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

• PVCs collection moves to ward level Friday — INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission has said that the devolution of the Permanent Voter Cards to the wards will commence on Friday. This was made known in a statement signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, on Thursday.

The Commission noted that those who applied to replace lost, damaged, or defaced PVCs could collect their PVCs at the Registration Area/wards during this period. According to the statement, the exercise will revert to the Local Government Offices of the Commission on January 15. INEC, therefore, urged validly registered voters yet to collect their PVCs to seize the devolution opportunity to the wards to do so.

The statement read, “The devolution of PVC collection to the wards commences tomorrow 6th January 2023, and all validly registered voters who are yet to collect their PVCs are encouraged to seize the opportunity of the devolution to the wards to do so. After the 15th of January 2023, the exercise will revert to the local government offices of the Commission until 22nd January 2023. All eligible and valid registrants can collect their PVCs from 9.00am to 3.00pm daily, including Saturdays and Sundays.

“All those that applied for replacement of lost, damaged, or defaced PVCs can collect their PVCs at the Registration Area/wards during this period and the same thing applies to those that registered prior to the 2019 general election and are yet to collect their cards. The PVCs of those that applied for transfer are available for collection in the Local Governments and Registration Areas where they intend to vote and not in the State or Local Government where they carried out the transfer.

“The Commission appreciates the patience and understanding of Nigerians who trooped to our various local government offices to collect their PVCs. In making the cards available for collection, the Commission is also working to ensure that the process is simple and hitch-free for Nigerians.”

• INEC begins BVAS testing in Plateau

The Independent National Electoral Commission has commenced the trial run of the newly-acquired Bimodal Voters Accreditation System in Plateau State, ahead of the forthcoming elections.

INEC’s Head of Voters Education and Publicity Department in the state, Egwurube Otokpa, revealed this in an interview with newsmen in Jos on Thursday. It had been reported that the BVAS arrived state recently and will be deployed in the over 300 polling units across the 17 LGAs of the state during the poll.

According to Otokpa, the test run of the BVAS in Plateau State, which started on Wednesday at INEC headquarters in Jos, was being conducted by a team of officials from INEC headquarters in Abuja led by Dr Jane Ifedeora.

The INEC official, who did not disclose the number of BVAS being tested in the state, nevertheless assured voters in the state of the commitment of the electoral body to conduct a free and fair election.

• FG opens East-West lane on Second Niger Bridge

The Federal Road Safety Corps has said that the second phase of the use of the second Niger Bridge would commence on January 2, 2023. The Federal Government had on December 15, 2022, opened the second Niger Bridge for temporary use.

It was announced that motorists travelling from the West to the East would be allowed to use the bridge from December 15, 2022, while motorists returning from the East to the West would be allowed from January 2, 2023. However, the Sector Commander FRSC, Delta State, Mr Udeme Eshiet, urged road users to adhere to the directive.

• NCDC emergency team meets over China COVID-19 surge

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, said the COVID-19 emergency operations centre met on Saturday over the increasing COVID-19 cases in China. Adetifa said the centre would continue to review the ongoing COVID-19 situation over the coming week and will implement necessary actions if need be. The NCDC boss disclosed this in a series of tweets via his Twitter handle, @IfedayoTiffy, on Sunday.

An emergency operations centre is a central command and control facility responsible for carrying out the principles of emergency preparedness and emergency management, or disaster management functions at a strategic level during an emergency, and ensuring the continuity of operation of a company, political subdivision or other organisation.

Continuing, he said the Nigerian COVID-19 response continues to be executed through four pillars: continued surveillance, genomic surveillance, capacity for surge testing, and vaccination.
However, he stated that recent experience in Nigeria with the arrival of Omicron demonstrated that travel restrictions had no public health benefits but were disruptive to people and businesses.

• Six million meters for deployment before June – FG

Six million meters are to be deployed nationwide in the first and second quarters of this year to reduce the number of unmetered electricity consumers in Nigeria, the Federal Government has said. It disclosed in a December 2022 document on the review of the performance of the power sector/Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry under the current administration.

In the document, which was obtained by our correspondent from the Federal Ministry of Power in Abuja on Sunday, the government said it had successfully executed a metering initiative post privatisation with one million meters rolled out in the first phase of the National Mass Metering Programme.

The Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, said the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission were fundamental in designing and implementing this programme.

• Gbajabiamila plans removal of ‘honourable’ from Reps’ designation

Members of the House of Representatives may no longer be addressed as ‘Honourables’ as the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, has sponsored a bill seeking to change the lawmakers’ appellation to ‘Representatives.’ The legislation is titled ‘A Bill for an Act to Amend the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, 2017.’

Already, members of the 9th House, including the Speaker, have been using ‘Rep.’ before their names, instead of the ‘Honourable’ or ‘Hon’ that has been in use for ages. Gbajabiamila is now seeking to legalise the change in the “address and designation of a member” through the amendment bill.

The bill seeks to insert new Sections 21 and 22 into the Legislative Houses (Powers And Privileges) Act, which read, “(21) A member of the Senate shall be designated and addressed as a Senator and shall be entitled to have before his name the word ‘Senator’ during his term in office and for life.

• We’ve sufficient BVAS, device’ll deployed to 176,846 polling units – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC says that it has sufficient Bimodal Voter Registration Systems, BVAS to conduct elections in the 176,846 polling units nationwide. INEC National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, made this disclosure during an interview on Channels TV’s 2022 In Retrospect.

Meanwhile, the INEC commissioner has said over 1.4 million adhoc staff will be trained in the effective usage of the BVAS. Okoye further stated that the processes and procedures of the commission are going well as planned and Nigerians should expect a very good election in 2023.

The INEC commissioner also said on January 12, 2023, INEC will release the official list of voters noting that “all these things are going as planned and they are going to be accomplished on schedule.”

• N’Assembly budgets N850m for failed constitution amendment

The National Assembly has again allocated N850m for Constitution Amendment in the 2023 Budget. The National Assembly had recently raised the 2023 Budget by N1.3tn from the N20.5tn proposed by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in October 2022.

The constitution amendment process has faced several delays at the parliament and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, confirmed recently that the passage of the amendment bill in the ninth Assembly had been stalled.

He said, “The National Assembly passed a raft of amendments to the constitution and advanced them to the states as required. That process now seems to have stalled in the state assemblies. As it is today, it is doubtful that the current constitutional amendment effort will conclude before the expiration of this legislative term.”

The government has over the years allocated about N1bn annually for constitution amendment which has continued to face challenges since 2011. The Ninth Assembly recently lamented that the process of the constitution review was being frustrated by some state governors. The National Assembly has however continued to make allocation available for the project.

• PVCs: 6.7million uncollected in 17 states, INEC targets markets

No fewer than 6.7 million Nigerians have yet to collect their permanent voter cards less than eigth weeks to the general elections. Data obtained from the state offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission on Tuesday revealed that 6.7 m PVCs were locked up in INEC safes across 17 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The INEC had announced that the collection window for PVCs will commence December 12,2022 and end on January 22. The INEC National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, disclosed in a statement that with effect from January 6 -15,2023 the collection of the PVCs will be devolved to the ward level after which collection would be moved to the local government areas.

• ‘Politicians seeking non-existent fault’ — CUPP hails court for refusing to sack INEC chair

The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has praised the decision of a federal capital territory (FCT) high court for refusing to sack Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

One Emmanuel Agonsi had asked the court for an injunction compelling Yakubu to step aside from office pending the conclusion of a probe against the INEC chairperson over alleged false asset declaration. In the suit marked FCT/HC/GAR/CV/47/2022, Agonsi also asked the court to bar the INEC chairman from holding office for the next 10 years.

But the court threw out the case on grounds that there was nothing wrong with the asset declaration form of Yakubu. In a chat with reporters on Wednesday, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, CUPP spokesperson, said the judiciary has proven to be the last hope of the common man.

“I’m happy that the judiciary over the months has proven that they are the last hope of the common man,” Ugochinyere said. Since our intelligence discovery of plans to compel the INEC chairman to stop the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation system in the 2023 elections, these evil politicians have not rested, they are looking for nonexisting faults.

 

 

 

 

POLITICS

• ‘He has an edge over other contestants’ — Obasanjo endorses Obi for president

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has endorsed Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) for the presidency, ahead of the 2023 elections. He made the endorsement on Sunday in his New Year message to Nigerians. Obasanjo urged youths to be more deliberate about the choices they make, adding that the 2023 elections should not be taken for granted.

While advising Nigerians on the need “not to be confused nor gullible” about who to vote for, the former president said among the leading presidential candidates, Obi has what it takes to put Nigeria on the right path to progress.

• Anti-Buhari letter: Presidency lambasts Obasanjo, says ex-president govt corrupt

The Presidency on Monday slammed former President Olusegun Obasanjo for describing the seven years of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) in office as horrible and hell on earth for Nigerians. It described Obasanjo’s government as corrupt, adding that the former leader was morally bankrupt. The Presidency, which listed Obasanjo’s sins in office, also accused him of lying to the South-East to garner votes during his tenure between 1999 and 2007.

The elder statesman stirred the hornet’s nest on Sunday with his criticism of the Buhari regime, noting that the nation was currently faced with pervasive and mind-numbing insecurity, rudderless leadership, mismanagement of diversity and pervasive corruption and bad economic policies, which he said had resulted in extremes of poverty and massive unemployment and galloping inflation.

Obasanjo’s endorsement of the Labour Party standard bearer, Peter Obi, in a lengthy New Year message also provoked the All Progressives Congress, Peoples Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance and African Action Alliance, which dismissed his support for Obi as of little political value.

But responding to the blistering attacks on Buhari in a statement on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), Garba Shehu said the Owu chief “won’t stop being jealous of anyone who beats him to a new record in the nation’s development process,’’ noting that Buhari is ahead of Obasanjo in all fields of national development. This, he said, is a cardinal sin to the ex-president.

• Obasanjo attacking Buhari out of frustration, Presidency claims
  The Presidency, on Monday, said former President Olusegun Obasanjo is verbally attacking the Buhari regime “out of frustration.” It also described Obasanjo’s attitude to the President as “vengeful”.

“‘Hell’ for Obasanjo is when a President, any President that comes after him refuses to be his own puppet, to do as he wishes on all matters and at all times. He then keeps attacking out of frustration. Obasanjo’s vengeful attitude towards President Buhari is the height of selfishness and little short of moral squalor,”

The Presidency said in a statement signed by Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu. The statement is titled Morally squalid Obasanjo attacks leaders out of frustration.

• Edwin Clark endorses Obi for president, calls him ‘best hope of new Nigeria’

Edwin Clark, an Ijaw national leader and convener of PANDEF, has endorsed Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) for president. He made the endorsement on Tuesday at a media briefing in his residence in Abuja. Clark urged Nigerians, irrespective of ethnic, religious and political affiliation, to back Obi because he is the “best hope of a new Nigeria”.

The south-south leader said he has saddled himself with the responsibility of requesting PANDEF and all other groups he belongs to give their support to Obi. “I have also requested the leadership of PANDEF, as a democratic institution and all other socio-cultural and socio-political bodies which I head to consult with their members at the levels of the states, local governments and diaspora to take further steps in supporting my choice of H.E Peter Obi.”

He said the proposition of the former governor of Anambra for Nigerian youths in terms of job creation and innovation is commendable. “That the vision statement shared by his excellency Peter Obi at the occasion, as it relates to making Nigeria more productive, using the rich resource endowment in every part of the country; curbing waste and fighting corruption; and creating jobs for our teeming youths through innovative initiatives is very commendable,” he said.

“That his restated commitment to restructuring and devolution of power will promote harmony and peaceful coexistence amongst the states and constituent parts of the country. That his vision for more equity and justice as it pertains to the South-South region, which in the past sixty years has produced much of the revenue for the national economy, but has been neglected with little impact in terms of infrastructure and social development, is convincing and commendable.

“Peter Obi’s commitment to environmental justice to the clean up of the Niger Delta polluted communities is most welcomed, given that even the ongoing Ogoni clean-up has been rather slow. His commitment to the inclusion of qualified persons from the Niger Delta in the national governance process in the future government if elected into power is very reassuring.”

• Presidency: Clark, Ortom endorse Peter Obi

Former Federal Commissioner for Information and South-South Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, and Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, have endorsed the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr Peter Obi, for next month’s election.

Clark said he was throwing his weight behind Obi because the next president of Nigeria must be educated and experienced. According to him, an Obi Presidency would also give sense of equity that would pull the South-East as an equal partner in the polity. The National Leader of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum, SMBLF, said that the time had come for someone from the South-East geo- political zone to lead the country because the zone has resourceful and educated people to govern Nigeria.

Addressing newsmen at his Asokoro, Abuja residence, onn Tuesday, Clark, who doubles as the leader of Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, also urged the youths not to allow anyone bribe them saying Nigerians needed a transparent president, who is strong, healthy and had every leadership quality Nigerians want.

On his part, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, who is contesting for a senatorial seat on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, threw his weight behind Obasanjo’s endorsement of Obi as the right candidate to provide the leadership they earnestly yearn for. He maintained that if he was not a member of the PDP, he would have personally led Obi’s campaign across the country.

The governor in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Terver Akase, also recommended Mr. Obi to Nigerians “as the man, who has the capacity to effectively tackle the economic, security and other challenges facing the country.”

• OBJ endorsement of Obi: I’m worried for PDP — Wike

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has said that the endorsement of Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, for the 2023 presidential election by former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, calls for worry over the fate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Wike said this at the flag-off of construction of Mgbuodohia Road in Rumuolumene, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area on Tuesday. He noted that for Obasanjo to pick Obi above the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who served him for eight years as Vice President, every lover of PDP should be worried.

• PDP raises concern as Clark, Ortom endorse Obi

The Peoples Democratic Party has said that the endorsement of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, by an elder statesman, and leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, Chief Edwin Clark, on Tuesday has further confirmed that the party must reconcile with the five aggrieved governors.

The party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, said this in an interview with newsmen on Tuesday while reacting to the endorsement by Clark. Clark had announced the endorsement at a press conference in Abuja barely 48 hours after a similar endorsement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He said it was only fair and just that the South produced the next president after eight years of Presidentl Muhammadu Buhari.

• ‘Obasanjo’s endorsement of Obi, one-man opinion’

The South West Agenda for Asiwaju, SWAGA, a campaign group rooting for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, yesterday, described the endorsement of Labour Party’s Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, as one man opinion.

The national chairman of SWAGA, Senator Dayo Adeyeye, who spoke during a party organized for members of the campaign group in Ekiti, Ondo, Kogi and other states, said the victory of the former governor of Lagos state won’t be affected by the decision of the former president.

• Peter Obi’s Endorsement: It’ll be 11th wonder if Tinubu fails to win – Keyamo

The spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, SAN, has said it would be an eleventh wonder if Asiwaju Bola Tinubu fails to win the forthcoming Presidential elections.

Keyamo who said the APC is excited about the Labour Party Presidential candidate Mr. Peter Obi’s endorsement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Afenifere leader, Pa Ayo Adebanjo and Chief Edwin Clark. He noted that Obi’s endorsement has no effect on the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

Speaking on Channels Television, ‘Politics Today’ keyamo said the worst things was said by Obasanjo, Adebanjo and Chief Edwin Clark to disparage the APC in 2019, but 15 million voters ignored them.

“We are excited by their endorsement but I can assure you the Labour Party will not win. Also anywhere the G-5 consensus governors goes is a win-win for the APC. PDP are hoping for the betrayal of Asiwaju in the North.

• You’re hearing from devil, not God, Adeleke replies Oyetola

The Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, has urged his predecessor, Adegboyega Oyetola, to stop listening to the devil’s whispering on a possible return to office as governor.
Adeleke said this while reacting to Oyetola, who, while addressing members of the All Progressives Congress at a prayer session organised to welcome him to the state in Osogbo, said he heard from God that he would return to office as governor and that the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, would be elected president.

A statement by the spokesperson for the governor, Olawale Rasheed, on behalf of Adeleke, then declared that, “God is of justice, equity and honesty, not of electoral banditry and deceit.
“The holy books even noted that the devil’s whispering is real and no one should mistake the voice of the devil for God. Our Almighty God has spoken resoundingly in favour of a new Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke. Mr Oyetola should better be reading ‘auzubilahi mina shaytani rajeem’ so he could hear the true voice of God – that a new leader is anointed by divine will for Osun people.”

Reminding Oyetola that there was life after losing the election, Adeleke affirmed that Osun people have moved and were at the moment started enjoying “a new governance of openness, accountability, and responsiveness to yearnings and aspirations of the citizenry. “Osun has launched a new chapter. This new leadership has returned state power to the people who are now feeling the new air of government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Never will Osun be returned to the years of the locust.”

• Court Stops DSS From Arresting INEC Chairman

An FCT High Court has stopped an application seeking to remove the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu from office over alleged false asset declaration. Justice M. A. Hassan on Wednesday refused the application alongside the 14 reliefs brought by the claimants.

The judge held that Prof Yakubu’s asset declaration was was lawful, valid and in compliance with the law. He barred the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police, and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) from arresting Yakubu.

The ruling followed an originating summons marked FCT/HC/GAR/CV/47/2022 by Somadina Uzoabaka against the Attorney General of the Federation and Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, seeking among others things, an order of mandatory injunction directing and compelling the INEC chairman to recuse, excuse and exclude himself and or step down as the chairman of INEC pending the investigation and consideration of the various allegations against him by the various law enforcement agencies.

Prof Yakubu, in his response to the allegation, presented details of his filings before the court with exhibits showing the sources of money for the purchase of the properties which the plaintiff alleged were illegally acquired and insisted that his assets declarations were validly done.

• Elections: INEC sets aside 8,809 BVAS as backup

The Independent National Electoral Commission has imported additional Bimodal Voters Accreditation System machines that will be deployed nationwide in all the polling units for the 2023 elections. The commission, which took delivery of the last batch of the machines at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Tuesday, said this was in line with its contingency provisions for all critical election materials.

The National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye told The PUNCH on Wednesday that INEC would deploy over 194,464 BVAS machines in 176, 846 polling units across the country. He explained that 176,846 polling units would receive a BVAS each, adding that each registration area amounting to 8,809, would also get at least two BVAS as backup in case of malfunction, bringing the total to over 194,464 BVAS machines.

Okoye said “We have 176, 846 polling units in Nigeria. All of them will have a BVAS. Some polling units may still have more than 750 registered voters. We shall deploy additional BVAS to such polling units. “We have 8,809 registration areas in Nigeria. Each one will have at least two BVAS for purposes of quick intervention in cases of sustained malfunction of BVAS in any of the polling units in each electoral ward.’’ Earlier in a statement, Okoye disclosed that the electoral agency received the last batch of the BVAS machines on Tuesday.

 

 

 

 

 

ECONOMY

• FG risks paying N1.8trn interest on N23.7trn loan — Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday it would cost the federal government N1.8 trillion in interest, if the National Assembly failed to approve N23.7 trillion in extra-budgetary spending.
The President also said his government had made adequate provisions in the 2023 budget for the successful conduct of the forthcoming general elections and the transition programme.

Recall that Buhari had asked the National Assembly to approve the sum he said were funds provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, through loans for emergencies in the space of 10 years. The Senate had last week, suspended the request of the President after a rowdy session, as Senators Betty Apiafi and Thompson Sekibo had argued that the request was not constitutional. They also demanded that before the Senate could approve the request, it must have the details of what the funds were spent on.

But speaking at the signing ceremony of the 2023 budget of N21.83 trillion at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Buhari said he had no intention to contest the decision of the lawmakers. He said: “I also urge the National Assembly to reconsider its position on my proposal to securitise the federal government’s outstanding Ways and Means balance at the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. As I stated, the balance has accumulated over several years and represents funding provided by the CBN as lender of last resort to the government to enable it to meet obligations to lenders, as well as cover budgetary shortfalls in projected revenues and/or borrowings.

“I have no intention to fetter the right of the national assembly to interrogate the composition of this balance, which can still be done even after granting the requested approval. Failure to grant the securitisation approval will however cost the government about N1.8 trillion in additional interest in 2023 given the differential between the applicable interest rates which is currently MPR plus three percent and the negotiated interest rate of nine percent and a 40-year repayment period on the securitised debt of the Ways and Means.”

• 2023: FG should sustain targeted interventions to avert recession — LCCI

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called on the Federal Government to sustain its interventions in critical sectors of the economy to prevent the country from going into economic recession in 2023. Director General, LCCI, Dr Chinyere Almona, made the call in a statement made available to Vanguard on projecting the nation’s economic outlook for 2023, adding that there is need for sound monitoring and evaluation over the budget allocations.

Almona stated: “The Federal Government needs to sustain its targeted interventions in selected critical sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, export infrastructure, tackling insecurity, and free more money from subsidy payments. It is very imperative that we need sound monitoring and evaluation over the budget allocations to capital projects and defence spending to respectively tackle infrastructural deficit and the fight against insurgency.

“We urge the government to tackle oil theft to earn more foreign exchange, borrow from cheaper sources to reduce the burden of debt servicing, and pave the way for the removal of the fuel subsidy by the incoming government.” She also noted that the government must block revenue leakages, reduce costs, and empower the private sector to create jobs and generate more revenue to the government.

According to the LCCI DG, the base factors that may continue to drive the major economic indicators in Nigeria are the rising inflation rate, tight monetary policies, an unstable currency, foreign exchange scarcity, debt burden, currency management, food supply disruptions, exchange rate volatility, and election spending. Reviewing monetary policy developments in 2022, Almona noted that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) deployed a tightening monetary policy to stabilize prices, adding that further increase in MPC rates is anticipated in January.

• FG To Stop Payment Of Fuel Subsidy By End Of June 2023

The Federal Government has said that it will stop the payment of fuel subsidy by the end of June 2023. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, disclosed this during the public presentation of the 2023 Federal Government budget. Mrs Zainab disclosed that in the 2023 fiscal period, the government has made provisions of N3. 36trillion naira for fuel subsidy payment to cover the first six months of this year.

This, she stated, is in line with the 18-month extension announced in early 2022. Breaking down the budget, the minister noted that the nation’s revenue performance as at November 2022 stood at 6. 5 trillion naira, representing an 87 percent of the set target of 7. 8 trillion naira for the year.

An analysis of the key contributors to the revenue collection according to the minister of finance and planning, includes a N586billion collection from the Federal Government, Customs – N15billion, independent revenue collection N1.3trillion as well as a N3.7trillion collection from other sources of revenue. Top sectors that contributed to the growth of the economy in 2022 includes Agriculture at 23 percent, information and communications technology, trade, manufacturing with the oil and gas sector contributing just about 5. 6 percent.

• All govt payments must be cashless from March — NFIU

The Federal Government yesterday served a notice to the three tiers of government that all payments from the public treasury beyond the threshold approved for daily cash limit by the Central Bank of Nigeria must be done electronically with effect from March 1, 2023.

In effect, the Nigerian Financial and Intelligence Unit, NFIU, which made the announcement, warned that anyone who flouts the new guideline would be charged in accordance with relevant instruments on money laundering and corruption operating in the country. The notice generated mixed reactions from some state governments. While some saw it as necessary, others kicked against it.

However, the Director of NFIU and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Modibbo Hamman Tukur, who made the pronouncements at a briefing in Abuja, warned that with the publication of the new guidelines, cash withdrawals from public accounts had been prohibited by the requirement of the laws under reference, while the payment of estacodes and overseas allowances to civil and public servants in cash had also been outlawed.

The NFIU boss also warned that any public office at the federal, state and local government levels, who flout the new cash policy, would face the full weight of the law, irrespective of his/her position. The NFIU, however, gave one condition under which a public officer might be allowed to withdraw more cash than is allowed under the law, saying only the Presidency could provide such a window. According to Tukur, the waiver to withdraw more daily cash than approved by the CBN, can be granted by the Presidency, based on exigency.

He explained: “There is nothing in these guidelines to suggest or indicate there is reason to compel or warrant a public official at federal, state and local government to go to a financial institution to withdraw cash. In the unlikely event that a public official feels he may need cash withdrawal, he may apply for approval for a waiver from the Presidency which may be granted on a case-by-case basis. “Under no circumstance, shall any category of public officers be given a standing or continuous waiver to withdraw cash from any public account in any financial institution or designated non-financial institution.

 

 

 

 

 

BUSINESS

• Discos hike electricity tariff secretly, consumers kick

Electricity distribution companies have quietly increased the tariff payable by power consumers across the country. Although most of the Discos did not make this public, electricity users have kicked against the move, describing it as “a perfect robbery” amidst the harsh economic realities in Nigeria currently.

Reacting to the price hike, a resident of a Lagos highbrow estate, Mr. Oye Sola, lamented the increase. He said, “Electricity tariff is now N72.2 per unit. Another price hike from N66; I suspect they are going to N100. A higher price for poorer services. Another customer of Ikeja Disco identified as Ola Busari said, “They are just milking us. This is a perfect robbery. Discos need to be checked.

Another Lagos resident named Olojede said, “They increased prices without informing us. There was no official communication to us as our estate representatives.” However, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, in its Multi-Year Tariff Order, provides a 15-year tariff path for the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry with limited minor reviews each year.

It states that reviews are in the light of changes in a limited number of parameters such as inflation, interest rates, exchange rates and generation capacity, and major reviews every five years when all of the inputs were reviewed with the stakeholders. NERC, however, did not announce the latest hike in tariff, which a power distribution company attributed to the regulator on Wednesday.

• Amazon To Cut More Than 18,000 Jobs, Says CEO

Amazon announced Wednesday it will cut more than 18,000 jobs from its workforce, citing “the uncertain economy” and the fact that the online retail giant had “hired rapidly” during the pandemic. “Between the reductions we made in November and the ones we’re sharing today, we plan to eliminate just over 18,000 roles,” said CEO Andy Jassy in a statement to his staff. The company had announced 10,000 layoffs in November.

Jassey said the company’s leadership was “deeply aware that these role eliminations are difficult for people, and we don’t take these decisions lightly. “We are working to support those who are affected and are providing packages that include a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support,” he said.

Some of the layoffs would be in Europe Jassey said, adding that the impacted workers would be informed starting on January 18. He said the sudden announcement was being made because “because one of our teammates leaked this information externally.”

The retailer had indeed hired with a vengeance during the pandemic to meet an explosion in demand for deliveries, doubling its global staff between the beginning of 2020 and the beginning of 2022. The group had 1.54 million employees worldwide at the end of September, not including seasonal workers recruited during periods of increased activity, particularly during the holiday season.

 

 

 

 

HEALTH

• NAFDAC issues public alert on Weight Rapid Loss Capsule

The Management of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has notified the public to stop the purchase and use of a product named Weight Rapid Loss Capsule, manufactured by Ingi Oman,

A notification signed by the management on the Agency’s website, dated December 20, 2022, and titled Public Alert No. 049/2022 – Alert on the UAE health authority warning against consumption of weight loss pills, the Agency , said it was notifying the public that the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DOH) has warned against the use of the Weight Rapid Loss Capsule, due to its potential to cause cancer.

According to the alert: “The product is being -marketed as ‘the most effective weight loss supplemen’ and is being illegally sold through social media platforms like Instagram. “Result of laboratory analysis showed that the pills contain a banned substance ‘phenolphthalein’, which the US Food and Drug Administration has recognised as unsafe. It further contains microbial growth above the permissible limits.

Phenolphthalein has been found to be toxic to genes as it can cause damage or mutations in the DNA. Studies have also shown its potential carcinogenic risks. Further, the management noted, “NAFDAC implores consumers to stop the purchase and use of the product. Members of the public in possession of the product should discontinue sale or use and submit stock to the nearest NAFDAC office.

• COVID-19: Travel restrictions didn’t have public health benefits — NCDC

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, has said recent experiences in the country with the arrival of the COVID-19 omicron variants showed that travel restrictions did not have any public health benefits but were disruptive for persons and businesses.

Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, Director-General, NCDC, said this on his official Twitter handle while addressing Nigerians who raised concern over the rising COVID-19 cases in China, the UK, U.S.A and other countries. He said that COVID-19 has and continues to follow a different course (epidemiology) in Nigeria and most of African nations.

Adetifa said that the COVID-19 Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) met on Dec. 31, 2022, noting that going forward, they would continue to review the ongoing COVID-19 situation over the coming week. The NCDC boss said that the agency follows global COVID-19 epidemiology, including genomics data, as part of the ongoing pandemic response.

Adetifa said that the NCDC COVID-19 EOC continues to function at level two alertness – including weekly risk assessments to inform the need for action. The NCDC boss said that the COVID-19 resurgence in China was not surprising, given their recent transition from a zero COVID-19 strategy.

• COVID-19 surge: Health workers demand travel restriction

Disturbed by the resurgence of COVID-19 in China, medical bodies in the country have expressed worry about the Federal Government’s refusal to place travel restrictions on inbound passengers from China in the country. According to them, Nigeria does not have adequate human resources to handle another pandemic as a result of the massive emigration of health workers to other countries.

Reports have it that there is a resurgence of COVID-19 in China following the relaxation of the country’s zero-COVID policy, as well as significantly increased COVID-19 cases, admissions, and deaths in the United Kingdom and the United States of America over the past weeks driven partly by the usual winter exacerbations of respiratory illnesses.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has maintained that country-targeted travel restrictions including requests for PCR-negative tests from incoming travellers had little or no effect on preventing global and national circulation of omicron since the emergence of this variant and its relatives with their shorter incubation period.

The President of the National Association of Resident Doctors, Dr Emeka Orji, told newsmen that the government ought to make plans to protect its citizens from a resurgence of COVID-19.
Orji said, “We need to act now because we don’t even have enough doctors to handle the current challenges we have in the health sector. Also, the President of the Academy of Medicine Specialities of Nigeria, Prof Oladapo Ashiru, said the country must act fast to prevent another pandemic.

• Buhari signs Mental Health Bill into Law

Decades after mental health regulatory reforms have languished in the legislative chambers with failed attempts at overhaul in 2003 and 2013; President Muhammadu Buhari has finally signed into law the Mental Health Bill harmonised by both Houses of Assembly in 2021.

The signing which seems to be a parting gift to Nigerians from the president is also the 1st Mental Health Act/ Law post Independence and will also replaced the Lunacy Act of 1958. It could be recalled that in 2019, the mental health legislation was advanced, with the Senate passing it for second reading and holding public hearings in 2020.

On the 28th of November, 2022, the National Assembly passed the National Mental Health Bill, 2021, and forwarded it to President Buhari for consideration and assent last week, according to a memorandum by the Clerk to the National Assembly.

Confirming the signing to newsmen, the President of the Association of Psychiatrists of Nigeria, APN, Prof Taiwo Obindo described it as a great relief. This is a victory for Mental Health Care and practice in this nation.

 

 

 

 

 

EDUCATION

• Nigeria’s Education Sector In 2022 Catastrophic – ASUU

The Academic Staff Unionof Universities (ASUU) has described Nigeria’s education sector in 2022 as catastrophic, wishing that the country and its people never experience a similar situation again. The president of the union, porfessor Emmanuel Osedeke gave tis remark i an iterview wit newsmen when he was asked to assess ow te sector fared in the ouutgone year.

“Our education sector was nothing to write home about from the primary to tertiary level in the last one year. Though things had been bad in the sector over the years, it was the worst last year in all ramifications,” he stressed.

Osodeke particularly blamed the government at both the federal and state levels for the poor record, saying those in the corridors of power did not give the sector a deserving attention. The ASUU boss noted that a government that allowed a union to go on strike for eight months without any meaningful intervention to address the fundamentals that led to the action even till the moment is anti-people and anti-development.

He said all the problems facing tertiary education in the areas of personnel welfare, infrastructures, policies, among others are getting worse and not being resolved. He said the situation of primary and secondary education, particularly in the public schools, is no different, arguing that the condition has reached the stage where education at those levels is no longer attractive to parents to enroll their children in them.

According to him, many public school students are sitting on the bare floor and windows, under leaking roofs and in dilapidated classrooms, among others, while taking lessons. He said there were many other issues to refer to across levels of education in the nation to conclude that the sector in the last year was “catastrophic.”

• Edo threatens prosecution of out-of-school children’s parents

The Edo State Ministry of Education has said that its “School O’Clock” exercise, which is aimed at checking the menace of out-of-school children, will resume on January 9, 2023. This is contained in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Dr Oni Ekhosuehi, on behalf of the Commissioner for Education, Dr Joan Oviawe.

She said, “The Edo State Ministry of Education wishes to inform school owners, school administrators, parents, guardians, and the general public that the official date of second term resumption as contained in the 2022/2023 harmonised school calendar remains Monday, January 9, 2023. Please note that teaching and learning commence immediately from the first day. Hence, parents and guardians should release their wards on the stipulated date of resumption.

“Also worthy of note to parents and guardians is that the School O’Clock team will resume on the same date. Any parent or guardian whose ward (pupil or student) is found loitering, hawking, or engaging in child labour during school hours will be arrested and prosecuted. To this end, school heads should ensure that classrooms and school environments are clean, safe and ready for the commencement of academic activities.”

 

 

 

 

 

WORLD

• Putin Seeking ‘Oxygen’ With Ukraine Ceasefire Order – Biden

US President Joe Biden said Thursday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s order for a two-day Orthodox Christmas ceasefire in Ukraine was simply an effort to find breathing room for his war effort. “He was ready to bomb hospitals and nurseries and churches” on December 25 and on New Year’s Day, Biden said, adding: “I think he’s trying to find some oxygen.”

State Department spokesman Ned Price called Putin’s ceasefire “cynical,” saying, “We have little faith in the intentions behind this announcement.” He voiced concern that Russia would use the break to “regroup, to rest and ultimately to re-attack” and said that Putin may seek to “fool the world” by making it seem that he wants peace. “This does not appear to be a change in the tide of the war,” he said. If Russia were truly serious about peace, about ending this war, it would withdraw its forces from the sovereign territory of Ukraine.”

The United States also denounced the Wagner Group — a mercenary outfit close to Putin that is under US sanctions — for announcing it had coordinated the release of a first group of Russian inmates who accepted amnesty in return for fighting in Ukraine. Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin appeared in a video speaking to a gathering of men — some injured and whose faces were blurred.

• Brazil Reopens Fraud Case Against US Lawmaker Santos

Prosecutors in Brazil said Wednesday they have reinstated over-decade-old fraud charges against US Republican Congressman George Santos, who is under fire for admitting he made up large parts of his resume. The first-term congressman from New York, whose 2022 election win helped the Republican Party secure a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, is accused in Brazil of using a stolen checkbook to buy some $700 in merchandise from a store in 2008, according to local media.

It is the latest in a mounting pile of legal woes for the 34-year-old, who also faces a criminal investigation in New York after admitting he lied about graduating from university, working at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and otherwise “embellishing” his resume. “The Rio de Janeiro state prosecutor’s office has requested to reopen the case,” the office said in an e-mail to AFP.

• Prince Harry Accuses Brother William Of 2019 Physical Attack

Britain’s Prince Harry recounts in his new book how he was physically “attacked” by his older brother Prince William during an argument in 2019, the Guardian reported Wednesday.
According to the newspaper, the story of the incident appears in Harry’s new memoir “Spare,” which is due to be released later this month amid an ongoing row within the British royal family.

Harry, 38, writes that during a disagreement in the kitchen of his London home, William called his wife Meghan Markle “difficult,” “rude” and “abrasive,” before tackling him to the ground as the pair continued to argue, the Guardian said.

“He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me,” the Guardian quotes Harry’s book as saying.

Harry then told his older brother to leave. William looked “regretful, and apologized,” Harry recalled, according to the newspaper. The daily quoted the exchange between the two princes from the book: William “turned and called back: ‘You don’t need to tell Meg about this.’ ‘You mean that you attacked me?’ ‘I didn’t attack you, Harold,’” William responded, seeming to use a nickname for Harry.

• Son Of Notorious Drug Kingpin ‘El Chapo’ Arrested in Mexican Military Operation

Mexican security forces on Thursday captured the son of jailed drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, scoring a high-profile win in the fight against powerful cartels days before US President Joe Biden visits. Ovidio Guzman, nicknamed “El Raton” (The Mouse), was caught in the northwestern city of Culiacan and flown to Mexico City on a military plane, Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval told reporters.

He said the arrest was the result of six months of intelligence work tracking down the 32-year-old, who has allegedly helped to run his father’s operations since El Chapo was extradited to the United States in 2017. The United States had offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to Ovidio Guzman’s capture, accusing him of being a key player in the infamous Sinaloa cartel.

Gunfire and arson shook Culiacan after the arrest, which comes as Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador prepares to welcome Biden next week for a North America leaders’ summit in Mexico City where security is expected to be high on the agenda.

A National Guardsman was killed and at least 28 people were wounded in the violence, Sinaloa state governor Ruben Rocha said, while school classes were suspended and sporting events in Culiacan were canceled.

As Guzman’s henchmen reacted with fury, a passenger jet and an air force plane were both hit by gunfire at the Culiacan airport. Videos on social media showed passengers and Aeromexico airline employees at the terminal ducking behind counters as gunfire rang out. No injuries were reported there.

• US carries out first execution of transgender person

A transgender woman convicted of murder was put to death late Tuesday in the first such execution in the United States, officials said. Amber McLaughlin, 49, was pronounced dead shortly before 7 pm local time at the Diagnostic and Correctional Centre in the town of Bonne Terre, Missouri, according to a statement from the state prison department. Local news station Fox2now reported that McLaughlin died by lethal injection.

McLaughlin was the first transgender person of either sex to be executed in the country, and also the first person to die by capital punishment this year in America. She was convicted of murdering a former girlfriend in 2003 in a suburb of St. Louis, before she transitioned. McLaughlin stalked the victim to the point where the ex-partner sought a restraining order. The day of the killing, McLaughlin waited for the woman — named Beverly Guenther — as she left work. Guenther was raped and stabbed to death with a kitchen knife. Her body was dumped near the Mississippi river.

In 2006 a jury found McLaughlin guilty of murder but was deadlocked on what her punishment should be. The trial judge stepped in and imposed the death penalty. Such intervention is allowed in Missouri as well as in Indiana.

 

 

 

 

 

SPORTS

• Italian Football Great Gianluca Vialli Dies

Former Juventus, Chelsea and Italy striker Gianluca Vialli has died aged 58 of pancreatic cancer, his former clubs announced on Friday. Vialli was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 but was still able to play a significant role in Italy’s European Championship title-winning campaign in 2021 assisting long-time Sampdoria strike partner and national coach Roberto Mancini.

However, the signs were not good when he announced a temporary leave from his role with the national team in December to focus on his health. Vialli spent eight seasons at Genoa-based Sampdoria before joining Juventus in 1992 for a then world record 16.5 million euros.

He won the Champions League with Juventus before joining Chelsea in 1996 and becoming player-manager in 1998. Vialli took over from the sacked Ruud Gullit late in the season, and went on to lead Chelsea to victory in the League Cup, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and UEFA Super Cup. He also guided Chelsea to victory in the 2000 FA Cup final but was sacked in the following season.

Chelsea’s current co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said in a statement: “This is truly an awful day for Chelsea Football Club. Gianluca’s legend will live on at Stamford Bridge. “His impact as a player, a coach and most importantly as a person, will be forever written across our club’s history.”

• World Cup Winner Messi Returns To Club Duty With PSGSeventeen days after guiding Argentina to an epic World Cup final victory over France, Lionel Messi reported back to work on Wednesday, his French club Paris Saint-Germain announced.
  The 35-year-old seven-time Ballon d’Or winner reported back to the club’s training ground as they prepare for Saturday’s French Cup tie at third tier side Chateauroux.

Messi scored twice as Argentina drew 3-3 with France in the Qatar final, before prevailing in the penalty shoot-out. Since then he has been celebrating in Argentina and spending time with his family. On Wednesday, he was given a guard of honour by his teammates at the training ground, before being presented with a small trophy by PSG’s sporting director Luis Campos, according to images posted by the club on its Twitter account.

Messi’s teammates Kylian Mbappe, who scored a hat-trick in a losing cause in the final, and Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi returned to club duty just three days after the final with Brazil’s Neymar checking in a day later. Messi is unlikely to play this weekend, more probably making his return in the home Ligue 1 match against Angers next Wednesday.

• Amnesty Asks Ronaldo To Highlight Human Rights Issues In Saudi Arabia

Cristiano Ronaldo has been urged to speak out about human rights issues in Saudi Arabia after completing his big-money move to Al Nassr. The Portugal superstar, who was greeted by fireworks and deafening roars at Al Nassr’s Mrsool Park stadium on Tuesday, said he wanted to “be part of the success of the country and the culture of the country”.

The 37-year-old left Manchester United in November after an explosive interview in which he criticised the club and manager Erik ten Hag. Amnesty International said Ronaldo’s signing is part of a “wider pattern of sportswashing” in Saudi Arabia.

The arrival of the former Real Madrid forward comes against the backdrop of a Saudi push into sports including golf, boxing, tennis and F1 as well as football, following the takeover of English Premier League club Newcastle United in 2021. The Gulf nation is also mulling a joint bid to co-host the 2030 World Cup.

• Lewandowski Ban Upheld Ahead Of Barca Trip To Atletico

Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski’s three-match ban was upheld by Spain’s sports court on Wednesday and he will miss the visit to Atletico Madrid on Sunday in La Liga. A club source told AFP that Barcelona would abide by the decision, having had the punishment suspended by another Madrid court last week, which allowed him to face Espanyol on Saturday.

Lewandowski was hit with a suspension after a red card against Osasuna in November before the World Cup break. The decision to suspend his ban meant the Polish forward, La Liga’s top goalscorer, could play in the Catalan derby on December 31, but he failed to score in the 1-1 draw.

Espanyol were angered by the court decision and their president and board refused to attend the match against Barcelona. Lewandowski will now miss the league leaders’ fixtures against Atletico, Getafe and Girona. The former Bayern Munich striker had two additional matches added to his automatic one match suspension for dismissal against Osasuna, after making a gesture perceived as disrespectful towards the referee.

 

 

 

 

METRO PLUS

• Kogi hails DSS for arresting Okene explosion masterminds

The Kogi State Government on Thursday commended the Department of State Security for arresting the masterminds of the December 29, Okene explosion. The state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo, in statement issued in Lokoja, thanked the DSS for unmasking the terrorists suspected to be behind the explosion.

Fanwo said, “The promptness of action and results achieved by DSS has further steeled our trust in the security agencies. The arrest of the principal characters has justified our position that enemies of the state are again breeding terror cells that has been crushed by the indomitable security architecture of the present administration.

“If not for the master class security architecture of this government, the state would have been turned into a terror zone by its enemies. We hereby call on the DSS and other security agencies to prudently dig deeper into the matter to unravel the real intent of the attackers and proffer how to avert future reoccurrence,” he said. The commissioner further said that Kogi, under the leadership of Governor Yahaya Bello, had already re-calibrated the security architecture to deal with all forms of crimes and criminality.

• Ajah policemen caught drinking on duty, abandon work

Policemen attached to the Ajiwe Police Division, Ajah, Lagos State, regularly abuse alcohol which may be responsible for the increasing rate of extra-judicial killings by cops from the station. Investigations by newmen showed that residents and business owners also observed the trend. According to them, the policemen are always under the influence of alcohol while on duty and on patrol. They said this might be responsible for the recent killing of a pregnant lawyer, Bolanle Raheem, by an Assistant Superintendent of Police, Drambi Vandi, who was attached to the station.

Two weeks earlier, an inspector, Imeh Johnson, attached to the same division, also shot dead another resident, Gafaru Buraimoh, who was on his way to buy fuel. When newsmen visited the police station on Tuesday around 10am, some of the officers were seen clustered in pairs outside the premises. A closer observation revealed some of them consuming alcohol in sachets, while heavily armed.

One of the two officers, who sat close to a barbing salon attached to a building beside the station, was seen with a glass cup of beer, which he sipped at intervals. A policeman among another set of officers who took cover under a shed adjacent to the station was seen drinking a canned alcohol drink with a pistol strapped to his waist.

The officer immediately took him to a vendor, bought a sachet of alcoholic drink and gulped it on the spot, while the vendor provided the balance. It was also learnt that the police officers paid regular visits to some alcoholic vendors behind a motor park under the Ajah Bridge, where Raheem was shot dead.

Newsmen, who visited the spot and mingled with some of the street urchins, observed as they hailed some of the policemen, who came to patronise a female customer spotted at a corner under the bridge. A resident, Soliu Adekanmbi, said the officers were known for their open abuse of alcohol.

• Slain female lawyer: Lagos CP redeploys policemen in Ajah division

Following the killing of a female lawyer, Mrs. Bolanle Raheem, by an Assistant Superintendent of Police, Drambi Vandi, on December 25, 2022, and other shootings, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos Police Command, CP Abiodun Alabi, yesterday, redeployed all policemen, including the Divisional Police Officer of the Ajiwe Police Division, Ajah, in Lagos.

Consequently, a new Divisional Police Officer, CSP Adolf Ogwu, has been deployed to the division, with a charge to sanitise it and avoid a repeat of unprofessional conduct by policemen.
In an apparent adherence to the directive, Ogwu commenced the demolition of shanties around the police station where policemen usually hung out to drink.

Spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin confirmed the redeployment on his Twitter handle. Hundeyin said: “We encourage Lagos residents to, as usual, say something when they see something, as this would translate to a better policing experience for all. Remember, security is everyone’s business.”

• Don’t leave Nigerians in hands of terrorists, Ortom tells security agencies

Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue state, has asked security agencies to do more in tackling insecurity in 2023. In a statement signed by Nathaniel Ikyur, his chief press secretary, Ortom also called on Nigerians to join hands in dealing with insecurity.

Ortom expressed hope for an egalitarian society where every citizen is free to ply his or her trade according to the dictates of the law in any part of the country without fear of molestation or intimidation. He said nation-building can be realised “if we consciously participate in the electoral process to elect credible leaders into various offices in 2023”. The Benue governor said it has become imperative that citizens refrain from mundane issues of religious or ethnic biases.

He urged the federal government to strive to address issues of insecurity threatening the corporate existence of Nigeria objectively in a manner that gives everyone hope and comfort.
He decried the security situation in 2022 and tasked security agents to do more to arrest the deteriorating situation.

• ISWAP Commander Behind Kogi Explosion During Buhari’s Visit Arrested – DSS

The Department of State Services (DSS) says it has arrested a high commander of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Abdulmumin Ibrahim Otaru aka Abu Mikdad, in connection with the explosion around the palace of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland in Kogi State. Four persons were killed in the incident that occurred last Thursday when President Muhammadu Buhari visited the state to commission some projects executed by Governor Yahaya Bello.

The DSS in a statement on Wednesday by its Public Relations Officer, Peter Afunanya, said one of Otaru’s associates, Saidu Suleiman was also apprehended. Afunanya noted that the ISWAP commander sustained a gunshot injury on his left foot while attempting to escape adding that he is receiving treatment at an undisclosed facility.

The DSS spokesperson stated that during investigations, it was ascertained that Otaru either coordinated or was involved in the June 24, 2022 attack on Nigeria Police Area Command, Eika-Ohizenyi in Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State during which one Inspector Idris MUSA was killed and two AK-47 rifles were carted away.

Afunanya said Otaru was also involved in the July 5, 2022 attack on Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kuje Area Council of the FCT; and August 5, 2022 attack on West African Ceramics Ltd (WACL) in Ajaokuta LGA, Kogi in which three Indian expatriates were kidnapped.