Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese footballer, is celebrating 1 billion followers across all his social media platforms.

In an Instagram post on Thursday, the 39-year-old Al-Nassr forward thanked his supporters for believing in him through “all the highs and the lows”.

Ronaldo also reflected on his journey from a young boy in Madeira to becoming “one of the greatest players of all time”.

“We have made history — 1 BILLION followers! This is more than just a number,” he wrote.

“From the streets of Madeira to the biggest stages in the world, I’ve always played for my family and for you, and now 1 billion of us stand together.

“You’ve been with me every step of the way. This journey is our journey, and together, we’ve shown that there are no limits to what we can achieve.

“Thank you for believing in me, for your support, and for being part of my life. The best is yet to come, and we’ll keep pushing, winning, and making history together.”

With this new feat, Ronaldo is the most-followed person on social media — including Instagram (638 million), X (113 million), Facebook (170+ million), and YouTube (60+ million).

On August 21, Ronaldo launched his YouTube channel. The footballer also set a new Guinness World Record (GWR) for the most YouTube subscribers gained in 24 hours.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player has won five Ballon d’Or awards, three UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Awards, and four European Golden Shoes, the most by any European player.

The Portuguese international has also scored 895 senior career goals and is the leading all-time goal-scorer in the world.

According to the latest issue of Forbes, Ronaldo is also the highest-paid athlete in the world in 2024 with an estimated total earnings of $260 million.

[TheCable]

Since 1973, Nigeria as a country has been suffering from fuel scarcity and the challenge now seems intractable and perennial. Several reasons have been adduced for the problem, ranging from the cost of importation to the constant collapse of the country’s refineries. For equally a long time also, the petroleum corporation of the country has been accused of all manner of shady deals, culminating in the shortages witnessed in the country.

It will take a whole book to catalogue the accusations bothering on sleaze associated with the operation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation as it was, but now a limited liability company. Is it subsidy racketeering? Is it prices manipulation? Is it storage maneuvering, diversion and smuggling? The list is endless.

The appreciation of the catastrophic performance of the corporation as it was, led to the unbundling into several entities with the ultimate privatisation of the corporation. Since the registration of the company, no significant difference has been witnessed. The situation in my view appears worse with the corporation becoming the sole importer of premium spirit into the country. It is still common knowledge that with the monopoly, imposition of manipulated prices continues.

With the astronomical figures routinely given, the NNPCL continued with alleged ‘subsidy’ in terms of price differentials. At a point, it claimed to be heavily indebted to some suppliers. The semantics involved in the continuous operation of subsidy is entirely an issue for another day. Notwithstanding the various interventions, particularly the never-ending turn-around of the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries, prices of petroleum products, coupled with the scarcity, continue to soar. The history of the Company, formerly known as Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, has been one of woes and crises, corruption of an immeasurable depth.

No government in Nigeria has been able to tame this unruly monster that has consistently grounded the commanding height of the economy with the masses in a state of total confusion, hunger and deprivation. As remarked above, Fuel scarcity has been a major feature of our petroleum supplies to the people since 1973 and till today, whenever there seems to be any hope or end in sight, the company will come up with something eclipsing the whole country in total darkness of an impossible solution. The NNPC has consistently and historically been a black hole into which anything that goes has no hope of being recovered. It is a worse version of the gambling machine of our childhood known in Yoruba as kalokalo.

Whatever goes into a kalokalo is lost forever to the forlorn hope of little children being encouraged to stake their pocket money. Ajere, the Yoruba name for the storing receptacle of Ifa sacred palm nuts, believed to be incapable of storing water, is a lot better than kalokalo. While ajere is incapable of retaining water due to the holes perforating its wooden body but you can retrieve other items stored therein, at least water poured into ajere comes out through the holes and you can still see it.
On the other hand is the NNPCL with its incapacity to produce anything stored in it or put in its care. It was the systemic corruption that has grounded the company for decades that has made it impossible to make things work. The government of the day in 1979 following the Report that about N2.8 billion was missing from the crude oil sales for the period between 1976 to 1979, set up the Justice Ayo Irikefe Tribunal to probe the activities of the corporation. The Tribunal looked into the 20-year Production Sharing Agreement between Nigeria and Ashland Oil Company Limited, an American company, and described the whole sham contract as “an arrangement” by which Nigerians were fleeced to the enrichment of those who were involved in the arrangement.

It was under the same NNPC that the four refineries of the country were grounded and billions of dollars are being spent yearly on turn-around maintenance. The question is what are they turning around since for decades now, the refineries have failed to produce a single a single drop of refined oil? I have been aware since 1986 that Nigeria was exporting crude to Venezuela to be refined and importing the refined products in return. This was at the expense of the country and till today, Nigeria is still exporting crude to be refined abroad and importing fuel for its local consumption.

NNPC has been unable to determine the quantity of oil being produced in Nigeria and the whole nation has been a laughing stock in the comity of nations. Nigerians always look like fools who are bound to be thirsty in the abundance of water. Hardly has a year passed by without economic activities being paralysed by a scarcity of fuel and Nigerians have to spend hours in petrol stations. Despite the provisions of the law that forbid unauthorised sales of petroleum products, black markets where fuel is traded in jerry cans have become a permanent feature of our society where young men adulterate fuel and sell at exorbitant prices to the damage of consumers’ cars.

Yet, this same NNPC has been operating with all statutory amendments to its legal existence proving futile to rescue it from its systemic ailment. It has proven more determined and dangerous than Abiku of Wole Soyinka, incapable of being stemmed by propitiation. An analyst of the historical development of the Nigerian oil industry would agree that the much-expected positive change promised with the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 has failed. The NNPCL is incapable of being redeemed from its own self-consuming corruption. It has promised and failed so many times that the refineries would come to life and be operational with Nigerians expecting their days of woes to be over only, at every point of failure, NNPC would just shamelessly carry on proving that its word counts for nothing.

The serial promises on commencement of operations at Kaduna and Port Harcourt are yet to manifest. NNPCL has been the sole importer of petroleum products for some time now and it has been able to manipulate figures on prices as it feels like. With importation of petroleum products, it had been argued that the cost of landing was higher than the amount the products are being offered to Nigerians and hence the fact of subsidy being part of the market components. This has led to the creation of emergency billionaires who have perfected the means of fleecing the system by supplying less than the subsidy they claimed from the government.

It was based on this that it became imperative for the government to implement the Bretton Woods policy of removing oil subsidy so that the products could be sold at international market prices. Way back in 1987, we heard of the removal of subsidy which Babangida used as an excuse in the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1989 together with the twin policy of devaluation of the currency. From then, we have been treated to festivals of subsidy removal every year.

A lot of agitations, protests and brouhaha dominated the polity for more than four decades of repeated removal of subsidy which means that subsidy would never be finally removed. The present government had no pretence about its agenda to remove oil subsidy when the President announced at his inauguration that oil subsidy was gone. Yes, many of us felt uneasy as it would compound the problems with the average Nigerian.

However, we were excited to learn that with the final removal of subsidy, we were making a lot of money in multiples of what Nigeria was making before. We felt that the President saw what we did not see then and were prepared to thank him. It did not take time, in a sudden somersault, before NNPC came with figures about subsidy being paid for the same petroleum products. Like the proverbial Phoenix or Abiku, fuel subsidy has returned again. We have NNPC to thank for all these economic gymnastics.

The recent fuel scarcity has grounded the economy again and Nigerians breathed a sigh of relief with Dangote Refinery Limited announcing its readiness to start supplying refined fuel to the market. With this development, Nigerians believed that prices of petroleum products would crash and would be more affordable. The first shock was the announcement by NNPCL that it was not ready to supply crude to Dangote Refinery Limited and hence the multi-billion dollar project was to be grounded.

This is a terrible situation. NNPC did not care that the refinery would have to be importing crude from abroad thereby making fuel more difficult for Nigerians to purchase at cheaper prices. It means that NNPC did not care if Dangote Refinery Limited goes out of production and business with thousands of jobs and opportunities that the company would provide to Nigerians being lost. All the cabals in NNPCL and their co-conspirators in the regulatory sector were concerned with is the filthy lucre that would line their massive pockets from this gargantuan project running insolvent. NNPCL, through the regulatory authority, claimed that Dangote Refinery had no capacity to refine quality fuel and that its product samples were adulterated.

The cabals in government and NNPCL do not care if the owner is bankrupt and banks have to pull him to shreds towards recovering their loans. The taciturn billionaire, Aliko Dangote, was forced to come out and challenge the hawks and jackals in government and regulators thereby staking it all and not minding if heavens would fall. It was upon this fight of the titans that the president had to intervene and thereby save the day. The president directed that NNPCL, through the offshoot regulatory body, should make crude available to Dangote Refinery Limited. We thought the fight was over and were happy. Not long thereafter, Aliko Dangote announced that his Refinery would start refining crude and in 48 hours therefrom, there would be fuel in all retail stations.

The promise made Nigerians to be excited as queues would automatically disappear. It took only a few minutes from this announcement for NNPC to announce an increase in fuel price from 658 Naira to 865 Naira. Dangote told us that the NNPCL would be the off-taker of all fuels refined by Dangote Refinery. The hike has led to prices oscillating between N850/litre to N1,400 per litre. Shockingly, NNPCL responded by declining to offtake, thereby advising the company to sell directly to independent marketers.

As if this was insufficient, when asked what the likely price of the Dangote product would be, Dangote responded that the Federal Government, through the relevant authority, would determine. I started thinking what exactly NNPCL wanted to achieve by being the sole purchaser of fuel produced by Dangote. Is it not the same Dangote they accused of producing adulterated fuel a few weeks back? It means that the allegation then was to call Dangote’s dog a bad name so as to hang it. With hues and cries in the polity, again, in response, NNPCL distanced itself from the pricing regime, stating that the owner of the product would determine the price.

In the midst of all these, Nigerians are getting confused, and the situation becomes the more you look, the less you see. The way things are emerging, it seems that Dangote Refinery is floating, not sure of what the future holds for it. My suspicion is that Dangote Refinery will most likely ultimately be unable to sell at the current prices without threat to its viability, particularly to the independent marketers. This will endanger the entire investment. It is obvious that the current operational regime of the NNPCL is not free from several compromises which the Dangote Refinery cannot afford.

This is coupled with the conspiracy of the various suppliers/contractors of the NNPCL. It is clear that NNPC has no welfare of Nigerians at heart. All it is concerned with is the interests of the cabals who have made the industry a black hole and a personal fiefdom where humongous wealth is made for them on a daily basis. It will be noticed that I kept referring to NNPCL instead of the regulatory authorities. This is deliberate to underscore the fact that nothing other than names and structures have changed. NNPCL remains what is notoriously referred to as the ‘government baby’, still with the same set of faces hitherto in the organisation before privatisation. In fact, any discerning mind knows that NNPCL still exercises an overbearing influence on the regulatory authorities.

To this extent, therefore, it is pointless to bifurcate the entities. It is in the light of the above that I conclude that in so far as there is no real change of batons in the NNPCL, nothing good can come out of it. The suffering and struggle therefore continue. It is situations like this that lead to revolutions in many countries and it is time the President looked deeper into the operations of this company. If for decades, the national refineries are incapable of being revamped so that we do not have to depend on imported fuel products, then, government capacity and will are being questioned.

Ahead of the September 21, 2024 Local Government Council polls in Imo state, members of the ruling All Progressives Congress and the opposition parties are wary of the process leading to the election, Tony Icheku reports.

About two weeks to Imo State’s first local government council polls in five years, furrows have formed on the foreheads of the All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirants,  and their eyes are red and bleary from sleeplessness and worry. They are no more certain that the process would be transparent, free and fair as they grapple with the contradictions in executing the letters of the party’s constitution concerning internal democracy.

In early June, 2024, Chairman of the Imo state Independent Electoral Commission  (ISIEC), Chief Charles Ejiogu announced Saturday, September 21, 2024 as the date for   local government council polls in the 27 local government areas (LGAs) of Imo State. He  assured critical stakeholders and all registered political parties in the State of ISIEC’s preparedness and readiness to offer all a level playing ground. “It will be free, transparent, and credible”, he said. 

APC  loyalists quickly embraced the exercise. They looked forward to a seamless and rancour-free process: The governor may  have nothing at stake, they reasoned, that he is in his second and last term. Expectations were high that he would play the unbiased umpire and allow loyalists who have stood with him through thick and thin to finally have their day in the sun.

In a twinkle of an eye, over 800 councillorship hopefuls purchased nomination forms to jostle for 305 councillorship seats at N1 million each and 200 chairmanship hopefuls shelled out N3 million to jostle for 27 chairmanship seats.

The weeding out process would be through primary, the party and ISIEC assured them stressing that the principles of internal democracy would be duly observed, but after four postponements, the message finally sank in that it may not all be smooth sailing after all.

By the tail end of August, 2024, after several postponements of the primary, Governor Hope Uzodimma finally intervened and prescribed consensus as his preferred option for  the selection of chairmanship and councillorship candidates. The governor while addressing all chairmanship and councillorship aspirants, state leaders and stakeholders at APC’s Secretariat in Owerri, the state capital explained that the party constitution allows for three methods of producing candidates for election, namely direct primaries, indirect primaries and consensus.

The Imo Governor also declared that party aspirants who failed to clinch the party ticket will be refunded their expenses, but on the condition that they exhibit good behavior during and after the process, stressing that the decision to opt for consensus candidates was taken to promote unity and cohesion in the party as well as stability of politics in the State. He reminded the party members that APC was one family in the State, urging them to make sacrifices for the victory of the party.

His words: “I will plead with the party to go into the contest with one spirit. Those who win, we will encourage them to work with those who didn’t win”.

According to him, the 27 chairmanship and the 305 ward councillorship candidates would emerge through consensus. He added that where the consensus option fails to select a candidate, the party will conduct a primary election, either direct or indirect.  The decision became imperative following the high number of interested candidates in the polls, he said.

Uzodimma was economical with details of how the consensus candidates would emerge. And it is also pertinent to recall that earlier in the race, he recommended zoning of the positions as one of the factors in determining the flagbearers for the chairmanship slots.

Aspirants left the meeting holding their breath in suspense which turned to bewilderment few days later when Local Government chairpersons of the party were forbidden from holding meetings in their domain forthwith.

Uzodimma’s current posture and body language are at variance with his earlier stand that he is “not going to influence the Local Government Election, it will be transparent. We must go by the rules and ensure that credible people that will serve the people are elected.”

He advised those angling for positions as either chairman or councilor to go to their people and sell themselves since they will be accountable to the people at the end of the day.

Analysing the issue, a journalist and public affairs analyst, Henry Ekpe stated that Governor Uzodimma’s position on zoning and consensus option are opaque and ambiguous as  “there are clear differences between  zoning formula and  consensus, including Direct or Indirect primaries.

“While zoning means  the rules must be followed to  balance the political equation in each given LGA based on their age long way of sharing political positions, but consensus means arriving on immediate acceptable solution based on what is on ground, not minding if it met balancing or not”

Again Ekpe maintained that the consensus option renders the delegates impotent while transferring powers to a clique or a powerful leader to produce the candidates. So, who ever, between a leader or group of leaders who manage to foist a chairman on a LGA become automatically a kingmaker or  kingmaker(s).

“Under this consensus option, the Imo APC chairmanship and councillorship primaries have been left on the altar of the survival of the fittest, lacking in democratic norms, but the  end justifying the means, with a looming implosion”, he submitted.

Ekpe argued that the true pictures would emerge if Uzodimma’s next political agenda is known – Will he be running for elective office after his governorship or simply interested in installing his successor? Either way, he would want only his trusted allies to hold power as Executive Chairperson or Councillor under the LG’s new financial autonomy dispensation where they would be very influential.

In its reaction to the development, a civil society organisation, the National Youth Alliance (NYA) Imo State chapter described the consensus option as a confrontational attack on the psyche of Imo people and a brutal attack on democracy and rule of law.

According to the NYA Imo  coordinator, Comrade ChinonsoNonsokwa, the consensus option is “…totally unlawful, illegal, undemocratic, unacceptable, tyrannical, dictatorial and grossly dehumanising of all aspirants in that party who truly believed there would be primary election”.

Beyond the controversy over the emergence of  APC candidates, the insecurity challenge has also reared its ugly face as ISIEC recently declared that the  scheduled elections may not hold in three local government councils namely:  Onuimo, Okigwe and Orsu LGAs due to insecurity l.

ISIEC Chairman, Ejiogu, while speaking during an interactive session with the various security outfits in the state, proffered that the major operational challenges facing the Commission in the discharge of its duties ahead of the upcoming elections is protection of staff and  movement of election materials.

He noted that electoral officers cannot get easy access to some LGAs for routine verification of polling units and collation centres in line with operational guidelines.

Nevertheless, the ISIEC boss affirmed that the Saturday, September 21,2024 date for the LG Polls in other LGAs of the State remains sacrosanct in the absence of any circumstances beyond the Commission’s control.

The LG election is definitely an APC affair as the major opposition parties have distanced themselves from it.

Speaking with THISDAY, DrVinUdokwu, the Coordinator of the Rebuild Imo Movement, comprising former Governor EmekaIhedioha’s loyalists that pulled out from the PDP ruled out the participation of the movement in the LG elections which he described as being programmed to produce a predicted outcome.

Udokwu, a former Chief of Staff to former Governor AchikeUdenwa, maintained that it is an established tradition for LG election conducted in a particular state to be won by members of the ruling party in the State.

“The parties which field candidates in these elections fully understand the game and they only use the elections for sensitisation and mobilisation of members, at worst a very popular party may win one or two councillors, but definitely not the chairmanship”.

The Imo State chapter of the Labour Party (LP) has emphatically distanced itself from the election and described the Imo State LG Polls as coronation of selected persons to man the 27 Local Government Councils in the State and not an election.

Speaking exclusively to THISDAY in  Owerri, the Imo LP State Chairman, MrCallistusIhejiagwa maintained that LP chose to boycott the LG elections as it refuses to lend itself to be used to endorse the  shenanigan and coronation of cronies of Governor Uzodimma to man the LG Councils.

“Imo State LP have no confidence in the democratic credentials of Governor Hope Uzodimma and we do not see ISIEC as completely independent. Go and find out, the word on the streets is that Uzodimma and the Imo APC have already compiled a list of those who would be announced as winners in the so-called election. The LP refuses to be part of such coronation. The Party will not lend itself to endorse such shenanigans”, Ihejiagwa stressed.

The LP State Chairman described the electoral process as flawed from the beginning even as he argued that Uzodimma have an agenda for scheduling the LG elections so early in his second term, stressing that in his first four years the Imo governor refused to hold any LG elections.

 Commenting on the forthcoming LG polls, the State Organising Secretary of the APC, Hon IkechukwuUmeh, refuted the allegations that the GovUzodinma has already endorsed certain candidates ahead the September 21 council polls, describing the allegations as false and misleading.

The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the governor on Electronic Media, Ambrose Nwaogwugwu stated: “We want to categorically state that this claim is false and misleading. Governor Uzodimma has not endorsed any aspirant for the elections, neither privately nor publicly.

“There is no list of endorsed aspirants existing anywhere, and the Governor has not made any statements to that effect and will not make”.

Across the State, the political environment is like lifeless ashes after a a big fire as the aspirants wind down on the hitherto hyperactive political activities as they wait directives from the APC leadership.

[ThisDay]

The Federal Competition and Consumers Protection Commission (FCCPC) decided to host this townhall meeting in Lagos as part of a broader initiative to foster a national conversation around the sanity of the marketplace.

Before I continue, let me seize this opportunity to debunk a gross misrepresentation of the position of the Commission at the Abuja edition of the townhall series by a section of the media, particularly some of the online platforms. Contrary to the impression they created, at no time did we say we were giving traders ultimatum to crash prices across the country by fiat. That is quite ridiculous. The Commission would have required an army to enforce that. Certainly, our statutory mandate does not include price control. We are not here to fix prices or dictate to any law-abiding trader or manufacturer how to relate to the market. Rather, ours is to ensure there is no price fixing or gang-up in trade transactions.

As a Commission, we are not acting out of a brainwave. Indeed, we had carried out extensive discreet market survey across the country and our findings were quite disturbing. We identified patterns of price fixing perpetrated by some market associations, price gouging, and other anti-consumer practices. We noticed that the margin in the prices of imported goods are very disproportionate in many cases; and in the case of locally produced goods, excessively inflated.

In some areas, we discovered that some players are engaged in hoarding of grains, to create artificial scarcity, thereby distorting the market, resulting in unduly high prices of such food items.

To be sure, we cannot deny that the removal of fuel subsidy has brought some discomfort, just as we quite recognize that an unfavorable exchange rate has negatively impacted the cost of production in local currency. But nothing justifies selling a blender sold N140,000 in the U.S. for N950,000 in Nigeria, for instance, representing more than 500 percent inflation of the cost.

Perhaps, the case of BUA cement best illustrates how the middlemen collide sometimes to distort the market and make life more miserable for the consumers at a time when people are already facing economic challenges. You will recall that after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu last year, the Chairman of BUA cement, Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu, agreed to bring down the price of cement to N3,500 ex depot as his own way of helping to bring succor to Nigerians passing through economic difficulty. But Alhaji Rabiu’s commendable gesture was frustrated by unscrupulous middlemen who bought cement from BUA at N3,500 and ensured that prices remained at N7,000.

In our investigation, we also discovered that some traders form a cartel in the market and put barriers in form of ridiculous membership fees intended to ensure price fixing in the market. Without joining them, they won’t allow anyone to sell goods in the market or provide services.

Such practices are against the law and constitute some of the offenses the Commission is against, ladies and gentlemen. To be clear, price gouging and price fixing are not only unethical, but patently illegal also under the FCCPA. Section 17 of the Act empowers the Commission to eliminate anti-competitive practices, misleading, unfair, deceptive, or unconscionable marketing, trading, and business practices. Sanctions include fine of up to N10m and a jail term for anyone found guilty by the court.

But rather than applying the full weight of the law in the first instance, the Commission is deliberately adopting the option of dialogue with you the stakeholders to collaborate with us to help check unfair pricing in the market.

To galvanize a more efficient process nationwide, I am pleased to announce that Commission is upgrading its consumer engagement portal to make it more inclusive and interactive and in real time. In simple terms, it means that, when fully calibrated, it will be possible for any consumer who feels aggrieved to lodge a complaint and upload the receipt of the transaction as evidence and such complaint will be processed promptly free of charge with a view to ensuring that justice is done without fear or favour.

At our engagement with stakeholders in Abuja two weeks ago we heard their own stories. They listed factors like insecurity, high costs of transportation and extortion on the road by both state and non-state actors as part of the reasons for prevailing high costs of consumer goods. As a government agency, our responsibility is to get feedback to help policymakers.  At Abuja, we heard the stakeholders loud and clear and shall take the message back to  the government.

At this juncture, let me acknowledge and thank the Lagos State Government for a good step already initiated in this direction. According to a media report few days ago, the Lagos State Government said it would henceforth track the movement produce from the farms to the markets with a view to checkmating those in the habit of hijacking the produce and manipulating the prices at the expense of consumers. Having supported farmers with free inputs and processors, the Lagos State Government is, of course, justified to track the produce to the markets to ensure that the prices at which those produces are being sold are reasonable for average Nigerians. We welcome such a step and encourage other states to emulate this to ensure fair pricing for the benefit of Nigerian consumers.

Before I round off, I think it is also important to report that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not unaware of the pains caused by the economic reforms being implemented to reposition our economy. As a responsive and sensitive leader, President Tinubu has taken some extraordinary steps by removing taxes on food items, pharmaceutical products, and public transportation. Such laudable initiatives would however be in vain if the benefits are not passed down to the consumers by way of reduced prices of goods and services in the times ahead.

In Abuja, I had enjoined stakeholders to embrace the spirit of patriotism and cooperation at this challenging moment. Here in Lagos, I am echoing that statement. Please, let us talk to ourselves and say no to the exploitation of one another.

*BEING Excerpts from THE KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY THE EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRMAN/ CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (FCCPC), MR. TUNJI BELLO, AT A STAKEHOLDERS MEETING ON EXPLOITATIVE PRICING HOSTED BY THE FCCPC AND HELD IN LAGOS ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024

... as Odua Investment Company commits to FG's economic revolution

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has restated the firm resolve of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration to revolutionise Nigeria's Digital Economy, saying it is on course and fully backed by the necessary support, initiatives and partnerships.

To this effect, he said the Federal Government will continue to open its doors to all willing partners and stakeholders who continue to believe and invest in the Nigeria project, adding that it is just a matter of time before the nation takes its rightful position across the globe.

The Vice President, who gave the assurance on Thursday when the management of Odua Investment Company Limited led by its Chairman, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, paid him a courtesy visit at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, praised the Company for its initiatives and investment in agriculture, digital economy and MSMEs.

Senator Shettima noted that these sectors remain critical to Nigeria's economic development and future.

"The Southwest region of our country has the enormous capacity to revolutionise the country given its endowments, just as the policies of President Tinubu will, in no time, manifest as the greatest milestones crossed for the development of Nigeria," the VP stated.

On the ''weaponization of fuel subsidy," Vice President Shettima described it as an albatross that hung on the neck of the Nigerian nation, as well as the hitherto manipulated exchange rate.

"Few persons sat on our commonwealth and manipulated our resources. But we are checkmating these manipulations and as can be seen the economy is gradually beginning to recover and pick up. We are, indeed, ready to carry the burden of leadership and together with stakeholders like you, we are crossing the rubicon and the time for reaping will come," VP Shettima further said.

Earlier, the Chairman of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, Otunba Ashiru, who thanked the Vice President for the opportunity to pay him a courtesy call, commended President Tinubu for promoting ease of doing business in Nigeria.

Similarly, he praised the encouragement they got from Vice President Shettima, just as he said, “You could see that businesses are coming in, and that is why we are here. I see a brighter future in this country with what we have seen in general.

“Nigerians have no business going around the world looking for money, especially with the volume of resources at its disposal, more so that our investors are our greatest assets,” he said.

Mr Ashiru expressed optimism that businesses will continue to thrive under the Tinubu administration, even as he called on citizens and investors to take advantage of the opportunities that abound in Nigeria and do business.

“Earlier, it was one of the issues that the Vice President was applauded for. I served as a former Commissioner in my state, and I know that actually, the Office of the Vice President focuses on that aspect of doing business in Nigeria.

“Now, I'm sure Nigeria has moved up the ladder. I remember Nigeria was sometimes ranked around 140 or so. I can tell you that there are lots of opportunities in this country,” he added.

Stanley Nkwocha
Senior Special Assistant to The President on Media & Communications
(Office of The Vice President)

Monumental history was made earlier today as Nigeria became one of the few countries in the world to pioneer the issuance of Practice Directions by the Federal High Court which is vested with the constitutional jurisdiction on Aviation matters. The signing of the Practice Direction was presided over by the Vice-President of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima at the meeting of the Presidential Council of Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Since taking over office, one of the key points of the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo’s 5-Point Agenda is the support for the growth and sustenance of local airline businesses whilst holding them to highest international standards.

In pursuit of this agenda, the Minister was confronted with the lingering problem of the low rate of Nigeria’s compliance with the Cape Town Convention - a Convention that regulates the dry-leasing of aircrafts by major aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and airbus and major leasors across the world who perceived Nigeria as a non-compliant country. This led to the blacklisting of Nigeria by the Aviation Working Group. The AWG CTC compliance index shows Nigeria’s substantial non-compliance with the CTC which is largely as a result of legal impediments in the country’ judicial process which have adverse impact on the implementation and compliance with terms of the Convention. Certain judicial cases have shown that speedy reliefs sought by the creditors were not granted within the 10 days declaration made by Nigeria under the Convention. The Minister, with the key support of Mr. President, the Vice-President and the Attorney-General of the Federation, then reached out to key institutions and offices in the judicial sector to make this possible, which resulted in the signing of the Practice Direction today.

The new Practice Directions issued by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court will eliminate judicial impediments in the implementation and compliance with the Cape Town Convention. This singular move has revolutionised airline business in Nigeria as it will boost investors’ confidence and open the floodgate to Nigeria air operators to have easy access to aircraft acquisition at much lower cost. And this will significantly enhance the growth of the aviation industry by creating more jobs and promoting the rapid economic development of the aviation industry. By so doing, the Nigeria aviation industry which, has huge global market can favourably compete and increase its contribution to the GDP.

It is important to stress that as a Party to the Convention on International Mobile Equipment (Convention) and the Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment (the Protocol) which was adopted in Cape Town South Africa on the 16th November 2001 and has been ratified and domesticated in the Civil Aviation Act 2006, as amended in the Civil Aviation Act 2022, Nigeria has the obligation to ensure that its domestic laws and its courts and administrative bodies give full effect to the CTC and that the timelines and remedies set in the CTC are not varied at the discretion of the courts.

It is only by so doing that the primary objective of the CTC which is to facilitate the efficient financing and acquisition of aircraft objects by the recognition of the international interests created in the objects can be beneficial to airline operators in the country.

The Honourable Minister would like to seize this moment to express profound appreciation to all the stakeholders who have contributed immensely towards the actualization of this landmark issuance of the new Federal High Court Practice Directions which will not only clear the image and reputation of Nigeria in the global community, but usher in a new era for the airline business in Nigeria to grow and be well positioned to compete favourably in the global aviation market.

Tunde Moshood,
SA, Media and Communications to the
Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development

Somehow, I found myself drifting to the subject of hypnotism on the Internet. This is in a season when the subject in town is the success story of Dangote Refinery and controversies on fuel pump price. But there was I confronted, as it were, with the success stories of five persons who had their afflictions resolved or ailments healed through the application of hypnotism. According to reports, there was the case of a 50-year-old lady who could not sustain a satisfactory love relationship with men. At a point, she had to go for psychiatric therapy that lasted many years. But this was unavailing. The problem was traced through hypnotism to mistakes made by her mother and stepfather. She was admonished to forgive them. After she did as admonished she was healed and is now happily married! There was the case of a man who had a stress problem at work. He was overweight owing to uncontrolled eating of snacks. Even as a child when he was bullied by his peers and his parents neglected him, he could find comfort only in eating chocolate and popcorn. The root of his problem was traced to these when he was put into a trance. The hypnotist helped him to adopt eating healthier food than what chocolate or popcorn could ever offer to him. He was also guided to cultivate beneficial exercise habits. There are three other cases, one which had to do with a 24-year-lady who could not make independent decisions. She relied on her best friend, but the friend relocated to another state. Her problem was traced to years when her parents worried themselves silly over chronic illness and the life-or-death decisions they had to make. The two other cases I wish to skip.

The cases remind me of the experiences of a lady who was only helped through hypnotism so that she could overcome her morbid fear of rivers and oceans. She would not move close to a river or an ocean. This was 30 years ago. I did state at the time in 1994 that hypnotists, once rejected by medical science as humbugs or fraudsters, unfortunately, have added yet another feather to their star-studded caps in the Monica O’hara case. I said unfortunately, for at least two reasons even when it is clear that hypnotism has become the cornerstone of many a healing process for psychic and bodily ailments when the sky would appear to be the limit for its budding potential, and when, no doubt, it offers a proof of supra earthly life and, therefore, a key to unlock the lost or hidden parts of the past, without which neither the present nor the future can make much sense.

First, hypnotism brings more harm than good. Second, and very importantly, it would appear from the way hypnotists carry on that many can be described as quacks, unfamiliar with the grounds they tread and, therefore, ignorant of the dangers to which their patients are driven. But first let’s quickly return to Monica O’hara, who has provided the hypnotism circuit with the pointer to its present-day development in the field and their reason to jubilate and celebrate. At the time she was a 47-year-old British mother of three, who since she was a girl, had been so terribly afraid of the sea that she could not even swim but had been helped by hypnotherapist Joe Keeton to recognize that this was because she drowned in a ship 81 years ago as of the time help came to her, and the curious British press had taken keen interest in the matter. Other people who drowned with her were more than 2,200.

When Monica went to Keeton to seek the aid of hypnotherapy for her sea phobia and her other problems, he did to her what hypnotherapists do to their patients: he put her body to hypnotic or magnetic sleep, overpowered her spirit and, in this captivity, projected it to finer ethereal currents or influences thereby making it more sensitive to the currents and readily accessible by them. The result was that Monica could then relate to ethereal entities in the so-called other world which is also called the Beyond on account of its tangibility being beyond the capacity of the earthly senses to fathom. The body and its senses having been suppressed and the spirit having been bound, a willing and hapless tool in the hands of the captor whose will it must now obey unconditionally, the tangibility of ethereal life to a powerless spirit forcefully projected there and sensitized to it is only a matter of course. Its eyes and ears are forcibly open to sights and sounds they would ordinarily not respond to!

In that state, it was possible for Monica to relay messages to Keeton and the audience, as has been reported, through the ethereal connections with her seemingly lifeless body as though through the telephone. And from the reported recorded messages, she has, on coming round, drawn information for newspaper interviews. She said in one:
“I went back to being a girl named Lucy Latymer, born in 1895. The family was very rich and our home was a large imposing white building. When I listened to the tape of my session, all the facts were new to me. I’d never heard of the village. I am now convinced that I drowned in my previous life when the Titanic went down. I believe, too, that the experience carried over into this life to give me my fear of the sea.”

The Titanic, British-built and the world’s most luxurious, biggest, promoted as the safest and fastest passenger liner of her days, sank on April 14-15, 1912 on her maiden voyage, to the dismay of the builders who had boasted that she was made unsinkable. (I made reference to the sinking of Titanic when I commented in July last year on the tragedy of Titan’s voyage to the depths of the ocean to find the wreckage of the Titanic ship that sank 111 years back. I sought to reflect on the correlations). Where other ships had a single bottom hull, the Titanic had a double. These were divided into 16 water-tight compartments, four of which could be flooded without any threat to the ship. There were 2, 224 persons on board, including Monica O’hara then Lucy Latymer, according to the report of her hypnotic regression, when the Titanic collided with an iceberg, a 300-foot hole on her right side which caused the flooding of five of the 16 water-tight compartments, one compartment too many. Monica O’hara’s trance message says she was 17 years old when she and her love, Arthur Stanning, a farm labourer, boarded the Titanic to elope to America and they drowned with many of the passengers. And as she recalled afterward:

“Since I was little, I’d never been able to swim and have always been too scared to learn. I am quite happy to go on a ferry, but I can’t handle being really close to water.” But when I first wrote about her, she was said to be overcoming her morbid fear and had even registered for a swimming lesson! The knot had been untied! The wine glasses were, therefore, clinking, and a lot of back-slapping ensued. This was one more clear victory all right for those who contend that life goes beyond tangible blood and flesh or one earth life. Even the doubting Thomases in the medical circles are shifting ground. With examples narrated in the three cases mentioned at the beginning of today’s piece, Monica’s experience could not have been the only time hypnotherapy has surmounted seemingly intractable problems. Women who had been too afraid to try having a baby may indeed have died at childbirth in previous earthlives. And people who are afraid of heights or anything may have undergone unpleasant experiences associated with such things emblazoned brightly on their unforgetful souls which keep returning to the earth. Those who crave war and boast of their invincibility will be born where there is unceasing siege and bombardment, and indeed, where war is fiercest in their next earthlives.

However, from the knowledge available to us mankind in these times mediated by Revealed Truth, In The Light Of Truth, The Grail Message, I am more concerned with the dangers inherent in hypnotism and the wrong assumptions of the practitioners that the risks are worth the trouble or that they are familiar with all that there is need to know in this terrain. To start with, when the hypnotherapist puts a sensitive medium such as Monica O’hara to magnetic or hypnotic sleep to bring the subject nearer the influence of another world, it does not necessarily mean that the spirit of the patient has to leave the body and float away. It simply means that the spirit is unnaturally made more sensitive than is otherwise safe at its level of strength or maturity so that it can respond to finer or stronger currents or influences at the level to which it has been projected. It is like prematurely pushing a person into what he is not ready for, asking a six-year-old to cross a 10-lane expressway all by himself, as an example. This certainly is a crime, no matter the gains for which the risks have been taken.

In the words of The Grail Message: “It is appalling to know what harm is done to thousands who today confidently place themselves in the hands of supposedly qualified in order to submit to hypnosis, either voluntarily or through persuasion , or worse of all, who are forced into it without their knowledge. Even if all this is done with the best intention to achieve something good, it does not alter the fact that this practice causes immeasurable harm in every case.”

In this hypnotic setting, the spirit has been bound, its free will caged and its intuitive perception that is its spiritual vision therefore blurred. It is defenceless, lacking natural protection inherent only in the freedom of movement. It takes instruction only from the hypnotherapist who can do to him what he wills and who is always in no position to offer him protection against on-rushing assailing influences before which he himself may crumble. Pushing a spirit forcefully against natural barriers to a world the radiations of which he is immature to bear is like exposing an unprotected person to the radiations from a nuclear plant accident. Or, like taking a little child to a thick virgin forest and leaving him all alone to find his way home. The harm may not be immediately apparent but it will surely come.

With the bits of success attained as in the cases of Monica O’hara, Susan,50, Peter, and Leah, 24, the impression has often been created that hypnotism is Eldorado. Little is said about disastrous cases in which a patient emerges from sleep with a split personality, the body having been invaded and occupied, possessed, so to say, by another entity while the occupying spirit is fettered. Or of a patient who returns seemingly whole all right but walks straight into a moving bus in the street oblivious of his environment. Only from a spiritual pedestal can the full implications of hypnotism be very clearly understood, therefore. The core of man, as I have stated severally in these pages, is spirit, and it is the spirit that comes to the earth often, each time in a different casing called the body, to continue the schooling, as it were, that is necessary to make him become mature to the point at which alone he will be ripe to be admitted into Paradise, our Homeland, the Home of blessed and clarified spirits.

When the spirit is bound, it is weakened. Exposure to currents it cannot yet bear scorches it, further escalating the weakening which may take years, many earthlives, or even centuries to remedy, depending on the degree of weakening. It does not matter if there appear to be immediate visible gains from the experiences as in the cases listed in the foregoing. Such manifestations soon wither, being not the products of a free volition and subject, under the Laws of Nature, to disappear with the exit of extraneous power which brought them into being. In any case, what are these gains compared to the gift of life? A weakened spirit is a disturbed and derailed spirit, disturbed from vigorously pursuing its course of development as willed by the Creator, and derailed, even if for a while from that course. It is the spirit that has been sinned against, a sin which the hypnotherapist will someday pay for in the ethereal. Whatever a man soweth…!

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory presided over by Honourable Justice Mustapha Adamu, has barred all parties from interfering with Nigeria’s transition from analogue to digital television.

The court ruled on the Motion Ex Parte in suit NO FCT/HC/CV/442/2024 between the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC), 1OR, and the Set-Top Box Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).

This ruling on the motion for an interim injunction prohibits the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) from interfering with or terminating the contract relating to Nigeria’s transition from analogue to digital terrestrial television while the court hears a motion on notice.

Dr. Ruben Atabo, arguing the motion ex parte for the Defendants, requested that the court prohibit NBC from interfering with or terminating the contract relating to the transition from analogue to digital terrestrial television in Nigeria pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

The Claimants also requested an order prohibiting NBC from advertising its bid for a licence to switch from analogue to digital terrestrial television.

Furthermore, the claimants requested that the court suspend the granting of licenses to any company or individual to manufacture set-top boxes for the transition from analogue to digital until their case is fully resolved.

The plaintiffs in the case are Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Licensed Set-Top-Box Manufacturers of Nigeria, Gospell Digital Technology Ltd, Digitune Media Technologies, I-Box Engineering, Trefonics Electronics, and Tve-RLG Limited.

The grounds for their application are that NBC implemented a policy of transitioning from analogue to digital terrestrial television in Nigeria in 2012 and that they were granted licenses to participate in the programme in exchange for N50 million.

They claimed that they would be granted two years of exclusive rights to recoup their investment beginning with NBC’s switch-off date.

Claimants stated that they were authorised to manufacture one million set-top boxes specifically designed to switch from analogue to digital terrestrial television in Nigeria.

They claimed, however, that on August 22, 2024, the Director General of NBC, along with the Executive Vice Chairman of the National Communication Commission, issued a press statement announcing that the federal government had approved a sum of ten billion dollars for the transition from digital to analogue.

They alleged that the NBC Director General announced the discontinuation of the set-top boxes they produced in favour of Hybrid Android DTH Set Top Boxes with data connectivity functionalities, thereby terminating their existing contract.

Justice Mustapha Adamu, sitting in the FCT High Court in Maitama, after hearing the claimants’ counsel’s submission to restrain the NBC from unlawfully terminating their contract, ordered that the status quo be maintained by all parties, that the claimants serve the defendants with a motion on notice with respect to the injunction, and that the motion be heard on September 5.

In light of the court injunction, NBC is retrained from changing from the original approved Federal Government White Paper on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) switch over to any other new plan.

Furthermore, NBC is prohibited from changing the existing STB specifications as approved by the Digiteam, licensing any new STB manufacturers, or issuing new STB-type approval certificates.

Furthermore, NBC is restrained from advertising or issuing invitations to tender for the acquisition or supply of set-top boxes in Nigeria for the DSO until the case is decided.

In an era where many public figures shy away from confronting societal issues, Kate Henshaw stands tall as a beacon of activism and an unyielding advocate for the betterment of society. Renowned for her incredible talent as an actress and celebrated for her boldness as an activist, Henshaw has continuously leveraged her platform to speak truth to power, raise awareness on critical matters, and shine a light on the multifaceted challenges Nigerians face daily.

Most recently, Henshaw voiced strong criticism of Nigeria’s traffic laws and pedestrian policies, decrying the lack of safety and organization on the roads, especially for pedestrians. She highlighted the stark contrast between Nigeria’s traffic practices and those of developed countries, calling for an overhaul of policies that put lives at risk. Her vocal outcry demonstrates not only her commitment to societal issues but also her willingness to demand accountability from the government and relevant authorities.

In her candid post on X (formerly Twitter), Henshaw expressed her thoughts on the mental strain Nigerians endure in these tough times:  “These days, in particular, it’s very important to protect your mental health & keep your wits about you. Things dey occur… The daily news & the situation we have found ourselves can be debilitating. Good morning, my authentic X family.”

Her message resonated deeply with millions of Nigerians who continue to grapple with the economic pressures and emotional toll that daily life now exacts. From the inflationary squeeze to the stress of simply trying to make ends meet, Henshaw captures the frustration of a nation struggling to breathe under the weight of unsustainable policies and broken systems.

However, Henshaw’s activism does not end with social media posts. She consistently amplifies the voices of everyday Nigerians, many of whom do not have the same platform to air their grievances. Her fearless stance on the skyrocketing fuel prices, which have exacerbated the economic hardship for Nigerians, is yet another example of her advocacy. As fuel prices continue to rise, leading to inflation in essential commodities and services, Henshaw has stood as a voice of reason and defiance, urging the government to consider the plight of the masses.

At a time when many celebrities would choose to remain silent or align themselves with political interests, Henshaw remains true to her convictions. She does not just criticize for the sake of being heard; she speaks from a place of deep empathy, fueled by a sincere desire to see her fellow citizens’ live better lives. This sincerity is what endears her to many Nigerians, as they see her not only as an entertainer but also as a passionate advocate for change.

Her persistent calls for better governance, fairer policies, and a society that upholds the dignity of its people go beyond the immediate economic struggles. Henshaw’s activism encompasses a broad spectrum of issues that affect the Nigerian people, poor healthcare systems, lack of infrastructure, and a government often disconnected from the realities of the masses. Whether it is fighting for better traffic laws or decrying the inadequate healthcare available to many Nigerians, Henshaw never shies away from the truth.

Her recent critique of Nigeria’s fuel price hikes echoes the frustrations of millions who are finding it increasingly difficult to afford basic necessities. For many Nigerians, the hike in fuel prices means an increase in transportation costs, higher prices for goods and services, and a deepening sense of economic despair. Henshaw has not only voiced her concern about these hardships but has also called for urgent reforms to ease the burden on the masses.

What makes her activism even more commendable is the fact that she has managed to strike a delicate balance between her celebrity status and her social justice work. In a world where fame can often lead to detachment from the realities of the common man, she remains grounded. She uses her platform to raise awareness and to encourage Nigerians to stay resilient, even in the face of overwhelming adversity.

Her activism is a lesson in courage. It takes tremendous bravery to speak out in a climate where dissent is often met with backlash. Yet, she continues to speak for the voiceless, even when it is uncomfortable or unpopular. This is the mark of a true patriot, someone who is not content to sit back and watch her country fall apart. She challenges the status quo because she believes in the potential of Nigeria and in the power of collective action to drive change.

Additionally, Kate Henshaw is not just an actress or an activist; she is a symbol of hope. At a time when many Nigerians are losing faith in the system, her consistent advocacy offers a glimmer of optimism. She reminds us that, despite the obstacles, it is possible to fight for a better future. Her optimism is infectious, inspiring many Nigerians to believe that, with perseverance, positive change is within reach.

Moreover, Henshaw has repeatedly encouraged Nigerians to protect their mental health amid the ongoing crisis. Mental health, often an overlooked issue in Nigeria, has become more important than ever as the country grapples with economic instability, political uncertainty, and widespread hardship. Her advocacy in this regard is significant, as it acknowledges the emotional and psychological toll that living in such trying times can have on individuals.

In a country where mental health is often stigmatized or ignored, Henshaw’s insistence on self-care and mindfulness is a reminder that emotional well-being is crucial for personal survival. Her call to “keep your wits about you” is both a practical and compassionate message, encouraging Nigerians to stay mentally strong in the face of overwhelming challenges.

In applauding Kate Henshaw, we recognize not only her role as a tireless advocate for social justice but also her resilience and compassion in the face of national adversity. She is a constant voice for the people, unafraid to challenge the status quo and demand a better Nigeria. Her activism, rooted in love for her country and fellow citizens, serves as a powerful example of what it means to be both a patriot and a humanitarian.

As Nigeria continues to navigate these turbulent times, Kate Henshaw stands as a shining example of the kind of leadership and courage we need. Her voice is a clarion call to every Nigerian to rise above the difficulties, continue to fight for justice, and remain hopeful that a better future is possible. For that, Kate Henshaw deserves every accolade and more.