The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • CBN upgrades eNaira

    CBN upgrades eNaira

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has upgraded the eNaira by introducing a chip-enabled Near Field Communication (NFC) device into the eNaira.

    The NFC feature will enhance the use of the eNaira by Nigerians without smart phones or internet access.

    NFC is a short-range high frequency wireless communication technology that enables the exchange of data between devices of over a 10 cm distance.

    With the introduction of NFC, eNaira wallet owners can transact financial businesses with little or no human contact with the aid of tags attached to their phones.

    Speaking at the University of Abuja, where officials of the CBN went to promote the eNaira’s adoption by tertiary institution students, Mr. Joseph Angaye, a Deputy Director at the bank, said the CBN has decided to ramp up the campaign to engage students in the use of the eNaira.

    The eNaira, he said, will provide additional services that are not available in the system like facilitating payment even when there’s no network” which is why they have introduced the NFC feature.

    “I would like to say that recently we have been engaging with universities in all the geo-political zones of the country to talk to them about eNaira and to partner them to ensure that the eNaira is adopted as a means of financial transactions especially for revenues collection” he said.

    The eNaira, he noted, has evolved from when it was inaugurated by former president Muhammadu Buhari almost two years ago, to world-class payment system instrument.

    Angaye, while pitching the eNaira to the university community, said the apex bank, through the eNaira, has “achieved a number of milestones. There have been further developments in terms of improving the functionality.

    Angaye said the CBN was motivated to engage university students “based on feedback input we have been getting from various stakeholders”.

    Read Also: CBN directs payment of dollar receipts in naira

    He stated that the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) “is a new concept globally and Nigeria is one of the early adopters of CBDC, and we have gained a lot of experience and the world is coming to learn from Nigeria

    “We have been very gracious in sharing our experiences, every day we are hosting people from the world bank, IMF and our sister central banks from across the world. They are coming to learn from our experiences.

    Shedding more light on the eNaira Angaye said, the eNaira has not come to replace the physical naira, “it is not to replace the existing payment system infrastructure we already have, it was introduced to deepen the financial system especially the payment system, to address some challenges we saw in the payment system infrastructure and to compliment what we already have”.

    “We are not introducing it to be a competitor to what the banks are doing or other service providers but to provide a platform they can leverage to provide more effective service.

    “I am sure some of us have been experiencing some challenges from time to time using the payment system but the eNaira will help to promote financial inclusion, reduce congestion in the infrastructure so we are not bugged down by downtime registering the number of interfaces that it takes to initiate and complete transaction.

    “It will reduce leakages when it comes to collection of revenue, it will reduce stress when it comes to issues of reconciliation of your accounting function.

    The CBN is also pushing to make the eNaira the preferred means of revenue collection in tertiary institutions across the country.

    In her address to the CBN officials the Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) Academics of the University of Abuja Prof. Aisha Sani Maikudi said “the university is ready to partner with the CBN to educate Nigerians globally.

    The university of Abuja she disclosed now has “a robots virtual learning programme that can help develop content education in ways that can improve knowledge and confidence of Nigerians in the eNaira”.

    She then announced that “the Department of Banking and Finance in the university will be dedicated to eNaira project in the school and our students and staff can serve as agents to this endeavour”.

  • Senate: N70bn allocation to National Assembly not gift to lawmakers  

    Senate: N70bn allocation to National Assembly not gift to lawmakers  

    The N70 billion allocated to the National Assembly from the  N819 billion Supplementary Appropriation Act  Bill is not a “gift” to Senators and House of Representatives members, the Senate has clarified.

    It said that  reports by  a section of the media that the National Assembly members “padded”  the bill in their favour were “spurious, inaccurate and irreverent misinterpretations.”

    President Bola Tinubu had on Thursday sought a review of the bill to enable him to deploy N500 billion for palliative measures and the balance of N319 billion on other Federal Government needs.

    The Senate passed the bill the same day with the following as a breakdown of the N319 billion: N185 billion for rehabilitation of roads impacted by floods; N192 billion for fixing farmlands damaged by floods; N35 billion for National Judicial Commission(NJC); N10 billion for Federal Capital Territory projects and N70 billion for the   National Assembly.

    Chairman Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu (APC – Ekiti South), said in a  statement at the weekend that the  N70 billion was not meant for individual federal lawmakers but for the  ”facelift” of the National Assembly.

    Adaramodu added that presently, some lawmakers bring their personal effects like “chairs and tables” to the makeshift chamber of the Assembly pending the completion of the undergoing renovation of offices in the edifice.

    According to the Ekiti South lawmaker, “a visit to the suites, offices and the general structures of the National Assembly complex  reveals a yawning gap and the need for exigent attention.”

    He said that it was necessary for people to understand that  Supplementary Appropriation Act Bill passages are a  part of the constitutional duties of the National Assembly.

    The statement reads: “After the passage of the Supplementary Budget to accommodate funding for Federal Government’s palliatives for the Nigerian public, among other urgent national demands, the socio-political space has been inundated with spurious, inaccurate and irreverent misinterpretations.

    “Suffice to say that the passage is part of the absolute constitutional duty of the Senate. We would, therefore, not wish to join issues with the mischief and misrepresentation that a portion of the just passed Amendment Act that appropriated N70 billion was a ‘gift’ to the Legislators. 

    “Many Senators had to bring their chairs, tables and electronics and in many cases, do sundry repairs.

    “The so-much debated allocation will not be paid to any Legislator. This will be managed by the National Assembly’s bureaucracy.

    “It’s pertinent to also note that the National Assembly complex does not house only the Legislators. There are thousands of workers and service providers, whose working environment needs a face-lift, and/with necessary tools.

    “Since the Assembly complex is not owned by legislators who are merely political birds of passage, such allocation cannot be termed by anyone as a palliative to the legislators.

    “The alleged padding of the palliative budget by the National Assembly only exists in the minds of those who are all out to discredit the 10th Assembly. There is nothing like padding as being alleged.”

    The Senate Spokesman enjoined Nigerians to view the  National Assembly as partners in the progress.

    “The National Assembly is the soul of democracy and the 10th Senate shall join hands with other arms of government and forward-looking Nigerians to sing new songs of progress, development, safety and all-round economic recovery and growth.”

    Just as  Adaramodu made the clarification and sought the understanding of the public, a group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), called on the National Assembly to “repeal the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act and reduce its budget.  

    This, it said, should be done  “to reflect the current economic realities in the country and address the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy on the over 137 million poor Nigerians.”

    Read Also: Senate: Benin-Auchi-Lokoja road a mess

     SERAP argued that at a time Nigerians are passing through hardship, it amounts to insensitivity for the National Assembly to spend  N40 billion on bulletproof Sports Utility Vehicles(SUVs)  on its principal officers.

     The organisation urged the federal lawmakers to request President   Tinubu to present a fresh supplementary appropriation bill, to redirect the N40 billion for SUVs and N70 billion for National Assembly rehabilitation to address the issue of over  20 million out-of-school children in Nigeria.

     Also, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN), Femi Falana, described the reported plan by the National Assembly to spend N40  billion on bulletproof SUVs as illegal and contemptuous.

    Falana, who chairs the   Alliance on Surviving Covid 19 and Beyond (ASCAB), said the decisions  of the National Assembly    contravened  Section 70 of the 1999 Constitution  :

     The section states: “A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall receive such salary and other allowances as Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission may determine.”

     Falana  urged the Revenue Allocation Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to take urgent steps to prevent the National Assembly from further usurping its constitutional functions

    He reminded the National Assembly of court decisions which stopped its members from fixing their salaries, and allowances amongst other emoluments that have not been set aside.

    Bishop tasks FG on disbursement of  N8,000 palliative

    Meanwhile, the   Auxillary Bishop of Abuja Archdiocese, Anslem Umoren, has urged the Federal Government to ensure even disbursement of the N8,000 palliative to the poor Nigerians.  

    Umoren made the call on the sidelines of the Mass and Charter presentation ceremony of Serra Club in  Abuja yesterday.

    He said: “I want to call on the government to do all it planned to alleviate the sufferings of the people, it cannot be business as usual.

    “I don’t want to believe all that I am seeing in the media is true; 8,000 households, which data are you using? who is going to benefit from it? we are over 200 million.

    “They need to rethink what they are trying to do to make sure that what they are doing will reach out to everyone, otherwise it will be the same as before.”  

  • Sultan asks Muslims to look for new moon

    Sultan asks Muslims to look for new moon

    The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has directed Muslims to look out for the new moon of Muharram 1445 After Hijrah (AH) today, the equivalent of 29th day of Dhul Hijja, 1444 AH.

    A statement by the Secretary of the Advisory Committee on Religious Affairs at the Sultanate Council in Sokoto, Yahaya Muhammad Boyi, said the sighting should be reported to the nearest district or village head for onward communication to the Sultan of Sokoto.

    Read Also: New Moon: Sultan declares today as 1st Dhul-Qadah 1444AH

    The sighting of the new moon of Muharram (first month of the Islamic calendar) will mark the end of the Islamic lunar calendar 1444 AH and the beginning of the New Year 1445.

  • The end of MT Tura 11

    The end of MT Tura 11

    Although the crude theft vessel has been destroyed, perpetrators should be prosecuted

    Everyday for the thief, one day for the owner’. This time-tested cliche is true of the vessel, MT Tura II (IMO number: 6620462), arrested on July 7 by Messrs. Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd, with about 150,000 metric tonnes of stolen crude oil valued at about $86.8million. Tantita Security Ltd., a private security contractor engaged by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is owned by former militant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo. The vessel, said to be owned by a Nigerian registered company, Holab Maritime Services Limited, with registration number RC813311, was heading to Cameroun with the cargo when it was intercepted. It was alleged to have been in the illicit business for about 12 years.

    Garba Muhammad, NNPCL’s spokesman, said in a statement that the vessel was apprehended at an offshore location at latitude 5.8197194477543235° and longitude 4.789002723991871°, with the captain and 12 other crew members on board. Neither the vessel nor its content, said to have been sourced illegally from a well jacket offshore Ondo State, had any valid documentation.

    It is an open secret that some highly influential Nigerians as well as international oil companies (IOCs) are into this illicit business of crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region. Given the scope of their operations, it is not a job for minions. This much was confirmed by a retired deputy comptroller of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and vice-chairman, Senate Committee on Customs and Excise in the 9th Senate, Francis Fadahunsi.  ”Some international oil companies and highly influential Nigerians are behind the crude oil theft in Nigeria. It did not start today; the practice has been on for a long time.

    “Unfortunately, the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is doing nothing spectacular to stop the theft”, Fadahunsi said. He added that “Each of the affected IOCs has separate channels with which they are siphoning crude to waiting vessels on the high seas with the active connivance of the military and security operatives saddled with the responsibility of protecting the nation’s oil assets.”

    The arrest of MT Tura 11 should signal a radical departure from the past where government officials only made pious commitment to rid the country of the menace of crude theft.

    “The illegal trade of stolen crude oil not only inflicts significant economic losses on Nigeria and legitimate stakeholders in the oil industry, but also perpetuates a cycle of corruption, environmental devastation, and social instability”, the statement by Muhammad said.

    Former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva said last year that Nigeria loses about 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily to oil thieves. The Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) early this year disclosed that the country lost 619.7 million barrels of crude oil valued at N16.25trn ($46.16bn) between 2009 and 2020 to oil theft. This is huge.

    One would have thought that these economic losses would have prodded successive governments to go after these rogue elements with all the might they could muster, to put a stop to their illegal activities. But no. Rather, government officials only wringed their hands in frustration as if they did not know what to do to stem the tide.

    We commend Tantita Security Ltd for a sting operation clinically executed. The company’s executive director, technical and operations, Captain Warredi Enisuoh, said, they had been monitoring the activities of the vessel for long before apprehending it, sequel to the credible intelligence they got about its activities. He added that the vessel had once been arrested for the same crime but disappeared in mysterious circumstances. “We are here with the same vessel committing the same atrocity”. Apparently the greed of the criminals involved in this business ended up being their nemesis. Imagine just one illicit business that would have fetched the perpetrators a whopping $86.8m! Imagine the number of times they would have operated, either without being caught or being caught but later left off the hook, and how much they must have made from their past operations? But that is usually the way of criminals, particularly those whose activities fetch them huge pecuniary gains. They are like Oliver Twist: they always crave for more.

    Read Also: Tompolo denies video on presidential poll

    Of course, it was this insatiable quest for more illicit money that made them enter into the high seas again when they were arrested. Unfortunately, it was in the process that Tantita Security Ltd. discovered that the vessel had switched off its Automatic Infraction System (AIS), following a lead from NNPCL Control Centre. Since this was not the usual procedure, indeed it was a crime to switch off the AIS, it was easy to give the vessel away as the law breaker that it is.

    Now that MT Tura 11 had been arrested and burnt, that at least is one down for the oil thieves. But that cannot be the end of the story. As a matter of fact, it should be the beginning of a thorough investigation to get to the root of the matter. Government officials had been talking in abstract terms on this issue. Yes, Nigerians know that their crude was being stolen while their governments looked on helplessly. It was as if the criminals were invincible.

    The arrested crew members in the vessel should be able to help unravel the mystery behind crude theft.  Many questions are begging for answers. Perhaps the media too has a role to play at this point. Nigeria has for long walked on the dark path with regard to crude theft. The arrest of MT Tura 11 should illuminate that dark path.

    Who were those responsible for the disappearance of the vessel on the at least two occasions we were told it was arrested in the past? They must be apprehended no matter how highly placed and wherever they are, irrespective of whether they are still in service or they have retired. The nation needs them to tell us under what circumstances the vessel disappeared. A vessel of that size is not a needle or speed boat that can just disappear without trace.

    However, much as Nigerians are happy that a major oil thieves cartel has been busted, they cannot be happy that this feat took a private security concern to achieve. Where is the Nigerian Navy, the major security agency in charge of the country’s territorial waters, in all of these? That the Nigerian Navy is completely out of contention in this major haul is, to say the least, distressing. As the National Operations Controller, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mike Osatuyi, observed, “It’s an indictment on the Navy as far as I am concerned.”

    We share this sentiment.

    What we are saying in essence is that the new military chiefs already have their jobs cut out for them. They must realise that, as far as Nigerians are concerned, these kinds of illegal activities cannot be carried out without the active connivance of some of their personnel.  Many Nigerians who should know have said this much and there is nothing for the military authorities to defend in this. The onus is now on them to change the narrative. They now have a golden opportunity to weed out the bad eggs in their midst so that their unpatriotic activities would not continue to tar the image of the entire armed forces with mud. If the military decides today that this kind of economic sabotage would no longer be condoned, the perpetrators would look for other things to do.

    Meanwhile, we appreciate the concern of people who felt the vessel and its content should not have been destroyed. May be they have a point. But those who took the decision to burn them also have their reason. As they claimed, there is the need to send a strong message to investors who might want to toe the line of MT Tura 11 that such is the fate that awaits them. According to Muhammad: “Details of this arrest and the outcomes of the investigations were escalated to the appropriate government authorities, upon which it was concluded to destroy the vessel to serve as a strong warning and deterrent to all those participating in such illegal activities to cease and desist.”

    Enisuoh too applauded the “swift decision” to destroy the vessel.

    Moreover, the vessel is not a first offender. Twice it had been caught and twice it had escaped in mysterious circumstances. As a matter of fact, it was in order to avert a repeat of such disappearance that the military and NNPCL as well as other stakeholders on ground at the time the vessel was arrested agreed that it must be burnt on the spot and this was done despite the Navy’s alleged request that the vessel be handed over to them for destruction. The decision not to release the vessel to the Navy as demanded is commendable. Once beaten’, they say, ‘twice shy’. The vessel’s disappearance on the two occasions it had earlier been apprehended was said to have happened while it was in the custody of the Nigerian Navy. So, there is no sense in having a third experience of such mysterious disappearance.

    MT Tura 11’s arrest must not go the way of other arrested crude vessels in the country. The Bola Tinubu administration must show that it is really different by ensuring that crude theft is reduced to the barest minimum, if not eliminated. Crude robbery must be killed before it kills the country.

  • Reactions greet Emefiele’s charge

    Reactions greet Emefiele’s charge

    Reactions have started pouring in over reports that the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele has been charged to court on two-count charges of gun and ammunitions possession.

    An associate, who refused to be named, accused the Department of State Services (DSS) of being on a vendetta mission against Emefiele.“They picked the gun and the licences from his house. Because the licence has expired, they are filing a charge to say that the gun was without licence

    According to him, “they have nothing on the former governor. Imagine the charge, they arrested him and it’s the gun you found in his house you are charging him for. So, on what grounds did you even arrest him in the first place?”

    “That you were tipped off he had a licensed gun (even though they claim it wasn’t licensed but it was).

    Another associate told The Nation on Sunday that he was disappointed at what the Federal Government was charging Emefiele with.

    He said he expected to hear of serious economic or financial infractions but was sad to hear that it was for gun possession.

    According to him, “they can do that but that is not the kind of criminal offence they are giving the impression of to Nigerians”.

    Read Also: Emefiele facing gun, ammunition possession charges — Sources

    He stated that “talking about financing terrorism, that is the one that is scary to me but if they have the evidence, they should provide it. Is it not because they have arrested him that they went to search his house and everywhere?

    “If that is what they are charging him for, that should be a bailable offence not the one they will hold him ad infinitum”.

    The associate demanded that the federal government should “provide evidence of why they have terrorised him all these while, stressing that ‘Nigerians are waiting’.

    “This issue of gun is secondary finding, they  discovered the gun so they must tell Nigerians the actual offenses committed which warranted attempting to disgrace him from office and deprive him of his liberty”.

    Professor Uche Uwaleke of Nasarawa State University appealed to the federal government “to as much as possible apply the rule of law. “This is the minimum expectation from investors and foreign development partners who monitor events in the country’s financial system”.

  • Who represents Edo in Tinubu’s cabinet?

    Who represents Edo in Tinubu’s cabinet?

    As it is customary, the leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, has recommended three persons, one each from the three senatorial districts, to guide the president in his decision to pick a minister. Southsouth Bureau Chief BISI OLANIYI reports

    President Bola Tinubu will soon constitute his maiden cabinet, which is expected to be populated by competent and eminent personalities. They are expected to assist him in moving Nigeria forward. Who is going to represent Edo State in the cabinet?

    Nigerians will not want to be disappointed in the composition of President Tinubu’s cabinet. So, he must make the right choice of his ministers. The president is adjudged to have started on a good note right from the moment he was sworn in on May 29 and he has continued to take the right decisions, which are being applauded by Nigerians, within and outside the country.

    It is customary for the leader of the governing party in each of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to pick three nominees, which are spread across the three senatorial districts, to guide the president in his decision; he will eventually pick whoever he wants from the list. The responsibility of recommending the three persons falls on Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who is the indisputable leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state. Oshiomhole, who currently represents Edo North Senatorial District at the National Assembly, was the immediate past governor of the state and a former national chairman of the party.

    Indications are that three top politicians close to Oshiomhole are already lobbying him for the job. They are Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor (Edo Central), a former governor; Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu (Edo South), the party’s governorship candidate during the 2020 governorship election; and Mallam Gani Audu (Edo North), who was Ize-Iyamu’s running mate in the 2020 election.

    Picking Osunbor is not a farfetched decision. He has carried out many sensitive assignments for the APC at the state and national levels where he was adjudged to have performed well.  Ize-Iyamu on the other hand worked very closely with President Tinubu and Oshiomhole in the party’s Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) ahead of the just concluded 2023 general election.

    Ize-Iyamu, who is a senior pastor at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), is still interested in vying for next year’s governorship poll as the incumbent Governor Obaseki’s tenure will expire on November 12, 2024. A source close to Ize-Iyamu told our reporter in confidence that his governorship aspiration would not prevent him from serving as a minister; he would later resign to contest for the governorship.

    Audu, a grassroots politician, was among the 14 APC members-elect of the Edo House of Assembly that was not inaugurated between June 2019 and June 2023 because of the fear that they could impeach Obaseki and his deputy, Philip Shaibu. So, Oshiomhole would want to compensate Audu who is one of his core loyalists for his inability to represent his constituency at the Edo assembly during the last legislative session.

    Read Also: Tinubu’s one stone to kill many birds

    Edo State was fortunate to have two ministers during the last administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Then, the state was represented by Dr Osagie Ehanire and Prince Clem Agba. 

    Oshiomhole, then, as the APC national chairman pushed for Edo State to have two ministers; a decision that was backed by the Benin monarch, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, who urged the then President Buhari to specially consider Edo for the privilege. One state in each of the six geopolitical zones is given the opportunity to be represented by two ministers. This time around, with Senator Godswill Akpabio, a former Akwa Ibom State governor/ex-Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, as the Senate president, the battle over the Southsouth state that will produce the zonal minister will be between Oshiomhole and Akpabio who are both close to President Tinubu.

    Ehanire, the immediate past health minister, is not lobbying to be re-appointed minister, but Agba, who was also a former commissioner during the Oshiomhole administration, is strategising to be the next governor of Edo State, and he would not mind returning as a minister, before next year’s election. Agba’s governorship or ministerial aspiration may face challenges, because of the recent negative comment made about him by the Oba of Benin who is widely respected.

    The monarch described him as an ungrateful person when he was at his palace on a thank-you visit recently.

    The Oba also berated Agba for not extending the benefits of his ministerial appointment to the Benin people. The traditional ruler, while responding to Agba’s stewardship as a minister, noted that it was gratifying for the former minister to acknowledge his intervention, which made ex-President Buhari appoint Agba as a minister.

    He said: “Throughout your tenure as a minister, I cannot remember if we saw you more than two times in the palace. The first time was when you complained about the floods in Benin, and now your tenure is completed. I will keep certain things from the public domain. However, I am constrained to talk about some of them.

    “We interacted once in a while. My intervention with former President Buhari indeed made you benefit from the office you held. We thank God for that. I was wondering about many things. As you were a beneficiary of that office, budget and planning, I was wondering if any of our people was also a beneficiary from your office. I am stating that they should thank you if anyone benefited from your being in the office.”

    Agba was also at the palace after he left office to inform the traditional ruler of the assistance he had rendered through the budget, for the Benin Royal Museum and to explain that he could no longer do much. At the occasion, the former minister said: “I have come here with some of my friends and brothers to thank your majesty for his love for Edo State, and the country. After the general elections of 2023, a lot of people thought that the country would go on fire, but the Oba continued to organise prayers to ensure that there is peace in our country – Nigeria.

    “So, people expected that the country will go into flames, but it did not happen. I thought it worthy of commendation that His Royal Majesty should be thanked for the prayers you offered to God and our ancestors. Sir, you will recall that in 2016, Edo State had one minister in the cabinet of the immediate past President Buhari, but in 2019, you wrote to the president to consider giving Edo two ministers. I became a beneficiary of that prayer, and I happen to have become the first minister from Edo North Senatorial District since 1999. I have come to His Majesty for that privilege of his prayers to Mr President, for which I am a beneficiary.

    “So, having done my job for three and a half years, and have completed it, I thought it wise to come back to His Majesty and thank you for your prayers, for your support, and the advice that you gave me throughout the three and a half years that I was a minister. All of these could not have been possible if His Majesty did not write to Mr. President, for Edo State to have two ministers. I would not have been appointed. So, I am indeed very grateful to His Majesty.”

    Oshiomhole, an experienced politician and former president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), is expected to make the right recommendations to President Tinubu, for Edo State to be adequately represented in the cabinet, especially by competent hands.

  • My mum’s absence affected my adulthood – BBNaija’s Hermes

    My mum’s absence affected my adulthood – BBNaija’s Hermes

    Ex-Big Brother Naija housemate Hermes Chibueze Iyele has revealed his life didn’t go as he would have wanted because of his mum’s absence which affected see growing up as an adult.

    Hermes said his dad raised him and his siblings single-handedly but instructed them never to hate their mum.

    He disclosed this while featuring on the latest episode of The Nancy Isime Show alongside his colleague, Phyna.

    The reality star recalled how he used to be heartbroken when other students’ mothers came for PTA meetings and his mum never showed up.

    He said: “One significant thing I think affected me a lot was not having my mum around.

    Read Also: I can only operate on truth – BBNaija’s Hermes

    “A lot of people really think that me looking for my mum when she went missing from a psychiatric centre, with all the love that I did, she was so present in my life. No. She was absent my entire life.

    “My entire life was just longing to.. I will be in school. I will see people’s mums come for PTAs and what not, and I will just feel like, Oh! My God, my mum is so pretty, if she came here now, I would probably have like so many more friends. It never happened.

    “The silver lining for me, why I really still have love to give, is my dad. And I think something happened in the Big Brother show, I think we were sitting in the dining room, it was an argument about how men could not…

    “Someone said men could not take care of children as much as women would love and take care of them. I felt really attacked by that because my dad raised me. He did an absolutely great job. He took care of really young kids. Got a bus to hustle and train us through school. It was a lot.”

  • Singer Portable arrests mechanic for alleged invasion of privacy

    Singer Portable arrests mechanic for alleged invasion of privacy

    Controversial singer Habeeb Okikiola aka Portable has arrested his mechanic for violating his privacy by filming and posting his wrecked G-Wagon without consent.

    The Nation reports that Portable crashed his new G-Wagon sometimes last week.

    His mechanic, in a viral video that made round on the internet, was seen advising the singer to sell his car.

    While filming the crashed car, the mechanic told the controversial singer to sell the car as scrap because of the level of damage done to it.

    Following the circulated video, Portable arrested the mechanic for intruding his privacy.

    The mechanic was captured in a video online, in what appeared to be a police station where he was told his action was defamatory of the singer.

    Read Also: Singer Portable survives crash, vows to replace damaged vehicle

    The mechanic was told to apologise to the singer publicly, which he did.

    In his apology, the mechanic claimed that he didn’t know the car belonged to the singer.

    He apologised to him for the inconvenience the video had caused him.

    “A car was brought to my company for a repair and I gave my honest opinion based on what I saw. It has come to my knowledge that the car belongs to Zazuu, which is Portable.

    “Another thing is that I have been seeing videos flying around that was taken without my consent. I am using that opportunity to say, Zazuu we are sorry for any inconvenience the video has caused you,” he said.

  • Why I’m happily single – Actress Lizzy Gold

    Why I’m happily single – Actress Lizzy Gold

    Actress Lizzy Gold Onuwaje has said she is happily single because she is not a fan of marriage.

    Lizzy Gold stated that she is still single because she prefers a long-distance marriage.

    According to the 36-year-old mother of two, she likes the idea of marriage but doesn’t want to live together with a partner.

    The Warri-born thespian said a long-distance relationship helps create more fun in a relationship.

    In a viral video message.
    Lizzy Gold said: “I have been getting a lot of questions like, ‘Is she single? Is she married?’

    Read Also: Sleeping with men for money old-fashioned – Lizzy Gold

    “Now, I’m going to answer all your questions. I’ve never been married before. I’m single, and I’m a single mom. The reason I’m not yet married is not because I don’t like the word ‘marriage’.

    “It’s because I’m taking my time and I love my space. So, if I must marry anybody, it has to be a distance relationship. I don’t think I’m very comfortable if I marry a man and every day I wake up, I see you on my bed, in my space. I will not be too comfortable.

    “Sometimes, I believe distance relationships help create more fun in a relationship. It helps to make both partners miss themselves.

    “That is why I’m not married currently. And marriage is not really in my dictionary right now.”

    She added that she has been celibate for four years and hopes to get married “when the time is right”.

  • Wimbledon 2023: Dream comes true as Alcaraz dethrone Djokovic

    Wimbledon 2023: Dream comes true as Alcaraz dethrone Djokovic

    Carlos Alcaraz heralded the changing of the guard in men’s tennis as he ended Novak Djokovic’s long reign at Wimbledon with a rip-roaring 1-6 7-6(6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 victory to win the All England Club title for the first time yesterday.

    The 36-year-old Serbian had been indestructible on Wimbledon’s Centre Court for a decade but finally met his match as he ran out of ideas to stop young gun Alcaraz from hurtling towards the title in the grasscourt major.

    After the 20-year-old had broken for a 2-1 lead in the fifth set with a stupendous passing shot winner, Djokovic’s racket felt the full force of his anger as he smashed it against the wooden net post to leave it in a mangled mess.

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    That earned the Serbian a second warning in the match, with Djokovic having also been cautioned earlier for taking too much time to launch into his serves.

    The distraction failed to throw Alcaraz off course as he became the youngest man since 18-year-old Boris Becker in 1986 to win the Challenge Cup after Djokovic scooped a forehand into the net, leaving the Spaniard to fall on his back in triumph.

    “It’s a dream come true for me. It’s great to win … making history in this beautiful tournament,” world number one Alcaraz said as he cradled the trophy during the presentation ceremony.

    To sum up what it meant to play a part in a match billed as the “collision of generations” Alcaraz then paid tribute to his victim, who had won the last four Wimbledon men’s titles.

    “I have to congratulate Novak. It’s amazing to play against him. You inspire me. (When) I was born, you were winning tournaments.”