health Organisation have expressed worries over the low rate of vaccination in Nigeria and Africa at large.

Over 3,500 passengers positive in six months
No fewer than 3,513 inbound and outbound passengers in the country tested positive for COVID-19 between March 8 and September 12, 2021, an update by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has revealed.

According to the update on the NCDC website, the 3,513 passengers comprised of 1,303 inbound passengers, 1,765 outbound passengers and 445 passengers not categorised as either inbound or outbound.

Within the period, the number of deaths recorded was 523.

Meanwhile, as of Friday afternoon, 2,942,578 samples have been tested in total, out of which 200,957 cases have been confirmed, 8,964 are still active, 189,346 persons have been discharged while 2,647 deaths have been recorded in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The Federal Government had on March 23, 2020 suspended international flights in the country following the rise in the COVID-19 cases in the country. After about six months when the first wave of the virus began to decline, flights resumed on September 5, 2020.

Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, explained that all passengers coming into the country would have to undergo a COVID-19 test very close to their departure dates and that they would have to do another test eight days after arrival in the country.

According to the NCDC, between September 6 and 12, 2021, a total of 5,473 inbound travellers were tested, out of which 141 were positive and within the same week, 46 deaths were recorded. Also, between August 30 and September 5, 2021, 5,129 inbound international travellers were tested, out of which 149 tested positive and within the same week, 98 deaths were recorded.

Between August 23 and 29, 4,539 inbound travellers were tested, out of which 161 were positive. The number of deaths recorded in different parts of the country was 186.

The previous week, being August 16 to August 22, 4,590 inbound travellers were tested, out of which 195 were positive. The number of deaths recorded in different parts of the country was 49. From August 9 to August 15, 4,662 inbound travellers were tested, out of which 184 were positive and deaths recorded in some parts of the country was 32.

While 157 inbound passengers tested positive between August 2 and 8, the record for July 26 to August 1 was missing. However, from July 19 to 25, 2,836 inbound passengers were tested, out of which 74 were positive, while 107 positive cases were recorded when 4,398 inbound travellers were tested between July 12 to 18.

From July 5 to 11, 4,282 inbound passengers were tested, out of which 81 were positive; 14 passengers tested positive out of the 2,991 inbound travellers tested between June 28 and July 4. Also, between June 21 and 27, 2,872 inbound travellers were tested, out of which 23 tested positive.

Meanwhile, between March 8 and June 20, 2021, 445 inbound and outbound passengers tested positive, and within the period, 97 persons died of the virus.


Myth about vaccine discouraging people – UI committee chair

The Chairman, University of Ibadan COVID-19 Emergency Response Committee, Prof Victoria Adetunji, has said many Nigerians are afraid of taking COVID-19 vaccine because of the myth that the vaccines were produced to reduce human population.

Adetunji, in an interview with one of our correspondents on Thursday, said this on the sidelines of training and inauguration of UI Task Force Supervisors on COVID-19.

She said, “Many are not taking the vaccine because of the myth going around that COVID-19 vaccine is meant to kill people. Some are saying it is the mark of the devil, 666, but as a Christian, I know that rapture would have taken place before the devil’s mark would be given.

The Acting Vice Chancellor of UI, Prof Adebola Ekanola, said it was unfortunate that some people still did not believe that the virus was real.

The apex Igbo group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, says a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, was used by the Muhammadu Buhari-led government to deceive the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

In June, Kanu was arrested in Kenya and extradited to Nigeria to face treason charges.

He was subsequently arraigned and brought before Binta Nyako, a Judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who asked him to be remanded at the DSS custody.

Kanu is facing charges bordering on treasonable felony instituted against him at the court in response to his agitation for the Republic of Biafra.

He was granted bail in April 2017 on health grounds but skipped bail after disregarding some of the conditions given to him by the court.

The Secretary-General of Ohanaeze, Okechukwu Isiguzoro in a statement on Saturday said Fani-Kayode who recently joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had been a secret agent of the caliphate and the Presidency against the Igbo nation.

The statement read, “Femi Fani Kayode’s magniloquence and grandiosity on the unity of Nigeria contrary to his previous stance on Biafra and Oduduwa Nations shortly after he was received by President Buhari as a new APC member, had reinforced our suspicions that FFK was a pawn in the hands of Igbo detractors playing the scripts craftily designed for the engineering of sponsored violence and uprising against the people of South-East. He consistently enticed Igbo Governors and Nnamdi Kanu as a friend of Ndigbo, with fanciful and deceitful words to achieve this devilish agenda, which he had accomplished before he defected unexpectedly to APC.

“FFK only played into the hearts and confidence of his Igbo casualties, got sensitive information from the so-called Igbo elites, and passed it on to the Presidency.

“He has been a secret agent of the caliphate and the Presidency against Igbo, perhaps, he might be instrumental in the illegal abduction of Nnamdi Kanu; undoubtedly, his wizardry and satanic roles lured Nnamdi Kanu into demolishing the confidence of Nigerians against trusting Igbo with Presidency in 2023 and indirectly encouraged violence throughout the South-East states.

“We insist that it’s the constitutional rights of FFK to join any political party of his choice but he should further desist from making boastful comments on how he will lure Igbo Peoples Democratic Party Governors to the APC. First of all, he should tender unreserved apologies to Governor Umahi over the falsehoods and his makeup stories of being instrumental in the defection of three PDP Governors to APC, saying Gov Umahi was among them.”

Ten dogs belonging to the proprietor of Global Growth Academy, Amokpo, Umuanunwa, Nteje, in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State have reportedly devoured a two-year-old prospective pupil.

The school owner was identified as Chinedu Oka, a UK returnee fondly called Chinedu Okaa London.

A resident said, “A parent took the child to the school for enrollment on Monday when the incident happened. The owner of the school rears dogs in the school premises, despite the community’s warning against it.

“While the parent of the child was perfecting the documentation and registration of the child, the child wandered off.

“On sighting the baby, the dogs rushed at him and dragged him into their pen where about 10 of them devoured the two-year-old boy without any school official on hand to rescue him.

“The Nteje community, where the incident happened, culturally prohibits rearing of dogs. It’s a taboo to rear dogs here. The UK returnee was warned, but he refused to adhere to the community’s instructions.”

Continuing, the source said that, irked by the incident, the vigilante youths in the community invaded the school compound and shot the dogs dead.

The traditional ruler of Nteje, Igwe Rowland Odegbo, confirmed the incident.

He said that Chinedu Okaa London knew that dogs were prohibited in Nteje community but still went ahead to rear them

“The young man knows that we don’t accommodate dogs in our community and he went ahead to surround himself with dogs despite warning from the community.

“To us, the young man committed murder and it is an abomination in our community to kill someone.

“We have handed him over to the appropriate authorities and we will make sure that justice is served because we don’t condone evil.

“The youths have killed and burnt the dogs and we are in support of their action,” the traditional ruler stated.

Meanwhile, the school has been deserted as patients hurriedly withdrew their children and wards on hearing about the tragic incident.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Ikenga Tochukwu, confirmed the incident, adding that the situation had been put under control.

The battle over the estate of the late Lagos-based businessman, Dr. Tosin Ajayi, is heating up at the Federal High Court in Lagos, with his widow Oluwayemisi Ajayi, raising allegations of adultery against a former Miss Nigeria, Helen Prest.

The widow, in a 27-paragraph counter-affidavit filed against Prest’s suit, said she and her husband were legally married under the Marriage Act and never divorced till his death.

She alleged that Prest, with full knowledge of Dr. Ajayi’s subsisting marriage, carried on an illicit relationship with him as his concubine.

The suit was filed on July 23, 2021, and has First Foundation Medical Engineering Company Ltd (FFMECL); Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC); Oluwayemisi Ajayi; and Patrick Abak, a lawyer as first to fourth respondents.

While Helen Prest was listed as the second plaintiff, her daughter Tomisin Ajayi was listed as the first plaintiff.

The legal battle is centred on who should control FFMECL and other properties owned by the firm.

In her 71-paragraph affidavit in support of the suit against the respondents and deposed to by Helen Prest’s daughter (first plaintiff), she averred that her late dad married Oluwayemisi and they had children, but they were separated for 35 years before her father’s demise.

Tomisin claimed that in the course of the separation, the late Ajayi and her mother, Helen Prest married and gave birth to her.

But in a counter-affidavit deposed to by the widow and filed on September 13, 2021, Oluwayemisi Ajayi averred that she was aware that Tomisin presents herself as the “love child of an adulterous relationship” between her deceased husband, Dr. Ajayi, “and his adulteress,” Helen Prest.

The deponent stated that although she was not in a position to confirm if Tomisin Ajayi is a child of her late husband, because the late Ajayi did not introduce her to the family in his lifetime, she was ready to accept the first plaintiff in good faith as one of the beneficiaries of the estate of her deceased husband.

On the ownership of FFMECL, the widow claimed that she and the late Ajayi built the firm together and that at no time was her deceased husband the sole beneficial shareholder or director of the company. She stated that since the incorporation of FFMEC, she had always been a shareholder and director of the company.

On her marital status to the late Ajayi, the widow averred that she was legally married to the deceased and there was no divorce. She challenged Helen Prest to present any document in opposition to her marriage certificate.

She stated: “My late husband never cohabited (and never decided to cohabit) as a common-law partner with the second plaintiff in the United Kingdom.

“The second plaintiff was desirous of a marriage and legally cognizable relationship with my late husband, Dr. Ajayi, from the outset (including urging him to divorce me), a proposition which he consistently rejected throughout his life despite the second plaintiff’s incessant solicitations for same.”

The widow stated further: “Although Helen Prest was a concubine of my deceased husband, she was never a shareholder, director, officer, employee or business partner of, or otherwise associated with the affairs of, FFMECL or any other companies in which my husband was a major shareholder (including those wherein I am also a shareholder).”

Police in Jigawa State have arrested a 25-year-old man, Nasiru Muhammad for allegedly having sex with goat in Gwaram Local Government of the State.

Police Spokesman, ASP Lawan Shiisu Adam confirmed this to DAILY POST in Dutse, the State capital.

He said the suspect was arrested by policemen while on patrol at Kunnadi quarters in Gwaram town.

According to him “On 09/09/2021 at about 0100hrs, Police officers from Gwaram divisional headquarters, while on patrol within Gwaram and its environs, arrested a 25-year-old man, Nasiru Muhammad of Kunnadi quarters while having intercourse with a goat.”

Shiisu Said the suspect is in police costudy for investigation.

He said the suspect would be charge to court after investigation.

The Police in Orerokpe, Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State has arrested a suspected internet fraudster identified as Emma who had attempted to strangulate his mother for money ritual purposes.

The incident occurred at Caroline street in Okuokoko Community, DAILY POST can report.

Eyewitnesses told DAILY POST that the suspect had invited his mother identified as Oke, a foodstuff seller at Okuokoko Community to his house for a supposed surprise package.

When his mother arrived at his apartment, he pretended to be happy and excited to see her, playing loud music.

Sources said as soon as Mrs Oke entered the house, the suspect quickly locked the door, attacked and tried to strangle her to death while trying to pluck off her eyes.

She was said to have screamed for help as she gasped for breath but help did not come as there was loud music.

However, she reportedly struggled with her internet fraudster son until she was able to escape from his stronghold and raised an alarm.

Neighbours were said to have come to her rescue at this point, giving the suspect the beating of his life before he was handed over to the Police in Orerokpe Division.

When contacted for comments, the Delta State Acting Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bright Edafe claimed he had not been briefed on the incident.

“Am not aware of that one oooo.”

The victim is currently receiving medical treatments at an undisclosed hospital at the time of this report

An Army sergeant, John Ocheme, is currently being investigated for allegedly shooting and killing a police inspector, Inah Ubi last Wednesday.

The late Ubi was attached to the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), CMS Jetty, Lagos Island and was allegedly killed by Ocheme near the premises of a dredging firm, Batare Nigeria Ltd in the Sangotedo area of Ajah, Lagos State.

A source told the Nation, “We left here on a flying boat at about 9am. We got to the Sangotedo area of Okun Ajah and got off the boat. There were many dredging companies there.”

The eyewitness claimed that as the NIWA team drew close to shore, they were sighted by persons suspected to be carrying out illegal dredging operations. The suspects fled, leaving behind some of their equipment. Inah reportedly chased them and apprehended one of them, but he was protected by soldiers.

According to the eyewitness, both policemen on the NIWA team were armed and in uniform, while the soldiers, though armed, sported only army vests.

The source said one of the soldiers accosted the NIWA team, who identified themselves. While they were explaining their mission to him, they heard several gunshots from the direction Ubi went and found him on the ground near the other soldier.

Spokesman for 81 Division of the Nigerian Army covering Lagos and Ogun states, Major Olaniyi Osoba, did not confirm the incident but assured that the Army would not sweep the matter under the carpet.

The Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police has reportedly commenced an investigation and met with the head of NIWA’s CMS Jetty last Friday, in the company of the Army’s lawyer.

Ocheme, it was gathered, is in Army custody.

Dachung Bagos, a member of the house of representatives, says the Department of State Services (DSS) often provides intel on the activities of the perpetrators of killings in Plateau.

Bagos, a member representing Jos south/Jos east federal constituency of Plateau, said there is no political will to act on the intel shared by the security agency.

The lawmaker spoke on Tuesday during a media briefing in Abuja.

In the last three months, the north-central state has witnessed a surge in attacks, resulting in the deaths of over 100 people.

“The security agencies receive information on every single movement, especially the DSS. But our problem has always been implementation and execution,” Bagos said.

“The security agencies bring in as much intel as possible but the people that are responsible to execute whatsoever information that the DSS have brought forward is usually the problem and that is why the political will is always the problem.

“That is why most governors said they are no longer the chief security officer. The person that is responsible for executing the report is usually not the governors. So if security agencies will come out with intel on certain movement or certain terrorists groups in different environments and we are not proactive, then definitely we will have the problem.”

The lawmaker added that the killings in the state would only end if the perpetrators are made to face justice.

TheCable had reported that following intelligence reports of possible attacks, Usman Baba, inspector-general of police (IGP), had in May 2021 ordered that the security framework in Plateau be reviewed.

A memo signed by Idowu Owohunwa, principal staff officer to the IGP, conveyed instructions for the commissioner of police in Plateau.

But in the months after the directive was issued, the attacks in Plateau took a brazen dimension.

Deji Elumoye and Udora Orizu
There is a high probability that President Muhammadu Buhari might present the 2022 budget this month. The speculation is coming on the heels of the two chambers of the National Assembly resuming plenary today, after a two-month long annual vacation, to continue with the third year of the Ninth Assembly.

The Senate and House of Representatives had adjourned plenary on July 15 after passing landmark bills including the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which was assented to last month by President Muhammadu Buhari and the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill.

The two chambers will upon resumption of plenary adjourn almost immediately as a mark of honour for a member of the House of Representatives, Hon Adedayo Omolafe, representing Akure South/North federal Constituency, who died on August 16.

The adjournment of legislative session till Wednesday is in line with the tradition of the National Assembly, which will not sit in the event of the death of either a Senator or House member.

But as the federal lawmakers returned to their desks fully, several important legislative work were expected to be lined up for their attention.

Aside consideration of crucial bills, resolutions to motions and continuation of probes, the worsening security situation was expected to be the main agenda of the lawmakers.

The legislators, in line with their promise in their legislative agenda, were also expected to maintain the budget cycle of January-December.


Flowing from this and with both chambers having held interactive session on the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) with heads of revenue generating agencies of government, President Muhammadu Buhari is being expected to present the 2022 appropriation Bill to the lawmakers hopefully before the end of this month.

Also, the review of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is expected to be on the priority list of the two chambers.

The Senate and the House had earlier in the year held zonal public hearings in 12 centres involving all the 36 states to get inputs on the constitutional amendments from Nigerians.

On its resumption for legislative activities, both chairmen of the Constitution Review Committees, Senator Ovie Omo-agege and Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, were expected to harmonise reports from both the zonal and national public hearings before being presented to the two chambers for approval.

Another issue that might attract the attention of the lawmakers, is that of the Value Added Tax (VAT) and Stamp Duties collection, which have become a legal matter between some state and federal governments.


There were speculations that some lawmakers might push for a legislation on VAT.

The harmonisation of the differences in the position of the two chambers the in electoral act amendment bill is also on the card.

The different versions of the Bill, it will be recalled, were passed by both Chambers. Some Civil Society Organisations have therefore written to the two principal officers urging the Senate to step down its own version of clause 52 (3) of the bill that required the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to seek the approval of both the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Assembly before deciding on the use of technology in the transmission of election results and replace it with the House version of clause 52 (3) that gave INEC the power to make this decision regarding the electronic transmission of results.

In the Senate, the President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan, at the commencement of Tuesday’s plenary is expected to administer oath of office on Hon Agom Jarigbe as the duly elected Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator for Cross River North Senatorial District.

This followed the recent ruling of the Court of Appeal that recognised him as the Senator-elect for Cross River North as against Stephen Odey, who was sworn in last December.

Twitter on Monday said its talks with the Buhari administration to address the lingering statement over restoration of its services in Nigeria have been respectful and productive.

“Discussions with the Nigerian government have been respectful and productive – we look forward to seeing the service restored very soon,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement to Peoples Gazette on Monday evening. “We continue to engage with the Nigerian government to discuss why Twitter has been blocked and ways to resolve the matter. We are committed to charting a path forward to the restoration of Twitter for everyone in Nigeria.”

The statement comes a day after the controversial ban hit 100 days, with rights activists expressing fears that the regime was not in a hurry to rescind its action and allow the constitutional rights of Nigerians prevail.

Telecom operators were asked to block access to the microblogging platform with effect from June 4 in an announcement by information minister Lai Mohammed. Twitter initially criticised the move as repressive and incompatible with the modern times, Other Western diplomatic missions including the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, also registered their displeasure and demanded immediate reversal of the decision.

Mr Buhari however dug his heels in, with several of his political appointees claiming the social media giant erred substantially when it deleted the president’s tweets that apparently called for violence against ethnic Igbo citizens of Nigeria.

Administration officials also said Twitter must be registered in Nigeria before its services would be restored, a demand that Twitter insiders told The Gazette would be difficult to accept.

In July, the government raised a group of several ministers, including Mr Mohammed and Attorney-General Abubakar Malami, to interface with Twitter over the matter. Some of the officials traveled to the U.S., but did not disclose much as to the extent of their success.

At one point, Mr Mohammed claimed Twitter had accepted to register as a business and open offices in Nigeria, but a Twitter spokesperson swiftly debunked the minister’s claim in an email to The Gazette.

The comments again cast Mr Mohammed in his notorious spectre of propaganda, with Nigerians saying he made the false announcement as a way to buy additional time for the government or safe face in the event that the ban was reluctantly lifted.

Pro-regime commentators have insisted that Twitter and other social media outlets must not be allowed to control what Nigerians can do online, and definitely shouldn’t be policing the president’s posts, which they described as innocuous and even reconciliatory towards the Igbos.

By Saawua Terzungwe
Battle for the office of the national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has commenced, with heavyweight politicians throwing themselves into the ring.

This is especially as the party has commenced congresses at the ward, local government, state and zonal levels, at the end of which a national convention would be held for the election of a new crop of National Working Committee (NWC) members. As part of the process, party leaders have emerged at the ward and local government levels following congresses held in August, and last weekend.

With the issue of zoning not yet settled, aspirants for various offices have commenced intense underground consultations and politicking ahead of the convention.

The APC is currently run by a Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee led by the Yobe State governor, Mai Mala Buni, who assumed office on June 25, 2020, sequel to the dissolution of the Adams Oshiomhole-led NWC.

The committee is expected to organise a national convention before the end of this year.

Agitations to zone the party’s presidential ticket to the South are ongoing. Various camps in the southern part of the country are awaiting the convention of the party for a final decision on zoning.

It is believed that if the North produces the chairman of the party, the South would produce the presidential candidate for the 2023 election.

There are arguments in the party that prior to the 2015 general elections, the party’s stakeholders met and reached a consensus that the presidential ticket of the party would be ceded to the South at the expiration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure in 2023.

While some political gladiators like a former governor of Zamfara State, Sani Yarima, have argued that there was no such agreement, promoters and agitators for a southern candidacy say the pact was reached to ensure equity, fairness and justice in the party’s political calculation between the North and South.

Daily Trust on Sunday reports that as part of southern political bigwigs’ strategy to position and take the party’s apex ticket, no politician from that region is entangled in the chairmanship race, leaving only their northern counterparts to slug it out.

But while aspirants from the three geo-political zones in the North are springing up for the race, agitations for a chairman from the North-East are gathering momentum.

The North-East region has, in recent times, decried marginalisation in the political equation of the country. The North-Central has also reacted in similar manner, while accusing the North-West of taking more of the apex slots.

More aspirants from the North-East are positioning for the position.


Booby trap for southern presidency

Some sources said the outflux of national chairmanship of the APC by northerners might be a booby trap for the South.

A source said, “Even if someone from the North emerge as chairman of the party, the true picture of which zone will produce the president will only be clear towards the end of 2022.

“I am saying this because there are powerful forces within the polity that don’t want power to shift to the South.

“Therefore, there is the probability of removing whoever emerged as chairman from the North in favour of someone from the South, of course in acting capacity towards the election so that the presidential candidate will come from the North.

“This is very possible…It is a power play and there is no way you one section of the country will produce both the chairman and the president.

“So, let’s wait and see who will emerge as the chairman and you will see where the pendulum will swing,” the source said.

Another source said in the event the plan to handover power to someone from the North, those playing the drama might likely support a dark horse. President Buhari might not likely play dirty politics in that regards because his dream is to end his tenure well.”


Aspirants from the North-East

Senator Ali Modu Sheriff

He is Borno State’s first governor to serve two consecutive terms (2003-2011). In 2003, he ran on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and won. He was re-elected in 2007 and sworn in on 29 May, same year.

Sheriff later played a key role in the formation of the APC. He also served as senator representing Borno Central for three terms.

In the buildup to the 2015 general elections, Sheriff jumped ship to the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He told newsmen that his decision was in the interest of the country, adding that as a two-term governor and three-term senator, his interest was more on contributing to the development of the country.

He was later invited by some PDP governors and other powerbrokers in the party to take the office of the party’s national chairman after its defeat at the 2015 general elections.

The former governor later returned to the APC after his dramatic exit from the top hierarchy of the PDP. There are feelers that he would contest the national chairmanship slot of the APC.

His political allies say he is banking on his experience, political capital and deep pocket to make things happen to his advantage, using his position as one of the founding members of the party and other connections.

It was gathered that Sheriff is consulting critical stakeholders, while various pressure groups in the APC have been meeting with him and positioning for his campaign.

However, pundits say his alleged poor handling of the PDP, which led to a protracted legal battle with a former governor of Kaduna State, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, and his eventual ouster following a Supreme Court judgement that declared the Makarfi-led faction as the authentic leadership of the party, as well as his history of defection, may be his stumbling block.

A three-member panel of the apex court presided by the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, upbraided Makarfi’s contender, Sheriff, for demonstrating “infantile desperation to lead the party.”

Sheriff was accused of being an agent of the APC to destabilise the PDP, an allegation he refuted.

A former political adviser to former Governor Kashim Shettima and chieftain of the ruling party, Mustapa Gambo, who is one of those mobilising support for Sheriff, confirmed to Daily Trust on Sunday that the former governor was warming up to officially declare at the appropriate time.

“The APC needs a stabilising force; and with due respect to all those reported to be nursing the ambition to vie for the chairmanship of our party, none of them comes close to what Senator Ali Modu Sheriff brings to table,” he said.

Sunny Moniedafe

He is a former chairman of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter. He recently declared his intention to vie for the office of the national chairman of the APC during a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja.

Moniedafe, whose parents are from Delta State, was born and brought up in Adamawa State, and has since been identifying himself as a politician of the North-East extraction.

He said, “I have no godfather and I am no pushover. I will contest if it is zoned to the North-East. If it is not zoned to us, I will contest any position zoned to us because I want to serve.”

His quest to end god-fatherism in the party, which he recently told newsmen was part of his agenda, is said to be a threat to his ambition as many godfathers want to maintain their political relevance as powerbrokers.

Senator Kashim Shettima

Shettima, a two-term governor of Borno State, endeared himself to many between 2011 and 2019 when he held sway in the state, regarded at the hotbed of the Boko Haram insurgency.

He was applauded by many during his tenure as governor, especially his contribution to stemming insurgency and taking care of internally displaced persons. But some say his openness and criticism of the Buhari administration may work against him.

In December 2020, the former governor was quoted in the media as saying, “Buhari is not God. If there are things that need to be corrected, we are going to point it out to him equivocally and unambiguously, but without playing to the gallery.”

Despite insurgency, he succeeded in addressing some of the developmental challenges in the state.

In February 2019, he was elected a senator for Borno Central, replacing Senator Baba Kaka Bashir.

Despite his attitude to speaking to leaders right from his days as governor, it appears President Buhari holds him in high esteem, going by his recent tribute to the governor of Borno during his birthday, a development seen as a tacit endorsement.

This is what the president said two weeks ago:

“I am proud of Shettima for his achievements in office as one of the best governors in the country for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“Despite the challenges of insecurity, he was able to make his mark. Because he was able to keep his key campaign promises, he proved his mettle and did not disappoint the electorate. Senator Shettima will be remembered for many things, including the fact that he handed the state over to Prof Babagana Zulum, a capable and deserving successor.”

One of his former advisers told our reporter in confidence that some politicians were scheming for him because of his political antecedents, experience and ability to handle crisis, as well as his enthusiasm to genuinely serve the party.

He, however, said the former governor was taking his time to consult widely before deciding on the matter.

Danjuma Goje

He is a former governor of Gombe State and senator representing Gombe Central since 2011.

The former governor, who stepped down from the race to the president of the Senate for Senator Ahmad Lawan few days to the inauguration of the Ninth Assembly following the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari, is one of those said to be eying the chairmanship seat of the party.

As a key player in the formation of the party, Goje enjoys the support of his colleagues in the parliament and beyond.

In a recent interview, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, mentioned the senator as one of the founding fathers of the party.

Analysts say Goje’s chances of winning the party’s chairmanship maybe affected by his feud with Governor Inuwa Yahaya of his state.

Goje and Yahaya are at daggers drawn over the control of the party structure in the state ahead of the 2023 polls.

It is believed that governors, to a large extent, determine what politicians from their states become at the federal level, especially in circumstances where both are from the same political party like the two Gombe top politicians.

It was learnt that Goje is being prevailed upon to contest, but is still considering his chances.


Aspirants from North-Central

George Akume

Akume, a two-term governor of Benue State, is the current Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs.

He is said to be one of the forces to reckon with in the chairmanship contest of the APC as he is close to President Muhammadu Buhari.

He represented the Benue North-West senatorial district, popularly known as Zone B, in the National Assembly. He was the minority leader of the Senate from June 2011 to June 2015.

A credible source close to Akume told Daily Trust on Sunday in a telephone chat yesterday that some top politicians in the APC were prevailing on the minister to join the chairmanship race.

“Senator Akume will stabilise the party by injecting new blood into it because he is committed to its ideals and has worked very closely with Mr President.

“If the APC stakeholders feel he should steer the ship he will be available to do just that. He is willing to accept any assignment by the party,” he said.

But Akume is yet to formally declare to run.

Senator Tanko Al-Makura

He is a former governor of Nasarawa State and belongs to the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) elements of the APC. He is being promoted by his successor, Governor Abdullahi Sule.

Months ago, Sule, while flagging off the membership registration and revalidation exercise of the party in the state, urged other blocs to support the state to produce the next national chairman.

But it is believed that the invitation by the anti-corruption agency to the senator in July may affect his chances to clinch the party’s ticket. He was a guest of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of corruption. But the former governor denied the allegation. The APC was overwhelmingly voted in 2015 following its promise to tackle corruption.

The dispute between the Federal Inland Revenue Service and some states over the collection of Value Added Tax seems to be taking a new turn by the day as two more states, Ogun and Akwa Ibom, say they are ready to enact laws that will enable them to collect the tax in their states.

This is as some employees of the FIRS are currently in panic mode over the recent moves by states to begin collection of Value Added Tax, Sunday PUNCH has learnt.

Three members of the FIRS workers’ union told one of our correspondents that stripping the FIRS of the power to collect VAT could reduce the commission the agency would have received by as much as N96bn.

The FIRS had stated in a document submitted to the National Assembly that it projected it would be able to collect N2.44tn from both import and non-import VAT in 2022.

The FIRS, which takes four per cent of the amount collected as VAT as its commission, projected it would receive N96bn in 2022.

Should the states begin collecting VAT, the FIRS would lose this huge sum, a top source within the tax body told one of our correspondents.

The source said, “Our highest source of revenue is Petroleum Tax and VAT. Others include Stamp Duty, Company Tax and a few others. VAT is number two for us and we are paid bonuses based on performance.

“If we stop collecting VAT, the FIRS will not be able to pay bonuses and other special packages to staff. As it is, many of us are scared because we don’t know what will happen next.”

Another senior employee told Sunday PUNCH that the FIRS had hired too many staff members and its wage bill was high. He said the service might be forced to reduce its workers once VAT payment was taken away.

Another employee said, “One big problem we have in the FIRS is that almost every big politician has a relative in this agency due to the system of patronage we run in this country, whereby political office holders are given slots. The implication is that we have too many workers and our wage bill and overhead cost are high. We will be lucky if some of us are not sacked.”

Out of the FIRS’ N216.65bn budget for the 2021 fiscal year, the sum of N107.52bn is for personnel cost; N47.22bn for overhead cost; and N61.9bn for capital cost.

As of 2019, the FIRS had about 9,000 staff members but the figure is believed to have increased since then.

The agency has been criticised for frivolous expenses such as setting aside N160m to sew uniforms for 850 drivers and budgeting N825m for refreshment and security vote of N250m, among others in 2019.

A 23-year-old student of the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State, Solomon Oboh, has committed suicide.

Tribune Online gathered that the late Oboh, a National Diploma, ND 1 student of Public Administration, was found dangling in his room on Friday night.

The suicide victim an account noted, had been in the class earlier day, when he had some not too nice experience, as he felt humiliated for his inability to spell the words, “computer technology” correctly in the presence of his classmates.

Another source added that Oboh left a terse suicide note behind, without disclosing the full content of the message

The source, who pleaded anonymity, added that the deceased instructed that his mobile phone should be given one Sandra, whom he begged for forgiveness in the suicide note.

The source described the said Sandra as Oboh’s girlfriend and that they were course mates.

“Solomon was in class on Friday and left for home after class, we only came home later in the evening to find him dangling in the ceiling of his room at Bawack area of South Ibie.

“He was a very quiet boy who takes his academics very serious. He doesn’t go out and never showed any sign of depression or whatsoever,” the source explained.

When contacted the Polytechnic spokesman, Mr Mustapha Oshiobugie, confirmed the incident, but added that he was yet to be fully briefed on the details of what happened.

Ibrahim Isiaka, lawmaker representing Ifo/Ewekoro constituency in the House of Representatives, and the Vice- Chancellor, Ahman Pategi University, Patigi, Kwara State, Prof. Mahfouz Adedimeji, clashed over the earnings of the National Assembly members on Saturday.

The incident happened at the 10th annual symposium of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, B-zone, in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Adedimeji, who was the guest lecturer at the event had declared that Nigerian parliament “is the most expensive in the world.”

Looking towards the direction of Isiaka, who stood in for Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of House of Representatives, the VC said, “With due respect to the Speaker of House of Representatives, Nigeria spends the highest amount of money on the legislators in the world and the national assembly consumes more money than any other parliament in the world.

“A unicameral legislature with two representatives from each state is sufficient. The national Assembly should have less than 100 members including Abuja.”

But Isiaka disagreed with the guest lecturer, saying, it was a wrong perception that the national assembly runs a very expensive legislature.

He said all the money budgeted for the national assembly was two percent of the total budget.

“The money being spent on the National Assembly, and when you say National Assembly, you are not talking about legislators, who are the lawmakers.”

“You are talking about the National Assembly Commission, you are talking about everything, all encompassing, is less than two per cent of total budget of this country, but, nobody, has ever looked at what is happening to the 98.per cent,” he said.

He, however, called for a total re-orientation of national core values, as a way to carve a new agenda for the country.

The state Governor, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Shuaib Salisu lauded the Muslim students society for organising the symposium at a critical time in the history of the country.

He maintained that the discussion about the unity and integration is everyone’s duty, adding that his administration will do all in its powers to support the Muslim society.

Ahmad Gumi, Islamic cleric, says bandits have devised a means to evade air strikes by the Nigerian Air Force.

In an article entitled, ‘War has never been a solution anytime, anywhere’, Gumi said some bandits told him that air strikes could only kill their families and not them.

The cleric said bandits may migrate from areas the security agencies are engaging them to other places that are not “hot” for them.

“What you may not hear is that the bandits over the years have developed escape routes from aerial bombardments. They told us, ‘you can only kill our women and children with your attacks,” The Punch quoted him as saying in the article.

“Just yesterday, two contingents of banditry victims came to me that their loved ones were abducted by bandits in Kaduna suburbs – Rigachukun and Keke.

“An escapee engineer in the later said when he overheard and understood that they were strangers in the area as they were calling the locals to lead them, that gave him the courage to slip through densely grown maize plantations to escape.

“The point is that, if Zamfara is on fire for them, it goes without saying that they will migrate to other areas. So, is the whole of Nigeria going to be under lock-up incommunicado?”

The sheikh said the solutions to banditry are good intelligence gathering and policing.

“As for those cynics that have no value to add in the dilemma except vituperation, and abuses, we know that is the substance they are made up of. No qualms whatsoever! you don’t expect fragrance from faeces,” he said.

“So, what is the solution? Good Intelligence! Good proficient policing, engagement of the local herdsmen in policing, rehabilitation, reconciliation, and reparation of all victims of banditry.

“The good honest judiciary that protects people’s rights. Money and time well spent on these will surely kill the disease and heal the nation of this delinquency, crimes, and bad governance.”

President Muhammadu Buhari is set to participate in the United Nations General Assembly's 76th Session in the United States, amidst insecurity and gross human rights under his administration.

SaharaReporters gathered that the President will depart Abuja on Sunday, September 19 to attend the conference which will be declared open on Tuesday, September 14.

The conference will end on September 27, 2021.

“The team going with him (Buhari) to the USA for the United Nations General Assembly leaves on Tuesday. The President will leave Abuja next Sunday to join them,” a presidential source told SaharaReporters.

SaharaReporters had earlier in the month reported how Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, among other officials, travelled to the US to infiltrate the ranks of Nigeria’s self-determination groups, which earlier announced that they would storm the UN Assembly with demands for a referendum.

A top source had said that while Buhari would be attending the UN Assembly, the entourage led by Gambari, who is a diplomat and former top UN official, was sent ahead to weaken the strengths of the agitation groups before the President’s arrival.

“The UN programme is starting on September 18. The Chief of Staff is leaving for USA tomorrow (Thursday) with some people working with him, including his personal Assistant, Luqman Bosun Emiola. No one knows when they will be back but they are not supposed to have any business with the President’s trip.

“Buhari will be attending the UN General Assembly but the Chief of Staff already left,” the source had said.

SaharaReporters had on August 11 reported that agitation groups in the country under the Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance for Self-Determination (NINAS) said they would hold a one million march at the UN Headquarters in New York, to reiterate the demand for a referendum on self-determination and abolition of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.

NINAS is an umbrella body of self-determination movements in the South-South, South-East, Middle Belt and South-West (Ilana Omo Oodua).

The one million march is scheduled to hold between September 14 and 21, 2021 when the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly would hold in the United States.

Despite being a former Army General, the level of insecurity under Buhari’s administration has worsened with virtually all parts of the country currently battling one form of violent crimes or another.

The Global Terrorism Index (2019) ranked Nigeria as the third-worst nation prone to terrorism with no improvement since 2017.

Aside from insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and secessionist violence are pushing Nigeria towards the brink of collapse with many calling for the resignation of the President for “failing” to secure the country.

Using security operatives, the Buhari-led government is also known for harassing, assaulting and intimidating journalists, human rights activists, protesters and critics of the government.

The government has also shown hostility to Nigerian Judges and indifference to court judgments and orders, thereby seriously undermining their standing and authority, and the notion of access to justice.

His administration simply ignores court judgments and orders.

Buhari has literally normalised disobedience to court orders, and state-sanctioned brutality against peaceful protesters.

The administration also continues to violate human rights with impunity.

By Fikayo Olowolagba

The Adamawa Police Command has arrested a 19-year-old woman, Rumasa’u Muhammed, of Wuro Yanka Village in Shelleng local government area for allegedly stabbing her husband to death.

DSP Sulaiman Nguroje, Police Spokesperson in the state, confirming the incident on Wednesday in Yola, said the suspect was arrested on Monday for allegedly stabbing her husband, Muhammed Adamu, 35 to death after seeking for divorce.

”Investigation so far reveals, that the suspect was forcefully married to the deceased by her parents against her will on Aug. 6,” Nguroje said.

He said the Commissioner of Police, Aliyu Alhaji, has given a directive for a discreet investigation into the matter.

”The Commissioner has equally advised members of the public to stop forcing their wards into early and forceful marriages.

”In the same vein, the Commissioner, has directed for immediate prosecution of the suspect so as to serve as deterrence to others,” he said.

Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) over the incident, Ustaz, Abdullah Hamman, an Islamic Scholar in Yola, said forceful marriage has no place in Islam.

”According to Islam, parents have rights to choose for their children a good family to marry from but at same time, Islam does not encourage forced marriages,” Hamman said.

He stressed the need for the parents to desist from forcing their children into marriage saying, such practice was causing a lot of harm in the society.

NAN also reports that a family source, who pleaded to remain anonymous, said: “the girl demanded that her late husband divorce her peacefully since she was not interested in the marriage. He refused.

”Angered by this after several requests, she picked up a knife and stabbed him in the stomach.

“He was rushed to the hospital where he was confirmed dead.

By Oge Udegbunam
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has urged taxpayers, especially in Rivers State, to continue to pay their Value Added Tax (VAT) to it despite a court order against that claim.

It warns that defaulters may be asked to pay fines.

The FIRS has been locked in a contest with the Rivers government over which entity has the right to collect VAT.

The federal government, through the FIRS, has been in charge of VAT, which it then shares to the federal, state and local governments.

That was until a federal high court in Port Harcourt in August ruled that it was the right of the Rivers government to receive VAT in the state. The state argued that it was against the constitution for it to generate VAT that is later shared to other states.

The highly populated Rivers, Lagos and four other states are responsible about 80 per cent of VAT collected in Nigeria.

On Monday, the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt rejected a challenge by the FIRS against the ruling, putting down the agency’s application for an injunction.

The ruling has, at least for now, cleared the way for the Rivers government to enforce its newly passed VAT Act. Lagos on Monday pushed its VAT Bill through the second reading.

Despite the latest development in court, Johannes Wojuola, the special assistant to the chairman of the FIRS on Media and Communications, in a statement Monday urged taxpayers to “remain calm” and maintain the “status quo”.

“The FIRS having lodged, in the Court of Appeal, both an appeal against the decision of the Federal High Court sitting in Rivers State in Suit No. FHC/PH/CS/149/2020, Attorney General of Rivers State Vs Federal Inland Revenue Service, and an injunction pending appeal of the said judgement, assures taxpayers that there is no cause for alarm.

“The Federal High Court ruling should not breed any confusion as to the obligations of taxpayers. Taxpayers must continue to comply with the Value Added Tax Act pending the final determination of appeal,” the statement said.

He said taxpayers “must” continue to pay their tax to the FIRS to avoid paying penalties for failure to do so.

“For the avoidance of doubt, records of appeal have been transmitted to the appellate court. The Service is confident that, given the extant laws, the arguments and case put forward, it will earn a favoured judgment at the appellate court,” the statement concluded.

The Nigerian Government has said its security agencies have access to information on Nigerians through their mobile phones.

Pantami, however, noted that as a minister, he could not grant requests for such personal information from individuals and groups.

He described phone conversations and phone numbers as confidential as stipulated in Section 38 and 39 of the Nigeria Constitution.

According to him, it is the Cybercrime 2015 Act and other similar legislation of the commission that grant the government to the power to provide biodata of individuals through interception by security agencies.

He identified the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) as capable of providing such information when it involves security of lives and property.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami disclosed this on Tuesday at the launch of the Strategic Vision Plan 2021- 2025, organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Abuja.

The minister also noted that it is sometimes not easy to get the biodata or information on bandits because they use their victims' phones to call their families to demand ransom.

He said, “If somebody is kidnapped, it is not your right to write to NCC, the supervisory minister or ministry to request for the identity of the number. When something happens and a phone number is involved, your function is to transmit that number to security agencies like the police or DSS, go to them to state what happened and they know the procedure which they communicate to the NCC or technology agencies, it is their mandate to provide what is required.

“If we say that anybody can approach us for biodata of any SIM, definitely, it is going to be abused, it is because of this that it is only the security institutions that have the power to ask for that information."

“Today, criminals mount roadblocks on the highways and seize telephones from travellers, sometimes they use the phones to contact their relatives. When it is presented, you will discover that the information is of the kidnapped victims but not the kidnappers,” he added.

Pantami’s past call to Jihad and unalloyed support for murderous groups like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda portray him as a dyed-in-the-wool Islamic fundamentalist.

Yet, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed him as communications minister to control the country’s massive data and telephone infrastructure and other sensitive details of national intelligence.

The President also recently stood by the minister after his past support for terrorist groups became public knowledge.

"This jihad is an obligation for every single believer, especially in Nigeria,’’ Pantami said in one of his vicious preachings in the 2000s.
“Oh God, give victory to the Taliban and al-Qaeda (Allahumma’ nṣur Ṭālibān wa-tanẓīm al Qā‘ida).”

A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has dismissed a suit by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, seeking to stop the Rivers State Government from commencing collection of Value Added Tax, VAT.

FIRS in suit no FHC/PH/CS/149/2020 had approached the court seeking a Stay of Execution on the earlier judgement of the court that stopped FIRS from collecting VAT as it was constitutionally the role of state governments.

The FIRS had following the judgement against them sought the high court to stop the Rivers State Government from executing the judgement.

But, Justice Stephen Dalyop Pam, in his ruling Monday, said granting the application would negate the principle of equity.

Pam noted that in as much as the state government and the state legislature has enacted a law in respect of the VAT that courts were bound to obey laws.

He noted that the Rivers State Government and the State Assembly, has duly enacted Rivers State Value Added Tax No. 4, 2021, which makes it a legitimate right of the state to collect VAT.

The judge said law remained valid until it has been set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction, adding that the law enacted by the Rivers State legislature remained valid

Pam, however, said granting the prayers of FIRS would amount to committing murder, noting that the prayers cannot stand and dismissed same.

Earlier, Justice Pam had read a who presided read a letter that FIRS lawyers had served the court seeking for stay of any ruling on their application.

But, in the absence of any requisite document that ought to have been attached to the letter, the Judge dismissed the letter.

Meanwhile, the Counsel for Rivers State Government, Mark Agu, commended the court for standing for justice, noting that the state assembly had already made a standing law on VAT.

Agu disclosed that FIRS had approached the court with two prayers but that they withdrew the first prayer seeking for injunction and wanted the court to stay the execution of that judgement.

He said: “The first Defendant, FIRS, sent their appeal against the judgement of the Honourable court delivered wherein the court allowed the Rivers State Government to collect their VAT.

“Subsequently after the judgement Rivers State has its own law on that, the Rivers State Law on VAT No. 4, 2021. Having appealed, they were asking for an injunction and secondly asking for stay on the judgement.

“Today, the court has delivered its ruling dismissing the said application for stay, though, without cost.

“The court’s reasoning is that if it should grant stay it is more or less like overruling itself and the court is empowered to recognize all laws enacted by the national assembly or the state house of assembly, therefore the law stands as substantive.

“Therefore the issues of collection of VAT as it stands today Rivers State is still entitled to still collect.”

But, counsel for FIRS, Reuben Wanogho, expressed displeasure with the stand of the court, noting that FIRS would not hesitate to appeal the ruling.

Wanogho said: “The court has delivered its ruling on the bases of how it saw the facts of the case. We do not agree with the ruling and we will take all necessary steps to challenge it. That is why the appellate System is there.

“The appellate System is there to enable us ventilate out grievances if for any reasons the court makes a pronouncement me we do not agree with it.

“For sure we feel that the ruling should have gone in our favour but, the court has taken a position against us, so we will do the needful by taking it up immediately before the court of appeal.

“We will challenge it. And we are hopeful that at the court of appeal we should be able to find our way. The appeal system is there to correct errors.

“The natural consequences of the ruling is that the Rivers State Government will be collecting the VAT, but we will take steps to ensure that we amelioration situation as quickly as possible.”

Bush sex backfired for a Bulawayo headmaster after he was stabbed and robbed of a school truck and cash while romping with his lover in the vehicle.

ZimLive reports that, Vusumuzi Nkiwane, the headmaster of David Livingstone High School in Ntabazinduna, lost a US$50,000 worth Ford Ranger plus cash when two armed robbers pounced on them.

Inspector Abednico Ncube confirmed the incident which happened on 1 September in a wooded area near the United College of Education.

According to the police report, the two robbers who were armed with an axe and a knife caught Nkiwane and his lover getting intimate inside the car.

The robbers pounced on them and demanded cash and the car keys. However, the headmaster allegedly tried to resist their demands but was forced to hand over US$455 and R4,000 in cash and car keys after one of the robbers stabbed him once on the thigh.

After collecting the cash, the robbers forced the headmaster and his lover out of the car and drove away in the grey Ford Ranger owned by the Presbyterian-run school.

Speaking after the incident Inspector Ncube urged members of public to use lodges and hotels when they want to have leisure as it is very risky to go to the bush.

“These people could have used US$20 at a lodge than to lose a car which is estimated to cost US$48,000 and cash to robbers,” he said

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has proposed a fine of N200,000 for telecommunications companies that fail to verify and validate biometric, National Identity Number (NIN) and other personal information of subscribers.

This is contained in a proposed draft regulation on registration of telephone subscribers 2021 published on NCC’s website.

The federal government had asked Nigerians to enrol for NIN and link their unique number to the phone lines.

Since the announcement in 2020, an extension of the deadline for NIN registration and subscriber identity module (SIM) integration exercise has taken place at least six times.

January 19, 2021 was the initial deadline, but it was moved to February 9, April 6, May 6, June 30, July 26 and now October 31.

Section 19 of the draft document, NCC said mobile communications services providers must ensure that NINs are verified and validated before activation.

It said a penalty of N200,000 awaits those who breach the requirement.

A similar penalty has been proposed for telcos that fail to register subscribers with the central database as well as those who activate subscriptions without appropriate registration of such subscribers.

“Any licensee who fails to capture, or who preregisters, register, deregister or transmit the details of any individual or corporate subscribers to the Central Database as specified in these Regulations or as may be stipulated from time to time by the Commission is liable to a penalty of N200,000.00 for each subscription medium,” the draft reads.

“A licensee who activates any Subscription Medium without capturing, registering and transmitting the personal information to the Central Database commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine of N200,000.00 for each unregistered activated Subscription Medium.

“A Licensee who fails to verify and validate biometric, NIN and other personal information before activation is liable to a penalty of N200, 000 for each subscription medium in breach of these requirements.”

In October 2015, NCC slammed fines on all mobile phone operatorsslammed fines on all mobile phone operators over the non-compliance with SIM deactivation directive.

The regulator had said it fined Globacom N7.4 million, Etisalat (now 9mobile) N7 million, Airtel N3.8 million, and MTN N102.2 million.

MTN later got a fine of N1.04 trillion for not deactivating 5.1 million unregistered lines.

The fine was eventually reduced to N330 billion with a condition that MTN will list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) — a condition that has now been met by the telco.

MTN first paid N275 billion and completed the balance of N55 billion in May 2019.

Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States, Uzoma Emenike, says Nigerians should start projecting the Buhari administration in positive light rather than complaining about its economic and security challenges.

Ms Emenike said there’s nothing unique about what Nigerians are dealing with every day since “it happens everywhere”.

Ms Emenike was one of several ambassadors who spoke at the virtual 2021 annual general meeting organised by Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Americas (NIDOA).

“The earlier we showcase our country in the positive light, the better for us because the challenge we face is not peculiar to Nigeria alone; it happens everywhere,” She said.

Ms Emenike and other ambassadors in North America called on Nigerians in the diaspora to evolve practical solutions to the security challenges in Nigeria, stating that insecurity had become a global challenge that needed a holistic approach to address.

Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, asked for collective efforts to fix the country.

“The country (Nigeria) is important for all of us. We need to be united, we should not allow anybody coming from outside to divide us. Let us collectively fix whatever is bad in our security system. The issue of confidence-building is important.

“We have been saddled with self-doubt; listening to false stories about the country. We have to be realistic; Nigeria is a very important member of the international community, in AU and ECOWAS, so we need to portray the country in a good light,” he said.

Nigerian High Commissioner to Canada, Adeyinka Asekun, said the ongoing activities of bandits in some states were distracting Nigerians and the international community from focusing on the achievements in other sectors in Nigeria.

The keynote speaker, Kingsley Moghalu, said that the 1999 Constitution was clear on security and welfare of the people being the primary responsibility of any responsible government.

Speaking on the theme ‘Building a Sustainable Security Apparatus in Nigeria: Diaspora Perspective’, NIDOA chairman, Obed Monago, tasked the federal government to tackle security issues such as terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, among others.

The issue of banditry continues to overwhelm the President Muhammadu Buhari regime, as the U.S. offers to assist Nigeria to tackle bandits and the Boko Haram insurgency by providing training to personnel of the Nigerian airforce.