Super Eagles striker, Odion Jude Ighalo, has taken responsibilities for the ouster of the Super Eagles from the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Just like Yakubu Aiyegbeni eight years ago in South Africa when he missed a begging opportunity against South Korea to send the Super Eagles out of the mundial, so was the case of Changyang Yatai forward, Ighalo, who lost a sitter against the Argentine team, which could have changed the dynamics of the game and send the Nigerians into the round of 16.
According to The Cable, Ighalo said, “I take responsibility for this game because if I had taken those chances I had, that would have made it a different ball game now.”
“I missed a couple of chances that would have finished the game but that’s football because sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.”
Nigeria lost 2:1 to Argentina which means, the country is out of the 2018 World Cup.
Meanwhile, Nigerian Twitter has been awash with a lot of criticisms directed at him and his teammate, Kelechi Iheanacho.
Dr Kennis Ebirim, a family physician with the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, has been confirmed dead after watching Tuesday’s 2018 World Cup match between Nigeria and Argentina.
Family members, colleagues and neighbours confirmed the death of Ebirim to the News Agency of Nigeria at his residence in Owerri.
The deceased was reported to have slumped and rushed to hospital after Nigeria crashed out of the world football tournament.
Dr Chikere Ebirim, a lecturer in the Department of Public Health, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, and younger brother to the deceased, expressed shock over the development.
He said: “We were together on Sunday with my dad. He used to have cases of heart attack but he was also on medication.
“This is so shocking because he was sound in health when he left Owerri on Monday morning for Abakaliki where he works.”
Dr Hyacinth Emele, the immediate past Chairman, Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Imo state branch, also confirmed the incident to NAN, describing it as a heavy blow to the association.
“The NMA in Imo and indeed in Nigeria is in deep shock. This is a heavy blow. More than just a colleague, he was a brother, one who could never hurt a fly,” he said.
On the possible cause of the doctor’s death, Emele said: “Dr Ebirim has been a hypertensive patient who has also been on medication.
“What happened to him is what we call sudden death syndrome which most times are caused by a cardiac arrest.
“As a patriotic Nigerian who is passionate about his country just like many of us including me, it is possible the outcome of that match may have triggered the confusion in his system, causing him to slump.
“I think an autopsy will reveal what exactly transpired in his system. When that is done, the exact cause of death will be made known to the public.”
Sgt. Michael Attah, the Chief Security Officer, Heartland Estate, Owerri, where the doctor lived with his family until his death, said the management of the estate confirmed the incident on Wednesday.
“We thought it was a joke until we confirmed it on Wednesday. We feel sad because he was someone we trusted with the position of treasurer in the estate,” he said.
Ebirim is survived by his father, wife, four children and relations.
In another development, Former Nigerian captain Austin Okocha has attributed the Super Eagles’ early exit at the 2018 World Cup to inexperience.
The Eagles lost to Argentina 2-1 in their last group match on Tuesday to exit the tournament.
A lack-lustre Argentina team advanced to the knockout stages after Lionel Messi and Marcos Rojo scored either side of a Victor Moses’ converted spot kick.
Okocha, who was a guest analyst on Supersport during the game, said the Eagles panicked in the first half and came back in the second half of the match but failed to convert their chances before the Argentines scored the winner.
The former Bolton Wanderers’ captain said, “(Francis) Uzoho kept us in the game with the saves he made in the second half. We panicked in the first half but the players fought back in the second.
“It was going to be tough for us and it lived up to that and it went to the last three minutes, but I think we have to look at the bigger picture. For most of these players it was the first time.
“The penalty was a gift from Mascherano but then I thought we started the second half better. We got ourselves in better places. It was a fantastic penalty from Moses but I think we should have put Argentina under more pressure.
“There was a foul on (Kelechi) Iheanacho in the first half but it was not awarded because nobody appealed to the referee. They didn’t put the referee under pressure. The defender raised his foot too high to clear the ball and hit Iheanacho on the head. For the second one, it was unfortunate that the referee didn’t award it despite consulting the VAR and Rojo got away with that one.”
Residents of Isasi Community located within the Iyana Isasi axis, along the Lagos Badagry Expressway, appears to be living in fear that themember of the Operations and Lagos Roving team of the Federal Operations Unit, FOU, Zone A, Ikeja headed by Riks Lura, a Chief Superintendent of Customs, may invade the area at any time because of the rumour making the rounds that waterways rice smugglers are living in their midst .
The fear became more pronounced late last May when information leaked out that much of the foreign parboiled rice sold in the Lagos market and its environs were smuggled through Isasi Community waterside by smugglers using locally made boats .
Sources confirmed that there is hardly a week one or two local boats loaded with foreign parboiled rice from Republic of Benin could not berth to discharge its load at at the Isasi waterside and evacuated with smaller vehicles to a warehouse within the Community.
Investigation by the Magazine shows that Commercial bus drivers plying the Mile 2 and Iyana Oba route who may have discovered the big rice market in the area deliberately maneuver their way to pass through the Community and burst out tat the Iyana Isasi bus stop along the Lagos -Badagry Expressway to continue their journey to Mile2, the last bus stop.
The Magazine boarded one of the buses from Iyana Oba which passed through the area recently and found scores of wheel barrow pushers carrying 50 kg bags of foreign parboiled rice to designated shops Customer within the area or or the bus stop and loaded neatly into buses going to different parts of Lagos. A passenger remarked that there is no dull moment in the Community as there are always businesses to do ranging from being informansts to smugglers about the movement of Customs personnel in the area , internal security, carrying of bags of rice in wheel barrows to evacuating smuggled rice loaded in berthed boats from the waterside.
Many believe that the waterways smugglers may have resorted to the use of the Isasi waterside and other less busy ones because Yekeme Creek, Choki Creek, Ijofins Creek, Aseke Creek market waterside, Badagry waterside, Alaba market waterside, Zamare waterfront, Ere waterways,Wekan axis to Idiroko waterfront which spread across the south west geo-political region were well known to Sarki-Kebbi, the Comptroller Western Marine Command, WMC, and his patrol team officers.
The inability of the Customs Amphibious Command to effectively police the Lagos and Ogun waterways in particular , and the southwest in general, may have provided ammunition for Muhammed Uba Garba led FOU, Zone A, Operations and Lagos Roving team to fully step in to checkmate the activities of the smugglers in Lagos and Ogun states in the recent time. The Customs Command Operations and Lagos Roving team which may have effectively taken full control of the land border areas and the major roads , including the major bush paths used by thesmugglers in the region may have forced rice smugglers in the region to abandon moving their smuggled goods from the French speaking country of Republic of Benin through the road or bush paths but to the Creek market watersides spread across the region.
As a prelude to the recent Isasi waterside operation in Lagos, Riks and his team members were said to have laid ambush in the area for about eight days. He was said to have entered Isasi Community waterside on the zero hour on Monday, June 25, 2018 when he got signal from the informants that the coast was clear to strike. He may have led the team on the operation, because of the notoriety of the youths of the area who were said to be on the pay roll of the smugglers in order to give them protection from intruders.
Maritime observers who had been following FOU, Zone A, operations in the recent time disclosed that the Isasi operation was not much different from the previous Ere waterside market operation in Ado Od Otta local government Area of Ogun state where thesmugglers were dispossessed of thousands of ”50” kg bags of foreign parboiled rice by the Ricks led team when he was in the state as the FOU, Zone A, officer in-charge of the Idiroko axis.
An eye witness account disclosed that the Customs operation team had arrived at the nick of time at the Isasi Community waterside where the five locally paddled boats carrying a total of 815 bags of 50kg Thailand parboiled rice and other Contrabandgoods had discharged, in readiness to pushed it into the Nigeria market.
Customs Seized Boats Loaded With Rice
John Chukwu, a trader and resident of the Community who witnessed the Customs operation told the Magazine that it was a good thing that the youths of the area did not block the road against the Customs team from leaving with their impounded rice as it could have been very bloody. Chukwu confirmed that the fierce looking officers who were armed to the teeth were waiting for orders from Riks , their leader, to clear the road if there is any blockade or resistance from the smugglers. But the team leader was operating with caution. This is because of the standing order from the Comptroller to avoid shedding of blood no matter the provocation from the people.
The Isasi resident confirmed that the Customs team had evacuated the smuggled rice from the Community waterside site, and took over control of the five alleged boats carrying the foreign parboiled smuggled rice without any exchange of bullets with the smugglers. A visibly shaken Chukwu said he lost control when he heard the sound of an AK 47 gun shot into the air by the Customs personnel to scare away people who might want to foment trouble from the area.
Advising other Customs patrol teams across the country to take a cue from Riks, who led the team that made the rice seizures at Isasi Community and successfully transferred the items to the Command warehouse at Ikeja without resistance, noting that it is the only way that Customs personnel could earn their respect from the public.
It would be recalled that between Thursday, June 7, and Saturday, June 9, 2018, Riks on the instructions of Muhammed, the Area Comptroller had also led a team which impounded two barges loaded with about 800 bags of 50kg Thailand parboiled rice from Republic of Benin at Oyigbo waterside, Lagos Mainland Local government Area.
The smugglers were said to be heading to a Creek in Ondo state to discharge the items where scores of customers from different parts of the state and Edo, were said to be anxiously waiting for them.
The Oyigbo operation may have convinced Muhammed, the Comptroller of the FOU, Zone A, Command to be on the look -out for more of such cases of discharging of smuggled rice at a waterside market within Lagos and Ogun states.
Maritime analysts believe that the Sarki-Kebbi led Western Marine Command may not have cliped the wings of smugglers using the waterways within its area of jurisdiction because of lack of functional Crafts to patrol the Creeks. A visitor to the Command would be surprised at the number of broken down Crafts at the premises waterside, begging to be repaired.
It was learnt that Hameed Ali, a retired Colonel and Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, had made several promises of re-equipping the Command and the Port Harcourt based Eastern marine Command with functional crafts but that was how far he could go. There are fears in Customs circles that Ali may not be able to fulfill his promises to the two Amphibious Commands before his removal from office because of his involvement in President Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation.
He was said to have been appointed a Director in the Buhari Campaign Organisation which may give him little or no time to attend to Customs official matters. This may have left the officials of the FOU, Zone A, with much job to do to assist the Western Marine Command in policing the watersides in Lagos and other parts of the south west geo-political region, which had yielded results in the recent time with the seizures made by the Command.
Two weeks ago the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS held a press conference in Abuja, since then the convener of the parley who’s also the spokesman of the Service, Joseph Attah, a deputy controller of customs has been expressing his frustration discreetly with the current management of the service, led by Hameed Ali over failure to provide logistic for him to perform his duty as the image maker of the NCS.
What happened? Attah had approached the CG to approve funds for logistics to carry out the event. He was shocked when his boss told him that no funds were available. In order to protect the image of the service, Attah had to seek fund elsewhere.
Some officers close to Attah told the magazine that he has not been finding it easy working under the current CG. “Attah served as the 2/ic to former image maker, Wale Adeniyi, so he’s an experience hand. But working under this CG has been extremely difficult, but he cannot complain openly because of the rule guiding the service,” a source at Customs Headquarters, Abuja told the magazine last week.
The Public Relations Department is not the only unit threatened by the ongoing crisis of confidence between the CG and top echelon of the service. Sources in the service disclosed that top officers from the ranks of DCGs, ACGs and comptrollers of customs are not happy with the management style of Ali.
The situation has become so bad that sources close to the CG told the magazine that some senior officers in the service have threatened to leave the service if something is not done quickly to remedy the situation.
Top officers from the ranks of ACGs and comptrollers who spoke with the magazine disclosed that it has not been easy working with the CG. An officer from Katsina state said the CG’s failure to allow them free hand to do their job is having a toll on the operation of those of them on the field.
He said the situation has made it impossible for them to generate revenue for the federal government. He explained that the focus on seizure rather than trade, is not only robbing the federal government of revenue, but that many businesses are dying because of it.
He said the CG is not listening despite their efforts to impress it on him to be flexible. He said it was not like this under previous comptroller generals of customs.
“Take for instance, the seizure of goods going on across customs formations in the country. This is not how to run the economy. If you seize goods belonging to one businessman, not once or twice, what you are telling him is to close shop. How then do you expect to create jobs and move the economy further,” the source said.
Recently, the Lagos state government warned the Federal Operations Unit, Zone A, Ikeja to stop parking seized containers loaded vehicles on the road. Sources from the Lagos state ministry of transport told the magazine that many road users have complained to the state government, how the illegal parking is affecting free flow of traffic in and around Ikeja.
But insiders in FOU unit however told the magazine that nothing can be done about the issue. According to officers who spoke in confidence because they have no permission to comment on the matter, parking seized items on the road is the only option available for now.
The Customs warehouse close to the NCS training school is said to have filled up, leaving no room for new seizures. “The only way to create space is to auction some of the seized goods to members of the public, but as it seems those in Abuja appears not disposed to such,” one superintendent of customs from the unit told the magazine.
He explained that the efforts of Comptroller Muhammed Uba Garba, the head of the unit to find solution to the problem has not yielded any result. The source disclosed that the controller has written his boss in Abuja, requesting that some of the seized goods be auctioned or returned to owners at agreed price. But “nothing has been done,” he said.
An ACG (name withheld} at the headquarters in Abuja told the magazine that a memo sent to the CG by FOU has been received, but that the CG has issued ‘keep in view’ directive on the issue.
According to the ACG “the controller wrote in the memo that the unit be allowed to auction at least seven containers or trucks to the public so that space can be created in the warehouse.”
Recall that the Customs warehouse in Ikeja recently caught fire with goods worth millions destroyed in the blaze.
The situation is not different in all customs’ warehouse across the country.
The Senate Committee on Customs led by Senator Hope Uzodinma had during a visit to the warehouse flayed the Ali-led customs over the situation in the warehouse. The senate said it’s better to return the goods to the owners, better still auctioned rather than allowed it to be destroyed.
Sources in NCS told the magazine that the feeling among top echelon in NCS resonates with that of the Senate that the seized goods be auctioned to generate funds for the federal government.
“There are many seized state of the art vehicles kept in the warehouse. The owners can be issued demand notice, DN so that they can take possession of their goods. What is the gain to the government if the vehicles are destroyed,” said the ACG.
As it is, the CG is believed to be ignoring his subordinates who he believes are corrupt and therefore cannot offer useful advice.
“The CG is like an outsider in the service. In fact many of his top officers working with him see him as an interloper who’s not qualified for the position he’s currently occupying. The situation would have been better if he listens to these DCGs and ACGs who have in-depth knowledge of how customs work,” one controller recently redeployed from Lagos to headquarters told the magazine.
“The CG knows what’s happening, that what exists in the NCS now is like the proverbial peace of the grave yard. Even though those working closely with him are not happy they are not allowed by law to say so openly,’ the source further said.
The magazine learned that head will soon roll in the service because the CG feels that some top echelon of the service is working at cross purposes with his agenda to change the service.
It was learned some DCGs and ACGs will soon be retired” so that fresh blood that believe in the CG’s vision for the NCS can be injected into the decision making body of the customs,” a close aide if the CG told the magazine yesterday.
The source said that some controllers will also be redeployed in the new arrangement “to give the service a new lease of life,” according to the source.
But in spite of the complaints, some analysts told the magazine that what’s going on in the service is like the thespian battle of light and darkness. The feeling among this line of thought is that some top officers in the service are inadvertently working to frustrate the effort of the CG to exterminate corruption from the NCS. But it doesn’t seem like it.
Efforts by the magazine to get the reaction of the NCS image maker, Joseph Attah on the issue was unsuccessful as telephone calls made to his line were not answered and text messages sent to him were not replied.
The Presidential ambition of Buhari, geared towards his second term is fast turning into a do or die affair between him and the four musketeers bent on seeing his back out of Aso Rock come 2019. The four retired generals are his former boss, Olusegun Obasanjo, former Chief of Army staff, Theophilus Danjuma, his former Junior officer who overthrew him, Ibrahim Babangida and Babangida’s Boy and beneficiary of the death of Sanni Abacha, Abdulsalami Abubakar. It appears that the generals have gone back to the trenches to unseat him.
Despite their differences in ranking-in the army seniority is everything-these were jolly good friends when the going was still good. Old pictures of them playing draught together has been circulating for a while, and it appears that they are not yet done with their games.
There appears to be a tacit agreement that retired military officers should stick together and always present their own as presidential candidates even in a democratic dispensation.
Since the end of the Civil war, there has only been one coup d’etat in the country-the Dimka coup. Others were changes of guards to maintain the new elite and power brokers in power. The next brake was the June 12 election, won by a military ally, Moshood Abiola, who was known to have had a hand in almost all post civil war change of government, and had benefited immensely from the fallouts. Thus it was common knowledge that humongous amounts of money-generally pegged at N45 billion when the exchange rate was $1 to 67 kobo-was owed him by the Nigerian government via the notorious International Telephone and Telecommunications, ITT, contract awards. The controversy surrounding the contract was what prompted Fella to sing his infamous International Thief -Thief song. The heat generated by the annulment of his election by Ibrahim Babangida brought back Obasanjo to pwer as a civilian president. On leaving the stage, he installed the brother to one of their fallen compatriots, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua as Civilian president, and he was followed by Good luck Jonathan, one that destiny thrust back on Nigeria from the backyard.
It became imperative to remove him, and they all went back to their constituency and supported Muhammadu buhari. But it became glaring that he was repeating history in a retrogressive sort of way by reviving all the reasons that made his colleagues throw him out in 1985. After initial support and making all efforts to prop up his regime, they became fed up and decided to take up arms-in a manner of speaking-against him.
There is no gainsaying that these retired officers still have loyalists within the army, and are in contact with them. This was apparently foreseen by Buhari, who took precaution by putting relatives in security position-the greatest insurance against betrayal. The first salvo was fired by Obasanjo, who maintained his hurricane move to unseat him through a democratic process. Danjuma outburst that the Buhari Army is complicit in the killings of people of middle belt was a jolt to Buhari, and thai magazine was reliably informed that he had to seek a private audience to tell Danjuma to publicly revoke his statement but Danjuma refused. Instead, he took off with Tarraba governor to the United states to address the government of America on the genocide being perpetuated against Christians by the Buhari government. This has forced him-Buhari-to go back to Asiwaju Tinubu, a man he used and dumped, with mouth watering promises-a situation analysts believe did not impress Tinubu, who had to accept the terms because he knew the consequences of unleashing security agencies on him.
The statge was now set for Obasanjo to be first demonized and then humiliated. Buhari immediately dangled corruption charges before him, resurrecting the power contracts under Obasanjo. But he realised he will not go far, since he worked under Obasanjo, who is known to be a meticulous record keeper, and may bring about more damaging facts on him. They were all partners in crime, so to say. Obasanjo immediately capitalized on it to cry persecution, and that he is penciled for elimination.
In his determination to unseat Buhari, Obasanjo started what is generally known as the third force, which seems to have little impact on the polity. He also has his old school mate and pre eminent rival, professor Wole Soyinka, to contend with. But he is undaunted. He had to swallow his pride and went for personal reconciliation with a PDP chieftain, Bode George. He fell out with Bode George in the circumstances that resulted in the later going to Prison. He has been consulting with Yoruba leaders, with the belief that he will break the south west votes that will eventually kill Buhari ambition.
Like a warlord that he is, Babangida appears to have been working behind the scene.
With the scenario on ground, the APC convention was not only marred by violence, but was also followed by the Plateau Massacre. Buhari insisted it is political, which may not be altogether wrong, though the Mietta Allah claims responsibility.
More facts have emerged how Adams Oshiomhole, a former labour activist and a lso a former governor of Edo state, from the south-south geo-political region emerged as the National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, APC, at the last Saturday, June 23, 2018, National Convention of the party at Abuja.
There was the initial speculation that it would be an uphill task for Oshiomhole to be elected the national chairman of the party because John Odgie-Oyegun, the former national chairman of the party had a close working relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari and could be re-elected.
Unknown to many, Buhari had lost interest on Oyegun due to pressures from party quarters , particular, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos state and national leader of the party who prefer Oshiomhole to be the party National Chairman because of his ruggedness and ability to mobilize support for the party during election period.
Insiders told the Magazine that it took the President time to make up his mind on who to support between the two Edo state indigene: Odigie Oyegun and Oshiomhole and who incidentally were former governors of the state.
Unknown to many , Buhari’s sudden change of mind to toe the line of thinking of Tinubu, the party national leader was made explicit when he went on a state visit to Edo state on November 7, 2016 where he had opportunity of holding a close- door meeting with Ewuare II, the Oba of Benin and Oshiomhole . He was said to have told the Benin monarch of his plan for Oshiomhole when his tenure expires on November 12, 2016.
The President was said to have told the revered Benin traditional ruler that ”Nigeria will be the loser if APC failed to utilize the ”peoples’, governor wisdom, skill and energy” at the national level . He was said to have declared that it will be a pity to waste Oshiomhole’s energy by him retiring from politics to go into private life. ” I, think there is a higher assignment for him to do more for the nation.”
The former Edo state governor may have had in mind that he is most likely going to be made a member of the President’s kitchen Cabinet by occupying one of the prominent positions in the government. His mindset according to a source was to become the Secretary to the Federal government, a position occupied by the then Adamawa state born Babachair David Lawal.
He got it wrong. When the position became vacant with the sacking of the Babachir, the former SFG, over his alleged involvement in a N270 million Contract scandal at the Internally Displ aced Persons, IDP, Camp, Buhari appointed Boss Gida Mustapha, a former Managing Director of Inland Waterways and a close family relation to Babachir from Adamawa state as a replacement.
In spite of the Presidential decision to appoint Mustapha to replace Babachir, the sacked SFG, the President still had in mind that the former Edo governor ”deserves a place in history.” Insiders told The Source that Buhari became convinced that Oshiomhole could effectively function as the party national Chairman because of his outstanding peformance in the state despite being surrounded by leaders of the oppositionPeople’s Democratic Party, PDP, in the south south, including the then President Goodluck Jonathan.
Moreso, the state had paraded the strongest PDP Chieftains in the country ,led by Tony Anenih, a former Commissioner of Police and the thenChairman, Board of Trustees, BOT of the party, regarded as Mr. Fix it in political circles. The President , a source said was enthused how the former labor activists used his foot soldiers including the likes of Comrade Philip Shuaibu, the Present Deputy governor of the state to dismantle the Anenih political machine in and forced him into unplanned political retirement to his country home at Uromi.It is not surprising why Buhari became endeared to him that when his name cropped up to be the next national Chairman of the party, he did not hesitate to support him. ” I hope APC will look for a place for you because your services for the country is far from being over”, Buhari had said.
Many believe that Buhari may have bowed to pressures from Tinubu and other powerful forces within the party to prepare the ground for his own endorsement as the Party Presidential Candidatein the 2019 general election at the party national Convention.
Tinubu, the APC national leader believes that with Oshiomhole as the Party national Chairman, Buhari’s endorsement as the Party flag bear for the 2019 general election would be a foregone conclusion. This is because he would work according to the party’s mandate to fight for his endorsement at the party Convention without rancor.
The fallout was the recent meeting between him and the governors of the APC controlled states at the First Lady Conference room at the Presidential lodge to solicit their support for the emergence of Oshiomhole,the former Edo state governor as the national Chairman of the party instead of Oyegun, the former national chairman who was optimistic that he would be re-elected because of his close working relationship with Buhari.
The meeting, a source told the Magazine facilitated the drawing up of a Unity List a team that would pilot the affairs of the party for the next four years and facilitate its victory in the 2019 general elections. The endorsement of the Unity List by the governors may have dawned on Oyegun that he has lost out in the power game in the party to those opposed to him.
With the election of Oshiomhole as the national Chairman of the party, Tinubu , the national leader of has told those that care to listen that Buhari is a Candidate to beat in the 2019 Presidential elections.
The recent All Progressives Congress, APC, convention which was marred by violence while the president, Mohammadu Buhari, and National Leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, were giving their address, has become a pointer to what will be in 2019 elections. The conventions, held at Eagle square Abuja, was covered by massive deployments of security forces. But this did not prevent the violence that was unleashed at the venue while the security agencies looked on. At a stage, the media was shut out and National radio and Television stations were ordered to suspend live broadcasts to prevent the embarrassment resulting in the live broadcasts of the show of shame.
But perhaps the most poignant fact was the fact that the nPDP, which embodied former PDP members that decamped from PDP to APC in the wake of the 2015 presidential election that resulted in a swing vote for the current ruling party, and which, once again wants to decamp out of the APC again, has been shown to have become like children crying for their parents attention. President Buhari has refused to personally negotiate with them, and has always detailed vice President Yomi Osinbajo, to do the interface with them. This was due to the fact that he has been advised that their threat has become ineffectual for one basic reason: their decamping will be counterproductive to them because they will automatically lose influence. “By leaving PDP in the first place, they gambled away the political structure they built within the party without rely building new structures within their new enclaves. That was the main reason for their marginalization in their new party. Their moving back again to PDP, for example, will be counterproductive because their positions of influence has been taken over by new kids in the block”, said and ZAPC Chieftain to this Magazine last week. he also cited that fact that the Senate president, Bukola Saraki had to rely on the structure still held by the current deputy president of the senate, Ike Ekweremmadu, to perfect the coup that brought him to power in the Senate.
His presidential ambition, which he has never hidden, has become a source of concern for the presidency, who have done so much to neutralize him. In recent times, sponsored research into his business deals went viral on social media. The police has allegedly been used to harass him and he had tried to use his influence at the National Assembly to his advantage. But his decamping back to PDP will not spell well for him, even though he still has all political structures in Kwara state under his control. This the Federal might has tried to break through their major alignments through the police investigations, and, according to sources, the speech goof of the Inspector general of Police in Kano, which was allegedly doctored by political forces against him to make him look bad and incompetent, emanated from the Saraki camp.
The foreclosure of the presidency to president Buhari has put many of them into quandry.The first to move out was the serial decamper, Atiku Abubakar, who left for PDP. But it is becoming clearer that he may never get the ticket as the Presidential flag bearer of the party, particularly as the Former party chairman of the PDP, Ahmed Makarfi, has announced his interest. This allegedly made Atiku angry, and he was reported to have quipped: “They want to use my money to sponsor Markarfi for the Presidency.” He was last week paid a Nichodemous visit by former Kano state governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, whose structure has been weakened by the current Kano state governor, Umar Ganduje, and he has been one of those with presidential ambition marooned in the APC.
When Ebere Chijoke, a graduate of Sociology , was discharged after the compulsory one year Nigeria Youth Service Corp, NYSC, programme, in 2015, she got a teaching appointment in a private secondary school in Lagos but turned it down.
Ebere major reason of turning it down was because of her interest in Customs job. She told a friend: I like uniform job, particular Customs. She was further encouraged to search for appointment in Customs when she saw a school friend who had secured a job in the Service, in 2015, through a family friend as a senior officer. The friend was said to have promised to help him secure a place in the revenue generating agency as an insider, if she could be patient without being in hurry or seeing the Customs job as a do or die affair. She made her to know that she is still young and good for job placement in Customs. As at then she was over 25 years old. But the age bracket for new officer or Customs Inspectors recruimentt in the Service was between18 and 35 years.
Given her desperate desire to secure a job placement in the NCS or nothing, she resorted to checking the Customs website daily to know when the ban on recruitment would be lifted in order to apply . She was lucky as she saw one of such online advertisement about Customs recruitment in 2017 with a payment of non refundable deposit of five thousand naira application fee in a private bank account and other subsequent payments which run into thousands of naira if given a place in Customs. Ms. Chijoke fell for it but it turned out that they were scammers. She was not alone. There were so many other desperate job seekers who fell into the hand of the scammers across the country.
Many had expected Chijoke to learn her lesson from the scammers tricks to dupe desperate Customs job seekers. hShe never did as she still fell victim to them recently. tThis time she was fleeced of over N500,000.00, with an advice to always check on a fake Customs web which was given to her to know when the result of the shortlisted Candidates would be released. A Clergy man from Cross river state who was desperate to find a Customs job fora niece using his contacts both within and outside the Customs also fell victim to the antics of the scammers.
The Customs job racketeers, were said to be using the name of popular Customs officers, both serving and retired to perpetuate the fraud. The activities of the scammers was said to have become so pronounced in the recent time that Joseph Attah, a Deputy Comptroller and the Customs Spokesman at the instance of Hameed Ali, a retired Colonel and the Comptroller General issued a disclaimer to the alleged recruitment exercise in Customs this year.
A Customs Computer Center
Attah was said to have made it clear to those that care to listen that there is no planned ” mass recruitment exercise in Customs” for now, urging desperate job seekers to be careful how they patronise scammers who hack into Customs website to create the fake ”wwwcustomsrecruit.com.ng/vacancy.pdf” to deceive and extort money from victims.
An aggrieved Attah revealed that on a daily basis, the Customs Headquarters had continued to receive ”complaints from victims of these fraudsters who had been” duped of various amounts running into millions of naira”’.
The Customs Deputy Comptroller, who is acting on the mandate of Ali, the Comptroller General, confirmed that the ”fraudsters on prowl” across the country duping unsuspecting desperate job seekers”. He was said to have assured Nigerians that the ”legal recruitment into the Service will be made public through various advert placement in national Newspapers and the electronic media. He further said that it would be published extensively on the Customs official website:www.customs.gov.nig and its official facebook page:www.facebook.com/customsng.
For avoidance of doubt, he said the” Customs application form for recruitment into the various cadres of Customs , from the Customs Inspectors to the officers rank is free of charge . Appealing to Nigerians not to be deceived by these dupers, who had created the purported Customs fake recruitment website to request payment from victims before the forms are completed to be careful.
Many believe that the fraudsters could not have been practising their trade undetected without the backing of insiders who had good knowledge of the Customs website operation and how to fake it. It would be recalled that there was a similar incident of job placement in the Service in its portal which generated much controversy, as many desperate job seekers were given fake appointment letters, forcing the National Assembly to intervene to save the situation from degenerating. The fraud was said to have been perpetuated by an insider , who was said to have relocated to the United States, with his loot which run into millions of naira.
Another area which the fraudsters may have tried to rubbish the name of Customs was in the sales of auction of overtime cargoes. Investigation by the Magazine shows that the fraudsters, use the names and pictures of both serving and retired Customs officers to give the impression that the buyers were dealing with genuine Customs officers ostensibly to fleece them. The fraudsters, according to a Customs source create the impression that they could ” use their position to facilitate the process of buyers of overtime cargoes from Customs in getting the allocation paper.
On May 9, 2018, in an alleged fake website,” http//www.businesslist.com.ng/ company/25841/nigeria customs service, the scammers had released a document showing that the Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA, has” commenced the auctioning of vehicles on the directive of the Federal government for 2017/2018”. The scammers had listed over 50 vehicles ranging from Toyta Land CRuiser, Toyota Prado Jeep, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry, Toyota Avensis, Toyota Yaris, Toyota Venza, Toyota RAV4, SUV, Toyota Hilus Pickup to Ford and Suzuki for sales. The vehicles that listed for sales were said to be between 199 and 2016 models. They had imputed a price range of between N250,000.00 and N1.1 on the vehicles depending on the brand and the year it was assembled in the car plant.
According to the scammers, the” vehicles were impounded due to smuggling and improper documentation” which had been forfeited to the government as” penalty for the illegal act” and thus being auctioned. Perhaps to win the confidence of the unsuspecting buyers, that they are genuine Customs officers holding positions of trust in the Service , they fake officers irrespective of the rank. They wer said to have faked one Suleiman Ibrahim Iidris, a Deputy Comptroller General, tariff and Trade, now retired, in their dirty deal of May 9, 2018. they were said to have informed the unsuspecting Customer thats the vehicles to be auctioned are” direct Belgium/Tokunbo and have never been used in Nigeria”, stating that the vehicles, listed for auctioning are currently detained at the Apapa Command warehouse, ” awaiting removal for, clearance”.
Appealing to the unsuspecting buyers to ” contact Suleiman , the DCG, Trade and Tariff, on his MTN line, 08035704223 , for further directive, they said , is for their own good as delay could result to forfeiture.
Unknown to them, DCG Suleiman, had retired from the Service, thus making their case very worrisome. Their stupidity, according to a senior Customs officer became more pronounced , when They had described Suleiman as the ” Chief auctioneer officer”.
The scammers attempt on the May 9, 2018, attempt to fleece their victims may have turned out a bad day as they had used the name of Attah, the Customs image maker to sign the alleged fake auctions sales paper on behalf of Ali, the Comptroller General. They got wrong as Ali, the Customs boss had automated the sales of overtime cargoes as a way of blocking areas of loopholes in the Service.
The scammers may have further exposed their ignorance on Customs operations when on Friday, June 22, 2018, one Paul Balogun wrote on the Reporter’s timeline about sales of ”replacement/Recruitment, forms , urging interested applicants to apply. The fraudster was said advised applicants to contact one ” Collins Adebayo, a Customs officer on 08100127091 for purchase of the form and clearance”.
Also, the fraudster claimed that he has bags of ”50”kg foreign parboiled rice at N8,500 per bag while the cost of delivery to the buyer is N1000.00 per bag. The contents of the letter was not quite different from the May 18, 2018 document on auction vehicles sales which was linked to NPA, by the dupers.
It was not surprising why maritime analysts are asking the Customs Comptroller General to look inwards to track the perpetrators of these internet frauds using the name of the Service to dupe desperate job seekers and overtime cargo buyers.
They feared that that this high wire fraud which became pronounced in the Service between 2011 and now, would continue unless Ali apply tougher measures to deal with officers caught in internet fraud in the Service. They claimed that most of the officers may have taken advantage of their Information Technology background and involvement with their senior Colleagues trained at the World Customs Organisation, WCO, Brussels, to design the Customs Pre-Assessment Arrival Report, PAAR, form , for Customs release of cargoes to give out information on Customs website to close friends without knowing the implication.
These Customs Information Technology trained officers were said to be fully involved in stalling the Customs software at the Headquarters and the Commands for Customs migration from NC91 to 92, described as a more sophisticated platform, expected to reduce the level of contact between importers with their agents and Customs officers at the ports and land border areas. Attah, the Customs Spokesman, has made it clear to those that care to listen that the internet fraudsters who are faking the Customs websites in order to dupe victims would be treated as criminals if caught in the act.
The Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC has been admonished to assert itself as the Economic Regulator of the maritime sector of the nation’s economy. The call was made recently at a training organized for select journalists by the Council in Lagos.
The wake up call came amidst perceived failure of the council to rein in defiant shipping companies and terminal operators in the country working against rules and regulations set by the council. For instance, some terminal operators have been increasing charges arbitrarily without recourse to the NSC, and when directed by the council to revert, they simply ignore such directive.
The NSC, according to analysts is the port’s Ombudsman, as such must live up to expectation of that role.
But the Hassan Bello-led council said it has done well in the face of various factors that challenge its role as an interventionist agency in the maritime sub sector of the economy since 2014 when it assumed the Economic Regulator role.
The Executive Secretary of NSC, represented at the event by Director, Special Duties, Eugene Nweke said the cooperation of the media is needed in the council’s quest to bring sanity to the industry.
Delivering a paper on the topic, The Role of Nigeria Shippers Council As An Interventionist Agency In the Maritime Sector, Cajetan Agu, Deputy Director, Monitoring, Compliance and Enforcement Unit of the council, said the industry has not remained the same since former President Goodluck Jonathan administration directed the council to assume the sensitive role three years ago.
According to Agu, the role and mandate of the NCS is basically interventionist in nature, for instance, to create an effective rate in the shipping sector in line with the 2006 Concession Agreement signed by the terminal operator with the federal government.
Prior to 2014, the industry was marred by arbitrariness by some operators who capitalized on the vacuum that existed at the time, particularly terminal operators and shipping companies who demand excessive charges for their services.
But the council has since restored sanity to the industry through constant dialogues, consultations, sometimes had to bring down the hammer on erring parties when such is necessary, he said.
As part of its interventionists role, the council acting on petitions from JOF Nigeria Lmd, a logistic firm working for Nestle plc wrote to the NSC that GAC has refused to release ite containers since the goods entered the country more than three months after, the shipping company had refused to release the container until money was paid.
Apart from this, the council had intervened in the case of excessive demurrage charge against Cosco Shipping Company and Sunflag Steel Limited, leading to the recovery of $23,000.
Few weeks ago, the company mandated Cosco Nigeria Limited to refund N3.5 million to the petitioner.
Agu further explained that other milestones achieved by the council in last four years include, setting acceptable tariff and charges for terminal operators, preventing rip off of importers and port users. In the last six months the council has made returns of over N80 million from arbitrary demurrage levy.
Other specific interventions include, the reduction of cargo dwelling time in line with regional standards; reduction of shipping charges by 10 percent, to N23,000 from N26, 000.
The council has also instructed shipping companies to return container deposit charges within 10 working days after containers have been returned.
The most important action taken by the council so far, he explained is the progressive equipment audit of terminal operators to ascertain whether they have operational platforms in line with world standard.
President Muhammadu Buhari, appears to have taken the Saturday,July 14 , gubernatorial election, in Ekiti state, southwest geo-political region, as a major test case of his popularity for his re-election bid in the 2019, general election.
Given the importance attached to the election, Buhari was said to have directed Ahmed Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos state and national leader of the All Progressive Congress, APC, to mobilse support for Kayode Fayemi, a former of Mines and Steel Development and the party governorship Candidate in the state to unseat the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, government in the state. The President may be worried that if the backlash on the party if it should lose the state to the PDP.
Many believe that the authentication of the of the June12, 1993, Presidential Election acclaimed to have been won by the business mongul,late Moshod Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, which was annulled by Ibrahim Babangida, the then military President and award of the Grand Command of the Federal Republic, GCFR, national, honour which is the highest honour in the country reserved for the office of the President and the Grand Commander of the order of the Niger, GCON, to late Gani Faweihinmi, an activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, was part of the high wire politics being played by Buhari in recent times to win sway the south western states vote to APC.
Prof. Olusola Eleka: PDP governorship Candidate, Riding On The Back Ayodele Fayose
Ayo Adebanjo, theAfenifere, the Yoruba , social political Organisation, leader had commended the President for the bold decision but however said it would not influence the voting pattern in any election in any state in the region. The Afenifere leader may be acting out a script of the group to shock the APC, in 2019, using the Ekiti governorship election on July 14, 2018 as a starting point.
Many believe if the seriousness attached by Buhari to see that that the APC win the state had been attached to the last Anambra governorship election in the south east, the party could have unseat the All Progressive Grand Alliance , APGA, government in the state but it lost. The defeat of the party in the election may have forced Buhari and the party hierarchy to go back to the drawing to avoid defeat in Ekiti or oOsun gubernatorial elections, that may seen as defeat too many.
Given Buhari’s plot to secure victory for the APC in the Ekiti state election, Tinubu, the arrowhead of south west politics, was said to have moved into the state with his war arsenal to mobilise support for for Fayemi, the APC, governorship Candidate.
Many see him as a reluctant supporter of Fayemi going by his attitude to his Campaigns. In one of the major towns in the state where he addressed the people to solicit their support for Fayemi, the APC, governorship Candidate, he was said to have appealed to them: Vote for Fayemi, he is a friend of the Buhari. Political analysts see it as a non commitment to the APC Campaigns to reclaim the state from the PDP. Fayemi, who was broughht to political limelight by Tinubu, was the former governor of the state on the platform of the defunct ACN, but lost to Ayodele Fayose, of the PDP, in the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC , organised election in the state in 2014.
It is not surprising why Fayemi , the APC, governorship Candidate is leaving no unturned to see that Olusola Eleka , a Professor and the current deputy governor and governorship Candidate of the PDP, in the state, will not defeat him. He is said to be using his knowledge of military Strategies to come to bear in his electioneering Campaigns to woo the people to vote him in the election.
Take for instance , his message to create a ” conducive atmosphere for private businesses to thrive in the state” if elected as the governor of the state in July 14, 2018 election. He has given the people the impression at Odo- Ayedun-Ekiti, in Ikole local government area that the hostile business environment created by the Fayose Administration facilitated the exit and collapse of many private businesses in the state. He was said to have told the electorate of his plan to revive the economy for the desired development of Ekiti.
As a prelude to reviving the economy of the state, Fayemi was said to have promised to revive state Traffic Management Agency, Fire Service, Peace Corps and the Youths in Commercial Agriculture Development which the Fayose Administration had allowed to collapse , thus throwing many people into unemployment in the state.
The people of Agboniyin local government complaint of neglect by the PDP led government in the state may have provided ammunition for him to promise to step in to ease the suffering of the people. He may have won himself into the heart of the people when he gave reasons for the neglect because Fayose, the current governor of the state never promised them anything in his electioneering campaigns in 2014.
What may have struck the chord in the mind of the people was when he assured them of plans to restore all the life-lifting programmes initiated during his first tenure as governor of the state but was cancelled by Fayose, for not supporting his re-election bid in 2014.
Many believe that all the promises so far made at the various local governments visited in the course of his electioneering Campaigns to reclaim his lost governorship mandate in the state to the PDP in 2014,ould only be achieved if elected in the July 14, 2018 election.
This is because Fayose, who is regarded as a grassroots politician in the state is using his popularity in the state to mobilise support for Eleka, the PDP governorship Candidate in the state. At a special session with Okada riders and Akoto drivers at Fajuyi Pavillion , Ado-Ekiti, the state Capital, he was said to have promised to make 10 litres daily free fuel available to them at designated filling stations till the election day.
In return , he was said o have extracted a promise from them to convey commuters to their restive destinations at 50 percent discount to show their support for Eleka, the PDP governorship Candidate. They were said to have agreed to the agreement as part of their own contribution to the PDP Campaign funds in the state. funds.
Worried that the APC might use the federal might to sway victory to the party, the PDP was forced to inaugurate the Ekiti governorship Campaigns Council headed by Udom Emmanuel, governor of Akwa Ibom. The choice of Emmanuel, to head the Council by Uche Secondus, national Chairman of the party was not unexpected because he could easily muster funds from the state to support the PDP Governorship election Campaigns in the state. Another PDP governor who could have headed the party war council to prosecute the July 14, 2018, election in Ekiti state, could have been Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers state and Fayose close ally if Udom had turned the offer down. The PDP may have inaugurated the war Council because of alleged plots by the ruling APC to” capture the Ekiti governorship election at all costs”.
Perhaps, to gain people’s confidence in the election, Muhammed Yakubu, a professor and Chairman, INEC, has assured the parties that ”it will be free , fair and credible”. Yakubu was said to have told the parties governorship Candidates that INEC would employ a new technology in the conduct of the Ekiti election that would make the electoral process devoid of rigging and interference.
The INEC boss was said to have promised the parties which are participating in the Ekiti election of a level playing field . He was also said to promised the parties to ignore rumour of plots to rig the election by the stronger parties, particular PDP and APC , noting that this is the age of technology and thus have deployed new technology into the country electoral system.
But Fayose, the Ekiti state incumbent governor would not agree that INEC would be able to conduct a free and fair election in the state for now because of APC’s plot to capture the state with the support of INEC officials While the APC had accused the Fayose led government of conniving with the Director of National Youth Service Corps , NYSC, in the state , to rig the election on behalf of the party.
Given that the Ekiti election is a test to what would happen in the country in the 2019 , general election, Donald Trump, the United States President has said the world is interested in the election and would not hesitate to send a team to monitor the July 14 election in Ekiti state to ensure that the rules are not circumvented in the poll.
John Bray, the Us Consul General in Nigeria, may have spoken the mind of Trump, the US, President at a meeting with the state Council of Traditional rulers at the palace of the Ewi of Ado- Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe recently. He insists that the country would not support anything other than a ‘free, fair, credible and peaceful election’. The Us is committed to peace , during and after the July 14, 2018, election in Ekiti state, Bray was said to have told the Council of traditional rulers in the state.
Perhaps, being accused of interfering with the election process in the state, Buhari has avoided going to support Fayemi, the APC , governorship Candidate in the state. Instead he had directed Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of Ondo state, to lead the park of APC governors selected by the party leadership to mobilise support for APC Candidate in the Eki election.
Notwithstanding the elaborate arrangement that had been made by the party to capture the Ekiti governorship election, Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President and Ahmed Makharfi, former a former governor of Kaduna and interim national Chairman, PDP, who were in the state to boost Eleka, the PDP governorship Campaigns Organisation are optimistic that the party would win the election. The duo, who have declared their interest to contest the 2019 , Presidential election on the platform of the PDP, according to party sources were in the state to boost their chances of winning the PDP presidential ticket .
In spite of the fact, that the Ekiti state election is still about three weeks away, Atiku is optimistic that the PDP will win it. The former Vice President has told , Fayemi, the APC, governorship Candidate to be prepared to concede defeat to PDP Candidate, Eleka, the way Goodluck Jonathan, the former , President, Federal Republic of Nigeria conceded defeat to Buhari, the APC , Candidate in 2015 general election.
But Elijah Babatunde Ayodele, a Clergyman thinks differently. Ayodele was said to have predicted that Fayemi, of the ruling APC, will beat the PDP governorship Candidate in the Ekiti election. He however warned the APC governorship Candidate in the Ekiti election to watch his utterances if he truly wants take over the Ado-Ekiti government House from Fayose of the ruling PDP in the state. He is right. Officials of the local government Area in the state were said to be unhappy with Fayemi, the APC Candidate over his alleged comment that no local government in the state should have more than 200 employees on their payroll to save money to execute basic infrastructural facilities at the local government level .The state local government officials, the Magazine was informed , fear that their jobs may be at risk if Fayemi of the APC was voted into office, an indication that alleged negative utterance may likely have adverse effect on him in the July 14, 2018, election in the state.
