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South West Governors Solidarize With Akeredolu

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

Chairman of the Southwest Governors’ Forum and Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi  Akeredolu, SAN, on Tuesday,  met with Governors from the region to discuss issues of interest.

The Governors present at the meeting held at the private residence of Akeredolu in Ibadan, Oyo state, were Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos,  Dapo Abiodun of Ogun,  Seyi Makinde of Oyo, and Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti.

Akeredolu’s continued stay in the Oyo state capital after his return from medical leave abroad has generated reactions from a cross section of people of Ondo State.

His aides and some lawyers insist that the Governor can decide to stay anywhere to govern the state while those opposed, especially opposition parties, say the continued stay outside the state is affecting governance.

Akeredolu, who appreciated the Governors for their solidarity, harped on continuous collaboration among the Southwest States.

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, said the Forum is praying for Governor Akeredolu, adding that he has the support of all the Governors in the region.

A statement by Chief Press Secretary to the Ondo governor, Richard Olatunde, stated that the Governors discussed National and other Issues affecting the region and the people.

Shame As Optimal Cancer Care Foundation MD, Dr. Olaleye Bags Life Imprisonment For R€ping Minor

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

After several months of interrogation, the Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence sitting in Ikeja on Tuesday has sentenced Dr. Olufemi Olaleye, the Medical Director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, to life imprisonment for the r€ping of his wife’s niece, a minor.

Olaleye had been arraigned on a two-count charge which bordered on defilement and se€ual assault by penetration of his wife’s niece, preferred against him by the Lagos State Government.

Justice Rahman Oshodi sentenced him after he found him guilty of the offence of defilement and se€ual penetration of a 15-year-old girl.

The Judge held that the prosecution was able to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and that all the evidence before the court corroborated that of the victim.

The convict was arraigned on November 30, 2022, and he pleaded not guilty to the offences.

It would be recalled that Olaleye who is known to have carried out free Medical Outreach to the downtrodden for several years, was at the enter of defilement, in which activists, Nollywood Actresses protested that justice must take it cause.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Babajide Martins had told the court that Olaleye had committed the offences sometime between February 2020 and November 2021.

He said the offence took place at No 17, Layi Ogunbambi close, Maryland, Lagos state.

Olaleye was accused of unlawfully having se€ual intercourse with his wife’s 15-year-old niece.

According to the prosecution, the offences committed contravened Sections 137 and 261, of the criminal law of Lagos State 2015.

Following his plea of not guilty, Justice Oshodi granted him bail in the sum of N50m with two sureties in like sum who must have landed property in Lagos state.

The Judge ordered that both sureties must also provide evidence of tax payments to the Lagos state government in the last three years.

Justice Oshodi further ordered that Olaleye must deposit his international passport including his British passport and original documents of landed property to the registrar of the court.

During the trial, the convict’s wife, Aderemi Olaleye, told the court that her husband had been se€ually abusing her niece during her stay with them.

She testified that the convict first introduced pornography and oral se€ to the victim and he released sperm into her mouth.

She said it started in March 2020 till July 2021.

The witness narrated to Justice Oshodi, that the girl confessed to a relative and their driver that the doctor had been sleeping with her and threatened to kill her and the witness if she told anyone.

The mother of two, who is the complainant said on oath, “My lord, on November 27, 2021, my second cousin told my aunty who is my mother’s sister that since March 2020 Femi has been se€ually abusing her and introduced her to pornography, from there he graduated to oral s€x with her, that he does this in different places in the home where there are no cameras.”

Police Recruitment: 46,868 Overaged Applicants Seek To Be Constables, 288,266, Applications Received Within One Week

By
Ayodele Oni
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0
Nigeria Police

By Ayodele Oni

The Police Service Commission, (PSC) has announced that over 200,000 applicants have submitted applications for recruitment as constables into the Nigeria Police force within a week.

The police recruitment portal, which opened October 15, now has 288,266 applications for intending constables.

PSC spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani, who disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, in Abuja, stated that this was barely a week into the six-week set aside for the recruitment exercise.

The statement  revealed that of the 288,266 applications already received, 217,105 applications met the basic requirements for further consideration in the subsequent stages of the recruitment process.

It added that the six weeks duration was meant to satisfy the Federal Character Commission requirement for eligible candidates to apply for any government agency’s vacancies.

According to the statement, a total number of 217,300 Nigerian youths have so far applied for the General Duty post, while 70,676 applied for specialist posts.

Also, 69,426 applications have so far been rejected for their inability to meet the requirements for further consideration out of which 46,868 were rejected for over age.

“51,213 General Duty applications were rejected while 18,213 Specialists applications were also rejected.

“The online application requirements include; Applicants shall be of Nigerian origin and birth and must possess the National Identification Number, NIN;  Applicants must possess a minimum of 5 credits in not more than 2 sittings in WAEC/NECO or its equivalent with credit passes in English and Mathematics.

“Applicants must be aged between 18 -25 years; Applicants must have a valid email address and phone number and SSCE statements of results or certificates relating to examinations taken before 2015 will not be accepted.

“The application is without any monetary implications whatsoever and applicants are advised to take note.

“The Chairman of the Commission, retired Inspector General of Police, Dr Solomon Arase, commended the Nigerian youths for showing greater interest in pursuing a career in the Nigeria Police Force and assured that the commission will ensure that the ongoing recruitment exercise is transparent and merit driven.

“He called on the youths to continue to visit the recruitment portal to apply for consideration for recruitment.”

Politics Behind Executive Endorsement Of Oyebanji For Second Term

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

One of the highlights of the first year anniversary celebration of Governor Biodun Oyebanji by the Government of Ekiti State is his endorsement for a second term during a Thanksgiving service to round off the celebration.

Three  of the former Civilian Governors of the State who attended the church service publicly declared their support for Oyebanji who has just completed one year  out of the four years which make up the first term.

The former Governors, Niyi Adebayo, Ayodele Fayose and Kayode Fayemi were all at the Church Service, while Segun Oni stayed away. In the endorsement team was Senate leader, Opeyemi Bamidele who has volunteered to Chairman the campaign team for second term.

First to be invited to make a speech among the former governors was Fayemi who said: “We are Ekiti and we observe seniority, even among Governors, we observe ranking.

“We all feel the same way on the current occupant of the seat. It is the most senior among us, that should address the people first.”

Adebayo said: “I am the most senior of the former governors, I will call my younger brother, Ayo Fayose, to address this gathering.”

Fayose said: “You know me very well that I am not the one who will tell you what you like. I will always tell you as it is.

“We are all together for Abiodun Oyebanji, I am not a member of your party, APC, and I will not be. I am with you, Oyebanji 100 per cent.

Social media has been awash with reactions on the endorsement of a governor that has just completed a year out of four years, making up a tenure. The one which really caught the attention of the people is that of Fayose, a chieftain of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who became two term governor on its ticket.

One major conclusion of the various voices is that the endorsement is meant to scare others that may be interested in contesting in 2026, after the expiration of Oyebanji’s first term. There have been speculations in some circles that the Minister of solid minerals, Dele Alake, an ally of President Bola Tinubu, may likely have a shot at the Governorship, using his connection with the President.

Alake, an indigene of the state, is seen more as  Lagosian who is using the slot of Ekiti as a Minister. He once contested for Ekiti North senatorial seat on the ticket of the Action Congress and returned to Lagos after he lost out at the Primary. Since then, he has not been visible in the politics of Ekiti.

The PDP in reaction to Fayose’s endorsement of Oyebanji for second term in a statement by the Chairman caretaker committee, Sadiq Obanoyen stated that “It is preposterous to suggest that any member of the PDP would endorse the incumbent governor. To do so would imply that we desire the PDP to lose not only the upcoming Ekiti 2026 governorship election, but also the subsequent 9 National Assembly and 26 State House of Assembly elections. It has become a prevailing trend in the State that once a Party loses the governorship election, all subsequent elections are also lost.

“Furthermore, such an endorsement would deprive the Party of more than 20 Commissionership positions, as well as numerous Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants, and Special Assistants roles at the state level.

“It would also hinder the Party’s ability to secure 16 Chairmanship, 16 Vice Chairmanship, and 16 Secretaryship positions at the Local Government Councils, along with 19 Local Council Development Chairmanship, 16 Vice Chairmanship, and 16 Secretaryship positions at the Local Council Development Areas.

“Additionally, it will deny the Party 177 Councilorship positions and over 1,000 Supervisors and Advisers roles at the Local Government and Local Council Develoment levels. The ramifications of such an endorsement are immense.No rational PDP member would join Fayose in his selfish voyage, except for the members of his PDAPC party in Ekiti State. For the sake of the Ekiti people who long for the return of the PDP to power in Ekiti, such an endorsement would be a great disservice.

“It is disappointing, but not surprising, to witness Fayose, who has been suspended by Ekiti PDP for his involvement with the APC and anti-party activities, playing a pawn in the APC’s chess game. A Party led by Adebayo and Fayemi, who have reduced Fayose to a figure of amusement with his fractured postulations as he gradually descends into irrelevance. The truth of the matter is that the Ekiti APC knows how to manipulate Fayose to their advantage, but they do not eagerly welcome him into their Party.”

Social media reactions to the endorsement are divergent, with some backing the move while others condemned the premature decision.

One writes “Personally, I’ve no problem having BAO for a second term. It’s a constitutional right.

However, I think it’s too early for such chicanery. It portends nothing but danger to the polity. While BAO would have loved to work harder and deliver on his 2022 electoral promises, the new fiat proclamation by those who believe Ekiti is in their pockets will distract him and there will be more of politicking than concrete achievements.

“Not only that, by January 2024, there will be an influx of aspirants who would want to challenge the declaration. At the end, we’re back to square one. That declaration, to me, is unnecessary and outrightly premature. It’s pure theatrics and a political chicanery that BAO should take with a pinch of salt. 24 hours is too long in politics. There will always be calculations and permutations which no one can always tell of its ends  – SnrKosija@oshojokini.

Another one “Alagba, let us stop deceiving ourselves, BAO himself knows that that endorsement is just for the mouth, 2026 is still far, a day or hours means a lot in politics, if the power hawks around the presidency prefer the man come the next election, they only need to flash the EFCC cases to the duo of the endorsers to wipe them to the line, pronto.

“Don’t forget that the possibility of independent candidate may likely scale the NASS before then what BAO should concentrate on right away is concentrating on real deliverables not satisfying or robbing any ego to satisfy all which will lead to satisfying no one. The man and others still have equal chances like BAO

‘Only a senseless PDP member will be moved by Fayose endorsing BAO, someone who vowed he will support his son with his last blood, his last blood couldn’t save his son’s ambition, ordinary councilor he has not produced since he left office, he won his local govt last in 2014,so what’s special, it is u APC that is turning yourself to element of mockery, allowing someone who lost it all to be using ur party to cover up his shame.

“Imagine someone who didn’t come to Ekiti to vote for Asiwaju claiming he made Asiwaju win in Ekiti, his son election was same day with Asiwaju, he lost. Only Fayemi knows Fayose better, others are just dancing to him unaware of the impending danger.

“Any Governor planning  for second term agenda in the just  completion of  one year in office is a  complete failure.  Too early for second term endorsement. Please, your selfish interest can  not place above Ekiti people.”

Ondo Deputy Gov. Says Faceless Group Behind Protest Against Gov Akeredolu, Commits To Peace Efforts

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

A Group, Ondo Youth and Masses Conscience has again fingered the State Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa in the series of protests and media war against the continued absence of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu from the State.

However, the Deputy Governor has condemned his link to the protests, and  described those behind it as “faceless groups.” He, also, insisted that he remains committed to the peace moves by the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The group’s allegation was contained in a statement in Akure on Tuesday, signed by Adetunji Benjamin, its State Coordinator,

The statement reads “We have been made aware of an ill-conceived and sinister plan orchestrated by associates of Ondo State’s Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.They intend to stage a press conference and protest tomorrow, 24th of October, 2023, concerning the health of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, CON.

“This plan involves the mobilisation of youths, primarily from Ilaje in Ilaje Local Government Area, who are expected to present a distorted account of Mr. Governor’s health status. This plan, spearheaded by an individual named Biyi Poroye, the organisers aim to portray the Governor as incapacitated, hidden away from public view by his family and associates.

“Even worse, they intend to employ the slogan “Jara e gba” to mislead the people of the State and garner support for actions that may incite discord against the Governor. We strongly condemn these actions and call on the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to take notice of this treacherous endeavour, even after their previous interventions.

“While we are well aware of the character of those involved, it is essential to put on notice that despite the reconciliation efforts by the National Leadership of the APC, the Deputy Governor and his supporters seem unwilling to embrace peace in the State.

“We are in possession of evidence of the planned press conference and protest, during which mocking statements were made about the people of Ondo State. This action undermines the efforts of the National Working Committee of the APC.

“While we respect the right of any group or organisation to hold a press conference or protest, it is disheartening and hypocritical that such an event would be organized to present falsehood about the health status of a Governor who is committed to the state’s progress.”

Aiyedatiwa in his reaction clarified that: “My attention has been drawn to some false publications in which it was alleged that a group loyal to me is planning to hold a protest against the Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, CON, today in Akure.

“This is to inform the good and peace loving people of Ondo State that I am not aware of any such protest and no group or association has my endorsement to carry out public demonstration of any kind.

“I affirm my commitment to the ongoing reconciliation efforts of the National leadership of our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the political situation in our State which are already yielding the much needed tranquillity in the State.

“Therefore, I enjoin the security operatives in the State to continue to maintain peace and ensure that the good people of Ondo State go about their daily activities without any disturbance.”

Imo Guber : APGA Gov  Candidate Promises To Rebuild State

By
James Orji
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0
Tony Ejiogu, the Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, has sued for peace among Imolites, political parties and stakeholders in the State.
Ejiogu made the call after signing a peace accord alongside other candidates at the Assumpta Cathedral in Owerri on Sunday, October 22.
Speaking to newsmen after signing the accord, the APGA candidate said it was important that all political actors and other stakeholders in the state commit to peaceful electoral conduct as the democratic process cannot be deemed credible if it is held in an atmosphere that is devoid of peace.
Ejiogu also used the opportunity to reiterate his commitment to delivering a purposeful, people-centred, servant leadership aimed at delivering social justice, good governance, security, and job employment for the overall development of the state.
“I am truly committed to rebuilding Imo state with your support. In recent times our state has underperformed, and my core mandate is to bring about social-economic change that will touch all the facets of our dear state”.
Ejiogu further maintained that his 5-point agenda for the state has been painstakingly designed to address all the challenges currently experienced while noting that security, local government autonomy, education, employment and welfare of civil servants and pensioners stand tall in his agenda.
According to him, “Our government shall be a reflection of our lifestyle of modesty and accessibility, voting for me under APGA will deliver the Imo state we desire and deserve.”

P& ID : EFCC Applauds London Court’s Dismissal Of $11.5billion Judgment Against Nigeria

By
James Orji
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0
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has applauded the dismissal of the  $6.6billion judgment against Nigeria, won by the Process & Industry Development, P&ID Ltd,.
The legal tussle over a failed 2010 deal to develop a gas processing plant in the country which lasted for years was finally put to rest yesterday after the London court dismissed the case.
A United Kingdom, UK Judge, Robin Knowles of the Business and Property Court in London, on Monday, October 23, 2023, ruled that the award was obtained by fraud and what has happened in the case is contrary to public policy.
The EFCC had been embroiled in a legal tussle with Process & Industrial Developments over a $9bn judgment awarded against Nigeria, which has now risen to $10bn. P&ID claimed Nigeria violated terms of its agreement by failing to provide gas for the power plant it wants to build for the country. According to the global firm, the alleged violation frustrated the construction of the Gas Project agreed to during the government of former President Umaru Yar’Adua and deprived P&ID the potential benefits expected from 20 years’ worth of gas supplies with “anticipated profits of $5 to $6 billion.”
The arbitral tribunal unanimously decided that the Nigerian government had repudiated the Gas Supply and Processing GSPA, by failure to perform its obligations under the agreement and awarded P&ID $6.6 billion in 2017. That fine along with interest has now risen to $11.5billion.
An initial out-of-tribunal agreement for the payment of $850 million was reached by a previous administration and the disbursement was passed on to the administration of President Muhammad Buhari, balked at the idea of paying the negotiated sum, set aside the settlement agreement and challenged the enforcement of the award before the English Commercial Court. But the London court added $2.4 billion in interest making it $9bn. The judge granted Nigeria’s request for a stay on any asset seizures while its legal challenge is pending but ordered it to pay $200 million to the court within 60 days to ensure the stay. It also must pay some court costs to P&ID within 14 days. The decision of the court converted an arbitration award held by P&ID to a legal judgment, which would allow the British Virgin Islands-based firm to try to seize international assets.
Irked by the shadiness and hollowness of the claims of P&ID, Nigeria began investigating the company through the EFCC and found evidence of two bank transfers totalling $20,000 made by Dublin-based Industrial Consultants (International) Ltd. — part of the P&ID group of companies — to Grace Taiga, a Nigerian government lawyer who oversaw the award of the gas plant contract.
The EFCC, challenging the payments through its counsel, Bala Sanga,  said, the payments, in 2017 and 2018, were made from an Industrial Consultants account at Allied Irish Banks and were purportedly for “medical costs”.  Based on this new evidence, which the EFCC considered to be ‘seismic’, Nigeria filed fraud challenges against P&ID but the company has failed to respond to the charges. Trials of key suspects allegedly involved in the fraud are ongoing at various levels of court in Abuja.
Sanga, in some of his appearances in court for the EFCC, had pointed out that, “It is increasingly clear that this was a highly orchestrated scam”.  The Commission had also pointed out that, P&ID’s lawyers have not been able to prove that it legitimately, and lawfully, secured a 20-year contract worth hundreds of millions of Naira.
“The company has yet to even demonstrate that they had the credentials in the first place to carry out such a complex arrangement, nor provide any evidence of tangible investment or landholding. The award in question, which amounts to over eight times Nigeria’s national health budget, could be used for far more important, and genuine, public issues at the current time….”, it said.
Meanwhile, not a few Nigerians have hailed the role played by the anti-graft agency in the legal tussle by exposing some Nigerian government officials who connived with P&ID officials with the intention for Nigeria to lose the case.
The payment of $11 billion as judgment Debt to P&ID, if the judgment had gone the other way would have totally crippled the nation’s economy which is currently struggling, according to analysts.

Defection: CSO Backs CNPP On Demand For Declaration Of Ifeanyi Ubah’s Seat Vacant

By
The Source
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0

A frontline Coalition of Civil Society  organisations (CSOs) under the aegis of the Coalition of National Civil Society Organisations (CNCSOs) has joined the Conference Of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) in it’s call on the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to immediately declare vacant the seat of the Senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District in the 10th National Assembly, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah.

The CSOs also underscored the need for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to reopen the 2013 N43 billion subsidy scam against Senator Ubah and Capital Oil and Gas Limited following the judgment of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal that cleared the EFCC to continue its investigation and prosecute them.

Vowing to join and mobilise all civil society organisations under its umbrella and patriotic citizens at the end of the CNPP’s 21-day ultimatum in statement signed by its National Secretary, Alhaji Ali Abacha, the CSOs added that they firmly stand with the umbrella body of Nigerian political parties, saying that the provisions of section 68 of the Constitution is unequivocal.

The CSOs said that “Section 68 (1) (g) of the constitution is unambiguous on party defection grounds for removal for members of the national assembly.

“The section states that a member of the National Assembly shall vacate his seat “being a person whose election to the house was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected; provided that his membership of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored”.

“By the provisions of section 68 of the constitution, the President of the Senate has no choice but to immediately declare the seat of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah vacant following his defection from the Young Progressives Party (YPP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“Nigeria is not a banner republic; the laws of the land are for enforcement, unless the APC is saying that Nigeria is a failed state.

“We shall not only join in the struggle to pressure the Senate to do the needful in this matter, we shall also rally other civil society organisations and all patriotic Nigerians to compel Senator Akpabio to enforce the provisions of the constitution he swore to uphold”, the CSO vowed.

On pending corruption cases against Capital Oil and Gas Limited and its then Managing Director, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, the CSOs insisted their alleged complicity in the N43.29bn fraud perpetrated through the petroleum subsidy scheme must not be covered.

The Coalition added that it agrees that “the withdrawal of the Federal Government’s 8-count charge against Senator Ifeanyi Ubah over his alleged indebtedness to Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) sometimes in 2019 was politically motivated as the timing speaks volumes.”

Among others, government had accused Uba of making false claims in relation to the actual values of certain assets he transferred to AMCON under a consent judgment obtained in 2012, contrary to Section 54(1) of the AMCON Act.

OPINION: Nigerians Are Getting Poorer Under Tinubu

By
James Orji
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0
Bola Tinubu
By Ray Morphy  
What the continuing and relentless drop in Naira value means is that all citizens are getting poorer by the day. Whether you are rich or poor, you are getting poorer.
Nigeria, often referred to as the “Giant of Africa,” is facing a daunting challenge that threatens its citizens and the nation’s overall stability.
The Naira is daily losing value relative to foreign currencies, particularly the American dollar. As I write this morning, one dollar commands more than N1000.
This loss of value has led to a sharp increase in cost of all goods and services. In other words, there is a steep decline in the purchasing power of the Naira, as economists would say.
Coupled with the high cost of fuel for vehicles and a general collapse of manufacturing, a storm of economic hardship has thus been created for the citizenry with a consequent increase in crime rates, and criminality across the board.
With little or no manufacturing, any increase in the cost of the dollar will lead to an increase in cost of goods in the marketplace because most goods are either imported or have a high import component in their local manufacturing processes.
Since May 2023 till date, the naira has lost half of its value. By simple logic, all prices have increased by 100%. Just yesterday, I bought a packet of shaving sticks for N1,800. Before Tinubu (BT) I bought same brand of shaving sticks for under N1,000 for the same pack of 5.
Dettol soap that I used to buy at N900 for a pack of 6 is now 900 for one. This steep price adjustment is the norm across all sectors in Nigeria today. Incidentally, salaries and wages have not been adjusted to match the price surges. In Nigeria, salary is not inflation adjusted. The simple effect is that the average Nigerian is now much poorer than he was before May 29, 2023.
Coupled with this disastrous cost of living, is the renewed effort by governments to collect more taxes from the hapless economically traumatised citizens. Even as citizens incomes buy less and less goods, many citizens are waylaid by multiple taxation. From LGA through state governments and up to the federal government, the mantra is increase in IGR, internally generated revenue.
These government agencies seem to forget that inflation generally leads to a down turn in economic activities. If governments continue to harass the few manufacturers left for more taxes, the net effect is that some of these factories will go under, thus throwing a lot more citizens into unemployment and penury. Clearly, this is a time for tax rebates and tax holidays, not tax increases.
Has Palliatives Helped?
From the experience in the Buhari era, one can safely say that palliatives have not helped the poor that it was meant to serve. Instead, it has lined the pockets of those in power. Nobody should forget that the youth protest termed #EndSARS was actually about antigovernment policies, anti-poverty and anti-palliatives hoarding.
The so-called palliatives were simply hoarded by government officials in government warehouses. There were many reports of politicians using the palliative items for their birthday parties or as gifts for their cronies and supporters. The point being made here is that the palliatives never got to those it was meant for.
In this Tinubu era, so far, palliatives have simply gone the same way. There is a viral video where a chairman of a housing estate was decrying the fact that their estate of about 150 households received a 25k bag of rice as palliative for the entire estate. This is simply the norm across the nation. In many states, citizens hear of palliatives but they see it not. They now term it “audio palliatives”!
What Of Cash Transfers?
For many Nigerians, these cash transfers are little short of official fraud. First of all, vulnerable Nigerians live mostly in rural areas where there is very little access to formal banking. Yet, government wants us to believe that it will transfer cash to these individuals, majority of whom cannot read and write, how then can they operate accounts? The Buhari cash transfer failed woefully and this columnist does not see how this one will fare better.
Despite these clearly token government efforts, citizens are getting clearly poorer. Many states have topped civil servant wages by a token sum, some by N10,000. While I commend these states for this gesture, many questions need to be answered. What percentage of a state population are civil servants. In most states, civil servants constitute less than 0.1%, yet poverty rate in Nigeria is put at 70%. How can a programme targeted at 0.1% of the population help 70% who are desperately poor?
Subsidising Farmers
The most efficient means of addressing the sharp rises in prices is to subsidise farmers. By this, I mean meaningful subsidy. Not the ones we saw in the past where a state with 3m population was given 5 tractors. Or the one that CBN under Emefiele funded politicians and governors in the name of funding farmers.
If government truly wants its welfare efforts to reach the average citizen, it should stop all these cosmetics and face the issues squarely.
They should target small scale enterprises, SMEs; they should provide loans to manufacturers and food processors whose components are largely locally sourced and not imported.
So long as our economy is gasoline based and for as long as gasoline is priced on the dollar (because it is imported) so long will poverty continue to grow in the country.
     Therefore, every effort should be geared towards discoupling this nation from gasoline import. Isn’t it scandalous that a country that exports crude, turns around to import gasoline and diesel. How can an enterprise survive when it is powering its processes with diesel that is selling today above N1000 per litre?
We deserve a change in outcomes to reduce poverty in the country. Sadly, nothing will change if we continue to tolerate corruption. Tackling corruption within the government and public institutions is also essential to rebuilding public trust and ensure that resources are allocated efficiently.
Nigeria’s economic crisis, characterised by the rapid depreciation of the Nigerian Naira, high fuel and diesel costs, and a general collapse of the standard of living, is pushing the country to the brink of a major social and economic catastrophe. It is imperative that those in government take immediate and decisive action to address these issues.
A multifaceted approach that includes diversifying the economy, attracting foreign investment, and providing social safety nets is necessary to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians and restore stability. The future of Nigeria hinges on its ability to navigate this crisis and create a more prosperous, equitable, and secure environment for its people. Time is of the essence, and the government must act swiftly to prevent further deterioration of living standards and social order.
MAY NIGERIA REBOUND

Gov Obaseki To LG Chairmen: “LG Autonomy Not Licence For Recklessness”

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has reminded the newly inaugurated Local Government Chairmen, Vice Chairmen and Secretaries, that they are accountable to the people despite the autonomy being enjoyed by councils.

He has, therefore, charged them to ensure inclusivity, accountability and transparency in the discharge of their duties.

The Governor gave the charge during a two-day onboarding programme for new local government council chairmen, in Benin City.

The governor, who declared open the programme at the John Odigie Oyegun Public Service Academy (JOOPSA), Benin City, advised the council officials to prioritize developmental projects to positively impact and improve the lives of the people at the grassroots.

The governor said, “We are here to onboard our newly elected local government chairmen, vice-chairmen and secretaries to ensure they key into our policies and programme to deliver good governance to our people.

“We believe in the autonomy of local government because the constitution provides that local government should be autonomous.

“We should also insist on accountability and transparency to our people. You are autonomous but accountable because the resources at your disposal to undertake developmental works in your various local government areas belong to Edo people and should be accounted for.

“Our focus is to ensure that the resources we receive in Edo, either from federal allocation, taxes raised from our people or money borrowed are judiciously and properly utilized and accounted for.

“It’s a pitiable situation we experience in Nigeria where individuals elected or appointed suddenly begin to feel that the institution belongs to them and that they can do what they like as they are there to serve their families, themselves, friends and not the people.

“They sometimes feel they should not be accountable and anytime accountability is demanded or required of them, they see it as witch-hunting.

“In Edo, over the last seven years, we have made sure we run a government where the people feel they are included and heard and the government in place is there to serve them and it is expected that the same trickles down to the local government areas.

“Our government, whether State or local government, should be seen as inclusive, accommodating all shades of opinions. Whether you voted for us or not, all should be included in the decisions that we make.

“We have not focused on individuals but on policies that will touch the lives of the people as this has made them feel included in our government.

“The social well-being of our people is critical to us as they expect the government to do some things for them and we are focusing on the people rather than individuals. We have the responsibility as a government to take fundamental policies that will help in organizing society and development.”

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