The struggle for the control of government machinery in Ondo state following continued absence of Governor Oluwarotimi has taken another dimension as a group accused the acting Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and Chief of Staff to the Governor, Olugbenga Ale, of fuelling the crisis.
The Group, Concerned Stakeholders (Senior Workers) in the Public Service of Ondo State accused Aiyedatiwa of doing everything possible to ensure that the ailing Governor Akeredolu does not return to his seat.
The Governor’s one month medical leave ended on July 7, but from his message to the people of the State few days ago, he may not return until advised by his doctors.
The Concerned Stakeholders, in a lengthy statement, stated that “Aiyedatiwa has become disloyal.
“His wish is for the Governor not to return, a plan that will surely fail. As acting Governor, his relentless attacks on Aragbaiye, an aide of the governor and the Finance Commissioner, Wale Akinterinwa, stem from his desire for unrestricted access to the state treasury without following due process.
“The claim that Aiyedatiwa is being deprived of funds and unable to attend functions outside the state due to this reason is baseless and unintelligent.
“The roles played by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Gbenga Ale, are evident. He is actively supporting the Deputy Governor and encouraging him to confront those close to the Governor.
“To the Chief of Staff, Aragbaiye is considered a sworn enemy due to his refusal to allow them to misuse Government resources.
“The Chief of Staff holds grievances because the Governor did not trust him to assign to him sensitive roles and responsibilities.
“The acting governor and his own “cabals” have failed to provide evidence of any significant changes in Dare Aragbaiye’s conduct since the Governor went on medical leave.
“What has he done differently that he wasn’t doing when the Governor was around? Aiyedatiwa’s supporters should delve deeper and present a more realistic narrative.
“If Aragbaiye’s role in the Government has indeed changed during the governor’s absence, they should inform us. It’s not enough to pick on him as a convenient scapegoat. You cannot make him forfeit his loyalty to the Governor.
“Other recruits of Aiyedatiwa want us to believe that their paymaster is the victim in this recent released story on the Social media.
“However, they seem to forget that we live in an ecosystem where information spreads rapidly. Apart from their fabricated lies and mischievous tactics, it is widely known that Aiyedatiwa has become disloyal.
Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has sought for a more dignified and civil method to press for the release of leader of Independent Peoples of Biafra, (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu, rather than continued sit at home.
MASSOB noted that the continued sit-at-home is destroying the economy of the people of the South-east.
It condemned what it called the sacrilegious acts of the unknown gun men which went viral on social media showing how school children and their teachers were beaten, traumatized and ridiculed for not obeying the sit-at-home order.
In a statement, signed by the National Director Of Information MASSOB, Edeson Samuel, it described as unfortunate a situation where the people who claim to be agitating for the emancipation of Biafrans will, at the same time, engage in activities subjecting them to hardship, poverty and destruction of economy of the same people .
“Torturing the school children and their teachers is as good as destroying the future of the children and the entire incoming generation of Biafrans.
“Instead of working towards the progress of Ndigbo and moving them forward, misguided and inconsequential actions are being used in dragging the economy of Ndigbo backwards.
“MASSOB wishes to make it clear that the continuous and mandatory sit-at-home exercise in Igbo land can never give us Biafra rather it will destroy our economy.
“It destroys the future of our young children, it creates more pains on our people and there is no difference between the way Nigerian government has been dealing with Ndigbo and that of the group that claims to be pro Biafra.
“MASSOB condemns entirety the actions of these unknown gunmen who went about destroying the farm produce and means of livelihood of the poor.
“It is evil in the sight of God and human. The land of Biafra will not support such acts of man inhumanity to fellow man.
“In as much as MASSOB condemns the act of the unknown gun men, we also demand the unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
“The South East governors and National Assembly members must rise and demand for the release of Nnamdi Kanu .
“MASSOB is calling on Simon Ekpa to have a rethink, evaluate the gains and losses Ndigbo have incurred in this period of time. Sit at home is not the only civil disobedience that can be used in this agitation.
“MASSOB reminds Mazi Simon Ekpa that our enemies are happy with the pains and cries of our people because these are what they wanted.
“The failure of an Igbo man and the destruction of our economy have been their dream, that was why they gave igbo man €20 after the civil war.
“Seeing an igbo man being progressive, industrious and creative is giving them a sleepless night.”
Zamfara State Governor, Dr Dauda Lawal has restated his administration’s commitment to continue partnering with UNICEF more especially in the areas of Health care, Education and Women development.
A statement on Monday by Director General, Media and communications, Nuhu Anka stated that the Governor Lawal, made the promise when he hosted UNICEF delegation, led by Dr Maryam Sa’id at the government house Gusau.
The Governor maintained that it was the policy of the State Government to partner organisations that contribute in the development of the state and its populace.
He noted that his administration is ready to pay the counterpart fundings on projects that will touch lives of the masses, saying UNICEF needs to do more in the state and assured their safety and security in the state.
The governor, who thanked UNICEF for the visit, charged them to improve on the relationship and do better, considering the predicaments that bedeviled the state for decades, noting that UNICEF can do more for the state to cushion the problems.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the UNICEF delegation, Dr Maryam Sa’id had sympathized with the state government over insecurity that consumed many lives, saying they are ready to invest and support the state for development.
She expressed the readiness to continue working with Zamfara State Government and validation of the state development plan, revealing that UNICEF invested over N2 billion in the state last year.
A former Ekiti State Governor and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chieftain, Ayo Fayose, has said that even though PDP has been unfair to him, he would neither dump the Party, nor defect to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Fayose spoke Sunday when he appeared in a Channels Television interview programme and explained why he worked against his Party during the 2023 February Presidential Election.
The former Governor worked against PDP’s Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in favour of the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, who is now the President.
Fayose stressed he had no regret working against Atiku despite the fact that they are of the same Party.
The two-term Governor of Ekiti State added that he is not afraid of being kicked out of the party, for making the disclosure.
He said he supported President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, based on principle.
Fayose: “I worked against him (Atiku) 100 per cent. Nigeria is bigger than the PDP, APC and even Asiwaju (Tinubu) himself. Let us call a spade a spade. I am not a man that will hide my action. If PDP doesn’t need me again, they cannot say I cannot live.
“But I love the PDP even though the party has not been fair to me. I am a principled man. So, let me say to you, I never worked for PDP during the last election. I am not a liar and a pretender. I did not work for PDP.”
He said he remained a member of the PDP “except the PDP says ‘Fayose, we don’t need you anymore.’ Then they have set me free of the yoke. But in all sincerity, it is a party that I believe in, subscribe to and want to stay forever. I will never join the APC.”
(REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON EJIKEME JOY MMESOMA’S JAMB SCORE CONTROVERSY)
Recall Mr. Governor that with the recent release of scores of candidates who applied for admission by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and subsequent announcement of Nkechiyere Umeh as the candidate with the highest score of 360, Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, a 19 year old student of Anglican Girls’ Secondary School, Uruagu Nnewi, from Enugu State, protested to the State Government that she scored 362 and ought to have been so recognised.
This has elicited interests and generated serious controversy and misgivings among the general public that the State Government in its wisdom decided to constitute a Committee of Inquiry to look into the underlisted terms of reference;
1) Review Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma’s JAMB Results and associated documents
2) Conduct interviews with relevant parties, including Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, JAMB Officials and any other individual(s) involved in the process.
3)Provide recommendations based on the findings of the investigation.
The Committee invited Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, the Principal of Anglican Girls’ Secondary School, and officials of JAMB for interactive session with the Committee.
JAMB officials led by Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the Head Public Affairs presented the detailed processes and procedures involved in JAMB admissions, the policy changes that have occurred in the release of UTME scores since 2021 and what specifically transpired between the candidate Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma with registration number: 20230639047FF in her quest to obtain her JAMB score.
JAMB revealed the different times that Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma made several requests to JAMB portal asking for her results at different hours, and each of these times (four in number), she received in her phone, same results from JAMB indicating candidate’s UTME Results to Wit: Eng: 64, Phy:54, Bio: 74, Che: 57 with a total aggregate score of 249.
JAMB disclosed that the candidate was well informed of her correct score from JAMB.
Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma had sent a request to JAMB with a different registration number showing a UTME result of aggregate score of 362, with Eng: 98, Phy: 89, Bio: 94, and Che: 81.
The results she sent differed substantially from the standard JAMB format where she got an appropriate rebuttal stating her real score of 249.
Besides, a number of red-flags was also highlighted by JAMB officials showing a different date of birth, different Registration Number, Notification of results template that has been discarded since 2021, amongst others.
It was also evident that even the centre name “Nkemefuna Foundation (Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development as it was known before now) used for the examination was also manipulated where the candidate used the old name of the centre (Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development) in her own manipulated result sheet.
In Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma’s submission, she owned up in the presence of her principal, and the Education Secretary that the narration by the JAMB officials was a true and correct description of what transpired.
She also admitted to have given a manipulated result by herself unaided, using same phone Airtel Number.
According to her, she proceeded to the cybercafé (Prisca Global Computers, Uruagu, Nnewi) where she printed the results she had manipulated.
The Committee tried to find out the motive behind her action, but Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma said NOTHING.
In their own submissions, the Principal Anglican Girls’ Secondary school, Uruagu Nnewi, and the Education Secretary — Diocese of Nnewi (Anglican Communion) expressed shock at what transpired where in their presence, Mmesoma admitted to have manipulated her UT ME results, deceiving the school, her immediate family and the State Government.
COMMITTEE’S FINDINGS
The results released by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board
(JAMB) with respect to the UTME score of Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma is 249
The results paraded by Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma with aggregate score of 362 is fake as buttressed by the. very significant and instructive variations in the registration number, date of birth, centre name and other infractions.
Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma admitted that she manipulated the fake results herself, using her phone.
The Principal Anglican Girls’ Secondary School — Mrs. Edu Uche and the Education Secretary, Diocese of Nnewi (Anglican Communion) expressed dismay at the conduct of Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma.
RECOMMENDATIONS
That Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma tenders an unreserved written apology to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the School (Anglican Girls’ Secondary School, Uruagu Nnewi) and the Anambra State Government. This should be done immediately.
Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma should undergo a psychological counselling and therapy.
All prospective candidates for JAMB Admission should adhere strictly to guidelines, processes and procedures of the examination body.
CONCLUSION
The Committee of Inquiry commends Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for their diligent handling of the matter and the information supplied about the interface with the candidate (see attached).
We hope that this unearthing of the truth as we have discovered will go a long way in correcting the sentiments, misconceptions and deceptions that have been in the public domain.
Finally, we thank Mr. Governor for setting up this Committee, and, for the confidence reposed in the committee.
Initial Evidences below:
Al QR and BAR Code Information in the presented result
11231597AC
Asimiyu Mariam Bolanle
Score 138
Number portal (Latest information at top, earliest at bottom)
Ondo State House of Assembly has granted the request by Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to extend his medical leave.
This request is coming few days after the Governor wrote to the people of the state informing them that he would join them as soon as his doctors certify him free to leave.
The Governor had requested in his first letter to the assembly to proceed on medical leave as from June 5 to July 6 to enable him attend to his health challenged.
He also transmitted power of an acting Governor to his Deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
There is, however, an uneasy calm within the State Executive Council with some appointees accusing Aiyedatiwa of attempting to step beyond boundaries.
A letter read on the floor of the House on Monday by the Speaker, Olamide Oladiji states that “Following Doctor’s advice on the need to take adequate rest after recuperating, Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu SAN, CON, has forwarded the letter of extension on medical leave to the Ondo State House of Assembly.
“Receiving the letter on behalf of other Lawmakers, the Speaker, Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon .Olamide Oladiji said the Governor’s action is in line with section 190 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria ( as amended).
“According to the letter , his Deputy, Hon . Lucky Aiyedatiwa would continue to act as Governor until there is a written declaration to the contrary.
“It would be recalled that in the Governor’s letter of 5th June ,2023, he had earlier informed of his proceeding on medical leave and was expected to resume on 6th July, 2023.
“The Speaker who expressed appreciation to God for the speedy recovery of the Governor, expressed optimism that he would soon resume his duty.”
(Segun Awolowo pays an emotional tribute to his beloved late father – 60 Years On)
“With a heavy heart and tear-stained words, I offer this tribute, an emotional symphony born from a son’s longing. Though we never met, your absence, paradoxically, forged a profound presence within my soul. I carry your legacy as a torch, illuminating the path ahead, striving to be the man you would have wanted me to be, all the while being judged by a surname that is more valuable than gold.”
In the quiet depths of my soul, where echoes of the past reverberate, there resides a cherished figure I never had the privilege to meet—a father who left this earthly realm before my arrival, yet whose presence lingers in the strands of my being. Though time may have masked the pain, the void his absence created remains eternally profound.
From stories whispered by distant voices and sepia-toned photographs, pristinely preserved by those who love you, I glimpse the essence of a man who, in his brevity of life, imprinted indelible marks upon those he touched.
Your spirit, dear father, permeates my every breath, interwoven within the tapestry of my existence.
As I stand upon life’s threshold, the various aspects of who you were, resonates within my veins. The echoes of your virtues guide me through the labyrinth of this world. Though fate may have severed our earthly connection before we had the chance to physically meet, your love transcends time, steadfast and unwavering.
With a heavy heart and tear-stained words, I offer this tribute, an emotional symphony born from a son’s longing. Though we never met, your absence, paradoxically, forged a profound presence within my soul. I carry your legacy as a torch, illuminating the path ahead, striving to be the man you would have wanted me to be, all the while being judged by a surname that is more valuable than gold.
Six decades have passed since you departed, yet your absence reverberates through the corridors of my heart, forever etching your memory into the fabric of my being.
Continue to rest in perfect peace dear father, may your spirit find solace in the heavens, as mine finds solace in the love you left behind.
Let me pen off with the words of your own father, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, upon hearing the news of your fatal car crash that took your precious life on 10 July, 1963.
The tragic news of your death was delivered to him in prison after his conviction of treason, and this is what he had to say,
“…I did not sorrow, because I have been taught that there is no death as such. In the fullness of our individual time, every one of us will be translated from this terrestrial sphere into the celestial realm. There will be what we call joy in the latter realm at the happening of this event. There will certainly be joy at least for the reason that the Soul of the translated will be freed from the shackles of the body and will merge with the Over-Soul which is the Mind and Consciousness of God. Man is a living Soul; and his body is only the instrument through which the Soul seeks to evolve its personality. At transition, the body returns to the dust from which it was formed, and the Soul, which is the essence of God in our being, returns to its Source from which it has never parted. Transition is a great, mystic, and mysterious happening at which the Hierarchy of Heavenly Hosts ineffably rejoice. Why then should we sorrow here? To put it in common parlance, the departed is not dead as it seems to us, he is only born into a new life. Here we miss him in flesh; there they welcome him in spirit.” Obafemi Awolowo , My March Through Prison
Fondly remembered by your children, grandchildren, and great grandchild.
Barrister Olusegun Omotunde Awolowo is a grandson of the late revered Chief Obafemi Awolowo. His late father was the sage’s first son
Former President Muhammadu Buhari has denied reports that he fled to exile due to insecurity in his home state, Katsina.
The denial comes on the heels of a newspaper report that the immediate past President of Nigeria has moved abroad because he felt unsafe in Daura, his hometown.
Katsina state is one of the epicenters of banditry in the country, and security agencies are still trying to contain the criminals who are on a rampage in the northwest part of the country.
The former president had after his tenure ended on May 29, left the country for the United Kingdom, UK, to seek medical treatment for an undisclosed ailment.
Two weeks ago, his successor, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu paid him a visit in London, raising more fears about the health condition of the former president.
He has not been seen in public since then, leading to suggestions that the security situation in the state has kept him away from his people for close to two months.
Reacting in a statement on Sunday to the report that the former president has fled to exile, Garba Shehu, a spokesman for the former leader said the report was inaccurate and should be discarded.
According to him, the former president has since returned from his trip to the UK and is now back in Daura to the loving arms of his family and close relations, Shehu urged the media not to mislead the public.
The statement said, “For misleading the otherwise credible newspaper to falsely report on their front page that former President Muhammadu Buhari has ‘fled’ and on ‘exile’, when he is currently at home with family in Daura, Katsina State, BusinessDay newspaper should sack their reporter who didn’t do the job of checking his facts.
“BusinessDay should think 10 times before running any information from the particular reporter and verify it before believing him. Every platform has tools to verify any information, and we don’t expect anything less from BusinessDay.
“If they had browsed through different sources, they will have seen reports of the former President having returned home and enjoying the company of his family. A single fake news in a newspaper has the capability to destroy a reputation built on years of hard work.”
Recall that Buhari, a few days before his exit from power, said he will return to his village for his retirement, adding however that he was prepared to move to the Niger Republic, where many of his relations are believed to be residing, if he was not welcome in Katsina.
In the uncivilized hours of Saturday, I was wide awake. Sleep eluded me. This lasted for about two hours – between 1.O0am and 3.15am.
Like a number of people, I have formed the very bad habit of looking at my Whatsaap messages each time I visit the rest room at night. Once I see any good story, it is goodbye to sleep until whenever because I would start a visit to all the sites for every “A, B, and C” of the story. How did we survive witout these phones and apps? I don’t want to curse whoever brought the idea of mobile phones and social media but see what it has done to us without prejudice to the, I admit, their many good sides. But, no thanks to them, our lives have been turned inside out and upside down. No secrets. No hiding place. No rest, especially for the eyes, fingers, brain. As Zebrudaya of the comedy, Masquerade would say: “God forbid bad thing.” They have taught and shown us nonsense, and more nonsense.
Now, it is because of them that a bad behavior by a wayward teenager has caused an uproar, disrupted our lives and opened the door for the barrage of insults being hauled at an industrious, intelligent and gifted tribe.
For Journalists, a bad story is a good story. When such stories break, my heart just pumps. My eyes glitter. Excitement sets in. But I experienced none of the three as I read, Saturday morning, the sad story of Miss Mmesoma Ejikeme – the young adult (19 years, not 16) who has occupied the media space in the past one week.
What I experienced was sadness and a large dose of anger. My anger was targeted at those who reduced a disturbing incident to the bashing of an ethnic group. I also experienced weakness. And hopelessness. And numbness of my fingers. And just before I dozed off to a fitful sleep, I muttered to myself: The loss of innocence, triggered by delinquent adults.
You know Mmesoma’s story. So, there is no point repeating it here, only just to, for the purpose of this write-up, briefly introduce the young girl who, brazenly, in a moment of criminal mischief, inflated her scores in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, conducted by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, from 249 to 362.
She is the girl who effortlessly forged her JAMB results and took the Nigerian Nation for a ride. She is the girl who looked her school Principal in the eyes and lied through her teeth. She is the girl who, publicly, dragged her school, a faith-based school, Anglican Girls Secondary School, Nnewi, in the mud. She is the girl who lied to, her parents, and deceived, almost, the leadership of her State Government. She is the girl, who knowing quite well the crime she committed, took on both her State Government and a federal institution, JAMB, and almost stripped the Board of its credibility. She is the girl who deceived well-meaning Nigerians, had them line up behind her, especially, after she appeared on Channels Television, looking disarmingly innocent, and told us how traumatized she was over the JAMB allegation. “I am traumatized. JAMB is accusing me of forging my own result”, she said with confidence, innocence written all over her face.
Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma
There was Dr Oby Ezekwesili, a former Minister for Education, who, after watching that interview, reached out to JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, and called for an investigation by technological experts. There was Mr Charles Oputa, popular as Charlie Boy, who weighed-in for her. There was a firm, (aside from Innoson Automobile Manufacturing Company which had offered her three million Naira in scholarship) which offered her free education in the USA, Canada or United Kingdom. There was, yet, another, which offered her same scholarship. There was the Commissioner for Education, Anambra State, who felt so compelled by her story that she called JAMB to query Mmesoma’s non- recognition as the highest “JAMB scorer.”
There was a lawyer who threatened to sue JAMB over her. And, I read a story to the effect that Mmesoma “has sued JAMB for N20b!
All these people lined up behind her.
There is my younger sister, a retired Military Officer, who because of her training, hardly gives in to emotions. But not in Mmesoma’s case. After watching her interview on Channels Television, with a deceptive low voice, she called to tell me: “Sister, this girl is innocent. She does not look like somebody who can get involved in forgery. She does not even understand what the case is all about. They are dragging her because they think she is a nobody.” When I asked her, Saturday morning, if she had seen Mmesoma’s confession to her guilt, she sighed and replied: “Mmesoma fall my hand.”
She is not the only one whose hands Mmesoma forced “to fall.”
There are Mmesoma’s army of supporters in the social media who started reading meaning, the Nigerian way, into why JAMB disputed her result. “It is because she is Igbo”, some said, cleanly forgetting that the rightful highest scorer, declared by JAMB, Miss Kamsiyochukwu Umeh, is also Igbo, from same State.
There was yours sincerely, who was so taken-in by Mmesoma’s innocent looks that I literally blocked, within me, any negative story on her. But that was until I read Osita Chidoka, former Aviation Minister, who dismissed Mmesoma’s scores and story as fake, and asked her to “come clean”. It woke me up to reality.
And there were the stupid, narrow-minded, individuals who, based on Mmesoma’s criminal behavior, dismissed her tribe, the Igbo, as a tribe of same character. “It runs in their blood”, they wrote and professed on social media. For this group of people, I had a good laugh. They left the big bag of forgeries they are carrying, and are accusing those who took a little from their bag of collective guilt! I will get back to this later.
The questions are: Why did Mmesoma do it? What gave her the courage to do it? We can no longer ask who helped her, or connived with her, because she has confessed to doing it alone with her Airtel phone number. What pushed her? Why did she, without a second thought, ruin her future? The 249 she genuinely scored was good enough to get her an admission into any university of her choice. JAMB’s cut-off mark is 140. So, why? I can only think of three reasons.
Firstly, I think Mmesoma’s physical appearance is deceptive. She is not an innocent girl by any stretch of imagination. She is “waywardly” hardened. She is street-wise. Only that could make her, knowing fully what she did, to contact the Ministry of Education, Anambra, and report JAMB for not announcing her as the highest scorer. A less crooked-minded teenager would not have the courage to do that. Or the courage to call JAMB the number of times she did, and still stuck to her claims even when JAMB had told her she scored 249.
Secondly, (and this is where I have sympathy for her) given her poor background, she was desperately looking for help to go through University. Knowing that every JAMB highest scorer usually gets a scholarship award, she decided to go rogue, and added two marks to the score recorded by Miss Umeh.
Thirdly, Mmesoma knows she is from a country where forgery is like a second skin, where forgery seems to be in the Nations DNA, a country forgery and manipulation are celebrated.
She knows she lives in a country where many of its leaders and VIPs are products of forgery and manipulation. They forge their birth certificates. They forge their educational certificates. Many say they have PhDs without having a first degree. They manufacture names of non-existing Universities. They forge their company papers. They forge customs papers.They forge land papers. They forge marriage certificates, divorce papers. Was it not in Nigeria that a Speaker of the House of Representatives forged a first degree certificate? We have seen Federal Ministers with forged certificates. Governors, too, who wouldn’t answer questions on the degree certificates they parade because they are fake. It is a country where everything, anything is “forgeable.” Mmesoma knows some of these things, and knows there are no consequences for such ugly behaviors.
Most recently, Mmesoma witnessed the 2023 General elections. She is 19 years old. And, perhaps, if she was lucky to get her PVC, some of which were manipulated out of reach, she voted. So, she must have witnessed all the manipulations, the rigging, the forgeries, the snatching of ballot boxes which went on. The violence in order to cheat. There were no consequences. There are still are no consequences. And, most likely, there will be no consequences. So, for her, the crime she committed pales before all that. Forgery has become the way of life in our dear country. And, we are not ashamed of it.
Those who say Mmesoma’s condemnable behavior runs in Igbo blood should pause and count their teeth with their tongue. They should count the number of high profile forgeries in Nigeria and from which tribe the “forgers” are from.
To insult the Igbo tribe because of a misdemeanor by a teenager is the height of irresponsibility. Who will cast the first stone?
When the Igbo produce an Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, it does not run in their blood. When they produce a Chimamanda Adichie, it does not run in their blood. When they produce some of the best brains in Nigeria and in the Diaspora, it does not run in their blood. When Igbo children like Mmesoma excel in some of the best Univerties in the world and become valedictorians, it does not run in their blood. But when an Igbo teenager stupidly goes rogue, just as a few others in other tribes did, it runs in the Igbo blood.
Haba!
For the records, all the vices in Igboland today – 419, yahoo-yahoo, drugs trafficking, human trafficking, human rituals, kidnapping, killings – were copied from other places. Until recently, they were alien to Igboland.
A word of advice: the old addage that “those who live in glass houses do not throw stones” still holds.
But back to Mmesoma. Let it be noted that she learnt at the feet of the many grandmasters in Nigeria. The punishment given to her by JAMB, considering the grave offence she committed, is appropriate. The recommendations by the Panel set-up by the Anambra State Government that she undergoes counseling and apologises publicly to JAMB and her school are also appropriate. She should strictly adhere to that. She also owes her parents an unadulterated apology if she has not offered it to them already. They must be finding it difficult to show their faces in public. Not a few people will point at them and snigger.
Finally, to JAMB. The Registrar says there are others who were also caught in the act. Why their names were not made public is what many people don’t still understand. True, Mmesoma opened her own can of worms by her desperation, but a crime whether hidden or open is a crime. Let’s have the names of other culprits. Here’s my plea: Unless the same punishment- three years ban – given to Mmesoma is the same given to her fellow culprits, the Board should temper justice with mercy in her case. She is in a mess already. Her name and her crime have gone viral. Her face too. For life, she will be referred to as “Mmesoma the forger, the fraudulent.” She is tainted. She may need a legal change of name to get on in life. Her name has been stigmatized.
JAMB should do two things: discard the idea of prosecuting her. And two, reduce the period she has been barred from UTME from three years to one year. One never knows.
After undergoing counseling, she could become a “JAMB Ambassador Against Forgery Of Scores.” It happens.
On Sunday, July 9, 2023 the board of First Bank Nigeria Holdings, held an emergency meeting to respond to last week’s acquisition of majority shares of the bank by Oba Otudeko, a former Chairman of the Bank.
Reports have circulated that Otudeko who was sacked in April 2021 by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, was planning to take over the commercial bank after acquiring over 4.7 billion shares in the bank.
But a top source who attended the meeting said the acquisition cannot alter the current configuration of the bank.
“The purpose of an investor is not to sack people. The board meeting was not about removing anybody. It doesn’t work that way,’ the source said.
Otudeko’s fresh plan to return to the board of the bank came more than four years after he lost out in the boardroom battle for the control of Nigeria’s oldest bank.
The acquisition has, however, not gone unnoticed by other billionaire shareholders of the bank, whom the magazine learned are already planning a counter move, even though business analysts have rightly described what is happening in the bank as healthy for the corporate environment.
“Even bossom friends like Tony Elumelu and Femi Otedola ignored their relationship while trying to assert their control of one of Nigeria’s blue chip companies. Acquisition and takeovers are normal occurrence in business across the world,” Lade Jacobs, an expert in the sector said.
The billionaire owners of First Bank include Femi Otedola, Globacom chairman, Mike Adenuga, Hassan Odukale and Saheed Arisekola.
The current board was appointed in 2021 by the CBN after the Otudeko-led board was dissolved.
In October 2021, few months after Otudeko was ousted from the bank, Otedola made a bid to ‘grab’ the bank, after the former Diesel mogul, through his firm Calvados Global Services Limited purchased huge shares to become the single largest shareholder.
The development, analysts insist set Otedola against Odukale, the current Chairman of FBN Limited, who as one of the major shareholders was also gunning for the soul of the foremost commercial bank.
Otedola later denied he had such plans to become the Chairman of the bank.
Otudeko has now upstaged Otedola by acquiring 14 percent shareholding, leaving his major competitor with nine percent, while Odukale and Arisekola hold seven percent shareholding each.
“His (Otudeko) target is to return as the Chairman of the board of the bank. Considering his footprints in the bank, he will do everything to achieve his aim,” another source in the bank said on Monday.
The Honeywell boss made the acquisition known in a disclosure sent by the company to FBN Holdings before the close of business last week.
The corporate ‘disclosure’ signed by Ywande Giwa, the Head of Governance and Sustainability at Honeywell Group Limited, and addressed to the First Bank Holdings Corporate Secretary, said the firm has acquired over 4.7 million shares worth over N87 billion in the bank.
Acknowledging the letter, First Bank Acting Company Secretary, Adewale Arogundade, said: “This is to inform the public and our stakeholders that the Company received a notification dated July 7, 2023, from Honeywell Group Limited that its affiliate, Barbican Capital Limited has acquired an aggregate of 4,770,269,843 units of shares from the company’s issued share capital of 35,895,292,791, as at the above-referenced date. Based on the foregoing, the equity stake of Barbican Capital Limited in the Company is 13.3 per cent.”
Otudeko was sacked from the bank in April 30, 2019 by the embattled CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele who queried his decision to remove, without regulatory approval, Kazeem Adeduntan, the Managing Director of FBN Ltd.
Apart from trying to retire Adeduntan inappropriately, the CBN also cited insider loan abuse as one of the reasons for sacking Otudeko.
The CBN stated the reasons for Otudeko’s sack “The insiders who took loans in the bank, with controlling influence on the board of directors, failed to adhere to the terms for the restructuring of their credit facilities which contributed to the poor financial state of the bank.
“The CBN’s recent target examination as at December 31, 2020, revealed that insider loans were materially non-compliant with restructuring terms (e.g. non perfection of lien on shares/collateral arrangements) for over 3 years despite several regulatory reminders.
“The bank has not also divested its non-permissible holdings in non-financial entities in line with regulatory directives,” CBN explained the financial mess FBN Holdings was in then.”
Following his sack, nothing much had been heard of Otudeko, who apparently disappeared from Nigeria’s high society, but his recent move, according to analysts, is capable of resurrecting the old battle among the billionaires who will do everything to control one of Nigeria’s biggest commercial banks.
