NNPC Limited has disclosed it plans to invest into a Maiduguri based start-up company that is into renewables and electric vehicles.

The company explained that the move would boost its footprint in the renewable energy space and help Nigeria in reducing its carbon emissions.

The Managing Director of NNPC New Energy Limited, Kanachukwu Odoe who disclosed this in an interview contained in the NNPC Quarterly Magazine, said the company plans to install charging point facilities in all its retail outlets across the country.

Odoe noted that although renewables are not yet a big deal in the country, it will be the energy of the future.

He said: “On Electric Vehicles, there are two things we are looking at.

There is a start-up from Maiduguri that is into renewables and Electric Vehicles. It’s a Nigerian start-up. We are currently discussing with them to expand their capacity to meet local demand in Nigeria.

“It’s something l believe we should invest in not just because it’s our own, but also because they are doing something that hasn’t been done before, at least, in this part of the world. So, when we invest in the company, we can have a foothold in the electric vehicles market.

“The next part will be how to provide access to charging ports for the electric vehicles We have NNPC Retail stations scattered around Nigeria, we are currently having a discussion on how to install charging points in the stations to serve electric vehicles”, he added.

He observed that “on capacity expansion with respect to renewable energy, you know that there is a gap in the power sector with regards to electricity supply, particularly in the rural areas. We must be able to meet that demand by developing capacity to provide power to those in the rural areas with renewable energy sources like solar”.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) has slammed a three-year ban against Mmesoma Ejikeme, the examination candidate who allegedly falsely inflated her exam scores.

It insisted that the result being paraded by the student is fake and that its system cannot be compromised.

The board made this known in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin on Tuesday.

Ejikeme shared a video to social media on Monday, stating that the result in question is not forged and that she rightfully obtained the score of 362 as she has always been a brilliant student.

The JAMB spokesman however, said the video was stage-managed and that Ejikeme revealed the rightful owner of the result when she said that the QR code on the result slip showed the actual owner of the said result.

“To witness the unassailable position of the Board regarding this obvious falsehood, the general public is, therefore, urged to endeavour to scan the QR code on the result slip to see its actual owner before it was mutilated”, the board stated.

“It is to be noted that the QR code encapsulates the UTME result of each candidate, hence, what is on the result sheet is nothing other than the interpretation of the information on this QR code.

“Similarly, the public is also invited to ponder on the fact that out of all the candidates that sat the 2023 UTME, only Ms. Ejikeme Mmesoma parades the obsolete ‘Notification of Result.’

“The board remains unperturbed by this unfortunate development as this is not the first time such fraudulent claims have been made. As such, Nigerians are urged to recall numerous occasions where the Board was sued for billions of naira only for the lawyers to later apologise profusely for their clients’ misadventure,” the statement read.

The board then said that it has barred her from sitting the examination for the next three years, in line with its established procedures, and has withdrawn her 2023 UTME result.

JAMB stated that the case has been handed over to security agencies for proper investigation, adding that “the truth would manifest and the Board vindicated.”

Osun State Police Command on Monday threatened to sanction any of its officers attached to public officeholders caught carrying out domestic duties for their principals.

The Command spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, who disclosed this in a statement released in Osogbo, stated that whosoever found with the act would be punished accordingly, adding that the era of police orderlies carrying handbags, umbrellas and opening of gates, amongst other menial duties for their principals had gone.

The statement reads: “The command is miffed with consternation the way and manner government officials and personalities use police orderlies attached to them for domestic duties, such as carrying handbags, umbrellas and opening of gates, amongst other menial duties.”

“The command, therefore, warns police officers attached to these officials to stop carrying out or serving purposes other than protecting their principals from security threats. ”

“Such behaviour is highly unethical, unprofessional and would attract appropriate sanctions against erring police personnel.”

“Government officials are therefore enjoined to employ the services of domestic staff and personal assistants to carry out such services”

“Police officers attached to government officials are to protect their lives and property and not to serve as their domestic workers,” she added.

There has been so much talk of late about the Ministerial appointments that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is about to make. Given the fast-paced style of governance that he has adopted so far, it is expected that he would not waste time in coming up with a list of cabinet Ministers. The 1999 Constitution vests the President with Executive powers under Section 5(1)(a) and in other parts of that basic document to hire and also fire, if need be, persons who would assist him in the discharge of his functions as President, Commander in Chief. The Nigerian President is in fact in a position to dispense as many as 5, 000 patronages, the powers vested in his office and person are that enormous, and expansive. But of all appointments, the composition of the Federal Executive Council of the Federation is critical as seen in Sections 144(5) and 147 of the 1999 Constitution. In Section 147 (3), the Constitution says expressly that Ministerial appointments “shall be in conformity with the provisions of section 14(3) of this Constitution: Provided that in giving effect to the provisions aforesaid the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each state, who shall be an indigene of such state”.

Thus, every state is entitled to have at least one Minister in the Federal cabinet and this probably explains why there has been so much hustling and jostling by a band of aspirational office seekers, sycophants and rent-seeking characters who have been pushing and shoving to get a Ministerial appointment. It is so bad that some emergency civil society groups, obviously sponsored, have been quite vocal in making specific recommendations. Some outrightly shameless ones have gone on media platforms to recommend themselves to the President openly. I have also seen a statement by persons purporting to be defending the interest of the indigenous people of the Federal Capital Territory insisting that an indigene of the FCT must be made a Minister quoting Section 299 of the Constitution. Individuals and media platforms have also announced their own choices, including partisan lobby for some former Governors who probably need a Ministerial appointment at the centre to remain relevant, not to mention the large crowd of party stalwarts, henchmen, and supporters who believe that they or their children or associates must be compensated with Federal appointments.

Every Nigerian politician seeking an elective position invariably chalks up IOUs, for which other persons expect to be compensated with appointments, contracts or access. It is the reason why government appointments are more or less, “job for the boys”. In the last dispensation, one Governor appointed over 400 aides. A certain Special Adviser was put in charge of groundnut oil! In the present administration, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas has already announced the appointment of 33 Legislative aides. Is Dr. Abbas such an “invalid” that he needs up to 33 aides? President Tinubu certainly has many IOUs to settle, but he must not do that with appointments into the Federal cabinet. Every person that he seeks to appoint must be competent, capable and fit for purpose. He may strike a balance between technocrats and politicians, but even in doing so, nobody should show up on that list simply because they know the right people or out of a sense of entitlement. Tinubu’s Ministers must not be persons who are ready to genuflect to get a title simply because they are out of job. Nigeria is in need of renaissance, a complete overhaul. We cannot achieve that objective with a cabinet of average persons. It is still too early to forget what Nigeria went through in the past eight years under President Buhari. Most of the Ministers who served under him were great unknowns. They stayed in office for eight years, sleep-walked through office, and on top of that they were decorated with national honours! The few ones who made an effort got noticed of course simply because it is always easy to stand out in an ocean of mediocrity. No other Federal cabinet was that lacklustre since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.

Tinubu cannot afford to go in that direction. He must give direction from the front, not from the rear. The quality of his appointees would enable us to know the actual quality of his own mind. Usually, it is part of the process that Governors and party leaders in the various states would nominate persons to the President to appoint as Ministers. Tinubu must be suspicious of such recommendations. What we have seen is that state party chieftains and Governors usually send to Abuja, persons who they do not believe would have the capacity to challenge their authority back home. It is easier for an average character to make it to the nomination list than a person of great ability and substance. This is why the President must screen his own nominees thoroughly before submitting their names for consideration. Nobody should be made a Minister who does not have demonstrable ability. The Federal cabinet cannot be a forum for the gathering of the tribes, or party agents, boys and girls who would be too willing to do the President’s bidding. They must be men and women who can tell the President what is right, not yes-men, not one of those clowns in the corridors of power who will kneel down at every opportunity for the President or crawl on all fours before him, as was once reported.

President Tinubu must send the right signal by departing from the old mode of nominating persons for Ministerial appointments. When he sends the names of his nominees to the Senate for screening in line with Section 147(6), he should attach the exact portfolios for which a particular nominee is being considered. Till date, the screening of Ministerial nominees has been a complete charade. Questions that are posed to the persons being screened may have no bearing whatsoever with the portfolio that would be assigned to them eventually. This creates room for a resort to inane and jejune questions such as who is the Governor of your state? as if the nominee is expected not to know the name of his state Governor. Or something like sing the national anthem, or recite the national pledge. This must stop, otherwise these Nigerian Senators would start asking such questions as what is your favourite food? Or have you renewed your birth certificate? Yes. Now that the Federal Government wants Nigerians to renew the proof of ownership of their vehicles every year, we may soon get to a ridiculous point where both birth and marriage certificates may have to be renewed annually so government can gain more revenue! For Ministerial appointments, nominees must be engaged in specific areas, to determine their knowledge level and expertise, and their policy plans with well-thought-out timelines, and key performance indicators. Nobody should insult our intelligence with the kind of hollow ritual that Ministerial screenings have become.

The Senate must not abdicate responsibility. It took the Israelites 40 years to get to the promised land. Nigeria cannot continue to beat about the bush. The Senate must not clear anybody for clearing sake. It must look out for nation-builders, and change-agents who can add value to the growth and development process. The screening must be thorough and meaningful. The Senate must not rely on the wisdom of its own members alone, it must seek the services of subject-area experts who can help prepare relevant questions. In the past, some Ministerial nominees who had served in the National Assembly or as state Governors were asked to simply bow and go. This must not be the case this time around. We don’t want Ministerial nominees bowing like ostriches. The whole idea of our recommendation is to allow all Nigerians to watch the process on live TV, and express opinions. Whoever is not good enough should be rejected by the Senate.

As he prepares to announce his list of Ministers, President Tinubu should pay attention not just to Federal Character, in selecting the best and the brightest, he must ensure inclusion, equity, and gender justice. He must look beyond party affiliations and select only those who can serve with distinction, across party lines, locally and from among the rich human resource that Nigeria has in the diaspora. He must include young persons, and also persons living with disability who are often discriminated against most unfairly in this country. The size of the cabinet is another issue. The Constitution already prescribes that all the 36 states must be represented, and if you add the FCT as is being canvassed, that gives us a total of 37 Ministers. But is it compulsory that a Minister must head a Ministry? Is it possible to tweak the designations in such a way that some Ministers can be Minister in charge of Departments and Agencies and still be Cabinet members? It is something that can be given some thought. The objective is to have a compact, effective team, and reduce the cost of governance. The Tinubu administration in this regard would have to visit the Oronsaye Report. Nigeria’s Federal Government is over-bloated. It needs to be trimmed down to cut away fat, wastages and leakages, and thereby reduce cost. Tinubu has shown so far that he can summon the courage to take hard decisions. This is one more hard decision that he needs to take for the people’s benefit. At the sub-national level, state houses of assembly must discourage Governors seeking to appoint hundreds of aides.

Not everyone can be appointed a Minister. Those who would eventually make the final list must see the opportunity to serve their country at the Ministerial level as a major recognition and must then devote themselves strictly to serving Nigeria. They must not end up as Ministers looking out only for narrow, ethnic and geographical interest. The other day, I was shocked to listen to an elder statesman berating the Minister from his home state for failing to divert Federal Government projects to his state. It is not for nothing that the cabinet is tagged “Executive Council of the Federation” and nowhere in the Oaths of Office/Allegiance is it stated that a government official shall use his or her office to pursue parochial interests. When the government is formed, the Ministers should be able to have access to the President, not just at Council meetings but whenever they need to engage with him. It is strange to hear that in more recent years, some Ministers did not have access to the President. Some of them probably never met him one-on-one. Nigeria cannot afford to have Ministers who would go to Abuja to sleep on the job, and warm the chair. It would be Tinubu’s responsibility to keep everyone on their toes and set specific, measurable targets for performance.

The times have indeed changed indicating how policy shifts can affect the people’s mood and habits and the environment in which we live. Following the removal of fuel subsidy and the harmonization of the foreign exchange regime, Nigerians have been compelled to make radical changes in how they live. Has anyone noticed the sharp reduction in the number of vehicles on Lagos roads and the disappearance of traffic gridlock in some parts of the city? With fuel now selling between N488 -N570 per litre across the country, it takes some people on the average up to N40, 000 or more to fill their vehicle’s fuel tanks. Within the same period that the cost of fuel has increased, electricity has also become very expensive, even if the electricity companies are still threatening to hike their tariffs. Inflation is as high as 22.41%, and would most certainly continue to rise.

Vehicle owners have learnt to choose their travels within the city carefully, gone are those days when it was fashionable to drive here and there. We are all going through a season of serious adjustment. In many homes, light is switched on only when it is needed to check the meter from going haywire. And yet in this same country, once upon a time, you could switch on all the lights in your apartment, and even leave those lights on when not at home. Nobody can afford to do that anymore. The street as they say in popular lingo is not smiling. Salaries have not been increased, the price of everything including tomato and onions has gone up, a loaf of bread, which used to be a common man’s favourite is now an expensive item on the family menu. Last week was the annual Eid-el-adha, the festival of sacrifice. Very few families could afford to buy and slaughter rams. A moderate-size ram was about N175, 000- that used to be the price of a very big cow. To buy a cow now, these days, you’d need close to N500, 000.

In those days, around the Eid-el-Kabir festival, it was possible to see young children going to the field with the rams that their parents had bought for the occasion. There was something called ram fight: an exciting game whereby rams are set against each other to head butt one another. The rams had names and there was a prize for the champion ram. It wasn’t all fun, some rams that went up against a tough challenger could simply slump and die. I didn’t see any young men fighting with rams in open fields this year. No parent would even have allowed anybody to gamble with a ram of N175, 000. It was generally a very moderate celebration around town except in Ijebu Ode where the usual post-Ileya Ojude Oba was held as is the tradition, three days after the festival. The Ojude Oba lived up to its reputation as a cavalcade of colour, music, dance, and memorable advertisement of the richness of Yoruba culture and artistry. I noticed though that many of the persons that I know who used to stay behind in Ijebu-Ode for days after the festival, quickly rushed back to Lagos.

One of them confessed that the times have truly changed. His landlord had just served notice that the rent in the building where he lives would go up by 200% by January 2024, due to the rising cost of building materials, and the depreciation of the Naira. He rushed back to Lagos to engage the landlord wondering how the landlord of a house built more than two decades ago can possibly complain about the high cost of building materials. The man told my friend that we are now in the era of market forces, and that rent is also subject to the forces of demand and supply. We have been on that matter since last week!

APC tenders  evidence, as INEC closed case

The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) on Monday admitted as exhibit the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the final report of the European Union Election Observer Mission, which faulted the conduct and outcome of the February 25, 2023, presidential election.

The report, tendered by the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 25 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his party were admitted as exhibited by the court, despite the objection by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who are listed as respondents along with INEC in the petition challenging Tinubu’s election.

The European Union election observer mission had, in the report, claimed that there was no credibility and transparency in the way and manner the February 25, 2023, presidential election was conducted.

The report tendered through INEC’s sole witness and Director of Information Technology (IT) of the Commission, Dr Lawrence Bayode, said only 31 per cent of the presidential election result was uploaded into INEC’s results viewing portal.

In his evidence in-chief, Dr Bayode admitted that INEC has no electronic collation system and agreed that there was no electronic collation of the presidential election results.

The INEC’s witness admitted that the Presidential election results were collated manually by the electoral body’s presiding officers.

Under cross-examination by Atiku Abubakar’s lead Counsel, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), the witness admitted that not all the presidential election results were uploaded into the INEC’s results viewing centre as of March 1, 2023, when INEC chairman, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood declared and returned Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.

Under cross-examination by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), lead Counsel to President Tinubu, the witness told the court that form EC8A formed the basis of the election results and that data and network service were required for the upload of the images of the results captured by the Biomodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) machine into INEC’s results viewing portal.

He further testified that images captured on BVAS, whether transmitted electronically or manually, will not affect the integrity of the election, especially when results entered into form EC8As are announced to the hearing and knowledge of party agents.

Also under cross-examination by the lead counsel to the APC, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the witness admitted that the technical glitches experienced during the presidential election did not affect the actual scores of candidates at the election, as the results remain intact.

Fagbemi asked the witness if he was aware that, three days before the presidential election, INEC came out to say that electronic transmission of results would not be visible, the witness answered in the affirmative and his (Witness) attention was drawn to Thursday, February 23, 2023 edition of the Nigerian Tribune which carried INEC’s announcement of its inability to collate the election results electronically.

Through its counsel, the APC tendered the Tribune newspaper publication as evidence in defence of the outcome of the February 25 presidential election.

With one witness and four documents tendered, INEC closed its defence in the petition filed by the former vice president and his party against the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.

Meanwhile, Tinubu will open his case on Tuesday, June 4, to defend his victory in the February 25 presidential election.

Barring last-minute changes, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas will on resumption of legislative activities on Tuesday announce the names of the Principal Officers.

Before embarking on the Sallah recess, Speaker Abbas announced members of the Selection Committee.

The Selection Committee is to be chaired by the Speaker while Deputy Speaker, Hon. Benjamin Kalu is to serve as the Deputy Chairman.

According to the Speaker, each of the 36 State and FCT Caucuses is expected to nominate one of their members as member of the Selection Committee.

As stipulated in the 10th edition of the Standing Order, the Selection Committee is responsible for the nomination of Chairmen of various Standing Committees.

Members of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) penciled down as members of the Body of Principal Officers are: Hon. Julius Ihovbere as Majority Leader.

It was also gathered Deputy Majority Leader, Hon. Abubakar Halims (APC-Kogi), Chief Whip – Usman Kumo (APC-Gombe). However, the South West lawmaker nominated for the position of Deputy Chief Whip cannot be ascertained as at the time of filing this report.

For the Minority Caucus, Hon. Kingsley Chinda was adopted as the Minority Leader, while Hon. George Ozodinobi (Labour Party – Anambra) was nominated as Deputy Minority Leader.

It be recalled that the PDP Caucus via a statement issued after the inauguration of the 10th Assembly had adopted Hon. Ali Isa (PDP – Gombe) as the Minority Whip.

Anambra State Government has instituted a panel of inquiry into the controversy trailing the highest scorer in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

Miss Mmesoma Ejikeme, a 16-year-old student of Anglican Girls secondary school in Nnewi, had earlier been announced to have scored 362 as the highest.

JAMB, however, in a press release on Sunday night, dismissed her result as fake, saying it was manipulated and that she would be prosecuted for it.

A press release by the Anambra State Ministry of Education and signed by its Public Relations Officer, Mr Nnaemeka Egwuonwu, stated that the investigation would unravel the truth about how Miss Ejikeme got her result.

Part of the release read: “Education Commissioner, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh regretted that the development was very embarrassing, coming at a time when the Soludo-led administration is repositioning in her avowed determination to get education right in the State.

“Meanwhile, the Anambra State Government will continue to celebrate Nkechinyere Umeh, who was declared the highest by JAMB, having scored a cummulative mark of 360, while security agents are investigating the allegation of falsification of result levelled against Ejikeme Mmesoma, who had earlier been showcased in the social media as having scored the highest.”

Fiery Napoli forward Victor Osimhen has paid a visit to the residence of billionaire business-cum-banking, Tony Elumelu.

Upon his arrival in Lagos, the Nigeria international who emerged as one of Europe’s leading marksmen in the 2022-23 campaign after netting a league-high 26 goals in 32 Serie A games during Napoli’s surge to the title visited his primary school in the Oregun area of Ikeja where he met with the head teacher who convinced his late father to allow him play football.

Osimhen, who lived in Olusosun, a small neighborhood near Oregun also visited his hood and was greeted by a large crowd that almost mobbed him.

As he continued to relive precious childhood moments, the Super Eagles striker also made time out to enjoy himself with some associates including entertainers.

Still on a tour of the metropolitan city, Osimhen made his way to the Elumele where he was received by the Chairman, United Bank for Africa Plc, and his wife, Awele Vivian Elumelu.

He bowed his head as a sign of respect as he shook hands with Elumelu who was very much pleased to receive him.

Osimhen also presented his jersey to the stylish 60-year-old Elumelu who expressed immense pride in him.

Captioning shared photos with the Napoli superstar, Elumelu tweeted: “We’re all proud of you Victor @victorosimhen9! #SerieATopScorer #Scudetto #TOEWay.”

A former governor of Zamfara State, Senator Sani Yerima, has renewed his advocacy for dialogue with bandits.

He spoke on Monday while fielding questions from State House reporters after a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Yerima said though the federal government possessed the capacity to contain banditry decisively, it was the government at the centre that championed the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s successful negotiation with militants in the Niger Delta region.

The former governor said dialogue was necessary to avoid collateral damage and recalled that World War I and World War II were resolved on the negotiation tables.

He emphasised that negotiations were an integral part of governance and that they should be pursued before resorting to extensive military operations.

He said poverty and ignorance were root causes of conflicts and proposed rehabilitation programmes as a means to integrate the bandits back into society.

He said poverty and ignorance were prevalent among the bandits and advocated education and poverty alleviation programmes to address the root causes of their actions.

On the concerns raised about the plight of victims affected by bandits’ activities, he said he was proposing a solution for the overall Nigerian crisis and not advocating for the bandits.

He stressed the importance of giving Nigerians the opportunity to repent, be rehabilitated, and reintegrated into society.

He restated his confidence in the government’s capacity, with adequate resources and support, to address the security challenges if negotiations failed.