Nigerian government prefers to buy imported vehicles because local manufacturers are still found wanting in terms of providing after-sale service, the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite had disclosed.

The minister provided this clarification at a stakeholders’ engagement forum, organised by the National Automotive Design and Development Council in Lagos, recently.

The event had in attendance industry players who discussed the effective implementation of the Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan.

The Minister said the government’s stance on prioritising after-sale service aligns with its commitment to operational efficiency, reliability, and fiscal responsibility in managing its fleet of vehicles.

She urged automakers at the forum a renewed focus on after-sale support to ensure sustained business success.

“The auto industry is key to achieving economic diversification, and this is in line with the mandate of the ministry to ensure full diversification and full industrialisation of the economy,” stated Minister Uzoka-Anite.

She underscored the government’s commitment to supporting local manufacturers, stating, “Addressing customer complaints is not solely the government’s responsibility. We want to encourage local manufacturers to take some responsibility for business and operational risks.”

She advised industry players to “Develop partnerships with those producing parts, and urged them to try as much as possible, to have centres that are accessible to their customers.”

Emphasising the importance of market research, the Minister suggested, “Always do market research to know the number of service centres you should have.”

In addressing the concerns of buyers of Nigerian vehicles, Uzoka-Anite noted, [i]“I have engaged a lot of people who buy Nigerian vehicles, and the common complaint is that they don’t have a service centre.

A former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Theophilus Danjuma (retd.), on Tuesday, said he used to say that any job that is expected to be done properly should be given to a woman.

He said he had a change of mind when the nation had a female minister of petroleum who he claimed excelled in corruption.

Although he did not mention the name of the former minister, he said she set a record that was yet to be beaten by anybody.

Danjuma spoke in Enugu while inaugurating the Goodwill Medical Centre built and equipped by his Foundation at
Umuchigbo, Iji Nike, Enugu.

The GMC project is the brainchild of Prof Uche Amazigo, Nigeria’s renowned pro-poor public health specialist, and one of the few female Africans to have led a specialised UN Agency, overseeing a highly successful multilateral partnership in global health.

He said, “I used to say that if you want anything properly done and deliver on time without any excuses, give the job to a woman until we had a female minister of petroleum. That woman excelled in corruption. She set a record that is yet to be beaten by anybody.

“So, I was in the process of reviewing my statement when I met one lady, Prof. Uche Amazigo Uche and I have come a very long way. My first encounter with Uche was around mid-October 2010 when she, accompanied by Mrs. Franca Ilamiji, another Igbo woman.”

Extolling the character of Prof Amazigo, the retired Army General, said she has made him believe again that women remain the most trusted people to prudently manage public funds.

“Uche and I have been colleagues for many years. After working for the TY Danjuma Foundation, I thought I had seen the end of Uche. I was mistaken.

“In early March 2022, Prof Uche, accompanied by two other female professors, presented to me a request to provide financial support for building and equipping a low-cost high-efficiency medical centre to provide excellent medical services by predominantly female medical doctors, nurses and midwives who chose to dedicate their time to humanity.

“I listened to her carefully and asked a few questions. I wanted to know if they have cash and the name of the organisation. And how she thinks an all-female-staff medical centre will function. She was ready for my questions.

“The result of all these questions is what you see here today.

“This magnificent edifice can only be built by women at the price they accounted to me.

“Men will take your money and and you won’t see any building or money.”

While saluting and congratulating Uche and her team for a job well done, Danjuma expressed hope that they would surpass the goals they set for themselves.

In his speech, the Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Mbah, promised to protect the facility to the maximum benefit of the people of Enugu State.

Represented by his deputy, Ifeanyi Ossai, Mbah commended the elder statesman for epitomising leadership both in public service and private life.

He also lauded Amazigo for initiating the project which is primarily going to be of immense benefit to the people of Enugu State.

The CEO of Goodwill Medical Centre, Prof Amazigo, said the objective of establishing the hospital was to provide quality healthcare for all.

“This centre with the assistance of seven Consultant specialists and Professors, will provide low-cost treatment for indigent patients and charge others (the rich) the standard medical fees,” she said.

She disclosed that the centre had perfected plans for the enrollment of 1000 or more indigent people randomly selected from communities, into the National Health Insurance Authority/ Group, Individual, Family Social Health Insurance Programme.

“This will cost about N15 million at the rate of N15,000 per enrollee. This programme will provide comprehensive and robust health care services to the poor,” she said.

Mediator Qatar said on Monday that a truce between Israeli and Hamas forces in Gaza had been extended by two days, continuing a pause in seven weeks of warfare that has killed thousands and laid waste to the Palestinian enclave.

Hamas officials said the truce was extended under the same conditions as a four-day ceasefire, according to Reuters.

The initial four-day truce was due to end on Monday night.

“An agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip,” a Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson said in a post on social media.

There was no immediate comment from Israel, but a White House official confirmed an agreement had been reached.

“An agreement has been reached with the brothers in Qatar and Egypt to extend the temporary humanitarian truce by two more days, with the same conditions as in the previous truce,” a Hamas official said in a phone call with Reuters.

Reactions trail extension

An official of Hamas, Ghazi Hamad, told Al Jazeera that Hamas wants to “stop the war and the aggression” against the Palestinian people.

“I hope we can extend until we reach the end of this war and aggression on our people in Gaza,” said Hamad, a member of Hamas’s political bureau.

“I think there is big support across the Qatari government and the Egyptian government, and even Western governments, they want the ceasefire,” he said.

Hamad added that he hoped to see the international community pressure Israel to end its occupation and “to end this catastrophe” against Palestinians.

On its part, the White House welcomed the truce extension with hopes it will be extended further.

“In order to extend the pause, Hamas has committed to releasing another set of 20 women and children over the next two days.

“We hope to see the pauses extended further and that would depend on Hamas releasing more hostages,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

Kirby defended the US’ diplomatic approach to the Israel-Gaza conflict, saying it is getting aid into the Gaza Strip and Americans out.

More than 14,854 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7. The US provides Israel with $3.8bn in military assistance annually.

Red Crescent said it was unable to deliver aid to north Gaza Monday

Since the beginning of the truce, however, 150 aid trucks have managed to enter Gaza City and the northern region, the Red Crescent says.

Fifty of those trucks were Egyptian, and they entered directly through the Rafah crossing and into the northern areas – thus overcoming “obstacles and challenges we face in loading and unloading shipments,” said Mohammad Abu Musabah, director of emergency medical services for the organisation.

Palestinians in Gaza continue to flee south amid Israeli military presence

Palestinian journalist Ashraf Amra documented Israeli military vehicles behind a crowd of displaced Palestinians as they moved southwards from the north of the Gaza Strip on Salah al-Din Street.

Wide areas of the Hamas-ruled enclave have been flattened by Israeli air strikes and artillery bombardments, and a humanitarian crisis has unfolded as supplies of food, fuel, drinking water, and medicine run out.

The president/ chief executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has announced intentions to publicly list the subsidiary of the Group, Dangote Petroleum Refinery on the Nigerian Exchange Limited.

Dangote made this known in an interview with the Financial Times, stating that the company has resolved challenges about crude oil supply and is now prepared for the listing.

According to Dangote, we have resolved all the issues with crude oil supply. We are now ready to move forward with our plans to list the refinery on the Nigerian Exchange Limited.

He revealed that the refinery, which is expected to produce diesel, kerosene and jet fuel, would start operations in December, saying that a deal has been finalised for the first cargo of about six million barrels scheduled for delivery next month.

At its full planned capacity, the refinery would be able to produce 650,000 oil barrels per day, subsequently, with an initial rollout of 540,000 barrels per day.

The refinery, expected to generate 27 million litres of diesel, 11 million litres of kerosene, and nine million litres of jet fuel, will source crude from various producers in Nigeria, including the country’s state oil company.

Meanwhile, industry operators, government officials and stakeholders expressed optimism that the refinery will bring about humongous benefits not just to the oil and gas sector, but to the Nigerian economy at large.

They said the refinery is a key driver of growth that would impact positively on the downstream sector of the Nigerian and African economy from this year.

They expected the refinery to save Nigeria billions of naira, based on the fact that import of Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as, petrol into the country would cease, going by the refining capacity of the plant.

President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina recently described Dangote Refinery projects as the best industrialised project to happen to Africa, saying this project would positively affect the economic growth and development of not only Nigeria but Africa as a continent.

Adesina added that “These projects will reverse the huge sum the nation spends on foreign exchange, when you look at how much we import, it is about $57 billion worth of different products and we export only about $50.4 billion, so we have to balance that with about $7 billion and talking to them here, they showed us that they can have a domestic market of about $11 billion and that is an incredible market and that will save Nigeria about $9 billion dollars, a year from importing petroleum products, so this is huge for Nigeria and even for Africa as a continent.”

Director-general of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr. Chinyere Almona said “with a few days to the inauguration of Dangote Refinery, the Chamber commend the efforts of its visioner, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and the supportive federal government.

“Expected to be Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s single-trained facility, the Dangote Refinery has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, sufficient to meet Nigeria’s need for refined petroleum products.”

Barely 35 days before the end of December, there is a cloud of uncertainty as to whether the promise by the federal government to bring the Port Harcourt Refinery on stream before the end of the year will still be a reality, Daily Trust Saturday reports.

On August 25, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil) Heineken Lokpobiri, has said that the Port Harcourt Refinery (PHRC) will be ready for operation by December 2023.

This was contained in a release signed by Garba Deen Muhammad, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

The minister gave the assurance during an inspection tour of the project site in Port Harcourt. But stakeholders have expressed doubts about the feasibility of the December date from the reality on ground.

The Alesa Eleme location of the multibillion naira federal government- owned Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC) is a beehive of activities.

The entrance gate leading to Area Five, where the first phase of rehabilitation work of the refinery is taking place, has witnessed heavy human traffic, comprising mainly of both skilled and unskilled workers of various contracting firms working day and night to ensure that the December deadline given by the federal to hand over the first phase of the rehabilitation work is achieved.

By 12noon on November 22, 2023 when our correspondent visited the obsolete-looking refinery complex, many of the staff engaged by the contractors were filing out of the gate for lunch break.

The atmosphere and surroundings of the multibillion investment were fully charged, with various categories of staff moving from one place to another taking orders from their supervisors on what to do. But the reality on ground did not shown any sign that the project would be handed over in December.

Dr Joseph Obele, the executive chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), whose association was accorded the privilege of oversight function of monitoring the progress of work at the ongoing rehabilitation work, expressed doubt that the December completion date would be feasible.

Obele told our correspondent that it was on record that the federal government borrowed $1.5billion from AFRIEX Bank for the repair of the refinery.

He said the former Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, informed them that the refinery would commence operation in the second quarter of this year, but that promise failed. He added that another date of first quarter of this year also failed.

The IPMAN chairman said that despite failed efforts by the immediate past minister of state for petroleum to deliver the project at a record time, more efforts had been intensified for a speedy completion of the project.

He said the project had attained 90 per cent completion but expressed doubt that the December deadline completion time would be feasible.

He said, “During a meeting with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr President announced to us that operation of the refinery, plus or minus, would commence on December 2023. And as the IPMAN chairman in Rivers State and an indigene of the host community of Alesa Eleme, where we have the refinery, arising from my office as part of my oversight function, I usually visit the site.

“I can tell you on good authority that work is going on seriously at the first phase of the refinery, which is Area Five. From my observation they are done with mechanical and civil engineering jobs; the part of the jobs they are doing now is the electrical, which has to do with instrumentations and installations.

“From more privileged information at my disposal, a commissioning committee has been constituted, but it is obvious that the refinery will be coming up next month, December or early January. No man can tell you authoritatively that the plant will be coming up in December. If they say December, it may be early January 2024. It is quite obvious that the progress of job is encouraging; and it is enormous.

“Since Mr President gave that marching order of December, the contractors are up to their game; they have redoubled their efforts at work in the site. So, as an association, our interest is to see the refinery commence in no distant time because the landing cost of fuel is becoming unbearable to the federal government and importation is witnessing some hiccups at the moment because we have a supply gap.

“The quantities demanded by marketers are not actually equal to the supply given to us by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. That’s why we have supply shortage nationwide. The price of fuel is not what it ought to be. Some Nigerians are buying at N700 from some locations, some are buying at N800 from other locations, while some are buying at N900 per litre.”

He pointed out that the delay in the commencement of work at the refinery was bringing untold hardship to Nigerians, noting that Nigerians want to see the plants commence operation in no distant time.

“I can tell you that the progress of work at the refinery is at 90 per cent completion level,” he added.

A staff of Montego, one of the contracting firms handling the rehabilitation work, expressed doubt that the project would be delivered by December 2023.

Speaking with our correspondent under the condition of anonymity he said, “I don’t think the first phase of the rehabilitation work would be delivered by December because of the total rehabilitation work being carried out at Area Five, which is the first and oldest refinery. From my observation, that project will not be ready by December. The one they are working on right now, which is supposed to be ready by December, is the one they call Area Five. If they are serious it can be ready, but that particular refinery has been a problem.

“For about 30 years, that refinery has been down. It has gone through several rehabilitations but nothing serious has really come out of it.

“That particular refinery is out of modernity because the present technology is not there. It has a kind of manual facilities and does not have modern instrumentations. It does not have a control room and all those technological instrumentations. All the modern technological instrumentations should be installed for the facilities to be ready. All the instrumentations are designed abroad and the contractor only comes here to implement and install them.”

He said the contractors were battling to replace the manual facilities with modern technological instrumentations, adding that with the reality on ground, the project would not be ready by December.

Another staff of the company who also pleaded anonymity said the contractors were carrying out refurbishment of the 21 installation tanks at the Area Five of the refinery.

“There are about 21 tanks that are being refurbished right now. Out of the 21 tanks, 10 have been worked on and the remaining ones are undergoing refurbishment. We have also finished all the civil engineering work, such as casting of bases,” he said.


Road leading to refinery still in deplorable state

Apart from the doubts being expressed by stakeholders, our correspondent also observed that the road leading to the refinery from the East West Road is in total dilapidation, further indicating the uncertainty of the refinery being ready for commissioning in December.

It would be recalled that trucks laden with petroleum products fall on the road on a daily basis while several lives have been lost on the road.

The stretch of road leading to the refinery from Alesa Junction down to the entrance gate enroute Area 5 has collapsed.


Facts about old and new refinery

Daily Trust Saturday reports that the Area 5 (old refinery) has the capacity to refine 60,000 barrels per day.

The old refinery (area 5) comprises a CDU, a CRU, and a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) facility.

The refinery complex uses four turbo-generators of 14MW an hour of electricity generation capacity each and four boilers of 120 tonnes (t) an hour of steam generation capacity each.

The refinery products include petrol, diesel, LPG, aviation and domestic kerosene, low pour fuel oil (LPFO), and heavy pour fuel oil (HPFO).

On the other hand, the new plant (refinery) has the capacity to produce 150,000 barrels per day bringing the total capacity of 210, 000 per day when combined with the old refinery.

The new Port Harcourt refinery comprises a crude distillation unit (CDU), a vacuum distillation unit (VDU), a naphtha hydrotreating unit (NHTU), a catalytic reforming unit (CRU), a continuous catalyst regeneration (CCR) unit, a kerosene hydrotreating unit, a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit, and a dimersol unit to convert propylene into a gasoline blendstock.

It also houses a butamer isomerisation unit, an alkylation unit, apart from hydrogen purification, fuel gas vaporiser, sour water and caustic treatment units.


Lokpobiri vows to hold NNPC accountable over project completion

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said he was holding the NNPC accountable for the completion of the rehabilitation work at the refinery.

Lokpobiri, who spoke to journalists shortly after inspecting a private modular refinery at Ibigwe in Imo State, said he would be going back to the refinery in the next couple of days to see things for himself.

He said the NNPC team told him that the refinery would be ready by December, adding, “When I went there, I saw that they were working; and they are still working. I will be there in the next few days.

“There are three phases in the Port Harcourt refinery. The phase one; and from the presentation made to me, they said the first phase would be ready by December. So let us wait till December. When the fuel starts coming out, everybody will see it.

“I want to make it very clear that I am not the one rehabilitating the refinery, the NNPC, which is our national oil company, is the body responsible for that, even before I came into office. I am pushing them because of the importance of refineries in the country, to ensure that they meet the target.

“Let’s have the first phase working, then the second and third phases will work at the end of next year. That is what they are doing, and I am holding them accountable. I am holding them responsible because they said so. I am not the one responsible, I can only tell you that they are working.”

The Port Harcourt refinery, which is a subsidiary of the NNPCL, is composed of two refineries with the capacity of refining 210,000 barrels of crude oil per day.


32 months after…

The EPC contract for the rehabilitation work at the refinery complex was awarded by the President Muhammad Buhari-led government in March 2021 to Italy’s Tecnimont S.p.A, a subsidiary of Maire Tecnimont Group, at the contract sum of $1.5billion.

According to the contract documents, the project entails engineering, procurement and construction activities for a full rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery complex, aimed at restoring the complex to a minimum of 90 per cent of its nameplate capacity, to be delivered in phases from 24 and 32 months and the final stage expected to be completed in 44 months from the award date.

However, a former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, had assured Nigerians that the refinery would commence operation in 18 months from the award date.

While 32 months have elapsed since the contract was awarded in March 2021, the government has kept shifting the completion date since the last quarter of 2022. It has again postponed the refinery’s operation to December 2023, even when there has been no assurance from Tecnimont that the project would be ready for use by that time.

Sylva had on many occasions explained that funds for the rehabilitation would come from three sources; namely, NNPC’s internally generated revenue – $200million; federal appropriation -$800m and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) – $500m.

While the repayment of the loan from Afrexim Bank, according to the government, would be from operations of the refinery, the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), does not believe that the Port Harcourt Refinery cannot be delivered by December 2023.

The executive director of YEAC Nigeria, Mr Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, wondered how petrol tankers would access the refinery to load products when the Eleme axis of the East-West road is impassable.

“Most statements from government officials that cannot be independently verified cannot be trusted when it comes to issues of refineries. At the point of flag-off by former President Buhari in May, it was promised that the Dangote Refinery was going to commence production in July 2023, and up till today, there is no hope in sight.

“Even if the refinery would commence production in December, where is the road that tankers can use to load products and distribute to consumers? The Election junction to the refinery section of the East West road is in its worst state.

“I believe the refinery would commence operation someday, but not in December 2023, even if it cannot refine up to its capacity because of the outdated equipment and facility.

“While it is possible to project into the future for a possible completion date, Advocacy Centre believes it is better to allow the contractors work at their pace to deliver a refurbished refinery that would stand the test of time to produce, reduce importation and possibly crash the price of fuel, with a view to reducing the challenges faced by the masses since subsidy removal.”

Fyneface lamented that the country’s four refineries may not contribute significantly to solving Nigeria’s energy crisis even after the rehabilitation, regretting that more money has been spent on the maintenance of the refineries over the years than the cost of building a new modern refinery.

“I do not believe that production would commence at the Port Harcourt Refinery in December 2023. If it miraculously happens, it would be an experimental production that cannot be depended upon to contribute to addressing the issues of energy crisis in Nigeria.

“I expect production at the refinery to possibly kick off effectively anytime in 2024 but do not also think that it can refine to its full installed capacity due old age and obsolete technology it parades.

“Nigerians should rather be worried about the so much crude oil dollars and taxpayers money being expended on the country’s refineries, yet they have failed to come on stream.

Fyneface, who is the national facilitator of Project with Artisanal Crude Oil Refiners for Modular Refineries, said for the energy sufficiency and export, the country’s four refineries must be functioning at optimal capacity, while new refineries must be established in all oil-producing states, as well as modular refineries.

“Government should also support modular refineries with environmental-friendly policies to operate at their maximum capacities, grant licences to others who intend to establish private refineries and also ensure that feed (crude oil) is guaranteed for them.

“We have also finished all the civil engineering work, such as casting of bases,” he said.

The $20 billion Dangote Refinery, which is expected to transform the continent’s biggest economy, will fully come online with the refining of 650, 000 barrels per day by the end of 2024, its owner, Aliko Dangote, has said.

Dangote, whose personal wealth is estimated by Forbes at $10.5 billion, told the Financial Times that by next month the first cargo of about 6 million barrels will be ready for refining.

“Dangote, 66, said he believed the refinery could reach its capacity of 650,000 barrels a day by the end of 2024,” the report said, adding that “We’re starting with 350,000 barrels a day.”

At full production, the refinery, the world’s largest “single train” facility with just one distillation unit, could save Nigeria billions in foreign exchange currently spent on imported fuel.

It was “shameful”, Dangote said, that Nigeria, a major oil producer for more than 50 years, could not refine its own crude in anything like sufficient quantity.

Head of the Africa practice at political risk consultancy, the Eurasia Group, Amaka Anku, said the refinery was “a massive, complicated undertaking”.

In a country where most business people looked for short-term profits, she added, it was a blessing “that we have someone like Dangote who is willing to spend billions of his own money on long-term projects”.
Dangote conceded there were times when he thought the massive project – long delayed and about $8 billion over budget – might jeopardise his business empire.

“The challenges that we faced, I don’t know whether other people can face these challenges and even survive,” he said. “It’s either we sink or we sail through. And we thank the Almighty that at least we’ve arrived at the destination,” he added.

In the interview, Dangote complained that rivals were carping because they did not understand what it took to run a business that was the country’s biggest private-sector employer and its biggest taxpayer.

“Sometimes when people talk about us, Dangote, it’s like the government is holding everybody down and allowing us alone to fly,” he stated.

He did not want to discuss in detail a tussle over the supply of crude with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), which owns 20 per cent of the refinery after a $2.76 billion equity purchase in 2021.

Nigeria produces about 1.4 million barrels of oil a day, well short of its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota of 1.74 million barrels, with much pre-sold in forward contracts.

“Let’s not have the blame game here,” he said of NNPC’s reported difficulties in meeting the refinery’s requirements. “We have resolved all the issues of supply,” he stressed.

Dangote rejected suggestions NNPC was playing hardball to negotiate a bigger share of the refinery, which he said would generate revenue of $25 billion a year at full capacity. “I don’t think NNPC needs to buy more shares. I think they’re okay with what we’ve given them,” he added.

The refinery would eventually be floated as a separate company, he said, initially on the Lagos stock exchange.

To build the massive project on 2,500 hectares of swampland, Dangote had to construct his own port and road to take delivery of heavy equipment, establish his own trucking company to move it and his own industrial welding facility to put it together.
He said he had laid enough cable to stretch twice around the globe and had moved 65 million tonnes of sand. “You will not see this kind of project in Nigeria in the next 20 years,” he said.

No outside contractor had been willing to take on Nigerian risk, he said, so he had to design and build the whole thing in-house.
“We didn’t cut costs. We didn’t cut corners,” he said. “We didn’t do it for people to clap for us. We did it for posterity,” Africa’s richest man pointed out.

Dangote would not be drawn on his fight with BUA Chief, Abdulsamad Rabiu or his relationship with the president. But he said nothing should distract from the refinery — a “national project” that was “bigger than Dangote”.

After years of promises, he was adamant that everything was ready. “The refinery is done,” he said. “The baby can come out at any time,” he added.

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia


President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has vowed to find a lasting solution to the tough times facing Nigerians, saying that he was quite aware of the myriad of socio-economic and political problems Nigerians are grappling with.

He stated this yesterday at the 11th Convocation Ceremony of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), Abia State, where four sets of graduands participated in the ceremony.

Tinubu, who was represented by the Executive Secretary of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), Professor Garba Sharubutu, said he was not resting on his oars in his efforts to eliminate the current hardships in the country.

“Our policy instruments are being fine-tuned with the view to dealing firmly with the causes and not the symptoms of the problems,” he said.

“Mr. President promised that very soon the current exorbitant prices of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol would be “greatly reduced,” he added.

The president hinged his optimism on crashing fuel prices in no distant time on his belief that “very soon, some of our local refineries will start production.”

“He said part of the supplementary budget already approved by the National Assembly “will be applied to bring interventions at critical segments of the agricultural sector.”
On the persisting insecurity, which Tinubu identified as “a burden and a major challenge in Nigeria” the president assured the nation that “in no distant time, it will become history.”

However, he stated that his government needed sustained support and cooperation from Nigerians to realise the various solutions being g applied to address the present hardships.

“Bear with us and remain resolutely in support of this administration as we would leave no stone unturned in reversing the severe hardships that our people are currently passing through.”

Tinubu who expressed delight at performing his maiden duty as a Visitor to MOUAU, commended the institution for its exploits on academics and infrastructural development despite the many challenges facing the nation.

He underscored the critical role of the universities of agriculture in the nation’s quest for food security, which, he said, informed the establishment of additional universities of agriculture.

Tinubu urged private organisations to join hands with universities of agriculture “in forming partnerships and linkages to scale up agricultural research findings with a win-win target”.

“I strongly believe that we become a very strong nation by developing the natural, human, and material resources God has endowed us with,” he said.

In his address, the Vice Chancellor of MOUAU, Professor Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe, announced that the combined 11th Convocation produced a total of 8,229 graduates at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, out of which 121 graduated with first class.

He said that under his watch, the university has achieved many landmarks in its digital transformation drive, research, infrastructural development, staff and students welfare, among others.

Maduebibisi, who is the 6th VC of MOUAU, noted that the institution “is still grappling with the challenges posed by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the instability of the academic calendar” caused by industrial unions.

He also identified the paucity of funds as “a major brick wall” to be surmounted hence “the critical need for substantial financial support to improve our environment.”

The Igbinedion University, Okada in Edo State, said it has commenced the process of manufacturing light weight electric minibus, the first by any university in the country.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Lawrence Ezemonye, said this on Friday at the 21st convocation of the country’s first private university.

Mr Ezemonye, a professor, said that the design and fabrication that would lead to the production of the vehicles were ongoing.

“Research, development and innovation are critical to scholarship and knowledge production.

“The university’s efforts in this regard received a boost with the ongoing design and fabrication of Light Weight Electric Minibus, which will ultimately lead to the manufacture of light weight vehicles.

“There will be periodic public lectures at various phases of the project, while the engineering students are expected to come up with research topics at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels relevant to the project,” Mr Ezemonye said.

Meanwhile, the vice-chancellor has announced that 842 students graduated for the 2022/2023 session.

He said that 36 made First Class Honours, while 299 graduated with Second Class Honours (Upper Division).

The Vice-Chancellor reeled out the achievements of the university in the last one year to include the establishment of a Centre for Distance Learning, campus-wide digitalisation and innovation and scholarships.

The Chancellor of the university, Gabriel Igbinedion, charged the graduates to be good ambassadors of their Alma Mater and impact the world by being the best.

Mr Igbinedion, represented by his deputy and son, Lucky Igbinedion, charged them to build and create powerful networks that would open doors of opportunities for them in different spheres of life.

In a convocation lecture, a maritime expert, Felicia Mogo, called on the graduates to think outside the box by making themselves competitive in the larger society.

Ms Mogo, who is the founder, African Marine Environment Sustainability Initiative, encouraged them to be steadfast in the pursuit of knowledge, exchange of diverse thoughts and experiences.

She said that this would enable them to capture the world and leverage innovation to attain greatness in life.

(NAN)

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that it will soon be announcing a new capital base for banks in the country as it said Nigerian banks were not well capitalised to meet the needs of the economy.

The CBN governor, Dr Olayemi Cardoso, in his first public speech at the 2023 Bankers Dinner on Friday night, said while there has been stability in the banking sector, banks in the country were not adequately capitalised to meet the need of a $1 trillion economy which the present government was aiming to achieve.

Murtala Kankia, the acting chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) has debunked the claim that Ehiozuwa Agbonayinma, a former member of the house of representatives, has been appointed to replace him at the bureau.

On Thursday, a letter purportedly signed by George Akume, the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), announced the appointment of Agbonayinma by President Bola Tinubu as the chairman of CCB.

But in an internal memo released by Kankia and sighted by TheCable, the acting chairman of CCB described the letter as “fake, misleading and does not emanate from the office of the secretary to the government of the federation”.

Kankia said he is the most senior ranking member of the bureau, adding that he remains the acting chairman of the agency until further directives from the president.

“My attention has been drawn to a circular which emanates from Hon. Ehiozuwa Johnson Agbonayinma, a federal commissioner claiming to be appointed by the president and C in C of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Acting Chairman, CCB,” the memo reads.

“The truth of the matter is, Barrister Murtala Aliyu Kankia having served for an initial Five (5) years term and was re-appointed as a member of the Bureau in 2018 and 2023 respectively, remains the most senior ranking member of the Bureau, hence he is now acting as Chairman pending further directives of the President to avoid leadership vacuum.

“Mr. Ehiozuwa Johnson Agbonayinma serving for the initial 5 years appointed in 2021 can not in any ramification claim seniority over the current Ag. Chairman (Murtaala Kankia).

“Determination of seniority between Murtala A. Kankiya, Barr. Benedict Umeano and Hon. Ehiozuwa Johnson Agbonayinma will be made by the SGF office, and whatever decision is taken in the best interest of the system and the country will be communicated formally to the Bureau by me and no other.

“Note further that the SGF letter did not specifically invite Murtala Kankiya to hand over to Hon. Ehiozuwa Johnson as falsely speculated.”

Membership of the newly-appointed Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker Committee appears to have been shared between loyalists of former Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, and supporters of the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike.

Mr Amaechi is officially a member of the APC while Mr Wike is officially a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Mr Wike, who unsuccessfully bidded for his party’s presidential ticket last year, is believed to have some influence on the APC in the state by virtue of his position as a minister in the APC-led federal government.

The NWC of APC, on Wednesday, dissolved the crisis-ridden leadership of the party, and appointed a seven-member caretaker committee to run its affairs in the state for six months.

The committee members are Tony Okocha (Chairman), Eric Nwibani (Secretary), Chibuike Ikenga and Stephen Abolo.

Others are Silvester Vidin, Senibo Dan-Jumbo and Darling Amadi.

Mr Okocha is a known supporter of Mr Wike, even though they belong to different political parties.

His appointment as the committee chairman has, therefore, fuelled speculations that the ruling party is preparing grounds for the defection of the FCT minister to the APC.

Mr Okocha, a former Chief of Staff to Mr Amaechi, has been critical of his former boss lately.

Besides, the new caretaker committee chair, in the past couple of months, has been championing the campaign for the defection of Mr Wike from the PDP to the APC.

In an interview in July, Mr Okocha declared that his group had resolved to formally invite Mr Wike to join the APC and take over the structure of the party.

“The group had met after the election and we asked ourselves what the position was. In that meeting, it was not part of our agenda. We had a two-point agenda.

“One, was a briefing as to what has happened? The second one was, what is the way forward? In the cause of that meeting, a motion was moved from the floor saying that we should invite Governor Wike to come over to APC and take over the leadership of APC,” he said.

There are speculations that now that he has been given the structure of the APC in Rivers State with the mandate to midwife the birth of a new state executive, he would ensure the defection of Mr Wike to the party.


Other affiliations

On the other hand, the appointment of Eric Nwibani, a loyalist of Mr Amaechi, as the secretary of the caretaker committee is seen by observers as some sort of a balance.

Mr Nwibani, a House of Representatives candidate in the last election, belongs to the Chibuike Amaechi (CRA) political bloc in the state.

Another loyalist of Mr Amaechi is Chibuike Ikenga, a former caretaker chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Area where the former transport minister hails from.


Crisis-ridden state executive

Since 2018, the Rivers State chapter of the APC has been enmeshed in crises.

That year, the Federal High Court nullified both the direct and indirect primaries conducted by two factions of the party in the state.

The factions conducted parallel primaries that produced two sets of candidates.

While the faction loyal to Mr Ameachi produced Tonye Cole as its governorship candidate, the other loyal to Magnus Abe, produced him (Abe) as its candidate.

The Supreme Court subsequently affirmed the nullification of all APC candidates in the state.

The development gave Mr Wike a smooth sail to be re-elected for second term as a PDP governor in 2019.

The APC almost went through the same experience again in 2022 in the build-up to the 2023 general elections.

The pro-Amaechi faction again produced Mr Cole as its candidate, prompting some aggrieved aspirants to approach the court.

It took the intervention of the Court of Appeal for the APC to be on the ballot in Rivers State.

However, immediately after the general elections, the party went into another crisis as some members of the state executive committee suspended Emeka Beke, the state party chairman, Iheanyichukwu Azubuike, legal adviser, and Darlington Nwauju, publicity secretary.

Omiete Eferebo, the deputy chairman of the APC, took over the running of the party. His supporters also got an order restraining Mr Beke from parading himself as chairman of the APC in Rivers State.


Political rivalry between Wike and Amaechi

Messrs Wike and Amaechi have been in continuous struggle for control of the political structure of the state for about a decade.

Mr Wike had served as chief of staff to Mr Ameachi while the latter was governor before he (Wike) moved to Abuja as Minister of State for Education.

But since 2014, when Amaechi left PDP for the APC in the twilight of his second and final tenure as governor, both have been in different political parties.

While Mr Wike remained in the PDP, Mr Amaechi, alongside some governors, defected to the newly formed APC. He would later become the director-general of the APC presidential campaigns.

However, the 2023 general elections changed the political arrangement in the state. Mr Amaechi, who lost the presidential primary election against then co-presidential aspirant, Bola Tinubu, in 2022, has since been largely withdrawn from the activities of the APC especially at the national level.

He also faced allegations of working against the party in the state.

On the other hand, Mr Wike led a group of aggrieved PDP governors named the G5 that openly opposed Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the PDP.

For the very first time since the return of democracy, a party other than the PDP was declared winner of the presidential election in Rivers State. Mr Wike claimed credit for APC’s surprising victory in the state. Bola Tinubu, the APC candidate in the election, polled 231,591 votes in the state to emerge the winner.

However, PREMIUM TIMES’ review of the results uploaded on the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) shows that Peter Obi of the Labour Party won the presidential election in Rivers, contrary to the declaration made by INEC.

In gratitude for Mr Wike’s contribution to the success of the APC in the state, President Tinubu appointed him FCT minister, prompting protests by some elements within the pro-Amaechi’s camp.

“The Rivers State Chapter of the APC has no representation at any level of governance in our country. There isn’t a single Rivers APC member appointed at any level of the federal, state or local government,” Mr Cole told the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, in September during a visit to the party’s national secretariat.

The protests over appointment was dismissed by Mr Okocha, who stated that all appointments should be routed to the state through Mr Wike.

“We have said whatever is due to us as our own slot in Rivers should be handed over to Wike because he knows who and who worked for Tinubu in Rivers,” he said.

The recent move by the ruling party is coming amid ongoing fight between Mr Wike and his political godson and successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State.

The two politicians are currently locked in a battle over the political structure of the state. As a result, the timing of a rejig in the leadership of APC in the state is fueling the speculations of a possible defection of the FCT minister.

The House of Representatives says the operating licenses of the five Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) in the country, expired in October, urging them to renew their licenses for operations.

Rep. Bamidele Salam, the Chairman of the Public Account Committee of the House said this at the resumed investigative hearing on the operations of the DISCOs in Abuja on Thursday.

Salam emphasised the financial instability of some DISCOs and their inability to access the intervention fund intended to enhance their capacity.

“Under the terms of the agreement signed with the apex bank and the Project Management Office (PMO), the DISCOs are obligated to repay the substantial loan within 120 months,” he said. (NAN)

The suspended Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Hudu Yunusa Ari, has evaded arraignment for his trial for the second time.

SaharaReporters had on November 6, 2023 reported that the suspended Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa Ari, reportedly evaded arraignment on Monday.

Yunusa-Ari has gone into hiding, the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), CSP Moses Jolugbo, told the Adamawa State High Court of Justice.

The trial judge, Justice Benjamin Manji had tasked the Nigerian police to produce the suspended REC on or before the adjourned date of November 23.

When the matter came up today, Wednesday, counsel to INEC, Rotimi Jacobs prayed the court to issue a warrant of arrest against the fleeing suspended REC.

However, just before the judge would respond to the request, a lawyer, Usman M. SAN, announced appearance for Yunusa Ari, saying "I was instructed by his son. As of now our client (Yunusa Ari) is not in the country, he is in Niger republic," he said.

Justice Manji, then tasked the counsel to produce Yunusa Ari within two weeks and adjourned the case accordingly.

SaharaReporters had reported that Elisha Abbo, who was recently sacked as Adamawa senator by the Court of Appeal signed the police bail bond for the disgraced Resident Electoral Commissioner.

Popular political activist, Aisha Yesufu, has challenged President Bola Tinubu to visit his alma mater like former Vice President and PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, did.

While reacting to a post by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar on Wednesday via X, Yesufu challenged Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, to prevail on his principal to visit his Alma Mater too.

Atiku had visited and offered scholarships to indigent pupils at his alma mater in Jada, Adamawa State.

Posting a video of his visit on his social media, Atiku wrote: “Nostalgic. Today, I returned to where it all started. My Alma Mater, Central Primary School, Jada. – AA”

Reacting to the development, Yesufu posted on X, saying: “Where is that mentally abducted afterthought of an SSA @aonanuga1956?

“Focus on getting Chief Tinubu or whatever he decides to call himself today to go to his alma mater too.

“By the way, my husband was at the reunion of his secondary school during the weekend.”

LEADERSHIP recalls that the academic records of President Tinubu were subject of debate ahead and after the 2023 elections over claims that he never attended primary and secondary schools in Nigeria.

Gunmen attacked the Adamawa State Police Headquarters in the wee hours of Wednesday, sending residents of Yola into panic.

The Police headquarters is located at the heart of Jimeta community in Yola North local government area.

Sounds of gunshot rend the air for at least 30 minutes, according to a resident who preferred anonymity.

Police Public Relations Officer, SP Suleiman Yahaya Nguroje, confirmed the attack to Daily Trust, but said things were under control.

Nguroje said the attack was repelled, but the identities of those behind it was unknown.

One source said the attackers were military personnel on a revenge mission, following the alleged killing of a military officer by the police.

Although Daily Trust could not independently verify if military personnel were involved, the police said investigations were ongoing to ascertain the cause of the attack and those behind it.

The development comes some days after the stand-off between officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and personnel of the Nigerian Air Force.

Air Force personnel had invaded EFCC head office in Kaduna state to effect the release of their colleagues arrested over alleged fraud.

The military personnel and security operatives guarding the commission almost exchanged gunfire, according to sources.

The anti-graft agency later issued a statement to say it would not be intimidated in the course of duty.

Inter-agency clash sometimes occur between operatives, and have sometimes led to bloody bath.

Daily Trust will bring you update of the Adamawa incident as events unfold.

More than N6billion was spent by Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State to run the “Office of the Governor” in three months, a copy of the state budget performance report seen by SaharaReporters has revealed.

According to state records, the amount is different from the N209 million spent on personal expenditure in the governor’s office.

All these were contained in the Osun State 3rd Quarter 2023 budget performance report on the state website where the statements of income and expenditure for the period between July-September 2023 were displayed (https://www.osunstate.gov.ng/download/osun-state-2023-q3-budget-performance/?wpdmdl=29339&refresh=655b4a34b470b1700481588).

“This document provides information on the performance of the 2023 budget for the third quarter (July September). It is prepared quarterly and published within four weeks (28 days) of the end of each Quarter,” the report posted on the state website had read.

“The Ministry of Economic Planning, Budget and Development developed a comprehensive Revenue and Expenditure Framework during the preparation of the Fiscal Year 2023 budget. The implementation process of the FY 2023 budget commenced on the 1st of January, 2023 and will end on 31st of December, 2023 as approved by the Osun State House of Assembly.

“On the 15th of August, 2023, the Revised budget was approved by the State House of Assembly and assented by the Governor, His Excellency, Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke. The need for a revised budget is to allow the State Government carryout activities which will make positive impact on the Economy of the State.

“The Budget Implementation Committee reviews the budget performance on quarterly basis before publishing online. However, the Ministry of Economic Planning, Budget and Development has sustained efforts required to ensure improvements in Public Financial and Resource Management and activities in the State.

“This report includes the Approved Budget Appropriation (2023 Original Budget), 2023 revised budget against each organizational unit for each of the core economic classification of expenditures (Personnel, Overheads, Capital, and Others); the actual expenditures, for the quarter Three (Q3), attributed to each Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), as well as the cumulative expenditures for the year to date, and balances against each of the revenue and expenditure appropriations.

“The Budget performance for Quarter Three (Q3) reflects the actual inflow and outflow of resources in the State as at the end of 2023 Third Quarter with respect to the 2023 revised estimates.”

According to the report, Adeleke’s office alone gulped a whopping N6,011,614,620.35 in just three months. The state House of Assembly also spent over N800million within same period.

The Osun government also said it spent over N2 billion on refreshment/meals and welfare packages for its officials

In the breakdown, N1,759,466,120.21 was spent on welfare packages while N456,401,074.13 was used for refreshment and meals.

Also in the document, the government claimed another N400million was used for publicity and advertisements.

A mobile policeman attached to the Maru Police Division has been killed in an attack on the Ruwandoruwa community of Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State by armed bandits.

The bandits also abducted 15 persons, including the wife of a monarch in the community.

According to reports, the assault happened early around 12:30 am on Monday.

The assailants unleashed gunfire indiscriminately after they stormed the community, killing the mobile policeman, who was fatally shot in front of the district head’s residence while attempting to defend the house.

After a failed attempt to kidnap the district head, who was nowhere to be found, his wife was abducted.

The bandits were yet to contact the community for ransom regarding the abducted persons.

Meanwhile, the Zamfara State Police Command was yet to comment on the incident as at press time.

Renowned lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, yesterday, described as a dangerous judicial trend the recent tendency by the courts to sanction voters and deprive them of their rights to elect leaders of their choice due to the mistakes of some electoral officers.

Falana made the assertion in a television programme. He called for a review of some recent judgements delivered by the Court of Appeal, which sacked two governors of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Zamfara and Plateau states, and a New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) governor in Kano State.

Similarly PDP, yesterday, called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, to defend the integrity of the judiciary by setting up a judicial inquest into alleged public boasting by leaders of the ruling APC that the party had persons in the judiciary, particularly at the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, who would do their bidding on election cases before the courts.

Still on the mounting reservations over recent judicial pronouncements, former Vice President and PDP presidential candidate in the last general election, Atiku Abubakar, said APC’s “snatch, grab and run” agenda was inimical to democracy.

But the federal government condemned PDP and Atiku’s spokesman for unfairly impugning the integrity of the judiciary by alleging partisanship against it in the wake of the judicial setbacks suffered by PDP governors in Plateau, Zamfara and Nasarawa states.

Nonetheless, the Court of Appeal in Abuja dismissed an appeal filed by Titus Uba of PDP against the election of APC’s Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia as Governor of Benue State and affirmed the governor as validly elected.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Abba Yusuf (Kano), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), and Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau) as duly elected governors of their respective states in the March 2023 governorship elections.

But the Court of Appeal, in separate judgements, sacked the governors, who are all members of the opposition PDP, except the Kano State governor, who belongs to NNPP, also an opposition party.

In Kano, for instance, the Court of Appeal declared the APC governorship candidate, Nasir Gawuna, winner of the poll. It ruled that the poll in Zamfara State was inconclusive and ordered INEC to conduct a fresh election in three local government areas of the state, where APC is believed to be strong.

In yet another judgement, the appellate court ordered INEC to issue a Certificate of Return to APC’s Nentawe Goshwe in Plateau State.

However, speaking during an interview on national television, Falana said, “If you look at what happened in Lagos, it is different from what happened in Plateau. You are being told in Plateau that there was a judgement of the High Court to the effect that primaries have to be conducted. The judgement, as usual, was dishonoured and disobeyed and the election went on.

“It is different from Kano, where you are being told that voters can be punished. It is a very dangerous judicial policy to sanction voters for the mistake of electoral officers.

“We are being told that 165,000 votes are wasted, they are invalid because some electoral officers committed an error by not stamping them. How does that affect the validity of the election?

“I do hope that this time around, the Supreme Court will resolve these needless controversies surrounding the non-stamping of ballot papers by INEC officials, who have not been recommended for any sanction. This is why these judgements will have to be reviewed.”

Falana had aired a similar view days back, when he argued, “Nigeria cannot conduct credible elections without amending the relevant provisions of the constitution and Electoral Act to provide for the appointment of INEC members by advertisement, deployment of technology for accreditation of voters and transmission of election results from polling units to the central server of INEC.”

Speaking on “Updating Nigeria’s Electoral Reforms” at the Retreat of the Joint Committee on Electoral Matters, supported by Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre in Lagos, Falana said, “Once the electoral process is fully technologised the proof of election petitions will be based on the BVAS reports and uploaded results.

“The onus of proof of conduct of credible elections should shift to INEC and winners of elections. The question of dumping election materials will not arise, as they would be produced and certified by INEC.

“Democracy cannot be consolidated, where the masses are asked to tighten their belts while elected public officers are paying themselves jumbo salaries and allowances.”

According to him, “Since democracy is under threat due to mass poverty, the political system must address the welfare and security of the people.”

In a similar vein, PDP called for a review of the election judgements, especially the Court of Appeal judgement on the Plateau State governorship poll. National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Debo Olohunagba, said the appeal court judgement was skewed against the party in favour of APC.


PDP Advises CJN to Probe APC’s Claim to Judiciary Control

PDP called on the CJN to defend the integrity of the judiciary by setting up a judicial panel of inquiry to probe the open boasting by APC leaders that the party had persons in the judiciary, particularly at the appeal court and Supreme Court, who would do their bidding on election cases before the courts.

In a statement by PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the party said Nigerians were appalled by such boastings, as also contained in a viral video by an APC leader, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, a member of the House of Representatives from Plateau State, wherein he said, “We have gone to appeal court and the final destination is the Supreme Court and we will meet there. That is where we will know whom they know and they will know whom we know.”

According to Ologunagba, “The above statement by Hon. Gagdi further confirms the suspicion in the public domain that the APC has set up a special team comprising two former governors of the APC, who are also serving cabinet ministers, and a prominent APC leader from the North-east zone with the mandate to ensure the inducement of certain judicial officers to deliver judgements against the PDP, as being witnessed in the series of bias judgements by the Plateau State Election Appeal Court Panel.

“This statement by Hon. Gagdi also lends credence to allegations that a former governor of the APC reportedly induced members of the Plateau State Election Appeal Court Panel with the sum of $5 million to deliver a bias judgement against Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s victory at the poll contrary to the position of the law on nomination of candidates and already established pronouncement of the Supreme Court that a political party cannot interfere in the internal affairs of another Party.”

Ologunagba said more worrisome was that the public claim by APC that it had persons, even at the Supreme Court, had directly put the integrity and honour of the highest temple of ;ustice in the country at stake.

The PDP spokesman said, “The loss of public confidence being generated by this claim has the capacity to push Nigerians to resort to self-help, which is a recipe for anarchy, chaos and breakdown of law and order in our country.

“What Nigerians expect at this moment is for the judiciary to come clean on these grave allegations as well as uphold the primacy of pronouncements by the Supreme Court in the dispensation of justice on election matters.”


Atiku: APC’s ‘Snatch, Grab, Run’ Agenda Inimical to Democracy

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said APC’s “snatch, grab and run” agenda towards mandates belonging to the opposition parties was inimical to democracy

In a statement by his media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku said the ideal notion of democracy did not just reside in a representative government, but was essentially rooted in the plurality of ideas.

He said for a system to be seen as truly democratic, it must necessarily accommodate opposition and opposing views.

“Sadly and suddenly,” the statement said, “we have seen a trend whereby the range of opposition engagement continues to be narrowed by the ruling party in Nigeria. Either through the electoral process, where opposition parties are rigged out with brazen impunity, or during the post-election court processes, where the judiciary is conspicuously doing the biddings of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), it has become increasingly apparent that the democracy in Nigeria is in a state of ill-health.

“It gets more curious that all the states, where the courts have made controversial declarations, are states being controlled by the opposition political parties. From Nasarawa, Kano, Zamfara and now to Plateau State, where we are witnessing a situation in which what the ruling party missed out on Election Day are being delivered to them through the courts.”

Atiku explained that those were ominous signs that threatened not just faith in the electoral and judicial systems, but also evinced that democracy was compromised.

He stated, “It is also crystal clear that the ruling party will not desist from this inglorious ideology of ‘snatch, grab and run away with power.’

“It is even more worrisome that what is playing out now in the Plateau governorship election petition is a confirmation of the threat echoed by an APC lawmaker in a viral video that the ruling party will compromise the judicial process to ensure its ultimate victory in the courts.

“It, therefore, means that the times we are in are, indeed, ominous, and the journey ahead in rescuing our democracy from these buccaneering power grabbers is a long one. It also means that every man and woman of good conscience should come together for this common patriotic purpose.

“But we are not surprised by what is going on. In Lagos State, where Tinubu holds sway as godfather, opposition became an anathema. Everyone, including judges, was forced to join his party.

“The few opposition members who managed to get elected were beaten to submission, including at the Lagos State House of Assembly, where the sole PDP member, back in 2018, was suspended and arrested for gun running, but mysteriously had the charges dropped immediately after he defected to the APC.”

Corroborating his point, Atiku stressed, “The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) withdrew a N135bn lawsuit it had instituted against an opposition senator from Anambra State less than 24 hours after he defected to the ruling party. These are the crude methods that Bola Tinubu has employed in order to reduce the ranks of the opposition and consolidate his hold on power.

“Is it not mysterious that it was the same panel that sat and heard all the election petition cases from Plateau State before the Court of Appeal? How is it that in election cases where the PDP came first and the APC came second, the court ordered that the APC be declared winner while in elections where the PDP came first and Labour Party came second, the courts ordered a rerun in order to give the APC a chance of victory?”

The former vice president maintained, “As Justice Dattijo Muhammad said in his valedictory speech, which has also been buttressed by Olumide Akpata, the immediate past President of the Nigerian Bar Association, the judgements emanating from courts in recent times have been questionable and show obvious compromise.

“As Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) put it recently, the judiciary under military dictatorship was much more courageous and had better integrity than what we have today.

“It is obvious that the APC has turned the once respected Nigerian judiciary to a ‘cash and carry’ one where politicians who don’t participate in primaries are named as candidates while actual winners of elections are sacked for flimsy reasons. They simply deliver judgements but not justice.”

Atiku also said, “Tinubu has already appointed his loyalists as Resident Electoral Commissioners, who have now been confirmed by Senator Godswill Akpabio, his lackey who is supposed to be heading an independent arm of government. This is how the APC plans to impose a one-party state on Nigerians.

“Eternal vigilance remains the watchword if Nigeria’s democracy will survive the APC onslaught on our democracy and the institutions that are supposed to check the excesses of the ruling party.”

Legislative aides in the ninth National Assembly have called on President Bola Tinubu, the Independent Corrupt Practices & Other Related Offences Commission, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to help recover their 15 months unpaid salary from the National Assembly management.

The workers, who left office in June 2023, said they were enrolled into the service of the National Assembly in May 2021, and that after serving as legislative aides for two years, they are being owed for 15 out of the 24 months of service.

The affected staff, numbering 280, worked in the office of the former Senate President and Speaker, Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila respectively.

The workers said they had made a series of efforts legitimately to drive home the demand for payments of these Salary arrears but all the attempts made fell to the deaf ear of the National Assembly management.

A statement by the conveners of the prayers, Mr. Sulaiman Abbas and Joseph Isah asked the affected staff to observe fasting and prayers on Friday, where the prayer points will seek God’s intervention to touch the hearts of the Clerk of the National Assembly and present Senate President, Godswill Akpabio in approving the payments to them.

The statement said, “Arising from the meeting of the affected staff of the 9th NASS, whose 15 months salary have been withheld by the management since June 2023 at the expiration of the 9th Assembly, held within the complex of the National Assembly on November 15, 2023, affected staff are informed that Friday and Sunday, November 17 and 19, 2023 has been declared days of fasting and prayer.

“This is connected with unpaid salaries and other allowances. We are to observe the fasting and prayer in line with the beliefs and gather at noon to offer prayers. We believe that the owner of the universe will intervene.

“We authoritatively gathered that these salaries were paid by the then Finance Minister, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed to the National Assembly management months ago but the hierarchy diverted the funds for unexplainable purposes, leaving us in perpetual suffering and our entire family.

“We have explored all available channels to seek payment of our salaries. And when you have someone mightier than you, inflicting pains and sorrows on you and your family, you must leave the fight for God to intervene. The reason for these two days fervent prayers.”

The affected staff called on President Tinubu and the chairmen of the anti-corruption agencies, the ICPC and EFCC, to stand by the oaths made to Nigerians while taking the responsibilities of offices, which are to stand for truth and justice, to treat all Nigerians with equity and fairness and ensure full payment of these withheld salaries to ameliorate the plights caused them by this dastardly act.

Cyberattacks on government agencies and organisations are on the rise in Nigeria, other African countries, and across the Middle East.

The escalation in cyber threats has been particularly severe in Africa, with Mauritius ranking 6th, Nigeria 11th, Morocco 15th, and Kenya 25th in terms of being targeted and attacked.

South Africa follows, ranking 55th globally, Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd disclosed in its Global Threat Index for October 2023, which was released in November.

It stated that Remote Access Trojan (RAT) attack has risen from sixth to second place, with a particular focus on targeting government agencies and organisations in the Middle East and Africa. The report also highlighted the expanding reach of the sophisticated RAT AgentTesla, driven by a new and complex mal-spam campaign using corrupted email attachments.

It noted that the education sector continues to be the prime target for this type of cyber-attack.

The Sales Engineer at Check Point Software, Rudi van Rooyen, said, “We cannot overlook the sophisticated tactics used by hackers to distribute malware, such as impersonating trusted brands or using malicious email attachments.

“As we enter the busy shopping season in November, it’s crucial to stay alert. Cybercriminals are taking advantage of the increased online shopping activity, and no region, including Africa, is immune to these threats.”

The cybersecurity firm also disclosed that formbook was the most prevalent malware last month with an impact of 3 percent of worldwide organisations, followed by NJRat with a global impact of 2 percent, and Remcos with a global impact of two percent.

Highlighting their impact on the continent, the firm said, “Formbook is an Infostealer targeting the Windows OS and was first detected in 2016. It is marketed as Malware as a Service (MaaS) in underground hacking forums for its strong evasion techniques and relatively low price.

“FormBook harvests credentials from various web browsers, collects screenshots, monitors and logs keystrokes, and can download and execute files according to orders from its C&C. Its impact in Kenya and Nigeria is significant at 16.9 percent and 9.2 percent respectively, while the impact in South Africa is lower at 3 percent.”

NJRat, a remote access Trojan, largely targets government agencies and organisations in the Middle East but is now growing significantly in Africa. Remcos distributes itself through malicious Microsoft Office documents, which are attached to SPAM emails, and is designed to bypass Microsoft Windows UAC security and execute malware with high-level privileges.

Although its presence globally is concerning, it has not made a significant appearance in Africa. The top attacked industries on the continent include communications, ISP/MSP, finance and banking, and government and military.

Recently, Anonymous Sudan, a cybercriminal group, tried to shut down MTN Nigeria’s network, to protest Nigeria’s stance on the coup in the Republic of Niger.

Also, the National Information Technology Development Agency, through its Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team, recently issued a warning that it had detected hacking activities targeted at government digital services.

It said, “The hacktivist group, known for its politically and religiously motivated cyber campaigns, poses a significant risk to our critical information infrastructure.”

Leadership tussle is brewing between the governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over the planned return of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as national secretary of the party.

Anyanwu was defeated at the just concluded Imo State governorship election held on November 11.

Before his defeat, pressures had been on him to hand over the office of the national secretary and concentrate on his governorship campaigns.

A former national youth leader of the PDP, Sunday Udeh Okoye was nominated by the South-east to succeed Anyanwu, but the power tussle did not allow him to assume office.

However, a court order by the Federal High Court sitting in Enugu State had in October ordered the PDP to replace Senator Anyanwu as the party’s National Secretary but the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) did not enforce the order.

Penultimate Tuesday, as the NWC was planning to swear in Okoye, Anyanwu, was said to have rushed to Abuja, and the planned ceremony was stalled.

Anyanwu presented the PDP NWC with a court order directing him to resume his office as national secretary.
However, the intervention of the governors stalled his return,

A source close to the PDP governors told THISDAY that Anyanwu was stopped to avoid Wike assuming absolute control of the party’s leadership.

Reacting, the acting National Chairman of PDP, Ambassador Illya Damagum said that Anyanwu would not assume office till the conflicting court orders are resolved.

He said: “Since there are conflicting court orders, we urged the two sides to stand down and we have agreed and appointed the Deputy National Secretary to continue to act as Secretary pending the time, we will resolve all the issues; the conflicting court orders and resolutions of the South-east. So, there is no conflict and we are together and thinking together on this issue.”

The tussle over the position of the national secretary started when the chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Adolphus Wabara wrote to Anyanwu to hand over the office of National Secretary and concentrate on his campaign as a governorship candidate of the party in Imo State.
But Wike disagreed and openly tongue-lashed Wabara.

According to Wike, the BoT of the PDP did not have the authority to declare who could occupy the office of national secretary of the party.

Wike also expressed dismay that the former senate president referred to Hon. Emeka Ihedioha as “former governor of Imo State” in his letter to the acting chair of the PDP.

In his letter to the acting national chairman, Wike said: “Your Excellency, permit me to observe with respect that the Board of Trustees (BoT) lack the moral authority to intervene on the issue of who occupies or should occupy the Office of the National Secretary of the Party,” the minister wrote in his response to Wabara, which was obtained by THISDAY.

Wike continued, “More so as the BoT was unable to use its good offices as the conscience of the party to intervene in the crises that engulfed the party in the run-up to the 2023 general election when officers of the party blatantly violated the constitution of the party.

“Secondly, the Acting Chairman of the BoT is reminded that the issue of who occupies the position of National Secretary of the party is beyond the BoT’s sphere of authority and influence.”

Wike was said to have single-handedly influenced the emergence of Anyanwu.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has hailed Governor Douye Diri’s efforts at tackling insecurity, saying the Bayelsa leader’s re-election means the state would be a lot safer.

Jonathan, who is a former governor of the oil-rich state, spoke on Friday when he visited Diri in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, almost one week after the governor stormed to victory in a keenly contested poll.

While congratulating Diri for winning the exercise, the former president said if Douye had lost, the gains made in curbing insecurity would have been lost.

“We don’t want to go into unnecessary crisis in the state. Results have been declared and we believe the election was conducted. We believe the governor won the election and we plead that people should accept it and work with the governor. Let all of us support him so that the state will move ahead,” he said during the gathering.

“There should be nothing that will push the state backward. We should think about the development of the state starting from the issue of peace and security in the state which within this last period, three years plus, there are significant improvements in terms of cultism and kidnapping and so on and so forth.

“I was saying before this election that if Diri loses this election, I would have relocated my mother to Abuja.”

While recounting how his cousin was kidnapped and killed, Jonathan expressed optimism that with Diri returning as the governor of the state, the situation would soon be a thing of the past.

“My cousin was kidnapped two times on one of those occasions, one of my cousins, Solo, was killed because they threw him into the river and he didn’t know how to swim,” he added.

“So, we’ve passed through hell in this state and we’ve seen a little light at the end of the tunnel. So, people should calm down, and allow Diri to focus on governance so that he will be able to propel this state forward so that we will benefit as citizens of the state.”

Diri had earlier in the day received his certificate of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for a second term in office. He will be sworn in for another four-year tenure next year.

There was pandemonium in Maiduguri, Borno State, on Friday as some policemen and officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service engaged in a wild shootout.

A popular counter-insurgency expert and security analyst in Lake Chad, Zagazola Makama disclosed this on Friday, saying the confrontation involved firing of different caliber of firearms which incited fear among local residents.

The clash was said to have taken place at a police outpost within a housing estate alongside the Maiduguri-Kano highway.

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has been occupying this outpost since 2014, due to a previous abandonment following repeated attacks on security personnel.

However, the Borno State Commissioner of Police, Muhammed Yusuf, recently ordered divisional police officers to reclaim all abandoned police outposts as part of an initiative to enhance the city's security.

After the directive, the Bulunkutu Division police officers intended to reclaim the outpost from the immigration officials.

However, their attempt led to a chaotic situation when the NIS personnel denied them access.

The immigration officials were reported to be surprised by the sudden morning invasion without any prior notice.

As a result, they decided not to leave the outpost, even though it was marked with the Nigeria police insignia.

“The situation escalated when both parties began firing their rifles into the air, causing panic among the residents of the 777 housing estate. Many residents of the Estate who mistaking the confrontation for a Boko Haram attack, fled for their lives,” Manama posted.

“The situation was eventually deescalated by nearby Nigerian Army troops from the 33 Artillery, who intervened and calmed both the police and NIS officials.

“Additionally, a mediation team from the Crack Division, led by CSP Mohammed Ibrahim, was dispatched by the Commissioner of Police to address the disagreement between the two parties.”

Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, yesterday, disclosed that the federal government would resume the prosecution of some alleged terrorists, including Boko Haram members, in the next two weeks.

Fagbemi made the disclosure in Abuja, at the opening of the 40th Technical Commission and Plenary Meeting of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA). He said the federal government had secured over 500 convictions, and N45 billion forfeitures in two years.

The revelations came as National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, yesterday, said violent extremism in some parts of the country had been on the decline since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in May.

Ribadu made the assertion at the ongoing 19th All Nigeria Editors’ Conference in Uyo, while speaking on the topic, “Oil Theft, Illegal Bunkering, Pipeline Vandalism: Impact on Nigerian Economy.”

He called for patience on the part of the citizenry, saying Tinubu is working hard to address the country’s critical problems.
Fagbemi stressed that the federal government was alive to the issue of bringing suspected terrorists to justice and was finalising efforts to ensure their smooth and successful trial
He said, “Efforts are on to resume the trial of those categories of people. And I think, in the next two weeks, it will be a different story. We are conscious of that issue.

“Facilities are being put in place. Apart from the regular physical mode of trial, we are working on ways to ensure that virtual trial can also be conducted.”

The minister said the adoption of virtual trial was aimed at preventing delay, and added that the government was not shying away from its responsibility of providing funds for the purpose.

The AGF emphasised the importance of regional and international cooperation in order to effectively combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

According to him, “Our ability to tackle the most complex criminal activity, money laundering and violent terrorist attacks, is predicated on the capabilities of our supervisory, law enforcement and prosecutorial authorities, and the outcomes that we are achieving point to the need for greater investment in human and technical resources and improved training and capacity development.

“In 2022, we increased the budgets for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency by almost 95 per cent. We now have over 1,500 officers dedicated to investigating and prosecuting money laundering across these three agencies alone.

“These sustained investment has seen increased numbers of investigations, prosecutions and convictions consistently since 2021, with 5,118 investigations, 1,509 prosecutions and almost 500 convictions secured, resulting in over N45 billion of illicit proceeds seized.

“We have also made progress in tackling the financing of terrorism and, in particular, I am pleased that we have identified and designated a number of individuals and entities linked to terrorist activity and seized funds linked to them.”

Fagbemi observed that the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) had become a global model and had achieved the outcomes envisaged by the passage of its enabling legislation in 2018, which established it as an independent, autonomous unit.

He urged that as GIABA moved towards the conclusion of the second round of mutual evaluations and began preparations for the third round, members should take time to reflect on how they had contributed to strengthening their national AML/CFT/CPF frameworks.

Fagbemi stated, “I believe that the FATF standards are merely the minimum benchmark that we must all aspire to in order to address the serious criminal offences that are prevalent in our countries and across our region.

“Our legal frameworks, policies and institutional capacities must aspire to put in place the foundations necessary to achieve the vision of the Africa 2063 Agenda, of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena.
“As we survey the results of this round of mutual evaluations, it is, indeed, clear that more needs to be done across our sub-region to enhance effectiveness based on FATF Standards.”

In a goodwill message, President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Touray, commended GIABA and its Director General for the agency’s “laudable performances” in the recent exit of GIABA from the FATF Effectiveness Improvement Programme (EIP).
Touray said the “Commission will continue to provide the needed support to GIABA to sustain the gains of the EIP and address other outstanding issues in the EIP Action Plan, including the recruitment of the Director of Evaluation and Compliance as well as adequately prepare for its next round of mutual evaluation.”

He urged the region not to rest on its oars, as money laundering, terrorism financing and other organised crimes threatened regional peace and sustainable development.
Touray called on member states to continue to take steps to effectively address the strategic deficiencies identified in their AML/CFT systems.

Speaking at the event, also, GIABA’s Director General, Edwin Harris, said the gathering was an attestation that the collective effort in the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and others forms of transnational crimes urgently required coordination and cooperation.

Harris stated, “GIABA, as a FATF styled region body and specialised ECOWAS institution, is responsible for safeguarding the economies of its member states, will continue to work with both its members and partners in delivering on its mandate in a more meaningful way using the collective expertise and shared vision of member states in strengthening their AML/CFT regimes and increasing advocacy to political leaders on the urgency of demonstrating political will that trickle down at operational and policy levels for a more effective and robust fight against transnational crimes.

“Results from accessed countries thus far published from the second-round show progress has been made in terms of technical compliance across member states.
“However, fundamental major improvements are required in terms of effectiveness.
“In this regard, it becomes a more pressing need that the secretariat works with member states in enhancing effectiveness compliance that will lead to more actions that create deterrence.”


Ribadu: Nigeria’s Security Situation Has Improved under Tinubu

The NSA said violent extremism in parts of the country had been on the decline since President Bola Tinubu assumed office. He pointed out that the country was going through a tough time. But he assured Nigerians that in no distant time, most of the challenges, especially in the area of security, would be addressed.

Ribadu said the country used to record over 1,200 deaths on a daily basis due to criminal activities, but since Tinubu assumed office, there had been a significant drop to about 100 cases. Furthermore, he pointed out that in the South-east, police stations used to be under severe attacks, but that was no longer the case.

The NSA stated that the country’s crude oil production had increased to 1.7 million barrels per day, with the hope of hitting two million barrels per day by next year.

“Work is ongoing, the government is adopting work more and talk less to address the insecurity challenges headlong.”
He appealed to Nigerians to be patient, saying the Tinubu administration is doing everything to improve the security situation of the country.

Ribadu said, “We have given Nigeria to President Bola Tinubu to manage it for us.
“In the last five months, I have been there by his side and have seen how things were and how things are when we started, and hopefully the direction we are going is okay.

“We inherited a tough period. We appeal for patience and understanding. It’s tough times and that is the reality. We are not condemning anyone but that is the truth. Those who are in charge must say the truth, say it as it is, and then hopefully things will be better for you.”
Ribadu also told the editors, “Like I said, my coming is to identify with you. I also appeal to you for support, we are going through tough times. It requires all of us to come together. We are all in it together, it is not going to be for too long. In a matter of time, it will be better.

“In the South-east, when we took over last year, we had 46 police stations attacked, today we don’t have one single one. In the last two months, not a single person had been killed through violent attacks in the South-east, we don’t talk. The leadership we have in our country does understand things a bit better.
“This government is the most transparent ever in the history of Nigeria. Honestly, we will be sincere and do our best.”

Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has announced cash awards of between N10,000 and N25,000 to the state workers till April 2024, while also assuring that the new minimum wage negotiation would soon be concluded.

Mbah, stressed that the welfare of workers remained the priority of his administration, as his laudable goals for Enugu could not be attained without a happy workforce.

Mbah, also announced an increase by his administration of the state social register enrolment from 43,000 to 260,000, promising to lift more indigent citizens through cash transfers and other social interventions.

He made these known during a joint media briefing with the state’s labour leaders at the Government House, Enugu, yesterday, saying the administration was also making other social interventions apart from the cash transfer to better the lives of Enugu State workers.

“As you may be aware, since the removal of the petroleum subsidy, we have been in constant negotiation with the labour unions in the state, crafting a way forward on how we can provide palliatives to our teeming workforce.

“So, by the time you put a monetary value to all the social services we have provided, it will weigh well above N100,000 minimum wage.

“But in addition to that, with effect from next month (December), we are going to also make a flat payment to all categories of our workers, beginning from our local government to the primary and secondary school teachers, and civil servants.

“We are going to categorise them and there will be flat payment of between N10,000 and 25,000, depending on the category. That payment is going to continue till April.

“Our hope is that by the end of April, the committee that is reviewing the minimum wage would have come out with what would then become the new minimum wage in the state. So, from there, we are just going to carry on the implementation of what is then set as the minimum wage”, he stated.

Mbah, reiterated the determination of his administration to achieve zero per cent poverty headcount index by 2031, saying the state had set aside N1.5 billion for social development programmes like water and sanitation in the communities in addition to constructing 260 model primary healthcare centers and 260 smart schools with accompanying teachers’ quarters.

“Importantly, the state is just concluding the update of our social register. We have now expanded our social register from 43,000 to accommodate up to 260,000 indigent people in our state. That is also a platform that we are going to use to do cash transfers to engage our indigent ones”, he added.

In their reactions, the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Fabian Nwigbo and his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Benneth Asogwa, thanked the governor for his proactive steps towards the welfare of Enugu workers, saying they were happy that Enugu workers did not have to lobby, protest, or embark on strike to have their salaries and welfares addressed.

“I am overwhelmed by your pronouncements this afternoon. We are grateful for the announcement because there was no ‘war-war’ to get this. This one came on a platter of gold. We did not come begging and crying or shouting and agitating. It was out of the abundance of your heart that you decided to greet us with this big news.

“Actually, it has been great for the people of Enugu State, especially the workers under your administration. First of all, our salaries come as and when due. Our promotion is also on the way for 2023. In the past, you have to spend years before you get promoted. So, as workers, we will do all we can to ensure that this government succeeds”, Nwigbo said

Adding his voice, the TUC state chairman, Asogwa, said: “You have made us today to understand that all that you said during the election were no political promises. We have come to realise that you meant business. If you could move this far within a few months of taking over as the governor of Enugu State, that means we are very sure that our tomorrow is bright”.

Four weeks after the Kano State mass wedding, a bride is yet to move to her matrimonial home.

Findings by City & Crime revealed that the couple had a long-time relationship before the marriage was finally knotted last month.

It was learnt that the relationship got sour when the bride’s parents insisted that the groom must provide kayan lefe (a suitcase given to a wife during the wedding) for their daughter.

The groom, Ibrahim Umar, told our correspondent that, “Her parents told me that if I did not provide the kayan lefe she would not move to my house. And I know this kayan lefe was excluded in the mass wedding scheme.”

Ibrahim further accused his in-laws of directing him to divorce their daughter.

He said, “Since they insist on their mission and even persuaded their daughter on that, I will only divorce her when they pay me back some gifts I offered to their daughter.

‘’They must pay me back my N150,000, which I gave as kudin zance, N17,000 for rice and another N65,000 which I gave her to do make up during the wedding.’’

Effort by City & Crime to reach the wife, Ummulkhair Salisu, proved abortive.

The bride’s father, Malam Salisu, declined to comment on the issue, directing our reporter to go and meet Hisbah officials.

When contacted, the Director General of the Kano State Hisbah Board, Dr Abba Saidu Sufi, said, “We are aware of the issue, but I can tell you that there is no iota of truth in what the groom is accusing the bride’s parents of, but we are doing all what we could to solve the issue amicably.’’

The Kano state government had on October 13 married off 1800 couples in the state under its mass wedding scheme which the government said it was aimed at assisting those that could not afford to marry off their daughters as well as curtailing the sexual abuse among the people of the state.

By Amina Abdullahi


Amina Hassan, a 20-year-old bride from Mubi North Local Government Area of Adamawa State, has been arrested for reportedly setting her husband’s house on fire.

Amina’s action was reportedly triggered by her husband’s refusal to grant her a divorce.

The couple were said to have made the agreement before their marriage.

According to reports, Amina had informed her parents that she was no longer interested in the marriage a few days before the wedding.

However, they insisted that the wedding must go ahead as they had already distributed invitation cards.

After the wedding, she sought the help of a native doctor to make her husband hate her and grant her a divorce.

The native doctor reportedly performed a ritual and collected N12,000 for his services.

However, the ritual ended up turning Amina’s heart away from her husband instead of the other way round.

After she was apprehended by the Adamawa State Police Command, the suspect confessed to the committing the crime.

Daily Trust reports that the case is currently being investigated as ordered by the Commissioner of Police, Afolabi Babatola.

Spokesman of the Police Command, SP Suleiman Yahaya Nguroje, quoted Amina on Tuesday, as saying, “We made an arrangement that he will divorce me after the marriage. I met him and pleaded with him to divorce me, but he remained adamant.”

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has removed the Corps Commander in charge of Kwara State sector command over a controversial comment credited to him at a public event, sources in the commission confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES on Monday.

Fredrick Ogidan was removed barely 48 hours after he made a controversial comment perceived by his superiors to be critical of the federal government’s removal of subsidy, a cardinal economic policy of the President Bola Tinubu administration.

Mr Ogidan reportedly said in Ilorin, the state capital, days ago, that the fuel subsidy removal was affecting the operations of his command, a concern many Nigerians have expressed about the attendant high cost of living and hardships of the policy.

President Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidy while delivering his inauguration speech in May.

Daily Trust quoted Mr Ogidan as saying in Ilorin that “the subsidy removal has increased our budget and limited our movements which has affected our operations.”

“However, the good story is that the issue is already getting attention and necessary response from the headquarters. Very soon, we are expecting an increase in our finances following the assurance from the Corp Mashal, Dauda Ali Biu,” he added.

He spoke at the conferment of Special Marshal on the Founder of Al-Hikmah University, AbdulRaheem Oladimeji.

A source revealed to PREMIUM TIMES on Monday that Mr Ogidan was “recalled to the national headquarters of the commission.”

The source said Mr Ogidan was removed over his fuel subsidy comment, which “the FRSC management considers as an act of indiscipline which is contrary to the organisation’s code of conduct and regulations on maintenance of discipline.”

Replacement

The source said Mr Ogidan was replaced as the Corps Commander in charge of Kwara State sector command by S.E Dawulung.

Mr Dawulung was until his redeployment to Kwara State, of the Technical Services Department at the national headquarters of FRSC.

Efforts to reach the Public Relations Officer of the commission have not been successful as of the time of filing this report.

Naira scarcity is biting harder across the country as banks have limited cash withdrawals, findings by Daily Trust have shown.

Residents of Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa and Adamawa and in other parts of the country are expressing concerns over their inability to withdraw huge cash in their banks, raising fears of scarcity as experienced during the naira swap.

This has also affected business transactions in local markets, especially in the northern part of Nigeria where buyers and sellers prefer to deal in cash instead of bank transfers.

Daily Trust had, on November 1, reported that cash scarcity had resurfaced in Borno and Kano states as the December 31 deadline for the use of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes draws nearer.

The report had forced the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to explained that “The seeming cash scarcity in some locations is due largely to high volume withdrawals from the CBN branches by Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and panic withdrawals by customers from the Automated Teller Machines, ATMs).”

The CBN, through its Director, Corporate Communications, Isa Abdulmumin, added, “While we note the concerns of Nigerians on the availability of cash for financial transactions, we wish to assure the public that there is sufficient stock of currency notes for economic activities in the country. The branches of the CBN across the country are also working to ensure the seamless circulation of cash in their respective states of operation.”

The CBN had announced in March that in compliance with the order of the Supreme Court, banknotes remained legal tender alongside the redesigned banknotes until December 31.

Last week, the apex bank reassured that both old and new notes remained legal tender and urged Nigerians to continue transacting using them.

“For the avoidance of doubt, while reiterating that there are sufficient banknotes across the country for all normal economic activity, we wish to state unambiguously that every banknote issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) remains legal tender and should not be rejected by anyone, as stipulated in Section 20(5) of the CBN Act, 2007,” Abdulmumin had said in the statement.

He had added that branches of the CBN across the country had been directed to continue to issue different denominations of old and redesigned banknotes in adequate quantities to deposit money banks for onward circulation to bank customers.


Scarcity persists

But checks by our reporters across the country revealed serious scarcity of the naira amid reluctance by traders, farmers, among others to release their wares even when prospective buyers are willing to make bank transfers.

At prominent village markets in Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Adamawa, Kaduna and Taraba, lack of cash is affecting businesses.

This is at a time when farmers have harvested their goods and taken them to market hoping to sell.

However, merchants who trooped to such markets from the towns to buy the commodities have been mostly stranded as middlemen scramble to get cash for them.

POS operators in such markets also confirmed shortage of cash.


Traders return home with cattle in Katsina

Anas Nasiru, who visited the Mai’adua Cattle Market on Sunday, said it was tough getting cash to transact businesses.

“Most of the people who brought cattle from the villages for sale were not willing to sell because they want cash, which is not available.

“My cousin had to send cash for me from Kano, which I used to buy cattle. It is the same with many people…In fact, some of the traders went back home with their wares,” he said.

A POS operator in Kongolam, a border town with Niger Republic, said he had run out of cash.

“Some people credited our accounts with millions of naira and they have been on the queue for over weeks, we give them cash in piecemeal. I am not an economist but I have a strong feeling the federal government had mopped up cash from circulation,” he said.


Merchants give rewards for cash in Yobe

In Nguru, Yobe State, grain merchants were reportedly ready to give up to N50,000 in reward for anyone who attracts N1,000,0000 cash to them.

This is in addition to the charges they pay.

A resident of the town who gave his name as Sanusi, said people looking for Sesame seed have thronged to the town.

“Farmers in this part of the country produce a lot of sesame seed and have harvested it. Willing buyers are here but are having challenges getting cash.

“Some middlemen are now making a fortune from the scarcity because they get N50,000 for each facilitation of N1,000,000,” he said.


ATMs dry in Lagos

In Lagos, one of our correspondents, who checked some commercial banks in parts of Ikeja at the weekend, observed that most of the banks’ Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) had run out of cash.

This has left many people to resort to patronising Point of Sale (PoS) agents who are also complaining that they could not withdraw sufficient cash from their banks.

At the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), venue of the International Trade Fair in Lagos, some PoS agents confirmed the development to our correspondent.

Simisola Adedeji, the owner of Capricorn Digital Payment Solutions, decried that “It has been tough withdrawing huge volumes of money in banks and what we are hearing is that they want to withdraw the old currency. We only plead that we should not experience the scarcity witnessed during the cash swap because many people lost their lives.”

A Lagos resident, who identified himself simply as Mr. Chukwuemeka, said, “I went to many banks and they were not dispensing money. I went all the way from Ogba to Ikeja at Oba Akran before I was able to withdraw in a bank.”

He stated that many PoS agents had been withdrawing all the cash lodged at various ATMs.

“Immediately the bank loaded money on the ATM, they (POS agents) are the first people to know, they would just use their cards to withdraw the money, that is what most of them normally do.

“I had to trek a long distance, going from one place to another until I got to Oba Akran where I was able to withdraw.”

A Bureau de Change operator in Abuja, Gidado Bala, said, “Although BDCs rarely use physical cash for transfer these days, banks have begun limiting huge cash withdrawals and it may be because of the deadline of December but we don’t know,” he said.

Gidado noted that “BDC operators usually get cash in minimal quantities at the banks.”

A store owner, Chukwu Ani, said he had to limit cash transactions with suppliers as customers rarely come with physical cash and “banks hardly give the required cash withdrawals,”

He added, “We don’t understand the situation and we hope it won’t be the situation of this year where we suffered for cash.”

A grain merchant, Sani Kamba said even though he was able to get some cash with a view to coming to North to buy grains, he was intercepted by law enforcement agents at the airport.

“They carried out an investigation but concluded that we are out for a legitimate business. They checked our accounts and discovered that we deposit and withdraw all the time.

“I pray the federal government does something to address the scarcity,” he said.

A banker, Aliyu Hameed said supply was low, hence the shortage.

On why traders, especially in village markets don’t accept transfers, he said, “Many of them, especially in the North have been short-changed by some unpatriotic elements.

“It has happened several times, especially during the cash crunch in February and March. Some dubious people would make phantom transfers to the traders, especially in the villages and by the time they go to the bank, nothing in their accounts.

“It has also been difficult for such people to lodge complaints in banks because apart from telephone numbers of the people to dupe them, there is nothing to show as evidence,” he said.


POS operators double charges in Kano

In Kano, there are indications that the scarcity of naira notes is getting worse.

Many of the PoS operators in Kano metropolis have doubled their charges when they have the cash to give; while others ration the amounts they give in order to meet demands from customers.

One of them, Mohammed Kutama, said the scarcity is real, but that he goes the extra mile to get the needed cash to meet demands of his customers.

According to him, this comes with extra charges as he is now charging N200 per N10,000 withdrawal as against the previous charge of N100 on the same amount of withdrawal.

Kutama explained that he often gets cash from a filling station his friend is managing and a viewing centre where people usually pay cash.

Nura Umar, who operates a provisions store in Kano, said the naira scarcity was affecting his business.

He said though he was using e-payment platforms for transactions, it took time to go through because of network glitch.

He alleged that the scarcity of cash was as a result of the CBN’s inability to narrow the supply gap.

The story is however different at Hamza Abdullahi’s shop who runs PoS and mobile phone recharge cards business. He told one of our correspondents that he had not increased his charges because he was getting cash payment from recharge cards sales.

Most of the ATMs in some banks located along Zoo Road in Kano were not dispensing cash when one of our correspondents visited.

No customer was sighted at Unity Bank, Jaiz, Taj and Fidelity Banks’ ATMs. Only two customers were seen at a Zenith Bank’s ATM trying their luck.


No cash in Adamawa markets

In Tunno, a village famous for rice paddy in Adamawa State, merchants also struggle for cash to buy the product.

Salihu Aliyu, who visited Tunno, said there was bumper harvest from the farmers and some middlemen are insisting on cash.

“It is actually hunger in the midst of plenty. There are enough rice paddies here to buy but very few of the owners accept bank transfers, most of them prefer cash.

“The government should commission a study on why people, especially in the North, prefer cash transactions.

“For me, I believe there are no banks in many communities, and there is also a low level of education in rural communities,” he said.

Daily Trust reports that there was no update from CBN on the continued cash crunch despite the assurance that both old and new notes remain legal tender.

The Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room has expressed disappointment with the conduct of Saturday’s off-cycle governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states, describing it as a major setback in the nation’s democratic development.

In a statement on Monday in Abuja, Situation Room said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not show that it had learned from the challenges it faced in conducting the general elections eight months ago.

“These elections represent a major setback in Nigeria’s democratic development,” it said in statement signed by its convener, Yunusa Ya’u, and co-conveners, Mimidoo Achakpa and Franklin Oloniju.

The group said “the disturbing reports of high levels of results falsification and other forms of electoral irregularities in the governorship elections in the three states raise serious questions about the credibility of elections and the future of democracy in Nigeria.

It, therefore, called on INEC to “fully review the elections in Kogi and Imo States to identify the incidents of malpractice that took place and reflect the genuine vote of the people.”

It also called for an independent audit of election administration in Nigeria and compliance with electoral law by INEC.

“Without this, we are worried that not much improvement can be achieved,” it added.


Irregularities observed

The Situation Eoom said in its observation report that the elections were marred specifically by logistical challenge, delay in the commencement of voting, over voting, violence and vote buying.

It said that only 29 per cent of the polling units in Imo State had commenced voting by the official time of 8:30 a.m.

In Bayelsa, 66 per cent of polling units started at the scheduled time while 86 per cent compiled in Kogi states.

The group reported that election officials did not turn up in several polling units in Ideato North and Ideato South LGAs and a few polling units in Orlu, Orsu, Okigwe and Oru East LGAs.

“The failure of INEC to turn up disenfranchised voters in the affected areas,” it stated.

“Voting in Bayelsa State was affected by the incidents of the capsized boat in Southern ljaw LGA and the abduction of INEC’s Supervisory Presiding Officer assigned to Registration Area 06 (Ossioma) in Sagbama.”

While the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) performed optimally in most polling units, the group said it worried about INEC’s failure to address reports of over voting as contained in the Electoral Act (2022).

“The inability of INEC to synchronise the record of accreditation by the BVAS with the Result Viewing Portal (IReV Portal) in real time despite improved access to internet broadband in Nigeria is questionable. By permitting the bypass of the BVAS, INEC has effectively rolled back the gains of electoral reform recorded in recent times,” it added.


The group also condemned commission’s management of results in areas where there were reports of falsification of results.

It said: “INEC had acknowledged incidents of pre-filled result sheets before the commencement of polls affecting 5 LGAs in Kogi State -Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ogori/Mangongo, Okehi and Okene. Regrettably, INEC has gone ahead to collate results from these LGAs without conducting any thorough investigation and making its findings public. This is condemnable.”

In Imo State, the group said, INEC uploaded results of polling units where voting did not take place on the election results viewing portal (IReV).

The group added that politicians attempted to exploit INEC’s weaknesses to tamper with results in Bayelsa State, especially in Brass, Sagbama, Southern ljaw and Nembe LGAs.

“These incidents question INEC’s integrity and the willingness and ability of the Commission to conduct credible elections. To ascertain the depth of the damage, Situation Room is calling on the Commission to release data of accredited voters as recorded on the BVAS and total votes cast on a local government basis in these states,” it said.

The Situation Room report also noted some pockets of violence recorded in the three states.

In Bayelsa State, it said, one of its observers was chased out of the Ward Collation Centre in Ogbia township by personnel of the Nigerian Army while another observer with the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) was attacked and her phone confiscated by a party agent in polling unit 003, Ogboloma Town Square, Ward 11, Kolokuma LGA without any intervention from the security agents present at the polling unit.

The group said its partners also reported 19 incidents of violence by noon on election day in the three States.

“These incidents of violence were recorded in Anyigba, Dekina LGA of Kogi State, Sagbama and Brass of Bayelsa State and Ikeduru LGA of Imo State,” it said.

The report added, “It will seem that security agents deployed for election duty, rather than help in securing the process and ensuring its integrity, they opted to collude with politicians and even in some cases, protected the politicians, enabling them to indulge in vote buying and other conducts that compromised the elections in these three states.

“The Commercialisation of Nigeria’s elections appears to have reached unprecedented heights. Political parties and their agents operated openly and with impunity, distributing money in the purchase of votes without any effort from the security agents to contain it.

“Sums paid at polling units ranged from N1,000 to N30,000, along with cooked and uncooked food items. There has to be an effective mechanism to halt politicians weaponizing poverty to win elections in Nigeria.”

The All Progressives Congress has rejected the final result of the Bayelsa State governorship election, in which the Independent National Electoral Commission declared the state governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Douye Diri, winner, on Monday.

The state APC agent, Dennis Otiotio, who stated this in an interview with journalists after the INEC State Returning Officer, Prof Kuta Farouq, announced Diri as the winner of the polls, refused to sign the results sheets.

Otiotio claimed that the APC would have won the governorship election if over 84,000 votes scored by the party in the field were not allegedly voided by the commission.

He alleged that the electoral umpire connived with the ruling PDP to cancel votes polled by the opposition APC.

He said, “Over 84, 000 votes scored by the APC in Nembe and Southern Ijaw were cancelled. So we will not be signing this result. In Nembe over 29,000 votes that the l APC scored were cancelled. In Southern Ijaw, over 54,000 votes that the APC scored were cancelled.

“If you add the total cancelled votes that the APC scored which were about 84, 806 votes, if you add it to what the party scored here (at the collation centre), APC clearly won the election.

“But it is clear that INEC has colluded, connived with the PDP to cancel (it) here in this INEC office, not on the field. The votes were brought from Forms EC8A and EC8B down here, and at this INEC office here, they decided to cancel over 84,000 votes scored by the APC.

“It is unprecedented, it has never happened anywhere and we are totally rejecting this result.”

Otiotio, who is also the state chairman of the APC, said the party had already written the necessary petition to challenge the collation process.

Responding to a question on what action the party would take, he said, “Well, the Electoral Act allows INEC to review the results within seven days, and we have written the necessary petition which we have delivered, believing that INEC in good conscience, will look at our petition and deal with it accordingly.”

Diri polled 175,196 to defeat his closest rival, Timipre Sylva of the APC, who garnered 110,108 votes while the Labour Party polled 905 votes.