NIGERIAN SUFFERING BECAUSE OF SOUTH EAST – ORJI UZOR KALU
Dons Eze
- January 19, 2025
ABDUCTED ANAMBRA REVEREND SISTERS REGAIN FREEDOM
ABDUCTED ANAMBRA REVEREND SISTERS REGAIN FREEDOM The two abducted reverend sisters, identified as Vincentia Nwankwo and Grace Okoli, have regained freedom after spending about six days with their captors. The reverend sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Christ, were kidnapped on Tuesday, along the Ufuma Road in Orumba North Local Government Area of the state, on their way back from a vocational association’s meeting in Ogboji. Although the actual date of their release could not be ascertained, their release was confirmed in a press statement issued on Monday and signed by the Secretary General of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Maria Ikeotuonye. According to Ikeotuonye, the two reverend sisters were released unconditionally and are in good health. The statement read in part, “I bring to your notice in joy that our dear Sisters Vincentia Maria Nwankwo and Grace Mariette Okoli, who were kidnapped in the evening of Tuesday, January 7, 2025, have been released unconditionally and in good health. “We thank God and thank you all for your prayers and support all through these rough and uncertain days. May God forever be blessed through Mary our Mother.” When contacted, the Anambra State Police Command Spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed their release but said the command was yet to take brief of what happened. “Yes, we are hearing that the two nuns have been released, but the command is yet to take the brief from the victims to ascertain what happened. Further details shall be communicated,” Ikenga added.
MARKETERS RAISE PRICES OF PETROL BY 4.75% AT DEPOTS
MARKETERS RAISE PETROL PRICES BY 4.75% AT DEPOTS The loading cost of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) and other refined petroleum products at the depots increased on Monday. The PUNCH gathered that marketers raised petrol and diesel prices at depots by N43 or 4.74 per cent due to the rising crude oil prices. Recall that the cost of Brent, the global benchmark for crude, reached $79.76 per barrel on Sunday. This current situation indicates that filling stations nationwide may adjust their pump prices to reflect the higher costs of refined products. Data obtained by our correspondent while analysing petrol price movements at loading depots on Monday showed that Swift depot increased its loading price to N950 per litre from N907 last Friday. Wosbab Depot increased its price to N950 from N909, while Sahara Depot made a similar change to N950 from the N910 it sold a litre of petrol last Friday. Also, a private depot, Shellplux, increased its loading costs to N960 from N908. Chipet Depot asked retailers to pay N960 per litre to receive products. It sold at N908 per litre last week Friday. Nipco Depot increased its price by N38 from N912 to N950 while the Matrix Warri Depot increased its cost from N925 per litre to N945. Our correspondent also gathered that marketers who picked products from the Dangote refinery and resell to other retailers increased their costs to N923 per litre despite picking products from the refinery at N899 per litre. For diesel, some loading depot prices including Stockgap depot increased its price from N1,080 to N1,150. Ibeto Depot approved an increase from N1,050 to N1,150 per litre. Sahara Depot sold its product at N1,150 from N1,045 last week. Nipco Depot increased its price to N1,150 from N1,120 while Optima Depot approved a N72 increase to N1,120 per litre from N1,048. The average increase in depot prices for PMS stands at approximately 7-10 per cent while AGO prices have surged by 5-10 per cent, depending on the depot and location. Reacting in an earlier interview, an oil and gas expert, Olatide Jeremiah, said depots are poised to increase the loading price of refined petroleum products. Jeremiah, who is the Chief Executive Officer of petroleumprice.ng, said, “It implies that there is a possibility of increased fuel prices, particularly diesel prices. “As of Friday, when Brent crude neared $80, prices selectively increased in some depots in Lagos, and on Monday, prices might be jacked up by importers because a large chunk of oil marketers import petroleum products and Brent crude is a major determining factor in the refining process.” Another marketer, Bayo Adelaja said, “Depot rates have escalated sharply, and this is directly affecting pump prices. Consumers should expect further fluctuations in the coming weeks,” he noted. With depot rates showing no signs of stabilising, the coming weeks may bring further adjustments, emphasising the need for long-term strategies to mitigate the impact on consumers and the economy.
THE MANY SINS THAT COST FORMER LAGOS SPEAKER, OBASA, HIS SEAT
THE MANY SINS THAT COST FORMER LAGOS SPEAKER, OBASA HIS SEAT Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa had his eyes on the governorship seat of Lagos when his colleagues booted him out of office on Monday. Reports on Obasa’s interest in the coveted seat were discarded as mere rumour in some quarters, but the message became clearer after the Archbishop of Methodist Church Nigeria (Lagos), Most Rev. Isaac Ayo Olawuyi, indirectly drummed up support for the three-term speaker during the Lagos House of Assembly’s 22nd Annual Thanksgiving Service. At the event which the former Speaker attended, Olawuyi had said in the interest of religious tolerance, Lagosians should elect a Muslim as governor in 2027. “I also want to add that we have consideration for religious inclination in Lagos State. It would be 12 years in 2027 that we have been in the system together and we have been having Christians as governors. Now, it’s time to give our Muslim brothers a chance to govern us in Lagos State. We want to pray that when it’s time for the election, it would be a time for us to elect who will govern us in Lagos State effectively,” the Archbishop had said. He went further to praise the former Speaker for his leadership and collaboration with the other arms of government, saying these have kept the state strong. “You have been a true and sensitive leader with a big heart. You have proved yourself worthy. We pray that God will continue to use you to make us smile in Lagos and also grant you your heart desires,” he said. After that event, the campaign for Obasa regained momentum while the former Speaker carried on with glee. However, he was impeached on Monday, about a month after that endorsement. For a man who lasted that long in a slippery political environment, how did such fate befall him? How did his adversaries get him? According to reports, Obasa’s travail began after the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), the highest decision-making body of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos reported him to President Bola Tinubu. Putting it mildly, a chieftain of the ruling party who spoke off the record said, “The seemingly insurmountable walls around him started crumbling during the End-of-The Year break. His fate was sealed after our elders visited the president. That meeting nailed his political coffin.” During the visit, insiders said top on the agenda of the GAC was the cold war between Obasa and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Although Sanwo-Olu and Obasa have had a running battle, the matter came to a head during the 2025 budget presentation. Obasa stoked controversy when he declared that he was not too young or lacked experience to run for Lagos governor. He had said, “I am not too young or lacking experience to run. Those who have been before me are not better off… I have made it a personal task to mobilize people on the platform of Mandate, which some political detractors have misconstrued as being a selfish aspiration on the ground for me to become governor of the state.” Making such remark on live TV and right in the presence of Sanwo-Olu had drawn the ire of the party leadership in the state and they waited for a ripe time to tender their grievances before their leader. The chairman of GAC, Alhaji Tajudeen Olusi, was said to have started the discussion by reminding the president of how highly the governor’s office was when he governed between 1999 and 2007. He reportedly told the president how disrespectful Obasa had been to Sanwo-Olu, citing several instances. Tinubu was said to have openly lashed the former speaker for not just disrespecting the governor but also the GAC and party elders. Since that…
ARTHUR NZERIBE, THE MAN WHO BROUGHT DOWN GOVERNMENTS IN NIGERIA AND GHANA
ARTHUR NZERIBE: THE MAN WHO BROUGHT DOWN GOVERNMENTS IN NIGERIA AND GHANA When people talk or think of Senator Arthur Nzeribe, they often associate him with the infamous Association for Better Nigeria, which Mr. Nzeribe formed as a special-purpose vehicle to scuttle the June 12, 1993, Presidential election. For two years, they waited and lurked in the dark for the opportune time to strike, which came on June 10, 1993, when every other effort to stop Chief Moshood Abiola had failed. When the National Electoral Commission proceeded with the election, Arthur Nzeribe and his cronies went again to Abuja to secure an order from Justice Ikpeme’s boss, Justice Dahiru Saleh, to stop it. Justice Dahiru Saleh had actually assigned the case to a female Justice of Igbo origin, but the woman had a fear of God and fell ‘sick’ and had to be flown out of Nigeria. Some people who knew her later reported seeing the sick judge shopping in Europe. When other judges refused to get entangled in what they rightly or wrongly considered a dirty job, Justice Dahiru Saleh was left to do it himself. And just like that, Arthur Nzeribe and his cronies wasted the ₦40 billion (equivalent to $2 billion at the time) Nigeria has spent on the transition programme. But that was not the first time Arthur Nzeribe had played the spoiler. Kwame Nkrumah, the charismatic founding father of Ghana and its first President, was on a state visit to China and North Vietnam when a group of military and police officers overthrew his government in an unnecessarily bloody coup. The coup was led by General Joseph Arthur Ankrah, who emerged as the new Ghanaian leader on February 24, 1966. It was widely believed in Ghanaian military and intelligence circles that Mr. Nkrumah, a political foe of the first Nigerian Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa, had sponsored the Emmanuel Ifeajuna coup of January 15, 1966, in which mid-level Igbo officers wiped out the Federal leadership, as well as those of the Northern, Western, and Midwestern governments while sparing Igbo leaders. When the coup failed, Ifeajuna fled to Ghana and was given a very comfortable refuge by Mr. Nkrumah. He was also known to have met with Nkrumah’s intelligence officers. Three years before Ifeajuna’s coup, Chief Obafemi Awolowo was convicted and later imprisoned by the Central Government in a federal prison in Calabar on September 11, 1963, for charges of conspiring with the Nkrumah administration in Ghana to overthrow the democratically elected government of Nigeria. Ifeajuna remained in Ghana until he was forced to flee after Nkrumah was ousted in a coup on February 24, 1966. But back to General Ankrah. While he was Chairman of the National Liberation Council, his government commissioned a poll to identify the most popular Ghanaians. The survey contract was awarded to a firm owned by a Nigerian named Arthur Nzeribe. This upset Mr. Nkrumah, who was in exile in Conakry, Guinea, because Arthur Nzeribe was his friend and ally. When the poll, not unsurprisingly, named Ankrah as the most popular Ghanaian, his rivals smelt a rat and made a stink until a Commission of Inquiry was set up. The Commission established that Mr. Nzeribe had paid Ankrah a kickback of 6000 Ghanaian Cedis, which opened a can of worms that forced Ankrah to tender his resignation as Ghanaian Head of State on April 2, 1969. Prior to this, Mr. Nzeribe, though an Igbo, had sold weapons to the Nigerian government to use against his fellow Igbos during the Nigerian Civil War
NASS QUERIES JAMB FOR SPENDING N1.85BN ON MEALS, INSECTICIDE, OTHERS
NASS QUERIES JAMB FOR SPENDING N1.85BN ON MEALS, INSECTICIDE, OTHERS The National Assembly Joint Committee on Finance on Monday queried the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) over “excessive spendings” on meals, refreshments, mosquito killings and others in 2024. The committee also threatened to cut off the federal government’s allocation to the board in the 2025 budget. This was after JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, presented the board’s 2025 budget proposal to the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives. Oloyede said JAMB had remitted N4 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 2024 but received a grant of N6 billion from the federal government. But Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) queried JAMB over its spendings and asked the registrar to justify N850 million spent on security, cleaning and fumigation last year. He said, “You spent N1.1billion on meals and refreshments. Are you being freely fed by the government? What this means is that you are spending the money you generate from poor students, many of them orphans. “You also spent N850 million on security, cleaning and fumigation in 2024. What did you fumigate? Is it mosquitoes that took all this money?” Oshiomhole further criticised JAMB for spending N600 million on local travels. Similarly, Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Abiodun Faleke, wondered why JAMB, a revenue-generating and self-sustaining agency, should rely on federal allocations. The lawmaker said, “You remitted N4bn and got N6 billion from the federal government. Why not keep the N4 billion and we stop the government from funding JAMB?”
NATIONAL UNION OF PENSIONERS LAUDS TINUBU OVER 20% INCREASE IN BASIC PENSIONS
NATIONAL UNION OF PENSIONERS LAUDS TINUBU OVER 20% INCREASE IN BASIC PENSIONS The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) has expressed its appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his steadfast dedication to enhancing the welfare of pensioners nationwide. In a statement issued by its National President, Comrade Godwin Abumisi, the union acknowledged the President’s efforts in implementing important measures aimed at easing the economic difficulties faced by retirees under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) The union pointed out two significant accomplishments of the administration: the recent approval of a 20% pension increase for DBS pensioners and the establishment of a minimum pension of ₦32,000. According to the NUP, these initiatives demonstrate President Tinubu’s “commitment to ensuring that pensioners are supported and their rights upheld and promoted. The 20% pension increase, which is back dated to January 2024, has already been disbursed to many DBS pensioners, while the minimum pension of ₦32,000, approved in July 2024, has also reached numerous beneficiaries. Comrade Abumisi remarked, “This is the first time pensioners have received any pension increase without protests. We commend you, Mr. President. The NUP also conveyed its gratitude to the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) and its new Executive Secretary, Tolulope Odunaiya, for facilitating the timely distribution of the pension increments. The union acknowledged Odunaiya’s commitment, stating, “We are thankful for her assurance that the 20% pension increase will be disbursed before the end of December 2024 and for her diligent execution of President Tinubu’s policies regarding pensioners’ welfare. ”We appreciate her promise to ensure that the 20% pension increase is paid before the end of December 2024 and her strict implementation of President Tinubu’s policy direction on pensioners’ welfare.” However, the union raised concerns over discrepancies in the payment process. Despite progress, not all pensioners have received their entitlements. “As of today, the 20% pension increment arrears have not been fully paid to all DBS pensioners. Furthermore, 70% of pensioners are yet to receive the ₦32,000 minimum pension,” the statement revealed. The NUP called on PTAD to address these discrepancies promptly, urging the agency to review its records and rectify any errors in the payment process. “We demand that PTAD pay serious attention to ensuring no DBS pensioner is omitted or deprived of their rights in the name of system failure or man-made error in the payment processes,” the union emphasized. Despite these challenges, the union remained optimistic about the administration’s commitment to pensioners. They reiterated their gratitude to President Tinubu, describing the reforms as a significant step forward. “We are grateful for the 20% pension increase and the ₦32,000 pension award that is today a minimum pension,” the statement added. The NUP emphasized the significance of these reforms in improving the quality of life for retirees, particularly during challenging economic times. “The approval of these measures is a testament to the government’s understanding of the economic realities facing pensioners and its determination to provide relief,” the union noted. As the administration continues its efforts to support pensioners, the NUP urged all stakeholders to work collaboratively to address the remaining issues. They expressed hope that ongoing reforms would ensure a brighter future for all retirees in Nigeria. The union concluded with a heartfelt message to the President: “We appreciate your love and commitment to pensioners. Your actions have given us hope, and we look forward to seeing all pensioners benefit from these life-changing reforms.”
ENUGU GOVERNOR, PETER MBAH, APPROVES UPWARD REVIEW OF CUSTOMARY COURT JUDGES’ SALARIES
ENUGU GOVERNOR, PETER MBAH, APPROVES UPWARD REVIEW OF CUSTOMARY COURT JUDGES SALARIES Enugu state Governor, Dr. Peter Ndubusi Mbah, has approved the upward review of the salaries of the 459 customary court judges of the 153 customary courts across Enugu State effective January, 2025, in line with the N80,000 minimum wage as obtained in the state. The upward review applies to the chairman and two members that constitute each of the 153 customary courts in the state. It ranges from individual rate of N42,989.76 to N92,989.76 for the chairmen, and N39,736.18 to N89,736.18 for the members, respectively. The review was sequel to the high cost of living that compelled the increase in the national minimum wage of N70,000 and Gov. Mbah’s magnanimous increase of the minimum wage in Enugu State to N80,000. This also followed a momo dated 25th November, 2024, addressed to the Governor by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Legal Matters, Barr. Osinachi Nnajieze, in response to which the governor graciously approved the review.
HOW BOKO HARAM’S NEW STRATEGY PRODUCED 60,000 CHILD FIGHTERS – CDS
HOW BOKO HARAM’S NEW STRATEGY PRODUCED 60,000 CHILD FIGHTERS – CDS More than 60,000 children are among over 120,000 Boko Haram members who have surrendered, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Christopher Musa, has said. Speaking on Monday during an interview with Arise News, Musa explained that not all individuals associated with Boko Haram were willing participants, as many were conscripted or enslaved. Musa revealed that after losing their territorial strongholds, Boko Haram adopted a grim strategy to recruit new members. The CDS said: “What we realised is that not everyone that is part of it is a terrorist. Some of them were conscripted, some of them were forced, some were enslaved. “Over 120,000 surrendered. Out of this number, over 60,000 were children. “In the past, they would capture communities and force men, especially adults to join them. They would be beheaded if they refused. So they had no choice.” He continued: “But now that they no longer have a territory, they decided to start impregnating the women. And what they do is that if a woman gives birth, four months after giving birth, they impregnate her again. “They were trying to produce a new set of terrorists. And to us, those new sets would have been most dangerous. “Children born into a system where violence, killing, and inhumane acts were normalised would not have empathy. That’s why we are happy that over 60,000 surrendered.”
- Foreign Affairs
- January 14, 2025
- 129 views
LAWYER WHO LED PROSECUTION AGAINST TRUMP RESIGNS, FLEES US
LAWYER WHO LED PROSECUTION AGAINST TRUMP RESIGNS, FLEES US Jack Smith, the special counsel who led prosecution against United States President-elect Donald Trump, has resigned and fled the country ahead of Trump’s inauguration on January 20. According to statements of officials in the document submitted to the US District Judge Aileen Cannon, Smith had completed his work and submitted his final confidential report on January 7 this year before he finally took leave of the United States Department of Justice on January 10. The high-profile cases handled by Smith involved Trump’s alleged mishandling of confidential documents after he left office and his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election which he contested and lost. Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor, was appointed in November 2022 to steer the affairs of the Justice Department’s ongoing investigations into Trump’s cases. But with Trump’s victory in the November 5 election, Smith dismissed the cases, citing a Justice Department rule against prosecuting incumbent presidents. While asking courts to drop the charges, Smith’s legal team, however, acknowledged the validity of the cases but stated that they could not pursue them in view of the Trump’s impeding return to the Presidency. This development signals the collapse of charges against Donald Trump, allowing him to take office without facing legal repercussions. Trump had earlier threatened to fire Smith upon his assumption of office as second term US President.
BOKO HARAM KILLS 40 FARMERS IN BORNO, DOZENS MISSING
BOKO HARAM KILLS 40 FARMERS IN BORNO, DOZENS MISSING Suspected Boko Haram terrorists have reportedly killed at least 40 farmers in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State. It was gathered that the attack which happened around 4:30pm on Sunday in a farming community, Kayakura village, in Doron Baga ward, also left dozens of farmers missing. This is coming barely 24 hours after two people were killed and a church was set ablaze in a similar attack on Chibok community, southern part of the state. A local source said members of the deadly group invaded the villages in large numbers and started shooting sporadically. “As we speak, many people are missing and they killed more than 40 farmers, predominantly those who escaped the attack in Gwoza local government area,” he said. However, a security source in the area gave the number of people killed as 30. “Thirty people lost their lives during the attack on the farmers in the Doron Baga ward,” the source said. Efforts to speak to the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Kenneth Daso, proved abortive as his telephone line was not reachable as of press time.