ALL Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole yesterday inaugurated a National Appeal Committee for the party’s recently-conducted presidential, governorship and legislative primary elections.
The committee, which was inaugurated at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja, is headed by former Edo State Governor Oserheimen Osunbor.
Other members are: Mike Ugwa as secretary), Alhaji Musa Gwadabe, Bashorun Reuben Famnyibo and Alhaji Abdulrahman Adamu.
Last week, President Muhammadu Buhari finally terminated the appointments of Babachir Lawal, the embattled Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and Ayo Oke, the head of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA. The president’s order came six months after the duo were placed on suspension over separate allegations of corruption brought by the Senate in Lawal’s case and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in the case of Oke.
Lawal’s woes began when a Senate committee started looking into his award of contracts as the head of the Presidential Initiative on the North East, PINE, which was created to alleviate the plight of people ravaged by the Boko Haram war in the area. Towards the end of 2016, the Senate unearthed details of irregular award of contracts and funds paid into accounts controlled by Lawal. However, the president failed to act until April, when NIA’s Oke was caught up in the Osborne cash discovery of about $43 million by the EFCC in Ikoyi, Lagos. Lawal and Oke were subsequently suspended and a three-man panel headed by the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, tasked to investigate their cases.
What is particularly striking is the president’s initial reluctance to look into Lawal’s case. Many of the president’s decisions come belatedly after sustained public outcry and demands for action, especially when it involves members of the president’s cabinet or party. The senate’s motives may have been shady, but the facts, as they say, speak for themselves and ought to have been taken up regardless.
After the allegations against Lawal came to the fore late in 2016, the president wrote to the Senate in January, claiming that he would not act because Lawal had not been given an opportunity to defend himself. But the truth is that Lawal had refused to appear before the Senate. Oke’s much publicised cash trouble seems to have forced the president’s hand with Lawal as it would have been tactless to move against Oke while continuing to protect Lawal.
The shameless politics that has been practised since 1999 has been playing out at the background of the whole issue since Lawal was first hounded by the Senate in 2016. There are some within the ranks of the Senate that fingered Lawal as the chief architect of the Code of Conduct Tribunal proceedings against Bukola Saraki, the Senate President.
In an apparent revenge mission, the Senate launched the probe into PINE with its clear target in mind. And it wasted no time in publicising its findings to pressure the president to move against his man. This, perhaps, explains the president’s initial resistance as an act of defiance. But what it does not explain, is how the fist-thumping between the Senate and the presidency contributes to the general welfare of Nigerians.
Now that Lawal has finally been let go, Junaid Mohammed, a former lawmaker, has claimed that Boss Mustapha, Lawal’s replacement, is, in fact, Lawal’s first cousin. While there are no laws prohibiting the appointment of family members of sacked political appointees to take their place, a case can be made on the basis of common sense and good judgement that such a move is testy, especially at a time when Buhari’s popularity has taken a dip. If true, it would seem like a consolation to Lawal who may have been left untouched, had the circumstances allowed.
On the one hand, the pressure of Nigerians and the opposition seemed to have achieved results through the sacking of Lawal (and Oke), while on the other hand, the president strips that result of any real bite by appointing the man’s cousin to take his place in a country of over 180 million people. The indelicate decisions that have been taken at the highest levels of government in Buhari’s time as president are simply disturbing. Far from the president’s personal blame, his advisers and strategists, are also culpable as they ought to play a role in ensuring that the right decisions are made in that office.
The problem is that when the president is surrounded by the wrong team, wrong decisions will be made and it is the people that suffer the consequences. At the moment, no one has been suspended or sacked for the re-instatement of Abdulrasheed Maina, even though the president, by ordering the disengagement of Maina, effectively admitted that it was a thoughtless decision. Buhari’s policy of half measures is becoming the hallmark of his presidency. This is why there have been calls from many quarters that Lawal and Oke must be prosecuted since they have been indicted. It shows lack of faith in the president’s resolve.
There was no reason Lawal and Oke should not have been handed over to the anti-corruption agencies for investigation upon their suspension. The setting up of unnecessary panels of inquiry in criminal matters is usually a pre-cursor to cover-ups and clandestine deal-making that do not serve the public good. Having delayed prosecution for six months, it is unlikely that the public is about to get to the truth of the allegations against either of the men and equally improbable that any real legal repercussions will result from any prosecution now conducted.
It is noteworthy that the ex- NIA boss had earlier fingered the National Security Adviser and member of the VP’s three-man panel, Babagana Monguno, as being privy to operations involving the seized cash that apparently emanated from the Central Bank of Nigeria. Reports also revealed that Monguno had briefed Buhari on the operations. Now, several months down the line, these revelations have been hushed and the presidency has declared that the anti-corruption agencies are free to perform their duties. No doubt, there has been house cleaning and any new ‘revelations’ and outcomes emerging from this matter, will be stage-managed drama deployed to appease the public’s thirst for closure.
The real issue here is that skeletons lie behind every closed door in our government. The dirty politics is facilitated by the dirty hands of the politicians and new scandals are merely results of somebody’s decision to open the doors to where the skeletons of his adversary lie. It is clear Saraki and the Senate knew where Lawal’s skeletons lay. Open doors will mean transparency and good governance but many of these ‘doors’ that have revealed skeletons in the past, have now been shut again.
Before we cheer the rolling of heads, we ought to be sure that it is not only the heads of Nigerians in the North-east and other troubled areas that are, in fact, being lost. Our politicians are hydra-headed snakes and it is increasingly becoming clear that no amount of rolling heads can put down the beast of corruption in Nigeria. Having waited for so long for Buhari to finally take decisive action on a matter close to his comfort zone, the sacking of Lawal and Oke seems almost like an anti-climax as the appointment of Boss Mustapha signals a return to the same.
The president is known to be fiercely loyal to his appointees and this has resulted in many clashing objectives between officials in his government, who enjoy relative job security. Is it better for Nigerians to allow the president stick with his people even in the face of damning indictments or do we have to settle for the foot-dragging that led to the final sacking of Oke and Lawal?
As the legal maxim goes, justice delayed is justice denied. There is no telling what the delay has achieved in this case, but we can be sure that any legal outcomes now will be diluted. That is why calls for the prosecution of Lawal and Oke, while not undesirable, may be merely playing to the gallery at this point.
The Kaduna State government has reverted to the 77 districts and 1,429 village units that existed prior to 2001. With this development, 313 District Heads and 4,453 Village Heads appointed after 2001 have been ordered to vacate office.
This, according to the Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Jafaru Ibrahim Sani, is to reduce the burden that a bloated payroll imposes on local governments.
Sani, who addressed a news conference in Kaduna, said the development will empower the councils to undertake capital projects and deliver public goods.
He said the government consulted the Council of Chiefs before embarking on the restructuring.
He said: “The government is happily and conscientiously supporting all the 32 emirs and chiefs in. It is the duty of government to pay their salaries and allowances, and it shall continue to be responsible for all our graded chiefs.”
According to him, the support includes providing official vehicles, which have been purchased, for third-class chiefs, and the maintenance of palaces, 10 of which were recently renovated.
It is no news that fuel scarcity across the country is still at crisis point. It is food for thought that the Association of Mega Filling Station Owners of Nigeria (AMFSON) threatened to expose the alleged saboteurs that are fuelling the fuel crisis.
AMFSON National Secretary Kenneth Nwachukwu told reporters that several trucks of fuel had been re-routed by alleged saboteurs. He said: “The minister said we should mention names, but you know Nigerians, when you come out in public to mention the names of the saboteurs, they can go after you.”
Nwachukwu further said: “We can tell him. There is nothing to be feared because we have evidence of how fuel is being diverted to the black market. We have evidence of everything we are saying about this fuel crisis. The minister said we should mention names, that if we mention names the persons will not last 24 hours. But it is not proper to mention names in public. We are giving information. It is left for the minister to work on the information and get to the root of what we are saying. We cannot come out to the market place and say this person is a thief. We don’t do things like that. But if we are pushed to the wall and mention names, heads will roll at NNPC Retail.”
According to him, “the NNPC Retail takes the fuel meant for us to the black market and still end up spoiling our names as if we are the ones diverting the fuel that was not delivered to us but distributed somewhere else in our names. This is corruption of the highest order.”
Of course, corruption has many faces. Nwachukwu’s allegation of fuel diversion shows yet another face of the evil of corruption, and the consequences are crippling indeed. He painted a picture: “Sometimes you see 10 trucks of fuel parked at Mega 1 while none of our members has fuel. And by night, Mega 1 will sell off these 10 trucks to the black market. You cannot solve fuel scarcity in this way unless you allow the supply to go round.”
Since Nwachukwu and his group know so much about the cause of the fuel crisis and what should be done to end it, they have no excuse not to play a patriotic role to ensure that the urgent situation is urgently tackled. Let the heads roll.
Members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) branch, has called on the Federal Government to appoint competent and value-adding personnel to replace the disengaged chief executives of parastatals and agencies.
The Chairman of PENGASSAN, PPPRA branch, Comrade Victor Ononokpono, lauded the government for the giant strides it has recorded within a short time, urging it to appoint competent chief executives to head oil and gas parastatals and agencies.
He said: “The Union wishes to applaud the Federal Government’s renewed effort at reorganising the nation’s productive and extractive industry as exemplified by the recently submitted Institutional Framework for the Oil and Gas sector to the National Assembly. That piece of document when eventually passed will redefine the regulatory and control apparatus of the oil and gas industry.
“PENGASSAN, however, calls on the National Assembly to expedite action on the quick passage of the bill and reconsider global best practices in maintaining two regulatory agencies to superintend the upstream and downstream sectors.
“In its diligent search for suitable replacements of Chief Executives for regulatory agencies, the Federal Government should consider competence, neutrality and articulation. The Union condemns the practice of appointment of officers from operators to head regulatory agencies. That practice is inimical, counter-productive and unhealthy.”
Citing PPPRA as an example, Ononokpono said the union believed the agency has operated under difficulty in achieving its statutory mandate owing to its leadership, which greatly hampers its operations and critical decisions. “PENGASSAN, therefore, calls on the Federal Government to spread its drag net to the wider society rather than continue with the practice of sourcing Chief Executives from operating/marketing corporations to head regulatory agencies which are supposed to regulate them,” he added.
If the president is, understandably, too busy, a document as important as his first ever budget should have been supervised by either his deputy or the chairman of his economic team?
“Why on earth are Jonathan’s appointees sitting pretty as head of critical agencies of state when he (President Buhari) knew that their track record during the campaigns and presumed voting pattern during the election point unerringly to the fact that they neither believe in his candidacy nor his policies. No, as bona fide Nigerians, nobody is suggesting that they should be made to lose their jobs but for Christ’s sake why were many of these people not moved to less sensitive posts?”
So wrote this column last week and our listening president did not delay: in under 24 hours, most of the Jonathanian rodents were gone. As I wrote, elsewhere, even if their sack owed nothing, at all, to what we wrote, it is still good riddance to bad rubbish. And when I heard that an errand girl of the former First Lady was complaining, my reaction was: she should first tell Nigerians how she could have transmogrified from her appalling supercilious closeness to that First Lady to become a loyal member of the Buhari administration.
I have never had as many reactions to any of the articles on this column. Here are two.
Happy reading.
“Yours was a very good article but it would not sway me from appraising the president to see if he could be promoted ‘on trial’, to the next class. This is the same politician we ‘rejected’ three times at the polls but finally embraced when we felt that anything will be better than GEJ. He sold to us the change brand and we are not going to take anything less than the original from him. That should tell the fragility of the relationship between PMB and the rest of us now. Like millions of other Nigerians, I stuck out my neck to work and vote PMB, I have, however, since recoiled to my pre-Buhari mold of ‘not-yet-uhuru’ to, at least, avoid disappointment. I no longer expect a miracle since facts on ground do not show the expected change; at least not in scope. I did not show up at rallies but joined the vanguard of those who employed ‘word of mouth’ to convince bewildered Nigerians – friends and relations to work for a meaningful change. This made me to run on a collision course with my principal and pastors which nearly ruined long standing relationship with family and friends. I desired, voted and expected real CHANGE from black to white and not grey because I, like other Nigerians, knew the extent of the rot and thought candidate Buhari will be tough and strong enough to pull through, having shown that he knows how virulent corruption could be. So far, the president and his party have overpromised and under-delivered. I still remember his popular quote that if we fail to stop corruption, then corruption will kill us. Why then treat such monster with kid gloves? If he is busy cleaning the past, must he tolerate another spill under his very watch? A million excuses will not erase the pains of disappointment. Can we say that the president, his erudite VP and the star studded cabinet lack basic understanding of the depth of corruption in Nigeria where churches and other religious organisations have become breeding grounds for corruption? I regard the budget as the most important document and a tool to bring about CHANGE, but see how this important tool has been ruined.
The argument that the past was bad is no good lyric for a change agent. That is the very basis for the CHANGE mantra. Nigerians, just like the president, know that the past is horrible, undesirable and should be avoided. That is why he should have watched out for every single manifestation of the vices of endemic corruption everywhere in his administration and at all times, until he can deliver the final blow to it in partnership with ordinary Nigerians, not the elite, especially the lawyers we see daily, doing everything to make corruption prosper and luxuriate in Nigeria. It would have been soothing if the discrepancies in the budget were discovered at the compilation stage by the President and his men, not by an unfriendly National Assembly. Could it be true that such would have gone unnoticed if Lawan’s establishment – preferred Senate leadership was in place, or if Saraki’s like- minds has harmonised fully with the Presidency? That is a big sentiment in the public domain: that the country would most probably have been shortchanged, as usual, and made to bleed from its sick bed even under a trusted President Buhari since the budget mafia remains alive, and kicking.
The president and his men, both inside and outside of government, will fare much better by accepting responsibility for this fatal flaw rather than indulge in any blame game. The buck must stop at the president’s desk. We voted for execution and not excuses. Unfortunately, the president’s constitutional powers have not been fully invoked to deal with corruption and that is why we see it fighting back ferociously. For instance, the power to hire and fire should since have been used to remove the CBN Governor who became a mere paymaster; an errand boy of sorts, for illegal disbursement of unappropriated funds to politicians and all kind of persons during the last administration, a position totally against his job description. For instance, why did it take the CBN so long to appreciate the fact that BDC should not be funded through the official forex?
If the Director of Budget is removed, what of the Minister, and the Permanent Secretary? The budget should have been read and carefully studied by a cabinet rank officer. He is equally guilty. If the president is, understandably, too busy, a document as important as his first ever budget should have been supervised by either his deputy or the chairman of his economic team? It was all round negligence of duty.
If the Budget Director is liable so is our president, his deputy, the minister and others who have been elected to serve us competently. The absolute minimum is for them to own up and learn the appropriate lessons. Such lessons must not be lost, ever, or they come back more tragic. The real tragedy will be to move on as if nothing happened. That will be better than merely holding the conductor responsible for an accident caused by the driver. In an era of change, we will do a lot better by changing the way we do the business of government, if only to get disillusioned Nigerians properly connected to a government they elected and can truly call their own; unlike the usual impositions. The president should pay more attention to these things so that we can, once again in unison, joyously shout: FEBUHARI again, when in February we will be approaching the midterm of his administration.
Time waits for nobody! ” -Kunle Oladele
Femi, do you really think we need bother those deservedly retired technocrats? We also don’t need the Head Of Service or Secretary to Government to persuade the president but direct our appeal straight to him to put in place, a team of patriotic young Nigerians with the expertise, as Special Assistants, working directly under his or the VP’s supervision, to initiate budgets and policies, where necessary, but primarily, to monitor, evaluate and report on all capital projects and the monster recurrent expenditure with emphasis on detailed pre-fund release documentations and auditing. Between us, I am sure we know a few honest and dependable young Nigerians, both here at home, and in the Diaspora, who can do this job. The civil service is far too gone in debauchery; it requires a complete overhaul – Patrick, Abuja.
COMMENTS ON: WANTED BY THE U.S: THE STOLEN MILLIONS OF DESPOTS AND CROOKED ELITES
To have heard what Mike Igini, unarguably our best ever INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, said on Channels TV, to wit: that a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, accused him on a flight from Abuja to Lagos that by the introduction of card readers, INEC was stopping them from making money, is to confirm Olu Aluko’s views that some of these senior lawyers and judges, are kissing cousins. It is, therefore, no surprise that by one single stroke the Supreme Court nullified all of Professor Atahiru Jega’s robust achievements in office, thereby setting Nigeria back many decades.
How unfortunate!
It has been gathered the four World Cup-winning Eaglets led by skipper Kelechi Nwakali will stop over at Belgian club Standard Liege before they are farmed out to various top European clubs.
Nwakali, Samuel Chukwueze, David Enogela and Joel Osikel have been signed by foremost players’ agents Stellar Group, who manage several top stars including Gareth Bale.
A top source informed: “The players have been invited to Europe by Standard Liege and it is from there that the players will be moved to other clubs in other leagues.”
Midfielder Nwakali was the MVP of the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup and he has been variously linked with several top English Premier League.
Despite the tightening of restrictions on foreign youngsters moving to England, Nwakali is expected to be granted a work permit when he turns 18 using the special talent clause.
Manchester City starlet Kelechi Iheanacho was MVP of the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup and used this clause to get a work permit this year.
The Imo State Task Force on Sports Facilities has made the appointments of an interim management team for Heartland FC which has Oscar Keke as the acting General Manager.
The former management of the Owerri side was placed on suspension immediately after the 2014/2015 league season ended last weekend as enquiry into the activities of the then Prince Okey Ibeh led management gathered momentum.
In a press release signed by the Deputy Speaker of the Imo House of Assembly who doubles as the chairman, Taskforce on Sports Facilities, Prince Eliza Ogbonna is the club’s international representative while the following are members of the interim management team: Tonnex Chukwu, Promise Nwachukwu, Sunday Black Ogbeka, Ignatius N Ibe, Neville Okere, Oliver Ajaegbu, Solomon Onu and Nduka Chiagozie.
Others include Bethel Orji, Uche Ejimofor, Gabriel Okoro, Bob Acholonu, Mangut Mbwas and Longinus Duru while Barrister Chike Onyeacho is to serve as the club’s legal adviser.
Heartland ended the season seventh on the campaign with 56 points from 38 matches and the new interim management has been charged with duty of changing the fortunes of the Naze Millionaires who are yet to win any laurel in the last three seasons.
•Says poll fraud won’t stand
•Party to boycott today’s rescheduled polls in Rivers, Bayelsa
The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has disclosed that it is about to conclude arrangements to storm the state Election Tribunal to reclaim its mandate, which it claimed was stolen by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in connivance with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Police during the governorship polls of April 11.
In a press release made available to newsmen on Friday and signed by the SSA Media and Public Affairs to the State Chairman, APC Rivers State, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, the Rivers State APC Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, reassured the people of the state that the mandate which they freely gave to the party and to its governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, would soon be retrieved for the good of the future of the state.
According to the statement, “This brazen electoral theft by Chief Nyesome Wike and his PDP gangsters cannot be allowed to stand. These power-drunk anti-democratic elements, in their desperation for power, were not discreet in their electoral fraud that saw the allocation of a bogus over a million votes to Chief Wike. The documents and video tapes so far assembled will surely see many Rivers INEC and PDP chieftains being thrown into jail at the end of the day,” Ikanya said.
Rivers APC declared that it has an iron-cast case against Wike and PDP, saying that it is not surprised that Wike, who cannot win up to 30 per cent of the votes in a free and fair election in Rivers State, is now desperately running from pillar to post in a bid to prevent the APC from going to the Tribunal.
“We wish to appeal to our members and the entire people of Rivers State to remain calm and resolute as the party goes to the Tribunal to retrieve their stolen mandate. Our case is as clear as daylight, as even Prof. Wole Soyinka, Ambassador John Endwistle of the United States of America, the European Union Electoral Observers and other international bodies have since testified that the elections purportedly conducted in Rivers State were a sham,” Ikanaya stated.
Meanwhile, ahead of today’s rescheduled state assembly poll in the state, the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the state assembly in the six constituencies in Rivers State, where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rescheduled election for today have disclosed that they are boycotting the exercise.
The aggrieved candidates also said that they have obtained a court injunction restraining INEC from conducting the rescheduled election, which INEC has said would hold today.
Speaking on behalf of the candidates in Port Harcourt yesterday, Hon. Chid Llyod, who is currently the lawmaker representing Emohua constituency, listed many reasons for the boycott, chief of which was that they have lost confidence in the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dame Gesila Khan to conduct a free and fair election.
Llyod also said that “there has been no official communication by INEC to us and our party, the APC, about the so called elections to be supervised by Gesila Khan, whose handling of the recent elections has been most controversial.”
Llyod also said that with the heavy presence of armed militants during the April 11, 2015 election, they cannot guarantee the safety of their own lives, their supporters and other voters.
The APC candidates, who quoted the reference numbers of the court injunction which they obtained from the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt on Friday, also added that all the relevant parties in the case have been duly served.
The constituencies where INEC said it would re-run the election are: Emohua; Etche 1; Etche 11; Ahoada East 1 and Ahoada East 11.
In a similar development, candidates of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and 12 other political parties in Bayelsa State yesterday declared their resolution to boycott the elections rescheduled to hold today in eight state House of Assembly constituencies.
INEC had postponed elections in the eight constituencies, citing insufficient electoral materials.
But a coalition of 13 political parties, including the APC, in a press briefing in Yenagoa, said they pulled out of the elections after discovering that the state office of INEC had entered into a “concrete agreement” with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to undo other parties.
The parties, in a statement signed by the Chairman of the APC, Mr. Tiwe Oruminighe, and other leaders of the concerned parties, said INEC and PDP had perfected a plot to hoard all sensitive materials meant for the election.
“Their ploy is to hoard all the sensitive electoral materials, result sheets inclusive, such that after the conduct of the election with non-sensitive materials, INEC staff, the electoral officers of the eight local government in the state will converge at designated places to enter their manufactured results into the original result sheets in favour of PDP”, they said.
The aggrieved parties further accused PDP of perfecting an illegal arrangement to use the military to intimidate, harass and muzzle other candidates and genuine voters to favour the PDP candidates.
The parties said they chose to boycott the elections to avoid bloodshed, destruction and maiming which could be provoked by the “wicked intentions” of PDP and INEC.
Party leaders who signed the statement are Gerebo Joseph (UDP), Abbey Daniel (APA), Helen Okorodas (ACD), Tukuwei Powede (ACPN), Bezi William (UPP) and Olomu Ebiowei (LP),
Others are Edwin Tare (DPP), King-George Lucky (CPP), Isaac Eze (MPPP), Oniekpe Prince (SDP) and Owei-tongu Woniwei (AD).
However, the state chapter of Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, (CNPP), dissociated itself from the boycott.
The reasons adduced for the boycott, according to a statement signed by Chairman of the CNPP, Mr. Lucky Akpeli, were not strong enough.
Renowned lawyer Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) has been appointed Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo.
Proprietor of the university, Supra Diocesan Board West of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), informed Olanipekun of the appointment in a letter signed by the Secretary, Supra Diocesan Board West, Rt. Rev. Humphrey B. Olumakaiye.
The diocese said Olanipekun’s appointment was as a result of his “invaluable contribution” to Nigeria’s education sector and “enviable record as a man of integrity and excellence.
In his acceptance letter, Olanipekun thanked the diocese for the honour, pledging to put in his best.
Other members of the Governing Council are: Mr. Toyin Okeowo; Prof. Mopelola Omoigun; Rev. M. A. Osunade; Chief M.A Aderiye; Rev. G. Lasebikan; Prof. J.B. Osemeikhan; Mr. Niyi Oguntoye; Prof. Susan Ajibade; Rev. Dapo Asaju; Mr. M.O. Abikoye and Justice B.O. Oguntade.