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Watch An Officer and a Gentleman, And You Will Understand Meghan Markle |The Source

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Reno Omokri

By Reno Omokri

The Meghan and Harry interview actually proved to me that a large percentage of people are very emotional and are prepared to believe the worst things without the least proof, until they themselves become the victim of unsubstantiated stories, at which point we will hear things like ‘this life’, ‘people are wicked’.

An unsubstantiated claim means a claim or allegation, which could be true or false, because they are not supported by evidence.

I use to be very naive until I became a Presidential spokesman and thus suddenly was the target of unsubstantiated allegations. Some of which are that I stole government money, bought a billion naira house at Asokoro (a highbrow neighbourhood of Abuja), and that Linda Ikeji was my girlfriend, and that I set her up in business.

The main individual behind these smears against me is now enjoying a romance he does not like with Muhammadu Buhari.

As Mark Twain once said, a lie will fly around the whole world while the truth is getting its boots on.

That Meghan and Harry interview, in my opinion, was propaganda by a skilled manipulator. Why do I say this?

Manipulators love crisis, because in crisis situations, they do their best work. And where there is no crisis, they will contrive one, And how do you know a manipulator? You look at their previous relationships.

Meghan has a family. What was her relationship with her own biological father? I do not want to repeat some of the things he said about her, but it is sufficient to say he lives as a broken man.

What about her own sister? She was her own tale of woe about Meghan. And her tales are too sordid, so I will not repeat them.

She was married before. Why did that relationship crash? The man has his own story, but let us give Meghan the benefit of the doubt.

The Sussexes got married on May 19, 2018, and they announced their decision to split from the British Royal Family on January 8, 2020.

So in 18 months, Meghan went through this unbearable hell? Well, it is possible. But when you examine their Oprah interview, their main grouse about the royal family is that they refused to protect them from the media even though the ‘firm‘, as Meghan calls the court of Queen Elizabeth II, protected other members of the royal family.

I schooled in England. And I have been a constant visitor of the UK since I was 12 years old. Any unbiased watcher of the British press knows that the Queen cannot even protect herself from the British media, talk less of protecting others.

The British press has made mockeries, caricatures, and been so mean spirited to the Queen, that she described 1992 as an “annus horribilis”, saying further that “1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure”.

Why did the Queen say that? Because the British press had excoriated her and her family with one contrived or real scandal after the other.

Look at how she had to throw her own son, Prince Andrew, under the bus, last year, over his links with the disgraced Jeffrey Epstein. If she was so powerful, why did she not save Andrew from the British media?

Meghan Markle is older than Prince Harry and more experienced. She knew what she wanted.

Look at how the two of them threw up charges of racism, because someone in the royal family discussed what complexion their baby would be. This may or not have happened. But let us assume it did. To say that her son, Archie, was denied a princely title because of his skin colour is just not true.

Her son was never going to be a Prince, except Prince Charles ascends to the throne. It is not a birthright, as she claimed. She probably was not aware of the 1917 law proclaimed by George V on this issue.

That protocol reads:

“The grandchildren of the sons of any such sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of dukes of this realm.”

What the above means is that only Prince Williams’s children (being the direct male line), are eligible to the title of a Prince.

Personally, I think Meghan married Harry because she thought her children from the marriage would be princes and princesses.

If you ever watched the movie, An Officer and a Gentleman, you would understand Meghan. In that movie, a Naval cadet named Sid had a girlfriend named Lynette, who was pressuring him to marry her. When he would not marry her, she convinced him she was pregnant.

As a result of her pressure, and without telling her, Sid left the Naval academy and went in joy to ask Lynette to marry him. Lynette was horrified that he had dropped out and she said she could not marry him, because she actually wanted to be married to a naval officer. And that was why she targeted him. She also said she was not pregnant.

Stunned, Sid checked into a motel and committed suicide.

Meghan wanted to have a son that would be a prince. Unknown to her, great grandchildren can’t be princes. She did not Google it well. When she found out the true situation, the royalty lost all the attraction it had for her, and the loss of her freedom to speak to the media and act in movies and feature on E online and other gossip TV and websites suddenly did not seem worth it.

So she left, and took her wife with her. Yes, her wife, Prince Harry, AKA Sid.

We have seen it in Nigeria before. A certain celebrity married a certain man, thinking he was the son of a former Nigerian President. She had thought her children would have that name brand, that would make them and her like royalty.

But when she found out that the man was not the son of who she thought he was, and that her son would not have that esteemed title of being the grandchild of a former President, the scales fell off her eyes and the marriage became unbearable.

Look, even if Queen Elizabeth II and her entire family kneel down to greet Meghan Markle each morning, and tremble before her, as long as the Queen does not change that 1917 law that prevents great grandchildren of the monarch (except great grandchildren from the direct male heir to the throne) from becoming prince and princesses, Meghan would still have found a way to accuse them.

She did not know about that law. She schemed, but was blindsided, and caught off guard. In fact, she confessed during the interview that she did not have sufficient knowledge of royal family protocols. She just assumed her children would automatically get the title. And as we all should know, assumption is the mother of frustration.

It is silly for Meghan to say that her son would not be “safe” if he is not made a prince. If safety was her concern, then why has she courted so much publicity since she and her wife decided to split from the royal family.

Princess Eugenie is a grandchild of the Queen, like Prince Harry. She had a son. He did not get a title. Yet he is fully White. Yet, he is safe.

Prince Edward is the Queen’s son. None of his children got titles. He is White and he is safe.

The safety concern, in my opinion, is just a ruse to hide Meghan’s real disappointment.

But, let us assume that everything Meghan said is true. Is it worth destroying the royal family because of her own experience in 18 months of living with them?

It was not necessary to throw them the £32 million pound wedding they had. They had already been married in secret. The marriage was a favour to them from the Queen.

If the Queen was really racist, she would not have had such a wedding for Harry. She did not have that type of wedding for her son, Prince Edward, or for her grandchildren from her other children.

Meghan and Harry did not even spare a thought for what the 94 year old Queen is going through, with her husband of 74 years, Prince Philip, in very poor health and in hospital.

I was sickened to see what people were saying on social media about the Queen, and her husband.

Prince Harry said his father stopped taking his calls, and asked him to put anything he had to say in writing. I would do the same thing too if I had a son who would repeat what I say to him privately in public and misrepresent it. At least if it is in writing, it cannot be denied, and there are limited opportunities to misrepresent a written statement.

Omokri was a Presidential Aide during the President Goodluck Jonathan Government

Imo: Okorocha Backs Down, Wants Peace With Uzodimma |The Source

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Rochas Okorocha

By Charles Igbo

Former Imo State Governor, and Senator representing Imo West, Rochas Okorocha, seem to have backed down from his threats over his seized properties in Imo by the Imo State Government. He is now preaching peace.

“But for what has been done to me, I am human, I can bear it just for the  purpose of peace to reign”, he told State House Correspondents in Abuja on Wednesday, March 10, 2021.

Okorocha had gone to the State House to see Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and even though he told the Correspondents that he went to say hello to the VP, it is believed that his visit was over his feud with Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State.

The very cold relationship between the two, which dates back to the contest for the Imo Governorship election in 2019, and  has been neither here nor there since Uzodinma was sworn-in as Governor, worsened when Uzodimma refused to disband the various Judicial Commissions and Panels of Inquiry into the Okorocha administration which he inherited from former Governor Emeka Ihedioha.

Uzodinma had come under pressure from Okorocha to disband the Commissions and Panels, accusing Ihedioha of witch hunt, but met a brick wall when  Uzodimma insisted they were for the good of the state and refused to disband them, to the anger of Okorocha.

It is the implementation of the Whitepaper paper based on the reports of the Commissions/Panels that has raised the ante of their feud.

A couple of weeks ago, the State Government had sealed and seized a multi-billion Naira Luxury Estate, Royal Palm Apartments & Hotels, belonging to Okorocha’s wife, Nkechi. But to the consternation of most Imolites, Okorocha, along with his sons-in-law, aides and supporters, went and unsealed the Estate, broke the key to the gate in a bid to repossess the property. In a viral video, Okorocha was seen and overheard, along with one of his sons-in-law, commanding his followers to break the keys to the gate, and unseal the property. “I Will sleep inside here today”, he said.

They were confronted by Government officials. Policemen arrived the scene later, and  arrested 15 of them, including Okorocha.

They were, thereafter, detained at the CID section of the Owerri Police Command. The next day, 14 of them were charged to Court. But Okorocha, who was released in the early hours of Monday, due to pressure from above, and alleged ill-health, was supposed to appear in Court, as he promised, by 10.00am, did not show up. Instead, he addressed his supporters at his Owerri residence, castigating  the Governor.

Days before the incident at the Royal PalmEstate, the State Government had, also, recovered the Eastern Palm University, a State approved University, which Okorocha appropriated to himself  insisting that his Foundation  entered into partnership with the State Government over the University.

According to him, his Foundation owns a 90 percent stake, while Imo State Government owns a paltry 10 per cent.

However, the Panel of Inquiry on Lands and Other Related Matters discovered that not only was the University approved for the State, Okorocha allegedly funded its development to the tune of N20 billion Naira, from the State Treasury.

Since the Government began the implementation of the White Paper on one of the Panels – Lands and Other Related Matters, Okorocha has been running helter skelter in a bid to stop its implementation. This magazine gathered that he has been visiting a number  of high profile individuals across the country to put pressure on Uzodinma to stop.

On Wednesday, it was the turn of Vice President Osinbajo to listen to him.

Senator Hope Uzodimma
Governor Hope Uzodimma

Addressing State House Correspondents, later, Okorocha said he wanted peace. But, in another breath, said he was unaware of what he did wrong. He said he was being persecuted. He said his son-in- law won the 2019 Governorship election, but was denied the office. He said he brought his children to invest in the State, instead of investing abroad.

He said he was yet to be told the exact offence he committed.

He said that initially, the State Government had claimed he funded a number of the properties with State funds, but is now saying that he built them on parcels of land meant for the new Government House, and verge area.

He said he was Okorocha before he became Governor, and still remains Okorocha after being Governor. Meaning that he has always been rich.

However, the questions being asked by Imolites, which answers Okorocha did not give State House Correspondents are; What were Okorocha’s wife  children, siblings and sons-in-law doing before he became Governor? How much was each of them worth? From where did they get funds to acquire the hundreds of billions of Naira  worth of properties and solid investments, scattered all over the State, especially in Owerri, the State capital?

How did they manage to acquire all that prime land in  Owerri Municipal and environs?

Dan Nwanyanwu, an Imo son, and Chairman of the Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, in a recent interview said he was shocked to hear Okorocha claiming this other day that he was richer than the State.

Nwanyanwu, former Chairman of  the Labour Party, LP, where Okorocha was, also, a member, said that the former Governor, in the months ieading to the 2011 Governorship election, did not have enough funds to prosecute the election. “He came to me”, Nwanyanwu said, “and said he didn’t have the upto  N10 million Naira with him. He said for that, he would defect to APGA, which already had a structure,” Nwanyanwu’s worry then:

“How did, Okorocha, suddenly acquire so much money to be richer than the state?”

However, Okorocha who told  the Correspondents that he made a sacrifice by becoming a Governor will not reject an intervention for peace  between him and Governor Uzodinma. Asked by the Correspondents if there is a possibility of his party, the APC, intervening since he and the Governor belong to the same party, he said it was his expectation.

He wants peace in the State, he said.

However, a cross section of Imo people say they would not  support any reconciliation that would allow Okorocha get away with his alleged “loot” of the State.

At a recent stakeholders meeting in Owerri, attendees  which cut across every who is who in the State, mandated the Governor to recover every property, every kobo, that belongs to the State, taken away by anybody, no matter how highly placed. And so did Imo Elders, and Traditional Rulers from Orlu Zone, the Zone to which Uzodinma and Okorocha belong.

Warning Uzodinma or anybody who would dare intervene, and ask that an agreement be reached with Okorocha, in order to forgive  him, or leave the “loot” for him, Nwanyanwu said ” Aside from that not being possible, it will be an unforgivable sin against the State and the people of Imo State”

Rivers: Wike Accuses FG Of Shielding Amaechi From Prosecution |The Source

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Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government of shielding the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, from prosecution over misappropriation of proceeds from the sales of some the State’s assets.

The Governor said it is disingenuous for the Federal Government to flag off narrow gauge railway from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri at a time when the rest of the world is building standard gauge railway.

Governor Wike stated this during the commissioning of the 6.1km long, 7.3m wide Omuihuechi-Omuoko-Omokiri link Road in Aluu Ikwerre Local Government Area on Wednesday.

The governor said it is appalling that the Federal Government has continued the shield of Minister of Transportation from prosecution for his inability to account for $308 Million from the sales of the State owned power plant and other critical assets when he was the Governor of Rivers State.

Governor Wike noted that it is because the Federal Government is protecting the Minister that he has consistently made efforts to undermine the State Government by influencing who is to be posted as Commissioner of Police and General Officer Commanding of the Nigerian Army to Rivers State.

“People gave you opportunity. You sold our properties, everything. And people are talking in this State because of the Government that says they are fighting corruption and protecting people. You (Amaechi) sold our property for  $308 Million and kept for us $208,000. That is the kind of people parading themselves in Government, for a Government Government that says they are fighting corruption, shame.”

The Governor urged the people of the State not to be deceived by antics of the APC Government following the flag-off of the narrow gauge rail line from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri. According to him, the project flag-off is politically motivated.

“I heard people came to Rivers State to flag off narrow gauge (rail) when the world is talking of standard gauge. What they are giving Rivers state is narrow gauge because I challenged them,  show us what you have done for the people of the State. So, what they will do is to come and say okay, since you are complaining let us come and give you that narrow gauge.

“Instead of giving us the standard gauge to Maiduguri, and they are making noise about it. Rivers State, the treasure base of the nation, the State that they used their money to produce their President. Towards the end of their administration is when they come and tell us of narrow gauge railway.”

He added: “You want to finish the narrow gauge in 33 months. Will he be in power then? I am going to finish every project I have awarded, this Government will finish it.”

The Governor explained that the proposed University of Transport in Ubima , Rivers State, is deceitful because the Minister of Transportation lacks the capacity to see the project through. According to him: “Since 2015 it is now you want to go to Ubima to build University of Transport.”

Rotimi Amaechi
Rotimi Amaechi

Governor Wike said despite his (Amaechi’s) vehement opposition to his political aspiration to govern the State in 2015 and 2019, he had been elected twice as Governor.

“They said we will not be Governor, we taught them lesson in politics. In 2015, they said over their dead body will we be Governor, I am looking for the dead body. 2019 they said we will not be Governor, that they are in power. I said you are not in power, God is in power. We defeated them. They are small kids in politics.

He further added: “But let me warn the man who thinks he has President , he has Soldiers, he has Police, you should have learnt your lesson by now , that when God has left you, there is nothing you can do again.”

Former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Sir Austin Opara, said at a time when the Federal and State Governments are struggling with COVID 19, Governor Wike has instead been commissioning and flagging off projects across the State.

“Federal Government has relied on the disturbances of COVID 19, states are grappling with inability to pay salaries, you are still commissioning projects,  you are breaking grounds, you are commissioning more projects. Indeed, it gives concern, what is the magic.

“When you started, your critics what they were saying was that even what he is doing, he is just working in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor, you immediately started commissioning projects in Eleme, Tai, Gokana, Khana, Akuku-Toru, Ikwerre, Emohua and many other Local Governments, then they kept quite.”

Opara noted that the announcement that the Rivers State will be building a Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease Centre worth 25 Billion Naira soon is gladdening.

He said in a civilized clime, the Federal Government should have sent a delegation to Rivers State to understudy Governor Wike’s government, to indeed imbibe and learn what is the secret of his success.

“So, indeed I recommend to the APC-led Federal Government to send a high powered delegation to Rivers State to understudy the infrastructural revolution that is taking place in the state.”

Rivers State Commissioner for Works, Elloka Tasie-Amadi, said the Omuihuechi-Omuoko-Omokiri road before the administration of Governor Wike was a well established nightmare for residents and road users.

He explained that the reconstructed road 6.1km long, 7.3m wide road complete with drains on both sides which measure 12.2km .

“This road is of immense benefit to the 3 communities it is named after, it is also of benefit to residents and people of Choba community, it is of benefit to the students and staff of the University of Port Harcourt, it is of benefit to land and home owners in this area. It is of benefit to real estate development within and around Aluu.”

Cross River is Committed to Affordable Universal Healthcare, says Ayade |The Source

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Ben Ayade Healthcare Programme

By Chidi Levi

Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade, Tuesday, reiterated his administration’s commitment to ensuring that all Cross Riverians enjoy quality and affordable healthcare.

He has, therefore, charged the Cross River state Health Insurance Agency, CRSHIA, “to cater to the vulnerables particularly in terms of their healthcare because you must be people centred.”

The Governor spoke at the U.J Esune stadium, Calabar, venue of the  formal flag off of enrollment into the Cross River state Healthcare Insurance Scheme, christened, “Ayadecare”.

He urged the citizenry and corporate organisations to key into the scheme, saying the goal of his administration was to take healthcare to all parts of the state, including the hard to reach areas where drones would be used to distribute drugs.

“As a government, I am conscious of the fact that we have 196 wards. I have a challenge of providing 196 vehicles that will be responsible for the management, movement of men and materials across each ward to ensure that anybody who is sick will have access to the primary health care centre.

“I, therefore, call on all public spirited individuals and corporate organisations to please come to the aid of Cross River, to use Cross River as a model where even the poor, those who have zero income have insurance”, Ayade said

The Cross River state governor stressed that with enrollment into the health Insurance scheme with just N1000, the people of the state can now acces quality health care.

“This  insurance programmes are geared towards those who have no income. So for you to be zero income earner and still have medical attention that can attract the cost of 5 million or 10 million or above, shows the commitment, the will, and the might of kindness of our administration.

“I call on every single resident in Cross River to enrol into the scheme. Go to our primary health care agency or to our main ministry and register,“ he said.

Director-General of CRSHIA, Sir Godwin Iyala in his remarks commended the governor for his foresight and health friendly policies describing the commencement of the  enrollment as “yet another historic milestone in His Excellency’s quest for good health for our people.”

Iyala assured that  CRSHIA’s would be embarking on an aggressive enrollment drive to see that all Cross Riverians are captured in the scheme.

Earlier in his speech the Executive Secretary/CEO of the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS,  Professor Muhammed Nasir Sambo commended the Cross River state government for keying into the NHIS scheme saying the state could now benefit from the grant available to states that have commenced the enrollment.

“We are pleased to report that the scheme has commenced implementation of this statutory assignment with the disbursement of #6.5billion naira to 15 states and the FCT, which fulfilled the requirements for inclusion. I am happy to note that Cross River State, having successfully met the conditions, is today flagging off the commencement of enrollment, which opens a window of succour and new possibilities for the people of this great state”, the NHIS boss said.

Governor Ayade had earlier commissioned a new office for the Cross River Health Insurance Scheme located in State Housing, Calabar

Ondo Assembly Rejects Minimum Wage Bill |The Source

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Ondo Assembly Rejects Minimum Wage Bill

By Ayodele Oni

Ondo state House of Assembly on Wednesday made its stand known on the proposed bill seeking removal of minimum wage from exclusive legislative list by the National Assembly.

The Assembly’s position is coming just as organized labour in the state explained that the proposed bill would lead to enslavement of the entire workforce.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Mr Bamidele Oleyelogun, told protesting members of the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC) that the Assembly would reject a bill seeking the removal of minimum wage from the exclusive legislative list of the nation’s constitution.

The Speaker, while receiving a protest letter from the Labour leaders to kick against the bill being sponsored by a lawmaker at the National Assembly pointed out that the proposed bill is anti labour.

According to Mr Oleyelogun, the wage bill if passed, would further impoverish Nigerians workers, pledging that Ondo State lawmakers would ensure that minimum wage is not put in the concurrent list.

The State Chairman of NLC, Sunday Adeleye-Oluwole and his TUC counterpart, Helen Odofin stated that moving minimum wage to concurrent list would lead to enslavery of Nigerian workers especially state and local government workers.

The Labour leaders pleaded with the state lawmakers to reject the bill if transmitted to ondo state.

Justice Ngwuta’s Demise: A Big Vacuum In The Judiciary – Senator Opeyemi Bamidele |The Source

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Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights  and Legal Matters, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has said that the sudden demise of the Supreme Court Justice, Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta, has created a big vacuum in the nation’s judiciary.

Bamidele, a legal practitioner, representing Ekiti central at the red chamber, pointed out that Justice Ngwuta rising from the cradle of judiciary to the pinnacle of the judicial hierarchy confirmed the sacrifices he made for the  judiciary to garner strength that could  serve as a bulwalk and fulcrum for  the nation’s  fledging democracy .

Justice Ngwuta died on March 7, 2021, at the National Hospital, Abuja, where he was on admission for a week. He died barely 23 days to his 70th birthday and retirement age .

Bemoaning the demise of the quintessential Jurist in his condolence message to the deceased’s family, Bamidele said the nation had with this death missed one of the committed and dependable  members of the bench whose contributions were immeasurable, in that arm of government.

He saluted the industry of the deceased in making the nation’s judiciary a cynosure of all eyes, not only in Africa, but globally.

“The sudden death of Justice Sylvester Ngwuta was a painful one, particularly coming few days to his retirement.

“He was one of the few eggheads of the bench who delivered judgements that served the purpose of humanity and building of a nation free of undue interferences in the administration of justice.

“From a small Law practice, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta began his Law career in 1978 as a State counsel in Benue State Ministry of justice, the same year he established his own law firm. He rose steadily from this point to the Zenith of his career, which he did in the most dignifying fashion

“On October 1995, he was appointed a Judge of the Abia State High Court. On 22 May 2011, he was appointed to the bench of the Nigerian courts of appeal and on May 2013, he was appointed to the bench of the Supreme Court of Nigeria as Justice.

“This death has created a big vacuum  that will be difficult to bridge in the history of the nation’s judiciary.

“I sympathise with President Muhammadu Buhari, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Mohammed, the Ngwuta family and the entire Bench and the Bar on the departure of this judicial Icon.

“May the good Lord grant his soul eternal rest and grant the family and the entire nation  the fortitude to bear the painful loss”.

Gov. Ayade Lashes CRS Federal Lawmakers; “What Have You Done For People?” |The Source

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Akinwale Kasali
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Governor Ben Ayade

By Akinwale Kasali

Professor Ben Ayade, Governor of Cross River State says politicians in the country have no conscience and don’t care about their people.

He disclosed that most Nigerian politicians do not have conscience because they do not love the people, rather they pretend and further impoverish their people due to selfish interests on their parts.

Ayade made this known at the flag-off of enrolment into the State’s Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) in Calabar, the State capital.

He knocked some Federal Lawmakers from the state for taking advantage of the people who voted them into the National Assembly.

The Governor challenged the legislators to show what they have done for the people and not allow the electorates to wallow in poverty.

He said: “After donations of Keke, they pay millions to national television to advertise instead of spending the money for the people.

“Let the politician show us what they have done for the people, stop abusing the poverty of the people, when the election comes you look for something to entice the people. When these people have accident, they don’t have health insurance. Politicians have no conscience. I challenge national assembly members to show the report card of what they have done.

“They never come to Calabar until during elections; the citizens are waiting for you to tell us what they have done.”

Ayade has been having a running battle with some Federal lawmakers from the state over the control of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) structure in the state

Nwodo To FG: Banish Quota System, Go For Merit |The Source

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The National Coordinator, Southern and Middle Belt Leadership Forum and immediate past President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo has said that a restructured Nigeria could be the easiest way to return the country to the basics of value that is needed to make this country great again.

Chief Nwodo’s view was contained in a paper he titled ‘RE-EVALUATION OF AFFRICAN VALUES AND CULTURE IN THE FACE OF THE CRISES OF THE 21ST CENTURY’ delivered at the 4th Chinua Achebe International Conference at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. On Tuesday.

Chief Nwodo noted that the change of our cultural values have traumatized our society and led us to yahoo yahoo, cybercrime, illiteracy, insecurity, electoral dishonesty, lack of accountability, retardation in educational standards and insecurity which can be remedied by going back to basics by restructuring the country.

The former two-time Minister said that the only way we can see a better Nigeria in our life time is to ‘Allow states to determine their educational, social welfare policies and security exclusively as well as ownership of their natural resources whilst paying royalties to the Federal Government for common services”

Chief Nwodo who took a historical look at the destruction of the nation’s socio-political and cultural values noted that the best way out is in the restoration of merits and abandonment of quota system

“All the major industrialized countries of the world thrive on merit. Merit promotes competition, rewards hard work and drives development.  The idea that you can get admission to a Federal Secondary School, a Polytechnic, a University or the Civil Service without excelling in a competitive examination destroys incentive for hard work and discovery of talents”

Chief Nwodo also took a critical look at the nation’s political problems that results in the devaluing and leaving the basics of Operation.

“This is the only country in the world where videos of electoral pooling booths are showed by television stations yet courts hold that the test of proving without reasonable doubt has not been met.

“This is the only country in the world where the defeated will find it difficult to concede because there is usually no compelling reason to do so.

“This is the only country in the world where it can take up to six months or more to conclude an election petition through the judicial process.”

The National Coordinator of South and Middle Belt Forum bemoaned the wrong and inadequate deployment of our youths and women in the political activities.

“As long as our young people take the back seat in politics and prefer to receive handouts from politicians and do their bidding, so long shall our politics be bereft of renascent ideas of the youth.  Our youth are supposed to be the uncontaminated segment of our society, our tabula rasa.  It is from them that we can distill new and uncontaminated ideas of where society should be headed”

He noted that “It was the young men of 30s that fought for the independence of Nigeria.  When Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart he propelled a revolution using his courage, his pen and his youthful zeal for change.  Politics without ideas is like a car without a break”

Nwodo also took a swipe at discrimination against Women particularly in the North noting that by so doing “Nigeria is denying herself of a very productive gender in our generation.”

Nwodo urged the country to accelerate the diversification of skill development amongst our women and their exposure to managerial responsibilities.

“As at 29th November, 2019, 75 countries have appointed or elected women as Head of State and Head of Government since 1950.  These countries include Britain, Germany, Ukraine, Ceylon, Argentina, Srilanka, Iceland, Peru, South Korea, and India”

The former Ohanaeze PG also examined our slow march to agricultural revolution and said that “There is no justification whatsoever to allow cattle grazing that entails herdsmen trekking with numerous cows by foot from Northern Nigeria to very distant parts of the South in search of grasses to feed their cows.  Netherlands has taught us that we can grow grasses anywhere digitally.  The present system is archaic, dangerous to the cows and the herdsmen and inimical to the maintenance of public security.  No reasonable government will allow it to continue”

Access Bank ‘Kills’ Nigeria’s Big Banking Brands

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Bayo Bernard
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By Fola James

The bullish approach of Access Bank Plc in acquiring big banking brands in the country is unequalled, some experts have noted, following reports that the Herbert Wigwe-led bank is planning to acquire businessman Bob Diamond’s 50 per cent shares in Union Bank Plc to become the new owner of the one of the oldest financial institutions in the country.

If the deal succeeds, even though the lender has denied planning to acquire the Emeka Emuwa led bank, analysts say Access bank would be on its way to become one of the biggest banks in the continent, having already acquired Intercontinental and Diamond Banks in the past.

While Aigboje Imoukhuede, the Edo state born banking tsar was the managing director of the bank he shattered pundits after purchasing Intercontinental Bank Plc, a much bigger bank at the time. The deal that brought the Erastus Akingbola bank under the control of Access Bank is still a subject of debate among major stakeholders in the banking industry who have questioned whether, indeed the deal, consummated under the tenure of Lamido Sanusi as Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Governor was made to pass through the needle eye of transparency and due diligence.

This is more so, analysts say, considering that Imoukhuede and Wigwe, Access Bank, two major personalities in the ‘merger’ were biggest debtors of Intercontinental Bank Plc, to the tune of over N16 billion. Their failure to pay back the loan, obtained through United Alliance Company, co-owned by the duo was cited by the CBN as one of the reasons for clamping down on the defunct Bank. The loan had a 36 months moratorium payment plan which the debtors failed to honour.

Herbert Wigwe - Access Bank MD arrested by EFCC
Wigwe: Access Bank MD

For instance, on August 18, 2009 the apex bank as part of efforts to rein in financial recklessness in the banking sector published an advertorial, categorizing Aig-Imokhuede’s United Alliance Company’s loan from Intercontinental Bank as a “non-performing” loan. The CBN noted that Wigwe and Aig-Imoukhuede’s debts were some of the largest loans that led to the collapse of the bank.

Now that the rumour mill has been agog of behind the scene moves by Access Bank to acquire Union Bank, many questions are being asked in the sector of what will likely be the fallouts should the parties agree to a deal.

The report that the two parties are considering a possible deal first emerged, two years ago with anxiety in the sector of grave implications for the industry, considering the massive job losses that normally follow such acquisition. Those in this school of thought may actually have a point, according to keen watchers in the sector, who cited the problems that followed Diamond Bank Plc acquisition in 2019.

Bob Diamond
Diamond: Willing To Sell Shares In Union Bank .

Following the acquisition, Access bank systematically embarked on massive staff lay off, the most recent, being the sack, last year, of over 1500 employees, which the managing director of the bank said was necessary to keep the bank in business.  The bank had earlier cut staff salary as part of in house restructuring.Wigwe laid the foundation for the mass sack of workers when he said “We probably don’t need as many security men as required, even to the fact that we are not going to have all our branches open between now and December. We don’t need all the tea girls. We don’t need all the cleaners. We don’t need all the tellers etcetera, etcetera,

“The second has to do with our professional cost. Now that is one that is very tricky and it is tricky because I do understand and appreciate that its gonna, you know, bring its own pain to staff. We basically have to make the adjustments the same way you sounded when we spoke 10 days ago with respect to basically cutting down cost.

“I will be the first to take the hit and I’m gonna take the largest pay cut, which would be as much as 40 percent. The rest we would have to cascade right through the institution. Everybody may have to make some adjustments of some sort”

Recall that not long after Access Bank acquired the Akingbola-led Intercontinental Bank Plc in 2011, it  terminated the employment of about 1, 500 employees of the now defunct Bank, aside closing down some branches of the Bank nationwide.

Aig Imoukhuede
Aig Imoukhuede: Acquired Intercontinental Bank

But what constitutes grave concern to players in the industry, however, is how a relatively small bank like Access managed to subsume two big banks in less than six years with the third in the pipeline if everything falls in place with the acquisition of Union Bank.

Contrary to the banks position, sources have informed the magazine that its management is currently in talks with Atlas Mara aimed at finalizing a deal, which will bring Union Bank under Access management control. Atlas Mara is owned by Bob Diamond, who many say ran into financial storm last year, following the corona virus pandemic headwinds. The businessman, according to sources, is willing to sell his business interests in some blue chip companies to mitigate his financial problems. The firm has recently sold interests in Tanzanian and Rwanda to KCB Group Plc of Kenya, the same sources say.

Union Bank had earlier in 2019 denied having any acquisition talks with Access Bank. “Our attention has been drawn to a blog post on the aforementioned site (and circulating on social media) positing that Access Bank is in talks to acquire Union Bank. As the post itself states, the unfounded report is based on ‘mere rumours and speculation’. The Nigerian Stock Exchange, other regulatory agencies and members of the public are advised to disregard the publication in its entirety,” the bank said.

That is two years ago, as the bank has yet to issue another rebuttal since the acquisition ‘rumour’ gained momentum sometimes last month, with many keen watchers in the sector now saying that the talks between the two parties are already in ‘advance stage’ .

If the Union Bank deal sails successfully, analysts insist that Access Bank would become the only Nigerian bank to make three successful acquisitions in six years, an impossible feat for many top global banking brands.

Ex-Governor, Lamido Says APC Has No Vision, Praises Governor Wike |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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By Akinwale Kasali

Former Jigawa Governor, Sule Lamido, has come hard on the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, over the State of the Nation.

The former Presidential aspirant on the platform of opposition Party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said the APC has no vision.

Speaking at the inauguration of Rumuji, Ibaa, Obelle Isokpo road in Emouha Local Government Area of Rivers State, Lamido described the APC as an assemblage of persons moved by anger, envy and malice.

He said the remodelling of airports, rehabilitation of railway and reforms that the current administration is boasting of are all initiatives of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“When APC came on board, they had no programme. They had no plan; the only agenda they had was to flush out PDP from government because we were performing; because we were organised, because we were committed, because we are compassionate and very humane,” he said.

“They (APC) can’t think. They have no vision, they have no feeling, they have no compassion, they are there for the power and the power is there tormenting them, because the power has been abused.”

Lamido showered encomium on Wike for his giant strides in moving Rivers State forward and his performance which he tagged brilliant for sterling since he mount the saddle as the Governor of the State.

Earlier, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, explained that his development programme is implemented to create a conducive environment that offers Rivers people more opportunities to actualise their potentials.

Wike said the Rumuji -Ibaa-Obelle -Isiopko Road has been used as a campaign tool by politicians who failed to fulfil such promise when elections were over.

“I’m sure, all those from Isiopko, Obele, Ibaa and Rumuji, will look back and reflect on how this road was. Do not forget it easily.

“Today, all of us can come back home. All of us can go to the market. We can all drive freely; those from Isiopko can pass through and go to Emohua. Those from Rumuji and all of you can pass through and go to the airport.

“This is what development is all about. Development is not about giving you money. It is all about making the environment conducive for economic activities to thrive.

“There is no way government can share money to everybody. But it has a duty to make the environment conducive for you to work and find food to eat. I’m sure when this road was going on, most of you were employed and made some money, and supported members of your families. I am grateful to God for the grace of life and resources to execute this project.”

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