Breaking: Bad News For The Ekweremadu’s, Found Guilty Of Organ Trafficking

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March 23, 2023

Ike Ekweremadu, a former Deputy Senate President, and his wife, Beatrice, have been found guilty of organ trafficking in the United Kingdom.

The duo alongside their daughter, Sonia, and a medical doctor, Dr. Obinna Obeta, were found guilty of facilitating the travel of a young man to Britain with a view to his exploitation after a six-week trial at the Old Bailey.

The couple, accused of criminally conspiring to bring the 21-year-old Lagos street trader to London to harvest his kidney, was found on Thursday by the jury handling the case.

The couple will receive their sentence on a latter date, Justice Jeremy Johnson said.

More to come………..

First Bank: FMAP Application Closes Tomorrow

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Tosin Olatokunbo

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March 23, 2023

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First Bank of Nigeria, FBN, Limited has urged Nigerians interested in its Management Associate Programme, FMAP, to apply before the portal closes on tomorrow.

The application for the third season of the programme, the Adesola Adeduntan-led bank, said in a statement on Wednesday closes March 24, 2023.

The FMAP is a 24-month fast-track comprehensive programme targeted at young, dynamic, and highly driven individuals that are passionate about making a difference in the financial services industry.

The bank noted that the programme is designed to build the next generation of leaders to drive the bank’s vision of being Africa’s Bank of First choice.

According to the bank, FMAP equips participants with an extensive wealth of experience comprised of both classroom and real-life work that affords an insightful and balanced insight into the world of work.

It added that programme is targeted at hi-potential young professionals who possess acute thinking skills, financial and methodical skills, and a distinctive ability to communicate effectively and synthesise ideas, information, and data to aid decision-making.

Speaking on the FMAP Season III, the Group Head, Human Capital Management and Development, Olumuyiwa Olulaja, said: “Since its inauguration in half a decade, we are delighted with the giant strides and impact the initiative has had in promoting the career development of emerging talents in the financial services industry as they are instilled with the tenets and ethics of the banking industry in line with global best practice.

“The FMAP initiative is amongst the many ways we reinvest in our human capital as we build the next generation of leaders through their exposure to various opportunities essential to preparing their readiness for the future.”

Kano: We Won Fair and Square, NNPP Tells APC As Tension Rises

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Tosin Olatokunbo

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March 23, 2023

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The New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPC says it will be useless for the All Progressives Congress, APC, to go to court to challenge its victory.

The party said in the aftermath of its declaration as the winner of the March 18 governorship election, by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, that it defeated the ruling party in the keenly contested election.

It said the APC must accept defeat after it had been roundly rejected by the people of the state.

The electoral umpire declared Abba Kabir Yusuf of the NNPP winner of the election after polling 1,019,602 votes against his closest rival, APC’s candidate, Nasir Gawuna, who polled 890,705 votes.

The state has witnessed massive protests from the APC, which claimed irregularities since the results were declared.

On Wednesday, supporters of the ruling party staged a protest at the INEC office in the state’s capital.

The APC has also disclosed that it will go to court to challenge the result.

Responding NNPP spokesperson, Presidential Campaign Council, Abubakar Yesufu, said the legal challenge will end in futility, as the will of the people of the state cannot be overturned.

The NNPP spokesman made this known in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement said ”The move by APC to challenge the Kano gubernatorial result is escapist, futile and an attempt to cover the shameless and disastrous outing of Mallam Yusuf Gawuna and his collaborators at last Saturday’s gubernatorial poll in Kano State.

“We commend the Governor-elect, Abba Kabir Yusuf for this deserved victory. We hereby admonish Yusuf Gawuna to be a sportsman by congratulating the winner. Despite the strong-arm tactics employed to muzzle him with over 1,200 million votes and 890 fictitious votes procured by Gawuna through questionable means, our candidate won.

“The contest was indeed a contest between the powerful but unpopular Mallam Yusuf Gawuna, current Deputy Governor, and a powerless but popular Abba Kabir Yusuf of the NNPP.

“It was a triumph of a people over an evil regime. At this juncture, we commend, the Returning Officer, Prof. Doko Ibrahim, Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, for being steadfast, refusing compromise and insisting on justice and truth.

“As we celebrate Abba Kabir Yusuf, we are humbled by the confidence reposed on the party and its Kwankwasiya Movement. We are also solemn on the arson and killing of innocent souls in the bid to hang on to an anti-people administration.”

Meanwhile, not a few Nigerians have urged the APC to dissuade its supporters who are angry with the outcome of the governorship election from causing violence in Nigeria’s biggest commercial city.

Throwing the state into pandemonium is not what is needed at this time, according to those monitoring what is going on in the Governor Abdullahi Ganduje-led state.

CBN Disburses N13bn To Anchor Borrowers’ Farmers In 2 Months

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Tosin Olatokunbo

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March 23, 2023

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Nigerian farmers under the CBN Anchor Borrowers programme received close to N13 billion between January and February this year.

Godwin Emefiele, CBN Governor made this known in Abuja, during its 29^th Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, meeting, saying that the apex bank disbursed N12.65 billion to farmers within the period.

He explained that the total funds disbursed under the agricultural interventionist’s programme have now risen to N1.09 trillion since its kick-off six years ago.

The ABP was launched in 2015 by the apex bank to assist farmers to boost the production of food in the country. s

According to the apex bank governor, the ABP has assisted close to five million smallholder farmers in the cultivation and rearing of 21 agricultural commodities.

Emefiele said, “Between January and February 2023, the bank disbursed N12.65 billion to three agricultural projects under the ABP.

“It brings the cumulative disbursement under the programme to N1.09 trillion to more than 4.6 million smallholder farmers cultivating or rearing 21 agricultural commodities on an approved 6.02 million hectares of farmland.

“Cumulative disbursements under the real sector facility currently stands at N2.43 trillion disbursed to 462 projects across the country, comprising 257 manufacturing, 95 agriculture, 97 services and 13 mining sector projects.”

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, early in the month said the ABP has not achieved desired results, because it has been mismanaged. For instance, the Fund said out of the total funds disbursed to farmers under the programme, 76 per cent had not been paid, adding that farmers who benefitted may have diverted the funds.

IMF said, “For the Anchor Borrowing Program, repayment is also low at 24 percent, especially since repayment can be made in kind, thereby limiting the tenor of the loans to one year,” the report reads.

“Part of the problem is that the incentive structure for repayment is weak, the recipient loans are not always well targeted and occasionally the funding is used for other purchases (e.g., new agricultural input trading companies to elicit trading rents).”

“Don’t Distract Otti With Litigation” – Gov Ikpeazu Urges; Congratulates Alex Otti”

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The Source

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March 23, 2023

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By Charles Igbo

Less than 24 hours after Abia people gave Governor Okezie Ikpeazu a vote of no confidence, and threw him and his Party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, out of power, Ikpeazu has asked those who contested with the winner of the Governorship Election, Alex Otti, to shun Litigation so as not to distract the incoming Governor.

Abia’s Governorship election, which result was announced on Wednesday, even though it was held side by side with that of 27 other States on March 18, 2023, saw the candidate of the Labour Party, Otti, throw away the PDP which had held the State by the jugular in since 1999. PDP’s Candidate was Okey Ahiwe, a former Chief of Staff to Ikpeazu.

The loss of the Governorship election to the LP, is the second time Abians would give Ikpeazu a knock out within three weeks.

On February 25, Ikpeazu, who will serve out his second term in office on May 29, 2023, and had planned to go to the Senate, thereafter, was roundly rejected by his Senatorial District.

He has, however, taken the the landslide defeat handed over to his candidate by Otti, with calmness.

Uncharacteristic of most Nigerian Politicians, Ikpeazu congratulated Otti hours after his Candidate’s loss to him, and urged other contestants to shun going to Court to challenge Otti’s victory so as not to distract the new Governor.

When Ikpeazu won his election as the Abia State Governor, he faced an almost four-year long litigation, until the Supreme Court confirmed him the duly elected Governor.

A Press Release signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Onyebuchi Ememanka, reads thus:

“The Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Victor Ikpeazu has sent a message of congratulations to the Labor Party Candidate in the 2023 Gubernatorial Election in Abia State, Dr Alex Otti, OFR on his emergence as Governor Elect.

“Governor Ikpeazu noted that Dr. Otti has fought a long battle over a very long period of time and deserves commendation for his staying power and resilience.

“In the words of the Governor, ‘Since we have come to the logical end of this battle, it is appropriate to congratulate the winner, Dr Alex Otti on his hard fought victory. In every battle, there will always be a winner and in the spirit of sportsmanship and love for our state, the Governor elect must see his victory as a higher call to service to the people of Abia State’.

“The Governor also salutes the other candidates who took part in the election, especially the PDP candidate, Sir Okey Ahiwe, for their doggedness. Dr Ikpeazu is of the considered opinion that the Governor-Elect should be given an enabling environment to run the affairs of state from May 29th, 2023 and hereby advises the candidates not to distract the incoming Governor with court cases.

“According to the Governor, ‘having myself spent about three and half years in different courts and having experienced first hand, the distraction such cases can cause a leader, I appeal to every candidate in this election not to distract the incoming administration with court cases, so that they will settle down and deal with the very demanding business of governance.

“Let us break this negative trend of subjecting our Governors to endless litigations and allow them to concentrate on providing good governance.

“Governor Okezie Ikpeazu assures the Governor Elect that he will put in place every necessary measure to ensure a seamless transition from his administration to his.

“The Governor thanks the people of Abia State for casting their votes in a very peaceful atmosphere and reminds them that peace remains very critical in the quest for sustainable development, charging them to accord the incoming Governor every necessary support that will enable him succeed.

“Governor Ikpeazu ends by assuring the people of Abia State that he will continue to discharge his duties as Governor until the 29th day of May, 2023 when he will handover to the new Governor.”

Labour Party’s Alex Otti Is Abia Governor,Sacks PDP

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Ayodele Oni

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March 22, 2023

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By Ayodele Oni

After waiting for five days following the conclusion of governorship election, the Labour Party, (LP) candidate, Alex Otti, has been declared the winner of the Abia State governorship election.

His victory followed the eventual declaration, on Wednesday, of the results of the controversial Obingwa Local Government Area results.

With the conclusion of the collation of the outstanding results of the election, the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) scored 9,962 votes, while the Labour Party, 3,776 votes in the LGA.

Consequently, the LP has won in 10 LGAs, the PDP in six LGAs, and the Young Peoples Party, (YPP) in one LGA.

The governorship candidate of the LP in Abia State, Alex Otti, was, consequently declared the winner of the 2023 governorship election in Abia State.

Otti polled a total of 175,466 to defeat his closest rival and candidate of the PDP who scored 88,526.

The Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state, Prof Nnenna Nnannaya-Oti declared Otti the winner on Wednesday evening at the resumption of the final collation of governorship election results in Umuahia, the Abia State capital over 48 hours after INEC suspended the exercise in the South-East state.

The last time the LP produced a governor in the last 20 years was when Olusegun Mimiko was elected Ondo State governor from February 2009 to February 2017.

Before the announcement, Nnannaya-Oti said she will do the right of the people and protect democratic values.

I shall stand squarely and unapologetically on these principles. The people’s votes and mandate shall stand.

“The pastor and the mother in me will not permit me to do anything that will adversely affect the future of our children,” said Nnannaya-Oti, who is the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri.

As it stands, the results of 25 of the 28 governorship elections have been announced. APC won in 15 states, PDP in eight, LP in one while the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) won Kano.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) won in 15 states, including seven re-elected governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara), Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Mai Mala Muni (Yobe), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Babagana Zulum (Borno).

The party also secured wins for eight new candidates: Umar Namadi (Jigawa), Ahmed Aliyu (Sokoto), Dikko Radda (Katsina), Uba Sani (Kaduna), Bassey Otu (Cross River), Mohammed Bago (Niger), Hyacinth Alia (Benue), and Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi).

On the other hand, the PDP secured eight victories including two reelected governors: Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Bala Mohammed (Bauchi).

Six first-term governors were also elected on the platform of the opposition party. They are Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), Siminialayi Fubara (Rivers), Kefas Agbu (Taraba), Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), and Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta). In a historic win, PDP’s Dauda Lawal unseated Zamfara State Governor and APC powerbroker in Zamfara, Bello Matawalle. In a similar fashion, Abba Kabir of the NNPP unseated the APC in Kano.

See results

President-elect, Tinubu Jets Out To Rest, Perform Lesser Hajj

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Ayodele Oni

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March 22, 2023

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By Ayodele Oni

Office of the President elect had shed light on the current overseas trip embarked upon by Bola Tinubu on Tuesday.

A statement signed by Tunde Rahman states that “After a very exhaustive campaign and election season, President-elect, Asíwájú Bola Tinubu, has travelled abroad to rest and plan his transition programme ahead of May 29, 2023 inauguration.

“The President-elect left the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja for Europe on Tuesday night.

“The President-elect decided to take a break after the hectic campaign and election season to rest in Paris and London, preparatory to going to Saudi Arabia for Umrah (Lesser Hajj) and the Ramadan Fasting that begins Thursday.

“While away, the President-elect will also use the opportunity to plan his transition programme. He is expected back in the country soon.

“We enjoin the media to stop publishing rumours and unsubstantiated claims and to always seek clarifications from our office.”

Naira Swap: NLC Directs Workers To Stay Home From Next Week

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Ayodele Oni

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March 22, 2023

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By Ayodele Oni

True to its threat to call out workers for a strike, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC) Joe Ajaero has directed public sector workers in the country to embark on strike beginning from Wednesday next week.

Ajaero also directed that affiliate unions constituting the NLC should also be on standby for picketing exercises across all branches of the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN), nationwide.

The directive followed an earlier ultimatum issued by the Central Working Committee, (CWC) members of the NLC last week criticising the cash swap policy of the Federal Government.

Ajaero explained that the decision to picket CBN branches became necessary, as the Federal Government and the CBN have not shown any commitment to address the situation.

He lamented that despite the Supreme Court order allowing the old N500 and N1000 notes to circulate with the new notes till December 31 this year, the situation appears to be getting worse as workers cannot access cash to pay fares to work, nor can they buy food for their families.

Briefing reporters on Wednesday at the headquarters of NLC, the apex Labour union also criticised the pricing irregularities in the petroleum sector, which was also a cause for concern.

“Last week, we gave an ultimatum for the review of the cash crunch bedeviling the country, but we have discovered to our dismay that as at this moment not much effort has been made to ameliorate the situation, the government is still foot dragging on these issues we raised.

“Based on this, we met again this morning to review our position and resolved that by Wednesday next week, all CBN branches will be picketed.

“Workers are directed to stay at home too because people cannot eat, workers can no longer go to the office, we have been pushed to the wall, we have decided to take our destiny in our hands, we have mobilized our workers for this exercise.”

Wike Set To Demolish AIT Building, In Portharcourt

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Ayodele Oni

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March 22, 2023

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By Ayodele Oni

Some see it as vindictive, but Rivers state government says it is part of ongoing development of Government Reserved Area, (GRA) as government marked for demolition the office of African Independent Television, (AIT) in Portharcourt.

Though both Governor Nyesome Wike and Raymond Dokpesi are members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), they belong to different factions within the party.

While Wike is leading a group of antagonists of defeated presidential candidate of PDP, Atiku Abubakar, Dokpesi remains one of his leading backers.

he Governor is reported to have at one time or the other complained about activities of the private television.

The Governor has ordered the demolition of buildings in GRA Phase 5 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, including that of Daar Communications, owners of AIT/Raypower television and radio stations.

This is as the governor issued a 48-hour quit notice to owners of the building already earmarked for a project in the state.

The building housing the facilities of the media outfit at the Ozuoba area of Port Harcourt is among the structures that may hinder the progress of the said project by Wike’s administration if not removed.

In that regard, the State Government issued an ultimatum in a quit notice signed by Permanent Secretary of the Rivers Ministry of Works, Ebere Dennis Emenike.

The notice dated Tuesday, March 21 read: “Following the imminent commencement of GRA Phase 5 project the structures are impacting on the Right Of Way have been earmarked for demolition, including your own.”

Stakeholders, including the Nigeria Union of Journalists, (NUJ) have appealed to the Governor to wave the demolition of the AIT building.

“INEC, Don’t Be Used To Abort The Wishes Of Enugu State”

By

The Source

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March 22, 2023

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Julius Abure - Labour Party National Chairman

By Julius Abure (National Chairman, Labour Party)

The information reaching our party has it that the ongoing review of the governorship election results from Enugu state by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC is being tailored towards short-changing the Labour Party, LP, and in favor of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

We do not want to believe that information even though we consider it very credible. We are also aware that INEC having reviewed the information from the Voters Accreditation Registrar, the BVAS and IReV must by now be well aware that Labour Party won the election.

We are however appalled that INEC is taking so much time in making a definite pronouncement on the outcome of the result which is already in the public sphere.

However, for the sake of emphasis, we want to inform Nigerians of the crux of the contention. According to the data from INEC at our disposal and that can be verified, the total number of registered voters in Nkanu East was 36,976. The number of Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVC, collected was 27,594 and the number of voters accredited by BVAS on election day was 7,453.

However, having noticed that LP is cruising to victory with over 15,000 votes, the PDP in collaboration with some compromised INEC officials padded and announced 30,560 votes earned by the PDP candidate. The intention obviously was to ensure that PDP garners more votes than the LP.

The Labour Party is contesting this outrageous figure on the ground that PDP couldn’t have scored votes more that the accredited votes for the Local Government Area. Where did they get the votes because it is certainly not from that same election which was held simultaneously with both the state assembly and the Senate? None of these elections recorded such a magnitude of votes.

So, Labour Party is demanding that in line with the Electoral Act, in places where there is over-voting such elections must be canceled. Secondly, the margin of lead by the LP’s candidate which is about 15000 was bigger than the number of the people that were accredited to vote in Nkanu East. So, even if you add the whole 7,453 accredited votes to the PDP, LP’s total votes will still be higher.

We are therefore worried that INEC is even contemplating short-changing the Labour Party. With the information at our disposal, we are calling on INEC to do the right thing. Labour Party has won virtually all the elections in Enugu state including seven out of eight House of Representatives and two senate seats out of the three senatorial positions. It will interest you to know that the LP senatorial candidate was assassinated three days before the election, a replacement was effected and the LP won convincingly. This election in dispute was conducted the same day as the senatorial election which we won. It is therefore no doubt that Enugu state is an LP state. If they are smart, they would have known that on the same day, the state House of Assembly election took place and it is still the same number of people who were accredited for the exercise.

We are therefore calling on INEC, having meted out injustices to Labour Party in the presidential election and across other states including Lagos, Edo, Rivers, and Imo amongst others, it will be infra-dig if Enugu governorship is by any means ceded to any other party aside LP which won the election convincingly. This will amount to the open rape of democracy. It will be another height of injustice. INEC owes itself a duty to protect its integrity which is already challenged and ensure that the real meaning of democracy is guarded and respected in Nigeria.