SATURDAY 6TH NOVEMMBER 2021

Court Stops FG from Deducting $418m from States Malami: FG acting on undertaking/indemnity provided by governors Alex Enumah in Abuja A Federal High Court in Abuja has stopped the federal government from executing plans to deduct $418 million from the accounts of the 36

states of the federation.

Some consultants had between 2014 and 2019 obtained judgements for the payment of $418 million to them, for facilitating the Paris Club refunds to the 36 states

and all local governments in Nigeria.

The governors of the 36 states thereafter accused President Muhammadu Buhari of approving the payment without considering their

call for a forensic audit of the consultants’ claims.

Justice Inyang Ekwo gave the restraining order yesterday against the federal government following an ex parte application argued by the

lawyers to the 36 States - Jibrin Okutepa and Ahmed Raji.

While moving the application, Okutepa, who led the legal team of the states told Justice Ekwo that the 36 states would be completely crippled

if the federal government goes ahead to deduct the huge amount from the bank accounts of the states.

According to him, the federal Continued on page 5

Tributes as Lady Victoria Aguiyi Ironsi is Laid to Rest… Page 6 Saturday 6 November, 2021 Vol 26. No 9707

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Osinbajo: I’m Not Owner of Collapsed Ikoyi Building’s Land Says his assets already public knowledge

Deji Elumoye in Abuja Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has denied any link with the 21-storey building that collapsed in Ikoyi, Lagos

on Monday, saying he has no interest whatsoever in the said property.

The Vice President, in a statement issued yesterday by his Media Assistant,

Laolu Akande, noted that all his property had been documented in the asset declaration form “which is in the public domain,” and commiserated with the families

Corpses ready for identification

of those who lost their lives in the incident.

Also yesterday, the Lagos State Government revealed that 38 bodies had been recovered from the collapsed

building, as rescue operation entered Day Four and called on families of the deceased to go to the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba for identification of the corpses.

Reports surfaced online linking the Vice-President to the collapsed building’s land, and there were also claims Continued on page 5

Anambra Votes Amid Fear, Tension; Soludo, Ozigbo, Uba are Frontrunners State ringed with 34,587 policemen and 20,000 NSCDC agents INEC promises free, fair, credible election Nseobong Okon-Ekong, Chuks Okocha, Segun James and David-Chyddy Eleke Amid fear and tension, caused

by an endless bloodbath, which hindered campaigns of the political parties, the people of Anambra State will this morning vote to elect a

CHARLES SOLUDO

new governor.

Though, the outlawed indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) says it is not opposed to the poll and has withdrawn

its stay-at-home order, there is still palpable fear across the state, with many afraid that terrorists may attack voters.

This is certain to affect turnout

ANDY UBA

of voters.

For most of yesterday, tension remained very high, with streets deserted, but the police and other

security agencies have assured Anambra State voters of maximum security and want Continued on page 5

VALENTINE OZIGBO

Strengths Support of incumbent governor Intellectual nature and power of ideas Strong leadership skills Focused, determined, scandal-free Rich public sector experience

Strengths Enjoys Federal might Huge war chest Rich political experience Strong understanding of the workings of government A strategist, quiet smooth operator

Strengths Young, vibrant and urbane Perceived as upright, resourceful Promising new face of Anambra politics Peter Obi’s support, a plus A bridge builder and team player Rich private sector experience

Weaknesses Perceived as elitist, arrogant Deemed stubborn and uncompromising Weak political experience Unending squabbling in Anambra APGA

Weaknesses Full of controversies and scandals Lacks support from key APC chieftains Endless wrangling in Anambra APC A deal maker

Weaknesses Lacks political experience Narrow knowledge of the workings of government Limited war chest Out of touch with local politics

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PAGE FIVE COURT STOPS FG FROM DEDUCTING $418M FROM STATES government had revealed the plan to deduct the $418 million from the states monthly, as part of debts for contracts allegedly executed for the states.

Okutepa said the 36 states’ attorneys-general had read the purported judgment displayed by the federal government and found that the states were not parties to the court action which resulted in the judgment debt.

He also submitted that the purported contract claimed to have been executed for the states were not known to any of the 36 state governments “and it is, therefore, a phoney contract.”

He also informed the court

that the federal government was the only party to the court case that brought the judgment and therefore such judgment “is not binding on the state governments.”

After listening to the arguments of the states, Justice Ekwo ordered the federal government not to go ahead with any deduction from the accounts of the states in respect of the purported judgment until all issues relating to it were fully determined.

The judge, thereafter, fixed the matter for November 30 and ordered the plaintiffs’ lawyer to serve all processes on the defendants before the adjourned date.

Last month, following Buhari’s approval of the payment of the judgement debt, the Federal Ministry of Finance was said to have directed the Debt Management Office (DMO) to commence issuance of promissory notes to the consultants.

But the governors, on the platform of Nigeria Governors Forum, cautioned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the federal government against going ahead with the planned payment to the consultants.

The governors in a “Caveat” letter dated Friday, September 3, 2021, had wondered why the federal government was in a rush to make such

payment to individuals at a time when both the federal and state governments needed funds for provisions of critical infrastructure for the people.

The NGF had in the letter signed on its behalf by its lawyer, Mr. P H Ogbole, argued that the said payment was already an issue of litigation.

Ogbole, in the letter titled, “Caveat on the Payment of $418 million Suspicious Debts”, argued that since the federal government was aware of the current court cases challenging the payment of the alleged debts, it ought not to take any further steps on the matter.

According to the senior lawyer, the governors on

OSINBAJO: I’M NOT OWNER OF COLLAPSED IKOYI BUILDING’S LAND that the said land was sold to Osinbajo by Chief Michael Ade-Ojo, Founder of Elizade Motors.

Osinbajo debunked the reports, and said further that he never intervened with the regulatory authorities in Lagos State to unseal the Ikoyi property at any point.

The Vice President said he had briefed his lawyers to sue the online medium that linked him to the said property.

Osinbajo added that he has no business or property dealings with the Chairman of Elizade Motors, Chief Michael Ade Ojo and at no time too did he put any call across to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu over the said property.

The statement said: “Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is saddened by the events that occurred in Lagos on Monday, 1st of November 2021, where a high-rise building under construction on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, collapsed.

“He condoles with the families and relatives of all those who have died, were injured or affected in the collapse. Prof. Osinbajo considers this painful loss of lives a horrible tragedy.

"Also, the attention of the Vice President has been drawn to an obviously sponsored falsehood regarding the recently collapsed building.

"Let it be made absolutely clear that Prof. Yemi Osinbajo does not own and has never owned the said land. He has also never been involved, in any shape or form, in the development of this or any other land since he became Vice President.

"At no time whatsoever did the VP buy this or any other piece of land from Chief Michael Ade-Ojo, or entered into any transaction for the sale of that land or any other piece of land from Chief Ade-Ojo or anyone for that matter.

"Also, the Vice President has never spoken to the Governor of Lagos State or any other official of the State Government regarding the unsealing of the said building on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, which subsequently collapsed.

“He has, indeed, never acted to influence any other regulatory action on the collapsed building, or any other building for that matter, in Lagos State.

"The Vice President restates

categorically that he has no interest whatsoever, and has never had any interest, either legally or beneficially, in the land, the building or development.

"The wickedness and viciousness of a lie that seeks to utilise a tragedy where so many people have lost their lives, even as rescue efforts are ongoing, and in wanton disregard to the feelings and untold grief of their loved ones for political gain, reveals a dangerous desperation, as well as the heartlessness of the perpetrators of such despicable lies.”

Ade-Ojo: I Didn’t Sell Collapsed Building’s Land to Osinbajo Meanwhile, the founder of Elizade Motors and Elizade University, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo has said he did not sell the land of the collapsed building in Ikoyi to Osinbajo.

Ade-Ojo, who said this in a statement he personally signed on Thursday, however, added that he owns a property adjacent to the collapsed building and that he is not willing to sell it.

Death Toll Now 38 The Lagos State Government yesterday said bodies recovered from the Ikoyi collapsed building were ready for identification and called on families to go to the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) Yaba to identify the corpses of their loved ones.

The state government said 38 bodies had been recovered so far from the collapsed building as rescue operation entered Day Four yesterday, while family members had submitted 32 names of those still missing.

Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, while giving an update to the press, said the bodies would be ready for identification from 4pm yesterday.

Omotoso said an autopsy would be carried out on the corpses before releasing them to their families.

He said recovery work was still ongoing and would continue until the government is able account for everybody inside the building at the time of the collapse and certify that nobody is left behind in the collapsed building.

August 3, 2021, got wind of the federal government’s move to make the payment.

He noted that the governors learnt that some consultants/ contractors alleged that they were retained by some states and had done some work for the states and local governments in Nigeria about the Paris Club refund.

“The Minister of Finance is said to have directed the Director-General, Debt Management Office (DMO) to issue Promissory Notes in favour of the Consultants. The purported amounts claimed by the various consultants are as follows: Ned Nwoko – $142,028,941; Ted Iseghoghi Edwards -$159 million; Riok Nigeria Limited, Orji Nwafor Orizu, and Olaitan Bello – $142,028,941.95 and Panic Alert System Limited and George Uboh – $47,831,920”, Ogbole explained.

He said the consultants relied on judgments of the Federal High Court which are presently being challenged by the 36 governors in several actions in various courts.

The lawyer added that some of the consultants had already joined issues with the NGF. He further claimed that the Minister of Finance, the DG of DMO, and the AGF had since been duly served and notified of the pendency of these actions in court in different letters written by counsel to the NGF. “It is therefore strange and indeed alarming that having been served and made aware of the pendency of the various court cases, the Minister of Finance would readily, but in complete disregard of the law, direct that Promissory Notes be issued in favour of the consultants,” he said.

‘Governors not Sincere about Payment of Judgment Debt’ Meanwhile, the federal government has accused state governors of lying and not being sincere over the planned payment of the judgment debt to the contractors.

In a statement yesterday, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, revealed that the governors were not only aware of the judgment but agreed to settle the debt and had actually gone ahead to make some payments to the contractors.

The statement reads: "It can be noticed that some reports contain willful statements suggesting that some government officers were acting without due process in the settlement of certain judgment debts (totalling US$418million) arising from the deduction and refunds due to the states and local governments from the Paris Club loan refunds.

"It is important and necessary to state, at the onset, that the deductions were on account of four judgments in contention which were delivered at various times in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019. Two of these judgments were consent judgments based on terms of settlement entered into by NGF in 2017 & 2019. Again, two of the four judgments were based on an earlier judgment delivered by the Federal High Court in 2013.

"It is, however, amazing that from 2013 to 2021, neither NGF nor ALGON deemed it fit to either challenge or fully comply with any of these judgments.

In furtherance of the consent and settlement, the NGF itself made payments in billions to the consultants based on the same judgment it is deriding now".

According to Malami, both NGF and ALGON in various letters addressed to the AGF and Minister of Finance, expressed no objection and actually recommended the same set of consultants for payment.

The minister explained that the Office of the AGF subjected the claims of the consultants/ contractors to investigations by both the DSS and EFCC in order to further ascertain the veracity of the claims.

Soludo and Andy Uba - who represent the three major political parties in the race, picked their candidates from that zone.

Incidentally, all three leading candidates also come from Aguata Local Government Area. While the three candidates will be sharing the votes in the zone, their ability to garner votes from the North and Central zones, will guarantee their victory.

Ozigbo hails from Amesi in Aguata LGA. His philanthropic gestures and support for sports gave him popularity in his Southern zone, but he also has the advantage of having the support of most top politicians in the central, which will give him an edge.

As he battles for votes in the Southern zone with other candidates, he has the support of the Central zone through the former governor Peter Obi, who supports his aspiration. He will also enjoy massive votes from supporters of Senator Uche Ekwunife who is also his campaign coordinator. Ozigbo may however not do so well in the Northern zone, as he would have the incumbent governor to contend with.

Uba hails also from the Southern zone, Uga in Aguata LGA. He is a veteran politician and has contested

for the position many times, and this has given him a lot of popularity. In the Southern zone, Uba is also very popular, but will be splitting his votes in the zone with Soludo and Ozigbo.

However, in the North, Uba who has several lieutenants in the zone, including the chairman of his political party and his campaign coordinator, will likely sway votes in his direction.

Meanwhile, Uba has a minus in the Central zone, as the minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, who also has a large following in the Central zone, does not support him as a result of the fall-out of the governorship primary election of the party last June.

Soludo, former Central Bank Governor, may not be popular in his own zone, but what he lacks in popularity, his party, which is widely accepted in the state has. He and his party also have high popularity in the Central zone, just as it is expected that his largest number of votes will come from the Northern zone. This is because of the influence of the incumbent governor, who is giving him his unalloyed support, just as federal and state lawmakers in the zone are also in support of Soludo.

ANAMBRA VOTES AMID FEAR, TENSION; SOLUDO, OZIGBO, UBA ARE FRONTRUNNERS them to come out without fear.

Indeed, every nook and cranny of the state is heavily policed.

As part of measures aimed at protecting the election, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, ordered the restriction of vehicular movement in and out of Anambra State from 11:59 PM yesterday, 5th November, 2021 to 11:59 PM today, 6th November, 2021.

The IG noted that the restriction had become necessary following pointers from the Election Security Threats Assessments conducted by the Force, “which indicate a high likelihood of infiltration by criminally-minded individuals to Anambra State, before, during and after the polls.”

Baba further noted that the measure would also avail security forces a firm grip of the state, to checkmate the movement of political thugs and touts, and prevent the free flow, circulation and use of illicit arms and hard drugs throughout the period and beyond.

On Tuesday, Baba sent out a strong warning thus: “We have identified some more flashpoints, but we can handle that without problem. We have 85 per cent of personnel and assets on ground. Our helicopters are down and

we have gun boats to take care of the marines and we know the Navy will assist in that regard.

“I want to assure that there is enough security on ground.

We have sent signals to those who want to make trouble not to test our will. Those who tried last weekend had sad stories to tell, if at all they were able to get to their camps.”

The IG had earlier ordered the mobilisation and deployment of 34,587 police personnel and three police helicopters to Anambra State ahead of the election.

The IG said the 34,587 personnel included conventional police officers, Police Mobile Force (PMF), Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), special forces personnel, Explosives Ordinance Unit (EOD), Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB), Interpol, Special Protection Unit (SPU), as well as police medical teams expected to be on ground to guarantee a hitch-free election.

He said three police helicopters would be deployed for aerial surveillance amongst other operational capabilities.

The Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Dr. Ahmed Audi yesterday announced the deployment of 20,000 personnel drawn from Anambra State and

neighbouring state commands, to assist the police with security for today’s election.

Audi assured the people that the election will hold peacefully and successfully without rancor or acrimony “as the Corps is working in synergy and collaboration with other sister agencies to forestall any form of attack on voters, security agencies, sensitive and non-sensitive election materials, INEC permanent and ad-hoc staff and all other apparatuses deployed to ensure a hitch free election.”

The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Joseph Egbunike, earlier appointed as head of the special police team providing security for today’s election, was also removed yesterday without any reason given. Egbunike hails from Anambra State and oversees the five police commands in the South-east The new team leader for today’s election is Assistant Inspector General Zaki Ahmed, until now the second in command to DIG Egbunike.

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakub also assured Anambra people of a credible election and security of lives and property.

Yakub, who spoke during

a stakeholders’ meeting held at the INEC headquarters in Awka on Tuesday, said: “I want to urge Anambra people to go out and vote the parties of their choice.

We have received assurances from the security agencies and they said they are capable of ensuring security for all. On our part, we assure Anambra people it will be free, fair and credible election.

The Leading Contenders Though there are 18 candidates on the ballot, in practical terms, there are only three candidates in the race for Anambra governorship today.

These are Charles Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA); Valentine Ozigbo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Andy Uba of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Though, there is no written agreement on the rotation of governorship in Anambra State on Senatorial basis, this has in many previous elections determined the emergence of a governor.

This year, Anambra South is the most favoured for governorship, and all three most popular candidates Valentine Ozigbo, Chukwuma

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NEWS

News Editor Charles Ajunwa 09157401421 (sms only) Email charles.ajunwa@thisdaylive.com

Tributes as Lady Victoria Aguiyi-Ironsi is Laid to Rest Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia The remains of Nigeria’s former First Lady, Noble Lady Victoria Nwanyiocha Aguiyi-Ironsi, were yesterday committed to mother earth in a wave of glowing tributes for her life of courage.

Lady Ironsi was the widow of Nigeria’s first military Head of State, Gen. Thomas Aguiyi

Ironside who was killed in the countercoup of July 29, 1966. She died in August at the age of 98 after 55 years of widowhood.

The funeral mass held at St. Theresa Catholic Parish Umuahia was celebrated by the Catholic Bishop of Umuahia, Most Rev. Lucius Ugorji assisted by10 priests.

Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, in his tributes described Lady Ironsi as a woman who

Amotekun Arrests 18 Suspects with 500 Daggers in Ondo Fidelis David in Akure Men of the Ondo State Security Network Agency also known as Amotekun, have arrested 18 suspects in a bus that conveyed dangerous weapons, in Ondo town, Ondo State.

Parading the suspects at the headquarters of the command in Akure, the state capital yesterday, the state Commander of Amotekun, Mr. Adetunji Adeleye, said the bus was loaded with 500 pieces of dangerous weapons such as guns, knives, carriages, sword among others, stressing that the items were concealed inside tigernut bags and were being kept under the seat of one of the buses.

Adeleye explained that three buses escaped from different checkpoints in the state but one of them was arrested in Ondo town.

“We got information that a group of men are coming to invade the state, so we set out our monitoring devices and precisely at about 1:30a.m. on Thursday

we saw three buses that we had actually been trailing till they entered the state.

“They had a brief stop just before they entered the town and when our men tried to stop them, the three buses escaped, so we had to radio all our control points and we were able to bring the three buses to a stop at a point on Ondo Road. It was a combined team of police and civil defence.

“The buses attempted to overrun the security agents and sped off.

The speed was so much that they hit all the barricades on the road and they took off.

“We found out that it was difficult pursuing them and decided that we don’t want to cause any accidents, so we radioed our station on Owena, so the security men on Owena blocked the road for all vehicles. On getting there, they were able to escape by hitting the barricades again. We continued to pursue them while we called the Ile-Oluji Junction that they should block the road solidly there but they also escaped.

Tourism: Monarch Wants Kingdom’s Festival Listed in State Calendar James Sowole in Abeokuta A First Class traditional ruler, the Olota of Ota, Oba Adeyemi Obalanlege, has called on the Ogun State Government to mainstream the Igamode Cultural Festival, in the tourism calendar of the state.

Obalanlege made the request in his remark at a media briefing on the 2021 Iganmode Festival with the theme ‘Culture: A Module for a Sustaining Leadership’ scheduled to hold from December 13 to December 19.

The monarch, who buttressed on issues raised by Chairman of Iganmode 2021 Festival Planning Committee, Mr. Dele Bankole, said activitieslinedupforthe festival, were capable of attracting tourists to the celebration He said the Iganmode Cultural Festival, was due to be mainstreamed in the tourism and festival calendar of the state like the Ojude Oba, Lisabi Day, Orona Day or the Odun Omo Oloro that continue to enjoy government patronage.

Obalanlegetherefore,pleadedwith the Ogun State Government for its patronage in the celebration of his kingdom’s festival that will mobilise the whole community and visitors.

Olota also called on the state government to come to the aid of his kingdom and fix the deplorable roads in the area and give them a fair share of their contribution to the state economy as the industrial capital of Nigeria.

Accordingtohim,attractingtourists in appreciable numbers to the state and particularly, Ota, there is a need to develop infrastructure in and generally upgrade the environment.

Obalanlege, who commended the Ogun State Government and Governor Dapo Abiodun, for the palliative measures being done on some roads in the kingdom, urged the governor, not to rest on his oars to fulfill all promises to the people of Ota Land.

He said, “For us, we would continue to support the state government in its efforts to develop the state.

“We shall continue to mobilise our people to perform their civic responsibilities by paying taxes and levies appropriately so that government can get money to execute developmental projects.

“We hereby call on everybody in Otaland to continue to live in peace and harmony with each other because it is only in the atmosphere of peace that development can take place.”

espoused the virtues of nobility, hard work, comportment and faith that saw her through the trying periods following the death of her husband.

He described the death of Lady Ironsi as “the closure of a great chapter that started in Ibeku land” from where a great man emerged to serve Nigeria and paid the supreme sacrifice in the course of doing so.

According to him, the coup in which Gen. Ironsi was killed led to the “murder of sleep in Nigeria” and since then the

country has continued to struggle to achieve national unity and cohesion.

But Ikpeazu noted the presence of light at the end of the tunnel following a new vista of hope for a handshake across the Niger, adding that Nigerians should learn to extend hands of fellowship to one another.

The head of the Ironsi family, Ambassador Thomas Aguiyi Ironsi, said that his mother was a role model for women in Nigeria and Africa

in general with her industry and tenacity of purpose.

He revealed that during her lifetime she went to South Africa and China to fight for the rights of women, a cause she never abandoned all her life.

In the sermon by Rev. Fr. Henry Madura, Lady Ironsi was showcased as a woman of courage who waded through the vicissitudes of life to bring up her eight children after the tragic loss of her husband.

“Despite losing her husband

in a coup, she held on to her faith, not plunging herself into despair and self pity,” he said, adding that Lady Ironsi lived out her faith “even in the most disappointing event of her life.”

The Catholic cleric lamented that most Nigerians had abandoned the word of God hence evils have overtaken the land manifesting in kidnapping, killer herdsmen, armed robbery, insurgency, terrorism, ethnic hatred and tribal subjugation as well as looting of treasury.

PARTNERING FOR DEVELOPMENT. . .

L-R: Consul General of France in Lagos, Mrs. Laurence Monmayrant; Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State; and Ambassador Emanulle Blatmann, during a courtesy visit to Makinde in Ibadan…yesterday.

Drug Use Among Women: NCWS, NDLEA to Collaborate Michael Olugbode in Abuja The National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) are set to collaborate to clampdown on growing drug abuse among the female gender.

Speaking during a visit to the National Headquarters of the NDLEA in Abuja, the National President of the NCWS, Dr. Gloria Laraba Shoda, said the partnership between the two bodies to combat the menace of drug abuse has become important in view of the disturbing prevalence of drug abuse among the female gender in the country.

Shoda made the call when she led some national officers of NCWS on a courtesy visit to the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) in Abuja.

The NCWS president while commending Marwa, officers and men of NDLEA for doing so much within a very short time, bemoaned the level of drug abuse among Nigerian women. She said as a result of this, there was the urgent need for partnership with the agency to salvage the development.

She said: “It’s unfortunate that women now hold drug parties where each one brings her own illicit drug and from

the collection, they produce a cocktail of illicit substances to get high.

“At the NCWS, we are worried by this and that’s why we have come to seek partnership with NDLEA in view of the recent excellent work being done by the Gen. Marwa new leadership of the agency.”

In his response, Marwa noted that NCWS is central to the ongoing drug demand reduction and drug supply control efforts in Nigeria.

“I’m happy you have structures down to the local governments and communities because we have almost 15 million drug users and one in four

is a woman. Women are central to the home and whatever they do have consequences on the entire family structure.

“We have been sweeping the drugs off our streets as much as we can but we need to face the demand end, hence the need for collaboration with the NCWS.” He assured that the agency would intensify its advocacy for drug tests in schools as part of deterrence measures.

He told the team from NCWS that: “You have to support drug tests for our university students and intending couples. If prospective suitors know a drug test will be a condition for marriage, they will abstain from drug use.”

JAMB Dissociates Self from Extortion in Public Institutions Kuni Tyessi in Abuja The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has dissociated itself from all exploitative acts, saying that it had not requested any institution to collect any fee on its behalf.

The Board reacted to complaints it received from some parents and students that one or two institutions were collecting money ranging from N10,000 to N80,000 from candidates purportedly for the processing of late or irregular admissions.

In a statement signed by the Board’s spokesperson, Dr. Fabian

Benjamin, the Board said it does not also demand or accept any fee from any of the institutions.

He added that it was the seemingly hopeless situation of candidates seeking condonement since 2017 that prompted the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu to graciously give approval for a final round of waiver.

Also, candidates with similar challenges who were admitted before 2017, can simply go online and pay a fee of not more than N5,000 for the UTME Registration form which they had failed to obtain ab initio.

Their details would afterwards be captured, scrutinised and if minimally qualified then letters of admission would be released to them.

“It will be recalled that the Board had announced the stoppage of condonement of illegal admission, deceitfully called regularisation from 2017. This was to address the irregularities in the admission process, ensure the accuracy of admission statistics as well as ensure transparency in the admission process.

“It was therefore, a rude shock to the management

of the Board to receive the disheartening news of this barefaced exploitation of hapless and desperate students.

“It is to be borne in mind that these candidates are in their present predicament, in the first instance, as a result of the wanton disregard of extant regulations by some institutions leading to the conduct of underhand or backdoor admissions thus creating room for the avalanche of requests for condonement which had long been discontinued by the Board on the directive of the government.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾NOVEMBER 6, 2021

NEWS

Abducted UniAbuja Staff, Family Members Rescued University says no ransom paid Kingsley Nwezeh and Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The Federal Capital Territory Police Commissioner, Mr. Sunday Babaji, said yesterday that a joint operation conducted by security forces led to the

rescue of six kidnapped staff of University of Abuja.

He said no ransom was paid for their release.

Taking a similar position, management of the University of Abuja debunked rumours making the rounds that the sum

Governors’ Forum, Assembly Speakers Assure on Financial Autonomy for Legislature, Judiciary Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi As part of efforts to ensure the full implementation of financial autonomy to state legislature and judiciary, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria have resolved to work in synergy.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Spokesperson to the Speaker of Bauchi State House of Assembly, Abdul Ahmad Burra, made available to journalists yesterday.

According to the statement, the two bodies as-

sured that it will not relent until all the terms agreed on the Memorandum of Action on the implementation of the financial autonomy for the two arms were fully met.

The Chairman of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria who is also the Speaker of Bauchi State House of Assembly, Abubakar Suleiman, made the disclosure shortly after a crucial meeting with the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum and Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat in Abuja.

of N300 million was paid to the kidnappers before the release of its staff and some members of their families.

The daring Tuesday morning kidnap, which alarmed security agencies, had triggered a massive security cordon around the nation’s capital leading to the deployment of troops and mounting of road blocks at the entry points to the territory by the Brigade of Guards, assigned to protect the president, his family and the nation’s capital.

This comes as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Malam Muhammad Bello, commended security agencies in the FCT and in the neigbouring states over their collaboration and efforts that led to the rescue of the six persons abducted from the University of Abuja Staff Quarters at Giri, Gwagwalada Area Council.

Speaking in Abuja, the FCT police chief said though the kidnappers made ransom demands, the release of the victims was as a result of the effort of the joint operation of security agencies, who swung into action immediately the incident took place on Tuesday.

Babaji said no ransom was paid to secure the release of the six kidnapped staff of the institution.

He appealed to FCT residents to go about their normal activities as the security agencies had beefed up security to ensure the safety of lives and property in the territory.

He urged residents to always provide useful information that would assist the security agencies in the territory. The FCT Police Command had earlier issued a statement announcing the rescue of the kidnap victims.

“The FCT Police Command wishes to inform members of the public that all abducted

victims of the University of Abuja were rescued and reunited with their families through a joint operation with other security agencies,” it said.

Meanwhile, the management of the University of Abuja debunked rumours making the rounds that the sum of N300 million was paid to the Kidnappers before the release of its staff and some members of their families.

In a statement issued by the Spokesperson of the institution, Dr. Habib Yaquob, said the abductors earlier demanded payment of N300 million ransom which the university refused to pay but relied on the efforts of joint security personnel.

The management restated its commitment to providing adequate security to the university community and pledging to continue to work with security operatives to

prevent a repeat of that ugly incident.

“The three senior staff of the University of Abuja and children who were abducted by suspected bandits from the Giri Quarters of the University in the early hours of Tuesday, 2nd November 2021 have all been rescued, and doing fine.

“The victims were rescued following the operations of the combined security forces including the police, DSS, Military, and University of Abuja Safety Officers.

“Though the abductors earlier demanded payment of three hundred million (N300, 000,000) naira ransom, our staff were rescued without any payment at all,” it said.

“The university management expresses gratitude to God Almighty; the joint forces, including military, DSS, University of Abuja safety officers for the unconditional release of our staff.

NMDRA: No Approval for Petrol Price Increase Yet Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDRA) has said that no approval had been granted to oil marketers to raise the pump price of petrol in the country.

Chief Executive Officer of the new agency, Mr. Farouk Ahmed, in a statement in Abuja yesterday, noted that any insinuations of an imminent increase of the depot price of the product was erroneous.

The midstream/downstream oil and gas industry regulator, therefore cautioned marketers against hoarding and engaging in unwholesome practices that are inimical to the smooth

supply of the product.

“It has come to the notice of the Authority that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol is being sold at loading depots of Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) members above the official price which is caused by the erroneous insinuation of imminent increase in the price of the product.

“The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDRA) is assuring the general public that the price of petrol has not been changed and that the federal government has no intention of upward adjustment of the price at the moment.

Thugs Stop Danjuma Goje from Entering Gombe Bennett Oghifo Former governor of Gombe State and a serving federal lawmaker, Senator Danjuma Goje, was yesterday prevented from entering Gombe by people suspected to be thugs, who hauled projectiles at this vehicle.

An aide to the former governor of Gombe State, Lilian Nworie, in a statement issued yesterday alleged that the thugs were people loyal to

Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya, believed to have had a disagreement with the Senator.

The attack, she said, took place in the neighbourhood of the International Conference Centre on the Bauchi-Gombe Road, adding that the thugs set a bonfire to stop the Senator, who was on a private visit to the state.

Governor Yahaya and Senator Goje are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

EFCC Denounces Obi Cubana’s Alleged Selfie with its Staff After Release from Detention Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday denounced a trending photograph of socialite and businessman, Mr. Obinna Iyiegbu, a.k.a Obi Cubana who allegedly took a selfie with staff of the anti-graft agency after he was released from detention.

Cubana was detained by the anti-graft agency for three days.

He was alleged to be involved

in money laundering and tax fraud.

The agency, in a statement, said the selfie with staff of the commission never took place.

“The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been drawn to fake news trending on social media with the caption, ‘EFCC Crew poses for quick photograph with billionaire socialite and businessman Obi Cubana.”’

FOR DRUG-FREE SOCIETY… Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) presenting the Agency’s official magazine to the National President of the National Council of Women Societies, NCWS, Mrs. Gloria Laraba Shoda, when she led some officers of the Council on a courtesy visit to the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja

Dankwambo Hailed on Installation as 3rd Chancellor of Bells University Former governor of Gombe State, Dr. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, CON, has been commended on his selection and installation as the third Chancellor of the Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Dr. Dankwambo, who was also a past Accountant-General of the Federation, was hailed for his leadership qualities, sense of duty and personal integrity he would bring to the new position. This was contained in a congratulatory message issued by a prominent indigene of Gombe State, Muhammad Jibrin Barde.

In his personal message, Barde said, “I congratulate His Excellency, Dr. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, CON, FCA, FCIB, FNES, FNIB, (Talban Gombe)

on his selection and installation as the third Chancellor of the Bells University of Technology, Ota, Nigeria.

“In His Excellency, Dr. IH Dankwambo, Talban Gombe, one of our nation’s leading and first private university of technology has found one of our nation’s finest public servants. I’m confident that Talban Gombe will bring to this new role the same sense of duty and personal integrity that I and all the good people of Gombe State in particular and Nigeria in general valued during his distinguished career in government.

“It is worthy to note that the Talban’s passion and commitment to education ensured the repositioning of education in Gombe State across all levels

and specifically the establishment of Gombe State University of Technology, Kumo.

“In the time when great tasks of reforms of our high education are ahead of us, the position of the Chancellor of the Bells University of Technology, as the first private university of technology and one of the leading and most important private universities in our country, is a challenge and a huge responsibility.

“As he did during his times as the AGF, Governor of Gombe State and his service to Igbinedion University, Okada as a professorial chair, he will again help lead the institution devoted to our nation’s most precious resource - our young men and women.

“I wish His Excellency,

Talban Gombe success in this mandate and the very best as he begins this new chapter at this great institution founded by the great son of Africa, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR. I have no doubt that Dr. IH Dankwambo will leave an indelible mark in the realisation of the objectives of the Bells University of Technology, and I wish His Excellency success in your mandate.”

While commending the former governor on his selection, Barde expressed his support towards the success of his tenure as the Chancellor. “You can always count on my support in creating better education conditions for our young people, who are the future of our entire society,” he added.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 6, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER NOVEMBER 6, 2021

NEWS

CBN Grants MTN, Airtel Approval in Principle to Operate Payment Service Bank Emma Okonji The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted approval in principle to MTN and Airtel to operate a payment service bank (PSB) across the country, aimed at further driving Ànancial inclusion in Nigeria.

The approval in principle for both telecoms operators is coming two years after CBN granted the same category of licence to 9mobile, Globacom and another operator.

CBN had since communicated the approval in principle licence to both MTN and Airtel.

Announcing the approval yesterday, MTN in a statement signed by the Company’s Secretary, Uto Ukpanah, said: “MTN Nigeria Communications Plc (MTN Nigeria) as promoter, received an Approval in Principle (AIP) dated November 4, 2021 from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for a licence application for the proposed MoMo Payment

Service Bank Limited. This is the Àrst step in the process towards a Ànal approval, subMect to the fulÀlment of certain conditions as stipulated by the CBN. The decision to issue a Ànal approval is Àrmly within the regulatory purview of the CBN and we respect their right and Mudgment in that regard.”

MTN Nigeria therefore afÀrmed its commitment towards the Ànancial inclusion agenda of the CBN and the Federal Republic of Nigeria to continue

to explore means whereby it can contribute to its fulÀlment.

Airtel, which also announced yesterday, the approval granted it

by CBN to operate PSB, through a statement signed by the Group Company Secretary, Simon O’Hara, said: “Airtel Africa, with presence in 14 countries across Africa, announces that its subsidiary SmartCash Payment Services Bank Limited has been granted approval in principle to operate a payment service bank business in Nigeria.

Plateau Assembly Leadership Crisis Festers Seriki Adinoyi in Jos Reconciliation meeting to end the Plateau Assembly leadership crisis called yesterday evening by the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) in charge of Zone 4, Mustapha Dandaura, ended in a stalemate.

The embattled Speaker of the Assembly, Abok Ayuba and 11 other lawmakers were the Àrst to arrive at the Police O΀cers Mess, Jos, venue of the meeting at about 3:15p.m.

The state Commissioner of Police, CP Bartholomew Onyeka, came in thereafter before the new Speaker Yakubu Sanda and 11 other lawmakers arrived about 20 minutes later, before the AIG

arrived to start the meeting.

Journalists were ordered out of the hall.

After the meeting, the embattled Speaker who commended the AIG for calling the meeting, however, said nothing had changed.

He said, “From all indications due process was not followed in my removal; all we are saying is that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should be respected.”

He disclosed that all his security details had been withdrawn and that security has now been provided to the illegal Speaker.

“So I don’t have security now so I’m going into hiding.”

INEC: N100bn Too Meagre for 2023 General Elections DejiElumoyeinAbuja

MILK OF HUMAN KINDNESS… Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State (right) empathising with one of the survivors of an accident that took place at Nza Street, Independence Layout, Enugu, involving a truck and tricycles, at Posh Hospital, New Haven, Enugu, yesterday.

COP26: FG Targets 2060 to Out-phase Combustion Engines Chiemelie Ezeobi in Glasgow, Scotland In line with Nigeria’s agreement to the Paris Accord zeroed towards curbing global warming and its negative effects on the environment, the federal government has outlined measures to ensure combustion engines are out-phased by 2060 while gas and electricity-powered cars are embraced.

The 2060 target is also inline

with the Net Zero Emission target set by President Muhammadu Buhari last Monday at the high level meeting at the ongoing 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Glasgow, Scotland.

The Director General/CEO National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Jelani Aliyu, buttressed these plans while fielding questions from THISDAY after his presentation

at the Nigerian Pavilion at the Scotland Exhibition Centre (SEC).

He noted that given that the transportation sector is a maMor contributor to climate change due to its large scale emissions of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxides and other harmful gases, the development of a Green Automotive Industry is the largest and most effective strategy to meet the Paris Accord targets.

The director general said already, Nigeria has strategised

and begun implementing strategic initiatives with NADDC spearheading the creation of an effective environmentally conscious ecosystem for the nation’s Automotive Sector.

He revealed that through the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP), a government initiative that converts fuel-powered cars and generators from petrol to gas, the plan is to make gas the first choice source for cheaper and cleaner energy.

Police Sergeant Kills Colleague Rainoil Expands, Acquires Majority Stake in Eterna Plc Over Minor Argument

OlusegunSamuelinYenagoa

A police sergeant identified as Governor Akpos yesterday stabbed his cousin, Yerins Sapele, who was also a police sergeant to death over what eyewitnesses described as a minor disagreement in the Edepie area of Bayelsa State.

According to friends of the two policemen, the cousins attended a marriage ceremony at a popular hotel along INEC Road in Yenagoa metropolis, where they had a minor argument over a Moke the deceased cracked on the table they were seated.

It was learnt that Akpos who was said to be short tempered didn’t feel happy about the Moke and reacted angrily to the Moke in a violent manner.

According to sources, they both engaged in fisticuffs, but friends stepped in and settled the two policemen. It was further gathered

that after the problem between the two policemen was settled, the two brothers left the venue with the belief that they were going to their separate homes.

According to our source, Akpos instead of going home, trailed his cousin Yerins to a secluded place and stabbed him with a dagger on the left part of the ribs which killed him instantly.

Background investigation revealed that both Akpos and Yerins are cousins from Torugbene Community, Delta State, serving in Bayelsa State.

Confirming the tragic death of the policeman, and the arrest of the culprit who was later apprehended as he attempt to flee the state, the Spokesman of the Bayelsa State Command, Asinim Butwats, said the Commissioner of Police, Ben Okolo, has ordered the detention of the suspect.

Rainoil an indigenous downstream oil and gas company, has expanded its operations with the complete acTuisition of maMority shares in Eterna Plc, a publicly listed oil and gas company.

The move is consistent with the company’s focus on “strategic and value-driven investments” in the energy sector of the Nigerian economy.

The company had earlier in the year expanded its retail network into 22 states in the country and has continued to invest more in cutting-edge technology to maintain and improve excellent customer service delivery.

A statement from Rainoil said it completed the acTuisition of maMority shares of Eterna Plc through its investment arm - Preline Limited.

“On the 21st of December 2020, Eterna Plc issued a public state-

ment notifying shareholders, The Nigerian Exchange Limited and the general public of negotiations by substantial shareholders to sell equity holdings in the company.

On the 25th of August 2021, Eterna Plc announced the execution of a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) enabling Preline Limited to acquire 794,969,774 shares,” the company explained.

Commenting on the transaction, the Group Managing Director, Dr. Gabriel Ogbechie said: “The acquisition is in alignment with our targeted expansion strategy across the oil and gas value chain, and will position the company for sustainable growth and superior value creation for all our stakeholders. It also underlines our commitment to Nigeria at this critical evolution point of the Energy Sector.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday reMected N100 billion earmarked by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning for the conduct of 2023 general elections.

Chairman of INEC, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, who made this known while defending the commission’s 2022 budget before the Joint National Assembly Panel on INEC, said the N100 billion vote was outside INEC budget for 2022 which is N40 billion.

His words: “The N100bn is the first tranche for the 2023 general elections while N40bn is our normal budget for 2022.N189bn was appropriated for the 2019 general elections. So, it cannot be N100bn only for 2023.

“We are already in touch with the Federal Ministry of Finance on

the additional requirements for the 2023 general elections. Either we come to the National Assembly to defend the budget before the committee or we would do what we did in 2019 when the executive Must submitted the proposal to the National Assembly and we came to defend it.

“We would need more money because we’ve expanded our polling units and we are introducing new technology for elections among many other new innovations. The number of registered voters will increase beyond the 84 million for the 2019 general elections.

“Some of the things we needed would require four months, some five months while some would require seven months. We will start early preparations now that we have the money early enough and we will Must buy sensitive materials for the election.”

House Summons Humanitarian Minister for Shunning Appropriation Committee Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The House of Representatives has summoned the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Sadiya Umar Farouk, to appear before its Committee on Appropriation to defend the ministry’s 2022 budget.

The Committee Chairman, Hon. Muktar Betara, stated this yesterday at the ongoing budget defence, warning that the House would be forced to take a decisive action against the minister if she fails to appear.

The committee insisted that the minister who superintends the spendings in the ministry should come forward to account for it and not the permanent secretary of the ministry.

The committee noted that the minister has consistently refused to appear at the House of Representatives to defend the 2022 Budget of her ministry.

Betara insisted: “Sadiya Farouq, rather than appear before the committee, kept delegating the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Nura Alkali, to do this function.”

‘Tinubu Preferred Choice for 2023’ The National Coordinator for AsiwaMu Bola Ahmed Tinubu 2023, Mr. Olu Kabir Akanbi, has declared the former governor of Lagos State and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, as the preferred candidate for the post of the president of Nigeria come 2023.

Akanbi, who was in the company of the group, Secretary and Publicity Director; Mr. Bayo Adeoye, Mr. Olawale Solar respectively, said he has been tested and trusted.

“AsiwaMu Bola Ahmed Tinubu is tested and trusted. He needs no comparison as there is no basis for such,” adding, Tinubu is the person we need at this point to put Nigeria back on the track and among the comity of developing nations.”

“Lagos State development template is a shining example of Tinubu’s ability. AsiwaMu Bola Ahmed Tinubu is coming to rescue Nigeria out of the pending obscurity,” he added.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 6, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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NOVEMBER 6, 2021 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

COMMENTARY

RAILWAYS: BACK ON TRACK

The development of the rail system is of vital economic importance, writes Modu Abba

O

ne of the major achievements of the Buhari administration that is often underrated is the unwavering commitment to the restoration and modernization of the nation’s railway system. It was most unfortunate that the rail service across the country suffered decades of neglect in callous disregard of its strategic relevance to economic development and national integration.

Even when the Yar’Adua/Goodluck Jonathan administration decided to retrieve the railways from oblivion it was widely regarded as its own version of empty promise rather than a sincere effort to revive rail transportation. It was therefore a welcome departure from such a deplorable derailment of strategic development infrastructure when the Buhari administration, which could have simply ignored the project of a predecessor, not only continued but elevated it to top priority.

Nigerians have since been reaping this dynamic dividend of the administration, especially from the Abuja-Kaduna standard gauge which has become a vital alternative safe corridor for thousands of commuters on the bandit-besieged road, the cross-country narrow gauge rail lines being rehabilitated, and the Warri-Itakpe line.

Evidence of the government’s relentless determination to restore nation-wide efficient and dependable rail service was recently unveiled with the conduct of indepth review of the environmental impact assessment on the proposed overhaul of the narrow gauge Port Harcourt—Maiduguri rail line’s segment three accessories, Goniri-Gashua Railway Branch Lines covering Bauchi, Gombe, Borno and Yobe States, by a panel of environment experts and regulators under the chairmanship of Alhaji Isa Ozi Salami, an accomplished and versatile management guru.

During the team’s working visit to Bauchi, it was learnt that issues that would come under focus include the fears and concerns of stakeholders, benefits of the project to the economy and the adequacy of mitigation measures proposed in order to advise the minister of environment appropriately to prevent avoidable future obstructions to the project. The panel review is in conformity with extant laws to ensure environmental sustainability, good health and well being of host communities by minimizing adverse consequences and keeping incidences of noise, erosion and vegetation decay within permissible levels.

This positive development in railway restoration and modernization programme of the Buhari administration is also a pointer to the tremendous preparatory activities that take place prior to the visibility of project implementation that usually gets the attention of anxious members of the public. Though Nigerians will be eager to access the advantages of rail transportation in terms of safety and haulage costs compared to roads, they cannot forsake the critical importance of review of environmental impact assessment as enumerated in the assignment of the Isa Ozi Salami panel of experts which has since submitted its recom-

A REMARKABLE OUTCOME OF THE EXPERT REVIEW IS THE ELIMINATION OF THE OLD LEVEL CROSSINGS WHICH HAVE BEEN NOTORIOUS CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS INVOLVING VEHICLES AND TRAINS IN THE PAST

mendations to the Minister of Environment.

A remarkable outcome of the expert review is the elimination of the old level crossings which have been notorious causes of accidents involving vehicles and trains in the past but are now to be replaced with overhead or underground facilities as a technical alternative that conforms with modern international traffic safety standards.

International best practices in project conceptualization and execution emphasize such preliminary considerations in order to safeguard the sustainability of existing human and other resources in areas earmarked for major projects both during and after the implementation processes. Such investigations provide requisite data and other indicators which can be factored into the project execution to forestall avoidable adverse impact or minimize consequences.

Considering the increasing tendency for neglected competing interests and survival factors to provoke conflicts and pose threats to helpless communities and endangered species on account of normal growth in population or industrialization, the significance of embarking on environmental impact assessments as an integral part of project design and implementation cannot be over-emphasized.

It is therefore a value-added strategy in the rail restoration and modernization project to pre-empt the eruption of such mishaps and conflicts in the planning stage as being expertly carried out by the Isa Ozi Salami panel of environmentalists and regulators because it is a quality assurance factor on the long-term sustainability and eco-friendly features built into the railway system.

The location of the ongoing work of the environmental impact assessment review in Bauchi, Gombe, Borno and Yobe States is an encouraging sign of the gradual but assured restoration of peace and cessation of terrorist attacks in the troubled North East zone as well as the readiness of the Buhari administration to promptly bring meaningful development to the people of the states.

In this context it is pertinent to point out that railway transportation as a mass transit option that the generality of our people can afford across the country while also having the capacity to carry huge consignments of cargo such as agricultural produce and other commercial goods conveniently and economically, is an important promoter of unity and development. It will also significantly divert heavy haulage traffic from our roads which already faced annual degradation due to weather conditions that was worsened by collapse of the railways.

While looking forward to the successful completion of all the necessary preliminary work and smooth commencement of the next level of project execution and commissioning of the nation’s railways, we should urge the Buhari administration to increase the tempo of such progressive development strides across the national transport sector.

Abba wrote from Damaturu

AMOTEKUN: SECURING THE PEACE

Dwelleth Morountodun writes that the Oyo State command of Amotekun Corps is rising up to the challenge

I

n today’s dizzying and fast-paced world, emplacement of security across board has become everybody’s concern. It is therefore not an anomaly that security is perhaps one of the most discussed topics anywhere and anytime in the world today. On daily basis especially in the print, electronic and social media, one hears about senseless killings of innocent persons and property occasioned by terrorist activities, banditry and criminality not only in our country, but across other jurisdictions.

The 2020 Global Terrorism Index (GTI) released

by Vision of Humanity says that Nigeria is the third country most impacted by terrorism. For eleven years now Nigerian has been battling the Boko Haram and ISWAP among other militant groups.

Within that period, other security challenges have surfaced resulting in kidnapping, farmers/herders’ clashes and armed robbery. Truth be told, Nigerians neither enjoy security or welfare which the 1999 Constitution of the country in section 14 (2) (b) says is the primary purpose of government.

In order to find solutions to these security challenges, the idea of a collaborative security outfit among the six states in the South-West (Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti) came out of a summit held in Ibadan on 25th June 2019.

The insecurity put considerable pressure on the South-west governors at a time that many farmers were being forced to abandon their only means of livelihood and villagers were deserting their homes due to incessant attacks.

Held under the auspices of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, the Director General, Mr. Seye Oyeleye, had assured before the meeting that the outcome would provide concrete ideas on how to secure the region. That idea birthed the Amotekun Corps.

To this end, the Western Nigeria Security Network, otherwise known as “Operation Amotekun,” was thus established on January 9,

2020 to tackle head-on the insecurity in the region.

Since its establishment, the Oyo State command of Amotekun Corps has risen up to the challenge.

It has been supported by Governor Seyi Makinde administration which has been investing massively in security and Amotekun in particular by providing operational vehicles, communication equipment, ballistic jacket/helmets, non-prohibitive arms within the prescribed laws. Additionally, operational logistics such as fueling, regular maintenance of vehicles, medical services for the corps members and regular payments of salaries are being provided to boost their morale.

Attesting to this in a recent media chat, the Commandant, Amotekun Corps, Oyo State, Col. Olayinka Olayanju (rtd), said “a befitting” State Headquarters is undergoing massive remodeling at Akinyele area of Ibadan. The complex, he added will have both operational and administrative facilities as well as modern training facilities for operatives. Col Olayinka therefore appealed to members of the public and well-meaning citizens both at home and in diaspora to support the government of Oyo State to do even more.

While commending Governor Seyi Makinde for his unalloyed support to the corps, the commandant pointed out that efforts are at advance stage to enroll corps members in the ‘Oyo health Insurance Scheme’ and to procure ‘Insurance policy’ with a reputable insurance company to cater for death, partial or permanent disability involving members and personnel. The commandant stressed that the state government recently promised to compensate families of corps members who unfortunately lost their lives in the line of duty with the sum of N2.5 million and the institution of scholarship schemes for the deceased personnel’s children. “This gesture, which gladdens the heart of all corps members, has gone to show that the government takes the issue of security seriously and that the welfare of those charged with protecting us seriously. The issue is

not only about the compensation given – which is highly commendable, but the fact that life is precious and no amount of money can substitute for the loss of a loved one. Nonetheless, it goes to show that the Makinde administration is a caring administration,” the commandant stressed.

Olayanju, also pointed out that the corps is working in tandem with agencies within the state and South-west Amotekun commanders to ensure peace and stability so that citizens can go about their lawful duties. He said since its establishment last year, Amotekun has brought relative peace and stability to the state compared to the same period the previous year. “There has been a considerable difference with where we are now and where we were two years ago. Through our security strategies, we have been able to bring to the barest minimum incidences of suspected herdsmen attack in Oyo State. I want to commend the people of Oyo State for standing firmly behind Amotekun and giving us their unalloyed support.”

The Command has also been showing their human and compassionate side. For instance, Sarafa Ajayi of Pakoyi area Oyo West Local Government, whose life was saved by operatives of the corps, was filled with encomium for the well-trained men of Amotekun. Ajayi, who went for a time out at Akibest, a fun spot in the area, sustained gunshot wounds on her left shoulder and left buttocks following a violent clash between rival gangs of Eye Confraternity, a violent cult gang in the vicinity. The shootout between two rival gangs, Aye and Alora, attracted the attention of the Oyo Amotekun Corps who were on their usual patrol. The corps was able to restore sanity to the area by arresting some of the cultists and handing them over to the Police.

Operatives also rushed the victim to the hospital.

“I want to sincerely thank Amotekun for saving my life,” Sarafa Ajayi said. “If Amotekun had not arrived when they did I wouldn’t be alive today.

Their promptness in taking me to the hospital

saved my life.” Another resident, Olarewaju Gbadamosi, who was mugged and his personal belongings stolen from him was full of praises for Amotekun for being on ground to help him. “I was walking toward the bus stop at night when three men accosted me and demanded I give them my mobile phone and laptop. Seeing that I was outnumbered I gave them the phone and laptop, but one of them hit me with a metal and I started bleeding. I started shouting from pain and my shout attracted a patrol team of Amotekun who came and rescued me. They also apprehended the criminals. I thank members of the patrol team for also conveying me to the hospital for treatment and also for retrieving my phone and laptop.”

The corps is also at the forefront in containing the farmers/herders clash in the state. Alhaji Oladega Ismail of Iseyin Local Government Area whose large cassava farm was ravaged by cattle applauded the bold move by Amotekun to forestall the breakdown of law and order in the area following activities of herdsmen. “I got an urgent call from my foreman that Fulani herdsmen and their herd of cattle were in my farm eating up my cassava. I immediately rushed to the farm and what I saw was devastating. All my crops were uprooted and eaten by the cows. We called Amotekun who arrested the herders. They paid a mere N130,000 for their action. Though a symbolic gesture, I believe it may deter others in the future.”

Because of the achievements that the Amotekun strategy has evolved in security operations and peace building in the state, the Director General, Operation Burst, Oyo State, Col. Joseph Oladipo, praised the corps for its performance and presence in the 33 LGAs, stressing that they have that local knowledge of the localities and by so doing they provide local intelligence for collaboration by other outfits.

Morountodun, Online Journalist with Extraordinairenews.com, wrote from Ibadan

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NOVEMBER 6, 2021 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

INSIGHT

What a waste!

NCAA, Globacom and Regulatory Impropriety

The Savagery of Celebrities

A

-list Nigerian artiste, Tiwa Savage, recently sleepwalked into a social media storm when a video of her presumably making out with her lover got out days after she had raised the alarm that someone was trying to blackmail her with the same video.

The video set off a social media firestorm.

While some celebrities and fans queued behind Savage, offering words of support as well as advice, others have sharply criticized her, faulting her lack of proper judgment and generally, her distasteful negligence.

Nigeria is a star-stuck country with music icons, movie stars, athletes, models, world renowned writers, etc., all pooling large local following. Thus, when any of these celebrities get in the news, Nigerians are easily whipped into a frenzy of excitement. The large following that these celebrities garner is not just on paper.

It usually translates to millions in income raked in by the celebrities through the patronage of adoring fans and endorsements, local and international, targeted at the fanbase.

These celebrities are genuinely loved and tremendously influential. The musicians among them for example are widely popular with Nigeria`s impressionable young people. Thus, the clothes they wear, the language they weave into their songs, and the lifestyles they endorse are instant hits. They shape popular culture and a lot of young Nigerians desire to be like them.

The adulation is real and heartwarming.

The downside of celebrity is that the minutest details of life of the celebrity are cast under the microscope of painstaking public scrutiny. It is in this wise that a lot of Nigerian celebrities come up short, expecting to lap up the mammoth adulation and privilege that comes with enjoying cult-hero status among millions while paying disdainful disregard for the responsibility that comes with at least providing moments of moral clarity for their teeming followers.

Another Nigerian celebrity, Tonto Dike, has been recently trending over a messy breakup with her ex-lover. Wild allegations have flown freely between the camps of both parties bringing to the fore once again the mess Nigerians have to keep up with when they unavoidably tune into the public space.

As Nigeria continues to bear witness to a gradual desecration of her dearest values, the list of those who must be held responsible continues to grow.

In the political space, there is an ever-growing

coterie of charlatans who count Nigerian politicians as some of their most prestigious members. Armed with avarice wider than the confluence of Rivers Niger and Benue, they play politics with as much savagery as they can summon. For them, it is about the opportunities that are available to line their private pockets.

They rig elections, twist the law, manipulate the system and muddle up the polity until there is nothing left but ghosts and shadows.

In the social space, there is the comedy of celebrities who preen and prance with embarrassingly little to give back to Nigerians other than immorality, indiscretion, immodesty and imprudence. They put out toxic messages, successfully corrupt Nigeria`s youngest minds while making jaw-dropping amounts out of the patronage of Nigerians who continue to slide into austerity.

In Nigeria, there is a haunting famine of good examples. Instead, an abundant harvest comes from vices which fasten themselves easily and proliferate effortlessly.

Being a Nigerian these days is a most difficult task. No one should make it more difficult for Nigerians. Not least those who feed off the adulation of Nigerians.

Kene Obiezu, keneobiezu@gmail.com

P

resident Barack Obama in his first official visit to sub-Saharan Africa in 2009, during his renowned speech at Ghanaian parliament, urged Africa to build strong institutions. He said,“Africa does not need strong men. It needs strong institutions.”The need for strong institutions with regulatory prowess to uphold rule of law, ensure efficiency, and ease of doing business, cannot be overemphasized. While strong institutions are needed to build nations, businesses, etc., unchecked excesses of such institutions, especially government regulatory agencies can be counterproductive and at the end, achieve the opposite.

Recently, there was media report containing what supposed to be confidential correspondences between Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and Globacom Limited with the title: “Illegal Erection of High Structures and Refusal to Renew Expired Aviation Height Clearance Certificates by Globacom Nigeria Limited”. In the letter, NCAA is alleging that Globacom Limited is indebted to the agency over the latter’s failure to pay N5.9 billion as renewal fees for “height clearance” and other related fees.

In earlier memo, NCAA also accused Globacom Limited of allegedly breaching air safety by erecting telecommunication masts without Aviation Height

T H E SAT U R DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE DEPUTY EDITOR AHAMEFULA OGBU MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE

T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

Clearance approvals and failure to renew already expired ones: “Please be reminded that Section 30(3) of the Civil Aviation Act 2006 empowers the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) by law to prohibit and regulate the installation of any structure, which by virtue of its height or position is considered to endanger the safety of air navigation”.

After reading the story cum correspondences between the two parties, I would have commended NCAA for living up to its responsibility as civil aviation watchdog in ensuring safety of airways, but the motive of the letter to Globacom Limited was not borne out of concern for safety, but exploitative tendencies. It is true that government needs revenues generated via fees, taxes, etc., to fund the budget and other financial obligations but debt recovery not properly manage can create more problems in a strategic sector like telecom industry.

And when debt recovery is confused with safety regulations, it sends conflicting signals. Every corporate entity should as a matter of responsibility pay its debts. I am not saying that Globacom Limited is above the law and cannot be sanctioned by the authorized agency if found wanting, but this should be done properly, so that no one’s right is trampled upon at the end of the day because where one person’s rights ends another person’s own begins.

NCAA complained of illegal erection of towers/masts and non-payment of the renewal of height clearance certificates by Globacom Limited. Ironically, from NCAA’s standpoint as expressed in the letters, what made those masts/ towers illegal, was because payment for Aviation Height Clearance Certificates had not been made as alleged, not necessarily because Globacom’s masts breached any safety of air navigation. In as much I condemn any act of illegality, NCAA’s position is riddled with contradictions.

So, if Globacom Limited had paid for height clearance certificates for newly erected masts and renewed expired ones, those masts termed “unsafe” and “Illegal” by NCAA would have automatically become “safe” and “legal”. In the foregoing, the only yardstick that made NCAA to mark them as “Illegal” and “unsafe” was as a result of revenues that would have accrued from those telecommunication infrastructure. This is very unfortunate.

Chidiebere Nwobodo, Abuja

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER NOVEMBER 6, 2021

14

NEWS Commercial Activities Grounded in Awka Nseobong Okon-Ekong

Commercial activities were halted in Awka, Anambra State yesterday as residents, largely, remained in the conÀnes of their homes in obedience to an earlier sit-at-home directive issued by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which was withdrawn on Thursday night.

The separatist group had instructed residents of states in the South-east to observe a Àve-day sit-at-home beginning from Friday, November 5 in continuation of the demand for the release of its incarcerated leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

The planned protest which entered into the period of the

FAREWELL TO LADY VICTORIA AGUIYI-IRONSI… R-L: Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Ude Oko Chukwu, former Abia State governor and lawmaker representing Abia Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Theodore Orji, and his wife, Mercy Odochi Orji, during the funeral mass for late Noble Lady Victoria Aguiyi Ironsi at St. Theresa Catholic Parish Umuahia...yesterday

N28bn Capital Allocation for Army in 2022 Budget Inadequate, Says House Committee Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The House of Representatives Committee on Army has lamented that the sum of N28 billion appropriated for the Army as capital in the 2022 budget was inadequate.

The Chairman of the committee, Abdulrazaq Namdas, stated this yesterday when the Chief of Army StaͿ, Lt-Gen. Faruk Yahaya, came to defend the budget.

He said it was the wish of the committee to also draw the attention of the president to the plight of the o΀cers living in dilapidated structures across 138 barracks in the country.

Namdas stated: “Proposing N28 billion as capital for the Army 2022 is very inadequate.

Even if the entire money is to be used for the rehabilitation of the barracks alone, it would still be very inadequate.

“In 2021, the capital was N29

billion, 2022, it is N28 billion.

So instead of moving up, it is coming down and this budget is about capital. You use capital to buy equipment, you use capital to prosecute the war, you use capital to also renovate barracks.

“It is the wish of this committee to also draw the attention of the president to the plight of our o΀cers and living in dilapidated structures scattered across 138 barracks in the country.”

“However, we must tell you

the truth that the morale of your men in respect to accommodation is low. A lot needs to be done in that area. This is because your men can only be the best if they are psychologically stable,” Namdas added.

The committee chairman noted that it was hoped that the Armed Forces Fund Bill currently awaiting concurrence at the Senate when passed and assented to by the president would help tackle some of these maMor challenges.

Mitee, Other Ogoni Leaders Urge Wike to Lead Discussion on Resumption of OML 11 Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt Leaders of Ogoni ethnic nationality have unanimously agreed that the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, should lead a multi-consultative forum to discuss with the federal government on the planned resumption of oil production in OML 11.

The Ogoni stakeholders said the choice of the governor was aimed at preventing saboteurs who may want to adopt divide

and rule tactics to cause a crisis in Ogoni at the detriment of the people.

Briefing Mournalists after the closed door meeting held at the Executive Chambers of Government House, Port Harcourt, former President of the Movement for the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Ledum Mitee, said the meeting with Governor Wike was sequel to the meeting a delegation of Ogoni leaders had with President Muhammadu Buhari a couple of

weeks ago in AbuMa. According to him, the Ogoni delegation to AbuMa discussed a number of issues, stressing that it was important to brief Governor Wike on those issues.

“We reviewed the outcome of that meeting and we, as a people, resolved that the issues that were discussed are such that they required partnership with the state government.

“In other words, we felt that the Government of Rivers State

and Ogoni people would work together to pursue some of those issues that were raised as outcome of that meeting, specifically on the issues of OML 111 and resumption of oil.

“We felt that it required some sustained and painstaking consultation process which must involve the state government partnering with us and its leadership on how we will go together to work. So that some divide and rule will not be exploited to the detriment of

Amotekun Filling Vacuum Created by Be Explicit on Fuel Subsidies, Under Recovery, CSOs Tell FG Security Agencies, Says Akeredolu Fidelis David in Akure The Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has said the Ondo State Security Network Agency codenamed ¶Amotekun Corps’, was effectively filling the vacuum created by the overstretched conventional security agencies, particularly the police in the state.

Akeredolu who spoke in Akure, while playing host to the participants of Course 30 of the National Defence College (NDC), AbuMa, led by the Commandant, Rear Admiral Oladele DaMi, noted that Amotekun Corps was a product of circumstance which is essentially created to fill the obvious security gap in the state

for the security of all.

“So, we must make sure we tackle it. You kidnap to the extent that you killed a first class monarch; this is very bad. As a government, we owe it a duty to secure the lives and property of our people,” the governor emphasised.

The governor insisted that no genuine herders would graze his herds of cow with AK-47, Must as he said any herder who destroys any farmland in the state would be made to pay compensation to the affected farmer.

He explained that the Amotekun Corps was now engaging in road patrol to further ensure the security of lives and property of all residents across the state.

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

The Citizens Wealth Platform (CWP) has advised the federal government to make an explicit provision in the 2022 Appropriation Bill on how to abolish fuel subsidies, under recovery or any subsidy on petroleum motor spirit (PMS) by whatever name called or under any guise whatsoever.

CWP, a forum of nongovernmental and faith-based organisations, professional associations and other citizens groups said in a publication titled: ¶Frivolous, Inappropriate, Unclear and Wasteful Estimates in The 2022 Federal Appropriation Bill’, that it unearthed a total

sum of N227 billion frivolous line items in the proposed 2022 federal government budget.

It called on the government to consider domiciling the accounts of relevant Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs and agencies in sub-accounts of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and deduct the due percentages of operating surpluses at source before transferring the residue to the GOEs and agencies. ]This, it noted, would ensure that all due operating surpluses and portions of due internally generated revenue (IGR) are deducted at source, putting the estimated guaranteed FGN operating surplus revenue of not less than N2 trillion.

Anambra State gubernatorial election on Saturday November 6 would have ended on November 10.

But Thursday night, Spokesman for IPOB, Emma Powerful said the group succumbed to pleadings from high-ranking clergy and traditional rulers from the region to rescind the sit-at-home order to allow an unhindered governorship exercise in Anambra.

However, many residents in the state capital Awka said they were either not aware of the withdrawal of the sit-at-home order or were too scared of reprimand attacks from IPOB members to risk opening their businesses.

Ownership Tussle: Court Orders Eko Hospital Management to Maintain Status Quo Wale Igbintade A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos yesterday warned parties to a management tussle between the board members of the Eko Hospital, Lagos, to maintain status quo ante bellum, a situation as it existed before the suit was filed.

Justice Peter Lifu made the order following an application by plaintiffs’ counsel Mr. Kemi Pinheiro, SAN. The plaintiffs in the matter are Dr. Sunday Kuku, Uzochukwu Eneli, Ufo Atuanya, Ikechukwu Eneli, Ify Eneli, Nwamaka Ezekwugo, for themselves as beneficiaries of the estate of late Dr. Alexander Chukwuma Eneli.

The respondents are EKOCORP PLC, Geoff Ohen Ltd, Prof. J.O. Irukwu, SAN, Dr. Augustine Amaechi Obiora, Greenwich Registrars and Data Solutions Ltd, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Corporate Affairs Commission.

The plaintiffs are seeking an inMunction, pending the hearing and determination of this suit, restraining the 6th and 7th Defendants/ Respondents, from giving effect to the resolution approving the sale by private placement of 110,000,000 units of shares to the 2nd Respondent or any resolution(s) passed at the 1st Defendant/ Respondent’s purported extraordinary meeting held on the 3rd day of June, 2021.

Confusion as Fire Razes Parts of Abuja Market Parts of a market in Kubwa in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was last night razed by a Àre whose source was yet to be determined as at press time.

Shortly after the Àre broke out, Àrst responders, including the Federal Road Safety Corps, Fire Fighters and the FCT’s Emergency Management Agency were at the market.

The acting Director, Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency, Mrs. Florence Wenegieme, said “The incident happened not quite long. I can’t tell you the cause but I can tell you

that three persons have died but we are yet to take out the corpses because hoodlums have taken over the place, they also did not allow our men to do their Mobs. They have parked somewhere waiting for the police to come.”

According to eyewitness accounts, there was an explosion followed by the Àre, which was put out by ÀreÀghters, but not without huge loss of property, adding that some lives were lost but do not know the exact number of people.

Those inMured by the Àre were taken to hospital for treatment.

Wema Bank to Launch Rewards for Customer Loyalty Rebecca Ejifoma ThankUCash, Nigeria’s Àrst and largest rewards and discounts platform, has partnered Wema Bank to power the bank’s loyalty reward programme for its merchants and customers.

The partnership will see ThankUCash use its multimerchant reward network to deploy a loyalty infrastructure with an enormous backend technology needed to support the Wema Bank’s loyalty programme.

The partnership will allow customers to earn reward points from merchants of the bank on all commercial transactions.

The Co-founder and CEO of Connected Analytics Inc. (owner of the ThankUCash brand), Simeon Ononobi, said that the goal of the company

was to connect customers with businesses.

Ononobi emphasised: “This is to help businesses grow and prosper while helping customers get the best deals and earn some cash on every purchase and transaction.”

He further noted that this is what the partnership with organisations like Wema Bank will achieve for the customers and merchants or businesses alike.

15

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾NOVEMBER 6, 2021

08054699539

Zulum’s Prickly Threat to Eject IDPs in Maiduguri

M

aiduguri is home to about a million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs); all victims of the Boko Haram attacks from across Borno State.

There are 16 official camps in this town, with scores of other informal ones. The camps at the housing estate in Auno; Stadium, Bakassi, Muna Garage, Gubio, Dalori I & II, are some of the sites overflowing with IDPs in the Borno State’s capital.

Some of these traumatised people have been living in these hideous settlements for over 11 years. They are desperate to go home because living here is horrifying. IDPs struggle for meals and hardly get enough.

Here, hunger, disease and malnutrition pervade. Women and children are sexually assaulted. Boko Haram also pummels them intermittently. But they can’t return to their villages and towns because terrorists still dominate. Some of these distressed Borno State local government areas are presently inaccessible. Government officials don’t go there without heavy escorts. Governor Babagana Zulum visits these areas with massive security convoy. You need to see Zulum’s armada to understand what I am talking about.

The IDPs would love to return home, away from the horrible camps in Maiduguri but they fear for their lives. Suddenly, Governor Zulum wants to force them out of these encampments. He wants them returned home and into the claws of Boko Haram. Two weeks ago, the Borno State Governor claimed reasonable peace had returned to all parts of Borno State and all IDPs camps within Maiduguri metropolis would be closed by December 31.

“The Borno State Government has concluded arrangements to ensure closure of all Internally Displaced Persons camps that are inside Maiduguri Metropolitan on or before 31st of December 2021,” declared Zulum. This is dreadful. Closing the camps is premature move. Yes, attacks have slowed in the troubled areas, but most of the towns and villages outside Maiduguri are still not safe. The terrorists are very much on ground.

Just last Tuesday, fighters of the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) attacked members of a joint security team conducting clearance operations in Malam Fatori, the headquarters of Abadam LG, killing two Mobile Policemen and a soldier.

The clearance operations were in preparation for the return and resettlement of IDPs. This is the same Malam Fatori that Zulum is planning to return 50,000 households who fled from Abadam and

Zulum

took refuge in Bosso, Niger Republic.

They ran to Niger Republic following persistent attacks by Boko Haram. The attacks have not ceased.

Is it not preposterous that Zulum is even talking about returning these hapless Nigerians to communities in the notorious Mallam Fatori? Mallam Fatori has been a ghost town for years because of the activities of terrorists. Virtually everybody in this area moved to Niger republic. Now, Zulum says he wants to bring back everybody from Niger Republic by November 27 because “there is reasonable peace” in the town. The story of peace here is subterfuge. I doubt if anybody will agree to return to Mallam Fatori. Zulum should allow the return to Mallam Fatori happen naturally. The people would know when their communities in Mallam Fatori are safe.

On the same November 2, ISWAP fighters attempted to infiltrate Maiduguri. Many of them, on pickup trucks, opened fire on a military checkpoint in Molai, Kaga LG, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, triggering a gunfight that lasted for more than an hour. Reinforcement teams from Maiduguri, hunters residing at the village and Army’s

Forward Operating Base (FOB) Molai, dashed to the scene to scuttle ISWAP’s move.

Again, early this week, Abou Aseyia, who was recently appointed the Chief of ISWAP forces in Sambisa forest, mounted an illegal check point on the Damaturu-Maiduguri Road for several hours, with 13 gun trucks, two MRAP and one Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC).

Scores of travellers were abducted in the process. The roadblock was precisely at Tamsukau, in Kaga LG, about 7 kilometres from Ngamdu. A Nigerian Army Super Camp is located in Ngamdu, yet Aseyia and his boys were running riot. The terrorists, dressed in military uniforms, set up the checkpoint, which the commuters mistook to be that of Nigerian soldiers.

So, the terrorists abducted them with ease.

ISWAP fighters also struck in Mugumeri last Wednesday. They attacked a community hospital and burnt a telecommunications mast in the town. The terrorists also stole drugs and other medical consumables from the hospital during the raid. Magumeri is just 40 kilometers from Maiduguri.

Nine days back, the guerrillas stormed Damboa, killing and maiming. Some policemen attached to the mobile unit in the town were killed. They drove into Damboa with eight gun-trucks and operated for hours. The terrorists headed straight to the Damboa MOPOL barracks and razed their buildings with the two MOPOL vehicles on ground. Afterwards, they headed to the CJTF Outpost in the town and set it on fire. They also burnt one vehicle belonging to the CJTF. Any terror group with this kind of courage, manpower, arms and ammunition is still very strong. They proved it in the last two weeks. So, I can’t understand the “reasonable degree of peace” Zulum is talking about.

In a number of communities in Borno State where IDPs were earlier resettled, they had to scamper to Maiduguri when they came under Boko Haram’s attack.

Schools, homes and clinics built for them were destroyed by the terrorists. The story government told them then was that the communities were now safe. It turned out to be a ruse.

Besides the issue of security, the homes and businesses of IDPs have been destroyed by the terrorists and they will require basic infrastructure if they are to be returned home today.

Things are evidently not in place for these people to restart their lives.

Hanoch Hebron, a Gender and Inclu-

Security Cracks in Abuja

Yahaya

Terrorists are slipping in and out of Abuja with ease. That’s the truth. Security agents must be proactive. Technology and equipment are vital. This is the modern way of combating terrorism. Mounting security checkpoints, and creating crisis for motorist, as being witnessed in Abuja in the last few days, is not the way to go.

Terrorists will not wait in the traffic to be apprehended. Residents of Abuja, especially those who live along the Abuja-Keffi expressway in areas like Kugbo, Karu, Jokwoyi, Orozo, Karshi, Nyanya, Mararaba, One-man village, Masaka, among other satellite towns, are going through hell as a result of roadblocks mounted by soldiers.

It’s so sad that the terrorists in a daring morning raid slipped into the staff quarters of the University of Abuja last Tuesday and abducted six people.

The good news is that the abductees have regained freedom after paying ransom. But will the perpetrators ever be arrested and brought to book?

It hardly happens. Another set of terrorists had eight days back stormed the staff quarters of Junior Secondary School (JSS) Yebu in Kwali Area Council of Abuja, and abducted the Vice Principal, Mohammed Nuhu. Few days after the Yebu abduction, the Chief Imam of Yabgoji Central Mosque, Abubakar Abdullahi Gbedako, who is also the vice principal of Junior Secondary School, Kwaita, Kwali Area Council, was also abducted.

Abuja is clearly not looking good.

Our security agents must rise to the challenges of tackling terrorism with technology, equipment, and quality manpower. These are the imperatives of modern policing.

Seeking assistance from developed climes is a key option out of this mess. Those leading this country can’t continue pretending that Nigeria doesn’t need assistance from stable climes. We must continue to pressure our leaders to do the needful as pain persists across Nigeria.

sion Coordinator at Plan International, who has worked with IDPs in the past six years remarked soberly: “I particularly feel that the Borno State Government is not prepared in terms of what it needs to do. The question is: Where are the IDPs going? Also, are there enough health services to accommodate the number of people returning? Do they have any means of livelihood yet? Where will they get basics like water, accessible food, markets and other necessities to sustain life? These are some of the factors that are missing at the moment.”

Abba Kawu, an IDP living in Dalori 1, adds: “Many of us are scared of returning to our ancestral homes, especially with the recent attack in Damboa. Some, including myself, may remain in the minicamps until we are sure of our safety.”

This talk by Zulum about the Nigerian military providing the needed support to the IDPs to return home is a farce. Our gallant soldiers are doing their best but have not shown capacity for this. They are even struggling to protect their bases. Few weeks back, the Nigerian Army base in Katarko, Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State was attacked by Boko Haram.

This base has been attacked thrice this year. The recent attack saw the terrorists engaging security agents in the base in heavy shooting, forcing residents to run to the bushes for safety. The terrorists drove into Katarko in 10 gun-trucks, attacked the military base and took caches of arms and ammunition. The military is yet to capture those behind this heinous attack.

Last September, the terrorists also attacked the base of “Operation Hadarin Daji” located in Burkusuma village, Sabon Birni LG of Sokoto, on the fringes of Nigeria’s border with Niger Republic, leaving nine soldiers, four policemen (MOPOL) and three NSCDC officers dead. The bandits overran the base with a large number of fighters. Six weeks after, the attackers are yet to be apprehended. So, Zulum’s talk about the military shepherding the IDPs is not feasible.

The IDPs will naturally leave Maiduguri and return to their homes if genuine peace returns to the troubled communities. Even a blind man would know when Boko Haram is genuinely eliminated. This is the task that must be done; not forcing IDPs out of Maiduguri into the claws of terrorists. Zulum must be stopped from executing this hazardous plan.

Still on Boko Haram, it is depressing that the terrorists are still enjoying a free rein in many communities in Shiroro and Munya local government areas of Niger State, weeks after the devastated residents cried out for help. Last May, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello raised the first alarm that Boko Haram had hoisted their flag in Kaure Village in Munya LG. As at yesterday, the terrorists were still maiming and killing in Munya and Shiroro. They have also shut many schools in the LGs. Six weeks ago, the Chairman of Shiroro LG, Sulaiman Chikuba reported: “As the Chairman of Shiroro LG, I can tell you that Shiroro is not only dealing with the issue of banditry, Shiroro has a lot of Boko Haram.

I have proof of this as the Chairman. Boko Haram has proclaimed that they do not want conventional primary and secondary schools; their only preference is the Islamic school. They have been trying to incorporate and recruit the residents to become members, telling them that they will give them arms to assist Boko Haram in fighting the government.”

Things are getting worse in Shiroro and Munya LGs. Boko Haram is sitting firmly and controlling these territories.

How can this be happening in a country with a legitimate government? Who else do we appeal too now to save the citizens of Shiroro and Munya? Is it the same Nigerian military that has been overwhelmed? A tough one!

16

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER NOVEMBER 6, 2021

TRIBUTE Femi Otedola @ 59: Indelible Footprints of a Nigerian Entrepreneurial Maven Darlington Nwobodo

senator, or even president to touch lives; be rich, powerful and create opportunities for others.

As a paragon of this philosophy, despite being the son of a successful politician—exgovernor, and indigenous to politically conscious state like Lagos, Femi Otedola has refused all attempts to be dragged into murky waters of politics. His own politics is that of private sector—business, investing and entrepreneurship. He has excelled very well in this area to the extent that career politician envy him.

“The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.”

— William James

T

ime is the unit of life. We are all in transit. Centuries had come and gone. Empires had risen and fallen. Life being a voyage, both powerful and weak individuals had transversed this universe. There were times when we were not here, we are here today. There will be a time when we will no longer be present here, but represented by our legacies. The shades, colors and imaginations of memories that will be held about us, depends solely on how judiciously and impactfully we use our time here while still transiting.

In the equation of life, other variables can change, but time remains eternally constant.

This is one of the reasons it is important to be conscious of our time; how we spend it, and what will be remembered of us when we finally take the inevitable flight of death into eternity. This is the philosophy that inspired the noble postulation of Williams James, American philosopher and a historian, that the great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.

Birthdays cum anniversaries are opportunities, not only to mark time as unit of life, but windows of introspection to x-ray whether we are truly living or merely existing. In order to make the world a better place, while we urge people to live a life of impact, we are morally obligated to celebrate those already living in that realm of positive legacies—entrenching indelible footprints on the sands of time. And elevate them to olympian height where they will be torchbearers for those coming behind.

Femi Otedola is an exemplar of this ideology; an entrepreneurial maven cum quintessential businessman—a renowned philanthropist, using his legacies to engrave his name with gold on the path of life. As Grandmaster of the Universe, God programmed entrance into this physical realm in times and seasons. On 4th of November, 1962, like a ship on voyage of destiny, Femi anchored on the shores of Sir Michael Otedola’s family—his time on earth began ticking.

59 years - a year shy of 60 years, down this glorious journey, his life has not only been a success but a huge inspiration to younger and up-coming generations. One of the difficulties children born into influential homes usually have, is stepping into the great shoes left by their parents and maintaining the family name.

Femi Otedola had neither of these challenges.

In fact, he felt uncomfortable existing under his father’s shadows. He started with the fierce zeal like the son of nobody, without any privileged family background.

As the son of ex-Lagos State governor, whose father governed the economic hub of West Africa between 1992 and 1993, Femi Otedola did not only sustain the father’s name, but step out of its cloak to carve a niche for himself in the business world. In his almost 60 years stint in life, so far, every nook and cranny of the Nigeria’s economy cum polity, has had entrepreneurial grit and wit of this shrewd investor and ebullient billionaire written on it, albeit with bold letters.

From oil, gas, maritime, power, real estate, banking, etcetera, Femi Otedola has blazed the trail—and still breaking into new frontiers.

I chose to celebrate one of Nigeria’s employers of labour on the occasion of his 59th birthday, not out of highfalutin sycophancy or parochial interest, but as a result of my ideology which resonates with a school of thought—we should magnify the values and personalities we want to see replicated in the

Otedola

Otedola, simple-styled billionaire, is a renowned philanthropist. He has given billions of naira in aid to various groups, organizations and individuals. He shares the philosophy of Albert Pike that what we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal society.

Certainly Africa as a developing continent needs to be driving by entrepreneurs with progressive ideals, because extraordinary entrepreneurs rule the world today. They provide jobs; essential services cum products, create opportunities for prosperity, and literally make the world go round. In rich countries, most of the times, entrepreneurs with proven track records get the admirations of their fellow citizens more than politicians, because of the impact their innovations expressed via their business empires have had on the populace.

In the United States, for example, the likes of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Mark Zuckerberg, etcetera, are revered as economic behemoths that command a lot of respect

from both governments and citizens, not necessarily because of their wealth but as a result of their entrepreneurial exploits which have created opportunities for others. Developing countries like Nigeria should imbibe this culture of eulogizing our entrepreneurs more than politicians, especially those who are setting the pace in the economy.

It will encourage more youths to adopt great entrepreneurs as role models and venture into rocky mountains of entrepreneurship; being mentored by those who had already broken grounds in different endeavors of the economy. These will help to create jobs, reduce unemployment, roll back poverty, fight insecurity, make our youths innovative and create economic prosperity for all. Everyone must not be a politician—one must not be a governor,

It takes strength of character, deep-rooted ideology and elevated vision, for someone that has been repeatedly recognized as one of the richest men in Africa by prestigious Forbes Magazine, to remain apolitical in Lagos politics, despite having the resources and connections to disrupt current political order in the state. Leadership is shown when someone leads, but true leadership is in choosing where to lead.

As a strategic investor and business titan, like an elephant with gigantic footprints on the Nigeria’s muddy business environment, Femi Otedola is pathfinding a new philosophy in the private sector. He has succeeded not only in business world but in in family life. As an affectionate husband and compassionate father, Femi Otedola has been a great role to his wife and four children. He taught them how to step out of their parents’ legacies and make a name for themselves.

These can be seen in the tremendous waves being made by his children in entertainment industry, fashion world, etcetera. But, to Femi Otedola, life has not been a bed of roses for him. He has been hit by the storms in the past, and was able to weather those turbulent times via dint of dexterity and infinite grace of God upon his life. He was caught in the economic crisis of 2008/2009 that quaked the world economy.

In an explosive article published in Forbes Magazine in 2016, Femi Otedola told an inspiring story of how his business suddenly nosedived. In 2008, he had one million tons of diesel shipment on the sea en route Nigeria’s shores, when the unexpected happened—oil prices crashed. “I had about 93 percent of the diesel market on my fingertips. All of a sudden oil prices collapsed and I had over one million tons of diesel on the high seas and the price dropped from $146 to $34”, Otedola said.

As then chairman of Forte Oil, with over 500 gas stations across the country, Femi Otedola was in for the biggest shock of his life. He found himself inbetween the devil and deep sea. Plunge in oil prices, crash of stocks, devaluation of naira and accrued interests, collectively pushed a dollar-dominated billionaire to seabed of debt, to the tune of $1.2 billion.

Instead of giving up, he remembered that it is only in our darkest hours that we may discover the true strength of the brilliant light within ourselves that can never, ever, be dimmed, apology to Doe Zantamata.

Femi Otedola stemmed the tide—staged a comeback from the downfall, to reclaim his place as one of the richest men in Africa. This run has deepened his belief in giving back to the society, as being expressed in his various philanthropic milestones.

Otedola, simple-styled billionaire, is a renowned philanthropist. He has given billions of naira in aid to various groups, organizations and individuals. He shares the philosophy of Albert Pike that what we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.

Happy Birthday, sir; albeit in arrears. 59 cheers to a golden fish that has no hiding place.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER NOVEMBER 6, 2021

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Ferdinand Ekechukwu 08035011394 Email: ferdi_adthisday@yahoo.com

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Shaffy Bello

Chidi Mokeme

Get Ready for ‘ShantyTown’ Ferdinand Ekechukwu

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he interesting things Nollywood lovers should be looking out for in the upcoming film titled ‘Shanty Town’ are the costume, characters and makeup. Wicked! Give it to the look on veteran actor Chidi Mokeme, who played the character, Scar. Like his character, Scar is scary! Apparently the amount of time spent getting his looks fit to type in the ‘Shanty Town’ tells much. Scar is red, brutal, deadly and bloody!

The costume, characters and makeup reflect the world of ‘Shanty Town which is dual in nature; taking place deep in the heart of the affluent Lagos metropolis and the novel of a typical Lagos slum. As such, while

your senses are mesmerized by the vista of high society Lagos, they would also be assaulted with the murky views of a slum. The Chinenye Nworah and Ini Edo produced crime thriller gathers a number of film industry heavyweights as cast and crew.

A first-look at the teaser, which the film director, Dimeji Ajibola unveiled shows the shanty packs a sterling cast including Richard Mofe-Damijo, Uche Jombo, Shaffy Bello, Nse Ikpe Etim.

The list continues with Sola Sobowale, Toyin Ibrahim, Zubby Michael, Ali Nuhu, Regina Daniel, Lillian Afegabai, Nancy Isime, and Big Brother Naija Mercy Eke. Snippets from behind the scene images capture the set moments and moods.

Ajibola took to his Instagram page

to post the teaser captioned: “Shanty Town is coming! Are you ready? Today, we are celebrating the Cast & Crew for being part of our journey. We are grateful!!” ‘Shanty Town’ is about the lives of three prostitutes brought together by circumstances beyond their control and must fight against overwhelming odds in a brutal world of crime, drugs, politics and power, in order for a chance to live freely or die trying. ‘Shanty Town’ was shot in Lagos.

“Release date has not been determined, but we are projecting sometimes early 2022”, Ajibola tells this reporter in a chat. The new project will come as a seven-episode series. This production seems strictly for a streaming platform; especially that it’s now a series, unlike

the initial production projection originally of a feature film. “Yes, it is. But we are planning a cinema launch of the first part”, Ajibola added. Scripted by Xavier Ighorodje and Donald Tombia, “Shanty Town” got the likes of Slimcase, Ice Prince and Soso Soberekon on set, in charge of the movie soundtrack.

Recall that production kicked off for the film project in May 2021 with the star-studded cast. Not long after principal photography commenced did Ajibola announced as a major milestone the project alongside high praises for the crew members. “I’m glad to be leading some of the best crew in Africa on this great film project. We just hit 100 scenes and I was given the honour to mark the clapboard,” the ‘Ratnik’ director wrote.

Ja Rule, 2baba, Niniola, to Perform at ‘Stout Festival’ Ferdinand Ekechukwu

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ce American rapper and singer, Ja Rule is set to perform in Lagos and Port Harcourt alongside Tuface Idibia, Niniola, Bovi, Made Kuti, among others. This was disclosed at a press conference to unveil the maiden edition of Nigeria’s first-ever International Stout Festival. The festival will take place in two major cities, Lagos and Port Harcourt, on Saturday 13th November and Friday, 19th November 2021, respectively.

Trophy Extra Special Stout is hosting the International Stout Festival to give premium stout lovers a stout experience like no other considering that the festival is making its debut in Nigeria. Music lovers and consumers of the brand are required to visit www.mostincredibleoutofnaija.com to register and follow Trophy Extra Stout’s social media platforms @trophystout for updates on attendance and streaming.

The Nigerian version of the festival is expected to incorporate the African flavour in hosting festivities garnished with music,

dance, and an abundance of rich cultural displays that will distinguish it from the global celebrations. Globally, the International Stout Festival is organised to celebrate the dark beer popularly called Stout. Ever since then, the festival has been held annually every first Thursday in November.

This is the first time Nigeria will be joining this global cultural week.

According to the Marketing Director, International Breweries Plc, Tolulope Adedeji, “The International Stout Festival is another opportunity to attract the world to Nigeria.

The festival is an avenue provided by Trophy Extra Stout for Nigerians to entertain and showcase their culture to the world. We have tagged it ‘The Most Incredible Out of Naija’ because Nigerians are truly incredible people, our resilience, energy and courage always sets us apart.”

This International Stout Festival promises premium entertainment and unparalleled refreshment experience. With stars like Ja Rule, Tuface Idibia, Niniola, Bovi and Made Kuti billed to perform, we have no doubt that Nigerians will have a fantastic time at the festival,” Bamise Oyegbami, Marketing Manager, Trophy Extra Stout said.

Ja Rule

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER NOVEMBER 6, 2021

SHOWBIZFLAIR

Wizkid Celebrates SoulTrain Nominations with New Album Ferdinand Ekechukwu

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uperstar singer, Wizkid, last Tuesday night, bagged five nominations at the 2021 Soul Train Awards. His partner in “Essence,” Tems also bagged four nominations. Wizkid’s and Tems’ nominations come in the Song of The Year, Video of The Year, The Ashford and Simpson songwriter’s Award and Best Collaboration for the groundbreaking single, ‘Essence.’

Wizkid also got a nomination for Album of The Year, for Made in Lagos, his fourth studio album, while Tems got another nomination for Best New Artiste.

It’s been a stellar year for both artistes.

Wizkid has coasted with his fourth album while Tems has also featured on a Drake record. The Soul Train Music Awards honours the best in African-American culture music and entertainment. This year’s award will hold on November 20, 2021 at the Apollo Theatre.

The Soul Train Awards nomination comes shortly after the Starboy Wizkid announced his fifth studio album. The afrobeats singer and songwriter took to his Instagram page last Saturday, saying his forthcoming record would drop on the final day of his Made in Lagos tour. He also gave the title as ‘More Love, Less Ego’, while promising his fans and followers that they wouldn’t wait for too long for the album. The Made in Lagos Tour will end in Montreal, Canada on January 22, 2022.

Recall that it took the Grammy awardwinning artiste a little over three years to release his last album. Sharing a picture of his Made in Lagos album cover, the singer wrote in his caption: “1 year already! Thank you for riding with me. I’m just very grateful for all the love and blessings. Promise not to make you wait too long for the next one.

‘More Love Less Ego’ dropping on the last day of tour! I love you!” The ‘made in Lagos’ star made this known while celebrating one solid year of his last album which has brought him tremendous recognitions.

Made in Lagos featured artistes spanning genres and geography - Projexx and Damian Marley from Jamaica, Ella Mai and Skepta

Wizkid

from the U.K., Tems, Burna, Tay Iwar, and Terri from Nigeria, and H.E.R. from the U.S. The album has been breaking records internationally, streaming over a billion times.

It’s also produced Africa’s first №1 top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. More so, on August 31, 2021, Wizkid’s ‘Essence’ with Tems became the most searched song on the music search platform, Shazam. It also went platinum in the US. In some circles, “Essence,” a global smash by the Nigerian

pop star, was the only serious contender for the song of the summer. A Justin Bieber remix released in August surely didn’t hurt the case. “He loved the record, and I just wanted to hear what he would do on it,” says Wizkid of the Bieber collaboration. “And I heard it and it was dope, so why not?” Wizkid told Rolling Stone magazine a fortnight ago.

“Essence” and its remix undoubtedly raised Wizkid’s profile abroad, but he’s been making bright Afropop for more than a

decade, and Western stars have been taking notice for years. In March, he took home his first Grammy, for his role in the music video for Beyoncé’s “Brown Skin Girl,” a Lion King: The Gift track on which he’s featured; before that, he appeared on Drake’s 2016 hit “One Dance.” With his fourth studio album, Made in Lagos, Wizkid solidified his standing as one of Africa’s most notable artistes, with a vision and reach that stretch far beyond his home.

Guchi Features Zlatan in New Song Ferdinand Ekechukwu

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fter stealing fans’ love with smashing hit singles, rave of the moment, Guchi is coming with another brand new song this November.

She told this reporter in a chat over the weekend that she has a song with Zlatan. “I’m dropping a new song ft. Zlatan next 19th of November, title ‘Scatter My Head’. Zlatan’s vibe suits the song better.” She also hinted that she parted ways with her maiden management company, Media Viva Production (MVP), on whose platform she launched her music career with aplomb.

The Nigerian songstress and PG Records Entertainment artiste, Guchi, is sure making an impact already since her emergence on the music scene in 2019 with the single called ‘No be Jazz’. The fast rising star recently dropped a refreshing love song title “Benzema”. On the danceable jam, the singer pours and expresses her wonderful vocal on recording this feel-good vibe that is worthy of being in your playlist. Benzema

comes after her enlisting Tanzanian uber-talented singer, Rayvanny, on the remix of her smash record ‘Jennifer’ and also featuring on his latest song ‘Sweet’.

‘Benzema’ is her second single in 2021 and is worth listening. Guchi compliments his boyfriend on this afro-pop hit, singing he scores like Real Madrid’s striker, Benzema. “You dey play, you de score, you be Benzema.

They wanna know, they wanna know.

How you run the slow they wanna know. Your energy my remedy your body set back melody.”

This time, the ‘Addicted’ crooner has struck the vital point, as she is well known for, with this classic song and the video that will leave a smile on your face. Benzema was released on the 13th of August and the video a month after.

The singer and songwriter, born Ugochi Onuoha, has no doubt established her worth. Her early life was quite encouraging because of how she stayed focused and worked hard for

her musical aspirations and profession. She was born in Kaduna State but raised in Abuja, where she completed her primary and high school education.

She had to relocate to Lagos to pursue music and completed her higher education in Lagos. Her foray into music was inspired by her passion for music. Coming into the music scene, Guchi was “very prepared”.

In her words, then at a meeting with arts and entertainment journalists, the petit diva declared: “Okay, like I said earlier, I started music in 2012. I didn’t come out 2012 that’s because I have been preparing for this. Yes, I am very prepared. I have dozens of songs recorded already. Not like I’m going to record more like I don’t have songs. I have dozens of songs we are going to drop this year like back to back. And I’m still going to record. So I think I’m very prepared.”

Still on recording songs, she has released a couple of singles lately and is working on an EP which comes out Guchi early next year.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER NOVEMBER 6, 2021

SHOWBIZFLAIR

19 Tosin Clegg

07062816737 e-mail: tosinclegg@hotmail.com

Ikebe Super Stand-Up Comedy Tv Show Debuts

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his November, wapTV viewers are in for a special treat as Wale Adenuga Productions (WAP), producer of Papa Ajasco & Company Reloaded, Akpan & Oduma, Knockout, Okafor the Steward, Peoples Court, and other comedic projects, debuts Ikebe Super – an innovative Stand-up Comedy TV Show; featuring hilarious Pidgin English and Yoruba jokes for a mature audience.

According to Wale Adenuga Jnr. Managing Director WAP: “This new show, Ikebe Super, is the result of a very strategic process of creating and curating a wide range of neverheard-before jokes, and picking extremely talented comedians to deliver them perfectly.

The Ikebe Super Stand-Up Comedy TV Show is really going to catch viewers by surprise as the comedy level is beyond expectation.

Bearing in mind that majority of the jokes are adult-themed, we have ensured that they would air at late night only.”

The Stand-up Comedy how, which has episodes within 2 – 3 minutes each, would air by 11:30pm daily on wapTV, with Pidgin English jokes on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays; and Yoruba jokes on Wednesdays and Thursdays; and an omnibus of both Pidgin English and Yoruba Jokes on Sundays.

The show will also be available on Instagram and YouTube, with Pidgin English jokes posted on Mondays and Fridays, and Yoruba jokes posted on Wednesdays.”

Wale Adenuga

Savage Releases ‘Utopia’

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Savage

avage is a newcomer but a force to reckon with in the Afrobeat sector.

He has set the tone for high expectations when it comes to his music career. After releasing his first hit single, Confident featuring Nigerian Afro Fusion singer, Buju, Savage followed up by another hit titled Rosemary featuring Nigerian singer/ rapper and song writer, Victony.

The 10 track Utopia album is a versatile body of work with a taste for everyone. The album includes reflec-

tions on hustle, adoration, sensuality, lust and confidence. Utopia explores the diverse fusion between afro-fusion and rap while touching on afro pop.

Versatility isn’t just in the sound the album explores but in the features too.

Kenyan rapper Khaligraph Jones is featured on the 9th track Hard alongside one of the best rappers in South Africa, Emtee. Also featured on the album are Kida Kudz, Kojo Funds and Buju.

Exploring the theme of adoration in Blow Me Away, the artiste is hypnotized by the love of a woman

who seems to have him in control.

Sensuality reviles itself when Savage explains the temptation to the woman’s body who he adores in the song titled Bottons - with the sound of percussive Afrobeat. n Pariwo, Savage, shows a different side of his usual sound, using the popularized and iconic 808 drum.

In the short space savage has proven that he could be put on any genre of music and deliver. The rising star was featured on the Savy Media Africa’s 11th edition, themed; Youth Resurgence in October.

Cynthia Sleek Promises Pencil Set for Annual Comedy Show More Excitement Dancehall artiste, Cynthia Ayambem popularly known as Cynthia Sleek is an artiste growing to become a force to reckon with in the industry. Her debut EP, Poko, a six track body of work released in July 202, paved the way for her into the industry sparking attention and audience. With the EP, Cynthia was able to o΀cially announce herself to her growing fans and the music public at large about the Áow she is bringing into the game.

The Cross River born singer started singing at a tender age and later got to Lagos where she had the opportunity to do much more with her music. Asides her EP, Cynthia had earlier released several singles and videos gaining the audience of several industry stakeholders.

With her yet untitled album, she is looking at leveraging on her growing acceptance and popularity to become one of the most popular female artistes in Nigeria. “I have a lot in stock and I can’t wait to let it all out in this album.

Myself and my team have put so much into it and we are optimistic about an acceptance that would make us sail further on the music scene,” She stated.

Cynthia Sleek

Ace comedian Ogechi Nwanevu Cyril better known as Pencil has revealed that all is set for his yearly comedy show tagged, “Pencil Unbroken” billed for Abuja November 6, 2021.

Others expected to excite guests with rib cracking jokes includes I go save, Bash, Aproko, Mr. Funny, Mop, Mr. Marcaroni, Brain Jotter, Short Cut, MC Bob while there is will be music by Buju, Johnny Drille, Evih, DJ Khayslay amongst others.

Pencil has graced many concerts with his witty quips both in Nigeria and abroad.

His style, which is simplistic and original, has earned him an enviable spot among the elite class of comics He started his career over 13 years ago and got his breakthrough on the platform of Ay’s Open Mic night, with lots of outstanding performance both in and out of the country and several awards to his credit like Tush awards and Naija FM awards.

Pencil

Revival Crusade ‘The Outpouring’ on DStv, GOtv Nigerian gospel singer and worship revivalist, Dunsin Oyekan, is scheduled to hold a worship, prayer crusade in Lagos tagged “The Outpouring” on Sunday, November 7, 2021 which will air live on DStv and GOtv. The Outpouring which will take place at the Sapphire Open Ground,

Lekki Foreshore, Lekki Phase 1 Lagos is set to have Christians from diverse denominations in an atmosphere of worship, prayer and revival. The event will air at 4pm on DStv Channel 198 and GOtv Channel 29.

According to the convener, the revival is set to host thousands of guests and is expected to not only

birth a revival of faith and soul winning but also herald national transformation in Nigeria. “The call is to rekindle the fire in us, just as God commanded the priests to have a continual fire upon the altar in Leviticus 6:8-13. We know that our God is a consuming fire, and He burns within the New Testament Christians” he

said.

The event will feature prominent men of God such as Bishop Francis Wale Oke, Poju Oyemade, Jerry Eze, Daniel Olawande, Michael Orokpo and gospel music ministers, Nathaniel Bassey, Elijah Oyelade, Victoria Orenze, Chingtok Ishaku, Bukola Bekes and Kunle Ajayi.

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SATURDAY NOVEMBER 6, 2021 • T H I S D AY

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 6, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER NOVEMBER 6, 2021

SUPER SATURDAY Uloma Jide-Afonja

My Husband’s Death Encouraged Me to Always Assist other Widows On November 7, 1996, a Boeing 727 operated by Aviation Development Company - ADC - Airlines from Port Harcourt to Lagos crashed at Itoikin River, in Ejirin, near Lagos, killing all 144 passengers and crew on board.The aircraft crashed after it lost control during an evasive maneuver to avoid a mid-air collision.

“The untidy traffic separation by the radar controller” was given as the immediate cause of the crash.Well it’s been 25-years after that ill-fated flight that claimed lives and left loved ones bereaved, Uloma JideAfonja, wife to First Officer Babajide Afolabi Afonja, Co-Pilot of the ADC Airlines plane is planning a memorial anniversary. In this interview with Ferdinand Ekechukwu, Mrs. Jide-Afonja who was barely two years into her marriage when the incident happened, shares her plans, and travails following that incident.

She further shares her love story, recalling memorable moments spent with her beloved husband

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ou have planned a memorial on this anniversary of that tragic incident of 1996 involving an ADC plane crash which sadly claimed the lives of 144 persons, including your husband Captain Jide Afonja, who was the co-pilot. Can you tell us about it?

Usually every 7th November, I privately visit the memorial arcade at Itoikin, or have memorial mass and visit orphanages.

However, for this 25th anniversary, I wanted something different and shared with my husband’s best friend (Lai Are) my idea of renovating the Flight 086 Memorial Arcade and have prayers etc. there with family and friends. Lai and I renovated the memorial arcade. So I have gone ahead to arrange for prayers to take place at the cenotaph on November 7, 2021 by 10:30am for my husband, Jide and the 143 passengers and crew who died with him. The programme will include singing of hymns, prayers, laying of wreaths, reciting of a poem written by Imaobong Udoeyop, one of the cabin crew, who died that day as well as brief speeches by colleagues, family members and friends of some of the victims.

25years after since that devastating event that changed the course of your family life, how have you been keeping up and with your children?

Well! It has not been easy at all…but I thank God for life and for always showing up whenever it appears helpless and hopeless. It is not easy being a young widow without a job in society like ours. I was in my early twenties, pregnant too for my daughter and with a son who was barely a year old when the incident occurred. I thought that was the end of my life. I mean, if Jide and I could make all the plans we did and he goes away just like that, what is there in life? I just concluded NYSC and of course, Jide had no plans for me to get a job then. I suddenly found myself in a breadwinner’s position and though in deep grief, I had to look for a job to support my young family. I was posted to Jos, Plateau state as a trainee banker after the recruitment processes. Getting the job enhanced my confidence level. Being in Jos provided an opportunity to raise my children in a less expensive location unlike Lagos and Abuja. My in-laws wanted me to leave my children with them and my mum requested same but I declined. They felt it would be easier for me to “move on” with my life and concentrate on my new job but I could not.

My children are my life and parting gifts from Jide. Raising them up myself gave me a deep sense of purpose and fulfilment.

Uloma Jide-Afonja

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER NOVEMBER 6, 2021

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SUPER SATURDAY My Husband’s Death Encouraged Me to Assist other Widows Indeed, it has not been easy being a widow in our society but I thank God for his grace and mercy.

Reading through the tribute pieces you have written in remembrance of your dearly beloved husband since his passing one could connect with the depth of emotions and feelings you expressed.

Can you share with us your mood penning those heartfelt tributes and how does it make you feel writing in his memory?

People mourn in different ways. I mourn by talking and writing about my husband.

It helps me manage the constant dull ache.

Though our life together was very brief, I enjoy talking about him and things we did.

I feel a kind of joy when I do that, anything to keep his memory alive. Jide was very special and I feel blessed to have known him. I see him in our children.

There are particular things one believes you do remember or missed about him as your husband and father of your children who are now grown into young adults?

Those beautiful memories being that it was barely two years into marriage and he left… Would you like to share?

Every time I board any flight, I remember the first day I met Jide. You see, Jide told me that he saw me for the first time when I was boarding an ADC flight from Lagos to Calabar. I was in University of Calabar at that time. He told me he was looking at the passengers from the cockpit window and noticed me and said to his captain “Capt., that’s my wife”. They both laughed about it, (and) then he requested a cabin crew to get my name which of course, I refused to give her. As we were leaving the aircraft, he obstructed my way, and took me aside to briefly introduce himself and get my name and hostel number. That was the beginning of his visits to me whenever he had a night stop in Calabar. We looked forward to those visits. He first became my trusted friend and confidant before we started dating. We could talk all day and not get tired. The connection was deep.

Jide wooed me with flowers, chocolates, beautiful music, teddy bears and the most amazing cards from Hallmark Cards. He was a hopeless romantic! Whenever I queue up to board an aircraft, I always remember that’s how Jide saw me. I always look at the cockpit thinking about how he first saw me.

I remember Jide whenever I see any pilot in uniform. Sometimes I buy flight magazines at WH Smith at the duty free shop in his memory. It was a whirlwind romance.

Can you recall for us your marital journey with him being from two different tribes but bound by love and fondness for each other? Like having to come all the way from Yoruba land to ask for your hand in marriage in Igbo land…

What kind of man was he?

Jide was one of a kind… and he loved me deeply. Initially we hid our relationship from our parents because we felt they might not approve being from two different cultures. However, as I was planning to travel abroad for my masters after my NYSC, I got pregnant and he proposed. It was a confusing time for both of us being very young but we picked up the courage to inform our parents about our decision to marry. Imagine how shocked his parents were when he informed them he had a girlfriend who is Igbo, pregnant and he decided to marry her. My mum was shaken when I informed her that I had a boyfriend who was Yoruba, a pilot and I was pregnant for him and plan to marry him. However, my family fell in love with Jide when they met him. He was quiet but very witty when he is at ease with friends and family.

Jide loved beautiful music and good food.

He was a great cook. With our parents’ consent, we had a quiet marriage ceremony and traditional wedding thereafter. He travelled to my village Acha in Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia state with all his family members including his best friend (Lai Are) for the traditional wedding.

It was a joyous and interesting merger of two cultures. My bride price which was

Uloma Jide-Afonja and children; Jide Jnr. and Mayowa continue to look up to God for his guidance in my life and keep praying to God Almighty for preserve my life and that of my children.

How much have you discussed about him with your children?

It’s usually my favourite past time to talk about their father to my children, Jide (jnr) and Mayowa. It used to be like bedtime stories for them. Luckily I am an amateur photographer and took many photographs of my husband. His photographs are everywhere in the house. Every photo of his has a story behind it which I love to tell them. It has been easier for my kids to visualize him. My children know most of the songs their dad used to woo me… and have especially fallen in love with Yanni which my husband’s mentor and former chief pilot Capt. Fola Akinkuotu introduced him to.

It gives me joy talking about my life with their dad and how special he was. They read some of his letters and notes to me. The children see him as their guardian angel.

Late Jide Afonja N23.00 was a pleasant surprise to my in-laws who were expecting to pay a huge sum. My late dad Sir J.U. Madukwe requested that whenever his daughters got married, the bride price would be according to their ages, just a token. My family honoured my dad’s wishes and demanded for N23.00. I was happy my family did not put any financial stress on Jide since we were just starting our young lives together.

How supportive has his family, friends, loved ones been throughout this period?

My in-laws have been very supportive, especially my mother in law and my husband’s Uncle Professor Biyi Afonja, his wife Mummy Ibadan, Mrs. Yewande Afonja, Uncle Rasheed etc. The children always looked forward to my mother in-law’s visits to Jos Plateau state. Also, the children and I visit Abeokuta and Joga Orile for milestone events. My children are fond of their grandparents, Dr. Dapo and Mrs. Yewande Afonja. My old friends have always been there as well as my new friends who have also become family to me. I lost contact with some of my husband’s friends

when I relocated to Jos. I am glad I have recently reconnected with some of them since I relocated to Abuja.

What life lesson has his death taught you?

Jide’s death has taught me that life is too short to fuss over inconsequential matters. His death has taught me to celebrate people I care about while they are alive. His death has taught me to always have faith and trust in God Almighty and be intentionally happy.

Jide’s death has enabled me resolve to assist other widows who may have passed and are passing through difficult situations like I did. I work with some Not-for-Profit organizations to bring hope to the hopeless and share my life experiences to these disadvantaged women to let them know that there is light at the end of the dark tunnel. My work in the Not-For-Profit sector has given me much joy.

Do you think you will ever fill the emptiness his demise created in your life? Any chances of remarrying?

Jide was my one true love. It has been very difficult to replace him. I will

If given the opportunity, what would you change to favourably befit his passing and the circumstance given the way the incident was handled by the authorities concerned?

I sincerely hope the government has implemented all the recommendations by the investigation committee bearing in mind that it was in the process of avoiding a collision with another aircraft that they lost control and crashed. I will continue to preach for safer skies and pray that such an incident does not occur again in Nigeria.

What do you currently do?

I am an experienced banker with focus on wealth management and MSME. I have over 21 years banking experience. I am especially delighted about my involvement in the Not-For-Profit sector with emphasis on vulnerable women and children in the society. It gives me much satisfaction. I sit on the board of Centre For Women Studies and Intervention (CWSI).

I am also a member of Scottish Council For Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), UK. I am currently a consultant/accredited trainer based in Abuja. I have an MBA from The University of Strathclyde Business School, UK where I was selected to represent my business school for the Association of MBAs (AMBA) Student of the Year award. I have attended senior management programmes at The Harvard Business School, Boston and Retail Banking Academy, UK. (RBA 1). I think my husband will be very proud of the woman I have become.

24

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾NOVEMBER 6, 2021

POLITY

Political Associates, Loyalists Celebrate Olawepo-Hashim in Ilorin Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

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he recent celebration of International Youths Day was used in Nigeria to celebrate those contributing immensely to the political and economic advancement of youths. The youths under the auspices of Youths Assembly of Nigeria (YAN) convened in Ilorin, Kwara State to give awards to many distinguished Nigerians aiding youth development.

A former Presidential Candidate in the 2019 election and now an APC chieftain, Hon. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim was honoured with “Youths Merit Award” in entrepreneurship.

Speaking at the event, the National Speaker of the Youth Assembly of Nigeria, Rt. Hon. Shuaib Sanni said the award was given to motivate those that aid youths’ inclusiveness in governance and businesses.

The convener of the event, Hon. Musbau Eshinrogunjo said youths “are determined to provide a leading role in the nation building.”

Eshinrogunjo, who is also a special assistant to Governor AbdulRazaq on Rural Mobilisation, stated that youths had been watching the activities of the elected representatives of the people since the return to democratic governance of the state and would continue to monitor them for the provision of dividends of democracy to the doorsteps of the populace.

He added that, the youths decided to honour OlawepoHashim and other awardees in view of their contributions to the socio-economic development of the society.

Eshinrogunjo assured that youths in the state would leave no stone unturned at supporting the present government in the state so as to add more values to the society.

The event provided a triumphant entry for OlawepoHashim as his past political associates and loyalist used the occasion to give him an emotional re-union; more so, the awardee had been out of the state for over 20 years now.

Like an experienced Generalissimo that he is, OlawepoHashim breezed into Kwara to rally the “troops” who seems to be suffering from a counter-attack from an enemy they once defeated due to their infighting.

Some 15 years ago, Olawepo-Hashim sat at the head of the biggest political machine in Kwara outside the Saraki family when Dr. Olusola Saraki, the head of the dynasty was still alive and active. In view of his political sagacity, during the 2007 gubernatorial election in Kwara, Olawepo-Hashim was first runners up. He polled the most votes amongst the opposition challenging Bukola Saraki’s re-election. Running on the platform of the Democratic People’s party (DPP), Olawepo-Hashim scored about 70,000 votes, Ajadi about 40 000 votes and Bamigboye 28,000 votes.

Olawepo-Hashim displaying the “Youth Merit Award” bestowed on him by Youth Assembly of Nigeria (YAN) in Ilorin recently.

Many political pundits in the state during that period believed Olawepo-Hashim won that election. He challenged the victory of Bukola Saraki unsuccessfully to the highest court.

After the struggles at the courts, Olawepo-Hashim travelled abroad on self-exile. When he returned to Nigeria in 2016, he relocated his electoral participation to Usuma Ward in Bwari Area Council of Abuja. Some of his supporters believe he stepped out of political contests in Kwara to allow the opposition win.

They further argued that while he was active, despite the fact that he had the largest political following amongst the opposition then, a number of the opposition leaders would rather spend more time fighting him than Saraki.

There were many explanations for Olawepo-Hashim’s towering influence in the opposition then, which today largely constitutes the Kwara APC. First was his extreme generosity comparable only to that of Elder Saraki himself. He gave over 500 youths and women cash grant for micro-businesses of N20,000 to N30,000 each. He gave out cars and motorcycles, built houses for a few, facilitated over 28 Federal appointments, gave out scholarships, donated to churches and mosques.

WTA Names Jemi-Alade 2021 Leading Tour Operator Justina Uzo Jemi-Alade Tours has been named Nigeria’s “Leading Tour Operator 2021” by the 28th World Travel Awards (WTA).

The tour operating arm of Jemi-Alade & Associates Limited was informed about the decision via email on October 22, 2021.

The WTA is the leading agency that recognises and rewards excellence in travel and tourism.

The WTA awards said its results followed a year-long search for the world’s top travel, tourism and hospitality brands. Votes, according to them, were cast by travel industry professionals and the public with the nominee gaining the most votes in a category named as the winner.

Founder, World Travel Awards, Graham Cooke, said: “Our winners represent the very best of travel and hospitality in Africa and the Indian Ocean and my congratulations to each of them.

They are all playing starring roles in spearheading the travel and tourism recovery.”

Jemi-Alade is a pioneer tour operator in Nigeria and over the years has conducted numerous in-bound tours and excursions in Nigeria and West Africa. It offers a wide range of cost-effective travel services and solutions for FITs, Groups, Corporate and Leisure Travel, Meetings Incentives Conferences and Events (MICE).

CEO of Jemi-Alade Tours, Oladipo Jemi-Alade, said, “We have been in operation since the 1980s and have built an excellent reputation for providing reliable and efficient services to clients from round the world. Repeat clientele and referral of our services to others assured us of our achievements.”

Jemi-Alade also said the award “is a true reflection of our efforts and hard work especially during the challenging period of Covid-19 pandemic.”

Other winners in the country include Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, Nigeria’s Leading Hotel 2021; Satguru Travel Nigeria, Nigeria’s Leading Travel Agency 2021; Avis Nigeria Nigeria’s Leading Car Rental Company 2021; and Fraser Suites, Abuja, Nigeria’s

Leading Serviced Apartments 2021.’

World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry. Today, the WTA brand is recognized globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire.

Each year, WTA covers the globe with a series of regional gala ceremonies staged to recognize and celebrate individual and collective success within each key geographical region. WTA gala ceremonies are widely regarded as the best networking opportunities in the travel industry, attended by government and industry leaders, luminaries and international print and broadcast media.

Though, a Christian, Olawepo-Hashim sent many Muslims on pilgrimage to Mecca and was always the highest donor at launchings.

He also funded scholarship schemes. His philanthropy is legendary which he rarely publicizes, but still does nationally and in even in some African countries. In 2003, Olawepo-Hashim contributed $3,000 for the resettlement of some Liberian students in Ghana.

In the past one year, his Foundation- Gbenga Hashim Foundation - has supported over 200 students in the acquisition of relevant digital skills, making them ready for the global cyber market. He also donated computers to the University of Ilorin faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in 2004 as well.

No wonder therefore, that YAN gathered in Ilorin to honour him for his unsung charity works! The event also afforded Olawepo-Hashim’s loyalists and political associates opportunity for emotional re-union with him in Ilorin.

These loyalists, mostly youths he had groomed in politics, used the occasion of the award to publicly acknowledge his impact on their social and political trajectory in the state and beyond.

One of the mentees, Alhaja Mariam Wasiu from Moro Local Government Council Area of the state told those that gathered at the event that she lost her marriage for attending Olawepo-Hashim campaign rally in 2007.

Now, a Commissioner in the State’s Local Government Commission, Mariam disclosed that her husband was livid and never forgave her for leaving their 14 day baby to attend a campaign rally.

Another loyalist, Hon. Musbau Eshinrogunjo, who described himself as “Gbenga Olawepo’s first son” at the occasion, is at present a Special Assistant on Rural Mobilisation to the Kwara Sate governor. He was a former member of Gbenga Olawepo’s Youth Vanguard in the state.

Another “son” who publicly identified himself at the event is Ambassador Yahaya Seriki, a gubernatorial aspirant in 2019 and a House of Representative candidate for the Democratic People’s Party in the 2011 elections. The present Deputy Chief Whip in the Kwara State’s House of Assembly, Honourable Alli Jimoh was another “son” in the Gbenga Olawepo Youth vanguard of more than 10,000 members across the state.

Folasade Aransiola, an APC chieftain from Irepodun Local Government of the State was among ladies who also publicly identified themselves as “Gbenga Olawepo’s “daughters” at the occasion.

The loyalists gleefully recalled his social responsibility and charity which included Micro business grants to 500 women and youths; scholarships for indigent students; community development contributions; rehabilitation of neighbourhood roads and sponsorship of over 2000 youths in the acquisition of digital skills in 2021 alone across Nigeria with 15 participants from Kwara.

According to them, “Olawepo-Hashim has also contributed to Islamic fundraising in Offa in 2006 being the highest donor at the event.

His annual provision of food to many during fasting seasons in the past is still well remembered. Even though a Christian, he sponsored many on pilgrimage to Mecca.

To advance the works of Christianity, Olawepo-Hashim has built many churches and donated lands for many.

Between 2017 and 2019, he built 11 churches in Osun, Niger and Benue States.

Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾NOVEMBER 6, 2021

25

POLITY

Malami’s Transformative Blueprint Kemi Adekunle The Attorney General of the federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has distinguished himself as a plain-speaking man. His body language tacitly or explicitly expressed, has always been in tandem with his belief that Nigeria’s unity is unshakeable.

This, he has demonstrated on many occasions, on his account of stewardship as he continues to advocate and plead for a peaceful coexistence and tolerance among Nigerians; a plea misinterpreted by a few disgruntled elements to mean weakness on the part of the government.

One of the major responsibilities of government world over, is to defend the territorial integrity of the country by defending the people’s rights of existence, religion and other human rights.

In Nigeria today, some of these rights have been challenged by criminal groups in the North East, North West, North Central, and most recently, in the South East.

They have destroyed public properties, killed security agents and civilians; including women and children.

More pertinently, the government has been prevailed upon by citizens in the South Eastern region to wade into the pre-mediated killings and wanton destruction of properties. The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) by their nefarious activities within the region have tested government’s resolve to protect lives and restore peace and order in the region.

The insurrection against the state and atrocities committed by their fugitive leader targeted at their own people calling for armed uprising has vindicated Malami’s position that these groups were adequately sponsored to subvert governance. How are you a champion of secessionist clamouring for freedom while also holding your people in captivity? on the other hand, by your diabolic actions, people’s daily source of livelihood were put on hold while businesses are forcefully shutdown in strict adherence to the imposed sit-at-home.

Hate him or love him, the Attorney General of the federation deserves commendation and not condemnation on his handling of the state aggressors and other splinter groups with sinister agendas inimical to the country’s unity. Unequivocally, Malami’s allegiance is to the

Malami

generality of the Nigerian people as the Chief legal adviser to the government and minister for justice – he has lived up to President Muhammadu Buhari’s legacy on contemporary issue of succession and national unity in Nigeria.

In retrospect, Malami has carried on gleefully to the admiration of his detractors in building national cohesion for growth and prosperity. Malami’s knowledge of the legal system and political party constitution has also helped the Buhari led government and the ruling All Progressives Congress record numerous achievements that could have stalled government activities and thrown governance into chaos.

Worried by the legal tussle in the Ondo governorship judgement of the Supreme court in Jegede Vs Akeredolu as it affects the National Caretaker Committee of the APC,

there was a resolution by lawyers in the cabinet present at the meeting to deliberate on the implication of this judgment. While majority opted for the dissolution of the Caretaker Committee and postponement of the congresses which was slated for Saturday, 31st of July, Malami was the lone voice in the room who insisted with logical reasons, that there was no cause for alarm and that if this particular case was revisited over 100 times, the APC would still come out victorious.

He opined that the Supreme Court judge who cross examined the APC principal witness saw the weakness in his petition for the PDP and he cleverly excluded making the Caretaker committee Chairman, Mai Mala Buni, a party to the suit due to the immunity clause of Section 308 of the 1999 constitution as amended.

Ultimately, the Ward, Local Government and State congresses of the APC held nationwide due to Malami’s wise counsel, foresight and tenacity to sieve through the merits of the judgement and its long-term implication for the party.

The Attorney-General has proved his mettle and he has continued to secure many wins for the Buhari led administration. Also worthy of note is Malami’s commitment towards ending the multi-dimensional crisis facing the Lake Chad Basin states through collaborative efforts with relevant agencies. Malami, keeping true to his words of ensuring that probity and accountability was the hallmark of this administration, has disclosed during the presentation of the final forensic audit report of the Niger Delta Commission (NDDC) that the Federal Government approved N6 trillion for the NDDC in 18 years while bulk of these funds meant for the development of the region were diverted into private pockets. The AGF has assured the people of Niger-Delta that their welfare and socio-economic inclusion was a priority for the government.

Malami will go down in history as one of the most the cerebral Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice that Nigeria has ever had. His transformative blueprint has become a successful model for the Buhari led administration and he’s waxing stronger in his determination to ensure that Nigeria succeeds as one indivisible entity.

- Kemi Adekunle writes from Ibadan, Oyo State.

Good Night, Adeeyo, an Intellectual Giant Olumide Lawal

T

o those who are immediate and extended family members, as well as close associates of Dr. Adewale Adesoji Adeeyo (Officer Order of the Niger), an illustrious son of Edeland and a global phenomenon, our world stood still, when we learnt of his transition to glory on October 15, 2021. We were speechless. But God knows best to have called Adeeyo, fondly called Sir Eyo by his close friends, home at the appointed time. Adeeyo, you are an eagle, that flew home in a blaze of glory, though painfully, but with total submission to the will of the Almighty God, the author and finisher of our faiths.

Adeeyo’s earthly journey came to an end at the age of 73 and we give the Almighty God all the adulation for his purposeful, delightful, impactful and sweet life; an intellectual giant, who traversed the world very gingerly like a colossus. Kudos to late Papa Aminu Adeeyo of blessed memory for giving you the best education that money could buy during your time. You were at the prestigious Children Home School, Molete, Olu-Iwa College (now Adeola Odutola College, Ijebu-Ode, and Ibadan Grammar School, before you proceeded to New York City, USA for further education, where you excelled. It is still like a dream to us all. Edeland has lost one of its very best. An amiable personality, of Mapo Arogun extraction, that truly, but silently identified with its yearnings and aspirations committedly.

How are the mighty fallen!!! The world lost an effervescent board room guru, a corporate colossus, an administrator par excellence, an educationist of no mean order. That was Dr. Sir Adewale Adesoji Adeeyo of Olodooba and Alusekere clans in Ede Timi Agbale. The late publisher of defunct Anchor newspaper titles situated at Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun, came, saw and touched many lives, inclusive of scholarship to many students of Adeleke University, Ede among other places. It has been positive testimonies galore to his sweet memory since October 15, 2021 when you transitioned to glory and interred at Eternal Home Cementry, in Oyo State, for eternal rest with your Creator in Aljanat Fridaus. Dr. Adewale Adeeyo showed tremendous dexterity and drive in the management of human and material resources in all the places, that he was opportune to serve.

His academic prowess was readily made available to Adeleke University Ede, where he was a leading light of its Governing Council. The distinguished son of Edeland, that

late Dr. Adewale Adeeyo was, became an encyclopedia of knowledge from whom, high intelligent quotient and native wisdom were tapped. The immediate past Chairman of Federal Mortgage Bank was an unquenchable Fountain of Knowledge. Sir Adewale Adeeyo was a detribalized Nigeria citizen, who saw every parts of Nigeria as his home; always impeccably dressed and elegant in his carriage; a good mixer; awitty debater and prolific writer on any subject.

Adeeyo’s commencement speech at the maiden convocation of Adeleke University in 2015 with the title: Enchanting Real World, remains a reference point on how students should live after their graduation from the Ivory Tower. In that literary endeavor, Dr. Adeeyo said and I quote: “my dear graduates, you morally have no choice but to cede compassion and benevolence to whomever, that you may encounter in your life trek, so that none shall be the weakest link”. That was vintage Adewale Adeeyo, the intellectual giant. On power and its use, Adeeyo told an impressive gathering in August, 2007 in Sheraton Hotel, Abuja at the occasion of the valedictory ceremony for a retired Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Salihu Modibo Alfa Belgore, that power should be dignifiedly applied.

Again I quote him: “True men of power do not pace the earth wildly nor trudge any path clumsily. So deep and mysterious is the nature of power, that we may never grasp its staggering complexity. Real men of power never yield to blind arrogance and delusional self-importance. And they always recognize that the source of their capricious influence can only be ratified

by God’s mercy”.

Adeeyo there. An orator of the finest order. These are literature pamphlets for every library. His intellectual jobs should be well preserved for generation yet unborn. Adeeyo made the Almighty God his pillar of strength. He maintained a weekly strip column (Barka Jumat) in the Vanguard newspaper for so many years, from which he served spiritual diet to the Muslim Ummahs. That column was availed numerous people including non-muslims with its sharing on the What’s app.

Human race, would say of you, Dr. Adesoji Adeeyo, that you mastered your moment. You were an invaluable asset to national growth, as evidenced in your article on statecraft, titled: Buhari and Gambari Signpost A New Direction, which was widely published in many national newspapers on October 1, 2020 to commemorate the 60th Independence anniversary of our great nation. Another selfless service from a man of nobility that Dr. Adeeyo was; a brain-box on any issue under the

Adeeyo

sun; a rare gift to humanity. Our own Barrack Obama. Adeeyo, your life achieved a glorious accomplishment that assembled all the goodness of your life into a feast of triumph and happiness that is immersed in God’s boundless powers of love for all that came your way.

Wishing you eternal blissful eternal life in Aljanat Fridaus.

Lawal wrote from Ede, Osun State.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾NOVEMBER 6, 2021

POLITY

Sosanwo: Opposition Bellyaching, Abiodun Deserves 2nd Term Chris A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State, Engr Adeola Sosanwo speaks to select journalists on topical issues, especially Ogun State politics, insisting that Governor Dapo Abiodun has done well and deserves another term come 2023. Olaoluwakitan Babatunde was there The opposition recently came out to say the government of Prince Dapo Abiodun among other things has not lived up to expectations and surely does not deserve to pilot affairs of Ogun State beyond May 2023, what is your take on this?

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alk, they say is cheap and that was exactly what the opposition recently exhibited in the state. I said this because the government of Dapo Abiodun has been fantastic with governance since he came on board on May 29, 2019. The governor has been focused and quite strategic about his approach to issues of governance. He came in as a successful entrepreneur in oil and gas industry with wide range experience in administration and management of resources.

He has demonstrated so much competence and intelligence in governance touching every sector. He is an Apostle of continuity in governance with how he has picked up some of the abandoned road projects by his predecessor, Ibikunle Amosun and completed them such as the Kuto dual carriage way, the ongoing Adigbe road among others. The governor has just reconstructed Abeokuta-Siun Sagamu expressway, the Epe-Ijebu Ode is also nearing completion. He has equally done feeder roads such as the Elite road, Abeokuta, Vespa road, Ifo, Navy-AIT road, Sango Oba Erinwole road, Sagamu, those at Ijebu Ode among at least 200 roads the governor has either fixed or ongoing across the state.

He is doing so much in the area of education with construction of over 2000 classrooms. The yellow roofs school buildings are all over the state. The health sector, housing and agriculture are also receiving adequate attention. Look at the just completed low cost housing estate at Kobape via Abeokuta and this is being replicated in Ijebu Ode, Ikenne, Agbara among others. This is not to say that the governor has done all, but within the time spent and the challenges of this cash crunched economy aggravated

by Covid-19, the governor has proved to be good manager of the scarce resources. He has done so much to make the people of the

state happy and that’s why many are already rooting for his second term come 2023. We must give him another term because of his commitment to a prosperous Ogun State. I can confidently say that the opposition is only bellyaching, because Abiodun is doing the job given to him by the people of the state. In local parlance, we say it is “bad belle” that is worrying the opposition and nothing more.

What about reported rift between Otunba Gbenga Daniel and Gov Dapo Abiodun which people are already insinuated could make or mar the ruling party?

Reported rift between Gov Dapo Abiodun and the former governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel is nothing but outright speculation, figment of imagination of those peddling the bogus lie, may be another work of the opposition. The report remains unfounded and baseless. The two political leaders have been associates and friends for a very long time and their relationship had been stronger as OGD joined the ruling party to team up with Abiodun in lifting higher the state. People should just stop saying what never existed, they should not create wedge between the two leaders.

The news is out there that former governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel is eyeing senate seat of Ogun East district in 2023, he is from Remo while the incumbent governor Abiodun being tipped for another term is also from Remo, some are already asking what will now become the fate of the Ijebus, the other half of Ogun East?

Well, people are saying it really because the fact remains that Prince Dapo Abiodun is definitely returning for another term in 2023 by the grace of God , it is even possible the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who is also from Remo to also contest for the presidency. Well, nobody is stopping my good boss, OGD from being in the Senate, but will

Sosanwo

the Ijebus be comfortable with these political arrangement? Won’t they raise objection or issues of being marginalised? Sincerely, the combination of OGD leadership at the Senate and that of Prince Dapo Abiodun at the state level will be very good, I am sure OGD will team up with the governor to further make life very enjoyable for the people of Ogun State. It won’t be like what we currently have with none of the three Senators cooperating with the governor, It’s even more terrible that even the one from us here in Ogun East is not supporting the governor. If the Ijebus will give their support to OGD, the Remo too will do same but it remains a very dicey one, I really doubt the support of the Ijebus, let’s wait till the time.

Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

PHOTO NEWS

L-R: Assistant Sales Representative, Amber Energy Drink, Mr. Korede Omole; Sales Manager, Amber Energy Drink, Mrs. Tope Adetiba; Couple, Olawale and Patience Amusiru and Managing Director, Amber Energy Drink, Ms Lola Adedeji during the wedding reception of Olawale and Patience Amusiru in Lagos...recently

L-R: Technical Assistant to the Executive Director/CEO National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Murtala Muhammad Bagana; Deputy Director, NPHCDA, Dr. Ogbe Oritseweyimi;, Board Member, Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF), Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede; Executive Director/CEO, NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib; General Manager/CEO, Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund, Dr. Fejiro Chinye-Nwoko during the working visit to NSSF office today by NPHCDA board members in Lagos… recently

L-R: Instructor BIT, Ekemini Ekerette; Instructor, Selfitness NG, Ihuoma Nwigwe; Group Chief Marketing and Corporate Communications Officer, Interswitch , Cherry Eromosele; Instructor, Crossficter NG, Usoken Uwaifor; and Instructor, Alvin Lee Fitness, Kenya, Alvin Lee at the Verve Life 4.0 Fit for Live Press Conference held in Lagos…..

SUNDAY ADIGUN

L-R: Oreoluwa Lekan-Opesusi; Femi Akinbola; Tunmishe Akinbola; celebrant Tolulope Akinbola; Yinka Akinsola and Funmi Akinsola during Tolulope’s 40th birthday held at Royal Haven Event Place, Sagamu, Ogun State.....recently

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ APRIL 24, 2011

GLOBAL SOCCER A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

06. 11.2021

NEWS

A DIFFERENT KIND OF DERBY PAGE. 29

MICHAEL OLISE

Living Up to Expectations

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾NOVEMBER 6, 2021

28

GLOBAL SOCCER

Michael Olise Living Up to Expectations Michael Olise sends Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka reeling on the turf

The most shocking result of last weekend’s Premier League fixture was the 2-0 home drubbing of Manchester City by Crystal Palace, and one of the players that helped achieve the feat was Super Eagles invitee-Michael Olise. Little wonder his manager reserved special praise for him after the encounter

P

atrick Vieira led the Crystal Palace to hand Manchester City a rare home defeat, and he did not fail to recognise the input of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) target, Michael Olise.

Vieira applauded the contribution of young midfielder after the Eagles provided one of the shock results of the season at the Etihad Stadium last Saturday.

Olise was impressive after coming on as a second-half substitute to assist Gallagher’s late finish.

There were only five minutes left on the clock when Vieira decided to send in the Crystal Palace number seven, and the manager was asked after the match why he did not try to add another defender to protect his side’s slender lead.

In his response, Vieira attributed his choice of a substitute to Olise’s form and ability to cause damage to the opposition.

“It’s the quality of the teams that we’re facing as well; we know that we have to keep trying to score that second goal,” the former Arsenal captain said, as per Football London.

“And we know that Michael (Olise) is doing really well at the moment; he is working well in training. With the quality that he has, that he can create something or can score you goals.

“So that was a good decision from the staff,” Vieira said.

In the summer, Crystal Palace made a

shift in recruitment, bringing in a young manager in Vieira and focusing on bringing in young, exciting talents from other leagues, including the Championship. One of the players brought in was 19-year-old Franco-Nigerian midfielder Olise.

Olise made the move to London from Reading after the former activated his release clause of around £8 million. He was highly rated going into the summer window and looked set for a move due to his low release clause. The midfielder was being watched by a number of top clubs including Chelsea, Arsenal and Leeds United – but it was Palace who made the move for the player.

Since arriving, Olise started the season with an injury and has only managed four Premier League appearances to date. It was in his third appearance that Palace fans got to see a glimpse of what the youngster can do.

Palace, trailing 2-0 to Leicester City, introduced Olise in the 53th minute and he made a real impact, leading his team to recover and get a 2-2 draw. The Franco-Nigerian scored the first goal of the comeback, volleying past Leicester keeper, Kasper Schmeichel.

Aged 19 years and 295 days, Olise is the first teenager to score for Crystal Palace in the Premier League since Clinton Morrison in May 1998.

Olise, who can play anywhere across central and the left side of midfield, created a real spark for Palace that dragged them

back into the game, with Jeffrey Schlupp eventually scoring the equaliser.

The teenager came up through the ranks of Manchester City and Chelsea before landing at Reading. With this added pedigree, he could be the ideal player for Vieira.

Vieira is attempting to get Palace playing more efficient passing football that involves intelligent short passes, which allows players to move into space quickly and continually create space.

When Olise came on, he opened up play and helped allow this type of football to transpire on the pitch, eventually leading to his goal.

One of his biggest strengths is picking out passes to bring players forward, or slot players in, making him perfect for this style of play.

During the Leicester game, we saw the real potential of Olise; if he can stay fit and cement his place, he could be a real integral part of what could be an exciting season for Eagles fans, as they welcome this new dawn at the club.

Former Reading FC midfielder Charlie Adam has explained why Olise’s rise has not surprised him after his summer transfer to Crystal Palace.

The 19-year-old made the summer switch to join the Eagles after being named the Young Player of the Year in the EFL, having scored seven goals and 12 assists in 44 appearances for the in the Championship last season.

And one of his former team-mates at

Reading has explained why Olise’s success is of little surprise to him, with Adam heaping up raises on the teenager, who he played alongside in the 2019-20 season with the Royals.

“He’s as good a talent coming through that you will see; he told the South London Press.

“I knew we had some good players in Michael Olise, Danny Loader and a couple of younger boys at U-18 level, but Michael was the one that you could see stand out.

“There were moments in training when Michael would pick the ball up and drive, and all of a sudden, you were 50 yards up the pitch. He has that pace and he’s strong.

“He could do things in training and in games that didn’t surprise me because I knew that he was a good player. It was frustrating at times, but I love mavericks – people that try to be different.”

Michael Olise is a player whose potential has no ceiling. After recovering from a back injury that delayed his top-flight bow, the 19-year-old is flickering into life at Selhurst Park.

No one who saw Olise shimmer in the Sky Bet Championship would doubt that he will light up the Premier League. The former Chelsea and Manchester City youth-team player is a wonderfully poised, yet explosive, attacking midfielder or winger who last season found the net seven times and registered 12 assists in the second tier.

Olise was born in England to a Nigerian father and a French-Algerian mother. He is therefore eligible to represent France, Algeria, England and Nigeria internationally.

On 27 May 2019, he was called up to the France U-18 for the 2019 Toulon Tournament and made his debut against Qatar U-23.

In March 2021, Olise was named as a standby for the Nigeria squad for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin and Lesotho.

29

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾NOVEMBER 6, 2021

GLOBAL SOCCER Premiership Table Chelsea Liverpool Man City West Ham Man Utd Arsenal Wolves Brighton Tottenham Everton Leicester Southampton Brentford Crystal Palace Aston Villa Watford Leeds Burnley Newcastle Norwich

10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 11 10 10 11 10 10 10 10 10

23 25 21 22 14 20 9 20 4 17 -1 17 1 16 0 16 -7 15 0 14 -2 14 -2 14 0 12 -1 12 -6 10 -6 10 -7 10 -6 7 -12 4 -22 2

PREMIER LEAGUE TODAY

Man Utd Brentford Chelsea C. Palace Brighton SUNDAY

Arsenal Everton Leeds Utd West Ham Manchester City Kevin de Bruyne (l) set to take the trigger as Manchester United Fred tries to stop the Belgian

United, City Divide Manchester in 186th Derby Manchester United will be craving to build on their 3-0 win over Tottenham last weekend as they go head-to-head against their bitter rival-Manchester City in the season’s first derby game. Pep Guardiola’s men surprisingly lost at home 2-0 against Crystal Palace last Saturday and would be hoping to bounce back with today’s visit to Old Trafford. With Cristiano Ronaldo having found his scoring boots-three goals in two matches, the Citizens back line have to be at alert for 90 minutes for a chance to take something back to the Etihad

O

ld Trafford plays host to a highly-anticipated Premier League derby today, as Manchester United welcome Manchester City to the Theatre of Dreams.

Two places and three points separate the bitter rivals in the table at present, with one manager certainly under more pressure than his counterpart this week.

One can only begin to imagine what failure to beat Tottenham Hotspur would have meant for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s time in the dugout, with the Norwegian desperately seeking a response from his side’s utter humiliation at the hands of Liverpool.

However, in a game which would ultimately cost his opposite number Nuno Espirito Santo his job, United prevailed comfortably in North London, as strikes from Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford set the Red Devils on their way to a 3-0 win.

There were no prizes for guessing who saved Solskjaer’s bacon in the Champions League against Atalanta in midweek either, as Ronaldo cancelled out strikes from Josip Ilicic and Duvan Zapata to rescue a point for this side ahead of today’s derby.

Having managed to pull themselves out of their rut, at least for now with victory at Spurs, Man United are hanging on to their fifth-placed position in the table after 10 matches, but Arsenal are now only behind Solskjaer’s men on goal difference.

Worryingly for the Old Trafford faithful, United have taken just one point from their last three home games in the

Premier League - scoring a solitary goal in that miserable streak - and not since April’s win over Granada have the Red Devils crowd seen their side keep a clean sheet on familiar territory.

One game involving the Manchester clubs last weekend was expected to be a walkover, while the other was tipped to be a tight affair between two managers under immense pressure to deliver a result.

However, Crystal Palace ripped up the form book to come away from the Etihad with all three points to show for it, as Wilfried Zaha and Conor Gallagher struck either side of Aymeric Laporte’s red card in a memorable 2-0 win for the Eagles.

The reigning Premier League champions were dealt another early blow in their pursuit of a sixth crown in the competition, but Pep Guardiola’s side responded in ideal fashion against Club Brugge in the Champions League, easing to a 4-1 win.

Having seen their eight-game unbeaten run in the top flight come to a bitter end, third-placed City are now five points adrift of leaders, Chelsea after 10 matches, but they have taken 10 points from the last 12 on offer away from home in the Premier League.

Despite posting two EFL Cup wins against their rivals in recent years, City are winless in four Premier League Manchester derbies - failing to score in any of their last three - but not many United fans will be placing bets on their side’s hot streak continuing today.

Meanwhile, Antonio Conte’s first Premier League game in charge of Tottenham Hotspur takes place on Sunday afternoon, with Everton lying in wait at

Goodison Park.

While Spurs enter the game on the back of a 3-2 Europa Conference League win over Vitesse, the Toffees are seeking to end a run of three straight Premier League defeats.

The Rafael Benitez reign has lost a good chunk of momentum in recent weeks, with Wolverhampton Wanderers inflicting a third consecutive defeat on the Toffees during Monday night’s encounter at Molineux.

Max Kilman and Raul Jimenez’s quickfire strikes saw Wolves race into a two-goal lead before the break, and while Alex Iwobi halved the deficit with 25 minutes to go, Wolves withstood the Merseyside pressure to condemn Everton to another dampening loss.

Defeat in the West Midlands followed previous zero-pointers with Watford and West Ham United for the under-performing Toffees, who have now dropped to 10th in the rankings after winning just one of their last six in the top flight.

October’s 5-2 humbling at the hands of Watford represented Everton’s ninth league defeat of the calendar year at Goodison Park - not since 1993 has that record stretched into the double figures - but their record against the Lilywhites makes for bleak reading for the home crowd.

The Toffees did march to a 1-0 win over Tottenham in the capital last season, but that triumph represents their only victory from their last 17 Premier League games against Spurs, who have gone unbeaten in their last eight topflight games at Goodison Park.

The Italian’s three-at-the-back system appeared to be working wonders

v Man City v Norwich City v Burnley v Wolves v Newcastle

12:30 15:00 15:00 15:00 17:30

v Watford v Tottenham v Leicester v Liverpool

14:00 14:00 14:00 16:30

v Granada v Barcelona v Levant v Vallecano

13:00 15:15 17:30 20:00

v Getafe v Atlético v Elche v Sociedad v Sevilla

13:00 15:15 17:30 17:30 20:00

La Liga TODAY

Espanyol Celta Vigo Alavés Madrid SUNDAY

Villarreal Valencia Mallorca Osasuna Real Betis

Head to Head 21-03-07 Man City 0-2 Man United 20-12-12 Man United 0-0 Man City 20-03-08 Man United 2-0 Man City 19-12-07 Man City 1-2 Man United 19-04-24 Man United 0-2 Man City 18-11-11 Man City 3-1 Man United 18-04-07 Man City 2-3 Man United 17-12-10 Man United 1-2 Man City 17-04-27 Man City 0-0 Man United 16-09-10 Man United 1-2 Man City 16-03-20 Man City 0-1 Mar United

against Vitesse as Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura and an own goal from Jacob Rasmussen saw Spurs race into a three-goal lead before the 30-minute mark.

However, the Dutch outfit would return fire with Rasmussen at the correct end of the pitch before Matus Bero scored the game’s fifth goal before half time, and after a frenetic second half saw three red cards brandished, Conte’s side ultimately held on.

It was far from an ideal way for the Premier League and Serie A-winning coach to open his account for Spurs, but a victory on his debut cannot be sniffed at as the Italian prepares to return to hostile away territory in English football.

After the Lilywhites capitulated against Manchester United under Santo, Conte takes over with his side sat ninth on the table - which could change after today’s games and they sit just one point and one place above Everton ahead of this clash.

Spurs suffered three defeats from their last four Premier League games of the Santo era - conceding nine goals in that miserable run - but Conte knows a thing or two about shutting up shop in this fixture, with his former Chelsea side not conceding once against Everton under his tutelage.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾NOVEMBER 6, 2021

GLOBAL SOCCER

General Manager, New-age booker, Mr. Oyindamola Michaels; Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State Lotteries Board, Mr. Bashir Are; Customer Care Manager, New-age booker, Mrs. Somtoo Awuzie and Finance Manager, New-age booker, Mr. Ekunola Ademola, at the official market entry launch of JaraBet held in Lagos Island

Wilfred Ndidi remains one of Brendan Rodgers trusted players

Ndidi’s Availability for Leeds Trip Delights Rodgers Wilfred Ndidi made his comeback from injury in Leicester City’s 1-1 draw with Spartak Moscow in a Europa League clash at the King Power Stadium on Thursday night.

The Nigeria international started on the bench and was introduced with 32 minutes left to play, his first game for club and country in forty days.

The initial plan was for Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers to give Ndidi few minutes against Arsenal in the Premier League last weekend

but that was cancelled because the Foxes were trailing by two goals and offensive substitutions had to be made as they desperately searched for a way back into the game.

Having come through the game against Spartak Moscow unscathed, the Super Eagles star should be available to face Leeds United on Sunday before reporting for international duty.

Rodgers is delighted that he can count on the services of Ndidi for the trip to Elland Road, labeling the holding midfielder a ‘very, very important player’.

Providing a squad update, Rodgers said to the official website of Leicester City : “He’s very, very important for us, from a defensive perspective.

“He covers a lot of space.

In those defensive moments, you need that player to get back in. He’s a very, very important player for us and it’s great to have him back.”

Prior to Ndidi’s spell on the sidelines, he went the distance in the first six matches played

by Leicester City in the Premier League.

Owed Allowances, Bonuses, A Reflection of FG’s Funding Pattern- NBBF The Nigeria Basketball Federation under the leadership of Musa Kida has absolved itself of any complicity for bonuses and allowances owed the Women Senior National Team.

Kida who appeared before the House Committee on Sports yesterday alongside the Secretary General of the NBBF and some members of the board said the current situation was a direct result of the level of funding from the Federal Government since coming on board in 2017.

The Federation who fully funded the 2021 FIBA Afrobasket championship from externally sourced loans said the teams (men and women) were paid based on the reality on ground and the financial commitment of the government to its programs.

He lamented that despite series of meetings with the D’Tigress with the last being during the Olympics camping in the USA, the girls never trusted him while

succumbing to external influence to rubbish the federation and the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“I held a meeting with the girls and I told them, I know that there were bonuses that I promised to pay you. There were short falls from allowances (for pre World Cup qualifiers in Mozambique) that I was supposed to pay you, but I told them we have not been refunded up to half of what we have spent since 2017”.

“I told them if I was to give you these bonuses, something will have to give”, Kida told the House Committee. “Honorable Chairman, I don’t also want to be discouraged from promising them bonuses (then or in the future) because I think it is part and parcel of motivating athletes”.

The House Committee on Sports Chairman m Honorable Olumide Osoba said the recent happenings underscore the importance of a National Sports Commis-

sion backed by law.

According to him, to avoid issues relating to financing, budgeting and internal administrative interference, the NSC bill must be expedited and become a law.

“Without a National Sports Commission, we will continue having issues with the federations. The National Sports Commission is the overall body that supervises the federation and we used to have that and things were working smoothly”.

“Obviously, some people at the National Sports Commission abused their powers and the President (His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari) was advised by the former minister (Solomon Dalung) to abolish the commission”.

“He is optimistic that all issues will be resolved as the “The Minister (Chief Sunday Dare) now is on board with the House of Representatives and Senate that we need the National Sports Commission”.

Derby Della Madonnina to Air Live on DStv, GOtv DStv and GOtv customers get to watch a classic Serie A rivalry, AC Milan and Internazionale do battle at the San Siro Stadium on Sunday, at 8:45pm live on SuperSport Football (DStv channel 205 & GOtv channel 31) and SuperSport Select 1 (GOtv channel 33).

The game will see two of Italy’s great clubs, as well as Scudetto rivals for this very season, battle for three key points as they look to keep pace with Napoli and other heavyweights in the race for the title.

In head-to-head stats, Milan and Inter have met in 228 competitive matches since

their first clash back in 1909, with the Nerazzurri claiming 84 wins compared to 77 for the Rossoneri, while 67 games have been drawn.

Some of the key players include Ivorian midfielder, Franck Kessie, one of Milan’s top-performing players, whose on-pitch endeavours remain of the highest calibre and Inter’s all-action midfield maestro, Nicolo Barella, who is hungry to secure victory for the Nerazzurri and both bring them back into the title race and claim the Milan city bragging rights.

“We have to play to win every single game, we

played with quality and energy. It means we are growing. It’s right that the guys ride this dream, at every game we have the chance to show that we can compete.” said Milan manager, Stefano Pioli.

Inter manager Simone Inzaghi knows his team will be up for the battle on Sunday: “This is one of the great rivalries in Italian football, a beautiful game to be a part of. We expect many difficulties against a team of Milan’s quality, but we will also cause them plenty of problems. The team which solves them best will take the points”, he said.

Bello, Akanbi Emerge Winners at ITTF Tourney For the second time in a row, Fatimo Bello of Nigeria retained her women’s singles title after beating compatriot – Aminat Fashola 4-2 in the final of the ITTF Africa Western Region Championships concluded at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall in Lagos.

Also, a new champion emerged in the men’s singles after Rilwan Akanbi dazed compatriot and tournament’s favourite Azeez Solanke to become the men’s singles regional champion.

Bello who won the maiden edition of the championships in Abidjan2019wasunbeateninthe singles event and she completed her good run with a convincing 4-0 (11-9, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9) win over

Fashola.

IntheentertainingMen’sfinal, the calmness of Akanbi paid off for him as he humbled Solanke 4-3 (7-11, 11-3, 6-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-4, 11-8).

The four-day event was dominated by Nigeria ahead of participating teams like Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Togo and Benin Republic.

Nigeria’s dominance started in the team event with the host claiming the men and women titles in team.

Like the team event, Nigeria also defeated Ghana to clinch the Men’s doubles title after Amadi Umeh and Orok Etim came from 2-0 down to beat Ghana’s DerekAbrefa and Emmanuel Commey 3-2 (4-11,

10-12, 11-3, 11-9, 11-7).

The women’s doubles event waswonbyNigeria’sduoofBello and Bose Odusanya after they defeatedtheircompatriots–Hope Uduak and Vivian Oku 3-1 (11-8, 7-11, 11-3, 11-9).

FortheSecretaryGeneral,ITTF Africa Western Region, Germain Karou, the tournament has been a huge success considering the quality of organisation and play during the four-day event. “I am impressed with what Nigeria has put up, particularly the standard of play from the players.

We hope and believe Nigeria will continue to lead the region so that others can come up and compete favourably with them at continental and global levels,” Karou said.

Women to Run Reverse Route in Lagos 10km Race Over 1000 registered runners will participate at the 6th edition of the Lagos Women Run, which holds on November 13.

The 2021 Lagos Women Runners will compete in a reverse order from the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere to the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan.

After the race flag off at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, it will move towards Alaka inward Eko Bridge and head towardsApongbon, to CMS and take a switch at the Lagos House before advancing

to Muson Centre straight to Tafawa Balewa Square and take a right turn to the Island Club and Zone 2 Police department before finally heading towards the Mobolaji Johnson stadium to the finish line.

A retinue of wonderful women in the Nigerian Society will be present to support a race that has a theme associated with emancipation of women, violence against women folks and protection of the Girl Child and campaign against Child Slavery.

Some of the high-profile

women who have signified interest in taking part in the race which starts by 6:30 am on event day include Mrs. Elohor Aiboni, the first female Managing Director of Shell Nigeria and Exploration Company Limited, Dr. Stella Chinyelu Okoli, the Managing Director Emzor Pharmaceutical Company and a host of others, who are successful in their various careers are also interested in this year’s edition.

Chairman of Lagos State Sports Commission, Mr. Sola Aiyepeku expressed Lagos

JaraBet Enters Nigeria’s Sports Betting Scene with Exciting Offers

New-age bookmaker, Hi-5 Gaming Solutions Limited has officially launched its online sports betting brand, JaraBet in Nigeria after due licensing and regulation of the Lagos State Lotteries Board to commence full operations.

According to the General Manager, Oyindamola Michaels, JaraBet is bringing a gaming experience never seen before in the country, with unique offerings like single & multiple match accumulator, partial cashout, gift bet and fastest event settlement.

Speaking with the media during the official launch, Michaels stated that JaraBet is starting its operations as an online platform for now, which means it is accessible from anywhere in the country while its office is in Lagos.

“Our mission is to provide youthful, exciting, and entertaining online sports betting with cutting edge technologies. We want to be highly trusted by customers and rank amongst the top three online gaming companies in Nigeria.

“We offer up to 380% Accumulator Bonus amongst different bonus schemes like our loyalty bonus, 225% deposit bonus spread around your first three deposits. First-time customers on JaraBet would get 100% first deposit welcome bonus, 75% second deposit bonus and 50% third deposit bonus”, he said.

“Jarabet platform has a product for everyone. From great odds to instant settlement and five seconds payout. Our customers will experience the fastest bet-slip settlement that is not known to any sports betting

platform in the country. Our Bet slip settlement is aided by real algorithms that settles events on your bet slips real-time; so, you are left with no complaints.

Jarabet customers will enjoy games for all seasons which includes Live Sports, Virtual Games, Esports, Live Casino, and Virtual Casino, all with an impressive Accumulator Bonus”.

“At JaraBet, we guarantee that the experience will be different for good for our customers.

We have installed a state-ofthe-art customer relationship management (CRM) software and a Chatbot Sonia that would ensure that customers’ queries are addressed instantly or within limited timelines. In addition, our dedicated customer service team is available 24-7 to ensure a cordial engagement with our customers.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾NOVEMBER 6, 2021

GLOBAL SOCCER

Jerry Okorodudu Where Will Thy Help Come From?

Okorodudu

Though he had won a gold medal at the National Sports Festival in 1979, but it was when he represented the country at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 and lost controversially to South Korean So Chun Park that his name came to prominence.

Today, Okorodudu’s opponent is not in the square rope but stroke, and to battle it he would not be needing the gloves but finance which is not forthcoming. Jerry Boy as he was fondly called in his hay days told Kunle Adewale in a chat on telephone that he is looking up to government for support

L

istening to former Nigerian boxer, Jerry Okorodudu, one does not need to be a physician to know he is in pain and in dire need of prompt support as a result of the partial stroke he is battling with.

The boxer who was known for his jerry curls said he had spent about N560,000 before now in hospital to no effect.

“Nigerian boxers in the diaspora contributed money for me in the past which I spent in treating myself in the hospital and the ailment has still not gone.

“When I could not afford orthodox medicine again, I resorted to traditional ways of treatment and that one too is not coming cheap.

“The traditional hospital is now requesting for a sum of N400,000 for me to get the ‘best’ of treatment,” Okorodudu told THISDAY. The 1984 Olympian is now calling on government to come to his aid as he could not afford to pay his hospital bills as well as his house rent.

“I can’t walk, so, I have not been doing anything for almost two months. Even talking has been with difficulty,” he said.

Meanwhile, last year, the Oluyole ’79 gold medalist had surgery and was stuck at the hospital after he couldn’t foot his medical bills, before the intervention of the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, and the ex-boxers who came to his aid.

“I need urgent financial help to be able to get the best treatment. I’m suffering from a partial stroke, which has affected my right hand, leg and my neck,” Okorodudu said.

His wife, Mrs. Nike Okorodudu, once said her husband needed urgent financial help to meet his medical bills.

“My husband has been sick for two months now, and we have spent all our finances. He has a big boil on his buttock and the doctors told us to deposit money before they will continue with the treatment. We don’t have any money at the moment. I am appealing to well-meaning Nigerians to come to our aid,” Mrs. Okorodudu had said.

Meanwhile, the vice President of the Nigeria Boxing Federation, Azania OmoAgege, has said the federation has begun moves at raising funds for the treatment of Okorodudu.

Omo-Agege said steps had been taken to get financial assistance for the ailing former pugilist.

“Okorodudu is one of us, in the past, we’ve done a lot to make sure we take care of our ex-boxers,” Omo-Agege said.

“It is unfortunate that we find him in this situation where he’s having health issues. Recently on our platform, we set up a GoFundMe kind of initiative where we are raising funds for him right now to see what we can donate towards his medical expenses, and that is where we are now.”

One name that is synonymous to boxing is Muhammad Ali and it was an attempt to be as popular as the man that during his hay days was ‘flying like a butterfly and stinging like a bee’ that inspire Jeremiah Okorodudu to taking to boxing.

“I was always going to the stadium to watch athletes train, but it was boxing that really captivated my attention and then it was Muhammad Ali that was the rave of the moment in boxing and I really wanted to be as famous as he was, which was one of the driving forces behind my taking to boxing,” the Delta State-born boxer said.

Not many mothers would want their wards to take to boxing, but it was not the case in Okorodudu’s situation. His mum gave him her full backing; rather it was his father that frowned at his wanting to be a boxer.

“My mother gave me her blessing when I told her I was taking to boxing, but my dad would not want to hear anything of such. He was totally against it in spite of my plea to him that I really wanted to be a very famous person was the reason why I wanted to be a pugilist.

‘You can equally be a lawyer or a doctor and still be famous. Over my dead body would my son be a boxer,’ my father would say. But when he realised that I was bent on taking to pugilism he gave up. That was how I started boxing as a young student of College of Commerce, Warri at the age of 14,” said Okorodudu.

However, if there was one match, Okorodudu would not forget in a hurry, it was his quarter final bout against So Chun Park of South Korea at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

“It was one competition in which there was conspiracy against Nigerian boxers. We were all in great shape having attended series of competitions and done well in the pre-

Olympics in Germany. All of us, Joe Orewa, Charles Nwokolo, Peter Koyengwachi and the others were sure of returning with a bronze medal at worst, but the Americans had other ideas. In my quarter final bout, the officials did everything to frustrate me and my coach and I knew it was only a knockout that could give me victory that night. A victory for me against the Korean meant I will take on American representative, Virgil Hill in the semifinals, whom I had beaten before in the pre-Olympics in Germany and the Americans would not want another defeat for him and would rather prefer that Hill take on Park, whom they assume would be an easier opponent for their representative.

Park however defeated Hill in the semifinals and went on to win the gold medal. After my fight with Park and the decision was not in my favour I cried like a baby because I did not win a medal for Nigeria,” Jerry recalled.

Asked if he achieved his aim of being a boxer, it was an affirmative ‘yes’ from the Deltan. “At least wherever I go people recognise and appreciate me, and where they cannot recognise me, at the mention of my name, they can always recall. In spite of everything I never regretted taking to boxing,” Okorodudu said.

G LO B A L S O C C E R ASSISTANT EDITOR KUNLE ADEWALE THISDAY ON SATURDAY EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE DEPUTY EDITOR AHAMIFULA OGBU THISDAY NEWSPAPERS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾NOVEMBER 6, 2021

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾NOVEMBER 6, 2021

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER NOVEMBER 6, 2021

AUTO WORLD

Bennett Oghifo 07052343083 Email:bennett.oghifo@thisdaylive.com

TIPS OF THE WEEK

What Happens When You Overfill Your Car With Oil

Ford trucks

FordTrucks Dazzle at Haulmace 2021

F

ollowing its successful debut at the Lagos Motor Fair a few months ago, Ford Trucks has, once again, triggered excitement in the trucks market with another impressive outing at Haulmace 2021, where Coscharis Motors Plc showcased the heavy-duty vehicles.

Coscharis Motors Plc., is a Nigerian conglomerate with exclusive franchise for Ford Trucks and other range of vehicles. Its auto sales and service networks extend to Port Harcourt, Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja, Kano, Enugu and Uyo. At the annual exhibition and conference organised

by Haulage & Logistics magazine, in Surulere, Lagos, on October 26, Coscharis Motors disclosed that the Ford trucks were lined up at the event in order to shed more light on their exciting unique selling propositions and follow up on the high level of interest shown by delighted trucks enthusiasts and users since the Àrst public exhibition of the

trucks in the local market.

The General Manager, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Coscharis Group, Abiona Babarinde, said during an interview that the Ford trucks were presented at the event because it was a gathering of relevant stakeholders in the haulage and logistics industry, including Ànancial institutions involved in haulage business and competitors.

Babarinde further remarked, “If you want to remain relevant in a market where you are a player, you have to be visible at all times. Again, you don’t take your market for granted. People know Coscharis Motors over the decade with a lot of brands, especially sedan and SUVs vehicles.

“When you are going into new a segment of the automotive sector, all you need do is to stay relevant and be visible anywhere events relating to that new segment are happening. That is why we are here with Ford trucks like we did at the Lagos Motor Fair. It is a deliberate marketing communication strategy to continue the announcement of our

entrance into haulage and logistic trucks.

“We are not just participating, we also informed our stakeholders about our coming here which include some strategic media persons and both our customers and potential customers, who might not have come to this event, but because we announced our participation, they attended.”

The Sales Manager, Ford Trucks at Coscharis Motors, Anthony Emuoborowho, whileco mmenting on participation, said, “When it comes to exhibition, it does not end on the day the event was held. It is a continuous process. I can assure you that we have gained from the showcasing of Ford Trucks at Haulmace 2021.

“We have received a lot of enquiries. People have asked questions on the performance of the trucks. The biggest players in the haulage industry are here. We have made a presentation.

They have seen the trucks. We are optimistic that our presentation and enquiries will lead to future sales.”

All-New 2022 Toyota Tundra is Ready to Rock the Full-Size Segment

T

he all-new 2022 Toyota Tundra may be born from a rich history of global trucks and SUVs, but the third generation of its namesake is ready to make a big impression on the North American full-size truck segment as it debuts at dealerships later this year.

Rooted in quality, durability and reliability like the lineage before it, Tundra looks to build on its success in the full-size truck segment, according to a statement by the automaker.

Carrying the knowledge it has learned along the way, Tundra improves upon its predecessors thanks to key improvement such as: two new powertrains that are more powerful and more e΀cient than the outgoing engine, improved towing and payload capability an all-new North American-designed multimedia system and a cabin with creature comforts the entire family will love. Even with a truckload of additional new features, Tundra will be very competitive thanks to its Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Pricing (MSRP) starting at $35,950. Trucks will arrive at dealerships starting next month.

A Pair of Powerful Powertrains The all-new Tundra will oͿer two impressive new powertrains: a twin-turbo V6 engine and a hybrid twin-turbo V6. What may be surprising to some is the hybrid powertrain will be the most powerful of the two. Mated to both engines will be a 10-speed Electronically Controlled Automatic Transmission with intelligence (ECTi).

The new 10-speed features a sequential shift mode, uphill/downhill shift logic and TOW/ HAUL driving modes.

Calling the twin-turbo V6 a “base” engine just doesn’t seem right. Its aluminium block

The all-new 2022 Toyota Tundra

features a displacement of 3,445cc via an 85.5mm bore and 100mm stroke. The 24-valve, Dual Overhead Cam V6 is chain-driven and features Dual VVTi systems. Thanks to the water-cooled intercooler keeping turbo temperatures down, the high-output V6 engine improves on the outgoing V8 engine in every way with impressive performance Àgures: 389 horsepower and 479 lb.-ft. of torque. SR grades utilize standard i-FORCE tuning to produce 348 horsepower and 405 lb.-ft. of torque.

Next-level enhancements help make this twinturbo V6 stand alone at the top of the powertrain mountain. Engineers developed state-of-the-art cylinder heads for max-boost reliability with a two-layer water jacket structure for maximum coolant Áow and combustion chamber strength, and then added machined cross-channels for additional combustion chamber cooling. LowproÀle, laser-applied powder-metal intake valve seats enhance the intake port e΀ciency and allow maximum coolant Áow close to the spark plug.

When an engine has too little oil, bad things can happen: Friction between moving parts increases, the engine may run hotter and, worst case, moving parts seize when they become starved for lubrication.

Bad things also can happen when there’s too much oil. Overfilling with oil can cause foaming, which turns a slippery lubricant into a sudsy fluid with air bubbles that diminish the lubricating and cooling properties.

Frothy oil also is harder for the oil pump to distribute around the engine, so some moving parts might not receive as much oil as they need, increasing wear and raising the risks of engine damage.

How much oil does a car need? That depends.

Look for specifics in your vehicle owner’s manual, but many engines require between 4 and 6 quarts.

Typically, the oil drains into a pan at the bottom of the engine, below the crankshaft. If the pan is overfilled, the crankshaft can act like a high-speed blender that churns the oil and creates foam.

The crankshaft is where engine speed is measured, and it spins rapidly whenever the engine is running.

For example, if the tachometer reads 2,500 rpm at 75 mph, that means the crankshaft does a complete revolution 2,500 times each minute; floor the throttle and it can reach 5,000 rpm or higher.

Overfilling also increases oil pressure, putting more stress on seals and gaskets that keep oil from leaking out of the engine or going places it shouldn’t on the inside. Over time, the added stress accelerates wear on those seals and gaskets. Overfilling often occurs because repair shops pump fresh oil from bulk containers instead of pouring it from quart- or gallon-size containers. Holding the pump trigger too long can easily add extra oil, and the technician might not check the dipstick — and even if they do check it, oil takes time to drain into the pan, so they might get a false reading of the oil level right after pumping in fresh oil.

Checking the oil dipstick when a vehicle is on flat ground and the engine is cold will give an accurate reading of the level. If the oil level is a little above the full mark, that shouldn’t cause problems. If it’s overfilled by half a quart or more, or foam shows on the dipstick, the best fix is to have the oil drained and refilled to the proper level.

(Source: Cars.com

OPay Partners Council, Launches Ifako-Ijaiye Jobs Nigeria’s leading Ànancial technology platform OPay recently partnered with Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government to launch Ifako-Ijaiye Jobs focused on youth empowerment within the community. The laudable project aims to create jobs for both skilled and semi-skilled youth in the community.

This partnership is in line with OPay’s commitment towards sustaining the economy and building entrepreneurs especially among Nigeria’s vibrant youth.

According to the company, the initiative is ideal at this time in view of the economic realities and the need to adequately improve the economy via youth empowerment and community development.

Speaking during the launch of Ifako Ijaiye Jobs, the Executive Chairman of Ifako Ijaiye, Prince Usman Hamzat expressed his appreciation to OPay, saying “I am glad OPay has partnered with us and plugged into what we are developing at Ifako Ijaiye. Thank you for your full support and gift items given to Youths of the Local Government.

We are excited to do more with the OPay team”.

Theresa Ireme of OPay said, “We are excited to partner with a Ifako Ijaiye local government on this laudable initiative as it empowers youths within the community as this is part of our goals as an organization. There are exciting opportunities for both parties to explore in this partnership as youth of the local government can take maximum advantage of the opportunities at OPay to become gainfully employed.”

OPay expressed its commitment to giving back to communities and has dedicated huge human and Ànancial resources to providing the right infrastructure to grow and support the Nigerian economy.

OPay is a leading payment and Ànancial service company licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria, accelerating Ànancial inclusion through technology.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER NOVEMBER 6, 2021

AUTO WORLD

Coscharis Motors, Sterling Bank Partner on E-Commerce, Vehicle Finance

C

oscharis Motors Plc has partnered Sterling Bank towards on-boarding its vehicles on the bank’s non-Interest Banking Division platform- AltDrive.

The objective is to ease the road to ownership via e-commerce transaction which can be self-funded or financed by the bank.

According to Abiona Babarinde, General Manager, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Coscharis Group, the idea is to provide customer an online retail marketplace that gives customers one-stop boutique to access and purchase any vehicular brand sold by Coscharis Motors either through self-funding or credit finance from Sterling Bank.

He explained, “the primary objective of this collaboration is to provide our customers an e-commerce platform with a credible Financial Institution like Sterling Bank as an extension of our showrooms where they can access our robust brand portfolio which includes iconic brands like Ford, Renault, BMW, Jaguar and Land Rover at a go on one hand. On the other hand, the partnership offers a vehicle finance scheme, which is aimed at empowering retail and fleet buyers to purchase their choice vehicles from any Coscharis Motors outlet nationwide through a repayment plan with Sterling Bank.”

Accordingly, the scheme will allow a repayment pattern spread over a period of five years with the option of a 15 to 30 down payment.” He further added that the focus is to deliver customers satisfaction given the bank’s friendly interest rate,

Land Rover Sport ease of accessibility, quick turnaround time for credit processing at the bank and availability of myriads auto brands”.

Babarinde further posited in his words, “we took this strategic decision earlier in the year to

collaborate with relevant stakeholder partners to be able to give our numerous discerning customers and prospects alike the soft landing of owning any of our vehicles with ease in terms of providing friendly Ànancial schemes.

We started this initiative with one of our sister companies in the group, Coscharis Mobility representing Sixth in Nigeria amongst some other Ànancial institutions while others are in the pipeline to come on board.

Ade-Ojo, Jelani, Oyeyemi, Hathiramani for Honours at Nigerian Auto Awards Founder of Elizade Nigeria Limited, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo, is set to be honoured as Pillar of Auto Industry at the 2021 edition of the annual Nigeria Auto Journalists Awards.

Other prominent personalities in the Nigerian automotive industry to be honoured by the Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) at the event slated for Wednesday, December 1, 2021 are the Director General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Jelani Aliyu; Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Boboye Oyeyemi; and Managing Director of Dana Motors, Jacky Hathiramani.

According to NAJA, the organisers, the event, to be held at Eko Hotel and Suites on Victoria Island, Lagos, will also be used to announce the Nigeria’s Car of the Year, among other industry awards.

NAJA in a statement said Chief Ade.Ojo is being honoured as Pillar of the Nigeria Auto Industry for his outstanding contributions to the development of Nigeria’s auto industry over the decades.

Chief Ade.Ojo has marketed and sold various auto brands like Peugeot and Volkswagen before finally settling for Toyota, a product he turned to a household name in the country.

Elizade Nigeria Limited, which was incorporated in 1973, and started business in 1971 with just one

supporting employee, has become a conglomerate with several subsidiaries, and a reference point in Nigeria’s auto industry.

In a similar vein, the NADDC DG as well as the Dana Motors MD are to recognised as Auto Personalities of the Year.

While Jelani has been very consistent in pushing the narrative for alternative greener automotive fuel, Hathiramani has been able to make the Kia brand a successful name in Nigeria.

Commenting on the honours, Chairman of NAJA, Mike Ochonma, noted that it was important to hounor and recognize people who had contributed immensely to the development of the sector while alive, not when dead. “We like to recognise people while they are still alive, which is very important so that they can also reap some rewards from their service and serve as encouragement for younger people to serve, knowing full well that when you serve, there is always recognition,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the 2021 NAJA Awards Committee, Theodore Opara, has said nominations are still coming in for the various categories of the Nigerian Auto Awards.

He said apart from the Car-of-the-Year category, there are over 15 other categories that are being contested for in this year’s edition of the prestigious awards.

Ade-Ojo

Still on The Patient Dog As I Ànally draw the curtain on this piece that has ran for two weeks, you must always remember that the machine which you call a vehicle is worse than a bazooka or ak-47. So, you must check your speed and ensure that all occupants in the vehicle, including children, are properly restrained to prevent ejection in the event of a crash. Do not lap the baby in the car and avoid all forms of complacency like the folly of the Àrst Adam.

Such complacency has robbed families of their bread winners. It has also robbed the nation of individuals whose contributions would have helped in nation building. The Àgures I cited last week are not just victims but human beings.

Unfortunately, we allow the abstract numbers to deÁect our attentions form the reality of the lives of those aͿected. Yet, such lives could have been saved by a change in behaviour, especially in the use of seat belt, crash helmet and appropriate speed. Unfortunately, impatience ranks high in the human weaknesses displayed on the road daily; the tendency to drive above the speed approved by law all in the name of meeting a business appointment and the tendency to drive and phone on the wheels in total disregard of the law and the safety implications among others.

These behaviors for me provides the basis for the predication by WHO that by 2015, road crashes will be the leading cause of premature death and disability for children aged Àve and above. The epidemic is said to rob more families

SAFE DRIVING with Jonas Agwu amnipr, mcipr,mprsa,arpa Assistant Corps Marshal Zonal Commanding Officer Federal Road Safety Corps.

of their loved ones and their livelihood as the number of those killed doubles to well over two million per year by 2020.

It is, however, instructive to note that countries such as Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Japan among other nations in the developed climes, have made signiÀcant progress in redressing road crash. Underlining this progress is the consciousness on the part of motorist to do it right while realising the need to adopt new approach to road safety. One of these new approaches is the safe system approach which requires that the road system be designed to expect and accommodate human error, recognising the prevention eͿort notwithstanding, roads user remain fallible and crash will occur.

It exploits synergies between measures that address infrastructure, vehicles and drivers’ behaviour when they are designed in concert.

The basic strategy of a Safe System approach is to ensure that in the event of a crash the impact

energy remain below threshold likely to produce either death or serious injury. This threshold will vary upon the level of protection oͿered to the road users involved for example, the chances of survival for an unprotected pedestrians hit by a vehicle diminish rapidly at speed greater than 30km/h whereas for a properly restrained vehicle, the critical impact speed is 50km/h for side impact crash and 70km/h for head-on crashes.

Sadly however, doing it right as the foundation for change is a scarce virtue in our clime. It is equally sadly that most of us in our clime operate motor vehicles on a daily basis and hardly ever pay any attention to one of the most vital parts of the vehicle which are our tyres. Unfortunately, very few of us change this bad habit until it is too late. Did you know that tires expire four years after the date of manufacture and this date is stamped on the side of the tyre?

It is very easy to Ànd out what the expiration date is on a tire, if you check on the side of it, you will have a four digit numbers stamped on it, this number indicates the week and the year it was manufactured, the expiration date will be four years later. This number indicates that the tire was manufactured on the 7th week of 2007 or which is the same February 2007 that would place the expiration date in February 2011. If we use expired tires these are likely to burst and result in a very serious or even fatal accident, it would be a good practice for us to check our tires and make sure they have not passed their expiration date.

Another important point that we miss many times is proper tyre inÁation and this has claimed many lives. On the side of the tyre, you will also Ànd the maximum allowable inÁating pressure for that tyre, some have a maximum pressure of 32 psi, some are rated 44psi and even 50psi. Check your speciÀc tyre to see what the maximum pressure is for your tyres. It is an acceptable practice to have your tyres a few pound below maximum allowable pressure but not too much. DiͿerent tyres are designed for diͿerent pressure. You will Ànd your maximum tyre inÁation pressure on a small number next to the rim on the side of tyre, never exceed the pressure.

Lower pressure increases tyre heat, infrared photograph of tyres tested at high speed damaging heat increases as pressure drops.

Another important point to consider is the load we put on our tyres, many times we overload our vehicles without paying attention to the strain t his put on our tyres, exceeding the maximum load rating on a tire may also lead to tyre failure and could result in an accident.

In conclusion, please be defensive in your driving. Remember that a lot of people you see as drivers are bad road users. Don’t let your safety depend on their actions. Avoid tailgating.

A lot will drive impaired mostly by alcohol.

Watch out for errors. Enjoy your drive as we look forward to the forthcoming celebration.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER NOVEMBER 6, 2021

IMAGES

O

n Saturday October 30th, 2021, Obafemi Awolowo University (formerly University of Ife), a foremost institution of learning and academic excellence in lle-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria welcomed its illustrious past students to its domain. The event was Great Ife ALUMNI Association Gala and Award Night. Held inside the ICICS main Hall of the institution. It was a night of excitement where distinguished Alumni members were honoured with special recognition awards by the Association. Here are dignitaries that graced the occasion.

L-R: Alhaji Rafiu Ebiti, wife of the OAU VC, Vice Chancellor, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede, Pro-Chancellor, OAU, Owelle Oscar Udoji, Global President, Great Ife Alumni Association, Engr. Wale Olaleye

L–R: Deputy Registrar of Summit University Offa,, Mustapha Kadiri with his wife, Sekinat and Dr. Abdulafatah Kola

L-R: Dr. Obisakin Makanjuola and Prof. Akeem Amodu

L-R: Princess Omolara Olawuyi, Mr. Dotun Awoyemi and Mrs. Busayo Obisakin

L-R: Dr. Femi Oguntause, OAU Librarian and Prof. Yomi Daramola

L-R: Registrar, OAU, Margaret Omosule and Deputy Vice Chancellor Academy, Prof.

Olusola Babalola

L-R Director-general, Nigerian French Village, Prof.

Babatunde Ayeleru and his wife

L-R: Evangelist Adekunbi Akin-Taylor and Dr. (Mrs.) Bisi Ayandike

Vice-Chancellor, OAU, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede delivering his speech

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER NOVEMBER 6, 2021

IMAGES

L–R: Saka Babatunde, Yemi Alabi, Musa Oshodi and Yemi Oguntade

L–R: Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi receiving his award from OAU Pro-Chancellor, Owelle Oscar Udoji

L-R: Dr. Mrs Funmi Ajisegiri-Diyan, Comrade Demola Adura and Mr. OJA Saibu

L–R: Engr. Olanrewaju and Engr. Mojirade Oloruntoba

Mrs. Ini Nwa and Dr. Emmanuel Adeniyi

L-R: Opeyemi Abogan and Adelani Aderinola

Alhaji Rafiu Ebiti (left) being decorated by TPL Bankole Olumola

Alhaji Rafiu Adisa Ebiti (left) receiving his award from Pro-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Owelle Oscar Udoji

Dr. Olumuyiwa Ojo

Engr. Wale Olaleye (left) presenting an award to Barrister Olasupo Ojo – the Composer of OAU (University Anthem)

Prof. Epitope Ogunbodede (left) presenting an award to Owelle Oscar Udoji

L-R: Mrs Maryam Duba and Mrs Patricia Owunmi-Oblokwu

38

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER NOVEMBER 6, 2021

INTERVIEW Emmanuel Adanu

We’ve Refocused National Water Resources Institute Professor Emmanuel Adanu is the Director General of the National Water Resources Institute, Kaduna.

Adanu, a former international footballer, who is serving a second term, speaks to Stanley Nkwazema on the activities of the institute and the support from the water resources ministry, among other issues

H

ow would you assess the performance of the National Water Resources Institute under your watch?

I have been there since May 2015. At the expiration of my first tenure, the President through the recommendation of the Water Resources Minister, Engr. Sulaiman Adamu, graciously renewed it for another term of five years, which technically elapses in 2025, God willing. Before I went there, I had been very familiar with the institute because it is an agency of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and I had been with the Water Resources Ministry. The institute started as a project office in 1979 and by 1985, under an Act, it was made an institute by the then Military Government to carry out training for middle cadre and water resources managers and also to carry out researches in all aspects of water resources management and to advise the government on priorities with some other functions like conferences, publication of reports both local and international and many other water resources duties. When I went there, I noticed that these aspects of the mandate given to them were not properly highlighted.

We have collaborations with some universities.

We award degrees on behalf of Nigeria Defense Academy (NDA) Kaduna in Integrated Water Resources Management, approved by the National Universities Commission (NUC). The institute developed the curriculum. We also have a network programme under the World Bank. We have six universities in the six geopolitical zones and they offer beyond first and second degrees in Water Resources sponsored by the institute.

What have been your experience in the water sector and the dams in Nigeria in terms of prioritisation of projects?

Basically, I will talk about the development and satisfaction of the various needs and I must tell you that Nigeria has lesser dams. People may say we have too many, but we are still lagging behind in terms of dams. I can tell you that we have about 400 dams in the country from the last dam inventory we carried out. The United States of America has about 8,000 or more dams. You can imagine that we still do not have enough dams, which is because of the per capita requirement of water. In that case, one would say that we do not have enough dams, and wherever you site dams now, we are yet to meet the numbers required. This explains to you the questions of whether the projects are politically motivated. In our development, there is this impression that the Southern part of the country has a lot of water and they don’t need dams, and the Northern part, which is larger, should have more dams. So, dams are cited where such requirements are expected.

We have dams in the North for agricultural purposes because of certain level of dryness.

The condition for the construction of dams, that is, the natural environment for it is more in the Middle Belt and the North than in the South.

There are bigger dams in the North and middle part of the country hence the location. As time goes on, we need dams in small environments that are sustainable, especially in the South where you will find small reservoir areas. The rains are perennial and if you put a dam there, it is going to serve the purpose very well and we considered that in siting some dams in the South. The dams are not so big because you must take into consideration the rising level and

We learn you played for Nigeria’s national team. How did you combine football with academics?

Before moving to Germany and playing for the ABU Workers Football Club, right from secondary school, I was into football. In the North-east and the entire North, they know me as a great footballer. I was invited to the national team three times as early as 1976 and I made the final list on two occasions as a striker.

I was invited to the NUGA games in Ibadan at the same time with Adokiye Amiesimaka. I was invited again in 1979 during the Oluyole 79 Festival and in 1981. However, when I went to Germany, incidentally, I played for the second division called the Landelsliga with a team called Blauweis 90, founded in 1890 in Berlin. After two years, I moved to play for Tennis Borussia a semi-professional side. It was easier to play there than here because all the facilities are available.

Emmanuel Adanu issue of flooding. If you take a holistic look at dams siting, you will discover that we are far short of dams. There are also the misinterpreted challenges in the ministry that sometimes we intend to provide the facilities on a master plan and the cross-sectoral demand from people or the society. As a professional, you know there is the need for it but funding is a problem because dams are very expensive. It is a challenge but it is not that government is not aware of the importance of dams, rather there is a cross-sectoral competing demand for the same money.

At what time did you join the Water Resources Ministry?

Yes, it was when I began to feel a bit uncomfortable at what was happening then at the University. I was a water person trained abroad. There was an advert by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources in 1991. I just decided to try my luck and I was taken. I started there as a Chief Planning Officer. Within this period, I was growing in the ministry, I had a small break during the Gen. Sani Abacha regime. I was made the Principal Private Secretary to then Governor of Benue State, Col. Aminu Isah Kontagora who passed on recently. When there was a minor reshuffle by Abacha, he was moved to Kano and was replaced

by Brigadier General Dominic Oneya, who incidentally passed on recently also. I still remained as his PPS. After the election of 1999, we handed over and I came back to the ministry where I grew to become the

Director of Dams and I retired in 2014.

Are you satisfied with the attention government has given to the Water Resources Institute?

I am satisfied with the attention we are getting from the government.

I went there just as former President Jonathan’s administration was winding down. We have had no problem with this administration, to be sincere with you.

Incidentally, the institute hosts Category 2 United Nations Centre for Integrated River Basin Management, which is under the auspices of UNESCO and we are covering the West African countries. We organise programmes across the West African sub-region. We have much research works ongoing presently and I am even constructing the headquarters now.

What was your growing up like?

I am from a very poor family in terms of resources but not poor in ideas. We are agrarian farmers but a very respectable family and highly disciplined parents. We grew up with discipline and responsibility.

I never regretted having them as parents because the ideas they had were so productive that we did not need money.

Sorry to tell you that we were trained never to borrow. Those were the things that were basically motivating us and I think that is how I have trained my four kids; three girls and a boy. Two of the girls are married. My son is not married. I am a grandfather of five children. My wife is a nurse and retired Public Administrator.

Tell us the story of the footballer that turned to a hydrogeologist?

I am from a small village in Odigbo, Apa Local Government Area of Benue State. I’m Idoma by tribe. My secondary education was in Numan, in the present Adamawa State between 1967 and 1971. From there I went to the Government Secondary School Maiduguri for my Higher School Certificate (HSC). I proceeded to Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) and graduated in 1977. Specialising in Geology, which though was not my initial area, I wanted to study Engineering. After my NYSC in Ondo State, I returned to the Geology Department of ABU as Graduate Assistant. After my Master’s, I had to go to Germany for my Ph.D. at the Technische Universitat, Berlin, where I majored in Hydrogeology. I returned to Ahmadu Bello University, because I went under the sponsorship of the university, and continued my lectureship career.

Looking back at your career, are you satisfied?

I think I got what I wanted. In terms of experience, fortunately, I have gone through a lot. It is a process, societal processes, professional processes, and political processes.

Not intentional anyway. When I was Principal Private Secretary, I was like the number two man in the state because they didn’t have deputy governors. I report to the governor and I’m answerable only to him, which is the political aspect I am talking about. In the ministry, I became a Director, starting with Alhaji Hashidu and six others, till the present Minister, Sulaiman Adamu who is the District Head and Galadiman of Kazaure.

What legacies would you want to leave behind at the National Water Resources Institute?

I would want to leave the place as a foremost training and research institution comparable to anyone anywhere in the world and we are working towards that. Fortunately, I have a contingent of staff I think are ready to work and I have to motivate them. One other thing I do is to make sure that any mistake by any staff of yours is accepted as a general mistake. We work and see how we can become better. We don’t like accusing anybody because all of us are learning. When mistakes are made, we look at the mistakes; try to correct and we work collectively to avoid such mistakes by anybody.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER NOVEMBER 6, 2021

39

PERSPECTIVE Anambra Guber Poll: Does Uzodinma Know Something That Others Don’t?

Andy Ikpeazu

B

arring unforeseen circumstances, the gubernatorial elections in Anambra State will hold on November 6, 2021. In itself, the election is making some wrong headlines especially with the palpable threat by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to disrupt it. Of course, the authorities have moved to forestall the security threats to the election by deploying two Deputy Inspector-Generals, Five AIGs, 14 Police Commissioners to Anambra but while Nigerians wait to see what happens; the message should not be lost on us. IPOB’s influence in the SouthEast can already be seen in the sit-at-home being enforced across the region every Monday; and the potential threat to a scheduled election by a group that has been dismissed as being inconsequential by the authorities. Were IPOB to be successful in keeping people away from the polling booths on November 6, that would further raise question marks over the ability of the Nigerian state to provide adequate security for most activities.

The threats to the election may have stolen all the headlines but equally important in the preparations for the election is the fears expressed by some of the contestants on the ability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that the election is free and fair. Eyebrows were raised when some of the contestants were seen campaigning in faraway Lagos and also when some of them suggested or hinted at plans by the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) to snatch Anambra by all means.

In both instances, the message is the same; were the other parties to fail at the November 6 polls; that failure would automatically be blamed on security threat or power show by the APC. However, given the facts available, those who have said “Anambra is not Imo’ miss the point; elections are not won in the media but in the polling booths. Let’s take a look at the last gubernatorial election in Imo and how Senator Hope Uzodinma emerged governor of the state.

The last gubernatorial election in Imo is a lesson in doing the basics when it comes to political contests. First, as any reasonable student of politics will agree, you have to move people to come out to vote for you, which in the circumstances is obvious. Then, you have to ensure that all the votes of your people count. Fail in any of these two basic assignments and you have no business contesting for political office. Now let’s review what happened at the elections held on March 9, 2019. Fact - the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the final scores as follows; Ihedioha (PDP) 273,404 (winner), Uche Nwosu (AA) 190,364, Ifeanyi Ararume (APGA) 114,676 and Uzodinma (APC) 96,458.

However, for elections into the office of a governor, and as Nigeria’s most recent history has shown, there is a an established grieviance redress process that begins at the electoral tribunal and ends at the Supreme Court. All the aspirants in Imo exercised their rights to contest Ihedioha’s emergence by heading to the electoral tribunal. The present Imo State Governor, Sen. Hope Uzodinma hinged his own claim on the argument that the results from 388 polling units were not included in the final tally by INEC. He argued that the non-inclusion of results from these units denied him a total 213,695 votes due to him whereas Ihedioha scored only 1,903 votes in those units going by the results captured in Forms EC8A. Though he failed at the tribunal, Uzodinma took his petition to the Court of Appeal where four of the judges ruled against him but a minority ruling held among others, that (1) the Forms EC8A from the 388 units were wrongfully excluded and that (2) Ihedioha’s lawyers did not prove that the results sheets were forged. Justice Frederick Oho of the Nigerian Court of Appeal, in his dissenting ruling wrote “It is also clear on the record

Uzodinma

that after the appellants had explicitly set out in the Petition a schedule of all the polling unit results, which were allegedly excluded from collation at ward level by the 3rd respondent (INEC), they led evidence through several witnesses to prove their case as contained in the Petition”.

What the APC’s candidate successfully achieved at the Appeal Court is to create the ground to doubt the election of Ihedioha and the questions are obvious: how did INEC omit results from 388 polling units from the total? Who is responsible for the error? Who stood to benefit from that error? Should the votes of people in those 388 polling units not have mattered? For those who believe that electoral cycles are important in deepening democracy, those questions are important and addressing them will clear the air about Imo and the last gubernatorial elections.

In this case, obviously the major beneficiary of the omission is Ihedioha. A simple arithmetic shows that were those excluded votes from the 388 polling units to be added to the tally of both Ihedioha and Uzodinma; the total outcome would change drastically. Let’s remember that the 1st Respondent (Ihedioha) was declared winner by the 3rd respondent (INEC) with a total of 258,259 votes while Uzodinma was said to have scored 96,458 votes. Adding the omitted votes from the 388 polling units will then have Uzodinma winning with a total of 310,153 votes while Ihedioha’s total tally would be 260,162 votes.

As Senator Hope uzodimma himself has said: “There is a reason for the supreme court. In the doctrine and principle of democracy, the law expected that there would be grievances and malpractices in the electoral process. When this happens, the only legitimate right you have is to seek redress at the court. And of course, the court determines. Remember that this is

not the first time so many elections have held where the candidates went to court and they got justice. So, why will mine be different?”

If the INEC failed to count peoples vote and an aggrieved contestant goes through the constitutionally established process to make those votes count, how come he is vilified? And how come some of the contestants in Anambra believe the constitutionally established means of settling electoral disputes will work against them.

That there are suggestions that ‘Anambra is not Imo’ makes it look like a lack of faith in the same process they have signed up for by contesting for political office.

Perhaps it is also important to remember that the statement that has angered Imolites is credited to Professor Charles Soludo who is contesting to be governor of Anambra State. Given the fact that he has been chasing this political dream since 2009 when he first announced his desire on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), many would question his moral right to question the legitimacy of the election in Imo. The PDP, the platform under which Soludo made his name as Chief Economic Adviser to former President Obasanjo; Chief Executive of the National Planning Commission of Nigeria and most memorably, as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was notorious for upturning people’s mandate by using state apparatus.

The former CBN governor was himself a beneficiary of a discredited political process that threw him up as candidate on the ticket of the PDP in an election he lost to Peter Obi, the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA). After he announced his interest in becoming governor in Anambra, the PDP selected Soludo as their consensus candidate for the position from a field of 47 candidates; a decision

that was contested by 23 of the 47 aspirants, citing lack of transparency in the process. His candidacy was affirmed by the then ruling party, which overruled the protests before he went on to lose in an election that was adjudged as free and fair by most observers. He did not fare any better in 2013 as his defection to APGA ahead of the elections of 2014 ended in failure.

The APGA Screening Committee in midAugust 2013 disqualified Soludo along with five other candidates and with that decision ended his dream of being governor outside central banking. Soludo’s paranoia about this weekend’s election is understandable given those earlier failures but attempting to preempt the process by discrediting it has all the makings of desperation on his part.

Equally important is the new-found influence of Imo in both the South East and Abuja. The governor who cut his political tooth in the second republic with his sojourn in the National Party of Nigeria is no stranger to political battles.

It was one of such battles that saw him being sworn in on May 29, 2011 as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, representing Imo State (West Senatorial District). Earlier in January 2011, Uzodinma had defeated other candidates including Senator Osita Izunaso at the PDP senatorial primary for the Imo West, with 2,147 votes against the 891 votes recorded by his closes rival. Though he was disqualified by a federal high court judgment for not being properly cleared by the PDP electoral panel led

by Nwafor-Orizu.

However, he got reprieve via a court of appeal judgment which issued a stay of execution while the case was being decided. While the court of appeal upheld the federal high court judgement, Uzodinma’s petition to the Supreme Court cleared his path to the election that was held on April 2011 elections, in which he polled 85,042 votes, ahead of former Governor Achike Udenwa then of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) who got 64,228; and Nonye Rajis-Okpara of APGA with 57,110 votes. In May 2011, the Supreme Court overturned the earlier decisions and declared that Uzodinma was the valid candidate and therefore had been elected. Needless to say that he went ahead to win re-election for a second term in the Senate during the 2015 election.

So, unlike critics such as Soludo, the Imo governor is a battle-hardened political powerhouse who understands what it takes to win elections. It is interesting that for both the Senate election, which he contested on the platform of the ruling PDP and the gubernatorial election which he contested on the platform of the APC; Uzodinma did not depend on state power to rig as some are insinuating. He used the constitutionally recognised process of settling electoral disputes and came out victorious. If he were to be a rigger, there would have been no need for long court sessions as all state apparatus and the INEC would have ensured his victory at first attempt. It is obvious that the Imo State governor knows something that others don’t. Uzodinma demonstrated faith in the constitutionally established process, a trait that all election contestants including Soludo would do well to emulate.

In the final analysis and provided the constitutionally established process of settling all grievances are allowed to run its due process; it is the people of Anambra who will have the last say. Dragging Uzodinma and the good people of Imo into the election in Anambra is unnecessary. Since it is their votes that count; the contestants should focus on canvassing for those votes rather than distracting the good people of Imo from the rebuilding process that is ongoing.

Andy Ikpeazu, a Public Analyst, writes in from Plot 15B, Omoyemi Solarin Street, Block 3, Phase 1, Site 2, Kubwa, Abuja. He can also be reached on andyikpeazu3@gmail.com

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Okowa on State of the Nation “Everything is tumbling down. Everything is just going in the reverse in such a manner that is not good for our nation…. We are getting to a stage now where we are not even sure of food even for the middle class not to talk of the very low class” –Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State bemoaning the state of Nigeria under the APC government.

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The Unsolvable Jigsaw of the Ikoyi Tragedy

F

ellow Nigerians, the terrible day, Monday, November 1, 2021, started for me like all of my regular days. It was very quickly to become the stuff of permanent nightmares. Just the day before, I had departed Abuja after the PDP National Convention.

My Sunday evening was spent at the birthday dinner cum book launch of television star, Ms Kikelomo Atanda-Owo. I left the classy party looking forward to a long blissful night as I planned to be in bed till minimum 12 noon on Monday before attending the climate change event at the Italian Consulate on Victoria Island.

Unknown to me, this meticulously planned schedule was not to be.

I was getting ready to go out when a massive explosion, like a fiendish hurricane raised to the power of thousands, suddenly occurred.

This evil explosion was so thunderous that it shook our six-storey building to its foundation and seemed to reverberate forever. To say that I was scared is to put it very mildly. I dialogued with my feet and started galloping away like an antelope. I kept screaming at my wife: “Bolaji, earthquake, earthquake, let’s move before the building collapses on all of us.” My wife, who seems to be of much stronger stock than I in these conditions, was already by the window scanning our compound. “Ajani (her pet name for me) our residents are out of their apartments…”

Then she looked skyward and straight across the most imposing edifice in our neighbourhood, a gargantuan edifice that bestrides the landscape of the busy Gerrard Road, that we normally see from our windows, but it was nowhere to be found.

“Ajani, Fourscore’s building has disappeared!” my wife screamed… “What is this woman saying?”

I soliloquized? Then fearfully and with great trepidation, I peeped out myself and saw the void. I screamed and started speeding out of the building. Plenty questions but no answers.

My wife was already way ahead of me as I waited for my younger friend, Gbenga Olunloyo to join me. Gbenga immediately made a call to a structural Engineer to come and check if the “earthquake” had damaged or weakened our building. Along the streets, we ran into my neighbour, Mr Olu Akpata, the affable President of the Nigerian Bar Association. He was busy working the phone making calls to the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and all The Who is Who in Lagos State. He was truly effective and impressive. We also saw Mrs Olukemi Aderemi, and her daughter, Adekepemi, whose maternal grandfather, Chief Obafemi Awolowo (SAN), hailed from the same township of Ikenne, in Ogun State, as Mr Femi Osibona, the owner of the collapsed skyscraper on Gerard Road, Ikoyi. It was Femi or Fourscore, as myself and many others called him, who had sold our Penthouse Flats to Myself and my best friend, Damola Aderemi, whilst he lived across us in another of the four penthouses in the mini-Estate. Mrs Aderemi kept us fully apprised of the situation with the updates.

The Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, was soon sighted and I walked up to him. He looked visibly shaken and rattled. Suddenly, a young driver joined us from seemingly out of nowhere and he gave us the rudest shocker of our lives. Looking straight into my eyes, the young man said “Sir, I brought your son, Wale Bob (Wale Bob Oseni) here some minutes ago on our way to the airport and now I can’t find him. He was in the building when it

Femi Osibona and Wale Bob-Oseni, two of the victims

collapsed. “Holy Jesus!”, I screamed, helplessly.

The crowd of spectators, first responders, security personnel and others were swelling up in a jiffy.

I told the Deputy Governor he would have to seek more security and get a rescue team on to the site immediately. However, in his haste, he had left his phones in the car. He hurriedly left to make some quick calls. We waited with bated breath for excavators to arrive. We were soon told one had been located not too far away. But the minutes were ticking away, and we were all getting agitated and crestfallen.

We were told the Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was also coordinating things from yonder and he had immediately promised to return home to supervise things himself. I’ve always known Governor Sanwo-Olu to be hands on contrary to what critics were saying. He had ordered the closure of the premises once, and even got Femi Osibona arrested during an altercation with the agents of the State. Before Femi was released, the Governor sought guarantees from Femi and his friends that Femi will henceforth cooperate fully with agencies of government in the monitoring and supervision of the massive construction and Femi did so till the very end.

I will return to this shortly.

After what seemed an eternity, one excavator rolled and roared in like a Russian tank. First the gate leading to the monumental edifice had to be mowed down. In no time, this was achieved.

But some brave and energetic guys with hefty muscles had taken charge of rescuing some of those in the rubbles. Some of the victims were either dead or alive with various degrees of bruises or burns. More police and soldiers soon joined. The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, came fully ready to ensure maximum security. The crowd was getting restive as darkness fell. Too many stories of heroism, and good fortune to be told, like the two fortunate employees who went to buy water for one of the engineers only to return to see the building crumpling before their very eyes or Fourscore’s young lawyer, Seun, who missed being in the building by a heartbeat because he needed to replace tyres on his car and arrived just as the building collapsed in a heap.

Then sadly and most distressingly, the gossip writers took over the cyberspace spinning all manner of tales by moonlight. One of them said authoritatively and categorically that my wife,

Mrs Mobolaji Momodu was seen on the top floor with Femi just before the collapse and reached the conclusion that she might be under the ruins. An irresponsible man wrote in a WhatsApp group that Dele Momodu won’t speak up because Femi had gifted me the penthouse in which we live in Ikoyi, such arrant nonsense. This man who I’m told lives in America would have been more useful to society if he was writing novels. My best friend, Adedamola Aderemi, and I had bought our separate apartments from Femi over four years ago and we spent many months renovating the penthouses. The Prince of Ile-Ife had told me about the property and once I heard it was owned by Femi Fourscore, I was more than pleased and comfortable to buy.

I had known Femi for over 20 years in London as an extremely gifted marketer. Femi’s tongue was honey-coated, and it was impossible not to like him. He used to fly to America to bring in Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren shirts and suits and was ever willing to sell on credit to special clients like me. He was such a charming gentleman who adopted me as his big Brother.

“Egbon mi, Olorun Oba ngbo, I’m selling these shirts to you much cheaper to you but please don’t tell anyone o!” We even went to Germany on April 22, 1998, with Damola Aderemi and a few other friends to watch the Green Eagles play an International Friendly against Germany in preparation for the World Cup. We became almost inseparable while I was in exile under the Abacha military junta.

We lost touch after I ended exile and returned to Africa, but he soon traced me to Ghana, and he came visiting. He was so happy to reunite with me. He told me how God had blessed him mightily and had made him veer into real estate in London. Femi was a genius who made stupendous gains from regenerating ghetto neighbourhoods in East London. He regaled me with tales of his exploits in the property business: “Egbon mi, Olorun ngbo bi eni pe Eniyan n s’eso ni (My Senior Brother, God hears me and knows, the property business is like voodoo money).

He was extremely prayerful and belonged to the Celestial arm of white garment churches.

His knowledge of the Bible was outstandingly remarkable. He was a great preacher who was well sort after.

He told Prince Damola Aderemi and I most of his big dreams and confided more in

my friend, being a very brilliant Lawyer who advised him and did some legal work on this Gerrard Project. Fourscore used some of the best legal brains in the business including his Ikenne kinsman, Segun Odubela SAN of blessed memory, Lawal Pedro SAN and A. U. Mustapha SAN. When he bought the Gerrard Road land, he was over the moon. He promised to build the classiest residential apartments in Africa. He said he was out to prove there was nothing the multinational construction companies were doing that his company can’t do. I have never seen such level of audacity, determination and tenacity. Fourscore was a visionary and a missionary when it came to seeking to excel and do as well as his international counterparts at home and abroad. He had competed in their space in their countries before, with moderate successes and did not see any reason why he could not replicate the same and attain loftier heights in his home country. If he made any mistakes, it was probably that he overstretched himself, but he was such an ambitious man, full of faith. And certainly not the greedy avaricious person that his traducers now suggest he is.

In our country, mistakes are never excused, forgiven or forgotten. When you fail, you’re a villain and outcast. When you succeed, you’re a hero, genius and superstar. As I told Uncle Fola Adeola when he called me days ago: “Failure is a learning process. When the Americans started going to the moon, they failed spectacularly and lost many lives. They were described as being reckless and seeking to challenge the work of God but one day, it all changed and the dream of landing on the moon was achieved.” Out of the failing of Femi Fourscore would arise a Nigerian Neil Armstrong who will make building on the Sea seem like strolling to the next street. That I believe is Femi Fourscore’s legacy, challenging us to believe that what may seem impossible is indeed possible by dint of hard work and if at first you do not succeed, keep trying, because your time will come.

I will never give excuses for Femi. He tried but he couldn’t unfortunately deliver on the tall and tough target he set for himself. I am pretty sure that it was not because he was cutting corners or taking risks. The Block that fell was the one he intended to live in. No man would be prepared to be a kamikaze pilot in such a situation.

It is not in my place to second guess the outcome of the Inquest and the Investigation which has been ordered. These must be done diligently. It must not be hurried. It must be painstaking and thorough. Such investigations cannot last thirty days as being directed by the government. I foresee that any credible inquiry must take months of arduous diligent work. Various possibilities including negligence, sabotage and even natural or human causes such as the over-dredging occurring in that vicinity must be considered. Dead men tell no tales. They cannot defend themselves, but records and logic abound. Those making claims and allegations which are easily rumpled will soon be exposed. I’d known that In February 2020 the third block was at the beginning of the Foundation stage and the other two blocks were merely a few storeys gone. It is interesting that nobody who had any misgivings reported such to the Regulators.

I say no more, other than that it is always convenient to cast aspersions when it seems there is no potential for reply.

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