161 days after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) picked a winner in Nigeria’s presidential election at the beginning of March and 72 days after the inauguration of a new administration, the Senate on August 8, 2023, transmitted to the presidency the names of 45 persons whom it had cleared for appointment as ministers, including some politicians, described as some of “the most violent, corrupt politicians the country has ever seen”.

Azu Ishiekwene –a columnist who is not unsympathetic to Bola Ahmed Tinubu– writes about the in-coming cabinet that “a few nominees…. make the legend of Robin Hood look like a child’s play” and raises informed doubts about the “integrity of the nominees’ list”. This is an insult to Robin Hood who is reputed to have accomplished some good with his plunder.

This raises two legitimate questions about the cabinet list. The first concerns its provenance. On this, Leadership newspaper alleged that an original list of cabinet nominations had been “tampered with”, laying responsibility for this at the feet of the chief of staff and former speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila. The new chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and immediate past governor of Kano state, Abdullahi Ganduje, claimed that neither he nor the president knew anything about a female nominee from his state who was subsequently stood down from the list of nominees, before being replaced.

The second question goes to the strategy that informs the list. For an answer to this, we must look at the composition of the cabinet list. Eight of the 45, representing 17.78%, are women. This is a marginal improvement on the seven women (16.67%) who made Muhammadu Buhari’s 42-member cabinet in 2019 but considerably less than the 13 (31%) in the 41-member cabinet of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011. Three of the eight women are from the southeast zone, which gets the least number of ministers. Two are from the north-west, which has nearly double the number of ministers from the south-east.

The final list that returned to the presidency also features eight former governors and a similar number of former or serving legislators. With a ministerial list largely comprising a majority of former elected officials or senior political office holders, the screening felt like a mutual admiration club mostly bereft of both seriousness and purpose. What passed for ministerial screening for most of the nominees was a process of ritualised bowing, after which the senate set them free to go.

In response to what has become known as “bow-and-go”, columnist, Nosa Igbinadolor, complained that the “Senate has turned its screening powers into a laughable jamboree that ensures that incompetent and corrupt former governors and unproductive MDA chiefs walk boldly through the process to become ministers because they are not being sufficiently asked critical questions”.

For playing their part excellently in this ritual, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, himself also a former governor and former minister, announced to the senators with some initial relish at the end of the process, that they were the proud recipients of a “token” to see them off to their holidays. When some fastidious officials called his attention to what appeared to be a faux pas, Senator Akpabio upgraded the token to “prayers”. This was a mere fortnight after he appeared to take equal relish in joking about the contagion of poverty in Nigeria. The appearance of a self-absorbed senate leadership was not lost on Nigerians.

As they departed for their holidays after the screening, some senators at least appeared to share that feeling. Senators reportedly let it out that the “token” sent to them from the Senate President was a mere N2 million. Some of them could not hide their disappointment at the “paltry sum” while others appeared to be clearly upset that the senate president had gratuitously exposed the fact “that they received bribe money from ministerial screening”.

Premium Times computed the sum of money administered among senators for this “token” at N218 million, a figure ostensibly arrived at by multiplying the number of senators (109) by two million. It is claimed that the money was part of a pot of N1 billion contributed by or on behalf of the ministerial nominees to facilitate the screening process. If so, then it seems clear that some members of the senate would have received more than just N2 million and that the sum of N218 million is only a fraction of what got shared out, unless the senate president was overcome by an uncharacteristic affliction of selflessness.

Sources in the senate compare this with the sum of $30,000 which was the reported capitation for each senator after the conclusion of a similar process four years ago. If that figure is correct, it was nearly fifteen times the size of the “token” administered this time around to the senators.

If, however, the suggestion that the screening process was underwritten by a deferred quid pro quo turns out to be true, it could go a long way in explaining why the process felt like a mutual back-slapping festival enacted with parliamentary circumstance. For instance, the senate failed to account for the fact that at least two of the nominees, a male from Lagos and a female from Katsina, do not appear to have done the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme. The NYSC Act, which is entrenched in the 1999 constitution, makes national service mandatory for eligible persons. Those who fail to undertake it are ineligible for employment assuredly in public service or political office.

In 2018, Kemi Adeosun, whose NYSC discharge certificate turned out to have been invented, was forced to resign as finance minister. Five years later, the 10th Senate under the leadership of Senator Akpabio appears to have decided to retrench the NYSC Act into a statutory artefact without any need for a formal parliamentary process.

For some reason that remains still undisclosed, however, the senate at the point of voting through the confirmations, failed to extend its forbearance to three nominees. One of the three is the former minister of the Federal Capital Territory and recent governor of Kaduna state, Nasir el-Rufai. Neither the senate nor the presidency has issued any formal reason for the failure the confirm El-Rufai besides the unspecified claims of delayed “security clearance” or “suppressed animosity” from the presidency.

El-Rufai’s first ministerial screening in 2003 was nearly scuppered after he accused some senators then of bribery. This time around, his nomination appears to have been sunk by “allegations of human rights abuses, unguarded public utterances, and a purported flood of petitions” masterminded by some well-connected persons.

In a quarter of a century in public life, he has got into what has been delicately described as a “romance with controversy”. In 2016, El-Rufai gloated as state governor that he had paid identified killers in Southern Kaduna to stop killing. Ahead of the 2019 general election, he threatened international observers, warning them that they would “go back in body bags”.

Shortly thereafter, El-Rufai went to Lagos, the political home of Tinubu, to attack him as a political godfather who needed to be defenestrated. He has been viciously intolerant of criticism and one of his foremost critics as governor, Dadiyata, has been missing for over four years. This record forced the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in 2020 to cancel an invitation to him to address their annual general conference.

After the senate declined to vote through his nomination, El-Rufai remembered that he is a doctoral student in the Netherlands and stood down so he could return to school. It is not inconceivable that his record as governor will attract attention if and when he reports to Europe to pursue his doctoral research.

In the interim, Muhammad Pate, an accomplished doctor in both medicine and academia and one of the few experts in the world on health systems, emerged as one of the few bright spots on the ministerial list. Another bright spot on the list is the talented Yusuf Tuggar, Nigeria’s current ambassador to Germany. Both Yusuf and Muhammad, coincidentally, are from Bauchi state.

A lawyer and a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has forecasted three days of cloudiness, rainfall and thunderstorms across the country from Saturday to Monday.

NiMet said there would be cloudy skies on Saturday, August 12, with intervals of sunshine over the northern region and chances of early morning thunderstorms in states such as Kebbi, Adamawa and Taraba.

Isolated thunderstorms are expected over parts of Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Bauchi and Gombe later on Saturday.

The agency predicted a cloudy atmosphere over the north-central region with prospects of rains and thunderstorms over parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nasarawa, Niger and Kwara in the morning hours.

Cloudy atmosphere is expected over the inland states of the South and its coastal states in the morning with chances of intermittent rains over parts of Ogun, Oyo, Lagos, Enugu, Imo, Anambra, Abia, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Rivers and Ebonyi states.

Nimet also said there will be intermittent rains over parts of Lagos, Ekiti, Edo, Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, and Delta and sunshine over the northern region with prospects of morning thunderstorms in parts of Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara. Thunderstorms are anticipated in parts of Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Borno, Taraba, and Adamawa.

While airline operators have been urged to avail themselves of weather reports and periodic alerts from NiMet for effective planning of their operations, Nigerians have been advised to look out for moderate to heavy rainfall that could lead to flash floods.

Risk and disaster managers, agencies, and individuals have been asked to be proactive in averting the loss of lives and properties during the rainy season.

Prices of food items have gone up in some Nigerian border communities owing to the border closure enforced against Niger Republic following the country’s junta’s refusal to restore ousted President Muhammed Bazoum to office.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had slammed sanctions on Niger and lately ordered its standby force to restore constitutional order in the West African nation; a move that had been widely rejected, especially in Nigeria.

As the impasse lingers, residents of border communities in some states in northern Nigeria told Daily Trust on Sunday that the situation had resulted in high cost of food items.

A resident of Illela Local Government Area of Sokoto State, which shares border with Konni Local Government Area in Taohoua State of Niger Republic, said most of the food items there were from Niger.

“There’s scarcity of perishable items in our community because of the border closure,” he said.

According to him, the price of a bag of foreign rice has risen from N30,000 to N50,000.

“Prices of other food items also skyrocketed. For instance, a bag of millet is over N60,000,” he added.

Residents of Jibia in Katsina State, under the aegis of the Jibia Peoples Forum, had written a letter of complaint to the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, accusing security officers of charging exorbitant amounts on truck conveying food items.

In the letter signed by its secretary, Bashir Lawal Jibia, the forum stated, “On behalf of the people, traders, merchants and neighbours, we hereby forward our grievance against Nigeria Customs and other security agencies operating along the Katsina-Jibia highway concerning their attitude towards free-flow of essential commodities into Jibia Local Government.

“The items include floor, cement, agricultural products, both perishable and non-perishable, house furniture, building materials, all made in Nigeria, are not allowed to pass freely into Jibia market without clearance from the Nigeria Customs house upon payment of exorbitant charges, ranging from N70,000 to N 120,000 per truck without official receipt.”

A resident of Jibia, Nasiru Abdulkadir, expressed fear that should war break out between Nigeria and Niger, farmers in the area would not be able to access their farms anymore.

A resident of Kwangwalam, Hamza Muhammad said, “After the coup in Niger, only Civil Defence officers were deployed to Kwangwalam border, but the situation is very tough now as people can hardly afford food items due to their high cost.”

Nigerian soldiers and civilian JTF stationed at Malamfatori, a neighbouring town to Niger, complained of acute shortage of food and other essential items.

One of the soldiers told our correspondent that: “There hasn’t been any food supply to us since the last one we received from Maiduguri over a week ago. Now, Nigeriens soldiers have completely prevented us from crossing to buy food in Bosso.

“Before the last ECOWAS meeting, we had an understanding that two soldiers or CJTF would drop their guns, wear mufti and cross to Bosso to buy food items. But now, it is a total shutdown.”

He said people in border communities lived in fear as business activities had stopped.

“Even the man who was supplying food to us before this coup said they couldn’t get supply through the Cotonou border despite high demand and shortage of the food items in the country,” he added.

Also, residents at the border communities of Dikorari, Jaramidi, Kaska, Tulo-tulowa Dumar, Gidigir, Mallawa, Ngamdu and Funai decried shortage of food and high cost of items.

Mallam Sile Mella, a resident of Dikorari said, “Most of us combining business with farming have lost hope this season. We sold our livestock and reinvested in our farms. Now, we lost everything and we don’t have food to eat.”

A resident of Jarimidi village, a border town in Yunusari Local Government Area of Yobe State, Audu Mai Aazara, lamented, “We are in serious food shortage, and our morale to farm was dampened by the dry spell we are witnessing.

“Now, many of us that have farmlands in Niger had to abandon them because Nigerien soldiers don’t allow us into their country,” he said.

Nigerian track and field athlete, Tobi Amusan, has been cleared by the World Athletics to compete in the World Championship starting this weekend in Budapest, Hungary.

Amusan’s chances of participating at the Budapest 2023 World Championships had been hung in the balance as she was undergoing the doping investigation.

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) did not include her name in the upcoming competition as the world’s athletics body had not confirmed her.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) initially suspended the 26-year-old for missing three consecutive tests but has now given her the nod to represent Nigeria at the World Championship.

She appeared before the jury Thursday and got a favourable verdict.

Amusan ran the fastest time ever in the hurdles at 12.12 seconds in the semi-final of the women’s 100m hurdles and in the final she recorded 12.06, it was adjudged to the wind aided. The stunning delivery left the world spellbound.

And ahead of the Budapest 2023 contest she is the woman to beat, but her suspension in July cast a shadow on her quest to retain the title. She had posted a 12.34 seconds after a slow start to the season.

Nia Ali leads the world ahead of Budapest athletics showpiece with 12.30 seconds. Jasmine Camacho-Quinn and Kendra Harrison have 12.31 season best.

A foundation member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr Osita Okechukwu has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to eject Mallam Nasir El-Rufai as a member of his cabinet.

The appointment of the former Kaduna governor has been a subject of controversy after his confirmation was put on hold by the Senate allegedly by security report.

There has also been a report that El-Rufai following the mix up has opted to reject the ministerial slot.

However, Mr Okechukwu, while answering questions from journalists in Abuja on Sunday, counselled that El-Rufai’s expected quality contributions to the nation as minister of power should be put into consideration.

Okechukwu, who is also the Director General of Voice of Nigeria, appealed to President Tinubu, to as a matter of urgent national importance, to halt his ejection of El-Rufai from the Federal Executive Council. Especially when Mr President earlier publicly invited Malam to make his Cabinet.

He recalled making a similar appeal in 2015 that El-Rufai should be made Chief of Staff but former President Muhammadu Buhari preferred him as governor of Kaduna State.

According to him, “The extraordinary El-Rufai tonic was lost by Buhari and one will not like neither our dear nation nor President Tinubu to miss this rare gem. In addition, our great party the APC, will benefit immensely from plethora of performing ministers as we approach 2027 general elections.”

While harping on the ideas El-Rufai would bring on the table towards revamping the nation’s power sector, Okechukwu said: “El-Rufai’s ejection from the system will regrettably lead to the ejection of more Nigerians from the National Electricity Grid.

“A lot of rich Nigerians are already ejected from our public electricity supply chain by epileptic power supply and many poor Nigerians by high tariffs. We need a unique one like El-Rufai to fix it.”

Accused of bootlicking, Okechukwu quipped, “I am neither a cheerleader of Malam Nasir El-Rufai nor am I saying that he is indispensable; however, as Mr Project, he is equipped more than some of us to not only transform our electricity chain, but sanitise the toxic energy industry.”

Okechukwu went further to state unequivocally that “Nigeria cannot develop until we fix our electricity supply chain, as small, medium and larger scale industries cannot thrive successfully under less than 4,000 megawatts.

“President Tinubu should not eject El-Rufai because of his minuses, for his plus track records in BPE, FCT, and Kaduna State confirmed his exceptional competence and capacity to overhaul our electricity chain.”

“One understands that after Mr President’s invitation he had assembled a team for this onerous assignment. Let him be Mr President,” Okechukwu appealed.

Asked if he is not aware of El-Rufai’s alleged transgressions which may be the reason behind the security report against him, Okechukwu answered that, “One wholly condemns injustice of any hue from anyone, let alone the reckless killings which took place in Kaduna under his watch.

“Injustice anywhere is injustice to all; however, saving thousands of lives that die in Nigeria daily by omission or commission over the years as result of epileptic power supply may be an atonement for Malam El-Rufai. Otherwise, it is only in heaven that multiple angels abound.”

[DailyPost]

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi has urged leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to prioritize dialogue and diplomacy in its effort to restore democracy in Niger Republic.

The West African bloc has been grappling with restoring political order in Niger following the toppling and detention of President Mohamed Bazoum by the military on July 26.

In its latest extraordinary summit on Niger in Abuja, Nigeria on Thursday, ECOWAS ordered the deployment of its standby force to restore democracy in the West African nation.

But reacting in a post on his Twitter handle on Sunday, Obi said “diplomacy must remain the overarching imperative in resolving the present crisis.”

The former Anambra State governor said that it is important that the people of Niger are allowed the opportunity to revert quickly to a representative democratic government via their national institutions.

While he admitted that ECOWAS must seek to discourage the spread of military dictatorships in West Africa, Obi maintained that the recourse to armed deterrence must be retrained by multilateral diplomatic mechanisms.

The post read, “Recent developments in the neighbouring Niger Republic have become the subject of international attention. For Nigeria, this development is a matter of dire and urgent national interest and security.

“Inevitably, Niger is a hot-button issue for ECOWAS, as well as various international interlocutors. Regardless of the positions taken by various parties that have direct or tangential interests in Niger, primacy must be given to dialogue and diplomacy towards a resolution with minimal disruptive impact on Nigeria and the West African sub-region.

“A total diplomatic resolution must take into consideration the realpolitik of the West African sub-region.

“I applaud the respective mediatory efforts by Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, His Eminence Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto and His Royal Highness Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. Whereas ECOWAS authorities have indicated that they remain open to various conflict resolution options, diplomacy must remain the overarching imperative in resolving the present crisis.

“I join the many well-meaning Nigerians who have advocated that any intervention in the crisis, should be pre-eminently through diplomatic dialogue among all strategic interests in the crisis.

“It is therefore important that the people of Niger are allowed via their national institutions, the opportunity to revert quickly to a representative democratic government. All national, regional and international assistance should be extended to the people of Niger to return their country to normalcy.

“While ECOWAS must seek to discourage the spread of military dictatorships in West Africa, the recourse to armed deterrence must be retrained by multilateral diplomatic mechanisms.

“What the situation in Niger urgently calls for is a concerted multilateral coalition of Nigeria, ECOWAS, the AU and the UN towards a programmed return to a democratic constitutional order. In this process, Nigeria’s leadership role must not be in any doubt.”

[Channels TV] 

The Defence Headquarters has reportedly commenced preparations for the possible mobilisation of troops and equipment for a possible confrontation with coup leaders in the Niger Republic.

This is coming amidst directives by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for troops to be on standby.

The decision was taken at an extraordinary summit of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of States and Government hosted by President Bola Tinubu in Abuja.

The summit was attended by top diplomats from the United Nations, African Union and the regional bloc.

Recall that the junta on the 26th of July had forced the elected President, Mohamed Bazoum out of office.

According to Punch, the Nigerian military high command had directed the service chiefs to compile and submit-war requirements such as the number of personnel, equipment, logistics and financial costs to the Chief of Defence Staff.

The platform noted that it is the preliminary stage in the planning process of amassing human and material resources required for the planned military intervention in Niger.

A leaked memo indicated that about two battalions would be required to prosecute the war against the junta in the Niger Republic.

A battalion is a military unit typically consisting of 300 to 1,000 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain).

A military source who spoke with Punch said the total number of troops should be at least “10 times more than that of the enemy.”

Apart from Nigeria, Senegal, Benin and Ivory Coast, other ECOWAS member states are expected to commit troops to the standby force.

However, giving an update on the ECOWAS resolution on Friday, reliable military sources that spoke with Punch said the Nigerian military authorities had started activating the necessary levers to give full expression to the resolutions of the West African leaders.

A source noted that the Defence Headquarters would coordinate the deployment of troops and equipment for the operation.

The source said, “No deployment has been made for now, but the build-up is ongoing. Services are to forward requirements such as the required number of men, equipment as well as funds that would be needed to mobilise troops to Niger. The DHQ will coordinate the deployment of troops for the operation in Niger.”

When asked about the total number of troops that would be deployed, another source stated, “Military deployments are shrouded in secrecy, but it depends on how many men would be contributed by all members of ECOWAS. The total force should be at least 10 times more than that of the enemy.”

However, the Director of Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau assured Nigerians that the participation of the country in the military operation in Niger would not affect the ongoing war against insecurity in the country.

His reaction followed concerns by security experts that military involvement in Niger might impact the ongoing operations against criminal elements across the country.

Asked if the ongoing operation against members of the Indigenous People of Biafra and the Eastern Security Network, Boko Haram terrorists and bandits would not suffer setbacks with the planned deployment of troops to Niger, Gusau said, “I want to assure you that it will not in any way.”

The DHQ spokesman declined to speak on the preparations for the planned military intervention in Niger.

No fewer than ten Nigerian foods and goods are currently rejected abroad, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) revealed.

While delivering a speech at the 3rd CHINET Aviacargo conference during the weekend in Lagos, the Deputy Director, Export Division, Ports Inspection Directorate, NAFDAC, Sanwo-Olu O.A., revealed some of the commonly rejected export food commodities from Nigeria from 2018 till date and in the top 10 include sesame, beans, melon seeds, peanut and smoked fish/fish meal, ginger, spices paper, hibiscus flower, palm oil and ogbono.

According to her, the goods are rejected abroad due to non-adherence to standardised clearance procedures by stakeholders.

In the speech titled “Unlocking the Logistics Barrier to Improving Agro Exports Products,” Sanwo-Olu blamed the rejection on non-adherence to set standards by freight forwarders, cargo handlers, airlines/carriers, and regulatory agencies, as well as poor inter-agency collaboration amongst others.

The NAFDAC official, hence, called for collaboration among stakeholders to ensure that export trade meets the requirements of the country’s trading partner in terms of quality, standards and quantity as trade increases.

Ahead of the November 11 gubernatorial election in Imo State, the incumbent governor of the state, Hope Uzodinma has unveiled his running mate, Lady Chinyere Ihuoma Ekomaru at Land Mark event center, new Owerri, Imo State on Saturday

Governor Uzodinma unveiled his running mate at an expanded stakeholders meeting of the All Progressive Congress (APC) party in Imo State.

Ekomaru hails from Mbaitoli local government area of Imo state and is married to a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Chukwuma Ekomaro who was a former commissioner for youths and sports and formerly of the People Democratic Party (PDP) and was once a governorship candidate under PDP.

She is a senior Lecturer at Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education since 2003 till date and is blessed with three sons.