Oby Ezekwesili, a former Minister of Education, has talked about the embattled Anambra student, Ejikeme Mmesoma.

Ezekwesili, on Saturday, recommended counselling for Mmesoma who was accused by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board of forging her 2023 UTME results.

Mmesoma, according to the reports of an independent panel of investigators set up by the Anambra state government confessed to forging her results unaided.

The PUNCH had earlier reported that Ezekwesili blasted the examination Board for exposing Mmesoma. She also called for an independent investigation.

But in a statement posted via her Twitter account on Saturday, Ezekwesili said, “I have just read the report of the Committee set up by Anambra State Government to investigate and report their independent findings on the Mmesoma and JAMB saga.

“I am satisfied with the process and findings of their investigation which gave Mmesoma a fair hearing to enable the Committee gather all facts.

“It was necessary to have independent evidence that the result Mmesoma laid claim to publicly was not only fake but that the forgery was personally orchestrated by her. There are usually syndicates at the center of perpetration of exam malpractices in Nigeria but it appears not to be so in Mmesoma’s case from the facts of the Committee’s report.

“Mmesoma’s action has consequences. I, therefore, support the sanctions imposed by JAMB as a deterrent to all who participate in the systemic exam malpractices within our educational system.

“I also recommend sustained counseling for Mmesoma by the family, school and church to support her as she reflects on this tragic episode and makes a decision to embrace values and rewards of effort while eschewing dishonest gain for the rest of her life.”

Former Chelsea captain John Terry announced his return to the academy of the Premier League club just less than a month after his stint with Leicester City, where he was the assistant manager.

The 42-year-old former England skipper returned to Chelsea in a coaching consultancy role in 2022 before joining Dean Smith's coaching staff at Leicester in April this year.

Terry's contract at Leicester was not renewed following the side's relegation from the English top flight.

"I'm delighted to be back Home working in the academy and continuing my role at the club," Terry, who started his coaching career in 2018 as an assistant manager at Aston Villa, said in an Instagram post.

The former defender and five-time Premier League champion won every major trophy during his 19-year stint at Stamford Bridge, making him Chelsea's most successful captain.

[Reuters]

We must tread with circumspection. We must follow reason. Why are we inclined to misadventures? Why are we not having conversations on how the south-east can work with the federal government to improve the infrastructural standing of the zone, and how we can take advantage of the decentralisation of electricity; revive industries and inland ports? Why are we lost in a jive of the mundane, lamentations, finger-pointing, blame-shifting, and denial? 

It is concerning that a section of the south-east is not, in the immediate, prioritising needed public ingredients and development convenience for the zone. The dominating interest appears to be securing the freedom of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). A cluster of the region’s citizens seems to have abandoned elemental conversations of development critical to the growth of the zone for this lone vocation in their entreaties to the government.

It appears the priority item the south-east seeks is securing the freedom of Nnamdi Kanu. This is while other zones are having seminal conversations on how to mushroom development.

At a time other zones are tabling critical interest and matters pivotal to their development, the south-east’s appears to be pursuing the solitary cause of securing the freedom of a man whose industry led to the brutal murder of many Nigerians, including that of the husband of the late Dora Akunyili, former minister of information, in the crimson streets of Nkpor in Anambra.

Conversations on the south-east in the past eight years have not changed. It is a new administration, but the same conversations have been reacquainted and sounded as the commanding and defining motif of the next four years. When are we going to start discussing the fundamentals of development as they relate to the zone?

Some say the release of Nnamdi Kanu will bring peace to the south-east. How could this be? Is this the only option for peace? Seeking peace on bended knee? But we forget that Kanu was released at a time with guarantees from prominent Nigerians from the south-east and traditional rulers from the zone, but he reneged on all pledges after his release and unleashed a monstrosity of evil belched from the bowels of hell on the people.

It is important to pursue peace, but it is more important to pursue it from the bearings of strength. It is injustice to those killed, and those still being killed to seek the release of the progenitor of the barbarism while their blood still colours the ground red. Really, I doubt that the release of Nnamdi Kanu will bring peace to the south-east. What are the guarantees?

The security agencies had succeeded in decimating IPOB. At the close of 2022, security agencies had succeeded in degrading the capacity of the insurgents to launch attacks, pulverising their camps, and arresting their leaders. The insurgents were becoming but whispers in a noisy concourse. Peace was returning at last. However, a wraith of fear hovered around the region – residents still observed the abominable sit-at-home every Monday.

What some governors of the zone failed to do at the time – on the success of the security interventions -- was to seize the moment and build residents’ confidence in the capacity of the government to protect them. I recall Chukwuma Soludo, governor of Anambra state, took initiative, seized the moment, and launched a campaign to retake citizens’ trust and confidence. I see this is what Peter Mbah, governor of Enugu state, is doing now – with his public ban on the ludicrous sit-at-home oppression. This is also what Ifeanyi Ubah, senator representing Anambra south, seems to be doing in Nnewi at the moment, with the campaign against the sit-at-home criminality.

The IPOB-hostage situation in the south-east will need, principally, the residents’ commitment, sincerity, and courage to break. A gang of routed insurgents cannot keep a people in its thrall in perpetuity. When the people are willing to rise and break free; the troublers of the nation will retreat into the void.

Today, the insurgents are re-emerging from oblivion and defeat. On Monday, they reportedly attacked a public place in Ebonyi; on the same day, they were reported to have attacked a school in Enugu, where they assaulted some pupils. What could be responsible for this resurgence?

The trenchant cry for the release of Nnamdi Kanu could be emboldening his insurgents to seize the zeitgeist and press for the same demand in the language of violence. To them, it is now a bounden duty; a righteous cause since prominent citizens are demanding the same of the government. They feel justified in their actions. It is a tightrope to walk.

It is disturbing that the leader of IPOB whose hands are darkened by guiltless blood is being framed as a victim who is unjustly held by the government.

It is important for us as a people to re-assess our priorities. If the overarching priority of the south-east is to secure the freedom of Nnamdi Kanu; then so be it. I am only but a voice calling for reason, tact, and deep reflection on our choices.

There are items I believe should be of top priority at this time for the zone – particularly infrastructure. Again, how do we take advantage of the decentralisation of electricity? How do we bring back the industries – as over 60 percent of them have shut down in the zone? The railways? The inland ports? How do we work with the federal government to improve the general infrastructure of the south-east?

My advice is that we must tread with circumspection on this matter.  

By Fredrick Nwabufo, Nwabufo aka Mr OneNigeria is a media executive.

7Th July, 2023

Prof. C.O Soludo,

Governor, Anambra State.

Mr. Governor,

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON EJIKEME JOY MMESOMA'S JAMB SCORE CONTROVERSY

Recall Mr. Governor that with the recent release of scores of candidates who applied for admission by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and the subsequent announcement of Nkechiyere Umeh as the candidate with the highest score of 360, Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, a 19-year-old student of Anglican Girls' Secondary School, Uruagu Nnewi, from Enugu State, protested to the State Government that she scored 362 and ought to have been so recognised. This has elicited interest and generated serious controversy and misgivings among the general public that the State Government in its wisdom decided to constitute a Committee of Inquiry to look into the underlisted terms of reference; I. Review Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma's JAMB Results and associated documents II. Conduct interviews with relevant parties, including Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, JAMB Officials and any other individual(s) involved in the process. III. Provide recommendations based on the findings of the investigation.

The Committee invited Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, the Principal of Anglican Girls' Secondary School, and officials of JAMB for an interactive session with the Committee. JAMB officials led by Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the Head of Public Affairs presented the detailed processes and procedures involved in JAMB admissions, the policy changes that have occurred in the release of UTME scores since 2021 and what JAMB revealed the different times that Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma made several requests to JAMB portal asking for her results at different hours, and each of these times (four in number), she received in her phone, same results from JAMB indicating candidate's UTME Results to wit: Eng: 64, Phy:54, Bio: 74, Che: 57 with a total aggregate score of 249. JAMB disclosed that the candidate was well informed of her correct score from JAMB. Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma had sent a request to JAMB with a different registration number showing a UTME result of an aggregate score of 362, with Eng: 98, Phy: 89, Bio: 94, and Che: 81. The results she sent differed substantially from the standard JAMB format where she got an appropriate rebuttal stating her real score of 249. Besides, a number of red flags were also highlighted by JAMB officials showing a different date of birth, different Registration Number, and Notification of results template that has been discarded since 2021, amongst others. It was also evident that even the centre name "Nkemefuna Foundation (Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development as it was known before now) used for the examination was also manipulated where the candidate used the old name of the centre (Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development) in her own manipulated result sheet. In Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma's submission, she owned up in the presence of her principal, and the Education Secretary that the narration by the JAMB officials was a true and correct description of what transpired. She also admitted to having given a manipulated result by herself unaided, using the same phone Airtel Number. According to her, she proceeded to the cybercafe (Prisca Global Computers, Uruagu, Nnewi) where she printed the results she had manipulated. The Committee tried to find out the motive behind her action, but Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma said NOTHING. In their own submissions, the Principal Anglican Girls' Secondary school, Uruagu Nnewi, and the Education Secretary — Diocese of Nnewi (Anglican Communion) expressed shock at what transpired where in their presence, Mmesoma admitted to having manipulated her UTME results, deceiving the school, her immediate family and the State Government.

COMMITTEE'S FINDINGS

1. The results released by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) with respect to the UTME score of Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma is 249
2. The results paraded by Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma with an aggregate score of 361 are fake as buttressed by the very significant and instructive variations in the registration number, date of birth, centre name and other infractions.
3. Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma admitted that she manipulated the fake results herself, using her phone.
4. The Principal of Anglican Girls Secondary School - Mrs. Edu Uche and the Education Secretary, Diocese of Nnewi (Anglican Communion) expressed dismay at the conduct of Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. That Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma tenders an unreserved written apology to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the School (Anglican Girls' Secondary School, Uruagu Nnewi) and the Anambra State Government. This should be done immediately.
2. Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma should undergo psychological counselling and therapy.
3. All prospective candidates for JAMB Admission should adhere strictly to the guidelines, processes and procedures of the examination body.

CONCLUSION

The Committee of Inquiry commends Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for their diligent handling of the matter and the information supplied about the interface with the candidate (see attached). We hope that this unearthing of the truth as we have discovered will go a long way in correcting the sentiments, misconceptions and deceptions that have been in the public domain.

Finally, we thank Mr. Governor for setting up this Committee, and, for the confidence reposed in the committee.

Tope, my trophy wife friend, ended in hospital and in trouble. No, she’s not ill. Her husband, Otunba, was rushed to the hospital about 2.a.m a few days ago, panting and gasping. He lost consciousness on the way to the hospital but was luckily resuscitated. He, however, still ended in the intensive care unit where he spent four days with one leg on earth and the other in the land of his ancestors. It was a trying time for not just Tope but her co-wives. Oh yes, Tope is Otunba’s third wife, his young sweet potato, in whose arms he almost died. Of course, the older two wives were agitated, scared that they were going to become widows though their utterances sounded more like gloating than fear.

‘This is what you came to do, abi, to kill him so you can inherit his money.’

‘You have failed. You will not achieve your aim. The ‘chi’ of our children will not allow one childless witch to bring sorrow to this home.’

‘It is Magun. She went to sleep with her young young boyfriends and one of them must have laced her with magun to kill our husband.

‘You must confess, you gold-digger.’

‘If he dies, we will show you hell.’

‘If he dies, you will know that God does not have tribal marks.’

Well, Tope was already in hell, watching her husband fighting for his life. She prayed all night, fasted all day. She regretted not cautioning him enough about his desperate, bad habits that led them all to the sorry bus stop. She knew if he died, the magun and gold-digger story would have ended her. You know how the social media is. Google does not forget. Luckily, God answered her prayers, Otunba survived and now Tope can tell her side of the story and redirect her co-wives’ angry, gloaters’ narrative.

Otunba is in his late 60s. He is hypertensive but was determined to be a stallion in bed to impress his young wife. Bad decision, all the time, the kind that men who should retire take against sane advice. I’ll restate the advice anyway. You cannot be a former stallion and still be today’s champion. A former champion is a former champion. All he can and is allowed to be is an elder statesman. Any other ambition will lead him to death in the ring. But men, they want to be all-time champion in bed. They don’t want to admit that there is a time for everything under the sun, including the male libido.

That is why an astute businessman like Otunba didn’t know when his third leg should accept it had reached retirement age behind closed doors. And that is why we have seen and discovered too often, sadly, that a boardroom guru can turn out to be a bedroom dummy. I’m sorry to repeat it here, again, today that too often when a man’s zipper is opened, his brain falls out. Or why would a 65-year-old man think he is still the champion that he was at 35? I hear it’s got to do with a need for revalidation and trying to feel young again. Well, somebody needs to tell these grandpas that it’s a bad feeling, indeed a deadly dangerous one.

No matter how much a firebrand a man starts out as, the fire gradually goes down with the passing of each year. A man who starts out as one who could cruise through three women in one day will eventually need help to start his engine. It is a given. The ones doing threesomes today will one day need more than one hour to persuade their ‘wetincall’ to rise up to the occasion. When men know this, there will be lasting peace in the kingdom. But it is a difficult subject to teach a certain class of men. There is this class of men who are determined to live twice. This is the class of men who want to give command performance more than once on one show. They marry at 32 after thoroughly playing the field and sowing wildly. Then they go on to use their wives deeply and so badly that the poor women are left with no second-hand value. You understand that kind of sole-proprietor usage, right? Now, you’ll think men like that would look forward to retirement after a meritorious service, that they would take their pension and enjoy their twilight years in peace, sipping red wine. But no, they want to live again, all over again. What do they do? They go hunting again, this time for younger women, many times, a lot younger women whose needs they can’t match or meet. Like a 65-year-old man and a 25 –year-old woman. Like a 70-year-old man and a 30-year-old bride. The young woman’s juices are raging hot, while Baba’s libido is in retirement mode. Totally unequal yokes. What is worse, the man is determined to bring back his youth. He actually believes he can repeat the miracle of resurrection by waking his once-upon-a-time sleeping giant. Of course, nature and age are there waiting for him and when he finds out that ‘Make the Dead Walk’ is merely the title of a novel by James Hardly Chase, he resorts to self-help. Sex self-help can be very mean, one with a tendency to end badly for older men. Like Tope said, Otunba’s determination to remain the ‘current champion’ in his old age was what led him to death’s door.

‘While our short courtship lasted, I didn’t know Otunba was using performance-enhancement drugs. You know we were not living together and sex was not a daily thing. All I knew was he always gave an impressive account of himself. For a man his age, he didn’t give me any reason to worry about the physical side of our relationship. It was when I moved in as his wife that I noticed that he ‘prepped’ himself before getting into bed. It worried me because I had heard many stories of how those performance enhancers can lead to heart attack or even death. I begged him to stop. He did but I noticed there was a world of difference between when he ‘prepped’ himself and when he didn’t. It left him frustrated and me unsatisfied. So, I looked the other way occasionally to keep both of us happy. There was always a spring in my husband’s step each time he was able to wear me out or I had to beg him to stop. I can’t really find words to describe how happy it made him. Until that fateful day. He had just given me one of the best times of my life when I noticed he was sweating too profusely. Before I could get him a glass of water, his breathing changed as he clutched his chest. I threw on a kaftan, called the doctor and screamed for the driver and his P.A. It was the scariest night of my life. The long wait before the doctors came out to tell me he would be fine, his other wives’ threats and insults, the fear of him dying because he wanted to satisfy me in bed…’

Now imagine if Tope was a runs-girl, an ‘olosho’ who simply took to her heels at the first sight of Otunba in distress. Imagine the man dying alone, his body unfound for hours, even days. His family, to cover the shame would have told the world he died in his sleep, or peacefully passed on in his sleep. Chai. He probably would have had to explain to his angry ancestors how he ‘arrived 20 years earlier than scheduled.’ Avoidable death. Death by greed. Departing via the same route you arrived. Why do some men not mind returning to their maker in between a woman’s legs? Why do men like to die in active service?

Those who should know say unbridled use of performance-enhancement drugs, whether herbal concoctions (those bottled mixtures with interesting names) or Viagra and his little blue siblings can lead to a stroke or heart failure. When all the blood meant for the whole body is forced to relocate to a man’s penis, his other organs will shut down one by one. The saddest conclusion of such stories is the woman he died trying to impress will be inherited by another man, most likely a younger, stronger performer. What then shall it profit a man if he returns to his maker the same way he came, in between a woman’s legs? My sincere advice? When a man reaches a certain age, he should just be satisfied with his yam boiled or fried because old men who insist on 'pounded yam' are liable to die in the kitchen.

I have said my own.

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Topic: Threads, Twitter and the future of Social Media

Date: 8TH JULY, 2023
                         
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The eight-memner panel set up by Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State to investigate the controversies surrounding the results claimed by a candidate in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), Mmesoma Ejikeme, has submitted its report.

Headed by Nkemdili Nnonyelu, a professor, the committee confirmed Miss Mmesoma forged the score of 362 as earlier claimed by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.

According to the report, a copy of which was obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the candidate confirmed she single-handedly forged the result before approaching a cyber cafe for printing.

Christian Aburime, the chief press secretary to Governor Charles Soludo, confirmed the authenticity of the report to this newspaper.

The committee’s report is reproduced below.

7th July, 2023

Prof. C.C Soludo,

Governor, Anambra State.

Mr. Governor, REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON EJIKEME JOY MMESOMA’S JAMB SCORE CONTROVERSY

Recall Mr. Governor that with the recent release of scores of candidates who applied for admission by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and subsequent announcement of Nkechiyere Umeh as the candidate with the highest score of 360, Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, a 19 year old student of Anglican Girls’ Secondary School, Uruagu Nnewi, from Enugu State, protested to the State Government that she scored 362 and ought to have been so recognised. This has elicited interests and generated serious controversy and misgivings among the general public that the State Government in its wisdom decided to constitute a Committee of Inquiry to look into the underlisted terms of reference;

Review Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma’s JAMB Results and associated documents Conduct interviews with relevant parties, including Elikeme Joy Mmesoma, JAMB Officials and any other individual(s) involved in the process. Provide recommendations based on the findings of the investigation.

The Committee invited Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, the Principal of Anglican Girls Secondary School, and officials of JAMB for interactive session with the Committee. JAMB officials led by Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the Head Public Affairs presented the detailed processes and procedures involved in JAMB admissions, the policy changes that have occurred in the release of UTME scores since 2021 and what specifically transpired between the candidate Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma with registration number: 20230639047FF in her quest to obtain her JAMB score.

JAMB revealed the different times that Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma made several requests to JAMB portal asking for her results at different hours, and each of these times (four in number), she received in her phone, same results from JAMB indicating candidate’s UTME Results to wit: Eng: 64, Phy:54, Bio: 74, Che: 57 with a total aggregate score of 249. JAMB disclosed that the candidate was well informed of her correct score from JAMB. Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma had sent a request to JAMB with a different registration number showing a UTME result of aggregate score of 362, with Eng: 98, Phy: 89, Bio: 94, and Che: 81. The results she sent differed substantially from the standard JAMB format where she got an appropriate rebuttal stating her real score of 249.

Besides, a number of red-flags was also highlighted by JAMB officials showing a different date of birth, different Registration Number, Notification of results template that has been discarded since 2021, amongst others. It was also evident that even the centre name “Nkemefuna Foundation (Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development as it was known before now) used for the examination was also manipulated where the candidate used the old name of the centre (Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development) in her own manipulated result sheet.

In Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma’s submission, she owned up in the presence of her principal, and the Education Secretary that the narration by the JAMB officials was a true and correct description of what transpired. She also admitted to have given a manipulated result by herself unaided, using same phone Airtel Number. 

According to her, she proceeded to the cybercafé (Prisca Global Computers, Uruagu, Nnewi) where she printed the results she had manipulated.

The Committee tried to find out the motive behind her action, but Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma said NOTHING. In their own submissions, the Principal Anglican Girls’ Secondary school, Uruagu Nnewi, and the Education Secretary-Diocese of Nnewi (Anglican Communion) expressed shock at what transpired where in their presence, Mmesoma admitted to have manipulated her UTME results, deceiving the school, her immediate family and the State Government.

COMMITTEE’S FINDINGS

The results released by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) with respect to the UTME score of Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma is 249

2 The results paraded by Epheme Joy Mmesoma with aggregate score of 362 is fake as buttressed by the very significant and instructive variations In the registration number, date of birth centre name and other Infractions to Mimesoma admitted that she manipulated the fake results herself, using her phone.

The Principal Anglican Girls’ Secondary School-Mrs. Edu Uche and the Education Secretary, Diocese of Nnewi (Anglican Communion) expressed dismay at the conduct of Epkeme Jay Mmesoma

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. That Elikeme Joy Mmesoma tenders an unreserved written apology to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (AMB), the School (Anglican Girls Secondary School, Uruagu Nnew) and the Anambra State Government. This should be done immediately.

2 Elikeme Joy Mmesoma should undergo a psychological counselling and therapy

3. All prospective candidates for JAMB Admission should adhere strictly to guidelines, processes and procedures of the examination body.

The Committee of Inquiry commends Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for their diligent handling of the matter and the information supplied about the interface with the candidate (see attached). We hope that this unearthing of the truth as we have discovered will go a long way in correcting the sentiments, misconceptions and deceptions that have been in the public domain.

CONCLUSION

Finally, we thank Mr. Governor for setting up this Committee, and, for the confidence reposed in the committee.

Following the recent capture of Mason Mount, Manchester United's focus appears to have shifted toward the signing of a new striker and a new goalkeeper, with Erik ten Hag seemingly intent on strengthening the spine of his time this summer.

With a £50m bid for Atalanta marksman, Rasmus Hojlund believed to be in the works, United are also currently in negotiations with Inter Milan to try and strike a deal for Cameroonian stopper, Andre Onana, having seemingly made an offer of around €50m (£43m) for the 27-year-old.

With doubts remaining over the future of long-serving number one, David De Gea, it would appear that Onana is being lined up to replace the experienced Spaniard in the sticks, having previously worked under Ten Hag at Ajax.

Having been part of the Inter side that reached the Champions League final last season, the 6 foot 3 ace has particularly impressed due to his quality on the ball, having been branded "exceptional" in that regard by Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola ahead of that European showpiece.

That ball-playing brilliance is evidenced by the fact that the towering gem ranks in the top 11% among his European peers for touches made as a sign of just how comfortable he is in possession, with De Gea, by contrast, ranking in just the bottom 30% in that regard.

The introduction of the Serie A star to Ten Hag's side would then allow the Red Devils to begin to properly play out from the back next term, with club legend Paul Scholes previously stating that De Gea "makes the whole team nervous" when attempting to use his feet.

Onana will, however, need players ahead of him who are also comfortable in possession, hence why the signing of Monaco's Axel Disasi - who is a reported target for the Premier League outfit this summer - could prove to be a perfect fit at the heart of the defence.

How good is Axel Disasi?

The 6 foot 3 centre-back could represent a big upgrade on club captain, Harry Maguire in Ten Hag's defensive ranks, with the latter man having been branded "a walking disaster" by journalist Samuel Luckhurst in recent times, having also been restricted to just eight league starts last term.

The 30-year-old Englishman - who has been linked with a move away from the Theatre of Dreams - has looked rather uncomfortable when attempting to play out of late, notably turning into trouble in the grim Europa League defeat to Sevilla earlier this year.

Disasi, however, should have no such trouble in that regard, with the impressive "hidden gem" - as lauded by talent scout Jacek Kulig - ranking in the top 4% among those in his position in Europe's top five leagues for both progressive passes and progressive carries, showcasing his willingness to initiate attacks from deep.

That is in stark contrast to Maguire's record across the last 365 days, as per FBref, with the former Leicester City man ranking in just the bottom 47% for progressive passes and only in the top 19% for progressive carries, having looked ill-suited at times to a more progressive style of play.

Disasi would also offer a benefit to both Onana and United as a whole due to his ability to sniff out danger, showcased by the fact that the Frenchman ranks in the top 14% for interceptions made, while Maguire ranks in just the top 38% for that same metric.

That would suggest that the signing of the 25-year-old - who has been valued at around €50m (£43m) - could be a perfect solution for Ten Hag ahead of next season, helping to hasten the transition towards a more free-flowing style of play.

[footballfancast]

Even before the submission of ministerial nominees to the Senate for final screening, names of those likely to make the list have been a subject of heated debate and prognosis. The matter has dominated the social media, leading to a rebuttal by the presidential spokesman, Mr. Dele Alake, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has concluded plans to submit the list of the ministerial nominees to the Senate.

Having appointed new security chiefs on June 19, attention has now been drawn to the quality of Nigerians to be appointed as ministers. Not a few have applauded and commended President Tinubu’s choice of security chiefs. So far, the resolution by the new security heads to frontally confront criminal groups has given hope for citizens of a nation that has suffered irreparable damage by gunmen. Not many are in doubt that the country is set to roar against blood-thirsty monsters. Considering the fact that the newly appointed security chiefs have demonstrated an unprecedented commitment to smoke out criminals from their caves and bring them to justice, the list of ministerial nominees must be devoid of politicians whose sole interest is advancing national development.

If the appointment of new security chiefs is anything to go by, citizens are full of excitement and looking forward to good quality men and women to be nominated as ministers. To ensure they are not left behind, politicians, mostly governors, are leaving nothing to chance to ensure they breast the tape. While whopping sums of money are being allegedly deployed to recruit people who have the ears of the president, certain desperate elements, among a horde of office seekers, are not resting on their oars to pass through the eye of the needle.

Unlike in the past where presidents had no option but reciprocated the generosity of political sponsors for their electoral victory, the Tinubu presidency did not come about through sponsorship of his presidential ambition through imprecise forces and some nebulous members of the private sector. This is the first time in the history of Nigeria that a presidential candidate walked through the fiery furnace of campaigns without resorting to influential politicians or moneybags for funding.

Allegations of funding presidential campaigns and their sponsors have always dominated national discourse in the past. This time around, the Tinubu-led campaigns were not distracted with such insinuations as, this time around, he was said to have doled out funds to politicians, including serving governors. There were reports in some states where some of these governors refused to avail critical stakeholders of funding in order to frustrate the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaigns.

For Tinubu to appoint security chiefs without recourse to some previous forces controlling levers of power reveals his independence and commitment to ensure only competent military officers with the capacity to deliver within available deadlines were chosen. Succumbing to the sense of entitlements as practised by politicians was completely absent, thus giving the president the chance to recruit firm military officers as security chiefs.

Before the 2023 polls, democracy had been hijacked by the club of governors. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo made efforts to checkmate their rising excesses. Subsequent presidents found these serving and former state executives uncontrollably powerful with vast financial muscles capable of torpedoing any political system.

Over 24 years since the return of this unbroken democracy, the rising influence of these powerful governors has mostly undermined democracy and turned them into controllers of election outcomes. These governors not only turned the states into fiefdoms and farm houses, some of them continue to unleash incredible heists on their citizens to foot their greed avarice.

As Tinubu is set to appoint ministers to assist his administration in driving his dream of providing a renewed hope for our country, the president should avoid some of these governors whose divisiveness has driven Nigeria down the slippery slope of self-destruction. Also in the list of governors to be rejected are those who have plunged their states into irrecoverable foreign debt holes.

For some of the governors, whose only qualification to be included on the ministerial list is their long stay in the corridor of power; let their hope continue to be a mirage. Most of these governors left despairing footprints in their collateral powerlessness to uplift the living standards of their state citizens as they remain the butts of public cynicism on the prospect of how not to use the ballot government to work for the good of majority electorates.

President Tinubu should beware of those who play disruptive politics and are eternally afraid of being thrown into the pit of oblivion if they don’t make the ministerial list. These politicians, who are always in love with the klieg lights to boost their ego and for selfish interest, should not be included as ministerial nominees.  Our president should be cautious of politicians who wake up drinking 40-year old whisky at public expense. Those who claim to have paid foreign terrorists to stop the decimation of Southern Kaduna communities and killing of innocent and defenceless citizens should no longer be allowed to occupy public office.

Trust is a huge burden, and anyone whose loyalty cannot be trusted should not be on the next ministerial list as public office is about trust. Professional politicians, who still have their eyes fixed on future presidential elections, should be totally avoided. Recycling these dead old woods into the next cabinet should never be contemplated at any level of government.

Some of these former governors, who were unable to tackle insecurity in their states, are quick to regale the public with several tales behind their embarrassing failures; President Tinubu should treat them with utter contempt and disdain. If they failed in the past to perform as governors, there is no assurance that they will act differently in the future by providing renewed hope for the citizens of a nation that is being threatened.

The past eight years have been horror-ridden for our traumatised citizens. Apart from the massacre of over 60,000 people across various parts of our nation, particularly Zamfara, Plateau, Kaduna, Benue, Katsina and Niger, among others, the subtle use of religion to compromise our collective unity became institutionalised.

What Nigeria needs now is the recruitment of our best technocrats and experts to assist the new government tackle security and developmental challenges that have festered for many years. President Tinubu should only appoint patriotic politicians who possess competence and not to recycle old faces that see public office as their birthrights in order to brighten their chances ahead of the next polls.

It is obvious that some of these former state executives and other professional politicians, who see politics as self-serving, have constituted themselves into an albatross. Appointing some of these governors is akin to giving them another opportunity to continue undermining the country and creating a platform for their survival. While serving as governors, they forgot where they were coming from as they violated valid judgements of the courts to punish and dehumanise the Nigerian people.

Democracy is globally recognised as the popular form of government that seeks the overall good above personal interest. In Nigeria, the government of the ballot has become the triumph of greedy politicians whose only objective is to perpetually dominate the political space for themselves and their cronies. The only way to save our democracy from the stranglehold of these political power-seekers is for President Tinubu to deny them and their Men Friday another opportunity to concretise their hold on power.

The attention of Governor Ademola Adeleke has been drawn to a fake news alleging that the state chief executive has appointed his supposed daughter in person of Adenike Folasade Adeleke and his alleged uncle, Prof Maroof Adeleke into the State cabinet.

There is no truth whatsoever in the report as neither of the two nominees are daughter or uncle of the Governor. Prof Adeleke was born at Ilesa and hails from Osogbo, the state capital. Mrs Adeleke is the daughter of Chief Omidiran of Osogbo Land and wife of the late Executive Governor of Osun State, Senator Isiaka Adeleke.

We had expected those pushing the fake news to engage in basic investigative journalism if they have any altruistic motive. If however the goal is to malign the state Governor, the truth can not be hidden as the nominees are bona-fide indigenes of Osogbo Land.

We therefore urge members of the public to ignore those merchants of fake news. No biological member of the Governor's family is included in the cabinet list. Governor Adeleke is committed to fair distribution of appointments based on competency, spread and sectoral representation.

Signed:
Mallam Olawale Rasheed,
Spokesperson to the State Governor