Omeiza Ajayi

Two groups which have been advocating for a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction, the Igbo Leadership Development Foundation and New Generation Leadership Development Foundation have called on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to shelve their presidential ambitions and support the South East in next year’s general election.

This was as the groups hailed the emergence of several Igbo sons on the political scene, seeking to take a shot at the presidency in 2023.

At a news conference Friday in Abuja, the groups encouraged other Igbo politicians to signify interests in their various political parties, but added that the race will not be complete without the involvement of a former Governor of Anambra state, Mr Peter Obi.

This was part of the text of a communique presented to the media son Friday and signed by Dr Godwin Udibe, Dr Law Mefor as well as Messrs Onyebuchi Obeta and Chike Afoekelu.

“We are further motivated and delighted that our vigorous campaign for Nigeria’s president of South East Extraction has inspired some eminent sons of South East divide to signify interest to contest for the office of the President of Nigeria in 2023.

“There is however a foremost South East son that is most conspicuously missing in the fray and he is the former governor of Anambra State and former vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2019 Presidential Election, His Excellency Mr. Peter Obi.

"We make bold to say that this race will not be complete without Peter Obi. Our twin organizations believe his personality fits the conditions which have been set for aspirants like a glove. You will recall that we gave the conditions at an earlier Press Conference”, the group’s noted.

They also urged the All Progressives Congress APC and the Peoples Democratic Party PDP go some their presidnetial ticket to the South East.

They said; “Nigeria is now at crossroads and needs a strong leader who has integrity, competence, national visibility and acceptability. Only the deep can call to the deep.

“We shall in due course endorse one candidate, post PDP and APC Conventions.

“May we also use this opportunity to appeal to the two leading political parties namely the PDP and the APC, to complete their actions on rotation by zoning their presidential tickets to South and particularly to the South East, the only zone yet to produce the President of Nigeria since 1999, and indeed since after the civil war.

“The PDP particularly needs not to be reminded that they wrote the principle of rotation of presidential power between North and South Nigeria into their Constitution since 2009 and must obey their own rule to avoid litigation. By the way, may we also inform you that ILDF has made good its threat to go to court on the issue of rotation of presidential power and we are in the Federal High Court with the political parties on this subject matter.

“We will not end without advising and appealing to his Excellency Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to forget his perennial presidential ambition and support the South East that have supported him. We extend the same appeal to His Excellency Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the Jagaban, and to any other aspirant from Southern part of the country, to also shelve their presidential ambition for the sake of southern solidarity and to support the South East that has always supported them…”

Donald Trump emerged from political exile Saturday to blast President Joe Biden and NATO over the Ukraine crisis and repeated his false claims of a stolen 2020 election in a speech to grassroots Republicans.

Speaking at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, the former president spent 86 minutes repeating many of his favorite applause lines, faulting the “radical left” and its “witch hunt” against him.

As massive explosions lit up the sky over Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, Trump blamed Russia’s invasion of its neighbor on Biden’s “weakness” and lavished praise on President Vladimir Putin’s intellect.

“As everyone understands, this horrific disaster would never have happened if our election was not rigged,” he said, to rapt applause.

NATO, he said, was “looking the opposite of smart” for hitting Russia with sanctions rather than resolving to “blow (Russia) to pieces — at least psychologically.”

“The problem is not that Putin is smart, which of course he’s smart,” he went on. “But the real problem is that our leaders are so dumb.”

After a year largely out of the public eye, Trump’s ecstatic reception left little doubt that the Republican Party remains in thrall to the twice-impeached, single-term president.

There were chants of “four more years” from the sea of supporters in red “Make America Great Again” hats, who clapped on cue as Trump railed against “woke tyranny” and “cancel culture.”

The crowd reserved their largest cheers for the 75-year-old headliner’s dismissal of Democrats’ claims to be the party of democracy as “bullshit” — and for his claim that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg “used to come to the White House and kiss my ass.”

There were nods to a possible 2024 run — “we did it twice and we’ll do it again,” he claimed, falsely recasting his 2020 defeat to Biden as a victory — although he left the crowd guessing about whether he will personally challenge Biden to a rematch.

– ‘Fight like hell’ -CPAC, the country’s largest conservative gathering, usually offers a valuable insight into the direction the Republicans plan to take over the coming months.

Trump had been expected to lay out a forward-looking “vision for America,” according to organizers, as the Republicans look to take back control of Congress in November’s midterm elections.

Instead he dwelt at length on his 2020 election loss and his false claims that he was robbed by widespread voter fraud, urging the crowd to “fight like hell” or face their country being destroyed.

It was similar to the rhetoric that inspired a mob of his supporters to storm the US Capitol on January 6 2021, for which he was punished with his second impeachment.

His remarks came as Russian rockets began pounding the outskirts of Kyiv in an escalating crisis that ended up emerging as a major topic of discussion at CPAC.

Trump called besieged President Volodymyr Zelensky “a brave man,” falsely claiming that the Ukrainian leader had exonerated him over the scandal that led to his first impeachment.

While he was president, Trump withheld vital military aid from the US ally as he tried unsuccessfully to pressure Zelensky into digging up political dirt on the Biden family ahead of the 2020 election.

“After spending four years selling out Ukraine, the defeated former president took the stage at CPAC to double down on his shameless praise for Putin as innocent Ukrainians shelter from bombs and missiles at the hands of Russia,” Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Adonna Biel said after the speech.

AFP

By Emmanuel Uzodinma


The Director-General of Voice of Nigeria, (DG, VON), Mr. Osita Okechukwu has joined millions of other Nigerians in commending President Muhammadu Buhari, members of the National Assembly and Civil Society Organizations for the profound assent to the Electoral Act amendment bill.
Okechukwu said the coming into force of the Electoral Act 2022 marked a significant turning point in Nigeria’s journey towards electoral reforms, reinforced democratic rights, higher voters’ turn out and consolidation of democracy.
In a statement made available to DAILY POST on Sunday, he stressed that by signing the bill into law, the President had given lovers of democracy “a booster shot of Vote-Rigging-Vaccine (VRV).”
He noted that “contrary to insinuations by naysayers, who like Joseph Goebbels of Nazi Germany, kept on telling the big lie and fake news that Buhari will not sign the bill and those who believed them, President has proved them wrong by endorsing the VRV, a crucial piece of electoral legislation.”
Okechukwu, who is also a founding member of All Progressives Congress (APC), said “through the strokes of his signature-pen on the bill, President Buhari has bequeathed to Nigerians an Electoral Act that empowers the deployment of the Smart Card Reader, Biometric Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and other technological devices for electoral fidelity.”
He stated: “By virtue of the Electoral Act 2022, the VRV offers electronic accreditation and electronic transmission of results. These voters empowerment machine combined to revolutionise free, fair and transparent elections in Nigeria. Electronic Transmission of result is the key element in the Act and will automatically boost voters turn out to 60% in future elections.
“Electronic Transmission (VRV) is the lofty milestone and indeed, comes as one of the progressive legacies of Mr President who, as a victim of vote-rigging has always craved for law instrument that contains progressive provisions to knock out thuggery during accreditation, voting and collation processes.
“By consolidating the power of votes to count and transparently so counted, President Buhari has finally empowered the people to come out in large numbers to choose their leaders without interference of the dreaded Money Bags.”
The DG VON expressed the hope that from henceforth, Nigerians would be less attracted by stomach infrastructure or vote buying and need not protest or demonstrate against misrule, maintaining that with the Vote-Rigging-Vaccine (VRV) strengthened by black ink of the law, Nigerians can now troop out to voting booths on Election Day with confidence that their votes would vote out bad leaders.
He said the battle between leaders and the led over accountability had shifted to the ballot box and that social contract had been strengthened to be honoured.

He urged Nigerians to always reflect on the remarks by President Buhari when he signed the bill, especially where the President said, “Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members of the National Assembly, from the review, it is my perspective that the substance of the Bill is both reformative and progressive.

"I am making this bold declaration, because I foresee the great potentials of the Bill. Worthy of note include the democratic efficacy of the Bill with particular reference to sections 3,9(2), 34, 41, 47, 84(9), (10) and (11) among others.”
According to Okechukwu, “Mr. President’s statement not only offers hope for a better democratic culture forever in our dear country, but also reinforces our long hope to become truly the giant of Africa.”

Okechukwu also appealed “to the INEC to put its acts together so as to give life to VRV- the ultimate instrument of Voters Empowerment and democratic resurgimento in Nigeria.”
For political parties, he cautioned them “to beware for Buhari’s VRV is a searchlight on their commitment to internal democracy and building of a united and inclusive country.”

Alhaji Buba Galadima wasNational Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), formed in the run-up to the 2011 general elections as a platform for President Muhammadu Buhari. He was an ally of Buhari before they fell apart. Last week, Galadima and others formed what many perceived as the Third Force that would counter things in the current political dispensation. In this interview, he answers questions on the new body and what his group is set to achieve.

You were part of a group that recently formed a Third Force. What are you set to achieve?

I want you members of the Press to differentiate between two things: One of them is the movement we launched recently. It is not the Third Force. It is a movement established to bring patriotic Nigerians together in order to fight for good governance, independence of the judiciary, good Electoral Act and a host of other things. It could have members of government; members of other political parties and even the Press can be members of this national movement. But we are also thinking of floating a Third Force political party and when we do that, we will bring five million people to Abuja for the world to see. So there is a difference between the two.

Are you saying it’s a movement now but you also want to make it a political party in future?

This is a movement and it will continue in future. I am the National Chairman of the Reformed All Progressives Congress, RAPC; Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso is a member of the PDP as we speak, Senator Hamza is a member of the Accord Party, Alkali is a member of the APC, Tanko Yakassai, Muhammadu Ali-Gwaska are party-less but they are coming out of their trenches at the age of 96 and 88 years, to partake in galvanizing Nigerians to fight for good governance; galvanizing good people to populate the political space. So, it is not a platform for party politics but the important thing to note is that all these noble ideas cannot be achieved without a political platform because you can only address these issues when you are in government and you cannot get into government without a political platform. So, eventually, those of us who are politicians will form the so-called Third Force that you are looking for or we may even have formed the Third Force but not rolled out for the public.

Are you still a member of the APC?

I am the Reformed All Progressives Congress, RAPC, National Chairman.

What informed the formation of the national movement? In other words, what is not right about the system that you want to correct?

What is not right is what some people feel in Nigeria of today. If they feel they are secure, so be it. If they feel that the system puts food on their table without stress, so be it. If they believe that they can go to any government hospital and get treatment that they can get in other parts of the world, let it be. If they feel that the dollar should be exchanged at N1, 000, let it be. If they think that they don’t have to take their children to private schools, that government schools are good, so be it, that is democracy but we believe that all the things I enumerated are negative and ought to be addressed.

We have had similar movements from different quarters in the past but they never succeeded. One of them is the National Elders Forum; it was made up of elderly elites but they never made any difference, and nobody listened to them…

You know that those are not political platforms. I thought you were asking me of the Third Force, why we contemplated the Third Force; what is it that is wrong today that we want to rectify? So, it has nothing to do with this national movement. The national movement is only to galvanize people at least to act in making Nigeria better, making our electoral system better, making the government to sit up and live up to its responsibilities, to address security, economy etc.

We have so many political issues though your movement is not a political party. You said you are the National Chairman of Reformed APC, when did you form that and has it been registered?

Doesn’t the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria allow free assembly and free speech and formation of bodies? But you cannot run for political office without being registered by INEC. We are not registered with INEC but we can assemble and form bodies and we can have leadership.

Yes, but you cannot achieve anything if you are not registered

It’s not for you to say, it’s for Nigerians to say. This is your opinion. And you may be right or wrong in your opinion.

So, what do you intend to achieve with the RAPC? What is wrong with the APC?

I have already enumerated the things that are wrong. If you are satisfied with what they are doing and the way things are, so be it; that is your opinion, but we are not satisfied. That is why we want to bring an alternative,

APC is addressing itself. After so much dragging up and down, APC has been able to fix a date for their National Convention; what do you think of that?

Well, they fixed a date for their national consensus, not convention. The convention is only to bring them together to announce the names and shout Aye and they walk away and say the Ayes have it. APC is set to do everything by consensus and that is not democracy.

Do you think coming together to just announce the names of the chosen candidates will work?

I am making a prophecy. Have I ever made any prophecy since you began interviewing me that did not come to pass? This one will also happen as I have said but that is going to be the beginning of the end of the APC. I can tell you. APC will collapse under its own weight.

What is your view on power shift to the South?

Which one is power shift to the South? For how long have we been in this democracy? Since 1999 and by 2023, that will be 24 years. That means by 2023, we would have been in a democracy for 24 continuous years. In the 24 years, how many years did the North rule and how many years did the South rule? When Buhari finishes his term, the North would have ruled for nine and a half years out of the 24 years and the South would have ruled for 14 and a half years.

So, are you saying that you are not in support of power shifting to the South?

That is not what I am saying because I don’t believe in primordial things. What I believe is that the best man for the job should be voted for. It doesn’t matter whether he comes from Igbo, Hausa, Nupe, Tiv, Kanuri, Fulani, or Yoruba; we need a man with a large heart that will accommodate all Nigerians; a man with a vision that will take Nigeria to Olympian heights, a man with a pedigree of performance. We will ask those who want to be President, to tell us what they have done while they were in public office. It is no more a trial and error season because we have tried tribe, it didn’t work; we tried section, it didn’t work, so why don’t we try what we know?

Try what we know like?

Like performance. Let the man tell us what he has done while holding public office. That is what the media should be doing, not dividing us like zoning and using primordial sentiments. If Nigeria is good for us all, a dollar is equivalent to one naira, you can walk into the filling station and buy fuel, you can go to the market with N100 and buy what you can eat, what does it matter where the President comes from? After all, Buhari is from Katsina, have you asked the Katsina people whether they are happy with the way he is handling the country? If Ojukwu comes back and gives Katsina people security, wouldn’t you think they will vote for him? What is good for Nigeria now is not trial and error, we must look for somebody who has performed, who has a vision.

The parties are positioning themselves for 2023 elections and they are engulfed in internal crises. APC is dillydallying, PDP is also dillydallying about doing certain things they need to do like congresses before the election and then there’s the problem of signing the Electoral Act by the President. Someone from the Presidency said that the President will sign the Electoral Act in a matter of hours.

What he did not tell you is that he will sign it in a matter of hours but with a proviso which means he will sign the Electoral Act in a matter of hours and give you with one hand and take it away with another hand. He doesn’t want to be accused of refusing to sign, so he will sign but he will take amendments back to the National Assembly so that all the gains that were made would be reversed, so we are not yet out of the woods. He still has some reservations. The PDP and APC are not political parties; they would collapse under their own weight of injustice. Now the President is picking who is going to be the Chairman of the party, who is going to be the deputy and who is going to be the Secretary; is that what the Constitution of the APC says or the Constitution of Nigeria says that one man should give them who will lead the party?

They said consensus candidates and that is what seems to be playing out…

That is why I said they will collapse under their own weight of injustice. So, when we bring a Third Force, don’t you think that people like you will join? Even journalists could join.

There are many strong personalities from the South who are showing interest in contesting the 2023 presidential election…

Let them put on the table what they were able to do while in public office. You can’t sit in your home and think that they will bring Nigerian presidency and give you because you are from the South or you are from the North, you are Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba, you have to work for it. I want to say again that we have tried religion, it did not work, we tried tribe, it didn’t work, we tried section, it didn’t work, why don’t we try competence, vision and foresight?

With the way things are going, some people are saying that they may shift election dates. Do you believe that?

Let them put it on the table; we will deal with the situation when it comes. Let the person come and say it.

https://www-vanguardngr-com.cdn.ampproject.org/wp/s/www.vanguardngr.com/2022/02/the-galadima-bombshell-apc-pdp-will-collapse-under-weight-of-injustice/amp/?usqp=mq331AQKKAFQArABIIACAw%3D%3D

By Ifreke Inyang


The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has said that he needs more strength psychologically than physically, to be president in 2023.


He stated this when he visited the palace of the Ataoja of Osogbo, Jimoh Olanipekun, to inform him of his political ambition on Friday.

There have been concerns from observers over Tinubu’s health status, following his recent medical trip to the United Kingdom.

However, Tinubu said: “I am not applying for the job of bricklaying or grave digging. I went to school to study accountancy and management.

“I am applying for a thinking job and I will do it right. The job I want to do is for Nigeria to be greater and to be proud of itself.”

In his remarks, the Ataoja of Osogbo said Tinubu has the capacity to be Nigeria’s president, and prayed that God would grant his heart’s desires.

From Uche Usim

Contrary to wide belief that the rising crude oil prices at the international market translates to higher income for the federal government, the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, has stated that Nigeria cannot celebrate because the anticipated gains have been eroded by its inability to meet the oil production quota assigned by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

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The Minister, at a press briefing to announce the forthcoming Nigeria International Energy Summit in Abuja, said: “It is always not something to celebrate because when prices go high it means that there other competing production that will also start revving up, for instance, the shale producers in America will now find it profitable.

“Whereas if the prices are at a certain level, it will not be profitable for them to produce their shale. So once oil prices go up to a certain point, you are encouraging a lot of production that would otherwise not be in the market.

“So, we are not happy when prices go up to a certain level. We believe that prices should be at a certain point which would be optimal for us, but suboptimal for the shale producers. That is why we like to have that balance.

“In Nigeria right now, we are a net importer of petroleum products and when the prices of crude oil goes up it also affects the prices of petroleum products.

“So, for us who are the net importers, it is also not very good for us. What we are saying is that if you are going to produce more and you get more dollars from your production, then it gives you more money for your imports.

But if you are now producing less and then you still have to make sure that the Nigerian market is supplied fully with petroleum products, then you will see that there will be a shortfall.

“That is why we would like to have our production now to be at the point where we will be getting enough, but at this point, our production is not very optimal. So at the end of the day we are not necessarily making a lot of gains”, the Minister explained.

He revealed that plans were afoot to grow Nigeria’s crude oil production in the interest of the nation’s economy.

OPEC raised Nigeria’s oil production target for March 2022 to 1.718 million barrels per day, indicating from the 1.701 million barrels per day target that was approved for Nigeria in February.

Brent, the crude against which Nigeria’s oil is benchmarked, sold for $103/barrel on Thursday, a leap recorded for the first time since 2014 following the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces which heightened anxiety in the global energy space.


Brent, the crude against which Nigeria’s oil is benchmarked, sold for $103/barrel on Thursday, a leap recorded for the first time since 2014 following the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces which heightened anxiety in the global energy space.

Meanwhile, Nigeria missed its crude oil output target for January 2022, pumping 1.46 million barrels per day against a target of 1.683 million bpd as approved by OPEC.

The General Overseer of the Omega Fire Ministries International, Apostle Johnson Suleman, has called for prayers for Ukraine which has been invaded by Russian forces.

In a video on his verified Facebook page, Apostle Suleman said, “We are going to command that war to cease, we are not negotiating.”

The clergyman mentioned that the target of the war is not Ukraine but he won’t mention the target so patriots of certain countries won’t start to panic.

He said, “Those who do not understand warfare are the ones worried about physical things. Every physical happening has a spiritual undertone.

“We are going to pray to the Lord to intervene, because what the enemy is intending… I’m not going to talk about that. Ukraine is not the target but I won’t talk about that so those living in certain countries won’t get afraid.”

Apostle Suleman stated that there’s no justification for what is being done to Ukraine, adding that “it is a premeditated thing that is being done to them.”

“We are praying for them, not just Ukraine, we are praying for Russia that God Almighty will intervene for the war to cease.

“When people become zealous towards destroying, it is not God, not the Holy Spirit (involved) but a demon. So don’t bother about the activities of the demon, stop the demon,” he said.

He said he has been praying for days over the situation, adding that it is an insult to believers that such is going on while they are on earth.

“That we are alive and this is going on is an insult to our existence as believers,” he said.

The clergyman then went on his knees to pray in front of a projector screen showing the map of Ukraine and Russia.

By Don Silas


Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has warned that Nigeria is better off together and in unity than in fragments and pieces.

He spoke on Thursday at the launch of his book entitled: ‘Unfinished Greatness: Envisioning a New Nigeria’ in Abuja.

Fayemi said that despite the present difficulties Nigerians are facing, the nation would surely fulfill her destiny and do so as a united country built on justice, freedom, equity, and the rule of law.

According to him, this is the national agenda of our times, adding that everyone should partake in it for the national rebirth.

Fayemi said, “It is not easy not to be overwhelmed by the outpouring of goodwill and encouragement that has been so generously extended to me at home and abroad on the occasion of the public presentation of Unfinished Greatness: Envisioning a New Nigeria. In part, your presence here today in numbers and from all walks of life, and the online participation by numerous other compatriots and friends is a direct testament to the fact that despite the difficulties we face as a country, the Nigerian idea and ideal remain strong and indestructible. And that is really the essence of what I have devoted a good part of my life and career to an unshakable faith in the fact that we are better off together and in unity than in fragments and pieces.


“State- and nation-building all over the world have been and remain a permanent work in progress. Although some countries may enjoy a long span of relative tranquility, the historical fact also needs always to be remembered and restated that stability and progress require the deployment of a deliberate effort by citizens and those entrusted with leadership to advance the national agenda regardless of challenges. Even at that, there are no pre-ordained guarantees of success at all times; every country goes through high and low moments in its historical journey.

When countries experience their high moments, it is incumbent on leaders to capture the opportunities that are offered to advance the frontiers of the national agenda. When, as is inevitable, bad days come, leadership must assume the responsibility for keeping the ideals of the national agenda high on the radar, provide citizens with a genuine basis for hope that better days lie ahead, and courageously undertake whatever reforms that are required by the times and for the achievement of the better days.

Over the last few years, as our beloved country has been buffeted on all sides by a myriad of problems, I have, like many of you here present and online, experienced discomfort at the ease with which cheap and populist options which, yesterday, may have been laughed off as fringe ideas have gained in influence as to become mainstream. In the meantime, those who have held on to the goal of Nigerian oneness and unity have found themselves pushed to the margins and placed on the defensive.


“Matters have not been helped by the inflammatory partisanship which many in leadership positions have adopted in part to score points against opponents but also in order to be recognised by their communities as truly representing their concerns. Too many seem to have forgotten that leaders should lead and not simply reproduce the base sentiments and narrow perspectives they encounter on the hustings. Leading means understanding the local concerns that are exercising the minds of our constituents, placing these in a wider context which, as leaders, we are uniquely positioned to see and formulate approaches that provide a meaningful and responsible way forward.

I want to be clear. We are faced with a conjuncture of complex and uncommon challenges which must be confronted openly, head-on, and purposefully, rather than being denied, swept under the carpet, or simply wished away. In courageously admitting to and seeking ways to redress the challenges, however, it is important to remember that we come from somewhere, and in the journey we embarked upon as a country, we have scored some wins and a web of interdependencies bind us ever closer together. This reality should serve to condition and modulate our responses to the real challenges we face not with a view to throwing the baby out with the bathwater but in a determined effort to filter the bathwater so that it is purged of the impurities that could cause discomfort to the baby.

A policeman, Sergeant Adeleke Ogunsola, has died after being hit by an unnamed driver of a former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the incident happened on Saturday at Daniel’s Asoludero residence at Sagamu, Ogun State.

Our correspondent learnt that Ogunsola was one of the policemen posted to the house for security purposes.

The accident reportedly occurred while the cop was opening the gate for Daniel’s driver.

The former governor was, however, not in the car when the incident happened.

A source told our correspondent that the gate suddenly ‘bounced back’ while it was being opened by the sergeant and he was knocked down by the driver.

The policeman was thereafter rushed to a hospital where he died.

Police sources, who spoke to our correspondent, expressed outrage at the death, saying the state command was plotting to sweep the incident under the carpet.

The cops, who did not want to be identified, expressed sadness that Ogunsola was turned to a gatekeeper at the house.

According to them, another officer was once ‘sent out’ of the building over his refusal to be reduced to a gatekeeper in police uniform.

“Why will an armed policeman be the one opening the gate? Why will politicians turn the police to their slaves? When an officer refused to be used as a gateman in the house, they called the DPO that he should change him and he was redeployed.

“A policeman bearing arms will be asked to open the gate; drivers, civilians and Daniel himself will be telling officers to open the gate. If there is a gatekeeper in that house, this will not happen. This was a man who left his home for work on Saturday, but he died in a mysterious circumstance.

“It is unfortunate that our bosses are not speaking the truth because of what they want to eat. Imagine, officers posted to Gbenga Daniel’s residence are paid N2,500 weekly. Now, that guy has died. What will he give to his family that will replicate the life of that officer? We are tired of this job,” a police officer said.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident, describing it as an accident that could “happen to anybody.”

Asked if it was appropriate for a policeman to be opening the gate in a civilian’s house, Oyeyemi said, “Well, we don’t know the circumstances that led to his opening the gate. We were not with him on duty. It maybe that the gate is of two arms, somebody will open the first arm, another person opens the other. It’s possible. If he’s not armed as of the time, he could help in opening the gate. But we were not there with him. We don’t know the circumstances that led to him opening the gate.”

The former governor, Daniel, in a statement by his media office on Monday, said the incident was under investigation.

The statement read in part, “On Saturday, February 19, 2022, one of the security details assigned to the residence of former Governor Gbenga Daniel, Leke Ogunsola, was involved in an accident at the security gate of the premises. He was immediately taken to a hospital, and then referred to Babcock Hospital in Ilishan.

“He was alive and responding as he walked his way to treatment all through until he, unfortunately, passed on later in the day.

“The former governor, who was not in Sagamu as of the time of the incident, was duly informed and he has been in touch with the deceased’s family through the police authorities.”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/punchng.com/cops-angry-as-sergeant-dies-while-opening-gate-for-ex-gov-daniels-driver/%3famp

By Wale Odunsi

Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to initiate new strategic approach to save Nigeria’s economy.

The traditional leader made the call on Tuesday during the 2022 edition of Grandmothers’ Festival in Epe.

Adamns criticized the Buhari administration policies that had reduced the nation to surviving on foreign loans.

He warned that dependence on borrowings would make Nigeria a perpetual debtor and cause problems for future generations.

Nigeria’s economy is dwindling; in a state of comatose. Nothing is working. There is an urgent need for the Federal Government to salvage the economic doldrum.

“Nigeria has been surviving on foreign loans and the economic hardship is hitting hard on ordinary citizens.

“The recent scarcity and increase in the prices of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) can only make things worse.”

Adams stated that the sudden increase in the cost of flight tickets would affect the people adversely.

Economy flight tickets which sold for between 25,000 and 35,000 hitherto have been jerked up to N50,000.

Domestic operators listed high cost of jet A1 fuel, forex scarcity, double digit inflation, increase in ground handling charges, cost of buying and spare parts as the causes.

Adams said the increment came when more people are avoiding road travels due to insecurity.

Apart from the aviation sector, other sectors of the Nigerian economy are suffering.

“The huge increase in import duty tariff for imported vehicles are taking a heavy toll on businesses and the cost of goods and services.

“It is very important for President Muhammadu Buhari to take a drastic step that can help salvage the economy”, he noted.

By Friday Olokor


Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, refused to order the Federal Government to release the detained Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, from the custody of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

Rather, the judge ordered that Kyari should put the Federal Government on notice of the existence of the suit he instituted against it.

The suspended cop had dragged the Federal Government before the court challenging his continued detention by the NDLEA.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/182/22, Kyari, who is being held by the NDLEA over his alleged involvement in a drug deal, sought an order of the court to immediately release him and asked to be admitted to bail in liberal conditions.

In an ex parte application argued by his counsel, Cynthia Ikena, Kyari claimed to be suffering from chronic diabetes threatening his life and, therefore, needed urgent medical attention.

Justice Ekwo, in his brief ruling, declined to order his immediate release, but ordered him to put the respondent on notice.

The judge also ordered him to go and serve all processes he filed on the Federal GovernmentGovernment.

Justice Ekwo held that all the averments and allegations made against the Federal Government were so weighty that the court must give the government the opportunity to hear from it before taking any step.

He fixed Thursday for the parties to appear before him.

The Bole Police Command in the Savannah Region has rounded up 11 Nigerians suspected of cyber fraud during two separate operations.
Bole District is one of the seven districts in Savannah Region, Ghana.

The first operation involved nine suspects, who were arrested around Bole township. They had some electronic gadgets in their position, Joy Online reports.
They include Kelechi Chukwudoluwe, 30, Ibeneme Precious, 20, Nelson Chinedu and Emmanuel Ifanyi Chukwu, 23.
The rest are Chukwu Eneke George, aged 19, Chibuzor Nweke and Mmaduabuchi Miracle, 20, Peter Eboh, 23, and Kwukwe Makachi, 30.
According to the Bole Police Command, a search conducted in their room led to the retrieval of 11 laptops and 13 mobile phones.
At Sawaba, a suburb of Bole, Police also arrested suspects, Joshua Wuneh, 24, Ugwu John, 21, and Samuel Chibueze, 25.
Some laptops and mobile phones were found in their possession. The team further found CFA2000, N1500, two Airtel Sim cards, one modem, two earphones, and a wallet containing GH¢25.

The suspects are in Police custody assisting with investigations.

yanabasee:



Lots of lecturers are sadists and also takes bribe... a lot of them will purposefully set difficult questions for students to fail so they would come and sort for credits...


Likewise police, they will twist situations around to have you pay for a crime you never committed....


Note that it's not all lecturers that indulge in this act, same way it isn't all police officers that are corrupt.

Ok. Thanks

Buliwyf:


You already know these liars. They will never give any verifiable information. Only wild claims. So a Pakistani boy managed to convert every single member of his tribe barring none. You mean not even one person disagreed or doubted him?

Christians are always lying. This is not different from those fake miracles we read about on Facebook that happened in some random Muslim village with no name.

.

Fake News!!

This is obviously a fake news concocted by FMI to get more donations from their sheeples.

This is one of the strategies pastors use in confusing their followers inorder to earn more money from them.

yanabasee:
There's no much difference between a police officer and a lecturer.

Shoo!! Pls explain because one is a uniform man with a gun and the other a civilian with a pen

By Grace Edema

The Vice-Chancellor, Lagos State University, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, speaks to GRACE EDEMA and GODFREY GEORGE about her career, family and new role as VC

Aside from being an academic, you are also a preacher. Are you still the Area Pastor in charge of the Testimony Chapel, Redeemed Christian Church of God?

Well, I have been promoted to a Zonal Pastor. I am now in charge of two areas of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Zone 9, Lagos Province 1. They are the City of David Area and Testimony Chapel Area.

You actually hold a postgraduate diploma in Theology. What really fascinates you about being a preacher?

At the time I did the postgraduate diploma in Theology in 2000, I did not plan to be a preacher. I did not even plan to be a pastor. I was just someone that was thirsty for the word (of God) and I needed to know more about the Bible. I had some free time so I used it to do evening classes to know more about the Bible. It was at the end of that the church then called us ‘ministers’. I did not plan for it. Mine was just a thirst for the word of God.

Now that you are a pastor, is there a meeting point somewhere between being an academic and a preacher?

Being an academic and preacher have a meeting point. It is like you are delivering a lecture when you are preaching. You prepare for it as you prepare for your lecture and you also impart knowledge (to the congregation) just the same way you do so in school to your students. You would have to teach the audience more about the word of God and about Jesus Christ and how to behave and live a sin-free life.


Is being a lecturer something you’ve always loved from childhood?

(Laughs) I never wanted to be a lecturer. When I was a child, in my primary school days, I wanted to be a policewoman (laughs). Up till now, some people still call me ‘Sisi Olopa’ (police lady). Fate brought me to physiology, and when I came into physiology – which was by providence because I was never admitted for the course but was admitted for pharmacology – I had to make do with what I had. Immediately I was admitted, I knew it would be until I got a PhD in physiology that I can make something out of it. I made a promise to myself that I must do something tangible with the degree. I was determined from day one to make the best out of physiology and to be the best.

I really loved endocrinology, which is also my specialty. I also loved reproduction a lot too. In that aspect, I specialise in the thyroid glands and in the pancreas. I am a specialist in thyroid function and also a specialist in diabetes.

What kind of people are your parents and what kind of upbringing did you have?

My parents are God-fearing people. They are really loving (people) and they always take care of the family. My mother was a full-time housewife because my dad insisted that she must not work. He told her that he would take care of her and would provide everything for her. So, she was at home taking care of the children and making sure that everybody was fine. But that is not the life that I wanted to live. My mother was taking care of us while my dad worked as a contractor and engineer. He worked with the Federal Government. He was well-known and well-respected in society. His name is Chief Meshach Ibidapo from Owo. He built very big buildings for the Federal Government and he was one of those who originally constructed the Ibadan axis of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. So, we could say he was a ‘big man’. He was also a disciplinarian. He was a loving father, who also had a very special way of taking care of the female children. He preserved us and was always giving us what we wanted because he didn’t want us to go asking any man for anything. Anything we requested, he gave us. Even when we were in the university then, he gave us (his female children) cars. He was just too protective of us and we loved him for it. Looking back at that now, I would say it paid off.

My mom’s decision of being a housewife was not an entirely bad decision. I would say it paid off too. She took care of us, but I wouldn’t say she really satisfied herself. Was she fulfilled doing that? She was an entrepreneur and contractor also at that time. She was supplying food items to the likes of UTC, Kingsway and AG Leventis. She told us (children) that she was also a hairdresser but my father said he didn’t want anything of that sort. He just wanted her to stay at home.

You’ve reached the height of your career as an academic, having become the VC of the prestigious LASU. Have you always seen it coming?

Of course, yes. I saw it, that was why I was determined. You know when you see the vision, you would want to run with it. I ran with it and was determined to achieve it. So, I would say I saw it coming.

Of course, the intrigues that preceded your becoming the VC are well-known. What were your major takeaways from the process?

The process taught me never to give up and to be determined and focused. Never lose focus on your goal. Those intrigues were distractions to me and we were determined and didn’t give up.

By Golu Timothy

Self medication or treatment is what people do to cope with stress, anxiety and general life’s difficulties especially when these vices tends to overwhelm them. It refers to the use of drugs (rightly or wrongly) to treat self diagnosed disorders or symptoms. Even though there are good aspects of self treatment , the bad aspects are more. Appropriate or good self medication can save scarce resources from huge expenditure on minor ailments, and address some emergency situations, but can be dangerous and fatal when it becomes a culture and an addiction. They are normally done to solve mild symptoms and ease access to non prescribed medications.

Some persons have become addicted to alcohol, drugs, snuff, cigarettes, etc to address worsening mood disorders because these products momentarily or temporarily decompress anxiety and stress, and gives deceptive feelings of satisfaction, but gradually built up side effects that are life threatening because they built resistance to microorganisms in the body.

People should stop buying non prescribed drugs over the counter, except in an emergency under which strict adherence to label instructions must follow. Read the labels well.

The alarming rate at which people slump and die these days is very disturbing and worrisome. People of all ages face different types of sicknesses and health conditions without knowing it yet, prefer assuming the conditions. Instead of getting to know the facts of their situations before competent medication and treatment, they predict their situations. Such self treatments have led to more several more health problems.

Most times, when people die without any prior sickness or ailment ,the cause is ascribed to witches and wizards while it could be high blood pressure or another ailment, but because the specific health condition is not known, speculative treatments and therapies are administered which worsens the cases and maimed or creates permanent incapacitations.

Even though not a medical expert or health worker of any kind, I have remained very sensitive and conscious of health situations around which are ravaging our people and communities today. Public awareness is very low and in most cases, lacking in our communities. Many people resort to self help to cure themselves of various ailments while some who go to the hospitals merely to know the state of their health conditions then resort to orthodox treatments.

Sometimes those who do so do it due to financial constrains as they can not pay for the high medical costs in hospitals. But others believe more in such traditional medicines than the conventional medicare.

Self treatments are dangerous because most times diagnosis are incorrect leading to delays in seeking suitable medical advice which culminates in severe adverse reactions because of dangerous drug interactions. It also leads to the masking of severe diseases that are hidden. Drugs or medicines get into the human body and are quickly absorbed into the system and goes round depending on how receptive they are to the body. Self medication might seem right at first and attractive, but its long side effects could be fatal.

Because of the absence of any public health care enlightenment, people don’t know or know less of what to do when in health distress. Governments at all levels are not doing enough to provide the basic needed health information to people, thereby making them to seek refuge anywhere possible. The only time government or health workers are forced or made to sensitise the public is when there is an emergency. I recall the periods of the outbreak of Lassa Fever, Hiv/ Aids, Ebola, Wild Polio Virus, Corona Virus and so on. Governments were sleepless, moving helter skelter to find a solution and in some cases, it ends as soon as the issue is brought down. No sensitization or enlightenment as to what to do and where to run to in case of reoccurrence.

Many people I know have died as a result of wrong administration of therapies on themselves by themselves and sometimes by health workers and other health practitioners. Some of the health workers manning our medical facilities are not qualified to be trusted. That accounts for a number of cases and also patients who resort to traditional medical practice because of trust. This is because many have committed avoidable professional errors that have led to loss of lives or permanent disabilities in many others. It is a serious situation that deserves serious attention by governments and the people themselves. People should and must be discouraged from self prescription of drugs and at the time, pharmacists should stop giving drugs or vaccines to patients without Doctors referals. Doing so , as obtained in developed medical climes, is the only way to reduce avoidable deaths in our communities.

At a point my father was wrongly diagnosed and administered wrong drugs in the village and for two weeks he could not ease himself. His whole stomach became highly inflamed and he moves around with excess weight. So much drugs were given to him without proper diagnosis and when the situation was not abating, he sought to go to a better hospital in the city centre. It was at this level that malaria was discovered instead of the typhoid fever that was erroneously classified. The drugs had to be flushed from his system after about a week before he regained his health.

It will be very nice if political and democratic structures are used in creating awareness against medical self-help. People must be told to do the right thing. People must be told the inherent dangers of taking drugs without a Doctor’s prescription. This will go along way in helping sick people get better and proper treatment.

Good self medications include regular exercises, good or appropriate food,etc. Our physical conditions can adversely affects our emotions. We must watch what we eat and drink. We must also watch what we hear and say, believe and do. You are what you eat,drink,say or think. Daily attachment with God(prayers, meditation and reading the holy books) is also an appropriate self treatment therapy that helps. Lets be wise to protect and guard diligently our God given heritage for the enjoyment of long life in prosperity.

By Ameh Ejekwonyilo and Kunle Sanni

Court document reveals ‘army general’ behind N10.9billion assets seized by EFCC
The court document obtained by PREMIUM TIMES removes the confusing attribution of the N10.9 billion worth of assets to an unnamed “top military officer”.

A court document has directly linked the recently seized N10.9 billion worth of assets to the suspected “unlawful activities” of a deceased army general, Aminu Kano Maude.

‘The court document obtained by PREMIUM TIMES removes the confusing attribution of the assets to an unnamed “top military officer” in the two statements the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has since issued on the forfeiture of the properties.

In what has been criticised as the EFCC’s undue concealment of the identity of the actual person behind the acquisition of the assets the commission had said in a statement on Monday that they were seized from “a top military officer”.

Without providing the name of the top military officer, the statement added that the assets were being “controlled through proxies including the late General Aminu Maude, and companies such as Atlasfield Integrated Services Nigeria Limited, Marhaba Events Place, Aflac Plastics and Atlasfield Gas Plant Limited.”

The anti-graft agency’s follow-up statement on the following day – February 15 – completely excluded Mr Maude’s name while maintaining that the assets were being “held by fronts and proxies to a top military officer”.

The second statement which provided a list of 24 assets covered by the final forfeiture order obtained by the commission from the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, also raised the worth of the assets up from the about N3 billion indicated in the previous statement to N10.9 billion.

But both statements signed by the commission’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, diverted attention away from Mr Maude as the central figure in the alleged fraudulent acquisition of the assets.

A copy of the earlier order issued by the Federal High Court judge, Nkeoye Maha, on May 13, 2020, for an interim forfeiture of the assets, however, explicitly linked the assets to Mr Maude’s suspected unlawful activity.

The court order with the same title as provided by the EFCC in its application for the interim forfeiture order, says, ‘In the matter of the ex-parte application by the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for interim forfeiture of order in respect of some assets situate in different parts of Nigeria suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity traced to on General Maude Aminu Kano (rtd) (a public officer) and his proxies both bodies and individuals”.

The judge, in the court order went on to direct the EFCC to advertise the interim forfeiture order in This Day, Punch, Nation, Guardian Daily Trust or Leadership newspapers.

She order invited any person with justifiable grounds to oppose the issuance of an order for the final forfeiture of the assets to the federal government to appear in court to show cause.

Ms Maha also ordered the EFCC to file a certificate of compliance concerning the advertisement of the interim order not later than seven days.

On February 14, EFCC announced in a statement that the court had issued an order of final forfeiture of the 24 assets valued at N10.9 billion.

The list of the forfeited properties contained landed properties located in different parts of Kano, Katsina, Calabar (Cross River State) and Kaduna.

Among them are nine filling stations scattered in Kano with a total of 300 pumps.

They also included filling stations, Event Centres, Plazas, Block Industries, Truck Assembly Plant, Polythene Production factory and table water factory.

Mr Maude, who hailed from Kano, served in the army finance corps and died in November 2019.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/512474-court-document-reveals-army-general-behind-n10-9billion-assets-seized-by-efcc.html

By Guardian Nigeria


They turned up in a mob of several hundred at a migrant centre in South Africa’s Soweto township — unemployed, wielding weapons and angry with foreigners they accuse of taking their jobs.

“Foreigners, go home,” they cried, according to witnesses.

With unemployment at 35 percent — and rising up to 65 percent among youth — competition for jobs has spawned resentment among some jobless South Africans.

In the past, xenophobic protests have morphed into violence. Attacks against foreigners left at least 62 people dead in 2008, while another seven were killed in similar unrest in 2015.

Armed mobs descended on foreign-owned businesses around the financial hub Johannesburg in 2019. The ensuing clashes left at least 12 people dead, of whom 10 were South African, according to the government.

In recent weeks, scores of protesters have been staging demonstrations against undocumented migrants in what they have dubbed Operation Dudula, Zulu for “drive back”.

‘Stealing jobs’
At the Methodist migrant community centre in Soweto, where about 100 migrant families live, there had been rumours of an attack.

A horde arrived earlier this month — some wielding traditional Zulu leather whips — at the centre in South Africa’s most famous township, located south of Johannesburg.

“Foreign nationals are stealing jobs that belong to South Africans,” protesters said, according to witnesses.

Sithulisiwe Chinora, a 22-year-old Zimbabwean, recounted how she started shaking violently, her infant wrapped on her back.

“I thought I was going to die that day,” she said.

Father Paul Verryn, who founded the centre, says it is clear who the protesters were.

“They are xenophobic activists, they clearly targeted foreign nationals because they want them out,” said the minister, who is famous for having opened a church in Johannesburg to thousands of undocumented Zimbabweans after the first anti-immigration attacks.

But the Operation Dudula movement says it is pacifist.

Its leader Nhlanhla Lux Dlamini, a man in his thirties from Soweto who often dresses in a military uniform and bullet-proof vest, says he is simply seeking to “restore law and order”.

“The law enforcement is failing us,” he has told reporters.

Foreign worker quota?
Last weekend, Dlamini led a protest outside a supermarket demanding the sacking of foreign workers employed there.

“There is (nothing) xenophobic about that, it’s the law,” he told journalists. “Any job that doesn’t require skill in South Africa belongs to South Africans.”

Around 3.9 million foreigners live in South Africa, a country of almost 60 million, including political refugees, according to official statistics.

Human Rights Watch says foreigners are often made scapegoats in a country with one of the world’s most unequal societies.

Jay Naidoo, a founding member of the Cosatu workers’ union, said anti-immigrant arguments did not hold up.

“Even if they were to expel all the immigrants, our level of crime would not drop, neither our level of joblessness,” he said.

So far, the latest demonstrations have not spiralled into violence.

A police source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said law enforcement was keeping an eye on the demonstrations.

But “the right to protest is enshrined in the country’s constitution and so far, they haven’t committed any action that required the police to enforce the law,” the source said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday the authorities were closely watching “pockets of groupings that are trying to foment a type of negative attitudes” towards foreigners.

At the start of the month, the government said it was working on a law to install a quota for foreign workers in South African companies.

By Chukwudi Akasike, Raphael Ede and Sunday Nwakanma

Efforts by the South-East to produce the next president may hit the rock as some of the aspirants from the region have vowed not to step down for one another.

This is as the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, warned that any presidential aspirant from the South-East who refused to step down and support a common candidate from the region would fail.

Some of contenders for the presidency from the South-East are Anyim Pius Anyim and Dave Umahi (Ebonyi State), Peter Obi and Kingsley Muoghalu (Anambra State), Orji Uzor Kalu and Sam Ohuabunwa (Abia State), Rochas Okorocha (Imo State), Chris Baywood of Baywood Foundation (Enugu) and others expected to make their intention known in the coming days.

While Kalu, Umahi and Okorocha are members of the ruling All Progressives Congress, the likes of Anyim, Ohuabunwa and Obi are in the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party.

It is not clear on which platform Muoghalu and Baywood will contest.

Recall that the South-East has since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999 been clamouring for a president of Igbo extraction.

Since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999, only the South-East region has yet to produce the President from the southern part of the country.

While a former military head of state, Olusegun Obasanjo, from the South-West led Nigeria as a democratically-elected President from 1999 to 2007, Umaru Yar’Adua from North-West took over the mantle of leadership from 2007 to 2010 when he passed on.

The then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan from the South-South completed Yar’ Adua’s tenure and spent another term before he handed over to the incumbent President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) from the North-West in 2015.

With only five states and not at a vantage position in terms of voting strength, the South-East presidential aspirants are up against formidable presidential aspirants like the former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Belo in the APC.

Those angling for the ticket of the PDP are a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, amongst others.

However, the South-East has expressed determination to clinch the presidential position in 2023 with most of the aspirants in the APC.

My aspiration can’t be quenched, says Ohuabunwa

But one of the aspirants, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, described his presidential ambition as motivational and therefore had no plans to quit no matter the situation.

Ohuabunwa told Saturday PUNCH that he could only accept to withdraw from the race if “the powers that motivated him decide otherwise.”

He was responding to a question on whether he would be willing to step down if asked to do so in order to reduce the number of aspirants and brighten the chances of the South-East having a shot at the presidency.

“I am not willing and not considering stepping down. I am not desperate, and that aspiration cannot be quenched,” he further said.

Ohuabunwa specifically said his presidential aspiration did not start in one day but inspirational, adding, “it is not something to jettison like that.”

The PDP presidential hopeful, whose mantra is, ‘The change that Nigeria needs’, said, “the country needs the best to assuage the decadence in society.”

On whether he will be comfortable if some aspirants withdraw from the race to support him, Ohuabunwa said, “I will be happy over the friendship and comradeship if they want the redemption of the country. Anybody that supports us will be accommodated.”

Similarly, one of the presidential aspirants from the region, who does not want his name mentioned, said it was “impracticable” for any aspirant to step down from the race, adding that Ohanaeze Ndigbo led by Prof. George Obiozor had not said anyone should withdraw from the race.

Also, one of the support groups for Governor David Umahi’s presidential aspiration, Akubaraoha Youth Assembly, said with the achievements of the governor, it would be wrong for anyone to ask him to step down for any person.

The National President of the group, Mark Onu, told one of our correspondents that Umahi had gone far in the race and would not think about withdrawing at any stage, maintaining that the governor possessed the qualities to lead the country.

He said, “There is no need for Governor Umahi to step down for anyone. He is better than other aspirants considering his achievement as the governor of Ebonyi State.

“Come to Ebonyi State and see how he has developed the place. He has gone far in the race and the question of withdrawing for anybody should not come up because he is far ahead in terms of quality.”

Similarly, one of the aspirants who confided in Saturday PUNCH maintained that it was not possible for Ohanaeze Ndigbo to say only one candidate would be supported to achieve a Nigerian president from Igbo extraction.

The presidential hopeful said, “You have to understand that it is not George Obiozor-led Ohanaeze that said so (that one candidate would be supported for a president from South-East to emerge). Obiozor-led Ohanaeze is the authentic Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

"So, if anybody wakes up by the side and says this or that, Obiozor can’t say he will bring (support) one candidate; it is not possible because I have heard him handle such issues. It is not possible; how would you bring one candidate? Are you in control of the political parties?

I watch Obiozor on a television programme, and when they asked him this thing, he said everybody would emerge from their political parties. There is no way Obiozor will say only one candidate would be recognised because it doesn’t work and it is not practicable.”

One of the aspirants from the region, Prof Kingsley Muoghalu, however, declined to comment on the issue when he was asked if he would step down for any person for the South-East to forge a common front. He said, “Sorry, I cannot comment” in a reply sent to Saturday PUNCH through Whatsapp.

However, efforts to get the leadership of the Orji Uzor Kalu (OUK) Movement, a support group for former governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, were not successful.

Ohanaeze vows to present one aspirant in major parties

Earlier, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said it had set up a committee to discuss with all presidential aspirants from the region to ensure it presents one person to contest in all the major political parties.

According to Ohanaeze’s spokesman, Chief Alex Ogbonnia, the committee named Action Committee is headed by the group’s President General and Secretary General, Ambassadors George Obiozor and Okey Emuchay respectively.

He cautioned that any other aspirant that failed to support the person and continued to contest would not succeed.

Although Ogbonnia said Ohanaeze was still discussing with all aspirants as it had no favourite candidate among the presidential aspirants that had already declared their ambition, he noted that anybody that wanted to be the president of Nigeria must be a person with high intellect, courage and audacity.

“We have what we call political Action Committee of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. Part of the work the Committee is doing is to find a way to meet other ethnic groups in Nigeria, talk to them, explain to them and convince them why they should support the Igbo for the president of Nigeria.

“Another part of the work which we intend to embark on is to sensitise our people to come out and participate actively in both registration of voters and get their permanent voter cards. But more importantly, by the time they come out because it would have been too early for Ohanaeze to begin the process of elimination when people have not come out; but by the time they come out, we will look at them, because there is hardly any Igbo of note we do not know.

“Then we’ll be able to prevail on some candidates to step down for one candidate that will be accepted not only in South-East but across the country – somebody with national appeal, somebody with the capacity expected for the assignment, somebody with a track record of accomplishment, somebody who has the audacity and more importantly the vision for Nigeria.”

Asked what Ohanaeze would do in situations where some aspirants refuse to step down, he said such an issue was expected to happen but warned that the aspirants involved would lose.

He said, “Such issue will always come up but the moment the Ohanaeze points to a direction and before we point to a direction, consultations with diverse groups must have been done. By the time we form a direction, the greater majority will be following the direction of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, then whoever is contesting is on his own and will lose.

Allahu Akbar

By Ogalah Ibrahim

The newly deployed Katsina State Police Commissioner, CP Idrisu Dauda Dabban, has advised terrorists operating in the state to repent from their devilish activities and surrender before the police get to them.

The newly posted Katsina Police Commissioner commended the efforts of his predecessor, AIG Sanusi Buba, saying: “I am here to continue from where my predecessor, AIG Sanusi Buba who has done very well stopped.”

CP Dabban made the remark when he reported for duty at the state command.

Dabban said: “We are well aware of the main problem facing this command, which is mainly banditry. The banditry situation is very unfortunate but we’ll try our best and with the help of God we will move forward.

“We know the terrain and are aware of all that has been happening and we will do all things necessary to see how we can reduce to the nearest minimum act of criminalities in the state, especially as it relates to banditry.

“Anything that’s criminal doesn’t pay. Bandits should abandon their devilish activities and surrender or we will get to them by the special grace of God.”

CP Dabban reiterated the need for cooperation and support from citizens in the state to overcome the menace of banditry and other crimes in the state.

He said, “I am soliciting for the support of the people in the state to help us with useful information so that we can succeed. Without the right information and intelligence, we will find it difficult to clamp down on criminals. So, we are soliciting for the support and cooperation of citizens in the state to succeed in bringing banditry to an end in the state.”

The new Commissioner of Police, CP Idrisu Dauda Dabban, was appointed into the Nigeria Police Force as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police in 1990.

Dabban holds a Master’s Degree in Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and has attended several leadership and strategic courses within and outside Nigeria.

He has equally served in various operational, investigative and administrative capacities within the Force, some of which include DCP Operations in Delta and Enugu State Commands, DC SCID and subsequently Commissioner of Police in Kogi State Command.

Until his recent posting, he was the CP Communications, Department of Information and Communication Technology, Force Headquarters, Abuja

By Kazeem Awojoodu

IBADAN – The Oyo State Government has revealed that it is set to engage in talks with all area boys and cult groups in the State, to foster peace.

The Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun, said this on Thursday, after a closed-door meeting with representatives of the militant groups, including Agbekoya, Odua People’s Congress (OPC), Vigilante Group of Nigeria among others in Ibadan.

Olatunbosun said the State government, in collaboration with all the militant groups, is determined to proffer peaceful solutions to the unrest between area boys and cult groups, saying the time to end the bloodshed in the State is now.

Speaking further, Olatunbosun said the meeting aims to solve the problem from the root, disclosing that the State Government will work closely with security agencies and leaders of the militant groups, to meet with the cult sects and mediate between warring parties in the State.

He said, “The State Executive Council is aware of the activities of cultists and cult groups in the State. We hope to hold a meeting with them.

“Oyo State Government, under the leadership of Governor Seyi Makinde is determined to put a stop to this clash among cult groups and area boys. To this end, we in collaboration with all the Militant groups in the State, are taking the message of peace to the den of these cultists,” he said.

“We will try to convince them to be disarmed and return to their homes peacefully. Afterwards, there will be a clampdown on activities of area boys and cult groups who fail to cooperate with us,” he said.

Olatunbosun, who underlined that through the help of some of the militant groups, the State Government will contact members of each cult group, also assured that things will change, because the State Governor has shown sincerity in ending the fights among the warring groups.

Olatubosun, therefore, admonished the area boys and rival cult groups to sheath their swords and pursue peace, stressing that after the peace talks, there will be a clampdown on cultists and cult activities in the state.

He also appealed to parents and guardians to caution their children and wards against cultism.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, on Wednesday stated that the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities was a “leave” following the failure of the union to notify his ministry before embarking on strike.

Ngige also noted that the union failed in its agreement with the National Inter-religious Council headed by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad, and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev Samson Ayokunle, by failing to report to the committee before embarking on strike.

The minister made this known in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Abuja.

The PUNCH reported that ASUU on February 14, 2022 had announced the commencement of a one month rolling and comprehensive strike after its National Executive Council meeting held at the University of Lagos, Akoka.

The union had blamed the federal government for constantly failing to honour some of the lingering demands such as payment of revitalization funds for universities, payment of earned allowances for university lecturers, deployment of the UTAS payment system for University lecturers.

Ngige, however, said, “I am sure you know NIREC which is headed by the sultan and the CAN president. I am sure you also remember that the President mandated his Chief of Staff, the ministry of labour and the ministry of education to find a way to make sure that we resolve the issues with ASUU.

“Now, NIREC met with ASUU twice and they discussed some of these issues. The leadership of ASUU said they would go back and meet with their NEC. We were waiting for them to come back and then we heard they were going on strike.

“ASUU failed to get back to us and proceeded on strike without sending notifications. They just gave themselves a leave. If you want to go on strike, you should at least inform us officially by giving us notification but they refused to.

“You can not just go on strike like that, it is illegal. So, they are just on leave. We will work with them and they will call off the strike.”

By Levinus Nwabughiogu-Abuja

Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC Limited, Mr. Mele Kyari said that the lingering fuel crisis and its attendant queues at the filling stations will ultimately disappear next week.

Kyari said that there was already a receipt of 2.1 billion liters which would be distributed to normalize the situation.

Kyari offered the hope at a meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum investigating the circumstances surrounding the importation of adulterated fuel into the country.

He said: “This National Assembly created the NNPC limited. By God’s grace, I am the CEO of that company. This company will serve the Nigerian people.

“By law, it is required to ensure energy security. Therefore, it is our responsibility to ensure that we provide energy security for this country. This company must operate within the laws of this country and this is what we have always done, and this is what we will continue to do.

“For this current situation, I assure you that we have taken every necessary step to restore supply into this country. We have placed orders significant enough for us to cross into March, with at least 2.1 billion liters of PMS in our custody.

“The situation you’re seeing today, I can assure you that by next week, it will vanish. All things being equal because of distribution issues that we may not have control over including the movement of trucks, otherwise we have robust supply arrangement to make sure that we exit this issue.”

No single liter of PMS is processed locally

Giving a background process of fuel importation in the country, Kyari regretted that all the fuel consumed in Nigeria was imported.

He explained that the situation will persist for a long time to time unless the refineries were upgraded.

“Why do we have this challenge? First of all, we import all the gasoline we use in this country. Every petroleum product we use in this country is not locally processed except a few quantities. Some of them, I can also share with you are coming from sources that may not be illegitimate. Not a single liter of PMS is generated in the country. That means 100 percent of PMS you see in this country is imported. Those imports are done on the basis of existing contractual arrangements that we have. It’s called the direct sale direct purchase process, which is simply with the best of practice to enable our suppliers supply products to us on agreed terms and conditions.

We have been doing this since I came on board and it’s part of our supply mechanism.

“Even if all our refineries come up today, except dangote refinery, we will still be in short supply of PMS, because all of our refineries can only make 18 million liters of gasoline. Consumption is certainly above 18 million liters”, he said.

Evacuation of toxic fuel

The CEO also explained to the Committee that the specification of the imported was established in consonance with the current regulatory mechanism.

“Evacuation from depots, we know all the trucks that leave our depots, but we do not know where they end up. This is reality. There is no tracking mechanism to enable this. We also know that some of these products find their way in places that may not be in this country. I don’t have statistics to back this up, but I’m sure smuggling takes place.

“On the basis of those contracts our suppliers bring products to us and reconcile with them regularly. Part of those supply arrangements, is to give specification to your suppliers. This specification are bound by regulation and the latest that we are using is the one that is in place since 2006. The current specification we have is what is the subject of all our import arrangement. So, all our partners were given those specification and on the basis of this, those imports were made.

“Before a vessel leaves the load port, they have to declare that those vessel meet our specification. They will send it to COMD, the importer and confirm that this is the specification to do, this product that we are bringing to you meets this specification. On the basis of that, you allow the sail away of the vessel.

“Now once it comes to the country, two things happen. We have NNPC surveyors who are now also required to validate that this product that have come meets the Nigerian specification. Also, we have the regulatory authority who has to conduct an independent assessment to confirm that this product meets the specification that is in consonance with the existing regulation in the country.

Why we allowed cargeos to discharge product

“In case of all the problems we have seen, four of the cargoes that are particularly in question today met all this criteria on arrival and that’s why they were allowed to discharge into terminals and conveyed into ship. There’s simply no way based on the current specification that you will know this PMS contains methanol. It is not part of their requirements at the load port. So we didn’t ask them to declare whether it contains methanol because it is not part of our specification.

“Let me make it clear that methanol is not contamination. It is a regular addictive to PMS. In China, upto 15 percent PMS contains methanol. On its own, it is not a contamination. The key issue is handling methanol. If we, knew we will not accept this. Anytime methanol comes in contact with water, it emulsifies. It turns into a different chemical.”

While highlighting a few challenges, Kyari said that NNPC limited rejected 5 vessels billed to come to Nigeria with the product from the same terminal abroad.

“We have a number of challenges. On depots in the country today, once you evacuate products from the land, you pack it with water because of our peculiar environment. I need to disclose to you that people pack it with water because once you leave PMS in the land, some people will tamper with it. No one does that except NNPC. You can cross check this. Every depot has a way of managing this water that comes into the facility. Every filling station in this country have a challenge of managing water.

“We didn’t know until our inspecting agents on 20th of January to be precise called our attention to the fact that it has seen emulsification in some of the depots and this maybe a cause of concern. That is how we went ahead to check all the deliveries in our hands from all the four vessels that came that have already discharged and to confirm that all of them contain methanol.

“We quarantined all the volumes wherever they are in depots and transit. We were able to track them. We were able to trace all of them and quarantine them.

“Not only that we are also expecting several other supplies to come from other sources, we checked their origin and confirmed that five other vessels are coming from the same shipping terminal that loaded this and we rejected all of them. They did not sail into our waters”, he said.

Earlier in his welcome address, the chairman, Committee on Petroleum Resources Downstream, Hon. Abdullahi Mahmud Gaya said the investigative hearing was called by the House at plenary to identify the possible culprits, bring them to justice and forestall future occurrences.

“The essence of today’s gathering is to elucidate the current fuel scarcity which has a negative impact on the people. As we are all aware, fuel queues has recently caused gridlock in most of our major cities affecting traffic movements. Some fuel stations are locked while the few that are open have long queues of motorist waiting to buy fuel.

“This situation is not different in the capital city, Abuja, and our major cities where the majority of filling stations are shut and motorists spent hours in the sun struggling to buy from few that are open.

“It is a fact that these problem is as a result of the importation of adulterated Premium motor spirit (PMS) which is confirmed to have high percentage of methanol.

https://www-vanguardngr-com.cdn.ampproject.org/wp/s/www.vanguardngr.com/2022/02/bad-fuel-queues-to-vanish-next-week-says-kyari-nnpc-ceo/amp/?usqp=mq331AQKKAFQArABIIACAw%3D%3D

The Nigerian Army on Tuesday dismissed reports that two officers connived with internet fraudsters, also called ‘Yahoo boys’, in Edo State and also collecting illegal returns from soldiers at checkpoints.

DAILY POST recalls that some online media outlets of February 14, 2022, alleged that two Army officers; Captain Ayegba and Captain Okakah, who are both Commander of Operation WABAZIGAN, a security outfit set up by the Godwin Obaseki administration in Edo, and Okakah, Officer-in-Charge (O/C) of Military Police at 4 Brigade, Benin, were allegedly living beyond their means and emboldening the Yahoo boys, who recently “sprayed” Okakah over N4 million at a social event.

The reports further alleged that the aggrieved soldiers said that by allowing the two officers to continue to stay at the brigade without being investigated, they would pollute the Army and make the committed personnel also start cutting corners and be involved in unethical practices.

Reacting on Tuesday, Captain Yemi Sokoya, Asst. Director Army Public Relations dismissed the report.

According to the statement, the Brigade stated that the report is “bereft of truth and therefore entirely misleading, saying the report is nothing short of an attempt to spite the image of the Brigade and by extension the Nigerian Army.

“The unsubstantiated allegations could be viewed as an attempt to defame the Brigade, despite the selfless efforts of its troops in ensuring security in Edo and the contiguous states.”

According to the statement, the Brigade exercises zero tolerance on troops engaged in activities detrimental to service discipline as defaulters are always sanctioned accordingly.

Simon Ekpa, a self-styled disciple of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has said some members of the group will no longer take orders from its leader.

Ekpa said the group would no longer take orders from Kanu because he is incarcerated.

He, however, noted that members would push for Kanu’s unconditional release.

In a series of tweets, Ekpa disclosed that agitators have entered the liberation phase of the Biafra nation.

According to him, the liberation of Biafra can’t be used against Kanu.

He wrote: “We have entered the liberation phase of Biafra Nation & we are not taking orders from our leader who is incarcerated.”

“Our duty is to do everything to secure his unconditional release and to restore and liberate Biafra from Nigeria. Our freedom from Nigeria is non-negotiable.

“Those who do not understand this message, what it simply means is that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu will not be held responsible for the actions of Biafra people as we have entered the liberation. So, the order of the liberation of Biafra and to secure his release can not be used against him.”

By Cosmas Omegoh, Kunle Olafioye (Lagos), Tony Osauzo, Ighomuaye Lucky (Benin), and Laide Raheem, (Abeokuta)

There is no pretence anymore. Nigeria has never been at such crossroads as another monster of gargantuan size and stature – ritual killing for money – bulldozes its way into the national psyche, staring every one in the face. It has the dimension of a national malaise. Denying this evil is awful, fruitless and needless. That is the reality many are now slowly, but regrettably beginning to acknowledge.

Over the past years, abduction of people has been on the rise. Some individuals simply vanished without any trace. A few who managed to return home alive have told nightmarish and unbelievable tales of what they saw in camps where they were taken to. There, victims were dismembered right before their own eyes in such a gruesomely mindless orgy, leaving their blood streaming down in rivulets. Their essential parts were chopped off there and then, and kept away for customer who needed them.

At the centre of this burgeoning human parts trade are men and women who prepare charms to enable them make money they did not work for. When they cannot buy already-harvested parts, they abduct their victims, kill them, and later discard their remains. Then in collaboration with their juju doctors, they proceed to use what they have for “money rituals,” as it is now called in street parlance. How that works, remains a mystery that might take science an age to unravel.


According to Sunday Sun investigation, this “money ritual’ now making Nigeria and Nigerians edgy didn’t start yesterday. It was birthed as Internet scam. Growing like a weevil, it began gnawing at the fabrics of the Nigerian society, gradually forcing things to give way, allowing them to fall apart steadily. Many did not notice. Those who did merely waved away the crime, leaving things unattended to, unaddressed. Now, it has gathered pace.

Some people believe “money ritual” has already attained a menace of epidemic proportion, spreading far faster than ever imagined, treacherously threatening the real existence of the Nigerian society now in distress.

Sunday Sun learnt that the involvement of a band of desperate, unrelenting youths is worrisome. They go by the name “Yahoo, Yahoo,” boys. Many of them are graduates from the various tertiary institutions. Even barely literate ones who only know that the evil trade fetches money are joining in their droves.


According to Sunday Sun investigation, this “money ritual’ now making Nigeria and Nigerians edgy didn’t start yesterday. It was birthed as Internet scam. Growing like a weevil, it began gnawing at the fabrics of the Nigerian society, gradually forcing things to give way, allowing them to fall apart steadily. Many did not notice. Those who did merely waved away the crime, leaving things unattended to, unaddressed. Now, it has gathered pace.

Some people believe “money ritual” has already attained a menace of epidemic proportion, spreading far faster than ever imagined, treacherously threatening the real existence of the Nigerian society now in distress.


According to Sunday Sun investigation, this “money ritual’ now making Nigeria and Nigerians edgy didn’t start yesterday. It was birthed as Internet scam. Growing like a weevil, it began gnawing at the fabrics of the Nigerian society, gradually forcing things to give way, allowing them to fall apart steadily. Many did not notice. Those who did merely waved away the crime, leaving things unattended to, unaddressed. Now, it has gathered pace.

Some people believe “money ritual” has already attained a menace of epidemic proportion, spreading far faster than ever imagined, treacherously threatening the real existence of the Nigerian society now in distress.

Sunday Sun learnt that the involvement of a band of desperate, unrelenting youths is worrisome. They go by the name “Yahoo, Yahoo,” boys. Many of them are graduates from the various tertiary institutions. Even barely literate ones who only know that the evil trade fetches money are joining in their droves.

Our correspondent further learnt that in the beginning, the Yahoo Yahoo boys who were majorly Internet fraudsters were mainly coning, and scamming the unsuspecting ones – both Nigerians and foreigners. But gradually the tempo of their ill began to wane. Many had begun to know both their tactics and their antics. So gradually they shifted to the next level – using human blood to make money. That is their new frightening platform. They hypnotise their victims sort of, and cause them to be under an influence they cannot explain and begin to do their bidding. That they now call “Yahoo Plus.”

Even barely literate ones who only know that the evil trade fetches money are joining in their droves.

Our correspondent further learnt that in the beginning, the Yahoo Yahoo boys who were majorly Internet fraudsters were mainly coning, and scamming the unsuspecting ones – both Nigerians and foreigners. But gradually the tempo of their ill began to wane. Many had begun to know both their tactics and their antics. So gradually they shifted to the next level – using human blood to make money. That is their new frightening platform. They hypnotise their victims sort of, and cause them to be under an influence they cannot explain and begin to do their bidding. That they now call “Yahoo Plus.”

On the other hand, Yahoo Plus boys kill their victims and use them for money rituals. They target their parents, sibling, friends and neighbours. It is either they drag their victims to a juju doctor, or do so through a remote spiritual means or kill them by themselves. There are some who do assorted things that nauseate. Once things go as they planned, in no time, the Yahoo Plus chap is already super rich, reeling in wealth.

Now, in their blind quest for money, some are told to either eat their own feaces, or make love to their parents or do such weird and discomforting stuffs that provoke humanity to revolt. Not many saw this bizarre act carried out for money sake coming. But it is here, and threatening to stay for as long as it is allowed to be.

Money ritual and NOA

According to Paul Odenyi, assistant director, Press, at National Orientation Agency (NOA), Abuja, ritual killings and advance-fee fraud are considered a part of the general concept of value decay in the country.

“One would think that the young generation, with their exposure and spread of religious faith, will have nothing to do with rituals. But what we are seeing shows that the youths and the whole society appear to be saying “anything that will give us money is worth trying.”

Ritual killing, he said, “is based on the belief that you can sacrifice human beings to make money. It is a wrong belief which the whole of society should rise against.

“Just like ritual killing, Yahoo boys are exploiting the rise in Internet economy to scam of people of their hard-earned wealth.”

Legislators raise the alarm

Days ago, the House of Representatives raised the red flag, following the wanton killing of innocent citizens for ritual purposes mostly for money making.

The lower chamber wanted the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on the social vice now on the rise.

It tasked the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba Alkali, and his officers to take proactive measures and up their surveillance and intelligence-gathering game so as to arrest and prosecute those involved in the evil.

The parliamentarians also tasked the National Orientation Agency (NOA), parents, schools, religious leaders as well as the media to begin campaigns to change the trend.

The pronouncements were sequel to a motion brought on the floor of the House by the Deputy Minority Leader, Toby Okechukwu entitled: “Need to Curb the Rising Trend of Ritual Killings in Nigeria.”

Okechukwu was aghast that ritual killings had attained frightening heights in recent times.

According to him, “the Red Cross Society in 2017 reported that it received 10,480 reports of missing persons in Nigeria.”

He lamented that “merchants of such wicked acts often use the social media as a ready tool to advertise their evil behaviours.”

Solution to current menace

Chief Elebuibon believes diligence and hard work are ways out of the problem.

He also believes “those who are desperate to be rich will definitely pay for their desperation some day.

“In Yoruba land, it is believed that no deity will ever aid a lazy person. Diligence must always come first.”

Former Governor of Imo State and Senator representing Imo West, Rochas Okorocha, tells SOLOMON ODENIYI about his presidential ambition and charges against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, among other issues

This will be your fourth shot at the presidency. What makes you think you will win this time?

This will be the fourth time that I’ll be contesting the presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The first time was in 2001 when I declared to run for the 2003 election under the All Nigeria Peoples Party. I had a very colourful and beautiful outing but at that very election, President Muhammadu Buhari emerged as the candidate of the party. If you recall, there were certain disagreements, some people walked out of the convention because the governors of the North insisted that the presidency must come from the North and that was why President Muhammadu Buhari emerged as the presidential candidate for the ANPP.

Then in 2006, I declared again to run for the position of president on the platform of the PDP. At that time, I came into the PDP barely two weeks to the primary. I came second to President (Umaru Musa) Yar’adua of blessed memory. Again, the PDP had zoned the presidential ticket to the North because President Olusegun Obasanjo had finished his tenure for eight years. I didn’t contest again; I went back to Imo State to become the governor on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance because I didn’t get a ticket in the PDP and the ANPP. All the political parties won’t give a ticket. So, I picked a political party that had no single structure, no counsellor and I used that to defeat the incumbent governor who just had his first term. He was also in the PDP when President (Goodluck) Jonathan was in power.

I led the APGA to the merger in APC while President Muhammadu Buhari led the Congress for Progressive Change; Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu led the Action Congress of Nigeria. In 2015, the Igbo refused to accept Buhari and for them, the name Buhari was taboo in the South-East. So, I had to do whatever I could do to make Igbo believe in the political party, and the only thing I could do was to contest for president on the platform of the All Progressives Congress with Muhammadu Buhari, Atiku, among others. That helped a whole lot to rebrand the image of the APC in the South-East. At this time also, Jonathan had finished his six years and it was agreed that power should go back to the North.

What was your major challenge then as a presidential aspirant?

What had been my challenge had always been the issue of zoning. Every time I contested election, the zoning was always not in my favour but this time, the coast looks quite clear; that is if the same sentiment will come to bear in the next political dispensation.

Do you believe you will get the ticket despite the way the party has treated you by suspending you in 2019 and now that the APC government is probing you through the EFCC?

I will tell you how the APC was formed. I am a stakeholder in the party, the same as Asiwaju and Muhammadu Buhari before he became the President. We are four individuals that formed the APC and a man cannot just abandon a house he has built. I do believe that this harassment and intimidation is political and to ensure that I do not run for the presidency in APC. Take, for instance, it was on the day of my declaration that the EFCC found it appropriate to take me to court for what they described as criminal charges. Why I believe that it is politically motivated is because I have a judgement against the same EFCC and the judgement is as a result of an appeal judgement. They said they found N5.7bn in my account which the court had found to be untrue, and they (EFCC) had announced to the whole world that I took the money.

Secondly, I have a court order stopping them from harassing me. The EFCC till today has refused to hear that court judgment and they’re holding my passport. They’ve been told to release my passport in court but they refuse to do that. I have a damage claim from them for N500m and they’ve refused to pay it, rather what they do is that for any judge that gives a judgement against them on my case, the judge is harassed. It is either they asked them to resign or change the judgement in their favour. So, it is quite strange for the EFCC to be acting as such. I’ll demand justice at the appropriate time. If you did not obey the judgement of the same court and cannot obey the law that set them up, is it until they desperately get something, even if it’s not right against me, that they will ask me to obey?

I have suffered a lot of injustice in the hands of a government I helped to form. Secondly, I had a judgement against Oshiomhole in Imo State when he dissolved the executive illegally and handed over the main structure to the Governor of Imo State against the people that were duly elected. We went to court and got a court judgement against Oshiomhole. The same party had refused to obey the court judgement which has not been upturned by any court. The Court of Appeal upheld it and they have refused to allow the executives recognised by the party and the law to assume their position. You can see that I have the right to demand justice.

Were you at any point discouraged by this experience?

All these cannot shatter my ambition to rule this country. Becoming a president, for me, is an idea whose time has come and is not within human capacity to stop it. My intentions are quite good. So, for me, the presidency is a burden and not an asset. It is a big burden which if I have my way to excuse myself, I would have, but the passion and the vision in me would not. I have two persons in me struggling for this post. My carnal person would say no but my inner person would insist that you need to make this country a greater nation.

The EFCC filed N2.9bn fraud charges against you on the day you declare for the presidency. Did you think it was a coincidence?

That will have been too much of a coincidence because normally if there are such criminal charges, they will serve you. Till today, I have not been served. I only heard and read about it in the newspapers, television and social media that I have been charged to court for criminal activities. I think the EFCC has not been fair to me. This is not the first time that they will embarrass and harass me. They have done this several times. First, it was my arrest against the court order which said I should not be arrested because at that point, both Imo State Government and the EFCC were investigating me on the same matter. Let one person investigate me. While the Imo State Government set up a panel, the EFCC was investigating me on the same matter. They were busy tearing the property of my wife apart and struggling over who takes over the property without any proven case. But what the issue is now is that the EFCC sometimes ago announced to the whole world that they discovered N5.9bn from me and there is nothing like that, and till today, EFCC has not apologised for that and for this reason, I went to court and the court said: “no, you prejudged this gentleman.”

You cannot prove anywhere that you found him guilty and for that reason, stop harassing him. The court prohibited the EFCC from further interrogating me and taking any action on this same matter. That was the judgement I had. They went back to this same court asking it to change their judgement. The court has not changed their judgement before they went to charge me again for N2.9bn (fraud) and it’s rather unfortunate in this country. I hope justice shall prevail. If the EFCC believe in the court and they are set up by the law of the land, they should also obey the court. Till today, they are holding my passport; they blocked my account and arrested me at home. Now, they are charging me again when the court has suspended all allegations against me. So, I’m waiting to see how it goes. I believe it is political, if it is not, why did it come on the same day I officially declared to contest for the presidency of the country?

You are one of those who do not reckon with the zoning of the presidency. Do you think a person from the South- East can become President without zoning?

It is possible if there is no political manipulation. Without zoning, I will still win the presidential election. They would do everything to stop me but they can’t. This is because of the purity of my heart, my intentions and the vision I have for this nation. I take pride in this; if it is about political connections, I do not have, I do not go for midnight political meetings but I believe in the people; the suffering masses of Nigeria and the leaders who really believe in me to support my candidature.

The APC has never won any presidential election in the South-East. Do you think the party would be right to give its ticket to an Igbo man with the way the party has been consistently rejected in the zone?

The APC has won several elections in the South-East. Don’t forget I was a governor on the platform of the APC and I won an election there. If you look at it, the APGA had only one, the PDP had three and I had one. I kept that flag flying and the APC has total control in the state. We’ve won several elections. This time round, it is not about a party but it is about the individual. Nigerians are tired of parties, they want individuals. Party is only a platform for you to run or have a structure but Nigerians are looking for who can unite them, who will not separate them, who can strengthen this country. They are looking for somebody who has a passionate heart and that can listen to their problem and someone who can create wealth, someone who can manage their resources and funds well. They are looking for somebody who can paddle the canoe of the country. These are the qualities I have.

The South-East has witnessed a rise in secessionist agitations and some IPOB members call you Okoro Hausa. Do you think your people will support your ambition?

Let me tell you a bit about IPOB. It is an agitation group of mainly young men who believe sincerely that they have been marginalised and suffering untold hardship and that this country hates Igbo. That is their understanding and that the Biafra war has not been forgotten and that this agitation is for them to have their own nation. But when I was there as governor, I was there as governor for eight years, I was able to manage these young men, assuage their feelings and get them to see reasons that they are better off to be part of this bigger nation than to be a smaller nation. But the agitation of IPOB skyrocketed in the government of the day.

The matter is still not well handled because whatever you call it, then it is exactly what it will answer because if they are called terrorists, which I do not believe they are, they will begin to behave like terrorists. But if you call them your sons and your children, they will behave like one. You can discuss with them and make them see reasons. Now, they are regarded as terrorists but the blame should go to the governor of the day. He misrepresented the fact. They’ve not let the Federal Government understand the true situation; they’ve invited the military and this escalated the whole situation. If I were a governor then, you won’t hear a single noise being made by IPOB.

It is not late to put things in order, so also is the situation all over the country, where you have this kind of agitation. But the truth is, are South-East people marginalised? Yes, they are. Is the agitation right? Yes, it is but the platform is wrong. You cannot be demanding an independent nation in a nation but agitation is allowed; it depends on how it is handled. The governor of Imo State has not handled this properly. That is why Imo State seems to be the centre of the agitation. I was called Okoro Hausa; these young men insulted the hell out of me. As a governor, there was a day, I had to park when the convoy of more than 100 buses was passing by and when they saw that I was not engaging them, they started chanting, “Our governor, our governor.” If we see them as our children, half of the matter is solved.

Do you believe Igbo will support your ambition?

I believe they should support my ambition. Why won’t they? I have done so much in the Igbo nation. If they cannot support a man who has trained over 12,000 children through Rochas Foundation, who else will they support? It is for their own good that I become the president because it is hard to find one of their own that is accepted all over the country. If you are only known in Igbo land, how will you win election in Kano, Sokoto among others?

UNICEF said last year that over 1,000 students were kidnapped by terrorists. As a person who has focused on giving free education to poor students, how do you intend to tackle this as President?

We must understand that the issue of out-of-school children is a time bomb waiting to explode. And it is not good news to hear that we have 14.3 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, one of the highest in the world. We must also realise that the problem of insecurity was a result of the abandonment of these children 30 years ago. Now, what that means is that in the next 30 years to come, we shall have more problems than we have now. Education must be made free so that every child can go to school irrespective of their family background. Education should be a national responsibility and not that of parents because when the nation fails to give education to every child, they contribute a huge problem to national development. Today, Nigeria is buying trillions of naira worth of military hardware and equipment to fight insurgency which we could have avoided by making sure that every child goes to school and provide them with jobs afterwards. Education should be a child’s right and not a privilege and it should be a national responsibility. For me, education must be free so that the children of the poor can also go to school as every child counts.

https://punchng.com/ive-suffered-injustice-from-govt-i-helped-into-power-okorocha/?amp

A 43-year-old Kehinde Oladimeji and his wife, Adejumoke Raji (35 years) have been arrested by the Ogun State police command for being in possession of fresh human parts in Abeokuta.

The couple, who are residents of 72, MKO Abiola way Leme Abeokuta, were arrested on Saturday after a report was lodged at Kemta Police station.

The Baale of Leme community, Chief Moshood Ogunwolu, had reported to the police that one Pastor Adisa Olanrewaju, who is a co-tenant with the couple, informed him of offensive odour oozing out of his neighbour’s room.

Acting on the complaint, the DPO of Kemta division, CSP Adeniyi Adekunle, was said to have led his detectives to the scene.

On searching the room, a plastic bowl containing fresh different parts of human being was discovered in the room, and the couple were promptly arrested, the Ogun State police image maker, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said on Saturday.

“On interrogation, the suspects confessed they were herbalists and that the human parts comprising of hands, breasts and other parts were given to them by one Michael who they claimed resided in Adatan area of Abeokuta. All efforts to locate the said Michael proved abortive as the suspects could not locate his house,” Oyeyemi stated.

He explained that a dismembered body of an unknown person was discovered last week around Leme area of Abeokuta.

However, Oyeyemi explained that it could not confirm yet whether or not the parts is that of the found body.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to the homicide section, vowing that anyone who is directly or indirectly involved in the crime would be brought to book.

Recently, three teenagers were arrested for beheading and burning the head of a girl for money ritual.

Voters apprehended the motorcyclist and handed him over to security operatives.

A middle-aged woman has been feared dead after being knocked down by a speeding motorcycle at a polling unit in Saturday's council election in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Vanguard reports that the woman was attempting to cross the road to the polling unit at PU048, Salasi opposite Post Office in Karu, Abuja Municipal Area Council, when the tragedy occured.

Voters apprehended the motorcyclist and handed him over to security operatives deployed for the election.

The police is yet to comment on the incident.