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Super Falcons Arrives USA For International Tournament, To Play USA, Jamaica, Portugal

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Super Falcons arrive USA

By Akinwale Kasali

The Super Falcons of Nigeria will be looking forward to a repeat of its outstanding performance at the recently concluded Antalya Cup, by gunning for glory at the upcoming Super Series Tournament in the United States of America.

Coach Randy Waldrum of the Nation’s female team named a strong squad that will represent the country at a Four-Nation Tournament in the United States of America for this year’s Summer Series.

The tournament involving hosts USA, Jamaica and Portugal’s senior women teams is a test run for the Super Falcons as they prepare for the African Women Cup of Nations qualifiers against Black Queens of Ghana.

The AWCON tournament serves as the qualification to the 2023 FIFA Women World Cup Championship.

Head Coach Waldrum and a number of overseas based players are expected to join up with the squad in Houston ahead of Nigeria’s first match of the series against Jamaica at the BBVA Stadium on Thursday.

Three days later, the Falcons, one of only seven teams to have featured in every edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup finals since the competition was launched 30 years ago, will tackle Portugal at the same BBVA.

Their last match is against the USA squad, four-time winners of the FIFA World Cup and four-time winners of the Olympic football gold, at the Q2 Stadium on 16th June.

Matches will be played at the BBVA Stadium in Houston and at the brand-new, $240million Q2 Stadium in Austin built by the newest club in the Major League Soccer, Austin FC. Both cities are in the State of Texas and the clash between the Super Falcons and the US Women A team will be the first-ever football match at the state-of-the-art Q2.

The USA is the only one of the four teams in the Summer Series that will compete in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

The match against Nigeria will mark the first time the USA has ever faced the Super Falcons outside of a world championship and it will be just the third-ever friendly against an African country for the Americans, with the previous two coming against South Africa.

OPINION: Nigeria, Twitter and Other Stories

By
The Source
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Reuben Abati

By Reuben Abati

“Omo, I see you are still on Twitter. How you dey take do am? Come and teach your brother…”

“Eishhh, Ishhh…Will you keep quiet?”

“But I noticed you tweeted something not long ago, despite the suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria”

“Hey…hey. My family offend your family? This man. I commit crime to know you? What is the matter with you? Have you not heard that anybody that uses Twitter in Nigeria is now considered a criminal? You want to send me to jail? Please, please, please.”

“But I saw a tweet that came from you?”

“Hey he. Which kain enemy of a friend, friend of an enemy be this?”

“I just want to if you have joined VPN. I have been looking for someone to teach me how to by-pass the suspension and join VPN. I hear it is the only option available to users of twitter in Nigeria.”

“I am not saying anything to you. If you want to go to jail, God help you. But don’t come and drag me into it. Where were you when the Federal Ministry of Justice said that any Nigerian that uses twitter should be ready for prosecution?”

“Oh, I get you now. You dey fear? All of you are afraid. I can tell you for free, nobody is going to any jail for using Twitter. Dem just dey Shakara you. If all of us use Twitter, where dem go put us? Dem go jail us tire, hey, hey, hey, dem go jail us tire, how many people dem go kill. This is the time for us to show our power.”

“Dey there. I don’t want to show any power. In fact, as you see me, I no get any power. I am busy looking for money to send to my children who are in school abroad. Naira is now N720 to the pound sterling, N500 to the dollar. If I get locked up because of Twitter, who will help me? Jack Dorsey is running his own business. If he and the Nigerian government are fighting over a tweet or a video, how does that help the government of my bedroom? If they tell us not to use Twitter, then let us leave them and Twitter to fight themselves. Do I know Jack Dorsey? Does he know me? Why should I fight the Nigerian Government because of him?. Even the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria have since complied. They have since blocked access to Twitter on their networks.”

“Cowards. Those ones are cowards.”

“They have a duty to obey their regulator. Regulatory risk is the biggest threat to business in Nigeria. Why should telecommunications operators risk their own business to protect Twitter which is another man’s business?”

“Bootlickers. The speed with which they even complied is laughable. They didn’t even try to spare a thought for their customers. They acted like zombies. Shut down Twitter now! Yes sir! …. I will like to see someone take them to court and sue for damages.”

“I can’t blame them. Even the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has directed all broadcast stations in Nigeria to get off Twitter.”

“NBC? What has NBC got to do with Twitter? When the Minister kept referring to NBC, I actually thought he was mixing things up. The telecommunications spectrum is regulated by the National Communications Commission.”

“Both are involved. It is the case of Okeke and Okereke. NCC controls the network infrastructure. NBC controls the content on the networks. They are both determined to teach Twitter and other social media networks a lesson. I don’t want to be anybody’s scapegoat.”

“You have to stand up for the freedom of expression, and the right of every Nigerian to protest.”

“You are already doing so. Continue to do it on our behalf. No carry me join wahala.”

“What people like you do not know is that the suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria means nothing. The internet network is an open system. Once you are online, nobody can ban you. It is a world wide web. It is not a Nigerian web. Twitter doesn’t even have a Nigerian office not to talk of operation. When Twitter decided to set up its headquarters in West Africa, they chose Ghana. They avoided Nigeria because as they put it, Nigeria is not a good environment for free speech.”

“Grammar. The way you are carrying on. When they arrest you, you will go and prove all these points in court.”

“Under which law?”

“The Attorney General of the Federation has told you that when you get to court, they will tell you which law binds both you and Twitter.”

“Who des that? Nobody can be prosecuted for an offence under a non-existent law at the time the alleged felony was committed. Section 36(12) of the 1999 Constitution. Aoko vs. Fagbemi. A.G. Federation vs Isong.”

“We are both saying the same thing. You don’t need to quote the law here. Go and do that in court. But when they first arrest you to make an example out of you, don’t forget that they will start by keeping you in detention for as long as they wish.”

“No. The maximum time is 48 hours, Okay, may be 72 hours, otherwise that will amount to a violation of my fundamental human rights which we will enforce.”

“I say don’t worry! We are both saying the same thing. Just remember that before you go and create problem for yourself and your family, judicial workers have been on strike for months. They will lock you up and tell the public that your matter cannot be determined until the courts resume. When the courts return, they will then get some injunctions to keep you for another two weeks. While you are languishing in one dingy cell, the Federal Government of Nigeria and Twitter will settle their matter. Twitter top executives will even pay a courtesy visit to Nigeria. By the time they finally remember you and sign your release warrant, you will be lucky if you don’t get home only to discover that your wife is already pregnant for another man.”

“Don’t insult my wife. I will not take that.”

“Ah sorry oh. Wetin be my own?.”

“Everything you have said is the theology of the coward. We are dealing with tyranny in Nigeria. We are back to the era of military dictatorship. This is a time when real men must stand up and speak truth to power.”

“The thing go shock you, choke you. The President of your own country has told you categorically that those who are trying to pull down the country will receive a shock treatment. He has threatened that he will speak to them in the language that they will understand. And now, he has taken the first step by descending on social platforms, and you are here quoting the law and lawyers, fundamental human rights.

Are you aware that the enforcement of those rights will cost you money? And affect your family? Why not focus on what is important to your life? Twitter? Didn’t we live when there was no Twitter?”

“You don’t get it. This is the problem with many of you. Twitter censored President Donald Trump in 2020. He got angry and issued an Executive Order to restrain big tech. In January 2021, after the attack on Capitol Hill, Twitter went a step further and banned President Trump for life. Facebook has also banned him.  Nothing has happened. Nothing has happened because the institutions in the United States work for the people. But here in Nigeria, the President only needs to sneeze and all departments of state will start running up and down. What we have is the rule of one man, not the rule of the people. Haven’t you seen the way government appointees and institutions have been running up and down to abuse Twitter, and show that they are loyal to the President? What has Twitter done? It has only enforced its community rules?”

“You are comparing apples and oranges. I don’t agree. Twitter Community Rules. Are those rules superior to the corporate existence of Nigeria which the Federal Government of Nigeria says has been constantly violated on Twitter? Shouldn’t international companies and multinationals be subject to the national laws of their host countries? If you were President of Nigeria, you will fold your arms and allow one tech platform to become a forum for promoting propaganda, hate and secession?”

“Just a moment, please. In 2015, and 2019, this same Government used Twitter and Facebook and WhatsApp to campaign for elections and promote propaganda, and demonise the opposition. Why are they now protesting? They don’t want to hear feedback? The truth hurts?”

“What truth?”

“The truth that Nigeria is not working and Government has failed. The truth that Nigerian youths are angry. The truth that there is violence and insecurity in the land. Unemployment is 33.3%. Stagflation. Hunger. Banditry. Arson. Terrorism. Ethnic violence. A near-complete return to the state of nature.”

“Clap for yourself. Just listen to yourself. See how you are de-marketing Nigeria, your own dear native land.”

“No. I am not a native. In fact, I am so angry, I would prefer to relocate to the United Africans Republic (UAR) where I can tweet and enjoy my human rights.”

“When you get to that UAR in your head, may be Twitter won’t work there or it may get suspended, banned or abolished. I put it to you that one of the big challenges we face in the world today is the tyranny of big tech companies. There are countries that have refused to cede their sovereignty to the supremacy of technology. Nigeria has not done anything extra-ordinary. Twitter has been either banned or suspended in China. North Korea, Egypt, in 2011, during the Arab Spring protests, Turkey, Iran, Uganda, Cuba, Turkmenistan, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Pakistan.”

“Look at the countries you are comparing Nigeria with. Dictatorship. Tyranny. I just hope that one day, the Nigerian Government will not wake up and we will be told that oxygen has been banned because it poses a threat to the Buhari administration.”

“Excuse me. That is hate speech!”

“I will rather say fair comment because the way we are now carrying on, this Government will blame anything and ban anything. The people who are considered enemies of Government are the ones asking for justice and equity, and human rights. People with access to platforms. Protesters. Writers. Opinion leaders. I really won’t be surprised if the Nigerian Government wakes up one morning and decides to ban access to oxygen in certain parts of the country.”

“I don’t have to argue with you. I think it is good that you and people who think like you understand the point that after God, it is Government. If you disturb Government, Government will disturb you. And if you ask me, I actually think that some people don’t deserve to enjoy Nigerian oxygen and work against the same country.”

“You will support that oxygen should be banned in Nigeria?”

“Why should you enjoy Nigerian oxygen if you don’t believe in Nigeria? We are in the age of technology. Go and ask Twitter to give you oxygen.”

“Before it gets to that stage, some of us will speak up. We will stand up. We will remind people like you that on June 12 democracy we stand. We will go to the streets and say No. On June 12, we will shout on top of our voices. We will write poetry on the streets of Nigeria.”

“You will go and confront people who have told you that you will be taught the language that you will understand. And that you will be shocked? As a Christian, I don’t encourage people to commit suicide. You know I like you, even if I don’t agree with most of the things you say.”

“I am not afraid to be part of the Nigerian Revolution”

“Sure? Have you visited Omoyele Sowore who got a small warning for talking about Revolution? Na ordinary tear gas cannister one Nigerian police woman take joke with am the other day oh, and him get wound. If anybody tries any protest on June 12, these Government people, na armoured tanks dem go take send message oh.”

“They will attack Nigerians with armoured tanks? The same tanks that they can’t deploy to fight insurgents and terrorists? We don’t ever get our priorities right. Who advises government?”

“Nigerians like you and I. The ones who don’t want to go to Oduduwa Republic, Biafra or the proposed UAR. The push-me-I-push-am, na here I go dey crowd. “

“When something is not working, allow it to develop a rhythm of its own. It is possible to renegotiate the expired amalgamation of Nigeria. What are we afraid of? I’d rather die”

“Why not? It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country. But don’t commit suicide.”

“Those of you who do not want a new reality can stay in Nigeria and die in it. Some of us are ready to have a new country. Even Daddy G.O. Adeboye has joined us. Pastor Kumuyi too.”

“You people have a hidden agenda”

“Oh, are you now afraid to die inside Nigeria?”

“No. Our g being, every good thing, will pass away and the world will be renewed. What we caLord Jesus Christ saved the faithful with His Blood on the Mount of Calvary. Every livinn do is to watch and pray.”

“Watch and obey. Your kind obeys every Government commandment.”

“Pastor Temitope Joshua of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) just ascended to the Heavens to join the Saints Triumphant. His death leaves a very strong message for Nigeria.”

“Are you okay?”

“Have you not noticed that all the Saints, in our midst, are returning to Heaven, one after the other? They are leaving Nigeria. Can’t you see it?”

“What I see is that the demons have seized control”

“Be careful. These are dangerous times.”

“So when are you leaving, Mr Saint, so you can go and join Twitter Nigeria in Purgatory.”

“I shall not die any death.”

“Then keep safe and stop knocking your head against people who have served notice that they will shock anybody like potent electricity.”

“Bad sign. What will tomorrow bring?”

“Let tomorrow worry about itself. Most of the people who claim they will die for Nigeria have dual citizenship, multiple visas in their passports, an open ticket to other countries, and foreign bank accounts. The only thing you have is your mouth. When things get rough, they will be gone in a jiffy.  My friend, don’t end up as an unknown corpse. Dem don warn you well, well oh, make you borrow yourself sense na im remain. This our Nigeria no balance again”.

“No. We no go gree oh. We no go gree.”

Abati, PhD, is a TV Personality, a Columnist, and former Special Adviser, Media & Publicity, to former President Goodluck Jonathan

In Death, CAN Acknowledges, Recognises T. B. Joshua

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

It is difficult to say what pushed the umbrella body of Christians in Nigeria, the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, to finally acknowledge and recognise the late T.B. Joshua as a worthy Christian and/or one of their own.

While alive, they kept him at arms length. Neither he, nor his Church was their member. In fact, he was not even a member of the Association of Pentecostal  Churches of Nigeria.

Many of them were not comfortable with his “famed miracles” and predictions. They wondered where his powers came from. Who mentored him, they asked.

But in death, CAN has not only acknowledged his contributions to the Body of Christ, in the areas of evangelism, growth of the Church, and philanthropy, it says his death represent a great loss to Christianity.

CAN stated this in a condolence letter to his  family and members of the Synagogue Church of All Nations over his sudden death.

The popular Televangelist shocked the world when he suddenly died in the early hours of Sunday, June 6, 2021, at the age of 57, a week short of his 58th birthday on June 12.

He was presiding over a Church programme when he suddenly felt uncomfortable. He excused himself, walked down to his house, and was found in a troubling situation about an hour later. He died on the way to the hospital.

In the condolence letter, signed by CAN’s President, Dr Samson Ayokunle, the Association described the deceased as a charismatic  evangelist who devoted his life to the propagation of the  Gospel.

The letter, which was addressed to his wife, reads:

“The news of the demise of your darling husband, Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua, who was until his transition, at the age of Fifty-Seven (57), the Leader and Founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) came to us amidst great shock and sorrow.

“We are, particularly, sad because the deceased showed no trace of illness prior to his demise after an Evening Church Service on Saturday 5th June, 2021.

“We commiserate with you, the children and entire members of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) on this irreparable loss.

“Prophet T.B Joshua was one of the foremost Nigerian charismatic Pastors, televangelist, and philanthropist who devoted his entire lifetime to the propagation of the Gospel and ministering to the needs of the downtrodden.

“He was renowned for his philosophical simplicity and humility. His death is not only a loss to the family and the Church, but to Nigeria and the world at large.

“There are indeed no exact words of comfort at a moment like this, but we humbly enjoin you to take solace in the Will of the Almighty God, who works in us both to do and work according to his good purpose (Philippians 2:13).

“We know that Our Lord Jesus Christ in whom there is all sufficiency, and whom you have been serving wholeheartedly will make all grace abound unto you at this trying moment (2 Corinthians 9:8).

“On behalf of all members of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), we commiserate with you, and the entire family on this loss. It is our prayer that the Almighty God grant Prophet T.B Joshua an eternal rest in his creator, and may God’s perpetual light continue to shine on his path (Amen).”

The cause of his death has not been made public. But speculations are that it was either due to exhaustion or cardiac arrest.

No date has been fixed for his funeral. Nor, has the place of his interment been decided – the premises of his Church in Lagos, or his Community in his Akoko Ondo. The Oba of his Community wants his body brought  back home.

Ecobank: High Expectations On Lender’s $300m Notes’ Issue

By
Bayo Bernard
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0

By Tosin Olatokunbo

Plan by Pan-African bank, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated to raise $300 million from the international debt capital markets through the issuance of Tier 2 qualifying sustainability notes, will be largely successful, financial sector analysts have said.

In 2019, the leading Continental commercial bank raised a $500 bond which was oversubscribed. The reputation of the bank seems to have also become even stronger lately, with recent disclosure by CardinalStone, a reputable sector analyst that the bank is one of the two Deposit Money Banks, DMBs in the country that is not facing liquidity problems.

CardinalStone Partners, in the report said most tier 1 and tier 2 banks in the country are currently cash strapped, and in order to meet the cash demands of their customers, the DMBs have resolved to borrowing from the Standing Lending Facility, SLF, a specialize credit window of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

According to a disclosure, the leading Pan-African banking group with banking operations in 33 countries said it “hereby notifies the Nigerian Exchange Limited, the Ghana Stock Exchange and the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (the “Stock Exchanges”) that it is seeking to raise US$300 Million from the international debt capital markets through the issuance of Tier 2 qualifying Sustainability Notes pursuant to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 144A and Regulation S (the“Notes”).

The disclosure signed by Adenike Laoye said “an equivalent amount of the net proceeds of the Notes will be used to finance or re-finance, in part or in full, new or existing eligible assets in accordance with ETI’s Sustainable Finance Framework.

“In view of the foregoing, ETI is pleased to notify the Stock Exchanges of the proposed launch of the Notes. ETI intends to list the Notes on the London Stock Exchange, with the expectation that the Notes will be traded on its regulated market. It should be noted that the issuance of the Notes (the “Transaction”) is subject to prevailing market conditions and the conclusion of the necessary Transaction documentation,” the notice said.

Two years ago, the Continental financial institution issued a $500 million Eurobond which was oversubscribed with strong demand from international investors in the United Kingdom, United States, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa, following the bank’s 2017 convertible bond issuance on the International Securities Market.

The five-year senior unsecured notes, which will mature in April 2024, were launched with a coupon interest rate of 9.50 per cent per annum payable semi-annually in arrears.

In March this year, the African financial behemoth successfully priced its $300 million bond issuance on the London Stock Exchange, LSE.

The bond which is expected to mature in February 2026 has a settlement period of 16 February 2021.

The fixed-rate, US dollar-denominated bond, with a tenor of five years, the financial giant said early in the year, carries a coupon rate of 7.125 per cent and will be listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The February bond issue was accompanied by an Issuer Rating of B- from Fitch Rating Agency and S & P, while the yield represents the lowest ever achieved by a Nigerian financial institution for a benchmark bond transaction.

The issue was over three times oversubscribed, with significant interest from international investors across major continents.

Igangan Killings: Fear of Reprisal Attacks Grips Arewa

By
Bayo Bernard
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0

By James Orji

Gripped by fear that members of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC may embark on reprisal attacks over recent killings in Igagan, Ibarapa, Oyo state, Pan-Northern Socio-cultural organization under the aegis of Coalition of Northern Groups, CNG, on Tuesday,  cautioned the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Otunba Gani Adams, against the killing of Northerners in the South-West.

No fewer than 20 people were killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen who invaded the agrarian town on Saturday night, burning houses and farm produce.

Many Nigerians, including the six South West governors have condemned the dastardly act.

The Governor of the state, Seyi Makinde has sued for calm urging the people of Igangan not to take laws into their hands, as the government was doing everythingb to ensure that those behind the massacre are unmasked and punished.

Reacting to the killing, Adams who is the Generalisimo of Yoruba people, described the action of the hoodlums as a declaration of war on the people of south west.

Adams said “This is one killing too many, I will not fold my arms seeing the blood of innocent people being shed like it is in Igangan. Now that the North had declared war on the South-West, we will never keep silent or compromise on the homicide going on in the South-West.”

But the Arewa group did not take the threat lightly. In a statement on Tuesday, by its spokesman, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, the CNG warned that any attack on Hausa/ Fulani community in the region will be unacceptable.

According to Suleiman “Any attack against Northerners in any part of the South for the only reason that they are Northerners living as minorities in other communities would not be acceptable.”

Suleiman said the CNG found it surprising that Adams had not yet weaned himself of militancy despite his esteemed position   in Yoruba land and shocked that the OPC leader “would still be unable to overcome his former militant tendencies and conform to the rules of decency required by his title.”

He said “We find it outrageous for Adams to so readily attribute the attacks to the North whereas the actual attackers have not yet been officially identified.

“For Adams to just jump to such a conclusion that the attacks were carried out by the North and even call it a declaration of war speaks volumes of the mindset of the typical Southerner against the entire Northern region,” Suleiman said.

Suleiman described as contradictory that Adams who was quick to beat drums of war against the North was the same leader of the Oodua Peoples Congress that allegedly cheered recent attacks and killings of non-Yoruba residents of the same Igangan by Yoruba gangs under Sunday Ighoho which, the CNG claimed, was downplayed by the southern media.

Meanwhile, Governor Makinde told the people of the town during his visit on Tuesday, that the government has failed them. He, however, assured them that the situation will never repeat itself.

The magazine had reported that the state’s helmsman pleaded with the federal government to allow Amotekun, the south west security body set up in the region to tackle kidnapping and arm banditry, to bear AK-47 other sophisticated weapons to enable them confront the menace of insecurity.

Cross River: Why PDP is in Trouble

By
The Source
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0
Professor Ben Ayade

By Stanley Ekpenyong, Calabar

Cross River’s political firmament is not looking good for the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, following the defection of the State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade, from the party to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

The Governor defected to the APC on May 20, 2021, citing the need to sucket Cross River to the centre as his primary reason.

The intense passion and excitement among the people generated by the Governor’s movement to the APC appear a fatal blow to the PDP in the state.

“Unless a miracle happens, our party may not survive this tsunami. Never in our wildest dream did we contemplate this haemorrhage in our party.

“We thought Ayade was bluffing when he said that if he moved, Cross River would move with him”, a PDP top-notch from the Southern Senatorial district of the State lamented.

Another party stalwart who did not want his name in print also expressed surprise at the rate at which thousands of young Cross Riverians are registering in the APC following Governor Ayade’s defection “as if something is propelling them”

According to him, more surprising to his party, the PDP, is the fact that contrary to their projection, all the Commissioners, except four, followed the Governor into the APC and virtually all members of the 25- member House of Assembly are also with the Governor in his new party.

Essentially, it has been a broom revolution of sort in Cross River since Professor Ayade joined the APC. Apart from House members, Commissioners and political appointees who left with him, all the elected Chairmen and Councillors in the 18 Local Government Areas of the State have also joined the APC.

Some National Assembly members have equally defected.

All wards, Local Government and State structures of the PDP in the State have collapsed into the APC. Some APC members in the state now refer to the PDP as “defunct PDP”.

At a recent APC stakeholders integration dinner in Calabar which had in attendance several political heavyweights in the state, including former Senate Majority Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba, Former Minister for Niger- Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani, former Presidential aide, Obono Obla, APC Governorship candidate in the 2019 election, Senator Owan Eno, Senators Bassey Otu and Florence Ita- Giwa among others, the Governor had declared ” if you are not here ( in the APC fold), you are nowhere” in an apparent reference to what analysts have described as the dwindling fortunes of the Cross River PDP and the rapid acceptance of the APC in the state.

Meanwhile, delighted at the turn of the event, Ayade, speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Christian Ita, has thanked the people of the State “for their love and solidarity”.

“The State Governor, His Excellency, Professor Ben Ayade, notes with delight, the infectious broom revolution sweeping across the entire length and breadth of Cross River State since he joined the All Progressives Party (APC).

“His Excellency, particularly, salutes the love of millions of  Cross River youths who have so far, without prompting, taken up membership cards of the All Progressives Congress, APC in solidarity with him.

“His Excellency restates that no individual or group no matter how highly placed can stop this mass movement.

“Events of the past weeks show clearly it is a movement Cross Riverians have been yearning for. They only needed a trigger to ignite it.

“His Excellency recognises that no other love and appreciation for what he has done in Cross River these past six years can be greater than this massive solidarity”,  Ita said in a press statement.

The statement further stated that “His Excellency appreciates and thanks Cross Riverians for their understanding as to why he moved to the APC which is to socket Cross River to the centre.

“The effusive show of love Cross Riverians have showered on His Excellency has made him realise that the best investment anyone can make is an investment in the people.

“Consequently, His Excellency hereby announces that he will  further expand the frontiers of Government and put food on more tables as soon as certain discussions with the federal government crystalize”

Observers are of the view that the expansion of the frontiers of Government by Ayade, which saw him appointing thousands of people into his Government, especially the youth which has been termed “food on the table” by some social commentators, is the masterstroke that has triggered the broom revolution in the state.

Said a keen follower of the unfolding political reality in Cross River: “The truth is that there is no family in Cross River, no kindred and no village that does not have at least one of their sons or daughters as an appointee in the Ayade Government.

“Under such circumstances, do you expect such Appointees and those who depend on them for survival to abandon the man who puts food on their table?”

Imo: Finally, Police Unmask Unknown Gunmen; Suspect Sings Like A Bird – Source

By
The Source
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0
Abba Kyari and his Team in Imo State

By Charles Igbo

There is a spark of light in the dark tunnel of the fight against the frightening insecurity in the State.

Finally, the Inspector General of Police’s crack team, the Intelligence Response Team, IRT, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Abba Kyari, seems to have gradually removed the mask from the faces of the “unknown gunmen” who have visited the South-East Zone, especially, Imo State, with unprecedented violence which resulted in a harvest of deaths and destruction of both Government and private properties.

Until now, speculations had been rife over who really are the UGM. Are they from the South-east? If so, why are they visiting so much violence on their own people?

A number of people insisted they were the Security Wing of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, Eastern Security Network, ESN.The Nigeria Police believe so.

But the question has been: Why would IPOB destroy the South-east, a Zone, and a people it says it set out to liberate and protect?

IPOB had set-up ESN because, according to it, rogue Fulani Herdsmen had taken over the South-east, especially the farmlands, killing,maiming, raping, and destroying farmlands and everything on it.

However, a number of people insist that insecurity has worsened in the Zone since ESN. And they ask: If, indeed, the ESN was founded to protect the Zone, where are the rogue Herdsmen they are fighting? Why are they not arresting them? Why are the people of the Zone targets in their own Zone? Why are people’s private properties being torched?

But the IPOB/ESN consistently deny responsibility for the violence. They say it is the handiwork of those imported to destabilise the Zone so as to give IPOB a bad name. And people ask again, why then is the ESN not arresting them?

Both the Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, and the State House of Assembly, on their own, insist that the insecurity in the State is politically motivated. They point, for instance, at the torching of the Governor’s Country home, and recently, that of the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba. They say a couple of members of the main opposition party, and some disgruntled elements in the APC were responsible for the situation. They say a couple of them had sworn to  make the state ungovernable for the Governor.

But the Police are adamant in their belief that “It is the ESN at work.” Proof:

They point at the killings of Security Personnels, the torching of Police facilities and Correctional Centres and the consequent release of prisoners and detainees.

They also quote audio and video materials of IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, ordering his people to kill Security Personnel and torch their facilities.

However, whatever, the mask is, gradually, being taken off. It started with the gruesome murder of APC chieftain and former Presidential Aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan in Imo on May 30, 2021. Gulak was on his way back to Abuja from Imo when he was murdered close to Imo Airport.

The Police identified those who killed him as ESN operatives. They said they had killed them, and their vehicles burnt down. Both the driver of the Cab which Gulak took, and Gulak’s friend, Mr Bernard, confirmed they recognised the killers. There were doubts as to the identities of the killers. But two arrests made recently by the police, especially, that of Sunday, June 6, 2021, seem to be pointing to the identities of the UGM.

The first was one of those who attacked both the Imo Police Command Headquarters and  the Federal Correctional Centre, Owerri on Easter Monday, in April 2021. He admitted to be an ESN personnel.

The second was when the UGM tried, again, in the morning of Sunday, June 6, to attack the Imo Police Command Headquarters.

Sources say they were on a rescue mission of some of their members, arrested by the Police, and who, they suspect could squeal on their operations under pressure.

They were repelled in a bloody shoot-out with Security Personnel made up of the Military and the Police.  Six of them were gunned-down, the most prominent, the leader of the group, Joseph Uka Nnachi, aka, Dragon. But the icing on the cake was the capture of a member of the UGM.

A native of Mbieri, Mbaitoli LGA, he gave his name as Stanley Osinachi. He said he was recruited as a member of the ESN by Dragon. He said their camp is located at Akabo, a Community in Ikeduru LGA. He identified their overall boss as Nnamdi  Kanu, and revealed that the instruction to them, from Kanu, through Dragon, was to kill Security Personnels, and torch Police facilities.

He also disclosed that they kidnapped a Female Police officer for the purpose of giving them information.

On Tuesday, the IRT, led by Kyari, took him, and stormed the Akabo camp. True to what he told the Police, the Female Police Officer was in their custody. She was, promptly, rescued and the ESN camp set on fire.

Police sources said Osinachi has been singing like a bird. The strong belief is that from his “songs”, the veil will finally be lifted off the faces and sponsors of the UMG.

On the day of his arrest, when his colleagues were killed, the Police recovered their operational vehicles as well as the following:

  • FOUR AK 47 RIFLES STOLEN FROM POLICE WERE RECOVERED
  • QUANTITY 2, 000 AMMUNITION RECOVERED

Four AK 47 Rifles with 2000 rounds of live ammunition and large number of  explosives were recovered from the scene.

  1. Assualt (AR) Rifle Breach N0: 03018058
  2. Assualt (AR) Rifle Breach N0: 070007055

III. Assualt (AR) RIFLE Breach N0: 5801297

  1. Six locally fabricated Explosive Devices
  2. Police Beret Cap
  3. 7 AK47 Magazines fully loaded

VII. 1 military cap

VIII. 1 military cardigan (Polo)

  1. 1 Silver Coloured Mini Bus with Reg N0: WAM-8673 B ABD
  2. I Hummer Bus with Reg N0: KED-382 X Ladden with Explosive Devices.

The Commissioner of Police Imo State Command, CP Abutu Yaro, called on all those in possession of weapons stolen from Security Agencies to return them to the nearest Police Station or Military Installation not later than 12th  June 2021, to prevent the long arms of the law catching up with them.

Unity Bank: NYSC Members Win N10m in Corpreneurship Challenge

By
Bayo Bernard
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0

By Fola James

Unity Bank has doled out N10 million to 30 National Youth Service Corps members in the fifth edition of the bank’s flagship business pitch competition, Corpreneurship Challenge, which held across ten states last week.

The 30 winners who won cash prizes totaling N10 million emerged during the final business pitch in the fifth edition of the contest for NYSC 2021 Batch A Stream II Orientation Course, which took place simultaneously across ten NYSC camps in Lagos, Ogun, Benin, Abuja and Akwa Ibom.

Other NYSC camps where winners emerged also included Ogun, Kano, Sokoto, Enugu and Osun.

The cash prizes included a N200,000 business grant for each of the second runner ups; N300,000 business grant for the first runner ups and a star prize of N500,000 for each of the ten winners.

Some of the winners included Monday Love Sheba, Adeoye Janet and Essien Nsikak in Bayelsa camp, while Agu Ogechukwu Lilian, Obichukwu Victor and Abiona Elizabeth emerged as the winners in the Akwa Ibom State camp.

In Ogun, Olisa Sofia, Chiamaka Goldleen and Ifeanyi Onoh emerged winners to claim the cash prizes. Ekpenyong Paul Gabriel also emerged as the winner in Sokoto.

The initiative attracted massive interests among the corps members, as over 1000 applications were received but only 100 were shortlisted for the pitching session from where the thirty winners emerged.

The contestants’ business plans which ranged from fashion, fish production, poultry farming, retail chains, piggery to beverages were assessed on originality, marketability, future employability potential of the product and knowledge of the business.

The Tomi Somefun-led lender debuted the Entrepreneurial Development Initiative in 2019, to specifically target corps members, as part of efforts to contribute to job creation in Nigeria. The initiative has produced 48 winners since 2019 when it debuted.

Speaking at the finale in Akwa Ibom State, the overall winner, Lilian Agu, a graduate of Mass Communication and Chinese Language from Federal Polytechnic, Oko expressed gratitude to Unity Bank for the opportunity to actualise her dream of establishing a fashion outfit.

“With this money, I plan to buy an industrial machine, rent a studio, buy a generator and buy some fabrics and start from there. Unity Bank has made my dream come true. I am not from a rich home and I have been dreaming and working hard to start a fashion business, but this grant has made that dream a reality. God bless Unity Bank,” she said.

Also, speaking during the finale in Akwa Ibom NYSC camp, the Divisional Head, Retail, SME Banking and E-Business Directorate, Unity Bank Plc,  Olufunwa Akinmade, said the competition has proved to have a great impact on youth empowerment in the country.

“The Unity Bank Corpreneurship has a very positive impact, not only for the corps members but for the entire youth population in Nigeria. It is a way to support the young men and women who are just graduating from the university to grow.

“You will agree that it is not easy today to come out of the university and get a paid job, and so at this tender age, it is good that they imbibe that culture of entrepreneurship, and then with the financial support that they get from Unity Bank and the knowledge that they have acquired through the competition, they will be able to grow from job seekers to employers of labour,” he said.

Twitter: Malami Uses VPN to Deactivate Twitter, Ortom Vows To Continue Tweeting

By
Uche Mbah
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0

By Uche Mbah

Attorney general of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has officially deactivated his account on twitter.

Twitter has been down since the Federal Government banned the big Tech company from the Nigerian cyber space. Since then Nigerians have been only able to access twitter via Virtual Private Network, VPN.

Government has also outlawed the use of VPN in accessing Twitter, going as far as, allegedly, requesting the help of Chinese Government in erecting a firewall to block the use of VPN.

However, it appears that the Attorney General downloaded VPN in order to access his account and deactivate it, going against his own law.

Since the ban on Twitter, many Nigerians, still using Twitter have, allegedly, been daring the Government by tagging the Attorney General with their tweets in a bold move of defiance.

The General Overseer of the Redeem Christian Church of God, RCCG,Pastor Enoch Adeboye, had said his Church is protected by UN charter for free speech, and as such, the Church account will not be deactivated. Same is the case with Pastor William Kumuyi of the Deeper Life Ministry.

But Minister of Information Lai Mohammed, was quoted as saying that both Clerics may be prosecuted by the Attorney General.

Meanwhile, Benue state Governor, Samuel Ortom, has ignored the “stop tweeting” order by tweeting via his official handle Tuesday, calling the decision to ban twitter by the Federal Government “illegal”.

“The ban on twitter is not only illegal but is also an ill- advised move to divert the attention of Nigerians from the Federal government failure to tackle insecurity in the country. It amounts to suppression of fundermental human rights and gagging of social media.”

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, had earlier twéeted through his official handle saying that the tweet was not going to be his last tweet. “Hopefully, this isn’t my last tweet”, he said.

Horror: IPOB Lawyer Reveals How Soldiers Killed, Injected His Assistant

By
Bayo Bernard
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0

By The Source

They came with the mission of killing him. But when this proved impossible, they decided to kill in cold blood, his personal aide, who was injected with deadly lethal substance and his corpse burnt by the assailants believed to be Army and Police personnel.

This is the testimony of IPOB lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor whose home was invaded by suspected security agents on Sunday who allegedly killed his aide and burnt his body.

Recounting his ordeal in the hands of the security personnel who he said were mainly soldiers and policemen, Ejiofor said they operated like assassins who were sent on a mission to ensure that he’s taken out whatever it takes.

He escaped by hairs breath, he said, adding that the killer squad would have killed him if not for his bullet proof doors.

According to a statement on Tuesday, Ejiofor said he owes his life to well meaning Nigerians who kept in tough with him for the period that the invasion of his ancestral home in Anambra, lasted.

The statement read , “I must deeply appreciate the untiring efforts of my client, friend and in-law, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode for defying sleep at that wee hours of the night when he got the SOS from me, to alert the world and those that mattered on the bloody attack/invasion of my peaceful home by those whose primary duty is to secure lives and properties.

“I want to specially thank my people of good conscience, particularly the members of my noble Association (NBA), the erudite President of the Bar (Mr. Olumide Akpata) who was consistently checking on me and keeping touch at the hit of this turbulent hours.

“Very unfortunately, the well-planned premeditated attack on my ancestral home resulted in the brutal murder of my long standing personal aide, (Samuel Okoro, aka Gentle Biggy), who was shot and consequently injected with lethal substance before being set ablaze in my car, which the demons in uniform made away with on this black Sunday.

“But, be assured that I have more than enough evidence to demonstrate to the world that the uniformed invaders/assailants actually came to assasinate me and every living object in my ancestral home, unprovoked or the second time in less than two years, in the wee hours of Sunday, 6th June 2021.

“I had waited for 24 hours for those that invaded my home to tell the world their true mission to my peaceful residential home in Umunakwa Ifite, Oraifite, Ekwusigo LGA of Anambra State, but nothing is forthcoming. Hence, mine will be coming in stages as I had assured.”

Ejiofor added that he went home on Saturday because the Catholic Arch Bishop of Onitsha Province (Most Rev. Valerian Okeke) wanted to see him in a meeting which he thought would be a private one.

He said, “I honoured this invitation where His Grace raised a number of pertinent issues and consequently, commended me for my untiring efforts towards achieving peace in our region. His Grace prayed for me and equally offered further useful advise. We agreed for a formal meeting where major stakeholders will be notified and equally be represented. I left the Bishop’s court, but not until His Grace blessed me for the umpteenth time, and prayed for me and my friend who was in my company.

“I was in a deep sleep when the demons struck. The barking of my security dogs and sounds of gun in and around my home could simply tell me that there was danger and unusual movement in my peaceful home.

“Initially, I couldn’t fathom what the problem could be but what I know and can tell the public on this part of my press release is that they will hear it all with impeccable evidence to demonstrate the atrocities that were committed in my peaceful home by paid agents of darkness.

“I saw as it all happened, it was like a movie. I saw and overheard them directing my domestic staff who never resisted them in any manner to take them upstairs where their Oga was sleeping at the time, but my staff kept on telling them that ‘Oga is not in this house’. Shooting and heavy beating were simultaneously going on, the time was 2:30am in the morning. I saw Biggie on the ground being beaten and shot at, before somebody, presumably a medical doctor in their company, injected him with what I believe to be a lethal substance.

“The lifeless body of Biggie was dragged on the floor of my compound to my parked car. My driver who apparently was in possessions of my car keys at the time was ordered at gunpoint to produce to open the booth of the car where his body was dumped.

“Efforts by this band of murderers to access where I had hidden in order to finish the job for which they came proved abortive as they couldn’t breach the multiple bullet proof doors leading to where I took refuge. The native doctor they brought along with them, was armed with all sorts of charms and he was busy making incantations and directing them to where he felt I was.

“Midway into their murderous invasion of my home, their search for me was suddenly stopped and they consequently vanished with my harmless and innocent staff they abducted, including the lifeless body of Biggie. These evil men left my house around 3:45am having killed, vandalizmsed and terrorised my household for over an hour and 15 minutes.

“They stole my car and left my home along with over 15 Hilux vans, Toyota Hiace buses and Armoured Personnel Carrier, they came with. On getting to Okacha filling station in Neni, they dragged out my elder brother, Mr. Joel Ejiofor, who was equally abducted during the invasion and directed him to disappear from their sight.

“It was after my brother left, that my car was set ablaze with Mr. Samuel Okoro inside the car. He was not only killed by these soulless beasts, his body was burnt beyond recognition. I wish to ask those that directed this criminal and deadly invasion of my house, to tell me what crime Samuel Okoro committed.

“For the records, the late Mr. Samuel Okoro hailed from Ebonyi State and has been with me for the past four years. He was a brother, a dependable friend and a refined gentlemen. I will forever miss him.

“While struggling to control myself at this point in time, I am indeed broken and traumatised, not that I committed any offence known to law or that Samuel Okoro even did anything wrong, but because he was murdered in the most bizarre, barbaric, brutal and heinous manner.”

Ejiofor stated that the proscription of IPOB was still a subject of appeal, wondering why he was not invited for interrogation by security agents who tried to kill him.

He said, “The questions begging for answers which I want the invaders to answer are, who sent them to my ancestral home because they carefully monitored me until I moved in on that fateful day?

“I spent virtually a week in Abuja before returning home, why didn’t they arrest me in Abuja where I live or even invite me to appear before them for questioning if I was being investigated for committing any offence?

“Why my home for the second time? Why me? Who funded this bloody exercise? Who is actually after my life? Why the invasion of the residence of a Senior member of the Bar at such an ungodly hour of the night?

“From what I gathered, the sinister purpose is clear, the directive is clear, arrest him alive or dead and burn him alive. I will give further details on this subsequently.”

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