The campaign trail of the Presidential Candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar Monday stormed Calabar, the Cross River state capital, causing unprecedented gridlock at the IBB way/ stadium end of the ever-busy Murtala Muhammed Highway.
At the campaign rally at the U.J Esune stadium, the cracks on PDP’s wall were quite visible as its Cross River State Gubernatorial Candidate, Senator Sandy Onor, state and National Assembly candidates, former governor Donald Duke and many chieftains loyal to the Governor Nyesom Wike-led G-15 faction of the party stayed away from the event.
However, the massive crowd at the stadium appeared unfazed by the development as they responded ecstatically to the former State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke’s speech.
The former Governor who is also the Deputy Director of General Operations of the PDP presidential campaign council, in his speech insisted that despite the defection of the State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade and other prominent PDP chieftains in the state to the All Progressives Congress, APC, Cross River remained a PDP state and would deliver Atiku.
Earlier, Alhaji Atiku commended Cross River State PDP for its support and loyalty and assured that the party if elected will dredge the Calabar Port and develop the proposed Calabar to Port Harcourt railway line.
The former Vice President told the crowd that Calabar port will open up the Eastern business corridor when elected as President.
”I know the prospects that the Calabar port would bring to the economy of Cross River State and neighbouring states.
“My administration will come with a major policy thrust of bringing government and governance closer to the people through restructuring.
“To Recover Nigeria, we must restructure and make the people the centrepiece of socioeconomic investments,” he said.
Meanwhile, despite being an APC state, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Cross River will tilt toward Peter Obi’s Labour party in the presidential election.
Obi, the Presidential candidate of the party, is the preferred choice of the majority of eligible voters in the state.
In the markets, restaurants eateries, motor parks, football fields, viewing centres and even at campaign rallies of the APC and PDP, almost everyone is unanimous that they will cast their votes for Obi in the presidential election and then make individual choices based on other considerations in the other elections.
The Source (magazine) was among the media houses embedded with the APC’s campaign team during its recent electioneering tours of the Northern, Central and Southern Senatorial districts of the state and it was quite a sight to behold to watch many party supporters openly maintained they would vote Obi in the presidential election and the APC gubernatorial candidate, Senator Bassey Otu in the governorship election.
A respected Oncologist, Professor Usman Yusuf, has given reasons why Bola Tinubu, Presidential Candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) may not get the support of Northerners in the February 25, 2023 election.
Speaking during an interview on AIT, Professor Usman said Tinubu’s aides has not even helped matters as they have continued to rain abuses on Northerners, especially the elders.
He declared: “Asiwaju has been de-marketed in the North. APC is already panicking.
“There are signs that APC is panicking. Look at Festus Keyamo, Dele Alake and Fani-Kayode threatening at a press conference that they will take INEC to court if Asiwaju is disqualified.
“Asiwaju himself has been attacking President Mohammadu Buhari. He said the fuel scarcity and Naira Redesign were targeted at him to frustrate him.
“Full blown, he has been attacking the President that he has failed and mismanaged the economy. Later, he ran to Daura, accompanied by three Governors, Zulum, Masari and Badaru to beg the President.
“Now, he came back and started a full blown attack on the Party and person of the President. He said they have failed. F11.
“The Vice Presidential candidate, Kashim Shetima, too, said Northerners are not supporting him because he is a Kanuri. He has not done his home work because he should know that the mother of Buhari is Kanuri, late President Yard adua ancestors too were Kanuri.
They are losing it.
“All of a sudden, they sent the attack dog, Governor El, Rufai. He appeared in five platforms, foaming from the mouth, saying Elders in the region did not keep the promise they made on zoning the Presidency to the South. Who made the promise? It was the Governors, APC. If you have money, you buy the delegates. That’s where it stops.
He said there are no elders in the North. That alone has de-marketed Asiwaju.
“We have a lot of retired Generals from the North, Yakubu Gowon, IBB, Jerry Useni, TY Danjuma, IBM Haruna, many of them that put on their uniforms and saw this country through most difficult times. Many of them came with injuries and lost their comrades in the battlefield. We have 98 year old Tanko Yakassai, we have 93 year old Professor Umaru Shehu, 93 year old Dantata. And El-Rufai say we have no elders, that they, the Governors are the elders.
“That statement alone has de-marketed Asiwaju in the North.”
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State on Tuesday, did the unusual. He came out and joined Party faithful to welcome the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, to Enugu State.
Atiku was in Enugu, for the Party’s Presidential Campaign Rally.
Ugwuanyi is one of the five PDP Governors, led by Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, who are at loggerheads with the National Chairman of the Party, Dr Iyorchia Ayu and Atiku.
Trouble started when Atiku defeated Wike, who also lost the Vice Presidential slot to Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa. Wike and group hold Ayu responsible for Wike’s loss.
They have since boycotted participation in all Party activities, including the Presidential Campaign.
As a condition to participate, they asked that Ayu steps down for a Southerner to take over for what they termed “balance of positions.”
None of the Governors – Samuel Ortom, Benue, Wike, Rivers, Okezie Ikpeazu, Abia, Seyi Makinde, attended the Campaign Rallies in their States. In Wike’s case, he made sure that the Rally did not hold by throwing obstacles around. The PDP was forced to cancel.
However, Ugwuanyi on Tuesday, took a different path. He received Atiku at the Campaign Rally, sparking speculations that the G5, which has since lost steam, has finally cracked.
The Presidential election is two weeks away – February 25, 2023.
Former President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has commiserated with the Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri over the passing of his father Pa Abraham Michael Joseph Diri, who died last Sunday at the age of 88 years.
Dr. Jonathan, in a statement signed by his Media Adviser, Ike Eze, described Pa Diri as a well-respected community leader and teacher who nurtured many across the state to greatness.
The former President stated this in a condolence letter he personally signed in which he further portrayed the deceased as a leading light in the community and prayed for God to console Governor Diri and his family and grant them the fortitude to bear the loss.
He stated: “As the patriarch of the Diri family, Pa Diri was a symbol of strength, unity, wisdom, and discipline. He was a man of exemplary character, fervent in service to God and humanity. An acclaimed community leader, Pa Diri was also a celebrated teacher, a retired headmaster who nurtured many across the state to greatness.
“The pain of losing a loved one, particularly a parent, is always an agonizing experience. However, I urge you to take solace in the fact that your father lived a long and impactful life of honour and dignity and must have been fulfilled to see you serve as the Governor of Bayelsa State during his lifetime. On behalf of my family, please accept my condolences.”
The Labour Party, LP, has debunked the story that there was a mass defection of its members in the South-west to the All Progressive Congress, APC.
The purported defection and collapse of structures allegedly took place in Ondo State after a meeting.
But in a statement on Monday, signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Dr Arabambi Abayomi, the party said there was nothing like that. It said there was no such meeting and, therefore, no such mass defection of members to anywhere.
The Party said the so-called meeting, attended by a few people, was chaired by Mr Banji Omotoso, an expelled member of the Party. Omotoso, it disclosed, was expelled from the Party in 2020. “…the so-credit Southwest Coodinator, Mr Banji Omotoso is an expelled member of the Party, who since 2020, has ceased to have anything whatsoever to do with our great Party.”
The statement, also, added that: “The entire Labour Party of Nigeria has never been at anytime and will under no circumstances ever think of merging with any other Party, not even the All Progressives Congress (APC), that has brought untold hardship and surffering to the entire nation.”
The statement reads:
“The attention of the Labour Party in Nigeria especially has been drawn to a purported meeting/defection held at Adegbemile hall, Akure, today Monday 13th February 2023 at noon.
“The meeting attended by about a few dozen people alledged that the entire Southwest Labour Party has been merged with the All Progressive Congress (APC) with effect from today. As expected, the meeting was chaired by an expelled Labour Party member, Mr. Banji Omotoso, who was the then caretaker state chairman in Ekiti state from 2017 to 2019.
“The Labour party here by states as follows
“1. That the labour party of Nigeria in the Southwest and entire Nigeria remains one and an indivisible party.
“2. That the entire Labour Party of Nigeria has never at anytime and will under no circumstances ever think of merging with any other Party, not even the All Progressives Congress (APC) that has brought untold hardship and surffering to the entire nation.
“3. That the so-called Southwest coodinator Mr. Banji Omotoso was an expelled member of the party, who since January 2020 has ceased to have anything whatsoever to do with our great Party.
“4. That the said Mr. Banji Omotoso was expelled for gross malfeasance and anti-party activities. Therefore he has no authority from any quarters to speak for or on behalf of the Labour Party in South West
“5 That Labour party highest office holder in the party structures nationally is the Deputy National Chairman^^ South of the party and number 2 person to the National Chairman remains^ Alhaji Lamidi Apapa from Oyo State with others :
” Bar AKINGBADE OYELEKAN^ ( National Legal adviser OSUN STATE )
“Dr AYO OLORUNFEMI ( DEPUTY NATIONAL^ CHAIRMAN from ONDO STATE)
“MR ROLAND GBENGA DARAMOLA ( National Financial Secretary from^ EKITI STATE)
“DR ARABAMBI ABAYOMI ( NATIONAL PUBLICITY^ SECRETARY from OGUN STATE)
“6. That we strongly make it clear to the general public and well-meaning long-suffering citizens of Nigeria to disregard any information from the said Mr. Banji Omotoso who has since ceased to be our member (LABOUR PARTY).”
Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, was grilled for five long hours by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) over his allegation that there was a meeting of the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and some military officers.
He had tweeted recently that Atiku has been having secret meetings with some top military brass allegedly over the forthcoming Presidential Elections, a development that evoked fear of coup d’etat.
The Military distanced itself from the alleged meeting, dismissed it as fake, and warned the conveyor to be careful over such tweets.
Fani-Kayode is the Director of Special Projects and New Media for the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC PCC).
He has another date with the spy agency Wednesday, and subsequently once every week for more chats.
Briefing newsmen at the APC Secretariat in Abuja Tuesday, he praised the Agency for their professionalism, though he said the grilling was what he would not want even his enemies to experience.
“Following my tweet, the PDP called for my arrest and detention, saying Atiku never met with the military generals”, he said.
“While I was with the DSS, they were very thorough and inquisitive and very professional in their approach. They were polite, reasonable and rational.
“In spite of the ordeal, I felt I was being treated very fairly and that I wasn’t being oppressed. ”
Fani-Kayode was full of regrets for his tweet. In an earlier tweet, he had exonerated the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, of possibly influencing the reactions of the Spy company, since he received an invitation from them before Atiku commented on the issue, urging investigations.
“I spent about five hours. I was subjected to thorough grilling; they were very thorough and highly professional in their interrogation, and I was asked to come back on Wednesday for further interrogation.
“The place anybody wouldn’t want to go, I think is the DSS. If I were to do it a second time, I won’t tweet this same way,” he said.
The Neo Africana Centre, (NAC) said it has noted with grave concern and trepidation the incipient culture of character assassination and blackmail that has crept into the presidential campaigns as the February 25 presidential election approaches. NAC said this trend and tendency portend a grave danger to a sane and civilized democratic culture that we are aspiring to enthrone in Nigeria.
The Centre said that it is even much more regrettable that these putrid campaigns are particularly directed at the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi.
In a statement by its Director of Public Affairs, Jenkins Udu, the public policy think tank regretted that the campaigns that are supposed to be issue-based are veering off into mudslinging and cheap propaganda. It said that the concentration and frequency of the pieces of blackmail woven around Peter Obi create a clear impression that is he is a thorn in the flesh of some persons involved in the campaigns.
Regardless of the calculated but needless antagonism directed at Peter Obi, NAC said it is delighted that the Labour Party presidential candidate is taking it in his stride and has continued, instead, to preach and propagate the ethos of politics without bitterness. To stem this dangerous tide, the Centre has called on those concerned to retrace their steps and embrace Obi’s politics of accommodation and tolerance.
Part of the statement reads:
“We note with concern and trepidation that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, has in the last few days, been buffeted with stories that border on blackmail. A few days ago, he was alleged to have given a whopping N2 billion to members of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to procure their endorsement. CAN has since debunked the falsehood. And nobody has come out to join issues with CAN as a way of lending credence to the claim.
“Before then, Mr Peter Obi was rumoured to be considering withdrawing from the race in order to pave way for an Atiku Abubakar presidency. We found this improbable but decided to hold our breath until the records were set straight, which was that Peter Obi never imagined or contemplated such a line of action.
Again, the tale turned out to be a figment of someone’s troubled imagination.
“And now, the rumour mill has pushed out another falsehood. This time we were told that the entire structure of the Labour Party in the six states of the south west geopolitical zone has collapsed under the All Progressives Congress (APC). Like others before it, this story has since been discovered to be untrue.
“One common thread runs through the entire gamut of these tales. That is that all the stories seem improbable. You do not need any logical scrutiny to see through the lies.
“We deplore this reckless frenzy of blackmail and propaganda directed at Mr Peter Obi. Going by the concentration and intensity of the fake stories, we are beginning to wonder whether Peter Obi is the only candidate in the race. This preoccupation smacks of desperation. We call on those fouling the political atmosphere with these baseless tales to retrace their steps as they are not doing our democracy any good. Rather than this distraction, we urge all those involved to embrace Peter Obi’s gospel of tolerance and politics without bitterness. Ultimately, what makes sense is to face issues that are germane to the campaigns, rather than engage in campaign of calumny and recrimination.”
State Governors of Igbo extraction should hide their faces in shame. Except the host Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, none of them honoured Professor George Obiozor with his presence at his funeral.
Obiozor went home uncelebrated by the Governors. They did not honour the Leader of their Tribe’s apex socio-cultural body at his funeral.
I don’t know if any of the Governors called Uzodinma to explain his absence, and why not, even a representative was sent. If they did, the Igbo are entitled to know. If not, they should be ashamed of themselves and the high office they occupy.
Obiozor who passed on 26th December, 2022, was the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide. Ohanaeze is the equivalent of the Afenifere, the Ijaw Nation, the Arewa Consultative Forum, and the Middle Belt Forum. The Presidents/Chairmen of these associations are revered by their Governors. They represent their people at certain occasions, even at the State House, Abuja. Same role Obiozor played on behalf of the Igbo.
But this February 10, 2023, when Obiozor’s remains were buried in his Awo-Omama Community Imo State, the Governors of Igboland were absent. They were not there to hail him. Or galvanize the youths to sing and dance to the Igbo popular “Nzogbu-nzogbu”, to see Obiozor off like a great Igbo son he was.
What was the problem?
The Governors cannot plead security reasons. They cannot say they were running away from gunmen who are, for now, dictating the lifestyle of the Igbo.
These Governors have more than enough security coverage, including both Military and Police armored vehicles. They accompany them on their trips within and outside their States. And, if they so desired, each of them could have even flown into Imo State on a helicopter. That’s nothing to them. They use private jets all the time to Abuja and their various trips to other States.
Nigerian Governors hardly use commercial flights. Commercial flights are beneath them. Once they are voted into office, using commercial flights become an aberration. They charter private jets. I always wonder why. Some people say they no longer want to fly with the common people so as not to “mix” with them. I’m told it is to avoid “harassment” by favour-seekers. You know, some people, with no business to travel, could just decide to board a flight to see a Governor. I understand a number of people do that in Abuja. Just go to Hilton and sit down, you will see the VIP’s you have been struggling to see. Sorry, I digressed.
Prof George Obiozor.
In the case of Obiozor’s funeral, the Imo State Government, Prof’s family and the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo made the trip to the funeral easy for VIP’s including the Governors.
Except for the ritual of putting the body into the grave, every other activity was held in Owerri MunicipaI, the safest place in the State. I gather it was because of the security issues in the South-east, and in the case of Imo State, especially, Prof’s Orlu Zone.
More than any other Zone, Orlu has borne the brunt of the havoc by gunmen. It is their base. It is where they kill, behead and set houses and properties on fire. Which is quite a shame because Orlu has in its kitty, two former Governors of the State – Achike Udenwa and Rochas Okorocha, the incumbent Governor, Uzodinma, and the immediate past and present Chairman of the Imo Council of Traditional Rulers. Yet, the situation has became so bad that Obiozor’s funeral service and reception were held in Owerri town instead of his native Awo-Omama.
His funeral service was held at the Assumpta Catholic Cathedral, Owerri, not at his regular Church at home. And his expansive compound was denied the honour of hosting the reception thereafter. Rockview Hotel, Owerri, was the venue.
Yet, as safe and comfortable as the arrangements were, Igbo Governors refused to accord Obiozor a last honour.
Engr. Dave Umahi, Ebonyi State, should have led the guard of honor, given his position as the Chairman of the South-east Governors Forum. Okezie Ikpeazu, Abia, who flies everywhere, flaunting Asoebi, had no use for Obiozor’s funeral. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Enugu, whose State Capital is host to Ohanaeze Headquarters was too busy with his signature face cap to bother. Professor Charles Soludo, Anambra, didn’t think it was necessary to honour the Ohanaeze Leader who, like him, was an academic and international scholar. Ifeanyi Okowa, Delta, whose strong claim to the Vice Presidential slot of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is that he is Igbo, completely forgot that. Nyesom Wike, Rivers State, is not one of them. He had, for long, publicly denied he is Igbo, yet he fluently, and often sings Igbo songs when he wants to “yab” the PDP and its Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Sure, a galaxy of solid Igbo men and women were there to honour Professor Obiozor, but the absence of these Governors was, as they say, conspicuous. They are the leaders of the people. They are the representatives of the people. Yet, they failed to give the late President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo a last honour. They ignored him. Their absence was the subject of discussion at the funeral. What’s wrong with the Igbo?
They left Uzodinma to carry the can. But Ohanaeze Nd’Igbo, is not Ohanaeze Nd’Imo. Obiozor’s funeral should have been a collective responsibility of Igbo States. It is not known if they contributed money for his funeral. Perhaps. But money is not everything. That final honour with their presence should have been the ultimate. It could have sent a strong message to Nigeria, to Igbo youths, of the oneness of the Igbo.
When Igbo Leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu died, then Nigeria’s First Lady, Mrs Patience Goodluck-Jonathan, insisted on going to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, to join in receiving his body the day it was shipped back to Nigeria. As the casket was brought out, she spoke to Ojukwu in Igbo Language. It was very humbling. She didn’t need to go. But that last honour to Ojukwu was important to her.
On the day of his funeral, she and her husband, President Goodluck Jonathan, against objections from here and there, insisted on going to Nnewi to honour Ojukwu. That last honour to him was important for them, even when it cost the Jonathans goodwill in some quaters.
So, where is the Igbo common front that is mouthed all the time? Where is the Igbo unity that the Igbo love to preach? By their absence, what examples were the Governors showing to Igbo youths? By not honoring Obiozor in death, how did they expect other neighboring State Governors to honour him? No wonder the Governors of Edo, Akwa Ibom, Cross River State, Rivers, Benue and Bayelsa States showed no interest. They knew South-east Governors couldn’t be bothered.
This will not happen in any other Zone. Not in the North. Not in the South-south, and not in the South-west. Can anybody imagine any South-west Governor not attending the funeral of an Afenifere Chairman or elder. The least would be to send representatives from any of them who dared to be absent.
And here’s the irony:
If it was Obiozor’s conterpart in any Zone that died, our Governors would have been there. They would have cried more than the bereaved. They would be in the forefront.
By their absence at Professor Obiozor’s funeral, the Igbo Governors missed the opportunity to show the face of a united Igbo. They missed the opportunity to present Ohanaeze as a respected apex socio-cultural body of the Igbo. They missed the opportunity to uplift the Igbo race. They missed the opportunity to present a united, common Igbo front to Nigeria. As the saying goes, “if you don’t say you are, nobody will say you are.”
At Professor Obiozor’s funeral, what Igbo Governors did was to show Nigerians how divided, how disunited the Igbo race is. All they did was to rubbish Ohanaeze before Nigeria, and show how unimportant they think the body is. Very unfortunate.
In defiance of the Supreme Court ruling, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has declared that the old naira notes of N200, N500, and N1000 have been demonetized and are no longer legal tender.
The apex court had last week declared that the old notes remained a legal tender until a final decision is made on the case brought to the court by three state governors, Nasir Elrufai of Kaduna, Yahaya Bello of Kogi, and Bello Matawale of Zaamfara state.
The judgment, many legal experts say, supersedes the initial February 10 deadline set by the Godwin Emefiele-led CBN.
But feelers from the apex bank indicate that it is not prepared to obey the nation’s highest court.
For instance, many customers who visited some commercial banks in the country on Monday were thrown into confusion after their banks rejected the old notes, saying they were acting on the directive from the CBN.
A commercial bank was said to have sent memo to its branches across the country on Monday to stop collecting the old currencies from customers.
Recall that Godwin Emefiele during his meeting with the House of Representatives ad hoc committee on Naira Swap assured Nigerians that commercial banks are under obligation to collect the old notes from customers even after the window provided for their expiration has closed.
The apex bank has now decided to act otherwise considering the situation on the ground, many also say.
According to The Tribune, the CBN made the declaration on Monday through its Branch Controller in Bauchi, Haladu Idris Andaza while briefing Journalists.
The apex court had last week declared that the old notes remained a legal tender until a final decision is made on a case brought to the court by three state governors, Nasir Elrufai of Kaduna, Yahaya Bello of Kogi, and Bello Matawale of Zaamfara states.
According to The Tribune, the CBN made the declaration on Monday through its Branch Controller in Bauchi, Haladu Idris Andaza while briefing Journalists.
He said that “In the last 24 hours, we have been inundated by questions from various angles of the general public about our operational guidelines on the old currency notes, be that as it may, there are so many questions here and there which people have been asking about.”
According to him, “So for the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state categorically that CBN is ready and is opened to receive all of those old notes based on certain conditions and criteria.
“Customers are free to come to the Bank and deposit which they cannot do at the Commercial Banks anymore because the currency has seized to be a legal tender since the 10th of this month.
“Consequently, the management of the CBN decided that those customers will have a sigh of relief by coming to the offices of the CBN in all the 36 states in the Federation including FCT to deposit their money.
“The customer has to go to the CBN portal and fill a form in the portal, there will be a form there concerning this currency redesign and exchange.”
Andaza further explained that “After filling the form, you generate a code, you either print it or come with it in your mobile phone, give us the code and the information contained therein. In the form, you are expected to provide all the basic information about yourself, your account details and the amount you want to deposit.
“By the time you have done it correctly, you come to the CBN where the code will be accepted from you as well as the money, process and confirm the genuineness or otherwise of the money to avoid receiving fake notes because there are some fake notes in circulation now.”
He warned that “If anyone wants to try us by bringing in fake notes, he should be ready to be arrested, so don’t go and print old fake naira notes and bring them to the CBN, whatever happens to you, don’t blame us, you caused it.”
He, however, assured that “We will receive the money from you and do our internal checks before we give you an acknowledgement which is evidence to show that we have collected that amount from you and we go ahead with our internal processes, after finishing with the internal processes, we now hit your account and credit it through your Commercial bank.
“All the Commercial banks are expected to bring all old notes deposited to us and we will collect, that is the final. Some of the Banks have started depositing with us because they want to close their books, as soon as they do that, they will not collect from customers again, that is the reason CBN decided to open this portal for the general public especially the vulnerable who are still having problems of cash used for trading and now that the deadline has expired, they need to deposit their money.
“The CBN is trying to minimize risk involved in losing that money, we are trying to minimize hardship also, we know that people are having some hardship, people are suffering, we not unmindful of that fact, that why the management of the CBN has magnanimously decided to open that portal to assist those who were unable to deposit the money into their bank accounts, that is our process flow in a nutshell.
“The portal will be there, opened for some time, depending on the circumstances and the directives from the management, we expect that within this period, people should have been able to deposit all they have, it is a privilege given to Nigerians to ensure that they deposited that money even though they are no longer legal tender.
“For the people in the remote areas, if you can recollect, we have gone round virtually all the villages in Bauchi state with some commercial banks asking the people to open accounts which many of them did and were able to deposit their money, I doubt if there are still people who have not keyed into the system now who are still having old money.
“We used the media, NOA and Traditional rulers just to let the people know, no limit to the amount that can be deposited provided the form was properly filled.
“There are a lot of firewalls that can protect the people accessing the portal, no any cause for alarm.”
No fewer than 50 customers who transact business on the VULte app will be rewarded by Polaris Bank this Valentine’s season, the commercial bank has said.
The promo winners will be announced on Friday, February 17, via the bank’s Instagram platform, the bank said.
The bank said customers stand a chance to win N5000 worth of recharge cards when they perform transactions such as inter-bank transactions, airtime payments, and other settlements using the app.
According to the Adekunle Sonola-led deposit money bank, 50 customers with the highest cumulative transaction value will be rewarded within the period, in the promo tagged ‘Polaris Purple Reward.’
Nduneche Ezurike, the bank’s Group Head, Strategic Brand Management, who made the announcement said the reward exercise which ends today is another opportunity for the bank to show its teeming customers that it cares.
He said, “The reward campaign which will run from February 8 to 14, 2023, is another opportunity to show love to our esteemed customers by rewarding their loyalty for banking with us.
“Valentine is known globally as a season of love and sharing, and as a Bank which puts her customers at the center of everything we do, we deemed it fit to delight them with exciting rewards in commemoration of the Valentine season.”
