SUNDAY 15TH JANUARY 2023

With Many Nigerians Paying N250-N400 for Petrol, Marketers, Economists, OPS Insist on Full Deregulation Our Correspondents

With many Nigerians now paying as high as between N250 and N400 for a litre of petrol, fuel marketers, economists and the organised private sector (OPS)

have again asked the federal government to hands off the regulation of the price of the product to allow market forces prevail.

THISDAY’s investigation revealed that most filling

stations across the country have continued to sell the product, far above the regulated prices, despite the huge resources spent in subsidising the prices.

THISDAY gathered at the weekend that only the retail

stations belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and the few marketers that are members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) that were selling

petrol between N165 and N170.

Other retail outlets owned by marketers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), which controls the largest number of

filling stations nationwide were selling far above the regulated prices.

For instance, several filling stations in Jalingo, the Taraba Continued on page 5

Tinubu Vows to Work with Military to Defeat Any Threat against Nigeria… Page 60 Sunday 15 January, 2023 Vol 27. No 10141

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Bowing to Court Orders, INEC Releases Updated List of Gov’ship, N’Assembly Candidates APC, PDP, LP, NNPP, SDP make list

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Following court orders and the deaths of some candidates for the forthcoming general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

has released an updated list of the governorship, senatorial and House of Representatives candidates of the various political parties that will participate in the elections.

The updated list contains

the names of the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

According to the updated list obtained by THISDAY from the commission, Ifeoma Helen Mbakwe, is the authentic senatorial candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) for Anambra North senatorial

zone in Anambra State, while Geoffrey Onyejegbu is the party’s senatorial candidate for Anambra South.

In Adamawa South senatorial zone, Pullo Baba Abubakar is the candidate of NNPP due to

a court order.

Also because of court orders, in Akwa Ibom North-West senatorial zone, Sunday Etim Umorem is the NNPP Continued on page 5

Atiku: APC Synonymous with Poverty, Insecurity Obi: Nigeria Safe in Stingy Man’s Hands G-5 govs will soon shut the door of reconciliation, Wike warns PDP Kwankwaso pledges to prioritise education, and job creation if elected president

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja, John Shiklam in Kaduna, Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt, Ibrahim Oyewale, Lokoja and Fidelis David in Akure

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is synonymous with poverty, unemployment, insecurity, lack of development and other negative indices in human development.

Also, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, has declared that Nigeria would be safer in the hands of a stingy man.

Obi’s counterpart in the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso,

however, said education and job creation would be his priorities if elected president.

This is coming as the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has said the G-5 governors of the PDP would soon foreclose the possibility of reconciliation.

Wike asked the National Chairman of PDP, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, and the presidential candidate, Atiku, to be ready to face repercussions if they fail to yield to the G-5 governors’ demand to cede the party chairmanship to the South.

Atiku said the only way to put an end to all the negative indices that have befallen the country is by voting out APC in the next election and supporting the PDP-led government.

Continued on page 5

THANK-YOU VISIT…

Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke (left), and President Muhammadu Buhari, during the governor’s ‘Thank -You’ visit to the president for signing the Electoral Act that paved the way for his victory at the Presidential Villa in Abuja…weekend

UN Warns of Acute Malnutrition in Nigeria, 14 Other Countries… Page 12

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JANUARY 15, 2023 • T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

PAGE FIVE ATIKU: APC SYNONYMOUS WITH POVERTY, INSECURITY OBI: NIGERIA SAFE IN STINGY MAN’S HANDS The former vice president stated this yesterday in Lokoja, Kogi State capital, during the presidential rally of the main opposition party, where he also promised the people of Kogi that he would put an end to the nightmare of Ajaokuta Steel Company, while also developing the inland port in the state.

Atiku stressed that the issue of the inland port was not only the issue of Kogi State but the issue of northern Nigeria.

His words: “APC came here to deceive you and you voted for them; you have now seen. You have now seen what APC means; it means poverty, unemployment, insecurity, lack of development and very negative indices in human development brought about in this country by APC, you will not vote for APC again.

“I am very happy with the people of Kogi State for this show of support; show of love; most of the challenges have been enumerated by the previous speakers; One of them is the issue of Ajaokuta. I want to confirm here that if you give us your support and elect a PDP government, the nightmare of Ajaokuta will be a thing of the past. I assure you this and it is a promise I have made on behalf of PDP. “I also want to promise you that the issue of your inland port is not only a Kogi issue but an issue of Northern Nigeria because, through the development of the port in Kogi, we also will have access to the maritime transportation in this country; so, it is not a Kogi matter; it is our matter for the entire North of the country. I promise you we will implement that programme,” Atiku explained.

He added: “Let me also assure you that if you vote for PDP, there will be no more salary areas in Kogi State because we will support Kogi State to make sure nobody is owed salaries. From what I have seen from Obajana up to Lokoja, it is thousands of young men and women, we will give you jobs, if we don’t give you jobs, we will give you business to do; I promise to set aside 10 billion US dollars to empower our young men and women so that they can live a comfortable life.”

Also speaking, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, described Kogi State as one of the richest states in this country in terms of solid minerals, adding that the country needs a businessman like Atiku who could make policies that would encourage people all over the world to come, exploit, extract and bring wealth to Kogi.

On his part, the Director General of the Campaign and Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, said Atiku would ensure the security of lives and property, and also reposition Nigeria for restructuring, and full economic recovery.

Obi: Nigeria Safe in Stingy Man’s Hands

Meanwhile, the presidential candidate of the LP, Obi, yesterday said Nigeria would be safer in the hands of a stingy man.

Obi, who was apparently responding to the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, who described him as stingy, admitted that he is stingy but prudent in the management of public funds.

Recall that Tinubu had recently lambasted his counterparts in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and Obi, calling the former vice president ‘Mr. Privatise,’ and Obi ‘Mr. Stingy’.

Obi, while replying to the former Lagos State governor, at the presidential campaign rally held in Akure, the Ondo State capital, admitted his stinginess,

saying he would rather be stingy and invest in education, health, economy and other sectors to develop the country.

He said: "They said that I'm stingy; we want stingy people now so that we can keep the money. We want to make sure we use your money to transform the country. I am stingy, but we are not out to steal the nation's wealth all we want to do is to use the nation's money for our people and the development of this country.

"This election is coming now - don't vote for anybody because of the tribe, but vote for someone that will move the country forward. This election is about character and people we can trust. Everybody knows the schools my running mate and I attended. You all know our age, our schools and everything about us.

"When I was the governor in Anambra, everybody knows what I did, all the work I did. When I left the government, I left $150 million, everybody knows this, they know where I live; you can go and verify," Obi stressed.

According to Obi, " entire Nigeria is insecure; people are leaving, suffering and hungry.

We want to secure and unite Nigeria. We want to move Nigeria from consumption to production. No more schools strikes. We will support small businesses. No Nigerian will leave his or her community because of insecurity. We guarantee you that insecurity will stop. We want to fight corruption. We will make sure that we have electricity" The former governor noted that the presidency is not a birthright of any of the ethnic groups in the country, stressing that credible, prudent and responsible leaders should be voted to power in 2023 "We don't want anybody to say that it is my turn; we want to change Nigeria for the better.

Our children will be in school; we don't want people to run out of Nigeria again. We want to structure Nigeria for development.

We want to build a better Nigeria, so go out and support us. So, go and pick your PVCs and vote for the Labour Party and make sure that they count the vote.

I'm the only governor that left good money in office as far as the history of Anambra State is concerned.

"We will make sure that our security men work in a conducive environment and their families will be okay so that they can protect the citizens very well."

Also, the vice presidential candidate of the party, Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, while calling on residents of the state to collect their PVCs, noted that he and Obi are the most qualified among the contestants.

Earlier, the Secretary General of the Pan Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, and South-west Coordinator of LP Presidential Campaign Council, Sola Ebiseni reiterated that for the interest of equity, unity and fairness, it is the turn of the South-east to produce the next President of Nigeria.

G-5 Governors will Soon Shut Door of Reconciliation, Wike Warns PDP

In another development, Wike has said the G-5 governors of the PDP would soon foreclose the possibility of reconciliation.

Wike and four other governors – Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Samuel Ortom (Benue), who were all elected on the platform of the party, had withdrawn their support for the presidential candidate of the party, Atiku, insisting that the party’s National Chairman, Ayu should relinquish his position to a southerner.

Their demand for Ayu’s

resignation was because the PDP presidential candidate and national chairman cannot be from the same region.

In an interview with the BBC Pidgin at the weekend, monitored in Port Harcourt, Wike said the G-5 governors would soon shut their door of reconciliation against the leadership of PDP. He added that there would be no coming back once the G-5 governors decide on their choice of a presidential candidate.

Wike reiterated that their choice of a presidential candidate would soon be made known to the public, adding that they were not in a hurry to decide on whom to support.

Wike said: “Some people are

counting January 4th, 16th. They should calm down. We are all politicians; we have political strategies. I don’t work as an individual. That’s what people don’t understand.

“There are different strategies in going to war. What you see today is not what you see tomorrow. Oh, I laugh at them (PDP) when they say we are in touch with so, so governor.

“The point I am trying to tell you is that PDP should have their opportunity because there will come a time the door will be shut and nothing will happen. If that day comes, if heaven wants to come down, let it come down.

“Nobody should threaten anyone. If we (G-5) take the

decision today that we will not support the PDP candidate, we will give reasons why we will not support it and nothing anybody will do about it. They should better be careful,” Wike explained.

Wike also reacted to reports where he was quoted as saying that the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, is presidential material, stressing that his statement did not mean an endorsement of Obi. “If I tell Obi that he is presidential material, does that mean an endorsement?” Wike queried.

Wike has also told Ayu and Atiku to be ready to face consequences if they fail to

yield to the G-5 Governors camp’s demand to cede the party chairmanship to the South.

Wike gave the warning yesterday at the Government House, Port Harcourt, Rivers State while reacting to the resignation of former health minister and a member of PDP Board of Trustees, Prof ABC Nwosu from the party, a development he said has vindicated the G-5 governors in their demand for equity, fairness and justice.

Addressing the visiting stakeholders of Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area on the occasion, Wike said, “I have continued to challenge them. What are we Continued on page 60

BOWING TO COURT ORDERS, INEC RELEASES UPDATED LIST OF GOV’SHIP, N’ASSEMBLY CANDIDATES candidate, while in Akwa Ibom North-East, Ayong Dominic is the senatorial candidate for the NNPP. Also in Benue North-East senatorial zone, Samuel Shangev de Adzango is the candidate, following a replacement by court order.

For Benue North-West senatorial district, Ako Aondoaver Francis is the authentic candidate of the NNPP, while Isaac Jerome Idu is the party’s senatorial candidate for Benue South, also as a result of the orders of the court.

For Cross River State, NNPP has Samuel Ubana Eno as its senatorial candidate for Cross River Central, while Caroline Williams Okem is the party’s senatorial candidate for Cross River North.

For Delta North's senatorial zone, the Labour Party (LP) has Kennedy Onochie Kamma as its senatorial candidate based on a court order.

The updated list also showed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State has Senators Ordia Clifford and Alimikhena Francis as

its senatorial candidates for Edo Central and Edo North, respectively.

The inclusion of the two serving senators was based on court orders.

Similarly, for Edo South, PDP has Matthew Aiggbuhuenze as its senatorial candidate.

In Ekiti State, the NNPP senatorial candidate for Ekiti Central is Fujiyi Oguntade for the NNPP due to a court order.

NNPP also has Johnson Chukwudi Edeh and Onyeko Alphonsus Onyeke as its senatorial candidates for Enugu East and Enugu North senatorial zones, respectively, as a result of court orders.

In Gombe Central senatorial zone, NNPP also has Bibikir Madmad due to a court order.

The updated list also showed that the PDP has Ibrahim Usman as its senatorial candidate for Kaduna Central due to a court order.

For Kaduna North senatorial zone, NNPP has Usman Bawa and Rufai Ahmad Chanchangari for Kaduna South, also due to court orders.

NNPP has Aiyelebegan

Kayode Abdu as its senatorial candidate for Kwara Central and Omokanye David for Kwara, due to court orders.

In Ogun East, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has Andrew Sokoya as its senatorial candidate, while the NNPP has Aina John Kayode for Ogun West, also due to the orders of the courts.

NNPP has Ehinminean Segun as its senatorial candidate for Ondo South, while in Oyo Central, the party fielded Balogun Aderoju Ismail as its senatorial candidate, also based on court orders.

For Plateau North, Gyang Yayazi is the senatorial candidate of the Labour Party, while in Rivers East, NNPP has Omereji Christian Chinedu as its senatorial candidate, also due to court orders.

Also in Taraba Central, Bobboi Kaigama of the NNPP is the senatorial candidate, while in Yobe East, Mohammed Baba Dapchi also of the NNPP is the senatorial candidate also due to court orders.

Also due to a court order, Nashir Sheriff of the All

Progressives Congress (APC) is the senatorial candidate for the Yobe North.

For the Guyuk/Shelleng constituency in Adamawa State, the NNPP candidate for the House of Representatives is Mbororoe Ishaku Yakubu, while in Mayo Belwa/Jada and Toungo constituency, the party’s candidate is Hamman Tuju Yetrisuri.

For Nsikak Ime Anwana, Etinan, Ibomnsit, Ubium Constituency of Akwa Ibom State, NNPP has Anthony Asoquo Isaac as its candidate, while for Ikono, INI constituency, the party is fielding Nkereuwen Udo Ekanem.

In Ikot Abasi Mkpat Constituency, NNPP also has Divine Okon Brownsob, as its candidate.

Also by reason of death, Johnson Cyprus Okuwasegun is now the governorship candidate Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) in Ogun State.

The documents were all signed by the INEC Secretary, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, dated November 10, 2022.

WITH MANY NIGERIANS PAYING N250-N400 FOR PETROL, MARKETERS, ECONOMISTS, OPS INSIST ON FULL DEREGULATION State capital, were selling at N295 per litre while some filling stations were selling at N285.00 and N290.00.

In Kaduna, motorists were paying between N280 to N310 per litre of petrol.

Filling stations located along Kachia Road, near Refinery Quarters, were selling between N280 and N305.

Other stations located at Sabon Tasha, Command Junction and behind the Fire Service also sold at N310.

However, at the NNPC Mega Station located after the Indomie factory, along Kachia road, motorists were buying at N185 per litre amid long and frustrating queues.

In Sokoto, petrol was being sold between N180 and N350.

When THISDAY visited the NNPC station at the Trade Fair Roundabout, the product was not available but the attendants claimed that their official price was N180 per litre.

Filling stations located at Tamaje, as well as Gusau and Illella roads in Sokoto were selling between N200 and N300.

In Yola, Adamawa State, the prices varied between N290 and N360 at filling stations.

THISDAY gathered that filling stations at Bachure Junction, Numan Road, Jambutu, and Ondo Roundabout Maidoki in Yola were selling at varying prices – N290, N295, and N297.

In Mubi, most of the filling stations were selling at between N340 to N360 per litre while in Numan, Ganye, Guyuk and Lamurde, the product was sold for N360 per litre.

In Kano, the price was as high as N310 per litre in most of the filling stations across the Kano Metropolis.

Some filling stations managed by the major dealers in the state were selling the pump price at N290, while others were selling at N280.

At Zaria Road, the price stood at N310, while on Mariri Road, the price was N285.

On Hadejia Road and Maiduguri Road, the petrol price was N280 at the weekend.

In Nasarawa State, some filling stations were selling at N290 along Jos road at the state capital, Lafia.

Other stations located along Makurdi road in Lafia, were selling at N289 per litre, while the NNPC Mega Station in Jos road was selling at N179:00 per litre The price of petrol at filling stations in Bauchi has also hit N310 per litre.

THISDAY gathered that the price of the product recently rose from N297-N302 following the claims by the marketers that there was a drop in supply by NNPC Limited.

Most of the filling stations along Yelwa Road, Maiduguri Road, Bauchi-Jos Road, and the Bauchi metropolis were selling at N305-N310 at the weekend.

In Onitsha, Anambra State, THISDAY reporter bought the product at N320, while in Owerri, Imo State, the price was N400.

It was learnt that petrol was cheaper in the South-west states than in the South-east and South-south due to the high cost of hiring vessels to convey the product from the high sea down to the eastern zone of Calabar and Port Harcourt.

Petrol marketers who reacted to the development argued that the current realities have made it glaring that spending huge trillions of naira on petrol

subsidy, even when the product is still not available in many filling stations, is no longer sustainable.

In their separate chats with THISDAY, the duo of the Executive Secretary of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Mr. Clement Isong and the National President of the Petroleum Products Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Dr Billy Grills-Harry, said that government should quickly abolish subsidy regime and free the projected N6 trillion for petrol subsidy in 2023 for other critical sectors.

They specifically advised that the subsidy budgets be channelled into fixing Nigeria's refineries, buying gas-fired mass transit buses as a promotion of alternative energy, and introducing some subsidy to boost food production to reduce food costs.

At the prevailing exchange rate, the marketers projected that the correct market price of petrol would be between N450 to N500 per litre, urging the monetary authorities to make foreign exchange available to all marketers to enable every marketer to go into importation of petrol.

Against the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which approved for full deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector, the federal government had in January last year postponed the removal of petrol subsidy by 18 months, to June this year.

However, Isong said MOMAN members were “struggling in the distribution challenges to get the products to the stations."

He added: "We have to come

to the terms that it is increasingly difficult if not impossible to supply petrol and sell at that government's price and by forcing NNPC to do it, it has become a big challenge for them.”

"So, people who are ready to take vessels and go to the high sea and collect the product from the NNPC there and bring to depots in the east in Port Harcourt, in Calabar, they are doing it at a higher cost and when you bring it at a higher cost, they then go and transfer that cost to IPMAN and IPMAN transfers it to the customer."

Isong argued that subsidy was killing the country’s economy.

On his part, Grills-Harry also urged the government to jettison fuel subsidy and fully deregulate the downstream sector, maintaining that subsidy was not making any positive impact on the sector and the citizens.

He added that all stakeholders must work together to end the current fuel scarcity in the country, adding that the Forex should be made available to every player to enable them to compete in the market and ensure product availability at every station across the country.

The members of the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN), economists and financial experts have also called on the federal government to take urgent steps to officially terminate the policy of subsidising the pump price of petrol before June 2023.

They, however, advised the government to remove the subsidy in phases and to ensure that the four petrol refineries in the country are brought back Continued on page 60

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T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R • JANUARY 15, 2023

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NEWS

LATEST NONAGENARIAN IN TOWN… L-R: Former Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Ernest Nwapa; Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma; the celebrant/ Nwapa’s Father-inlaw, Ogbuagu Ajei Christopher C-Fine Nwapa; and his sister, Mrs. Weruche Emeruem, at his 90th birthday ceremony held at Nwapa's plantation, Oguta, Imo State…weekend

Don’t Blackmail Judiciary, Jonathan Cautions Politicians Urges political class not to be blinded by power Olusegun Osahon in Yenagoa Former President Goodluck Jonathan has admonished the political class to allow the judiciary to perform its constitutional functions, stressing that politicians should not blackmail or take advantage of the judiciary due to it is conservativeness.

He gave the admonition at the weekend during the book presentation/reception that formed

part of the week-long activities marking the retirement of the Bayelsa State Chief Judge, Justice Kate Abiri, in Yenagoa, the state capital.

Governors Douye Diri of Bayelsa State, Godwin Obaseki of Edo State and Nyesom Wike of Rivers State have hailed the retiring judge.

Jonathan acknowledged the critical role Justice Abiri played when she swore in the Rivers State governor, Wike, thus averting a

NEPC: Non-oil Exports Revenue Increased by 40% to $4.82bn in 2022 James Emejo in Abuja The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has said Nigeria recorded non-oil export earnings of $4.82 billion in 2022, an increase of over 39 per cent Its Executive Director/ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ezra Yakusak, said this while presenting the 2022 non-oil export performance to journalists in Abuja at the weekend.

Yakusak said the figure represented a 39.91 per cent increase compared to 2021 when non-oil exports totalled $3.45 billion.

He said the figure is based on data collated from various pre-shipment inspection agents appointed by the federal government under the Preshipment Inspection Act of 2004.

Yakusak said it was the best yearly result since the NEPC was established 47 years ago.

He said the latest results lend credence to the fact that various export intervention programmes initiated and implemented by the council and other sister organisations gradually yielded desirable results throughout the year under consideration.

“About 214 different products ranging from manufactured, semi-processed, solid minerals to raw agricultural products were exported in 2022,” he said.

“Of these products exported, urea/fertiliser topped the list with 32.87 per cent.

“The emergence of urea/ fertiliser as the highest exported product in 2022 can be attributed to the Russia-Ukraine war which

created an avenue for Nigeria’s urea/fertiliser to thrive.

“It is worthy to note that our products were exported to 122 countries with Brazil recording the highest import value of 12.27 per cent.”

Yakusak provided a breakdown of non-oil performance, saying 1,172 exporters participated, with Indorama-Eleme Fertiliser and Chemical Limited leading with 23.25 per cent.

“Thirty-one issuing banks participated with Zenith Bank Plc processing the highest NXP values, 19 exit points were used with Apapa Port recording the highest tonnage,” he said.

“The month of December recorded the highest export value of 10.37 per cent.”

However, Yakusak noted that no African/Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) country was among the top ten importers of Nigerian products.

“We at the NEPC are working assiduously to change that trajectory, particularly in the wake of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA),” he said.

“The establishment of the Export Trade House in Lome, the solo exhibition in Gambia, and the participation at the Lome International Trade Fair are deliberate initiatives aimed at boosting non-oil export within the ECOWAS sub-region.

“Put differently, there is the need to increase intraAfrican trade given the huge opportunities and benefits therein.”

constitutional crisis and advised politicians not to be blinded by the power they wield.

He advised politicians not to be blinded by the power they wield while urging judicial officers to strive to be impartial and courageous in upholding the rule of law, which he noted was significant in the delivery of justice.

The former president equally tasked judicial officers to be impartial and courageous in upholding the rule of law, which he noted was significant in the delivery of justice.

His words: “I advise politicians that while in office, let us not try to blackmail the judiciary because it is conservative. When we get political power, we get so blinded.

Politicians should know that society is changing.

"Today, we are celebrating our retiring Chief Judge because she has served meritoriously. In 2015, she left Bayelsa for Rivers to perform the swearing-in of the governor thereby averting anarchy.

It appears that the judicial arm is more functional than the executive,"

Jonathan explained.

In his remarks, the Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Diri, hailed Justice Abiri for her outstanding achievements, noting that during her 15-year term as Chief Judge, she swore in three governors in Bayelsa and one in Rivers.

Diri listed the governors as Chief Timipre Sylva (2008), Senator Seriake Dickson (2012), Senator Douye Diri (2020) and Nyesom Wike (2015).

Governor Diri described Abiri as a legal icon, who rendered unblemished and meritorious service in three decades of legal practice.

He said the state would still require her services due to her commitment and wealth of experience.

Chairman of the occasion and Chairman of the Body of Benchers, Chief Wole Olanikpekun (SAN), lauded Abiri as an elegant, brilliant and hardworking jurist, who represents the very best in the legal profession.

Olanikpekun also commended the Diri administration for

supporting the judiciary, expressing the hope that in a few days, a substantive CJ would be appointed for the state judiciary.

Responding, Justice Kate Abiri expressed appreciation to the Bayelsa governor for his support and encouragement.

Three books were unveiled at the event, which includes “Kate Abiri: Footprints on the Bench,” “Judges and Judging in Nigeria” and “Bayelsa State Law Reports: Volume One.” The chief launcher and President of the De Wayles Group, High Chief Emonena Wayles Egukawhore, donated the sum of $100,000 and N20 million for the books while the Rivers State government donated N200 million, the Bayelsa government gave N250 million and Chief Gesi Asamowei N5 million, among other donations.

Dignitaries at the colourful event included the wife of the former president, Dame Patience Jonathan; the wife of the first civilian governor of the state, Mrs. Margaret Alamieyeseigha; Governor Wike represented by

the Rivers State Head of Service, Rufus Godwin, and the Edo State governor, Obaseki represented by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwale Iyamu (SAN).

Some of the legal icons in attendance were Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Chima Centus Nweze; retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Francis Tabai; Justice of the Court of Appeal, Justice Gabriel Kolawole; President, National Industrial Court, Justice B. B Karnyip; the Chief Judges of Rivers, Edo, Cross River and Zamfara states, among others.

Speaking on behalf of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Chief Thompson Okpoko stated that Abiri served well in honour and character, having witnessed her emergence as the third substantive CJ of Bayelsa.

Okpoko said lawyers in the state attested to the fact that she exhibited the true qualities required of a judge while presiding over cases as well as in the administration of justice.

Four Feared Killed as Gunmen Set CUPP Spokesman's Residence Ablaze in Imo Udora Orizu in Abuja and Amby Uneze in Owerri The Spokesman of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, yesterday cried out for help as gunmen set his house, and vehicles ablaze and also killed his uncle in Imo State.

Unconfirmed reports, however, said four persons were killed by the attackers.

Ugochinyere, who is the House of Representatives candidate for Ideato Federal Constituency on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), reported that there was heavy shooting for more than 25 minutes in his country home in Umukegwu Akokwa.

Ugochinyere in a seemingly distressed tweet said: “This is to notify the general public that this may be my last act as a human as my house in Umukegwu Akokwa is under heavy attack currently. As I pen this, all the cars in my house have been sent ablaze and there is heavy shooting for the past

25mins. Painfully, as I speak to you, I saw them kill my father’s younger brother, Uncle Dan. I pray and call for urgent help from anybody who can help.

The attackers are shooting at everyone in the house and this is an urgent cry for help."

Before the attack, CUPP had raised the alarm earlier yesterday over an attack on Ugochinyere’s home.

The CUPP said Ugochinyere’s house was surrounded, while he and his supporters were under serious gun attacks.

The party in a statement issued by its National co-spokesperson, Mark Adebayo, stated that he had received several text messages from Ugochinyere, and called on all security agencies to ensure the protection of the candidate.

He stated: “I have received disturbing texts from my colleague, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, that he and his supporters are under attack and his house is being shot into and about to be set ablaze.

“Nigerians would remember that an aide to the incumbent

Imo State Governor recently threatened Ikenga for which the latter raised the alarm about his safety. One would have expected the police authorities to invite the persons involved and a thorough investigation carried out to arrest and prosecute the culprit but nothing like that has happened. As I speak, I can’t reach my colleague again after sending those desperate messages.

The police spokesperson in the state, Michael Abattam, did not respond to the incident as of the time of filing this report.

THISDAY saw video footage of the burnt vehicles, houses and campaign materials at Ugochinyere’s country home.

In a video, a man who was narrating the incident said several vehicles had been destroyed, and Ikenga’s house razed.

“They have destroyed his house, they have destroyed his vehicle, at his compound here in Akokwa.

They came with arms and guns, they killed one of his security (men), they shot so many people; happening right now at Ikenga’s compound,” the voice narrated.

A statement issued by the party’s spokesperson in the state, Collins Opuruozor, read: “The PDP in Imo State alerts that, at the moment, there is a well-coordinated armed attack going on at the Akokwa residence of Ikenga Ugochinyere, the candidate of our party for Ideato North/South Federal Constituency.

“This has resulted in the killing of an undisclosed number of persons. Also, buildings are reported to have been set ablaze.

“Our efforts to get back to our candidate, Ugochinyere, who was present at his residence when this attack began and who had personally alerted us to the attack, has proven abortive. However, a torrent of messages, a while ago, from Ikenga’s close aides bore some deeply pathetic lines like: “Everywhere is on fire! They are killing us! We are going- going!”

“Imo PDP calls on security agencies to immediately intervene and quell the attack on our candidate and our party members at his residence in Akokwa,” he explained.

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T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R • JANUARY 15, 2023

NEWS

FACT-FINDING VISIT… L-R: Special Adviser to the Governor, Budget and Performance Management, Mr. Niyi Adebayo; Special Adviser, Investment, Trade and Industry, Mrs. Tayo Adeola; Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji; Founder, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN); and Vice Chancellor, ABUAD, Prof. Elisabetha Ayorinde, during the governor’s visit to the university campus, in Ado-Ekiti…weekend

UN Warns of Acute Malnutrition in Nigeria, 14 Other Countries Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Five United Nations’ agencies have called for urgent action to protect the most vulnerable children in 15 countries, worst hit by an unprecedented food and nutrition crisis.

The call was made in a statement issued by five UN

agencies.

According to the statement, conflicts, climate shocks, the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 and rising costs of living are leaving increasing numbers of children acutely malnourished.

“This is happening when key health nutrition and other life-saving services are becoming

Release Kanu to Me, Soludo Appeals to FG David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka The Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has called for the immediate and unconditional release of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mr. Nnamdi Kanu by the federal government, saying he was ready to stand as a surety for the detained IPOB leader.

Soludo spoke during the flag-off of campaigns of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), which witnessed the presence of the presidential candidate of the party, Prof. Peter Umeadi and other candidates of the party in the state and South-east.

He said: "I am making a passionate appeal to the federal government to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally.

If he cannot be released unconditionally, I want him released to me, and I will stand surety for him.

"We need Nnamdi Kanu in the roundtable conversation to discuss the insecurity in the South-east. We must end insecurity in the South-east and we need Nnamdi Kanu to be around.

"Sometimes ago, we set up the Truth and Reconciliation Committee to find out the root cause of insecurity in the South-east and they have almost concluded their assignment.

"But this issue of insecurity cannot be well addressed without bringing to the table the key players in this matter.

"We have applied the kinetic and non-kinetic approach to fighting insecurity in the South-east, but the non-kinetic approach cannot be complete without the federal government releasing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

"We must bring him to the table because we need him to be part of this process and I call on the federal government to release Nnamdi Kanu to me, for us to have a comprehensive discussion about the fate of the South-east.

"If we cannot release him based on the court process, I hereby offer myself as the surety for his release and whenever you want him, I will hand him over to you.

"We shall provide him shelter and give him home, and we make this plea in the true belief in the spirit of peace in the South-east," he said.

Soludo hailed his party, saying that Anambra remains the home of APGA, and the home of progressives, and called on Nigerians to vote for all the candidates of the party.

Presidential candidate of APGA, Prof Umeadi, called on Nigerians to vote for him, saying that he is the most competent among the candidates running for the office.

less accessible.

“Currently, more than 30 million children in the 15 worstaffected countries suffer from wasting or acute malnutrition and eight million of these children are severely wasted, the deadliest form of under- nutrition.

“This is a major threat to children’s lives and to their longterm health and development, the impacts of which are felt by individuals, their communities and their countries,” it said.

It said the five UN agencies are: Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP) and World Health Organisation (WHO).

The statement said that they called for accelerated progress on the Global Action Plan on Child Wasting.

“This is aimed to prevent, detect and treat acute malnutrition among children in the worst-affected countries, which are Afghanistan, Burkina

Faso, Chad and Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Others are Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen.

It said that the Global Action Plan addressed the need for a multi-sectoral approach and highlighted priority actions across maternal and child nutrition through the food, health, water and sanitation, and social protection systems.

According to the statement, in response to increasing needs, the UN agencies identified five priority actions that will be effective in addressing acute malnutrition in countries affected by conflict and natural disasters and in humanitarian emergencies.

It said scaling up these actions as a coordinated package will be critical for preventing and treating acute malnutrition in children, and averting a tragic loss of life.

“The UN agencies call for decisive and timely action to prevent this crisis from becoming

a tragedy for the world’s most vulnerable children,” it said.

Director-General of the FAO, Mr. QU Dongyu, said that the situation would likely deteriorate even further in 2023.

“We must ensure availability, affordability and accessibility of healthy diets for young children, girls, and pregnant and lactating women.

“We need urgent action now to save lives, and to tackle the root causes of acute malnutrition, working together across all sectors,” Qu said.

High Commissioner, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, said that the UN system was responding as one to the crisis.

Grandi said at UNHCR they are working hard to improve analysis and targeting to ensure that they reach children who are most at risk, including internally-displaced and refugee populations.

The Executive Director of UNICEF, Catherine Russell,

said cascading crises are leaving millions of children wasted and have made it harder for them to access key services.

The Executive Director of WFP, David Beasley, said more than 30 million children are acutely malnourished across the 15 worstaffected countries, so they must act now and must act together.

Beasley said it is critical that they collaborate to strengthen social safety nets and food assistance to ensure that Specialised Nutritious Foods are available to women and children who need them the most.

The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Ghebreyesus, said that “the global food crisis is also a health crisis, and a vicious cycle, malnutrition leads to disease, and disease leads to malnutrition,” He said urgent support is needed now in the hardest-hit countries to protect children’s lives and health, including ensuring critical access to healthy foods and nutrition services, especially for women and children.

Organ Harvesting: Ekweremadu’s Daughter Pleads Not Guilty as Trial Begins January 31 Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The daughter of a former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Sonia, has pleaded not guilty to the organ harvesting charges levelled against her in the United Kingdom.

She also denied trafficking a young man, David Nwamini, into the United Kingdom to harvest his kidney.

Sonia, 25, is charged alongside her father, Ekweremadu, 60; her mother, Beatrice, 56; and Dr. Obinna Obeta, 50.

According to Daily Mail, Ike, Beatrice and Obeta denied conspiracy to arrange the travel of another person with a view to exploitation at the Old Bailey

on December 20, 2022, while Sonia pleaded not guilty.

It was alleged that they conspired together, with others and another family member, Isaac Ekweremadu, who remains in Nigeria, to arrange the travel of a 21-year-old man, Nwamini, to exploit him between 1 August 2021 and 5 May 2022.

The group allegedly arranged his travel from Lagos to London to remove one of his kidneys for Sonia, who has a kidney-related disease, it is claimed.

Ike and Beatrice Ekweremadu were arrested after the young man, who previously lived in Lagos, claimed he was the victim of trafficking at Staines Police Station.

The man told officers he arrived in the UK on February 20, 2022, and was taken to Royal Free Hospital for tests, none of which he consented to.

After the tests, the man said he returned to the house he was staying in, where he was ‘treated effectively as a slave.’

He said he escaped the address and was homeless for three days before going to the police.

The trial will begin at the Old Bailey on January 31 before High Court Justice Adam Johnson.

Ike, a lawyer and former Deputy President of the Senate, and his wife Beatrice were arrested in the UK on June 21 after flying to Heathrow from

Turkey.

Ike has been elected to five consecutive terms in the Senate since 2003.

He led the Nigerian delegation at the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021.

Ike has been deputy president of the Senate on three occasions, which he said was equivalent to being Leader of the House of Commons.

He said he had been one of the most senior lawmakers for many years, and a well-known philanthropist.

Ike and Obeta are in custody in HMP Wandsworth and HMP Belmarsh, respectively, while Beatrice and Sonia are both on bail.

SUNDAY JANUARY 15, 2023 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JANUARY 15, 2023

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NEWS

News Editor: Gboyega Akinsanmi E-mail: gboyega.akinsanmi@thisdaylive.com,08152359253

Oil Theft: Investigative Panel Vows to Expose Perpetrators Amby Uneze in Owerri The Chairman of the Special Investigative Panel on Crude Oil Theft/Losses, Maj Gen Barry Ndiomu (rtd), has said that the panel will not be afraid to identify and expose those involved in the economic sabotage.

He stated this when he led the members of the panel on a courtesy visit to the Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma, who also charged them to be courageous in discharging their

assignment.

In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the Governor, Mr. Oguwike Nwachuku, Ndiomu said they were in Imo State to “engage and have frank discussions with the governor on finding a lasting solution to oil theft in Nigeria, knowing full well that Imo State is one of the oil-producing states badly affected by the menace of oil theft/losses.”

He restated his commitment to work with the Imo State

Government to, not only identify but prosecute the culprits.

Ndiomu stated that they equally came to tap from the technological know-how of the governor, which, he said, they would apply in their investigation to unravel the problem of pipeline vandalism.

He, therefore, requested Uzodimma’s support as they work to stop oil theft for the benefit of the Nigerian economy and people.

He promised that members of

No Court Has Ordered CBN to Freeze Our Account, Says Polaris Bank Nume Ekeghe

Polaris Bank yesterday clarified the reports insinuating that an Ondo High Court ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to freeze its account is erroneous, saying reports of the court ordering the apex bank to freeze its account, were misleading.

The bank made the clarification on the heels of reports published in a section of the media, wherein it was said that an Ondo High Court has granted a garnishee order directing the CBN to freeze the account of Polaris Bank over a judgment debt of

N2,162,561,509.84k.

The order was reportedly made by Justice Adebusoye in an application filed by Ondo AttorneyGeneralandCommissioner for Justice, Sir Charles Titiloye, for garnishee order nisi attaching all the sums of indebtedness of Polaris Bank to Ondo State Government in a judgment delivered in suit No AK/75/2017.

Titiloye had filed the application over the alleged failure and neglect of the bank to meet the condition of the stay of execution of the judgment.

But the bank in its reaction yesterday explained that the effect of the order is not to freeze the Bank’s

account with CBN as erroneously published by a section of the media.

The bank’s position was contained in a statement made available to the media on Saturday by the Head, of Corporate Communications of Polaris Bank, Rasheed Bolarinwa.

The statement added that the ruling only set aside the contentious judgment sum until the conclusion of the hearing in the case.

The statement read, “We are aware of the matter and our solicitor has filed necessary processes to set aside the garnishee order.

the panel were working towards submitting their report by the end of next month.

Responding, Uzodimma advised the members of the panel to be courageous in discharging their assignment, describing the place of crude oil in the economy as ‘the brain of the country.’

The governor wondered why the livewire of Nigeria should be left in the hands of a few individuals to “open the body and remove the brain.”

Uzodimma commended the

wisdom of the federal government in setting up the panel for “reducing the dangerous crime of oil thieves who are determined to cripple the economy of the nation.”

He said the Nigerian Governor’s Forum (NGF) and other well-meaning persons had long suggested that a special committee be set up to unravel the crude oil theft in Nigeria and expressed happiness that the body has eventually been established.

He further expressed joy that

in recent times the crude oil production level has increased and expressed confidence over the calibre of members of the committee who he described as “men and women of impeccable pedigree.”

He, therefore, charged them to “find the courage to do the work and expose the thieves and even prosecute them.”

Uzodimma said two factors have contributed to the success of oil theft in the country – internal and external security.

Surrender Now, Army Tells Terrorists The Nigerian Army has ordered the remnants of the Boko Haram/ ISWAP terrorists still in their hideouts waging war against the country in the North-east to surrender and lay down their arms like the over 83,000 of their members and families that had surrendered to troops in Born or face the firepower of the Armed Forces and blame themselves.

The Theatre Commander Operation Hadin Kai, Maj. Gen Christopher Musa, gave the order yesterday during the Nigerian Army Social Activities 2022 held at the Maimalari Cantonment

ground in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Maj. Gen Musa said though the year 2022 was marred with challenges, the North-east region recorded unprecedented peace through the gallant efforts of the Nigerian military in decimating the terrorists.

He added that the massive number of terrorists who have surrendered is a result of the kinetic and non-kinetic approach adopted by the Nigerian military in executing the war.

“Historically, the Nigerian Army Social Activities 2022,

otherwise known as West African Social Activities is an annual social event of the Allied Forces during the Second World War, now inherited by the Nigerian Army.

“The event offers officers, men and families of the military an opportunity to interact and socialise in a relaxed atmosphere at the end of every year, thereby enhancing social interactions across the ranks.

This year’s event which took place at Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri was organised by the Operation Hadin Kai Theatre Command and Headquarters of 7 Division of the Nigerian Army.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER JANUARY 15 , 2022

BUSINESS

Editor: Festus Akanbi 08038588469 Email:festus.akanbi@thisdaylive.com

Revisiting Private Sector’s Grouses about Finance Bill The groundswell of criticisms of the 2022 Finance Bill, which was hurriedly passed by the National Assembly but suspended by President Muhammadu Buhari, have provided VX΀FLHQW JURXQGV IRU WKH RXWJRLQJ DGPLQLVWUDWLRQ WR DGGUHVV WKH UHVHUYDWLRQV RI WKH members of the organised private sector who insist on wide consultations to avoid additional tax burden on businesses, reports Festus Akanbi

A

s the nation awaits what becomes of the Finance Bill 2022 recently passed by the NationalAssembly but which has been put in abeyance by President Muhammadu Buhari, some members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) have outlined steps to make the document acceptable and workable.

Two weeks ago, President Buhari signed the N21.83 trillion 2023 appropriation bill into law, marking the last time he would be performing such a task as Nigeria’s president. The president however deferred the signing of the Finance %LOO ZKLFK LV VWLOO EHLQJ UHYLHZHG DV LW FRQÁLFWV ZLWK WKH ÀVFDO WHUP RI WKH 3HWUROHXP ,QGXVWU\ $FW 3,$ The budget, which contained robust provisions for the funding of this year’s general election, was passed by the National Assembly on December 28 last year.

The controversial Finance Bill brought about a wide-range of amendments to the following OHJLVODWLRQV &RPSDQLHV ,QFRPH 7D[ $FW &XVWRPV ([FLVH 7DULͿ $FW 3HUVRQDO ,QFRPH 7D[ $FW 3HWUROHXP 3URÀWV 7D[ $FW 6WDPS 'XWLHV $FW Buhari 9DOXH $GGHG 7D[ $FW &DSLWDO *DLQV 7D[ $FW &RUUXSW 3UDFWLFHV DQG 2WKHU 5HODWHG 2ͿHQFHV when the Bill was expected to have been passed $FW DQG WKH 3XEOLF 3URFXUHPHQW $FW as an Act. There is also a rollover relief on shares and Key Amendments in the Bill VWRFNV ,QYHVWRUV DUH UHTXLUHG WR SD\ D WD[ RI Akey amendment in the bill is the new provision that subjects gains on digital assets to tax per cent on the gains they make from the sale of XQGHU WKH &DSLWDO *DLQV 7D[ $FW DW WKH UDWH RI their shares in startups and other companies.

The Bill, however, proposes that investors that 10 per cent.

The bill also subjects income derived by a purchase shares from startups will be eligible to company from gaming, gambling, betting, or roll over reliefs if they reinvest the proceeds of lottery business to tax under the Companies the sale of such shares. Rollover relief provides a mechanism for deferring payment of tax from ,QFRPH 7D[ $FW ,W DOVR SURYLGHV IRU D WD[ LQFUHDVH IRU JDV the sale of an asset, where the proceeds from ÁDULQJ FRPSDQLHV ,Q OLQH ZLWK 1LJHULD·V FOLPDWH such sale are reinvested to buy new assets.

The bill also stipulates that all services, inchange commitments to ensure the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the Bill proposes cluding but not limited to telecommunication WKDW JDV ÁDULQJ PHGLXP DQG ODUJH FRPSDQLHV services, provided in Nigeria will be subject are to be liable to corporate taxation at a 50 per to excise duties.

According to the bill, the Minister of Finance, FHQW UDWH ,W LV DQWLFLSDWHG WKDW WKLV UDWH ZLOO KHOS WR GHWHU JDV ÁDULQJ DV LW LV PRUH WKDQ WKH W\SLFDO Budget, and Economic Planning is to be charged with the responsibility for the supervision of 30 per cent nominal income tax rate.

7KH %LOO DOVR PDNHV D FDVH IRU WKH VHW RͿ RI WKH 7DULͿ 5HYLHZ %RDUG capital losses against capital gains on two identical capital assets (that is, two assets that are of the same kind) in a taxable year.

There is also remittance of Value Added 7D[ 9$7 E\ VSHFLÀF HQWLWLHV 8QGHU WKH QHZ provision, entities like MTN, and oil and gas companies, appointed to deduct VAT at source on invoices received from their vendors will be expected to remit such VAT to the Federal ,QODQG 5HYHQXH 6HUYLFH ),56 RQ RU EHIRUH WKH 14th day of the following month (currently 21st day of the following month). ,Q DGGLWLRQ WR WKH H[LVWLQJ FXVWRPV GXWLHV and other charges, a levy of 0.5 per cent is to be imposed on goods imported into Nigeria from RXWVLGH $IULFD ,W LV VWDWHG WKDW WKLV GXW\ ZLOO be used to make payments for subscriptions, DQG RWKHU ÀQDQFLDO REOLJDWLRQV WR PXOWLODWHUDO LQVWLWXWLRQV OLNH WKH $IULFDQ 8QLRQ $8 $IULFDQ Development Bank (AfDB), and others.

According to the bill, the existing investment allowance of 10 per cent applicable on qualifying expenditure incurred on plant and equipment will no longer apply as of December 31, 2022,

LCC Warns Against Removal of Tax Waivers ,Q LWV UHVSRQVH WKH /DJRV &KDPEHU RI &RPPHUFH DQG ,QGXVWU\ /&&, ODVW ZHHN FDOOHG RQ the federal government to tread cautiously with its plan to save over N6 trillion by removing tax waivers and exemptions granted to some large enterprises in the oil and gas sector.

7KH FKDPEHU LQ D VWDWHPHQW WLWOHG ´/&&, Comments on the 2022 Finance Bill,” noted that President Muhammadu Buhari withheld his presidential assent to the proposed legislation in order to subject it to further review.

7KH VWDWHPHQW VLJQHG E\ WKH 'LUHFWRU *HQHUDO RI WKH /&&, 'U &KLQ\HUH $OPRQD FLWHG WKH statement of the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed during her budget presentation. The minister reportedly stated that the plan to exit some large HQWHUSULVHV IURP WKH 3LRQHHU 6WDWXV ,QFHQWLYHV the government can save about N6 trillion tax expenditure (waivers, exemptions, incentives granted by the government). /&&, VDLG ´%XW RQ WKH SDWK RI FDXWLRQ ZH urge the government to be conservative in rais-

Ahmed ing tax rates, since there are new ways of rescuing some tax expenditures to add up WR JRYHUQPHQW UHYHQXH LQ /HDYLQJ rates at their levels will not lead to a loss of revenue.”

7KH /&&, QRWHG WKDW ZLWK WKH GLYHVWments by some international oil companies from the oil and gas sector, Nigeria needed to “reposition the industry through a steeply LPSOHPHQWHG 3,$ WR SDYH WKH ZD\ IRU QHZ investments and encourage indigenous FRPSDQLHV WR UHÁDWH WKH VHFWRU ZLWK UHTXLUHG investments.” $V SDUW RI LWV LQSXW LQ WKH ELOO WKH /&&, suggested the retention of the Tertiary Education Tax (TET) rate at 2.5 per cent since it was just recently increased from SHU FHQW WR SHU FHQW ,W H[SODLQHG that at the proposed rate of 3.0 per cent, Nigeria’s corporate income tax rate would rise to about 36 per cent, which is one of the highest rates in the world, according to available research. ´5HWDLQ WKH SHU FHQW &RPSDQ\ ,QFRPH 7D[ IRU DOO RLO DQG JDV FRPSDQLHV FRQVLGHU DPHQGLQJ WKH 3HWUROHXP 3URÀW 7D[ $FW ZLWK WKH VDPH SURYLVLRQ LQ WKH 3,$ 6HFWLRQ 1042,” the chamber said.

Stakeholders’ Engagement 7KH /&&, DOVR UHFRPPHQGHG WKDW WKH Finance Bill should be presented for extensive stakeholders’ consultations before EHLQJ SDVVHG E\ WKH 1DWLRQDO $VVHPEO\ ,W pledged to continue to work to mobilise the private sector to support the implementation of the 2023 federal budget. ,W KRZHYHU VDLG ´2Q DFKLHYLQJ UHYHQXH targets for the budget, the MDAs and *RYHUQPHQW 2ZQHG (QWHUSULVHV *2(V can intensify their revenue mobilisation HͿRUWV LQ DQ HQDEOLQJ HQYLURQPHQW ZKHUH the private sector thrives.

On its part, the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) took exception to what it described as the hasty passage of

the bill, saying there was practically no room for public hearing and engagement with stakeholders in the consideration of the bill.

The centre posited that the rushed passage of the Bill by the National Assembly calls to question the representative role of the Assembly.

The Chief Executive of the Centre, Dr Muda <XVXI ZKR VSRNH RQ DQ $5,6( 1HZV &KDQQHO·V programme last week, noted that it was curious and puzzling that the Senate gave just 24 hours’ notice for stakeholders to attend a public hearing on the bill, which is a piece of legislation that has profound implications for investment, citizens welfare and the Nigeria economy.

According to him, the House of Representatives gave a more generous notice of about three weeks, noting however that in a sudden and ED΁LQJ WZLVW RI HYHQWV WKH +RXVH SDVVHG WKH ELOO before the date of the advertised public hearing which was January 13, 2023.

Protests against Additional Tax Burden Yusuf pointed out that the Bill passed contained the imposition of excise duties on all services with rates to be determined by presidential order.

According to him, all of these have far-reaching LPSOLFDWLRQV IRU LQYHVWRUV DQG FLWL]HQV DͿHFW the cost of production, operating costs and XQGHUPLQH LQYHVWRUV· FRQÀGHQFH ´,W KDV SURIRXQG LQÁDWLRQDU\ LPSOLFDWLRQV ,W ZLOO HͿHFWLYHO\ PRYH FRUSRUDWH WD[ WR DOPRVW per cent which is one of the highest globally.”

He appealed to President Buhari not to leave a legacy of an unbearable tax burden for investors in the Nigerian economy, noting that the torrent of taxes, levies, and fees was crippling businesses.

Yusuf, therefore, urged the President to withhold assent on the 2022 Finance Bill until the National Assembly properly engages stakeholders as required by legislative protocols. ,W LV KRSHG WKDW E\ WKH WLPH WKH QHZ YHUVLRQ of the Finance Bill is passed, it will contain the input of the private sector operators and other VWDNHKROGHUV LQ WKH 1LJHULDQ HFRQRP\ ,W LV WKHQ WKH PXFK DZDLWHG )LQDQFH %LOO ZLOO UHÁHFW WKH current realities in the Nigerian economy.

16

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER JANUARY 15 , 2022

FINANCE

Waiting for Banks’ Compliance with CBN Directives on New Naira Notes The Central Bank of Nigeria insists that old naira notes will cease to be legal tenders in the next 15 days, whereas many of the banks’ ATMs are still dispensing old notes. Nigerians are therefore counting on the apex bank to remove all the obstacles put in place by the banks against the realisation of its naira redesign policy without delay, reports Festus Akanbi

Some bank ATMs are still dispensing old naira notes

A

lthough the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has insisted there is no going back on the expiration of old naira notes on January 31, ÀQDQFLDO PDUNHW ZDWFKHUV said a combination of poor logistics which manifested in poor circulation of the new currency notes E\ EDQNV DQG VDERWDJH E\ VRPH EDQN VWDͿ LV threatening the Naira redesign policy.

This is because, with two weeks to go, many banks are still dispensing the old notes through their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), making it a waste of time for anyone to take his/her old naira notes to the bank.

Last year, the apex bank announced plans to redesign N1,000, N500 and N200 notes with January 31, 2023, as the date the old notes would cease to be legal tender.

Amidst the growing complaints over the scarcity of new notes in banks, THISDAY conducted a random survey in banks in Lagos last week and FRQÀUPHG WKDW ZLWK EDUHO\ WZR ZHHNV WR WKH H[piration of the CBN’s deadline, many Nigerians may still have loads of old naira notes as they are still being disbursed by banks ATM. In Ikoyi, Lagos State, for example, compliance by banks varied. In some banks, along Awolowo road, old naira notes were still disbursed at the weekend while many others were able to give out new notes to customers. It was the same story at the Ojodu, Berger, Ijanikin, Ojuelegba and Egbeda areas of Lagos where most of the banks continued to roll out a combination of old and new naira notes.

THISDAY noticed protests by some bank customers who lamented their ordeal in their bid to change their old notes to new ones. They complained that having complied with the CBN’s directives and returned their old naira notes, they

expected the banks to load their ATMs with new notes. They lamented that up till the weekend, all they were receiving were old notes.

“If the CBN cannot enforce compliance, then we hold them accountable. Why would people who deposit old notes now be paid in the same old notes through ATMs?” an angry customer queried.

Allegations $QRWKHU FXVWRPHU DOOHJHG WKDW EDQN VWDͿ DUH GHWHUPLQHG WR IUXVWUDWH WKH HͿRUWV RI WKH &%1 by selling the new notes to syndicates that sell the naira at social events.

“Did we factor in the fraud of banks selling new banknotes to Owanbe Party Sprayers Cash Vendors Association? After selling illegally to these vendors and POS operators, they end up loading ATMs with old notes and talking rubbish about non-availability. Not only this, they also reserve new notes for political patrons for vote buying and other enterprises.”

Insisting that trading blames over the scarcity of new notes will not stop until the apex bank uses force on the banks, he said: “Just let CBN unleash a consequential inspection team on them and ZDWFK QHZ QRWHV ÁRRG WKH HFRQRP\ E\ IRUFH µ Available Options As protests over the scarcity of the new banknotes persist, some Nigerians believe the only way out is for the apex bank to extend its deadline in the interest of the nation’s economy.

Many argued that going by the current situation in the banks, it is very unlikely that the new notes will circulate adequately at the expiration of the deadline.

Following the concerns raised by the bank customers, the Senate had asked the apex bank to move the deadline to the end of June, citing the hardship the hasty enforcement would have

on Nigerians. While the CBN said the currency redesign is aimed at checking counterfeiting, reducing the volume of money outside the banking system earlier estimated at N2.7 trillion, among others, some have suggested that the programme seeks to mop up black money and checkmate politicians ahead of the February and March general election.

Former Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and private sector advocate, Dr. Muda Yusuf, argued that there “is no logic behind CBN’s stampede”. He warned that millions of poor Nigerians in rural areas could lose their money or pay a high premium to have their old banknotes exchanged for the new legal tenders if the straightjacket implementation goes on.

“The CBN keeps assuring us that it would meet all the demands. Even though some of us disagreed with the whole idea, since we are in the process, we have requested that it should give Nigerians more time. That would make sense, and I do not see anything it would lose if it postpones the timeline by two or three months,” the economist told THISDAY yesterday.

On the slow switchover of ATMs, DQ R΀FLDO RI RQH RI WKH EDQNV KLQWHG WKDW EDQNV DUH ZDU\ RI FRQÀJXULQJ the machines, as they are not sure of sustainable supply. The source said the trickling supply has prevented banks from complying with the CBN directive.

CBN Threatens to Wield Big Sticks $QG LQ FRQÀUPDWLRQ RI WKH QRQ compliance with its directives, the CBN

had recently warned that banks that failed to comply with its directive to dispense the newly redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes through their ATMs would face penalties.

The CBN Director of the Currency Operations Department, Ahmed Umar, issued the warning in Abuja last week during a training session for state directors of the National Orientation Agency (NOA).

Umar explained that the CBN directive was issued to enforce the January 31 deadline for the withdrawal of old naira notes in circulation.

The apex bank had ordered the banks to suspend dispensing the new currency notes over the counter and to only make them available via ATMs. Umar said: “We want to use this training session to pass a message that CBN has enough currency notes for the general public.

“We, CBN management, have mandated banks to stop putting old notes in their ATMs. They should only put the new notes.

“And there is a serialisation of the policy that they can put either N500, N1,000 or N200 notes, whichever denomination they have or combination of any of those notes, they should just put new notes in their machines.”

He said: “We are going to monitor to ensure that the banks comply and if they don’t, we have a penalty for non-compliance.”

The CBN director further noted that in many countries across the world, it takes a few years to change a currency, adding that, “in our case what we had was over 20 years of having the same design of the note.

“Over that period, what it did to us was to create an avenue for some people to master the act of counterfeiting the note.

“In our case, what we have is a minimum of 17 years or more for us to redesign our currency.

“If you notice the N1,000 note that was introduced in 2005, it took 17 years for us to redesign it; N500 and N200 notes were also redesigned after 21 years and 22 years, respectively.

“So, if currency notes stay too long in the system, there is a tendency for people to make a lot of HͿRUWV WR SURGXFH WKH VDPH QRWHV 6R WKDW LV ZK\ there is a need to change our notes regularly,” he added.

Umar further pointed out that the N500 and N1,000 notes constituted 99 per cent of the currency notes being targeted by counterfeiters. +H VDLG ´,W LV VLPSOH ORJLF WKH HͿRUW \RX SXW WR FRXQWHUIHLW 1 LV WKH VDPH HͿRUW \RX SXW to counterfeit N5.

“So, why will they waste their energy doing small notes; they always target the higher note, particularly N1,000, because of the values attached to it,” he explained.

On October 26, 2022, the CBN Governor, Godwin (PHÀHOH GLVFORVHG WKH EDQN·V UHVROYH WR UHGHVLJQ produce, and circulate new series of the N200, N500, and N1,000 denominations.

(PHÀHOH KDG VDLG WKH PRYH ZRXOG KHOS WR manage the money supply, and tackle currency counterfeiting, and terrorism among others.

He explained that while the circulation of the new banknotes would commence on December 15, 2022, the new and existing currencies shall remain legal tender and circulate together until January 31, 2023, when the existing currencies shall cease to be legal tender.

(PHÀHOH KDG LQVLVWHG WKDW WKH -DQXDU\ deadline remained sacrosanct, adding that the 100 days provided for people to deposit existing banknotes in commercial banks was adequate.

Whatever measures that the CBN put in place this week will show which way to go. It is time WR GHDO ZLWK FXUUHQF\ WUD΀FNHUV DQG VDERWDJH in banks in the interest of the nation’s economy.

17

T H I S DAY,, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R • JANUARY 15, 2023

SOFT FINANCE with AYO AROWOLO The only column you may need to read on everything personal finance, money, investing -and other life matters

EMAIL: AYO.AROWOLO@THISDAYLIVE.COM PHONE: 08086447494( SMS ONLY)

A Book to Read: 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People We once asked some members of our league of coaches to list books that had most influence on their personal development. One book that featured prominently on their lists is “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey. Dotun Sulaiman , Tunde Lemo , Shyngle Wigwe , Pat Utomi and Bunmi Oni, among others, picked it as their top read. What is it about the book? We present a summary in this edition. Please enjoy.

INTRODUCTION When faced with defining crises in life and business, most people would rather go for a “microwave“ approach that offers quick and soothing reliefs but merely addresses the issue on the burner at the peripheral and leaves the real problem unresolved. In his seminal and groundbreaking book: “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey suggests a more enduring approach to solving every crisis in life, in business and in a career that people might confront at one point or the other: confront the problem headlong through decisions (often tough) that flows from within you.

HABIT 1: BE PROACTIVE Being proactive is more than taking the initiative. It means taking full responsibility for every aspect of your life (negative, positive, past, present and future). The moment you shift the responsibility for what is happening to you to others, you have missed it. Covey established that no one owes you anything.

Your current circumstance is a product of your past decisions, and to change it, you need to refine your decision making. No one can make you unhappy unless you choose to be unhappy. Everything you would ever need to solve any problem that confronts you is within you or within your reach. You need to develop the capacity to think through every challenge by drawing on the internal forces available to you. The more you do this, the better you can develop your proactive muscles. Here are a few truths about the first habit: 1.

Stimulus vs Response: There is a gap between every event that happens to you (stimulus) and your reaction to such event (response). Inside that gap is the only freedom you have to turn things around. When someone abuses you, for instance, rather than reacting immediately, the most intelligent thing to do is to pause and process your decisions. That ability to pause brings the power which you should exercise all the time.

2.

Circle of Concern vs Circle of Influence: One way to demonstrate proactivity is to refuse to focus on your current challenges, which in any case, you have no control over. Rather, you should be solution-driven by focusing on what you can do to solve any of the problems that are within your control. Keep solving them one after the other until your concerns over them disappear. When you focus on your problems, you help to magnify them until they become so big that you cannot see any ray of hope around you. This is a dangerous zone to be, for, at that point, you would be enveloped by a negative aura that can sometimes lead to foolish decisions. But when you are solution-driven, you constantly increase your circle of influence.

HABIT 2: BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND One core foundation for personal effectiveness is to envision the result of your decisions. When you can see the end clearly from the beginning, you are likely to come up with hypothetical solutions to problems you are likely to meet on the road. You are better off than someone who just plunges into things without knowing where they would end. Things are created twice: first in your mind and then outside. Unless you can see the big picture with your mind eyes, you are likely to get your life messed up, for you would be tossed here and there by events. You would end up becoming a “victim of circumstance” rather than being a “creator of circumstances”. They once asked the late founder of IBM Computers why his company was so successful, and here is the abridged version of his response. He said ever before they opened the shop to customers, they first sat to visualise what the company would look like when it was in its ideal state, and once they had a clear picture of that reality, they now settled down to figure out what they needed to do to close the gap between that ideal state and the current reality of the company, which was a very wide gap then. The truth of the matter was that as they were consciously behaving to conform to the image they had, the company started to move forward at an incredible pace. The same principles are applicable when you have a personal vision. You should be driven by the picture and the image in your head rather than by what is happening around you. Visionary individuals are hardly discouraged or depressed. In addition to having a personal vision, you should also strive to articulate values that would guide your decisions. Values are well processed internal anchors that make it possible to take decisions fast in moments of crisis. When you combine personal vision with deep values in running your life, you are almost unstoppable.

Dotun Sulaiman

Pat Utomi HABIT 3: PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST Many people have got their lives twisted. They do what they should do first, last, and what they should do last, first. Success cannot result from such lives. Covey writes on four generations of time management theories and why they have not worked. The central fault in all of them is that they seem to organise around activities, whether it is trivial or important. They also seem to believe that you can manage time. Prioritisation is the emphasis here.

Everyone has priorities, just like habits, and these priorities differ from person to person. This iss not necessarily a bad thing because it helps you u to see things from different viewpoints. However, ever, in order to achieve your own objectives, you must develop your own routines and priorities. ties.

HABIT 4: THINK WIN/WIN There is more than one way of looking ng at any issue that comes up for deliberation, n, and the hallmark of Habit 4 is that both h parties to an issue can win without anyonee feeling a sense of loss. Covey identifies sixx paradigms of human interactions: •Win/Win: In this frame of human n interaction, the individuals try to come up with points of view and actions that seek mutual benefits. This flows from the mentality of abundance, where individuals believe that the progress of one person doess not in any way stop that of the next person.

•Win/Lose: This is an attitude of winner takes all. This is where an individual tries to dominate the other person believing that he must win and the other person must lose. This attitude flows from the mentality of scarcity, where you believe that the progress of others would hinder your own progress.

•Lose/Win: This is a variant of Win/Lose. The difference is that an individual does not have the confidence to push through a particular point of view, deciding rather to transfer the power to the other person.

•Lose/Lose: This occurs when two individuals with a Win/Lose mentality get together. They would be obsessed

Tunde Lemo

Bunmi Oni with scheming to outsmart the other. One person would think the other is his arch-enemy, so he would try everything to do him in. People in this frame of mind have not won the internal battle.

•Win: This is another alternative in human interactions.

Here the attitude is to win all the time irrespective of what happens to the other person.

Of all the five variants of interactions, which one is the best?

Covey says it depends, and we tend to agree with him. In some circumstances, depending h on your assessment of how you view the relationship, you may choose any of the variants or a combination. The kkey ingredient is to believe that there is eenough for everybody. The truth is that the universe has more than enough in stock u to accommodate everybody’s needs. Even though the Win/Win paradigm appears th to be the most ideal and it is the habit of interpersonal leadership, it is anchored on the int exercise of the unique human endowments: exe Self-awareness, imagination, conscience, and Sel interdependent will- in sustaining relationships inte with other people. wit HABIT 5: SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, HAB THEN BE UNDERSTOOD THE There is a common communication error Th inherent in most of us: we do not understand h that listening is a form of communication. We spend time reading, studying, and talking, but we don’t believe that listening is an act that must be learned if we want to be effective communicators. When you are listening to someone talk, rather than listening to him intently, you are busy processing how to respond to what he is saying. When someone comes to you for counselling, for instance, in most cases, you interrupt them and rush in to provide answers to his concern. The truth is, you have no clue as to the dimension of his problem. That is a big problem for most of us; we are not involved in empathic communication.

Character and communication: If you really want to

Shygle Wigwe communicate effectively with people, you will need to seek to understand them to see things from their perspective.

In dealing with your children, for example, the real lever of influence is your example. Your children learn more from your example than what you say. And so are many people who try to understand you. Emphatic Listening: Consider this statistics as given by Covey, quoting an expert estimate: “only 10 per cent of our communication is represented by the words we say. Another 30 per cent is represented by the words we say. Another 30 per cent is represented by our sounds and 60 per cent by our body”. To communicate emphatically means that you have to involve your own being (your body, your eyes, your ears and your heart) in communicating with another person. That is the best way to seek to understand. When you seek to understand the other person first, and you succeed in doing that, getting that person to understand you become very easy. This is one barrier you must break if you must be effective in communication. You must, however, understand that emphatic listening involves some level of risk in that you become vulnerable when you get involved in it. That is why it is said that you should not migrate into the public victory arena until you have mastered habits 1, 2 and 3 when you have developed unshakable confidence in yourself. Diagnose before you prescribe: Whether you are a businessman or a career professional, you should develop the habit of taking time to listen to your boss or your client before you offer help. You should be a solution provider. Rather than sell products, sell solutions. You can only sell solutions only if you take time to understand the dimensions of the problem of the people. Being a solution provider puts you in a position to influence your customer for life.

HABIT 6: SYNERGISE Principle of Creative Communication: Without any controversy, the more you learn how to relate well with others through effective communications, the more interesting it becomes and the more you can get done. At its ultimate, when you have completely mastered yourself, your relationship with other people can produce amazing results; it would produce synergistic outcomes. In simple arithmetic, when you add 1 plus 1, it should give you 2.

In a synergistic relationship, the equation does not work out that way. When you add 1 plus 1, it can produce 20 in a synergistic relationship. This is how Covey defines it: “It means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It means that the relationship which the parts have to each other is a part in and of itself. It is not only a part but the most catalytic, the most empowering, the most unifying, and the most exciting part. In a synergistic creative relationship, you focus on the strengths and compensate for whatever weaknesses you have. The bedrock of Habit 6, creative communication, is that there is always the third alternative that produces a better result. When you are in a relationship with someone who looks at things differently from your point of view, rather than argues with him, seeks to understand him, look at things from his own point of view and try to construct something from his point of view. You would discover that ultimately, you can come up with the result that satisfies both parties.

Read the full article at https://www.thisdaylive.com

18

SUNDAY JANUARY 15, 2023 • T H I S D AY 13

OPI NION

119

T H I S D AY MONDAYSunday MARCH 14, 20222023 15 January, Vol 27. No 10141

opinion@thisdaylive.com

www.thisdaylive.com

PETER OBI AND THE 2023 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

The Labour Party candidate is one step away from victory, reckons VALENTINE OZIGBO

IKE OKONTA contends that Tinubu’s Chatham House presence reveals deeper issues concerning the character of Nigeria’s present ruling class

BOLA TINUBU AT CHATHAM HOUSE

T See Page 20

TERRORISM IN IVORY COAST MARC ANGESAMUEL GRAH writes the emergence of terrorism in the sub-region especially in Ivory Coast is a cause for concern

See Page 20

EDITORIAL

INSECURITY AND THE RAIL LINES

See Page 45

he management of Arise Television had extended an ordinary and straightforward invitation to Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to participate in a town hall debate with the other main candidates for the 2023 presidential election. This is standard practice all over the world. Presidential candidates debate each other and are in turn grilled by the public usually live on television. This is to enable voters make up their minds as to the suitability and capability of the various candidates.

In a country like Nigeria where emotion and ethnic and religious sentiments usually occupy the foreground during elections, the Arise Television initiative was a welcome attempt to focus on issues and compel the candidates to give serious thought to their policies and programmes before presenting themselves to the public WR EH HOHFWHG LQWR SXEOLF RIÀFH 2QH ZRXOG have therefore expected Bola Tinubu of the APC to grasp the opportunity with both hands. But he did not do this. Instead, Tinubu’s handlers alleged that Arise was a biased platform and that their candidate would not receive fair treatment during WKH WHOHYLVLRQ GHEDWH 6LJQLÀFDQWO\ WKH\ did not present tangible evidence of Arise Television’s alleged bias.

What Bola Tinubu did next was to travel to London to honour the invitation of Chatham House, the British think tank, to give a talk on Nigerian public affairs. It was at Chatham House that Bola Tinubu really revealed the reason why he had shunned the Arise Television debate invitation a week earlier. Having read out his paper in Chatham House, it was now time for the crucial question and answer session. It was at this time that Tinubu announced that he would not answer the questions personally but would farm them out to such companions as Dele Alake, Kayode Fayemi, and Nasir elRufai, among others.

Bola Tinubu’s candidature has always been enveloped in a cloud of controversy.

Nigerians have questioned his real age, family origin, his state of origin and the source of his humongous wealth. It has been alleged that while he was living in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s he was involved in drug running and WKDW WKH 86 DXWKRULWLHV FRQÀVFDWHG PRQH\ in his bank accounts because they were proceeds from drugs. It has also been alleged that he is the secret owner of Alpha Beta, a tax-collecting company that has been milking the Lagos State treasury for decades.

These charges are very grave and Bola Tinubu has not come up with clear answers

to rebut them. But what is even more worrying is that Tinubu is intellectually incapable of articulating his policies and programmes in person and that was why he brazenly ducked the ‘question and answer’ session in Chatham House. It is now public knowledge that President Muhammadu Buhari who Tinubu want to succeed is intellectually challenged, and that is why his administration has been an unmitigated disaster. Do Nigerians really want another Buhari look-alike for yet another eight years?

Bola Tinubu’s Chatham House debacle reveals deeper issues concerning the character of Nigeria’s present ruling class. It is a neocolonial bourgeoisie that is not only corrupt but also incompetent.

It is entirely without national pride and patriotism and is content with being the errand boy of their real bourgeoise masters in Europe and North America.

This neocolonial bourgeoisie does not concern itself with economic production but prefers to import everything from toothpicks to cars. The only reason why Nigerians do not have access to regular and affordable electricity is that this neocolonial ruling class does not bother to establish factories here in Nigeria but prefer to power their homes with imported generators. They do not go to Nigerian hospitals because they know that they have criminally underfunded WKHVH LQVWLWXWLRQV IRU GHFDGHV 7KH\ Á\ WR Europe and the United States with looted money and are attended to by doctors and nurses there.

7KH ÀUVW WKLQJV 1LJHULD·V UXOLQJ FODVV

DWWHQG WR ZKHQ WKH\ DWWDLQ SXEOLF RIÀFH and loot the treasury is to buy a house in the United Kingdom or the United States and open a bank account there. They do this because they know that Nigeria is politically unstable and that a major crisis could see them losing their stashed loot in the country. They are being cautious.

They know that any country that has gone through what has been done to Nigeria by her ruling class since Independence in 1960 cannot but be politically restive.

Indeed, the miracle is that the Nigerian rich, the majority of whom came by their wealth through criminal plundering of the national treasury, can still walk down the street unmolested.

It may not be obvious to some Nigerians, but the February 2023 presidential election is shaping up to be a referendum on the performance of the country’s ruling class since the advent of the Fourth Republic in May 1999. None of the major candidates is running on the platform of the Nigerian Left but if you listen to some of them as they traverse the country campaigning for votes, it becomes clear that they know instinctively that the country is not working for the poor, that something has to be done about the country’s wrongheaded social and economic policies and that at long last the youth are stirring and demanding answers for why they graduate from higher institutions and go into a job market that has no jobs for them.

Bola Tinubu’s evasive action ducking he Arise Television town hall debate and jetting off to Chatham House in London can only delay the day of reckoning for a while. Anger is building up among ordinary Nigerians. They are demanding for urgent answers. They are already asking why members of the ruling class can causally hop into a plane and travel to London when the air fare can feed a poor family of four for one year. They are already asking why President Buhari can travel to London to be attended to by doctors privately while here in Nigeria poor Nigerians are dying of easily-curable typhoid and cholera.

These are questions that are shaping the 2023 presidential election, and how they will be answered – whether through a fair and transparent process or through votebuying and intimidation – will determine Nigeria’s political fate as we brace up for another transition come May 2023.

DR OKONTA was until recently Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Department of Politics at the University of Oxford. He now lives in Abuja.

20

T H I S D AY SUNDAY JANUARY 15, 2023

The Labour Party candidate is one step away from victory, reckons VALENTINE OZIGBO

PETER OBI AND THE 2023 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

This week, Mr Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), showed his electoral strength with visits to Delta, Anambra, and Enugu States, where he held hugely successful campaign rallies. %\ QRZ 3HWHU 2EL KDV VROLGLÀHG KLV reputation as an ethical candidate who has rejected the politics of corruption, inducement, and crowd-buying. By doing so, he has set himself apart from his main rivals. The crowds at the Labour Party rallies in Delta, Anambra, and Enugu were genuine passionate believers in Obi’s candidacy and the Obidient Movement. Obi is the candidate they trust and have decided to entrust Nigeria to prudent hands.

At the Anambra rally, the surging, enthusiastic crowd sent a message to the politicians of the old order. Mr Peter Obi is our beloved former governor who served our state with credibility and compassion. As governor of Anambra State, he won all available international awards and recognition for his investment in education, healthcare, infrastructure, and social safety programmes. He received high marks from the United Nations, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and countless other organisations. We know KLV TXDOLW\ DQG ZH DUH FRQÀGHQW KH ZLOO make us proud as our President.

The debate is now settled. Peter Obi’s campaign is the fastest growing, most technologically advanced, grassroots movement on the content. All the polls carried out by professional statistics and data-gathering companies, NOI/ANAP Polls, We2gether, Nextier, Bloomberg, and others, prove that Peter Obi is Nigeria’s most loved, most preferred, DQG PRVW TXDOLÀHG FDQGLGDWH :H DUH leading with the youth; we are leading women; we are leading with men; we are leading in urban and rural areas.

Peter Obi dominates the space on social media, which has emerged as the second most important messaging platform. As a frontrunner, we can expect our rivals to express their frustrations with more ad hominin campaigns.

While they go low, we are raising the bar. This week, our campaign launched the revolutionary Obidient Townhall APP, which connects all Obidients at polling units and wards. Since formally launching the APP last Sunday, 32,360 people have signed

up, and we have covered all 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory, 585 Local Government Areas (75%), 3,997 wards (45%), and 17,144 polling units (9.6%). Obidients are still signing up in record numbers and organising our community in a way that will prevent an electoral heist.

None of their attacks can stick. Peter Obi track record for performance and integrity in business and as an elected RIÀFLDO LV ZHOO GRFXPHQWHG (YHU\ GD\ Nigerians have seen in Peter Obi the hope for a New Nigeria where everyone is valued, every child is worth investing in, and every dream is realisable. His message of hope and renewal resonates across the country and transcends tribe, religion, and the other factors that have, historically, divided us.

None of their plots to steal the election will work, either. We have gone ahead of their schemes. A people determined to take back their country are just too powerful for the traditional electoral criminals. No matter what games they come up with on election day, the people are ready to reject the status quo and entrench purposeful leadership.

These are what the lovers of Nigeria need to do. Keep telling our fellow citizens about the good news of a New Nigeria. Keep educating our people on the importance of the upcoming election. This election will not be about tribe, religion, region, ‘my turn’, slander, or any other factor that has brought Nigeria to the brink of disintegration or bankruptcy. In February, we are going out to vote for Peter Obi as President and Datti Baba-Ahmed as Vice President, the most upstanding, outstanding, and accomplished presidential ticket. The leaders, we can believe him.

A win for Peter Obi and the Labour Party is a victory for Nigerians. It means we would be set to take our place of pride in the global community. It means we would have rescued and secured the future of the next generation of Nigerians. Above all, we would have sent a strong message that we reject the politics of division, greed, corruption and all their promoters. In its place, we usher in a new era of peace and shared prosperity for all Nigerians.

Remind our family and friends that we are voting for the Labour Party whose logo is a father, mother, and child - papa, mama, and pikin - LP. Continue volunteering, supporting, donating, and contributing to the Peter Obi Presidential Campaign. Sign-up and download the Obidient Townhall APP at obidatti.support. Use the Townhall APP to connect with other Obidients in your ORFDOLW\ *R WR ,1(& RIÀFHV DQG JHW \RXU permanent voters card (PVC) and be ready to vote.

2023 is the year of Nigerians. It is the year of the youth. It is the year of the people to take back their country from the forces of darkness that have held us back from shining brightly. We are awake, we are ready, and we are taking our Nigeria back.

OZIGBO is the Special Adviser on Technology and Strategic Alliances to Mr Peter Obi, the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party

MARC ANGE-SAMUEL GRAH writes the emergence of terrorism in the sub-region especially in Ivory Coast is a cause for concern

TERRORISM IN IVORY COAST Côte d’Ivoire has been embroiled in political turmoil on and off since 2000, but has largely been free from the threat of Islamic extremism.

In June 2015, however, Islamist militants in Mali began to attack closer to the border with Côte d’Ivoire. Attacks started to be recurrent in the northern border areas of Côte d’Ivoire, including the Comoé national park area in the north-east. There is a risk of a terrorist attacks elsewhere in Côte d’Ivoire, including in Abidjan.

A terrorist attack took place at Grand Bassam near Abidjan on 13 March 2016, the attackers reasserted the place of Al-Qaida as firmly on the map of international jihadism. And, tactically, it extended the range of Islamic terrorism to a country which has been spared its travails.

These groups remain intent on demonstrating capability and increasing influence across the region. AQIM mainly operates in the Sahel due to the porous nature of the borders. Indeed, the region is vulnerable due to the precarious conditions of the people on the ground and

lack of rule of law that contribute to the vulnerability or motivation of the people in the Sahel to likely join extremism and islamist movement. The hypothesis of this study is as follows; the emergence of terrorism in the sub region especially in Ivory Coast and its harmful influence on peace, security and development is a cause for concern; indeed Ivory Coast is threatened by numerous terrorist group which destabilising the country. The fight against terrorism demands viable long-solutions that take into account the linkages between counterterrorism, the rules of law and human rights and socio-economic development.

However, it is important to counter these attacks in order to prevent terrorists from anchoring in Ivory Coast. There are not much available scholars on terrorism in Ivory Coast, which help to understand terrorist actions. This research will explore the history of terrorism in Ivory Coast and the response of Ivorian authorities against terrorist groups. The case study of Ivory Coast is recent, researchers do not have enough updated information about it since the occurrence of terrorist attacks were not frequent.

This research highlights the problems faced by the authorities to deal with terrorist actions and point out possible solutions in order to counter those attacks.

West Africa has made significant progress toward democracy, economic growth, and development in the previous decade, following a long period of conflict, social unrest, and political instability.

Despite this progress, the emergence of terrorism in the sub-region and its KDUPIXO LQÁXHQFH RQ SHDFH VHFXULW\ and development is cause for concern.

The frequency and intensity of strikes evidences the increasing sophistication of terrorist organisations in the sub-region in several West African countries in recent years. Terrorist attacks, suicide bombings, kidnappings, thefts, mass killings, planned killings, acts of piracy and destruction of public and private property, as well as the burning and desecration of religious and sacred

sites, according to the 1998 Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism.

The main terrorist organisations in the subregion are Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI), the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA), Boko Haram, and Ansaru (as well as Ansar Dine or Ansar Eddine) in northern Nigeria, as well as Mulabiyoun and the Front for the Liberation of Masina (FLM) in Mali (Amartey, 2022).

In order to undermine peace, security, and stability in the sub-region, these groups have carried out deliberate and frequently repeated violent attacks on citizens, government officials, infrastructure, state institutions, and national and international organisations. As a result, various strategies to address and combat the issue have been developed and put into practice by state and non-state actors in the sub-region, most notably the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in partnership with domestic and foreign (state and nonstate) actors such as the United States, France, the African Union, the European Union, and the United Nations. Therefore, it is important to look how each of these countries has UHVSRQGHG %DYGDç HW DO While ransom payment remains the preferred method of ending kidnappings, the slight number of cases and the absence of reliable data on AQIM operations in the Sahel-Saharan region prevent conclusions from being drawn about operational patterns or tactical trends. However, the nature of the target by humans (tourists and European workers) and the preferred areas of operation (Niger and Mali) are two key pointers: One, the scope of AQIM operations remains tied to its Algerian control unit, and two, the objectives of its communications strategy appear to overcome and pay for the absence of effective resources to undermine and challenge the safety of state authorities and the management of land in the Sahel (Chuku, Abang & Isip, 2019).

Despite indications of increased recruitment by Al-Qaida in the Maghreb at the regional level, the organization has failed to convincingly demonstrate the existence of a pan-area structure, let alone a free agreement across the borders. Instead, its ability to act as a meta-network providing logistical and strategic support in the country called Europe and West Africa has made threat assessment and preventive measures more complex and unpredictable. Moreover, AQIM’s enthusiastic ideology and great strategies have not generated the kind of popular support that could endure a fullscale revolution or stimulus internal conflict in the area (Daniel Chigudu, 2021).

While major Islamist doctrines have infiltrated the region and have been able to exploit social and financial desperation, the understanding, syncretic but traditional Islam of the Sahel has proven to be a tough barrier against Islamist extremist attempts to destabilize one of the region’s fragile states.

Despite a serious lack of a comprehensive assessment of the situation, domestic terrorism in West Africa lacks deep planning and operational dimensions to pose a reliable threat to regional strength or nation-states (Coccia, 2018).

Al-Qaida in the Maghreb can continue operations because weak and failed states dominate the Sahel. Moreover, it benefits directly from the abuses of the state to justify political inertia and consolidate authoritarian power by invoking the threat of terrorism within the country.

GRAH is a student in African Studies and International Relations at Ticaret University in Istanbul. He can be reached at Ange-samuel@hotmail.fr

45

T H I S D AY SUNDAY JANUARY 15, 2023

EDITORIAL

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

INSECURITY AND THE RAIL LINES The security of our rail routes and assets should be treated as an emergency

B

arely10 months after some bandits attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train, resulting in the death of about eight passengers and abduction of 65 others, the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) last Sunday announced the closure of Ekehen Station in Edo State. The previous day, 7thJanuary, some gunmen had invaded the station in broad daylight and abducted many passengers waiting to board a train to Warri in Delta State. While the number of victims remains in the realm of conjecture, that tragedy has left confounding questions about measures being put in place to curb this dangerous descent into anarchy.

We commiserate with the distraught families and commend the security forces for their prompt response this time around. But at a period travelling by road has become an agony, it is worrisome that criminal gangs have now targeted the rail lines. With the latest attack coming a few weeks after the Abuja.DGXQD UDLO UHVXPHG RSHUDWLRQV WKH FRQÀGHQFH RI many Nigerian travellers must have been shaken.

How many people will still be courageous enough to board a train under the prevailing circumstance?

Already, the climate of insecurity that pervades the entire country is impacting negatively on services along most vital rail routes. The murder and mass abduction of passengers on the Abuja-Kaduna route forced a suspension of services. This has been followed by similar terrorism induced suspensions along both the Lagos-Kano and Ajaokuta- Itakpe routes. To worsen matters, services on the lucrative Lagos-Ibadan route have been scaled down, due to the activities of vandals on the tracks.

The national economy has been at the receiving end of this malaise. The NRC claimed it lost N113 million to the shutdown of the Abuja-Kaduna route. %XW WKRVH FORVH WR JRYHUQPHQW VD\ WKH ÀQDQFLDO ORVV exceeds N6 billion, especially when you add the cost for the truncation of citizen economic activities tied to rail travel by passengers as well as losses on freight and haulage services. Since most of the new and revitalised rail projects were funded with loans from foreign lenders, one can only imagine the dire

implications. The repayments of principals, interests and other contingent costs continue to run and pile up in an economy that is, by all sensible estimates, distressed.

In this induced state of suspension by the NRC, assets will keep deteriorating as rail lines, rolling stock, stations and other ancillaries remain unused. Staff redundancies and eventual job losses will ensue in a country with nearly 40 per cent unemployment. There are other intangible but even more consequential losses.

For instance, the national social and cultural integration EHQHÀWV RI UDLO OLQNDJH RI RXU YDVW JHRJUDSK\ KDYH been halted. As the rail system is suspended, safety of travel on our roads remains perilous and precarious.

The scourge of highway kidnappings and robbery remains an ever-present headache in most parts of the country. Air travel is no credible alternative. It is elitist and expensive.

While everything should be done to ensure the safe return of the remaining abductees of the Edo train attack, it should concern relevant authorities that an underground ransom economy seems to have taken root. People are kidnapped. Ransom is demanded and paid sometimes through the banks with no trails tracked. According to a report by the Lagos-based ULVN DQDO\VLV ÀUP 6% 0RUJHQ ,QWHOOLJHQFH NLGQDSSLQJ in Nigeria is an extraordinarily lucrative enterprise with at least $18.3 million in ransom between 2011 DQG 0HDQZKLOH GHQV RI NLGQDSSHUV DUH ZLWKLQ our borders, in the ungoverned spaces of forests and remote villages. Besides, there are reports that most of these kidnappers are agents of some powerful people who live within the cities.

All factors considered, the security of our rail routes and assets ought to be treated as an emergency. It touches on the ability of the Nigerian state to protect and secure aspects of our sovereign space. It is therefore not too much to ask relevant authorities to put in place safety measures. Our economic survival dictates it.

7KH FRQÀGHQFH DQG FRQYHQLHQFH RI FLWL]HQV GHPDQGV it. And the imperative of sovereign territorial integrity compels a stiffer response than the present attitude of indifference and lazy surrender to the forces of anarchy.

The imperative of sovereign territorial integrity compels a stiffer response than the present attitude of indifference and lazy surrender to the forces of anarchy

Letters to the Editor

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

LETTERS

THE YOUTH AS NIGERIA’S ROUGH DIAMONDS Youth should be a gift. The time of youth should be a time of giving to oneself and one’s country. Because youth is naturally associated with light years and the strength that comes from them, a country blessed with youth is a country bountifully blessed.

When such a country realizes its gifts DQG LV DEOH WR SURÀWDEO\ VWLU LWVHOI DQG XVH those gifts, it will be truly set on the path of development. Conversely, when a country that has been so blessed becomes careless with this gift it inadvertently seeds a disastrous future.

Nigeria is a country blessed with youth. At the tail-end of last year, Nigeria’s population surged to 217 million. Youths account for about 70% of WKLV ÀJXUH 6RPH RI WKLV DUH XQGHU the age of 15, making Nigeria a country with one of the youngest population in

the world. This should be a blessing.

However, poor planning and poverty KDYH HQVXUHG WKDW LW LV QRW 0DQ\ \HDUV of failed leadership and broken promises KDYH FHPHQWHG 1LJHULD·V GLIÀFXOW VSRW A country that should be enjoying the fruits of having so many young people is instead left with a burden that is becoming weightier by the day. Almost the whole of 2022 was spent at home

by Nigerian undergraduate students, many of them young people, as universities buckled under strikes.

The effects of that unfortunate interruption are yet to be fully felt. It is frightening what will happen when they will begin to be realized.

These days, in the face of niggling unemployment, many young people, devastated by poverty, resort to internet fraud.

For these young people, defrauding unwary locals and foreigners alike is both their way of keeping their heads above water and getting back at a country that has failed them.

Nigeria has stringent laws prohibiting cybercrimes and every now and then, the relevant prosecutorial agencies arraign suspects and make a mighty show out of it.

But the problems run much deeper than occasionally picking up one or two scapegoats and making examples out of them.

Nigeria is a country that has failed its young people, its rough diamonds which could have been polished to serve such great purposes for the country. The starkest effect of these failures is that those young people who are not desperately trying to

leave the country are deep into cybercrimes and other crimes. These sordid acts dent Nigeria’s image abroad, and do not augur well for the future of a country that has such grand dreams.

The most comforting sign yet is that after eight insipid years of inertia, a president that famously branded youths lazy is finally packing his bag to take a bow. It is indeed a good thing that an administration under which young people were mauled down at Lekki Toll gate is about to recede into the shadows of history.

The next administration may yet choose to ride roughshod over Nigeria’s young people. But then, Nigeria may not survive the disastrous consequences.

Kene Obiezu, @kenobiezu

46

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER JANAURY 15, 2023

INTERNATIONAL NFIU and Diplomatic Missions in Nigeria: Municipal Law Vs Exterritoriality in International Law

N

FIU is Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit. It was set up with a mission statement to ‘safeguard the Nigerian financial system and contribute to the global fight against money laundering, terrorism financing and related crimes through the provision of credible financial intelligence.’

More important, the NFIU joined in 2007 the Egmont Group, an informal network of 165 financial Intelligence Units,‘which provides a platform for the secure exchange of expertise and financial intelligence to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.’Andmostimportantly,‘theNFIUisthecentralnationalagency responsible for the receipt of disclosures from reporting organisations, the analysis of these disclosures and the production of intelligence for dissemination to competent authorities.’ It is autonomous and domiciled within the Central Bank of Nigeria as a‘coordinating body for the country’s Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorist Financing and Counter-Proliferation financing.’ It is against this background that the NFIU issued guidelines prohibiting cash withdrawals from accounts of the Federal Government, its agencies, State and Local Governments as from March 1, 2023.

Diplomatic Missions, as distinct from paradiplomatic missions and non-resident diplomatic missions, are accredited representatives of sovereign States to Nigeria. They do not owe responsibility to Nigeria as host State but to their own sending States, hence, they are considered exterritorial missions. They and their heads answer different designations, for various reasons. The Commonwealth countries, for instance, call their missions High Commission while the Vatican missions are referred to as Papal Nuncios. The French CommunityusedtocalltheirsHighRepresentatives.Whenadiplomatic mission is exchanged between a member of a group and another different State of another group, it is called an embassy. However, most diplomatic missions are still referred to as embassies. In the diplomatic lexicon and UN official languages, three main expressions are interchangeably used to describe sending and reception of an embassy: in French diplomatic language, pays d‘envoi and pays d’accueil or pays accréditant or pays accréditaire, are used and both of them, in English diplomatic language, mean Sending State and Receiving State. Lato sensu, diplomatic missions are headed by three categories of ambassadors: titled ambassadors or nuncios who are generally accredited to Heads of State; envoys, ministers and internuncios similarly accredited to Heads of State; and Chargé d’Affaires who are accredited to Ministers of Foreign Affairs.Though of different ranking, they are all considered the same, except in matters of protocolar order of precedence and etiquette (Article 14(2),Vienna Diplomatic Convention).

NFIU Guidelines and the Debate The nexus between the diplomatic missions and the NFIU is quite interesting because of the debate it has generated on the extent of applicability of the NFIU cash ban guidelines to the diplomatic missions in Nigeria. In other words, can NFIU guidelines or Nigeria’s municipal law override the law of the sending States of diplomatic missions in light of international law?The Director and Chief Executive Officer of NFIU, ModibboTukur, has explained that the NFIU guidelines apply to all foreign missions operating in Nigeria, to all accounts of all development partner institutions, and to all the accounts of all instituted funds.

To a great extent, Mr. Modibo Tukur is perfectly in order with his submission, especially bearing in mind the requirement of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations which obligates all the diplomatic missions to respect the law and regulations of their receiving States. The law and regulations of the receiving State, Nigeria in this case, is as given by the NFIU.Thus, in addressing the issue of applicability of the NFIU guidelines, there are two main schools of thought on the matter: non-applicability proponents and applicability proponents.

The arguments of both schools, based on the interviews held by ten reporters from The Sunday Punch, with some retired diplomats, are quite thought-provoking.The arguments looked at the international environmental conditionings, but placing little emphasis on the raison d’être of the NFIU as a national and regional outfit.

Without any shadow of doubt, the NFIU guidelines appear to have been largely inspired by many factors. First is the fact that, in the

VIE INTERNATIONALE with

Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

Tukur period from 2015 to 2022, the Federal Government collected the sum of N225.72bn, while the States withdrew N701.54bn, and the Local Governments withdrew N156.76bn all, in cash. In the words of Mr. Tukur,‘the rate of withdrawal above the threshold from public accounts has been alarming, over N701bn has been withdrawn in cash from 2015 till date.’

Second is the consideration that strenuous efforts are being made by the Federal Government and Central Bank of Nigeria to fighting insecurity, especially terrorism financing in Nigeria.

The seriousness of the anti-terrorism fighting has compelled the establishment of the Financial Intelligence Unit as a government specialised, regulatory and law enforcement agency around the world. In fact, the Intergovernmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) has to enable the establishment of an‘FIU Forum whereby the directors meet on a regular basis, usually on the margins of GIABA Plenary or other regional meetings, in order to share their successes and their problems, seek advice on how to better fulfil their mandates and strengthen operational cooperation among themselves’ (vide Overview of GIABA Operations from 2004 to 2014; www. giaba.org, pp.33-34).This situational fact simply means that the personality of the NFIU may not be simply seen as Nigerian, but as one with a plurilateral and multilateral character.

A third reason is the decision of Government to ensure that all transactions involving government money are routed through the banks for reasons of transparency and accountability. It is against the foregoing considerations that diplomatic observers have argued for and against in the applicability of the NFIU cash ban guidelines. The three considerations have not seriously inspired the arguments of the non-applicability schools.

In the eyes of the proponents of applicability of the NFIU guidelines, the enforcement of the guidelines and policy is to mitigate money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation of weapons and prevent predicate crimes. Former Ambassador

“

One tit-for-tat misunderstanding in the 1980s, between the Nigeria High Commission in London and the British Government, on the one hand, and the Embassy of Nigeria in Paris and the French Government, on the other hand, is noteworthy. The matter was about payment for parking in front of the Nigerian diplomatic missions. The British High Commission in Lagos then had free parking, because there were no parking metres by then, so there was no basis to challenge the British for payment. In France and in Britain, parking slots abound and they are to be paid for if used. Nigerian diplomatic vehicles were parked, but without any conscious effort to pay. When complaints were raised against the Nigerian missions, the response was that neither Britain nor France was paying for parking in Nigeria and that there was no good reason for them to pay for parking in the UK and France. The Nigerian logic was based on the rule of reciprocity. Thus, the municipal laws of sending States and those of the receiving States can always conflict. Should France and the United Kingdom be held responsible for no fault of theirs? They shouldn’t have been held responsible for trying to generate revenue for their growth and development. But because international diplomatic practice allows for reciprocal treatment, Nigerian missions afforded the luxury of holding their host countries to ransom, punishing them for Nigeria’s policy inadequacies or for not having parking slots in Nigeria. It is from this perspective that the NFIU cash ban guidelines should be internationally presented and understood. The guidelines are applicable but they should be cautiously applied to avoid counter-productivity

of Nigeria to Algeria, Mohammed Mabdul, has argued that ‘even though the foreign embassies represent their home countries, the moment they are posted to another country, they are governed by the laws of the country. That is the standard procedure, especially when such laws do not contravene international best practices.’

For instance, Ambassador Mabdul has noted that‘there are certain financial regulations that are practised, not only in the local banks, but by all the banks, around the world. Most financial institutions operate to protect transactions of money in a legal way and to avoid illegal activity, which included money laundering and misappropriation of funds. These policies are being regulated in most countries. It is some developing countries that are relaxed in enforcing such a policy.’

From the perspectives of the proponents of non-applicability of the NFIU guidelines, it is argued from a legal standpoint, by Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, that the NFIU has no power to stop any State government from withdrawing cash. Besides, the Balyesa State Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, raised reservations about the guidelines and promised to challenge in court the constitutionality of the policy, in the belief that Nigeria is not a unitary State but a federation made up of sub-nationals.’ Ambassador Ogbole Amedu-Ode raised the challenges militating against the application of the NFIU guidelines: legal enforcement of rules and regulations, inviolability of diplomatic agents, difficulty in differentiating between accounts belonging to diplomatic missions and Nigerian public institutions.

In the same vein, Ambassador Rasheed Akinkuolie gave the reasons of immunity and reciprocity as major challenges to the application of the guidelines. As he reportedly put it, ‘diplomatic missions in Nigeria fall under “exceptions to the guidelines” in the NFIU cash withdrawal policy. Foreign missions cannot be restrained in any way in their legitimate activities in a host country, including their financial transactions.’ More importantly, Ambassador Akinkuolie hypothesised,‘if there is insistence on applying the stringent regulations by the Nigerian government, the same restrictions will be placed on all Nigerian diplomatic missions abroad. Diplomatic immunity for diplomats and missions is a mutually agreed convention, which countries are careful not to violate because of the consequences.’

And perhaps more interestingly, former Ambassador of Nigeria to Angola, Folorunso Otukoya, also observed that‘whatever the specifics of the guidelines may contain, embassy accounts are not regarded as local. Since remittances come into them directly from their sending States, it may be difficult to strictly impose those guidelines to the letter.’Most significantly, Ambassador Otukoya also considered his empirical experiences abroad to inform that Central Banks elsewhere ‘have often prevented embassies from paying local currencies into their accounts once they withdraw the forex equivalent. This is to prevent what we call“double tripping.”It is to prevent missions from back to deposit into their accounts to do local expenses. It’s an elaborate system but most missions still find ways of circumventing those provisions.’

Without scintilla of doubt, all the arguments for and against applicability of the NFIU guidelines are logically tenable. However, we strongly believe that the proponents of applicability have an edge over the non-applicability proponents. In spite of this, the applicability of the guidelines is unwanted

NFIU Guidelines: Applicable But Unwanted Ambassador Otukoya’s observation that diplomatic missions can find other ways of circumventing legal provisions cannot but be most unfortunate in light of the several limitations to the exercise of sovereignty and rule of exterritoriality provided for in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Put differently, if there are exceptions or limitations to the exercise of state sovereignty in the convention, it simply means that the NFIU cash ban guidelines cannot but also have their own domains of application and non-application.

Consequently, we posit here that the NFIU guidelines are applicable to all diplomatic missions as representatives of sovereign States. The municipal law of the sending States cannot be enforced in the host States, but only within the context of their embassies, diplomatic residences, diplomatic vehicles and paraphernalia needed for representational purposes, protection of their interests in the host countries, negotiations with their host governments, and promotion of bilateral friendly relations. If there is conflict of interest, Article 3(C) of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations enables bilateral negotiations and where negotiation still fails, the rule of reciprocity may apply with or without consequences.

For instance, Article 23(2) provides for an exception to ‘dues and taxes payable under the law of the receiving State. There is limitation in the enjoyment of immunity from the criminal, civil and administrative jurisdiction of the receiving State (Article 31).

The inspection of the personal baggage of diplomatic agents is permissible when ‘there are serious grounds for presuming that it contains articles not covered by the exemptions mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article…’ (vide Article 36). In the particular case of the NFIU cash ban regulations, Article 41(1) provides that ‘without prejudice to their privileges and immunities, it is the duty of all persons enjoying such privileges and immunities to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State. They also have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of that State.

The useful point from the foregoing is that the laws and regulations of the receiving State are at all times applicable for purposes of good governance, peace and security in the mutual interest of all the stakeholders. However, exemptions to the rules and regulation are often provided for in the spirit of reciprocal treatment.

Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R DECEMBER 15, 2023

47

GLITZ ENTERTAINMENT

Hollywood Awards Go Streaming, Will Nollywood Follow?

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards’ recent announcement that it would be streaming live within the Netflix app in 2024 is another big leap for the streaming giant which continues to disrupt television viewing. The SAG Awards will be the first live awards show for the streamer.

This year, the Hollywood awards ceremony will be streamed on Netflix channel on YouTube.

SAG Awards’ partnership with Netflix is another indication that linear television may be losing its appeal to award shows, at least, this is the case in the United States.

According to reports, the SAG awards hardly got an average of two million views from last year’s ceremony. It is the first time the awards ceremony will not air on TNT and TBS in 25 years.

Of course, Netflix is not the first streaming platform to endear Hollywood awards. The Golden Globes which were held last Tuesday were streamed on Peacock, the streaming platform owned by NBCUniversal. Last year, The Academy of Country Music Awards switched from CBS to Amazon’s Prime Video.

With this new trend, will Nollywood follow?

Imagine Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) streamed live only on Showmax. Or maybe the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) choosing Netflix for its 2023 edition.

Streaming platforms have their perks. Netflix, for example, has more than 223 million global paid subscriptions as of the end of 2022 and averages about 4.6 million viewers on average throughout the day, according to a Nielsen measurement reported in IndieWire. This figure is a far cry from what cable networks get in a day. Thus, award shows get more audience and for a global platform like Netflix, get a wider appeal. For the streamers, advertisers go where the eyes are, and having a global event on their platform will magnetically pull advertisers.

Although Netflix is keen on expanding its live

Netflix-SAG

programming as indicated by Netflix’s Head of Global TV Bela Bajaria, Nollywood awards may not quickly jump on the bus.

The film industry is still romanticising with streaming platforms keen on expanding their local content, as such, talks about streaming live events for Nollywood, may take a while.

So far, the AMVCAs and AMAA are the most prestigious local film award platforms celebrated on the continent. It is unlikely that MultiChoice Nigeria will sell the AMVCA

rights to Netflix given that it has its streaming platform Showmax. AMAA may want to initiate such talks with Amazon Prime. YouTube, another viable platform, is already having such partnerships with Nigerian music award shows. For instance, the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) entered into a partnership with YouTube for its eighth edition which is held today in Dakar, Senegal. The awards will be streamed live on YouTube to music fans.

‘The Real Housewives of Lagos’Top Showmax’s Most-watched Shows in 2022

The Drums Roll Out in Dakar for AFRIMA

Cast of The Real Housewives of Lagos

‘The Real Housewives of Lagos’ has been unveiled as Showmax’s most-watched show of 2022. The Nigerian iteration of The Real Housewives franchise broke first-day streaming records on the platform in Nigeria following its launch in April 2022. It went on to spark social conversation, piquing viewers’ curiosity and ultimately becoming a Twitter sensation. The show peaked at number one on Twitter Nigeria’s trends list The much-anticipated Big Brother Titans will be launching today on DStv and GOtv platforms. A first of its kind, the show will see Nigerian and South African housemates living under Biggie’s roof.

Fans will see long-time BBNaija host, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, share

and remained on the trend list for the 14-week duration of the show. The Lagos premiere which was streamed on TikTok also earned over 20,000 views.

As the home of African content, Showmax Originals including ‘Flawsome’, ‘Diiche’, and the South African reality series ‘The Real Housewives of Durban’ also earned spots on the top 10 list.

Popular reality TV shows Big Brother Naija spinoffs like ‘The Buzz’, ‘Secret Diaries’,

Big Brother Titans Launch Today

‘Sunday Eviction Show’, and the ‘Reunion’ are also featured on the list. The seventh season of the show garnered a lot of conversation among fans and viewers on social media for its 72-day duration.

While 8/10 of the titles are African, with seven from Nigeria, the list also includes international series like the 2023 Golden Globe Best Drama series winner ‘House of the Dragon’ and ‘The Sex Lives of College Girls.’ the stage with BBMzansi host Lawrence Maleka, for 12 weeks.

The premiere will air on Africa Magic channels at 7 pm and will feature performances from both Nigerian and South-African acts.

The winner of the season will take home a cash prize of $100,000.

t 1FUJUJPO UP /VMMJGZ "'3*."

Brymo’s Nomination Exceeds 35,000 Signatures Tonight, music stars from the continent will be in Dakar, Senegal for the eighth edition of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA). Tagged the Teranga edition, AFRIMA will be rewarding creative talents in the music field in both the continental and regional awards.

Burna Boy, Kizz Daniel, Tiwa Savage, and Fireboy DML are the top Nigerian music acts with the most nominations.

Burna Boy, Kizz Daniel and Fireboy DML are in the race for the Best Male Artiste in West Africa, Song of the Year and Artiste of the Year. Tiwa Savage is also contesting in the Artiste of the Year while Burna Boy is nominated in the Album of the Year category.

South Africa leads the nominees’ list for the 8th AFRIMA with six nominations for Costa Titch who fetched nods for his 2021 smash hit, Big Flexa, in Song of the Year, Breakout Artiste of the Year, Best African Collaboration, Best Artiste, Duo or Group in African Electro, and Best Artiste, Duo or Group in Use of African Dance/ Choreography.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s music act Brymo who is also a nominee is facing a nullification threat following his anti-Igbo remarks. A petition was raised last week to nullify the artiste’s nomination as a lesson for belittling an Igbo Presidency, particularly his shots at the Labour Party presidential Brymo candidate Peter Obi. One Charles Ogundele started the petition tagged ‘Stop Brymo from winning the All Africa Music Award for Songwriter of the Year’. He accused the singer of tweeting hateful messages toward the Igbo tribe to the extent of retweeting a tweet that said that all Igbos are senseless.

“His actions spark disunity and hatred in attention there.

Preventing him from winning the All Africa Music Award would send a strong message to him, and people like him, that he can’t get away with such blatant ethnic bigotry,” the petition reads.

The goal is to have 50,000 signatures. As of the time of filing this report, over 36,500 had signed the petition.

However, similar petitions to support the artiste have begun. An example is the Support BRYMO to win the All Africa Music Award for Songwriter of the Year which has been signed by over 300 people.

Tonight’s award will determine if Brymo will be a victim of cancel culture.

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

15.1.2023

Subomi Balogun Steady Steps Towards 90

Nigeria’s leading banker, stockbroker, lawyer and philanthropist, Chief Micheal Olasubomi Balogun, was born on March 9, 1934, in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State to Muslim parents. Balogun would later embrace Christianity while in secondary school. As a pioneer indigenous stockbroker, his antecedents in the banking sector are well known. The founder of the First City Mortgage Bank has etched indelible footprints in investment banking and a model for generations of professionals in the sector as well as those in allied services. As the Otunba Tunwase of Ijebuland and the Asiwaju of Ijebu Christians, his Ijebu-Ode residence was recently besieged by Christians and community leaders for a return of the tradition of “Adura Odun’’ which is the annual New Year Prayer for the colossus alongside his esteemed associates. Yinka Olatunbosun captures the moment of his reminiscences at the event.

ASSISTANT EDITOR OLUFUNKE OLAODE/victoria.olaode@thisdaylive.com.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JANUARY 15, 2023

49

COVER

My Ambition is to Live Much Longer

Balogun in a joyous mood during Annual New Year Prayer held at his Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State residence.

D

raped in a white robe, Otunba Subomi Balogun is always attentive to everyone who arrives at his home. This afternoon was no different.

Having hosted a handful of guests including journalists to a sumptuous lunch, he expressed his gratitude for witnessing yet another year, especially with the two-year hiatus for the New year prayers occasioned by the pandemic.

“Any of us who has survived the Covid-19 pandemic should be thanking God that he or she was not a victim,” he began. “It was traumatic and it was only recently that I stopped wearing the mask. Let us continue to thank God for saving us from this pandemic and giving us a good life and that Covid has disappeared and Christian brothers and sisters can gather together to thank God and praise him in my home and my capacity as the Asiwaju of Ijebu Christians or President of the laity. I have many reasons to thank God, it is not an easy thing to be growing up. There are vicissitudes that one would experience but I am forever grateful for what God has allowed me to do at almost 90. My ambition is to live much longer.

I have friends, and relations who have been so bestowed by the almighty and I am confident that God has something planned for me. I would reach a meteoric stage.”

Right there on his seat, Balogun travelled down the paths of his earlier childhood years, and the days of Igbobi College before he studied Law at the London School of Economics. Before his studies in the UK, he had briefly worked as a teacher. He continued teaching even as a student in London. Upon the completion of his law degree programme, he returned to Nigeria and worked with the Ministry of Justice in the then

Western region. From being a crown counsel, he moved on to the post of parliamentary counsel in the Federal Ministry of Justice.

After the January 1966 coup, he joined the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB). From there, he was instrumental in the establishment of a merchant bank sponsored

by NIDB. He moved to ICON Limited as the director of operations.

Buoyed by his second son’s comment after early morning prayers one day, his ambition to head a government-owned stockbroking firm metamorphosed into becoming his own boss.

“What agitated my mind was that Jide was only nine years old. Today, he is in his mid-50s.

I thought God must be talking through him so I went back to the chapel and I was praying,” he said as he sang a Yoruba song meaning “God Show me the way.”

To make his dream a reality, he rolled up his sleeves, went to the Ministry of Commerce and then stumbled on a former colleague- a junior one of his while he worked at the Ministry of Justice.

“By some fortune, I met a former junior of mine at the Ministry of Justice. He was surprised that I came. I told him that I wanted to form this company and that I would want the certificate of incorporation as early as possible.

He came and gave me the memorandum and the certificate.

“I started writing letters to all the people who have known me and have always wanted to work for me while I was an employee of an institution. I wrote to my contacts that I would be resigning and setting up a similar company. I asked for their support. I wrote my resignation letter and took it personally to my boss. When I got there, the secretary said he was too busy,” he recounted.

In spite of the surreal feeling of facing a new job experience, Balogun was determined to get it right. With the support of his friends, his vision came to fruition as he ventured into the business just at the right time.

“By some divine intervention, the government of this country decided to have a scheme called indigenization. All companies should sell 49 percent or 50 percent of the companies to Nigerians. There were four oil marketing companies in the country at the time. There was Mobil, Texaco, Total and British Petroleum. Some friends who knew that I needed a job badly introduced me to Mobil and the Nigerian government just announced the sale of some shares at CitiSecurities,” he said.

From being snubbed by his former employer to collaborate on a contract to eventually securing it solely as a company, Balogun’s strides in stockbroking gained strength and won the trust of international corporations including oil firms.

He would later develop working relationships with Mobil, Texaco and Total Petroleum marketing companies where he began handling the companies’ equity offerings.

“The directors of Leventis went in and came back and decided that the job should be given to CitySecurities, me alone. I went there, and we did it. Later, I found a young man who is now the group head, FCMB, Ladi Jadesimi. I asked him what he was doing. I decided to make him the executive director. And I told him: ‘But you can’t tell people who own it.”

Being discreet in the early days of the business was one of the measures Balogun deployed to stay focused. Still, securing a license to operate a stockbroking firm was a hard nut to crack. Balogun affirmed his reliance on God as well as his past relationship with people. He recounted how his act of goodwill to a friend, Alex Ekwueme during the civil war, was rewarded when he needed to set up a bank.

“I set up a sophisticated merchant bank.

I put in an application. Initially, some people who thought I was related to Chief Obafemi Awolowo stopped it. By sheer coincidence, inside my church. I told my wife that we would go to service today but we are not going to sit together. I will sit in the front and you will sit at the back. I would pull the dress of the VP. My wife should pull that of the wife. So, I grabbed the VP’s clothes.

The security details rushed at us. But then Ekweume looked at me and asked, ‘Subomi, what’s the problem?’ When we got out of the cathedral at Marina, I said, ‘Mr Vice President, what is happening to my license?’

“He asked his details to move away. I was given his hot number and I was invited to Dodan Barracks. Everyone was expecting me when I arrived there. The VP said I don’t know what is wrong with you Yorubas.

Your papers came and we could have approved it but someone said they should not give me a license because I was close to Awolowo and that election was coming.

Any money I make would go into the elections. The only relationship between me and Chief Awolowo was that his first son was in class one when I was leaving Igbobi College. We knew ourselves. The boy was so nice and took me as his college father. I had not met Baba himself. Then I said ‘What can you do for me?’ Ekwueme said ‘Luckily for you, Shagari would not be at the next meeting. I will head the meeting and I will give you the license.’

Ekwueme and Balogun once lived on the same street. But during the civil war, some unscrupulous fellows turned Ekwueme’s house into a pool spot. Balogun brought the police to displace them and secure the property. But that was not all.

“When he(Ekwueme) came back from the Biafra war, I gave him a wad of currency notes. I told him that while you are away, I refurbished your house and I let it out. This is the rent I collected. He could not believe it.

“So, Ekwueme gave me my license on that Thursday that he promised and at about 3pm, my hotline was ringing. I picked it.

The person was Yomi Akintola, who was then working at the Ministry of Finance as the Minister. He said the Vice President has approved the license. I was so elated and I shouted won ti fun mi o! (meaning ‘I have been given’).

“People rushed to my office and started dancing. That was how I became the first Nigerian to do this. But I never forgot my God. After that, I built Primrose from the

money I got from selling shares. That was how FCMB started. When I was 70, apart from different attacks and travails, I was still on the saddle. I made my third son, Ladipupo the head of the bank and I became chairman. After some time, I appointed one expatriate as group MD and my son as managing director. After my 70th birthday, I promoted Oyinbo to be chairman.

Today my son is the Group Executive. And he has eight financial companies under him. I still go to the office three days a week.”

In 1979, he applied for a merchant banking license to establish First City Merchant Bank.

The operations of the bank took off in 1983.

Since then, the institution has been consistent in merchant banking in Nigeria.

“When I look around, I am the oldest banker still around and taking part in what is still going on. And that is an amazing grace of the Almighty God. All I do is remain close to God and be a prayer warrior. Some friends joke with me that I can’t say one or two words without thanking God. That’s my own understanding of what God has done to me, my family and my institution. About 45 years ago, we started this. Not many of us who founded financial institutions are still active today. I started banking 60 years ago. For the first 15 years, I was working for other people. But in the last 35 years, I have been given the privilege by God to run a bank I founded single-handedly. I thank God that I am still vibrant and all I want to be doing these days is to be thanking God.” He also acknowledged the support of professionals that helped in building a strong financial institution. Despite having just a law degree, he was able to attain unbelievable heights in investment banking. He encouraged young people to find a balance between social media popularity and being discreet.

“Reflecting on God has helped me to modulate any kind of arrogance.”

In addition to sustaining 68 years of friendship and keeping his secretary as his PA to date, Balogun has been loyal to every commitment he sets his mind on. As a philanthropist, he has changed lives with the Subomi Balogun Foundation Scholarship.

Giving credit to his mother, whom he described as his father’s only educated wife, he owes a lot of his educational years to her input and early intervention.

“When we were sent to school in 1940, at the age of six, my mother had been teaching me ABC and arithmetic. So when I got to school, a year later, I got a double promotion. I went around using the care of children to be my forte because of that.” Subsequently, he set up a scholarship in his parents’ name at a Muslim college where he was once a teacher.

“When I started business, I wanted to show appreciation to my God. So the scholarship is still going on.”

In the health sector, his impact is felt in philanthropic efforts to strengthen the capacity of health centres.

“The University of Ibadan named their children’s emergency ward after me based on what I have done there- Otunba Tunwase Children’s Emergency Ward. I had done other things. I also built the National Pediatrics centre, the largest in Nigeria which is now given to UI and UCH. “40 beds were donated to the hospital. We were there when a woman was rushed in. She gave birth right in front of us, and the baby was named after me. I adopted the baby. He is now a graduate and not only that, he is now at FCMB. “I went somewhere with my wife where they were registering voters,” he recounted.

“There was a long queue in the grammar school.

Then someone cleared the way for me and my wife to register. I later found out the boy is one of the beneficiaries of a scholarship and that he had no job. Right there, I called and he got employed at FCMB and he is one of the top people at the bank now.”

At almost 90, Balogun leads an admirable lifestyle. Luxury cars, beautiful homes and a community of people who love and respect him.

You don’t need his address to locate his house.

Everyone knows his house in Ijebu Ode- a white sprawling mansion with a tastefully decorated interior and respectful staffers.

While responding to how he keeps fit, he casually said: ‘I still swim. I have a heated swimming pool in my house. And I pray to God a lot. You know what also baffles me? I still carry the walking stick of royalty to match my robe but most of the time, I try to walk on my own.

My mental faculty is still reliable. I still read and do many things. I eat everything. At the back, we have about 30 acres of farmland. I walk there and come back. I still wear my suit.”

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JANUARY 15, 2023

50

HighLife Senator Abbo in Limbo

...Amazing lifestyles of Nigeria’s rich and famous

Tajudeen Adeola: One of the Pillars of Modern Banking Hits 69 In Nigeria, only a little over a handful of individuals have been able to dominate every sector they participate in. Among these individuals, Tajudeen Adeola is a figure to be reckoned with. Despite raising the storm in banking, the private sector, and even public service, Adeola continues to be that star in the night sky that remains lit all year round. As the man clocks 69, one is reminded of how much he has accomplished and inspired so many others to imitate.

Adeola is not the kind of man that will be seated while others are getting things done. Since coming into the limelight as the first man in the partnership with the late Tayo Aderinokun which birthed Guaranty Trust Bank, Adeola has shown himself to be a powerhouse of management and

administration. In recent years, he even tried his hands at politics and came out nearly victorious.

At 69, Adeola has much to his name and has his name in the annals of so many historic accounts. In banking, his founding GTBank has brought about lifelong fame that even fickle human memory will have trouble wiping out. In the public sector, Adeola’s service in the National Pension Commission, Lagos State University, Solid Minerals Committee, and many more have also earned him many awards.

One would be wrong to believe that Adeola only founded a giant on the level of GTBank. Adeola also has FATE Foundation to his name, proving that what he accomplished with the late Aderinokun was not a fluke.

Adeola

Between Kwara Governor, AbdulRazaq and Saraki. and Saraki … It’s a Battle of Supremacy

Abbo

Nobody has a perfect grasp of time; all of us are just trying.

Even so, there are times when it looks like a particular year is out to frustrate an individual. Well, since 2023 has only just started and the controversial All Progressives Congress (APC) senator from Adamawa North, Elisha Abbo, is already facing serious trouble, folks have already begun to state that 2023 is not the year for Abbo.

A high court sitting in Yola, Adamawa state, has banged the gavel on the matter of Abbo continuing to represent Adamawa North in the forthcoming general elections. According to the court order, Abbo is not qualified for any nomination in APC since he has been driven out of his ward. In other words, he has no legs to stand on regardless of the extensiveness of his political ambitions.

Abbo truly does not have it easy. First, he was expelled from his APC ward due to what has been described as anti-party activities. Analysts have concluded that these allegations came about because Abbo was too forceful in his criticism of the party’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket. Regardless of the reason underlying the allegations, Abbo has finally lost any chance of being re-elected to represent Adamawa North in the Nigerian Senate.

There are many mixed reactions regarding this court order. On the one hand, some sympathize with Abbo especially since his resistance to the APC MuslimMuslim presidential ticket is not unique to him—countless other prominent APC members hold similar views. However, some folks are more than happy that Abbo is not having it good, especially those that remember the controversial issue that featured him assaulting the owner of an adult toy shop in Abuja.

Regardless of the reactions, however, this is not the best of times for the Adamawa North senator. It is a period of true limbo for him.

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

Saraki

There are states in Nigeria that will have to hold the mantle of cantankerousness among the big shots in charge. Kwara State, which is ironically the State of Harmony, is one such place. Even now, it is reported that The oil and gas sector in Nigeria is a hot sector. Since its founding, it has seen all kinds of people: the good, the bad, and the greedy.

Once in a while, someone as capable as Uju Ifejika comes along and all the players with low ambitions and motivations have to stand by the side. This corporate Amazon continues to wow observers of the oil and gas sector, especially when she is in the uniform of the CEO of Brittania-U Nigeria Ltd. Ifejika has come a long way since the beginning of her time at the oil and gas line of business in Nigeria. According to the records, Ifejika started with Texaco as a Junior Counsel way back in ‘87 and rode through the ranks of Texaco Overseas Petroleum Unlimited until she became Acting Chief Counsel in less than five years. The ‘90s also saw her grow from a low-level staff to one of the mid-level workers

the governor of the state, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, are at each other’s throats. Of course, only an individual who is not following recent events would be surprised at this news considering that the tiff between AbdulRazaq and Saraki has shattered the peace many times in Kwara.

At a time when incoming governors are throwing their predecessors at the dogs, Kwara state Governor AbdulRazaq is reaching into far-flung history to poke his grand predecessor, Saraki, in the eye. In his corner, Saraki is not letting experience and wisdom dictate anything to him and has likely grown too used to responding to AbdulRazaq’s comments to ignore them now.

At the end of 2022, AbdulRazaq and Saraki renewed their quarrel. According to some reports, the pair had decided to let

sleeping dogs lie sometime around June. Those that followed that event were delighted at the ceasefire and used that as an indication that all political rivalry eventually fades. Alas, what was once considered to have faded is back in full force.

The December 2022 fiasco between AbdulRazaq and Saraki started allegedly because the former accused the latter of embezzling funds meant for Kwara’s Universal Basic Education Fund (UBEC) and also using his position to prevent the authorities from doing anything about it.

On his part, Saraki denied the claims and had one of his people threaten AbdulRazaq to retract the comment or meet in court. So far, AbdulRazaq has done no such thing so the matter will likely be settled in court. They have been calling each other names for a long time and nobody has done anything about it. Whether this incident will be different from others, time will tell. Nevertheless, not a few think that all of this is a fight for supremacy in Kwara.

Uju Ifejika: Oil and Gas Amazon

Ifejika

in oil and gas.

In 1995, the company that Ifejika would come to be associated with—Brittania-U Nigeria—was founded. However, it only became operational eight years later. By then, Ifejika had become Texaco’s Company Secretary for Public and Government Affairs for West Africa. Even so, when she came to Brittania-U Nigeria, it was for the best as she helped with the founding of Brittania-U Ghana Limited in 2010.

Ifejika has dominated the oil and gas sector in Nigeria as one of the few female geniuses at the helm of affairs. Unlike her male counterparts, she has redirected the focus of her company from only moneymaking and profiteering to the empowerment of local Nigerian communities. As a result, she has been described as a committed humanitarian.

Battle Without End as Rivers Files Fresh Charges against Amaechi and Associate Rivers State holds a very special position in the heart of every passionate Nigerian. Because the state is at the heart of the Niger Delta, it is celebrated as a convergence of interest and goodwill. But that is only what outsiders think since the current governor, Nyesom Wike, has refused to let sleeping dogs lie with his predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi. How this will end remains a thing of mystery.

Governor Wike has once again given Nigerians much to talk about concerning his relationship with the past governor and former Transportation Minister, Amaechi. For those that have followed Wike for some time now, Amaechi is not the best person in Wike’s evaluation.

Moreover, because there is almost always an undercurrent of a battle of supremacy between them, Wike does all

that he can to throw out Amaechi.

The latest of Wike’s moves against Amaechi has taken legal dimensions.

Specifically, the Rivers government under Wike’s command has sued Amaechi and his associate, Tonye Cole, for selling state assets. Cole, who is Amaechi’s right-hand person and governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers, has also been in the crosshairs of Wike’s battle rifle for a long time. So, in a way, this is killing two birds with one shot for Wike, or so many analysts claim.

Over time, many people have tried to explain that Wike is a righteous person who will not waste his time on a grudge.

Others are certain that Wike lives to avenge his woes. Whichever the case, one can only conclude that Amaechi has ended up on the

Amaechi

wrong side of Wike’s intentions. Of course, Amaechi has also tried multiple times to throw the proverbial fist at Wike’s face, but Wike has been the one taking the belt of victory, shortterm though his time of triumph.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JANUARY 15, 2023

HIGHLIFE

Akinwunmi Ambode’s Latest Moves Ahead of the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria, different politicians who have held special positions and are now figures of influence are coming out to say, vote for this person or that person.

However, there are still a few exceptions to this behavior, and former Lagos governor Akinwunmi Ambode is one of these.

The presidential election to be held a few weeks from now is bringing a lot of people out of their shells. However, for individuals like Ambode, the reverse is the case. While his peers are wearing different styles of babanriga, Ambode is doing his best to establish himself in business, starting from the hospitality line.

According to those familiar with the gist, Ambode’s new line of business is hospitality and the former governor has allegedly committed a lot of money, effort, and time to this pursuit.

Reports disclosed that Ambode is set to complete an ultramodern hotel that he is building

somewhere in Ikeja, GRA, Lagos.

Once completed, it is estimated that Ambode would never have to rely on an individual to sponsor political ambition or something of that nature.

Although these speculations are still only speculations, it is no longer news that Ambode has submitted his resignation from all things politics in the country. Maybe a later time will see him take up the mantle again. Many are confident that Ambode’s decision to leave politics for the hospitality sector comes from his experience with the Lagos State governorship seat. Thus, even now, the memory of his exit would not let him smile as freely as he used to in public.

Ambode has never lamented that this or that is the reason for his early exit from politics. Maybe he just needed a break or something else to occupy his time, something like the hospitality sector.

But whatever it was, time will tell.

What is certain now is that the former governor has indeed found something else to occupy his time.

Ambode

Funke Felix-Adejumo: Amazon in the Vineyard of God at 60

Felix-Adejumo

There are these special people who seem to have found the fountain of youth and taken complete control of it. They refuse to look old even though time is running circles around them. Funke Felix-Adejumo is one of these people who have thrown a rope around the neck of time and are leading it about. The exuberant pastor, author, and marriage counselor is still raising the bar of excellent work and drawing praises from all and sundry.

In a few days, Felix-Adejumo is set to celebrate her 60th birthday. The woman who has come to be known fondly as the

Marriage Pastor remains one of the most consistent female pastors in Nigeria. This is because she has spread her wings of influence far and wide.

But that is not all that Felix-Adejumo is. She is a humanitarian, and the brain behind Funke Felix Adejumo Foundation. Her impact, therefore, is not restricted to the pulpit although the majority of her work is carried out there.

Here is a woman whose relevance has gladdened the heart of her husband enough to get him to happily admit that although many women have done excellent things, she exceeds them all.

Adelegbe’s Midas Touch in Owo/Ose Federal Constituency To say that all politicians are the same is not different from saying that human beings are the same. Since the latter is not true, the former cannot also be true. There are good people and there are bad people. In the same way, there are good politicians and there are bad politicians. What a delightful fact that Honourable Timileyin Adelegbe who is the federal representative for Owo/Ose constituency in the 9th National Assembly is a good politician. The fact of his good works laid bare, is enough to consider him one of the honest and diligent ones.

Since witnessing him taking up his role as a member of the House of Representatives, the good people of Ondo State have only had good things to say about Adelegbe. The man, despite his quiet nature and candid personality, has shown himself to be one of the louder ones when it comes to devotion to duty.

In recent times, Adelegbe has risen to the surface of the crop of politicians in the South-west. However, unlike so many others, Adelegbe’s increasing fame is not borne on the shoulders of controversy or corruption. On the contrary, it is because the man is giving his constituents many reasons to be grateful for having chosen the best person for the job.

Among the many things that Adelegbe has accomplished since taking up the House of Reps position for the Owo/Ose people is the completion of over 50 different projects, including the construction of a Hall-of-Fame building at Olowo’s Palace, Owo; the supply of medical equipment to Okeluse Community Health Centre, Ose; completion of an event Town Hall at Ifon, another at Idogun, another at Okeluse, Ose; construction of a well-equipped skill acquisition center at Adeyeri Grammar School, Iyere, Owo and another at Ire Akari Grammar School, Idoani, Ose; repair of

Olalekan Adebiyi: The Road Master on the Move There are many noisemakers in the Nigerian corporate block. Some of these have not been able to accomplish anything praiseworthy outside of consistently bragging about great works even when there is nothing to see. But there are those, like Olalekan Adebiyi, who have taken to living the alternative—which is doing great things that all can see and keeping quiet about it. As 2023 kicks off with a bang, one is reminded of Adebiyi’s enduring legacy of mastery at road construction and the silence that he prefers over rowdiness.

When it comes to road construction in Nigeria, Adebiyi’s LaraLek Ultimate Construction has to be one of the most accomplished. Even though the company has done some of its finest work in the Southwestern part of the country, it sits uncontested as a supreme among other similar high-flying construction companies. However, the leading reason for LaraLek’s domination

Adebiyi

Adelegbe

the transformer at Ikare Junction Owo, Owo; and so many other repairs and renovations at both Owo and Ose, some of which are completed while others are on-going. is that the company’s founder and CEO is Adebiyi, a genius among geniuses.

It should be noted that Adebiyi’s model for good work actually does not ride on what is typically considered a genius. In fact, the hallmark of the man’s road construction work is endurance rather than radical design. Therefore, when it is time to list the names of the most reliable indigenous road construction contractors in Nigeria, Adebiyi’s name almost always tops the list.

But what makes Adebiyi really different from every other roadmaster in the country is his humility. The man can construct a road on the moon and not say a word about it to anybody who does not need to know. Thus, it is said that Adebiyi will still go on to accomplish great and glorious things in Nigeria, especially since 2023 will undoubtedly be a year of many changes.

So, as Adebiyi remains on the move, great things are expected of the roadmaster.

Adefisoye Cheats Death Life is such a precious gift that it has no alternative. Therefore, every time we have the privilege to cling to life as opposed to losing grip of it, we celebrate it as a true victory. This is one of the reasons many relatives and friends of Honorable Tajudeen Adefisoye are on their knees giving thanks to God for having rescued the young man known as Small Alhaji from certain death.

The story of Adefisoye’s brush with death is complex and saddening. According to reports, Adefisoye was in his hometown in Idanre, Ondo State, when an assassination attempt was made on his life. It was only by the hand of God that the member of the House of Representatives serving the Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency of Ondo survived.

According to the reports that followed the incident, Adefisoye’s assailants were commissioned by his opponents, most arguably the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The federal lawmaker who is an ardent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) however requested that his followers should not carry out reprisal attacks.

Even since Adefisoye survived the reported assassination attempt, peace has begun to elude the people of Idanre. This is because some supporters of the APC allegedly took the reported assassination attempt to heart and attacked supporters of the PDP despite Adefisoye’s plea to the contrary. Thus, things are rapidly getting out of hand in Idanre.

As things stand currently, it has been reported that Idanre has become a mini barrack with soldiers everywhere. Although this report has not been confirmed, some prominent PDP members have claimed that all such military personnel are fake and have been commissioned by Adefisoye to disturb the peace. So, there is still a big part of the narrative that does not make sense.

Regardless, what is making the rounds at this point is that Adefisoye escaped the bullets shot at him by an assassin. Thus, the man has essentially been given a new life.

Adefisoye

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JANUARY 15, 2023

LOUD WHISPERS

with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

Muhammadu Buhari: You Really Don’t Get It Baba no get am at all. His statement that he has no investments or mansions anywhere in the world is a misfire. A blank shot. That his incorruptibility cannot be challenged anywhere in the world is neither here nor there in the grand scheme of things. See, bro let me be very frank with you, that you still have 150 cows eight years after is meaningless to us and to those mapping your legacy and contributions.

The fact that you remain austere, disciplined and have only N20,000 in the only account that you run with the ‘esusu’ people in Daura is of no effect to us. What you will be measured by is what remarkable feat you achieved with the economy, security, education and other very serious indices.

Your incorruptibility which is now a personal achievement to you but didn’t seem to affect or disturb the general thievery and splurge that surrounded you. That you have N6,000 in contributions didn’t stop your Accountant General from stealing the billions we are hearing nor did it stop all these corruption that we are seeing and suffering from.

Did it stop inflation from crossing the double-digit line? Did it stop unemployment from crossing the 20% mark? Did it stop the Naira to suffer over 1,000% decline? Has it stopped the police from killing and maiming Nigerians? Has it moved the civil service from being the most inept ever and

has it stopped oil thievery?

The fact that you remain incorruptible has left the next Government with over N70 trillion debt to grapple with. That means that if you were corrupt, we for all go into slavery. Real one o.

So, my Baba, you are not being advised well. Better don’t talk about this your incorruptibility in your farewell speech o, because we will just stand up and walk away o. Better start talking about the second Onitsha Bridge and how you have been able to contain OBJ’s letters. Those are real achievements, not these incorruptible stories. We are tired of hearing it, abeg release another album. This one don stale.

Yakubu

Atiku

Anyaoku

Wigwe

INEC: POSTPONEMENT, CANCELLATION, RECIPE FOR CHAOS You know nothing is really far-fetched in this our Babylon that we call a country.

When Chief Obasanjo released his last letter, the one he was endorsing Tinubu… oh sorry, Obi, someone commented that it was part of a grand scheme to have him lead a transitional government.

We all waved it off and laughed. Even me, I responded by calling the person a village drunk. Which yeye interim government in 2023. After over 20 years of continuous civilian rule and an unbroken transition from one civilian government to the other?

Abi didn’t OBJ hand over to Yar’Adua and that one died and gave Jonathan and that one gave Buhari. Are we not maturing as a people? So, I didn’t take that talk very seriously.

That is how this INEC people now came out with the statement that if the insecurity continues, they could postpone the election. Then it hit me. somebody is throwing a kite. All of a sudden the interim government thing is looking real o.

So, if they postpone and Buhari’s tenure finishes, na interim we are looking at. Kai, the prospect is even making me feel like vomiting. This is like taking two steps forward and 100 steps backward. The scary thing is that we really have no way we can halt the slide. So if we start with interim, who says that one morning we will not wake up and be hearing – fellow

Nigerians again….

I thank God Lai Mohammed has come out to debunk it and insist that no matter what, elections will be held.

See Mr. INEC Chairman, if you don’t have the mind, better leave that place now and let someone with mind take over because this election must be held.

That your talk is bullla ballu talk and totally unacceptable. Even if na only Ibibio people vote, we must have this election and put in a new set of ‘rogues’, simple.

So please stop that joke, it is too expensive if you ask me.

thieves. Na we and we are fantastically corrupt, and we like am. It is ok.

The only people who are not thieves in this our country, are people ‘wey never reach the position or wey him family never reach’. At that point, we are armchair critics but when we reach, our natural national coloration will appear.

So as the yellow-livered coward sat there in his cheap t-shirt and was first begging for his life and the life of his family before releasing the ‘earth shattering’ news that we already knew, I just stood up and went looking for Afang to chop.

Atiku’s campaign or any other campaign in our Nigeria is not predicated on any of these. It is not issue based, nor based on character or integrity. Na who spend pass na him go win. One big baba said it during the week, cannot remember who sef. He said the biggest spender will win.

That is a fact of our national life.

Or how do you explain when Tinubu will stand on a podium and speak gibberish and very sane and intelligent people plus international professors will be clapping. Take for example: “You have to suffer to vote until Bola Tinubu is President and after that we will soak bread in a slice and give you.”

Mbok and people clapped and cheered?

This media aide’s revelation in a saner clime, Atiku should be in detention right now struggling to explain the true meaning of SPV and how he institutionalized it according to this man.

But na lie, Dino will still be shouting, ‘incoming President’ and millions will

still be supporting him.

Nigeria na pig sty. No more, no less.

Rubbish.

Buhari

ATIKU ABUBAKAR: MEDIA AIDE FROM ‘HELL’ You know Nigerians like sensationalism.

The video of this big-headed ex-Aide to Mr. Atiku, the PDP candidate made the rounds and some people were screaming that the campaign was over.

I just hissed and waka pass. Over wetin?

When Hundeyin was going on about his ‘Narco’ talk on Tinubu, did the campaign end? Everything Hundeyin threw at the Baba did not deter him, instead each time Hundeyin threw something, Baba would call a Town Hall meeting and give them a wet slice of bread and everything would be ok.

So why would Atiku’s own be different?

Even if the man showed us a Video of Atiku ‘thieving’ the Niger Bridge like the video of the dollar in the agbada, nothing will happen. This is Nigeria. This is not the Vatican. This is the land of 200 million

AS MY HERO, CHIEF EMEKA ANYAOKU, CLOCKS 90 As I was finishing this column, I got a call from the highly revered Chief Anyaoku inviting me to his 90th birthday lunch. I will go and come and gist you guys. Kai! Happy birthday sir.

ACCESS BANK: YOU CAN DO IT Let me confess for the umpteenth time that I have a soft spot for Access Bank. The reason is simply because of their immense belief in this country.

Creating wealth, ensuring that we continue to believe that the country is not finished. Building such a huge edifice that is contending for global respectability is something that we all should encourage and applaud.

I have heard that they want to be the first bank to cross the N1 trillion mark in revenues. My people, when I heard this, I became giddy with excitement.

Pushing along three main income lines – interest expense, hedging against instruments and one last one wey I no remember now, they have hit N908b this third quarter and beaten their PBT forecast year-on-year by about 30%.

Already valued at about N13 trillion, the Bank keeps powering and making incisive incursions into different markets globally.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JANUARY 15, 2023

LOUD WHISPERS They are my friends, the only person wey dey do like he no like me na Roosevelt, the new managing Director for the banking business. Anytime I see him somewhere, he will first do like he no know me o. The other day, I saw him at the CSCS 25th anniversary party, he look me comot eye.

Sit down like Prince Harry, cross leg and be surveying the environment. I say if I don’t greet him now it will look one kain, so I said, “bro,” and he opened up and we greeted and joked small. Nice guy.

But seriously with the team put together by my Lord, the Great Herbert Wigwe to run the place and with the kind of responsive Board members, you cannot expect any less. Also, with my tall and fine brother Amaechi running its reputation management structure, the story can only be brilliant.

My take is that let’s not do like that mumu Westerhoff who benched Nduka Ugbade who was on the verge of World Cup history, being the first man to play at three levels of World Cup and drop all of our differences and support Access bank in meeting this target.

In other words, all other banks should please direct all your account holders to move to Access and also ask your staff to start selling Access bank products so that we can all celebrate this milestone. Let’s do this for Nigeria- I don run away ooo.

Kai. PRINCE HARRY: A ROYAL ‘MUMU’ Well, let me first say that coming from my Shomolu background where I had to hawk bread for a living, I cannot really understand why this person wants to turn his back from all of that privilege for whatever reason.

Prince Harry has just released a book in which he ‘scatter’ the Royal Family.

The revelations there are just so plenty that some have said, that they are capable of finally destroying the royal institution. Already the Royal Family is under tremendous pressure from Republicans who feel that the whole thing is a huge drain on public funds and do not understand why a certain set of people will be deified like this in this century. Prince Harry is just giving them more gunpowder.

Some will want to blame his beautiful wife. I will say no. She only just gave him an avenue to vent his frustration. He has always been troubled and his mother’s tragic passing really messed him up.

In very serious discussions with him, he often used to just say to me, “Duke, this whole thing tire me. everything na William, even to piss for toilet, na him go piss first.”

So, this thing predates his wife. My advice to him is to look at the bigger picture.

History is far bigger than him. He cannot now single-handedly want to change the course of history because of bad bele.

This thing is even looking like a family curse. Remember that his uncle abdicated because of an American divorcee. This American people sef, I don’t know what their women carry between their legs that will be making men turn their backs on a whole kingdom.

Harry should look at nation over self. It is not too late to turn his back and come home.

The nation and royalty must be retained except the people in a referendum decide otherwise. Harry in this his ‘stupidity’ is trying to single-handedly take the decision on behalf of the good people of the United Kingdom.

I don’t know who sent him o. This naughty boy.

GOV YAHAYA BELLO: LEAVE HIS MAJESTY ALONE This query the Kogi Government has given His Majesty, the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland is not sitting down well with me o. So some hours before President Buhari’s visit, a bomb went off in his palace. I hear about 20 people unfortunately lost their lives and scores injured.

You now expect His Majesty to come out with Horse when you and Buhari will be inside a bomb-proof car and surrounded by 1,000 DSS and soldiers to come and do what? You try.

Baba dodged. It is better to live to give succour to the people than to have your bodily parts blown all over the River Niger. Baba took the best advice, he dodged. We don’t even know how far Baba ran when the bomb blast. For all you know, maybe the man don reach Shomolu

from the first sound and could not get the night bus on time to come back in time to receive Buhari.

So, this one giving him a query is just wasting his time as usual. Is not someone that is alive that will answer the query?

Send the query and we will reply. Any punishment you want to give, give, we will take because life is too sweet my brother.

Instead of you sending emissaries and a new wife to His majesty to calm down his nerves you are sending a query. Query for bomb? I just tire.

Ahmed

Macaulay

AKINTOYE AKINDELE: MY FIRM ENDORSEMENT

Akindele

It is times like this that you know who your true friends are. Super brilliant Dr. Akintoye Akindele is under tremendous pressure as we speak. Some vile person suspected to be extremely close to him have released some very dangerously annoying information on his person and his business on social media.

His family was not spared, his business was thrown to the dogs and much more importantly, his reputation was attacked.

Akindele expectedly is not finding this funny as the report keeps getting passed on

by Nigerians who revel in the salacious.

I read the report and found out that it is not more than a hatchet job by some very aggrieved persons. They actually signed off as ‘aggrieved’. Over 14 allegations were thrown at him from incest to corruption and flagrant lifestyle.

For me, this is just a mirror of what the society has degenerated into. So, if you pinch someone, all he has to do is to rush to social media and scream and before you know it, it has gone viral and people will be reading and be debating. That is how when we had an overflow during our last play and I was explaining to the crowd outside that we would give out free VIP tickets for subsequent plays, one stupid girl was videoing me and saying I will send to gist lover.

I looked at her very squarely and told her that if she didn’t stop that rubbish, I will show her Akwa Ibom man’s anger. What is with videoing me without my permission and threatening me with social media exposure? What is wrong with this country?

Are we all mad?

Seriously, Dr. Toye is my friend and for me, there can be no doubt as to how I feel or even thousands of others feel about him.

It will take much more than all of these to make us and plenty begin to look at him with one kind eye.

On probing deeper, I found out that the issues were quite deep and involving the refinery in Edo State. I have spoken to the elegant Dr Wura Abiola who is a co-promoter and have a much more balanced side of the story.

All I can say at this point is that, the refinery or is it even Energy Park, is a very serious economic agent where over 100 jobs have been created and whatever is the issue, it is not to be rushing to social media and throw up allegations of a personal nature.

My keen advice as an investment banker, is to have those involved to sit down and look at the issues dispassionately with a view to reaching an amicable solution for the long term good of the company, and much more importantly, the country.

This is a serious Nigerian doing things for the economy. He is not perfect like all humans but is certainly not all that they have said about him in that slimy write up.

Dr. Akindele, don’t worry as usual, it will blow over. Someone’s nude will soon be released and attention will shift. Most important thing is for you to keep your head high, focus, and sort out your issues whatever they are and continue to be the Toye that I have come to know and respect.

DATTI AHMED – FEAR OF ‘FFK OF CAMBRIDGE’ The other day, I saw the LP running mate to the great Peter Obi break down in tears as he explained how his family was rubbished. He said this is not fair and that there should be boundaries as he cried like a school boy who just lost his chop money. I pitied him and felt like hugging him and whispering in his ear, “you will not kuku win, why not just resign now and save us all these tears.”

I didn’t even know who made him cry until I saw a post from Chief Femi FaniKayode saying that, ‘he no kuku get mind.’ Wow! You see, Chief FFK of Cambridge is lethal. I have told him he should open a school of political yabis. He is fearless and has no boundaries. Although he has a soft chin and has shown that he too cannot take the punches so his defense is aggressive offensive. He will come at you with vile and so much power that you will have no time to come back at him or attempt a push.

While you are thinking of what to say, he has hit you with ‘smelly dog, back bencher, son of a whore’ and you will be reeling from the blows and end up in tears like gentleman Datti.

I now call him FFK of Cambridge. He is a third generation Cambridge man who revels in it as he climbs that pulpit to bully you to maximum effect. In the country today, it is only Dino I think that can match him. Sending Datti to him is like sending a two-year-old to a fight with a WWF wrestler. Na mauling.

FFK is now prancing about, feeling like the undisputed champion and I am begging Arise TV instead of wasting time trying to organise debate with Tinubu who will come and speak Martian language, they should arrange a slug fest between FFK of Cambridge and bulldog brower Dino Malaye.

That is the contest we want to see. Not this ‘aje butter’ Datti that will be crying all over the place seeking pity.

No pity here, na presidential campaign and this is for men and not boys. Mr. Datti better go and abuse his mother back or get someone to do it for you, na that tears we no want see. Is this how you will go and cry at the United Nations when Putin tell you to shut up? Abeg, you never ready.

ADENIKE MACAULAY – NOT A ‘WAKA PASS’ The giant lifestyle firm Wakanow has just announced my niece in-law its substantive Managing Director/CEO. Let me be ‘prouding’ o. It is not everytime that a family used to achieve great things like this. Now Adenike is married to Deji Macaulay whose mother is the ever beautiful Clara Macaulay who is elder sister to the super beautiful Maryan Ezechukwu who is now the immediate elder sister to my wonderful late wife Erelu Mena Joseph Edgar who born my son Alvin. Wait. There is also Uyo who is a lawyer and wife of Austin. Should I continue?

I am giving all this family tree so that Osa will not now wake up and say that I am not related to her. I go her wedding and they handed her over to me to receive before I handed her over to my all-time hero and bohemian of life Jimi Macaulay, her father in-law.

Nike before now was the first African General Manager at Lufthansa, covering West Africa and the Caribbean. She is a powerful professional, strict and efficient and it is no wonder that Wakanow, which is evolving, grabbed her.

She is a shining light not only to professional women all over the world but also to professional men who will just have to continue encouraging such brilliance. Well-done sister, God is on the throne. Greetings from Uncle Edgar. Na me.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JANUARY 15, 2023

Adebayo Adeoye bayoolunla@gmail.com; 08054680651

SOCIETY WATCH

AbdulSamad Rabiu’s Unprecedented Love for Humanity

Babangida

Much Ado about IBB’s Germany Trip Getting a sneak peek into the life of the former Military President of Nigeria, Ibrahim Babangida’s riches has become somewhat of a pastime for many Nigerians. In fact, without recourse to hyperbole, the man popularly known as IBB remains the most talked about ex-leader in the country. Even after three decades of vacating the Presidential Villa, his popularity never seems to wane. His actions and inactions have always been subject of discussions.

As always, his steps have continued to be dogged by one controversy or another.

Though it is inexplicable if the confident and outspoken retired soldier loves controversy or not, it is bad enough that many of his naysayers have continued to tar him with a negative brush. However, he seems not to care a hoot about this. The man, otherwise known as an evil genius, has developed deep skin for this.

The octogenarian, once again last week as usual became a source of rumour by some of his traducers. What could have brought the name of the Niger State-born general to the lips of his traducers this time around?

As revealed, this was due to a rumour allegedly initiated by some political supporters of Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP. As disclosed when the news hit the street, IBB has also followed the footsteps of his boss, Olusegun Obasanjo, who weeks earlier threw his weight behind Obi as his preferred candidate for the 2023 general elections.

Finecoat Boss Apostle Remi Awode’s Charming Character How much of Apostle Aderemi Awode, Finecoat Paint boss, do you know? To some, he is an entrepreneur and philanthropist par excellence. To others, Awode is simply a global citizen with a cosmopolitan outlook. But the truth is he fits perfectly into these descriptions.

Also, those whose paths have crossed will attest to the fact that he has a charming character and uncommon leadership qualities.

It is, therefore no exaggeration that the owner of one of the most successful indigenous paint-making production companies in Nigeria, knows his onion, having been in business for many years.

In spite of the vagaries of the business, his company has remained afloat with a lot of success stories.

Interestingly, in a society where many successful men have reportedly allowed fame, success and sometimes stardom to derail their long-term ambitions, Afolabi recognises that only God is the unseen hand behind his success story; and he submits absolutely to His will.

Of course, he also recognises that hard work pays, so he loathes laziness. In spite of his very engaging daily schedule, he worships God as would be expected of a grateful soul. A devout Christian, he spends his spare time in total worship of God. No doubt the shrewd businessman loves celebration of life and never shies away from this. Many will never forget in a hurry when he celebrated in grand style his 55th birthday five years ago.

Society Watch gathered that the man with a high networth is planning more grandeur and classy celebration in September when he would have joined the sexagenarian club.

There is the popular saying that ‘kindness is like a snow that beautifies everything it covers.’

For billionaire industrialist and Chairman, BUA Group, Alhaji AbdulSamad Rabiu, he seems to eat and breathe kindness. The business mogul is a quiet, humble gentleman who does a lot for Nigeria without noise and fanfare. He could pass, arguably, as Nigeria’s most charitable billionaire as his flame of philanthropy appears inextinguishable. He has been so unrelenting in his drive and determination to bring succour to the suffering masses without fear or favour, and this he has been doing for years in many states across the nation.

Indeed, the Kano-born billionaire’s milk of generosity cuts across every sector and region of the country. Recently, he set his gaze at providing quality education across all boards.

Through his non-governmental foundation, AbdulSamad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa),

the business magnate announced a N5.5billion grant to 22 higher institutions of learning across Nigeria N250 million each towards infrastructure projects under its ASR Africa Tertiary Education Grants Scheme (TEGS).

This gesture received thunderous accolades as it brings to 30, the number of tertiary education institutions benefiting from various ASR Africa education interventions in Nigeria. Prior to this announcement, about eight universities had benefited from the ASR Africa TEGS Scheme – with some of the projects nearing completion.

Blessed with vigorous optimism, a bootson-the-ground approach to his endeavors, an unflinching belief in destiny, it did not come as any surprise that Rabiu has done it again in a big bang what he knows how to do best: giving.

The billionaire philanthropist has extended his magnanimity to the military and other paramilitary agencies.

Rabiu

City Businessman, Habeeb Okunola Breaks New Ground

Okunola

High Chief Habeeb Okunola, MON, is, without doubt, a shining light in Nigeria’s business firmament. He is armed with years of experience, imbibing discipline and doggedness to break new grounds with his flagship TILT Group of companies.

Born with the proverbial silver spoon, but that privileged status has never taken away from him the virtue of hard work and self-discipline. It has been said of him that when some of his friends in the same category were busy lavishing their fathers’ money, the University of Lagos Philosophy graduate refused to allow that to get into his head, and chose to build on the opportunities and steadily built and secured his own future.

Okunola has built and is still building a formidable business empire. He has his hands in many pies of the economy, from real estate, oil and gas, technology, agriculture, and

engineering. He sits atop a blue-chip company and other startup companies which are all doing well. Like the mustard seed, the business he started with little has grown into a multimillion Naira empire standing tall.

The Akosin of Yorubaland is an embodiment of humanness. Those close to him have disclosed that nobody with tears sees him and leaves without a smile on his or her face.

Some even say he is a giver who gives without blinking an eyelid.

His Habeeb Okunola Foundation, through its realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, touched many lives and also gave a lifeline to many who have lost hope. He has impacted millions of vulnerable and underprivileged people in Nigeria and the Benin Republic, most especially in the area of financial inclusion, education, health and prison reforms.

Again, Property Merchant, Sir Okeowo Celebrates For obvious and good reasons, property merchant, Sir Olu Okeowo, is always in the news.

Though he doesn’t go out of his way to seek cheap publicity, he has proven to be a delight any day to news hounds.

Okeowo is known for engaging in celebration of life and is well connected. Indeed, he has organised several shindigs that turn out to be the talk of town, especially birthdays and new year parties. He is one of the successful businessmen living their life to the hilt.

This, we gathered he does to count his blessings and thank the Almighty God for His mercies and grace in his life.

So, on January 1, 2023, the man of means and power threw the door of his Palacio De Okeowo open once again, as he gave thanks to the Supreme One for the new year.

As usual, it was another gathering of the crème of the society at his eye-popping mansion located in Park-View Estate, Ikoyi Lagos.

He spared no cost in making his guests

most welcome. Trust the man whose sense of hospitality is topnotch, as some of the world’s most expensive champagnes like Pol Roger, Veuve Clicquot, Ace of Spade, Dom Perignon and exotic wines flowed like water during the event.

The shrewd businessman, who is unarguably one of the best property merchants in Nigeria, has been around for some time. He is known for a number of imposing properties scattered all over the country.

However, if you think the day was only for a loud celebration, you are dead wrong. The businessman had earlier, in his characteristic philanthropic manner, reached out to the hoi polloi. Okeowo was a sensation to those who needed a Christmas and new year miracle.

Sir Okeowo is recognised as a businessman whose love for fellow human beings beggars description. He seems to have entered a vow with his creator to impact positively on humanity.

Okeowo

Perhaps, this explains why he can’t stand the sight of his fellow human being in distress or wants. Besides, he is ever ready to donate generously to any cause that is beneficial to his immediate environment.

The World Mourns Trail-blazing Filmmaker Peace Anyiam-Osigwe Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, MON, would never have wished to part, forever, with her loved ones when she died on Tuesday, January 10, at the age of 54.

Indeed, Anyiam-Osigwe, founder of the Africa Movie Academy Awards, AMAA, a filmmaker and entertainment executive, wanted and indeed planned to live longer to see her dreams come true. And she had them aplenty, including further shooting her brand beyond the skies.

But for fate, the woman described as the Queen of Nollywood would have, in her wonted style, loved to continue to touch lives in her humanly best possible way.

No one makes a good corpse, but Anyiam-Osigwe was definitely a good corpse. In fact, without exaggerating, the whole world stood still when her death was announced on Tuesday, and since then torrents of tributes have continued to pour in from those that have been privileged to have met the woman many have described as a rare gem, philanthropist per excellence

Late Anyiam-Osigwe

and a woman with an uncommon heart of gold.

It is crystal clear that her impeccable accomplishments are clear to all whose paths crossed hers in life. She was a good person who without a doubt has been rewarded with a smooth passage to heaven

where she presently is with her Creator. She will never be forgotten.

Some of those who wrote tributes include Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who described her as a trailblazer and visionary leader.

“On behalf of my family, the government and good people of Lagos, I sympathise with the Association of Movie Producers and the entire Nollywood industry on the demise of the renowned filmmaker and founder of African Movie Academy Awards, Peace AnyiamOsigwe.

“The late Anyiam-Osigwe was one of the pillars of Nollywood in Nigeria. She was a bundle of talent and one of the best filmmakers, not only in Nigeria but also, on the African continent.

“She used her God-given talent to advance the course of mankind and contributed immensely to the creative sector through African Movie Academy Awards and African Film Academy.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ JUNE 24 2012

ARTS & REVIEW A

PUBLICATION

15. 1. 2023

For These Bleak Times, A ‘Silva’ Lining…

At the opening of his retrospective exhibition in Ibadan late last year, which was held alongside the launch of the TECH Art Gallery, Abuja-based Sri Lankan artist Imal Silva offered a nuanced message of better times ahead for the nation. Okechukwu Uwaezuoke reports

I

sn't that obvious? All puns were intended with the choice of the exhibition's title, The SILVA Lining— Imal Silva; The Man, His Art, and His Journey. After all, wasn’t the retrospective exhibition, whose opening on Sunday, December 18, last year heralded the inauguration of the TECH Art Gallery in Ibadan, all about the life and work of the Sri Lankan-born social entrepreneur, Imal Silva, in the Oyo State capital?

7KH H[KLELWLRQ·V RͿHULQJV ZKLFK DUH a collection of paintings, prints, and photographs by Silva, were produced between 2000 and 2012 when he relocated to Abuja. Silva was just ten years old when he and his mother relocated from Sri Lanka to Ibadan. During his years growing up in Ibadan, where he attended the International School and the University of Ibadan, art practice and its ancillary activities became the theme song of his life. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that he eventually established the Treasures4Life Art Gallery, which is oftentimes shortened as T4L. Talking about T4L, it was said to have grown in stature as the largest and most active hub for promoting almost 250 artists and providing industrial training for students from four higher institutions in Oyo State.

Perhaps based on its success, Silva ZDV PRWLYDWHG WR VHW XS WKH ÀUVW museum of medical history at the University College Hospital, from the layout to the construction of all the models and exhibition of artefacts, ZKLFK ZDV D VLJQLÀFDQW XVH RI DUW LQ promoting medicine.

Not even the fact that his parents were both scientists dissuaded him from toeing the path of his life’s passion. Neither did this passion fade, even as he eventually graduated from the University of Ibadan with a second-class upper-division degree in biochemistry.

“Art is our constant,” Silva was quoted as saying. “It is our 'nature', the genetic make-up we possess and our 'nurture', the locations and FLUFXPVWDQFHV ZH JURZ XS LQ GHÀQH our artistic direction. An artist has D UHVSRQVLELOLW\ RI RͿHULQJ WKRXJKW leadership to his or her generation.

Our artistic journeys, therefore, are both a testament to our diversity and expression individually. I believe as artists we can make it also a collective celebration of our similarities and HYHQ RXU GLͿHUHQFHV µ Meanwhile, the exhibition's opening ceremony on December 18 featured a keynote talk by Dr Tunde Adegbola, a renowned engineer and culture champion, titled "The History of Ibadan Art" and focused on the backdrop of Ibadan's art movements. There was

Arugbo Ojo, oil on canvas painting by Imal Silva

Silva

also a presentation by Silva highlighting the programmes and projects he organised while in Ibadan, as well as a discussion panel moderated by the curator, Blessing Bee Azubike, in which he featured alongside Oluwole Omofemi, Tope Fatunmbi, and Dr Mudiare Onobrakpeya.

“When Imal Silva was invited to be the subject of this event,” the curator,

Oke Aare by Imal Silva

Blessing Bee Azubike, recalled, “I thought that it was timely as it marks a decade since his move from Ibadan, the city which shaped him—and it also comes at a time when the dust on the ancient city is being EORZQ RͿ DQG LWV WUXH SRWHQWLDO is slowly being unveiled – with articles like ‘The Past Glory is

Returning,’ a November 2022 Aljazeera feature.”

Silva's long residence in Ibadan, the city from whence he set out on his visual odyssey through Nigeria, fostered his artistic career. It was in this southwestern Nigerian city that he not only used art for public engagement but also conducted several workshops and held many exhibitions.

These exhibitions were mainly to raise awareness about people with disabilities, voluntary blood donation, and rape and sexual abuse. Mother-andChild exhibitions, for example, were a popular way to raise awareness about maternal and child health.

Besides his maiden exhibition at his Treasures4Life Art Gallery in 2006, Silva’s other exhibitions in the city included those at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, IITA, in 2006, the Golf Club in 2007, the Booksellers in 2007, the National Museum, Ibadan, in 2007, the Polo Club, Ibadan, in 2008, and the Alliance Française in 2008. He also featured at the Talking Drum Festival in 2008, at the Foreign Relations Group, University of Ibadan, in 2008, at the Nigerian Society for Information, Arts, and Culture in 2008, during the West African Youth Entrepreneurship Summit at the Cultural Centre in 2008, at the Educare Trust Exhibition in 2009, at the Institute of African Studies in 2009, at the National Museum in 2009, at the Yoruba Academy in 2009, at the Oyo State Arts and Culture Fair, Cultural Centre, in 2009, and at the Ibadan Poetry Awards Exhibition in 2012, among others.

Silva, who was once a former student of the revered nonagenarian artist Bruce Onobrakpeya, became almost legendary through his art activism while in Ibadan. Besides his advisory role at the Oyo State Ministry of Information, Arts, and Culture, he was also a past executive of Alliance Française, Ibadan, a two-time judge at the Life in My City art competition, and a member of the Nigerian Field Society and Museum Society. Additionally, he frequently appeared as a guest on national and international television networks to talk about topics relating to art and has been well documented in national dailies.

Back to his most recent exhibition, The SILVA Lining, whose nuanced message of hope for a troubled nation appears to have struck a chord with many. Hence, Francis E. Madojemu said during the launch of the TECH Art Gallery that the topics discussed at the event were "life-changing for Nigeria," adding: "Mr Silva concluded this evening’s programme, saying ‘this is an opportunity to rebrand our nation’ and I couldn’t agree with him more... and there’s nothing better than the arts (to achieve this)."

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER JANUARY 15 , 2023

56

ENGAGEMENTS

with ChidiAmuta e-mail:chidi.amuta@gmail.com

Buhari’s Long Farewell

I

n recent weeks, President Muhammadu Buharihasbeenunusuallybusy.Inaddition tohisnormalroutinesinthelineofduty,the presidenthasbeenmakingthemostofthe last lap of his rather unflattering tenure.

Throughaseriesoffarewellutterancesand gesturesthatwilllastfromnowtillMay,he has been reminding Nigerians that he is on his way out of an eight year long paid vacation in Aso Rock Villa. In the process, he has assumed the role of his ownpersonalvaledictorian.Perhapsunsureofthe tenacity of his in- house squad of town criers, the president is personally laying the guideposts for his way out of power and, in the process, implicitly definingtheoutlinesofwhatheconsidershislegacy.

While in Washington to attend the US-Africa conference last December, Mr. Buhari told virtually everyone that dropped by that he was tired of the job he has occupied for nearly as long as he spent seeking it. He told one audience that he felt constantlyharassedonthejob.Heequallyportrayed his Nigerian compatriots as hard to satisfy, insisting to a visiting United Arab Emirates interfaith delegation that he has ‘done his best’ for Nigeria.

He continued on the same note a few days back whenagovernmentdelegationfromBurundicame callingattheVilla.Inallofthis,hehasnotfailedtosing his own praises by highlighting what he considers his sterling achievements and landmark legacies.

Inanhourlongdocumentaryonhislifeandcareer trajectorywhichrecentlyairedonmajortelevision networksnationwide,thepresidentfillssomegaps abouthisprivatelifeandprovidessomebackground to his actions both in office and in his private life.

Buharicappedhisvaledictoryresumeinhisfinal New Year message to Nigerians on January 1st.

Hesummeduphisdefiningmissioninthetheme of a man who meant well and gave of his best to his nation, but is leaving the helm under appreciated andharassed.Theimpressionhegivesofhisfellow Nigeriansoverwhomhepresidedisthatofapeople thataredifficulttosatisfy,apublicwhoseexpectationsaresohighthateventheleader’sbestishardly enough.Oneofthehighpointsofthisrecentpersonal self portraits is a certain note of self pity and even self-deprecatingpathoswhenthepresidentrecalls his bitterness on realizing that quite a number of Nigerians had gone to town with the incredulous tale that the real Buhari died in a London hospital andwasreplacedbyanAsoRockpowercabalwitha SudaneseclonecalledJubril.Nonetheless,liketheold soldierthatheis,Buhariindicatedthatheisleaving office on the familiar military commander’s note of: “mission accomplished”. The summary of what mayturnoutasBuhari’slongfarewellis,therefore, simply this: ‘I have done my best for Nigeria.’

Before the praises and condemnations drown out reason, Buhari needs to be acknowledged in his correct historical location. In the growing pantheon of Nigeria’s former rulers, Mr. Buhari is abouttoleaveofficeinablazeofsomelandmarks.

Hate him or love him, the sprightly Daura general is likely to be the last of the civil war generals to ever seek elective presidential power in Nigeria.

Buhari is also the second Nigerian leader to have presided over the affairs of the nation as both an activeduty soldierandanelectedcivilianpolitician.

Even in that capacity, he holds a record as the first oftheretiredcivilwargeneralstoseektheofficeof electedpresidentforthehighestnumberoftimes.

More significantly, Buhari is the first Nigerian leadertobeproppedintoelectivepowerbyaseries ofmythsandtoexitpowerafterpersonallybursting and demolishing nearly all aspects of his enabling mythology.

Themythofthe‘cando‘advocatehasturnedout apatheticembodimentofepicincompetence.The man believed to be an island of personal integrity has comfortably co-habited with and stomached all manner of crooks around the citadel of power for eight years. His famed façade of impeccable nationalism has degenerated into unparalleled nativism, sectionalism and sickening nepotism. A reputationforcarefuleconomicmanagementhas plunged the nation into a N77 trillion debt pit with an exchange rate of over N750 to one US dollar. A generalbeliefintheman’smilitarybackgroundasa solutiontoinsecurityhasconvertedthenationinto abrutishkillingfieldandvirtualHobbesianstateof nature. A belief that Buhari could unite the nation around prudence and nationalism has yielded a nation that has become fragmented into hostile factions and ethnic enclaves. Our famed unity in diversity has turned into a nightmare of hate and endless recriminations.

TheironythatdefinestheessenceoftheBuhari

Buhari

phenomenonisperhapsbestcapturedinbeerparlor andbarbershopbanteralloverthecountry. Thejoke on every street corner is that it is a curious blessing that the Buhari was returned to power. If he failed to return to power as an elected president after so many desperate attempts , , his ardent devotees would have tormented Nigerians by insisting that Nigeria is a ‘paradise lost’ because messiah Buhari was somehow excluded from presidential power by unkind forces. Some devotees may even have invadedthesocialmediawithpostslamentingabout ‘the best president Nigeria never had’!

Yet, Mr. Buhari cannot be denied certain scores.

Whatever his end legacy ultimately turns out to be, Buhari achieved a feat in Nigerian history. As a militaryofficer,hehadenoughprofessionalpresence to convince his colleagues to place him at the helm of a military administration for two years. He was also able to convince the political elite to make him electablein2015andtosustainhiminpowerfortwo fullpresidentialtermsupto2022.Tothatextent,he deserves the benefit of the doubts that accrue to every leader in a democracy.

By its very nature, the challenge of leadership in a democracy includes the ability to walk the distance between good intentions and the limitations in executionforcedbyresourcegapsandhumanfactors.

This is not to deny the force of public opinion in its responsibilitytokeepleadersontheirtoes.Leaders areelectedtoleadanddeliverresultsthatenhancethe livesofthepeople,nottoofferendlessexcuses.That istheimperativeofpublicopinionineverydemocracy.

In his newfound role as his own valedictorian, however,thepresidenthasjustoverreachedhimself.

He says his rowdy ruling party, the All Progressives Congress(APC),hasfulfilledALLitscampaignpromisesmadetoNigeriansin2014-15!Thepresidentwas perhaps obviously courting a needless controversy as his own contribution to the lifeless campaign of his troubled party. It could also be a deliberate distortion informed by his own habitual aloofness from reality. The chances are that an otherwise well meaningpresidentmayhavebeensoalienatedfrom therealitiesofthesocietythatheismistakingillusion for reality. In that case, it is quite possible that the APC may have been overcome by a viral amnesia.

But the rest of us are still wide awake.

Even then, not every Nigerian has the generosity of spirit to let Buhari go home in self delusion. Ever the gadfly of the public conscience, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Mathew Hassan Kukah, has unfailingly reminded Buhari that he has led Nigeria into “the valley of the shadows of death” and the depths of darkness.

Most Nigerian adults recall vividly that in the run up to the 2015 elections, the APC with Mr. Buhari as its electoral mascot promised to end insecurity and terrorism, restore the economy by enhancing the Naira exchange rate then at N185 to US$1, fight corruptiontoastandstill,andensurefoodsecurity.We canonlyassesstheoutgoingBuhariadministration bytheextentofitssuccessintheseareas.Theseare targetsandobjectivesitfreelysetforitselfwithout anycompulsionwhatsoever.Theyarethearticlesof faithonthebasisofwhichitsoughtandsecuredthe mandateofthepeople.Evenonthislimitedshopping list,thescorecardaftereightyearsistooabysmally embarrassing to warrant any chest beating either by the party or its now lame duck flag bearer.

ItisgoodthatBuharireturnedandhasruledNigeria foreightyearsasanelectedpresident.Inthecourse of this period, he has earned a right to be judged like every other elected sovereign. It is of course hard todenyanyleadertheirrighttoself-assessmentat the end of their tenure. No one can fairly deny this president some direct credits.

A few roads and bridges have been built. Of particular note is the Second Niger Bridge at Onitsha, thefirstmajorfederalinfrastructureundertakingin theSoutheast53yearsaftertheendofthecivilwar!

Railwayprojectsbegunbypreviousadministrations have been completed even if insecurity has made mostoftherailcorridorsunusable.Passengerswho boarded trains to familiar places have ended up in the den of bandits and kidnappers. A long delayed implementation of a petroleum industries bill has seen the national oil company restructured and prepped for full commercialization.

Yet the menace of terrorism and universal insecurity remains pervasive. In spite of some feverish military operations in recent weeks, Boko Haram and its various franchises remain in active business in a number of states like Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, Niger, Kaduna and the president’s home state of Katsina. Elsewhere in the country, kidnapping, banditry, rampaging gunmen of various iterations remain on the loose and are causing death and mayhem on a scale hitherto unknown.

Fearshaverecentlyrisenthatrampantinsecurityin manypartsofthecountryespeciallythesoutheast and northeast could frighten off many voters from the elections in February. At best there may be low voter turnout in the worst affected areas. At worst it could lead to ballot suppression in a few places thereby undermining the credibility and universal acceptability of the elections and their results. Bad political consequences might follow.

Thepresidentandhisteamneednotcontinuedig-

gingforlegacies.Theyalreadyhaveasurfeitofthem.

Mr. Buhari is leaving behind quite a few memorable firstsinthehistoryofNigeriangovernance.Insecurity in the last seven years has claimed more lives than at any other equivalent time frame in peace time Nigeria. In addition, the administration is leaving behind over 130 million Nigerians certified in the world’s largest poverty republic in the world. Over 40%ofthetotalpopulationofover200millionisunemployed.Forthefirsttimesincethecreationofthe 775localgovernments,550ofthemareenveloped by insecurity, hit by terrorism, banditry, kidnapping or separatist insurgent violence. Of Nigeria’s 36 statesandtheFederalCapitalTerritory(FCT),active combatmilitaryformationsareengagedininternal security operations in 33 states. According to The Economist, over 3,000 Nigerians were kidnapped last year alone, another unprecedented legacy in the kitty of the administration.

On the economic front, Mr. Buhari is also leaving quite some legacy. For the first time in Nigerian history, a serving Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeriaaspiredandpreppedtorunforapresidential electionasapartisanpoliticianandstillretainedhis office.Thesameindividualhasbeensuedtocourtby theapexinternalsecurityoutfit,theDepartmentof State Security (DSS), for alleged heinous offences includingterrorismfinancingwhilestillinofficeand nothinghasbeenheardfromthePresidency.Forthe first time in national history, over 100% of annual revenueisgoingintodebtservicing.The2023federal budget contains the highest deficit figure (over 12 trillion Naira) in our national history with no clear indication of how the deficit will be financed. The Debt Management Office of the government has revealedthattheBuharigovernmentisleavingadebt of 77 trillion Naira for the incoming administration.

For the first time also, the open market exchange rate of the Naira to the benchmark US dollar is now N750 to $1!

At the level of governance, Mr. Buhari has set his own records. He has clocked up easily the highest numberoftravelairmilesthanhispredecessors.He hasbeenabsentfromthecountryforover230days, mostly on medical leave in the United Kingdom. He hasbeeninattendanceatnearlyeveryforumwhere Nigeria was expected to be present. These range fromhighlytechnicalconferenceswhosesubjectshe knewlittleornothingabouttoroutineUnitedNations, AfricanUnionandECOWASassembliesofheadsof state.Andtothinkthatthiselaboratetravelhistory has been undertaken by a government that never made articulated foreign policy in eight years! The presidentplayedtheroleofforeignministerinspite of the fixture in that portfolio. This is in addition to the portfolio of petroleum minister which Buhari held for the entire eight years of his two terms.

ItisacurioustributetoMr.Buhari’suniquecontribution to Nigerian governance that he maintained a systeminwhichkeyministersandheadsofstrategic institutionswererunningtheirownshowsinanuncoordinated administration in which the government spokewithseveralvoicesonnearlyeveryimportant subject of national interest.

Whilethegovernmentiscrowingaboutitspositive achievementsathome,arecordnumberofNigerian youth,includingqualifiedprofessionalsinmedicine, information technology, basic sciences, engineering and nursing are trooping out of the country in an unprecedented deluge of emigration hitherto unknown in Nigerian history. Our skilled youth are trooping to Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Australia.

This catalogue of unenviable legacies ought to compel a more penitent attitude on the part of the outgoing president and his party. They ought to be items in a rhetoric of regret and even apologies to most Nigerians who now feel largely betrayed by a government and party they gave an overwhelming mandatetomaketheirlivesbetterbutinsteadturned the country into a hell hole.

Perhaps President Buhari’s most enduring legacy is to be located in the subversive essence of the nation he is leaving behind. Because of the Buharimisfortune,Nigeriansarenowpoisedtomake democracyproduceleaderswhowillensurethatthe country is no longer unsafe, that the economy will never again be left in disarray and that our nation is rescuedfromdisintegration.Itisthedetermination never again to see a repeat of the Buhari model of leadershipthathasbecomethedrivingforcebehind theenthusiasmaboutnextmonth’sgeneralelections.

As Nigerians unanimously look forward to positive anti-Buhari change on May 29th, the attitude to President Buhari and his long good bye is simply: Just Go! Enough is Enough!!

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER JANUARY 15, 2023

CICERO

Editor: Ejiofor Alike SMS: 08066066268 email:ejiofor.alike@thisdaylive.com

IN THE ARENA

Who’s Targeting CBN, INEC Heads?

The alleged failed plots to remove the heads of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof.

Mahmood Yakubu and the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, ahead of the forthcoming general election should remind Nigerians that the price to pay for liberty is vigilance, writes Louis Achi

T

he failed plots were certainly no hare-brained project by nitwits. The subterfuge, timing, forces enlisted and possibly, the funding scope were not ordinary but showed some sophistication. Conspiracy theorists, rightly or wrongly, have fingered unnamed politicians allegedly with large financial war-chests whose political odysseys are calculated to expire with the 2023 general election as culprits.

That these mafia-type events came curiously on the eve of Africa’s most consequential democratic presidential election tends to validate some of the speculations.

In the cross-hairs of these overly ambitious alleged system gamers are the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele and the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu. The policies both have conceived and berthed will no doubt boost the organisational integrity of the general election and frustrate the old-fashioned rigging plots.

But in all these high-octane plots to remove Emefiele and Yakubu on specious, trumped up charges, one fact stood out starkly and ultimately saved the day: President Muhammadu Buhari’s supportive position, a watchful and alert judiciary and the activist civil societies’ nifty interventions. President Buhari has repeatedly assured Nigerians of his determination to leave an untainted electoral transition legacy and an economy reasonably stabilised even against the enervating vagaries of the global village.

Last week, the blunt-talking national chairman of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) Chief Dan Nwanyanwu cut to the heart of the matter when he asserted in a national television interview that “The threats against the 2023 general election are potent. We have seen a lot of insecurity across the country, the latest being the attempts by some politicians to truncate the use of the BIVAS (Bimodal Voter Accreditation System) and IReV (INEC Election Result Viewing Portal) and also taking some legal processes to get the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to be removed from office.”

Nwanyanwu whose position aligns with that of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) further added: “First, they went to a court in Umuahia. They had no facts. They presented nothing. It was based on speculation. The court dismissed it. They went on appeal and the Court of Appeal dismissed it. They came back to Abuja which matter was dismissed last week. Probably, they may go to either Damaturu or Sokoto or anywhere because they are forum shopping.

“That reminds me of what happened in 1993 where the Association for Better Nigeria (ABN) took a court process which truncated the declaration of that election’s results. So, they are following that trajectory of using the courts to stop the process of election, the use of BIVAS and removing the INEC chairman. They know very well that the INEC chairman, the commission and the parties are resolute on this new innovation that is in place, which took about two years for us to get to where we are.

“And we want to get it to fruition. They don’t want it. Most poli-

Emefiele

Yakubu ticians in Nigeria don’t want anything straight. They must involve Gestapo tactics which has been the bane of our politics since 1999.

They love the Incidence Form whereby they will bypass the Card Reader; even bypass everything in the Voters’ Register and vote”.

The ZLP national chairman also held that, “We must commend the judiciary so far for stoutly standing against the frivolous court cases and ensuring plots don’t see the light of the day.”

It could be recalled that penultimate week, Justice M. A. Hassan of the FCT High Court in a judgment he delivered, dismissed a suit challenging the legitimacy of the assets declared by INEC Chairman, Yakubu, for being incompetent and lacking in merit.

Subsequently, he barred security agencies from investigating the INEC boss over his valid assets declaration. According to the judgment, contrary to the claim of the claimant, Somadina Uzoabaka, the Assets Declaration Form of Yakubu was lawful, valid and in compliance with the law.

Uzoabaka had in the suit sought for the removal of Yakubu as INEC chairman over alleged falsehood in his Assets Declaration Form. Defendants in the Originating Summons marked FCT/HC/ GAR/CV/47/202 are the Attorney General of the Federation and

Prof. Yakubu.

The claimant had sought among other things an order of mandatory injunction directing and compelling the INEC Chairman to recuse, excuse and exclude himself and or step down as the Chairman of INEC pending the investigation and consideration of the various allegations against him by the various law enforcement agencies. The quirky claimant also sought an order of Court barring the INEC Chairman from holding or assuming any public office for a period of 10 years.

But under the watchful eyes of the judiciary, Uzoabaka’s stunt, obviously a proxy project, was dead on arrival.

In the plot targeting the CBN boss, it came to light recently in a strange drama that the Department of State Services (DSS) had surreptitiously sought the order of a Federal High Court in Abuja, to arrest Emefiele. The secret police had filed an ex parte application for an order for the arrest of the CBN governor over alleged “acts of financing terrorism, fraudulent activities and economic crimes of national security dimension.”

The DSS had filed the application marked FHC/ABJ/ CS/2255/2022 at the court on December 7, 2022, suing Emefiele as the sole respondent in the ex parte application. But an alert Justice John Tsoho, who is the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, in a ruling on December 9, 2022, rejected the application on the grounds that the secret police failed to provide sufficient evidence to warrant the issuance of an arrest warrant against Emefiele.

According to the judge, the depositions in the affidavit filed by the DSS in support of its application “purport that preliminary investigation has revealed various acts of terrorism financing, fraudulent activities perpetrated by the respondent and his involvement in economic crimes of national security dimension.”

Rejecting the application, the judge said: “These are no doubt grave allegations, but which the applicant has not presented any concrete evidence to support.” He also insisted the SSS failed to clearly identify the person against whom the arrest warrant was sought, observing it remained speculation whether the person was the same Godwin Emefiele serving as the CBN governor.

Proffering charges bothering on “acts of financing terrorism, fraudulent activities and economic crimes of national security dimension,” are by any parameters extreme - and worse when they are unproven and not provable.

Emerging facts indicate that the plot to nail Emefiele stems from politicians’ discomfort with the economic policy of the bank, especially the re-designation of the naira and imposition of cash withdrawal limits.

CBN’s cash withdrawal limits and the currency re-designation will undercut the amount of cash desperate politicians, especially those who see 2023 general election as their last window, can stockpile for illegitimate voter inducement and bribery of security personnel and other relevant officials during the looming elections.

The emerging consensus is that the unfolding scenarios serve to remind Nigerians that the price for liberty is vigilance.

P O L I T I CA L N OT E S

The Presidential Candidate of G-5 Governors

The G-5 Governors

After gallivanting around the world, engaging in anti-party activities by making unguarded utterances against their party to catch headlines, negotiating with the presidential candidates of rival parties and openly courting the leaders of opposition parties, the G-5 governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State have not yet demonstrated courage to publicly unveil their choice of presidential candidate.

Governors Wike, Seyi Makinde (Oyo State), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu State), Samuel Ortom (Benue State) and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State fell out with their presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar over the refusal of the National Chairman of the party, Dr.

Iyorchia Ayu to relinquish his position to a southerner.

When information filtered in last month that the G-5 had reached a final agreement with the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, Nigerians, particularly their supporters, had awaited a public announcement by Wike’s camp. But the “fearless” group who had vowed to fight for “justice and fairness” has not mustered the courage to publicly unveil their choice.

While Wike and Makinde were said to have agreed to openly work for Tinubu, Ugwuanyi and Ikpeazu reportedly agreed to work silently for the former Lagos State governor to avoid the wrath of the supporters of the

Labour Party (LP), who have the capacity to frustrate their political ambitions in the South-east. Ortom, on the other hand, opted to work for Obi. But none has made any public pronouncement. Even Ortom, in his press statement supporting Obi, acknowledged that as a member of the PDP, he would not lead Obi’s campaign.

According to media reports, Ugwuanyi was on hand to welcome Tinubu for the APC presidential campaign in the state on Wednesday but did not utter any word to show his supporters that the former Lagos State governor is his preferred choice. Where then is the G-5 governors’ courage to fight “injustice”? Many believe the governors are fighting for their selfish interests.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER JANUARY 15, 2023

BRIEFINGNOTES Has the Signing of Peace Accord Curbed Violence?

Despite the signing of the peace accord put together by the National Peace Committee in September 2022 by the various political parties and their candidates, the preparations for the forthcoming general election have continued to witnessassassinationsofpoliticalopponents,attacksatcampaignrallies,destructionofbillboardsofopposition candidates, denial of political parties venues for their rallies and other acts of violence, Ejiofor Alike writes

T

o ensure the peaceful conduct of political parties, their candidates and supporters before, during and after every general or off-season election, a peace accord was put together by the National Peace Committee (NPC), co-led by a former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd); Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar II; Cardinal John Onayeikan; Bishop Hassan Kukah and other eminent statesmen, shortly before the 2015 general election.

The peace accord, which has become a permanent feature of Nigeria’s electoral process, boosts efforts at ensuring free, fair and credible elections in the country.

Before every general election or off-season governorship election, political parties, and their candidates are mandated to sign this peace accord to commit to a peaceful conduct. Though the signing of this agreement has stopped the signatories from directly promoting acts of violence before, during and after elections, it has not stopped their supporters and agents from unleashing violence on the opposition parties.

With the caliber of eminent statesmen who put together the accord, party officials and their presidential and governorship candidates who sign the agreement cannot afford to be seen as violating the terms of the accord. But many of these candidates still give subtle backing to their supporters who unleash violence on the rival parties.

Ahead of this year’s general election, 18 political parties vying for elective positions had in September 2022 signed the agreement.

All the chairmen and presidential candidates of the 18 registered political parties signed the peace accord under the guidance of officials of the NPC at a ceremony in Abuja.

However, while the presidential candidates of 17 other political parties signed the agreement along with the national chairmen of their parties, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, was represented by APC vice presidential candidate, Alhaji Kashim Shettima.

Among the political parties and presidential candidates present at the peace accord signing ceremony were the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, that of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Peter Umeadi; Labour Party, (LP) candidate, Mr. Peter Obi; and the APC candidate, Tinubu, represented by the vice presidential candidate,

Abdulsalami

Kukah

Shettima.

In his goodwill message at the event, President Muhammadu Buhari had expressed worry at the politicians’ recourse to personal attacks, insults and incitement by politicians in the build-up to their campaigns.

He enjoined all Nigerians, political parties, politicians, security agencies, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and all stakeholders to ensure that Nigeria was placed first above regional and sectional claims.

Despite the signing of the accord, the ongoing preparations for the elections have witnessed assassination of candidates and party leaders, destruction of billboards, attacks on campaign rallies by sponsored hoodlums, denial of opposition parties the venues for their rallies and other acts of violence. While these acts of violence cannot be traced to one political party or candidate, the greatest victims of these atrocities are the political parties that do not control any state in the country.

Though the Abdulsalami-led NPC may not have the statutory power to sanction culprits, it has strong influence to prevail on the appropriate authorities or the highest level of the political authority to initiate criminal proceedings against the violators.

These acts of violence are being perpetrated across the states controlled by the different political parties.

Thugs had earlier this month attacked the convoy of Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State at the state capital while he was returning from the PDP campaign Silame in Wamakko Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.

The attackers reportedly threw stones at the convoy, striking the front windscreen of the governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity’s SUV and also piercing the rear screen of the following official SUV of the Permanent Secretary in charge of the governor’s protocol.

In Enugu State controlled by the PDP, for instance, gunmen had in September 2022 attacked members of the LP who were holding a meeting in Awgu community, Awgu Local Government Area of the state.

The gunmen, numbering about four, were said to have stormed the venue of the meeting in three motorcycles and shot sporadically causing the party members to flee.

In October 2022, four gunmen in two motorcycles disrupted another Labour Party’s meeting at Umuida, Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of the state.

They set a car, tricycles and motorcycles

ablaze in the process.

The APC-controlled state of Borno also witnessed violence in November 2022 when about 74 persons were allegedly hospitalised, while over 100 vehicles were vandalised as hoodlums from different political parties clashed when Atiku stormed Maiduguri for his campaign rally.

In the APC-controlled Kaduna State, the women leader of the Labour Party in Kaura LGA of the state, Mrs. Victoria Chintex, was gruesomely murdered in November 2022 by gunmen, who invaded her residence in Kaura.

Sponsored hoodlums had in October 2022 invaded and disrupted the PDP rally in the state.

A renowned political economist, Prof. Pat Utomi said landlords in the APC-controlled Lagos State were not renting houses out to LP to use as party offices.

Utomi, who made this disclosure in an exclusive interview with an online news platform, said, “In Lagos State, you cannot put up a poster. If you want to rent a house, for the Labour Party, the landlord will say he doesn’t want APC people to come and burn down his house. You put up posters, they are torn within minutes.”

Indeed, suspected APC thugs in the Lakowe town area of Lekki had unleashed terror on some Labour Party supporters who were holding a sensitisation rally in the area last month.

Two supporters of Obi had narrowly escaped being lynched at the Oshodi motor park in Lagos, for being in possession of the party’s flags.

In APC’s Imo State, the LP candidate for Onuimo Local Government Area in the state House of Assembly, Mr. Christopher Elewu, was shot dead in his home in December 2022 by suspected assassins.

In Rivers State controlled by the PDP, suspected political thugs had in early December 2022 attacked the residence of Senator Lee Maeba in the GRA, Phase 3 axis of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Maeba, who is a supporter of Atiku, is the chairman of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council in Rivers State.

Atiku has a running battle with the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike and the disagreement is believed to be responsible for the attack on the former senator’s residence.

The thugs reportedly destroyed about five cars, including a jeep.

As if the incident was not enough, Wike later sealed the Atiku’s campaign office in Port Harcourt.

Political actors should put pressure on the NPC to check these excesses, otherwise the peace accord will lose its relevance.

NOTES FOR FILE

Bolanle Raheem: Lai Mohammed’s Curious Silence

Mohammed

ManyNigerianleaders,includingPresidentMuhammaduBuhariandseveralothers,haveallcondemned the gruesome killing of a Lagos-based lawyer, Mrs. Bolanle Raheem, by a trigger-happy police officer, Drambi Vandi.

In line with his zero-tolerance to any act of misconduct by police personnel, the Inspector General of Police (IG), Alkali Baba, had since recommended the suspension of the officer, who has since been charged to court.

However,theMinisterofInformationandCulture, Lai Mohammed is one top official of the federal government that has maintained curious silence on the gruesome murder of the innocent woman, whowasreportedlypregnantwithtwinsbeforeher untimely death.When aggrieved Nigerians took to

thestreetsinOctober2020toprotestthebrutality and killing of innocent Nigerians by the disbanded SpecialAnti-RobberySquad(SARS),Mohammed hadshoutedtothehighheavens,blamingtheyouths and the social media for the mayhem unleashed on the police by the protesters. Mohammed had insistedthatthecauseofthe#ENDSARSprotests was fake news and argued that the social media should be regulated.

EvenwhenthepolicetophierarchyandPresident MuhammedBuhariacknowledgedtheexcessesof thedreadedSARS,disbandedit,andmadegenuine effortstoreformthepolice,Mohammedlaunched nationwidemediacampaignsagainsttheorganisers of the protests, insisting that fake news caused the riots.While nobody should justify the killing of

policemenandothersecurityagentsbyhoodlums thathijackedtheprotests,manyNigerianleaders, except Mohammed, were sensitive to the thousands of innocents Nigerians sent to their early gravesbyunscrupulouspolicemenovertheyears.

Whiletheministerwasbusybandyingthefigures ofnumberofsecurityagentskilledbytheprotesters, he refused to acknowledge that this number wasfarlessthanthenumberofinnocentNigerian youthsallegedlykilledbyonlythedreadedAwkuzu SARS in Anambra State before the protests. He ignored the fact that Nigerians were angry, not because of the fake incident reported in Delta State, which triggered the protests, but because ofthekillingsofinnocentNigeriansovertheyears by policemen.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER JANUARY 15, 2023

CICERO/ISSUES

Atiku, Tinubu, Obi, Kwankwaso’s Battle for Control of Kano As the February 25, 2023 presidential election approaches, the candidates of the four major political parties - Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party, are battling to grab significant chunk of Kano’s six million votes, Ibrahim Shuaibu reports

T

he 2023 general election is not going to be business-as-usual in Kano State due to the emergence of many presidential candidates that have array of foot soldiers in the epic centre of political activities in northern Nigeria. Kano voters have been warming up to vote for competent candidates of their choice from the four major contenders in the various political parties ahead of the next month’s presidential election.

Election of the president will be an exciting exercise in the political atmosphere of the state in view of the candidates’ renewed effort to garner the support of the people. Most of the presidential candidates have so far proven themselves going by their various ways of approaching the people.

The candidates of the four major political parties are Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).

Abubakar The former vice president is believed to be a household name among the electorate in the state.

However, his albatross is that he lacks foot soldiers who would work and ensure his acceptance by the electorate who are very much familiar with his name.

The PDP stalwarts whom the Wazirin Adamawa is relying on are believed to lack sufficient number of followers in the state.

Again, the in-fighting between the Aminu Wali faction and the Shehu Wada Sagagi faction of the PDP in the state would not help matters for Atiku, as followers of the two groups are deeply polarised thus diminishing the chances of the presidential candidate and the party itself in the forthcoming poll.

However, the defection of Senator Malam Ibrahim Shekarau from the APC to the PDP could pull surprises in the favour of Atiku as the former governor of Kano State came in with large followership that might get millions of votes for the PDP presidential candidate. While politicians like the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ghali Umar NaAbba will also be a great asset for Atiku next month, a former Commissioner for Agriculture during the Kwankwaso-led administration, Hajia Baraka Sani will also secure votes from women for the former vice president due to her resourcefulness and being a good mobiliser in the state.

Atiku’s campaign coordinators in the state include Senator Bello Hayatu Gwarzo; Ibrahim Al-Amin Little; Dr. Inusa Adamu Dangwani, former chief of staff to Kwankwaso; and Sadiq Aminu Wali, the state PDP governorship candidate who is facing court case with Muhammad Sani Abacha.

Abacha is the court-recognised governorship candidate of the PDP, and the matter is on appeal.

All these PDP chieftains will help Atiku to get votes in the state.

However, the dispute between the court-sacked governorship candidate, Wali and the court-recognised candidate, Abacha, may lead to protest votes against Atiku and play a spoiler-role in the ambition of the former vice president.

Atiku is allegedly supporting Wali against Abacha.

Tinubu In Kano State, Bola Tinubu’s campaign crusade is being spearheaded by the ruling party in the state under the watchful eyes of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje who has constantly boasted that the state would deliver the highest vote for Tinubu in the election.

In view of the large number of votes for grabs in Kano State, Tinubu has turned the state to his second home, after Lagos State by his regular visits to the state.

The APC is in control of the state’s 44 local

He said the party might lose to the NNPP led by the ex-governor of the state, Kwankwaso, whom he described as a formidable grassroots politician.

Doguwa had also alleged that the deputy governorship candidate, Garo, was a mole in the APC, allegedly working for Atiku, whom he described as Garo’s in-law.

All these are potential threats to the ambition of the APC presidential candidate.

Atiku

Tinubu

Obi

Kwankwaso

government areas and majority members of the state House of Assembly and National Assembly members.

Ganduje had reportedly promised Tinubu that Kano State would repeat what happened during the 1993 presidential election when the state supported a southern candidate and rejected its citizen.

“This showed the political maturity and dexterity of Kano citizens. We voted for Chief MKO Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and rejected Bashir Othman Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC), because we all believed in national integration and competence,” Ganduje had reportedly declared.

Tinubu will likely get a large chunk of the votes in Kano going by the number of political positions being controlled by the APC in the state.

Ganduje reminded Nigerians that the APC presidential candidate had supported northerners on different occasions for the presidency.

“Tinubu was an instrument behind making Atiku Abubakar to become the presidential candidate of Action Congress (AC). He also provided another platform for Nuhu Ribadu to contest for the presidency under the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN),” Ganduje reportedly said.

The governor has been making all the necessary consultations with key stakeholders of the party to make sure that Tinubu garners the majority of the votes in the state.

Tinubu had on several visits to the commercial nerve centre of the north, held meetings with

business communities, Islamic and Christians leaders, politicians and elders of the state to rally their support for his long-time ambition to be the president.

Among the other top politicians supportingTinubu’s ambition in the state include the Minister of State for Power, Umar Ibrahim El Yakub; General Lawal Jaafaru Isa (rtd); General Abdurrahman Dambazau (rtd); Senator Barau Jibrin of Kano North; Senator Kabiru Gaya of Kano South; Alhassan Ado Doguwa, Leader of the House of Representatives; Alhaji Baffa Babba Dan Agundi; Alhaji Yusuf Ali; Alhaji Tanko Yakasai; and Alhaji Musa Gwadabe, former Minister of Labour, among others.

However, concerns have been raised that some of the APC chieftains in the state might betray the former Lagos State governor.

The Leader of the House of Representatives, Doguwa had also raised the alarm in November last year that the ruling party might lose the largest state in northern Nigeria due to the crisis in the state chapter of the party.

Doguwa, during a press briefing at the National Assembly, accused the deputy governorship candidate of the APC in the state, Martala Garo, of creating a political crisis by excluding the members of the National Assembly from the political structure of the state.

He stated that the ruling party risks losing the state if President Muhammadu Buhari and Ganduje fail to intervene.

Peter Obi The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi is not very popular among the Kano voters as the majority of the people in the state are more familiar with Tinubu, Atiku and Kwankwaso.

Obi’s lack of popularity is due to the fact that he is a new name in the politics of the state.

However, the former Anambra State governor is very popular among the educated people, mostly the vibrant youth population, and those living in the area populated by non-indigenes called Sabon Gari.

It is believed that the popularity of the party’s governorship candidate, Bashir I. Bashir will help Obi to secure a large chunk of votes in the state. As a party, the LP is not actually strong in the 44 local government areas of the state, but the watchers of the political events in the state believe that the large number of non-indigenes in the state may likely turn the tide in favour of Obi .

Currently, campaign posters or billboards of Obi could be hardly seen anywhere in the state capital. The top politicians campaigning for Obi in Kano are Bashir, the party’s governorship candidate, and Ahmed Raji, the state chairman of the party, among others.

Kwankwaso Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is a well-known name among the entire citizens of the state, because he served as the governor of the state for two terms and was also a senator for the Kano Central senatorial district. Kwankwaso, the presidential candidate of the NNPP, is the leader of the popular Kwankwasiyya Movement whose symbol is redcap. The redcap crusaders loyal to Kwankwaso can be spotted in every nook and cranny in the state.

Kwankwaso, a grassroots politician, controls the major political class in the state and has cult followership cut across the 44 local government areas.

Majority of his supporters consider him as the Messiah of the common man.

He had contributed immeasurably to the progress of the state during his administration. Kwankwaso served as Kano governor on the PDP platform but later defected to the APC in the build-up to the 2015 general election. He joined the NNPP after falling out with his handpicked successor and current governor, Ganduje.

The next month’s elections will clearly show his strength in the political atmosphere of Kano. His teeming supporters have always vowed to massively vote for him to ensure that he defeats the other three contenders in the state.

Kwankwaso is being supported by thousands of youths and top politicians, including the NNPP governorship candidate, Abba Kabir Yusuf; Senator Rafai Sani Hanga; Hon. Sulaiman Kawu Sumaila; a former Tinubu’s campaign director general, Hon. Abdulmimun Jibrin; Alhaji Ali Bukar Makoda, a former Chief of Staff to Ganduje; Hon. Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, former Speaker of the state House of Assembly; some members of the state House of Assembly and the National Assembly.

Some analysts therefore believe that with the uncertainty surrounding every election, Atiku, Tinubu and Kwankwaso, will end up sharing the votes on relatively equal basis, while Obi struggles to get the required 25 per cent.

Others, however, argue that the battle would be fiercely contested between Tinubu and Kwankwaso.

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NEWS

TECHNOLOGY ON THEIR MINDS… L-R: Director, Chemical Technology, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations, Mej Bassey; Minister of State for Science, Technology and Innovations, Mr. Henry Ikechukwu; Permanent Secretary ENOCK REUBEN in the ministry, Mrs. Monilola Udoh; and Director, Science and Technology Promotion, Alhaji Shuaibu Umaru, during the press briefing on 2023 Technology Expo in Abuja…recently

Tinubu Vows to Work with Military to Defeat Any Threat against Nigeria Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, yesterday promised that if elected president, he would join hands with the military in ensuring that Nigeria defeats every threat

to her nationhood.

Tinubu, in a statement issued yesterday by his Media Office, gave the assurance in a message of commendation and gratitude to members of the Nigerian Armed Forces on the occasion of this year’s Armed Forces Remembrance Day.

ATIKU: APC SYNONYMOUS WITH POVERTY, INSECURITY OBI: NIGERIA SAFE IN STINGY MAN’S HANDS fighting for? What I said and will continue to say is that all of us are from this country. Nobody is a second class citizen.

“We agreed that this is how our party will be. Recently Prof. A.B.C Nwosu resigned from the party saying his conscience will not allow him, that the constitution of the party is clear, if you take this, these other people will take that. Why now are we saying that we won’t do it again?

“What the people are saying is look, you have taken this, let these people take that and you are saying you will take all. If you take all, you will also face the repercussions,” Wike explained.

Kwankwaso Pledges to Prioritise Education, Job Creation If Elected President

In another development, the presidential candidate of the NNPP, Kwankwaso has said that education and job creation would be his priorities if elected president.

Kwankwaso stated this yesterday in Kaduna while flagging off his presidential campaign for Northwest Zone.

He described the NNPP’s blueprint as the best for Nigeria since it seeks to address the challenges facing the country.

He said if elected, his administration would build at least 500,000 classrooms to address the problem of the over 20 million out-of-school children in the country.

He also promised to stop the payments for WAEC, NECO and JAMB forms as well as the sale of application forms for admission to any tertiary institution in the country.

This, according to him, is to ensure that the children of the

less privileged have access to education at all levels.

Kwankwaso said, “Our blueprint is the best for Nigeria.

There is no time to enumerate everything because it is a 122page document.

“But there are some critical areas, especially the area of education where we have decided that we will cancel payments for any form either for WAEC or NECO or JAMB or application to any institution in this country.

“The idea is to allow the sons and daughters of the poor to go to the highest level of education.

The son of the poor under our government will reach his maximum potential in this country.

“At the primary level, we are going to build at least 500,000 classrooms for the out-of-school children who are today over 20 million.

“Under our arrangement, we will do whatever it takes to ensure that education is given a priority,” he explained.

He added that being poor should not stop any child from going to school.

The NNPP presidential candidate lamented the increasing rate of drug abuse, especially among the youth, promising that he will create jobs to engage them.

“We will create job opportunities to stop this madness of taking drugs. Our young men and women today, unfortunately, are taking too many drugs and that got to stop. That is what we have done in Kano”, he said.

He added that reformatory centres would be created across the country to rehabilitate drug addicts.

He said: “Those who get themselves involved in drugs, we will take them there to ensure they come out as normal people.”

The Armed Forces Remembrance Day is celebrated on January 15th of every year to remember veterans and honour the sacrifices of members of the Armed Forces.

The APC presidential candidate said that the Armed Forces have remained a great shield that has consistently fought against any threat to national security and peaceful coexistence.

He said: “The nation owes members of the armed forces – past and present – a huge debt of gratitude for keeping the country together as one” and defending its territorial integrity even at the risk of their lives.

“It is praiseworthy that despite the many threats and challenges faced by the nation at different junctures of her history, the Armed Forces have remained a great shield that has consistently fought against any threat to national security and peaceful coexistence.

“As we celebrate this year’s Armed Forces Remembrance Day on January 15, I want to place on record our deep

appreciation of the services of our Armed Forces men, past and present.

"I want to assure our veterans and those in active service that if elected president I will join hands with them in ensuring that Nigeria defeats every threat to her nationhood," he explained.

Tinubu reiterated that his administration would adequately support them and prioritise their welfare and equipment needs, among other empowerment initiatives as already enumerated in his action plan.

North-east APC Youths Warn Party Leaders against Refusal to Address Gale of Defections Meanwhile, the members of the North-east APC Youth Stakeholders’ Forum have warned the leaders of the ruling party that refusing to address the grievances of party members and the gale of defections in the region might prove fatal in the forthcoming elections.

The Acting Chairman of the Forum, Hon. Shaibu Tilde in a statement issued yesterday reaffirmed their resolve to withdraw support for the vice presidential candidate of the party, Senator Kashim Shettima.

The statement said: "You are aware that in the last 48 hours, the media has been awash with the news report of our position on the vice presidential candidate of our great party. We wish to reaffirm our resolve on the issue and state unequivocally loud that our position to withdraw our support for the vice presidential candidate of our dear party, Senator Kashim Shettima still stands.''

The forum said what has however become a source of worry for it was the unsavoury and scathing attack launched on the group by the APC Presidential Campaign Spokesman, Mr. Festus Keyamo.

It added: "While we intend not to join issues with Mr. Keyamo, we are however obligated to set the records straight to mitigate the poignant narrative Mr. Keyamo is constructing

around our noble group and clear intentions and love for our great party."

"Firstly, it's manifest that Mr. Keyamo does not understand the calibre of youth and the extent of their fibres in the North-east region of the party and therefore can resort to calling us names as 'cheap blackmailers'. This is rather unfortunate that the spokesman of our party has turned his war arsenal against his fellow party men with a common goal to win the 2023 election."

The group stressed that no one could deny the gale of defections the party has suffered in the region in the last few months.

It expressed dismay that Keyamo, rather than being introspective on the germane issues it raised which are affecting the fortunes of the party in the region, chose to play to the gallery by calling the blackmailers and attention seekers.

It, therefore, described the attack on the group by Keyamo as unfortunate and most shameful.

WITH MANY NIGERIANS PAYING N250-N400 FOR PETROL, MARKETERS, ECONOMISTS, OPS INSIST ON FULL DEREGULATION to perfect shape.

A former Professor of Economics and Statistics, at the University of Benin, Professor Mike Obadan, summed up the argument: “In light of the foregoing, it is clear that the government doesn't need to continue to pay subsidies, which have become more and more unnecessary and fraudulent.

Why continue to pay subsidies which are not transmitted to consumers in the form of lower prices of petroleum products?

No cogent reason whatsoever.”

Others who shared this view were the Director General of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Mr. Adewale Oyerinde; the Director General of the National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Mr. Sola Obadimu; the Founder of Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf; a Professor

of Economics, University of Uyo, Professor Akpan Ekpo, and the Chief Executive Officer, BIC Consultancy Services, Dr. Boniface Chizea.

According to Yusuf, “we should not wait until June 2023 before removing the subsidy. The reality is that the current subsidised pricing is not sustainable and imposing the current prices on the pumps is like swimming against the tide. The fact is that there is a limit that you can suppress the market forces of demand and supply.”

On his part, Oyerinde of NECA said the argument for the subsidy has been weakened by the current situation where Nigerians are already paying between N300 and N650 per litre for the same product that is supposed to have been subsidised and be sold at N165.

“The humongous amount spent in the guise of subsidy regime is literally being used to

subsidise inefficiency, corruption and consumption. In other climes, these funds would have been judiciously used for more productive activities that will directly impact the lives of citizens, most especially provision of infrastructural facilities,” he added.

Director General of NACCIMA, Obadimu told THISDAY that the government at some point would take the hard decision to remove fuel subsidy as it could no longer sustain it.

“The government at some point, will have to take the hard decision on the removal of fuel subsidy as they can no longer sustain it,” adding that the current situation where some petrol stations dispense petrol above the subsidised rate could be “government’s way of 'testing' the market to gauge citizens reaction before taking the hard decision” of yanking off the subsidy.”

On his part, Akpan, a professor of Economics, said: “First things first, let the local refineries start working; then we can determine whether a subsidy exists. What is being called subsidy is perhaps massive corruption. If the market price of petrol is determined and it seems high then phased removal of subsidy can commence after the local refineries are producing for domestic use.”

Chizea argued that “nobody is today benefiting from the official pump price. Fuel queues are back and roads are clogged up compounding the problems which commuters experience with the traffic congestion on our roads.

“I hope the opportunity to let go of subsidy payments on fuel will not have been missed at this point. We must refuse to play the Ostrich but confront the reality of the situation as it currently stares us in the face.”

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B AC K PAG E C O N T I N UAT I O N AMCON, NDDC, NEDC AND OTHER ERRORS in Nigeria” that chronic debtors ride flashy cars and drink choice wines in public glare without consequences.

Amending BOFIA and the AMCON law, as spearheaded by Senator Uba, to strength the debt recovery process is one of many necessary steps needed to discourage the arrogance and intransigence of the debtors, but the courts must do their part. There are suggestions that AMCON debtors should be barred from transacting business with any government agency. AMCON, it is suggested, should start issuing clearances to those seeking to get government jobs. I would think this is a no-brainer. This one will not require a court order or a lengthy judicial process. I support all laws and administrative measures that will help curb this bad behaviour and sanitise the system.

But if you are thinking what I am thinking, for how long will AMCON continue to carry the dead woods? Are we going to retain AMCON forever? For me, this is the conversation we should be having. AMCON, initially conceived by Prof Chukwuma Soludo when he was governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and established by Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, his successor, was necessary at the time because many banks were in distress as a result of non-performing loans. Every bank that fails is a threat to the economy. Millions of depositors would lose their savings and thousands of employees would be laid off. In the past, many depositors committed suicide after bank failures.

Worse still, the National Deposit Insurance

Corporation (NDIC), which insures bank deposits, was only empowered by law to pay pittance to the depositors of failed banks. The maximum payable is N500,000 for account holders in a commercial bank, no matter the amount lost (although I am aware of a bill sponsored by Uba to amend the NDIC Act in line with current economic and regulatory demands). AMCON definitely saved jobs and lives in 2010, but there were those who kicked over the moral hazard of rewarding the banks’ corrupt risk management system. The tax payers ended up with a bill that was close to N5 trillion and many debtors walked away unhurt.

The same problem I have with AMCON running in perpetuity is what I have against interventionist programmes in Nigeria generally. There is nothing like “temporary” in our dictionary, especially when it creates a patronage system and provides loopholes for people to milk. A classic example is the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) which was conceived to help develop the oil-producing states in what was supposed to be an attempt by the federal government to address decades of neglect. Normally, this is a good idea. When the people see roads being built by a federal agency, it should assure them that their resources are not being tapped in return for nothing.

But if you say something is an “intervention”, is it supposed to be forever? An agency like NNDC is supposed to have a sunset clause as well. Some of the funds being pumped into the commission can be paid directly to the states as budgetary support to carry out

developmental projects. Although the states get 13 percent derivation payment from oil revenue and make enormous internally generated revenue from oil-production activities, there is nothing wrong if the federal government and oil companies decide to augment their budgets. But NDDC, as it operates, is purely for political patronage. It is an oil well on its own and any attempt to disband it will be heavily resisted.

The same goes for the Amnesty Programme.

The original concept, as President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua told us in 2007, was to rehabilitate and reform youths who were engaged in militancy. The idea was to make them lay down their arms and embrace a process that will empower them with skills and make them reintegrate into the society. It was not supposed to be forever and ever. Today, the Amnesty Programme has become one of the warmest honeypots. It is producing multimillionaires and billionaires in the name of “maintaining the peace” in the “neglected” oil-producing region. Any attempt to end the Amnesty Programme will be met with full force.

Sadly, when you create one for a part of Nigeria, you have to create for another.

After NDDC, we went on to create the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPERDEC) for states hosting power dams. We created the North East Development Commission (NEDC) because of Boko Haram. Every region started sponsoring a bill to create theirs: South East Development Commission, South West Development Commission, North Central

Development Commission, and North West Development Commission. These ones did not sail through, but the politicians knew what they were doing. It is more about patronage and less about development.

All these are governance errors. You do not really need a commission to deliver development. Otherwise, we would need to set up a Nigeria Development Commission (NDC) for the country. However, the president can create development initiatives for areas that need special attention, such as the Niger Delta, and the budgets can be managed under the relevant ministries. Creating more bureaucracies and expanding the frontiers of patronage can only balloon costs of governance and deliver less positive outcomes — except there is tenacity of purpose. Alas, getting rid of these patronage centres is virtually impossible. It is like seizing the ATM cards of the lords of the manor.

While I commend Uba’s efforts in trying to help sanitise the financial sector via legislation, we still have to discuss the fate of government interventions generally. We need to think carefully at the stage of design to avoid abuse.

It is a design error in governance. We also need to assess the impact of the existing ones and tweak things, where necessary, for better outcomes. Good enough, the new BOFIA has a provision for “bail-in” — which shifts primary intervention to a bank’s shareholders and creditors before recourse to “bail-out” with public funds. I agree that we have made progress with the legislative reforms — but other things must fall in place for us to get the desired results.

And Four Other Things…

COLLECT YOUR PVC! It is good to hear that 93 million Nigerians have been registered to vote in the 2023 elections. That means we have nearly 10 million new voters compared to 2019. PVC collection was 87% in 2019. We still have to wait to know how many will pick theirs this time around. While 72.8 million collected PVCs in 2019, only 29.3 million (less than half) came out to vote. In the end, President Muhammadu Buhari was re-elected with 15.1 million votes. We clearly have two major tasks ahead immediately: persuading registered voters to pick their PVCs and encouraging them to come out to vote. If PVC collection and voter turn-out do not surpass those of 2019, that would not be palatable. Watching.

DATTI POLITICS I was moved to tears seeing Dr Datti BabaAhmed, vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party, break down on TV over the insults being targeted at his late father since he joined politics. It is so unkind. The truth is that some Nigerians are so badly behaved that they think all is fair. They can say anything, no matter how vile, in the name of politics. President Muhammadu Buhari has been called unprintable names since 2015.

President Goodluck Jonathan’s wife was called “she-ppopotamus” in a body-shaming binge in 2013. These are people’s parents.

I may not be a politician, but I do not accept that politics should be played like this. There should be a line we must never cross. Dirty.

OPPRESSING EMPRESS Empress Njamah, Nollywood actress, is the latest victim of revenge porn. Her ex-lover allegedly leaked her nudes in a WhatsApp group he created for bloggers. Sharing nudes is one of the silly things lovers do when they think they are madly in love. But what people do in private remains their business. Now, there is a criminal aspect to revenge porn.

Under the Cybercrime Act, the ex-lover and those who broadcast the images could be criminally liable. So, it is not enough that the ex-lover has reportedly behaved like a kid to take his pound of flesh. Also, I implore Nigerians to be careful with the way they help amplify things that can push people to the verge of suicide. Appalling.

REST IN PEACE The last time I saw Ms Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, founder of the Africa Movie Academy Awards, she accused me of abandoning my sister. We laughed over it and I promised to turn a “new leaf”. I had not the faintest idea that we were never going to see again. That is why we are mere mortals. I did not have the opportunity to turn a new leaf. Truly, every minute should count in our lives. Nobody knows tomorrow.

The Nollywood filmmaker has left glorious marks on the creative industry in Nigeria. At a couple of months shy of her 54th birthday, she definitely did enough to immortalise herself and her memory will always be blessed in our hearts. She only went ahead of us. Adios.

will go a long way in addressing this risk.

But it is also important to get the political actors to accept the results or seek redress in courts rather than calling their supporters to the streets or looking the other way if some of their supporters decide to resort to self-help. The General Abdulsalami Abubakarled National Peace Committee will need another set of meetings with the parties and the candidates on this potential threat, including on the need for the combatants to tone down the rhetoric. We also need to reaffirm confidence in the judiciary as the arbiter of disputes. The Chief Justice of Nigeria has to take the lead in ensuring that the judges deal with cases with utmost professionalism and despatch. The security forces need to be proactive too in identifying

flashpoints and responding promptly to emerging threats.

The last trend I want to highlight here is the prevalence of fake news and the threat this poses to the election and the polity. Beneath-theradar social media platforms are the channels of choice of the fake news merchants. All sorts—from outright fabrication to distorted accounts—are peddled and consumed with little or no scrutiny. But fake news and even deep fakes are not restricted to platforms where authorship can easily be masked. They seep into other social media platforms and even the traditional media too.

Misinformation, disinformation and their other dangerous siblings have always been with us. But with the advent of the information age, they circulate more quickly and cause greater harm. To their credit, some social media companies have adopted measures, including issuing advisories, to limit the spread of fake news. Many professional online and traditional media organisations have also bolstered their verification policies and now routinely factcheck stories, videos and pictures and even the claims made by the candidates. Many donor organisations and development partners are supporting these efforts. These are all steps in the right direction.

As fake news can set the country on fire, we need more of such measures. The rest of us must also become more sophisticated and show more discretion in consuming and sharing information that we come across during the electioneering period. One of the big talking points of this election cycle is the state of security. But the elections can also be security risks themselves. We have a collective responsibility, and stakes, in ensuring that we minimise the security-related risks of the fast-approaching elections.

AS WE SPRINT TOWARDS THE 2023 POLLS (2) politician. During the primaries, some of those who boasted of being sure of winning by a landslide didn’t even secure a single vote.

Bristling with supreme, even if baseless, self-confidence is not the problem. It is part of electoral politics. You can’t energise others if you are not convinced about your chances and the rightness of your course.

Where it becomes a problem is when you keep insisting that you have won when it is clear you have come short or you keep saying the only way you can fail to clinch the post is if the election is rigged or manipulated.

There are so many reasons candidates can lose elections outside of rigging, including low turnout and overestimation of support base, faulty assumption about what drives voters’ preference, limited resources, and inability to win and win big in a majority of the geo-political zones.

Ahead of the polls, the narrative around potential rigging is gaining ground, and is much stronger than in previous election cycles.

This narrative is being pushed directly and indirectly in a number of ways. Those pushing this narrative could be doing it to checkmate those intent on rigging. They could also be using it to try to force the issue or to discredit an outcome that doesn’t favour them. It is difficult to know which is which. We don’t have to wait to find out the motives before we appreciate the danger of allowing such a narrative grow deep roots.

The risk of having election deniers in the mould of the ‘January 6’ and ‘January 8’ insurrectionists in the US and Brazil respectively is that it could easily degenerate into widespread post-election violence here as we saw in some parts of the country in 1964/1965, 1983 and 2011. This possibility should be a serious source for concern to all of us, given the level of

INEC Chairman, Yakubu

emotions invested in the coming elections and how the pairings accentuate our national fault-lines. Allowing post-election violence to the generalised insecurity in the country may be the final push.

As stated earlier, having free and fair elections will help in reducing the room for risky mischief. The use of BVAS machines for the accreditation of voters, the electronic transmission of results and the deployment of the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal should help in making the tallying and transmission of the results of the polls more transparent.

The political parties, election monitors, the civil society and the media will have enough raw and real time data that they can use to verify the final results announced by INEC. Investing in capturing and analysing election results

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NEWSXTRA Many Feared Dead as Truck Conveying PDP Supporters Crashes in Plateau Seriki Adinoyi in Jos Tragedy struck in Plateau State yesterday evening as a truck conveying the supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the Pankshin venue of their governorship campaign rally in Plateau Central Zone veered off the road and crashed into the bush,

killing several persons and leaving others critically injured.

A source at the community said the truck crashed into a gully near Panyam bridge at about 5 p.m. when the driver, who was overspeeding, lost control of the vehicle.

The incident was the second time in one week that the sup-

Fire Razes Police Headquarters in Kano Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano A fire outbreak has occurred at the police command headquarters in Bompai in Kano State.

The fire broke out yesterday and reportedly started from the provost’s office and spread to the finance department.

Other places reportedly affected included the conference room, office of the police public relations officer, office of the assistant commissioner (administration), and office of the deputy commissioner (administration), among others.

The offices on the top floor of the building were engulfed by the fire, except that of the

commissioner.

The spokesperson of the Kano fire service, Saminu Abdullahi, declined to give an in-depth account of the incident when contacted.

Kano police spokesperson, Abdullahi Kiyawa, was also unreachable at the time of filing this report.

Although information about the incident was still sketchy at the time of filing this report, a large section of the administrative block is said to have been affected.

The operatives of the state fire service were, however, deployed to the scene of the incident.

EduTimes Africa Magazine for Launch January 23 A special publication, ‘EduTimes Africa’, published by Adebiyi Oke, will be officially launched virtually on Monday, January 23. The brief and very businesslike ceremony is billed to begin at 3pm and end by 4pm.

A statement signed by the Editor In Chief of the magazine, Oladapo Akande, disclosed that the monthly magazine was jointly founded by the trio of Adebiyi Oke, Oladapo Akande and Kammonke Abam, who are deeply worried about the poor state of the education sector on the African continent.

He said it was disheartening that youths now consider education as a scam and lamented the general neglect of this vital sector by governments.

The Editor-in-Chief lamented the high unemployment rate in the country and condemned the perennial strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other stakeholders, which always disrupt the academic calender.

He described “EduTimes

Africa” magazine as a necessity which connects education to people in a way that is practical and useful.

He said various segments of the magazine enlighten and guide the African youth and bring to the fore, innovations and germane perspectives written by seasoned educationists and patriots.

The “How Education Made Me” segment of the magazine contains inspirational interviews of highly successful individuals, who attribute their successes in life to soft skills, valuable habits and positive attitudes garnered in their trajectories, before and after graduation.

Dignitaries expected at the launch include Professor Segun Ajibola, former President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers Nigeria and currently a lecturer at Babcock University; Mrs. Maureen Ihonor, an Education Consultant and retired Director of Corona Schools Trust Council and Mr. Guido Stock, Head of the Commercial Section at the Austrian Embassy.

porters of the party would be involved in an auto crash in the state. Some members of the party, last Tuesday also narrowly escaped death on their way to the flag off of the campaign of the party in Shendam in the Southern Zone of the state when their bus, in a similar circumstance veered off the road and crashed into the bush.

The governorship candidate of the party, Mr. Caleb Mutfwang

had led a delegation to commiserate with the victims at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH).

A statement from the party’s campaign office signed by Magna Wamyil confirmed that “a truck conveying some supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), from the gubernatorial campaigns flag-off and zonal rally of the Central Zone, Plateau State,

in Pankshin, had an accident this evening after the rally, around Jwak Village, just before Panyam Bridge in Mangu Local Government Area (LGA).

“The supporters, who are mostly young people, sustained injuries of varying proportions, while some regrettably lost their lives.

“The governorship candidate, Mr. Caleb Mutfwang (BCM), is deeply saddened by

the unfortunate event and is currently involved in evaluating those severely injured from different hospitals in Mangu to Jos, where they would hopefully receive better attention and care.

“While we appreciate all first responders who are currently assisting with the evacuation effort, our thoughts and prayers are with all the families affected by the sad event. May the souls of those we lost rest in peace.”

COURTESY VISIT… L-R: Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Isah Jere and the Alake of Egbaland, Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo III, when Jere paid him a courtesy call during the tour of border communities ahead of the February general election, in Abeokuta, Ogun State…weekend

Nigeria Air: AON Reacts to Request to Move Case to Abuja Court Chinedu Eze Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), which filed a suit against the establishment of Nigeria Air, against the federal government, has reacted to the prayers of the defendants to move further hearing of the case to Abuja.

The Secretary of AON, Ewos Iroro, told THISDAY that the suit: FHC/L/CS/2159/2022, between the plaintiffs - the registered trustees of Airline Operators of Nigeria and the defendants - Nigeria Air Limited, Ethiopian Airlines, Senator Hadi Sirika (Minister of Aviation);

and the Attorney General of the Federation, instituted against the establishment of Nigeria Air, has not been moved to Abuja.

Iroro explained that the defendants filed a motion requesting that the case be moved to the Federal Capital Territory, but the court has not heard the case.

Iroro noted that when the court sits it would hear the matter.

“The defendants in the case have prayed that the case is moved to Abuja. They have only filed the request, which the court is yet to hear to know whether they will prove that the case being in

Lagos is injurious to them. They will have to prove it. We were thinking they would want an accelerated hearing of the case.

That is why we requested for accelerated hearing,” he said.

The Motion on Notice jointly signed on January 13, 2023, by Liman Sulieman Shehu (esq), Maimuna Shiru, Orlowo Oluwaseun, stated: “Take notice that this honourable court may be moved on the....day of .....2023 of the hour of 9’oclock in the forenoon or so soon thereafter as counsel may be heard on behalf of the 1st, 3rd and 4th defendant/praying this

Honourable Court for the following orders: An order for this Honorable Court transferring this suit to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja judicial division for determination, being the judicial division of this Court on a substantial part of their business and for such order or further orders as this Honourable Court may seem fit to make in the circumstances of this case.”

On November 19, 2022, AON filed an originating summons against the federal government for the establishment of a new national carrier after the liquidation of Nigeria Airways.

Jonathan Inaugurates First Longest Bridge project in South-south Okon Bassey in Uyo Former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan will on Monday commission the first longest bridge in the South-South region and the fourth in the country constructed by the Akwa Ibom State Government.

The 1.15km Uko Ntighe Afi bridge links Mbo and Etibe communities in Esit Eket local government areas of the state.

Works on the bridge project started in 2008 during the period

of Governor Godswill Akpabio but were abandoned at 35 per cent of construction.

When Governor Udom Emmanuel assumed office he re-awarded the contract in 2018 and ensure its còmpletion and now bill for commissioning by former President Jonathan.

The bridge is said to be the longest bridge constructed by a state government in the country with I.5m walkway on both sides and 11m width on a 19km road.

Conducting Journalists round

the bridge project in Mbo on Friday, the Special Assistant to Governor Udom Emmanuel on Research and Documentation, Mr Essien Ndueso said the bridge is part of a 19km road constructed by governor Emmanuel from Mbo to Etebi in Esit Eket local government area of the state.

Essien said the bridge is among 40 bridges constructed by governor Emmanuel across the 31 local government areas in the state as part of the completion agenda of his administration.

He said the Afi- Ukontighe bridge was initiated by former governor Godswill Akpabio’s administration but later neglected and abandoned.

“This bridge as you all know was initiated by Governor Godswill Akpabio in 2008. Since then, it has been a sad story of neglect and poor contractual procedures and disagreement.

“The present government of Governor Udom Emmanuel inherited this project in 2015 at 35 per cent execution.

10 Die, Nine Injured in Ogun Road Accident James Sowole in Abeokuta At least 10 persons were confirmed dead, while another nine persons sustained varying degrees of injuries in an accident, which occurred in the early hours of Saturday along the ever-busy Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

The accident, which occurred around 04:30 am near Oniworo village, a few meters away from the Foursquare Gospel Camp inbound Lagos, in the Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun State, involved a grey-coloured

Toyota Hiace passenger bus with registration number: KLD 539 XA, which rammed into a stationary Mack truck marked NSR 08 YJX. The duo of the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) and the Public Education Officer for the State Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Babatunde Akinbiyi, and Superintendent Route Commander Florence Okpe, respectively, who confirmed the incident to journalists in Abeokuta, the state capital, at-

tributed the cause of the crash to road obstruction, poor visibility and excessive speed.

Okpe explained that the driver of the passenger Toyota Hiace bus, who was on a top speed, rammed into the stationary containerised Mack truck from the rear which resulted in the fatality of the crash.

Noting that the containerised truck may have obstructed the road after developing a mechanical fault, the FRSC Public Education Officer further asserted that the poor visibility occasioned by the harmattan may have contributed

to the crash.

Expressing sadness over the crash, the FRSC, however, implored family members of the crash victims to contact the Ogunmakin office of the corps for more information about the crash, stressing that the injured victims have all been evacuated to a private hospital in the Ogere Remo axis of the state for medical attention, while corpses of those who died in the accident have also been deposited at another private morgue in Ipara area of the state.

SUNDAY JANUARY 15, 2023 • T H I S D AY

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MISSILE

Obi to Tinubu “They said that I’m stingy; we want stingy people now so that we can keep the money. We want to make sure we use your money to transform the country. I am stingy, but we are not out to steal the nation’s wealth all we want to do is to use the nation’s money for our people and the development of this country” – Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, replying the presidential candidate of APC, Senator Bola Tinubu, who described him as stingy.

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AMCON, NDDC, NEDC and Other Errors

T

wo years ago, when Senator Uba Sani, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna state, pushed through a major reform of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) Act, many Nigerians missed the fine print. AMCON had been set up by the federal government in 2010 to prevent another round of banking failure by “buying” non-performing loans from the lenders. While the banks would breathe easy, AMCON would recover the loans mostly by selling debtors’ assets. But, as with everything Nigerian, many big boys began to game the system and basically avoided paying back the loans. For them, life went on as usual.

Yet, AMCON was not supposed to live forever. As an intervention, it was to recover the debts and close shop after 10 years under the “sunset clause”. However, by 2020, AMCON had recovered only a fifth of the bad loans.

Some of the debtors are among the high and mighty in Nigeria. These parasites are sucking our blood everywhere in the public life. Conniving with bankers, some of the debtors had used overvalued collaterals to secure huge loans. Some used bungalows in their villages as collaterals while owning mansions in Lagos and Abuja. It is not much

Sani

of a secret that there is a well-oiled conspiracy between the elite of business and power in the underdevelopment of Nigeria.

Sani, the senator representing Kaduna Central — who is also chairman of senate committee on banking, insurance and other

financial institutions — sponsored the AMCON amendment bill which was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2021. The fine print, as I would call it, is that there is now a provision for asset tracing. All assets traceable to a debtor, whether located in Kaura Namoda or Ekeremor, can now become a subject of attachment with the help of a court judgement. The amendment empowers AMCON to take possession, manage or sell all assets traced to debtors, whether or not they were used as security for the loan in default. Fair game.

Luckily, the National Assembly had also passed the Banks and Other Financial Institutions (Repeal & Re-Enactment) Act 2020, which was signed into law by Buhari in November 2020. BOFIA, as it is called, had not been updated for two decades despite the changing realities. The law is now better in tune with modern trends as it also regulates the fintech companies, a new subsector altogether.

Quite significantly, the amendment — also sponsored by Sani — provides for the creation of a Credit Tribunal to help improve loan recovery and strengthen the regulatory framework for managing failing or distressed banks. This will hopefully help AMCON recover more of the toxic debts.

Uba, who trained as a civil engineer and

holds a master’s degree in finance and a postgraduate diploma in business administration, will most likely be having a sense of fulfilment as AMCON has seen a substantial improvement in debt recovery. Mr Ahmed Kuru, the AMCON managing director, has given encouraging updates on new recoveries, although he also acknowledges the constraint imposed by the attitude of the big debtors who have penetrated the judiciary. Assets worth close to N2 trillion are being protected through judicial processes. The big boys reportedly owe about 70 percent of the outstanding of roughly N3 trillion. They always get away with murder.

This is Nigeria.

From what I have read in the media, the courts also give conflicting orders, thereby stalling the recovery processes and frustrating efforts to implement the AMCON law. It is particularly difficult for AMCON to get a court date for its cases. Deposit of judgement sum, which the law stipulates, is hardly enforced by the courts. Chronic debtors still get government contracts and still do not settle their debts.

Unsurprisingly, many lawmakers tried to frustrate the amendment because they were also indebted. As we usually say when we want to lament over our problems, it is “only Continued on page 61

WAZIRIADIO POSTSCRIPT

As We Sprint Towards the 2023 Polls (2)

W

e are exactly 40 days away from the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy and most populous country. The conduct and the reaction to the outcome of the presidential poll have implications for physical and economic stability within Nigeria and beyond, especially the West African subregion which has not been particularly stable lately.

Nigeria’s erstwhile status as the guarantor of security and stability in the subregion has been greatly eroded by our lingering and expanding internal security challenges. As we race towards the landmark polls, it is important for all parties to ensure that the elections do not compound Nigeria’s security challenges and further complicate the instability in our immediate neighbourhood and beyond.

Clearly, a lot is at stake in many significant ways—for us, for our immediate neighbours and for the rest of the world. It is thus in everyone’s enlightened self-interest to ensure that Nigeria does not finally tip over after the 2023 polls.

As stated in the first part of this series, the best way to guarantee peace is to ensure

that the elections are free and fair, clean and credible. That is the irreducible minimum. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security forces have the central role in midwifing decent elections and in providing adequate security during and after the elections.

But while conducting free and fair elections is a necessary condition for post-election peace, it is not a sufficient one.

The conduct of the candidates, their parties and supporters as well as that of the international community, the judiciary, civil society organisations, and the media before, during and after the elections will be equally critical. Some of these groups have the power to shape not just behaviour but also perception.

How this power is used has implications for peace and security. Such consequential power must be exercised responsibly.

Already, there are reasons for worry.

And this is not just from the conduct of the politicians and their supporters, but also from other critical stakeholders as well. It is important to track some of the potentially dangerous trends and ensure that in addition to guaranteeing free and fair elections we are able to commit and re-commit the politicians

and other key stakeholders to stick to the highest level of democratic culture.

Today, I will highlight a few of the potentially dangerous trends I see and which I think we need to watch closely and address as we move closer to the elections.

The first is the kind of language some of the candidates and their supporters use. Some of the words used by some of the candidates are not only uncouth but incendiary. Politicians cannot be stopped from taking jibes at their competitors. Painting opponents and their ideas as undesirable and unworthy is as old as electoral politics. It is one of the things that add spice to the campaign period. But it is important to keep the language elevated and to be mindful of the environment we live in.

The ferocity and consistency of verbal attacks can be taken as a cue by some supporters to physically attack those who support or have sympathies for other parties. And in some cases, the utterances of the politicians are clearly inciting. The ongoing election cycle has seen an uptick in political violence. Even when there is no empirical evidence that links the verbal attacks directly to the surge in political violence, it is important we avoid anything that can remotely trigger violence

of any kind, given how frayed nerves are and the not-so-hidden religious, regional and ethnic subtexts of the elections.

The candidates need to check themselves and their aides and followers. It is easy to get carried away in front of the crowd or to submit to the itch to pander to base instincts and sentiments or to strain to prove to be loyal and combative aides. In every campaign, it is critical to have boundaries, to know where the lines are and to rigorously patrol such.

Lines become blurry and difficult to police when the principals are the ones zig-zagging across them. Yet, knowing and observing the water’s edge is in our collective interest.

And we need the leaders to lead.

The second worrisome trend is how some narratives could produce Nigeria’s version of election deniers and how that could be more dangerous than what we saw in the United States of America and Brazil after the 2020 and 2022 polls respectively. Most of the 18 presidential candidates, especially those deemed the top four, speak very confidently about being clearly ahead of the others. Well, it takes a certain level of optimism to be a Continued on page 61

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