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Tag: Nigerian Newspaper

  • $9.6bn judgment: Court sends ex-Petroleum Ministry’s senior official to prison

    A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Apo, Abuja, has ordered that a former Director, Legal Services of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Grace Taiga, be remanded in Suleja Prison, in Niger State.

    Mrs. Taiga, who was arraigned before the court yesterday on an eight-count charge of bribery, among others, is to remain in prison until September 25, 2019 when her bail application would be heard.

    Upon her arraignment yesterday, Mrs. Taiga pleaded not guilty to the charge in which she was, among others, accused of  receiving bribe, through her offshore bank account in signing the Gas Supply Processing Agreement (GSPA) between P&ID Limited and the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Petroleum Resources Ministry on January 11, 2019, and over which an arbitration panel, which sat in London awarded about $9.6billion damages against Nigeria.

    After she pleaded to the charge, filed and being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), her lawyer, Ola Olanipekun (SAN), prayed the court to allow his client to be remanded in the custody of EFCC pending the determination of her bail application, on the grounds that she was suffering from hypertension and diabetes.

    Lead prosecuting lawyer, Bala Sanga, however, objected to Olanipelun’s  request and argued that the proper place to remand a defendant, whose plea had been taken,  is prison custody.

    In a ruling, Justice Olukayode Adeniyi upheld Sanga’s argument and ordered that the defendant be remanded in Suleja Prison.

    Justice Adeniyi directed that the defendant be accorded due medical treatment while she is in custody, pending the hearing and determination of her bail application.

    The judge subsequently scheduled September 25 for the hearing of her bail application.

    The EFCC also accused Mrs. Taiga of violating various laws by entering into the GSPA without a prior approval by the Federal Executive Council and a certificate of no-objection to the contract from the Bureau of Public Enterprise.

    Read Also: P&ID $9.6bn judgment: FG arraigns ex-Petroleum Resources official on bribery charges

    The charge is in relation to the  controversial Gas Supply Processing Agreement (GSPA), in respect of which a British court upheld P&ID claim to the  $9.6bn damages awarded against Nigeria by an arbitration tribunal

    The EFCC alleged that Mrs. Taiga  signed as Nigeria’s witness to the GSPA, while the then minister who was the head of the ministry, Rilwan Lukman (now late), signed as Nigeria’s representative.

    The charge reads in part:

    *That you Process and Industrial Developments Limited being a company incorporated in the British Virgin Island (convicted), Michael Quinn (deceased), Brendan Cahill (at large), Nel Hitchcock (deceased) and Grace Taiga on or about the 11th January, 2010 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this honourable court with intent to defraud, made a false statement in paragraph 8(g) of the Gas Supply and Processing Agreement (GSPA) to wit: the parties are aware that the 24inch Adanga pipeline presently under construction from the Addax operated OML 123 directly to Calabar and due for completion in 2010 which part of the said agreement you knew to be false and you thereby committed an n e contrary to section 362 (a) of the Penal Code Code Law and punishable under Section 364 of the same law.

    *That you, Grace Taiga and Dr. Rilwan Lukman  (deceased) being public officers on or about the 11lh January, 2010 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this honourable court signed a contract titled Gas Supply and Processing Agreement between the Ministry of Petroleum Resources of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Process and Industrial Development Limited, a corporation organised and existing under the laws of the British Virgin Island, without any cash backing and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 22(4) of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences act, 2000.

    *That you, Grace Taiga and Dr. Rilwan Lukman  (deceased) being public officers on or about the 11th January, 2010 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court signed a contract titled Gas Supply and Processing Agreement between the Ministry of Petroleum Resources of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Process and Industrial Development Limited, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the British Virgin Island without obtaining the requisite statutory approvals of the Federal Executive Council pursuant to section 2 (1) and (2) of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (Establishment, ETC),2005 and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 22(4) of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences act, 2000.

    *That you, Grace Taiga (former Director of Legal Services in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources) on or about the 14th of September, 2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this honourable court corruptly received the sum of $1,000 (one thousand United States Dollars) from Eastwise Trading Limited through the Zenith Bank offshore Account No. 5070369868 operated by you on account of the favour you showed to Process and Industrial Development Limited, which led to the definitive agreement entered into between the company incorporated in the British Virgin Island and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in 2010 and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 8(1) (a) of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences act, 2000.

  • I might pose nude for cover if it’s for a good cause, payment … – Ex-BBN Housemate Avala

    Former Big Brother Naija (BBN) housemate, Saidat ‘Avala’ Balogun, who studied Music and Business at York College in Queens, New York, is a budding singer. The Ogun State native’s ambition is to spread her music all over the world. Being one of the very first contestants to leave the house, she speaks to SAMPSON UNAMKA and DAVID ORAEMEKA, on her exploits, passion, and favourite housemates on the show among other issues. Excerpts.

    Were you disappointed leaving the house at the early stage?

    Yes, I was disappointed I left the house so early. I never thought that I  would leave the house that soon and especially based on a game of chance and not vote.

    What were the expectations you had in mind before going in?

    The expectation I  had in mind before going into the house was that  I thought I would be able to stay long enough to showcase my talents and to also show my personality more and at least be long enough for that, but who knows what would have happened if I stayed longer.  I probably would have won.  I don’t know, guess we never know.

    Most people go on the show for the fame, what’s that part of your plan?

    Yes, I went inside the house for the fame and also for the experience and I felt that it would be a very good social experiment for me and I found it pretty fun.

    Were you just into music before going into the house?

    Before I entered the house yes I was a full time musician and also a mum.  I also had like a side business where I used to make hair wigs for people. Yeah, that’s it.

    Your fans said your strategy failed. Was that true?

    I do not think my fans would ever say my strategy failed because even though I didn’t have a strategy, it was not what got me out of the house.  It was a game that got me out of the house. There was no voting ,so there was no failed moment. It could have happened to anyone.

    Even with your short stay in the house can you say that has given you the platform you wanted for yourself or your business?

    Well , I don’t think that one week was enough for me at all but I decided to just vibe with the little platform I had gotten and basically try to elevate myself and put myself out there as much as I can especially for my music career. It wasn’t enough for my music career but I have been given a lot of love and support from my fans and I do not regret any of that.

    Who’s your favourite housemate and who do you think will win the Big Brother show?

    Well, I have two favourite housemate to be honest. My favourite housemates are  Mercy and Mike .I like Mercy because Mercy is really down to earth .She shows her flaws, she’s very caring ,she has this human sympathy that I like and she shows than the other cast members. She is really hot and I feel she’s the real pepper of the show and I like Mike because he  is just a neutral person. He is funny. It is fun the way he praises his wife, the way he carries himself and everything about him shows how mature he is and he is just playing the game as best as he can and also at the same time not messing up his relationship and his brand.

    From your profile, you are a fashion freak, would you agree to pose nude on a top magazine cover?

    I wouldn’t consider myself a fashion freak but I just love to look good. I  don’t like sticking to one particular look. I like changing my style and changing my look.  I just basically like to feel good or dress the way I feel at that particular time and also I don’t really know if I would actually pose nude for cover unless if it for a good cause and good payment(laughs).

    What’s up with your foundation for battered women?

    The Foundation for Battered Women is still in the works. I  am definitely still going to make that happen.  I still need guidance and sponsorships. This means a lot to me and I feel like if I should do it anyhow, it  is not going to get the message that am trying to put across.  I want women to be comfortable, coming out, telling their stories, showing their emotions and letting people know what is going on all over Africa with women in general and I want to be able to make that place a safe place for us because it is not easy being a woman in a man’s world but very soon, things would change because it’s already started changing.

    My music career being a female artiste is very hard.  It is harder to break through into the audience because they think we are talentless or they think that most of us are women that are sleeping with men to get to where we need to be when we are out there and there’s plenty of women out there very, very talented but we go to studios and different places and they all want to try and sleep with us, exploit us or not take us seriously sometimes.  If you noticed some posters from some concerts, you will see either one woman and plenty men but there is a lot of women out there that are doing music.  Why is there only one woman on the poster? I have been going through that. In some cases there would be  no woman at all on the poster for some concerts and some shows but  hopefully,  things will start to change very soon .

    What’s the best thing about being a single mum?

    Been a mum in general is a blessing because there are plenty of women out there who are looking for children. When you have a child,  you consider it a blessing that you brought another human being into the world and not only that,  even if you adopt a kid or you raise someone else’s child, just being responsible for someone is a lot of work.  Being responsible for someone is also a blessing because the way that person might grow up is a reflection of the way you raised that child and I want to be a role model for my child and to be able to be someone she can look at and say that’s my mum, that who I  respect,  that who I love ,that who I want to be like,  that am trying to do with my whole career.  I want to make myself happy at the same time making my child happy.

    In a previous interview you said crying does not make you weak and it’s better to let it out. Frodd is well known for crying and his fans tagged him weak, would you say it’s true?

    Crying does not make you weak.  Crying is something that is needed.  It’s therapeutic. And you guys need to understand that inside that house the emotions are on a 100.  We were missing our families, we had  not seen outside,  we’ve all been through stuff in our lives that are affecting us and inside that house we tend to start reflecting on those things that we missed out in our lives or the things that we wished we could change or that has happened to us that we couldn’t  just help but to remember because there was no TV, no clocks,  no nothing and the only thing we were left with was the game and our thoughts. I understand why he is very emotional and I don’t see him being  weak at all. Omashola has cried ,Mercy has cried ,Tacha has cried, everyone in the house has shed tears at one time or the other. Even if they didn’t cry,  a lot of people in there have had a lot of emotional experience and been in that show was very,  very emotional.

    What do your fans expect next from your music and your other businesses?

    I want to take my music to the next level. I am definitely working on my EP called looking for Avala which would drop soon. I am  also going to drop a new single and drop a video at the same time. I am also working on some movie projects.  I want to get into the Nollywood industry, and am working on opening several businesses and partnering with some others  and hopefully, everything will fall in place and everybody should stay tuned.

    Mention one  Nigerian A-list artiste you would love to do a feature with?

    I will definitely love to work with Burna-Boy, Davido ,Teni ,Simi , Nonso Amandi and Wurld.  I love to work with them. Hopefully,  I will get that opportunity too.

  • Confessions of an alleged serial killer

    • ’How I murdered seven women’
    • Says I enjoy killing when the urge comes on me
    • ’I killed my first victim in a Lagos hotel’

    It was confession time on Friday for the man believed to have been responsible for the serial killing of young women in Port Harcourt over the last few months.

    Thirty-nine year old Gracious David West told reporters in the Rivers State capital that he had also killed in Lagos and Imo States.

    He put the number of his victims at seven.

    He was arrested on Thursday by the police while en route Uyo from c.

    His arrest came hours after protests by women groups in Port Harcourt calling for the security agencies to fish out the brains behind the mysterious killings of women in hotels.

    West, who hails from Buguma in Asari-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, claimed that he  killed five women in Port Harcourt and  one each  in Ikeja and Owerri.

    His modus operandi was to take his victims to a hotel, confiscate their ATM cards and thereafter kill them.

    He would then proceed to the nearest ATM and clear the accounts of his victims.

    His first killing was in Lagos.

    “I started the killing in Lagos, that was where I got money because the first girl had N85,000 in her account,” West said.

    “After that, I went to Port Harcourt, then Owerri. I returned to Port Harcourt. The last girl I killed I met her at the club.”

    Read Also: #ProtectPHGirls trends as Nigerians react to ‘serial killer’ in PH

    West said he was on his way to Akwa-Ibom when he was arrested by operatives of the special anti-robbery squad, Bori in Rivers.

    ”When the urge comes, I move into a hotel, invite a girl after and after eating and making love, I will bring out a kitchen knife and threaten her not to shout,” West said.

    He added: “I don’t know what comes over me to kill. After I have killed, I feel remorse and cry for killing, but after that, the irresistible urge to kill comes over me again. I kill alone.

    ”I was a member of the Degbam Cult group, I have since repented. I am not killing for any cult group. I just kill. I don’t know what comes over me to kill.

    ”The first woman I killed in one of the hotels in Ikeja had about N85,000 in her account. Before I strangled them after love making, I used the knife to cut the hotel bedding into a semblance of a twine which I used to bind their hands and feet, and also used the knife to threaten them.

    “The kitchen knife was sold to me by an aboki. I would threaten that if they raised the alarm, I would kill them with the knife.

    “Out fear, they kept quiet while I raised the volume of the television set in the hotel room to prevent any noise from my room. I never killed with the knife.”

    West also revealed that before he killed his female victims, he insisted on knowing their account balance and ATM pin number.

    “After strangulating them, I would steal their ATM cards, empty their accounts from any nearby ATM machine and move on.

    “It was not all the girls I slept with that I killed. I only killed whenever the irresistible urge to kill overwhelmed me.

    “l don’t have a house. My mother died through poisoning from her mate and I am homeless. I sleep in hotels.”

    He said that the phones he stole from his victims were sold to a customer in Waterlines Junction, off Port Harcourt/Aba Expressway and another buyer around MTN office by Oil Mill Market in Port Harcourt.

    West claimed to be an  ex-militant  rehabilitated by the Omega Power Ministry (OPM) which also got  a job for him at the Federal University of Science and Technology, FUTO, Owerri, through the Church.

    He ditched the job after stealing students’ property.

    Police Commissioner, Mustapha Dandaura who paraded the suspect  does not believe that West was acting alone.

    “The suspect is definitely not alone in these killings, though he had made useful confessions, but the command will go beyond his confessions to ensure that a conclusive end is achieved that serves the interest of justice ,” he said.

    Dandaura said his insistence that hotels in the state should install Closed Circuit Television Cameras, CCTVs, was beginning to yield positive results.

    He vowed that the Police, under his Command would fight crimes headlong in the state, adding that with joint operations with the army and other security agencies, the killings in Ogoniland was dropping, while “I have stabilized East-West road, the Elele-Owerri road.”

  • ‘I masterminded the killing of my gang’s leader’

    A notorious kidnapper, Nwobodo Uchechukwu, has revealed that he masterminded the beheading of the leader of his gang, Christian Nkemjika a.k.a School Boy, because he was very greedy.

    Uchechukwu was arrested alongside other members of his gang- Tony Rafael; Nnaji Romanus; Nwobodo Uche and Uchechukwu Ibekwe, by the operatives of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT).

    The suspects were arrested from their hideouts in Rivers and Imo States.

    They were said to have kidnapped the Chief Accountant of Plantgeria Limited, an oil firm based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Dr. S.M.C Maduagwu in February 2018 and collected N20 million ransom.

    Uchechukwu, 38, disclosed that School Boy collected more than the amount he collected as ransom on a kidnap victim he kidnapped on behalf of the gang.

    He stated that School Boy deceitfully declared a sum of N10 million instead of N20 million ransom he was paid by family members of the victim.

    He said: “I am a full time farmer, but I went into kidnapping when my wife fell sick and was down with stroke. Her doctor demanded the sum of N200, 000 deposit (for her treatment) and I approached School-Boy my gang leader; he gave me the sum of N100, 000 to give to the doctor. He told me about the accountant I was to closely watch or monitor and I did as he instructed for about one month till the day he was ready to kidnap the man. I trailed the man (victim) from the time he left his office and when he got to Oil Mill junction, Schoolboy and other members of the gang who were decked in polce abd army uniform abducted the man and took him away in their Toyota Hilux van.

    Read Also: Three suspected kidnappers shot dead in Kogi

    ‘’The man was taken to my farm where he was kept and negotiation for his ransom was concluded.  I wasn’t in the farm with them, but after the kidnapping, School-Boy gave me the balance of N100,000 to give to my wife’s doctor. Two weeks later School Boy informed me that N10  million had been paid as ransom for the release of the accountant release and that the man had been freed.

    ‘’At that time, I didn’t doubt him and all of us that took part in the operation to the home of a native doctor known as Romanus Nnaji and he started sharing the money. He handed me the sum of N1.5million to give to Ibekwe and Stanley, the informants that brought the job and he also gave me N500, 000 as my own share.

    ‘’Few months after that operation, I got a call that my brother had been arrested by the police over the kidnapping of the accountant and that the actual amount paid for the man’s freedom was N20million. I felt bad that School-Boy cheated every one of us by declaring N10 million as the only ransom that was paid and he kept the other N10million to himself and shared the one he declared with us.

    ‘’I said nothing at that time because the police were looking for me and I ran to a church in Akwa Ibom for prayers to ask God for forgiveness and told the people at the church about the police that were looking for me. But while I was at the church, the policemen trailed me  down to the church and luckily for me I was in the church’s toilet when I saw the police van and I fled into the bush.

    ‘’I trekked in that bush to Ndoni area of Rivers State. When I got back, I called School Boy and told him that the police were looking for me and I could not continue to run and I assured him that I will surrender myself but he threatened to kill me.

    ‘’I then ran to Imo State and I stayed there for three weeks and the police came again to look for me but I escaped. While I was running away to hide for the tide to pass, I called School-Boy to give me part of the N10million he refused to declare to the gang so that I could run out of the country, but he refused, and I felt the best thing I should do at the moment was to set him up and have him killed.

    ‘’I contacted some members of De-Gbam confraternity who had been looking for him and I gave out his location to them and they attacked and beheaded him. After they succeeded in the killing of School-Boy, I approached a lawyer in Owerri Imo  State where I was hiding with my pregnant wife to seek a legal advice on what I could do since the police were hunting for me everywhere. I was there when the nurse at the hospital where my wife had gone to deliver her baby told me on the telephone that policemen had trailed my wife to her hospital and I ran away again. I was later arrested in June 2019 by the operatives in Orlu Imo State,’’ he added.

  • NCS disagrees with Okah on medical treatment 

    The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) has expressed shock over the claim by Charles Okah that he is dying slowly in prison due to lack of access to medical treatment.

    NCS described the claim as false, adding that he is receiving proper medical attention.

    Okah, who is currently confined to the Maiduguri correctional facility was jailed for life with his co-defendant, Obi Nwabueze, for masterminding the bomb blasts which occurred in Abuja on October 1, 2010 and earlier in Warri, Delta State, on March 15 of the same year in a court presided over by Justice Gabriel Kolawole.

    The two convicts were said to have conspired with Henry Okah who was the leader of the defunct Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND).

    Henry was jailed by a South African court in 2013 for similar offences and sentenced to 24 years’ imprisonment.

    The conviction is currently before the Court of Appeal.

    Okah’s claim was contained in a September 3, 2019 letter to the Controller General of the NCS, Ja’afaru Ahmed, by his counsel, C.A Mishael.

    He pleaded to be transferred to either Abuja or Lagos for better care. He also said he had been living with a kidney in the last 37 years and his condition was deteriorating in prison.

    The NCS Public Relations Officer (PRO), Francis Enobore, who spoke with our correspondent on the development, said Okah is receiving best medical attention in Maiduguri.

    Read Also: ‘NCS Act 2019: Bold step towards international standards’

    Enobore said: “There are teaching hospitals all over the country. It is not only Lagos or Abuja that we have teaching hospitals.

    “We have qualified medical doctors all over the country that can take care of inmates. Any sickness that our facilities cannot handle, we take it to the nearest government hospital and that is what we have been doing.

    “We have not lost any inmates on account of poor medical attention. Yes, it is possible for an inmate to be given treatment and the person may not recover from it which, of course, is not peculiar to a prison environment.

    “People in the society also fall sick; they make use of medical facilities and sometimes they are not able to pull through. They do not die because of poor medical attention. The health of every inmate is very important to the Controller General of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS) because we do not pray to lose anyone or have any of our inmates undergoing poor health. It does not even pay us because, if the inmate in not feeding well, the officer in-charge and his men will be disturbed.

    “So what I am trying to tell you is that wherever our inmates are kept, we have a standby medical team assigned to take care of them. Should everybody in Maiduguru be transferred to Lagos or Abuja before he gets medical attention?”

  • Lancelot Imasuen’s ‘WEDE’ shines at Frankfurt

    WEDE, a feature length film by Lancelot Imasuen, that focuses on female genital mutilation was the star at the recently concluded Nollywood Film Festival Germany (NFFG) which held in Frankfurt, Germany on August 30 and August 31, 2019.

    The annual event organized by Ehizoya Golden Entertainment e.V, kick started with the premiere of ‘WEDE’.

    Set in the 1980s, ‘Wede’, an adaptation of Professor Julia Okoh’s novel, ‘Edewede’, exposes the negative effects of female genital mutilation which is still very much prevalent among rural dwellers in the Midwestern part of Nigeria. In the story, a fearless and determined young lady led other women to a revolt that saw an age long tradition abolished. They fought courageously and tirelessly to put an end to barbaric tradition, something most men have had the luxury of taking for granted.

    Some stars in the movie include Oge Okoye, Rita Edochie, Nosa Obaseki, Francis Onwochei, Eunice Omoregie and Isio Joseph.

    In his opening speech before the screening, the event director and the innovator of the festival, Mr. Isaac Izoya, said ‘Wede’ was selected because of the originality that depicts the message of a culture that must be exterminated.

    Nollywood, he said, is a cultural exchange learning tool within Germany and Nigeria alike that must be promoted.

    The screening took place at Cinema Film forum Höchst, Emmerich-Josef-Strasse in Frankfurt am Main and some of those who watched it shared their experiences.

    “This is my first time ever watching Nollywood film and I must confess that I’ve a great lesson of how best to approach issues related to traditional matters in Africa,” said Niels Bartels, an African News Analyst.

    “It’s a nice and must-watch movie,” said Sarah Agbebaku, a student in Dusseldorf.

    “I cried at the cinema and it’s a tradition that must be abolished. I advise women to resist it by all means possible.”

    Sadly, Lancelot Imasuen, director of ‘WEDE’ was absent due to the sudden death of his father just few days to the event.

    The chairman of Nigerian community in Hessen State, Engr. Iyamu, praised the turn out to watch WEDE.

  • Minister, NFF agree to rejig football

    The Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare on Friday met with members of the Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in a bid to give new direction to football in the country.

    The meeting which was at the instance of the minister was attended by 15 board members of NFF led by its President, Amaju Pinnick.

    In a communique signed by the Minister and NFF President, the meeting was aimed at ensuring smooth administration of football in the country, as well as charts a new and dynamic focus for the game.

    Read Also: Veteran Journalist Sunday Dare is new sports minister

    Basically, the communique stated that efforts would also be geared towards re-positioning the domestic league, youth development as well as ensuring early preparation for participation in tournaments and championships.

    Also efforts would be made to develop  sporting facilities particularly football pitches and other infrastructure across the country.

    Improving the positive perception of football administration and ensuring the NFF Bill with the National assembly is transmitted for assent by the president speedily were among the issues raised at the parley.

    Efficient management of resources and deepening private investment in sports development are other issues expected to be worked on.

  • Ogun govt pledges good governance

    The Ogun State Deputy Governor, Engr. Noimot Salako-Oyedele, has said the Prince Dapo Abiodun-led government is committed to good governance which can only be achieved, if the right process is in place for effective implementation.

    Engr. Salako-Oyedele stated this during a courtesy call to her by the Conference of Auditors-General for Local Governments of Federation,  South-West Zone,  led by its chairman, Mr. Francis Adaramola, at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

    She said the present administration’s focus was to improve the quality of the civil service in the state.

    The Deputy  Governor, who received the delegation in company with the state Head of Service on behalf of the Governor, Prince  Dapo Abiodun, noted that the present government was concerned about improving infrastructure and creating an enabling environment , adding that effective legislation would go a long way in improving the lot of the auditors-general.

    In his remarks, the chairman, South-West Zone, Mr. Francis Adaramola, called on the government to put in place the audit law which would ensure the independence of the Office of the Accountant-General for effective performance.

    Read Also: Governor Abiodun’s ‘Oko Owo Dapo’

    Meanwhile, Engr. Salako-Oyedele has restated the present administration’s commitment to broaden the scope of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) across public secondary schools in the state in order to achieve qualitative education that parents desire for their wards.

    Engr. Salako-Oyedele, who made this known while receiving the executive members of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT),Ogun State wing, who paid her a courtesy visit in Abeokuta, said plans were underway to introduce quality assurance in secondary schools, as the governor would appoint consultants to look into ways of upgrading the schools into the 21st century status.

    Earlier, the chairman of union, Comrade Titilope Adebanjo, thanked the government for the approval of the 2016 and 2017 promotions, prompt payment of teacher’s salaries and capacity building of teachers.

  • Bauchi governor, NLTP and imperfect identity

    Before it is over, the controversy over whether to execute a Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) programme for herdsmen or serve it in the somewhat more inoculated version of National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) will have cost jobs, denuded political influence and prestige, and stoked pain, anger and suspicion all over the country.

    RUGA, which is hated in some parts of the country for its provocative and culturally flagrant acronym, was to be anchored by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture in ways that stupefied many. NLTP on the other hand, though still viewed with extreme suspicion, emanated from the National Economic Council (NEC). Who first conceived it? It is not clearly stated. For now, flowing from the acrimonious debate over the relevance and security implications of RUGA, the more inclusive NLTP appears to be on the ascendancy, with a hefty budget of about N179bn proposed for its execution over a 10-year period.

    Neither NLTP nor RUGA is devoid of controversy, and may not even be the best scientific approach to solving the so-called herdsmen-farmers clashes. Both programmes came out of many decades of slovenly approach to tackling climate problems and desertification, which pushed herdsmen contentiously farther afield in search of grazing lands, and the increasing conurbation and population explosion that have constricted grazing lands. Unable to find the antidote to a fast-growing and menacing problem, the federal government simply watched, sometimes with futile gestures, as herdsmen and farmers locked horns. Now the problem has reached epidemic levels, and is demanding for a solution whether the government likes it or not.

    But rather than look at the problem carefully and cautiously and weigh every suggested solution against the backdrop of the country’s cultural sensitivities and political complexities, the government has made a fairly conventional assessment of the causes of the problem, stunted the need to seek more modern and efficacious solutions, and is now attempting to impose a solution whose future ramifications are unpredictable. RUGA was the more insensitive of the two solutions, but there is also no proof that even the NLTP has met with anything more than cautious and reluctant acceptance from so-called willing states. Indeed, there is no proof that governors, who are members of the NEC, have all confidently signed on to the sanitised variant of the two programmes, especially with the ongoing subterranean and contentious attempt to settle Fulani herdsmen in some unwilling parts of the country.

    To further muddy the waters, the declaration by the Bauchi State governor Bala Mohammed that the Fulani of West Africa have a transcendental identity, and must willy-nilly partake of the NLTP, has stoked controversy and imbued the programme with a suspicious hegemonic quality. The NEC is proposing an initial N100bn budget, fully funded by Nigerian taxpayers. According to Mr Mohammed, however, it would be pointless to attempt to exclude Fulani herdsmen from neighbouring West African countries, because you couldn’t tell the difference: they are all one and the same. They migrate seamlessly and share the same nationality. The governor was, in other words, declaring that the Fulani everywhere see themselves as Fulani first and foremost rather than through the lens of the countries of their birth. This is hugely controversial, ignorant and provocative.

    According the governor:  “I think there is a lot of mistrust and misconception as regards the Fulani man. The Fulani man is a global or African person. He moves from the Gambia to Senegal and his nationality is Fulani. As a person I may have my relations in Cameroon but they are also Fulani. I am a Fulani man from my maternal side. We will just have to take this as our own heritage, something that is African. So, we cannot just close our borders and say the Fulani man is just a Nigerian. In most cases, the crisis is precipitated by those outside Nigeria. When there is a reprisal, it is not the Fulani man within Nigeria that causes it. It is that culture of getting revenge which is embedded in the traditional Fulani man that attracts reprisal…We are already accommodating them. Do you delineate and really know who is not a Nigerian Fulani man? They are all Nigerians because their identity, their citizenship is Nigerian even though they have relatives from all be a $30bn [£22.8bn] company in terms of revenue,” said Dangote.

    Wao! Dangote is renowned for doing good business. Our sports administrators must sit up and embrace the reality that sports increases the GDP of countries that understand the dynamics of the industry. Spain’s economy, a growing one like Nigeria’s, relies greatly on the volume of cash generated from the sports sector.

    FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Villarreal, Valencia are not all about football. They have basketball clubs, volleyball clubs, athletics clubs etc, which are professionally run. But football serves as the fountain where others seek succour, considering its followership as the king of sports.

    La Liga’s contribution in Spain’s national economy is no less than any other top-run industry in the country. The two elite division football leagues in Spain generate 185,000 jobs, €4.1 billion ($4.66 bn) in taxes and a turnover equal to 1.37% of the national GDP. This is one sport – football. Others are also run as businesses. Sample: Vuelta a España, a race around Spain and one of cycling’s biggest events.

    Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues spent a record £5billion on players this summer despite Premier League clubs, usually the continent’s most active shoppers, slightly reining in their spending, Deloitte has revealed.

    Honourable minister sir, sponsorship isn’t donation but value exchange based on inventories of benefits accruing to the firm(s) or individual. Indeed, sponsorship without television as a key element amounts to winking in the dark. Our sports is more of having a half empty glass than a half filled one, largely because those who administered it in the past lacked the political will, which Dare is exhibiting with his reposition of issues in so short a time.

    Indeed, there was no funding of sports here because most of the ministers were interested in fighting NFF chiefs and other federations’ helmsmen than creating a financial sponsorship model driven by the principles of Public Private Partnership (PPP).  Dare needs to find out what happened to all the Sports Lottery Fund and some others like the fund-raisers before the last two World Cup tournaments for the Super Eagles.

    The country seriously needs a Sustenance fund for our athletes which should be tied to big firms and/or rich individuals so that we can chart these sports ambassadors’ growth in the events. Besides, we need to re-introduce the fund-raisers we did at least one year before attending major competitions. President Buhari could commence it with a dinner where the big players in business are told what they stand to gain supporting sports. Such incentives as tax rebates would propel them to support sports for as long as they can be assured that the cash isn’t misapplied. The fund raisers will then be taken round the country for all the states to contribute their quota. However, a deliberate attempt should be made to let everyone know how much was realised and how the cash was spent. The minister could use the visits through the states to dialogue with the governors on his vision for sports.

    It is instructive for the minister to meet with sports friendly firms who have left the industry to find out what informed their exits. That way, past mistakes are corrected so that others can be encouraged to participate.

  • Unease in soldiers’ camp in Katsina

    Not a few eyebrows were raised when the governor of Katsina State, Rt Hon. Aminu Masari, recently took the decision to go into the hideouts of the bandits that had held the state by the jugular for years and engage them in dialogue.

    While some people felt that the move amounted to a great risk on his considering how ruthless the bandits had become, others believed that it was administratively unethical that such anti-social elements would be engaged in a dialogue rather than the fire-for-fire approach.

    It would seem, however, that Masari’s decision has turned out a wise one, going by the revelations that have emerged from it.

    The bandits did not only respond positively to Masari’s olive branch by their decisions to drop their arms and cooperate with the state government in its developmental efforts, some of them were also said to have dropped useful hints to the effect that many of the soldiers and policemen deployed to check the activities of the bandits had been compromised.

    Some of the security agents were said to have entered into agreements with the bandits to look the other way while they carried on with their nefarious activities or even provide them with arms and ammunition while the bandits pay back in cash or rustled cattle.

    Since two leaders of the repentant bandits reportedly opened the Pandora box, security agencies have been working on clues to uncover the soldiers and policemen fueling banditry in the state. Sentry gathered that many of the errant soldiers and policemen are already cringing, with some of them desperately seeking to be transferred away from the state.