THEWILL NEWSPAPER November 13, 2022

Interestingly, while editing this issue, I stumbled upon a post by a designer on Instagram in which she complained about someone copying her work. As it happens, it’s one of the many things I discussed with our cover personality this week, Ohimai Atafo.

Copying designs isn’t new to our culture; growing up, we used to go to tailors who had so many beautiful catalogues to choose lovely designs they skillfully made for us. And even now, we continue to do the same, but this time with local designers.

I don’t know how easy it will be to end this, as Atafo calls it, ‘thievery.’

In Ohimai Atafo’s opinion, it’s not necessarily just the designers that are to blame, but the clients as well. In the case of the designer, they should be able to say “NO” to a client who brings an outfit by another designer for them to copy. He then mentioned how a fellow designer outrightly copied his design, and Atafo confronted him. This designer apologised, promising not to oblige clients anymore. That was all face value because he copied another one of Atafo’s designs two weeks later. For Atafo, there is not much more you can do about it. He believes that “the person who wants to buy from you will buy from you.” It seems they have come to accept this as their fate such that while designing his new collection, he and his team laughed about the ridiculousness of it all, saying, “Let’s watch them as they copy.” And this is almost the same way the designer whose post I came across feels. In her words, “Onah, it’s ridiculous, but I try not to get upset about things I can’t control. All I do is keep creating. It’s wild on these streets.” The big question is: What’s the way forward? Until next week, enjoy your read.

Photo: Kola Oshalusi @insignamedia Makeup: Zaron

THEWILLNIGERIA THEWILLNG THEWILLNIGERIA

2023: Anxiety as Insecurity, Violence Threaten General Election

BY AMOS ESELE

Alarm hallmarked remarks by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, at the end of last Friday’s meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) held in Abuja.

Coming a day after the Commission’s offices in Ogun and Osun States witnessed simultaneous attacks at a time officials had started moving electoral materials to its offices nationwide, 107 days to the 2023 general poll, the meeting was a wake-up call to ICCES whose members include the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Army, Nigeria Air Force, Department of State Security (DSS), Nigerian Police, Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), National Youths Service Corps (NYSC).

Other members are the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) National Security and Civil Defense Corp (NSCDC) and INEC.

“As we all know, a peaceful campaign heralds a peaceful election. We need to take decisive steps to stem the ugly trend,” said the INEC boss, who co-chairs the body with the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mohammed General Munguno, while speaking about the upward trend of election-related violence since the beginning of electioneering towards the 2023 general poll.

“Nigerians expect decisive action from ICCES. It is important that we move swiftly to apprehend perpetrators, prosecute them as required by law and reinforce security around election officials and electoral infrastructure around the country.”

Reeling of current figures on election violence, Yakubu stated that, “50 cases of attacks have taken place at campaigns of various parties and candidates in 21 states since the commencement of campaigns ahead of the 2023 elections.”

He however restated the determination of INEC to conduct a free and fair election in 2023.

Taking a general view of the situation,

criminologist and a former military officer, Balogun Okelana, said actual events may be different from reality.

“These are all political gimmicks to distract the electorate and to also allude that 2023 general election may not be a reality,” he told THEWILL Friday, adding that, given the prevailing insecurity in the country, government at all levels (federal, states and local government) must work in synergy with security agencies to restore order and instill confidence in the electorate during campaigns, at elections and after polling.

He explained Mahmood’s fears against the backdrop of increasing electoral violence in the country involving the recent attack against the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during campaigns in Kaduna and Borno States, as well as attacks on INEC offices in Ogun and Osun States.

According to INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, the Commission's office in

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...Anxiety as Insecurity, Violence Threaten General Election

Abeokuta South Local Government Area of Ogun State was last Thursday vandalised and set ablaze by some “unidentified persons, who overpowered security personnel on duty.”

He disclosed that in the wake of the attack, “904 ballot boxes, 29 voting cubicles, 30 megaphones, 57 electoral bags, 8 power generators and 65,699 permanent voters card,” were destroyed, including the main building. On the same day, the Commission’s office in Ede South Local Government Area in Osun State was attacked and set ablaze.

“These attacks will continue as long as proactive actions are hardly taken and past experiences seem to offer no guidance,” said Chief Willy Ezugwu, in his assessment of the situation.

Ezugwu, who is Secretary-General of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) told this newspaper that if previous attacks on INEC offices in the South-East were investigated, culprits arrested and prosecuted, the likelihood of future attacks on the Commission’s offices would have been prevented or anticipated, at the least.

He said, “Things are likely to get bad before elections, if no serious action is taken by the relevant authorities to curb violence. The INEC office in Enugu was put on fire several times. Where were the police and DSS? Now, it has moved to the South-West and most likely, it will soon go to other geo-political zones before Election Day in February 2023.”

SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM

“Who are those perpetuating this violence?” the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, asked at the weekend. Oyekanmi, who said the Commission’s officials were yet to know why its offices were always attacked, gave a hint. “When the INEC Chairman met with politicians recently, he urged them to speak to their manifestoes so that their members and Nigerians would know what to vote for.”

The PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who had been the subject of the most recent attack at campaign rallies, seems to agree.

Speaking to journalists in Minna, Niger State, during a visit to former military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.), Atiku, who bemoaned the lack of adherence to the spirit and letter of the Peace Accord signed by candidates of political parties ahead of the upcoming poll, blamed the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the attacks he described as “most unfortunate.”

Ezugwu sums it all up. “Desperate politicians will employ deliberate attempts to sabotage the process, if it is not going their way.”

Even the reactions of the major political parties to the Borno attacks speak volumes about the role of the parties in the saga. While the PDP blamed the APC over the attack, APC said it was the result of in-fighting within the opposition party in the state.

“Our party has information about how agents of certain APC leaders mobilised the thugs with the aim to escalate violence in Maiduguri and prevent the PDP from holding its presidential rally in the state.

“Nigerians witnessed with horror how hundreds of APC’s armed thugs stationed at major roundabouts and intersections in Maiduguri unleashed violence on the PDP presidential campaign convoy and innocent citizens going about their lawful activities in a gruesome attack that left over 70 persons gravely injured and hospitalised,” said PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba.

But Bayo Onanuga, APC Presidential Campaign Committee spokesperson, disagreed. He said, “I learnt the police and Borno APC had issued reactions to the attack. It is a local issue and not part of our campaign. Our assumption is that it must be from the rival party group.

“You know the PDP is factionalised in that state. It could be as a result of in-fighting within the party, but it is certainly not an APC affair.”

Not amused by the antics of politicians, InspectorGeneral of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, waded in and promised to probe the matter, especially in the face of inconclusive report by the Police Commissioner in the North-East state, Abdu Umar.

Clearing the air on the investigation of the Borno attack, Force Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, told THEWILL that the IGP decided to probe because of the inconclusiveness of the reports as part of the police work to prevent recurrence in other

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occasions. He said that although his office did not prepare a speech for the IGP for the ICCES meeting, the police boss had further pledged his support to INEC and the need to ensure adequate security for Nigerians during the upcoming polls.

WAY FORWARD

Chief Ezugwu of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, thinks that a combination of security and political action will do the trick. He called on the Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) to step into the matter, while urging the security agencies to deepen their intelligence gathering efforts in order to be one step ahead of criminals.

“IPAC for its advisory role must interface with INEC regularly to bridge the information gap between the electoral umpire and politicians. For security purposes, the police and DSS must do more. They are closer to the civil society and must evolve more humane ways to get information from Nigerians. For now, that level of trust between the police and Nigerians, I am sorry to say, is still low because the people fear they would be intimidated or framed if they give information. Cases of violence must be prosecuted to the end and culprits jailed to serve as a deterrent or nothing will change.”

For Balogun, a criminologist, “Technology must be deployed to aid the efforts of security agencies because many criminals will hide under cover of the widespread insecurity in the country to perpetuate their criminalities.”

Oyekanmi appealed to Nigerians to see attacks on INEC facilities as attacks on their collective assets.

He submitted that the aspirations of many Nigerians were shortchanged and their aspirations thwarted when items like Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were destroyed in attacks as it happened in Ogun State where 65, 699 uncollected PVCs were burnt.

The National Security Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari handed down a warning to promoters and executors of election violence in Nigeria on Friday.

He said, “I want to give a clear warning to anyone, regardless of their party, including the President’s party. So long as your desire is to scatter the electoral process, you will be visited by the long arm of the law.”

INEC boss, Yakubu, said, “As we have stated on several occasions, an election is a multistakeholder activity involving not just INEC and the security agencies. The political class plays perhaps the most critical role in ensuring peaceful elections. We must all rise to the occasion.

I want to give a clear warning to anyone, regardless of their party, including the President’s party. So long as your desire is to scatter the electoral process, you will be visited by the long arm of the law

Gunmen Abduct BEDC Driver in Ondo, Demand N10m C'River APC Guber Ticket: Enoh Appeals Court Judgment

of the Court of Appeal.

"Meeting the timelines has not come easy but we've no doubt about the strength of our case as well as our legal team.

Enoh is seeking the disqualification of Senator Bassey Otu, the winner of the party’s governorship primary election in the state, over his non-clearance by the APC Credentials Committee and alleged certificate forgery.

In a terse message posted on his Facebook book page, Enoh apologised to his supporters for keeping them in the dark and confirmed that an appeal has been lodged against the judgment.

"Accept my apology for keeping you largely in the dark and saying nothing since the unfortunate judgment of the 24th of October.

"I know how badly disappointed you all felt. I felt no less. I took my time before getting to you because I needed to be sure of the appropriate response to the judgment.

"I can now confirm that an appeal against the judgment has been formally entered by our legal team to the Calabar Division

"But no matter how strong these both are, never forget the strength of our 'By God's Grace ' slogan. We ought to always pray, therefore. I enjoin you all to remain steadfast. God bless you all again and again", senator Enoh said..

The Federal High Court in Calabar resolved the disputed APC ticket in favour of Senator Otu.

The court, presided over by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, held that the plaintiff, Enoh, failed to prove his case.

She further held that in the sevenparagraph affidavit submitted by the plaintiff, the allegation of forgery could not be established.

Justice Ojukwu added that though the third defendant was not cleared by the screening panel and the appeal panel, he was however cleared by the APC NWC and it will be a journey into oblivion to question why he was cleared.

Abia 2023: Court Sacks Emenike, Declares Ogah APC Guber Candidate

AFederal High Court sitting in Abuja has declared former Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah, as the duly elected governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State.

The crisis had erupted after different factions of the party produced Chief Emenike and Ogah, who emerged through indirect and direct parallel primaries respectively.

Emenike, a Development Economist, has about 23 lawsuits against his governorship bid, but about 19 have

so far been resolved in his favour.

Earlier, an Appeal Court verdict affirmed the decision of the state high court which confirmed him as the APC governorship candidate for the 2023 elections.

However, a ruling on the 20th lawsuit filed against his candidacy by Ogah, Justice Binta Nyako, on Friday, sacked Emenike, who was earlier recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The court held that Ogah is the duly elected APC candidate for the March 11, 2023 governorship election.

Unknown gunmen, suspected to be kidnappers, have abducted a driver working with the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), Seun Emmanuel.

Emmanuel was abducted on Tuesday, on Owo-Ifon Road in Ondo State while on an official assignment to Akure with the company’s manager in Ondo State.

THEWILL gathered that Emmanuel was abducted after his BEDCbranded van ran into the gunmen, who barricaded the road just before Elegbeka town on the Owo-Ifon Road.

The gunmen reportedly shot at the tyres of the van and the vehicle somersaulted into the bush.

Sources in the area said the manager fell unconscious and the kidnappers left him for dead, but took the driver away to an unknown destination.

Onlookers rescued the manager from the scene after the hoodlums had left.

‘‘The bandits whisked the driver into the bush from where they demanded an initial ransom of N100 million from his family, but later settled for N10 milion", a source said.

Police spokesperson in Ondo State, SP Funmilayo Odunlami, who confirmed the incident, said the anti-kidnap unit of the police in the state had swung into action and would ensure Emmanuel’s rescue.

“We are working on the matter. Our men at the anti-kidnap unit are working towards rescuing the victim", she said.

Kogi Targets N591bn IGR, Deepens Business Relations With China

FROM SEGUN AYINDE, LOKOJA

Kogi State Government and China, on Thursday, set the stage for the expansion of business relations, especially as the state aims at realising the sum of N591billion annually from Internally Generated Revenue in the nearest future.

The foundation for the renewed collaboration was laid during a dialogue meeting on industry and trade between Kogi State and Chinese entrepreneurs, co-hosted by Governor Yahaya Bello and the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Cui Jianchun, at the Chinese Embassy in Abuja.

Addressing the entrepreneurs, Governor Bello said that the Kogi State Government was ready to engage the Chinese business community in order to expand business and investment opportunities with China.

According to him, for both countries to make progress, there is a need for the willingness, commitment, readiness and sincerity of both parties to collaborate on harnessing all the resources, both natural, human and otherwise, for the benefit of both countries and humanity in general.

Bello, who also said there was the political will to attain the desired collaboration, pointed out that he shared a lot of ideology with the people of China, politically and personally.

The Governor said he was aware that tribes and religions exist in China, yet, the Chinese people were able to put all the differences behind them to have one common goal of coming together to harness all that are available within China.

He added that the Chinese people were able to achieve their goal successfully, politically, economically, and in terms of technology, noting that today, China had become one of the first two leading nations of the world.

The Governor stated, “I have that political will of putting all of our people together. That is why ever since I assumed office on the 26th of January, 2016, I have been working tirelessly to ensure that I unite my people, to ensure that there is the security of lives and livelihood of my people and everybody that wants to stay and live and earn in Kogi State, including Chinese and the various investments so far in the state.

“I have that political will to continue to engage China and the Chinese, to ensure that all the benefits that are available for us, we take the full benefits of them for our people.

“There are several areas we can engage ourselves. We have the institutional framework ready to engage and we have the authority to engage and get things done as quickly as possible."

“The people are our cardinal objective to serve. And I have given a blanket and an open approval to my people to engage the Chinese side on all fronts for the benefit of all of us,” Bello said.

Earlier, Cui recalled his recent visit to Kogi State, saying that the state and China had so much in common.

He expressed delight that both the Chinese and Nigerian sides recognised development in deepening relations.

Cui expressed confidence that with the cooperation between the leadership of Bello in Kogi State and the Government of China in the coming years, a lot would be achieved, particularly in the area of power plants and nuclear energy.

On how the state intends to hit the target of about N591.6 billion IGR, Special Adviser to Kogi State Governor on Economy, Finance and Investment, Abdulkareem Siyaka, told reporters:

L-R: Imo Sate Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma; with President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mustapha Isa, at the opening ceremony of the 18th All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) at Concorde Hotel, Owerri, Imo state on November 10, 2022.

FROM BASSEY ANIEKAN, CALABAR

Senator John Enoh has appealed the judgment of a Federal High Court in Calabar on the disputed Cross River APC governorship ticket.

POLITICS

Oyetola Buni

Buni NWC: Confusion in APC Over Judicial Pronouncement

BY AYO ESAN

There is uneasy calm within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the cause of this is a recent court judgment that disqualified Governor Gboyega Oyetola, as the APC candidate in the July 2022 governorship election in the state because Buni, who submitted his name to INEC, violated the provisions of Section 183 of the Constitution and Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act 2022.

Oyetola in the said election was the incumbent governor and the candidate of the APC . He lost the election to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke.

Oyetola is currently at the Election Petition Tribunal to challenge Adeleke’s victory in the election. But the process of recovering his alleged mandate was dampened by a court judgement that annulled his candidature.

The PDP, Nigeria’s main opposition party, as a follow up to the judgement has also approached a Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking the disqualification of Bola Tinubu and all candidates of the APC for the 2023 general election.

The PDP also asked the court to sack all the members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC.

The Abdullahi Adamu-led NWC took over the affairs of APC after the party’s national convention in March this year.

It would be recalled that the Supreme Court first raised the alarm in its judgement which it delivered on July 27,2021 in a suit filed by Eyitayo Jegede, the candidate of the PDP in the Ondo 2020 governorship election against the victory of Rotimi Akeredolu of the APC, which came with a split margin of 4 to 3.

The majority judgment of the Supreme Court was silent on the implications of Buni being joined in the case, but the minority judgment presented by Justice Mary Odili made it very clear that Buni functioning as APC Caretaker Committee chairman and at the same time serving as executive governor of a state was a violation of the Constitution.

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Section 183 expressly states that: “The Governor shall not, during the period he holds office, hold any other executive office or paid employment in any capacity whatsoever.”

After the judgement, some lawyers in the APC, who saw the danger in keeping the Buni-led interim leadership in office, called for an end to Buni’s reign. One of them is the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, who suggested that for the party to avoid grave danger, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party should meet and reconstitute the Caretaker Committee to exclude, not only Buni, but also anyone holding any executive position in any government establishment as stipulated in Article 17 of the APC Constitution.

Alternatively, Keyamo noted, the Board of Trustees of the party, which includes President Muhammadu Buhari, should be activated to organise a national convention in line with Article 13 of the APC Constitution, where it is given such powers.

Also, an Abuja-based lawyer, Dr Kayode Ajulo, had on July 31, 2021, while reacting to the pronouncement of the Supreme Court on the Ondo 2020 election, in which governor Akeredolu escaped being sacked as governor by the whiskers, had warned the APC of unforeseen circumstances if Gov Buni continued as the chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the party.

In a statement titled, ‘Why Mai Bala Buni should step down ’ in 2021 Ajulo had said, “Without prejudice to the ratio decidendi of the majority decision of the court , it is imperative to state pressistimo and very clearly, too, that with the unanimous position of the Apex Court that it appears the actions of the APC in permitting a sitting governor as its interim chairman is in violation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is my sincere view that the Interim Chairman of the APC should immediately step down. My humble but cosmic review of the judgement comes with an indication that the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, has to vacate his seat, as the chairman of the APC with immediate effect.”

However, all the warnings were rebuffed as the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), countered their positions.

Malami expressed the opinion that the draftsmen of the Constitution would not have considered the position Buni held as an elective position due to its meritless nature.

Malami, stating his point in a 20-point argument against the decision reached by the Supreme Court, described the interpretation of the 1999 Constitution as “stretched.”

He said: “To further show the meritless nature of the position under review, assuming without conceding that the argument is right, then, it will equally be contrary to the spirit and intent of Section 183 of the Constitution for any sitting Governor to be Chairman of say the Governors’ Forum, Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, or any other similar body. This, in my humble view, can definitely not be the intention of the drafters of the 1999 Constitution.”

The PDP, Nigeria’s main opposition party, as a follow up to the judgement has also approached a Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking the disqualification of Bola Tinubu and all candidates of the APC for the 2023 general election

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POLITICS

...Confusion in APC Over Judicial Pronouncement

Malami’s position was further given backing by a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, which struck out a suit challenging the competence of the Buni-led Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the APC.

Justice Pheobe Msuen Ayua held that the action was nonjusticiable and incurably incompetent, noting that the substratum of the matter bordered on the internal affairs of the ruling APC.

However in a suit which disqualified Oyetola, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja nullified the nomination of Governor Oyetola and his Deputy, Benedict Alabi, as candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the just concluded governorship election in Osun State.

The suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/468/2022, has former Acting Chairman of the APC and Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni and four others as defendants.

Justice Nwite in his judgement held that the nomination of Oyetola and his deputy was unlawful and unconstitutional because Buni, who submitted their names to INEC, violated the provisions of Section 183 of the Constitution and Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act 2022.

Mr. Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, counsel to the PDP, had in the suit dated April 7, urged the court to void the nomination of Governor Oyetola and his deputy as the duly nominated candidates of the APC on the grounds that the action of Buni breached the law.

However, Ogunwumiju’s submission was opposed by Oyetola’s lawyer, Mr. Kunle Adegoke, SAN, who urged the court to dismiss the suit for being incompetent and lacking in merit.

According to Oyetola’s lawyer, the Plaintiff did not have the locus to commence the legal action against the defendants, since it was not a member of the APC and more so, the issue of nomination was an internal matter of political parties.

Oyetola, in addition, argued that the suit was statute-barred; hence the court should dismiss it.

In his judgement, Justice Nwite agreed with the submissions of the Plaintiff’s counsel and declared as null and voids the nomination of Oyetola and Alabi by the APC.

The court also held that Governor Buni acted in contravention of the provision of Section 183 of the Constitution when he held dual executive positions as the Governor of Yobe State and the Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee of APC.

The court held that the steps or decisions taken by Buni, including forwarding the names of Oyetola and Alabi to INEC, amounted to a nullity in law.

Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), had declared the candidate of the PDP, Senator Ademola Adeleke, winner of the July 16, 2022 governorship election, having scored the highest number of votes cast at the polls.

With Nwite’s judgment and its current subsisting nature, all actions taken by Buni while in office as APC Caretaker Chairman Stand invalidated.

The actions taken by the Buni-led committee included the signing of the nomination of Ekiti governor-elect, Abiodun Oyebanji, as APC candidate for the June 18, 2022 governorship election in the state; the nominations of candidates for other legislative polls; the amendment of the party’s constitution which was ratified at the convention and the conduct of the party’s elective national convention, which gave birth to the current National Working Committee (NWC) led by Senator Abdulahi Adamu, among others.

The biggest threat posed by the ruling to the APC and which is causing disquiet in the party is the possible disqualification of all its candidates for the 2023 elections, including the presidential ticket of Senator Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, considering that Adamu’s NWC conducted the primaries.

It is argued that once the NWC is invalidated by the reason of Buni’s involvement, all actions of the NWC would be deemed null and void.

It is based on this premise that PDP is contesting the legality of

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the process that produced the party’s national officers and all APC candidates in the 2023 general election.

Consequently, the PDP is praying the court to void the APC NWC as well as all candidates produced by the party for the 2023 general election on the claim that they were produced in breach of the 1999 Constitution, the party’s Constitution and Electoral Act 2022.

The case file has been assigned to Inyang Ekwo, a federal high court judge. Ekwo has fixed November 22 for mention of the suit with an order that all the 53 persons listed by PDP as defendants be served with hearing notices in their respective locations.

APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; the party’s vice-presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima, as well as governorship candidates, their running mates, Senatorial and House of Representatives candidates were listed as defendants in the suit.

In a related development, the Federal High Court has constituted a special task force of judges to swiftly hear and determine all pre-election cases before it.

Chief Judge of the Federal Court, Justice John Terhemba Tsoho, who constituted the task force, said it became necessary to designate a team of judges following the large volume of preelection suits that have flooded the court.

The Assistant Director, Information of the Federal High Court, Catherine Oby Christopher, in a statement had also said a circular issued by the Chief Judge asked judges who are members of the task force to suspend all regular cases in their respective courts, due to the urgency of the electoral cases, which are time-bound.

The statement said: “In view of the large volume of pre-election cases filed so far, with the imminent attendant risk of lapsing, it has become necessary to constitute a task force to speedily dispose of the matters, particularly in those judicial divisions with a glut of them.”

Tsoho further stated that the judges would have four weeks to dispose of the pre-election cases.

In his reaction to the judgement, which nullified Oyetola‘s candidacy, Dr Kayode Ajulo in a statement, expressed fear that Tinubu and other candidates of the party may face a similar fate.

He said “It is a plague that could have been avoided if only they took my position on the governor Buni’s chairmanship misadventures seriously. But the judgment has vindicated me”.

Ajulo foretold that if the apex court goes along with the decision of the High Court judgement , the current National Executive of the APC led by Adamu Abdullahi will also be swept out.

“If the Supreme Court upheld the judgment, the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, and other APC candidates for every elective position will have no business in participating in the 2023 General Election.

“Can one put something on nothing and expect it to stand. Unless some strategic steps are quickly taken, invalidation of the party’s executives and candidates across all levels will be a great disaster to the APC and could mark its total collapse. This development is a stern warning to politicians to henceforth have regards for law and reasoned thoughts,” he said.

Tinubu

Adamu

It is argued that once the NWC is invalidated by the reason of Buni’s involvement, all actions of the NWC would be deemed null and void.

It is based on this premise that PDP is contesting the legality of the process that produced the party’s national officers and all APC candidates in the 2023 general election

THEWILL NEWSPAPER • www.thewillnigeria.com

POLITICS

Tinubu And Afenifere’s Curse: Dialogue With Yinka Odumakin’s Ghost

BY FELIX OBOAGWINA

Felix, what is happening? Will you guys continue to sleep and allow this man to ride roughshod over Afenifere once again?

Wetin we go do now, Yinkus? Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a Yoruba project. Therefore, all Yoruba people should queue behind him, including Afenifere. As the foremost Yoruba socio-political group, shouldn’t Afenifere be leading the charge to have a Yoruba presidency come 2023?

Who says? This man tried using us to bring Afenifere down. If not for the spirit of Obafemi Awolowo that made us see the light, Jimi Agbaje and me, and the Babas’ exceptional magnanimity, tell me the Afenifere that Tinubu would be going to today to curry blessings for his ambition.

It means the man too has seen the light and repented, just like you and JK. If the Elders could forgive you Yinka and elevate you from Admin Secretary to Spokesman of Afenifere, then Tinubu deserves a second chance. After all, it is your Yoruba people who say that if we fail to forget yesterday’s quarrel, we will not have people to play and confer with tomorrow. Also, Omo eni kin se di bebere ka fi l’eke si t’omo elomiran.

You this “kobokobo” Edo boy, who has been teaching you Yoruba proverbs?

Ewe mi ti pe l'ara ose, now! I have lived long enough in Rome to begin to mouth some Latin. Don’t forget I was born here, schooled here, married here, live here, have all my children here. Moreover, Edo and Yoruba are one. Oba of Benin is a son of Oduduwa. Therefore, I am a son of Oodua Tokantokan, undiluted. (Chuckle)

Story! You are the one talking of “omo eni kin se di bebere.” Have you forgotten the case of Mulikat Adeola Akande, House of Representatives Member from Orire 1&2, Oyo State? President Goodluck Jonathan and PDP ceded to her the Number 4 position, Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2011. Jonathan did it to keep the Speakership in the hands of the Yoruba South-West and give them a sense of belonging. Have you forgotten that Tinubu marshalled all his cronies in the House to vote against her and instead rooted for an Aminu Tambuwal from Sokoto State? The little boy insults the mystic Iroko tree and flees, the spirits would take their pound of flesh somehow, someday. For Tinubu, payback time has come.

The one that confuses people is why Afenifere cannot speak in one voice about Tinubu. Chief Ayo Adebanjo distances the group from, Chief Reuben Fasoranti welcomes him.

Pitching Pa Adebanjo against Pa Fasoranti is Jagaban deploying the same divide-and-rule tactics he has used against Afenifere since 1999! Only the gullible will fall for it. This same way he split the leadership of Abraham Adesanya. That was the same way he pitched the three other AD (Alliance for Democracy) governors against the Afenifere leaders, except for Ondo State’s Governor Adebayo Adefarati, who stuck with the old men because of his direct loyalty to Awolowo, Awoism and the Awo legacy. The rift that Tinubu caused in Afenifere hastened the death of Pa Adesanya. Slow down, Yinka, don’t jump to conclusions. At 86, Senator Adesanya was already old and good to go!

Who says? The man died heartbroken. The man died regretting. The man died cursing. He used to tell me, “Yinka, do you see how Tinubu has scattered on my head the house that Awolowo built? Do you see how this legacy institution is being destroyed in my own time? What will I tell my predecessors, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Adekunle Ajasin, when we meet in the afterlife? Will I tell them that the ileke omo Oduduwa (cord of Oduduwa) that they kept in trust in my hands broke and scattered under my care, in my own time?”

Or do you forget what you said Chief Olaniwun Ajayi told you at the Afenifere secretariat at Jibowu, Yaba, when you were DPA Lagos Director of Publicity, the curses the old man extracted from the Bible and heaped on Tinubu. Felix, have you suddenly gone senile?

Yinka, how can I forget such a weighty matter?

Tinubu split Afenifere and engineered from it a renegade Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) in 2008. Tinubu singlehandedly destroyed AD. He cared little that AD was the June 12 and NADECO vehicle that M.K.O. Abiola’s supporters virtually arm-twisted General Abubakar Abdulsalami to register, even after his earlier resolve to run a two-party transition in 1999. Bola Tinubu dismembered AD, the party that brought him into power, the emblematic phoenix

that rose from the ashes of Awo’s First Republic Action Group and Second Republic UPN. On AD’s carcass, Tinubu as Lagos Governor founded the Action Congress, AC, that later transmuted into the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, which formed a strong pillar in what became today’s All Progressives Congress, APC.

Hold it there, Yinka, the man has won the APC ticket. Old sins have passed away. Even you forgave former President Olusegun Obasanjo although you abused the hell out of him, didn’t you, despite starting out as his hater? You even wrote a book against him, “Monitoring the Monitor” or “Observing the Observer” or so.

Olodo! Dullard! My book was Watch The Watcher (2014). What are we saying; and what are you saying? Obasanjo never identified with Afenifere. In fact, Afenifere worked against him and his PDP in 1999. Yes, we fell out with Obasanjo over all that he did against Tinubu, seizing local government funds when Tinubu created more local government areas in Lagos, and our belief that he rigged the 1999 and 2003 elections and unapologetically positioned himself as a stooge of the North. Even then, the man later saw the light, and I went to work with him –not “for him,” mind you, but “with him.” We aligned to create a third force to rescue Nigeria from the plundering vultures that PDP and APC had become in government.

With Tinubu going to seek Fasoranti’s blessing last Sunday, it shows he too has seen the light.

No. Tinubu went to Fasoranti with the same sense of Emilokan entitlement, which he deployed to secure the APC ticket. He believes that with money, nothing shall be impossible.

Was that why Pa Adebanjo accused Tinubu of bribing his way into the old man’s home in Akure? On ground at Fasoranti’s place were men of eminence: Former Finance Minister Olu Falae, former Minister and Senator Dayo Adeyeye, former Ogun’s Governor Gbenga Daniel, former Osun Governor Bisi Akande, Senator Iyiola Omisore. Could all such people have been bribed?

I have not said so. Just know this and know peace: The person whose price Jagaban cannot pay does not exist.

That was how he got you too, abi, if we are to extrapolate your statement?

Na you know! The issue here is why this man will now want to court Afenifere, a group he spent his entire post-2003 political career denigrating and eroding. The height of it was when the daughter of this same Pa Fasoranti was killed. Eyewitnesses and those familiar with that Ondo-Ore axis, where bandits had shot her dead, identified the killers as Fulani herdsmen. Tinubu paid a condolence visit to the grieving old man; and when journalists asked him what should be done about the insecurity being perpetrated by Fulani herdsmen in Yoruba land, Tinubu petulantly said: “Where are the cows?” Insult upon injury! I was there. I heard him.

Did you notice that Governor Rotimi Akeredolu was not part of that charade of a visit? This is despite the fact that Tinubu is his party’s flag-bearer. Moreover, Aketi is the home Governor and this visit happened right in the state capital, a shouting distance to the Government House.

His Excellency might have been busy that day and otherwise engaged.

Who wants to use his head to carry a curse, Felix?

Curse, keh! What curse? Yinka, have you come again? When will you stop making all these your weighty insinuations?

Oh, you don’t know there is an Afenifere curse? Of course, there is. Ladoke Akintola betrayed Afenifere, did he not pay heavily for his treachery, slaughtered like a chicken during the 1966 coup? Even the one they used to call Baba Kekere, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, the best civilian Governor Lagos has ever had. Jakande was Awolowo’s alter ego and heir apparent. When this falcon broke away from Afenifere his falconer and gummed himself to General Sani Abacha against June 12 and NADECO, did that error not finish Jakande politically? Even General Oladipo Diya, who was championing an alternative Yoruba leadership when Afenifere refused to abandon Abiola’s cause and follow him to lick Abacha’s anus, did Diya end well? Did he not escape the hangman’s noose only by the whiskers? Even Abacha, how did he end up after he spent his tenure hunting and killing Afenifere followers and leaders? How about Navy Captain Anthony Onyearugbulem, the Military Administrator of Ondo State, who brutishly, irreverently and indecently invaded Afenifere Leader, Pa Adekunle Ajasin’s home in Owo, and vilified the old man, like a headmaster would pour scum on a primary school pupil? Did Onyearugbulem end well? Even his Wikipedia profile said the man “died suddenly in a hotel room in Kaduna in somewhat mysterious circumstances.” He abused an old man and he did not grow old too, 47.

If you didn’t know, know it today, Felix: The fear of Afenifere’s curse is the beginning of wisdom.

I am just curious, did Abiola’s fate have to do with the curse? He antagonised Awolowo too in the NPN days. The way his mandate was taken away from him remains an inexplicable anti-climax. Did it have to do with the curse?

Spirit I may have become, Mr. Oboagwina, that doesn’t imbue me with omniscience. I don’t have answers to all of life’s mysteries.

If the fear of the curse made Tinubu run to reconcile with Afenifere, why is heaven not rejoicing over this repentant sinner? Why has the whole Afenifere turned upside down over Pa Fasoranti giving him not only audience, but also his blessing on October 30? After all, isn’t it you Yoruba people who say that if you cane a child with the right hand, you should use your other hand to embrace him?

The late Odumakin

The one that confuses people is why Afenifere cannot speak in one voice about Tinubu. Chief Ayo Adebanjo distances the group from, Chief Reuben Fasoranti welcomes him

“

Mediocrity, Irresponsibility, Cause of Leadership Crisis in Nigeria – Obasi

BY AYO ESAN

The Director General of the Professional Leadership Practitioners Institute, Dr Nathan Obasi has attributed the leadership crisis in Nigeria to mediocrity and irresponsibility of so many men and women in power.

Speaking during the Fellowship Awards of the Institute in Lagos, Obasi said Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth, adding that, it has been said that everything rises and falls on leadership.

His words: “Leadership has a crisis today in our society simply due to the mediocrity or irresponsibility of so many men and women in power, and leadership rarely rises to the full need for it. The fundamental crisis underlying mediocrity is intellectual”.

“If this statement is a given, what then is leadership? One of the celebrated leadership scholars, James MacGregor Burns asked: Is leadership simply innovation – cultural or political? Is it essentially inspiration? Mobilization of followers? Goal setting? Goal fulfillment? Is a leader the definer of values? Satisfier of needs? Some of these questions and more are the burden of thought, theory and practice of leadership, our Institute seeks to lift”, he said.

Also speaking while delivering his lecture “ Leadership As Transformation’, the Dean College of Leadership Studies , Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Professor Charles Ogbulogo said Leadership is an art of transformation, as leaders move their people through visionary pathways

to attain predetermined goals.

He said Leadership styles, resources and strategies may differ, but that the people remain the focus.

He further said that leadership success is measured by the degree to which the lives of the people are transformed.

Ogbulogo who is also the President/ Chairman of the Professional Leadership Practitioners Institute said transformation is enhanced by deep preparation which spells out the step-by-step design of action. According to him, ssuccessful leaders are knowledgeable about: the purpose of authority; the nature of resources at their disposal; the responsibility that comes with the assignment, and the standards of performance expected.

Lawmaker Calls For Urgent Action to Combat Climate Change Impacts

Amember of the House of Representatives, Sam Onuigbo (APC-Abia) has called for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts on the people.

Onuigbo made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja at weekend.

The lawmaker said that one of the critical ways of mitigating the effects of climate change is by addressing critical Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He said by addressing the issue of poverty, food security and energy would go a long way to cushion the effect of climate change, while calling on the Federal Government to channel its energy toward this.

Onuigbo, who is also the Head of Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE International) in Africa, said the world must explore means of integrating actions on combating the effect of climate change.

Onuigbo, who represents Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency of Abia State called for support from other critical stakeholders.

”Climate change calls for use of clean cooking stove that does not generate a lot of emission.

“However, due to poverty and the fact that people cannot afford to purchase this, poverty drives them to fell trees and use charcoal.

“So from the felling of trees they engage in deforestation which degrade the land and return them to issues of poverty,” he said.

Talking about food security, he said, the country could produce food in a true climate–smart agriculture environment.

Onuigbo said, in addressing climate change, there is a need to explore the obvious ways in which climate actions could solve pressing problems in Africa.

He said the world must wake up to find ”a way to carry out aggregated actions to address these issues by placing a finger on the pulse of the interconnectedness between them.”

...Dialogue With Yinka Odumakin’s Ghost

Did Tinubu go seeking Afenifere’s blessing; or he went to get Pa Fasoranti’s blessing? They are two different things, Felix. Afenifere is an institution, a legacy institution. Since its creation in 1951, it has remained the spirit of the Yoruba people, their compass even. It may not pack the same power today as it did under Awolowo or Ajasin, but its mysticism remains. It radiates in its collegiate leadership. That leadership college, March last year, agreed with Fasoranti that, being 95 years old, he should retire and Adebanjo should take up the leadership. When Adebanjo pronounced that, for the sake of equity, belongingness and social-justice, power should rotate to the Igbo nationality this time around, the voice was indeed the voice of Adebanjo; but the authority came from beyond him. That pronouncement emanated from the pantheon of Afenifere leaders, living and dead.

Therefore, what you are telling me is that Peter Obi is only an accidental beneficiary.

Spot on! Power should go to Igbo people this time around. In 1999, to redress the injustice we Yoruba suffered over June 12 and Abiola’s death, the entire country left the field free to the monopoly of two Yoruba contestants, Obasanjo and Olu Falae. The country owes the Igbo no less in 2023. It will bring a close to the Civil War and redress the enduring injustice that has reignited calls for the resurrection of Biafra.

Shouldn’t Afenifere maintain neutrality, simply allow a level

playing field, without tilting one way or the other, and let all contestants struggle for power? Bola Tinubu will tell you that power, political power, is never served a la carte.

Yes, that is his favourite cliché. Ptcheew! (Hiss) As if, his victory over Funsho Williams in the AD primaries of 1999 came by his own power and his own might. That story we leave for another day. The question you should be asking is, whether Tinubu himself has created a level playing field for political contestants under his wings. Confront him with that. He chooses. He enthrones. He dethrones. He dictates. He only and only he is the Alpha and Omega of who becomes what in Lagos, without tolerating inputs from anyone else. So why should he kick when Afenifere borrows his modus operandi? Here is the guillotiner becoming jumpy at the sight of a sword.

Yinka, he is Yoruba’s son, more than any Peter Obi. Omo wa ni e je ko se o!

Yoruba o bi omokomo o! Should I break that down for you?

Yoruba have no hooligan for a son.

My own is why is this man making so many mistakes? Christians have already backed away from his Muslim-Muslim ticket; they have raised hell and high water over his choice of Kashim Shettima as Running Mate, when he had zillions of eminent Northern Christians to choose from. Yet Buhari rejected him

in 2011 and 2015 for this same reason that the ticket would be Muslim-Muslim. Add to that the fact that he is bungling his public speaking engagements with inexplicable verbal accidents at every adlib attempt. It looks like this man’s handlers have lost vigilance, programming him for failure.

Yinka, I see you have risen up –preparatory to taking your leave. Have you considered one point? What is that?

From the time of Awolowo versus Tafawa Balewa in the First Republic, to Awolowo versus Shehu Shagari in the Second Republic, to Obasanjo versus Olu Falae in the Fourth Republic in 1999, to Obasanjo versus Muhammadu Buhari in 2003, to Umar Yar’Adua versus Buhari in 2007, to Goodluck Jonathan versus Buhari in 2011, to Goodluck Jonathan versus Buhari in 2015, to Buhari versus Atiku Abubakar in 2019, don’t you see a disturbing trend?

Which is?

Not once has Afenifere backed a winning horse. Afenifere has never been in mainstream politics.

Felix, I told you before: I might be a ghost, but I do not have answers to all mysteries.

L-R: Deputy Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Hakeem Jamiu; Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs.) Monisade Afuye; First Lady, Dr. Olayemi Oyebanji; and Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji; during the burial service for the late Speaker of the State Assembly, Rt. Hon Funminiyi Afuye; at St. Peters’ Anglican Church, Ikere- Ekiti… on Friday.

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FEATURES

Atiku Abubakar: Don Quixote of Nigerian Politics?

BY MICHAEL JIMOH

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has pursued his quixotic dream of becoming president of Nigeria for nearly three decades now, longer than any other politician dead or alive. Reaching his goal has become as elusive to him as an ever disappearing mirage as it was to Don Quixote, the protagonist in Miguel de Cervantes masterpiece Don Quixote: The man from Lamancha.

Now the flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party in the presidential election next February, Atiku will once again hope to realise his ambition of being the number one citizen in Nigeria.

The first time he gave a shot at being president, though not many Nigerians will remember now, was in 1992. In that year, he contested as a presidential aspirant of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). SDP fielded three candidates for its primaries: MKO Abiola, Babagana Kingibe and Atiku Abubakar. MKO polled 3, 617 votes to Kingibe’s 3, 255. Atiku had 2,066 votes.

After the primaries, there was talk of Kingibe and Abubakar teaming up for a rerun against MKO. Late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, it was said, persuaded Atiku to withdraw, thus paving the way for Abiola’s victory on June 12, 1993.

A good five years would elapse before Atiku would throw his hat into the political ring again, this time as a founding member of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP). He won as governor of Adamawa State under UNCP in 1998. Yet to be sworn in, Atiku joined the PDP and was thus selected as running mate to Olusegun Obasanjo in the 1999 presidential election. They won twice, first in 1999 and then in 2003.

For the 2007 presidential election, Atiku defected to Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) where he was pitted against Umaru Musa Yar’Adua of the PDP. Atiku lost yet again. He would lose in the 2011 and 2015 elections, first to incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan and then Muhammadu Buhari. Atiku’s record of honourable failure was unbroken when he lost, again, to Buhari in 2019, making him a consistent loser since his first bid in 1992.

As a perennial loser angling for political office, Atiku is in good company, if not here in Nigeria but elsewhere, especially in the very country Nigeria borrowed its presidential system of government from. There was the case, for instance, of an American politician, Endicott Peabody, who lost virtually all the electoral offices he sought for.

Writing of his obituary in December 1997, The Economist reminisced thusly: “In 1956 Endicott Peabody stood for election as attorney-general of Massachusetts. He lost. In 1958 he stood again, and again lost. In 1960, he sought the Democratic nomination for the governorship of the state, and failed. In 1966, he was a candidate for the United States Senate, and lost. In the 1980s, he moved to New Hampshire and tried for both houses of Congress, but, sadly, lost again. Endicott Peabody's record of honourable failure was briefly interrupted in 1962 when, after a lengthy recount of the votes, he was elected governor of Massachusetts. But two years later, he was defeated.

“The fame that came to Mr. Peabody was not simply because, in a land which normally hails political winners, he drew attention as a spectacular loser. That was certainly part of it. His determination was admired. But he was also an individualist, a Don Quixote, whose persistence took him into areas more conventional politicians would have avoided.”

You could say that Atiku has also ventured into “areas more conventional politicians would have avoided” by his declaration, late last month, when he appeared in a town hall

meeting with Northern Elders Forum. Asked by Hakeem Baba-Ahmed why voters from the north should vote for him, the PDP presidential candidate enthused thusly: “What the average Northerner needs is somebody who’s from the north and also understands that part of the country and has been able to build bridges across the country…This is what the Northerner needs, it doesn’t need a Yoruba or Igbo candidate, I stand before you as a pan-Nigerian of northern origin.”

Political analysts have since called him out on his rather uncharitable remark. Writing in The Guardian of October 25, 2022, headlined “2023: Atiku and the North,” Luke Onyekakekah observed that Atiku’s statement is “anti-north and anti-unity in Nigeria. It is a statement that seeks to perpetuate poverty, illiteracy, backwardness and gross underdevelopment in the north. The north has held the north to ransom for too long and needs change. If there is any section of the country that needs drastic turnaround; a section that needs a new brain to bring real time development and change, it is the north. There is no doubt about this fact. The north needs a turnaround more than any other region.”

Continuing, Onyekakekah writes that “the remark has since gone viral on social media and attracted opprobrium. A former minister of aviation and member of the APC, Femi Fani-Kayode, reportedly denounced Atiku and stated: “This is the height of desperation and daredevilry on the part of Atiku! This is so horrendous, so horrible and so thoughtless for Atiku Abubakar to use ethnicity to campaign, saying the north does not need a Yoruba or Ibo candidate. My God! Atiku needs to quit the race.”

Atiku, Onyekakekah went on, ”enjoyed strong support in 2019 in the South-East and South-South but the emergence of Peter Obi appears to be threatening his party’s stranglehold in the two zones. His chances now clearly depend on improving his support in the north. And, indeed, it was to play for the northern votes in the light of President Muhammadu Buhari not running again that the main opposition party has jettisoned its zoning policy that would have handed its ticket to a southern aspirant.”

As if this faux pas were not enough trouble for the Turaki of Adamawa, a traditional title since bequeathed to his son like a family heirloom, there is now speculation that the PDP presidential flag bearer may be out of pocket.

Is Atiku Broke?

It is a question political pundits are now mulling since Atiku emerged the PDP point man for the 2023 election. And there are good reasons for that. Soon after the Presidential Campaign Committee was inaugurated, for instance, Atiku jetted out to Europe and the UAE for business, his aides claimed. In reality, according to reliable sources, the man had gone to canvas for support, financial and otherwise, from those he visited during his trip with a possible payback if he wins the election next year.

Some even traced his insolvent state back to 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. On May Day that year, Gotel Communications, a media outfit owned by Atiku, sacked 46 workers. Three days later, the American University of Nigeria Yola, a private university founded by Atiku, sacked over 400 staff at a go.

Linda Ikeji, a popular blogger in Nigeria, quoted an affected staff in a publication of May 5, 2020, that the reason for the termination of appointment was because “they (AUN) couldn't generate revenue.” The sack became necessary "due to a desire to align the University's expenses with available revenue and all financial projections of the university."

For a politician, who has been contesting elections since 1992 – in a country where winning elections cost millions and millions – there might just be some element of truth that the man is not quite up to it financially. Nor has his current face-off with Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state helped matters much. With the limitless resources at his disposal as governor of one the richest states in Nigeria, Wike would have lent a helping hand.

As if this faux pas were not enough trouble for the Turaki of Adamawa, a traditional title since bequeathed to his son like a family heirloom, there is now speculation that the PDP presidential flag bearer may be out of pocket

“

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EDITORIAL

Ninth National Assembly: An Appraisal

The Ninth National Assembly is a bicameral legislature composed of the House of Representatives, (Lower Chamber) and the Senate, (Upper Chamber) which was inaugurated on June 11, 2019 and will run its course until June 11, 2023.

The members of the assembly are saddled with legislative duties and oversight functions. While it has not done badly in the area of legislation, it has abandoned its duty of oversighting on the Executive arm of government.

In term of legislations, as of November 2021, about 2,500 Bills had been introduced in the National Assembly, 769 in the Senate and 1,634 in the House of Representatives,

The passing of the Electoral Act (2010) Amendment Bill, which was signed into the New Electoral Act 2022 by President Muhammadu Buhari is one of the major achievements of the assembly.

The law has already strengthened the electoral process through the use of electronic transmission of election results and this has further reinforced public confidence in democratic institutions, especially the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The ninth assembly worked closely with the Executive to secure the passage and assent of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

For some years, the National Assembly had made efforts to reform the petroleum industry without much success. The PIB was first

introduced in the 6th Assembly (2007-2011), but it failed to scale through. Similar efforts by the Seventh Assembly failed to secure concurrence by the Senate, while in the Eighth Assembly, the Bill was passed, but it failed to secure presidential assent.

This historic achievement of the National Assembly means that Nigeria now has legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal frameworks for the petroleum industry that would promote optimal utilisation of the country’s abundant oil and gas resources.

The assembly also passed the Finance Act (2020) which successfully amended 17 key aspects of the extant laws, including seven existing tax laws.

The CAMA 2020 Act is also a landmark achievement representing the first time in 30 years that this law has been updated.

The Act introduces measures to ensure efficiency in the registration and regulation of corporate vehicles, reduce the compliance burden of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), enhance transparency and stakeholders’ engagement in corporate vehicles and overall, promote a more friendly business climate.

The Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract (Amendment) Act 2019, which was passed and assented to by the President gives effect to fiscal incentives given to oil and gas companies operating in the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin areas under production sharing contracts between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) or other companies holding oil prospecting licenses (OPL) or oil mining leases (OML) and various

petroleum exploration and production companies.

Other Bills of great economic significance that have been passed by the National Assembly and awaiting presidential assent include the Public Procurement Act 2007 (Amendment) Bill, Recovery of Public Property Bill and the Amendment of Assets Management Corporation Act, among others.

However, whatever achievements that may have been recorded in the legislation aspect have been subsumed under the assembly’s bad performance of overseeing the executive.

To many Nigerians, the ninth National Assembly has been described as a Rubber Stamp legislature and they believe it should be blamed for the heavy foreign debts incurred by the

Buhari administration.

The rubber-stamp signature given to the ninth assembly is not surprising, considering the way the assembly allowed the excesses of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration in the last four years to go unchallenged.

The legislature is supposed to serve as a watchdog, but this assembly has violated the doctrine of separation of powers and checks and balances as enunciated by French philosopher, Charles Baron Montesquieu, in his book, ‘The Spirit of Law’.

Montesquieu explained the need to separate the three organs of government, namely, the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary, to enable each arm to serve as a check on the other in order to ensure equilibrium, but the ninth assembly has not served as a check on the excesses of the Buhari’s administration.

Amendment Bill,

Section 14, Sub-section 3 of the 1999 Constitution says that “The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies.”

The Muhammadu Buhari Administration has however done exactly the opposite and it had done so in the last seven years without any hesitation.

We believe that the assembly still has a few months to correct the error of poor oversighting before it winds up and we pray it does so.

Nigeria Bureau: 36AA Remi Fani-Kayode Street, GRA, Ikeja. Lagos, Nigeria. info@thewillnigeria.com / @ THEWILLNG, +234 810 345 2286, +234 913 333 3888.

The passing of the Electoral Act (2010)

which was signed into the New Electoral Act 2022 by President Muhammadu Buhari is one of the major achievements of the assembly

Buhari's Legacy: Navy in Crude Oil Theft, Compendium of Deception

BY IFEANYI IZEZE

In his paid damage control effort, the Consultant and Coordinator of President Buhari Legacy Projects, Mr Patriot Ata Ikiddeh ended up muddling the issue of the successes achieved by the Nigerian Navy in the Federal Government’s fight against crude oil theft.

In his recently released compendium, Ikiddeh had declared that the government arrested over 50 vessels on account of illegal oil bunkering.

If it was an image laundering effort for the Nigerian Navy, then it came out doing more damage than good for the service in a sense that it raised more questions than the answers it was supposed to provide.

Giving a blanket clean bill of service conduct to the Navy raises more questions as to how it has lived up to its constitutional mandate in terms of the surveillance and protection of our territorial waters. Everything about this crude oil theft issue is happening within the space ascribed to the Navy as its primary constituency and so to exonerate them of complicity or outright incompetence is blind patriotism at best and at worst, a mere coloured sycophancy. So what Ikhiddeh is trying to say in his compendium is portray the NNPC as not showing gratitude for the Navy’s efforts by awarding a whopping N48 billion per annum contract to Government Ekpemupolo, a.k.aTompolo, and his company, instead of giving the money to the Navy to support its efforts in making our waters free from criminal activities (crude oil theft particularly).

Why is Ikhiddeh's Legacy Project a compendium of praise singing to the Navy coming out now that Tompolo and his gang are revealing obvious collaboration between oil thieves and naval personnel?

The Nigerian Navy is so excellent in leaving up to its constitutional mandate in safeguarding our waterways and we are being told of series of illegal oil pipelines connected to two of the nation's main export trunklines: Trans Niger and Trans Forcados running over four kilometres into the sea connecting illegal crude oil loading bays.

The Navy is so efficient in discharging its duties and oil thieves had over 100 tapping points/breaches on the two main trunklines that run from the marine to swampy areas and nobody was ever caught drilling or tapping from those holes despite the fact that pipeline welding and drilling goes with loud noise whether during the day or at night?

How the Buhari Legacy Project Consultant arrived at the conclusion that "President Buhari emerged the first Nigerian Head of State and Petroleum Oil Minister to have secured the most arrests, prosecutions and convictions on illegal oil bunkering since 1960, by the Nigerian Navy," is at

best blurred and at worst, another sycophantic declaration. Hear the Buhari Consultant: "Contrary to the stories making the rounds about a corrupt and highly compromised military, which is boot deep in the stifling corruption in the creeks, the incontrovertible fact on ground speaks to the contrary.

"And one wonders if it isn't the corruption of the greasy mangrove swamps fighting back in order to destroy the reputation of this government and our patriotic gallant Naval Officers.

"The number of arrests and prosecutions collated here is but a fraction of what has been achieved by the Nigerian Navy. The numbers are simply unbelievable.

"Yet some of you, without proper research, have vilified the very best of us. These are loyal dedicated and committed patriots!"

"I have never for once doubted the commitment of our military under Nigeria's incorruptible Commander-inChief. You take it or leave it, the man is squeaky clean"

As the consultant recalled, the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Awwal Gambo, speaking during an interview on Channels TV, said,"The figures about the amount of crude oil being stolen daily is outrageous and unrealistic.

"The phenomenon of crude oil theft and crude losses must be properly de-conflicted in order to proffer lasting solutions to the menace which is currently bedevilling our economic resources.

"We need to understand the difference between oil theft and oil loss. In this case, while oil theft is siphoning crude oil from vandalised pipes into badges, oil losses occur when there is no production, especially during short- ins and force majeure, as the Federal Government does not earn the desired revenue it should. Losses also occur as a result of metering errors on the operating platforms as read.

"But however, the volume of crude all shot in from 'no production' are often added to figures for oil theft instead of declaring them as oil losses which should not be."

Is it not clear that the consultant was engaged to rubbish Tompolo, the NNPC and the operating companies and polish the battered image of the Nigerian Navy and the Joint Military Taskforce (JTF) in the Niger Delta/offshore?

So if Tompolo, justifying his pipeline surveillance contract, did not openly accuse the Nigerian Navy of collaborating with oil thieves, the military (navy) wouldn't have published the number of oil theft vessels and barges arrested since 2015?

Nigeria in The Wilderness

BY CHINEDUM ANAYO

Nigeria now has multiple woes. A region plagued by avoidable afflictions. The narrative about essential issues affecting this great country is that they are all the result of the failure of ‘past’ governments.

This assertion is highly debatable. The issue of flooding could be attributed to numerous challenges ranging from climate change, the Cameroonian dam and the failure of government institutions with this responsibility.

In September this year, the Federal Government initiated a National Council on Climate Change, with regard to the execution of the Climate Change Act of 2021. It is obvious that the flooding situation is similar to that of some other nations of the globe.

Even countries like the United States and Australia have been ravaged by floods this year. The Lagdo Dam on the Benue River in Northern Cameroon was built between 1977 and 1982. This dam was intended for both irrigation and electricity purposes.

Nigeria and Cameroon have a bilateral agreement over the dam, which is mainly that Nigeria will construct a similar dam on its own side. This dam is located in Dasin Village in Adamawa State and has been under construction for almost 20 years.

Nigeria failed its bit. The bilateral agreement obliges Cameroon to inform Nigeria early before it releases water from the Lagdo Dam. And they have regularly abided by

this. In early September, our Hydrological Services Agency announced that Cameroon was going to release water from the dam and many states on the River Niger and Benue basins would be hard hit.

But as usual, nobody deemed it necessary to do anything to prevent this ugly occurrence. Before blames are compiled, it is important to note that we cannot even properly manage the dams within the country.

When water is released from the Oyan Dam, parts of Ogun and Lagos State are affected. The thing is that, in as much as nature isn’t fair to man most times, Africa and underdeveloped countries generally do not do enough preventive measures. We live in the facade of fate.

In Nigeria, we have information on critical situations, but nobody usually does anything reasonable. There are floods everywhere, lives are lost and properties destroyed, yet we smile in the face of disaster and helplessness. Our response towards principal subjects needs to change for the better.

Another pinpoint is that we tend to always disregard certain environmental guidelines. Here, we don’t even bother to understand the disadvantages of some of our actions. We dump refuse carelessly. Government agencies tasked with this regulation just look the other way after fattening their pockets.

When this disaster presents itself, we sound like the boy who cried wolf. It is worrying that these matters have been treated

The Buhari Legacy Project should kindly tell us who to believe now, with regard to the actual loss in terms of volume of stolen crude oil: the NNPC/oil companies or the Navy?

The nation's apex oil concern and the International Operating Companies (IOCs) have been dangling figures ranging from 400, 000 barrels to as much as even 800,000 barrels as the total volume of crude stolen every day from the nation's facilities by oil thieves.

Agreed that, as a technical person, most of the figures dangled are more of loss productions/short-ins and spills into the environment as a result of punched pipelines than actual lifting by oil thieves, the Navy and their legacy consultant failed to give us the figure they established as the actual quantity of crude oil being stolen and shipped from the nation's territorial waters.

If the legacy project was the Presidency's idea and not the Navy's couldn't it have been tidier for the latter and the NNPC to agree on the lies to tell Nigerians on this crude oil theft absurdity?

Is crude oil being stolen from Nigeria and shipped abroad by sea where the Navy works to protect? Failure is failure and there is no way you can polish it to look like success.

Why did the Navy or the Buhari legacy Project fail to tell us the total volume of crude oil seized from oil thieves during the period under review?

Did the Navy believe that Nigerians can trust them enough to believe they handed over everything recovered?

How was the seized crude oil managed? Was it returned to the NNPC or given to the EFCC as evidence for the prosecution of the financial crimes? And if given to the NNPC, did the company account for the proceeds of the crude or it just took it as a bounty? The ones that ended up with the EFCC how was it disposed and where are the proceeds?

Whether anybody wants to hear this or not, the legacy project of lies and image laundering can never change the truth that crude oil stealing has been taken to fetish heights under the present government. The Presidency, Navy, JTF and NNPC on our side and the foreign operators on the other side are all neck-deep in this conscienceless crime against the peoples of this country.

Do we need anybody to tell us that this is the worst government in the history of this country, in terms of transparency, corruption, conceit, impunity and nepotism?

•Izeze writes from Abuja.

as minor by some of our leaders. They have become so used to death that lives don’t matter to them anymore.

This agony also has a disastrous effect on food inflation. The government agencies on emergency administrations should do something significant instead of being silent. Our leaders should be rational and sensitive enough to show empathy. They should all pause their political rallies and attend to citizens. Because it now looks like Nigerian citizens have been deserted by those meant to be responsible for them.

Most recently, the United States warned the Federal Government of imminent terror attacks on Abuja and has respectively authorised departure status to American citizens and Embassy staff in the Federal Capital Territory.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has dismissed the terror alerts, stressing that Nigeria has been Safer under the Muhammed Buhari Administration. Notwithstanding that a number of terrorist attacks have been recorded in Abuja this year.

Nigerian lives are often treated flippantly by a government with the primary objective of security. What Politicians are concerned about right now are campaigns and vote soliciting.

Those contesting to lead Nigeria must communicate their ideas on Flooding, Insecurity, Climate change, and Economic development because these are vices, which have categorized our nation as a wilderness.

We can’t continue in the same negative fashion in the future.

Others in Interest, e-Banking Earnings

BY SAM DIALA

Nigeria’s largest company by assets, Access Holdings Plc, leads the pack with the highest interest income of N497.47 billion in nine months ending September 30, 2022, among the esteemed Tier-1 players in the banking sector. The foremost financial service institution also came tops in revenue from e-banking among its peers in the league of Tier-1 banks, which are United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, FBN Holdings Plc and GTCO Plc.

Data compiled by THEWILL from their financial statements for the period show that Access Holdings grew its interest income by 25.9 percent from N395.13 billion in nine months of 2021 to the current level of N497.47 billion. The rising numbers which also reflected in the e-banking fees saw revenue from this window rise by 9.5 percent from N45.08 billion in the corresponding period to N49.39 billion. The marginal increase placed Access Holdings above its peers in the distinguished club.

Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc came second with interest income of N420.33 billion as against N343.79 billion posted in the corresponding period (nine months of 2021)

Airlines to Save Fuel Costs as Domestic Runway Opens

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR

Thirty years after the contract was initiated, local airlines in Nigeria will now save aviation fuel burnt in taxing from the international runway to the domestic terminals in the night, as the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has opened the runway

designated for local carriers, known as Runway 18L/36R.

FAAN had in early June, 2022 closed the domestic runway to allow for installation of airfield lighting. The project, which commenced effectively on Friday, July 8, 2022, lasted 90 days,

Continues on page 33

representing a growth of 22.3 percent. The bank’s revenue from e-banking channels was N47.95 billion from N45.96, or 24.5 percent rise.

Zenith Bank Plc, the largest financial services institution by market size, earned N390.75 billion from interest income during the nine months to September 30, 2022 as against N308.84 billion in the preceding period. This shows an increase of 26.6 percent. The firm’s e-banking channels generated a significant revenue growth of 50.5 percent from N23.99 billion in nine months of 2021 to N36.09 billion in the review period.

The behemoth, FBN Holdings Plc, pooled N370.36 billion from interest income representing 42.4 percent increase compared with N260.11 billion in the preceding period, while e-banking fee dipped by 4.9 percent from N42.02 billion to N39.97 billion. GTCO Plc grew its interest income from N178.30 billion to N204 billion or 14.5 percent.

The companies’ balance sheet size also reflected their interest and e-banking earnings trajectory with Access Holdings recording 13.41 trillion while

MORE INSIDE

United

Capital

Announces 11-year-old as Winner of its ‘A Day as CEO’ Initiative

Coming on the heels of its successful Ba ck-to-School campaign, United Capital Plc, one of Africa's foremost investment banks and financial services institutions, announced 11-year-old, Pharez Obioha, as winner of its first ever, ‘A Day as CEO’ initiative. An offshoot of the campaign, the initiative was created as one of the schemes to reward the best performing participants of United Capital Plc’s ‘Money Savvy Kid’ financial liter acy workshop for children. The workshop was

Continues on page 34

THEWILL NEWSPAPER • www.thewillnigeria.com

AVIATION/FINANCE

Airlines to Save Fuel Costs as Domestic Runway Opens

while the runway was closed to flight operations throughout the three-month period.

Before now, domestic airlines burned fuel for over 20 minutes, cumulatively put at billions of naira per annum, when they landed at the International Airport runway after 6:00 pm every day to taxi to the domestic terminal, known as MMA2 or the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), which provides domestic flight services. This is because for several years Runway 18L did not have airfield lighting to guide flights to land in the night.

Experts have expressed the opinion that the recent efforts made by FAAN to install airfield lightning at the runway is a very good development, as flights will now land and take off on the facility in the night, thus saving the operators the cost of fuel and time. According to them, this will also reduce traffic on the International Airport runway, as domestic airlines sometimes hover upon arrival at the Lagos airspace to wait for other flights to land before they do and also wait at the holding point for several minutes while taking off, thus causing delays.

Although, the first departure from the RWY 18L/36R took off at 06:18hrs Thursday, November, 11, 2022 by Air Peace flight number P4 7420 enroute Lagos-Kano, analyst are, however, waiting to see flights going to and from the runway both at night and in daylight.

Reacting to the completion of the project and opening of the Runway, Secretary General of the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP), Comrade Abdulrasaq Saidu applauded FAAN for completing and opening the runway.

Comrade Saidu urged Nigerians to wait until there is a smooth and efficient take-off and landing at nights before they start praising the Authorities.

The former Commandant of the MMIA, Group Capt. John Ojikutu (retd.), expressed delight over the opening of the runway, saying that stakeholders should "wait for the first night landing tonight (Friday November, 11,2022) at 18:00hrs".

Airline operators have also applauded the Federal Government, the Minister of Aviation and FAAN for keeping up to the promise of delivering the project in record time

In his comment, the Vice President of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Allen Onyema, commended the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, and the Federal Government for the successful installation of airfield lighting on Runway 18L/36R at the Domestic Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

Onyema congratulated Sirika on the feat and hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for his administration's favourable policies to the aviation industry.

"I must applaud the Federal Government for successfully installing lighting facilities on Runway 18L/36R. President Buhari has been supportive to the aviation sector and projects like this one are a testament to the fact. One is not oblivious of the strides that have been achieved in Nigeria's aviation sector courtesy of President Buhari.

"The installation of airfield lighting on this particular runway will go a long way in alleviating the suffering of airlines and reducing the cost of operations as well as enhance the possibility of increasing flight frequencies. It will also help reduce turnaround time, which makes for more operational efficiency, and both the operators and passengers will benefit from it", the AON Vice President asserted.

With the Airfield Lighting installed, the unnecessary 10-20 minutes spent and fuel burnt when an aircraft lands on the international runway before taxiing to the domestic, will end and generally, it will make for aircraft usage maximisation.

According to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), this is part of efforts aimed at improving safety and efficiency of flight operations at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

During the period, there was no disruption to flight operations as the International Airport runway was used for all inbound and outbound flights operations.

Meanwhile some stakeholders have equally appealed that the adjoining taxiways on the runway be also given attention.

Continued from page 32 Zenith’s is N11.34 billion. FBNH and UBA assets are N9.85 and N9.31 trillion respectively.

“ Access Holdings Leads Others in Interest, e-Banking Earnings

Access Holdings has maintained a rising trajectory in credit expansion apparently in compliance with the 65 percent loan deposit ratio (LDR) policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The company is also ahead of its Tier-1 peers with N4.62 trillion loan and advances to customers in nine months ending September 30, 2022 – an 11 percent increase from N4.16 trillion as of December 31, 2021. Its Customer deposit also tops the league of Tier-1 banks: N8.18 trillion from N6.95 trillion in FY 2021.

THEWILL investigation showed that Zenith Bank came second in loan and advances to customers among the Tier-1 banks, with N3.88 trillion followed by UBA which recorded N3.1 trillion. Zenith Bank’s customer deposits was N8.1 trillion while UBA posted N7.1 trillion. FBN Holdings posted loans and advances of N3.59 trillion and customer deposits of N6.6 trillion.

Analysts at Proshare said the banking sectors have seen a significant rise in interest income this year with the high-interest rate environment, which helped to widen their profit. The practical move by CBN to sanction banks that violated the cash reserves ratio (CRR) policy vis-à-vis minimum lending portfolio must have forced the DMBs to intensify their credit expansion policies. “The deposit money banks are faced with the dilemma of satisfying the regulatory requirements and stepping into risk environments that could burn their fingers. They have no option than to lend, all the same,” said Jonah Kalu, a financial analyst.

Commenting on the Access Holdings performance, National Co-ordinator, Pragmatic Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), Ms Bisi Bakare, said the outstanding record in interest income was not a surprise given the bank’s aggressive expansion

programme within and outside Nigeria.

She said, “Access Bank leading in interest income is not really surprising because of their strong tentacles within and outside Nigeria. Access Bank keeps acquiring big and small banks and expanding their operations rapidly.”

She said the bank and its peers in the Tier-1 league have performed to the delight of their shareholders.

The five Tier-1 banks recorded a combined loans and advances of N18.81 trillion in the nine months ended September 30, 2022 against N14.54 as of December 31, 2021, representing an increase of 30 percent. Their combined customer deposits for nine months ending September 30, 2022 was N33,21 trillion compared with 30 trillion in FY 2021, representing a 10.6 percent rise.

Data from the five Tier-1 banks’ FY 2021 show they recorded a total assets of N44.07 trillion and combined revenue of N33.63 billion.

They paid a total income tax of N145 billion and employed a total of 34,000 pay-rolled workers. Their combined market capitalisation stood at N2.56 trillion as of December 31, 2021.

With the Airfield Lighting installed, the unnecessary 10-20 minutes spent and fuel burnt when an aircraft lands on the international runway before taxiing to the domestic, will end and generally, it will make for aircraft usage maximisation

The deposit money banks are faced with the dilemma of satisfying the regulatory requirements and stepping into risk environments that could burn their fingers They have no option than to lend, all the same

United Capital Announces 11-year-old as Winner of its ‘A Day as CEO’ Initiative

inspired by the need to teach childr en fundamental money management skills at a young age in order for them to become financially respon sible adults in the future and help our economy grow.

As the competition's first-place winner, Pharez Obioha was given the unique opportunity to serve as CEO of United Capital Plc for one day. In his new role, he was given an exclusive tour of the company's headquarters in Lagos, where he met with executive man agement and had a meet and greet with employees.

In addition, a prize presentati on ceremony was held at the same location, where he was presented with a N150,000 cheque to be invested in his United Capital Education Trust account, an investment fund primarily focused on the welfare of children. The first and second runners-up, Oluwatosin Babafemi, and Ayobami

Arogundade received N100,000 and N50,000 respectively.

Speaking at the event, Group CEO of United Capital Plc, Peter Ashade, said “Children are the future of tomorrow, so it is critical to confront financial liter acy in our society from a foundational level, and that is the basis for this ini tiative. We are delighted to present the se prizes to the children because it is our investment in their future, and we hope that this opportunity will inspire them to aim high and set lofty goals for themselves."

He went on to say that the campaign received over 1,000 entries from children both at home and abroad. The winners were chosen based on their attendance and performance at the fi nancial literacy workshop, adherence to the stated submission deadline, and possession of United Capital Education trust accounts, a feature that drove uptake of the investment product.

NCC Convenes Stakeholder Forum on December 5G Auction

The proposed auction of two lots in the 3.5GHz Spectrum for the deployment of 5G services, set to take place in December 2022, is gathering steam and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has concluded arraignments to host an engagement session with stakeholders to discuss and provide more insight into the Draft Information Memorandum that will guide the process.

The Commission had earlier announced the plan to license additional lots in the 3.5 GHz spectrum band for the deployment of 5G (fifth generation) Global System of Mobile communication).

The interactive session with the stakeholders will take place at the Marriot Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, by 9.00am prompt on the 15th of November 2022.

The engagement session will feature comments and submissions made by the different stakeholders on the Draft Information Memorandum. The outcome of the submission will be taken into consideration by the Commission in publishing the Information Memorandum for the auction.

The process for the auction of the proposed lots of frequencies for 5G services commenced on 21 October 2022 with the publication of the Draft Information Memorandum on the Commission’s website.

Stakeholders have been advised, in an earlier statement and subsequent advertisements, by the Commission to study the Information Memorandum and make their comments and questions available to the Commission.

Global Air Cargo Demand Plummets in September

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released data for September 2022 global air cargo markets showing that air cargo demand softened.

Global demand, measured in cargo tonnekilometers (CTKs), fell 10.6% compared to September 2021, but continued to track at near pre-pandemic levels (-3.6%).

According to IATA, capacity was 2.4% above September 2021 but still 7.4% below September 2019 levels.

It noted that, following contractions across major economies, the global Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for new export orders also contracted to its lowest level in two years.

Stating that latest global goods trade figures showed a 5.2% expansion in August, it further hinted that such growth is a positive sign for the global economy.

"This is expected to primarily benefit maritime cargo, with a slight boost to air cargo as well", IATA added.

Commenting, Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General said “While air cargo’s activity continues to track near to 2019 levels, volumes remain below 2021’s exceptional performance as the industry faces some headwinds. At the consumer level, with travel restrictions lifting post-pandemic, people are likely to spend more on vacation travel and less on e-commerce. And at the macro-level, increasing recession warnings are likely to have a negative impact on the global flows of goods and services, balanced slightly by a stabilisation of oil prices.

"Against this backdrop, air cargo is bearing up well. And a strategic slow-down in capacity growth from 6.3% in August to 2.4% in September demonstrates the flexibility the industry has in adjusting to economic developments”.

In September Regional Performance, African airlines saw cargo volumes increase by 0.1% in September 2022 compared to September 2021. This was a slight decrease in the growth recorded the previous month (1.0%). Capacity was 4.1% below September 2021 levels.

AMCON Recovers N307bn Debt in Two Years

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria has said it recovered a total of N307 billion debts in two years: between 2020 and 2021.

An inter-agency committee set up on the recovery of debts owed to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria submitted its report to the Federal Government and is urging for strict implementation of relevant laws, including the AMCON Act, that ensures that the recalcitrant debtors cannot benefit from government contracts and projects except with due diligence clearance from AMCON.

Members of the Committee led by its Chairman, Prof. Bolaji Owasonoye, SAN, who is also the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, stated this while submitting its interim report to Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa.

According to statement released by the Senior Special Adviser to the VicePresident on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, Prof. Osinbajo said the government would review it and act accordingly, observing that the issue of AMCON debtors doing further business with government agencies was a due diligence matter and there would have to be compliance with the requirements of the law.

Specifically, the Committee proposed an advisory to the Federal Government that going forward, “all AMCON debtors must not be allowed to transact business or enjoy patronage with any government agency whatsoever, except clearance is obtained from AMCON on the debt status of such obligors,” according to Prof. Owasonoye, who presented the report to the vice president.

He stated that “between 2020 and 2021, AMCON made significant recoveries which is highlighted in the report. Within the period under review, AMCON witnessed 10 per cent growth in the recovery performance across various asset classes. For instance, in the year, 2020, the sum of N146 billion was recovered, while in 2021 the sum of N161 billion was also recovered. The recovery outlook for 2022 is also looking positive and the Committee will not relent in its effort in engendering more recoveries.”

He added that the “Committee will continue its assignment with the institution of bankruptcy proceedings, tax infraction, inquiry as well as other strategies to ensure the obligors are brought under the recovery net of AMCON

The mandate of the committee, which was inaugurated in September 2019, included the review of status of debt owed to AMCON, collation information relating to respective debtors and their current status, deliberate on practical, legal and other strategies for the recovery of the outstanding debt, among others.

The Chairman further noted that the Committee immediately commenced work upon inauguration, but the advent of the COVID-19 global pandemic inevitably slowed down the pace of activities and enforcement measures.

L-R: Senior Manager, Governance and Service Resilience, MTN Nigeria, Oladmeji Joseph; Cofounder, DigitalEncode; Tobechukwu Okigbo, Chief Corporate Services Officer, MTN Nigeria, Dr. Obadare Peter Adewale; Associate Director, Cybersecurity, Privacy and Resilience, PwC, Nkiruka Joy Aimienoho; Senior Manager, Information Security, MTN Nigeria Anietie Jude; and Manager, Security Operations, MTN Nigeria, Jidekene Orakwue, at the cybersecurity awareness event which held at the MTN Nigeria Head Office on November 11, 2022.

Photo: Peace Udugba.

Access Bank to Spend $1bn to Boost SMEs in Africa

Access Bank says it is investing a billion dollars to boost 10 million Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Africa over the next five years.

Mr Seyi Kumapayi, the Executive Director in charge of African subsidiaries said this on the sidelines of a two-day SMEs Immersion Round table in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the SMEs round table is: Enhancing the Capabilities of SMEs Across Africa.

Kumapayi said that Africa had about 1.4 billion people, which was about 17 per cent of the world’s population.

“However, from a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) standpoint, we only have 2.5 percent of GDP,

The executive director said that Africa was not producing enough, adding that the SMEs space in the continent was underdeveloped.

According to Kamapayi, SMEs in Africa are faced with three major problems that are interwovenaccess to finance, affordability and the capacity to manage businesses themselves.

“And that is what we are trying to fix over the next five years.

“We would make an impact in about 10 million SMEs across Africa.

“There are 90 million SMEs across Africa,” Kamapayi said.

He said that the bank is ready to support youths and women entrepreneurs across Africa.

According to him, the bank has assembled an array of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) that

will help build the capacities of SMEs.

Also speaking, Mrs Ayodele Olojede, Group Head, Emerging Business Africa, Access Bank Group, said that the bank loves SMEs.and would do everything within its power to support them.

Olojede said that the bank had branches in 14 African countries, adding that its support to SMEs would transform the continent.

According to her, Africa’s contributions to GDP is very low and attributed the reason to the fact that SMEs are struggling.

She said that the game changer for SMEs was building their capacity for scalability beyond access to finance.

“We don’t just give SMEs access to finance, but we help them in other areas that will help them to open up their businesses to market opportunities and then go into services that they will be able to access.

“We have found that a lot of SMEs spend 70 per cent of their time in activities that do not add up to their bottom line..

“That in itself tells you that they would not be able to scale up as long as they continue to focus on those activities.

“So one of the ways we can help them is to create a platform where they can access all of those services easily, and so we can reduce the 70 per cent of their time to 30 per cent.

“And so we can help them to spend 70 per cent on those activities that can help them to scale, that for me is the game changer,” Olojede said.

(NAN)

U.S. Consul

Emirates Posts Record US$1.2bn Half-Year Performance

The Emirates Group has reported a net profit of US$1.2bn for the first six months of 2022-23, a record halfyear performance, and a strong turnaround from its $1.6bn loss for the same period last year.

The Group recorded a revenue of $15.3bn for the first six months of 2022-23, up 128% from $6.7bn last year.

This was driven by the strong demand for air transport across the world with the further easing and removal of pandemic-related travel restrictions.

General

Commends Gulfstream’s Business Partnership in Nigeria

U.S. Consul General, Will Stevens, hosted a reception in honor of a delegation from Gulfstream Aerospace that visited Nigeria to introduce its newest business jet model G700 aircraft to Nigeria’s aviation industry.

Delivering remarks at a welcome reception in Lagos, Consul General Stevens commended Gulfstream Aerospace on its success in business aviation as well as the company’s partnership and investment in Nigeria, which will further strengthen the growing economic ties between both countries.

Consul General Stevens welcomed the introduction of the aircraft in Lagos, highlighting the importance of business aviation in facilitating bilateral trade and investment ties between both countries.

“The United States is committed to strengthening economic ties through investment, and we see that in this remarkable partnership with ExecuJet, which demonstrates Gulfstream’s commitment to the market,” Stevens said.

In his remarks, Regional Vice President for Gulfstream Aerospace Chris Edwards lauded the partnership between Gulfstream Aerospace and Execujet Aviation Nigeria. Through this partnership, EJAN will provide warranty and maintenance service and spare parts for Gulfstream G450, G550, G650, and G650ER aircraft in West Africa.

“The G700 aircraft is embarking on a 20city, 6-continent world tour, which includes a stop at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos. We are excited that Lagos is part of this extensive world tour in Sub-Saharan Africa, as this will help meet the needs of our customers in the region,” Edwards said.

Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is headquartered in Savannah, Georgia and it is a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Dynamics.

Commenting, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman, and Chief Executive, of Emirates Airline and Group, said “The Group’s record performance for the first six months of 2022-23 is the result of forward planning, agile business response, and the efforts of our talented and committed workforce.

Across the Group, the recovery of our operations accelerated as more countries eased and removed travel restrictions. We were ready and amongst the first movers to serve the strong customer demand thanks to our robust business plans, the support of our industry partners, and our ongoing investments in people, technology, and products and services.”

The Group closed the first half year of 2022-23 with a strong cash position of $8.9bn on 30 September 2022, compared to $7.0bn, as on 31 March 2022. The Group has tapped into its own strong cash reserves to support business needs, including debt payments and pandemic-related commitments.

The Group also reported an EBITDA of $4.2bn, a marked improvement from $1.5bn during the same period last year, illustrating its strong operating profitability.

“For the coming months, we remain focused on restoring our operations to pre-pandemic levels and recruiting the right skills for our current and future requirements. We expect customer demand across our business divisions to remain strong in H2 2022-23.

However, the horizon is not without headwinds, and we are keeping a close watch on inflationary costs and other macro-challenges such as the strong US dollar and the fiscal policies of major markets. The Group expects to return to our track record of profitability at the close of our full financial year,” added Sheikh Ahmed.

L-R: Head of External Communications and Partnerships, Reckitt Sub-Saharan Africa, Cassandra Uzo-Ogbugh; CEO, Nigeria, Retail Supermarkets Nigeria, Hubertus J Rick; Corporate Communications Manager, Retail Supermarkets Nigeria, Venessa Ebifemi and Head, Key Accounts, Reckitt Nigeria, Olugbenga Olotu, at the Dettol and Shoprite Hygiene partnership signing in Lagos on November 11, 2022.

Photo: Peace Udugba.

Saboteurs And Naira Redesigning Project

BY MARCEL OKEKE

It is no longer news that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has embarked on the redesigning and re-issuance of the 200, 500 and 1,000 naira notes, a move it announced on October 26, 2022.

It is also no longer news that barely two days after the policy was made public by the Governor of the CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, during a special briefing held in Abuja, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, not only disowned the initiative, but also denounced and condemned it. She also went to great lengths to paint a gory picture of how that CBN policy would hurt and very negatively impact the economy.

Ahmed ended up calling on the Senate Committee on Finance to summon the CBN boss for necessary interrogation as to the reasons for the policy and possible benefits (if any).

Like wildfire, other critical stakeholders took over from the minister’s criticism, and practically poured their venom on the currency redesign and its authors, querying the spirit and intendment of the monetary measure. Indeed, some otherwise responsible and respected bodies like the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) rejected every reason for the CBN move and called for a halt to the execution of the policy.

They said whatever problem the CBN wanted to solve via the naira redesigning was the “least” of the country’s current economic challenges. A statement by the Director-General of the Chamber, Dr Chinyere Alumona, said the CBN initiative could worsen the economic problems of Nigeria and warned that the apex bank ought to have concentrated on the more important issue of paucity of foreign exchange and its management.

Towing the LCCI line, some economists and policy analysts also contended that the Currency initiative ought not to have come up at this point in time when, according to them, the only dominant issue in the public space should be the ongoing electioneering and the 2023 general elections. With the same mindset, they criticized the ‘line up’ of three key events—the Naira redesigning, 2023 general elections and the proposed National population census in April 2023— not minding that these are unrelated projects organized and supervised by three disparate agencies namely, the CBN, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the National Population Commission (NPC). But just to be on the bandwagon for the deprecation and criticism of the CBN policy, many public affairs commentators chose to lump the three programs of the Federal Government together—to tar all with the same brush—even though the apex bank was undertaking a policy initiative strictly within its purview to better stimulate the economy.

Apparently, the CBN foresaw the deluge of unwarranted attack and twisting of its policy coming, and on October 31, 2022, issued a statement, detailing a step-by-step approach as to how the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and the banking public should go about implementing the currency initiative within the intended timeframe. In the circular addressed to all banks and signed by the Director of Banking Supervision, CBN, Haruna B. Mustafa, the apex bank said among other things “no cash deposit by any customer should be rejected

provided such deposits are lodged into an account with a BVN.”

It said further that “all deposits by new or walkin customers should be accepted by banks subject to compliance with the requisite account opening documentation and KYC requirements.” The circular also warned that “splitting of deposits is not permitted under any circumstance. All unusually large deposits

should be paid into customer’s accounts with BVNs as a bulk amount.”

In all, the 17-point circular provides almost a watertight Naira redesign implementation guide that hardly gives any room for economic saboteurs. Unsurprisingly, the document has provided a ‘brick wall’ against fraudsters, counterfeiters, money launderers and economic saboteurs who are bent on sabotaging the policy from the outset. Thus, although about N53 billion cash is said to have been deposited into the DMBs in the first two weeks of compliance with the Naira redesign initiative, the polity is tensed up with all kinds of clandestine and nocturnal moves to ‘dispose of’ billions (if not trillions) of Naira notes buried in soak-away, cesspools, toilets, latrines and private vaults by dubious ‘money bags’ and economic saboteurs.

Rather than carry the huge volumes of the high denomination Naira bank notes to banking halls to be deposited, the ‘smart’ economic saboteurs and fraudsters have been clandestinely carrying their ‘loads of cash’, chasing operators of bureau de change (BDCs), to ‘buy’ dollars and other hard currencies at whatever rates. They are ready and willing to take a dollar for one thousand Naira or more; all in a bid to use the foreign currency as their store of value. They also want to escape the noose of the CBN and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and end up ruining the local currency.

Stories are out there about how some of the desperate politicians who had stacked billions of 1,000 Naira notes in their private vaults are now secretly reaching out to their ‘followers’ and sharing out huge sums of money for each of them to go deposit in different DMBs on their behalf. Some, in order to play safe and remain safe, have been giving nocturnal assignments to their henchmen to evacuate long-stored and now rotten huge bundles of Naira notes and other currencies in their private vaults.

Yet, some are embarking on some sort of ‘trade by barter’, paying hundreds of millions (even billions) of Naira in cash to owners of real estate properties and chattels who are willing and ready to do such ‘deals’— just to ensure the cash is not carried to any DMB as required by the CBN. Even some state governments are said to have announced that salaries of their civil servants for the rest of this year would be paid “in cash”—to enable them empty the numerous vaults in ‘Government House’ and secret tills of highly placed persons.

Some of these desperadoes are even said to be paying upfront for refundable airfares for no planned trips— but with the intention to ask for refund outside the Naira redesign timeframe. Obviously, as the Naira redesign project progresses, economic saboteurs and their henchmen would be devising ‘ingenious’ ways of ensuring that the well thought aims and objectives of the monetary initiative are defeated. That is why they were rattled by the announcement of the policy—and deployed all manner of pent up and irrational excuses to invoke public criticism and opprobrium on the authors of the initiative. All said therefore, the apex bank should remain single minded, focused and determined to see through the Naira redesign and reissuance process to its logical conclusion. All distractions must be resisted.

is an economist, sustainability expert and business strategy consultant.

•Okeke

Stories are out there about how some of the desperate politicians who had stacked billions of 1000 Naira notes in their private vaults are now secretly reaching out to their ‘followers’ and sharing out huge sums of money for each of them to go deposit in different DMBs on their behalf

Emefiele

SHOTS OF THE WEEK

Photo Editor: Peace Udugba [08033050729]

THEWILLNIGERIA THEWILLNG THEWILLNIGERIA

L-R: Y’ellopreneur participant, Olamide Ayeni-Babajide; Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Odunayo Sanya; Director, MTN Foundation, Dennis Okoro; Director, MTN Foundation Dr. Mosun Belo-Olusoga; Divisional Head, SME South, BOI, Obaro Osah and, Y’ellopreneur participant, Kayafat Ogunmade, at the media parley for the MTN Foundation Y’ellopreneur initiative, held at the MTN Nigeria Headquarters on November 8, 2022.

L-R: Director, International Trade, Netherlands Enterprise Agency, Annette Wijering; Deputy Consul General/Head of Economic Department, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Leonie Van Der Stijl; Founder/ Team Lead, Eco Circular Solutions Provider Limited, Adebayo Babatunde; Head of Sustainability and Regulatory Relations, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Babatunde Dawodu and Project Manager, Circular Economy Innovation Partnership(CEIP), Sarah Ogbewey, during the presentation of cheque to  LOOPLab Innovator Cohort 2022 in Lagos on November 10, 2022.

L-R: Commissioner of Insurance/CEO, National Insurance Commission, Ghana, Dr. Justice  Ofori; presenting award to Group M/D, Custodian Investment PLC, Wole Oshin; Commissioner of Insurance/CEO, National Insurance Commission, Mr. Olorundare Sunday Thomas and former Secretary-General, African Insurance Organisation, Ms Prisca Soares, during 2022 Insurance Industry Awards & Consumers’ nite in Lagos on November 6, 2022.

L-R: Group Executive Director, Rainoil Limited, Mrs. Godrey Ogbechie; Chief Executive Officer, National Petroleum Authority, Ghana, Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid; Group Managing Director, Rainoil Limited, Dr. Gabriel Ogbechie and Managing Director, Petroleum Products Marketing Company, Mr. Isiyaku Abdulahi, during the Oil Trading and Logistics Africa Downstream Exhibition, in Lagos on November 6, 2022.

L–R: Head, Primary Markets, Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Tony Ibeziako; Divisional Head, Business Support Service, NGX Irene, Robinson-Ayanwale; Divisional Head, Capital Markets, NGX, Ude Chiemeka; President/GCEO, Transnational Corporation Plc, Owen Omogiafor; Managing Director/CEO, Transcorp Hotels Plc, Dupe Olusola and MD/CEO, Transcorp Power Limited, Chris Ezeafulukwe, during the Facts Behind the Figures presentation at the Exchange innLagos on November 8, 2022.

L-R: Deputy Chief Registrar, Court of Appeal, Ekiti Division, Mrs. Mesiobi-Emeto Uju; Chairperson, Ekiti State International Federation of Women Lawyers, Mrs. Oyinade Olatubosun; Wife of Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Olayemi Oyebanji and Secretary, International Federation of Women Lawyers, Abigail Aladejare, during a courtesy visit to the first Lady of Ekiti State on November 9, 2022.

Nollywood actress, Yvonne Jegede speaks with Shade WeselyMetibogun on starting a comedy club, love life and sundry issues. Excerpts

FINDING LOVE, LAST THING ON MY MIND - YVONNE JEGEDE

022 is almost coming to an end, can you make an assessment of how the year has been for you career wise?

The year has been very productive, stressful and everything positive that you can think of. I can say that it has been a very good year for me, I have seen and experienced a lot of progress. The Nigerian factor will always want to interfere in some of the good things, but we are not giving up, we are still pushing.

Have you been able to achieve most of the goals you had at the beginning of the year?

I can’t say I have been able to achieve all, maybe 60%, but like I said earlier, it has been an awesome year for me.

You recently started a collaboration with Wave Beach. What is it all about?

I run a comedy club at Wave Beach on the island. I am a lover of life, I also love to laugh and I have been thinking about the problem in Nigeria and the fact that it never ends, so I thought of hanging out with my friends one day and forget my sorrows. That was how the idea of setting up a comedy club came to me. I know a lot of people want to laugh. At least they have to forget about the series of problems they are facing and laugh once a while. The best thing is just to have a platform where we all can get together and laugh once a while about some of those things. You might pick a movie and watch it but it might not be as funny as you would want it to be. I guess the club would be able to meet that need.

How has the experience been so far?

It has been a whole different experience so far. It has opened me up to new and different audiences. I might be in the showbiz industry but I am an introvert. That is why people hardly see me on red carpets or at events. I like to be in my house but the comedy club has kind of brought me out. I meet people every day and it is a good platform for me because I am getting new contacts. I don’t regret it, it will soon be two months and people have heard about it and are positive about it. Some people also call me about it and promise to turn up and they actually do, so, it’s really a good thing.

Comedy is the least thing one would think you will have interest in. What actually spurred it?

A lot of people rate comedy from Tik Tok and Instagram but those people are only repeating what others have done, they mimic voices. I am a humorous person. If you have watched most of my movies, even the ones that I have to put on a very serious character, you will still have a kind of humour in it. Virtually all my films will make you laugh, my humour timing is on point. It’s not about abusing people in a humorous way, or saying things out of context. I don’t think anybody is as humorous as I am in Nollywood. That’s a fact, my mannerism is funny and I love to laugh and relax. I tried to join the Tik Tok thing, repeat what people have done but that is not me. That is not humour for me. Every clown will do the same thing and laugh. If you are an ardent watcher of my work, there is no way you will not laugh when you watch my movies. When you sit down with me personally, if you no piss for body , that be say no be me. I am not good with my phone and the camera when I am having fun, I don’t reach out to my phone. Maybe that is why I don’t have content to post but you cannot categorize anybody to be as funny as I am in Nollywood.

How challenging has it been?

It was challenging at the beginning but right now, I wouldn’t say it is anymore. Then, the people were not aware. Then getting comedians to come on the platform was a lot of work. Some of

them would turn me down but now, the story has gone round, people know that is what I do now. People now approach me to ask if they can come on the show.

How have you been juggling the two? None of them is actually in the way of anyone. I still go for my acting job. I was in Asaba, Delta State for two weeks on location. I have an anchor who takes care of things. I really don’t have to be there if I have to be away. But initially, I had to be there but I have been able to build my team, the manager of the club is hands on, so it doesn’t affect anything for me at all.

What are the things you enjoy most as an actress? One major thing I enjoy is the favour I get. People want to do certain things for you, which is one of the huge benefits that come with acting. Apart from the fact that it comes with other disadvantages, that is one major thing I enjoy. You work in the bank, you are in the queue and someone walks up to you and decides to help you because you are an actress. It opens doors for you, if your name is out there, a lot of doors will open on their own accord. The negative aspect is the fact that there is no hiding place for you anywhere. Everybody has an opinion about your life, the things that you don’t do will be judged at the comfort of their homes. You cannot post what every other person is posting, if you do, they will challenge you and remind you that you are a celebrity. There are some things you cannot do, it becomes an abomination once you do it despite the fact that they are all doing it. For instance, if you go for a divorce, they crucify you and troll you because of it. And this is something people in their homes, churches and streets do too. But they make it sound as if it is an abomination. They go on the internet and abuse you for it. A celebrity bleaches and trolls go on the internet to abuse them, meanwhile that is what their mothers did in the 80’s. That is just the society that we are in, everybody has an opinion about your life.

You are one of the few who has maintained her dark skin colour over the years. Have you ever been tempted to tone your colour?

It is not something I will do. I am not interested in changing my skin colour. I am comfortable with my colour. Some people believe changing their skin colour will make them more beautiful, some even go for plastic surgery. Some will change their skin colour and tell you they can never go for plastic surgery. Everyone has their own desire and what they would want to do to look beautiful. I just think we shouldn’t judge them because each and every one of us has something we are into. Some people might never want to change their skin or do plastic surgery but they are busy buying ridiculous things. Some people are doing drugs with their money. Not changing my skin colour does not mean anything to me to be honest. If you want to change your skin, go ahead and do it if it makes you happy.

Marrying Campbell, a movie you co-produced last year clinched nine awards at once. How were you able to do it? It was a team work though the story is mine, the script was mine. When I shared the idea, my producer jumped on it and said he liked the story. We got some people from America to come on board. I was surprised how the people were pulled on board. The movie was done, it had the touch of a director and it was re-edited

again. I will say it was proper team work.

What does it take to produce an award winning movie? First of all, you have to come up with a good story. What kind of story do you want to sell? What kind of movies would you want to go to the cinema to watch? Once you have that and you have a good story that would give them what you want, then you put your money and good cast to interpret your idea together as well. That’s it.

How have you been coping taking care of your son alone? We are doing well, I cannot complain at all.

What are the challenges of being a single mother and the fact that you have to juggle your career with it?

I don’t have any challenges. I have my family with me, my parents live with me so it is easy to get up and go to work without having to worry about my son. He is always in good hands.

You hardly talk about your growing up years. How was the experience?

There is really nothing to talk about my childhood, it is just like every other child out there. I think every parent must have had a blueprint. When I was young, I would go and hide when my father came back from work or I would run and pretend that I had been reading my book. So, there is nothing wow to share apart from the fact that I got everything that I wanted from my parents. I was not a spoiled child. I went to good schools and I got all that I needed. I had my meals, I had my siblings around me. I was beaten when I needed it, just the regular things. In those days, they would beat you as if you burnt down the house if you committed any offense, there was nothing special about it. That’s just it.

Are you looking at giving love a second chance?

I am not looking but if it comes, I will enjoy it. I am not looking to be honest. I am not sitting down and wishing or hoping that a man will come and sweep me off my foot, no, I am not. If he comes, why not, I will be glad and accept him, who doesn’t want to be serenaded or pampered. It is even the last thing on my mind to be honest. If he comes, fine but I am not thinking in that direction at all. I am not bothered, I am not looking. I have people who are making advances, I am a beautiful woman, you should know that such will happen every now and then. I am very busy, I have my hands full. I have projects that I am working on. Anybody that you will bring into your life now is either that they are coming to add to you or to take away from you. They will either solve your problem but I don’t think anybody in Nigeria is in a position to solve anybody’s problem right now. This Buhari’s Nigeria is not smiling. Adding to the problem on ground is not what I want at all.

Jegede

Jegede

STORIES BY IVORY UKONU

ADAORA UMEOJI DONATES BUILDING TO CATHOLIC CHURCH

Building and giving away edifices for religious activities seems to be the favourite pastime of some of Nigeria's female bank executives. Less than two months after Alhaja Mosun Belo-Olusoga, the immediate past Chairman of Access Bank donated a sizeable ultra-modern mosque to Olabisi Onabanjo University Muslim Community, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, in her capacity as the institution’s Pro Chancellor, another bank chief has built and given out a well-furnished structure for religious activities.

The Deputy Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Dame (Dr) Adaora Umeoji, built and donated the world-class building for the use of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Dobi, Abuja. The commissioning/dedication of the new parish building to the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja took place recently. Umeoji was reportedly moved to build and donate the new church building after the temporary edifice used for worship at the church was destroyed by a windstorm on May 17, 2018. She was said to have been approached to support a new building project

for the parish. It was learnt that she looked at the building plan and remarked that the proposed structure was not good enough, requesting that a more sophisticated architectural drawing be designed.

Dame Umeoji’s desire to assist the parish to build a new and more befitting church building was an offering to God for the healing of her beloved mother, Chief (Lady) Ngozi Umeoji, it was further learned. However, her mother’s eventual passing on to glory did not make her renege on her promise to help build a new structure for the people of God to worship. She said that she felt that God wanted her mother to now live through the church and therefore dedicated the church to her mother's blessed memory. Well known for her philanthropic activities, Umeoji's home state, Anambra, is not left out of the largesse she doles out regularly. This and many of her feats in the banking industry obviously led to President Muhammadu

Buhari conferring her with the national award, Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), thereby distinguishing her as one of the top pillars of Nigeria’s growth and development in recent times.

Although there are many women whose impact in the corporate sector, specifically the banking industry resonates, Umeoji happens to be one of the few who have remained strong and whose influence has not waned.

Instead, she has continued to grow and moreso, supported by the immense trust the chairman of the bank, Jim Ovia reposes in her in assisting the managing director steer the affairs of the bank. For Umeoji, the sky is no doubt the limit.

About two weeks ago, President Muhammadu Buhari virtually, commissioned the Pinnacle Oil and Gas FZE Terminal in Lekki, Lagos. A humongous facility that cost over a $1 billion, the facility is expected to make seamless supply and distribution of petroleum products while also providing targeted support to the energy industry. Via the facility, lowered costs and improved distribution of petroleum products to many areas in the country while also easing traffic in the Apapa area of the state will be the focal point. The president while congratulating Peter Mbah, the visionary behind this thoughtful facility was very particular about the hundreds of job opportunities it will provide to Nigerians. The facility is said to have a capacity of storing more than a billion liters of petroleum product thus would live up to its promise to have a favourable effect on the downstream oil and gas sector. Having made a name for himself in the oil and gas sector via his Pinnacle

Oil and Gas Ltd, Mbah rather than concentrate on moving his business to the next level, also has his eyes set on becoming the number one citizen in his home state of Enugu come 2023 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party. A seasoned technocrat, Mbah who was the former commissioner for finance of Enugu State believes his suaveness, wealth and extreme dexterity in financial matters will help him clinch the seat. Mbah who began his campaign for the number one seat in Enugu some five years ago, is considered by many in the state to be the man to beat as he is

said to be bringing a lot to the table. But if given the chance, will he replicate his success as is being touted in different quarters and turn his state to the Eldorado of Eastern Nigeria? Time will tell.

For Gbemisola Shasore, Life Goes on

The First Lady of Kebbi State, Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu, has been shortlisted as the president-elect of the Union for International Cancer Control, an organisation based in Switzerland that unites and supports the cancer

community to reduce the global cancer burden, promote greater equity and to ensure that cancer control continues to be a priority in the world health and development agenda. While congratulating her on her nomination, President Muhammadu Buhari also mandated the Federal Ministry of Health and Foreign Affairs to do all it can to provide her with the support she needs to ensure her success in the forthcoming elections.

Being shortlisted to lead the organisation is not out of place as not only is Bagudu an advocate of children's and women's health, she is also a well-known Global Cancer Advocate.

A consultant paediatrician, Mrs Bagudu is also the founder of Medicaid Cancer Foundation, which she started in the course of looking after children and

their mothers started confronting her with their medical issues and requesting assistance, particularly around breast and cervical cancer.

MCF creates awareness on health matters, trains health workers and funds the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients in Nigeria. Over the last four years, the foundation has raised over N100 million for the treatment and support of cancer patients.

Mrs Bagudu has served on many technical committees, including the steering committee for the National Cancer Control plan and a ministerial committee to build world-class diagnostic centres in six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.

Bagudu obtained her MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine) from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria then went on to specialize in Paediatrics and Neonatology in the United Kingdom. She has a Master’s degree in Paediatrics, a Diploma in Tropical Child Health. She is also a member of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

Despite the fact that her once highly respected husband, Olasupo Shasore, SAN, has hit rock bottom with various fraud allegations hanging around him, Gbemisola seems to be taking it all in her stride. The Ebony black beauty, who is the Executive Director of Access to Knowledge, an organisation dedicated to increasing knowledge and education in Africa, took out time last weekend to let her hair down by attending a very high-profile event in Lagos,

where she attempted to appear inconspicuous by blending into the background. It was an unsuccessful attempt as those who knew her very well were a bit taken aback by her presence at the event.

For Gbemisola, the former president of the International Women's Society, life must go on, as staying holed up at home doesn't seem like a better option. Hopefully, the storm will soon pass. Her husband, a legal luminary, public administrator and a former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General of Lagos State, was charged to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on a four-count charge bordering on money laundering. He was accused of inducing a certain Olufolakemi Adetore to accept cash payment without going through a financial institution.

He was however granted bail in the sum of N50 million with one surety in like sum who must be a serving director or a permanent secretary in the

service of the federation or the Lagos State Government. Barely two weeks later, he was again docked on fresh money laundering charges involving the sum of N109.8M.

How Peter Mbah Plays Big in Oil And Gas Sector Zainab Bagudu Eyes

Olasupo Shasore was slammed with a 14-count criminal charges alongside his personal company, Middlesex Investment Limited. He was said to have failed to report in writing to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), a single lodgment of N60m into his company’s account number 0005659394 with a commercial bank. The alleged offence is said to be contrary to section 10 of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011. He was also alleged to have failed to report to EFCC, a single lodgment of another N48.8m into the same account in breach of money laundering laws.

The charge sheet further indicated that Shasore in November 2017 committed the same offence by transferring $300, 000 in a single lodgment into his company account where he is a sole signatory.

Besides, he was said to have failed to establish an antiMoney Laundering Desk and designate a Compliance Officer in his company as required by law. Although he pleaded not guilty to the alleged offences, his trial has been fixed to take place between March 13 and 17 2023.

Umeoji

Mbah

Bagudu

Shasore

STORIES BY IVORY UKONU

Olori Hadiza Elegushi has refused to let the burden or the paraphernalia of The Ikate-Elegushi royal house stop her from pursuing her dreams or her profession which she worked hard for, before becoming a queen.

Kano-born Hadiza, who is the wife of Oba Alayeluwa Saheed Ademola Elegushi, Kusenla III, the Elegushi of the Ikate-Elegushi Kingdom, was recently in Dubai to update her knowledge on the goings on in the oil and gas sector. She was a participant at the 2022 edition of ADIPEC Conference and Exhibition, the world's most influential gathering for energy industry professionals 2022.

As an Executive Director in Cratos Energy Resources Limited, an oil and gas company with a turnover of over $1 billion, Hadiza was compelled to attend if her company must stay ahead in the highly competitive industry. Hadiza who started out as a Business

Development Manager at Cratos which has offices in Abuja, Geneva, London and USA, rose through the ranks through sheer zeal and determination to the position she currently occupies.

A skilled negotiator with strong management techniques, Hadiza has grown to become a brand and a notable personality even at the highest hierarchy of the industry. Little wonder, her husband couldn't help but be attracted to her having discovered this side of her.

Hadiza is not just a mere figurehead who waits hand and foot for the traditional ruler or whose only job is to sit and look pretty for him or the cameras. Despite losing his heir apparent which she bore him, the bond that binds them together has gotten stronger, rather than pull them both apart. To show how supportive he is of her to carry on with her job at Cratos, he accompanied her to the conference and stayed all through the duration of it with her.

She is one of the earliest pioneers of semipermanent makeup and tattoo in Nigeria. Her creativity aided her popularity among those that call the shots on the scene and contributed to her climb up the ladder of success as her studio was a beehive of activities for wellheeled Nigerians.

A frequent reveller, the Edo State mother of four young women has reduced drastically her presence on the social scene, instead focusing more on expanding the business that brought her fame and fortune.

Barely a year after she assumed the position of President of the Practitioners of Spa and Beauty Association of Nigeria (POSBAN), Mary decided to

expand her business frontiers to accommodate the people of Switzerland, Zurich specifically.

Her services include permanent eyebrow, eyebrow tinting, full lip colour among several other beauty procedures for those who know what time it is beauty wise.

Obafoluke Otudeko may be the chairman, call the shots and takes all the important decision at Honeywell Group, a holding company investing in critical sectors of the Nigerian economy, but the day to day running of the business which recently sold majority of its shares to Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc a Nigerian agro-allied group, is carried out by a select group of technocrats, two of who are his children. That he prepared them well for the onerous task of running the company and most likely, taking over from him, is not in doubt. Some say don't mix business with family, but the Otudekos, like most typical wellheeled families, have clearly shown that the foundation of a successful venture is one that is supported by a family tree and that their bond goes beyond sharing a surname. There is Obafemi, who is the Managing Director of the group and the one responsible for providing strategic direction and oversight to the Group’s portfolio companies and investments. He has been with the company for close to 20 years and started out as Senior Manager, Projects (Oil and Gas).

Over the years, Obafemi has led several key initiatives, including chairing the IPO committee responsible for the successful capital market listing and capital raising for the Group’s flour milling investment, coordinating the

Group’s efforts in the completion, capital raising, and opening of the five-star Radisson Blu Hotel in Lagos. He is also a non-executive director of First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, and Anchorage Leisures Ltd and previously served as a non-executive director of Airtel Nigeria where his father has extensive interests.

A graduate of Accountancy Studies from the University of Huddersfield, UK, Obafemi is a qualified chartered accountant and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA). An alumnus of the London Business School, INSEAD Business School, he is also a member of the UK Energy Institute. Then there is Tomi, who is the Head, Corporate Services where she oversees various functions for Honeywell Group Limited, including strategy

and project execution, human resources, information technology, communications, administration, and facilities management.

She has been with the company for only five years but helped set up Itanna, Honeywell Group’s corporate venture investing platform. Prior to joining Honeywell Group, she was at First Bank where her father had extensive interest. She was Head, International Banking Coordination for its International Business.

Before joining First Bank, she was an Investment Manager at Stanbic IBTC Asset Management and also worked at IBM UK as a Business Development Specialist. A graduate of Law from King's College London with an MSc in Economics she holds a Certificate in Entrepreneurship & Innovation from Stanford University and Harvard Business School.

He is only 21, but Dominic Ngene Joshua succeeded in defrauding some Nigerians of the total sum of N2 billion. He likes to refer to himself as an investment expert and was able to scam unsuspecting Nigerians via his company, Brisk Capital Limited which he operated in Akwa Ibom State, though he is from Ebonyi State. He scouted his prospective clients from the social media and deceived them to invest in Bitcoin, forex trading, real estate and oil and gas.

Ngene promised 60 per cent Return on Investment (ROI) per month on every sum invested, plus a guarantee of the invested principal and many, as much as 500 investors gullibly fell for his antics.

The investments were diverted to sponsor his extravagant lifestyle, parties, purchase of exotic cars, luxury watches, real estates in Abuja, Lagos and Port-Harcourt. He eventually met his waterloo and today, he is cooling off in a police cell.

He was initially arrested in 2021, charged to Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos and granted bail in early 2022. The court also granted an order of interim forfeiture of the 14 landed properties linked to Joshua following an ex-parte motion filed by the police. But a few days ago, he was arrested again by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

This time, he is being accused of allegedly participating in the hack of a commercial bank in which N1.4 billion was allegedly stolen.

He was arrested alongside Abdumalik Salau Femi and Ismaila Yusuf Atumeyi, a candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) for the Kogi state assembly. The anti-graft agency disclosed that the sums of N326 million and $610,500 were recovered in cash from the suspects.

Socialite, Alhaji Dawud Makanjuola Akinola more popularly known as D-Damak may not have forgotten the pains that comes with losing a loved one, but he seems more than ready to move on with his life, afterall, life is certainly not all rosy.

In 2021, the Aare Musilimi of Yorubaland, Edo and Delta States (leader of all Muslims in Yorubaland, Edo and Delta States) lost his youngest wife, Alimot Funke aka Lafunky,

who was based in London. She was in her 40s and passed on after a brief illness, believed to be complications from high blood pressure.

Her death dealt him a huge blow and it looked like he would never recover from it. This is because Lafunky was very dear to the money bag and was in fact his favourite wife. He went off the scene and shunned all social and political events and went into hibernation. But he has obviously decided not to let anything keep him down as he has been up and about in the past few weeks.

A few days ago marked the first anniversary of her death and a private Islamic prayer was conducted inside his palatial Ibadan mansion.

D-Damak, a philanthropist of no small measure, took over the Aare Musulumi title in 2015 following the demise of his predecessor, the late Alhaji Arisekola Alao.

Ngene

Elegushi

Charles

Akinola

The Otudekos

STORIES BY SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN

Six female top executives calling the shots in the banking and finance sector have been inducted into the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Nigeria. They include the Managing Director of First City Monument Bank, Yemisi Edun; Kafilat Araoye, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of Lotus Bank; Bukola Smith, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FSDH Merchant; Ireti Samuel-Ogbu, the Chief Executive Officer of Citibank; Adaeze Udensi, the Managing Director and Chief Executive

The CIBN fellowship is the highest cadre of membership of the Institute conferred on Individuals as a symbol of lifetime achievements and successes after each person must have fulfilled certain criteria, such as being an associate member of the institute for at least 10 years, holding a senior management position in the finance and banking sector, completing the

fellowship form, attending preinvestiture CCPD programme, to be considered by the board of fellows as fit and proper for the fellowship. They must have fulfilled all finance obligations before investiture. All the new fellowship members have had an outstanding contribution to the sector where they are serving and the Nigeria economy in general. They had to be rewarded by the CIBN to acknowledge their roles and invaluable contributions to the Institute, the banking industry and Nigeria economy as a whole.

Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has put in place structures for the resuscitation of the moribund Gateway Hotel, which has long been taken over by rodents and weeds.

The governor had to make the move after indigenes of the state called on him to ensure that the glory of the hospitality centre, which was once the pride of the state, is restored.

The State Ministry of Housing has included the rehabilitation of the edifice in its budget proposal to the governor. The hotel was established by a former governor of the state, late Chief Olabisi Onabanjo in the 1980s. He established three of its kind in three geo-political zones of the state: Ijebu, Egba and Yewa/Awori with Gateway Hotel being the biggest of them all.

Gateway Hotel was a favourite hang-out for fun seekers. it became a shadow of itself due to the years of neglect and abandonment. Built as a five-star hotel with world-class facilities, beautiful landscape, Olympic swimming pool, conference room, event halls and shopping plaza, it has about

350 rooms and a parking space that can accomodate about 1,000 cars.

During the tenure of former Governor Gbenga Daniel, the hotel was concessioned to a private investor for 25 years because it was being run at a loss. It was given to MIDC Limited and sub leased to ARTEE limited. The companies were expected to refurbish the hotel within 18 months, but they failed to do anything to it for two and half years.

When Ibikunle Amosun took over the administration of the state, he set up a judicial commission of inquiry to look into the state of the hospitality centre. He had to terminate the concession and promised to resuscitate the hospitality center but didn’t do so till the end of his administration. Since it was abandoned, miscreants looted and vandalized the facility while traders, vulcanisers, food vendors and horticulturists took up space to ply their trade.

The members of Abeokuta North Constituency in Ogun State are not happy with Hon Modupe Mujota, the lawmaker representing them in the Ogun State House of Assembly. Some of them have even called for her removal. Mujota was elected on the platform of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), but she later defected to the All Progressive Congress (APC).

It was gathered that the lawmaker, whose tenure will end in 2023, did not visit her constituency and had been absent from the House proceedings for almost two years. Each time the House of Assembly schedules a meeting, excuses are usually written against her name.

It is alleged that most people don’t know Mujota’s whereabouts because they have not seen her for a while. The lawmaker’s office in Abeokuta North is always open, but no member of her staff has been able to respond to inquiries about her whereabouts and her constituency projects. Some of the constituents who visited her office and have been trying hard to see her ended up being frustrated.

She was also absent during the coronation of the new Olowu of

Owu, Oba Saka Matemilola, a few weeks ago. Owu kingdom falls within the constituency the lawmaker is representing and there was no cogent reason given for her absence at the ceremony.

Unlike most of her colleagues who flaunt their achievements in their constituency and the projects they are working on social media, Mujota’s social media pages have not been functional and it is difficult to find what she has achieved so far as a lawmaker on any platform.

The only visible social media page is her Facebook account which was last updated in 2019.

However, the lawmaker has denied the tale of being absent from duty. Speaking with THEWILL newspaper on phone, Mujota stated that she is under the weather, hence her absence from her office.

Speaking further, she said she had attended to all the people who needed her assistance, contrary to claims of neglecting the

people that put her in power.

“My constituency is running, my office is running, my activities are being fulfilled. I am under the weather at the moment hence my inability to be there but everybody that needs my assistance has received it and where my contribution is required it has been received,”she stated.

The duo of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi and the founder, Group Managing Director of Gtext Holdings, Dr Stephen Akintayo, have added more feathers to their colorful caps.

The two were honoured at the Titans of African Golden Edition Awards held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

Akintayo was honoured for his achievements in the real estate sector in the last decade and the fact that he is one of the

50 individuals of direct African descent making impact in Africa.

Oba Ogunwusi was honoured for his immense contributions to the propagation of African culture and heritage since he ascended the Ife throne. He was also described as one of the individuals of direct African descent making impact in Africa.

Akintayo, who received his award in person, praised the organisers for recognising and rewarding Africa entrepreneurs

and thereby encouraging them to do more. A coffee table book which captures the journey of 50 titans of direct African descent who are currently making impacts in their communities and Africa as a whole was presented during the award ceremony by the United Arab Emirates African Networking Group, the organisers of the Titan Award.

The book featured the stories of the awardees, their successes, failures and lessons learnt.

Officer of Titan Trust Bank and Nneka Onyeali-Ikepe, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank.

Onyeali-Ikpe

Edun

Samuel-Ogbu

Araoye

Smith Udensi

Abiodun

Mujota

Adeyeye

Akintayo

STORIES BY SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN

The duo of billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola and his former wife, Nana, have put their differences aside

to stage a memorable 60th birthday for the chairman of Geregu Energy. They have both been keeping up

appearances for the sake of their children and their reputation.

Nana had been staying away from the limelight while shuttling between Nigeria and abroad. She was absent at the lavish 90th birthday party staged for Lady Christine Doja Otedola, Femi’s mother, a few months ago.

However, Femi wished her well when she celebrated her birthday in August. The message was casual, simple and accompanied with a photograph of the celebrant. The two were both on board the rented Aristotle Onassis Christina O super luxury yacht belonging to one of Otedola’s idols, the late Greek shipping magnate to mark the landmark age.

The yacht took off on Wednesday, November 2 and would sail for three weeks around the Mediterranean Sea with 37 people on board. The astute businessman has been painting the social media red with pictures of happening stance on board the yacht. The two took several pictures together on the yacht which shows that they are still best of friends.

Ifeyinwa Ighodalo, the Chief Executive Officer of DO II Design, an interior design and manufacturing company, is excited to mark 10 years of setting up the company.

Olori Sola Adedoyin-Alao, the wife of His Royal Highness, Oba Francis Olusola Alao, the Olugbon of Orile-Igbon, Oyo State has joined the sexagenarian club. The former corporate guru clocked 60 last week. Ahead of her birthday, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church Of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye and his wife, Folu, paid the celebrant a courtesy visit to congratulate her and to pray for her. She also got her first birthday present from the cleric and his wife. A prayer and praise session was conducted at her residence which was attended by friends and family members. The quintessential queen has not lost the punch that made her a force to reckon with in the corporate halls of Nigeria a few years ago. She was the Managing Director of the defunct City Express Bank, an ace banker with many awards and accolades. She is also a proud member of the American Management Association (AMA), the Institute of Directors, and several company boards. Olori

Adedoyin-Alao has also enjoyed much fame on the social front as the daughter of a well-known industrialist, Prince Samuel Adedoyin, of Doyin Group of Companies.

She got married for the second time to Francis Alao in 2015 before he became the Olugbon of Orile-Igbon in 2017. This was after her first marriage collapsed. In the years that followed, Adedoyin-Alao has had so much to be grateful for as she welcomed a set of twins when she was 59 years.

Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, the former Minister of State for Defence and his beautiful wife, Alhaja Moroophat Obanikoro, celebrated their daughte, Abidemi’s wedding to Adebayo Falana last week. The colourful event took place at the Monarch Event Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos. The politician spared no cost to make the wedding a classy and unforgettable affair. The venue was beautifully decorated in orange colour, the colour of choice for the day. Invited guests also turned up at the event adorned in orange dresses.

Traditional rulers, politicians, business

moguls, lawmakers, among others, were all in attendance at the wedding.

Gbenga Adeyinka, the first, the delightful compere at the ceremony ensured that the guests had no dull moment as he thrilled them to rib-cracking jokes while Funke Bucknor of Zapphaire event was at the top of her game as she coordinated the ceremony in a seamless manner.

Abidemi the beautiful bride is the first daughter of Obanikoro, she holds a Masters degree in Marine and Maritime Law (Shipping Law) from Cardiff University in the United Kingdom.

She started out with Design Options, an interior design company in 1987, but later founded DO II Designs in 2012. The classy woman has been painting the social media red as she celebrated this laudable achievement.

To mark the anniversary, the company organised a Black Friday 10th anniversary where clients can buy products online and offline at cheaper prices. A video of how the company started, the challenges, a trip to the company’s factory and some of its achievements as stated by the founder has also made it online to enlighten clients about the business.

DO II Designs was coined from the acronyms of Ighodalo’s first company, Designs Options and the initials of her of names, Ifeyinwa Ighodalo. The firm has been recognised as one of the biggest interior decoration companies in Nigeria. It started at the confines of Ighodalo’s Honda Accord car with a mission to transform lives and beautify spaces. And it has grown to one of the biggest manufacturing companies in Nigeria.

Ighodalo is also the Chairman, Board of Trustees of WIMBIZ, a non-profit organisation that inspires, empowers and advocates the representation of women in leadership positions in both public and private sectors. Her husband, Asue Ighodalo is an ace lawyer and founding partner of Banwo and Ighodalo law firm.

Rotimi Akeredolu, Eyitayo Jegede on War Path

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State and a 2019 People's Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant, Eyitayo Jegede, have traded words over the state of affairs in the state. The two became sworn enemies after the latter lost the election to Akeredolu in 2019.

Jegede had taken him to court but lost the case as the Supreme Court upheld Akeredolu's victory.

Jegede had criticised Akeredolu during a radio programme where he stated that things had been getting worse in Ondo under the governor’s watch in the last six years.

He claimed that Ondo residents no longer enjoyed basic amenities unlike their experience under a PDP-led administration in the state. He lamented the dearth of good roads, free medical services and other amenities.

Jegede also argued that if it were another political party that was in power, the citizens would have enjoyed better dividends of democracy.

In his response, Akeredolu faulted Jegede's claims and stated that he was suffering from self-imposed ignorance and bitterness. He highlighted some of his achievements which includes roads completed across 18 local government areas, while some other roads are still under construction across some senatorial districts.

This is not the first time that the two politicians will be trading words. They traded words over the shooting and attack of members at the inaugural sitting of the Election Petition Tribunal in Akure in 2020. Jegede had accused Akeredolu of sending thugs to attack the tribunal.

Akeredolu Jegede

The Otedolas

The Falanas

TOURISM

Thrills, Frills at Eko NAFEST

BY JANEFRANCES CHIBUZOR

Participants and guests at the ongoing National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) in Lagos were thrilled during the Command Performance of a dance drama titled, ‘Osusu’, at the National Institute for Sports, Surulere.

The dance drama focuses on the need for Nigerians to consciously work toward living together peacefully. In Yoruba language, Osusu means bunch of brooms that can be difficult to break. It symbolises unity and an unbreakable bond among Nigeria’s component ethnic nationalities.

Osusu prescribes a way for Nigerians to be solidly united. The performance had the cast render music in different indigenous languages, sensitising Nigerians to the fact that they do must jettison greed, pride, nepotism, moral decadence and crime.

NAFEST is Vital Tool For Reuniting Nigeria – Runsewe

The National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) and the Lagos State Government aim to create a synergy and a strategy to successfully reunite the diverse ethnic groups across the country for a better and greater future.

The Director-General of NCAC, Otunba Segun Runsewe, revealed this while addressing travel journalists before the opening ceremony of The National Festival of Arts and Culture at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, formerly Onikan stadium, in Onikan, Lagos.

Speaking, Runsewe noted that the media have been talking about the need for Nigerians to remain united for the benefit of the citizens.

Expressing concern over the state of the country, he said, “Unfortunately, no one seems to heed the advice. For a long time we have been discussing what divides us as a people, but the Nigerian media have been stressing the need for us to unite and celebrate what binds us together, but we have not been listening. Interestingly, we do not have another country other than Nigeria.

"So this year's NAFEST is to open up a new synergy to unite Nigeria. We must not allow other people to tell our stories for us," Runsewe explained.

Cultural display at Eko NAFEST

Runsewe

www.thewillnigeria.com

NEWS XTRA

NAFDAC: Counterfeit, Substandard Products, Threat to Health, Economy

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has advised Nigerians against use of counterfeit, substandard products.

NAFDAC said counterfeit and substandard products are not only injurious to human health but also remain one of the major obstacles to economic growth and productivity.

The Coordinator, NAFDAC, Kebbi State Office, Muyiddin Suleiman, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Birnin Kebbi on Friday.

2023: INEC to Monitor Campaign Expenses, Sanction Defaulters

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday warned political parties against flouting campaign expenses laws, saying it would sanction defaulters.

The FCT INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Yahaya Bello, gave the warning at a news conference in Abuja.

Bello said the commission was putting all efforts in place to ensure the smooth conduct of the Presidential and National Assembly Elections in the FCT.

“We have to observe campaign expenditure, this is very important and it is for political parties .

“We will host political parties in a conference to lecture them on political campaigns and spending during campaigns because there are lots of rules and guidelines guiding their campaign expenditures.

“I wish to inform you that there are laws and ethics governing our monitoring of

political parties and these are guided by the Electoral Act, Police Act, INEC’s regulations and guidelines among others.

“There is a code of conduct for media regulations as well as for political parties that provide sanctions in the event of a breach,” he said.

Bello, therefore, advised all political parties, partners and those who will partake in the elections including the press to take note of the provisions .

He said this would help to avoid breaching electoral rules and regulations.

Bello listed some of the rules to include “no violence, no use of any physical force during political campaigns and no political campaign should be conducted inside the premises of religious organisations.”

He added that no political campaign should be based on ethnicity, or religious persuasions and political parties should avoid hate speech. (NAN)

Be Custodians of Public Trust, Acting AGF Charges Accountants

The Acting Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Okolieaboh Sylva, has urged accounting professionals to be custodians of public trust as they carry out their duties in their respective organisations.

He gave the advice when members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) Abuja and District Society visited the Nations’ Treasury House in Abuja to commemorate this year’s International Accounting Day.

He said that it was important for them to ensure probity, accountability and transparency in the use of public resources.

According to him, accountants must be people who can be trusted and they must exhibit all forms of integrity in their deeds.

“If we must play our role, we must be

able to do it in a way that is transparent and that the public can see and ask questions.

“That is our role here and that is what we are doing, either with the IPPIS, TSA and all the reforms we are doing here are directed towards enhancing transparency and accountability.

“That is the reason for accountability so that people can ask questions and we give them the information they need because it is a two-way thing,” he said.

District Chairman, ICAN Abuja and District Society, Oduwa Izekor, said the day is to raise awareness on the roles of accounting professionals in the fight against corruption in the country.

“Because of the nature of the job you do, there is a lot of reliance on your job, so that means there should be a lot of confidence in you and there should be a lot of integrity on your part.

Buhari to Inaugurate New Engineering Gas Facility in 2023

An equipment fabrication hub, Lee Engineer International Machinery Services Ltd, will be inaugurated by the Federal Government in the first quarter of 2023 to boost oil and gas production Chief Executive Officer, Lee Engineering and Construction Company Ltd., Dr Leemon Ikpea, disclosed this at a news conference on Friday in Abuja.

Ikpea said the factory would be commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the facility is an arm of Lee Engineering Group, a leading indigenous oil, gas and power servicing company, in Nigeria.

On completion, the facility would produce heat exchangers especially for gas, high pressure vessels, scuppers and several other equipment used in the oil and gas sector and beyond.

Ikpea who lauded the Federal Government for enacting the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, noted that the company’s 31 years of existence had been dedicated to the servicing of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

He said the implementation of the NOGICD took a step further in encouraging the local manufacturing and fabrication workshop to boost local content and stem importation.

Ikpea said the factory would have been commissioned this period to mark its 31st anniversary if not for some technical hitches.

Ikpea said the issue would be resolved in Europe.

“As soon as the issues are resolved the factory will be commissioned in the first quarter of 2023.

“It is going to save money for the country while there will be patronage by other countries, including Angola and Mozambique.

“We are equally building a Jetty close to the factory for export,” he said.

He said that the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva and his counterpart in the ministry of Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, had already inspected the factory.

He said the project had also been supervised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

He, however, said that counterfeit and substandard chemicals and drugs were not commonly found in Kebbi in view of the fact that the state was not a huge market for medicine, yet its effects was encompassing.

The coordinator explained that based on their experiences during surveillances in the neighbourhood, they didn’t have much problems of counterfeit products.

On how the agency gather intiligence, Suleiman said they usually receive alerts and communications from companies through their headquarters and sometimes from international organisations.

“Because the problem of counterfeit and substandard product is not just a Nigerian problem but a global challenge.

“So, as a regulatory agency we receive alerts from manufacturers through our agency and when we receive such we work on it.

“More often than not, probably because of the factor I have told you earlier, Kebbi is not a huge market for drugs, most of the time we don’t come across this problem,” he said.

The coordinator also said that the agency was always on the field for regular checks to ensure that substandard products were not in circulation within the society.

He assured that even if those with illwill against Nigerians smuggled it into the society, they would be discouraged because they would not have a market for it.

“Because when we see such counterfeit drugs, we don’t only remove them but we investigate the source and report to the appropriate quarters who now take investigative actions and when established, they will take punitive action.

“But like I told you, every society has deviants and people who derive pleasure in making people cry, recently we have an alert of counterfeit amoxicillin claflanic combination capsules which is commonly called augmentin in circulation.

“But in the whole of seven local government areas of Kebbi that we have investigated so far, we found this drug in only one shop and the marketer claimed ignorance about the product, that the product looked like the original and didn’t suspect, we are still investigating,” he assured. (NAN)

L-R: Chairman, Nigerian British Golf Tournament, Mr. Uwamai igein: presenting the overall trophy to the winner, Mrs Fola Akande of Cadbury Nigeria PLC, and Deputy chairman Mrs. Elizabeth Olawore in Lagos on November 11, 2022.

SportsLive

Female Football: Bayelsa Queens And South African Challenge

BY JUDE OBAFEMI

On Tuesday, June 30, 2020, at the peak of the COVID 19 pandemic, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Executive Committee held a meeting, via videoconference, to discuss the future of competitions and other related issues bordering on the impact of the pandemic on normalcy and sporting events and activities.

One of the decisions reached at the meeting was the launching of a novel continental competition for women club football called the CAF Women’s Champions League with a scheduled launch date for the following year, 2021, when it was hoped that some semblance of normalcy would have returned and football will be back in full swing.

In the intervening period, the ground work to operationalise the league began and by Monday, July 5, 2021 the newly-formed CAF Women’s Champions League took a giant leap towards realisation when the first zonal qualifier draw was conducted in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

This new competition, introduced by CAF to develop women’s football product in Africa, proposed to feature top teams from all over the continent competing for the honour of the best, was planned to begin with zonal qualifiers played as eliminatory rounds.

As CAF scheduled it, the top six teams - one from each CAF zone - and the host of the final tournament, which was granted to Egypt, as well as one extra team from the zone holding the title of the previous Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (2018) will qualify to the final tournament. WAFU B will host the first zonal draw that will see women’s football clubs from Togo, Niger, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria in the mix contesting for a place in the maiden edition of CAF Women’s Champions League final competition.

“

After the July 5 draw for WAFU B, there were other draws scheduled. On Wednesday, July 7, 2021, UNAF hosted their draws with Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria participating. Simultaneously, CECAFA hosted theirs with the participation of Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zanzibar. The long awaited recognition for women football and invitation to showcase their abilities at the continental level was going to be within a format of six teams, who come through the qualifiers and who will be joined by a team from the host country as well as a wild card to make eight teams. These eight will be divided into two groups of four to compete in the tournament.

In the inaugural edition, which held from November 5-19 last year, with COVID-19 pandemic and its associated travel restrictions still being enforced, the matches were played behind closed doors. Nigeria was represented by Rivers Angels had

qualified for the Champions League even after losing to Ghana's Hasaacas Ladies in the WAFU B final. Still, the Nigerian ladies, riding the crest of Nigeria's reputation as a major force in female football on the continent, were still considered favourites for the first trophy as they had won the Nigerian League title six times and had a record eight Cup titles to their name. Yet, it turned out to be a disappointing outing in Egypt. The Angels were shown hell throughout, beaten 3-0 in the opener against AS FAR of Morocco before losing by a controversial lone goal to eventual winners South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns. The performance was no forgettable Nigeria was not mentioned in any of the individual awards that were given out at the end.

Despite a 4-0 win over Vihiga Queens of Kenya in their final group game, the Nigerian team was unable to progress. While Rivers Angels failed to get their campaign off the ground, Sundowns demonstrated their complete dominance of the space. Before they defeated Ghana's Hasaacas Ladies 2-0 in the final, they were already convincing watchers that the power shift in female football from West Africa to the South of continent was well underway. They finished the league without conceding a goal and won all their matches ahead of lifting the trophy while deservedly scooping most of the awards. It was a letdown that Bayelsa Queens, who qualified for the 2022 edition of the Champions League was wont to avoid going into the second edition of the continental competition, especially as they were drawn against the same team - Sundowns - that earned a contentious win over their compatriots, Rivers Angels, in the first edition.

Action got underway in Group B for the opening round of the CAF Women's Champions League, hosted by Morocco on Monday, October 31. The clash between defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns and first-timers Bayelsa Queens from Nigeria was expected to be a kind of an early final at the Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech. The Queens were coming into the

This new competition, introduced by CAF to develop women’s football product in Africa, proposed to feature top teams from all over the continent

Bayelsa Queens

competition with coach 45-year-old Domo Okara at the helm after taking over in 2021 and leading them to the 2021 Betsy Obaseki Cup. They also won the 2021-22 Nigerian Women’s Premier League title and the Aiteo Cup. They also lifted the 2022 WAFU B Women’s Champions League crown, which qualified them for the Champions League, scoring 17 goals and conceding just one. In warm-up games before the tournament, they defeated Racing Athletic Casablanca 11-0 in a friendly game played at the Magic Village in Casablanca, to get into gear for the Champions League.

But, against Sundowns, all of these preparations are undone. The South African side enjoyed a successful start to the defence of their title with a 2-1 win against Bayelsa Queens in Marrakech. Lelona Daweti scored both goals for the South African champions and was brilliantly set up for her goals by compatriots Thelea Smidt and Melinda Kgadiete.

Maryann Ezenagu almost gave the Nigerians the lead as early as the third minute but her weak one-on-one effort inside the box was easily saved by Andile Dlamini. Flourish Sabastine's 85th minute assist saw the Queens pull one back through late substitute Mary Anjor but it was too little too late for a comeback.

Coach Okara was factual enough to admit that they were not as good as the South Africans on the day and promised a better result in subsequent matches. They made improvements that saw the Bayelsa Queens bounce back from that disappointing opening defeat to beat TP Mazembe 2-0. First half goals from Miracle Joseph and Chinyere Igbomalu were all Okara's ladies needed to see off their Central African rivals for a victory that moved the team up to second on Group B standings with three points ahead of their must-win final match against Wadi Degla. The Cameroonian goalkeeper of the Queens, Ange Gabrielle Bawou, was a major part of their victory as her heroics won her Woman of the Match and ensured their win. With the possibility of a semi-final showing and the increased prize money in this year's competition, the match against Wadi Degla carried increased significance.

Before the commencement of the competition, CAF announced in October, an increment in the prizemoney structure for Morocco 2022. The winners of the competition were going to take home $400,000 while the runners-up were set for a $250,000 windfall. The two losing semi-finalists were set to receive $200,000 each. There were rewards for those who finish third in their Groups$150 000 - and finally $100 000 for those who finished last.

With Group A including the host club, AS FAR (Morocco), Simba Queens SC (Tanzania), Green Buffaloes (Zambia) and Determine Girls (Liberia), and Group B including Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), Bayelsa Queens (Nigeria), Wadi Degla (Egypt) and TP Mazembe (DR Congo), the Nigerian team was looking at at least $200,000 if they could get be the first Nigerian side to reach the semi-finals, and even more if they went further.

With Okara orchestrating their formation and tactics from the dugout, Bayelsa Queens defeated Wadi Degla 3-0 to guarantee themselves a piece of the $200,000 with their qualification for the last four of Morocco 2022. The Nigerians had done better than compatriots, the Rivers Angels and entered the semi-finals. Only the hosts of the competition, AS FAR, stood between the Queens and the final. Okara and his team had to be at their best in Rabat.

Unfortunately, they met a very resolute host team and lost 1-0 in the last four. It was the second time that AS FAR was facing Nigerian opposition at the CAF WCL and just as they did against Rivers Angels in their opening game of the 2021 edition, they finished victorious and advanced to set a date against Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies in the CAF WCL Finals.

The Moroccans secured a 1-0 semi-final victory over Nigeria to set up a final clash against holders Mamelodi Sundowns in the CAF Women's Champions League on Wednesday. Ibtissam Jraidi's solitary first half effort was all Mohamed Amine Alioua's side required to secure their place in the final of the competition for the first time. The result saw the hosts surpass their previous best last year, having bowed to Hasaacas Ladies in the semi-finals in Egypt and also complete a double over Nigeria, having stopped the Super Falcons at the same stage at the women's AFCON in July.

For Bayelsa Queens, they will now turn their attention to earning a consolatory bronze when they face up with Simba Queens in the third-place match at Moulay Hassan on November 12. Bayelsa Queens will have the chance to play for third place having already bettered the display of their Nigerian predecessors. They were the first Nigerian team at the CAF WCL to score in all three of their group stage games as Rivers Angels only managed to score in one game at the 2021 edition in their final group game, which was a 4-0 whooping of the Vihiga Queens.

In a coincidental happenstance, the Morrocan Army will now meet defending South African champions Sundowns in a final rematch on November 13 at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, the very same stadium where South Africa defeated Morocco to win the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations in July. Will

fortunes change this time?

The stakes are high for women's football on the continent. South Africa has invested human and material resources to the improvement of their domestic leagues both for males and females and with recent results over the 2020-2022 period, the benefits are being reaped. When the Banyana Banyana lifted the women's AFCON in Cameroon, there was the clearest signal yet that Nigeria can no longer boast of being the best in Africa at the Super Falcons barely made it to the final four. Yet, Bayelsa Queens have shown that we can make incremental improvements that will gradually bring us back to prominence if sustained and encouraged from the very top to every age range football teams. We have to be deliberate about making it back to a place of prominence on the continent and beyond and competitions like the CAF WCL that count. For now, South Africa is winning that race and may very well defend it again this year with Sundowns.

Qatar World Cup, FIFA's Mistake And Super Eagles' Absence

beIN Media Group and its increased commercialisa tion of Qatari sports and the Qatari Sports Investment ownership of French Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Ger main.

Qatar insists that they have played by the book and made reforms where necessary. But, a study by Am nesty International released in October, titled ‘Unfin ished Business: What Qatar Must Do To Fulfil Prom ises On Migrant Workers' Rights’, discovered that thousands of workers were still being denied wages or having them delayed, being denied rest days and were being exposed to unsafe working conditions. Qatar still argues that progress has been made and that the tournament will be a force for good in the country. In a few days, the country will be at the cen tre of world attention for football's most prestigious event. For football fans in Nigeria, whose appetites for joy, excitement and exhilaration have been stymied by bad governance, the World Cup often provided an outlet to temporarily suspend sorrows, anguish and "sapa" and celebrate football. But, even that has now become a victim of the mismanagement that has been the country's bane.

As I have always pointed out in my writings here, everything rises and or falls on the quality of the leadership at play. Years of not fielding our first 11 to run the affairs of state and instead, being led by a cast of mediocres, have contributed to our inability to dominate soccer in Africa and of course, participate in the elite Qatar FIFA World Cup. Africa has five spots at the competition and Nigeria could not make it?

Already, from a rank of 30 in March after failing to qualify for the World Cup, Nigeria has dropped two places to a rank of 32 in October. And the World Cup has not started yet.

Indeed, I am, like many other Nigerians, not particu larly excited about this FIFA World Cup the way we would have been if the Super Eagles had qualified. Nigeria needs to truly start developing soccer in the country if we intend to be the dominant soccer nation in Africa. Can you imagine a FIFA World Cup champi onship without Germany, Brazil or Argentina?

Nigeria needs to wake up. I miss the golden years of Nigerian football.

Gusau

Bayelsa Queen being tackled by AS FAR players

Qatar World Cup, FIFA's Mistake And Super Eagles' Absence

Last week, on November 8, the story broke that former FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, publicly revealed his stance on the decision to award Qatar the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup. The 86-year-old football administrator categorically claimed that it was "a mistake" to have settled for Qatar in what is, perhaps, the most high-profile contention against the hosting of the international football fiesta to have hit the media.

In truth, there are not many in Blatter's shoes who can comment on the facts. The Swiss was in charge of FIFA in 2010 when its Executive Committee contentiously decided to hold the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 after the edition hosted by Russia in 2018.

Blatter revealed that not only did he not vote for Qatar, but that he had planned what he described as a "ges ture of peace" for football to be a symbol of fraternity between two conflicting world powers Russia and the United States, so that having two subsequent competi tions held, first in Russia and subsequently in the USA, would soften their bickering and help both countries to mend fences, with improvements in relations between Moscow and Washington.

The aging octogenarian, who had intentionally avoided media attention since being cleared of fraud charges in July, felt compelled to speak up, following the negative jabs thrown at the host country over alleged human rights abuses, among other issues.

In an interview with Swiss newspaper, Tages-Anzeiger, Blatter opened up with no uncertain terms and in pointblank directness. He said: "The choice of Qatar was a mistake. At the time, we actually agreed in the executive committee that Russia should get the 2018 World Cup and the USA that of 2022. It would have been a gesture of peace if the two long-standing political opponents had hosted the World Cup one after the other. It's too small a country. Football and the World Cup are too big for that. “I can only repeat: the award to Qatar was a mistake and I was responsible for that as president at the time. Now that the World Cup is imminent, I'm glad that, with a few exceptions, no footballers are boycotting the World Cup. For me it is clear: Qatar is a mistake. The choice was bad."

Aside the fact of Qatar being a small country for a global fiesta like the World Cup, there were other disadvan tages that ought to have left Qatar out of the running for hosting rights. As a country in the Arab region with very strong conservative Muslim customs and traditions, on the one hand, and the extreme, sweltering weather conditions common to the region, it was a challenging environment to host football matches without regular breaks. These were facts that made it seem impossible for that country to get a winning bid through, but that was exactly what it accomplished 12 years ago at the bidding process for the 2022 World Cup. It went against logic how it beat countries that had stakes in football, that had organised international football competitions and influence within the game, such as the United States, South Korea, Japan and Australia.

Yet, the most remarkable aspect about Qatar's win was how convincing it was. After the first round of voting, Qatar already had more supporters than three of its four competitors put together and this support increased with the elimination of Australia, Japan, and South Korea. In the end, it was just the United States left and Qatar ulti mately defeated the weight of America with an outstand ing 14-8 votes in its favour.

In the aftermath of the winning bid, the amazement of the results soon turned to suspicion. It was not long be fore a barrage of claims of bribery and general corrup tion overshadowed Qatar's winning bid. But, the bid was held after it was determined that the Qatari proposal fol lowed due bidding process. It did not stop tongues from

wagging about how much Qatar's financial heft must have played in making this incredible bid successful. Blatter admitted that he had cast his ballot in favour of the United States and that Michel Platini, the former president of UEFA, had played a role in Qatar's victory by siding with the Gulf state.

The two football administrators have been tainted by accusations of corrupt practices in the governance of the sports bodies they oversaw and there are often more to these accusations than meets the eye yet, the evidence of Qatar influencing their actions was never obtained.

Indeed, in 2015, Blatter resigned from his position as FIFA president after claims that he had authorised a €1.6 million illicit payment to Platini, the president of UEFA at the time. FIFA initially imposed an eight-year ban on Blatter, which was later reduced to six years. However, in March 2021, he received a new ban for "various viola tions" of the organisation's Code of Ethics, which will keep him out of football until 2028.

In July this year, a Swiss court exonerated Blatter and Platini of all corruption-related accusations.

As at the time the hosting rights went to Qatar, the coun try had only three stadia and not much in terms of the infrastructure necessary to successfully host an expan sive competition like the World Cup. There was also that bothersome disadvantage of summer temperatures that could go up to 50 degrees Celsius. This heat issue was particularly worth pointing out because Qatar’s desert temperatures exceeded levels allowed for both fans and footballers. FIFA rules explicitly state that play cannot be allowed in more than 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 degrees Fahrenheit) without mandatory cooling breaks.

To sidestep this hurdle, Qatar promised to build solarpowered aircooling stadiums – something that environ mentalists consistently oppose – and pour money into providing every necessary infrastructure to make the hosting of the competition possible. There were plans for a metro system of transportation, a new airport and a substantial number of hotels to accommodate the near two million expected to enter the Gulf peninsula state, with a native population of just over a million.

As dedicated as Qatar was to these promises, with the financial heft to make it happen, neither FIFA nor the

government fully considered the labour that would go into bringing this dream to life from the perspective of the workers involved.

What came to light, as Qatar put its enormous resourc es to work to bring about desired results, was an unfor tunate story of the degradation of the human person.

The conditions for the millions of migrant workers needed to build the massive infrastructure and stadia for the World Cup under the most extreme heat and despoiled state saw low-paid migrants from Asia and Africa become an exploited workforce. They were the significant human resources employed for the consid erable number of infrastructure projects to get Qatar ready for the hosting of the sporting event and no labour rights commitment was requested by FIFA from Qatar, even with the existence of human rights reports detailing abuses against migrant workers there.

In a 2016 report titled, ‘Qatar World Cup of Shame,’ Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch drew attention to the mistreatment of workers building stadiums. A subsequent study by The Guardian in 2021 revealed that between 2010 and 2020, at least 6,751 migrant workers—mostly from India, Pakistan, Ne pal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka—died in Qatar as they worked to get the country ready for the World Cup.

Qatar's treatment of these labourers constructing the country's World Cup infrastructure has come under fire, including allegations of non-payment of wages, crowded living quarters, and forcible evacuation in advance of the competition.

Tens of thousands of employees have suffered from physical or mental health problems as a result of wage theft and other abuses, sacrificed their health work ing in the intense heat in Qatar or have passed away in avoidable, unexplained and uninvestigated accidents while abusive employers retain unchecked power over employees. Then, there is also the country's institution alisation of homophobia to keep in mind as well.

As a result of pressure from groups like Human Rights Watch, Qatar implemented some late reforms, including labour safeguards and the repeal of the kafala system, which forbade immigrant workers from changing jobs without the employer's express approval.

However, the efficacy of these reforms has been ques tioned, with the new minimum wage being a little over €1 an hour and scepticism regarding whether the kafala system reforms actually took place. Many of the injured and deceased did not receive these amendments to their working conditions until it was too late for them to benefit.

The majority of these reforms were either weakly en forced or had a limited scope. As a result, many workers who contributed to the construction of the World Cup's infrastructure did not actually benefit and both the gov ernment and FIFA have not yet agreed to set up remedy funds for the grieving families.

In response, the Qatari Government has engaged a formidable public relations effort to deflect criticisms of its human rights record. The government-funded and Qatar-based Al Jazeera news network posted a video on its O2 digital platform in which it claimed that Western criticism of Qatar was motivated by "Qatarphobia,” with the West singling it out because it is an Arab and Muslim nation.

Some of these accusations have come from the Western media categorising Qatar's efforts to gain soft power through sports and they point to their funding of the

A subsequent study by The Guardian in 2021 revealed that between 2010 and 2020, at least 6,751 migrant workers—mostly from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka—died in Qatar as they worked to get the country ready for the World Cup