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CBN: Emefiele Dodging Court Summons Over $53 million Judgement Debt

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Godwin Emefiele

The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, ordered Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to appear before it on 19 July over a 53 million dollar-judgement debt arising from the Pars Club refund.

Inyang Ekwo, who gave the order during the hearing of a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1193/2017, insisted that the court would not hear Mr Emefiele’s motion for stay until he appeared in court.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that Mr Ekwo had, on 20 October 2022, ordered the CBN governor to appear in court on 18 January over his alleged refusal to obey the order of the court for the payment of the judgement debt in favour of a lawyer, Joe Agi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN.

However, the 18 January proceedings could not go on as scheduled. This prompted the court to adjourn the case until 20 March subsequently.

Agi had sued Linas International Ltd, Minister of Finance and CBN, to court as judgment debtors, following an application for garnishee made by him as judgment creditor in the case.

The suit is one in a flurry of legal actions associated with the federal government’s refund to states and local governments the amounts of funds said to have been over-deducted from their accounts to offset Paris Club and London between 1995 and 2002.

Linas International Ltd and its promoter, Ned Nwoko, had initiated the first significant suit, which culminated in a court judgement awarding them huge amounts of money for their roles in helping states and local government areas to discover the excessive deductions from their accounts.

Since then, countless entities, lawyers, and other professionals have surfaced, claiming to have provided one form of consultancy services or the other to recover the money for the states and local governments.

Agi, through his suit, seeks enforcement of a judgement that he obtained against Linas International Ltd for his role in helping the firm to secure the recovery of the funds.

Upon resumed hearing on Tuesday, Agi’s counsel, Ayodele Arotiowa, said Emefiele had yet to comply with the court’s order compelling him to appear in court.

Audu Anuga, SAN, who appeared for  Emefiele and CBN, however, pointed out that the court did not sit on the previous date scheduled for a hearing.

Arotiowa said though they had been served with the processes, they had also responded.

Anuga told the court that they had a pending application to set aside those “order nisi,” the preliminary order usually issued by the court to set the stage for a final one in monetary judgement enforcement proceedings.

Ekwo then said that it was because of his order that Mr Emefiele should appear in court that prompted them to go on appeal “so that he does not appear in this court.”

“That is exactly what you have done. So, we, the trial court, cannot do our job?

“I am not going to hear you on any application until Godwin Emefiele appears in court.

“Therefore, I am going to give a date for you to report to the court on compliance with the order of the court.

“Upon being aware that the motion for stay of execution is a live matter in this court, this court shall not hear that application unless and until Mr Godwin Emefiele, who has been ordered to appear in court, appears in court,” the judge declared.

He adjourned the matter until the 19 July report.

Background

NAN reports that the dispute stemmed from an alleged $70 million judgment against Linas International Ltd for the lawyer’s (Joe Agi) assistance with the Paris Club refund.

Emefiele was said to have only released $17 million, leaving an unpaid balance of $53 million.

The court had, on 23 January 2020, ruled that Emefiele must appear “to be examined on oath, since the date of the said garnishee order absolute, to pay the balance of 53 million dollars now due and payable under the said garnishee order absolute and also show cause why you should not be committed to prison for default in payment of the said sum”.

In October 2022, Agi, through his counsel Isaac Ekpa and Chinonso Obasi, filed another application against Linas International, the Minister of Finance and the CBN.

He sought an order directing the Inspector-General of Police to arrest Mr Emefiele and bring him to court alongside his lawyers, Damian Dodo, Audu Anuga, all Senior Advocates of Nigeria, and Ginika Ezeoke, Jessica Iyoke, Abdullahi Afolayan, and Olayemi Afolayan.

Subsidy Withdrawal: Gov Obaseki Advises Workers To Work From Home

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Godwin Obaseki

By Ayodele Oni

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki has told public servants in the state to explore possibility of working from home, in the wake of high transportation cost occasioned by subsidy withdrawal.

The governor has also joined his Kwara state government by reducing to three official working days in a week.

In a statement he personally signed on Tuesday, Obaseki stated that “In the wake of fuel subsidy removal by the Federal Government, fuel prices have increased astronomically leading to rise in prices of goods and services and overall cost of living.

“The Edo State Government shares the pains of our people and wants to assure everyone that we are standing with them in these very challenging times.

“We want to reassure our people that we will do all within our powers as a subnational government to reduce the pains and ameliorate the sufferings our people are currently facing in the wake of the current realities.

“As a proactive government, we have since taken the step to increase the minimum wage paid to workers in Edo State from the approved N30, 000 to N40, 000, the highest in the country today.

“We want to assure you that we will continue to pay this amount, while we hope to increase it even further, if more allocation accrues to our State from the Federal Government in view of the expected savings occasioned by the removal of the fuel subsidy.

“We know the hardship that has been caused by this policy which has radically increased the cost of transportation, eating deep into the wages of workers in the State.

“Therefore, the Edo State Government is hereby reducing the number of work days that civil and public servants will have to commute to their work places from five days a week to three days a week.

“Similarly, for teachers and parents, their commuting to school will be reduced  as government is working on deepening the EdoBEST@Home initiative to create more virtual classes, thereby reducing the cost of commuting on parents, teachers and pupils. The Edo SUBEB will provide details on this initiative in the coming days.

“To lower the rising cost of energy on our people, we will continue to work with the electricity companies in the State to improve power supply to homes and businesses.

“Similarly, fibre optic connections are being made available to help our people work remotely, thereby reducing their cost of transportation.

“While government intensifies these efforts to alleviate the burden of the fuel price increase on the people during this very challenging period, we want to call on everyone to remain calm and go about their daily businesses lawfully.”

NADECO Writes Tinubu, Demands Return Of Nigeria To Pre Independence Constitution

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Ayo Opadokun

By Ayodele Oni

National Democratic Coalition,(NADECO) one of the pro democracy groups that fought for an end to military dictatorship in Nigeria, is clamouring for the return of the country to pre independence Republican constitution.

This was contained in a letter, signed by general secretary of the coalition, Ayo Opadokun to President Bola Tinubu.

Tinubu was a member of NADECO and played prominent role in the struggle to ease out the military from dominating Nigeria’s political scene.

The letter states that “NADECO hereby formally congratulates you as you took the Oath of Office, sworn in and assumed office as the President of Nigeria. This is without prejudice to the democratic rights of your opponents who are contesting your victory at the election tribunal.

“NADECO is gratified that one of its most prominent Leaders who in fact contributed significantly to the titanic democratic struggle and campaign that the organization had to embark upon on behalf of Nigerians to restore democracy to Nigeria has by divine destiny become the elected President of the country of our birth.

“We like to remind you of the most important demand of our common and just struggle which was centred on the imperative necessity to return Nigeria to a Federal Constitutional Governance upon which we secured our independence.

“Nigeria remains a country not a nation till date because the military had without Nigerians democratic approval truncated, illegally suspended, abrogated and replaced our negotiated independent constitution and replaced it with Unitary Constitution till date.

“The deceptively choreographed, 1979 & 1999 Constitutions which preserved all the grave damages which successive military governments have forcefully imposed upon Nigeria remain the bane of Nigeria’s backwardness, stunted growth and unacceptable level of poverty.

“NADECO is more than convinced that a return to the Independence/ Republican Constitution will restore responsive and responsible government in the minimum as we grapple with the business of reconstructing our country which was successively overran/ damaged for the narrow personal interests of politicians in military uniform since January 15, 1966.

“All the many aberrations-political, legal, and structural which the different military dictators whimsically imposed on Nigeria can then be strategically corrected overtime.

“Mr. President, you were part of the Patriots who suffered deprivations, dehumanization, and hounding along with us as we spoke truth to the powers that forced themselves on us.

“Fortunately, your own party, established the Governor El-Rufai Committee which recommended that the APC government should immediately fulfil its promise to return Nigeria to a Federal Constitutional Governance as contained in your Manifesto.

“All that we are requesting you to do is to use your good auspices and commit yourself to be faithful to the promise upon which your party was elected into office.

“NADECO on behalf of the silent majority of Nigerians expects you to make Nigeria respond to her manifest destiny of providing leadership to the black race which is looking up towards us to take our rightful place in the global diplomatic leadership in order to prove that black civilization is consequential and important as the others for the growth and advancement of humanity.

“We pray that the good Lord will grant you robust health, empathy and divine wisdom to providing unprecedented productive and impactive leadership which will in quick time enhance the standard and quality of lives of our people who have endured unbelievable economic deprivation, neglect and poverty in a country like Nigeria with the abundant human and material endowment and resources.”

Obi Never Directed Us On Who To Vote As Speaker, LP Caucus.

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Victor Ogene

Afam Ogene, Caucus Leader of the Labour Party in the House of Representatives, has debunked the rumour that the Presidential candidate of the party, in the just concluded general elections, Peter Obi, directed the Labour Party Members-Elect on the candidate to vote as Speaker.

This clarification was contained in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, June 6, by the Labour Party House of Representatives caucus.

Ogene described the rumour as the handiwork of Fifth Columnists, who are out to cause rancour within the ranks of the Labour Party Reps and also embarrass the party’s respected leaders, Obi, and his Vice Presidential Candidate, Senator Yusuf Baba-Ahmed.

The Labour Party members-elect said, in a statement signed by Hon. Ogene, leader of the caucus, that “Nothing can be farther from the truth, as the allegation is a lie from the pit of hell,”

Ogene said further in the statement, “On my honour, if Mr. Peter Obi as much as gave any such order, we would have gladly carried it out, and offer a robust defense of the decision as a Party, but in the instant case, he never did, so why the splitting of hairs?

“In fact, the insinuation that Obi, Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party(LP), is coercing Members-Elect of the House of Representatives to vote for a particular candidate in the Speakership race is a lie which is beneath contempt.

“Yes, as a Caucus, we met last night, but not at Mr. Obi’s behest. The notice of meeting was sent out by the National Chairman of Labour Party, Barrister Julius Abure, and Mr. Obi was only invited as National Leader of the Party.

“After virtually all 27 Members-Elect present at the meeting had taken turns to speak, Mr. Obi, who was the first to leave because of another engagement, advised members to ensure, as much as possible, that they are united in arriving at a decision regarding who to vote for as Presiding Officers. Is this a crime, or an advise too weighty to offer?

“Even in advocating this unity of purpose, Mr. Obi never mentioned any candidate by name, only electing to remind the members-elect that Nigerians place huge expectations on the Labour Party to dare to be different, in conduct and stance on national issues.

“Everything must not be about what you can gain as individuals, but rather your place in history as you begin your sojourn in the National Assembly,” Obi had said.

“As a matter of fact, we make bold to reiterate that, not once, throughout his about 15-minute speech, did Mr. Obi mention any aspirant by name. On the contrary, he urged the members to continue talking amongst themselves, under the guidance of the National Chairman and the Caucus Leader on the issue of Speakership.

“In deed, for the records, Mr. Obi had in his first official interaction with the LP Members-Elect – soon after they collected their certificates of return in March, 2023 – urged them to decide for themselves who to vote for,” Hon. Ogene said.

In his words at the time: “You are the ones elected, so the onus rests with all of you, to interface with others to choose your leaders. As for me, several aspirants, both in the Senate and the House have been trying to reach me, but I prefer to allow you people take your fate in your own hands.”

Obi Explains His Subsidy Removal Support With A Toothache Analogy

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Peter Obi

The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has said that his support for the removal of subsidy paid on petroleum products is true but with a condition that should be empirical to the people.

Obi who was ambushed by Judicial Correspondents as he attended his ongoing election petition case at the Court of Appeal headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday said that his support for subsidy removal dates back to the Goodluck Jonathan era when he was a member of the Presidential Economic Management Team.

“If you have followed me very well right from the time I was a member of Jonathan’s Economic Management Team, I consistently maintained that subsidy should be removed because I see it as organized crime. People were just stealing the resources of the country and I showed empirically in my statistical analysis that we are not consuming the amount of fuel they claim we consume.”

The former Anambra state Governor differentiated his idea of Subsidy removal from what is happening in the country now that they are linking him to the two options available to a person having a tooth ache.

He said that if you approach a dentist to remove a painful tooth, he will apply a local anesthetic to numb the area around the tooth so you do not feel pain.

It’s not the same thing as pulling the tooth forcefully. The pain you feel will be different.

“For me, I will go with the approach of the dentist while supporting the removal of the tooth because I wouldn’t want to go through the pain of forceful removal.

“Recall that even when Jonathan wanted to remove it they came up with various relieving policies like SureP and others.

“If you read my manifesto you will see clearly how I planned to remove subsidy, I will govern with the people and show them statistically and empirically what we are getting and how we are deploying it.

“The problem In Nigeria is that when people say let’s go and suffer, let’s go and sacrifice, they don’t see the results of their suffering and their sacrifice.”

North Central Demands FCT Minister, Deputy Senate President As Compensation 

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The appointment of George Akume as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, as a way to pacify the North Central has been described inadequate by the region.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Akume, a former governor of Benue state on Sunday and Femi Gbajabiamila, the outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives as Chief of Staff, CoS.
The choice of Akume was said to have been the president’s response to the North Central agitation for the position of the Speaker.
But the president’s decision seems not to go down well with some leaders from the area, under the aegis of the North Central People’s Forum, NCPF, who said they will only be satisfied with two of their people appointed as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, in the administration, and Deputy Senate President.
The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, had already endorsed Godswill Akpabio and Jubril Barau  from the North West as Senate President and Deputy Senate President, respectively.
But in a statement signed by the group’s Publicity Secretary, Audu Sule, the NCPF said the region gave more votes to the party during the last election, and so deserved more rewards.
It said an indigene of the FCT, Plateau, Benue, Kogi, Niger, Nasarawa and Kwara States, should be appointed the FCT minister.
The statement said, “First of all we thank Mr President for appointing one of our sons, father and brother as the SGF. We want to particularly congratulate Sen George Akume for the appointment because he is eminently qualified.
“But that is not enough to pacify us. If you look at the vote the APC pulled in North Central it was massive. We were able to lead in all the states except for Plateau and FCT which went to the Labour Party.
“We want the office of the deputy Senate president to go to the North Central. That is the office we have not occupied. In the past, military governments appointed ministers of FCT from the North Central. That’s what we want from the present administration.
“Also, if you check in the previous government, the North East had a Senate President and the SGF. So, we want the office of the deputy Senate president. It will be good for the north central to get it because out of the seven states, we give five to the APC.
“We are also calling for the North Central state to be considered for the office of the FCT minister because the people understand the area very well. Also, the FCT should be given a ministerial appointment.”
Meanwhile, President Tinubu has postponed his meeting with opposition lawmakers in the National Assembly over the contest for principal offices.
The meeting, his advisers said will now take place at an undisclosed date.

Ondo Oil Producing Communities Give Oil Company 72 Hours To Honour Agreement

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By Ayodele Oni

Oil Producing Communities in Ondo state have accused Chevron Nigeria Ltd of igniting another crisis that is capable of impacting on Oil Production activities in the Ilaje Offshore territory of Ondo State.

Communities in Ugbo Land are the mandate areas of  Chevron Nigeria Ltd Offshore Operations in Ondo State.

A statement signed by seven leaders of the Communities claimed that “from time immemorial they have been continually short-changed by Chevron Nigeria Ltd, while other ethnic groups are usually favoured in terms of allocations of Opportunities and Benefits.

“The most recent is the fraud against the collective interest of the Communities of Ilaje Offshore Operations by Chevron Nigeria Ltd in relation to the  Shallow Water drilling (Project Panther) that is about to commence now.

“As paragraph 3 of our inauguration letter still in force, we unequivocally demand for the reversal of the erroneously and purportedly sent jobs opportunity mail to the yet unregistered Ugbo Trust and channel same jobs opportunities to which should includes all benefits, opportunities, entitlements and privileges accruable to  communities from the upcoming Drilling operations.

“It will interest everyone to know that all the equipment for the Panther drilling Project have been hijacked by Chevron top managerial staff in favour of different contractors where they have interest as no single one was given to any Ilaje Contractors despite the fact that some of our local Contractors participated in the Equipment Supply bidding process for the Panther Drilling Project.

“Outside the bidding, the usual practice is that the local contractors from Ilaje are supposed to be nominated for supply of equipment. All this process has been compromised by Chevron PGPA for their personal interest.

“We therefore challenge Chevron Nigeria Limited to disclose the total numbers and identities of the Call Off Contractors shortlisted for this Drilling Operations.

“The Communities of Ugbo hereby strongly demands that their due benefits in terms of Equipment Supply, Call Out Contracts and other Entitlements should be communicated and given to us before mobilization and not more than 72 hours from the date of this press release.”

Coast Clears As Senate Approves 20 Special Advisers For Tinubu

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By Ayodele Oni

A gale of appointment is imminent as the senate granted request by President Bola Tinubu to appoint 20 special advisers.

Since his inauguration a week ago, the president has been working with few aides, as the constitution mandates him to send request to the red chamber before vital appointments can be made.

The sensitive position of his spokesman is still vacant as Tinubu predecessors accorded status of special adviser to occupant of that position.

The request for the appointments was read on the floor of the senate Tuesday morning and granted few hours thereafter.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan read a letter from the President on the appointment of 20 Special Advisers at a sitting on Tuesday, June 6, 2023.

The approval was secured after the Senate Leader, Senator Ibrahim Gobir moved the motion for the Senate to consider the request of the president and seconded by the Senate Minority Leader.

Breaking: Obasa Elected LAHA Speaker For Third Term

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Mudashiru Obasa

By Akinwale Kasali

The Rt. Hon. Mudashriru Ajayi Obasa has been elected Speaker of the Lagos State House State of Assembly for an unprecedented third consecutive terms.

It, however, did not quite come as a surprise. speculation has been rife that he would emerge Speaker of the 10th Assembly unopposed because he was pressured to drop his Senatorial ambition, following the intervention of the now President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the powerful Governor’s Advisory Council, GAC, Lagos.

Also elected as the Deputy Speaker is Hon. Mojisola Lasbat Meranda.

Obasa was unanimously re-elected after a proclamation of the 10th Assembly of the Lagos State House of Assembly by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was present with Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat and top Government officials at the Chamber of the House.

Obasa, the highest ranking member of the House, was nominated by Hon. Temitope Adewale, and was seconded by Sylvester Ogunkelu.

Hon. Noheem Adams, the Deputy Majority Leader in the ninth Assembly, was elected as the new Majority Leader while Hon. Adedamola Kasunmu was elected the Deputy Majority Leader.

Hon. Mojeed Fatai of Ibeju Lekki 1 was elected as the Chief Whip while Hon. David Setonji was elected the Deputy Chief Whip.

OPINION: Presidency Watch

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By Steve Osuji

This townhall is truly different…

TROUBLE SLEEP, YANGA WAKE AM: This job is surely the toughest in the world. Now, to start off shooting yourself in the foot would simply render it a brutish enterprise. This seems to be what President Bola Tinubu has done to himself. Yoruba would call it asasi, a spell. Or as Fela sang: Trouble sleep, yanga go wake am,  na palaver you dey find!

By a reckless proclamation on his inauguration podium, Tinubu seems to have cast a spell on his government all by himself. “Subsidy is gone.” That’s what he haughtily tells Nigerians as he was being sworn into office on Monday, May 29, 2023.

Since then, Nigeria has not been the same, and will never be. The new president too, surely must  be feeling shell-shocked by the instantaneously and unexpected outcome of that simply,  unprocessed statement.

I wager that if he has a chance to relive May 29, 2023, he would banish the subsidy sentence from his speech. Now the word is out, he cannot take it back. With one reckless swagger, he has sentenced himself into an untold wahala for as long as he remains in office.

The excuse for such grievous,  unforced error is that he is sticking to a law already made by his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari in the current budget that requires that Petroleum Subsidy be terminated by end of June. Therefore, no budgetary provisions were made, effective June ending. Further, by virtue of the Petroleum Industry Act, (PIA) of course passed by the National Assembly, the subsidy, whatever dragon it may be, is to have been completely vanquished by end of June.

This is what Tinubu worked into his wonky speech and this is what his people have been parroting as their thoughtless action slaps them smack in the face. To implement a bad law is a foolish thing to do by itself,  but for a president to implement a bad law made by a predecessor speaks to a malady that must not be mentioned in public.

It could be either that Tinubu walked into Buhari’s trap or that he’s being vengeful to the Nigerian people who have not shown him much love. Or a third  and most likely scenario is that Tinubu and his people didn’t think through the subsidy removal issue and therefore didn’t expect this earthquake of an outcome. But for sure, the Tinubu presidency has bought a tsunami and hurricane for itself right from day one. This government needs no opposition party anymore, it has co-opted the  entire people of Nigeria as a counterforce to its administration.

IMPOVERISHIING A POOR NATION: It took President Buhari and the APC about eight years to throw about 50 million Nigerians into poverty and earning Nigeria the poverty capital of the world. But it may have taken just a moment of thoughtless bravura for President Tinubu to throw another 50m down the negative space that’s poverty. Tinubu hereby starts his presidency by tactlessly voiding the already deprived masses of the people. About 133 million are already in the dungeon of life. Apparently, Tinubu cannot ‘see’ this. And now we see a harrowing image of Tinubu, acting the tough guy and personally operating the pay loader for packing millions  of Nigerians into hades, where he probably  thinks they belong. It’s ’s as if he thinks he  needs to void the people first in order to safe them!

The economy will collapse, the Tinubu people say, if so-called subsidy is not hastily terminated. Logic: it’s better for the poor to be terminated instead of the economy. But we have heard this war song for over three decades. It’s actually composed by the Bretton Wood capitalist gang of the West. President Ibrahim Babangida sang it in the 90s, he tried to roll over the people by introducing a sharp fuel increase. A bloody nationwide riots ensued and the military President had to reverse himself. President Olusegun Obasanjo did his bit. President Goodluck Jonathan tried it in 2012 with yet another sharp petrol price increase. It was a certain Bola Tinubu (now President Tinubu) who led the mass protest. He railed at Jonathan in brilliant speeches about how he broke social contract with the Nigerian people and imposed what Tinubu described as “Jonathan tax” on them.

Now President Tinubu has imposed the mother of all fuel price hikes – from N185 to N500. Over 150%. The sharpest ever.

In previous times, the subsidy removals were discussed and processed extensively with possible palliative measures agreed upon. In this Tinubu era, he had not even sat down on his presidential seat yet. So he had no seat, he had no Petroleum minister,  not even a single appointee to lead the thought on such a ground-breaking policy. Of course there was no thought whatsoever gone into the pronouncement. Is this anyway to run a country?

NOW THAT I AM IN POWER, WHAT AM I GONNA DO:  the Tinubu era kicks off in utter turbulence and social upheaval. The first week has quickly rolled by and nobody seems to know what to do. People are seen milling aimlessly around the presidency and we see so many useless visitation by cronies and party hogs. Sixty days have passed since February 25 that the presidential election was conducted. But a close aid said recently that President Tinubu would announce his cabinet in about 60 days. In other climes,  it takes just a couple of days.

But what galls is that after taking such a long time to set up the Executive Council, it’s the same old, jaded crowd that gets nominated. For instance the already announced Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, (former failed governor of Benue State) will never bring anything new to the table besides the old tableau of graft, ineptitude and official blindness.

Same goes for Femi Gbajabiamila, announced as Chief of Staff to the President, (CoS). A very poor choice it is indeed because Gbaja is not a top-notch process man. For an aged, ailing President, the Office of the CoS, would virtually run the country. Gbaja lacks such rigour. A Babatunde Fashola character but not necessarily him. Having been used and abused in the last 24 years suggests he must take a break.

Why is NASS not inaugurated immediately to be able to take off in the business of running an already ruined country? What is the cost of all this unnecessary delays in getting government going? It’s as if President Tinubu was caught by surprise…

We are told that subsidy would bring down Nigeria but keeping a country in abeyance for weeks and months without a cabinet costs more than any subsidy. So much for hitting the ground running.

Finally, one guesses that by now, President Tinubu can see that this town hall is truly different from BALABLU!