Saturday, February 25, 2023 Weekend Edition

L-R: Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba with Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, during the 2nd daily briefing on the 2023 General Elections, at the International Conference Centre (ICC), yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

The Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has condemned the brutalization of Trust Television station cameraman, Mr. Taiwo Yishau, at the venue of the All Progressives Congress (APC) grand finale rally for the party’s presidential flag bearer, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

Also, the organization called on Police authorities to ensure the immediate arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators, saying it was bewildered that policemen stationed at the venue of the rally who witnessed the attack on the media professional did nothing to assist him or to put an end to the assault, even as it described failure of the policemen to intervene to put an end to the unwarranted attack on the cameraman as criminal negligence.

In a statement issued and signed by its Communications Officer, Idowu Adewalein in Lagos, MRA’s Programme Officer, John Gbadamosi, said the attack on Yishau was “an egregious violation of press freedom and the basic human rights of the journalist”, noting that “journalists play a vital role in our society, serving as watchdogs to hold those in power accountable and provide the public with essential information. Any attempt to silence or intimidate journalists or otherwise impede them in the performance of their duties constitutes a threat to our democracy and should not be condoned.”

Gbadamosi noted that the behavior of the policemen and the political party that allowed such an assault on a journalist was unacceptable, stressing that the Nigerian Media Code of Election Coverage requires law enforcement agencies, political parties and other relevant stakeholders to ensure an enabling environment for journalists and other media workers

MRA condemns attack on TV Cameraman, seeks prosecution of perpetrators

to effectively discharge their duties before, during and after elections. He expressed concern at the repeated incidents of attacks on media professionals and the violation of their rights at political rallies and events, particularly those of the ruling APC, saying it was an extremely worrying development that political parties which are expected to be the platforms through which the leaders of the country would emerge have no appreciation of the importance of the role of the media in the political process, including elections.

WEEKEND PHOTO

While calling on the Inspector General of Police to order an immediate investigation into the incident and ensure that those responsible for the attack on Yishau are arrested and prosecuted, he said, all relevant authorities, including the leadership of the various political parties, should take urgent steps to ensure the safety of journalists and put necessary measures in place to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.

“Yishau was reportedly attacked at one of the gates to the Teslim Balogun Stadium, venue of the rally, despite

displaying his press tag issued by the party. He was stopped from entering the venue of the rally even after explaining that he was duly assigned and accredited to cover the event. He was thereafter hit multiple times by a gang of hoodlums who accused him without any evidence or basis of forging the accreditation tag.

“According to Yishau, the incident started when the bouncers hired as security men at the gate to the stadium handed him over to his attackers who accused him, also without any evidence or basis, of working for another party.

“Narrating his ordeal, the cameraman said: “I showed them the press tag given to us by APC Publicity Secretary, Mr. Seye Oladejo yesterday. But they said it is fake. They said I am working for the opposition. They asked me to show previous works I did for APC and they kept beating me.”

“He said the policemen stationed a few meters away from the scene stood idly by, watching the brutal assault on him, adding that “They didn’t say anything. I was trying to protect my camera and the phone as they kept beating me,” the statement added.

Dignity of Labour! Laborers at construction side, in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba with Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu (middle) and National Commissioners, during the 2nd daily briefing on the 2023 general Elections, at the International Conference Centre (ICC), yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Anxiety as Atiku, Tinubu, Obi lock horns today

• How the candidates stand in Kano, Lagos, Rivers

INEC forecloses any hitches

By Our Correspondent

Palpable anxiety has gripped supporters of the 18 presidential candidates that will be listed this morning on the ballot papers by the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, as Nigerians throng out to elect their next president.

Checks by Weekend Peoples Daily have indicated that the camps of the three frontline contestants-Atiku Abubakar of the opposition People Democracy Party, PDP; Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, and APC the Labour Party’s Peter Obi, particularly, are deep in apprehension over the possible outcomes of the presidential election.

Also, the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, Rabiu Kwankwaso is still nursing hight optimism that he would pull a surprise at the polls today.

Thought the NNPP standard bearer does not seem to have the widespread support of the threesome, the party unarguably holds Kano as its major stronghold, leading to conclusions by politics watchers that the race in the state would be keenly contested with NNPP possibly garnering high chunk of the votes to be cast.

Already tension is at its peak in the most populous state in Northern Nigeria with APC and NNPP supports threatening a show down. Reports monitored in the state said the NNPP flag bearer was recently attacked in the state and fingers are pointing at APC supporters.

Pundits generally believe that the contest in Kano would be a reenactment of the 2019 duel between Kwankwaso and Governor Abdullahi Ganduje. The PDP under the leadership and high influence of of the Kwankasiyya Movement almost unseated Ganduje in the last governorship election in 2019.

Accordingly, the outcome of the presidential poll in Kano would be a popularity contest between the governor who is backing Tinubu and the NNPP presidential candidate, politic watchers have posited.

Governor Ganduje has severally sworn to deliver Kano to Tinubu. The governor who is at the twilight of his second and final tenure, according to analysts, would be relying on the power of incumbency to accomplish that ambition. But fears are being

expressed that it may be an uphill task for him in view of the political sophistication of Kano voters who may not be easily swayed by the influence of the government house once their minds are made.

PDP’s Abubakar Atiku did comparatively well in Kano in 2019 with the help and support of Kwankwaso. Analysts believe that if the two politicians were to be working together in today’s elections, Kano would have been a done deal for the PDP candidate. It’s, however, being reasoned that that the votes PDP garnered in 2019 would be split between the duo of Atiku and Kwankwaso, and both of them are also expected to harvest from APC’s since President Buhari is not in the current race.

There have also been talks about the possibility of the two leaders working together ahead of today’s exercise but that suggestion may have been rested as the NNPP has been in constant denial of the rumoured deal.

Atiku’s camp, however, believes that

Kano is theirs for the taking because their candidate has more support base than the NNPP’s across the country, a consideration that may possibly condition the minds and decision of voters in the state. Besides, the PDP having seemingly lost ground to the G-5 governors led by Rivers’ Nyesome Wike seems determined to push for the best outing in Northwest states which have the highest number of registered voters-over 22 million.

The entry of LP’s Peter Obi into the presidential race has, no doubt, changed the political equation across the country and even party lines. The Anambra born politician remains the poster boy in the race as he has created waves with his unique campaign style of gathering mammoth crowd without “shishi” across the country.

Obi was equally favoured to make serious political inroads in Kano and snatch a good percentage of the over five million votes expected to be cast across the state today. Recent events in the state, however, suggests a decline

in his fortunes in the state.

The Labour Party’s governorship ticket bearer, Engr Bashir Ishaq Bashir, last week withdrew his candidature in the guber race and reportedly collapsed his structures into the APC’s. That development has been described as a boost for the chances of the APC in both the presidential and governorship elections in Kano.

Analysts said it is left to be seen how Peter Obi can pull through the election in Kano in the absence of a governorship candidate for his party.

A source who spoke to our Correspondent from Kano at the time of doing this report asserted categorically that the action by Engr Bashir has finally nailed the coffin of the LP in the state.

Like Kano, Lagos is another key state where Atiku, Tinubu and Obi’s fate will be decided today. With over seven million registered voters, the state unarguably remains the beautiful bride in the presidential contest.

Analysts believe that Lagos is to

Tinubu

Peter Obi

Anxiety as Atiku, Tinubu, Obi lock horns today

Tinubu what Kano is to Kwankwaso. As a two-term governor of the richest state in the country and his background as an activist and crusader, the state is already in the firm grip of the APC candidate.

However, the Jagaban as Tinubu is now fondly called will have to contend with the burgeoning population of Southeasterners in the commercial nerve centre of the country.

In the 2019 and other previous elections, the huge Igbo population had made it possible for the PDP to run neck to neck with the ruling party in the state. However, analysts have suggested that the game in the state will change in favour of Obi’s LP displacing PDP’s Atiku from their traditional second position in Lagos.

They also agreed that getting the required 25 percent votes may not be a herculean task for the PDP, especially with the current seeming waves being made by its governorship candidate fondly known as Jandor.

In the Southsouth region, Atiku would have been the candidate to beat as had happened over time. The PDP candidate topped in the results of the 2019 elections in the all the states in the geopolitical zone. But the snag this time around is that his long faceoff with Wike would likely make it difficult for him to win in the most populous state-Rivers- in the region.

The longstanding rivalry had made the PDP to cancel its scheduled presidential rally in the state. According to the opposition party, the rivalry had snowballed into a life threatening dimension with alleged assassination attempt on one of the members of the PDP Presidential Campaign Committee in the state.

Nevertheless, politics watchers believe that the PDP presidential candidate can still put up an impressive outing in the state at today’s elections. Their stand point is that Atiku’s foot soldiers have not left anything to change despite their inability to

hold the state presidential rally. In a never-die spirit, the Adamawa born presidential candidate met with a huge population of Rivers PDP stakeholders in Abuja last Sunday to shore up his chances in the election.

Besides, Analysts have posited that with Rivers State fielding formidable candidates in the National Assembly elections holding together with the presidential, many voters in the state may have no qualms giving their votes to Atiku, especially those with low level political education who might not be able to distinguish between the different parties favoured by the governor for the presidential and National Assembly seats.

The state PDP gladiators are, however, said to be queueing behind the candidature of APC’s Tinubu as allegedly ordered by Governor Wike.

Ordinarily, Peter Obi was tipped to be the likely beneficiary of Atiku’s declining influence in Rivers. Governor Wike had raised that hope when he invited him to commission projects undertaken by the state government under his watch. Wike had pledged to support the LP candidate with logistics. Nonetheless, everything at the moment points to APC candidate getting a high chunk of the votes in Rivers if the governor is able to execute his plans.

Not taking anything for granted, the frontline parties have employed all necessary instruments to stay ahead of one another as campaigns heat up. One of such tools is the resort to pollsters. Just this week, three different opinion polls allegedly favoured each of the trio of Atiku, Tinubu and Obi as the likely winner of today’s presidential polls. The one that favoured Tinubu was described as the final pollster while the following day another one said to have the widest samples ever declared Atiku as the likely undisputed favoured candidate. Obi equally enjoyed high ratings by polls conducted by London based The Economist and Bloomberg

platforms. All the candidates did not also fail to describe the opinion polls that relegated their chances as voodoo ratings.

In their almost five months campaign, the politicians all made same electoral promises, centering on economic, agricultural, infrastructure and educational transformation, captured in different slogans. For Atiku, it’s recovery of Nigeria while Tinubu says there’s renewed hope. Obi on his own has the message that a new Nigeria is possible.

The electorates are expected to examine these promises carefully today before casting their ballots for their preferred candidates.

Many Nigerians have bought the argument that the winner in the presidential election in the current dispensation wouldn’t be necessarily determined by the primordial sentiments of religion, ethnicity and deep pockets. They have argued that voters have come of age and are now we’ll informed to separate the chaffs from the grains with respect to sentiments and inducements.

Analysts say, however, that the facts on ground have suggested that the electorates may not have moved too far away from their characteristic sentiments of religious and ethnicity appeals. Neither will they be able to shut their eyes to monetary inducements.

According to the analysts, the current naira swap policy regime which has brought about scarcity of the currency notes may be an added advantage to vote buyers as some electorates who have been suffering under the yoke of scarcity for the past weeks may not be able to resist the allure of the scarce notes. In some cities and towns, N1000 is currently sold for N1400. Only a few voters will have the discipline to exchange their votes for money if the opportunity is given.

President Muhammadu Buhari had cited the need to restore sanity in the national electoral system as one of

the gains of the new currency policy. According to him, nobody would be allowed to intimidate voters with ill-gotten money in order to clinch undeserved victory in the elections.

Some Nigerians have also posited that the voters have bid farewell to religion and ethnicity s factor that would condition their minds as they go the polling booth today. If religion and ethnicity have been trashed in the considerations for the choice of political officer holders, why are there so much talks about a Muslim-Muslim ticket of Tinubu and his Running Mate, Kashim Shettima? Also, why the hues and cry over the Atiku candidacy that is seen as a transition from Fulani to Fulani presidency, should the PDP candidate win the polls today. These are questions that have continued to agitate the minds of discerning analysts in particular and the populace generally. And, according to them, these are among the issues that have ignited anxiety in the political parties as the presidential poll opens this morning.

Meanwhile, some close politics watchers have prognosticated that the presidential election may not be able to produce a clear winner in the first ballot in view of the fact that the contest is too close to call.

The electoral umpire has, however, expressed its readiness for a runoff if the need arises. It also foreclosed any possibility of a shift in the scheduled election dates begining from today’s presidential.

To dispell any rumour to that effect, the electoral body has been sending out a terse text message to prospective voters in the last couple of days restating that the scheduled dates are sacrosanct.

“Presidential and National Assembly election is on Saturday, 25th February. Make your vote count. Go and vote. For enquires, call INEC on 4632,” the message read.

Atiku Kwankwaso

News Editor (Ag), Stanley Onyekwere

NHRC unveils toll free number for complaints

By Albert Akota

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has launched the ‘Human Rights Situation Room’ ahead of the Saturday, February 25, Presidential and parliamentary elections.

The NHRC gave out a toll-free number of 08006472428 and short code 6472 with which the general public can report cases of Human Rights abuses, including obstruction of access to vote centres and be voted

for as well as gender-based violence among other infractions.

Addressing the media, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Tony Ojukwu (SAN) said the situation room will help them monitor all human rights related cases before, during and after the elections.

The NHRC scribe said by launching the Situation Room, the Commission is set to take advantage of its wide reach in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory to monitor the 2023 general elections

Elections: NCC denies planned shutdown of telecom networks

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says all fraudulent messages on network shut down in the country should be ignored.

The NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Reuben Muoka, said this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

Muoka said the NCC’s attention was drawn to fraudulent and misleading information circulating in some social media platforms.

He said that the platforms insinuated there was a planned shutdown of all telecom networks and relevant ICT Units, including online transfer facilities of the banks, with effect from today, Feb. 23.

“The Nigerian public, consumers of telecommunications services, and all bank customers are advised to ignore these or similar messages that insinuate

deliberate network shutdown or disruption of services in the Nigerian telecom network.

“These malicious and subversive messages originated and are being circulated by fraudsters and unscrupulous elements in the society with the intent to cause chaos and panic among the populace.”

He said that the Commission had received unequivocal assurances from all the service providers to the effect that all network services were currently in optimal performance.

“No network will witness any deliberate shutdown or disruptions, especially at this very crucial period of general elections in the country,” he said.

He assured all users of telecommunications and banking services utilising network facilities continued optimal service delivery before, during, and after the general elections in Nigeria. (NAN)

from the presidential down to the state assembly.

According to him, Free and Fair Elections are key tenets of a democratic system of governance.

The right to participate in the governance process including the right to vote and to stand for elections is central to a democracy.

He added, the fulfilment and enjoyment of human rights are critical cannons of a properly functioning democratic system as a thriving democracy provides an enabling

environment for human rights to thrive.

“Human Rights Situation Room will be a hub inside the Commission where the Commission plans to take advantage of its wide reach by having offices in the 36 states of Nigeria to monitor the conduct of elections immediately before, during and after the elections. In doing this, the Commission is acting in line with its mandate as stated in Sections (a)(b)(j) of the NHRC Act of 2010 as amended.

2023 polls: EU condemns violent attacks, wants culprits punished

By Ochiaka Ugwu

The European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission to Nigeria 2023 has condemned violence leading up to Election Day in particular the recent assassination, and urges authorities to hold those responsible to account.

In a statement released in Abuja Friday by EU EOM Chief Observer, Barry Andrews calls on all electoral stakeholders to engage in a manner that reflects the spirit of the Peace Accord signed on 22 February – on election day and in the days that follow as votes are counted and tabulated, and results are announced.

Furthermore, he urges security agencies to fulfill their responsibilities and ensure an enabling environment for peaceful elections.

According to the statement, “The EU EOM has been following the preparations for the 25 February general elections, including the just concluded campaign activities and the

conduct of political parties and candidates as well as other stakeholders.

“Any concerns about the conduct of the elections or its outcome should be channeled through designated election tribunals and courts as provided for in the laws of Nigeria.

“The EU EOM will continue to observe the electoral process,

including the transparency of the election administration, the impartiality of security agencies, and the independence of the judiciary.

“The EU Election Observation Mission has been deployed by the European Union upon an invitation from the Independent National Electoral Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

ANEEJ tasks Buhari, others on plans for IMF’s $3.5 billion SDR Fund

From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

With some hours to the Presidential and National Assembly Elections the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), has called on President Muhammadu Buhari and all the Presidential candidates planning to take over from him to tell Nigerians their plans to utilize the $3.4 billion Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocated to Nigeria by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since August 2021.

The Executive Director of ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugolor, who gave the charge in a statement made

available to the media, revealed that the $3.5 billion allocated to Nigeria since 2021 is lying idle unutilized.

He wondered why Nigeria’s SDR allocation of the Fund to cushion the impact of Covid-19, global economic crunch and Climate crisis on citizens of the country is unutilized.

The Environment and Economic Justice advocate equally expressed concern that since the allocation in 2021, the Minister of Finance, Hajia Zainab Ahmed has not told Nigerians anything about the utilization of the country’s $3.5 billion SDR allocation from the IMF.

Ugolor stated further: “Since the

commencement of campaigns by all the Presidential candidates they have been clear enough in speaking to the issues of over N44 trillion debt burden of Nigeria but none of them even knows that Nigeria received $3.5 billion SDR allocation from the IMF.”

“We challenge Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP),

and in deed all other presidential candidates for Saturday’s polls to tell Nigerians their plans to utilize the $3.5billion Special Drawing Rights allocated to Nigeria by the Board of the IMF if they emerge as president and if unutilized by President Muhammadu Buhari before the end of his tenure in May 2023,” the ANEEJ Executive Director stressed.

It will be recalled that as a direct response to the plight of addressing the economic crisis unleashed by the pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board of Governors in August 2021 approved a general allocation of $650bn Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to

help boost the liquidity of member countries. $420bn was allocated to advanced economies. African countries received about US$33.8 billion of which Nigeria got $3.5 billion, which has been sitting idle unutilized even in the face of growing hardship amongst citizens of the country.

Nigeria’s Debt Management Office puts the total Public Debt Stock at USD US$100. 07bnasat 31 March 2022. Nigeria is currently grappling with a serious debt crisis, which has taken centre stage of campaigns by almost all the political parties but they all know nothing about the SDR allocation from the IMF and how it can be utilized.

Supreme Court reaffirms Ogewu as APC candidate for Oju/Federal Constituency

The Supreme Court Friday reaffirmed the candidature of Evangelist David Ogewu for Oju/Obi Federal Constituency on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Ogewu’s victory at the apex court came less than 24 hours to the presidential and National

Assembly election slated for Saturday.

The candidate has been locked in a running legal battle since he was declared winner of the party’s primaries in June last year.

His rival, Obo Egbodo had dragged him to the Federal High

Court Makurdi, challenging his victory at the primary and the lower court upturned the verdict of the primaries and nullified Ogewu’s candidature.

Not satisfied with the judgement of the High Court, Ogewu proceeded on appeal to the Appeal Court and the upper

court restored his mandate.

Egbodo again appealed the judgement to the nation’s apex court where the matter had been pending until Friday when Ogewu finally triumphed to become the authentic candidate of the APC in Saturday’s election.

The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) has said that it would be carrying out a special monitoring of public officers’ participation in the conduct of the 2023 general elections.

CCB Chairman, Prof. Isah Mohammed, made known while briefing newsmen on Thursday in Abuja.

He said that the monitoring exercise which would begin today, is a commitment of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s readiness to leave a legacy of delivering the freest, fairest and credible election in the history of the country.

He added that the bureau would be working with relevant stakeholders to ensure it get its desired results in the 36 states and the FCT.

“We shall observe whether or not a public officer in this exercise has put himself or herself in a position where his or her personal interest conflicts with the duties and responsibilities assigned to him or her.

“We shall observe whether or not an officer in this exercise asks for or accepts any benefit of any kind in the discharge of his or her duties.

“Observe whether or not officers in this exercise receive any inducement or bribe in the discharge of this exercise.

“And we shall observe whether or not a public officer in this exercise abuses his or her office or does any act prejudicial to the rights of any other person contrary to electoral principles and practices,” he said.

He added that those found wanting would be investigated and such cases would be referred to the Code of Conduct Tribunal for onward prosecution and conviction. (NAN)

By Stanley Onyekwere

As part of efforts to make FCT roads safe, especially during the 2023 Presidential elections the FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) has disclosed the deployment of a total of 507 officers to man the roads during and after today’s elections.

DRTS posts 507 officers to Abuja roads during polls Code of Conduct Bureau to monitor public officers’ participation in elections

In particular, the officers are to manage the traffic in every part of the Territory to ensure free movement of electoral materials and those on essential duties.

A statement from Head, Public Relations Division FCT, DRTS, Kalu Emetu, explained that number is to cover nine sectoral areas of the territory which include: Abaji/Rubochi; Karishi/Karu; Kwali; kuje; Gwagwalada; Municipal; Dutse/ Bwari; Kabusa and Zuba/Dei Dei sectors.

It added that each of the sectors is to be manned by 25 officers where they are required to enforce traffic restrictions during the period of the elections. Every sector is to operate with two Hilux vehicles.

According to the statement, eighty-seven officers were deployed to the national situation room collation center to cordon

off traffic from the thirteentraffic access point around the collation centers.

Also, sixty officers had been deployed to the three boundary points of the FCT to monitor traffic in the areas, the boundary areas include Abaji, Zuba, and Nyanya.

Similarly, fifty inspection officers were deployed to inspect and to certify the 520 vehicles

conveying electrical materials to various locations in the FCT.

It further explained that fifty officers and men were deployed to join in the show of force with other security agencies in the Territory.

“It is pertinent to note that the Directorate also deployed materials and vehicular logistics support for the success of the elections.

“The material and logistics support include; 53 Hilux vehicles, 20 motorbikes and riders, 20 iron barricades, 4 numbers of juggernaut, and 1 coaster bus.

“The officers were however directed to exhibit a high level of discipline as enshrined in the operational guidelines of the Directorate’s regulations”; the statement added.

FCT Security committee assures residents of safety

By Stanley Onyekwere

The FCT Security Committee has assured the residents of the Federal Capital Territory of their safety during and after the 2023 General Elections and, therefore, urged them to come out en-masse to exercise their civic responsibility.

The Committee said adequate security arrangements have been made to guarantee the safety of officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as well as the residents who are expected to vote in the forthcoming election.

A statement from the Director, FCT Information & Communication, Muhammad Hazat Sule, said the Committee in its meeting held Thursday (23rd February 2023) at Gwarinpa I District, Abuja, also urged residents to conduct themselves in a lawful manner during the exercise and vote for candidates of their choice.

It noted that all potential flash points that could lead to the breach of peace have been carefully mapped out and appropriate surveillance measures have been put in place to maintain law and order in the FCT.

It further reviewed all security concerns and expressed satisfaction with the level of preparedness by the respective security formations in the Territory and concluded that the 2023 General Elections can

hold in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility in the Territory.

The Committee noted the proactiveness of the FCT Administration in restricting commuter movements around the International Conference Centre, Abuja, being the Collation Centre for the 2023 Presidential election.

The Committee stated that the FCT is known for peace and warned that it would not tolerate any act inimical to the peace and development of the Territory.

The FCT Security Committee meeting, which was presided over by the FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani-Aliyu, was attended by the FCT Permanent Secretary,

Mr. Olusade Adesola, Chief of Staff to the FCT Minister, Mallam Muhammad Bashir Mai-Borno, all Heads of Security formations in the FCT, Chairmen of the six Area Councils of the FCT, Secretaries of FCT Mandate Secretariats, Chairman of the FCT Council of Chiefs, as well as some Directors of the FCT Administration.

Electoral offenders will be prosecuted, says IGP

• As INEC postpones Enugu South East senatorial poll

• Yakubu assures of speedy release of results

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

Atotal of 425,106 security personnel have been deployed to provide security coverage for today’s presidential and National Assembly elections, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Usman Alkali Baba has revealed.

Alkali Baba stated this on Friday, at a press conference organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to provide an update for Nigerians on the preparations for the elections.

The number of personnel deployed, the IGP explained, were jointly provided by the Nigerian police force in conjunction with other members of Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), which include Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Immigration Services, Nigerian Correctional Service, NDLEA, Nigerian Fire Service, Nigerian Customs Service and EFCC among others.

The Nigeria police, which is the lead security agency for the election, the Police Chief said, is fully prepared for the Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections, and warned criminal elements who may try to disrupt the process to have a rethink.

The IGP also disclosed that police are deploying 74 armed personnel carriers (APCs), six helicopters, 50 ambulances, 37 water cannons and 75 gun throttles among others.

Alikali Baba explained that the force has mapped out flash points, which he added,

were known to them, stating that deployment of personnel, depending on threat analysis, could be heavy or light.

The IGP stated that policing will be carried out at three stages - airways to be supported by the Nigeria Air force; riverine areas to be secured by the marine security, which will be assisted by the Nigerian Navy, as well as armed personnel to be complemented by the military.

According to him, “We have made arrangements for armed patrol in the 36 states and the FCT. Arrangements have been made to ensure that the collation

centres are protected. Those who don’t have anything at the centres should stay away in their best interest”.

The IGP said each of the 176, 606 polling units will be manned by two unarmed police personnel.

He however added that the unarmed police personnel will not be too close to the polling centres.

He stressed that all electoral offences will be investigated at the end of which the outcome of such investigations will be made available to INEC for possible prosecution.

The INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, who addressed the press conference jointly with the IGP, disclosed that there will be no senatorial election in Enugu East on Saturday due to the death of Labour Party (LP) senatorial candidate.

Prof. Yakubu disclosed that the Labour Party has, formally, communicated to INEC over the death of its candidate, adding that senatorial election will be held on March 11 together with governorship and House of Assembly elections.

Prof. Yakubu however said

the presidential and National Assembly elections will be held in Imo State where ad hoc staff trained for the elections have withdrawn for security reasons.

The INEC Chairman stated that the commission has made proper arrangements for any glitches that might occur in the transmission of election results, adding that INEC is interfacing with four service providers to handle any problem that may arise.

Yakubu assured that the results of the presidential election will be released “speedily”.

Adamawa LP Guber candidate collapses structure for APC

From Umar Dankano,Yola.

The Adamawa state Gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party(LP),Umar Mustapha Madawaki has

collapsed the party’s structure into All Progressives Party (APC) over alleged unresolved differences.

Madawaki who made this disclosure Friday at a press conference in Yola, said since

he joined the Labour Party,the party’s hierarchy has not been cooperating with him, especially his governorship ambition.

He decried that the LP from the national to state levels

have not been supportive to his desire of becoming the next the governor, alleging that they even go round saying the party has no governorship candidate, just to frustrate him.

“It is in the light of all these that we entered into discussion with APC and after exhausting negotiations, have decided to collapse our entire structure into the APC.

Buhari meets family, pays tribute to late Sen. Abba Ali

Members of the bereaved family of late Senator Abba Ali, a friend and decades long associate of President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Daura visited the President to share their common loss of a man who diligently served Nigeria.

The family members, including the children of the deceased, were led to the President by the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba

Shehu, said Buhari in a tribute, described the death of the Chairman of the National Governance Council of the African Peer Review-NEPAD as an irreparable loss of an irreplaceable friend whom he said had “a warm personality and affable manners that won him a lot of respect and

admiration. Words are of little solace at this time.”

According to the statement, the family members, who spoke through Alhaji Usman, Tarnon Katsina, said they were all aware of the social and emotional bonds between President Buhari and their late father and thanked him

for his support to the deceased following the tragic accident, and the family, after he passed on.

They prayed for peaceful elections in the country and a safe return home for the President after successful completion of his second term, the statement noted.

CSOs raise alarm over rising violence in states

By Abubakar Ojimaojo

Barely few hours to the 2033 general elections, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has raised alarm over emerging violence in states insisting that the developments may impact the outcome of elections.

In a statement by its Director, Idayat Hassan and made available to journalists in Abuja, on Friday, the CDD said the incidents if not promptly addressed could scare off voters and induce apathy in the affected areas.

According to her, CDD, has been keeping close watch on developments around the polity, especially critical incidents capable of undermining the conduct of the elections.

She explained that “The violence in the final week took the form of attacks on candidates and their supporters, explosions, and the removal of infrastructure like roads leading to communities.

“In Zamfara State, North West Nigeria, CDD cited reports of an armed attack on the convoy of the wife of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hajiya Hurriyah Lawal.

“The incident, which led to the death of two policemen, happened when the convoy of the spouse of the opposition candidate in Zamfara State was returning to Gusau, the state capital.

“In Kogi Central Senatorial District, there were reports of the excavation of the road leading to the community of a prominent female candidate in the Senate race.”

Speaking further, she said: “The candidate alleged that the excavation of the road was meant to cut off the community and disenfranchise her community. In Kano, four persons were

reportedly killed in a clash between supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP).

“In response, the police canceled all political rallies billed for the eve of the election.

“Explosions were reported in Port-Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State in the South-South geo-political zone. The explosion targeted the building housing Atlantic Television Network and Wish FM 99.5. Similarly, in Okehi Local Government Area in Kogi State, North Central geo-political zone an explosion was reported.

“In the South East state of Enugu, a Labour Party (LP) candidate for Enugu East Senatorial district, Oyibo Chukwu was killed while returning from a campaign trip. The development has already forced INEC to postpone the election in the senatorial zone to March 11.”

CDD also notes the arrest of a serving member of the House of Representatives with cash in foreign currency. The Centre called on the authorities to exhaustively investigate the issue and ensure justice is served. Another critical incident, according to the nonprofit organisation was the case of 100 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members trained as poll workers in three Local Government Areas of Imo State who have withdrawn from serving as INEC ad-hoc staff on account of insecurity in the area.

CDD strongly condemns the violence, and calls on the political actors to abide by the spirit and letters of the National Peace Accord. CDD urges security agencies to pay extra attention to these flash points to ensure calm is restored in readiness for elections.

CRIME Buhari condemns killing of Oyibo Chukwu, LPs senatorial candidate in Enugu

for human life and dignity, and therefore deserve the wrath of natural and divine justice.

The President affirms his avowed commitment to an election that is devoid of violence and rancour.

He reminds all political actors that it is the choice of the electorate that counts, and therefore all eligible Nigerians should boldly exercise their civic rights without any fear of intimidation.

President Muhammadu Buhari strongly condemns the gruesome killing of Chief Oyibo Chukwu, the Labour Party senatorial candidate for Enugu East Senatorial District

and his personal aide.

The President believes that the perpetrators of this ignoble act, in Awkunanaw, Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State, have no respect

The President directs security agencies to track down the culprits of this heinous crime, even as he commiserates with families of the victims, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Labour Party.

President Buhari prays for the repose of the souls of the deceased and comfort for those who mourn.

Gov Sule tasks security on peaceful conduct

From Gambo Ahmed, Lafia

Nasarawa state Governor Engr Abdullahi Sule has implored security agents in the state to ensure that the presidential and senatorial elections is conducted peacefully across the state.

The Governor, who gave the charge Friday during a security

meeting with all security heads in the state; calling on them to adopt measures aimed at the success of the elections during and after the exercise

“I urged the people of the state to adhere to Electoral laws as well as maintain peaceful coexistence at all polling unite”, he added Governor Sule further applauded the security operatives

in the state for their roles played in the sphere of combating crime of all forms in the state as well as asked them to keep it up in order to make the state free of criminality. He however appealed to religious leaders and traditional rulers to always preach peace to their followers at all times noting that without peace, no meaningful development can strive.

NSCDC deploys 3,000 personnel to secure national assets in FCT

By Stanley Onyekwere

To enhance security coverage and protection of critical national assets throughout the conduct of 2023 general elections, the FCT Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has deployed a total of 3,000 combatant personnel to strategic places across Abuja, the nation’s capital city.

Amongst the deployed are personnel from Armed squad, Antivandal unit, Disaster Management and Medical unit, Intelligence unit, Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Explosives Unit (CBRNE).

It was gathered these officers are to manned strategic places like the INEC offices, polling units and collation centres amongst others; providing security for INEC materials, INEC Ad hoc Staff and the environment.

Also, they are to provide adequate protection of National Assets, Infrastructures, buildings and Government installations against vandalism.

The FCT Commandant of

the Corps Dr Peter Maigari, said the deployment was in conformation to the affirmations and directives of the NSCDC Commandant General, to create a secured

environment for the successful conduct of the 2023 general elections.

Maigari, in a statement signed by FCT Command’s Public Relations Officer (PRO),

Okomanyi Comfort, avowed the Corps readiness for the election, adding that diligence, professionalism and being apolitical is the standard.

He stated that the officers and men of the corps have undergone several training on the election operational guidelines as provided by the electoral Act and the NSCDC Standard Operational Procedures (SOP).

He noted that the NSCDC Special Forces, in joint operation with other sister agencies, will also be on standby in case of emergency.

Maigari therefore called on stakeholders and the general public to do their part in ensuring a free, fair, safe, peaceful and credible election.

He equally charged everyone to shun violence or any action with the potential of disrupting any of the electoral process, as anyone caught causing mayhem will be made to face the wrath of the law.

As PDP’s Atiku goes into the ring without G-5 governors

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

The 18 registered political parties are fielding candidates for today’s presidential and National Assembly elections. Of these eighteen parties, however, only about four are, arguably, firmly on ground. But all the frontline parties, undoubtedly, are entering into today’s contest with their various baggages.

While some of these parties are battling with the issue of internal disunity, others are suffering from self inflicted injuries.

For instance, while the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is contending with the issue of disagreement with its aggrieved group of five Governors, now popularly known as G-5, the APC on the other hand is battling with some of its governors, who have now, believably, appropriated to themselves the role of an opposition. Some have rightly dubbed it the enemies within. The Labour Party, on its part, is still dealing with the issue of claims that it is a party existing mainly in the social media and various obstacles the party is facing in the South Eastern part of the country, where its presidential flag bearer, Mr Peter Obi comes from. Some people in the region, believed to be members of Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), led by Nnamdi Kanu, currently in detention, are still threatening that elections won’t hold in the region.

As it stands today, all entreaties by the opposition PDP to mend fences with the Governor Wike-led G-5 did not yield positive results. The party having failed to achieve reconciliation with the five aggrieved governors elected on its platform is, therefore, going into the crucial presidential election without the support of these states’ chief executives whose support, analysts believe, would have made a lot of difference.

These aggrieved governors are; Mr Nyeson Wike (Rivers), Dr Sam Ortom (Benue), Engr Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Dr Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu).

The problem of the G-5 Governors with the PDP began in June, 2022, shortly after the party’s presidential primaries which produced former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the PDP. Upon the emergence of Atiku, who is from Adamawa State in the Northern part of the country, the G-5 governors, along with some leaders and chieftains from the Southern part of the country, pushed for the National Chairmanship of the party, which was already being occupied by Dr Iyorchia Ayu from Benue State, also in the Northern part of the country, to shift to the South.

The argument of the G-5 governors is that both the presidential candidate of the PDP and its National Chairman can not come from one region (North). The national leadership of the party and it’s presidential candidate on the other hand, had argued that due to the cumbersome process involved in the choice of a new helmsman of the party as prescribed by the party’s constitution, the status quo should remain until the outcome of the 2023 elections are known.

At a point, like the foremost novelist, Late Chinua Achebe, wrote in his widely celebrated novel: ‘Things Fall Apart”, things truly fell apart between the PDP and the G-5 Governors and the centre could no longer hold, while the falcon could also no longer hear the falconer, and anarchy was ultimately was losed upon the opposition party.

Since then, the relationship between the

PDP and it’s G-5 governors became a ding dong or a cat and mouse affairs. All attempts at reconciliation failed. None of the two partiesbetween the PDP and G-5 was ready to shift grounds.

The affected governors, from their words and actions, have made it succinctly clear that they will not work for the PDP presidential candidate at today’s elections. The Benue State Governor, Ortom has been openly canvassing support for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi. He had even said that he was ready and willing to jettison his senatorial aspiration for Obi.

Wike on his part said he had told his supporters who, among the presidential candidates, to vote for at today’s polls. Though he did not name names, his body language, analysts say, seems to be in favour of APC’ Ahmed Tinubu. As a matter of fact, the governor has been reported to have instructed the local government chief executives and other foot soldiers to ensure that the state delivers the presidential APC candidate today.

Curiously however, Ortom, Ikpeazu and Ugwuanyi are all running on the platform of PDP for senatorial seats in their States, while Governor Makinde is also seeking a second time as the Governor of Oyo State. The Oyo governor is supporting the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The crisis between the G-5 governors and the party worsened to the extent that the PDP presidential candidate could not go to Rivers State for his presidential campaign rally, citing threats to lives and property of his supporters as reason.

In the four remaining states, the governors shunned the PDP presidential rallies.

This development, political analysts believed, is capable of having a negative impact on the chances of Atiku Abubakar at today’s election.

Atiku, who later met with some PDP stakeholders from Rivers in Abuja last Sunday night, explained that the decision to cancel PDP presidential campaign in Rivers State was to avert bloodshed.

The PDP presidential flag bearer, who declared that his political ambition was not worth the blood of any Nigerian, stressed that the party’s presidential campaign rally was

shelved to avert possible unleashing of violent attacks on PDP supporters by enemies of the party during the aborted rally.

Atiku stated that the unique means of meeting with Rivers PDP leaders in Abuja was a sacrifice he has to make for the sake of the nation’s democratic process.

His words, “Although, we did not wish for this, it became expedient that we think and act innovatively to protect the lives of our people from the mindless violence and bloodshed instigated by the very persons who have the primary responsibility for their security and wellbeing.

“Our campaign and indeed the PDP subscribe fully to the position that no political ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian.

“Clearly, events on the ground in Rivers State and this gathering here at the insistence of our Rivers PDP family, confirm the historic relationship between me and Rivers state,” he said.

Atiku made it clear that his relationship with the people of Rivers State has endured for decades, stressing that he was not surprised that Rivers State and Rivers people are bound by destiny to be critical stakeholders and beneficiaries of the Atiku/Okowa presidency in multiple ways.

He reassured Rivers people that the state will regain its preeminent position in the governance and politics of Nigeria.

The PDP presidential candidate however, urged Rivers PDP members to keep the faith, even in the face of harassment and needless violent intimidation, turn out massively today and cast their votes as usual for PDP.

“I assure you that your sacrifice and support will be fully rewarded,” he promised.

Rivers State is one of the states which returned massive votes for the PDP presidential candidate during the 2019 presidential election which Atiku lost to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Oyo State is also another state with large number of registered voters. That is why analysts are of the opinion that support from these states can actually enhance Atiku’s performance in the polls.

But can the withdrawal of support by the five governors hurt the PDP’s overall performance in today’s elections?

The National Publicity Secretary of the

PDP, Hon Debo Ologunagba thinks the answer to the question is No.

Speaking on Wednesday in Abuja, Hon Ologunagba, a lawyer and two-term member of the House of Representatives, expressed the firm optimism that its five aggrieved governors, popularly called G-5, who are led by the Rivers State Governor, Mr Nyeson Wike, will work for the party in today’s elections.

Hon Ologunagba pointed out that members of the G-5 Governors of the party are all stakeholders who have benefitted from it and would not do anything to hurt the party’s interest.

He explained that the G-5 Governors still have a lot of things to benefit by sticking with the party as well voting for it’s presidential candidate today to emerge the next President of the country.

The National Publicity Secretary was optimistic that the differences between the PDP and the G-5 Governors can still be resolved, saying, “24 hours is too much in politics for issues to be resolved”.

Continuing, Ologunagba said, “Through the course of the campaign, Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa energetically traversed the nooks and crannies of our country, engaging various segments of Nigerians in diverse fora; consultative meetings, interactive sessions, Town Hall meetings, faith-based platforms, media interviews and political rallies articulating their plans, solutions and selling the message of hope to Nigerians.

“Atiku Abubakar continues to demonstrate that he is a Pan-Nigeria leader with the required experience, capacity, integrity, stamina, presence of mind, commitment, sense of duty and readiness to lead our nation at this critical time”.

But the facts on ground suggest otherwise as at the time of going to press as no reconcilation of any sort has been achieved. As a matter of fact, the national Secretariat of the party and its presidential candidate may have decided to take their destiny in their hands and call a bluff of the aggrieved governors.

Accordingly, the question whether Atiku Abubakar will come out smiling from today’s election without the support of the G-5 governors and their supporters will be answered in a few hours from now.

SPECIAL REPORT

By Christiana Ekpa

While it is no longer news that the recent appointment of Sani Magaji Tambuwal as Clerk of the National Assembly was trailed with controversy as a result of alleged irregularities, despite warnings from some quarters, concerns have continued to mount over the alleged breached of National Assembly Service Commission Act (NASC) by bypassing other senior officers of the Assembly Management to appoint him as the administrative head legislature. Accordingly to sources, the decision of NASC does not reflect the criteria for appointment and promotions in the service.

The source who did not want his name in print said that many officials in the National Assembly kicked against the plan when they learnt Tambuwal was being considered for the position because, according to them,”the implications for the Commission’s decision has placed limitations on others to the extent that if you can not buy your way in, you won’t get what is rightfully yours”

NASC had allegedly breached its Act by bypassing other senior officers of the National Assembly to appoint Tambuwal as the Clerk of the National Assembly, the source insisted.

Tambuwal, who will serve in acting capacity till his confirmation, replaces the former CNA, Olatunde Ojo, who was asked to proceed on the required threemonths pre-retirement leave – ahead of the retirement date of February 2023.

Until his appointment, the new clerk who hails from Sokoto was the secretary to the directorate of finance and accounts in the National Assembly.

NASC allegedly ‘bypassed’ the next in rank, Chinedu Akabueze, the Clerk of the Senate, and three others, to appoint Mr Tambuwal thus breaching Section 6 of the Act establishing the Commission.

The line of hierarchy for appointments in Section 6(1)(b) of the Act is– clerk to the National Assembly, deputy clerk to the National Assembly, clerk of the Senate, clerk of the House of Representatives, deputy clerk of the Senate, deputy clerk of the House and secretaries to the directorates and then holders of other offices.

Akabueze became the next senior legislative officer to Mr Ojo following the earlier retirement of the Deputy Clerk to the National Assembly (DCNA), Bala Yabani.

Also, Section 14(5) of the Act provides that “consideration shall be given to seniority, cognate experience, competence, or federal character.”

In a letter announcing Tambuwal’s appointment, Ahmed Amshi, the NASC chairman, said it was done in recognition of his hardwork and administrative competence. He also said it is in line with Section 6(b) of the NASC Act.

However, a Committee clerk who does not want his name mentioned, told Weekend People Daily that “a bad example has been layed and going forward, people will do whatever it takes to buy themselves what they desires and not deserved and you and I know this spells doom for upcoming Clerks of National Assembly

According to him, “Many officials kicked against the plan when they learnt he was being considered for the position against Akabueze who is the next legislative officer in line, while Tambuwal is an administrative officer.”

He clearly told Weekend Peoples Daily that the CNA position was supposed to be between Akabueze and Dr Yahaya DanZaria who all the staff were hoping

Fresh concerns over Tambuwal’s appointment as NASS Clerk

Tambuwal, and Akabueze Chinedu, are the candidates screened by the NASC,” he added.

Another legislative aide at the office of the Senate President – who also does not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said the appointment was done based on the recommendation of a committee set up to screen and consider eligible candidates.

According to him, the eligible officers were considered based on their career progression and Mr Tambuwal was found worthy of taking over.

But in a list of employees of the Commission seen by our reporter the ranking listed three other senior officials ahead of Mr Tambuwal, apart from Mr Akabueze and DanZaria. They are Henrietta Aimua-Ehikioya, Saraju Oladoyin and Rahmatu Ahmed – who are all secretaries to directorates too.

Weekend Peoples Daily stumbled on a petition written November 2022 by the Director, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Citizens Rights, National Assembly, Mrs Ben-Stowe Osinuga Olubusola who petitioned the Chairman, National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) over the deliberate denial of promotion to a secretary in the recent promotions by the commission because she is a woman.

would succeed the out going Clerk. Our Correspondent gathered that DanZaria was already being tagged “a great leader who understands the plight of the NASS works and the right person for the job.” Moreover, Akabueze’s retirement age is very close.

The source said: “ the truth is that the management staff all have high hopes for DanZaria, because Oga Chinedu is also close to his retirement age and he is not really keyed for this CNA appointment thing but the next person inline who is capable and have what it take to do the Job both, human capacity, legislative and administration work is DanZaria and not this political and monetary game they played.

The source also said some staff blamed the out-gone clerk for handing over and recommending Tambuwal to take over from him.

He said that a petition was submitted to the Commission and the National Assembly in this regard.

Recall that the APC Alliance for Good Governance, in reaction to the appointment of Tambuwal had accused the PDP of trying to install its stooges in the National Assembly for deep-seated corruption and looting.

Assistant national coordinator of the group, Dr. Sani Abubakar Liman, in a press statement, he issued had claimed the opposition party was using the tussle for the replacement of the outgone Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Architect Olatunde Amos Ojo, to precipitate a crisis

that will torpedo age-long tradition of seniority in the appointment of functional officers for the Assembly.

He said “We are aware that a colossal amount of money running into billions of Naira has been earmarked to fight the battle with the Commissioners of the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) being targeted for bribe of N50 million each.”

According to Liman, the outgoing Clerk, who is due to embark on mandatory preretirement leave on the November 14, 2022 on expiration of his tenure, was angling to remain until February 14, 2023 when he clocks 60 years of age as against the provision of extant rules.

“Reports reaching the APC Alliance for Good Governance has it that the outgoing CNA has as plan A his continued stay in office illegally, while pushing for Sani Tambuwal (Secretary of Finance and Account) as plan B to succeed him and ultimately position him for the ultimate PDP takeover of the Assembly.

“The said Tambuwal is allegedly being sponsored by a current PDP Governor from Northwest, who happened to be a senatorial candidate targeting the office of Senate President, if he secures victory in 2023 election.

“This explains his desperation to buy all the commissioners at any cost to accomplish PDP underground plot to takeover National Assembly come 2023.

“We understand that three senior officers, Bashir Yero, the most senior, Sani

Findings showed that, the Commission has been in the habit of breaching the Act all along

In the petition titled: “Re-appointment of Secretaries and staff into top management positions by the National Assembly Service Commission on 3rd March and 18th November, 2022,” Olubusola stated that Yomi Omogbehin, who is her junior by many years was promoted before and above her because he is the candidate of the Speaker House of Representatives, and Ojo Olatunde Amos, Clerk of the National Assembly, who is now on pre-retirement leave.

Olubusola, who decried what he called “the lopsided unjust appointments by NASC,” stated that it did not reflect the criteria for appointment and promotions in the service, adding that criteria for appointment as Secretary or a top management staff was solely based on seniority first; then zoning and availability of vacancies.

Other appointments done by the Commission included, Ms Aimua-Ehikioya now redeployed as Secretary of Legal Services; Birma Shuaibu, acting Secretary of Human Resources Directorate; Umoru Ali, acting Secretary of Research and Information; and Omogbehin Yomi, acting Secretary, Special Duties.

Others are Inyang Titus, acting Secretary of Finance and Accounts; and Nwoba Andrew, acting Secretary of Planning and Legislative Budget.”

The Commission said the appointments are based on the need to fill existing vacancies in the National Assembly Management team. It also resolved to allow the out-going Clerk to continue working with Mr Tambuwal until his retirement in February.

This, the Commission said, is in order to ensure the success of the ongoing 2023 Appropriation Bill’s processing –that should be transmitted by only the substantive CNA in accordance with the provisions of the Authentication Act.

“

The Commission said the appointments are based on the need to fill existing vacancies in the National Assembly Management team

Tambuwal

Will Ortom’s endorsement be game changer for Obi in Benue?

By Uche Nnorom

The long awaited Presidential election is here. And there’s no doubt that lots of efforts must have gone into making sure that the polls are held as scheduled. Assuring of its preparedness, the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Benue state, has declared that every modalities have been fine tuned to ensure a hitch free polls. According to the Commission’s spokes person in the State, Terkaa Andyar, over 6000 adhoc staff have been adequately trained to man the over 3000 polling units in 276 wards in the State. He explained too that, they have trained their Staff in the handling of the electronic device, Bimodial Voters Accreditation System, BVAS to enhance its functionality.

On the part of the political parties and their gladiators, they have campaigned vigorously, traversing the length and breadth of the state to canvass support for their presidential, governorship and other candidates.

Like in some other states, The presidential election in Benue is expected to be a three-horse race between Peter Obi of the Labor Party, LP; Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP and Ahmed Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

The popularity of the three frontline candidates in the state has been too close to call, almost running neck to neck. One reason that has been adduced for this development is that fact that the governorship flag bearers of their parties are in their individual respect men who are backed by those that control the political temperature of the state except for the LP candidate.

For instance, it’s an open secret that the APC candidate, Rev. Father Hycenth Alia is being backed by former Governor and Minister of Special Duties, George Akume while the emergence of PDP’s Titus Uba was purely attributed to Governor Samuel Ortom. But for Herman Hembe, the LP candidate, his current wave can be attributed to the rising popularity of the party at the national level as no godfather can be clearly identified with him.

Though contestable, some analysts believe that Peter Obi enjoys a considerable large followership in Benue State especially amongst the business class and youths. To them, the Labor Party is seen as the third force that will salvage the nation from the shackles of corruption, underdevelopment and economic strangulation.

But many also believe that Obi is being overrated in the state as the candidates of the APC and PDP which have become traditional political parties in the state, having produced the chief executive one time or the other, are still standing very strong.

However, the recent endorsement of the LP presidential candidate by Governor Samuel Ortom who is of the PDP may have sent a message that the candidate may do well in today’s electoral outing.

Analysts in the state have agreed that Governor Ortom has never hidden his passion for Obi who defected from the PDP before its presidential primary in 2022 to the Labor party. Ortom was reported to have said on several occasions without mincing

words that he is rooting for Obi whom he felt had competence as a result of sterling performance as Governor of Anambra State to lead the country. Besides, the governor was often reported to have asserted that it should be the turn of the South East to produce the president of Nigeria in 2023 in order to address the sing song of marginalized by the geopolitical zone. According to him, that is the only way to guarantee fairness, justice and equity in a pluralistic nation like Nigeria.

Accordingly, when Obi left the PDP and a Southern could not win the party primary(though he was the Chairman of the Zoning Committee), he alongside four other aggrieved governors of Southern extraction left the party and constituted themselves into the famous G-5 Integrity Group.

Prior to his official endorsement last week, Obi had severally visited Ortom in Abuja and Makurdi to solicit his support. The LP candidate, no doubt, visited Benue more than

any of the other presidential candidates. And each time he visited, the governor mobilized sufficiently for him, sending signal a political marriage was waiting to be consumated.

It was then no surprise when on Thursday 16th February,2023, Governor Ortom convoked a town hall meeting to further galvanize support for Obi. It was at the event, that he publicly endorsed Peter Obi as the most competent and experienced candidate to lead the country. Four days after, precisely on Monday 20th February at the Government House, Makurdi during the visit of Igbo community to him, the governor declared his readiness and willingness to shelve his senatoriaI ambition to ensure the emergence of Obi as president if such a sacrifice was needed.

However, the governor’s comment pitched him against prominent chieftains of the ruling PDP in the state most of whom viewed it as anti-party position. Speaking at a town hall meeting, former Minister for Interior and senator representing Benue South District Sen. Patrick Abba Moro countered Ortom’s endorsement, insisting that Atiku remains the most experienced amongst the presidential candidate to clinch the number one plum seat of the nation. He averred that the G-5 have already collapsed, maintaining that those of them working against Atiku, have their lifeline at stake. Moro castigated Obi saying, “how can someone claim he left billions of naira in a State coffers when he failed to address the problem of the people before exiting office. He further argued that Obi lacked the structure in the state to win the poll. Hear him, “for you to win an election, you must have structures like national Assembly members, State Assembly members, local government chairmen Labor party does not have any of these”.

The same opinion was shared by one time Minister for Works and Power Prof.

Iyorwuese Hagher who also, argued that Benue needed to vote for Atiku to right the wrong of President Muhammadu Buhari, positing that the state cannot afford again not to be in the mainstream of politics and decision making in the country. Hagher who is a member of the Atiku campaign Council from the state noted that an Atiku Presidency will be greatly beneficial to the state to the extent of improved infrastructural development , adding that the PDP candidate will put an end to incessant killings by marauding herdsmen. Hagher who was also Nigeria’s Ambassador to Canada and Mexico likened Atiku to the brazen serpent in the wilderness in the days of the Israelites who were instructed by Moses to look up to it and were saved from snake bite, alluding that Benue people should look up to another Fulani man to be rescued.

Another PDP staunch supporter in the State and Convener, Zege Mule U Tiv Vision, Evang. Mati Acka had berated Ortom’s support for Obi, stressing that it will not have any effect on how the people will vote. Evang Acka maintained strongly that the grassroots in the state will vote overwhelmingly for Atiku who will liberate them in all aspects of their desires.

Conversely, a chieftain of Labor Party in Benue State Kengkeng Ati lauded the Governor for Obi’s endorsement, noting that it is consistent with their calls to Nigerians that Obi’s presidency is a journey to rescue Nigeria from the pangs of corruption, bloodshed and criminality as well as bad economy.

He further said: “We have always called on people to go beyond party lines. We want to encourage him to endorse our Senatorial candidate Mark Gbillah for Benue North West Senatorial District and Governorship candidate Iyorwuese Herman Hembe because Labor Party has presented the best array of candidates. We are hoping to have Obi pick this election on first ballot but peradventure this does not happen, then it will be Obi and one other in the rerun. The young people have spoken and even elder Ayo Adebanjo has backed us in the West. Labor party has destroyed structures of other parties and performed beyond every expectation. The other parties are scared and have shown us that we have done well. We look forward to a landslide victory. Labor Party is the only party that is in this election with it’s foot on the throttle. We will be beneficiary of the crisis and factions in PDP and APC. As divided as they are, they cannot cast aspersion on our candidate, they have no power to reduce our vote, they have no energy to fight us on the ballot box. There are many bedroom Obidients in the two (2) political parties that will vote for Labor Party in this election”.

While some politics watchers in Benue believe that the governor’s official support would make Obi to carry the day in today’s exercise, quite a number of others say Ortom has simply jumped into the bandwagon in order to claim credit for the outcome or the election having seen that the LP flag bearer was already good to go.

According to these analysts, the endorsement by the governor, coming so late in the day when voters had already made up their minds would not in any way add to the fortunes of LP in the presidential election.

Though contestable, some analysts believe that Peter Obi enjoys a considerable large followership in Benue State especially amongst the business class and youths

Ortom

POLITICS

Adebutu will complete Ogun cargo airport – PDP

By Musa Baba Adamu

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State has assured that its governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, would complete the agro-cargo airport in Iperu area of Ogun State.

The agro-cargo airport initiated by the Gbenga Daniel administration was revisited by the incumbent Governor, Dapo Abiodun.

On Thursday, the airport witnessed its maiden test flight at an occasion graced by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and other dignitaries.

But, the PDP in a statement by its spokesman in Ogun, Akinloye Bankole, reminded Ogun people that the cargo airport project was actually a brainchild of the PDP administration in Ogun State between 2003 and 2011.

Bankole said, “the project was licensed for Cargo/Commercial/ Training Airport as obtained by the Otunba Gbenga Daniel, OGD’s administration.”

While acknowledging the good in the fact that Gov Abiodun chose to continue with the project, the PDP wondered why the experiment on maiden flight testing “when there is no observation tower that would monitor and coordinate landing signal equipment, terminal building and other technical requirements at the airport.”

The opposition party described the flight test as a ‘fly and land blind’; an extremely deadly signposted political ziggy.”

“As of today, 24th Feb, 2023, we have it on good authority that the only physical structure at the airport that is close to completion is the runway which

Election: PDP’s Dele Momodu counters

LP’s Utomi over comments on Tinubu

By Musa Baba Adamu

Dele Momodu, a spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Council, has countered Professor Pat Utomi, the Convener of BIGTENT, a coalition of Political Parties, Social Movements and Civil Society Organisations for Peter Obi-Baba-Ahmed Datti, over his recent comments on the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Utomi had on Thursday morning insisted that Tinubu is ‘not physically and mentally fit to rule Nigeria.’

Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu

has not been fully certified by the Nigeria Cargo Airport Authority (NCAA). Therefore, the macabre dance at the airport construction site yesterday was one of his orchestrated antics to bamboozle unsuspecting members of the public.

“By the special grace of

Almighty God and through the anticipated mandate of the people come March 11, 2023, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu will give the cargo airport project the deserved attention and speedy completion of all facilities that an International airport deserves,” the PDP assured.

Eight opposition senatorial candidates shelve aspiration, back APC’s Sani Musa

By Christiana Ekpa

Barely 24 hours to the general elections, no fewer than eight senatorial candidates of some opposition parties have dropped their aspirations and decided to support the candidate of the All Progressives Congress for Niger East senatorial district, Senator Muhammed Sani Musa.

The candidates, Otherwise known as G-8 senatorial candidates, include Alhaji Usman Babagiwa (ADC),

Yakubu Aliyu Ibrahim (SDP), Mohammed Mohammed (NRM) and Ibrahim Bagudu Adamu (LP). Others are Mohammed Adamu (APGA), Bawa Danlami (APP), Aminu Halidu (AP) and Mohammed Bawa Ayishi (ADP).

They disclosed their decision during a briefing with journalists in Minna, the capital of Niger State.

Speaking on behalf of others, ADC Niger East senatorial candidate, Alhaji Usman Babagiwa stated:

“Having shown genuine commitment in his first term,

consequently, we the members of G8 senatorial candidates have unanimously resolved and agreed to adopt Senator Muhammed Sani Musa as our chosen senatorial candidate for our senatorial district.”

He explained that their decision is premised on the fact that they all had many things in common and their interest is better served by the incumbent, Senator Musa.

“We observed that the current candidate of APC has achieved a lot in the last four years of his stewardship, especially in the area of youth

NCP endorses Tinubu ahead of presidential election

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

Barely 24 before the 2023 general election, the National Conscience Party has endorsed the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.

Leaders of the party took the decision after its emergency National Coordinating Council meeting in Abuja. A Communique signed by Adebola Lateef, National Secretary; Pastor Peters Omoragbon, NDC South-South;

and Comrade Waheed Lawal, Acting National Chairman was issued at the end of the meeting. The party also denied endorsing the Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate, Peter Obi, stressing that its leadership was not consulted by the former

and women empowerment,” he said, noting that Senator Musa has been a formidable voice on national discourse and has also been instrumental to the successful, hitch-free take-off of HYPADEC.

The decision to support the APC candidate is not unconnected to his lobbying capacity to attract projects to the senatorial district and the state, the G-8 said, noting that, if given a second opportunity, Senator Musa will achieve beyond expectations.

He made the claims while fielding questions on Arise Television’s Morning Show programme.

However, when asked by the same medium to react to Utomi’s statement on Tinubu, Momodu said what the professor said made no sense.

Momodu, however, admitted he is not a medical doctor or a psychiatrist to speak on the mental ability or capacity of Tinubu, adding that Nigerians should be the judge.

The veteran journalist said, “I am not a medical doctor, I am not a psychiatrist, so I cannot speak to the mental ability or capacity of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and then also in the mood of the peace accord I am not supposed to have any bad words for anybody today.

“I want to be remembered as one of the few people who ran a professional campaign, so let Nigerians themselves judge whether they think Tinubu is physically fit, mentally ok, let Nigerians be the judge.

“I don’t want anybody to say it is Dele Momodu who said this, who said that. Nigerians have eyes. Nigerians have ears. They can see how unruly these APC characters have been, extremely unruly, abusing their own president.

chairman of the party, Mallam Tanko Yunusa.

“As a result, the NCP preferred presidential candidate is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and we reject Peter Obi as the NCP candidate,” the communique added.

“I saw my big brother Adams Oshiomole climbing the roof of a vehicle in Edo State and abusing Buhari. I had never seen this Fuji house of commotion in politics before, where people, who used to worship the president just because they knew he is on his way out and the man who wanted to take power from him is the one who is leading this rebellion.

“So I am not a doctor, but what they are doing to him doesn’t make sense.”

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Nigeria’s moment of truth

Tomorrow (Saturday), some 70 million eligible voters have a chance to elect a new president and 469 federal parliamentarians. This will be followed a week later with the elections of state governors and lawmakers. Overseeing these make or mar polls is the election umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), headed by a former university lecturer prof. Mahmoud Yakubu.

On paper, it is a crowded race for the presidency. But realistically, it is a race between the governing All Progressives Congress’ candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and opposition People’s Democratic Party’s Atiku Abubakar. The latter is a former vice president ( 19992007) and has been a serial presidential contender. A third runner, Peter Obi, of the Labour Party, has run a singularly robust, crowd pulling campaign so far but he may not get further a look-in when the final tally is delivered.

The elections are the 6th, an impressive uninterrupted run, since Nigeria returned to democratic civil rule in 1999. That makes 24 years, compared to over 30 years of military dictatorship. The PDP governed for 16 of the 24 years of civilian dispensation, producing presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, the late Umaru Musa Yar’adua and Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. The latter lost a second term bid in 2015 to the incumbent, Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.

Buhari’s upset victory in 2015 was the most successful transition from one civilian administration to another in the nation’s history, aside the election that produced the late President, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Buhari was to be reelected in 2019 for a second and last term. The winner of Saturday’s election will replace him as president.

The outgoing president in the months preceding

the election released tidbits from press interviews, suggesting he would be relieved to leave office and would give Abuja, the nation’s capital, a wide berth. He has not shown that there is a favoured candidate, instead asking Nigerians to vote for candidates they trusted.

There are many firsts in these elections. It will be the first time in a quarter of a century that the leading candidates in a presidential election are not former soldiers, and the first in two decades in which Buhari will not be on the ballot. Secondly, with the three main candidates representing the three major regions at Independence – one from the East, another from the West and another from the Northern region – 2023 marks a return to the original fault-lines that were present at the creation of Nigeria, or a return of tripodal politics.

Thirdly, in these elections, INEC proposes to deploy the Bi-Modal Voter Accreditation System ( B-VAS) as its solution to Nigeria’s history of data-free voting. The B-VAS device accredits voters, counts them and can digitally transmit the results from a polling unit to the INEC’s central collation. The result transmission capability of B-VAS is, however, substantially dependent on the existence of broadband infrastructure, which cannot be guaranteed in some parts of the country.

Besides, the election preparations have suffered a major bleep. A well intentioned monetary policy, leading to changes in the designs of some currency notes, is causing mass misery nationwide. Deposit banks are unable to meet customer demands, leading to violence in many cities. The shortage of cash, it is feared, may lead to massive voter apathy. However, the chance to have their votes counted in real time will be too tempting for many voters to want to grasp.

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The year long Russia-Ukraine military conflict

By Lawa Sale Maida

February 24 marked a year since the beginning of the needless military conflict in the Eastern Ukraine between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

The genesis of the conflict was when in November 2013, a planned association treaty between the EU and Ukraine was scuttled just days before it was signed. The accord would have integrated Ukraine into EU politically and economically but was stopped by the then Russia backed president Victor Yanukovich. As a result, western backed protests erupted in Ukraine major cities with Maidan square in Kiev being the epicentre. After all efforts to address the issue failed, president Victor Yanukovich was forced to relinquish power on February 24 and fled the country.

Yanukovich, who hail from Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine, escaped into exile to Russia when he was overwhelmed by the pustch. His ouster also heralded a counter-revolutionary protests in Southern and Eastern Ukraine where Russian speaking Ukrainians are based.

Since then, there was no love lost between Russia and it’s western partners over Ukraine. U.S and it’s European/NATO allies on the other hand capitalised on the regime change to launch it’s advancement project towards the Eastern planks down to the Russia’s backyard in Ukraine with the aim of integrating Ukraine into EU and NATO in near future. Already, countries that belonged to the former Communist block such as Poland, Croatia, Albania, Macedonia and the Baltic states are full members of NATO.

As a result of this deliberate advancement to the East, Russia severally warned that any attempt to breach it’s security interests by co-opting Ukraine into the military alliance will be met with appropriate response. Ukraine shares a lengthy border with Russia and has majority ethnic Russians on it’s territory.

In the beginning of the current military conflict before Russia deployed it’s troops on Ukrainian soil, there have been diplomatic efforts by president Macron of France, president Erdoğan of Tùrkiye, the UN and many other world leaders in an effort to avoid what is now a catastrophe but to no avail; this is largely because some interested parties in the conflict kept fuelling the crisis until when it got to the current level of uncertainties.

The one year military conflict which many see as proxy war has so far claimed thousands of lives, destruction of

property and infrastructure from both sides. It was estimated that about 20% of Ukrainians are taking refuge outside the country, 50% are displaced internally and 30% stay put to endure the war.

Over the last one year, few diplomatic efforts were made to bring an end to the conflict but for the unflinching military, defence, intelligence, logistics and the humanitarian support Ukraine is getting from the US, UK, EU, NATO and allies, the war is still raging and it seems it will not end in the short term. So far it was estimated that about $150 billion was channeled to Ukraine to execute the war.

On the other hand, Russia as a solo fighter of it’s own battle has in addition to the battle and loss of troops, the US and it’s European allies had earlier slammed the Putin administration with numerous sanctions in an attempt to slash it’s energy income and cripple it’s economy so that it will be difficult for Putin to execute the war; that aim however, has not been achieved according to president Putin in his state of the nation speech earlier in the week.

The impact of this war is also being felt around the globe that is recovering from the effect of COVID-19. Russia being the largest supplier of gas to European and Asian countries was unable to trade in the commodity due to the western sanctions and Ukraine being the largest producer of wheat, sunflower oil and maize also had its supply chain slowed down by the war. The world over became energy food insufficient thereby raising the cost of almost all the necessities for the commoners.

Though there is glimmer of hope in bringing the war to an end as China indicated interest in mediating between the warring factions. Wang Yi, a member of the Communist Party of China Politburo and Director of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs has visited Putin in Moscow eventhough it was sketchy what they discussed concerning the earlier pronouncement by the Chinese to be peace makers in Ukrainian conflict.

In conclusion and in my opinion, having seen the enormous resources and logistics channeled to Ukraine in the last one year, this war is not between Russia and Ukraine but between Russia and U.S/NATO. It is unfortunate that as a result of this dangerous conflict that has no end in sight, women, elderly and children are the ones at the receiving end. Peace!

Maida, is an Abuja based Global Affairs Analyst.

Nigerians and 2023 elections: Prioritizing public accountability for social development

By Sunday Timothy Taiwo

These cited narratives are fractions of the many gross public sector misconducts which have not only created a big trust gap between citizens and government officials but gravely hinders socioeconomic development in the country.

Critical, but less discussed in the lead up to the 2023 Elections is the state of accountability in the Nigeria public sector. In a democracy, elections are pivotal to public administration, development and democratic sustainability being the sole legal instrument that allows for citizens to decide and elect their representatives at the helm of affairs where governance and policy-making mechanisms are developed over time.

Howbeit, it’s no gainsaying that no critical development effort can succeed without a government that is responsive and accountable to its citizens. Being accountable is a burden that is placed on the public sector when it accepts responsibility for exercising powers on behalf of the public; as the people entrust in a candidate their collective mandate by voting into power, it is both constitutionally and morally expected of such a candidate to work effectively towards fulfilling his/her end of the social contract.

In Nigeria, public accountability is a dwindling phenomenon, and amidst nations of the world, the country has attained a high level of public sector corruption and gross mismanagement of public finance which has impacted greatly on our corporate development from local, state, to national level.

Nigeria, having dropped from 26 in 2019, to 25 in 2020, and 24 in 2021 assessment, the country again stood at 24 of 100 in the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) of Transparency International (TI). Through the CPI, TI measures the level of public sector corruption in the systems of 180 countries around the world and rank accordingly. Ranked 150 of 180 with CPI score of 24 attests to the fact that despite the current administration’s commitment to battle corrupt practices, corruption in Nigeria’s public sector has grossly worsened in the last 4 years even.

Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI)’s analysis of the 2019 audit report of the federation revealed that the sum of N455.14bn was not accounted for by 70 MDAs of the federal government, being 20.69% of the N2.2tn total funds released in 2019 fiscal year. Similarly, its Subnational Audit Efficacy Index 2021 which assessed accountability levels in the management of public funds across the 36 states in Nigeria revealed that only 11 out of the 36 states of the federation assessed, conducted either performance or compliance audit on public expenditure in 2020. This translates to the fact that 25 Offices of State AuditorsGeneral did not adhere to procurement and financial regulations by government MDAs which limits their state’s ability to achieve value for money on programs and projects implemented in the year 2020.

Sunday Timothy Taiwo is a Public Policy Analyst.

Ban on port touts, Pension reform act, highlights of business facilitation act

From Abubakar Y Ojimaojo ABUJA

President Muhammadu Buhari recently signed the business facilitation (miscellaneous provision) bill 2022, also known as the omnibus bill, into law.

Now the business facilitation act 2023, the document is a legislative intervention by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), which amends 21 business-related laws.

The amendment of the relevant laws is to promote the ease of doing business in Nigeria as well as eliminate bottlenecks.

According to the PEBEC, the signing of the legislation by Buhari was a step towards creating an enabling environment for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.

The modified laws include Companies and Allied Matters Act, Customs Excise Management Act, Export (Prohibition) Act, Financial Reporting Council Act, Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, Immigration Act, Industrial Inspectorate Act, Industrial Training Fund Act, Investment and Securities Act, National Housing Fund Act, and National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion Act.

Others are the National Planning Commission Act, Nigerian Customs Service Board Act, Nigerian Export Promotion Council Act, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission Act, Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, Nigerian Ports Authority Act, Patent and Designs Act, Pension Reform Act, Standard Organisation of Nigeria Act, and Trademarks Act.

The act is composed of 11 clauses, and a schedule that provides specifics on the amendment to the legislations.

In this piece, Peoples Daily Weekend highlights modifications made to some of the business-related laws.

Pension reform act

Under the amended version of this act, pension assets are eligible for securities lending,

based on the approval of the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

Also, pension fund administrators (PFAs) may, subject to guidelines issued by the commission, apply a percentage of the pension assets in the retirement savings account (RSA) towards payment of equity contribution for payment of residential mortgage by a holder of RSA and for the purpose of securities lending

Transparency requirements for MDAs

The business facilitation law mandates ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to publish a comprehensive list of the requirements for obtaining any goods or services they offer.

They include licences, permits, waivers, approvals, filings, certifications, and tax-related processes, among others.

Additionally, it requires that MDAs publish servicelevel agreements (SLAS) on their websites and that the set deadlines be followed without failing.

The law also codifies default approvals, which provide that if an MDA fails to notify a party of its decision regarding an application within a specified period of time, the application will be deemed to have been approved.

Overhaul of port operations

According to the new law, touting is prohibited at all ports in Nigeria.

Those who violate this provision commit an offence and will be liable to a minimum fine of N1 million, a minimum jail sentence of six months, or both, upon conviction.

Tha act also stipulates that employees on duty must wear uniforms and carry official identification cards, adding that employees who are not on duty must stay off the ports unless they are specifically permitted to do so by the head of the MDA.

Meanwhile, the law makes room for the creation of single interface customer at the country’s ports and airports to ensure efficiency and eliminate corruption.

It empowers the new single interface station at each port to capture, track, and record information on all goods arriving and departing from Nigeria and transmit captured information to the head of the relevant offices and the head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on a weekly basis.

Companies and allied matters act (CAMA) 2020

The law modified the CAMA 2020, offering a legal framework for how businesses should operate in the country.

The act mandates the recognition of electronic share certificates and electronic voting at annual general meetings (AGMs), as well as the simplification of the procedure for increase in share capital.

It also requires pre-emptive rights of shareholders — the provision of a specific maximum timeline of 21 days within which offer of shares must be accepted by existing shareholders or deemed declined.

The minimum number of independent directors for public companies was reviewed

from three to one-third of the board.

Custom and Excise management act LFN 2004

Reviewing this custom’s act, the new law provided for the creation of a single window platform for trade facilitation in Nigeria.

Additionally, it reduced the timeline for dispute resolution process in buyers’ appeal to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) where they are not satisfied with the valuation of imported goods.

Immigration act LFN 2004

In amending the immigration act, the ease of doing business law made provision for a legal basis for automation of the Nigeria Immigration Service.

It also stipulates a 48hour time frame to issue or reject entry visas to Nigeria with reason within two days of receipt of valid applications.

More so, it prescribes that a comprehensive and upto-date list of requirements, conditions and procedures

for obtaining visa on arrival as well as all other entry visas — including the estimated timeframe — should be published on all immigrationrelated websites, embassies and high commissions, and all Nigerian ports of entry.

Standard organization of Nigeria Act 2015

The business facilitation law reduced the time limit for notifying the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) before instituting an action against it from three months to 30 days.

It also established a legal obligation for the directorgeneral to make an ex parte application to the court for an order pertaining to actions taken by SON against detrimental or hazardous goods.

Export (Prohibition)act LFN 2004

With the amendment of this act, the minister of finance now has the responsibility to recommend goods to be prohibited for exportation, according to the new law.

Report: Netflix cuts subscription fees in 30 countries

From Abubakar Y Ojimaojo, ABUJA

CBN introduces new eNaira features amid naira scarcity

From Abubakar Y Ojimaojo, ABUJA

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the development of eNaira enhanced services to address challenges faced by unbanked Nigerians.

The initiative enables customers to use the unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) code *997*50# to carry out all banking transactions.

Also, customers are able to fund their eNaira wallets with cash-purchased vouchers like GSM recharge cards or from a funded bank account.

Bayo Akintoye, founder/ chief executive officer of Bullnet platform, announced the development at a media parley on Thursday in Lagos.

Netflix, America’s streaming giant, has reduced its subscription prices in more than 30 countries over the past week, Wall Street Journal is reporting.

The subscription cuts is to be applicable to certain tiers of Netflix in those countries and in some cases, the cost of a subscription is slashed to halves.

Some of the countries benefiting from this gesture include; Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, Libya, Iran, Kenya, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Venezuela, Malaysia, Indonesia, Kenya, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines.

“We know members have never had more choices when it comes to entertainment and the company is committed to delivering an experience that exceeds their expectations,” a Netflix spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal.

The spokesperson added that the company was updating the pricing of plans in some countries.

Although the subscription cuts were said to be a strategy to boost the company’s competitiveness, according to The Wall Street Journal, it is also a way of bringing in more subscribers.

Last year, Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers in Q1 2022, and an additional 970,000 in the second quarter (Q2) of the same year.

The company also said it would introduce an adsupported and cheaper subscription plan in partnership with Microsoft — a multinational tech corporation.

Akintoye said that the service, fully run and powered by the Bullnet platform, was aimed at soothing the pains felt by Nigerians, given the current scarcity of cash in the country.

“The CBN has collaborated with Chamsmobile Limited (a CBN-licensed mobile money operator and super-agent) to address challenges faced primarily by the unbanked, the underserved and those on the other side of the digital divide by developing the service known as ‘eNaira enhanced services’ via the eNaira USSD channel (*997*50#) which is fully run and powered by the patented Bullnet Platform,” NAN quoted Akintoye as saying.

“This wallet can be funded

directly using this platform with cash purchased vouchers like GSM recharge cards or from a funded bank account using bank cards via the web portal that has been provided or using electronic payments with any authorised agents.

“Users can also transfer eNaira from one wallet to another simply by putting in the recipient’s phone number.

“This service also makes it possible for users to cash out by sending the eNaira directly from their wallets to an ATM and withdrawing the cash equivalent without need of a bank account or bank card.

“The users can also send eNaira to a designated account for savings

or further transactions.’’

Also speaking at the event, Rakiya Mohammed, director of information technology department, CBN, commended Bullnet for coming out with a homegrown innovation.

Mohammed was represented at the event by Otaru Abdulkadir, eNaira Project Giant Team.

“As it is today, we are able to transact on the eNaira with four methods; you can scan to pay, you could use your wallet ID that is when you onboard, and the eNaira it gives you a 10 digit number,” Mohammed said.

“And of course you can use USSD, and it is for everyone. It is available for everyone with a mobile phone. It doesn’t have to be

a smartphone or any data phone.”

She disclosed that the apex bank is in talks to include other telcos on the eNaira platform to widen its adoption and acceptance nationwide.

She said that eNaira transactions are only enabled on MTN and 9mobile networks at the moment but that would soon change.

“We are still in the process of getting more telcos to buy into the USSD. We have a third-party service and they were able to get us MTN and 9Mobile,” Mohammed said.

“We are already speaking to Airtel and Glo as well and soon we will have them onboard with the eNaira.”

Buhari sets up committee to protect cyberspace, ICT infrastructure during elections

President Muhammadu

Buhari has inaugurated a committee to protect the cyberspace and information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure during the 2023 general elections.

The committee would advise the federal government on appropriate measures to take to protect the nation’s cyberspace and ICT infrastructure from potential attacks as citizens go to the polls.

Buhari was represented by Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy at inauguration, according to a statement by Reuben Muoka, director of public affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), on Thursday.

The president also said the committee would work to coordinate computer security

centres in the ICT industry in collaboration with other relevant institutions towards intercepting potential cyberattacks.

He said with the increased role of ICT in online activities, and its crucial role in the conduct of the 2023 general elections, the inauguration was in line with the electoral act, as amended.

Buhari added the committee would also ensure it receives complaints around any attacks on critical infrastructure and ensure such complaints were escalated to relevant institutions — public or private — for necessary remedial actions.

“Our main responsibilities in this committee are more advisory. Firstly, when it comes to intercepting potential attacks that may come to our cyberspace,” he said.

“The committee will coordinate the NCC’s computer security incident response team at NCC, the computer emergency readiness and response team at

NITDA and the galaxy backbone national cybersecurity centre.

“These three centres must work together, complement each other and ensure they intercept any potential attacks on our cyberspace, particularly on our critical infrastructure during the election so that we could either take action or provide necessary advice to the government.”

Buhari also said the committee will work closely with institutions such as the office of the national security adviser (ONSA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and mobile network operators (MNOs), among others.

The committee, he said, would work with the agencies to safeguard Nigeria’s cyberspace from potential attacks or cases of vandalism and fibre cuts during the election.

“The challenges of protecting our cyberspace is a collective

national responsibility, it is a national assignment,” he added.

“As a sector, we would play our responsibility objectively and professionally. We would work collectively rather than working individually as agencies since we are in the same sector.”

He noted that the job of the committee, which would be to assist the nation in conducting free, fair and credible elections; would be led by Adeolu Akande, chairman of NCC.

The panel would work from Friday, February 24, till Monday, February 27, 2023, he added.

Members of the committee include Pantami, Umar Danbatta, executive vice-chairman of NCC; Kashifu Abdullahi, directorgeneral of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mohammad Abubakar, chief executive officer, Galaxy Backbone; Aminu Ahmad, special assistant to the minister on digital economy; among others.

From Abubakar Y Ojimaojo, ABUJA

Weekend MagazineEntertainment

Sexual abuse: R Kelly bags additional 20 years jail term

Former American recording artiste Robert Sylvester Kelly, professionally known as R. Kelly, has been sentenced to an additional 20 years imprisonment.

The United State District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber sentenced the 56-year-old to 20 years in jail on Thursday after he was found guilty by a jury of child pornography and enticement of a minor.

Kelly, who is already serving a federal 30-year jail term after three counts of production of child pornography and three counts of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity in a federal trial in 2022, was found guilty of sexual molestation of a minor.

In the latest guilty verdict, the prosecutions produced concrete video evidence showing the singer sexually abusing his 14-year-old goddaughter.

The U.S. District Judge, handing out the judgement on Thursday, sentenced R. Kelly to 20 years imprisonment, in which 19 of those 20 years would be served concurrently with his earlier sentence instead of the 25 years sentence the prosecutors had demanded. While the remaining year would be served consecutively or after that sentence is completed.

According to the prosecutors, ”Robert Kelly is a serial sexual predator who, over the years, targeted young girls and went to great lengths to conceal his abuse of Jane and other minor victims. Following the jury verdict against him, to this day, Kelly refuses to accept responsibility for his crimes.”

The singer, however, remained silent for almost the entirety of the sentencing hearing and also refused to speak on his behalf.

2023: I Go Dye Task Buhari on credible, free and fair elections

Ace Nigerian comedian Francis Agoda, popularly known as I Go Dye, has written a letter to Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari urging him to write his name in the sands of life by conducting a free, fair and credible election.

The humour merchant pleaded with Buhari to do one last honourable thing he would be remembered for in future generations.

I Go Dye counselled Buhari not to allow anyone to mislead him to rig or truncate the upcoming elections. Also, he counselled President Buhari to achieve free and fair elections while leaving a positive legacy.

He further reminded the president that, presumably, the public had chosen to shoulder the cost of the cash shortage to secure a free and fair election. PAY ATTENTION: Share your outstanding story with our editors! Please reach us through info@corp.legit.ng! The letter read in part: “Your excellency, Firstly, as a citizen of this great country and Goodwill Ambassador for

Fight Against Corruption, I write you as we walk towards the polls. I feel the pains like majority of Nigerians who are expecting a better Nation at this trying times , nature has bestowed you a great opportunity to conduct this general elections that will determine the fate of Nigerians, once again.

“I want to remind you that you were voted in 2015 as a man of repute by majority of Nigerians and you owe us a deep sense of responsibility in these regards. As it stands today you are the only General left in our democratic system who was part and active at the civil war, so nature has giving you the opportunity to unite this Nation and lead a new path into greatness by establishing the fact that voters are not induced or being intimidated, your legacy in this direction will write your name in the hearts of men, whereby generations unborn will live to honour your offsprings as Noble descendents of a great man so don’t let anyone lure you to truncate the election this is one of the greatest gift you can pass to this generation.”

Weekend Magazine

Oworu Olumide set to take over Desmond Elliot position

One of the major actor of the popular Home TV-series, The Johnsons, Olumide Oworu, (Tari Johnson) has declare his intentions to run for a position with his senior colleague Desmond Elliot in the Lagos state House of Assembly, Surulere constituency 1, on the ticket of the Labour Party (LP).

According to Oworu Olumide, the youth in Nigeria have grown and developed voices that are now heard and have all joined in the decision-making in the country.

This announcement by Oworu has caused a stir on social media because his senior colleague, Desmond Elliot, currently holds the position under the All Progressives Congress (APC), and is running for a third term.

Oworu announced….“It is with a sense of honour and duty that I announce my candidacy for membership of The Lagos State House of Assembly –Surulere Constituency 1 on the platform of The Labour Party. The youth of this generation in Nigeria are more politically aware than ever and are now striving to have our voices heard and take part in the government process of this great country. As someone with a passion for youth development, it is on this note that I tender myself in service to play my part in the actualization of an all inclusive government, where the young Nigerian intellectuals have a chance to make a change by being a part of the move for the creation of a new Nigeria. Thank you for your support. A new Nigeria is Possible.”

According to reports, meeting of the national stakeholders or the Nigerian students’ communities have endorsed the presidential candidate for APC, Bola Tinubu to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in the coming elections.

A lot of celebrities and organisations have openly declared their stand for their preferred candidate and the NANs are not exception.

This endorsement from NANs comes after an intensive meeting which ended Thursday evening in Abuja. According to the students’ stakeholders, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is someone who can be trusted in the management of student affairs and human capital development.

In a statement signed by the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Umar Barambu, National Secretary, Vice President, the National Vice President Special Duties, and other dignitaries of the organization reads;

“By the magnitude of infrastructure revolution under his leadership we can

trust him,

By evidence of his campaigns and consultations, from party primaries to candidature, we accept his capabilities and capacity to lead Nigeria.

“As a result of his mentorship and human capacity development, the hopes of a boy child/ girl Child /students achieving their dreams and lifetime ambition remain realistic.

“By proofs of creative models of funding in times of LG financial crisis, revenue shortfalls and political arm twisting, his ingenuity and robust team of players and multi-ethnic cabinet assures us of his innovative ability to terminate strikes and transform the education sector.

“In this regard and recognition of the roles played in the unity of the National Students Body and resolution of ASUU/ASUP crisis.

“It is our firm resolve to address and present our decision that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed TINUBU is hereby endorsed and chosen as our only and preferred candidate for the Saturday, Feb 25, 2023 election.

16-month-old boy weighs the same as an eightyear-old and has to wear his father’s clothes

By ELEANOR DYE

Ababy boy has become so big that he weighs the same as an eight-year-old and has to wear his father’s clothes.

Muhammad Kenzi Alfaro is only 16 months old but weighs a whopping 60lbs - and wears nappies in size XXXL.

An average baby his age weighs around a third of his size, at 22lbs.

A video filmed at his home in Bandung Regency, Indonesia, shows his mother Patriah laughing as she struggles to push him into an upright position.

Kenzi wears a green T-shirt with the number 2 on - which appears a couple of sizes too small - as the child is eventually heaved onto his feet for a split second.

He eats snacks and plays with his toys as his family gathers around him in a team effort to look after him.

The footage also zooms in on his swollen hands and feet as his mother tries to pull his T-shirt down.

Pitriah explained the difficulty of the situationas Kenzi doesn’t fit in his pushchair anymore but his parents find it hard to

• Muhammad Kenzi Alfaro weighs 60lbs, around three times the average

• The massive baby, who lives in Bandung, Indonesia, has to wear XXXL

lift him up and he can’t support himself.

Kenzi weighed 10 pounds at birth - which is large, but not usually a cause for concern as most come in at between five and eight pounds.

She said: ‘His father’s body is also small. His father’s clothes just fit him, sometimes they are

also worn on my son,’ The Sun reported.

She also described the difficulty to find him nappies of the right size, saying: ‘So I put on the double XL, I also bought the one in the shop, but the triple XL in the shop doesn’t exist.’

But in the past year he has grown in size to the

extent he needs regular medical care and visits.

His parents and doctors have wondered if he has an underlying health condition due to his rapid increase in size.

They are awaiting final results after he had tests at the Hermina Bekasi Hospital.

Health Minister Budi

Gunadi Sadikin said officials were monitoring Kenzi.

Share or comment on this article: Massive 16-month-old baby in Indonesia weighs the same as an eight-yearold.

Source: dailymail. co.uk

Muhammad Kenzi Alfaro is only 16 months old but weighs a whopping 60 pounds

A video filmed at his home in Bandung Regency, Indonesia, shows his mother Patriah laughing as she struggles to push him into an upright position

Kenzi doesn’t fit in his pushchair anymore but his parents find it hard to lift him up and he can’t support himself

HEALTHY Living

Electronic records predict premature babies’ health risks

Using machine learning to sift through the electronic health records of both mothers and newborns can predict how premature babies will fare in their first two months of life, researchers report.

The new method, reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine, allows physicians to classify, at or before birth, which infants are likely to develop complications of prematurity.

“This is a new way of thinking about preterm birth, placing the focus on individual health factors of the newborns rather than looking only at how early they are born,” says senior author Nima Aghaeepour, an associate professor of anesthesiology, perioperative and pain medicine and of pediatrics Stanford University School of Medicine.

Traditionally defined as birth occurring at least three weeks early, premature birth is linked to complications in babies’ lungs, brains, vision, hearing, and digestive system. Although earlier births generally carry higher risks, the timing of birth predicts only approximately how a specific infant will fare. Some infants who are born quite early develop no complications, while others born at the same stage of pregnancy become very ill or die.

“Preterm birth is the single largest cause of death in children under age 5 worldwide, and we haven’t had good solutions,” Aghaeepour says. “By focusing our research on predicting the health of these babies, we can optimize their care.”

Many complications of prematurity take days or weeks after birth to emerge, causing substantial damage to newborns’ health in the meantime. Knowing which infants are at risk

could enable preventive measures.

“We look mainly at the baby to make treatment decisions in neonatology, but we are finding that we can get valuable information from the maternal health record, really homing in on how individual babies’ trajectories have been shaped by exposure to their specific maternal environment,” says coauthor David Stevenson, a neonatologist at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, professor of pediatrics, and director of the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center at the Stanford School of Medicine.

“This is a move toward precision medicine for babies,” he adds.

The researchers linked electronic medical records for mothers at Stanford Health Care and for their babies at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, covering 32,354 live births that occurred between 2014 and 2020.

The mothers’ medical records included information from the pregnancy and, for those who had been patients at Stanford Medicine prior to pregnancy, health data from before they became pregnant. The infants’ records started with information recorded at birth, including weight; blood tests; and Apgar score, which is assessed in the delivery room one and five minutes after birth. The Apgar score incorporates factors such as the infant’s pulse, breathing, and muscle tone.

Using a machine learning algorithm called a long shortterm memory neural network, the researchers built a mathematical model from the medical records and tested whether it could predict 24 possible health outcomes for infants up to two months after birth.

“There is a computational

challenge in using electronic health records because they are longitudinal and contain a large amount of data from each patient,” Aghaeepour says. “A long short-term memory neural network operates similarly to a person reading a book. When we’re reading, we don’t remember every word, but we remember the key concepts, read the next part, add more key concepts and carry that forward. The algorithm doesn’t memorize the entire electronic health record of every patient, but it can remember key concepts and carry those forward to the point where we make a prediction.”

At the time of birth, the machine learning model provided strong predictions for which infants would develop various conditions including bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a type of chronic lung disease; retinopathy of prematurity, a problem with the retina that can cause vision loss or blindness; anemia of prematurity; and necrotizing enterocolitis, a severe gastrointestinal complication often not diagnosed until weeks after birth, by which time interventions are complex and associated with poor outcomes.

The model also gave strong predictions a week before birth for multiple outcomes including mortality and retinopathy of prematurity, which can cause vision loss or blindness, as well as moderately strong predictions for 11 other conditions.

“I was surprised by how much predictive power we have before the baby is even born, and right at birth,” Aghaeepour says. “I did not expect to see that. I had thought accuracy would come several days after birth, once we had collected data from the baby.”

Some complications were not reliably predicted by the model, such as which infants would develop

candidiasis, or yeast infections; polycythemia, a high concentration of red cells in the blood; or meconium aspiration syndrome, in which the infant inhales meconium, a sticky substance expelled from the fetal bowel, during birth.

The researchers validated that the strength of the predictions did not change over the years (comparing births from 2014 to 2018 with those from 2019 to 2020); they also validated some of the findings using an independent group of 12,258 motherbaby pairs from UC San Francisco.

The model’s predictions at birth provided more accurate information than currently used risk assessment tools such as Apgar scores and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development risk score. These scores consider only the condition of the baby at birth and do not incorporate any information from the mother’s medical history, the researchers note. However, additional studies in more diverse populations are needed before this machine-learning tool is ready to replace existing risk calculators at the bedside, the researchers say.

The model revealed unexpected connections between certain health or social conditions in mothers and the health of their infants, according to the researchers.

For instance, mothers with anemia—a common pregnancy complication— were more likely to have newborns with anemia. These infants were also more likely to develop the bowel complication necrotizing enterocolitis, the researchers found.

“We need to explore what linkages explain these relationships at a biological level, as these might offer clues to how certain conditions occur,” Stevenson says. “That will allow us to

intervene better to help those kids.”

The new algorithm was also able to link specific types of socioeconomic disadvantage in mothers with certain prematurity complications in their babies.

“If a mother was homeless, we found that the health impact on the baby would be different from the impact of incarceration, whereas under traditional paradigms both of these socioeconomic factors might be thought to have similar effects on prematurity risk,” Aghaeepour says. Predictions from the model could help neonatologists better identify which patients will benefit from existing protocols to prevent birth complications, Stevenson says. For example, newborns who experience lack of oxygen during birth can now receive cooling protocols in early life, which lower their body temperature for a few days to prevent brain injury. Predictive scores may help identify additional infants who could be helped by cooling, he says.

The work needs to be replicated in larger, more diverse patient populations and folded together with other Stanford Medicine research that characterizes pregnancies according to thousands of biomarkers that change during gestation, the researchers say.

Postdoctoral scholar Davide De Francesco and Jonathan Reiss, an instructor in pediatrics, are the study’s lead authors. Scientists from UC San Francisco contributed to the study.

The National Institutes of Health, the Burroughs Welcome Fund, the American Heart Association, the March of Dimes, the Robertson Foundation, the Alfred E. Mann Foundation, and the National Science Foundation funded the work.

Source: Stanford University

“This is a new way of thinking about preterm birth, placing the focus on individual health factors of the newborns rather than looking only at how early they are born,” says Nima Aghaeepour. (Credit: Getty Images)

Google claims breakthrough in quantum computer error correction

Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. Google has claimed a breakthrough in correcting for the errors that are inherent in today’s quantum computers, marking an early but potentially significant step in overcoming the biggest technical barrier to a revolutionary new form of computing.

The internet company’s findings, which have been published in the journal Nature, mark a “milestone on our journey to build a useful quantum computer”, said Hartmut Neven, head of Google’s quantum efforts. He called error correction “a necessary rite of passage that any quantum computing technology has to go through”.

Quantum computers struggle to produce useful results because the quantum bits, or qubits, they are based on only hold their quantum states for a tiny fraction of a second. That means information encoded in a quantum system is lost before the machine can complete its calculations. Finding a way to correct for the errors this causes is the hardest technical challenge the industry faces.

Some quantum start-ups have pinned their hopes in the near term on finding ways to program today’s error-prone, or “noisy”, machines, even if this only leads to a small improvement over traditional computers. However, those efforts have yet to yield practical results, leading to a growing view that

quantum computing will not be useful until the far bigger problem of error correction has been solved.

Google’s researchers said they had found a way to spread the information being processed in a quantum computer across a number of qubits in a way that meant the system as a whole could retain enough to complete a calculation, even as individual qubits fell out of their quantum states. The research published in Nature pointed to a reduction of only 4 per cent in the error rate as Google scaled up its technique to run on a larger quantum system. However, the researchers said this was the first time that increasing the

size of the computer had not also led to a rise in the error rate. Neven said that it showed Google had passed a “break-even point” after which further advances would bring steady gains in performance, putting the company on a path to having its first practical quantum computer. The breakthrough in error correction was the result of improvements Google had made to all components of its quantum computer, from the quality of its qubits to its control software and the cryogenic equipment used to chill the computer to near-absolute zero, according to Julian Kelly, a Google researcher. This had reduced the number of errors to a low enough point that the size of the system could be

increased without leading to an exponential rise in the error rate, he added.

Google described the breakthrough as only the second of six steps it needed to go through to build a practical quantum computer. The next step involved perfecting its engineering so that it would need only 1,000 qubits to create a so-called logical qubit — an abstraction, built on top of the imperfect physical qubits, that can function without errors. Neven said Google believed it would have a useful machine once it had worked out how to build and link 1,000 logical qubits into a single system.

Google’s research claims around quantum computing have proved controversial in the past. In 2019, it claimed in an article in Nature that it had achieved so-called quantum supremacy — the point at which a quantum computer can complete a calculation that is for all intents and purposes impossible for a traditional machine.

However, that assertion was challenged by IBM and others, and new programming techniques were developed to increase the performance of traditional computers, pushing back the moment when the makers of quantum machines could claim to have reached “supremacy”.

In this week’s Nature paper, Google’s researchers said they were taking a “cautious” stance on their latest claimed breakthrough. They warned there was still a small chance that their error-correction technique would not work when applied to much larger quantum systems in future.

Source: https://www.ft.com/

Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai, left, and Daniel Sank examining one of Google’s quantum computers in 2019 © Reuters

“ Quantum computers struggle to produce useful results because the quantum bits, or qubits, they are based on only hold their quantum states for a tiny fraction of a second

Weekend Pictorial

L-R: One of the newly inaugurated judges of the Ekiti State Customary Court of Appeal, Adesoji Adegboye ; President of the Customary Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Monisola Oluwatoyin Abodunde; Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji; newly sworn in judges of the court, Olufunke Ogundele Esq and Lawrence Ojo Esq; at the swearing-in ceremony in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday.

L-R: Proprietor, Augustine University Ilara (UAI) and the Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos Archbishop Alfred Adewale Martins; Chancellor, Mr. Femi Otedola, CON; his mother and former First Lady of Lagos State, Lady Doja Otedola, Chairman Board of Trustee and Chairman, AUI Fund Raising Committee, Sir Steve Omojafor, and Pro-Chancellor, AUI, Chief Gilbert T. Grant, during the inauguration of the completed first block of the Faculty of Engineering complex and the laying of foundation for block 2 and 3, donated to Augustine University in Epe by Femi Otedola, in Lagos on Wednesday

Speaker, House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila (2nd left) with wife, Mrs Salamatu Gbajabiamila (1st left) and others while presenting a key of one of 161 e-hailing cars and buses to a beneficiary at the Gbajabiamila Empowerment Programme held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, yesterday in Lagos on

Speaker, House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila (2nd left) with wife, Mrs. Salamatu Gbajabiamila (1st left) and others while presenting a key of a bus to a beneficiary of the faith-based organisations at the Gbajabiamila Empowerment Programme held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, yesterday in Lagos.

Part of the items shared to beneficiaries of the Femi Gbajabiamila Empowerment Programme held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, yesterday in Lagos.

Part of the items shared to beneficiaries of the Femi Gbajabiamila Empowerment Programme held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, yesterday in Lagos.

Biography

Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa: A True Nigerian Patriot

Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa KBE PC (December 1912 – 15 January 1966) was a Nigerian politician who served as the first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria upon independence.

Early life

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born in December 1912 in modern-day Bauchi State, in the Northern Nigeria Protectorate. Balewa’s father, Yakubu Dan Zala, was of Gere ethnicity, and his mother Fatima Inna was of Gere and Fulani descent. His father worked in the house of the district head of Lere, a district within the Bauchi Emirate.

Education

Balewa began his education at a Qur’anic school in Bauchi; when southern colonial administrators began to push for western education in the Northern region, Balewa was among the children sent to Tafawa Balewa Elementary School, after the Qur’anic school. Thereafter, he proceeded to Bauchi Provincial School. Like many of his contemporaries, he studied at Barewa College, then known as Katsina College, where he was student number 145. Ahmadu Rabah, later known as Ahmadu Bello, was student number 87 and was two years his senior, while Abubakar Imam was a year ahead of him. The college was several kilometers from Bauchi and was not close to a railway station nor other public transportation. During holidays, which was twice a year, Balewa trekked home, a journey of more than 400 kilometers. He trekked for 40 kilometers a day, before finding a resting place at a nearby village. In total, the journey took him 10 days.

Katsina College had British expatriate teachers, many of whom had been educated at leading British schools and then attended Cambridge or Oxford Universities. Students were taught in English, and speech was an important part of learning for the students. Apart from excellence in English, the school was also a training ground for teachers to be posted to the provincial and middle schools within the Northern Provinces of Nigeria.

Balewa completed his five-year education in 1933 and returned to Bauchi to teach at Bauchi Middle School. He taught at the school and rose to become a senior schoolmaster. In 1941, he became acquainted with a young Aminu Kano, who was posted to the school as a teacher. After a student unrest, investigations into student grievances indicted the headmaster, and in 1941 Balewa was nominated as the new headmaster. In 1944, Balewa and some other educated teachers in the Northern Provinces were chosen to study abroad at the University of London’s Institute of Education, which today forms part of University College London. Upon returning to Nigeria, he became an Inspector of Schools for the colonial administration and later entered politics.

Political activity

He was elected in 1946 to the Northern House of Assembly, and to the Legislative Council in 1947. As a legislator, he was a vocal advocate of the rights of Northern Nigeria. He supported hesitance by the North to become independent, based on the objection that the north and south regions were not at an equal footing. In the Northern Assembly, he sought more roles and responsibility in the Native Administration for the educated members of the emirates.

Together with Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello, who held the hereditary title of Sardauna of Sokoto, they proposed the transformation of the cultural organization, Jam’iyyar Mutanen Arewa, which means Northern People’s Congress (NPC) in English, to become a political

platform for use as campaign platform during the elections of 1951. Balewa was elected Vice President of the new party and subsequently resigned his post as headmaster of Bauchi Middle School. NPC won the plurality of votes to the regional House of Assembly in 1951.

Balewa was among the new legislators in Kaduna. Under a new constitution, the Macpherson Constitution of 1951, an electoral college system was implemented whereby some regional legislators were elected to the Federal House of Representatives in Lagos, and among the federal legislators, three members from each region would be appointed federal ministers with portfolios. Balewa was among those nominated to Lagos and along with Kashim Ibrahim and Muhammadu Ribadu were nominated to become ministers.

Balewa entered the government in 1952 as Minister of Works, and later served as Minister of Transport during a time Nigeria was moving towards self-government. During his tenure at the transport ministry, both the Marine and Railway departments were transformed to corporations and the designs for a bridge over the Niger and plans for the Kainji Dam were developed.

In 1957, NPC won the plurality of votes in the Federal House of Representatives and Balewa became the Chief Minister and designated Prime Minister. As part of his plans to unify the country towards the move for independence in 1960, he formed a coalition government between the NPC and the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), led by Nnamdi Azikiwe and also invited the Action Group (A.G.), the 1957 cabinet was constituted as an allparty cabinet. Though Awolowo, the leader of A.G. and premier of the Western region was skeptical of the plan, the national executive committee of Action Group party endorsed the National Government and Ayo Rosiji and Samuel Akintola were nominated by the party. During this period, Balewa developed a close relationship with K.O. Mbadiwe from NCNC

and Akintola from AG.

Balewa retained the post as Prime Minister of Nigeria when Nigeria gained independence in 1960, and was reelected in 1964.

Prior to Nigeria’s independence, a constitutional conference in 1954 had adopted a regional political framework for the country, with all regions given a considerable amount of political freedom. The three regions then were composed of diverse cultural groups. The premiers and some prominent leaders of the regions later took on a policy of guiding their regions against political encroachment from other regional leaders. Later on, this political environment influenced the Balewa administration. His term in office was turbulent, with regional factionalism constantly threatening his government.

However, as Prime Minister of Nigeria, Balewa played important roles in the continent’s formative indigenous rule. He was an important leader in the formation of the Organisation of African Unity and creating a cooperative relationship with French speaking African countries. He was also instrumental in negotiations between Moise Tshombe and the Congolese authorities during the Congo Crisis of 1960–1964. He led a vocal protest against the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960 and also entered into an alliance with Commonwealth ministers who wanted South Africa to leave the Commonwealth in 1961. However, a treason charge and conviction against one of the western region’s leaders, Obafemi Awolowo, led to protest and condemnation from many of his supporters. The 1965 election in the region later produced violent protests. Rioting and violence were soon synchronous with what was perceived as inordinate political encroachment and an over-exuberant election outcome for Awolowo’s western opponents.

As Prime Minister of Nigeria, Balewa, from 1960 to 1961, doubled as Foreign Affairs advocate of Nigeria. In 1961, the Balewa government created an official Foreign Affairs and Commonwealth Relations

ministerial position in favour of Jaja Wachuku who became, from 1961 to 1965, the first substantive Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Commonwealth Relations, later called External Affairs.

Overthrow

Balewa was overthrown and murdered in a military coup on 15 January 1966, as were many other leaders, including his old companion Sir Ahmadu Bello. The circumstances of his death still remain unresolved. His body was discovered at a roadside near Lagos six days after he was ousted from office. Balewa was buried in Bauchi. News of his assassination sparked violent riots throughout Northern Nigeria and ultimately led to the bloody counter-coup of July 1966.

Honours

In January 1960, Balewa was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Sheffield in May 1960. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate of laws from the New York University in July 1961.

Balewa’s portrait was placed on the 5 Naira Note. The Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University in Bauchi was named in his honour.

Personal life

Balewa was described as modest and selfeffacing. At his death, his major assets included his house in Bauchi and a 50-acre farm where he vacationed when he wanted to relax. The farm was located on the way to Tafawa Balewa village about nine miles outside Bauchi; many official decisions while in office were taken at the farm. Balewa was married to four women who bore him nineteen children.

Balewa was buried in Tafawa Balewa’s tomb at Bauchi.

Culled from wikipedia

2023 Polls: FCT Minister charges residents to be peaceful, orderly Department sensitises

residents in Garki, Wuse

By Stanley Onyekwere

In continuation with its sensitisation of FCT residents on peaceful conduct during the fast approaching polls, the FCT Administration took its enlightenment train to residents in Garki, and Wuse districts of the Federal Capital City.

The week-long exercise, which commenced Monday, seeks to awaken the consciousness of residents on peaceful and orderly conduct before, during and after the polls, this Saturday, February 25, 2023.

The Director, FCT Department of Information and Communications Mr. Sule Hazat, who spoke through Deputy Director, Public Enlightenment in the Department, Mrs. Josie Mudasiru, notated that it was imperative to sensitise residents of the FCT concerning the forthcoming election, as the exercise can only be carried out successfully, in a peaceful condition and environment.

His words: “What we have come here to do is, to appeal to the people to go and cast their votes on Saturday, in a peaceful and orderly manner.

“There is every need for residents to eschew arguments and quarrels that could trigger violence, which undermines, smooth conduct of elections.

“As Nigerians, we must comport ourselves in an orderly and decent manner. Cast your vote quietly for candidates of your choice, without being compelled to, and refrain from compelling others.

“If you must wait for votes to be counted, then endeavour to stay at a safe distance. Let us all remember that after this election, we will still be together and there will still be one Nigeria”.

Reacting to the development, a panel beater inside Gwagwalada Motor Park, in Area One, Garki, Matthew Macaulay, said they have been praying daily for peaceful, free and fair polls and in just a matter of days, the election will hold.

He adds: “It is our desire that at the end, we will all elect a credible, God fearing and caring leader, that will take Nigeria out of the woods and restore her pride of place in the comity of nations, that are progressive and prosperous.”

“I told a young man yesterday, if he gets into a heated argument about who to vote for at the polls, and picks a fight and dies in the process, he will not live to tell the story, hence, there is no profit in being unruly and meddlesome during the election.

“Quietly, vote for the person that is in your heart, don’t say its APC, PDP or Labour party, vote for peace. Don’t go there to go and fight. With my PVC, I will make my statement on Saturday, and everyone else should do the same.

“I will vote the person that I love and know that can turn around the fortunes of Nigeria, because what we’re passing through now, is very distressing. I quite appreciate the efforts of the FCT Administration in sensitising us to embrace peace at the polls”.

It was observed that the sensitisation team moved from Gwagwalada Motor Park, in Area One to Wuse Market, before heading to Garki Market.

By Stanley Onyekwere

The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has charged residents of the nation’s capital to be of their best behaviour for the success of the 2023 elections in the FCT.

The Minister gave the charge in a message to residents on the 2023 general elections scheduled to take place across the country tomorrow, Saturday, February 25, 2023, according to a statement from Director Of Press, Office of the Minister, Anthony Ogunleye.

Bello urged residents to perform their civic duty of voting for candidates of their choice in a peaceful and orderly manner and respecting

all laid down electoral and security regulations.

He said: “I want to appeal to residents to be peaceful, law abiding and go out enmasse to cast your votes, because it is by your votes that you will determine who will represent you in the National Assembly.

“And I have no doubt that you will all make us proud by being disciplined and obey all regulations as set by INEC as well as the security agencies”.

He however, commended residents across all the political parties for their peaceful conduct and decorum during the electioneering campaigns over the past few months, saying that this was an indication that the culture of democracy has matured in the FCT.

“I want to commend all residents across

all political parties for tremendous decorum and peaceful electioneering campaign that has taken place over the last few months in the Federal Capital Territory.

“This has continued to show that democracy has matured in the FCT, where all contestants, irrespective of political party played by the rules and campaigned with decorum, discipline and above all with respect for one another”, he said.

While calling on residents to help further entrench the principles of democracy in the FCT, the Minister said: “So, everyone should go out, get accredited and vote for candidates of their choice. And by so doing, you will deepen democracy in the Federal Capital Territory”.

Former President of Kenya and Head of the African Union Observation Mission to Nigeria’s General Elections, Uhuru Kenyatta paid a courtesy visit to APC Presidential Candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at his Residence Asokoro Abuja.

Dev’t Control seal off 4-Storey building over landuse contravention

By Stanley Onyekwere

For allegedly deviating from approved original building plan approval Director of the FCT Development Control Department, Muktar Galadima has ordered immediate seal off of the entire site of a 4-storey commercial complex on Adetokumbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse 2 District.

The property located at plot number 965, Cadastral Zone A07 of Wuse, purportedly belonging to one George Ochekwu Ajonte was discovered to have abandoned its original approval for residential apartments and embarked on building a commercial complex without recourse to the authorities.

It was gathered these findings were made during inspection tour by officials of the Department, who expressed shock

that the construction site was filled with unregistered builders, supervising the infractions.

Galadima revealed that the building approval granted was specifically for a residential block of flats, but the developers illegally modified the plan, converting it to a commercial complex.

He explained that efforts had been made in the past to stop the illegal development, but the developers disobeyed all the stop work notices and went ahead with the illegalities.

According to him, the builders supervising the project would be reported to their professional bodies, while the site remained sealed until the right thing was done.

He said: “From what we have discovered, they want to add a sit-out floor, which will mean an additional load. That is why we are taking this

action, because when something happens, it is the authority that will be blamed.”

Explaining further, Deputy Director of the Department, Hauwa Tundunwada noted that the additional floor the developers were illegally constructing on top of the building was never part of the original plan, just like other infractions.

She added that the exercise would be carried out at other project sites to checkmate other illegal developments and ensure perpetrators are sanctioned accordingly.

Meanwhile, Ganiu Ademola, one of the supervisors, who claimed to be a graduate architect on the site, acknowledged that there had been a distortion from the original plan, but said the developers have the intention to seek variation approval from relevant agencies.

Moldova warns of Russian ‘psy-ops’ as tensions rise

Moldova’s leaders have rejected Russian claims that Ukraine is planning to attack the country’s breakaway pro-Russian territory, and called for calm.

Russia’s defence ministry alleged, with no evidence, that Ukrainian saboteurs, dressed as Russian troops, would attack from Transnistria, to provide a pretext for a Ukrainian invasion.

Moldova has warned for weeks that Russia is plotting to seize power.

And officials rejected Russia’s claims as “psy-ops” as part of the war.

“The defence ministry believes it is an element of a psychological operation rather than a real plan,” said state secretary Valeriu Mija.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu, on a visit to neighbouring Romania, spoke of unprecedented security challenges ahead.

“Some wanted our country to fall and to install in Chisinau a puppet government enslaved to the interests of the Kremlin,” she said.

Moldova is not part of Nato but last June it was awarded EU candidate status on the same day as Ukraine, bringing it one step closer to joining the bloc. Earlier this week the Moldovan leader met US President Joe Biden, who promised to support her country’s sovereignty.

Challenges created by war in Ukraine

With a population of just 2.6 million, Moldova is one of Europe’s poorest economies and has been heavily exposed to the war in Ukraine.

It has faced a major energy crisis because its power infrastructure dates back to the Soviet era. Not only did Russia restrict its gas supplies but its attacks on Ukraine’s power grid had knock-on effects.

Rampant inflation and a big influx of refugees from Ukraine have created further pressures, leading to protests organised by

the populist and pro-Russian Sor party, led by fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor.

There has also been an apparent escalation of incidents described by new Prime Minister Dorin Recean as “hybrid attacks”.

A Russian missile was fired at Ukraine through Moldovan airspace on the day the previous government collapsed earlier this month, in the face of what the former PM called “multiple crises”.

President Sandu has accused Russia of plotting to bring down Moldova’s leadership with the aid of foreign saboteurs from Russia, Serbia, Belarus and Montenegro. She said their aim would be to attack government buildings, seize hostages and then spark protests to replace the government with one “at the service of Russia”.

Shortly after her speech, twelve Serbian football fans were barred from entering Chisinau for a match. Fighters of a boxing club from Montenegro were barred from entering Chisinau for a tournament too.

The Kremlin accused

Moldova’s leaders of slipping into anti-Russian hysteria and warned them to be “very, very careful” with their statements.

Political analyst Denis Cenusa said Moldova’s weakest point for pro-Russian forces was its internal socio-economic stability. If Russia failed in the short term, he said it could succeed at the ballot box in local elections this year and the presidential vote in 2024.

Moldova’s breakaway territory

On Moldova’s eastern flank lies a narrow strip of land called Transnistria, between the Dniester river and the Ukrainian border. Dominated by Russian speakers, it proclaimed independence from Moldova in 1990 as the Soviet Union fell apart.

A short border war led to a ceasefire in 1992 and that has been enforced ever since by 1,500

Russian troops stationed there.

As long as Transnistria’s future remains unclear, tensions will remain. Moldova’s new prime minister sees demilitarising the area as a priority and the foreign ministry has said it will continue to seek a peaceful solution.

But President Putin has pointedly revoked a 2012 decree committing Russia to finding a solution for Transnistria based on respect for Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

As soon as Russian forces invaded southern Ukraine a year ago there were fears they would try to seize Odesa and the entire coast to Transnistria.

That has not happened, but what Moldova’s leaders are warning of now is reminiscent of what happened in April 2022.

A series of mysterious explosions were reported, which separatist authorities in Transnistria said targeted their state security HQ, old Soviet-era radio masts and a military unit.

Ukrainian “infiltrators” were held responsible then as well by Transnistria’s authorities. Kyiv blamed Russian special services, warning they were seeking to threaten Moldova and destabilise the situation.

Earlier this week a proseparatist social media channel said it had seen Ukrainian military equipment on the motorway linking Ukraine to Moldova, but an unconvincing photo showed only a couple of small armoured vehicles and a Ukrainian flag.

Russia’s defence ministry claimed it had detected a “significant amount of [Ukrainian] personnel and military vehicles” near Transnistria and said they carried a direct threat to Russia’s peacekeeping force, but again it offered no evidence.

The head of Transnistria’s peacekeeping body, Oleg Belyakov, said there was no panic among its population but Russia’s warnings did “give reasons for serious concerns”.

New US sanctions for Russia on war anniversary

The US has marked a year since Russia invaded Ukraine by announcing a new range of sanctions against Russia.

The restrictions target banks and suppliers of defence equipment both within Russia and worldwide.

Specifically, the US said it wants to stop those helping Russia exploit loopholes to get sanctioned materials.

The White House insisted it would “continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes” and “hold Russia accountable for its war of aggression”.

The US also announced $550m (£459m) will be supplied to both Ukraine and neighbouring Moldova to strengthen their energy infrastructure.

In a press release, the White House said the new measures were designed to disrupt Russian

financial institutions, officials and authorities from “illegitimately operating in Ukraine”.

They come days after US President Joe Biden flew into Kyiv for a surprise visit, and held talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.

The US government added that more security services

will be provided to Ukraine including new drone systems, high-mobility rocket systems, ammunition for artillery systems and communications gear.

The latest round of sanctions target nearly 90 companies both in Russia and also other countries, including China.

Earlier this week the US said

China was considering supplying lethal weapons to Russia. They also claimed Chinese firms had already been supplying non-lethal dual-use technology - items which could have both civilian and military uses, such as drones and semi-conductors.

China has strongly denied the allegations.

A meeting of G7 leaders will be held on Friday, where they will create an enforcement team designed to stop Russia from finding sanctions loopholes.

“G7 countries will continue to keep Russia’s sovereign assets immobilised until there is a resolution to the conflict”, the press release read.

The G7 - group of seven - is an organisation of the world’s seven largest “advanced” economies. They are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the United States. It has so

far committed $39b (£32b) to Ukraine’s war efforts for 2023.

The US said G7 countries and allies would also impose sanctions on key economic sectors in Russia - including its metals and mining sector.

The US added that it would provide Ukraine with electrical grid equipment to protect its energy supply from Russian strikes, and with generators to provide back-up power.

The White House will provide Moldova, which borders Ukraine and heavily relies on Russian gas, with $300m (£250m) to help increase its local power generation.

Moldova is Europe’s poorest country and has been heavily impacted by the war. Its leaders have warned for several weeks that Russia is plotting to seize power.

Source: BBC

Moldova’s President Maia Sandu has warned that some are hoping to install a Russian puppet government in her country

This protest on Thursday, organised by the pro-Russian Sor party, called for higher pensions

US, UK: One advisory too many

By Ochiaka Ugwu

Like someone mocking the misfortune of their adversary, Nigerians woke up on Wednesday to learn of yet another security advisory by the United Kingdom (UK) asking its nationals in Nigeria to avoid visiting banks and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in the country.

It is no exaggeration to say that the latest security alert from the UK came at one of Nigeria’s most trying times in its contemporary political history. The statement conveying the advisory did not say a word of empathy with Nigeria but advised UK citizens to keep off some public places. A close look at the statement shows that almost all the major states and cities in the country have been marked out as danger spots.

The advisory was issued by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), amid violent protests in some parts of the country over the scarcity of naira notes, following the implementation of a cashless policy regime by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

The advisory published on the FCDO website, stated thus, “The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed the redesign and issue of new N200, N500 and N1000 Naira notes. This has led to shortages of cash, which are likely to persist for a period. You are encouraged to check notes provided by currency exchange vendors will be valid for the duration of your travel to Nigeria, and to follow local CBN guidelines.

“Areas such as banks and ATMs have seen a spike in criminal activity, and as such, it is advised that you take extra precautions particularly when withdrawing cash in crowded spaces, and during night time hours. There have been outbreaks of violence in southwest Nigeria as a result of cash shortages, and there is a risk of other urban areas being impacted across the country. We advise travelers in Nigeria to exercise their judgment, including being aware of any large crowds or potential disturbances.”

The Foreign Office also warned of possible terrorist attacks in parts of the country, and advised citizens against visiting some states, including Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara. It also asked citizens to avoid riverine areas of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.

The FCDO also advised against all, but essential travel to Bauchi, Kano, Jigawa, Niger, Sokoto, Kogi, and within 20km of the border with Niger in Kebbi State, Abia State, non-riverine areas of Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers States, as well as Plateau State and Taraba State.

Before now there were other security alerts issued by the United Kingdom, United States and other nations to their citizens in Nigeria asking them to take sensible precautions to ensure their safety.

The UK and the UK in particular

have made appear as of the two most advanced democracies were in a race for who would issue the most security alerts to their citizens in Nigeria.

Nevertheless, the Department of State Service (DSS), Nigerian secret police, has riaen to the occasion and told citizens there was no cause for alarm over the frequent security alerts.

A statement by its spokesman, Dr. Peter Afunanya, said: “The Department of State Services (DSS) has received several enquiries relating to the security advisory issued by the US Embassy in Abuja, on Sunday, October 23, 2022. The public may recall that the Service had variously issued similar warnings in the past.” It urged all to be calm and go about their lawful businesses without fear of molestation.

The US followed up the alarm raised by authorising the departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees and their families from Nigeria, an action that triggered fears and panic among Nigerians.

But a security expert who commented on the United States’ action, said it did not call for panic, as according to him, “the action is a standard crisis management procedure.”

However, the alarm has continued to trigger apprehension and deep fears, thereby, unsettling the ever-bubbling seat of power and its government of Nigeria.

Security experts have, nevertheless, described the frequency of these terror alerts issued by the US and UK as “completely unfortunate,” even as to they urged Nigerians to remain vigilant, commending the country’s success in battling smouldering terrorism. They noted that Nigeria was recording major successes in battling terrorism and banditry afflicting the country on different fronts..

Minister of Information and Culture, Mr. Lai Mohammed did not hide his resentment for the advisories as he has very often alleged mischief in the act. With a wave of the hand, he dismissed the alert, there was no “threat” in Abuja, the country’s capital, since all

the travel advisories issued by the United Kingdom and United States.

Speaking on Monday at the 25th edition of the President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) scorecard series, Mohammed warned foreign countries to stop issuing “frivolous” travel advisories.

Lai recalled that on October 23, 2022, the UK warned of an increased threat of terrorist attack in the FCT, and urged its citizens to stay alert and avoid visits to public places in the area.

“The UK also restricted access to the British High Commission in Abuja. Days later, the UK warned British nationals to avoid non-

to commend our security agencies for their sacrifices to keep us safe.

“Recall, ladies and gentlemen, that in October 2022, the US and UK embassies in Nigeria issued travel advisories warning their citizens to avoid Abuja due to the risk of a terrorist attack.

“This advisory created much panic in the country. As a matter of fact, a number of Americans were reported to have fled Abuja in the wake of the warning.

“Recall also that in our reaction to the advisory, we reassured Nigerians and non-Nigerians living in the country of their safety and noted that our security agencies are

Nigeria’s sovereignty and ability to protect its citizens and other nationals living in the country.

Much as security experts have recognised that the alerts were a standard communication directed to their citizens, they also opined that such information should have been communicated to the local authorities through the right channels for prevent actions to me taking instead of climbing the roof top to announce to the world, probably in a bid to suggest that the nation’s intelligence apparatus are weak.

According to them, the ideal thing would have been for the ambassadors of those countries to inform the local authorities about the potential threats, who will in turn announce such an alert or take necessary measures. This would have been the best procedure to follow, they said.

essential travel to Abuja.

“On October 25, 2022, the US authorised the evacuation of “non-emergency” employees and their family members in Nigeria over “heightened risk of terrorist attacks”.

Reacting to the advisories, the federal government criticised the US and UK for issuing the terror alerts without taking the local authorities into confidence by way of information sharing.

Lai commended the security agencies for keeping the nation safe saying that residents of Abuja have been going about their businesses without any threat since the travel advisories were issued.

Recounting the “panic” created by the advisories, the Information Minister said some Americans reportedly left the country over the warning.

He commended the security agencies for their sacrifices to keep the country safe amid the terror alerts.

He said: Let me use this occasion

on top of the matter.

“Almost three months after the frivolous advisory, residents of Abuja have been going about their businesses without any threat.

“It is in this light that we want to once again, commend our gallant troops, the police, the intelligence agencies, and all other security agencies for their commitment and sacrifice to keep our country safe.

“We also call on Nigerians to continue to support the security agencies as they carry out their onerous task, while echoing Mr. President’s call on Western countries to stop issuing frivolous travel advisories on Nigeria.”

It will be an understatement to say that these security alerts have caused a lot of confusion, concerns and, in some cases, apprehension and anger in the polity.

While some have derided Nigeria’s intelligence agencies for failure to pick up the security threats before the foreign powers latches on them, others have accused the foreign nations of undermining

That is not to say that nation’s should abandon their responsibilities to their citizens. Based on defence policy, intelligence and international security strategy and reform, every nation has a primary responsibility to protect its citizens, regardless of where they are located. That is why countries like Britain, Germany, France, and Australia have issued similar alerts for their citizens abroad, and have done the same for their citizens in Nigeria.

Again, it should be noted that security threat alerts are a common feature of US security practices both at home and abroad.

It has been suggested that Nigeria needs to pay more attention to the performance and capacity of its own intelligence services with a view to sharing intelligence with the embassies it hosts.

That way, the country’s intelligence agencies will be able to earn the confidence of their foreign counterparts with respect to the capacity to detect and deal will any form of threats that may arise, thereby denying their counterparts the privilege of always rushing to the press with such information, and save the nation the constant embarrassment generated by their security alerts.

“ However, the alarm has continued to trigger apprehension and deep fears, thereby, unsettling the everbubbling seat of power and its government of Nigeria

Presidential election: I like LP’s Obi but he’s no match for Atiku – PDP’s Momodu

By Christiana Ekpa

Aspokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Momodu, has revealed that he likes the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi because he continues to give respect to whom it is due.

Despite lauding Obi’s respectful disposition, Momodu maintained that the Labour Party flag bearer is not in the same league as the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

He added that it would be almost impossible for the former Anambra Governor to win the presidential election on Saturday.

The veteran journalist spoke while fielding questions on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Thursday.

Momodu said, “Peter Obi said he is the best for the job but what do I expect him to say? But he knows his senior.

“He knows he is not in the same league as Atiku Abubakar,

that is why he agreed to be his running mate last time, and he hasn’t told us that he discovered something on tour while he was

running mate.

“He continues to give respect to whom it is due, and that is the way it should be. I like Peter Obi

By Musa Baba Adamu

for that.

“I know it is going to be almost impossible for him to win [the presidential election],

state.

By Christiana Ekpa

The chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Cross River State, Venatius Ikem, has said he has no confidence in the police to do their job efficiently during the general election starting tomorrow.

He spoke soon after the Assistant Inspector General of Police for Zone Six, Jonathan Towuru, cautioned all political leaders and their supporters in the state ahead of the commencement of the general election to refrain from violence, assuring that the police are ready to provide security.

Two days ago, the country home of the PDP chairman in Obudu town was vandalised, riddled with bullets and an aide to the chairman was critically injured.

Ikem said that the police can

execute their responsibilities but are unwilling to do their job.

“I have no confidence in the police that they will do a nice job during the general election.

“It is not that they don’t have the ability but are simply unwilling to do their job. The reason is best known to them.

“There has been brazen violence by hired political thugs. We’ve complained and lodged reports with the Obudu DPO, yet there has been no response, arrests or invitation of the deadly gangs that roam the streets of Obudu, driving around shooting. These boys are known faces.

“One of them even manhandled and murdered a police officer, which he even confessed to. But he was merely detained and next day released,” he lamented.

Ikem said that if the police do not act to contain the violence, the acts may escalate.

Election: Rivers PDP Rep arrested with $500,000 alleged Atiku money, sharing formula

By Christiana Ekpa

Hours before the presidential election, a member of the House of Representatives, Chinyere Igwe has been arrested with $500,000 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Igwe, who represents the Port Harcourt Federal Constituency 2, is also one of the campaigners of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP presidential candidate, Atiku

Abubakar.

He was arrested on Friday during a stop-and-search operation along Aba Road, Port Harcourt.

The Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, Grace IringeKoko, confirmed the development to journàlists. According to her, “investigation is ongoing, and he will be charged to court when the investigation is completed.”

The immediate past Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly, Joseph Albasu Kunini, has described those going about discouraging eligible voters not to vote for the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), as devil-incarnates.

He made the assertion, Friday in Lau local government council of the state while canvassing votes for persons jostling for one position and the other on the platform of the ruling party in the

The former speaker who contested the governorship ticket of the PDP but did not succeed urged his constituents to vote massively for all the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the polls.

While urging his constituents not to be misled by those he described as “devil-incarnates who tell them not to vote candidates of the PDP at the polls, Kunini said, Lau council has remained a stronghold of the PDP since 1999.

but I am not God. You see, the configuration of Nigeria is what has convinced me that Atiku has a great chance.”

“Hence nobody should bamboozle the people by doing mixed voting which in popular parlance is called “wake wake.

“Let me tell you, the Yandang community, today we are in your land. So vote for PDP from top to bottom. Listen, and vote for PDP from top to bottom.

He also urged his constituents and the state at large to desist from acts capable of igniting crises before, during and after the general elections scheduled to commence Saturday, the 25th of February.

Zamfara PDP governorship candidate’s wife, aides allegedly attacked by thugs in Gusau

By Musa Baba Adamu

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal Dare has alleged an attack on his wife and her entourage by suspected thugs.

The incident which reportedly took place in Gusau was said to have involved Dare’s wife, her aides and other innocent passersby.

Dare who disclosed this to newsmen during a press briefing at his residence said the attack resulted in various degrees of injuries.

He alleged that the attack was government-sponsored, claiming it was a result of the political popularity the PDPD has so far gained in the state.

“I have already reported the ugly development to the security agencies in the state, I am waiting for their response”, he said.

The PDP governorship

candidate claimed he was very sure that the arms and ammunition used in attacking his wife’s convoy were procured by the state government.

He urged his teeming supporters to remain calm and focus on the electoral processes, saying that the APC-led government has engaged in a do or die politics in the state.

He advised security agencies in the state to thoroughly investigate the matter and prosecute the perpetrators.

Reacting to the allegation, the Commandant of the State Anti Thuggery Agency, Mohammed Bello Bakyasuwa denied the report, saying that the claim was baseless.

Bakyasuwa at about 12:30am on Friday, a group of people including the wife of the PDP governorship candidate were caught with dangerous weapons and were arrested.

He alleged that two AK47 rifles were recovered from the political

thugs and that five of his operatives sustained various degrees of injuries in the operation.

“I did not see it as an attack. They attacked us first and in selfdefence, we arrested some of the alleged criminals. The incident happened between the Tudunwada and Samaru areas of Gusau.

“We were not meant to arrest anybody but their noises, shouting that if not Dauda Dare, Zamfara State could not produce any governor that was what attracted our attention”.

He assured the people of the state that the forthcoming general elections will be conducted peacefully without any rancour.

“This forthcoming general elections wouldn’t have been held if not that we match the political thugs’ action for action. So we are prepared to make this election very peaceful”.

I have no confidence in police – C’River PDP chair Ikem after thugs vandalised his house

Ignore devil incarnates, vote PDP – Ex-Taraba speaker to constituents

SPORTS Europa League: Arsenal faces Sporting Lisbon as Man United battle Real Betis in round of 16

Arsenal will take on Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon while Manchester United will square off against Real Betis in round 16 of the Europa League.

The draw for the last 16 took placed yesterday.

Sporting Lisbon will host Arsenal in the first-leg before traveling to London for the reverse fixture.

On their part, Betis will be guests to United at Old Trafford before visiting the Spanish side for the return leg. United booked their place in round 16 after edging Barcelona 4-3 on aggregate.

And in other round 16 fixtures, Union Berlin will face Union Saint-Gilloise, Sevilla will battle Fenerbahce, Freiburg and Juventus will do battle and it will be Leverkusen vs Ferencvaros.

Also, AS Roma will square off against Real Sociedad while Shakhtar Donetsk will face Feyenoord.

The first-legs will be played on March 9th and the second-legs is billed for March 16th.

NOC boss wants sports federations ahead of major games in 2023

By Albert Akota

Habu Ahmed Gumel, President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) has reminded National Federations to step up preparations for three major Games that Nigeria would attend within the year.

The top two are the All Africa Games to be staged by Ghana and the Africa Beach Games to be hosted in Hammamet, Tunisia.

The third would be the World Beach Games scheduled to be held in Bali, Indonesia.

The Tunis Beach Games would serve as a qualification event for the Bali Games.

A statement released by Tony Nezianya, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) quotes Gumel as saying that since the Ganes had been approved by the sports ministry, it meant

Nigeria should be adequately represented with victory in mind.

”The Ministry of sports has approved the participation of the country in those Games and has sought the assistance of the NOC to accredit athletes and officials for those events.

”We need to prepare well to win Gold since our last Gold medal was at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Ghana Africa is still within the cards as a more acceptable date would be decided within the next couple of weeks.

The AU has set a committee to fix actual dates. When this is done, there will be an announcement to that effect. Earlier dates were to run from August 4 to August 14, 2023,

The Games are important because they will be an Olympic qualifier for most events in the Olympic Games.

Egypt 2023: CAF appoints Congolese referee for Nigeria, Mozambique clash

By Albert Akota

The Confederation of African Football has appointed Yannick Malala Kabanga from the Democratic Republic of Congo as referee for today’s 23rd Africa Cup of Nations Group A clash between Nigeria and Mozambique in Ismailia.

Kabanga will be assisted by Styven Moutsassi Moyo from the Republic of Congo (assistant referee 1), Pascal Ndimunzigo from Burundi (assistant referee 2) and Moroccan Jalal Jayed, who will serve as fourth official.

Justin Mumba from Zambia will be the match commissioner while Beninoise Rosalie N’dah will be the referee assessor.

On Friday morning, the delegation of seven-time champions Nigeria left the Jewel Sport City Hotel in Al Nasr, Cairo for the 90-minute road trip to Ismailia immediately after breakfast.

Head Coach Isah Ladan Bosso said that the squad’s confidence and go-go spirit is back with the defeat of host nation Egypt on Wednesday, and he expects a strong performance against the southern Africans whom they confront at the 22,000

-capacity Suez Canal Stadium on Saturday evening.

“The win over Egypt has kept the nerves down and the boys can now focus on playing their game; the way we know they can play. We must stamp our authority on the game from the beginning as we have no idea what will happen in

the match between Egypt and Senegal. Our fate is in our hands.”

Table-toppers Senegal are walking a few inches taller around the Jewel Sport City, having amassed a maximum six points from their two matches and looking forward to taking on the host nation at the Cairo

International Stadium on Saturday evening.

Both matches kick off simultaneously at 7pm Egypt time (6pm Nigeria time).

The Flying Eagles will welcome back Belgium-based forward Ahmed Abdullahi, who was expelled for a second bookable offence in the

opening day defeat to Senegal.

Victory over Mozambique will guarantee Nigeria a place in the last eight, and leave them with only that quarterfinal headwind to sail into the FIFA U20 World Cup finals taking place in Indonesia early summer.

One-pointer Egypt can still qualify if they defeat Senegal, but final placement in Group A, as well as the two other groups, will determine the pairings for the quarter finals.

The first-placed team in Group A will battle the third-placed team in Group B, while the second-placed team in Group A will confront the first-placed team in Group B.

Both Uganda and Congo top Group B with four points each and similar statistics, with South Sudan in third place and the Central African Republic without a point.

Tunisia, Benin Republic, Zambia and The Gambia make up Group C.

Only the two top-placed teams in each group are guaranteed a place in the last eight, alongside the best two third-placed teams.

All four semi-finalists will fly Africa’s flag in Indonesia, 20th May – 11th June.

Now, decision 2023

They have run the race – the big race for the ultimate political trophy in our country, the presidency. It has been gruelling for the front runners: Ahmed Bola Tinubu (APC), Atiku Abubakar (PDP) and Peter Obi (LP). And with dirt never far from politics, dirt and mud and character assassination were tossed about with the intent to sink political opponents in the slush of competitiveness. Only one of them will breast the tape Saturday as our next president.

Atiku is in the race for the record fifth time. Will he be fifth time lucky? Tinubu is a wily politician with tentacles all over the country. He, like the late Moshood Abiola before him, has used his considerable wealth to make friends. It is pay back for his generosity. As I have written here and elsewhere, Obi represents a possibly new phenomenon in our national politics. History has records of men like him who helped to change the direction of their national politics and development. I am sure that each man is genuine in his intention to rescue our country and point it towards the direction of our collective dreams for a nation that has repeatedly forfeited its legitimate leadership role on the African continent.

Now, by law, the campaigns have ended. The legitimate and the hired crowds of supporters have thinned out, leaving each presidential candidate to nurse his own anxieties. Posters that adorn every imaginable space everywhere in the land will now serve a new, useful purpose as wrappings for the women who fry yams and akara by the roadside in our towns and cities. They have served their primary purpose of promoting the candidates and their plethora of slogans and promises consistent with the tradition of elective political office seekers. It is the way of politics; it is the way of the world.

As you read this, each presidential candidate knows that his political fate is now in the hands of the ordinary man, the very ordinary man without a face and without a name; an ordinary man who ordinarily does not matter but yet in the quest for political power, he is the man in whose shrine the powerful and the rich and the influential are forced to worship. Tinubu, Abubakar and Obi are wealthy men who have held the country by the ears each in his own way in our national politics. Familiar names, familiar, familiar voices.

Each man has had some limited contact with the ordinary man and perhaps watched him pick up the crumbs to survive. Indeed, each of the presidential candidates seeks the presidency to ostensibly better the lot of the ordinary man. For him, he will build roads, health facilities, schools, provide light, put food, not crumbs, on his rickety table and give him a new country with opportunities for his children. Political promises are not cast in stone. They are tied to the apron strings of the wind.

Saturday Columnist

By Dan Agbese

Democracy has decreed that none of the front runners for president can become president without the thumbs up of the ordinary man. Each of them must reckon with the decision of the ordinary man tomorrow; a man who, in the nature of human demographics, is not even fit to tie or untie their shoelaces. With his ballot paper, this man is the only man permitted by the law to unlock the gates to Aso Rock for the man of his choice and shut it in the faces of the other political office seekers.

Democracy in developing nations such as ours, is the tyranny of the uninformed ordinary man. We have to live with whatever he decides tomorrow. He may decide rightly or wrongly but the law permits him to decide freely and fairly. He does not know what the man he chooses stands for; he has no way of assessing his capacity and his suitability for the elective office he seeks. He only knows that the law confers on him the right to choose rather than decide on his next set of political masters. His decision has been misdubbed verdict 2023.

These are anxious times for the candidates; and they are equally anxious times for the rest of the country as well as the international community. We are all on tenterhooks as we wait to go to the polls tomorrow where, for better, for worse, we will choose one man out of the those who have been called and crown him as our next

president. If heads are not broken in the process, the rest of the world will heave a huge sigh of relief.

Our elections have always been sources of local and international anxieties – and for good reasons. The 2023 general elections are no exception. We have not raised the tenor of our national political discourse beyond attempts to mine our fault lines. It is still the politics of sloganeering garnished with refurbished old promises that have remained unfulfilled from one election season to another and from one set of politicians to another. It is the way of our national politics.

We have never got it right. In 2007, foreign and local election observers told the world in clear terms that the conduct of the elections that year, the second civilian-tocivilian transition since our return to civil rule in 1999, was so poor that it did not even meet regional standards. It was a painful slap on face as a nation. But to be fair, we have made some incremental improvements in our general since then. Much of the abuses inherent in the system has been incrementally taken care of but the nature of political competition makes it difficult for a political system to cruise on the placid seas of fairness and justice all of the time.

Foreign observers are here to monitor how we do it; more importantly, they are here to see if there are significant improvements in how we use the ballot paper to legitimately give elective offices to the deserving. What will be their verdict in 2023. Their opinions matter.

Our elections have always been characterised by rigging before and during our elections, major or minor. We have always quite remarkably managed to disappoint those who expect our country to be a beacon to the black race and thus yielded our right as the leader of the African continent to lesser nations less endowed with natural and human resources. With our hearts in our mouths, some of us watched as the processes leading to the current 2023 general elections were buffeted by the gales of unregenerated political minds traditionally used to mining our fault lines of religion and ethnicity. Fears that the elections might eventually be marred by them were genuine and gave the professional doomsayers good reasons to make their dark predictions on the current and the future of our democracy.

But you must give it to us, the ordinary Nigerians. We are masters of the game

and political brinkmanship. We always manage to pull the country from the brink of looming disasters. Whatever the pundits will eventually say, my take is that the 2023 generals will be different in almost every particular. They will be fairer, more legitimate, and even freer, all things being equal. If ever there were legitimate hopes for improved democratic elections in our country, the 2023 general elections pack that promise, thanks to Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman and his team. He has fought hard against the odds amounted by the politicians to remove the glaring obstacles to free, fair, and credible elections. I do not think he will count himself among the intimate friends of our politicians because they do not see his radical sanitation of our elections as a friendly act. Now they cannot rig as freely and as boldly as they used to do.

Yakubu has plugged the gaping holes that made rigging more or less inevitable. He closed the gate on ballot box snatching; he has pulled the plug on physical transmission of election results where some of the most grievous sins in our electoral system were committed against the people and the nation. The BVA frightens the politicians. I can hear the gnashing of teeth in the political kingdom. No electoral system in developed and developing countries is immune to abuse by the power seekers. The best that anyone can do is to make it difficult for those abuses to remain blatant. Yakubu has done what no one in that office before him has done. The rest is left to the electorate. Its verdict will be its verdict on Yakubu’s achievements too. The future of our country is in the hands of the ordinary man, aka common man. Whatever he decides in Saturday represents our collective decision.

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Our elections have always been characterised by rigging before and during our elections, major or minor