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2023: Finding Nigeria’s Next President

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Moghalu

Okowa

Jega

COVER

Primed by these ongoing political activities, politicians and nonpoliticians have been dropping names of potential presidential picks.

Majority Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu; Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi and Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.

2023: Finding Nigeria’s Next President

BY AYO ESAN

W

ith barely over 500 days until the next presidential election, the search for Nigeria’s next president is already dominating public discourse across the landscape as citizens desperately seek a new president, someone that can bring healing to the divided country and restore hope, confidence and prosperity in the multi-ethnic oil producer.

Public opinion moulders, public affairs experts and commentators have canvassed some qualities that the new president must have.

There appears to be an agrrement to a large extent on the kind of leader that should succeed incumbent Muhammadu Buhari.

As the country struggles with multiple problems which it finds itself due to poor management of its affairs, it must elect a new president on February 18, 2023, a kind of leader it has never elected before – a problem solver, that understands the challenges and how to solve them.

In finding the country’s next president, Nigerians must find someone who is healthy and determined to fix the current mess. A smart, bold, resolute person that is competent and skillful in management and can inspire and restore hope to the teeming population that have given up on the country. This new president we strongly believe should not come from the political class. He should be an experienced technocrat, someone from the corporate world with a good network of contacts locally and internationally, someone who understands how to create wealth, manage and resolve complex problems and understands how government works. This new president should be way below 70 years old.

Already, the activities of the two dominant political parties, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have, as usual, set the tone for the 2023 presidency because of the jostling for where the presidency should go among the country’s geo – political zones.

The PDP has fixed its national convention for October this year, moving it from December as part of a peace deal to calm warring factions in the party.

It is therefore clear that once the party elects a new national executive at the convention and inaugurates them, the activities towards the 2023 general elections will start in earnest within the party.

The APC, on the other hand, held its ward congresses recently and has scheduled its local governments’ congresses for September 4, 2021. This will be followed by the state congresses and ultimately, the national convention of the party.

Long before the parties, the electoral umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in March announced Saturday February 18, 2023 as the date for the presidential election.

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For instance, former Nigeria Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (retd.) recently in a television interview, as part of activities marking his 80th birthday, talked about the ideal age of the next Nigerian President. According to him, he should be someone in his 60s, widely travelled with a wide network of persons across the country, such that he would be at home anywhere, any time.

The Southern Governors Forum, after their recent meeting in Lagos, canvassed that the southern part of the country should produce the next President in other to sustain Nigeria’s unity since Buhari, who is from the north would have served for eight years when his constitutionally guaranteed tenure ends in 2023. To them therefore, it is morally and politically right for the next President to come from the southern part of the country.

A school of thought says the next President of the country should not be a run-of- the-mill-politician. To this group of political thinkers, the economy of the country has been run aground by mostly politicians since the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999 and many Nigerians are fatigued with regular politicians and so there is need for the country to look for top notch technocrats and private sector business leaders who can reposition the country’s economy.

Another school of thought strongly supports this argument but contends that the country must elect a hybrid personality from the South, a technocrat, an astute businessman or woman, who knows how to create jobs and wealth; someone who is not your typical politician and is acceptable by all the key interests in the country, so Nigerians unite as people and move the country forward.

Others are of the opinion that experience in politics and age are key requirements in the search for the next leader. To them, you cannot govern a country with a complex structure like Nigeria without political experience. They cite Atiku Abubakar, who at 74 is too old but has the political experience to govern well. The current President of the United States of America, Joe Biden who is above 70 years, is also used to buttress this position.

As the permutation mounts, many names are being thrown up as likely aspirants. Some of these names are already in the public domain but there are some surprises.

Former Governor of Lagos State and APC leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; former Vice President and presidential candidate of the PDP in the last presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; the Governor of Ekiti State, who is also the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Dr Kayode Fayemi; Central Bank Governor (CBN) Godwin Emefiele; African Development Bank President, Dr. Adesina Akinwunmi; former Pfizer Chairman, Sam Ohuabunwa; former Deputy CBN Governor, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu; Senate

Others are a former INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega; former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki; former Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha; former Governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun; Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike; Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal; Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa; Minister of Trade and Industry, Niyi Adebayo; Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi; former Lagos State Governor and now Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN); Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State; Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State and Secretary to Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.

Here are some of the potential aspirants and their credentials.

BOLA TINUBU There is only one major obstacle between Tinubu and his presidential ambition. It is President Muhammadu Buhari and his close associates and advisers.

Born on March 29, 1952 in Osun State, South West Nigeria, Tinubu represented Lagos West constituency in the short-lived Nigerian Third Republic.

Perhaps, the golden era of Tinubu began with his assumption of office as governor of Lagos State in May 1999. His achievements in office between 1999 and 2007 endeared him to Nigerians across the nook and crannies of the country as Lagos state under him became a model for other states, especiall y in the geometrical increase of its Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, from a paltry N600 million to N8 billion and later to N20 Billion monthly.

In 2014, Tinubu financially and morally supported General Muhammadu Buhari, who had previously unsuccessfully contested in the 2003, 2007, and 2011 presidential elections, to emerge as APC presidential candidate.

In 2015, Buhari rode the APC to victory, ending the 16 years rule of the PDP and marking the first time in the history of Nigeria that an incumbent president lost to an opposition candidate. Tinubu has gone on to play an important role in the Buhari administration, supporting government policies and holding onto the internal party reins, in lieu of his long-held rumoured presidential aspiration. In 2019, he supported Buhari’s re-election campaign, defeating the PDP candidate Atiku Abubakar.

Although he has not officially declared his interest to contest the 2023 presidential election, his body language has continued to suggest so as a group supporting his ambition was launched about a year ago in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The group which styles itself ‘ South THEWILLNIGERIA

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COVER West Agenda for Asiwaju’, SWAGA, is led by former Minister of Works, Dayo Adeyeye and has been in the forefront campaigning for a Tinubu presidency, come 2023.

and has since been governor of the state, for a second term, having defeated Kolapo Olusola Eleka of the PDP. He is now the Chairman Nigeria Governors’ Forum and hails from the South West.

It was gathered from sources in the APC that there was an unwritten agreement in the party that a southerner will succeed Buhari in 2023.

This was corroborated recently by the former Governor of Ogun State and a chieftain of the party, Chief Olusegun Osoba. Some even put it more succinctly that the agreement was that Tinubu would succeed Buhari come 2023.

AKINWUMI ADESINA An economist, Akinwumi Adesina is currently serving as the President of the African Development Bank. He previously served as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development during which he revolutionised the agricultural sector of the country through an e-system that brought many farmers within the agriculture value chain. Until his appointment as Minister in 2010, he was Vice President of Policy and Partnerships for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). He was elected as the President of the African Development Bank in 2015 and re-elected for a second term in 2020. He is the first Nigerian to hold the post.

His recent health challenges may be a minus for his aspiration to govern the country as he has been abroad for medical treatment in the past months, fueling speculations that Nigeria cannot afford another ailing president in office after President Muhammadu Buhari.

YEMI OSINBAJO Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who was born in March 1957, is currently serving his second term as the vice president to President Buhari and they have enjoyed a seamless relationship since 2015.

Osinbajo obtained Class Honours (Upper Division) Degree in Law from the University of Lagos in 1976. He was admitted to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor of Nigeria’s Supreme Court. In 1980, he attended the London School of Economics, where he obtained a Master of Laws degree.

In 1981, he was employed as a law lecturer at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. From 1983 to 1986, he was Senior lecturer of Law at the University of Lagos. From 1988 to 1992, he was an Adviser (legal advice and litigation) to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Bola Ajibola. Osinbajo began lecturing at the age of 23.

From 1997 to 1999 he was made Professor of Law and Head of Department of Public Law, University of Lagos.

From 1999 to 2007, Osinbajo was a Member of Cabinet, Lagos State Government, also Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.

In 2007, Osinbajo was made Senior Partner at Simmons Cooper Partners (Barristers and Solicitors), Nigeria.

From 2007 to 2013 Osinbajo was once again employed as a Professor of Law, Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos. He was also a Senior lecturer at Lagos State University.

He is from the South West.

ATIKU ABUBAKAR Mr Abubakar is again the candidate to beat in the PDP. If the party holds its primary today, he would emerge in a landslide because his support within the party establishment is still solid.

Born in 1946, Abubakar’s first foray into politics was in the early 1980s, when he worked behind the scenes on the governorship campaign of Bamanga Tukur, who at that time was managing director of the Nigeria Ports Authority.

Fashola

Though the eloquent vice president and Christian preacher has not openly spoken about his presidential aspiration his close friends and associates have started campaigning subtly for his candidature. It however remains uncertain whether he would receive the president’s support having lost out in the power game at the presidency.

Adesina is being tipped by a handful of the Nigerian elite, including former President Olusegun Obansanjo, who believes that the next president should be an economist or a technocrat and not a typical politician. He hails from the South West.

GODWIN EMEFIELE Godwin Emefiele is an economist, a former lecturer and banker, who has been serving as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria since June 4, 2014.

Born on August 4, 1961 in Lagos State, Emefiele is originally from Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State, South-South Nigeria.

Before moving to the Central Bank, Emefiele gained over 18 years of banking experience. He served as Chief Executive Officer and Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc. Emefiele served as Deputy Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc. from 2001 till 2014. And then as executive director in charge of corporate banking, treasury, financial control and strategic planning of Zenith Bank Plc. Emefiele served as director at Zenith Bank Plc and Zenith Bank (Gambia) Limited after a brief period as director of ACCION Microfinance Bank Limited.

On July 31, 2018, Saraki declared his presidential campaign for the PDP presidential ticket in the 2019 election, but he lost the primaries to Atiku Abubakar. He was subsequently announced as the directorgeneral of Atiku Abubakar’s presidential campaign for the 2019 presidential election.

Emefiele, a core progressive, is one of the most influential people in and outside government today in the country because of how he has used the CBN to effectively help states and the federal government to run their affairs.

A lawyer, he served as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, from 2009 to 2014. He was the presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) in the country’s general election in February 2019.

He is held in high esteem by President Buhari and his close associates, who will play a key role in determining who the president supports to succeed him within the party.

ORJI KALU Orji Uzor Kalu was born on April 21, 1960. He is the chairman of the Daily Sun and New Telegraph newspapers. He served as the governor of Abia State from May 29, 1999 to May 29, 2007.

Since 1993 when he contested the SDP presidential primaries and lost, to 1998 when he joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and later won the governorship of Adamawa State before accepting to serve as the running mate to the PDP presidential candidate, former military Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo, who went on to win the 1999 presidential election, Abubakar has been a reference point in Nigerian politics. He has run for the presidency on different platforms such as Action Congress in 2006 and aspired as APC’s candidate before going on to clinch the PDP’s ticket in 2019

Kayode Fayemi has lectured in universities across Africa, Europe, the Americas and Asia.

Atiku lost the presidential election to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari by over 3 million votes.

In April 2014, Fayemi was endorsed as the governorship candidate of the APC in the state’s governorship elections slated for June 21, 2014.

He was however defeated at the polls on June 21, 2014 by Ayodele Fayose of the PDP who won a second term in office.

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He was the 13th President of the Senate from 2015 to 2019 and Chair of the 8th Nigeria National Assembly. He was previously the Governor of Kwara State from 2003 to 2011; and was elected to the Senate in 2011, on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), representing the Kwara Central Senatorial District, and then re-elected in the 2015 general elections on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

KINGSLEY MOGHALU Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu is an economist, who has declared his presidential ambition for 2023 since June 1, 2021. Moghalu is a political greenhorn and has boldly prosecuted his presidential run with articulate and progressive policies that appeal to educated Nigerians both at home and in diaspora. His biggest hurdle is that he is not in the either of the two main political parties.

KAYODE FAYEMI At a recent public lecture at Arewa House’s Centre for Historical Documentation and Research where he was keynote speaker, the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar described Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi as an adopted son of the late Sadauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, setting off a possible support for the ambition of the governor, who is said to be eyeing the presidency after he has serve out his second tenure in 2022.

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Pundits have often wondered what part of the country Saraki, a Muslim, would pick his running mate from in today’s complex political space.

In 2019, Nigeria’s Senate approved a second five-year term for Emefiele therefore making a mark as that reappointment is the first time that anyone will serve for a second term as Governor of CBN since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999. For this sterling professional quality, he is being wooed by some influential APC politicians and some corporate sector players to run in 2023.

In 1989, Abubakar was elected the National Vice-Chairman of the Peoples Front of Nigeria in the build-up to the Third Nigerian Republic. Abubakar won a seat to represent his constituency at the 1989 Constituent Assembly, set up to decide a new constitution for the country. The People’s Front was eventually denied registration by the military government (none of the groups that applied was registered), and the PFN merged with the government-created Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The decision of the southern governors that the next President must come from the South may hamper his ambition as many PDP governors from the southern region may not support his 2023 presidential ambition. Atiku Abubakar is from the North East.

BUKOLA SARAKI Dr. Olubukola Abubakar Saraki, who was born on December 19, 1962, is a smart politician and businessman. His biggest obstacle to the presidency is his heritage. He hails from Kwara State, North Central and trained as a medical doctor.

In 2006, Fayemi made his entry into partisan politics, ahead of the 2007 election during which he contested for Governor of Ekiti State on the platform of the defunct Action Congress. After three and a half years fighting a legal battle, he was on October 15, 2010 declared the duly elected Governor of Ekiti State by the appeal court sitting in Kwara State and that marked the end of Olusegun Oni’s tenure.

Fayemi re-contested for a second term as Ekiti state governor on the platform of the APC in the July 14, 2018 governorship election after resigning as the Minister of Solid Minerals Development. He won

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He is currently a member of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) after he officially announced his resignation as the PPA BOT chair.

Orji Uzor Kalu who represents Abia North in the Senate, running under the banner of APC, is already lobbying politicians across the nook and crannies of the country to support his ambition to govern the country. The national sympathy being enjoyed by the South-East to have the presidential slot come 2023 may work in his favour.

PETER OBI Born on July 19, 1961, Peter Obi was the vice presidential candidate in the 2019 general election under the People’s Democratic Party.

He was the former governor of Anambra State serving from March 17, 2006 to November 2, 2006, when he was impeached and from February 9, 2007 to May 29, 2007 after his impeachment was overturned. Although a fresh election was held on the 29th of April 2007, he was reappointed governor on the 14th of June 2007 after a court ruling that he should be allowed to complete a four-year term.

He won the election for a second term as governor and his tenure has been a reference point in governorship for his educational, business and security policies that repositioned the state as one of Nigeria’s best in the West African School Certificate Examination results and secured the hitherto hoodlum- infested state. A seasoned banker and technocrat with requisite political experience, Obi is highly favoured to clinch the ticket if the presidency is zoned to the South by the PDP.

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COVER

...Finding Nigeria’s Next President

November 11, 2015, he was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari to be the Minister of Power, Works and Housing; he was reappointed Minister of Works and Housing in 2019.

YAHAYA BELLO Bello was born on June 18, 1975 in Okene, Kogi State. He was declared winner of the 2015 Kogi gubernatorial election after he was chosen on the platform of the APC as the replacement for the late Abubakar Audu who originally won the election but died before the result was declared. On November 16, 2019, Bello was elected to a second term after he defeated PDP nominee, Musa Wada, by over 200,000 votes.

ROTIMI AMAECHI Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi was born on May 27, 1965. He is currently serving as the Minister of Transportation in the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari. He had previously served in Rivers State as Governor from 2007 to 2015 and Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2007.

He has shown huge interest in the presidential election coming up in 2023 and his youthful age may be an advantage as many Nigerians are canvassing for a generational change in Nigerian leadership.

He is said to be highly favoured to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari due to the great execution of revolution in the railway transport sector under his watch as minister and the double advantage his South- South and South-East connections give him. He however has a big battle ahead of him with Buhari’s close associates who are opposed to his presidential bid.

ATTAHIRU JEGA Attahiru Muhammadu Jega was born on January 11, 1957. An academic and former Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, he was a former Chairman of INEC. He replaced Prof Maurice Iwu, who vacated the post in April 2010.

ROCHAS OKOROCHA Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha was born on September 22, 1962.

He is a great philanthropist and politician of Igbo extraction from Imo State. He is the Senator representing Imo West Senatorial district at the 9th Nigerian Senate. He is also the former Governor of Imo State where he served two terms.

He has announced his interest in contesting the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP).

The party has small followership in the north not to talk of the country. This may count against him.

AMINU TAMBUWAL Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, born on January 10, 1966 serves as the Governor of Sokoto State, having contested and won in the 2015 general elections and re-elected in the 2019 general election.

Tambuwal is a member of the PDP and served as the 10th Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, also representing the Tambuwal/Kebbe Federal Constituency of Sokoto State.

In 2019 he was defeated at the presidential primary of the PDP by Atiku. Tambuwal will take another shot at the presidency next year, according to his close associates. He worked closely with Governor Nyesom Wike in the presidential primary of the party but their alliance has since collapsed. Both men have recently parted ways and it is unclear why that happened.

BOSS MUSTAPHA Boss Gidahyelda Mustapha is a lawyer and politician, who is the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19. He is one of the surprises in the presidential mix for 2023.

He was previously managing director of Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority until his appointment in 2017 to replace Babachir David Lawal as SGF by President Muhammad Buhari on 30 October 2017.

IFEANYI OKOWA Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa is the governor of Delta State. He was born on July 8, 1959 and inaugurated as a governor on May 29, 2015 after winning the state elections conducted in April 2015.

Okowa is also a surprise on the list of likely aspirants if the opportunity presents itself. Though he has not openly indicated his interest in the presidency sources close to him hinted that it depends on what his party decides. If the presidential ticket is zoned to the north then he would play for a vice presidential ticket. However if the PDP zones its ticket to the south, which is very unlikely, then he would throw his heart in the ring. He is also looking at running for senate if the two presidential options are unrealizable.

Before his governorship, he was elected senator for Delta North Senatorial District in Delta State in the April 2011 general election.

NYESOM WIKE Ezenwo Nyesom, born on December 13, 1963, is fondly called Ivan the Terrible, by pundits because of his unpredictable behavior, utterances and aggressive style of politics.

He is positioning for a Vice Presidential ticket but would run for president if his political party, the PDP zones the presidency to the South.

A lawyer who is the sixth and current governor of Rivers State, Wike is an Ikwerre from Rumuepirikom in Obio-Akpor, Rivers State in

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Obi

Jega is the first INEC chairman to oversee two Nigerian General Elections (2011 and 2015). Jega retired on June 30, 2015, handing over his position to Amina Zakari, according to a directive by President Muhammadu Buhari. A respected and reputed academic, Jega is widely liked across the country.

the South-South zone. He is a member of the People’s Democratic Party and was educated at Rivers State University of Science and Technology.

Wike served as Minister but resigned before finishing his term to campaign for the governorship position in Rivers State. In 2014, he won the Rivers State PDP primary and chose former Secretary to the State Government, Ipalibo Banigo, as his running mate for deputy governor.

Wike defeated Dakuku Peterside of the APC and Tonye Princewill of the Labour Party in the April 11, 2015 governorship election to emerge as governor. He is currently serving his second term as governor of Rivers State.

NIYI ADEBAYO Born on February 4, 1958, Otunba Niyi Adebayo is a traditional aristocrat.

He served as the first Governor of Ekiti State from May 29, 1999 to May 29, 2003 on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD).

A lawyer by training, Adebayo has extensive experience in a wide range of disputes & legal and advisory work. His more notable achievements have been in the areas of project finance, oil and gas, contract procurement and business facilitation. He had served as National Vice Chairman of his ruling political party, the All Progressives Congress, APC. Adebayo is currently the Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment.

He hails from the South West.

SAM OHUABUNWA Mazi Samuel Iheanyichukwu Ohuabunwa OFR was born August 16, 1950. He is a pharmacist, politician and business executive. He is the founder and former CEO of Neimeth Pharmaceutical. He is the president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria.

He has begun his preparation to contest the 2023 presidential election taking his awareness to the nook and crannies of the country. He is however yet to pick the party’s platform on which he hopes to realise his ambition.

BABATUNDE FASOLA (SAN) Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, was born on June 28, 1963. A lawyer and current Federal Minister of Works and Housing, Fashola had earlier served two terms as governor of Lagos State from May 29, 2007 to May 29, 2015.

Fashola is watching the presidential race keenly and would only formally declare if the coast is clear.

He served as a candidate of the Action Congress party and later Action Congress of Nigeria, to succeed his mentor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. On

He is the founder of Rochas Foundation, a charity organization comprising a number of special schools that are spread all over Nigeria, giving scholarships to less privileged children in Nigeria. On his first attempt, he ran on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and then on the platform of the APC for his second term. He contested the presidential primary of the APC in 2014 and lost to Muhammadu Buhari. His running battles with Governor Hope Uzodinma, coupled with the known connection of Uzodinma to northern power brokers in APC, may count against Okorocha.

IBIKUNLE AMOSUN Ibikunle Amosun, born on January 25, 1958 is the former governor of Ogun State and a two-term senator. He is the closest person from the South West to President Buhari. Pundits say if the President and the ruling party decides to give the ticket to the South West then Amosun would clearly be the favourite of the president.

He first served as an elected senator for Ogun Central District, from April 2003 to April 2007, and was re-elected in 2019. After an unsuccessful bid for governor of Ogun State in April 2007, he was elected governor of the state on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN0 in 2011. He successfully ran for a second term as governor on the platform of the APC and was sworn into office on May 29, 2015. In 2019, he won Ogun State Central Senatorial District election.

DAVE UMAHI Umahi is current governor of Ebonyi state, South East, who recently defected to the ruling APC and is very close to President Buhari, having been elected on the platform of the PDP for two terms. He is currently Chairman of the National Livestock Programme working to map 25 states for grazing reserves in the country. This has fuelled the belief that if the party zones the presidency to the South-East, Umahi stands a big chance to clinch the ticket.

BALA MOHAMMED Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed was born on 5 October 1958 in Alkaleri, Bauchi State. He attended University of Maiduguri from 1979 to 1982, where he received a bachelor’s degree in English. In 1983, he joined The Democrat as a reporter, then joined the civil service as an administrative officer from 1984 to 2000.

He worked in several Federal Ministries. He then served as a senior special assistant to Governor Isa Yuguda from 2000 to 2005. He was Director of Administration at the Nigerian Railway Corporation from 2005 to 2007.

In April 2007, Mohammed was elected to the Senate representing Bauchi South Senatorial District on the platform of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP).

Bala Mohammed was appointed minister of the Federal Capital Territory in March 2010. He later dumped the ANPP for PDP and ran and won the governorship of Bauchi State on PDP’s platform in 2019. He is counting on the party zoning the presidency to the north to materialse his ambition. Being from the Northeast with Atiku Abubakar would mean having to fight a turf game with the former Vice President.

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Don charges Pan-African Leaders on Collaboration FROM EMMA CHUKWUMA, ENUGU

P

rof Amaechi Akwanya of the Department of English and Literary Studies, University of Nigeria Nsukka has urged Pan-African leaders to collaborate in order to surmount challenges confronting the continent.

Prof. Akwanya stated this in a keynote address at a leadership conference organised by the Pan-African Association of Scholars of Humanities and Social Sciences (PASHASS), a civil society organization, in Enugu.

Speaking on the theme: ‘Pan-Africanism, the African Union and those left behind,’ the don called on leaders in Africa to synergise so as to proffer viable solutions to developmental challenges affecting the continent.

Akwanya, a Catholic Priest, lamented “developmental backwardness” in Africa and called on leaders at all levels to trade personal ambitions for collective interests.

He commended PASHASS for organising the conference and called on African leaders to invest in education as a catalyst to development in the sub-region.

R-L: President Muhammadu Buhari; Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni; Governor of Kebbi State, Bagudu Atiku; Governor of Ekiti State’ Kayode Fayemi and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the wedding Fatiha of Buhari’s son to the daugther of Emir of Bichi in Kano on Friday.

Ward Congresses: APC Appeal Panel Concludes Sitting in Ekiti

BY AYO ESAN

rules, as mapped out by the caretaker committee.

he Appeal Panel set up by the National Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress has concluded its sitting in Ekiti State on a note that appellants’ allegations are weighty and cannot be swept under the carpet.

Some of the discrepancies mentioned by SWAGA, were the alleged unilateral selection of ward congress committee by the governor’s group, without due input from a large number of state’s party stakeholders, denial of forms for some aspiring members to contest in the ward congresses, distortion of rules and sundry manipulations, skewed to entrench sectional and perpetual grip on the party’s soul by the ‘tokan-tokan’ group.

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The panel, headed by Chief Iyiola Oladokun, began its hearing of the single petition received from party members who claimed that the conduct of the ward congresses in Ekiti was shoddy and could only pass for a charade.

The petitioners, acting under the aegis of South West Agenda for Asiwaju 2023 (SWAGA), have complained of witchhunting from a rival group loyal to the state governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, christened the ‘ tokan-tokan’ group.

SWAGA had filed a petition to claim that its members were railroaded upon to compile lists of the ‘tokan-tokan’ loyalists for the just concluded congresses without recourse to stipulated

The panel, after listening to the allegations, expressed satisfaction with the presentation of the SWAGA group, but noted that it was hindered by the non - appearance of the Ekiti State Ward Congress Committee which ought to defend the claims.

The panel, comprising of Oladokun, as Chairman, Hon. Abdulahi Sadiq, Secretary, Hon Chiedu Eluemunoh; Saratu Sabo and Talatu Nasir, as members, concluded their sittings on Wednesday, August 18, 2021 with an assurance that it would be fair in treating the petition.

Unicef Urges Nursing Mothers to Embrace Breastfeeding

FROM EMMA CHUKWUMA, ENUGU

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he United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has admonished mothers across the globe to embrace the evolving paradigm shift of breastfeeding the child and refocus on the historic opportunity to transform the method the world tackles global commitment in eliminating child malnutrion.

This admonition was made by the UNICEF, Chief of field Office, Enugu, Dr. Ibrahim Conteh while presenting an address at the women conference organised by UNICEF in conjunction with the Ministry of Gender and Venerable Persons held in Enugu.

According to him, the initiation of breastfeeding within the first hours of birth, followed by exclusive breastfeeding for six months and continued breastfeeding for up to two years offers a powerful line of defence against all forms of child malnutrition, including wasting and obesity.

His words,”Breastfeeding also acts as babies first vaccine, protecting them against many common childhood illness.

While there has been progress in breastfeeding rates in the last four decades with a 50 per cent increase in the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding globally, the COVID 19 pandemic highlights the fragility of those gains.

indicates that the average duration of exclusive breastfeeding is approximately three months and only three out of every 10 children under six months of age were exclusively breastfed.

“This is an improvement from 17 per cent in 2013 to 29 percent in 2018. However, this still falls significantly below the target of 50 per cent set by the World Health Assembly to be achieved in 2025 and the SDG target for 2030”.

The UNICEF boss highlighted that the percentage of children who were breastfed within one hour of birth remained less than 50 per cent.

He submitted that in Nigeria 1 out of 8 children do not reach their 5th birthday and 3 out of 10 children are stunted and highlighted that optimal breastfeeding practices are known to reduce neonatal child morbilities and mortality rates as well as stunting reduction.

In her contribution, Dr. Ijeoma Onuoha-Ogwe, Communication Officer, UNICEF, Enugu gave the objectives of the conference to include identifying strategies and modalities and framework for the implementation of exclusive breastfeeding.

In a paper on “overview of breastfeeding initiative in Nigeria and prospects’, the UNICEF Nutrition Manager, Dr. Hanifa Namusoke revealed that breast milk is not dependent on the size of the breast, but on the emotion of the mother.

Dr Conteh revealed that in Nigeria available statistics THEWILLNIGERIA

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“An organisation such as this should be supported and allowed to flourish so that with time, we can begin to chart the way forward. We have come a long way as a continent and people, but critical analysis reveals a spate of developmental backwardness, which is as a result of individualistic ambitions rather than collective growth.

“We have come down from where we were and we need to embrace international cooperation within Africa to unite peoples of the continent with the aim of collectively addressing concerns and reclaiming our position in the league of continents “.

Rivers Varsity Undergraduate Shot Dead, Assailant Arrested

FROM SAMPSON ITODE, PORT HARCOURT

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20-year old male engineering undergrauate of the Rivers State University, whose identity could not be immediately ascertained, was shot dead on Thursday morning by an assailant suspected to belong to a rival cult group, a development which caused panic in the institution in the early hours of the day.

The incident, it was gathered, occured around 11.am, shortly after the students finished writing their first semester examinations.

A source at the university, who craved anonymity, told THEWILL that gunshots heard during the attack on the deceased caused pandemonium on campus.

Our correspondent, who visited the campus shortly after the incident, observed that calm had been restored as students could be seen going about their normal academic activities and security men were seen at strategic points within the campus.

A student, who preferred anonymity, said the victim was a 400 level undergraduate from the Engineering faculty.

He said, “I don’t think he was innocent because I don’t know what he was looking for at the Management Sciences faculty where he was shot in the head. I learnt that one of the suspects called Peruzi was later apprehended by the school security and officers attached to Nkpolu Divisional Police headquarters, Mile three Diobu. The suspect is a member of Vikings cult group, while his victim is a member of Ku Klux Klans (KKK) cult group.”

When contacted, the Police Public Relation Officer, Rivers State Command, SP Nnamdi Omoni who confirmed the incident, said the details of the incident were still sketchy.

Meanwhile, following the incident, the University Registrar, Dr Sydney Enyindah in a press statement has assured members of the public that institution was safe for academic activities, adding that the culprit had been arrested and an investigation initiated by the Police.

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NEWS

Lagos Lawmakers Highlight Effect of Drug Abuse on Nation-Building

BY JOY ONUORAH he Lagos State House Of Assembly has raised concern over the rising incidence of drug abuse in the state, describing it as perilous to nation-building.

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The lawmakers described the prevalence of drug abuse amongst youths in the state as a great threat to the security of lives and properties.

They spoke during the 7th Annual Constituency Stakeholders’ Meeting held concurrently in all 40 constituencies of Lagos.

Representing Lagos Mainland 11 at the Lagos State House Assembly, Hon Oshun Moshood Olanrewaju, lamented that the use and abuse of drugs, which has become prevalent amongst adults, especially the youths, have been identified to have diverse and devastating effects on the safety and progress of the society across various facets.

According to the lawmaker, apart from the negative social effects of drug abuse ranging from violent crimes, disruption of family, child abuse and neglect, as well as unemployment, it has been further associated with other criminal behaviour such as cultism, armed robbery, rape and other social vices.

2018, which placed Lagos and Oyo States as having the highest prevalence of drug abuse amongst youths in the southwestern part of the country.

He warned that while the Lagos State Government is doing its best to curb this menace with the passage of the Lagos Neighborhood Safety Corps, which is aimed at ensuring the safety of all in our neighbourhood, the prevalence of drug abuse amongst youth and adults, if not effectively addressed and curbed, would jeopardise the entire efforts of the Lagos State House of Assembly in the establishment of a safe, peaceful and livable society.

Similarly, successive speakers took time to x-ray the ripple effects of drug abuse on the abusers and the nation at large.

One of the speakers, Martins Akpaka from the Centre for Corrections and Human Development, urged private organisations to show genuine interest in the fight against this menace called drug abuse. He added that education and sensitisation on drug abuse should start from primary and secondary schools to ensure that its effects are understood early by society.

In the same vein, Olanrewaju called on all stakeholders, residents, parents, teachers, school proprietors, religious organisations, celebrities and social media influencers, professional bodies, the academia, civil society organisations, community leaders and individuals to work in concert with the government for the common good of our society by saying no to drug abuse and drug trafficking.

“Let us remember that our youths are our future and we must show concern about their welfare. They are the hope of the next generation who can build our state and the nation through positive contributions in sports, politics, educations and other endeavours that could solve future problems. Without them, there can never be any meaningful sustainable development in the state and the nation,” he added.

Also in attendance at the stakeholders’ meeting was the Lagos State Commissioner of Education, Mrs Folashade Adefisayo; a member of the House of Reps representing Lagos Mainland Constituency, Jimoh Jide Abdul; Otunba Tayo Oyemade, Hon. Olawale Oshun and Oba Owolabi Adeniyi, Onigbobi Sabe of Igbobi-Sabe.

Hon Olanrewaju also expressed worries concerning a disturbing revelation by experts that established a nexus between the menace of drug abuse and rising incidence of violent crime in the country.

He decried the report of a drug use survey in Nigeria by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes in

Pilgrimage: NCPC Scribe Lauds Ugwuanyi FROM EMMA CHUKWUMA, ENUGU

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he Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC), Rev. Yakubu Pam, has commended Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State for his commitment to exemplary leadership, in spite of the nation’s economic, security and public health challenges.

Addressing pilgrims from Enugu and Benue States who were departing for Jordan from the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, Rev. Pam disclosed that Gov. Ugwuanyi is the only State Chief Executive in the South East and South South geo-political zones of the country who has so far sponsored candidates in the ongoing Easter pilgrimage to Jordan for 2021.

The NCPC Executive Secretary expressed delight that Gov. Ugwuanyi, notwithstanding the nation’s daunting challenges, such as insecurity, the COVID-19 pandemic and economic meltdown, among others, sacrificed a lot to sponsor candidates for the pilgrimage.

Pam maintained that the governor remains the only governor in the South East and South South zones to achieve this Christian profiling feat at the moment “except if Delta State pays within the next few days before the last batch leaves Nigeria for Jordan on August 22”.

The NCPC boss also applauded Gov. Ugwuanyi for his administration’s immeasurable contributions to the comprehensive upgrade of facilities at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, to international standard, by the Federal Government, stressing that the governor’s ingenuity has equally been manifested in the airport project.

Addressing the departing pilgrims, Gov. Ugwuanyi urged them to be of good conduct and focus squarely on the spiritual aim of the exercise and pray fervently for their various states and Nigeria, throughout their stay in the Holy Land.

Represented by his deputy, Hon. Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, the governor, who enlightened the people on the inherent benefits of the visit to Jordan, further advised them to be “good ambassadors of Enugu and Benue states and Nigeria”.

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R-L: Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar with Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin and former governor of Gombe State, Danjuma Goje during a condolence visit to the family of former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu in Abuja on 18/8/2021.

Enugu to Improve Routine Immunisation Data Quality FROM EMMA CHUKWUMA, ENUGU

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he Enugu State Government has said it will imbibe the use of electronic collection to improve its routine immunisation data quality, as well as other health indicators in the state.

Executive Secretary of Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ENS-PHCDA), Dr. George Ugwu, gave the hint on Wednesday in Enugu at a Co-creation Workshop with Immunisation Stakeholders on electronic collection and transmission of immunisation data in the state.

“We were lucky to be selected to carry out research on routine immunisation data collection being funded by the World Health Organisation and through the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) special research group on health.

“The research, to be carried out at pilot stage, is to find out how we can make the collection of immunisation data and its transmission to be better and of more impact.

“So that henceforth, all collected data can be key to decision making and help our policy makers to take impactful and growth decision on routine immunisation and other health issues

The workshop was sub-themed, ‘Assessing the Use of Mobile Electronic Means in the Capture and Transmission of Immunisation Data Using the Open Data Kit (ODK) in Enugu State, Nigeria.’

“It will help us to know the quantity of vaccines required, who and who has been immunised, at what time, place and having accurate recording; thus improving the quality of data and ease of transmission”.

Ugwu noted that electronic collection of routine immunisation data would make the data reliable and give policy makers accurate information for effective planning of routine immunisation and other health issues.

Ugwu said the agency was envisaging electronic collection of data and real-time transmission from localities to a central server in the agency’s headquarters in Enugu in the near future.

He said, “The agency is not only doing its routine work, but also carrying out research to find out better ways of doing our work.

“This move will also save us time, cost of transportation and human interference as well as give us accurate quality assurance on the data being transmitted in real-time,” he said.

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Aregbesola

POLITICS

Osun APC Crisis: Between Oyetola, Aregbesola Who Blinks First?

BY AYO ESAN

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he cold war between Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State and his predecessor in office and Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, got to a head penultimate Saturday, when followers of the two leaders of the All Progressives Congress in the state engaged in a freefor-all.

The violent incident, which took place at the Osun State Secretariat of the APC in the Ogo-Oluwa area of Osogbo, the Osun State capital, during a sitting of the Ward Congress Appeal Committee, left in its wake hundreds of injured members of the party.

It was gathered that the Aregbesola camp, known as The Osun Progressives (TOP) were at the party’s secretariat to submit its members’ petitions on the recently conducted Ward Congress of the party in the state to the Ward Congress Appeal Committee, which was in Osogbo to receive petitions concerning the Congress. But fight later broke out between members of TOP and the Ileri Oluwa, a group of Oyetola’s loyalists. The incident later led to an uneasy situation in Osogbo throughout that Saturday night.

The violent clash and the resultant blood spilling was the climax of some wrangling within the Osun APC, which political analysts and watchers of political developments believe may lead to the downfall of the party in the forthcoming governorship election in the state, if not nipped in the bud.

Governor Oyetola and his predecessor, Aregbesola, are both deeply involved in the battle for the soul of APC in Osun State. Surprisingly, Oyetola was the Chief of Staff to Aregbesola during his two term as governor, before he succeeded him at the Abere Governnent House.

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of TOP who led the petitioners to the APC secretariat on the day, Barrister Gbenga Akano, said it was unfortunate that the situation within Osun APC had degenerated to such a low level as it is now. But he absolved members of TOP of any blame, saying the governor’s followers were the perpetrators of violence.

distraction.

“It behoves on us, the TOP caucus of the APC, who had earlier forwarded some petitions to the National Secretariat of our party on the development in the state to submit our petitions to the appeal committee. We have grievances. We called for congress, the Oyetola’s camp called for consensus.

The directive of the national secretariat on consensus was an advice. It said where possible go for consensus. They neglected ‘ where possible’ and decided to make consensus.

We said no and we made a lot of noise on that.”

“The appeal committee said if you have appeal come and submit your appeal. They want to create the impression that there is crisis and they are determined to distract us. Why would they mobilise people to the party secretariat to cause commotion? They can’t match us, but we owe the people of Osun, peace and order. That was why we just ignored them.”

Akano, who was Assistant Chief of Staff to Aregbesola in his first term and later served as Special Adviser on Tax and Revenue Matters during his second term, said, “I led the petitioners to the party secretariat that Saturday. When we got there we were peaceful, but may be the Oyetola group were intimidated by the crowd , miffed by the multitude and they started removing TOP caps from our members’ heads.

“Those that started the violence were not members of TOP. We were peaceful, orderly and singing songs to motivate our members and to ginger them.”

Akano, who was also the Political Secretary to Governor Bisi Akande between 1999 and 2003 further said, “They came to harass, to intimidate us. But the number they saw was more than what they could cope with. They then retreated to remobilise. When they went out to mobilise, the screening of the petitions had started. May be when they were running out of patience, they caused mayhem.”

Also speaking, the Osun State Commissioner for Works, Engr. Remi Omowaye described the activities of TOP as a

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“They want to distract us, but we are not going to be moved by their antics. The people of Osun had entrusted their mandate to us and our party and we will strive to deliver.

What is important to us is how to move the state forward.

Both Akano and Omowaye believe the crisis will end at the appropriate time. But the end seems not to be in sight as the two leaders, Aregbesola and Oyetola hold on to their belligerent positions.

It would be recalled that a few months ago, TOP was formed

by Aregbesola’s loyalists and the leaders made it clear that it was formed to position the Aregbesola camp for the state congress of the party, as well as the party’s primaries for the governorship election coming up in the third quarter of next year.

It was gathered across the state that the mobilisation for TOP has been tremendous as they were visibly seen in all the 30 local government areas and the area office of the state.

THEWILL further gathered that the group has been doing great work both on the ground and in the social media towards sensitising the residents of the state towards identifying with it.

The leaders of the group had earlier already accused the caretaker chairman of the party in the state, Prince Gboyega *Continues on Page 12

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POLITICS/INTERVIEW

Without Elite Consensus Nigeria is Going Nowhere Fast – Okupe Dr Doyin Okupe is a presidential aspirant in 2023 on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party and a one-time Special Adviser to President Olusegun Obansajo and Goodluck Jonathan, as well as one of the elders that waded into the leadership crisis in the PDP. He x-rays the challenges facing Nigeria in this interview with AMOS ESELE. Excerpts:

You have been in politics since the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1998. You were Special Adviser to two Presidents, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan.

How would you rate Nigerian politicians?

There is no argument that politicians have been in power for the past 23 years. It is also true that we, the political elite, have not done our very best. But it is not unusual because we do not have a reasonable pedigree of democracy.

Democracy in the country was truncated after six years of independence and then after many years of military interregnum, we had to start things afresh. So we have many people in the system who have not been properly trained.

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hat would you say about 23 years of democratic practice in Nigeria, given the worsening insecurity, poverty and high unemployment rate in the country?

There is no gainsaying the point that things are bad in the country, but they have not always been so. Since 1998, it has not been this bad.

The current situation escalated in the last five years. It may take some years to build something and a few years to tear it down. There may have been foundational errors, as you say, but it is a question of leadership. Between 1999 and up till recently, things were relatively stable. No, hold it, I am not blaming anybody but the truth is that things were not always as bad as they are today.

I am just making an assessment.

And when the military were to leave the scene, they, like any institution, replaced themselves with their own set of leaders. Leaders before the advent of the military and after are different in orientation. Maybe, this is what you mean by a foundational issue. Take an example: When you take somebody who has read up to school certificate and had no tutelage in leadership to become a local government councillor with a salary of N200,000, you can imagine his or her reference point. That is what has happened with many of our senior and junior lawmakers and state governors. So we do not have a leadership cadre that has evolved over time.

How is that to be done?

Look at what happened in a country like Ghana that had a similar experience with military rule.

The nature of that country is different from that of Nigeria. Nigeria in comparison is up till today a country and not a nation. But Ghana is a nation.

I was there for a long time. So I know what I am saying. Their senators, military rulers, traditional

rulers and governors are from the same class.

There is a pedigree of leadership and the vision of a nation welded together by the late Kwame Nkrumah. Here, in Nigeria, we have West, East, North, South and the minorities. There is no commitment to the country. Everybody wants to go to the centre and when they go and steal, they are celebrated by their people.

The Nigerian problem started from structural maladjustment.

So what is the problem?

There is no elite consensus in Nigeria and we cannot have it until the ruling elite sit down and agree on what to do with the country.

Look at Boko Haram, banditry, armed robbery and kidnapping. We cannot even agree on the differentiation of what banditry is, who is a terrorist or kidnapper.

Do you agree with the call for restructuring of the country as the way forward?

The issue of restructuring is a misnomer. I know THEWILLNIGERIA

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POLITICS/INTERVIEW

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e-voting. Can we really rely on the National Assembly to do the needful? It cannot because it is lopsided based on unacceptable structure. If the North does not want something, nothing will happen, even if the south insists on it. They have the number. You cannot put a superstructure on that foundation and expect it to work.

There is no elite consensus in Nigeria and we cannot have it until the ruling elite sit down and agree on what to do with the country. Look at Boko Haram, banditry, armed robbery and kidnapping. We cannot even agree on the differentiation of what banditry is, who is a terrorist or kidnapper

In the Benin Republic, the late President Mathieu Kerekou set up a conference to discuss constitutional structure for the country, but the participants declared themselves sovereign and took decisions that led to his exit from office. Don’t you think it can happen in Nigeria, given the current level of agitation and agreement on restructuring?

Look, the Nigerian elite have not decided what to do about Nigeria. What we have here is to struggle for the president to come from your area and you use it to solve the problems of your region. This makes many Nigerians unequal in the country and therefore lesser Nigerians. Even if you were to have a president from the Ijaws, the fourth largest nationality in the country, he can be frustrated. I am talking about a situation in which the fears of such a nationality are contained in the Nigerian context. When a group in the U.S said Nigeria is getting to be a failed state, I do not think they are far from the truth.

Why can’t the Nigerian elite sit down and say after Buhari let us agree on what to do with Nigeria?

what many advocates of restructuring want; self-determination and for the regions to look after themselves. That means you have to have a federal system with a centre that supervises the regions. What we need to have are clearly identified units that relate with the centre. That is why I do not talk about it because the very idea that we want the centre to do it would still create a master-servant relationship.

In a federal system, the federating units would say this is what we want and go to the centre and insist on it. Look at the several Constitutions we have had. It is federally suggested. Then the way the current National Assembly is going about the Constitutional Amendment is wrong. That is why the foundation is wrong and attempts to put a superstructure on it will fail. Let every zone come up with a memorandum on what they want and insist on it. Look at the Senate. Can it really consider any such memo? A Senate that in the 21st century has denied the country THEWILLNIGERIA

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When Southern governors, irrespective of their political parties, abandoned the philosophy of their parties and said they wanted the president to come from the South in 2023, it meant that if they do not get the presidency, you do not belong. In any case, if the elites were serious about 2023, governors from the North could have come together and agreed to discuss with their southern counterparts and seek to address their fears of marginalisation. No, in Nigeria, what is happening among the elites is deception.

When Obasanjo was president, many saw him as representing the Southwest. Now, Buhari is in power, people are saying it is time for the South.

We ought to have passed this situation and this deception. That is why the country is suffering today and we cannot stop it with deception.

Banditry, terrorism, cultism, armed robbery are signs that the system has collapsed. Why can’t APC and PDP leaders sink their differences and save this country? Even in the North, none of the Emirs have gone to Zamfara or Kaduna to find out what has to be done to stop the killings going on there. That was how Boko Haram spread. The basic problem is the national elite comprising the politicians, top justices in the judiciary and police and businessmen and women are undecided. Business people will not talk because they do not want to lose a contract.

The National Economic Summit Group will hold their conferences and never issue stern warnings on the economy. We are all rent seekers.

You are aspiring to become president in 2023.

What are your plans for the country?

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I have reacted to what former Head of State Ibrahim Babangida said about the qualities that a future Nigerian president should have, namely age in their 60s, widely travelled and have a network of contacts that makes him at home everywhere in Nigeria. I am widely travelled.

There is no local government area I have not visited. I have been extremely close to those whom I served as presidents and know how they made decisions, right or wrong. I have been more than an aide to those I served. I am better prepared than any minister. That is why I said maybe IBB had me in mind when he made that statement. Even at my age, I am 69 and if I get elected by 70, there is no difference between me and those in their 60s.

What has age got to do with it, if you consider that there is a Nigerian law on Not-TooYoung To Run targeted at the youths?

I know that law is to encourage the youths.

But there is a place for experience in running a government. There are those who have not run a local government area and want to run a complicated country like Nigeria. The amount of distrust and mistrust we have generated among ourselves in this country will need somebody with the requisite experience. People today talk about giving way to technocrats. No amount of technocratic knowledge can do it all. By my training, I am a technocrat. We should have in mind that technocrats have tunnel vision. But with political experience in addition, you cannot beat that combination.

What is your presidential plan?

My point is that we should stop all this junketing up and down the country and see if we can lead our people to a discussion table. Even if I am not president, I will insist on others on how we can stop this ongoing deceit because If we do not have a nation, all this running around will end up to nothing. I mean there is a majority in the South-East and South-West that say they do not want to be part of the country. Part of the North is under siege. Let’s find a way to solve these problems. People in the South-West have started telling me that they will not vote in 2023 so why am I talking about being president.? Some are my colleagues and others are youths. These are the problems in Nigeria. Even if a small group in this country is uninterested in these matters, we cannot move forward. So we need to find a vision, a set of ideas to galvanise Nigerians into actions to have a nation we can all call our own.

How can a president make the desired impact with these warnings you are giving?

That is why I say we must first of all correct what is on the ground. I am not desperate to become president. We have two years to do so before 2023. If we do not, it would be just deception. There should be a by-partisan structure on the ground to come up with ideas on what we can do and how to do it. Forget about Buhari, he has a few months to go. If Buhari goes and the country is still in this situation, anybody that comes as president will just stay and enjoy himself or herself in the presidential villa.

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POLITICS *Continued from Page 9

...Between Oyetola, Aregbesola Who Blinks First?

Let’s tackle this one first. Anything can still happen before then. Let’s settle issue of congress first. When the governorship primaries come, we can think of what to do,” he said.

Famodun, of running the party unilaterally.

Famodun is believed to be an ally of Governor Oyetola.

On the alleged grouse with the Acting Chairman, Mr. Famodun, Adebiyi said

The Group is of the opinion that Famodun has murdered cohesion and unity in the party, noting that he displayed a similar attitude in 2018, which almost caused the party grief during the last governorship election.

“Which type of grouse? He is currently the caretaker chairman, if he wants to become the chairman of the party, let him obtain the form. Other people will contest with him.

That is internal democracy. If he is qualified to contest for the chairmanship of our party based on our constitution, can I prevent him from contesting? No, but what we are saying is that we don’t want imposition.”

In a statement signed upon TOP’s formation by its Chairman, Adelowo Adebiyi, the stakeholders said TOP was formed to ensure that APC does not suffer electoral loss in the next year governorship election in the state.

It was gathered that some notable leaders that formed TOP include the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, former Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti; former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Lasun Yussuf; former Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Najeem Salam and Comrade Gbenga Awosode, among others, and their followers.

The statement added, “Famodun’s inability to demonstrate needed capacity expected of him as the chairman of the party towards the 2018 governorship election nearly caused the party grief.

“No dispassionate chairman would have allowed defection from his party a few weeks to a critical election as Famodun did in 2018.

“Rather than demonstrating father figure to all contending forces within the party, he chose to take sides in all matters and destroy party cohesion and unity.

“As we speak today, Famodun is at war with his two predecessors, the current deputy and secretary, the minister and other notables in the party. Famodun cannot differentiate between monarchical inheritance and a democratic organisation, where multiple interests are aggregated to ensure the good of all, which is the essence of a political party.

“The above-stated reason is responsible for the problems in the party today and therefore we at the TOP wish to note that his kind of person is unfit to handle party management as would be expected.”

The group said it would work towards the promotion of internal democracy, effective and efficient party management, re- mobilisation, reconciliation and networking, which would aid the party’s victory in 2022.

Reacting to the development then, Famodun noted that the management of the party was not vested in a pressure group, adding that if the group, (TOP) had any idea that could be of benefit to the party, it should channel it through the appropriate authority.

He noted that the new factional group was absurd and unrecognised, saying that no one would be allowed to rebel against the party’s leadership.

“The constitution of the party doesn’t recognise any splinter group within the entity called APC in this country. The man that signed the statement is the leader of the party. There is no role for the former acting chairman in the management of the party. As a leader of the party, if you believe in a cause, there are organs of the party through which such grievances could be channeled. But when you go outside all those structures or you don’t believe in those structures again, then don’t consider yourself as a member of the party anymore. You cannot rebel against a constituted authority within the party,” he added.

A political observer in Osun State, Mr Aina Oluokun, said what was happening in the state had to do with Oyetola’s second term.

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They had also called on leaders of the party, “especially Chief Bisi Akande, Governor Gboyega Oyetola and Igbimo Agba to call Famodun and others of his type to order in view of his unguarded utterances, which they is irresponsibly divisive and unacceptable in the comity of the civilised world.”

It would be recalled that the genesis of the crisis was the tension that grew between Governor Oyetola and Aregbesola as well as their followers, following the reversal of most of the latter’s educational policies, such as the the single uniform policy, mixed schools, 4-5-3-4 system, among others .

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The party leaders should wade in before it is too late, otherwise PDP is waiting in the wing to reap from their crisis”, Oluokun warned while speaking with THEWILL

But while speaking after the educational reversal was announced, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Ismail Omipidan, noted that the speculations about the policy being a jab at the former administration was not correct, stating that the new policies were the government’s response to the yearnings of the people which the governor held sacred.

Similarly, the Commissioner for Political Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, Taiwo Akeju, has said the mission for the reversal of some education policies introduced by Aregbesola was not aimed at destroying his legacies.

Akeju, who described the immediate past governor and minister of interior as his leader and brother from Ijesha land, said the policy reversal in the education sector had nothing to do with administration vendetta.

In a chat with journalists in his office, the commissioner described the policy reversal as yielding to the yearnings of the people of the state.

He said the people during a thank you tour by Oyetola in 2019 unanimously told the governor to look into the policies as it had impacted negatively on the lives of the students.

Oluokun told THEWILL that the new group, TOP comprised Aregbesola’s foot soldiers and leaders of Osun APC, describing the group as a formidable one that cannot be underrated in the politics of Osun State.

“The policy in 2018 became a talking point in the state.

Opposition parties castigated the then candidate of the All Progressives Congress and now the governor, Gboyega Oyetola on it and the governor then said if it was the wish of the people to reverse it, he would do that.

He warned the governor’s camp to prepare on time to settle whatever rift that it had with Aregbesola’s group or risk getting its nose bruised during the APC governorship primary in the state.

“After the 2019 polls, the governor went round the state for his thank you tour and asked people what their wants were.

It is on record that over 99 per cent of the people requested policy reversal in education.

“This is the same reason Oyetola’s camp went into consensus rather than elective congress in the last Ward Congress. They cannot compete at the grassroots with the TOP. The party leadership should wade in before it is too late, otherwise PDP is waiting in the wing to reap from their crisis”, Oluokun said.

“More so, the Department for International Development (DFID) after carrying out a survey across the state, recommended to the governor, a review of the then education policies.

Also speaking with THEWILL, the Chairman of The Osun Progressives, (TOP), Mr Adelowo Adebiyi, said the group was formed to ensure internal democracy in the party .

“The Group is formed to ensure equity, fairness and justice and to promote accountability and ensure that unity of the party is ensured. Those are our vital objectives. We are APC. We are still in the party, but we are working towards the ongoing congresses of the party. We want to mobilise for the congresses to ensure that we have internal democracy,” he told THEWILL. He doesn’t want TOP to be tagged as Aregbesola group, saying “as for those who styled us, “the Aregbesola Group”, Adebiyi said such talk was a misconception.

“We are telling you about our principles, what we desire.

How have those things concerned Aregbesola? We are not talking of governorship primary election now. The governorship election is too far, but the congress is here.

“After that, we realised that this is a consensus of the people. The exco, in order not to take a unilateral decision, assembled credible and reliable Nigerians in the education sector to sit on a committee to assess the report and feed it back. The likes of Prof. Olu Aina, General Alani Akinrinade and other credible Nigerians did the review and the exco approved it,” he said.

He said the present administration is committed to upholding, consolidating and sustaining the legacies of the immediate past administration led by Aregbesola.

“What I will tell those insinuating crisis between Aregbesola and Oyetola is that they should desist. The two leaders talk several times a day and they both discuss how to make Osun great.”

The question political analysts and observers now asking is between Oyetola and Aregbesola, who will blink first? More important, they are also asking impatiently when peace will return to Osun APC. These are questions that surely answers will come, but how soon? Nobody can clearly say for now.

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TRIBUTE

IBB @ 80: A Charmed Life

BY MICHAEL JIMOH ilitary dictators in Africa seldom live up to eighty.

If they are lucky enough to survive coup attempts, chances are they invariably end up in exile, far away from countries they once had secure in their pockets like their private property.

If you ask a certain generation of Nigerians their opinion of him, human rights activists, say, or pro-democracy campaigners, their response will be almost predictable. They will come up with a long list of a rap sheet as long as a LeeEnfield rifle. And, if they have any chance to prosecute him, they will most certainly do so gleefully if only to hit back at a man with the uniquely distinct soubriquet “evil genius.”

Idi Amin Dada fled his country Uganda to Saudi Arabia where he died in ignominy. He was 77. Mobutu Seseko left behind a devastated Congo and died at 67 in Morocco. Selfproclaimed Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa of Central Africa Republic wasted away in the French capital before returning home to be tried and sent to prison before his demise at 75.

There was something close to that at the Justice Oputa Panel in Lagos 21 years ago. A non-prosecutorial panel famous for its histrionics, one popular lawyer notched up his performance when he tearfully invoked the presiding judge to invite IBB to the sitting. But the same lawyer sort of bungled his case when he suddenly became very emotional, an underwhelming performance unworthy of a legal luminary of his status. Of course, IBB saw the writing on the wall. He politely declined the invitation.

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Master Sergeant Samuel Doe of Liberia suffered a worse fate. Caught by a rival faction of the dueling forces in his country, the rebels severed his ears as part of torture to force him to reveal his loot stashed away in Swiss banks. After the amputation, his eardrums soon filled with blood such that the ex-president couldn’t hear a word of what his tormentors were saying. He was only 39.

Among their grouse against IBB would have been the death by parcel bomb of senior journalist Dele Giwa; the infamous structural adjustment programme aka SAP that quickly undermined a not too buoyant economy; sanctioning the death by firing squad of a close friend and classmate, Mamman Jiya Vatsa who was implicated in a coup against IBB and finally, just finally, altering the destiny of a country, the continent and even the rest of world by annulling one of the freest elections held on June 12, 1993.

Nearer home, General Sani Abacha died a disgraceful death at 54. It is still unclear whether the maximum ruler was poisoned, as intelligence sources insist, or expired atop or beneath two comely courtesans, as some gossips claim.

Going by that assumption, you could say that former military president of Nigeria, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, who turned 80 last Tuesday is truly a lucky man. You could also say that from when he became military president in 1985 to 1993 and thereafter, IBB has lived a charmed life, a life unaffected by dangers and difficulties.

Fate dealt him a bad hand from very early on. He lost both parents at only six. Even so, he took his education seriously enough to enroll at Bida Provincial Secondary School.

It was while there that the likes of Zakariya Maimalari, Nigeria’s first professional regular combatant soldier, and Kur Mohammed were used as role models “to encourage and motivate” students to join the Army. He did.

With a combination of pluck, self-application and focus, IBB rose through the ranks as a disciplined soldier, and a fearless one, too. Famously, he singlehandedly aborted the February 13, 1976. by Lt. Colonel Bukar S. Dimka against head of state General Murtala Mohammed.

Legend has it that Babangida who was a colonel at the time boarded a motorbike from Bonny Camp to Ikeja Cantonment where he foiled the coup and arrested some of the rebels. He has also actively participated in one or two, survived some more as military president, most notably the April 22, 1990 Gideon Orkar-led putsch.

There have been some personal tragic moments, also. Two days after Christmas in December 2009, his wife, Maryam died of ovarian cancer, leaving IBB a widower.

Though hobbled by age related infirmities now, Babangida is still a force to reckon with at 80 – militarily and politically.

His smile is as expansive as ever, complemented with a mild voice that suggests quiet authority and a glowing skin you ordinarily won’t associate with those in his age bracket.

For much of last week, his Hilltop residence was filled with army brass and top dog politicos. Earlier, President Muhammadu Buhari sent a carefully crafted birthday greetings. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had some private moments with IBB. And yet another ex, Abdusalami Abubakar, and some senior army officers trooped to IBB’s digs – parade ground style – to pay homage not only on his becoming an octogenarian but his professionalism as a soldier, his patriotism and steadfast belief in a united Nigeria, all of them eulogizing him in glowing terms.

Recalling to an interviewer his fond memories of Maimalari who was killed in the January 1966 coup, IBB declared thusly: Maimalari was “a rare officer and an outstanding leader of men. He was a very bright and intelligent individual who everyone wanted to emulate. He was a strict disciplinarian, but we all respected and admired him. He was very kind and THEWILLNIGERIA

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Being a Muslim president from the northern part of the country, some others, especially from southern Nigeria, would have added that his regime surreptitiously made Nigeria a member state of Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC.)

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Though hobbled by age related infirmities now, Babangida is still a force to reckon with at 80 – militarily and politically. His smile is as expansive as ever, complemented with a mild voice that suggests quiet authority and a glowing skin you ordinarily won’t associate with those in his age bracket

jovial and assisted many of his subordinate officers in their careers, regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliations.”

Coincidentally, the same phrases have been used to describe IBB himself on his 80th. Hear Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom state, for instance: “This is one leader who succeeded in uniting this country. He succeeded in bringing people from diverse religious backgrounds, people from all tribes across the six regions of this country together.”

His counterpart from Sokoto state shares a similar view of the octogenarian. Aminu Tambuwal said: “President Babangida has been a great statesman, a leader who is very well respected.

He has done a lot for the country, right from his days in the military. He is still being celebrated because of his experience, and he is a man of inestimable value for Nigeria.”

Even so, there are exceptions as to what IBB really represents to Nigerians or how Nigerians see him.

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For the eight years he ruled Nigeria from 1985, IBB had his detractors and admirers alike. But it is his villainous garb that most people see and talk about most frequently, conveniently neglecting to mention some of his laudable achievements.

The story has been bandied around that the dashing editor-inchief of Newswatch magazine at the time was blackmailing the president. Whether it is true or not has never been confirmed or denied. Early on Sunday morning of October 19, 1986, Nigerians woke up to the awful news of Giwa’s death by a letter bomb. It was novel and bizarre.

To be sure, nobody likes to be at the mercy of an extortionist because, most often, they never stop making demands, coming ever so frequently like a loan shark visiting defaulters.

“Who will rid me,” King Henry 11 of England was quoted to have asked in 1170, “of this troublesome priest?” The priest in question was Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket.

Following that royal pronouncement, four loyal priests to the monarch travelled to Canterbury where they murdered Becket.

Whether that scenario played out in the Giwa assassination is hard to say. If there is any grain of truth in the blackmail account, then subordinates may not be disobliged to act like intelligent interpreters of their master’s wish. No express command from the boss to rubout an enemy but something has to be done, at least to silence the blackmailer, to forever shut up the troublesome individual.

Though IBB himself has said it time and again that one of his regrets is approving the death of Vatsa after a military tribunal found him guilty in the coup plot. True, he would have felt deeply about it. But the truth is that soldiers implicated in forceful change of government face the death penalty. What if Vatsa had succeeded in toppling his friend and colleague of many years?

Besides, sparing Vatsa would have sent a wrong signal to potential coup plotters.

The other issue IBB said he navel-gazed about is the annulment of June 12 presidential election which his friend, MKO Abiola won. The story has been told, also, of powerful forces in both the military hierarchy and civilian population prevailing on IBB to overturn the June 12 election. He himself has admitted as much up until last week to an interviewer. *Continues on Page 43

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EDITORIAL Redressing Untoward Attitude to Audit Queries S

hortly after his inauguration in May 2015, President Muhamadu Buhari decried the level of financial indiscipline among government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). The area of concern was their failure to answer audit queries, which was a violation of existing standard operating procedures and financial regulations.

Angered by the flagrant abuse of due process by many government officials, President Buhari directed that all outstanding audit queries be conclusively resolved within 30 days. He also ordered that all audit queries, from then, must be answered within 24 hours.

The Presidential directives followed what was seen as Buhari’s displeasure on learning that audit queries had remained unanswered for long periods, sometimes running into years, under the previous administrations. Those were the early days of President Buhari’s anti-corruption war.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement stressed that President Buhari was irrevocably committed to tackling administrative and bureaucratic corruption head-on.

His words, “The era of impunity is gone. The President is taking the war on corruption to the civil service. He is not happy that standard operating procedures and financial regulations are no longer being observed, as they should. President Buhari will ensure that public officials and civil servants in the service of the Federal Government pay a heavy price from now on for violating financial regulations or disregarding audit queries.”

Malam Shehu stressed that President Buhari would see firm action taken against those who violated prescribed financial regulations “against the prevarications and shenanigans that went on in the past in the form of endless probes and public inquiries.”

Shehu added that the President was determined to put an end to the situation at the time in which, “rather than respond to legitimate audit queries, violators of financial regulations in the Federal Government would resort to threatening, bribing or mounting other forms of social pressure on auditors.”

Nigerians applauded the move, believing that sanity had

returned to a system that was deeply immersed in corruption and engineered by public officials whose conscience had become numb. But the zeal seems to have fizzled out. More cases of abuse are being reported under the same Muhammadu Buhari Administration and with unequalled impunity.

Today, audit queries are treated with levity no less than what transpired under the previous governments. Even the areas the President is the head – the Presidency and the Ministry of Petroleum, are not exempted.

Last June, the Senate threatened to publish the names of government’s MDAs that failed to respond to queries raised against them by the Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF). It was reacting to the report of the Senate Public Accounts Committee headed by Senator Matthew Urhoghide.

The committee had revealed in the 2015 report of the AuGF that seven MDAs failed to respond to the invitation to defend the audit queries against them.

The Senate President, Ahmed Lawan said, “This is one of our major responsibilities as a parliament to hold the executive to account and whoever is given the responsibility and the trust of running any agency with public funds must be accountable to the parliament on behalf of the people.

following year of account.

“As at April 2018, 109 agencies have not submitted beyond 2013; 76 agencies last submitted for the 2010 financial year; while 65 agencies have never submitted any account since inception,” Ayine said.

An analysis of the report showed that government agencies, despite the anti-corruption campaign of the Buhari-led governent, have become more reckless with public finance, with 323 agencies failing to submit reports in 2016. In 2015 and 2014, however, defaulters numbered 215 and 148.

It is disheartening that audit queries will be treated with levity under President Buhari’s watch – an indication that the fiery anti-corruption war which is a major plank of his administration is losing ground. Nigeria’s financial challenge today stems more from profligacy and disdain for sticking to the accountability rules. Waste, corruption and pilfering of public funds are the reasons heads of MDAs are reluctant to answer audit queries. And no one takes responsibility.

It is high time this anomaly was corrected. No nation makes progress by opting for abuse of due process and violation of laid down rules.

“This Senate will insist any public servant or civil servant that is given public funds for public good and has questions to answer and refuse to appear to answer should have no business in government because all of us are supposed to be accountable to the people. Therefore, if someone thinks he’s not going to be accountable, then that person has no business remaining in office.” But the National Assembly is equally a culprit in this matter.

We urge the National Assembly (NASS) to be more serious with its oversight functions by ensuring that MDAs respond to audit queries issued to them. Appropriate sanctions should be meted against those that violate the process. The anti-graft agencies should do their job and be seen to be doing it. They and NASS should set an example. It will be preposterous for the agencies that have the responsibility to checkmate others to be found wanting.

In March 2020, the AuGF, Anthony Ayine, lamented that the gross violation of statutory financial reporting obligations by government agencies was worrisome

The Financial Regulation which enjoins these bodies to submit both audited accounts and management reports to the AuGF not later than May 31 of the following year of account should be a priority to President Buhari who, at the early stage of his administration, told Nigerians that his government would be different.

“Most of the government corporations, companies and commissions have not submitted their audited accounts for 2016 to me. Only 51 audited financial statements for 2016, and 149 for 2015, have been submitted to my office as at December 27, 2017, despite the provision of Financial Regulation 3210(v), which enjoins these bodies to submit both audited accounts and management reports to me not later than May 31 of the

The NASS should publish the names of the defaulting MDAs and their heads and ensure that their budget allocations are suspended until they respond. The audit queries are not meant to create an attractive archive.

AUSTYN OGANNAH

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Editor – Olaolu Olusina Deputy Editor – Amos Esele Politics Editor – Ayo Esan Business Editor – Sam Diala News Editor (Online) – Felix Oboagwina Copy Editor – Chux Ohai Cartoon Editor – Victor Asowata Entertainment/Society Editor – Ivory Ukonu Photo Editor – Peace Udugba Head, Graphics – Tosin Yusuph Circulation Manager – Victor Nwokoh Nigeria Bureau: 36AA Remi Fani-Kayode Street, GRA, Ikeja. Lagos, Nigeria. info@thewillnigeria.com / @THEWILLNG +234 810 345 2286, +234 913 333 3888. EDITOR: Olaolu Olusina @OLUSINA [Letters/Opinions: opinion.letters@thewillnigeria.com] PAGE 14

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AUGUST 22 - AUGUST 28, 2021 www.thewillnigeria.com

OPINION Dissecting President Buhari’s Leadership Role in Africa O

BY CHUKWUDI ENEKWECHI JP

nce again President Muhammadu Buhari had, in anticipation of the imminent fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban after the United States’ withdrawal after a 20-year sojourn, used his article published in the Financial Times of London on August 16th 2021 to calibrate the after- effects of the Taliban take-over of the reins of power in Afghanistan on Africa.

In making a case for attention to be paid to Africa where terrorism is ravaging, the President used the article to draw attention to the urgent need for the World, particularly America which has spent a fortune in Afghanistan, to pay more than a passing attention in the incipient terrorism challenges in Nigeria’s North East, and more recently, the North West.

In expressing fears about the aftermath of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan on Africa, President Buhari sees Africa as the new frontline for global terrorism, hence his clarion call for adequate international attention on the continent. Of course he went down memory lane with the mention of Al-Shabab incursion into Somalia and the rampaging impact of Boko-Haram on Nigeria’s North East region.

So there is a litany of President Buhari’s proactive, visionary and leadership roles across Africa which have resonated well across the globe. As President of the most populous country in Africa, as well as the continent’s largest economy, President Muhammadu Buhari had at critical moments stepped up the plate to ensure stability and peace in some African countries. Some countries that readily come to mind are Chad, Mali, Niger and Gambia.

His interventions in these countries helped to restore calm, rule of law and order when they could have snowballed into a monumental crisis.

So with his recent article drawing the world’s attention to the need to pay commensurate attention to the dangers posed by terrorists

in some parts of Africa, including Nigeria, it is easy to assert that President Buhari is consciously providing leadership, not just as Nigerian president but a global leader who understands the nuances of visionary leadership and continental politics.

It is not only in the area of advocating solutions to the handling of problems posed by insurgency in the continent that President Buhari has gained acclaim, but his leadership in tackling corruption has also been praised and acknowledged by the African Union and ECOWAS.

In the area of infrastructure, President Muhammadu Buhari’s single-minded determination to use his tenure of office to revive the country’s infrastructure has sent the positive signal that indeed government can work for the general good, and not for the narrow interests of people who are connected to the powers that be.

Even the presidents of Benin Republic and Ghana had at intervals expressed satisfaction to the leadership being provided by Nigeria in Africa and globally under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, and this bodes well for Nigeria as it continues to gain recognition in the comity of nations.

President Muhammadu Buhari had also in recognition of the pivotal role expected of Nigeria as the “giant of Africa” continued to play a leadership role by fostering unity and peace among the peoples of Africa and their leaders. As a former Head of State, he was placed in a vantage position to understand the nuances of statecraft, and through the African Union and ECOWAS ensured that leaders in the region use their positions to foster peaceful coexistence and economic development of their various countries.

By calling the attention of the international community to the foreseeable dangers which the resurgence of Taliban in Afghanistan after the Americans’ withdrawal posed to Africa as the next

destination of terrorism, President Buhari was saving Africa and Nigeria in particular from falling victims to the catastrophic consequences of global terrorism. By doing so he displayed visionary leadership, proactiveness and an element of trouble-shooting for all the peace-loving people of the continent.

As the global community strives to contain the activities of terrorists, it is important to appreciate the concerns of President Buhari as it affects Africa, as, from all indications, ISIS and its affiliates are gradually shifting their nefarious trade to some parts of Africa including Nigeria, Somalia, Burkina-Faso, Mali and Chad to mention but a few. As much as this poses imminent danger to African countries the point must be made that it should be nipped in the bud, or else we will inadvertently lay the foundation for the same scenario that manifested on September 11, 2001 in the United States.

ISIS, Boko Haram, or Al-Qaeda must never be allowed to have a foothold in any part of Africa and to achieve this, the United States and the entire international community must pay heed to President Buhari’s epistle as published in the Financial Times of London.

Furthermore, the western world and indeed the global community ought to confront the dangers posed by the terrorists with the same single-minded commitment like President Muhammadu Buhari who has within a period of six years, and despite lack of adequate military equipment, decimated the Boko Haram that today they are scampering to safety, and surrendering with their families to the Nigerian authorities.

Such hydra-headed monsters must be crushed with every available power of the Nigerian state and with the help of the international community.

• Chukwudi Enekwechi, JP Kwechis19@yahoo.com

Serenading The Music And Events of Tokyo Olympics

BY ISIDORE EMEKA UZOATU

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t last, the games of the XXXII Olympiad (Tokyo 2020) have come and gone. After all the COVID-19 induced delays that saw it held a year later, there is no gainsaying that it still met the razzmatazz associated with the extravaganza.

Ranging from controversies, inconsistencies to achievements, it served it all up in its delicious potpourri.

Remarkably, though, most of the events went on with only the competitors and officials in attendance. No thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. But notwithstanding, records were still set, met and shattered. So much that what now remains of it are the fading memories of the month-long games.

Most reminiscent of it here in Nigeria is our inability, as always, to make any notable marks in the medal table. As almost always, we made do with a meagre harvest of solitary silver and bronze medals by two ladies in the team. It saw us finishing a distant 75th of the 86 nations that won medals out of the 206 that participated.

However, not unlike the games preceding it, it left a plethora of memories and concerns.

Apart from the various winners and losers in the many events it showcased, that is. The first post-Bolt Olympics, it produced a new sprint champion. Just as the Brazilians won their second soccer gold ahead - of us, I dare say.

That apart, here in Nigeria it once more raised some issues. One is the perennial disparity between the officials and athletes that we parade to the games and our eventual haul of medals. Only that this time as many as ten athletes from our contingent could not participate at all for missing off-season drug tests.

Anyway, most prominent in these eddies left by the Tokyo games in the wake of its tide elsewhere are its music themes. Like has become traditional, each host nation never lost the opportunity it offered to advertise its musical legacies. Dating back to the birth of the modern Olympics, this has become a routine every host nation ever laboured to meet.

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Most notable remains the British effort at London 2012. Apart from a reunification of the Spice Girls, it featured a performance of a medley of their impressive international chartbusters. It featured bands ranging from Queen ;We Will Rock You;, Pink Floyd; Wish You Were Here, Madness;Our House; to Oasis &;Wonderwall.

Memorably, it closed with Paul McCartney singing the Beatles classic;Hey Jude; to the rapturous entertainment of the pre-Covid crowd.

Worthy of mention also is Celio Dion’s rendition of The Power of the Dream; at the 1996 games in Atlanta where our soccer team captured the;mother of all gold medals;. Composed for the event, her rendition of it on the Olympic podium drove the message home like Jesse Owen’s triumph at 1936 in Berlin.

All the same, prior to 1996, Montserrat Caballe the Spanish soprano had been billed to open Barcelona 1992 with Freddie Mercury of Queen dueting the eponymous games anthem.

Sadly, Mercury died of AIDS in 1991 and she had to go it alone.

So, quite expectedly, the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 event featured music. Most of them inevitably came from the many video games the Japanese have bequeathed the world.

This included the soundtracks from such famous series like Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Sonic the Hedgehog, Soulcalibur and a host of others.

However, very instructive was the fact that once more an opening ceremony of an Olympic Games featured a performance of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s song; Imagine. This time it was performed by John Legend, Keith Urban, Alejandro Sanz, Angelique Kidjo and the Suginami Junior Chorus just;before doves were released as a symbol of peace;.

Before then, the deathless song was performed at the 1996 games in Atlanta by Stevie Wonder. Just like it had been re-rendered by

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ex-Genesis Peter Gabriel in the Turin 2006 winter games. Also, a children’s choir sang it as part of the closing ceremonies of the 2012 summer games in London.

Interestingly, the International Olympic Committee noted in a statement that Lennon himself saw a connection between the song and the Olympics. As reported in the Rolling Stone magazine, before his assassination in 1980 he had this to say to an interviewer:;We’re not the first to say ;Imagine No Countries; or ;Give Peace a Chance;, but we;re carrying that torch like the Olympic torch, passing it hand to hand, to each other, to each country, to each generation.

And that’s our job.

Nevertheless, it did not pass without a backlash this time. Shortly afterwards, Robert Barron, the auxiliary Catholic bishop of Los Angeles took to the New York Post to lambast the effort.

According to him, in the op-ed piece published barely two days later, the song is an invitation to moral and political chaos.

He was to buttress the assertion in an in-depth critique of the lyrics of the three stanzas of the song. Regarding the first, he explained that to deny heaven and hell amounted to saying there is no absolute criterion of good and evil.

Going on, Bishop Barron insisted that there was the need in the world to have a way of meaningfully determining the difference between right and wrong.

Calling the song a totalitarian anthem, he, in conclusion, urged people to go ahead and enjoy its tune but to by all means refuse to abide by the lyrics.

Last, like we say in Nigeria, it must be pointed out that as long as the Olympics are concerned, people must keep competing for countries. Where Lennon’s gospel comes is when we have to kill or die for our respective nations. And this is against the Olympic spirit as well as that of the Catholic Church.

• Isidore Emeka Uzoatu, author of the novel Vision Impossible, wrote in from Onitsha.

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Despite Economic Setbacks, Nigeria Witnesses New Airlines’ Boom PAGE 33

Resolving the Forex Challenge of Manufacturing Companies

Unity Bank Empowers 30 NYSC Members With N10m PAGE 35

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Petroleum Industry Act: Dispensing Cash, Controversy, Amid Uncertainties

BY SAM DIALA he Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) recently signed into law, has triggered mixed reactions among stakeholders who are directly or indirectly affected by the legislation. They point to the rain of cash and web of controversy they foresee the legislation to generate among different people. Those who will also be affected in the near future are taking positions that appear grounded in uncertainty as trends of anger unfold.

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President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, August 16, 2021, signed into law the PIB which had been trapped in the legislative web of the National Assembly since 2008 when it was first introduced. Since then, there have been various deliberations and amendments of it in the legislative process. In 2017, at a stage, four new pieces of legislation were created, namely: the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), the Petroleum Industry Administration Bill (PIAB), the Petroleum Industry Fiscal Bill (PIFB) and the Petroleum Host Society Bill (PHCB).

Major components of the new legislation include the conversion of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to a private limited liability company (NNPC Limited) and the scrapping of the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA). It also created separate regulatory authorities for the operations of the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors, while decreasing the royalty rate for offshore fields producing a maximum of 15,000 barrels per day to 7.5 percent from the former 10 percent KNOCKS, PRAISE While the National Assembly is applauded for eventually giving the bill a landing after many years of hovering in the spaces, there are concerns over the good, the bad and the ugly side of the legislation. As it is celebrated by a section of the country as a landmark accomplishment, it is, at the same time, creating mixed feelings and outright disaffection among the other sections, especially the oilbearing communities. This is the goose that lays the golden egg who suffers the environmental degradation and other ecological risks that accompany this gift of nature.

As it is, the new oil sector legislation is seen by some people as deliberately structured to make the core North awash with cash as it provides for substantial funding of oil explorations in the “Frontier Basins”. There have been huge budgetary allocations for this purpose over the years. But it has grown in propensity since the beginning of President Buhari-led government in 2015. In 2016, the government allocated N39.4 billion for oil exploration in the Northern part of Nigeria.

A report published in August 2016 showed that the Federal Government had sunk a whopping $340 million and N27 billion into the search for oil in the North for three decades.

The report followed a marching order handed down to the management of the NNPC by President Buhari to resume oil search in the Chad Basin after 30 years of futile efforts.

This is seen in many quarters as robbing Peter to pay Paul, and with unrepentant impunity.

As such, the new legislation allowed at least 30 percent of the profit to be generated by the proposed NNPC Limited to go into the exploration of oil in frontier basins, according

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to Section 9 of the PIB. The nation’s frontier inland basins are basically in the North and include the Niger, Chad, Bida, Dahomey, Sokoto and Benue basins. Other parts of the country, such as Lagos and Anambra are also included.

Section 9(5) of the PIB states, “NNPC Limited shall transfer the 30 percent of profit oil and profit gas to the frontier exploration fund escrow account dedicated for the development of frontier acreages and utilize the funds to carry out exploration activities in the frontier acreages subject to the appropriation by the National Assembly.”

This is seen as sucking cash from the commonwealth of the nation created by the oil-bearing communities.

Examples: The corporation reported export revenue of $2.62 billion in 2020. Its gross revenue up to October 2020 was N222.3 billion. The National Engineering and Technical Company (NETCO), a subsidiary of NNPC, reported a profit after tax of N3.37 billion. These are assumed to be part of the NNPC “profit” to be dedicated to oil exploration in the frontier basin.

But industry analysts explain that the 30 percent of NNPC Limited does not mean that portion of the company’s total profits in a particular financial year. “It is merely the commercial remuneration, which is an entitlement of the concessionaire under a production arrangement,” said Ken Ogbechie, an energy expert.

According to Ogbechie, profit from an oil exploration company can only be determined and charged after full recovery of the total cost for drilling which takes a long time, up to 10 years. The production sharing contracts are wholly funded by the explorer.

“NNPC or any other company could record zero profit after deducting the cost of drilling and other operating expenses.

So the 30 percent profit is not a figure of certainty. It is hanging in the cloud of uncertainty. On the other hand, the 3 percent operating expenditure of an exploration company could be huge – running into billions of dollars. So, the

question to ask is ‘percentage of what?” Ogbechie told THEWILL in a telephone chat.

WHAT’S ENOUGH? This presents another side of the coin -- the public impression that while the North is awash with cash; the oil-bearing communities will make do with a “paltry 3 percent” of annual operating expenditure of the exploration companies who are required to contribute the said amount to the applicable host community Development Trust Fund.

The Trust Fund is headed by a ‘Settlor’ as head of the body constituted for the purpose of administering the funds generated through the “3 percent” contribution.

“Do not forget that what we are talking about here is 3 percent of operating cost of all the IOCs, all the operating licensees in exploration; that is huge,” said Mr Victor Ononokpono, an executive and National Treasurer, Petroleum and natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).

“Initially, it was meant to be equity stake which means that when they do not make profit, there is nothing for the host communities. But this time, they are sure of the 3 percent, whether the firm makes profit or not. That is not a small amount,” the PENGASSAN executive told THEWILL in a telephone interview.

“Nothing can ever be enough. It is true that the host communities have suffered long years of environmental degradation, but the 3 percent arrangement is a good place to start off. There is room for improvement. If for 21 years we were waiting for something, and in whatever form it comes, you ask ‘Will it hurt or benefit me permanently?’

The answer is no.”

But the anger of the host communities is beyond whether the 3 percent is adequate or not. Their concern centres on the decision-making that surrounds the implementation of that section of the law, which they claim does not favour them as the people are made more of spectators than participators.

•Continues online at www.thewillnigeria.com THEWILLNIGERIA

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AVIATION

Despite Economic Setbacks, Nigeria Witnesses New Airlines’ Boom

Notwithstanding the economic setbacks occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria is seeing a boom in new carriers, writes ANTHONY AWUNOR.

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SCRAMBLE FOR AOCs An AOC is the approval granted by a National Aviation Authority (NAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets and systems in place to ensure the safety of its employees and the general public.

THEWILL investigation shows that as at August 2021, there are no fewer than 25 airlines seeking AOCs from the NCAA, notwithstanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that has seen many countries lose viable airlines.

As at the moment, there are about 10 operating commercial airlines.

They include: Aero Contractors, Air Peace, Arik Air, Azman Air, Dana Air, Ibom Air, Max Air, Overland Airways, United Nigeria Airlines and Green Africa. This is in addition to potentially 25 other carriers which would increase the number of the total number of airlines in the country.

THE CONTROVERSIES Disturbed by the difficulties they experience, most operators have recently called on the NCAA to review the process of operating an AOC by airline owners.

While delivering his welcome address at the just concluded League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents, LAAC, 25th Conference in Lagos, the Chairman, West-link Airlines, Captain Ibrahim Mshelia, said there was need for the regulator to review policies and regulations that were stifling the growth and development of the aviation industry.

He said the frequency at which operators were renewing their AOCs constituted a heavy financial burden on the airline operators, adding that the issuance and renewal process was cumbersome.

He further said that with the ”lopsidedness in the procurement procedures and the operational limits of AOC holders in Nigeria”, there was an urgent need to amend the Act and policy in order to empower the Nigerian Civil aAviation Authority to also break down the certification process of the airlines’ commercial operations.

Mshelia said, “The word AOC has been so over-valued like a village masquerade that appears once in five years. This is not supposed to be so. Operation specification, in this regard, is the masquerade and not the certificate.”

He therefore proposed that the AOC should have ”no expiry date unless suspended or revoked while the operation specification only should have a biannual expiry date to shed unnecessary expenses to the operators.”

“Today, we have an unhealthy situation where there is a blanket issuance procedure of AOC for big, small, or large operations.

Under this system, the roles of other segments of operators that are also entitled by law to operate commercial operations unfettered, as guaranteed by ICAO, are not spelt out. By ICAO standard, small, large and medium operations, including; Air Taxi, Air Charter, Cargo Only, Nonscheduled and Scheduled operations, are recognised.”

Speaking also at the conference, the Vice Chairman, Airline Operators of Nigeria, (AON) Mr. Allen Onyema said policies and regulations also contributed to the failures of airlines, aside from poor management.

Onyema said there were several problems confronting the aviation industry, but the present government is addressing many of them.

“Government policies in recent time have been better, compared THEWILLNIGERIA

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Green Africa Airways

n the past two years, more airline start-ups have continued to join the league of domestic operators in the country. Records from the apex aviation regulatory agency, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) have shown that many airlines are coming into operation, going by the numerous Air Operator’s Certificates (AOCs) applications being processed by the agency.

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For most operators, venturing into airline business, it is likely that they also possess a significant passion for the business and confidence that they can bring something new to the table

to what we had in the past. The present government has done well in the area of policy, such as customs duty waiver on aircraft spare parts and VAT and others that are favourable to the airlines,” he said.

But Nuhu has assured that the regulatory body will not compromise in the enforcement of safety standards and regulatory requirements in conformity with all regulatory requirements and Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) in the initial issuance and renewal of all Air Operators Certificate (AOC).

The assurance is coming on the heels of allegations by some airlines against the NCAA over failure to renew their AOCs. Captain Nuhu, in a statement, emphasises that the NCAA will continue to operate within its mandate, as regards issuance of the AOC, irrespective of the personality or organisation involved for the safe, secure and efficiency of the industry as enshrined in the 2006 Civil Aviation ACT. Explaining further, Captain Nuhu states that the 5 Phase AOC process, both initial and renewal is not peculiar to Nigeria as it is the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) requirement Annex 6 Parts I and III and ICAO Document 8335, which is captured in Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations, Nig.CARS 2015 Part 9 on AOC certification.

The NCAA helmsman calls on all stakeholders to join hands with the NCAA for the benefit of the nation and stresses that the NCAA is a partner in progress rather than the proverbial industry policeman.

He states that the authority is ready and willing to work with all parties to resolve any challenge or difficulty they may face as it has already done.

LOW PROFIT MARGIN FOR AIRLINES

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Airlines are a very complex business, with the added fact that they are a very low-margin operation. Before ancillary revenue, a typical airline’s bottom line was maybe less than 4 per cent of its gross revenue.

Following a dramatic increase in 2015, the Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) margin of commercial airlines have been falling, with the combined margin for all global airlines projected to be 5.5 percent in 2020 before the Coronavirus pandemic.

The pandemic is estimated to have a negative impact on the EBIT margin of commercial airlines worldwide, decreasing to 28 percent globally.

Although Nigerian airlines are not immune to the sharp decrease in the profit margins, yet more airlines have continued to emerge.

The upsurge of airlines in the country, therefore, raises the question of the rationale for floating more airlines by operators.

Other questions begging for answers are: will the market accommodate all of them? Nigeria with a population of over 200 million and about 2 million passengers travelling annually, further brings up the question whether the local market is under-travelled or not.

Based on the fact that over 2 million passengers fly annually, another question is whether these airlines will be able to think outside the box to develop new markets and expand existing ones without trying to outdo themselves in a price fare war, bearing in mind that increasing market share of low cost carriers, places downward pressure on ticket prices.

THE ATTRACTION There are three kinds of investors in the airline business. First is the state which sets up airlines (national carriers) as an infrastructure project. There are also institutional investors with stakes in the hospitality sector. In this case, even though the airlines provide thin margins, they still facilitate tourism. The third is individual investors Although airline business is capital intensive with low profit margin, yet individual investors also go into airline business because they see a potential for profit and also because the business is prestigious to some extent.

Reports have, however, shown that the airline business on a global level continues to grow as household incomes increase in countries that have typically been very underserved by airlines, thus enabling millions of people to fly who have never done so before. In most markets, some airline entrepreneurs may see unexploited market niches based on things like cost structures or specific routes. For most operators venturing into airline business, it is likely that they also possess a significant passion for the business and the confidence that they can bring something new to the table.

•Continues online at www.thewillnigeria.com

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MONEY MARKET

here is a peculiar challenge facing Nigeria’s economy. It is crystal clear. The cause for this is no one’s fault, to be honest, as it was driven by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Almost every country in the world had their share of the economic downturn. However, what is more alarming is that you would expect the manufacturing sector to be the economic driver in a critical period like this, sadly, that is the same sector that is taking the heat of the economic downturn in Nigeria.

Growth rate in the manufacturing sector is projected to suffer further decline as operators come under a renewed wave of inflation and foreign exchange scarcity. The sharp increase in headline inflation was driven by a faster month-on-month inflation, which was up 10 basis points to 1.3 per cent, the highest since June 2017.

This development, according to the sector leaders, was already taking a heavy toll on the manufacturing companies and it has now been complicated by an increasing difficulty in getting foreign exchange to import foreign components for their production.

Resolving the Forex Challenge of Manufacturing Companies

JOSEPH ABANG highlights the imperative of meeting the forex needs of manufacturing companies amid changing monetary policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

In truth, this should not be happening if Nigeria as a country is ready to stabilise the already fractured economy. The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the Nigerian economy, as it has on most other economies around the world. The difference is that these other countries are doing a lot to help their manufacturing sectors.

In fairness to it, the Central Bank of Nigeria recognised the importance of manufacturing: The Apex bank has made it a priority to create an enabling environment for local manufacturing. The CBN has continued to implement accommodative monetary policy steps that will help the economy recover faster by increasing the flow of credit to households and businesses in key sectors such as agriculture, information technology, and manufacturing.

But there is an urgent need to grab the bull by its horns – increasing difficulty to source foreign exchange (forex) is one major problem that the CBN needs to sort out.

In a discussion with the media, Engr. Mansur Ahmed, President, MAN, revealed that manufacturers have not been able to access the required foreign exchange (forex) from CBN for their operations and about 40 per cent of their forex needs are not met by the apex bank. This means that manufacturers can’t get the required amount of forex that they need to bring in raw materials that are not locally available or the equipment they need to keep their operations running.

Unfortunately, many of these companies have invested millions of naira in the Nigerian economy, even during a rough period when economies and businesses have been hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak, yet they find doing business hard to come by. Earlier this year, Procter & Gamble (P&G) announced a $35 million investment in collaboration with Colori for the local production of Oral B, one of P&G’s Oral Care products, as part of the company’s efforts to localise production in Nigeria. Not only will such massive investment boost the Nigerian economy, but also it will create many job opportunities for the citizens.

Last year, GBfoods completed a N20 billion Tomato Processing Factory and Industrial Farm in Kebbi, as well as localised the production of their Bama mayonnaise.

The factory is the second largest in Nigeria and the only fully backward integrated plant in ECOWAS – and it has the largest single tomato farm in Nigeria. When all phases of the project are finished, the factory will be the largest fresh tomatoes processing factory in Sub-Saharan Africa.

There is no denying that investments like these from P&G and GBfoods are exactly what Nigeria needs to fuel its declining economy. But the critical question is – are these companies getting adequate support in return from the government?

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“

CBN should be looking out for companies who have made Nigeria their manufacturing hub and are never shy from investing significantly in the economy. There’s a need to give a leaning shoulder to such companies. After all, building a strong economy is always a collaborative effort between the government and the private sector.

Mansur

A lot has been said by relevant stakeholders, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and others have voiced their concerns about the current state of the economy and the manufacturing sector.

chains specifically.

The CBN should be looking out for companies who have made Nigeria their manufacturing hub and are never shy from investing significantly in the economy. There is a need to give a leaning shoulder to such companies. After all, building a strong economy is always a collaborative effort between the government and the private sector.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele, has reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to encouraging companies willing to invest in the Nigerian manufacturing sector to expand the economy and that is nothing short of commendation. But now, more than ever, is the time to walk the talk.

Nigeria should take a cue from a country like India.

The country set a turning point; an economic agenda to spur economic growth and job creation this decade. It immediately swung into action with three sets of policy interventions that could—if enacted in conjunction with actions that manufacturing companies themselves can take—accelerate the growth of manufacturing value

There is, therefore, the need for the government to continue to drive the backward integration and resource-based industrialisation agenda cautiously in full consultation with the private sector, while ensuring that in the interim forex is more accessible for manufacturing in the country • Abang is a Public Affairs Analyst.

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BUSINESS NEWS RCA, Giving.ng Donate Over N2m to NFI School

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o celebrate Run Club Abuja (RCA) one-year anniversary, Africa’s first and only free crowdfunding platform, Giving.

Ng, has partnered the club on a charity run to raise funds for The Not Forgotten Initiative School (NFI), a not-for- profit school based in Abuja, Nigeria.

Run Club Abuja, a fitness and lifestyle club organised the ‘Charity Half Marathon’, preceded by a crowdfunding campaign to raise fund for the school designed to support less privileged children.

At the end of the run event, about N2.02 million raised, via the giving.ng platform were presented publicly to NFI School.

Some of the pupils of NFI School who were participants at the run event expressed delight about the donations made towards their education.

Run Club Abuja, a fitness and lifestyle club organised the ‘Charity Half Marathon’, preceded by a crowdfunding campaign to raise fund for the school designed to support less privileged children.

L-R: Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Downstream, Mahmud Abdullahi; GMD NNPC, Mele Kyari; and Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Silva during President Buhari’s address after signing the Petroleum Industry Bill at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on 18/8/2021.

Unity Bank Empowers 30 NYSC Members With N10m T

hirty members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have been offered business grants worth N10 million by Unity Bank Plc.

The corps members that benefited were presented with the money by the lender through its business plan competition known as Corpreneurship Challenge.

This year’s Unity Bank Corpreneurship Challenge, which is in its sixth edition, has been an avenue to support fresh graduates from the various tertiary institutions across the country.

Unity Bank is currently in 10 states of the federation where three winners each emerged from the Batch B Orientation. The winners emerged last week from Lagos, Ogun, Benin, Abuja, Akwa Ibom, Kano, Sokoto, Enugu, Osun and Kwara States.

The cash prizes included a N200,000 business grant for third place winners; a N300,000 business grant for second place and a star prize of N500,000 for the winners.

Some of the winners included Yahaya Muhammad, Alade Ayinde and Omolola Kehinde in the Kano NYSC camp, while Chiamaka Nweke, Nduke Oduobuk and Victoria Adesope emerged as the winners in the Enugu State camp.

Ebingha Ogbe John, one of the Abuja based winners, appreciated Unity Bank for the opportunity, saying the initiative has helped her to showcase her business to the world.

She said, “I thank Unity Bank for making my project, Mama’s Ally Crashfish, to come alive in this Abuja”.

The scheme continues to attract increasing interest among corps members, as over 2,000 applications were received but only 100 were shortlisted for the pitching sessions where the thirty winners emerged.

The contestants’ business plans, which ranged from software solutions, fashion, fish production, poultry farming, bee farming, retail chains, piggery to beverages were assessed on originality, marketability, future employability potential of the product and knowledge of the business.

In his remarks during the finale in the FCT NYSC camp, the Divisional Head, Retail, SME Banking and E-Business Directorate, Unity Bank Plc, Mr Olufunwa Akinmade, said the competition has proved to be a great tool for empowering fresh graduates in the country.

“The corpreneurship challenge is a creative entrepreneurial development initiative by Unity Bank in conjunction with the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC. It is aimed at driving job creation through entrepreneurship.

“With rising youth unemployment in the country, it is just common sense to consider the entrepreneurship alternative” “As the corps members join the labour market after their youth service, not every one of them will get the opportunity for a paid employment. But with what Unity Bank is doing, many of them will get the support they need to start a small business and even become employers of labour.

Blocked Airline Funds Could Slow Recovery – IATA

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR

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he International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged governments to abide by international agreements and treaty obligations so as to enable airlines to repatriate close to nearly $1 billion in blocked funds from the sale of tickets, cargo space and other activities.

Commenting, IATA’s Director-General, Willie Walsh said governments were preventing nearly $1 billion of airline revenues from being repatriated.

This, he said, contravened international conventions and could slow the recovery of travel and tourism in affected markets as the airline industry struggles to recover from the COVID-19 crisis.

According to him, airlines will not be able to provide reliable connectivity if they cannot rely on local revenues to support operations.

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Walsh said, “That is why it is critical for all governments to prioritise ensuring that funds can be repatriated efficiently.

Now is not the time to score an ‘own goal’ by putting vital air connectivity at risk”.

Approximately $963 million in airline funds are being blocked from repatriation in nearly 20 countries. Four countries: Bangladesh ($146.1 million), Lebanon ($175.5 million), Nigeria ($143.8 million), and Zimbabwe ($142.7 million), account for over 60 per cent of this total, although there has been positive progress in reducing blocked funds in Bangladesh and Zimbabwe of late.

“We encourage governments to work with industry to resolve the issues that are preventing airlines from repatriating funds. This will enable aviation to provide the connectivity needed to sustain jobs and energise economies as they recover from COVID-19,” Walsh added.

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The NFI School helps transform the lives of children of lessprivileged community in Kpaduma Hills, Asokoro and its immediate environs by offering free education, school uniforms, books, and special empowerment programs with the aim of empowering the children to become the best they can be and thereby breaking the vicious cycle of poverty. Giving.ng also gave a grant of N500,000 towards the success of the crowdfunding campaign.

Speaking on the partnership, the CEO of Sterling One Foundation, Olapeju Ibekwe, commended the Run Club Abuja for the laudable project highlighting that the country needs more impact focused Nigerians who can choose to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

Ibekwe added that the Givin.ng platform was designed to provide support for such change makers who will not accept the status quo but are willing to create partnerships for progress within their various communities. She reiterated that grants are available to fund raisers who qualify and noted that these are available on the Giving.ng platform.

Aviation Roadmap: Sirika Harps On Industrial Harmony For Growth

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR

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he minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika has said, that for a critical sector like aviation to grow, there must be constant industrial harmony at the forefront of labour activities in the country Addressing participants at a 2 day strategic stakeholders retreat in Owerri, Imo state, and organised by the joint aviation trade unions forum (JATUF) with its theme of the retreat “Harnessing the Gains of Industrial Harmony in the Aviation Sector” Sirika commended the commitment of the current leaders of the various Unions to the entrenchment of good industrial relations, believing in gains derivable therefrom.

Sirika, represented by Director of Press in the Ministry, Dr James Odaudu, said good industrial relation helps in effective utilisation of man, money, and material while improved employee morale, industrial peace, recognition of employee’s interest and reconciliation of employer’s and employee objectives and interest, increased production with minimum wastage of resources.

According to the minister, the roles which trade unions play are influenced by their own characteristics as much as by their environment adding that above all, trade unions perform various roles that are very significant in filling important gaps in the Nigerian industrial environment.

“One important role of labour union is the effective promotion of collective bargaining agreement. In every industrial and economic setting, trade unions constitute an element of fundamental importance to collective bargaining, which is vital for industrial peace and harmony. Every labor union in Nigeria sees this as a major role they are expected to carry out” According to the minister, labour unions in the sector have continued to play their roles effectively and have been yielding positive results for both government and workers.

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SHOTS OF THE WEEK PHOTO EDITOR: PEACE UDUGBA [08033050729]

L-R: Former Senate President, David Mark; Chairman, Board of Trustees, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Walid Jibril and former senator representing Kogi Central, Tunde Ogbeha, condoling with the first son of the late Ibrahim Mantu, former Deputy President of the Senate, Yusuf Buhari and his wife, Zahra Nasir Bayero, during their wedding Fatiha in Kano on 20/8/21. Alhaji Musa Mantu during a prayer for his father at Zone E’ Mosque Apo in Abuja on 17/8/21.

L-R: Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Services Eat’N’Go, Mrs. Lanre Tunji-Sanusi; Representative of Ogun State governor, Honourable Commissioner for Industry Trade and Investment, Mrs. Kikelomo Longe; Special Adviser to the Governor on Industry Trade and Investment, Chief Remi Ogunmefun; Head of Development and Project Eat’N’Go, Mr. Olusola Adeeko, at the launch of the Eat’N’Go Warehouse and Commissary in Ogun State on 12/8/2021.

L-R: Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Lamido Yuguda; President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, Mr. Tunde Amolegbe; Minister of Finance, Hajia Zainsb Ahmed, and Minister of Industry Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, during the 2021 CIS Seminar, in Abuja 19/8/2021.

Lagos State Project Coordinator of APPEALS project, Mrs. Oluranti Sagoe-Oviebo (right) and farmers, showcasing Ofada Rice pure strain supported by African Rice Center after harvest, during Lagos APPEALS Project’s Field Day for Rice Seed Outgrowers at Origanringan, Epe, in Lagos State on 19/8/2021.

L-R: Chair of the group, Lady Patricia Ndubuisi; First Lady, Ekiti State, Erelu Bisi Fayemi; Vice Chair, Mrs Caroline Okonkwo; and Chair, Planning Committee, Lady Patience Juwe, during the presentation of a plaque and conferment of the ‘Nne Gburugburu’ title on Erelu Fayemi by the Ndigbo Community in Ado-Ekiti on 16/8/2021.

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DIVORCED, BACK IN SINGLES CLUB

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Nollywood Actors Back to Being Single After Years of Marriage

Mike Ezuruonye

They were one but later became two due to reasons beyond their control. Joy Onuorah and Shade Metibogun chronicle Nollywood actors who were once married but are now back to the singles club.

Emmanuel Ikubese

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Daniel Ademinokan

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ess than a year after they were joined in holy matrimony, Nollywood actor and former Mr Nigeria, Emmanuel Ikubese’s marriage to makeup artist, Anita Adetoye, hit the rocks. The duo tied the knot in March 2020 after being engaged in 2019. The couple’s marriage was perceived to be troubled after they both unfollowed each other on Instagram. They also both deleted photos of their wedding ceremony from their social media space.

However, they have both remained mute on why things ended badly. Obviously, they have both moved on and are minding their business and career, but the actor seems to be taking his time before taking another leap at the marriage institution again.

irector and Cinematographer, Daniel Ademinokan, has made two attempts at marriage but they both ended in disaster. He was first married to amiable actress, Doris Simeon and the union produced a son. However, they both went their separate ways in 2010 due to irreconcilable differences. In 2014, the talented director made another shot at marriage again. He married Stella Damasus privately and they both relocated to the United States. Their marriage couldn’t stand the test of time and the reason for the crack in their union was never disclosed by the two parties. They are now separated and Daniel relocated to Houston in 2020, leaving his ex-wife, Stella in Dallas with her two daughters from her first marriage to late Jaiye Aboderin

Fred Amata

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red Amata, Nollywood actor cum movie director’s marriage to media entrepreneur and boss of Rave TV, Agatha Amata lasted for over 10 years. They got married in 1995, but the marriage hit the rocks in 2005. The marriage is blessed with two children, a boy and a girl, Oreva and Stephanie. The marriage crashed over allegations of infidelity.

The one-time President of the Directors Guild of Nigeria, has attempted to give love another chance and fell in love with Ibinabo Fibresime, a Nollywood actress and producer but that didn’t last even though their relationship produced a daughter, Ewomazino in 2008. The actor has since remained single.

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he breakup of award-winning actor and father, Mike Ezuruonye’s marriage came as a rude shock to many. It was said that the actor left because his wife gave birth to a child with albinism. However, the actor debunked the claims. Ezuruonye got married to his wife, Nkechi Nnorom in November 2010. Their church wedding ceremony was held at the Folawiyo Bankole Methodist Church in Lagos. The couple met in Abuja during one of his movie shoots in 2009.

His wife was living and working as a medical psychologist in Canada, but she had moved to Nigeria where they met and started dating. Together, they have a cute son named, Reynold Nkembuchim Ezuruonye who was born in October 2011. Reynold also has a little sister. While Mike Ezuruonye shares a lot of photos with his son, Reynold on social media, he is yet to share that of his daughter. It does seem like a cautious move to shield his family and private life from public scrutiny. It also appears that he is also trying to keep his lovely albino daughter from the public.

Ekenedilichukwu Eric Nwenweh

Jeta Amata

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eta Amata was once married, but he is now back to the bachelor’s club. His marriage with his former beauty queen lover, Mbong Amata, was said to have ended over career-related issues. While his estranged wife wanted to achieve more in the line of acting, he was insistent on caging her. The two met at an audition in Calabar however, they didn’t start a relationship until two years after as Mbong was just sixteen at the time. After they had a child, they got married and relocated to the United States. The gorgeous actress who has gone on to do great things in the movie industry complained of being just a housewife, even with all the dreams and aspirations she had. Meanwhile, after the crash of their marriage in 2013, the director and father of one is yet to be committed to another woman though he is said to be in love with an Australian actress, Viva Bianca, popularly known for her role as lithriya in Spartacus, the movie. Veno, the beautiful daughter the union produced, is about 13 years-old now.

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ollywood star and singer, Ekenedilichukwu Ugochukwu Erics Nwenweh, more popularly known as Ken Erics, happens to be one of those whose love story was short-lived. His marriage to Onyi Adaba in December 2017 one month after they started dating lasted only two years after which the marriage crashed. The actor was accused of being a homosexual. According to his ex-wife, Onyi, he never made love to her before and during their marriage. Even when she tried to seduce him as suggested by his mother, she got the beating of her life. It was also alleged that he was dating his colleague, Rachel Okonkwo, an accusation the actress has since denied. However, the actor stated that his marriage to Onyi broke down because of irreconcilable differences. He also frowned at the fact that he was roped in with Rachel Okonkwo. The actor also kept sealed lips about his marriage And he is yet to walk another lady down the aisle again.

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Blossom Chukwujekwu

Saheed Balogun

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ho could have thought that social media favorite couple, Blossom Chukwu jekwu and beauty entrepreneur, Maureen Esisi, would ever give up on their marriage. The news of the official break-up of the two in August 2020 left the Internet buzzing for some time. It was reported that the actor moved out of his matrimonial home and informed his in-laws that he was no longer interested in the marriage. While rumour had it that the actor left his three-year marriage because of incessant disrespect from his wife, his estranged wife denied knowing any reason for the crash. According to her, she didn’t see it coming as she got to know about her marriage crash from her father. She also stated that the actor was not interested in fathering a child and doesn’t know why. Maureen also made it clear that another woman was not responsible for her marriage crash, adding that her husband never caught her in bed with another man. The beautiful entrepreneur also stressed that there was no domestic violence in her marriage as insinuated in the media. One would think that Blossom would jump at the next opportunity of leaving the singles club because of the circumstances surrounding the collapse of his first marriage, but he appears to be taking his time.

eteran actor, filmmaker, director and producer, Saheed Balogun is one of those who has had his fair share of marriage. Although he has been married three times, he is currently reveling in the singles club with no immediate plans to return to the married men’s club. A father of four from two different women, he officially got married in 2000 to his colleague, Faithia Williams who is also a mother of three, with one from her first marriage. Fathia bore him two of his four children, Khalid and Aaliyah Balogun. His first two, Zinnat and Jamal Balogun are from his first marriage with Sherifat Balogun, a singer. Saheed and Faithia separated in 2006, but their official divorce was in 2014. Saheed later found love with one Funke Elegushi, the younger sister of His Royal Majesty, Oba Saheed Elegushi, Kusenla III of Ikate land, Lagos. They got married and lived together in their Magodo GRA home for four years before they both went their separate ways. The actor has never given any reason for the incessant breakdown of his marriages, but it is obvious he has chosen to remain single, preferring to bask in the euphoria of his current status.

Ikechukwu Mitchel Ogbonna

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Olakunle Fawole

andsome actor, Ikechukwu Mitchel Ogbonna, also known as IK, is among the actors who are enjoying the singles club after years of marriage. It was all going beautifully well between him and his gorgeous Colombian wife, Sonia Morales, until Sonia, according to reports, decided to end it all as she was no longer capable of coping with his low financial status. They however denied this but continued to patch things up until they later admitted that they were divorced in 2019. Sonia blamed the breakup of their marriage to unreconciled communications issues.

The model and mother of one also revealed that she was a victim of depression while in the marriage. The five-year-old union produced a handsome son, Ace Ikechukwu Ogbonna.

Meanwhile, Sonia has announced that she is available and willing to find love again even as a single mother. But her ex seems not to be interested in finding love for now despite the fact that his best friend and colleague, Alex Ekubo has found his missing rib and is set to get married.

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ne of those whose well-celebrated marriage couldn’t stand the test of time is actor, Olakunle Fawole, popularly known as Abounce, with award-winning actress and model, Yvonne Jegede. The two tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony in 2018 but went their separate ways in 2019. The couple met on the set of Tade Ogidan’s popular drama series Behind the Siege. According to the beautiful actress, noticeable cracks in the marriage became obvious when she was three months pregnant. It kept getting worse until it became irredeemable and she had to move out of her matrimonial home. However, she had a mutual agreement with the father of her son to move on before they eventually got divorced. The marriage, though short-lived, produced a son named Xavier who is a little less than three years old. While the movie actor has left the love scene, he is not showing signs of returning there any time soon.

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Gbenro Ajibade

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ollywood actor, Gbenro Ajibade and Nigerian-American actress, Osas Ighodaro, walked down the aisle in a flamboyant wedding which took place in New York in 2015. However, the light and sparkle in their marriage started to dim after having their first child, Azariah in 2016. Much later, Gbenro called out Osas on instagram over her parenting skills, which gave away to speculations that all was not well with their union. The couple later parted ways in 2019, barely five years after they got married. According to Ajibade in an interview with TV presenter, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu on Channels Television where he was a guest on the Rubbin minds programme, the marriage ended as a result of irreconcilable differences. He also made it known that he did not marry the beautiful lady because of the green card as was being speculated. Gbenro went on to say that he still maintains a good relationship with his ex-wife, Osas because of their daughter. Although the handsome actor has moved on and is in another relationship, he is yet to make it official.

Tchidi Chikere

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ollywood producer cum director, Chidi Chikere ‘s marriage to actress Nuella Njubigbo collapsed a few months ago, despite the fact that the estranged couple named their union love made in heaven when they got married in 2014. The union was said to have crashed because of domestic violence. However, the two denied the claims and even shared a video of themselves in bed debunking the crashed marriage. The actress later gave a clue that all was not well in their paradise after she unfollowed her husband and changed her bio from mother and wife to award winning actress and Chief Executive Officer. The marriage was blessed with a baby girl in 2014. Chikere’s marriage to Njubigbo would be his second attempt at marriage as he was previously married to actress and beauty entrepreneur, Sophia Williams.

The marriage produced three boys until he left her for Nuella.

Sophia is currently seeing a younger man named Young Mula who spoils her silly with the good things of life PAGE 39

AUGUST 22 - AUGUST 28, 2021 www.thewillnigeria.com

BY SHADE METIBOGUN

FEMI FANI KAYODE BAGS CHIEFTAINCY TITLE A

former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani Kayode, is about to be conferred with a chieftaincy title of the Ajagunla of Otun-Ekiti in Ekiti State. The news was broken in a letter signed by Chief Kehinde Atolagbe, the Saade of Otun-Ekiti. FFK, as the controversial politician is fondly called, is already warming up

Lynda Clems accuses Annie Idibia of intellectual theft

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Fani-Kayode

for the event, scheduled to take place during the coronation of his Royal Majesty, Oba Adekunle Adeayo Adeagbo in Ekiti State in November 2021.

Speaking on this development, the ecstatic People’s Democratic Party chieftain expressed his profound gratitude to his Royal Majesty for bestowing such honour on him. He also

stated that he was willing to contribute his quota to the development of the community as he takes the title of Ajagunla of the town.

The ex-minister now has two chieftaincy titles. He was made the Sadaukin Shinkafi by the Emirate Council in Zamfara State in 2020 and now, the Ajagunla of Otun –Ekiti.

reported a few months ago that Paul and Anita Okoye’s marriage was in trouble. They however tried to maintain a united front to throw the scent off inquisitive people.

They even celebrated their 7th wedding anniversary in March to the admiration of many. But now all that has ended as their marriage is now officially over.

Anita and Paul became an item before the talented singer hit it big in the music industry. Their relationship dates back to when Paul and his twin brother, Peter

were struggling to find their feet in the music industry while in Jos, Plateau state. They courted for ten years before they finally got married. Anita had to leave her well paying job in order to manage the home front. Shortly after they had their set of twins, Anita opened Tannkco, a kiddies clothing store. All appeared to be well between them but sources stated that Anita was not happy in her marriage.

It was alleged that Paul became a serial cheat and wasn’t treating his woman right. There was also an allegation of domestic violence in the union. Sources say Paul’s attitude was reported to his elder brother, Jude but their issues were not resolved amicably before Anita filed for divorce. Not long after she opened her flagship store in 2019, she left the shore of Nigeria and moved to Atlanta, Georgia in the United States with her three children on the pretext of going back to study abroad. Anita settled down over there and has been living her life quietly with her beautiful children.

Paul And Anita Okoye Finally Part Ways

Paul & Anita

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he once rosy relationship between Paul Okoye, one of the members of the defunct musical group, P-Square and his beautiful wife, Anita has finally hit the rock.

Anita is seeking the dissolution of her marriage with Paul at the Federal high Court, Abuja due to irreconcilable differences. Anita also advised her now estranged husband in the legal document to challenge the petition if he is disgruntled.

Recall that THEWILL had exclusively

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was already in the air.

About three weeks to their wedding, a gold-coloured wedding invitation card was sent to family and friends of the couple-to-be. Although they tried to make it a hushhush affair, the wedding invite eventually surfaced online and many started wishing the beautiful lady well.

The wedding took place on Saturday, August 21, 2021 at Wave Beach Resort located in Elegushi, Lekki Phase 1.

The event had in attendance the crème da la crème in the

entertainment world, family members and friends of the bride.

Anu Oladosu, the beautiful bride is said to be an air hostess. She is from a Muslim family in Oshogbo, Osun state. She was born and raised in Lagos State and attended Queens College, Yaba. She is a very private lady and is social media shy. She made her social media space private because of intruders who were interested in and curious to know more about her and her relationship.

Idibia and Clems

Annie’s tone while they communicated showed that she was annoyed with the way their conversation was going.

However, they both agreed to settle the matter out of court, but Annie never got back to her since April when they last had their discussion. It was also gathered that Clems later blocked Annie in order not to see anything about the project

again.

A few weeks after the scenario, Clems came across a producer and saw a post on the same series with the same character, Nkoyo. Annie credited herself as the creator of the series despite the fact that the character was not built by her.

The issue made Clems very angry and she had to openly accuse her on social media.

Cubana Chief Priest buys Turkish Citizenship For family

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ight club owner, Pascal Chibuike Okechukwu, more popularly known as Cubana Chief Priest, loves the good things of life and is living life to its fullness. The flamboyant businessman just bought Turkish citizenship for his family. He has also acquired a multimillion naira property in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Imo state born dude who loves displaying his wealth at every given opportunity made that

Tobi Bakre Weds Lover in Lagos

few weeks ago, Tobi Bakre, an ex-housemate in Season 3 of the popular TV reality show, Big Brother Naija, unveiled his heartthrob, Anu Oladosu.

The two love birds kept their relationship a top secret until a few months ago when preparation for their wedding reached top gear.

The actor released some of their pre- wedding pictures on his social media space a week to his wedding. Many were not surprised because the rumour of their wedding ceremony

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nited States-based Nollywood producer, Lynda Clems, has accused her colleague, Annie Idibia of copyright infringement. Lynda allegedly had invited Annie to feature in one of her movies, Open Scars and she was to play the role of Nkoyo, a character she developed.

But a few weeks after leaving the movie location, Annie also developed a series, which she titled Nyoko without seeking Clems’ consent. Fortunately for Clems, she was informed by one of her friends who discovered that the character Nkoyo which she created had been developed into a series and it was being shot at a movie location. This didn’t go down well with Clems who reached out to top Nollywood actors in the industry to intervene in the matter. Their intervention made Annie reach out to her and drew her attention to the fact that she had infringed on her intellectual property.

According to Clems,

Oladosu & Bakre

move while he was on a recent vacation.

It was gathered that he visited Dubai, Istanbul and Turkey recently and decided to acquire the property and citizenship for his two sons, Chukwuebuka and Obinna, his beautiful wife and himself.

Pascal, who would spare no cost in ensuring that his family and loved ones are well taken care of, has promised to collect the key of his property next month after he must have made 25 per cent down payment and completed all formalities Okechukwu that would officially make him the owner of the property. Pascal Chibuike Okechukwu made his wealth and name while He expressed his excitement he was the general manager of at the fact that he wouldn’t Cubana group. He is the proud have to pay thousands of owner of Club Xhrine located in dollars on healthcare again Owerri, Imo State. He also has as he would benefit from the his hands in general supplies. health care system in his new His brand endorsements have country, adding that he no also boosted his net worth longer need a visa to so many countries again. The millionaire and catapulted him to the millionaires club. The plus businessman also made it sized flamboyant businessman known that he was given recently bagged a doctorate up to 10 years to complete degree in Events and Luxury payment for the property, but he would ensure he lives up to Hospitality Management from European American University in expectation before the period April this year. elapses.

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AUGUST 22 - AUGUST 28, 2021 www.thewillnigeria.com

BY IVORY UKONU AND SHADE METIBOGUN

Aladejana

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dewale Aladejana, also known as Wale Jana, the Chief Executive Officer of Sapphire Scent has lost properties worth millions of naira to people who invaded his Lekki office a few days ago.

No fewer than 10 men in the company of three Policemen invaded his office. They took away some valuables and perfume displayed for sale.

Those who made away with his properties were investors who were yet to get their return on investment and capital from his investment scheme.

The controversial businessman is reportedly broke and he has not been able to redeem the pledge he made last year to refund all the money invested

in his business to the investors.

Last year, several investors and distributors harassed him endlessly for their entitlements, with many taking to social media to expose him for failing to make returns on their investment and also for withholding their capital.

Popular social media activist, Segun Awosanya also known as Segalink, waded in after several investors asked him to get involved. According to him, Wale didn’t intentionally defraud his investors only that he lacked exit plans. He, however, promised to help the investors recover their capitals.

In a bid to make peace with the warring parties, Wale Jana issued an apology on social

media to his investors. He blamed poor decision making and poor business strategy for his business woes. He also promised to pay back their money and asked his investors to give him time so that he could make good his promise.

Some months after that, the controversial businessman redeemed his pledge. He paid the sum of N76 million to some of the people he owed.

He even posted their names and the sums of money he paid to each investor on social media. However, nothing has been heard since then about the promise to repay the remaining funds until videos of his properties being seized surfaced online.

Family Puts Up Hosa Okunbo’s Wells Carlton Hotel For Sale

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o doubt the death of Captain Hosa Wells Okunbo which many are yet to come to terms with on account of what he represented in the lives of his family, friends and associates is likely to throw up some dilemmas on how to manage his monstrous assets as well as some changes that are likely to shock a few and not go down well with others.

One of such changes which has already been decided on, barely two weeks after his death, is the sale of his Abuja based luxury hotel, The Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments.

THEWILL gathered from reliable sources that at a meeting which had in attendance Okunbo’s family members including his US based wife, Nosa whom he parted ways with in controversial circumstances and reconciled with before his passing, the family resolved to put the hotel up for sale.

What must have promoted this decision is yet unknown even as what the family plans to do with the proceeds from the sale THEWILLNIGERIA

Yinka Aiyefele honours late Kola Olawuyi

POLICE, INVESTORS, INVADE WALE JANA’S OFFICE, SEIZE HIS PROPERTIES

Hosa Okunbo of the hotel remains a mystery.

No doubt, decisions are being reached on what to do with his remaining assets even as the family bicker over them.

The Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments was commissioned in December 2018 after nine years of painstaking investment of time, energy and resources.

A multi-billion-naira luxury investment, it is located in the highbrow area of Asokoro, Abuja. It is a sprawling 55 room facility with avant-garde THEWILLNG

bars and four world-class restaurants, state of the art gym, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a Japanese/Indonesian spa etc.

The Edo-born businessman died at the age of 63 in a London hospital after a one-year battle with pancreatic cancer. His health had reportedly improved and he planned to return to the country just in time for his son in-law, Tsola Emiko’s coronation as the new Olu of Warri on Saturday August 21.

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Okoro

HOW NOLLYWOOD ACTOR STANLEY OKORO DIED OF FOOD POISONING

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few weeks ago when news of the untimely death of Nollywood actor, Stanley Okoro broke, many were shocked because he had just completed a movie shoot in Enugu State. It was gathered that the actor who left Enugu for Asaba in order to shoot another movie allegedly died of poison. According to reports, the late actor had an obsession with food and he indulged in it a lot. The last post he made on his Instagram page corroborated our findings.

He made the post after he had finished eating. He said, “If the money wey you get no fit solve your problem, my brother chop.”

It was stated that the actor was planning to travel for another movie shoot before the unfortunate incident happened.

It was gathered that Stanley went back to Owerri, Imo state where he resides, but a few days after his arrival, the poison allegedly started having effect on him. He took ill and was vomiting black liquid. While he was walking to the toilet, the comic actor complained of burning chest and collapsed. Friends and neighbours who ran to his aid rushed him to the hospital, but he gave up the ghost shortly after.

According to his family, Stanley was an easy going man who was down to earth. They said they weren’t aware of any problem that might have led to him being poisoned and eventually killed. The actor’s remains were deposited in the morgue.

Meanwhile, members of his family have started deliberating about his burial arrangements which may likely take place on August, 26, 2021.

hen Anjolaoluwa, the first child and only daughter of late broadcast journalist, Kola Olawuyi, decided to tie the knot with Olumide Vigo, the only son of late socialite, Charles Olufemi Vigo on Saturday August 14, 2021 it only made sense that the choice musician of the day would be Yinka Aiyefele. And the reason is not far fetched. Aiyefele was a young friend and protege of Olawuyi who anchored the famous Yoruba radio show, Iriri aiye, which later transformed to a television show tiled Nkan n’be. In fact, it was while Aiyefele was driving from Ibadan to Ogun State, to stand in allegedly for Olawuyi who was out of the country, for his radio programme, that he had a

ghastly motor accident that left him confined to a wheel chair.

Besides his kindness towards him, before and after his accident, Aiyefele felt that the only way to honor the memory of the man who he looked up to, was to perform at his daughter’s wedding free-ofcharge. In his characteristic manner, he serenaded the high profile guests who turned up for the event, some of who came in from outside the country at Marcellina’s place, Ikeja, GRA, venue of the wedding.

The couple reportedly met on Facebook. While the groom works in an oil servicing company, the bride is a chartered accountant with Price Water House Coopers.

Vigo & Olawuyi

Teju Baby Face Seeks Greener Pastures in The US

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omedian, talk show host and motivational speaker, Teju Oyelakin, otherwise known as Teju Baby Face, has relocated to the United States of America, Texas precisely, in search of the proverbial greener pastures. Teju left Nigeria late last year with his wife and twin children. Not much is known about his real reason

Oyelakin

for relocating abroad, but it may not be unconnected with his inability to make headway with his career as a comedian in Nigeria, prompting him to embrace motivational speaking and hosting a now rested talk show. Despite the success he recorded with The Teju Baby Face Talk Show, what with the number of high profile individuals who came as guests on the show, it allegedly became increasingly difficult to get sponsorship to keep it on air.

Teju, who also authored a book entitled, The Secrets of the Streets, gets busy in the United States pep-talking his over 200,000 followers on Instagram. He has also made efforts to revive his comedy career and recently hosted his debut comedy show in the US in collaboration with a Texasbased restaurant.

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AUGUST 22 - AUGUST 28, 2021 www.thewillnigeria.com

BY IVORY UKONU

Tania Omotayo Moves Beyond Husband’s Ordeal

PETER OBAFEMI RESURFACES

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f you are familiar with Ritetime Aviation & Travel Services, operators of World Airways that provided direct flights from Nigeria to Atlanta in early 2000, then you must surely remember Peter Obafemi. A true definition of a Lagos socialite, Peter at the time he floated his aviation company was the toast of many top businessmen and women, politicians and socialites. This was on account of the services his aviation company rendered, which was most sought after among members of the upper crust of the society. Besides being the toast of parties hosted by the aforementioned, Peter on his own equally threw some of the greatest private parties ever. With his connections and wealth came the ladies who all wanted a piece of him.

Unfortunately, the sway he held in the aviation industry fizzled out after he violated certain provisions of the

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US Department of Transportation Public Charter regulations and he couldn’t continue to render his services.

Tried as much as he could to revive his business, this time, choosing to ply local routes via Great Eagles Airways, that dream never came to fruition.

Then in 2014, he decided to try his hands in the governorship race in Ekiti State, but got badly burnt. He quickly recoiled into his shell. In April this year, he came out of Obafemi hibernation to give his late mum a befitting decided to host close friends and burial and thereafter family members to a modest party returned to his quiet state. for his birthday at the five star hotel.

He resurfaced last week Ironically, none of the popular oldies when, like many Nigerians with whom he rubbed shoulders in who are all clamouring to time past showed up to felicitate with experience the hospitality him. Only one or two familiar faces of the newly opened thought it necessary to turn up for Lagos Marriot Hotel, him.

Samuel Adedoyin Loses Daughter to Cardiac Arrest B

Adedoyin

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arely two months after wealthy industrialist, Samuel Adedoyin, lost his grandson, 28 yearold Subomi, in very controversial circumstances, he has now lost one of his daughters to the cold hands of death. His daughter, Lola Olabayo, until her death on Tuesday, August 18, 2021 from cardiac arrest at a Lagos hospital, was the mother of Subomi and wife to Ilorin-based multi millionaire businessman, Prince John Olabayo.

She was a former president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria.

Only a few months ago, there were shouts of joy in Adedoyin’s household as one of his daughters, ex banker turned Queen, Olori Sola Alao, welcomed a set of twins at over 60 years, more than 20 years after she had her first son. His joy was cut short when news of the death of his grandson hit him. While still trying to cope with the sad reality, he lost his daughter. Sources say she spent her last moments with close friends and family members.

About three years ago, 2018 precisely, the octogenarian lost one of his daughters, Funke Adedoyin, a socialite, lawmaker and former minister of state for health, to cancer which she battled for about two years.

nlike the average Nigerian wife who will prefer to disappear from the social media space, avoid friends and family and ultimately marinate in self pity over any unpleasant ordeal their husbands get entangled in, Tania Omotayo has chosen not to be that kind of wife, preferring to quickly move past her husband’s criminal ordeal and get on with her life.

The fashion designer and founder of fashion brands, Ziva Lagos and Ziva kids returned to social media barely five days after her husband, Olasunmbo Olawale Winfunke and his business partner/friend, Boniface Odenigbo Amandianeze, aka Armani, were whisked off by operatives of the antigraft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, for fraud. Not only is she working on expanding her business, Tania who once had something going with Wizkid, has been closing deals and was recently made a brand

Winfunke & Omotayo

ambassador of Makari Suisse’s 24 Karat Rose Gold Collection.

She is obviously not letting anything hold her down.

On June 29, Winfunke and Amandianeze, co owners of popular Buzz Bar in Victoria Island, were arrested for perpetrating a $35 million Internet fraud.

Unknown to the two Lagos big boys, the EFCC had placed them under surveillance after

one of their business partners in the United States exposed them to the FBI a few weeks ago. Beside their arrest, the EFCC also confiscated their properties and luxurious cars found in their residence in the Oniru area of Lagos. Their arrest happened a few weeks after Tania celebrated her 29th birthday in style with prominent Nigerian celebrities in attendance.

Yeni Kuti Slams Fela’s Saxophonist

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eni Kuti, the eldest child of Afrobeat creator, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, is not happy about the seed of discord that her late father’s former manager and master saxophonist, Lekan Animashaun, otherwise known as Baba Ani, is attempting to sow in the Kuti family. And she is not mincing words taking him to the cleaners.

A few days ago, the Octogenarian had revealed how he was banned from the New Afrika Shrine owned by Femi Kuti and managed by Yeni Kuti.

Baba Ani revealed that the reason he no longer goes to the shrine is because Femi banned him from going there for refusing to work with him, as he preferred instead, to work with Femi’s half brother, Seun.

Baba Ani had specifically said that Seun Kuti told him about all of the negative things his older siblings said about him.

He also alleged that at a point during his last visit to the shrine to exchange pleasantries with Femi, Femi almost pulled a gun on him. Well, Yeni

Kuti and Animashaun

is not having any of Baba Ani’s ‘cooked up tale’ and has accused him of not only being a perpetrator and feeder of war but one who speaks outright lies despite being an elder who should be about peace and unity. She added that although the Kuti family like every other family is prone to disagreements from time to time, the family has

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however managed to remain at peace with one another while maintaining a united front.

Surprisingly, at Baba Ani’s 85th birthday party on Wednesday, August 18, hosted for him by arts enthusiasts at Freedom Park, Lagos, Seun Kuti was very much in attendance to felicitate with him and even performed some of his hit singles to the delight of guests.

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AUGUST 22 - AUGUST 28, 2021 www.thewillnigeria.com

TOURISM ...IBB @ 80: A Charmed Life

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But what he will not succumb to is name the enforcers.

Does that make him a villain? Certainly not. Instead, the man deserves a pat on the back for not ratting on those who forced him to make the announcement. In other words, his action is no less loyal than someone who takes the rap for other people’s crime. It is almost heroic.

Concerning his intention to turn Nigeria into an Islamic state by joining the OIC, analysts have theorized that it was more of a strategic move than turning Nigeria into a theocracy. As a member of OIC, there were certain financial benefits without necessarily becoming a modern-day Iran or the now Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

NANTA, Topax Travel Target Teachers Naija on Tourism Challenge R eality Television show, Teachers Naija, tasking over sixteen housemates on Nigerian tourism destination challenge sponsored by National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) and Topax Travel Agency, will be aired on DSTV channel 195 and GOTV 97 Saturday, August 13 by 8pm.

The innovative reality show anchored by two female travel icons, Mrs Susan Akporiaye, President National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) and Mrs Ibiwari Uloma Kemabonta, drilled Nigerian Teachers who were pulled together as housemates and representing their states, to give a rundown of three tourism sites and festivals in their states worthy as destination products.

Participants in no particular order and who are teachers of primary and secondary schools, represented states such as Lagos, Osun, OGUN, kwara, Anambra, Imo, Abia, Edo, and Delta, among others.

Dressed in detailed Nigerian outfits, reflecting our diversity, each of the housemates, had about four minutes to run through the socioeconomic and Cultural tourism engagements in their states, and to share personal vision on how grow youth tourism clubs in their catchment academic environment.

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Scored on the strengths of presentation, deep knowledge and marketing communication initiatives, the overall winner will go home with a paid return ticket to an all expensive paid holiday destination in any part of Nigeria.

Also, the participating housemates, will also have tourism books and a scheduled education trip to the city of Jos, plateau state before the end of the year. The participants will also enjoy free training program on tourism, hospitality and Culture management.

Mrs Akporiaye and Kemabonta who spoke separately on the effort, noted that targeting Nigerian teachers on tourism challenge, is the best way to help deepen the knowledge and love for Nigeria Cultural tourism engagements among the teachers who are the moulders of the minds of Nigerian children in their formative years.

They both assured of sustaining the initiative and to use it as a spring board to capture and grow new generation of travel and tourism trade operators, who will be Nigerian tourism centric, and proud ambassadors of our tourism for tomorrow.

Teachers Naija, is on session two, having made debut about two years ago and is produced by Anub Media.

IBB also pioneered recruitment of eggheads, confirmed scholars and professionals from the Ivory Tower to work in various government parastals and agencies. There was, Professor Wole Soyinka at FRSC, fellow don Humphrey Nwosu as NEC chairman, Omo Omoruyi a close confidant and adviser on political matters to IBB, etc. It was during IBB’s regime when Professor Jibril Aminu was Minister of Petroleum that indigenous oil and gas companies began to be allocated oil blocks for the very first time since crude was discovered at Oloibiri in 1956.

In a birthday tribute last week, Daily Trust mused that both “local and international writers have rated IBB as the most powerful leader in the history of Nigeria. He was a methodical ruler who was skilful and tactical in approach, but also unpredictable when his options collided with national interest, which earned him the nickname of Maradona.”

Continuing, the newspaper wrote that “IBB has always been a believer that timely decisions shape an upright leadership, and he would, therefore, not sit on the fence and allow any situation to deteriorate without taking appropriate action.

“Throughout his rule, he never relented in taking a decision when the situation demanded so. For him, it was always better to take a timely decision, and realise it was wrong, than to avoid taking any decision at all and be at a standstill, to pave way for uncertainties and insecurity to worsen.”

As for the man himself, he long ago spelt out his vision and those aspiring for leadership positions. “Each one of us, and, indeed, all those who aspire to national leadership,” IBB has said, “must bring their own visions, views and styles to the business of reforming Nigeria, and the search for solutions.”

“He who dares, wins,” so goes the motto of the British Special Air Service. Translation? If you have the cojones, courage to take risks in life, you will most certainly succeed.

Orphaned at a very young age, years of rigorous military drills, active participant in two, three or so compulsory military take overs, several professional and personal pitfalls along the way, it is hard to deny that IBB has not dared and won at 80.

Kebbi to Host World Tourism Day 2021

he Office of the Minister of Information and Culture, in Abuja, over the weekend, confirmed that it has granted Kebbi State Government the right to host Nigeria’s observance and celebration of this year 2021 World Tourism Day. More so, Kebbi State Government officials, in Birnin Kebbi, have equally confirmed their readiness to host the retinue of activities lined-up by the Ministry of Information and Culture for this year’s World Tourism Day activities in Nigeria.

Since the 1970s, every September 27th is marked, by the United Nations, as a global observance day for creating awareness of tourism’s social, cultural, political and economic contributions to tourist destinations and host communities. World Tourism Days have, in recent history, become occasions to equally x-ray the contributions that the sector makes in attaining the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

It is now confirmed that Nigeria’s observance of the 2021 THEWILLNIGERIA

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World Tourism Day, in Kebbi State, would highlight the country’s rich cultural tourism destinations and leading products. This year, the program of events for Nigeria would run for five days, culminating with a grand finale on 27th September in Argungu. It is noteworthy that, Argungu Emirate is the host community of the prestigious International Argungu Fishing and Cultural Festival.

Nigeria’s flagship cultural tourism jamboree.

Recently, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation announced the theme of this year’s World Tourism Day as “Tourism for Inclusive Growth”. A statement, published on UNWTO’s website partly read, “...this is an opportunity to look beyond tourism statistics and acknowledge that, behind every number, there is a person. UNWTO invites its Member States, as well as non-members, sister UN agencies, businesses and individuals to celebrate tourism’s unique ability to ensure that nobody is left behind as the world begins to open up again and look to

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the future.”

The Director General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism, Alhaji Nura Sani Kangiwa, the Turakin Kebbi, who is a member of Nigeria’s 2021 World Tourism Day events Planning Committee listed the activities scheduled for Nigeria’s Tourism Day observance to include international media briefings, mini-durbar by Argungu Emirate Council, scintillating cultural displays, charity polo matches, guided tour of prominent tourist sites and the turbanning of Alhaji Lai Muhammed, the present Minister of Information and Culture, as the ‘Kaakakin’ Kebbi.

The Planning Committee for Nigeria’s World Tourism Day 2021 observance includes the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism, Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation and the organized tourism private sector, among other stakeholders.

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PERISCOPE

The Battle of VAT: Awaiting Winners And Losers

BY SAM DIALA he Value Added Tax (VAT) has entered the arena of another legal battle. This time, the stage is the Court of Appeal at the instance of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) over the recent judgment of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

the Registered Trustees of Hotel Owners and Managers Association of Lagos V. A. G. Federation & Others while considering the validity of the Hotel Occupancy and Restaurants Consumption Law of Lagos State upheld the powers of the Lagos State Government to charge and collect Consumption Tax from hotels, restaurants and event centres within the State.

In a judgment delivered by Justice Stephen Pam of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt Division, Rivers State, on August 9, 2021, it was held that the Rivers State Government, and not the Federal Government, is empowered to collect Value Added Tax (VAT) and Personal Income Tax (PIT) in the state. The ruling was based on the premise that only the state is constitutionally entitled to impose taxes in its territory of the nature of consumption or sales tax.

“The Court held that based on the Constitution and the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act, the power to impose consumption tax was a residual power within the exclusive competence of states. It restrained the FIRS from imposing VAT on goods and services consumed in hotels, restaurants and event centres, as this was already covered by the Lagos State Law.

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The court held that there was no constitutional provision backing the collection of VAT, Withholding Tax, Education Tax and Technology Levy in Rivers State or any other state of the Federation by the FIRS. This was based on the fact that the Federal Government is restricted by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to taxation of incomes, profits and capital gains. The court held that the (aforementioned) taxes do not in any way include VAT or any other levy other than those specifically mentioned in Items 58 and 59 of the Exclusive Legislative List of the Constitution.

PREVIOUS CASES But that was not the first time the court would outlaw the collection of VAT by the Federal Government. The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) recalled that there had been previous judgments nullifying the VAT Act or part of it. In a statement signed by its Registrar/ Chief Executive, Adefisayo Awogbade, CITN said, “In October 2019, the Federal High Court, Lagos Division, in

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“The court proceeded to declare sections 1,2,4,5 and 12 of the VAT Act as being inconsistent with section 4(2),(4) (a) & (b), (7)(a) & (b) of the Constitution and consequently unconstitutional and invalid. The court granted perpetual injunction against FIRS from collecting VAT from hotels, restaurants and event centres in Lagos.”

Furthermore, the tax regulatory body said, “In Emmanuel Chukwuka Ukala v. FIRS & A.G. FEDERATION in Suit No. FHC/PH/CS/30/2020, Hon. Justice I. O. Oshomah sitting at the Port Harcourt Division of the Federal High Court, on December 11, 2020, expressly held that the National Assembly had no power to enact the VAT Act. “The plaintiff had asked the court to declare that there was no constitutional basis for the imposition, demand and collection of VAT by FIRS from him since the constitutional powers and competence of the National Assembly were limited to those specifically listed in Item 59, which did not include VAT or any other species of sales tax. The court,

therefore, declared the VAT Act a nullity.”

Recalling the total nullification and partial nullification of the VAT Act, the CITN summarised as follows: “In the Registered Trustees of Hotel Owners and Managers Association of Lagos v. A. G. Federation, the court invalidated some of the provisions of the VAT Act. In Ukala v. FIRS, the court nullified the VAT Act. In A.G. Rivers v.

F.I.R.S., it has been reported that the court has nullified the VAT Act and empowered the States to impose, demand and collect VAT within their States.

“From the foregoing decisions, it is evident that this is not the first time that the VAT Act has been declared unconstitutional.”

To play safe, the tax institute confirmed that it is in possession of the first and second cases mentioned, and that it is making efforts to get a certified true copy of the third and current case (the Port Harcourt High Court judgment).

“As an Institute, we were waiting for the appellate courts to take a definite position on the matter before making our comments. As soon as we receive the certified true copy of the judgment, our legal advisers will study it and advise us accordingly. When that is done in the next few weeks, the Institute will take an informed position and the public will be duly communicated.

“We are mindful of our statutory mandate as the only Institute that controls and regulates the tax profession and tax practice in all its ramifications, and we will not shirk our responsibility to the public in all matters relating to taxation in Nigeria,” the CITN said.

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PERISCOPE Given the significance of the matter, it was obvious that the FIRS would appeal the judgment. It was obvious, too, that some states may push ahead with the implementation of the judgment, while the others play the waiting game. The volume of revenue that VAT earns for the Federal, state and local government is too significant to cause an interested party to stand aloof, depending on how it impacts it. And this is why the legal battle will not only be long, but fierce.

states would suffer if some states were allowed to collect VAT, Wike went into analysis: “In this state we awarded contracts to companies and within the last month, we paid over N30 billion to the contractors and 7.5 per cent will now be deducted from that and to be given to FIRS. “Now, look at 7.5 per cent of N30 billion of contracts we awarded to companies in Rivers State, you will be talking about almost N3 billion only from that source.

Rivers State Government has never received more than N2 billion from VAT at the end of the month. So, I have contributed more through the award of contract and you are giving me less. What is the justification for it?” Wike argued.

The CITN alluded to this while explaining the reason for its “middle-of-the-way” position on the matter – for now. “In view of the length of time that it takes for an appeal to be determined in our country, we think it will be in the public interest not to wait any longer, hence this press release.”

LEGAL POTPOURRI But some analysts argue that the reason that the FIRS took over the collection of VAT was for the ease of the states who might not have the capacity to bear the cost of collecting VAT in their territory. Professor of Finance and Accounts at Nasarawa State University and immediate past President, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Muhammad Mainoma, told THEWILL that it was the economy of collection of the VAT that made the states allow the FIRS to play that role.

Reacting to the Rivers Court judgment, Oyedele gave a background to the origin of VAT. He said, “VAT was introduced via Decree No.102 of 1993. It replaced sales tax operated under Decree No.7 of 1986 which was administered by states and the FCT. By contrast, VAT is administered by the FIRS and the revenue is shared among all 3 levels of government. Both VAT and sales tax fall under the category of consumption tax.”

Ahmed

But Taiwo Oyedele, Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader at PwC, an international professional advisory service firm, was more forthcoming on the likely consequence of the VAT battle that would rage for a long time to come.

Oyedele stated that Sections 3 and 4 of the Constitution empower the National Assembly to legislate on matters contained in the Exclusive Legislative List and certain items under the Concurrent Legislative List.

The 2nd Schedule to the Constitution, items 7 and 8 of Part II (Concurrent Legislative List) provide that the National Assembly in exercise of its power to impose tax or duty on persons other than companies, may prescribe that such tax or duty be collected or administered by the state.

What this means is: “If the judgment is enforced or upheld on appeal, it will apply to other states and not just Rivers State. This means each state would administer VAT within their territory. By implication, FIRS will administer VAT within the FCT and non-import foreign VAT, while the Nigeria Customs Service will continue to collect import VAT on international trade,” Oyedele said in a statement entitled “The Federal High Court’s judgment on the administration of VAT in Nigeria and matters arising”, issued on August 10, 2021.

The Tax expert recalled that a previous Supreme Court judgment had ruled that VAT covered the field (of consumption tax) and therefore, a state cannot impose a consumption tax in addition to VAT. This means any state intending to impose VAT will have to repeal its existing consumption tax.

In considering the implications of the Rivers Court judgment on VAT, Oyedele observed that, ironically, the biggest losers will be the states except Lagos. A few states like Kano, Rivers, Oyo, Kaduna, Delta and Katsina may experience minimal impact, while at least 30 states which account for less than 20 percent of VAT collection will suffer significant revenue decline. The Federal Government may, in fact, be better off given that the FCT generates the second highest VAT (after Lagos) in addition to import and non-import foreign VAT.

“

The Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has addressed the illegality perpetrated by the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) on behalf of the Federal Government in the collection of VAT in states

Act 2020 which introduced Electronic Money Transfer levy in place of stamp duties, among others.

In addition, complications may arise for businesses, including SMEs who may have to deal with multiple tax authorities for VAT purposes and consequently a decline in Nigeria’s ease of paying taxes and doing business ranking.

Going forward, Oyedele, like many analysts, agreed that the FIRS would likely appeal the judgment of the Port Harcourt High Court, and that this would result in all parties maintaining the status quo. “Given the significance of this judgment, it is expected that the FIRS will appeal the decision. Therefore the status quo is likely to continue in the meantime.”

Currently, section 40 of VAT Act requires that the VAT pool be shared 15 per cent to the FG; 50 percent to states; and 35 per cent to LGs (net of 4 per cent cost of collection by the FIRS). 20 per cent of the pool is shared based on derivation.

ENTERS PERSISTENCY But Gov. Nyesom Wike, on August 19, signed into law the bill recently passed by the Rivers State House of Assembly on VAT collection in the state. He maintained that the judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt had sufficiently addressed the illegality perpetrated by the Federal Inland Revenue Services.

In 2020 for instance, total VAT collection was about N1.53 Trn with import VAT being N348 billion (or 22.7 percent) while foreign non-import VAT was N420 billion (or 27.4 percent) and local VAT amounted to N763 billion (or 49.8 percent).

“The Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has addressed the illegality perpetrated by the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) on behalf of the Federal Government in the collection of VAT in states”, Wike said while assenting to the bill.

The Federal Government is likely to retain more than the 15 percent it currently shares, while states and LGAs will have less to share, especially if we consider VAT on FG contracts included in Local VAT which will also be due to the FG.

To show the extent of the potential legal battle ahead, Gov. Wike pointed out that when agencies of the Federal Government were allowed to illegally demand and collect taxes meant for states to collect, they strangled the states financially and turned them to beggars.

This judgment may also have implications for taxes collectible by local governments which are currently administered by states, as well as the amendment by Finance THEWILLNIGERIA

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Urging the FIRS to focus more on whose duty it is to collect VAT, instead of being clever by half by claiming that 30

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According to him, the judgment has not said anything new. It was the ease of collecting the VAT that made FIRS to be the collecting agency for the states and that the proceeds are distributed to the states in accordance to how it accrued from the state.

“If every state were to collect, the cost of collection to the states would have been higher. It is the economy of collection that made the states to allow FIRS play that role,” Mainoma said in a note to THEWILL. Asked if he envisaged protests from the states regarding the Port Harcourt Court judgment, Mainoma answered in the negative.

“There will not be a protest. Maybe the Rivers State felt short-changed and they want to collect themselves. The case has been determined before when Lagos went to court to insist that consumption tax falls within the jurisdiction of states and court ruled in their favour.

Oyedele spoke along the same line in a recent interview with a national newspaper. He said, “Based on the constitution, consumption tax belongs to the states and I don’t think that anyone is debating that. So, what happened in 1993 when the VAT law was introduced was the understanding that the Federal Government (FG) had the capacity to collect.

“At the time, even Lagos state did not have the capacity to collect. The Federal Government was only collecting on behalf of the state and then keeping a percentage of the state to cover the cost of collecting. So, we can debate on whether the percentage is high or not and that is why they only keep 15 percent and 85 percent goes to the states and local governments.”

“We have also had different cases in the past including up to the Supreme Court which was between Lagos state and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and it was a debate between VAT and consumption tax. And the Supreme Court said VAT law has covered the fees and therefore Lagos state should not introduce consumption tax. Although this is not the same, they are related.

“If you think of a law like personal income tax, it is a state tax and no one is debating it with them to collect it, but the law was centrally enacted. So, I see VAT playing out the same way. Centrally enacted, maybe at some point states would collect it themselves but at the moment, FIRS is collecting on their behalf, “he said.

Maintaining that it would pay more states to allow FIRS to be the collecting agency, Oyedele added, “I don’t think any other state would make more money as of today from collecting their VAT than what they are sharing from the Federation. The reason is very simply, there is customs VAT that is collected by customs on behalf of FIRS, and that accounts for somewhere around 12 to 15 percent of VAT and that is a VAT no state would be able to lay claims to. Also, maybe 60 to 70 per cent of the nation’s VAT is generated in Lagos. This means all the other states are barely contributing 30 per cent.”

•Continues online at www.thewillnigeria.com

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FEATURES

Plateau: The Unlikely Road to ‘Ondo’

of the Police inflamed a lot of passions and sparked sentimental reactions from the high and low, with the situation in Jos and the environs becoming so tense that the Plateau State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists had to issue a statement calling on the security agencies and other stakeholders to be cautious and discreet in the use of language so as not to heighten the ethnic or religious dimension of the development.

Last week, hoodlums attacked some vehicles in a convoy along Rukuba Road, Jos, with 22 persons losing their lives gruesomely in the incident. UKANDI ODEY in this review reports that narratives and perspectives shroud the departure point and destination of the ‘Ondo’-bound travelers

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he inclement weather and the generally gloomy atmosphere, perhaps, issued forth from the horoscope, that that Saturday was indeed gloomy and grievous for the socio-economic space of Plateau State and the world would behold in the events of the day in bewilderment, and with trepidation and vexed outpourings.

All the way from Plateau Specialist Hospital, black-clothed mourners and sympathisers walked the way with the vehicles bearing the dead bodies along the JD Gomwalk Road, through Gada Biu, and Rukuba Road, en route the grave site some seven kilometers away.

Sympathisers and on-lookers had thronged the road sides as the huge turnout of mourners, and the sight of weeping relatives provoked emotions and curses against the ‘unknown’ murderers of innocent natives. No doubt, given the vexed and plural demographic make-up of the Rukuba Road community, the crowd was a rare cultural mix with no less unpredictable tendencies.

It was a matter of time, in the course of the walk to the grave site, the ill-fated convoy carrying all males, said to be Fulani natives, was intercepted for interrogation. Although the convoy occupiers told their captors they were travelers and passers-by from Bauchi en route Ondo, a combination of suspicion and fear made the explanation sound like foul play.

For the mob, already contending with rising emotions and boiling anger as a result of the fault lines they noted in the claim of traveling from Bauchi to Ondo, it was vigilance to be more inquisitive. They asked why a traveler from Bauchi will abandon the shorter Bauchi Road bye-pass, and prefer the longer, more tedious, quite unlikely route through Rukuba? Again, they found it curious that all the occupants of the buses were of a common ethnic stock, and coincidentally the same tribe that is a traditional tormentor and undertaker of many tribes and natives in Plateau, including the victims that were due for burial that morning.

To the extent that the foregoing issues or questions could not be convincingly answered immediately to ascertain that the travelers came in innocence and were passing in peace, prevailing fears were exacerbated and old animosities were accentuated to a level of intolerance and vengeance.

During a similar mass burial in neighbouring Riyom Local Government Area in 2012 for victims of genocide in the hands of alleged Fulani aggressors, gunmen alleged to be Fulani closed in on the mourners and opened gunfire on them and killed a multitude. Eventually, the incident claimed the lives of the then National Assembly member for Plateau North, Senator Gyang Dangtong, and a State house of Assembly member, Hon Gyang Danfulani.

Thus, one of the reasons the hoodlums attacked the buses and unleashed mayhem on their occupiers is that they sensed a plot to attack the mourners again at the grave side during the burial proceedings, and these ‘travelers’ were seen as

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Lalong

Following the attacks and mass murder in Jebu-Miango two weeks earlier, a mass burial of the victims was scheduled for that Saturday, August 14, in the ancestral home of the victims in Irigwe land, in Jebu-Miango.

hirelings to boost the aggressor forces on ground to ensure that the attack achieves maximum casualty in fulfillment of an agenda of genocide and forceful occupation of their land.

Hence, a second perspective of the incident which says, according to some eyewitnesses who spoke on condition of veiled identity, that one of the buses in the convoy was actually carrying a coffin. With the knowledge that Muslims do not use coffin to bury their dead, the attackers insisted and opened the coffin and discovered its content was not human body but a cache of arms and ammunitions.

“The coffin they carried was forced open and a heap of ammunitions and sophisticated weapons were inside. That was when the locals knew that they were on a mission to kill those who will attend the mass burial. They turned on them and started pouncing on them. About 22 of them were mobbed and many more injured, while some of them ran into the bush and were later rescued by some of the locals and handed to the security agencies”, the source narrated.

He said that while some of the weapons may have been taken away by some of the hoodlums, the security agencies arrived quite promptly and possibly took the remainder into their custody. According to the source, this particular aspect could be the reason why the survivors who are recuperating in the hospitals have been barred from answering reporters’ inquiries, except a designated Muslim leader in Jos, to avoid conflicting narratives and contradiction of evidence.

He insisted that the attacked ‘travelers’ were not Yoruba Muslims, but Fulani with alien traits who could not even speak Hausa well.

According to him, “a wrong narrative is being peddled and put out there that a group of innocent Muslims from Ondo State who went to Bauchi for an Islamic festival were on their way back to Ikare in Ondo State were intercepted in Jos and brutally mobbed. But when the names of those killed were published, there was no Yoruba there. They were all Fulani”.

The first official reaction to the attack which issue dominated social circles in Jos and beyond for several days was given by the Plateau state Police Command. In a statement signed by the Command’s spokesperson Gabriel Ogaba, the Police claimed that “Irigwe Youths” attacked Fulani travellers en route Ondo State. This claim by the Plateau state Command

The Police colouration unfortunately set a tone and extirpated a sentiment of religious malice and bigotry as fomenting issues in contemporary Jos sociology. With mass burial conducted for the ‘travelers’ at the Dadin Kowa Cemetery at about 5pm Saturday, trouble was booting with a tendency and potential that Jos would be up and billow in the flames of sectarian violence or unnecessary religious war. In a proactive swipe, Governor Lalong announced a dusk to dawn curfew in Jos North, Bassa, and Jos South Local Government Areas of the state. This was only a forebear, not a foreground of clandestine killings and mounting casualties, with worship centres already well targeted and looking vulnerable on Sunday morning. But before the hoodlums could surge and cover any mileage to perpetrate violence, a heavy deployment of security men had taken over, and Governor Lalong quickly upgraded the curfew in Jos North to 24 hours to tame the tendencies of war mongers who were out to seize the moment.

Abuja was so moved by the bloody developments in Jos that the Inspector General of Police quickly dispatched additional support detachment of Police from the Force headquarters to Jos to complement the strength on ground.

This was also enabled with logistics in which an helicopter has been conducting aerial surveillance of Jos and the environs. After visiting the victims in the hospitals where they are recuperating and promising that the government will pay the hospital bills, Governor Lalong warned those he described as “crisis merchants” that his government and the good people of Plateau will do everything positive to resist another round of religious crisis in the state.

Dubbing the miscreants and hoodlums as “criminals who want to reverse the progress we have made in terms of consolidation of peace”, Lalong vowed that those arrested and found guilty of precipitating the attacks would be met with the full wrath of the law, as he commiserated with the families of victims.

The development attracted the sympathy of the Progressive Governors’ Forum who came visiting, with a call to citizens to be tolerant of one another and embrace peace that will enhance the unity of the country.

With pockets of killings reported daily until last Wednesday, and with the latest attack allegedly carried out by the Fulani in Chando Zrreche in Bassa Local Government Area where five people were killed, Governor Lalong has held strategic meetings with both Irigwe and Fulani, with both expressing a willingness to come together to speak to the issues at stake frankly and decisively.

The meeting with all the stakeholders in the state last Tuesday was well attended as an indication that the situation on hand goes beyond politics. Among other things, the stakeholders resolved to promptly arrest and punish perpetrators of violence after diligent prosecution; and also agreed on community policing structures and payment of compensation to victims of various crises and rehabilitation of displaced persons, among other issues.

Having received reports from security agencies that indicate reduced tension, Governor Lalong last Wednesday announced a review of the curfew in Jos North LGA from 24 hours to 6pm to 6am beginning last Thursday till further notice. Before this, the four-day shutdown of Jos had taken a toll on the economy as certain commodities and services were already in short supply as exhausted stock could not be replenished.

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SportsLive

How Lessons From Tokyo Can Help D’Tigers in Kigali with 29.9 seconds left on the scoreboard to effectively seal the win for Italy and knock out Brown’s D’Tigers after their brilliant victories over the U.S. and Argentina before the Games.

BY JUDE OBAFEMI

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n Thursday, August 19, when Mike Brown, head coach of Nigeria’s senior men’s national basketball team, D’Tigers announced his final 12-man strong squad to prosecute Nigeria’s participation at the 2021 FIBA Afrobasket competition holding in Kigali, Rwanda, a key positive of the preparation for and the lessons of the Summer Games in Tokyo, Japan could not be missed.

There were some frustrations for the players and coaching crew with the way the organisation of their entire participation for the Games was poorly handled by the Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC). Their trip to Japan wound up being a 30-hour ordeal instead of the planned 10-hour flight, cutting into their schedule of training, rest and preparations while they were sent to the Saitama Prefecture in Japan where they were based for the tournament, without the proper credentials. Also, four members of coach Brown’s staff, with whom he handled his coaching commitments and who made the trip to Japan, were never allowed in the Olympic village because of credential and paperwork issues.

The lessons derived but the team from the Olympics and the storefront experience of the coaching crew are benefits that the team can draw from to better their chances - from the high level preparations for the Olympics and the admittedly disappointing winless performance in Tokyo - for what will hopefully be beneficial in the Rwanda-hosted continental competition. This will dovetail perfectly with the expressed desire of Brown to build a legacy with D’Tigers.

All these side, the lessons to learn from the participation in the Games were the most important takeaway.

Possession play was important to reduce takeovers and focus had to be maintained all through, but most especially in the final quarters, irrespective of the status of the opponent. D’Tigers were still Africa’s highest ranked team and can build on these lessons and the experience of Brown to bring the victories that are sure to come to reach the resolve of the coach to make D’Tigers a force in international basketball.

The coach, who has earned a reputation for his experience, especially with the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA), as associate head coach, knows what it takes to win. More importantly, however, he knows that it takes a lot of guts to come back from the disappointments of high expectations and overwhelming disappointments with his determination to continue with the team.

After receiving a vote of confidence from the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Musa Kida, Brown’s entire team will need determination as well. This is necessary after the experience of losses encountered against some of the best basketball teams in the world at the Olympics. Two earlier defeats to Australia and Germany were followed by a third in their group game, a 80-71 defeat to Italy. That sounded the final knell of their participation at the Games and was the end of the road for the Basketball hopes of Team Nigeria.

There was disappointment for those who had high hopes for D’Tigers too. It was not the exciting Games that their star cast of players and pre-Olympics exhibition show in Las Vegas promised. Worse still, it fell short of their fourth-best team of the 12 countries that qualified ranking conferred on them by the world basketball governing body, FIBA, as they headed into Tokyo for the Games.

In their first game against the Boomers of Australia, D’Tigers offence was squarely targeted to limit their offence transition towards the Australian hoop. Brown persistently dictated instructions from the sidelines to get D’Tigers forward and it helped but the Boomers tied things up to end the first quarter at 23-23. Yet, D’Tigers struggled with the offence and seemed too error-prone to seize opportunities in the fourth quarter. On the other hand, the Boomers energy and pressure on the defensive end continued to pay dividends for the best basketball team coming into the Summer Games.

To their advantage, Australia’s flagbearer and four-time Olympian Patty Mills, was a bundle and a half. His sensational stifling defence was a game-decider. The 31-year-old Mills impressed on both sides of the ball, and his pin-point threepoint shooting and leadership was enough to give the Boomers the win. They had beaten Nigeria 108-69 in the exhibition game in Las Vegas and repeated it in the group opener, with a lower margin 84-67.

The second loss to Germany by a tight 99-92 margin was more painful and disappointing. The single-minded purpose behind coach Brown’s acceptance of the job, which was to let the world reckon with the tenaciousness of the Nigerian spirit and who assembled a competent squad of talents to bring that about, was unravelling as their progress was in danger.

Milwaukee Bucks Nigerian basketball player Jordan Nwora turned up an inspiring solo performance. Yet, his 33 points haul was insufficient to swing the result in D’Tigers favour.

Again, for the second straight game, an uninspiring final quarter made it a day to forget especially after all the efforts the team THEWILLNIGERIA

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As they begin preparing for the AfroBasket competition, factors such as better organisation from the sports adminstration of Nigeria, and their support in providing the necessary conditions and resources for the team to prosper will constitute the assurance of better years ahead for basketball in Nigeria that will make the bitter pill of the failure to live up to the incredibly high expectations at the Olympics Games easier to swallow. put into their second round tie. D’Tigers played valiantly after ending behind in the first quarter to bring the scores to level out at 50-50 at half time. But, the Germans played a tactical half by purposely attacking Nwora’s game, closing in on him every time and not allowing him the freedom of his three-pointers in the first half to continue. Miye Oni also racked up double figures for the D’Tigers, but the Germans had four players on double figures, with Johannes Voightman the top scorer with 19 points.

After those losses, the window to qualify out of the group stages had slimmed down to permutations but Nigeria still had to beat Italy to have any sort of shot at qualifying to make all the efforts of assembling the best Nigeria can offer and the high goals of coach Mike Brown worthwhile. However, as has been the case in each of the two prior group games, a poor fourth quarter undid the efforts of D’Tigers and the coaching crew as Italy triumphed.

In that unfortunate final quarter, the Italians took advantage of a 14-0 run to round up their points to 80 and ensure that irrespective of what happened in the other match between the Boomers of Australia and Team Germany, Nigeria was not going to go beyond Group B of the Basketball event of the postponed Summer Games in Tokyo, Japan. D’Tigers lacked the clinical finishing that often distinguishes winners at this high level of competitions from the rest of the field.

Yet, even in the gloom of the loss to the Italians, a glimmer of opportunity was not lost. Brown’s charges did their utmost.

Chimezie Metu, power forward of the Sacramento Kings scored 22 points to lead the individual Nigerian score. That was closely followed by Jordan Nwora’s 20 points. Jahlil Okafor was next with 14 points and together with the point accumulation of his teammates helped Nigeria take a 63-56 to the end of the third quarter.

Only Nigeria’s predilection for poor final quarters stood between them and at least one victory in Japan. If they held on resolutely, they could have beaten Germany. They failed to do so again and Italy went on a scoring run without a single point for D’Tigers in seven of the 10 final quarter minutes.

Nico Mannion, Italy’s second highest scorer made a 3-pointer

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It has started with the lineup that coach Brown is putting together. According to the NBBF, Brown has invited some players to join his team such as Daniel Utomi, small forward for Vichy Clermont in France Pro B Division; Ikenna Ndugba, point guard who most recently played for Elon Phoenix; Emmanuel Omogbo power forward for KB Vëllaznimi of the Kosovo Basketball Superleague and Benjamin Emegolu, a free agent who last played for Avtodor Saratov of the VTB United League in Russia. St Chamond forward TK Edogi makes a return to the team after missing out of the Olympics contingent alongside the trio of Stephen Domingo, Jordan Ogundiran and Jeremiah Mordi.

The need to incorporate some local talent into the team, which has so far been predominantly composed of players from the NBA, for good reason going into the Olympics, meant coach Brown’s invitation also extended to some home-based professionals. First in the list was Ikechukwu Benjamin, point guard for Rivers Hoopers, the only Nigerian basketball team that represented the country at the maiden edition of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) in Kigali, Rwanda.

Benjamin’s teammate, point guard Victor Anthony Koko also got invited as well as the duo of Nwafor Celestine Joseph of Kano Pillars and Agu Ibe Aguchi of Gombe Bulls.

They are expected to arrive in Kigali on the Sunday, August 22 where they will camp, acclimatise and prepare to begin with their opener on Wednesday, August 25, against coach Moussa Sogore’s Mali basketball team. At the other side of that fixture will be a clash against the Morans of Kenya led by their coach Liz Mills. In their last Group C encounter, Brown’s charges will face Les Éléphants of Cote d’Ivoire managed by Paolo Povia.

It is hoped that the team will prove once again why they are Africa’s best with the disappointments of Tokyo behind them and the lessons from their Olympic experience giving them the edge over the competition. Finally, the basketball fans in the country will be counting in the talents at Brown’s disposal to improve upon the silver medal they took home at the 2017 edition of the competition which was jointly hosted by Tunisia and Senegal and which the Tunisians won. The gifted Rivers Hoopers coach Ogoh Odaudu will be on hand to assist Brown go for the top prize this time around.

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