Wednesday, January 4th, 2023 Edition

Ambassador of Burundi to Nigeria, Ms Marie Jeane Ntakirutimana; President of Burundi, H.E Evariste Ndayishinmye; Special Envoy, Mr. Audance Niyonzima; President Muhammadu

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama and Chief of Staff, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, during an audience at the State House yesterday in Abuja PHOTO State House

Buhari greets former minister of external affairs, Akinyemi at 81

President Muhammadu Buhari has joined family and friends of Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi in celebrating his 81st birthday, January 4, 2023 , rejoicing with the former Minister of External Affairs on many years of impactful service to the nation.

This was contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and

Publicity, Femi Adesina, on Tuesday.

According to the statement, President Buhari lauded the scholar and administrator for his patriotism, and visionary leadership, which shaped the country’s foreign policy and increased influence in Africa and across the globe, particularly the creation of the Technical Aid Corps that shared professional skills with other nations.

The President noted the courage and experience that Prof. Bolaji brought into every opportunity to serve the nation, and the lasting changes in strengthening political, diplomatic and academic institutions, with ideas that generations will continue to enjoy and update, the statement said.

It added that as the former Director – General

of the Nigerian Institute for International Affairs (NIIA) celebrates another age, President Buhari affirmed his relevance and influence in the country’s historic transitions, reforms and growth, appreciating his voice of wisdom and knowledge which continues to guide leaders.

The President prayed for Prof Akinyemi’s good health and strength, and blessings upon the family, said the statement.

2023: Council of Obas, resident community endorse Tinubu, APC in Sokoto

Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Council of Obas and residents communities in Sokoto State have thrown their full weight behind all the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

This development came to the fore when the leadership of the two groups visited APC leader in the state, Sen. Aliyu Wamakko (APC-Sokoto North).

A statement issued on Monday by Bashar Abubakar, Wamakko’s Special Assistant on Media said that the first to visit was the Oba in Council led by the Chairman, Alhaji Surajudeen Sahabi, who spoke on behalf of the group.

Sahabi informed the lawmaker that on their part,

they were ready to work together with the APC leadership towards ensuring the success of the party come 2023 general elections in Nigeria.

“This is especially the presidential candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the APC gubernatorial candidate in Sokoto State, Ahmed Aliyu, among other candidates of the party,” he said.

Similarly, the Association of Sokoto State Residents Community under the Leadership of Alhaji Salmanu Oke told Wamakko that they came to register their unflinching support towards the victory of APC in the state.

He further said that the residents community in the state would not forget the invaluable

gestures extended to them by Wamakko when he was the Governor of the state.

Responding, Wamakko, while welcoming the two groups said: ”Nigeria is one indivisible nation,” adding, “therefore, Sokoto is a home to all the tribes irrespective of where one comes from.”

The lawmaker said that one of the reasons why APC brought Tinubu as its candidate was to ensure the unity of Nigeria as a indivisible nation.

“Nigeria is for all of us hence the need to come together and work for a better tomorrow,” he urged.

Wamakko also recalled that when he was elected as the governor of the state, he abolished what was then called

‘school fees to non indigenes in the state’.

He further stated that he also appointed one of them to serve as his Special Adviser in his government just to ensure that they were carried along.

Wamakko assured the visitors that APC would consider them in its affairs, if given the mandate during 2023 polls.

During the visit, the representatives of the different tribes of Yoruba, Igbo, Tiv, and Hausa, among others, were allowed to speak in their languages as a sign of one nation.

The visit was graced by APC North West Zonal Secretary, Mr Bello Muhammad-Goronyo and some important dignitaries. (NAN)

L-R; Minister of State Finance, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, President Muhammadu Buhari, Chairman House Committee on Finance, Hon James Falake, President of the Senate Dr Ahmad Lawan, Speaker Rt Hon Femi Gbajabialmila and others during the Signing of 2023 budget into Law at the State House yesterday in Abuja. PHOTO; State House

We’ve made adequate provisions for general elections -Buhari

By Egena Sunday Ode

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that adequate provisions have been made in the 2023 Budget for the successful conduct of the forthcoming general elections and the transition programme.

He statws this on Tuesday in Abuja in a speech he delivered before signing the 2023 Budget of N21.83 trillion along with the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Bill into law.

The 2023 budget is the eighth and final annual budget of this Administration.

Buhari noted that the aggregate expenditures of N21.83 trillion, is an increase of N1.32 trillion over the initial Executive Proposal for a total expenditure of N20.51 trillion.

The President explained that the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act would enable the administration to respond to the havoc caused by the recent nationwide floods

NNPP senatorial candidate in Borno urges electorates to vote right

Shehu Abubakar, Maiduguri

The persistent scourge of vote buying in Nigeria’s electoral process has constituted a matter for serious worry to the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) senatorial candidate for Borno Central Senatorial District in the 2023 elections, Attom Mohammed Magira.

Consequently, he advised the electorate in the district: “Since they (vote-buying politicians) cannot stop buying votes, when they come to you with their money, take it, but vote the right candidate.”

Addressing his teeming supporters at Bama, Magira attributed bad political leadership to the ‘cash-forvote’ syndrome in the country’s electoral process.

He appealed to the Borno Central electorate to vote for him, saying, however, that he has no money to give them, but he possessed the required character, capacity and commitment to deploy and provide them the required representation at the National Assembly.

He promised to execute qualitative constituency projects for the development of education, women and youth empowerment and health for the people of the district.

•Signs N21.83tn 2023 budget into law •Asks Finance Minister to engage NASS on changes made to executive’s proposal •Says failure to securitize FG’s balance of CBN ways and means will cost N1.8tn additional interest

on infrastructure and agriculture sectors.

As is customary, he said the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning will subsequently provide more details of the approved budget and the supporting 2022 Finance Act.

‘’We have examined the changes made by the National Assembly to the 2023 Executive Budget proposal.

‘’The amended fiscal framework for 2023 as approved by the National Assembly shows additional revenues of N765.79 billion, and an unfunded deficit of N553.46 billion.

‘’It is clear that the National Assembly and the executive need to capture some of the proposed additional revenue sources in the fiscal framework. This must be rectified.

‘’I have also noted that the National Assembly introduced new projects into the 2023 budget proposal for which it has appropriated N770.72 billion. The National Assembly also increased the provisions made by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) by N58.55 billion.’’

President Buhari said his decision to sign the 2023 Appropriation Bill into law as passed by the National Assembly was to enable its implementation commence without delay, considering the imminent transition process to another democratically elected government.

He, however, directed the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning to engage with the Legislature to revisit some of the changes made to the Executive budget proposal, expressing the hope that the National Assembly will cooperate with the Executive arm of Government in this regard.

He urged the National Assembly to reconsider its position on his proposal to securitize the Federal Government’s outstanding Ways and Means balance at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

‘’As I stated, the balance has accumulated over several years and represents funding provided by the CBN as lender of last resort to the government to enable it to meet obligations to lenders, as well as cover budgetary shortfalls in projected revenues and/or

borrowings.

‘’I have no intention to fetter the right of the National Assembly to interrogate the composition of this balance, which can still be done even after granting the requested approval.

‘’Failure to grant the securitization approval will however cost the government about N1.8 trillion in additional interest in 2023 given the differential between the applicable interest rates which is currently MPR plus 3% and the negotiated interest rate of 9% and a 40year repayment period on the securitised debt of the Ways and Means.’’

To ensure more effective implementation of the 2022 capital Budget, President Buhari thanked the National Assembly for approving his request for an extension of its validity date to 31st March, 2023.

The President directed the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to work towards early release of the 2023 capital votes to enable Ministries, Departments and Agencies commence the implementation of their capital projects in good time to support efforts to deliver key projects and public services as well as improve the living conditions of Nigerians.

Reiterating that the 2023 Budget was developed to promote fiscal sustainability, macroeconomic stability and ensure smooth transition to the incoming Administration, the President said it was also designed to promote social inclusion and strengthen the resilience of the economy.

He pledged that adequate provisions have been made in the Budget for the successful conduct of the forthcoming general elections and the transition programme.

On achieving revenue targets for the budget, the President directed MDAs and Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs) to intensify their revenue mobilization efforts, including ensuring that all taxable organizations and individuals pay taxes due.

To achieve the laudable objectives of the 2023 Budget, the President said relevant Agencies must sustain current efforts towards the realization of crude oil

production and export targets.

‘’To augment available fiscal resources, MDAs are to accelerate the implementation of Public Private Partnership initiatives, especially those designed to fast-track the pace of our infrastructural development.

‘’This, being a deficit budget, the associated Borrowing Plan will be forwarded to the National Assembly shortly.

‘’I count on the cooperation of the National Assembly for a speedy consideration and approval of the Plan.’’

On the Finance Bill 2022, the President expressed regret that its review as passed by the National Assembly is yet to be finalized.

‘’This is because some of the changes made by the National Assembly need to be reviewed by the relevant agencies of government. I urge that this should be done speedily to enable me to assent into law,’’ he said.

Those who witnessed the signing of the budget include Senate President Ahmad Lawan and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.

The President thanked the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and all the distinguished and honourable leaders and members of the National Assembly for the expeditious consideration and passage of the Appropriation Bill.

He also recognised the roles played by the Ministers of Finance, Budget and National Planning, the Budget Office of the Federation, the Senior Special Assistants to the President (Senate and House of Representatives), the Office of the Chief of Staff, as well as all who worked tirelessly and sacrificed so much towards producing the 2023 Appropriation Act.

‘’As I mentioned during the presentation of the 2023 Appropriation Bill, early passage of the budget proposal is critical to ensure effective delivery of our legacy projects, a smooth transition programme and effective take-off of the incoming Administration.

‘’I appreciate the firm commitment of the 9th National Assembly to the restoration of a predictable January to December

fiscal year, as well as the mutual understanding, collaboration and engagements between officials of the Executive and the Legislative arms of government.

‘’These have made the quick consideration and passage of our Fiscal bills possible over the last four years.’’

The President expressed the belief that the next Administration would sustain the early presentation of the annual appropriation bill to the National Assembly to ensure its passage before the beginning of the fiscal year.

‘’I firmly believe the next Administration will also sustain the current public financial management reform efforts, further improve the budgeting process, and particularly maintain the tradition of supporting its Appropriation Bills with Finance Bills designed to facilitate their implementation.

‘’To sustain and institutionalize the gains of the reforms, we must expedite action and conclude work on the Organic Budget Law for it to become operational before the end of this Administration.’’

Acknowledging that ‘‘these are challenging times worldwide,’’ the President concluded his speech at the ceremony by expressing deep appreciation to Almighty God for His Grace, while commending the continuing resilience, understanding and sacrifice of Nigerians in the face of current economic challenges.

‘’As this Administration draws to a close, we will accelerate the implementation of critical measures aimed at further improving the Nigerian business environment, enhancing the welfare of our people and ensuring sustainable economic growth over the medium- to longterm,’’ he said.

Speaking to newsmen after the brief signing ceremony, President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan said the National Assembly should be commended for delivering on their promise to pass the budget in record time.

Also speaking, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila denied insinuations that the Federal legislature has become a rubber stamp.

Ogun Govt begins renovation of MKO Abiola Stadium

Ogun Government has begun renovation of the MKO Abiola International Stadium, Abeokuta, to provide adequate comfort for spectators.

The Chief Press Secretary to Gov. Dapo Abiodun, Mr Kunle Somorin, said in a statement on Saturday that the 10,000-capacity stadium would be fully covered to ensure a facelift.

He said that the renovation was part of Abiodun’s promise to raise the bar of sports and sporting activities in Ogun.

According to him, it is a follow-up to the money spent on the state’s contingent to the justconcluded 2022 National Sports Festival hosted by Delta.

He said that the reconstruction of the stadium started on Friday and had continued to Saturday morning as more materials and workers arrived the site.

The governor’s aide said that the facelift was expected to be completed in four weeks.

He noted that the stadium, named after the winner of

Nigeria’s June 12 Presidential Election, Bashorun MKO Abiola, who also hailed from Abeokuta, had been used as a multisports event centre for over two decades.

He said the stadium had played host to state-owned and private football clubs, including the Gateway Football Club and Abiola Babes International Football club.

”While the stadium has played host to local and international football matches, it has also produced stars that have

proven their mantle globally in the world of sports,” he said.

Somorin said that about 20 per cent of the stadium had been covered as at press time.

He said that arrangement to cover the whole spectators stand would no doubt add beauty, comfort and further raise the standard of the facility.

He added that it would also prepare the stadium for the 2023 National Sports Festival which Ogun recently got the right to host.

Emefiele saga: Human Rights Organisation cautions against interference in DSS investigations

National Coordinator and Special Envoy of Ecology and Marine International Human Rights Organisation, Alhaji Musa Saidu, has cautioned against inference in the ongoing investigations of alleged fraud by the CBN Governor, Dr Godwin Emefiele.

Saidu told the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday in Abuja that the recent criticism against DSS investigations of N70 trillion alleged looted funds and hidden in banks by some eminent Nigerians was uncalled for.

“ DSS is doing its job and as ordered by the President without partiality, so why should they be condemned by elites?,’’ he asked.

According to him, the CBN governor is like any other public officer entrusted with the public property as such he can be investigated, if the need arises.

Saidu said there were series of allegations against Emefiele by some Nigerians which include alleged fraud and the reported diversion of revenue funds, diversion of agricultural loans as well as some fraudulent

practices in Forex transactions.

“ The DSS investigation on the CBN governor is lawful and should be cherished by any patriotic Nigerian not condemning the act,’’ he said.

Saidu said that it was unpatriotic for any Nigerian to launch a campaign against any security outfit that strives to establish law and order in the country particularly, the

Department of State Security (DSS).

“We should see the ongoing investigation of Emefiele and others as a step towards ensuring justice, fairness and respect for the law and order in the country.

‘` We shall also see the DSS investigations into the alleged financial criminal offences as a giant stride of the Buhari administration,’ he said.

The activist however, condemned the sponsored campaign against DSS in the social media by some so called Non- Governmental Organisations on the Emefiele investigation, saying, “that is a sabotage and subversive to the state affairs.

“As a Human Rights activist, I believe in the rule of law, as such, security organisations

should arrest whoever is found wanting in government’’ he said.

Sa’idu pledged his organisation’s support to the security outfits to the fight against crimes in the country.

He vowed: ‘` We are ready to unite with DSS, police, military and all security agencies towards maintaining law and order in Nigeria.’’

(NAN)

Adamawa

Senator declares free health treatment for 558 constituents

From Umar Dankano, Yola

In continuation of the free medical outreach in Adamawa Southern Senatorial district sponsored by Senator Binos Dauda Yaroe, 558 patients have been treated in Nassarawo -Jereng ward of Mayo-belwa local government area in the state.

The 558 patients received treatment ranging from surgeries, consultation services, laboratory, pharmacy among others.

While on the spot assessment visit at the Primary Health Care Centre (PHCC) Jereng,Senator Binos Yaroe said, his decision to provide to free medical services to his constituents was borne out of his desire to ensure that people at the grassroots have access to quality medical services.

Association demands reversal of policy on third-party motor insurance premium

The Insurance Consumers Association of Nigeria (INSCAN), has called for the reversal of policy directive on the increase of third-party motor insurance premium by 200 per cent.

The National Coordinator of the association, Mr Yemi Soladoye, made the demand in a letter addressed to the National Insurance Commission, which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Monday in Abuja.

He said:” We, the Insurance Consumers Association of Nigeria, an affiliate of the Federal Competition and Consumers Protection Commission of Nigeria, once again introduce

ourselves to you as an organisation established in 2010 with objectives to speak for the aggrieved Nigerians on insurance Matters.

” We hereby demand that the directive to be reversed as it amounts to a deliberate breach of the fundamental principle of the utmost good faith and other decent regulatory principles that guide Insurance practice on your part.

” Our demand for the reversal of the directive is based on the facts that you failed to understand the full implications of your directive that the real organs you will punish are the Nigerian Insurance Consumers who provide the income that

accrue to the entire insurance Industry. ”

Soladoye said that consumers in Nigeria deserved more than one-week notice from the insurance commission, adding that the association was not impressed with the corresponding increase in the Indemnity limit to N3.0 million.

He added: ” You are definitely aware of the fact that even at the current N5,000 MTP premium, many Nigerians still patronise the fake underwriters and this is not because these Nigerians cannot afford the N5,000 but because they don’t see any benefit.

” We recall that even in the recent cases of currency redesign

and cash withdrawal limit introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)(which is at nil cost to the depositors) still enough time was given to the public for feed backs and adjustments to be made.

” As a Regulator in the Financial Services, you know that Companies and even governments in Nigeria must have concluded their budgets for the year 2023 latest by midDecember 2022.”

He said that the predictable outcome of the policy directive would be substantial increase in the number of fake Insurance Underwriters in the country. (NAN)

Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State(right),with other officials at a water project site in Azare local government area of Bauchi State, yesterday.

Troops eliminate 4 terrorists in Kaduna

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

After receiving a distress call from locals in Rafin Sarki village in Giwa Local Government Area, Kaduna Stlate, on Sunday and Monday, troops of Operation Forest Sanity eliminated four terrorists and recovered arms and

ammunition as well as other items in two encounters.

Maj-Gen. Musa Danmadami, Director, Defence Media Operations, made this known in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said the troops engaged the terrorists in a gun fight and neutralised two, recovering one AK 47 rifle.

He added that troops had also on Tuesday, carried out an ambush operation in Rafin Taba village, in the same local government area and neutralised two terrorists.

According to him, troops also recovered two AK 47 rifles, four AK 47 magazines, 51 (7.62mm) special ammunition, five mobile

phones, one cutlass, two motorcycles and the sum of N206, 000.

“The military high command commends troops of Operation Forest Sanity and encourages the general public to avail troops with credible and timely information on criminal activities,” he said.

Criminal Justice System: IGP moves to prevent duplication of investigation

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, in a bid to strengthen the criminal justice system and standardize investigation processes in the Nigeria Police Force, has ordered a streamlining of all police investigative processes to prevent duplication of investigation via indiscriminate petitions and transfer of cases initiated by individuals and groups who have been indicted in initial

investigations as a way to frustrate diligent investigation process and truncate criminal justice delivery.

A statement issued yesterday by Force PRO, Olumuyiwa Adejobi said the IGP gave the directives while reviewing and dealing with files/cases in response to complaints on indiscriminate transfers of cases from Zonal/State Commands and other investigative units of the Force by operatives of the Force Criminal Investigations Department, Force Intelligence Bureau, and other Force

Headquarters Based Investigation outfits under the guise of re-investigation at the prompting of indicted parties.

He stressed that the situation has often given rise to parallel investigations by multiple units leading to conflicting arrests of parties, and different outcomes even when such matters have been conclusively investigated and charged to court.

“The Inspector-General of Police has therefore warned that transfer or taking over of cases from Commands/Formations to FHQ-based outfits must only be carried

out upon approval of a written petition to the IGP which will serve as authority for any such action.

“ The IGP equally appeals to members of the public to be on the same page with the Police leadership in its bid to sanitize the process and strengthen our criminal justice system.

“He has similarly warned that officers found culpable of colluding with lawyers of, or indicted parties to abuse police investigative process will be sanctioned accordingly.”

L-R: Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji; his wife, Dr Olayemi Oyebanji; Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye; her spouse, Mr Lawrence Afuye; and Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Olubunmi Adelugba; at the 2023 inter-religious thanksgiving service marking the first working day of the year in ado-Ekiti, yesterday.

Buhari okays technology deployment to combat Southeast insecurity

By Egena Sunday Ode

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the deployment of advance technology to tackle insecurity in the southeast.

Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, revealed this to correspondents after a meeting with the president at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday.

The governor said he had come to see Buhari to appeal to him to approve the tech deployment to enable the area to deal effectively with the menace.

According to him, with the president’s approval, advanced surveillance equipment will soon be delivered to the region that will enhance the fight against insecurity without collateral damage.

He said he was also at the seat of power to thanked the president for what he has done for the region including the recent conversion of the Federal Medical Center Owerri to a university teaching hospital for the Federal University of Technology, and the approval that converted Alvan Ikoku College of Education to a federal college of education.

While noting that he came to visit the president on behalf of his people, Uzodinma said it was “also thank him for the various supports he gave to us during

this our period of security challenges and the support, he’s also given to us in terms of the various approveral.

“The approval to convert Federal Medical Center Owerri to a university teaching hospital for the Federal University of Technology, the approval that converted Alvan Ikoku College of Education to a federal college of education.

“Only two weeks ago, Igbos that came home from Lagos and outside South East enjoyed the benefit of the second Niger Bridge something that is worthy of of commendation.

“I also appealed to him for further support, to support us with some technological deployments, we have planned to be able to do an advanced kind of security control in the South East. And he has also given his approval to that.

“And in a moment from now, we’ll be getting some surveillance equipment and some modern technologies that will help us manage security so that we can fight crime with little or no collateral damage to the environment.”

On assurance for Imo State in the New Year, he stated: “Well, my people are enthusiastic and committed Nigerians and we believe in the unity of

the country. And we believe that for us to grow as a people, we need the support and cooperation of federal government, and that I’ve always stood for. So, going forward, I know 2023 will be better than 2022. And the level of development, we witnessed from 2020 to 2022 will be improved upon.

“And my people have seen a lot of thing. If you go to South East, in imo State for instance, we got approval of Mr. President, that has now enabling the government imo partnering with the Nigerian navy to dredge oguta river to orashi River to the sea, that is opening up that maritime route, then if there is a naval base, that we will now manage and control, pipelines vandalism, crude oil theft, and all forms of criminality that besieged that area for a very long time. And the crime is has gone down tremendously, since the Navel base was established.

“So I think we have hope for a better Nigeria. The road that we just completed that was commissioned by mr president, the Owerri to orlu, dualised expressway mr president has approved that imo state government be refunded.

“The good news is every day I come to mr president, one positive approval or the other. So our people are happy,

we’re committed, we’re happy, we have never had it so good. So and that is why I continue to tell you, that the party to beat in my state is APC. Those who are fighting me in my state are not saying we’re not working. They’re not saying we’re not developing the place. They are not accusing us of corruption. All they are saying is that they are contriving, instigating insecurity out of desperation, and then blaming the security on a government.

“I’ve seen at the sub national that critical security measures are managed and controlled by federal government. So I cannot be blamed for insecurity, because you cannot single out imo state. national security is about the 36 states of the Federation and FCT inclusive.

“So, I think we’ve done so well. And I’m happy by the grace of God, as soon as we’re able to bring the security to naught, we’ll have an environment that we will all celebrate and be happy with.

“During this season, we had relative peace in imo state, and Christmas is a very critical period for us and new year is also very critical. And apart from a few scratches in the hinterland we are on top of the security situation now in Imo state.”

The All Progressives

Congress Committee of Diaspora Chairmen (APC-CDC) has affirmed its commitment to mobilise Nigerians to ensure victory for the party’s presidential candidate, Sen. Bola Tinubu, in the Feb. 25 election.

The committee in its New Year message signed by Prof. Adesegun Labinjo and Mr Bola Babarinde, the APC CDC Chairman and General

Secretary respectively, said that 2023 would birth renewed hope for all Nigerians.

Wishing Nigerians a Happy New Year, the group commended party members in all Diaspora chapters for their commitment, dedication and loyalty which they said would not be taken for granted.

“The APC-CDC is 100 per cent committed to the Tinubu/ Shettima ticket and would be supporting the Diaspora

Directorate to deliver on its mandate in ensuring the mobilisation of resources, both human and material from the Diaspora towards the realisation of the Tinubu/ Shettima aspiration.

“The APC-CDC has donated campaign materials and souvenirs already while promising to do more in the year 2023 to support the Tinubu/Shettima presidential campaign,” it said.

The committee said that President Muhammadu Buhari had laid a solid foundation for Nigeria and the party.

It said that the APCCDC appreciated Buhari’s leadership and support towards the APC ticket.

“We will continue to support the country, our party and its leadership as led by Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu and all NWC (National Working

Committee) members.

“We are elated that our President Muhammadu Buhari is ready to join us on the campaign trail to campaign for the incoming President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We also gearing up in Diaspora to be part of this campaign train.

“We pray 2023 will usher in progress, excellent health and success for all,” the group said.

(NAN)

Our support for Tinubu is total — APC members in Diaspora

Abuja residents queued to collect their PVC at INEC FCT Office, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Buhari greets former minister of external affairs, Akinyemi at 81

President Muhammadu Buhari has joined family and friends of Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi in celebrating his 81st birthday, January 4, 2023, rejoicing with the former Minister of External Affairs on many years of impactful service to the nation.

This was contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, on Tuesday.

According to the statement, President Buhari lauded the scholar and administrator for his patriotism, and visionary leadership, which shaped the country’s foreign policy and increased influence in Africa and across the globe, particularly the creation of the Technical Aid Corps that shared professional skills with other nations.

The President noted the courage and experience that Prof. Bolaji brought into every opportunity to serve the nation, and the lasting changes in strengthening political, diplomatic and academic institutions, with ideas that generations will continue to enjoy and update, the statement said.

It added that as the former Director – General of the Nigerian Institute for International Affairs (NIIA) celebrates another age, President Buhari affirmed his relevance and influence in the country’s historic transitions, reforms and growth, appreciating his voice of wisdom and knowledge which continues to guide leaders.

The President prayed for Prof Akinyemi’s good health and strength, and blessings upon the family, said the statement.

I will end bandits’ killing of passengers — Tinubu

Presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has vowed to eliminate bandits abducting and killing travellers on Nigerian roads if he becomes the president.

Speaking at a Town Hall Meeting of Muslim Leaders from North-west, held in Kano on Tuesday, Tinubu said if he wins the election, his government would not tolerate insecurity.

According to him, if he wins the election, he would secure Nigerian roads against banditry and other miscreants, which he described as “gansgaters”.

The former Lagos State Governor said apart from checking banditry, his government would also rehabilitate Nigerian roads for safety of Nigerian travellers.

“My government would give maximum priority to security of our country. We will not tolerste gangsters on our roads. Apart from that, we would guide and improve the roads for our safety,” said Tinubu.

The presidential candidate also promised to increase the number of security personnel in the country, promising to provide needed equipment in a bid to secure the country from all front.

Tinubu also pledged to

fight corruption and poverty simultaneously, through provision of job opportunities.

“We would create robust import and export policies to creat jobs, aimed at reducing poverty,” he said.

Tinubu also called on the Muslim leaders to vote wisely for him, promising to be fair and just leader who would carry all the sections of the country along.

Earlier in a remark, the Jigawa State Governor, Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar, refuted the insinuations that Tinubu would be a “Southern President” if wins the election, saying, “Bola Tinubu activities clearly shows he is not a betrayer”.

Abubakar, said, “Tinubu’s political pedigree clearly vendicates him as none ethnic and religious bigot”.

The Governor, added that today everything Tinubu is doing on his presidential campaign was done actively with the full participation of both himself, Ganduje and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

Speaking, one of the Islamic clerics, Sheikh Qaribullah Nasiru Kabara, represented by one Yahya Imam, told Tinubu that they are supporting him because he is a Muslim.

According to Imam, Islamic clerics are not supporting Tinubu for money but by being a Muslim and breaking the jinx of Muslim-Christian ticket.

Northern youths commend military for peaceful Christmas celebration

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

The Northern Youths Vanguard for Development (NYVD) has commended the Nigerian military for providing effective security for peaceful Christmas celebration.

NYVD in a statement issued on Monday by its President, Yakubu Dauda and Secretary, Roseline Musa said, it is a testimony that the AFN is determined to keep its promise

of restoration of peace in the country.

It said for the second year running, the people of the region, especially the North East had a peaceful Christmas.

The statement urged people of the region to show appreciation to the military by their cooperation and provision of useful information on the activities of enemies of the country in their domain.

The group said troops continued their onslaughts

against criminal elements in the last period of the year to show their determination.

“New year eve, bandits kingpin, Gwoska Dankarami, escaped death by the whiskers when air strikes of the Nigerian military targeted his hideout, along Kaura Namoda Road in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

“Similarly, troops of 199 Special Forces Battalion hit out at terrorists on the eve of new year along Maiduguri to

Damboa Road, killing some of them.

“Reports from the North East is cheering and gives us hope that very soon, normalcy will be completely restored, because of what our troops are doing there and other places.

“We in NYVD commend the Armed Forces of Nigeria under Gen. LEO Irabor for making all this possible. We are very hopeful it will get better for the North and Nigeria as a country.”

From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

Gov. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Sokoto State PDP gubernatorial candidate, Mallam Saidu Umar, his running mate Sagir Attahiru Bafarawa with others during the PDP campaign rally at Binji Local government Area of Sokoto State yesterday

Adamawa Elders Forum charges politicians to be upright

From Umar Dankano,Yola

Ahead of the 2023 general elections, a non governmental organisation under the auspices “The Adamawa Elders Forum “ has charged all candidates aspiring for political offices to have the interest of the electorates at heart.

Chairman of the Forum,Air Commodore (rtd)Dan Suleiman gave the charge in Yola yesterday while hosting the gubernatorial candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Dr. Umar Ardo on his mission and vision for the state.

Commodore Dan and former Military administrator of Plateau state said the officeseeking politicians need to work on policies that have direct bearing on the yearnings of their people with a view to addressing the untold hardship facing them.

Clergy harps on celebration with less privileged

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

The Senior Pastor of House of Purpose Ministry, U/ Sunday in Chikun Local government Area, Apostle Yakubu Yusuf has urged Christians to allow the joy and peace, which the birth of Jesus Christ signifies to transform their lives and cause them to extend love and fellowship to the less privileged.

He gave the charge in the Christmas sermon he delivered yesterday.

The clergy who was reading from the Book, Neh..: 10-12 said as Christians celebrate the season, they should bear in mind that there are less privileged people among them who need to extend the celebration to by sharing things that will make the celebration meaningful to them.

4 die in Niger road crash

From Yakubu Mustapha Minna

Four persons have lost their lives while three others sustained injuries in an accident that occurred at Nami Village in Agaie Local Government

Area of Niger State.

The sector Commander of the FRSC, Kuma Tsukwam confirmed the incident to newsmen in Minna.

He said an articulated vehicle loaded with chemicals and 49 male passengers from Lagos

heading to Kano was involved in the accident.

The Commander explained that the injured victims were rescued and taken to the General Hospital Lapai while those who lost their lives were deposited at

the same hospital.

Tsukwam, blamed the accident on over speeding and loss of control by the driver.

He advised motorists to always observe speed limit to avoid crashes.

Niger Gov. assures of sustainable devt

From Yakubu Mustapha Minna

Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello has assured the people that he would remain central and achieve the main focus of the APC-led administration in the state.

In his New Year message to the state, the Governor noted that based on its performance thus far, the ruling party

remains the most viable option for the citizens ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Governor Bello maintained that, although the administration is winding down, the government remains focused and committed to completing most of the ongoing projects stressing that, “service delivery, improvement of the general living conditions and well-being of the people

remains sacrosanct”.

Amidst heightened political activities ahead of the 2023 general elections, Governor Sani Bello warned against campaigns of calumny and thuggery, emphasizing the need for issue- based campaigns among all political gladiators and party loyalists.

He also acknowledged the declining banditry activities across the troubled parts of the

state and paid glowing tribute to the gallantry of the Armed Forces and other security agencies for the sustained fight against the menace of banditry and wanton kidnappings that bedeviled the state.

While wishing citizens a blissful New Year, Governor Bello prayed for the sustenance of peace and unity in the state and country.

L-R; The President of Burundi, H.E Evariste Ndayishinmye Special Envoy, Mr. Audance Niyonzima and President Muhammadu Buhari during an audience at the State House, yesterday in Abuja PHOTO State House

Buhari assures Burundi of Nigeria’s support Action Alliance vows to challenge

2023 poll results

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

The Action Alliance (AA) party has written the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), informing the electoral umpire that the party shall definitely approach the tribunals to set aside all elections conducted without its genuine candidate in 2023.

This was contained in a letter dated 28th December, 2022

From Oba Maduabuci SAN and Co., to the INEC Chairman and made available to the media in Kaduna yesterday.

The party stated that they had earlier submitted six judgments which have all affirmed that Chief (Barr) Kenneth Udeze is no longer a member of the Party Action Alliance.

Two of those judgements according to the learned SAN are the Court of Appeal Abuja, the latest of which was delivered by the Court of Appeal Abuja on the 11th day of November, 2022.

The Letter further stated that, “This position that Chief (Barr) Kenneth Udeze is not a member of the party has again been emphasized by the Federal Court Abuja in a judgment delivered on the 22nd day of December 2022 in the suit: Action Alliance V. INEC, Suit Number FHC/ABJ/

Gombe IPAC kicks against appointment of LG chairs as caretakers

From David Hassan, Gombe

The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Gombe state has denied the appointment of the local government chairmen as caretakers.

Its Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Aliyu stated this while briefing Journalists in Gombe on Thursday.

He said IPAC will not support the appointment of the 11 local government chairmen by the government as caretakers.

By Egena Sunday Ode

In the spirit of African solidarity and brotherliness, Nigeria will support Republic of Burundi in diverse ways as necessary, President Muhammadu Buhari has assured.

The President spoke Tuesday at the State House, Abuja, while receiving the

Special Envoy of President Evariste Ndayishimiye, who came with a message.

Hon. Audace Niyonzima, Minister of Finance, Budget, and Economic Planning of Burundi, said his President sent goodwill for the New Year to Nigerians and President Buhari, and also wishes the country well in general elections scheduled for

February and March, this year.

“We pray that the polls would be peaceful and successful, so that Nigeria would maintain her reputation as a bastion of peace and stability,” the Special Envoy said.

On request for assistance in the area of energy provision, particularly fuel, by the Burundi leader, President Buhari said he knows what it

feels like for a country to suffer from energy shortage, and promised that he would get the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to look into the request.

President Buhari said he was looking forward to the polls, and retirement, since he had satisfied the constitutionally required two terms to be in office.

APC PCC donates 1000 bags of food items to Christian community in Zamfara

The Zamfara chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) has donated 1,000 bags of rice and corn flour to the Christian community in the state for the celebration of the 2022 Christmas and 2023 New Year in the state.

This is contained in a statement issued in Gusau on Tuesday by the state APC Publicity Secretary, Malam Yusuf Idris.

“The food items which comprised 250 bags of rice and

750 bags of maize flour were handed over to the Christian community in the state by the State APC PCC Coordinator Sen. Kabiru Marafa.

“The gesture was aimed at joining the Christian community in celebrating the festive season in the zone which is Coordinated by Gov. Bello Mohammed Matawalle of Zamfara.

“Marafa called on the beneficiaries, the Christian community leaders in the state to ensure that the gesture reached the majority of their

members especially those in need throughout the state,” Idris said.

Idris also quoted the PCC Coordinator as calling on them to contribute in creating more awareness on the candidature of the APC presidential and vice presidential candidates, Matawalle and their ability to move the nation and the state to greater heights.

“Marafa called on them to continue to pray for the growth, development, security, peace and unity of the nation as well as the state beyond the 2023 general

elections,” he added.

In their remarks while receiving the items, the state Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the EzeIgbo Zamfara, Ahmad Haruna and Igwe Egbuna Obijiaku, respectively, commended the council for the gesture and promised to extend it to the beneficiaries.

The two leaders also assured that the Christian community would always pray for the growth and wellbeing of Nigeria and Nigerians. (NAN)

Abuja residents queued to collect their PVC at INEC FCT Office, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

2023:

Gov Yahaya promises to construct infrastructure in Nafada

From David Hassan, Gombe

As part of the efforts to bring people close to the government, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has promised to construct more developmental projects in Nafada community.

The governor stated this on Tuesday during the All Progressives Congress (APC) rally at Nafada local government area of Gombe state.

Governor Yahaya while sharing his experiences said his administration is ready to solve problems if elected for second term.

The governor stated this on Tuesday during the All Progressives Congress (APC) rally at Nafada local government area of Gombe state.

Governor Yahaya while sharing his experiences said his administration is ready to solve problems if elected for second term.

No amount of noise by APC will stop PDP from winning Benue, Ortom boasts

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has boasted that no amount of noise making from the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC,

will stop the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, from winning this year’s election in the State.

The Governor made the boast yesterday in Government House, Makurdi during a

reception rally in honor of the party’s Governship candidate Titus Uba.

It whould be noted that Uba has been away on sick vacation in Germany where he underwent treatment for partial paralysis.

Ortom maintained that the quick and speedy recovery of Uba is an indication that all forces of darkness over the State and PDP, principalities, spiritual wickedness in high places have failed.

Foundation urges NASS to re-establish roles of traditional rulers

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

The TY Buratai Humanity Care Foundation has called on the National Assembly (NASS) to re-establish the roles of traditional rulers in matters involving religion, culture, security, justice and other ancillary matters in the Nigerian Constitution.

This was contained in a statement by the National Coordinator of the foundation, Ibrahim Dahiru Danfulani and made available to the media in Kaduna yesterday.

The Foundation noted that the current constitution has relegated the traditional institution to the background with no constitutional roles.

Danfulani who is the Sadaukin Garkuwan Keffi, added that the Grand Patron of the Foundation H.E. Lt Gen TY Buratai Rtd had observed that “modern Nigeria’s origin was based on the political, social and economic roots of Nigeria’s empires, kingdoms and chiefdoms firmly established before the colonial rule.

“These empires, kingdoms and chiefdoms were well

administered by the Emirs, Obas and Obis.

“These Traditional rulers wielded powers and authority that helped to douse conflicts and ensure criminals had no hiding places. Progress and developments took place in their domains.”

“As it is today, traditional rulers do not have the constitutional or other legal backings to perform effectively as they are not even mentioned in the 1999 constitution.

“This is a great departure from all earlier constitutions

that recognised them, and even gave them some functions to perform. Such functions include maintaining peace and security which made the work of the police, the military and the government officials much easier.

“The TY Buratai Foundation agrees and supports the position of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria that: “Traditional rulers should be accorded specific responsibilities for conflict and security management in their domains.”

Southern Kaduna communities harp on peaceful coexistence

Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

The communities in Southern Kaduna said they are ready to dialogue and

live in peace with any group or groups of persons in the area.

This was disclosed by the Chief of Kagoro Mr. Ufuwai Bonet, in the Kaura Local Government

Area of Kaduna State, According to him, Southern part of the state is open to dialogue with Fulani people and any warring faction towards

ensuring permanent peace in his Chiefdom.

“We are ready for dialogue with any group of people that have any grievances against us”.

From:

L-R; Ambassador of Burundi to Nigeria, Ms Marie Jeane Ntakirutimana, The President of Burundi, H.E Evariste Ndayishinmye Special Envoy, Mr. Audance Niyonzima and President Muhammadu Buhari during an audience at the State House yesterday in Abuja PHOTO State House

2023: May the Sun Rise from the East

By Tope Oke

The immense resonation of the message itself birthed a movement known as the “Obidients”. The frenzy behind the movement has shifted his potential gear of winning from being “impossible” to “possibly but improbable”. While momentum is swelling, there are still so many hurdles to cross. Apart from the armored ethnoreligious glass he has to break, he is up against two old, experienced warhorses who will go to any length to ensure the existing hegemony isn’t usurped.

Despite a variety of accounts from direct participants and observers, there is still a lack of consensus or closure on the real motive behind the events that took place on the morning of January 15, 1966. While some have claimed that the coup was motivated by patriotism, others believe it was simply an Igbo Coup – a phrase for a violent attempt to grab and perpetuate the Easterners in power. Another school describes the young Majors as naïve revolutionaries who were just brimming with youthful exuberance and had no sense of direction or purpose.

If perception is devoid of any molecule of emotion and sentiments, it looked like an Igbo coup! First off, amongst all the military and civilian casualties, only one was Igbo and among all the lynchpins of the coup, only one was non – Igbo! Of course, northern officers and politicians suffered the most. The subsequent gloating of the Easterners in the aftermath of the coup further enraged their northern counterparts. Imagine the mindset of the northern officers when they saw that famous interview where their colleague, Major Nzeogwu, described how they “got” their revered leader, the Premier, amongst his wife and children. It was therefore sacrilegious for the ultimate benefactor of the coup, who also happened to be an Igbo to defer upholding the military fraternity’s sacred laws against treason by bringing the mutineers to justice. Instead, they still received their wages while in moderate detention, and in all fairness to the northern officers, they exercised restraint for a whole six months. To naively and effectively seal his own fate, General Ironsi introduced the infamous Unification Decree 34 which sucked more power to the center, accentuating the northerners’ belief in a grand plan for the Igbos to consolidate their dominance.

His legendary crocodile-shaped staff couldn’t save him when a mutiny erupted in the peaceful town of Abeokuta on July 29, 1966. That night ushered in a new era of northern hegemony, politically and economically, and simultaneously relegated the Igbos to the backseat of Nigeria’s power and politics. Many of the actors on that night still control the power rungs today one way or the other.

Without a doubt, the perpetual subliminal bias towards the Easterners from the rest of the country is rooted in the aforementioned events. Perennially disdained by the Northerners for obvious reasons and held in cynicism by others for upturning the Nigerian political applecart. Even those around their neighborhood are quick to remind anyone who cares that they’re not Igbo. Often viewed with suspicion,

many are even wary of entering into any economic relationship with an Igbo for some uncanny reasons but they somehow, have managed to become the most enterprising and some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country. This is not to say that the Igbos do not deserve some of the flak that they get. However, In the dark history of mortals, there are certainly no saints, and therefore it will be reckless to paint any nation or tribe as absolute victims or villains

It is in this preceding context that it is a welcome coincidence that for the first time since 1979, Nigeria is heading into a presidential election with the leading candidates representing the three major tribes, and even more significantly one of them is an Igbo candidate that has garnered sufficient goodwill and support to put a finger on the trigger for a shot at the highest office in the land. Whether he can win remains to be seen but Peter Obi is certainly riding on a wave of a popular, organic movement that cascaded from the EndSars protests which erupted across the country two years ago. Perhaps, it may not have been the case if the two leading parties had read the room and put a lead on the monetization of their primaries which produced two geriatric politicians in Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar for the ruling APC and the opposition PDP respectively.

While the ruling party was able to rally around to ultimately conduct a primary that produced its National Leader as its candidate, the opposition party is still enmeshed in some sort of political fratricide after an injury-time maneuver in their nocturnal primaries ultimately edged out long-time party stalwart and Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike out of any place on the ticket.

Admittedly, it is quite understandable why some are backing the Jagaban. If Awolowo was the political god, then Tinubu is the demigod. With Lagos as his launchpad, he has capitalized on Nigeria’s peculiar politics to amass an enormous network of structures and resources and demonstrated enough strategic courage, patronage, and dexterity than anyone else for even his contemporaries to buy into his leadership style and surrender their loyalty to propel him to the presidency. If this was some years back, Tinubu would have secured bloc votes from his kinsmen but his entitled claim to the throne now comes at a time many are disgruntled and disillusioned by the misrule of his party and the candidate he sold to Nigerians seven years ago. If Nigeria wasn’t a paradox, his party the APC should be ostracized and not have the opportunity to smell power again for some time. However, for some reason, in a country so extremely bedeviled by the three core issues (Security, Corruption, and Unemployment) his party promised to fix in their campaign for power in 2015, the National Leader of that same party is the frontrunner to win the elections. It is nothing short of a diabolical spell and piercingly defines the extreme docility Nigerians are renowned for. Furthermore, and most crucially, if his controversial past is deflected, one cannot look away from his frail health. He clearly isn’t physically or mentally fit to stand the rigors

of a role that his erstwhile sick predecessor could inflict on him. The controversial engagement in London at the Chatham House where he grotesquely outsourced the answers to questions thrown at him further amplifies the reservations many have about his cognitive abilities. It is gravely risky for the country to go from one unhealthy septuagenarian to another one and for those who conveniently compare Nigeria to Uncle Sam, they feign oblivion that our institutions are not as strong as the Americans, and neither do their leaders govern from a hospital bed abroad.

Like Tinubu, Atiku is cut from the same political cloth and has been dancing to similar political tunes since the third republic. If not for Atiku’s esurient thirst for power, they would have been dancing to the same music all along but his ambition to take one step further up the power rung has cast him in an image of a serial hopper who is in line to break the record for the most failed presidential attempts on the continent if and when he loses for the sixth time this year. The infinite amount of money and resources he has poured into each campaign only reveals he isn’t coming to serve. While he brands himself as a democrat and unifier, he financially maneuvered his way to his party’s candidacy, the result of which has torn his party right down the middle. A paradox. More so, early last year, the Deborah Matthew incident effectively portrayed him as a man who would do anything on the altar of political expediency to fulfill his ambition.

After the EndSars protests were quelled in the most barbaric manner by the government, stakeholders called for the young protesters to channel their frustrations at the polls. When you marry that with the sustained yearnings for a third force, the embodiment of that outgrowth is Peter Obi on the platform of the Labour Party. From being a running mate to one of his rivals on the opposition party’s platform barely 4 years ago, Obi has somehow, morphed into a symbol of a break from the establishment. His candidacy seems to have catalyzed a raise in the standard of electioneering campaigns with himself promising to lead a government of accountability, transparency, and prudence. The immense resonation of the message itself birthed a movement known as the “Obidients”. The frenzy behind the movement has shifted his potential gear of winning from being “impossible” to “possibly but improbable”. While momentum is swelling, there are still so many hurdles to cross. Apart from the armored ethnoreligious glass he has to break, he is up against two old, experienced warhorses who will go to any length to ensure the existing hegemony isn’t usurped. However, it is quite remarkable that the widespread support that critics have waved off as just being domiciled on social media is proliferating terrestrially. It is even rumored that the” gatekeepers” of Nigeria are offering him their support.

Tope Oke is a businessman and public affairs analyst.

@teepenn44

New Year resolutions and the consistent self deceptions

By Clement Uwayah

The failed expectations arising from resolutions do not make the resolutions unwarranted or worthless, but the timing and follow ups always does. New year resolutions seem to me an automatic way of allowing procrastinations and delays to hinder and overshadow the necessary actions that needs be taken for one’s immediate and ultimate better outcome.

Human desires to regularly do away with identified weaknesses and traits that are considered unbefitting, unproductive, and inimical to the ultimate realisation of expected goals, as well as setting of new ones has assumed a seasonal affair and mostly tied to what has become a yearly routine exercise – the new year resolutions. The belief that amendments of undesirable lifestyles and opting for better run and outcomes are best sought and achieved at a particular point in time, especially at the beginning of a new calendar year has been an age long thing, hence it is actually the rationale behind such resolutions. Across the globe, it is a common practice.

Wikipedia records that, ‘a new year’s resolution` is a tradition, most common in the Western Hemisphere but also found in the Eastern Hemisphere, in which a person resolves to continue good practices, change an undesired trait or behaviour, to accomplish a personal goal, or otherwise improve their life’. Thus, every new year is supposed to make individuals better. But in reality, it would appear that rather than get better, most persons become even worst on same traits for which they had resolved to change. From inferential statistics, less than ten percent of people are able to keep up with their resolves. It therefore means that every year has a history of repeated vein human expectations, occasioned by unachieved resolutions. Arguably, new year resolutions have repeatedly resulted to fixed false beliefs that conflict with reality, and that is exactly a delusion.

The failed expectations arising from resolutions do not make the resolutions unwarranted or worthless, but the timing and follow ups always does. New year resolutions seem to me an automatic way of allowing procrastinations and delays to hinder and overshadow the necessary actions that needs be taken for one’s immediate and

ultimate better outcome. The attachment of resolutions to New year’s seemed to have introduced a measure of significance to some form of calendar related possibilities with respect to desired habit changes and expectations. Rather than a yearly resolve, it makes more sense to adopt some form of timeless resolves that gives the flexibility for immediate redress. When people fail in their yearly resolutions, they seem to await another full circle to make a comeback trial of the issue for which they desired a change. In the long run, ‘yearly’ resolutions most often leave people in a perpetual state of retardation and inability to carry through.

More often, new year resolutions have had to do with an intent to correct undesirable habits than that of purposeful planning for better outcomes. Recalling that habits hardly die, one would rather propose for a more purposeful approach in the form of Personal Development Plan (PDP). Embracing such would in a way fight such undesired habits, even without knowing it, thus making it a case of habit replacement. For instance, rather than resolve to be less combative, insultive or quarrelsome, one could plan to be very slow to answering back or refrain from talking much generally. In the same vein, one who desires to change from being a drunk or from other habits may plan to become engaged at such times of indulgences in such activities. A shift from or change of friends, acquaintances and even routes may also come handy.

The hallmarks of human success and prosperity is deeply rooted in an ability to constantly rise up whenever he falls or fails in any given attempt. However, the often wrong impression associated with new year resolutions tends to make people give up on something so easily, terming themselves as failures and hoping for another opportunity in another year. For instance, does it not amount to self-deception or practical insanity for someone to declare January of a new year as termination of his own self-identified dislikes, as if it were on practice handed through a contractual agreement over a given course of time? Should the desire to change an undesired trait not be a mindset rather than the calendar timing we seemed to have so embraced? The saying that anytime we are aware of a thing means it is calling for attention or actions has taken flight with our reliance on new year resolutions to

initiate changes

Truth remains that the power to bring about changes is always more spiritual than physical and must be deeply rooted from inside (mindset) than a mere wish and reliance on some external forces, especially a point in time in a calendar year. Until the mind is conditioned to assume the position that ultimately alters a certain status quo, nothing can happen. For resolutions to yield its desired results, it should be considered as a manifestation activity rather than an expectation event. It is all tied to our belief system. Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, and your values become your destiny.

The quest for one’s betterment cannot be downplayed on, hence resolutions should not be restricted to New Year’s as it only promotes procrastination and perpetuity in wrong doings. Importantly, it must be noted that the ultimate force that creates the enabling possibility for the effective and positive outcome of resolutions is the recognition of God’s Power and Grace. Rather than work with the God of years, we often get carried away with the thought that a new year carries the power of change. This is in conformity with the thoughts of Reno Omokri, who warned that ‘The New Year Will Not Lead To A New You If You Don’t Make New Decisions. Never Believe That A Calendar Occurrence Will Just Bring You Blessings On Its Own Without You Taking Action To Agree With What God Says About You. A Date Can’t Make You Great”.

In the final analysis, it is to be affirmed that our abilities to reposition ourselves towards better outcomes is not and can never be hinged on the delusional resolutions we make yearly. It is vein expectations to expect that resolutions would work out because it is tied to a particular calendar period. Indeed, it always amounts to procrastinations when one refuses to take immediate actions towards remedying an undesired state. Anytime a thing is known is the time attention to it is necessary. Procrastinations are thieves of time and that is one associated inclination we often harbour concerning making our desired changes using the instrumentality of new year resolutions.

Clement Uwayah writes from Edo State.

Witch hunting churches and pastors in 21st century Nigeria

By Leo Igwe

Self-styled prophets, men and women of God, like Adetuberu, use these events to destroy families and poison relationships between couples and their in laws, parents and their children, people who live in cities, and those who live in the villages. Pastors have used these events to turn siblings against siblings, relatives against relatives, men against men, men against women, and adults against children.

The Advocacy for Alleged Witches urges the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to call its witch-hunting pastors to order and restrain them from inciting violence and hatred in the name of witchcraft and exorcism. This call has become necessary following a recent Christian witch-hunting event in Ibadan in Southwest Nigeria. On Friday, November 25, 2022, the Faith and Miracle International Church organized an Ibadan city-wide crusade. Tagged “Destroying the Power of Witchcraft and Marine Spirit”, this event took place at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Liberty Stadium Ibadan, Oyo State. Senior Prophet G F Adetuberu presided over this program. It is worrisome that the event happened in contemporary Nigeria.

The AfAW is deeply concerned over this activity because similar programs have been linked to cases of witch persecution

and related abuses in the communities. Unfortunately, pastors are using witchcraft to assert legitimacy and power. They are stoking witchcraft fears and anxieties and getting people to attribute their everyday problems and existential challenges to the assumed magical powers of their relatives. Pastors have used these crusades to validate and sanctify abuses and violations of alleged witches; they have made a religious service out of torturing and maltreating supposed human perpetrators of occult harm.

Self-styled prophets, men and women of God, like Adetuberu, use these events to destroy families and poison relationships between couples and their in laws, parents and their children, people who live in cities, and those who live in the villages. Pastors have used these events to turn siblings against siblings, relatives against relatives, men against men, men against women, and adults against children. They have planted and reinforced suspicions and mistrust in the communities.

Christian witch-hunting continues to ravage the country because of the inaction of the Christian Association of Nigeria. The CAN has continued to turn a blind eye to these witch hunting events. Organizations such as the CAN have refused to take a strong stand against witch-hunting churches such as the Faith and Miracle International Church and witch-hunting pastors

such as Adetuberu. Some CAN officials offer flimsy excuses. They claim that these pastors are not true men or women of God; that their churches do not belong to the CAN. But the Christian Association of Nigeria should know that: whether these pastors are a part of the CAN or not, their witch hunting activities negatively reflect on the Nigerian church.

It is pertinent to remind the CAN that witchcraft imputation is a crime under Nigerian law. Section 210 of the criminal code, and section 216 of the penal code state that anyone who accuses or threatens to accuse any person of being a witch or having the power of witchcraft is guilty of misdemeanor and liable to imprisonment for two years. The CAN should not allow churches and pastors to indulge in criminal activities or activities that aid and abet crimes. The CAN has a moral obligation to provide leadership and stop giving excuses for their inability and reluctance to rein in witch-hunting churches and pastors. At a time that churches in the west are issuing apologies for their role in witch hunting in early modern Europe, the church in Nigeria should sanction witch hunting churches and pastors. The CAN should take other necessary measures to end abuses linked to witchcraft beliefs and exorcism in 21st century Nigeria.

Leo Igwe is a Public Affairs Analyst.

This 2023 Nigerians deserve to breathe again

By Azuka Onwuka

One factor that has contributed hugely to Nigeria’s retrogression and problems is the people’s obsession with material possession. If any presidential candidate who gets elected this year does not do anything to change that, then the person will not have achieved anything substantial for Nigeria.

It is said that a people deserve the leaders they get, but one wonders if Nigerians deserve their leaders. Since 1960 when Nigeria got her independence, Nigeria has moved from one mediocre leadership to another. The people are usually desirous to have transformative leaders, but somehow, they keep getting disappointed. Between February and March of this 2023, Nigeria will go to the polls again to elect another president as well as legislators, state governors and state legislators.

With the parlous state of the Nigerian economy and security, most Nigerians believe that this year’s election is a defining one: It has the possibility to offer Nigeria the opportunity to break from its past of wastefulness and mediocrity and start the arduous task of rebuilding the country. But to achieve that, Nigerians are expected to elect leaders based on their pedigree and capacity rather than their status as “power brokers” or ethniccum-religious allies.

One factor that has contributed hugely to Nigeria’s retrogression and problems is the people’s obsession with material possession. If any presidential candidate who gets elected this year does not do anything to change that, then the person will not have achieved anything substantial for Nigeria.

The current Nigerian attitude to material possession is cancerous. It has eaten deeply into the internal organs of Nigeria and created some of the grave problems that have paralysed Nigeria. Money has become the god of Nigeria for some decades now. Most of the churches and mosques preach and worship it week after week. Even when they claim that they don’t promote materialism, the constant pressure they give their worshippers and the special attention and honour they give to the big donors still make the loud statement that money is the king and god of Nigeria, and those who have a lot of it and dole it out profusely get all the accolades and honours.

It is the same thing in the social or communal life. The Nigerian society has made it clear that only those who have money and flaunt it deserve respect. They are the ones who get all the chieftaincy titles and awards. They are celebrated at every opportunity as examples of success.

The sad part is that unlike in the past, the source of people’s wealth is no longer questioned in Nigeria. Until

the mid-1980s, Nigerians still questioned people’s source of wealth before celebrating it. Parents would not accept monetary or material gifts from their children, if they were not sure of the source of wealth of such children. People tried as much as possible to dissociate themselves from those who were perceived as tainted.

In recent times, because of the desire to be wealthy and influential and be celebrated, crime has continued to soar in Nigeria. That many Nigerians engage in drug trafficking, even in countries where drug trafficking attracts the death penalty, is because of the consuming desire to get rich by any means. Many people say that it is better to die trying to be rich than to be alive without being rich and celebrated.

The same thing goes for kidnapping for ransom, armed robbery and internet scams. There is no repulsion for these crimes anymore. Those who engage in them even create justifications for them. They blame society for not providing jobs for them, even though most of them would reject jobs because no job in Nigeria will pay a young person millions of naira every month like crime does. There is also the justification that those in political positions steal much more.

The continuous rise in the level of corruption exhibited by those in the civil service and even those in the private service also has its roots in this worship of money. When most people talk about their tenure in the civil service, governance, judiciary, media, public relations, advertising, marketing, manufacturing, banking, etc, it is usually as one without blemish, but when the salary and other forms of remuneration of such people are compared with the amount of money and assets they have amassed, one sees a clear disconnect. There is no way all their earnings can give rise to the amount of wealth they have amassed, no matter how savvy they are in investment.

An associate faced such a challenge and pressure based on the amount of money his townsman working in the same organisation was donating at home and the assets he was acquiring. His father asked him why he was not doing as well as his kinsman working in the same office, and advised him to get close to him and learn how to progress in life. Any time the man contacted his kinsman to tell him how he was making such huge financial progress, the answer he got was: “My brother, work hard, invest and trust in God.”

This continued until something led to a probe of his activities in the public relations department where he was working. It was found out that for years he was fleecing the organisation. He would raise a budget of gifts in cash and kind to reporters, editors and publishers for the sake of getting constant positive media reports. But much of the money was going into his bank account and

that of his colleague in the same department. And just as security funds are treated with secrecy, encouraging corruption, so are public relations funds too. And this is rampant because the Nigerian media, which should be watchdogs, also join in the corruption of demanding or accepting gratification to kill negative stories and publish positive stories. Even though some media houses frown at such practices and punish journalists who engage in such, many journalists still find shrewd ways to engage in them.

Nigeria has been so badly infected that it has become virtually impossible for one to survive here without being tainted. Corruption has been so ingrained that the few who genuinely want to avoid it are seen as misfits. The more they try, the more they are victimised and more hurdles placed on their path, so as to make them succumb. Even their rights like their pension, gratuity, property, freedom, life, etc, are targeted, so as to make them succumb to corruption. Their family members, friends and religious leaders even tell them to “apply wisdom” by giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God, all in a bid to make them play ball like most other people and stop losing what is their right. Therefore, anybody who lives in Nigeria but is completely untainted by corruption is an extraordinary human being: almost a saint.

Wealth without enterprise has pauperised Nigeria and created desperation in Nigerians. There is the belief that after one has acquired wealth by any possible means, one can always make huge donations to religious organisations, the poor and different institutions as a way to ‘clean’ the money. One can even build a church or mosque with the hope that such is a befitting atonement.

Therefore, pulling Nigeria out of this pit requires a firm and strategic reorientation led by a trusted leadership. The leader must be someone who can lead by example and show that money is not the be-all and end-all of life. Such a leader will also be one that will take practical measures to fish out and prosecute those who are tainted by corruption or crime, even if they are his cronies. That is why it is vital that Nigerians elect someone who has the capability to destroy the current compromised Nigerian foundation and build a new one. This new foundation will require Nigerians rekindling their belief in the country and taking ownership of Nigeria. It will require Nigerians to raise the alarm whenever any big gun tries to jump the queue.

That attitude will help to restore sanity and hope in Nigeria. It will not be easy to achieve but it is possible. All it requires is for Nigerians to have a leader they can trust and work with, a leader who will make sacrifices while telling Nigerians to make sacrifices.

– Twitter: @BrandAzuka

Tinubu/Shettima campaign council donates food to Christian community in Zamfara

From Ibrahim Sidi Muh’d, Gusau

The Zamfara State chapter of the Tinubu/Shattima Presidential Campaign Council has donated 1,000 bags of rice and corn flour to Christian community for the celebration of the 2022 Christmas and new year in the state.

The food items which comprised 250 bags of rice and 750 bags of maize

flour were handed over to the Christian community in the state by the State Coordinator of the Tinubu/Shattima Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa.

Marafa said the gesture was aimed at joining the Christian community in celebrating the festive season in the zone which is under the coordination of Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle of Zamfara state.

He called on the beneficiaries at the event which held at the Zamfara Tinubu/ Shattima campaign complex along Sokoto bye-pass road Gusau to ensure that the gesture reached majority of Christians especially those in need throughout the state.

Marafa further called on them to continue to pray especially in Churches and other worship places for the growth, needed development, security, restoration

of peace and unity of the nation and the state beyond the 2023 general elections.

Receiving the items, the state Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Igbo community leader in the state, Ahmad Haruna Gidan Zallah and Chief Igwe Obijiafor respectively, commended the Tinubu campaign council in the state for the gesture and promised to extend it to the intended beneficiaries.

Bishop calls for national, moral rebirth

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

As Nigerians celebrate the New Year, the Bishop of Anglican Communion Kaduna Diocese, Rt. Rev. Timothy Yahaya has called for National, moral rebirth, and attitudinal change across the board for the country to progress and develop.

Speaking while delivering his New Year message at the Cathedral of St Michael Anglican Church, Kaduna on Sunday, Reverend Yahaya tasked Nigerians to eschew religious and ethnic sentiments and vote for leaders who posses required qualities to lead the country out of the security and economic challenges bedeviling it into era of progress and development during

the forthcoming 2023 general elections.

“The rate at which our nation is going, there is a need for national rebirth. Morality is down, sincerity is absent, life is worthless, ritual money, ritual killings all over the place. The tomato seller, the groundnut seller is not spared, everybody should come on board. We must reconsider our way to rebirth the nation. Everybody needs to be patriotic, nationalistic, we need to defend Nigeria to make Nigeria work.

“Because we are calling for national rebirth, the forthcoming general election should be peaceful and credible. National rebirth is all inclusive, politicians must play a game of unifying the country so that it would not be a mere geographical expression

as our forefathers say. When a leader comes to campaign to vote, we look at ethnicity and religion, instead of looking at the quality of the leader and voting credible candidates.

“ We should disregard message of division and embrace message of unity. Except we are united, this country would not go far. We must disregard division.”

Speaking on the various attacks on INEC offices nationwide and their impacts on the 2023 general elections, Reverend Yahaya said security agents should have taken severe actions to nip it in the bud long ago. “Vandalism of INEC offices started a long time ago, where is the security? The Even INEC chairman had to call on the Federal

Government for security. We don’t need that call. I pray these are not the detractors of our democracy or people who want to pull our country down. Burning down INEC offices would not change the result of the elections.

“I call on Nigerians not to sell their votes. Your votes speak for another four years. Whoever sells his vote is worthless. How much would they sell you as an individual? Money is not everything, they are not buying your vote, they are insulting you.

“For those under bandits’ captivity, we are saddened by their situation. Our security must be on top of their game. No area should be said to be difficult. We should use technology to cater for all.

“

L-R; President Muhammadu Buhari, Chairman House Committee on Finance, Hon James Falake, President of the Senate Dr Ahmad Lawan and Speaker Rt Hon Femi Gbajabialmila during the Signing of 2023 budget into Law at the State House, yesterday in Abuja. PHOTO; State House

YPP Reps candidate urges religious leaders to reject NGO Bill in

NASS

By Abubakar Yunus

The candidates of the house of Representatives of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) for Ifako-Ijaye federal constituency, Lagos State, Buraimoh Peter Folajimi has called on the various religious leaders, Civil Society Organisation, Non- Governmental Organizations, and other critical stakeholders to reject NGO Bill in the National Assembly.

NGO Bill which is officially entitled ‘Bill for an Act To Provide For The Establishment Of The Non-Governmental Organizations Regulatory Commission For The Supervision, Coordination And Monitoring Of Non-Governmental Organizations).

The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives in June 2016, and after two readings it was referred to the House Committee on Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Development Partners in July. Its approval is still pending in the current eighth National Assembly.

Buraimoh made them at the new year get-together organized by the Folajimi campaign organization and the party in Lagos, yesterday.

He specifically called on the founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, David Olaniyi Oyedepo, and the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, (RCCG,) Enoch Adeboye, to use their position to call on the relevant stakeholders to reject the bill.

According to him, when the bill is passed into Law, there would be no right for Church, Mosque, or CSOs activities in Nigeria, and it shows that everybody must be Reporting to Federal Government.

He noted that the main objective of the bill is to establish a federal agency in charge of supervising, coordinating, and monitoring CSOs in Nigeria. If passed, it will give the government sweeping powers over civil society, to the point of threatening its very existence.

“The bill would make it compulsory for all CSOs operating in Nigeria to register with the government every two years and would require them to include details such as the location and duration of proposed activities as well as information on all sources of funding.

“The requirement of frequent re-registration would increase the administrative burden on CSOs; it will also be possible for the registration of CSOs that are critical of the government to be denied or delayed if the government wants to restrict their activities in reprisal.”

Tinubu assures Muslim leaders of fair, just leadership

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured Muslim leaders in the country that he will offer fair and just leadership to all Nigerians if elected president.

Tinubu gave the assurance in a town hall meeting with Muslim leaders from the North West geopolitical zone in Kano on Tuesday.

The APC candidate urged the religious leaders to ensure that they preach unity and harmony among their followers rather than division and disunity, saying that is the only way the nation could experience development.

He said “Religious leaders like you are agents of harmony and

hope, not division and disunity. All well-meaning Nigerians, regardless of political affiliation, must join hands against violence, hunger, ignorance and bigotry.

“We all must live together. No one has the right to try to lord over the other. Allah stands against such injustice. And where Allah stands, all bad things must fall. Mean-spirited politicians – those thinking only of themselves or those who think they mean more than the nation itself - will go to great lengths to deceive or recruit eminent persons to unknowingly preach division and hatred.

“They cannot win with the truth. So, they will try to win with a lie. But a lie never wins in the end. Those they cannot beat with honesty, they seek to beat them with untruth and falsity. They want to turn servants

of God into preachers of division and hateful sentiment.”

Speaking further, Tinubu told the Muslim leaders that he had demonstrated a sense of unity and oneness in all his campaigns and would continue to do so.

Tinubu pledged to conduct himself in public office on the values and ideals of fairness and justice, adding that he would always speak about facts and truths, policies and programs.

On expectations from him if elected president, he reminded the faith leaders of his record as Lagos State governor.

Tinubu said: “I promise to be a fair and just leader. This pledge is based on the Islamic teachings on leadership. A leader in a plural society is enjoined to be a leader for all. If elected, I shall govern

in harmony with our nation’s democratic Constitution.

“More than that. I shall tackle this nation’s problems with a commitment to solving them. I say this not as a boast. I say it based on my record. As Lagos governor, I assembled perhaps the most diverse team by any state government. That team was based on competence, not tribal this or regional that. It was not based on the attire one wore or the accent one spoke with, but on the quality of one’s ideas and contributions to society.

“If given the chance by Almighty Allah, I will operate in the same spirit of inclusiveness and innovation in order to renew the hope of our people. My highest priorities shall be the protection of our land and prosperity of its people.”

Group hails Obasanjo’s endorsement of Peter Obi, asks Atiku, Tinubu to withdraw

By Christiana Ekpa

The South East Revival Group (SERG) has said that the endorsement of Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, by former President Olusegun Obasanjo “is a welcome development”, urging “the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and that of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu to quit the race and step down for the people’s choice.”

This was contained in a statement signed by the national Coordinator of SERG, Willy Ezugwu, in which he said “in the first place, long before the presidential primary elections, all lovers of equity, fairness, and justice advised Nigerian political parties to zone their 2023 presidential tickets to the South East.

“The late second Republic Governor of Kaduna State,

Alhaji Abulkadir Balarabe Musa, in an interview with Channels Television on September 19, 2019, unambiguously proposed that the South East region should produce the next president come 2023, arguing that zoning the next presidency to the region will not only give the Igbos a sense of belonging in Nigeria but will also promote national unity and cohesion.

“In his interview with Vanguard of July 25, 2020, the late statesman insisted that for the sake of peace, justice and national unity, the presidency should go to the South East region of the country in 2023.

“According to the former governor, since the North, South West and South-South have all had a shot at the presidency, it will be morally wrong if any of the zones contest the presidency in 2023 against the South East that has not tasted power since the return to democracy in 1999.

“On its part, the Yoruba socio-

cultural organisation, Afenifere, also called for a Nigerian of South East extraction to lead the country come 2023.

“Afenifere leader and elder statesman, Pa Ayo Adebanjo observed that based on morality the South East region should produce the next president in the spirit of fairness and unity.

“The elder statesman also reasoned further that since his South-West region has had its turn with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the South-South with ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, political parties should not hesitate to see the South East as the next in line.

“On April 26, the Leadership newspaper reported that the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders urging all political parties to zone their presidential tickets to the South East to cement unity and fairness in the country.

“The regional leaders reiterated that most of the zones

in the country have had their people occupy the presidential villa, adding that the South East has qualified candidates in all political parties that can be president in 2023.

“These Nigerian elders and statesmen, who have seen it all, cannot be wrong in their unanimous calls.

“With peace eluding the country, not just because of agitations in most parts of the country but also in view of the increasing insecurity and poverty, rotation of the Presidency remains the panacea for attaining national unity and transformational development.

“From the words of our elders, rotational Presidency is the most viable option for nation building and in the quest to evolve a country where all citizens have equal rights to positions of authority, rather than the skewed political leadership practiced in the country since the post-civil war politics in Nigeria.

Peter Obi gets more boost as Gov Ortom backs Obasanjo’s endorsement

By Musa Baba Adamu

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has commended a former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, over his endorsement of the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi as the right person to win this year’s presidential election and provide the leadership that Nigerians desire.

The Governor, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser,

Media and Publicity, Terver Akase, on Tuesday, insisted that if he were not a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he would have personally led Obi’s campaign across the country.

Governor Ortom strongly recommended Peter Obi to Nigerians as the man who can effectively tackle the economic, security and other challenges facing the country.

According to the statement, Ortom is convinced that Obi possesses the qualities of a leader

who will be a true President of this country by guaranteeing justice, equity and fairness for all Nigerians.

The Governor stressed that for some years, the country has been on the verge of collapse, owing to leadership failure and its attendant consequences of poverty, heightened insecurity with banditry, kidnappings and other acts of terrorism threatening the very foundations of the nation.

He said the President that

Nigeria needs at this challenging time in the country’s history is one who understands the urgent need to unite the people and speedily initiate policies and actions to redirect the ship of the nation on the path of growth and development, emphasising that Peter Obi has all such qualities.

Governor Ortom lauded Obasanjo for demonstrating objectivity, truth and patriotism as a statesman whose views on national issues must be taken seriously.

APC victory in 2023 will throw Nigeria into stone age – ExMinister, Oyelese

By Musa Baba Adamu

Aformer Minister of Mines and Steel, Wole Oyelese, has claimed that another four years of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in government would throw Nigeria into the stone age.

Oyelese made this disclosure when prominent members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State addressed a press conference to herald the forthcoming road walk for the Presidential candidate of the party, Abubakar Atiku.

Some of the leaders of the party who were at the press conference held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) secretariat in Ibadan on Tuesday included a former Minister (State) Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Oloye Jumoke Akinjide, former Deputy Governor of the state, Hazeem Gbolarumi, Femi Babalola and Professor Abiodun Raufu.

Oyelese while addressing journalists on behalf of other PDP leaders said during the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the Nigerian economy was much better than what it is currently experiencing.

The former Minister added that Nigerians go to bed hungry every night.

He disclosed that Nigerians still have to sleep with only one eye closed because of insecurity across the country.

Oyelese insisted that prices of goods and services have skyrocketed and become unaffordable for a majority of the people.

2023: Why we suspended our party chairman -Taraba PRP

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The leadership of the Taraba State chapter of Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) has broken their silence on why the party’s chairman, Abdullahi Maikasuwa, was suspended from office.

In an interactive session with newsmen on Tuesday in Jalingo, the party alleged that the chairman had on many occasions been involved in “corrupt practices”, hence the collective decision to relieve him

of his appointment.

The aggrieved executive who spoke through one of their colleagues, Samuel Emmanuel, also alleged anti-party activities by the suspended Chairman.

Stressing that “the sacked chairman has been harassing and extorting money from members at the local government levels” a state executive, Emmanuel, said the party unanimously appointed Idris Umar, the State Treasurer, as the Acting Chairman of PRP Taraba State pending the decision of the

National Working Committee regarding the suspension.”

The executive also alleged that Maikasuwa had also breached the party’s Constitution by operating the party as a sole business.

“Maikasuwa has breached the party constitution and fundamental principles of our party by not operating on the people’s based interest but personal interest,” They said.

His alleged action of holding meetings with the governorship candidates of PDP and APC,

according to them, did not only violate the party’s constitution but also placed an embarrassing image on the party and the people.

In a swift reaction, the embattled chairman who not only denied all the allegations levelled against him, urged the party’s faithful and Tarabans at large to discard the allegations which he described as “false”.

”The acclaimed executive lacks the constitutional powers to suspend me as the party’s state Chairman”, he said.

Appeal Court reverses judgment sacking Rivers NNPP State Assembly candidates

By Christiana Ekpa

The Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt, on Tuesday set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court sacking 14 House of Assembly candidates of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Rivers State.

Justice Turaki Mohammed of

Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, had sacked the NNPP House of Assembly candidates in a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which alleged that the NNPP candidates did not comply with the Electoral Act in the conduct of their primaries.

But the three-man panel of appeal in a unanimous judgment

held that the PDP has no locus standi to challenge another political party on the issue of party primaries.

The Appeal Court panel also ruled that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the matter in the first place and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to

enlist the 14 House of Assembly candidates of the NNPP.

Counsel to the NNPP, Lanson Igwe who is also a House of Assembly candidate for Emohua Constituency in the state said the judgment is a sign of victory for his party and a failure for the ruling party in the state.

He then cautioned that another four years of APC in government will throw Nigeria into the stone age.

He advised the citizens of the state to vote for all candidates of the party in the general elections.

Oyelese said, “During the Obasanjo and Jonathan years when PDP was in power at the centre, the Nigerian economy was much better than what it is now Nigerians never had to suffer like this. Now that Nigerians have experienced the APC government and what they got was unimaginable suffering, the difference is clear.

“Our people are going to bed hungry every night and they still have to sleep with only one eye closed because of insecurity as bandits, terrorists and common criminals prowl the land in search of victims. Prices of goods and services have skyrocketed and become unaffordable for the majority of our people.

“The Buhari administration has piled up debt. The infrastructural deficit can be seen in the absence of the most basic amenities. Most of our people are unemployed. Young Nigerians have no choice

CBN loan

By Abubakar Yunus Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari says it will cost the federal government N1.8 trillion in interest if the national assembly fails to approve N23.7 trillion in extra-budgetary spending.

The president had asked the national assembly to approve the sum he said were funds provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through loans for “emergencies” in the space of 10 years.

Last week, the senate suspended the request of Buhari after a rowdy session.

Senators Betty Apiafi and Thompson Sekibo had argued that the request was not constitutional.

They also demanded that before the upper legislative chamber could approve the request, the senate must have the details of what the funds were spent on.

Speaking at the signing ceremony of the 2023 budget in Abuja on Tuesday, Buhari said he has no intention to contest the decision of the lawmakers.

“I also urge the national assembly to reconsider its position on my proposal to securitise the federal government’s outstanding Ways and Means balance at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),” the commander-in-chief said.

“As I stated, the balance has accumulated over several years and represents funding provided by the CBN as lender of last resort to the government to enable it to meet obligations to lenders, as well as cover budgetary shortfalls in projected revenues and/or borrowings.

“I have no intention to fetter the right of the national assembly to interrogate the composition of this balance, which can still be done even after granting the requested approval.

“Failure to grant the securitisation approval will however cost the government about N1.8 trillion in additional interest in 2023 given the differential between the applicable interest rates which is currently MPR plus three percent and the negotiated interest rate of nine percent and a 40-year repayment period on the securitised debt of the Ways and Means.”

Fuel queues may persist at major marketers’ outlets –IPMAN

Oil marketers have said fuel queues at filling stations across the country may persist if consumers and motorists’ continue to buy the product at selected filling station dispensing the product below N200/litre.

The National Operations Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mike Osatuyi, said on Monday that the lingering queues at some filling stations were caused by consumers who insisted on buying the fuel at cheaper retail outlets.

“There is petrol in the country. No more scarcity, however, the

long queues you still see on the expressways is caused by those who want to buy petrol at N180 per litre. Otherwise, those who can afford the more expensive product can easily drive into other stations and buy without queuing up”, he said.

Our correspondent sighted long queues at filling stations belonging to members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, and those of the NNPCL along the Oshodi-Berger Expressway. Findings show that while NNPCL stations sell at N179/litre, major oil marketers sell at N180/litre. However, filling

stations belonging to independent petroleum marketers still sell at over N200/litre.

Meanwhile, Peoples Daily on Monday, obtained an internal memo by IPMAN’s President, Chinedu Okoronkwo, informing its over 30, 000 members nationwide that the association will no longer do business with what it termed “NNPC Customer Express.”

As such, the body directed its members to register with the “NNPC Retail” effective January 1, 2023.

While also directing members to book their orders under the new

platform, it assured the members that firms that had paid using the previous platform would get their products.

Independent oil marketers had in December 2022, reportedly inked a deal with the new NNPCL Retail Managing Director, Hubb Stockman, for the direct supply of petrol to IPMAN members at government regulated price of N148/litre, starting from this month.

Spokesperson for NNPCL, Garba Deeen, declined speaking on the fuel scarcity despite several calls and messages sent to his official line and email.

Buhari signs Nigeria’s 2023 budget into law

By Abubakar Yunus Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed Nigeria’s 2023 budget into law, his office has announced.

Peoples Daily reported that the National Assembly had earlier passed the budget totalling N21.83 trillion.

“Speaking at the signing of the eighth and final annual budget of this Administration, the President said the aggregate expenditures of N21.83 trillion, is an increase of N1.32 trillion over the initial Executive Proposal for a total expenditure of N20.51 trillion,” Femi Adesina, the president’s spokesperson wrote in a statement on Tuesday

Mr Buhari explained that the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act would enable the administration to respond to the havoc caused by the recent nationwide floods on infrastructure and agriculture sectors.

According to him, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning will subsequently provide more details of the approved budget and the supporting 2022 Finance Act.

”We have examined the changes made by the National Assembly to the 2023 Executive Budget proposal.

”The amended fiscal framework for 2023 as approved by the National Assembly shows additional revenues of N765.79 billion, and an unfunded deficit of N553.46 billion.

”It is clear that the National Assembly and the executive need to capture some of the proposed additional revenue sources in the fiscal framework. This must be rectified.

”I have also noted that the National Assembly introduced new projects into the 2023 budget proposal for which it has appropriated N770.72 billion. The National Assembly also increased the provisions made by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) by N58.55 billion.”

President Buhari said his decision to sign the 2023 Appropriation Bill into law

as passed by the National Assembly was to enable its implementation commence without delay, considering the imminent transition process to another democratically elected government.

He, however, directed the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning to engage with the Legislature to revisit some of the changes made to the Executive budget proposal, expressing the hope that the National Assembly will cooperate with the Executive arm of Government in this regard.

He urged the National Assembly to reconsider its position on his proposal to securitize the Federal Government’s outstanding Ways and Means balance at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

”As I stated, the balance has accumulated over several years and represents funding provided by the CBN as lender of last resort to the government to enable it to meet obligations to lenders, as well as cover budgetary shortfalls in projected revenues and/or borrowings.

”I have no intention to fetter the right of the National Assembly to interrogate the composition of this balance, which can still be done even after granting the requested approval.

”Failure to grant the securitization approval will however cost the government about N1.8 trillion in additional interest in 2023 given the differential between the applicable interest rates which is currently MPR plus 3% and the negotiated interest rate of 9% and a 40year repayment period on the securitised debt of the Ways and Means.”

To ensure more effective implementation of the 2022 capital Budget, President Buhari thanked the National Assembly for approving his request for an extension of its validity date to 31st March, 2023.

This is as he directed the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to work towards early release of the 2023 capital votes to enable Ministries, Departments and Agencies commence the implementation of

their capital projects in good time to support efforts to deliver key projects and public services as well as improve the living conditions of Nigerians.

Reiterating that the 2023 Budget was developed to promote fiscal sustainability, macroeconomic stability and ensure smooth transition to the incoming Administration, the President said it was also designed to promote social inclusion and strengthen the resilience of the economy.

He pledged that adequate provisions have been made in the Budget for the successful conduct of the forthcoming general elections and the transition programme.

On achieving revenue targets for the budget, the President directed MDAs and Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs) to intensify their revenue mobilization efforts, including ensuring that all taxable organizations and individuals pay taxes due.

To achieve the laudable objectives of the 2023 Budget, the President said relevant Agencies must sustain current efforts towards the realization of crude oil production and export targets.

”To augment available fiscal resources, MDAs are to accelerate the implementation of Public Private Partnership initiatives, especially those designed to fasttrack the pace of our infrastructural development.

”This, being a deficit budget, the associated Borrowing Plan will be forwarded to the National Assembly shortly.

”I count on the cooperation of the National Assembly for a speedy consideration and approval of the Plan.”

On the Finance Bill 2022, the President expressed regret that its review as passed by the National Assembly is yet to be finalized.

”This is because some of the changes made by the National Assembly need to be reviewed by the relevant agencies of government. I urge that this should be done speedily to enable me to assent into law,” he said.

Those who witnessed the

signing of the budget include Senate President Ahmad Lawan and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.

The President thanked the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and all the distinguished and honourable leaders and members of the National Assembly for the expeditious consideration and passage of the Appropriation Bill.

He also recognised the roles played by the Ministers of Finance, Budget and National Planning, the Budget Office of the Federation, the Senior Special Assistants to the President (Senate and House of Representatives), the Office of the Chief of Staff, as well as all who worked tirelessly and sacrificed so much towards producing the 2023 Appropriation Act.

”As I mentioned during the presentation of the 2023 Appropriation Bill, early passage of the budget proposal is critical to ensure effective delivery of our legacy projects, a smooth transition programme and effective take-off of the incoming Administration.

”I appreciate the firm commitment of the 9th National Assembly to the restoration of a predictable January to December fiscal year, as well as the mutual understanding, collaboration and engagements between officials of the Executive and the Legislative arms of government.

”These have made the quick consideration and passage of our Fiscal bills possible over the last four years.”

Buhari expressed the belief that the next Administration would sustain the early presentation of the annual appropriation bill to the National Assembly to ensure its passage before the beginning of the fiscal year.

”I firmly believe the next Administration will also sustain the current public financial management reform efforts, further improve the budgeting process, and particularly maintain the tradition of supporting its Appropriation Bills with Finance Bills designed to facilitate their implementation.

Buhari to n’assembly: FG will pay N1.8trn in interest if unable to restructure N23.7trn

Emefiele: Put your house in order, stop embarrassing Nigeria,

Southern, Middle Belt leaders tell

By Abubakar Yunus Abuja

Leaders of Southern and Middle Belt regions of the country, have called on President Muhammadu Buhari, to put his house in order as it affects the terrorism sponsorship allegation against the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CNN), Godwin Emefiele, a safe the country from repeated, unwarranted national embarrassments.

The leaders, under the aegis of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), in a statement made available to LEADERSHIP in Port Harcourt yesterday, said the call became necessary following the recent attempt by the Department of State Services (DSS) to obtain an order of the Court to arrest and detain Emefiele.

The statement was signed by the SMBLF leader and leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, leader of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, President of Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Dr. Pogu Bitrus and Secretary-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, Ambassador Okey Emuchay.

It reads in part: “The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to put his house in order, and save the Country nation from repeated, unwarranted national embarrassments.

“This call became necessary following the reported recent, disgraceful, attempt by the Department of State Services (DSS) to surreptitiously obtain an ex-parte order from the Federal High Court, Abuja, to arrest and detain the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.

“The action of the Department of State Services is not only a travesty of the nation’s judiciary, but also a grave disservice to the Nigerian state, and a mortification of the nation’s image.

“It is unthinkable that the DSS would recklessly and carelessly accuse Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, of financing terrorism and involvement in economic crimes of

national security dimension. This is not only shameful but a disgrace to the Buhari administration and the Nation. And capable of unsettling the socioeconomic tractions of the country.

“What is the evidence that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, is involved in terrorism financing? If the allegations against the CBN Governor are genuine, why didn’t the DSS present its findings to the President for consideration and necessary action?

“It is common knowledge that the Governor the Central Bank, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has been carrying out Mr. President’s directives and instructions religiously. We wonder whether it is those instructions given to him by the President, which he carries out that make him to be a terrorism sponsor? Or there are personal actions and activities he has carried out without the president’s approval and instruction?

“The CBN Governor who has been doing everything to salvage the nation’s economy with several intervention schemes in agriculture and SMEs, etc, to ensure that individuals, households and businesses across

all sectors of the economy receive support to sustain their operations and livelihoods, especially during COVID and even in post-COVID era.

“It was thwarting that the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, practically “applepolished” certain sections of the country with the apex bank’s intervention schemes to boost production of farm commodities, providing smallholder farmers with inputs, in kind and cash, particularly in the Northern States that supposedly have comparative advantage to produce rice, maize, wheat, cotton, tomato, roots and tubers like cassava, potatoes, yam, etc.

“The CBN interventions have reportedly led to huge drop in rice importation, in recent years; which has been publicized widely as one the key achievements of the Buhari administration. Sadly, the same Godwin Emefiele is now being labeled terrorism sponsor. What a shame!

“It is bemusing that Mr. Yusuf Bichi (the Director General of the Department of State Services), and his backers, presumed all citizens have been “conquered”.

Buhari

“Allegedly acting on a petition, the DSS filed a secret suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on 7 December, under Section 66 of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2022 to request a court order for Mr. Emefiele’s arrest and detention for 60 days, in the first instance.

“But, the respected judge, Justice John Tsoho, who is the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in his ruling on 9th December 2022, rejected the application on the grounds that the DSS failed to provide sufficient

TUC demands N180/litre fuel

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria has asked the Federal Government to make petrol available at the official pump price of 180/ litre, saying Nigerians cannot continue to pay for the product at higher prices.

In a New Year message made available to newsmen in Abuja, the labour union stated that the year 2022 was quite challenging in virtually all fronts including security, politics, economy, health and social life.

It, however, said that there “is hope for a glorious 2023 if we are ready to birth the necessary change and hold our leaders accountable as Nigeria

we earnestly desire can only be achieved through collective struggle.”

The statement read in part, “The TUC rejects the clamour by some politicians and political office holders to continue the importation of petroleum products at prohibitive costs while simultaneously, campaigning and making moves to stop fuel subsidy. Politicians who love Nigerians would first return the country to local refining thereby creating mass jobs and making the products cheap, accessible and available before contemplating the removal of fuel subsidies.

“We also demand that the Buhari government ensures

that PMS is available and sold at the official pump price in fuel stations. The emergent culture of selling such highly inflammable commodities in jerry cans on street corners and residential houses must be stopped.”

The union recalled that the life of the Nigerian masses was made more difficult by hyperinflation which notched above 20 per-cent, the misery index which soared to an all-time high, hydra-headed unemployment and numerous unfulfilled promises.

Speaking further, the TUC decried the high level of insecurity and inflation, saying “the war against banditry, terrorism and sectarian

evidence to warrant the issuance of an arrest warrant against Mr. Emefiele.

“SMBLF applauds the courage and bravery of the judge; it is gratifying to know that there are still men and women of character and integrity, who can firmly defend and uphold justice, without fear or favour. By this singular act, Justice John Tsoho has written his name in gold, and shall remain indelible in the hearts and minds of all patriotic Nigerians and people of goodwill across the world.”

violence must be total and uncompromising.”

It added, “There should also be a general mobilisation of the populace in this war that must be won for our country to survive. We warn against attempts in some quarters to rebrand criminals and terrorists as freedom fighters or treat them with kid gloves. We, therefore, demand that insecurity be tackled by all means including mobilizing the citizenry to defend themselves against bandits and terrorists.

“Inflation has eroded the purchasing power of Nigeria workers, the minimum wage has been further deleted and the value of naira has become worthless.”

Lawan: We’re considering Buhari’s request to approve N23.7trn extra-budgetary spending

By Abubakar Yunus Abuja

Senate President Ahmad Lawan says the national assembly is already considering a request by President Muhammadu Buhari to approve the N23.7 trillion spent without the greenlight of the legislature.

Buhari had asked the national assembly to approve the sum, which he said were funds provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through loans for “emergencies” in the space of 10

years.

Last week, the senate suspended the request after a rowdy session.

Speaking with reporters in Abuja on Tuesday after the signing ceremony of the 2023 budget, Lawan said the assembly is insisting on getting the requisite documents that would enable it to approve the Buhari’s request.

“We are already considering that but let me tell you where the problem is,” Lawan said.

“While we are trying to consider

and pass the request. We will insist on getting the right documents for our committees to ensure that whatever they advise us to do in the two chambers is based on information and knowledge and not just passing ‘ways and means’ without knowing what it is.”

Lawan said though the ninth national assembly has not done all that it desired to do, it has passed the medium-term expenditure framework and fiscal strategy paper (MTEF/FSP) and budgets in record time.

“We haven’t done as we would have wished to do but I think at the risk of sounding immodest, the ninth national assembly has passed the MTEF and FSP at normal time, passed the appropriation bill, passed the finance bill. And of course, we are very glad that we have been able to do that.

“Nigeria faces challenges of revenue and this is going to be our focus.

“This is going to be what the national assembly, both chambers, will ensure that we get

revenues, we find more sources, better sources, stabilise resources and of course, look into some of the legislations and some of the waivers and concessions granted, to see whether or not they deserve to continue to be implemented in a manner they were approved.”

Meanwhile, at the signing ceremony, Buhari said it would cost the federal government N1.8 trillion in interest, if the national assembly fails to approve the aforementioned sum.

Abubakar Yunus Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari with Emefiele

NCAA warns pilots, airlines of hazardous weather during dry season

Abubakar Yunus Abuja

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has advised pilots and airline operators to exercise caution over hazardous weather in the dry season.

The advisory was contained in a circular initiated by the directorate of aerodrome and airspace standards (DAAS), signed by Musa Nuhu, NCAA director-general, and dated December 19, 2022.

Nuhu explained that the advisory circular was a sequel to the seasonal climate prediction (SCP) issued by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) which reported that there would be cessation of rainfall and weather associated with dry season in Nigeria from late December 2022 to March/April 2023.

Nuhu, who enumerated the effects of hazardous weather on flight operations said “air to-ground visibility reduction due to haze dust or fog”.

“Aerodrome visibility may fall below the prescribed operating minimal and in severe conditions, dust haze can blot out runways, markers and airfield lightings over wide areas making visuals navigation extremely difficult or impossible,” he added.

“Flights are bound to be delayed, diverted or cancelled where terminal visibility falls below the prescribed aerodrome operating minimal.”

In view of the above, Nuhu said that all pilots, operators and air traffic controllers (ATCs) are obliged to abide by safety requirements.

The safety requirements, he said, include the closure of the airspace by air traffic controllers when any of the aforementioned conditions is observed or forecast by NiMet; and strict adherence to published aerodrome weather minimal by flight crews/operators and air traffic controllers (ATC).

“Pilots/flight crew members shall obtain adequate departure, en-route and destination weather information and briefing from NIMET Aerodrome Meteorological Offices and Stations prior to flight operations and exercise maximum restraint whenever an adverse weather is observed,” he added.

Nuhu said operators should ensure that all necessary measures are put in place to cushion the effects of delays or cancellations on their passengers.

The NCAA boss urged all passengers to exercise patience and understanding during the period as their safety is of utmost importance.

He further advised stakeholders to ensure strict compliance to the advisory circular, warning that violations would be viewed seriously.

Kaduna Electric says six only died in Zaria power mishap

The Kaduna Electric has revealed that contrary to some reports, six persons only, names withheld, lost their lives in the electrical mishaps which occurred in Zaria, Kaduna State last week.

A statement by the company’s Head of Corporate Communication, Abdulazeez Abdullahi in Kaduna on Tuesday, said the clarification was necessary to put the record

straight.

The statement said the management of the power company resolved to make the clarification after it carried out a thorough investigation into the incident.

While sending its condolences to the families of the deceased, the statement said the company has taken measures to avert a reoccurence.

The statement said in the

course of its investigations, the company’s officials visited Gwargwaje community and met with families of the affected persons on three occasions, since the incident occurred, to mourn with them and gather relevant information on the incident.

“All the deceased persons lived on Kagoro Close, Gwargwaje ASP Lumba who resided in the Police Barracks,” the statement said.

It added that it had not received any information of more fatalities since its last visit to the community on Saturday.

The statement said it has also gathered detailed information on all those who sustained injuries or lost properties.

It added that it has been liaising with relevant security authorities and the traditional institution in Zaria to discuss next steps.

Domestic airfares soar by 97% – NBS

By Abubakar Yunus Abuja

The average cost of airplane tickets in Nigeria rose from N37,022.97 in November 2021 to N73,267.57 in November 2022, latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday.

This represents an increase of 97.09 per cent, according to the NBS’ Transport Fare Watch report for November 2022.

The report also showed that that the average price of a single flight ticket increased by 0.09 per cent from N73,198.65 in October

to N73,267.57 in November, 2022.

The NBS report read in part, “In air travels fare, the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes single journey, increased by 0.09 per cent on a month-on-month from N73,198.65 in October 2022 to N73,267.57 in November 2022.

“On a year-on-year, the fare rose by 97.90 per cent from N37,022.97 in November 2021.”

It also disclosed the states with the highest average prices of airplane tickets on a single journey, and they included Taraba

(N77,100), Delta (N76,500) as well as Bayelsa and Oyo with N76,100 each.

The states with the lowest prices were Niger (N67,100), Gombe (N70,000) and Nasarawa (N70,100).

The report also disclosed that the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop increased by 0.12 per cent in November 2022 on a month-on-month from N636.30 in October 2022 to N637.10.

According to the NBS, on a year-on-year basis, however, the average fare paid by commuters

for bus journeys within the city per drop rose by 42.69 per cent from N446.50 recorded in November 2021.

The report also said the average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity per drop rose to N3,848.48 in November 2022.

This was an increase of 0.07 per cent on a month-onmonth compared to the value of N3,845.81 in October 2022.

NBS said on a year-on-year basis, the fares rose by 45.53 per cent from N2,644.50 in November 2021.

L-R: The Canddidate for Young Progressive Party, Representing Ifako-Ijaye federal constituency,Hon Buraimoh Peter Folajimi at the new year party orgainsed by Folaj 4mation Campaign Organisation,in Lagos

METRO

By Stanley Onyekwere

The graduating class of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, of the Department of Political Science 1998/99 Academic Session has unveiled a Forum known as FCT ABU U93PS/IS Forum, to among other objectives foster social welfare needs of members, and serve as catalyst for contributing to good governance and development in Nigeria.

Gov’t declares resolve to eradicate illiteracy

By Stanley Onyekwere

The Permanent Secretary for FCT Administration, Olusade Adesola has declared that the government will stop at nothing in eradicating illiteracy especially in all the rural areas of the nation’s capital.

He made the assertion during a recent fiesta organised by FCT Department of Mass Education in Karu, in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC)

Adesola, who was represented by Faseyi Nathaniel explained that the department, which is saddled with the responsibility of making sure that people at all levels know how to read and write will always be supported to do more.

He however, commended the efforts of the current director of the Department, Titilayo Alayande for her innovations that had repositioned all the centres across the Six Area Councils.

He noted that a better future could only be achieved when people get the requisite knowledge, which he said FCT Department of Mass Education was driving the programme well.

ABU Alumni unveils forum to foster self-reliance, good governance

Also, the Forum advocates for regular awareness on health issues creating platform for checking health vitals as well as engaging in regular physical exercises.

It was also gathered that the Abuja Forum, which comprises of the Alumni from the Political Science and International Studies branches of the Department was officially inaugurated Tuesday, at a reunion meeting held in Abuja, with about 15 members of the class in attendance during

the inauguration.

One of the Conveners of the meeting, Mr. Olayemi Salako enjoined members to embrace social networking for capacity building and self development.

However, during the inauguration of the Group’s pioneer Executives, two officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration namely; Mr. Fatai A. Bello, Chief Administrative Officer with the Department of Reform Coordination & Service Improvement, and Mr.

Kenechukwu Ike, Assistant Director with the Health & Human Services Secretariat emerged as Chairman and Public Relations Officer (PRO) respectively.

Other members of the Exco include: Mr. Lawrence Odidi of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency as Secretary; Dr. Bala Mohammed of the ICPC as Treasurer and Mrs. Toyin Sulyman-Peters of National Assembly as Welfare Secretary.

In his acceptance speech on behalf of the Executive members, Bello thanked his colleagues for the confidence reposed on the pioneer Executive and promised to work to achieving the objectives of the Forum.

He called on members to massively embark on mobilisation of other members of the class residents in Abuja to join hands with the Officials towards the overall goals of the newly inaugurated FCT ABU U93PS/IS Forum.

Insecurity: FCT Minister reiterates support for Police

By Stanley Onyekwere

In the wake of the seemingly prevailing insecurity , the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has pledged the support of the FCT Administration to the FCT command of the Nigeria Police, in the discharge of its responsibility of securing the Territory.

Bello made this pledge when he received the new FCT Police Commissioner (CP), Dr Idris Abubakar Sadiq, who paid a courtesy visit to the Minister.

According to a statement from

Director Of Press, FCTA, Anthony Ogunleye, the Minister noted that the new CP was coming to the FCT with immense experience in policing and also some experience in the FCT Command having begun his career in the police force in the FCT.

“He expressed optimism that the new CP will build upon the successes of his predecessors saying that all of them had contributed immensely in building the FCT Command to what it is today.

“He prayed that God will grant the new CP success in the Command, as well as the

cooperation of his men”, the statement read.

It further added that earlier in his remarks, the CP commended the FCT Minister for all the support the FCT Administration had rendered to the FCT Police Command and revealed that the command will evolve new strategies to further secure the nation’s capital.

He also pledged the loyalty of the Command to the FCT Administration and emphasized the readiness of the officers and men to diligently carry out their duties.

The new CP said: “I wish

to assure the Hon. Minister of our loyalty and our readiness and commitment to duty and to emphasize that we shall continue to do our best and I am sure with the support of the Hon Minister, which he has been giving, and what we may enjoy again, it will make our job easy”.

He also pledged to ensure that the officers and men of the Command live above board and do what is expected of them saying that being the nation’s capital, Nigeria will largely be perceived by the international community with the happenings in the FCT.

Also present at the meeting

were the Chief of Staff to the Minister, Malam Bashir MaiBornu, the Executive Secretary FCDA, Engr Shehu Hadi Ahmed, Secretary, Transportation Secretariat, Hon Abdullahi Adamu Candido, and Director of Security, FCTA, Adamu Gwary.

Other are : the Senior Special Assistant on Security to the Minister, Amb. Abu Salihu Mohammed, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), Nurudeen Sabo and Deputy Commissioner (CID), Ahmed Musa, with other police officers and senior officials of the FCTA.

world news

Rhianan Rudd: MI5 had evidence teen terror suspect was exploited

Evidence showing the grooming and sexual exploitation of a schoolgirl was handed to MI5 months before she was charged with terrorism offences, a BBC investigation has found.

The prosecution of Rhianan Rudd was later dropped after the Home Office concluded she was a victim of exploitation.

Rhianan, who was 15 when she became the youngest girl charged with terror offences in the UK, took her own life in a children’s home in May 2022.

Her mother says investigators should have treated her daughter “as a victim rather than a terrorist”.

The case raises questions about how the UK deals with the problem of children involved in extremism, according to the senior lawyer responsible for reviewing terror laws.

At the age of 14, Rhianan Rudd became absorbed by right-wing extremism. Her mother Emily Carter remembers her as a “lovely girl” who adored horses. But then she began to express racist and antisemitic beliefs, Ms Carter says.

“If you didn’t have blonde hair and blue eyes - Aryan as they sayshe didn’t want to know you, you were an inferior race, you shouldn’t have been alive,” her mother recalls.

She says her daughter was taking in extreme views “like a sponge”. “She was changing herself, that’s not Rhianan,” she says. “She was a child who fixated on things.”

Rhianan, who was born in Essex and later moved to Derbyshire, had difficulty building relationships and “struggled in life”, Ms Carter says. She was also diagnosed as autistic.

Rhianan had run away from home in the past and there was social service involvement with the family. Her mother acknowledges she made mistakes but “always tried to do her best”.

By September 2020, Ms Carter had become so concerned by Rhianan’s mindset that she referred her to Prevent, the government deradicalisation scheme, after she admitted downloading a bombmaking manual.

Within a month, Rhianan was arrested by counter-terror detectives and her brief engagement with Prevent had to end. She was questioned, bailed as a terrorism suspect, and was no longer able to attend school.

For some time, she had been talking to older people online, including American Christopher Cook, who promoted a terrorist form of neo-Nazism, and formed a combat cell to carry out attacks.

Evidence shows the thenpartner of Rhianan’s mother also

had an influence. Ms Carter says this was kept from her.

The partner, American Dax Mallaburn, had been part of a white supremacist prison gang in the US. He met Rhianan’s mother via a pen pal system for prisoners.

Before Rhianan was arrested, Mallaburn’s relationship with her mother had broken down and he returned to the US. But the BBC has discovered that Cook and Mallaburn had been in contact, with Cook telling him to teach Rhianan the “right way”.

During police interviews, Rhianan described being coerced and groomed, including sexually, and having sent explicit images of herself to Cook. The abuse she described would eventually result in a formal government finding of exploitation.

Under modern slavery laws, certain public bodies like the police are required to notify the Home Office about any potential victims of exploitation they encounter.

However, in the months before Rhianan was charged, none of the organisations involved referred her to the specialist Home Office unit that considers such cases.

This was not due to a lack of information.

The BBC has found that, around the time of Rhianan’s arrest, MI5 received evidence showing she had been exploited - including sexually - by Cook.

An FBI investigation had uncovered messages and images from Cook’s devices showing Rhianan being groomed, coerced and exploited. The FBI handed the material to MI5.

Rhianan spent over six months on bail waiting for a charging decision. Her mother says this period led to a decline in Rhianan’s mental health, with instances of

self-harm, running away, and attempted suicide. Derbyshire social services were involved and she was moved into care.

In April 2021, more than six months after the arrest, she was charged with six terrorism offences for having earlier possessed instructions for making explosives and weapons. Prosecutors alleged one set of instructions were connected to a potential planned attack.

Days after she was charged, when newly-appointed defence lawyers intervened, Derbyshire Council referred Rhianan to the Home Office as a possible victim of exploitation.

It took a further seven months for a decision to be made. When it came, the Home Office concluded she had been trafficked and exploited.

In late December 2021 the prosecution was halted.

Rhianan is part of a trend of growing numbers of children, often involved in online right-wing extremism, being investigated by MI5 and police.

Convictions in the past two years include a Cornish boy who led his own online terror cell aged 14 and a boy from Darlington arrested aged 13.

In the case of another boy, a pre-sentence report from experts said it was “likely that he did not see the wider ramifications of his activities, now seamlessly replaced apparently by interests such as Dad’s Army”.

Cases involving children are complex. A child might have been groomed and exploited, but nevertheless pose a genuine risk of harm to other people.

Debates about trafficking and exploitation are also taking place in immigration cases concerning

young women appealing the removal of their British citizenship after they went to Syria to join the Islamic State group.

In the case of Shamima Begum, who travelled aged 15, the government has argued against claims of trafficking and said she is a security threat. Her lawyers say she was trafficked and sexually exploited.

Few children who are charged with terror offences end up being imprisoned. The process of investigation, arrest and prosecution can take many months, and well over a year in some cases.

Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, says that in 2020/2021 only one child who committed a terrorism offence was jailed, with all the others “eventually given non-custodial sentences”.

He says the question needs to be asked about whether the current approach is effective. He suggests changes in the law that would allow police to say to a child terror suspect that they would either be prosecuted or they could accept an injunction. He says these could, for example, limit mobile phone use, require the use of monitoring software and engagement with a mentor.

“That can be done really quickly, and keep them out of the criminal justice system altogether,” he says.

Rhianan’s mother thinks her daughter should never have been charged.

She says police “obviously” have to investigate and search for evidence, but she believes they should have subsequently dealt with it “completely differently”.

“They should have seen her as a victim rather than a terrorist. She’s a child, an autistic child. She should have been treated as a child that

had been groomed and sexually exploited.”

Cook, the American who exploited Rhianan, has pleaded guilty in the US to a neo-Nazi terrorist plot along with others to destroy a power grid. He had been on bail awaiting sentencing.

But the BBC has established that the court in Ohio only recently became aware of Cook’s predatory conduct towards Rhianan, which had not been part of the original case against him despite the FBI’s long-standing knowledge of his abuse. After the court learned of his behaviour, Cook was placed in custody in December ahead of sentencing.

After the prosecution of Rhianan was abandoned, she chose to continue living in her Nottinghamshire children’s home and began engaging with the Prevent scheme.

But there were signs that all was not well.

In the weeks before her death, Rhianan asked her mother to help her contact a neo-Nazi extremist in the US. Her mother reported it to the children’s home, which is run by private firm Blue Mountain Homes. She says she was then told social services and police had decided to let contact take place. It is unclear if it did.

Her mother had warned Derbyshire Council about the risk of Rhianan taking her own life. In emails to a social worker in 2021, she wrote: “I hope she doesn’t try kill herself when in her room on her own.”

She stated in the emails that Rhianan had access to ligatures.

Ms Carter says she saw Rhianan days before her death and was so concerned by her appearance that she contacted the home.

She says she warned staff that her daughter was “going to do something” and asked them to watch her. The manager said they would “find out what’s going on” and told her not to worry, she says.

But later that week, she says, three police officers were “standing in my living room telling me that my daughter died by hanging”.

In Rhianan’s room at the children’s home, access to items that could be used as ligatures were banned due to the risk of self-harm and suicide, but she gained access to one.

Aged 16, she was found dead in May over 12 hours after she retired to her room the night before.

An inquest is due to take place into her death. No date has been set.

The organisations contacted by the BBC said they could not comment on the details of our investigation until the inquest is complete. Source: BBC

Burkina Faso violence: Bodies of 28 people found in Nouna

The bodies of 28 people who were shot dead have been discovered in Burkina Faso’s north-western town of Nouna, the government has said.

A civil society group blamed the killings on armed civilians claiming to be members of a government-backed volunteer force fighting jihadists.

The government did not comment on the claim, but said it was investigating.

Burkina Faso has been hit by a decadelong insurgency that has displaced nearly two million people.

The military seized power in Burkina Faso last January, promising an end to attacks, but the violence still rages.

The government said the bodies were discovered on 30 and 31 December.

It condemned the “unacceptable violence” and called for calm, pending the outcome of an investigation.

The incident had occurred at a time when the government had initiated the “mobilisation of the whole people for unity of action in the fight against terrorism”, it added.

The government has formed the Homeland Defence Volunteers (VDP), recruiting civilians into its ranks to fight militant Islamists.

A civil society group, the Collective Against Impunity and Stigmatisation of Communities (CISC), said that armed civilians, claiming to be members of the VDP, carried out the killings in retaliation for an attack by suspected militants between 29 and 30 December.

There is no independent confirmation of its claim.

a stalled constitutional review process.

Nigeria president’s last budget leaves big deficit

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the 2023 budget of more than $45bn (£37bn) into law.

It is the last budget of his administration.

The budget reveals that the government wants to sell some public assets in order to lessen the huge deficit, which amounts to just less than 5% of GDP.

Alongside the main spending plan is an additional spending plan to deal with the aftermath of the recent nationwide floods which damaged vital infrastructure.

A large portion of the budget is funded by the earnings from crude oil but volatility in the oil price has meant that borrowing has increased and forced the government to look for other ways to raise funds.

Mr Buhari’s two terms in office will come to an end after voters elect his successor next month.

Ghana and Morocco to start Covid checks for China arrivals

Tanzania president lifts opposition rally ban

Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan has lifted a ban after six years on opposition political rallies outside of election campaigns.

It was imposed by her predecessor, the late President John Magufuli, who argued that in between elections they were a waste of time and money.

But it was criticised by the opposition and activists as unconstitutional.

President Samia made the announcement during a meeting with leaders from all 19 of the country’s registered political parties.

“Our duty as a government will be offering protection for the rallies… now that the rallies are back, I hope we are going to conduct ourselves in civil and mature way and avoid trading insults,” Ms Samia said.

The lifting of the ban is part of the president’s political reconciliation and reform drive which she initiated after taking power in 2021 following MagufuIi’s death. His period in power was often seen as taking Tanzania down a more authoritarian route.

In recent months, the president and her governing CCM party has been talking with opposition parties behind closed door talks.

Speaking on Tuesday, President Samia also said her government would try to restart

Ghana and Morocco have become the first African countries to impose travel restrictions on passengers from China over concerns about coronavirus.

From Tuesday, Morocco has banned travellers from China regardless of their nationality until further notice.

The foreign ministry says the move is aimed at preventing a spike in infections in the country.

Ghana’s restrictions will take effect on Friday.

The moves come after China abruptly dropped its Covid-19 controls in December last year.

Other countries outside Africa have also imposed restrictions.

For example, passengers arriving in England from China now have to provide a negative Covid test before they board a flight. The US is testing people on arrival.

Countries that plan to test travellers say the policy will help spot worrying new variants early and prevent an influx of cases.

Ghana says passengers from China will be tested at the airport for free and must also present a negative test result 48 hours before arrival.

International health experts have argued that the lifting of restrictions in China has led to Covid-19 spreading much faster.

But Beijing’s foreign ministry has said coronavirus rules should only be introduced on a “scientific” basis and accused Western countries and media of “hyping up” the situation.

Malawi schoolbus driver to be charged after crash kills pupil

Malawi police say they will charge a driver of a school bus in which one student was killed after a road accident.

He was taking school students from the capital, Lilongwe, to the northern city of Mzuzu on Monday.

The country’s schools re-opened on Tuesday (except in Lilongwe and Blantyre) following the festive break.

Marymount Secondary School, a girls boarding school owned by the Catholic church, hired a private bus to transport students ahead of the re-opening.

The accident happened after the driver lost control of the bus, which was carrying 58 students, due to speeding, according to the police.

A 14-year-old girl was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby district hospital while another, aged 12, had her left arm amputated.

Police say the bus driver will be prosecuted, but did not say on what charges.

Burial date set for DR Congo’s last WW2 veteran

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s last surviving World War Two veteran, Corporal Albert Kunyuku, will be buried next Friday, according to the producer of the film about his life José Adolphe Voto Corporal Kunyuku died on 25 November last year, aged 100.

He was was among 25,000 soldiers of the Belgian Congo Army, La Force Publique, deployed to fight alongside Belgian troops during the conflict.

He was honoured last June by Belgium’s King Philippe at an elaborate ceremony during the monarch’s first visit to the African country.

Ugandan soldier kills three colleagues in Somalia

Investigations have started into the circumstances in which a Uganda soldier under the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis) shot three of his colleagues dead in Mogadishu on Monday morning.

The shooting took place at the headquarters of the Ugandan army contingent.

The spokesperson of the Ugandan army, Felix Kulaigye, confirmed the incident to the BBC and the arrest of the soldier.

He is said to have gone on a rampage and shot his first victim in the chest.

Other soldiers initially thought that their base had come under attack.

The second victim was shot three times in the head as he tried to find out what was happening. A third soldier was shot in the back as he tried to run away.

The shooting only stopped when an officer tiptoed and disarmed the shooter.

This is the first incident in several years in Somalia involving Ugandan soldiers.

A similar incident happened in 2019 when a Ugandan captain killed himself after shooting a colleague dead.

Raid against Oromo rebels successfulEthiopia army

The Ethiopian army says it has “liberated several localities” from the rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) in operations in the Oromia region, the military posted on Facebook on Tuesday.

An unnamed senior army officer said “the security forces have launched a coordinated operation to stop the subversion by the Shene and ensure stability in the region”.

The report said the army was carrying out a mission in West and East Guji zones and Borena zones in South Oromia.

“The operation is aimed at annihilating the Shene [OLA} and creating a stable region,” said Haru Germa, a senior official in East Guji Zone.

The OLA, which claims to fight for the right of ethnic Oromo people, was designated a terrorist group in 2021.BBC

Conflict in Burkina Faso has forced nearly two million people to flee their homes

Jerusalem: Palestinian anger over far-right Israeli minister’s holy site visit

Palestinians have condemned a visit to a contested holy site in Jerusalem by a far-right Israeli minister as an “unprecedented provocation”.

National Security Minister Itamar BenGvir, who has called for a harder line towards the Palestinians, walked around the site surrounded by police.

Competing claims to the compound bitterly divide Israel and the Palestinians.

Tensions have risen with the advent of Israel’s new nationalistic government.

Mr Ben-Gvir’s visit was his first public act since the government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was sworn in five days ago.

The hilltop site is the most sacred place in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam. It is known to Jews as the Temple Mount, site of two Biblical temples, and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, the site of Muhammad’s ascent to Heaven. The entire compound is considered to be al-Aqsa Mosque by Muslims.

Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to go to the compound but not pray, though Palestinians see visits by Jews as attempts to change the delicate status quo.

Mr Ben-Gvir, leader of the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, has long said that he wants to bring about a change to the rules to allow Jewish worship at the site. There is no indication that Mr Ben-Gvir prayed during Tuesday’s visit.

“The Temple Mount is open to everyone,” he tweeted, accompanied by a photograph of him surrounded by a security cordon with the golden Dome of the Rock in the background.

Ahead of November’s election, Mr BenGvir said that he would demand that Benjamin Netanyahu introduce “equal rights for Jews”

there.

However, Mr Netanyahu has sought to reassure Israel’s allies that he will not allow any changes. A clause in his coalition deals states that the status quo “with regard to the holy places” will be left intact.

Mr Ben-Gvir was given the go-ahead for his first visit since becoming a minister after consulting Mr Netanyahu and security officials.

Following the 15-minute walkaround, the Palestinian foreign ministry denounced what it described as “the storming of al-Aqsa mosque by the extremist minister Ben-Gvir

and views it as unprecedented provocation and a dangerous escalation of the conflict”.

Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh called for “thwarting the raids that aimed at turning the al-Aqsa Mosque into a Jewish temple”, saying Mr Ben-Gvir’s visit was “a violation of all norms, values, international agreements and laws, and Israel’s pledges to the American president”.

A spokesman for the Palestinian militant Islamist group, Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, called it a “crime” and vowed the site “will remain Palestinian, Arab, Islamic”, AFP news agency reported.

Jordan, one of a small cluster of Arab countries to formally recognise Israel, summoned Israel’s ambassador in protest.

In his tweet, Mr Ben-Gvir sent a message of defiance to Hamas, declaring: “No Israeli government that I’m a member of is going to bow to a despicable and murderous terror organisation... and if Hamas thinks that I’ll be deterred by its threats, it needs to accept that times have changed and that there’s a government in Jerusalem.”

Tensions between Israel and Palestinians which escalated into violence at the site in May 2021 saw Hamas fire rockets towards Jerusalem, triggering an 11-day conflict with Israel.

A visit to the site in 2000 by Israeli rightwinger Ariel Sharon, then opposition leader, infuriated Palestinians. Violence which followed escalated into the second Palestinian uprising, or intifada.

The Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif is the most sensitive site in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Situated in East Jerusalem, it was captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war. Under a delicate set of arrangements, Jordan was allowed to continue its historical role as custodian of the site, while Israel assumed control of security and access.

Muslim prayer continued to be the only form of worship allowed there, although a bar on Jewish visits was lifted. Palestinians argue that in recent years, steps have been taken that undermine the status quo, with Orthodox Jewish visitors often seen praying quietly without being stopped by Israeli police.

The number of visits by Jews has swelled in the past few years, something Palestinians claim is part of a surreptitious attempt to take over the site.

North Korea: What we can expect from Kim Jong-un in 2023

North Korea had a record-busting 2022.

It fired more missiles than ever before in a single year. In fact, a quarter of all missiles North Korea has ever launched hit the skies in 2022. It was also the year that Kim Jong-un declared that North Korea had become a nuclear weapons state and that its weapons were here to stay.

This has raised tensions on the Korean peninsula to their highest since 2017, when then US President Donald Trump threatened North Korea with “fire and fury”.

So, what comes next?

Nuclear weapons development

In 2022, North Korea made significant progress on its weapons. It began the year by testing short-range missiles designed to hit South Korea, followed by mid-range ones that can target Japan.

By the end of the year it had successfully tested its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile to date - the Hwasong 17, which in theory is capable of reaching anywhere on the US mainland.

Mr Kim also lowered his threshold for using nuclear weapons. After announcing in September that North Korea had become an irreversible nuclear weapons state, he revealed that these weapons were no longer designed just to prevent war, but that they could be used pre-emptively and offensively, to win a war.

As the year drew to a close, he gathered the members of his ruling Workers’ Party, to set out his goals for 2023.

Top of his list is to “exponentially increase” the production of nuclear weapons. This must include, he said, the mass production of smaller, tactical nuclear

weapons, which could be used to fight a war against South Korea.

This is the most serious development, according to Ankit Panda, a nuclear weapons expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

To make tactical nuclear weapons, North Korea first must produce a miniaturised nuclear bomb, which can be loaded onto a small missile. The world is yet to see proof that Pyongyang has been able to do this. The intelligence community spent most of 2022 waiting for it to test such a device, but the test never came - 2023 may well be the year.

Other items on Mr Kim’s new year list are a spy satellite, which he claims will be launched into orbit this spring, and a sturdier solid-fuelled ICBM, which could

be fired at the US with less warning than his current model.

We can therefore assume 2023 will have a distinctly 2022 feel, with Pyongyang continuing to aggressively test, refine and expand its nuclear arsenal, in defiance of UN sanctions.

Indeed, less than three hours into the new year it had already conducted its first missile test.

But, Mr Panda says, “most missile launches in the coming year may not be tests, but training exercises, as North Korea now prepares to use its missiles in a possible conflict”.

Any talking?

With such an extensive list of goals to work through, it is unlikely the North Korean leader will choose this year to

return to talks with the US. The last round of denuclearisation negotiations collapsed in 2019, and ever since Mr Kim has shown no sign of wanting to talk.

One line of thinking is that he is waiting until he has maximum leverage. Not until he has proven beyond doubt that North Korea is capable of inflicting destruction on the US and South Korea, will he return to the table, to negotiate on his terms.

Instead, over the past year, North Korea has drawn closer to China and Russia. It could well be in the process of fundamentally changing its foreign policy, said Rachel Minyoung Lee, who worked as a North Korea analyst for the US government for 20 years, and is now with the Open Nuclear Network.

“If North Korea no longer views the US as necessary for its security and survival, it will profoundly impact the shape and form of future nuclear negotiations,” she said.

Tensions on the peninsula

In the meantime, a volatile situation is developing on the Korean peninsula.

For every perceived “provocation” by the North, South Korea - and sometimes the United States - retaliates.

This began in May 2022, with the arrival of a new South Korean president, who promised to be tougher on North Korea. President Yoon Suk-yeol is guided by the belief that the best way to stop the North is to respond with military strength.

He re-started large-scale joint military exercises with the United States, against which the North protested and launched more missiles. This set off a tit-for-tat cycle of military action, which has involved both sides flying warplanes near to their border, and firing artillery into the sea.BBC

Itamar Ben-Gvir has said he wants to change rules to allow Jewish prayer at the site

North Koreans celebrating New Year’s Eve in the capital Pyongyang

Elephants: Covid and ethics reshape Thailand’s tourism industry

As he ambles in for his annual health check, Kwanmueang’s size takes your breath away.

Nearly three metres high at the shoulder, weighing at least four tonnes, and with spectacular tusks that curve together until they almost touch, the 18-year-old Thai bull elephant is an imposing sight.

Yet he and his keeper, or mahout, Sornsiri “Lek” Sapmak, are in trouble.

They used to make a living by having Kwanmueang take part in ceremonies to ordain new monks, or dress up as a war elephant for reenacting historic battles. All that stopped during the Covid lockdowns.

More elephants are used for tourism in Thailand - over 3,000 - than anywhere else. Unlike other countries with captive populations, those in Thailand are nearly all privately owned. So the collapse of tourism during the pandemic has had a devastating impact on the elephants and their owners, who no longer earn enough to look after them.

Even as tourism starts to recover, another threat hangs over this unique industry. Ethical concerns over how captive animals are kept and trained are prompting many foreign visitors to boycott the elephant shows, which were once a staple of tour groups, raising questions over whether elephant tourism can ever go back to what it was before Covid.

Lek and Kwanmueang have come back to Lek’s home village in Surin province - a region whose people are famed for their skill in keeping, training, and in the past capturing, elephants.

Lek is not alone. Hundreds of other elephants have returned to Surin from tourist hot spots like Phuket and Chiang Mai, where they made money by performing tricks or giving rides to foreign visitors.

Walking through these villages is a disarming experience. Nearly every house has one or more elephants chained up in their front yards, or resting under trees. You get used to seeing the huge animals plodding along the road, their mahouts straddling their broad necks, and when driving you learn to take care to move around them.

Boonyarat “Joy” Salangam owns four elephants, which she and her partner brought back from Phuket when tourism dried up in 2020. One is a playful baby, penned in with its mother in an enclosure Joy built in front of her house.

“Covid stopped everything,” she says. “The mahouts, owners and elephants have all been unemployed. In the tourist camps the females are kept apart from the bulls, but here we have all been hanging out together, and the elephants have been having sex. We don’t force them. They do it in their own time. So the population is increasing.”

Joy says she thought about selling her baby elephant to raise funds - they can fetch as much as a luxury car - but worried about how well he would be looked after. Joy has lived with his mother, who is 39 years old, nearly all of her life, and inherited her from her grandparents.

The mahouts too may live for decades with the same elephant from when they are both young, sometimes choosing to sleep with them, taking them to lakes or rivers to bathe in the evening, and keeping a close eye on their health. That has been a challenge under Covid.

Elephants are expensive. An adult needs to eat 100-200kg (220-440lb) of food a day, and drinks up to 100 litres (22 gallons) of water. Without any other income, owners like Joy have been livestreaming their animals on social media, while appealing for donations.

Sometimes this is done at home, as the elephants play or bathe, or they get a friend to ride a motorbike alongside them to film them on their evening walks. Viewers can pay online for the elephants to earn baskets of bananas by performing tricks, but this is not ideal for their

health.

Their diet should mainly be different kinds of leaves and grass, but with so many elephants coming back to the area it is hard to find enough for them.

“We are finding they have digestive problems, because of the change in diet,” says Nuttapon Bangkaew, a vet giving free checkups offered by Elephant Kingdom, a project started seven years ago to improve the welfare of elephants in Surin.

“When the mahouts or elephant owners come back home, they don’t have any income. So, they don’t have money to buy grass or food for them. They have to do these social media livestreams to make money, but this causes health problems.”

Elephants are native to Thailand, but the wild population has shrunk from around 100,000 a century ago, to perhaps only 3,0004,000 today. In the past large numbers were captured and used in the logging industry, but when that was banned in the late 1980s to protect what remained of the country’s forests, they started being used to entertain tourists instead.

In the earliest shows, they demonstrated their skill with logs. But these expanded, as Thailand’s tourism boomed, to offering rides, or antics such as having the animals paint or play football. The campaigning group World Animal Protection (WAP) estimates that before Covid elephants generated up to $770m (£626m) a year for Thailand.

WAP is one of a number of groups trying to end the use of elephants for entertainment, arguing that it is unnatural, and always involves cruel training techniques. Many tourists are already seeking more ethical ways to experience elephants in Thailand. Some tour groups in Europe and North America will no longer send clients to elephant camps which include riding or bathing.

So a new niche has emerged in the ecotourism industry to meet these concerns.

Saengduean “Lek” Chailert, a pioneer in ethical elephant tourism, opened the Elephant Nature Park, north of Chiang Mai, in the 1990s - both as a refuge for injured animals and to explore better ways to allow tourists and elephants to interact.

“We wanted to go fully ethical, to focus on conservation. So we decided to stop the programmes of elephant baths and feeding for tourists,” she said.

That cost them half their bookings. And, she adds, tour operators said they couldn’t send clients to them because everyone “wants to touch and hug the elephants, they want to put their hands on them”.

But today, Lek says, there are signs everywhere in Chiang Mai advertising “no bullhooks, no chains, no riding”.

“I checked in Koh Samui - before there were so many camps doing elephant riding. Now there are only two players left. In Phuket, only a few places are left, and in Chiang Mai, just two places.”

However, ethical elephant tourism has its limits. Out of more than 200 camps which were operating before the Covid shutdown, only 11, including Lek’s, get the WAP’s approval.

Lek has a large plot of land, around 100 hectares (250 acres), along the Mae Taeng river. That is just about enough space for the 122 elephants she has - 45 of them rescued from bankrupt businesses during Covid - to be able to wander freely without being chained.

Other camps do not have that option. One, also in Chiang Mai, which advertises “ethical elephant tours”, does allow bathing with humans. It says that because it does not have the means to build a sufficiently large enclosure it has to chain them in the evening, for the safety of the elephants and humans.

Some in the industry say this is all right;

that there needs to be a more balanced approach between the abuses which used to characterise the industry and the demand of animal rights groups that all elephant entertainment should end.

“Riding elephants can be part of a system for taking care of them,” says Theerapat Trungprakan, who heads the Thai Elephant Alliance Association, a group of elephant owners and business operators.

“They get to go to different places, going to a waterfall, for example, where they can drink the best quality water, or swimming there. It also increases the safety for the elephant to go with humans because there are dangers like pesticides or electricity cables beyond an elephant’s judgement.”

He describes some of the arguments

made by animal rights groups as emotional and melodramatic, and believes that ethical sanctuaries can be less healthy, because without humans being paid to ride them the elephants get fewer opportunities to take long walks.

There are two debates now hanging over the future of Thailand’s captive elephants. One is over what humans should and should not be allowed to do with them. The other, larger question is over what practical options there are for supporting such a massive population of large and long-lived animals.

“I have a wish list in my head, and on top of the wish list is to end the captivity of all wildlife, but we just know that that’s not going to happen,” says Edwin Wiek, one of the most prominent anti-trafficking campaigners in Thailand. Source; BBC

Kwanmueang and his mahout Lek have returned to their home town as the tourism industry changes

Elephants are everywhere in Surin

Elephants are expensive animals to care for - needing vast amounts of food and water each day

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ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT , OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET , MAITAMA , ABUJA WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

SIGNED : SECRETARY.

PUBLIC NOTICE

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THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘F’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, ( CAMA 2020).

THE TRUSTEES ARE :

1.EZE SUNDAY (CHAIRMAN)

2.UGWU OBIORA HENRY (SECRETARY)

3.SOKEH CHINEME JOHN (TRUSTEE)

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE :

1. TO RENDER HELP TO THE FATHERLESS, MOTHERLESS, WIDOWS AND THE LESS PRIVILEGED IN THE SOCIETY.

2. TO GIVE HOPE TO THE NEEDY AND SUCCOR TO THE AFFLICTED BY TAKING CARE OF ORPHANS, EMPOWERING THEM AT THEIR MATURITY AND PROVIDING FOR THE NEEDY WITH BOTH MATERIAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

3. TO RENDER HUMANITARIAN SERVICES TO THE POOR IN THE SOCIETY, THROUGH ORPHANAGE HOMES, HOSPITALS AND SOCIAL WELFARE CENTERS.

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PUBLIC NOTICE

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THE TRUSTEES ARE :

1.IMOLE OYELADE. - CHAIRMAN

2.ADEDAYO OYELADE MONSURAT. - SECRETARY

3.SAMUEL PRECIOUS ABIMBOLA.

4.ADAMAIGBO BLESSING

5.NORBERT ALIYU.

THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE :

1.TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT , OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET , MAITAMA , ABUJA WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

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RAHAJI CLAN CHARITY FOUNDATION

DATED 22ND DAY OF DECEMBER, 2022 BY ORDER OF THE LIQUIDATOR

OLUYOMI OGUNSANYA LIQUIDATOR

NOTE: A MEMBER ENTITLED TO ATTEND AND VOTE AT THE MEETING MAY APPOINT A PROXY TO ATTEND AND VOTE IN HIS STEAD, BY COMPLETING AND SENDING IN A PROXY FORM IN THE USUAL FORM TO THE LIQUIDATOR AT NO 230A MURTALA MUHAMMED WAY ADEKUNLE, YABA, LAGOS STATE AT LEAST FORTY EIGHT HOURS BEFORE THE MEETING. A PROXY NEED NOT BE A MEMBER OF THE COMPANY.

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THE TRUSTEES ARE :

1.GARBA KUMAGA KENNETH 2.EGUM MAUREEN MNGUSUUR

3.GARBA TERHEMEN BENJAMIN

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE :

1. TO DEVELOP EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS IN YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN

2. TO CREATE A PLATFORM FOR MENTORING AND NETWORKING FOR PROFESSIONAL GROWTH OF ENTREPRENEURS

3. TO RENDER HUMANITARIAN SUPPORT TO THE POOR IN THE SOCIETY, THROUGH ORPHANAGE HOMES, HOSPITALS AND SOCIAL WELFARE CENTERS

4. TO DEVELOP LEADERS FOR THE MARKET PLACE THROUGH ENTERPRISE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.

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THE

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE : 1. IMPROVING THE STATE OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, ENCOURAGING THE OBSERVANCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND IMPROVING THE WELFARE OF THE DISADVANTAGED.

2. WE ACCOMPLISH OUR MISSION BY INVESTING INTO IDEAS AND PROJECTS THAT BRINGS SUSTAINABILITY AND EDUCATION THROUGH RELIEF,DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING AND EQUIPPING.

3. TO PROMOTE UNITY, PEACE AND LOVE AMONG THE LESS PRIVILEGED AND MEMBERS FOR THE SURVIVAL OF THE NIGERIA NATION.

4. TO PROVIDE CHARITY FOR THE LESS PRIVILEGED IN THE SOCIETY.

5. TO PROVIDE SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS TO HELP RELIEVE POVERTY, UNDER PRIVILEGED AND TO CONNECT PEOPLE WITH GLOBAL RESPONSE EFFORTS.

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UNIQUE ROYAL SISTERS LEAD FOR DEPRIVED WOMEN AND GIRLS INITIATIVE

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THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1). IKECHI, FREDRICK OKWUBUIKE... CHAIRMAN.

OJINMA, JOY AKUNNA.... SECRETARY.

ENEMO, AMAKA OLUCHUKWU.

IBIEFO, ALILETU BIOLA OGUNYEMI.

OZONNA, SAMUEL ARIZECHUKWU.

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE : 1,. TO ASSIST THE LESS PRIVILEDGED IN THE SOCIETY ESPECIALLY WOMEN AND GIRLS. 2,. TO ASSIST MEMBERS IN TIMES OF NEED.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT , OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET , MAITAMA , ABUJA WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

SIGNED : EZEJI GLORIA 08038769236.

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THIS

THE TRUSTEES ARE :

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3.ABDUL ADAMU

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5.BAWA

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THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO THE

I AM TOWER OF GLORIOUS PEOPLE ASSEMBLY

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2). AGWU ELEKWA IBOM. - SECRETARY.

3. UKACHUKWU, BRIGHT OKPORIE.

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE :

2020).

1. TO PREACH THE WORD OF GOD AND WIN SOULS FOR CHRIST.

2. TO ENGAGE IN CHARITY WORK IN IMITATION OF CHRIST.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT , OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET , MAITAMA , ABUJA WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

SIGNED : SECRETARY - 08030781682.

COMMUNITY SECONDARY SCHOOL IHUOKPARA CLASS OF 2003

UKEHE PROGRESSIVE UNION, PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE

THE KINGDOM LIFE PURPOSE DRIVEN CHURCH INTERNATIONAL

UKAN GARBA CENTER FOR PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT

IKWULAIBE OZUITEM AND FRIENDS ASSOCIATION

Gusau mourns passing of Abia FA boss, Ephraim Chukwuemeka

By Albert Akota

President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau has described as ‘most shocking’ the death on Tuesday morning of the Chairman of Abia State Football Association, Sir Ephraim Chukwuemeka.

The respected former referee, who happened to be the longest-serving FA Chairman in the country, died on Tuesday morning in Umuahia, capital of Abia State.

“The NFF has this morning received the most shocking news about the death of Sir E. C. Chukwuemeka, who has for decades been an esteemed member of the NFF Congress. I spoke with him just over a week ago when he told me that his wife had a partial stroke. I had no idea it would be the last conversation between us.

“Sir Chukwuemeka represented the vintage old guard in the NFF Congress and blessed us all with his wisdom, deep knowledge and understanding of the game of football, its rules, its management and its intricacies. We will all miss him dearly. Our prayer is that Almighty God should grant him eternal rest and also empower those he has left behind, including his immediate family, friends and the Nigeria football fraternity, with the fortitude to bear the big loss,” Gusau said.

NFF empanels judicial, match officiating committees

The Nigeria Football Federation on Monday constituted its judicial and match officiating committees, for the period 2022-2026.

Heading the Referees Committee is former FIFA referee, Mrs Faith Irabor, with Mallam Rabiu Umar as vice chairman, while the Match Commissioners Committee is headed by Member of NFF Board, Alhaji Babagana Kalli.

The vice chairman is Alhaji Ganiyu Majekodunmi, another member of the NFF Board.

The Disciplinary Committee is headed by Barrister J. B. C. Obikwelu, former vice chairman

of the Anambra State Football Association, while Barrister Gandi Umar Mohammed is chairman of the Appeals Committee.

The Referees and Match Commissioners’ committees are scheduled to meet with the NFF leadership at the NFF Secretariat, Abuja on Thursday by 1pm, in preparation for the 2022-2023 Nigeria Professional Football League season commencing on Saturday, 8th January.

FULL LIST: REFEREES COMMITTEE

Mrs Faith IraborChairman

Mallam Rabiu UmarVice Chairman

Oba James Odeniran –Member

Mr Abraham Zakowi –Member

Mallam Waziri Furo Gawe –Member

Mr. C. C. Chukwujekwu –Member

Mallam Bello AbubakarMember

MATCH COMMISSIONERS COMMITTEE

Alh. Babagana Kalli –Chairman

Alh. Ganiyu Majekodunmi –Vice Chairman

Hon. Usman Maulud –Member

Alh. Aminu Mammaga –Member

Alh. Idris Abdullahi Thuraya – Member

Mr. Anthony Ugwu –Member

Otunba Mustapha Razaq – Member

Chief Kenneth Nwamuocha – Member

DISCIPLINARY

COMMITTEE

Barr. J. B. C. Obikwelu

– Chairman

Barr. Abdulrahman Abdulrahman – Vice Chairman

Barr. Ibrahim Mukhtar – Member

Barr. Wole Ademoyegun – Member

Barr. Bello Galadi –Member

APPEALS COMMITTEE

Barr. Gandi Umar

Mohammed (mni) – Chairman Barr. Martin Usen Effiong – Vice Chairman

Barr. Bemva Akortsaha – Member Barr. Bweino Dauda

– Member

Barr. Bukar Muazu – Member

Ibrahin Guasu, Nff president

Inzaghi warns Leao against joining Real Madrid, Man City Warns Leao

Italy star, Pippo Inzaghi has advised Rafael Leao to remain with AC Milan and ignore joining Man City or Real Madrid.

The Portuguese forward became Milan’s clutch player, the one who carried the burden with Zlatan Ibrahimovic injured and when Giroud wasn’t firing on all cylinders. Leao stepped up, scoring or providing an assist in the final six matches of the season.

Leao has been in talks over a renewal with Milan, but there has been a gap between what Milan are willing to offer Leao and what the player is demanding.

Yet there is a hope that both can compromise and a deal struck. However, Inzaghi has urged Leao to maintain his rise with the club than joining Real

Madrid or Man City.

“If I were him I would stay. Milan has always been the best for me. To wear that shirt, to play at San Siro.

A few years ago, you might think of striving for something more prestigious, because Milan was becoming fantastic again. But now they won the league, they make their way to the Champions League, But now they won the league, they make their way to the Champions League,.

“Leão is good, but he can be even better. I hope he is convinced. Here he can be a protagonist, at the centre of the project. The risk is that he in City or Real he becomes one of many. If I could give him advice, I would tell him to become a flag bearer for Milan, something unique.”

Niger Tornadoes FC’ Fans Club have conferred an award of excellence on the chairman of Niger Tornadoes Football Club Minna, Hon. Adamu Aliyu Mohammed.

In an event that took place at the Niger Tornadoes FC Secretariat, Ministry Of Youth and Sports Development over the week, the Technical Adviser of the State owned team, Abubakar Bala Mohammed also received an award alongside four players, for their outstanding performance last season.

According to the organizers of the award ceremony (Fans Club) the essence of rewarding the outstanding performers, is to encourage other players to emulate their colleagues to always give their all when called upon.

The Fans Club which was created and registered in 2016 with the aim of volunteering to give the much needed support to the team, had Amos Silas Jako as her first Chairman, while the current chairman is Abubakar Adamu Layi.

Aside organizing an award ceremony, the FANS CLUB have always made it a duty to vote and recognize best player of the team on a weekly bases during league matches.

The Award for Excellent Performance were presented to Niger Tornadoes Chairman Hon. Adamu Aliyu, Technical Adviser, Abubakar Bala Mohammed, Teams Captains, Ifeanyi Okoye and Sunday Akinmoladun, the other two players who bagged awards are; Lukman Mohammed and Daniel Edeh who had since departed the club and pitched tent with a foreign club.

Responding on behalf of all the recipients, Abubakar Bala Mohammed, acknowledged the important contributions of the FANS CLUB and said their efforts can not be underestimated.

While calling on the need to sustain the tempo and maintain a greater synergy between the FANS & SUPPORTER’S CLUB in the best interest of the team, Coach Bala urged them to spread their tentacles in the area of seeking partnership and sponsorship as obtainable in the most developed places.

He stressed that the issue of sponsorship which is generally lacking among Nigeria clubsides must be tackled so as reduce over dependence on government.

He said, “For instance, most clubs including Tornadoes do not have economic right of players, losing huge amount of money to agents, anytime players secure deals outside the shores of the country. In our case when Daniel Edeh secured his move away, his agent took the lion share of the whole transfer fees, as a result of inability to pay his clearance fees outrightly, so a lot need to be done in this aspect”.

Thereafter, Coach Bala made a pledge of N100,000 to the FANS CLUB.

Also speaking, the special guest of honor at the event, APC State Publicity Secretary Hon. Labaran Sarkin Kaji, while reiterating that Niger Tornadoes is one of the famous clubsides in Nigeria with supporters spread within and outside the State, said, football is loved and cherished by many but performed by the youth, hence the need for government to give the sector a special attention. He said football if well harnessed can boost the economy of a state, he commended the current chairman of the team, Hon. Adamu Aliyu for doing so well in terms of piloting the affairs of the team and used the occasion call on the Coaches to place special consideration on home based players.

By Amaechi Agbo

Crisis has hit the proposed kickoff of the 2022/2023 Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL season slated for January 8 as Club Owners have withdrawn their participation in the new season.

The Chairman, Club Owners Association, Barr Isaac Danladi confirmed the development in a release issued on Christmas Day.

According the release, the Club Owners vowed not to attend the Wednesday, December 28 draw for the new season neither would they participate in the league if the

Interim Management Committee, IMC goes ahead to adopt an abridged format for the new season against a majority decision for a straight league.

“This is to bring to your notice that we are in receipt of the above circular inviting clubs for the 2023 NPFL draws on abridged league format.

“Consequently, I wish to further inform members and state categorically that this is not in consonance with the joint decision of clubs and IMC at the last meeting of Wednesday 21st Dec 2022 whereby it was agreed inter-alia that the abridged league

proposed by IMC and the straight league which was overwhelmingly proposed by the clubs would be communicated to NFF by the IMC for further necessary action.

“We are therefore perplexed and amazed that just few hours after the meeting, IMC came up with a circular fixing 28th December as date for draws based on abridge league format,” the release said.

“We wish to categorically dissociate ourselves with the circular and state firmly that clubs would not be part of the draws on 28th December 2022, neither would we participate in an abridged league.

The clubs remain resolute in their quest to have a “better league that will endure, hence we cannot be part of an arrangement that will not be beneficial to football development in Nigeria.

“In view of the above, a meeting of the club Owners is being proposed for 28th December 2022 in Asaba Delta state to review matters arising among other things.

“Details of the meeting and other logistics will be announced soonest, please.

“We appreciate members for their patience and good conducts since this saga started.”

Inzaghi

Niger Tornadoes award reception

Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana retires from international football

By Amaechi Agbo

Less than a month after he was sent out of the Indomitable Lions camp in Qatar at the 2022 World Cup due to disciplinary actions, Cameroon first choice goalkeeper, Andre Onana has announced his retirement from international football.

The Inter Milan of Italy shotstopper retired aged 26.

In a post he made on Twitter Friday, Onana told a short story of how he dreamed of wearing the Indomitable Lions jersey stressing that “however beautiful a story it may be, has its end. And my story with the Cameroonian national team has come to an end.”

“It all started in Ngol Nkok, a small village where, from a very young age, my family passed on to me the values that identify the Cameroonian people. understood that love for this country is eternal and that commitment is nonnegotiable.

“I remember how we watch the matches as a family. Only Cameroonians can understand what it means to us to see the Indomitable Lions play. That’s when I started dreaming of one day wearing the national team jersey. And now, after endless hours of training, endless trips and a lot of perseverance, I can proudly say that I have fulfilled my great dream.

“But every story, however beautiful it may be, has its end. And my story with the Cameroonian national team has come to an end. Players come and go, names are fleeting, but Cameroon comes before any person or player.

“Cameroon remains eternal and so does my love for the national team and for our people who have always supported us no matter how difficult the moment was. My feeling will never change. My Cameroonian heart will continue to beat and wherever I go I will always fight to lift the flag of Cameron as high as possible.

“I will continue to support as a

fan, just as the more than 27 million Cameroonians do at every match. I can only thank all those who trusted me and believed that I could add and contribute to this team. The nation first and forever”

Onana who had 34 caps in a sixyear international career debuted for Cameroon in a 2–1 friendly win over Gabon in September 2016. He featured in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations thirdplace game against Burkina Faso.

On 9 November 2022, he was named in the final squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He played the first match against Switzerland, before being dropped in the second against Serbia, then he was eventually suspended from the tournament on 28 November, due to a disciplinary issue related to arguments about tactics with his coach Rigobert Song.

Onana announced his retirement from international football on 23 December 2022

Morocco to build 93, 000 capacity stadium in 2025

By Amaechi Agbo

Fresh from their historic World Cup performances in 2022 World Cup where they became the first African country to reach the Semi-final stage, Morocco is planning to build a 93, 000 capacity national stadium in 2025.

Morocco plans to launch 93,000 capacity Grand Stadium of Casablanca in 2025.

Sited in its largest city, Casablanca, the stadium will serve as the home of the Moroccan men’s national team, the Atlas Lions.

Morocco became the first African Nation to reach World Cup Semi-final in Qatar where they earned $25 million for 4th place after losing the 3rd-place playoff 2-1 against Croatia on Saturday Morocco stunned the world with their selling performances, going unbeaten up until their final four fixture against France.

Morocco’s Atlas Lions are ranked 11 in the new FIFA World Rankings released last week.

Also, Morocco’s King, Mohammed VI decorated the players, coach, Walid Regragui and the president of the

Moroccan FA, Faouzi Lekjaa with national honours following their Qatar World Cup heroics.

The team returned home to much fanfare as Moroccans took to the streets to cheer on the players, who had made history for the North African nation on the world stage, during their parade around the capital city of Rabat on an open-top bus.

Morocco became the first ever African country to qualify for the semi-final of the FIFA World Cup, after their remarkable 1-0 victory over Portugal national team and they went on to finish at the 4th spot

of the competition.

Prior to this year’s edition of FIFA World Cup in Qatar, no African country made it beyond the quarter-final of the FIFA World Cup.

The Atlas Lions played seven matches in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, they secured four victories, drew one and lost two.

The King hosted the team alone with the mothers of the players.

Morocco bided to host the 2026 World Cup but lost the hosting rights to United States of America, Canada and Mexico who are co-hosting the global tournament slated to be played in June-July 2026.

Zambia appoints Avram Grant as new coach ahead of 2025 AFCON qualifiers

By Amaechi Agbo

2012 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON champions, Zambia have named former Chelsea manager, Avram Grant as new Coach ahead of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers.

The former Portsmouth and West Ham boss signed a two-year deal with an option to extend.

The former Ghana national team coach said his choice of Zambia was “for the right challenge” and expressed optimism of “doing a good job” with the team.

‘I was looking for the right challenge and that’s why I chose Zambia,’ Grant, 67, said at a press conference in Lusaka on Thursday.

“I came here because of the challenge and I hope when I leave here I will look around and say we did a good job and made a good foundation for the future.

‘I think Zambia has the potential, we have set the targets of what we want to achieve.’

Grant’s time in England was most notable for leading Chelsea to the 2008 Champions League final, which they lost on penalties to Manchester United.

The Israeli also steered Portsmouth to the 2010 FA Cup final, which they lost 1-0 to Chelsea.

But he was in charge of Portsmouth and West Ham when they were both relegated from the Premier League.

Grant later led Ghana to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations final and a penalty shoot-out defeat to the Ivory Coast.

Zambia failed to qualify for the African knockout stages of 2022 World Cup qualification and parted company with Croatian coach Aljosa Asanovic in October.

Grant’s first games will be 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in March.

The Chipolopolo are currently second in the AFCON Group H qualifying race with 3 points from two matches. They will face Lesotho on March 20 and 28 next year.

Former Cameroon goalkeeper, André Onana

Avram Grant (middle) unveiled as new Zambia coach

Cristiano Ronaldo: New Al Nassr signing says work in Europe

2022 has finally gone; a year shrouded in political intricacies. Being a prelude to a general election year, it was as usual, many periods of political dramas, expressed in much calculated rhetoric that were difficult to segment into truth on one side and fashioned lies and propaganda on the other. Candidates for the 2023 general elections as usual were flooding the media and streets, weaponising religion and tribal differences to garner support across delicate divisive lines. More worrisome, a section of the citizens themselves are moved more by emotions and affinities than by capacity and candidates’ antecedents, leading to an unprecedented support for apparent nonentities without presentable records nor current capacity to occupy a presidential office.

rising figure since the NADEC days. Maybe, Obasanjo is fighting hard to keep his record of being the only Nigerian president of Southwest extraction during his lifetime.

Cristiano Ronaldo says his work in Europe is done, but he had “many opportunities” from other clubs before joining Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr.

He joined Al Nassr as a free agent on Friday after leaving Manchester United following a controversial interview in which he criticised the club.

The Portugal captain, 37, said he had offers from clubs in Brazil, Australia, the United States and Portugal.

“I gave my word for this club,” he said at his unveiling on Tuesday.

“I won everything, I played for the most important clubs in Europe and now it is a new challenge in Asia.”

Ronaldo is reportedly set to receive the biggest football salary in history at more than £177m per year in a deal that runs until 2025.

“As nobody knows, I can say now I had many opportunities in Europe, many clubs in Brazil, Australia, the US, even in Portugal, many clubs tried to sign me,” Ronaldo told reporters at his first media conference.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was greeted with applause and shouts of his trademark ‘Siu’ celebration as he spoke. He answered questions from a club official but took none from reporters.

Speaking about his contract with the nine-time Saudi Pro League champions, Ronaldo said: “This contract is unique but I’m a unique player, so for me it’s normal.

“I know the league is very competitive, I saw many games. I hope to play after [Wednesday] if the coach thinks there’s a chance. I’m ready to keep playing football.

2022 was full of dramas of candidates’ endorsements; and as usual, candidates traversed the country to literally buy and beg for endorsements. Groups and individuals cashing out on candidates rushed to create the illusion of acceptances through propagated open support across the country. I remember the caricature of endorsements that pervaded the 2019 presidential election; Atiku Abubakar did really pay his way through many endorsements across religious, tribal and statesmen media approval and declared support. At a time, to crown the illusion of statewide support, Olusegun Obasanjo, who had never hidden his disdain for President Buhari, led a team of revered clergies across religious line and other highly placed citizens to declare Atiku Abubakar as the Nigerian President-in-waiting. The endorsements, as they all turned out, failed; Nigerian people proved to them that it is a game of one man one vote and we are largely and individually rational enough to know what is good for our country.

It is now 2023 and I say a hearty happy New Year to all my readers, both the regular and otherwise. Let’s all begin the journey of another 365 days together. As usual, objectively and restraining my emotional biases as a human, I would do justice to issues and topics of national relevance as I have always done as the year 2023 unfolds.

The news of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s endorsement of Peter Obi of the Labour Party was the first that attracted my attention this year. Actually, I wasn’t surprised at the news, in fact I expected him to have dropped the ‘bomb’ long before now, just that I wasn’t sure if it would be in favour of PDP or the Labour party. The only thing I was perfectly sure of was that he wasn’t ever going to support the presidential ambition of Tinubu as an APC candidate, not because he is in APC, but because he is a Yoruba man. There is something about Obasanjo that has become routine; he would never support a candidate of Yoruba extraction. He opposed and worked against the candidacy of Awolowo, in fact he openly handed over the position to President Shagari at the expense of his kin. In 1993, he was among the strongest forces against an Abiola presidency and has never hidden his hatred for Bola Tinubu as a promising

Beyond Obasanjo’s expected theatrics, my subject for the week is Atiku Abubakar. I wonder what drives the man to desperately want to sit on that exalted seat, despite the loads of garbage tied to his waist. No Nigerian politician alive has ever been accused of malpractices against Nigeria and Nigerians as Atiku Abubakar. Yet, for all the accusations, he has never for once rebuffed them or threatened anyone for wrongfully accusing him. Why? Because the allegations could be true; though he has never been convicted by a court of law, the allegations of mass corruption and every other one against him seem to be true. While it has been proven all through history that a name is one of the most, if not the most valuable asset to every man, the candidate of PDP does not seem to care about his name or what people call him. This is seen in the account of the lives of men who are reputed by history to be honorable. Since the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the flag bearer of the PDP in the 2019 presidential election, the myriad of attacks on his personality on all fronts has been massive and would not stop because he could not afford to confront them.

It must, in the first instance, be accepted that it is common for people of his status and aspiration around the world to be exposed to such attacks, and also for the victims of such attacks to be left with one of three options in response to all perceived disparagements and allegations; rebuff the accusations and allegations with contrary factual evidence; accept liabilities for the accusations and make restitutions; or rather keep quiet and allow the streets to conclude who you are without a fair hearing. When the last opening is preferred, then, there is a general conclusion of acceptance of guilt.

It is, therefore, logical to think that these accusations or lies, as they turn out to be at times, could become positive tools for gaining mass popularity and support if well attended. It is on this premise that I advise the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to review his stance, especially how he and his team handle the load of allegations against his person in time before it is too late. We have seen several allegations leveled against Atiku Abubakar and the management of the response from his team only complicates the case for him further.

From a vantage point on the sideline, I can only see Atiku Abubakar make for a dishonourable path: refusing to

rebuff sensitive allegations of corruption against him but rather choosing to run a smear campaign on others before the electorate. Thus, in a bid subliminally implicative to Nigerians that we are all corrupt and should both be seen as such by the masses, is a clear signal to the masses acquiescence of all the allegations of corruption directly upon, or linked to him. And for his choice of a smear campaign against the APC candidate, for each allegation against Tinubu from Atiku’s camp that is proven to be wrong as they all would be, Atiku further damages the little chances he has at the poll.

It is therefore on this premise, Mr. Atiku Abubakar, that I offer that you set your mind to respond to a lot of the allegations riding about your person and salvage your reputation now. The weight of corruption allegations hovering above you could hinder your steps up the ladder toward your destination, hence, heed my advice. The G-5 governors are enough challenge to you no matter how you pretend you are good without them; you cannot afford to carry further unnecessary loads.

Mr. Abubakar Atiku, since 2018 Nigerians have had questions for your responses; would you kindly for your case and their cases, give answers to these questions with factual evidence and cow your enemies in shame for good:

• You are generally seen as a successful businessman and you can make Nigeria a prosperous country. Yet, there is no clear explanation of how you became wealthy. Your salary and pay up until your retirement from the Nigerian Customs Service as Deputy Director is not commensurate with your current state of wealth. Can you identify a particular breakthrough business deal you had that made you this wealthy?

• Your ex-boss, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has described you in his book titled, ‘My Watch,’ in one of the most spiteful ways. You have, as yet, neither sued him for libel nor vigorously countered his allegations in the book publicly; does this mean that they are true? I mean this; “What I did not know, which came out glaringly later, was his parental background which was somewhat shadowy; His propensity to corruption; His tendency to disloyalty; His inability to say and stick to the truth all the time; a propensity for poor judgment; his belief and reliance on marabouts; his lack of transparency. His trust in money to buy his way out on all issues and his readiness to sacrifice morality, integrity, proprietary truth, and national interest for self and selfish interest.” These are very strong remarks to make about anyone Sir.

• Some documents and publications

are in the public domain which indicate you might have criminal cases to answer in the United States of America. At least one of your known associates, former US congressman, William Jefferson has been convicted in the US for corruption. How do you react to these events and allegations that appear to tarnish your image considering your candidacy?

• What is your biggest achievement so far in life, which you think Nigerians should know about and for which reason they should consider voting for you?

• Many Nigerians seem to agree that corruption is Nigeria’s biggest problem. The World Bank has stated severally, that corruption is the source of all woes in Nigeria. Not much has been heard from you on how you would fight it. Can you tell us how you intend to fight this menace of corruption?

And very importantly, Nigerians would want to know what pushed you to make the eternal error of selling out significant national assets such as ALSCON and Delta Steel Company, among others, for peanuts to your friends and cronies, when you can never make such a mistake with your personal businesses.

These questions I subscribe to, having seen them littering our airspace, our media all these while and without any response to any of them. With these, I am sure the original compilers of the questions and all nationalists will agree I have spoken their minds on this subject.

I hope Alhaji Atiku Abubakar will heed my advice and take time out to answer these questions to deepen our democracy and enlighten the electorate. More importantly, he would be doing himself a great lot of good to save his reputation.

Hold this dear! Money cannot win elections again in this country, but a good name and reputation can. It is not easy to cope with a bad reputation at a time when you need the public to vouch for you with their mandates.

As it has always been, in all humility, I welcome constructive criticism and superior argument on the above submission

God Bless The Federal Republic Of Nigeria!

is done despite ‘many