THEWILL NEWSPAPER April 16, 2023

Battle For 10th National Assembly Leadership Hots up

BY AMOS ESELE

The ongoing race for the leadership of the 10th National Assembly reached feverpitch last week with an announcement by Senate spokesperson, Senator Bashir Ajibola, that the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, would unveil the zoning formula of the party after Ramadan: That is, after Thursday, April 20, 2023.

Amazingly, aspirants have sprung up from five of the six-geo-political zones in the country, regardless of the parliamentary tradition, rules and convention governing the emergence of the majority caucus and the presiding officers of the NASS.

The incumbent Senate President, Ahmad Lawan (Yobe North) comes from the North-East geopolitical zone, just as Senator Ali Ndume, (Borno South) and Senator Danjuma Goje, (Gombe Central).

Senator Sani Musa (Niger East) is from the North Central; Jibrin Barau (Kano Central) hails from the North West, as well as Senator Abdul’Aziz Yari (Zamfara West); Senator Orji Kalu, (Abia North), Senators Osita Izunaso (Imo West) Peter Ndubueze (Imo North), and Dave Umahi, (Ebonyi South) all hail from the SouthEast; Godswill Akpabio (Akwa-Ibom NorthWest) comes from the South-South.

For obvious reasons, the South-West geopolitical zone where President-elect, Ahmed

Bola Tinubu, comes from, is conspicuously absent from the list of aspirants.

This same politics applies to the Speakership of the House of Representatives, for which incumbent Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, (Surulere I, Federal Constituency, Lagos), has recused himself despite feelers that he is eyeing a return to the position if the position of Chief of Staff (CoS) to the president does not come through for him.

Unlike the Senate, the race for the Speakership has only aspirants from four of the sixgeopolitical zones, namely North-Central, North-East, North-West and South-East.

The nine aspirants are: North-Central geopolitical zone, Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase (APC, Plateau), Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau) and Tunji Olawuyi (APC, Kwara); North-EastMuktar Betara (APC, Borno); South-East, Ben Kalu (APC, Abia) and North-West are Sada Soli (APC, Katsina), Abubakar Makki (APC, Jigawa), Tajudeen Abbas (APC, Kaduna) and Aminu Jaji (APC, Zamfara).

APC Senator Ajibola’s announcement rests on existing parliamentary rules and convention that the political party with the most legislators is expected to form the majority caucus and produce the presiding officers.

Regardless of the outcome of the supplementary

polls conducted Saturday, to fill the remaining eleven senatorial seats, the APC has 50 out of the current 98 members of the Senate. It is distantly followed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with 29 seats, then the Labour Party (LP) with six, the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP) with two; Social Democratic Party (SDP) also with two; the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Young Peoples Party (YPP) with one seat each.

The APC also leads in the House of Representatives. It won 162 seats out of the 360 seats, while the PDP won 102 seats.

The LP and NNPP won 34 and 18 seats, respectively, while APGA won four seats.

The SDP and African Democratic Congress (ADC) won two seats each, while the YPP won one seat.

The APC’s decision to determine the zoning formula for choosing NASS leadership got a big boost last week when an inter-party 283–member alliance in the House agreed to respect the majority decision of the APC to choose the Speaker and deputy Speaker.

Under the auspices of the New Forum for a Joint Task for a United, Progressive Nigeria, a group, which claims to have the support of some APC and PDP governors, said it wants a Nigeria that works based on inclusiveness.

... Assembly Leadership Hots up

Ordinarily, the seven opposition parties would have been able to give the APC a fight for its money if they had agreed to leverage their total numbers of 163 against APC’s 162 in the results of the 325 seats in the House so far declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). A breakdown of the declared results showed that APC won 162 seats, while seven opposition parties have a total of 163 seats: PDP has 102; LP, 34; NNPP, 18; APGA, four; ADC, two; SDP two and YPP one.

PRESSURE GROUPS INTENSIFY LOBBYING

In the first scenario, THEWILL learnt that the South-West was struck out of the game because the president-elect hailed from there. That same politics applies to the North-East where the Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, comes from. For strategic reasons of inclusion and sharing of positions, the party will overlook the North-East in the zoning formula, according to findings by THEWILL.

The second scenario is to play what a dependable source called the ‘Mathematics game.’ According to this formula, the Senate President’s position, which is number three in the official hierarchy, after the President and Vice President, usually comes from the same zone as the President, applying the North/South divide as formula, regardless of the political party in power, since the dawn of the Fourth Republic in 1999.

Starting with the tenure of the Olusegun Obasanjo Administration from 1999 to 2007, a southerner was at the helm of the Senate. As a matter of fact, all the Senate Presidents during this period, beginning with Evans Enwerem, came from the South. The others were the late Chuba Okadigbo, Adolphus Nwabara, Pius Anyim and Ken Nnamani (all from the SouthEast).

The short-lived presidency of late President Musa Yar’Adua, from the North, had Senator David Mark (North-Central) as Senate President. He was inherited by Yar’ Adua’s successor, President Goodluck Jonathan. President Muhammadu Buhari in turn repeated the tradition with Dr Bukola Saraki (North-Central) and the incumbent Senate President, Ahmed Lawan (North-East).

Will the incoming President, Bola Tinubu, change this tradition? The source asked and answered, “I doubt it is almost cast in stone, except for the unfortunate death in office of President Yar’Adua, leaving his deputy, Jonathan, to inherit Mark.”

Following this tradition, therefore, THEWILL projects that the South will be favoured to produce the 10th Senate President. With the South-West out of the game by virtue of being the President-elect’s geo-political zone, the two other geo-political zones making up the South are the South-South and the South-East, both of which are favoured to contest the prized ticket.

Furthermore, the North-Central has taken the post of National Chairman of the APC, which is currently occupied by Senator Abdullahi Adamu from Nasarawa State.

This is why the North-West, according to calculation, will most likely be given the House of Peps Speakership slot as compensation for its voting strength during the 2023 polls, the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity said.

GAME PLAN OF THE SOUTH

The South-South and South-East geo-political zones are favoured to clinch the Senate presidency. The latter has three aspirants, namely Orji Uzor Kalu, Izunaso and the Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi.

The general positions being canvassed by the zone rests on two pillars: The prevailing argument by the zone is that they had been denied a shot at the presidency and an attempt did not materialise and so they should be compensated with the Senate presidency. They also argue that the current dispensation is yet to fully integrate the Igbo in governance and finally the number of APC senators from the zone has increased with the 2023 general election. They have a total of six, spread across three of five states of Abia which has one, Ebonyi with three and Imo with two.

On the strength of this arrangement, lobbyists have besieged President-elect Tinubu to make their case.

For the speakership, some of the contestants are said to be pressing the outgoing Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, a Tinubu acolyte, to put in a word or two for them with the president-elect, a task he had parried in order to keep his relationship with the contestants and not jeopardise his chances with the party when it comes to playing a key role in the incoming administration.

However, the shortcoming of this zone is the voter strength it returned during the 2023 presidential election. Tinubu, like his closest rival Atiku, secured less than 15 per cent across the five states in the South-East geopolitical zone, leaving LP candidate Peter Obi with between 79 per cent to 87 per cent.

Even the Senate Chief Whip, Orji Kalu, who is one of the major contenders from the zone flaunting his position as a ranking senator, is said to be finding it hard to make his case. According to a party source, the support he gave to Lawan during the July 7, 2022 APC presidential convention, boasting that he would not mind cleaning Aso Villa in a Lawan presidency, still rankles deep with the President-elect. Besides this weakness, Kalu’s rivals are said to have dug up his electoral performance for the party, compared to their own.

“Kalu could only get 6,000 votes for the party during the presidential election while he got 47, 000 for himself at the senatorial contest,” said the source.

Compounding the woes of the South-East is the unwillingness of the trio to present a common front by choosing one among them for the plum job.

This is the biggest advantage that Senator Akpabio has. He is the only contestant from the South-South. Besides, he appears set to get paid for his political display during the party’s presidential primaries when he stepped down for Tinubu after paying glowing tribute to the President-elect’s enviable political track record. Moreover, unlike the South-East which has produced Senate Presidents in the current political dispensation, the South-South is yet to do so. Senator Akpabio is said to be flaunting his record as a former Minister of Niger Delta, who "successfully concluded the President’s directive on the conduct of forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC and repositioned the commission for equitable development of the Niger Delta.

''He also presented to the President-elect the actual figure of 154,000 votes that he polled for the party during the presidential election in his Ikot-Ekpene Senatorial District, compared to the 115,401 votes he got to get elected.”

Compared to the South-East, the South-South had more votes for Tinubu who scored the required minimum 25 per cent in the six states of the geopolitical zone.

Supporting the position of the South to produce the President of the Senate, National Vice Chairman of the APC (North-West), Malam Salihu Lukman, has proposed a plan to keep the North out of the race. That proposal is based on religion. Arguing that the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket approach of the party needed to be balanced after the polls, he called on northern senators contesting the post to step down for the southern counterparts to allow for the emergence of a Christian Senate President. According to him, it would be insensitive to have a Muslim Senate president after producing the President and his deputy, who share a similar faith.

the SouthEast)

Whatever happens, no zone will be left out in the zoning formula of the party as more influential positions are up for grabs. They include the positions of Deputy Senate President, Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Majority or Chief Whip, Deputy Chief Whip, Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Whip and Deputy Minority Whip.

Starting with the tenure of the Olusegun Obasanjo Administration from 1999 to 2007, a southerner was at the helm of the Senate. As a matter of fact, all the Senate Presidents during this period, beginning with Evans Enwerem, came from the South. The others were the late Chuba Okadigbo, Adolphus Nwabara, Pius Anyim and Ken Nnamani (all from

Census: NPC Won’t Ask Questions on Religion, Ethnicity

The National Population Commission (NPC) has said that the Census questionnaire has no column for religion and ethnicity.

The commission made the clarification on Friday in Kano when the National Publicity Committee on the 2023 Population and Housing Census paid an advocacy visit to Nigerian Television Authority, Kano.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the visit was led by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, represented by the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Dr Garba Abari.

Prof Okon Advocates Implementation of Indigenous Languages Policy

AUniversity of Calabar scholar and professor of Linguistics and Nigerian Languages, Bassey Okon, has made a case for the implementation of an indigenous languages policy in the country.

Prof Okon posited that a conscious approach at implementing a national indigenous languages policy would help drive the nation's corporate existence. She made this known in Calabar during the University of Calabar's 115th Inaugural Lecture themed, "Language, Culture and Communication: the Societal Triumvirate."

She said that such a policy would make it mandatory for Nigeria's mode of communication to be modelled in such a way that the indigenous languages would be used for training and constructing its social realities.

According to her, looking down on your relatives who speak your native

INEC Frustrating Inspection of Election Materials – C'River PDP

language because you speak English was stupid because it was like being proud of borrowed clothes.

"Language provides the thread with which the fabric of society is woven; Therefore, the finer and enduring the language, the better for the society and the stronger the hold for its continued existence.

"Some linguists say that Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba languages are endangered in one way or the other, how much more the other Nigerian languages.

"This portends that the culture of the people will also go extinct since language is the vehicle for the transmission of culture," she said.

Speaking further, Okon called on all Nigerians to contribute to the survival of Nigeria's languages and cultures adding that it should not be left to linguists and the government alone.

Ortom, Enenche Eulogise Prof Ibu

Governor Samuel Ortom on Friday joined the Senior Pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Church, Dr Paul Enenche, to witness the burial of the remains of late Professor John Ibu.

Prof Ibu, Pastor Enenche’s father-in-law was laid to rest at his country home, Ikachi in Oju Local Government Area of Benue State.

Governor Ortom paid glowing tributes to the late university don, saying that he left a great legacy as someone who mentored and groomed many persons.

The governor described the deceased as a Christian par excellence who had passion for God and humanity, lived an exemplary life and was a source of inspiration to many.

Ortom acknowledged that Ibu gave all his children good upbringing, pointing out that his biological daughter, Dr Becky Enenche, was an example in that regard as she has been supportive to her husband, Pastor Enenche in taking the Gospel to the

nooks and crannies of the world.

The governor, on behalf of the Benue State Government and the people of the state, encouraged the family that Ibu left behind to look unto God and he prayed for the peaceful repose of the deceased.

Earlier in an exhortation, Pastor Paul Enenche who preached on the topic "Inevitable Appointment and Inescapable Judgment" drawing from the Bible text of Hebrews 9:27 admonished Christians to live with the mindset of eternity in view, knowing that death was inevitable.

The cleric said, "Let us not live our temporary life in vanity and end with permanent calamity in eternity" adding that "we must labour for what we follow us to eternity."

The lawmaker representing Benue South Senatorial District, Comrade Abba Moro, former Military Governor of Bauchi State, Maj-Gen Chris Abutu Garba and his wife were among many other dignitaries who attended the funeral.

The Cross River State Chapter of the People's Democratic Party has said that contrary to a court order, the Independent National Electoral Commission of frustrating the inspection of election materials used in the governorship election in the state.

The Secretary of the PDP Special Committee Inspection team, Chris Agbor, disclosed this over the weekend in Calabar.

Agbor said that all attempts made by members of the team to inspect the listed materials have met a brick wall. He accused the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof Gabriel Yomere, and Head of Operations of playing a hide-and-sick game with them.

He said, "The commission has deliberately refused us access to the BVAS used and unused ballot papers, result sheets, ballot paper thumbs and other essential materials.

"The action of the REC is in flagrant disregard of a subsisting order issued by the honourable Election Tribunal and this unwholesome posture is tantamount to contempt of court"

"At this stage we are left with no other option than to report to the court for necessary action to enable us secure unhindered access to the materials. This is an essential process and step in pursuing the matter"

"The action of the commission, especially the Head of Operations, is an indication that there is a foul play somewhere and we shall pursue this inspection of election materials to the end just as we shall not be deterred in any way from pursuing the case to its logical conclusion", he said.

However, responding to the allegations, INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Cross River State, Prof Gabriel Yomere, claimed that he was not aware of any impediment hindering the PDP team from inspecting the materials.

"I was diagnosed of glaucoma and I am currently in Kano State to see my ophthalmologist for a likely surgery.

"Before I travelled, I handed over to the Administrative Secretary with specific instructions to ensure strict compliance to every Court order.

Speaking on the speculation that Nigerians would be asked questions on their faith and ethnic affiliation, a member of the committee, Dr Isiaka Yahaya, said the commission was not interested in such data.

Yahaya, who is also the commission’s Director of Public Affairs, maintained that issues of religion and ethnicity being peddled on social media were mere distractions and without foundation.

“Since 1991 when the National Population Commission has been conducting census, we have never asked questions on ethnicity and religion.

“We didn’t do it in 1991, we didn’t do it in 2006 and we won’t do it now.

“The reason is obvious. The two issues are very sensitive and have the capacity to divert attention from the main issue of the census,” he said.

Similarly, the Director General of Voice of Nigeria, Mr Osita Okechukwu, urged Nigerians not to see the census as a contest among ethnic groups. He said the census was only for planning purposes and not to confer advantage on any group.

“For planning purposes, President Muhammadu Buhari said before he leaves office, he wants to deploy digital technology to conduct a headcount.

“The incoming president, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed, in planning with our resources, will know exactly how many Nigerians he is planning for,” Okechukwu said. Abari on his part commended the authorities of NTA for playing a critical role in the sensitisation campaign for the headcount.

He reiterated that the headcount was solely to obtain data for national development purposes and urged the media to help tackle the twin scourge of fake news and misinformation.

The General Manager of NTA Kano, Sani Yusuf, expressed the readiness of NTA to support the sensitisation campaign on census.

He gave an assurance that the media house would produce jingles to aid the campaign as well as provide coverage on the exercise.

L-R: Son of the deceased and owner of Gatwick Airport, London, Adebayo Ogunlesi; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun; Shade Ogunlesi and Leke Ogunlesi at the burial of Nigeria First Professor of Medicine, Emeritus Professor Theophilus Oladipo Ogunlesi at Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Sagamu in Ogun State on April 14, 2023.

FROM BASSEY ANIEKAN, CALABAR

FROM GEORGE MARTINS, MAKURDI

POLITICS

Bayelsa, Kogi, Imo Polls: INEC, Political Parties Begin Preparation

BY AYO ESAN

The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) has scheduled the offcycle governorship elections in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa States for Saturday, November 11, 2023.

The tenure of the incumbent Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, ends on January 14, 2024, while that of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi and his counterpart in Bayelsa, Duoye Diri, will end on January 26, 2024 and February13, 2024, respectively. Of the three governors , only Yahaya is on his second term in office.

In announcing the dates for the elections, INEC’s National Commissioner in charge of Voters Education and Publicity, Barrister Festus Okoye, said it was in line with Sections 178(1) and (2) of the 1999 Nigeria’s Constitution, which mandates the Commission to “conduct such elections not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the term of the last holder of the office”.

Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa broke off from the general election cycle due to court judgments issued at different times with regard to governorship elections in the states.

Bayelsa’s timetable got disrupted in 2007, when Timipre Sylva of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was elected as governor and his opponent, Ebitimi Amgbare of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) challenged him in court, but lost at the tribunal.

The 2007 election was cancelled and a new election was held in 2008, with Sylva emerging as winner.

A similar scenario played out in Kogi in 2007 when the court cancelled the re-election of Ibrahim Idris

due to INEC’s wrong exclusion of Abubakar Audu of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) from the ballot.

Audu had then dragged the commission and 57 of its electoral offices in 27 local government areas of the state to court for infringing on his rights.

Imo State was part of the general election cycle until after the 2019 General Election in which Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was elected as governor.

The result was challenged by Hope Uzodinma of the APC. The court used legal technicalities to disqualify the two other candidates in between and Uzodinma, who was in the fourth position, was declared governor of the state by the Supreme Court in January 2022.

INEC in announcing its preparation for the elections scheduled party primaries to take place between March 27 and April 17, 2023, while the online portal for submission of nomination forms (EC9 and EC9B) by political parties opens at 9:00 a.m. on April 24, 2023, and closes at 6:00 p.m. on May 5, 2023.

“The final list of candidates will be published on June 9, 2023, while campaign by political parties commences on June 14, 2023, and ends at midnight on November 9, 2023”, INEC said.

INEC, which completed the 2023 General Election last Saturday after successfully carrying out supplementary elections, is set to start rolling out its programmes for the three governorship elections scheduled for November.

Speaking with THEWILL, Okoye said the commission was ready to discharge its constitutional duty.

“Our success in the last general election showed that we are on course. We are always ready to do our best and we urge all the stakeholders- political parties and the security agencies to assist us in having free, fair and credible elections in the three affected states”.

The PDP has confirmed Duoye Diri and Senator Samuel Anyanwu as its governorships candidates in Bayelsa and Imo States, respectively.

Diri’s candidature emerged from the PDP primary election held last Tuesday in Yenagoa, capital of Beyelsa, while Anyanwu, on the other hand, emerged from the party’s primary in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa broke off from the general election cycle due to court judgments issued at different times with regard to governorship elections in the states

Yakubu Adamu

...INEC, Political Parties Begin Preparation

Continued from Page 10

According to the Organising Secretary of the PDP in Imo, Lawrence Biado, a seven-man electoral panel constituted by the National Working Committee and headed by Kenneth Okon monitored the primary election in Imo.

A former governor of the state, Emeka Ihedioha, was conspicuously absent after he pulled out of the PDP governorship race, some weeks ago.

Anyanwu is expected to challenge the re-election of Governor Hope Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In Yenagoa, however, Diri, who was the only governorship candidate, polled 305 votes to clinch the ticket. The election was conducted by the Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, who declared Diri as the consensus candidate.

The PDP governorship primary in Kogi has been scheduled for Saturday, April 15. Over nine aspirants, including Senator Dino Melaye, are contesting to become the standard bearer of the party in the forthcoming election.

Also, the Lamidi Apapa-led faction of the Labour Party last Tuesday announced that it had commenced screening of aspirants for the governorship elections in the three states. Aspirants who attended the screening exercise were Udengs Eradivi, Chief Ikechuwku Ukaegbu, Ihechi Ike, Senator Nneji Achonu, Chief Diekivie Ihiogla; Abu Enemona, Donald Daunemigha and Air Vice Marshall Isaac Aifia, among others.

Addressing journalists briefly before the event, the party’s acting chairman, Apapa, said the total number of candidates from the three states for the screening was 24.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) conducted its governorship primaries in all the three states last Friday. However, in Kogi, Deputy Governor Edward Onoja and the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Mr Mohammed Abdulkareem Asuku withdrew from the contest. This came after a stakeholders’ meeting hosted by Governor Yahaya Bello at the APC secretariat in Lokoja, the state capital, during which he unveiled his preferred candidate in the person of the Kogi State Local Government Auditor- General, Ahmed Ododo.

Onoja and Asuku announced their withdrawal from the governorship race via their verified facebook accounts shortly after the meeting in Lokoja.

Edward Onoja’s post reads: “To God be the glory for life and divine health. My appreciation to my leader, His Excellency Alhaji Yahaya Bello and all my supporters, for your love and prayers. Let love, patience and perseverance lead. I am forever grateful.”

While Mohammed Asuku posted, “I sincerely appreciate His Excellency, my benefactor, for all that Allah have been using him to do in my life. As such, I hereby submit myself publicly to the decision taken today and I will forever live to remain loyal and dedicated to the decision of my party as I enjoin all my well-wishers to work with us for our great party APC to become victorious in the November 11 governorship election.”

Meanwhile a group, the Imo Youths for a New Nigeria, has urged INEC to correct its mistakes in the 2023 general election by conducting credible governorship elections in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa States on November 11, 2023.

At a press conference held in Owerri, Imo State, while analysing the outcome of the 2023 Presidential, National Assembly, Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections, the group said that INEC failed to live up to the expectations of millions of Nigerians.

Chidiebube Okeoma, who is the leader of the group, urged the electoral umpire to utilise the window provided by the forthcoming governorship elections in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa to "right their wrongs.”

Okeoma said that with the way and manner the elections were conducted, many Nigerians had lost interest in the country's democracy.

The activist said that INEC gave Nigerians false hope with the promise that it was going to conduct credible elections, but it ended up conducting the “most flawed election since 1999."

Okeoma said, "The 2023 General Election didn't meet up the expectations of millions of Nigerians. From voting buying to partisanship on the said INEC staff and security agents, to hijacking of electoral materials, to mutilation of election results, to going against the 2022 electoral act as amended, to voter intimidation and suppression, to electoral violence, the whole process was below standard.

"Politicians openly rigged the elections in their favour and they saw INEC officers and security agents who were willing tools to aid them in compromising the processes. They openly bragged and mocked the judiciary by asking those who opposed their rigging tactics to go to court.”

He said that with the flawed process, INEC now had the opportunity of working to ensure that the three governorship elections holding in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa States in November were conducted in strict adherence to electoral act 2022 as amended.

He warned that if the November 11 governorship elections turns out to be anything but free and fair millions of Nigerians would not be participating in future elections.

Okeoma added, "INEC has a golden opportunity before it. It has the rare opportunity of using the three off-season governorship elections in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa States to regain the lost confidence and the trust of millions of Nigerians.

"Already millions have decided that they won't vote again, going forward, but if INEC conducts credible elections in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa States in November, millions may rescind their decision of not wanting to vote again. INEC has no reason to fail Nigerians in November because unlike the February 25 and March 18 elections, the November 11 elections are just taking place in three states. They have ample time to prepare enough workforce to prosecute the elections in line with international best practices."

Uzodinma

Douye

Anyanwu

Anyanwu is expected to challenge the re-election of Governor Hope Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress (APC)

Tinubu Should Form All-Inclusive Govt – Shettima

The President of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Alhaji Yerima Shettima, in this interview with AYO ESAN, speaks on the 2023 General Election, leadership of the 10TH National Assembly and what he thinks should the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s top priority after he is sworn in. Excerpts:

Whatis your assessment of the 2023 General Election?

The election was well conducted and people were satisfied with the promptness of INEC officials and materials on voting days. The election was very successful. Like all elections, some people will feel aggrieved. I think such people should follow the normal process of seeking redress.

We don’t want the government to become aloof and fold its hands. Some people commit crime with impunity, threaten the unity of our country and her corporate existence, yet the government folds its hands does nothing about it, not even to arrest and charge them for treason. This is not done anywhere, this country must remain.

For me, we have never had it so good and so nice like the present situation under Professor Mahmood Yakubu who conducted a free and fair election.

The June 12, 1993 Presidential Election that was won by late Chief M.K.O. Abiola was annulled by the military at that time; otherwise it would have been the best election so far. But the last one, looking at it critically, went well. Very well. But some people want to get a position in government or they want to win an election without working for it. We reject those characters.

As expected those that were not satisfied with the outcome of the elections are already in court, but the Federal Government has accused the Vice Presidential candidate of the the Labour Party, Datti-Ahmed, of inciting the people and committing a treasonable offence. What is your advice to the aggrieved candidates in the election?

My advice to them is that they shoud wait for the court to adjudicate on the matter. They should stop making statements that can cause chaos and violence. They should present their case before the court and state the facts. The court is not blind. It will look at the facts and not listen to sentiments or rumour. Relying on court decisions is what will make them nationalists and true democrats. They should not make the people believe that if they don’t get what they want from the court, there will be war. If anybody is beating the drum of war, he should be arrested. Nobody is above the law.

The DSS also said that some people are planning an Interim National Government. What is your take on this?

My take on that is that if the DSS came out openly to make such a statement, it means there are signs and facts and they must have got their facts correctly.

It is however very unfortunate that anybody will even be thinking that we are going to get an interim government now or advocate it. The government should arrest such a person or persons planning such a thing now and charge them for treason. This is because advocates or proponents of an interim government must be seen to be anti democratic forces. Must be seen to be enemies of democracy and must be seen to be the enemies of the country. As such, they should be dealt with accordingly. Nobody should talk of any interim government. An interim government

was foisted on us by the then military government of General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.). This must not be allowed now. We have a President-elect.

Despite your claim that the last general election were successful and credible, some people also complained about INEC not posting the results of the presidential election on its Results Viewing Portal (IREV) as promised before the election. What is your reaction to this?

INEC is at liberty to either push the result to IREV or do it manually. This is purely at the discretion of the INEC. Two, if they intend to transmit to IREV and they also discover that it might lead to mass rigging of the election, they may say no. If some people were working to hijack the results and make people lose confidence in INEC, there is nothing wrong with doing it manually. As long as we got the results, I don’t see anything wrong with that. Transferring the results to IREV, I think, is not a constitutional matter; it is merely at the discretion of INEC.

The presidential election was conducted, it was free and fair and the winner has been announced. We are also saying that due process should be followed by those who are aggrieved and the winner should be sworn -in as an elected President of Nigeria and Commander in chief of the Armed Forces. That is how it is done in any sane place.

Presidential election has come and gone. What is your advice to the President –elect?

My advice to him is that he should institute an allinclusive government. What I am saying is that the government can be that of a national unity. But beyond national unity we must also consider competency. We must also take people who are trusted, not people who will hijack the government like we are having in the present government. If I have my way, I will even

advise him that the Chief of Staff must be somebody he is so trusted.

Somebody that is very close to him. If you asked me to name, I will even name James Faleke who is currently representing Ikeja Federal Constituency in the national assembly. I believe he can be trusted and his past relationship with Tinubu has shown that he is loyal and dedicated. He also has the fear of God and total commitment to the Nigeria project. He can be trusted with that office, he is a no nonsense man.

Secondly let us look at the national assembly’s leadership, don’t let us make the mistake of thinking that we want it to go to the South East or SouthSouth because we want to appeal to certain people. Competence must come into play. We cannot afford to have a loose national assembly. We cannot have a national assembly whose leadership would have questions to answer, like the issue of corruption. That won’t work at all. Let us look for capability and experience in choosing the national assembly’s leadership.

Do you have anybody in mind for the positions of Speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate President?

As of now I don’t have anybody in mind. We are still watching those who are coming out to show interest. I am just saying that we should have both in the executive and the National Assembly leadership those that will not bring corruption or have a record of corruption hanging on their necks. We will resist this. What is your advice to INEC concerning future elections? For instance in November this year, three governorship elections will take place in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States?

INEC has done well. It has demonstrated integrity, competence and capacity. If INEC can hold an election for the entire country without problem, the elections in those three states should not be an issue. INEC should just maintain its composure and conduct the election well to the satisfaction of the people of the three states.

They should let the wishes of the people reflect in the election results that will be declared. That is all.

My advice to him is that he should institute an allinclusive government. What I am saying is that the government can be that of a national unity. But beyond national unity we must also consider competency

CSOs Fault Calls For Interim National Government

ACoalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the Nigerian Peace Advocates has faulted calls for Interim National Government to take over from the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

Delta Rep Joins Race For Deputy Speaker, Pledges Equity, Fairness

Rep. Francis Waive (APC-Delta) has declared interest in the race for Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives in the 10th National Assembly, billed to be inaugurated in June.

The lawmaker said this in a notice to the 10th House of Representatives members-elect, a copy of which was obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja

He said that his aspiration, aside from overriding competence and capacity to deliver, would be driven by equity and fairness.

The lawmaker’s notice of intent read in part: “I believe the 10th Assembly deserves a leadership sensitive to the needs of members and serves all without any discrimination.

Edo 2024: Esan Outline Criteria For Endorsing Aspirants

“I believe in the equality of members, in equal opportunities, both on the floor and in committee. I offer to serve you as Deputy Speaker, if zoned to the SouthSouth.”

Waive said that he would be easily accessible and help the first-timers to quickly find their footing, adding that he would also carry everyone along during his tenure.

“Those who know me personally in the current 9th Assembly will describe me as a calm, cool and collected lawmaker. My antecedents have always been that of service to humanity.

“As our induction and inauguration ceremonies draw near, I am available to interact with you personally and privately at your convenience,” the lawmaker said.

FG Mourns Passing of Late Sen. Franca Afegbua

The Federal Government has mourned the passing of late Senator Franca Hadiza Afegbua, the first female democratically elected Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, extolling her role in championing women participation in the country’s political development.

In a condolence letter addressed to the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, by the Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline K. Tallen, the Federal Government, said Late Senator Franca Afegbua “represented the aspirations and triumph of Nigerian women recognition in National Development”

According to her, “I present to you warm compliments and also on behalf of Nigerian Women commiserate with Your Excellency and the good people of Edo State on the demise of an illustrious daughter of Edo State and the first female democratically elected Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; late Senator Franca Hadiza Afegbua.

“Her death at this time is an irreparable and irreplaceable loss not only to the good people of Edo State, but to the greater Nigeria society; especially Nigerian

women. We, however took solace in the fact that she was a courageous woman, devoid of ethnic sentiments who took pride in projecting the rich cultural diversity of Nigeria to the world. Her death at this time has left a big vacuum in Nigerian women participation in politics, at a time, we are canvassing for more representation of women and seeking mentors of the next generation of female politicians.”

Hon. Tallen noted that Late Senator Franca Afegbua’s emergence as Senator in 1983 through a keenly contested election to represent the defunct Bendel State North Senatorial District “shattered the glass ceiling and paved the way for more women to attain the highest pinnacle in their political career, while demystifying the stereotypes around women’s equal participation in politics in Nigeria.”

She added: “On behalf of Nigerian Women, I want to commiserate with the Government and good people of Edo State, the Afegbua Royal Family of Okpella Kingdom and of course, Nigeria women to mourn this iconic Amazon, model and great Ambassador of Nigeria Women participation in politics.

In the strong move to put forward their best hands for the forthcoming governorship contest of Edo State, the Esan ethnic nationality, located in the Central Senatorial Zone, have listed criteria that aspirants from the zone must meet to enjoy overwhelming support.

This they argue is to ensure that only viable and capable aspirants, who will equally elicit support of the Northern and Southern Senatorial Zones of the state, will be endorsed to angle for the number one seat of Edo State as Governor Godwin Obaseki’s eight year term winds down in November 2024.

Rising from a meeting of the Esan Assembly held at the weekend, under the auspices of the Esan Okpa Initiative (EOI) and attended by some Esan groups in the country and the Diaspora, it endorsed the criteria presented by a six man sub - committee headed by acclaimed Constitutional Law Scholar, Prof Mike Ikhariale, which makes the possession of a bachelors degree, as opposed to the constitutional provision of a secondary school certificate, as the minimum for persons of Esan extraction contesting for any political offices.

Other members of the sub committee earlier set up by EOI’s Political and Strategic Committee, which comprised largely of egg heads, include Prof. Friday Okonofua, Prof. Ekeikhomen Ejele, Prof. Sylvester OdionAkhaine, Dr. Roseline Etiti Okosun and Dr. Onoohomen Ebhohimhen.

The meeting which discussed and wrapped up details of the criteria, according to a press statement by EOI’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Tony Iyare, was also attended by representatives of Esan Liberation Movement led by Mr. Prosper Iyere, Esan Descendants Assembly headed by Prof Oyawizo Aluede, Okisemabhegbe coordinated by Mr. Mark Akhuetie and leaders of the Esan World Congress (EWC) in the US and Canada. The criteria cover critical areas like education, social and political exposures, personal gravitas, and emphasizes that the would be aspirants must be imbued with “a strong association with Esanland through past and current activities in ways that are demonstrably focused on the promotion of the wellbeing of Esan people.”

The group, which included Citizens for Development and Education (CDE) and Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), said this at a news conference in Abuja. Spokesperson for the group, Ibrahim Waiya, Executive Director, CDE, said it was unfortunate that some politicians had resorted to unguarded statements following the outcome of the 2023 General Election which was not in their favour.

Waiya said it was important for politicians to apply restraint in their utterances, particularly as Nigeria was going through a critical period of democratic transition.

He called on media to exercise restraint on all broadcast in the interest of peace and national unity.

The executive director urged media practitioners in Nigeria to avoid any form of broadcast capable of creating confusion and or aggravating the country’s fragile security situation.

“It is important for the media to x-ray all contents before airing to avoid the Rwanda experience in Nigeria.

“Nigerians should not fall into the trap of any sentiments to serve the interest of any desperate and greedy political leader.

“Also, all aggrieved politicians should stick to legal process for redress as provided by our legal system.

“They should desist from threatening, intimidating and discrediting the same system they seek to serve,” he said.

Waiya called on international organisations and communities to exercise restraint in submitting to the sentiments of some politicians, who were hell bent on destabilising the country.

“Nigeria direly needs the support of its friends at this critical time of transition to salvage our nascent democracy in the interest of Africa’s stability and the world at large.”

He advised the President-elect, Bola Tinubu to run an all-inclusive government to give a sense of belonging to all groups and affiliations in the country.

Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma (middle), Deputy Governor, Prof Placid Njoku (left) APC State Chairman, Dr. Macdonald Ebere at the Party Office when the Governor formally declared his interest to run for second term on April 12, 2023.

EDITORIAL

Prince Bola Ajibola (1934-2023)

n Sunday, April 9, 2023, Nigeria lost one of her illustrious sons, Prince Bola Ajibola, who passed on at the age of 89. Described as one of the most selfless individuals to ever occupy a public office in the country, the widelyacclaimed international jurist and administrator, who actually mentored Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in public sector law, really left his mark in the sand of time.

Born into the royal family of the Owu Kingdom in Ogun State on March 22, 1934, Ajibola, who attended Baptist Boys High School (BBHS), Abeokuta, after his primary school education at Owu Baptist Day School, Ago Owu, was a year ahead of the late MKO Abiola and two years ahead of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the secondary school. He later proceeded to Holborn College of Law, University of London, where he graduated with a law degree and was called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn on November 27, 1962.

After years of practice in the U.K, Ajibola returned home to continue his practice before being appointed as the President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA). He was later appointed as the minister of justice and attorney-general of the federation by retired General Ibrahim Babangida upon assumption of office as military head of state.

The public servant, who later became a judge of the

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EDITOR: Olaolu Olusina @OLUSINA

[Letters/Opinions: opinion.letters@thewillnigeria.com]

OInternational Court of Justice (ICC) at The Hague and Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, among many other international appointments, was an administrator par excellence and integrity personified as he lived an exemplary life worthy of emulation and gave a good definition of service to God and humanity.

Ajibola never took home any salary for the over six years he served as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. He was always donating his monthly salary to the government and charity. In a chat with a national newspaper, the late jurist and renowned writer said: “In my sharing formula, I gave 25 per cent of my salary to the NBA, 35 per cent to the government and 40 per cent to all other organisations involved in humanitarian activities. Those in want, the motherless homes and others, had the last share. I was doing all that.

“I was using the money to help the deprived, and I took no penny home from my ministerial salary. By that time, I had practised for over 23 years and I was quite sufficiently satisfied with what I had earned for myself. I was still getting money from the dividends accruing from my investments and that was being paid to me in my office by the bank. Once I realised that I had enough to care for myself, I wasn’t prepared to have any extraordinary money.”

A lover of education and passionate reader himself, Ajibola contributed immensely to the establishment of Bowen University, a school owned by the Baptist Church, proprietors

of BBHS Abeokuta, his alma mater, despite being a strong Muslim and founder of the Islamic Mission for Africa. He later sold all his property in Lagos in order to raise money for the establishment of his own private university, Crescent

University, Abeokuta.

In an emotion-laden tribute to a man he described as a "boss, mentor, father and friend," Vice President Osinbajo spoke glowingly about the late jurist, who appointed him as a special adviser, when he was the minister of justice, in a condolence message.

"I express my sincere condolences to the entire Ajibola family, even as Dolly and I, who are also his children, mourn our dear father, His Excellency Prince Bola Ajibola SAN, KBE, former President of the Nigeria Bar Association, renowned international arbitrator, former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, former Judge of the World Court, and former Nigeria High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

"As Attorney-General, he undertook perhaps the most far-reaching national justice sector reform in history. Judge Ajibola was an inspirational boss who led by example and a natural teacher who proved that public service can be completely altruistic. He shaped my worldview in justice sector reform. He validated my belief in integrity in public office. His sagacious counsel was indeed crucial at various times. He was always there to support and affirm.

"We will miss him greatly. We pray that his memory and legacies will be blessed forever, in Jesus’ name," Osinbajo, who also admitted that some of his professional and personal virtues as well as his principles against bribery and inducement as a public office holder, were the results of his years of tutelage under Ajibola.

As Attorney General, he undertook perhaps the most far-reaching national justice sector reform in history. Judge Ajibola was an inspirational boss who led by example and a natural teacher who proved that public service can be completely altruistic. He shaped my worldview in justice sector reform. He validated my belief in integrity in public office. His sagacious counsel was indeed crucial at various times. He was always there to support and affirm

‘OBIdients’, Soyinka, Chimamanda And The Climate of Fear

BY REUBEN ABATI

The “Obidients” – supporters of the mission and vision of Mr Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party in Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential election had it coming. And now they are getting their “comeuppance” served in flagellating doses, from Professor Wole Soyinka, grandmaster in the art of dissent, debate and reasoning who has all it takes to sustain an intellectual fight in the public arena.

In two high-profile television interviews in recent weeks - Channels TV and Arise News, and two published commentaries: “Media Responsibility” and “Fascism on Course”, Professor Wole Soyinka has reacted robustly to what he describes as a predilection for fascism on the part of the “Obidients.” Fascism also means dictatorship, tyranny, autocracy, intolerance, the unwillingness to entertain the other view, the tendency to assume that one’s opinion is supreme and superior and that other human beings do not matter. Remember Hitler. Think Italy’s Benito Mussolini. Fascists simply want to have their way no matter what others think or suggest.

The catalyst for President Wole Soyinka’s intervention was an interview on Channels TV by the Vice-Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the course of which he said that it would be unconstitutional to swear in the Presidentelect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 29, 2023, and that doing so would “signal the end of democracy.”

Soyinka upbraided Datti Baba-Ahmed for saying uncomplimentary things about the Nigerian judiciary in a subsequent interview with Channels TV and cautioned against the resort to the use of words that smack of fascism. Indeed, he pointed out that he had advised Peter Obi that if he lost the election, it would be partly because of those persons called “Obidients”. He went further to advise Datti Ahmed to desist from “television tirade of intimidation.” I would ordinarily think that this should not have generated any drama. What Soyinka said simply is that nobody should be a judge in his own cause or dictate to the judiciary. Every elementary student of law must have heard of the maxim: nemo judex in causa sua._ Following the February 25 Presidential election which Obi and Datti Ahmed claimed they and their party, the Labour Party won, they have since gone to court to file a petition. It amounts to contempt of court to even attempt to comment on the matter that has been handed over to the courts to determine. Besides when Datti Baba-Ahmed said it would be un-constitutional or undemocratic to swear in the President-elect on May 29, he missed the point.

The current President’s tenure, after the maximum limit of two terms guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution, ends on May 29. The law does not allow him to stay a day longer. The Constitution does not provide for a vacuum either. The only legitimate concern that has been raised is the suggestion by Olisa Agbakoba SAN that election disputes should be concluded, before inauguration as is the case in other countries, especially Kenya. While there are many who would share this view, the truth is that the current system in Nigeria makes that difficult.

Agbakoba says the judiciary should be pro-active and adopt methods of arbitration and deal swiftly with constitutional and technical issues within seven days. The Nigerian judicial system is not structured to be pro-active. It works at snail speed in the best of circumstances. The courts are over-burdened. The judges are overworked and they

do not have enough support systems. Lawyers are never in a hurry. In election matters, they would depend on the time limitations provided for in Section 285 (6) of the 1999 Constitution. Where we are today is an improvement in the adjudication of election matters; it used to take up to three years to resolve an election dispute.

The best that can be proposed is a further amendment of the Constitution with regard to the handling of election cases. It doesn’t require much intelligence therefore to see that a new administration would be inaugurated on May 29, and while the cases at the tribunals and courts continue, new persons would have settled into office. The real issue is that the power of incumbency would have shifted and the new persons in office would use it to their own advantage. There is so much tension in the land also because Nigerians do not trust the judiciary. They have seen too many cases of how the courts determined election petitions in a manner that caused confusion. In this country, a man once became a Governor of a state without going through the process. He didn’t even print posters not to talk of campaigning. In this same country, a man who did not take part in party primaries was declared a candidate and he got re-elected to the Senate. Is it not in this same country that the Supreme Court ruled that someone who came fourth in a gubernatorial election was the winner? The bigger irony is that many Nigerians now regard the judiciary as a truly Nigerian space where anything is possible beyond the facts and the law.

The sub-text of Soyinka’s intervention, as I see it, was to remind everyone of basic principles, an instruction in the values of order, justice, and the importance of institutions. Those who seek justice should not defeat the same purpose by dictating what kind of justice suits them, and insist solely on their view of the coin. Mr. Peter Obi, the LP Presidential candidate had always insisted that he has strong faith in the judicial process and he is committed to exploring every legal and constitutional means to “reclaim what he calls “his stolen mandate”.

Indeed, on one occasion, Mr Obi in an interview on Arise TV tried to make a distinction between Obidients and members of the Labour Party when he pointed out that there are many Obidients who are not members of the Labour Party and that not all party members are Obidients, which I understood to mean that he, as a person does not dictate to Obidients, even if he is the rallying point for the aspirations of the group, made up mostly of young, angry Nigerians who want change, a transition away from the old political order, and who consider Peter Obi’s political philosophy a good expression of those aspirations. They galvanized momentum and passion around Peter Obi and the Labour Party in the last elections.

Professor Wole Soyinka has spoken about his preference for a third force, a fresh option which may well be represented by Peter Obi, and so you could say he is one of those persons who consider Peter Obi a possibility. His only complaint was about the intolerance and the fascism of Obidients. Any close watcher of the political scene would recall how Obidients in the lead up to the elections, took over the social media. They deployed vitriol, abuse, intimidation, harassment.

Anyone who disagreed with them was insulted and disparaged. Opposition spokespersons soon labelled them “Obidiots.” But they were combat-ready. And it is that

Lagosians Are Not Gangsters

BY PRINCE UTHMAN SHODIPE-DOSUNMU

Afilm is being promoted by one Jade Osiberu and another character called Kemi Akindoju. The so-called movie is an ugly, hate filled mockery of the Lagosian heritage.

In their reckless and disgusting distortion of the sacred illustration of the Lagosian culture, the film makers reduced the Eyo masquerade into a gun-toting killing machine, clothing their actors in the full regalia of the Eyo and with the Aga depicting some Conclaves. This is an abomination. It is not only a distortion of our culture but also a dark insidious profiling of our people as criminals and murderers rampaging across Lagos.

The Adamo Orisha is a treasured cleansing ritual, a sacred rite performed on the passage of an Oba or before the crowning of a new one. It is also used to honour distinguished

Lagosians as their final rite of transition.

Since Ejilu and Malakin, the brothers of Olori Olugbani, first initiated the Eyo rite in celebration of Oba Ado Keme, the Adamo Orisha has become a sacred ancestral heritage celebrated with awe and deserving adoration. It signifies a sweeping renewal, a purificational ritual to usher in a new beginning, the beckoning of new light acknowledging the blessings of our ancestors.

To use the sacred Adamo Orisha Masquerade as an object of terror and loose criminality is to savage and despoil the Lagosian tradition. It is vile, evil and perverse; an utterly sadistic mangling of who we are as a peace loving, accommodating and enlightened people.

We demand an immediate withdrawal of this sacrilegious

same combative spirit that they have taken to Professor Wole Soyinka’s door step. The old sage has refused to be intimidated. He says “Obidients is one of the most repulsive, off-putting concoctions I ever encountered in any political arena.”

He accuses them of projecting their disdain for “corrective criticism” as a badge of honour and certificate of commitment… rabid parochial minds of easy excitation, the tyranny of the ignorant, and the opportunism of timeservers… living in a world of false mythologies.” This is not flattering at all, but the Obidients asked for it. Their response to Professor Soyinka was bound to get them such whiplash. Some of the responses on social media and elsewhere have been so discourteous and rude.

In this season of reckless conduct, people hide under the anonymity that social media offers and heap abuse on persons whose shoe lace they cannot ever hope to tie. Even the more direct and open responses have been shocking. Charly Boy, “Area Fada and an Obidient,” like many others, told Professor Soyinka: “You can’t be compared with Chinua Achebe”. Please what has Chinua Achebe got to do with this matter? Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), through Emmanuel Onwubiko wrote that Soyinka “should stop siding with the oppressors and tyrants.” Could that be Onwubiko speaking for himself for it would be most strange for a body like HURIWA to accuse Soyinka of supporting tyrants when that is the same tendency that he deplores?

Then, of course, I saw a comment by Daniel Bwala, spokesperson of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) asking that Professor Soyinka should have a debate with Chimamanda Adichie. Bwala can claim his right to free speech, but he is at best a busy-body in this instance. Yusuf Tanko, the chief spokesperson of the Labour Party had already addressed the matter when he responded to Professor Soyinka’s invitation of Datti Baba-Ahmed to a debate. He said the Labour Party’s vice-presidential candidate declines the invitation for political and cultural reasons. Before nko? It would be foolhardy for Datti Ahmed to go into a debate with a man of Soyinka’s stature. What I find surprising in all of this, however, is a certain Easter message attributed to Mr Peter Obi in which he talked about “orchestrated efforts to demarket and delegitimise the OBIdient movement.” Is that a veiled attack on Professor Wole Soyinka? So far, Mr Obi has maintained his cool in the political arena, he should not allow himself to be hijacked by an emerging “personality cult.”

But isn’t this a sign of the times though? It is not only Obidients that are in a foul mood. The triumphant members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are not better. They in fact have a much larger tendency for fascism that is frightening and the real fear is that when these persons get to the corridors of power, their arrogance and imperialism would know no bounds.

While the Obidients scream on social media, the BATists, that is the supporters and spokespersons of the APC and President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu shoot from the hips on all platforms. Before and after the elections, they have been on the offensive, making it seem as if they have won a war, and must gather prisoners and shoot them down. They act based on suspicion. They respond to every little comment.

•Continues online at www.thewillnigeria.com

and outrageous film. We demand that the National Film and Video Censors Board and all the appropriate authorities to ban this blatant mockery disguising as cinematography and impose the most punitive sanctions on the sponsors of this venomous ethnic profiling.

We also appeal to the Lagos State Government, the Oba of Lagos, Alayeluwa Oba Rilwan Akinolu, all the custodians of our tradition, including the Alaworo of Adamo Orisha and Akinsiku, Chief Ademola Dosunmu, to rise up in protective defence of our tradition against the ravages of these agents of the condemnable pollution of all that we cherish in this sacred soil of Oba Ado Keme.

Ethnic profiling is recognised as a crime against humanity by the International Court of Justice. This provision can also be invoked against these sacrilegious hate baiters.

NIGERIA'S PETROL IMPORTATION 2016-2022

Fuel Subsidy Removal: $800m Palliative Injurious to Economy – Experts

BY SAM DIALA

Stakeholders and industry experts have raised the alarm over the $800 million World Bank facility secured by the Federal Government to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) disclosed in January that it spent 4.39 trillion Naira ($9.7 billion) on petrol subsidy in 2022, a cost it blamed for dwindling public finances. The Federal Government budgeted N3.36 trillion ($7.5 billion) to spend on petrol subsidy until mid-2023 when the subsidy is planned to be scrapped.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said recently that the $800 million was the first tranche of the palliatives to be disbursed through cash transfers to about 50 million Nigerians, who belong to the most vulnerable category of the society.

The World Bank palliative package has drawn flak from experts who argued that the loan would worsen the country’s economic woes already saddled with a huge debt profile, and that the implementation efficacy is doubtful.

The experts argued that the share of the subsidy palliative for those it is meant for is infinitesimal and would offer a minimal, momentary benefit compared to the huge pains the subsidy removal will impose on the citizens. There is also growing concern over the criteria used in

Relief as Operators Move to Halt Hike in Airfare, Others

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR

Stakeholders in the Nigerian aviation industry have taken a step forward to stem the tide of unfair hikes in airfares, which is adversely affecting passengers in the country. Top on the list of anomalies to be addressed is the issue of foreign airlines’

trapped funds in the country. With over $743 million blocked funds belonging to foreign airlines operating in Nigeria, these stakeholders, especially travel and tour practitioners among them, are worried that the situation is already telling on their businesses.

Continues on page 33

selecting 50 million out of 133 million people who are multidimensionally poor, as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) published in February 2023.

“To ease the pain of the removal of fuel subsidy, they intend to distribute the $800 million to 50 million Nigerians. What criteria were used in selecting the 50 million out of the 133 million people who are multidimensionally poor?

“That leaves us with a balance of 83 million people. What happens to those? Which database are they using to distribute the funds? And, if they diligently distribute every dime of the $800 million at the exchange rate of N750 to the dollar, each recipient will receive just $16/N12,000 each!”, Umar Yakubu of the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch wrote in an article titled, “Adding $800 million to Nigeria’s sovereign debt crisis?”

With the current Consumer Price Index by the NBS on food inflation at 24.32 percent, experts wonder what N12,000 can bring to anyone and for how long. Furthermore, the inflation impact would erode the purchasing power of N12,000 and wipe off at least 20 percent of the value.

“That brings the amount to about N9,600 to alleviate the poverty of one who lives on less than $2 per day!”, Umar Yakubu said, adding that the money should be lent to Aliko Dangote to speed up the completion of his refinery.”

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MORE INSIDE

Fidelity Bank Sells N13.97bn

Controlling Shares By Private Placement

PAGE 34

Seplat Energy Reacts to Lawsuit as Nigerian Govt Alleges Immigration Breach

PAGE 35

UBA Posts Profit Surge of 29% to N53.6bn in Q1 2023

Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc reported a profit surge of 29.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2023. The series of rate hikes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) helped strengthen interest income and boost the bottom line.

The pan-African lender saw interest income accelerate by more than half to N191.9 billion in the period compared to a year earlier as six consecutive upward rate adjustments by the

Continues on page 34

Alawuba

Buhari

AVIATION/ECONOMY

Relief as Operators Move to Halt Hike in Airfare, Others

Continued from page 32

Fuel Subsidy Removal: $800m Palliative Injurious to Economy – Experts

Continued from page 32

The Director/CEO, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr Muda Yusuf, a well-known proponent of fuel subsidy removal, described the World Bank palliative facility as strange and contrary to wisdom.

“I believe that any conversation on subsidy removal and palliatives should be left for the incoming administration. We have had subsidy related palliatives in the past and none involved borrowing. The practice had been that palliatives were funded from the savings from subsidy removal, which makes the current proposition rather strange,” Yusuf told THEWILL in a note.

The implications, according to them, include the designation of Nigeria as a high-risk country in doing business related to aviation, increase in insurance premium due to country risk and reluctance on the part of lessors to lease aircraft to Nigerian carriers or do so at a very high cost.

They also believe that Nigeria has the highest amount of trapped airlines’ funds which, to them, is not good enough for the country’s image in the global aviation industry.

To address such industry issues, the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA) recently converged in Lagos and confirmed that some foreign airlines had started opening up their lower inventories for sales.

Speaking on the development, President of NANTA, Mrs. Susan Akporiaye, said that since the last engagement with the media, the Minister of Aviation, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, (FCCPC) and some foreign airlines have been cooperative.

According to Akporiaye, what they want is for all of them to cooperate fully for the greater good of passengers and other partners in the business.

“We want to really sit down, learn and clearly

understand what our portions are each time we come to a crossroad like this.

“Although the payment of foreign airlines trapped funds is still ongoing, it is not in the volume that is expected by the airlines.

“There is no 100 per cent halt. For instance, if somebody is expecting N100,000 and he gets N10,000, it means that payment is going on in trickles. When we had a meeting with the minister he never told us that some people were given preferential treatment. No, all of them are in a situation in which it is just in bits and pieces, the window is still open for them to do their normal two- week bidding".

Akporiaye assured that steps are being taken to address the airline's trapped funds, monopoly, unfair practices, border and visa issues and a whole lot of emerging complexities.

According to her, NANTA is also collaborating with the Tour Operators Union of Ghana (TOUGHA) to host a hybrid multi-layered tourism industry conference which will help to address some critical issues in the industry.

She hinted that both bodies will assemble the best faculty from the University of Johannesburg on tourism enterprise and related businesses, to help define and determine the immediate and future drive of the industry, its profitability, and challenges.

“This unique conference, which will be certificated, is open to individuals, organisations and agencies in Nigeria and Ghana, particularly those with eyes on impacting positively on the growth and sustainability of the various value chains in the African cultural tourism economy”. Meanwhile, airlines, travel agents, passengers on international routes and other stakeholders have, in recent times, been adversely affected by the issue of trapped funds of foreign airlines operating in the country.

As at December 2022, the trapped funds belonging to foreign airlines grew to $550 million, despite the recent intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to clear part of the funds.

According to reports, the trapped funds belonging to international carriers operating in Nigeria are estimated to be up to a whopping sum of $743,721,097 from $662m in January 2023.

The immediate past Director, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) suggested that the government should explore fiscal and monetary policy options to incentivise investment on sectors that could mitigate the pains of subsidy removal, instead of going into borrowing. These include investors in refineries, pipelines, petrochemicals, marketing, fertiliser plants and auto plants and the power sector.

Enumerating the benefits of fuel subsidy removal, Yusuf said the measure would unlock large investment opportunities in the oil and gas sector with numerous benefits. He argued that the intended benefits would be eroded by the borrowed facility to fund the palliative.

He said, “The subsidy removal will eliminate the distortions and stimulate investment. We would see more private investments in petroleum refineries, petrochemicals and fertiliser plants.

“Post-subsidy regime would also unlock investments in pipelines, storage facilities, transportation and retail outlets. We would see the export of refined petroleum products, petrochemicals and fertiliser as private capital comes into the space. Quality jobs will be created.”

An economist and CEO, BIC Consulting, Dr Boniface Chizea, expressed concern about the financial injury that the $800 million World Bank facility will inflict on the economy. He told THEWILL in a chat that the outgoing Buhari-led administration should have left the incoming government to determine the way to go about the fuel subsidy removal since the major presidential candidate had subsidy removal in their manifestoes. He said the subsidy removal palliative would add to the nation’s huge debt burden.

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has vowed not to support the fuel subsidy removal without first fixing the refineries.

In a statement signed by NUPENG’s President, Prince Williams Akporeha and the General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, the group lamented the Federal Government’s failure to meet the condition set by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), which is to ensure there is a functioning refinery in the country before the removal of the subsidy.

According to NUPENG, the government had said there will be three working refineries before the removal of fuel subsidy, but that has not been done. It expressed concern that the cost of fuel will skyrocket without functional refineries.

The $800 million facility is to be repaid between 2027 and 2051 which will impose additional debt burden. According to Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria’s debt profile as at December 31, 2022, is N46.25 trillion and N23.70 trillion borrowed by the Federal Government from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through ways and means, bringing the total debt to N70 trillion.

Nigeria’s current total public debt of N70 trillion Naira, if shared among the current estimated population of 220.2 million people (based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data), places a debt burden of N317,850 on each citizen, according to data compiled by THEWILL. The 774 local government areas of the country will also be liable to N90.5 billion each as their share of the total public debt.

As at December 2022, the trapped funds belonging to foreign airlines grew to $550 million, despite the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to clear part of the funds

The World Bank palliative package has drawn flak from experts who argued that the loan would worsen the country’s economic woes already saddled with a huge debt profile, and that the implementation efficacy is doubtful

“

UBA Posts Profit Surge of 29% to N53.6bn in Q1 2023

apex bank enabled banks to charge more for loans.

The CBN has increased the key interest rate six times since May cumulatively by 650 basis points to rein in inflation. Now at 18 per cent, the benchmark rate is at its peak level since it was adopted in 2006.

Net interest income, a barometer for profitability measuring the difference between how much lenders earn from loans and what they pay to savers for keeping their deposits, climbed to N119.6 billion from N84.9 billion.

Similarly, net trading and foreign exchange income improved by 74.5 per cent to N26.1 billion on the back of increased yield from fixed-income securities.

UBA raised its provision for impaired loans by 74 per cent, while other operating expenses expanded by

nearly half to N69.4 billion, fuelled by a dramatic rise in costs incurred from fuel, repairs and maintenance.

Spending on fuel, repairs and maintenance came to over N14 billion for the quarter. That was an increase of 63.8 per cent relative to one year ago.

Profit before income tax was 40 per cent up at N61.4 billion while profit for the period stood at N53.6 billion compared to N41.5 billion in the same period of last year.TEXEM Advert

UBA’s total assets rose to N11.4 trillion at the end of March, growing by 4.6 per cent year on year.

The bank has one-third of its assets and 42 per cent of its operating income generated outside of Nigeria, especially in West Africa.

By this the bank has set the pace for another bountiful year after it reported an impressive performance in 2022.

Fidelity Bank Sells N13.97bn Controlling Shares By Private Placement

Fidelity Bank has sold a 10.4 percent controlling stake in the financial institution through private placement..

The disposed controlling stake worth N13.97 billion was sold to two unnamed investors.

According to a statement released by the bank on Friday, 14 April 2023, the share acquisition was made in late February 2023 after the financial institution put up 3.03 million shares for sale.

The bank disclosed that two applications were received for the shares worth N13.97 billion and that the private placement was 100 per cent subscribed.

The Tier-11 bank said the transaction has been approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In the statement, Fidelity Bank said it: “Announces the result of the Private Placement of 3,037,414,308 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N4.60 per share, which opened on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 and closed on Thursday, February 23, 2023.

World Bank Chief Wants Nigeria Ease Trade Barriers, Diversify Economy

The World Bank has urged Nigeria to ease trade restrictions that block market development and diversify the economy by investing more in agriculture and other non-oil sectors. The Bank also sought improvement in basic infrastructure provision especially electricity and clean water to take more Nigerians out of poverty.

President of the World Bank Group, David Malpass, said these at the ongoing IMF/World Bank Group Springs meeting in Washington. He noted that these are the surest ways to achieve shared prosperity and sustainable growth in keeping with the lender’s economic projection of 2.8% for Nigeria in 2023.

Malpass said: “Nigeria has trade protection that blocks market development. They have a dual exchange rate that is very expensive for the people of Nigeria to maintain that dual exchange rate system.

“They have high inflation and not enough diversification of the economy to really make sufficient progress.”

AIICO Insurance Plc., has reaffirmed its commitment towards driving growth and advocacy in Nigeria’s healthcare sector in Nigeria, through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) channel

The insurer, which reeled out its numerous interventions in the country’s healthcare sector, stressed that these engagements only serve to further ‘endear the AIICO brand to the Nigerian marketplace,’ while noting that it is also one of the factors that has ‘sustained many individuals and corporates as longterm customers and attracting new ones.’

According to the Head, Strategic Marketing & Communications, Mr. Segun Olalandu, in a statement, Thursday, from every sale of its travel and automobile insurance products, AIICO donates N100 to the cause of raising awareness on a health advocacy, or funding a programme in the country’s healthcare sector. AIICO interventions, according to Olalandu, include; driving the culture of internal blood donation, ending end infant homicide (infanticide) in Nigeria, nationwide antimalaria campaigns, breast cancer awareness, sponsoring free eye surgeries in the country, among others.

Olalandu maintains that through these routine CSR engagements, AIICO ‘creates better relationships and connects deeply with the community and its people via several socially impactful programmes and activities.’

“One of the key areas of focus for AIICO’s Corporate Social Responsibility is health and well-being. The company has established relationships with partner agencies, government establishments, and non-profit organizations through which it touches many lives more meaningfully.

“Annually, AIICO commemorates World Blood Donor Day with an internal blood donation drive in partnership with Lagos State Government through its agency, the Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service. “AIICO’s employees troop out voluntarily to donate blood. This intervention is in response to the enormous supply gap and the continuous rise in the demand for blood in local health institutions.

“Two (2) applications were received for a total of 3,037,414,308 ordinary shares in connection with the Private Placement.

“The two (2) applications for a total of 3,037,414,308 ordinary shares were found to be valid, accepted and processed accordingly.

“The Private Placement was therefore 100% subscribed. All applications were received within the Offer period of Wednesday, February 22, 2023 and Thursday, February 23, 2023.

The share sale affords Fidelity Bank with N13.97 billion as funding for its operation at a time the company invested millions to acquire the Union Bank of Nigeria subsidiary in the United Kingdom as part of its growth plan.

It said the Securities & Exchange Commission has cleared the published Basis of Allotment as well as the announcement.

“CSCS accounts of successful allotees will be credited with shares allotted, not later than Friday, May 05, 2023 by the Registrars to Fidelity Bank Plc,” the statement noted.

In terms of growth, he said: “For Nigeria, the growth was 3.3 per cent in 2022 and 2.8 per cent in 2023, within our forecast, and our high priority for the World Bank is shared prosperity in a sustainable way.

“And so, as we think about Nigeria, there are many changes that are needed in order to allow that process to proceed. Nigeria has a big chunk of its GDP is oil and it means that a lot of people in Nigeria are facing poverty and that needs to be redirected.

“And they also face insecurity across the northern and western regions and it is very challenging. And so, the World Bank is working hard within Nigeria, but also working to have an economic system that can be more productive.”

Malpass also advised Nigeria and other SubSaharan African countries to focus on policies that would enhance inclusive growth similar to India, which has recorded improved electricity supply, investments in agriculture and investments in infrastructure.

He reiterated that the World Bank’s major concern is: “First, restoring price stability and safeguarding financial stability as prerequisites for a return to robust growth.”

“AIICO is also helping to fight and end infant homicide (infanticide) in Nigeria. Unfortunately, this barbaric practice is still in practice in some local communities. AIICO donates N100 from every sale of its Travel and Automobile insurance products to this cause yearly. It partners with ActionAid Nigeria and Vine Heritage Home, who are at the forefront of the campaign to rescue these children. They provide them with shelter, and access to quality education and ensure they reintegrate into society without harm.

“Discussion on health in sub-Saharan Africa is incomplete without touching on malaria and its impact on public health in the region. Malaria accounts for up to 30 percent of all childhood deaths and 11 percent of adult deaths.

“In 2022, AIICO partnered with HACEY, distributing treated mosquito nets to many households through Primary Healthcare Centers in local communities across Lagos, Rivers, and Oyo States. Over 500 women benefited from the enlightenment on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, besides over 3,000 who were engaged online.

“The company has consistently driven awareness of breast cancer. It recently partnered with CancerAware Nigeria to continue the awareness effort and goes one step further. As a result, AIICO sponsored the treatment of 30 women with triplenegative breast cancer. It also supported 100 employees and their spouses for breast cancer scans, mammograms, and other public enlightenment campaigns.

Continued from page 32

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji (left) and Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank, Dr Herbert Wigwe, during a meeting with the Bank management at the Governor's office, Ado- Ekiti on April 13, 2023.

Shell Denies Breach of Nigerian Content Law

The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) on Wednesday denied claims that it was in violation of Nigerian Content laws at the EA fields in Bayelsa State.

The Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC) had on Monday alleged that SPDC had excluded indigenous players from its operations at the EA fields in breach of the community content guidelines.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the content guidelines were set out by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

The youth group said that it would resist any plot to exclude members of the host community by mobilising for a protest that would ground operations at the oil fields if the policy was not reversed.

Seplat Energy Reacts to Lawsuit as Nigerian Govt Alleges Immigration Breach

Seplat Energy has said that there is a court action initiated by the Nigerian government alleging a breach of immigration law by the company and some of its directors.

“The suit is in relation to the immigration status of Mr. Roger Brown and the withdrawal of his immigration visa by the Ministry of Interior,” the oil driller said in the statement.

The lawsuit is the latest phase of the clash between Seplat Energy’s CEO Roger Brown and some stakeholders.

Earlier this year, concerned parties petitioned Rauf Aregbesola, Nigeria’s minister of interior, stating allegations of favouritism, racism, discrimination and breach of corporate governance against Mr Brown, a British citizen.

On 3 March, the minister had sent a letter to Chairman Basil Omiyi, informing him of the withdrawal of the CEO’s work permit as well as his visa and residence permit including a petition from a lawyer to the Seplat employees who made the allegations.

A week later, a Federal High Court in Lagos gave an interim order forbidding Mr Brown from management activities in Seplat Energy, granting the prayer of petitioners including Moses Igbrude, Ajani Abidoye, Sarat Kudaisi, Robert Ibekwe and Kenneth Nnabike.

The court also forbade the company’s chairman and all independent nonexecutive directors from running the company “in an illegal, unfairly, prejudicial and oppressive manner pending the hearing and determination of the petitioners’ motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”

Seplat Energy said last week the court had repealed the orders initially issued against its CEO and its chairman.

“The Company maintains that the petition lacks proper basis and is premised on false allegations,” Seplat Energy said in a statement issued after the court ruling.

But in a new lawsuit instigated by the Nigerian government through the Ministry of Interior, the government brought a four-count charge against the company according to court papers seen by PREMIUM TIMES.

The first count alleged that Seplat Energy, its CEO, its chairman, Company Secretary Edith Onwuchekwa and directors including Charles Okehalam, Fabian Ajogwu, Rabiu Bello, Bashirat Odunewu and Emma Fitgerald (all of them defendants) conspired among themselves to allow Mr Brown accept employment as the CEO without the consent of the comptroller general of immigration.

The documents added that the action contravened Section 36 (1)(a) and 71 of the Immigration Act 2015 and is punishable under Section 36 (2) and Section 71 (a) of the Immigration Act 2015.

According to the second count, the defendants allegedly conspired to “allow Mr Roger Brown take over business as Chief Executive Officer of Seplat Energy PLC without the consent of the Minister of Interior, contrary to Section 36 (1) (b) and punishable under Section 36 (2) and Section 105 of the Immigration Act 2015.”

The third count alleged that the defendants “did instigate, encourage, connive, by neglect on your part, allow Mr. Roger Thompson Brown, a nonNigerian to accept employment as Chief Executive Officer of Seplat Energy PLC even after withdrawal of his immigration documents.”

The action contravened Sections 36, 71 and 105 of the Immigration Act 2015 and is punishable under Sections 36(2) 105(1) of the Immigration Act 2015, it added.

The fourth count stated that the defendants allegedly failed to apply to the comptroller general of Immigration for his permission before employing him both as the CEO and the chief finance officer of the company contrary to Section 38(1) of the Immigration Act 2015 and punishable under Section 38(5) of the Immigration Act 2015.

Seplat said in the Thursday statement that it “continues to follow the rule of law and uphold high standards of corporate governance.”

The company added that it “remains confident that it has provided all of the required documentation to the Ministry of Interior and the judicial process will address the circumstances appropriately.”

Tetfund Allocates N30bn For High-impact Projects in 18 Tertiary Institutions

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has allocated N30 billion for disbursement to six universities, six polytechnics and six colleges of education under its 2023 Special High Impact intervention.

The Executive Secretary of the fund, Sonny Echono, made this known at a news conference in Abuja, to give a further breakdown of the 2023 intervention budget of N320 billion recently approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.

News Agency of Nigeria reports that Mr Echono said that each of the six beneficiary universities would get N3 billion, while each of the six selected polytechnics and six colleges of education would receive N1 billion.

”For this year, six universities, six polytechnics and six Colleges of Education (COE) will benefit from the special high-impact project.

”Ibrahim Babangida University, Lapai; Federal University Wukari, Taraba state; Federal University Birnin-Kebbi; Imo State University of Agriculture and Environmental Science; Edo State University and the Federal University of Technology, Akure, are to get N3 billion each.

”Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara; Federal Polytechnic, Gombe; Federal Polytechnic Kabo, Kano State; Anambra State Polytechnic; Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas, Bonny; and Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, Igboora, are to get N1 billion each.

”Also, Plateau State COE; Federal COE, Yola; Federal COE, Zaria; Enugu State COE; Delta State COE, and Taiye Solarin COE are to get N1 billion each,” he said.

According to him, the intervention seeks to massively inject funds into selected tertiary institutions to achieve a major turnaround through programme upgrades and improvement in the teaching and learning environment.

On other intervention lines, Mr Echono disclosed that N500 million had been allocated to some selected COEs from the six geopolitical zones for the micro-teaching laboratories.

He listed them as Federal COE, Otukpo, Benue State; Federal COE Jama’are, Bauchi State; Federal COE, Sokoto; Federal COE Isu, Ebonyi State; Federal COE, Ekiadolor, Edo State; and Federal COE, Iwo, Osun State.

The group also urged the Minister of Petroleum, President Muhammadu Buhari and leadership of NNPC Limited to prevail on SPDC to rethink and reciprocate the peaceful disposition of the host communities.

NAN also reports that SPDC operates the EA shallow offshore fields off Bayelsa coastline, deploying a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FSPO) vessel, with a capacity to process and hold 1.4 million barrels of crude.

Reacting to the allegations, the SPDC said that on the contrary, it was a leading player in the development of local capacity in the oil and gas sector.

SPDC Media Relations Manager, Abimbola Essien-Nelson, in a statement, said that Shell awarded contracts worth $1.9 billion to Nigerian companies and works with NCDMB in building capacity of Nigerian companies in the oil and gas sector.

“The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited Joint Venture (SPDC JV) is committed to the development of businesses in the Niger Delta.

“Working with government and community stakeholders, we have supported capacity development in several Niger Delta-owned businesses.

“The case in hand is a scheduled review of our logistics contracting process that has been in place for years. The review was supervised by the NNPC Upstream Investments Management Services (NUIMS) and the Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

“It was, however, conducted via an open and transparent bidding process which resulted in the entrance of several new contractors.

“The bid winners consist some of these new companies, as well as companies previously involved in the contract.

“All the bid winners, which are Nigerian companies, demonstrated their commercial and technical competences, as well as compliance with Nigerian Content regulations,” SPDC stated.

The energy firm pledged that it would continue to support the development of local communities and companies.

It stated that in 2022, the SPDC Joint Venture, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) and Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG) awarded contracts worth $1.9 billion to Nigerian-registered companies.

L-R: Managing Director, SystemSpecs Technology Services Limited (STSL), Demola Igbalajobi; Chairman, HumanManager Limited, Waheed Olagunju; Managing Director, HumanManager Limited, Adekunbi Ademiluyi; Chairman, SystemSpecs Limited, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe; Group Managing Director, SystemSpecs Limited, John Obaro and Managing Director, Remita Payment Services Limited (RPSL), Deremi Atanda at the HumanManager breakfast and product launch held in Lagos on April 12, 2023.

FINANCIAL MARKET

Ponzi Bill: Attempt at Sanitising Nigeria’s Financial Markets?

BY MARCEL OKEKE

In the latest of efforts aimed at strengthening the functioning of Nigeria’s capital market and protect investors, the National Assembly on 29 March 2023 passed the Investment and Securities Bill (ISB 2023). The Bill has provisions for more stringent punishment for operators of Ponzi/pyramid schemes and illegal investment schemes that have led to the loss of billions of naira by Nigerians.

The existence and operations of such illicit schemes over the years have negatively affected confidence in the investment climate of the country. Though awaiting Presidential assent to become an Act, one of the significant developments that the new Bill brings about is the outright prohibition of the Ponzi/Pyramid schemes in the country.

Expatiating on the Bill, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, said it is expected to protect investors, adequately regulate the market, reduce systemic risks and provide for more stringent punishment for promoters and operators of Ponzi schemes.

He said, “The bill for an act to repeal the Investments and Securities Act 2007 Act No. 29 2007 and enact the Investments and Securities Bill 2023 to service the SEC as the apex regulatory authority for the Nigerian capital market as well as regulation of the market to ensure capital formation, to protect investors, maintain fair, efficient and transparent market and reduction of systemic risk and for related matters is hereby passed.”

Specifically, under the Bill, promoters of Ponzi schemes would now face a jail term of not less than 10 years. The Bill also prescribes asset forfeiture and a fine of 10-20 per cent of the amount of money collected from victims. On his part, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions, Babangida Ibrahim, said the ISB 2023 was capable of transforming the capital market, attracting foreign investors, and boosting investors’ confidence, among others.

Ibrahim said, “The bill seeks to repeal the existing Investments and Securities Act 2007 and to establish a new market infrastructure and a wide-ranging system of regulation of investments and securities businesses in Nigeria, especially in the areas of derivatives, systemic risk management, financial market infrastructure and Ponzi scheme and platforms.”

These Ponzi schemes (also known as pyramid sales schemes) are essentially a money laundering system where investors are wooed or lured in with the promise of high returns on investment after a specified period. The system runs in a somewhat cyclic fashion by paying old investors with deposits of new investors but usually becomes unsustainable when the backlog of old investors eligible for payments exceeds the investments coming into the system.

Over the years, millions of Nigerians who patronised Ponzi schemes lost huge sums of money to those illicit ventures. According to Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), 3 million Nigerians lost N18 billion when the popular Ponzi scheme, Mavrodi Mundial Movement (MMM) crashed in 2016.

As of 2022, Nigerians have lost over N300 billion in Ponzi schemes in five years, according to a report generated by the Norrenberger Financial Investments scheme. All these make the ISB 2023 not only imperative but also timely. It is therefore a matter of

necessity that it gets Presidential assent not later than 29 May 2023 when the tenure of the current Federal Government will end.

Since the far-reaching impact of the infamous MMM in 2016, many other Ponzi/Pyramid schemes had sprung up and ruined the lives and livelihoods of many Nigerians who patronised them. Experience shows that victims of these illicit schemes, once deceived, end up seeing the capital market and most other investment windows as fraud. They become disinterested in investing, even in any arm of the financial market.

The point however remains that millions of Nigerians, who had been victims of the Ponzi schemes, had

usually disregarded the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) repeated cautions against participating in those schemes. This was more so the case with MMM which came when the country was plunged into its worst economic recession in decades (2016). Many people saw the illicit scheme rather as an opportunity for huge financial returns. Up until now, Section 38(1) of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2007 prohibits the operation of Ponzi schemes. The section provides that “no persons shall (a) operate in the Nigerian capital market as an expert or professional or in any other capacity as may be determined by the commission, or (b) carry on investments and securities business unless the person is registered in accordance with this Act and the rules and regulations made thereunder.”

The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) in a report in 2017 estimated that about 3 million Nigerians lost N18 billion in the MMM Ponzi scheme, founded by three brothers, Sergei Mavrodi, Vyacheslav Mavrodi and Olga Melnikova. The then Managing Director of NDIC, Umaru Ibrahim, had described the scheme as “the phenomenon of illegal fund managers, popularly called ‘Wonder Banks’ which have continued to defraud unsuspecting members of the public of their hard-earned money.”

Unfortunately, the crash of MMM gave rise to other Ponzi schemes that surfaced afterwards, with many Nigerians still falling prey despite having lost huge sums of money. Ponzi schemes have since then remained (un)popular in the country, with investors expecting unrealistic returns. Among them was Loom, considered a peer-to-peer pyramid scheme. For Loom, participants created WhatsApp group chats, invested money, and expected to get eight times the value of money invested once they can recruit new members. Upon payments, they were to invite (other) persons to join the system.

However, despite its seeming ‘smooth’ methods, former SEC Director-General Mary Uduk, had in May 2019 declared Loom an “illegal outfit,” warning Nigerians against investing in it. She said: “We, therefore, wish to notify the investing public that the operation of this investment scheme has no tangible business model.

Hence, it’s a Ponzi scheme, where returns are paid from other people’s invested sum. Also, its operation is not registered by the commission.” Apart from Loom, there have been other online investment schemes such as Twinkas, Donation Hub, Get Help World Wide, Smile2Charity, Ultimate Cycler, Givers Forum, I-Charity.

Crowd Raising, Clarrita, Help2Get, amongst other mushroom schemes that collapsed in recent years. Yet, several others also sprang up with Nigerians falling prey and the promoters disappearing with their money. These included MyBonus2u, RackSterli, Quintessential Investment Company, Inks Nation, and Wales Kingdom Capital Limited, etc.

However, while the ISB 2023 is a necessity to deal with illicit operators in the financial markets, it is really not a silver bullet. The variety and magnitude of abuses and fraud in Nigeria’s financial services industry remain benumbing. It is very doubtful if the content of the ISB 2023 can deal with motley issues in the financial system and the wider economy that stand as disincentives to local and foreign investors. Nor can it deal with greed, ignorance, unemployment, poverty, and worsening economic conditions that really propel many Nigerians to put their money in Ponzi schemes.

The ISB 2023 should in all honesty be made an integral part of a more comprehensive law to deal will numerous existing and emerging challenges in the (investment windows of) financial services industry. After all, the SEC, the Stock Exchange and numerous participants therein operate in mostly esoteric fashion. This, in part, is why the entire economy needs to be made attractive and confidenceholding to existing and prospective investors. Nigeria needs ISB 2023, and more!

•Okeke is an economist, sustainability expert and consultant on business strategy

Unfortunately, the crash of MMM gave rise to other Ponzi schemes that surfaced afterwards, with many Nigerians still falling prey despite having lost huge sums of money

Hassan

SHOTS OF THE WEEK

Photo Editor: Peace Udugba [08033050729]

L-R: GM/CEO, Dangote Cement Plc, Arvind Pathak; Chairman, Dangote Cement Plc, Aliko Dangote; NonExecutive Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Abdu Dantata; Non-Executive Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Olakunle Alake; Non-Executive Director; Devakumar Edwin at the 14th AGM of Dangote Cement Plc, held in Lagos on 13th April, 2023.

L-R: Acting Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Femi Oshinlaja; Director, Internal Assurance, Airtel Nigeria, Ngozi Akamelu; Ag. Head Brands & Advertising, Airtel Nigeria, Omobolanle Osotule and Director, Marketing, Airtel Nigeria, Ismail Adeshina during the launch of VoLTE at the Airtel Headquarters in Lagos on April 11, 2023.

L-R: La Liga Ambassador for Nigeria, Mutiu Adepoju; Chairman, Ogun State Football Association, Alh. Ganiyu Majekodunmi; Brand, Digital, and Marketing Communications Lead, ValueJet, Aisha Adams; President, Remo Stars FC, Hon. Kunle Soname; Manager, Sponsorship & Promotion, MTN Nigeria, Njide Ken-Odogwu and Head, Special Projects, Nigeria Professional Football League, at the press briefing of the 5th edition of the NPFL U-15 Youth League,held at Remo Stadium, Ikenne, Ogun State on April 13, 2022.

L-R: Head, Water Supply, FCT and Sanitation Agency, Chinyelu Obrike; Director, School Health, FCT Universal Basic Education Board, Alhaji Aboki Danladi; Marketing and Category Manager, Nestlé Waters, Joy AbdullahiJohnson and Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Nestlé Nigeria PLC, Victoria Uwadoka,  As Nestlé Nigeria/ Ogun State took the message of water management to over 160 children and teachers from public and private primary schools to celebrate World Water Day 2023 on April 3, 2023.

L-R: Senior Special Assistant to DG/CE, SON, Chief Duru Emeka; DG/Chief Executive, (SON), Mallam Farouk Salim and  Director, ICD, SON, Alh Issa Sulaimon, at the SON Stakeholders forum held in Lagos on April 13, 2023.

Senior Pastor, Dominion Grace Christian Mission (DGCM ) Worldwide, Pastor Emmanuel Sunday Akpan, 5th left); his wife, Pastor (Mrs) Emem Emmanuel and other members during the 5th Anniversary Celebration of DGCM in Lagos on April 9, 2023.

21ST CENTURY TRADITIONAL QUEENS

Olori Mariam

Olori Tobi

Olori Firdaus

Olori Sekinat

Olori Hadiza

Some years ago, the beautiful wives of prominent Yoruba traditional rulers hardly appeared in public. It was either that they preferred to stay behind the scene or were required by custom to keep out of sight. All that has changed. Nowadays many African queens are not only young, informed and stylish but also socially mobile and influential. IVORY UKONU writes on a few popular ones and their rise to fame

STYLISH WIVES OF PROMINENT TRADITIONAL RULERS

Queen of Iwo Kingdom, HRM

Queen Firdaus Abdullahi-Akanbi

She is the only wife of the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi Ilufemiloye Telu 1, the 16th Oluwo of Iwoland whose first marriage to Jamaican-born Chanel Chin ended in very controversial circumstances in 2019.

From the Madaki royal family in Kano State, Queen Firdaus is the daughter of late Madakin Kano, Abdullahi Sarki Sani Yola and the granddaughter of the late Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero. The 27-year-old got married to the 56 year-old Oluwo at her family residence in Kano. Both welcomed a baby girl about three weeks ago. Since her marriage to the Oluwo of Iwo, the diploma holder in catering from the School of Management Studies, Kano, has upped her fashion game, dressing in conformity with a 21st century queen.

Queen of Warri kingdom, HRM Olori

Atuwatse 111

Born Ivie Uhunoma Emiko, the daughter of late businessman, Captain Hosa Okunbo, was renamed the Olori Atuwatse 111, a title bestowed on her after her husband, the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, ascended the throne. Olori Atuwatse personifies class and elegance which has helped her a great deal to properly project her majestic status. With the accolades of royalty and splendour, she has so far, in her two-year reign as queen, effortlessly showcased her rich heritage through her dress sense.

Queen of Ilara

Epe kingdom, HRM Olori

Bolanle

Ogunsanwo

She is the pretty wife of the 55th Alara of Ilara Epe, Oba Olufolarin Ogunsanwo, a former chairman of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS).

Olori Bolanle Ogunsanwo has only been a queen for about three years, but long before then, she was quite active on the social scene in Lagos while complimenting her husband's status as the number one tax boss in the state. Besides, she runs an establishment that sells exclusive and high-end lace fabrics to her fellow socialites, so naturally, her fashion sense is nothing but commendable.

Queen of Iru kingdom, HRM

Olori Mariam Lawal

She is the wife of His Royal Majesty, Oba Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal (Abisogun II), the 15th Oniru of Iru kingdom who was a former Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, as well as Commissioner for Housing, in Lagos State. Like her husband, Olori Mariam has a quiet demeanour. She has been very supportive of her husband since he ascended the throne and runs several charity organisations in Lagos. The story of her exquisite womanhood resonates with a pleasant appeal to all and sundry. She glitters far beyond the sparkle of polished diamonds. She personifies grace with her choice of ensemble as queen.

Queen of Mkpume EnugwuUkwu, HRM Nina Nnenna Agwunna

Queen Nina is the wife of His Serene Highness, HSH, Azaoku Chukwudinigbo Agwuna, the Igwe Mkpume of EnugwuUkwu in Anambra State. A fashion and beauty enthusiast, Queen Nina was at some point, an unrepentant member of the Lagos social establishment. The stylish Queen had to eventually take a breather from the social scene to help her husband run the affairs of their kingdom where her presence is much needed. She however still finds time to run her thriving beauty establishment, Charisma Cosmetics with her twin sister, Muka Nwokedi.

Queen of Orile Igbon, HRM Olori Olusola Adedoyin-Alao

She is the wife of Oba Francis Alao, the Olugbon of Orile Igbon, Oyo State and the Deputy Chairman of the Oyo State Council of Traditional Rulers. She is also the daughter of wealthy industrialist, Prince Samuel Adedoyin. Having being a banker for many years, reaching the pinnacle of her career as the managing director of defunct City Express bank, it was a bit difficult adjusting to a life of royalty and switching from high end corporate attires to stylish apparels required of her as queen. But Olori Sola has done so effortlessly because of her husband's support.

Queen of Itele kingdom, HRM, Olori Abimbola Eletu

Although she is the current wife and queen of HRM, Oba Ademola Eletu-Odibo, she is however not his first wife. A skincare expert, Olori Abimbola used to be married to Yomi Folawiyo, one of the sons of late businessman and philanthropist, Chief Abdulwahab Iyanda Folawiyo until the marriage packed up. She is also a niece to late Senator Buruji Kashamu. But despite being in the beauty industry, Olori Abimbola does know what time it is, style wise.

Queens of Elegushi kingdom, HRMs Olori Sekinat and Olori Hadiza Elegushi

Both are the wives of the His Royal Majesty, Oba Alayeluwa Saheed Ademola Elegushi, Kusenla III, the Elegushi of IkateElegushi kingdom. Both have their individual styles which complements their personality. While Olori Sekinat goes all out in terms of her style and total ensemble, Olori

Hadiza is a bit laid back with her style. Olori Sekinat loves to wear exquisitely designed clothing while dripping in luxury accessories. Her flawless skin compliments whatever she wears, and one can't help but be bowled over with her choice of ensemble each time she steps out.

Olori Hadiza loves expensive and exclusive wears and accessories, but she prefers to be subtle with her ensemble. Her flawless skin helps to do justice with whatever she puts together. Beside their style, both women have proved to be far different from queens of old who waited on their husbands’ hands and feet.

While Olori Sekinat runs a thriving events centre among other business ventures as well as a foundation through which she dispenses her milk of kindness, Olori Hadiza who is the daughter of frontline Kano elder stateman, Tanko Yakassai, is a topflight executive in a globally recognised oil and gas firm.

Queens of Ife Kingdom

It is no longer news that the Ooni of Ife, HRM Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja 11 married six wives within one month, an unrivalled feat in Nigeria. What is news however is not only how the dandy traditional ruler was a recurring decimal in the lives of his wives over the years before he made them his queens, but also how accomplished the queens are. They are all as stylish as 21st

Olori Mariam

Olori Ashley

Non-Governmental Organisation, the Ashley Adegoke Foundation, which focuses on less privileged children and widows. This was followed by his marriage to Olori Ronke Ogunwusi nee Ademiluyi whom he has known the longest and was even rumoured to be considered his queen when he first ascended the throne. Born into the royal family, she is the

the public and private sectors. She is also a humanitarian and a certified alumnus of several universities, including the University of Oxford, United Kingdom; INSEAD Business School, Fontainebleau, France; University of Cambridge, Judge Business School, United Kingdom; and Harvard Kennedy School of Government in the United States.

Olori Temitope

great-granddaughter of the late Ooni of Ife, Ajagun Ademiluyi. A lawyer, she is the founder of Africa Fashion Week London, rated as one of the UK’S most significant annual fashion events that promote and nurture African and African-inspired design talent and Africa Fashion Week Nigeria. Alongside the Ooni of Ife, she co-founded the QMA international initiative which campaigns for the rights of women and girls in Nigeria and Africa. She is also the founder of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a not-for-profit company that supports the education of less privileged girls in Nigeria and Africa. An author of several books, she is the creator and producer of ‘Queen Moremi The Musical,' a theatre drama. Finally, there is Olori Temitope Ogunwusi nee Adesegun, a divorcee who has vast experience working in both

Olori Tobi

century queens should be.

There is Olori Mariam

Ogunwusi nee Anako. From Kogi State, she was a topflight executive at Nestoil Limited, an engineering procurement, construction, and commissioning company in the oil and gas sector and so, money was never an issue funding her corporate style. Transitioning to royalty, was seamless while also keeping up to date with styles that projects her image as queen. Shortly after his marriage to Mariam, the Ooni tied the knot with Olori Elizabeth Ogunwusi nee Akinmuda. From Ondo State, she is an Electronic Data Processor based in Scotland. Then he married Olori Tobi Ogunwusi nee Philips, a native of Ondo State who worked with him for over six years before becoming his queen. A former beauty queen, she is a model and a fashion entrepreneur who runs QTP Luxury Fashion. She is also a skillful 3D artist.

In quick succession, the Ooni wedded Olori Ashley Ogunwusi nee Adegoke. Olori Afolashade is from the Lafogido ruling House of Ile-Ife. A chartered accountant with a master’s degree in accounting and finance from the University of Greenwich, she currently runs her business in the United Kingdom as well as a

Olori Ronke

STORIES BY SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN

DARE KADIRI STILL AT WAR WITH COLLEAGUES IN OGUN STATE ASSEMBLY

The matter between the Deputy Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Dare Kadiri and other members of the assembly has not ended despite the nullification of his suspension by a High Court in Abeokuta. Kadiri, the lawmaker representing Ijebu North Constituency 2, has been at loggerheads with his colleagues since 2022, leading to his impeachment and subsequent suspension. He was accused of insubordination to the Office of the Speaker, abuse of office and alleged attempted murder in his constituency. However, a High Court in Abeokuta presided over by Justice O.A Onafowokan ruled that his removal was an abuse of power and office by the Speaker of the Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo. The court further ordered that all

emoluments due to him since his suspension should be paid by the state House of Assembly. Kadiri’s colleagues accused him of desecrating the Assembly by invading it with thugs. The Deputy Clerk, Funmi Adeyemi, advised him to follow due process to reclaim his seat, by serving the Assembly a copy of the judgement reinstating him instead of taking the law into his hands and breaking into the Assembly. But the embattled lawmaker denied the accusation insisting that those being referred to as thugs were members of his constituency who chose to accompany him on his return to the House. Despite his explanation, he was not admitted into the House as the clerk insisted that he present the court order which reinstated him. Kadiri is yet to present the court order.

Why Tims Ejigah is Against Smart Adeyemi's Guber Ambition

Aformer vice president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Comrade Tims Ejigah, is not happy with Smart Adeyemi, the lawmaker representing Kogi West Senatorial District at the National Assembly, who is a governorship aspirant in Kogi State on the platform of the All Progressive Congress, APC. Ejigah, has made his grievances against the politician known and revealed he would not support him and will not mobilize media practitioners to support the politician unless he turns a new leaf. According to him, the lawmaker lacks the capacity to win elections for any political party

because of his character. Ejigah, was Adeyemi’s closest ally during his days as National Union of Journalist President and all through the time he began his journey into national politics. He was the arrowhead of Adeyemi's activism which led to his emergence as the NUJ president. Even after becoming the president, Ejigah was one of those who advised Adeyemi to contest for the Kogi West senatorial seat at the National Assembly instead of aspiring to be the governor of Kogi State then. Adeyemi had aspired to be the governor of Kogi state when Abubakar Audu was

MALIK ADO IBRAHIM BOUNCES BACK

the incumbent governor of the state. But Ejigah discouraged him because he would have bitten the finger that fed him. It was gathered that Audu was a support system to Adeyemi while he was in power as the governor of Kogi State. However, when Adeyemi got to the position of power, he neglected all those who supported and assisted him to get to the top. Ejigah labeled the former lawmaker as someone who would stoop to whatever level to get anything done and then turn his back later at his helpers. He even spoke negatively against Audu who was his benefactor a few years ago. Ejigah also accused him of having no landmark achievement during his two tenures as the NUJ president. He stressed that past presidents often have laudable projects they successfully execute while in office. For instance, Mohammed Garba, a former President of NUJ in 2009 who spent two terms in office built a plaza during his tenure. However, Adeyemi has nothing to show for the years he spent in office. He added that NUJ members in Kogi State, practicing or retired, would also not give their support to Adeyemi. The NUJ ex-Vice President, however, admonished the politician to retrace his steps and ensure that he starts by redeeming his image within his NUJ family before thinking of governing Kogi State.

Dejo Richards Turns Pastor, Returns to Entertainment

Dejo Richards, ex-husband to Nollywood actress, Monalisa ChindaCoker, has returned to the entertainment scene. The show biz entrepreneur quit the scene after his messy separation from his actress wife a few years ago. Richards was alleged to have engaged in domestic violence while his marriage to the actress lasted. After their marriage packed up in 2009, he went into oblivion and later made another attempt at the marriage institution. He fell in love with Olamide Yetunde, but the marriage also did not stand the test of time as well. For many years, no one knew his whereabouts until a few years ago when he resurfaced again. During his years of silence, Richards engaged in ministerial training and was ordained pastor. He is now a pastor at Dominion City, Ajah where he leads his congregation weekly in God's presence. Despite his ministerial engagements, he didn’t totally abandon showbiz. He launched Sapphire Nation, a

Malik Ado Ibrahim, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Youth Progressive Party, YPP and founder of Reset Nigeria Initiative has bounced back after losing at the 2023 presidential election. The politician, who is also an accomplished polo player and race driver, didn't secure enough votes to place him among the top four candidates who had an upper hand at the recently concluded election. After his defeat at the polls, he quietly withdrew from the political scene and returned to his business. He recently signed a deal with Turksat Satellite communication in Turkey to unveil his own digital cable company, Next TV Digital which comprises Next TV and Satellite. Next TV Digital will operate both in Nigeria and some West African countries, offering digital broadcast, financial services broadband internet access, television and film contents over the internet. Nigeria and Africa's best and brightest hands in Information Technology and entertainment are already on board to make Ado-Ibrahim's dream a reality. With this new addition to his growing list of businesses, Ado-Ibrahim is gradually building a conglomerate just like his father-in-law, Mohammed Indimi, who is one of the richest men in the world. Indidmi owns Oriental Energy Resources Limited, one of the leading indigenous oil and gas companies in Nigeria. He single handedly built a 100-unit housing estate for Internally Disposed Person in Born State. Ado-Ibrahim is also the heir apparent of one of the most respected families in Nigeria. His father, Alhaji Dr Abdul Rahman Ado Ibrahim, is a traditional ruler, the respected Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Kogi State.

media and entertainment company into public relations, image consultancy and music management. However, he is no longer promoting secular music but strictly gospel music. He also has a Television program, 'Lifestyle with Dejo Richards' which focuses on people, products, places and services. It features over 20 segments of lifestyle and entertainment contents on Rave TV and he is preparing to spread to five more TV stations. He is also planning a Lagos Lifestyle Award in collaboration with Lagos State Government.

Francis Afolabi Appointed Secretary of Ekiti State Assembly Commission

Francis Afolabi, former Ekiti State Director of Information Services has been appointed as the Secretary of the Ekiti State House of Assembly Commission. The appointment

was confirmed during a plenary session held at the House of Assembly last week.

Afolabi has spent some years in the diligent service of the assembly. Hon Johnson Bode-Adeoye, the lawmaker representing Ekiti West II who is also the Chairman House Committee on Inter Parliamentary Relation had first moved a motion to elevate the status of Afolabi because of his diligence to duty, his capacity to deliver and the experience they have had while working with him for over three years in the assembly. The motion received a nod from other members of the assembly who were confident he would perform better than when he was the director of information service.

Ibrahim

Kadiri

Richards

Ejigah Adeyemi Afolabi

BY SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN

SEGUN OSOBA INTERVENES IN FEUD BETWEEN DAPO ABIODUN, GBENGA DANIEL

Governor the usual recognition given to party chieftains, political leaders, associates, and appointees on their special day.

It was gathered that the APC chieftain has tried to intervene in the matter. He spoke with both parties, urging them to sheathe their swords and work together toward the prosperity of the state. His efforts have so far yielded positive results as the two parties have stopped their open hostilities.

The disagreement between Abiodun and Daniel started in 2019 during Abiodun's first tenure as governor of the state.

Oyo Indigenes Worry Over Vacant Royal Stools

Indigenes of Oyo State are beginning to worry over the delay in the selection process of traditional rulers to fill the different vacant stools in some parts of the state. This development is coming as a result of the inability of the Chiefs in council responsible for the selection process to succeed in replacing most of the prominent monarchs who passed away in the last two years.

has presented its candidate and passed through different stages of selection, but the Oyo Mesi or kingmakers have been silent about the process.

The Soun of Ogbomoso stool has also remained vacant almost two years after the demise of Oba Jimoh Oladuuni Oyewumi Ajagungbade III, who joined his ancestors in December 2021.

Former Governor of Ogun State and All Progress Congress chieftain in Ogun State, Aremo

Segun Osoba, is not happy about the ongoing contention between two of his successors, the incumbent governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun and Gbenga Daniels, a former governor of the state and

senator elect for Ogun East.

Osoba is making frantic efforts to end the cold war between the two.

Osoba decided to broker peace between Abiodun and Daniel after Abiodun refused to celebrate Daniel when he marked his birthday on April 6th, 2023. Abiodun and his aides did not give the former

How Anderson Obiagwu Celebrated His 50th Birthday

Anderson Obiagwu, the Chief Executive Officer of Big A Entertainment and African Muzik Magazine and African Muzik Magazine Awards, AFRIMMA, has marked his golden jubilee. The entertainment guru spared no cost to ensure he celebrated his grand arrival to the 50th floor in style. The event which had in attendance entertainment giants, business moguls, friends and family of the Obiagwus took place at the Civic Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos last week. The ceremony had several artistes whom he had promoted in

the Diaspora taking over the stage to perform while some came to enjoy the wonderful ambiance of the evening. Chinedu Okoli, professionally known as Flavour, churned out indigenous music from his hit songs. The duo of Nigerian Afro pop and RnB singers, Obumneme Ali, aka, Smash and Nwachukwu Ozioko, professionally known as Vast of Bracket fame were not left out among the lists of Alisters who took turn to thrill guests with their evergreen songs. One of the major highlights of the evening was the grand entrance of the celebrant and his family. They were the cynosure of all eyes as they danced majestically into the hall which played host to the birthday party. Innocent Idibia, professionally known as 2baba, Obinna Iyiegbu, popularly known as Obi Cubana and Chibuzor Azubike, also known as Phyno were among the notable people present at the event. The biographies of many top African artistes will not be complete without the mention of Obiagwu's name and impact boldly written in it. Being one of the most respected and reputable figures in African diaspora entertainment, Obiagwu has promoted African arts, culture and entertainment by facilitating multicity tours for African artists, actors and comedians in Diaspora.

Daniel was one of the people who supported him to become the governor, but he turned his back at Daniel after his election by abandoning the multibillion project Daniel had started. He also betrayed Daniel when he signified interest in seeking for the Ogun West senatorial seat under the platform of the All Progress Congress, APC. Abiodun neglected him and supported the secretary to the state government, Tokunbo Talabi at the party primary.

THEWILL gathered that no fewer than four traditional rulers have joined their ancestors in the state within the last two years. And their stools have remained vacant over the years due to laxity on the part of the state government or community disputes. Prominent among the traditional rulers who died and have not been replaced is the Alaafin of Oyo. The 45th Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Atanda Olayiwola Adeyemi, took his last breath in April 2022. He reigned for 52 years before joining his ancestors. He died at the Afe Babalola University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti at the age of 83 after a brief illness. The Oyo royal stool has remained vacant since then despite the fact that several efforts have been made by the oyomesi in council to install another monarch. The Agunloye ruling house, the next in line to produce a new Alaafin,

The traditional ruler reigned for 48 years and died at the age of 95. Since the demise of the traditional ruler, Ogbomoso is yet to have another monarch.

Pastor Afolabi Olaoye, also known as Ghandi, who is the Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Jesus House, Washington, United States, was selected by kingmakers in Ogbomoso and his name was sent to the governor for approval, however, the governor has delayed his selection.

The Asigangan of Igangan stool has also not been filled. Igangan in Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State lost its monarch, Oba Lasisi Adeoye Lawuyi Aribiyan, in December 2021. Despite the fact that Igangan has been under several attacks by unknown gun men, a traditional ruler who could preside over the affairs of the community has not yet been chosen. The Aseyin

of Iseyin stool has been empty since July 2022 after the Royal Father, Oba Abdul-ganiyu Adekunle joined his ancestors at the age of 62. He died at the University College Hospital, Ibadan where he was receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment. Nothing has been said by the government or chief in council about how the stool will be filled. Residents are of the opinion that the lawlessness and insecurities which permeate some of the affected cities and communities are as a result of the absence of a traditional ruler in those places. Many of them want the government to speed up the process of selection and approval of new monarchs to replace the vacant stools.

Court Affirms John Falore as Olufaki of Ifaki

Oba John Adegbenro Falore, the Olufaki of Ifaki-Ekiti has been confirmed as the rightful person to take over the throne of Ifaki-Ekiti in Ekiti-State. The monarch who took

Bamikole Omisore Marks 40th Birthday in Turkey

Bamikole Omisore, also known as Banks, the special adviser on International relations to former senate president and former governor of Kwara State, Bukola Saraki gathered friends and family to mark his 40th birthday in Antalya, Turkey last week.

Ahead of the celebration, a hashtag, #Banks40fied, was coined by friends of the celebrant which they used on their social media platforms to celebrate Omisore.

Friends, family, associates were all air lifted on the same day to the event destination in Turkey.

One of the reasons the celebrant chose Antalya was because of its serene atmosphere, complimented with beaches flanked by large hotels which has become one of the best tourist destinations most celebrities have on their bucket list. He started planning for his 40th birthday almost two years ago, his plan was to have

a yacht party but just a few days before his party, the yacht he had booked was no longer available, so he had to make a reservation at Nemo restaurant in Antalya where the party eventually took place. The birthday getaway included a series of activities lined up to keep guests entertained for the number of days they spent in the city. Games for both adults and children were organised, visits to tourists’ attraction places and the grand finale which was the birthday party were some of the fun activities. Guests also visited Istanbul, which is just a few kilometers from Antalya. The highlight for the celebrant was the fact that all his siblings were present for his birthday in Turkey. According to him, it was the first of its kind reunion in the last 31 years. Warm messages and shout-outs were made by people who loved to be part of the birthday getaway but didn't have the chance to do so. David Adeleke, also known as Davido, his uncle, the governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, Dele Momodu were part of the prominent people who made a shout-out video to wish Banks a happy birthday. While sending his warm wishes too, Saraki spoke glowingly about the celebrant and how he introduced him to social media when he joined his team over a decade ago as a young promising man.

over the throne less than two years ago can now rule in peace after his victory in court.

A High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti affirmed his kingship last week.

The Olufaki stool became vacant in November 2020, following the demise of Oba Gabriel Agbaje of the Aladegbami ruling house. However, contention arose when it was time to fill the vacant stool. There are three ruling houses in Ifaki-Ekiti, the Ajigbade, Alade Gbamiru and the Akanle ruling house. For over 97 years, the Ajigbade ruling house was not given the chance to ascend the throne.

The chief in council had to narrow down the selection of the new king to the Ajigbade ruling house in order to break the 97 years jinx. Eight (8) contestants signified interest in the throne but during the screening process, the number was reduced to three contestants and at the final stage before Falore was chosen.

Prince Emmanuel Adeoya and Prince Adedayo Adeoya of the Ajigbade ruling house who made it to the final stage of the screening filed a suit challenging Falore’s emergence at the court in Ado-Ekiti. The two princes approached an Ado-Ekiti High Court to seek an interlocutory order restraining Governor Fayemi and others from installing Prince Falore as the new monarch in 2021.

According to them, his emergence contravened the rotation of Olufaki stool that had long been in practice. It was stated that Falore's father was the last monarch from Ajigbade's

dynasty to be installed at the expense of other arms of the extended royal family.

Prince Adeoya, claimed that picking Falore would negate the principle of rotation in the family. Adeoya also faulted the process leading to the purported selection of Falore by some kingmakers, saying no Ifa oracle was consulted in line with practice and tradition. He argued that the election conducted by the kingmakers was a flagrant desecration of tradition. There was a back and forth in court for almost two years before the High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti finally affirmed Falore's kingship. The community was thrown into jubilation last week when the challenger's case was struck out and thrown out of court. His Royal Majesty, Oba Falore even called on his aggrieved kinsmen to sheathe their sword and join hands with him to develop the town and take it to an enviable height after his victory at the court.

THEWILLNIGERIA THEWILLNG THEWILLNIGERIA

STORIES

Abiodun

Daniel

Adeyemi

Falore

Obiagwu

Omisore

From Reverend Father to Chief Priest FEATURES

It takes a certain amount of courage to quit one supposedly respectable profession for another seen as less dignified. In the eyes of many, a priest in a Catholic Church has more social standing and acceptability than the chief priest of a community shrine. To wit, most families will readily welcome to lunch or dinner a man in a cassock and bishop’s mitre than an appropriately be-costumed custodian of a deity, complete with fluttering feathers on a red cap studded with cowries. So, when news filtered through weeks ago, that Rev Fr. Pius Oyeniran Abioje has left the Catholic Church for African Traditional Religion, THEWILL thought he had done something truly extraordinary. Michael Jimoh reports…

“The only way to get rid of a temptation,” the great Irish wit Oscar Wilde once mused, “is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the thing it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful.”

For 15 long years as a reverend father, Pius Oyeniran Abioje dedicated his life to the church he swore to serve. Like most ordained clergy of the Catholic faith, he conducted mass every Sunday, gave out communion to worshippers, never missed novenas and listened with avuncular patience to parishioners during confessionals. He would also have presided in his parish during Lent, Easter, Christmas and some such Christian festivals. Most of all is the obligatory self-denial, the vows of celibacy every priest of the Roman Catholic Church must swear to.

But something snapped as a missionary of the RCC. He turned his back on the very religion he espoused from his preteens through adulthood. In other words, he reneged on his avowal to the church and not only that but also took up his African Traditional Religion, the religion he grew up with as a young boy.

In one of the frankest and brilliant Q&A by Alexander Okere published in Punch of March 26, 2023 headlined “Why I abandoned Catholic priesthood, embraced traditional religion, married – Ex-Reverend Father,” the former Catholic priest bared his mind on why he quit the Catholic Church. Pius’s road to the priesthood pretty much followed the classical route – a boy in a mission school then seminary school and, ultimately, Pontifical Urban University in Rome.

Named after Pope Urban and established in 1627, the university has been a prime Roman Catholic institution for “training priests, religious brothers and sisters, and lay people for service as missionaries.”

Ordained in 1985, Pius served as a Catholic missionary until 2000 then he quit. He was fed up and so, in Wilde’s aphorism, yielded to the very things that tormented his soul for so long. “Resist it and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself.”

In a straight-from-the-gut response to Okere’s question, Abioje said at one point that, as a priest, “I began to envy

married men.” Of course, that was forbidden to priests like him. To overcome the eternal torment, Abioje promptly got married. He was also enamoured of his ATR even while donning the cassock. He disrobed himself thus leaving the priesthood behind for good. Now, he is back to the religion he was born into.

In the beginning

As a young man growing up in Iwere-Ile, Oyo state, Pius probably escorted his father to community meetings, needling him with juvenile questions as he tried to keep pace. Or maybe an uncle, who will forever indulge the lad on their way to the village square or Oba’s palace, the chief himself presiding over this or that issue, all of them known to each other possibly in living some mud or brick houses away from one another.

On special occasions like communal festivals, the chief’s compound or village square would be crammed with locals, masquerades, drummers and singers in tow with yelling youngsters like Pius invariably tagging along. Such was the life for Pius then and, like most other kids in his age bracket, he loved it.

It was not all about merriment though. Sometimes, there were disputes to settle between dissenting couples, say, or family palaver over land matters. In those cases, the road led to the chief’s compound where issues were resolved amicably.

In some other cases, the road led elsewhere depending on the gravity of the offence. If someone was accused of stealing, for example, a tethered goat disappearing mysteriously overnight and now seen in another compound chewing the cud, both the accused and the accuser (and of course a retinue of curious folk) will beeline it to the village shrine to unmask the rogue.

Once apprised, the resident chief priest himself would out the thief in no time, with the possible consequences that may befall him if he continues to proclaim his innocence. That way, the chief priest not only made the scoundrel a subject of public ridicule there and then but also deterred those who might have a similar inclination among the spectators.

Like most other youngsters in Iwere-Ile, Pius went to school and then life turned around for him suddenly.

“In any Catholic stronghold in times past, Pius’s action would have been considered heresy and would almost certainly result in instant excommunication or maybe worse. But not this time. It is not hard to see why. Except for a few, most religious institutions in many parts of the world today have modernised, and have become more liberal and tolerant of such actions

A more than average student who didn’t miss his classes, Pius was less inclined to attend church. The church authorities thought it wise to correct the boy’s erroneous ways, to make him a convert by all means. “I was taken away from African Traditional Religion in primary school,” Pius told the Punch journalist of his early romance with Christianity. “The missionaries saw that I was not going to church and sent their men after me to ask me why. I told them that I was a traditional worshipper but they told me that there was no contradiction and that I could practice ATR and go to church.”

Abioje

...Reverend Father to Chief Priest FEATURES

In Pius’s own interpretation, the missionaries played on his immaturity as a youth. They knew there was no way he could practice both religions at the same time, that is, some sort of syncretism. “I started going to school. God is a conspirator because he brought a Catholic priest to sponsor my education after primary school. I don’t know how he (the priest) connected my uncle and took me back to the church. One day, I started feeling like becoming a priest and went to consult a diviner when I was a mission boy.”

With oracular prescience and precision, the diviner told him he was going to become a priest. Startled by the declaration, Pius made bold to ask what the diviner meant. He will become a priest in the Catholic Church, the man repeated with the finality of one worth his consulting board (Opele.)

In one of his many journeys in Italy in 1527, a diviner saw a Franciscan monk beside his horse and then knelt before him, saying “I must kneel before his Holiness.” 20 years later, the same monk became Pope Sixtus V in 1547, fulfilling Nostradamus’s prediction on the streets of Rome 20 years before.

Likewise, what the diviner at Ibadan told Pius came to pass as well and thus began his priestly education, first at St Kizito’s Minor Seminary Ede Osun state. That was in 1973. Next was SS Peter and Paul Catholic Seminary Bodija Ibadan Oyo state four years later. In 1981, Pius attended the Harvard of priests-to-be in the RCC – Pontifical Urban University Rome. “I was sent to Rome with the current Bishop of Oyo Diocese, Emmanuel Badejo; we studied together in Rome and that was where we completed our seminary training with a university degree. We returned to Nigeria and I was ordained in 1985.”

From then on and like most of his colleagues in various parishes under the RCC, Pius performed his ecclesiastical duties with aplomb, devoting himself entirely to his religious responsibilities and forsaking his secular ways. Still, there was that niggling doubt plaguing his innermost being, one of which was what people did in the name of religion, “the uncharitable ways of Christians and Muslims,” he recalled to Okere.

Fifteen years was enough to convince Pius he wasn’t who or where he wanted to be. In 2000, he left. “Along the line, I saw that it (priesthood) was not where I belonged but I could not just rush out of it. In the first instance, I never saw myself being celibate, that was why I was surprised when I saw myself joining the priesthood and I had to consult a diviner. I started envying married people.”

The turnaround

Rather than burn with unquenchable longing, Pius promptly got himself a spouse, most likely in line with one of Christendom’s most revered missionaries. In I Corinthians 7: 8-9, Apostle Paul wrote that instead of pining away in celibacy, those of the priesthood can do otherwise. “But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.”

Drawn irresistibly to his native religion, the man has since pledged his allegiance to the ATR he grew up with. By that, Pius has now joined the long-depleted ranks of worshippers of ATR, bells a-jingling in many local shrines since then, as any one can imagine.

If it is a loss to the Holy See, it is no doubt a big gain to the standard bearers of ATR, long ago denied their say and mode of worship by the forceful invasion of Christianity and Islam. With the priest’s recent defection or change of mind, if you like, ATR has scored a big one.

In any Catholic stronghold in times past, Pius’s action would have been considered heresy and would most certainly result in instant excommunication or maybe

There had been questions within me about celibacy and certain Christian doctrines about whether somebody died and took away my sins or whether somebody should not marry more than one wife. Those things didn’t really fit well with me. But one cannot just take a decision and leave like that. People asking why I left the church after it trained me forget that I also served the church, including being a teacher at SS Peter and Paul Major Seminary from 1994 to 2000. I was a parish priest for years and even as a seminarian, I taught people catechism

worse. But not this time. It is not hard to see why. Except for a few, most religious institutions in many parts of the world today have modernised, and have become more liberal and tolerant of such actions. While some people “were shocked and disappointed” by his disavowal from the RCC, Pius gleefully told the journalist that “my bishop said he was happy that I did not accuse anyone of being responsible for my decision to leave.”

On why the reverend father left a church that had given him so much, a degree at the Ivy-League religious university in Rome, a Master’s and doctoral degrees at Catholic Institute of West Africa, Port Harcourt, Pius’s response is typical of one with a deeply analytical mind.

To begin with, Pius informs the journalist, “there had been questions within me about celibacy and certain Christian doctrines about whether somebody died and took away my sins or whether somebody should not marry more than one wife. Those things didn’t really fit well with me. But one cannot just take a decision and leave like that. People asking why I left the church after it trained me forget that I also served the church, including being a teacher at SS Peter and Paul Major Seminary from 1994 to 2000. I was a parish priest for years and even as a seminarian, I taught people catechism.”

Besides, Pius isn’t shy of exploding some biblical myths, some things that just do not add up for him. “If you tell me that a woman gave birth to God and that Mary was a virgin when she had Jesus. How did you know she was a virgin? We met Jesus when he was 30 years old, so how do we trace how he was born? All these myths were created. You want me to believe all that? Or that Jesus died and took away our sins? Did he die or was he killed? Jesus was killed. We know the conspiracy that killed Jesus and what hurts me is that this conspiracy that killed him was swept under the carpet and people say God wanted him to die so that he can redeem human beings. You turned God to Ogun taking the blood of a dog annually or Sango taking the blood of a ram annually. So, God needed the blood of his son to redeem humans? Are we redeemed?”

On his taking up ATR, Pius has no apologies at all. In his priestly duties and as a former Head, Department of Religion at University of Ilorin, for decades, Pius would have had firsthand knowledge of the world’s religion. After all, ATR did not embark on any crusade, inquisition or jihad. It is one of the most democratic religions in the world, not compelling converts by force of arms or incendiary literature. It does not, above all, seek to colonise its adherents in any way, as Christianity and Islam have.

In Beyond Belief, his sequel to Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey, Trinidad-born Oxford-educated Nobel laureate VS Naipaul made clear how those converted to Islam have become colonised peoples. “Islam, in its origin, is an Arab religion. And the people who are non-Arab Muslims are, in effect, converts – converts who have had to turn their backs on their cultures, on their own early faiths, on their own civilisations, on their sacred lands. Their sacred sites have become the sacred sites in Arabia. Their sacred language is Arabic. So, they are greatly disturbed because, in a profound way, they are colonized people. The book is therefore the neurosis of conversion.”

The same can be said of Christianity, forcing millions of converts all over the world to “turn their backs on their own cultures, on their own early faiths, on their own civilisations, on their own sacred lands.” For now, Pius has liberated himself from the religious colonisation he endured for decades and returned to his roots, returned to his early faith and belief. That is something truly extraordinary.

Abioje

The Trouble With VAR in EPL

BY JUDE OBAFEMI

Lewis Dunk, the team captain of English Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion, put the vexatious experience of many teams and fans of football in words when he criticised the errors that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) has introduced to the game. Dunk raised questions about the effectiveness of VAR, following his team's controversial 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, April 8.

In the game, Dunk scored a 34th minute equaliser to bring the scores to 1-1 after Spurs' Son Heung-Min had broken the deadlock with a 10th minute opener. However, Harry Kane found the winner 11 minutes from time through a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg assist. The defeat dealt a blow to Brighton's hopes of qualifying for Europe and Dunk felt that VAR's failure to make the correct decision contributed to the result.

It was painful for the captain because his teammates and coaching crew had put in every effort to get a favourable result and they had played meritoriously enough to, at the very least, take something back home at the final whistle. Yet, all that was lost through no fault of theirs. Instead, a system introduced to eliminate human error was responsible for the errors that caused them to drop points all over again.

Dunk was particularly aggrieved by a challenge from Tottenham's Hojbjerg on teammate Kaoru Mitoma, which the Brighton captain believed ought to have resulted in a clear penalty decision in favour of Brighton. Despite a VAR check, referee Stuart Attwell waved away Brighton's appeals and declined to review the incident on the pitch-side TV monitor. Based on incidents that have taken place since that April 8 fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, it is clear that Dunk's fury is not without merit.

After the match, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) issued an apology to Brighton and admitted that VAR had made a mistake by not awarding them a penalty. Howard Webb, the Chief Refereeing Officer for PGMOL, personally contacted Brighton and acknowledged that Hojbjerg's challenge on Mitoma was a foul that should have resulted in a penalty kick. Had that penalty been rightfully called during the game, in answer to the immediate and valid complaints of the Brighton players, who besieged the referee when it happened, the dynamics of the match could have changed and the final results could have been different. Yet, even if that was not the case at the final whistle, at least, Brighton will not have felt cheated of some crucial points as they obviously do now because it was not the only questionable decision of that tie.

In addition to the penalty incident, Brighton had two goals disallowed by VAR for handball and they have asked PGMOL for an explanation about these incidents as well. These faulty decision-making cases, even with the use of VAR, are behind Dunk's reasoning in concluding that VAR is ineffective in making big decisions.

It is not surprising that the Brighton captain is now in the lengthening list of those questioning VAR's purpose in the game. He has justifiably argued that if VAR can consistently fail to assist referees in making the right decisions, what truly is the point of having it in the first instance.

In the aftermath of this significant mishap for Brighton, PGMOL issued an apology to the club, in what will be the third time this season. The PGMOL admitted that the match officials and VAR made a mistake by not awarding Brighton their spot kick for the Mitoma and Hojbjerg clash in the penalty area. Webb reportedly contacted the club personally

After the match, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) issued an apology to Brighton and admitted that VAR had made a mistake by not awarding them a penalty

...Trouble With VAR in EPL

to explain that they should have been awarded a penalty for the Hojbjerg foul on Mitoma. As THEWILL reported at the time, Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi was sent off during the game, along with his Tottenham counterpart, adding to the frustrations of the Brighton team with the decision-making during the fixture.

There was criticism from several quarters besides the ire of the Brighton team. Former midfielder Danny Murphy and Premier League's record scorer, Alan Shearer, were among those who criticised the officiating.

Speaking on Match Of The Day, Murphy said that it was "beyond belief" that two decisions were not given, describing it as "complete incompetence." Shearer also slammed the officiating, saying that it was "not good enough" and "not acceptable." Shearer predicted that Brighton would receive an apology for the missed penalty even before PGMOL served the team its apology.

The loss to Tottenham could be costly for Brighton as they dropped to seventh in the standings, 10 points behind fourth-placed Manchester United after the fixture. Despite the defeat, Brighton remains in contention for a place in European competitions. However, as indicated above, this is not the first time Brighton is having to go through this nor are they the only team to have been so flagrantly cheated of vital points that could prove crucial with the fine margins at the top and bottom this season.

In the Crystal Palace versus Brighton game of February 11, a goal was incorrectly disallowed for offside due to a human error by VAR official John Brooks. Brooks appeared to draw the offside line from the wrong defender, with James Tomkins being identified as the Palace player closest to his own goal when it was actually his teammate Marc Guehi.

Brighton went on to take the lead but Tomkins equalised for the hosts just six minutes later. It ended 1-1 meaning another error had denied the team two significant points.

That same Saturday, Brentford salvaged a similar score, 1-1 against Arsenal, at the Emirates. Leandro Trossard had put the Gunners ahead in the second half, but Bees' forward Ivan Toney levelled the score with a 74th-minute header for his 15th goal of the season. However, the argument around the legitimacy of the goal meant it had to be reviewed by VAR for a possible offside, which the replays were showing to be the case. The review came back positive, nonetheless, and the equaliser stood.

The draw meant that Arsenal failed to go eight points clear at the top of the EPL and give themselves extra breathing space from the chasing defending champions Manchester City. It all became another case of frustration when it was revealed that VAR failed to do its job as required.

Continued from Back Page

PGMOL confirmed that Webb contacted Arsenal at the same time as it did Brighton to apologise for allowing the goal stand. Expectedly, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was left fuming after replays showed that Toney's equaliser should have been ruled out for offside against Ethan Pinnock as he blocked off Gabriel Magalhaes and Christian Norgaard, whose hook back across goal was turned in. It has since been discovered that VAR official Lee Mason checked and cleared the block from Pinnock on Gabriel but did not fully investigate the Norgaard offside by drawing lines with the computer technology, as is the normal process. Two points had been shaved off Arsenal's total because a VAR referee failed to do his job.

Still on 2023 General Election, INEC, Media And Nigeria’s Growing Democracy

carry out its watchdog role without fear of reprisal or censorship. These pressures make it difficult for the media to deliver on its mandate of enhancing the people’s rights to know and holding individuals, organisations, and corporations accountable. The government should also protect journalists and the press doing their work and citizens should support and respect the media's role in enhancing our nascent democratic practice. The media plays a crucial role in shaping the public's perception of the

electoral process and ensuring that it is conducted in a free, fair, and transparent manner. We must uphold that role, come what may.

I am positive that the fortunes of the Nigerian media will improve when the economy returns to its lost glory and the media can help achieve this as soon as possible by taking a leading role in easing the tension in the land and remain professional and unbiased in its reportage of events concerning the general elections.

The very next day, there were more VAR controversies. In that match, West Ham played Chelsea in a London derby, when a handball by Tomas Soucek went unnoticed by the referee and VAR officials. West Ham's Soucek diverted a Conor Gallagher shot away from the goal with his arm as he fell to the turf, but referee Craig Pawson waved away appeals, and there was no intervention from VAR. The Premier League's VAR chief, Neil Swarbrick, who was on match duty during the game, deemed that Soucek's arm was going to the ground to break a fall. However, Chelsea's Graham Potter dubbed it a "great save".

As it was one too many, Webb immediately called for an emergency meeting with officials responsible for the VAR system after admitting to these "significant errors" during these EPL matches. The frequency and crucial nature of the problem was enough to fuel the flames of those calling for the entire system to be scrapped. Part of the resolution of this emergency meeting was the PGMOL caving in to calls for the punishment of those responsible for the irresponsible decisions. Lee Mason, the former on-field referee who was working exclusively on VAR duties, and who failed to spot that offside for Brentford's equaliser against Arsenal, was made to stand down from his role for upcoming EPL fixtures. It was not the first time Mason has come under scrutiny for a high-profile error. He was not selected earlier this season after disallowing a goal for Newcastle in their home match against Crystal Palace on September 3.

Similarly, John Brooks, the lead VAR official, was removed from the following Monday's Merseyside derby and Wednesday's match between Arsenal and Manchester City after a controversial offside decision. However, Brooks was set to return to duty but as the fourth official for Aston Villa vs Arsenal on Saturday. The PGMOL's decision was expected to address the growing concerns about VAR's efficacy and transparency in decision-making but as the last incident with Brighton and Spurs on April 8 showed, not much has changed.

Referee Michael Salisbury, who was the video assistant referee for the match and who failed to spot that penalty incident in the second half, has been stood down as well. Salisbury will not be taking part in the weekend's fixtures, while Stuart Attwell has been appointed VAR for the upcoming clash between Wolves and Brentford at Molineux. The suspension of Salisbury has sparked widespread debate among fans and commentators, with many questioning the consistency of VAR decisions and the overall quality of refereeing in the EPL.

Nonetheless, the incident has once again brought the issue of VAR and refereeing standards to the forefront of the footballing world. What is being queried is that why is it so controversial in the EPL and not so much elsewhere in Europe where the system is in use as well. The PGMOL will continue to remain in the spotlight, more than ever before, until it can bring these questionable decision-making to the barest minimum.

Still on 2023 General Election, INEC, Media And Nigeria’s Growing Democracy

The General Election has come and gone, with mixed feelings as expected. Those who won are happy while those who lost are expectedly unhappy. I followed the event closely from the party primaries to the final declaration of winners by the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC.

Sadly, INEC, the umpire that was copious in making promises but under delivered results, appears to be the reason for the uncertainties and the avoidable tension that has enveloped our country simply because it failed to strictly follow its own rules and guidance to the letter in the conduct of the presidential election, as well as the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly polls.

Had INEC followed through with the strict use of the BVAS and real time upload of results to the IReV election portal, I am certain the losers and their supporters would have easily embraced their defeat and there would be no need for these quarrels that continue to threaten the peaceful transfer of power. Since it formally declared Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, winner and President-elect, the pre-election tension that we all expected to fizzle out has unfortunately stuck to the country. Instead, Nigeria appears to be at a standstill on every front because of unending and unwarranted rumours surrounding the successful transition of power, even though we have concluded the presidential poll. This has left everyone frustrated with businesses (big and small) taking the biggest hit.

Businesses are recording very poor sales as a result of tension and bickering, mostly between operatives of the APC and the Labour Party, LP, which claims it won the presidential vote but was cheated. The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which was declared runner up and the LP, which came third, have filed cases at the Presidential Electoral Tribunal seeking to strike down the victory of the APC. But this has not eased the tension because not a lot of people believe that the justices would swiftly and impartially adjudicate the lawsuits.

However, I think it is now time to calm fraying nerves and deflate the tension so that the country can return to normal for the benefit of all. This is where the media, which fortunately is my constituency, must drop the perceived toga of bias and partisanship and help.

Sadly, the role of the media in Nigeria has been complicated by various factors, with several organisations and platforms being used to promote hate speech, attacks on people, politicians and political parties, as well as counter attacks on journalists and media organisations.

Recently the Peoples Gazette, an online news website, suspended one of its reporters, Ayoola Babalola, for violating the newspaper's social media policy. Babalola, who worked on the political desk of the website, was suspended after the company reviewed his responses to online trolls and concluded that he did not act with the decorum and professionalism expected of the organisation's

employees. This incident highlights the importance of professionalism and decorum in journalism, particularly in a political climate that is often polarised like ours.

In the period leading to the 2023 general poll, some

made by leaders and supporters of the APC on television programmes without the weight of sanctions levied against the network.

Coincidentally, some hours after it was reported that the President-elect’s campaign had filed a petition against Channels Tv for the programme, the fine from the NBC closely followed to raise questions about the sequence of events. While the fine is within the purview of the regulatory framework of the NBC, there is a considerable threat in what could be deemed the Commission's high-handedness and it is worth exploring within the discussion of the media's responsibility.

Ahead of the elections in February and March, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) had reason to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene and demand the immediate withdrawal of a recent threat by the NBC to revoke the licence of broadcast stations over their coverage of the upcoming elections. SERAP urged the President to call Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information, and the NBC to order and ensure that the NBC's actions do not limit freedom of expression and the ability of broadcast stations to cover important issues around the 2023 general elections.

Apart from the responsibility of the media to be part of the peace-building process in a struggling democracy, there is also the need to protect the press and journalists doing their work. In the 2019 general election alone, the Press Attack Tracker, a project of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), documented at least 72 violations, including arrests, physical attacks, denial of access, threats, equipment damage, equipment seizure, harassment, and abductions.

media organisations took sides and did not hide their partisanship in their coverage of events. Technically, a section of the press became the unofficial media arm of the opposition and ruling parties, doing their propaganda briefs. This has often overflowed into social media, leading to very acrimonious and divisive back-and-forth flavoured with ethnic profiling, aspersions-casting and avoidable xenophobic attacks from supporters and representatives of the main political parties. It should not be allowed to fester.

In attempting to rein in the practice before it spirals out of control, the National Broadcasting Code (NBC) fined Channels Television N5 million for allegedly violating the NBC code in a recent programme featuring the Labour Party’s vice presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed.

However, the fine has raised concerns about censorship and freedom of expression in the media, particularly in the post-election climate of accusations and counter-accusations that we have found ourselves.

There are some who accuse the NBC of playing to the tune of the ruling party. These critics claim that there have been some other provocative statements

The Nigerian media is barely surviving under severe financial stress and there are many pressures that make it difficult for the media to deliver on its mandate of enhancing the people's rights to know and holding individuals, organisations and corporations accountable. These include ownership burdens, excessive pressure from advertisers and other patrons who try to dictate content, a sustainability challenge caused by dwindling advertising revenue, and attacks on journalists and media organisations. The media need to face the many challenges that are internal to their existence, including media partisanship and media code violations, which we have seen plenty of in and around these elections. As responsible practitioners of the sacred journalism, it behoves us, who are responsible for "comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable", to come to the table with clean hands. We must rid ourselves of whatever can lead to questioning the sanctity of our practice whilst adhering to best practices and the highest standards.

Furthermore, attacks on journalists and media organisations must be addressed as well. There is a need for the government to uphold the principles of transparency and accountability during the electoral process and ensure that the media is allowed to

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Sadly, the role of the media in Nigeria has been complicated by various factors, with several organisations and platforms being used to promote hate speech, attacks on people, politicians and political parties, as well as counter attacks on journalists and media organisations