THEWILL NEWSPAPER JUNE 12, 2022 EDITION

VOL 2 NO. 24 • JUNE VOL 2 NO. 24 • JUNE

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THE INSIDE STORY:

How Tinubu Emerged as APC Presidential Candidate *Why Buhari Dumped Ahmad Lawan *How APC Governors,Aisha Buhari Defeated Aso Rock Cabal

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Photo: Kola Oshalusi @insignamedia Makeup: Zaron

I am often asked whether I have a plan B for a better life outside Nigeria, and my response each time is: I am a black woman in her mid-forties. I already have a career here; relocating would mean starting over, and frankly, I don’t have the time or energy for that.

What would I do if I relocated?

While this is my opinion, many others, men and women in the same age bracket and older, would not hesitate to leave Nigeria at a whim if the opportunity presented itself. For them, anywhere but Nigeria is a better option right now.

But this wasn’t always the position of Nigerians; I remember my parents talking about moving back here in the seventies with the confidence that Nigeria was better than the US. At the time, the naira was stronger than the dollar. But that was a long time ago. Today we are at 605 Naira to a dollar. How did we get here?

Are our leaders totally oblivious of the economic crisis, coupled with the many other issues, including poor education and healthcare systems, lack of jobs, electricity and deathtraps as roads?

The presidential election is about seven months away, and I don’t recall any aspirants speaking about solutions to the many issues we currently face as a nation. It’s no wonder anywhere is a better option than Nigeria for some, at the moment, regardless of the many challenges they face abroad. And until the government fixes these problems, sharp minds will continue to emigrate.

May God help us.

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There is No Democracy Without You The power to demand the best is in your hands, use your power.

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the freedom to choose creates opportunities Twenty-three years after, we remain encouraged with renewed hope in our efforts towards realizing a better Nigeria.

Happy Democracy Day From all of us @ Access Bank .

Africa | Asia | Europe | Middle East

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COVER

THE INSIDE STORY:

How Tinubu Emerged as APC Presidential Candidate *Why Buhari Dumped Ahmad Lawan *How APC Governors,Aisha Buhari Defeated Aso Rock Cabal A

BY AMOS ESELE

few days to the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) special presidential convention held at the Eagles Square in Abuja, the party’s 23 presidential aspirants were so much in doubt about their fate that they could have collapsed under the weight of tension.

Those who had banked on President Muhammadu Buhari’s endorsement saw nothing coming.

Consensus candidacy trended briefly, but it was not THEWILLNIGERIA

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sure-footed because raw power was on display.

The only aspirant that gave an inkling to the deadly power game going on within the party was Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who, unable to contain the building tension let out steam during his meeting with delegates in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Tinubu exploded with anger against President Buhari for refusing to honour a gentleman’s agreement to hand over power to him.

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According to THEWILL investigation, the clash of interest, devious stratagems, ruthless tactics and feints with a heavy dose of feral cunning were on display by different groups within the party. All that eventually worked in Tinubu’s favour.

POWER PLAYERS THEWILL learnt that three main power players within the APC tried to outwit each other before the convention. They were members of the cabal PAGE 7

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COVER within the presidency with Buhari’s nephew, Mamman Daura; Sarki Abba, the Senior Special Assistant Domestic, Household Matters and Social Events and Sabiu Yusuf alias Tunde, Sarki Abba as arrowheads.

The 13 Northern Governors led by the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State; Nasir el- Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State and his Kebbi counterpart and Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum, Atiku Bagudu, were the second power brokers, while the third power broker was First Lady Aisha Buhari.

The cabal in the presidency, according to our sources, had been covertly working on a plan to retain the presidency in the north since President Buhari’s reelection in 2019. This plan was however without the President’s knowledge at the early stages until a few days to the primary when they convinced him to drop his decision to choose a candidate from the South/South region as his preferred successor.

Nonetheless, members of the cabal simply upped their game plan when former Vice President Atiku Abubakar emerged as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). With the active support of APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, who had publicly announced the party’s plan to choose a northerner as candidate in reaction to Atiku’s emergence, the cabal eventually picked the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, leaving two other aspirants from the North: Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State and Senator Ahmed Yerima, one- time governor of Zamfara State. But they ignored the northern governors in their plan.

THEWILL gathered that rather than see one of their own, Governor Bagudu, picked as the consensus candidate, the announcement of Lawan infuriated the northern governors, who immediately came together and started throwing their weight around.

But every move they made in a civil manner was met with hostility by the cabal.

Initially, the cabal was said to have brooked no interference from the state governors and allegedly blocked el-Rufai from seeing Buhari to discuss his choice of succession despite multiple attempts.

However, he finally had a meeting with the President alongside APC northern governors as the governors reinforced their demand for a power shift to the South. The tension in the party and uproar against fielding a candidate from the north forced the president to issue a statement denying he had chosen Lawan or indeed anyone as his preferred candidate.

Calling for peace within the party, Buhari asked the governors to submit a list of five aspirants from the South from where he assured them he would anoint one as the party’s consensus candidate. The aspirants that made the list were Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Rotimi Amaechi, Kayode Fayemi and Dave Umahi.

With barely 24 hours to the commencement of the primary and the president still dilly dallying and cabal insisting on installing Lawan, the APC governors from the north except Yahaya Bello of the Kogi State, took the initiative and united with their colleagues from the South without Hope Uzodinma of Imo State to stall Lawan’s candidacy.

The governors after extensive consultations amongst their ranks made a deal with Tinubu and threw their PAGE 8

President Muhammadu Buhari (left) presenting the flag of All Progressives Congress to the party’s flagbearer, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, (middle) while the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, congratulates the winner of the presidential primary in Abuja.

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Sensing a backlash against her husband following his support for Lawan, First Lady, Aisha, was said to have stepped into the matter, this time in favour of Tinubu, whom her investigation had shown was heads above other aspirants dumping her initial favourite, Rotimi Amaechi

weight behind his candidacy.

ENTER AISHA BUHARI Sensing a backlash against her husband following his support for Lawan, First Lady, Aisha, was said to have stepped into the matter, this time in favour of Tinubu, whom her investigation had shown was heads above other aspirants dumping her initial favourite, Rotimi Amaechi. She was said to have reminded her husband of the gentlemen’s agreement between him and Tinubu, arguing that as a man of integrity, her husband was morally bound to honour the agreement. She was the one that pressured the president to issue the statement denying he had endorsed Lawan.

By the time the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, issued the statement in that light, the members of the cabal were said to have been at their wits end, a development that opened the way for Mrs Buhari to press on with her support for Tinubu.

As delegates were being accredited and marching into the Eagles Square venue of the event, THEWILL gathered she was calling key stakeholders including Governor Uzodinma of Imo State, who was coordinating the South for Senator Lawan, to collapse the Lawan group for Tinubu. Uzodinma was also Chairman, Election Planning Committee, APC Convention. Uzodinma, however, remained committed to the Lawan Project.

When voting started, it was clear that the governors and Mrs Buhari had succeeded in their plan to install Tinubu as the party’s flagbearer after at least five aspirants dropped out of the race and endorsed his candidacy.

WHY LAWAN, CABAL LOST Ahmad Lawan and the cabal had a single game plan, which was to get the National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu to announce Lawan as the president’s preferred consensus candidate to members of the national working committee and force key party stakeholders to accept it. But that was not the case as the committee openly revolted against the development, forcing the cabal and the president to beat a retreat.

Though Lawan and the cabal wanted to win badly at the Eagles Square venue of the primary, they did not play a solid ground game and did not deploy enough money to woo delegates despite their intimidating warchest. They lost out even before the delegates started voting. At the end of voting, they managed to muster only 152 votes to come fourth.

THE FULL RESULT AFTER VOTING AS DECLARED AT THE PRIMARY. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu – 1, 271 Rotimi Amaechi – 316 Yemi Osinbajo – 235 Ahmad Lawal – 152 Yahaya Bello – 47 David Umuahi – 38 Ahmad Sani Yerima – 4 Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba – 1 Ogbonnaya Onu – 1 Pastor Tunde Bakare – 0 Rochas Okorocha – 0 Ikeobasi Mokelu – 0.

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NEWS Bayelsa Mobilises Contractor to Nembe-Brass Road, Presents Income, Expenditure Reports

BY DAVID OWEI, YENAGOA

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ayelsa State Government says it has mobilised the contractor that would construct phase one of the NembeBrass senatorial road project. Commissioner for Information, Strategy and Orientation, Hon. Ayibaina Duba, disclosed this on Friday during the transparency briefing for the months of March and April, 2022 in Yenagoa, the state capital Hon. Duba, who noted that the groundbreaking ceremony for the project would take place in no distant time, hinted that the government had received some intelligence reports of a planned disruption of the project.

L-R: Founder, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Atedo Peterside; Former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke; Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo; (back row, L-R), The Celebrant, Former MD, Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC), Timi Alaibe and Chairman, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, during Alaibe’s 60th Birthday celebration at Harbour Point, Lagos on June 10, 2022.

Photo: Peace Udugba.

Going to The Senate is Huge Responsibility – APC Candidate

FROM UKANDI ODEY, JOS he All Progressives Congress candidate for Plateau Central Senatorial District, Diket Plang, has described his challenge to represent the zone in the next Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as “a huge responsibility”.

Recalling how five other aspirants, who had purchased nomination and expression of interest forms, stepped down for him to emerge as the party’s sole candidate during the primary election, Plang promised to show his appreciation for the sacrifices made by those who eventually declined contest by providing quality representation for the people.

Saying all those who stepped down for him were superior to him by all parameters, Plang said their decision and conduct humbled him, especially

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given all the costs they had incurred, saying he can only add value the sacrifices of his compatriots by being responsible, accountable, and truly representative if he is eventually elected into the senate in the forthcoming general election.

Recalling that this is not the first time he will contest senatorial election of the Plateau Central Senatorial District, Plang said his legislative experience derives from being a local government councillor to serving in the Plateau State House of Assembly and that he is quite famili He is confident that he will emerge victorious in the House of Assembly election in Plateau, come 2023. “I think my opponents are merely coming on internship. Let them try, and then go and wait for another time,” he said.

2023: C’River Captured by Few People – Prof Onor

BY BASSEY ANIEKAN he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Cross River State, Prof Sandy Onor, has said that the state has been captured by a few people.

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He said that Cross River had been tortured enough and the time had come to liberate it from the vice grip of such people.

Prof Onor disclosed this during a reception held in his campaign office in Calabar after he received a Certificate Of Return from the PDP leadership in the state.

“Our state has been captured by a few, tortured enough and we must liberate our state from the vice grip of a few because this is not the state we knew and make it better.

“We have never had it so bad, our THEWILLNIGERIA

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values have been debased, people suffering, structures dismantled, our civil service denied opportunity to function and everything personalized,” Onor said, stressing that Cross River belonged to all the citizens of the state and nobody can intimidate them.

He urged his supporters to stand firm and ensure that the PDP emerged victorious in the 2023 general election, adding that the time had come to replace the APC broom with the PDP’s symbolic umbrella.

Prof Onor also acknowledged that the biggest element in the Cross River PDP’s campaign is the Almighty God, who has shown Himself at all levels.

Thousands of Onor’s supporters graced the occasion, including Ntufam Ekpo Okon and Arthur Jarvis.

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Imo CP Decorates 105 Newly Promoted Officers

BY SAMPSON UHUEGBU, OWERRI

I

n line with the Inspector-General of Police’s mandate to ensure that the welfare of the officers and men of the Nigeria Police force under his watch are well taken care of and to also enhance the smooth operations of the Force, 105 officers have been promoted.

The Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, Mohammed Ahmed Barde, while decorating the newly promoted officers, congratulated and charged them to live up to the tasking responsibilities attached to their new ranks.

In a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the Command, CSP Michael Abattam, the CP urged them to consider their promotion to higher ranks as a call to higher responsibility and as such they should not disappoint the Inspector-General of Police in carrying out their statutory duties.

According to the release, CP Ahmed was assisted in decorating the officers by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, in charge of State Criminal Investigation Department(SCID), DCP Mohammed Mustapha Bala and DCP Peter Opara Ukachi, who is in charge of administration.

Others include DCP Femi Haruna, in charge of Operations Department; ACP Okoi Archbong Akpama, second in command State CIID; ACP Suliman Ladi, second in command ‘A’ Department; Head of Departments, Area Commanders and the loved ones of the decorated officers.

Among the officers decorated with their new ranks were (2) Deputy Commissioners of Police, DCP Cletus Nwadiegbu, DCP Denis Anyi, one (1) Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP Dike Albert, four(4) Deputy Assistant Superintendent of Police and DSP Margret Anyanwu.

Also, 18 Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASP 1) were confirmed. They include ASP Augustina Kuru, ASP Elobuike Emmanuel and 16 others, while 80 Police Inspectors were promoted to the rank Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP II).

He therefore appealed to neighbouring communities around the Nembe-Brass road to cooperate with the government to ensure the smooth execution of the project to be handled simultaneously alongside the other two senatorial roads.

His words:”The Bayelsa state government has mobilized the contractor for the construction of the Nembe-Brass road and soon the groundbreaking ceremony will take place.

“We are pleading with communities in that area for cooperation so that the project will not be stalled. We have had some intelligence reports of people planning to disrupt the smooth execution of the senatorial road.

The Ministry of Works and Infrastructure is already engaging with the communities at multiple levels to ensure the project is executed seamlessly.”

Responding to questions on the distribution of ecological funds to the state, Hon. Duba explained that measures were being taken to tackle environmental challenges in the state in communities such as Odi, Sampou and Ayama-Ogbia.

Alia Wins Rerun Governorship Primary, Defeats Gemade, Aondoakaa FROM KAJO MARTINS, MAKURDI

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everend Fr Hyacinth Iormem Alia has polled the highest number of votes at the just concluded rerun governorship primary election conducted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in three wards and 12 local government areas of Benue State to defeat Engr Barnabas Gemade and other aspirants.

Announcing the results last Thursday, June 9, 2022 at the APC State secretariat in Makurdi, the Chairman of the Rerun Committee, Mr Joel Omajali, said a total r of 366,546 voters were registered, 292,930 were accredited and 270,353 votes were validly cast, with Fr Alia polling 195,314 votes to emerge victorious.

According to Omajali, Prof. Terhemba Shija scored 1,859, Terlumun Ikya scored 2,746, Bernard Yisa got 338 votes, Mathias Byuan polled 14,152, Sam Ode polled 21,698 , Godwin Ityoachimin got 860, Mr Barnabas Gemade had 3,831, Michael Kaase Aondoakaa polled 3,517, Herman Iorwase Hembe 720, Terwase Orbunde 1,393, Steven Lawani 23,925 and Ayom Mlanga, 0000 votes, respectively.

“The rerun was conducted in Ogbadibo, Ushongo, Konshisha, Oju, Apa, Kwande, Agatu, Ohimini, Ado, Obi, Okpokwu and Apa LGAs.” The Secretary of the committee, Emma Maji, described the rerun election as free, fair and credible.

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Emmanuel

Okowa

Wike

POLITICS

PDP Intensifies Search For Vice Presidential Candidate

BY AYO ESAN

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ith just a few days to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC’s deadline for the submission of the names of the vice presidential candidates of political parties, intensive lobbying has begun in earnest within the top hierarchy of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as many party stalwarts are striving to occupy the position.

Some of the names that have been mooted so far include that of the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike and his Delta State counterpart, Governor Ifeanyi Okonwa; Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim .

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In order to get a vice presidential candidate that will be acceptable to all, the PDP has set up three committees

There is also a school of thought within the party that is insisting that the search for Atiku’s vice should not be limited to state governors on the platform of the party. It was said that members of the National Assembly and former state governors should also be considered. One name that this group is touting is that of a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha.

the hard times. However, many are cautious of his temperament.

In order to get a vice presidential candidate that will be acceptable to all, the PDP has set up three committees, namely, Former Governors Forum led by a former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido; PDP Governors Forum led by the Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and the Board of Trustees (BoT) and National Working Committee (NWC) Forum .

Therefore if there is anybody that needs the post of VeePee most, Wike is the one and he is no more pretending about his desire for it.

The Committees have been saddled with the responsibility of coming up with three names, but it is believed that the party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, will have the final say as Atiku knows what he wants and the quality he requires. But many of the party stalwarts believe Atiku needs a young person as vice president.

THE FRONTLINERS NYESOM WIKE Aside from coming second in the presidential primary of the party, Wike is a respected party man. He used to boast that he had not once left PDP for another party since 1999. He is also known to be a major financier of the party since the PDP left the national governance in 2015.

Initially, it was gathered that Wike said he was not keen to occupy the vice presidential position. But it is now clear that he (Wike) is lobbying frantically to ensure that he emerges as Atiku’s running mate in the 2023 presidential election.

It is also gathered that some governors like Seyi Makinde of Oyo State who is believed to be his close ally and others, such as Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Samuel Otorm, are supporting and lobbying for him.

Political analysts believe he deserves to pick the Vice Presidential slot given his political pedigree and commitment to the party during

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His admirers are also worried that with the way things are, presently, if the PDP do not gain power at the federal level, Wike may be forced to be on a forced holiday because he has not obtained senatorial form and so cannot be in the Senate.

IFEANYI OKOWA Many people believe Governor Ifeanyi Okowa is best suited to be the vice presidential candidate of the PDP. Those who are in this school of thought believe his meekness and political sagacity is enough to make him Atiku Abubakar’s deputy.

His present relationship with the former Governor of the state, Chief James Onanafe Ibori, may however jeopardise his ambition. The relationship between Ibori and Okowa seem to have gone sour with the recently conducted primary of the PDP in the state.

UDOM EMMANUEL Emmanuel has the highest chance of picking the Vice Presidential slot of the PDP. Being a former Executive Director of Zenith Bank will give a balance to Abubakar who may not be well versed in economics. This becomes more necessary, given the economic situation of the country.

Aside this, Emmanuel, a cerebral politician who came fourth in the PDP presidential primary, has been governor of oil-rich Akwa Ibom State for more than seven years. He is capable of sourcing money required for the general election, which will pit the PDP against the ruling APC. EMEKA IHEDIOHA Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha who was born on March 24, 1965, is the immediate former Governor of Imo State and a former Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives. He was removed as the Executive Governor of Imo state on January 14, 2020 by the Supreme Court of Nigeria which declared the APC candidate, Hope Uzodima as the authentic winner of the 2019 Imo Gubernatorial election He represented the Aboh Mbaise/Ngor Okpala Federal Constituency of Imo State from 2003 to 2015. He was also the former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives. He holds a National Honour as Commander of the Order of Niger (CON).

In 2015, Ihedioha served as Speaker of the House of Representatives following the decamping to APC and subsequent swearing-in of Aminu Tambuwal as the Executive Governor of Sokoto State Many party leaders who are yearning for young person as the Vice President are rooting for Ihedioha .

It could be recalled that Sheriff Oborevwori, speaker of the Delta House of Assembly won the PDP governorship primary in Delta State. He defeated David Edevbie, commissioner for finance during the James Ibori administration, who is believed to be Ibori’s candidate for the governorship position.

ANYIM PIUS ANYIM Anyim Pius Anyim was one of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Presidential aspirant that lost to the party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar at the Special Convention /Presidential Primary of the PDP held in Abuja on Saturday, May 28, 2022. He scored 14 votes at the primary.

It is therefore clear that Ibori will not put a word to Atiku to consider Okowa for such a position as VP. Okowa may find it difficult to get Ibori’s support for his desire to be Atiku’s vice except he is willing to ensure the reversal of what transpired at the governorship primary.

Born on April, 14, 1960, Anyim served as the President of the Senate and was Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) during Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency. He was elected a Senator on the platform of the PDP in 1999 for the Ebonyi South Senatorial District of Ebonyi State. He was elected Senate President in August 2000. He announced his ambition to run for the 2023 presidential elections in February 2022.

It was also gathered that many southern PDP governors are angry that Okowa betrayed them after they all agreed to back a southern president, he was said to have secretly traded them off by supporting Atiku, thus paving the way for an opportunity to grab the VP slot.

They were said to have vowed that they will oppose any move to make him vice president.

He is being seen as the likely candidate for the Vice President as a way of placating the South East who felt disappointed with the nonadherent to zoning formula by the PDP during the last Presidential primary.

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POLITICS

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ith a few days to the June 18, 2022 governorship election in Ekiti State, various political parties are rounding off their statewide campaigns which started about three months ago. Also, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security agencies are also working round the clock to ensure the success of the g election.

INEC A few weeks ago, INEC had conducted a mock accreditation of prospective voters in the state with the newly introduced Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

The exercise, which lasted less than five minutes per voter, saw the electorate submit voter cards for authentication, while their fingerprints and faces were captured.

The chairman of the commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, who monitored the exercise in Ado-Ekiti, Ikere-Ekiti and Igede-Ekiti, expressed satisfaction with the functionality and effectiveness of the system.

He gave the people the assurance that the commission would be ready to conduct a credible, free and fair election on June 18.

Oyebanji

BY AYO ESAN

Yakubu

Kolawole

Ekiti Election: INEC, Security Agencies, Parties in Last Minute Preparation

He said the commission was putting everything in place to ensure the success of the election, saying, “The purpose of our visit to Ekiti is to see the practice of what the state office has done, conduct mock voters accreditation and engage stakeholders in the electoral process primarily to ensure the election is conducted seamlessly without any hitches.”

known as ‘fountains of knowledge’ and they should exhibit this to make sure that there is peace in the state. They should know that the security agencies are there for them and I strongly believe the Ekiti state election will come and go peacefully without any hitch and it will be free, fair and credible,” he said.

The INEC boss explained that the commission had further put measures in place to discourage vote-buying on Election Day with necessary collaboration with the security agencies, whom he said had been properly briefed on the expectations of the commission.

POLICE The Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State Police Command, Mr Morenikeji Adesina, has said that the Police is totally ready for the June 18, 2022 Ekiti governorship election. He said there was no problem in Ekiti State for the time being.

“The state is calm. We had dialogue with all the political parties in the state. We pleaded with them that all we are expecting from them is peace. We told them to warn their followers not to destroy the state government’s property and that there should be no hate speech. They should not help the thugs to hijack their political campaigns.

Also briefing Nigerians about the preparation for the election, Yakubu said that PVC collection in the state had reached the 74 per cent mark. He called on those who were yet to get their voter cards to INEC offices close to them to collect the cards so as to vote for the candidates of their choice.

They have promised to be law-abiding citizens and ready to work with the Police and to allow peace to reign. Since the political campaigns started, we have made sure our policemen are present in every nook and cranny of the state to ensure there is peace.

Everywhere in Ekiti State is calm. If we hear any information, we will quickly swing into action.

Yakubu maintained that INEC had identified the challenges associated with the BVAS and improved its functionality for biometric accreditation, assuring the people that the machine would work optimally during the coming governorship poll in Ekiti and Osun States.

“We have sent a strong signal to political thugs, telling them to stay away from violence and to avoid life-threatening actions and not to carry dangerous weapons. If anyone is involved, the law will take its course. The entire people of Ekiti state are assisting the police by giving us useful information.

He said, “The intention of the mock exercise is to test the efficiency of the Bimodal Voters Authentication System. That is why we were in Ekiti. We have achieved good results and this shows that the machines are efficient. So, the politicians who have doubts about the machine can now be assured that the device will contribute to making the elections credible.

“We also had dialogue with the youths. We warned them to stay away from violence. They should not allow politicians to use them for thuggery. The youths promised to work with the police and they said they are ready to obey the law of the land.

“We have reviewed and improved on BVAS functionality for biometric accreditation of voters in the coming governorship poll in Ekiti and Osun.”

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“My advice to the people of Ekiti during the election is that they should respect the rules and regulations of INEC. They should vote for their candidates and go back home. They should shun violence after voting, they should be calm and accept any winner for the development and growth of their state. The people of Ekiti are

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POLITICAL PARTIES As it stands, the June 18 contest will obviously be a fierce one between the ruling All Progressives Party (APC), represented by former Chief of Staff to incumbent Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, Biodun Oyebanji; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with former State Chairman of the party, Bisi Kolawole as arrowhead; the African Democratic Party (ADC), led by Dr Wole Oluyede, the Social Democratic Party, (SDP), led by former Governor Segun Oni and the Accord Party, whose flagbearer is Otunba Reuben Famuyibo.

The APC and its governorship candidate in Ekiti, Oyebanji, are wrapping their victory joker in the power of incumbency. Oyebanji enjoyed a good relationship with Kayode Fayemi, the incumbent governor of Ekiti State.

In fact, before his emergence as the APC standard bearer, Oyebanji was the Secretary to the State Government in Ekiti. This has been obvious in the deployment of state resources and manpower to provide colourful outings that can bequeath a soft landing to victory for their candidate, Oyebanji.

Oyebanji, who is from Ikogosi in the Central Senatorial District of the state, a district which has led for 12 out of the 23 democratic years of Ekiti State has been campaigning on the achievements of the current government led by Fayemi. The northern zone will cover for the remaining 11 years with the completion of Fayemi’s second term in October. This has spurred agitation for a shift of power to the South, which has never produced any governor, in the coming election.

And to pacify the South, APC has made overtures to the beleaguered people by picking the deputy to Oyebanji from Ikere, a major town in the Southern Senatorial District, in the person of Mrs. Monisola Christiana Afuye.

PDP Bisi Kolawole of the PDP is from Efon, in the Central District of Ekiti State. Kolawole is the political son of maverick politician and former Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose. He was formerly the State Chairman of his party. *Continue on Page 12

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POLITICS INTERVIEW

I Will Improve Benue’s Economy – Orya Dr. Robert Orya is the governorship candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) in Benue State. In this interview with KAJO MARTINS, the former Managing Director of NEXIM Bank speaks on his agenda for Benue and other issues. Excerpts:

W

What is your package for Benue youths given their numerical strength and active participation in politics?

My aspiration to be governor of Benue State is basically for the youths because they are in the clear majority of Benue population.

We are in a democracy, which is a game of numbers and the youths have been disenfranchised and neglected. They are used and later seen as a burden and dropped. Our youths have become slaves in this country. We should be able to give them jobs. The agriculture value chain alone can provide that they need.

We have not been able to give our children the relevant technological innovations and skills to go to the national and international arena and compete effectively. We have the Benue State University, Makurdi that has been existing for about 30 years and yet it doesn’t offer engineering courses. Today, you find our children there graduating in mass communication, sociology and all that. Is that what we need now?

Can we make our children be more productive under this kind of scenario? So, we need to be able to encourage them to acquire skills, save them from a consumption and begging mentality and let them feel that it is better for them to be productive and self reliant.

Sports is one of the biggest and money spinning and employers of youths all over the world. What is your plan for sports development in Benue State?

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As part of its preparation, the National Working Committee of the PDP has constituted the National Campaign Council for the Ekiti State Governorship election. The Council is chaired by the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde and the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu as Deputy Chairman. Members of the Council are also eminent leaders within the PDP and they include, former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose; former Deputy National Chairman of PDP , Chief Olabode George; the National Deputy National Chairman ( South) of PDP, Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja and former Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko.

ADC Dr Wole Oluyede, and his party, the ADC have moved round the nook and crannies of Ekiti State soliciting votes from the electorate in the past months. Oluyede is much talked about as one politician that may hit the accurate mark in the coming election, judging by the high points trailing his candidature.

Barring the fact that he is not a home-grown politician, which is a plus in some quarters where the current order is seen as hellish, he stands tall among other contestants.

I am not going to call names, but imagine that during an Economic Council Meeting (ECM) in Abuja and the current governor of Anambra State, who was the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Charles Soludo, speaks on economic policy. Tell me, who among these aspirants will be there when Soludo is speaking? What will they say other than to excuse themselves to go to the toilet? You know that I have the capacity to rival Soludo because it is my area of specialty on whatever economic policy. Therefore, I’m simply the best governorship candidate Benue needs now.

Benue State is in a critical economic situation and we need to transform it and provide all that is needed for the people and not talking about zoning at the moment. The two major political parties have been zoning the governorship position since 1999, but what they done with it?

INEC, Security Agencies, Parties in Last Minute Preparation

Kolawole is relying heavily on the popularity of Fayose, which is unquestionable. When people talk of a governor who has made himself very available to the people of Ekiti, through nearness and being so close to feeling their pulse, truly or feigned, there has been none like Fayose. He is seen by some as a man of the people, a friend of the oppressed and an outspoken governor, daring, combative and resolute on the side of the people. To some Ekiti people, particularly the illiterates and the lowly, which formed the bulk of the electorate, Fayose is the ideal governor; he can walk the street bare footed, drink local gin with Okada riders and eat on the streets.

hat is your winning formula for the forthcoming governorship election in Nbenue State?

Well, I’m so sure I am going to win and become governor next year. I have the competence, capacity and exposure. I know how to expand and create money. Some of my opponents only wait on Federal Government revenue from Abuja, not minding that such revenue sources are dwindling. But for me, I know what to do internally to create money for the state.

That is why in my manifesto, I have said that I will weave the economic development of Benue State around the private sector and not what is coming from Abuja.

Oluyede has also taken his campaign to the grassroots where many politicians followed him and made him to have a dominant political followership, despite living far away in Australia.

A political observer has described Oluwole as an “uncelebrated grassroots politician, who spends time, energy and money to attend to his people, particularly the lowly and the indigents, most of whom are armed with his contact details and are sure of getting a response from him whenever they call.”

Orya

Why do you abandon the PDP for the Young Progressives Party?

When I was contesting the governorship seat in the PDP, from day one, I made it clear that it is not because the governorship seat has been moved to my area, Ushongo Local Government Area, but that I’m a prominent indigene of Benue State who has worked with financial institutions, has the right connections and network to transform the state. So when it became an issue of zoning, I chickened out of it because all the PDP meetings that were held with aspirants in my presence, I used to ask what the agenda is all about. There is no place in Benue, especially in Tivland, that this position has not been zoned to before.

*Continued from page 11

“

Benue State is in a critical economic situation and we need to transform it and provide all that is needed for the people and not talking about zoning at the moment

Well, I know that Benue youths are talented in sports, entertainment, creative economy and others. My administration, if voted, will open up Benue to the outside world. In 1999 when we had the World Youth Soccer Championship, at that time, Aper Aku stadium was in the standard that Makurdi or Benue state would have been made a center but it could not make it because at that time, there were no standard hotels in the state.

So, all the facilities that needed to be put in place to be able to attract national events to Benue and to support our children as much as possible were not available . My administration will organise sporting tournaments for Benue youths and the women to be engaged. Right now, Benue has only Miss Mlumun Ordega that plays for the nation which when she is playing on the pitch, most lovers are proud. I’m one of the people that financed a lot of tournaments, such as lawn tennis at Makurdi Club for two years and most of the youths who participated in that tournament have gone very far. So, Benue under my watch will promote sports, entertainment and the creative economy for the good of all in the state.

In all, there are three things working for Dr Oluwole as a politician: humility, passion and philanthrophy. To a man who is known to be a successful professional, accomplished investor, influential and wealthy, his unfettered relationship with the masses and the large followership he is getting in return from that circle has grown from envy to hatred in the camp of his peers.

SDP Chief Segun Oni of the Socialist Democratic Party (SDP) is being regarded as a third force behind APC and PDP. Many who applauded his leadership style in 2007 are rooting for him while others are however beginning to doubt if the Oni they knew then is still the same Oni of today.

He has had a colourful campaign across the state in the last few weeks. He has also come under severe attack on his campaign materials, especially many of his bill boards, most of which were destroyed by his rivals.

Oni contested in the PDP governorship primary and was quick to congratulate Bisi Kolawole when he was defeated, before turning around a few days later, after pressures from his political allies, to condemn the process.

Oni also rushed to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) moments later before he recently found a place in the SDP. But the way he is pulling crowds at the campaign rally has raised his hope of becoming the next governor.

The controversy which has engulfed the SDP, especially over its leadership, has been a minus to his success at the election.

ACCORD PARTY The Accord Party is one of the parties that may spring a surprise in the election. What is going for Accord is that its candidate, Otunba Reuben Famuyibo, is from Ado Ekiti, the capital of the state that has not produced the governor since the creation of the state.

Famuyibo has been systematic in his campaign and he is receiving positive response from the electorate.

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POLITICS

APC Convention: When Lalong Failed to ‘Die’ For Buhari

BY UKANDI ODEY

T

ime and bad conditions, they say, do not favour beauty.

From a mystified and over-hyped political personage and personality, President Muhammadu Buhari is fading from political activism and aura into the recesses of terminal statesmanship. Those who used to leverage his over-bloated and misplaced moral carriage and estimation are not lost on the depleting value and shrinking standing of the President, the timeliness of setting him aside, and the imperative to throw up new friends and build new affinities with even newer alliances.

Governor Simon Bako Lalong of Plateau State was an excellent and perfect persona in this game during the preliminary intrigues of the just concluded All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary in which Lalong’s league of governors did not only win against the President, but defeated his quest to to appoint his successor.

Because politics as a game in which there is no permanent friend or enemy, except permanent interests rolls on the continuum of time, quick sands are its turf and those standing in defence of someone today may lead the attack against the same person another day, depending on changing interests and shifting benefits.

Whether the enraged people of Plateau have forgiven him for the “thoughtless” and “over-indulgent” comment is part of the confessions that Lalong will have to make for the atonement of his political sins as he prepares to face the National Assembly election in Plateau South Senatorial District next year. To use his position as Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum to spearhead an offensive to counter and neutralise the preferred position of the same Buhari he had revered with cultic reverence indicate that Buhari is becoming a spent force, and that reality is not lost on Lalong and his colleagues who powered the offensive to negotiate their own future and place in the new and unfolding arrangement.

Many political observers in Plateau have argued that the APC convention was not the best moment for Lalong to ‘die’ – if die he must, politically. The stakes, they say, are high and many for Lalong. In ditching Buhari, he certainly had no eye on an old kite flown to the effect that he is a choice running mate to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is the presidential candidate of the party.

Now that Bola Ahmed Tinubu has eventually become the APC standard bearer, Lalong must be gnashing his teeth and interrogating his past actions and inactions. Once the 2019 general elections were over, Lalong and his supporters started gauging the political atmosphere, the horizon and the prospects that lay ahead in an apparent visualisation and projection of life after Government House. Arguably, without the consent of Governor Lalong, presidential campaign posters bearing Tinubu’s picture with himself as vice presidential running mate came into bountiful circulation. It quickly became the norm and way of life promoted and sustained by the governor’s courtiers and sponsored fans to chant ‘Veepee 2023’ at occasions while Lalong savoured and relished the fantasy and phantom honour.

Although Lalong and some governors of the northern states succeeded in frustrating and defeating Buhari and his proposal to anoint a successor, a Muslim of northern extraction, Tinubu’s emergence could spell doom for Governor Simon Bako Lalong whose insistence on fostering national unity and equity or to facilitate a Tinubu emergence, was a calculation to set up a Rotimi Amaechi ticket and eventual presidency.

Lalong was convinced by pre-convention permutations and the rage of anti-Tinubu propaganda and subversive commentary that his bosom friend, Amaechi, would emerge ahead of Tinubu if the APC presidential ticket is zoned to the South.

In challenging President Buhari to a halt, Lalong was aware that his political working relationship with Tinubu had since collapsed and barring a Muslim/Muslim ticket, which is inconceivable as it is, he is no longer in Tinubu’s calculations and considerations as to the Christian to pick from the North.

Lalong

Four years ago, at the Rwang Pam Township Stadium, Jos, at the instance of President Buhari’s campaign rally, Lalong stunned the crowd when, of all things, he declared from the podium, much to the violation of his people’s pride and self-esteem, that he could “die For Buhari.”

“

Many political observers in Plateau have argued that the APC convention was not the best moment for Lalong to ‘die’ – if die he must, politically. The stakes, they say, are high and many for Lalong. In ditching Buhari, he certainly had no eye on an old kite flown to the effect that he is a choice running mate to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is the presidential candidate of the party

his aides – have risen to create a new political capital from Tinubu’s victory, as the later returns to relevance and focal point by feigning that Tinubu’s victory, which he actually bought with his money, is Lalong’s gain. Slamming the move as sheer fortune speculation and gold scouting, critics have quickly pointed out that Lalong cannot gain from a cause he did not believe in, work for, or invest in emotionally or otherwise.

Lalong had ensured that Plateau delegates to the convention worked against Tinubu’s emergence. Tinubu got to know about this before the event and he did not waste his time and resources to take his campaign to Plateau delegates ahead of the convention.

The same critics view the Plateau governor’s claim of gaining from Tinubu’s victory as barefaced and a shameless effort by some group to begin to steer Lalong away from a seemingly politically expiring Rotimi Amaechi, following the disaster he scooped at the APC presidential convention, irrespective of his sacrifices and faith that propelled Lalong to the Plateau State Government House in 2015.

However, Lalong’s political undertakers – often confused with

Why Lalong cannot gain from the Tinubu’s ticket, however

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ingenuous the initiatives and schemes of his marketers and sales men turn out to be, is his non-committal, nonchalant, and lackadaisical attitude to the Plateau Project and the plight of the Middle Belt during his tenure as governor when he was driven by the spirit to “die for Buhari” at a time his people were being violated, plundered, and overrun and displaced.

The Middle Belt or ‘North Central’ region does not appear favourably disposed to recommend Lalong for the vice presidential position, if the opportunity should beckon. As governor of Plateau State, he did not really impress as a Christian or interested Middle Belt citizen and apostle. For most of the times the region and its people were in agony and melancholy as a result of herdsmen savagery and barbaric campaigns in their homes and farmlands, he was indecisive, sitting on the fence most of the time while the aggressor took down more victims and their gallery stayed agog.

Apart from his poor handling of recurrent killings in the state during his tenure, notably the sustained genocide crusades that have kept most residents of Bassa Local Government Area seeking refuge, engaging in mass burials or scampering for cover and peace during his tenure.

The irresolute stand of the Simon Lalong Administration was exposed when he openly declared support for the suspect policy of cattle ranching and pretended at the urgency and exigency of banning open grazing to protect and save his people and their farmlands. Moreso, he kept a distance from Plateau’s regional neighbours and sociological co-travellers, such as Benue State whose government spoke and stood decisively against the usurping and predatory policies of a Federal Government preoccupied with ethnic bias and regional selfishness and whose federal carriage and outlook are in doubt.

Eventually, the opportunity came, but Lalong could not “die for Buhari”, after all. The offensive by the northern governors certainly defeated Buhari during his own moment of pretence and indecision and he lost the “support to affirm his successor”.

Whatever pivotal role Lalong played in the governors’ resolution was not in the interest of national unity. He has not been successful in bringing about unity and peace in Plateau and his handling of the affairs of the state APC has left many questions for political party administrators.

Tinubu’s emergence as the APC presidential flag bearer was neither conceived nor imagined by Lalong because he thought it was impossible. His push against Buhari was not in the national interest or for national unity. For him, it was all about Rotimi Amaechi, whom he wants to ditch now in search of greener pastures.

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EDITORIAL

Lingering Crisis in Nigeria’s Power Sector

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ometime in April, the national electricity grid collapsed for the umpteenth time in the history of the power sector in Nigeria. This particular case was the fifth time in 2022.

The Federal Government claimed that the collapse was due to the activities of some unknown persons who had made attempts to vandalise a transmission tower on the Odukpani – Ikot Ekpene 330kV double circuit transmission line.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Power, the action of the ‘vandals’ had cost the nation a loss of about 400Mega Watts. Needless to say, the collapse triggered massive power outages across the country, leading to an unexpected and costly disruption of economic activities.

As expected, there was a widespread outcry from the end users of electricity, which once again called to question the wisdom in allowing the private sector to continue the ownership of the country’s power infrastructure.

Faced with a seemingly intractable crisis, it is no surprise that both government and end users, who feel the pinch most, are forced to review the decision to hand over the power sector to private investors.

Now the question is should the Federal Government return the sector to the era when it was fully in charge of electricity generation and distribution?

This question is at the root of an ongoing search by the government, end users and other stakeholders in the power sector for solutions to the myriad of challenges facing the sector since 2013.

To answer it, we think it is necessary to reconsider the background to the formal unbundling of the sector years ago.

The Electric Power Sector Reform

(EPSR) Act was signed into law in March 2005 to pave the way for formal privatisation of Nigeria’s power sector. The Act was meant to enable private companies to participate in electricity generation, transmission and distribution.

to provide regular electricity supply to Nigerians, the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, formally declared that the privatisation of the sector had failed. He called for a review of the privatisation of the sector.

The power sector was finally privatised in November 2013, with six power generation plants and 11 electricity distribution companies handed over to the private sector, while the Federal Government retained control of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

Before then, President Muhamadu Buhari and former Minister of Power, Babatunde Fashola and his successor, Saleh Mamman, had on different occasions expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the electricity generation and distribution companies.

They had also hinted at a review of the privatisation policy.

The government’s privatisation policy was seen at the time as a practical response to the poor performance of the public sector, which, to a large extent, had failed to efficiently handle the power sector.

A Power Sector Reform Coordination Committee headed by Governor Nasir el- Rufai of Kaduna State also recommended the reversal of the privatisation exercise of 2013 as a panacea to unstable power supply.

Privatisation, the nation was told, would help the government to save money and improve performance and efficiency in terms of electricity transmission and distribution.

Summing up the situation in the power sector, El-Rufai said, “The problems are many. The entire sector is broken.

There is a fundamental structural problem. It is either we continue to allow the Federal Government to pump N1.7tn into the sector every three years

During its campaign in 2015, the governing All Progressives Congress pledged to increase the generation and distribution of electricity to 40, 000 Megawatts within eight years of coming to power. It also promised to ensure a 24-hour power supply by 2019.

Unfortunately, the party has been unable to fulfill its promises.

Even post-privatisation funding by the current Federal Government has not helped matters. According to reports, the APC-led government spent N1.532tn on the sector in the last six years, even though it was intended to subsidise electricity consumption and not serve as investment.

The current reality is that privatisation has failed to relieve the government of much of its fiscal burden and to satisfy the yearning of the average Nigerian for regular electricity at affordable costs.

On May 2020, reacting to public outcry over the inability of the power sector

The current reality is that privatisation has failed to relieve the government of much of its fiscal burden and to satisfy the yearning of the average Nigerian for regular electricity at affordable costs

or we take the tough decision that will ensure a stable power supply.”

Even the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Ayuba Wabba, joined the call for reversal of the power sector privatisation, arguing that electricity service delivery had grown from bad to worse, with failure on the part of DisCos to supply prepaid meters and “the exploitation of Nigerians through estimated billings and reluctance to attend to basic complaints.”

However, we do not think the solution lies in a full-scale reversal of the privatisation agreement with the GenCos and DisCos. A reversal, as contemplated by the government, may have far reaching consequences for the country, including giving a wrong impression to potential investors and possibly discouraging them from investing in the economy.

The Federal Government’s undue interference and the lack of technical and financial capacities have also contributed to leaving the sector in its present bleak state.

It is important to note that some stakeholders believe that the 2013 privatisation arrangement was unrealistic because it depended so much on the private sector and the government failed to consider a total reform.

We also believe that the lingering crisis is largely due to a high level of mismanagement. For the sector to move forward, Nigeria needs people, who have foresight and understand what it takes to address the problems in the sector.

We, therefore, call on the Federal Government, whose responsibility is to ensure the success of the privatisation policy, to engage the services of such people. All that is required is for government to nominate a few individuals to the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission and let them make public presentations to the National Assembly on what they know about the problems of the power sector and how they hope to solve them.

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief

Austyn Ogannah Editor – Olaolu Olusina Deputy Editor – Amos Esele Politics Editor – Ayo Esan Business Editor – Sam Diala Copy Editor – Chux Ohai Cartoon Editor – Victor Asowata Entertainment/Society Editor – Ivory Ukonu Photo Editor – Peace Udugba Head, Graphics – Tosin Yusuph Circulation Manager – Victor Nwokoh Nigeria Bureau: 36AA Remi Fani-Kayode Street, GRA, Ikeja. Lagos, Nigeria. info@thewillnigeria.com / @ THEWILLNG, +234 810 345 2286, +234 913 333 3888.

EDITOR: Olaolu Olusina @OLUSINA [Letters/Opinions: opinion.letters@thewillnigeria.com]

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OPI N ION

Preserving Ecosystem From Destructive Human Activities

BY JEROME-MARIO UTOMI

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he global community on Wednesday June 8 celebrated World Ocean Day, which was first declared in 1992 after the United Nations (UN) Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The main objectives of the annual event is to raise awareness of the impact of human actions on oceans, develop a worldwide movement of people who want to take of the world’s oceans and unite the global population on a project for the sustainable management of the oceans.

The World Ocean Day also seeks to promote knowledge about the world’s oceanic system and how it is increasing risk from climate change, rising pollution, acidification of ocean water, increase in average temperatures, to a reduction in ocean biodiversity while bringing to the fore the role of the oceans in our everyday life.

During this year’s celebration, the United Nations noted: “The Ocean connects, sustains, and supports us all. Yet its health is at a tipping point and so is the well-being of all that depends on it.”

While the world celebrates, enough evidence, however, reveals that our care for the ocean and the environment not only runs contrary to the above dictates and demands, but remains a direct opposite.

Out of many examples, there are two compelling developments that rendered or better still qualified this year’s event more as a day of deeper reflection than that of celebration.

The first example is the alarming report that plastic pollution has become endemic in recent times. The report revealed that up to 500 billion plastic bags are produced every year, with more plastic produced in the last decade exceeding that of the last century and that an estimated 1 million plastic bottles are purchased every minute, in addition to the world’s usage of 500 million plastic bags each year, with at least 8million tonnes of plastics ending up in the ocean, an equivalent of a full garbage truck every minute.

The second specifically refers to Nigeria and it has to do with an unimaginable volume of crude oil that is daily and on the pretext of crude oil exploration, emptied into Atlantic Ocean, thereby resulting in pollution, degradation

and destruction of aquatic life.

According to recent data from the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), which recorded a total of 4,486 cases of oil spillage, amounting to 242,193 barrels of oil between 2015 and 2021. The reported figure for the volume of spilled crude oil is equivalent to 38.5 million litres, representing an average of about 62 cases and 3,362 barrels of oil spills in a month, per data from NOSDRA’s satellite website on April 16, 2022.

Making it a reality to worry about is that the same way rivers, lagoons, seas and oceans are daily polluted by human activities, even so is the land degraded and destroyed.

For too long, humans have been exploiting and destroying the planet’s ecosystems. Every three seconds, a report noted, the world loses enough forest to cover a football pitch. Over the last century, we have destroyed about half of the world’s wetlands.

Also lamentable is the fact that as much as 50 per cent of the world’s coral reefs have already been lost. Up to 90 per cent could be lost by 2050, even if global warming is limited to an increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Ecosystem loss is depriving the world of carbon sinks, like forests and wetlands, at a time when humanity can least afford it. Global greenhouse gas emissions have grown for three consecutive years and the planet is one place for potentially catastrophic climate change. We must now fundamentally rethink our relationship with the living world, with natural ecosystems and their biodiversity and work towards its restoration.

If all these are challenges, the issue of climate change resulting from human activities is a crisis.

Another report indicates that global warming – particularly since the mid-20th Century —is occurring much faster than r before and can’t be explained by natural causes alone.

Putting it plainly, the Greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions that humans generate are said to be the leading causes of the earth’s rapidly changing climate. Greenhouse gases play an important role in keeping the planet warm enough to inhabit. But the volume of such gases in the atmosphere has shot up in recent time. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the

concentration of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxides “have increased to levels unprecedented in at least the last 800,000 years.”

The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas for electricity, heat, and transportation is the primary source of human-generated emissions. A second major source is deforestation, which releases sequestered carbon into the air. It is estimated that logging, clear-cutting, fires and other forms of forest degradation contribute to 20 per cent of global carbon emissions.

Although our planet’s forests and oceans absorb greenhouse gases from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and other processes, these natural carbon sinks can’t keep up with the rising emissions. The resulting buildup of greenhouse gases is causing alarmingly fast warming worldwide.

To further explain the challenge facing the world, it was noted that as the earth’s atmosphere heats up, it collects, retains and drops more water, changes weather patterns and makes wet areas wetter and dry areas drier. Higher temperatures lead to the melting of ice, which in turn leads to ocean surges, floods, storms and other natural disasters.

The changes in weather patterns, drought and flooding affect the livelihood of humans.

As to what should be done to this appalling situation, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has made climate action a major part of his global advocacy, calling on all member states to double their efforts to save our planet.

While this is ongoing, we are all called to adjust in psychological, social, or economic systems in response to actual or expected stimuli and their effects or impact.

We need to bring in changes in processes, practices and structures to moderate potential damages or to benefit from opportunities associated with climate change. In simple terms, countries and communities need to develop adaptation solution and implement actions to respond to the impact of climate change that is already happening, as well as prepare for future impact.

Utomi is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Public Policy) of the Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), Lagos.

The Simon Lalong We Do Not Know

BY DAN MANJANG

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he mention of the name Simon Bako Lalong simply evokes different feelings and meanings to different people.

Whenever Lalong is mentioned, the name resonates in different quarters differently.

Some say, can anything good come from Ajikamai? Similar to what was said of Jesus of Nazareth! Though such a question is rhetorical, the answer is obvious to whoever might raise it!

While some genuinely ask such questions in marvel to what God can do to and with whoever he pleases, others ask the question albeit derogatorily.

Prior to 29th May, 2015 when Simon Bako Lalong was sworn in as Executive Governor of Plateau State, despite the fact that he had held positions to be reckoned with, elective for that matter, he was seen as an underdog, someone that can and will not put up a fight of any kind.

Many people did not even believe that he will make it to Rayfield as Chief Executive of Plateau State not even the person he took over from. It is said that his predecessor was sarcastic at a campaign in 2014/15 referring to Lalong when he symbolitically raised a bunch of keys and said “We cannot build a house and one stranger will bring brooms and pile in it!” That is the level which he (Lalong) did not matter in any way then.

However, destiny came knocking and like God told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:4-8 thus: “The word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’ ``Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, ‘I do not know how to speak; I THEWILLNIGERIA

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am too young’. But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you; declares the Lord,’’’-(NIV).

Lalong, like many, was mirrored differently from the way God looked at him. As a matter of fact, I am tempted to add to his name Jeremiah thus Right Honourable (Dr.) Simon Jeremiah Bako Lalong, KSGG! Sooner had he assumed office he faced the issue of insecurity that had engulfed the state of no known dimension and nipped it in the bud to the consternation and surprise of many pundits and pessimists alike. The crisis, insecurity, reduced drastically.

Little wonder he was called and consecrated by the Lord himself. Otherwise, he would not have removed us from the situation of hatred against each other.

Like Jeremiah, it is possible that Lalong had looked down upon himself as too young and if that be so, God must have rebuked him not to and went ahead and consecrated him. As a matter of fact, news had it that even people close to him taunted him.

And indeed to their consternation he became governor in 2015 and was re-elected in 2019. And not only that, he was also saddled with the responsibility of leading the 19 Northern State Governors of Nigeria as its Chairman, irrespective of political party and other considerations.

Every human being has two sides. And for Governor Lalong, people only know the seeming weak side of him which is a source of strength for him.

What do you expect of someone whom the Lord has consecrated?

The Lalong we do not know is strong-willed, focused, target oriented, resilient and unassuming. This is a man that listens

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more than he speaks and whenever he chooses to speak, wisdom exudes from his lips. An encounter with him changes your opinion of him for good.

He has ably led the 19 Northern Governors creditably. One of the high points was last week when he led the 13 of the 14 northern Governors of the All Progressives Congress party to insist that the presidency of Nigeria should go to the South when the opposition appeared to have jettisoned zoning and some interests in the ruling party were towing the same line. It takes a man full of wisdom who is focused and who is respected by colleagues to boldly lead this kind of endeavour that has moved our dear nation forward. Equity and justice demanded so and this was demonstrated by the 13 wise men led by Lalong who spoke for national unity, peace and progress. They stood tall in the hour the nation needed them.

What the foregoing means therefore, is that Lalong is Godsent. And if that be so, there is still a lot to be expected from this unassuming, humble, simple and kind son of Ajikamai who does not pride himself on anything apart from God. Already the people of the Southern Zone of Plateau State have bestowed upon him a higher responsibility beyond the shores of Plateau State to represent them in the Senate in 2023.

With the emergence of the APC standard bearer Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Lalong’s name has again resonated among likely candidates to be considered for Vice President.

While he has not said anything about these insinuations, the loud clamour for him to be considered speaks a lot of his personality, achievements and the grace of God upon him.

One thing is certain that if he has done it all at the state and regional levels, he can also do it at the national level having been Speaker, Governor and practiced law for many years.

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w w w.t hewi llni g eri a. c om VOL .2 N O.2 4

Emefiele

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CBN Agric Intervention: Farmers, Others Rake in N1.2trn Export Earnings in One Year

BY SAM DIALA

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igerian farmers and others in the agribusiness value chain raked in a total of N1.17 trillion in export earnings in one year between Q1 2021 and Q1 2022, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The figure consists of direct Agricultural Exports earnings valued at N706.28 billion and earnings from commodities exported in the Raw Materials category to the tune of N472.99 billion. The values for Q1 2022 were N201.59 billion and N77.05 billion in the Agricultural/ Commodity and Raw Materials exports respectively.

This feat was achieved amid grave infrastructure challenges and worsening security situations that impact on Agriculture and agribusiness value chain across the states. It however indicates that the CBN intervention programmes meant to fasttrack the development of critical sectors of the economy are yielding results. The farmers’ success story, therefore, cannot be distanced from the benefits of the 45-year-old Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Intervention Fund introduced in 1977 with its capacity to create jobs, boost income and enhance quality delivery.

According to the NBS report titled, ‘Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics’ for the first quarter of the year (Q1 2022), exports in agricultural goods/commodities was N201.59 billion. This reflects an increase of 51.89 percent compared with the N132.71 billion achieved in the preceding quarter (Q4 2021); and 58.35 percent rise against N127.31 billion achieved in Q1 2021.

Nigeria Air: Uncertainty Over July Take-off Deadline

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR

D

espite the recent acquisition of its Air Transport Licence (ATL) from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCCA), there are indications that Nigeria Air may not take off in July 2022, as earlier proposed.

The National Carrier had been

PAGE 16

planned to start operations by July this year. The target, according to an insider source, was to bring in the first out of three wet-leased aircraft for the airline in June.

But so far, there is not much on ground to justify the possible Continues on page 17

With the exception of Q3, agricultural goods export recorded continued increase between Q1 2021 and Q1 2022, hitting a cumulative amount of N706.28 billion. It rose from N127.3 billion in Q1 2021 to N165.27 billion in Q2 2021. The figure dropped to N79.14 billion before hitting N132.71 billion in Q3 2021 and Q4 2021 respectively, before climbing to the Q1 2022 amount of N201.59 billion. The overall growth was 58.4 percent for the one year under review.

A second aspect of the trade statistics in the agriculture-related activities is the Raw Materials sub-sector of the NBS ‘Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics’ report. Data from the report revealed that a total of N278.64 billion agricultural commodities were exported in the Raw Materials category. This was a 15.8 percent drop from the N330.92 billion earned in the previous quarter (Q4 2021).

The export of commodities in the Raw Materials category grew exponentially from N170.00 billion in Q1 2021 to N208.22 in Q2 2021. The figure rose to N201.55 billion in Q3 2021 before hitting the peak of N330.92. The combined export earnings for direct Agricultural Goods/Commodities and Raw Materials exports (with agricultural commodities contents) was N706.28 billion and N483.05 billion, totaling N1.19 trillion for one year (Q1 2021 to Q1 2023).

MORE INSIDE Nestlé Nigeria Empowers More Rural Women Across Nigeria PAGE 18

Zenith Bank’s ‘Beta Life’Promo to Enhance Q2 Performance

Continues on page 17

UBA’s $500m Eurobond Redemption Will Boost Investors’ Confidence - Experts

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inance and investment experts have commended the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc for the prompt redemption of its $500 million 5-year Eurobond notes.

They also expressed optimism that the action would boost investors’ confidence in Africa’s Global Bank.

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AVIATION/ECONOMY Uncertainty Over July Take-off Deadline Continued from page 16

Farmers, Others Rake in N1.2trn Export Earnings in One Year Continued from page 16

take-off of the airline next month. In addition, its Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC), which will enable it to commence as a scheduled operator, is still being processed.

Before now, Nigeria Air had suffered numerous postponements. It was scheduled to begin operations last April, but the date was later shifted to July.

The airline, which was originally scheduled to commence operations in December 2018, could not start as planned due to the preparation towards the 2019 general election, while the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and its extension to 2021 further scuttled the commencement date.

However, a major breakthrough was recorded on Monday when the airline received the Air Transport Licence ATL from NCAA. The Director-General of the NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, who presented the certificate to interim management of Nigeria Air in Abuja, said that ATL was a prerequisite for the airline to acquire Air Operation Certificate (AOC) to start operating.

According to him, the NCAA works and supports all operators currently existing and aspiring in the industry to get necessary documents after meeting all the requirements.

“This ATL has gone through all the processes.

So, at this point in time, I would like to do the presentation. We look forward to the fulfilment of the AOC process so that we can hand over the AOC certificate to you.

“As the regulator, we work with operators. That is a goal to promote the growth of the industry.

It is important to have strong airlines in Nigeria in view of the Single African Transport Market.

“Also, in view of the Africa Continental Free

“

The National Carrier had planned to resume operations

by July this year. Their target, according to insider source was to bring in the first out of the three wet-leased aircraft for the airline in June THEWILLNIGERIA

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Trade Area, which can make a significant contribution to the growth of the Nigerian economy, “he said.

Nuhu said Nigeria stood to get the best from the AU Agenda 2063 Air programme being one of the largest markets in Africa.

He said participating in the Single Africa Air Transport Market as a nation would increase Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Responding, the Acting Chief Executive Nigeria Air, Mr Dapo Olumide, thanked the NCAA for the good job executed, leading to presenting ATL to Nigeria Air. Olumide said the team would definitely double efforts in order to fulfil all necessary processes to receive AOC certificate from NCAA to start flying.

“We already have aircraft identified because that is one of the requirements for the NCAA. We are waiting for the terms of agreement with the Provider of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).

“What we need now is to go through stages to get an AOC certificate from the NCAA. No magic in the process. It is not something that can be issued because they like your face.

“When you have an AOC and ATL, you can commence commercial scheduled operations.

The date to start operation is largely based on the process one is following to get the AOC certificate,“ he said.

Meanwhile, it was gathered that the Federal Government still retained its 5 per cent stake in the airline and the other 95 per cent is reserved for consortiums of local and foreign investors.

Forty-nine per cent of the investment would go to foreign partners, while the remaining 46 per cent would be for other indigenous private investors.

Also, it was learnt that at least 7,000 jobs would be created by the airline between five to 10 years. The 7,000 jobs, it was gathered, would be created through the airline, Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility and aircraft leasing companies, which are also in the pipeline.

It would be recalled that Capt. Dapo Olumide, the former Managing Director of Virgin Nigeria Airways, was recently named the Interim Managing Director of Nigeria Air by the Federal Government.

Olumide was given the mandate to carry out the processes and procedures for the registration of the new airline, including securing its AOC from the NCAA.

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Disaggregation of the Q1 2021 showed that most of the agricultural products were exported to Asia, with total value ₦101.99 billion, followed

by Europe with ₦27.49 billion.

Export of agricultural products was dominated by superior quality Cocoa beans valued at ₦72.59 billion followed by ‘Sesamum seeds, whether or not broken’ with ₦56.45 billion and Standard quality Cocoa Beans with ₦13.21billion.

“By direction of trade, ‘Superior quality raw cocoa beans’ worth ₦27.16 billion and ₦16.11 billion was exported to The Netherlands and Belgium respectively. Furthermore, Sesamum seeds worth ₦24.34 billion and ₦11.11 billion were exported to China and Japan respectively, followed by exports of Standard quality Cocoa Beans worth ₦6.70 billion and ₦2.74 billion exported to Germany and Malaysia respectively,” the report stated.

Further analysis of the NBS data revealed that in Q1 2021, the export of Urea (whether or not in aqueous solution) fetched N16.8 billion exported mainly to Brazil, while Leather (further prepared after tanning) exported to Spain and Italy was valued at N6.6 billion and N1.0 billion respectively. Cotton (not carded or combed) worth N1.9 billion was exported to Pakistan during the period.

“During the quarter, Urea (whether or not in aqueous solution) worth N30.74 billion was exported to Brazil and Leather further prepared after tanning worth N5.77billion was exported to Spain. There was also exportation of Non-wired unworked sheets of float worth N3.44 billion to China and Cotton, not Carded or Combed worth N3.0 billion exported to Pakistan during Q2, 2021”, the report stated.

For Q3 2021, the commodities exported under the Raw Materials sub-sector include Urea exported to Brazil and Argentina in values worth N92.16 billion and N14.3 billion respectively. Technically specified natural rubber was exported to France at a value worth N2.16 billion.

Other products exported under this sector were Leather exported to Spain valued at N5.46 billion and N1.17 billion to Italy. Gum worth N6.89 billion was exported to Brazil during the period under review.

During Q4 2021, “Urea whether or not in aqueous solution” was exported to Brazil at a value of ₦183.04 billion. This was followed by Ammonium sulphate to Brazil valued at ₦14.09 billion and Technically specified natural rubber (in primary forms or in plates) exported to Spain valued at ₦1.08 billion,” the NBS report stated.

Similarly, Urea (whether or not in aqueous solution) was exported to Brazil at a value of₦63.11billion.

This was followed by Cocoa shells, husks, skins and other cocoa waste valued at N3.88 billion exported to Indonesia to Indonesia valued at ₦3.88 billion.

At the post-MPC media briefing in Abuja on May 23, 2022, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the intervention scheme targeted at stimulating productivity in

“

The CBN has explained that its intervention in the critical sectors of the economy aimed to enhance the transmission mechanism of monetary policy actions, as well as facilitate the development of financial markets through the creation of easy access to credit for investment and production

agriculture; manufacturing/ industries; energy/infrastructure; healthcare; exports; and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) had made the desired impact.

According to him, between April and May 2022, the Bank released the sum of N57.91 billion under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) to 185,972 new projects for the cultivation of rice, wheat, and maize, bringing the cumulative disbursement under the Programme to N1.01 trillion, disbursed to over 4.2 million smallholder farmers cultivating 21 commodities across the country.

The Bank further disbursed the sum of N1.50 billion, under the Accelerated Agriculture Development Scheme (AADS), to one (1) new youth-led project, piloted and funded through the Government of Ondo State for the acquisition of assets for oil-palm cultivation and the establishment of poultry farms. This brings the total disbursement under the Scheme to N21.23 billion for 10 state-led and three (3) private sector-led projects.

In addition, the Bank released N21.73 billion to finance seven (7) large-scale agricultural projects under the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS).

The funds were utilized for the establishment of a ranch and milk processing facility; procurement of feed and medication for livestock/ dairy production; construction of a 300 metric-tonne per day oil mill in Gusau, Zamfara State; acquisition and installation of an agrochemical factory; as well as purchase and stockpiling of homegrown maize for animal feed production. This brings the cumulative disbursement under this Scheme to N741.05 billion for 674 projects in agro-production and agro-processing.

Under the Paddy Aggregation Scheme (PAS), N6.20 billion was disbursed by the Bank to three (3) new projects for the purchase and mopping-up of home-grown rice paddy. *Continues online at www. thewillnigeria.com

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BUSINESS NEWS Nestlé Nigeria Empowers More Rural Women Across Nigeria

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Beneficiaries of the 4th phase of Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project during their induction and training in Port Harcourt on June 8, 2022.

Tasks Corporates UBA’s $500m Eurobond Redemption Will NGX on Positive Boost Investors’ Confidence - Experts Sustainability Reporting Continued from page 16

These views were expressed

by Mr George Akindero, an Investment Analyst and Mrs Bridget George, a Finance and Banking Consultant in separate interviews with THEWILL.

of the most secured investment windows, if your country’s investment or business climate is unsuitable, no one buys into your Eurobond,” George told THEWILL by telephone.

According to Akindero, the step taken by the bank shows that the management is focused and is serious about the image of the organization.

The Finance and Banking expert said that the pan-African status of UBA helped in boosting its image and earning it the required level of confidence that attracts investors. “With many subsidiaries outside Nigeria, it is easy for investors to buy into your instrument.”

“Eurobond is an international exposure that no organization should joke about. By redeeming the instrument, the bank has shown example in good corporate leadership and it will endear investors to it as a bank that is focused”, Akindero said.

He added that the Eurobond transaction is a very sensitive one because it could ruin an organization if it is not properly managed, especially for a reputable financial organization with many offshore subsidiaries.

On her part, George praised the management of UBA for the efficient utilisation of the proceeds of the Eurobond. She also observed that Eurobond has implications for the country because it showcases Nigeria to the outside world.

“When you go into Eurobond, you are exposing your country to the outside world because it shows how reliable your business environment is. Though it is one

PAGE 18

UBA recently redeemed its debut $500 million 5-year Eurobond notes with the maturity date of June 8, 2022. Issued in 2017, the five-year bond was offered at a coupon rate of 7.75%, and raised to support the Bank’s business in key sectors of the economy.

The Pan-African bank issued the five-year bond at a coupon rate of 7.75 percent and, in November 2021, repurchased $310.9 million of the notes through a cash tender offer.

As part of UBA’s liability management strategies, in November 2021, the bank repurchased $310.9 million of the notes through a cash tender offer. Upon maturity of the Eurobond, the outstanding portion of $189.1 million and the coupon of $7.3 million were redeemed by the bank.

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he Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Mr. Temi Popoola, has called on businesses to adopt sustainable business practices and report sustainability performance to stakeholders to promote inclusivity in transformational initiatives for the economy and society. This call was made while speaking at the Digital Closing Gong Ceremony, organised by NGX in celebration of the 2022 World Environment Day, themed, ‘Only One Earth’ on Thursday, June 9, 2022.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Popoola noted that the critical roles required of the private sector in actualising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement now enjoys some clarity and as such businesses would need to incorporate environmental and social factors into their operations and activities. In his words, “we have only one earth and we all have a part to play in preserving it.

For this reason, NGX created the Facts Behind the Sustainability Report platform to promote transparency in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures by showcasing the sustainability performance and reporting amongst companies listed on NGX. In developing this unique platform, the Exchange’s objectives were to mainstream the adoption of sustainability reporting amongst listed companies so as to increase the availability of decisionuseful ESG data that investors can utilize in making investment decisions”.

Speaking further on the reason for celebrating the 2022 World Environment Day with specific companies, the CEO mentioned that it was important to celebrate businesses that understand the strategic competitive advantage that sustainability creates as well as honour listed companies who are setting an example by disclosing their sustainability performance.

estlé Nigeria is helping more rural women in Nigeria build financial security and improve their standard of living with the launch of the fourth phase of the Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project in Port Harcourt recently. An additional 50 beneficiaries from the South South region of the country, selected from the company’s value chain, were inducted into the program at a ceremony that included several training sessions.

At the training and induction session in Port Harcourt, Nestlé Nigeria’s Commercial Manager, Mr. Khaled Ramadan said, “We are happy to fulfil our promise of expanding Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project to reach more women in other parts of Nigeria.

We are pleased with the progress made so far by the 150 currently benefiting from the project.

The beneficiaries who currently enjoy the training and mentorship provided by Nestlé and her implementation partners – FDConsults, are reporting faster turnover and increased revenue as well as stronger visibility of their outlets within their locations. We are therefore confident that these additional 50 selected retailers in South South, will also reap the full benefits of the support we are providing through training, mentorship and grants.”

The beneficiaries comprising female retailers in Nestlé’s value chain, will receive grants valued at 300% of their monthly sales in form of Nestlé’s products. They will also participate in training and mentorship programs which will enable them scale up their businesses, thereby increasing their household incomes.

In his remarks at the induction and training for the new beneficiaries, Mr. Phranklin Audu, Head, Partnerships & Training at FDConsults said, “The Nestlé Empowering Rural Women project is such an amazing initiative. The progress and growth recorded by the women in the several states where the project is already ongoing is quite refreshing to see.

We are talking about visible growth. Grade-C retailers are moving up the distribution ladder and more importantly these women are doing more sales turnovers thereby earning higher incomes for themselves. We must commend the visioners of this project and the entire project team for staying true to cause”.

The Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project is designed to help rural women retailers scale up their businesses and sustain the new level of up to three times the size of their existing businesses. It is one of the Creating Shared Value initiatives that Nestlé deploys to help build thriving communities by improving livelihoods.

The training and mentorship elements of the project are provided by FDConsults who has a track record of helping rural dwellers access information and skills to improve their standard of living. Each beneficiary retailer is linked to a mentor for one-on-one guidance and consistent support over three months to ensure their success.

The project started in August 2021, in northcentral Nigeria, with the induction of the first 50 women beneficiaries into the project from the suburbs of Abuja. In November of last year, the project moved to the South West and added an additional 50 beneficiaries, selected from the axis of Oshogbo, Ede and Ilesha in Osun State. In February of this year, the South East benefited with 50 inductees from the Nsukka and Obolo-Afo axis of Enugu State.

With the additional 50 recently inducted into the project in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, 200 women have so far been reached under the program. The program aims to reach 300 women across the country before the end of 2022.

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BUSINESS NEWS Gwadabe Urges CBN to Use BDCs to End Multiple Exchange Rates, Promote Market Stability

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L-R: Supply Chain Director, Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc, Martin Kochl; Corporate Affairs Director, Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc, Sade Morgan; The Ojora of Ijora, Lagos, HRM, Oba Fatai Aremu Aromire and Managing Director, Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc, Hans Essaadi, during a visit by the NB Management team to the Ojora of Ijora in Lagos on June 3, 2022.

Stock Zenith Bank’s ‘Beta Life’ London Exchange Lauds Orjiako’s Role at Seplat Promo to Enhance T Q2 Performance

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dormant or zero balance account, this is the best time to open an account, fund or reactivate your account to win exciting rewards every week.

Rewards will be allocated to the winning accounts chosen via raffle draw by our computer program designed specifically for the purpose of the Promotion.

“The random selection and allocation of Prizes to the respective Winning Customers will be verified by external auditors. Customers must maintain an active account with N5000, get a card and register for USSD or download the mobile app to become a winner. You can open an account by just dialing *966# on your phone and following the prompts, or you can open an account on our website,” the bank stated.

Onyeagwu

B

ased on its Q1 2022 results, there are indications that Zenith Bank’s ‘Beta Life’ promo, a unique customer-focused product, will contribute to its enhanced performance in the current second quarter. Analysts and industry stakeholders believe that the reward scheme promo will boost the bank’s top and bottom lines as the first quarter results show.

In order to entrench itself in the retail segment of the market, the bank last April re-introduced its Zenith Bank Beta Life Promo Season 2.

The reward scheme is a bi-weekly raffle promo wherein the bank would give gifts worth N150,000 each to 20 customers from February 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023. The raffle draws are held on the second and fourth Friday of each month.

To qualify, customers are expected to simply open a Zenith Bank account; fund the account with a minimum of N5,000 for the period; request and collect a Zenith Bank Debit Card (virtual or physical).

The promo is open to new and existing Zenith Bank customers that maintain a minimum deposit of N5,000 for the period; request and collect a Zenith Bank Debit Card (virtual or physical) and download and register on the Zenith Bank Mobile App or register for *966# EazyBanking.

“If you do not have a current or savings account with us, or have a

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he London Stock Exchange (LSE) has commended the pioneer and immediate past Chairman of Seplat Energy Plc, Dr ABC Orjiako, for his role in nurturing the company to maturity before his recent retirement from the board.

Seplat, which is listed on both Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and London Stock Exchange, is driving the country’s energy transition towards cleaner, more reliable energy.

Orjiako retired last month after 13 years as the board chairman of Seplat Energy Plc. Orjiako in his reaction at the event in London, said: “It is the magnanimity of the LSE (London stock exchange) and LSEG’s Africa Advisory Group (LAAG) that made it possible for us to be here today. It is not an easy thing to ring the opening bell of the LSE, for me to use this to mark my exit as the chairman of Seplat brings very old memories to me starting from 2014 when we first rang the bell to list our security in this market.”

“One of the things that gladden my heart is the fact that everything on the board turned green as we rang the bell; this is very important for us in Seplat. Colour green not only signifies good performance in the market but because green is a very important symbol in Seplat.

Julia Hogget, chief executive officer, London Stock Exchange Plc said, “I have had the opportunity occasionally to meet members in person, but this is really the first opportunity. Not all of us, but a lot of us have managed to come for this important occasion and to acknowledge the many achievements that you (ABC Orjiako) have had in your career.”

“SEPLAT was also the first Nigerian company to list ordinary shares simultaneously on the London Stock Exchange and NGX and $535million was successfully raised during that initial public offering (IPO), which was both oversubscribed and the largest IPO in subject,” Hogget noted.

Also speaking at the event, Basil Omiyi, Chairman, Seplat Energy Plc said: “We appreciate the kind gesture by the Exchange and London Stock Exchange Africa Advisory Group (LAAG) to honour him. Our Pioneer Chairman Dr ABC Orjiako, who is very well known to you, has led our company to build and nurture a very rewarding relationship with the Exchange since its listing.

resident, the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to use Bureaux De Change (BDCs) as tool in ending multiple rate practices, and ushering in stability in the forex market.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Operational Manual defines BDCs as small retail end institutions licensed to carry on the business of selling Personal Travel Allowance (PTA), Business Travel Allowance (BTA), school fees and medical bills payment abroad among other roles at the critical retail end of the foreign exchange market.

However, the various policies of the CBN on the operation of the sub-sector continues to be inhibitive and limiting BDCs’ from providing their constitutional roles in the forex market and economy.

Gwadabe has therefore called for collaboration between the BDCs and the CBN in the implementation of marketfriendly policies that will make the BDCs impact more positively in the market and promote exchange rate stability in the economy.

The ABCON boss said the the hasty generalisation that criminalizes the BDC sub-sector as responsible for all market crisis and infractions like selling dollars with higher premium above regulatory limit, promoting loss of confidence in the near, and multiplicity of the exchange rates is not in the best interest of the market and economy.

He said: “It is in view of this disturbing situation and the need to strengthen BDCs value chain as obtainable in organised climes that we urge the regulators and policymakers to consider BDCs as the most potent tool in liberalising the foreign exchange market and stopping multiples exchange rates in the system.”

He explained that the BDCs have since 2006, provided policymakers with a window in achieving their mandate of exchange rate stability and price equilibrium. He therefore called for the reintegration of the BDCs into the forex market ecosystem to sustain their roles in the economy.

Gwadabe said the BDCs have for years remained effective and creative in contributing to the forex market.

For instance, the introduction of the Investors & Exports (I&E) FX window in 2017 was as a result of agitations from stakeholders like ABCON, foreign investors, Nigerians in Diaspora who advocated for it to allow more dollar inflows to the economy boost foreign reserves, and raise confidence in the naira by addressing widening rate premiums.

He said: “In order to address the challenges facing the forex market, now is the time to integrate BDCs into the market activities as agent of stabilization and delivering the market to the promised land”.

On how ready the BDCs are for the responsibility, Gwadabe said the operators have for years been preparing for a time like this by integrating technology into their operations and promoting efficiency and transparency in their businesses.

For instance, ABCON trains Compliance Officers to ensure they are acquainted with what is required of them, especially on monthly rendition of results and tracking illicit capital flows to the market through compliance initiatives.

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CAP ITA L MA RKE T

Investment in Shares is Not Gambling

BY SOLA ONI

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ho invests and who gambles?

Investment in any asset class is a tradeoff of risk and return. It is settled in portfolio management that there are four major asset classescash and cash equivalents, equities, fixed income, and real estate. Apart from what is called systematic or undiversifiable risk, which is inherent to the entire market or market segment, each asset class has its peculiar risk. Risk appetite largely determines whether one is an investor, speculator, or a gambler.

However, a gambler puts money on a highly risky investment or bet a huge sum of money with an expectation of extraordinary profit. A gambler is ready to lose his entire money or property in expectation of unrealistic return. Investments that fall under gambling include casino, lotteries, horse trading, card games and bing Some people, either for lack of knowledge or deliberate mischief, classify investment in stocks as gambling. This is incorrect. Many investors have got their fingers burnt for several reasons, including failure to seek investment advice from a stockbroker.

Others are purchasing shares without investment objective, lack of knowledge of time horizon in investment, opaque knowledge of the company’s operations, corporate governance structure and competitive edge., Failure to understand one’s risk profile, investing short term fund in long term assets, called mismatch in corporate finance, investment based on herd instinct, just because many people are buying the stocks and misplaced ambition to get rich quickly amongst others.

Inevitable questions ahead of share purchase There are questions that an investor cannot ignore before investing in shares, but those who invest in casino and other forms of ponzi schemes solely rely on unrealistic forecasts, designed to attract unsuspecting and overambitious investors.

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An investor can be an individual or a corporate entity that commits money into a business with expectation of good return on in the form of capital gains, interest, dividend, premium, other pension benefits etc on a consistent basis. A smart investor works closely with a professional adviser to minimize risk and maximize return. A speculator invests in risky assets with eyes on a huge profit. But he does this with calculated risk.

“

There are questions that an investor cannot ignore before investing in shares, but those who invest in casino and other forms of ponzi schemes solely rely on unrealistic forecasts, designed to attract unsuspecting and overambitious investors

Why would an investor want to be a shareholder in a blue chip quoted company without information on its size, fundamentals, such as the price-to-earnings ratio, debt-to-equity ratio and book-to value ratio, company’s stock performance compared to its peers, shareholder pattern, any mutual fund holding, dividend history, revenue growth, volatility record and the extent to which external shocks such as political unrest, economic dislocation, unfavourable government policy, emergence of pandemic, energy crisis and a host of others can impact negatively on the company’s top and bottom line?

not gambling. It is an investment with calculated risks and there are mitigants. Anyone who loses his life savings to investment in shares must have breached the due process of investing or been duped by a con man.

Stockbrokers as investment doctors

Averting fake investment advisers

This is where securities professionals commonly called stockbrokers become gatekeepers. These professionals keep tab on all the sectors of the economy. They do many analyses before recommending buy, sell or hold to an investor.

Stockbrokers are not God.

Certified stockbrokers and the companies they work for are highly regulated by the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and they can be sanctioned by professional bodies, such as the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) and Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON).

A sudden occurrence can negate their analysis, but they encourage their clients to diversify holdings as a hedge against unforeseen risks. The processes and procedures for investment in shares show that it is

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A list of individuals and corporate members in good standing can be confirmed from these institutions.

Investors should contact stockbrokers at every stage

of their investment decision. Those who understand the market make money throughout the year.

Whether bearish and bullish run, it is a market for all seasons.

Are there risk-free Investments?

In corporate finance, the Federal Government bond is ranked as the safest and therefore risk-free. This is premised on the fact that it is ‘backed by the full faith and credit of the government ‘. The perception is that the bonds have no default risk. The income on the bond is exempted from State and local government taxes. The bond is called gilt edge.

However, the risk-free attribute of the bond is flawed by its associated risks. The bond is not insulated from inflation risk, exchange rate risk, interest rate risk, reinvestment risk, liquidity risk and even default risk. Argentina, Ecuador, Lebanon, Ukraine, and Venezuela had defaulted in sovereign debt at one time or the other after all.

Share prices can fall significantly in a volatile market.

Volatility may be prompted by bad news from the company, such as announcement of poor earnings, controversial government policy or any other external events beyond the control of a company. However, share diminution is also a buy signal for companies with strong fundamentals. Stock markets operate on self-correction, based on certain variables, hence, after a while, the share price will bounce back to its fair market value.

However, it takes those who understand market psychology to take advantage of occasional price swings. Shareholders suffer credit risk when a company goes under, leading to asset stripping.

The law provides that the shareholders can only be considered after taking care of the company’s creditors. There is no investment that is risk-free.

But gambling is the mother of all risky investments.

Gamblers often lose everything.

•Oni is the Chief Executive Officer, Sofunix Investment and Communications THEWILLNIGERIA

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DEBO ADEDAYO

Committed to Activism PAGE 21-26

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Popular content creator and comedian, Debo Adedayo, professionally known as Mr Macaroni, speaks with SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN about his work, activism and sundry issues. Excerpts:

I HAVE NO INTEREST IN POLITICS FOR NOW – DEBO ADEDAYO H

ow did you venture into content creation?

I started creating content in 2019. I was just tired of working as an actor. I started acting in 2011, but I wasn’t getting as many jobs as I wanted. I wasn’t getting the kind of scripts that I wanted. As an actor, when you are not getting enough scripts, you will be tired and frustrated. I have been there. So I know what it means. I saw the likes of Lasisi Elenu and Brother Shaggi online, they were doing their stuff and people admired their acting skills. I thought of giving acting a try. That was how I started.

Why weren’t you getting enough acting jobs back then?

In Nollywood, you just can’t start acting today and expect to get lead roles in the movies almost immediately. You have to hone your skill and give it some time to grow first. In my case, I spoke out against certain things that were not quite right about the movie industry and some people were not cool about it. I had noticed that each time I was on the set of a movie, there were some things that I could not tolerate. I would just speak my mind. Apparently, that was not how to react to such things; people just accepted whatever was thrown at them. When I started speaking up against such things, a lot of people felt I was troublesome and they stopped calling me for jobs. I think that explains it.

Can you recall your first skit and how it was generally received?

When I started, I was producing some educational videos. The teacher and student stuff. I used to ride a bicycle in my videos.

I was a primary school teacher and my kids used to make fun of me. We shot a lot of these videos and I wanted to put them on YouTube, but I changed my mind later and posted them on Instagram. At first, nobody was viewing the videos. My friends would look at them and make some comments just to encourage me, but other people were not interested. It wasn’t until I started playing the Daddy Wa character that people started showing interest in what I was doing. One day I just decided to try another character. I put on Agbada and people responded more to it. I acted the part of an elderly man trying to woo a girl. I called her, but she pelted me with insults. That caught the attention of many people. People said that what we showcased in the skit was what elderly men do to girls old enough to be their daughters. So, I decided to create more content around that character since it was loved and accepted.

When positive responses weren’t coming at first, were you tempted to give up and try something entirely different from content creation?

No, content creation is my escape route. I felt it was my own thing and nobody could tell me how to go about it. So I wasn’t ready to give up on it. I never for once felt like giving up.

Looking back at the journey, can you comfortably say it has been rosy for you?

We thank God. I can’t say it has been entirely rosy for me. That would be dishonest. There were challenges and I was able to

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o Adeday

overcome them. It has not been 100 percent rosy. A part of my brand is also activism. It is a part of me that can never change. A lot of people don’t like that part of me. They have asked me to stop speaking against government. And I have lost some people because of this. I have also been arrested at some point and beaten up, but the beautiful thing is that I understand who I am. So when such things come up, I am always prepared to face them.

What made you so interested in activism?

It started in secondary school. I just did not like to be intimidated. I always liked to speak up for myself. I didn’t like to be bullied. When I became the head boy in my secondary school, I spoke up against the school authority.

They actually changed and students started enjoying good food. That is how it started for me. I speak up for the people around me.

Are you considering switching to partisan politics in the future?

I am of the school of thought that believes that it is not compulsory for an activist to participate in politics. I Adedayo think that activism is part of governance and nation building. There are people who always hold government officials accountable and force them to do things better. In the How rich is Mr Macaroni? nearest future, if I think there is any capacity where I feel I can I thank God. God has been kind and generous to me. I can say serve, why not? I just want to be myself, do what is right and that I am comfortable enough to eat when I want to eat and help encourage people to do what is right too. those who do not have to eat.

How did you come about the stage name, Mr Macaroni?

It was from a series I was doing. The director told me that he liked the way I was taking my role. He asked me to give myself a name in case they want to add more things to my character. I was caught off guard at first and I had to think about it for a few seconds before coming up with Mr Macaroni. I adapted it as a stage name.

A lot of people say the content creation industry is a million dollar business. How true is this?

It is true. Content creation is like crude oil. There is a lot of opportunity to make money in content creation, ranging from brand promotion and brand ambassadorship to earning additional revenue from the digital platforms, such as Facebook and YouTube. You get to do special appearances. It is a highly lucrative industry.

Why don’t you flaunt your wealth on social media like other content creators do?

I don’t have anything against people who do that. It is also a way to let people know the goodness of God in their lives. I have never been that kind of person. I like to keep my personal business private. With the way things are going in the country, a lot of people are not privileged to have some of these things that people flaunt. Most of the time, I don’t like to throw it in other people’s faces. My privacy is important to me.

Some skit makers have been described as not funny. What is your take on this?

The idea of content creation started from being funny. Some people have shot videos that lasted only 10 seconds just to make others to laugh. I don’t blame fans who say that some videos are not funny. Content creation has gone beyond just making people to laugh. Some people use their content to inform and educate the society and some are used for product advertisement. I see my content as a tool for societal transformation. It is okay if everybody cannot find some people funny. It all depends on the content people put out there. It is left for the fans to choose. I also believe everyone has their target audience. Content creation must not focus on comedy alone. Those that dance and upload on social media are also content creators as well. I try not to make people laugh when I create content around government issues. I don’t want people to laugh in such situations; I want them to feel the gravity of the message I am trying to pass across. So it has a different angle and I always implore people to look at it from different perspectives.

What informed the wedding pictures of Mummy Wa and yourself, which you posted online some weeks ago?

It was actually a photo shoot for some wedding vendors. I didn’t believe that people would take it so seriously. Mummy Wa is usually in my videos and people know that she is in a relationship. I didn’t know people will believe it.

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CRYSTABEL’S DEATH AND MENACE OF BODY ENHANCEMENT CLINICS

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Adepoju

ast week, the media was agog with news of the death of a young lady named Crystabel, following complications from tummy tuck and Brazilian butt surgeries at the Cynosure Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Clinic located in Mende Village, Maryland, Lagos.

Crystabel was a Port Harcourt-based social media influencer, who had a body to die for but wasn’t satisfied with it. She wanted a curvier silhouette that would have left many gaping in naked admiration each time she posted pictures of herself in a swimsuit or skimpy clothes.

Besides being an influencer, Crystabel ran an online makeup store called All Things Pulchritude and was a realtor with Mital Homes. Unfortunately, she died in the arms of alleged quacks, the likes of whom seemed to have flooded Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, parading as experienced plastic surgeons with qualifications from European and American universities.

The unfortunate incident, which the clinic attempted to cover up, was brought to the fore by Crystabel’s friend, Posha, who took to social media to accuse the clinic of negligence.

The management of the clinic, it was alleged, had failed to inform Crystabel’s relatives about her death, but its staff went on to deposit her corpse in the mortuary. It wasn’t until a group of the deceased’s friends waited endlessly for her to return from the clinic that realised that something was wrong and they went to the clinic. They were then given a letter to retrieve her body from the mortuary.

When her friends tried to berate the clinic for negligence via social media, they fended them off by blocking the comment section. Reacting to Posha’s accusations, the clinic while commiserating with Crystabel’s family, said she was properly investigated pre-surgery to ensure she was fit to go under the knife. But four days after the surgery and a day before she was to be discharged, it was observed that she was symptomatically anaemic despite earlier interventions. She was given a blood transfusion and everything became normal. But four hours after the transfusion, she started complaining of chest tightness, difficulty in breathing and coughing with production of thick frothy yellowish sputum which continued till the next day. According to the clinic, she was promptly attended to, with life-saving intervention but her condition deteriorated and there was nothing they could do to salvage the situation. The clinic also claimed they were unable to reach Crystabel’s next of kin on account of a wrongly copied phone contact and were only able to establish contact with the family through a third party within three hours of her death, contrary to her friend, Posha’s claim that she died days before they found out.

Crystabel’s death is not the first from complications of plastic surgery. Several ladies have unfortunately lost their lives and while some of them would prefer not to blow the lid off the can, a few like Crystabel’s case have been made public. Another worrisome case of death by complications arising from surgery, is that of a former beauty queen, Onwuzuligbo Nneka Miriam.

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Crystabel

Nneka who was the 2013 Face of Democracy Transformation Winner had approached Anuoluwapo Adepoju, who also parades himself as a doctor and runs Medcontour Medical and Laser clinic in the Lekki area of Lagos. She wanted a Brazilian Butt surgery and a liposuction.

Unfortunately she died due to complications from the procedure. When the complications arose, she was driven in an ambulance to Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH} and was in the hospital for almost a month with the staff of LUTH doing all they could to stabilise her condition, but in vain.

Nneka later gave up the ghost.

While LUTH and Nneka’s relatives blamed Anu for her death, she claimed that Nneka approached LUTH herself for pneumonia treatment and that during the time she was on admission at the hospital, she was made to lie on her bum when she shouldn’t have, having come out straight from surgery and also forced to discontinue her antibiotics medication, which must have led to complications. Nneka went into a coma and never came out of it.

Anu insisted that Nneka’s situation was mismanaged at LUTH. Well, rather than take heed of subsequent procedures, Anu allegedly went on a butchering spree, committing more medical blunders. The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC had to get involved. After several complaints of botched surgery and after refusing to honour their invitation, ignoring several court summons and obstructing investigation by the commission, her clinic was shut down. But that didn’t stop her. She continued to perform procedures straight out of some hospitals in the Lekki area of Lagos. She was eventually suspended by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria in line with section 15(3)c of the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act Cap M8 LFN 2004 and also dragged to the Federal High Court, Lagos by FCCCPC after receiving three disturbing complaints from some aggrieved persons like Marlene Oluwakemi, Taiwo Temilade and Vivian Onwuzuligbo, sister to Nneka who wanted justice for her late sister.

Although Anu obtained full registration as a medical practitioner on April 4, 2019, she was already performing surgery on patients before then as the procedure she performed on Nneka was in December 2018, four months before she was fully registered as a medical practitioner.

In addition, she paraded herself as a cosmetic surgeon without undergoing a residency training programme or being registered by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria. Well after all said and done, Anu walks free and still performs body enhancement procedures on very many willing Nigerian ladies.

Besides women, men are also known to be obsessed with their looks and some now openly embrace cosmetic surgery to alter their looks.

Unlike 71-year-old Charles Oputa, aka Charly Boy, who doesn’t hide any enhancement procedure he gets done, most men would rather keep mum on having gone under the knife. This explains why many gasped with shock, when it was reported

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Okoko

Onwuzuligbo

that Keniebi Okoko, a businessman and a former governorship aspirant in Bayelsa State died of complications from a tummy tuck surgery in a Lagos-based clinic,.

Unable to travel abroad to have this procedure done due to the coronavirus global lockdown in 2020, 42-year-old Keniebi had approached Amethyst Health Care and Diagnostic Centre Limited, located in the Lekki area of Lagos.

However, the surgery failed due to an alleged power failure in the hospital. It was alleged that the back-up power generator failed to start while the procedure was underway, leading to hypoxia and cardiac arrest.

The clinic however denied Keniebi’s death had to do with power going off as, according to them, there was power 48 hours before the procedure and all through the procedure until 10 pm the following day, long after the procedure ended. The management had claimed that the clinic had two fully functional power generators that they could have made use of incase power went off.

The family of the deceased, suspecting foul play and negligence, reported the matter to the Criminal Investigative Department of The Lagos State Police Command, Panti. Members of staff of the clinic were asked to give their statements and the police put their facts together and sent the file to the Ministry of Justice. However, one very disturbing piece of information about the whole thing was the fact that Dr Benedict Olusola, the doctor that performed the surgery was allegedly barred from performing any form of surgery and stem cell treatment in the state of Texas in 2017 after performing inappropriate surgeries on patients and allegedly tampering with their medical records. This was after he was allegedly made the subject of disciplinary action by the Texas Medical Board.

Little wonder, when Dr Olusola was approached by a media house on a fact finding mission to comment on the exact cause of Keniebi’s death, Olusola remained evasive. Ironically, Olusola, a US trained doctor, had been a consultant to the hospital since 2018, two years before Keniebi’s passed on.

While there is nothing wrong with enhancing some body parts, one feels uncomfortable with the number of lives lost in reported cases of failed plastic surgery in Nigeria. This is more than enough reason to raise the alarm. These deaths, no doubt painful, bring to the fore the surge in the number of alleged foreign trained plastic surgeons who return home to hoodwink their unsuspecting countrymen into believing in their capability to perform surgery.

Aided by the lack of regulation by the appropriate professional bodies, body enhancement clinics are daily springing up in every nook and cranny of the country. Ironically, despite warnings to both men and women to carry out critical research on a particular clinic before engaging them in such delicate services, Nigerians will continue to throw caution to the wind and patronise them without doing their due diligence.

Obayuwana Becomes First African to Bag Swiss Learning Excellence Award

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n recognition of his outstanding leadership and promotion of exclusive Swiss luxury brands in the Nigerian market, the Swiss Embassy in Nigeria and the Swiss Learning Organisation have honoured the Founder and Managing Director of Polo Luxury Group, John Obayuwana, with the Swiss Learning Excellence Award, thus making him the first Nigerian and African recipient of this award.

Polo Luxury Group is the official and authorised retailer of the most prestigious Swiss watch brands in the world, which include Rolex, Cartier, Piaget, Chopard, Longines, and IWC, among others.

Presenting the award to Obayuwana, the Consul General of Switzerland to Nigeria, Thomas Schneider expressed the deep gratitude of the Switzerland Government to Obayuwana for building a strong bond between

the Nigerian and Switzerland governments and also for opening up the vast West African market to the impeccable craftsmanship of high-end Swiss watch brands such as Rolex, Patek Phillipe, IWC Schaffhausen, Piaget, Omega, and Chopard, among others.

Often referred to as the king of luxury, the soon to be 73 year old Obayuwana has come a long way from when he set out to build the Polo Luxury Group in 1991. Thirtyfive years after, the business has grown to be a highly recognisable luxury brand in Nigeria. Considered a real champion of Swiss-Nigerian trade relations and a true friend of Switzerland, Obayuwana has excellently represented over 700 companies that are part of the watch industry in Switzerland and is in fact the embodiment of bringing ‘A Taste of Swiss Luxury’ to Nigeria.’

Obayuwana

Ex-BOI Boss, Olagunju, Wife Bag Chieftaincy Titles

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bout a week ago, the Authority, NTA, Olagunju is a immediate-past Managing key figure in the socio-cultural Director of the Bank of group’s social and infrastructural Industry, Dr Waheed Olagunji interventions in his home and his wife, Hajia Mobolaji were state. As the current chairman, installed as the Aare Bobagunwa Offa Descendants Union, and Yeye Aare Bobagunwa ODU Economic Development respectively by the Olofa of Offa, Committee, chairman, Project Oba Muftau Gbadamosi Okikiola.

Implementation Committee On hand to serenade guests and on ONE Innovation Hub, Offa, the hosts at the high octane party Member, Development of Offa that had the who is who in the Industrial Trust Fund Board, many corporate and business circle, was have lauded the recognition of juju maestro, King Sunny Ade and the world-class technocrat by Oba his band, dishing out good music Okikiola as a well deserved one. from his repertoire. The chieftaincy conferment was not all about merry making as there was a preinvestiture lecture where erudite scholar, Professor Akin Oyebode spoke on the topic: ‘Mobilising Popular Participation for the Emergence of Offa Titun’.

The couple earned the titles as illustrious son and daughter of Offa, Kwara State, as a result of their selfless service to the community. A former television broadcaster with Nigerian Television The Olagunjus

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Wale Adefarasin’s Siblings Absent as He Celebrates 70th Birthday

TIMI ALAIBE THROWS LAVISH 60TH BIRTHDAY

Alaibe

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easoned administrator and a one time managing director of Niger Delta Development Company, Timi Alaibe clocked 60 on Friday June 10 and to celebrate the milestone, he rolled out the drums and feted friends, associates and family members to a lavish party at the Harbour Points events centre, Lagos. The party which had the who is who in Nigeria’s political, business and social circle, was reminiscent of his 50th birthday which was also

held at the same event venue 10 years ago.

Some of those who made it to the birthday party are former president Olusegun Obasanjo; former Cross River State governor, Donald Duke; Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote; founder, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Atedo Peterside; former head of service, Steve Oronsanye; UBA and HEIRS Holding chairman, Tony Elumelu; Sen. Ben Obi; Musa Danjuma, businessman and younger brother to General Theophilus Danjuma Retd; Senator Florence Ita Giwa; newly weds, Fidelis Anosike and his wife, Nollywood actress, Rita Dominic; businessman, Terry Waya; fashionista and socialite, Nkiru Anumudu; former Delta State governor, James Ibori and his wife, Senami; minister of trade and investment, Niyi Adebayo; president Nigeria Bar Association, Olumide Akpata; president

Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick and his wife, Julie etc. One of the highlights of the party which was anchored by MC extraordinaire, IK Osakioduwa, was the presentation of a book to him by Obasanjo. The book which is about Timi was compiled and put together by 29 of his close friends. Timi who has for many decades been a major part of the peace and developmental trajectory of the Niger Delta region, has been a recurring decimal in the gubernatorial race of Bayelsa State. Unfortunately, the position keeps eluding him and one wonders if like Atiku Abubakar, the presidential flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party, who has tried his luck at Nigeria’s presidency five times, Timi would also remain tenacious and give the gubernatorial race one or two more trials. Besides making his mark in the public sector, Timi made forays in the private sector, working his way through accounting firms, several banks and earning his stripes. As an entrepreneur and chairman of Zomay Group Limited, his interests are in dredging, civil construction, offshore marine logistics and support services. He is equally active in the hospitality industry, and owns a highbrow hotel in Port Harcourt. A father and grandfather, Timi used to be married but lost his dearly beloved wife, Alaere to the deadly cancer disease many years ago.

Otedola House of Entertainment

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lthough Femi Otedola has made a huge success of his life as an investor and businessman, his children prefer the allure of the entertainment world and would rather not be bogged by knotty board room issues. While his first daughter from a previous relationship, Tolani, is an alternative singer, his first daughter with his now ex wife, Nana, Florence, is a well recognised Disc Jockey who has

The Otedolas

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performed at very important forums including the United Nations. She goes by the stage name, DJ Cuppy. His third soonto-be married daughter, Temi is a budding actress. But unknown to many, the older Otedola has a sibling who was the first in the family to venture into the entertainment world. His name is Rotimi. The 58-year-old dread lock spotting dude is the third son of late Sir Michael Otedola, a former

governor of Lagos State. Rotimi, a percussionist who plays different musical instruments especially the guitar, had previously made some strides in the world of music, performing with his Afrinero band at entertainment spots around the cosmopolitan city of Lagos.

Little wonder when Femi’s three daughters found their path in entertainment, he did not hesitate to give them his blessings, afterall, his brother paved the way for them.

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Olumide

CAPT DAPO OLUMIDE RETURNS,TO HEAD NIGERIA AIR

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opular airline pilot and socialite, Captain Dapo Olumide, has been tapped

by President Muhammadu Buhari to head the country’s new national carrier, Nigeria Air, in the interim.

The experienced pilot has been named as the Chief Executive Officer of the airline that has been mired in controversy since it was birthed.

Olumide, who is an Americantrained and no-nonsense pilot with a pedigree, is expected to bring his years of experience as a pilot to the affairs of Nigeria Air and midwife it to become a professionally run airline from the Public Private Partnership process up to the commencement of operations. The Federal Government initiative will in due course be handed over to Nigerian institutional investors, who will own 51 per cent shares of the airline at the minimum.

While the government will have five per cent, the rest will be owned by strategic equity partners.

A former Managing Director of the defunct Virgin Nigeria, Olumide is considered as one of the most respected personnel in the aviation industry with a track record of over 30 years experience. He had a brief stint as a banker with the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), specifically in the area of transport and infrastructure project development. He was also, at some point, the Manager, Corporate Business at Aero Contractors of Nigeria LTD. A graduate of EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University, Arizona, US, Olumide is also a fellow of the prestigious Royal Aeronautical Society in England. After Virgin Nigeria folded up, he floated Ropeways Transport Ltd and sold the idea of a cable car system to the Lagos State Government as a way to help reduce the perennial road traffic. However the project never took off.

n Monday June 6, Pastor Wale Adefarasin, the General Overseer of the Guiding Light Assembly, Ikoyi, Lagos, clocked 70 years.

The birthday celebration, which kicked off with a church service, was without fanfare. The celebrant and some members of his congregation, his friends and relatives, including his son, Adeolu, who is also an ordained pastor in his church, gathered to give praises and thanks to God for sparing his life.

Some of those present at the ceremony were sports broadcaster, Aisha Falode, society women, Sade Balogun. Genny Adeosun, Lawunmi Bibilari, Nay Yakubu etc. But conspicuously missing were the celebrant’s two younger siblings, who are also labourers in the vineyard: Apostle Yemi Adefarasin and the most popular and youngest of the three brothers, Pastor Paul Adefarasin.

While Pastor Paul runs House on the Rock Church, Lagos, Apostle Yemi oversees Abuja-based Kingdom Lifeline Apostolic

Ministries. Before moving to Abuja, he was for many years the senior pastor of Action Worship Centre in the Republic of Benin.

While it is understandable why Apostle Yemi couldn’t make it to the birthday celebration, since he is based in Abuja one wonders why Pastor Paul couldn’t make time out to honour his older brother on his birthday. For someone who likes to celebrate others on his social media handle, to say that it came as a surprise that he didn’t celebrate his brother on his social media page, would be simply putting it mildly. Even his wife, Ifeanyi didn’t deem it fit to celebrate her brother- in-law.

Adefarasin

Yomi Folawiyo’s Ex Wife Set to Marry Lagos Prince

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ix years after Yomi Folawiyo’s marriage to Bimbo Kashamu collapsed, the latter is all set to give love a second chance. While Yomi is one of the sons of late businessman and philanthropist, Chief Abdulwahab Folawiyo, Bimbo, a skin care expert, is a niece to late Senator Buruji Kashamu.

The couple’s short-lived marriage was characterised with a lot of drama bordering on infidelity, distrust and failure on the part of Yomi to fulfill his obligation as a father and husband, as well as several other issues.

Yomi was previously married and that marriage produced a son, Ayomide before it broke down.

Then he met Bimbo and after a few months of courtship, they had a court wedding in Ikoyi Registry on December 3, 2011.

Since the end of the marriage, Bimbo has concentrated on raising her daughter with him and growing her business.

Kashamu

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Three years after parting ways with Yomi, she met and began a relationship with businessman Ademola Eletu-Odibo. EletuOdibo is a Prince of Itele, a rural kingdom between Lagos and Ogun states. But more importantly, as his relationship with Bimbo progressed, just as the love he shared with his wife, Olabisi, continued to dwindle, so much so that he allegedly sent her packing from their matrimonial home. She was forced to move to the United States with their children.

Soon Ademola’s relationship with Bimbo assumed a new dimension as the both began to step out more often together and he eventually engaged her. So elated is she that she is already referring to herself as Mrs Abimbola Ademola EletuOdibo. She has been getting congratulatory messages from her friends and has started making arrangement for a grand wedding.

Eletu-Odibo THEWILLNG

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JUNE 12 - JUNE 18, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

STORIES BY SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN

Victoria Bamidele Shin-Aba Bows Out At 60

WHY MOJISOLA ALLI-MACAULAY LOST RE-ELECTION BID F

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he Regional Terminal Manager of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Victoria Bamidele Shin-Aba, bowed out of service last week after 35 years of meritorious service.

The hardworking manager had a triple celebration to mark her years of service, retirement, 60th birthday and unveiling of her book, an autobiography titled, My Resilience: The Memoir of my Bakery.

The book chronicles her birth, educational pursuit, challenges, her service to FAAN, achievements and recognitions.

Shin-Aba won some accolades while in service. She was the first female to have made it to the Regional Manager of FAAN and the first certified Airport Manager in Nigeria.

Shin-Aba was also one of the top five women in aviation in Africa before her retirement.

In 2018, she was named Airport Personality of the

resh facts have emerged on why Mojisola Alli-Macaulay lost the chance to be re-elected into the Lagos State House of Assembly to represent Amuwo-Odofin Constituency on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Alli-Macaulay started her political career as a councillor in Ward B1, Amuwo-Odofin with the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria between 2010 and 2013. She later contested and won the House of Assembly election to represent Amuwo-Odofin constituency in 2019. However, her attempt to seek re-election hit a brick wall and the reason for this is not far-fetched.

During the EndSARS protests that rocked the nation in 2020, AlliMacaulay made some utterances that incurred the wrath of the youths in her constituency. She had described

them as perpetually hooked on hard drugs. In reaction and acting under the aegis of the Amuwo-Odofin Stakeholders Forum, the youths wrote a petition claiming that she had no functional office in her constituency, as required by law. They accused her of not preparing any bill to improve the lives of her constituents and argued that her continuous representation was totally against the wellbeing of her constituents.

The youths then went from door to door collecting signatures from residents to officially commence AlliMacaulay’s recall from the Lagos State House of Assembly. The lawmaker tried her best to exonerate herself from the allegations leveled against her, but the youths vowed to ensure that she did not complete her tenure.

Although the plot to remove her from the House of Assembly failed, many vowed to frustrate her next attempt at seeking re-election. Apparently they have succeeded as the lawmaker did not clinch the APC ticket in the just concluded primary election. Also, it was discovered that she allegedly hoarded the items handed to her by the state government as COVID-19 palliatives for onward deliverance to members of her constituency. It was alleged that she rebranded the items and gave them out as gifts when she celebrated her birthday.

he relationship between former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, and his former deputy, Prof Kolapo Eleka used to be very cordial and robust until greed and betrayal tore the two former allies apart. The two were so close that Fayose became a benefactor to the lecturer turned politician.

Fayose is largely responsible for Eleka’s rise in the political circles. He picked him from a university lecture hall and made him a deputy governor in 2014. Even after completing their term in office, the former governor did not abandon him. He endorsed him as the next person to contest for the seat of the number one citizen in Ekiti in 2018. Unfortunately, Eleka lost in the governorship election due to his inexperience.

In 2021, Eleka contested again as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). As usual, he expected his benefactor and godfather to support his manager, just as it was in 2018. Fayose endorsed him and worked assiduously behind the scene to ensure he clinched the governorship seat. However, Fayose changed his mind and back-pedalled a few months

later. He endorsed another aspirant in the person of Kolawole Oni as the chosen candidate of the party.

Eleka had to step down and accept his benefactor’s decision. Ahead of the 2023 general election, Eleka once again signified his interest to vie for an elective position. His desire was to run for the House of Representatives, this time around. Due to his respect for his former boss, he informed Fayose about his ambition. As usual, he was endorsed by the latter and was sure he would clinch the seat in 2023 only for Fayose to change his mind for the second time and endorse another candidate from Eleka’s constituency to represent the party at the primary.

Fayose chose his spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, who contested in the primary and emerged as the PDP’s candidate.

Eleka had to withdraw his interest for the second time while labeling his former boss’ endorsement as a facade and decoy. He also stated that his decision to withdraw from the race was because of lack of sincerity of purpose and arrogant display of deception by his former boss.

Many have wondered why the ex-governor would raise the hope

his former deputy’s hope twice only to dash it without even an apology.

Fayose’s betrayal, it was gathered, was a way of paying Eleka back for betraying the former Ekiti governor a few years ago.

In 2020, Eleka pitched his tent with Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State when he was at loggerheads with Fayose over who should emerge as the South-West Zonal Executive of the PDP. Zonal executives are usually shared among states and power blocs to avoid bitter elections, but Fayose and Makinde, both of who belonged to the same party, had their candidates.

There were two factions; the one belonging to a former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Taofeek Arapaja and a former Vice Chairman of the PDP in the South-West, Dr Eddy Olafose. Fayose supported Olafose’s faction while Makinde supported Arapaja’s faction.

The division set Makinde and Fayose on a collision course for a very long time.

So when Eleka decided to support Olowoopejo Makinde’s faction, Fayose was disappointed that Eleka could betray him and support his political enemy.

He lost confidence in Eleka and twice moved against him.

Alli-Macaulay

Year and winner of the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees Award in 2018, among other accolades.

Rising through the ranks from the position of Assistant House Manager in 1987, she served in various positions of the Operation department till she got to the peak of her career before retirement.

At a point, she was transferred to Akure Airport and promoted to the position of Manager of the airport between 2011 -2014 before she was transferred back to Lagos State as the Head of Operations. She led the team that prepared Murtala Muhammed International

Shin-Aba Airport (MMIA) for its pioneer certification in Nigeria.

Shin-Aba also ensured that MMIA got the most coveted Aerodrome Certification of MMIA issued by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.

Why Fayose And Kolapo Eleka Fell Apart Residents of Egbe-Idimu LCDA Accuse Olowoopejo of Non-performance T

Fayose THEWILLNIGERIA

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n 2021 when the residents of the Egbe-Idimu Local Council Development Area of Lagos State elected Kunle Olowoopejo as Chairman, they had heaved a sigh of relief and hoped that the LCDA would undergo a massive transformation. However, a year later, they are already regretting their action and accusing Olowoopejo of not meeting their expectations.

Initially the Mayor, as he is fondly called, had hit the ground running. Later he slowed down and the same people that voted him into office started accusing him of neglecting their needs.

According to the people, Mayor commissioned a few projects,

most of them were donated by some politicians to the LCDA or started by the previous administration.

Compared to the previous administration, they claimed, Mayor’s performance in office was nothing to write home about. Youths within the LCDA also complained of not having access to him. Each time they tried to see him and make their grievances known, they hit a brick wall.

The youths also claimed that once they cried out against the Mayor’s attitude and he ran to a radio station to boast of his achievements in his first year in office. However, they are insisting he should turn a new leaf and face his job squarely.

Air Peace Boss, Allen Onyema, Loses Chief Pilot

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he Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Allen Ifechukwu Onyema, is bereaved. The lawyer cum entrepreneur lost one of his most trusted pilots, Captain Victor Egonu, who is the chief pilot of the reputable Airline.

Onyema has not been in a good mood since he received the sad news of Egonu’s death.

It was gathered that late pilot had slumped and died in London. He was confirmed dead by the time he was taken to the hospital. Sources revealed that Egonu might have been nursing high blood pressure, which resulted in his death. He was the director of

Flight Operations of Air Peace.

He worked with a handful of airlines before joining Air Peace, including Arik Air, Briscoe Helicopters, ADC, Kabo Airline, Okada Air and a few others.

Egonu also worked with Mobil Oil for some time before returning to the aviation industry. The half Nigerianhalf British pilot was 62 years-old before

his demise. His father is an indigene of Anambra State, while his mother is British.

Egonu was married and had children.

Egonu

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JUNE 12 - JUNE 18, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

STORIES BY SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN

Real Reasons Miracle Onem Dumped Her Political Ambition

CHRIS NAJOMO AND WIFE GIVE OUT DAUGHTER’S HAND IN MARRIAGE

The Ikelianis

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viation guru and director at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Chris Najomo and his beautiful wife, Martha Eseoghene hosted society bigwigs, business tycoons and captains of industry on Saturday, June 4, 2022 to the traditional wedding ceremony of their daughter, Camille Najomo and her beau, Christian Ikeliani at the Oriental Hotel, Lekki-Epe Express

way, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The event had the Chief Executive of Air Peace boss, Allen Onyema; President of the National Bar Association, Olumide Akpata and his wife, Michelle; Lisa Omorodion; Uche Nwandison; Nkechi Okocha and other dignitaries in attendance. The duo of talented music acts, Timi Dakolo and Chinedu Izuchukwu Okoli, also known as Flavour, thrilled the

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had been sick and hospitalized for a long time. She only got a call from her estranged husband’s aide to go and see the sick one in the hospital, then, she requested that the other children be brought to the hospital too. She also made it known that the appreciation was just a gesture to show that their custody tussle is gradually being resolved and there will be peace between the two warring parties very soon as the former minister is already talking about how they will both co-parent their children.

However, her fans will have none of her explanation.

They issued a stern warning to her never to seek their sympathy again since she no longer carries them along.

The mother of four later penned an appreciation note to her fans on social media for standing by her through her ordeal.

Chikwendu walked out of her marriage in 2020, on Chikwendu

guests to melodious songs.

The solemnisation of the holy matrimony took place on Saturday, June 11, 2022 at the Cathedral Church of Advent, Life Camp, Abuja. A reception followed at the International Conference Centre, Garki District, Abuja.

The couple had their introduction ceremony earlier in January, 2022. The Aviation guru and his wife, Martha who is the Chief Executive Officer of Seraphina Gems, an upscale outfit that stocks some of the most exotic jewellery in the world, are both known for throwing some of the grandest parties on the social scene. They spared no cost in ensuring that their guests had a memorable experience at the wedding. The beautiful bride, Camille Najomo, is a lawyer based in the United States while her husband, Christian Chukwudize is the son of Sir Chris Ikeliani and lady Ngozi Ikeliani.

He is an Engineer and he works with Facebook in the United States too. The couple met a few years ago through a mutual friend. They kicked off a friendship which later developed to a love relationship.

Precious Chikwendu Slammed For Appreciating Ex-Husband recious Chikwendu, otherwise known as Snowhite, the estranged wife of former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani Kayode, also known as FFK has been dragged for appreciating her former husband after he granted her the opportunity to see her four children after two years of not seeing them. The former beauty queen had taken to her social media last week to reveal that she had reunited with her four children. She thanked her husband for granting her the opportunity to see her children after a long custody battle. A few hours after making the post, naysayers started pointing accusing fingers at Chikwendu for appreciating the father of her children. She was accused of not carrying her fans along despite the fact that she cried out to them when she was denied access to her children. She was accused of painting the father of her children as a terrible man who made her undergo a horrible ordeal while her marriage lasted. Not done, fans also stated she deserved the maltreatment she got from her estranged husband for openly celebrating him on social media.

The ex-beautiful queen tried to explain the circumstances that led to her post. According to her, she almost lost one of her children who

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allegations of domestic violence, assault and battery. Before the marriage ended, she had four children for the former minister, Aragorn, Ragnar, Adien and Liam.

After their marriage packed up, she was denied the opportunity of seeing her children despite several court injunctions granted that she should be allowed to visit them.

A Joshua

SYNAGOGUE CHURCH OF ALL NATIONS IMMORTALISES TB JOSHUA

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he Synagogue Church of All Nations marked the first anniversary of the death of its founder, Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua, also known as TB Joshua tagged ‘Celebrating the Life and Legacies of Prophet TB Joshua’ on Sunday, June 5, 2022. The event had in attendance dignitaries, such as former presidential aspirant on the platform of the People’s Democratic party, Dele Momodu; comedian Atunyota Alleluya Akpobome, also known as Ali Baba; Tee Mac Omatshola Iseli; some foreign gospel ministers; Ondo State Deputy Governor, Lucky Ayedatiwa; representatives of the Lagos State government, Rev Bukola Adeleke, etc.

One of the highlights of the event was the unveiling of the TB Joshua Foundation, a project aimed at documenting the life and activities of the late prophet, and TB Joshua Scholarship Scheme, which was created to assist students in their academic and career pursuit.

Mrs Evelyn Joshua, wife of the late prophet, also revealed that a prayer mountain is being constructed in Arigidi, Ondo State, the birthplace of the iconic preacher. It was part of his dreams before his unfortunate demise to establish a prayer mountain in Ondo State where worshippers can gather to call on the name of the lord.

The project commenced a few months after his demise and it is almost completed. The event was filled with nostalgia as spirit filled praise worship reverberated the atmosphere which reminded many worshippers of their founder who doesn’t joke with such a heavenly filled atmosphere when he was alive.

As part of the event to mark the anniversary, a N10 million charity was donated by Emmanuel TV, the television station established by the late General Overseer. Food items, clothing items were distributed to orphanages in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Guests, members paid glowing tributes to the late clergy while some testified of the wonderful deeds they enjoyed while he was alive.

The great philanthropist, TB Joshua breathed his last on June 5, 2021, he was aged 57 years. The church was shut down for some months so as to mourn the late televangelist. Before the commencement of service after the demise of the clergy, the church battled leadership tussle for a while until the court affirmed that the widow of the clergy, Evelyn Joshua should be named as the head of the church’s trustee to carry on with the mantle of leadership of SCOAN.

few months ago, Honorable Miracle Tyna Onem, also known as Tynarated, the councilor representing Ogbia Ward 2 in the Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State made her intention to contest in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly election as a representative of Ogbia Constituency II in 2023 on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). She flooded her social media space with her campaign posters and told all who cared to listen that they should support her new political ambition.

However, a few weeks to the official declaration of her political ambition, it was gathered that Onem dropped out of the race for the House of Assembly. Sources said she dropped out due to an incident which almost claimed her life.

The sport loving councilor had a near fatal road accident that kept her bed-ridden for a couple of days and denied her the opportunity of joining other aspirants in declaring their political ambition and contesting in the House of Assembly primary election.

Onem was on her way, in company with some of her constituents, to attend a funeral within her constituency when the accident occurred.

All the people in her car Onem

were injured. She dislocated her arm, sustained injuries on her back and her face while the other passengers also sustained injury as well.

Commenting on the incident, the young politician thanked God for life and the opportunity to recover after the incident, adding that she looked forward to vying for the chairmanship position in Ogbia Ward 2 in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State in 2023.

Onem made headline news for building a link bridge, known as “Miracle Bridge”, between two communities in her constituency last year. She spent the sum of N2.5 million, meant for the purchase of an official car, on the project after she ran out of funds.

The Governor of Bayelsa State, His Excellency, Duoye Diri had to step in and assist financially to complete the project.

Olu of Warri Honoured in Canada With Brampton City’s Key

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he traditional ruler of Warri kingdom, Utieyinoritsetsola Emiko, the Ogiame Atunwatse III of Warri Kingdom has been honoured in Brampton, Ontario by the Mayor of the city.

The monarch was presented the key to the City of Brampton by the mayor of the city, Patrick Brown. Ogiame Atunwatse III embarked on a visit to Canada on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 where he spent a week touring different cities. He was in Calgary for three days before heading to Brampton where he was presented with

Olu of Warri

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the key. He was awarded the key for his profound impact and outstanding community contribution and support. The revered king is following in the footsteps of his father, Ogiame Atuwatse II, who during his reign as the traditional ruler in Warri Kingdom was also presented with the key of the city of the United States. Part of his mission was to meet with Nigerians, most especially Warri indigenes to leverage Foreign Direct Investment and other important cultural exchange and opportunities for his kingdom. Deliberations were held with key stakeholders in the Agro- business, Energy and Tech Ecosystem. He also had business meetings with the Calgary Economic Development Team. The City key presentation is a direct symbol of Brampton’s wish that a guest is free to come and go at will. It is usually bestowed upon a highly valued member of a community, or a celebrated guest of the city who has made an impact on the lives of the residents of that city.

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JUNE 12 - JUNE 18, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

SHOTS OF THE WEEK Photo Editor: Peace Udugba [08033050729]

L-R: Chairman, Seplat Energy Plc, Mr. Basil Omiyi; Chairman, LSEG’s Africa Advisory Group, Suneel Bakhshi; Pioneer and immediate past Chairman, Seplat Energy Plc, Dr. ABC Orjiako; Chief Executive Officer, London Stock Exchange (LSE) Plc, Julia Hoggett and CEO, Seplat Energy, Roger Brown, during the opening bell ringing ceremony in LSE in London on June 7, 2022.

L-R: Managing Director, Lekki Port, Du Ruogang; Founder, African Marine Environment Sustainability Initiative, Dr Felicia Mogo and Assistant Manager, Environment Health and Safety, Lekki Port, Adurayemi Ogundele during the beach cleanup exercise to celebration World Environment Day 2022 at the Magbon Segun Community, Ibeju Lekki Lagos on June 7, 2022.

L-R: Co-Founder, Mwungano ESG, Sophie Masipa; Founder Gina Din Group, Gina Din; Head of Content, BellaNaija L-R: Member, Mississippi House of Representatives; Hon. Latisha Mona Jackson presenting a Style, Mary Edoro; CEO, Kepler, Nathalie Munyampenda and Founder and Creative Director, Africa Soft PowerProject Congressional Commendation to Dr. Helen Oritsejafor, Founder ‘Dr. Helen A Hand to the Needy (ASP), Nkiru Balonwu, at the 2022 ASP ‘Africa Month’ Summit held in Kigali, Rwanda on June 8, 2022.

Foundation; Vice President, Republic of Liberia, Dr. Jewel Howard Taylor and Dr (Mrs) Oluwatosin Dokpesi, at a conference in Abuja, on June 7,2022.

Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo and his wife Mrs Nonye Soludo at the flag-off ceremony L-R: Head, Corporate Communications & CSR, Airtel Nigeria, Erhumu Bayagbon; Environmental Consultant, of the distribution of free insecticide treated nets to people in Awka, Anambra State on June 8, 2022.

Chidebere Emmanuel and CSR lead, Airtel Nigeria, Chioma Okolie during the commemoration of World Environment Day 2022 in Lagos on June 7,2022.

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JUNE 12 - JUNE 18, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

NEWS XTRA Ugwuanyi Offers Bursary Awards to 165 Enugu Law Students

BY CHUKWUMA ODU, ENUGU

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L-R: Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Oladayo Amao with Chairman, National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, during the INEC Chairman’s visit to Air force Chief office in Abuja on June ,5, 2022.

Calabar Sanitation Crisis: Residents Send SOS Message to Ayade FROM BASSEY ANIEKAN, CALABAR

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esidents OF Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, have sent a ‘save our souls’ message to Governor Ben Ayade, requesting urgent attention to the poor sanitary condition of the city.

The residents noted that Calabar had been largely unkempt for the past seven weeks, with heaps of refuse littering the major streets of the city, including commercial centres, such as Mbukpa, Fenton, Bassey Duke, Ekpo Abasi Junction, Edina and Iman areas.

They complained of negligence on the part of the government agencies whose duty was to keep calabar clean, saying that nothing has been done for weeks on end to get rid of the heaps of refuse in those parts of the city.

According to them, most worrisome is the sanitary condition of WATT Market in Calabar South, where traders sell vegetables, meat and other food items beside large heaps of refuse.

A resident, who lives in Ambo Street, told THEWILL described the dirt in his neighbourhood as a major health hazard and pleaded with the state governor to use his good office to safeguard the health of the people living in the area.

“As you can see, refuse is taking over the streets. How can children play in such a place without getting infected disease?

“The traders who sell by the side of the market have been displaced. Those who are able to brave it are exposing the food items they sell to danger. With all that smell and flies everywhere, are we not risking an epidemic?

“Please help us to plead with the state governor to intervene in this sanitation crisis to avoid a major outbreak of

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disease,” he said.

On his part, one David Mendie described the situation as alarming and a threat to human life.

He wondered why heaps of refuse should be left to fester on the streets of Calabar and no explanation has been given by the state government or any of its agencies.

Mendie pleaded with Governor Ayade to intervene in the ugly situation, stressing that the primary responsibility of the state government is the welfare of the people.

Also the Chairman of Calabar South Local Government Area, Mrs Esther Bassey, said that for more than five months the LGA had been evacuating waste in the area, but it could not continue due to its meagre resources.

According to Bassey, the state has a Ministry of Environment and a Waste Management Board responsible for waste disposal, adding that it was the responsible of the ministry to keep the capital city and other parts of the state clean at all times.

Reacting, General Manager of the Cross River Waste Management Board, Mr Sunday Oko, said he was aware of the situation, adding that the board’s biggest challenge was their equipment at the general dump site, not with evacuation.

“When you evacuate and don’t know where to drop it, that is a problem and that is the challenge we have. If you go to the general dump site in Lemna, the trucks filled with waste are all parked there unable to empty their contents.

This is because of the challenge we have with our equipment at the site, this is why the trucks cannot not go back to town.

Empowerment: Firm Mulls Training For Youths, Unemployed Graduates FROM DAVID OWEI, YENAGOA

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s part of its contributions to youth empowerment and reduction of youth restiveness and other rampant vices in the society, as well as in response to the challenges of power supply in Nigeria, a global multinational company with branches across Europe, Secodi Nigeria Limited, had made an arrangement to train Bayelsa youths to learn how to install solar conditioner and solar power panels with home appliances, such as refrigerators, radio, television, blenders and bore hole pumping machines.

Mr Moses Onoja , the CEO of the firm, who spoke with Airport Correspondents in Yenagoa, the training will enable citizens of the state to enjoy renewable clean energy that is eco-friendly and assist teeming unemployed youths to generate incomes that will reduce the financial constraints they face generally.

According to him, apart from Bayelsa State, the company is also partnering with other international companies to solve the nation’s epileptic electricity supply that has been albatross to industries in the country.

He further stressed that solar energy-powered cars and other appliances developed by the company are already available in the market for use and advised citizens to key into solar energy products as alternatives to often interrupted power supply, which has brought untold hardship to the citizens in Nigeria and the world at large, due to its affordability.

He said that the company is currently partnering with the Benue State government to empower the youths via training and that the Governor of the state, Samuel Ortom had procured solar-powered cars from the company.

He said, “It will be recorded that Secodi Company limited was established in 2017, since it’s inception, it has gone into many business ventures and they are sufficiently doing well.”

overnor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has offered bursary awards to 165 students of Enugu origin in different campuses of the Nigeria Law School across the country.

The I65 beneficiaries of the bursary awards were identified and listed

by Enugu law students when they interacted with Governor Ugwuanyi at the Government House, Enugu.

Confirming the disbursement of the bursary to the law students, the Executive Secretary, Enugu State Scholarship Board, Barr. Uche Levis Abonyi, stressed that each of the beneficiaries has received the sum of N100,000.00 from the state government, through his office.

Abonyi disclosed that Ugwuanyi started paying bursary awards to Enugu State indigenes in the Nigeria Law School in 2020 during the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in the country.

He added that at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Enugu State Government paid the total sum of N24.6 million to law students from the state to cushion the adverse effects of the pandemic, stressing, “This payment was made at a time most states were struggling to pay workers’ salaries due to economic recession”.

The Executive Secretary urged the students to be good ambassadors of the state wherever they find themselves, and “always have our dear state, Enugu, in your prayers for the sustenance of peace, security and good governance entrenched by Gov. Ugwuanyi’s administration”.

In his reaction, the leader of the law students, Michael Kenechukwu Onah expressed gratitude to Gov. Ugwuanyi for continued show of humility, benevolence and steadfastness to the wellbeing of Enugu indigenes and residents in spite of the nation’s economic challenges.

Onah reiterated the commitment of the law students towards making Enugu State proud, promising Gov. Ugwuanyi that they will surely make him proud in the Bar Finals coming up in August this year in appreciation of his kind gesture.

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JUNE 12 - JUNE 18, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

ARTS

In God’s Name: 38 Years After With 99 votes to Cardinal Siri’s 11 at the fourth ballot, Luciani won with a very wide margin. “Do you accept your canonical election as supreme Pontiff?” Villot asked him. He hesitated but then urged on by Cardinal Lorscheider of Brazil, answered: “May God forgive you for what you have done in my regard. I accept.”

In God’s Name: An Investigation into the Murder of Pope John Paul 1 by David Yallop; Constable & Robinson, London, 2007, 343pp

Unlike The Dark Side of Camelot which critics dismissed as muckraking, In God’s Name received rave reviews from newspapers and magazines across America and Europe and from Down Under.

“Deeply disturbing,” Aberdeen Evening Express thundered at the time. “If only a small percentage of it is true then the Vatican and the world have much to fear, for God appears far from home.”

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nvestigative journalists get their adrenalin pumping faster when they take on very important personalities or lofty institutions as subjects for books in progress. It’s especially so if such investigations concern individuals or institutions with question marks over their private and professional conduct while in public service.

The Economist had more to say about Yallop’s meticulous research: “His book has two strengths,” the reviewer began. “It brings up to date and tells well the story of how the Vatican has conducted its financial affairs. The portrayal of the hitherto littleknown John Paul 1 is also excellently done…an engrossing and disturbing book. It reflects no credit on the Vatican that its spokesmen affect to view the charges with contempt and ignore the questions raised.”

Pulitzer-prize winning American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh would have felt precisely that way in the course of writing what he claimed to be an expose on J F Kennedy before and during his presidency – his serial philandering, his many health problems and father’s close ties to the mafia. There is, also, the Kennedy clan’s proclivity for reckless misadventures and sometimes getting away with it – turning them into some kind of revered and untouchable American family.

Yallop takes readers through the result of years of investigative work, giving them an insider’s account of the central character’s journey to Rome thus evoking another journey made by another Paul centuries before, the death of Pope Paul V1 and the empty throne. The British journalist couldn’t have been present at the Conclave during the search for a new pope, his reconstruction of the transactions at the time – the meetings between and among the cardinals, the hopes and aspirations of the early candidates, all of these the author limns very well for readers. Nor can you fault his painstaking research and report of the fraudulent financial dealings the Vatican got involved in through the very man at then head of the Vatican Bank, Archbishop Paul Mackincus aka God’s Banker.

When The Dark Side of Camelot was finally published in 1998, critics all over panned it, describing it as fanciful stuff dreamed up by the same author of the more credible My Lai Massacre. Except for a few dissenting voices, most American critics and scholars took The Dark Side for what it was, a sensationalist publication hastily put together by an otherwise brilliant author looking to make oodles of cash with no immediate concern or regard for truth.

British investigative journalist, David Yallop would most certainly have felt that adrenaline rush when he started researching into the circumstances under which Pope John Paul 1 died after only 33 days as Pontiff. A Vatican insider had sent a discreet message to the author about the sudden death of Albino Luciani in his papal bedroom on the night of September 28, 1978. The newly elected Pontiff was on the cusp of making sweeping and revolutionary changes in the Vatican when he died under mysterious circumstances.

Albino Luciani, Yallop writes in the prologue, had been pope for thirty-three days on September 28th, 1978. “In little more than a month he had initiated various courses of action which, if completed, would have a direct and dynamic effect upon us all.

The majority in this world would applaud his decisions, a minority would be appalled. The man who had quickly been labelled “The Smiling Pope’ intended to remove the smiles from a number of faces on the following day.”

It never got to be. On the morning of September 29, 1978, Sister Vicenza Magherita entered the papal bedroom to look up John Paul 1 as she was wont to. It was routine for John Paul, an early riser all through much of his adult life, to sip the coffee Vicenza had left in an adjoining room in the Papal quarters. She had been part of the domestic staff of Luciani’s bishopric period in Venice for more than two decades.

But on that morning, and very unlike him, the Smiling Pope was yet to come out for his traditional coffee. By the time Vincenza entered the pope’s bedroom, there was certainly no smile on John Paul’s face. His skin was cold and the fingernails were unusually dark. No pulse. The Pope was dead!

From then on, senior officials of the Holy See, starting with Secretary of State Cardinal Jean Villot, began a series of cover ups to misinform the public about the real cause of Albino Luciani’s unexpected demise. Not only that, Yallop insists, the reforms the Smiling Pope hoped to begin were aborted. Even the planned redesignation of cardinals and prelates who were members of the Masonic Lodge, contrary to their oath of office, never got to be, as well.

In God’s Name received rave reviews soon after it was published

by Jonathan Cape in 1984, urging the Vatican to respond to some of the charges by Yallop. They never did, only dismissing it as “infamous rubbish,” then accusing the author of “taking fantastic speculation to new levels of absurdity.”

A big-foot British investigative journalist himself, Yallop presents his case persuasively against the Vatican: the murder of a pope on a revolutionary mission to cleanse the temple of God of the financial improprieties it was enmeshed in; the cover up of the death of the said pope after only 33 days as Pontiff and the subsequent gang-like murder of other individuals ranging from judges and THEWILLNIGERIA

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In God’s Name reads like a thriller, an action-packed thriller with the customary assassinations and suicides: As head of Bank Ambrosiano in Italy, Calvi was neck deep in many of the takeovers of the bankrupt companies and many more he bankrupted. No surprise he was suicided, according to the author, from Blackfriars Bridge in London

investigators to journalists and some of the principal actors like Michele Sindona and Roberto Calvi.

This reviewer first read In God’s Name in 1990 as a just-about graduating student from the Ekenwan Campus of University of Benin. It was the 1984 edition. A month or so ago, one of THEWILL’S online staff, Paul Idoro, brought this 2007 revised edition to work. Seeing it elicited that nostalgic feeling readers often experience after reading a book for the first time and coming across it again. I asked to borrow and read it again - thus this review.

The latest publication is longer 343 pages, with more details and a postscript by the author on developments so far. But the central question remains: how and why did the new pope, fit as a fiddle, die suddenly after only 33 days in office? Why did the Vatican embark on a cover up exercise soon after the death of Pope John Paul 1? How come an institution pledged to servicing the poor, is now in cahoots with big businesses of dubious provenance to the extent of taking over bankrupt companies or even bankrupting some?

Albino Luciani was an unusual candidate for the Papacy. Following his predecessor, Paul V1’s demise in August 1978, the cardinal from Venice was not a favourite among his red-capped colleagues to replace Paul V1. While some of his co-cardinals lobbied hard to be elected during the conclave, Luciani was somewhat aloof from it all, preferring his bishopric duties in his native Venice. If he ever got elected, he told some close friends and a few fellow cardinals, he would turn it down. He did not.

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Yallop not only avail readers with minutiae of the mind-blowing transactions by Vatican proxies with bent companies, we get to know of the habits of the principal players: Calvi with a severe colonel moustache who encouraged anyone who wanted to be somebody to read The Godfather. He always had a copy wherever he was; Licio Gelli, the master puppeteer and head of P2 who had a handful of presidents and prime ministers kneel before him even though he held no known designation in any government office; Umberto Ortolanni the point man between the Vatican and the various shady business men that worked for the Holy See. In God’s Name reads like a thriller, an action-packed thriller with the customary assassinations and suicides: As head of Bank Ambrosiano in Italy, Calvi was neck deep in many of the takeovers of the bankrupt companies and many more he bankrupted. No surprise he was suicided, according to the author, from Blackfriars Bridge in London. Before then, his secretary jumped out of the office window. Three or more journalists and magistrates were also taken out, sometimes days after testifying against accused persons like Michele Sindona, himself a Sicilian who applied the Sicilian solution when necessary.

Of course, Sindona got his comeuppance while serving a jail term in the U.S. He shouted one morning after sipping a cup of coffee: “The have poisoned me.” He was dead two days later.

Such sponsored assassinations lend credence to Yallop’s contention that Pope John Paul 1 was murdered because of the revolutionary measures he hoped to effect as Pontiff. As any detective will tell you, there are usually other murders after the first one. But was the “Smiling Pope” actually killed as Yallop would have us believe?

Even now, it is still subject to speculation, with conspiracy theorists having a field day on the matter. But some medical experts insist Albino Luciani had medical issues before he became pope. Witness, for instance, his swollen ankles, his harsh cough that seems to make his body jump and chest pains.

Forty-four years after the death of Albino Luciani and 38 years after the first edition of In God’s Name, no one is any nearer the truth on that late night or early morning of September 28, 1978, partly because of the confounding role played by the mafia and high-ranking members of the Vatican at the time of death. Any of these men – Marcinkus, Cardinal Jean Villot, Roberto Calvi, Umberto Ortolani and Michele Sindona would have benefited immensely from the premature demise of John Paul 1.

The first three were residents of the Vatican at the time and highly regarded Christian leaders as well. So, was Albino Luciani betrayed by any of these brothers in Christ? “I admire Christ,” Mohandas K Ghandi once said, “but not Christians.”

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JUNE 12 - JUNE 18, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

TOURISM

Lakowe Lakes Resort

Pandemic Exposed Lakowe Lakes Resort’s Best Kept Secret – Olagbenro

BY JANEFRANCES CHIBUZOR

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anager of the Lakowe Golf Club, Femi Olagbenro, has said that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the resort’S best kept secret, which also opened up the tourism businesses across Nigeria, especially Lagos.

Olagbenro, who is also a professional golfer, said that border closures, restrictions on travel, among others, gave room for tourists to discover more places of interest, particularly in Lagos where there are many lifestyle enthusiasts who enjoy tourism in all forms.

He noted that those who could not travel as a result of the pandemic became more interested in taking vacations within.

“They were forced to look inward for places of interest of

NIHOTOUR, Embassies, Others Ready For 2022 Sustainable Gastronomy Day

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ational Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) has concluded arrangements for the hosting of the 2022 World Sustainable Gastronomy Day on Saturday, June 18, 2022, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

Revealing highlights of the event in his office, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of NIHOTOUR, Nura Sani Kangiwa, said the event would feature exhibition of indigenous cuisines by exhibitors prominent among which is the NIHOTOUR that would be showcasing indigenous Nigerian cuisines from the six-geopolitical zones of the country.

Others are the Embassies of China, Spain, Ethiopia and prominent food and culinary caterers in the Nigerian hospitality industry who are expected to bring on board their best of dishes at the event that promises to be a grandeur occasion for food and culinary tasting by guests and visitors to the event.

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their choice within. We also run the hospitality wing here apart from the golf and the estates. All kinds of people, including celebrities have been visiting our facilities. This has not been happening before. “ Speaking with THEWILL, Olagbenro pointed out that many people believed the tourism industry had been hit by a catastrophe of such impact that might take some years to recover from.

He said the facility was embedded in 308 hectares of land.

“We have 14 good lakes all within the facility. The lakes spread across 55 acres. These are some of the things that people never thought existed in Lagos until the corona virus pushed some of them to witness it.

“Hotel business is highly rated all over the world. The hotel business in Nigeria is also rated as one of the most expensive in the world.”

According to him, the COVID-19 pandemic experience cannot be overrated. The coronavirus brought a lot of appreciation for resort operators. They had their fair share in the business.

Some people really did not know about Jara Beach, Lakowe Lakes Golf and Country Estate. This project is one of the best kept secrets, but it is no longer a secret because COVID-19 opened it all for business.

He explained that during the lockdown everybody went indoors and nobody could come out to play golf. Hotels at some point were allowed to operate excluding their kitchens and others.

What the facility stands for Describing what the Lakowe Lakes Resort really stands for, Olagbenro said, “It is a real estate company. It has an hotel section with limited rooms equipped with beautiful and welldesigned cottages in the middle of a natural environment.

There a few places in the country where you can see this kind of serene and rustic environment in which monkeys can be observed moving between trees and birds calling to each other as they flitted by. This is what people travel outside to go and enjoy, the kind of peace that is not traditionally woven in a city like Lagos. Lagos seems to be one of the most noisiest cities in the world though and when people come to Lakowe, they

can enjoy that peace.

“A lot of writers come here to spend some time. Ordinarily they need to travel to enjoy the kind of peace they enjoy here and a natural environment where they sit and get inspiration to write and we have some of them who visited the facility. For them, it is cheaper than travelling abroad. I am getting the best result for myself and I don’t need to travel to Portugal or any of these countries to have this kind of experience.

“I know the kind of people we welcome every week day. Some of them book reservations and some visit every two weeks in a month. They always want to be here and because they enjoy the experience.

The driving force “The scenery drives in people to Lakowe which the golf have.

The golf course brings that to life, and its no much about the birds, the bathroom in the hotel but the environment which golf course projects.

Outdoor activities at Lakowe Lakes Golf Club “We do horse riding, boat cruising, mini hiking, riding bicycle, boat fishing and other out-door activities.

“Lakowe Lakes is a golf and country estate. We don’t sell homes, but we sell lifestyle. It is filled with lifestyle. We use attractions, such as the golf course and the sporting facility.

Beyond bricks and mortar, Lakowe Lakes Golf and Country Estate is totally different from the regular housing estates.

We live in the big garden and even if you bought a one bed apartment, two bed apartment and you’re buying homes in Lakowe Lake because of the location and lifestyles, which is living within nature.”

Golf has a very big share in tourism. Not everybody appreciates travel, taxing in a hotel, it depends on where you’re on the social ladder in terms of income” According to Olagbenro, golf is one key part of the lifestyle component of the estate. It is an old sport dating back to the 15th century. Golf is not the most popular sport, but it is one of the best. It is elitist and not cheap. It is not a street sport like football, basketball and so on. The social aspect of golf is way higher than any other sport.

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JUNE 12 - JUNE 18, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

SportsLive

Jose Peseiro And Super Eagles: The Journey So Far

BY JUDE OBAFEMI

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In a Sunday, May 15 statement, the Federation stated that the appointment was contingent on the signature of agreed-upon agreements, while indicating that the Portuguese would begin work immediately. That meant Peseiro had little or no time to put a team together, get his ideas for how he wanted them to play understood by these players and make them execute these ideas on the pitch in the grade ‘A’ friendlies arranged for the Super Eagles against World Cup-bound South American sides Mexico and Ecuador in the United States.

However, given the depth of Peseiro’s knowledge of the Nigerian squad, which he impressively displayed to awe the NFF President, Amaju Melvin Pinnick, at his interview with the Federation, the Portuguese manager had put one hurdle behind him.

The story, as reportedly relayed by Pinnick himself, goes that Peseiro has a panoramic knowledge of the players in the national team that is impressively hands-on. In the words of the NFF President: “If you look at Peseiro, when I was talking to him, he was talking as if he has been coaching the Super Eagles for a long time. He said, ‘Listen, Nigeria, you played against Croatia in 2018, in your World Cup opening match. They did not over-dominate you. It was 45/55 per cent ball possession’. And, he said, ‘Croatia eventually played in the final of the World Cup, it could have been Nigeria’.”

Pinnick continued: “I got impressed. He brought a Wyscout, a software to analyse the strength of our players. He gave me the analysis of everyone of our players scientifically. I was taken aback.

When he spoke with the Technical Group, I was just an observer, we’re all impressed.”

Such glowing testimonial from the NFF President meant that the coach could immediately hit the ground running without too much of the intervening time spent getting to know the players. He could swiftly go to the next phase of bringing his technical preference to bear in the tactics, formation and strategy that the team will embrace with him at the helm. In the absence of a handful of firstteam players such as leading striker Victor Osimhen, first-choice keeper Maduka Okoye and injured forward Emmanuel Dennis, Peseiro was thrust into his debut game, the May 29 friendly against Mexico at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas in the United States. And, exactly two months after Nigeria was disappointingly dumped out of the World Cup by Ghana in the continental playoffs, Mexico added to the poor run, handing Peseiro a 2-1 loss in his first outing as coach of the Super Eagles. The presence of Feyenoord’s standout striker Cyriel Dessers, who was playing in his first starting XI role, helped as he scored Nigeria’s only goal only for the Eagles to be undone be a William Troost-Ekong’s own-goal in the 56th minute, which proved decisive for the final score.

What was the consensus in the reviews of the game post-match was that the Super Eagles began slowing and only grew into the game with time in the flexible 3-5-2 formation that the Portuguese deployed in the first half. The formation played into the tactics of the Mexicans, who were able to take control of the movement in the middle of the park, take the bite out of the Nigerian attacking duo of Dessers and Terem Moffi while creating scoring chances on the counter. A change to four at the back and four in midfield made for more fluid play and after having no shots on target in the first half, the Super Eagles were able to equalise through Dessers.

In his own assessment of the performance, Peseiro was candid. He said: “We cannot hide it; we played a very bad first half. We had five players in defence, and they had two players playing forward and the two players controlled the five. They were pressing and we did not solve it. We cannot have that. We decided that if the two was controlling the three, then we have to make it a four and have more control in midfield. And it helped us take control of the game because as a coach, my philosophy is that I like control, to control the game.”

Peseiro was positive as well. He said: “I am not happy that we lost but I’m happy with the performance of my players because they showed character especially after what Mexico did in the first half. I think in the second half there was improvement.” This poor start to a game, which could have been put down to the team starting to learn the ways of a new manager, was again a bother when Peseiro took charge of his second game, against Ecuador on Friday, June 3 at the THEWILLNIGERIA

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Peseiro (3rd from left) and the Technical Team

fter originally parting ways with the Portuguese manager Jose Peseiro as coach of the country’s senior men’s national football team, the Super Eagles, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), as part of the reorganisation of football governance in the country, named Peseiro as the team’s new head coach for the second time.

25,000-seat Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, United States.

Pervis Estupián’s third minute goal was enough for Ecuador to beat Nigeria. The team maintained the 4-4-2 formation that helped the team in the second half of the Mexico tie but the late progress was again noticeable even though the team performance improved.

Peseiro was insistent on his mantra of ball control in analysing how the team fared in his second game while not failing to mention the limited training sessions they have had together: “Against Mexico, we trained two times; for some players, it was once. The reason for the improvement is we have now trained four times, so we had to improve.” The Portuguese manager had one week to get training minutes up and the improvements sychronised in time for the first TotalEnergies 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers opening tie against Sierra Leone.

When the team filed out against the Leone Stars on the poor quality of the surface of the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja on Thursday, June 9, more of the starting XI of the Super Eagles squad were back in the lineup apart from the injured duo of midfield impresario Wilfred Ndidi and Watford’s Dennis. Peseiro appeared to have settled for the 4-4-2 formation and employed it again to etch out the 2-1 victory for Nigeria. However, it was not smooth sailing as not only were the Eagles behind with another early goal for the third straight match, they were in danger of conceding more but for the reflexes of Francis Uzoho, in goal, and the upright, which stopped the ball from nestling inside the Nigerian net. But, referee Ibrahim Traore could have also given Nigeria a penalty if he did not ignore John Kamara’s handling of the ball in the Sierra Leonean box. In typical form under Peseiro, the Super Eagles grew

into the game as Alex Iwobi and Victor Osimhen, in the 16th and 41st minutes, gave Nigeria the goals necessary to take all points in the tie.

Apart from a muted performance by Umar Sadiq, who partnered Osimhen in attack, Peseiro’s decision to use Iwobi and Sam Chukwueze on the flanks to progress with Ola Aina and Calvin Bassey supplying in the build-up from behind worked for the squad with Moses Simon doing a proper support job of the strikers.

William Troost-Ekong was initially poor in marking out the rampaging Sierra Leone forwards but he improved with the team as time progressed. The 58% ball possession and 15 total shots, with four on target, were indications of the team’s slow but consoling progress. Yet, Sierra Leone are ranked 108 in the world compared to Nigeria’s ranking of 30. The gap in that ranking did not accurately translate to the performance and indicate that the coach will have a lot more work to do in getting the talented players at his disposal work as a well-oiled machine in cohesion and as a team while he stamps his style of football on the squad.

What positives there are to give football fans in the country the confidence to renew their faith in the team revolve around what is becoming clear as the overall positive mindset of the coach. Postmatch comments attributed to Peseiro after these games provide an inkling into the mentality of the man and have been encouragingly upbeat. He had cause to call out a refereeing decision in the game against Ecuador but admitted that mistakes happen saying: “No VAR but in the start of the show, there was a clear penalty. *Continues online at www. thewillnigeria.com

Cross River Journalists Pay Last Respects to Albert Andinam

FROM BASSEY ANIEKAN, CALABAR he Cross River State Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), has paid its last respect to its departed member, Albert Archibong Andinam.

Comrade Andinam (aka Eto Nwed Efik), was at various times chairman of the State chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, as well as the Deputy Sports Editor of the Nigerian Chronicle.

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The late Sport enthusiast commenced his home journey when an undisclosed ailment took him to Navy hospital, Calabar and later University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, where he succumbed to the cold hands of death on May 8th 2022.

Journalists across the state paid their last respect to the

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departed colleague when his body was laid to rest at the Ernest Etim Bassey Press Centre, State Housing Estate, Calabar.

Sam Egbala, Editor in Chief of the Chronicle, described late Andinam as “a Trade unionist to the core, who believed in The profession”,adding, “he was also a fine gentleman, humble, kind and an epitome of humility”.

Associate Minister in charge of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Hope Waddell Parish, Calabar, Very Rev John Abah Vincent, described death as a necessary end that will come to any man.

According to the clergyman, “This is the reality of life. Life is a journey, we are all pilgrims and tenants in this world.”

He advised those living to go closer to their creator, as no one knows when death will come knocking.

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www.thewillnigeria.com • June 12 - June 18, 2022, 2022

Party Primaries: Nigeria’s Delegate System Is Corrupt

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efore the major political parties, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), held the conventions that produced their flag bearers for next year’s presidential election, I had cause to write about the significant responsibility that party delegates owe this country in putting forward men and women of unimpeachable character and exemplary leadership, who will be charged with leading the country towards progress.

Under the title, “Delegates, Monetisation of Politics and Danger to Nigeria’s Democracy” on May 29, I pointed out how it was unfortunate that the lofty nature of the ideal roles of party delegates had not been considered, with the sacredness it deserved, by the political class in Nigeria, especially those of the two major political parties.

Delegates from both parties brazenly displayed wanton disregard for the exalted roles of their positions, preferring selfish enrichment, instead.

While the conventions went on, the recurring theme was the ungodly sums that had been disbursed to delegates by aspirants anxious to be nominated by the parties for one elective or the other. The higher the position the candidate was vying for, the higher the sum of money demanded by the delegates, with the presidential candidates dolling out as much as $20, 000 per delegate to buy votes.

Deaf to the entreaties of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, who warned that the country was inching towards plutocracy, the delegates themselves volunteered their votes to the highest bidder and auctioned off their national responsibilities in exchange for selfish financial gains.

What the reduction of this hallowed process of our inchoate democratic practice to nothing more than an inordinate and illegal financial transaction resulted in was the elevation of personalities of dubious characters brandishing ill-gotten wealth to the point of being one event removed from deciding the collective fortune for, at least, the next four years.

While there are many Nigerians who have demonstrated that they possess the leadership attributes, the mental acuity, the prerequisite skills and talents to mastermind Nigeria’s progress and lead her in the 21st century of technological advances and progressive thoughts without the tainted resumés of previous acts of corruption, these delegates ended up taking the entire nation backwards, to the time when the country was just emerging from the debilitating years of military rule.

This retrogressive disposition cannot be coming at a worse time. At a time when South Africa is ranked 19th globally as a financial hub by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Kenya is re-

garded as the “Silicon Savannah” of the world for having advanced quickly as a hotspot for some of the continent’s most innovative digital enterprises, 200 digitised services and comprehensive online government-to-citizen services platform and Rwanda’s Mara Group has become the first manufacturer of a smartphone made entirely in Africa and uses drones to deliver critical supplies to inaccessible areas, what we have seen play out here is that the possibility of trying to even get out of our own way before we can begin to conceive of competing on the continent has been stymied by the very self-serving decisions of a subset of Nigerians, who will themselves be victims of the repercussions of the money-politics they have foisted on the entire country.

The process of selecting candidates from which pool Nigerians will have the opportunity to elect their government at the local, state and federal levels and above all, at the presidential level, ought to involve a critical examination of these candidates, their antecedents, physical and mental capacities to handle the grueling tasks required of elected officials and how they handle pressure and failure.

It involves the close reading of the candidates’ manifestos, macroeconomic blueprints, developmental policy ideas, socio-economic proposals for each year of their expected time in power juxtaposed with measurable milestones against which progress can be tracked, their proposed team of experienced hands to whom they will delegate some of the responsibilities that accrue to them, their selflessness and willingness to truly serve in the capacity for which they were elected as public servants.

In no place was it required to check how fat the candidates’ foreign currency accounts, loaded with ill-gotten wealth nor how much they can bid to be accorded the votes they need to become flagbearers of their parties. Yet, the latter prevailed as we all witnessed. That is why many well-meaning Nigerians, eminently qualified for the exalted offices for which elections will hold next year, completely kept themselves away from the charade of an electioneering process. It is the reason why individuals with the wherewithal to orchestrate the sort of progressive systems that will drive growth, engineer change, dynamise development and advance overall push forward want no part in the process. It explains why those who have worked judiciously for every penny they are worth see no justification in the indiscriminate disbursement to complicit delegates.

That is why a candidate such as the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, whose antecedents and suitability for the position of President is not in doubt by any

metric for determining suitability, will not even come second to a far older, physically-challenged and not as comparatively astute former Governor of Lagos State.

That is why rather than being given the chance to pick out of the best of the best that Nigeria has to offer for leadership, money-politics has left voters with the worst of the worst in the two major political parties in the country, one of whom is most likely to win.

These all go to show that our system of picking candidates that will be imprinted on the ballots for voters to pick from and place in office is intrinsically flawed. The noble call to service cannot and must not be at the whims and caprices of a select group of individuals, who are as much victims of the weaponisation of poverty as the average Nigerian and who see their delegate status as the once-in-a-lifetime chance of making a financial windfall and will readily jeopardise the fortunes of the entire country for some shekels of silver.

What became abundantly clear from the recently concluded conventions was that we owe it to ourselves, our country and posterity to refuse this kind of self-serving system and evolve a more open, balanced, clean, clear, free and fair system that replaces the selling of votes to the highest bidder by a closed unit of revered delegates, some of whom were too illiterate to write the names of their preferred candidates, with a system that is more inclusive and more focused on ideas, policies, antecedents, experience, character, integrity, physical ability and mental capacity.

I recommend such an open system that will involve a party-wide consultation requiring a candidate wishing to enter politics to meet with constituents and sell their candidature to them.

This forum will involve fielding questions, taking suggestions and recommendations and being personally involved with registered party faithful.

At the end of the consultation process, these participating registered party members will all vote, in a primary organised by the party and witnessed by the electoral body in a supervisory role, for the candidate of their choice. The candidate that emerges from this intra-party vote will do so with the assurance of home-based support and the responsibility of being the bearer of the people’s mandate. This is a more wholesome and involved process that will disabuse the system of the rotten stench of ill-gotten wealth, while ensuring that tried and tested candidates, with the right qualities and goals and who are driven to serve emerge through the system. And, we can begin the arduous march towards prosperity and progress as a nation.

What became abundantly clear from the recently concluded conventions was that we owe it to ourselves, our country and posterity to refuse this kind of self-serving system and evolve a more open, balanced, clean, clear, free and fair system that replaces the selling of votes to the highest bidder by a closed unit of revered delegates PAGE 32

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