FRESH FM TOP NEWS THIS WEEK

The hottest and most trending news articles for this week in all categories are captured in one shot. Find articles ranging from News to Sports, to Politics, to Entertainment, to Economy, to Metro plus, and many other categories. See below the top news for the week:

 

 

NEWS

• Govs stealing LG funds, says Buhari, NULGE backs President

The National Union of Local Government Employees on Thursday backed the Federal Government’s stance that state governors were looting local government allocation. President Muhammadu Buhari had said the stunted development experienced at the local government level was caused by governors and local government officials who “pocket” public funds. Buhari flayed the governors over what he described as poor governance at the grassroots. Buhari said this on Thursday at a parley with members of the Senior Executive Course No. 44 (2022) of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, held at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja. The President’s comments followed the Course 44 presentation themed, ‘Strengthening Local Governance in Nigeria: Challenges, Options and Opportunities.’

Buhari’s assertion came 24 hours after the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba, said the governors had abandoned the critical demographic, preferring to spend state resources on the capital cities instead. Agba, who noted that 72 per cent of the nation’s poor reside in rural communities, accused the governors of paying scant attention to the grassroots. Citing a personal experience involving an unnamed governor, a baffled Buhari described as “terrible” how some state governors receive monies on behalf of local government councils in their states and remit half of it to the council chairman who pilfers the remnant, leaving nothing for developmental projects.

He said, ‘‘I found it necessary to digress after reading my speech and this digression is a result of my personal experience. What they did, this is my personal experience, if the money from the Federation Account to the state is about N100m, N50m will be sent to the chairman, but he will sign that he received N100m. The governor will pocket the balance and share it with whoever he wants to share it with. And then the chairman of the local government must see how much he must pay in salaries and to hell with development. When he pays the salaries of the big man, the balance he will put in his pocket. This is what’s happening. This is Nigeria. It’s a terrible thing; you cannot say the person who was doing this is not educated. He was a qualified lawyer, he was experienced, yet he participated in this type of corruption.” Continuing, he added, “So, it’s a matter of conscience, whichever level we find ourselves. As a leader, you sit here, with all the sacrifices the country is making by putting you through institutions and getting you ready to lead. The fundamental thing is personal integrity. May God help us.”

The President also pledged that his government would “painstakingly” consider for implementation the recommendations contained in the paper presented by the SEC 44. While claiming that his regime has done a lot to build trust between the government and the people, the President noted that the report would provide direction to deliver good governance to the people at the grassroots and ultimately win back their trust in the government.

• ‘States focus on unnecessary infrastructure’ — FG blames governors for high poverty rate

The federal government has blamed state governors for the high rate of poverty in the country. Clem Agba, minister of state for budget and national planning, accused state governors of giving more thought to flyovers and airports than to improving conditions in rural areas. He said this on Wednesday in Abuja while briefing state house correspondents on the outcome of the meeting of the federal executive council (FEC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Agba said 72 percent of Nigeria’s poor citizens are found in the rural areas which have been abandoned by the governors. He said governors prefer to function in the state capitals rather than build roads that will aid farmers in the rural communities to easily take their farm produce to the city.
According to the minister, the federal government’s social investment programmes have not been as successful as expected because of the lack of cooperation from the state governors.

“The governors are basically only functioning in their state capitals. And democracy that we preach about is delivering the greatest goods to the greatest number of people,” Agba said. And from our demographic, it shows that the greatest number of our people live in rural areas, but the governors are not working in the rural areas. Right now, 70 percent of our people live in rural areas. They produce 90 percent of what we eat and unfortunately 60 percent of what they produce does not get to the market due to post-harvest losses.

“When we talk about food prices, like I mentioned right now as driving inflation, prices of food at the farm gates are low. But when you now take it to the urban areas, you find out that the prices are high due to supply chain disruptions, lack of infrastructure to take them there. I think from the federal government side, we are doing our best. But we need to push that rather than governors continuing to compete to take loans to build airports that are not necessary where they have other airports so close to them.

“Or governors now competing to build flyovers all over the place and we applaud them, they should concentrate on building rural roads so that the farmer can at least get their products to the market.
And you find that if they do that and with the new policy in the national development plan that talks about taking power to the rural areas, especially of out-grid power that can easily be put, you begin to attract industries to those areas for value-addition.”

He advised state governors not to concentrate on building infrastructure that does not impact the common man, but rather focus on initiatives that can pull the majority of the people out of poverty.
“Like I always say, if you look at Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, he says you have to take care of the basic needs of individuals first before you begin to talk about self-actualisation,” Agba added.

• Experts fault INEC for publicising BVAS deployment

The Independent National Electoral Commission has been criticised for disclosing the deployment of the bimodal voter accreditation system to states. In advance of the general election in 2023, the commission started airlifting the BVAS machines to the states on Wednesday. On INEC’s Twitter account, images from the event were posted.

However, several experts, who spoke to our correspondent on Thursday about security and the sensitivity of the BVAS in the next election, did not agree with this action. A security expert, Jackson Ojo, explained that the announcement of the transfer of BVAS to other states by INEC might trigger security threats, noting that more attacks on INEC offices might play out. He claimed that some INEC personnel might be the informants of the attackers.

He said, “Months ago, some local government INEC offices and facilities were burnt down, and I am very sure that more attacks will still be carried out on INEC offices.

“These unknown people are still setting ablaze INEC offices, and INEC is still telling the public that they are moving BVAS to wherever. Now, it has been resolved that the BVAS is going to be used for the next election; INEC is directly telling them that they can go to the INEC offices and destroy the BVAS.”

A political analyst, Busari Dauda, stated that the act by INEC might expose the BVAS to criminal elements who would not want the election to hold. Dauda said, “I do not think it is necessary for INEC to announce the deployment of BVAS. This is something that INEC would have kept to themselves because of the sensitivity of the machine. Politicians will begin to penetrate INEC personnel in states to find out how many of the machines have been deployed and how they can be manipulated. These things are real.”

• Aisha: NANS plans protest, tweeps knock critic

The National Association of Nigerian Students has said it will embark on a nationwide protest if the detained student of the Federal University of Technology, Dutse, Jigawa State, Aminu Muhammed, is not released. Mohammed was allegedly arrested and detained on the orders of the wife of the president, Aisha Buhari. The 24-year-old had tweeted back in June in Hausa that the First Lady was feeding fat on the money meant for the poor. The tweet read, “Su mama Anchi Kudin Talakawa an koshi,” meaning, “Mama has fed fat on poor people’s money.” He was later taken to court, where he was remanded.

The National President, NANS, Usman Barambu, in a statement, said from December 5, 2022, students all over the country would start a protest until Muhammed was released. The statement added that the protest was against the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, and Mrs Buhari.
It read, “Sequel to the exhaustion of all options available to us before confrontation in seeking the freedom of one of us who was arrested in a questionable manner, tortured, molested, harassed, and detained by agents of government, you are hereby notified of the decision of the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students to proceed on a nationwide protest. We have consulted and consolidated, but neither has yielded desirable results in seeking the freedom of Aminu Adamu Muhammed, a student of the Federal University, Dutse; hence, the protest shall commence as follows: Monday, December 5, 2022. Please note that our demonstration shall continue until he is released unconditionally.”

Meanwhile, some Nigerians on social media slammed Mohammed over a tweet he made some months ago regarding the lynching of a 200-level student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, Deborah Yakubu. Yakubu was stoned by a mob and set ablaze for alleged blasphemy on May 12, 2022. Mohammed had on May 15 supported the killing of Deborah in a tweet accompanied by the image of a white shirt showing Deborah’s picture. An inscription on the shirt, ‘Murdered by peace.’ criticized the killers. However, Mohammed, in his tweet, said, “Duk Wanda yasa wannan rigar ah Bauchi sai munchi uwarsa” meaning “whosoever wears this shirt in Bauchi will be dealt with.”

The tweet made many Nigerians withdraw their support as many believed Mohammed should be punished. A Twitter user, @DavidHundeyin wrote, “I earnestly apologise for retweeting the appeal to free this fellow. May he remain inside that cell for as long as Deborah’s family is denied justice, plus some extra time for accrued interest.”

• We Should Blame Ourselves, Not God For Nigeria’s Failures, Says Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said Nigeria should not blame God for the country’s failures since it gained independence from Britain in 1960. The statesman said this on Thursday at the launch of a book by the Editor-in-Chief of Premium Times, Musikilu Mojeed, titled “The Letterman: Inside the ‘Secret’ Letters of former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo” in Abuja. Speaking on the nation’s 62-year journey, Obasanjo described Nigeria as a “giant in the sun” that had since underperformed by the world’s expectations.

“When Nigeria became independent, it was a giant in the sun. That was the expectation. Not a giant even in Africa. A giant in the sun. That was the expectation of the world about Nigeria,” Obasanjo said. Have we lived up to it? No. If we haven’t, why haven’t we? I think we probably don’t appreciate what we have as a country and I believe if we do appreciate it and make good use of it, we would do better than we are now. I believe the right lessons must be learned. We have all that we need to have; God has given us all that we need to have. That we are not doing what we should do, God is not to blame and we should blame ourselves.”

As the first democratically elected president of the Fourth Republic, Obasanjo assumed office in 1999 and stepped down in 2007 after completing two terms. Prior to this, he led the nation as a military head of state between 1976 and 1979, having succeeded Gen. Murtala Muhammed who was assassinated in a military coup. His military administration oversaw the country’s transition to the Second Republic with the election of the late President Shehu Shagari, whom he handed over to in 1979.

• ‘N206bn insertion’: Humanitarian affairs minister demands clarification over military equipment budget

Sadiya Farouq, minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, says the N206 billion inserted in her ministry’s 2023 budget proposal is for the purchase of military equipment. Farouq said this on Thursday when she appeared before the senate committee on special duties. The minister clarified that she did not accuse the finance ministry of ‘budget padding’ but instead sought clarification.

“I want to state that the last time we were here and this issue was raised, we never mentioned budget padding, but we need to clarify with the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning on the issue of the N206bn that was raised,” she said. “We have written to them but we are still waiting for a formal response from the ministry. I will ask that we wait until we get a formal response from the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning on the said amount under contention.

“On the N206 billion, when we saw it, we didn’t understand what it was meant for because the explanation wasn’t clear.” She noted that the insertion of “purchase of military equipment” in the ministry’s budget meant that something was wrong. If you put N206 billion in Humanitarian Affairs Ministry’s budget and the narration is the purchase of military equipment, definitely something is wrong,” she said. That’s why I said I was not going to say anything about it until we got clarification from the ministry of finance.

In the past week, there has been a back-and-forth over the ‘N206 billion’ allocation in the budget proposal which is funded by the World Bank and domiciled in the humanitarian ministry. Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, had dismissed allegations of budget padding, saying it was an oversight. She had said the N206 billion captured in the ministry’s 2023 budget proposal was wrongly coded by the Budget Office.

 

 

 

 

 

POLITICS

• Osun Govt Accuses Oyetola Of Leaving N76bn Debt

The Osun State Government has accused the administration of Gboyega Oyetola of accruing debts in pensions and salaries to the tune of N76 billion. The spokesperson to the Executive Governor Olawale Rasheed quoted the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Bimpe Ogunlumade to have made the claim while briefing officials of the new administration on the financial status of the state on Thursday.

“The Osun state government has uncovered a monumental debt in salaries, pensions, and insurance commitments incurred by the administration of Mr. Gboyega Oyetola amounting to N76 billion,” Olawale said in a statement he issued on Thursday. The disclosure was contrary to the claim by the former Governor that he left N14bn in cash for the new government among other bogus claims that have now been found to be an outright falsehood,” the statement added.

The breakdown of the salaries and pension-related liabilities as disclosed by the Permanent Secretary are as follows:
(I) Salary: N29,875,191,128.64
(II) Pension Arrears: N45,375,237,693.40
(III) Group Life Assurance Scheme: N554,644,028.97
Total: N75,805,072,851.01

“The public is advised that this is not the total debt left by the past administration as briefings on other sources of liabilities continue tomorrow,” the government added.

• POLITICAL VIOLENCE: Rein in your thugs, NSA tells govs

AHEAD of the 2023 general elections, the National Security Adviser, NSA, Major General Babagana Monguno, retd, yesterday, warned state governors using thugs to prevent opposition parties from mounting campaign materials in their domains that security agencies would soon descend on them. Across the country, gathering of some opposition parties had been attacked by miscreants said to be working for the state governments. Some bill boards and campaign materials have also been destroyed. The woman leader of the Labour Party, LP, in Southern Kaduna, Mrs Victoria Chintex, was shot and killed in her home by suspected assassins, two days ago.

The NSA gave the warning when he appeared on the Ministerial Media Briefing organized by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He also said that the security agencies have been given instructions to give those burning government facilities like the offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the treatment they deserve.

The NSA said when the law enforcement agencies move, there will be no hiding place for the perpetrators. Monguno, who was reacting to reports of state governors implementing policies that prevent the presence of opposition campaign materials in their states, blamed the action on what he called inferiority complex.

He further said that politicians hiring thugs do not believe in themselves, warning that any person that engages in any unpalatable activity would be dealt with. While cautioning the governors to restrain their thugs, he said that President Muhammadu Buhari has given clear directives that the 2023 election must be free, fair and credible. The NSA warned the governors to “call their Capo regime to order because when we move, there will be no hiding place.”

• Politicians behind attacks on INEC facilities – Jega

A former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Attahiru Jega, has blamed reckless politicians for attacks on INEC facilities across the country. Jega said the Federal Government must protect the commission to discharge its duties. He spoke during an interview with journalists during the public presentation of a book titled, ‘Post-Election Assessment of Conflict Management Mechanisms in Nigeria, 2019 and Beyond’, written by an international human rights organisation, Henry Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.

The study, conducted by Professor Freedom Onuoha and Dr Gbemisola Animasaun in partnership with the Embassy of Federal Republic of Germany and the Governments of Canada and Norway, was aimed at ascertaining whether prevailing conflicts had a bearing on elections and their outcomes or not, among other objectives.

The publication covered Adamawa, Benue, Imo, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Rivers and Lagos states.
While stating that the country needed a secure environment to conduct free, fair and credible elections, Jega, a former chairman of the Academic He said partly, “Unfortunately, what we are seeing is a criminal activity, but most likely promoted or sponsored by some of our reckless politicians and people who have recognised that a lot of reform measures have been introduced, which will prevent them from interfering with the electoral process.”

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said security agencies had the capacity to defend the commission’s facilities. He was represented by the INEC Deputy Director (Voter Education and Publicity), Chukwuemeka Ugboaja. He also assured that the commission’s server, especially its result viewing portal would be well protected from hackers, adding that “he won’t reveal to Nigerians how that will be carried out.” A former Special Representative of the UN Secretary-general for West Africa and the Sahel, and a member of the HD Board, Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, in his keynote address, maintained that elections were often opportunities to address some of the underlying conflict dynamics in the society.

• Court Sentences Akwa Ibom YPP Guber Candidate To 42 Years Imprisonment

A Federal High Court in Akwa Ibom State has sentenced the governorship candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) Bassey Albert to 42 years in prison for fraud. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had in 2019 arraigned Albert on a six-count charge of allegedly taking possession of six vehicles worth N204 million when he was finance commissioner in the state.

He was said to have collected one of the vehicles from Jide Omokore, an associate of Diezani Alison Madueke, a former minister of petroleum. Omokore reportedly had dealings with the state when he offered Bassey the vehicle.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, the Presiding Judge Agatha Okeke found the Senator guilty of the offences. Consequently, he was sentenced to Ikot Ekpene Correctional Centre to serve his jail term.
Albert, a serving senator representing Akwa Ibom northeast district, was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He, however, defected to the YPP in July where he secured the party’s ticket for the 2023 governorship election.

• Diezani gave politicians $115m to compromise 2015 polls, says EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says its investigation shows that Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former minister of petroleum resources, allegedly gave politicians $115 million to compromise the 2015 elections. Abdulrasheed Bawa, the EFCC chairperson, said this on Wednesday at an induction retreat for new resident electoral commissioners (INEC) in Lagos. Bawa was represented by Adukwu Michael, the chief superintendent of the anti-graft agency.

Diezani was the minister of petroleum resources from 2010 to 2015 during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan Shortly before Jonathan handed over to President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, she left the country. The former minister is alleged to have stolen $2.5 billion from the Nigerian government while she was a minister.

The EFCC chairperson’s representative said some of the monies allegedly stolen by Diezani have been recovered by the agency. He disclosed that the anti-graft agency is focusing on how to discourage vote buying. “The commission’s focus in election management is discouraging the use of money to influence the outcome of election,” THISDAY quoted him as saying. Electoral spending by politicians often leads to voter inducement and vote buying. Parties often induce voter with money because they lack proper and realistic policies to convince the electorate to vote them into power.

“In the 2015 discreet investigation, the commission was able to uncover a grand plan to compromise the 2015 general election through massive cash payments to politicians. $115 million was paid out to politicians by former minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madukwe, to compromise the election. Some of the money was recovered while many of the culprits are being prosecuted with few convictions recorded. At the heart of EFCC strategy to curb voter inducement is inter-agency collaboration and information sharing.

 

 

 

 

ECONOMY

• Poverty index disgraceful, says OPAY boss

The President and Co-Chief Executive Officer, OPAY, Olu Akanmu, has said Nigeria’s poverty index as released by the World Bank is worrisome and should be addressed. He urged organisations and marketers to begin to responsibly find innovative ways to solve the large social and commercial exclusion and unlock the potentials of these excluded markets with innovative service and business models that could make them profitable.

Akanmu said this while speaking on the theme, ‘Marketing as a tool for sustainable economic development’, at the 11th Advertisers Association of Nigeria Africa Marketing Excellence Awards in Lagos. He said, “Can we truly say we are doing responsible marketing in a country like Nigeria if most of us, despite our awards tonight, are not relevant to 50 per cent of the Nigerian population?

“In Nigeria, where 50 per cent of our population is socially excluded, we need to responsibly find innovative ways to solve our large social and commercial exclusion, unlock the potentials of these excluded markets with innovative service and business models that could make them profitable. By doing so, we will double the size of our addressable markets, become more socially relevant while creating inclusive prosperity for all.”

Speaking on the National Bureau of Statistics’ Nigeria poverty index, Akanmu said that poverty in Nigeria was actually worse than what the World Bank estimated. 84 per cent of children under five years in Nigeria were poor due to a lack of intellectual stimulation needed for childhood development, he said. He added, “65 per cent of poor people – 86 million people – live in the North, while 35 percent – nearly 47 million – live in the South.

• NPC begins campaign to curb population explosion

The National Population Commission has launched the Revised National Population Policy Strategic Implementation Plan by the Population Advisory Group to control population growth and fertility in the country. Speaking at the launch in Abuja on Thursday, the Chairman, NPC, Nasir Isa-Kwarra, noted that the document would help in effective population management.

The document linked all the sectors and other population and development issues to the National Population Policy. He stressed the role of relevant stakeholders in actualising the plan. “The implementation of the Strategic Plan will require elaborate, consistent, sustained and well-coordinated stakeholders’ involvement and engagements at all levels including effective collaboration and partnerships,” the NPC chairman said, Isa-Kwarra spoke on the need for funding to ensure that the plan’s objectives were accomplished.

Also speaking at the launch, the Spokesperson of the Population Advisory Group, Usman Sarki, spoke on the essence of the plan. He said, “The Revised National Population Policy and the Strategic Implementation Plan are the guidelines towards the effective population management and conduct of the census in the country. Plans and strategies around human capital development, effective implementation of social and economic policies and the extension of services like education, healthcare and housing to Nigerians, will be contingent on the successful realisation of the objectives of the Revised National Population Policy and the Strategic Implementation Plan.

“The role of the PAG therefore; will be to provide expert advice towards leveraging the services and facilities that are available in various funds, programmes and agencies of multilateral bodies like the United Nations, and international finance institutions like the World Bank, the African Development Bank among others. Adequate resourcing for the implementation of the Strategic Plan and the overall work of the NPC will be crucial to the attainment of the Federal Government’s objectives towards conducting a credible, objective, scientific, unbiased, legitimate and successful national population and housing census in 2023.”

• No end to fuel scarcity until…—IPMAN Western zone

Vice-Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Western Zone, Mr. Joseph Oyewale-Akanni, on Thursday, attributed the current fuel scarcity and increase in the pump price to the hike in private depot prices. He, however, urged the Federal Government to deregulate the oil sector to prevent frequent fuel scarcity encountered by Nigerians.

The IPMAN boss, in a chat with newsmen, said the price at which private depot owners sell petrol across the country was not sustainable. Oyewale-Akanni said: “Since February this year, there has been no loading in any depot. We have five depots of NNPC in the South-West but since February this year, none is working.

“We went to a private depot and by the name private depot, we mean it is individually owned and anything private will have control by itself. On the government’s part, the price NNPC was giving them was N113 per litre but they are the ones to use small vessel badges to load from the modern vessels. They add the cost to it, but ought to sell to us at N178.17k. Rather, we marketers don’t know what happened between NNPC and the owner of the vessel; they hiked the price. As of today, we are buying at N212,215 from the private depot in Lagos and we need to transport it to Ibadan or Ilorin. The private depots are the main cause of this scarcity now because the price NNPC was selling to them since was N113.

“They are still selling to them at that price. They are the ones selling to us at exorbitant rates, instead of selling to us at N114 or 117, we, private marketers at N178 and N114, the public at N180, but we are buying from them at N212 and N215 as of today. The Federal Government itself is not helping matters. If our refineries are working, there will be no scarcity again, but the problem is that our refineries are not working. We rely on private depots and private depots are into business because if we ask, they would say they are buying in dollars to pay the transporters. It’s not easy and everyone knows the cost of dollars to naira now.”

• AfCFTA: Africa must compete favourably with other free zones, says Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says Africa must rise to compete favourably with free trade zones in other parts of the world. Buhari said this on Thursday at the 5th African Union symposium on Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Green Industrialisation in Abuja.

The 3-day event themed ‘African Special Economic Zones: Engine for Resilience and Accelerator for Sustainable Industrial Value Chains Development’ was done alongside the 7th edition of the African Economic Zones Organisation (AEZO) annual meeting. Over 400 delegates representing government officials, ministers, heads of international organisations, eminent experts, academia, policy makers, financial institutions, economic zones, investment and promotion agencies attended across 52 African economic zones.

Buhari, who was represented by Umana Okon Umana, minister of Niger Delta Affairs, urged stakeholders to critically examine factors inhibiting the growth of free zones in Africa and come up with appropriate strategies to address identified challenges. He stated that the economic zones in Nigeria scheme was to use the export processing zones to promote export-oriented industries. He, however, said the scheme has over the years evolved from a strictly export-oriented manufacturing strategy to a more liberal scheme that allows a greater level of interaction with the domestic economy while simultaneously driving an increase in its level of attractiveness to potential investors.

On his part, Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), said the role of SEZs is to accelerate sustainable industrial value chain development. Adesina also outlined several interventions of pan-African banks to change Africa’s development challenges, adding that the continent has huge potential never seen elsewhere.

• ‘We’ve not defaulted in debt repayment’ — Zainab Ahmed says Nigeria not broke

Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, says Nigeria is not broke. Ahmed spoke on Thursday at the presentation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration scorecard (2015-2023). The minister’s comments come amid criticism of the Buhari administration for copious borrowings believed to have sapped the country’s coffers dry.

Data obtained from CBN’s website, showed that the federal government’s debt through Ways and Means’ climbed from N17.5 trillion in December 2021 to N23.8 trillion in October 2022 — an increase of N6.3 trillion in 10 months. These borrowings are currently not included in the country’s total public debt stock (federal and state governments) which currently stands at N42.84 trillion.

In July, the cost of servicing debt surpassed the federal government’s retained revenue by N310 billion in the first four months of 2022. Ahmed had disclosed this while presenting the 2022 fiscal performance report for the period, saying that the federal government’s total revenue was N1.63 trillion, while debt service gulped N1.94 trillion. She advised that urgent action was required to address “revenue underperformance and expenditure efficiency at national and sub-national levels”.

Similarly, Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), in his analysis of Nigeria’s debt profile, said the external debt levels stand at N16.61 trillion or $40 billion. He concluded that “Nigeria needs help to tackle this debt burden”. However, during her presentation of Buhari’s scorecard on Thursday, Ahmed said Nigeria has not in anyway defaulted in its both domestic and foreign debt repayments, adding that the country is not opting for debt relief.

The minister noted that the country continues to disburse funds to the three tiers of government from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC). She said the federal government has since 2015 disbursed N5.04 trillion to state governments, disclosing that the non-oil sector drives the country’s economy more than the oil sector owing to vandalism of infrastructure. Ahmed further said oil production is increasing, stressing that as at October 2022, it soared to 1.4 million barrels per day.
She also said N1.7 trillion was released for this year’s capital projects as of September 2022.

 

 

 

 

BUSINESS

• FG to tax cryptocurrency, other digital assets in 2022 finance bill, says Zainab Ahmed

Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, says there is a provision to tax cryptocurrency and other digital assets in the 2022 finance bill. According to a statement released by Laolu Akande, spokesperson to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Ahmed updated the national economic council (NEC) on the main features of the bill at an extraordinary virtual meeting on Thursday.

The minister said the proposed bill is anchored on five fundamental policy drivers. She listed the drivers as tax equity, climate change, job creation/ economic growth, tax incentives’ reform and revenue generation/tax administration. She said that the bill sought to amend relevant taxes, excises and duty statutes in line with the macroeconomic policy reforms of the federal government.
According to Ahmed, the bill also aims to amend and make further provisions in specific laws in connection with the public financial management of the federation. She said other aspects of the finance bill include chargeable assets; exclusion of losses and replacement of business assets.

The minister said the proposed bill clarified the taxation of cryptocurrency and other digital assets in line with the government’s policy thrust of enhancing cross-border and international taxation of growing e-commerce with emerging markets. She said that by doing so, Nigeria would join the league of jurisdictions currently taxing digital assets, including the UK, the US, Australia, India, Kenya and South Africa.

After Ahmed’s presentation, the governors of Sokoto, Borno, Kaduna, Kebbi and Ogun states, among others, commented on the bill. Following their comments, the NEC resolved to update the draft finance bill with additional inputs from state governors as the bill goes ahead to the federal executive council (FEC) before the president sends it to the national assembly.

• ‘Be wary of unsolicited calls, messages’ — NITDA warns Nigerians over alleged Whatsapp data breach

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has advised WhatsApp users to be careful while using the application as their data may have been exposed owing to an alleged breach on the platform. Hadiza Umar, head, NITDA’s corporate affairs and external relations, said this in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja. An online report claimed that the data of nearly 500 million WhatsApp users had been leaked and put up for sale on a hacking community forum by an anonymous seller. The database is said to contain the private information of WhatsApp users from 84 countries.

But WhatsApp denied the data breach, saying the claim was based on unsubstantiated screenshots.
“Following the alleged leak of nearly 500 million WhatsApp users’ mobile phone numbers globally, and this includes over nine million contacts from Nigeria,” the NITDA advisory reads. “There is an impending danger of threat actors using these data to carry out malicious activities, thereby putting many at risk.

According to Umar, smishing involves sending unsuspecting users text messages and asking them to click on links or provide personal information, which can be used to scam victims and launch attacks.
To avoid falling victim to any cyberattack, NITDA advised instant messaging platform users to be wary of unsolicited calls, voice notes and messages from unknown numbers. NTDA advised users to enable two-factor authentication on their apps.

“Do not reveal personal information on your profile and do not respond to requests from untrusted or unknown contacts asking for personal data, passwords or other verification codes through messages or calls,” NITDA added.

• FIRS grants waiver on outstanding interests, penalties imposed by TaxPro Max

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says it has approved a one-off waiver of all outstanding interests and penalties imposed on established tax liabilities by the TaxPro Max until December 31, 2022. The tax agency said this in a public notice released on Thursday and signed by Muhammad Nami, its executive chairman.

In June 2021, the FIRS introduced and deployed the TaxPro Max, a solution for filing tax returns and paying taxes. FIRS said the TaxPro Max has enhanced the ease of paying taxes in Nigeria and reduced the cost of tax compliance for taxpayers.

It also said the impact of the TaxPro Max has greatly contributed to the efficiency of tax collections and the record-breaking performance of the service in 2021. FIRS explained that it granted the one-off waiver due to complaints from taxpayers who said additional interests and penalties were imposed on them while generating payment reference numbers (PRN) on liabilities.

 

 

 

 

 

EDUCATION

• Lecturers block road, say Gbajabiamila’s intervention unfruitful

Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities on Thursday continued to protest in their respective institutions as directed by the union’s national body. The peaceful protests held in different chapters to show displeasure at the withheld salaries of the union members after their eight-month strike.

Lecturers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, blocked the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, in protest of the half salary they received in October, the backlog of salaries and other poor working conditions. The protest, which kicked off at the union secretariat, continued down to the university gate by the Enugu-Onitsha highway, where the road was barricaded for some minutes. Speaking to journalists after the protest, the UNIZIK ASUU Chairman, Stephen Ufoaroh, said, “As I speak to you, the intervention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has not yielded any positive result.

In Owerri, Imo State, lecturers at the Federal University of Technology, stopped teaching on Thursday. While carrying placards with various inscriptions, the lecturers marched on the campus, accusing the FG of destroying the country’s academic system. Addressing the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Nnenna Oti, the Chairman of ASUU in FUTO, Chinedu Ihejirika, accused the FG of “weaponising hunger to frustrate university lecturers in Nigeria.” Ihejirika, who urged the FG to implement the 2009 ASUU-FG agreement, vowed that no amount of intimidation would deter ASUU from demanding an improved public education system in Nigeria.

• Alleged N260m Fraud: Ex-Gusau Varsity VC Sentenced To 35 Years In Prison

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Thursday secured the conviction of Professor Magaji Garba, a former Vice Chancellor of Federal University Gusau, who Justice Maryam Hassan Aliyu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Garki, Abuja, found guilty of a five count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and forgery. Professor Garba was sentenced to a 35-year jail term.

The former VC was arraigned by the EFCC on October 12, 2021, for allegedly extorting various sums from a contractor on the pretext of awarding him a N3 billion contract for the perimeter wall fencing of the University. He had pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, thereby setting the stage for his full trial. After calling witnesses and tendering so many documents, which were admitted in evidence, the EFCC closed its case on December 14, 2021.

Delivering judgment today, the trial judge said the court was satisfied that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. Prof Garba was pronounced “guilty” on the five counts, and sentenced to seven years each on counts 1 to 3 without option of fine and seven years imprisonment on counts 4 and 5, with option of N10 million fine each.

 

 

 

 

HEALTH

• Nigeria’s AIDS-related deaths decline to 51,000 –FG

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, on Thursday, said the AIDS-related deaths in the country have declined from 264,463 in 2015 to about 51,000 in 2022.
Mustapha said this at an event in Abuja in commemoration of the 2022 World AIDS Day with the theme: ‘Equalize to End AIDS: Equal access to Treatment and Prevention services.’ The WAD is celebrated every December 1 annually to raise awareness, commemorate those who have passed on, and celebrate victories, such as increased access to treatment and prevention services.

The SGF said “Since this administration commenced in 2015, I am happy to note that our ongoing efforts to improve access to HIV services have led to a significant reduction in new HIV infections from over 103,000 in 2019 to 92,323 in 2021. In a similar vein, AIDS-related deaths significantly declined from an estimated 264,463 persons at the beginning of this administration to about 51,000 as of October this year.

In his welcome address, the Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Dr. Gambo Aliyu said Nigeria is focused on achieving epidemic control with about 90 per cent of PLHIV already identified and currently on treatment. Gambo said “We have recorded significant growth in key population treatment sites from 10 in 2017 providing treatment to about 16,000 PLHIV to 118 sites in 2021 with coverage of over 220,000.

• AIDS Day: Women living with HIV bemoan harsh economy, stigma

The Lagos State Coordinator of Women Living with HIV, Kadiri Oluseyi has bemoaned the current harsh economic condition, noting that women living with HIV are finding things tough. According to Oluseyi, the harsh economy has caused serious inflation in basic commodities and food, adding that indigent women living with HIV, who also double as breadwinners of their families are going through a tough time.

She noted that some of these women, in a bid to make ends meet are at risk of skipping their medications, noting that this could worsen their health condition. Oluseyi also lamented that women living with HIV still suffer stigmatisation, marital challenges, and mental health trauma.

Speaking with newsmen in commemoration of the 2022 World AIDS Day, held annually on the first of December, Oluseyi said that there are still cases of women being sent out of their matrimonial homes due to ignorance about HIV/AIDS. She called on the government to empower women living with HIV, urging that they should be given soft loans so they can have means of livelihood and also stay alive to take care of their children.

According to a recent report by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, the percentage of women living with the disease increased from 55.50% in 2017 to 56.03% in 2019, while that of men dropped from 44.50 % to 43.97 % within the same period. This is as experts say women are biologically more vulnerable to HIV than men.

• HIV/AIDS: One out of 100 persons positive in Kaduna –Agency

The Executive Secretary of Kaduna State Aids Control Agency, Dr. Isa Baka, said a survey had revealed that one out of 100 people is positive for the Aids virus in the state. Baka disclosed this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria shortly after a walk, in commemoration of the 2022 World AIDS Day, on Thursday in Kaduna. The theme of the year’s World AIDS Day is “Equalise to End AIDS: Equal Access to Treatment and Prevention Services’’.

He said the present statistics were a remarkable development against the previous survey which gave 11 of every 100 people in the state. Baka added that the AIDS prevalence in Kaduna, which is at 1.1, being a survey carried out by the state government itself, was later done at the national level, where that of Kaduna was confirmed as very accurate.

He said as part of efforts to continue reducing the prevalence of AIDS in the state, the government initiated programmes across the 23 LGAs. He said one of the UNICEF-anchored programmes, which is the ‘Adolescent and Youths Living With HIV and AIDS’ programme, was present and effective in at least, 18 LGAs and 24 sites in the state.

 

 

 

 

WORLD

• S’African president faces impeachment threat amid probe of ‘$580k stolen from his farm’

Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president, is facing a possible impeachment threat over alleged corruption. On Wednesday, an independent panel set up by the speaker of South Africa’s parliament said findings suggested that the president acted in a manner that was inconsistent with his office. The report centred on the alleged theft of $580,000 cash from Ramaphosa’s farm in 2020, which came to light in June. The president had been accused of covering up the theft, and the panel had raised questions about how the cash was acquired. Ramaphosa has, however, denied any wrongdoing.

The panel also said it was evident that Ramaphosa put himself into a situation where there was a conflict of interest between his official responsibilities as president and as a business person involved in farming. According to the BBC, Ramaphosa was expected to answer questions in parliament on Thursday. However, he is said to have postponed his appearance before the lawmakers.

If the parliament finds the president guilty of serious misconduct, the process for an impeachment vote could be set in motion. The inquiry is separate from a criminal investigation that police are conducting, and which Ramaphosa has welcomed.

The president, who was sworn into office in May 2019, is weeks away from an elective conference that will decide if he gets to run for a second term in the country’s 2024 polls. The development also comes weeks after Jacob Zuma, Ramaphosa’s predecessor, was freed from prison after getting jail time for ignoring instructions on participating in a corruption inquiry.

• US House Approves Bill To Avert Freight Rail Strike

Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives voted Wednesday to prevent a potentially catastrophic freight rail strike, stepping in to break an impasse between workers and executives during a critical pre-holiday period. The bill, passed with a solid bipartisan majority, effectively forces hold-out unions to accept a September deal on increased wages, which a majority of unions had already agreed to.

But in a win for organized labor, the House also backed a measure to add mandated paid sick time to the agreement, addressing the major sticking point identified by unions. The sick-leave measure passed on a tighter, mostly party-line vote, leaving its fate in the Senate more uncertain. Biden praised the bipartisan vote to avert a shutdown that “would devastate our economy and families everywhere,” but said the measure must be expeditiously progressed through Washington.

The Biden administration had taken a hands-on approach to the long-running deadlock over a contract between organized labor and railroads, with cabinet secretaries in September participating in all-night negotiations alongside union leaders and rail executives. After that marathon session, leaders from the two sides announced a tentative agreement.

Since that time, members of eight of the 12 rail unions approved the deal, while four voted it down.
The agreement includes a 24 percent pay increase for workers. But critics in organized labor have slammed a lack of guaranteed paid sick leave, an omission that has been seen as evidence of “unchecked corporate greed,” as one leading union put it.

• Macron Blasts Biden Subsidies At Start Of US State Visit

France’s President Emmanuel Macron fired an undiplomatic volley at his American hosts on the first day of a rare state visit to Washington, telling lawmakers Wednesday that US industrial subsidies are “super aggressive” against French competitors. “This is super aggressive for our business people,” an AFP reporter heard Macron tell members of Congress and business leaders, who had invited him to lunch ahead of the main part of the state visit on Thursday, when the French leader will spend most of the day with President Joe Biden.

Macron was referring to Biden’s signature policy called the Inflation Reduction Act, which is set to pour billions of dollars into environmentally friendly industries — with strong backing for US-based manufacturers. The White House touts the IRA legislation as a groundbreaking effort to reignite US manufacturing and promote renewable technologies, but European Union governments are crying foul, threatening to launch a trade war by subsidizing their own green economy sector.

Macron’s blunt assessment, saying he just wanted “to be respected as a good friend,” tore some of the veneer off a carefully choreographed state visit intended to celebrate historic US-French ties — and also tackle the trickier parts of the US-EU transatlantic alliance. Macron warned that the United States championing its own industry under the IRA will “kill a lot of jobs” in Europe and it may “perhaps fix your issue but you will increase my problem.”

• US Treasury Makes Trump Tax Returns Available To Congressional Committee

The US Treasury Department said on Wednesday it complied with a court order to make former president Donald Trump’s tax returns, which he has long fought to keep under wraps, available to a congressional committee.

The 76-year-old Trump, who recently announced he will seek the presidency again in 2024, refused to release his tax returns while in office — as presidents have done since the 1970s — and took to the courts to block a congressional request.

Earlier in November, however, the Supreme Court cleared the way for his returns to be handed over to the Ways and Means Committee of the Democratic-majority House of Representatives. “Treasury has complied with last week’s court decision,” a department spokesperson told AFP. The department did not disclose whether the committee had accessed the documents, according to an official.

• US Senate Votes To Protect Same-Sex Marriage

The US Senate passed a landmark bill Tuesday protecting same-sex marriage, as lawmakers from both parties moved to forestall the possibility of the conservative-led Supreme Court taking away this right as it did with abortion. “With today’s bipartisan Senate passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, the United States is on the brink of reaffirming a fundamental truth: love is love, and Americans should have the right to marry the person they love,” President Joe Biden said in a statement released after the 61-36 vote.

The Senate vote sends the bill back to the House of Representatives, which Speaker Nancy Pelosi said would approve it next week before sending it to Biden to sign. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer hailed a “momentous step forward for greater justice for LGBTQ Americans.” Twelve Republicans joined Democrats to pass the legislation on what had for decades been a deeply divisive issue in America. In the United States, same-sex unions have been guaranteed by the Supreme Court since 2015. But after the court’s historic overturning of a longstanding ruling protecting the right to abortion in June, many progressives feared that same-sex marriage may also be under threat.

Democrats have worked with urgency to get the bill passed while they still control Congress. They held on to the Senate in this month’s mid-term elections but lost the House to the Republicans, although the latter eked out a much thinner majority than they had expected. So when the new Congress takes power in January, gridlock is expected.

The bill passed Tuesday does not require states to legalize same-sex marriage. But it repeals previous legislation defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and does require states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states. So if the Supreme Court were to overturn the 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriages, a state that bans them will still have to recognize such unions carried out in other states. The bill also applies to inter-racial marriages.

“Today’s vote is deeply personal for many of us in this chamber,” said Schumer, who wore the same tie he had on at his lesbian daughter’s wedding. A similar bill was already passed in June by the House of Representatives. All the chamber’s Democrats voted in favor, along with 47 Republicans. The new vote in the House is needed to reconcile the two bills but this is seen as a formality. The powerful American Civil Liberties Union hailed the “historic step forward” but denounced the rise of laws attacking the right of transgender people in several states.

“While we welcome the historic vote on this measure, members of Congress must also fight like trans lives depend on their efforts because trans lives do,” James Esseks, director of the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project, said in a statement. Polls show a strong majority of Americans back same-sex marriage but it is still contentious. Thirty-six Republicans voted ‘no’ on Tuesday and the religious right remains mostly opposed to such unions.

• US, South Korea And Japan Impose Fresh Sanctions On North Korea

The United States, Japan and South Korea have imposed fresh sanctions on North Korean individuals and entities in response to Pyongyang’s recent slew of missile tests. Washington’s action, announced Thursday, blocks any assets of three North Korean officials in the United States, a largely symbolic step against an isolated country that has defied international pressure over its weapons programs. The US Treasury Department also threatened sanctions against anyone who conducts transactions with Jon Il Ho, Yu Jin and Kim Su Gil, who were identified as directly involved in weapons development.

The recent North Korean missile launches, including the test of an intercontinental ballistic missile with the range to hit the US mainland, “pose grave security risks to the region and entire world,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. The sanctions “underscore our sustained resolve to promote accountability in response to Pyongyang’s pace, scale and scope of ballistic missile launches.” Blinken added that the action was taken in coordination with US allies South Korea and Japan, and noted that the European Union issued similar designations of the three in April.

Tokyo and Seoul on Friday also announced new sanctions. South Korea said it would target eight individuals, including a Taiwanese and a Singaporean national. They have “contributed to North Korea’s nuclear and missile development and evasion of (pre-existing) sanctions”, the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement. All are already subject to US sanctions, the ministry added, and South Korea’s new restrictions are expected to “alert the domestic and international community of the risks of transactions with these entities”.

 

 

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT

• Mavin Records drops compilation album ‘Chapter X’

One of Nigeria’s biggest record labels Mavin Records has released their highly anticipated compilation album ‘Chapter X’ in celebration of their 10th anniversary. This album displays a hallmark of its storied history- a Mavin All Star Project. Chapter X combines the talent, nuance and promise of all of Mavin’s new generation of artists in one explosive Afropop masterpiece that promises to be a classic of the genre. Preceded by Overloading and Won Da Mo- both of which peaked at the zenith of all major music charts in Nigeria- Chapter X is a ten song project that is as diverse thematically as it is in performance.

• Yemi Alade drops new project, ‘African Baddie’

Award-winning Afrobeats superstar Yemi Alade has released a new EP she calls ‘African Baddie’.
This new EP that combines Africanism with Dancehall and Pop has Yemi Alade displaying a stimulating version of herself.

• Rema’s ‘Calm Down’ receives Gold certification in the United States

Nigerian Afrobeats star Rema has joined the exclusive league of Nigerian artists who have earned Gold certification in the United States. On Thursday, 1st December 2022 Rema’s ‘Calm Down’ received a Gold certification from the RIAA after selling over 500,000 copies in the US.

• Davido’s fans hold heartwarming concert in his honor

It was an electrifying atmosphere and a heartwarming gathering at Wonderland Lagos as fans of Afrobeats megastar Davido turned out in their thousands to celebrate the hitmaker and philanthropist.
The concert tagged “OBO Fana Concert” put together was put together by fans of the megastar to honor him amidst the recent tragic event he suffered.

The concert had in attendance thousands of fans who were thrilled to Davido’s countless hit songs. Celebrity Hypeman and OAP DOTUN and DJ Tohbad were on hand to entertain the crowd with energizing performances. Several upcoming artists including Berri Tiga were on hand to entertain the fans. Fans were also thrilled when a Davido look-alike graced the stage to perform some of his hit songs.

Fans and music personalities across social media have praised the initiative describing it as an incredible expression of love. Award-winning superstar rapper M.I Abaga described the concert as the purest expression of love he has seen while describing Davido as a truly kind and deserving soul.

• Kanye West declares love for Hitler and Nazis…gets banned from Twitter again

Kanye West, now known as Ye, has sparked outrage online by declaring his “love” of Nazis and respect for Adolf Hitler during a back and forth, hours-long sit-down with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. On Thursday, December 1, 2022, the rapper appeared on Jones’ ‘Infowars,’ wearing a black mask that completely obscured his face. On the show, he talked about several topics, from sin to pornography, the devil, and even Hitler.

“I like Hitler,” West said at a point in the conversation. “I see good things about Hitler also. This guy… invented highways, invented the very microphone that I used as a musician, you can’t say out loud that this person ever did anything good, and I’m done with that. I’m done with the classification, every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler. I like Hitler.”

Jones tried to interject by saying that “the Nazis were thugs and did really bad things.” But the rapper retorted: “But they did good things too. We gotta stop dissing the Nazis all the time… I love Nazis.”
He also said he doesn’t enjoy the word “evil” as a description of “Nazis,” adding, “I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis.”

Following these comments, Twitter has been on fire with many users criticising the rapper’s remarks, further stamping his anti-Semitic tag. The Republican Jewish Coalition quickly condemned the interview, calling it “a disgusting triumvirate of conspiracy theorists, Holocaust deniers, and anti-Semites.” Ye continues to be the target of public criticism due to his persistent anti-Jewish remarks. These comments have cost him hundreds of millions of dollars in commercial losses from big firms that had previously supported his music, fashion line, and other ventures.

 

 

 

 

SPORTS

• Roberto Martinez Resigns As Belgium Coach After World Cup Exit

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said he was leaving his job after his side were eliminated from the World Cup in Qatar following a 0-0 draw with Croatia on Thursday. The 49-year-old had been in charge since 2016 and his contract was due to run out after the tournament. “That was my last game with the national team, I can’t carry on,” Martinez said at his post-match press conference. “It’s the time for me to accept that this is the last game.”

Martinez led Belgium to a third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and to the Euro 2020 quarter-finals last year. But his ageing side could not replicate that form in Qatar, crashing out after scoring just one goal in three games. The Spaniard said he was always planning to leave after the World Cup.

“That was the end, whatever would happen, whether we were world champions, whether we went out in the group stage,” he said. It’s got nothing to do with being eliminated in the group stage. Since 2018 I had many opportunities to leave, take jobs at club level, but I wanted to be loyal. I don’t resign, it’s the end of my contract.” Martinez took over the Belgian national side months after being sacked by Premier League side Everton. He has still only won one major trophy in his managerial career — the 2013 FA Cup with unfancied Wigan Athletic.

Croatian counterpart Zlatko Dalic believes Martinez will not struggle for offers of other jobs. “Martinez is my friend, it was a surprise to me,” said Dalic, who took Croatia to the 2018 World Cup final. Belgium have lost a great professional. For four years in a row they were first in the FIFA ranking. It was his project, but it’s not an abrupt end for him.”

• Wigan Appoint Kolo Toure As First Team Manager

Wigan Athletic Football Club have confirmed the appointment of Kolo Touré as the Club’s new First Team Manager. The appointment makes the Ivorian the first African to manage a senior men’s football team in England. Wigan disclosed that Touré is arriving at the Club on a three-and-a-half-year deal from Leicester City, where he was operating as First Team Coach as part of Brendan Rodgers’ coaching staff.

The club said that having played under and learnt from elite managers throughout his career the likes of Arsène Wenger, Roberto Mancini, Jürgen Klopp and Brendan Rodgers – as well as years of top-flight, European and International coaching experience – Touré will now focus on his own managerial career at First Team level. Also arriving at Latics will be Kevin Betsy and Ashvir Johal, with both joining the backroom coaching staff at the Football Club that includes Rob Kelly – who has agreed to continue in his role as Assistant Manager.

Starting his career at Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas in 1999, the former central defender had an illustrious playing career with Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Celtic FC all on his footballing resume, as well as 120 caps for his native Ivory Coast.

Touré made more than 500 senior appearances over a 15-year period, with an honours list that includes two Premier League titles – one as an Arsenal ‘Invincible’, two FA Cups, two Scottish Premiership titles, as well as success on the international stage with an African Cup of Nations back in 2015.

Wigan also confirmed that James Beattie has left the Football Club with immediate effect, with the Board thanking him for being instrumental in the Club’s promotion last season. Touré’s first game in charge of Wigan Athletic will be away at The Den, taking on Millwall on Saturday 10 December.

• Juventus Board Resign Over Alleged Accounting Irregularities

The entire board of directors at Juventus has resigned, including president Andrea Agnelli and vice president Pavel Nedved, the Italian Serie A club said in a statement Monday. The board had sought independent legal advice over an ongoing investigation by prosecutors in Turin into allegations of false accounting and irregularities in the transfer and loans of players. It resigned over “new legal and accounting opinions” from experts, and given “the centrality and the relevance of the pending legal and technical/accounting matters”, the club said.

The exodus marks the end of a chapter for Agnelli, who as chairman saw Juventus win nine-straight Serie A titles as well as reach the 2015 and 2017 Champions League finals. He was also a fervent supporter of the European Super League. Two of the clubs that also hoped to join — Manchester United and Liverpool — are now up for sale. But he risks legal woes along with over a dozen other people in the commissions’ case.

Juve are being probed over 282 million euros ($319m) of capital gains — the positive difference between purchase and sale values net of amortization and write-downs — from a series of player transfers booked in their financial results for 2019, 2020 and 2021.

 

 

 

 

 

METRO PLUS

• ‘Update mobile app for booking’ — NRC says Abuja-Kaduna train to resume Monday

The federal government says the Abuja-Kaduna train services would commence on Monday, December 5, 2022. Speaking to the Nwes Agency of Nigeria on Thursday, Fidet Okhiria, managing director, Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), said all was set for resumption of operations. Okhiria, however, advised passengers to begin updating their mobile apps as from December 3, 2022, to enable them to successfully book for rides.

He noted that services will commence with two train rides from Abuja to Kaduna and vice versa.
The NRC boss assured passengers of the federal government’s commitment to ensure safety of lives and properties on board its train at all times.

Meanwhile, the continued delay in resumption had sparked speculation that services would recommence on Monday. But on Tuesday, Mua’zu Sambo, minister of transportation, had said train services on the corridor would resume within seven days, and not Monday. Sambo said this was to enable passengers to get used to the new requirements (phone number and national identification number) for boarding the train.