SUNDAY 25TH AUGUST 2024

CDS to Nigerians: Security is Everybody’s Business, People Should Give Us Information

Chief Justice Kekere-Ekun: The Agenda

There needs to be a rethinking, repositioning, restoration, rebranding and rejiging of the judiciary - Olanipekun, SAN

The court presently works on the 1844 model of the English court. The challenge for the new CJN is to turn this around - Agbakoba, SAN

The incoming CJN should push for the creation of constitutional courts at three tiers - trial, appellate and final, for the determination of political and other allied matters - Daudu, SAN

She should ensure that bad eggs in the judiciary are not treated with levity or a mere backslap - Yadudu

She must be courageous to resist skeptics and defend against internal and external pressures - Idigbe, SAN

Ejiofor

NEWS

CHIEF JUSTICE KEKERE-EKUN: THE AGENDA

Ejiofor Alike and Wale Igbintade

Following the swearing-in of Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) by President Bola Tinubu on Friday, many senior lawyers have offered useful suggestions to the jurist on how to rebuild the confidence of Nigerians and foreign investors in the country’s judiciary.

Lawyers who set agenda for the new CJN include former presidents of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), and Mr. Austin Alegeh (SAN); Mr. Joseph B. Daudu (SAN); Prof. Mike Ozekhome (SAN); former Attorney General of Lagos State, Mr. Olasupo Shasore (SAN); Prof. Taiwo Osipitan (SAN); Dr. Anthony Idigbe (SAN); Prof. Konyinsola Ajayi (SAN); Dr. Joseph Nwobike (SAN); Abiodun Adediran Olatunji (SAN); Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Birnin Kebbi, Prof. Auwalu Yadudu; Managing Partner, Templars Law Firm, Oghogho Akpata and Editor, THISDAY Lawyer, Onikepo Braithwaite.

Legal Profession Should be Taken Back to Its Old Days of Glory By Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN

There needs to be a rethinking, repositioning, restoration, rebranding and rejiging of the judiciary.

We need to be sober and be reflective.

Need to consider now as a profession where we were during the times of Adetokunbo Ademola, Teslim Elias, Uwais, and take back the legal profession to its old days of glory.

Where did we misstep and how do we correct it?

They must have our own judiciary conference and tell ourselves where and how to correct it and the CJN needs to marshal it.

The metaphor marshal stands enforcement: Kekere-Ekun now she needs to the marshal Dahiru Mustapha.

When he became CJN, he set up a conference and we created a report and they have abandoned the report. They need to go back to the report.

Need for Transformational Judicial Reforms is Urgent

By Olisa Agbakoba, SAN

We are witnessing yet another ritual of handing over of the judicial baton with the swearing-in of Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun. But it’s not about swearing in. It’s about whether we will see radical reforms finally.

The last great reform by a CJN was that of the late Justice Dahiru Musdapher. I was his consultant on Speed of Justice. Unfortunately, CJN Musdapher only had six months in office. He set up a high-powered 29-person committee that produced a transformational report.

The late CJN led a team to the then President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, to present far-reaching reforms to the constitutional structure of the judiciary. As soon as the CJN turned his back, everyone forgot about it.

The potential legacy of the new CJN is transformational and radical reform with the fundamental objective of case management driving how the courts work.

It is very important that the reform needed is least infrastructure and appointment of judges. It is about a soft institution, which is about the way the court works.

The court presently works on the 1844 model of the English court. The challenge for the new CJN is to turn this around.

Delays in Dispensation of Justice, Uncertainty of Judgments Major Problems of Judiciary

By Austin Alegeh, SAN

The major problems currently confronting our judiciary are the delays in the dispensation of justice and the uncertainty of the judgments of our courts.

These problems are intertwined, and the acting CJN must introduce

Justice Kekere-Ekun (left) being congratulated by President

•She should release state judicature from the shackles of central control - Shasore, SAN

•The principle of judicial precedent must be respected. A situation where cases on the same set of facts result in different outcomes is a dangerous trend – Alegeh, SAN

•One major sub point that Justice Kekere-Ekun must deal with has to do with conflicts in judicial decisions - Ozekhome, SAN

•We can borrow a leaf from what obtains in places like England where the commercial courts are manned by seasoned commercial law practitioners - Akpata

measures to address the situation.

The uncertainty in our judicial system must be addressed immediately. The principle of judicial precedent must be respected. A situation where cases on the same set of facts result in different outcomes is a dangerous trend. It damages the confidence of our people in the judiciary and fuels the deluge of cases filed in our courts. This is based on the belief that even though a case with similar facts has been decided one way, there is still the belief that the court can deliver a different decision. Where judicial precedent is fully implemented, litigation on cases with similar facts would not be commenced as the litigant would be aware that the court would follow its earlier decision.

The Acting CJN can introduce amendments to the disciplinary process of judicial officers that make failure to follow judicial precedent a misconduct that attracts disciplinary measures.

The other issue that the Acting CJN must address is that of the undue delay in determination of matters at all levels of our Court system. The Acting CJN must find a solution to the problem of backlog of cases at the Supreme Court and all other courts. There are certain rule changes within the purview of the powers of the CJN that can help in addressing this unfortunate situation.

Finally, the issue of the welfare of judicial officers and improvement of their work environment must be addressed urgently. The receipt increase in the salaries of judicial officers merely scratches the surface. There is a need for a massive upgrade of our courts as well as the introduction of available digital resources to aid the courts in the administration of justice.

I wish the Acting CJN and soon to be confirmed CJN, a successful and impactful tour of duty in office.

New CJN Should Push for Creation of Constitutional Courts, Optimise Grassroots Justice

By Joseph B. Daudu, SAN

The new Chief Justice of Nigeria should prescribe and enforce policy in conjunction with the Heads of the Judiciary in the 36 states and the FCT for optimising grassroots justice such as Magistrates and Customary courts who serve over 80 per cent of the population but are perceived to be slow and corrupt.

Secondly, the dockets of the superior courts nationwide are saturated with political cases, and intra-party, pre-, and post-election disputes at the expense of normal civil, criminal, or commercial disputes. The incoming CJN should push for the creation of constitutional courts at three tiers, trial, appellate and final, for the determination of political and other allied matters, thereby freeing the High Courts, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Courts to deal with regular cases that affect the livelihood of over 90 per cent of the populace that is presently neglected.

CJN Should Intensify Monitoring of Judges, Address Delays, Conflicts in Judicial Decisions

By Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN

The CJN should also set up a process where judges are monitored and their course list checked. I know that there is such a process, headed by a retired Supreme Court justice, where the number of cases that judges decide are reported to ensure judicial impartiality.

This process should be intensified to ensure that judges know that they are being watched and they should be looked over their shoulders by their peers, not by members of the executive like ICPC or EFCC or Police or DSS, because that itself means that there is no judicial independence. But when this is being done by their peers themselves, then it will mean that it is the same judiciary that is reviewing itself.

One major sub-point that Justice Kekere-Ekun must deal with has to do with conflicts in judicial decisions. You will see the Court of Appeal at times giving two decisions in one day,

of these few suggestions, the Judiciary will be the better for it. I wish Justice Kekere-Ekun good luck in her arduous task in these challenging times, at this moment, when the image of the judiciary is quite battered in the eyes of the members of the public. God bless Nigeria; God bless the judiciary. Agenda for the New Chief Justice of Nigeria By

Olasupo Shasore, SAN Former Attorney General of Lagos State

This is an exciting time we have, a rarity – a thoroughly trained and purpose-prepared Chief Justice. The attainable and necessary direction of travel at this time must be to:

Accept that the judicature can and must issue “policy” (it is not the preserve of the executive alone) the national bench leadership has been to accepting of the ‘technical justice decisions’ that defeat justice (jurisdictional decisions); accept and act on the premise that ‘Justice delivery’ is a growth and economic development measurement factor in the human and investor expectation paradigm; build consensus on the compelling direction of travel - for the justice system actually getting actor institutions to act with unity of defined purpose; Recognition and acceptance of the priority to cure the lack of an efficient timely and accessible appellate justice system is an inhibitor, a deficiency and a challenge to national development; release state judicature from the shackles of central control, allowing the state judicature to develop, remunerate, perform and resource at their own pace designed to meet the local challenges peculiar to state circumstances - an overbearing national judicial control has the possibility of equalising and standardising low performance; with the strengthened lower courts tochampion a constitutional change to limit the right of appeal broadening the limit to the requirement of leave in stable, in personam predictable areas of the law and permitting a more restricted right.

but each of them saying a different thing.

I went through it in the last two years during election petitions - one judgment was given in Jos, which was exactly the opposite of another one that was given in Abuja. In such a conflicting situation, members of the public were left perplexed as to what was going on. So, there must be a mechanism whereby Courts of Appeal judgments must go one way if certain facts go the same way, because in the past when I was a young lawyer, I used to predict how a case would go. Not anymore.

I can no longer predict or assure myself that a case will be won based on the facts and judicial precedent because you never know what will happen when the case goes to court. So that in itself is worrisome, that there is no longer certainty in the law, and that the law just simply changes like you do.

Finally, to end this problem of delays in the administration of justice, certain cases must end at certain levels. There should be some cases that must end at the Court of Appeal, which should never go to the Supreme Court. This will ensure, of course, constitutional amendment and amendments of the various court rules, court Acts and all that. After all, in election matters, before now and before the new rules, even at the Supreme Court level, we, the lawyers, used to write 100 pages, 150 pages for our briefs. Now, it has been limited to like 40 pages, and in election petitions about 30 pages, and certain replies must be seven pages and others five pages. All these must be done within a certain given time because the constitution has prescribed the beginning and the end of election matters which the Supreme Court has interpreted that it's like Mount Zion that cannot be moved.

So, there's no reason why like America and some Western countries you know when a case begins and when it will end. I think with some

Rapid and Impactful Reforms Needed to Return Sanity to Courts Prof. Konyinsola Ajayi, SAN Expectations are very high of her, given her trajectory and background. With a reputation of uprightness and proper demeanor and manner of judges of old, laced with the youthfulness in her gentility and style, we hope for rapid and impactful reforms that will at once bring sanity back to the Courts and respect for the judicial system.

CJN Should Resist Pressures, Defend Independence and Impartiality of judiciary.

By Dr. Anthony Idigbe, SAN Senior Partner, PUNUKA Attorneys & Solicitors

As we usher the new Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon Justice Kudirat KekereEkun, into office with congratulations on the feat as the second woman to hold the highly exalted position, we recognise the opportunity for her to make a significant impact on justice delivery to our people while fiercely defending the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. She must understand that she can pass through or impact the position. I hope she chooses the latter, where she should anticipate and instigate change to transform every facet of justice delivery, from case to human resource management. She must be courageous to resist skeptics and defend against internal and external pressures. Our new CJN has a golden opportunity to enhance public trust in the judicial system as a check against conduct outside the values and spirit of our constitution, including the triumph of the rule of law, preservation of our federal arrangement, and protection of minorities and fundamental freedoms. If she pursues the above agenda, she will imprint her legacy indelibly on the firmaments of our judicial history.

Cutting Technology Needed to Enforce Supreme Court’s Rules 2024

CJN Should Stop Politicians’ Nominees in Judiciary, Frivolous Appeals in Supreme Court By Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, SAN

There should be a reduction in the number of cases getting to the Supreme Court through leave granted to appeal against concurrent findings of facts and mixed law and facts. It is necessary to introduce very strict conditions for granting leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Also, the award of costs on an indemnity basis should be introduced to discourage frivolous appeals in the apex court. The number of cases conducted in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal by applicants for the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) should be scaled down to reduce the number of appeals filed by applicants. If the number of cases going to the apex court is reduced, there will be less congestion in the court; there will be speedy dispensation of justice and more robust decisions will be delivered by the court. The court will also be able to function properly as a policy court.

The new Chief Justice of Nigeria should give serious consideration to a conference of stakeholders purposely to consider and reconcile the various conflicting decisions of appellate courts for the proper guidance of courts of subordinate jurisdiction and the legal profession.

Efforts should be made by the CJN to ensure the appointment of at least one member of the inner Bar and an academician directly to the apex court and the Court of Appeal. This will ensure the cross-fertilisation of ideas which will impact positively the decisions of our appellate courts

The appointment process of judges and justices should be closely monitored to ensure that the right calibre of persons is appointed. The CJN should halt moves by politicians to plant their nominees in the judiciary. The path of justice is pure and devoid of politics.

Dr. Joseph Nwobike, SAN

The new Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kekere Ekun, is a first-class judicial officer who has passed through all the strata of the Judiciary to the highest office. She will bring her wealth of experience to bear in the discharge of her duties and pursuit of the desired reforms in the sector. She should also take advantage of the full complement of the benches of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal in implementing strategies that will quicken the determination of cases at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. I will urge all the stakeholders in the justice system to cooperate with her for the betterment of the most important arm of the Government of Nigeria.

The CJN should deploy the use of cutting technology in enforcing the Supreme Court Rules 2024 and the prompt fair dispensation of justice to all.

Transparency Needed in Judges’ Appointment, Bad Eggs Should Not Be Treated with Levity By Prof. Auwalu Yadudu Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Birnin Kebbi

As the overall leader of the judiciary, she needs to bring more transparency in the appointment process as chair of the National Judicial Council (NJC), a body that appears, in public perception, to reserve appointments exclusively to cronies and children of judicial and political heavyweights She should lead in bringing fresh faces from distinguished members of the Bar, including the academia, to vacant positions particularly at the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, as the NJC appointment rules envisage. She should ensure that bad eggs in the judiciary are not treated with levity or a mere backslap when allegations of misconduct are brought against them.

Continued on page 6

Tinubu after her swearing-in in Abuja ... Friday

MARITAL BLISS…

L-R: Taraba State Governor, Mr. Agbu Kefas; his wife, Agyin; Groom, Mr. Bitrus Jnr Josiah; Vice President Kashim

and former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, during the wedding ceremony of Governor

NIA DIG Resigns, Cites Personal, Family Reasons

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

The Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Abubakar, yesterday announced his resignation, citing personal and family issues.

Abubakar announced his decision after submitting his resignation letter to President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, last night.

He said yesterday’s visit was to, among other things, brief the President on issues of national security.

CHIEF

The ex-NIA chief thanked the president for extending his tenure to the first 15 months of the new administration, having occupied the office since 2018.

When asked why he resigned, Abubakar said: “There are quite a number of reasons one will do that. Some personal family issues, but nothing very serious, actually, and the friendship will continue.

“I discussed with Mr. President; he understood very well, and I promised to remain steadfast with issues and

the security situations of the country.”

He continued: “It’s a routine thing, from time to time, to brief Mr. President on security issues, and today is no exception.

“After the briefing, I tendered my resignation and Mr. President graciously approved and accepted the resignation.

“I thanked him for giving me the opportunity to serve Nigeria under his transformational leadership for an extended period of 15 months, which is very rare; to have the opportunity

JUSTICE KEKERE-EKUN: THE AGENDA

Radical and Surgical Reforms Needed in National Judicial Council

Abiodun Adediran Olatunji, SAN

First, let me extend my heartfelt congratulations to our new Chief Justice of Nigeria, my Lord, Hon. Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, on her swearing-in as the 23rd CJN and as the second female Justice of the Supreme Court to hold this esteemed position. I am confident that my Lord will pursue radical reforms in the judiciary during her tenure as CJN.

I have had the privilege and honour of appearing before her at the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja Division, Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court. She

is a courageous, fearless, principled, incorruptible, and very fair judge.

In terms of expectations, I look forward to her carrying out radical and surgical reforms of the National Judicial Council (NJC), of which, under her position as CJN, she is the head. I anticipate significant reforms within that body, particularly in the roles it plays and the processes it employs in the recommendation and appointment of judges, the discipline of erring and corrupt judicial officials, and the eradication of corruption within the judiciary.

A particular area of concern is the registry of the Supreme Court, where officials have become so entrenched in corrupt practices that they practically hold themselves out as capable of doing anything. I would like my

Lord, the CJN, to address this issue rigorously. Furthermore, I hope that she will investigate the root causes of why cases linger for decades at the Supreme Court and address these issues with a permanent solution. Another area that deserves her attention is the Privileges Committee. The process of appointing Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) should be made more transparent and credible. Additionally, the issue of forum shopping by litigants, which has resulted in conflicting decisions on the same matter by courts of coordinate jurisdiction, must be addressed.

I believe that by the time my Lord, the CJN, addresses all these issues, she will have etched her name in history as a reformist leader of our time.

to serve two Presidents at a stretch. So, I thanked him very well, and I promised to remain professionally dedicated to our country.”

When asked about the President’s reaction to his resignation, Abubakar declined to answer in clear terms, saying such details are better revealed by the President himself or the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, in whose company he arrived at the Villa.

“I think it’s not for me to say this. I’ll be breaching a protocol.

Integrity, and Impartiality of Justice Delivery System Necessary for Foreign Investments

By Oghogho Akpata Managing Partner, Templars Law Firm

After all is said and done, one of the most important criteria for judging the attractiveness of a country as a destination for foreign investment is the justice delivery system. Its integrity, its impartiality, its predictability, its consistency, and its timeliness. We have seen some instances in the recent past where credible questions have been raised about whether our judicial system ticks all these boxes. It is often such doubts that drive foreign clients who do business in

CDS TO NIGERIANS: SECURITY IS EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS, PEOPLE SHOULD GIVE US INFORMATION

This is just as the acting Governor of Niger State, Mr. Yakubu Garba appealed to the Nigeria Army to redeploy its troops to communities prone to terrorist attacks in the state.

Musa said this yesterday in Abuja while delivering his address at the 48th Annual National Conference of the Muslim Elders’ Association of Nigeria.

The conference had the theme: “Making Living Worthwhile for All: Islamic Solutions to Economic and Security Challenges”. Muslim Elders Association of Nigeria was created to promote peace, foster brotherhood, and enhance leadership values, education and humanitarian services.

Represented by Major General Shuab Bashir, the CDS further said collaboration with relevant agencies would aid the quest to address the economic and security challenges in the country.

“Security is everybody’s business; everyone must be involved. It should not be left to the security agencies alone. People must give us useful information,” Musa said.

While corroborating the position of the CDS, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the representative of the FCT police commissioner, Mr. Uba Alkali, insisted that effective security required the collective efforts of all citizens.

‘Security is everyone’s

responsibility. I urge you all to work with the police to serve humanity,” he said.

Police Nab Woman with 124 Rounds of Antiaircraft Ammunition in Nasarawa

Meanwhile, the Nasarawa State Police Command has arrested a woman in possession of anti-aircraft ammunition in the Keffi Local Government Area of the state.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Ramhan Nansel, disclosed this yesterday to journalists in Lafia, the state capital.

According to the PPRO, police personnel attached to Keffi Division intercepted the suspect on Friday at about 5:10 pm, following credible information.

The police spokesperson added that the suspect who hails from Doro village in Katsina was intercepted with a two-year-old baby.

“Consequently, 124 rounds of anti-aircraft ammunition concealed in a gallon of palm oil, one Tecno mobile phone, and N78,500 were recovered from the suspect as exhibits.

“Preliminary findings revealed that the suspect received a supply of ammunition at Rafin Sanyi village, Doma LGA of Nasarawa State.

“She concealed the items in a

gallon of palm oil en route to Katsina State before nemesis caught up with her,” Nansel added.

Nansel said the Commissioner of Police, Umar Nadada, had ordered the transfer of the suspect and exhibit to the Force Intelligence Department, Force Headquarters in Abuja for further investigations.

Niger Gov Solicits Military Deployment to Communities Prone to

Terrorists’ Attacks

In a related development, the acting Governor of Niger State, Mr. Yakubu Garba has appealed to the Nigeria Army to redeploy its troops to communities prone to terrorists attacks in the state.

Speaking with journalists after the 3-days Fidda’u prayer for 13 people killed by bandits in Shiroro LGA of the state, Garba said that the withdrawal of troops from Allawa and other communities had weakened the government's efforts to tackle insecurity in the state.

The 13 victims lost their lives on Wednesday when they were ambushed by bandits on their way to their farms in Anguwan village.

“I want to appeal to our military to see reasons to go back to Allawa and other prone areas to give full security cover to our people who are

predominantly farmers,” Garba said.

Garba stated that Governor Mohammed Umar Bago-led administration had deployed strategies to end insecurity, which had brought safety to commuters along Kuta, Gwada, Zumba and Erena roads in Shiroro council.

He said that those killed in the attack were displaced farmers who left the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Also speaking, the father of one of the victims, Malam Isah Allawa, said the bandits killed eight people by shooting while five others drowned in a river while fleeing the scene of the attack.

“My son Mubarak Isah is among the people killed, the bandits caught them unaware, and they separated people from Allawa and those from Kagara in Rafi Local Government Area.

“The bandits asked people from Kagara to go while those from Allawa had their hands tied to their backs before they started killing them,” he said.

Also, Murjanatu Musa, who lost her son in the attack, said the deceased was married with a daughter, adding that the deceased father was also killed in 2023 by bandits.

NAN reported that the acting governor was accompanied to the three-day Fidda’u prayer by the Emir of Minna, Alhaji Umaru Farouk.

But maybe the NSA and or Mr. President himself will say it.

“But what I can tell you is that I’m very grateful for the opportunity that the President gave me to serve the country and his leadership; the encouragement I got, the confidence he had in me and in my service, the opportunity to listen to me, to read briefing notes and advice and so on.

“I think this, for me, is everything and I have had the opportunity to mentor officers and staff for all the period I have been DG. This is the

or with Nigeria to prefer to take their disputes to arbitration or litigation outside of Nigeria.

I would strongly urge the new Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria to implement measures to enhance judicial efficiency and speed up the adjudication process, especially in commercial matters; invest in the continuous re-training of judges and court staff; and ensure that when judges go astray, they are adequately disciplined. Above all, we must prioritise merit in the appointment of judges and ensure that our courts are staffed by commercially-minded judges. We can borrow a leaf from what obtains in places like England where the commercial courts are manned by seasoned commercial law practitioners, and this is reflected in the quality of their judgments. Implementing these reforms would definitely help in restoring public confidence in the Nigerian judiciary.

CJN Should Rebuild People’s Confidence in Judiciary

By Onikepo Braithwaite Editor, THISDAY Lawyer

History has once again been made with the appointment of the second female Chief Justice of Nigeria, 66-year-old Honourable Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, CFR, the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court, as the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (pending her confirmation by the Senate as the substantive CJN). Her appointment couldn’t have come at a better time; in the company of Baroness Sue Carr, who was appointed as the First Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, and The Honourable Mandisa Maya, who is set to resume as the first female Chief Justice of South Africa in the next few days.

The Acting Chief Justice’s mandate is to undertake a holistic reform of the Judiciary, which appears to be struggling on various levels. As a matter of urgency, she must rebuild the perception of the people and their confidence in our courts, by instilling discipline into the Judiciary. The mounting allegations of corruption, as well as the menace of conflicting judgments and abuse of court process, must be faced head-on, and erring judicial officers in this regard must not be spared by the NJC, which Her

seventh year by the way, and the opportunity to mentor younger officers to come up, and now we have a lot of officers who can do this job excellently well,” he added. Abubakar was first appointed DG of the NIA in 2018 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, who extended his stay in office in December 2021. Before his appointment, he was Senior Special Assistant to the former President on International Affairs/ International Relations.

Lordship now chairs. The backlog of cases that exist, not just in the Supreme Court, but in most of our courts has to be tackled effectively, as one of the major complaints of Nigerians is that pace of justice is too slow. Even with the Supreme Court itself, a reorganisation of its Registry for maximum efficiency and better performance, is required.

Drawing from Justice Kekere-Ekun’s reputation as being hardworking, thorough, and a stickler for high standards, we do not doubt that she already has a vision and agenda for the Judiciary. Ensuring that the brightest and the best are recruited into the Judiciary, is paramount. Her Lordship must consider the Communiqué of the 2024 Justice Sector Summit which focused on Judicial Appointments/Selection; accelerating the speed of justice delivery in Nigeria; accountability and other areas like the deplorable condition of many state judiciaries due to under-funding. The Acting CJN must pursue financial autonomy for the Judiciary, not just so that the courts can function better, but to foster better independence of the Judiciary.

Spearheading a reform or the rebirth of the Judiciary will not be easy, and it will certainly be met with opposition by enemies of progress, but her Lordship must stand courageous and not be deterred. Better transparency in leadership, and the activities and processes of the Judiciary, is required. She must also embrace and encourage the use of technology, to make our courts run better. The NJC and other Judicial bodies must be made to be up and doing.

Her Lordship must take up the case of the long-suffering, much-ignored Magistracy. The issue of their poor remuneration, welfare, and conditions of service, must be addressed. Having started her career on the Bench as a Magistrate, the Acting CJN will be expected to be sympathetic to their plight. We expect the Acting CJN’s appointment to be confirmed by the Senate, as soon as possible. Under Section 231(5) of the Constitution, Her Lordship’s confirmation must be done within three months from the date of her appointment last Friday, August 23rd, 2024. Nigerians are optimistic that Justice Kekere-Ekun will most certainly leave the Judiciary better than she found it.

Shettima; Governor’s daughter and bride, Mrs. Keziah Josiah; Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori;

Kefas’ daughter in Jalingo…yesterday

RECEIVING ROYAL HONOUR…

Court Grants Police’s Request to Remand 124

#EndBadGovernance Protesters for 60 Days

A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted applications filed by the Nigeria Police to remand 124 arrested #EndBadGovernance protesters for 60 days, pending the conclusion of the investigation.

Justice Emeka Nwite, in separate rulings on ex-parte motions moved by counsel for the Inspector-General (IG) of Police, Ibrahim Mohammed, granted the interim order to remand the suspects until the conclusion of the investigation.

Justice Nwite equally ordered that the suspects, who are minors in the applications, be remanded in Borstal Home of the correctional centre, pending the conclusion of the investigation.

In the first motion ex-parte marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1154/2024, moved by Mohammed on August 14, but with a certified true copy (CTC) of the order obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the judge directed that the suspects be remanded for 60 days pending the conclusion of investigation and legal advice from the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).

The I-G, in the motion dated August 8 but filed August 9, sued 75 protesters with ages ranging between 14 and 34 years.

They include Abubakar Ibrahim (18), Abubakar Adam (19), Suleiman Ali (16), Mubarak Mas’ud (23), Umar Musa (19), Aminu Hussaini (20), Umar Kabir (23), Ibrahim Musa (24), Abba Usman (30), Umar Inusa (18), Tasi’u

Lawan (17), Ibrahim Rabi’u (16), and Jamilu Haruna (16).

The suspects also include Muktar Yahaya (17), Abdulbasit Abdulsalam (34), Salisu Adamu (16), Bilal Auwalu (15), Abdul’aziz Adam (15), Sadiq Sunusi (15), Muhd Musa (14), Usman Amiru (14), Abdulganiyu Musa (15), Muhd Yahaya (19), and Sunusi Nura (14), among others. They were alleged to have committed acts of terrorism, treason, and treasonable felonies, including arson and terrorism.

The police said the offence was contrary to Sections 2(1) and (3), 24 and 26 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022; Sections 41 and 42 of the Criminal Code Act; Sections 410, 411, and 412 of the Penal Code Act; and Section 4

of the Miscellaneous Offences Act CAP M17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and other enabling statutes.

Miss Elizabeth Ogochukwu, a Litigation Secretary of the Legal and Prosecution Section, Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Police Force Headquarters, Abuja, deposed to the affidavit in support of the motion. She said the IG’s office, through the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), received a damningly credible intelligence report of a planned violent uprising against the government of the states and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Ogochukwu averred that “the planned violent insurrection was believed to have been orchestrated by terrorist groups both within and

Shettima Canvasses Strong Family Ties for National Unity

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Vice President Kashim Shettima yesterday reiterated the significance of marital and family values in nation building, calling on parents and couples to exercise patience and love in their families which will reflect on the larger Nigerian society.

Shettima who was a special guest at the wedding of Keziah Kefas,

daughter of Taraba State Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas, in Jalingo, also reflected on the bittersweet nature of parenthood.

The vice president emphasised key elements for a successful union, stating that "some of the most essential qualities in marriage are communication, patience, tolerance, perseverance, and love."

He noted, however, that when our children come of age, it truly is

a painful process letting them go."

Underscoring the true essence of marital bliss, Shettima observed that "all the beautiful faces that adorn this hall are a reflection of the beauty of marriage, however, it is not always rosy and smooth-sailing. It comes with its own ups and downs".

Similarly, the vice president who was also a special guest at the wedding ceremony of Victor Egbetokun, son of the Inspector

General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun in Lagos, praised the IG's character.

Taking a leaf from the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, Shettima said, "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. This is the beauty of the IG.

"On behalf of the president, we wish you a very happy marriage," he added.

No Ransom Paid to Rescue 20 Medical Students, Police Clarify

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has said that no ransom was paid for the rescue of the 20 medical students abducted in Benue State and others, clarifying that all victims were tactically rescued from their abductors by security operatives.

The Force PRO, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement yesterday, said the clarification became necessary due to some tweets and unconfirmed stories that some amounts of money were paid for

the rescue of the kidnap victims.

“We confirm the release of our brothers and sisters and some other Nigerians who have been in captivity on Friday, August 23, 2024, in Ntunkon Forest, Benue State without any ransom paid.

“Contrary to some tweets and unconfirmed stories that some money was paid, no kobo was paid to release them. They were actually rescued tactically and professionally. We commend the security agencies, locals, and ONSA for their commitment and

resilience. Thanks to you all,” Adejobi explained.

Security agencies had earlier confirmed the release of the 20 medical students of the University of Jos (UNIJOS) and University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) who were abducted in Benue State.

The operation was said to have been coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

According to the report, security agencies, including the police, Department of State Services (DSS) and military personnel, were involved

in the operation, with the support of the Benue State government.

Before the development, the abductors of the 20 Catholic medical students who were en route to Enugu State last Thursday had rejected the N20 million ransom allegedly raised by the Catholic community in Nigeria.

The president of the Community of Tiv Students at the University of Maiduguri, Prince Tihi Maxwell, whose two members were among the abducted students, had disclosed this in Maiduguri, Borno State.

outside Nigeria to unleash terror against the sovereign states of Nigeria, scheduled to start from the 1st day of August 2024.”

She said, “Despite serious security measures intensified by the various law enforcement agencies, the planned protest took place as scheduled and seriously intimidated the populace and seriously destabilised or destroyed the fundamental, political, constitutional, economic, or social structures of some parts of Nigeria.”

Ogochukwu said the suspects were arrested in Abuja and various states in possession of many Russian flags and other incriminating exhibits, while others are still at large.

Also, in the second ex-parte motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1223/2024, moved by Mohammed on Thursday, Justice Nwite ordered another set of 49 defendants to be remanded for 60 days pending the conclusion of the investigation.

The judge, who directed that the underage defendants be remanded in Borstal Home of the correctional

centre, adjourned the case until October 23 for mention.

The motion, dated August 20, was filed on August 21.

Giving four grounds why the application should be granted, Mohammed said that the defendants engaged in the offence of terrorism financing to overthrow a democratically elected government. Some of the defendants include Comrade Opaluwa Eleojo, Michael Adaramuye, Musiu Sadiq, Buhari Lawal, Love Angel Innocent, Suleiman Yakubu, Yunusa Aliyu, Ahmad Nasir, Muhammed Sani, Iliyasu Anas, Abdullahi Sani, and Gaddafi Muhammed.

They also include Jibrin Abdulhakim, Mahmud Umar, Kabiru Rabiu, Aminu Muhammed, Sagir Hassan, Lukman Abubakar, and Ahmed Isah.

Others are Abdullahi Abdulwahab, Hassan Muhammad, Abdullahi Salisu, Sabo Murtala, Fahad Ibrahim, Umar Yakubu, Zakari Yakubu, and Ahmed Haruna.

Kogi Governorship Poll: Ajaka Seeks Prosecution of Attackers at Supreme Court

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the November 11, 2023 governorship election in Kogi State, Alhaji Murtala Ajaka has called on the Inspector General of Police (IG) and other relevant security agencies to investigate the attack on him and his supporters allegedly carried out by one Bashiru Gegu and his thugs.

Ajaka and his supporters were attacked at the Supreme Court in Abuja on Friday, after the judgment of the apex court, which dismissed his appeal challenging the election of Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for lacking in merit.

According to Ajaka, “This was not only an attack on my person but also an assault on democracy itself. I urge the Inspector General of Police and relevant security agencies to investigate this matter thoroughly, ensuring that culprits are brought to justice to serve as a deterrent to others.

“In a democratic society, attacks on a governorship candidate, because he explored a legal means to reclaim his stolen mandate are inexcusable and will not be tolerated,” Ajaka said.

Commenting on the judgment of the Supreme Court, which affirmed

Ododo as the validly elected governor of Kogi State, Ajaka said he respected the decision of the apex court and its role in upholding the rule of law, he described the judgment as a miscarriage of justice.

In his words: “The world has witnessed the miscarriage of justice in our nation’s judiciary system, and we cannot help but feel a deep sense of disappointment and disillusionment.

“The judgement has left many questions unanswered and has further eroded the trust of the Nigerian people in the judiciary.

“We reject the outcome even though we have no other options available. We will abide by the decision of the apex court.”. He commended his legal and media teams for their tireless efforts, expertise, and commitment to the cause of reclaiming his stolen mandate.

“To my supporters, I feel your pain and disappointment. We did our best, leaving no stone unturned, but the system failed us. We fought a good fight, but the outcome is not a reflection of our efforts.

“However, we take solace in the fact that 2027 is around the corner, and we will know what to do. We will regroup, reassess, and come back stronger.

Alex Enumah in Abuja

Linus Aleke in Abuja

L-R: Publisher, Vanguard Newspapers, Prince Sam Amuka-Pemu; Olu of Warri Kingdom, His Majesty, Ogiame Atuwatse III; and Queen C onsort, Olori Atuwatse III, during conferment of Ogiame’s Award of Excellence on Amuka-Pemu in commemoration of the third-year coronation anniversary in Warri, Delta State…yesterday

GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN…

PDP Has Been Commercialised, Privatised, Melaye Mocks Party

Indiscipline bane of the opposition party, says former Atiku’s spokesman

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election, Senator Dino Melaye, has alleged that the opposition party has been commercialised and privatised.

This is coming as Mr. Segun Sowunmi, former spokesman of the presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, blamed the party’s inability to rise from its downfall nine years ago on members’ indiscipline and disrespect for party supremacy.

In a post via his X handle yesterday, the former Kogi West Senator asserted that the PDP had lost its relevance in the country’s political space.

Melaye accused the acting National Chairman of the party, Iliya Damagum; the National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, and the National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, of destroying the party. He wrote: “End of the road for PDP as Damagum, Bature and Anyanwu, irredeemably destroyed the party. We will talk about the commercialisation and privatisation of PDP. PDP is now once upon a time.”

PDP lawmakers in the House of Representatives had earlier raised serious allegations against Damagum and Anyanwu.

The lawmaker, under the aegis of the Opposition Coalition, accused the party leaders of a covert plot to sabotage the PDP by aiding defected former members of the Rivers State

Northern Govs Celebrate Sultan at 68, Say He’s Champion of National Unity, Religious Harmony

Segun Awofadeji in Gombe

The Northern States Governors’ Forum has felicitated the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, on the occasion of his 68th birthday today.

The Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Gombe State, Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, in a statement issued yesterday by the Director-General in charge of Press Affairs at the Government House, Gombe, Mr. Ismaila Uba Misilli, the northern governors described the monarch as the champion of national unity and religious harmony.

"Governor Inuwa Yahaya, on behalf of the 19 northern governors, praised the Sultan as a symbol of peace and unity, noting his vital role as the spiritual leader of Nigerian Muslims,” the statement said.

The statement added that the Sultan’s leadership has greatly contributed to fostering harmony and understanding within the Muslim

Ummah and beyond, reaching out to people from all walks of life.

It emphasised that Sultan Sa'ad's commitment to peace and harmony has been pivotal in steering the nation and its leaders towards better governance and overall prosperity.

“As the custodian of our rich heritage and traditions, His Eminence has been relentless in promoting unity and tolerance. His efforts have strengthened cooperation, religious harmony, and peaceful coexistence, thereby fortifying the very fabric of our society,” the northern governors added.

The governors called on the Sultan to continue to leverage his esteemed position and considerable influence to further the cause of peace, unity, and progress, not just within the Sokoto Caliphate and the North, but across the entire nation.

They prayed to Almighty Allah to bless the monarch with many more years of good health and wisdom to continue his invaluable service to the Muslim Ummah, the nation, and humanity at large.

House of Assembly with legal backing to attempt to impeach the Rivers State governor, Sim Fubara.

Speaking on behalf of the coalition, the spokesperson and member of the House of Representatives representing Ideato Federal Constituency, Ikenga Ugochinyere, detailed a series of events which he described as a calculated attempt by Damagum and Anyanwu to weaken the PDP from the inside.

In his response during the inauguration of the PDP National Reconciliation and Disciplinary Committees in Abuja on Thursday, Damagum warned that nobody can intimidate him into resigning from his position.

Damagum berated those spreading misinformation about NWC operations, adding that those calling for his resignation are only enhancing his popularity Indiscipline Bane of the Opposition Party, Says Former Atiku’s Spokesman Meanwhile, Atiku’s former spokesman, Sowunmi has blamed the PDP’s inability to rise from its downfall nine years ago on members’ indiscipline and disrespect for party supremacy.

In a statement made available to journalists yesterday, Sowunmi said only

genuine and sincere reconciliation would help the party return to winning ways. He said that as the former governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and the 25-man-led reconciliation committee began the work of uniting warring factions in the party, party leaders and members should embrace this critical assignment with all sincerity of purpose otherwise, it would amount to another sheer waste of time and resources.

My Presidency Would Have Heralded Prosperity, Driven

by Competent Persons, Atiku Tackles Bode George

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has rejected a statement by a member of the party's Board of Trustees (BOT), Chief Bode George, that his presidency would have not performed better than that of President Bola Tinubu.

In a statement by his media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku said contrary

to George's remarks, his presidency would have heralded an era of prosperity, driven by a cabinet brimming with seasoned and adept individuals.

He said he would have chosen his cabinet solely on merit regardless of their background or beliefs.

The former vice president further said: "Such leadership would have safeguarded Nigeria's interests, steering clear

of the bigotry and nepotism and brigandage that characterises this administration.

“Instead of the current state of disarray, driven by haphazard policies, Nigeria would have thrived under Atiku's guidance."

According to Atiku, "In contrast, we see Bode George, who once threatened exile, should Tinubu ascend to power, now oddly silent about the present administration. Is Bode’s reticence because Atiku is

not from his region? It is prudent to consider Bode’s opinions with caution.

"Furthermore, Bode’s conduct is a disservice to the military, an institution esteemed for its unity. Here is a commodore who, paradoxically, embraces tribalism and undermines the very principles of the military. It is a source of shame for the armed forces to have such a figure in their ranks," he explained.

Vandals Destroying Rail Tracks, Nigerian Railway MD Cries Out

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has expressed concern over the rate of vandalism and theft of its infrastructure across the country.

Its Managing Director, Mr. Freeborn Okhirie, stated this during a visit to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), headquarters in Abuja at the weekend. Okhirie commended the NSCDC for its unwavering efforts in protecting Critical National Assets and Infrastructure (CNAI), which has,

over the years, led to the arrest of railway sleeper thieves.

He, however, said notwithstanding the NSCDC's efforts to salvage the NRC from economic saboteurs, the corporation still suffers losses through vandalism of its installations across the country.

“Rail tracks are still being vandalised while the number of perpetrators is rising despite many arrests,” he said.

According to the NRC boss, all hands must be on deck to confront the disturbing trend, which he

described as “an organised conspiracy to commit economic sabotage”.

He called for a stronger synergy among critical stakeholders and security agencies to bring perpetrators and sponsors of such vandalism to book.

Okhirie urged Nigerians to provide information that would lead to the arrest of suspects so that infrastructure meant to meet the public’s needs would be secured.

Responding, NSCDC Commandant-General, Ahmed Audi, disclosed that more than 20

trailers conveying vandalised railway sleepers had been impounded by the Corps.

“Numerous suspects have been arrested in connection with the crime of vandalism of Railway slippers,” he disclosed.

Audi expressed readiness to work harder to curtail the acts, while decrying the slow pace encountered in the course of prosecution of suspects. He said the NSCDC would strengthen its disciplinary mechanism and sanction any personnel found sabotaging the concerted effort.

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara (left), and former Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, exchanging pleasantries at the funeral ceremony of Mr. Atedo Peterside’s mother in Port Harcourt...yesterday

PROMOTING TRADE AND INVESTMENT…

L-R: Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Investment Promotion Council, Aisha Rimi; Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Nura Rimi; Managing Director, Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, Dr. Femi Ogunyemi; and Director, Human Resource Management, NEPZA, Mrs. Haleema Kamba, during the 19th India-Africa Economic Conclave in New Delhi, India... yesterday

Mpox Poses Significant Risk to People Living with HIV, Says NACA

Africa CDC writes health

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has raised the alarm that Mpox disease poses a significant risk to people living with HIV and urged the public to take preventive measures against the rising threat of the disease.

This is just as the African Centres for Disease for Disease Control (Africa CDC) has written to all African health ministers, calling for coordinated efforts to tackle Mpox and improve testing methods.

Raising the alarm in a statement issued yesterday by NACA’s Head of Public Relations and Protocol, Toyin Aderibigbe, the Director General of the agency, Dr Temitope Ilori,

emphasised the heightened risk faced by people living with HIV.

“While anyone can contract Mpox, individuals with compromised immune systems, such as those living with HIV, may experience more severe symptoms,” she said.

Ilori said these individuals must take extra precautions to protect themselves.

She further noted that NACA is actively monitoring the situation and working closely with public health authorities to ensure that adequate resources and information are available.

Ilori added that: “Our priority remains the health and well-being of Nigerians, especially those who are most vulnerable. We are committed

ministers over rising cases

to providing the necessary support to help people living with HIV navigate this added challenge.”

She advised the public to remain vigilant and informed, underscoring the importance of early detection and treatment.

“If you notice any unusual symptoms, such as a rash or fever, it is imperative to seek medical attention immediately. Early intervention is key to managing Mpox effectively.

“We urge everyone, especially those living with HIV, to stay informed, adhere to preventive measures, and seek medical advice promptly if needed. Together, we can overcome this challenge and continue to make strides in the fight against HIV and other public health

threats,” she stated.

Meanwhile, the Africa CDC has written to all African health ministers, calling for coordinated efforts to tackle the infection and improve testing methods.

In a letter dated August 23, 2024, and signed by the Africa CDC Director-General, Jean Kaseya, the public health body said the disease was spreading rapidly, with cases almost tripled within a short period.

Mpox was first declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in 2022.

Kaseya said the case fatality rate of the disease was high at about three per cent, adding that it had been linked to HIV which made it more concerning.

Olu of Warri Confers Awards on Vanguard Publisher, Amuka-Pemu, Pinnick, Others

As part of the celebrations marking his coronation’s third anniversary, the Olu of Warri Kingdom in Delta State, His Majesty, Ogiame Atuwatse, yesterday decorated 10 notable Itsekiri sons and daughters for their patriotic contributions to the development of the Warri Kingdom and Nigeria at large.

The recipients include the Publisher of Vanguard Newspapers, Sam Amuka-Pemu, and Nigeria’s representative on the FIFA Council, Amaju Pinnick.

Other recipients of the awards

include Mr. Felix Omatsola, Ade Mabo, Julius Dediare Rone, Mr Alfred Temile, Dr Ajorutsedere Awosika, Mr Eworitsewarami Justin Wilbert, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, and Misan Harriman.

In his speech, the monarch lauded the recipients, whom he personally decorated on behalf of the Royal Iwere Society.

In his acceptance speech, Amuka-Pemu, popularly known as Uncle Sam, expressed gratitude to the monarch for the honour bestowed upon him.

He attributed the King’s ascension to the throne and his

activities over the past three years to divine direction.

“It is God Almighty who gave him the throne. He (God) is also the one directing his steps,” the renowned journalist stated.

Similarly, Pinnick, who could not hide his joy, thanked the monarch for the honour and promised to be more committed to developing the Itsekiri.

Pinnick said, “Your Majesty, this is a very big honour. I want to thank you.”

Another recipient, Mr Julius Dediare Rone, thanked the monarch for finding him worthy and

decorating him with the award, which he described as “very special” to him.

“I have been honoured all over the world, but this is the best award I have ever received,” Rone stated, as he pledged his allegiance to the monarch and the throne, praying that the Olu’s reign will continue to bring development and greater achievements to Warri Kingdom.

On his part, Mr. Ade Mabo lauded the monarch and urged the Itsekiri people to rally around the King in the ongoing efforts to further develop the Warri Kingdom.

“Several countries without previous cases have recently reported imported cases of their first Mpox cases for 2024. Given this trend, there is a high risk that it could spread beyond Africa as well,” the letter read.

Kaseya noted that Mpox was declared a public health emergency by the agency on 13 August, after assessing the danger that the onslaught was posing to the continent.

He said the declaration was made after “Africa CDC called for a meeting of an independent high-level technical body called Emergency Consultative Group (ECG).”

The ECG made up of a group of 20 high-level science and health experts reviewed the epidemiological situation in the continent and made recommendations.

Between January 1 and 23 August, there were 21,466 reported Mpox cases across 13 African Union member states.

Of these, 3,350 were confirmed cases, while 18,116 were suspected. The outbreak also resulted in 591 deaths, leading to a case fatality rate (CFR) of 2.9 per cent.

Kaseya said the affected countries include Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Liberia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda.

He also noted that Gabon has confirmed its first case of the disease while Sierra Leone and Malawi have begun testing suspected cases.

“Even as I wrote this letter, Gabon has confirmed its first case, while Sierra Leone and Malawi are now

testing their suspected cases,” the letter added. Currently, Nigeria has recorded 40 confirmed cases and 830 suspected cases of the zoonotic disease. However, it has yet to record any death cases.

However, the DG told African health ministers that laboratory tests alone cannot sufficiently detect Mpox cases and should not be relied on as the sole method to identify confirmed cases.

“I would like to draw Your Excellencies’ attention to the fact that a negative test result in the laboratory does not mean there is no Mpox epidemic,” he said.

“Some of you are reaching out to us, especially in the context where the lab is negative for Mpox.

“To better advise you, Africa CDC have also consulted our African best epidemiologist and lab experts but also international experts and appropriate bodies like the US CDC, China CDC, Europe CDC and WHO.”

He said the recommendation provided was that countries must restrain from relying solely on laboratory test results for diagnosing Mpox.

Instead, he said, there is a need for a holistic approach that integrates laboratory testing with clinical assessment and epidemiological data.

According to him, this is essential for accurately diagnosing and managing Mpox.

Kaseya told the ministers that diagnosis and management of Mpox should involve a comprehensive approach that considers multiple factors.

Appointment of New Port Managers will Ensure Seamless Operations, Says NPA

Eromosele

Abiodun

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has said that the appointment of seven new port managers in the country would ensure seamless operations at the ports.

The new Managing Director/ CEO of NPA, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, said this while announcing the appointment of the new managers in Lagos. Under the new appointments,

Mr. Adebowale Lawal Ibrahim is to serve as Port Manager of Lagos Port Complex, while Mr. Abubakar Sani Isa is the Port Manager of Tin Can Island Port. Also appointed were: Mr. Abdulrahman Hussaini, for Onne Port; Mr. Sa’adu Dahiru Mohammed, Delta Ports Warri; Mr. Ekine Ibifiri Alex for Calabar Port, while Mr. Emmanuel Anda was posted to Lekki Port as Port Manager.

The Port Manager of Rivers

Port, Mrs Kenechi Edith Okezie (Rivers Port) has been retained. The new appointments are with immediate effect.

The port managers are expected to drive the vision of the NPA to provide a safe, secure and customer-friendly environment for port operations. They will also manage day-to-day port operations by delivering port services necessary for ship reception and departures while they serve as a link between

the authority and shipping communities.

The port managers have also been charged with other responsibilities. They are expected to supervise the operations of terminal operators in line with the Standard Operating Procedures as contained in the Lease Agreement with the NPA.

They will also administer the operations of the Export Processing Terminals (EPT) to actualise the overriding objectives

of the renewed export orientation of the federal government.

They are also to coordinate the logistics around the port corridor as well as interface with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to ensure seamless entry and exit of Exports, Imports and Empty Containers from the ports.

The Port Managers were also tasked to motivate employees to work effectively and efficiently to actualise the Ports Key Performance Indicators.

Boss

Meanwhile, Dantsoho has assured that the NPA is ready to provide the support necessary to fast-track the automation of truck traffic for Onne before the end of this quarter.

He gave the assurance when the Executive Team of Callup Technology Services Limited and Forge Concepts Limited, the operators of the electronic solution, paid a preimplementation visit to the NPA Headquarters in Lagos.

Sylvester Idowu in Warri

L-R:

Niger Delta Leaders Urge FG to End Fuel Scarcity

Leaders and critical stakeholders of the Niger Delta region have called on the federal government to support local refineries to end persistent fuel scarcity and high cost of petroleum products in the country.

They said with local refineries on stream, it would put an end to reliance on imported refined products in Nigeria.

The leaders spoke through the President of Host Community of

The stakeholders spoke in Abuja, noting that it is an embarrassment for a nation with abundant petroleum to be lacking in supply of the same resources.

Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSTCOM), High Chief Benjamin Tamaranebi at the Asokoro residence of the Leader of Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, during a solidarity visit to the elder statesman at the weekend.

Chief Tamaranebi lamented that as a result of scarcity of fuel supply, a litre of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) is now sold for N2,000.00 in most parts of the Niger Delta where the crude are explored, exploited and exported outside the country.

He advised the government to

fix the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries and patronise existing local refineries, such as the Dangote Refinery, to reduce dependence on importation and stabilise prices.

He also criticized International Oil Companies (IOCs) for refusing to supply crude oil to local refineries, despite the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) stipulating that.

He accused the IOCs of pursuing vested interests and sabotaging the government’s efforts to develop the local refining capacity.

The Niger Delta leaders appealed

to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene and address the suffering of Nigerian citizens, emphasising that the government’s palliatives have not reached the common people.

He concluded by calling for urgent action to support local refineries, reduce prices, and end the hardship faced by Nigerians.

Tamaranebi said: “Our visit to the residence of our leader and father in the Niger Delta region today, is to voice out our displeasure to the Federal Government and in particular, publicly owned key players in the oil sector on the

endless fuel scarcity in the country.

“It is a sad commentary to state here that a country like Nigeria, an oil producing nation, the 2nd largest oil producer in Africa, that has four refineries is still suffering from endless fuel scarcity and bent on importation of refined petroleum products to her country for over 20 years.

“Only recently, some Nigerians trooped to the street in all parts of the country to protest against hardship in the country. Some of them were calling for the re- introduction of oil subsidy.

Wale Igbintade

Members of the Nigerian Law School class of 1985 have disclosed plans to honour one of their former teachers, a retired justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Amina Adamu Augie, the Managing Director/Chief Executive of Fidelity Bank Ltd, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, as well as some of their classmates recently elevated to the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal benches.

The event, which is part of the activities marking their reunion, will be held at Sir Adetokunbo Ademola Hall, Nigerian Law School, Lagos on the sidelines of the 2024 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association taking place in Lagos next week.

According to a statement jointly signed by the Chairman of the class, Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN and the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee for the reunion, Mrs. Adeyinka Aroyewun, seven judicial officers (serving and retired), three Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), as well as serving executives in the federal bureaucracy and in the organised private sector would be honoured. The event will be chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN.

A peep into the list of the honorees shows that among the class members to be celebrated at the occasion include Justices Moore Adumein and Adewale Abiru of the Supreme Court, Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo of the Court of Appeal, Justice Anthonia Ubaka

of National Industrial Court, and Justice Ngozika Oji of High Court of Enugu State.

Others are Senator Neda Bernards Imasuen, Mrs Folashade Alli, SAN, Alhaji Abiola Oyebanji, SAN, Chief KunleAgbebi, SAN, former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani Kayode, Prof Eucharia Chinweze of Imo State University, a foremost banker and former Company Secretary of First Bank Ltd, Prince Seye Kosoko, former Nigerian Ambassador to Mozambique, Ambassador Yamah Mohammed, Kano-based lawyer and business tycoon, Mahmoud Usman El-Tayed, Mr Eric Elujekor of Investment and Security Tribunal, taxation expert, Ms Chinyere Ike, Aviation law expert, Mr Mathew Chiedu, and the group Company Secretary of Tolaram Group, Pastor Funmi Ayo-Odugbesan.

Also included are, Lagos lawyers, Mr Ehiosu Odeh, Owolabi Dawodu, Idowu Jegede, Mrs Chidi Odikpo, a former director in NDIC, Mr Godwin Jideofor Nwankwo, former bankers, Mr Akin Adepoju and Mr Segun Ajayi, former Registrar/CEO of Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding Nigeria, Mr Sam Nwakohu, former Attorney General of Benue State, Mr Joe Abaagu, New York based Attorney, Tony Emengo, Kano-based lawyer, Solomon Olaniyan, former head of legal, Debt Management Office, Mrs Janet Opeyemi Jiya, Kaduna based company secretary, Rahab Damina, Energy Law expert, Mr Gabnel lorsase, Alternative Dispute Resolution expert, Mrs Olusola Adegbonmure, former company secretary of the Bank of Agriculture, Alhaji Babaji Zindiwa and a posthumous award to a departed member of the Class, Mrs Maureen Tarka Fateh.

General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, Dr. Daniel K. Olukoya, has expressed his support for one indivisible Nigeria, saying: I am a chronic and ardent believer of one Nigeria.

Speaking at the church’s 35th Founders Day anniversary and Annual Convention, where a record of 492 first-class graduatemembers of the church received the plaques of the award, the cleric concluded that divine intervention, through prayers, is what the nation needs to come

Olukoya: I am an Ardent Believer in One Nigeria Onwuneme Asks Abian Youths to

Wale Igbintade

A chieftain of the Labour Party in Abia State and a youth advocate, Mr. Nwabueze Onwuneme, has counselled Abian youths not to relent in their support for Governor Alex Otti, stressing that he is the only way to safeguard the dividends of democracy and prosperous future for the state. In a statement made available to newsmen, Onwuneme reminded Abians that this is the first time

Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State has commenced payment of the N70,000 minimum wage approved by the federal government.

President Bola Tinubu signed the new Minimum Wage bill into law a few weeks ago. This was after back and forth with organised labour.

out of its multifaceted crisis.

‘What we need in Nigeria is divine intervention.” The MFM General Overseer said, during the thanksgiving ceremony of the 35th founders anniversary of the Church, held at the Prayer City last week.

He noted that every other effort has failed, concluding that the people should pray for intervention from above.

“We should pray that the Lord should lay his hands upon the whole nation,

their votes has ever reflected their choice rather than in the past where their governor was imposed on them by godfathers through fraudulent electoral processes.

The beauty of it, Onwuneme said, is the fact that Governor Otti has not betrayed nor fallen short on the social contract he signed with the people of the which today has manifested in the very obvious socio-economic

However, many governors have said they can not pay N70,000 minimum wage as a result of economic reality.

The Adamawa governor initiated the payment of the new minimum wage for state workers, starting from August 2024, with a promise that local government workers will begin

upon our leaders, that they should take the right decisions that will help Nigeria,” he stated, sdding “We need to pray for divine intervention. That songwriter says arms of flesh we fail you. Our hard work will fail. With God all things are possible.

“Let us understand something. No matter where you are, no matter the resources you have, the Bible says, except the Lord builds the house, they gather in vain, that builds it. We may gather resources and nothing will

and infrastructural development been witnessed in the state and not media propaganda as in the past making the state the new pride of the nation.

Onwuneme commended Governor Otti’s style of leadership which does not indulge mediocrity nor encourage corruption.

He told Abians most especially the masses not to be perturbed by the weak propaganda been peddled by the opposition as that is their stock in trade nor the aligning

receiving the increased salary in September.

This has sparked widespread celebration among civil servants in the state.

Multiple sources, including state workers who received their salaries, confirmed the development to Daily Trust.

Some workers expressed apprecia-

be able to use it,” he said. Pastor Olukoya, however, insisted that there is hope for Nigeria despite its present condition; highlighting the critical place of the country in the continent of Africa, he said: “Look at Nigeria now. If you look at the map of Africa. The map looks like a gun. Nigeria is where the trigger is. God has a plan for Nigeria. He stressed the need for the nation to seek the face of God to guide its leaders alright.

of failed politicians whom were the same people that has brought the gross underdevelopment the state has witnessed in the past to take over the state again the state for 2027 election.

He stated: “the practical evidence of the governor’s good works which we all see, feel and tell will continually demean them and will sure renew the governor’s tenancy in 2027 if he chooses to reapply for the office of the Governor of Abia state.”

tion to the governor for fulfilling his promise while describing him as a “man of his word.”

The implementation of the new minimum wage has been hailed as a significant achievement for the Fintiri administration, which has been nicknamed the “Fresh Air Government” by its supporters.

Chief Executive Officer, HerVest, Solape Akinpelu; Past President, Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce and CEO, DCSL Corporate Services Limited, Bisi Adeyemi; President and Chairman of Council, NBCC, Mr. Ray Atelly; Group Managing Director, SystemSpecs, Dr. John Obaro; and Chairman,

FG Inaugurates 54th Art, Culture Summit Monday To unveil draft

Agnes Ekebuke

The federal government, through the Federal Ministry of Arts and Creative Economy, is set to launch the 54th Art and Culture Summit on Monday, August 26, 2024, according to a statement by Nneka Ikem, Special Adviser on Media to the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa.

This is as the Federal Ministry of Tourism unveiled a Draft National Tourism Policy aimed at paving the path for Nigeria’s global tourism leadership.

Representatives from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory will be present as key

national tourism policy

policies are unveiled.

Musawa will introduce new initiatives and cultural elements vital for promoting peace, unity, integrity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and connectivity across the nation. These initiatives align with the broader goals of NAFEST and other national cultural celebrations, paving the way for Nigeria’s cultural revival.

Highlights of the summit will include deliberations and the adoption of the format and syllabus for major national cultural events, such as the National Festival for Arts and Culture and the International Arts and Crafts Expo.

These discussions will be crucial for the successful plan-

ning and execution of MEFA, Nigeria’s Got Talent, Innovation Creativity and Entrepreneurship, Origins, and the Creative Leap Accelerated Programme.

Key stakeholders, including Commissioners and Directors from the 36 States Councils for Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy/ History and Culture Bureau, the FCT Council for Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy, related parastatals, and the media, have been formally invited to participate in this significant event.

Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Tourism has unveiled Draft National Tourism Policy aimed at paving the path for Nigeria’s Global tourism leadership.

The Minister of Tourism,

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Ade-John, has disclosed this in a virtual meeting with stakeholders yesterday in Abuja.

The minister said that the policy was a significant stride towards advancing Nigeria’s tourism sector. She added that it was achieved through the collaboration with the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), and key stakeholders.

According to her, the crucial document marks a pivotal moment in Nigeria’s journey to harness the vast potential of its tourism industry, aligning it with global standards and sustainable practices.

The minister emphasised the transformative potentials of the policy by highlighting the strategic focus on sustainable tourism,

community engagement, and diversification of tourism products as essential pillars.

Ade-John further said that this would drive economic growth, job creation, and cultural preservation in Nigeria. “This draft policy is a testament to our collective dedication to repositioning Nigeria’s tourism sector as a key driver of economic diversification. “We are committed to implementing frameworks that ensure accountability, foster green initiatives, and empower women and youths,” she said.

She said that the draft policy reflected a comprehensive approach, addressing critical areas such as digital transformation, and sectoral synergies with aviation among others.

Ade-John said that the policy is expected to be finalised in October, with a presentation to the Federal Executive Council scheduled for November.

She said that stakeholders’ inclusivity had been prioritised throughout the policy development process, ensuring that the voices of all relevant sectors were considered.

“The next steps involve further consultations and validation to refine the document before its implementation.

“The presentation concluded with a commitment to continuous collaboration, and dialogue among stakeholders to ensure the successful realisation of the policy’s objectives,” she

Editor: Festus Akanbi

08038588469 Email:festus.akanbi@thisdaylive.com

Endless Queues: Blame Game Continues

Nigerians caught in the middle of a confusing and worsening crisis, reports Festus Akanbi

The confusion over the lingering fuel scarcity in major towns and cities in the country continued till the weekend despite the assurances of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) to clear all the problems causing the devastating scarcity before midweek last week.

Reports from Abuja, Port Harcourt, Lagos, Ibadan, and Kano showed that long queues of vehicles dotted major roads as Nigerians spent success.

The few stations that had products raised the cost of fuel to as high as N1000 per litre in Abuja, Ogun, Port Harcourt, and Kano, while black marketers sold a 10-litre container of petrol for as high as N12,000 on the streets of Lagos last week.

As expected transport fares hit the roof all over the country as many commercial bus drivers were compelled to patronise black marketers for their operation.

Season of Excuses

In the ensuing frustration and confusion, ofsupply crisis which economists said is already worsening the current challenges in the country.

In one breadth, the NNPCL’s Vice President (Downstream), Dapo Segun, during a press conference in Abuja, attributed the current scarcity across the country, to the impact of recent rains, lightning, and thunderstorms, saying. “We apologise to Nigerians for the fuel queues. Many of the challenges we are facing are outside our control, but we are doing our best to address them.

“For instance, the recent rains have made the -

to transport petroleum products, especially PMS, across the country,” However, he emphasised that the supply tightness observed in Lagos had been in the city. He pledged that NNPCL would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that petroleum products were distributed nationwide despite the challenges.

Another dimension of the litany of woes in

fuel distribution was from the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association (PETROAN), which attributed the ongoing scarcity of petrol, to lingering logistics challenges.

PETROAN President, Billy Gillis-Harry, in an interview on national TV last week, said that oil marketers are currently supply-constrained and can only distribute available inventory.

Gillis-Harry explained that the logistics issues are related to ship-to-ship transfers, which hinder the delivery of products to depots and subsequently to retailers.

“I think until we get our supply chal-dantly, we will not be able to get out of this cycle. I believe you must have heard the NNPC’s communications director, who explained that the issues at stake are still logistics-related,” Gillis-Harry said.

The spokesperson of NNPC, Olufemi Soneye, on his part, blamed the ongoing stations in the country on a hitch in discharge operations of vessels delivering

He said: “The NNPC wishes to state that the tightness in fuel supply and distribution witnessed in some parts of Lagos and the FCT is a result of a hitch in the discharge operations of a couple of vessels.

However, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria which boasts over 3,000 members and controlstions has accused the NNPCL of failing to supply adequate products to its members.

The Chairman of IPMAN, Ore Depot, Shina Amoo, claimed that the NNPCL, as the sole importer of petroleum products, IPMAN for the past three years, leading to a dire situation for its members.

“There is no supply anywhere. The available supply is poorly distributed. We have been raising concerns about this for a long time. We previously had an arrangement where we enjoyed a 70/30 supply ratio based on our capacity. Amoo highlighted the bureaucratic delays faced by IPMAN

members when dealing with NNPCL, saying, “Previously, after payment, it took a week to load products. Now, the process drags on for us turn to private depots, even though they charge premium prices.”

He expressed frustration over the current distribution pattern, accusing NNPCL of sidelining IPMAN in favour of other groups such as DAPPMAN and MEMAN.

“NNPCL abandoned the distribution pattern and stopped being sincere. They no longer supply IPMAN but prefer to supply others. needs,” Amoo stated.

Fuel Subsidy Still the Issue?

However, market watchers said the failure of the government to fully address the issue of fuel scarcity has vindicated some of the government’s critics who raised the allegation of insincerity on the part of the current administration about fuel subsidy removal it announced on May 29, 2023. The argument was that the current administration lacked the ball to see its policy on fuel subsidy removal through and that it was the insincerity that is manifesting in the form of recurrent fuel shortage in the country.

Last week, the NNPCL said it is selling petrol at only half the landing cost. Its Chief Financial last Monday that the national oil company is only bearing what he called the “shortfall” and not subsidy.

N600/litre but the landing cost is around N1,200 N7.8 trillion to make up for the “shortfall” in

“What has been happening is that we have been importing PMS, which has been landing us to sell it at half price.

and that half price is a shortfall.

“And the deal is between the Federation and NNPCL, to reconcile, sometimes they give us money, so there is no money exchanging hands with any marketer in the name of subsidy.”

One of the marketers, who said he was a member of the Depot and Petroleum Products

Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), was quoted as saying that the problem would not go away any time soon as long as there was still subsidy and the government was not willing to own up and address it once and for all. He said, “What do you think is the problem? It is the subsidy. The subsidy is heavy in the system but the government keeps denying that. Have you checked the cost of petrol in other countries? No marketer will be willing to buy and sell below the cost price. So only NNPC can import and sell at below its landing cost because it is government; because only NNPC has that advantage.

“So, we have said it again and again that subsidy is not sustainable. Because it creates the kind of problem we are seeing. Because it creates corruption and a lack of transparency. The moment you genuinely remove subsidy from petrol, you will not see scarcity again. It will now be based on a willing buyer, and a willing seller.”

Analysts said it is a thing of shame that the federal government, whose policy of fuel subsidy removal has pushed Nigerians into misery since 2023 is still in the realm of excuses for the perennial fuel shortage. A Lagos-based energy anonymity said it is shameful that Nigeria cannot put its house in order. He lamented that rather of fuel distribution, some agents of the government were bent on humiliating some patriotic Nigerians who had taken the risk to invest in the oil sector.

“The NNPCL is not to blame but the federal government which made it a sole importer of fuel. Instead of devising means of ensuring uninterrupted fuel distribution in the country, to be uncomfortable with the modest contribudevelopment,” he alleged.

According to him, these are some of the reasons why Nigerians may wait a bit longer for sanity in the oil industry.

Analysts said the current scarcity and the attendant disruption to commercial activities will continue to haunt the economy for a long time.

A fuel queue in Lagos

INTERVIEW

Obidike Uzu : FG Should Create Fiscal Incentives to Attract More Oil and Gas Investments

Managing Director of Global Process and Pipeline Services Limited and Vice Chairman of

challenges facing the sector. Ejiofor Alike

As you mark your 60th birthday, what would youconsidertobeyour landmarkachievement, particularlyinyour28 yearsintheoilandgas industry?

Honestly, I’ve worked in the oil industry for 28 years with an unblemished record. As a matter of fact, this is huge for me. Also, being able to set up the Global Process and Pipeline Services Limited (GPPSL) company, which is by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIPS), International Oil Companies (IOCs) and others. We’ve installed a tremendous strategic business structure in the company, which has worked. It’s a partnership company; so, it’s not about me. For me to be in a partnership for 14 years without any internal is an achievement. Our company is growing stronger every day because we submitted our interest into the processes and control. my God-given mandate and destiny.

Kindlysharetheinsightsthatledtothe birthofthecompany

I worked for Shell for two years as a contract spent almost 14 years. While working there, I put in a lot of dedication. I put my records and name on the line, but envy got in when I was rapidly promoted. On two occasions, I was accused of something I didn’t do. After the but after 5–6 years, another set of allegations came in. I recall that I was the country manager for eight and half years. I realised that God’s grace had kept those people from succeeding despite chasing me for 13 years. When it was what led to the establishment of Global Process and Pipeline Services Limited. We’ve been in operation for 14 years. Within this period, we have won more than eight national and international awards. It has been a successful

Whathasbeentheimpactofyourcompany onthenation’seconomysinceitcommenced operation?

Sincerely speaking, we are one of the few indigenous oil- servicing companies that has supported Nigeria to produce oil all these while. companies that were doing this kind of service before now. But four years ago, both of them

Nigeria. If we were not there, how would those oil production. You can do the calculations to see how important our services are. Even at we are silent, we are very important for oil and gas production in Nigeria. We’re wrapping up more resources to continue supporting them so that they don’t have to look outside the shores of Nigeria.

Nowthattheworldistalkingaboutenergy transitionandNigeriaisseekingenergyjustice.WhatisyouradviceforAfricanleadersin ensuringasmoothenergytransitionwithin thelimitedperiod?

ment to channel more resources into oil and gas

infrastructure that will enable them to produce more like what Saudi Arabia is doing. When you produce more and have enough reserve, you can now put more money into agriculture, have a business, spend every money you get from it and think the business will grow. Even if you have a store, if you’re not restocking it, it’s not going to work.

Our oil productivity has been going down. It used to be about 2.5 million barrels per day. It’s around 1.3m–1.7m today. We’re struggling; we need to ramp up production quickly to 3 million barrels per day so that we will have reserves that we can deploy into other infrastructure and technology.

and using it to feed our children, which is not sustainable. What we are doing now is borrowing money to spend on what is not bringing returns. If we had used those resources to develop some of the assets, we could have been producing an will get from it would have been enough to sort out the problems we are facing currently. It is a problem of mismatch.

policies in place that will make investors put more in a couple of years - 40 or 55years’ time, this oil will be useless. Now, it’s useful; we have to do everything to bring it to the surface and sell it now that it has value. What happened to us in coal is playing back again. Enugu and its coal are still there; nobody is utilising it; that is gone. Nobody is coming to mine coal as a premium the same thing will happen to oil. Let’s get the oil

WhatcantheNigeriangovernment dotorampupoilproduction?

tion is by increasing our investment to develop more assets. We must ensure oil from the ground thus, increasing the national production. As a matter of fact, we must drill more wells. In the short term, the government should increase their incentives to attract more investors and settle what is going to be workable in the Niger Delta, between the host communities and the investors, for them to have a friendly environment to operate in. As of today, the cost of security is enormous away for it to become very economical for someone to produce at a lower cost

AstheViceChairmanofPetroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN),whatistheimpactoftheassociationontheoilandgasindustry?pact in the oil and gas industry. We have end-to-end services, which we provide Development and Monitoring Board has helped the association to push their course. However, as the vice chairman, what we intend to do is to improve the quality of service to the world standard

who is the client, as well as the service delivery between the buyers and the service

into the new standards.

KindlysharewithusyourCorporateSocial Responsibility(CSR)exploits;howmuchhave youspentsofarinyoursocialinvestment?

I have been giving bursary for the past 13 years to about 1,105 disbursements. I don’t have a foundation because I don’t want it to be in the media to hype who I am. What I am doing is my personal discussion with God and a way to say thank you to God. Part of the ministry I was called to is ‘giving.’ Americans say that the hands that give roses always smell nice. I have told my kids that when I die, part of my will would contain giving, which is dear to me. If they continue giving, they won’t lack. I will still do been hurt while giving scholarships to students by those managing the scholarship programme. 10 years ago but God ministered to me, using the illustration of a farm whereby some seeds grow fruits, while some don’t despite being nurtured the same way. You won’t stop planting because of that but will be encouraged by those producing fruits. I am a channel that God has blessed to bless people. In 2005, I rebuilt the Anglican Church in my village on my own. building not fall on those worshipping God’. commissioned it said since he started ministry, he has never seen such before. I was part of those that rebuilt the market over there as

not a politician and I have not decided yet to become one. I’m doing it as part of my ministry. When I was young, my mother would say that if you have the spirit of giving, you will give from the small kernel you have. Don’t wait until you’re very rich before giving. Everyone that related to me went to school on full scholarship. I have trained more than 7 or 8 children aside from secondary school to university without any strings attached.

Yourecentlylaunchedabook,whatisit allaboutandwhatmotivatedyoutowriteit?

my story—the story of grace, glory, dry bones coming alive again and that there is still God. Someone can come from nowhere and become somebody. I want to tell the story myself. I could have gathered the material together and when I die my children will put the story together and tell it probably not in the same perspective of how it happened. Everybody I had told my story before now, had inspired me to write this book, so that other people in despair situations today will have hope in life. It is a motivational book that clearly shows how faith, values and destiny are tied together to get good results. I maintained a I get. If it is not ethical, I’m not going to do it and that has kept a lot of things coming my way even when I don’t struggle for it. I imagine the story of David in the Bible, when

king or the other older ones but the chosen one was the one in the bush rearing the

It is a way of thanking God and sharing my testimony through the book.

Uzu

www.thisdaylive.com

COSTING

THE COUNT

The Delta State government is committed to the good of the people, argues JACKSON EKWUGUM

OKELLO OCULI worries why the African Union did not boycott ’Paris 2024’

See Page 46

opinion@thisdaylive.com

BEFORE THE NEXT ASUU STRIKE

MONDAY PHILIPS

EKPE writes that the nation’s public universities can actually avoid yet another academic disruption

Many news organisations reported few days ago a supposed decision of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to declare a nationwide strike in the country’s public universities in three weeks’ time. The stand was claimed to have been taken during its latest meeting at the University of Ibadan. A formal communication to convey the plan to the federal ministries of education and labour was also said to be underway. In a less publicised response, however, the National President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, was quoted to have debunked the story of the impending industrial action, since there was no media event where the union actually made that move known in accordance with its tradition.

The veracity of that particular strike announcement may be in doubt but its likelihood shouldn’t be treated lightly. Most Nigerians are conversant with the truism that there’s no smoke without fire. So also are they with the disturbing record of the numerous gaps created in the academic calendars of public tertiary institutions largely as a result of the trade disputes between their owners and the academic and non-academic workforce. In two decades, ASUU alone has embarked on at least 16 national strikes, feats that have attracted to the ivory tower negative perceptions and commentaries. Many people have accepted the notion that Nigerian university lecturers are more comfortable with sending their students back home in order to secure enough space to operate outside the demands of their jobs and still be paid for work not done. That is, eating their cake and having it!

government to honour the disbursement of the 200billion naira annual revitalisation fund for five years beyond its first tranche in 2013.

of the amenities in our institutions would not have been.

Equallyannoyingtotheteachersistheinability or unwillingness of the federal government to implement the recommendations of its own three interventionist committees set up in the course of the recurring crises in the sector. Not to mention the opaque implementation of the December 2023 presidential directive to remove federal universities from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) in response to a longstanding grouse of ASUU; the erosion of university autonomy, and what the body describes as proliferation of universities. And, of course, the non-payment of earned academic allowances and the outstanding salaries for three and half months accumulated during the 2022 eight-month strike.

Two months ago, in what appeared to be a conciliatory move, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, met with the ASUU leadership to design ways of avoiding another interruption of academic activities. Both parties agreed to meet two weeks later to review their commitments. But, sadly, they still haven’t met, courtesy government’s foot-dragging, a situation that now gives credence to the news of the imminence of a potentially crippling down-tool. Can we beam the searchlight on the official handling of negotiations and agreementkeeping in matters relating to our universities? Not reassuring at the moment. Does the current administration have the capacity and conviction to do things differently? Sorry, no reasons at present to be hopeful.

I did a piece here on July 21, 2022 titled, “Pick Your Fights, ASUU Members.”

“One major motivation of lecturers in the pursuit of their cause today, in the face of daunting odds, is the need to keep with that tradition. No self-respecting trade union would let down its guards easily. A truth that should not be ignored is that majority of Nigerian families cannot shoulder university training, hence the push to keep the government in. Over time, ASUU has felt compelled to defend the right of Nigerian youths, particularly the less-privileged, to advanced learning. In prosecuting that goal, however, the union which proudly parades an enviable pedigree should urgently wake up to some pertinent present truths. The first is that times are changing faster than was anticipated even in the recent past. With that comes, inevitably, shifts in capacities, perceptions, values, dispositions and strategies.

“When that defining document was signed between the government and ASUU in 2009, the realities then were radically different from the ones now. The one revised under the last administration is also far from being implemented, unfortunately. The lesson here is that, time was when governments were a continuum. Not anymore. The pain of the university teachers is compounded by the fact that while official cries of shortage of funds and appeals for sacrifice fill the air, functionaries of state are yet to lead the way in that regard. Instead, reckless spending of public funds has continued unabated.

“For long, ASUU members have been bearing burdens that should not be theirs primarily. In societies that place premium on education, the legislature as representatives of the people, civil society, alumni associations, parents, students and the enlightened segment of the populace constantly mobilise themselves to protect the integrity of academic organisations.” More than two years after that humble submission, I have no better way of expressing the perennial predicaments that define much of Nigeria’s education at the tertiary level, unfortunately.

That viewpoint may not be wholly or easily discarded but it’s not all there is to the argument. Truth is, some ASUU leaders, activists and members have given themselves away as people with doubtful, less than exemplary interest in the overall wellness of education at the peak. There’re many stories of anti-social behaviours amongst them which validate this worrying image. But then, to casually dismiss the agitations of the dons would be simplistic, diversionary and defeatist. To ignore the insincerity, nonchalance, and outright irresponsibility of successive governments in the issues that have bedevilled our campuses for too long would even be more destructive. And for the direct and indirect stakeholders to play the ostrich would further worsen the chances of a country that has suffered too much neglect and squandered opportunities to take redemptive and pragmatic steps into a sterling future. We truly can’t afford to permanently label the academic staff of universities as mere strike mongers. Their grievances are well known, even if debatable, many of which have since assumed protracted proportions. Insufficient funding. Inadequate, depreciating infrastructure including libraries, laboratories, classrooms, worker and student accommodation and other facilities that are central to healthy teaching and learning. Delay in the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement which has virtually stagnated staff remunerations. (Government’s unilateral award of 25 to 35 percent increase of salaries some months ago fell short of the principle of collective bargaining and added to the pentup anger and distrust that characterise much of the relationship between the university workers and their employers). The failure of

It reads: “I am not too sure if ASUU has properly articulated its positions to the satisfaction of the other critical stakeholders, especially students, parents, guardians and the rest publics but, at the heart of the agitations, in my view, is the soul of public universities in Nigeria. Even if some of the methods adopted by the lecturers are faulty, surely, the credibility and desirability of the mission are indisputable. Not too many people are aware that the bulk of the monies in contention is for the revitalisation of the various institutions, which means that individual lecturers will not gain directly from them. What concern can be more noble than that? But for the struggles embarked upon by the past generations of dons, a large percentage

Symbolically and characteristically, there hasn’t been any official reaction to this real or rumoured threat from ASUU. But rather than government people warming up to paint the union black and further undermine its respect in the estimation of Nigerians, efforts should be invested in treating ASUU as their worthy partners.

COSTING THE COUNT

The Delta State government is committed to the good of the people, argues JACKSON EKWUGUM

Like him or not, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori is blazing a new trail in the politics and governance of Delta State. It is a paradigm shift that some powerful interest groups and rent-seekers find unsettling, but it is one that is quietly but steadily changing the narrative in the state for the better. Their foot soldiers, the merchants of falsehood and propaganda have, in recent weeks, been fouling up the political atmosphere with vile propaganda of alleged nonperformance amid huge allocations from the Federation Account. Granted that Delta has earned an unenviable image for fake news, political infamy, and dissembling by political desperadoes seeking attention and relevance, but surely there is a limit to propaganda. It is, therefore, exigent that I address some of the issues here.

Oborevwori’s traducers and the armchair critics frequently chirp about not knowing what has happened to the huge monies that have so far accrued to the state. The innuendo is not lost on this writer or the discerning. My quick response to this question is to ask if they have any proof that Delta State money is missing. In the absence of such, that question is, quite frankly, asinine. Evidence abounds all over the state of how the Oborevwori administration is judiciously utilising the resources of the state.

One of his first actions as Governor was to pay outstanding promotion arrears to serving and retired public officers of the state, a gesture underscoring the recognition of their hard work and dedication. This initiative saw the disbursement of over N5.5 billion to 23,887 public servants, along with the reinstatement and remuneration of promotion arrears for 362 retired officers. The administration is also spent close to N2b on palliatives for its workers to cushion the deleterious effects of the fuel subsidy removal.

Within three months of assuming office, Governor Oborevwori got the entire state agog when he engaged construction giant, Julius Berger, to construct three flyovers and a Cloverleaf Interchange to tackle the perennial problems of traffic congestion in the twin cities of Warri and Effurun. It was a moment of breakthrough for the young administration that got everybody singing Oborevwori’s praises. Elder statesman, Edwin Clark, on behalf of “Warri Boys” applauded the governor “for the great plan you have for the rehabilitation and urban renewal of our hometown, Warri/ Effurun.” Worth N78b, the mega project is a bold, daring, and decisive move that exemplifies Oborevwori’s commitment to excellence. It also portrays him as a promise keeper because in his inaugural address, the Governor had assured Deltans that “Warri, the commercial nerve centre of the state, will be given special attention under this administration.” As I write, the projects are progressing steadily, and the residents of Warri and environs are daily thanking God for the gift of Governor Oborevwori.

Aside from the Warri metropolis, the Oborevwori administration has approved and awarded contracts for the construction/ reconstruction/rehabilitation of 91 roads spread across the 25 local government areas of the state. This figure does not include the scores of inherited uncompleted road projects from the immediate past administration. This is a governor that truly understands that government is a continuum, and deserves accolades for the zeal with which he has completed projects he inherited from his predecessor, ensuring that Deltans get full value for their money. Many of such roads, including the IbusaOkpanam Bye Pass and Emevor-Orogun Road (Phase 1) have been inaugurated. The same goes for massive infrastructural projects at Dennis Osadebey University,

Anwai, Asaba, and Delta State University of Science and Technology, Ozoro.

In the light of the above incontrovertible evidence, it will take someone who is blind or dumb - or both - to say that the government is doing “nothing.” However, when confronted with these facts, these mentally indolent critics become defensive; they claim that these achievements are not enough weighed against the increased FAAC allocation to the state, following the removal of fuel subsidy. Yes, receipts to the state have jumped up but the expected benefits derivable from the increase have been wiped out by inflation caused by the terrible devaluation of the naira. Who does not know that one billion naira today will get you far less than what you will get with it just two years ago?

The cost of governance has skyrocketed, and the amount to construct a kilometre of road or a building today is twice or thrice what it would cost just pre-May 29, 2023. What is the price of cement today compared to 2022? Worse still, the weekly fluctuating fortunes of the naira in the foreign exchange market exposes governments to inevitable but painful contract variations. When the minimum wage was N18,000.00 the lowest paid worker could afford a bag of rice, which sold for N7,500.00. But today with the approved 70,000 minimum wage, the same worker cannot afford the same bag of rice, which at the time of this writing was N95,000.00. Am I to believe that these critics and naysayers do not go to the market or store to buy anything? If we were to ask all the governors, I am convinced they would prefer to be receiving the pre-May 29, 2023, allocations without the floating of the naira and removal of fuel subsidy.

It is preposterous for anybody to castigate Governor Oborevwori for exercising financial responsibility in reducing the state’s debt profile. He deserves plaudits for respecting the state’s obligations to its creditors, and should be commended for being a man of honour and integrity. Indeed, Oborevwori continues to astound many with his approach to governance - an approach anchored on meticulousness, team-building, bold action, and fiscal responsibility. More significantly, he has stamped his leadership style on the governance of the state, a style that is marked by discipline, probity, and zero tolerance for unethical conduct.

I find it disingenuous – and uncharitable - that anybody would attempt to point accusing fingers at Governor Oborevwori for the few security breaches in the state. First, the security crisis in the country is not peculiar to Delta State. From the North East to the South East, South West, and South South, the nation is bedevilled with a myriad of security challenges and, truth be told, the resources and capacity of the security agencies have been stretched to the limit. Secondly, as someone who was well acquainted with the security intricacies in the state before becoming the state’s number one citizen, Oborevwori has the wherewithal and knowhow to tackle them. Indeed, his inside knowledge and behind-the-scenes approach to the security challenges have been very effective in ensuring that Delta State remains relatively peaceful.

Ekwugum is

OKELLO OCULI worries why the African Union did not boycott ’Paris 2024’

OLYMPICS AS GLOBAL MASS EDUCATION

AFRICA OLYMPIC 2063 will almost certainly be continental in geographical spread with ABUJA as the anchor. Difference will be spread out. LAGOS will host WOMEN’S FOOTBALL matches; CASABLANCA will host MEN’S FOORBALL matches; CAPE TOWN will host several water-based sports; KINSHASA will host a CANOE RELAY RACE on the CONGO RIVER; NAIROBI will host ATHELETICS; ADDIS ABABA will host MEN’S MARATHON and STEEPLECHASE. Ethiopia’s legendary hero ABEBE BIKILA shall look down with pleasure.

ALEXANDRIAwill host TABLE TENNIS and BOXING; ALGIERS will host GYMNASTICS (MEN and WOMEN); KIGALI will host AFRICA’s NEW SPORTS as a contribution to that Olympics tradition of creativity.

The OLYMPICS has always been a gigantic and dramatic moment of public education for athletes, their immediate and media audiences. For Africa and peoples of African descent, the theme of affirming their rare humanity and quest for dignity and freedom. Jesse Owen’s exceptional performances in Berlin drove Adolf Hitler to flee from the stadium by demonstrating the superior talents of an African-American, and making nonsense of his claims about the ‘’ARYAN RACE’’ – an ideological poison he had borrowed from India’s caste system.

AT the 1968 Olympics in Mexico, two AfricanAmerican athletes punched the sky with folded fists to affirm the symbol of ‘’BLACK POWER’’ fighting for freedom to bloom from under the brutal geological rocks of American racism. The protest by Carlos and Brown on the medal dais was complements by the explosive triumph of Kipchoge Keino from Kenya in long distance races.

In 1972 John Aki-Bua from Uganda beat a team of World and Olympic record holders in 400 Metres Hurdles event. According to Professor Idris Makward thereby debunking the racist slur that Blacks are leaders in sprint races in which they run like their kith and kin in tropical forests. A hurdles race demanded a combination of brain and brawn which only found in snow climates.

In 1976, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) took the decision that Africa’s competitors would boycott the Montreal Olympics because a team from New Zealand was allowed to participate despite that country’s support for ‘’APARTHEID RACISM’’ in South Africa. Freedom and human dignity for Black people in South Africa must be defended.

It is striking that the African Union –successor to the OAU – did not declare a boycott of ‘’Paris 2024’’ Olympics as a rebuke for France’s annual haul of 500 billion

American Dollars out of 14 former colonies through a a criminal treaty imposed at independence and defended with assassinations and military coups against African leaders that struggled to end it.

‘’Paris 2024 Olympics’’ had many educational merits. One clear message was that Africa takes part in a very limited number of events. Events like Women and Men’s ‘’KEIRIN’ and ‘’OMNIUM’’ events; PISTOL and SOOTING; WATER POLO by men and women; artistic gymnastics under water; artistic diving off boards into water; various inds of Gymnastics ; Lawn Tennis, Ping Pong( or table tennis); Hockey; Golf.

It was a pleasure seeing a 17 years-old Japanese girl combining music with creative body movements to enable her win gold in the new ‘’B-Boy’’ (Break-Dance) event.

A relaxed, almost indifferent Ian Kerr from New Zealand saunter towards a High Jump pit and make a gold-winning jump, crawl out and run away in a self-directed victory run; leaving to the commentator worry about the prospect of a javelin piercing his back.

A surprise Vollyball team from Kenya contested against the current world champion team from Poland. The crowd of spectators cheered each block or spike that they made as they supported an ‘’under-dog’’ Wanyonyi from Kenya defended David Rudisha’s legacy in winning 800 metres run – winning it by a ‘’whisper.’’

‘’We have witnessed History !’’ a commentator when SIFAN HASSAN, a Somali woman running for the Netherlands – won the Marathon. She had, in earlier Olympics won the 5,000 and 10,000 metres races. ‘’What a brilliant woman, a brilliant for athletics’’.

Paris 2204 Olympic was determined to honour women. For the first time the Women’s Marathon was the last item, not the Men’s Marathon. The athletics events was ended with a Women’s 4 x 400 Relay. Botswana shocked all by winning the 200 Metres sprint –usually won by a Jamaican (Usain Bolt) or an American - missed the 4 x400 Men’s Relay by one more step. Their Anchorman, the 200 Metres Gold medalist had lost his mother in May 2024; carrying an incredible gift for her and a nation in a heart wearing pain.

The Olympic Committee must unlock factors where talents of male and female individuals and groups are suppressed by poverty, cultural and religious beliefs. ALGERIA got Gold in Gymnastics from a girl living in France, while Safina Hassan won Olympic Marathon away from her native Somalia.

Prof

Oculi writes from Abuja

Manager, Communications, Government House, Asaba

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA

Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

MUCH ADO ABOUT SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

The problem is not with the form of government - but with the operators

Anon-partisan group of eminent Nigerians, ‘The Patriots’, recently urged President Bola Tinubu to convene a National Constituent Assembly to produce “a people’s democratic constitution” for the country. Led by former Commonwealth SecretaryGeneral, Emeka Anyaoku, the group said Nigeria’s pluralism needed to be properly addressed. “Those pluralistic countries that failed to address their basic challenge of pluralism through federal constitution have ended up disintegrating. Examples of that are Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. And here in Africa, Sudan,” said Anyaoku after their meeting with Tinubu. “And we put some proposals to the president and urged him to send an executive bill to the National Assembly; a bill that will call for two essential measures. One, the convening of a National Constituent Assembly to be mandated to produce a new draft constitution.”

Meanwhile, in a repeat of what happened in 2018 when a bill sponsored by 71 members to amend the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria to reintroduce the parliamentary system of government passed a second reading in the House

conferences that produced reports that were never implemented.

While we subscribe to the position that the current structure of Nigeria does not work for the people, changing the system without changing the mindset of the operators will amount to a mere exercise in futility

members recently proposed a similar bill to return the country to the parliamentary system. According to the lawmakers, as opposed to the presidential system of government that we currently practice in Nigeria, the parliamentary system promotes inclusion and collectiveness “which is critical to equality of income distribution and opportunities.” They also rehashed some other advantages that were highlighted in the past.

Without prejudice to the position of different groups on the state of the nation, the challenge of democratic governance in Nigeria has nothing to do with the system of government or the constitution being operated. The real problem is in the disposition of the political actors at all levels. Besides, there is by the ‘The Patriots’ or some lawmakers. The same ideas have been mooted several times in the past. Under the current dispensation, there have been

SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

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On the system of government, we must recall that Nigeria practised parliamentary system from the preindependence era in 1954 until the post-independence coup d’etat of 1966. However, after 13 years of military interregnum, the military government opted to jettison the parliamentary system and adopted a presidential system of government for the Second Republic era which started in 1979. It was modelled after the American presidential system where power is separated among the three arms of government as against the parliamentary system where power is fused between the executive and the legislature. Successive attempts at democratisation have followed the same pattern. In Nigeria today, the real problem is with the operators, not the system. Unlike what obtains in other climes, where people seek elective positions to add value to the system and raise the living standard of their people, our politicians would rather pre-occupy themselves with what they

to blame the corrupt few bent on massive looting of our commonwealth than whatever may be the drawbacks in the presidential system. Many politicians are undermining the system. And as long as greed pervades the political scene, changing the system of government or rewriting the constitution will make no difference.

to position their country for optimal growth and advancement, our own leaders have enthroned a system that is lacking in both transparency and accountability. Thus while we subscribe to the position that the current structure of Nigeria does not work for the people, changing the system without changing the mindset of the operators will amount to a mere exercise in futility. We believe that the major problem we have in the country is the absence of good governance at all levels of government. Merely changing from presidential to parliamentary system or holding another constitutional conference will hardly address that challenge.

Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief(150-200 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (950- 1000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive. com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer Letters to the Editor

LETTERS

ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES: SERVANTS OR MASTERS?

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC-43 BC), renowned statesman, lawyer, philosopher, poet and ‘the greatest forensic orator Rome ever produced’, was right! We have to go into the past to understand today!

The present conundrum in the National Assembly highlights just how far we have departed from many rational definitions of public service. It wasn’t always like this! From the early 1950s, with the commencement of self-rule in the regions and at the centre, parliamentarians were on allowances. This is because there was an element of public service entailed. There were no ludicrous, self-serving perks such as constituency allowance and the absurdity of constituency projects had not yet come into place. This system functioned effectively, and the parliamentarians of that era etched their inputs into the public consciousness. The same thing prevailed at the centre. Since the parliamentarians were part-time, on allowances, most of them did

second jobs in order to augment their incomes. Sadly, we’ve since abandoned this approach, succumbing to a culture of underperformance and increasing irrelevance.

An instructive historical illustration comes from France, after the collapse of the 4th Republic on October 5, 1958. When Charles de Gaulle came in as president of the 5th New Republic in January 1959, one of his executive orders was to proclaim a decree linking every post held by political appointees to a particular post in the civil service. In this way, the Senate President, for example, has the same remuneration as the Permanent Secretary. Today, over 6,000 French civil servants earn more than the president, yet this hasn’t hindered the country’s effectiveness. Instead, de Gaulle’s reforms have fostered a highly regarded public service, attracting top talent and demonstrating that equitable compensation can coexist with strong governance.

Characteristically, Nigeria’s political establishment has headed into the opposite direction, with predictably disastrous results. The consequences are stark: 133 million people (a conservative estimate) mired in multidimensional poverty, soaring inflation and a public service system that rewards self-serving politicians. The humongous perks obtained by subterfuge is clearly not attracting the best and the brightest into public service since the very concept of public service has been distorted and placed on its head, into not-public, but selfservice.

The furore over Nigerian Senators’ emoluments has ignited a fierce debate, exposing the yawning chasm between the political elite and the masses. It’s a tragic reminder that, in our context, public service has become a euphemism for self-enrichment. The fact that these ‘servants of the people’ have perfected the art of siphoning off public funds while their bank

accounts overflow with ill-gotten gains reveals a sinister plot. It’s a twisted game of ‘trickle-down economics’ where the only thing trickling down is the Senators’ tokenistic largesse. One can’t help but ask: what’s the price tag for selling one’s soul?

Unlike the relatively corruption-free First and Second Republics, today’s political system is ravaged by entrenched and widespread corruption. Emoluments have become a tool for buying loyalty and silence, rather than a means of compensating public servants. While previous systems had their flaws, the current excesses have reached catastrophic levels, igniting public outrage and demands for radical reforms. As Nigeria’s democracy teeters on the brink and its economy stagnates, one wonders: what concrete actions are elected representatives taking to alleviate the suffering of the masses?

Abiodun Komolafe, Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State

KEHINDE ONABANJO- IYIOLA

Elevating the Event Experience

When it comes to creating unforgettable events, Kehinde Onabanjo-Iyiola’s name is whispered with admiration. Known for her meticulous attention to detail and a signature touch of elegance, she has earned an enviable reputation in the event planning industry. But who is the woman behind the magic? Vanessa Obioha sat down with the unassuming mastermind behind Finesse Events to uncover what drives her and how she consistently turns dreams into reality.

When you focus on a passionate talent or skill, it pays off more than what you actually studied in university

You may have come across Kehinde Onabanjo-Iyiola, the Chief Executive Officer of Finesse Events, without recognising her. This art of staying behind the scenes is a deliberate strategy by the elegant event planning and management consultant to shift the focus to her work rather than herself. However, that plan has not entirely succeeded. Each time someone experiences her work, they are eager to meet the woman who turns dreams into wonderlands.

“It’s very intentional. You will never find me wearing makeup or being extra in my appearance. I’ve had people express shock when they see me for the first time. They always expect a flamboyant personality like a big Madam or something but I’m not that sort of person,” she said softly on a recent afternoon.

We were at her office in WhiteStone, the premium events hub she opened in 2021 which caters to every need of her client. The majestic building is unmissable and strategically situated along Billings Way, Ikeja.

Since its grand launch, WhiteStone has become the goto event venue for the cream of society who wish to make bold statements with their weddings, birthday parties or even corporate events. The venue, erected on an expansive plot of land, also houses other facilities that provide a comprehensive experience for clients. These include two outdoor cathedrals; the Moonstone Hall, a moderately-sized space for intimate social and corporate events; the Gemstone training/ conference room for corporate meetings and training; Coral Lodge, a hotel accommodation for out-of-town guests which is also open to the public on non-event days; and the Amber Restaurant.

“When I set up this place, I wanted to ensure that every angle, every space, was well maximized, and of course, give you a beautiful experience that will not easily be forgotten,” she revealed.

Onabanjo-Iyiola evinced her penchant for planning events at a younger age. Growing up in Badagry, where she attended ASCON Staff School, Lagos State Model School, Kankon for her primary and secondary school education, respectively, before proceeding to Lagos State University to study law, she recalled how she enjoyed helping her mother organise things and choosing outfits for her sisters. Her mother, whom she described as a hands-on person, was instrumental in shaping her entrepreneurial spirit.

“As a matter of fact, my mom went to school after she had given birth to the five of us. She would drive us from Badagry to her university in Abraka, Delta State. Even as a teacher, she has her side hustles. She taught, baked, and had a supermarket, and we all had to help in running that supermarket. Her enterprising nature kinda rubbed off on all of us.”

This entrepreneurial spirit was evident during her university days. As a member of the Junior Chamber International (JCI), her organisational and planning skills always shone during events. It was no surprise that she took on ushering jobs in those days. Having worked with Elizabeth R, a premium brand in event

a few.

A recurring statement about her services is her exceptional attention to detail and finesse. Onabanjo-Iyiola attributes this to her deep understanding of what her clients want. She noted that some clients are particularly concerned with how their guests are treated, so she pays meticulous attention to every detail, no matter how small.

“Depending on the personality of the client, you have to ensure that you deliver to their expectations.”

There have been occasions when her skills were doubted, but OnabanjoIyiola has always left her clients in awe of her work. For instance, when she was recommended for the coronation of the Ojora of Ijora, Oba Fatai Aromire, some members of the planning committee expressed reservations about giving her the job. However, by the end of the event, they were greatly impressed by her services. From that event, OnabanjoIyiola carved a niche for herself as an event planner who also plans and coordinates coronation ceremonies.

“We’ve done a couple of high-profile events that are in large numbers, say between 15,000 and 20,000. And we did them effortlessly,” she said. “I could recall when we did Governor Makinde’s father’s burial. Then he wasn’t the governor. About 4,000 people attended the occasion and the governor kept telling me about all the praise he received from the event. So when his mother passed, there were about 15,000 guests and everybody wondered how we could manage the crowd and the event but I assured them that it would turn out fine. I remember someone walking into the venue and saying that they can’t think of anyone who could have done it better.”

Such praise is the result of OnabanjoIyiola’s meticulous planning.

“We basically put everything on the table and look at possibilities and requirements. We do a map and designate tasks to people. It’s not like we have not had low fines but I don’t get too emotional about things. I’m always prepared for every situation, so I like to plan ahead. I’ve had situations where I had a miscarriage, and accident attending to last-minute jobs. I’ve learnt on the job how to say no to last-minute jobs.”

focus on a passionate talent or skill, it pays off more than what you actually studied in university. That was why when I graduated from the university I chose to settle in the event planning and management field rather than law.”

Onabanjo-Iyiola started her events company in 2008, initially focusing on event planning and decorations. However, as she progressed, she realised the need to adjust and expand her vision. Today, Finesse Events is known for event decoration, coordination, and management.

“We conceptualise and bring your events and dreams into reality,” she said.

sister’s wedding. With little resources, Onabanjo-Iyiola ensured that the wedding was unforgettable.

“Her wedding gave me five events. Her friends were hooked and that was how I kept getting referrals.”

In the over 10 years since she established her business, OnabanjoIyiola has become one of the most sought-after names in the industry. From starting as a planning and decoration company, her services have expanded to include rentals and a training school. Her clientele typically includes the cream of society, highranked politicians, and royalty. Some of her clients include the Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi, and property magnate Sir Olu Okeowo, to mention

She is also committed to creating events that stand the test of time.

Highlighting some evolving trends in the industry, Onabanjo-Iyiola noted that practitioners are continuously raising the bar.

“And not just in Nigeria, all over the world. So things that you couldn’t have imagined would be happening, like someone having to just buy a land space for their daughter’s wedding, and they will build the space for that, solely for that purpose. They will build that space in three months, and demolish it after the wedding.”

She continued: “The volume at which people spend to have an impeccable event is unbelievable; funds that you know people can use to buy a house that they can live in for years. People are willing to, you know, spend that money. That’s why the entertainment industry is one of the largest industries in the world. And of course, everybody wants to make a statement. People would even borrow to make a statement. For that particular day, people want to create an impression that would linger for so long.”

Onabanjo-Iyiola has always dreamed of becoming a household name in her field. With the number of events she has successfully managed, that dream may already have come true. But the driven lady, who recently turned 40, isn’t stopping there. She subtly hinted at a new project she’s working on, which is expected to be a game-changer in the industry. For now, she remains focused on making a lasting impact in the event industry.

HighLife

Dr. D.K Olukoya: 35 Years in God’s Vineyard

Dr. Daniel Kolawole Olukoya recently celebrated a remarkable 35 years of dedicated ministry. As the founder and General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, Olukoya’s impact extends across continents, a fact recognized by Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun, who took time out to honour his achievements. This celebration highlights not just a career, but a lifetime devoted to spiritual and community transformation.

From his early days in Akure, Ondo State, Olukoya’s path was marked by academic brilliance and a deep-rooted faith. His journey began at St. John’s CAC Primary School and continued through Methodist Boys’ High School in Lagos, where he embraced Christianity. The exceptional academic performance that followed, including a first-class degree in microbiology from the University of Lagos, set the stage for a life dedicated to both science and spiritual guidance.

Few people know that Olukoya’s Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries started humbly in a rented hall in Lagos. What is well-known is that the ministry has since grown into a global phenomenon, boasting branches across Nigeria and internationally, and reflecting Olukoya’s vision of combining faith with practical support.

His scientific accomplishments are equally impressive. Olukoya, the first Nigerian to clone genes, has made groundbreaking contributions in biotechnology. From developing DogiK to pioneering research in molecular biology, his work has set new standards and empowered countless individuals with advanced scientific knowledge.

The duality of Olukoya’s life is evident in his achievements both in ministry and academia. His extensive writing, with over 250 books on spirituality and deliverance, complements his role as a professor of biotechnology. This unique blend of faith and science reflects a life devoted to nurturing both the spirit and the intellect.

As Olukoya celebrates 35 years of ministry, his legacy is a demonstration of transformative leadership. The recognition from Governor Abiodun is not merely ceremonial but a reflection of the deep respect and admiration he commands. Therefore, Olukoya’s enduring commitment to blending faith with tangible progress continues to inspire and uplift those he serves.

with KAYODE ALFRED 08116759807, E-mail: kayflex2@yahoo.com

...Amazing lifestyles

Nigeria’s rich and famous Timehin Adelegbe: Honoured for Community Development

In the heart of Ijebu Owo Kingdom, Hon. Timehin Adelegbe’s influence shines brightly. Recently honoured with the chieftaincy title of Bobagunwa, the man’s journey from a committed representative to a celebrated leader embodies true community service. Adelegbe’s impact is not just recognized but deeply felt by those he serves.

From the beginning of his political career, especially as the honourable representative for Owo/Ose Federal Constituency in Ondo State, Adelegbe’s dedication was evident. His first 100 days saw cash gifts to over 400 leaders. This gesture marked the start of a series of initiatives aimed at improving lives and fostering development in his constituency.

Adelegbe’s empowerment efforts have been nothing short of fabulous. His programs during the COVID-19 pandemic and the distribution of materials to over 2,440 constituents demonstrated how deep a commitment he had made towards lifting people out of poverty.

This is not removed from his commitment to infrastructure development, a recognized cornerstone of Adelegbe’s work. The repair of 250 boreholes and the advancement of rural electrification projects are testaments to his focus on essential services. His contributions in these areas have brought fundamental changes to the people, some of whom did not know that it was possible to improve access to clean water and electricity this quickly.

Meanwhile, education has not been overlooked in Adelegbe’s transformative agenda. The establishment of skill acquisition centres and a modern science laboratory highlights his belief in education as a tool for empowerment. By investing in these areas, he has opened doors for young people to build successful futures.

And what about healthcare? Adelegbe has docked shipments of goodwill in the form of investments in this area. The man has greatly enhanced health facilities, thereby bolstering the well-being of the common man.

Big Banking Executives Lock Horns: The Controversy Unveiled

Adesuwa Ezenwa, a former employee of First Bank of Nigeria, has sparked a significant legal dispute by accusing Oba Otudeko of massive fraud. Ezenwa claims that Otudeko, alongside former CEO Bisi Onasanya, engaged in fraudulent activities during their tenure.

Ezenwa, who was dismissed from First Bank in October 2016, argues that her firing was unjust and made her a scapegoat. She asserts that the bank’s credit disciplinary committee unfairly targeted her for actions she was directed to undertake by her superiors. Her lawsuit seeks to overturn her dismissal and highlight the alleged financial improprieties that occurred during her employment.

The accusations involve billions of naira in unsecured loans granted to companies linked to Otudeko and Onasanya. Ezenwa went into great detail about how these loans, purportedly for various companies, were actually diverted to accounts belonging to Otudeko’s businesses.

Among the key allegations is a loan of approximately N12 billion, camouflaged as funding for the Stallion Group. According to Ezenwa, a significant portion of this money was channelled to Otudeko’s V-TECH LTD and other entities, with substantial sums still outstanding.

Although Otudeko’s business has not been up in the public eye for a while, the same cannot be said for Onasanya. After retiring

from First Bank, the latter made headlines for his successful transition into real estate. His venture, The Address Homes, has reportedly become a prominent player in Nigeria’s luxury property market. The company’s high-end developments in Lagos, such as The Luxuria and Dan and Dan Apartments, have solidified Onasanya’s reputation in the real estate sector. But Ezenwa’s case brings scrutiny to Onasanya’s achievements, casting a shadow over his post-banking career. The ongoing legal battle raises questions about the integrity of the banking sector and the extent of executive responsibility. Onasanya’s real estate success, for example, contrasts sharply with the serious allegations facing him. As the case progresses, it has attracted significant attention from the public and legal communities. Ezenwa’s lawyer has subpoenaed the EFCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria to produce audit reports. Will it end well for all the parties involved? Probably not. But readers better keep their ears fastened to the ground for new revelations.

Who’s Advising Usman Ododo, and What’s He Thinking?

In the most dramatic turn of events possible, Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo has recently approved the appointment of 1,192 additional aides. This move, disclosed by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Folashade Ayoade, comes amidst widespread economic distress in Nigeria. Is Ododo flexing his muscles or is there something more sinister at work?Ododo’s rumoured appointments include a range of positions. Is it a welcome development? That does not seem to be the case considering that such a vast increase in the number of aides has only sparked controversy, with many questioning whether this is a strategic move to consolidate power or a reckless expenditure. The governor’s approach seems reminiscent of the proverb, “A king who does not listen to his subjects’ cries risks losing his kingdom.”

The timing of this decision raises eyebrows. The expenditure on such a large number of aides contrasts sharply with the plight of the average citizen, who faces rising costs of living and limited financial resources. This disparity

suggests, as critics have pointed out that the governor’s priorities may be misaligned with the needs of his constituents.

Speculation abounds regarding the motivations behind Ododo’s expansive appointments. Some wonder if his actions are influenced by the political strategies of his predecessor, Yahaya Bello, who has recently been entangledinlegaltroublesandremainselusivefollowing an EFCC arrest notice. The shadow of Bello’s legacy looms large, casting doubt on whether Ododo is merely continuing a controversial trend or forging his own path.

The decision to approve such a large number of aides has been met with mixed reactions. While some view it as a demonstration of strength and authority, others see it as an extravagant and ill-timed expenditure. The governor’s move is being scrutinized everywhere for its long-term impact on both his administration and the state’s finances.

Ultimately, Ododo is now officially the most controversial governor in Nigeria, quite like his predecessor. But whether his game is a strategic

power play, a misguided attempt to emulate his predecessor, or an ill-advised expenditure—that remains to be seen. But somebody is certainly going to suffer for it.

The Ibiyeomies Celebrate 28 Years Together as a Couple

Pastor David Ibiyeomie and his wife, Pastor Peace Ibiyeomie of Salvation Ministries, are celebrating 28 years of marriage. The couple, who were married in 1996, have built a life together that is admired by many. Their marriage is evidence of their strong bond and shared commitment to both family and ministry.

Pastor David’s journey into ministry began shortly after his wedding, with the founding of Salvation Ministries in Port Harcourt in 1997. From humble beginnings with just over 20 members, the

church has grown into a significant religious institution. Throughout this journey, Pastor Peace has stood by her husband, contributing significantly to the ministry’s success and impact.

Pastor Peace is not only a supportive wife but also a dedicated leader in her own right. She oversees the Word of Life Bible Institute, guiding countless students in their spiritual and personal development. Her passion for helping others extends beyond the church, as she has spearheaded numerous initiatives to support widows, orphans, and other vulnerable groups.

The couple’s shared vision and dedication to service have defined their

life together. While David focuses on expanding the church’s reach through various media and outreach programs, Peace’s work with the needy has touched lives across Nigeria. Together, they have created a powerful legacy of faith and compassion.

Their marriage is rooted in mutual respect and shared goals, an example to many within and beyond their congregation. As they celebrate 28 years together, their relationship continues to inspire those who look up to them. The Ibiyeomies have shown that a marriage grounded in faith and partnership can weather any storm.

Adelegbe

Ibiyeomies

Olukoya

Otudeko

Ododo

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reinstated Philip Shaibu as the Deputy Governor of Edo State. This ruling nullifies his earlier impeachment by the Edo State

Obaseki: Time to Leave Shaibu Alone Has Come

House of Assembly, which had accused him of misconduct. The court’s decision puts Shaibu back in a position that Governor Godwin Obaseki may not be pleased with, but it is legally binding.

Shaibu and Obaseki were once a united front, elected twice on the platforms of both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). However, their relationship soured when Shaibu expressed his intention to succeed Obaseki as governor. This political ambition led to a rift, culminating in Shaibu’s impeachment, which he successfully challenged in court.

The appeal court’s decision to uphold Shaibu’s reinstatement is a clear message that the initial impeachment did not follow due process. Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court had earlier ruled that the impeachment violated constitutional provisions. The appeal court’s affirmation suggests that the legal battle is over, at least for now.

The Dagger in Mutfwang’s Smile

Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State has long been perceived as a gentle leader, a man whose calm demeanour and steady approach earned him a reputation for being more of a lamb than a lion. However, recent events have begun to reshape this perception. In a move that surprised many, Mutfwang suspended four top officials, including two commissioners, a special adviser, and a liaison officer, effective immediately.

Mutfwang’s recent actions suggest that he is far from the docile figure some believed him to be. The suspension of these officials, carried out with little warning, has sent a clear message that he is not a leader to be underestimated or manipulated. It is a stark reminder that beneath the governor’s calm exterior lies a steely resolve, capable of making tough decisions when necessary.

While some may have once seen Mutfwang as a leader who could be easily influenced, this

Bankole Adeoye, the African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security (PAPS), is at a critical juncture as the 2025 elections approach. The man has played a pivotal role in promoting African unity and security since assuming office in March 2021. But there is a challenge before him: it is one that might see his ship of influence overturned by contenders seeking to capitalize on perceived shortcomings in his tenure.

Adeoye’s track record as PAPS Commissioner has been a mix of achievements and disappointments. While he has been

latest move has prompted many to reconsider. The governor has shown that he is willing to wield his authority decisively, even if it means taking actions that might seem at odds with his previously perceived persona.

Yet, despite the firmness in his recent decisions, Mutfwang has not lost sight of his priorities. His primary focus remains on the people of Plateau, and he is determined to ensure that his actions, however forceful they may appear, are ultimately in their best interest. The smile with which he delivers these decisions may be disarming, but it is clear that Mutfwang’s leadership is not to be taken lightly.

In a political landscape where strength is often equated with aggression, Mutfwang’s approach is a reminder that true power can lie in subtlety and strategic action. His ability to balance firmness with a commitment to his people marks him as a leader with a clear vision and the determination to see it through.

Shaibu has repeatedly tried to mend fences with Obaseki, but his attempts have gone unanswered. He revealed that he made 111 calls to the governor, none of which were returned. Despite this, Shaibu remains in his position, leaving Obaseki with little choice but to accept the court’s ruling.

The political tension between the two men raises questions about the future of Edo State’s governance. With the court’s decision, some commentators think that it would be wise for Obaseki to shift his focus from political infighting to the business of governance. After all, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

The people of Edo State are watching closely, hoping that their leaders will put aside personal differences for the greater good. Obaseki and Shaibu have the opportunity to prove that their commitment to the state’s development is stronger than their political rivalry. In the end, good governance should be the priority, as time waits for no one.

Will Bankole Adeoye Be Able to Keep His Position?

a vocal advocate for African solutions to African problems, his tenure has also been marked by some unresolved conflicts and criticisms over the pace of implementing peace and security measures.

These issues have provided ammunition for his rivals, who argue that fresh leadership is needed to tackle the continent’s persistent challenges. But the upcoming elections will undoubtedly test Adeoye’s ability to retain his position. This must be taken into serious consideration by his supporters, even though it is widely acknowledged that his extensive experience, including previous roles as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the AU and UNECA, and Ambassador to Ethiopia, gives him a strong foundation.

The proverb “A man’s reputation is like fine China, easily broken and not easily repaired” may well apply here, as Adeoye’s detractors focus on the gaps in his leadership. Of course, against this focus, his supporters

Between Amosun and Utomi

Former Ogun State governor, Ibikunle Amosun, recently responded to accusations from Professor Pat Utomi with a forceful rebuttal. Utomi had accused Amosun of cancelling a contract during his time as governor, claiming it was an unjust decision. However, Amosun did not take these allegations lightly, responding with a sharp counter that left many wondering about Utomi’s true intentions.

Amosun’s response was no mere denial; it was a detailed account that painted Utomi in a different light. He explained how the Ogun State House of Assembly had already declared Utomi persona non grata before he took office. This decision was based on Utomi’s

questionable business practices, which Amosun had attempted to investigate upon becoming governor.

The former governor revealed that Utomi’s demands for compensation were far from reasonable. Despite being willing to offer a refund, Amosun refused to meet Utomi’s inflated claims, believing that the situation was an attempt to manipulate the state government. In Amosun’s eyes, Utomi’s actions were driven by a sense of entitlement rather than genuine grievances.

Amosun also touched on an incident where Utomi tried to influence him through an award, which he initially declined. Even after attending the event, Amosun stood firm on his decision not to yield to Utomi’s pressure. This interaction only deepened

Abdulkabir Aliu: Setting the Record Straight

Abdulkabir Aliu, the head of Matrix Energy, is in the spotlight again. Once a powerful figure, considered an unofficial godson of former President Muhammadu Buhari, Aliu’s influence isn’t what it used to be. Now, he’s defending his company against allegations of importing substandard petroleum products.

Matrix Energy, founded over 20 years ago, has built a strong reputation in the oil and gas sector. The company operates across 32 states, with significant investments in infrastructure. Aliu insists that Matrix has always adhered to the highest standards, delivering quality products to its customers.

point to his efforts in building synergy across Africa for good governance, durable peace, and sustainable development.

The argument from this side is that Adeoye’s vision for Africa, particularly through initiatives like the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and the African Governance Architecture (AGA), remains crucial for the continent’s future. But critics are quick to ask if these accomplishments are enough to overshadow the criticisms he faces.

The political landscape within the African Union is complex, and regional interests often play a significant role in determining leadership outcomes. Adeoye’s challengers, who come from other regions of the continent, are likely to leverage their local support to unseat him. As the saying goes, “A tree is known by its fruit,” and the upcoming elections will demonstrate whether Adeoye’s contributions have borne sufficient fruit to secure him another term.

Amosun’s resolve, showing that he was not one to be swayed by superficial gestures.

The former governor made it clear that his decisions were based on fairness and accountability. He challenged anyone, including journalists, to examine the construction site in question and judge the validity of Utomi’s claims. For Amosun, this was a matter of principle, and he was determined to maintain his integrity.

As the dust settles on this exchange, one can’t help but wonder about the true motivations behind these public statements. Amosun and Utomi, once distant figures, now find themselves locked in a battle of words that leaves observers questioning who, if any, really holds the moral high ground.

Recent reports, however, paint a different picture. Documents and sources suggest Matrix Energy has been involved in importing low-grade petroleum products. These products, allegedly blended in Malta, have sparked concerns about their quality and safety.

The allegations, at any other time, might have been blown away by the winds of public disinterest. But times are difficult now, and even individuals who know nothing about how the oil sector runs in Nigeria can put on the hat of criticism and flay professionals. Therefore, Aliu and his company have been cast as the unrepentant villains plaguing Nigeria’s oil sector for the longest time.

Aliu strongly denies these allegations. He points to Matrix Energy’s long-standing approval by global companies and national regulators. According to him, the company has never been found wanting, and its products have always met the required specifications.

Despite the controversy, Aliu remains confident in Matrix Energy’s operations. He highlights the company’s capacity to store and distribute large volumes of fuel. He also notes that Matrix has consistently met its customers’ demands, maintaining its status as a trusted brand.

In the end, the question remains: Who should be believed? Aliu’s defence of Matrix Energy is firm, but the shadow of doubt cast by these allegations lingers. As the saying goes, “The truth may be stretched thin, but it never breaks.” Only time will tell where the truth lies in this unfolding drama.

Obaseki

Aliu

Mutfwang

Adeoye

LOUD WHISPERS

TELL US ANOTHER STORY ABOUT JOE AJAERO , NOT TERRORISM

Abeg, this one is impossible to believe. Investigating Joe for terrorism funding of all things to put on this particular hero of democracy. The man get terrorist and they beat him the way they beat him in Imo State the other day? Did you guys see his face after the beating? His eyes were blocked, his lips swollen and big big “koko” all over his face and you think if he had one terrorist, even if it was a female, he would not have unleashed on his assailants. They had to do corrective surgery on his face and the man was only able to drink ogi for months. Till today, to eat Isi Ewu is a problem and you now come and say he is funding terrorists. Mbok, which terrorist abeg, let’s look for something else. If he is just such an irritant, let’s go after him strategically and not with this eaglet strategy. The man can be anything but a terrorist. He runs a labour congress which by all intent and purposes is ineffective, useless and not capable of engaging. You can even see that they cannot even manage to put one strike together. You see that the “boys” who organised the hunger protests did far better than Daddy and his khaki-wearing pantomime group.

With the reported acquisition of the “Beast” which will now be the official presidential car as alleged, the “toys” attached to the Presidency can now be considered as complete. From the luxurious yacht to the new presidential plane and the often reported N1billion presidential cars, I sincerely hope that Mr. President will now settle down and focus. Nigerians, as expected, have been crying blue murder. They claim insensitivity, especially with the hard times we are all going through, and on the back of the recently concluded hunger protests. Going ahead with these expenditures, especially on “things” like this can, to say the least, be termed as “funny.” But I beg to differ. Let me give you guys a small story.

I used to work with an asset management company. The company was in debt and owed staff salaries. Even powering the generators was a problem. I was owed eight months’ salary. Life was dire and we didn’t look forward to going to work because creditors would come from

Me, I no support this one o. Leave the man alone o and pursue Yahaya Bello abeg. His colleagues have kuku threatened the mother of all strikes if you go ahead with this arrest and some of us will join o.

This whole thing with Joe is beginning to look like those days of military regime where all sorts of charges will just be put on someone and before you know it, na Gashau be that o. They will now promulgate one decree and backdate it just like that.

Please, my dear police people, kindly leave this matter. That man that was so beaten up in Imo State does not even have one single strength for terrorism, talk less of funding it. Can someone who dresses in worn-out ankara and faded khaki with Cortina shoes fund terrorism? Abi, is terrorism akara business that you can fund with a loan from People’s Bank? Please let’s get busy abeg because it’s looking like police no too get work, hence this kind of assignment. Na wa.

IG EGBETOKUN: IT DIDN’T HAPPEN TO ME

I have been hearing a particular statement everywhere and must confess that the thing annoys me to no end. The statement is: “Immediately I

everywhere and with everything to get their money. One day, one creditor came with the head of the Police Bomb Squad to recover his money. Even me, I laughed at that one. When the policeman showed me his ID Card and I saw Bomb Squad, I could not help but laugh even in my predicament. But wait, our chairman was living the life o. Dressing like Tupac, driving “machines” and funding Afrobeat stars whose lives we all knew can be very hedonistic in style. Here we were, finding it very difficult to even open our doors, owing cleaners and with a debt portfolio over N4billion, and here was our oga, driving into the office in a new Bentley he just bought, with some beautiful hot ladies hanging on both sides of his arms, dressed to the nines like a Wall Street banker. One day, I could not hold it again and walked up to him. Oga, what is happening na, you are owing me eight months’ salary, we cannot pay staff, no petty cash and our creditors are

met Tinubu, my life just changed.”

A lot of people, from politicians, judges, student leaders, market women and now our esteemed IG of police have made the statement. At a recent book launch, he was quoted to have said that his life changed 24 hours immediately when he met with Tinubu and it is true, because see him today as the Number One policeman in the country after serving Tinubu when that one was Governor of Lagos.

Now, you would want to start asking me why the statement is annoying to me. Well, me too have met Tinubu and my life did not change anything o. In fact, LASTMA even towed my car as I was coming out of his house. Yes na, it was the Minister of Finance Wale Edun that took me there. I have said this story so many times that the thing is now tasteless in my mouth abeg. Mr. Edun was able to secure an appointment with Mr. Tinubu, who at that time was jobless. He was just a Party Leader and Buhari was doing his best to limit his influence. So, I went with a book plan and met with Oga in his Bourdillon house. His son, Seyi, was there. My brothers Tunde

coming at us with everything, including juju and here you are walking around like a peacock all over the place. The man sat me down and said, “Edgar, there is a difference between me and the company. The company is owing, I am not. The company is a limited liability company and as such there is a Chinese wall between me and the company. See, I am used to a certain lifestyle and I cannot reduce it because the company is owing, I am sorry. I have worked hard enough to reach where I am and will not deny myself anything because the company is owing. I am not the company, my brother, thank you.”

So Sowore, NLC, hunger strikers, Onipanu Newspaper Readers Association, Rufai Oseni and the rest of you, I really do hope that with this my little explanation, I have convinced and not confused you as to the reason why these “toys” have been acquired despite our current dire economic situation. Tinubu is not Nigeria mbok. Let the man enjoy. It is his time. Thank you. Kai!

under Ambode. Tunji’s life too has changed o- see his wife VC, see him in Abuja and see me still in Shomolu. I met the great man o, I even shook his hands and told him my plans. He loved the plan and handed me over to Tunde and that was how it ended. Well, my life did not change anything o. I went back to Shomolu empty-handed and wondered if my prophet did not do the work well. The soap I bought, the Psalms I read, the “ebo” I dropped at the Igbo Igunnu junction at Bariga and the sex starvation for five days that I had to endure — and guys you know what that means for me — all came to naught. My life did not change; in fact, it got worse after the meeting. My own must be different.

See this one now. From just an ordinary policeman wey dey stand under sun and be asking for particulars – one meeting and he don become Aide-deCamp, get PhD and now is IG of Police, and me after the same meeting, I am waking up at 4a.m. to be writing this column so that Davidson, my Editor will not shout at me.

You see why I am supporting VDM in his war against all these fake prophets who are selling all sorts of water.

Tinubu

Ajaero

Egbetokun

me” water I buy from am o and he no work. IG Egbetokun, please who is your prophet or is it Alfa?

NNPCL: THE CONFUSION THEREIN

I really do not envy my brother Femi Soneye. Femi is the spokesperson of this behemoth that seems to be mired in confusion. The other day, I met up with him in his beautiful office to discuss issues. That time, it was their brouhaha with Dangote and their push towards CNG that was the crux of the discussion. As he spoke, I looked intently into his eyes and I could see sadness. It was like the eyes were begging me to calm down. It was surreal because the eyes and mouth were not connected. The eyes were pleading and the mouth was strong and confident, giving me all the official narratives that have confused and annoyed Nigerians to the extent that today NNPC is simply the most annoying brand in the system.

Mbok, which one is all these semantics about subsidy? It’s like they have employed a professor of semantics to help them. There is no English word that they have not used to describe this phenomenon. From shortfall to excess to hole, to bridge, all without the word subsidy to explain what is going on. All because Baba has opened his mouth to say – “Subsidy is gone”, just before he fell on the Land Rover during the parade.

As if all that is not enough, we just woke up to dividends in trillions and the movement to pay the – whatever they have called it- just like that.

Mbok, is NNPC a private company, a government parastatal, an agency of government, a department in the Presidency or a local government council? What exactly is this NNPC o? if we do not define it, we will not make any headway o.

Finally, they have now come to say that rain, lightning, storms and earthquakes are the cause of the recent petrol scarcity. This one off me as they say in Shomolu. Rain and lightning just started happening in Tinubu’s Nigeria o. We have not had all these natural occurrences ever since o and that is why fuel has been free flowing till now.

The point is that all of these have culminated in making NNPCL the most inefficient brand in Nigeria today. You see when the lies, and halftruths are too much, you start to even dribble yourselves and then it gets very confusing and your spokesman will start having begging eyes because even he himself don confuse. NNPCL really need deliverance, I tell you. A whole one-month prayer and fasting so that they can first even remove that MD so that we can all see road. Tiring. Kai.

SAMSON SIASIA: BACK FROM THE RAIN

Is it five years already? This great football tactician and legendary player who had played at the highest levels in international soccer has served his fiveyear ban from football and Nigerians being who they are, are celebrating with him. Please, guys, this was not an acquittal or a wrongful judgment corrected or a pardon. This was a man serving out his time. This should be a time for sober reflection and not celebrations. The man was banned first for life (?) and then got reduced in appeal to five years and he has served the punishment and is now free. This is time for everybody to pull not only his ears but also every Nigerian ear on the need for ethics in whatever or where we find ourselves. Ethics, transparency, due process and all of those values have found their way out of our “doings” and this is why we can be sending celebratory messages

to a man after serving penance for such a grave offence with international connotations. My brother, I will not congratulate you but will say to you succinctly that I hope you have used these five years in sober reflection and have come out with a better determination to do the right thing at all times. So, the danger of these congratulatory messages is

that they will start to make you feel like you did something right. Abeg my brother, just quietly slip into whatever job you get and let us hear word. Nothing to celebrate here abeg. Thank you.

THE ADELEKES’ FAMILY REUNION

This is an ongoing Reality TV series pulling in more viewers than even

YUSUPH OLANIYONU’S DREADED JOURNEY

As a diagnosed hypochondriac, this story killed me. At 55, the fear for my health coupled with the “rubbish” we have as healthcare delivery systems makes my life a continuous journey in fear. The deaths that hit me about four years ago — my wife, mother, father-in-law, and two mothers-in-law — all contributed to making mortality stare me in the face. So, when I stumbled on my brother’s story, my worst nightmare hit me. How could someone drive into a hospital by himself for a routine procedure scheduled to last for just 30 minutes after which he would go back home and make love to his wife to test if the “thing” is still working, only to end up fighting for his life all over the world with his health destroyed and millions of naira spent to regain a fraction of what used to be his life?

As I read this thing, I was numb. The doctors had made major mistakes, destroying organs, leading to loss of movement, brain scourging, vitals destroyed and life almost taken from him. Oh my God! A r outine procedure oooo that should never have even taken place in hindsight because as he said, the thing could have been sorted by oral treatment o. My people, you see why the mortality rate is now 55 years of age. It is no longer us dying from debilitating illness but our

of our doctors you will scream. If my brother did not have the kind of support he had which led him to as far as Egypt, we would all be singing another song o. Nothing do am o. He just went for a routine checkup o and they said they saw the beginning of something, just cut it off o. that was it o. Today, the once healthy and vibrant Yusuph that I have interacted with over time is now struggling and fighting. Let me thank his wonderful family, especially his wife who according to him has been very dili gent, and his son who has dropped everything to be by his side. Let me also thank Bukola Saraki for standing firmly by his friend and so many others who have stood by him because without them and Almighty God... If na me this kind thing happen to, na to sing “till we meet again for Shomolu ooo,” abi, where will one get the kind of funds needed to literally buy back life due to the negligence of some very errant doctors who will still be arrogant as they cut your life into pieces?

This further confirms my assertion that any Nigerian above 55 who falls sick in Nigeria today with anything outside of malaria or headache is facing certain death. If you earn less than N20m per annum, write your will now o, because if

the notorious Big Brother Nigeria that I am so happy to announce is losing viewers daily. The Adelekes are a family coming out of sleepy Osun State but with tentacles all over the world. It is headed by a calm and soft-spoken patriarch who took over from the egregious and stupendously popular brother Isiaka who was known as “serubawon.” Serubawon was the magically powerful Governor of Osun, I think he was also a Senator who took over the political mantle from their father who was immensely popular and influential in the politics of yore.

Today, the family is led by the demure businessman who is reputed to be a billionaire with interests all over the economy. They also have the extremely popular Governor Adeleke who is dancing himself into political immortality. We are not sure if he is a Christian or Muslim but whatever he is, he is bringing a lot of joy and happiness to Nigerians with his happy-go-lucky style, his zest for fun and his big tummy. They also have David Adeleke better known as Davido. Davido is a global megastar whose musical and sexual prowess have put the family on the global map. With a huge followership, Davido who counts his social media followership in the millions is simply the star and main draw of this reality series. His wife Chioma, the exquisitely beautiful young lass who has skin tougher than a crocodile is also a main draw. She has stood by her man through it all – sexual escapades, sex tapes, unclaimed children, legal wars on patrimony and every other thing you want to count. The family also has some lesser-known mortals like B-Red whose only claim to fame is that he is an Adeleke and will be showing off the clothes he is wearing and their costs. He has released some songs that are played in dungeons in Shomolu, making him not even rated as a serious musician but he is an Adeleke and that is all that matters. Last week, the Adelekes pooled the whole world into their white garment church where Governor Adeleke thrilled us with his masterful dance step, leaving Davido who looked like he hadn’t had his shot of whatever he takes that day standing and mopping like a disused tissue paper. Whether you like it or not, the Adelekes are a Nigerian phenomenon and we remain very thankful for the role they play in our lives. Big Brother Nigeria please shift, it’s time for the Adelekes abeg. Well done.

PORN AND THE NIGERIAN INVESTOR

During the week, reports hit the waves that hackers had thrown porn into the discussions as the Minister of Finance and other top guns were trying to sell the $500m Nigerian Bond to prospective investors. I am very sure that whoever did it must have been bored with the very austere technical and the half-truths and bare-faced lies they would have been fed that he decided to enliven the whole thing by throwing porn into the equation.

This just shows the tardiness of it all. You are doing that kind of engagement and you don’t secure it, ensure proper registration and firewall the whole thing. You leave it vulnerable to attack and true true, the people enter and drop porn. My sadness was that I was not in attendance. You know I like porn. Please does anyone know who attended to tell me what kind of porn that was thrown in? Was it Mexican or amateur, or ebony or BDSM? Mbok, I am very curious, what type o? Kai!

Olaniyonu

Chris Uba Stages a Comeback

“When Life gives you a second chance, give it your best shot.’’

It seems God is giving Chris Uba, the Anambra State-born former political godfather another chance to rebuild his collapsed political career.

To say that Providence has smiled at him early in life is stating the obvious. He is one of those politicians who have enjoyed tremendously since the beginning of the fourth republic. At the time former President Olusegun Obasanjo held sway inside the Aso Villa, Uba also held sway as a godfather in Anambra. He was loved by many and had a large following, especially because he had so much money to throw around.

He was a kingmaker, the ultimate ‘cabal’, he was the law himself. Many dreaded him; his words were law, and when he sneezed, the whole state caught a cold. Many worshipped the ground he stepped on. He reportedly had the backing of the president. So nobody wanted to offend him. If you doubt how powerful he was, ask the former governor of Anambra, Chris Ngige. He pulled what has been described as a civilian ‘coup’ against Ngige in 2003. He made many politically and at the same time, marred the political career of others.

He held on to political power until the late Ifeanyi Ubah singlehandedly broke his stronghold in some parts of the state, particularly in the Anambra South Senatorial district, where he gave him a run for his money by crashing his winning streak.

However, this is no longer news! Society Watch gathered that following the death of Ubah, Uba is now strategising his chequered political career and is likely to throw his cap into the ring for the by-election into the senatorial district that would soon be announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The question on the lips of many is: Will he make good use of his chance this time around?

Although he may be gone, his legacy remains etched in the hearts of those whose lives he touched. In a world where fleeting trends and transient fame often dominate, the memory of HOW Foundation’s founder, Herbert Wigwe, shines with a radiant and enduring brilliance, defying the passage of time.

On Thursday, August 15, friends, family, and admirers gathered to commemorate what would have been Wigwe’s birthday, a day that transcended mere remembrance to become a powerful tribute to a visionary leader whose influence continues to ripple through countless lives.

Wigwe was not just a leader; he was a guiding light of hope and inspiration. He dedicated his life to uplifting communities and empowering individuals to reach their fullest potential. His approach was characterised by an unwavering belief in the human spirit; an ethos that encouraged many to dream bigger and strive harder.

The celebration, held in various locations around the globe, was a tribute to the farreaching impact of his works. Stories of Wigwe’s kindness and wisdom echoed through the air, while friends shared anecdotes that illustrated his profound ability to connect with people from all walks of life, each tale a thread woven into his rich legacy.

The atmosphere during the celebrations was charged with emotion. Candles flickered in remembrance, and heartfelt speeches resonated with gratitude for the values the late Access Bank head Honcho instilled in those fortunate enough to know him. His commitment to education, social justice, and community service was highlighted as pillars of his mission, inspiring many to carry forward his vision.

As friends raised glasses in a toast, they did not merely celebrate a life lived; they honoured a philosophy, a call to action that encourages compassion, resilience, and relentless pursuit of one’s dreams. In doing so, they reaffirmed their

Gesture

commitment to uphold the values Wigwe lived for, ensuring that his impact will resonate for generations to come.

Though Wigwe may no longer walk among us, his spirit endures in the dreams he nurtured and the lives he transformed. The HOW Foundation continues to thrive, driven by the principles he laid down, a living testimony to a man whose vision extended far beyond himself.

reckon with in the Nigerian socio-political and economic terrain.

Dr. Adedeji Adeleke was a quiet man minding his business and making cool money. But that was until his son, the Afrobeats singer, Davido decided to expose him. Davido literally ‘launched’ his father into the limelight when he recorded his hit song, Omo Baba Olowo. Since then, there has been no hiding place for the man who loathes publicity.

What many didn’t know about the man was that he became a member of the exclusive class of the richest men in Nigeria long before his son was born. He founded his company, Pacific Holdings in the early 80s, when he was barely 30. The company has interests in agriculture, real estate, oil and gas, among others. It had the biggest poultry farms in Ede and its environs when it was established back then.

Also, he was born with a silver spoon, but he worked hard to sustain and maintain his father’s legacy and even encouraged his siblings to do the same. Since their father, the late Ayoola Raji Adeleke, the Balogun of Ede and one-time

of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, joined the saints a few years ago, he has held the family together and is a good role model among his siblings.

Today, the erudite scholar and reputed oil and real estate magnate remains a strong force to

Though quiet, the Osun State-born magnate loves life and the good things that come with it, after all, money is meant to be enjoyed. He owns a Bombardier Challenger 605 Business jet and a Bombardier Global Express 6000 for both classic luxury. He also owns some of the most expensive and most beautiful state-of-the-art cars.

Adedeji, however, understands the art of giving; he is a believer in the quote by the late Jamaican Reggae singer Bob Marley, which says, “The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.”

The finance graduate from Western Kentucky University, US last Sunday, shocked many across the nation with his wondrous donation of N1billion to the Centenary Endowment Fund of the Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) Church. The donation, as gathered, attracted deafening applause from many present at the venue of the event. They include state governors, top politicians, businessmen, and net-worth individuals, among several others.

Ex-First Bank Boss, Bisi Onasanya, Celebrates at 63

“Great achievements are born from audacious dreams combined with unwavering perseverance,’’ so says an anonymous quote.

Former member of the House of Representatives, Shina Peller, has proven this quote right. As in the past, he has dared where many of his age-mates fear to tread and come out triumphantly. Perhaps, this has given him more audacity and courage to dream bigger.

Society Watch gathered that the man, who is also a big name in the entertainment industry, is rumoured to be eyeing the governorship position in 2027. Although, according to our source, the ambition is still being discussed in whispers and hushed tones.

Those who have knowledge of the matter revealed that he is banking on his close rapport with the incumbent governor, Seyi Makinde

Imagine you are writing the biography of an enigma in the mould of Bisi Onasanya, former Group Managing Director/ CEO, of First Bank of Nigeria. Also, imagine you are producing the biopic of this intellectual who is the Chairman of The Address Homes.

Certainly, it will require a lot of effort to produce a compelling work on him because only the deep can call to the deep to paraphrase the words of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

If you are in doubt, take a cursory look at the man who qualified as a Chartered Accountant at 22! Interestingly, this marked the evidence that he would make a name for himself in the banking industry.

Last Sunday, August 18, the banking guru turned 63. Expectedly, his admirers celebrated the man who is known as Mr. Integrity.

Reputed for his humility and quietude, Onasanya had hoped to mark the occasion without much fanfare but as a figure with a

and other influential figures in the state to turn his dream into reality.

Many would recall Peller recently dumped the All Progressives Congress, APC after he was denied the slot to represent the party at the senate in 2023.

A former member of the Green Chamber, Pellet was elected on the platform of the APC in 2019 to represent Iseyin/ Itesiwaju/Iwajowa/Kajola Federal Constituency. He, however, dumped the party in 2023 to secure the Oyo North Senatorial ticket of the Accord Party. But he lost the general election to the candidate of the APC, Fatai Buhari. However, some political watchers in the state say that he has lots of Hercules tasks to surmount to achieve his new ambition.

towering presence in finance, banking and real estate sectors, it was inevitable that those whose lives he has touched would seize the opportunity to celebrate him. His friends penned beautiful tributes for the man, who is also fondly called the Father of the modern first bank. Mike Dada, a lawyer and techpreneur, the Executive Producer of the All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, was one of the people who celebrated Onasanya.

He wrote, “Happy birthday to an exceptional leader and Patron of Music and Arts for youth development. On this special day, we celebrate his tireless dedication to promoting African music and culture through his AFRIMA Patron role. His passion and commitment to empowering artists and showcasing the continent’s rich talent have made a lasting impact. May this new year bring him joy, fulfilment, and continued success.”

The birthday gathering, though informal, was a testament to the deep respect and admiration he commands. Colleagues from his illustrious banking career, where he served as the GMD of First Bank from 2009 to 2015 impactful and illustrious service, joined forces with business partners, and families to felicitate with a man many regard as a beacon of integrity, selflessness, kindness and professionalism.

The dignitaries who attended the event included Akin Fanimokan, a non-executive Director and former Chief Operating Officer of First Bank; Otunba Yemi Lawal, real estate guru and the Chairman of Seagul Properties; former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun and her husband, Niyi Adeosun; and Mr Dayo Adeola, Managing Director, Touchdown travels, Onasanya’s childhood friend.

Others are Mrs Oladunjoye, National Commissioner, National Population Commission; and Steve Ayorinde, a former Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State.

Wigwe

Adeleke

Uba

Onasanya

Senator

ARTS & REVIEW ARTS &

A PUBLICATION

Sonic Odyssey that Defies Time and Convention

James Eze’s latest EP, a multi-octave blend of genres and emotions, transports listeners on a deeply personal and nostalgically relatable aural adventure. Okechukwu Uwaezuoke

Perhaps nothing in recent memory more exemplifies the notion that popular music has come full circle than Exhale, James Eze’s recently surprise-released EP on Spotify. It is therefore safe to affirm that it’s one of the closest things to riding nostalgic waves from the past. Take this writer’s word for it: It’s the ultimate time-travelling experience compacted into a single amazing listening session!

A veritable sonic rebel, this genre-bending EP refuses to be pigeonholed and should take the music stratosphere by storm with its audacious mix of local folk tunes, hip-hop, and light rock, shape-shifting and blending styles with effortless swagger.

This is, therefore, one good rea- son why the average dewy-eyed listener, counting on the poet- musician’s guarantee that “there’s no monotony whatsoever,” some- times gets the feeling of being aurally transported to the groovy decade of the 1970s and 1980s. Well, maybe this sonic blast from the past isn’t quite a nostalgia trip for Grandpa’s playlist or one that requires the listener to put on bell-bottom trousers. Yet, it’s still a unique blend of retro vibes and modern flair that invokes memories of a bygone period, albeit without the cassette tapes.

Now here’s the ultimate nonsequitur. James Eze, a straight- laced—in this reviewer’s opinion—former journalist, banker, and government official, has emerged as an unexpected rapper! Isn’t it amazing how, with a staid exterior, he effortlessly morphs into a mic-dropping virtuoso and spits bars like Phyno in the track “Mama.”? Who knew the former Anambra State governor’s chief press secretary and speech writer had such sick flows and velvety vocals hidden beneath his suit and tie? Forget the boardroom; this man has the stage locked down!

As hit-worthy as a track can aspire to be, even by the standards of the local music industry, the artist’s tribute to his mother and mothers everywhere in “Mama” (ft. Masthamind) can put the griots of the Sahel to shame. Here indeed is one track—sung entirely in Igbo and appropriately laced with proverbs—that is bound to amass him accolades. Additionally, without having to gild the lily, it is guaranteed to launch this musical late bloomer on the trajectory for Movingstardom. on to the track “Fire,” this synth-soul masterpiece unravels a garland of feelings into a dance floor anthem, dedicated to the one who sets his soul ablaze. The sultry serenade balances ethereal

and psychedelic

serenade is a masterclass in sentimental sincerity, in which his refined emotions overflow into sublime lyrics and soulful chants as he pleads his case on a bended knee:

I am down on my knees

I’m begging you please

Babylet’sheatupthestreets

No room for defeat

Wegetbrightfuture

Babycan’tyouseethepicture?

Theimageinmyhead

You’retherosesinmybed

WhenIlookinyoureyes

I see paradise

With every beat, his passion crescendos:

I love you love you

Let me love you love you

This stream of euphonious phrases is, like a similarly-themed track titled “Flesh of My Flesh” (ft. Zani), an unapologetic ode to love, where Eze’s heart beats on his sleeve and his words paint a picture of unalloyed devotion.

In “Shege” (ft. Kassy), Eze, as a street poet-prophet,drags his audi- ence into his world of grief and purpose with each verse. His lyrics evoke vivid images, soundtrack- ing their suffering and resilience. Despite the long, difficult journey, morning arrives, and truth wins. They may have lost far too many people, but hope remains, like a ray of light in the darkness. Born in the midst of the war’s upheaval, he apparently must have experi- enced his fair share of its horrors, but he stands tall, refusing to be silenced by corruption. In a world that does not forgive, he refuses to give up, his voice a loud cry, until the next generation is liberated.

The same haunting narrative thread resumes in “Make the World a Better Place” (ft. Masthamind), constructing a sonic med- ley that mirrors the apocalyptic echoes of these times. The soothing melody masks the tension of the chorus:

I’ve been singing it from dusk to dawn

Thatthegameneedschanging

Humanityhaslostitssoul

And we are no more living

Come a little closer, lend me yourhand

Let’s make our world a better place

Abetter place, a better place.

Meanwhile, there is a curious thing about this multi-octave EP—no single mood overstays its welcome! Each track is expertly or- chestrated to energise, with Eze’s smooth, honey-toned love jams providing a sweet escape from his sharp, polemical rants. Yet beneath the rough exterior of those rants seethes a deeply introspective undercurrent.

From Amadeus Singers, a Pitch-Perfect Mid-year Treat

Okechukwu Uwaezuoke

Except for the intermission, which featured the talented young instrumentalists of the Mid-Year Concert was a truly earning its place among the

accompaniment to set the tone for a delightful

Raging

Lady Ugochi Osinigwe singing a solo at the concert

The Amadeus Singers performing one of the indigenous anthems at the concert

Emmanuel Ndogo

Yinka Olatunbosun

IN THE ARENA

Disquiet in Police over IG’s Tenure

With the retirement of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun due for September 4, there is disquiet within the Force over growing indications that he could benefit from the new Police Act Amendment Bill, which fixes the tenure of IG for four years, Wale Igbintade writes

Will the Inspector-General of Police (IG), Kayode Egbetokun, benefit from the new term limit of four years set by the new Police Act Amendment Bill?

This is the question agitating the minds of senior police officers at the Louis Edet House, Headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja.

Recall that the two chambers of the National Assembly recently passed a bill which pegs the tenure of the IG at four years, irrespective of the age of the occupier of the office and his length of service.

This decision of the lawmakers followed the amendment of the Police Act of 2020, sequel to a letter transmitted to the upper chamber by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Like every other request by the president, the bill which expeditiously scaled second and third readings during plenary, was passed by lawmakers in both green and red chambers at separate sittings.

The incumbent IG, Egbetokun, is due for retirement on September 4, when he would have attained the mandatory 60 years of age stipulated in the public service rules.

However, the bill, if signed into law by President Bola Tinubu before September 4, could grant the IG additional three years to complete the four-year tenure, having been appointed in 2023

Former President Muhammadu Buhari had on September 17, 2020 assented to the Nigeria Police Act, 2020, which repealed the Police Act, 2004.

Egbetokun was appointed by Tinubu in June 2023. In line with Section 18(8) of the Police Act 2020, the IG, who was born on September 4, 1964, is supposed to retire in September 2024 at the age of 60.

Just like in civil service, where the retirement age for public service officials is 60 years or after 35 years in service whichever comes first, the Police Act, signed by President Buhari recently, also pegs the retirement age of police officers at 60 years of age or 35 years of service.

Specifically, Section 18(8) of the new Act states: “Every police officer shall, on recruitment or appointment, serve in the Nigeria Police Force for 35 years or until the age of 60 years, whichever is earlier.”

By law, the police chief is appointed by the president on the “advice” of the Police Council.

The council is chaired by the president and has the 36 state governors, Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the IG as members.

But while the Police Act pegs the retirement age of police officers at 60 years of age or 35 years of service, another section of the bill also pegs the tenure of the IG at four years.

The controversial amendment, which is generating outrage, was the inclusion of Section 18(8A) that gives IGs special civil service rights and enforces Section 7 of the Act.

Part III, Section 7 (6) of the Act, which repealed the Police Act Cap. P19, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, prescribed a four-year single tenure for a person appointed to the office of the IG subject to the provisions of clause 18 (8).

But Section 18(8A) of the Nigeria Police Act 2020 was amended as follows: “Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (8) of this section, any person appointed to the office of Inspector-General of Police shall remain in office until the end of the term stipulated in the letter of appointment in line with the provisions of Section 7(6) of this Act.”

The implication is that no matter the age of a police officer or the number of years he or she has put in service, once the officer is appointed as IG, the officer must spend four years in of-

If the bill is assented to by President Tinubu, Egbetokun could stay in office until June 2027 unless removed by the president.

Before the latest amendment that makes it mandatory for the IG to complete a four-year tenure from the date of his appointment, irrespective of his age or length of service, a former IG had attempted to exploit Section 7 of the Police Act to remain in office for four years but failed because of the 60 retirement age or 35 years of service in the public service rules.

Many see the passage of the bill just less than four years after the former President Buhari’s administration amended the same Act to repeal the Police Act of 2004 as another selfish move by the ruling class to please themselves instead of building strong institutions.

For instance, in 2021, the former IG, Mohammed Adamu, argued in a case at the Federal High Court that the new Nigeria Police Act gave him a four-year tenure that would only lapse in 2024. According to him, his tenure should lapse in 2023 if counted from 2019, when he was appointed, or in 2024 if counted from 2020, when the new Nigeria Police Act came into force.

Former President Buhari gave Adamu a three-month tenure extension but later fired him before the expiration of the extension.

Usman Alkali Baba who succeeded Adamu,

POLITICAL NOTES

also had his tenure extended by Buhari in March 2023 but was later removed by President Tinubu when he assumed office.

However, human rights lawyers and civil society groups have kicked against Egbetokun enjoying the new term limit, given his obsession with haunting journalists under the pretext of enforcing the Cybercrime Act, while bandits and kidnappers hold sway in the country, killing, kidnapping Nigerians in their homes and on the highways and also collecting levies from farmers in the North for them to have access to their farms.

Other analysts have condemned the frequent amendments to the country’s laws to satisfy the aspirations of those in the corridor of power, describing it as unhealthy for democracy.

“Our democracy has become weak because the police, which are supposed to be loyal to the constitution and the people, are being controlled by powerful individuals in government. Robust institutions are essential for a healthy democracy, drawing parallels to the United States, where strong institutions and active citizens’ participation contribute to economic dominance,” Edegbai Ohimai stated.

Others have also wondered why Deputy Inspectors General of Police (DIGs), Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs), Commissioners of Police and other officers should be retired when they attain the 60 years or 35 years in service while the IG, who is their senior, is given automatic four-year tenure, which is contrary to public service rules.

For instance, some members of the Force management team who have already attained the mandatory age of 60 years or 35 years in service, have proceeded on pre-retirement leave. One of them is the Force Secretary, Mrs. Yetunde Longe, who retired as an Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) after clocking 60 years in service.

A retired AIG who did not want his name told THISDAY that: “It is strange that DIGs, AIGs, CPs and other officers who are juniors to IGs in ranks and age are being retired in droves while the IGs remain in office four years irrespective of his age when he was appointed. This is completely unfair.

“For me, it is not logical for the IG beyond the age of four years, while his juniors who have attained 60 years of age or have put in 35 years in service proceed on retirement simply because he is favoured by the president.”

Benjamin Kalu’s Self-glorification

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has come under fire forboastingthatitwouldbeanaberrationforhim as the number six citizen of Nigeria and another party,andnothisAllProgressivesCongress(APC), is governing Abia State in 2027.

In what many have described as a threat to democracyandthepeopleofAbiaState,Kaluhad inaninterviewlastweek,declaredauthoritatively that 2023-2027 would be the last time Labour Party would govern Abia State.

“The next election in 2027, it’s the APC governor that will be there. I have told him in person. I’ve told him publicly and privately that the APC governor will be the next governor of Abia State. The president who is appointing Abians into his administration will be repaid,”

Kalu reportedly said.

A fellow member of the House of Representatives from the state, Hon. Obi Aguocha, had fired a salvo at Kalu,sayingthathiscommentssmackedofarrogance and power drunkenness.

Also reacting in a statement signed by the head of its media team, Abraham Amah, the PDP in Abia State said being the deputy speaker did not give Kalu the right to speak for the people of the state.

The PDP said it was disturbing that “Mr. Ben Kalu has wrongly appropriated the rights to speak for the good people of Abia State.”

It is obvious that Kalu is not reading the mood of the people of Abia State.

He wants to return the state to the regime of deplorable roads, mismanagement and insecurity that forced prominent traders in Aba out of the state.

Though Kalu admitted that Governor Otti is doing very well, he insisted on priotising the interest of his godfathers in Abuja above the interest of the people of the state. Abia State was the worst hit in terms of bad governance among the five South-east states from 1999 to 2023.

But Kalu wants to return the state to those who misgoverned it just to reward those who made him number six man in the country.

The Deputy Speaker needs to answer this barrage of questions: What’s this fixation about being the number six man in the country, anyway? Is he even sure that he would return to the House in 2027?

What does he even think about Governor Otti? Does he think that Otti is a weakling that he can bully or taunt? So if the governor performs creditably and the people state want him reelected in 2027, can he stop them? Anyway, time will tell.

Kalu

Egbetokun

BRIEFING NOTES

FG’s Abuse of Terrorism-related Charges

With the frivolous use of terrorism-related allegations by the federal government to hound Nigerians and silence opposing views, Ejiofor

Alike writes that the police should provide incontrovertible evidence in their terrorism-financing allegation against the President of Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero to allay fears of the country’s gradual descent to tyranny and authoritarianism

When news broke on December 20, 2022 that the Department of State Services (DSS) had secretly sought for an order of the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, to detain the then Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele for 60 days to conclude an ongoing investigation of terrorism financing allegation against him, many Nigerians had anxiously waited for the secret police to provide the detailed evidence on how the apex bank’s governor funded a terrorist group against his own government.

The allegation against Emefiele became more ridiculous when details emerged in the media that the DSS was accusing him of funding “unknown gunmen” and members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

No serious intelligence agency that is committed to routing out terrorism in Nigeria should have included a sitting CBN governor in the list of suspected financiers of unknown gunmen.

In a ruling that only became public knowledge 11 days after it was delivered on December 9, Justice Tsoho saw through the secret police’s mischief and, after listening to the legal team of the agency, refused to grant the application for an order against Emefiele.

With the irregularity Justice Tsoho cited in the procedure adopted by the DSS in its application, it turned out that the allegation was a charade designed to get Emefiele out of office.

Emefiele was not the first victim of such frivolous charges against the perceived enemies of the state.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had also charged Agba Jalingo, a Cross River State-based journalist, for terrorism.

The charges against Jalingo were filed in August 2019 before a division of the Federal High Court in Calabar, the Cross River capital.

Jalingo had been in police detention following a report about an alleged diversion of N500million by the then Cross River State governor, Prof. Ben Ayade.

Human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana had also in December 2019 raised the alarm that the federal government was planning to charge Omoyele Sowore, convener of the #RevolutionNow movement, with terrorism.

Former presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu had compared Sowore’s activism to the insurgency in the North-east, saying: “The Boko Haram militants, who are behind the violence, also fancy themselves to be fighting for some sort of revolution.”

Reacting to Shehu’s comments, Falana had stated that comparing Sowore to Boko Haram insurgents was the government’s “justification for the planned arraignment of Sowore for terrorism.”

Sowore was later arraigned for treasonable felony.

But his trial made no significant progress as the prosecution was only able to call one witness in more than four years, with frequent adjournments based on one excuse or the other mostly from the prosecution.

It was not surprising that the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), withdrew the treasonable felony charges slammed on the pro-democracy activist in February 2024 after the DSS had wasted the taxpayer’s money on frivolous allegation.

Despite withdrawing the charges against Sowore, the administration of President Bola Tinubu has continued with former President Buhari’s tradition of hanging terrorism-related allegations on the voices of dissent, with journalists as the greatest victims.

Recounting his 14-day ordeals while in the

custody of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), a journalist, Segun Olatunji, who was the General Editor of online news platform First News, said he was accused of terrorism for writing a story about the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila.

“They asked me to write an apology to the Chief of Staff to the President that I’m sorry for writing the story and that I will no longer be a terrorist because they also accused me of terrorism,” Olatunji reportedly said.

While the DSS and DIA were swift in uncovering the imaginary “acts of terrorism” linked to Emefiele and Olatunji, they have failed to deploy the same intelligence to uncover the criminal kingpins that have made the country’s highways, waterways, markets, homes, schools and farms unsafe for Nigerians.

Under the present administration, the police have become notorious for abducting journalists based on frivolous allegations, while bandits, kidnappers and other terrorists hold the country to ransom.

It is against the increasing use of frivolous charges to silence opposing views and journalists that the recent allegation of terrorism financing

NOTES FOR FILE

Fiddling While Benue Burns

Where are the retired generals and other senior military officers of Tiv and Idoma extractions who played key roles during Nigeria’s military regimes?

If the retired military officers from Benue State are now lethargic because their influence ended with the glorious era of the military, how about the political leaders in the state?

These are the questions agitating the minds of other Nigerians as bandits from other states and the neighbouring countries slaughter residents of the state in what many, including former Governor Samuel Ortom have described as a land grabbing mission.

As residents of the state are being massacred, their leaders appear to be fiddling while the state is burning.

There was a report last week that a team of armed policemen cordoned off the state

secretariat of a major political party in Makurdi, the state capital due to the political tussle between Governor Hyacinth Alia and other the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Since the governor was inaugurated on May 29, 2023, the leaders of different political parties in the state appear to be more focused on fighting a supremacy battle than joining hands to tackle their common enemies who are determined to wipe out the indigenous population.

The political crisis became so embarrassing that the Tiv Traditional Council led by the Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ayatse, once brokered peace between some of the warring factions, who have since refused to sheathe their swords.

The residents of the state are being killed almost on a daily basis with over 50 people reportedly killed in Ayati community in Ukum Local Government Area in the last two weeks.

against the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, by the Nigeria Police has become suspicious.

In a letter dated August 19, 2024, and signed by ACP Adamu Muazu on behalf of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Intelligence Response Team, the police gave Ajaero a very short notice to appear before their investigative team on the next day, August 20, over allegations of terrorism financing, treasonable felony, cybercrime and other related offences.

The letter also warned that a warrant of arrest would be issued if Ajaero failed to comply.

Ajaero and the NLC have been having a running battle with the federal government over issues relating to the welfare of the Nigerian workers.

The union had accused the police of invading the Labour House, as its Abuja headquarters is called, around 8:30 pm, on August 8.

“They broke in and ransacked the bookshop on the 2nd floor carting away hundreds of books and other publications.

“The invading troop claimed that they were looking for seditious materials used for the #EndBadGovernance Protests,” a statement by the NLC’s head of Media and Public Relations, Benson Upah, had explained.

But in a swift response, the police authorities had said it did not invade the union’s secretariat but only traced a suspected foreign criminal to the building, which coincidentally houses the union’s headquarters.

“We emphasise that this operation had no connection with the NLC, its secretariat, staff or leadership,” Force spokesperson, Prince Muyiwa Adejobi, had explained in a statement.

However, Ajaero’s curious invitation by the police in less than two weeks after the invasion of NLC secretariat, has punctured a hole in the claim by the police authorities that the invasion had no connection with the union or its leadership. Is the allegation of terrorism financing another ploy by the federal government to silence the uncompromising Ajaero or remove him as the NLC president to pave the way for the emergence of a more pliant labour leader, who will do government’s bidding?

This is a question Nigerians are waiting for an answer.

With the public outcry that greeted the invitation and the threat by the NLC and other groups to shut down the economy, it is obvious that the Nigerian government has overreached itself in the use of terrorism-related allegations to silence opposing views.

Nigerians are waiting for the police to provide incontrovertible evidence to prove the allegation against Ajaero.

International watchdog, Amnesty International, recently revealed that about 2,600 persons, mostly women and children, were killed following attacks on 50 communities in the state between January 2023 and February 2024.

The refusal of the leaders of the state to join forces to fight their common enemies just shows that a majority of them do not care about the plight of the masses. A state where hundreds of indigenes are in IDP camps because they have been sacked from their communities by bandits. It is believed that as long as the killings do not affect them and their immediate families, they do not mind if the rest of the people continue to live with insecurity for forever.

Many Nigerian leaders fight over the control of political structureandotherissuesconcerningtheirselfishinterests.

But what is political structure without the people?

Why don’t leaders of the state, including retired military officers convene a security summit to explore ways of resisting their invaders.

Alia

Ajaero

INTERVIEW

We’ll Make Rural Communities Attractive ASUE IGHODALO:

Asue Ighodalo is a Nigerian lawyer known for his impressive track record in the corporate world. He is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the September 21 governorship election in Edo State. In this interview at the Unuedo Town Hall, he speaks on state police, and the need to provide incentives for teachers to attract them to rural communities, among others. Wale Igbintade was there. Excerpts:

Will you support the creation of a state police or establishing a regional security outfit like Amotekun?

Thank you very much. Like politics, all security is local. So, this issue of state police is important to me. But then, I noticed that Edo State has a state security network. It is called different names; some call it a vigilante group. But driving through Edo State, you see those guys in different uniforms. They are trained by the police to the extent that the Nigerian Constitution allows them, and they are armed with non-automatic rifles. So, they are able at the local level, at the village level, and at the community level, to help with the issue of security. I noticed there has been a decrease in kidnapping and local crimes. So, that’s important. But I also fully agree, because if you look at Edo State, you see there are five major entry points. So, I will work with the police and other security agencies, train them, equip them, arm them, and get them ready to work for the state. Unfortunately, the governor as the Chief Security Officer has limited directives over those security agents. But I’ve also seen, like, Fashola’s Lagos State, and one or two other states, where there are good collaborations between the states and security forces. When you help with the funding of training, with the funding of equipment, with the funding of technology, you will see a marked difference.

In Edo State, there are five entry points, and we have great security barriers. So, we will work with the existing architecture to enforce it, to empower it, to give them a lot more money, and to enhance their training. That’s what we have in our laws today. Now, if our Constitution changes and State Police are enabled, we would then even equip our state police even more. The same way we equipped our local police department and the same way we’ve been able to get them to help with policing at the community and local level. More importantly, relationships between the state and the federal, no matter how the politics are, when it comes down to the issue of welfare and the livelihood of people, we must come down on that and get ourselves working well for the betterment of the people of our state. That’s fundamental, and we will work on those tracks.

Edo State has invested substantially in having what they called a situation room. I have visited that situation room. When you enter the situation room, you can more or less see the whole of Benin. And that has enhanced and improved the security situation.

From that situation room, they then tell the policemen where things happen, where things are expected to happen, or where they see crime moving between states and other things. So, if they can invest in other parts of the state, it will greatly improve security.

However, the problem with state police, and that was the experience we had when we first had state police before it was removed from our constitution in the late 60s, was that local leaders used the state police to their advantage and to intimidate other people, from different political parties, and that must change. So, we must have constitutional preservative provisions that ensure that the state police don’t overreach

itself. And nobody uses the state police to their advantage. Technically, all crime is local, and you must deal with crime at the local level.

What will you do differently to improve the educational system in Edo State?

Thank you very much. Again, I’d like to reiterate what you have highlighted, which is that education is fundamental. If we want to move to the next level, if we want to move our state into the first world, then we must take education extremely seriously.

Looking at the numbers, I know that in the last six-seven years, there has been a major improvement in education in Edo State, particularly at the primary school level. I remember back in 2015 when Edo State was probably one of the worst states for educational malpractices. Primary schools were not very good. But I know in the last few years, that has changed.

And from a state that was probably 28th or 29th on the educational ladder, I think it is number two today, in terms of primary school education. I know a lot of investment has gone into the EdoBEST programme. That is teaching, training of teachers, providing tablets and equipment, and reviewing the curriculum.

So, I think there has been a massive improvement in educational standards, particularly at the primary school level. But there is still so much more to be done - so much more. When we talk about physical infrastructure, again,

if a state earns only N17 billion a month, you back out pensions, you back out salaries, you are left with N7 billion or N6 billion. There’s a limitation to the infrastructural investments you can make and you have to prioritise. But having said that, I think we need to find the money, particularly for infrastructure that has to do with education and health.

So, as we improve the curriculum and what people learn, as we train our teachers and make them very fit for purpose, where you learn is also important. We must do something about physical infrastructure. That’s fundamental. And we must find the money to do it.

How would you address rising rural-urban migration, especially among teachers?

One other thing that affects our education and it affects health too, is that most of our teachers don’t want to stay in the rural communities for reasons of underdevelopment. I was talking to a teacher the other day and she said because her kids couldn’t find good primary schools to go to or good kindergarten schools to go to, she didn’t like state education and things like that. So, one of the things we need to force through is how we make it attractive for teachers to stay in rural areas.

Are you going to give them some tax rebate or tax reduction if you are teaching in rural communities? Are you going to be able to create some kind of mortgage arrangement for them? If you are teaching and you stay in a rural area for seven years, is that person going to be allowed to attract or get substantially low mortgage rates? Or will the state involve itself in building and spreading the repayment terms? We must

make it attractive for people who want to stay in rural areas until rural areas develop.

Also, we will work on curriculum, we will work on infrastructure, and make sure that kids are fit for purpose. And as we’re creating an enabling environment, we also must be ready for the vocational. Because people want to be fit for purpose, to be able to do the work that the investing companies want them to do. If not, the environment is not going to be attractive to where they should go or where they can go to get the kind of labour that will make their investments work. So, fundamentally, we’re going to deal with education from the primary, through the secondary, and the tertiary. By creating environments where tech companies can thrive, Edo can become a leading hub for innovation in Nigeria.

Let me go back to this issue of diaspora, school adoption, and all of that. One of the policies I think we will engage in is number one, returning schools to those in the private sector, former homeowners, who have the capacity and the will to operate them effectively. Because we’re going to have standards for schools, so, those private sectors, we need to have the capacity and meet the standards.

In the diaspora, I have talked to a number of you guys, will you adopt schools? For instance, my family, we have adopted many primary schools around Edo State. Once you can keep the schools to those standards that I have described, you guys in the diaspora, will you adopt schools? And some conversations are ongoing. So, we might be raising the standard and making sure that we are fit for purpose. Well-trained and well-paid teachers who can effectively train our children.

What are your plans to revitalise primary health healthcare in Edo State?

Health is as important as education. Government must pay, or an insurance scheme must pay. We need to improve our insurance scheme that covers everyone. The most vulnerable must be able to benefit from the insurance scheme. I was talking to them in the nursing school the other day. All the nurses that are training in Benin, without an exception, said immediately after they graduated, they are leaving Nigeria. So, we have a major problem. Our doctors, our nurses, how do we keep them? Because even if we have all the best facilities, and we don’t have the staffing, then that is even a more serious problem in itself.

So, we are thinking through how we are going to be able to keep our staffing. How are we going to be able to build hospitals that can cater to the needs of our people? I know there are primary healthcare centres that are already being developed in every ward in the state. I think the state has gone as far as eight now.

The problem is the staffing of those that have been built. So, we will ensure that we are keeping the staffing. One of the things we were talking about when I was talking to some local government chairmen the other day was, can we still apply to the National Youth Service Corps? It happened in the late 1970s and early 80s when doctors during their youth service were sent to rural areas. While we are trying to get the process right, we probably need to go back to something like that.

Ighodalo

Sino-Nigerian Ties and Attachment of Nigeria’s Presidential Jets in France: Beyond Aircraft Immunity

Repudiation of validly contracted agreement, contrarily to the principle of sanctity of agreement or pacta sunt servanda, is not taken with kid gloves in international law and relations. When an agreement is done by a sovereign State and the obligations created are not respected by the signatories, the international responsibility of the concerned signatory may be raised. The same is true when the constituent parts of a nation-state do an international agreement. This is because the constituent parts are not recognised to act on behalf of the Federal Government. It is Nigeria that has to be internationally held responsible.

Explained differently, the dispute between the Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment in China and the Ogun State in south-west Nigeria over the development of a free-trade zone as a basis to attract international investments, is a case in point. Ogun State cannot enter, as a state government, into international relations. It is not a sovereign State recognised internationally as such. In fact, the other contracting party is also a private entity. However, if we admit that the contracting parties cannot enter into international relations, how do we explain the fact that Nigeria’s property were attached or seized internationally? All aircraft have nationality. Nigeria’s presidential jets are Nigerian in registration, citizenship, ownership, and belong to the Government of Nigeria. They have the insignia of Nigeria.

The attachment of the three jets is currently raising questions: why is it always that policy makers, signatories to international agreements, and civil servants cannot reckon with international obligations the country has subscribed to? The Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) is statutorily designated to be the depository of all agreements negotiated and signed by the Government of Nigeria. Why is this not complied with? What makes it difficult to have a joint research, monitoring, and protection committee, to comprise the NIIA, Federal Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to compile and organise all agreements done by Nigeria, and to draw attention to them, especially when they are falling due in terms of payment of assessed payments to international organisations, etc.?

Sino-Nigerian Ties and the Attachment

Sino-Nigerian ties are generally warm at the governmental level, but still characterised by strains and constraints. Warmth and irritants are the two sides of the Sino-Nigerian relations. Both countries have warm collaboration at the levels of trade, science and technology, education and culture, development aid, health, politics, investment and military. The dynamics of the good relationship include October 1 as their National Day during which, in Nigeria, the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria often celebrates their day before October 1 in deference to Nigeria. The Government of Nigeria appreciates this. Besides, doing so prevents sharing of guests on the same day. In other words, the likely guests to be invited by China and the Nigerian government are the same. The diplomatic community is generally invited to the celebration of Nigeria’s Independence Day. And true enough again, Nigeria-China relations is at the epicentre of the China-Africa relations. More interestingly, since the signing of special agreements with the Beijing authorities by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration in 2005, politico-economic ties have been waxing stronger.

For instance, an agreement (MoU) was done in 2018 on the Chinese BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) cooperation which enabled Nigeria to accede to the membership of the BRI forum. The involvement of the Chinese in the economic, and particularly in the infrastructural, sector, is considerable. The Chinese built the Abuja Metro Line and the Lagos Rail Mass Transit. They are also the builders of the Zungeru Hydropower Plant, National Data Centre in Kano, the industrial parks in Lekki, Lagos State, and in Ogun State.

At the level of economic ties, Nigeria is China’s second largest export market and major investment destination in Africa. On bilateral trade, the OEC has it that ‘in 2022, China exported

$21.48bn (worth of goods and services) to Nigeria. The main products that China exported to Nigeria were Non-Knit Women’s Suits ($792m), Rubber Footwear ($566m), and Broadcasting Equipment (503m). Over the past five years, the exports of China to Nigeria have increased at an annualised rate of 11.9%, from $12.2bn in 2017 to $21.48bn in 2022.’

Additionally, the OEC says ‘in 2022 China did not export any services to Nigeria…In 2022, Nigeria exported (goods worth) $1.52bn to China. The main products that Nigeria exported to China were petroleum Gas ($451m), crude petroleum ($299m), and Lead Ore ($94.6m). Over the past five years the exports of Nigeria to China have decreased at an annualised rate of 0.4%, from $1.56bn in 2017 to $1.52bn in 2022.’ And more interestingly, China’s export to Nigeria as at June 2024 was valued $1.44bn, while imports were valued $131m, hence a positive trade balance of $1.31bn in favour of China. In the same vein, Chinese foreign direct investments in Nigeria was $2.7bn in 2022. It declined to $2.3bn in 2021. Nigeria’s indebtedness to China was $4.73bn as at June 30, 2023. In fact, ‘the top five partner countries of origin for imports to Nigeria was China (N1,973.34bn (https://www. nigerianstat.gov.ng).

Besides, there is the Chinese Police Station in Benin City, also referred to as ‘Service Station’ in some other countries. It is an organ of the Beijing authorities to control the criminal activities of Chinese living outside of China. For instance, ‘from April 2021 to July 2022, 230,000 nationals had been “persuaded to return” to face criminal proceedings in China, says the Safeguard Defender. Explained differently, the existence of a Chinese police station in Nigeria is both good and bad: good in the sense that it helps the Government of Nigeria to monitor and contain criminal

These questions are raised in light of the fact that the Lagos State Government under Governor Lateef Jakande administration signed an agreement with Interinfra, a consortium of French companies, to construct a Lagos Metroline Line (LML). Feasibility studies were carried out. Work actually started and substantial financial deposit for the commencement of the rail was paid. At the end of the day, the Federal Government that stood as guarantor for the LML reneged on the agreement on the basis of the military government that succeeded the Jakande government, who argued that the costs of the project were too prohibitive. Interinfra referred the cancellation of the project to European arbitration and Nigeria was not only found guilty, but also compelled to pay twice the initial cost of the turn-key project that was said to be too expensive as compensation (vide Bola A. Akinterinwa, op cit.). Nigeria that did not want to pay about N600 million initially paid the double as damages and without having any LML at the end of the whole exercise. Thus, the current attachment of Nigeria’s presidential jets in France is really not a big deal but another renewal of the public embarrassment to which the people of Nigeria have always been subjected to by the Government of Nigeria

activities by Chinese in Nigeria, and bad because it creates a parallel police system within Nigeria. It is nothing more than a competing sovereignty. But whatever it is or how it is taken, it clearly reflects an entente between the two governments. Culturally and educationally, an increasing number of Nigerians are learning Chinese language being a working language of the United Nations. There are two Confucius Institutes in Nigerian universities. There are more than 7,500 Nigerian students in China. Both countries have co-hosted the ‘Happy Chinese New Year,’ Temple Fair,’ the Chinese Film Festival,’ the Chinese Bridge,’ and the ‘Chinese Proficiency Competition.’

In essence, as told by the Chinese new ambassador to Nigeria, H.E. Dunhai, ‘China’s development plays an important role for the stability and prosperity of a multi-polar world. We (China) will also continue to support Nigeria’s social and economic development with concrete action and share our development benefits with the country.’ In this regard, if the relationship is generally good at the governmental level, why is it not so at the level of people-to-people and contractual relations? The case of Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone dispute serves as one explanation.

In 2007, the Ogun State government contracted the Chinese firm to manage a Free-trade Zone. For one reason or the other, a misunderstanding arose in 2015 which prompted the quest for an arbitration in 2016 and eventually to the arbitral award of over $60m against the Federal Government in 2019. It was this factor of contractual discontinuity that has prompted the Chinese attachment of Nigeria’s aircraft. And true enough, there is no disputing the fact that Nigeria of today is heavily indebted to China and the debt service has always been on the increase. Solving the problem of indebtedness cannot be by disregarding contractual obligations. Government cannot but seek diplomatic mediation of the saga as desideratum.

The three aircraft were flown to France for routine check and the Federal Government only learnt about their attachment on August 14, 2024 during the routine service and based on the orders of the Judicial Court of Paris dated March 7, 2024 and August 12, 2024 at the instance of the Chinese party. On the one hand, the Special Adviser to the President, Bayo Onanuga, reportedly accused the Chinese of employing subterfuge to acquire offshore assets of the Federal Government and that the Federal Government was not under any contractual obligation with the Chinese company.

As much as the Federal Government might have not directly reached any contractual agreement with the Chinese company, the truth remains that, under the rules of public international law, the Federal Government of Nigeria necessarily accounts for the activities and derogations of international law by its citizens and sub-nationals and private individual. In other words, Nigeria’s international responsibility cannot but be called to question. In fact, no important international project agreement is done and consented to without the Federal Government serving as a witness and guarantor. A case in point is that of the Lagos Metro Line (see supra) for which the Government of Lagos had to pay the double price for a metro line that was never allowed to see the light of day because of military poor governance of the project as a result of breach of contract.

Beyond Aircraft Sovereign Immunity

Following the attachment of the three Nigeria’s presidential jets, the Federal Government argued that the attached aircraft were sovereign assets; that they were part of the presidential fleet; and therefore, they should not have been seized for whatever reason. This position raises a conflict between the rule of sanctity of agreement or the spirit of pacta sunt servanda, on the basis of which the court in France gave its arbitral award of over $60m against the Federal Government of Nigeria as a co-defendant, on the one hand, and the principle of sovereign immunity, also referred to as State Sovereignty, provided for in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, on the other hand. This is nothing more than a case of conflict of international laws. Put differently, sovereign immunity is a principle of international law according to which a sovereign state and its property are exempt from the jurisdictional competencies of foreign national courts. With the existence of this law, why should the French court still ignore it? Why should priority be given to the French municipal law, so to say? Admittedly, the contracting parties to the agreement are stricto sensu not directly subjects of international law. The Chinese firm involved, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co Ltd, is not governmental in ownership. The Ogun State which is governmental in Nigeria cannot enter into international relations unless through the Federal Government of Nigeria. This simply means that, in the foreseeable future, arbitral proceedings are not likely to give primacy to sovereign immunity when it comes to breaches of valid contractual agreements. The question here is why the disregard for the principle of sanctity of agreements at the level of Nigeria?

Secondly, the answer to the foregoing question is bad governance. Political governance in Nigeria is done on the basis of sustainable memory or sustainable continuity in Nigeria. Whatever a particular government does and achieves is hardly sustained by its successor. As a result, lessons are not learnt from the past.

Macron

Olukoyede: Galvanising ECOWAS for Fight against Graft

Tony Egbulefu

Leading the light for anti-corruption agencies of ECOWAS countries which congregate under the aegis of Network of Anti-corruption Institutions in WestAfrica (NACIWA) is an additional test on Ola Olukoyede’s practical know-how and leadership depth. As the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), he is not just any other anti-corruption war marshal within the context of the West African region. He is primus inter pares being at the commanding height of the most illustrious and preeminent anti-corruption agency in the continent.

The sixth Annual General Assembly of NACIWA, which he hosted as its President from August 19 to 21, 2024 at the ECOWAS Secretariat, Abuja, left the delegates of the participating nations, including Nigerian with no illusions of the verve the EFCC chairman has primed himself to inject in the war against corruption and financial crimes within the sub-region, through amplified knowledge sharing, peer review and unwavering commitment to the ECOWAS Protocol on the fight against corruption and other relevant international and regional instruments.

The “ECOWAS Protocol on the Fight Against Corruption” is a comprehensive range of strategies that have nearly the answers to all the issues hobbling efficient anti-corruption fight within the region’s individual nation states and as a geo-cluster. The weak factor has resided in the implementation, which the Olukoyede leadership is galvanising his peers to give a shot in the arm.

Necessitated by the urgent need for concerted, collaborative and sustained cooperation among member states towards addressing the transnational corruption activities and the laundering of the proceeds of corruption in the region, the Protocol was adopted by the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government on December 21, 2001 and operationalized in 2016, as a mechanism for preventing, suppressing, and eradicating

corruption in member states.

Its 27 Articles aims to promote and strengthen “the development in each of the State Party’s effective mechanisms to prevent, suppress and eradicate corruption; intensify and revitalise cooperation between State Parties, with a view to making anti-corruption measures more effective and promote the harmonisation and coordination of national anticorruption laws and policies.”

Presenting the theme: “Implementing the ECOWAS Protocol on the Fight Against Corruption Towards Strengthening Institutions for Regional Security,” Ebenezer Asiedu, NACIWA’s Head, Democracy and Good Governance noted that “the Protocol is one of such major critical instruments deserving of the adherence and comprehensive domestication by all the ECOWAS Member States,” and called for NACIWA to be strengthened to promote the popularisation and comprehensive domestication of the Protocol.

Speaking at the occasion, Olukoyede made clarion calls that spoke to his desire for a recalibration of the anti-corruption fight within individual nations of ECOWAS. “We are at a critical juncture in our collective fight against corruption in our sub-region. There is no gainsaying that corruption

continues to undermine our economies, security, erode public trust, and hinder the sustainable development of our nations. This requires some introspection and strategizing to forge ahead.

“The implementation of the ECOWAS Protocol Against Corruption is not a mere technical exercise; it is a moral imperative that demands utmost dedication and innovative thinking. Our presence here today underscores the importance of collaborative and coordinated efforts in fostering transparency, accountability, and good governance across West Africa. I am confident that through our collective expertise, shared experiences, and unwavering commitment, we can forge a path towards a more transparent and prosperous West Africa. I urge all delegates to approach discussions over the next few days with renewed vigour and determination,” he said.

He drew special attention to the need for ECOWAS countries to strengthen their legal and institutional frameworks; enhancing cross-border cooperation in investigations and asset recovery; promoting public awareness, ethical standards and other corruption prevention measures; leveraging technology in the fight against corruption; and developing capacity-building programmes for anti-corruption practitioners.

“Let us be mindful of the trust placed in us by our citizens. Every policy we recommend, every strategy we develop, and every partnership we forge must be geared towards tangible improvements in the lives of the people we serve,” he said.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chairman, ECOWAS who spoke through Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima described corruption as one of the most formidable obstacles to the progress and prosperity of ECOWAS countries and lauded NACIWA’s initiatives with the protocol and other strategies directed at suppressing the scourge. “It undermines the very fabric of our societies, erodes public trust, and impedes the equitable distribution of resources. As leaders, we are responsible for confronting this challenge head-on with unwavering resolve and concerted action,” he said.

The establishment of NACIWA by ECOWAS in 2010, was a visionary step towards creating a

united front against the affliction of corruption in the region. NACIWA, President Tinubu noted has provided a platform for law enforcement collaboration in confronting corruption, the economic ills, insecurity, and developmental setbacks it wreaks on countries of the region. To a good measure, the constructive collaboration between NACIWA and ECOWAS has fostered greater cooperation and information sharing among anti-corruption agencies of the member states.

A fundamental development in the 6th Annual General Assembly was President Tinubu’s announcement of a donation of a headquarter complex for NACIWA in Abuja, which he did in recognition of NACIWA’s pivotal role in regional anti-corruption efforts.

“I am proud to announce that the Nigerian government has donated a property to serve as NACIWA’s permanent headquarters. This gesture underscores our commitment to strengthening NACIWA’s institutional capacity and providing a solid operational foundation, the president said. On his part, Olukoyede said that the gesture apart from having provided the Network with a physical home “symbolizes the solidifications of the regional anti-corruption frameworks.”

The president enjoined all member states to renew their commitment to cause of the ECOWAS Protocol against corruption, urged them to move beyond rhetorics and embrace concrete actions that will harmonise legal frameworks within the region, plug the loopholes exploited by corrupt individuals; enhance cross-border cooperation in investigations and asset recovery; invest in innovative technologies to detect and prevent corrupt practices; promote transparency in public procurement and resource management; engage civil society and the media as partners in anti-corruption efforts and strengthen the independence and capacity of anti-corruption institutions of member states. Above all, for all member states to ratify and fully implement the protocol.

EgbulefuisofthePublicAffairsDepartmentoftheEFCC

Paradigm Shift as EFCC Commits Crime Proceeds to Support Education, Infrastructure

Rotimi Adejumo

Recently, President Bola Tinubu directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to disburse N100billion to fund the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Consumer Credit Corp as part of using recovered assets for the public good.

During his August 4 broadcast to the nation, President Tinubu announced that, in response to the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests, he had allocated N50 billion each to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and the Consumer Credit Corporation.

The battle against corruption has thus taken a new dimension, one where the proceeds of crime are being redirected to fuel national development.

This move is not just about recovering stolen wealth but also about ensuring that these funds serve a greater purpose – uplifting the lives of people and driving economic growth.

These funds, sourced from the proceeds of crimes recovered by the EFCC over the past year, are poised to have a transformative impact on the country, particularly in the areas of education and consumer finance.

Between May 2023 and May 2024, the EFCC, under the leadership of the fifth Executive Chairman of the commission, Olanipekun Olukoyede, made a staggering recovery of over 231 billion.

The agency also recovered millions in foreign currencies, including $70 million, £29,000, €208,000 and many more. The total recoveries, including Indian rupees, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars, South African rand, UAE Dirhams, Saudi Riyals, and Chinese Yuan, demonstrate the EFCC’s far-reaching efforts to track down and recover stolen funds.

These recoveries are the result of 12,287 investigations, which led to 5,376 cases being filed in court and 3,451 convictions, with over 15,753 petitions received in the past year.

With over N231bn recovered in naira alone, the commission has not only cracked down on corruption but has also laid the groundwork for the funds to be reinvested into society.

This is as NELFUND has confirmed receiving N50bn from EFCC to boost the student loan scheme.

NELFUND’s Head of Corporate Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, stated that the fund followed the directive of President Bola Tinubu in his speech on August 4, 2024, directing the EFCC to transfer the funds to NELFUND to further boost the student loan programme.

“This significant injection of funds represents a major milestone in the administration’s commitment to bolstering access to education by providing financial support to students across Nigeria,” the statement noted.

He commended Tinubu for his unwavering dedication to the education sector and his continued efforts to support the most vulnerable segments of the population.

“By deciding to allocate these funds to the student loan scheme, President Tinubu has once again demonstrated his visionary leadership and commitment to fostering a brighter future for Nigerian students and to the socioeconomic advancement of Nigeria.”

Since the launch of NELFUND portal in May 2024, over 22,000 students have benefited from loans totalling N2.5bn. There has been a surge in applications, reflecting the high demand for educational support in a country where many parents struggle to afford tuition fees.

NELFUND’s Managing Director/CEO, Akintunde Sawyerr, captured the essence of this initiative, “We stand at the crossroads of possibility, ready to shape a future where every individual, regardless of state of origin, religious or political affiliation, can dream and flourish.

“This vision, supported by the prudent use of recovered assets, represents a new chapter in Nigeria’s journey towards equity, opportunity, and national prosperity. The government’s strategic use of recovered assets is making this vision a reality, demonstrating that with

the right policies and leadership, the proceeds of crime can indeed be turned into instruments of progress.

“This approach is a testament to the power of good governance and a reminder that the fight against corruption, when combined with a commitment to public welfare, can yield dividends far beyond the courtroom. It is a new chapter in Nigeria’s story — one where justice and development go hand in hand, and where the proceeds of crime are transformed into opportunities for growth, education, and a brighter future for all.”

The Consumer Credit Corporation, which also received N50bn from the recovered funds, is another pillar of the government’s strategy to improve the lives of Nigerians. By making credit more accessible, the corporation aims to empower citizens to meet their financial needs, whether for personal or business purposes. This initiative is particularly significant in a country where access to affordable credit has historically been limited, often forcing individuals into debt traps with predatory lenders.

The Consumer Credit Corporation is designed to bridge the gap, offering Nigerians a more reliable and transparent source of credit. This not only helps individuals manage their finances better but also stimulates the economy by increasing consumer spending and supporting small businesses. In the long run, the corporation’s work is expected to contribute to broader economic stability and growth, creating a more financially inclusive society.

The EFCC’s involvement in these initiatives goes beyond merely transferring funds. The agency, under the leadership Ola Olukoyede, stressed the importance of transparency and accountability in the management of these resources.

Olukoyede stressed that the move is part of a broader strategy to ensure that the fight against corruption has tangible benefits for the public.

“One of the main incentives for cybercrimes is the inability of parents to fund the education of their children. NELFUND is a policy issue

against crimes,” the EFCC boss said, underscoring the link between financial hardship, lack of education, and criminal activities. By investing in education through NELFUND, the government is tackling the root causes of crime while empowering the next generation of Nigerians. In a recent meeting with NELFUND officials, Olukoyede reiterated the need for strict oversight to ensure that the funds are used effectively and do not fall victim to corruption. He also urged NELFUND to regularly report on its disbursements, ensuring that every naira is accounted for and used to fulfil its intended purpose.

This approach is not just about safeguarding the funds but also about reinforcing public trust in the government’s anti-corruption efforts. By demonstrating that recovered assets are being put to good use, the EFCC and the government are sending a powerful message: the fight against corruption is not just about punishing wrongdoers but also about returning stolen wealth to the people and using it to build a better future.

The commission has made it clear that it will maintain oversight of how these funds are managed and disbursed. This focus on transparency is essential for building public trust in these initiatives. By ensuring that every naira is accounted for and used effectively, the government is not only safeguarding the funds but also reinforcing the public’s confidence in its ability to manage resources responsibly. This commitment to accountability is a cornerstone of the broader anti-corruption strategy, demonstrating that the fight against corruption is about more than just recovering stolen assets — it is about using those assets to build a better Nigeria.

The allocation of N100bn from recovered funds to fund these important initiatives sets a precedent for how Nigeria can use the proceeds of crime to benefit its citizens. This approach aligns with global best practices, where recovered assets are reinvested into society to address the root causes of crime, improve public services, and support vulnerable populations.

Adejumo writes from Lagos

Catching Up with Toke Makinwa on ‘BBNaija: The Buzz’

Vanessa Obioha

It’s nearly a month since the popular reality TV show

Big Brother Naija premiered its ninth season and so far, four pairs have been eliminated, alliances have formed and shattered, and the drama is still unfolding. On the streaming platform Showmax, media personality Toke Makinwa elevates the excitement with her show ‘BBNaija: The Buzz.’

Toke dives into the latest gossip, dynamics, and all the juiciest details from the house, engaging with select guests who are passionate fans of the reality TV drama. So far, Toke and her guests have explored the housemates’ relationships, the strategic players, the gossip swirling among them, and other hot topics. We caught up with Toke on set to discuss what it takes to host ‘BBNaija: The Buzz.’ Below are excerpts:

What has been the most intriguing part of hosting the show over the past two seasons and now hosting

the third?

It’s watching the viewers warm up to their favs and fight for their favs. Just watching the social experiment of Big Brother come to life is the most intriguing feeling ever.

How involved are you in the creative process and content development of the show? For instance, do you have a say in determining the guests, shaping the narrative, and curating content that attracts and engages the audience?

Everything we see together as a team, we have to go through it. I watch the show a lot so that I don’t miss a thing. We also have a content team, so each morning, we go over what I know and what they know, and we build up a show. I think the Buzz team has the best set of people who actually don’t miss a thing, and we can create a story from the things that we watch and have viewers either agree with us or disagree with us; it’s all part of ‘The Buzz’.

However, I do not determine the guests, to be quite honest, but this season I’m trying as much to know who is coming before they come on the show. There’s a team that is in charge of booking guests, and they love to book not just the show enthusiasts but also celebrities or content creators who are around and who know what is going on in Big Brother House. It is very important for us

Kiekie Takes Unscripted Show to Next Level

Iyke Bede

Recognising the dearth of creative platforms to project Nigerian talents to the world, Nigerian social media influencer Bukunmi AdeagaIlori, famed as Kiekie, is set to launch the ‘Kiekie Unscripted Experience’ this year to bridge the gap between creatives and opportunities for exposure.

This initiative aims to provide a unique space for emerging talents, irrespective of age or gender, to showcase their talents, connect with industry leaders, and gain the recognition they deserve on the national and international stage.

“The ‘Kiekie Unscripted Experience’ aims to give a platform to many extremely talented people,” Kiekie revealed at a formal event held at Mikano Motors’ Cube 65, Victoria Island, Lagos. “The platform allows people to freely express themselves, and that’s where the word ‘unscripted’ comes from. The ‘Kiekie Unscripted’ has always been a thing. We have had four seasons on YouTube, which started as a joke after my wedding in

to have people who are also invested in the show so that each discussion is actually engaging. It’s much more than having guests; it makes up the content that we discuss in the show.

How do you gauge audience engagement? What indicators have you seen that make the audience anticipate the show?

Drama!!! Once, there’s an episode of The Buzz, everyone’s Snickers is in a bunch, and people are arguing. I have a love-hate relationship with the viewers of the show, it’s like a toxic relationship. They hate half of the things we talk about and I always say to them that the fact that your housemate is being discussed shows that your housemate is doing the right thing. Imagine having a fav who’s in the house, and we don’t talk about the person for the entire duration of the show; that means the person is boring, or the person is not worth talking about. But people are very sentimental and you can’t blame them because they’re invested in their fans. They only want to see their fans being portrayed in the right way, and this is a show that is honest and cut-throat, and we literally just say things as it is. So there’s always that, but then we always find a way to love ourselves at the end of Big Brother.

What dynamics in the house do you find most interesting, whether from a gossip perspective or in terms of friendships?

I think friendships over the years have been incredible. Also, there’s always that one person who everybody gravitates towards either for their cooking skills or maybe their people skills or maybe the drama that they bring to the show. So it’s always nice to locate who that person will be every season and to watch how it all unfolds. Sometimes, there’s more than one, and that’s the tipping point of Big Brother. As the house begins to declutter, as Big Brother begins to send people out of his house, the show gets heated, and you get to see people more. There are people who start kind of like boring but towards the end of the show, they’re like the strongest men standing as well. So, it’s an interesting social experience; it just depicts what real life is, to be fair.

Obioha

Once again, the rollercoaster romance between American actress, singer and entrepreneur Jennifer Lopez and Hollywood actor and filmmaker Ben Affleck has come to a dramatic end. Their love story, which has captivated fans for decades, seemed destined for a fairytale finish after their initial breakup in the early 2000s.

The duo first sparked headlines when they met on the set of the romantic comedy ‘Gigli’ and quickly became one of Hollywood’s most talked-about couples, giving rise to the famous portmanteau ‘Bennifer.’ They got engaged in 2002, but postponed the wedding the following year, citing the media frenzy around their union.

2020. My experience during the wedding inspired it. I’ve realised that we all are informed by our experiences, so I thought to make it bigger, beyond myself.”

Written, executive produced, and hosted by Kiekie, the show promises to be engaging and entertaining for a wide range of viewers seeking quality content. Participants will take part in various segments that showcase their talents in music, dance, comedy, and more.

The stakes are high, with over 30 participants standing a chance to win amazing prizes. Among these rewards are a brand-new 2023 Mikano Changan car, up to 30 million in cash, and two all-expense-paid trips to any country of choice.

Additionally, high-energy games will test both physical and mental abilities, ensuring there’s something for everyone. Content creators who submit videos each week for the ‘All My Guys are Ballers’ segment stand a chance to win cash prizes if their entries are the most engaging.

Registration already began on August 20, 2024, and will end on September 2, 2024. A physical audition will be held on September 3, 2024.

Running for 12 weeks and culminating in a grand finale, the show’s first episode will air on October 1, 2024, with new episodes released every Thursday at 5:00 PM on the Kiekie TV

After parting ways, both Lopez and Affleck moved on to other high-profile marriages—Lopez to singer Marc Anthony in 2004 and Affleck to actress Jennifer Garner in 2005. But as fate would have it, both marriages ended in divorce.

When Bennifer rekindled their romance and finally tied the knot two years ago, fans thought the stars had aligned for their second chance. Lopez was so convinced that she even chronicled their love in a documentary, ‘The Greatest Love Story Never Told’, which featured Affleck. But despite the hope of a happily-ever-after, their reunion was short-lived.

On what would have been their second wedding anniversary, August 20, Lopez filed for divorce in L.A. County Superior Court, sending the internet into a frenzy.

Social media exploded with reactions—memes poking fun at Lopez’s storied romantic history flooded timelines, with some dubbing her the queen of dating without settling down. Armchair detectives dissected their relationship, trying to pinpoint the exact moment when things went south.

Comparisons to Elizabeth Taylor, the legendary BritishAmerican actress who famously married eight times, were inevitable. Yet, while Taylor had seven husbands, Lopez has only walked down the aisle four times: first with producer Ojani Noa in 1997, then with backup dancer Cris Judd in 2001, followed by Marc Anthony in 2004, and Affleck in 2022. She was also famously engaged to baseball star Alex Rodriguez. With both Lopez and Affleck remaining tight-lipped about their split, all eyes are now on what comes next in Lopez’s love life.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck: The Greatest Love Story Interrupted, Again

Toke

Vanessa

Iwobi Earns Fulham Maximum Points at Craven Cottage

Femi Solaja with

report

Alex Iwobi celebratig his goal against Leicester City... yesteday

Christian-Obi

Atiku to Bode George

“Instead of the current state of disarray, driven by haphazard policies, Nigeria would have thrived under Atiku’s guidance” – Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, rejecting Chief Bode George’s statement that his presidency would have not performed better than that of President Tinubu

WAZIRI ADIO

POSTSCRIPT

How Tinubu’s Petrol Subsidy Reform Unravelled

It is not inevitable. But here we are. President Bola Tinubu’s reform on petrol subsidy has come undone. The president’s signature reform—his most-trumpeted achievement in office—has not been undermined by the ‘subsidy cabal’, the labour unions, the opposition parties, the passage of time or even by citizens with an incurable sense of entitlement. No.

The reform has been taken apart by the administration of the same president who gleefully pronounced the end of petrol subsidy in his inaugural speech and keeps insisting that ‘subsidy is gone’. However, the rumoured death of subsidy has turned out to be more than a bit exaggerated. Petrol subsidy got resuscitated two months after its public execution. It is not only back, alive and kicking, but also getting set for a new record.

There is still no official acknowledgement of this yet. But three developments within the week put the resurgence and the surge of petrol subsidy beyond the realm of speculation or projection.

The first was from an exclusive story by The Cable, an online newspaper, which showed that about two months ago President Tinubu approved the request by the national oil company to take care of the mounting subsidy bill with the dividends, taxes, and royalties due the Federation from the company. According to The Cable, the memo approved by the president has a breakdown of the actual figures for petrol subsidy (framed as shortfall or PMS FX differential) from August 2023 to April 2024 and the projection for May to December 2024.

The second confirmation is masked in a note in the 2023 audited financial statement of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). Note 24.2.3 on page 80 of the 120-page financial statement speaks about a N3.3 trillion ‘under-recovery’ for January to May 2023 and an ‘energy security expense’ of N1.8 trillion from August to December 2023. Hint: based on the approved memo, subsidy made a return from August 2023.

And the third development came on Monday via the impressive verbal gymnastics by Mr. Umar Ajiya, the Chief Financial Officer of NNPCL, while announcing his company’s ‘historic’ and ‘gravity-defying’ profits. Ajiya said NNPCL has not paid a kobo as subsidy to any marketer. NNPCL seems to be setting its own question here, as no one had alleged it was paying subsidy to marketers. Besides, making subsidy payments to marketers has never been the responsibility of NNPCL, either by law or practice. But the NNPCL CFO didn’t stop there. He added: “What has been happening is that we have been importing PMS (petrol), which has been landing at a specific cost, and the government tells us to sell it at half price. So, the difference between the landing price and that half price is a shortfall.” There, behind and beyond the lame attempt at spinning, is Mr. Subsidy sun-tanning in public view. Common sense, all along, had suggested the return of petrol subsidy. Nigeria imports the petrol it consumes. It is thus a no-brainer that subsidy has re-emerged if a product imported with dollars is sold at the same price whether the US dollar officially exchanges for N785 or N1,1570. NNPCL’s monthly reports to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) also include some hints. But the communiques issued after FAAC meetings and the reports on FAAC disbursements published by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation do not include reports that agencies make to FAAC. The story by The Cable and the two other developments highlighted above have eliminated plausible deniability. They provided confirmation and details. Now, we know that the GCEO of NNPCL, Mr. Mele Kyari, sought approval from the president to use Federation’s entitlements to defray the cost of petrol subsidy that came back from August 2023 and that the president duly approved (though questions can be asked about if the president can solely give approval for utilisation of what belongs to the whole Federation and whether it is tidy and anticipated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) for NNPCL to continue to be run as if it is still a corporation).

Also, we now have some figures and the terms. The president approved for NNPCL to use the 2023 final dividend to the Federation and to pause the payment of interim dividend for May to December 2024. Even with this, NNPCL projected that the accumulated subsidy cost

(which it claimed had put its cashflow at risk) would amount to N6.88 trillion by December 2024 while the cumulative amount due as taxes and royalties to the Federation for the same period would amount to N3.99 trillion, with the Federation still owing the company N2.89 trillion. In plain language, this means that the Federation will forfeit everything it is supposed to get as taxes and returns from NNPCL and will still owe the company N2.89 trillion. Is that not incredible? And this will be simply because of a petrol subsidy that is officially gone!

Analysis conducted by Agora Policy, a think tank I head, adds extra layer to this grim dimension. With data from various sources (including NEITI’s oil and gas reports, NNPCL’s reports to FAAC, annual statistical bulletins of the CBN, The Cable, and NNPCL’s 2023 audited financial statement), Agora Policy revealed that the N5.10 trillion incurred on petrol subsidy in 2023 was, in nominal terms, the highest subsidy paid in 18 years. The subsidy figure for 2024 is likely to set an all-time record. Yet, the subsidy is gone!

Agora Policy’s analysis also shows the following: petrol subsidy was 2.2% of GDP in 2023 (only surpassed by 2011, when it was 3% of GDP); it was 49.6% of the net distributable revenue from FAAC in the seven months of 2024 (the highest ever in 18 years and seven months); and it was 113% of gross oil revenue in seven months of 2024 (only surpassed by the 126% for 2023). Put another way: in the seven months of 2024 and in 2023, petrol subsidy was higher than the gross oil revenue to the Federation. Is that not something, considering that the subsidy is officially gone?

A comparison of the dollar value of petrol subsidy over time based on the official exchange rate for each year shows a slightly different picture. A total of $8 billion was incurred on petrol subsidy in 2023, only exceeded by the $13 billion for 2011. Remember that 2011 was a special year of infamy in the annals of petrol subsidy in Nigeria. But then, the 2011 subsidy figure as a portion of the gross oil revenue (21.4%) and net distributable revenue at FAAC (25.7%) was considerably lower than comparable figures for 2023 and the seven months in 2024.

If petrol subsidy has returned and is burning a big hole in Nigeria’s public purse, why has the Tinubu Administration refused to openly admit so? I want to assume good faith and will say the government approach is a product of shame and ego. President Tinubu was supposed to be the president that finally slayed the subsidy demon in Nigeria, and in his very first minute in office, even right there at the inauguration venue, even when it was not included in his prepared speech. The president and his handlers have positioned him as the leader who had the guts to

do what others dithered on or failed to see through. They have also sold petrol subsidy removal as his singular and consequential achievement. How does he now say that the subsidy he slayed publicly, with dramatic verve, has resurrected? How do you explain to Nigerians that despite all they have gone through the same administration is still paying subsidy and in such significant amount? Admitting to such would amount to taking away the administration’s definition of key achievement and a chunk of its self-image. Ego will get in the way of conceding to having tried and failed. Concerns about the shame and the condemnation such will invite will also crowd out the need to say it as it is. Hence, the resort to the obfuscation and the self-deceit on display. However, the administration will have to admit to its botched job, and the sooner the better.

President Tinubu’s signature reform has unravelled from his own making, not due to the usual suspects. One, there is no clear plan for the reform. The president deserves all the applause he got for boldly announcing the end of petrol subsidy in his inaugural speech. But an announcement is not a strategy. And courage is not the only thing needed to see such a difficult reform through. For contentious reforms to succeed, there is need for carefully-calibrated plans: a step-by-step, well-thought-out and faithfully-executed design about what to do, by whom, when and how. There is also the need for a reform coordinating unit that undertakes constant reviews, decides on iterations and manages strategic communication.

The announcement at Eagle Square created immediate panic, with consumers and marketers caught flat-footed. There was confusion about whether petrol subsidy was gone immediately or would linger till June 30th as the President Mohammadu Buhari administration had allocated N3.36 trillion for subsidy for January to June in the 2023 budget. On 31st May 2023, two days after presidential inauguration, NNPCL announced a tripling of petrol prices. In Abuja, a litre of petrol went from N185 to N537. There were some murmurs but Nigerians largely chose to give the administration a chance. However, it soon became apparent that not enough thought was put into designing and executing the reform. Relief to the poorest of the poor became a matter for political football. If there was a plan for circuit breakers and multiple suppliers, it wasn’t manifest.

The second issue was a lack of conceptual clarity. The administration mistook price adjustment for full deregulation of the downstream sector. Removing subsidy is an important step but it is not all that there is to full deregulation. A fully deregulated market is not one with one major supplier or a sole supplier. Subsidy removal is a signal for competition but that doesn’t automatically create competition. A proper strategy should have incorporated how to remove the binding constraints to deregulation in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.

But the president and his team kept saying they had deregulated sector. If this was true, so what happened on August 14th and 15th when both the NNPCL and the Presidency respectively announced that there would be no further increase in the price of petrol? Do you fix or freeze prices in a deregulated market and still maintain there is no subsidy between the actual and the frozen prices? On 15th August we returned not just to regulated pricing but also to a naked-hedge form of subsidy—government will pay whatever the difference is between regulated price and actual price, not matter how big the difference. Of course, only NNPCL can handle the returnee subsidy because of the Federation’s crude oil in its care. Needless to say, this arrangement is obscured from public glare, is without independent verification, and therefore is susceptible to the kind of things that routinely happens in such circumstances. In fact, Presidency and NNPCL officials continue to insist that subsidy has ended and deregulation is on course. Indeed!

The third and the most critical error is the decision to float the Naira. To be sure, the Naira was deemed overvalued. The existence of multiple exchange rates also created room for corruption. But the decision to float the Naira within two weeks of removing petrol subsidy is clearly bizarre. Apart from the not-so-tiny danger of inflicting two shocks

simultaneously on the economy and the citizens, it was a reckless gambit based on assumptions about forex liquidity flows that are yet to materialise and without appreciation of the real state of our external reserves. Someone in the decision-making room should have asked how floating the Naira could have interacted negatively with the price of petrol or how it could have undermined the petrol subsidy reform. The reason for such a question is simple: petrol is imported with foreign exchange and its value will be a function of the exchange rate. Even when crude oil is refined at home and is sold to refineries in Naira, the dollar cost of crude oil will still affect the price of petrol. Someone should have asked: what would happen to the price of petrol if a dollar goes to N900 or N1000 or N1500? What if the price of dollars changes every day, are we ready for petrol price to change every day? How much of such changes can people tolerate at this early stage and what does that mean for subsidy reform?

This is where scenario planning meets second order thinking. Both clearly were absent in the introduction of the double shocks. On 15th August, the price of petroleum was frozen because the scenario that the reformers didn’t take time to plan for had materialised. Even the pausing was largely based on the hope that Naira would firm up and stabilise and the subsidy would disappear. It hasn’t played out that way. Naira was exchanging for below N800 in August 2023 but by February it hit N1,500. Hope-driven policies are likely to come to grief.

The floating of the Naira remains the cardinal error. Yes, the CBN is independent. But it is improbable that the interim management at CBN would take such a consequential action as embarking on the free float of the national currency without informing the president and getting his sign-off. A more considered approach would have been to eliminate the many official exchange rates and to gradually devalue the Naira in a way that uses the parallel rate as an anchor and narrows the gap between the official and parallel rates.

If CBN had gradually devalued Naira toward N762 to a dollar, which was the parallel market rate on June 14th when the free float was announced, petrol price would have landed at about the current regulated price, subsidy would have been remained in its resting place, and Nigerians would have been spared the enormous stress of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. The foreign exchange reform is President Tinubu’s second signature intervention. Even though the three tiers of government are getting more money from FAAC on account of the rapid depreciation of the Naira, the president cannot ignore the overwhelmingly negative impact of floating the Naira on Nigerians. Neither can he extricate himself from the backlash. Both are his reforms. They were not well-thought-through, not well-timed, and not properly-paced. My point here is not that the reforms shouldn’t have been undertaken, but they could have been better conceived, better spaced and better implemented. As I have said repeatedly on this page, it is possible to do the right things wrongly, or in the wrong order. Now that the subsidy subterfuge is in the open, the government has to own up. Instead of continuing in denial and allowing NNPCL to engage in tortured double-speak, it is better for the president to say that some form of subsidy has returned because he feels that there is a need to protect Nigerians from constant increases in petrol prices at a time that most citizens are struggling to make ends meet. It is a reasonable excuse. Even when his opponents will attack and ridicule him, many Nigerians will understand. There is no shame in not meeting the mark at the first try. An open acknowledgment is a necessary starting point, for you cannot address what you haven’t even accepted exists or is a problem. After coming clean, the government needs to level up with Nigerians about how it plans to manage the subsidy in a transparent and accountable way. The current arrangement is open to abuse and distrust. Allowing NNPCL to be the sole determiner of the landing cost of petrol, of the subsidy element, of the amount that is owed and the fiat to deduct it upfront is a throwback to a dark era. It doesn’t pass the smell test. Lastly, the president needs to have a plan to rescue or modify his reform. On account of its systemic importance and the linkage between subsidy and forex reforms, achieving a fair and stable value for the Naira should form the core of that plan.

Tinubu