Friday, January 20th, 2023 Edition

President Muhammadu Buhari, Chief of Staff Prof ibrahim Gambari, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama and CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele after an audience with the Arab Bank for Economic Development at the State House yesterday in Abuja. PHOTO; State House

Reps saddened by high rate of police stray bullets death

By Christiana Ekpa

The Nigerian House of Representatives, Thursday expressed sadness over the high rate of deaths of innocent and unsuspecting citizens, occurring from stray bullets of Police personnel in different parts of the country.

The House particularly, urged the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali-Baba to investigate the killing of Godsent Obhafuoso, a graduate of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma in Edo State Edo by a Police stray bullet on August 13, 2022 at a social event in Uromi.

It’s mandated the committee on Police Affairs to ensure compliance with the resolution and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.

The House resolutions was sequel to the adoption of a motion moved by Sergius Ogun (PDP, Edo) at plenary on Thursday.

Presenting the motion, Ogun noted that Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) provides that the

security and welfare of the people of Nigeria shall be the primary purpose of government.

He also said the National Assembly is empowered to make laws for the peace, order and good governance of the federation or any part thereof as enshrined in Section 4(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

The lawmaker disclosed that: “on August 13, 2022, Godsent Obhafuoso was killed by a Police stray bullet, one month after he graduated from Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State at a social gathering at Uromi, Edo State.

He further informed that attempts to bring the erring Police officer to justice failed due to complacency on the part of the Police personnel at the office of the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 5, Edo State.

Adopting the motion, the House observe one minute silence in honour of the deceased Ambrose Alli University

graduate.

Also at plenary, the House asked the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to urgently complete the Ikot Akpa Nkuk/ Nvak Iba/Usung Atiat/lkot Akpa Idem/lkot Udo Mbang Road in Ukanafun Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State.

The resolution followed the passage of a motion sponsored by Unyime Idem (PDP, Akwa Ibom) who argued that the road plays a paramount role in the economic development of the Ukanafun communities, its environs and the neighbouring states.

According to Uyime, the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing under its emergency intervention programme commenced the rehabilitation of about 2.8 Km Ikot Akpa Nkuk/ Nyak Iba/Usung Atiat/lkot Akpa Idem/lkot Udo Mbang road but abandoned halfway in 2022.

He expressed concern that the abandoned road has caused a lot of hardship to inhabitants of the villages and adjourning communities as it either become

a death trap to the motorists or impassable for the farmers to transport their produce to town.

“Worried that as a result of the road being abandoned, farmers in the adjourning communities have suffered wastages by reason of the inability to take their harvested goods to the market within time;

“Also worried that the dilapidated condition of the road has not only aggravated the present sufferings of the people but the economic activities have also been put on hold as the movement of commuters, goods and services has led to the loss of earnings and resources.

“Concerned that apart from the inaccessibility and neglect of the road, the people have been left to seek alternative means of evacuating farm produce from the hinterland to cities resulting in high cost of farm produce in the market,” Uyemi submitted.

The House mandated the Committees on Works, and Legislative Compliance to ensure compliance when it adopted the motion.

CBN takes sensitisation drive on new redesigned Naira

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Niger Govt to build new Catholic Church in Kafin Koro

From Umar Dankano,Yola.

The Management of the Central Bank of Nigeria,CBN, has

urged Nigerians to report any commercial bank that does not dispense the new redesigned naira notes at its business outlets.

Governor of the CBN,Mr. Godwin Emefiele made the disclosure at the sensitisation of stakeholders on currency redesign in Yola.

stressed that the New Naira Redesign policy came at a time all Nigerians are in dire need and its economy faced with many challenges.

notes to Jimeta ultra-modern market

L-R: Team Leader of DAI EU-SDGN, Mr. Rudolf Elbling, Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Mrs. Idayat Hassan, Former National Commissioner of INEC, Professor Adele Jinadu, Deputy Commandant of NSCDC, Udousoro Eyakeno Ime and Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, during the Seminar on Election Security organized by EU-SDGN, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

...Wants probe killing of graduate, Obhafuoso in Edo ...Asks FG to complete abandoned Ukanafun road in Akwa Ibom

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has reiterated his determination to run an all inclusive government, where all parts of the country will be represented, if elected as the next President of Nigeria.

Atiku equally said, emphatically, that security of Nigerians and Nigeria will be accorded top priority under his administration as the nation’s President.

The PDP presidential flag bearer said these on Thursday while

386,000 PVCs awaiting collection in Ondo – INEC

More than 386,000 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) are awaiting collection in Ondo State, INEC declared in Akure on Thursday.

Mrs Olufunmike SegunOsifeso, head of INEC’s Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Civil Society Organisations in the state made the declaration when she spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

“As at the last count on Friday, 1,686,082 PVCs out of the 2,072,092 PVCs received from Abuja have been collected leaving 386,010 cards yet to be collected.

“A lot of youths and women have been collecting their cards since the collection moved to the ward level more than two weeks ago.’’ She said.

She attributed the faster rate of collection to INEC’s sensitisation programme which involved youths and women.

She said INEC had also created an Inclusivity Department to make for easier collection of the cards by the physically challenged.

“Large numbers of people with disability are now involved in the electoral process, the result of efforts by INEC for inclusivity,’’ she added.

Segun-Osifeso urged potential voters yet to collect their PVCs to expedite action and collect the cards.

She noted that those who engaged in double registration might not have any card to collect.

“ Segun-Osifeso appealed to those yet to collect their PVCs to hurry and do so, now that the cards were being distributed at the ward level.

She stressed that after Sunday, the cards would be taken to INEC offices at local government secretariats for onward distribution. (NAN)

Atiku in Oyo, promises all inclusive government, security, restructuring

“PDP will make sure that schools are open. roads are good, food is cheaper, fuel is better and that is what you are fighting for.

addressing the party’s presidential campaign rally in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

At the rally held at Mapo hall, Ibadan, which attracted Governors, party chieftains and supporters, the former Vice President re-echoed his earlier promise of embarking on the restructuring of the country when given the made to lead the country come the February 25 general election in the country.

His words, “Every part of this country will be represented in our government, not like what the APC command is doing.

“We also commit to making sure that we control and always take control of your security situation, so that there is law and order in every part of this country.

These are our commitments”, he said.

Continuing, Atiku said, “Now, this region of the Southwest, has been known to agitate over restructuring. By restructuring, we mean giving more powers or giving more autonomy and money to the states.

“Now, it is one of the five pillars of our programme to make sure we implement restructuring, meaning that we give you more resources and more powers so that you can develop your respective zones and states as well as your local government. This is a commitment.

“Again, we are committed to making sure that there are no more strikes in our university, meaning we will fund our universities and pay

our teachers on time so that we don’t have any disruptions to our academic activities.

“Now, Southwest is known to be also a business center. That’s why in our economic program, we are committed to making sure that the industrialization of the Southwest is achieved in support with the federal government. This is a commitment.

“So, there are five major commitments we made to the people of this country, the Unity, we must make sure, must be inclusive. It is not like the commitments of the APC in the last seven to eight years, everything they have committed, they have failed to implement”, he said.

Atiku therefore appealed to the people of Oyo state to support PDP all the way from top to bottom, adding, “together we can march into victory and progress for our great country”.

The PDP Vice Presidential candidate and Governor of Delta State, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa assured that the party and Atiku will embark on the process of bringing back a Nigeria that will create jobs for the youths, when elected into office.

In the words of Okowa, “Working with all of you and Governor Seyi Makinde, we will begin the process of bringing back a Nigeria that will create jobs for our youths, we can have a future for ourselves.

“Our youths don’t be deceived by what you see on social media, we are talking about party politics, experience of those who are

contesting. Atiku is the only person that has the required experience to take us out of the challenge that we have today”, he said.

Also speaking at the rally, the National Chairman of the PDP, Dr Iyorchia Ayu said, “Eight years ago, some people came with lies and propaganda and deceived you, that they are going to give you a change. They brought something called change. Everyone of you here is indebted because every day they are borrowing.

“As a party in government, we (PDP) made life better for every Nigerian. We were working on it until you were deceived.

“After the election, there will be no APC in Nigeria. They will disappear from the surface of the Nigeria air and back to the small parties that they were.

“I’m calling on our grieved members to come back home because we are going to win. We shall win at every level, PDP will sweep this country, all our state House of Assembly, our National Assembly members, our governors, and of course, we are going back to the villa. “We shall be inaugurating the president this year by the grace of God. Nigerians will know that PDP is back. We are not just back, we are back to work for you, to make sure that we improve your roads, we improve education because the other party didn’t even care when our children were at home for one year. That is not a government, that is irresponsibility.

“You are not standing in the sun for nothing. You are standing in the sun because you want the quality of your life to improve and we shall improve it all across Nigeria”, Ayu assured.

The Director-General of the PDP presidential campaign management committee and Governor of Sokoto State, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, at the rally, said, “We all know the position of Oyo State in Nigerian politics. Oyo has been and remained the melting pot of the south western politics of Nigeria, we are therefore not surprise with what we are seeing playing out here in the state.

“Let me commend my younger brother, my friend, governor Seyi Makinde for allowing the democratic spirit to play out by allowing each and every member of our political party to participate in this campaign. This is very commendable, I expect no less from him.

“You must have notice the train in the south west, we in the PDP in the south west, we are in a very strong competition in the south west and by the grace of God we are determined to win the south west before any other zone. I commend governor Seyi Makinde, the party chairman for speaking to you to come out end masse to vote for the PDP from top to bottom, from bottom up.

“That is the only way we can compliment each other to salvage Nigeria, unite Nigeria, rescue Nigeria and indeed to make Nigeria great again”, the Sokoto State Governor said.

Peter Obi promises to ensure security in Nigeria

From Yakubu Mustapha, Minna

Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi has promised to put an end to the security challenges bedeviling the country and assured to complete the Baro Port project in Niger state.

The presidential candidate made this known during a town hall meeting with women and youths in Minna, saying that if elected in the forthcoming presidential election, women would be given the needed priority in the governance of Nigeria.

He further said he would

ensure that Nigeria utilizes its abundant natural resources to grow its economy, calling on eligible voters to vote for competency rather than looking at the tribes, religion or regional affiliations of candidates.

Peter Obi and his Running mate, Senator Datti Ahmed

later moved to the Minna Polo Ground where they addressed his supporters in Niger State. Earlier in his welcome address, the Labour Party gubernatorial candidate in the state, Joshua Bawa accused the leadership in the state for poor economic development and high poverty rate in the state.

From left; Commander, Brigade of Guards, Brig.Gen Aliyu Umar, out-going Commander Maj.Gen MT Usman and FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello during the farewell visit of Gen. Usman to the FCTA, yesterday Abuja. Photo: Mahmud

Isa

....PDP will make Nigeria work again, says Okowa ....We will make life better for Nigerians, Ayu pledges

NJC condemns non-payment of retirement benefits, gratuities of state judges

By Vivian Okejeme, Abuja

The National Judicial Council(NJC) has condemned the refusal of some State Governments to pay retirement benefits of Judges at the State Judiciary.

The Council said that the actions of the affected States were worrisome and condemnable in all ramifications.

Consequently, the council, through the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, asked the defaulting States to sit up in the discharge of their legal obligations on payment of retirement benefits to Judicial officers.

The statement by the NJC’s Director of Information, Mr Soji Oye read in part “NJC under the Chairmanship of

Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, at its 100th Meeting held on 19 January 2023, deliberated on the worrisome situation whereby many Judicial Officers of the States are being owed their retirement benefits, including severance pay/ gratuity and pensions.

“After due consideration, Council condemns in very strong terms this act, which is undermining the Rule of Law

and Section 6 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.

“It therefore calls on the offending States to ensure that all entitlement of retired Judges are fully settled forthwith.

“Council further directed State Chief Judges to file reports on compliance, to reach the Council not later than 1 April 2023”, the statement said.

N190m fraud: Court decides case against ex-HoS, Oronsaye, April 5

By Vivian Okejeme, Abuja

The Federal High Court in Abuja, will April 5, give judgment in a 27-count fraud charges brought against a former Head of Service of the Federation, (Ex-HoS) Mr. Stephen Oronsaye.

Justice Inyang Ekwo fixed the date after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’, Oronsaye and other parties in the matter adopted their final addresses.

The federal government is prosecuting Oronsaye alongside the Managing Director of Fedrick Hamilton Global Services Limited, Mr. Osarenkhoe Afe, on 49 count charges but the charges we’re later reduced to 22.

Other defendants in the matter are three companies- Cluster Logistic Limited; Kangolo Dynamic Cleaning Limited, and Drew Investment & Construction Company Limited.

According to the prosecution, the

defendants had between 2010 and 2011, used the firms and diverted public funds through procurement fraud.

Adopting his final brief of arguments, Oronsaya, through his counsel, Mr Ade Okeanya-inneh SAN, asked the court to dismiss the entire charges against him.

Specifically, he asked Justice Ekwo to discharge and acquit him from the charges on ground of lack of evidence and merit.

He maintained that the charges against him were worthless because

they were not based or predicated on any known facts or evidence to sustain them.

He recalled that EFCC on its own in the course of trial withdrew 22 charges when faced with reality that the charges have no substance.

However, EFCC represented by Mr Oluwaleke Atolagbe prayed the Court to convict the defendants based on the evidence adduced by 21 witnesses who testified in the matter.

President Muhammadu Buhari being presented with a gift by Director General The Arab Bank for Economic Development, (BADEA), Dr Sidi Ould Tah during an audience at the State House yesterday in Abuja. PHOTO; State House

Reps seek compensation for crime victims

By Christiana Ekpa

The House of Representatives, Thursday passed bill seeking for an act to provide compensation for victims of crime for second reading

Bill tilted “for an Act to Establish Rights for Victims of Crime to Provide for the Rights, Welfare and Compensation of victims of Crime and provide for the strengthening of the Criminal Justice System; and for Related Matters (HB. 1861), was sponsored by Hon. Henry Archibong.

The draft of the bill, indicated that victims of crimes are persons who have “suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or substantial impairment of his or her fundamental rights, through acts or omissions that are in violation of our criminal laws”.

The Bill was supported by the majority of the lawmakers when put to vote and referred to the House Committee on Justice for further legislative action.

Similarly, a Bill for an Act to Establish Gum Arabic Research Institute; and for Related Matters (HB.2168) sponsored by Hon. Mohammed Tahir Monguno also scaled through second reading.

The Lawmaker while Leading the debate on the general principle of the bill, said that the Bill was sponsored against the backdrop of the fact that gum arabic is a high source of revenue, as can be seen in other countries such as Sudan.

He underscored the importance of the bill, especially considering the dire need of the country for revenue from the export of such profitable commodities as gum arabic.

The lawmaker stated that the Institute will ensure the coordination of the exploitation, development and exportation of

gum arabic products.

In his contribution to the debate, Hon. Nicholas Ossai who apoke against the Bill said the creation of the institute will bloat the cost of governance.

He called for the institutes that deal with crops to handle the harnessing of gum arabic so as not to create duplication of institutes.

Also speaking, the deputy minority leader of the House, Hon. Toby Okechukwu while praising the spirit of the Bill, wondered why some other

related institutes cannot be used to harness the resource of gum arabic due to the economics of scale.

He called for a specialized department from an existing similar institute to be dedicated to harnessing gum arabic so that the aim of the Bill is not lost, while still considering the cost of governance.

In his intervention, Hon. Sada Soli stated that the creation of the institute was necessary due to the unique nature of the terrain where the gum arabic

was obtained from.

He said that the Institute would best serve to be located in that belt or terrain.

On his part, the leader of the House, Hon. Alhassan AdoDoguwa said the bill seeks to diversify the national source of foreign exchange for the country.

He expressed optimism in the benefits the proposed institute, urging members to support the Bill to boost the Nigerian economy.

The Bill when put to a voice vote got the support of

the majority of the members, approved for second reading and referred to the Committee of the Whole.

In a related development, the House received a report from the Committee on Human Rights on a Bill for an Act to Amend the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, No. 4 of 2015 to include the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management and Social Development in its Governing Board, review the mode of appointing the Director General of the Agency, to strengthen the Act by reviewing the offences and penalty provisions, laid laid by Hon. John Dyegh.

Nigeria earns N14.59bn from mining licences, Cadastre DG discloses

By Egena Sunday Ode

The Director-General of Nigeria Mining Cadastre, Obadiah Nkom on Thursday said the agency generated N14.59 billion from 2018 to 2022 from issuance of mining licences.

He made the disclosure to newsmen when he featured at the 63rd session of the ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the presidential Villa, Abuja.

According to him, the office revoked 3,402 titles that were not used, adding that the agency makes sure that only the rightful people are given licenses.

He also disclosed that the Nigeria’s coal is

sought after all over the world.

On the revenue generation, he explained that in 2018, 2019 and 2020, the agency generated N1.55 billion, N2.38 billion and N2.57 billion respectively.

However, between 2021 and 2022, its revenue fell from N4.3 billionn to N3.79 billion respectively, according to him.

Nkom explained that the revenue drop was due to changes in its internal operating system which temporarily affected revenue inflow.

He said that the introduction of Electronic Mining Cadastre was aimed at repositioning the agency, stressing that subsequently, it

was going to have a huge increase in revenue generation.

Nkom, who is the Director-General in charge of Rights in the Ministry of Mines further said that 100 percent of the Office’s revenues are sent to the Treasury Single Account, TSA, of the Federal Government.

He also noted that the bulk of the revenue comes from application, processing and annual service fees; which he said constitute 50 per cent of the annual revenue generated from the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development.

President Muhammadu Buhari renewed the appointment of Nkom for a second and

final term of four years with effect from January 12, 2023.

Nkom, who holds a Higher National Diploma in Mining Engineering from Kaduna Polytechnic was first appointed on January 12, 2019, for an initial period of four years.

In September 2021, a joint Senate committee working on the 2022-2024 Medium-Term Expenditure and Fiscal Strategy Paper, berated the agency’s boss over poor revenue generation.

The committee argued that the nation was bleeding billions of Naira due to the swelling activities of illegal miners under Nkom’s watch.

L-R:.Chairman, Nigeria Diaspora Commission and member of APC PCC , Abike Dabiri Erewa, National patron, Bola Tinubu Network, BTN, Alh. Yahaya Abdullahi Babanangi, National President, BTN, Abdulkarim Usman Isah and Deputy National Secretary APC Presidential campaign Council, Christopher Takar during the handing over of a building donated by the BTN to APC PCC, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Tinubu’s son visits

MiyettiAllah, seeks support for Tinubu/ Shettima ticket

Seyi Tinubu, son of the APC, Bola Tinubu on Thursday, visited Alhaji Abdullahi Bodejo, National President, Miyetti-Allah Kautal Hore Association.

The visit, in company of members of City Boy Youth Movement (CBYM), a Tinubu/ Shettima support group, was to seek the association’s support for the Presidential bid of Tinubu.

Tinubu also called on the youth to vote for the APC during the Feb. 25 and March 11 general elections for renewed hope for Nigeria.

He said: ” Let us all go and collect our PVCs before the deadline and vote APC.

“A vote for Tinubu/Shettima will carry the youth along as a priority as stated in their manifesto.”

Tinubu also stated his unreserved gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for endorsing his dad, the APC Presidential candidate and his running mate Kashim Shettima.

He further said that the youth wing of the APC/City Boy Youth Movement would always work with the Fulanis in ensuring that the APC won the general election.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Tinubu was confered with the chieftancy title of “Sokajo Fulbe” (the Ambassador of the Fulani Youth).

Leader of the youth movement, Mr Favour Abayomi who also canvased the support of Miyetti-Allah, described Tinubu and Shettima as the best candidates for the presidency.

In his response, Bodejo said that the association’s decision to endorse and support the candidacy of Tinubu/ Shetima, was due to the group’s community engagement with stakeholders and community leaders across the country.

He urged the group to remain focused to ensure victory of the APC during the polls.(NAN)

Peace paramount for devt, says Buhari

By Egena Sunday Ode

There cannot be development without peace, as the two are complementary to each other, President Muhammadu Buhari has stated.

The President spoke Thursday at State House, Abuja, while granting audience to the Director General of the Arab Bank for Economic Development, Dr Sid Ould Tah.

President Buhari, who just on Tuesday in Nouakchott, Mauritania, received an award for Strengthening of the Peace in Africa from the Abu Dhabi Peace Forum, said the work of the Arab Bank for Economic Development “is very critical, and, indeed, a major catalyst and tool for

achieving our overall objective as leaders on the continent.”

Lauding the Bank for its investment in Nigeria, the President pointed at strides in the agricultural sector regarding food security systems, capacity building, and integrated infrastructure project.

He said the key focus of the current administration had been Security, Economy, and AntiCorruption, noting that the three are critical “towards achieving our overall development objective not just as a country, but more importantly as a continent.”

President Buhari observed that the issues that affect one nation also affect others, and “this has been clearly demonstrated in our fight against the tyranny of

terrorists that have spread across the entire West African subregion, and beginning to emerge in our sister countries in some parts of East and Central Africa.”

Noting that focus on agriculture and infrastructure allowed Nigeria to be resilient during the last two global economic and public health crises, the President urged the Arab Bank for Economic Development to review the amount of capital it can inject into various economies, “as this would lead to greater impact as we stare at the various issues that would confront our economies.”

Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Umara Zulum, who had interfaced with the Bank at its headquarters, thanked

the President for ensuring improvement of security in the North East, “as we now get grants for livestock farming, gum Arabic production, infrastructure, and I believe Nigeria will still have more opportunities from the Arab Bank for Economic Development.”

Dr Ould Tah congratulated President Buhari for his award on peace strengthening, saying it was a testimony to his efforts in promoting amity in Nigeria and Africa.

He said the Bank has a strong relationship with Nigeria, and would love to do more in the areas of wheat cultivation, gum Arabic, veterinary support services, women and youth development, among others.

Niger Govt to build new Catholic Church in Kafin Koro

From Yakubu Mustapha Minna

Niger State Government has stated that it will build a new Parish in Kafin-koro in honour of late Rev.

Father Isaac Achi, the Priest of St. Peters and Paul Catholic Church, Kafin-koro.

The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Ahmed Ibrahim Matane disclosed this when he led Government delegation to Most Rev. Martin Uzoukwu, the Catholic Bishop of Minna at the St. Michael’s Catholic Cathedral, Minna to commiserate with the Christian

community over the unfortunate incident.

The SSG noted that the exit of Rev. Father Achi at this time is painful, but “we console that his legacy of selfless service to humanity remain evergreen”.

He described him as an exceptional Clergy who

preached salvation and impacted positively to his followers everywhere he served.

It would be recalled that bandits last week set ablaze the Catholic Parish House in Kafinkoro and killed the Parish Priest, Rev. Father Isaac Achi.

ADP fumes over exclusion of guber candidate from BBC debate

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

The campaign team of Kaduna State Gubernatorial Candidate of Actions Democratic Party (ADP) has described the sudden removal of the party candidate from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hausa Service debate as

suspicious, conceived by those jittery of his soaring popularity among millions of electorate.

This was expressed at a press conference held at Sha’aban’s campaign office yesterday.

Speaking, Director General of the Campaign, Honourable Ben Kure said they called for the briefing to clear the air to address

the controversies surrounding the invitation and later disinvitation extended to their candidate for the BBC Hausa Service Debate for Kaduna gubernatorial candidates.

“We are doing this on behalf of our Action Democratic Party (ADP) Kaduna Gubernatorial candidate, Honourable Sani

Mahmood Shaaban. We received an invite on January 15 inviting us for the BBC Hausa Service debate.

“I later received a letter on January 17, yesterday, informing me that the invitation to our candidate for the debate that is holding now, has been withdrawn.”

Governor of Kano state, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (right) presenting the appointment letter of the Members of the Committee to the Chairman of the Organissing Committee on “National Conference on Livestock Reform and mitigation of the Associated Conflicts in Nigeria”, Prof. Attahiru Jega (left), during the Inauguration of the Committee by the Gov. of Kano state, at Kano state lodge in Abuja, yesterday. With them is the Commissioner of Information of Kano state/member of the Committee, Mallam Mohammed Garba (middle). Photo: Mahmud Isa

New Naira Notes: CBN sensitises Kwara traditional rulers, markets

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday took its sensitisation campaign on the redesigned Naira notes to traditional rulers and markets in Ilorin.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the campaign started from the resident of the Balogun Fulani of Ilorin, Alhaji Abubakar Sidiq Atiku, before proceeding to the Palace of the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, in the Kwara capital.

The campaign train later moved to Oja-Oba, Baboko, Obbo road and Yoruba road markets to sensitise market women and traders on the need to take the old Naira notes to the bank before the expiration of the Jan. 31, 2023, deadline.

The Ilorin Branch Controller of CBN, Mr Najimu Lamidi, said it was a world practice to change currency every five to eight years and to tackle counterfeiting of the currency.

Lamidi said the CBN also detected that about 85 per cent of the currency were not in bank vaults, so there was need to know how much money we have in circulation.

He told the market women not to reject the new notes of N200, N500 and N1000 as legal tender.

He said security features have been included so that the fake notes could easily be identified.

”The essence of this exercise is for many people in Kwara to know about the new notes so that they can use and accept it.

”Those that have the old currency should take it to the bank to avoid rush, because the deadline won’t be extended.

”People in the rural areas are encouraged to go to their nearest local government to deposit the money,” the branch controller advised.

Lamidi however explained that only the ATMs dispense the new notes now because withdrawal over the counter is of the old notes.

”We also told the banks to calibrate their ATMs so that they can dispense lower denomination of N200 for it to also be in wide circulation,” said the CBN official. NAN

FG announces automatic employment for families of slain NSCDC personnel

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

The Federal Government has announced automatic employment for a family member of each of the seven slain personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC)

The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, gave the announcement on Thursday, during a condolence visit to the families of the late personnel.

Peoples Daily recalls that the personnel of the Corps were ambushed by bandits in Birnin Gwari, Kaduna State, earlier in January during which seven of them lost their lives.

They have since been given a state burial in a ceremony in

Kaduna.

A statement by the spokesman of the NSCDC, Olusola Odumosu, said the Minister’s message was delivered to the families of the late personnel by the Commandant General of NSCDC, Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, during the condolence visit to the families.

“This is a service that has its personnel in mind. It is my vision to champion the course of promoting personnel’s welfare in the Corps.

“The minister has approved one slot each for you to replace your husbands.

“I have also directed the Kaduna State Commandant, Idris Yahaya, to liaise with you on getting your details across to

us in Abuja,” he said.

The Corps helmsman hinted that he had initiated the process of payment of death benefits and other entitlements to the affected officers through the office of the Minister of Interior to ameliorate the pains of those they left behind.

He added, “the Minister sent his condolences, and directed me to inform you, that he is with you on this journey and would ensure that FG continues to support the Corps at all times.”

He later presented cheques of an undisclosed amount of money to the next of kin of the seven fallen heroes as a token of support pending the payment of their accrued benefits.

The CG also announced

the elevation of SCA Thomas Hassan, the only survivor of the attack, to the rank of Inspector of Corps (IC) from Senior Corps Assistant (SCA) and immediately decorated him with his new rank even as he charged him to teach others the manoeuvring tactics used to survive such dangerous attack in order to minimise casualties in case of similar confrontation in the future.

In his vote of thanks, a representative of the deceased families, Mallam Baba Ladan, thanked the Minister of Interior, CG, ACG Zone B, the Kaduna State Commandant and all officers and men nationwide for their prayers and for standing by the families during their period of grief.

L-R: The Representative of the Executive Director / CEO Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr Babatunde Faleke, Managing Director / CEO, Zeenab Foods Ltd, Mr Victor Ayemere and the Representative of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC), Mrs Ngozi Dorathy, during the Official Launch / Export of Ginger and other Nigerian product to China under a Private-Public- Partnership (PPP) scheme between the NEPC & Messrs. Zeenab Foods Limited operators of the ETH House, held yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Reps want relief materials for victims of Abak Main Market, Akwa Ibom

By Christiana Ekpa

The House of Representatives has urged the National Emergency Management Agency to arrange for relief materials for victims of the recent fire incidence at Abak Main Market, in Etim Ekpo, Ika Federal Constituency, Akwa Ibom State.

This was sequel to a motion of urgent national importance titled “Urgent Need To Empathize With And Provide Relief Materials For Victims Of The Recent Fire Incidence At Abak Main Market In Abak, Etim Ekpo, Ika Federal Constituency, Akwa Ibom State”, brought to the House by Hon Aniekan Umanah.

Umanah noted that the materials was to cushion the effect of losses incurred during the fire .

He said that there is need for the Federal Fire Service to enhance the operational capacity of their outpost to enable them rise to the occasion whenever fire disaster occur.

The Lawmaker noted that while people all over the world were eagerly preparing and waiting to usher in the new year,2023 with joy, a devastating fire gutted down the popular Abak market at the Abak Market square area of Abak Town, in Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State on the 30th December,2022 at midnight.

In presenting the motion in the House, the Lawmaker further notes that the inferno which began at about 12am lasted for over four hours before it was brought under control through community efforts and intervention by men of the Federal Fire Service, Uyo”.

According to the Lawmaker, there have been an alarming increase in fire disasters in the markets across the country in the recent past, while observing that inferno wrecked havoc on people and properties resulting in several burns, injuries and huge loses incurred by the hapless citizens and traders”.

Adopting the motion in the House, the Lawmakers noted with grave concern that the ugly incident has left it’s victims distraught and helpless especially that the market served as their only source of livelihood with so much responsibilities to cater for.

“The House further noted that, majority of the victims obtained various forms of loans to finance their trading ventures and with the unfortunate situation are now jobless and unable to meet their daily

responsibilities.

“The House Worried that the highly industrious people of this community are majorly traders, farmers artisans and small scale entrepreneurs and have contributed their quota in the maintenance of peace and general development of the country and face imminent outbreak of epidemics arising from hunger and unhealthy lifestyle.

“The House therefore called on the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs & Disaster Management to immediately take stock of the affected innocent citizens and work out measures to assist them restore their means of livelihood.

It also urge the Committees on Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation as well as Committe on Interior to ensure compliance.

NDDC appointment: Court strikes out suit against Buhari

By Vivian Okejeme, Abuja

AFederal High Court, Abuja, has struck out a suit filed against President Muhammadu Buhari challenging an alleged lopsidedness in the appointment into the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

Justice Inyang Ekwo held that the suit by an Abuja-based businesswoman and NDDC stakeholder Chief Mrs Rita Lori Ogbebor, has no legal rights to have instituted the case. She has no locus standi to file the case.

The judgement maintained that section 2 of the NDDC Act 2000, was so specific that any legal action on any infraction in matters relating to NDDC can only be instituted by corporate persons and not individuals like the plaintiff.

The Judge held that the law was clear that the power to file any case to challenge infractions in the NDDC can not be delegated by proxy to anybody.

In the suit marked FHC/ ABJ/CS/1069/2019, Mrs

Ortom vows to complete all projects before hHanding over

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has vowed to complete all projects initiated by his governnent before exiting office in May this year.

Ortom made the pledge in Gwer West local government area while addressing suporters of the Peoples’ Democratic Party,PDP in continuation of the governorship campaign tour of Benue North West senatorial district with the party’s governorship flagbearer, Engr. Titus Uba.

The Governor said the projects which are scarttered across the senatorial districts have either been completed or are still ongoing, and assured that they would be completed before he hands over to his successor.

Ogbebor who claimed to be a stakeholder from Itsekiri extraction, mentioned President Muhammadu Buhari, NDDC, Senate, Dr Pius Odubu, Olorogun Bernard Okumagba, and the Attorney General of the Federation as respondents in the matter.

In her brief of argument, she prayed the court to invoke Section 4 and 12 of the NDDC Act to order President Buhari to appoint indigenes of oilproducing areas of Delta State as Chairman, in specific compliance with section 4.

She further asked the court

for an order compelling Buhari to appoint Itsekiri indigene from oil-producing areas of Delta State as the Managing Director of the NDDC.

Therefore, she asked that the Court make declaration that Buhari is under legal obligation to comply with all laws relating to appointments in the NDDC.

Responding, the defendants in the matter, filed a preliminary objections challenging the legal right of the plaintiff to have instituted the action.

In thier submissions, they posited that section 2 of the NDDC act is so specific that only

corporate persons can institute action where infractions occur.

In his judgment, Justice Ekwo upheld the preliminary objections of the defendants and held that the plaintiff lacked legal right to have brought the case before the court.

Justice Ekwo held that if those empowered by law to challenge infractions in the NDDC appointments, refuse to act then, they do not consider it material infraction or infraction at all.

“The consequence of lack of locus standi is dire and the courts have been unwavering in

making pronouncements on it. It is the law that the claim must be struck out when a plaintiff is found to be lacking locus standi. I am bound to follow the law, and I hereby make an order striking out the case of the plaintiff”.

Reacting to the judgment, the plaintiff bemoaned the plight of the people of Itsekiri extraction and vowed that the case will be pursued up to the Supreme Court level.

Plaintiff further said that she would stand by legal action only and would not encourage violence because she does not believe in anything violent.

Chancellor expresses satisfaction with IBBUL medical school facilities

From Yakubu Mustapha Minna

The Chancellor, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai and Emir of Minna, Alhaji Umar Faruk Bahago has expressed satisfaction with the level of infrastructural facilities installed at the institution’s

Medical College.

The Chancellor made this known during an inspection visit to assess the condition and level of preparedness for the commencement of academic activities of the department.

The Emir of Minna appreciated the University

Management for the structures, assuring that the Visitor, His Excellency, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello would be fully briefed.

Contributing, the Acting Chairman of Governing Council, Professor Muhammed Bashar Nuhu affirmed that a lot have been made preparatory

to the take off, noting that the remaining aspects would soon be completed.

Earlier in his welcome speech, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Abu Kasim Adamu assured that efforts would be made to ensure the commencement of the Medical Programme soonest.

Gbajabiamila congratulates Prof. Ogunsola on investiture as 13th UNILAG VC

By Christiana Ekpa

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, has congratulated Prof. Folasade Ogunsola on her investiture as well the 13th Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos.

Prof. Ogunsola, who was appointed UNILAG VC in October of last year, became the first female to occupy that position since the inception of the university. She had her investiture as the 13th VC of UNILAG on Tuesday.

Gbajabiamila, in a statement

by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, said he believed in the capacity of Prof. Ogunsola to bring more development to the famous university.

The Speaker, who is an alumnus of UNILAG, wished Prof. Ogunsola success in her

five-year tenure as the VC.

He said he would continue to support UNILAG and other tertiary institutions in the country so as to secure the necessary educational infrastructure required to produce quality graduates for the benefit of the country.

President Muhammadu Buhari (M) flanked by Chief of Staff Prof ibrahim Gambari, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Zulum, CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary, Alh Aliyu Ahmed and ARAB BANK TEAM Left, Director General The Arab Bank for Economic Development, (BADEA), Dr Sidi Ould Tah, Nigerian Ambassador to Sudan, H.E Safiu Olamiyan, Director of Operations-Public Sector, Mr Diab Karrar Ahmed Karrar, BDS Operations Department, Yousif Awad Ahmed and Assistant Director (GIU), Mr. Mustapha Jimoh during an audience at the State House yesterday in Abuja. PHOTO; State House

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

As the February 2023 presidential election draws closer, the candidate of the Labour Party, (LP) Mr. Peter Obi, has assured Nigerians that his administration will secure and unite the nation if elected into office.

Obi gave the assurance on Wednesday during his presidential campaign flag-off

at the popular Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna.

LP will secure, unite Nigeria -Obi assures Our tenure will expire this year, says NATMP President

He said the country is divided across religious, ethnic and tribal differences.

While lamenting over the current status of Nigeria as a nation, Obi noted that development cannot thrive in a country where insecurity is the order of the day, promising to bring back a new Nigeria where every citizen will be proud to belong.

The LP presidential candidate lamented that presently, Nigerians are ashamed to identify themselves as Nigerians because of the many challenges the country is faced with.

He stressed that he and his Vice presidential candidates, Baba Datti Ahmed will not give the Nigerians story like other politicians.

He also stressed that “Kaduna State represented

productivity in the North. It represented what was good in Nigeria. And that is what we want to bring back. We are tired of hearing stories. We will secure and unite Nigeria. Security will come back again.”

Obi also disclosed that the insecurity in the country is not because the bandits are more formidable than the government, but because of bad leadership and lack of will to end the menace.

By Usman Shuaibu

The national president of the National Association of Nigeria Traditional Medicine Practitioners (NANTMP), Dr Shaba Maikudi, has disclosed that the current executives of the association under his leadership would end their tenure in November, 2023.

Maikudi made the disclosure while briefing newsmen on Sunday in Abuja, pointing out that due to the certificate of return signed by the electoral committee chairman, the secretary of the committee, as well as the Board of Trustee (BOT) Chairman of NANTMP showed that the tenure of the present officials would expire in November, 2023.

He said: “I wish to inform the members of the association and the general public that no election will hold on the 28th of January, 2023 as was spearheaded by a few dismissed executives of the association”.

He further pointed out that the so-called election by a few dismissed executives of the association is a scam capable of defrauding the members.

Emir of Zazzau urges wealthy individuals to invest in propagation of Islam

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

Emir of Zazzau Amb Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli has called on wealthy individuals to invest in the propagation of Islami for a greater reward from Allah.

The Emir made the call during a fund raising for the expansion of Al-Anoor central Mosque Kaku junction Kofar Galadima, Nagoyi bypass Zaria.

Amb Bamalli explained that well to do people need to support the propagation of Islam financially by taking the responsibility of building worship places and Islamic schools.

Minister of works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola (middle) flanked by the Executive Secretary, Federal Government Stàff Housing Loans Board (FGHLB), Alh. Ibrahim Mairiga (right) and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan (left) with other stakeholders, during the Ground Breaking Ceremony of the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) programme Housing Estate, yesterday in Gwagwalada Àbuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Bingham varsity matriculates 2,318, set for self-reliance

Bingham University has matriculated 2,318 students for the 2022/23 academic session in various courses, comprising 1,838 undergraduates and 480 postgraduate students.

The Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Williams Qurix, announced this at the 18th Matriculation Ceremony of the school in Karu on Thursday.

Qurix explained that the school had focused on the 30 per cent content-based curriculum with focus on self-reliance skills.

According to him, the National Universities Commission (NUC) unveiled the Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standard (CCMAS), which provides 70 per cent content of curriculum while institutions will provide 30 per cent content of the curriculum.

“Each discipline has a number of programmes and each programme has 70 per cent of its curriculum already designed by NUC, which is called the Core Curriculum for Minimum Academic Standard.

“The focus is on new knowledge on entrepreneurship; the focus is doing away with things we have reconjugated years after years so we have removed them, now the 30 per cent gives you a chance.

“For us in Bingham University, we have a chance to design programmes and courses that will focus on centralised skills, for example we are doing something on Discipline Specific Entrepreneurship which means each discipline will have an entrepreneurship programme tailored made to its own area.

“Students in English Department will have English Entrepreneurship Studies, so gone are those days that there are no skill to some courses people are reading, it is no longer that way .

“So, we have to design to suite our own purpose so anybody graduating from the university knows where to major in terms of skills,” he said.

Qurix added that this would

also help to provide a sound entrepreneurial education for innovation and creativity to all students of the institution.

He charged the students to abide by the laws guiding operations of the school as the school had zero tolerance for any form of social vices such as cultism, drug abuse, bullying and others.

He said that over 5,000 candidates applied for the university out of which 2,318 were granted admission to study various courses in the 2022/23 academic year, which he said outweighed admission of 1,976 students in the 2021/22 academic session.

Meanwhile, the Guest Lecturer, Dr Marvelous Aigbedion, Director, Centre for

Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Leadership Studies of the school, tasked institutions on the need for entrepreneurial education in universities.

Aigbedion, who was speaking on the topic titled: “Entrepreneurship, Social Mobility and the Christian View” charged the country to focus more on technical knowhow of the students in various higher institution.

“There is much unhealthy competition among the human race. Every student wants to be best in his or her own field but there is a place for everyone in their chosen careers. For you to fly, you must have a place.

“The major challenge facing us as a country is the technical knowhow on how to harness the

best brains for the benefit of our country. We must learn to look at the process of how to fly.

“We must begin to concentrate in this direction by providing entrepreneurial education in our universities that would help students in their career path,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that of the 2,318 admissions, Science and Technology Department got 328 students, Social Sciences 286, Clinical Sciences 265, Health Sciences 424 and Pharmaceutical Sciences 61.

Others are: Basic and Medical Sciences 117, Arts 37, Law 75, Education 15, Environmental Science 89, Administration 141 and Postgraduate School 480. (NAN)

FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello (3rd right) flanked by the out-going Commander, Brigade of Guards, Maj. Gen MT Usman (4th right) and the Permanent Secretary, FCTA, Mr Olusade Adesola (2nd right), new Commandant of the Brigade of Guards Brig. Gen Aliyu Umar (1st right) and senior officials of the FCTA during the farewell visit of Gen. Usman to the FCTA, yesterday in Abuja.

2023: Labour party flags off gubernatorial

campaign in Gombe

From David Hassan, Gombe

Labour Party in Gombe has flagged off its gubernatorial campaign with the aim of winning the forthcoming general elections.

The gubernatorial candidate of the party Hon. Keftin Amuga stated this while flagging off the campaign on Wednesday.

He said Labour Party which will be the party to beat has experienced talented people that will bring the party to victory.

According to him, “we have prepared for the elections, and God’s willing, we will stand firm to ensure that we secure the seat of governorship in the state.”

Foundation trains 30 Benue school kids in table tennis

of developing their skills in the game.

Afoundation known as Triangle Tennis Foundation, TTF, has planned to train 30 school children drawn from the 23 local government areas of Benue State in table tennis as a way

The training is also, expected to also expose the kids to basic education, tournaments and provide them with essential training and basic needs to be the best they can become.

Founder of the programme,

Coach Kabiru Ibrahim of the Triangle Tennis Academy, who disclosed ths in an interview with newsmen in Makurdi, the Benue State capital said the Foundation is committed to supporting kids from other states of the federation.

Coach Ibrahim said that the initiative is a deliberate strategy

to fulfill his tennis ambition, stressing that the game “provides both physical and mental development for any child and help develop great character, problem solving skills, build self esteem and for those that are fortunate to compete at higher level.

Chancellor expresses satisfaction with IBBUL medical school facilities

From Yakubu Mustapha Minna

The Chancellor, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai and Emir of Minna, Alhaji Umar Faruk Bahago has expressed satisfaction with the level of infrastructural facilities installed

at the institution’s Medical College.

The Chancellor made this known during an inspection visit to assess the condition and level of preparedness for the commencement of academic activities of the department.

The Emir of Minna

appreciated the University Management for the structures, assuring that the Visitor, His Excellency, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello would be fully briefed.

Contributing, the Acting Chairman of Governing Council, Professor Muhammed Bashar Nuhu affirmed that a lot have

been made preparatory to the take off, noting that the remaining aspects would soon be completed.

Earlier in his welcome speech, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Abu Kasim Adamu assured that efforts would be made to ensure the commencement of the Medical Programme soonest.

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

Photo: Mahmud Isa

2023 elections must hold

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fears the February presidential and general elections may not hold, after all, because of prevalent general insecurity. Chairman Mahmood Yakubu, who spoke during validation of election security training in Abuja on Monday, said there was a real threat of poll cancellation if the security challenge did not improve. Yakubu, represented by the chairman, Board of Electoral Institute, Abdullahi Zuru, warned that “if the insecurity is not monitored and dealt with decisively, it could ultimately culminate in the cancellation and/ or postponement of elections in sufficient constituencies to hinder declaration of election results and precipitate a constitutional crisis.”

The INEC chairman, however, assured the nation that the commission would do everything possible to ensure the success of the elections. “We all appreciate the fact that election security is vital to democratic consolidation through provision of an enabling environment for the conduct of free, fair, credible and inclusive elections and thus strengthening the electoral process,” Mahmood noted. “Consequently, in preparing for the 2023 general elections, the commission is not leaving anything to chance in ensuring that intensive and extensive security is provided for election personnel, materials and processes.

“This is particularly significant to the commission given the current insecurity challenge in various parts of the country and the fact that the National Youth Service Corps members constitute the core of the polling unit election officials. This must not be allowed to happen and shall not be allowed to happen. Therefore, security personnel in particular and all election officials, in general, must be alert to unusual activities in their environment and must be fully equipped to deal with

OUR MISSION

any challenges at all times.”

We are all too aware that insecurity is a serious challenge. But for the INEC to go public with its fears about a likely “cancellation/ postponement” of critical elections only a month away is highly disturbing. This in spite of assurances from President Muhammadu Buhari to make the polls succeed even if it is the only thing he will do before he leaves office in May this year. In his New Year’s message to Nigerians on Jan. 1, he pledged “my personal commitment and executive promise to ensure that the 2023 elections, which (will be) diligently conducted by INEC, are free and fair. The collective electoral will and the votes of Nigerians will be fulfilled, even in the twilight moments of my term.”

This pledge by the President, made on his personal integrity, should have allayed the concerns of professor Mahmood and his men and women at INEC but it didn’t, apparently. This explains why they cried out publicly, instead of going to the president to exact more assurances from him. Were they right?

The answer, a big No. The opposition has said repeatedly that Buhari and his All Progressives Congress (APC) would rig the elections in their favour or, at worse, scuttle them to cause a constitutional crisis. We fear that, even by hinting of a cancellation or suspension, the INEC has unwittingly handed the opposition a smoking gun. Which is dangerous.

But damage control is possible. The government should move quickly ( because time is short) to address what lingering doubts the election ombudsman is entertaining. The president should call a meeting with INEC, security agencies and the state governors to sort out how best to secure next month’s elections. Because hold they must in the interest of the heath of our democracy.

OUR PEOPLE

OUR VISION

Remembering the exceptional bus driver

By Ahmed Mahmud

As for the driver, he did not see his kindest act as anything important. He believes it is normal to return things that are not yours. He went further to say that,he too was very worried about my wife’s emotional state having realized that the laptop belongs to a company, hence he made sure he came to to station earlier than usual.

This man. He’s a bus driver in Ajah area of Lagos.He is fondly called Mr. Righteous.He is always in rain boots and professional overall.

He is also called an Engineer by all bus drivers at the bus station, apparently because of his choice of dressing.

His spoken English is Queens, very articulate and fluent. He hails from Imo State.

Without a doubt, he’s man of integrity, pillared by conscience and roundly revered by everybody in the car park.

He is a very simple man, about 5ft tall with white beard. I think he is in his late sixties.

Just last night, at about 7pm.

My wife entered his tiny bus, usually called Korope. She sat at the front with her company’s laptop which contained vital contents and information.

The distance to her destination wasn’t upto 4 kilometers. Still. She decided to drop the laptop by her side while seated.

Shockingly, when she arrived at her destination, she got off the bus without the laptop.

It was when she got home she realized her laptop was still on the bus.

Swiftly, we drove out in a bid to locate the man’s whereabouts since he’d told my wife that that was his last trip and he lives around Sangotedo’s ShopRite.

The traffic didn’t help the situation, but I managed to speed when there was a chance.

situation to everyone, they expressed their empathy and assured us that the driver is a man of integrity and if he sees the laptop that he would surely return it.

We went back home at about 10 pm after exchanging telephone numbers with the drivers we met and promised them that we will return this morning since we were told the driver will surely be at the park today.

Throughout yesterday’s night my wife did not sleep and neither did I.

On the other hand, inspite of all the efforts I displayed to get the laptop back on real time, as a husband, I was blamed for the loss.

Understandably so, it is the nature of every woman. They blame their husbands for everything.

The tension in the house was high and I dared not say anything to escalate it.

If you are a married man reading this, you will have an ideaof what I am talking about.

As early as 7am this morning, my wife left for the bus station and I followed her shortly. We got there and waited for close to 2 hours narrating the situation to the drivers and engaged in conversations about incidents similar to ours. Boom!

At about 8 O’clock, the entire car park erupted in a wild jubilation as Papa emerged with the laptop. On sighting the driver,my wife broke down in tears of joy as we roundly gave the man an appreciave hug thanking him for his utmost sincerity.

As for the driver, he did not see his kindest act as anything important. He believes it is normal to return things that are not yours. He went further to say that,he too was very worried about my wife’s emotional state having realized that the laptop belongs to a company, hence he made sure he came to to station earlier than usual.

After handing over the laptop, I gave him money as a token of our appreciation, but Papa refused to take it

“To

the market place of ideas and the leading player in the industry by putting the people first, upholding the truth, maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards while delivering value to our stakeholders”

We got to the United Estate, but the man could not be found. Still we braved the traffic back to Ajah’s bus stop with the hope that he would return the laptop if sees it. Yet to no avail.

The entire time, my wife was understandably distraught. Praying, wailing and crying at the same time. She did so in a profuse scale wondering what is she going to tell her company.

For me, the speed in which I drove the car was unprecedented and I am thankful to God we had no accident.

As we got to Ajah and explained the

Please, I am using this medium to thank Papa and appeal to everyone reading this to pray for this man because he has saved my household from trouble.

With this demonstration, he has proven once again that God answers prayers and that Nigeria is full of Good Samaritans.

Finally, have confidence in Nigeria and Nigerians, because there are so so many good people in this beautiful land of ours.

“To be a reputable, profitable, innovative and technologically reliant media company offering world class services and products”

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Chief Operating OffiCer /editOr, Hameed m. Bello, PhD

Manager, adMinistratiOn Hassan Hammanyaji hEAD, adVert Patrick UGama

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We are all too aware that insecurity is a serious challenge. But for the INEC to go public with its fears about a likely “cancellation/ postponement” of critical elections only a month away is highly disturbing

The reign of the US dollar is about to come to an end

By Joe Dauda

By sheer folly or by design (I believe it is more by design) this arrangement between Saudi Arabia and the United States will not last much longer. And that means the dollar will no longer be the king of world currencies.

The reason why the US dollar enjoys global currency dominance is partly because of its Petrodollar Status. This status was concocted by the United States agreeing to protect the kingdom of Saudi Arabia through its superior military machine, in exchange for the Saudis demanding US dollars for all oil transaction settlements.

Take a moment and think about this. And remember the status of Saudi Arabia as the undisputed largest producer of crude oil in the world — except for that brief period when President Donald Trump unleashed the capacity of America’s oil industry.

By sheer folly or by design (I believe it is more by design) this arrangement between Saudi Arabia and the United States will not last much longer. And that means the dollar will no longer be the king of world currencies.

Although the media hardly reports it, the fact is that Saudi Arabia has been at war with Yemen for years now. It is something akin to the Boko Haram insurgency — an asymmetric war. Yemen is currently under the leadership of a Shia Islam group known as the Houthis. Everybody knows that the Houthis are a proxy of the Iranian regime. This means they are being supported and controlled by Iran. In past articles, I have explained the rivalry between Shia Islam and Sunni Islam, represented by Iran and Saudi Arabia respectively. Because of the close relationship

between the United States and Israel and the strategic relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia, President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were able to arrange a deal for peace between Israel and some Arab countries, which would not have been possible without the consent of Saudi Arabia. President Donald Trump also antagonized Iran more than any US President alive, not by war, but by economic sanctions, to the extent that, in the black market, one US dollar now exchanges for almost 400,000 Iranian rials. You better believe it. One US dollar exchanges for four hundred thousand Iranian rials. Trump’s sanctions were that vicious and Iran may not have been able to survive a Trump second term.

But Joe Biden came to power and gave Iran a lifeline by trying to revive the 2015 Nuclear Deal that President Trump had abandoned at the strong urging of Israel, the Saudis, and most Sunni/Arab nations who fear a nuclear-armed Iran. Not only did Joe Biden try to revive the 2015 deal, he also took some hostile actions against Saudi Arabia. Believe it or not, President Joe Biden removed American Patriot missiles from Saudi Arabia at the very time Saudi Arabia was being attacked with ballistic missiles by the Houthis of Yemen. Even a Saudi oil well was attacked. I don’t know if he removed all but I can guarantee you that Joe Biden removed some American Patriot missiles from Saudi soil.

To make life harder for the Houthis, President Donald Trump had included them in the list of Terrorist Organizations, which, among other painful burdens, meant they were excluded from the international financial system.

Guess what? One of the first things Joe Biden did

when he came to power was to remove the Yemeni Houthis from that list, making it a lot easier for them to thrive and also buy weapons, with which to attack Saudi Arabia, a supposed US strategic partner.

The Saudis noticed all of these and did not take it kindly. No wonder, the diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and China began to warm up rapidly soon after that and, at the end of last year, a strategic agreement was signed between the Saudis and China.

One may charge Joe Biden of recakless stupidity but, from the prophetic perspective, I don’t believe the moves of Joe Biden has anything to do with foolishness. Please read my earlier published 4-Part Series, The Gathering Storm, to understand why Joe Biden is doing what he is doing.

For many years, we in the school of Bible prophecy, have known and expected a crash of the dollar. Next time you hear or see the words, Great Reset, please understand that it will be preceded with total economic devastation. It is after this economic tsunami that the great reset will take place. On Biden’s campaign lectern, you saw the words, Build Back Better.

Build what back? What they plan to destroy of course. The dollar is part of the anticipated casualty of the coming Great Reset. And the announcement, just yesterday, by the Finance Minister of Saudi Arabia is the sign that the days of dollar dominance are soon to be over. Isn’t it interesting that it was during a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos that this announcement was made? Remember the World Economic Forum? You should.

Joe Dauda is a Public Affairs Analyst.

Ukraine and Africa aim to bolster economic cooperation

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh

Despite the former Soviet republic of Ukraine for almost a year, is experiencing the worst times due to an extensive special military operation from its neighbour Russia, it has simultaneously been stepping up efforts to support Africa. During the past year, it despatched tonnes of fertilizers, wheat, grains and other agricultural products to a number of African countries, most them located in the Horn and East Africa.

In order to boost its efforts in establishing cordial working relations especially in the area of economic cooperation, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Dmitry Kuleba last year visited a number of African countries, held useful conversations with high-powered government officials, and plans to open diplomatic representative offices this year inside Africa. It also plans to boost exports and participate in taking up opportunities of manufacturing offered by the single continental market.

The overarching message in all these is to focus on engaging and expanding the expected long-term partnership, and collaboratively establish trade links. For connecting business interests between Ukraine and Africa, Ukrainians are rapidly studying more possibilities for participating in the African Continental Free Trade Area which was already agreed on, in the process, with a number of African leaders and the African Union.

Early January, Ukrainian Agrarian Policy and Food Minister Nikolai Solsky visited Senegal, where he signed a memorandum of understanding between the Ukrainian ministry and the relevant Senegalese agency on January 9, the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry website.

The document envisions the development of bilateral trade in agricultural produce and cooperation on scientific studies, investments, and interrelations between Ukrainian and Senegalese government agencies and private companies. It provides for the possible storage of Ukrainian grain at so-called grain hubs. Ukraine is willing to export not only foodstuffs but also other goods to African countries, which requires the development of logistical infrastructure.

The official document points out that Ukraine is considering the implementation of new logistical projects in Senegal to step up exports of its agricultural produce via the Port of Dakar. West African republic of Ghana plans to implement new logistics projects, which will help increase agricultural exports from Ukraine.

Ukrainian Agrarian Policy and Food Minister Nikolai Solsky and Ghana’s Minister of Food and Agriculture Owusu Afriyie Akot, have thoroughly discussed steps to broaden agricultural cooperation and trade relations.

The parties discussed a potential joint project, a logistics hub that will be able to store food products, including grain, and will help stabilize food prices in the region. Besides Ghana and Senegal, Nigeria has also expressed high interest in setting up such hubs in its territory. The current geopolitical situation should rather have a reliable and diversified transit and transport infrastructure to destinations where it is badly needed especially naturally disasteraffected regions in Africa.

“There have been meetings in Ghana, Senegal, and Nigeria. These countries regularly take a lot of food products, especially wheat. These are major markets from the standpoint of their populations compared to the European market or many other countries. It doesn’t have such purchasing power, but it is big and is developing, and therefore, it needs to be monitored,” Ukrainian media quoted Solsky as saying.

Solsky said each country he had visited was interested in developing cooperation with Ukraine and ready to expand the capacity of their ports to increase the volume of Ukrainian grain unloaded and stored there. But, before launching the construction of hubs in Africa to transship Ukrainian grain, Ukraine needs to receive guarantees from the countries concerned including documenting the guarantees and the principles of operating them either by Ukraine, or whether it will be a state company, and how private traders will be involved in this cooperation.

Solsky said that his ministry would provide more information about infrastructure projects in mid-spring 2023, as in the coming months it would have to hold additional consultations with the authorities of African countries and businesses interested in Ukrainian grain exports to Africa.

Within the framework of the roadmap, it has launched its development projects including constructing facilities for storage agricultural foodstuffs and for onward distribution throughout some regional markets, to offset food shortages in Africa. Ukraine, however, insists that food and fertilizer trade should not be subjected to sanctions or any restrictions.

According to several reports carefully monitored by this author, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has held 18 conversations with African leaders in 2022, nine of which were the first instances of bilateral communication between Ukraine and these African countries. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry listed some of them such as Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, and Botswana.

President of Guinea-Bissau and Chairperson-in-Office of the Economic Community of West Africa Umaro Embalo visited Ukraine in October 2022. It was the first official visit by a leader of a sub-Saharan African state since 2004, according to the Ukrainian

Foreign Ministry.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Dmitry Kuleba, for his part, held 35 phone calls and meetings with his counterparts from African countries in 2022, the ministry said. The first ever African tour by a Ukrainian foreign minister took place in October 2022. The report indicated that Minister Kuleba visited Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Kenya.

Ukraine’s Special Representative for the Middle East and Africa Maxim Subkh, appointed in July 2022, also visited five African countries. Within this emerging multipolar world, Ukraine is broadening its geopolitical influence, and of course it is important for Ukraine to fix its diplomatic presence on the continent to an appreciable level necessary for active interaction, in a continuous and efficient manner, with Africa. It has official representation, an observer status, at the African Union.

Arriving back to Kyiv after his visit to Washington in December, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in a video address, announced that Ukraine would open 10 new embassies in African countries. “We are rebooting relationships with dozens of countries in Africa. We must strengthen this as we have already determined ten countries where new Ukrainian embassies in Africa will be opened. We have also developed a concept of the Ukraine-Africa Trade House. Its offices will open in the capitals of the most promising countries of the continent,” he said.

President Zelenskiy considers Africa as a unique and dynamically developing continent with whom to have relations. In addition, these countries are steadily gaining political weight and achieving significant economic successes, it therefore becomes necessary to look for more new partners eventually targeting African countries.

The Chairman of the African Union and President of Senegal, Macky Sall, together with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, visited Moscow and Kyiv in an attempt to mediate the conflict, but without any result in sight.

“We do not want to be aligned on this conflict, very clearly, we want peace. Even though we condemn the invasion, we’re working for a de-escalation, we’re working for a ceasefire, for dialogue … that is the African position,” Senegalese Macky Sall said, back in May 2022.

Meanwhile, Africa is still divided over the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, the crisis that have caused global economic instability since February 24, 2022. The African Union (AU) and African leaders understand aspects of the geopolitical complexities, implications and possible solutions to the existing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Kestér Kenn Klomegâh is a Public Policy Analyst.

Obi vs Atiku: Ndigbo’s conundrum in february’s presidential poll

By Olu Fasan

ATinubu presidency would be catastrophic for Ndigbo, keeping them longer in the political wilderness. Therefore, it would be unpardonable if voting for Obi translated into Tinubu’s victory. So, Igbos, think dispassionately, act strategically!

IF I had a vote in next month’s presidential election, I would cast it for Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate. Sadly, I don’t, as I live overseas. However, I have a view, and I have been unequivocal in this column, that a victory for Obi would be the best outcome in the presidential poll.

So, nothing I write here detracts from that endorsement. But allow me to play “devil’s advocate” because the outcome of February’s presidential election would have huge consequences for Igbos and Nigeria. Therefore, we need a hard-nosed analysis of the situation, and the Igbos need a strategic response.

Obi’s victory, apart from being a breath of fresh air and a seismic shift in the troubling trajectory of this country, would assuage the legitimate agitation for a president of Igbo extraction, and create inclusivity that unites Nigeria. But can it, and would it happen? And if not, what will become of Ndigbo?

Let’s start with the first question: Can an Obi victory happen? Yes, it can! Never in the history of presidential elections in Nigeria has a third-force candidate captured the imagination of Nigerians like Obi has. Never before has a presidential candidate outside of the two major parties received prominent Nigerian endorsements and led in multiple polls as Obi has.

What’s more, as I read British newspapers, I’m struck by their positive slants on Obi. Recently, the Sunday Times said Obi “has enjoyed a rapid rise from outsider to election frontrunner”. The Financial Times said he “has shaken up the race”. Some talk about “structure”, but history is replete with outsiders who caused major upsets by defeating well-established candidates.

What worked for neophytes like Emmanuel Macron, who defeated candidates of France’s established parties, and Barack Obama, who beat

veterans like Hillary Clinton and John McCain, was their popular appeal and seeming embodiment of the zeitgeist of the time.

Obi has them too. And if the popular appeal, this apparent mood for change, translates into votes, and if the rigging of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, and the INEC Result Viewing, IRev, stops, the theoretical proposition must be that Obi can win. But I said “theoretical” advisedly. Obi’s path to the presidency is littered with challenges. Even if his supporters vote on February 25, and vote-buying and rigging are drastically curtailed, does Obi have enough votes to win the election?

Let’s get to the brass tacks. Obi must secure (1) a majority of the votes cast nationally and (2) 25 per cent of the votes cast in at least 24 states and the FCT, Abuja. To meet those constitutional requirements, he must win massively across the country, North and South! But can Obi garner enough votes across Nigeria—North and South—to win the election on the first ballot? That would be truly seismic and epochal, but most hard-headed analysts would say it’s improbable. More likely, Obi would cause an upset and force a rerun. But, if so, would he be one of the two candidates for the rerun?

For me, the next president should be of SouthEast extraction. But what if Obi’s victory is unlikely? What’s the Igbos’ second-best outcome? Surely, it must be the shortest route to the presidency. Well, in that case, victory for Bola Tinubu, the APC’s presidential candidate, must be Ndigbo’s worst nightmare!

I have many things against Tinubu—his drugrelated past, his unexplained wealth, his dubious backstory, his divisive Muslim-Muslim ticket, his Emi lokan sense of entitlement. But what also worries me is that a Tinubu presidency would prolong the Igbos’ route to the presidency and deepen disunity and instability in Nigeria.

Think about it. If Tinubu wins and does eight years—what would stop him?—power would return to the North for eight years. The Igbos would have no realistic chance to seek the presidency again for another 16 years. By 2039, the presidency would have eluded them for 40 years, since 1999.

Tinubu, Obi and Ehiorobo

By Isaac Asabor

Against the foregoing backdrop, it is expedient to urge the rest 16 political aspirants that as the Election Day draws near, that their respective campaign train should be kick started to get in touch with their supporters as it is very obvious that most Nigerians will join them by the time they mischievously resort to frivolous allegation that they were cheated at the polls.

There is no denying the fact that there is nothing to be nostalgic about by recalling happenings in my secondary school days, particularly recalling that of one of my classmates then, Ehiorobo, who was fond of whiling away his time to his own detriment, to the extent that he manages to pass every terminal examination was also fond of being absent from school for a long period of time and was for that reason nicknamed a “chronic absentee”.

Despite his penchant for absenting himself from school, and given the fact that chronic absenteeism and habitual truancy are predictors of school performance, Ehiorobo was wont to erroneously think that he was being victimized by teachers that hated him as he never passed the subjects taught by them. How could he have passed such subjects when he never prepared himself in the subjects ahead of every examination he sat for? Not only did he always fail in virtually every subject in every examination he participated in, but he is fond of telling whoever cared to listen that those that successfully passed in such examinations which he also sat for used “Jazz” to pass; meaning they passed by using spiritual potion given to them by witch doctors. In a similar vein, Ehiorobo always believed that those that passed any examination he participated in cheated by copying from textbooks or notebooks smuggled

into the examination hall, and that was the reason why they came out victoriously.

Against the foregoing backdrop, it is not an exaggeration to relate Ehiorobo’s nonchalant attitude to his studies to that of the collective attitude of some presidential aspirants affiliated with political parties other than that of Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Similarly, it is not an exaggeration to say that Obi’s campaign train, and that of Tinubu ahead of the presidential election, since they respectively threw their hats into the ring have been zooming to various political constituencies; as they are known to have been making whistle stops at various political constituencies even as far as making whistle stops at the Chatham House in the UK.

There is no denying the fact that since electioneering commenced on September 28, 2022 that both Obi and Tinubu campaign councils have been meeting the demands required for being a presidential candidate, and that the demands have been taking tolls on their sleeps. In fact, as it is, the demands are not likely to lessen for whomever is elected as Nigerian president after the conclusion of the election.

Without any iota of exaggeration, since Tinubu and Obi have been trolling across electoral constituencies, and in the process been convincing Nigerians to vote for them and their political parties, the question that this writer has been obsessed with is, “Where are the other presidential aspirants that are affiliated with the other 16 political parties as 18 political parties were registered to participate in the forthcoming presidential election scheduled to hold on February 25, 2023?

At this juncture, it is expedient to urge presidential aspirants that are at the moment not working hard in terms of electioneering to wake up from their collective slumber as it will

The Igbos would, rightly, question whether they are, de facto, part of Nigeria. That would push this country to the brink of disintegration. By contrast, an albeit second-best, victory for Atiku Abubakar, the PDP’s presidential candidate, would shorten the Igbos’ route to the presidency. After eight years in power – what would stop him?—it’s almost certain that a President Atiku would support an Igbo to succeed him. Thus, if not Obi, an Atiku presidency is the surest, shortest route to an Igbo presidency.

So, what should be Ndigbo’s strategic response? They should vote massively for Obi if they believe he can win in the first ballot or be a candidate for a rerun. However, if their analysis and intelligence show that Obi can’t win in the first ballot or in a rerun, they should vote massively for Atiku. Make no mistake.

A Tinubu presidency would be catastrophic for Ndigbo, keeping them longer in the political wilderness. Therefore, it would be unpardonable if voting for Obi translated into Tinubu’s victory. So, Igbos, think dispassionately, act strategically!

Congratulations to Chief Anyaoku at 90

ONE of my favourite Nigerian elder statesmen is Chief Emeka Anyaoku, who turned 90 yesterday. A proud Igbo and a detribalised pan-Nigerian. In the mid-1990s, as a magazine publisher in London, I wrote to Chief Anyaoku, then Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, requesting an interview. He welcomed me and my team warmly and gave us his undivided attention for over two hours, fielding questions.

A few years later, after he had left office, I met him at the London School of Economics, where he was a Distinguished Visiting Fellow, and I was studying for a PhD in Law. I told him that if he had run for president in 1999, I would have returned to Nigeria to join his campaign.

He smiled. “You are one of those trying to draft me into politics,” he said. Not a politician, but a classic diplomat and great thinker; one of Africa’s outstanding figures and a global statesman. A strong advocate of restructuring, Chief Anyaoku cares deeply about Nigeria’s future. I admire him greatly. Happy birthday, Chief. Many happy returns!

Olu Fasan is a Public Policy Analyst.

not be auspicious to mar the result the forthcoming presidential election with allegations and frivolities. The reason for the foregoing caveat cannot be farfetched as Nigerians are not unaware of the fact that politicians that lose any given election are wont to allege that their opponents rode to victory on the wings of voter fraud. As it is at the moment, rather than tell Nigerians what they would do when voted to power, such category of politicians have started disseminating the efforts and energies they would have used to campaign to caution voters to fear that the forthcoming election will be “rigged”

The foregoing message, when issued by such category of politicians are usually heeded to as electoral integrity is one of the elements necessary to making Nigeria a democratic nation, and claims like this garner media attention, and frighten and concern voters. But putting rhetoric aside to look at the facts makes clear that fraud by voters at the polls is vanishingly rare, and does not happen on a scale even close to that necessary to “rig” an election, particularly as the new Electoral Act makes malpractices difficult to perpetrate.

Against the foregoing backdrop, it is expedient to urge the rest 16 political aspirants that as the Election Day draws near, that their respective campaign train should be kick started to get in touch with their supporters as it is very obvious that most Nigerians will join them by the time they mischievously resort to frivolous allegation that they were cheated at the polls.

Unlike Ehiorobo who saw winners as cheats even when he did not work hard, the 16 political aspirants that are not at the moment campaigning should better begin to do so as Nigerians will not support them whenever they chose to accuse either Obi or Tinubu with Court threat.

Isaac Asabor is a Public Policy Analyst.

By Ahmad Muhammad, Bauchi

Agroup of farmers and Pastoralist from Zindiwa Community in Udubo District of Gamawa local Government Area of the Bauchi State, has sued the state government over alleged allocation of 10,000 hecters of farmland to Tiamin Rice limited.

The suit number BA/335/22 was filed before by Mohammed Bello Yaba, Zindiwa rice farmers, cooperative society ,against Tiamin rice Limited, Ministry of lands and Survey, Attorney general Bauchi State and the Bauchi State Government.

The matter before Justice Rabi Talatu Umar of the State High Court is seeking a declaration that the declaration of the land of LAN No 39236 Ba/41488 registered on sheet 85SE 20/04/21 ,10,000 hecters of land part of government no 3 Udubo grazing reserve order 1986 to Tiamin rice

CBN urges Jigawa marketers to comply with 31st January order

From Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has urged the marketers and stakeholders in Jigawa state to comply with January 31st order as final day of using old N1000, N500 and N200 bank notes.

The call was made by the CBN Dutse area controller, Hajiya Sa’adatu Ibrahim Amin during the stakeholders sensitization at Dutse ultra-mordern market in the state capital.

She explained that, currency management as a key function of the Central Bank of Nigeria recieved directive from president Muhammadu Buhari to redesign denominations of N1000, N500, and N200 which was unveiled on November 23,2022.

According to her, in recent times the currency management in Nigeria has faced several challenges by members of the public, including hoarding bank with statistics showing that N2.72 trillion out of the N3.26 trillion currency in circulation.

Mrs Ibrahim added that, the redesignation of new notes will also adress the challenges of worsen shortages of clean and fit banknotes and increase risk to financial stability.

She maintained that, it would reduce risk of counterfeiting and increase evidences for security reports received at the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Farmers sue Bauchi govt over allocation of land to rice company

being a private company woth registration no 1369736 is illegal, null and void and of no effect having not complied with the due process of the law.

The Plaintiffs are also seeking a declaration that the state government did not validly deserve government No 3 Udubo grazing land prior to the allocation of the land to the company and to grant an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their agents or privies, assigns ,cohorts or any person acting for them or on their behalf from entering into, alienating or tempering how so ever with the plaintiffs land giving to them as permit holders

In a motion experte filed by counsel to the plaintiff, Muhammad Alqasim, the Plaintiffs are the indigenous and natives communities of Zindiwa whose forefathers owned the vast reserve area which now form part of the grazing reserve., in 1986 the then Bauchi State Government promulgate a law declared their forefathers land as No3 Udubo grazing reserve, after the promulgation the law.

The Plaintiffs forefathers were granted permit holders of vast area of the land to useful farming and pasturing.

He said the the first defendant approached the plaintiffs in

April 2021 and told them that he had acquired the land which is part of the grazing reserve, and alleged that apart from the 10,000 hecters , the defendant is now clearing additional 5,000 hecters , without conducting environmental impact assessment and commenced work on the said land by clearing , blocking cable routes, water points in the reserve and power activities which caused erosion, flooding and other environmental damages.

When the case was mentioned, counsel to the the first defendants Saidu Muhammad Tudun-Wada filed a preliminary objection and asked the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety for want of jurisdiction.

He maintained that no court of law has the jurisdiction pursuant to 1999 constitution as amended or the land use act 2004, to inquire to the rightfulness and legitimacy of allotment of land may by the executive governor of a state in Nigeria in the exercise of their exclusive powers including the governor of Bauchi State.

According to him, the Plaintiffs doesn’t have any existing personal right over the 10,000 hecters of land situated in Udubo Gamawa local Government Area, because they

are not tenants ,just like any other herder has a permit to graze on the said land and the suit is not justifiable because it didn’t disclose a valid cause of action against the first defendants.

He submitted that Tiamin rice paid the Federal Ministry of environment the sum of N275,000 fees cost for interalia workshop and field data gathering in respect of the environmental impact assessment, and the company also paid additional N211,000 as assessment fee to the same Ministry and the Tiamin rice carried out all the necessary legal steps for the commencement

of the land mark and expansive Rice Irrigation Project.

Furthermore, he argued that the Tiamin rice is the first large scale industrial and mechanised farming expedition carried out in Bauchi State and that same will produce job to 100,000 person including farmers, mill workers and professionals, and its activities will not affect the herd activities in Bauchi State, and the permit given to herders yo graze their cattle is not tantamount to ownership of the said land.

Meantime, the matter is adjourned till 15th February, 2022, for continuation of hearing.

FG, WAPCEH collaborate to strengthen environmental health

Environmental Health (WAPCEH) and Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCN) with Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Mr Mahmuda Mamman during a courtesy visit to the permanent secretary in Abuja

By Vivian Emoni The Federal Government, in collaboration with West African Post-Graduate College of Environmental Health (WAPCEH), has expressed commitment to strengthening and promoting environmental health officers across the country.

Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Mr Mahmuda Mamman, disclosed this when some officials of WAPCEH and Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCN) visited the ministry on Wednesday in Abuja.

Mamman said that the collaboration would not only promote and strengthen environmental health, but would also move the officers forward, through achieving its mandates and objectives across

the country.

He said that the meeting was aimed at discussing areas of collaboration, to see ways of moving the environmental health officers forward.

“The meeting is also to discuss how we can interrogate, collaborate and bring all of us together to discuss, agree and find a way forward on how we can handle environmental health issues.

“This is part of our discussions, and we have to discuss more in order to identify so many areas where we can work together.

“Also, we have agreed that this meeting will continue in order for us to review the progress made so far from the deliberations,’’ he said.

The permanent secretary said that WAPCEH and some ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) were already working together to ensure that the aim of the collaboration was achieved.

He further stated that the ministry was working with the Ministries of Environment,

Agriculture and Rural Development, Water Resources and other MDAs in the areas of environmental health issues.

Registrar of EHCN, Dr Yakubu Baba, said that the agencies and the MDAs were working together to ensure that the environment sector had strong guides on issues relating to it.

Baba said that the guide was to improve public health, adding that part of the purpose of the visit was to seek ways of strengthening the collaboration between the government and WAPCEH.

“I want to make an emphasis from what the permanent secretary has just said; Nigerians should be aware that there is a new dawn because the spirit of one health concert already exists.

“We are already working together with cross-cutting ministries and I believe that Nigerians are going to see new changes now that the health ministry will take the leadership in the coordination of environmental health services,’’

he said.

Also speaking, the Registrar/ Secretary of WAPCEH, Dr Rotimi Adeyemi, thanked the ministry and EHCN for the collaboration, adding that the effort would go a long way in fortifying the environmental health officers.

“WAPCEH is concerned about environmental health officers in Nigeria. It is our hope that our discussion today will take the bull by the horns and ensure that other issues are effectively attended to.

“They can deploy health officers to other ministries, such as water resources, environment and agriculture and rural development, but the officers should be domiciled at the health ministry.

“WAPCEH believes that strong collaboration between the college and the government can lead to health development in West Africa.

“This is our concern. We thank the officials of the ministry and we hope to continue from where we stopped today next time we meet,’’ he said. (NAN)

Governor Bala Mohammed

NNPP asks Tinubu, Atiku to step down over corruption, drug allegations

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has urged the presidential candidates of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu to withdraw from the presidential race over serious allegations of corruption and drug peddling that have made mockery of the 2023 general election.

A statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Agbo Major, said Nigeria has been brought to ridicule and disrepute before the comity

of nations over accusations of high level corruption and drug peddling against Atiku and Tinubu, adding ‘He that goes to equity must come with a clean hand.’

NNPP demanded the immediate withdrawal of both presidential candidates to answer to charges preferred against them in court.

“It is justice juxtaposed for them to continue in the presidential race with heavy allegations of wrongdoings on their shoulders. It is moral burden fie the two candidates to continue in this race at a time Nigerians are looking for a younger and unblemished crop of leaders.

“There is no moral justification for

Atiku and Tinubu to strive to rule the nation until the court decides their fates one way or the other. National interest supersedes personal interests, aggrandizement and grandstanding in the quest for a better, greater, progressive, equitable and just democratic nation.

“Nigerians are tired of recycled politicians who have numerous cases of corruption, drugs, birth/educational certificates, health and questionable source of wealth. Citizens want men and women of integrity, visionary, purposeful, resourceful, dynamic and transformational leaders to usher them to a new and better Nigeria we all desire

and deserve.

“Senator (Engr) Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, PhD is the man of the moment to give Nigerians a new lease of life after years of wandering in political wilderness from the oppressive APC and PDP regimes.

“Eligible Nigerians should collect their PVCs now and let their voice be heard loud and clear in the forthcoming elections. Your vote is your power to elect credible, resourceful, courageous and progressive leaders that will deliver dividends of democracy to the masses not carnage”, the party statement said.

AMAC chairman drums support for Atiku, other PDP candidates in February polls

By Usman Shuaibu

The Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Hon. Christopher Zakka Maikalangu, has charged the women, as well as the party supporters to vote for the presidential candidate of PDP, Abubakar Atiku in the forthcoming general election.

He also urged the women and his supporters to come out in mass to vote

for the senatorial candidate of PDP in the FCT, Hon. Philip Tanimu Aduda, as well as the candidate of PDP representing AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency at the National Assembly, Hon. Micah Y. Jiba during the polls.

Maikalangu, gave the charge while addressing the PDP women ward leaders in politics at a meeting held at Apo Resettlement town hall in Abuja on Tuesday.

He assured the women that his

administration would not hesitate to put smiles on the faces of the women, and thanked them for their support in all ramifications.

He said “With the challenges we are facing now, we cannot give up, l am being denied some things, maybe because I am in PDP”.

While fielding questions from newsmen after the occasion, the Chairman frowned at votes buying during the polls.

Maikalangu, however, advised the entire residents of Abuja to shun any act capable of generating tension during the election.

Also speaking, the candidate of PDP representing AMAC/Bwari federal constituency at the National Assembly, Hon. Micah Y. Jiba said if elected into the House of Representatives for the second term, he would provide purposeful leadership for the people of his constituency.

Labour Party Presidential candidates, Peter Obi with his Vice President Candidate, Hon, Datti Baba Ahmed, addressing the Party Members during the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Rally at Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna yesterday

2023: SDP will form next government in Oyo – Ex-Attorney General

By Musa Baba Adamu

Aformer attorneygeneral in Oyo State, Michael Folorunso Lana has declared that the Social Democratic Party (SDP) will form the next government in the state.

Lana who is the gubernatorial candidate of the party revealed that the party will form the next government in May this year.

He noted that this would be realised after the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been defeated in the March 11 gubernatorial election by his party (SDP).

The SDP candidate made these declarations on Tuesday in Ibadan, the state capital.

The former attorneygeneral spoke while addressing thousands of supporters of the party who converged at the frontage of ancient Mapo in Ibadan, after a rally that spread across some parts of Ibadan.

The rally which started in the morning at the Ojoo area of Ibadan was attended by the Vice Presidential candidate of the party, Mr. Yusuf Buhari and the South-West Chairman of the party, Chief Alani Silas.

Others are the state Chairman, Michael Okunlade and deputy gubernatorial candidate, Abdul Rahman Aloyinlapa.

Lana while speaking, alleged the present administration in the state has disappointed the electorate.

He, however, said the party

would defeat the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other political parties during the 2023 elections.

He added that the party would form the next government in the state in May 2023 after all the political parties have been defeated in the election.

The former attorney-

general while speaking further, warned that the state cannot afford another four years under governor Seyi Makinde.

He alleged that the current governor of the state, Seyi Makinde, has moved the state backwards.

The SDP candidate used the avenue to charge the people of

the state to guard their PVCs.

He enjoined the electorate not to be swayed by desperate politicians.

Lana while addressing the party supporters, further alleged that desperate politicians are out to deceive the people.

Lana said, “I have no doubt in my mind that our party, the

SDP would coast home to victory in Oyo State during the elections as the people are eagerly waiting to send the present government of Governor Seyi Makinde packing from the Agodi Government House as it has not only to disappoint the people by succeeding in moving the state backwards”.

35 percent slots assured if Tinubu emergs president in 2023 - Sen. Remi tells women

By Christiana Ekpa

Wife of the All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Oluremi Tinubu, yesterday told Nigerian women that thirty five percent slots of appointive positions are already guaranteed if her husband, Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerges the President of the country in the 2023 general election.

Speaking yesterday during an event organised by the APC Professionals Forum on ‘Renewed Hope 2023’ in Abuja, Tinubu’s wife said Bola will consolidate on the President Muhammadu Buhari’s Social Intervention Programs with greater emphasis on empowering women and youth towards lifting more families into collective wealth and prosperity.

“Our goal is to have at least 35% female representation at all levels of government. We will also work towards progressively

improving on the number of female lawmakers at state and national levels,” she said.

“I am a woman, and I am a beneficiary of Asiwaju’s commitment to empowering womenfolk. Although I have always been passionate about charity work and I invested greatly in women and youth development as First Lady of Lagos State, it was with the support of my dear husband that I was able to also take on political leadership roles.

“We need to institutionalize female inclusion and representation in politics and governance; this is Asiwaju’s pledge to the women of Nigeria.”

She further pledged that the incoming Tinubu/Shettima administration will focus on empowering our teeming 70 million youth through job creation and entrepreneurship support efforts and policies.

She added: “As a mother, I know that one of the biggest challenges youth face is the fear of tomorrow with its uncertainties. This often leads them to take poorly considered risks and make bad decisions.

“As parents, it is our job to create the right environment for our wards to flourish, to grow in self-confidence, to learn to be self-sufficient, responsible, and useful members of society. This is also a key responsibility for the leadership of the nation.

“To this end, the next APC-led administration will address the issues by: Increasing opportunities and channels for easy access to credit to start businesses. The incoming administration will work with and encourage commercial banks to provide and set aside a quota of their projected credit provisioning for youth-led enterprises at appreciably low-interestrate loans.

“We will encourage the creation of Innovation and Productivity Hubs for youth to present their ideas and have same reviewed for marketability and utility. These hubs will generate business idea validation reports which will be used in partnership with commercial banks to vet loan applications.

“Commercial banks will also be encouraged to ensure their loan application processes are simplified and that they give greater priority to young people and women with marketable ideas. This will be implemented across the federation.

“The incoming Tinubu/Shettima administration will create opportunities and channels for business mentorship for youth. The initially mentioned Innovation and Productivity Hubs will serve as incubators for intergenerational business mentoring.”

L-R: Representative of the Minister of State for FCT, Hayiya Aisha Baiyee, Mandate Secretary, Area Councils Service Secretariat, Hon. Abubakar Ibrahim Dantsoho, the President Abuja Original Inhabitants Youth Empowerment Organisation (AOIYEO) / SA to the Minister of FCT on Youths Affairs, Amb Issac David and the FCT Youth Leader, Hon. Ibrahim Maikeri, during the flag off of sensitization campaigns for the collection of PVC in FCT, held in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

You turned NASS to rubber stamp Assembly –Aisha Yesufu slams Lawan

By Christiana Ekpa

Popular Nigerian activist and social critic, Aisha Yesufu has attacked the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, for saying the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, allowed the Boko Haram insurgency to fester during its 16 years in power.

The social critic also said the All Progressives Congress, APC, had over seven years to tackle the insurgency but instead worsened it.

Yesufu expressed her feelings in a post via her verified Twitter handle on Wednesday.

The Senate President had while addressing the Presidential Campaign Rally of the ruling APC, which was held in Damaturu Yobe State, alleged PDP rally, allowed Boko Haram to fester.

Lawan’s statement was signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Ola Awoniyi.

He said, “When Boko Haram started in the northeast, in Borno state, the then leadership of PDP said it was not true. There was nothing like Boko Haram, and Boko Haram blossomed. Boko Haram flourished, and Boko Haram gained ground and took root.”

But reacting to the allegation by the Senate President, Yesufu said Lawan turned the National Assembly into “a rubber stamp Assembly”.

She wrote, “The Senate President who turned the National Assembly into a rubber stamp Assembly is accusing PDP when his own party has had over seven years to tackle the insurgency and have worsened it. Both APC and PDP are failed parties that should not be allowed into the corridors of power.”

Special Purpose Vehicle Allegation: Atiku demands apology from Tinubu

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has demanded for an unreserved apology from his counterpart in the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the allegation of Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) saga.

Atiku, who made the demand through the spokesperson of his presidential campaign organisation, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, also threatened to furnish Nigerians with a compendium of Tinubu’s alleged corrupt practices as well as the list of SPVs used by him to loot public funds in key government agencies.

He reminded the APC candidate of the age-long aphorism that those who dig pits for the innocent always fall into them.

According to him, “This is the case in the vexatious plots by Asiwaju Tinubu to divert attention from his litany of atrocities by seeking to impugn on the impeccable character of our candidate, Atiku Abubakar, with unfounded controversy of corruption”.

Atiku accused Tinubu of using one Michael Achimogu to blackmail him, stating that

.....Tells APC presidential candidate to quit race

“no matter how much falsehood appears to thrive, the truth will always prevail at the end of the day.

His words, “Tinubu has not only failed in this mission to tarnish the clean image of Atiku Abubakar but in the process also exposed himself as the real Mr. SPV.”

He listed a number of account Tinubu allegedly used to move huge sums of money from a domiciliary account to a firstgeneration bank in a three-day lodgment scheme.

The PDP Presidential flag bearer said the money was spilt and paid in bits and pieces of $30,000, $30,000, $35,000, $30,000 into a domiciliary account in a first-generation bank.

“Nigerians are now in the know of how tranches of $35,000, $71,000, $100,000, $30,000, $200,000, $300,000, $30,000, $70,000, $80,000, $70,000 and $30,000 were alleged to have been taken by Tinubu from different branches of the said first generation bank between February 4 to February 5, 2015.

“Nigerians now know of how Tinubu has been desperately trying to divert attention from his alleged use of ... companies he reportedly owned by proxy, to loot N100 billion tax money belonging

to Lagos State, since 2002.

“It is now in public domain how (the company), which has for over 20 years held the exclusive rights to collect taxes in Lagos State in return for a commission under very shady arrangements through which it reportedly siphoned billions of naira belonging to Lagos State.

“The public is now aware of a petition before an anti-corruption agency wherein Tinubu’s alleged SPV company was reported to have used another company which shares same address with Tinubu’s office on Idowu Taylor Street in Lagos to launder Lagos State funds.

“Documents sighted in one of the anti-corruption agencies reveals that Tinubu’s SPV allegedly laundered over N20 billion ($46.5 million) in different currencies to several companies, including payment of N1 billion ($2.3 million) to company that is widely known to belong to him.

“Bola Tinubu should come out clean and speak to these damning money laundering allegations against him.

“He should explain to Nigerians how billions of naira belonging to Lagos State and meant for the welfare of the people, reportedly found its way ... and ended in bits and pieces in

foreign currencies into domiciliary accounts allegedly owned by him in commercial banks.

“We also challenge Asiwaju Tinubu to explain to Nigerians how, as Lagos State governor, he awarded the exclusive right of tax collection in Lagos State to his alleged proxy company ... as well as the allegations that the SPV was used to steal over N100bn belonging to Lagos State.

“Furthermore, Nigerians are still awaiting the APC presidential candidate’s still has no explanation for his conviction and criminal forfeiture of $460,000 in a criminal case of trafficking in narcotic in the United States of America, for which under section 137 (1) (d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), he is not eligible to contest election in Nigeria.

“Since Asiwaju Tinubu has on his own opened up on the allegations of corruption, our campaign is prepared to help him to fill the gaps he wants closed,” Atiku threatened.

He called on Tinubu to listen to the voice within and withdraw from the presidential race, adding that “if anyone is to be arrested and disqualified from the presidential race on account of corruption, certainly, that person is not Atiku Abubakar but Bola Tinubu.

2023 elections will hold – Kwara REC

By Musa Baba Adamu

The Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in Kwara State, Malam Attahiru Madami, on Wednesday declared that this year’s general elections will hold as scheduled.

He spoke at a lecture titled “Toward Peaceful 2023 General Elections” organized by the National League of Veteran Journalists, Kwara State Chapter, at the press centre of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, in Ilorin.

He dismissed insinuations in some quarters with the impression that the impending general elections

may likely be cancelled due to the state of insecurity in some parts of the country.

Attahiru declared untrue reports making the rounds that the exercise may not hold, assuring that “the elections will hold as planned.”

He also revealed that the chieftains of political parties contesting the elections in the state have written to him pledging to abide by the rules in a bid to have a peaceful exercise in Kwara State.

Delivering the lecture, Barrister Yusuf Ola-Olu Ali, SAN, argued that for the conduct of peaceful general elections in the country, all stakeholders must be guided

by the Electoral Act and obey its provisions.

Yusuf Ali, who was represented by Barrister Ibn Haruna Mahmoud, said rather than resorting to violence, aggrieved parties must direct their grievances to the election tribunals to seek redress after the elections.

He also cautioned against vote buying which Section 36 of the Electoral Act frowns upon, describing it as a criminal offence.

Yusuf Ali noted that the Electoral Act is adequate to cater for complaints of aggrieved parties seeking redress after elections instead of adopting violence.

He stressed the need for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to embark on voter and civic education of the electorate before the election, describing it as fundamental toward realizing a credible and peaceful general election.

Chairman of NALVEJ, Tunde Akanbi, in his speech, said with 45 days to the general elections, politicians and their supporters could have a positive change of mind to counter the erroneous belief that “it is either them or the elections will not hold.”

2023 elections: Every vote will count – Osun INEC REC, Agboke

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Resident Electoral Commissioner for Osun, Dr Mutiu Agboke has assured that each vote will count.

He said that despite apprehension about security, the Commission is determined to go ahead with the general elections calling on all stakeholders to work for a free, fair and transparent election.

Agboke stated this during a sensitisation visit to the Ogunsua

of Modakeke, Oba Joseph Olubiyi Toriola on Wednesday.

The Osun INEC boss also maintained that the Commission has decided to carry along traditional rulers and chiefs in their locality.

According to him: “With the coming election, INEC has decided to include the kings and chiefs. We want the traditional institution to talk to the people and educate them on the election. Majority of the electorates still believe it is business as usual.”

He affirmed: “INEC is assuring that each vote will count. INEC

wants all people to come out and vote and they must have their PVCs. With BVAS each vote is assured of being counted. All the news about cancellation and postponement of the vote is not an issue. We want all stakeholders to work for a free, fair and transparent election. The uncollected PVCs must be collected as part of requirements for voting.”

Responding, the Ogunsua of Modakeke, Oba Joseph Olubiyi Toriola urged the Commission to ensure its machines are in working order to avoid complaints common among the electorate.

“The town has been talking to its people to ensure the election is peaceful and free from violence,” he concluded.

In a visit to the INEC local government offices in Ife North, Ife South, Ife Central, Ife East and Ife East Area Office, Modakeke, Agboke maintained that the visit is aimed at reminding the staff and members of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, that they have more work to do within this period.

He added that between now and February, INEC is going to be busy.

He warned: “Staff who don’t apply the rule will face the music. Staff should stick by the rules. The INEC chairman will not be happy seeing any staff being liable.

“INEC staff should be organized. INEC is ready because it knows that its staff are ready. We also expect performance and delivery on the INEC mandate.

“We would not tolerate any negative report. With BVAS in place, no staff can assist anybody during the election. You are advised to be in tune with the training and discharge your responsibility on election day.”

NCC, lottery commission renew MoU to prevent unapproved gaming practices

By Abubakar Yunus Abuja

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has renewed its memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC).

Reuben Muoka, director, public affairs, NCC, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.

The commission said the MoU was with provisions to deter unapproved lottery and gaming practices on telecommunications platforms through information and intelligence sharing.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Umar Danbatta, executive vice-chairman, NCC, said the MoU, which would impact the gaming industry, was in synchronisation with the commission’s strategic vision plan (SVP).

Danbatta also said the MoU would promote fair practices in the industry for the protection of telecommunication consumers in relation to lottery and gaming activities.

He added that the collaboration was in line with the provisions of the commission’s SVP, 2021-2025, which would provide for the facilitation of strategic partnership and collaboration with other bodies to enhance service delivery.

“The initial MoU expired in 2022, amendments and modifications have been made since no MoU is cast in stone, especially given the industry’s dynamic nature,” he said.

On his part, Lanre Gbajabiamila, director-general, NLRC, expressed optimism that the MoU would yield favourable outcomes in curbing illegal online gambling.

Gbajabiamila was also optimistic that the NCC and NLRC would achieve their intentions in the interest of gaming stakeholders.

He decried how unapproved lottery, gaming activities, and practices undermine the integrity of domestic and global gaming markets to the detriment of the stakeholders.

The director-general said this was in addition to undermining consumer confidence in the markets, hence the collaboration with the commission to arrest such tendencies.

The future of trade must prioritise inclusivity, says WTO DG

By Abubakar Yunus Abuja

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general, World Trade Organisation, says the future of trade will be determined by countries who embrace inclusion.

The director-general spoke during a session on trade, growth, and investment in Davos, according to a statement on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) website on Wednesday.

Okonjo-Iweala said the future of trade must “prioritise inclusivity”.

She said as many countries prioritise national security in their trade policy, there was a risk that “friend-sharing” would distribute the gains of economic growth unequally.

“When we talk of ‘friendsharing,’ I don’t know who is a friend. I don’t ever hear countries in Africa mentioned,” she said.

“We say the future of trade is services; it’s digital; it’s green. And it should be inclusive.”

Meanwhile, according to the statement, many nations have seen a push to relocate manufacturing closer to consumers’ demand, after supply shocks associated with port blockages, the war in Ukraine, and the pandemic.

WEF said creating a trade

agenda that prioritises inclusivity and decarbonisation would be a major priority, adding that many European governments have welcomed the recent embrace of sustainability in US economic policy.

It, however, added that concerns about national security had caused many nations to question their over-reliance on certain countries for critical goods and services, such as European dependence on Russian energy.

On his part, Laurence Fink, chairman, and chief executive officer, BlackRock said: “For the United States, Mexico is likely to be a major beneficiary of the US reconfiguration of supply chains, given Mexico’s educated workforce, low wages, railway transport and pro-business political climate.”

“But Mexico is not going to be the sole beneficiary of that change, citing Eastern Europe, Turkey, Indonesia, and other parts of south-east Asia as well.”

On climate, Alexander De Croo, prime minister of Belgium, said the industrial policy has become a major focus for many nations rethinking their approach to trade.

He said the world can only be “happy that the United States has moved to the right side of the

aisle”.

“The European leaders have concerns over the specifics of the recent US legislation but, overall, the positive step gives Europe the opportunity to focus on its specific advantages, such as research facilities and long-term investments in wind energy. Without such coordination, there is a risk that Europe and the US simply compete to provide more subsidies and tax breaks for business,” De Croo said.

“Five years ago, [industrial policy] was not a very sexy topic. Today it’s top of the agenda.”

The statement further said medical products, solar panels,

silicon chips, and digitisation infrastructure are among the industries being overhauled due to new pressures to increase resilience and national security.

“Ensuring that sustainability remains at the top of the global trade agenda will require coordination with multilateral agencies. As many nations seek out bilateral trade agreements, there is a risk of global trade splintering into trading blocks. Promoting a trade agenda that is fair, inclusive, and sustainable will require institutions such as the WTO to establish clear ground rules for all nations,” the statement added.

Nigeria to spend 60% of revenue on debt servicing in 2023, Says Zainab Ahmed

By Abubakar Yunus Abuja

Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, says Nigeria plans to bring down its debt service-to-revenue ratio to 60 percent this year.

Ahmed spoke during an interview with Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

In 2022, Nigeria’s debt service-to-revenue ratio was at 80.6 percent — a figure far above World Bank’s suggested 22.5 percent for low-income countries like Nigeria.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had said Nigeria may spend almost 100 percent of its revenue on debt servicing by 2026.

Speaking on the issue, Ahmed said Nigeria plans to cut its revenue spending on debt servicing to 60 percent in 2023, adding that the current ratio is not sustainable.

“Well, 80 percent is not sustainable and our plan is coming down to 60 percent in 2023 and how are we doing that? We are doing that by increasing revenues and by significantly reducing costs to enable us cope,” she said.

“There are some costs that we can pull back on, though not in the economy, but there are some costs that we must sustain such as provisions for education and health as well as infrastructure.”

However, Ahmed said the country’s debt trajectory is sustainable.

“We are sustainable in our debt trajectory. We have made our plans to make sure we are able to consistently service our debts. And by the way, we are also exiting fuel subsidy, which is a huge cost. I am part of the contributors to where we are in terms of the debt stock,” she said.

“So, once we pull the first

subsidy out, production of crude oil increases and then we sustain the improvements we have put in place in terms of non-oil revenue, then we should be able to come down to 60 percent debt-to-revenue.”

Asked if a lower debt serviceto-revenue ratio will open up Nigeria’s bond markets, Ahmed said, “no, not 2023”.

“If we are able to get back to the rates of early 2021 then we can consider going back to the bonds market, but then we are consistently monitoring the bond market. We are monitoring the performance of our bonds. So, when you get to that comfortable level, we will explore it,” she said.

In November 2022, Patience Oniha, director-general of the Debt Management office (DMO), said the problem of high-interest rates and inflation has made the international capital market inaccessible for Nigeria to borrow money.

Meanwhile, the minister said in 2023, economic growth will be driven by increased revenues from the “non-oil sector and also the beginning of the pick-up of revenues from the oil sector itself”.

Although Nigeria had “some problems” regarding oil production in 2023, Ahmed said production will surpass the projected 1.69 million barrels of oil per day in the 2023 budget.

“Production has picked up and it looks good to continue to reach the numbers that we have put in the budget. Our target is 1.6 million barrels per day and we can comfortably achieve that,” she said.

“We are doing an average of 1.25 million bpd to 1.3 million bpd, so we should be able to reach that and hopefully we surpass that as well with the measures that have been put in place.”

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

MMIA Customs Command generates N20.9 billion in 12 months

By Abubakar Yunus Abuja

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Murtala

Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos Command, said it generated N20.9 billion between January and December 2022.

The revenue generation was an increase from the N19 billion the command earned in 2021.

A statement by Juliana Tomo, the Spokesman of the Command, said that the MMIA Customs had a revenue improvement of N1,849,747,265.85 when compared to the previous year.

Contributing factor: The statement quoted Mohammed Gidado, the Customs Area Controller (CAC) as saying that the revenue improvement was made possible due to an improved integrity of passengers’ in the declaration of goods and high level of compliance towards voluntary payment of courier parcels, passengers accompanied and unaccompanied baggage duty.

Besides, Gidado explained that during the December 2022 review, the command collected the sum of N1,758,585,087.54 as revenue generated from the command. The statement added:

“The Sum of N1,620,044,911.45 only was the revenue collected within same period in 2021. This simply implies that the command had an increased sum of N393,303,360.75 in 2022.

“The seamless travellers’ clearance procedure adopted by the command as initiated by the CAC over the period is worthwhile as evidenced in the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command revenue collected from August to December 2022.”

The statement hinted that this increased performance demonstrates the effectiveness the strategies that were adopted last year. The Command expects an even better performance going forward. year. The Command expects an even better performance going forward.

Dangote Cement appoints new CEO

Dangote Cement Plc has named Arvind Pathak as the company’s new chief executive/managing director, the company said in a note posted on the Nigerian Exchange’s website on Thursday.

Mr Pathak will replace Frenchman Michel Puchercos, who will depart the cement maker at the end of February after three years at the helm.

The new CEO’s tenure begins on 1 March, the disclosure said.

Mr Pathak led India’s Birla

Corporation, a cement producer, before he became the chief operating officer and deputy managing director of Dangote Cement.

He formerly served at Mumbai-based Associated Cement Company Limited as regional CEO and has experience spanning more than 30 years, which includes transforming businesses, spearheading crucial greenfield projects, as well as overseeing operations and plant maintenance.

The newly appointed CEO obtained a degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Roorkee now IIT Roorkee in 1980, and a postgraduate degree in Industrial Engineering and Management in 1982.

“The appointment of Mr Arvind Pathak will be included in the Agenda at the next Annual General Meeting for ratification by the shareholders in accordance with the Companies and Allied Matters Act”, Dangote Cement said.

“The Board would like to thank Mr Michel Puchercos for his commitment and contributions to the Board and wishes him well in his future endeavours while welcoming Mr Arvind Pathak back to the Dangote family and wishing him success in his new role.”

Dangote Cement, subSaharan Africa’s biggest cement company, has presence in ten countries and a production capacity of 51.6 million tonnes per year.

Mining agency: FG generated N14.59bn as revenue from licences in five years

By Abubakar Yunus Abuja

The federal government, through the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office, says it generated N14.59 billion in five years (2018 to 2022).

Obadiah Nkom, directorgeneral of NMCO, said this at the 63rd session of the state house ministerial briefing, organised by the presidential communications team in Abuja.

He said the agency in 2018, 2019, and 2020, generated N1.55 billion, N2.38 billion, and N2.57 billion, respectively.

However, between 2021 and 2022, the agency’s revenue fell from N4.3 billion to N3.79 billion.

The director-general attributed the drop in revenue to changes in its internal operating system which temporarily affected inflows.

According to Nkom, 100 percent of the agency’s revenues are sent to the treasury single account of the federal government.

He added that the bulk of the revenue come from application, processing and annual service fees; constituting 50 percent of the annual revenue generated from the federal ministry of mines and steel development.

Nkom, who was recently reappointed by President Muhammadu Buhari for another period of four years, said the agency has revoked 3,000 titles, with plans to revoke more in 2023.

He said the mining licences are revoked on an ongoing basis and as such, the figures change rapidly.

“If you have not paid, we put it on the newspaper and then, we gazette it and we give you 30

days to ensure that you pay so that the serious ones will come and pay and those that are not serious, we will revoke it. We have revoked titles,” he said.

Explaining that the revocation was to ensure that mine fields are cleared for serious operators, Nkom said there are over 6,000 mineral title holders in Nigeria.

He added that some licences are expiring today, Thursday, January 19, 2023.

“There are over 6,000 licences. For now, if you are seeing 9,000 on the website and I told you that we have over 3,000 licences that are revoked,” the director-general said.

“We have just gazetted and we are going to implement that. When you look at that implementation and that 3,000 licences that are removed, we end up having 6,000.

“At the end of the day, from the little arithmetic I know, from over 9,000 and if you remove 3,000 revoked licences, you will be able to have over 6,000.”

Nkom also said there are restrictions and conditionalities for the issuance of coal mining licences in Nigeria.

He said the agency has to be very strategic, and also take into account current global issues.

“The Mining Cadastre Office does not just issue licences, we look at the future, issues of sustainability, maximising value, strategically ensuring Nigeria is properly managing her mineral wealth to achieve maximum economic value and diversification,” Nkom said.

“If you need any documents relating to the issuance or revocation of mining licences in Nigeria, the law permits the MCO to make it available.”

L-R: Angolan Ambassador to Nigeria Dr Eustaquio Januario Quibato, in a hand shake with Minister of State Petroleum Resources Chief Timipre Sylva, during a courtesy call on the minister, on Thursday, in Abuja

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By Stanley Onyekwere

In order to effectively mitigate the menace of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV), citizens, community leaders and healthcare workers are enjoined to encourage victims to always speak up and report such cases to relevant authorities.

In particular, in reporting cases, concern citizens are charged to make sure that they prevent such violence by also speaking up against people who are becoming violent in their environment.

This charge was handed down by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Abiodun Essiet Initiative for Girls (AEIG), yesterday, at a one day capacity workshop for health workers at various Primary Healthcare

Stakeholders urged to help SGBV victims speak up

Centres (PHCs) and members of Ward Development Committee (WDC) in Gwagwalada and Kuje Area Councils of Abuja.

According to AEIG Project Officer, Josephine Emeghoghena, who represented the Founder of the NGO, disclosed that from the feedback they are getting, SGBV cases reported at PHCs, health workers handle them to the best of their ability, adding that with the training, they will do better in tackling the menace.

She said: “We want to build their capacity on how to

effectively address SGBV. They will be enabled to know how to attend to victims who report cases to them, so as to properly handle such cases.

“The cardinal message is that we all, and not just the health workers alone should take SGBV cases seriously, by always reporting such whenever it takes place in our environment.

“We should act fast because lives are matter. If there are issues of spousal battery or rape, the person’s (victim’s) life is in danger. There is a tendency that

there might be death. So, as concern citizens, we have to act quickly by reporting cases and make sure that we prevent such violence”.

Similarly, Chairman FCT Chapter of Ward Development Committee (WDC), Gerald Telah, noted when SGBV happen, they encourage people to report to the community leaders within the PHC facility, who will intervene for further necessary action.

He stressed the need for members of communities to be security conscious especially how

they leave their wards, to ensure that they are not vulnerable to SGBV perpetrators.

He also explained that WDC performs oversight function of various primary healthcare centers in FCT and mobilises people to go and get PHCs services.

He adds: “We try to raise funds to assist the clinics to meet some basic needs as well as liaise between the clinics and relevant authorities either at the Local Government level or at the FCTA level”.

Participants and Facilitators of a one-day SGBV awareness and capacity building workshop organised by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Abiodun Essiet Initiative for Girls (AEIG), for health workers at various Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) and members of Ward Development Committee (WDC) in Gwagwalada and Kuje Area Councils of Abuja, yesterday.

By Stanley Onyekwere

The Scout Association of Nigeria (TSAN) has sought for permission to convert 1,000 hectares of sprawling forest along the Abuja-Kaduna Road, where people are being kidnapped as its national headquarters.

Making this request known yesterday, TSAN’s Chief Scout Commissioner, Hon. Dave Padopads-Awunah, noted that the criminality bedeviling the

country would have been put under check if the federal government had incorporated scouting into its security plan.

He spoke at a press conference on the planned induction and decoration of President Muhammadu Buhari as National Patron of TSAN and an Ambassador of Messenger of Peace.

Padopads-Awunah said: “The Nigerian scouts are requesting 1,000 hectares of land. We have seen the

place where people are being kidnapped in the forest along Abuja Airport-Kaduna Road. We are asking government to allocate that land to us as we will be building our National Towers which will be our scout headquarters.

“We shall also turn it into children amusement park and waterpark. We also want a wildlife park because as scouts, we don’t cage animals. Rather than a zoo, we believe in a wild-life for animals to exist”.

Also, TSAN, which presently boasts of three million members in Nigeria, decried the prevalence of drug addiction and organ harvesting among Nigerian youths.

The TSAN’s Chief Scout Commissioner, also lamented that the clear absence of the role of scouting in tailoring the minds of young people has caused inexplicable crisis of youth management including prostitution and human trafficking.

Describing drug abuse as a major cankerworm sinking the country, he noted that the situation had degenerated to the extent that some Nigerian youths now smoke grey hair which is wrapped and mixed with lizard faeces.

Furthermore, he added that the association is sensitising children to the danger of drugs across the country by using one child who is a scout to influence other children.

world news

Jacinda Ardern: New Zealand PM quits citing burnout

Jacinda Ardern is quitting as New Zealand prime minister ahead of this year’s election saying she no longer has “enough in the tank” to lead.

The shock announcement comes as polling indicates her Labour Party party faces a difficult path to re-election on 14 October.

Ms Ardern choked up as she detailed how six “challenging” years in the job had taken a toll.

Labour MPs will vote to find her replacement on Sunday.

Ms Ardern, 42, said she had taken time to consider her future over the summer break, hoping to find the heart and energy to go on in the role.

“But unfortunately I haven’t, and I would be doing a disservice to New Zealand to continue,” she told reporters on Thursday.

Ms Ardern will step down by 7 February. If no would-be successor garners the support of two-thirds of the party room, the vote will go to Labour’s lay membership.

Ms Ardern became the youngest female head of government in the world when she was elected prime minister in 2017, aged 37.

And a year later she became the second elected world leader to ever give birth while in office, after Pakistan’s Benazir

Bhutto in 1990.

She steered New Zealand through the Covid-19 pandemic and its ensuing recession, the Christchurch mosque shootings, and the White Island volcanic eruption.

Ms Ardern said the past five-and-ahalf years had been the “most fulfilling” of her life, but leading the country during “crisis” had been difficult.

“These events... have been taxing because of the weight, the sheer weight and continual nature of them. There’s never really been a moment where it’s ever felt like we were just governing.”

National Party leader Chris Luxon was among those who thanked Ms Ardern “for her service to New Zealand”.

“She has given her all to this incredibly demanding job,” the opposition leader wrote on Twitter.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described Ms Ardern as a leader of intellect, strength and empathy.

“Jacinda has been a fierce advocate for New Zealand, an inspiration to so many and a great friend to me,” he wrote.

Canada’s leader Justin Trudeau said she had made an “immeasurable” difference to the world.

But while Ms Ardern was often seen as a political star globally, opinion polls suggest she was increasingly unpopular

at home.

She led the Labour Party to a landslide election victory in 2020, capitalising on her government’s strong early response to the pandemic.

But the latest opinion polls put her personal popularity at its lowest since she was elected, and approval of her party’s performance similarly low.

In 2022, Ms Ardern told the BBC her declining popularity was the price her government had paid for keeping people safe from Covid-19.

However, she has also been confronted with a cost-of-living crisis, national fears

about crime, and a backlog of election promises put off during the pandemic.

Reaction to her announcement has been varied. One local from her own Auckland electorate told the NZ Herald Ms Ardern was “running away before getting thrown out”, blaming her for increased crime and rising living costs.

For others, like Auckland Pride’s Max Tweedie, she is “one of the greatest prime ministers in New Zealand’s history”.

Those are sentiments shared by New Zealand actor Sam Neill, who said Ms Ardern had faced “disgraceful” treatment from “bullies” and “misogynists”.

Ukraine’s interior ministry leadership killed in helicopter crash

The three main figures in Ukraine’s interior ministry have been killed in a helicopter crash beside a nursery in an eastern suburb of the capital Kyiv.

Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, 42, died alongside his first deputy minister and state secretary.

Fourteen people died when the helicopter came down in Brovary around 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT), including one child, authorities said.

There is no indication the crash was anything other than an accident.

But the SBU state security service said it was following several possible causes for the crash, which included sabotage as well as a technical malfunction or breach of flight rules.

The State Emergency Service had previously stated that up to 18 people were killed but later revised the death toll from the crash, saying 14 had died.

Mr Monastyrsky, who was one of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s longest serving political advisers, is the highest profile Ukrainian casualty since the war began.

The deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said the minister had been travelling to a war “hot spot” when his helicopter went down.

The head of police in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Volodymyr Tymoshko, said the ministerial team were on their way to meet him there and he had spoken to them only yesterday.

The minister’s death cuts to the heart of the government in Kyiv as the interior ministry has the vital task of maintaining security and running the police during the war.

President Zelensky has spoken of a terrible tragedy that claimed the lives of “true patriots”.

The head of Ukraine’s national police force, Ihor Klymenko, has been appointed acting interior minister following Mr Monastyrsky’s death.

Witnesses in Kyiv said Russia’s war was to blame for the disaster.

“It was very foggy and there was no electricity, and when there’s no electricity there are no lights on the buildings,” local resident Volodymyr Yermelenko told the BBC.

Key officials are flown by helicopter across Ukraine at tree-level, but that comes with risks.

All that was recognisable of the helicopter was a door panel and one of its rotors which landed on the roof of a car. Next to it were three bodies covered in foil blankets.

The main kindergarten building was left badly damaged by the crash.

The 42-year-old interior minister was a prominent member of President Volodymy Zelensky’s cabinet.

He was a recognisable face for Ukrainians throughout the war, updating the public on casualties caused by Russian missile strikes since Ukraine was invaded in February 2022.

Ukrainian officials said those on

board the helicopter included six ministry officials and three crew.

First deputy minister Yevhen Yenin died along with state secretary Yurii Lubkovich, whose task was to organise the work of the ministry.

Before he moved to the interior ministry, Mr Yenin helped represent Ukraine’s government abroad.

Mr Tymoshenko said the interior ministry’s work would not be affected by the loss of its leaders, but government colleagues were visibly shocked as they reacted on national TV.

A friend of the late minister’s, MP Mariia Mezentseva, said it was a tragedy for everyone as the ministry had a

significant role in Ukraine’s response to the invasion.

“He responded 24/7 to his colleagues, friends and family. He was very close to President Zelensky from day one of his presidential campaign,” she told the BBC.

National police chief Ihor Klymenko wrote on Facebook that the helicopter belonged to Ukraine’s state emergency service, while other officials said it appeared to a be a French Super Puma aircraft.

Parents were bringing their children to the kindergarten before going to work when the helicopter came down. Source;BBC

Ms Ardern said she was looking forward to finally getting married to partner Clarke Gayford

The remains of the helicopter were visible outside a residential building in Brovary

Landmark law to protect women’s rights in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone has passed an historic law to improve women’s rights, including better employment rights.

Under the new Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act (GEWE) 30% of government and private sector jobs in the country are reserved for women, according to an official statement.

“Today is an historic day when Sierra Leone can rightly say it has legislation carefully designed to do away with gender inequality,” Gender Minister Manty Tarawalli said.

“Today is an important step in the right direction but more steps will have to be taken before the country can say fairness has been achieved across the genders,” she added.

Women will also now benefit from ringfenced senior positions in the workplace, at least 14-week-long maternity leave, equal access to bank credit and training opportunities.

There are harsh repercussions for employers who do not stick to the new gender ratios including hefty fines, and even potential prison time for financial institutions that do not give women fair access to financial support. It is thought this will make it easier for women to start their own businesses.

The government says the

employment law will apply to any business with more than 25 employees.

Mali accepts Russian warplanes and helicopters

Mali has taken a delivery of warplanes and helicopters from Russia as Moscow deepens its involvement in the country.

Since breaking ties with France, the military regime in Mali has become reliant on its new ally, which has deployed mercenaries from the Wagner group, according to multiple sources.

Correspondents say these troops are doing little of the fighting against the Islamist insurgency, and appear to be concentrating on securing Mali’s mineral resources for exploitation.

Russia has also been accused of becoming involved in another African nation, Eswatini, though Moscow’s ambassador there has denied reports it is training security officers.

Alexander Surikov said it was just giving scholarships for military education.

Rwanda-DR Congo tensions stoked amid clashes - AFP

Rwanda’s government has accused the Democratic Republic of Congo of wanting to “perpetuate conflict and insecurity” and failing to stick by a peace agreement, according to the AFP news agency.

It comes amid ongoing fighting in the east of DR Congo and comments from Congolese Foreign Minister, Christophe Lutundula, that accused Kigali and the

M23 rebel group of “once more failing to uphold their commitments”, to the peace deal aimed at stopping fighting in the tense region.

The UN recently confirmed the discovery of mass graves in the eastern Congolese Ituri province. It was not clear who was responsible, but many armed militias operate in the area, including M23.

Mr Lutundula added that his country would “safeguard its territorial integrity” and “all means” would be used to protect itself.

DR Congo, along with some European nations and the US, accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23, but Rwanda denies this.

CHAN: Can Senegal coach Pape Thiaw match the country’s Afcon triumph?

Senegal are among the teams vying for the African Nations Championship (CHAN) title in Algeria, having qualified for the tournament for locallybased African players for the first time in 11 years.

But what do we know of their coach, Pape Thiaw, the man tasked with emulating Aliou Cisse, the coach who led the Teranga Lions to a maiden Africa Cup of Nations victory nearly a year ago?

BBC Sport Africa has been looking more closely at Thiaw as he tries to steer his local lions to CHAN glory and make Senegal double African champions.

Who is Pape Thiaw?

A former striker, Thiaw, 41, played alongside Cisse at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea - Senegal’s memorable first appearance at football’s global showpiece.

Another member of that squad, Alassane N’dour, says Thiaw and Cisse were very alike.

“Within the group, Aliou Cisse and Pape Thiaw had a certain similarity: their calmness,” N’dour told BBC Sport Africa.

“Thiaw was a little more sociable. Aliou was more into the action, I could say. After the game we wouldn’t see much of him.

“Pape is more open to discussions, more open to exchanges, but they are two professionals with profiles that are similar but with their differences,” the former defender added.

• Profile: Aliou Cisse’s path to Afcon glory

• Aliou Cisse on impact of ‘Africa’s Titanic’

As well as winning 16 caps and scoring five goals for his country, Thiaw represented several clubs including Strasbourg, Metz and Alaves during a

playing career based in France and Spain.

He then went on to coach first division club Niarry Tally in Senegal until February 2021 before a move into the Senegal set-up as coach of the local team.

N’dour says the coaching styles of Thiaw and Cisse are very different.

“Aliou forges his team on rigour and drive, as he did when he played football. Pape’s style is more enveloped in stillness but we can still see a rigorous team.

Senegal’s CHAN qualification campaign impressed N’dour, particularly the crucial two-legged play-off against Guinea that ended 1-1 on aggregate and was decided by a penalty shootout on the opponent’s home turf.

“The evidence of Pape’s coaching are the results of the two [CHAN] qualifying matches against Guinea. They had to focus on tactics, and it was successful.”

Pape Thiaw (top left) and Aliou Cisse (bottom right) played together for Senegal at the 2002 World Cup

Thiaw’s coaching experience

Thiaw’s achievement in steering Senegal to CHAN qualification was notable; they had not participated since the second edition in Sudan in 2011.

At 36, Amara Traore, was the elder statesman of Senegal’s 2002 World Cup squad - and he thinks understanding the country’s football landscape has been crucial in Thiaw’s journey as a national coach.

“He has the benefit of knowing local football and African football so he knows and understands the mentality of the leaders, of the people.

“Senegal went 11 years without qualifying for CHAN and he arrived and managed to do it so we have to let him grow and let him do his job,” Traore said.

Allasane N’dour also believes managing teams in the Senegalese league provided vital experience for Thiaw.

“He had an atypical career where he was a coach for a local neighbourhood team that he helped to raise to the first division. So he wasn’t scared to learn,” said N’dour.

“He took the time to complete his coaching training and to apply it as a coach at Senegalese clubs.

“So he can pass on all his knowledge, all his lived experience from Senegal, Europe and from playing in the national team.”

Can Thiaw lead Senegal to CHAN glory?

After the euphoria in Senegal following a first ever Africa Cup of Nations triumph in February 2022, the appetite has been whetted for more trophies.

Can the locally-based Teranga Lions roar in a similar way?

“Of course, of course, we believe it. We trust him. I’m sure he can win this CHAN,” said a confident N’dour.

“I don’t know the objective set by the Senegalese Football Federation but I would say they should take each match one at a time, savour each one and see what our result will be in this beautiful competition.”

Traore says qualifying to the next phase - from a group also featuring DR Congo, Uganda and Ivory Coast - would be impressive, but Thiaw and his players need to keep their ambition high if they are to secure the trophy.

“After 11 years, I wouldn’t say it is impossible, but we have to raise the bar and we go to the competition to win it.

“If he qualifies for the second round he would have more than reached his objectives. I wish him the best.”

Source: BBC

The new law has been described as historicImage caption: The new law

Former Senegal international Pape Thiaw is coaching the local Teranga Lions at the 2022 CHAN in Algeria

ews F rom A s IA

Iranian man who beheaded 17-year-old wife jailed for eight years

Aman who beheaded his 17-yearold wife has been sentenced to eight years in prison in Iran, the judiciary says.

Images of Sajjad Heydari carrying Mona’s severed head in Ahvaz after the so-called “honour killing” last year caused widespread outrage.

A judiciary spokesman said the leniency of the sentence was due to Mona’s parents having “pardoned” him for the murder rather than seeking retribution.

Her father previously said that he had not given his consent for the killing.

Mona had been married to her husband since the age of 12 and had given birth to their son when she was only 14.

Local media reported that she had fled to Turkey after allegedly being subjected to domestic violence by her husband, who had refused her requests for a divorce.

She had returned to Iran a few days before her murder last February because she had reportedly received assurances from her family that she would be safe.

Judiciary spokesman Massoud Setayeshi told reporters on Wednesday that Sajjad Heydari had been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years

in prison for murder and an additional eight months for assault.

He explained that the verdict was in line with Iranian law, under which intentional murder is punishable by death unless the family of the victim forgives the killer.

Mona’s brother-in-law was given a 45-month sentence for complicity in the murder, he said.

The gruesome killing prompted fresh demands in Iran for a law aimed at preventing domestic violence and protecting victims.

There were also calls for the minimum age of marriage for children to be raised. It is currently set at 13 for girls, although girls even younger than that can legally marry with judicial and parental consent.

In 2020, there was similar outrage after 14-year-old Romina Ashrafi was beheaded by her father after she reportedly ran away from home with her boyfriend. The father, who had consulted a lawyer to find out what punishment he could face for the crime before he killed her, was sentenced to nine years in prison - one less than the maximum allowed under the law.

The government subsequently approved a draft law that would criminalise various forms of violence against women. However, it has yet

to be passed by parliament and a UN independent expert has said it does not go far enough.

Iran is currently being rocked by anti-government protests that were sparked by the death in custody of

a young woman who was detained by morality police in September for allegedly wearing her hijab, or headscarf, “improperly”.

Four people have so far been executed in connection with the

protests, while 18 others have been sentenced to death. Human rights groups have said they were convicted after grossly unfair sham trials.

Source: BBC

Iran protests: 15 minutes to defend yourself against the death penalty

Four young men have been executed in connection with the nationwide protests that erupted in Iran four months ago, while 18 other people have been sentenced to death. Human rights groups have said they were convicted after grossly unfair sham trials.

Mohammad Mehdi Karami, a 22-year-old karate champion, was hanged on 7 January, just 65 days after his arrest.

Sources have told BBC Persian that he had less than 15 minutes to defend himself in court.

His story shows how authorities in Iran are using show trials to strike fear into the hearts of the protesters, who are demanding freedom and an end to the clerical regime.

‘Don’t tell Mum anything’

The protest movement began after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was detained by morality police in September for allegedly not wearing the mandatory headscarf “properly”.

Authorities dismissed the unrest as “rioting” and launched a violent crackdown. At least 481 protesters have been killed by security forces, according to Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based non-governmental organisation.

Karami was arrested in connection with the murder of a member of the paramilitary Basij force during protests in the city of Karaj, just west of Tehran, on 3 November.

He was later charged with the capital offence of “corruption on

Earth” and went on trial before a Revolutionary Court in Karaj on 30 November along with 16 other people, including three children, also accused of involvement in the murder.

Defendants are entitled to legal representation in Iran, but in sensitive cases like this one, or in espionage cases, they are not allowed to choose their own lawyers. Instead, the court appoints one from a list approved by the judiciary.

Journalists and members of the defendant’s family are also barred from being in court, so the only window into what happens behind the closed doors is heavily edited footage released by the judiciary.

In one such video, Karami appears visibly distressed as he “confesses” to hitting the Basij member on the head with a rock. His court-appointed lawyer does not challenge or dispute this and, instead, asks the judge for forgiveness. Karami then says he was “fooled” and sits down.

On 5 December, Karami was convicted and sentenced to death. Four of his co-defendants were also sentenced to death, while the children and eight others were handed lengthy jail terms, according to the judiciary.

Normally, defendants’ family members come under pressure from authorities to stay silent.

But Mohammad’s father, Mashaalah Karami, who works as a street vendor selling packets of tissues, gave an interview to the Etemad newspaper. He said his son had called him in tears

the day that he was sentenced to death.

“Dad, they gave us the verdict. Mine is the death penalty. Don’t tell Mum anything,” his father recalled, reiterating his son’s innocence.

Chilling accounts Later, opposition activist group 1500 Tasvir published an account on social media alleging that Karami had been tortured.

It said he had told his family during a meeting in prison that he had been beaten unconscious by guards. The guards had assumed he was dead and dumped his body in a remote area, but as they left they had realised he was still alive, it added.

Karami also told his family that security agents had “touched

his genitals every day and threatened to rape him” during interrogations, according to the account.

Under Iran’s legal system, when a lower court passes a death sentence it is sent to the Supreme Court for approval. But even if the Supreme Court endorses the death penalty, it can still be appealed.

Karami’s father told Etemad that he had tried to contact the state-appointed lawyer multiple times, but there had been no response.

The family then tried to hire one of Iran’s most prominent human rights lawyers, Mohammad Hossein Aghasi.

“Mohammad called me from prison three times and asked me

to represent him. His parents also urged me to represent their son,” Mr Aghasi said.

Mr Aghasi wrote to the local court and then to the Supreme Court. At every stage, his letters were ignored or rejected. And lodging an appeal against the Supreme Court decision was also ruled out by a judge.

Authorities have repeatedly said the fast-track trials of protesters and the harsh sentences handed out are meant as a deterrent.

Vulnerable and isolated

Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, a 39-year-old volunteer children’s coach, was also hanged on 7 January, after standing trial alongside Karami for the same crime. Source; BBC

Mona Heydari had reportedly accused her husband of domestic violence before her murder

Mohammad Mehdi Karami told his family he was tortured in detention

Environment

COP15: High stakes in Montreal as negotiators seek new global biodiversity framework

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) convened for its resumed Fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP15),yesterday in Montreal, Canada, and to close on Monday, 19. Negotiators will be working to clinch a new global biodiversity framework (GBF) that will set a series of goals and underlying targets for a “nature-positive future.”

The previous set of goals and targets that have guided international biodiversity conservation efforts in recent years, the 2011-2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and its 20 Aichi Targets, expired in 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic stymying plans to already have a GBF ready to take their place.

The first part of the CBD COP15 took place in Kunming, China, and online last year. While China is the meeting’s host, travel restrictions and other challenges related to the pandemic led to the resumed COP15 venue being moved to Montreal, where the CBD secretariat is located.

Discussions in Montreal are numerous and include issues related to addressing environmentally harmful subsidies; the final shape of the 30×30 target; the signals that COP15 sends for scaling up naturebased solutions, including naturebased infrastructure; the linkages between nature-based solutions finance and climate finance; and how the results of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties (COP27) can inform the Global Biodiversity Framework.

Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), remarked: “We need a ‘Paris Moment’ in Montreal. Similar to the legally binding global climate agreement to hold global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius and aim for 1.5 degree Celsius, governments gathering at the world nature summit COP15 in Canada need to set a limit to nature destruction. To safeguard our life-support system on Earth, we need to halt nature loss to zero, which means protecting all remaining intact nature. Only if we protect and regenerate Earth’s nature, we can really protect Earth’s climate.”

“This is potentially an historic moment for biodiversity,” said Andrew Gonzalez, a professor in the biology department at McGill University in Montreal and founding director of the Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science.

He added: “The rate of global change in nature during the past 50 years is unprecedented in human history,” the report said, pointing to five key drivers: land- and seause changes, direct exploitation of organisms, climate change, pollution, and invasions of alien species.

Environmental crisis: Nigeria seeks UN interventions on GGW, HYPREP issues

The Federal Government of Nigeria has called on the United Nations (UN) to assist in addressing Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) and Great Green Wall issues (GGW) to enable restoration of lost lands in the country.

Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, said this while receiving the Deputy Secretary-General of UN, Amina Mohammed, on courtesy visit, in Abuja, recently.

Abdullahi said that the ministry was committed to ensuring that the two major projects were implemented effectively, adding that the UN’s intervention would boost the ministry’s efforts.

“There are two important projects which we will need more of your support, the HYPREP and GGW. We are doing our best to ensure that it’s working greatly.

We have the team for the HYPREP. We are doing our best to make sure that the structure put in place is maintained to ensure checks and balances for good governance and transparency.

“This is what we are doing and we hope we will get robust support from you.

“You have always been there for us and we still have hope that you will continue to give us your full support,” he said.

Responding, Mohammed said that the UN would give its best to support in restoring the loss lands.

“So, it’s really important that we put in place the teams that will help us to look at those programmes and to see that GGW issues is properly addressed.

She said the GGW project was an economic corridor, which would offer empowerment to both youth and women, if properly addressed in the country.

According to her, the GGW project will really empower our people, but at the same time, it is able to give less reason for people to destabilise countries when they get involved in conflicts of different types.

“So again, we are at your disposal; the UN will support any efforts that you want with the GGW, particularly the wetlands,” she said.

Mohammed, however, advised agencies, parastaltals and other relevant stakeholders to support the ministry in ensuring that the environmental programmes were implemented effectively.

She thanked the minister

for his strong leadership and commitment in ensuring that environmental crisis were being tackled as well as ensuring that Paris Agreement was achieved effectively.

HYPREP was established in 2012 under the Federal Ministry of Environment to achieve the under listed objectives in Ogoniland and other impacted communities:

“To determine the scope, means and modalities of remediation of soil and ground water contamination in impacted communities as may be recommended by HYPREP Governing Council and remedy them,

“Enhance local capacity for better environmental management and promote awareness of sound environmental management as

well as ensure livelihoods and sustainable development, and “Ensure security and promote peace building efforts in impacted communities as well as strengthen governance, transparency and accountability in the region.”

The Great Green Wall (GGW) initiative, launched in 2007 by the African Union, aims to restore the continent’s degraded landscapes and transform millions of lives in the Sahel.

Its ambition is to restore 100 million hectares of currently degraded land, sequester 250 million tonnes of carbon, and create 10 million green jobs by 2030.

In Nigeria, the GGW Initiative also seeks to recover degraded land, preserve ecosystems, and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for communities.

PILIWA launched in Nigerian

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

Lawyers, civil society, and media executives converged to Benin, the Edo state capital recently for the launch of the Public Interest Lawyering Initiative for West Africa (PILIWA) Nigeria chapter.

The initiative which was founded in 2016 has a membership that cuts across nine West African countries including Cote d’ Ivoire, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Mali, and Niger, among others, and supports young lawyers interested in public interest cases technically, financially, and intellectually.

A member of PILIWA and Executive Director of the Environmental Rights Action/ Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/ FoEN), Chima Williams said that public interest lawyering is a special area for legal practitioners

with passion for public good.

Williams explained that the PILIWA was particularly interested in Nigerian lawyers because of the peculiarity of environmental and human rights abuses perpetrated by big corporations aided by the state in all parts of the country where natural resources are found.

On the Nigeria launch of the PILIWA initiative, the ERA/FoEN boss said a desk office will be set up in Benin which will receive an endowment of N250,000 (two hundred and fifty thousand naira only).

The initiative will equally train young lawyers and imbue them with the relevant knowledge on sources of evidence, how to gather evidence and how to present it before a court of competent jurisdiction.

In his intervention, Jonathan Kaufman, Executive Director of

the Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA) said that he owes his association with legal work and particularly public interest cases with his experience as a young lawyer, when he was conscripted into the cases filed by families associated with the Ken Saro Wiwa case as well as victims of the Parabe Oil Platform case caused by Chevron in Ondo State.

The two cases, Kaufman pointed out, encouraged him to reach out to and start associating with local lawyers that are classified as stubborn because of their quest for justice.

He revealed that many legal cases suffer because of information gathering deficit, financial constraints, and lack of thoroughness in terms of minute details. Sometimes lawyers are not able to obtain cross border information that their peers may

be able to obtain and pass onto them if a platform for cooperation exists.

He said that the PILIWA platform will bridge the identified gaps to help public interest lawyers secure what they need to push and win unconventional cases.

The highpoint of the event was the inauguration of zonal coordinators for the PILIWA in Nigeria. The nominated coordinators of the South-South, South-east and North Central Zones are Courage Nsirimovu, Kalu Emmanuel Chisom and Redzie D. Jugo respectively. The coordinators for the Northwest, Northeast and Southwest will be announced later.

Participants were drawn from the legal profession in Edo, Bayelsa, Rivers, Plateau, Imo, Enugu, Niger and Kogi states, among others.

26 Feature

Newport Ship: Medieval vessel is ‘world’s largest 3D puzzle’

With almost 2,500 pieces, measuring 30 metres and weighing 25 tonnes, it has been called the world’s largest 3D puzzle.

Archaeologists can now, after 20 years of painstaking restoration, start to reassemble the wreck of a 15th Century ship found in a south Wales riverbank.

Experts believe the medieval vessel is as significant a find as the Mary Rose - and it is a century older.

“The ship is of global significance and interest,” said TV historian Dan Snow.

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Specialists have been working on the Newport Ship conservation project since the discovery of almost a third of the former winetrading vessel and 1,000 medieval artefacts in the banks of the River Usk in 2002.

They have reached an important milestone on Thursday as all of its timbers, which had been preserved for more than 550 years, have now dried out and restored ready to go on display.

• Finding the ship lost for more than 300 years

• Historical 100ft-tall ship stuck on breakwater

• Old boats abandoned or put on eBay for £1

The team working on the multi-million pound project are now planning the world’s largest attempt to put an archaeological ship back together.

“We have a massive, flat-pack ship that we need to reassemble and there are no instructions,” said the project’s curator Toby Jones.

“There is going to be a lot of fitting, checking and disassembling and fitting again and again.

“There are archaeological ships on display around the world but nothing from the period of the 15th Century so this is what makes this so significant and special. We have an actual medieval ship that’s totally unique.”

Tudor king Henry VIII’s flagship naval vessel the Mary Rose is perhaps the most famous 16th Century ship on display while the Vasa in Sweden is the 17th Century equivalent.

Now historians say the Newport Ship will be the only 15th Century maritime exhibit on show anywhere in the world.

“The Mary Rose has been top billing since it was found and raised in 1982 as so many people remember it, now the Newport

“

Ship is up on that scale,” said Mary Rose’s head of conservation David Pearson.

“It can give us so much information as to what life was like in the mid-1400s and we can learn from the late medieval shipbuilding and from items found on board.”

About £8m has already been spent preserving and restoring the timbers, which has included freeze-drying the wood at the Mary Rose museum in Portsmouth.

The team made their final visit to England’s south coast on Thursday to pick up the last batch of about 100 timbers and return them to Newport, ensuring they are all under one roof again for the first time in years.

Then historians hope to put the wreckage back together and have it on display within the next five years.

‘It’s like a time capsule’

“The Newport Ship tells us a bunch of things that the Mary Rose can’t,” said TV historian Dan Snow.

“The Mary Rose was a Tudor vessel, it feels like an early modern vessel, while the Newport Ship is a trading ship operating at the beginning of a revolution in European shipbuilding.

“It was at a time when those living along the Atlantic seaboard; the Welsh, people from Brittany, northern Spain, Portugal, Devon and Cornwall were starting to go to sea in bigger and stronger ships that would allow them to eventually cross the Atlantic and into the Indian Ocean.

“So the Newport Ship symbolises the birth of this era of European exploration and comes at a very important time in maritime history - just a generation before Christopher Columbus set out across the Atlantic.

“It’s the birth of an era that changed the world in every way imaginable. People talk about globalisation and international trade as if it’s something recent, this ship shows that way back in our medieval past we had strong links with Europe and we were trading and drinking French wine.

“The Newport ship is one of the most interesting and important shipwrecks found in British waters in a generation.

“It’s a truly international find; the wood came from northern Spain and wine from France. It’s like a time capsule, a piece of the

15th Century delivered to us here in the 21st Century.

“This is something that’s going to be of global significance and interest. Tourists will be coming from all over the world as it’s very well preserved.”

Why was it in Newport?

It is thought the 30 metre (98ft), 400 tonne, medium-sized boat was having a refit following a voyage from the Iberian Peninsula to Bristol.

This was taking place in a River Usk inlet in 1468 or 1469 when its moorings broke.

Much of the oak planks and iron were stripped before the tide hid the stricken remains, with a third of the vessel succumbing to its muddy grave - lying untouched

“The Newport Ship tells us a bunch of things that the Mary Rose can’t,” said TV historian Dan Snow. “The Mary Rose was a Tudor vessel, it feels like an early modern vessel, while the Newport Ship is a trading ship operating at the beginning of a revolution in European shipbuilding.

for more than five centuries.

Economic impact assessments predict the preserved boat could attract up to 150,000 visitors a year - making it one of Wales’ most popular tourist attractions - and boost the south Wales economy by £7m a year.

Image source, Newport Museums and Heritage Service Image caption, The 2,500 planks from the Newport Ship were held in wax for four years as part of the restoration

process

Archaeologists plan to allow the public in to watch them reassemble the remains when a venue big enough is secured to take the boat.

“You cannot build this thing then move it,” added Mr Jones.

“You can only build it in its final position, but when it is done, it will be stable and has the potential for being on display in perpetuity.”

Source: BBC

Newport Museums and Heritage Service

This is what builders uncovered in 2002 when constructing a new theatre in Newport

Timbers from the Newport Ship being removed from the freeze drier machine at Portsmouth’s Mary Rose Museum

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2025 AFCON: if Morocco becomes an obstacle, we’ll crush them –Peseiro B

Super Eagles Head coach Jose Peseiro has vowed to “crush” any team that will stand in the way of the Super Eagles as they prepare to go all the way and win the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON title

Giving credit to Morocco, the Portuguese tactician agreed that Morocco has put football in Africa on a higher pedestal; but he still insists that Morocco will be crushed should they pose an opposition to his team.

“Morocco’s performance as the World Cup shows African football has come of age and many teams especially from the rest of the world will now show more respect to teams from the continent,” Peseiro told the Media.

“On our part, the aim still remains to win the next AFCON and we are ready to beat any team that comes our way.”

“That’s the target and it remains the same,” he added.

The gaffer further stated that he’s got his tactics, which will be transmitted to the players, and when the transmission is finally over with everybody understanding each other, even Argentina will not stop them.

Peseiro was in Qatar during the 2022 World Cup which ended on Sunday to understudy teams and their tactics.

Enzo Fernandez: Benfica boss criticises Chelsea pursuit of Argentina midfielder

enfica manager Roger Schmidt has criticised Chelsea in their pursuit of Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez.

The Blues are in talks about signing the 21-year-old 2022 World Cup winner from the Portuguese club.

Fernandez, who joined Benfica from River Plate in August 2022, has a release clause of about £106m.

“What the club is doing who wants Enzo, it’s disrespectful against all of us, against Benfica and I cannot accept what they are doing,” said Schmidt.

“To make the player crazy, and then to pretend they can pay the clause and later they want negotiate I think is not what I understand about a good relationship between clubs who maybe want to discuss about the player.”

Fernandez played 89 minutes for Benfica in a 3-0 defeat against SC Braga following his return to Portugal after playing a key part in helping Argentina win the World Cup.

“Enzo, we don’t want to sell him, nobody wants to sell him at this club,” said Schmidt. “Everybody knows he has a clause in his contract and, of course, if the player wants to leave and somebody comes and pays the clause we cannot work against that and so then maybe we will lose the player.

“There’s a club who want our player, they know we don’t want to sell the player, they tried to get the player on their side and they know that they only can get this player when they pay the clause so it’s a very clear situation.”

He added: “First of all Enzo is a very good boy and a fantastic football player. We like him a lot and, of course, we want that he stays at Benfica.

“Of course, the situation for him is not so easy because he played the World Cup, he became world champion, he got offers, and there’s a lot of money on the table.

“In this situation as a young player you think about that, [it can] confuse you a little bit. I think that everybody can understand but, nevertheless, he’s a very good boy.

“He was not there last week, he had no permission to go to Argentina. He missed the training so that is not acceptable [and] that’s why it will have consequences.”

Ahmed Musa unveils ultra-modern sports complex in Kaduna

Super Eagles captain and Nigerian star, Ahmed Musa, shared a video of the imposing, ultra-modern sports complex that he built and which was unveiled in Kaduna State.

On account of how frequently he has given back to society, the 30-year-old

has managed to capture the hearts of many people in Nigeria and all across the world. The latest facility is situated in Kaduna, Kaduna State, Nigeria, in the Old Kamazo, Janruwa Layout, along the Yakowa motorway.

In the video of the complex that the former

Leicester City forward shared on Twitter, courts for badminton court, volleyball, lawn tennis, squash court, and a football field can all be seen with an embedded gymnasium to complete the top-of-the-line facilities.

Musa is a forward and left winger for the Nigerian

national team as well as Sivasspor in the Turkish Super Lig. He is one of only three Nigerian centurions crossing the 100-cap mark, having played in 107 games so far, scoring 16 goals, and helping the Super Eagles to lifting the Africa Cup of Nations.

Novak Djokovic into Adelaide International last eight with win over Quentin Halys

Novak Djokovic earned a hard-fought win against Quentin Halys to move into the quarter-finals of the Adelaide International on Thursday.

The Serb rallied back from 5-2 down in the first set and 5-3 in the second to beat the Frenchman 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-5).

Djokovic will face Canada’s Denis Shapovalov on Friday as he continues his build-up to the Australian Open.

Australia’s Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the second week of the Adelaide tournament with an ankle injury.

The 27-year-old also pulled out of last week’s United Cup and so will have had limited match time going into the Australian Open, which gets underway on 16 January.

The world number 22 could go into the first major tournament of the season having not played a singles match since an ATP event in Tokyo in October.

Meanwhile, Djokovic, who beat Kyrgios in the 2022 Wimbledon final, will be bidding for his

10th Australian Open title in an attempt to equal Rafael Nadal’s overall men’s Grand Slam record of 22.

The former world number one is set to miss this season’s Indian Wells and the Miami Open after the United States extended its requirement for international visitors to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

Djokovic, who was deported prior to the 2022 Australian Open because of his Covid-19 vaccination status, said “it is what it is” when asked about the prospect of missing more tournaments.

“If it is official then it is. What can I do? Nothing,” the 35-yearold said.

“I’m hoping [to play], but if I can’t go, I can’t go.”

Seventh seed Shapovalov, Djokovic’s quarter-final opponent, raced through Thursday’s second-round Adelaide International tie with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Russian Roman Safiullin.

IOC boss, Bach congratulates Gumel on re-election as NOC President

By Amaechi Agbo

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), President, Dr Thomas Bach, OLY, has congratulated President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee Engr. Habu Gumel on his re-election.

Dr Bach conveyed his congratulatory letter to Engr Habu Ahmed Gumel who is an a Honorary Member of the IOC from Lausanne, dated December 20.

In the letter personally beside by the IOC Boss, added that the International Olympic Committee is predisposed to collaborating with Nigeria Olympic Movement to continue

to support and assist NOC in performing its mission and daily activities.

‘’Please allow me to extend my sincerest congratulations to you on your re-election as President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee on 15 December 2022, and my very best wishes for a successful term.

‘’The IOC looks forward to pursuing its fruitful collaboration with your NOC and remains fully at your disposal to continue to support and assist your NOC in performing its mission and daily activities.

‘’Wishing you and your NOC a happy and successful New Year 2023, remain, Thomas Bach,’’ the statement stressed.

Right, Engr Habu Gumel, NOC President in a handshake with IOC President, Dr Thomas Bach recently

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Chelsea transfer news: Benoit

Badiashile signs for Blues from Monaco for £35m

In search of a multipolar world order

Coming back to the NATOEU Declaration – this is an interesting document. These two organisations are being presented as an alliance of democracies against autocracies amid global rivalry. A patently confrontational agenda has been announced for the world to hear. Europe has waived its independence.

Guest Columnist

By

Kestér Kenn

Chelsea have signed France defender Benoit Badiashile from Monaco for £35m on a seven-and-a-half-year contract.

Badiashile, 21, has spent five seasons in Ligue 1 and made 135 league appearances for Monaco.

The central defender made his senior international debut in September against Austria and has two caps.

“I’m very happy to be here at Chelsea. I can’t wait to see the fans and start playing in the best league in the world,” said Badiashile.

Badiashile joined Monaco in 2016 and made his Ligue 1 debut against Paris St-Germain in November 2018 when Thierry Henry was manager.

He has featured in the Champions League and Europa League for the French club and has scored six goals and registered three assists.

“Benoit’s growth over the last two-and-a-half seasons from a young player struggling to fully bring his talent to bear is testament to his and the staff’s attitudes in adopting a higher professional standard,” said Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell.

“Signing with one of Europe’s biggest clubs is the fruit of the work being accomplished within our academy and first team and once again highlights Monaco’s ability to develop young players to the highest level.”

Blues chairman Todd Boehly said: “We’re delighted to welcome Benoit to Chelsea.

“He’s an excellent young player who has quickly established a strong reputation for himself and has a huge amount of experience for his young age. We are sure he will form an important part of our team in the years ahead.”

Graham Potter’s side are currently without defenders Wesley Fofana, Reece James and Ben Chilwell through injury.

Addressing media conference on the performance of Russian diplomacy in 2022, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke, at length, lambasting the United States and its European allies’ coalition, the emerging poly-centric world and on the role of regional organizations as well as latest developments in the former Soviet region.

In his introductory remarks, Lavrov acknowledged that the previous was indeed difficult due to deep-rooted trends in geopolitics but unique, to some extent, reflecting the processes in the world. What is happening in Ukraine now is the result of preparations by the United States and its satellites for the start of a global hybrid war against the Russian Federation.

According to his explanation, Western partners are cunning while vehemently trying to prove that they are not fighting Russia but are only helping Ukraine respond to an “aggression” and restore its territorial integrity. The scale of their support makes it clear that the West has staked a great deal on its war against Russia; this is obvious.

“Free market, fair competition, free enterprise, the inviolability of property, and the presumption of innocence, in a word, everything the Western globalization model relied on collapsed overnight. Sanctions have been imposed on Russia and other objectionable countries that do not comply with these tenets and mechanisms. Clearly, sanctions can be imposed any time on any country, which, in one way or another, refuses to mindlessly follow American orders,” he told the media representatives gathered in the auditorium.

The European Union has been completely subsumed by this US dictatorship (there’s

no point in discussing this at length). The signing of the Joint Declaration on EU-NATO Cooperation on January 10 was the high point of this process, something that has been in the making for several years. It states explicitly that the alliance and the EU’s goal is to use all political, economic and military means in the interests of the golden billion.

Coming back to the NATOEU Declaration – this is an interesting document. These two organisations are being presented as an alliance of democracies against autocracies amid global rivalry. A patently confrontational agenda has been announced for the world to hear. Europe has waived its independence.

The Joint Declaration directly subordinates Europe to NATO. It includes commitments to serve US interests in matters of geopolitical containment of Russia and China. Their declared goal – well known to everyone before but now laid out in black and white – is to enable the US-led alliance to achieve global preeminence.

Lavrov further added that in the so-called “Indo-Pacific region,” the West is out to create bloc architecture against Russia and China. With this aim in view, they have consistently been destroying (although they prefer to keep quiet about this) the decades-old mechanisms and formats of cooperation created around ASEAN based

Klomegâh

on equality, consensus, and a balance of interests.

Instead, they are putting together military blocs. A shining case in point is AUKUS, an Anglo-Saxon bloc in Asia, which includes the US, the UK, and Australia). Japan is under pressure to join it as well. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s recent visit to Washington ended up confirming this course. Japan is militarising again. Japan is bracing to alter the articles in its constitution that prevent it from doing this. The process is underway.

Lavrov made some comparisons. Like Napoleon, who mobilized nearly all of Europe against the Russian Empire, and Hitler, who occupied the majority of European countries and hurled them at the Soviet Union, the United States has created a coalition of nearly all European member states of NATO and the EU and is using Ukraine to wage a proxy war against Russia with the old aim of finally solving the “Russian question,” like Hitler, who sought a final solution to the “Jewish question.”

Along the line Lavrov stressed the role of regional organizations. Countries are developing economically. Look at China and India (strategic partners), Türkiye, Brazil, Argentina, Egypt and many African countries. Considering their immense natural resources, their development potential is enormous. New

centres of economic growth are emerging.

The West is trying to prevent this, in part, by exploiting the mechanisms created to service its interests within the globalization framework it created. The role of the dollar as a reserve currency is very important in this respect. This is why Russia is intensifying contacts through the SCO, BRICS, the CIS, and the EAEU, and in cooperation with associations of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

It will take a long time to create a multipolar world order. This will take an entire historical era – it is in the midst of this process. It takes time to create a multi-polar world and finalize the relations needed for the triumph of democracy and justice and for the observance of the UN Charter principle of respect for the sovereign equality of all states. In the majority of cases, it crudely violated the UN Charter.

The UN Charter is a good foundation. At the time it was adopted, it was a revolutionary document. Unfortunately, the West distorted all its correct principles. It did not respect the principles of sovereign equality of states, non-interference in internal affairs and peaceful settlement of disputes. The United States used its armed forces abroad hundreds of times since the establishment of the United Nations.

Kestér Kenn Klomegâh is a Public Policy Analyst.

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Along the line Lavrov stressed the role of regional organizations. Countries are developing economically. Look at China and India (strategic partners), Türkiye, Brazil, Argentina, Egypt and many African countries