Wednesday, May 31, 2023 Edition

TUC rejects removal of fuel subsidy by Tinubu

By Abubakar Yunusa Abuja

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria, has rejected the removal of fuel subsidy as announced by President Bola Tinubu during his swearingin ceremony on Monday.

TUC in a statement by its President and Secretary General, Festus Osifo and Nuhu Toro, respectively, warned that it is a joke taken too far.

The body while assessing the President’s inaugural speech, said “TUC is delighted by the peaceful transition from the Muhammadu Buhari government to the Bola Tinubu administration and across the 28 states of the federation.

We congratulate Nigerians and the new administration at all levels even as we urge all those contesting the election results across the board to keep following the rule of law as provided in the constitutional and electoral act in seeking redress.

“While listening to Tinubu’s Inaugural Address, we were at first encouraged by his pledge to lead as a servant of the people (and not as a ruler) and to always consult and dialogue, especially on key and knotty national issues. But we were subsequently taken aback, even horrified, when he announced the withdrawal of subsidy on petroleum products.

“If by this, he means increases

in pump price and the exploitation of the people by unregulated and exploitative deregulated prices, then it’s a joke taken too far. It is not for nothing the Buhari government pushed this to the new administration. But we expect the Tinubu government to be wise on such a sensitive issue and be more explicit in its pronouncement to avoid contradictory interpretations when comparing his written statement, what he said and the provision in the 2023 appropriation act.

“We dare say that this is a very delicate issue that touches on the lives, if not very survival, of particularly the working people. Hence, it ought to have been treated with utmost caution, and should have been preceded by robust dialogue and consultation with the representatives of the working people, including professionals, market people, students and the poor masses.

“Accordingly, we hereby demand that President Tinubu should tarry awhile to give room for robust dialogue and consultation and stakeholders engagement. Just as he opined in his speech until all issues and questions; and there are a host of them, are amicably considered and resolved. Nigerian Workers and indeed masses must not be made to suffer the inefficiency of successive governments.

“We are also worried that in his speech President Tinubu failed to delve into or reveal his plans on how to tackle and address the issue of poor and unchecked deterioration in industrial relations, particularly in the education, health and judiciary sectors, often resulting in prolonged strike and Industrial actions and their attendant adverse effects on society and the economy. A case in point is the current nationwide strike by JOHESU.

“If there is anything for the new administration to hurriedly address from day one in office, it is the abysmal N30,000 minimum wage that has since been eroded by the problematic monetary and fiscal policies of the government.

“The Labour Movement is open and ready to dialogue with the Tinubu administration on the fuel subsidy issue. We urge it in the interest of the country and its people not to dictate on such a matter or engage in manipulating the outcome of such consultations.

“The TUC identifies with the new government’s declaration that it will defend the nation from terror and all forms of criminality that threaten peace and stability. We suggest that in its promised review of our security architecture, a more robust method of defending the country by involving the mass of the people and empowering them to defend themselves when

attacked by bandits and terrorists.

“We also are encouraged by the new government’s promise to engage in job creation, food security and end extreme poverty. In this, we urge it to involve organized labour, employers of labour, professional organisations and the informal sector. This is necessary so that these programmes would not become mere propaganda in which unverifiable statistics are churned out periodically.

“Congress welcomes the promise to make electricity accessible and affordable to businesses and homes and, suggests that the Tinubu government begins by stopping the periodic arbitrary increases in the price of electricity imposed by the distribution companies while regulatory and consumer agencies look away.

“This new administration cannot be seen to be speaking from both sides of its mouth, we urge President Tinubu to be a President with a human face.

“Like always, we will stand by the people and their interests. Nigerian workers are hardworking and have remained consistent with productive work regardless of harsh government policies, poor governance and mismanagement of resources that has placed us in these difficult living conditions”.

L-R: National Chairman of APC, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari, Governor of Katsina State, Dr. Dikko Umar Radda and Alh. Sani Mohammed Sale, during the APC Chairman’s visit to former President at his county home Daura Katsina state, yesterday.

Reps minority caucus mourns Chief Raymond Dokpesi

By Christiana Ekpa

The Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives has expressed shocked and grieve-stricken over the news of the death of media pioneer, High Chief Raymond Aleogho Anthony Dokpesi who passed away on Monday 29 May, 2023.

The Caucus in a statement by its leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu described Chief Dokpesi as a “highly resourceful, respected and

accomplished entrepreneur, very brilliant, humble and insightful touch bearer; who has touched the lives of many Nigerians

“High Chief Dokpesi is a remarkable philanthropist, who remained steadfast towards the unity, stability and development of our nation and served as a source of inspiration to many especially the younger generation of leaders and entrepreneurs.

“As a pioneer in the media industry, High Chief Dokpesi

used his array of media houses under the Daar Communication, including the Africa Independent Television (AIT), Ray Power FM and Faaji FM to promote access to information, enhance good governance, educational activities, private entrepreneurship as well as showcase the rich cultural heritage of our nation, Nigeria and Africa in general to the world.

“High Chief Dokpesi was a global citizen and his death is a huge loss to our dear nation and

humanity at large. He will be greatly missed as his legacies will continue to live and impact lives for many more years to come.

“The Minority Caucus deeply commiserates with the Dokpesi family, the Daar Communication Group, the Government and people of Edo State and the Weppa-Wanno Kingdom at this moment of grief and prays to the Almighty God to grant us all the fortitude to bear this devastating loss and to the faithful departed, an eternal rest” he said.

Tinubu, Shettima resume duties at Aso Rock

By Egena Sunday Ode

Barely 24 hours after their inauguration, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima on Tuesday resumed duties in the State House, Abuja.

Tinubu’s motorcade arrived at the main entrance of the president’s office at about 2.30pm where he inspected the customary guard mounted by Quarter Guards.

Thereafter, he took a short drive to the forecourt of the office where he was received by a welcome party led by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

Also present were the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; the Permanent Secretary of the State House, Tijjani Umar; the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele; the Group Chief

African libration week : Group calls for removal of border obstacles in Africa

From Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse

Aplatform of patriots popularly known as ‘Save Nigeria Now’ called for the removal of border obstacles for healthy business environment in Africa.

The call was made by the coordinator of Save Nigeria Now Comrade Maryam Ibrahim, while briefing newsmen during a one day workshop to celebrate African libration week in Jigawa state.

She explained that, the 2023 African Liberation week campaign is on borderless Africa, organized by Save Nigeria now in collaboration with Jigawa State ministry of Commerce with supported from Africans Rising.

Executive Officer (GCEO), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari; former Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Mr Wale Edun, Mr Dele Alake; Hon. James Faleke.

Tinuba had been scheduled to have a meeting with the CBN governor and the NNPCL boss.

Speaking to newsmen at the Vice President Wing, Shettima assuried that President Tinubu will change the life of the common man.

He said: “To paraphrase the late John F. Kennedy, to some generations much is given; to other generations much is expected. I beliecve this generation has a rendezvous with destiny and my principal, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is poised to redefine the meaning and concept of modern governance.

“I want to assure Nigerians that he is going to provide the lead. He is going to provide the leadership and we will rally round him, give him our unequivocal support and loyalty to see to the realization of the Nigerian dream - a Nigeria where every black man in the world should be proud of.

“Power to me is a humbling experience. It’s all about how we can make life better for the common man.

“So, I want to assure our countrymen that President Bola Tinubu will by the grace of God catapult this nation to a higher pedestal. He is determined; he has the skills set; he has the temperament; the disposition and the purity of mind and commitment to give service to this nation.”

On subsidy removal, Shettima stressed the need to do away with it.

According to him, government

is aware that those who benefit from it will resist the removal but Tinubu is prepared to take them on.

He argued: “The president has already made pronouncements yesterday on the issue of the fuel subsidy. The truth of the matter is that it is either we get rid of subsidy or the fuel subsidy gets rid of the Nigerian nation.

“In 2022, we spent $10billion subsidizing the ostentatious lifestyle of the upper class of the society because you and I benefit 90% from the oil subsidy. The poor 40% of Nigerians benefit very little. And we know the consequences of unveiling a masquerade.

“We will get fierce opposition from those benefitting from the oil subsidy scam. But where there is a will, there is a way.

“Be rest assured that our president is a man of strong will and conviction. In the fullness of time you will appreciate his noble

intentions for the nation. The issue of fuel subsidy will be frontally addressed. The earlier we do so, the better.

“The issue of multiple exchange rates, we are going to collapse it into one. So, these are two big elephants in the room and as the days go by we will be unveiling our agenda.

“He is going to unveil his agenda because as I have always said there can never be two captains in a ship. He is the president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. I’m the vice president. Your relevance is directly proportional to the level of your loyalty to the president.

“This is a gentleman that I have known for well over a decade; that I have interacted closely with. Be rest assured that we are going to work harmoniously as a team, as a family for the greater good of our nation.”

Kebbi Governor seeks traditional rulers support

From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

The Kebbi State Governor, Comrade Nasir Idris has called on traditional rulers to support his administration with useful ideas and advice that would take the state to next level of development.

He made the call yesterday when he received the Sarki Zabarumawa Gwandu, Alhaji Ali

Mustapha Haliru on a courtesy in Government House, Birnin Kebbi.

The governor observed that the journey was not only for him alone, hence the need for traditional rulers and the entire people of Kebbi State to come forward with positive inputs that would propel growth and development of the state.

According to him, the

role of the traditional rulers who are fathers to all in any administration is critical in governance, saying: “As I promised during our campaign era, the essence of government is to execute projects and at the same time empower people.”

Idris stressed the need for an effort by his administration to make Kebbi State a small London through the execution

of various developmental projects that would make the state capital answer its name as capital city of Kebbi.

The governor thanked all the visitors for their show of solidarity and assured that he would never let them down.

Earlier, the Sarki Zabarumawa Gwandu Ali Mustapha Haliru told the Governor that the essence of the

courtesy call was to rejoice and celebrate with him on the just concluded swearing-in as Kebbi State Governor.

“We are your brothers and we are ready to work with you in any ramification, we supported you during the elections and we shall continue to support your policies and programmes to achieve the desired objective,” he added.

From left, Director general National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Balarabe Shehu Ilelah signing the condolence register during a condolence visit to the Dopkesi’s family over the death of the Chairman DAAR Communication Raymond Dopkesi in Abuja yesterday.

PHOTO:

By Christiana Ekpa

The House of Representatives, Tuesday demanded the urgent virement of N373 million for the National Assembly E-Library and Dashboard provided in the 2022/2023 Appropriation Acts as take off grant for the National Assembly Library Trust Fund.

Out of the amount, N255 million is for National Assembly E-library while N118 million is for Dashboard.

The House demand followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by Gaza Gbefwi (SDP, Nasarawa) at plenary on Tuesday.

Moving the motion, Gbefwi said the National Assembly

Reps want virement of N373m NASS E-Library, dashboard finance to Library Trust Fund

Library Trust Fund was established by the National Assembly Library Trust Fund Act, 2022 for the provision of library equipment, and for the provision of state-of-theart library equipment and other related facilities for the retraining of legislators, amongst others.

He said all things have been set in place for the take-off and running of the National Assembly Library Trust Fund such as the constitution of

the Board of Trustees, the appointment of an Executive Secretary for the Trust Fund amongst others.

The lawmaker said in the Appropriation Act, 2022, the sum of N255 million and N118 million was appropriated for the National Assembly E-library and Dashboard respectively while no sum was appropriated for the National Assembly Library Trust Fund.

The said the House was; “Aware that the management

of the E-Library and the provision of electronic library facilities thereto falls within the exclusive mandate of the National Assembly Library Trust Fund, and forms the basis for the establishment of the Trust Fund by this House.

“Concerned that any further delay in the in the virement of the sums appropriated for the National Assembly E-Library and Dashboard respectively will impede the smooth takeoff of the Trust Fund and

Subsidy: FG owing NNPLC N2.8trn, says Kyari

By Egena Sunday Ode

The federal government is owing the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Linmited (NNPCL) N2.8 trillion of cash flow from the fuel subsidy regime, its Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mele Kyari, disclosed on Tuesday.

Briefing newsmen after he met with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Kyari while stressing that the federation can no longer pay NNPCL for the burden of subsidy that it was carrying, said it intends to recover from the market.

“Our position is we are a supplier of last resort to the federation, we are a commercial company, supplying to the federation during the subsidy regime. Now I’m also aware that government will act to bring succour and relief to our country people. I know this government is very sensitive and they will do this.

“So, there are engagements that are ongoing to bring into effect that component of it. So, NNPCL will not do anything because we are a commercial company. It will not come from NNPC. But I’m aware that government will do something around this. But the reality is that you cannot give what you don’t have. So, today the country doesn’t have the money to pay for subsidy.

He further explained that “there’s incremental value that will come from it. But it is not an issue of whether you can do it or not because today we can afford it and they are not able to pay our bill. That comes to how much is the federation owing NNPC now? Today, we are waiting for them to settle up to N2.8 trillion of NNPC cash flow from the subsidy regime. And we can continue to do this.”

On subsidy removal effective takes off date, Kyari explained: “First of all, the Petroleum Industry Act, said that six months after the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act, Petroleum motor spirit will be priced at its commercial value. So there will be no subsidies six months after the enactment on the PIA. That means by February 17th, 2022, there should have been no subsidy on PMS.

“Now the National Assembly and

Government, in its wisdom provided for soft city in 2022, despite the fact that the provision of the PIA said terminated by 17th of February.

“So, government can decide to spend its money anywhere it wants and it can bring succor and relief to its citizen. This is very typical. It happens all over the world. However, that provision in 2022 and also 2023 has not been funded by government.

“A greater part of it is supported by the cash flow from NNPC’s other businesses. And therefore, even

though there is provision to the end of June, there is no financing even from the start. And therefore since you can’t pay, you cannot expect NNPC to continue to carry it. And this has been the position that the NNPC has taken and what the President simply say is obeying the law and also the realities that the federation can no longer pay NNPC for the burden of subsidy that we are carrying.”

On why fuel queues suddenly resurfaced after President Tinubu’s

address, the NNPLC helmsman, said “All of us must have seen importance of what exactly this means. And typically consumers will rush the fuel station to fill their tanks. And that is why you’re seeing these queues. And also for marketers, they would like to see what exactly this means in the sense that, you know, so how are we going to sell the product if subsidy on PMs is removed and the combination of two is what you are seeing, the obvious dislocation of

invariably affect the attainment of the objectives of the Act in the 2022/2023 financial year.”

Adopting the motion, the House resolved that the N255 million and N118 million appropriated for the National Assembly E-Library and Dashboard respectively, in the Appropriation Act, 2022/2023 be vired to the recurrent account of the National Assembly Library Trust Fund as part of the initial take off grant.

distribution. And we believe that this will go away very, very quickly as you’re aware also.

“So, the Petroleum Industry Act has made it very clear that price of petroleum must be priced at market. That means there must be commercial price for petroleum six months and that time, six months after bringing into law of the petroleum industry at that are central, the Petroleum Industry Bill now the law that is August, 2021.

Fuel Scarcity resurface in the Federal Capital Territory, yesterday in Abuja, after the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announce removal of fuel subsidy. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Adeeko hails Seyi Adekunle on his national honours award

By Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja

The Chief Executive Officer and founder of Whiskey Mistress, Mrs. Adenike

Isi Adeeko has congratulated chairman and lead designer of the Vodi Group,Seyi Adekunle over his nomination and approval for the National Honours Award in the rank of OON, (Officer of the Order of the Niger), by the former President Mohammadu Buhari. Fashion entrepreneur, Seyi Adekunle is the chairman and lead designer of the Vodi Group of Companies, a company that excels in customised men’s

suits and conventional clothes, as well as its sister company, which focuses on a wide range of shoes. However, he is also called Seyivodi.

The congratulatory message was contained in a signed by herself and shared with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, said” This achievement is a testament to your exceptional talent, hard work, and dedication to your craft.

Adeeko said :”It is with great pleasure that I extend my heartfelt congratulations to you on receiving the National Award for your outstanding contribution

to the fashion industry.

“Your innovative designs have captured the hearts of many, and your artistic vision has undoubtedly left an indelible mark on the fashion industry.

Your passion for fashion and your commitment to excellence have set you apart as a true leader in your field, and this award is a recognition of your remarkable achievements.

“Your creativity, attention to detail, and ability to push boundaries have made you a role model to many aspiring designers. You have inspired countless individuals to pursue

their dreams and to strive for excellence in their chosen fields.

“As you bask in the glory of this well-deserved recognition, I want you to know that your contributions to the fashion industry have not gone unnoticed. Your talent and hard work have earned you this prestigious award, and I have no doubt that you will continue to inspire and innovate for years to come.

“Once again, congratulations on this incredible achievement. I wish you all the best as you continue to pursue your passion and make your mark on the fashion world,” she said.

Reps okay removal of fuel subsidy

By Christiana Ekpa

The Nigerian House of Representatives on Tuesday approved the removal of fuel subsidy by president Bola Tinubu.

The House also commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his courage and appeared to Nigerians to be patient with the new administration.

The House resolutions was as the result of a Motion of Urgent Public Importance sponsored by Hon Jimoh Ibrahim Olajide, (APC, Lagos).

Moving the motion, the Lawmaker noted that Mr. President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 29th 2023 made a Public Pronouncement on fuel subsidy Removal.

He said that the President, Tinubu is a concern that senior citizen agenda is to favour the down trodden for the purpose of humanity

The House is aware that there is no provision for fuel subsidy in the 2023 Appropriation Act.

The House is further aware that the current 9th Assembly and the past Administration had given it a legal backing.

The House is convinced that further legislative actions in supporting Mr President in delivering dividends of democracy will go along way in enhancing development because he asked for it, he campaigned for it, and he is ready for the task ahead.

The House is convinced that president Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the tutor-general of Nigerian politics is concern about the masses and

has meaningful objective to utilise Nigeria funds appropriately with budgetary reforms agenda on education, health, infrastructure, agriculture ,food, security and above all security of lives and property as embedded in the constitution”.

The House therefore resolved: “To salute his courage and boldness to serve our country Nigeria with honesty and integrity. To congratulate him for his readiness for national task ahead and service to humanity and appealed to Nigerians to remain

patient, resilient and prayerful so that the President can deliver on his promises”.

It will be recalled that Tinubu after his inauguration at Eagles Square, Abuja as president swiftly announced the removal of the oil subsidy.

The decision had however been greeted by cheers and jeers in many quarters as the immediate effects are now been felt with many oil marketers and filling shutting down while those selling fuel has hiked the prices to as high as between N300 to N600 per litre.

Tinubu’s alleged drug case: Obi tenders USA $460,000 forfeiture order as evidence

By Vivian Okejeme, Abuja

The Presidential Election Petition Court(PEPC) has admitted in evidence, a United States of America (USA) District Court judgment that reportedly indicted President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and ordered his forfeiture of $460,000 in drug related offences.

The first Petition Witness(PW1), Barrister Lawrence Uchechukwu Nnanna Nwakaeti, tendered the certified true copy of the judgment in court, Tuesday.

The PW1, in his evidence-in-chief, led by Mr Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, tendered

the court’s judgment as part of requests by Obi and Labour Party to prove that Tinubu was not qualified to run the election of the 2023 presidency.

However, Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) announced that they have objections against admission of the judgment but reserved the objections to final address stage.

Under cross examination by Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN who stood for President Tinubu, the witness admitted that the judgment was not registered in Nigeria.

The witness admitted that there was no certificate from any Consular

in Nigeria or America in support of the judgment but insisted that “the judgment speaks for itself”.

He claimed to have been to the United States of America and read the judgment in its entirety adding that he would be surprised if no mention was made of $460,000 forfeiture.

On his part, counsel to Tinubu, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, asked the witness if he has a certificate under the Police officer in the US where the alleged crime took place.

However, the witness said that the American Court judgment had no certificate given under the hand of any

American Police Officer.

He denied knowledge of a February 4, 2003 Formal Clearance Report by Legal Attachee from American Embassy in respect of the alleged indictment and forfeiture.

When asked by Fagbemi SAN to produce a copy of the charges against Tinubu, the witness admitted not having any but maintained that the indictment and forfeiture are from civil proceedings.

Meantime, Justice Haruna Tsamani led panel admitted the documents as evidence.

Further hearing in the petition continues tomorrow, May 31.

R-L: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu resumes at his office in State House received by the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, at the State House, yesterday in Abuja.

We’re not in a fight with over Lagos property — DSS

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam, Egena Sunday Ode

The Department of State Services (DSS) has said that it is not in a fight with the EFCC over Lagos property.

The service said its attention has been drawn to some media reports that it barricaded the EFCC from entering its Lagos office.

The service in a statement issued on Tuesday by Peter Afunanya, its Public Relations Officer, said, “it

is not correct that the DSS barricaded EFCC from entering its office. No. It is not true. The Service is only occupying its own facility where it is carrying out its official and statutory responsibility.

“By the way, there is no controversy over No 15A Awolowo Road as being insinuated by the Media. Did the efcc tell you it is contesting the ownership of the building? I will be surprised if it is contesting the ownership. Awolowo Road was NSO headquarters. SSS/ DSS started from there. It is a common knowledge. It is a historical fact. Check

it out.

“There is no rivalry between the Service and the EFCC over and about anything. Please do not create any imaginary one. They are great partners working for the good of the nation. Dismiss any falsehood of a fight.

Tinubu directs DSS to vacate EFCC office

Meanwhile, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Department of State Security Service (DSS) to immediately vacate the office of the

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The President gave the directive when reports that DSS officials stormed the EFCC office located on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos on Tuesday, preventing officials of the anti-graft agency from accessing their work place, was brought to his attention.

A terse statement signed by Tunde Rahman, quoted the President as saying that if there were issues between the two important agencies of government, they would be resolved amicably.

Immediate past Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. (Sen.) Adeleke Olorunnimbe

Mamora (left) Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation

Mrs. Monilola Udoh (2nd right) Director, Chemical Technology Department Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Mr. MEJ BASSEY (right) during the handing over of his stewardship booklet to the Permanent Secretary FMSTI, held recently in Abuja.

PERL harps on constructive engagement between Govt, citizens

From: Femi Oyelola,

The Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL) a UK-supported governance programme, has called for a constructive citizens engagement in aiding good governance and ensuring service delivery to the people in the Local Government Areas

The State Lead Facilitator, PERL, Mr Adejor Abel asserted this during a 2 Day Citizens capacity strengthening on utilization of the Community Development Charter (CDC) applications to accelerate

timeless in the submission of needs for consideration into Local Government and state Budget.

Adejor encouraged the CDC Champions to be constructive with their various Local government executives and a legislative Council to yield the much desired results that will benefit the citizens.

He added that the meeting with the CDC Champions is also to harvest the success, particularly in aiding good governance and ensuring service delivery to the people in the LGAs.

Adejor reiterated the

need to deviate totally from confrontational and abusive approach and embrace constructive approaches.

Presenting the Objectives of engagement, Seth, Luke of Local Government Accountability Mechanisms (LGAM) said it is to enhance the quality and timeliness of citizens needs being generated as well as to address emerging challenges;

He added that the engagement will also enhance the capacity of the champions to effectively utilize the CDC platform https:// citizensdemand.org to improve

efficiency in the submission of the CDCs across the 23 LGAs; Seth, Luke added the meeting will also enhance the quality and timeliness of citizens’ needs being generated as well as to address emerging challenges;

In his remarks Mr. Yusuf Goje explained that the engagement is an avenue for the CDC Champions to narrate their success stories and reflected on their challenges at the same time setting priority for next steps considering the emerging opportunities for more robust

engagement going forward.

Speaking with our correspondent on the sideline of the meeting, the Planning Officer at the Planning and Budget Commission Umar Ibrahim said the constructive engagement adopted by CDC Champions aided successes recorded since its inception

The CDC Champions used the avenue to do a thorough review of their engagement in the areas of inclusion of citizens in the government’s policy process, planning and budget in achieving service delivery and good governance in the 23 LGAs.

Kogi guber: Court asked to disqualify APC candidate, Ahmed Ododo

By Vivian Okejeme Abuja

An aggrieved governorship All Progressive Congress APC candidate, Abubakar Achimugu, has asked a federal high court, Abuja to disqualify (APC), Ahmed Usman Ododo from contesting the forthcoming governorship election in Kogi State.

The Plaintiff posited that Ododo is not qualified to fly the flag of the APC in the November 11, 2023 governorship poll, having failed to resign his employment with the Kogi State public service before contesting the governorship primary, which he won.

According to him, Ododo breached Section 182 of the Constitution, Section 84 of the Electoral Act, 2022, and Article 7 of the APC’s Constitution in participating in the April 14 governorship primary of the APC.

In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/ CS/584/2023, the plaintiff is claiming that Ododo’s failure to resign his appointment with the Kogi State Government, 30 days to the primary, made him ineligible for the November 11, guber poll.

Mentioned as Respondents in the matter are, APC, Ododo, the deputy governorship candidate, Salami Momodu Deedat and the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) as 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th respondents respectively.

Amongst the issues brought before the court for determination is that whether the 2nd defendant is eligible to participate in the forthcoming governorship election slated for November 11, 2023, in view of the fact that both at the time of submitting of nomination and expression of interest forms and the conduct and declaration

Niger Governor assures to implement Transition Committee Reports

From Yakubu Mustapha Minna

Niger state Governor Umar Mohammed Bago has assured to carefully study and execute reports of the transition committee which will serve as a guide for his administration that will serve with fear of God.

The governor stated this shortly after taking his oath of office and alligence presided over by the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik at the trade fair complex in Minna, saying that 90% of his cabinet will be youths.

Bago further reiterated his commitment to justify the confidence reposed in him and his vice, hence they will not take the mandate for granted, noting that it will not be business as usual but business unusual.

He emphasized that his administration will operate an open door policy, focusing on transparency, accountability and physical discipline irrespective of tribe, religion and political differences to enhance the development of the state.

The newly sworn in governor presented 13 points agenda his administration will focus on, acknowledging that a glorious new chapter has been open and it is a social contract for a Renew Niger.

The Governor will focus on include security, education, Agriculture, Commerce, Tourism, Civil Service, Health, Water , Electricity, Transportation, Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), Youths and women priority, to complete ongoing 3 arms zone and to involved traditional leaders in

of primary election results Ododo and Deedat remained civil/ public servants and employees of Kogi State Government, contrary to the provisions of Section 182 (2), Section 84 (10) and (11) of the Electoral Act, 2022 Guidelines for the nomination of candidates.

If the answer is in the affirmative, plaintiff wants the court to amongst others declare that the 2nd and 3rd defendants are not qualified or eligible to have participated in the primary election being persons both employed in public service of Kogi State, they failed and neglected to resign, withdraw or retire from employment

at least 30 days to the April 14, 2023 when the primary election was conducted.

They are also asking the court to declare that the 2nd and 3rd defendants at the time of the concluded primary election of April 14, 2023 and April 15 when results was announced were not qualified or eligible, not validly nominated, and the purported nomination is unconstitutional, not eligible to bear the flag of the APC, as its gubernatorial candidate for Kogi State governorship election slated for November 11, 2023.

Another declaration “That the 2nd defendant

is not eligible or qualified to contest for the office of Kogi State Governor, in the November 11, poll, being a person employed in the public service of Kogi State and failed to resign 30 days to the primary election.

Subsequently, they prayed the court to make an order nullifing and setting aside the screening and participation of the second and third defendants in the April 14, gubernatorial primary election for the nomination of the candidate of APC, having been in breach of Section 182 of the Constitution and Section 84 of the Electoral Act, 2022, Article 7 of the APC Constitution.

NIGERIA DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

Plot 447 / 448 Constitution Avenue, Central Business District, Abuja

E-mail: info@ndic.gov.ng Website: www.ndic.gov.ng

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FOR THE ACQUISITION OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (EDMS) FOR THE CORPORATION

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) is seeking to identify and select a reputable company with good track record of performance for the acquisition of electronic document management system (EDMS) for the Corporation (NDIC).

2.0 SCOPE OF WORK

1. The Corporation archives in five (5) locations namely; Lagos, Enugu, Benin, Kano, Abuja are fully digitized using the Docuware. There should be a seamless transfer of digitized documents from Docuware to the new Software.

2. Departments/Units/Offices are utilizing several other software that enhance their processes. E.g. Sun Account, Human Manager, Team Mate, etc. These standalone software should be able to handshake with the new EDMS seamlessly.

3. The Corporation is going paperless in the near future, the new Software should be able to drive the paperless policy of the Corporation.

4. The Software should be robust and user friendly to accommodate all the internally generated and acquired documents from closed banks in liquidation.

5. The new EDMS should be able to synchronize with Human Manager Application for ease of use by I & M Unit.

6. The search criteria in the EDMS can be enhance to be able to retrieve documents based on search words

7. Training of staff on use of the EDMS.

8. Securitization of all documents in the EDMS.

9. Easy retrieval of documents.

10. Version Control.

11. Digitization of existing document: As a form of capturing existing documents into the system, digitization of physical archived documents should be part of the development scope.

REQUIREMENTS

1. Document Capture: The EDMS should be able to scan and recognize the information in the record, as well as convert the document to PDF and other usable formats.

2. User-friendly Interface: The interface should be user friendly and the instructions, including troubleshoot should be contained in the help menu. We also recommend link to short videos on how to use the application be embedded.

3. Document Accessibility: it should be structured well to make each document uniquely identifiable. Documents types and tags will help to manage the content of the system. For instance, a search using keyword should retrieve a digitized file in PDF format.

4. Cloud based storage: There should be option for cloud storage which provide long lasting preservation of documents.

5. Migration of files from Docuware to enable seamless migration of all previously uploaded files.

6. Web Access; for convenience and increase in productivity, the application should be web access enabled to allow restricted remote access for specific users.

7. Audit Trail: There should be an audit function integrated in the system, which will enable one to view a record of each instance the EDMS is accessed and what file was retrieved

8. The application should have a single Sign-on functionality

9. The application should have clearly defined access right for different categories of staff (e.g. Read only, Read write etc.)

3.0 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA Interested bidder(s) for the above project are required to provide the following bidding requirements for the project.

All Expression of Interest (EOI) must be accompanied with the following:

i. Evidence of Certificate of Incorporation issued by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) including Form CAC1.1 or CAC2 and CAC7. Business Name with Form BN1 is also acceptable;

ii. Evidence of Company’s Income Tax Clearance Certificate (or Personal Income Tax Clearance Certificate of all the Partners in case of Business Name) for the last three (3) years valid till 31st December, 2023; with minimum average annual turnover of N150,000,000.00.

iii. Evidence of Pension Clearance Certificate valid till 31st December, 2023 (this requirement is only applicable to bidders whose number of staff is 15 and above);

iv. Evidence of Industrial Training Fund (ITF) Compliance Certificate valid till 31st December, 2023 (this requirement is only applicable to bidders whose number of staff is 5 and above or the bidder’s annual turnover is N50m and above);

v. Evidence of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Clearance Certificate valid till 31st December, 2023;

vi. Evidence of Registration on the National Database of Federal Contractors, Consultants and Service Providers by submission of Interim Registration Report (IRR) expiring on 31st December, 2023 or valid Certificate issued by BPP.

vii. Sworn Affidavit:

- Disclosing whether or not any officer of the relevant committees of the Nigeria

Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Bureau of Public Procurement is a former or present Director, shareholder or has any pecuniary interest in the bidder and to confirm that all information presented in its bid are true and correct in all particulars;

- that no Director has been convicted in any Country for any criminal offence relating to fraud or financial impropriety or criminal misrepresentation or falsification of facts relating to any matter;

- that the Company is not in receivership, the subject of any form of insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings or the subject of any form of winding up petition or proceedings;

- that the company does not have existing loan or financial liability with a bank, other financial institution or third party that is classified as doubtful, non-performance, bad or whose repayment portion has been outstanding for the last four (4) months;

viii. Company’s Audited Accounts for the last three (3) years - 2020, 2021 & 2022;

ix. Reference Letter from a reputable Commercial Bank in Nigeria, indicating willingness to provide credit facility for the execution of the project when needed;

x. Company’s Profile with the Curriculum Vitae of Key Staff to be deployed for the project, including copies of their Academic/Professional qualifications: Minimum of Bachelor’s Degree etc.

xi. Verifiable documentary evidence of at least three (3) similar jobs (in size, nature & complexity) executed in the last five (5) years including Letters of Awards, Interim or Final Completion Certificates and Photographs of the projects;

xii. For Joint Venture/Partnership, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) should be provided indicating among others the Lead Partner (CAC, Tax Clearance Certificate, Pension Clearance Certificate, ITF Compliance Certificate, NSITF Clearance Certificate, IRR & Sworn Affidavit are compulsory for each JV partner);

xiii. All documents for submission must be transmitted with a Covering/Forwarding letter under the Company/Firm’s Letter Head Paper bearing amongst others, the Registration Number (RC) as issued by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Contact Address, Telephone Number (preferably GSM No.), and e-mail address. The Letterhead Paper must bear the Names and Nationalities of the Directors of the Company at the bottom of the page, duly signed by the authorised officer of the firm.

Note: The EOI should have a Table of Content and be paginated.

4.0 SUBMISSION OF EOI

Prospective bidders are to submit three (3) hard copies each of the EOI(1 original, 2 copies) and clearly marked “EOI” and address the seal envelope to: Director, Procurement & Management Services Department, (PMSD) Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Plot 447/448 Constitution Avenue, Central Business District, Abuja, Nigeria.

Clearly marked “EOI FOR THE ACQUISITION OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (EDMS) FOR THE CORPORATION (NDIC) Furthermore, on the reverse side of each sealed envelope should bear the name and address of the bidder and drop in the designated Tender Box on the Ground floor, reception area at the Head Office Building not later than 11:00a.m Monday, 19th June, 2023.

5.0 OPENING OF EOI

The EOI will be opened immediately after the deadline for the submission at 11:00a.m Monday, 19th June, 2023, at the Ground Floor, Visitors waiting room, NDIC Head Office Building in the presence of the bidders or their representatives, while the Financial bids will be kept un-opened. Please, ensure that you sign the Bid Submission Register on the 2nd floor, with the Procurement and Management Services Department, as NDIC will not be held liable for misplaced or wrongly submitted bids. Further requisite information required can be obtained from the NDIC website or e-mail address info@ndic.gov.ng.

7.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

i) EOIs must be in English Language and signed by an official authorised by the bidder.

ii) EOIs submitted after the deadline for submission would be returned un-opened.

iii) All costs will be borne by the bidders.

iv) The Technical Bids will be opened in the presence of Bidders or their representatives, CSOs in the areas of Anti-Corruption and Transparency and Private Professional bodies; and will be covered by video recording; invitation link will be sent to bidder who chooses to join the bid opening online;

v) Only shortlisted Consultants will be invited at a later date for collection of Request for Proposals;

vi) NDIC is not bound to shortlist any Consultants and reserves the right to annul the procurement process at any time without incurring any liabilities in accordance with Section 28 of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.

SIGNED: MANAGEMENT

PERL harps on constructive engagement between Govt, citizens

From: Femi Oyelola,

The Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL) a UK-supported governance programme, has called for a constructive citizens engagement in aiding good governance and ensuring service delivery to the people in the Local Government Areas

The State Lead Facilitator, PERL, Mr Adejor Abel asserted this during a 2 Day Citizens capacity strengthening on utilization of the Community Development Charter (CDC) applications to accelerate timeless in the submission of needs for consideration into Local Government and state Budget.

Adejor encouraged the CDC Champions to be constructive with their various Local government executives and a legislative Council to yield the much desired results that will benefit the citizens.

He added that the meeting with the CDC Champions is also to harvest the success, particularly in aiding good governance and ensuring service delivery to the people in the LGAs.

Adejor reiterated the need to deviate totally from confrontational and abusive approach and embrace constructive approaches.

Presenting the Objectives of engagement, Seth, Luke of Local Government Accountability Mechanisms (LGAM) said it is to enhance the quality and timeliness of citizens needs being generated as well as to address emerging challenges;

He added that the engagement will also enhance the capacity of the champions to effectively utilize the CDC platform https:// citizensdemand.org to improve efficiency in the submission of the CDCs across the 23 LGAs;

Seth, Luke added the meeting will also enhance the quality and timeliness of citizens’ needs being generated as well as to address emerging challenges;

In his remarks Mr. Yusuf Goje explained that the engagement is an avenue for the CDC Champions to narrate their success stories and reflected on their challenges at the same time setting priority for next steps considering the emerging opportunities for more robust engagement going forward.

Speaking with our correspondent on the sideline of the meeting, the Planning Officer at the Planning and Budget Commission Umar Ibrahim said the constructive engagement adopted by CDC Champions aided successes recorded since its inception

The CDC Champions used the avenue to do a thorough review of their engagement in the areas of inclusion of citizens in the government’s policy process, planning and budget in achieving service delivery and good governance in the 23 LGAs.

Presidential Tribunal: S/court judgment stalls

APM’s petition against Tinubu, Shettima

By Vivian Okejeme, Abuja

The decision of the Supreme Court on Friday, May 26, 2023, has stalled the hearing on the petition instituted by the Allied People’s Movement (APM) against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his Vice, Kashim Shetima.

Tinubu, has through his counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN, told the Court that the petition challenging his declaration as President on ground of “place holder’ by Kabir Masari was resolved by the Supreme Court last Friday in a judgment on similar ground.

According to Olanipeku, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) suit number SC/CV/501/2023 had

resolved the grievances brought before the Court by APM.

On MY 26, the Apex held that PDP, or any other parties, have no right to delve into how other parties conducted their primary elections and nominated their candidates.

The court described the party as busy body and meddle some interloper and imposed a fine of N2m on the party for meddling into the internal affairs of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Olanipekun argued that the APM’S petition was similar to the case taken to Supreme Court by PDP and dismissed on the grounds that PDP has no business interfering with internal affairs of other parties.

He submitted that the APM’S

petition is predicted on internal affairs of the APC and that the Supreme Court’s latest judgment resolved the issue in the petition.

He promised to make a copy of the judgment available within two days to the Court to examine on the effects on the APM’S petition.

“We are sure the Supreme court gave a decision on this same subject on Friday in suit no SC/ CV/501/2023 in PDP vs INEC and 3 others.

“The court considered all the issues and resolved it.

“We promised that within the next two days, certified true copies will be made available for us.

“We will also confront with the Petitioner whether there is still need to continue with the petition.,”Olanipekun submitted.

Responding, Counsel to the APM, Mr Sheu Abubakar requested for adjournment in the hearing of the petition based on the submissions and revelations of Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN.

“Based on the submissions of Olanipekun, we shall be praying the court for an adjustment of the hearing of this Petition to enable us apply to Supreme court for CTC to assertained the effect the decision has on this Petition.

“We pray for adjournment till Friday,” Abubakar prayer

Other parties in the matter had no objections on the motion for adjournment.

Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani granted the request for adjournment and shifted hearing till Friday, June 2.

AUN award degrees to 234 graduates in Adamawa

From Umar Dankano,Yola

The Management of the American University of Nigeria, AUN Yola has awarded Bachelor degrees and master degree certificates on different academic disciplines to 234 graduating students .

Presiding over the University’s fourteen (14th) commencement (convocation) ceremony class of 2023 in Yola, Adamawa state capital weekend, Interim President of the University, Attahir Yusuf said all the graduating students have trained both in learning and character equipped with the needed skills to face global challenges in all ramifications.

Yusuf explained that with the

excellent performance of records of the University, students are being admitted from Nigeria and other African countries who are grilled in different professional courses that will contribute in changing the fortunes of the societies for good.

He therefore charged the outgoing students to be good ambassadors of the institution wherever they found themselves as witnessed with the excellent testimonies accorded by their predecessors.

The interim president also announced the conferment of honorary doctorate degree upon professor Benedict Oramah of Afreximbank in recognition of his exemplary service in the public sector.

In his speech,guest speaker at the ceremony and president / chairman, Board of Directors, African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Oramah commended the wisdom of founder and former Vice president Atiku Abubakar for floating an academic learning institution like AUN in the country.

While observing the dwindling economic misfortunes facing the country, Professor Oramah pointed out that over dependence on oil revenue causing the woes.

Oramah said the paopulation of the country could not be smoothly managed on a mono economic template urgeing the graduating students to use the knowledge acquired to transform Nigeria

from an importing country to a producing nation.

“A revolution is sweeping camps; the freedom fighters for this new battle are being trained in technical front with ideas, hard work and investments. While bravery was required to fundamentally alter our world, shatter old assumptions and reshape our lives, the current revolutionaries are of a different breed.

“It is peaceful and will be in factory floors and tech incubation centres. Instead of guns, the battle will be tech and not armed guerrillas; ideas and not bullets will constitute the potent. Courage is a necessity for the economic liberation struggle.”

Cross section, at the Inauguration, at Eagle Square, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Reps Minority Caucus Mourns Chief Raymond Dokpesi

By Christiana Ekpa

The Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives has expressed shocked and grieve-stricken over the news of the death of media pioneer, High Chief Raymond Aleogho Anthony Dokpesi who passed away on Monday 29 May, 2023.

The Caucus in a statement by its leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu described

Chief Dokpesi as a “highly resourceful, respected and accomplished entrepreneur, very brilliant, humble and insightful touch bearer; who has touched the lives of many Nigerians

“High Chief Dokpesi is a remarkable philanthropist, who remained steadfast towards the unity, stability and development of our nation and served as a source of inspiration to many especially the younger generation of leaders and entrepreneurs.

“As a pioneer in the media industry, High Chief Dokpesi used his array of media houses under the Daar Communication, including the Africa Independent Television (AIT), Ray Power FM and Faaji FM to promote access to information, enhance good governance, educational activities, private entrepreneurship as well as showcase the rich cultural heritage of our nation, Nigeria and Africa in general to the world.

“High Chief Dokpesi was a global citizen and his death is a huge loss to our dear nation and humanity at large. He will be greatly missed as his legacies will continue to live and impact lives for many more years to come.

“The Minority Caucus deeply commiserates with the Dokpesi family, the Daar Communication Group, the Government and people of Edo State and the Weppa-Wanno Kingdom at this moment of grief and prays to the Almighty God to grant us all the fortitude to bear this devastating loss and to the faithful departed, an eternal rest” he said. “The Minority Caucus deeply commiserates with the Dokpesi family, the Daar Communication Group, the Government and people of Edo State and the Weppa-Wanno Kingdom at this moment of grief and prays to the Almighty God to grant us all the fortitude to bear this devastating loss and to the faithful departed, an eternal rest” he said.

Birnin Gwari Emirate sends SOS in congratulatory message to Tinubu

From :Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

As they felicitated with him on his inauguration as the 16th Nigerian President, people of Birnin Gwari Emirate of Kaduna State, have cried to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to come to their rescue, saying that, bandits were ruling their domains, as they have already imposed levies on farming communities.

People of the area under the auspices of Birnin Gwari Emirate Progressive Union (BEPU), said a situation where bandits impose levies on communities with threat of attack has become the order of the day in their area.

The congratulatory letter to President Tinubu signed by BEPU Chairman, Ishaq Usman Kasai said, “Just this week, the bandits imposed N10 million levies on three farming communities, namely; Sabon-

Layi, Tashar Keji and Ruwan Rana where they give these Communities grace of three days, which expires Tuesday 30/5/2023, to meet up with this demand or be attacked. These have become the orders of the day. In fact, just three days ago, Birnin-Gwari capital was stormed by the bandits who abducted people including teenage girls.

“Some school children in the Eastern part of Birnin-Gwari who were abducted on their way to schools are still in captivity for over a hundred days now. However, we hope this administration can take decisive action to address this problem.

“The insecurity situation in our area is a serious cause for concern, where Birnin-Gwari people are being kidnapped and killed by bandits daily. The economy of Birnin-Gwari which relies majorly on farming has been seriously

crippled. Today, people could no longer access their farmlands due to insecurity. Most basic schools were closed and transportation halted, affecting trading.

“Farming Communities are being sacked by bandits almost everyday and people majorly women and children are becoming internally displaced on a daily basis. Even today as I am writing this congratulatory message, the Community is on the other hand at grief because even on last Sunday night, Dadin Kowa village has been attacked and sacked by bandits on motorcycles wielding different kinds of riffles.

“In another sad development, on (Sunday) 28/5/2023, being a day to your inauguration, large number of people including women and children were kidnapped on the road along Dogon Hawa, just about two kilometers away from the

Birnin-Gwari main town.

“As the President of Nigeria, His Excellency has the power to ensure that the people of Birnin-Gwari live their lives in peace and security where they can freely continue to exploit economic and educational potentials without fear of attacks by these terrorists.

“We hereby urge Mr. President to prioritise security of the people and take immediate steps to address the situation. This may involve deploying additional security personnel to the area and implementing a functional community policing strategy among others.

“It is our hope that, under His Excellency’s leadership, the situation in Birnin-Gwari will be resolved and the people of the community can live their lives without fear of violence,” BEPU said.

We shall develop post insurgency recovery plan for future growth - Gov. Buni

By Muhammad Maitela, Damaturu

The Yobe state Governor, Hon. Mai Mala Buni has said that his administration will develop a post insurgency recovery plan to be the basis for future sustainable intervention in the state.

He also assured of reintegrating the internally displaced persons (IDPs) while other displaced communities in the state will be returned to their homes in a dignified manner.

Governor Buni disclosed this on Monday in his speech shortly after his inauguration for a second term, as executive Governor of Yobe state.

He revealed that, the devastating effects of the

insurgency on livelihoods and socio-economic conditions of the people and communities in the state cannot be overemphasised. He said, “One of the key successes of our administration is responding to the menace of Boko Haram that lasted over a decade.”

“The United Nations and other humanitarian partners working in the state are required to key into the state government post conflict recovery and reintegration plan just as there will be a strengthened collaboration and synergy with all multinational oil companies and federal government agencies to improve the livelihood of internally displaced returnees.”

“I wish to restate that the multilateral relationship existing with the Lake Chad Basin Regional Stabilization

Strategy under the Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum and other donor communities will be sustained and strengthened for the progress of the state.”

Buni appreciates the security agencies’ cooperations, their professionalism, hard work, dedication, and relentless efforts in bringing peace and stability to the State.

“We shall continue to support them as peace is non-negotiable.” Buni said.

Additionally, Buni reassure that, “for the immediate future, we shall launch a mass enrolment drive with a view to eradicating the out of school children phenomenon. And we shall have functional and effective Primary School in each of the rural political wards of the state.”

“We shall implement the recommendations of the teacher audit report with a view to improving the capacity of the teaching service delivery accompanied by with commensurate rewarding system.”

“We shall ensure the commencement of the Teacher Professional Training Centre, Damaturu; the commencement of the three Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) schools approved earlier to be sited in Damaturu, Potiskum and Nguru; we shall establish a digital education information system with a view to inculcate the state of the art education performance management from pre-school to tertiary level, *he said.

FCT Traditional Rulers, during the Presidential Inauguration, at Eagle Square, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

CAN tasks Governor Uba Sani on inclusion

From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), has advised the Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani to shun needless divisive policies and build bridges of friendship, and inclusion, which leads to unity among the people of the state.

CAN in a congratulatory statement signed by the Kaduna State Chairman of the religious body, Rev. John Joseph Hayab, said “it is a sign of weakness and inferiority complex for any leader to combat and destroy anyone who does not agree with their view.”

The statement said that, “As Governor Uba Sani took over the mantle of the leadership of Kaduna State on 29th May 2023, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Kaduna State Chapter salutes the new Governor and appeals to him to deliver an inclusive leadership, embracing the diversity of the populace of the state, and not to administrate with needless divisive policies.”

“Accordingly, CAN call on the Governor to work with all stakeholders to build the state, and not to toe the lines of making adversaries but build bridges of love, friendship, and inclusion, which lead to unity and ultimately the core value of an organized society.

“CAN will consistently pray, advise, and support any administration in the state for the development of everyday lives and will speak truth to power.

“To CAN, the new Governor’s pledge to address insecurity is a welcome development given that Kaduna people have suffered so much at the hands of bandits and terrorists.

“Thus, CAN appeals to all peace-loving persons and organizations in the state to join hands with the Governor to make the noble desire of bringing a lasting solution to insecurity a reality.

“The task to build a unified Kaduna is vital and we look forward with great expectations for a new lease of life in Kaduna in areas of security, education, unifying the people of the state, and providing equal opportunities for all irrespective of religious or ethnic differences,” CAN said.

Women to occupy LG Vice Chair. Secretary positions in Niger —Gov. Bago

From Yakubu Mustapha

Minna

Niger State Governor, Umar Mohammed Bago has said that under his administration all Vice Chairmen and Secretary positions of the 25 local government areas will be occupied by women in the state. Governor Bago stated this in his inaugural speech after he was

sworn in as the sixth Governor of Niger state by the Chief Judge of the state Justice Halima Ibrahim in Minna.

Similarly, the newly sworn in governor stated that 90% of the appointments of members of his cabinet are to be given to the youths in his renewed hope of developing the state and to reintroduce Ward Development

Project of former governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu to take development to the grassroot levels.

He also revealed that tackling insecurity and provision of welfare of citizens is the primary purpose of any government and they will do everything possible within their powers through collaboration with security

agencies both at the national level and beyond to succeed.

On powe, Mohammed Bago assured Nigerlites of constant supply of electricity, stressing that the fact that Niger state is housing four hydro power dams that is supplying electricity to Nigeria, they must have power at all times under his leadership as Governor.

NGE Mourns Dokpesi, Says Strong Advocate of Press Freedom Is Gone

The Nigerian Guild of Editors said it is saddened over the sudden passage of the Chairman of Daar Communications Ltd, owner of AIT and Raypower 100.5FM, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, recently.

In a statement by its President, Mustapha Isah and the General Secretary, Dr Iyobosa Uwugiaren, the platform of all the editors in Nigeria, described Dokpesi as a disruptive innovator in the broadcast industry, who worked very hard and firmly to promote independent press, freedom of the press and access

to information.

“High Chief Dokpesi played a strategic role in the liberalization of broadcast industry in Nigeria, with his establishment of the first private radio station, Raypower 100.5FM, in Nigeria.

“An employer of many editors and hundreds of other journalists in Nigeria, he firmly used his media outfits to deepen democracy and raise the voice of the voiceless in our country.

“High Chief Dokpesi was a strong advocate of press freedom and independent press. The NGE worked closely with him during several attempts by the National

Assembly to pass anti-media laws and his voice was very loud”, the NGE stated

A caring father, visionary leader with big ideas, media mogul and philanthropist, High Chief Dokpesi made a huge impact in the media industry, and unforgettable memories in the hearts of millions of people across the country.

The NGE added, “From several testimonies of his employees, the founder of Daar Communications Ltd treated his staff members and everyone who crossed his path with love and respect, always ready to listen and give useful

advice when needed.

“He was so kind to many so much so that the life journeys of many journalists will not be complete without mentioning Dokpesi.”

While expressing its heartfelt condolences to the Dokpesi family and the entire DAAR Communications family, the NGE said that if the earth that will cover Dokpesi will be light, it is because he represented humanity and excellent services to many and his country.

For: Nigerian Guild of Editors Iyoobosa Uwugiaren, PhD General Secretary

From David Hassan, Gombe

Gombe state governor Muhammadu Inuwa

Yahaya has called on the oppotion to throw away their grievances and join his government in order to build the state.

The governor stated this on Monday in Gombe after taking oath of office alongside his deputy Mr. Manassah Daniel Jatau for second tenure at the Pantami stadium.

He assured citizens of transparent government even as he said his

administration will continue to wax stronger in nation building. According to him, “elections have come and gone, let join hands together in putting the state first”. While appreciating the people for his re-election for the second term, governor Yahaya said

creation of jobs, infrastructural development, agriculture, Health and education remain his piority. Speaking further, he said “we might have lost stakeholders and supporters within the party in the last four years, but let us pray for their eternal rest.

From left, , Labour Party Presidential Candidate Mr Peter Obi Chairman Daar Communications Raymond Dopkesi Junior, and Vice Senator Ben Obi during a condolence visit to the Dopkesi’s family over the death of the founding Chairman DAAR Communication Raymond Dopkesi in Abuja yesterday.

Buhari’s day of political reckoning

By Abdu Abdullahi

In a mega pledge he made, Buhari assured us that the first four years of his administration would celebrate the revival of our moribund refineries to ease our energy crisis. What happened to that covenant when he completed his eight years rule? Was he not found guilty for breach of promise? Was the day of his political reckoning mute on this perpetuated sin?

May 29, 2023 was exclusively Muhammadu Buhari’s day of political reckoning. It was the day that the former president was tried and judged by history vis-a-vis his campaign promises and how he sabotaged them at the end of his political navigation of salvaging Nigeria.

When Buhari was too desperate to rule Nigeria, he presented himself like the only Messiah we were waiting for. His body language was very significant for its mastery of appealing to our sensitivities to make him the only political icon of the time. He was able to steal the then political show of relevance and majesty which many aspiring politicians could not showcase. But after woeful performance, that day convicted him that he was not the Messiah we needed.

At last, the Buhari we adored greatly had swung into proper inaction which culminated in giant despairs and end of optimism. Gradually, the grand euphoria that greeted his arrival had started to diminish rapidly leaving him politically miserable. His observed incompetence eventually found its way into our scheme of national affairs. His celebrated integrity inevitably vanished into the thin air and lost its moral values. The day of his political reckoning showed us that there was a great difference between his razzmatazz entrance and his dilly dallying adventure. ‘All that glisters is not gold’ was the judgement of the day.

After exhausting his eight years of political expedition and governmental activities, he left behind some disturbing political debts in terms of unfulfilled pledges for which prosperity will not cease to forget. His major trial was how he ‘technically’ degraded Boko Haram only to be substituted with brutal banditry. Prior to his stewardship, he promised to defeat Boko Haram but another version of Boko Haram erupted like the volcanic eruption in the Northwest.

Buhari had earlier affirmed that the face of the economy was very awful and ugly for our liking. He then convinced us that if we elected him, the economy would be better off. However, little did we know that the real economic turmoils would be a waiting disaster that would devastate us. After eight years, we are lacking a sense of economic belonging as well as prosperity. We are feeling the horrors of an economy that possesses no bright future for us. But in his self-defense, Buhari’s economy was the excellent thing that had happened to all of us. However, the day of his political reckoning confirmed that he left us poorer, inflation uncontrollable and unemployment attaining its zenith point.

If corruption were to speak, it would have indicted Buhari for not giving it the fierce fighting it deserved. He was too sympathetic to corruption. What we realized was a mere empty rhetoric that could not inspire even our spiritual element to hate corruption. Don’t forget Buhari’s message of zero tolerance on corruption as a cardinal point of his campaign propaganda. Unfortunately, Buhari did not disappear from the scene until corruption was fully tolerated and entrenched in the heart of corrupt persons and supported them with uncouth mercies as it was the case with former governors Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame. Callously, he made them heroes of corruption under our watch. Thus, on May 29,2023, Buhari was found guilty of cheating the crusade against corruption and he could not disprove this sin.

If government is all about fighting the evils of subsidy to relieve the masses of untold hardship, Buhari’s glamorous idea of selling a liter of petrol above 50 naira as an act of injustice was well applauded by many Nigerians. But it was baffling how he rediscovered that after all, fuel subsidy was an economic nuisance and hiked the price of petrol without an apology. Surprisingly, he could not trace the missing link between his complaint of 50 as costly as against the skyrocketing price of 240 he left while departing the scene.

In a mega pledge he made, Buhari assured us that the first four years of his administration would celebrate the revival of our moribund refineries to ease our energy crisis. What happened to that covenant when he completed his eight years rule? Was he not found guilty for breach of promise? Was the

day of his political reckoning mute on this perpetuated sin?

In all fairness, Buhari did not complete his ‘ messianic’ task without dropping a political bomb that for every unsuccessful president, there is an unsuccessful government. It was a trial of the president who left behind a government that was at the beginning a living phenomenon, chaotic at the middle and tragic at the end. Nobody had expected that Buhari’s government would be for the selfish cabals who formed a parallel and even superior government. That day marked the end of the cabals and Buhari would atone for the sins they committed to the nation.

Buhari did not like failure but he acted towards blatant failure until when he finally departed from the corridors of power. The very day he left the Villa heralded the end of his brinkmanship in terms of what he thought was good for Nigeria and what we felt as pains of betrayal. Indeed, our collective yearnings and aspirations were not motivated for higher achievements but we were left to struggle for self governance as the centre could not hold and things broke into bits. On that day, it was recorded that Buhari could only wear a false smile to assert his misconceived heroism.

If Buhari was not fair to himself, the rest of us had successfully been just to him by cautioning him of abstaining from doing the needless. We always supported and encouraged him to do the needful to improve our lots. Our constructive and corrective pens were the effective tools that we deployed to make him readjust his dilapidated ideas and actions so that prosperity would count him amongst the favoured leaders of our time. But his indefatigable and infallible media team insisted on notorious communication scandals that left him committing more political suicide. On that day, his media warlords could not save him from the image crisis and the crisis of failing he left behind.

To our greatest disappointment, Buhari erred tremendously. His unprecedented trial of incapacity was finally concluded on May 29,2023 and was fairly judged by the verdict of history. Eventually, the chant of ‘sai baba Buhari’ could no longer rent the air and was laid to rest forever.

Abdu Abdullahi is a Public Affairs Analyst.

Urging Tinubu to shun patronage appointments

By Isaac Asabor

Regarding the fourth principle he said, “In our administration, Women and youth will feature prominently”, and as to the fifth principle, he said, “Our government will continue to take proactive steps such as championing a credit culture to discourage corruption while strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of the various anti-corruption agencies.

There is no denying the fact that not a few Nigerians have been expressing hopes and expectations about what the just kick-started administration under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has to offer given the present state of the nation’s economy. Despite the challenges in the country, which the immediate past government; under the leadership of former President Muhammadu Buhari inherited its predecessor, and consequently exacerbated throughout the eight-year period the administration lasted, not a few Nigerians are reposing confidence in Tinubu’s administration that it would be better than Buhari’s administration given the fact that the bar of good governance was never raised. Rather, a school of thought believes that the bar was brought down to its nadir so much that whoever becomes the nation’s president will perform better.

However, a different school of thought in its views differs from the foregoing outlook as it is of the belief that Tinubu in his tenure, or tenures if given a second chance, can only perform well if he shuns political patronage in making appointments or hiring the leaders that will be part of his government.

The reason for the foregoing view as expressed by the school of thought cannot be farfetched as it is no more news that political appointments are made on the basis of partisan loyalty. In fact, elected officials at the national, state, and local levels of government use such appointments to reward the people who helped them to win elections. This practice led to the saying, “To the victor go the spoils.”

Without resorting to highlighting what political patronage looks like in this context, it is expedient to make

reference to an opinion article titled, “The burden of political patronage”, written by Akpo Esajere and published in the Guardian newspaper on November 9, 2015.

He wrote, “There is something of a “Casino-Effect” in the sharing and compensation in the Nigerian power politics that Nigerian. For all shades of financiers, political godfathers, party founders, sponsors, backers, foot soldiers, supporters, promoters, and thugs who serve as private armies and mobilize for demonstrations, it is an investment. They demand rewards and gratifications. They constitute both a blockade and a drain to economic and social order.

“Remembering the 2014 confab and some of its useable recommendations

“With a cabinet of 36, Buhari may have discovered that it is not an easy task to implement a lean and effective government under the current democratic arrangement. In the United States, which system Nigeria tries to copy, the federal cabinet of the “senior” executive branch of government under the current President, Barack Obama is only 15. George Washington, the first President of America, had set off with a cabinet of four secretaries (America’s name for ministers), a small, effective, and purpose-built advisory group”.

Without any iota of exaggeration, political patronage in appointments is fueled by favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism. As for favoritism which is far-reaching of the foregoing related terms that have “ism” as a common suffix, it is just what it sounds like; it is favoring a person not because he or she is doing the best job but rather because of some extraneous feature-membership in a favored group, personal likes, and dislikes, among others primordial sentiments. Favoritism can be demonstrated in hiring, honoring, or awarding contracts. Without a doubt, patronage is offering public service jobs to those who may have helped elect the person who has the power of appointment.

Cronyism is a more specific form of favoritism, referring to partiality towards friends and associates. As the old saying goes, “It’s not what you know but who you know,” or, as blogger Danny Ferguson put it, “It’s not what you don’t

know; it’s who your college roommate knows.” Cronyism occurs within a network of insiders-the “good ol’ boys,” who confer favors on one another.

Lastly, Nepotism is an even narrower form of favoritism. Coming from the Italian word for nephew, it covers favoritism to members of the family. Both nepotism and cronyism are often at work when political parties recruit candidates for public office.

Against the foregoing backdrop, it is expedient to urge Tinubu to eschew political patronage and appoint the best hands to his administration as not doing that will mess up the principles he said in his inaugural speech on Monday, May 29 will guide his administration. Thus, regarding the first principle, he said “Nigeria will be impartially governed according to the constitution and the rule of law, and regarding the second principle he said, “We shall defend the nation from terror and all forms of criminality that threaten the peace and stability of our country and our sub-region, while as to the third principle he said, “We shall remodel our economy to bring about growth and development through job creation, food security, and an end to extreme poverty”.

Regarding the fourth principle he said, “In our administration, Women and youth will feature prominently”, and as to the fifth principle, he said, “Our government will continue to take proactive steps such as championing a credit culture to discourage corruption while strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of the various anti-corruption agencies.

At this juncture, permit me to say that the president has already asserted that his government will be that of competence. Against the foregoing backdrop, it will be recalled that he recently, ahead of his inauguration on Monday issued a signed statement titled, ‘Nigeria: At the Cusp of Renewed Hope’, wherein he said, “There has been talk of a government of national unity. My aim is higher than that. I seek a government of national competence. In selecting my government, I shall not be weighed down by considerations extraneous to ability and performance,”

Isaac Asabor is a Public Policy Analyst.

What Nigerians expect from Tinubu’s government

By Ibrahim Mustapha Pambegua

Nigerians pray that the new government will bring lecturers and students to classes. The incessant strikes have paralyzed the education sector and forced many students to engage in crimes. Let the governments addresses the problem of universities education once and for all.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has resumed office on 29 May, 2023. He was sworn in by the chief judge of the federation having won the February 25 presidential election in which he emerged victorious. With the oath of office administered to him,he has become the legally elected president and will spend the next four years in office as specified by 1999 constitution . Though,since the time he emerged as the flag bearer of his party, APC, president Ahmed Bola Tinubu,had encountered many challenges coming from fifth columnist or his adversaries who were hell-bent to stop him from actualising his life ambition. At last,he escaped the booby trap placed on his road and emerged the president of the most populous black African country. The 2023 elections, like any other elections conducted were charasterised by prophesy of doom. If not the threat emanated from ravaging insecurity bedeviled the country,then the report of plot to foist interim national government by cabals as reported by DSS and other government officials. Now, elections are over and it is time for governance.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s speech after inauguration is inspiring and has set the tone for better nigeria. However, speeches did not make good governance. We have history of many elected presidents with beautiful speeches but failed to match their words with actions after they settled in offices.

Immediately Tinubu became the presidentelect,many experts drawn from various field of human development set agenda for him. It is unarguably to say, the administration of Bola Tinubu will inherit baggage of challenges from his predecessor,

Muhammadu Buhari. While experts drawn from various sectors have advised the new government on how to sail through the mountains of difficulties awaiting it, the onus lies on how the president shop and assemble his cabinets. For instance, it took the former president, Muhammadu Buhari, six months to form his cabinets. Despite this lengthy time, Buhari’s ministers fall short of expectations. Will president Bola Ahmed Tinubu toes this trajectory and discouraging line?

Before his inauguration on May 29, president Bola Ahmed Tinubu, promised to form his cabinets on the basis of merit and competence. This is a good decision. For the country to make headway, it has to stop appointment based on nepotism. Competent people should be appointed to manage sensible ministries, agencies and parastatals for quick and accelerate development. But appointment should also be made to reflect the federal character. No region or states have the monopoly of competency. We have competent people across the 36 states. The president should strive to promote unity in his new appointment. The country has already been polarised along ethnic and religion fault lines.

His victory with a muslim vice has continued to generate mixed reactions in the country.

Therefore, he should see himself as unifier rather than do the opposite. For optimum performance, new ministers should be given performances evaluation forms. Those who deliver should be celebrated and awarded. Ministers who perform abysmally should be sactioned and new ones re-appointed.

President Tinubu’s inaugural speech in which he emphasised the removal of petroleum subsidy has sparked panic in the country. It is reported that,queeve have returned to filling stations across the country. There is imminent fear of hoarding by petroleum marketers. Nobody can dispute the facts, petroleum subsidy is thorn in a flesh of any governments in power. The subsidy has gulped trillions of naira since the time it was introduced. The Buhari

administration has mulled efforts to remove at its tail end. It, however, passed it to the Tinubu government. The subsidy is planned to end on june. Government has not made provision for it. The world Bank which is averse to it, has granted the loan of $800,000 to Nigeria government to pay palliatives to nigerians. With the Dangote refinery which was commissioned recently and expected to begin operation by July,the new government should not be in rush to withdraw subsidy. Let the refinery floods the country with adequate fuels to avoid scarcity of the commodity. President Bola Tinubu should privitise or fix our four moribund refineries. Although, NNPC has become a limited liability company (LLC),we are yet to see its profit like Saudi (Aranco) which posted billions of dollars as profit every year. It is high time these refineries which gulped billions of naira for their turn around maitainance annually are disposed.

Nigerians are expecting the new government to tackle the intractable insecurity which disturbs the country’s peace and stability. Bandiry, IPOB’s violence activities and kidnapping-for- ransom have become a threat to the country’s survival. President Tinubu should adopt carrot and stick approach of resolving the security longjam. Governments should sitdown with those who have geinune grievance, persuade them to lay their arms. Criminals whose motives are to kill and extort ordinary nigerians should be made to face music or be eliminated.

The Tinubu government should overhaul our security architectures. It needs to recruit more security personnel and deploy technology gadgets for effective policing. Our University education has defied lasting solution. Nigerians pray that the new government will bring lecturers and students to classes. The incessant strikes have paralyzed the education sector and forced many students to engage in crimes. Let the governments addresses the problem of universities education once and for all.

Tinubu: Call to hit the ground running for the betterment of Nigeria

By Tife Owolabi

President Tinubu should focus on revamping Nigeria’s education system, ensuring quality education is accessible to all. By investing in infrastructure, teacher training, and technological advancements in education, he can equip Nigerian youth with the skills and knowledge necessary for the challenges of the 21st century. A well-educated and skilled workforce will drive innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth.

In the realm of Nigerian politics, there is no denying the influence and stature of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. As he embarks on his presidency as the 16th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is imperative that he seizes the moment and takes immediate action to improve the lives of Nigerians and uplift the nation as a whole.

While critics may question the transition from kingmaker to king, Tinubu has the opportunity to prove them wrong and leave a lasting legacy of progress and prosperity. Here are compelling reasons why President Tinubu must hit the ground running to better the lots of Nigerians and Nigeria.

Addressing Inflation and Economic Challenges:

One of the pressing issues facing Nigeria is the soaring inflation rate, which has reached 22.04% – a matter of concern for the nation’s economy. President Tinubu must prioritize implementing measures to stabilize prices and control inflation. By focusing on policies that promote economic growth, reduce dependency on oil, and encourage diversification, he can steer Nigeria towards a path

of sustainable development and financial stability.

Tackling Food Inflation and Ensuring Food Security:

The alarming rise in food inflation, with rates reaching 24.45% in March 2023, demands immediate attention. Tinubu’s administration should prioritize agricultural development, investing in modern farming techniques, irrigation systems, and infrastructure to enhance productivity. By supporting small-scale farmers, facilitating access to credit, and promoting agribusiness, President Tinubu can alleviate the burden of food inflation and ensure food security for all Nigerians.

Addressing Regional Disparities:The regional disparities in Nigeria are a persistent challenge that hinders equitable development and social cohesion. President Tinubu must implement policies that bridge the gap between different regions, ensuring that all Nigerians have access to basic services, education, healthcare, and employment opportunities. By promoting inclusive governance and empowering local communities, he can foster a sense of unity and shared prosperity across the nation.

Strengthening Security and Combating Corruption:

Security remains a top concern for Nigerians. President Tinubu should prioritize efforts to enhance national security, combat insurgency, and address the root causes of conflicts. Additionally, his administration must demonstrate zero tolerance for corruption by implementing robust anticorruption measures, strengthening institutions,

and promoting transparency and accountability at all levels. A safer and corruption-free Nigeria will foster trust, attract investment, and pave the way for sustainable development.

Investing in Education and Human Capital Development:

Education is the foundation of progress and prosperity.

President Tinubu should focus on revamping Nigeria’s education system, ensuring quality education is accessible to all. By investing in infrastructure, teacher training, and technological advancements in education, he can equip Nigerian youth with the skills and knowledge necessary for the challenges of the 21st century. A well-educated and skilled workforce will drive innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth.

Lastly,President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s tenure presents a unique opportunity to transform Nigeria for the better. By addressing pressing issues such as inflation, food security, regional disparities, security, corruption, and education, Tinubu can lay the foundation for a prosperous and inclusive nation. It is essential that he hits the ground running, utilizing his vast experience and influence to deliver tangible improvements in the lives of Nigerians. As the country embarks on this new chapter, the hopes and aspirations of Nigerians rest on President Tinubu’s ability to navigate the challenges and lead the nation towards a brighter future.

Tife Owolabi is a Public Affairs Analyst.

Ibrahim Mustapha Pambegua writes in from Kaduna state.

Niger NUJ assures Gov. Bago of support

From Yakubu Mustapha Minna

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Niger State Council has congratulated Rt Hon Muhammad Umar Bago on his inauguration as the 6th democratically elected governor of Niger State.

In his congratulatory message, the State Chairman of NUJ Comrade Abu Nmodu notes that, the inauguration of Umar Bago has brought another chapter in the journey for massive socioeconomic development of the state.

Comrade Abu Nmodu further posited that the energy of the new Governor is reassuring , the vision scintillating and the zeal painted in a clear colour of commitment to the extent that the people expect so much from his government.

He said with the combined qualities of Rt Hon Bago , there is a renewed hope for infrastructural development as he enunciated in his inaugural speech, assured him of the support and cooperation of members of the Union.

The Chairman of NUJ therefore said , the Union is optimistic of brighter future for the citizens, if the new Governor operates an open door policy and engage the citizens of the state constructively.

He described the new Governor as media friendly politician, a renowned go getter and a link between aspiration and fulfilment.

He is optimistic that, with the needed support right team, Mindset and most importantly prayers, the new Governor will record the desire achievements for the wellbeing of the People.

ALGON hails, assures Tinubu of support

By Stanley Onyekwere

The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), has promised a cordial working relationship with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as he assumed office as the 16th Nigeria President, on Monday.

While congratulating President Tinubu, ALGON commended him for heralding an epoch making tenure filled with personal determination and doggedness to succeed.

National Chairman of the Association and Chairman of Abaji Area Council of the FCT, Alhaji Abubakar Umar Abdullahi, in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, declared that the 774 local governments of Nigeria are fully ready to support the new administration in bringing about the benefits of the renewed hope offered by the President in the transformation and development process for the country.

Abdullahi said President Tinubu’s emergence in the last general elections was a clear testimony that Nigeria’s democracy is maturing by the day, with promises for various tiers of government to synergize for good governance and delivering on the socioeconomic needs for the citizens.

He added that looking at the outcome of the election Tinubu was elected by Nigerians across the board with their firm belief in his

astuteness to bring harmony among the people irrespective of ethnicity, religion and group needs.

He said “ALGON congratulates President Bola Tinubu in earnest terms and looks forward to a closer working relationship with the administration in its commitment to providing adequate security, fulfilling the wellbeing of the people and furthering the political and economic development of the entire Nation”.

From left, Director general National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Balarabe

Shehu Ilelah; Group Managing Director, Daar Communications

Mr Tony Ekiotu and Vice Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party Datti Baba Ahmed during a condolence visit to the Dopkesi’s family over the death of the Chairman DAAR Communication Raymond Dopkesi in Abuja yesterday.

strengthen partnership with UNICEF, ACF, Save the Children - Gov. Namadi

From Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse

The newly governor of Jigawa state, Malam Umar Namadi has promised to strengthen the partnership between Jigawa government and donor partners for the development of the state.

Governor Namadi stated this while delivering his speech shortly after taken oath of office as new governor of the state held at Aminu Kano triangle

Dutse the state capital.

He explained that, considering the level of development brought to Jigawa state by both Foreign CommonWealth Development Office (FCDO) and European Union (EU) in saving lives of children, water hygiene and improvement on social protection, the present adminstration will retain the relationship for betterment of Jigawa.

“As part of our agenda to improve the well-being of our people, the present administration noted the roles played by the partners particularly FCDO and EU in improving the lives of our people, we will do all our best to maintain that relationship”, he said.

The governor then assured to do all his best to transform the state by implementing his twelve point agenda that include

Agricultural transformation, Human development, education, health, youths empowerment, improvement of public service delivery, sustainable environment among others.

Meanwhile the governor was sworn-in together with his deputy Engineer Aminu Usman Gumel by the chief judge of the state, Justice Umar Sadiq Maigari, and witnessed by thousands of Jigawa citizens.

Danmodi sworn-in as Jigawa governor, vows to run an inclusive govt

From Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse

The newly elected governor of Jigawa state Malam Umar

Namadi has sworn-into office as fifth civilian governor of Jigawa.

The swearing-in took place at Malam Aminu Triangle Dutse, led by chief judge of the state, justice Umar Sadiq in the presence of thousands of Jigawa

people.

Justice Umar Sadiq also led the swearing of engineer Aminu Usman Gumel as deputy governor of the state

Speaking shortly after the swearingin, governor Umar Namadi promised to run a transparent and inclusive government throughout his tenure.

Danmodi who begged Jigawa people to address him as Malam Umar

Namadi instead of His excellency said, his administration will be based on his twelve point agenda as he promised during the campaign rally.

He identified some of the twelve point agenda as Agriculture, human development, empowerment, education, health, infrastructural development, environmental sustainability, patterned ship for development, public service

delivery, Investment, among many other projects.

Governor Namadi also promised to continue from were the former governor Alhaji Badaru has stopped and complete all the ongoing projects in the state.

He described his victory as victory to all people in the state, and urged them to support and cooperate with him for better Jigawa.

I’ll

PHOTO: P

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 general elections, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and a member of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the party, Buba Galadima, have advised the caretaker committee of the party in Ogun State, to ensure that they bring back those that have left the party.

The duo noted that this is necessary in order to build a formidable party ahead of the next elections.

Ogun NNPP: Bring back those who left –Kwankwaso charges caretaker committee

Recall that some members of the party had left the party due to the expulsion of Sunday Olaposi Oginni, the former chairman of the party in the state.

The party subsequently inaugurated a caretaker committee led by Prince Ibrahim Adekunle to direct the affairs of the party.

Kwankwaso and Galadima

have, however, advised the caretaker committee to ensure that they bring those who have left the party back into the fold without wasting more time. They made these declarations on Tuesday when the caretaker committee of the party and the gubernatorial candidate of the NNPP in Ogun State, Ambassador Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo, paid

them a courtesy visit after the inauguration of the Kano State governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf.

NNPP’s Yusuf won the election in Kano State.

Kwankwaso, in his speech, said that the caretaker committee should return home to spread out the party’s tentacles from the wards to local governments and the state as a whole.

“I implored you to go into action by not looking back in your quest to bring back those that have left the party as well as ensuring to bring in new members into the party in Ogun State,” Kwankwaso stated.

Galadima encouraged the caretaker committee to continue to wax stronger in the state and not allow political challenges to affect them.

Tinubu needs strong, versatile Speaker like Betara to succeed - MGG I’m not looking for appointment from Tinubu — Ganduje

By Musa Baba Adamu

The immediate past Governor of Kano, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has claimed he is not looking for any appointment from President Bola Tinubu.

Ganduje stated this in an interview published by BBC Hausa on Tuesday.

He, however, admitted he would accept any appointment if offered.

“I am not looking for any appointment. But, if I am offered any, I would take it.

“I wish him (Tinubu) well and will continue to pray to Allah to help him.

“People voted for him because of the belief that he will emulate the things he did in Lagos State while he was governor and because he is a true democrat.”

Ganduje also said he did not attend Abba Yusuf’s inauguration ceremony on Monday, because “he wanted to prevent their supporters from clashing during the event.”

By Christiana Ekpa

ACoalition of Civil Society Organisation under the aegis of Movement for Good Governance on Tuesday called on well meaningful Nigerians to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to deliver and transform the country for the better.

The Leader of the Group, Alhaji Ibrahim Abubakar gave

the charge during a press briefing held in Abuja, barely 24 hours after the inauguration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, tasked the outgoing Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila and other principals officers to support the Speakership hopeful, Hon. Aliyu Betara whom he described as “strong and versatile to help Mr. President succeed.”

Alhaji Abubakar said that the Group’s resolution was

based on the assessment of all the Aspirants, amping whom he argued stands out as “the only man that has the vitality and mutual understand among the members to move things for the President.

He said: “Tinubu led administration deserve a strong support from the Legislative Arm to deliver and in achieving that someone like Betara should be whole support for the job.

“We call on all other aspirants to tow the line of peace, unity by supporting a great man, Betara and by so doing they would be supporting and working in the interest of Nigerians and for the new President to succeed.

The group equally called on all Nigerians to give their full support for the new President’s renewed hope agenda and pray for the success of the new government.

Tínubu/Shettima: Nigeria will experience positive change - Speaker aspirant, Gagdi

By Christiana Ekpa

The Chairman of the House Committee on Navy and major contender for the Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi (Pankshin, Kanke and Kanam Federal Constituency, Plateau State), has joined other eminent Nigerians to congratulate His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and His Excellency, Vice President Kashim Shettima, as they take over the leadership of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In a congratulatory message personally signed by Hon. Gagdi, the Lawmaker hailed

President Tinubu, saying that with his dexterity in governance and leadership, Nigeria is on a path to positive change.

He added that the new president has the capacity to right the wrongs of previous administrations and ensure that competent hands are engaged to revive comatose sectors of the country.

The House Committee on Navy Chairman added that President Tinubu’s political journey to the presidency is a deeply inspirational one that proves that with grit, sincerity of purpose, absolute trust in God and an unwavering commitment to empowering others, one can attain the

greatest heights. He expressed confidence in his ability to deliver on the promise of democracy to the Nigerian people because his track record shows excellence and dedication to duty.

Going further, he saluted Vice President Kashim Shettima, who he said led Borno State at the darkest and most difficult of times, and did not for once desert his people or renege on his responsibilities.

According to him, “These are men who have demonstrated their commitment to our great country, and as President and Vice-President, our hope in a prosperous and peaceful Nigeria that works for all

citizens irrespective of class, ethnicity and religion has indeed been renewed.

President Tinubu has proven that with grit, sincerity of purpose, absolute trust in God and an unwavering commitment to empowering others, one can attain the greatest heights.

He said “I am confident in his ability to deliver on the promise of democracy to the Nigerian people because his track record is one of excellence and dedication to duty.

“With His Excellency, Vice President Kashim by his side, I believe Nigerians can now rest, knowing that the country is in safe hands”, he said.

Dokpesi was a Pathfinder - Sen Nnamani

By Musa Baba Adamu

Former Governor of Enugu state, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani has described the death of founder of DAAR Communications limited ,High Chief Raymond A. Dokpesi as a monumental loss to the nation.

Senator Nnamani lamented that the nation has lost an uncommon nationalist who was passionate about the welfare and wellbeing of Nigerians.

In his reaction to the demise of Dokpesi, Nnamani stated that the astute politician and media giant was a man of the people whose goodwill cut across religious and ethnic boundaries in Nigeria and beyond.

He recalled Dokpesi’s pioneering role in the battle for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria and rule law.

The former Governor lamented that Dokpesi departed when his services to the nation were mostly needed.

According to Nnamani: “Dokpesi’s Frontline role in the emergence of private broadcasting in Nigeria with AIT television and Ray Power Fm radio as well as 24 hours broadcasting is worthy of commendation.

He described Dokpesi as a jinx breaker pointing out that he was a very courageous man who never quits.

He stated “Dokpesi’s departure at this time is devastating. We shall miss his bold, frank and positive contributions

to the socio economic and political development of Nigeria”.

Nnamani urged the media industry, his immediate family, friends and colleagues of Dokpesi to take solace in the fact that the late media icon laid a solid foundation on which his successors can build upon.

He prayed that his legacies and contributions continues to inspire and influence the media industry for years to come.

10th Senate Presidency: I’m in talks with Yari’s camp –

Orji Kalu

Senate Chief Whip, Orji Kalu, has said he is in talks for possible alignment with the Senator-elect, Abdul’aziz Yari’s camp for the position of 10th Senate Presidency.

Kalu, who represents Abia North Senatorial District, stated this during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday.

A former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio and a Senator representing Kano North, Barau Jibrin are the preferred choice of President Bola Tinubu for the senate president and deputy senate president.

Also in the race is Osita Izunaso, the senator-elect for Imo West.

Kalu, who said he would not step down for anybody, added that he was mulling an alignment with Yari’s camp.

“Well, I cannot step down for anybody. Yes, you are right. We are talking with Yari.

“Our group and his people are talking. We are in intimate partnership and talking to make sure that no one zone can produce a senate president.

“Like I used to tell you, no one zone can produce a president for Nigeria.

“It’s the same thing for senate president. What we are trying to play with Sen. Yari is a united partnership that works for Nigeria,” he said.

Yari, a former governor of Zamfara State, is the senator-elect for the Zamfara West senatorial district.

Kalu further stated that in the coming days and weeks, those partnerships would be unveiled.

“You will see what the partnership looks like. We are in serious talks. Yes, I cannot deny it. Yari is a friend of mine and I’m his friend, and we decided to talk together.

“We have been talking for the past four weeks and the talks will be unveiled by our sponsors.

“He (Yari) has his sponsors and I have mine. So the sponsors will come together to decide what direction this partnership will go,’’ he said.

Kalu, a former governor of Abia, said he would be very happy to follow what the sponsors would say, adding that Mr Yari also would be happy to follow what the sponsors would want them to do.

“We are two gentlemen; both of us are not hitting the nail. We are only thinking of the integrity of the senate and to support President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima who are our colleagues.

“If you, press people, are thinking that what happened during Saraki will also happen now. No, it will never happen again in Nigeria’s political life.

“We remember we cited a

Labour Party says fuel subsidy removal first of many shocking policies Tinubu will offer

By Christiana Ekpa

The Labour Party (LP) has said the removal of fuel subsidy is just one of the many shocking policy decisions which President Ahmed Bola Tinubu will offer Nigerians.

A statement issued yesterday by the acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, Labour Party said it was confronted with the stark reality that less than twenty four hours after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took over the reins of power, Nigerians woke up to see the pump price of petrol shot up to N600 per litre and N750 per litre in the black market, due to immediate removal of subsidy on petrol as announced by the new administration.

“As we speak now the queues

are back again and Nigerians will, as was the case in the previous administration begin to keep vigils in the filling station to get just a few litres of petrol. As expected commercial transporters have hiked their trip fares across the country in response to the developments. While product hawkers are once more the king of the jungle.

“This scenerio easily reminds one of the story of a certain Pharaoh who on assumption of throne empowered his task-masters to tripled the daily tasks of the Jews. What a way to announce once emergence as the sheriff in town.

President Tinubu’s first executive proclamation was such that it is purposed to inflict pains on Nigerians.

“Labour Party while campaigning in the last election

also proposed ending the subsidy regime however, on the condition that necessary policies and actions would have to be in-situ. Labour Party also insists that the subsidy removal will be gradual and must be done with stakeholders input having in mind that a number of refineries will be recalibrated to near optimal functionality.

“The removal of subsidy by a presidential fiat as witnessed yesterday was not only shocking but practically took every Nigerian by surprise. Reason we advice Nigerians to brace up for more rude shocks and surprises in the days ahead.

“Labour is therefore condemning the unilateral decision by President Tinubu who without any form of consultation with the stakeholders particularly, the Labour unions removed the subsidy

on petroleum and has instantly pushed Nigerians further into hardship.

“Labour Party has observed with pains that some of the petrol stations operators simply shut their filling stations and depot owners also shut their operations. They have also argued that no clarification was given on the execution of the policy. We are therefore calling on the government to quickly reevaluate the policy, and come up with a more practical plans to remove the subsidy in such a way as not to jeopardize the peace of the nation.

“We are also calling on the various unions, social activists and Nigerians in general to be be watchful and ensure that democracy is not derailed by whatever means and guise”, the statement said.

From left, Wife of the Founding Chairman DAAR Communication, Mrs Moji Dopkesi, Senator Ben Obi labour Party Presidential Candidate Mr Peter Obi and former governor of Cross River state Liyel Imoke during a condolence visit to the Dopkesi’s family over the death of the founding Chairman DAAR Communication Raymond Dopkesi in Abuja yesterday.

10th Senate Presidency: I’m in talks with Yari’s camp – Orji Kalu

Senate Chief Whip, Orji Kalu, has said he is in talks for possible alignment with the Senator-elect, Abdul’aziz Yari’s camp for the position of 10th Senate Presidency.

Kalu, who represents Abia North Senatorial District, stated this during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday.

A former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio and a Senator representing Kano North, Barau Jibrin are the preferred choice of President Bola Tinubu for the senate president and deputy senate president.

Also in the race is Osita Izunaso, the senator-elect for Imo West.

Kalu, who said he would not step down for anybody, added that he was mulling an alignment with Yari’s camp.

“Well, I cannot step down for anybody. Yes, you are right. We are talking with Yari.

“Our group and his people are talking. We are in intimate partnership and talking to make sure that no one zone can produce a senate president.

“Like I used to tell you, no one zone can produce a president for Nigeria.

“It’s the same thing for senate president. What we are trying to play with Sen. Yari is a united partnership that works for Nigeria,” he said.

Yari, a former governor of Zamfara State, is the senator-elect for the Zamfara West senatorial district.

Kalu further stated that in the coming days and weeks, those partnerships would be unveiled.

“You will see what the partnership looks like. We are in

serious talks. Yes, I cannot deny it. Yari is a friend of mine and I’m his friend, and we decided to talk together.

“We have been talking for the past four weeks and the talks will be unveiled by our sponsors.

“He (Yari) has his sponsors and I have mine. So the sponsors will come together to decide what direction this partnership will go,’’ he said.

Kalu, a former governor of Abia, said he would be very happy to follow what the sponsors would say, adding that Mr Yari also would be happy to follow what the sponsors would want them to do.

“We are two gentlemen; both of us are not hitting the nail. We are only thinking of the integrity of the senate and to support President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima who are our colleagues.

“If you, press people, are thinking that what happened during Saraki will also happen now. No, it will never happen again in Nigeria’s political life.

“We remember we cited a section of the law that there must be two-thirds of the senators before you are sworn in.

“Few people sitting somewhere and making decision on who become the senate president is no longer functional.

“What is functional is for all of us to sit together and decide on who gets what.

“It’s a game; it’s a contest, and we will congratulate whoever wins. If we win, let people congratulate us; if other people win, we will also congratulate them.

“They are our colleagues. We will be together in the next four years in the chamber. We are not enemies; it’s a contest,” he said.

PHOTO

Soludo pledges loyalty to Tinubu, denies being bounced off at inauguration

By Christiana Ekpa

Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has stated that the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as a party will work with the government of President Bola Tinubu.

Soludo, who spoke during the inauguration of the regional headquarters of APGA on Tuesday in Awka, was reacting to his attendance at the inauguration of President Tinubu on Monday.

Soludo was alleged to have been stopped by DSS operatives from entering the state box, during the inauguration in Abuja.

He descended heavily on the peddlers of the rumour, saying he was approaching the VIP box, but was stopped and redirected to the VVIP box.

He said: “I tell our people that elections have come and gone and APGA did not go to the tribunal even though we had a presidential candidate because APGA has always worked with the government or party at the centre and it has always collaborated with the party at the center.

“When it was the PDP, APGA collaborated with the party and government at the centre and we, as it were, did not field any candidate because APGA worked with the party at the centre.

“We have not reviewed that position and if we will, that would be in the future, but for now. We shall work and collaborate with the party and government at the centre and that was what we met and what was written, and even when our brother, Mr Peter Obi was governor, the party collaborated with the PDP and it has not changed and that was what we met in APGA,” he said.

Speaking on his being sent out from the state box, Soludo said: “We were at the Eagle Square, venue of the inauguration in Abuja. The sitting arrangements were right

where the VIPs were, and we went there, and they told us that we had a sitting arrangement, and they directed us to where we were supposed to stay, which was even VVIP.

“So we left there and went

APC

along with the CBN Governor, other governors, the Dangotes and Oni of Ife, only for me to get out of the square and hear that Soludo was bounced off the VIP and asked to go and stay with the masses.”

Soludo said if he was aware that such a rumour would creep in, he would have comfortably gone to where the masses sat, because APGA is a party of the masses.

He said: “Actually, if I knew

that it was what was going to happen, I would have preferred to stay with the masses, and that is where I belong. I am for the masses, and to demonstrate that what happened on that day is a thing of the masses.”

chieftain, Ayoola hails Adeleke’s appointment as Tinubu’s Chief of Protocol

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

Achieftain of the All Progressives Congress

(APC) from Ogun State, Adekunle Ayoola, has lauded the appointment of the career diplomat, Ambassador Victor Adekunle Adeleke, as the new State Chief of Protocol (SCOP) to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Ayoola, an international trade and security expert based in Poland, disclosed that the appointment of the seasoned

diplomat only confirmed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government would be peopled by highly resourceful Nigerians who have what it takes to contribute meaningfully to the President’s agenda of renewed hope for the country.

He described Adeleke as an accomplished diplomat and lawyer with about 30 years of experience in diplomatic missions at home and abroad. He was the Nigerian ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative

to the African Union until his latest appointment.

Ayoola attested to the patriotism and love for humanity of the Oyo State-born diplomat, explaining that Nigerians in the diaspora, specifically Poland, where Adeleke once worked at the country’s foreign office, would confirm his favourable and cheerful disposition to the people.

“Ambassador Victor Adekunle Adeleke is undoubtedly an asset; he is a man of proven integrity

and always willing to lend a helping hand. He is versatile in issues around governance; he had served meritoriously in higher capacities in the past and did excellently well.

“This cap truly fits him. I commend our President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for always having his eyes on the best; I urge him to continue with this tradition and ensure that only those with great value to add to the country make his cabinet”, he stated.

NILDS DG, Sulaiman says Dokpesi’s death a great loss

By Christiana Ekpa

The Director General, National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, Prof Abubakar O.

Sulaiman has described the death of the founder and Chairman Daar Communications, Chief Raymond

Dokpesi, as a great loss to the nation.

Prof. Sulaiman made the remarks in a condolence message issued on the passage of the elder statesman.

“He was a prominent figure in the media industry, and his contributions have left a lasting

impact. My heartfelt condolences to the Dokpesi family and the entire staff of AIT and Raypower FM.

“His departure is a significant loss for the entire media landscape. He was a pioneer and a visionary who consistently pushed the boundaries of journalism and

entertainment.

“His unwavering dedication to excellence and innovation has undoubtedly shaped the media industry as we know it today”. He said.

He prayed God grant the deceased eternal rest and his loved ones the fortitude to bear his loss.

Give young people utmost priority in your administration – Yoruba youths tell Tinubu

By Musa Baba Adamu

Oodua Youth Coalition, a Yoruba youth organisation, has urged President Bola Tinubu to keep his promise to give youth inclusion a high priority in his administration.

In a statement signed by Tayo Oluyi, its national coordinator, the group urged

Tinubu to remember the pledges he made to youths during his campaign and inauguration speeches.

Oluyi underlined the significance of building a foundation for the younger generation and keeping commitments made to them, especially in terms of granting them important positions in the government.

“Tinubu had made several youthoriented promises during his campaign, which he reiterated in his inaugural speech. We hope that he will follow through with practical youth inclusion initiatives,” he stated.

He urged the new president to keep his promise of leading an administration that is friendly to youth and to disregard anyone

who might try to obstruct such efforts.

Oluyi also emphasised the potential of Nigeria’s young people and urged Tinubu to take advantage of their abilities to reposition the nation.

The coordinator cautioned against wasting such opportunities while asking the youth to take advantage of any opportunities provided by the administration.

Gov. Soludo at the inauguration

Abubakar Yunusa Abuja

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) says the decision to remove subsidy on petrol, popularly called fuel, by President Bola Tinubu is a welcome development.

The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, made this known at the NNPC Ltd. Towers in Abuja while briefing journalists late Monday night after the pronouncement by the president.

Peoples Daily reports that Mr Tinubu, at his inauguration as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Monday, said the subsidy regime will end with the commencement of his administration.

Mr Kyari, while addressing journalists said

NNPC speaks on subsidy removal, cautions against panic buying

the removal of the subsidy which had been a burden on NNPC’s cash flow, would free up funds to enable optimal operations in the company.

“Subsidy has been a major challenge for NNPC’s continuous operations. We believe that this will free up resources to enable us continue to do great work and function as a commercial entity, we welcome this development,’’ he said.

Reacting to queues and scarcity already being experienced, the GCO assured Nigerians of a sufficient supply of products particularly petrol, adding

that the company has over 30 days of petrol storage and supply.

“There is no reason to panic, we understand that people will be scared of potential changes in price of petrol, that is not enough for people to rush to buy more than they need,’’ he added.

He however appealed to Nigerians not to be scared or indulge in panic buying.

Motorists queue for fuel in Abuja

He added that the company as the supplier of last resort as mandated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) would continue to ensure the availability of

petrol and other petroleum products.

According to him, NNPC Ltd. is also monitoring all its distribution networks to ensure compliance.

“The NNPC Ltd. is in discussion with the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to develop framework for the implementation of the removal of the PMS subsidy as announced by the president.

This medium reports that former President Muhammadu Buhari set June 2023 as the date for the removal of fuel subsidy.

The federal government had explained that if it continues to service the subsidy, the country will spend N6.4 trillion annually.

Mr Buhari’s new deadline for removing fuel subsidy will be a month after he hands over to his successor in May 2023, leaving the new leader to deal with any backlash and commotion that may follow the decision.

The government said the Medium Term Expenditure Framework was that if the nation holds on to fuel subsidy as it is designed now, we will be incurring from January to December a subsidy cost of N6.4 trillion.

Fuel Queues: Nigerian regulatory agency warns against panic buying

From Abubakar Yunusa Abuja

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has cautioned Nigerians not to panic over subsidy removal, saying it has enough petroleum products to meet the country’s demand.

The NMDPRA said this in a statement on Tuesday by its General Manager, Corporate Communications, Kimchi Apollo.

The statement was issued against the backdrop of the government’s declaration that it will put an end to the fuel subsidy regime.

President Bola Tinubu on Monday in his inaugural address at Eagle Square, Abuja, declared that there would no longer be a petroleum subsidy regime as it was not sustainable.

He said the current 2023 budget only has provision for the fuel subsidy till June, adding that the funds meant for subsidies will be diverted to the creation of public infrastructure, education, health care and jobs.

In its statement on Tuesday, the NMDPRA said contrary to speculations and concerns, the announcement is in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (2021) which provides for total deregulation of the petroleum downstream sector to drive investment and growth.

“The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) wishes to address concerns regarding the announcement of the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit

(PMS) by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“Contrary to speculations and concerns, the announcement is in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (2021) which provides for total deregulation of the petroleum downstream sector to drive investment and growth.

“We are working closely with NNPC Limited and other key stakeholders to guarantee a smooth transition, avoid any disruptions in supply as well as ensure that consumers are not short-changed in any form,” the agency said.

“We have taken necessary steps to ensure distribution channels

remain uninterrupted and fuel is readily available at all filling stations across the country,” the statement said.

“We, therefore, call on Nigerians to remain calm and resist the urge to stockpile as it poses a significant safety hazard.”

The agency noted that the

removal of subsidy on petrol is a step towards building a more sustainable and prosperous future for Nigeria.

“We will continue to monitor activities and implement necessary measures to enhance transparency and accountability in the petroleum downstream sector,” it said.

FG adopts Strategy for Direct Investment Promotion

From Abubakar Yunusa Abuja

To mobilise direct investment at all levels, the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has held a retreat and workshop to unveil its new policy, the Federal-State Investment Strategy (FSIPS).

To be implemented by federal and state governments, their ministries, departments, and agencies, FSIPS was authored by renowned global Investment strategy expert, Nicky Okoye.

The policy, designed and developed over the last three years, forms an integral part of his work on the “National Investment Strategy”, which has been implemented by several African Countries and sub-national authorities.

Addressing the gathering, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, represented by Ishaya Abednego, the Deputy Director of the Investment Promotion Department in the Ministry, expressed a deep commitment towards Investment Promotion in Nigeria.

He noted that the drive by the Ministry to expand its

collaboration with stakeholders for repositioning Nigeria’s direct investment landscape is yielding positive results, especially as is evident by its current partnership with the African Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Institute founded by Mr Okoye.

Following the unveiling of the FSIPS, the African Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Institute has been directed to provide all Federal and State Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies with the roadmap, strategic framework, implementation matrix and direct investment guide for the effective rollout of the new strategy.

The ministry says it would be beneficial to federal and statebased industries, small businesses and entrepreneurs.

The strategy also witnessed the collaborative inputs of other government agencies. According to the minister, the policy was subjected to the scrutiny of stakeholders, and it has received widespread acceptability.

“It is pertinent to note that the new Federal-State Investment Promotion Strategy was equally presented, evaluated and scrutinised by the National

Council on Investment, which is Nigeria’s highest investment body, comprising of the leadership and institutional membership of all the Investment promotion ministries, departments and agencies at the Federal as well as from all the State Government in Nigeria,” the minister said.

Also speaking, Mr Okoye described the adoption of the FSIPS as a pathway to harmonise and integrate the various Federal and State Government Investment policies, as well as provide, for the first time, unique collaborative roles for accredited private sector professionals at the global and local levels.

The new strategy, he said, has particularly repositioned direct investment for the small business community at the community, state and federal levels, and it provides a unique pathway for extensive sustainable investment returns by integrating market access and consumer demand into business opportunities built on targeted industrial ecosystem segments.

“The most appealing part of the new strategy is its ability to stimulate new job creation

in specific targeted industrial segments which have been recorded to experience growing global consumer demand, especially as it relates to a postCOVID-19 environment,” he noted.

The FSIPS is an initiative of the Investment Promotion Department of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment developed in collaboration with State Investment Promotion Agencies, the National Council on Investment, and stakeholders in the investment promotion industry.

Author of the strategy, Mr Okoye, is a serial entrepreneur and Co-founder of Transcorp Plc, having served as Transcorp Plc’s first Executive and its first Group Executive Director for group operations.

He has advised and consulted for, in a strategic capacity, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board, the Central Securities Clearing System and a host of other Corporate Institutions.

Petrol sells at N500 Per Litre in Katsina

Fuel scarcity hits Katsina State, as long queues of vehicles resurfaced at some filling stations that opened for business on Tuesday.

When our correspondent went around town, it was

revealed by some motorists that the petrol stations owned by independent oil marketers, had increased the pump price of the product from the approved price of N210 to N450. This followed the pronouncement by President

Bola Tinubu in his inaugural speech on Monday that fuel subsidy would be removed.

Already, black markets have bounced back to business at various locations in the metropolis and around the ring road with a 10-litre jerrycan of

fuel now being sold at between N6,000 – N7,000 while 20-litre was sold for N16,000 –N18,000.

However, it was observed that the NNPCL mega facilities within the state capital are not dispensing the commodity

because lacked the products.

Similarly, some Independent marketers I spoke with in Katsina said they were still expecting their allocation, stressing that, as soon as their vehicles arrive, they will offload and dispense to the public.

Petrol subsidy removal: Resurgence of queues caused by panic buying, says IPMAN

Abubakar Yunusa Abuja

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said the resurgence of queues in parts of

Construction,

the country is caused by panic buying by Nigerians.

This medium had reported that queues for petrol resurfaced in parts of the country shortly after President Bola Tinubu

Real estate

Infrastructural activities in the Construction and Real estate sector reduced by 7.4 per cent in its contribution to Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product in Q1 2023.

According to latest data released by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics recently, the sector contributed a total of N8.33tn in the quarter compared to the N9tn generated in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The NBS attributed the decline to the adverse effects of the cash crunch experienced during the quarter.

The cash scarcity caused by the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria had pushed Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product growth below global projections of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank.

The decline is slightly below a recent projection by KPMG that Nigeria’s GDP will grow at a relatively slow pace of 3 per cent in 2023 due to challenges associated with the naira redesign and political transition.

announced the cancellation of petrol subsidy.

In Lagos, Ogun, and Abuja, it was observed that some filling stations were closed, while those that dispensed petrol had large

queues of customers lining up for the commodity.

A resident who preferred anonymity told TheCable that most filling stations decided to stop selling when they were

GDP contribution decline to N8.33tn

A breakdown analysis showed that the real growth rate of the construction sector reduced by 1.56 per cent points from the rate recorded in the previous year.

The NBS, however, noted the sector contributed 11.79 per cent to nominal GDP in the first quarter of 2023, higher than the 9.68 per cent it contributed a year earlier and higher than the 10.16 per cent contributed to the fourth quarter of 2022.

It read, “Construction contributed 11.79 per cent to nominal GDP in the first quarter of 2023, higher than the 9.68 per cent it contributed a year earlier and higher than the 10.16 per cent contributed to the fourth quarter of 2022.

“The real growth rate of the construction sector in the first quarter of 2023 was recorded at 3.27 per cent (year-on-year), lower by 1.56 per cent points from the rate recorded in the previous year.

“Relative to the preceding quarter, there was a decrease of 0.53 per cent points. Quarter-on-quarter, the sector grew by 2.78 per cent in real terms. Its contribution to total

real GDP was 4.22 per cent in the first quarter of 2023.”

For the real estate sector, the statistics agency recorded a relative decline of 4.46 per cent compared to 5.62 per cent contributed in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The report stated, “In nominal terms, Real Estate Services in the first quarter of 2023 grew by 2.36 per cent, lower by 8.47 per cent points than the growth rate reported for the same period in 2022 and lower by 8.25 per cent points compared to the preceding Quarter.

“On a quarter-on-quarter, the sector growth rate was -28.39 per cent. The contribution to nominal GDP in Q1 2023 stood at 4.46 per cent, relative to 4.92 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2022 and 5.62 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022.

“Real GDP growth recorded in the sector for the first quarter of 2023 stood at 1.70 per cent, lower than the growth recorded in the first quarter of 2022 by 2.74 per cent points, and lower by 1.08 per cent points relative to Q4 2022.”

They insisted that the inability to pay artisans, provide building materials for construction and increased the cost of production had halted any form of revenue contribution to the GDP, leading to an increase in housing deficits.

At a residential development visited during the period in Jabi, the site engineer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told our correspondent that labourers were now jobless, adding that the level of production had reduced drastically.

“For instance, the labourers who were supposed to work onsite today left because they wanted cash payment and they don’t have a bank account. We had to increase the workload on those who have an account so we can achieve something today.

“Currently, the naira scarcity has affected our productivity; work onsite now is not full scale.

“Some of them even think we are wicked because they don’t believe that we don’t have the cash to pay them,” he said.

informed of Tinubu’s speech on petrol subsidy removal.

“Some of the fuel stations only heard about the subsidy removal and just stopped selling,” the resident had said.

“They could have at least waited for the new president to fully resume work before acting.”

In response to the situation, Mike Osatuyi, national operations controller of IPMAN, told TheCable that the reflexive action of customers who wanted to stock up on cheap petrol before the price of the product increased was to blame for the unprecedented level of queues.

“The queue has to do with the announcement made by the president. People want to refill their tanks so that they can buy it at a good price before the price increases,” he said.

“Now that subsidy has gone, it has gone for life. And now, there is fairness for Nigeria as a country. Some marketers are the beneficiaries of the subsidy, including smugglers.

“But as the president has said, whatever the gain on the subsidy is, it will be used for infrastructure. Now that they (the new administration) want to have a unified foreign exchange, everyone can buy and import on the same platform.

“Nobody will buy yam and give me small for just one percent and take 90 percent and say he is doing business. That is where we are.”

When asked about the product’s availability, Osatuyi said there is currently enough stock to supply the nation, but that there would be a price increase.

“No, there would not be scarcity, but the problem is that there is going to be an increase in price,” he said.

However, he said the removal of the subsidy will benefit the general public and result in the improvement of infrastructure and the building of good roads.

When asked what price the product is likely to rise to, he said: “It is going to be determined by market forces, and then it has to do with the exchange rate and the crude price. That is going to be the determinant of the price.”

METRO

Transition: FCTA Perm Sec. Adesola, now ‘acting FCT Minister’

By Stanley Onyekwere

In the wake of the inauguration of Mr. Bola Tinubu as the 16th Nigeria President, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, Mr. Olusade Adesola, has assumed leadership of the FCTA, in acting capacity, pending the nomination and confirmation of substantive Ministers for the Territory.

Also, this followed the exit of former FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, and the Territory’s Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijani Aliyu, who had signed and handed over official notes, signaling the transfer of leadership baton to Adesola, in line with the Executive Order 14, which stipulates peaceful transition of power.

Adesola, while receiving the FCT Ministers’ official Handover Notes, explained that the Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was the first that provided for a smooth transition in the history of Nigeria.

According to him: “There are situation where the Outgoing Government did not hand over any document, and this could be challenging for incoming Administration, and by the Executive Order 14, the President directed that this should be cascaded into the transition bill that will soon be signed into law.

“So , the document you are leaving behind Sir, does not capture the full range of activities that you undertook while you were in office, but we have made the efforts to Capture as much as possible so that whoever will be your successor in office will be able to carry on from here”.

He revealed that the FCTA had commenced the process of compiling the handover notes two weeks before President Muhammadu Buhari gave directive on the implementation of the

Executive Order 14.

He added that the handover report is a document written in Vol. 1, 2 &3 and captured a wide range of activities that were carried out during administration of Muhammad Musa Bello from the FCTA- SDAs, particularly in the area of Abuja Light Rail, Garki Hospital and collapsed buildings.

“Volume 1 is the main report which is over 380 pages, volume 2 contain the annexes, while the volume 3 carries the appendix, the report and submission by the Executive Secretary FCDA, the Mandate Secretaries and Coordinators of STDD and AMMC”, he stated.

Earlier, Malam Bello charged

the City Managers /Heads of Secretariats to step up their duties in preserving the Abuja Master plan ,especially the water bodies, like Jabi Lake and the reserved green areas.

His words: “Obviously the FCT Particularly the FCC is going through tremendous challenges that would warrant those manning the responsibility of managing the territory and the city itself, have to really go extra mile or else the city will be beyond your grip.

“ If we are not careful, in the next two years the Jabi Lake may dry up due to encroachment, because once you loose environment, vegetation, and water bodies, it is impossible to regain them back”.

The now former FCT Minister also used the medium to ask for forgiveness of all his misdeeds, as he exit office.

“So, I ask you to forgive me for all my follies, my weaknesses, for all the things I ought to have done and have not done God bless the Federal Capital Territory”, he stated.

Similarly, his colleague, and former FCT Minster of State, Dr. Ramatu Aliyu stressed the need for Management Staff to strengthen the institutional frame work of FCDA/FCTA and cultivate the habit of keeping ‘History’ of the system.

Aliyu thanked the Adesola, Directors, staff and drivers for

their cooperation and tolerance, even as she harps on the need to forgive one another and allow collaboration to lead.

Her words:” I want to thank particularly the drivers that accommodated my excesses, even during their weekends when I have hospitality functions, they will always be there.

“The FCT Family is a big family and that is one thing am going to miss. No Parastatal or agency is neatly bonded like FCTA. We must agree to disagree among ourselves, but most importantly the ability to forgive, understand. Whosoever you encounter, let forgiveness and understanding be the watch word”.

Menstrual Hygiene Day: Foundation distributes 400 pads to Abuja students

By Stanley Onyekwere

In commemoration this year's World Menstrual Hygiene (WMH) Day, the Helpline Foundation for the Needy Abuja, a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) distributed sanitary pads to no fewer than 400 female students, and donated to school dispensary, in the nation's capital.

It was gathered that one menstrual hygiene kit containing an ample amount of pads each was distributed to the female students for promotion of hygiene and proper education on menstrual health.

Making the donation at Government Girls' Science Secondary School, Kuje, Abuja, over the weekend, President of the Foundation, Dr. Jumai Ahmadu said the NGO aimed at addressing the issue of menstrual hygiene management and contributing to the well-being of the students, in line with this year's theme, which is "Promoting Menstrual Health".

Represented by the Foundation's

Research Officer, Itodo Ojonoka Felicia, Ahmadu noted that the outing was to promote menstrual health awareness, empower young students, and ensure they have access to menstrual hygiene products.

According to her, prior to the distribution exercise, her team conducted research on menstrual hygiene, engaged with stakeholders and assessed the needs of the students and the school.

She explained that the school was known for having significant number of female students, with limited resources, before making available an appropriate quantity and type of menstrual hygiene products required.

The Foundation President also disclosed that the NGO organised an interactive session with the students, where discussions on menstrual health and hygiene practices and proper use of pad were carried out, including debunking of common myths and misconceptions about menstrual cycle.

She revealed that the students

actively participated in the interactive session, sharing their experiences, concerns and asking questions for clarification.

She adds: "We gathered that

FCT road traffic chief slams int’l traffic report

By Stanley Onyekwere

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Squadron Leader and National Coordinator of Road Traffic and Vehicle Inspection Officers Mayors, Yusuf John Suberu, has expressed his criticism towards the International Traffic Observation Initiative.

The organisation released a report highlighting several issues within the FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), including alleged lopsidedness in appointment of sectional heads, the use of casual staff, and deviation from constitutional roles

The DRTS, responsible for various public services such as driver’s license issuance and

number plate registration, has been praised for its efficient operations.

Dr Suberu dismissed the claim of an imbalance in appointments, asserting that the present leadership structure represents a fair distribution across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones.

He said “the commercial division, for instance, is headed by someone from the North Central, while the Northwest oversees motor vehicle administration.

“Additionally, the DTT division is led by a representative from the North Central, and the SERVICOM division is headed by a South easterner.

“The South Easterners hold key positions in the finance, administration, and public relations divisions.

“Moreover, the legal division is headed by an individual from the North Central, and the deputy director of operations hails from the Southwest.

“This diversity exemplifies adherence to the principles of true federal character.

Addressing concerns over casual staff, Dr Suberu acknowledged the presence of some individuals who do not uphold their duties adequately.

However, he assured that efforts are being made, under the supervision of the director and area commanders, to identify and rectify such cases.

It should be noted that the issue of touting within the DRTS predates the current director’s tenure. The intelligence and provost department has been diligent

poor menstrual hygiene is caused by a lack of education, persisting taboos, stigma, limited access to hygienic menstrual products and poor sanitation".

in apprehending those involved in the production of counterfeit documents and number plates,” he said.

Contrary to calls for a complete overhaul of the directorate, Dr Suberu argued that such action is unnecessary at this time due to ongoing reforms initiated by the director.

As the representative of NGOs/CSOs on road safety matters in Nigeria, he emphasised the strong and collaborative working relationship between his group and relevant government traffic agencies, including the DRTS, Vios, and the FRSC

While acknowledging the right of the International Traffic Observation Initiative to raise concerns, Dr Suberu believes it is important to respond and provide a more balanced perspective.

L-R: Malam Muhammad Musa Bello (Former FCT Minister) while presenting the hand-over notes of the FCTA to the Permanent Secretary, Mr Olusade Adesola

Artificial intelligence could lead to extinction, experts warn

Artificial intelligence could lead to the extinction of humanity, experts - including the heads of OpenAI and Google Deepmind - have warned.

Dozens have supported a statement published on the webpage of the Centre for AI Safety.

“Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war” it reads.

But others say the fears are overblown.

Sam Altman, chief executive of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Demis Hassabis, chief executive of Google DeepMind and Dario Amodei of Anthropic have all supported the statement.

Dr Geoffrey Hinton, who issued an earlier warning about risks from super-intelligent AI, has also supported the call.

Yoshua Bengio, professor of

computer science at the university of Montreal, also signed.

Dr Hinton, Prof Bengio and NYU Professor Yann LeCunn are often described as the “godfathers of AI” for their groundbreaking work in the field - for which they jointly won the 2018 Turing Award, which recognises outstanding contributions in computer science.

But Prof LeCunn, who also works at Meta, has said these apocalyptic warnings are overblown.

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Many other experts similarly believe that fears of AI wiping out humanity are unrealistic, and a

distraction from issues such as bias in systems that are already a problem.

Arvind Narayanan, a computer scientist at Princeton University, has previously told the BBC that sci-fi-like disaster scenarios are unrealistic: “Current AI is nowhere near capable enough for these risks to materialise. As a result, it’s distracted attention away from the near-term harms of AI”.

OpenAI head Sam Altman recently testified before Congress

Pause urged

Media coverage of the supposed “existential” threat from AI has snowballed since March 2023 when experts, including Tesla boss Elon Musk, signed an open letter urging a halt to the development of the next generation of AI technology. That letter asked if we should “develop non-human minds that might eventually outnumber,

outsmart, obsolete and replace us”.

In contrast, the new campaign has a very short statement, designed to “open up discussion”.

The statement compares the risk to that posed by nuclear war. In a blog post OpenAI recently

suggested superintelligence might be regulated in a similar way to nuclear energy: “We are likely to eventually need something like an IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] for superintelligence efforts” the firm wrote.

Elizabeth Holmes is going to prison. Will she ever pay victims too?

After several failed attempts to delay her time behind bars, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is set to report to federal prison this week.

The disgraced entrepreneur was sentenced to over 11 years in prison and ordered to pay $452m (£365m) with her former business partner Sunny Balwani to dozens of highprofile investors they defrauded through a blood-testing startup.

It’s a sizeable bill for the former billionaire, who has claimed she does not even have enough money to pay her lawyers.

In US federal court, convicted offenders are sometimes ordered to pay restitution.

This is a reimbursement to victims for lost income, property damage, medical expenses or other financial costs related to the crime.

In Holmes’ case, she has been ordered to pay back some of the wealthiest families in America.

After dropping out of Stanford University, she recruited several famous figures to raise money for Theranos, valued at $9bn at its peak.

Donors included former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and the Walton family, known for founding American supermarket chain Walmart.

But after it was revealed her blood-testing technology did not work, many lost a fortune.

Former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos

reportedly gave Holmes $100m while the Theranos founder has been ordered to pay back media mogul Rupert Murdoch $125m, according to court documents.

She will not be able to just declare bankruptcy and shed her debts that way, experts tell the BBC. But victims of her crimes should not get their hopes up about recouping their cash.

They say restitution in the US has become largely symbolic, meaning Holmes’ investorsand many less wealthy victims of fraud - are unlikely to get most of the money they are owed.

“There are very few peoplethe Bernie Madoffs of the world and everyone else - that can pay the full amount of criminal restitution,” says Ryan O’Neill, a former federal prosecutor. “It’s sort of a fake number.”

Holmes will still be expected to try to pay these people and others she defrauded, she adds. Prosecutors have probably already begun to seize her assets, including money in the bank and properties. They will compare their own accounts of how much money she has to what she claims she possesses, which could lead to disputes, Ms O’Neill said.

The Theranos founder’s debts won’t pause when she sets foot behind bars.

A judge has recommended Holmes report to Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, where all inmates are obligated to work and make between 12 cents and $1.15 an hour.

Half of the small sum she earns - usually around $25

every four months - will go to her victims, said Randy Zelin, a professor at Cornell Law School.

Once her time in prison is finished, she will still not be able to purchase any large assets, including a home, without intervention from the federal government. The government can’t, however, seize assets owned solely by her husband, hotel heir William Evans.

Holmes has acknowledged her dismal financial fate, telling the New York Times this month she will “have to work for the rest of my life” just to pay

millions of dollars in legal fees.

But there are a number of reasons why her victims and many others are unlikely to get the money back.

Criminal defendants don’t have an incentive to “make it rich” again, said Ms O’Neill. “They know where the money is going to go.”

Others may attempt to hide assets. University of Michigan Law School professor John Pottow says some try to put money in trusts to avoid asset seizures. “The richer you get, the easier it is to construct legal

devices that hide your wealth.”

Experts pointed to the case of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who has been ordered to pay nearly $1.5bn to families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for spreading lies about the massacre, which they said has led to harassment.

Mr Jones - who has declared both personal and business bankruptcy - has been accused of funnelling money to friends and family in an attempt to hide his assets.

Source: BBC

A protester outside a London event at which Sam Altman spoke

Elizabeth Holmes is ordered to report to prison on 30 May

The first full day in power of Nigeria’s new president has seen people panicbuying fuel following his decision to scrap a decades-long subsidy on petroleum products.

In Monday’s inaugural address, Bola Tinubu said the subsidy was “gone”.

But he gave no timeframe or any more details of this major policy move.

On Tuesday, his team clarified that he meant the end of June and that the panic buying was “needless”, as the policy will not take immediate effect.

President Tinubu wants to ease pressure on government finances, but ending the subsidy will increase the cost of petrol and hit other prices too, at a time when inflation is already high.

In response to his comments on Monday, many filling stations hiked the petrol price, while others stopped selling altogether.

Nigeria’s state-owned oil company, the sole importer of petroleum products, assured the public that it had enough supplies.

But this did not prevent the panic-buying, with most people fearing a drastic rise in the price of petrol, which should be sold at the regulated price of 185 naira per litre (32p, 40c).

Some people have posted videos online of filling stations

Nigeria fuel subsidy: Tinubu’s plan to scrap measure sparks rush to stock up

already increasing prices, in some cases by more than 200%.

Some drivers of private buses, which many Nigerians rely on to get around, have also been unable to fill up their vehicles.

This has left people stranded at major bus stops in the capital, Abuja, and the country’s biggest city, Lagos.

Despite its oil wealth, Nigeria is unable to refine enough crude to meet local demands, so it imports petroleum products, which are then sold at a government-set price.

But the subsidy is a huge drain on public finances. Last year, it gulped 4.3trn naira ($9.3bn; £7.5bn) and for the first half of this year, 3.36trn naira was budgeted for it.

On Monday, Mr Tinubu said It could no longer be justified and that the funds would instead be spent on public infrastructure and to improve the lives of people.

But the subsidy has long been seen by many Nigerians as one of the few perks they receive from the state.

The last attempt to remove it in 2012 led to nationwide protests and then President Goodluck Jonathan had to perform a policy U-turn.

So far, a powerful association of those who sell petroleum

products has come out to say it does not support President Tinubu’s plan. It said the new government should begin a dialogue before taking the decision.

The spokesman of the

Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Ukadike Chinedu, is quoted by Nigeria’s Punch newspaper as saying that the move will cause “galloping inflation and inflict more hardship on the masses”.

Apology for Ghana textbook critical of missionaries

The Ghana National Association of Authors and Publishers (GNAAP) has apologised to those unhappy about a history textbook for primary schools that gives a controversial explanation about the activities of Christian missionaries.

History of Ghana for Basic Schools, Learners Book 4, states that the existence of religion, particularly Christianity, was the cause of doctrinal conflicts and increased poverty in the country.

One radio station tweeted a photo of the offending page from the book, which shows the heading: “Negative effects of Christian missionary activities”:

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Some parents and others have condemned the content of the book, saying it denigrates Christianity.

Ntim Fordjou, the country’s deputy education minister, described the book as “obnoxious”, saying its content was appalling and misconceived.

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (Nacca) has since demanded its the immediate recall.

GNAAP apologised for the error and said it would set up a committee to assess all other books in schools published by its members.

“We are here to render apologies in our bid to protect the image and professionalism

of writing and book development in Ghana,” the association’s president John Akwasi Amponsah said.

President tells Nigerians to stop panic-buying fuel

The office of Nigeria’s new President Bola Tinubu has told the public to stop panicbuying as the fuel subsidy will not end until the end of June.

The statement seeks to stem the chaos sparked by comments at his inauguration on Monday when he said the subsidy was “gone”, but he gave no timeframe or other details.

The statement says his remarks are “neither a new development nor an action of his new administration”, explaining that the decades-long subsidy was only funded until the end of June.

“He was merely communicating the status quo, considering that the previous administration’s budget for fuel subsidy was planned and approved to last for only the first half of the year,” it said.

“Effectively, this means that by the end of June, the federal government will be without funds to continue the subsidy regime, translating to its termination.

“The panic-buying that has ensued as a result of the communication is needless; it will not take immediate effect.”

Some people have posted videos online of filling stations already increasing prices, in some cases by more than 200%.

The statement from the presidency added that Mr Tinubu’s plan was to channel the money previously spent on the subsidy “into better investments that will cushion the effects of the removal on the general public,

especially the poor of the poor”.

“This includes but is not limited to investments in public infrastructure, education, healthcare and jobs that will materially improve the lives of millions of Nigerians and increase their earning potential.”

SA immunity notice leads to Putin visit speculation

SouthAfrica’s foreign minister has granted diplomatic immunity to foreign officials attending the Brics summit in August and a meeting for Brics foreign ministers this coming week.

The Brics alliance represents some of the world’s leading emerging economies, including Russia, China, Brazil and India.

Local media has said this could potentially open the door for Vladimir Putin to attend the August gathering in South Africa.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant in March for the Russian president for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

As a signatory to the ICC’s Rome Statute, South Africa is expected to enforce the warrant and arrest Mr Putin.

But Clayson Monyela, South Africa’s spokesperson for the Department of International Relations and Co-operation, tweeted that such immunities were standard when a country hosted an international conference or summit.

“The immunities DO NOT override any warrant issued by any international tribunal (like the ICC) against any attendee,” he said

South Africa previously failed to act on its legal obligation to the ICC when in 2015 Sudan’s then-leader Omar al-Bashir visited

during Jacob Zuma’s presidency, but was not arrested.

On Monday, the South Africa military said it would not arrest Mr Putin if he attended the Brics summit, as it did not have the power to enforce the arrest.

South African National Defence Force chief Rudzani Maphwanywa, while acknowledging the ICC’s warrant, said that the army operates within the framework of international law and respects diplomatic immunities.

Call for immediate elections in Ethiopia’s Tigray

The leader of Ethiopia’s Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) party, Debretsion Gebremichael, has called for immediate elections in the northern region of Tigray.

The TPLF agreed a peace deal with government last November, signed in South Africa, to end a brutal two-year civil war.

That pact set up an interim administration in Tigray, which could only govern for between six months and a year, Mr Debretsion said in a post on Facebook.

“On the basis of self-rule, we have to go to elections immediately,” Mr Debretsion said, adding that the interim administration had “to complete its task within that time and transfer whatever remained”.

He stressed that the people of Tigray had to be led by leaders of their own choice.

“What has been there [presumably the TPLF leadership structure] has been destroyed for the sake of peace.

Source; BBC

New President Bola Tinubu announced a plan to end the fuel subsidy after being sworn-in on Monday

Alleged former Russian spy whale spotted off Sweden’s coast

An alleged former Russian spy whale has been spotted off the coast of Sweden, says an organisation dedicated to tracking the beluga whale.

Named locally as Hvaldimir, the whale was first spotted off Norway’s coast in 2019 wearing a Russian harness.

Having spent years travelling slowly southwards from Norway’s far north, the whale has sped up his movements out of Norwegian waters in recent months.

OneWhale said the reason behind his sudden hastiness was unclear.

The tame beluga whale first approached Norwegian boats near the island of Ingoya four years ago. The island is 415km (258 miles) from Murmansk, where Russia’s Northern Fleet is based.

He was discovered wearing

a harness fitted with a GoPro camera mount and clips bearing the inscription “Equipment of St Petersburg”.

The discovery led to an investigation by Norway’s domestic intelligence agency, which later told the BBC that the whale was likely to have been trained by the Russian army.

The whale has since come to be known locally as Hvaldimir, after the Norwegian word for whale, hval, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia, for its part, has never officially addressed the claim that Hvaldimir was trained by the Russian army. It has previously denied the existence of any programmes seeking to train sea mammals as spies.

But speaking in 2019, a Russian reserve colonel, Col Viktor Baranets, said: “If we were using this animal for

spying, do you really think we’d attach a mobile phone number with the message ‘Please call this number’?”

A marine biologist with OneWhale, Sebastian Strand, said there could be a number of reasons for the whale’s recent change in movements.

“We don’t know why he has sped up so fast right now,” especially since he is moving “very quickly away from his natural environment”, he told AFP news agency.

Mr Strand said there were two possible explanations for his change in behaviour, one being high hormone levels, which could be “driving him to find a mate”.

Another could be related to “loneliness”, he added. “Belugas are a very social species - it could be that he’s searching for other beluga whales.”

Beluga whales tend to live in icy Arctic waters around Greenland, Russia, Alaska and northern Norway, and some migrate during the summer.

Covid: Top Chinese scientist says don’t rule out lab leak

The possibility the Covid virus leaked from a laboratory should not be ruled out, a former top Chinese government scientist has told BBC News.

As head of China’s Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Prof George Gao played a key role in the pandemic response and efforts to trace its origins.

China’s government dismisses any suggestion the disease may have originated in a Wuhan laboratory.

But Prof Gao is less forthright.

In an interview for the BBC Radio 4 podcast Fever: The Hunt for Covid’s Origin, Prof Gao says: “You can always suspect anything. That’s science. Don’t rule out anything.”

A world-leading virologist and immunologist, Prof Gao is now vicepresident of the National Natural Science Foundation of China after retiring from the CDC last year.

In a possible sign that the Chinese government may have taken the lab leak theory more seriously than its official statements suggest, Prof Gao also tells the BBC some kind of formal investigation into the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) was carried out.

“The government organised something,” he says, but adds that it did not involve his own department, the China CDC.

We asked him to clarify whether that meant another branch of government carried out a formal search of the WIVone of China’s top national laboratories, known to have spent years studying coronaviruses.

“Yeah,” he replies, “that lab was double-checked by the experts in the field.”

It’s the first such acknowledgement that some kind of official investigation took place, but while Prof Gao says he has not seen the result, he has “heard” that the lab was given a clean bill of health.

“I think their conclusion is that they are following all the protocols. They haven’t found [any] wrongdoing.”

The virus that causes Covid, it is almost certain, once came from bats.

But how it got from bats to us is a far more controversial question, and from the start there were two main possibilities.

One is that the virus spread naturally from bats to humans, perhaps via other animals. Many scientists say the weight of evidence suggests that is the most likely scenario.

But other scientists say there is not enough evidence to rule out the main alternative possibility - that the virus infected someone involved in research which was designed to better understand the threat of viruses emerging from nature.

Those two alternatives now find themselves at the heart of a geopolitical stand-off, a swirling mass of conspiracy theories, and one of the most politicised and toxic scientific debates of our time.

In the new BBC podcast we shed light on this difficult, but vitally important, question through interviews with some of the leading scientists from all sides of the debate - as well as on-the-ground reporting, from the streets of Wuhan to the inside of a high-security laboratory in the US.

A Singapore-based scientist, Prof Wang Linfa, was visiting the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), where he is an honorary professor, in January 2020, just as the coronavirus outbreak was taking hold.

He tells the BBC a colleague at the WIV had been worried about the possibility of a lab leak, but that she was able to dismiss it.

Prof Wang is a professor of emerging infectious diseases at the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, and collaborates regularly with Prof Shi Zhengli, a professor with the same speciality at the WIV.

Long-standing friends, they are two of the world’s top experts on bat coronaviruses - earning themselves the nicknames Batman and Batwoman.

Prof Wang says Prof Shi told him

she “lost sleep for a day or two” because she worried about the possibility that “there’s a sample in her lab that she did not know of, but has a virus, contaminated something, and got out”.

But he says that she checked her samples and found they contained no evidence of the virus that causes Covid or any other virus close enough to have caused the outbreak.

He also says there’s “zero chance” that Prof Shi or anyone in her team was hiding the fact that they had found evidence of a lab leak because they were behaving like nothing happened, including going out for dinner, and planning a karaoke session.

Now-declassified US intelligence suggests that several researchers at the WIV became sick in autumn 2019 with symptoms “consistent with both Covid-19 and common seasonal illnesses”.

But Prof Wang tells us that he suggested Prof Shi take blood samples

from her team to see if they had Covid antibodies in January 2020. He says she followed his advice and all the tests were negative.

Prof Wang is one of a group of scientists who believe that the evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the virus passed to humans in a Wuhan market.

The Huanan Seafood Market - which sold much more than its name suggests, including wild mammals - was connected to many of the early cases, people who worked or shopped there.

Although China has shown a marked lack of transparency, those scientists say there is now enough information, such as the data on those early cases and the environmental sampling in that market, to rule out a lab leak.

In fact, such claims of certainty have been there from the start, most notably in a March 2020 paper which has become one of the most read and most controversial scientific papers of the internet age.BBC

The tame beluga whale has been living in waters off Norway’s coast for more than two years

Wagner is a key partner in Russia’s war effort, sending thousands of mercenary fighters to Ukraine

Service charge key in mgt of multi tenanted property -ESV. Patrick Okeke

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

An Estate Surveyor & Valuer ESV. Patrick Kene Okeke, said Service Charge is key in the management of multitalented property.

ESV. Okeke made the disclosure in Abuja, yesterday while speaking to newsmen.

He said multi tenanted property have facilities that are used in common by all tenants.

“Facilities such as elevators, security lighting, security alarm, elevators among others. The Service Charge are imposed on all the tenants for smooth running of the property and for the common good of all”.

He said the Estate Surveyor and Valuer, will normally

propose annual budget, estimate to cover the expenses which will be apportioned to tenants to pay accordingly.

“The Service Charge is paid collectively by the tenants according to the space they are occupying”.

He will equally manage the funds for the day to day running of the property.

“ The Estate Surveyor & Valuer will provide an annual report to show how the money collected are expended, each tenant must have the statement of account. This is very important to enable each tenant to know whether he has a refund or will add to the common pool of funds”, Okeke stated.

He explained that “It is

important to add that nonpayment of service charge by some tenants has wide implication in the maintenance of the property.

“When the security men and cleaners for instance are not paid at the end of the month, your guess is as good as mine with what will happen to the property”.

He said that Estate Surveyors and Valuers are the only professionals who are competent to handle this aspect of property management.

“He is the one who secured the tenants and such are familiar with them and conversant with the day to day running of the property maintenance and can deal with artisans as the case maybe”, he stated.

NIOB urges government to reduce high cost of houses

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) has urged government to reduce the present high cost of affordable houses.

The institute said in order for government to achieve their goal for affordable house, there is a need to use local construction materials and technologies of housing construction.

“This will help in bringing down the cost to the affordability bracket”.

President of NIOB, Prof. Yohanna Izam, made the disclosure on Thursday at a two-day Mandatory Continuous Professional Development Workshop for its members in Abuja.

The theme of the workshop is “Innovation and technology in housing development”and

sub theme: ‘Understanding the Nigeria housing challenge, technology driven mass housing provision and innovations to address housing affordability’.

“ As we all know by the United Nation recommendation, you don’t use more than 30% of ones income on housing”, he said.

Izam noted that there is need to bring down the cost of houses to that range, if not, we cannot achieve housing for all in Nigeria.

“Another option is to increase the wages to a living wage and improve on the wage structure. When this is achieved, low income earners can afford the houses”.

Speaking on the institute plan for the coming administration, he said the institute is also charging the incoming government to make construction of affordable houses

for citizens a priority.

The president said that there was an urgent need for mass housing provision in the country.

According to him, the provision of mass housing units will not only address the housing deficit but will also solve a social welfare problem.

“We have look at the deficit in housing which some people have put the figures at 20 million. So the incoming administration should consider it as a priority to begin to develop mass houses for Nigerians.

“It will solve a social welfare problem and it will also reflect the economy that will create jobs for our teaming populace,” he said.

While speaking on the paper he presented at the workshop about Dry Construction he said that it was about addressing the issue of speed in construction.

According to him, it helps to minimise the amount of onsite activities that involves industrialised building system that use more of refabricated components assembled within a short time on the construction site.

“The time for construction is reduced and on the long time factory production of considerable number of components improve the quality of the components and also reduce the cost of production.

“That is what other countries are using to address tfhe issue of mass housing provision.

“We are talking about large numbers, if we can do 700,000 units in Nigeria for the next 10-20 years then we will now stabilise in the housing sector then Nigerians can have affordable housing,”he said.

Similarly, 2nd Vice President of NIOB, Bimbo Kolade decried the lack of accurate data on housing

deficit in the country.

He said that shelter was critical and innovation and technology must be deployed to address housing delivery in Nigeria from the foundation stage to the last level of delivery.

Kolade said as builders one of the objectives of the workshop was to set an agenda for the incoming administration on the need for mass housing.

Prof. Ismaila Adamu of Yobe State University Damaturu who presented a paper on provision of affordable housing using Lean Technology said the Technology would help reduce cost.

“It is a technique for project construction management, where

you cut down cost through eliminating waste and eliminate any activity in the production process that does not add value to the building.

“Since we are looking for innovative ways for affordable housing units it is a technique that manages planning with control, so that when you plan you also control.

“When you talk of affordable housing you can look at it from different perspectives, affordable houses to who?

“Everyone has the type of house he wants, because you see sometimes government builds houses and give to people but they sell it and go and construct the type

that they like.

Adamu said effort must be put into providing houses for the low income groups that are really affordable and cost effective.

One of the participants of the workshop, Olaniran Aderobigbe, a fellow of NIOB and Managing Director of Projubi Nigeria Plc said the workshop was key because it keeps builders abreast of the latest innovation the industry globally.

Aderibigbe said most of the lectures were futuristic and would give participants a mindset to process and apply the techniques when they eventually come across them adding that the workshop was worthwhile.

An Estate Surveyor Valuer ESV. Patrick Ken Okeke

After a Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, can a community heal?

The trial for the alleged perpetrator of the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history is about to begin. But can the community heal while hate is still on the rise?

At Temple Sinai, in the Squirrel Hill neighbourhood of Pittsburgh, four teenagers are being confirmed into the Jewish faith.

In front of their families, friends and other members of the congregation they talk about what the Ten Commandments mean to their lives. The joyful service is lifted with prayers and singing - all under the watchful gaze of the armed security guard who sits at the entrance to the building.

“Our security budget is ridiculously high,” says Rabbi Daniel Fellman from Temple Sinai, who praised the guards for keeping people safe. “It’s a sad reality in modern American life that we need to do this.”

“I’ve asked my priest friends what would it feel like for you guys to have armed security at Christmas Eve services or Easter services and they look at me like I have three noses.”

But such is the way of life in one of the oldest established Jewish communities in the country, ever since October 2018, when a heavy-set, middle-aged white man entered the nearby Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and, according to the prosecution, murdered eleven worshipers, injuring two others. The youngest victim was 54, the eldest, Rose Mallinger, was 97.

Reports from survivors say the alleged perpetrator, 50-year-old Robert Bowers, shouted anti-Semitic, hate-filled slogans as he fired an AR-15 assault rifle and three semi-automatic handguns for almost fifteen minutes, working his way from room to room in the building, which was a place of worship for three different congregations.

It was, put simply, the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history.

Over four years on, Mr Bowers is set to appear in court Tuesday for the start of what is expected to be a lengthy and gruelling trial, where he faces 63 charges, including eleven counts of hate crimes resulting in death.

He faces the death penalty, and has pleaded not guilty.

Meanwhile, the Squirrel Hill Jewish community has had to live on edge since the attack, as antisemitic incidents continue to rise across the country.

This new reality is not just confined to Pittsburgh. Figures collated by the AntiDefamation League (ADL) show that in 2022 there were around 3,700 antisemitic incidents in the United States - the highest number recorded in forty years of collecting such data, says Oren Segal of the ADL.

“This was the deadliest attack against the Jewish community in American history,” Mr Segal said. “And yet, here we are about five years later… Jewish communities reaching out to us every day, concerned about whether they should wear their yarmulke or attend their services.”

Just a few days before the trial, the White House launched what it described as the first ever national antisemitism strategy, fronted by Doug Emhoff, the husband of the vicepresident, who is himself Jewish. It calls for greater awareness, improved safety and security for Jewish communities, and for others to show solidarity with those facing antisemitic activity and discrimination.

It was welcomed by several of the families affected by the Pittsburgh attack.

“Our family has been touched by antisemitism in a very profound way, and if the federal government can create programmes to help reduce this proliferation then we offer support wherever and however we can,” said Andrea Wedner, who was badly injured in the attack and whose 97-year-old mother, Rose Mallinger, was killed that day.

Concerns about rising antisemitism had begun before the attack, and had intensified since a violent white-supremacist rally had taken place in Charlottesville, Virginia, just a year before.

Tree of Life Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who was on duty the day of the shooting, made one of the first emergency calls because he had taken to carrying his mobile phone on the Sabbath as a precaution, even though making phone calls on the holy day is against his religion.

“I am proud that our leaders understand the urgency and importance of countering anti-Semitism in a comprehensive way, but grieve the levels of anti-Semitism in the country that required the need for a plan in the first place,” he said in a statement after the White House announcement.

‘You never move past it’

Brian Schreiber, president and CEO of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, said some would be retraumatised by the trial. Located just five minutes from the scene of the attack, the centre was where the FBI set up its first response, and where the families came to wait for news.

“People thought they’d feel better by now,” he said. “What I’ve learned is that you move with it, you never move past it.”

Melvin Wax, Daniel Stein and Richard Gottfried - described by community members as the “backbone of the synagogue” - were praying when they were killed in the attack. Such was their dedication to their faith that their families designed a monument in the shape of a Torah scroll to honour their loved ones. It sits in the New Light congregation’s cemetery in a suburb of Pittsburgh.

Inscribed on the monument is ‘our holy martyrs’. The phrase was chosen because they died for their faith says Stephen Cohen, co-president of the New Light congregation.

“I think for most of the last 60 years there has been an acceptance and integration of the American Jewish population into America. We are one and the same,” he said. “I think what happened in October of 2018 shattered that security.”

As the trial begins, the community will have counsellors and religious figures on hand for anyone to talk to, something that’s been happening ever since the day of the attack. Much of it organised by the 10.27 Healing Partnership, named to mark the date the Tree of Life, Dor Hadash and New Light congregations were attacked.

The families of those who died take differing perspectives on whether he should be put to death - some are firmly against it, but the majority published an open letter in favour of a capital sentence.

“There are multiple views on the death penalty,” says Rabbi Fellman of Temple Sinai. While Jewish teaching does allow for a death penalty, he says some in the community don’t believe it should be enacted in this case.

“If there is a set of statutes on the books that carry a capital sentence for these crimes, it’s hard to argue that this man wouldn’t be a candidate for that,” says David Harris, a law professor at Pittsburgh University, who has

Funeral services for the two Rosenthal brothers, Cecil aged 59 and David aged 54, who both had intellectual disabilities. They died while greeting worshipers as they arrived for the Sabbath service

penalty taken off the table, but prosecutors rejected that offer.

been helping the families understand how the trial process is likely to unfold.

“This is the most horrific antisemitic act that’s ever happened in the United States. It’s a mass murderer. There were people who were who were killed who were especially vulnerable, and it was all done in a house of worship.”

‘This too shall pass’

There is a calm and resigned understanding in Squirrel Hill that nothing can really prepare people for the coming weeks when the events of the day will be revisited and the pain of the loss, once again, laid bare.

“This too shall pass. And the jury will make a decision as to his guilt as to what the

appropriate punishment should be,” said Mr Cohen, the co-president of the New Light congregation.

The site of the attack is to be rebuilt and will be home to a sanctuary, memorial and centre for fighting antisemitism.

Relatives have been into schools to speak to children about the problem; ecumenical partnerships have been forged, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh has a full-time security consultant in place to advise the community.

“But meanwhile, this [trial] brings back that day and every moment of that day,” Mr Cohen said.

Source: BBC

A memorial for the victims of the attack

Lawyers for Bowers had sought previously to arrange a guilty plea in return for having the death

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Sports

WEDNESDAY MAY 31, 2023

Premier League: Which teams did the World Cup break help or hinder?

Arsenal manager Mikel

Arteta described it as “unprecedented”, former Tottenham boss Antonio Conte called it “crazy” and Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp said it made him “angry” whenever he talked about it.

Last autumn, the Premier League was bracing itself for a season like no other - with a World Cup shoehorned into the middle of a packed club schedule.

When the top flight paused for the World Cup, Arsenal were five points clear at the top.

“We don’t know how that’s going to affect us,” admitted Arteta.

With the Premier League season over, we know exactly how every club was affected.

The answer? Some more so than others.

Did the World Cup play any part in the title race?

When the season concluded, Manchester City were the champions by five points.

For Arteta and Arsenal, the facts are difficult to ignore.

Having averaged 2.64 points per game before the World Cup, they averaged just 1.96 afterwards. No other Premier League club experienced a bigger drop off in results.

And it seems to be in defence where they suffered most, conceding 1.33 goals per game after the resumption, having let in a miserly 11 in 14 games prior to the tournament.

So was momentum lost? Not necessarily, given they won four and drew one of their first five league games back.

And, having had just eight players taking part in Qatar compared with City’s 16, you couldn’t point to fatigue either.

Erling Haaland scored 18 goals in 13 Premier League games before the World Cup - but ‘only’ 18 in 22 appearances after

With Norway not qualifying for the World Cup, much was made of how Manchester City forward Erling Haaland might benefit from a midseason break.

After scoring twice in a 3-1 win over Leeds on 29 December, he said “to watch other people score to win games at the World Cup kind of triggers me”.

That proved something of an understatement, given he ended on a record 36 Premier League goals.

It was a similar tale for many of the leading strikers in the English top flight, with only three of the division’s nine top goalscorers actually starting a game in Qatar.

For Manchester United forward

Marcus Rashford, the World Cup even proved to be a catalyst for the second half of his season.

Having netted three times during the tournament, the 25-year-old went on a remarkable scoring run with 16 goals in 17 games across all competitions after returning to his club. He’d scored eight in 19 matches in the run-up to the World Cup.

Terrible timing for Leicester

Leicester City went into the World Cup break in high spirits after a run of four wins in five matches had lifted them up to 12th in the table.

When asked following a 2-0 victory at West Ham whether the tournament might halt the Foxes’ momentum, then manager Brendan Rodgers denied there was any frustration.

“What the players have done in this last period, to move away from where we were, has been absolutely fantastic,” he added. “We’ll have a bit of a rest and then we’ll work very hard.”

Halt the momentum, however, is exactly what it did.

Star man James Maddison picked up an injury to the back of his knee just before the World Cup, and returned with trouble at the front of his knee. In his absence, Leicester resumed their Premier League campaign with four successive defeats.

It wasn’t until 4 February, Maddison’s first league start since

November, that they won another league game.

As it is, they only went on to taste victory three more times after that, with Rodgers departing on 2 April and Leicester’s relegation sealed on Sunday.

Maddison, whose superb form in the early part of the season had many fans and pundits clamouring for his inclusion in Gareth Southgate’s squad, scored just three times after recovering from injury. Only one of those came in the last 15 matches of the campaign.

Leicester City’s James Maddison

James Maddison’s last goal from open play came in Leicester’s 4-1 win over Tottenham on 11 February Did the World Cup cost Vieira his job?

On the subject of momentum, the other club to fall foul of the World Cup break was Crystal Palace.

Immediately before the midseason break, Patrick Vieira’s Eagles won four out of seven Premier League games.

On their return to action, they won just once more in the league before Vieira was sacked on 17 March.

Unlike Dean Smith at Leicester, the returning Roy Hodgson was able to steer Palace away from trouble.

Lopetegui’s mid-season preseason with Wolves

By contrast, timing was everything for Wolves - even if it was

“only by accident”.

Wolves were bottom heading into the World Cup, winning just two of their first 15 games under Bruno Lage and then interim boss Steve Davis.

Former Spain and Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui was in the stands to watch their 2-0 defeat by Arsenal immediately before the break - and his taking over as boss the following day proved decisive.

“Rather than having to find a short-term fix, the six-week stoppage allowed him time to install his ideas with the players and work on a plan for January recruitment,” explained BBC WM’s Wolves reporter Mike Taylor.

“Coaches taking over mid-season don’t usually get the chance for an immediate pre-season-style reset.

“The evidence shows that it ironed out the bugs in the defensive programming - Wolves won seven home games after the World Cup, all with clean sheets, and the signings of Craig Dawson and Mario Lemina in January were essential to that improved organisation.

“However, it’s worth remembering Wolves had approached Lopetegui as soon as he had been fired by Sevilla, the same week as Bruno Lage was sacked. At that time, Lopetegui was caring for his ailing father and demurred. A month later, with Wolves seemingly drifting, Lopetegui felt the time was

right. And so it proved.”

Wolves’ points-per-game average rocketed from 0.67 to 1.35 for the remainder of the season - the biggest improvement of any side post-World Cup.

How did the World Cup affect your club’s form?

per game average

Pre-World Cup PostWorld Cup

Arsenal were top, Wolves were bottom and Leicester were in mid-table when the Premier League paused for the World Cup

S P R T

Transfer window: Where will Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Lionel Messi, Declan Rice and Victor Osimhen move to?

Jude Bellingham, Lionel Messi, Victor Osimhen and Harry Kane are just four of the world-class players who could be on the move in what looks set to be a huge transfer window this summer.

Will Messi return to Barcelona? Is Declan Rice bound for Arsenal?

The transfer window for clubs in the Premier League next season opens on Wednesday, 14 June and closes on Friday, 1 September.

Let’s run through the rumours and gorge on some gossip as we take a look at the big names who might be set to make a switch.

Jude Bellingham

Why Bellingham is ‘worth £130m’the view from Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund’s youngest captain at 19 and deemed “exceptional” by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, Bellingham is one of football’s hottest properties this summer and on Monday was named Bundesliga player of the season.

Real Madrid are in advanced talks to sign the England midfielder and are willing to pay about £89m - although Dortmund are understood to want £130m.

Manchester City are also believed to be interested in the teenager who played 42 times for his club this season, scoring 14 goals and registering seven assists.

In April, Liverpool ruled out signing the former Birmingham City star with Klopp saying the Reds’ interest was like a “child wanting a Ferrari for Christmas”.

Why Bellingham’s Real move would make ‘perfect sense’

Harry Kane

Harry Kane mural

A mural of Harry Kane has been painted across the road from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

“Harry Kane, we’ll see you in June.”

Manchester United fans serenaded the Tottenham talisman during their 2-2 draw in London in April. United, like Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris

St-Germain, are being repeatedly linked with the 29-year-old.

Spurs and Kane have a decision to make. England’s record goalscorer has one year left on his contract and, if he does not extend his deal, could leave for free at the end of next season.

Will Harry Kane stay at Tottenham?

Latest Tottenham news, analysis and fan views

Get Spurs news notifications

There is no doubting Kane’s ability - he has scored 280 goals in 435 appearances for Spurs and is 47 goals shy of Alan Shearer’s Premier League goalscoring record of 260.

Spurs have kept hold of him before, two summers ago when he tried to engineer a move to Manchester City.

But with Spurs unable to deliver Champions League football next season and Kane yet to win a major trophy, the forward’s future in north London remains unclear.

Declan Rice

West Ham: Declan Rice may leave this summer - David Moyes

Declan Rice could become the first West Ham captain to win a European trophy since England’s Bobby Moore lifted the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965.

Before their Europa League semi-final second-leg win at AZ Alkmaar, West Ham manager David Moyes said there was “a good chance” Rice will leave this summer.

The 24-year-old has rejected all efforts to get him to sign an extension amid interest from virtually all of England’s top clubs.

Moyes accepts Rice may leave in summer

Rice came through the youth system at West Ham and has been capped 41 times by England, playing in all five of their matches at last winter’s World Cup. There are reports Rice is leaning towards a move to Premier League runners-up Arsenal, but the Gunners may have to double the £72m they paid

for record signing Nicolas Pepe in 2019.

In April, Moyes said Rice would not be sold for less than £150m - believing his star midfielder is worth “north” of that figure.

Lionel Messi

World Cup winner Lionel Messi will leave Paris St-Germain when his contract expires this summer.

His relationship with PSG has soured. On 3 May he was suspended by the club for two weeks after travelling to Saudi Arabia without their permission.

In his first game back he was booed by supporters.

Messi to leave PSG this summer

Why Messi’s dream return to Barcelona looks very unlikely

Messi left Barcelona in 2021 because of financial issues at the club, but a move back to the Nou Camp, where the Argentine is the all-time top scorer with 672 goals in 778 games, may not be an option.

Barcelona have a wage bill of about £530m which they need to reduce by at least £177m.

The 35-year-old has also attracted interest from Inter Miami in Major League Soccer (MLS) and an eyewatering offer of about £350m to play in Saudi Arabia for one year with Al-Hilal.

Victor Osimhen

Victor Osimhen celebrates surrounded by cameras

Victor Osimhen scored the goal which clinched Napoli’s first Serie A title in 33 years in a 1-1 draw at Udinese

Victor Osimhen has become the envy of Europe’s top clubs with his blockbuster performances for Napoli.

Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, PSG and Real Madrid are just some of the teams linked with the striker recently, making Osimhen a regular in the BBC Sport gossip column.

He is Serie A’s top scorer this season with 25 goals in 31 games, powering Napoli to their first Scudetto in 33 years.

Will Osimhen end up in the Premier

League?

The 22-year-old idolised Chelsea striker Didier Drogba growing up, and in 2016 rejected Arsenal when he signed his first professional contract with Bundesliga side Wolfsburg.

Italian football expert James Horncastle said on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast that Osimhen would cost more than £90m, and “probably closer to” £130m.

The striker made headlines in March when he said: “I’m working so hard to make sure that I achieve my dream of playing in the Premier League some day.”

Mount? Mbappe? Maddison? An epic summer awaits

Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal are set to battle it out for Mason Mount’s signature with the England midfielder refusing to sign a new contract at Chelsea.

Mount’s deal runs out at the end of next season and the Blues have reportedly put a £70m price tag on the 24-year-old.

Brighton supporters face a nervy summer after manager Roberto de Zerbi said stars Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister “deserve to play in another level”.

Brighton rejected a bid from Arsenal of about £70m for Ecuador midfielder Caicedo in January, while World Cupwinning Argentina midfielder Mac Allister has been heavily linked with Liverpool.

Meanwhile, James Maddison is likely to move following Leicester’s relegation, with Newcastle and Tottenham rumoured to be interested in the 26-year-old England midfielder.

And superstar Kylian Mbappe is being monitored by Europe’s top clubs with the 24-year-old’s contract expiring at the end of next season, while PSG team-mate Neymar, who joined from Barcelona for £200m in 2017, is being linked with Manchester United.

It is going to be an epic summer. Make sure you follow every twist and turn on BBC Sport’s football section.

The beginning of a new era (1)

Contd. from back page

and sharing our space with individual and institutional corruption; the cankerworm that has eaten deep and become the most singularly potent bane of growth of our systems; absolutely nothing. The EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies have failed Nigerians if the truth must be told. If the promise to discourage and fight corruption would hold water, we would want to see pragmatic changes to the structures and operational modules of the agencies. Whatever, Nigerians would hold Mr. President to his words; he has told us he would discourage corruption and strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the extant anti-corruption agencies.

And again, our expectation is high, that along with the renewed hope package, the notion that we cannot enjoy uninterrupted power supply for days will be beaten by regular and affordable electricity supply across the country. It is not impossible; it

is commonplace in our neighbouring Benin Republic. If that country can do it, we should do even better. We had been repeatedly given dashed hope in that critical sector; and now we hope that as the words of Mr. President; “electricity will become more accessible and affordable to businesses and homes alike. Power generation should nearly double and transmission and distribution networks improved. We will encourage states to develop local sources as well.”

It is an insult, and an embarrassment, that our currency has become so weak and rarely can compete with any desired currency around the globe. How do we explain the reality that the Benin Republic CFA is strongly competing with Naira? Our entire monetary policy as a nation must be overhauled; the era of parallel exchange rate markets must be behind us. It is unproductive, and we cannot allow it to be sustained beyond now if we want to

make any meaningful improvement in our national monetary policy. Mr. President speaks of a thorough house cleaning; that much the Central Bank must be forced to do.

The list is endless, but I will add to the discourse around fuel subsidy removal. In the words of Mr. President, “Fuel subsidy is gone.” Though it is expected, it would be appropriate that Nigerians see in the next few days what the government has in stock to cushion the immediate effect of the subsidy removal. Without a clear and direct intervention, the ordinary citizens would be at the receiving end of the increment. We want to see, on one hand, rigorous interventions, and on the other hand, strong interaction with the citizens to know what they are gaining by losing on the subsidy regime. That is a social responsibility of the government and Mr. President owes Nigerians that much.

I am going to end this piece today, yet,

slightly borrowing from the words of the President: this period is momentously critical for all Nigerians; and for all of us a proud moment of birth of new hope, the renewed hope. This is about time we join hands to aid our nation affirm its rightful place among the world’s great democracies. Shall we all join President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to make Nigeria a more perfect nation, creating a new Nigeria with positive ideas that would live through eternity?

Mr. President, these are your words and today they become your bond; we would hold you to actualise them. “With full confidence in our ability, I declare that these things are within our proximate reach because my name is Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and I am the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”

GOD BLESS THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA!

PEOPLES DAILY

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY MAY 31, 2023

The beginning of a new era (1)

Anthony Martial: Manchester United forward to miss FA Cup final against Manchester City

“All great beginnings start in the dark, when the moon greets you to a new day at midnight.” “Today is the first day of the next phase of our national life.” “Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction.” “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, and it is a new beginning for me, for you and for us. Indeed a new dawn for Nigeria and Nigerians.

I borrow some lines from Reena Mahay’s “A New Dawn,” a new twilight, a new spark, a new charm, a new morrow, a new gleam; a new dream… is here to set your toe.

In my excitement for the era of a ‘Renewed Hope,’ I have been staying up hoping it is in my direct power to bring the hope of the tomorrow that is now upon us, to my people and country men and women. Would Tinubu bring to our tables the unity, healing, relief and hope we desperately desire; the hope that the painful history of our recent experiences would be rewritten to bring light and smiles to our faces, and give life to the power that recreates the Nigeria dreams and ideas.

Manchester United forward Anthony Martial will miss Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester City with a hamstring injury.

The French international sustained the injury in Sunday’s 2-1 win against Fulham at Old Trafford.

Tests revealed the 27-year-old had suffered a muscle tear, the club confirmed on Tuesday.

Victory for United on Saturday would secure a domestic double for the club, having won the League Cup in February.

The England forward has scored 14 goals for the Gunners this season, contributing 11 assists.

Just 21 years old, he has already made 178 appearances for the club and has featured in all Arsenal’s Premier League games over the past two campaigns.

“I’m just really happy,” said Saka.

“There’s been a lot of talking and it’s been a while, but I’m here now. I think this is the right club, the right place to make the next step. It’s a beautiful clublook where we are.

This is a new dawn. Let’s roll out the drums and merry; let Nigerians sing of the arrival of the morning of a renewed hope. Across the length and breadth of our land; from the west, the east, and the south and all the way to the far north, let’s celebrate the beginning of the season of love and healing; of greatness and goodness of our motherland. Let’s celebrate our rising from grieving to growing.

Our nation and our people have gone through much. Our blood has been spilled on our streets like fowls; our bones are broken daily for no crime we committed. Our clinics and hospitals are shut down when we need to be saved from sicknesses and imminent death, because the doctors and nurses have decided to stay away because their expectations are not met. Our school age children roam the streets when they are supposed to be saying “present ma/sir” to their tutors in school. Because the schools are under locks and keys for months without anyone blinking eyes. We sleep more in darkness without a decent power supply, because all we have been getting are promises that were never fulfilled; our Godgiven petroleum has become a commodity we cannot afford any longer. We are more at peril of the few among us, who are bent on taken advantage of us and our commonwealth to their personal use, when we become headless; but my fellow countrymen and countrywomen; these are not enough for us to turn our back

against our own nation, the land of our fathers and mothers gone. It is a new dawn. We made it this far. We weathered the storms as we witnessed a nation that isn’t broken but simply unfinished. Now, let’s take it up from here, the task of communal rebuilding. Tinubu in the front, you at the back, one and all of us; and our nation is rebuilt. In the words of the new President “We must work harder at bringing these noble documents to life by strengthening the bonds of economic collaboration, social cohesion, and cultural understanding. Let us develop a shared sense of fairness and equity.”

Fellow Nigerians, this is our part in this new beginning, we must altogether do our parts to end the internal wars tearing us apart and robbing us of real growth and development. We must from all regions and at all corners, lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another. The hope we see, the hope we dream of may be challenging, but together, we can make it live, and together, we can find light in these never ever ending darkness.

Fellow Nigerians, it is time we all stepped out from every corner of our dear nation, Nigeria, from the west, all the way to the north, crossing the south and the east. Let’s step out of the shade, the darkness of enmity, of jingoism, and of unbeneficial attachments to those things that divide us more than they unite us. We have a role to play in the new dawn; the renewed hope would bloom as we permit it. There is light now but only if we are brave enough to let it shine; if we are brave enough to individually be that light.

I listened to the President; while elated at the elements of the points he raised, I became a little bit apprehensive when I did not hear about any details or a plan by the Federal Government headed by Mr. President to collaborate with other tiers of administrations of Nigeria government to achieve its goals. The critical problems that bedevil the country today are very local in nature; we cannot effectively combat insecurity without full and effective contributions of the state and local government authorities across affected areas.

As a federated entity, with the bulk of citizens in states, the state governments play, perhaps, a greater role even in driving the economy of the country.

It therefore should be imperative that the Federal Government creates a positive diversion from the status quo; build its objectives and policies around effective collaborations and building synergy with the state governments. I therefore would advise the APC-led Federal Government to coordinate effectively with the Governors Forum, most especially the Progressive Governors Forum, which should be headed by a select governor with a grand understanding of the private and public sector economics. Effective synchronisation would turn the Governors Forums into a powerful tool in the hands of the Federal Government to drive its programs effectively and purposefully.

The President talked about recognising those in opposition as co-travelers in the journey of building Nigeria; it is very important that this statement goes beyond the speech into full action. For the first time in our history, we had an election that has so divided us along unpleasant lines, and it would be near impossible to govern and achieve much without participation of Nigerians across lines. The president must in the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians, adopt a bipartisan approach to its governance direction. Engaging the opposition and those who worked against your success at the poll in the interest of the country should be the way to go to achieve many of the set goals of the new Administration.

The president also calls for hope and unity. There could be no other time more appropriate for the call; this is a period of division and gloom for us as a nation and people, and the time to call for hope and unity. We cannot afford to continue to be the force that would shatter our dear country rather than mend it.

Our President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has promised us more than a hope; he offers us renewed hope, a shared hope. Hope that Nigeria would take its rightful place in the committee of serious nations; hope that the resources of our land would be

judiciously used to the benefits of the citizens of the country. Hope that we would once again breadth the very air of safety and security across the lands of our nation, and our people would no longer cry in the midst of plenty.

To these and all the promised programs that become the substances of the hope we now have as a people, we will earnestly look forward to purposeful actions and performance. We will hold Mr. President accountable even as we contribute our quotas as patriotic citizens.

Mr. President has given us his words that no longer are we going to sleep with one eye open again in Nigeria. Mr. President said “We shall defend the nation from terror and all forms of criminality that threaten the peace and stability of our country and our sub regions.” Mr. President, whatever it would be, we want to see governance direction that will forever uproot insurgence, put out the light of banditry, kidnapping and regional terrors in our country. This is a promise of renewed hope, and we shall look forward to the manifestation.

Of our unkempt economy, Nigerians want to see the changes that present real growth and development. We want to see government policy direction and implementations that will address the gross economic poverty in our land. We want to have a country that enjoys absolute food security; a nation where the youths don’t roam the streets for lack of gainful employment. The promise of hope must bring to us controlled inflation, affordable cost of goods and services, take home salaries and income that are worthwhile, and a market flooded with locally produced commodities. To these, we will hold you to your promises Mr. President.

What will we be able to do if we will have to continue living

DAN GAYE

DAN GAYE

Chaos as petrol sells at N500 per litre in Katsina