Monday, May 15, 2023 Edition

Combined Children and Youth Mass Choir giving their rendition during the Global Children and Youth convocation organised by Pastor William Kumuyi of Deeper Life Bible Church at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, recently in Abuja.

I regret nothing as Army chief - TY Buratai

Counter insurgency: Buratai hails Irabor, others for keeping momentum

By Stanley Onyekwere

Former

Chief

of Army

Staff, Tukur

Yusuf

Buratai,

has commended efforts of all the service chiefs led by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, for maintaining the momentum and making the armed forces and country proud, in the ongoing counter insurgency operations.

Buratai, who is also the immediate past Nigerian Ambassador to Benin Republic, Lieutenant General, however declared that he does not regret anything he did while serving the country.

He made this assertion at the weekend, in Abuja, during the public presentaion and launching of three books authored by a journalist, Jibrin Baba Ndace, in his honour.

He said: “The military is a force that stands at all times in the defence of our territorial integrity, in the defences of lives. And of course, we defend our country with all that it takes, eve if it means paying the supreme price.

“If I say that I regret anything, I will be telling lies. I’m fulfiled, and I’m happy that I served my country where I did, and I’m happy I am being appreciated. There are so many thing to do, but I have my proofs, which you see my final moments in my books”.

Recounting the pre 2015

security situation, he revealed that the there was so mun devastation in infrastructure and humans in the country particularly in Borno state and the northeast.

He added that it is heart warming the men and women of the armed forces are able to continue the onslaught against the Boko Haram terrorists.

He said: “Nigerians were already feeling defeated by the Boko Haram propaganda, as at the time we came in 2015, everybody was scared of being attacked or bombed. So psychologically, everybody was defeated, so we decided that we have to defeat that psychological or sense of defeat from fear of Boko Haram and unknown.

“And for the first time in the history of Nigerian Military, Journalists are embedded in the war front with us, as media operation is so critical to psychological operation.

“Almost, on daily basis in 2015 -2016 they (Insurgents) continued to attack mosques, churches and so on. So psychologically, Nigerians were traumatised as they don’t feel safe anywhere. So that was one of my strategies to ensure that this propaganda was defeated and eliminated from our minds. “I said we cannot achieve that until the press go along with us, and really that helped us achieve a lot. And this (the book launch) is one of the results.

“ And the book titled walking in

the war front with Lt. Gen. TY Brutai is a collection of some the relics in pictures, so that people could see and appreciate the damage that have been done by the insurgents, as it is so unimaginable, not even to talk of the human sufferings that were so pathetic and terrible.”

He continued: “We were able to maintain the momentum right from day one (the first day I took over as the Chief of Army Staff up till the last day that I left, there was never a dull moment. The more we moved in, the more dangerous and daring it became , because we had pushed them to the wall, the became desperate.

“Many would not know that the theater became hot around that time - 2019-2020 especially during the Covid lockdown we relocated completely to the northeast. We were there in the theater dealing with the Boko haram terrorists. And that is how we maintained the momentum before we left office in 2021. So more are to be written, and I believe that we have a lot to tell Nigerians about how the whole counter insurgency went.

Also speaking, General Irabor, eulogised Bruratai, in whose honour the author of the books, was able to identify the key role of media operations and how it can infuse into kinetic operations of the troops in the frontline.

He added that although there are lot of influences on men and women of the armed forces, but

posterity will actually judge them in the right context.

According to him:” There is no man or woman who is faultless, as it is only our creator God Almighty that is faultless. We as members of the armed forces remain very professional based on core principles that we entrenched during our training, but even at that there are still areas that every now and then reviews are carried out.

“It will be unfair to disparage men and women of the armed forces, who toil night and day for the rest of this society to go about their businesses even to sleep with their two eyes closed’.

On his part, the author said he was inspired by so many factors especially his experience from direct commitment of a combatant as an embedded, and lack of materials either in form of documentary or books on experiences of journalists in embedded course.

He added that the books as motivating tools, as they afford an opportunity to celebrant them and be able to tell Nigerians that it is not what they see or the perception created about them, as they are committed men and women who put their lives on the line daily to keep the country safe.

Highpoint of the event was the launching of the three books: Walking in the War Front with Buratai; Duty Call Under Buratai’s Command; and The Lonely Grave and other Poems.

Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu receiving the National Daily Award as Innovation and Infrastructure Governor of the Year from former President, Olusegun Obasanjo while the Chairman of the Occasion, Prince Julius AdelusiAdeluyi, watches during the prestigious National Daily Awards ceremony at the Grand BallRoom of Oriental Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos, at the weekend.

Collaboration: Panacea to solving challenges in Nigeria’s aquaculture -Experts

Experts in the aquaculture industry in Nigeria have identified collaboration among stakeholders as a panacea to solving challenges in the industry. They stated this at the stallholders’ engagement workshop in Ibadan on Tuesday. The programme is with the theme: “Implementation of Best Management Practices in Aquaculture and E-Technology Platform Adoption for Sustainable Aquaculture Development in Nigeria”.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project is funded by USAID, hosted by University of Ibadan and the International Centre for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM). Prof. Olanike Adeyemo, the Principal Investigator, FIL

Aquaculture Biosecurity Project, University of Ibadan, said the project was one of USAID-funded projects under the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish. Adeyemo said that Nigeria was the host Country, and the project sites are Ogun and Delta states.

According to her, the theme of the workshop is focused on disseminating Best Management Practices in Aquaculture. She stated that it was developed as an outcome of the project with the hope that the uptake of BMP by farmers would lead to a significant reduction in the incidences of diseases in aquaculture. “We should also be presenting a justification for a collaborative development and implementation of a National Aquatic Animal Health and Governance

Strategy (NAAHS). “We strongly believed that communicating our findings will in no little measure assist Competent Authorities with jumpstarting the processes involved in having a NAAHS enacted, implemented, and monitored.

This is to ensure performance sustainability and resilience of the Nigerian aquaculture industry,” she said. Adeyemo said the workshop would showcase best examples of electronic technology platforms for aquaculture development in Nigeria. This, she said, would include demonstrating the improvements of E-Aquahealth Solutions, that was developed to bridge the identified gap of inadequate veterinary and disease diagnostic support to the Industry. Also, Prof. Gabriel

Ogundipe, Head, Department, of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ibadan, stated that the industry in Nigeria was growing and Nigeria was depending on it for animal protein supply.

So, many people are in the industry either as fishermen or as fish farmers, whereas a lot of people are also involved in marketing the products of the aquaculture industry. “So, we need to sustain the industry to be able to feed the multitudes of Nigerians. “We also need to sustain the industry to maintain the people who are employed by the industry. “And, we also need to maintain this industry because of the consumers who depend on fish for their livelihood,” he said.

Nigeria to develop Food System Transformation pathwayOfficial

Nigeria is set to develop the implementation strategy for Food System Transformation Pathway in order to boost security and reduce unemployment among youths and women.

Dr Sanjo Faniran, who is the National Convenor of the UN Food Systems and Director of Social Development, Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, disclosed this in Abuja.

Faniran said that the strategy would address the questions of poverty, inadequate supply of nutritious food and nonconsumption of minimum dietary diversity in the country.

He said it would also address stunting, chronic malnutrition, underweight, anaemia and diet-related noncommunicable diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, stroke and cancers, among others.

Faniran said that the national food systems transformation aimed to achieve some goals by 2030 as well as promote sustainable food trade, increase women’s empowerment in Agriculture Index Score, and increase Environmental Performance Index score.

The food system pathways aim to improve the productivity and sustainability of the food system while promoting health and nutrition, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and enhancing socio-economic development in Nigeria.

The implementation of these pathways requires a multistakeholder approach and engagement at all levels to ensure that the objectives are achieved.

To this end, he said, the ministry would hold a zonal workshop involving stakeholders in Kano on Monday and Awka, Anambra on Thursday on the development of the strategy.

He said that the workshop would be in collaboration with Kano State Government, World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organisation, IFAD, GAIN and AGRA.

The Kano consultation workshop is to harvest input from all the Northern States towards the development of a robust and inclusive implementation of the strategy.

Faniran said that consultation workshops would be used to harvest input of stakeholders, especially state actors in the Food System Value Chain, to strengthen and ensure an inclusive and jointly-owned Plan, taking into consideration various professional, technical and socio-economic positions of the stakeholders.(NAN)

Shutting out Gagdi, Betara others from speakership, harmful to APC - Group

By Christiana Ekpa

The Generation Next Collective (GNC), a coalition of pragmatic youth and women groups with core interest in development strategies and democratic accountability, has said that shutting out the Chairman of the House Committee on Navy, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi and others from the speakership race is akin to the All Progressives Congress (APC) shooting itself in the foot.

The coalition warned that handpicking the leadership of the 10th Assembly would deny the nation of a robust legislature that would thrive in objectivity and true

independence.

GNC, in a joint statement issued by its co-conveners, Barrister Ruth Edehemon and Malam Rufiji Abdullahi (Ph.D) in Abuja on Sunday, May 14, 2023, noted that public perception hasn’t been kind to the National Assembly over how it has handled its responsibilities in ways that made it appear as an appendage of the Executive in recent times, adding that the nation deserves better from the ruling party and handpicking leaders of the National Assembly would further hurt the integrity of this important institution and dent its public perception the more.

It argued that a committed lawmaker with clear vision of legislative responsibilities and documented, verifiable track record of leadership and legislative experiences would be fit and proper to restore the integrity and independence of the House of Representatives, as Speaker.

GNC stressed that a person like Rt. Hon. Gagdi who represents Pankshin/Kanam/Kanke Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, had served as a presiding officer when he was the Deputy Speaker of Plateau State House of Representatives and should not be shut out from the

contest.

“His impressive track record in his first term shows he has sponsored and co-sponsored over 20 bills out of which 6 have gotten presidential assent, including the Police Reform Bill. He is also a grassroots mobiliser and a team player, imbued with emotional intelligence that is lacking in many leaders.”

It therefore called on the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), “in the spirit and practice of true democracy, to allow lawmakers choose their leadership without intimidation and manipulation from external interests.”

FG commission’s 20-bed crisis Intervention Fund Hospital in Port-Harcourt Maximum Custodial Centre

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

The Federal Government, on Saturday restated its commitment to the welfare of inmates and officers at the custodial facilities nationwide.

The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, made the statement while commissioning a 20-bed COVID-19 Crisis Intervention Fund Hospital and Equipment at the Maximum Security Custodial Centre Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

A statement by Sola Fasure Media Adviser to the Minister of Interior, said the project, will be an enduring legacy and a testimony of the utmost importance the Federal Government has taken Corrections and the welfare of inmates and the staff.

Aregbesola stated that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has addressed the problem of inmates contracting diseases in custodial centres, as the inmates at the custodial centres now have access to excellent medical care beyond the centres.

“The custodial centres were frighteningly centres for

contracting diseases like scabies and tuberculosis, among others. Happily, this has been addressed by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration and is now a thing of the past. We not only have well-manned clinics and well stocked pharmacies, the inmates at the custodial centres now have access to excellent medical cares beyond the centres” he said.

While lamenting that the challenges of running correctional services are enormous, with huge demands for infrastructure, equipment and maintaining the welfare of inmates, the Interior Minister however assured that the Federal Government have provided long term solution to the challenge. He revealed that the Federal government spends N1,065,790 on maintaining each inmate per annum, reiterating his earlier announcement that the government will stop feeding inmates who are state offenders by the end of the year.

According to him, “This Maximum Security Custodial Centre in Port Harcourt, with a capacity for 1,800 inmates, presently houses about 3,067 inmates. This is just a

reflection of the situation in most urban Custodial Centres where we have congestion at the moment. The facilities and even the personnel are overstretched, but we are coping and providing long term solutions to this challenge.

“One of such solutions is the construction of mega 3,000-capacity custodial villages in six geo-political zones of the country. The one for the South-South is in Bori, not far from here in Rivers State. The ones for the North West in Janguza, Kano and the North Central, in Karshi Abuja are ready. Hopefully, we shall commission the one in Kano in a few days, before our departure, even as work is steadily going on in the others and has reached appreciable level.

“Let me also reiterate that the Federal Government will stop feeding inmates incarcerated for breaching state laws. As you commence your budget process for next year, include feeding of your inmates,” he said.

Ogbeni Aregbesola added that the hospital, like several others, including the one commissioned in Osun last week, was built from the Covid-19 Crisis Special Intervention

Fund of the Federal Government, and will go a long way in addressing the medical concerns of inmates and Correctional Service personnel as well.

While commending the management and staff of the NCoS for working hard to keep the virus away, he restated that the new hospital is a unique intervention aimed at making robust healthcare for those in custody as well as staff members, a pleasant reality.

“We celebrate how the NCoS, through professional responsiveness and hard work, triumphed over the COVID-19 pandemic, coming out clean without a single case of the virus finding its way into any of our custodial centres. On this, we were able to best even the most advanced countries whose custodial centres were thriving ground for Covid-19 incubation and transmission, with deaths running into thousands.

“Of significant note is the fact that all of these interventions in consonance with other reforms in the NCoS will obviously translate to security, peace and tranquillity in and around our Custodial Centres and ultimately for our country.”

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji interacting with some pupils of the Special School for the Blind, Ikere Ekiti; when the Governor paid a surprise visit to the school in Ikere-Ekiti, at the weekend.

NNPCL, security team nab 6 suspected crude oil thieves, destroy barge

Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, a private security outfit engaged by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has intercepted an illegal Crude Oil Barge and arrested six suspected crude thieves in Warri, Delta State.

The NNPC Ltd. security contractor and the Nigerian Security Operatives on Saturday also set ablaze the 1000 metric tonnes capacity barge used in conveying the crude oil at a final execution point in Oteghele, Delta state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the barge was destroyed shortly after an inspection of the sites of Mawe Service Limited and associated barge which allegedly housed illegal crude oil.

On the inspection were some officials of NNPC Ltd. and Tantita Security Services, Journalists, the Nigerian Army and Naval officers, among others.

The team visited the Mawe Services Jetty, illegal crude oil

Kebbi gov elect to improve agriculture

From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

The Kebbi State Governorelect, Dr. Nasir Idris, has said that his administration will continue to promote agriculture and ensure more establishment of Rice Mill in the State.

He gave this assurance yesterday while addressing the management of WACOTT Rice Mill in Arugungu.

He added that as a labour leader, he was overwhelmed by the magnanimity of WACOT to provide massive employment to indigenes of Kebbi state, thereby reducing unemployment and enhancing wealth creation.

Dr. Nasir Idris who was in WACOTT together with the Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu on their facility tour round the second WACOT Rice Mill which was under construction commended Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu for providing an enabling environment for WACOT.

dump site and Fenog Jetty for Illegal Crude Oil Barge inspection.

Speaking, Captain Warredi Enisuoh, Executive Director, Operations and Technical, Tantita Security Services said MAWE Services had an approval from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to provide services within the confines of lifting sludge.

Enisuoh said on the fateful voyage, intelligence reports received by Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd and Mason Engineering indicated that the MAWE Yard was being used for activities outside its approval limits.

He said further surveillance and intelligence also revealed that a 1000 metric tonnes capacity barge (FP AMANGWU) was coming to berth alongside its jetty, loaded with illegal crude oil declared as sludge.

The captain explained that the barge was towed by an unknown Tugboat into Mawe Services Limited’s Jetty and left.

“A team of Tantita Security Services Operatives continued to monitor the Jetty for suspicious activities. It was observed that a Sewage Truck with Plate No. JR7750XA visited the Jetty twice.

“During its third visit on May 12, 2023, the Truck was accosted by the Tantita Security Operatives keeping constant vigil over the area. Upon inspection, the substance found inside the tank was not sewage, rather, crude oil.

“The driver was arrested and handed over to government security operatives. The driver later revealed the destination of the contents, which took us to another yard inland, also operated by Mawe Services Limited.

“Within the Mawe Services Limited’s premises, there were two metallic cylindrical tanks of about 45,000 liters capacity, each. Both tanks were inspected and one was found to be filled up with Crude Oil.”

Enisuoh also said the driver of the Truck confirmed that he has been transferring the contents of the barge into the tank that was

filled adding that inspection of the Yard Security Logbook showed that the Truck visited the location severally while the contents of the Truck were well spelt out as “CRUDE OIL”.

He explained that the perpetrators usually loaded the crude from the big barge in small gallons, batch by batch then transfer to illegal refineries.

“One new method they use now is that they obtain documentation and autourisation from the government to fool security agencies, then go on to do other illegal jobs,” the captain said.

The captain further explained that most times when the suspects were being interrogated, they would claim to be newly employed by their companies whereas they were already trained to operate in that line.

“At the same time I feel sad because the big players always hide behind them while the small errand boys are literally the victims.

“I believe the law enforcement

agents will get to the root of the matter,” he said.

According to him part of the crude has been evacuated while the rest will go through combustion process.

Meanwhile, the suspects who were paraded by the combined security team said they were not aware of any illegal badge of crude oil but were sent by their companies to evacuate waste water with oil from the barge.

Mr Daniel Dickson, one of the suspects working with First Priority Research Resources International Ltd, the owner of the barge said the barge was hired through Petralon 54, located at Port Harcourt, Rivers State to cargo crude from Port Harcourt to Warri in 2022.

Dickson, who said that it was not all the compartment in the barge that contained crude said that it had about 700 barrels of crude oil but in the process of evacuation in May 2023, the security agents caught them. (NAN)

L-R: District Rotaract Representative, Rtn. Olaleye Gbolahan (PHF), Sir Kingsley Okoro, Rotary International President’s Representative and Past District Governor (PDG), Rtn. Ijeoma Pearl Okoro and District Governor of Rotary, District 9125, Rotn. Goddy Nnadi, during the opening session of the 14th District Conference in Abuja on Friday.

Mental Health: NGO preaches periodic check-ups

Secure-D-Future International Initiative

(SDF), an NGO, has advised Nigerians to embrace periodic mental health check-ups to help tackle the increasing suicide and depression rate in the country.

Mrs Sa’adatu Adamu, the Founder of the organisation, gave the advice during the second Abuja Counsellors Summit and Expo in Abuja, titled “Assessment, Method and Application of Counselling”.

Adamu said counselling was very important as it tends to focused on helping deviants in the society and tackles the increasing suicide and

depression rate in the country.

According to her, mental health comes in any form and leads to depression, suicide and self-harm.

“It is important for Nigerians to embrace mental check-up and engage in therapy.

“Counselling is very important because counsellors work in rehabilitation centres, welfare offices, schools and hospitals in our communities.

“If you hear the stories we get regularly from schools, you will know that there is a need to really have these professionals around us.

“We hear stories of

dysfunctional families, where children pick little things they see from other children and begin to act on them.

“I believe that counselling is very important in every aspect of our life; parents and children needs counselling and we need to shun stigmatising mental health patients,” she said.

However, she called on parents to develop a good channel of communication and relationships with their children to enable them know their mental health status for a better future.

The founder also said there were lots of mental health issues

in the society, hence the need for government to come up with policies that could address same in the country.

The Chairperson, Summit Committee, Mrs Hasiya AdamuBiu, said there was a need for every Nigerian to always consult a counsellor whenever they are faced with challenges.

Adamu-Biu maintained that there are issues in Nigeria that affect our mental state, that are temporary which could be addressed by visiting a mental health counsellor within us.

According to her, there is a new mental health and counsellors Act aimed at

teaching the counsellors how to use their profession to help address mental health challenges in the country.

The Head of Department, Guidance and Counselling, FCT Education Research Centre (ERC) Laison Officer, Mr Yahaya Abdulawahab, said the summit was aimed at training counsellors to meet world best practices in the profession.

Abdulawahab said the government has developed an Occupational Interest Inventory in FCT schools, where counsellors use to admit and place students to their appropriate subjects.

(NAN)

PHOTO: ROTARY D9125

2 businessmen excrete 193 cocaine pellets in NDLEA custody after arrest at Abuja airport

• As Agency arrests 185 at Abuja, Kano drug joints; seizes Saudi-bound cocaine parcels, Colorado consignments from Canada

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

Two businessmen arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, NAIA, Abuja for cocaine ingestion have both excreted 193 pellets of the illicit drug after three days in observatory custody.

NDLEA in a statement issued on Sunday by Femi Babafemi Director, Media & Advocacy said the traffickers: Onoh Ebere, 49, and Christian Ifeanyi Ogbuji, 47, were intercepted at the Abuja airport on Wednesday 10th May upon their arrival from Uganda via Addis Ababa, onboard Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 951.

The statement said though both suspects have businesses they manage in Nigeria, their main source of income has been drug trafficking.

“They both travelled to Uganda and from there crossed over to

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where they picked the consignments before returning to Abuja with Lagos as their final destination.

“After days in excretion room, Ebere Onoh excreted a total of 100 pellets weighing 2.137kg while Christian Ifeanyi Ogbuji expelled 93 pellets hidden in his stomach with a gross weight of 1.986kg.

“Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives have raided two notorious drug joints, Zaro bunk in Bama road, Sabongari and the Sani Abacha indoor stadium, both in Kano metropolis where a total of 160 suspects were arrested with different quantities of illicit substances. Also, two suspects: Abubakar Sallau, 55, and Nazifi Abdullahi, 25, were arrested on Saturday 13th May, along Kano-Maiduguri road, with 5,000 pills of Tramadol 200mg, while a total of 65,200 tablets of tramadol and exol-5 were seized from the duo of Adamu Nagati, 30, and Ali Nasiru, 35. This is even as operatives in Abuja also arrested 25

suspects in raids across Tora Bora, Gwarinpa village, 3rd avenue in Gwarinpa, Karamo, Garki market, Sabongari Bwari and New Kucigoro IDP camp, within the FCT.

“Another bid to smuggle into Lagos a consignment of 24kg cannabis indica concealed in imported used cars from Canada was again frustrated by NDLEA operatives who seized the illicit substance on Thursday 11th May during a joint 100% examination of a container marked, MSMU 7412069, at the Prime Connection Bonded terminal, off Oshodi-Apapa expressway. Two clearing agents linked with the container, Chief G.O. Njokwu and Mr. Christopher Obialor, have been arrested in collaboration with men of Customs Service.

“In the same vein, operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, DOGI, attached to courier firms have intercepted a Saudi Arabia-bound 398grams of cocaine hidden in

native dresses during outward clearance of goods.

A female suspect, Fatima Hassan was arrested on Friday 12th May at Agege, Lagos with 33.5kg of cannabis sativa, while 44kg of the same substance was recovered same day from the Lagos Island warehouse of a fleeing drug dealer. The previous day, Thursday 11th May, another suspect, Peter Joseph was arrested along Lagos/ibadan expressway with 10,000 pills of Tramadol 250mg and 1,500 tablets of Rohypnol concealed inside his Toyota Sienna vehicle, with registration number NRK 961XB.

“Similarly, a total of 68, 300 pills of various opioids mainly tramadol were recovered from one Bello Nasiru Usman when the truck conveying the illicit drugs was intercepted in Awka, Anambra state. In the same vein, 460,000mls of Akuskura in 7,800 bottles were seized from a dealer, Mohammed

Kyari, 42, when he was arrested in Gamboru Ngala town, Jere LGA, Borno on Wednesday 10th May.

While NDLEA operatives supported by soldiers raided the hideout of a notorious drug dealer, Jimoh Lekan (aka ‘komokomo’) in Owode, Ogun state where 134kg cannabis was recovered from his store on Thursday 11th May, their counterparts in Plateau state on Tuesday 9th May arrested a suspect Bashir Usman, 32, at the Gangare Area of Jos, with 43.951kg of cannabis.

“While commending the officers and men of NAIA, Tincan, Kano, FCT, Lagos, Ogun, Taraba, Borno, Plateau and Anambra Commands of the Agency as well as those of DOGI for their resilience, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has urged them and their peers across the country to intensify their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction activities.”

Budget deficits, low revenue responsible for rising debt – DMO

The Debt Management Office (DMO) says decades of operating budget deficits by successive governments is responsible for Nigeria’s high debt profile.

The Director-General of the DMO, Patience Oniha, said this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

According to Oniha, a review of Nigeria’s fiscal data shows that not only has the government operated budget deficits which have been growing, but most of the deficits have been funded through local and external borrowing.

“The records show that deficits in the annual budgets, including supplementary budgets rose to N10.78 trillion in 2023 from N1.62 trillion in 2015.

“Between 82 per cent and 99 per cent of these were funded by new borrowing which ranged from N1.46 trillion in 2015 to N8.80 trillion in 2023.

“These facts confirm that these budget deficits, funded by new borrowings, have been responsible for the rapid growth in the debt stock and the resultant increases in debt service,” she said.

According to Oniha, this

trend could have been avoided or at least moderated if revenues had been higher or expenditures lower.

She tasked the incoming government of Sen. Bola Tinubu to take cognisance of the situation and prioritise increased revenue generation.

“The budget deficits would have been much smaller, or Nigeria would have operated on a balanced budget.

“It is therefore imperative that the incoming government takes into account the perennial budget deficits in the preparation of the Medium-Term Expenditure

Framework (2024 – 2026) and the 2024 budget.

“The government should also accelerate the growth in revenues to ensure debt sustainability,” she said.

Nigeria’s debt profile stood at N46.25 trillion in Dec. 2022, recording an increase of about seven trillion Naira from the 2021 debt figures.

Total Public debt stock, however, consists of the domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government, the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory.

In terms of composition, total

domestic debt stock is N27.55 trillion ($61.42 billion) while total external debt stock is N18.7 trillion (41.6 billion dollars)

The public debt figures, however, exclude the N22.7 trillion Federal Government’s indebtedness to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), through Ways and Means advances.

The Ways and Means advances, which has been securitised by the Senate, and presently awaiting concurrent securitisation by the House of Representatives before it is included in the country’s public debt stock. (NAN)

From left: House of Reps, Deputy Speakership Aspirant, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, Speakership Aspirant, Hon. Tajudeen Abass, a member Elect, Hon. Adedeji Olajide and Vice President Elect, Senator Kashim Shettima, during the visit of Joint task team of 10th House of Reps to the Vice president elect in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Group scores Okowa high, tasks GovElect Oborevwori on continuity

The Mid-Westerners, a Political Pressure Group, has scored Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa led administration high in governance and effective delivers of dividends of democracy to the people of Delta in the last eight years.

The group, representing the old Bendel (Edo and Delta States) gave the commendation at a news conference on Thursday in Asaba, while setting agenda for the Governor -Elelct, Chief Sheriff Oborevwori, as he steps in come May 29.

The Mid-Westerners in an address signed by its Chairman, Mr Iwendi Nwaham; Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. David Ejenobo; Secretary, Fidelis Chimokwu and Mr Kenneth Okwuenu, was read by Prof. Ejenobo.

According to them, the Okowa’s achievement in the state was rather under reported by the media.

They commended Okowa’s achievement in infrastructure, education, health, human capital development, airport transport infrastructure, flood control measures, among others

They said that the achievements were massive and worth sustaining by the incoming administration.

“On assumption of office in 2015, Okowa met a state battling with multifarious economic challenges, least of which was the drastic drop in revenue accruing from crude oil export at the national level.

“To take the state out of of its dilemma, he came up with his SMART Agenda and for eight years, Okowa pursued and delivered a “Stronger Delta” agenda.

“In the field of education, he stands tall, he touched the whole gamut of the educational sphere from basic and primary education to tertiary institutions.

“He ensured welfare of teachers, established model technical colleges in all the senatorial districts and has topped it with the establishment of three new/state universities,” they said.

The group added that Okowa was nicknamed “the Road Master” by the people for connecting the rural communities to the urban by constructing over 2,000km of roads and 1,400km of drainage channels across the state.

“Okowa’s achievements in terms of infrastructural development are simply amazing.

”He built the state of the art N18 billion state secretariat, blocked financial leakages, flushed out ghost workers, and repositioned the civil service for effective service delivery,” the group said.

They noted that Okowa’s administration tackled the erosion and massive flooding which before now had wreak havoc in Asaba and environs by investing billion of naira on storm water drains and underground tunnels to empty into the River Niger.

“As we bid farewell to a worthy achiever, we take this opportunity to congratulate the Governor-Elect, Chief Sheriff Oborevwori on his success at the 2023 governorship elections on March 18.

“Gov. Okowa has set the standard, we encourage you to follow. Your M.O.R.E Agenda which has been properly documented and articulated during your campaigns should be your covenant with the people of Delta.

“We encourage our incoming governor to sustain the roads infrastructure, human capital development and to extend the retirement age to 65 years and 40 years in service to all civil servants in the state as effected for the teachers by the federal and Delta government.(NAN)

MNJTF neutralises terrorists, recovers weapons

Troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) operating in Lake Chad Basin Region has neutralised some terrorists and recovered heavy weapons.

A statement on Sunday by the MNJTF spokesman, Lt. Col. Kamarudeen Adegoke, said the latest successes were recorded under the renewed onslaught on the terrorists code named “Operation Harbin Kunama” (Scorpion sting).

“The ongoing operation by troops of the MNJTF has further diminished the capacity of Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists to carry out their activities in the Lake Chad Basin region.

“The offensive posture and doggedness

of troops of the MNJTF has continued to yield remarkable results.

“Following attack by BH/ISWAP terrorists on troops position in the general area of Arege, which was effectively repelled, an exploitation was conducted by troops of the Force on May 11 in the general area.

“Several items were recovered, including one Dushka gun, Dushka Turrell and a burnt Gun truck while several terrorists were neutralised during the encounter, the statement added.

It also stated that a clearance operation in the general area of Ferondiya in the lake Chad Basin was successfully conducted in clearing terrorists hideouts.

According to the statement, items recovered from the terrorists included two Gun trucks, two Anti – Aircrafts guns, one RPG tube, two AK 47 rifles, one RPG bomb and three Toyota Buffalo Gun truck tyres. Others are 387 rounds of 12.7mm, 440 rounds of 7.62mm x 54mm and 364 rounds of 7.62mm x 50 mm ammunitions.

In his remarks over the successes recorded, the Force Commander of MNJTF, Maj.-Gen. G.U Chibuisi, lauded the troops for their commitment and urged them to sustain the tempo.

Chibuisi also lauded the effective role of air components in the successes recorded and urged for more synergy for maximum results. (NAN)

PDP Governors call for unity, welcome new, re-elected

• Honour outgoing Governors

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

GOVERNORS elected on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, under the aegis of the PDP Governors’ Forum, (PDP-GF) have emphasized the need for unity, cooperation and love among the forum in particular, as well as the party and the nation in general.

This, the Governors maintained, is the surest way to continue delivering dividends of democracy to the people who elected them into office, waxing stronger and achieving their mission and vision.

The Chairman of the PDP-GF and Governor of Sokoto State, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who gave the advice at a special program of the Forum held at the Transcorp Hilton hotel, Abuja, enjoined the Governors to always strive to put their interests behind that of the PDP, the people and the nation.

Four of PDP-GF’s former Chairmenex-Governors Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo State), Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti State), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe State) and Henry Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa State) were honoured at the colourful event that attracted the who-is-who in the PDP, including the party’s presidential candidate in the last election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

The four former Chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum (PDPGF) were honoured in appreciation of their selfless and invaluable roles.

While Dankwabo and Dickson personally

received their awards, presented by the acting National Chairman of the PDP, Ambassador Umar Ilya Damagum, Fayose’s award was received on his behalf by Hajia Aisha Ibrahim, while that of Mimiko was received on his behalf by a former Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Hon. Agboola Ajayi.

At the well attended event, which was chaired by a former Vice President, Architect Namadi Sambo, Hon Tambuwal lauded those honoured for piloting the forum’s transformation agenda which “we all enjoy at various levels in various states today”.

According to Tambuwal, “gathered here today are past Governors who served meritoriously as Chairmen of the PDP Governors’ Forum. These men at different times piloted the transformation agenda which we all enjoy at various levels in various states today.

“For my colleagues, out-going Governors of our Forum, I commend all of you for your solidarity and comradeship. As a first among equals, I can vouch for the warm support and friendship of all the Governors of our Party.

“Sometimes, it was tough agreeing in all things, but we never forgot to put our interests behind that of our party, people and nation.

“The moments we have shared under this Forum have been moments of joy, learning, comradeship support for one another and a desire for the best of our Party, States and country. To you all, I express my gratitude”, he said.

While welcoming the newly elected

members

Governors of the PDP, on behalf of his colleagues in the Forum, the Sokoto State Governor said, “You are the shinning armours of the party going forward. We are happy to bequeath to you, a Forum that is strong, cohesive and vocal in the defence of democracy and good governance in the country. “With the calibre of the Governorselect I see here today, I can say confidently that our Forum is going to be in good hands”, he stressed.

The Governors-Elect of the PDP, who were received into the Forum and given awards were; Pastor Umo Bassey Eno (Akwa Ibom), Peter Ndubusi Mbah (Enugu State), Agbu Kefas (Taraba State), Ameopusenibo Siminalayi Fubara (Rivers State), Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta State), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara State) and Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau State).

Also welcomed were three re-elected Governors, namely, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, and Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State.

Similarly, all outgoing PDP Governors: Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State (Chairman); Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State (Vice Chairman); Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State; Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue State;

Dr.

Gov.

Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State; Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State; Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers State; and Gov. Darius Dickson Ishaku of Taraba were also honoured during the ceremony for all their services to the Forum.

L-R: Speakership Aspirant, Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, member elect, Hon. Iyaka Akinlade, Senator Elect, Hon. Mohammed Monguno, Speakership Aspirant, Hon. Sada Soli, Chairman House Committee on Appropriation/Speaker Aspirant, Hon. Muktar Betara, Deputy Speaker/ Speakership Aspirant, Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, Niger State Governor elect, Hon. Mohammed Bago and Speakership Aspirant, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, during the Betara’s Speakership Declaration for the 10th Assembly, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Reuters report target to demotivate fight against insurgency -Garba tells panel

By Albert Akota

Aformer Garrison Commander, 7 Division, Maiduguri, BrigadierGeneral Haruna Abubakar Garba,at the weekend in Abuja told Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations in Counter Insurgency in the North East (SIIP-NE) that the Reutersl report is mainly target to demotivate Nigeria army fighting insurgency in the region.

Brigadier-General Haruna Abubakar Garba, who appeared on Friday before the panel said the military are doing everything possible to bring the menace to an end.

The Brigadier General

Friends, allies in Nigeria celebrates Israel @75

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

As Israel marks its 75th anniversary, friends and allies of the country in Nigeria have joined in the festivity and also paying tributes to the occasion of the Jewish State birthday.

The friends and allies under the auspice of Christian Friends of Israel, Nigeria, extended its best wishes to the Jewish Nation for celebrating the birth of a nationhood.

According to the Coordinator of the group, Pastor Yusuf David Pama, said when David Ben-Gurion declared Israel’s independence in 1948, he announced the birth of a state ‘based on freedom, justice and peace’, and Nigerians keyed into that.

He explained that Jerusalem City is the centre of universal peace as ordained by God, but the enemy for a long time has refused to let her be.

He added that the former President, Donald Trump’s decision to move America’s Embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem was not whimsical, but based on the Jerusalem Embassy Act passed by the United States Congress on October 23rd, 1955, which authorized the president to initiate and fund the relocation of the U.S Embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem.

Pastor Pama stressed that in the best interest of both Israel and Palestine and the world at large that the original capital city of the Jewish people is Jerusalem and should be left alone.

He said that Jerusalem which is the city of peace, and not crises has been attacked 52 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, besieged 23 times, destroyed twice, yet survived because of the hand of the Almighty God (Yaweh Ellohim), that has given Israel the land as an eternal inheritance.

The Coordinator of Christian Friends of Israel, Nigeria, noted that no laws made by men will stop Israel from regrouping in Jerusalem, and that their salvation will come from Jerusalem not Tel-Aviv.

“Until the world body and global organizations acknowledge the peculiarity and uniqueness of the Jewish people and the land of Israel with its divine and spiritual capital Jerusalem, then will stability and peace come upon the nations of the earth.

“Therefore, the Church in Nigeria decides to stand on the side of truth and be with Israel as an ordinance and a command by God,” he added.

lambasted Reuters news agency for deliberately reporting a military operations know as (Operation No Living Thing) carried out in Sierra Leone not Nigeria “Operation no living things” did not happen in any part of the country it happened in Sierra Leone.

According to him, the said Operation happened in Sierra Leone when i was there on peacekeeping mission, therefore, I wondered what Reuters want to achieve by reporting what happened in another country against Nigerian Soldiers who are doing everything possible to safeguard the country.

The visibly seeing angry General told the panel that there was no time the troops at the

theater I’m the North East ever assisted or force any rescued woman to commit a single abortion not to talk of 10, 000 when the lack the chances to even eat or have time to be rest be cause of the activities of the insurgency.

“This is ridiculous, we created IDPs camps for victims, we catered for them medically and otherwise, and we provided security for them, so how then would anyone thing that we can suddenly turn around to inflict same or even worse treatment to a people we are supposed to care for.

“The report by Reuters is false, and full of lies. It does not exist and I don’t think anything like that can happen in Nigeria. Meanwhile, has Reuters ever done a good report

about Nigeria if not all these fake and unfounded reports?” He queried.

However, Gen Garba said, Nigerian Army are professional and would not go against the rule of engagement at any point in time.

In the same vein, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor in order to get to the roots of the allegations by the foreign news agency has announced ‘grant immunity and amnesty’ to any soldier that is ready to appear before the seven-man panel heded by Hon. Justice Abdu Aboki to testify gainst the purported military actions against civilians at the north east.

Gen. Irabor who also appeared

before the Hon. Justice Aboki led seven-man panel said the allegations by Reuters that the military had a deliberate policy that led to over 10,000 illegal abortion by women rescued from Boko Haram and others that escaped from the insurgents were false and unbelievable.

The CDS challenged Reuters to disclose the identities of the soldiers said to have given such information, adding that he has granted express amnesty to such soldiers as well as immunity from sanctions and prosecution.

“Those allegations contained in the Reuters reports, of abortion of 10 000 pregnancies as well as deliberate killing of civilians and children are false and unfounded,”

COAS says drive for increased recruitment imperative

The Chief of Army Staff Lt. General Faruk Yahaha has said in its efforts towards increasing the manpower requirement of the Nigerian Army in order to meet its constitutional responsibilities considering the numerous security challenges bedevilling our nation, the drive for increased recruitment has become imperative.

He stated this as the Reviewing Officer of the 84 Passing Out Parade held at Depot Nigerian Army Zaria.

Gen. Yahaya said, the will aid in surmounting the current security challenges orchestrated by nonstate actors resulting in the wanton destruction of lives and properties across the country.

According to him, Depot Nigerian Army, since its establishment in 1924, has continuously moulded selected able-bodied civilians into disciplined soldiers to meet the demand for the Nigerian Army and the nation at large.

However, with the changing nature of warfare, the institution quickly adopted a new approach to training of its recruits on asymmetric

warfare in line with my vision of “A PROFESSIONAL NIGERIAN ARMY READY TO ACCOMPLISH ASSIGNED MISSIONS WITHIN A JOINT ENVIRONMENT IN DEFENCE OF NIGERIA”.

He said It is commendable to state that as the recruits pass out today, the strength and combat efficiency of the Nigerian Army would be enhanced with about Six Thousand Two Hundred and FiftyOne (6,251) well-trained men.

“As I am certain that you have acquired the basic training that is required of you to be referred or addressed as soldiers of the Nigerian Army”.

“Depot Nigerian Army, being the premier military training Institution in Nigeria, remains distinguish among its contemporaries within and outside the country”.

The Army Chief assures Depot NA of his total commitment and support towards improving the standard of training, as well as the welfare of recruits, instructors and staff of this great institution.

“Depot Nigerian Army is pivotal to the Nigerian Army’s efforts towards addressing the various security challenges in the country and will therefore continue to

receive the needed logistics and administrative support to sustain and improve its training activities”.

Consequently, I he directed that serious attention should be given towards reviving and improving the manpower deficiency, personnel welfare, infrastructural development and training facilities for better efficiency of this premier institution.

Accordingly This directive has been translated into action with the remodeling and renovation of recruits lines, the renovation and equipping of the Medical Centre and provision of toilet facilities at the parade ground. Others include the renovation of soldiers’ quarters, which is being carried out in phases and the Depot Nigerian Army Shooting Range amongst others.

He said, Nigeria is faced with numerous security challenges occasioned by the activities of Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists, armed bandits, kidnappers, separatist agitators, religious extremists and other criminal elements.

He also states that the Nigerian Army with the support of the Federal Government will continue to do everything possible to surmount the various security challenges confronting the country until Nigeria

becomes safe for all.

The adoption of cyclic training, which allows each recruit to undergo every aspect of training in the Depot Nigerian Army, has made you a strong force to be reckoned with and has also prepared you all for the challenges ahead as you commence your career as soldiers of the Nigerian Army.

“To the passing out recruits, accept my deepest congratulations for the successful completion of your initial soldier training at this Institution”.

Equally, I welcome you to the Nigerian Army, where a lot would be required from you in terms of loyalty, selfless service, courage, discipline, integrity and respect for others which are the Core Values of the Nigerian Army.

“You are expected to always do your utmost best in order to sustain these values through high professional standards in order to enhance your individual ability and our overall combat readiness. I therefore urge you to assimilate and retain the mental, physical and spiritual training given to you at this Institution and the ones you will be exposed to at your respective units, formations and corps.”

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

L-R:Member House of Representatives, Hon. Hassan Fulata, Speakership Aspirant, Hon. Muktar Betara, Deputy Speaker/Speakership Aspirant, Hon. Idris Wase, Director General, Wase Campaign Organisation, Hon. Olufemi Bamisile, Speakership Aspirants, Hon. Sani Jaji, Hon. Meriam Onoha and Hon. Sada Soli, during the Wase Declaration for Speakership of 10th Assembly, at the Weekend in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Nami, Danbatta, Amaechi, Fashola, others, named among Top 10 Legacy Drivers of the Buhari Era

Nigeria’s foremost monthly publication, The Top10 Magazine, has released the list of the 10 most outstanding drivers of Buhari’s legacy projects and programmes to mark the end of the eight years administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

In the latest edition titled “Top 10 Legacy Drivers of the Buhari Era (2015-2023)” the magazine looks at the stakes and contributions of appointed public officials under the Buhari administration who have distinguished themselves as star performers by delivering on their mandates in line with the President’s 'Change' mantra.

Leading the list are Dr. Muhammad Nami, Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, Minister of Works and Housing, Dr. Ali Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications & Digital Economy.

Others are; Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd.), Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Abdulrasheed Bawa, Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Prof Ishaq Oloyede, Registrar/CEO, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Brig-Gen Mohammed Buba Marwa (Rtd), Chairman & CEO, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), In a release issued by The Top10 Magazine, the Publisher, Mr Tony Iji, stated that, “In line with our tradition of celebrating 10 leading lights

Tribunal dismisses PDP’s petition against Niger APC Senator

From Yakubu Mustapha Minna

Niger State Senatorial tribunal sitting in Minna has dismissed application of the the People’s Democratic Party and its candidate, Shehu Mohammed Abdullahi in favour of the INEC, Niger North Senatorelect and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The chairman of the tribunal, Justice Angela Ataluka in her ruling said the petitioner’s application to call for additional ninety seven witnesses aside earlier eight witnesses in prove of the case is dismissed for lack of competence.

She explained that the application was filed outside twenty one days limit for the filing of election petition and to allow same will be contrary to the twenty one days limit provided by the constitution and the electoral act 2022 as amended.

The INEC leading Counsel, Tunde Babalola (SAN), Counsel to the Niger North senator elect Abubakar Sani Bello, M.S Ibrahim (SAN) and the APC Counsel C.P Ocheja who are the first, second and third respondents vehemently opposed to the application to call for additional ninety seven witnesses.

Justice Ataluka after carefully listening to both defendants and petitioners’ argument dismissed the application accordingly.

in every endeavour, this edition of the magazine which was put together to mark the end of President Buahri’s eight years administration is aimed at celebrating top 10 Public officials who have distinguished themselves with proven track record of accomplishments, credibility and successes recorded by the administration of President Buhari as the elected President of Nigeria between 2015 and 2023."

He explained that, “in spite of many challenges faced by the administration, it was able to record

milestone achievements in different areas, and credit must be given to those public officials under his administration who were instrumental to the successes recorded by Buhari in the eight years of his stewardship.”

Mr. Iji stated that, “as usual, selecting the top 10 out of many short listed appointees was not an easy task but our editorial board was able to devise a selection criterion based on those who played key roles in resource mobilization, utilization and new capacity building in the economy to arrive at our

final top 10 selected for this publication.”

He said that celebrating the few that have distinguished themselves among hundreds of other public officials that served under the Buhari era between 2015-2023 "is our little way of encouraging good governance in Nigeria."

The Top 10 Magazine is a Lagos-based monthly publication by Toncam Communications Limited, conceived as a platform to celebrate excellence by individuals and organizations who distinguish themselves in their chosen endeavours.

Village head, 49 others abducted in Niger Community

From Yakubu Mustapha Minna

Suspected armed bandits have kidnapped the Village Head of the Fugge community in the Rijau local government area,

Niger state, Mallam Abdullahi Zaure, and forty nine others. According to sources, most of those abducted during the last Friday attack were women, and children, while few of them were males.

Reports further revealed that besides those abducted, many cattle of the villagers were also rustled.

It was gathered that the terrorists invaded the village on several motorcycles and started

shooting into the air to scare the villagers in broad daylight. Efforts to contact the Niger State Police Public Relations Officer PPRO DSP Wasiu Abiodun proved abortive as his phone line didn’t go through.

NSCDC maiden inter-directorate competition ends, as CG pledges to ensure annual event

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

Aweek-long maiden Inter-Directorate Sports Competition organised and coordinated by the Sports Unit of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for personnel at the National Headquarters, Abuja, has ended with 54 medals won in various competitions.

Approved by the Commandant General (CG), Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, the sporting event began on the 8th of May, featuring seven sporting events such as Football, Tug of war, Badminton, Table tennis, Chess, Scrabble and Dart, all of which were keenly contested for.

Represented by the Acting Deputy Commandant General (DCG) Technical Services, Engr. Saladin Adigun, the CG appreciates all participants, as well as the officials for abiding

strictly by the rules of the games and exhibiting high level of sportsmanship in line with global best practices.

He stated that the competition was approved In a bid to build a united, virile and physically fit workforce that is ready to fulfill its mandates at all times and pledges to make it an annual event.

“This competition could not have come at a better time than now considering the enormous tasks we are saddled with by the government.

“I approved the competition because there is need to build a dynamic workforce that is united, virile and physically fit.

“I enjoin those that did not win medals to go back to the drawing boards, train well to perform better in the future.

“We are going to make the competition an annual event that may involve other formations of the Corps.

“I encourage all participants to sustain the tempo exhibited in the competition with a view to improving your performances on the job and in future tournaments,” the CG said.

Speaking on the competition, the Head of Sports Unit, Commandant Ogbadu Austin, appreciates the CG for granting the approval which made it possible for the competition to be held successfully.

He added that, the sports unit is preparing for a more inclusive tournament for all Officers and Men of the Corps, and that the just concluded competition is a test-run of the NSCDC games coming soon.

He expressed confidence that with the support of the CG, the forthcoming competition would be bigger and better, while at the same time, appealing for corporate

sponsorship from sports loving Nigerians.

At the end of the weeklong competition among the 6 Directorates, the office of the Commandant General (CG’s office) took the first position in the overall medal table with 6 Gold, 4 Silver and 2 bronze medals.

The Civil Defence Academy, Sauka, came second with 3 Gold, 1 Silver, while the Directorate of Administration took the third position with 2 Gold, 5 Silver, and 3 Bronze Medals in the tournament.

Others are Directorates of Operations and Critical National Assets and Infrastructure with 1 Gold medal respectively.

The Directorate of Operations won the football competition after defeating Critical National Assets Directorate 2 - 1 in the finals, while the CG Office came third in the football event.

L-R: Mrs. Cathy Echeozo, Non-Executive Director; Mr. Segun Agbaje, Group CEO and Mr. Erhi Obebeduo, Company Secretary all of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc at the Group’s 2nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos

ECOWAS taking measures to ensure free movement of persons

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, Dr Omar Touray, has said that they are taking measures to ensure free movement of persons.

He stated this on Wednesday in Abuja, while presenting his address on the Status of Implementation of the Community Work Programmes at the ongoing First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament.

“ECOWAS is introducing innovative measures to facilitate free movement across the sub-region.

“We are working on introducing an ECOWAS Visa, ECOVISA, like that of Schengen VISA.”

Speaking further, he said only six out of the 15 member states had the ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card (ENBIC).

He named the member states to include; Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Benin, The Gambia, and Sierra Leone.

Niger Gov. applauds Buhari for Zungeru Dam Power project completion

From Yakubu Mustapha Minna

Niger state Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello has applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for the completion of the 700MW Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Project in Niger State.

Governor Bello made the commendation when he joined the Minister of Power, Eng. Abubakar Aliyu and the Chairman, Senate Committee on Power, Senator Gabriel Suswam on a fact-finding visit to the facility.

He added that the Hydroelectric Dam being the fourth in the state would benefit the surrounding communities and ensure access to more electricity to the people of the state and beyond.

Minister of Power Eng. Aliyu also hailed President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for sustaining and completing the Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Project which he said its type was

last constructed in 1960.

He said the work has been completed and all necessary measures are being put in place at the National Council of Privatization to tidy up the concession deal with Mainstream Energy, the preferred bidder.

The Zungeru Power Dam which has a height of 95m and is located on River Kaduna is the first dam to be constructed using Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) technology, four of the turbine have been completed each with 175 MGW with four water spillways.

The 330KV Switchyard at Mararaba has been completed and the 132kv Tegina Substation ongoing will soon be completed. Places visited included, the reservoir, control room, 330 KV switch yard that connects power generated from Jebba, shiroro and now Zungeru to the National Grid, and Mararaba Switch yard among others.

10th NASS: Wadada’ll make a difference in Senate — Stakeholders

Some political stakeholders in Nasarawa West Senatorial District have expressed optimism that Senator-elect Ahmed Wadada would make a difference in the upcoming 10th Senate.

They expressed their views at an interactive session between Wadada and his Campaign Council under the leadership of Prof. Silas Gyar, Chairman of the Advisory Council and the Director-General, Alhaji Bello Ramalan, held on Friday in Keffi.

In his remark, the former Secretary to the Nasarawa State Government, Alhaji Aliyu Tijjani said even before the inauguration of the 10th Senate, Wadada has demonstrated capacity to provide quality representation for his constituents.

Tijjani described Wadada as a unifying factor in the politics of Western Zone, adding that his election was very unique in the political history of the senatorial district.

He said: “The people of Nasarawa West Senatorial District, irrespective of tribal and religious differences and political affiliations voted for Wadada because of the confidence reposed on him.

“It is only during the election of Wadada that religious leaders including Pastors preached in the Churches and told their followers to vote for him.

“There was no question of tribe or religion throughout the period of the election that brought Wadada to the Senate and I believe that he will make a difference at the Senate.”

Earlier, Mr Adabson Tanimu, former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Nasarawa State, said: ”The people of the district voted for Wadada because of his competency not his political party.”

Tanimu,who is the Director-General of Gov. Abdullahi Sule/Akabe Campaign Council, enjoined the Senator-elect to embrace

people of the senatorial district irrespective of their political inclinations.

Also, Alhaji Bello Ramalan, former twoterm member of Nasarawa State House of Assembly, said the people of the zone were pleased with what Wadada has started doing at the national level.

He said: “We are excited with the recent engagements of Wadada with the serving and Senators-elect. It has reaffirmed our hope and belief in his commitment to give us effective representation at the Senate.”

Similarly, Alhaji Danladi Madaki, a former lawmaker and Commissioner of Environment, Nasarawa State, described Wadada as a man of great political sagacity who was always concerned with the progress of his people.

On her part, Hajiya Rabi Taro, a grassroots mobiliser, urged Wadada to work assiduously towards addressing the high rate of unemployment in the area.

Responding, Wadada said: ”I am a Senator for all the people of the district irrespective of political differences.”

The Senator-elect harped on the need for sustainable peace, unity and mutual respect among the people of the district.

Wadada said that the meeting was convened to update his campaign council and the people of the district on unfolding developments regarding the 10th National Assembly.

He promised to work diligently to ensure that his constituency, state and the North Central got what was due to them from the Senate and the Federal Government.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was attended by all the critical stakeholders, youths and women leaders from all the five Local Government Areas that made up the senatorial district.

(NAN)

FG ends feeding of state inmates by December, urges state to step up

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

The Federal Government has advised State Governments to fully optimise the recently signed constitutional amendment to improve the condition of inmates in custodial facilities across the country.

A statement issued by Sola Fasure, Media Adviser to the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on Friday in Abuja, said the appeal was made by the Minister, who argued that it will help to further decongest the custodial facilities which currently harbour state offenders who make up more than 90 percent of the total number of inmates nationwide.

Aregbesola also reiterated the need for a comprehensive review of the nation’s criminal justice system in a bid to addressing the alarming figure of inmates who are awaiting trial and languishing in jail.

The Minister stated this at the commissioning of the Command Headquarters of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

He noted that so far, the Buhari-led administration has done a lot in making the reformation process at Custodial Centres impactful through increased budgetary provision as well as the upgrade of old and construction of new infrastructure at the facilities.

Aregbesola said: “One big challenge

Veecil drops single ‘Black Energy’

ANigerian musician, Victor Ukoh, also known as Veecil, has dropped a single titled, ‘Black Energy’.

This is contained in statement issued by the artist’s publicist, Kemi Israel, on Saturday in Abuja.

Israel said that Veecil, in the song, featured talented rising Nigerian artists such as Syemca, Layzee Ella, and The Majeek.

“Black Energy” showcases Veecii’s versatility and creativity as a music producer.

“He creates a sweet fusion of Afrobeats and Soul, as he enlists these gifted artists who delivered catchy melodies and relatable lyrics on the track.

“This song serves as the lead to his first ever body or work. His passion for music emerged at an early age.

“He started with his proficiency as a drummer before transitioning to the piano, where he honed his craft and gained a deep understanding of music production.

“Veecii is no stranger to the music scene, having received numerous accolades and recognitions, including an award for his outstanding contribution to “Make Music Lagos 2021,” Israel said.

According to him, Veecil’s talent as one of the contestants in the inaugural season of “Stardom Nigeria”, was adjourned one of the best in the highly acclaimed reality TV show.

“With his exceptional talent and passion for music, Veecii is undoubtedly one to watch”. (NAN)

we have at Corrections is congestion, especially at the urban centres where the population density is high and human relations are more complex, leading to higher crime rate and the need to keep some people behind bars. But we are addressing this challenge with the construction of six mega custodial centres in the six geopolitical zones of the country. The ones in Kano and Abuja are ready and with regular funding, the remaining will be completed.

“It is also hoped that State Governments will take advantage of the constitution amendment recently signed by President Muhammadu Buhari which makes corrections a concurrent affair. It is on record that more than 90 per cent of inmates in our facilities are state offenders. It is important therefore that State Governments begin to invest in corrections.

For the Minister, “It is even more important to reform the criminal justice system. I have been making the case and I will continue to do so, that 70 per cent of inmates are awaiting trial and constitute the majority in our facilities. The sad thing about this is we cannot statutorily begin their process of reformation because they are assumed to be innocent, except for those who voluntarily wish to participate in any of our programmes.

“Many of them have spent time in detention longer than the maximum sentence their alleged offence carries.

This predispose them to violent conduct and they are the biggest source of the challenge of discipline and control we have at the custodial centres. State governments should reform their justice administration system by putting a cap on the trial period and ensure swift administration of justice. This will eliminate the long period of trial and the perpetual detention of suspects and the injustice this constitutes”

The Minister also stated that neither the Minister nor the NCoS can on their own release inmates. “Let me use this opportunity to clarify a misconception in the public. NCoS or the Minister have no power of detention or release of inmates. They are brought to our facilities through a valid court warrant and it is by the same process that they are released. Convicts can also be released by the president or a state governor exercising the prerogative of mercy. Our own responsibility therefore is to keep them in safe custody and keep society safe from them – while we rehabilitate them and reintegrate them back into society when they complete their terms.”

Aregbesola also added that efforts of the Federal Government have continued to yield positive results with various landmark feats recorded by inmates in detention, also declaring that since President Muhammadu Buhari has signed into law, a constitutional amendment removing the Correctional

Service from the Exclusive List to the Concurrent List in the Constitution, the Federal Government will stop feeding state inmates by December 31, 2023.

“Furthermore, by January 1, 2024, the Federal Government will stop feeding state inmates kept in federal facilities. State governments must now start budgeting for feeding their inmates in federal facilities while we wait for them to build their own facilities.”, Ogbeni Aregbesola said.

The Minister stressed further that custodial facilities across Nigeria are daily strengthened to contain various attempts by enemies of state to break into the vital national security arm.

“On the later, we have been successful. While there have been unfortunate cases of recidivism, the overwhelming number of our inmates have returned to society to be better citizens and contributing their own quota to national development.

“For instance, we were treated to sublime entertainment at Ilesa by a musical band of inmates whose performance will dwarf most of the bands we have in our society. Hopefully they will continue and become great in the land upon their release.

“We also have a robust educational programme for inmates which has been very successful. From our record, 23 inmates are undergoing Post Graduate Programmes comprising of One PhD; 16 Masters Degree; and six Post

Graduate Diploma Programmes.

“A total of 465 inmates are studying various Degree Programmes such as Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution; Criminology and Security Studies, Political Science, Law, etc.

In addition, 1,404 wrote SSCE and 634 passed with five credits, including English and Mathematics, while 4,757 enrolled for Adult Education programme and 1,162 graduated. These are just a few.

“Vocational education enrolment also soared as 280 inmates made up of 267 males and 13 females acquired Trade Test Grades III, II and I in sundry vocations like woodwork, welding, shoe-making, barbing, dress-making, etc.

The Minister reiterated the need for officers to guard the custodial facilities very well and prevent any security breach as had happened in the recent past. “I was last in Owerri in the wake of the attack on our facility here, emanating from the #endsars riots nationwide and sporadic attacks on custodial centres across the country.

“Thankfully that sad era is behind us. Our facilities have been fortified and such attempts again have been well contained. I will therefore like to charge our personnel to be thoroughly professional and courageous at all times. They should maintain the conception of the custodial centres as an inviolable red zone.”

Combined Children and Youth Mass Choir giving their rendition during the Global Children and Youth convocation organized by Pastor William Kumuyi of Deeper Life Bible Church at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, recently in Abuja.

SERVICOM rates CAC high in service delivery

The Service Compact with all Nigerians (SERVICOM) has rated the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in the quality of service delivery to Nigerians.

Mrs Nnenna Akajemeli, National Coordinator SERVICOM, presented the SERVICOM Compliance Evaluating (SCE) reports of selected states offices to CAC Registrar-General, Alhaji Garba Abubakar, on Wednesday in Abuja.

The objective of SCE, she said, is to ensure citizen focused service delivery in MDAs to identify gaps in service delivery and making recommendations to improve customers satisfaction and accountability. Akajemeli said CAC had done well in all the locations visited by SERVICOM team, except in some areas identified and recommended for its improvement. According to her, customers interviewed at the Headquarters for instance complained that fees charges for daily search from N2, 000 to N50, 000 were too high. She

added that the hike in such charges had made access to service cumbersome to its customers. “The management of CAC should consider reducing the fee for daily search to accommodate all customers. This will ensure that all customer group have been put into consideration. “ The SERVICOM boss also identified downtime experienced by the customers when making an online application, thereby making documents submitted not received, resulting to the query of such documents. “Some customers complained of technical glitches in the system, resulting in the challenges during the registration process that take a significant amount of time to resolve”. She also identified other areas of weaknesses to includes direct interaction with customers, outdated computer system in some offices visited among others. Akajemeli, nevertheless, lauded the CAC management in area of monitoring of staff performances through a dash board to ensure that

all task queue sent daily were cleared daily. She recommended ‘adoption of customer-centric approach service delivery’ among other approaches for the commission to provide opportunity for a staff to directly interact with customers. Responding, Abubakar, thanked SERVICOM for the reports which was carried out across the commission offices, adding that it was so important to them. On charges and others, Abubakar admitted that the commission had some challenges ranging from ticketing system for customers to lay their complaints, missing of important documents due to free access to files by customers among others. According to him, the commission observed some fraudulent acts by customers who have been having direct access to records by removing them away from the files which had forced them to operate electronically. “There are instant where complete files were being removed

from this office. “So, we have to stop the system of giving people access to our files, even if you must have access, we make it so expensive. For you to require this access, you have to be under supervision . “We have introduced other systems and if you must conduct a search, we make it so expensive to discourage people from coming here.” The CAC boss explained that the electronic system introduced since 2021 became imperative to protect the integrity of their records. He added that the commission had introduced a call centre with agents who receive calls and could chat directly with the customers. According to him, the centralisation system in the commission is a deliberate decision because of electronic systems for effective processes. He, however, advised the CAC management not to take SERVICOM reports as an indictment, rather as a feedback mechanism for service improvement. (NAN)

Communiqué of A One Day Roundtable on Nation Building and Democracy: The Imperative of Participation, Equity and Equitable Development of Northern Nigeria

The Democratic Research Institute, Kaduna on Friday 12th May, 2023 at Arewa House Banquet Hall, Powered a one day roundtable meeting in Kaduna for various stakeholders of the Northern Region of Nigeria with the Theme: “Nation Building and Democracy: The Imperative of Participation, Equity and Equitable Development of Northern Nigeria”. The roundtable meeting is aimed at addressing the Socio-political challenges that face the contagious Northern Region of Nigeria. The roundtable meeting was also a response to the current political situation in the country, the promulgation of the 10th National Assembly particularly its leadership and the need to avoid the crisis of misrepresentations and distributions of rewards for political participation in the 2023 general elections particularly the presidential election. This is evident in the table below showing percentage of votes across the Six Geo-political Zones.

Table showing percentage of Votes across the Six Geo-political Zones

Based on the contributions of the North in the just concluded General Elections, as evidenced in the table above, the roundtable, which drew participants from all the nineteen Northern states, concluded that the progress, transformation and development of the region is hinged on its stake in government, particularly access to political, economic incentives and opportunities and therefore resolves as follows:

1. Demand the leadership of the National Assembly in consonance with the provisions of section 14 and sub-

sections (1), (2) and (3) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. This is necessary because the North is not in control of both the Executive and the Judiciary arms of government. THIS DEMAND IS NON-NEGOTIABLE.

2. The North also demands fair share of ministerial and other appointments. Such appointments should take cognisance of competence, integrity and track record, otherwise the region is left with no option than to deinvest its support for the government and the party in subsequent elections.

Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba

Dr. Benjamin Izra Dikki Chairman Secretary

Buhari’s eight years in power

By Ibrahim Mustapha Pambegua

If his giant strides recorded in Lagos could be replicated in the country, Nigeria will achieve greatness within a shortest period of time. This is possible, if he can hire and assemble competent and capable cabinets who will help him to move or drive the country forward. The challenges of insecurity can be tackled through massive recruitment of security personnel as stated by Tinubu.

The two tenure of president Muhammadu Buhari administration will come to an end on May, 29. To wit, there will be change of guard with Bola Ahmed Tinubu takes oarth of office as president. The presidential and National assembly elections conducted on 25 February, by INEC, returned Tinubu as the president- elect. Unless elections tribunal which began its sitting on Monday last week nullifies Tinubu’s election, the May 29 handover remains a sacrosanct. While there is euphoria that greets the election of Tinubu as the president, many Nigerians have paused, reflected and assessed Buhari’s eight years in power. Buhari political oddesey began in 2007 when he contested the position of president under the platform of APP. His first shot at the presidency was unsuccessful as late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua emerged president under the people Democratic party (PDP). Buhari’s quest for presidency took him for another two futile attempts in 2007 and 2011 respectively. However, as fate will have it in 2015, progressive politicians came together and floated new and strong opposition party, the APC which Buhari rode to power.

Prior to his emergency as president, Buhari campaign promises were premised on fighting against insecurity, corruption and above all formulating good policies that will stabilize the country’s bad economy. The posers begging for answers are: Have these promises been fulfilled? Has the country’s security improved in the last eight years? What about

the war against corruption and the condition of our battered economy? Have these areas fared well under Buhari watch?

To the credit of Buhari administration, the war against boko haram insurgents has recorded tremendous and appreciative success. The dreaded and murderous group has been tamed by our gallant soldiers with the remnants resorting to attacking only soft targets. While boko haram has been degraded in the north-east states, the emergency of bandits in North-west, Killers herdsmen in north-central and IPOB in Southeast have exacerbated tension in the country. The non-state actors and other terrorists have continued to unleash terror on hapless nigerians. The attendant consequences of their incessant attacks are:humanitarian crises and looming food crises. Farming communities have fleed their ancestry homes due to frequent and coordinated attacks of these criminals.

President Muhammadu Buhari is a no- nonsense president who abhors or hates corruption. His greatest asset is “integrity”. He is incorruptible leader. This quality has endeared him to many Nigerians. Regrettably, corruption has blossomed under his nose. Buhari administration is being accused of corruption. Some of his cabinets or ministers are fingered in multi-billion corruption saga. The corruption charges against the former minister of power, Sale Mamman, is one among many. While the anti-corruption agency, EFCC and its sister agency ICPC, have been allowed to operate without led or hindrance, the pardon granted to former plateau and Taraba state governors, Dariye and Jolly Nyame has shocked Nigerians and mocked the administration’s war against corruption. These ex- governors and other corrupt politicians whose sources of their wealth are questionable should have cooled their feet in jail. Undoubtedly, official corruption has risen astronomically under Buhari eight years.

Despite the fact, in the last eight years, the administration initiated and implemented various policies through CBN

and other social investment programs, oversee by the federal ministry of humanitarian disaster and social development, poverty has reached its frightening peak in the country. The multi-dimesional poverty index report which places 133 millions Nigerians below poverty line state the obvious facts. Unemployment has jumped up exponentially. Recently, the National Bureau of Statistics released the report on unemployment rate from 2018 to 2023. 23.1per cent in 2018 to 33.3 per cent in 2020. It has estimated that, the rate has increased to 37.7per cent in 2022 and will rise further to 40.6 per cent in 2023. The inflation rate has also risen high, eaten up the purchasing power of Nigerians. In economics front, the Buhari administration has performed woefully and below the expectation of Nigerians. Added to the burden of our fragile economy is 77trillions foreign and domestic debt incurred by the government.

No wonder, president Buhari recently asked Nigerians for forgiveness. While his government might have started in wrong foot, the eight years he spent in power have failed to transform the country into eldarado of sorts .The incoming administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu should brace up for the challenges ahead. Interestingly, his antecedent as tax guru who governed and transformed Lagos State to a mega city speak volume about his capability. If his giant strides recorded in Lagos could be replicated in the country, Nigeria will achieve greatness within a shortest period of time. This is possible, if he can hire and assemble competent and capable cabinets who will help him to move or drive the country forward. The challenges of insecurity can be tackled through massive recruitment of security personnel as stated by Tinubu. There is no gainsaying the facts, jobs creations and poverty reduction are elixir for building a resilient and prosperous nation. The president-elect needs to embrace this formula wholeheartedly.

Portable’s strategic use of controversy as a marketing tool

By Adetayo Omotoyosi

Portable’s debut song in the music industry, ‘Zazooh’ due to its acceptance by the Nigerian audience got nominated by the organizers of the Headies Awards in the Best Street Artist and Rookie of the Year. Just as everything started looking clearer for him, Portable uploaded a new video where he threatened to kill his fellow nominees if the award is not given to him.

Controversial Nigerian singer, Habeeb Olalomi Okikiola popularly known as Portable gained waves in the Nigerian music industry in late December 2021 with the much-touted Zazooh remix which featured dancer, Poco Lee and YBNL’s founder Olamide.

Olamide jumping on a song especially if the artiste is an upcoming or a new entrant into the game is a big deal. Olamide’s feature on ‘Zazooh’ immediately made the song popular among Nigerians, especially the masses.

It became the anthem of the street and people began raising their shoulders to signify the dance style which Portable had portrayed in the video of the song. It didn’t take long before the high and mighty or the ‘Ajebo’ joined the movement to vibe to the hit song cementing Portable’s place in the hearts of many Nigerians.

However, things took a different turn when Portable went haywire with the claim that Poco Lee was ‘ripping’ him off from the song by collecting all the royalties from different streaming platforms even though – Portable originally featured him.

In what has now become the norm for him, portable recorded a video and claimed after he perform alongside Wizkid, the latter gave him some dollars, Poco Lee collected a substantial amount of it and only gave him peanuts.

To many in the industry who have in-depth knowledge of how it works, they did not read meaning to Portable’s claim. However, the same cannot be said on the street where Portable came from, a lot of Nigerians supported him and lashed out at Poco-Lee for cheating the “poor boy” from the street who has just found fame and fortune is smiling on him.

But things took a different turn when Portable was ejected from the house he stayed by his manager, Kogbagidi. Kogbagidi claimed that Portable did not consult him before he made the video claiming Poco Lee ripped him off.

Kogbagidi streamed the moment the ‘Zazoo’ crooner was ejected live and many were sad to see the new voice of the street begging him Kogbagidi.

After much plea and intervention from Baddo, Olamide, Portable was forgiven by Kogbagidi and things seems normal again until the two fell out again and eventually parted ways. Portable claimed that he fired Kogbagidi and hired another manager to handle his promotion and bookings.

In his usual controversial character, Portable has been enmeshed in a lot of troubles. From fighting on the streets which many Nigerian singers have tried to stay away from until his foray into the music industry.

Portable was seen in a viral video fighting some guys on the street also known as area boys and had to be taken away by soldiers.

Sadly, in most encounters, he had been on the receiving end. If his car is not destroyed then he gets some bruises from the fracas with these area boys. Despite this, Portable is not deterred by his adversaries.

Portable’s debut song in the music industry, ‘Zazooh’ due to its acceptance by the Nigerian audience got nominated by the organizers of the Headies Awards in the Best Street Artist and Rookie of the Year. Just as everything started looking clearer for him, Portable uploaded a new video where he threatened to kill his fellow nominees if the award is not given to him.

Worried by this seeming threat of the street-hop singer, the organizers of the award led by its founder, Ayo Animashaun announced the disqualification of Portable citing threats to the lives of other nominees.

Portable later uploaded another video and boasted that he doesn’t need the award as he is already accepted by Nigerian music fans.

Months after the award had been won, Portable has been in a squabble with one of the winners, Goya Menor, whom he accused of being just a hype man without talent.

He claimed Goya has not released any other song that has been accepted by the people after his ‘Ameno’ hit. There seems to be an unending war of words between the two of them on who is the most talented singer.

Despite all the flaws he has, Portable has continued to enjoy the blessings of the high and mighty in Nigeria and all over the world. He gets cash donations when he performs at some functions and many celebrities couldn’t hide their joy when they meet him.

The ‘Ika of Africa’ has been featured in comedy skits of Mr Macaroni, Lawyer Kunle amongst others.

The biggest of the endorsement came from Nigerian billionaire club owner, Obi Cubana who signed him to promote his alcoholic drink, Odogwu bitters. It is said that he was paid millions of naira as an ambassador of the Odogwu brand.

While many Nigerian singers try to stay away from controversy as much as possible, such orientation is not in the dictionary of the ‘Zazooh’ crooner. He baths, sleep, and dwells in controversy.

From the study of this writer, it seems Portable has employed a deliberate and strategic means of staying relevant in the Nigerian music industry especially when it comes to the streets where most of his fans come from.

The fact that he constantly pushes out videos that instantly become viral and trends online has become a mirage to many.

Many celebrities who have been embroiled in controversies that were not up to that of Portable never found their feet again but that is not Portable.

The Ogun state indigene gains new followers every time his name is mentioned in any issue. Although some are getting

tired of his gimmicks, saying he is just an attention seeker. Others are of the view that the character Portrayed by Portable is needed especially in the music industry where it has been revealed that there are gatekeepers who are always on the hunt looking for the next prey.

Some few months ago, Portable’s bar was stormed by men of the Nigerian Police who attempted to arrest him after they claimed he ignored countless invitations sent to him by the security agency.

In the video that has now gone viral, Portable streamed the encounter live and resisted the move to arrest him claiming he campaigned for the now President-Elect, Tinubu, therefore he cannot be arrested.

In the video, Portable is heard saying, The video which was condemned by the Force Public Relations of the Nigerian Police, Muyiwa Odejobi as an assault on the police officers that went to carry out their legitimate duty gave him 48 hours to report himself to the police station or face the risk of arrest

After failing to report himself as ordered, Portable was eventually arrested and arraigned in a court by the police.

What came as a rude shock to many was the sober mood the singer was when he was arraigned in court. He was different from the violent character which many had known him to be prior to his ordeal.

Luckily for him, he was released after meeting the bail conditions set by the presiding judge.

After his release, Portable in his usual way uploaded a video online, now with a different tune, he claimed in this life you must know people, have the best lawyers, or risk jail term.

Days after, he recorded a new song detailing his ordeal and saying that after God, it is the government. The song shows Portable is really not a troublesome character even though many have alleged that the impact of drugs makes him misbehave sometimes. While this writer cannot dispute that, it is a known fact that many Nigerian musicians ‘get high’ and Portable is not an exception.

Similarly to Naira Marley, Portable has now released a song that is still getting waves among Nigerians.

Recall that on the 10th of May 2019, Naira Marley was arrested by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, EFCC, and sent to KiriKiri prison. Naira caught the attention of many Nigerian music fans when he release his viral song “Soapy.” Soapy became a hit especially in the street, especially with its dance step. The “Rexxie” produced song even created a fanbase for Naira Marley now called “Marlians.”

From the travails of Naira Marley down to Portable, it is clear that controversy works and it’s a marketing tool that needs to be employed in the music industry. Portable though not highly educated understands the principle of using controversy as a celebrity and he is using it to his own advantage. However, there is a caveat, if not managed, it could be the beginning and the end of your career.

Adetayo Omotoyosi is a Public Affairs Analyst.

Ibrahim Mustapha Pambegua writes from Kaduna state.

Why are Russian companies exiting Africa?

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh

According to Bloomberg, the Darwendale has been tied to Russia since 2006, when former Zimbabwe president, Robert Mugabe, took the concession from a local unit of South Africa’s Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. and handed it to Russian investors. The first venture to try and tap the deposit was named Ruschrome Mining – it included a state-owned mining company, the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corp., Russian defence conglomerate Rostec, Vnesheconombank and Vi Holding.

Despite consistent assurances made by high-ranking Russian officials that Africa is “in the mainstream of Russia’s foreign policy” have not been substantiated by systematic practical activities, and worse serious lack of state support for sustaining effective Russia-African economic ties have necessitated the pulling out of a number of Russian companies from Africa.

According to various sources, Russian-African economic cooperation and partnerships continue to face challenges and obstacles, including inadequate knowledge of the Africa’s investment landscape and lack of appreciable state support, while Moscow seems to increasingly prioritise anti-Western rhetoric and political confrontation in the context of the great power competition in Africa.

Undoubtedly, a number of Russian companies have largely underperformed in Africa, experts described was primarily due to multiple reasons. Most often, Russian investors strike important investment niches that still require long-term strategies and adequate country study. Grappling with reality, there are many investment challenges including official bureaucracy in Africa.

In order to ensure business safety and consequently realize the target goals, it is necessary to attain some level of understanding the priorities of the country, investment legislations, comply with terms of agreement and a careful study of policy changes, particularly when there are sudden changes in government. It is important to study the African market structure, the investment climate, the capabilities of potential business partners and the characteristics of African customers.

Over the past few years, corporate Russian companies have shown interests in investing in the region. In practical terms, those corporate Russian companies that managed, at least, to make inroads there, a few have already exited citing “technical and operational” reasons. At the same time, the Russian corporate business leaders demonstrate negative attitude towards Africa. A general analysis shows that Russian media is under-orienting Russian business community about Africa.

While Asian states, Europe and the United States often refer to Africa as the continent of the 21st century, Russians view it from negative perspectives. Of great importance for the current successful development of the African economy is closely related to deepening of business and investment integration processes with foreign players.

Several reports confirmed that Russia has abandoned its lucrative platinum project contract that was signed for $3 billion in September 2014, the platinum mine in the sun-scorched location about 50 km northwest of Harare, the Zimbabwean capital. Reasons for the abrupt termination of the bilateral contract have still not been made public, but Zimbabwe’s Centre for Natural Resource Governance pointed to lack of capital for the project.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov launched the $3 billion Russian project back in 2014, after years of negotiations, with the hope of raising its economic profile in Zimbabwe. The development of the platinum deposit in Darwendale involves a

consortium consisting of the Rostekhnologii State Corporation, Vneshekonombank and Vi Holding in a joint venture with some private Zimbabwe investors as well as the Zimbabwean government.

According to Bloomberg, the Darwendale has been tied to Russia since 2006, when former Zimbabwe president, Robert Mugabe, took the concession from a local unit of South Africa’s Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. and handed it to Russian investors. The first venture to try and tap the deposit was named Ruschrome Mining – it included a state-owned mining company, the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corp., Russian defence conglomerate Rostec, Vnesheconombank and Vi Holding.

The Darwendale project was not tendered, according to available information from government website sources monitored both in Russia and Zimbabwe. With its cordial relations, Russia was simply offered the lucrative mining concession without participating in any tender. After the project launch, Brigadier General Mike Nicholas Sango, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to the Russian Federation, told me in an email that “Russia’s biggest economic commitment to Zimbabwe to date was its agreement in September 2014 to invest US$3 billion in what is Zimbabwe’s largest platinum mine”.

“What will set this investment apart from those that have been in Zimbabwe for decades is that the project will see the installation of a refinery to add value, thereby creating more employment and secondary industries. We are confident that this is just the start of a renewed Russian-Zimbabwean economic partnership that will blossom in coming years. Our two countries are discussing other mining deals in addition to energy, agriculture, manufacturing and industrial projects,” Ambassador Sango added.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa said his government would soon open up the platinum sector to all interested foreign investors. Zimbabwe has the world’s second-largest platinum reserves after South Africa. With the rapidly geopolitical changes, Mnangagwa has been committed to opening up Zimbabwe’s economy to the rest of the world in order to attract the much-needed foreign direct investment to revive the ailing economy and make maximum use of the opportunities for bolstering and implementing a number of large projects in the country. That Zimbabwe would undergo a “painful” reform process to achieve transformation and modernisation of the economy.

Zimbabwe has various sectors besides mining. There is a possibility of greater participation of Russian economic operators in the development processes in Zimbabwe, and southern Africa. But Russians need to move away from too much rhetoric to concrete economic engagement over the next years. Most often officials speak about Russia, claiming that Zimbabwe has had good and time-tested relations from Soviet days. Diplomatic relations between Zimbabwe and Russia already marked the 40th year and yet not a single industrial facility to boast of in that country. Zimbabwe is a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Early March, Russia’s VTB head Andrei Kostin, said in an interview with the French newspaper Les Echos, that the VTB might sell its subsidiary bank in Angola due to sanctions. According our research, VTB was one of the first to be added to the United States and European Union (EU) sanctions lists, which hit the bank’s international business hard, following the launch of the military operation in Ukraine in February last year.

“We haven’t opened any new offices in other countries during the past year. We are looking at the possibilities. It is difficult for a sanctioned bank to expand geographically, with the possible exception of Iran. Expansion is difficult even in

Africa. Our branch in Angola has suffered from the sanctions, and we’ll probably have to sell it,” Kostin said.

According its information portal, VTB owns 50.1% of Banco VTB Africa. The president of the Angolan state-owned company Endiama, Antonio Carlos Sumbula, owned the other 49.9% of the bank’s shares. But, VTB currently focuses on work in Russia and in countries with which there has a large volume of foreign trade, above all China, trade with which reached $190 billion in 2022.

In December 2018, Russia’s Nornickel terminated its deal with Botswana’s BCL Group. According to TASS News Agency, quoting the media release, Russia’s Norilsk Nickel has terminated its agreement to sell African assets to Botswana’s BCL Group, including a 50% stake in the Nkomati joint venture.

It said that the Russian company would continue to seek damages from the BCL Group for the losses it suffered due to BCL’s failure to meet the terms of the agreement. The termination of the agreement would also enable Norilsk Nickel to pursue its own strategy for the African assets, Michael Marriott, Norilsk Nickel Africa’s Chief Executive, said as quoted by the press service.

“We will continue to pursue our claims against the BCL Group and the Botswana Government to recover the significant loss we have suffered as a result of their unlawful breaches,” Michael Marriott stressed.

In East African region, Russia’s RT-Global Resources and Rosneft quitted Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s oil refinery project and many major infrastructure deals. Russia had pledged $4 billion but later disagreements over terms and frustration over in-fighting, intrigue and lobbying forced them to pull out of the country. The Ugandan government team noted that the Russian consortium exhibited inadequate assurance and availability of preferred alternative foreign contractors with comparatively high bidding terms.

Museveni, at first, favored the Russians because, apart from considering access to weapons, the Ugandan leadership was also counting on Russia’s world superiority as a counterweight to both western powers; mainly America, and China. With Russians and the South Koreans out of the negotiations, Uganda appeared somewhat desperate, that was back in 2014.

Similarly to remind that Rosneft also abandoned its interest in the southern Africa oil pipeline construction, soon after its delegation in Angola had discussed the possible participation of the Kremlin-controlled company in exploration and development projects there. That project never appeared despite that fact that Russia has excellent relations with Angola, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. From both business and political perspectives, the region is considered as unipolar and a regional power all together with South Africa.

In addition, Lukoil, one of the Russia’s biggest oil companies, like many Russian companies, has had a long history going forth and back with declaration of business intentions or mere interests in tapping into oil and gas resources in Africa.

Besides technical and geographical hitches, Lukoil noted explicitly in an official report on its website that “the African leadership and government policies always pose serious problems to operations in the region.” It said that the company has been ready to observe strictly all of its obligations as a foreign investor in Africa.

In August 2015, Lukoil pulled out of the oil and gas exploration and drilling project that it began in Sierra Leone. According to Interfax, the local Russian news agency, the company did not currently have any projects and has backed away due to poor exploration results in Sierra Leone.

Kestér Kenn Klomegâh is a Public Affairs Analyst.

Abolishing Nigerian Godfatherism mentality

By Usman Muhammad Salihu

Social inequality: The godfather system reinforces social inequality by favoring candidates who come from privileged backgrounds or who have access to financial resources. This leaves many citizens without a voice in the political process and perpetuates a system of elitism.

Nigeria has long been known for its political culture of godfatherism, which refers to a system in which a powerful politician or group of politicians wield significant control over the political fortunes of others. The practice of godfatherism has been a defining feature of Nigerian politics for decades, and it has been blamed for perpetuating corruption, stifling democratic participation, and hindering economic growth and development.

Godfatherism in Nigeria is typically characterized by a system in which a powerful politician, usually an incumbent governor or party leader, sponsors and funds the candidacy of a less-established politician or aspirant for an elected office. In exchange, the godfather expects loyalty and a significant portion of the proceeds from the office once the candidate is elected.

This system has become deeply entrenched in Nigerian politics, and it has produced a political class that is more interested in personal gain and self-preservation than in serving the needs and interests of the people. The consequences of godfatherism are numerous and far-

reaching, and they include:

Corruption: Godfatherism promotes corruption in the political system, as the godfather expects a significant return on their investment in the candidate. This often leads to a cycle of corruption, where the candidate engages in corrupt practices to satisfy the demands of the godfather.

Lack of accountability: The godfather system creates a culture of impunity in which elected officials feel less accountable to the people they represent. This lack of accountability undermines the credibility of the democratic process and perpetuates a culture of political apathy among citizens.

Stifling of democracy: Godfatherism stifles the growth of democracy by limiting the ability of independent-minded candidates to contest for political office. This limits the choices available to voters and undermines the democratic process.

Economic stagnation: The godfather system discourages economic growth and development by favoring candidates who are more interested in their personal gain than in implementing policies that will benefit the economy.

Social inequality: The godfather system reinforces social inequality by favoring candidates who come from privileged backgrounds or who have access to financial resources. This leaves many citizens without a voice in the political process and perpetuates a system of elitism.

Given the many negative consequences of godfatherism,

it is clear that this practice must be abolished if Nigeria is to realize its full potential as a democratic and prosperous nation. This will require a concerted effort on the part of all stakeholders, including politicians, civil society organizations, the media, and the general public.

To achieve this goal, Nigeria must strengthen its democratic institutions, including the judiciary and the electoral system, to ensure that they are more independent and less susceptible to external influence. Additionally, there must be greater awareness and mobilization of the public to demand accountability and transparency from elected officials.

In conclusion, the mentality of godfatherism in Nigeria must be abolished if the country is to achieve its full potential. This will require a long-term commitment to strengthening democratic institutions, promoting accountability and transparency, and mobilizing the public to demand change. With a concerted effort from all stakeholders, Nigeria can move beyond the politics of godfatherism and towards a more democratic and prosperous future.

Usman Muhammad Salihu writes in from Mass Communication Department, Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi State and can be reached at muhammadu5363@gmail.com

10th NASS endorsement: Competence, productivity, defunct CPC factor considered —APC Movement

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

As criticism continue to trail the endorsement of the leadership of the 10th National Assembly, by the president elect, Bola Tinubu, a prominent group of the ruling party, Progressives Foundational Movement (PFM) has thrown it’s weights behind the choice of Dr. Tajudeen Abass to oversee proceedings of the lower Legislative Chamber in the 10th Assembly.

The group in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by the its national coordinator, Barrister Aganaba Johnson, said Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, apart from his academic excellence and a proven track record of leadership in public service and legislative excellence, the lawmaker was a member of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), one of the political parties that merged to form the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“it will amount to injustice against the defunct CPC members in the APC if other defunct parties like Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) that produced the

Niger Govt

inaugurates Committee

for seamless transition

From Yakubu Mustapha Minna

The Niger State government has inaugurated its inauguration committee for seamless transfer of power from governor Abubakar Sani Bello to the incoming governor, Umar Mohammed Bago.

The State Secretary to the Government SSG Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Matane while inaugurating various committees in his office, in Minna, said this will allay the concern, misconception and misrepresentation by the public.

He added that over 200 miscreants have been arrested in Minna and environs who have been disturbing the relative peace enjoyed to ensure smooth movement in the state capital.

Matane reiterated the commitment of the state government in ensuring a hitch free transition.

He explained that the collapse of the two committees in to one was aimed at working together to ensure the success of the committees mandate of peace and tranquility process.

Responding, the chairman of the governor elect committee for inauguration, Dr Mohammed Kudu Santuraki stated that it’s a transition within same political party, hence the seamless transition of power.

President-elect, the defunct All Nigerians Peoples Party (ANPP) produced Vice President-elect and the New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) is allowed to Produce the Senate President, then Hon. Tajudeen Abbas should be given opportunity to represent the defunct CPC as Speaker House of Representatives.”

It said Hon. Abbas’s productive and enviable record of sponsoring 20 assented out of his 78 Bills in the 9th Assembly, singled him out conspicuously among all the contenders for the position of the 10th Assembly Speaker.

The statement said the leadership of APC also considered the right temperament all the aspirants, their integrity and their public service experiences before the endorsement of the Kaduna born politician.

The statement further commended the President-elect and the Senator-elect Abdullahi Adamu led NWC, saying the choice of Abbas “is a a well thought out decision that would be in the best interest of the country.”

“In the history of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Hon.

Abbas has the highest Bills of 78 in the 9th Assembly, he has the 3rd highest Bills of 43 in the 8th Assembly and 20 of these Bills have been assented to.

“The country must endeavour to sustain the successes recorded in the outgoing 9th Assembly whereby there are tangible achievements due to the cordial relationship between the executive and legislative arms.

“We don’t want the situation capable of igniting confusion and turbulence in the parliament, which may ultimately affect the cordial environment that the legislature needs to function.

“It is axiomatic that we are in a democracy and people are free to ventilate and express themselves but we must exercise this right with some measure of caution and responsibility so as not to heat up the system.

“In order to develop our legislative democracy, the lawmakers must avoid negative and offensive opposition, which is averse to development and prone to avoidable conflicts between the executive and the legislature.

“This time, therefore, calls for

building bridges across political divides and not burning bridges for personal or political reasons. Nigeria should be placed above any other interest,” the national coordinator said.

The statement also urged the President-elect and the party leadership to resist all forms of pressure and blackmail by allowing supremacy of the party decision to stand.

The group also tasked other Speakership aspirants “Not to rock the boat but work for the success of the party and larger interest of the nation.

“We appealed to all the aggrieved aspirants to the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives to accept the endorsement of Hon. Tajudeen Abass as the next Speaker as an act of God.

“There is no need to gang up against the anointed candidates and the party because the opposition is waiting in the wings to exploit your differences. Please, do not throw the party into disarray because of leadership positions.”

The statement further added

that the same party leadership had given some of the aggrieved aspirants to hold one position or the other in the past.

“Rt. Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase is the Deputy Speaker today courtesy of the party’s benevolence ditto Rt. Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa as leader of the House and Rt. Hon. Muktar Betara who chairs the Committee of Appropriation. The party gave all of you the platform on which you contested for elections, so this is payback time.

“We have vested interest in the success of the President-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu led administration starting from May 29 this year and this can only be achieved if the ongoing cordial relationship between the Executive and Legislative arms is sustained.

“Never again should we return to the era of acrimonious relationship between the executive and legislative arms experienced during the tenure of Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan and even during the first tenure of our outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari between 2015 -2019.”

Corp members takes a pose with NYSC @ 50 banner

D-G NIHOTOUR becomes ATB global ambassador

The African Tourism Board (ATB) has named Alhaji Nura Kangiwa, DirectorGeneral, National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), as its global ambassador, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The ATB is a leading PanAfrican tourism development conglomerate comprised of influential stakeholders around Africa, Europe and the Americas.

It is a non-profit body acting as a strategic partner among African countries to develop market and implement tourism programmes that meet the emerging needs of local industries and the international tourism market.

Kangiwa, in a statement on Sunday, said that the announcement was made during the annual Tourism and Transport summit in Abuja recently by Mr Cuthbert Ncube, President of the

ATB.

“My appointment is expected to lead to rapid growth in intra- and inter-Africa business partnerships and sustainable platforms for ATB members, stakeholders, tourism destinations and African host communities.

“This will add momentum to the drive for achievements of ATB’s vision and founding objectives,” he said.

Kangiwa is a popular cultural

and sports tourism investor, professional and government administrator.

He is currently the substantive President of Nigeria Polo Federation (NPF) – the official Polo regulator in Nigeria –established during the colonial period.

The NPF is the national body recognised to regulate all polo activities within and outside the country. (NAN)

10th Speakership: Heed to Akeredolu, Stakeholders’ advice - Group Urges APC, Tinubu

By Christiana Ekpa

Ayouth group in the All Progressives Congress (APC), APC Youth Alliance For Progress (APC-YAP) has called on the party and the president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to heed the progressive and patriotic advice of some leaders of the party to jettison the present zoning arrangement.

The APC-YAP, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja stressed that ignoring the well-meaning advice of prominent stakeholders like the governor of Ondo state, Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, was a recipe for a fractured National Assembly, especially the House of Reps.

Governor Akeredolu had in a statement titled, “Proposed APC Zoning Formula for NASS Leadership Positions is a Skewed Arrangement that Reinforces Injustice And Enhances Inequity,” noted with great concern that the purported zoning arrangement released by the party “represents early signs of steps aimed at attempts to cabin the hardearned presidency for our leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, by a few individuals with eyes on ASO ROCK POWER BUTTONS.”

The youth group statement signed by Isa Pai and Wahab Adeyemi noted that it “stands logic on the head for the party to reward indolence and perpetrate injustice at a time for inclusion and national healing.

“It is urgent for the party to discard the notion of handpicking officers for the 10th House of Reps. Nigerians are already wary of the party and not attempt should be made to reinforce the idea that the party does not care about party development and democracy.”

Referencing the Ondo governor, the APC-YAP wondered why the party that allowed an open field in the presidential primaries will now micro zone offices for the National Assembly as if it was a department of the party.

Akeredolu had stated, “It is an insidious permutation that North-east will be deprived in the face of the unsavoury generosity dispensed through two slots to a particular geo-political zone. It is self-repudiating for one to argue, therefore, that the Speaker of the House of Representatives cannot also emerge from the Northeast.”

Labour Party crisis: CNPP urges warring factions to close ranks

By Musa Baba Adamu

Conference Of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has called on warring factions in the ongoing Labour Party (LP) leadership crisis to find common ground and sustain its new position as a third force in national politics.

In a statement signed by its Secretary General, Willy Ezugwu, CNPP noted that “there is nothing unusual about a political party having a leadership tussle or any form of disagreement but its ability to close ranks and make compromises in the interest of the party is paramount.”

Consequently, the CNPP urged “the parties in the leadership

crisis to always remember that no individual’s desire is bigger than party’s interest”, saying that “if Labour Party leaders allow external forces to control its internal affairs, the party will be the loser, especially with its new found love with majority of the Nigerian youth population.”

Continuing, it stated that “Every political party at one time or the other gets enmeshed in leadership crisis due to conflicts of interests. However, it is the responsibility of the fathers of the party to rise to the occasion and ensure that the fortunes of the party is not adversely affected.

“The overall interests of a political party must be paramount at all times as power can only be

shared when it is taken.

“In the buildup to the 2023 general elections, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had a taste of such internal crisis, which eventually affected its outing in the last general elections very negatively.

“In the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the party is currently entangled in its own clash of interests over what certain interests in the party see as arbitrary micro-zoning of elective positions in the 10th National Assembly to individuals.

“It is therefore incumbent on a political party’s fathers to weigh options and rise up to the responsibility of cushioning the impact of whatever internal

conflicts that may arise without allowing external influences to drive its affairs.

“Obviously, the Labour Party went into the 2023 general elections without deliberately healing its internal grievances, which initially led to the setting up of a Security, Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee.

“Amid the then budding crisis in the party, Labour Party had constituted two committees; a disciplinary committee to handle Ogun State Executive crisis and another tagged the Labour Party Security, Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee (LPSPCRC) to handle every other matter that has to do with “grievances and mischief within the party”.

Declaration of Tinubu cannot stand test of Law - Diaspora group declares

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

Professionals for Good Governance and Social Justice (PGGSJ), has said the declaration of President-elect, Bola Tinubu of All Progressive Congress (APC) cannot stand in court considering the amount of irregularities at the just concluded February 25, Presidential election. The group, in a statement signed by Ben Chukwu, the group’s Convener, said that based on the independent investigation carried out by the group on the outcome of February 25 Presidential election, it was observed that there were irregularities in the results released by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos, Rivers, Edo, Plateau, Borno, Kaduna, Ekiti and several other places in the country.

The group claimed that from the investigation and analysis of presidential election results of Lagos state from IREV portal Labour Party won APC with a total of 178,411 votes as against the figure declared by INEC where Labour Party Party won with 10,000 votes and it is important to note that this margin was after returning those

obvious switched/altered votes to their rightful places, although most were not legible.

The group added that the results equally showed that about 23% of them are: Blurred, Mutilated, Overvoted, Absent and Unaccounted for. It is evident that APC being in control of Lagos cannot allow results they won to fall into the aforesaid categories. Hence, these are Labour Party results that have been doctored and bastardised by the APC and INEC under the supervision of security agents.

The group therefore called on all well meaning Nigerians, the security agencies and especially the Judiciary/judges to save Nigeria from inevitable disintegration and unimaginable crisis by jettisoning the corruptly announced result, upholding rule of law and restoring justice to the pained Nigerian masses.

The statement reads, “ The wave of the February 25th Presidential Election is still hovering around every Nigerian both at home and in Diaspora. Until now, many Nigerians cannot comprehend why the INEC chairman ignored every call to follow the 2022 Electoral Act as well as the INEC guidelines in

announcing winners of elections. He rather enjoined all aggrieved parties to go to Court, when he could have withheld declaration and confirmed what has been uploaded to the IREV.

“INEC has displayed who they are again by conducting the worst election in the history of Nigeria. After wasting over N300 Billion tax payers money, the IREV server was switched off to make it impossible for presiding officers to upload results in real time.

“After the election and all that happened, PROFESSIONALS FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE (PGGSJ) began investigation into what happened during the election and who actually won the February 25th Presidential Election. While other groups have been investigating results from other states, PGGSJ chose Lagos state with the highest pooling units of 13,325. What the group discovered is a BOMBSHELL as we decided to share the information in this medium.

“From the investigation carried out it was discovered that Labour Party won APC with a total of 178,411 votes as against the figure declared by INEC where Labour

Party Party won with about 10,000 votes.

“The results equally showed that about 23% of them are: Blurred, Mutilated, Over-voted, Absent and Unaccounted for. It is evident that APC being in control of Lagos cannot allow results they won to fall into the aforesaid categories. Hence, these are Labour Party results that have been doctored and bastardised by the APC and INEC under the supervision of security agents.

“Going by the volume of alterations in Lagos results plus similar alterations already noticed in Rivers, Edo, Plateau, Bornu, Kaduna, Ekiti, Benue and several other states, it will be grave injustice, wickedness, extreme rascality and unprecedented impunity to allow the Presidential election result as announced by INEC to stand.

“We, therefore, call on all well meaning Nigerians, Security agencies and especially the judiciary/ Judges to save Nigeria from inevitable disintegration and unimaginable crises by jettisoning that corruptly announced result, upholding rule of law and restoring justice to the pained Nigerian masses.

L-R: Senate President Aspirants, Senator Sani Musa; Senator Orji Uzo Kalu; Senator Abdullaziz Yari, APC National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore and the National Chairman of the Party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu during a meeting between the senators and the NWC at the party’s National Secretariat, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo; Mahmud Isa

POLITICS

Punish, not reward anti party elements in Bauchi 2023 elections -APC Youth group

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The Youths of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Bauchi State has enjoined the party not to reward but sanction those it alleged were involved in gross anti party activities during the 2023 general election in the State.

A petition signed by Mohammed Maikano Abdullahi, who is Bauchi State APC secretary, and addressed to the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, the Youth group said during the 2023 election in Bauchi, the party stakeholders whom they said were supposed to work for the APC candidates, stayed away and worked against the party.

The petition tiled ‘Shameful Display of Greed by some APC anti-party bigots in Bauchi State’, said it saw a shocking pictures of the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu and a group of people claiming to be stakeholders of the party in the state visiting the APC National Chairman, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu.

Debt: Shehu Sani asks Tinubu to probe Buhari’s govt

By Musa Baba Adamu

Former Kaduna senator, Shehu Sani, has asked President-elect, Bola Tinubu to probe the outgoing government led by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Sani said this while expressing worries over the local and foreign debts the Buhari administration incurred in its eight years.

The nation’s rising debt profile is currently hovering around N77 trillion if the N23 trillion loans from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are securitised, the Debt Management Office (DMO) disclosed.

Recall that Nigerians are currently expressing concerns that the outgoing administration is still requesting an $800 million loan from the World Bank a few weeks before the end of its tenure.

But, Sani said the first step in servicing the nation’s debt is to conduct a full investigation of the cost of the projects they were purportedly used for.

In a post on Twitter, he asked the incoming government to probe all federal ministries, departments, and agencies under the Buhari regime.

His words: “The first step towards servicing our billions of dollars of local and foreign debt is a full investigation of the cost of the projects they were purportedly used for.

“The incoming government must probe all the MDAs under this regime.”

“This group of people, in collaboration with the Honorable Minister, were the ones that clearly worked against our party’s interests during the last Presidential and Governorship elections and they are seen receiving red carpet reception in Abuja.

“These are weighty allegations, but we have proof of them and are ready to present them when the time comes.

Among these people are the Chairman and other members of the Executive of the Party in the state, for which the National Executive has already been approached to dissolve the State Exco and establish an interim committee to run the affairs of the Party until a substantive Executive committee is elected”, the petition reads in part.

The Youths of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Bauchi State said it wrote the petition to the National Working Committee of APC based on what it considered a very unfortunate situation that is unraveling in the state.

“In Bauchi state, we believe that there were people who were supposed to either be physically on ground or at least be remotely but directly involved in protecting the interest of the party and those of its candidates during the elections, but alas, neither of these happened.

“They were not on ground, nor did they even remotely contributed to the conduct of the elections in the state, instead they were (in our opinion) busy working against the interest of the party and its candidates in the state”, the group claimed

It therefore expressed the belief that the current leadership has been compromised and they engaged in anti-party activities during the elections that led to the disappointing results recorded at the elections.

“The activities of these people gave the opposition the opportunity to engage in many election frauds including but not limited to rigging, ballot box snatching and stuffing and over voting in almost all PUs in the

state.

“Mr. Chairman Sir, we would like to bring to your notice that these men who are today lobbying for positions in the next government of our great Party leader Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, are the same people who refused to release the logistics funds allocated to the state by National for the elections.

“They are the same people who worked with the opposition PDP to frustrate our Presidential and Governorship candidates because of their selfish ambitions. We have it on good authority that they worked against our governorship candidate based on a twisted believe that another four years of PDP in Bauchi is preferable (for them) because of the plan for one of them to become the next governor after this last tenure of the current administration, rather than having the possibility of an APC win which may last the next 8 years.

“We also have proof of one of them who removed our party’s branding from two vehicles sent

for campaigns and donated the vehicles to a PDP Senatorial candidate in the state.

“Anti-Party activities are a crime to the Party, and should not be condoned especially when it is coming from people who are supposed to be the managers of the affairs of the Party, who have been entrusted with its leadership. We urge the National leadership to take this matter with all the seriousness it deserves and not to set a bad precedence by allowing state party leaders to engage in anti-party activities and get away with it or worse still get rewarded for it.

“We call on the National leadership to set a good example by meting out appropriate sanctions on those found to be involved so as to deter others from engaging in similar activities in future in Bauchi or any other state for that matter. Not doing anything about it at this time will mean entrenching anti-party activities as acceptable which will definitely come back to haunt the party in the nearest future.”

By Christiana Ekpa

One of the leading aspirants for Speaker of the House of Representatives, Muktar

Betara Aliyu has said his group holds the ace on who emerges as the next Speaker of the lower legislative chamber.

Speaking during the unveiling ceremony of the Speakership bid by a member of the coalition, Ahmed Wase, he expressed optimism that their group would arrive at a consensus on who is best suited to preside over the proceedings of the House.

Betara, a fifth term member who chairs the House committee on Appropriation describes Wase as a brother and a comrade who is equally qualified to preside over the House.

Reiterating his opposition to

the move to impose a Speaker on the House of Representatives, he noted: “For us, we formed this group because we are opposed to the zoning arrangement of the party. We are not fighting and we would not fight. We are in support of a consensus candidate.

“We can pick the candidate from among ourselves but if we all sit down and decide on it. I assure all of you it is only one person that God would choose to be Speaker. I assure you we are not going to have any issue. We are going to agree to support one of us as the Speaker.”

For Sada Soli, there is need for fairness, inclusivity and respect for diversity in arriving at the choice of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Katsina born lawmaker

called on members elect to strive to protect the sanctity and freedom of the institution of the legislature.

“Anything short of that, the consequences would be dire. We must drop all personal interest geared towards producing a Speaker who would not take directive for some personal aggrandisement, a Speaker who would tell you as it is. Lawmaking is a very serious business. It is beyond personal interests.”

Gagdi, who spoke in the same vein, warned against a rubber stamp National Assembly that would take directive from forces outside the hallowed chamber of the National Assembly.

“We are determined to protect democracy. The House of Representatives is the House of the Nigerian people. By the time

we are working, no leadership of the party will be there. Only we and we would be doing the serious business of lawmaking.”

Miriam Onuoha, one of the members of the coalition, reiterated her opposition to injustice in the polity, while calling for inclusivity of women and other vulnerable groups that form over half the population of the country.

“I stand with the coalition, indivisibility of Nigeria. Legislature is independent. Member elect would rise up to the challenge to ensure the independence of the legislature,” she added.

Wase said it behooves on the leadership of the party to cede the seat to him, having served the interest of the APC, the parliament and the nation over the years.

Our Coalition will determine the next Reps Speaker, says Betara

Betara

Shettima rejects Akpabio, says South East can produce competent senate president

By Musa Baba Adamu

The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, has kicked against the nomination of Godswill Akpabio as the next Senate President.

AYCF National President, Yerima Shettima, said the South East can produce a competent senate president.

Shettima urged the APC to encourage national unity by reviewing Akpabio’s nomination.

”The APC brought a zoning formula and came up with someone from Akwa Ibom and this character, we know him very well. Because it is a party politics, they want to put it to be superior, it is not done anywhere.

”APC needs to encourage national unity by demonstrating it. Let them look and their position and review it clearly. They should look at the issue of bankruptcy, debt and agitation from every part of the country and insecurity. We are in a fragile situation, we cannot afford to collect more debt if not we are finished.

”Although, I am of the view that the APC should reconsider positions. The South East is not helping themselves to be part of the national bureau. They need to be nationalistic in their approach.

”I am of the view that the government should encourage unity, we should carry our brother in the South East together,” he said.

Seven months after LG poll, electoral body refuses to issue certificates –Niger SDP

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Niger State has called on Governor Abubakar Sani Bello to direct the chairman of the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission, NSIEC, Aminu Baba, to issue certificates of return to its eight elected councillors who won the November 10 council election in Katcha Local Government Area.

A letter of protest, signed on behalf of the party by Barrister Mohammed Tsado Mohammed in Minna and forwarded to the governor, claimed the local government election was contested by candidates of both the All Progressives Congress, APC, and SDP.

According to the letter: “Seven months after the conduct of the local government election, the state electoral umpire, under the leadership of Alhaji Aminu Baba, refused to issue the elected councillors their certificates of return.”

The letter noted that any attempt by the chairman and staff of NSIEC to perpetuate illegality “or unconstitutional act will be met with the full wrath of the law.

Guber poll: Some persons stockpiling arm to cause mayhem in Kogi East – Makama

By Christiana Ekpa

The Director-General, Special Task Force on Illegal Smuggling of Firearms in Kogi State, Elder Friday Sani Makama, has lamented the proliferation of firearms among youths in Kogi East ahead of the November 11 governorship election in the State.

Addressing journalists in Lokoja on Sunday, Makama explained that some influential personalities in the eastern axis are already empowering some youths with dangerous weapons to cause mayhem in the next governorship election.

The former Kogi State House of Assembly lawmaker, while noting that his office cannot be distracted by ethnic bias, said the task force is ready to clamp down on any miscreant across the three senatorial districts.

He described as unfortunate

the misconception of some individuals concerning the task force set up by Governor Yahaya Bello to curb illegal arms handling across the three senatorial districts.

“The Governor understudied all my achievements in the past and married it with my admission into the international police corporation and said, ‘we can still make use of this man, bring all these youths and convince them to return arms under their control so that the State can be free of armed robbery, kidnapping, thuggery and many more’.

“Since my appointment, I have received several calls, including some very highly-placed persons who call me to tell me ‘look, the target is that the Governor is trying to make sure that my office will go to Kogi East Senatorial District and disarm them so that the Governor can unleash terror against the people of Kogi East’.

They said I should not allow myself to be used. They said they don’t want these young people to be disarmed.

“So that means they have already armed them. That is the meaning. That means the Government has properly contemplated them. They said I should not allow myself to be used to disarm the youths in Kogi East. That the arm they have is the only thing they can rely upon now to do this election.

“You can see. And I asked these prominent citizens, indigenous people of this State. I asked them this question. Do you have any of your children in any part of Kogi East now that have the arms to be able to fight in the next election against the Government in power?

“And the answer is the negative. None of them have their children at home. They are simply giving arms and ammunition to innocent poor children at home

so that they can create mayhem.

“My appointment by the Governor has been able to prove the fact that several youths are already being armed to create mayhem in the next election, and I don’t think that there is any reasonable government that will have that level of intelligence and watch you succeed in creating mayhem in the State. Our mandate is very simple, which is to assist security agencies to uncover arms and ammunition across the State.

“In doing this, we work with the Department of State Service (DSS), Nigeria police and other sister security agencies to achieve the targeted goal”, he explained.

Makama lauded Governor Bello for his proactive actions, which led to his appointment, saying, “Governor Bello has quickly stopped enemies from doing their evil biddings in Kogi State”.

Group rejects APC’s micro-zoning of Deputy Speakership to S’East, says it’s insult

By Christiana Ekpa

ASouth East youth-based group, Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL) has rejected the micro-zoning of the position of Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives to the South East.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) recently announced that the position had been micro-zoned to the zone and that Hon Benjamin Kalu, an Abia member-elect, has been penciled down for the position.

But reacting to the development, COSEYL, in a press release signed by its PresidentGeneral and Publicity Secretary,

Hon. Goodluck Ibem and Comrade Okey Nwaoru, respectively, said it was insulting to zone such a position to the South East.

The group also added that Kalu, who was penciled down for the office, still has his victory being contested and cannot represent the Igbo nation.

The group said: “While the political goal and aspiration of Ndigbo are beyond the post of the Senate President, we cannot identify with a character like Benjamin Kalu, not to talk of endorsing him to represent the political interest of the entire South East as a federal parliamentarian holding the post of the Deputy Speaker.

“For emphasis, the Igbo are a major ethnic group in Nigeria, also one of the tripodal arrangements upon which the nation itself stands. We cannot be reduced to the background by the APC-led Federal Government, no matter the scheming or agenda.

“How can a region like the South East, with its homogeneous makeup, be relegated when it comes to sharing the spoils if not for the phobia APC has about the Igbo nation, which the party has continued to uphold?

“The post of a Deputy Speaker is beneath the political aspiration of Ndigbo and we reject and shall continue to resist it. We call on well-meaning sons

and daughters of Igboland to disregard the endorsement of Benjamin Kalu.”

The group further condemned the APC zoning arrangement, saying, “This charade by the APC is an insult to the political sensibility of Ndigbo, and we reject it in its entirety, no matter those behind it, and will continue to reject it.”

It added that if Hon Kalu was given the deputy speakership position, he would still lose it because the circumstances of his emergence are now being contested after he garnered more votes from his federal constituency than what the presidential candidate of APC got in the entire South East region.

L-R: Dr. Victor Okhai, President, Directors’ Guild of Nigeria; Evi Odafe-Ejumedia, Channel Head, Africa Magic; Victor Sanchez Agahowa, Executive Head, Productions, Africa Magic; Dr. Busola Tejumola, Executive Head, Content and West Africa Channels; Alh. Adedayo Thomas, Director-General, National Film and Video Censors Board at the MultiChoice Film and Television Stakeholders Engagement Event Yesterday in Lagos.

Angola overtakes Nigeria as Africa’s top crude producer

From Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja

Angola overtook Nigeria to emerge top African crude oil producer for the month of April, data from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has shown.

According to the April 2023 Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) published by the oil cartel, Angola recorded 1.06 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude production in April, up from 972,000 bpd recorded in March.

But Nigeria recorded an output of 999,000 bpd in April compared to 1.3 million bpd in March. The April output figure represented the lowest production rate the nation has recorded in 2023.

On an annual basis, Nigeria’s output level also indicated a drop of 16.7 per cent to 999,000 bpd in April 2023, from 1.2 million bpd recorded in the corresponding period of April 2022.

“Nigeria’s economy faced challenges in gaining momentum in the first quarter of 2023, with business activity and consumer spending remaining subdued, in addition to high input-cost inflation and lower employment levels compared with the previous year,” the oil cartel said in the report.

In recent years, Nigeria has recorded a surge in pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft incidents in its oil-producing region, a development that worsened the nation’s revenue challenge.

The recent drop in the country’s crude production comes at a time when the Nigerian government postponed the June deadline for subsidy removal.

Earlier in the month, data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) showed that Nigeria produced an average of 998,602 barrels of crude oil per day in April. The figure represented a fall in production from the 1.2 million bpd recorded in March.

OPEC in its report noted that oil production from the 13 members of the cartel averaged 28.60 million barrels per day in April, lower by 191,000 bpd compared to March.

The report found that OPEC’s Gulf producers – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates – met output targets under the OPEC+ deal with steady production.

Three producers exempted from supply cuts -Libya, Iran and Venezuela – also recorded varying output. While Iranian output was steady, Libya’s output edged lower and Venezuelan production rose slightly, boosting global supply.

Earlier in April, OPEC had agreed to cut output by about 1.27 million bpd as part of a total 2 million bpd reduction OPEC+ pledged in 2022.

Petrol Subsidy: Poor people are subsidizing the rich on petroleum, claims CODE

From Abubakar Yunusa Abuja

Acivic organisation known as Connected Development (CODE), has said that Nigeria’s petrol subsidy regime means poor people will subsidize the rich on petroleum.

Chief Executive Officer of CODE, Mallam Hamzat Lawal, made the comment while speaking on Hard Copy, an interview programme aired on Friday, May 12, on Channels Television.

Mallam Lawal noted that the Nigerian government’s continued fuel subsidy payment is

unacceptable.

He said: “We are subsidizing the rich, not the poor. The poor are actually bearing the brunt. And we spend over N50 billion daily in subsidizing the rich people who can afford it.”

Mallam Lawal was reacting to the Buhari-led administration’s plan to secure a World Bank loan to be distributed to about 50 million vulnerable Nigerians or 10 million households as part of its fuel subsidy palliatives measures.

The move had caused outrage nationwide, with many criticising the outgoing government for taking the decision a few weeks

before leaving office.

Mallam Lawal urged the National Assembly to call for a public hearing concerning the loan, noting that it will help ensure that all the grey areas concerned are addressed.

On whether the loan is necessary at a time the government is on its way out,

Mallam Lawal said:

“Taking a loan is not bad, but what do we do with this loan? People are poor. We have poor people, and it is not their doing that they are poor. And as a government, as people, we must care for these poor people.”

He also advised that the government can explore the Open Government Partnership platform to ensure transparency in its spending.

His words: “We have the Open Government Partnership that brings civil society, media, and government together, and it is being co-chaired by government and civil society.

“It’s just for us to have this robust conversation and even for the government to agree, and then we set a timeline. This is not rocket science. This is public money given to you based on public trust.”

Fintech: Investor safety our cardinal objective –SEC

From Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja

The Securities and Exchange Commission has said that the safety of investors and their investments in the capital market is one of its cardinal objectives in rolling out its Regulatory Incubation Programme for Fintechs.

This was stated by Director, Registration, Exchanges, Market Infrastructure and Innovation, Mr. Abdulkadir Abbas during an interview in Abuja.

Abbas stated that the regulatory incubation program is a program that is designed as an interim measure to actually facilitate genuine regulation of Fintechs activities that will conform to the capital market issues.

He said the idea of coming up with this program which is like a sandbox, is to be able to come and test innovative ideas as stated in the SEC guidelines adding that the incubation period would be open for one year.

According to Abbas, “It is just for testing, it will not be approved at that stage but all Fintech ideas that conforms with investment activities are defined

in Investment and Securities Act 2007 can be tested under that kind of program. As we informed the market, there is going to be an initial assessment before it can be on-boarded into the regulatory incubation program.

The SEC Director said the Commission through the RI, is providing an avenue where fintechs can test their ideas without affecting the market integrity adding that one of the other objective is to be able to create an opportunity to solve an existing problem in the market.

Abbas stated that the takeoff has been very encouraging with the SEC gaining traction with market participants showing more interest and have commenced the first stage which is the initial fintech assessment route.

He disclosed that before the take-off of the RI, the SEC has been having engagement with various fintech applicants some of whom are existing capital market operators.

“Some are existing market operators; some are actually new interests into the market so we have been having this kind of engagement. And from the time when we announced the takeoff till today, what has been happening is

that a lot of applicants are actually accessing what we call the initial assessment form so there is a need which we can now be able to provide the initial information and that is the first stage of on boarding you into the RI, that is where we are now.

“And we have had couple of engagements and what interest us really is the traction of new fintech companies providing a solution to an existing problem in the market. But what we are trying to do now very quickly is to encourage more of this fintechs to come now that we have opened this phase. We believe that it will really deepen the market and it will facilitate bringing new products into the market and new ideas will come on board towards solution of existing problem in the market. As I said earlier, the principal plan is to actually provide an avenue of new solutions without compromising on investor protection which is our own key objective”.

Speaking on the legitimacy criteria, Abbass said, “Right, there are five legitimacy criteria. First of all, you must have a kind of idea that will really bring a solution to an existing problem. That is one of the legitimacy criteria. Second, as a fintech company

you must be able to really fill the initial assessment form and demonstrate to the commission that your idea or proposal or solution, has conformed to the investment activity that has been under the scope of the ISA which is our own purview.

“Thirdly, you must be able to be ready, to test live using a new test scope of the market with live investors or live customers as it were and then you must be able to commit that you will abide by the rules and regulations if you’re on boarding and the last issue is that you should be ready to now commit that once the rules are put in place after you come out of the regulatory incubation you must now comply with the existing rule that will come out as a result of that testing because we too we are trying to learn and by the time that we learn, we can be able to come up with a rule that would now fit that kind of activity.

“So in terms of responses, we just started we are already getting more applications, even this morning we received quite a number. So I can say we have quite a number of applicants that are really interested in this testing using the regulatory incubation that the SEC has come up with”.

L-R: Phil Southwell, Partner, Chapel Hill Denham; Bolaji Balogun, CEO, Chapel Hill Denham; Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria; Sara Werth, Deputy Mission Director, USAID/Nigeria; Kunle Elebute, Ex-Chairman, KPMG Africa; Kadaria Ahmed, Journalist and Media Entrepreneur and Lanre Buluro, Managing Director, Investment Banking at Chapel Hill Denham conference on Investing in Development in Lagos on Thursday.

Nigerian govt to generate N647bn revenue through project concession –ICRC

From Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja

The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, ICRC, said the approval for the concessioning of its four projects by the Federal Executive Council, FEC, would attract N647.7 billion revenue to Nigeria.

This is contained in a statement signed by Ifeanyi Nwoko, Acting Head, Media and Publicity, ICRC, in Abuja on Friday.

Mr Nwoko said the projects included the 360 MegaWatts (MW) Gurara II Multipurpose Dam and HydroPower Plant(HPP), and the 40 MegaWatts Kashimbilla HPP under a Public Private Partnership(PPP) model.

He said others included the Secure e-ticketing Solutions for the Lagos-Ibadan Rail Service, Warri-Itakpe Rail Service and the Device Management System, a project by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

“The approvals by FEC will bring about the generation of 400MW of electricity, infusion of private sector funds into the nation’s economic/infrastructure development and a total revenue generation of N647.7 billion.

“It will also help in the fight against crime, terrorism and insecurity while improving the effectiveness of the rail services in the specified routes,”he said.

Mr Nwoko said the 360MW Gurara II HPP is a Greenfield project that would adopt a Build, Operation, Maintenance and Transfer PPP model.

He said the project would be executed by Messrs. CGCOC Group Co. Limited under an Engineering Procurement and Construction contract for a concession period of 30 years.

Mr Nwoko said the dam, HPP and other complementary infrastructure would be executed within a concession period of 30 years.

”Within the concession period, a total revenue generation of 875 million dollars is expected.”

He said both the Gurara and the Kashimbilla HPP projects would bring about improved living conditions and employment and promotion of agriculture through irrigation.

“The two projects will also help reduce greenhouse gases as well as foreign exchange preservation.”

NNPC seizes vessel with 700 barrels of ‘illegal’ crude oil, arrests six ‘vandals’

From Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it has intercepted a barge carrying 700 barrels of illegal crude oil in Opete, Udu LGA, Delta state.

The national oil company said it also arrested six suspected crude oil thieves during the operation.

The arrest was made in partnership with Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, a private security contractor, NNPC said.

Speaking with journalists during an inspection of the site, Warredi Enisuoh, executive director, Tantita Security Services, said the operation was conducted by a combined team of security agencies.

Enisuoh said the reports received by Tantita and Sand Mason Engineering indicated that

the site was being used for activities beyond its approval limits.

He said surveillance revealed that the 1000 metric tonnes capacity barge was loaded with illegal crude oil– but was declared as sewage.

“A team of Tantita Security Services operatives continued to monitor the jetty for suspicious activities. It was observed that a sewage truck with plate number JR7750XA visited the jetty twice,” he said.

“During its third visit on May 12, 2023, the truck was accosted by the Tantita Security operatives keeping constant vigil over the area. Upon inspection, the substance found inside the tank was not sewage, rather, crude oil.

“The driver was arrested and handed over to government security operatives.

“The driver later revealed the

destination of the contents, which took us to another yard inland, also operated by Mawe Services Limited.

“Within the Mawe Services Limited’s premises, there were two metallic cylindrical tanks of about 45,000 litres capacity each.

“Both tanks were inspected and one was found to be filled up with crude oil.”

He said the driver of the truck confirmed that he had been transferring the contents of the barge into the tank.

He said inspection of the “yard security logbook” showed that the truck visited the location severally, adding that the contents of the truck were well spelt out as “crude oil”.

Enisuoh said the perpetrators frequently loaded the crude from the big barge into small gallons

batch by batch, before transferring to illegal refineries.

“One new method they use now is that they obtain documentation and authorisation from the government to fool security agencies, then go on to do other illegal jobs,” he said.

He said when the suspects are apprehended, they would usually claim to be recently hired by their companies, “whereas they were already trained to operate in that line”.

He said part of the crude has been evacuated while the rest would go through a combustion process.

Last year, the national oil company renewed a pipeline surveillance contract, reportedly worth N48 billion annually, awarded to the owner of Tantita, Government Ekpemupolo, otherwise known as Tompolo.

Why disconnection of banks’ USSD service was approved – NCC

From Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja

The Nigerian Communications Commission has explained that it approved the withdrawal of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data services from Deposit Money Banks by the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria due to unpaid debt.

The Director of Public Affairs, NCC, Reuben Muoka, disclosed this while speaking with Journalists in Abuja over the weekend.

He noted that the approval to disconnect the banks from the USSD services was given due to the refusal of the financial institutions to give consideration and cooperation to all efforts by the NCC to make them pay.

Earlier, mobile telecommunications operators, including MTN, Globacom, Airtel and 9mobile, under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, announced that bank customers would not be able to use the USSD services as the lender would be disconnected.

ALTON had explained that the authorisation by the regulator to disconnect the banks was due to

their refusal to pay the N120bn debt owed the telecom operators for USSD services.

ALTON said the mobile network operators had planned in 2021 to take action over the N42bn debt incurred by the DMBs, but interventions by the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, and the NCC discouraged them.

It stated that the indebtedness would negatively impact the digital and financial inclusion programme of the Federal Government.

Muoka said several interventions had been made by stakeholders and a consensus was reached with the banks.

Despite the interventions and per-session charges for USSD services by the banks, he stated that the DMBs still refused to pay the MNOs when the debt was still about N42bn.

Mouka stated, “This issue between the banks and the telecom operators is a commercial issue. The NCC only decided to intervene because we know it will affect a lot of bank customers. This prompted the government to intervene in what should have been a commercial dispute.

“The USSD service was a commercial agreement between the MNOs and the banks. We have had several meetings with the Central Bank of Nigeria, the minister, ALTON members, mobile network operators, and the banks themselves concerning the debt but to no avail.

“There is nothing the NCC can do right now because it is the bank customers that are benefitting from the USSD codes. If the banks were keeping the faith by paying in bits, it would have turned out better, but the debt has now become exorbitant. The NCC has approved it (disconnection); the MNOs can go ahead to disconnect them since the banks owe and have refused to pay their debt,” he said.

ALTON had in a statement signed by its Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, said since the contract between the mobile operators and the banks was strictly commercial, the MNOs are authorised to withdraw the services if the transaction was unprofitable to them.

ALTON added that despite efforts by stakeholders to intervene in the issue of indebtedness, the banks had frustrated the efforts by

refusing to pay the debt or sign the final agreement.

The statement read in part, “The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and Deposit Money Banks (DMB) represented by the Chairman, Body of Bank CEOs, subsequently met on March 15, 2021, to discuss the indebtedness of the DMBs to the MNOs for USSD services. In this regard, the CBN and the NCC issued a joint press statement on the agreement reached by all stakeholders.”

The President Bank Customers Association of Nigeria, Dr Uju Ogunbunka, condemned the telecom firms’ decision, which he noted would have a detrimental effect on members of the public, who rely on the services that the banks provide.

He stated, “Banks are not providing services for themselves but for the customers. I believe that the issue should have been discussed with the banks and if there is no headway, then relate with the regulator since the NCC is also involved.

Speakership Aspirant, Hon. Muktar Betara (Middle) with members elect, during the Betara’s Speakership Declaration for the 10th Assembly, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

From

Abubakar Yunusa Abuja

The decision by Malaysia and Taiwan to recall Indomie’s “special chicken” flavour noodles has raised some concerns about the safety of the food globally, including in Nigeria.

The development followed the detection of ethylene oxide, a substance known to cause cancer, in the product by the health institutions in the two countries.

Nigeria has also reacted to the development as the agency in charge of standards has set in motion plans to conduct fresh independent tests on the concerned products.

The country’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) confirmed to journalists on Sunday morning its plans to ascertain the claim by its Taiwan and Malaysian counterparts.

The health department in Taipei, Taiwan’s capital, said it detected ethylene oxide in two types of instant noodles, including the Indomie chicken flavour, following random inspections.

It said the detection of ethylene oxide in the product did not comply with standards.

“The Taipei City Health Bureau reminds food industry that our country has not approved the use of ethylene oxide as a pesticide, nor has it approved the use of ethylene oxide gas as a disinfection purpose,” the department said in a statement.

“The industry is sure to implement autonomous management and confirm that the raw materials and products should comply with food safety and health management.”

Following this development, the health ministry in Malaysia said it had examined 36 samples of instant noodles from different brands since 2022 and found that 11 samples contained ethylene oxide.

Ethylene oxide is a colourless, odourless gas that is used to sterilize medical devices and spices and has been described as a cancer-causing chemical.

The Malaysian ministry said it had taken enforcement actions and recalled the affected products.

Indofoods, an Indonesian company and maker of Indomie instant noodles, has denied the allegations noting that all its noodles are produced with standard certification. However, Taiwan and Malaysia have ordered businesses to immediately remove the products from their shelves.

NAFDAC Director General, Mojisola Adeyeye, a professor, on Sunday, told this newspaper that beginning from Tuesday, 2 May, the agency will commence processes to test randomly selected products to ascertain the claims before reaching out to the public.

Mrs Adeyeye in response to an inquiry by our reporter, said the agency’s official in charge of laboratory services is already on alert.

The director general wrote: “NAFDAC is responding. We plan to randomly sample Indomie noodles (including the seasoning) from the production facilities while

Nigeria investigates as Malaysia, Taiwan recall Indomie noodles over cancer-causing substance

PMS samples from the markets. This we will carry out on Tuesday 2nd May (as Monday May 1st is a public holiday).

“The compound of interest is ethylene oxide, so the Director (Lab Services) Food has (is) being engaged, and he is working on the methodology for the analysis.”

Reacting to the allegations in a statement on Friday, Taufik Wiraatmadja, a member of the board of directors at Indofoods, defended the safety of the noodles noting that it is safe for consumption.

Mr Wiraatmadja said the noodles have received standard

certifications and have been produced in compliance with international food safety regulations.

“All instant noodles produced by ICBP in Indonesia are processed in compliance with the food safety standards from the Codex Standard for Instant Noodles and standards set by the Indonesian National Agency for Drug and Food Control (“BPOM RI”). Our instant noodles have received Indonesian National Standard Certification (SNI), and are produced in certified production facilities based on international standards,” he wrote.

“ICBP has exported instant

noodles to various countries around the world for more than 30 years. The Company continuously ensures that all of its products are in compliance with the applicable food safety regulations and guidelines in Indonesia as well as other countries where ICBP’s instant noodles are marketed.

“We would like to emphasise that in accordance with the statement released by BPOM RI, our Indomie instant noodles are safe for consumption.”

Indofoods is one of the world’s largest makers of instant noodles and exports its products to more than 90 countries including Saudi

Arabia and Nigeria where they are in high demand.

Nigeria, a major consumer of Indomie instant noodles, is expected to take a position on the matter in the coming days.

According to data from the World Instant Noodles Association (WINA), Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is currently among the largest consumers of instant noodles with 1.92 million servings as of May 2020.

The country also ranked 11th in the global demand for noodles ranking, with Indomie instant noodles being the most consumed brand in Nigeria.

NBC, BON fault NCC’s plan to sell 600MHz spectrum band

The Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) have rejected the planned sale of the 600MHz spectrum by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

The NCC had in March announced the availability of frequency slots in the 600 MHz spectrum band for nationwide deployment.

But BON in a letter said the sale of the frequency would lead to the sudden disappearance of the majority of the television stations in the country and give foreign media maximum penetration into the nation’s broadcast space.

In the letter, dated 25 April and addressed to the Director-General of NBC and signed by Yemisi Bamgbose, executive secretary of BON, the organization called on the NBC to take all necessary possible legal steps to ensure that the spectrum is not sold

until necessary steps had been taken to protect.

The letter read in part: “Our attention has been drawn to an advertisement placed by the NCC, titled ‘Availability of Frequency Slots in the 600 MHz Spectrum Band’, published on March 23, 2023.

“In the said advertisement, the NCC brought notice to the general public on the availability of frequency slots in the 600MHz spectrum band for sale.

“If this sale of the primary spectrum allocated to broadcasting is allowed to happen, all television stations operating on frequency 600MHz will be affected negatively.

“Those that will be affected include all DTT operators; ITS; Pinnacle; many private television stations; the majority of state government-owned stations; some NTA community and state stations operating within the range of 600MHz frequency.”

The organisation explained that the frequency 700-800MHz, housing some state government-owned and private stations, have been sold to telecom operators, a decision that has created problems that have not been resolved. It noted that the digital switchover which NCC might be capitalising on has not been delivered as expected.

BON said that it is aware of all the efforts put in place by NBC for many years to achieve an analogue switch-off, but the desired result is still very far from the remarkable achievement.

“It is therefore very curious to ask the National Communication Commission the reason behind rushing to sell the spectrum that is specifically and legitimately allocated for broadcasting in Nigeria,” the statement said.

“More curious is the urgency by which NBC is rushing to ensure the

sale of the spectrum within a short period of expiration of the tenure of the current administration.”

The BON official noted that the sale of the spectrum by NCC will lead to the sudden disappearance of the majority of the television stations in Nigeria.

“Many television stations are on the 476-700 MHz including free view, DTT, pay TV, private TV, NTA community stations and state government-owned television.

“Without doubt, more than 80 per cent of Nigerians will be denied access to television broadcasting which serves as the authentic source of accurate information, public enlightenment and solely source of entertainment.

“It will give the foreign media maximum penetration into the nation’s broadcast space in which negative consequences can only be imagined,” the statement said.

L-R: Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji; Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Oyebanji Filani; Special Adviser to the Governor (Special Projects), Arc. Tope Ogunleye; Chief Medical Director, Oba Adejugbe General Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, Dr Gbenga Omotosho; and Permanent Secretary, Hospitals Management Board, Dr Olasunkanmi Alabi; during the on-the-spot assessment of facilities at the Oba Adejugbe General Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, at the weekend

METRO

Flood: FEMA alerts residents on days of heavy rains, thunder storms

By Stanley Onyekwere

Following the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) prediction of thunderstorms and heavy rains for few days, the FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has alerted the residents in the nation’s capital to brace up for the critical weather condition.

A statement from FEMA’s Head, Public Affairs, Nkechi Isa, at the weekend, which made this disclosure, said Director General of the Agency, Dr. Abbas Idriss, has placed the search and rescue team volunteers, and all other staff of the agency on high alerts

It added that the current thunderstorm cells are expected to propagate easily to give thunderstorms accompanied with squall to cities in Plateau, FCT, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Adamama, Yobe, Borno, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, and Katsina state in the next few hours.

The statement reads: “This is coming in the wake of the forecast by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) of heavy rainfall in the coming days in the FCT and some northern states.

“According to the early warning issued by NiMet , “Thunderstorm cells are currently observed over the northern parts of the country

including Borno, Taraba, Gombe, Bauchi and Kano

“These are expected to propagate westward to give equally thunderstorms to some cities.

“NiMet said for areas where thunderstorms are expected, strong winds are likely to precede the rains and as such, trees, electric poles, unsecured objects and weak buildings may be felled.

“So, the public is advised to be cautious and stay in- doors especially during heavy rainfall to avoid being struck by lightning”.

Furthermore, FEMA admonished all business operators in the FCT to avail themselves

of weather reports periodically for effective planning in their operations.

It added that moderate to heavy rainfall could lead to flash floods, which usually affects the residents of the FCT.

“Dr. Abbas Idriss charged the Search and Rescue Team to take proactive measures to avert any loss of lives and property during this period.

“Idriss appealed to FCT residents to heed the early warnings and avoid anything that could lead to loss of lives or destruction of properties. Motorists should not drive through a pool of water.

‘They should also avoid

indiscriminate dumping of refuse as well as anything that could block the water ways.

“The FEMA Boss also called on the residents to join hands with the agency to ensure adequate protection of our environment in order to avoid the consequences of climate change.

“He also appreciate the contribution of all Stakeholders and appeal to them to do more as Disasters are fought by positive and impactful collaboration.

He urged residents to always use the 112 emergency tollfree number in the event of an emergency for prompt response”, the statement added.

Technology central to Abuja’s development - FCTA official declares

By Stanley Onyekwere

The Director, Department of Development Control, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Mukhtar Galadima has reiterated that technology remains a major means of developing Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to an acceptable standard.

Galadima noted thag through technology all challenges of developing a city like Abuja will be

identified and corrected without creating more trouble.

He revealed that the FCT Administration was exploring technical processes to ease the pressure being put on the city by illegalities against the planned development to return it to a modern Federal Capital city.

According to him, during the planning of the territory there was low technology to use in correcting some irregularities but with the advance technical knowledge most

of the violations caused by the residents are being checked.

He however, opined that the planning of the territory since it became the nation’s capital provided room for flexibility because of the certainty and changes.

He added that the challenges in context can only be addressed with the use of technology.

“In developing a world class city, there are dynamics of city development because nothing is

constant, changes are inevitable, so the good thing about Abuja master plan is that it provided room for that flexibility, so we are using technology to achieve results.

“The Abuja master plan was prepared during the military era and most of Abuja life was govern by the military, there were some areas that were considered not developable but now with the advent of advanced technology you could develop them.

“Looking at the population explosion people rush into Abuja for economic reasons, which is putting so much pressure but we are identifying the challenges and making proposers on how to manage them so that the master plan will be respected”, the Director stressed. Furthermore, he hinted that the department has marked out plans that will aid the new administration to succeed in developing the city.

FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello (7th left), flanked by FCT Commissioner of Police Haruna Garba (5th left), AIG Zone 7, Aliyu Garba and the Permanent Secretary, FCTA Mr Olusade Adesola and other senior officials of the Police Force and the FCTA when the police officers paid a courtesy visit to the FCTA, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Mae Muller: Why did the UK do so badly at Eurovision?

MaeMuller was the last to perform in the Eurovision running order - which is traditionally a tricky spot

Mae Muller came into Eurovision riding a wave of positivity.

Sam Ryder ended the UK’s losing streak in Turin last year by doing the unthinkable - entering a decent song - and the thinking went: Why not do that again?

Mae obliged with a slick, sassy pop song that echoed recent chart trends. I Wrote A Song had the disco undercurrents of Dua Lipa, the lyrics were memorable, and it was eminently shareable on TikTok.

The public seemed to agree. Mae’s song picked up tons of airplay, and more than 8 million streams on Spotify. Bookmakers predicted she’d finish in the top 10. Everyone from Ringo Starr to Lana Del Rey offered their support.

In the run-up to Eurovision, there was negative chatter about Mae’s rehearsals. Her vocals were flat, insiders said, and the choreography was wooden.

But on the night, she brought out the big guns. Mae sang better than she’d done all week. Her dance moves were snappy and confident. The audience at the Liverpool Arena were ecstatic...

And then it all went wrong.

Eurovision juries gave the song 15 points. The public awarded her nine. She ended the night in 25th place, out of 26.

“Undeserved. Very undeserved,” said Eurovision fan Craig Andrew, who watched the horror unfold at Liverpool’s Euroclub.

“I thought her vocal was flawless. She was so good on the night, but what can you do?”

“I think it was much better than that, genuinely,” agreed fellow fan Gaja Gazdic. “In this crowd, it was very well received.”

So what happened?

The first thing to remember is that no-one votes against you at Eurovision, they vote for the songs they like. And if your vibe is hypercatchy, female-fronted pop, you were spoiled for choice.

Sweden’s Loreen won the contest with the supersonic club anthem Tattoo - and Norway’s Alessandra was close behind her in the public vote with Queen Of Kings, a thunderous pop anthem that was equal parts Lady Gaga and Nordic folklore.

Both of them were stronger singers, with stronger songs, than Mae, and they soaked up a lot of her potential votes.

In retrospect, there’s also a peculiar Britishness to I Wrote A Song that might not have translated outside the UK.

It’s a pithy, sarcastic track about taking revenge on an ex-boyfriendnot by trashing their car or burning their house down, but by writing an excoriating song about how rubbish they are.

In a contest where the top songs all featured sincere, straightforward messages about overcoming adversity and standing up for love, Mae’s post-modern, meta-textual lyrics failed to find an audience.

Austria’s hotly tipped Who The Hell Is Edgar? took a similar approach and met a similar fate, coming 15th.

Complexity simply isn’t your

friend when you’ve only got three minutes to make an impression. Staging problems?

In the press room, questions were also raised about the concept underlying Mae’s performance. In particular, the liberal use of wide shots and Pop Art video installations meant TV audiences couldn’t always appreciate the singer’s cheeky charisma.

“I think it’s an excellent song, but the staging wasn’t great,” said Ken Olausson of Sweden’s QX magazine.

“The whole feeling of female power that’s in the song when you hear it on the radio, it wasn’t on stage.

“I don’t know if they lost her in a lot of props, but the power didn’t come through.”

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On social media, TV viewers complained that Mae’s vocals had been too low in the mix.

“You could barely hear her over her music,” wrote one. “Something sounded off with the sound production for Mae Muller,” agreed another.

“She can obviously sing, but it all sounded quiet.”

“The question you have to ask yourself is this: Was the UK performance in your top 10 tonight out of the 26 that took part?” asks Eurovisioncast’s Daniel Rosney.

“If it was, then great because you would have given Mae Muller some points. But if it only just made your top 10, that’s not how you win Eurovision.”

After the results were announced, Mae took to Twitter to share her thoughts.

“I know I joke a lot, but we really put our all into the last few months,” she said, “Not the result we hoped for but so proud of everyone and what we achieved.

“Congrats to all the countries, I’ll never forget this journey and I love you all.”

You could feel her pain. She’s been a great ambassador for Eurovision; and she kept up the UK’s momentum of sending nonterrible songs to the contest. Some of the acts that placed ahead of her were objectively worse.

So what’s next for the UK?

Earlier this week, Radio 2’s Eurovision commentators Scott Mills and Rylan Clark offered some perspective on the UK’s Eurovision journey.

“It’s impossible to repeat what happened last year, because it just doesn’t happen,” said Mills.

“But what we need to do is show Europe that we care and that we’re taking it seriously. Mae is is great, and while Europe used to say, ‘Hang on a minute, why aren’t the UK any good at this?’ they’re not saying that now.”

“For reasons I’ve never been clear on, the host country tends to struggle with points after it’s success the previous year,” observes Daniel Rosney.

That’s especially true for Portugal: In 2017, in their 49th appearance at the contest, the country won for the first time, with Salvador Sobral’s Amar Pelos Dois. The following year, they finished last.

“Things like that have always been a bit of an enigma,” says Ricardo Duarte, who’s been covering Eurovision for Portuguese queer website Dezanove.

“But we persevered. We continued. We did not qualify the year after - but we got 12th place in 2021 and ninth place in 2022.

“We’ve had our ups and downs, and so will every other country.”

And that’s the message Mae and the team behind the BBC’s Eurovision bid will need to bear in mind today. Outside the bubble of the contest, Mae’s song has been a hit. She’s a ready-made pop star, who just performed to a global TV audience of more than 160 million people.

This won’t be the last we’ve heard of her.

Cyclone Mocha: Deadly storm hits Bangladesh and Myanmar coast

Apowerful cyclone has hit the coastlines of Bangladesh and Myanmar after intensifying into the equivalent of a category-five storm.

Cyclone Mocha brought with it heavy rain and strong winds, leaving residents in low-lying coastal areas fearful they may lose their homes.

More than 1,300 bamboo shelters in Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee camp, have been destroyed.

Landslides and floods are also hitting the area.

As the storm approached, police patrolled the coastline in the town of Cox’s Bazar carrying loudspeakers, urging people to stay indoors.

The streets emptied as the cyclone intensified - the skies darkened, the winds picked up pace and the rains pounded down.

Hundreds of people crammed into a school in the city which had been turned into a temporary cyclone shelter.

Mothers with babies, young children, the elderly and the frail packed into any available space in the

classrooms, sleeping on desks and sitting under them.

Authorities here say more than 500,000 people were evacuated from their homes in this south-eastern stretch of Bangladesh.

As many arrived at the shelter in rickshaws and on foot, they brought their livestock - cattle, chickens, goatsas well as mats to sleep on.

They had come from fishing and coastal villages, as many as two hours away, making a difficult choice.

“I didn’t want to leave my house,” said Sumi Akter, who lives on a riverbank.

Sumi and others we met here say they have lived through other cyclones in recent years and are resigned to the regular pattern of leaving their homes to the mercy of nature.

Storm surges of up to four metres could swamp villages in low-lying areas, Sumi and others here are fearful their homes may be submerged.

“I wish the homes we lived in were built more strongly,” she said.

Jannat, aged 17, who we had met

the day before in the same shelter, said she too was terrified of what state her home, on the riverbank, would be in once she went back.

Last year, another cyclone, Sitrang, destroyed her house, forcing her to spend what little money she had on repairing it.

“How can I live if this keeps happening? I can’t afford to rebuild itwe are very poor,” she said.

Nature was also punishing the poor in the world’s largest refugee camp nearby.

Bangladesh’s government does not allow Rohingya refugees to leave the camps, nor to build permanent structures.

As the cyclone hit, they hunkered down in flimsy bamboo shelters with tarpaulin roofs. Some were moved to community shelters within the camps, which offered little more protection.

Authorities told the BBC that more than 1,300 shelters were damaged by the wind, as were 16 mosques and learning centres. Trees had fallen in the camps, while two landslides also caused

some damage.

The tarpaulin that covered Mohammed Ayub’s shelter was torn off by the winds. Now he and his family of eight are living in the open, in wet and miserable weather.

Having spent the days before terrified of what Cyclone Mocha could bring, Mohammed was relieved the camps didn’t take a direct hit from the storm.

Mizanur Rahman, from the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner said that as far as he was aware, there were no casualties in the camps as a result of the cyclone.

Forecasters warned Cyclone Mocha could be the most powerful storm seen in Bangladesh in nearly two decades. It also hit neighbouring Myanmar with great force.

Heavy rain and driving winds battered the region as the storm system moved to the coast, with reports of increasing disruption near the city of Sittwe, in Myanmar, from about 13:00 (07:00 GMT).

Electricity and wi-fi connections

were disrupted across much of the Sittwe area, where videos showed the tide rising dramatically and carrying debris down flooded streets.

A telecom tower was brought down by the high winds as the cyclone approached. Videos shared on social media also showed roofs being blown off houses and billboards flying off buildings in Yangon amid teeming rain.

Images from the city of Mrauk U showed palm trees bending in the wind, metal roofing sheets being swept into the street and a few people still hurrying to take cover in storm shelters.

Local media reported that a 14-year-old boy was killed by a falling tree in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, while there were reports of damaged and collapsed buildings in various parts of Myanmar.

The Bangladeshi meteorological department office said the maximum sustained wind speed within 75km (45 miles) of the centre of the cyclone was about 195km/h (120mph), with gusts and squalls of 215km/h.

Source: BBC

Sudan crisis: Sudanese singer Shaden Gardood killed in crossfire

Gardood died amid clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Friday.

The 37-year-old’s death came only one day after the warring parties signed a deal to alleviate civilian suffering.

Fighting erupted in Sudan in April over a vicious power struggle within the country’s military leadership.

Gardood lived in the alHashmab neighbourhood, where RSF presence has increased in recent days.

Her niece, Heraa Hassan Mohammed, confirmed her death on Facebook and said: “She was like a mother and a beloved to me, we were just chatting, may God give her mercy.”

She then wrote the Islamic phrase used when a person dies: “inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un”.

In a video which circulated on social media, Gardood said she was trying to hide from the shelling and asked her son to close the windows.

She could be heard saying: “Go away from the doors and the windows… in the name of Allah, we are going to die ready wearing our full clothes... you should wear this, we will die in a better shape.”

Gardood regularly made live videos on Facebook talking about the clashes and shelling in her

neighbourhood, and she wrote intensively against the war.

In one of her last posts on Facebook, she said: “We have been trapped in our houses for 25 days… we are hungry and living in an enormous fear, but are full of ethics and values,” referring to looting across Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.

Gardood lived near the national television and radio building, which has been a battlefield from the first day of the war.

The RSF was guarding the building and they came under constant shelling by fighter jets, with on-the-ground clashes between the two forces.

One resident living in the same neighbourhood as Gardood said: “Last night, the clashes were violent and intense, which lasted for long hours with fighter jets hovering over all night last night.

“But what I observed is that the clashes were a bit less immediately after Shaden was injured, then we continued to hear the sound from afar.”

The resident said that Gardood later died of her wounds.

Gardood is survived by her 15-year-old son, Hamoudy, and her mother and sister.

The fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF has been taking place in Khartoum for almost four weeks.

Kenya cult: Children targeted to die first, pastor says

Children were targeted as the first to be starved to death in the final days of a Christian doomsday cult in Kenya, according to fresh accounts emerging.

Police investigating an apparent mass suicide have so far exhumed 201 bodies in a forest in the nation’s southeast.

A former deputy preacher of the cult told the New York Times that children were killed first, ordered “to fast in the sun so they would die faster.”

Women and men were next to follow the suicide plan, Titus Katana said.

Mr Katana - who is helping police with the investigation - also described to the Sunday Times the alleged brutal treatment of the children, saying they were shut in huts for five days without food or water.

“Then they wrapped them in blankets and buried them, even the ones still breathing,” he was quoted as saying.

It is alleged that the cult followers were told they would reach heaven faster if they starved to death.

Official autopsies of some of the bodies in the expansive Shakahola farm, near the coastal town of Malindi, found signs of starvation, suffocation and beatings.

More than 600 people who are reported to be members of the doomsday cult allegedly led by Pastor Paul Mackenzie are still missing.

Pastor Mackenzie, who is currently in police custody, said

he closed down his Good News International Church four years ago after nearly two decades of operation.

But the BBC had uncovered hundreds of his sermons still available online, some of which appeared to have been recorded after this date.

In an interview with Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper a few weeks ago, Pastor Mackenzie also denied he had forced his followers to starve themselves.

But Pastor Mackenzie preached against education, saying that it was satanic, after receiving a “revelation from God”, Mr Katana told the New York Times.

Explaining his reasoning for leaving the cult, Mr Katana, who is also assisting in a police investigation against the pastor, said his teachings had become too “strange”.

Pastor Mackenzie also encouraged mothers to avoid seeking medical attention during childbirth and not to vaccinate their children.

Much of Pastor Mackenzie’s preaching relates to the fulfilment of Biblical prophecies about Judgement Day.

The church’s online content also features posts about the end of the world, impending doom and the supposed dangers of science.

And there are frequent warnings of an omnipotent satanic force that has supposedly infiltrated the highest echelons of power around the world

The conflict erupted in midApril, when the RSF refused to be integrated into Sudan’s army

under a planned transition to civilian rule.

More than 600 civilians

have died and more than 4,000 injured, closing down about 80% of the hospitals with severe food, water and electricity shortages.

Gardood was originally from South Kordofan state, a war zone area since 2011, before she resided in Khartoum with her family.

She sang for peace and security in her region and promoted the culture of her marginalised community, al-Bagara, in South Kordofan, playing the role of Hakama - traditional poets in western Sudan who encourage men to go for fighting - for peace.

As well as being a singer, Gardood was a researcher in the al-Bagara Melodies and presented papers on the legacy of the Hakamas in the past and present.

A number of public figures were killed in Khartoum in the past few weeks, among them Sudan’s first professional actress, Asia Abdelmajid, who died in crossfire at the age of 80.

Former footballer Fozi elMardi, 72, was also killed only a few days after the death of his daughter who was killed in a crossfire in Omdurman.

Four days after the start of the war, constant ceasefires were announced under the request of regional powers, but none were upheld.

The clashes have not stopped as the fighter jets continue hovering over the entire city.

Heavy gunfire in Sudan ahead of ceasefire talks

Heavy fighting between warring parties has continued in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and other cities ahead of the ceasefire talks on Sunday.

Residents say the Sudanese army has pounded civilian areas, while the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has occupied civilian properties.

Clashes were reported in Khartoum, neighbouring Omdurman and Geneina in the Darfur region.

War between the country’s army and the RSF started nearly a month ago.

One resident Hani Ahmed, 28, said it was worse in the morning compared with the past two days. “You could clearly hear the tanks and the RSF were patrolling the streets more than usual,” he added.

“We only see the army in the sky, but in terms of face-to-face

contact, we only see the RSF. They’re the ones on the ground,” Mr Ahmed said.

Hundreds have been killed and nearly 200,000 have fled their homes for neighbouring states. An estimated 700,000 have been displaced inside the country.

Widespread looting, as well as the withdrawal of international aid organisations, has led to severe shortages of food and medicine.

Displaced people living in a large camp in north Darfur have cut down to a single meal a day.

Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) warned that conditions for children were likely to deteriorate.

The warring factions signed a “declaration of commitment” on Thursday, after a week of talks mediated by hosts Saudi Arabia and the US.

The ceasefire talks between

representatives of the warring sides will resume in Jeddah on Sunday.

But on Friday, at least 77 people were killed in Geneina, where fighting flared after a twoweek lull, said the Darfur Bar Association, a local rights group. The group added that armed groups on motorcycles and RSF vehicles were continuing to commit acts of killing, looting, arson and terror.

In Khartoum, art curator Duaa Tariq, 30, said his area was under RSF control. “They loot and harass people and wander around, always armed, taking shelter wherever they want.”

Sudan’s civil aviation authority said Sudanese airspace would remain closed to all traffic until 31 May, but “humanitarian aid and evacuation flights” would remain unaffected.

Source: BBC

One of Sudan's most prominent singers, Shaden Gardood, has been killed in crossfire in the Sudanese city of Omdurman.

Shaden Gardood was a prominent singer in Sudan

Ukraine war: Kyiv not attacking Russian territory - Zelensky

Ukraine has no plans to hit targets in Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said in Germany, where Kyiv secured a big new defence aid package.

"We are not attacking Russian territory," he said after talks in Berlin with Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

"We are preparing a counterattack to de-occupy the illegitimately conquered territories," Mr Zelensky added.

Mr Scholz vowed to back Ukraine "for as long as it is necessary", promising €2.7bn (£2.4bn) worth of weapons.

This includes advanced German Leopard tanks and more antiaircraft systems to defend Ukraine from almost daily deadly Russian missile and drone attacks.

President Zelensky described the new tranche as "the largest since the beginning of the full-scale aggression" by Russia in February 2022.

The war has transformed Germany's attitude towards Ukraine, moving from being a reluctant supplier of military hardware to virtually doubling its contribution overnight, the BBC's Jenny Hill in Berlin says.

Russia accuses Ukraine of repeatedly hitting targets inside Russia, including a reported drone attack on Moscow's Kremlin earlier this month.

Ukraine denies the accusations, while also stressing that it has a legitimate right to use force and other means to fully de-occupy its territories currently under Russian control. These include four regions in the south and east, as well as the Crimea peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014.

Later on Sunday, President Zelensky travelled to the western city of Aachen to receive the

prestigious Charlemagne Prize awarded this year to him and the Ukrainian people. The honour is given for efforts to foster European unity.

"Ukraine incarnates everything the European idea is living for: the courage of convictions, the fight for values and freedom, the commitment to peace and unity," EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the award

Thailand elections: Vote counting shows Thaksin’s daughter as frontrunner

Voting has closed in Thailand’s general election, where the daughter of ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is the frontrunner.

The election is being described as a turning point for a country that has experienced a dozen military coups in its recent history.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha, the army general who led the last coup in 2014, is seeking another term.

But, he is facing a strong challenge from two anti-military parties.

Vote counting got under way after polls closed at 17:00 (10:00 GMT) on Sunday - voting began at 8:00 am (01:00 GMT) at the 95,000 polling stations across the country.

About 50 million people were expected to cast their ballots to elect 500 members of the lower house of parliament - and some two million people had voted early.

A preliminary vote count showed the Pheu Thai Party (For Thais) was ahead with 6.45% of eligible votes, followed by another opposition party Move Forward.

Leading the race is Pheu Thai, led by Mr Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

The 36-year-old is harnessing her father’s wide patronage network while sticking to the populist message that has resonated with rural, lowincome regions of the country.

Mr Thaksin, a telecommunications billionaire, is

loved by many lower-income Thais, but is deeply unpopular with the royalist elite. He was ousted in a military coup in 2006, when his opponents accused him of corruption. He has denied the allegations and has since been living in exile since 2008 in London and Dubai.

“I think after eight years, the people want better politics, better solutions for the country than just coups d’etat,” Ms Paetongtarn told the BBC in a recent interview.

Move Forward, led by Pita Limjaroenrat, a 42-year-old former tech executive, has also been rising fast in opinion polls. Its young, progressive and ambitious candidates have been campaigning on a simple but powerful message: Thailand needs to change.

“And the change is really not about having another coup. Because that’s a change backwards. It’s about reforming the military, the monarchy, for a democratic future, with better economic performance,” says Thitinan Pongsudhirak, from the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University.

Meanwhile, Mr Prayuth, 69, is lagging in opinion polls. He seized power from the government of Mr Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, in 2014, following months of turmoil.

Thailand held an election in 2019, but the results showed no clear party had won a majority.

Weeks later, a pro-military party

formed the government and named Mr Prayuth as its PM candidate in a process that the opposition said was unfair.

The following year a controversial court ruling dissolved Future Forward, the previous iteration of Move Forward, which had performed strongly in the election thanks to the passionate support of younger voters.

That sparked off mass protests lasting 6 months which called for reform of the military and the monarchy.

With nearly 70 parties contesting this election, and several large ones, it is unlikely any one party will get an outright majority of the seats in the lower house.

But even if one party does win a majority, or has a majority coalition in place, the political system bequeathed by the military-drafted 2017 constitution, and a range of other extra-electoral authorities, can prevent it from taking office.

The constitution, written while Thailand was under military rule, created a 250-seat appointed senate, which gets to vote on the choice of the next PM and government.

As the senators were all appointed by the coup leaders they have always voted in favour of the current, military-aligned government, and never in favour of the opposition.

So technically any party without the senate’s backing would need a super-majority of 376 out of the 500 seats, an unobtainable target.

Source: BBC

ceremony.

Previous winners include Winston Churchill, Pope Francis and Bill Clinton.

In other developments on Sunday:

• Ukraine's air force says it destroyed 25 drones and three cruise missiles launched by Russia in yet another massive overnight attack

• Six people were killed

and another 16 injured in the past 24 hours in Russian shelling of Ukraine-held areas in the eastern Donetsk region, local officials said

• One person was killed in Sunday's Russian artillery attack on the southern Kherson region

• Mobile internet is temporarily suspended in the Russian-seized areas of the eastern Luhansk region because of increased shelling by Ukrainian troops, Moscow-installed officials said

President Zelensky flew to Germany from Italy overnight, his plane escorted by two German Air Force fighter jets.

In Rome, the Ukrainian leader met Italian President Sergio President Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. He also had a private audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican.

The Argentine pontiff said he was constantly praying for peace in Ukraine.

The Pope also stressed the urgent need to help "the most fragile people, innocent victims" of the Russian invasion.

Meanwhile, Ms Meloni assured Mr Zelensky of Rome's support for united Ukraine.

Later on Sunday, the Ukrainian leader arrived in Paris, where he will have talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko misses event, fuelling health rumours

Belarus’ leader Alexander Lukashenko has missed a major state celebration, further fuelling health speculation.

The autocratic politician, 68, usually speaks publicly at the annual National Flag, Emblem and Anthem Day event but his prime minister read a message on his behalf on Sunday.

Last week, Mr Lukashenko left Moscow soon after Victory Day parade, skipping lunch with President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Lukashenko looked visibly tired, and his right hand was bandaged.

He was last seen in public laying flowers in the capital Minsk during Belarus’ own Victory Day celebrations on 9 May - a few hours after returning from the Russian capital.

An opposition Telegram channel reported that Mr Lukashenko visited a presidential medical centre just outside Minsk on Saturday nightbut this information has not been

independently verified.

Mr Lukashenko’s office has so far made no comments on the issue.

Often described in the West as Europe’s last dictator, Mr Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994, suppressing any dissent.

In 2020, he was proclaimed as the winner of presidential elections, which were denounced by the opposition as a sham.

Thousand of people were later arrested and brutally beaten by riot police and KGB security service agents during mass anti-government protests that rocked the country.

However, Mr Lukashenko managed to stay in power, backed by Russia.

Last year, he supported President Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, offering Belarus as a launchpad for Russian troops to cross into Ukraine and allowing Russian war planes to carry out strikes from Belarusian soil.

Chancellor Scholz (right) pledged to support President Zelensky (left) and Ukraine “for as long as it is necessary”

Brain-altering fungi could lead the next frontier in mental health care

If you were one of the millions of people who watched HBO’s TV series The Last of Us, you probably have a heightened awareness of the threat that fungi can have to our health.

The series is set in a postapocalyptic world where parasitic fungi take control of the human brain, turning people into killer zombies. The scariest part of this premise is that it’s not entirely implausible. Parasitic or “zombie” fungi that alter the mind and behaviour of their hosts do exist.

Fortunately, real-life zombie fungi (known as Cordyceps) only infect insects. The fungus hijacks their bodies for the sole purpose of spreading its seed-like fungal spores. When spores are ingested by insects, they germinate and grow, secreting molecules that travel to the host’s brain and interfere with its function.

The fungus compels the insect to forego its aversion to heights and climb upwards. Upon reaching a position optimal for fungal survival, the fungus induces the “death grip” and then devours its host from the inside-out, sprouting sporecontaining mushrooms from the insect carcass.

Fungi that alter our minds

In the case of humans, some fungi which produce small molecules, or metabolites, that alter our minds – and recent research shows these have therapeutic potential. The most widely known is the hallucinogen psilocybin – the active ingredient in magic mushrooms. LSD, or lysergic acid diethylamide, is another psychedelic with fungal origins. Humans have known about the hallucinogenic properties of fungi for centuries. The Aztecs even gave magic mushrooms to people who were dying to promote a peaceful transition to the afterlife.

But recently, there’s been an explosion of interest in fungal metabolites, specifically because of their neurological benefits and potential in treating mental health conditions. And it’s no wonder, given the mechanisms fungal metabolites use to interact with our

Fungal metabolites, such as psilocybin, may have therapeutic potential.

nervous system. Think of our brain like a map. When we’re young, we explore all corners of this map, sending out connections in every direction to make sense of our environment. Before long, we figure out basic truths – such as how to secure food, or where we live – and the neurological paths that make up these connections strengthen.

Over time, a network emerges that reflects our unique experiences. Regions we re-visit often will develop established paths, whereas under-used connections will fade away.

Conditions such as addiction, chronic depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are characterised by processes such as repetitive negative thinking or rumination, where patients focus on negative thoughts in a counterproductive way. Unfortunately, these strengthen

brain connections that perpetuate the unfavourable mental state.

But it’s believed that fungal metabolites give our brain the freedom to explore less-visited territories again. Psychedelic “trips” are thought to allow people to experience a world without the boundaries of reality – and more recent research suggests this is a manifestation of novel brain exploration.

For example, psilocybin stimulates a receptor in the brain called 5-HT2a. This receptor usually binds to serotonin, a chemical in our body which controls communication between specific nerve cells. But when psilocybin binds to the 5-HT2a receptor, it makes it easier for our brain to change and generate new connections (including causing hallucinations at high doses). We call this an increase in neuroplasticity.

Although the effects of a single large dose of psychedelics are transitory, evidence shows administering two smaller doses of psilocybin three weeks apart leads to a sustained increase in connectivity between different functional regions of the brain. Such changes in neuroplasticity have the potential to disrupt the rigid thought patterns that underlie certain mental health conditions. Furthermore, by increasing neuroplasticity, it is believed that psychedelics allow people to view life situations from a new perspective. Combining psychedelics with more traditional talking therapy could make it possible to explore – and more fully understand – the initial trigger for negative thought patterns. This could potentially prevent the same negative cycle reestablishing after treatment. Indeed, research showed that combining therapy

with psilocybin had a prolonged anti-depressive effect in adults with major depressive disorder.

Additional studies demonstrate the positive effect of fungal metabolites in treating a range of conditions – including anxiety, depression and alcohol addiction. These studies also point out that psilocybin can affect the symptoms after only one or two doses –whereas anti-depressants may take many months to work.

No miracle cure

That said, psychedelics should not be considered a miracle cure as there is still a lot we don’t know. Furthermore, most studies on psychedelics are still preliminary as they use a limited number of participants. As such, experts are divided on the efficacy of psychedelic treatment. Furthermore, psychedelics are powerful and unpredictable – and the safety and long-term effects of such treatment is unknown.

But given the current mental health crisis, any intervention that offers a new approach to tackling these conditions – especially those that are treatment-resistant –needs to be carefully considered and rigorously researched.

Excitingly, many countries recognise the benefits of psychedlics for mental health treatment. The Australian government even legalised prescription psilocybin for medicinal use in 2022. Although the UK doesn’t yet permit the prescription of psychedelics, multiple research centres are undertaking trials to establish the mental health benefits of fungal metabolites.

While there’s still much we don’t know about fungal metabolites –including whether other molecules exist that have a similar effect on neurological function – it’s clear they have great potential in mental health treatment. Perhaps it’s time for us to relinquish certain negative connotations we have of illicit fungal drugs, and become comfortable thinking of brainaltering psychedelics as medicine.

Source: theconversation.com

Why tall, leggy people run faster in the heat

You are a marathon runner in search of a personal best, your body shape could be just as important as your training, analysis suggests.

A study of 170 Ironman contestants found tall, leggy runners performed better in warm climates, while shorter, stockier people had the upper hand in colder temperatures.

But the effect is seen in men only, the researchers say.

Natural selection probably means the fastest men became the best hunters.

Study author Prof Ryan

Calsbeek, a professor of biological sciences, at Dartmouth College, in the US, said his research was among the first to suggest human physiology may be adapted to climate to optimise physical performance.

"Global patterns of temperature and climate may have shaped human body types to look and perform the way they do," he said.

So even before athletes leave the starting line in Ironman triathlons, marathons and other endurance events, some men may be better suited than others to racingbased on their body type and the

temperatures they are running in. Humans, it turns out, may be just like animals, with cold-adapted species tending to be burlier with thicker, shorter limbs to limit heat loss.

And in hotter climates, sleeker human (and animal) physiques are built to keep cool efficiently.

The research, published in the journal PLOS ONE, analysed 171 triathletes who had competed in at least two Ironman events - one in a hot location, the other in a cold one - and used software to measure the athletes' physiques, based on photos from the

competitions.

Ironman participants have to: swim 3.8km (2.4 miles) cycle 180km run 42.2km

Triathletes were chosen for the study because their event is a perfect way of studying how the size and shape of the human body affects performance.

"There is one event, running in particular, that we know to be important in the evolution of humans and two eventsswimming and cycling - that are not," Prof Calsbeek said, which made comparisons very useful.

He found the greatest difference in performance based on physique came in the running section.

Endurance athletes are urged to think about which climates their body shape and type might be naturally suited to, while not taking their eye off the ball on training and motivation either.

"People attempting a personal best time can think about race locations and average temperatures, to pick a venue based on how their body type is adapted to perform," Prof Calsbeek said.

Source: bbc.com

Examining Sani Bello’s stewardship

By Yakubu Mustapha Bina

Many leaders live by the legacies and stewardship after leaving office, it is on this strength the incisive examining of the stewardship of governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger state become expedient.

Like many of his predecessors, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello enjoyed many criticism and some outright rebuking, however he has embarked on many projects and programmes that worth noticing

He has, his style no doubt, but People’s Daily investigated some of his actions and inactions from his single style of leadership build on modest approach to many projects he excuted as the number one citizen of the state.

It was discovered that he is a trustworthy person and a good party man as demonstrated by his role during the All Progressives Congress APC crisis in Niger state where he championed that the right thing must be done. He comported and does not disrespect people.

Nevertheless, following his simplicity and tolerance, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello does not embarrass his appointees or civil servants working under him.

Due to his attribute of fairness, justice and equity the governor approved partial autonomy to the local government areas of the state to ensure accountability and transparency of public funds especially at the grassroot levels which hitherto was dashed by the State House of Assembly due to lack of money to pay salaries by majority of the local councils.

Similarly, the outgoing Governor of Niger state, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello is known to have always stopped while traveling to interact with villagers without restrictions which was aimed at getting first hand information about their community challenges and how to intervene appropriately.

Many communities, villages and some individuals especially the poor and down trodden had benefited from his stop over on transit to attend, asked and sympathize to add value to the lives of the beneficiaries or lucky people and villagers.

An old Akara woman at

Tnuga in Minna the Niger State capital has benefited from such kind gestures.

Also at Bina village in Lapai Local Government of the state where the governor stopped over when he sighted dry season rice farmers while returning from Kogi state after his condolence visit to the family of late former Governor Abubakar Audu. Although investors visited the community after that which raises the hope of the people but was not fruitful.

Furthermore, other communities got their mosques constructed because of such stopover on transit of the outgoing governor aside financial benefits as well.

He will leave behind the legacy for the establishment of Ministry of Internal

Security and Humanitarian Affairs to curb activities of insurgency, banditry attack, kidnapping and other social vices like youth restiveness which has helped in fighting the stability of the criminals and establishment of banditry camps in Niger State.

The Special Adviser on Political Matters to the Niger State Governor Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, Alhaji Nma Kolo has applauded the achievements recorded by the administration of the governor

decayed infrastructure that deserved the prayers of the citizens to succeed.

Nma Kolo disclosed that the outgoing administration of Governor Abubakar Sani Bello has done its best despite challenges like economic down turn, Covid-19 among others.

He described Governor Abubakar Sani Bello as a very humble, very simple and gentle man, peace loving individual, down to earth whom he appreciated for creating environment for his success as his political adviser

never complete without mentioning the ‘ Whole School Approach’ where three schools were selected in each of the three geo political zones cut across secondary, science and technical schools for total over hauling, this are projects one can see, touch and verifiable that deserved commendation.

Notwithstanding, governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger state when he took over in 2015 inherited over N2.5 billion pension liability which he cleared out of magnanimity. His government also refund 7.5 percent Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to civil servants on the old scheme in 2018 new pension law of the state as passed by 9th Niger State Assembly.

In another development, the health sector has witnessed a lot of impact in the last 8 years of the present administration in Niger state which include expansion of general hospitals of Kontagora, Minna while others had been facelifted like Suleja while schools of health given prompt attention as well establishment of Collage of Nursing Sciences, Kontagora with the required accreditation.

However, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello declared zero pothole on the Minna, Suleja Bida and Kontagora township roads whose maintenance has been under Niger Road Maintenance Agency (NIGROMA) over the past years uninterrupted deserved applause.

Not only that some intercity roads like Minna, Kontagora, Suleja and Bida witnessed construction to over 100 km of such roads in the state, some federal roads inclusive.

Consequently, governor Bello has contributed in terms of youth and women empowerment, renovation of public offices, up to date payment of civil servants in the state without arrears, provision of items through NSEMA during emergencies for the victims of banditry attacks, flooding and fire disaster among others.

in the last eight years in the state.

He made the declaration in an exclusive interview with our Reporter in Minna, saying that the state was challenged with problems which include; paucity of funds, insecurity,

and the entire administration.

The administration of Governor Abubakar Sani Bello had continued to strive despite challenges by vigorously managing the mega resources available to the state.

The administration is

The outgoing governor, Abubakar Sani Bello will surely be remembered for his simplicity, humbleness, gentleness, tolerance, endurance, peace loving, receptiveness and all these attributes will remain indelible for a very long term in the minds of the people in Niger state.

The administration of Governor Abubakar

Sani Bello had continued to strive despite challenges by vigorously managing the mega resources available to the state

“

Gov. Sani Bello

PUBLIC NOTICE

AUSLESE BROTHERS CLUB OF PORT-HARCOURT NIGERIA

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAME CLUB HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PARTF OFTHE COMPANIESANDALLIED MATTERS ACT, 2020.

NAMES OF TRUSTEES:

1. IGWEKILE JOACHIN AMANFU (CHAIRMAN)

2. OLOKPO ADEKA G (SECRETARY)

3. UCHE FELIX (MEMBER)

4. ANUMAKA DONATUS OKWUDILI (MEMBER)

5. OBILOR RICHARD NDUBUISI (MEMBER)

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE CLUB :

1. TO PROMOTE PEACE, UNITY AND PROGRESS AMONGST MEMBERS.

2.TO FOSTER LOVE,FRIENDLYRELATIONSHIP,SOCIALINTERACTIONAND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING AMONGST MEMBERS.

3. TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE OVERALL DEVELOPMENT AND WELFARE OF MEMBERS.

4. TO INCULCATE IN MEMBERS THE SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP AND FAIR PLAY. 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 : AGUGOESI VICTOR IKEM ESQ. 08035757908.

LOSS OF DOCUMENTS

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC OF THE LOSS OF ORIGINAL RIGHT OF OCCUPANCY (R OF O) IN RESPECT OF P LOT 662, CADASTRAL ZONE B08, FILE NO. CR 10087

JAHI DISTRICT, ABUJA BEARING

BERNARD ORIM NKU. GOT MISSING. ALL EFFORTS MADE TO TRACE THE SAID DOCUMENT HAVE PROVED ABORTIVE. IF FOUND PLEASE, KINDLY RETURN TO THE NEAREST POLICE STATION.ALL AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

PUBLIC NOTICE

YEYEDU WOMEN ASSOCIATION

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

THE TRUSTEES ARE :

1. ZAKWOYI SARATU JEREMIAH - CHAIRMAN

2.AYUBA AGNES

3. AMOS YEMI GADO

4. JOSEAH LARABA BABA

5. ANDREW ASIBI NUHU

6. MICAH JENNIFER - SECRETARY

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE : WE ARE DEDICATED TO PROMOTING THE WELFARE OF OUR WOMEN

WE ARE AIMED AT EMPOWERING OUR WOMEN TO BECOME SELF SUFFICIENT BY ORGANIZING TRAININGS AND WORKSHOP.

WE ARE AIMED AT CARRYING OUT PROGRAMS THAT TEACHES THE WOMEN ABOUT THEIR RIGHTS AND THE ROLES THEY PLAY IN THE COMMUNITY.

WE PROVIDE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO AID OUR MEMBERS

WE ARE AIMED AT PROMOTING PEACE , LOVE AND UNITY AMONGST OUR WOMEN AND THE LARGER COMMUNITY 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

BUSADELL EMPOWERMENT INITIATIVES

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

THE TRUSTEES ARE :

1.SANNI OLUWASEGUN AYODELE -TRUSTEE /CHAIRMAN

2.TITILOPE ABIGAEL AKINDEKO- TRUSTEE /SECRETARY

AIMS & OBJECTIVES: (DESCRIBE WHAT YOUR NGO IS ABOUT ):

1. TO SUPPORT INITIATIVES THAT PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN VARIOUS SECTORS, INCLUDING AGRICULTURE, EDUCATION, AND INFRASTRUCTURE.

2. TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO EDUCATION AND HEALTHCARE TO UNDERPRIVILEGED COMMUNITIES, SCHOOLS AND MOTHERS THROUGH STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND INVESTMENTS.

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

SIGNED : SECRETARY.

JUSTINA

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS JUSTINA ANYAWOLE ADAMA, NOW WISHED TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS JUSTINA ANYAWOLE OMASORO. FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. CONCERNED AUTHORITIES AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO TAKE NOTE.

BLESSING

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AS BLESSING IDONGESIT ETTE. NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AS BLESSING KINGSLEY ASUAMAH. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. ALL AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND GENERAL PUBLIC PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

MRS. NKEM

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AS MISS NKEM STELLA OKWESA NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS MRS NKEM STELLA OGBU. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE

PUBLIC NOTICE

YOUNG VISIONARIES FOUNDATION

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART F OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 2020

THE TRUSTEES ARE :

1. EDIM JOY EYAM - CHAIRMAN

2. NDOMA ESTHER ACHI - SECRETARY

3. EGUMA AGBOR OGBE

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE :

1. TO GIVE THE YOUNGSTERS A SENSE OF PURPOSE AND DIRECTION FOR LIFE.

2. TO ARM THE YOUNGSTERS AGAINST FUTURE CHALLENGES.. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CORPORATEAFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT , OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET , MAITAMA , ABUJA WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

SIGNED : BY DOMINIC E. ODEY ESQ. TEL: 08055642912.

PUBLIC NOTICE

BATA, KINTI, LAFIAGI FISH SELLER’S ASSOCIATION

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.IBRAHIM MOHAMMED HAGABA -CHAIRMAN

2.NDAGI USMAN

3.ISSA MOHAMMED

4.ABUBAKARI ISSA -SECRETARY

5.IDRIS SANTALI

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE :

1. TO FORM COMMON PLATFORM MEETING OF FISH FARMERS IN LAFIAGI, BATA AND KINTI AREA OF KWARA STATE IRRESPECTIVE OF BELIEVE, STATUS FOR DISCUSSION OF MATTERS AFFECTING MEMBERS

2. TO PROMOTE GOOD RELATIONSHIP, ENCOURAGE AND INCULCATE THE SPIRIT OF LOVEAND BROTHERHOODAMONG FISH FARMERS IN LAFIAGI, BATA AND KINTI AREA OF KWARA STATE . ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CORPORATEAFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT , OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET , MAITAMA ABUJA WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

SIGNED : SECRETARY

PUBLIC NOTICE

MARSHALL KATUNG FOUNDATION, CAC/IT/NO. 156940.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HASAPPLIED TO THE CORPORATEAFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REMOVAL OF CHAIRMAN AND TRUSTEE (CHANGE OF TRUSTEE) UNDER PART ‘F’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, (CAMA 2020).

THE TRUSTEES ARE :

1.MARSHALL KATUNG ABIGAIL WOK

2. ALISON JAMES JOSEPH

3. KATUNG MARY JOSEPH

4. MARSHALL -KATUNG ELYON NOKAH ENITAN

5. BAIN UMAR BYANG

THE TRUSTEE TO BE REMOVED AS CHAIRMAN AND TRUSTEE IS :

1. KATUNG SUNDAY MARSHALL

THE AIM AND OBJECTIVES REMAIN THE SAME.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS APPLICATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT , OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET , MAITAMA,ABUJAWITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : SECRETARY.

LOSS OF DOCUMENTS

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC OF THE LOSS OF ORIGINAL RIGHT OF OCCUPANCY (R OF O) IN RASPECT OF PLOT 411, CADASTRAL ZONE C02 FILE NO. BA11283

GWARINPA DISTRICT, ABUJA .GOT MISSING.

ALL EFFORTS MADE TO TRACE THE SAID DOCUMENT HAVE PROVED ABORTIVE. IF FOUND PLEASE, KINDLY RETURN TO THE NEAREST POLICE STATION.ALL AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

PRINCE

UZOMA MARTIN UWANDU CHARITY AND EMPOWERMENT FOUNDATION

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HASAPPLIED TO THE CORPORATEAFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC),ABUJAFOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘F’OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, ( CAMA 2020).

THE TRUSTEES ARE :

1) UWANDU-MARTINS UZOMA GRAHAM - CHAIRMAN

2) UWANDU MARTINS BRIDGET AMAKA

3) UNEZE CHINYERE IJEOMA - SECRETARY

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE :

1.TO PROMOTE PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE AMONG ALL NIGERIANS.

2.TO ASSIST THE LESS PRIVILEGED

3.TO BRIDGE THE SKILLS GAPS OF THE NIGERIAN GRADUATES . 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

ISTIQAMAH CHARITY FOUNDATION

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. YUSUF IBRAHIM ADESAKIN - CHAIRMAN

2. YIOSESE MOHAMMED OLAWALE - SECRETARY

3. OLAYIWOLA MONSUR OLATUNJI

4. YIOSESE AHMAD FARIDAH

5. FATOYINBO KABIR AYINDE

6. EDU OLASUNKANMI MEDINAT OMOTAYO

7. GANIYU SIKIRU ABIODUN

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE :

1. TO CATER FOR THE WELFARE OF INDIGENT CHILDREN, YOUTHS AND THE AGED MEMBERS OF OUR SOCIETY.

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

SIGNED : THE CHAIRMAN.

MOONLIGHT FOUNDATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

PUBLIC NOTICE

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. GUEU KENAN JOSEPH - CHAIRMAN

2. ANTHONY PATIENCE - SECRETARY

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE :

1.TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.

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

SIGNED : AWOPETU KING 08151740177.

FIRE OF GOD DOMINION MINISTRY PUBLIC

VOICE OF WOMEN IN NIGERIA LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE

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

THE REMOVED TRUSTEES ARE :

1. BARR CHINYERE GBUGU. 2. PROFF NNENNA MKPA.

4. HAFSATU BABA.

3. MRS. ILYA DORA.

5. HAUWA BABA AHMED.

THE APPOINTED TRUSTEE IS :

1. LINUS ROY

THE REMOVED SECRETARY IS :

1. BARR CHINYERE GBUGU.

THE APPOINTED SECRETARY IS :

1. LINUS ROY

THE AIM AND OBJECTIVES REMAIN THE SAME.

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

SIGNED : CHAIRMAN & FOUNDER

ST. RITA HEROES LIFELINE FOUNDATION

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE-NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC)ABUJA FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES UNDER PART “F” OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT.

NEW BOARD OF TRUSTEES CHAIRMAN:

*AMB. (DR.) JEHOSHAPHAT VIRTUE ONYEKEENEJO*

ANY OBJECTIONS TO THE APPLICATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET MAITAMA. P.M.B 198, GARKI ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

SIGNED. TRUSTEES

AGI STEPHEN

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AS OMENKA PAULINA NOW

WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS AGI PAULINE OHIAMA. ALL DOCUMENTS AND CREDENTIALS

BEARING FORMER NAME REMAIN VALID. AUTHORITY CONCERNED SHOULD PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

JUDE STEPHEN

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AS JUDE DAMULAK STEPHEN NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AS JUDE STEPHEN DAMULAK. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. ALL AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND GENERAL PUBLIC PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

OGENEFEJIRO

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AS ROSE EGEDI. NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AS OGENEFEJIRO JEREMIAH ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. ALL AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND GENERAL PUBLIC PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

WHEREAS the person whose name is set out in the first column hereunder died intestate on the date place stated in the said in the column.

AND WHEREAS the person(s) whose name (s) and address(s) and relation(s) to the deceased are set out in the second column hereto has/have applied to the High Court of Justice, Nasarawa State for the grant of Letters of Administration of the Real and personal properties/estate of the said deceased.

NOTICE: IS HEREBY GIVEN that Letter of Administration (without will)will be granted to such applicant/applicants unless a NOTICE TO PROHIBIT the grant is file in this Registry within Twenty- One (21) days from the date hereof.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE OF NASARAWA STATE OF NIGERIA IN THE PROBATE DIVISION SCHEDULE

NAME OF DECEASED PERSON

Martins Grace Ene late of Akwanga, Died on the 4th day of July, 2022 at Akwanga

Aloko Dorathy Musa Nkechi late of Lafia, Died on the 9th day of April, 2023 at Lafia

Amos Charles late of Toto, Died on the 24th day of July, 2022 at Adamawa

Alfred Ngozi late of Lafia, Died on the 3rd day of March, 2023 at Abuja

Musa Abubakar late of Lafia, Died on the 28th day of November, 2022 at Lafia

Igba Haruna late of Mukurdi, Died on the 11th day of April, 2023 at Lafia

Luka Abashi late of Lafia, Died on the 20th day of August, 2022 at Lafia

Samuel Maidoka Maikasuwa late of Nasarawa, Died on the 7th day of November, 2022 at Nasarawa

Muazu Ibrahim late of Keffi, Died on the 1st day of July, 2017 at Keffi

Adamu Muhammed Bello late of Keffi, Died on the 5th day of December, 2020 at Keffi

John Anva Alaku late of Akwanga, Died on the 5th day of December, 2021 at Akwanga.

Umar Hauwa Zanwa late of Awe, Died on the 20th day of December, 2022 at Awe

Yunusa Salihu S. late of Akurba Died on the 2nd day of December, 2022 at Lafia

Garba Yakubu late of Angwan Mayo, Died on the 3rd day of March, 2022 at Garaku

Tanimu Dangiwa late of Lafia, Died on the 18th day of December, 2022 at Lafia

James Anzaku late of Akwanga, Died on the 22nd day of September, 2019 at Akwanga

Imborivungu Isaac Avalumun late of Lafia, Died on the 13th day of January, 2020 at Makurdi

Magaji James Wudus late of Agyaragu, Died on the 18th day of October, 2022 at Lafia

Ahmed Adamu late of Doma, Died on the 5th day of April, 2022 at Doma

Umar Sarkin Pada late of Adudu, Died on the 19th day of July, 2017 at Adudu

Salihu Mamman late of Ugah, Died on the 16th day of October, 2022 at Lafia

Francis William late of Akwanga, Died on the 20th day of February, 2023 at Awada

Alaku Usman Andrew late of Wakma, Died on the 9th day of March, 2023 at Akwanga

Anyidaubo Moses late of Karu, Died on the 3rd day of June, 2022 at Abuja

Mairo Yusuf late of Lafia, Died on the 27th day of April, 2017 at Otukpo

Wahala Kpazhi late of Akunza, Died on the 27th day of September, 2022 at Lafia

Agi Afue Innocent late of Lafia, Died on the 5th day of December, 2022 at Lafia

Adamu Ismaila Adudu late of Lafia, Died on the 28th day of March, 2023 at Nassarawa Eggon

Dauda Samaila late of Dudduguru, Died on the 25th day of June, 2021 at Doma

Hudu Tanko late of Keffi, Died on the 15th day of September, 2022 at Keffi

Timothy Stephen late of Akwanga, Died on the 4th day of September, 2022 at Akwanga

Oshi Oliver late of Agwatashi, Died on the 11th day of February, 2023 at Lafia

Maigari Hussaini late of Karu Died on the 24th day of December, 2016 at Abuja

REPUBLICATION

Ahmadu Onawo late of Doma, Died on the 27th day of January, 2013 at Doma

Philip Kayafas late of Akwanga, Died on the 16th day of November, 2013 at Akwanga

Joseph Peter late of Lafia, Died on the 7th day of September, 2019 at Nassarawa Eggon

Yakubu Achimi Mathias late of Lafia, Died on the 27th day of January, 2022 at Lafia

(Esther

NAME(S)

AND ADDRESS (ES)

OF Ofikwu Onyilokwu Peter of Akwanga the lawful Brother of the said deceased.

Aloko Musa Baba of Lafia the lawful Son of the said deceased.

Ezra Yohanna & Hauwa Elisha both of Adamawa the lawful Son & Widow of the said deceased respectively

Ogbonna Yaagu Mary of Lafia the lawful Daughter of the said deceased.

Hafsat B. Usman & Aisha Abubakar both of Lafia the lawful Widow & Brother of the said deceased respectively.

Anura Friday of Lafia, the lawful Son of the said deceased.

Luka Hassan Abashi of Lafia the lawful Son of the said deceased.

Samuel Rose of Moroa the lawful Son of the said deceased.

Muazu Abubakar Sadiq of Keffi the lawful Son of the said deceased

Bello Mohammed of Keffi the lawful Son of the said deceased

Lazarus Ewuga John of Akwanga he lawful Son of the said deceased

Hajara H. Umar of Awe the lawful Daughter of the said deceased

Salau Abdulkareem Yunusa of Akurba, Lafia the lawful Son of the said deceased

Yakubu Ezekiel of Angwam Mayo the lawful Son of the said deceased.

Tanimu Garos of Lafia the lawful Widow of the said deceased

Umbugudu Haruna Christopher & James Moses Anzaku both of Akwanga the lawful Sons of the said deceased

Imborivungu Agatha Kwaghbee of Lafia the lawful Widow of the said deceased.

James Precious of Agyaragu Koro the lawful Daughter of the said deceased

Adam Ahmed Ahmad of Doma the lawful Son of the said deceased.

Musa Muhammad Sidi of Adudu the lawful Son of the said deceased.

Mohammed Abdullahi Ugah of Lafia, the lawful Son of the said deceased

Francis David Kyuni of Akwanga the lawful Son of the said deceased.

Andrew Iyada Adeuayi of Wakma the lawful Widow of the said deceased.

Jumai Ayindaipo & Moses Rufus Shekwoagu both of Karu the lawful Son & Daughter of the said deceased respectively.

Ysuuf Fahad Mohammad of Lafia the lawful Son of the said deceased.

Anjugu Esther Azamu of Mararaba Akunza the lawful Widow of the said deceased.

Ngong Ruth Nfau of Lafia the lawful Widow of the said deceased Abdullahi Fatima of Lafia the lawful Widow of the said deceased.

Dauda Alice Jale of Dudduguru the lawful Widow of the said deceased

Yahaya Hudu of Keffi the lawful Son of the said deceased Stephen Juliana Finye of Akwanga, the lawful Sister of the said deceased

Peter Egwa Oliver of Lafia the lawful Son of the said deceased

Hussaini Florence of Karu the lawful Widow of the said deceased.

Ibrahim Amina Abdulkarim of Doma the lawful Daughter of the said deceased.

Kayafas Dinatu of Akwanga, the lawful Widow of the said deceased.

Joseph Solomon Sambo of Lafia the lawful Son of the said deceased.

Mathias Onuche Samson of Lafia the lawful Son of the said deceased.

PROBATE REGISTRAR

NASARAWA STATE OF NIGERIA, LAFIA

M. Ejeh. Esq.)

MONDAY, MAY 15, 2023

Former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann may not be the next manager of Tottenham

Former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann will not be the next manager of Tottenham, BBC Sport understands.

Spurs, who are sixth in the Premier League, have been without a permanent manager since Antonio Conte was sacked in March.

Nagelsmann, 35, who was sacked by Bundesliga champions Bayern in March, has been linked with the vacancy.

However, there have been no talks and Spurs are not considering him for the role.

Spurs continue to search for a permanent replacement for Conte after interim manager Cristian Stellini was sacked in April and replaced by Ryan Mason.

According to journalist Guillem Balague, Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi has been approached by Tottenham and some reports linked Burnley manager and former Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany with the vacant role.

Nagelsmann, who was sacked by Bayern on 24 March after a run of five wins from 10 league games, has also been linked with Chelsea, who remain without a permanent manager since Graham Potter was sacked in April.

Nagelsmann is recognised as one of the game’s most promising managerial talents, having taking charge of Hoffenheim aged 28 before moving to RB Lepizig, leading the club to the Champions League semi-finals.

He then joined Bayern in 2021 and won the league title in his first season alongside two German Supercups.

Former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel replaced Nagelsmann as Bayern manager.

Speaking on Radio 5 Live’s Friday Football Social, former Spurs and England goalkeeper Paul Robinson said: “Tottenham need to act and they need to act quickly. Why wouldn’t they be interested in Nagelsmann? He is one of the most innovative, modern-thinking, modern-day coaches.

“If Spurs aren’t in the hunt for a manager like that it is worrying. I potentially think they have sounded his people out and they have gone ‘no, don’t waste your

time’.”

Former West Ham and Aston Villa captain Nigel Reo Coker added: “I think Nagelsmann has looked at this Tottenham situation and said it is not for me. I am too good, too focused, I want to be part of that greatness and Spurs doesn’t shout greatness right now.

“You have to think of a manager of his stature, do we even know what is happening with Harry Kane right now? For all the top teams we know how important it is to have a top-class striker. If he loses Harry Kane, who fills in those boots at Spurs?

Nagelsmann has been linked with the Tottenham job so often, and the rumours around apparent discussions were getting so

strong, the club felt they had to do something to correct them or risk looking like they had missed out on someone they weren’t actually chasing.

Given the general chaos around the club at the moment, it is an additional narrative they are keen to avoid.

It is not entirely clear why Tottenham wouldn’t want Nagelsmann and the answer may only become clear when they appoint Antonio Conte’s permanent successor.

Many feel the 35-year-old was unfortunate to be sacked by Bayern Munich and he built up an impressive body of work before that, enhancing his status as one of the most progressive coaches in

the game.

It could be that chairman Daniel Levy wants to sort out the director of football gap in his management team first, so that individual has a significant say in who follows Conte.

Equally, the more mischievous might argue Tottenham are pulling away from a candidate they have established didn’t want to join them.

So, for now, Ryan Mason continues in the role without the spectre of Nagelsmann hanging over him, unsure of the identity of the coach he is trying to secure European football for next season.

Source: bbc.com

Nagelsmann won the Bundesliga with Bayern in 2021-22

Lionel Messi: Argentina captain to start for Paris StGermain for first time since suspension

Haaland has scored 35 goals in 31 Premier League games this season

Lionel Messi will return to Paris St-Germain’s starting line-up on Saturday for the first time since making an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia.

The Argentina captain was initially suspended by the club for two weeks for the trip, which followed PSG’s home defeat by Lorient on 30 April.

The Ligue 1 leaders, who have suffered three defeats in their past four home games, face AC Ajaccio on Saturday.

“He [Messi] will start tomorrow,” PSG manager Christophe Galtier said.

“I spoke with him on Tuesday to see what his mindset was and I found him very determined to play.”

Messi, who has a role as a tourism ambassador for Saudi Arabia, apologised to his team-mates last Friday for making the unauthorised trip.

The 35-year-old returned to training on Monday having been left out of the squad for their 3-1 win at Troyes the previous day.

“He’s very eager to win that title,” Galtier added.

“With him in the team we’ll have to adjust compared to what we did against Troyes. Leo is Leo. I’m not going to go into statistics but when he’s with us we have to strike a different balance.”

Messi is set to leave PSG when his contract expires in the summer.

Declan Rice contract: West Ham boss David Moyes accepts midfielder may leave

There is a “good chance” that West Ham captain Declan Rice will leave at the end of the season, manager David Moyes has admitted.

The midfielder’s contract is set to expire in 2024, although the Hammers have an option to extend that by a further year.

So far, Rice, 24, has rejected all efforts to get him to sign an extension amid interest from virtually all of England’s top clubs.

“We hope Dec stays,” Moyes said.

“We would love him to be a West Ham player but we are aware that might not be the case. That is one of the scenarios.

“Our plans are to have Dec here but we are also fully aware there is a good chance that we won’t have him.”

‘A world star who has

outgrown West Ham’

England international Rice came through the youth system at West Ham and has 243 appearances in all competitions since 2017.

He has been a virtual everpresent for the Hammers this season.

Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool are among the clubs to have been linked with Rice.

“Everybody would love to have Declan Rice,” former Manchester United and Bayern Munich midfielder Owen Hargreaves said on BT Sport during their coverage of Thursday’s Europa Conference League semi-final first-leg win over AZ Alkmaar.

“He’s playing with a little bit of swagger about him now. He sometimes kept it simple

and safe but now it feels like Declan realises he can do anything on a football pitch. He doesn’t have a weakness in his game.

“He would start in every Premier League team apart from Manchester City because Rodri is one of the best in the world. That is his position, he’s not going to be a number 10 or eight. He can be

one of the best in the world as a defensive midfielder.”

Former West Ham winger Joe

Cole believes Rice would walk into any team in Europe.

“He’s outstanding,” he said.

“Everything good that West Ham do goes through him. He’s added things to his game this year. He was adding goals to his game and he can just do everything.

“He keeps getting better. Any team in Europe would have him in their team.”

Former Brighton striker Glenn Murray believes Rice should be playing in the Champions League.

“At this stage of his career, Declan Rice has almost, for want of a better word, outgrown the football club,” he said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“I think he should be playing in Champions League games and for a top six club. He is a world star, and I think his star will only continue to grow and to shine.”

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Barcelona sealed their first La Liga title since 2018-19

Why are Russian companies exiting Africa?

According to Bloomberg, the Darwendale has been tied to Russia since 2006, when former Zimbabwe president, Robert Mugabe, took the concession from a local unit of South Africa’s Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. and handed it to Russian investors. The first venture to try and tap the deposit was named Ruschrome Mining – it included a state-owned mining company, the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corp., Russian defence conglomerate Rostec, Vnesheconombank and Vi Holding.

Despite consistent assurances made by high-ranking Russian officials that Africa is “in the mainstream of Russia’s foreign policy” have not been substantiated by systematic practical activities, and worse serious lack of state support for sustaining effective RussiaAfrican economic ties have necessitated the pulling out of a number of Russian companies from Africa.

Guest Columnist

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh

the platinum mine in the sun-scorched location about 50 km northwest of Harare, the Zimbabwean capital. Reasons for the abrupt termination of the bilateral contract have still not been made public, but Zimbabwe’s Centre for Natural Resource Governance pointed to lack of capital for the project.

frustration over in-fighting, intrigue and lobbying forced them to pull out of the country. The Ugandan government team noted that the Russian consortium exhibited inadequate assurance and availability of preferred alternative foreign contractors with comparatively high bidding terms.

Barcelona sealed their first La Liga title since 2018-19 with four games to spare after a stylish win at the home of city rivals Espanyol.

Barca were 3-0 up by half-time, Robert Lewandowski scoring his 20th league goal of the season before Alejandro Balde, 19, doubled the lead.

Lewandowski added the third before Jules Kounde’s header made it 4-0.

Espanyol did reduce the deficit through Javier Puado and Joselu but remain in trouble near the bottom of the table.

Barcelona have 85 points, 14 more than nearest rivals Real Madrid, with 12 points left to play for.

It is their first La Liga title since club legend Lionel Messi left in August 2021 and first since Xavi was appointed manager in November 2021.

Meanwhile, Espanyol are in danger of a second relegation in four seasons from La Liga after a ninth league defeat in 11 games.

They are four points from safety with four matches left.

Xavi delivers in first full season

Barcelona’s players will have to wait to get their hands on the trophy but they celebrated after the full-time whistle before making a hasty retreat to the dressing room after some Espanyol fans dashed on to the pitch.

Barca trailed Real Madrid by three points after losing 3-1 away to them on 16 October, while they made a disappointing exit from the Champions League after losing three of their six group games.

But Xavi, who won eight La Liga titles during a distinguished 17-year career playing in Barca’s first team, has delivered in his first full season in charge.

Source: bbc sports

Taye Taiwo and Oduamadi

According to various sources, Russian-African economic cooperation and partnerships continue to face challenges and obstacles, including inadequate knowledge of the Africa’s investment landscape and lack of appreciable state support, while Moscow seems to increasingly prioritise anti-Western rhetoric and political confrontation in the context of the great power competition in Africa.

Undoubtedly, a number of Russian companies have largely underperformed in Africa, experts described was primarily due to multiple reasons. Most often, Russian investors strike important investment niches that still require long-term strategies and adequate country study. Grappling with reality, there are many investment challenges including official bureaucracy in Africa.

In order to ensure business safety and consequently realize the target goals, it is necessary to attain some level of understanding the priorities of the country, investment legislations, comply with terms of agreement and a careful study of policy changes, particularly when there are sudden changes in government. It is important to study the African market structure, the investment climate, the capabilities of potential business partners and the characteristics of African customers.

Over the past few years, corporate Russian companies have shown interests in investing in the region. In practical terms, those corporate Russian companies that managed, at least, to make inroads there, a few have already exited citing “technical and operational” reasons. At the same time, the Russian corporate business leaders demonstrate negative attitude towards Africa. A general analysis shows that Russian media is under-orienting Russian business community about Africa.

While Asian states, Europe and the United States often refer to Africa as the continent of the 21st century, Russians view it from negative perspectives. Of great importance for the current successful development of the African economy is closely related to deepening of business and investment integration processes with foreign players.

Several reports confirmed that Russia has abandoned its lucrative platinum project contract that was signed for $3 billion in September 2014,

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Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov launched the $3 billion Russian project back in 2014, after years of negotiations, with the hope of raising its economic profile in Zimbabwe. The development of the platinum deposit in Darwendale involves a consortium consisting of the Rostekhnologii State Corporation, Vneshekonombank and Vi Holding in a joint venture with some private Zimbabwe investors as well as the Zimbabwean government.

According to Bloomberg, the Darwendale has been tied to Russia since 2006, when former Zimbabwe president, Robert Mugabe, took the concession from a local unit of South Africa’s Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. and handed it to Russian investors. The first venture to try and tap the deposit was named Ruschrome Mining – it included a state-owned mining company, the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corp., Russian defence conglomerate Rostec, Vnesheconombank and Vi Holding.

The Darwendale project was not tendered, according to available information from government website sources monitored both in Russia and Zimbabwe. With its cordial relations, Russia was simply offered the lucrative mining concession without participating in any tender. After the project launch, Brigadier General Mike Nicholas Sango, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to the Russian Federation, told me in an email that “Russia’s biggest economic commitment to Zimbabwe to date was its agreement in September 2014 to invest US$3 billion in what is Zimbabwe’s largest platinum mine”.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa said his government would soon open up the platinum sector to all interested foreign investors. Zimbabwe has the world’s second-largest platinum reserves after South Africa. With the rapidly geopolitical changes, Mnangagwa has been committed to opening up Zimbabwe’s economy to the rest of the world in order to attract the much-needed foreign direct investment to revive the ailing economy and make maximum use of the opportunities for bolstering and implementing a number of large projects in the country. That Zimbabwe would undergo a “painful” reform process to achieve transformation and modernisation of the economy.

Zimbabwe has various sectors besides mining. There is a possibility

of greater participation of Russian economic operators in the development processes in Zimbabwe, and southern Africa. But Russians need to move away from too much rhetoric to concrete economic engagement over the next years. Most often officials speak about Russia, claiming that Zimbabwe has had good and time-tested relations from Soviet days. Diplomatic relations between Zimbabwe and Russia already marked the 40th year and yet not a single industrial facility to boast of in that country. Zimbabwe is a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Early March, Russia’s VTB head Andrei Kostin, said in an interview with the French newspaper Les Echos, that the VTB might sell its subsidiary bank in Angola due to sanctions. According our research, VTB was one of the first to be added to the United States and European Union (EU) sanctions lists, which hit the bank’s international business hard, following the launch of the military operation in Ukraine in February last year.

According its information portal, VTB owns 50.1% of Banco VTB Africa. The president of the Angolan stateowned company Endiama, Antonio Carlos Sumbula, owned the other 49.9% of the bank’s shares. But, VTB currently focuses on work in Russia and in countries with which there has a large volume of foreign trade, above all China, trade with which reached $190 billion in 2022.

In December 2018, Russia’s Nornickel terminated its deal with Botswana’s BCL Group. According to TASS News Agency, quoting the media release, Russia’s Norilsk Nickel has terminated its agreement to sell African assets to Botswana’s BCL Group, including a 50% stake in the Nkomati joint venture.

It said that the Russian company would continue to seek damages from the BCL Group for the losses it suffered due to BCL’s failure to meet the terms of the agreement. The termination of the agreement would also enable Norilsk Nickel to pursue its own strategy for the African assets, Michael Marriott, Norilsk Nickel Africa’s Chief Executive, said as quoted by the press service.

“We will continue to pursue our claims against the BCL Group and the Botswana Government to recover the significant loss we have suffered as a result of their unlawful breaches,” Michael Marriott stressed.

In East African region, Russia’s RT-Global Resources and Rosneft quitted Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s oil refinery project and many major infrastructure deals. Russia had pledged $4 billion but later disagreements over terms and

Museveni, at first, favored the Russians because, apart from considering access to weapons, the Ugandan leadership was also counting on Russia’s world superiority as a counterweight to both western powers; mainly America, and China. With Russians and the South Koreans out of the negotiations, Uganda appeared somewhat desperate, that was back in 2014.

Similarly to remind that Rosneft also abandoned its interest in the southern Africa oil pipeline construction, soon after its delegation in Angola had discussed the possible participation of the Kremlin-controlled company in exploration and development projects there. That project never appeared despite that fact that Russia has excellent relations with Angola, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. From both business and political perspectives, the region is considered as unipolar and a regional power all together with South Africa.

In addition, Lukoil, one of the Russia’s biggest oil companies, like many Russian companies, has had a long history going forth and back with declaration of business intentions or mere interests in tapping into oil and gas resources in Africa.

Besides technical and geographical hitches, Lukoil noted explicitly in an official report on its website that “the African leadership and government policies always pose serious problems to operations in the region.” It said that the company has been ready to observe strictly all of its obligations as a foreign investor in Africa.

In August 2015, Lukoil pulled out of the oil and gas exploration and drilling project that it began in Sierra Leone. According to Interfax, the local Russian news agency, the company did not currently have any projects and has backed away due to poor exploration results in Sierra Leone.

Kestér Kenn Klomegâh is

a Public Affairs Analyst.

DANDANGAIGAYE

FG ends feeding of inmates by December, urges states to step up Double wahala!