₦airaland Forum

The Yoruba Socio-cultural group, Afenifere, has written the Ogun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), denying an earlier statement reportedly issued by the organization.

A national newspaper had published a story on Tuesday, purportedly signed by the Organizing Secretary of the Organization, who identified himself as Abagun Kole Omololu, wherein he accused Ogun APC of insulting Otunba Gbenga Daniel, and even went further to ‘warn’ the party.

Afenifere, in a letter signed by its Secretary General, Chief Sola Ebiseni, and directly addressed to the Assistant Publicity Secretary of Ogun APC, said the position of Organizing Secretary, was vacant and such letter couldn’t have emanated from the office.

The statement added that even if the office was occupied and functional, it is not part of the obligation of the office to speak for the Organization, saying Afenifere by its principle neither takes side nor plays to the gallery.

“Further to your letter dated 27th June 2023 in respect of the alleged misunderstanding between Otunba Gbenga Daniel, former Governor of Ogun State and present Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District and His Excellency, Dapo Abiodun, Governor of the State, please be informed that Afenifere is not aware of any such misunderstanding between the two eminent Yoruba personalities.

“In the event of such occurrence, which is not unnatural, Afenifere has time-honoured Yoruba modus operandi for result-oriented intervention, part of which is not taking side or playing to the gallery.

“The statement credited to the Afenifere was not made by the Organisation and we are utterly surprised that, by your position, you may not know that the office of the National Organising Secretary of Afenifere is vacant, the last holder thereof having been dismissed and his membership suspended as disciplinary measures for unauthorised and embarrassing public statements, which development the press is also not unaware of.

“Besides, you may also wish to know that it is not part of the functions of the National Organising Secretary to speak for the Afenifere in public communications”, the statement read.

GAROUA, Cameroon, June 26 (Reuters) - Things have been topsy turvy lately on the roadsides of West African nations where cheap contraband petrol from Nigeria has abruptly doubled in price, upending an informal sector that is central to the region's economic activity.

Since Nigeria scrapped a state fuel subsidy on May 31, black market fuel vendors and commercial drivers in Cameroon, Benin and Togo who were heavily reliant on petrol smuggled from Nigeria have seen their businesses collapse.

With supplies dwindling, queues have been forming at official petrol stations, where fuel is now competitively priced.

In Garoua, a town in northwest Cameroon about 60 km (37 miles) east of the Nigerian border, a litre of petrol on the black market used to sell for about 300 CFA francs ($0.48). Now the minimum is 600 CFA francs, vendors said.

"Supply has become scarce and customers think we're ripping them off with this high price, yet it's from Nigeria that prices have soared," said Perevet Dieudonne, a black market seller.

The knock-on effects on motorcycle-taxis, a form of public transport ubiquitous in West Africa, include conflict between riders who often live hand-to-mouth and customers who demand cheap fares no matter what.

Ousmanou Mal Djoulde, a rider in Garoua, said he had been forced to more than double his fares. Many customers were refusing to pay and business was agonisingly slow.

The trade in black market fuel is so central to the local economy that authorities either turn a blind eye or are complicit. A Reuters reporter in Garoua saw a Cameroonian customs officer sitting on a motorcycle-taxi that was being refuelled with smuggled Nigerian petrol.

RAMPANT SMUGGLING
There is no reliable data on the amount of fuel that is smuggled from Nigeria.

The head of Nigeria's state-controlled oil firm NNPC, the sole supplier, said early this month 66 million litres of petrol left its depots daily but could not say how much was consumed locally, though he admitted smuggling was rampant.

Independent energy experts and Nigeria's Dangote Petroleum Refinery - which expects to start producing petrol from early August to alleviate chronic fuel shortages - put Nigeria's total daily consumption below 40 million litres.


In Benin and Togo, small nations to the west of Nigeria, contraband fuel vendors have lost both supplies and customers while formerly sleepy official petrol stations are suddenly busy.

At Hilacondji, a border crossing between Togo and Benin, some black market fuel stalls were shut, while at others vendors waited among rows of empty plastic jerricans for potential deliveries.

"While we wait for the situation to improve, some have gone into fishing or other small businesses," said Ayi Hilla, who had been making a living from selling contraband fuel for 10 years but was now focusing on running a small roadside bar.

Some informal fuel depots were being demolished, and men who used to work there unloading and carrying petrol were now unemployed.

More than 80% of employment in Africa is informal, according to the United Nations, making the informal sector a key driver of economic activity.

In Cotonou, the commercial capital of Benin which is about 60 km from Nigeria, queues have been building up at official petrol stations and some have been unable to meet the sudden surge in demand, especially from "zemidjan", the local word for motorcycle-taxis.

"Before, we were selling about 2,000 litres per day, but now we're selling up to 7,000 litres per day," said a worker at the JNP fuel station who gave his first name, Janvier. He had just turned away four customers because supplies had run out.


"The zemidjan-men are even fighting to get served," said Janvier.

($1 = 626.4400 CFA francs)

The UN Peace Corps has celebrated and praised the outgoing Nigerian service chiefs for their outstanding efforts in degrading the dreaded terrorist group Boko Haram.

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor was replaced on Monday with former Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, Major General Christopher Musa [/b]by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Similarly, Major General T. A Lagbaja replaced Lieutenant General Farouk Yahaya as the Chief of Army Staff, while Rear Admiral E. A Ogalla has been appointed to take over from Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo as the Chief of Naval Staff and Air Marshal Oludayo Amao was replaced by Air Vice Marshal H.B Abubakar as the Chief of Air Staff.

[b]The body cited that Boko Haram has not been able to carry out any major attack for several months now, a further testament to the effectiveness of the tactics, strategy, and synergy of the outgoing Chiefs. It further noted the successes recorded by them had driven large number of Boko Haram members to voluntarily and unilaterally surrender to the Nigerian military in an unprecedented scale.

It further commended President Tinubu for choosing competent members of the military who were heavily involved in the decimation of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups to replace the outgoing chiefs

The UN Peace Corps also advised the newly appointed service chiefs to sustain the momentum to end insecurity in Nigeria's North East Region and other parts of the country.

The Nigeria Police Force has submitted a report to the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), indicting a top politician, Ladi Adebutu, for money laundering and vote-buying, PREMIUM TIMES can report.

Mr Adebutu, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, is indicted for deploying two billion naira to induce voters across the state to vote for him and his party during the 18 March election, the police said.

“We have written our report and submitted it,” said Oladimeji Yomi, Ogun State Commissioner of Police. “The next step is for INEC and the Attorney General of the Federation to look into the report and determine how to proceed against the suspect,” Mr Yomi told PREMIUM TIMES on Monday.

The investigator said Mr Adebutu had yet to honour their invitation to respond to the allegation. “Obviously, we have written to invite him (Adebutu), he does not appear to be in a hurry to honour our invitation,” Mr Yomi said.

On 14 May, this medium published a report in which Mr Adebutu claimed he fled Nigeria over threats to his life. However, a police interim report stated that he had told police investigators, through his lawyers, following his invitation over the petition, that he was receiving medical treatment abroad.

According to our earlier report, Mr Adebutu ran into trouble on 18 March for allegedly using Verve ATM credit cards branded in the name of his late mother, ‘Dame Caroline Oladunni Adebutu Endowment Scheme,’ to buy votes in all polling booths.

Mr Adebutu is a household name in Ogun State, where he lost the governorship election in March after polling 262, 383 votes to return second behind Governor Dapo Abiodun of the APC, who polled 276, 298 votes. He has, however, filed a petition before the election petition tribunal to challenge Mr Abiodun’s return.

Police investigators said they had done their job covering all the necessary grounds against Mr Adebutu.

“We have done our investigative job and our report is already with the Attorney-General of the Federation and INEC,” Mr Yomi, the Police Commissioner, said, adding, “It is an election matter so it is INEC and the Attorney-General who will take the matter forward,” he said. “Whatever they come up with, we will know the next line of action.

“We have covered all the necessary grounds we need to cover. We interrogated necessary suspects involved and the bank Interswitch. Only Adebutu is left for us to interview. So to that extent, the case remains open,” Mr Yomi added.

“We are now expecting the legal advice from the Federal Director of Prosecutions, who also has our investigative report. If Adebutu shows up, we will speak to him and update our report,” the police officer said.

Mr Adebutu’s spokesperson Afolabi Orekoya denied all allegations against his principal.

Nigerian politicians are notorious for vote-buying. But shortly before the general election, a cash redesign policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria led to a severe cash shortage across the country, leaving politicians to design other ingenious ways of compromising voters, most of whom have been impoverished by poor service delivery and corruption by elected and appointed officials.

Government officials confirmed that one of the aims of the CBN naira redesign policy was to prevent vote-buying at the general elections, a phenomenon that had blighted off-season governorship elections in Anambra, Kogi, Edo, Ekiti, Ondo and Osun States.

To address the widespread vote-buying menace, penalties were stipulated in the amended Electoral Act 2022.

Section 121 of the Act states:

1. Any person who does any of the following-

(a) directly or indirectly, by his or herself or by any other person on his or her behalf, corruptly makes any gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement or agreement to or for any person, to induce such person to procure or to endeavour to procure the return of any person as a member of a legislative house or to an elective office or the vote of any voter at any election;

(b) upon or in consequence of any gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement or agreement corruptly procures, or engages or promises or endeavours to procure, the return of any person as a member of a legislative house or to an elective office or the vote of any voter at any election;

(c) advances or pays or causes to be paid any money to or for the use of any other person, with the intent that such money or any part thereof shall be expended in bribery at any election, or who knowingly pays or causes to be paid any money to any person in discharge or repayment of any money wholly or in part expended in bribery at any election;

(d) after any election directly, or indirectly, by his or herself, or by any other person on his or her behalf receives any money or valuable consideration on account of any person having voted or refrained from voting, or having induced any other person to vote or refrain from voting or having induced any candidate to refrain from canvassing for votes for his or herself at any such election, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both.

(2) A voter commits an offence of bribery where before or during an election directly or indirectly by his or herself or by any other person on his or her behalf, receives, agrees or contracts for any money, gift, loan, or valuable consideration, office, place or employment, for his or herself, or any other person, for voting or agreeing to vote or for refraining or agreeing to refrain from voting at any such election.

Many persons – including politicians, party agents and voters – were arrested in parts of the country before and during the 2023 general elections for vote buying and related offences. The electoral and security agencies have the responsibility for prosecuting them in court.

senatordave1:
Egbas failed dapo.they didnt even vote otegbeye.yayi and yewa saved dapo

Bornrebel:
I have an infinix hot 10t 4gig/128rom similar spec but with a 5000mah battery. 65k.

KunlexyInc1:
You're almost close to the least valuation. Unfortunately, device has been booked

donaldking100:
On Twitter, Tinubu is not popular.
On Facebook, Tinubu is not popular.
On Instagram, Tinubu is not popular.
In all online polls, Tinubu is not popular.
In the South-South, Tinubu is not popular.
In the South-East, Tinubu is not popular.
In the North, Atiku & Kwankwaso are the front-runners.
Apart from rigging, i'm still wondering where Tinubu would get his bloc votes from.
Or is it Lagos State votes that would make him win the presidential election?
A WORD IS ENOUGH FOR THE WISE.

The police in Ogun State and suspected cultists yesterday engaged in a shootout in Abeokuta, the state capital, in which two people died.

A cult kingpin, Matasaka, was on Sunday night gunned down in the state capital in a renewed rival cult clash. His death led to reprisal attacks in some parts of the state capital on Monday night, leading to two deaths.

Our correspondent gathered that the victims, who were suspected to be members of a cult group, were gunned down in front of a popular petrol station at Ijaiye area of the state capital by a rival cult group.

Daily Trust reports that at least 20 people have been killed in cult clashes across the state in the last two months.

But the clash took a new turn on Tuesday when the cultists engaged the police in a gun battle.

The incident paralysed commercial activities in the area as residents and motorists abandoned their vehicles and scampered.

It was gathered that the policemen, who had stormed the area to bring the situation under control, were attacked by the hoodlums which led to the shootout.

The state’s police spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a statement, confirmed the clash and hinted that six members of the dreaded rival cult groups, Eiye and Aiye, had been arrested.

According to him, the suspects arrested are: Kazeem Ogundairo a.k.a NEPA, Nasiru Idris a.k.a Aloma, Ayo Joshua a.k.a Terry G, Damilare Shogbamu a.k.a Dhray, Bisiriyu Ibrahim Owoyele and Labulo Jamiu a.k.a J Boy.

The Trade Union Congress, Ogun State Chapter has appealed to Governor Dapo Abiodun to pay the N68bn pension gratuities owned by the state government.

Comrade Akeem Lasisi made the appeal in an address to mark the 2022 Workers Day on Sunday in Abeokuta.

Pensioners had on Thursday converged on the Union’s Secretariat in Abeokuta to organize a one-day special prayer against unknown evil forces preventing the Governor from paying them their entitlements.

Some of the demands of the pensioners were an increase in the pensioners’ monthly take home; increase in the quarterly release of gratuity from N500m to N1bn; release of deducted contributory pensions to their respective pension fund administrators, as well as the constitution of the Pensions Committee which will administer the affairs of their union.

Lasisi while addressing workers in the state at the MKO Abiola Stadium urged the state Governor to increase the quarterly release of N500m.

“Do everything possible to increase the quarterly release of N500 million to clear the backlog of gratuities for the State Pensioners. If the past government had started the remission of N500million quarterly as being done by your government, the backlog might have been either completely offset or minimally reduced by now. So, we commend your government for being humane, but we seek an upward review of the amount so remitted quarterly.”

The TUC Chairman commended Governor Abiodun for infrastructural development and provision of public bus, describing the initiatives as worker-friendly.

“He has excelled where the provision of public infrastructures, vis-à-vis road construction, the recently launched pilot scheme of public rapid bus transportation system, and sundry worker-friendly initiatives, moves and policies are concerned.

“Yes, kudos must be given to the government for releasing the promotion letters for the 2018 and 2019 promotion exercise of all Ministries, Departments and Agencies against the old practice hereby some sectors, most especially the teaching sector would be considered last or not even considered at all in the scheme of things. This indicated you are conscious of the fact that promotion exercises are statutory rights of workers

“The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria wishes to appreciate His Excellency for the upward review of the budgetary allocation to car refurbishment and motorcycle loans for senior and junior civil servants from N100,000 to N200,000 and N40,000 to N80,000 respectively. This new piece of cheering news was transmitted to all concerned MDAs in a circular dated 22nd April, 2022. In spite of the downturn in the economy, our Governor has decided to be fair and just. We say a loud thank you sir.”

“Labour is not unaware that the global economy, and in particular that of Nigeria has suffered some blows since the COVID-19 pandemic broke and the associated recession all of which have affected funds available to governments. In fact, the state government is commended for keeping faith with the state workforce even in the face of the hard bitting economic recession by not downsizing nor embarking on salary cuts as done in other states as that would have thrown many breadwinners out of jobs, and their children thereby facing untold hardships.”