THE presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi has denied the alleged leaked audio conversation featuring him and David Oyedepo, the Founder and General Overseer of Winners Chapel.
Obi debunked the audio in series of tweets via his official Twitter handle on Wednesday, March 5.
Recall that a Nigerian media platform, Peoples Gazette, had published an exclusive report and audio conversation alleging that Obi solicited the support of Oyedepo to get votes from Christians in the South-West ahead of the February 25 presidential election.
The leaked audio has stirred heated debate among Nigerians on social media.
Reacting to the report, Obi stated that the attacks on his personality is part of a plot by the ruling party to divert the attention of Nigerians from issues raised concerning the just concluded 2023 election.
“Before, during, and after the campaign, it is on record that I have maintained my commitment and focus on issue-based campaign about a New Nigeria that is POssible, a shift of emphasis from consumption to production, a New Nigeria characterized by inclusion, justice, equity, fairness, and prosperity,” Obi said.
“I repeatedly stated that no one should vote for me based on Tribe or Religion, but rather on the assessment of Character, Competence, Capacity, Credibility, and Compassion that can be trusted to create a New Nigeria!
“The present attempts by the APC as a Party, and the APC Led-government through some government officials and agencies to divert our attention from our blatantly stolen mandate is unfortunate and sad.
“These have come and continued to manifest in different ways, such as the malicious accusation of the Minister of Information, Mr Lai Mohammed, the circulation of a fake doctored audio call, and a pressure on me to leave the country.”
Obi reiterated that the audio is fake adding that he has instructed his legal team to take a legal action against Peoples Gazette that published the audio.
He urged concerned Nigerians to stop the ruling party from attacking his personality and focus on major challenges facing the country.
AN Abuja Federal High Court on Wednesday, April 5, ordered the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure, and the National Secretary, Farouk Ibrahim, to stop parading themselves as national officers of the party, pending the hearing and determination of a suit brought against them.
The presiding judge, Justice Hamza Muazu, while ruling on an ex-parte application, also ordered some other members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to stop parading themselves as national officers.
They include the National Organising Secretary, Clement Ojukwu, and the Treasurer, Oluchi Opara.
Justice Muazu issued the restraining order following an ex-parte application brought by some aggrieved members of the LP who are challenging the continued stay in office of the defendants over allegations of corruption.
The ex-parte application was argued before the court by the plaintiffs’ lawyer, James Onoja,
Onoja told the court that Abure and the others allegedly forged several documents like receipts, seals and affidavits of the court to carry out criminal activities.
He also noted that the LP had received a letter from the Chief Registrar of the Court concerning documents that were allegedly used in criminal activities by Abure and the three others.
According to Onoja, the four defendants will be arraigned in court after being charged by the police. He added that arrest warrants had already been filed for them.
In his ruling, Justice Muazu held that the application and supporting affidavits presented a good case for granting the request.
The judge subsequently ordered the four defendants to immediately stop parading themselves as national officers of the Labour Party, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo has pleaded for mercy from the United Kingdom (UK) court that convicted Nigeria’s former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, his wife, Beatrice, and a doctor, Obinna Obeta, for organ trafficking.
In the letter dated April 3, which Obasanjo wrote to the court, the former Nigerian leader condemned the Ekweremadus’ action but pleaded that the UK temper justice with mercy.
Explaining how he (Obasanjo) was enlisted into the British Army of the West African Frontier in 1958, rose to become a general, Head of State, elected President and worked with Ike Ekweremadu, he pleaded for mercy because of the lawmaker’s contributions to Nigeria’s fledging democracy and several lives he has touched positively.
Obasanjo also urged the court to consider the health of the lawmaker’s daughter, for whom the father and his wife attempted to assist with an organ that she needed.
On March 23, The ICIRreported how the UK court at the Old Bailey on March 23 convicted Ekweremadu, his wife, Beatrice and a doctor, Obinna Obeta, of organ trafficking in the first verdict of its kind under the Modern Slavery Act.
Ekweremadu, 60, his wife, Beatrice, 56, and Obeta, 51, were found guilty of facilitating the travel of a 21-year-old Nigerian man to Britain to exploit him by harvesting his organ for Ekweremadu’s daughter.
Prosecutor Hugh Davies KC said the Ekweremadus and Obeta had treated the man and other potential donors as “disposable assets” and “spare parts for reward”, a behaviour that showed “entitlement, dishonesty and hypocrisy”.
While the court found the couple and the doctor guilty and will sentence them later, it acquitted the lawmaker’s ailing daughter for whom the organ was sought.
In his letter to the court, Obasanjo explained that he realised the implications of the couple’s action, which he described as condemnable and could not be tolerated in any sane or civilised society.
Obasanjo’s letter reads: “My dear Chief Clerk, may I seize this opportunity to commend your utmost dedication and resourcefulness, which you have demonstrated with rare qualities of commitment and courage while also upholding the cherished traditions of the Public Service. I am Olusegun Obasanjo, a soldier commissioned into the British Army of the West African Frontier Force in 1958 and rose to the rank of a full General in the Nigerian Army. I received the surrender of the Biafran Army at the end of the Nigerian civil war. I was military Head of State from 1976 to 1979 and elected President from 1999 to 2007.
“It is with great pleasure that I write in respect of Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who I have known for over two decades. Within this period, I have followed and watched, with keen interest, Ike Ekweremadu’s inspiring career, which traversed private legal practice and administration. I recall, with fond memories, the beginnings of our political and social relationship at the outset of our collective quest for democratic rebirth for our fatherland. During my administration as a democratically-elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007, Ike Ekweremadu and I had close relationship and interactions as staunch members of our political party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and more so as he got elected into the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2003, of which he has since remained a member till date. Within this period of his service in the Nigerian Parliament, he has served as Deputy Senate President of the Senate and has headed so many Committees in various capacities and brought to bear his broad-based experience in legal practice and public administration. Sometime in 2009, he was appointed as the First Deputy Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, and made to lead an ad hoc Committee to work for the return of constitutional order in the Niger Republic.
“I clearly remember that in the heady days of the keen contest for the presidential ticket of our party in early 1999, he joined other well-meaning Nigerians from the South-Eastern part of Nigeria to set aside extraneous considerations and ensured that South East unanimously adopted me for the Presidency.
“This was without regard to the fact that my closest competitor hailed from their part of the country. I truly cherish his God-fearing, dispassionate, moderate and pan-Nigerian approach to national issues and developments in our multi-ethnic, multi-religious geo-polity. He dedicates himself to the service of God and humanity, and he continues to play visible roles in national development. Through the Ikeoha Foundation, a non-governmental organization founded by him and his wife in 1997, he and his wife have rendered a lot of charitable activities, enhancing poor people’s access to quality education and healthcare and building their capacity to participate in mainstream social, political and economic activities of their communities. Ike Ekweremadu’s conferment with the coveted national honour of Commander of the Federal Republic, CFR, is further testimony to his selfless service to our country, Nigeria.
“Mr Chief Clerk, I am very much aware of the current travails and conviction of Ike Ekweremadu and his wife in the United Kingdom, resulting from their being charged with conspiring to arrange the travel of a 21-year-old from Nigeria to the UK in order to harvest organs for their daughter. I do realise the implications of their action, and I dare say it is unpleasant and condemnable and can’t be tolerated in any sane or civilised society.
“However, it is my fervent desire that for the very warm relations between the United Kingdom and Federal Republic of Nigeria; for his position as one of the distinguished Senators in the Nigerian Parliament, and also for the sake of their daughter in question whose current health condition is in danger and requires an urgent medical attention, you will use your good offices to intervene and appeal to the court and the government of the United Kingdom to be magnanimous enough to temper justice with mercy and let punishment that may have to come to take their good character and parental instinct and care into consideration.
“I do hope Mr and Mrs Ekweremadu have learnt from this distressing experience of theirs to guide their future actions or inactions so they will continue to be outstanding members of their community and will continue to contribute fully to the good of society in particular and the nation in general.
“Please, accept the assurances of my highest considerations.”
THERE are concerns over the smooth implementation of the 2023 national budget as indications emerged Nigeria could suffer impactfully from revenue shortfall due to its inability to get buyers for its crude oil, and the Chinese-Exim Bank rejecting its $22.8 billion loan request.
Nigeria relies heavily on crude oil sales to run its economy, which quakes whenever there is a sharp drop in price of crude, or the country experiences hitches selling the product on the international market, as the situation currently is.
Globally respected business news media, Bloomberg, this week quoted four trade specialists in the West African oil market as saying that about 25 shipments of Nigeria’s crude for April loading were still searching for buyers. Each cargo was loaded with about a million barrels of crude.
Nigeria’s pitiable situation could be compounded by strikes in the French refining sector and maintenance at European plants. Nigeria refines her crude in European refineries, especially in Holland from where it imports petrol. There are fears that the maintenance round at the refineries could affect petrol import and trigger another round of scarcity in Nigeria.
France is one of Nigeria’s biggest customers, buying an average of 110,000 barrels daily of its oil over the past year. But France’s general oil imports have been dropping, halved actually in March as the strike over pension reforms worsened.
Nigerian news outfit, the Daily Post, quoted Viktor Katona, a lead crude analyst at Kpler (a Brussels-based global provider of commodities data, analytics, and market insight) as attributing Nigeria’s backlog to “a combination of higher freight costs, lower tanker availability – specifically into Europe – as well as lower overall demand for West Africa light sweet as crude from other regions is deluging markets.”
Implications on national budget
The Federal government has estimated a total revenue estimate of N10.49 trillion to fund the N21.83 trillion budget. Oil revenue was projected at N2.29 trillion, non-oil taxes were estimated at N2.43 trillion, and government independent revenues were projected at N2.62 trillion. Analysts believe the Nigerian economy would experience more distress if it failed to get the projected income from oil to fund its budget – with huge implications on deficit financing.
Ahmed: notes part of the 2023 budget to be funded by borrowing
The Federal government has already designed the N11.34 trillion deficit in the budget to be financed through domestic and foreign borrowing sources, including multilateral loan drawdowns.
The ICIR checks have shown that the $22.8 billion Chinese-Exim Bank loan is part of the multilateral drawdowns, which rejection is putting Nigeria under fiscal pressure.
Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed that at N6.31 trillion, debt service is 29 per cent of government expenditure – which threatens Nigeria’s economic base.
Available records from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that Nigeria’s crude oil sales rose by 46.41 per cent to push Nigeria’s total export to N26.79 trillion in 2022.
In 2022, crude oil sales totalled N21.09 trillion, a 46.41 per cent increase from N14.41 trillion in 2021. In 2022, crude oil accounted for 78.74 per cent of total exports, which rose by 41.72 per cent, from N18.91 trillion in 2021 to N26.79 trillion in 2022. Imports also rose by 22.77 per cent, from N20.84 trillion in 2021 to N25.59 trillion in 2022.
Analysts are seeing a sharp drop this year in Nigeria’s revenue trajectory, as experienced in 2022, if its inability to find substantial buyers for its crude oil rolled into months.
Some oil sector governance experts who commented on these concerns argued that the big elephant in the room is unsustainable subsidy in the power and petroleum sectors, which they said drains the economy, as well as the inability of the Nigeria National Petroleum Limited (NNPCLtd) to transit to a proper deregulated market.
“There’s a mini glut in Nigeria’s crude oil market, and that happens once in a while. It’s not something to worry about seriously. However, if you look at the last eight months, NNPCLtd hasn’t remitted to the Federation Account. That’s the major worry. Crude oil sales hasn’t helped us much because of subsidy, That is why we must encourage full implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act to enable economic growth of the sector,” an oil sector governance expert, Henry Ademola Adigun, told The ICIR.
Adigun admitted that Nigeria’s borrowing was not almost sustainable as it is exposed to higher risk exposure.
“We have to curb all wastages – subsidies in power, subsidies on petroleum have to go. If the government said we have only a revenue problem, that is not true because we have both debt and revenue problems. Our revenue can’t pay our debts and that’s why we rely on borrowing to fund the budget,” Adigun said.
There is the concern that the oil glut would have negative implications to the economy, since the budget is largely funded by crude oil benchmarks. To worsen that concern is the confirmation last week Tuesday by the Federal House of Representatives at plenary of the Chinese-Exim Bank’s rejection of the $22.8 billion loan request.
A large chunk of the loan facility was meant to facilitate completion of key rail infrastructure projects.
The ICIR learnt the loan rejection was not unconnected with alleged poor fiscal discipline by the Federal government and failure to follow some fiscal responsibility procedures when borrowing.
A development economist, Kelvin Emmanuel, described the rejection as both “a qualitative and quantitative assessment” of Nigeria’s fiscal position.
“The current sinking fund of 29 per cent that covers debt servicing and refinancing in violation of the interest on GDP, as covered in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007, is disturbing. It doesn’t help that securitization of the Ways & Means at 9 per cent annual coupon for a 40-Year Government bond will further raise the sinking fund from 29 per cent to 43.8 per cent, which will wipe out nearly half of the savings derived from removing under-recovery on petrol subsidy,” Emmanuel said.
He added that to worsen the matter, “the Eurobonds market is currently out of reach because at Caa1 sovereign rating grade, the Debt Management Office (DMO) will not find off-takers for its Eurobond offer,” he said.
He stressed that the Nigerian economy was in dire straits, with huge concerns about poor fiscal and responsible management.
Another oil governance expert, Najim Animashaun, told The ICIR that inability to repay previous loans may have put the Chinese on red alert about Nigeria.
Animashaun said, “China has issues in-country as it is witnessing defaults by its big construction company, which has triggered manufacturing contraction. Nigeria again has not been seen as a serious economic manager in recent times in terms of debt repayment. It is also part of the reason for such rejection. The risk is huge.
“China also has to keep money because of the ongoing ‘political-war’ with America. So, it won’t lend without caution again. They have to keep money aside.”
Concerns could lead to more domestic borrowing
Informed analysts remarked that the government may have to rely more on domestic borrowing to sustain the budget.
DMO records showed that the government raised N3.3 trillion from the domestic market to finance the 2022 budget deficit. The Office is currently issuing bonds as part of measures to make up for budget deficit.
The DMO, between 2017 and 2021, raised N362.57 billion sovereign Sukuk issued for finance infrastructure project nationwide.
Sukuk is a project-tied borrowing that enables the government to raise funding for specific infrastructure projects like roads and bridges.
THE Sokoto State Government has promised to pay its workers who did not receive their February salaries before the end of tomorrow, April 6.
All the state civil service workers will also receive their March salaries alongside those receiving their February pay before the Easter break, which begins on April 7.
In a statement signed by Muhammad Bello, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the state Governor Aminu Tambuwal, the government denied claims by its workers that almost one-third of them did not receive the February pay.
He quoted the state Commissioner of Finance, Dr Ali Inname, as making the pledge to pay the salaries on Wednesday, April 5, while briefing newsmen after the state executive council meeting.
“Inname refuted allegations that over ten thousand staff are yet to receive their February salaries. He explained that out of the total 35,320 civil servants in the state, only 1,054 were yet to receive their February salaries.
“The commissioner described a statement credited to some civil servants claiming that about 10,000 government employees are yet to receive their February salary as false, malicious and misleading,” he said.
He blamed the delay in the payment of February salary on the challenges experienced by some banks where the salary of a portion of the state’s staff was lodged.
He gave the breakdown of those affected as 736 in GTBank while 323 are with other banks.
He said the commission assured that the challenges had been resolved and the payments would be effected before or within 24 hours together with the March salary that would be paid with the backlog.
Deutshe Welle (DW) is inviting registrations for its DW Global Media Forum.
The event is slated for June 19, 2023, to June 20, 2023.
This year’s forum focuses on “Overcoming divisions” and will explore how journalism can help in overcoming societal divisions.
The forum will feature sessions on social media and protest movements, the rise of exile journalism, innovative revenue models in challenging times, and more.
Participants will network with media professionals and engage in hands-on workshops.
Tickets for the virtual event are EUR29 (US$31).
Until April 30, journalism students attending the in-person event can get early bird, full-access tickets for EUR49 (US$53). Media professionals can get early bird, full-access tickets for EUR199 (US$218).
Media professionals worldwide can attend a virtual and in-person forum in Bonn, Germany.
Registration is ongoing and interested applicants can apply here.
THE Federal government, today, called on the management of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to prioritise the resolution of consumer complaints to accelerate service delivery in the sector.
The minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, who gave the directive at the official launch of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Service Charter in Abuja, said the ministry would join hands with the Commission to ensure efficient service delivery to power consumers.
Aliyu noted that the effective implementation of the Service Charter would improve services for electricity consumers.
As part of activities for the launch, the NERC also inaugurated its in-house SERVICOM committee.
Service Charter is an operational tool to guide service providers on their responsibilities, as well as service takers and customers on their expectations.
Aliyu, who was represented by a Director from the ministry, Titilayo Agbeyo, charged the Commission to be customer-focused and citizen-centered in rendering services to Nigerians.
“I, therefore, encourage the commission to be customer-focused and citizen-centred, and to continue the good work the Commission is doing as we join hands to upgrade our services in the power sector in service to humanity.
“On this note, it is important to point out that an effective implementation of this Charter will definitely improve services, educate on the rights and obligations of electricity consumers, address complaints through the redress mechanism put in place, improve staff competencies, skills, productivity, and human resources administration, and produce result-based performances,” he added.
Speaking shortly after she launched the Service Charter, the National Coordinator of SERVICOM, Nnenna Akajemeli, said the document would lead to effective service delivery in the power sector, and called on the NERC to be ready for the increase in Nigeria’s requests and complaints.
Akajemeli disclosed that with the document, her office would hold NERC accountable, and asked the Commission to follow it to the letter for effective and efficient service delivery in the power sector.
Earlier, the NERC chairman, Sanusi Garba, had affirmed the Commission’s commitment to the charter’s implementation.
Also speaking, the NERC Commissioner of Consumer Affairs Division, Aisha Mahmud, said the Commission had always engaged in quality service delivery to Nigerians, promising that with the launch of the charter, the NERC would redouble its commitment to standard and efficient service delivery.
The goal of the new awards is to encourage high-quality science communication.
The awards also seek to build a diverse community of science journalists, research scientists and institutions who will help society meet the challenges and opportunities posed by climate change, future pandemics, human genome editing, and other issues that can only be understood and navigated with the help of effective science communication.
The awards will present prizes to science journalists and research scientists who have developed creative, original work that addresses issues and advances in science, engineering, and/or medicine for the general public.
Submissions are accepted in eight subcategories: freelance journalists, early-career journalists, community journalists, independent communicators, organizational communicators, graduate student researchers, early-career researchers, and later-career researchers.
Eight top prizes of US$40,000 will be awarded. Sixteen US$20,000 regular prizes will also be presented.
Science journalists worldwide can enter a contest and compete for awards totaling US$640,000.
The deadline for submission of applications is May 5, 2023. Interested applicants can apply here.
A FORMER president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has said that electoral petitions can be resolved in seven days.
Speaking on Arise TV on Wednesday, April 5, Agbakoba noted that judgment on the petitions would have a huge impact on the nation’s sanity if made within the stipulated time frame.
According to Agbakoba, “There is a context in which I recommended that we should finish the petitions as fast as possible, and I think seven days is a good time to go.
“The fact that the constitution prescribes the time limit doesn’t mean that that time limit must actually run, so the context of my call is that the policy is overheated.”
He noted that the political atmosphere in the country is already tense and solving the election petition matter can restore the normalcy in the country.
“”The other day, the minister of information was accusing Peter Obi of treason and all kinds of things were going around. There are a lot of things wanting to destabilize Nigeria—the DSS is shouting that there are people all over the place doing things. And the simple problem is just to resolve the election petitions,” he added.
Agbakoba emphasized that countries like Ghana and Kenya have advanced to the point that resolving election petitions is done within 30 days or less.
“How is it possible that Ghana finishes its own election petition in 30 days? Why can’t we do it here? Why must we have 360 days to do an election that is very simple?
“If I were the presiding judge of the tribunal, I would give the petitioner two hours to establish the case as to whether 25 per cent of the FCT is relevant in the consideration of who is President or not. I will give Tinubu time to reply, and I will deliver a ruling at 6:00 pm . What’s the difficulty? These are purely matters of law, so it is absolutely feasible.
“However, if those three questions don’t succeed, then part A of the petition we will now take up the issue of electoral malpractice, which I concede will be a lot longer.”
He questioned the integrity and competence of the system which stated that electoral issues could not be resolved before transitioning.
THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Nigerian Police Force of failing to investigate attacks on its members by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State.
Reacting to the Monday, April 3, attack on its governorship candidate, Tonye Cole, and other party stalwarts at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, the APC, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, expressed concern over what it described as the ‘orgy of violence’ on its members in the state by the PDP.
Describing the attacks as barbaric, the party said the violence fell short of democratic tenets.
The ICIRreported how thugs pounced on Cole and other Rivers’ APC chieftains and supporters while attempting to gain entrance into the INEC office in the state capital.
“This barbaric and unprovoked attack occurred during a visit to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s office by Mr. Tonye Cole, APC Governorship Candidate, Dr. Innocent Barikor, Deputy Governorship Candidate, Mr. Emeka Beke, State Chairman of the Party and three other party officials to obtain the Certified True Copies (CTC) of vital documents in the March 18 Governorship and House of Assembly elections.
“Without warning, thugs and supporters of the PDP descended on our party officials, inflicting severe and life-threatening injuries on them and damaging personal and party properties.
“This premeditated attack by PDP thugs and operatives on our officials and members in Port Harcourt is yet another in what has now become an orgy of violence carried out with mind-boggling audacity and with absolutely no serious investigation by the police or repercussions for the instigators and perpetrators of this serial violence,” part of the party’s statement reads.
The APC said Monday’s attack was aimed at frustrating its governorship candidate’s efforts to obtain vital documents to exercise his constitutional right to challenge the declared result of the governorship election in the state.
It added that the decision of the PDP, declared the election winner by INEC, to resort to violence by blocking a legitimate legal challenge smacks off “a party sitting precariously on needles and pins in the face of prospects of a legal challenge by our governorship candidate.”
Despite accusing the Police of not doing enough to apprehend those attacking its members in the state, the party commended the Police and other security agencies, including the Nigerian Army, for swiftly restoring peace and order in the wake of the attack.
It called on the Inspector General of Police to order an urgent and thorough investigation into the last attack and previous violent attacks on its leaders and members and to bring the sponsors and perpetrators to book.
Cole lost the governorship election to PDP’s Siminalayi Fubara, who won with 302,614 votes. The APC candidate got 95,274 votes but rejected the result declared by INEC.
Cole insists he won and has vowed to reclaim his mandate at the tribunal.
On election day, Cole alleged that voters in certain areas of the state were intimidated by the ruling PDP.
