THEWILL NEWSPAPER December 12, 2022

When Bright Okpocha, AKA Basketmouth, finally confirmed a date for this exclusive interview, I knew it would be a fun one; what I didn’t expect was to see a side of him not many people have.

Beneath the character we see on stage and our screens is a man blessed with a rare gift from God— foresight. So strong is this gift that it has guided him throughout his career, prompting him every step of the way. He knows when to start a project and when to move on to the next. An example of the many promptings he gets is with the deep in requests for comedians. According to him, he saw it coming and alerted his friends. True to his premonition, which he admits came from God, we now have Skit makers on the rise. However, he believes comedy will come back, as there is a time and season for everything, and right now, just like in the past when actors and singers lobbied to perform at comedy shows; skit makers are having their turn. But will skit makers take the place of comedians and stand–up comedy? Basketmouth does not believe they will. “Skit makers cannot replace comedians; it’s impossible. I say this with all due respect to every talent out there. They are not stand-up comedians, and most can hardly host a show professionally. So the fact that comedy is not bubbling like it used to doesn’t mean it is dead...”

As for why he doesn’t have a show on movie streaming platforms? He explains why he turned down an offer to have his show on one of the leading movie streaming platforms in the world.

When it comes to producing shows, Bright Okpocha also has a wealth of experience, beginning from his days at the University of Benin when he used to rap. He has so perfected the art of producing shows that he refers to himself as a ‘monster.’

With shows like Asa’s concert on his resume and, in a week, Adekunle Gold’s, he truly is a ‘monster’ of all trades.

Until next week, enjoy your read.

Onah Nwachukwu Editor, THEWILL DOWNTOWN @onahluciaa +2349088352246

Photo: Kola Oshalusi @insignamedia Makeup: Zaron

THEWILLNIGERIA THEWILLNG THEWILLNIGERIA

2023 Presidential Election: Funding Crisis Rocks Major Parties

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BY THEWILL CORRESPONDENTS

The expectation that the ongoing campaign for the 2023 general election would be one of the most expensive in Nigeria’s chequered history may not be true in the long run, given the funding crisis presently rocking the major political parties ahead of the election.

Election funding can make or mar a party facing formidable rivals in the challenging contest for the prized office of President in a large, diverse and multi-ethnic country like Nigeria.

Steady mobilisation, promotions, advertisement, recruitment, deployment and the feel good atmosphere that money usually brings disappear when funding is unsteady or interrupted, thereby creating a sense of uncertainty. More so, when the source of major funding fails to keep up an

earlier promise.

This is the current situation of things in the presidential campaign train of the three major parties contesting the 2023 presidential election, namely the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP), THEWILL has learnt.

LABOUR PARTY TOO BROKE

The funding crisis within the Labour Party is not new to observers of political developments in the country as the crisis is currently threatening to tear the soul of the party apart. Most of the problems currently facing the party are related to funding as it does not have the financial wherewithal to properly prosecute the campaign of its widely popular presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi.

TIGHT HOLD ON APC CAMPAIGN FUNDS

Although the APC Presidential Campaign Council is believed to have enough funds to take care of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu/ Kashim Shettima presidential campaign, the tight hold on the resources is becoming a source of worry for the members of the campaign council, whom THEWILL gathered, have been rendered redundant and frustrated.

Impeccable sources within the Tinubu/ Shettima Presidential Campaign Council pointed accusing fingers at a powerful and influential family member of the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, as holding tight to available funds and supervising the disbursement directly by himself, thus rendering those officially assigned to do so redundant.

THEWILL NEWSPAPER • www.thewillnigeria.com

...Funding Crisis Rocks Major Parties

"It is so frustrating. The young man is the one handling every spending and supervising all the publicity and advertising spendings, as well as the youth engagement across the country. Some of us were brought back from what we were doing and now, we are not being funded," a leading member of the media team of the APC Presidential Campaign Council was quoted to have said as he complained bitterly of being rendered redundant.

PDP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN TEAM NOT TOO BUOYANT

Dependable sources within the PDP told our correspondents that the expectation that the party would not have any problem financing the campaign is losing ground.

THEWILL gathered that the party's campaign is not buoyant unlike the past elections. According to sources, Atiku, who is the presidential candidate, is perceived not to be as stupendously rich as he was in 2019 and that the party’s primary held on May 30, 2022 at the Velodrome of the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja, was majorly financed by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, who had earlier done a deal with Atiku to be his running mate.

This was why Atiku insisted on Okowa as deputy despite a special committee's recommendation of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State as its preferred choice.

However, it was gathered that Okowa, who had earlier pledged to fully finance the presidential campaign before and after he was picked as the vice presidential candidate, is now foot dragging.

This development, THEWILL gathered, is straining relations between Atiku and Okowa. This is because the latter has not released sufficient funds six months after he made the pledge.

One of the leaders of the PDP, who spoke on the issue on condition of anonymity, said, “Like other party leaders who extended funding for the primaries, Dr Okowa was very helpful in the emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. But since his emergence as VP, things have taken a new turn with regards to funding.

"We don't know what went wrong. Okowa now appears to be foot-dragging in releasing enough money for the campaign. It was because Wike heard of the problem that he announced that the Federal Government paid the arrears of the ecological funds of all the South- South States recently.

"Wike was trying to cause problems by exposing that Okowa has enough money in hand but is just playing games with Atiku. The truth is that Okowa is shocked that Atiku really expects him to fully fund their campaign and this is a burden that Okowa is not willing to carry alone.”

Another prominent source said the problem is that “as a major source of funding, Okowa is yet to deliver on his promise and this is causing some rift with his principal, Atiku

Abubakar.”

SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM

Can Okowa solely fund the presidential campaign of the Atiku/Okowa ticket? PDP stalwarts say it is a task too heavy for the Governor to handle. Yet, Atiku is banking on Okowa to foot a large chunk of the bill.

Investigation by THEWILL shows that Okowa’s reluctance is influenced by Delta’s Governorship election and the uncertainty surrounding his political future.

For a governor whose second term in office will end in five months, the question of retaining and maintaining leadership in a state in which he has loomed large has come to hit him in the face and he is said to be trying to be careful not to put all his eggs in one basket by throwing too much money into the presidential election, in the event that the party loses the presidency in the February 2023 election.

The recent revelation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that it is preparing for a second ballot in case there is no clear winner in the presidential election in the first ballot, the threat of Peter Obi and the Labour Party's dominance in the South-East, as well as his entry into the South-South, the two regions, which were regarded as PDP stronghold, it was gathered, is making Okowa thread carefully with funds.

This was confirmed by a source who said: "The governor’s reluctance to release the promised funding is also a direct response to the political threat posed by the Peter Obi/ Datti candidacy, which has been gaining traction in the state recently.

"Delta state has a large Igbo population which is resonating with the South-East support for the Obi/Datti presidency since the major social-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo recently threw their weight behind the candidacy.

"Consequently, the “OBidient movement" has waxed stronger in the state. The battle cry of another, ‘Fulani replacing another Fulani’ and ‘power shift to south’, has found a fertile ground to germinate fast, posing a threat to the firm control of the party in the state.''

What this means is that for a state that has been under the control of the PDP since the dawn of the fourth republic in 1999, winning the governorship is more certain than winning the presidency, enabling leadership dominance and control in the state by the governor.

All this will require huge sums of money to service and maintain. Closely tied to this, according to a dependable source, is the uncertainty of victory at the centre, the antiparty activities of the governors of Rivers, Benue, Abia, Enugu and Oyo States, who are insisting on geo-political balance, and the problem they have created for the party. With less than 90 days to the general election, the crisis is still rocking the party, even as its officials continue with electioneering.

Also acting as a restraint on the governor’s disposition to release significant funds is the complication caused by the unanticipated flooding of the state recently. The flood disaster, which started in September, through November 2022 and which is yet to fully abate, is said to have compounded the finances of the state.

The flooding had left many citizens in large parts of the state overwhelmed alongside those of other similar riverine states in the Niger Delta, such as Rivers and Bayelsa States.

Apart from Bayelsa, however, Delta State was the worst hit as many of its communities were submerged for many days, leaving farmlands damaged and hunger, poverty, disease and homelessness a real threat.

Even the National Sports Festival, which the state sponsored within the space of four years, was geared towards maintaining its leadership dominance in the region, said the source.

Although a government source told THEWILL that defeating the PDP in the governorship election in Delta State “is impossible”, given its dominance, he could not say the same for the presidency.

The source confided in this newspaper that many leaders of the party in the state now have “double loyalty”. “They are PDP in the day and ‘OBidient’ or APC, in the night.

The reason for this, it was learnt, is because some key leaders who had become disenchanted with the way the party’s governorship primary turned out, have fallen back on grievances over perceived neglect of their areas in the distribution of state capital projects as well as their personal interests as a way to fight back. They appear willing to undermine the Okowa/Atiku ticket but support the PDP in the governorship election.

“It is so frustrating. The young man is the one handling every spending and supervising all the publicity and advertising spendings, as well as the youth engagement across the country. Some of us were brought back from what we were doing and now, we are not being funded

Kidnappers Run Riot in C’River, Abduct 21

Insecurity has assumed an alarming dimension in Cross River State, especially with kidnappers running riot in the state. This has resulted in the kidnapping of over 21 residents within the last three weeks.

The victims include travellers, a businessman, two medical doctors, health workers, among others.

One of the victims in latest incident is a former Accountant-General of the state, Rose Bassey, who served during the tenure of former Govrnor Donald Duke.

Mrs Bassey was reportedly kidnapped alongside three other people at Uyanga-Ikomita on the Calabar-Ogoja Expressway by unknown gunmen.

Sources said that Bassey was abducted on her way from her farm at Ekpri Iko, close to Iwuru in Biase Local Government Area of the state. Her abduction has added to the rising list of persons who have fallen prey to criminal elements due to the absence of security personnel on the road.

Some days ago, Omaga Odo, a former Chairman of the Cross River State Universal Education Board narrowly escaped being kidnapped by armed men at the Uyanga-Okomita axis.

Evangelist Edim Edim Omin, a pastor in one of the new generation churches in the state was not that lucky as he fell

victim to men of the underworld.

About three weeks ago, a businessman in Calabar South was kidnapped in his shop and held for over one week. It was the second time within the last three years. He was later released after allegedly paying ransom.

Also, nine men were kidnapped at a failed portion of the Calabar-Ogoja Expressway and the police succeeded in effecting the release of eight of the victims. One of them was unaccounted for and information on his release has yet to be made available.

Similarly, seven health workers, including two medical doctors, were also kidnapped along the road. This prompted the state branch of the Nigerian Medical Association to suspend its services across the state.

The Cross River chapter of the NMA has a policy of withdrawing medical services whenever its members are kidnapped and they activated this policy until their members secured freedom.

The state police public relations officer, DSP Irene Ugbo, failed to respond to inquiries made in respect of the rising wave of kidnapping across the state.

On his part, Governor Ben Ayade has announced a number of other security measures put in place by his administration to tackle the menace.

NRC Adjusts Abuja-Kaduna Train Time Schedule

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has announced the adjustment of take-off time schedule for its last two trains from Idu(Abuja) to Rigasa(Kaduna) and vice versa.

The Manager, Abuja-Kaduna Train Service (AKTS), Mr Pascal Nnorli, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday that the adjustments were to ensure early arrival of the trains to its destinations.

According to Nnorli, the trains will now depart 30 minutes earlier than its previous take-off time.

He said, “The AK3 from Idu(Abuja) which takes off at 3:30pm to arrive at Rigasa(Kaduna) at 5:38pm, will now leave at 3:00 p.m., to arrive at 5:08pm.

“Also, the KA4 train of 2:00 p.m. from Rigasa(Kaduna) will now depart from Rigasa at 1:30 p.m. and arrive at Idu(Abuja) at 3:37 p.m. instead of 4:07 p.m.”

Nnorli, however, reiterated the commitment of the corporation to ensure safety of its passengers and properties onboard its trains at all times.

Bayelsa Advocacy Groups Stage 'Zero Tolerance' Walk Against GenderBased Violence

Women advocacy groups in Bayelsa State in collaboration with the Bayelsa State Gender Response Initiative Team (GRIT) on Saturday staged a peace walk against gender-based violence with a declaration of zero tolerance to cases and commitment to the elimination of such violence against women and girls in the state.

Chairman of GRIT, Barr. Dise Goddy-Harry, said despite the appreciable awareness and record of arrest and conviction recorded in the state, the last one year showed 59 incidents of gender-based violence, including twelve cases of defilement, one rape, 20 cases of abandonment, five cases of battering and two murder cases.

Also listed as recorded cases of violence against women are two cases of denial of property, two cases of child abuse, five cases of physical assault, and three cases of emotional abuse among others.

In her speech, Goddy-Harry noted that the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, which is being championed by GRIT, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health , FIDA, GREP, Do Foundation, World Health Oranization, MWAN, CCCRN and other advocacy groups in Bayelsa State, with a week-long sensitisation of key stakeholders, is a clear show of commitment to the issue of zero tolerance to sexual and gender based violence in the state.

She pointed out that the Bayelsa State GRIT and its partners in commemoration of the sixteen days of ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER BASED kick started its activities with a media talk shows and interactive session at schools and two community engagement to Opolo and Ovum community in the state.

Also speaking, the Head of the Legal Unit of GRIT, Barr. Deme Pamosoo, pointed out that the violence against persons prohibition law of Bayelsa State has helped to protect women and girls from violence in public and private life”Bayelsa state have gone far in the application of the laws. We have secured conviction on a case of gang rape and those involved were sentenced to life imprisonment. Another defilement case incurred three years imprisonment against the perpetrator.”

Ortom Challenges Christians To Mobilise Votes For Only Patriotic Nigerian Leaders

The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has charged Christians to save the country's future by voting in only patriotic leaders in the 2023 general elections who will redeem the nation.

The Governor gave the charge on Saturday while addressing delegates at this year's annual convention of the All Nations Evangelism Ministries (ANEM), with the theme: "Fresh Oil International Convention" held at the IBB Square, Makurdi, the Benue state capital.

He pointed out that the country was embroiled in multiple socio-economic and security challenges hence there was the compelling need for Christians to rise up and vote, not according to partisanship but leaders with the interest of the nation at heart.

According to Governor Ortom, "The 2023 election is going to be different. We shall not be foolish enough to vote according to political parties. We shall vote in 2023 according to the election. Nobody should fool you."

"You must save your future and that of your children. You must save the future of those going to Church, you can save the Churches. Vote for the candidate of your choice but let it be someone who will not work against you tomorrow. Don't vote according to political parties. Let them not deceive us again," he emphasised.

Governor Ortom further maintained that, "In 2023 we don't just need a President, we need someone who will deliver us from insecurity, economic woes, diminishing social life, corruption and all those things that are pulling us apart," stressing that, protecting the future of the country was key to our collective development.

He enjoined Christians not to be deceived by those who do not mean well for the country, insisting, "don't be carried away by all kinds of falsehood, tricks, lies and deceit by those who do not mean well for us. Let nobody deceive you to vote against the collective interest of our nation. Pray to God and vote for the right candidates and I believe that God will answer us."

The Governor also solicited the prayers of Christians to carry-on in the daunting task of leading the state, noting that although it was not easy standing firm for the interest of his people, he believed with prayers, he will not be deterred.

In his address, General Overseer of ANEM, Archbishop Yiman Orkwar, noted that the country was in its "trying moment as a nation" and challenged Christians to be vigilant and prayerful to uphold the nation.

The clergyman lamented that "We have become fugitives in our land because of the insensitivity of the Federal Government to the plight of our people," emphasizing that we must rise up in defence of our faith and protection of our people.

While commending Governor Ortom for what he described as his "relentless commitment to the cause of the gospel and humanity even in the face of intimidation and threats upon his life", Archbishop Orkwar implored the Governor not to give up as the Church was standing with him in prayers.

L-R: Vice President Yemi Osinbajo SAN, with the President of the Rockefeller Foundation,,Rajiv Shah, at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York City, USA. December 9, 2022.

FROM BASSEY ANIEKAN, CALABAR

FROM GEORGE MARTINS, MAKURDI

FROM DAVID OWEI, YENAGOA

POLITICS

Atiku Tinubu

Campaign Watch: Tinubu, Atiku Engage in Mudslinging

BY AYO ESAN

The major political parties namely, the All Progressives Congress (APC); the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP), as well as their presidential candidates, are currently going round the six geo-political zones of the country and campaigning for votes.

One constant feature of their campaigns, however, is that some of the candidates have refused to adhere to the directive of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to limit their campaign to issues and not malign one another.

Rather than listen to INEC, the presidential candidates of the APC and PDP, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, respectively, decided to launch verbal attacks against one another, instead of unveiling their manifestoes and telling the electorate what programmes they plan to execute after winning the election in February 2023.

Speaking at a rally organised by the Lagos State chapter of the APC on Saturday, November 26, 2022, Bola Tinubu said Atiku Abubakar was part of the PDP’s misrule of Nigeria for 16 years and wondered why the opposition party could not fix most of the challenges facing the country when it was in power.

Wondering aloud why the PDP government abandoned the second Niger Bridge, and why the Badagry Express road was abandoned, Tinubu urged the electorate to retire Atiku with their votes in 2023 because he had been vying for the presidential position since 1999.

”Since 1999, Atiku has been aspiring to be President of Nigeria. At a time we had him in our party, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to contest. He contested on the platform of the APC and PDP. He is an ingrate. Tell him to go and sit down at home. Use your PVC to flog him. Tell him to go and retire.

“Don’t listen to what he is saying. He says that he is running to brighten Nigeria's future. He was in government for 16 years,yet they forgot to reconstruct the Badagry

“

Expressway, they forgot the Second Niger Bridge. He is an ingrate.”

Addressing his supporters at a campaign held in the Onikan area of Lagos, Atiku said that the APC had been lying to the people of Lagos State, claiming that its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, was responsible for the development of Lagos.

“The Federal Government built the Third Mainland Bridge. The Federal Government rebuilt Carter Bridge, Agege Motor Road and Ikorodu Road. All the major roads.

The APC Government has been telling you lies that they developed Lagos. They did not develop Lagos at all. They are lying to you. Therefore it is time for you, the people of Lagos, to alleviate yourself from a 'family government', to the people’s government.

“It is high time you took your destiny in your own hand for your own future and not the future of one family. In the last 23 years, you have been governed by one family. It is your right and it is your duty to take over that governance and hand it over to yourself. That is what the PDP stands for," the PDP presidential candidate said.

In return, Tinubu also mocked his PDP counterpart, describing him as battle-weary, even before the election. Then noting that Atiku had begun to show signs of frustration, he advised the former Vice President to throw in the towel in order to save face and avoid an imminent and disgraceful defeat at the polls.

Tinubu, in a statement issued on his behalf by the Director of Public Affairs and Chief Spokesperson of his Presidential Campaign Council, (PCC), Festus Keyamo, SAN, said: “At the scandalously scanty PDP campaign rally in Lagos State, the candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, decided to take the ignoble path of bare-faced lies by telling the people of Lagos State that the APC candidate, Asiwaju Tinubu did not develop Lagos State, but rather the Federal Government did.

“Tinubu conquered that handicap by performing wonders as governor and subsequently as leader of the ruling party of Lagos State".

As if following the path taken by their presidential candidates, other chieftains of both parties seem to have adopted a combative approach to the campaigns.

Former Minister of Sports and a PDP Chieftain, Bolaji Abdullahi, has also cautioned Nigerians against voting for the APC in 2023.

Abdullahi said that only Nigerians who love suffering would vote for the APC to remain in power in 2023.

Addressing journalists in Ilorin, Kwara State, he said the APC had ruined Nigeria.

Don’t listen to what he is saying. He says that he is running to brighten Nigeria's future. He was in government for 16 years,yet they forgot to reconstruct the Badagry Expressway, they forgot the Second Niger Bridge. He is an ingrate

www.thewillnigeria.com

POLITICS

...Tinubu, Atiku Engage in Mudslinging

He stressed that Nigerians had suffered enough under President Muhammadu Buhari.

Abdullahi said that Nigerians should not be talking about APC again after the party failed in different sectors.

He insisted that the 2023 election would be between the PDP and other parties.

“You have to have love for suffering to even consider voting for the APC again after it has ruined this country.

“If not for the way things are, nobody should even be talking about APC again after the mess they have brought to the country. The next election is going to be the PDP and any other party but APC,” Abdullahi said.

Also, a member of the House of Representatives, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, on his part, had issued threats to members of his constituency to either vote for the APC, on Election Day or be dealt with.

The majority leader of the House of Representatives is seeking to return to the House for a record seventh term.

He represents Doguwa/Tudun-Wada Federal Constituency in Kano State.

The Daily Nigerian claimed it obtained a video last Monday, showing Doguwa issuing the threat at a political rally held in Kano.

According to the report, Doguwa spoke mainly in Hausa and also used abusive language to threaten prospective voters.

“To God, who made me, on Election Day, you must vote for APC or we will deal with you. I’m saying it again: on Election Day you either vote for APC, or we deal with you.

“Repeat after me, in Doguwa you either vote for APC or we deal with you,” he said amidst a chorus of applause from the audience,” he said.

The Chief Spokesperson of the Labour Party’s Presidential Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, last Thursday cautioned that Tinubu’s speech in a London restaurant is capable of propelling massive violence during the 2023 general election.

He said the APC presidential candidate made this assertion in a London restaurant while addressing his supporters in the Diaspora and the video is in the public domain.

Tanko made this disclosure in an meeting with journalists in Abuja after what he called a careful examination of Tinubu's speech where he declared that political power should be "grabbed and you run away with it.”

The LP spokesman said, "This coming from a presidential candidate is too unpresidential. How can a man who wants to govern over 200 million Nigerians use such words.

"I don't think it is appropriate to go to a civilised clime and start talking about power grabbing, in a UK restaurant for that matter. I doubt if the APC presidential candidate has even bothered to sign the peace accord for the 2023 polls.

"If he has done it, then his vituperations on grabbing power may be uncalled for because this is capable of making his supporters have that mindset on using violence to deliver votes.

"Elections must be conducted in a violence-free environment and Tinubu saying things like this is really unpalatable barely three months to the presidential election.

"It is saddening to hear one of the most experienced politicians in Nigeria talking in this manner and people were clapping and hailing him”.

In reaction to the approach of mudslinging and neglect of issue-based campaign, the Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has advised the spokespersons of the presidential candidates of the leading political parties not to heat up the polity.

According to Kalu, every presidential candidate should present his plans to Nigerians without insulting another candidate.

Kalu stated this after receiving an award from the Senate Press Corps as the best performing senator on constituency projects.

“Everybody in Nigeria knows that there are four leading candidates in the 2023 presidential election, but their spokespersons are not giving Nigerians the required information regarding programmes and agenda of their principals on the myriad of challenges facing the Nation.

“What Nigerians want to hear from the four leading candidates of the four formidable political parties are their plans on how to turn around the nation‘s economy, end insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and other challenges bedeviling the country.

“Nigerians are tired of rhetoric on the personal lives of the presidential candidates as churned out by their spokespersons who should be focusing on what their principals have in stock for the people across the various sectors,”Kalu said.

It should also be recalled that before the commencement of the presidential campaigns, INEC warned that a political message or slogan must not be tainted with abusive language that is directly or indirectly likely to injure religious, ethnic, tribal or sectional feelings.

INEC also said that abusive, intemperate, slanderous or base language or innuendoes designed or likely to provoke violent reactions or emotions shall not be employed or used in political campaigns.

Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman, threw caution and also reminded the media of their constitutional and legal obligations, saying state apparatus including the media shall not be employed to the advantage or disadvantage of any political party or candidate at any election.

“In other words, equal coverage and visibility shall be allotted to all political parties by all public print and electronic media organisations. The same applies in equal measure to private owned media organisations subject to payment of appropriate fees,” he said.

The INEC chairman urged all the 18 registered political parties to critically study and pay attention to the provisions of the Constitution, the Electoral Act, the Police Act and the Public Order Act for the proper and peaceful conduct of political campaigns, rallies and processions.

Also as political parties and candidates were preparing for the commencement of campaigns, the police warned politicians and their supporters against engaging in hate speech and cyberbullying.

The police threatened to prosecute violators in accordance with relevant laws, adding that they could be charged under the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, Electoral Act or even Terrorism (Prevention) Act, depending on the content of the speeches.

More than what obtained in the past, the cyberspace, especially social media platforms, has increasingly become a potent tool for mobilisation, campaigns and exchange of ideas by supporters of political parties and the different candidates. However, there have also been incidences of personal attacks on individuals on some of the platforms.

The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Muyiwa Adejobi, also asked victims of hate speech and cyber bullying to report to the police, promising that prompt action would be taken.

He said, “If anyone is reported to have committed hate speech or cyber bullying, we will carry out our investigation and charge the accused based on the provisions of the constitution and various Acts, ranging from the Cybercrime Act, Electoral Act and Terrorism Act, among others, depending on the content of their speeches and the peculiar situation.

Yakubu

Baba

To God, who made me, on Election Day, you must vote for APC or we will deal with you. I’m saying it again: on Election Day you either vote for APC, or we deal with you

“

THEWILL NEWSPAPER • www.thewillnigeria.com

POLITICS

Plateau: Atiku, Mutfwang’s Handshake With History

BY UKANDI ODEY

If, indeed, Jos, Plateau State, does make presidents of candidates who hold their presidential primaries or flag off their presidential campaigns there, then Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, has a story to tell, as he heads to Jos this Tuesday for a campaign rally in which the Plateau State PDP gubernatorial campaign flag off is also embedded.

Although myths hardly become reality, the Atiku Abubakar experience goes beyond the fluidity of folklore. Twenty-three years ago and 23 years younger, Atiku Abubakar arrived in Jos, venue of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential convention ahead of the 1999 general election, which was to preface the restoration of democratic governance in Nigeria on May 29, of the same year. He was the head or leader of the PDP delegates from Adamawa State, having emerged earlier from the party’s governorship primary as its candidate for the governorship election.

Unknown to Atiku Abubakar, there was a message in the horoscope: he would not be governor – for the superior and worthwhile reason that he emerged as presidential running mate to the winner of the presidential primary, Olusegun Obasanjo, right there at the Rwang Pam Township Stadium venue of the convention. That was also the preface or foreword to election victory and inauguration into the seat of power at Aso Rock as Nigeria’s executive vice president.

Could the horoscope be speaking again or it is history that is beckoning? Since 1999, Plateau State itself has submitted to a definite and predictable electoral pattern as the PDP has always won the presidential election in the state ahead of other contending parties.

According to the State chairman of the PDP, Chris Hassan, the party was conceived and hatched with the peculiar aspirations and needs of the Plateau people as fulcrum, and, ever since, it is the PDP that has provided the type of governance that meets and assuages the needs and desires of the people.

After an APC-modulated interregnum of eight years, Hassan said ahead of the campaign visit that the state and the people have activated for the PDP, and what Atiku Abubakar and the Plateau State gubernatorial candidate, Caleb Mutfwang, will be experiencing next Tuesday in Jos is unity of purpose, commonality, a dyadic coalition, a hand shake with history, and sharing a cause to revamp the hopes of the people by reconstructing their heritage and reconciling same with a destiny that has almost been aborted or miscarried by bad governance.

Decrying the “downward slide that has become the order of the day in the state in the last seven and a half years,” Hassan emphasised the determination of the PDP to “genuinely rescue and rebuild Plateau state.” Having assured of renewed harmony and cohesion within and along the rungs of the Party, Hassan announced: “we are by the special grace of God flagging off our presidential campaign in the State on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, when our incoming president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar will be in Jos to meet and interact with Plateau people”.

While the momentum is positive for the visit of the presidential candidate, the expectations are also high.

Of all other governorship candidates of the party across the country, many PDP stakeholders and bookmakers in and outside Plateau view a possible Atiku presidency and a Caleb Mutfwang governorship as sharing common elements, problems, and challenges which call for a work understanding and working interface and mutuality between the two leaders as they look good going into the polls.

Under the subsisting APC administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, popular opinion is that the country is worse than it was when the PDP yielded national leadership to it in 2015: there is runaway inflation and rising cost of living, growing unemployment, worsening crime rates and historic insecurity threatening national unity, infrastructural decay, poor motivation of the national work force, daily collapse of the national currency in the international monetary system, and general gloom in the investment and economic atmosphere of the country, and citizen motivation and national ethos being at the lowest ebb.

Atiku Mutfwang

every national public space and moment to restate his averment to restructuring as a paradigm shift to secure national unity and development, a lot of his followers and sympathizers hope a possible Atiku presidency will eliminate or abate parochial considerations in the quest to build a virile nation.

Never a time since independence have economic indicators and growth rates been so sluggish and negative as they have been under the current regime with macro determinants such as petroleum and manufacturing in steady crisis that leaves the business climate unattractive and forcing investment and capital flight in a lot of cases. With banditry, insurgency, and kidnapping on the ascendancy, the country is on the brink of collapse, and heading for the league of failed states, with citizens despairing and agonizing over misbegotten opportunities and misplaced priorities.

Those who believe in the Atiku Abubakar’s blueprint –they prefer to brand themselves as Atikulated – believe an Atiku presidency should be able to retard, and then reverse the negatives, and return the economy to the path of growth and make prosperity the lot of doing business in the country. Not even after the civil war in 1970 was this agitation so loud and sustained as exasperating Nigerians feel it currently.

Apart from the social ill of corruption that has benumbed the system leading to fiscal leakages and improper implementation of appropriation bills, systemic injustices bordering on nepotism and taking a toll on issues such as recruitment into the federal civil service, postings or deployment, promotion, discipline, and headship of the country’s security services, are threatening the continuity of the Nigeria project and aggravating agitations for fiscal federalism or restructuring. With Atiku Abubakar using

Similar enormous responsibilities await a possible Caleb Mutfwang governorship in Plateau State. Many who critique the years of the Buhari Presidency as actually an interlude of socio-political and economic backwardness also lament that Plateau State had double potion of bad governance during the same period because, as president Muhammadu Buhari was failing at the national level, Governor Simon Lalong was in a free fall in Plateau State, crashing most of the gains garnered over the years by past administrations in terms of orchestrating the Plateau Spirit and warding off their traditional enemies and aggressors. Under Simon Lalong, there has been a steady encroachment of incendiary forces, and this has ensured heightened wave of killings and sectarian violence, displacement of farmers and sacking of farmlands and farm produce, land grabbing and a surging army of displaced persons robbed of their ancestral homes and turned to refugees in their homestead.

The southern part of Plateau State has also come under intense criminal occupation and bombardment in recent times. Banditry is becoming a dominant pastime threatening agriculture and other economic activities in Kanam and Wase; while kidnapping and abductions are reigning in Qua’an Pan and grating on the business corridor that stretches into the north eastern fringes of its southerly neighbour, Nasarawa State.

In Kampani Zurach, in Wase Local Government Area of the State, the State is suffering economic sabotage as a result of illegal mining activities carried out there in connivance with some mercenary forces that have been holding the State hostage.

Thus, Atiku Abubakar and Caleb Mutfwang are actually into uphill tasks as they seek to provide and show the way. As they flag off their campaigns together, they could fetch and draw from the bounties of history and providence; especially, as the State Chairman of the PDP, Chris Hassan has said, “the people are ready.”

It is the PDP that has provided the type of governance that meets and assuages the needs and desires of the people

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Security: INEC to Relocate 357 PUs in Katsina

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that it will relocate 357 Polling Units (PUs) to safer areas due to security challenges in Katsina State.

According to the commission, the decision is to ensure that all Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in the state are allowed to cast their votes during the 2023 elections.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Prof. Ibrahim YahayaMakarfi made this known during a stakeholders’ forum last Friday in Katsina. He explained that the Electoral Act 2022 has made clear and explicit provisions for the conduct of elections in emergency situations.

“In specific terms, Section 24 of the Electoral Act 2022 provides for the

commission for as far as practicable to ensure that no persons displaced as a result of an emergency is disenfranchised.

“We will, therefore, ensure that as far as is practicable, we would provide every eligible voter with the opportunity to exercise his franchise as provided by the law.

“We have been working closely with stakeholders and security agencies in constant evaluation of the situations in areas facing security challenges for strategic approach.

“We will ensure successful conduct of a free, fair, credible poll free from intimidation or molestation,” he said.

He, therefore, called on Nigerians who have registered but did not collect their Permanent Voter Card (PVC) to do so,

stressing that “No PVC no election”. He said that the commission has created a timeline for the collection of the PVCs throughout the 34 local government areas of the state.

Also, INEC’s Head of Operations, Alhaji Hussain Jafar explained that 12 of the 34 LGAs had been identified with security challenges.

“And out of the 361 Registration Areas (RAs), there are 73 with security challenges, and finally, out of the 6,652 PUs, there are 357 with security challenges.

“All the necessary procedures for the relocation of the affected PUs have been provided and the commission has received some of the non-sensitive electoral materials,” he said.

Meta Set to Protect Integrity of 2023 Elections

AYO ESAN

Also, as part of measures to protect the integrity of the elections scheduled to take place in 2023, Meta has said it is determined and making concrete efforts to combat the spread of misinformation and to make political advertising more transparent.

Meta made this known while addressing the media at a roundtable on 2023 elections held in Lagos last Wednesday.

It said its goal of achieving this will continue in the lead up to, during, and after voting and that it would build on Meta’s experience and learning from supporting elections across Sub-Saharan Africa and globally.

Meta said its approach had also been informed by conversations with human rights groups, NGOs, local civil society organisations, regional experts and local election authorities - to help ensure the safety of people using Meta's family of apps, customise election strategies for Nigeria, maintain the integrity of its platforms and keep users safe.

Speaking at the event, Meta’s Head of Public Policy for Anglophone West Africa, Adaora Ikenze said, “We know we have an important responsibility when it comes to helping to keep people safe during the elections. Using lessons from the past including input from experts and policymakers across the national

spectrum, we’ve made substantial investments in people and technology to reduce misinformation, remove harmful content on our platforms, fight voter interference and promote civic engagement during the elections. We continue to work closely with election authorities and local partners in Nigeria to ensure we’re preparing for the specific challenges in Nigeria and taking appropriate steps to stay ahead of emerging threats.”

She said some of the steps taken to prepare for the Nigerian elections include: A dedicated cross functional team spread across the world as well as locally focused on the Nigerian elections. This, she said, includes a number of people from Nigeria and people who have spent significant amounts of time in the country, recognising that local understanding is critical.

“The team also includes individuals with global expertise in misinformation, hate speech, elections and disinformation. These teams are working hard to prevent any abuse of our services before, during and after Nigeria’s 2023 general elections. Locally, we also have staff who reside in Nigeria and work in the public policy, and public policy programmes and communications,” she said.

According to her, another step is keeping people safe.

She said,”Since 2016 we have quadrupled the size of the global teams working on safety and security to about 40,000 people, and have invested more than $16 billion in teams and technology in this area. This also includes over 15,000 content reviewers, who are located across the globe, in every major time zone. Collectively, these reviewers are able to review content in more than 70 languages- including, Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa.”

She said they are still working for the election by outlining the Community standards that publicly explain what is and isn’t allowed on their platforms to prioritise integrity on platforms during and after elections.

Another step according to her is the taking of aggressive steps to fight the spread of misinformation.

She said that Meta as an organisation knows it is important for people to see accurate information on Facebook and Instagram. “We’re removing misinformation which could lead to imminent violence or physical harm and working with our fact-checking partners in Nigeria - AFP, Africa Check and Dubawa - to review and rate potentially false content on our platforms, label it, and place it lower in our feed, so fewer people see it.

Albino Foundation Inaugurates Campaign to Enhance Participation of IDPs

The Albino Foundation (TAF) has inaugurated a voter education campaign for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to guarantee inclusion and increase their participation in the 2023 general election.

Speaking at the ceremony in Durumi IDP camp, Abuja, Jake Epelle, founder, Chief Executive Officer, TAF, said the event was to also commemorate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Epelle said the campaign was designed to create awareness among IDPs of their rights and the need to participate in politics and electoral processes by coming out to vote and be voted for in the election.

“Reaching the unreached has always been a problem, so today we decided that we are going to make a formidable impact in the lives of those who need help making sure that food is delivered to their homes.

“We are also making sure that they know their rights when it comes to the electoral process and participate effectively.

“We are passionate about reaching the unreached and consider the IDPs one of those segments of people, so we will do whatever we can to ensure that they participate in the elections and also join in the celebration of World disability day,” he said.

Epelle said if Nigeria was driving toward inclusivity in the electoral process, then nobody should be left behind.

He said that the Electoral Act has captured the clauses that allowed displaced persons to vote and if they were not reached, they would be disenfranchised and Nigeria would not have been said to practice true democracy.

Ms Ndifreke Ferdinand, the Project Manager, The Albino Foundation, said the foundation was involved in a voter education sensitisation campaign called “Able to Vote” and just concluded the one for PWDs.

Ferdinand said the organisation was kickstarting the phase for IDPs and at the Durumi camp as well as celebrate the Disabilities Day with them.

She added that the foundation would take the campaign to other zones of the country to educate IDPs on the electoral system to boost their participation in the 2023 poll.

Mr. Ikem Uchegbunam, the Director, Compliance and Enforcement, National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, said that in September the commission had a special intervention programme called ‘Votability’ to help displaced persons and PWDs to register for the 2023 poll.

Uchegbunam said that registration centres were brought closer to them to avoid being excluded.

” So I would not know why about 60 per cent of them here were not able to register, but the point was, some of them rather than push for change of polling unit opted to register afresh .

“The registration officer said no, so that is where the problem must have come from.

“However, we will continue to push INEC to see how they can maybe make some concessions for them to be able to vote,” he said.

From left, PDP National Deputy Chairman (South), Hon. Taofeek Arapaja; Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Barr. Bayo Lawal; Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde; Okere of Saki, Oba Kalid Olabisi; Onjo of Okeho, Oba Rafiu Osuolale and Oyo State PDP Chairman, Hon. Dayo Ogungbenro during a town hall meeting with the people of Oke-Ogun 1 Geopolitical Zone held at Iseyin Town Hall, Iseyin.

Praying For Success in Businesses, Efficiency in Government FEATURES

It seems almost illogical for most Nigerians to not go on their knees and pray to God for success in any venture they embark on. Those in leadership positions from the presidency down to state governors and council chairmen invoke the Almighty to solve this or that problem – be it economic, socio-political or insecurity. Some senior civil servants are in the habit of starting morning devotions in their ministries before commencement of work. Privatelyowned companies including banks and trendy supermarket chains follow suit, gathering employees in prayer sessions before opening for business. Shop owners in markets across the country are not left out of the prayer mania. Now something of a national pastime, THEWILL wonders whether prayers alone determine success in businesses (big and small) and efficiency in government. Michael JImoh reports…

Mama Messi is a sprightly woman of 39, with a son named after the world-renowned soccer star from Argentina. But at Ope-Ilu near Egbado area in Ogun state, people around know her for her unusually named two-year-old kid with wide-awake intelligence as well as the beer parlour she owns smack down on a teejunction.

After dropping off her son at a nearby crèche, Mama Messi repairs to her shop, goes into the inner room where two freezers are humming. There are bottles of different alcoholic beverages stacked on shelves. Thus surrounded by electronic appliances and drinks, Mama Messi covers her head with a white handkerchief, raises her palm in a supplicatory gesture and then mutters some prayer points. Done, she turns to a waiting customer: “Oya, wetin you wan buy?”

At a popular supermarket outlet on Egbado Road at Alakuko on a Saturday morning late last month, shoppers come in trickles but the yellow-painted big store is bursting with dozens of workers inside. Only two of the staff are attending to a few customers at the till. The rest, as it were, are engaged differently. Complete with drummers, the young men and women are whirling around like dervishes, singing lustily and throwing their hands here and there.

Is there a birthday party for one of them? No! As the newspaper found out, this is a morning ritual when those on duty come together and hold a praise and worship session for ten minutes or so. After that, they return to their various duty posts and work begins proper.

Along Lagos Abeokuta Road at Iron Market in Iyana Ipaja, the same ritual in the supermarket chain is taking place in front of some of the shops. Around are iron rods, flat metal sheets and giant iron meshes – some propped on fences, some stacked on benches. On this Thursday morning however, it is not the rims and rims of iron bars that commands attention. It is the group of men and women forming a semi-circle in front of some of the shops, holding hands like an unbreakable human chain.

Despite

Right in the centre facing them is a preacher man sermonising from a wooden lectern. Earlier, there had been 15 minutes of praise and worship, complete with an ensemble of drummers, keyboardist and accordionist.

“This is what we do every Thursday morning once we finish cleaning our surroundings,” Obinna told THEWILL. Obinna has been an apprentice for three years and he confirmed that for his years of apprenticeship, they have never missed a week of praying before they open for business.

So, what is the essence of the prayer and worship sessions at the Iron Market, Mama Messi’s silent invocation every morning? The answer is not hard to guess at. For their businesses to prosper, for customer patronage, period.

But what affects businesses positively? Adequate preparation and long term planning or just prayers? For something that has become a national pastime, prayers also go a long way, as the Mama Messi’s and traders at Iron Market would want us to believe. They are in good company, right in the corridors of power.

Last March, for instance, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, wife of President Muhammadu Buhari and first lady of Nigeria, got what she never bargained for from her compatriots. Ever since her disclosure in 2016 that cabals had hijacked the presidency in Aso Villa, Nigerians naturally lent her a sympathetic ear.

Instead of the suspicion reserved for people living in the privileged insulation of the Villa, Aisha suddenly transformed into ‘a woman of the people,’ one who is bold and daring enough to speak truth to the shadowy cabals running, and possibly ruining, a government her spouse was supposed to be head of.

Mrs. Buhari’s disclosure sort of confirmed what some critics of the government had always suspected: the face was PMB’s but the cabals were the ones calling the shots.

Unlike the erstwhile first lady Dame Patience Jonathan who seemed to always run out of patience with others and sometimes unrestrained in her utterances, Mrs. Buhari kept a sagely silence from then on – until last March!

What did she have to say this time? Nothing about the secretive, all-knowing, all-seeing cabals within the presidency. It was nothing about family planning, either. It was something about what most Nigerian politicians, including her husband, have touted as a possible recipe for Nigeria’s myriad problems.

According to published reports of Monday March 28, 2022, the first lady called for prayers for Nigeria via her Facebook account the day before. Barely 24 hours after Aisha’s unsolicited supplication, Nigerians responded promptly, some wondering whatever for.

According to a reporter, William Babalola, who monitored responses to Aisha’s call for prayers, respondents disagreed with her. For most of the respondents, her call for prayers smacks of hypocrisy, of not facing up to the reality on the ground.

“Forget prayer,” Olawale Aremu pointedly told the First Lady, asking that “for how long we’ve been praying?” and concluding that “Nothing has changed!!!”

Petra Akinti Onyegbule dismissed Aisha’s call for prayers outright. Another user, Max Ochai, took a subtle dig at the wife of the president. “We should be here praying while you and all other first ladies will be celebrating birthdays and every other occasion in Dubai.”

For Abubakar Sadiq Kabir, prayers isn’t enough. “Mommy, in this Nigerian context prayer is not enough! The people that added value and uplifted you and your entire family are seeing different results, people are suffering!”

A respondent from Kaduna state, Mustapha Hassan Giwa, shot down Aisha’s call for prayers. “We are always praying for our dear country, your Excellency our people in #Giwa_ Local_Government area of Kaduna state are in terrible situation bloodshed every day…the number of refugees are increasing every hour. We are in need of immediate response and intervention from the #Federal Government and #NEMA in terms of security and food support.”

The First Lady’s call for prayers has an antecedent right in the Villa. In the January 8 2021 edition of THEWILL, the paper reported PMB’s exhortation to Nigerians to pray for the military in their aim to degrade Boko Haram.

Represented by the Minister of Defence, Major General Magashi Salihi during the Armed Forces Remembrance Day in Abuja that year, PMB told Nigerian to pray for the success of the military in their prolonged fight against the insurgents in the north east. Tagged “Year of Action,” the president said that “this year we will finish what we are doing; pray for us that we succeed.”

Despite the presidential call for prayers, the war against Boko Haram is far from over.

THEWILLNG THEWILLNIGERIA

the presidential call for prayers, the war against Boko Haram is far from over

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EDITORIAL

Fuel Scarcity: NNPC Singing Same Old Song

t may sound trite to ask if officials of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) listen to statements they make on the current fuel scarcity across the country.

Since the ongoing fuel scarcity started two weeks ago, officials of the company have been telling Nigerians that the problem is all about distribution and not supply.

A fortnight ago, the nation’s manager of oil, the mainstay of the country’s economy, assured Nigerians that it had sufficient supply of the product to last 34 days through the yuletide. But rather than abate, the situation worsened.

Then last Wednesday, the company again repeated the same worn cliché. The Chief Investment Officer, NNPC Upstream Management Services, Mr Bala Wunti, gave Nigerians another assurance that the fuel queues at petrol stations would vanish at the weekend. According to him, the bottlenecks created at the Apapa Wharf that frustrated the distribution of the product had been significantly reduced and all challenges with the upstream or downstream sector were effectively tackled.

Surprisingly, when the problem was going on, the Members of Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) pleaded with negligible success with NNPC

to make use of its members’ empty tank facilities located at strategic points in the country to fast track the distribution of Premium Motor Spirit. They were ignored, obviously for understandable reasons.

Both parties have had a faceoff in the past over lingering issues of debt settlement and management, but under the current dire straits, common sense should have prevailed. Reason dictates that a reflection on the economic implications of the disruption of supply chain of a major product that runs the economy, should have inspired a sense of corporation between them.

Now, Nigerians, as has often happened in the past, are paying for this criminal negligence on the part of the NNPC.

Transport fares have gone up, food prices are skyrocketing and fuel cost, when available at petrol filling stations are far beyond the official N69 per litre for Lagos and N170 per litre for Abuja and other states where the price cap by the NNPC is now subject to the whims of the patrol station managers and fuel dispensers.

Youths carrying fuel jerry cans soliciting for patronage by hapless commercial drivers and private car owners are now a sore feature in cities like Lagos, the commercial nerve of the country.

Meanwhile, the oil markets are also threatening to raise prices, arguing that the landing cost for importing petrol no longer makes no economic

sense. They contend that the 34-day supply stock promised by the NNPC is a ruse.

The multiplier effect of this dire situation on the already poor health of many Nigerians is better imagined.

It was no surprise on Thursday that the Directorate of State Services (DSS) issued a 48hour ultimatum to the NNPC and the oil marketers to end

the fuel scarcity across the country.

On this note, we call on the management of the NNPC to sit up, stop giving excuses and own up to their words and promises.

Improper pricing of petrol to smuggling of the product through our porous borders and lack of production capacity at the refineries were once given as the reasons for the same current fuel crisis. Nigerians are tired of such excuses. They want action and where that is lacking, a just sanction for any act of negligence.

product through our porous borders and lack of production capacity at the refineries were once given as the reasons for the same current fuel crisis. Nigerians are tired of such excuses. They want action and where that is lacking, a just sanction for any act of negligence

We do not need to remind officials of the company of their new assignment, which is to run an efficient company that manages the country’s major revenue earner to the benefit and welfare of all Nigerians.

It also means that the old way of doing business, which made the NNPC a cash cow for the establishment alone is gone for good.

We thank the Lagos State Government for assisting the company to resolve the distribution bottlenecks at Apapa Wharf.

Let us hope, like Wunti promised last week, that the situation will be solved for all time and that Nigerians “are not going to have a difficult Yuletide whether it is with the upstream and downstream sector.” And if that promise fails, the DSS would wield the big stick.

Improper pricing of petrol to smuggling of the

Political Debate And Candidates’ Style of Engagement

BY BONIFACE CHIZEA

The public space is today dominated with what ordinarily should be routine features of our political contestation; political debates. To the best of my recollection, we have had these debates for a while now even as we are still looking for consistency in this respect. The last one which comes to mind is the Anambra State Gubernatorial debate which was organised by Arise Television. That I recall was a memorable debate even if at some point it deviated and it became personal as name calling undermined the quality of the debate.

It is therefore imperative that for such engagements that boundaries are clearly delineated and firmly enforced. Such debates should be strictly based on issues; an opportunity to ascertain what the individual perceives are the problems and an opportunity to interrogate if what strategy to adopt had been thought through. It should be a golden opportunity to bury any rumours surrounding the candidate as all is allowed to hang out; no holds barred.

What has brought this discussion to the front burner is the recent developments surrounding Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) the Presidential aspirant for APC. He has been invited on several occasions for such dialogue locally but he has not been able to respond to any positively. The received wisdom out there is that he is somehow disjointed with his numerous ad libs when he spoke publicly that it is suspected that he is not up to such debates.

Of course, there are lots of subterfuge which have been deployed to mask the extent of this shortcoming; cognitive impairment. He would not respond to Arise Tv Town Hall invitations because he claims the Station is hostile to him. But he has not availed himself of any such opportunities so far to the best of my knowledge. And so one is left asking why aspire to be President of such a large complex community such as Nigeria, if you cannot publicly respond to questions!

It does not make any sense to most compatriots except of course those blinded by crass sentiments.

But what has brought this matter to the boil is the recent Chatham House presentation by BAT. One of my contacts asked pointedly what all this fascination with Chatham House presentations is? He concluded that it is simply a relic of our colonial past. Because come to think of it, discussions of this nature could be followed these days from any part of the world. And as it is; there are not too many eligible voters out there in the diaspora.

But what happened during this event has left most compatriots dumb founded; in deed scratching their heads! BAT made a very brief presentation and then the interactive session. He proceeded to pass on the questions to members of his entourage! Now this is a novel! This bucks the trend. In the first place BAT cannot have a team to advertise in this manner because he is as yet to hold office!

All what he has done amounted to simply renting brains to use and hoodwink the rest of us. How can others speak for him when he was given a platform to showcase his personal views? As President with this showing is he going to be able to address the press? He will redirect questions to others when asked! How is that ever going to work? Who has ever seen such an arrangement anywhere before? Unfortunately some of us are captive to base sentiments. Otherwise the verdict from all these developments should be obvious to all concerned.

The other debate by Arise Tv on Health, Education and poverty alleviation I was able to watch even as there were many distractions as I did so. The Presidential candidates of PDP, NNPC and Labour participated during this debate. It was a well organised interview even though I did not quite like the fact that the same questions were asked. It is like an

expo! I have no doubt that this is so to obviate allegations of favouritism. Such a procedure disallowed viewers of the opportunity to thoroughly assess innovative and original thoughts on the part of the participants.

When we talk of pro poor budgeting; we talk of budgets skewed in favour of Education and Health. As was clearly observed by all the participants, these sectors have suffered from inadequate funding over the years. As a country, we have not been able to allocate the minimum budget benchmark as indicated by UNESCO! This realization along with lack of effective expenditures have accounted for the lackluster performance which the Country has recorded so far in this respect. There was consensus that allocations to these sectors would have to be radically beefed up with no efforts spared to make such expenditures effective.

We cannot find policies to alleviate poverty. We can only extend palliative; band aids to cushion the biting consequences of poverty. What improves the quality of life is sustainable growth of the economy. And particularly the maintenance of macroeconomic stability. I was personally intrigued to listen to the Presidential candidate of PDP bemoan the lack of implementation of both the National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy (NEEDS) as well as the States Economic Empowerment Development Strategy (SEEDS) as one of the reasons we have reaped stunted growth and development. I could not agree more as someone who participated in the implementation of these programs. I recall that I was privileged to have led the team of consultants that tried to formulate the program for Bayelsa State.

•Chizea, an economist, is MD/CEO, BIC Consultancy Services

•Continues online at www.thewillnigeria.com

Naija Football is Better Than Qatar 2022

BY UZOR MAXIM UZOATU

Naija does not need to qualify for Qatar 2022 because our game is better and older than the so- called World Cup.

The Naija game from the beginning entailed any number of men or women running about kicking any roundish object. We had no special name for the game.

Then the man from overseas came and brought balls and boots, and talked of football and soccer.

Like most white men, Coach Clemence came to Africa with a mission – to discover the beautiful game of football.

Coach Clemence came with many rules and regulations. And we all got hoarse complaining that he was complicating a simple game with his many rules.

The bounce of the ball was beyond the ken of most of us. Kicking with boots put us in all kinds of trouble: the ball flew everywhere but the goalposts.

It was all so cumbersome, like teaching a man to use the left hand in grand old age.

“Keep the ball on the ground!” Coach Clemence hollered, daring the noonday sun as he ran from one goal to the other correcting us. “The birds in the sky do not play football!”

We suffered at the hands of this man. He made us run endlessly round the field building up what he called stamina. You cannot play the man’s game unless you have sapped all your energy running like a madman chasing after dry leaves.

“Who ever heard of the footballer with neither skill nor stamina?” Coach Clemence asked. “You lot deserve special places in the Football Hall of Shame!”

The first competitive match we played was against a team of some tourist friends of Coach Clemence. It was a massacre.

We somewhat stood fixed watching the soccer wizards from London do all the scoring. They ran like the wind and danced past our ears like mosquitoes.

We played some other matches. We lost all the matches. The score on each occasion was scandalous.

After one particularly humiliating defeat, a game in which half of our players scored own-goals, one rugged man walked into our fold.

A crafty old stager, he was gap-toothed and his goggles were darker than midnight.

The title Presido fitted him like a cap.

“They are my people,” the man said to Coach Clemence, pointing at us as we sat head bowed. “I know their psychology.”

On the football field he spoke to Coach Clemence in English while he talked to us in the native tongue. Some of his words to us were actually full-throated insults directed at the white man. Coach Clemence upped the ante by taking us into the classroom to teach us football. He mentioned many incomprehensible figures and numbers: 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 4-2-4 etc. He drew many lines on the blackboard and plotted many graphs. He pointed and directed through arrows and curves. We got more confused by the minute.

“My people cannot get the hang of this teaching of football inside the classroom,” our self- appointed President challenged Coach Clemence.

“Without a sound theory there can be no good praxis,” Coach Clemence explained.

“How can somebody do on the blackboard out there in the football field?”

“Presido!” We all rose in salute of our President for asking a question that we had all individually wanted to ask.

“Football is a game of the head rather than of the feet…” Coach Clemence was saying.

“In that case,” Presido interrupted, “the game would have been called headball instead of football.”

Yes! We were all screaming in support of the thesis of our darling Presido, a true man of the people.

Coach Clemence then said he had arranged a special match with the British Embassy Club as our command performance.

Presido instantly volunteered to produce crack match officials and a record crowd for the special match.

The football arena was jam-packed. The pep talk of Coach Clemence minutes before the match dwelt much on the anticipated overlapping runs of the British full-backs.

“We know what you mean,” said Presido, interrupting as usual.

“Overlapping means that somebody comes as a missionary and then overlaps as a colonial master!”

“Don’t mix football with politics,” Coach Clemence said. “Don’t listen to the white man,” Presido said to us in the native tongue. “When we get into the field we shall play our style.”

“Our style is home-grown freestyle soccer democracy played with military boots,” shouted our dancing goalkeeper who had for some time been taking some private lessons at the instance of Presido.

The match was not yet a minute old when the British left-back, overlapping, scored. He would have scored again in the very next minute but for the agility of our goalkeeper. Now instead of putting the ball into play, according to the rules of the game, our goalkeeper ran the full length of the field and threw the ball into the net of our opponents!

“The overlapping goalkeeper!” roared the crowd.

“Unprecedented! Fit for the Guinness Book of World Records! First in history!”

I heard so many exclamations.

The referee looked at his assistants and at the excited crowd and then pointed to the centre of the field, thus counting our goalkeeper’s caper of a coup as a goal.

The British Embassy Staff Club players were dumbfounded. Suddenly our goalkeeper picked up the ball and ran all the way to score again.

The referee blew a blast on his whistle, jumping up in excitement like Presido and the crowd.

The overlapping goalkeeper scored many more times, and the spectators could no longer be controlled for joy. They encroached into the field, passing the ball to us with their hands and feet.

It was a melee. Nobody could leave the field of play.

I looked in the direction of Coach Clemence but his place had been taken by Presido.

Presido actually came into the field to score a handful of goals with his hands and feet and head, jumping and screaming and urging us on.

And we obeyed him, scoring with every part of our body.

It was indeed an original never-ending game, football, Naija style.

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR

BY SAM DIALA

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s new policy on over-thecounter cash withdrawal limits as well as withdrawal limits for Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and Point of Sale (POS) terminals has widened the window for tax revenue.

The CBN had on December 6, 2022, announced a new policy that mandates deposit money banks (DMBs) and other financial institutions to ensure that over-the-counter cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities do not exceed N100, 000 and N500, 000, respectively, per week.

According to a memo to banks signed by the Director of Banking Supervision, Haruna .B. Mustafa, individuals will only be able to withdraw N100,000 per week (from over the counter, Point of Sale Machines or the Automated Teller Machines), while organisations can access N500,000 per week.

Banks have also been directed to load only N200 and lower denominations into their ATM.

The CBN said the new directive would promote cashless policy and that customers should be encouraged to use alternative channels (internet banking, mobile banking apps, USSD, cards/POS. eNaira, etc.) to conduct their banking transactions.

While the members of public have expressed concern over the transaction inconveniences the new policy would create, not many realise that the increased use of electronic banking facilities has tax implications.

These include the statutory 7.5 percent Value Added Tax (VAT), the N50 Electronic Money Transfer Levy as well as income tax implications for corporate account holders in the small, medium and large enterprises as well as multiple channels such as data, sms,

call credits and other electronic media platforms associated with financial transactions.

The government’s lingering revenue challenge which is acerbated by the non-remittance of oil revenue to the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited since January 2022, has led to aggressive tax enforcement by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) resulting in improved non-oil revenue in recent times.

Between January and September 2022, FIRS has collected N7.5 trillion which is a significant improvement on the total collection of N6.4 trillion for the entire 2021. Non-oil taxes accounted for N4.3 trillion while petroleum profits tax accounted for N3.1 trillion. It is clear that the reforms undertaken since 2020 have started yielding the desired results as FIRS has been funding FAAC significantly in the last three years, especially in 2022 when oil revenue ‘dried’ up. Although ravaging inflation has weakened the value of the Naira, a look at the monthly FAAC performance showed that despite the sharp drop in oil revenue, the amount shared by the three tiers of government from FAAC has grown significantly since the year from N574.66 billion in January to N736.78 in October, 2022.

FAAC recorded the highest receipt of N954.08 billion in July 2022 traced to quantum revenue growth in Oil & Gas Royalties, Statutory Revenues, Exchange Gain, Petroleum Profit Tax, Import Duty, VAT, Company Income Tax, Excise Duty and Augmentations from Nonoil Revenue. Findings showed that a total of N195.43 billion was realised as at November from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy introduced in the 2022 Finance Act.

The recent emergence of Zenth Bank Plc as ‘Bank of the Year in Nigeria’ in The Banker’s Bank of the year awards 2022, points to another robust performance by the financial institution which occupies the top position as Nigeria’s largest by market capitalization and customers’ deposit.

The award, which was announced by The Banker Magazine, Financial Times Group, United Kingdom, during an awards ceremony held in London, on December 1, 2022, was in recognition

Emefiele

Why Airtel Emerged Sole Bidder of 3.5GHz spectrum – NCC

interest in the auction of the 3.5GHz Spectrum band namely: Airtel Networks Limited (Airtel) and Standard Network & Connections Limited (Standard Network).

According to a statement signed by Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Mr Reuben Mouka on Wednesday, with the title: "Status of the 3.5GHz Spectrum Auction", the Commission pointed out that only Airtel paid the Intention to Bid Deposit (IBD) as stipulated in the Information Memorandum (IM).

On the other hand, NCC confirmed that Standard Network sent an email appeal for the deadline to be extended by twelve working days which was not acceptable in view of the auction timetable.

"Having met all the provisions in the IM, Airtel has therefore emerged as the sole Bidder.

"Consequently, there shall be no further bidding and the Commission will proceed to the Assignment Stage in line with the published Information Memorandum guiding the licensing process", NCC emphasised.

Earlier, the Commission had held a stakeholders meeting where it spelt out the Information Memorandum, IM, on the availability of the spectrum lots and requested for bidders.

The Commission pointed out that only Airtel paid the Intention to Bid Deposit (IBD) as stipulated in the Information Memorandum (IM)

The Commission however said that since extension after deadline, for expression of interest was not supported by its guidelines, it turned down the request, leaving Airtel as the sole bidder.

NCC had early in November announced the availability of the remaining lots of 2 x 100MHz in the 3.5GHz spectrum band, necessary for the deployment of 5G services in the country.

In line with its participatory rulemaking process for the communications sector, the commission decided to give stakeholders and interested parties an opportunity to review and comment on the Draft IM before the final document is published.

After the publication of the Information Memorandum, IM, which contained some of the observations of interested stakeholders, Airtel and one other operator indicated interest. But now, it appears only Airtel is in the race to have fulfilled all requirements while the other contender didn’t meet up.

It would be recalled that the first two lots auctioned on December 13 2021 were snatched by rival operators MTN and MAFAB at $273.6m while Airtel dropped out of the bidding at $270m.

The SmartPhone Network

Airtel Networks Limited is a leading telecommunications services provider with headquarters in Lagos, the commercial nerve-centre of Nigeria.

The telco ranks amongst the top three mobile service providers in terms of subscribers with a customer base of more than 50 million as at December, 2019. The company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, Home Broadband and enterprise services.

Airtel Networks Limited is a subsidiary of Airtel Africa Plc, a Pan-African telecommunications company with operations in 14 countries across Africa.

Airtel Africa has the vision of providing affordable and innovative mobile services to all. Its product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless voice and data services and mobile commerce through ‘Airtel Money’.

ICT/BANKING

CBN’s Cash Withdrawal Limits Expand Tax Revenue Window

Continued from page 32

Manufacturers and service providers are hit by increase in operating expenses, cost of sales, administrative expenses, raw materials, warehousing and finance costs. They have passed the extra costs to the consumers through upward adjustment of prices of their products and services. This has triggers low consumer demand and, by implication, led to poor standard of living. A recent publication by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that 63 percent of the people out of an estimated population of 211 million are multidimensionally poor.

“Many Nigerians do not know they pay taxes every day. From phone calls, social media interactions, shopping to purchase of table or sachet water, Nigerians are taxed, sometimes in multiple dimensions”, said Kenny Adiogun, a tax expert. With our government running from pillar to post in search of revenue which they claim was not a challenge, but debt, Nigerians are going to be thoroughly squeezed next year because the country is as good as broke, Adiogun added in a telephone chat.

In his reaction to the CBN’s new cash transaction policy, fiscal policy partner and African tax leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Taiwo Oyedele, explained the tax implications of the CBN’s new policy on over-the-counter cash withdrawal limits as well as withdrawal limits for ATM and POS.

Oyedele revealed that the new cash withdrawal limit will have tax implications, especially for individuals and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). He noted that the policy will force many people to carry out transactions using electronic payments, with these small businesses that currently operate mostly on cash becoming visible to the tax authorities.

This was made known by Oyedele in a series of tweet posts on his official Twitter account, where he said that the policy will trigger tax obligations including income tax.

“The new cash withdrawal limit will have tax implications, especially for individuals and MSMEs. As many people will be forced to carry out transactions using electronic payments, small businesses that currently operate mostly on cash will become visible to the tax authorities. This will trigger various tax obligations including Income tax.

“If your business is registered as a company you may be liable to Company Income Tax (CIT) depending on your annual turnover (i.e. no CIT if your turnover is below N25 million, 20% if your turnover is between N25 to N100 million, 30% if your turnover is more than N100 million) in addition to Education Tax at 2.5%.

“If your business is not registered as a company then you will be liable to personal income tax based on graduated taxable income bands between 7% and 24%,” Oyedele explained.

Going further, the tax expert said that all businesses are required to register for Value Added Tax (VAT) and charge 7.5 percent on their goods and services except those with annual turnover below N25

“

million.

As for Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Oyedele noted that all employees earning more than N30,000 per month are liable to PAYE which must be deducted and paid to the tax authority by the employer on a monthly basis. He said that these employees may also be liable to other statutory contributions such as pension depending on the staff strength.

He added that the more transactions that are made by these individuals, the more the tax authorities will get the intelligence to track their income and net worth making it easier to fish out those that are evading tax.

It is obvious that the new cash transaction policy will aggravate the incidence of implicit tax rates common with Nigeria.

At the FIRS Tax Dialogue held virtually in November 2021, the president of the African Development Bank, Akinwunmi Adesina, said Nigerians pay one of the highest implicit tax rates in the world. He acknowledged that conventional tax rates are low in the country, but distinguished those from “implicit tax”, which are “borne but are not seen nor recorded”.

“Truth be told, Nigerians pay one of the highest implicit tax rates in the world — way higher than developed countries.

“Think of it: they provide electricity for themselves via generators; they repair roads to their neighborhoods, if they can afford to; there are no social security systems; they provide security for their own safety; and they provide boreholes for drinking water with their own monies. That is incredulous in itself. Boreholes are not the way to provide water in the 21st century. Every household should have pipe borne water.”

The National President, Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN), Victor Ololojo decried the new cash withdrawal limit policy introduced by the CBN saying it would impoverish the members of his association through environmental restrictions and high operating costs inbuilt in the policy. He said the petty traders that patronise AMMBAN facilities will be facing serious difficulty in complying with the cash withdrawal limits.

As many people will be forced to carry out transactions using electronic payments, small businesses that currently operate mostly on cash will become visible to the tax authorities. This will trigger various tax obligations including Income tax

Zenith’s ‘Bank of The Year Nigeria’ Award Signals Robust Year-End Performance

of Zenith Bank’s strong management, sound business model and strategy, support for small businesses and efforts to cut energy consumption.

According to the Banker, Nigeria’s Bank of the Year award was among the continent’s most hotly contested this year, befitting the country’s status as Africa’s largest economy. This came on the heels of the award as Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital by The Banker won by Zenith Bank earlier in the year.

Zenith Bank recorded a 20 percent growth in gross earnings from N518.7 billion in Q3 2021 to N620.6 billion in Q3 2022, its unaudited account for the period ended September 30, 2022, and filed with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), has shown. The growth was driven by positive interest-income related performance. Interest income grew by 27 per cent from N308.8 billion to NlN390.8 billion, driven majorly by growth in risk assets and an improvement in pricing. This also strengthened Earnings Per Share (EPS) by nine per cent to N5.55.

This double-digit growth in the topline also aided the bottom line, as the Group also recorded a 13 per cent year-onyear (YoY) increase in profit before tax, growing from N179.8 billion in Q3 2021 to N202.5 billion in Q3 2022. Profit after tax equally grew by nine per cent from N160.6 billion to N174.3 billion in the same period.

Total assets grew by 20 per cent from N9.45 trillion to N11.34 trillion in 2022, mainly driven by growth in customers’ deposits. Customer deposits grew by 24 per cent from N6.47 trillion in December 2021 to N8.04 trillion in September 2022 due to the market’s confidence in the brand.

Loans and advances also grew by 16 per cent from N3.5 trillion in December 2021 to N4.06 trillion in September 2022, boosting the Group’s interest income and displaying the Group’s appetite for highyielding risk assets creation. As a result of this growth, the capital adequacy ratio reduced from 21 per cent to 19.1 per cent, while the liquidity ratio reduced from 71.6 per cent to 68.9 per cent.

Commenting on the award, the Group

Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, was quoted in a statement yesterday to have said, “winning the Bank of the Year attests to our tenacity as an institution despite a very challenging operating environment exacerbated by persistent macroeconomic headwinds.

“Indeed, being recognised by The Banker – the world’s longest running international banking title, is an acknowledgement of the resilience of the Zenith brand as the leading financial institution in Nigeria and the West African sub-region.”

Regarded as the industry standard for banking excellence, The Banker’s Bank of the Year award is contested by the world’s leading financial institutions, with winners chosen across Africa, AsiaPacific, Central & Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America and Western Europe.

Zenith Bank’s track record of excellent performance has continued to earn it numerous awards, including being recognised as Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital, for the 13th consecutive year, in the 2022 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking published by The Banker Magazine; Best Bank in Nigeria, for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria 2021 and 2022 in the World Finance Banking Awards.

The bank also clinched best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards 2022; Best in Corporate Governance’ Financial Services’ Africa, for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, by the Ethical Boardroom; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria and Best Innovation In Retail Banking, Nigeria in the International Banker 2022 Banking Awards. Also, the Bank emerged as the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria in the Banker Magazine Top 500 Banking Brands 2020 and 2021, Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards 2020 and Retail Bank of the year, for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, at the BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards.

2023: Investors Must be Cautious in Choosing Opportunities – Afrinvest

Nigeria’s foremost investment advisory firm, Afrinvest West Africa Limited has urged investors to be cautious in their choice of windows in 2023 due to the spate of uncertainties the year portends.

The firm made this disclosure at a forum with the theme ‘Investment Strategy Outlook 2023: Soft or Hard Landing’ held in Lagos to scan the environment for the coming year and how investors can explore the opportunities and guide against threats

Speaking during the investor parley held on Wednesday in Lagos with theme: 'Soft or Hard Landing', Group Managing Director, Afrinvest West Africa, Ike Chioke, said the event was to engage with clients on the 2023 outlook from the investment perspective.

He said that issues around inflationary trend, Covid-19, commodity prices, Russia and Ukraine war, among others are key considerations in investing in the new year and investors have to be guided to explore opportunities presented by these key events around the world.

"These happenings have made investment experts come together to look at our own crystal ball of what we see from an investment perspective next year. So, this forum is just to engage with clients, asset managers, pension funds managers, mutual funds managers to engage and compare notes on what we do," he said.

According to Chioke, Afrinvest Consulting manages the investment research unit, and its fixed income, equities and digital space experiences put it in a good position to advise on the investment in 2023.

"The interaction is giving us the rationale to talk to our clients to tell them to be well positioned for the market come 2023.

We are saying- Is it going to be a hard landing, or soft landing? In either scenario, investors need to be ready and decide when to enter the market and when to exit." He stated.

He explained that it is one thing to enter into the market, and another thing to have good returns and make some profit for the year. "So, 2022 is pretty much done, we are looking at 2023 and what it portends for investors. I think that from our perspective from the forex point of view, we still have a complex exchange rate policy in our view, with multiple windows through which investors can access dollars," he said.

‘FMDQ's ETD Will Help Govt Raise Cheaper Funds’

As Nigeria grapples under a debt burden and cost of borrowing, the FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited says it is working towards the launch of Exchange Traded Derivative (ETD) products that will enable the government to raise funds at a cheaper cost.

Mr Oluwaseun Afolabi, the Head, Market Architecture, FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited, said this at the 2022 Capital Market

Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CAMCAN) annual conference in Lagos.

Afolabi said the exchange was also working towards ETD products referencing sovereign securities such as the Federal Government of Nigeria Bonds and Treasury Bills to aid hedging and risk management by investors in these securities.

"A useful benefit of these ETD products is that they could help spur investors’ interest in the underlying sovereign securities thereby possibly reducing the government’s cost of capital.

"The Nigerian debt market organised by FMDQ Exchange is fairly developed enough to facilitate the raising of debt capital by the government and corporate issuers.

"The FMDQ Exchange markets facilitate the issuance and secondary market activity in a range of debt securities, as well as having the optimised matrix of financial market intermediaries/participants and most importantly supported by robust financial market infrastructures (FMIs) across the secondary market value chain," he said.

On how the FMDQ has helped in deepening the Nigerian debt market, Afolabi said that the company in its capacity as a market organiser and self-regulatory organisation, has over the years pioneered and led various initiatives geared at deepening and promoting liquidity in the Nigerian debt markets.

These initiatives, he said, range from those targeted at spurring activity in the primary markets for money market debt securities such as Commercial Papers (CPs) and facilitating the issuance of short-term bonds.

Afolabi added that the company engages in secondary market initiatives such as market making, securities valuation, benchmark development and administration and expansion of the bouquet of debt securities and other financial instruments onboarded on the Exchange.

"FMDQ Exchange is at the forefront of regulatory advocacy and stakeholder engagements targeted at driving collective action by all relevant stakeholders towards deepening the Nigerian debt market.

"This is evidenced by its activities and collaboration with various financial market regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, Central Bank of Nigeria, the Debt Management Office (DMO), and the National Pension Commission on various initiatives and programmes focused on developing the Nigerian debt markets.

Speaking on the success and acceptability of CPs in the country, Afolabi noted that CPs have become acceptable in the Nigerian financial market as evidenced by the milestones recorded by FMDQ Exchange in the Nigerian CP market.

"Since the entry of FMDQ Exchange into the CP market, the Nigerian CP market has grown from near zero levels about a decade ago in terms of capital raised to a market where about N3.17 trillion has been raised via CP issuances since the entry of FMDQ Exchange to date.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at the event reiterated its commitment to drive the debt market-enabling environment to boost investors’ participation.

L-R: CEO, NGX, Temi Popoola, Aigbovbioise Aig-Imoukhuede, MD, Coronation (Winner, Best Sponsoring Trading License Holder of the Year), Group CEO, TransCorp, Owen Omogiafo and GMD, FBN Holdings PLC, Nnamdi Okonkwo at the NGX Made of Africa Awards ceremony at the Civic Center, Victoria Island, Lagos on December 6, 2022.

THEWILL NEWSPAPER

OIL AND GAS

PNC Forum: Amazing Energy And Consistency of Industry Players

BY ESUEME DAN KIKILE

In 10 unbroken years of active participation in the Practical Nigerian Content Forum, organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, the leading lights of Nigeria's oil and gas industry, have thus far signified that local content has something of a creedal force in their ranks. In-country value addition, through enhanced local capacities and capabilities, remains the unchanging focus - what they must pursue and actualise to enhance the country's economic performance and development.

The apostolic zeal of the industry stakeholders, as they assemble in their hundreds from year to year to appraise the state of the industry and to determine what way(s) to maximise opportunities along lines spelt out in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010, is most remarkable. In the spirit of collaboration and stakeholder engagement issues of topical importance are ever adopted as themes for presentation and deliberations in different editions of the Forum.

Innovations at NCDMB and results

The NCDMB and stakeholders have been thus guided in subsequent actions by way of interventions, policies and compliance. The Board gets more and more innovative as challenges emerge through workshops and exhibitions. Concepts and undertakings, such as Nigerian Oil and Gas Technology (NOGTECH) Hackathon, Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF), Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Joint Qualification System (NOGIC JQS), and research and development funding, were in response to felt need and have bolstered the sector.

Together, the industry regulator and the oil and gas companies - upstream, midstream and downstream - have moved mountains, radically altering the status and image of Nigeria as rentseeker and placing her in a respectable position as resource-endowed and with appropriate technological capabilities to efficiently exploit and utilise hydrocarbons.

What difference NCDMB has

made

In 12 years of implementation of the NOGICD Act, 2010, Nigeria, through the Board's well targeted strategic interventions, has developed the widest range of competencies and facilities for engineering, procurement, fabrication, and a lot else, and thus upped in-country value retention from less than five (5) per cent in 2010 to forty six (46) per cent in the first quarter of 2022. And seventy (70) per cent is in focus as we march towards the 2027 terminal date of the Board's Nigerian Content 10Year Strategic Road Map.

Today the world-class fabrication yards and pipe mills have turned Nigeria into a hub for related businesses in the Gulf of Guinea, just as the country's service companies now operate as international servicing companies in different African countries. That's the success story of the NCDMB made possible by far-sighted and resourceful leadership that carries all stakeholders along, unhesitatingly intervening in material terms to bolster operational capabilities of companies. At the December 5-8 PNC Forum is another platform with great possibilities for participants and the wider society.

What to expect from PNC 2022

Face to face with potential clients and investors, participants in PNC Forum 2022 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, will deliberate on the theme, "Deepening Nigerian Content Opportunities in the Decade of Gas." Key topics, as highlighted at the PNC dedicated website are:

Harnessing Nigerian content opportunities for indigenous companies in Nigeria's "Decade of Gas".

What opportunities have been revealed by the Seven Ministerial Regulations for increasing Nigerian content compliance.

Outlining Nigeria's future energy mix and Nigerian content objectives over the next 30 years.

What are the enablers required to bridge the capacity gap for improved local content implementation with a growing focus on gas?

How can indigenous companies attract required funding?

What efforts are in place to explore Nigerian content opportunities in AfCTA?

Conclusion

In the broadest terms the PNC Forum is billed "to help shape the Nigerian Content Agenda for the next twelve months." Industry regulator and all stakeholders would hopefully be on the same page all the way, directing energies and resources in a manner that would best promote corporate success as well as national development. But economic spin-offs never fail, particularly for a host city and state, in this case, Uyo and Akwa Ibom, whose hospitality industry is already bubbling in anticipation of several hundreds of guests in early December.

PNC Forum 2022 is the place to be for fresh ideas and strategies in the nation's quest for economic development through effective and efficient management of her abundant hydrocarbon resources, especially gas as the transition fuel for Nigeria.

•Kikile Esq is Manager, Corporate Communications, NCDMB.

Today the world-class fabrication yards and pipe mills have turned Nigeria into a hub for related businesses in the Gulf of Guinea, just as the country's service companies now operate as international servicing companies in different African countries

Popular actress, Juliet Ibrahim, speaks with IVORY UKONU about her career and some of the things that have shaped her into who she is today.

Excerpts:

DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES SHAPED ME INTO WHO I AM TODAY – JULIET IBRAHIM

How did you get into acting?

Since I was a little girl, I had always dreamt of being in the spotlight at some point in my life. My dream was to be a star. I believed I could achieve it as either a model, a singer, or an actress. I used to act, dance and sing when I was about three yearsold. It just so happened that I gravitated towards activities that were able to put me in the spotlight, despite my shyness. I joined a drama and singing group and I was always a part of talent groups. Therefore, as a teenager, I already had an idea of what my future would look like and what I wanted to make of it.

At 17, I auditioned for modeling agencies and was signed to one in Accra in 2003. A television commercial I did resulted in my face appearing on billboards in Ghana. I walked runways, and I became a professional model for many years. My parents were supportive. I received a great deal of support from my mother, who used to record us when we practiced at home or during talent shows. All the tapes were lost in Ivory Coast when we fled the war, and this gives me a tinge of sadness. I have a passion for other things but acting in its entirety is an 'end' for me.

Was it difficult getting accepted in the Ghanaian movie industry?

Venturing into acting was not a walk in the park. Because of my skin colour, I was at a disadvantage. Mixed-race actors were nearly impossible to find. So I was relegated to the role of girlfriend or husband snatcher due to the difficulty of finding people to play my parents.

A beauty pageant I won contributed to me being called up for an audition in 2004. I showed up for the audition. Over 50 candidates were competing for the role, and I was selected as the lead. The first movie I appeared in was Crime to Christ, in which I played the girlfriend of a notorious armed robber. I was offered a role in another film on that set, and that is how I got into acting. It wasn't an easy journey, as I mentioned earlier because of my skin colour, and a lot of people believed I got roles because I had a pretty face and shape, as well as my own shade of brown. Thankfully, I was welcomed wholeheartedly by many amazing people who saw beyond my appearance. Growing a thick skin and closing your eyes and ears to distractions can lead to success in life.

What about Nollywood?

The Nollywood industry welcomed me with open arms. Having the opportunity to work in Nigeria is as enjoyable as having the opportunity to work in Ghana. I consider Nigeria my second home.

When did you get your big break?

My big break has been from the very beginning. I played a lead

role in the first movie, Crime to Christ and that was my launch pad. It announced me to the world. I acted alongside talented actors like Majid Michel and Nana Hayford in this movie which was produced by Venus Films Productions. Majid played the lead character, a hardened criminal, and I played Naomi, his girlfriend. The movie was a big hit, and I would say it launched me into the spotlight. In Nollywood, I made my debut with the film Yankee Boys in which I played yet another bad girl role. Following that, I appeared in another Nollywood film entitled Cash Adventure. From there, life took its course.

What determines the kind of roles you take on in movies?

Despite being daring and versatile, I know when to draw the line. My intuition guides me. In other words, if it isn't the right thing for me, then I will not consider it, even if it pays well. Whenever a director or producer invites me to be a part of one of their films, I first read the script as well as understand the character portrayed in that film and decide whether or not I want to take part in it.

Do you sometimes input the roles that you play in movies? There is a process involved in this that should not be tampered with in any way. The only time I improvise is when it comes to the lines that are written in the script and that is if I have received the director's approval before doing so.

Which role and in which movie would you say challenged your craft as an actress?

As an actor each role challenges you. It is not easy becoming someone else on the screen. It takes a whole lot of work both mentally and physically.

Did you ever imagine that you would become as big and recognised as you are today?

In spite of my desire to become a superstar all my life, I would not attribute this success to only my personal drive. Instead, I would attribute it to God, followed by an incredible amount of effort, hard work, integrity, commitment and persistence. In fact, the Holy Bible even confirms that in Proverbs 22 verse 29: 'Have you seen a man who is diligent in his work? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.'

Do you have a dream role in your bucket list and what is it? Every role is a dream role. But I am looking forward to acting in an action flick and a horror film.

Like most of your colleagues, you are fully into movie

production. What is the catch?

To do my own thing I guess. But I am not leaving acting to concentrate on producing full time. That is not something that I want to do at the moment. The idea of venturing into film production on a large scale is something I am interested in, but I am not ready to retire from acting just yet.

How many movies have you produced so far?

My first film, Number One Fan, was produced in 2014. In this film, I portray an actress who is being crushed on and stalked by a fan. The second film I produced was Shattered Romance, which featured Nigerian and Ghanaian actors, such as Bryan Okwara, Gbenro Ajibade, James Gardiner, Sonia Ibrahim, Pascaline Edwards, Eddie Nartey, Gbenro Ajibade, Charlotte Derban, Sammi B, and myself. Next, I debuted my directorial skills with the TV series, Every Woman Has A Story, which was broadcast on Showmax in Ghana. The Perfect Assistant was also born out of my venture into reality television.

Having acted in both the Nigerian and Ghanaian movie industry, how would you rate both?

Brotherly love unites us. We need to stop needless comparisons. Together, we are promoting African films internationally. Currently, both industries are experiencing growth. Our journey is not yet over, but every day we learn something new, which means we will eventually reach our goal. There is a high demand for movies in Nigeria because of its large population. You can always count on that. I have appeared in more Nollywood movies than in Ghanaian films and There is more money to be made in Nigeria than in Ghana, because in Nigeria, producers will give you what you are worth. In Ghana, producers are seldom given investments or sponsorships, so they are unable to pay you much.

What is that factor that you believe can take the movie

Ibrahim

Ibrahim

industries in Ghana and Nigeria to a new and different level?

Support. Support from government and corporate organisations are in place for Nollywood, although not evenly distributed. Every producer, at least, has a glimmer of hope. Consequently, the Ghanaian government should support the movie industry in Ghana in order to level up with their international counterparts.

Who are some of the people you look up to in the movie industry and why?

As far as my role models are concerned, they are made up of all the great actors and actresses we have in Ghana and Nigeria. Beyond our shores, I consider Catherine Zeta Jones, Vivica Fox, Tyler Perry, Celine Dion and Beyonce to be my role models when it comes to movie stars and singers.

Did you at any time think of quitting acting?

I cannot recall a time when such a thing happened. Although one may burn out from time to time, I do not think you can quit your passion.

What was growing up like for someone with ancestry from three different countries (Ghana, Lebanon and Liberia) and how has it shaped you to be who you are today?

I remember that my childhood was not typical, it was an eventful one. My family and I travelled a lot when I was growing up, not due to love of travel, but due to the fact that we were caught in the middle of three civil wars, which resulted in us losing our home and moving to another country and becoming refugees. My upbringing in different countries and the constant vicissitudes, changes, and do-overs caused me to grow up very quickly. I speak French, Spanish and English. I have had a wide range of experiences: the good, the bad, and everything in between. These experiences have given me a unique set of skills and qualities that make me who I am.

As a result, I can easily adapt to a role and get into it quickly. This is because I have resisted emotions and adjusted in order to fit into any role that I have to assume in order to survive. I am a woman whose diverse experiences have shaped who I am today. My childhood experiences made me strong and resolute. Therefore, it is always easy for me to start all over again from the beginning. Moving from one country to another during wartime inspired my love of traveling and experiencing new environments. My experiences as a teenager battling discrimination, self-esteem issues, betrayals, as well as being a young adult experiencing love and learning how to embrace her body have enabled me to become tough and determined to succeed.

You are also an author. Why did you get into writing?

Yes, I wrote a book entitled, A Toast to Life, which is available on Amazon. It chronicles all of my life's experiences. Like I said earlier, my diverse experiences, all of which shaped who I am today are reflected in the book.

My life is filled with many experiences, and what I share with my fans is those experiences. Most people do not realise their strength until the only option they have is to be strong. It often seems to me that my strength is sometimes just supernatural. This is because I have no idea how I have survived all this without giving up or giving up on life, especially when it comes to surviving tragedy and war.

A Toast to Life is an account of my triumph over adversity at different stages in my life. My intention is to uplift women and remind them that despite the many challenges they face, there is always hope.

Do you hope to write more books?

That is something I hope to accomplish. People need inspiration from time to time, so I am interested in writing relatable inspirational and self-help books that will help women get back on their feet or regain their sense of order in their lives, or simply let them know they are enough, valued, and not alone.

You also run a for nonprofit foundation. What is it all about?

The Juliet Ibrahim Foundation is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization with the intention of raising awareness on kidney cancer, malaria, HIV/AIDS, Ebola and other diseases in Ghana and throughout Africa and providing necessary interventions to address these issues. By offering awareness/education, treatment, and other social services for those who suffer from these diseases, we are able to assist individuals in coping with the disease. Through representation in Ghana and the United States, we hope to develop a network of resources to assist those suffering from

“

these diseases and others in Africa.

What other things do you do beyond acting?

I am an entrepreneur, I have a cosmetics line, Shades by Juliet Ibrahim. I sing, although it is on the back burner for the moment.

You were previously married and the marriage produced a child while it lasted. Do you plan to remarry?

If the opportunity arises, why not? My experience in the past has made it pretty evident that I am a hopeless romantic. I maintain a strong belief in love, no matter the pain, struggle and betrayal I may have experienced in the past.

What would you be looking out for in your ideal man? I have looked out for what needs to be looked out for, but what

have I missed? There is a good chance that telling you what I would be looking for publicly would backfire. Someone with ulterior motives might tailor their approach to fit the bill. Instead of going with my heart and the innocent butterflies in my stomach this time around, I think I'm going to go with my guts, my head and not just with my heart.

Your last relationship was well publicised. Are you one of those who believe that keeping a relationship off social media will make it last?

It is true that keeping your relationship off social media may not necessarily guarantee a happy ending, but I believe it will save you a whole lot of headaches, which I would honestly prefer to avoid in the future.

Publicising it doesn't necessarily mean that it won't last; it's just that it doesn't work in that way and it's not as easy as it seems. First, it depends on the individuals involved in the relationship. Have they been honest with each other? Do they truly have an exclusive relationship? There are times when it is the erring partner who wishes to go public with the relationship to assure you that there are no skeletons in their closet, but we all know how that situation turns out.

How would you describe yourself?

A survivor, a fearless and tough woman, down-to-earth, friendly, but not afraid to tell you the truth kind of person and above all a goal-getter

What has been your greatest challenge in life?

Despite my best efforts, I have always been misunderstood. People sometimes deliberately misconstrue my posts and comments, it is always exhausting trying to explain myself.

How do you let off steam when you aren't working?

I enjoy spending time with my family, reading a book, traveling, dinner, night out with friends, time at the beach or watching a movie.

What are you working on at the moment?

Presently, I am enrolled at Berkeley College in New York City to pursue a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing Communications.

What do you think about your colleagues flaunting their material acquisitions on social media?

As you pointed out, it is their acquisition, so everyone is free to live their lives as they please. You cannot dictate what an adult does in their own life. If it floats their boat, all is well and good. Even though I do not engage in such activity, that does not grant me the right to judge anyone. What if that's what makes them

Ibrahim Ibrahim

My family and I travelled a lot when I was growing up, not due to love of travel, but due to the fact that we were caught in the middle of three civil wars, which resulted in us losing our home and moving to another country and becoming refugees

BY IVORY UKONU

HADIZA BALA-USMAN GETS APC’S PCC APPOINTMENT

appointed Deputy Director-General, Administration, of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council.

Things are definitely looking up for the former Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala-Usman, as her days of hibernation may just be over, having been

Findings by THEWILL reveal that Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State allegedly made the appointment possible. The duo have a close relationship dating back to her time at the Bureau of Public Enterprises and later with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the Federal Capital Territory Administration as a special assistant to the Minister on project implementation. El Rufai had a stint in BPE at about that time. He was also the minister under whom Bala-Usman worked. She would later work briefly for the outgoing governor as his chief of

staff before her appointment as the MD, NPA. Her latest appointment is a high-powered one that involves her travelling with the entourage of the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and making very important decisions that affects the presidential campaign, positively or negatively.

There is no gain saying the fact that Bala-Usman will obviously be rewarded with a juicy political appointment, should the APC win the presidential election next year.

For want of something to keep her busy, the former activist had returned to activism after she was booted out of NPA. But it was only for a short while until she got her latest appointment.

Activism was the lever that projected her to national limelight. Alongside former minister of education, Oby Ezekwesili, she floated the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, a movement that began in the wake of the abduction of more than 200 pupils of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State. But maintaining the course and ensuring that her movement forced the Federal Government to get the girls released from their abductors, wasn't quite her end game because as soon as she got the juicy NPA position, she abandoned her cause.

Kola Abiola's Presidential Ambition Still Hangs in The Balance

It doesn't appear as though there will be light at the end of the tunnel of the presidential ambition of Kola Abiola, first son of the late Chief M.K. O Abiola, the presumed winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, as an Abuja High Court, Abuja has reserved judgment in a suit filed by an aspirant on the platform of People's Redemption Party (PRP), Madam Patience Ndidi Key against Kola.

THEWILL had earlier reported that Abiola’s joy at emerging the presidential candidate of the party was cut short when Madam Key challenged the result of its presidential primary. First she sought a consequential order setting aside the submission of Kola’s name by PRP to INEC as the flag-bearer and presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 election on account of gross violations of the party’s guidelines for the conduct of primaries and the provisions of the Electoral Act. Then she later sought an order setting aside the declaration of Kola as the winner of the primary conducted on June 5 in Calabar, Cross Rivers State. Madam Key prayed for an order of perpetual injunction, restraining INEC from further recognising Abiola as the

party’s presidential candidate. She also prayed for an order directing the party to conduct a fresh presidential primary election nationwide, with her and Abiola participating and for the same to be monitored by INEC. In addition, she prayed for an order directing the PRP to pay her the sum of N200 million only as exemplary damages for causing her unnecessary hardship, waste of time and resources in campaigning, touring, and funding of her presidential campaigns which the party organised.

She said the party was in breach of some sections of the Electoral Act 2022, INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Political Party Primaries as well as the Constitution of the PRP’s Guidelines for the Nomination of Candidates for the 2023 General Election among others.

However, in a consequential amendment of PRP’s counter affidavit dated and filed on Nov. 5, the acting chairman of the party, Mohammed Nasiru, said the party issued

series of revised guidelines for the nomination of its candidates for the 2023 general election before it finally issued its timetable.

He argued that INEC was duly notified about the exercise and it monitored the election conduct. The case was later adjourned till Nov. 25 and later fixed for December 2 for a definite hearing. But in a short ruling days after, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, after counsel for the parties adopted their processes for and against the suit, decided to reserve judgement in the suit.

FEMI OTEDOLA DIALOGUES WITH INVESTORS OVER ACQUISITION OF GEREGU POWER

About two months after scoring a major point when his Geregu Power became the first power-generating company to be quoted on the Nigerian Exchange, businessman/ investor, Femi Otedola is already having acquisition talks with investors. Barring any lastminute changes, the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA) will sign a deal to enable it acquire a portion of the power generating company.

FEDA is the impact development arm of the Africa Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank).

THEWILL had reported that after Geregu scaled the regulator’s hurdle, the power company made its entry into NGX with a market value totalling N250 billion. The power firm is valued at N307 billion with 2.5 billion outstanding shares sold at N122.80.

Alibaba's Daughter Opens New Restaurant

home-made

United Kingdom.

The 24 year-old is the CEO/Co Founder of the restaurant called The Patio. The food company, which serves mainly African cuisine, particularly Nigerian dishes, was officially opened last month and those who have tasted some of the mouthwatering delicacies on offer have said that The Patio is the place to be for anyone visiting the UK or residents who desire tasty

Aisha Falode Quietly Marks 60th Birthday

Renowned broadcaster, Aisha Falode, recently joined the 60s club and rather than a noisy celebration, she opted for a very private and intimate party which took place in her Lagos residence. The all-white themed birthday party was more of a prayer and thanksgiving celebration than actual revelry. Her decision not to roll out the drums for a

party may not be unconnected to the huge loss she suffered eight years ago when her 19-year-old son, Toba ,was allegedly murdered in cold blood in Dubai, United Arab Emirates by a Saudi national, Faisal Aldakmary Al-Nasser and his British girlfriend, Olivia Richards.

Toba, who was studying Audio Production in Dubai, was said to have fallen off the balcony of the 17th floor of the Manchester Towers, Dubai Marine, where he resided. Eyewitness accounts show that her son was pushed to his death. Aisha was grieved that the police decided to put a lid on the murder case without doing an autopsy, arguing that their findings suggest nothing else could be blamed as the cause of his death.

Thankfully, she seems to be getting her groove back, even though the sad incident is one that will remain etched in her memory. A brilliant and well-respected sports journalist making women proud, Aisha is also the President of the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL).

Eseophe Edidiong Brandi, the first daughter of comedian Atunyota Alleluya Akpobome, otherwise known as Alibaba with his wife Mary, has joined the league of Nigerians who operate restaurants to serve the yearning needs of Nigerians in the

meals. A graduate of Brunel University, London, Brandi is an active Rugby player and is signed on to Wasps FC Women Amateur team, a highly competitive women's rugby team based in West London.

STORIES

Otedola

Bala-Usman

The Akpobomes

Abiola

Falode

STORIES BY SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN

The duo of Ijeoma Ubosi, wife of broadcasting guru and boss of Megaletrics, owner of Beat FM, Classic FM and Naija FM, Chris Ubosi and socialite Martha Najomo recently celebrated their landmark birthdays.

While Ijeoma celebrated her 50th birthday, Martha celebrated her entrance in the ‘60s club. Both women couldn’t hold back their joy and so they hosted lavish parties to mark their new age.

Before she clocked 50, Ijeoma started a countdown to her birthday by posting throwback photographs from her childhood days. Photographs of her siblings and parents were also posted alongside a message showing her appreciation for their support over the years.

Photo shots of Ijeoma’s children were also splashed on her Instagram page as she prayed for them, thanking them for being the pride of their parents. Another message of appreciation addressed to her husband, Ubosi, was accompanied with their wedding photograph.

She narrated how they met in their hometown when she was just 20 years-old and how their friendship blossomed to a love relationship, which later ended in marriage five years after they met.

The mother of three thanked her husband for bringing out the best in her and loving her unconditionally for 25 years that they have been married.

The celebrant, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Kontessa, a fashion store with branches in Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt, also extended her benevolence to her clients who have stood by her over the years since she started her journey as an entrepreneur. She gave out discounts on selected goods in commemoration of her golden jubilee.

Although she studied Pharmacy at Bath University in England and graduated first-class, Ijeoma grew up abroad. She relocated to Nigeria when she got married to the broadcasting icon. She worked briefly as a Pharmacist before coming to Nigeria. She started her entrepreneur journey at the back of her husband’s car boot before her business grew to the height it

is today.

Martha on her part chose to host friends and family members to a grand 60th birthday party in Houston, Texas in the United States.

One of the highlights of the party was the performance by Igbo cultural dancers who came to thrill guests with their dance steps.

Martha, who is the wife of aviation guru and a director at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Captain Chris Najomo, is a foremost jewelry merchant and plies her trade via her Seraphina Gems LTD, an upscale store named after her sister’s late daughter, Seraphina who drowned in a swimming pool at the Najomo’s residence in 2019.

Seraphina was living with aunt but unfortunately fell in the pool and drowned.

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome Forgives Daysman Woghiren

Afew months ago, the founder of Love World Incorporated, also known as Christ Embassy, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, openly disgraced his nephew, Dr Daysman Oyakhilome Woghiren, the President of Love World Next and Love World Innovation, which are both arms of Oyakhilome’s ministry.

Woghiren was humbled after a poster of his appointment as the Global Youth Ambassador for Bola Tinubu Support Organisation surfaced online. He was also appointed as ambassador of Oodua Youths Parliament and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) was also said to be going after him for alleged fraud cases. His uncle announced his suspension during one of the church's communion services and relieved him of his position in the ministry. He was placed in spiritual rehabilitation in the ministry.

However, that seems to be in the past now as the cleric has forgiven Worghiren of his past sins and welcomed him back to the ministry. It was gathered that Oyakhilome is allegedly

reinstating his position in the ministry after undergoing a few months’ disciplinary action. To show that he was indeed forgiven his sins, the cleric gifted him a brand new executive Hiace bus worth millions of naira.

The vehicle, which was parked in the premises of the Love World Ministry, was presented to him in the presence of some members of the church who saw him being reprimanded by the servant of God.

Remi, wife of the embattled medical director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, Femi Olaleye, has allegedly laid claim to her husband’s property in Maryland where they both once lived. The mother of two had alleged that her husband sexually molested her cousin who was living with them for 18 months before he was caught.

The girl was living with Remi’s mother before the mother's demise but had to move in with the Olaleye’s in order to continue with her education. She was allegedly introduced to pornography and oral sex by the medical practitioner.

Kate Henshaw who was a friend to the doctor had called him out on social media for the ungodly acts and promised to get justice for the victim.

The Lagos State Government eventually got the doctor arraigned at the Ikeja Special Offence Court, but his absence from court stalled the case at its first hearing, following which he released a statement denying the allegations leveled against him. He later showed up in court during the second hearing and was remanded at Ikoyi Correctional Centre.

Findings by THEWILL suggests that his wife who had vacated their matrimonial home two months ago, suddenly showed up to allegedly lay claim to the property with court papers. Olaleye was once married before meeting Remi, his second wife. His first marriage which ended in divorce produced two grown-up children. He married Remi 12 years ago and the union is blessed with two children.

His Royal Highness, Oba Yakubu Babalola Agboola, Eegunjobi II, the Elesie of Esie has thrown his weight behind Olufemi Folayan, the Young Progressive Party, House of Representative candidate for Irepodun/Isin/Ekiti/OkeEro Federal Constituency in

Kwara State, ahead of the 2023 election.

Folayan had visited the royal father in Esie town when he declared his royal blessings ahead of his campaign flag-off.

One of the reasons Oba Agboola supported the politician is because of his late father, Oba

Michael Adeoti Folayan, the Elekan of Ekan, Oke Ero who ruled from 1974-2007.

Oba Folayan and Agboola were true friends before the royal father passed on in 2007. Their friendship started before they both became traditional rulers.

The late Folayan was the first to become a traditional ruler in 1974. 13 years after his ascension to the throne, Agboola was also crowned king. Agboola's emergence was keenly contested but one of his best friends, Folayan stood by him till he became the king.

During his time as a traditional ruler, Folayan worked tirelessly for the development of his community and the entire state. His community witnessed a lot of development before his demise. After the traditional ruler prayed for the politician, Oba Agboola told his subjects to give Folayan the maximum support needed.

Ubosi

Najomo

Woghiren & Oyakhilome

STORIES BY SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN

TONY ELUMELU BAGS AWARDS FROM ECOWAS, BUHARI

The Chairman of Heirs Holding, Transcorp and founder of Tony Elumelu Foundation, Anthony Onyemaechi Elumelu, has been honoured with the 2022 ECOWAS prize of Excellence award for deserving citizens of the community by the President of the Economic Community of West African State, ECOWAS, Dr Omar Alieu Touray. The award was given to the king of commerce and philanthropist in recognition of his contribution to promoting regional integration, peace and socio-economic development across African through his work at Heirs Holding Group and the impact of his philanthropy through the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Elumelu, who is one of Times Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in The World, was also recently presented with another award by President Muhammadu Buhari in recognition of The Tony Elumelu Foundation’s economic empowerment for wives of slain soldiers who lost their lives fighting to keep Nigeria safe and secure.

Tony Elumelu Foundation’s Economic Empowerment for widows of the Armed Forces of Nigeria gives widows of slain soldiers business training and seed capital of $2,000 each to begin their entrepreneurial journey and cater for their families. The award was given to him at the Annual Chief of Army Staff Conference in Sokoto which took place last week.

Where Are The Tejuoso Queens?

The trio of Olori Omolara, Olori Yetunde and Olori Olabisi Tejuoso, wives of the Osile of Oke-Ila, Egba, in Ogun -State, Oba Adedapo Tejuoso used to be the cynosure of all eyes at social functions. Many admired the fact that the traditional ruler could keep polygamous home peaceful, especially with three beautiful queens who were born with silver spoons and grew up in affluence. The love and unity among them is easily noticed with the way they carry themselves in public and at functions.

Hardly would one meet just one

of the queens at a party without sighting the second and the third person. Olori Omolara, the eldest of them all, who clocked 70 years in 2021 and whose marriage to the royal father has lasted all of 48 years welcomed the other two queens with open arms when her husband brought them home to join his harem. Olori Yetunde, the second wife, has been married to the traditional ruler for 40 years, while the third wife, Olori Olabisi, has been married to the king for 37 years.

The three queens are so close that what they wear to parties is usually chosen by one of

them. Once one of the Olori's sees something she loves, she ensures she buys the same item for the remaining two.

The three dominated the social scene a few years ago but they are rarely seen nowadays at functions. Since they have all joined the diamond jubilee club, they have slowed down in their social activities to attend to the home front while catering for their grandchildren. Most especially after their husband, the Osile of Oke-Ila, Egbaland became born again many years ago. The three Olori's devote more of their time to attend to spiritual matters.

Adebayo

DAYO ADEBAYO UNVEILS EXPERIENCE CENTRE

Foremost documentarist and photographer, Dayo Adebayo, has unveiled a self-named experience centre, Dayo Adebayo Experience Centre in the highbrow area of Lagos Island. The new edifice will provide a memorable ambience for lovers of photography, art connoisseurs, and cultural enthusiasts as well as local and international tourists. Those who want to go on an engaging journey around Nigeria, meet its personalities and encounter its people without leaving the comfort of the Centre through a virtual reality tour would also experience the ambience of the new centre. A library, cafe, an exhibition gallery are some of the interesting features of the centre displays. According to Adedayo, the idea of the ‘Dayo Adedayo Photography Experience Centre was to have a home for photographers and photography. He stated that when the Experience Centre opens its doors in 2023, it will not only be an unmistakable feature of the Lagos skyline, it will be a must-visit place for all those who cherish photography as an art form and those who want to tour Nigeria. One of his laundable projects is the photo exhibition of the achievements of the governor of Lagos State, Babajide SanwoOlu a few weeks ago. He also presented a book, which graphically and pictorially document his achievements.

Oba Babatunde Ajayi Marks 5th Coronation Anniversary

His Royal Highness, Oba Babatunde Adewale

Ajayi, the Akarigbo and paramount ruler of Remoland in Ikenne, Ogun -State has clocked five years on the throne.

The throne became vacant in 2016 after the death of Oba Michael Adeniyi Sonariwo.

About 19 candidates from the Sagamu, Iperu, IIisan, Ikenne, signified interest in the throne.

They slugged it out in a keenly contested poll and Ajayi had five votes beating the remaining 18 candidates.

He was later crowned as the new Akarigbo of Remoland.

The event staged to mark the five years anniversary was a seven-day affair. It started on December 2 through 11th. It started with an unveiling activity on Friday. Muslim faithfuls gathered for prayer at the Sagamu Central Mosque to seek the face of Allah on behalf of their king.

Youths also gathered at the Remo Star Stadium on Saturday, December 3, 2022.

There was a thanksgiving service at the Saviours Church,

Ikenne to thank God for the royal father's 60th birthday anniversary on Sunday, December 4. He rolled out the drums the following day, Monday, December 5 for his 60th birthday at the Akarigbo Palace. Cultural displays by social clubs and Remo people as they paid homage to their traditional ruler on his fifth coronation anniversary took place on Wednesday, December 7. The festivities were wrapped up on Sunday, December 11.

Adesegun Adekoya's Political Ambition Suffers Setback

Honourable Adesegun Adekoya, also known as Attacker or Jesu Iwoye, the lawmaker representing Ijebu North, Ijebu East and Ogun Waterside Federal Constituency on the platform of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) may not be able to realise his ambition to return to the National Assembly for a third time. Adekoya, who is from Ago Iwoye in Ijebu North Local Government Area of Ogun State, became a lawmaker for the first time through the influence of late Senator Buruji Kasamu, who allegedly spent millions of naira to ensure that Adekoya's dream of becoming a member of the House of Representatives was fulfilled.

It was gathered that Adekoya, also known as 'Attacker’, had an agreement with some PDP stakeholders at the federal constituency that he would only spend a maximum of two terms before the seat would be given to an Ijebu-East or Ogun Waterside

LGA candidate.

By the time he completed his two tenures, THEWILL gathered, he got so comfortable with the perks of office that he reneged on his promise to the party and his constituency.

Instead of planning his exit from the House of Representatives, he disregarded the Gentleman’s agreement and allegedly imposed himself on the party faithful. Two of his colleagues, Hon Kehinde Bello, a member of the party who hailed from Ijebu East and Hon Tele Ogunjobi, a former council Chairman of Ijebu North and prominent son of Ago Iwoye instituted a lawsuit against him to challenge his emergence as the party's choice candidate.

Constituents also alleged that the politician was running a one man show.

According to them, Adekoya refused to identify with the governorship candidate of the party in the state, Hon Ladi Adebutu and the leadership of the party in Ogun State. Many members of his constituency who are not happy with the way he handled the affairs of his constituency made up their minds to frustrate his political ambition at the polls in 2023.

The people of the three local governments that formed his federal constituency have expressed the opinion that Adekoya has had a fair share of the slot, as he had spent over seven years in office.

They insist that another candidate should be given the opportunity to take over from him.

Ajayi

Elumelu

Adekoya

SHOTS OF THE WEEK

Editor: Peace Udugba [08033050729]

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) 'Made of Africa Awards', Held at The Civic Centre in Lagos on December 6, 2022.

L-R: MD/CEO, Central Security Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, Haruna Jalo-Waziri; Former Group Chairman, NGX Group, Otunba Abimbola Ogunbanjo; Chairman, Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Abubakkar Mahmoud, and CEO, NGX, Temi Popoola.

L-R: Ayuli Jemide and Publisher, The Guardian Newspaper, Maiden Ibru.

L-R: Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki and Co-founder, Tengen Family Office, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede.

L-R: Former Director-General, NSE, Prof. Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke and Executive Commissioner, Corporate Service, SEC, Ibrahim Boyi.

L-R: MD Coronation, Mr Aigbovbioise Aig-Imoukhuede: Head, NGX Government Relations, Chalya Shagaya and Publisher, THEWILL NEWSPAPER, Austyn Ogannah

L-R: Oba Alayeluwa Saheed Ademola, Okoduwa, Oba of Elegushi, Kusenla III (left); GMD, FBN Holdings Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo and Lagos State Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okuola.

L-R: Event Hosts, Television Anchor, Nkechi Nnanna and TV Presenter, IK Osakioduwa

Photo

NEWS XTRA

INEC Warns Political Parties to Focus on Issues-Based Campaigns

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has warned the political parties to present Manifestos, sell their ideas to the people and focus on issues based campaigns during and before the 2023 General election.

The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner FCT, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, gave the charge during a news briefing in Abuja.

Alhaji Bello reassured the political parties and the electorates that their votes will surely count and winners will be declared after elections.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner explained that in line with the electoral law, section 19 (1) 2022 of the electoral act 2022 provides that INEC displays the preliminary register of voters for public scrutiny at every registration areas, local government area offices and the commission website.

He said the commission had approved Collection of the Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) which will commence on Monday, 12th December, 2022 to Sunday 22nd January, 2023 and the exercise will be done at the six Areas council of INEC offices in FCT, AMAC, Karu, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Bwari, Abaji, and Kwali.

Alhaji Yahaya Bello called on the people of FCT to come out enmass to collect their PVCs from Monday, 12th December, 2022 to Sunday, 22nd January, 2023, and opens from 9.00am to 3.00pm

daily.

He explained that those who are unable to collect their PVCs at the RAs/Wards during that time can do so at the Area Councils from 15th January 2023 to 22nd January, 2023 Saturday and Sunday week day in Six Area councils.

"There will be a display of names in the registration centres, which will be made available to check if your name is there , there will also be a help line of INEC FCT, where people can complain if there is a case of missing names in the list".

“The Commission commenced the nationwide display of Preliminary register of voters PRV on the 12th November, 2022 and the exercise took place in the six Area Councils in FCT; Display of PRV was successful, the hearing for claims was equally successfully done across the six Area Councils", the REC noted.

He advised that nobody should try to collect PVCs for anyone because the security agencies are going to be available all through the exercise to ensure orderliness during the period at the collection Centre, Wards and local government areas offices in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Our Correspondent reports that FCT has Six Area Councils, Sixty-Two (62) Wards, Fourteen (14) registered Political parties and 1, 373, 492 Registered Voters in the Federal Capital Territory Abuja.

UNICAL Alumni Hold End-of-Year Hangout

BY SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN

The University of Calabar Alumni Association, Lagos State chapter, has held the 2nd edition of its endof-the-year hangout, themed, ‘Memorial Walk for Health.’

The event, which focused on health and fitness, as well as a memorial walk for some of their departed colleagues, was held at Metro Park in Ikeja.

It started with the Memorial Walk in honour of the departed members of the association, followed with a medical check-up and pep-talk on health and fitness. Attendees also took time off to network.

One of the high lights of the event was the dance workout led by Ikemelu Bernardine, a dance instructor from Ignite Group Dance Fitness.

Some attendees, who stormed the venue of the hangout early, went home with amazing prizes ranging from power-banks and umbrellas.

A raffle draw was the biggest highlight of the event. The grand prize winner went home with a power generating set, while other consolation prizes, such as microwave ovens, phones and power banks, were given to other winners.

The first five people to follow the association

on Instagram were also rewarded with gift items.

The association spared no cost to ensure that its members had more than enough to eat and drink while some left the venue with take-away packs.

Agriculture: American-Based Company to Establish Mechanised Farm in Ogun

The efforts of the Ogun State Government at repositioning the agricultural sector for the private sector participation has received a boost as an American based agriculture company is set to establish a mechanized cassava farm in the state.

The Chairman, Iya Non-organic Foods Company, Mr. Edward Ajayi, made this known after he led the founder of the company and other staff of the company to a meeting with the governor, Dapo Abiodun in his office at Oke-Mosan Abeokuta.

Ajayi, who expressed delight with the progress made by the present administration in the agricultural sector, added that the state government had made available a large parcel of land to his organisation for a high level mechanized farm that would cultivate the highest quality of cassava that could be found anywhere in the world.

"We are bringing in both mechanized approaches as well as transfer of technology. This farm will provide jobs, increase Internally Generated Revenue and boost export potentials of the state in North America and in Europe.

"Ogun State's potential is indescribable. From what we have seen from afar and what the governor has explained to us, Ogun State, is a gold mine in Africa, not only in Nigeria, from all perspectives particularly when viewed from an angle as encapsulated in the ISEYA mantra," Ajayi noted.

He further stated that the Industrial blueprint and the action plan of the state government aimed at ensuring that the entire value chain is property integrated, was commendable, adding that "the Agricultural Processing Zone would make the state centre of agricultural activities in the country in the nearest future.

The mechanised farm, Ajayi explained, would provide employment for over 20,000 peasants farmers who would clear the land for planting, stemming and nurture the crops for harvesting, processing, packaging and preparing the agricultural produce for export.

He said that apart from farmers, truck drivers and conductors would be needed just as the farm would provide an opportunity to young farmers to learn modern trends in agriculture.

"The value chain is enormous because we are talking about forward and backward integration in the sense that whatever is being produced here has export potentials to the world market and it will also help the local communities with cheap products such as bread as the price will drop because we are substituting wheat with cassava flour," Ajayi concluded.

Also speaking, the founder of the company, Mrs. Toyin Kolawole, said the enormous agricultural potentials that abound in the state and the attention given to the sector by the state government as well as the desire of her organization to contribute to the food security in the country, led to the partnership with Ogun.

THEWILL's Chief Cartoonist, Victor Asowata, displaying his award as the Winner of the Editorial Cartoon category at the 2022 Wole Soyinka Awards for Investigative Reporters (WSAIR), which held at the NECA House, Ikeja, Lagos on December 9, 2022.

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Qatar 2022: Africa's Participation Highlighted by Morocco's Advancement

BY JUDE OBAFEMI

Africa's representation at this year's World Cup in Qatar has been a mixed bag of unexpected results, disappointing displays and Morocco's extremely stingy defense. While all five countries of Morocco, Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia, went into the first ever World Cup to be hosted on Arabian soil with the first ever lineup of coaches who are indigenous to the countries they are representing, there were concerns about how far they will go given the groups into which they were drawn.

There was already a precedent of African countries reaching the quarter-finals and with Senegal drawn in perhaps the easiest group - Group A which had national teams from the host country Qatar, Netherlands and Ecuador, Tunisia had to battle reigninÅÇg champions France, Australia and Denmark in Group D while in Group F, Morocco was faced with the challenge of title contenders Belgium, north American leaders Canada and Croatia, who finished as runners-up in the last World Cup Russia 2018, with Cameroon in Group G alongside Cup favourites Brazil, Serbia and Switzerland and finally, Group H had Ghana drawn with Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal, Ghana's nemesis at South Africa 2010 Uruguay and the senior men's team of the Korea Republic.

Of these teams, Morocco faced a most difficult task and could have been contented with a runners-up place in Group F but they did not think of themselves as inferior and when on Thursday last week coach Luis Enrique was fired after Spain's defeat against Morocco in the World Cup Round of 16, it was a justification for the persevering mentality of the Moroccans. They had beaten the Spaniards on penalties after a goalless draw on Tuesday in an upset result after Enrique's squad failed to turn their dominance into a victory. Spain were favourites to progress instead of Morocco as the Europeans got off to a good start in Qatar, routing Costa Rica 7-0. However, the exhilaration of that goal-fest died soon after as La Roja could not win again.

Their next last three matches saw them drawing 1-1 with Germany and losing 2-1 to Japan before being knocked out by Morocco.

By advancing, Morocco became the fourth African side to ever make it to a World Cup quarter-final, and they are the first Arab team on the continent to do so evoking the world's biggest party at the Education City stadium in Doha on Tuesday night. And now, they are bidding to become the first African side to reach a World Cup semifinal. They have come this far by being very conservative at the backline, reaching this stage by overcoming European giants such as Spain and Belgium on the way. With the advancement, the party and celebration of Moroccans was understandable. The vast majority of the 44,000-strong crowd was overwhelmed by emotion after Morocco defender Achraf Hakimi sealed victory with a cheeky panenka penalty kick. Their fans and supporters poured out into the streets of Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakesh, and practically every capital city in Western Europe to celebrate that even their monarch King Mohamed VI joined the jubilant crowds. As they danced, hugged and cried in the dressing room, coach Walid Regragui made an extremely important declaration in his post-match press conference.

The manager, who was handed the team after they had already qualified for Qatar to complete a total of five indigenous coaches for the first time ever, said: "At some point in Africa, we have to be ambitious and why not win the World Cup, even if it's going to be hard." It was a very significant statement and was instructive as to the mindset that has brought Morocco this far.

The choice of Regragui by the Moroccan Football Federation to manage the Atlas Lions at Qatar was a nobrainer for those conversant with football competitions on the continent. If there was confidence in any homegrown talents to improve on the coaching of Vahid Halilhodzic, the 46-year-old Regragui fitted the bill. He had the experience to organise a winning team through the rigours of an international competition and the marathon of a local league. The 69-year-old Halilhodzic who took charge of the North Africans in August 2019, led the Moroccan team to the quarter-finals of this year's TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon and then secured World Cup qualification in March following a 5-2 aggregate win over DR Congo before the disagreements that led to him amicably parting ways with the Moroccan team.

Regragui possessed the record to match the confidence reposed in his capacity to take this team progress to a level befitting their participation in Qatar. He was born on September 23, 1975 in Corbeil-Essonnes, France meaning he was eligible to represent Les Bleus but he elected to stick with his country of origin, Morocco.

As a right-back, there was not much in terms of standout records from his playing career. In between representing the Moroccan national team, he was a player for Racing Santander, Toulouse, Grenoble, and AC Ajaccio. In the summer of 2009, Regragui transferred from Moroccan club Moghreb Tétouan to Grenoble for the last move of his active days as a player before making the switch to football management.

We are trying to be a powerhouse in Africa. The continent is moving forward, Morocco has made a lot of effort - Regragui

“

Triumphant Atlas of Morocco after defeating Spain at the World Cup

...Africa's Participation Highlighted by Morocco's Advancement

In September 2012, Regragui started working as an assistant football coach for Morocco's national team. On October 1, 2013, Rachid Taoussi was fired as head coach, and, as assistant, Regragui's contract was also terminated. He accepted a head coaching position at Fath Union Sport for the 2014/2015 season on May 8, 2014 and, by mutual accord, he left the team on January 22, 2020 after leading the team to life the Moroccan Throne Cup in the 2013/2014 season and the Botola Pro trophy in the 2015/2016 campaign.

Regragui was named the Wydad AC head coach on August 10, 2021. He guided Wydad AC to its third CAF Champions League championship in May this year, defeating reigning champions and African football powerhouse Al Ahly in the final as only the second Moroccan manager to win the African Champions League after Hussein Ammouta's triumph with Wydad in 2017. It is this winning mentality he has brought to the team as they progress in Qatar.

His declaration of daring to have an African country challenge for the World Cup is a sign of a paradigm shift in how African nations approach the World Cup, and it is fitting that it came from Regragui, who represents a paradigmshift in African coaching as part of the inaugural CAF Pro Licence class of 2018 - the very first group of coaches who secured football's highest coaching diploma entirely on the continent. He represents everything that is right in African football: He's young, competent, cosmopolitan, fearless and a pan-Africanist at heart. It reflected as they maintained a startling record of no opposition player scoring against them so far in the entire 390 minutes of football they have played in Qatar.

When Morocco faces Portugal, the players will represent not just the ambitions and dreams of the Moroccans but also the African continent - without going into the debates of their Arabic leanings and African links. What they are reaping at the moment is the benefit of sustained investment in football. Mohammed VI, the king of Morocco, who congratulated Regragui over the phone following the victory against Spain, had a bid for the 2026 World Cup rejected after witnessing his father's dream of his nation becoming the first in Africa to host the World Cup come to an end after three unsuccessful bids. However, a sizable investment in the nation's football infrastructure is obviously paying off. One example is the impressive Mohammed VI training complex in Maâmora, which cost $65 million to construct. Their coach reflects this is his comments. He said: “We are trying to be a powerhouse in Africa. The continent is moving forward, Morocco has made a lot of effort. I arrived in 2013 and since then I have seen the stadiums evolve, the federation has made enormous efforts, his majesty has invested a lot of resources. Now, we must not fall asleep, we must continue.”

Although other African representatives have not lived up to expectations of football fans in the continent, the Qatar World Cup has been, by far, the most successful tournament ever on the pitch for these teams. The 24 cumulative points out of their 15 group stage matches that all African teams amassed overtook the previous record of 15 points set in the 2002 tournament. Although Tite fielded a heavily tweaked side after his squad was already through to the next round, it is still on record that Cameroon became the first African nation to beat Brazil at a World Cup tournament. In addition, Tunisia scored a victory over reigning champions France, while the Morocco squad became the first African nation to win a group, with seven points to their name. Regragui was able to bring his side to this threshold by defending stoutly and by taking advantage of the good reflexes of their goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. It was clear throughout the match against Spain with the Atlas Lions proving resilient against La Roja's ball possession and attempted goals.

It has been 36 years since Morocco last qualified for the round of 16. The Atlas Lions’ qualification spread joy and happiness across Morocco, with Moroccans from all walks of life celebrating both the head coach and players and Africans beaming with pride for the progress of the team and African football.

The success of Morocco at the World Cup will help grow the size of the fan base for African football. Already Africa's coaches are getting their time in the limelight especially after Aliou Cisse won the Africa Cup of Nations for Senegal

2023 Presidency: To Stand A Chance, Atiku Must Win Back G5

position is that Atiku and the party must not yield to Wike’s demands and if they do, there will be trouble. This can only complicates things for Atiku and the party with the capacity to jeopardise their election chances with little wiggle room that is disappearing every day that passes without a solution.

It means that the Atiku campaign team is forced to divide its attention with one eye on the campaign and another on finding a solution that is agreeable for all the interests involved. The circumstances have been expectedly exploited by opposition campaigns which argue about what proposition that can be expected of a politician promising to be a unifier, but who can barely keep the unity of his own party together. The warning is starkly obvious. It is already an uphill task to defeat the might of the ruling party as things currently stand.

Last month, a former National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, bragged about the strength of the party in power by rightly pointing to the number of state governors in their orbit as against those in Atiku's corner.

Currently the APC can boast of 23 state governors, while the PDP, which should be contesting against that with a reduced strength of 13, is actually short by five due to the squabbles of the Group of 5. This is not good and I call on Atiku and the PDP to move mountains, make concessions, make sacrifices and do everything that is humanly possible to bring Wike back under the common fold of the party. Wike’s belligerence, flamboyance, flair and power to attract attention are all necessary ingredients that the Atiku campaign will need going into the elections. There is also the very deep pocket that Wike can bring in to keep in mind.

The fact that the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, was in the PDP and ran on the 2019 ticket as Atiku's vice presidential candidate means that Obi will split Atiku's votes across the country to add the younger demographics that he appeals to. This will not work in Atiku's favour. That is why this is the time to end the bickering, this is the hour to show leadership and bring the entire party on the same page. Time is fast running out to make this happen ahead of the 2023 polls.

and qualified them for Qatar. There are others coming through such as Algeria's Djamel Belmadi, Tunisia's Radhi Jaidi and South Africa's Benni McCarthy, providing other examples of the new African coaching prototype. It is a progress that will be helped by this Morocco's squad display irrespective of how their Qatar journey finishes.

2023 Presidency: To Stand a Chance, Atiku Must Win Back G5

The internal divisions that are threatening to shred the threads holding the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) together present an ominous foreboding for the chances of the party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, heading into next year's general election.

The wisdom of the biblical injunction of Matthew 12:25 that “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation and every city or house divided against itself will not stand," is most instructive and the dramatis personae within the party, who have the progress and success of the party at the forthcoming polls, must take this as a dire warning.

The odds stacked against the PDP at the highest levels, the presidential elections, are staggering. From its loftiest place as the ruling party at Nigeria's return to democracy and 16 years of unbroken domination of party politics at the centre of power, there was a time when party stalwarts regaled themselves with stories of how they were too big to be beaten and how they were going to be in power in Nigeria for 60 years, at least.

To take on the challenge posed by arguably Africa's largest political party, opposition political parties knew they had to combine forces and resources. This decision was welcomed and was the basis for the formation of what became the All Progressives Congress (APC), which finally succeeded in wresting power from the PDP.

Formed in February 2013, the APC was the direct result of a merger of three largest opposition parties at the time, which were the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). These major parties were joined by a breakaway faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the new PDP – a faction of the then ruling PDP.

The resolution to merge was signed by ACN's Tom Ikimi, Senator Annie Okonkwo on behalf of the APGA segment, Ibrahim Shekarau, the Chairman of ANPP's Merger Committee; and Garba Shehu, the Chairman of CPC's Merger Committee. On July 31, 2013, the new party of strange bedfellows, determined to take on the might of the PDP, received approval from the nation's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to become a political party with the subsequent withdrawal of the previous operating licences of the three major parties that merged.

With that combined force, they forged a union that continued to grow with the defections of mostly aggrieved members of the PDP. In November of the same year, five serving state governors from the governing PDP defected to the APC. They were Governors Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State, Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State and Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State. Amid these defections, nearly 50 federal legislators, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, joined the party, adding to the 137 legislators in the APC as a result of the prior merger of the smaller opposition parties. It was but a dress rehearsal of what was to follow in the presidential election of 2015, in which Buhari emerged victorious over the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan by 2.6 million votes—a margin of nine percentage points.

The APC expanded its House of Representatives majority to over 210 seats and gained a majority in the Senate with 60 seats. In the state elections (mainly on April 11), APC won in 21 States and also won the majority of seats in the State Houses of Assembly.

While the PDP was determined to make Buhari a one-term president, APC's direct primaries saw Buhari emerge as the sole candidate and he advanced to the general election where he defeated Atiku Abubakar of the PDP by a margin of 14 percentage points—nearly 4 million votes.

For the legislative elections, the APC regained its majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate after losing the majorities due to defections in 2018. On the state level, the party lost four States and gained two, leading to a net loss of two governors' offices while winning a majority of State Houses of Assembly.

2022 was held peacefully with a former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, defeating Rotimi Amaechi, Yemi Osinbajo and 11 other candidates. However, the party’s ticket became immensely controversial the following month when Tinubu selected Kashim Shettima—a Senator and former Governor of Borno State—as the APC’s vice presidential nominee; the selection created a Muslim-Muslim ticket, violating an unwritten convention against same religion tickets to ensure representative diversity.

It was in the process of Atiku's emergence as the presidential flagbearer of the PDP and his choice for his vice presidential candidate that the fission of divisions worsened.

Atiku’s emergence was the first bone of contention for his major rival, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State. The latter helped to keep the PDP competitive in the years after they lost out in the power play of 2015 when Jonathan was defeated by Buhari.

From the largesse of his deep pockets, Wike supported the party financially and provided the resources that the party hierarchy needed to keep the levers turning. Meanwhile, Atiku, in 2014, defected to the APC, ahead of the 2015 presidential election, with the desire to become the party's presidential candidate, but he lost in the primaries to the eventual winner Buhari. It is understandable, therefore, Wike's initial angst over Atiku's emergence. Yet, it was the issues that followed that muddied the waters irreconcilably.

It happened that the PDP set up a committee to pick a running mate for Atiku and although 14 of the 17 members of the committee voted for Wike to be Atiku's running mate, the Adamawa chieftain instead went for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State.

Wike, who felt slighted by the loss of the primaries, was even the worse for this latest move by Atiku. Fortunately for the Rivers governor, he had become an unavoidable force in the PDP. He extended the arm of his influence by getting the ardent support of four PDP governors with whom he subsequently formed the "Integrity Group," comprising Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) and Samuel Ortom (Benue).

In off-year elections, the APC failed to get more state governors to win, although it retained the governorship position in Ekiti State in 2022. As a part of the party's concerted effort to woo defectors, three governors joined the APC— Ebonyi State's Dave Umahi, Cross River State's Benedict Ayade and Zamfara State's Bello Muhammad Matawalle—in 2020 and 2021, along with dozens of state and federal lawmakers. Yet, political moves around party primaries in 2022 erased most of these legislative gains as members defected out of the APC.

To defeat the PDP in the 2023 polls, the APC played the long game by trying to hold off decision-making until it could identify which way the PDP was going about touchy issues on zoning and the tribal affiliations of their candidates for the positions of President and Vice President.

Despite a contentious campaign period that was replete with allegations of misconduct and vote-buying of their own, the APC presidential primary of June

The four state governors have held steadfastly to other grouses that Wike continues to hold against Atiku. One of these relates to Iyorchia Ayu, who is said to have agreed, when he was elected PDP Chairman, namely that if a northerner emerged as the presidential candidate of the party at the primaries, he would step down as chairman of the party so that a southerner can become chairman for the sake of balance and fairness.

However, Atiku got the ticket and Ayu’s story changed as he claimed to have been elected for a four-year term and was not ready to give up on his mandate.

Wike and his Group have made it clear that Ayu must vacate his position for peace to reign in the party.

With overtures to Wike rebuffed and the campaign period open, Atiku flagged off his campaign in Uyo in the conspicuous absence of Wike and his supporters, promising to address hunger, insecurity, disunity and to restructure the country into one that works for everybody.

While efforts continued to be made to pacify Wike, knowing his importance to the party, a counter position among some of the PDP governors is at play. Their Continues on Page 47

From the largesse of his deep pockets, Wike supported the party financially and provided the resources that the party hierarchy needed to keep the levers turning