The National Assembly (NASS) is considering the establishment of Forward Military Bases (FMB) in Katsina-Ala/Ukum/Logo Federal Constituency due to the persistent security challenges in the area.

This was contained in a motion presented at plenary of the House of Representatives by Hon Solomon Wombo, member Katsina -Ala/Ukum/Logo Federal Constituency.

Hon Wombo noted that creating these forward military bases in the volatile area is crucial for ensuring security and peace for the residents of the federal constituency.

The federal legislator lauded the National Assembly’s decision to address the ongoing security situation, acknowledging that peace, security, and the well-being of Nigerians are rights protected by the country’s constitution. He stressed the need for relevant security agencies to take action.

He assured his support for securing and enhancing the quality of life within the federal constituency.

Hon Wombo advocated for establishing a security unit to strengthen measures for safeguarding lives and properties in the jurisdiction.

He sought cooperation from the Chief of Defence Staff to establish a “Forward Operation Base,” aiming to intensify efforts in eradicating criminal elements within the constituency.

Hon Wombo revealed advanced plans to revive and complete the construction of the abandoned mobile police barracks in the Mbazar community, Tombo Council Ward, Logo LGA of the state.

The federal legislator highlighted the prioritisation of synergy between the Inspector General of Police (IGP), community leaders, and the operational unit to address rampant security breaches in the area.

Hon Wombo urged the Ministry for Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation to extend the provision of relief materials to people residing in the Internally Displaced Camps (IDPs) across the constituency, aiming to alleviate their suffering.

[DailyPost]

7:41 a.m. Yenagoa: Deserted Azikoro Road by Ekeki Park, Yenagoa, Bayelsa state. By Omeiza Ajayi

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7:37 am Owerri: Wethedral Road empty. By Chinonso Alozie

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7:28 a.m. Owerri: Police mount reinforced security in front of Imo State Government House. By Chinonso Alozie.

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ICYMI: Other contestants…

These are some other contestants in the Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi elections:

*Uchenna Okere of Accord Party

*Jack Ogunewe of Action Alliance

*Ifeanyi Awulonu of African Action Congress

*Otumbadi Okoroma of African Democratic Congress

*Steve Nwoga of Action Democratic Party

*Anthony Ejiogu of All Progressives Grand Alliance

*Chibuike Edoziem of Allied Peoples Movement

*Obieze Achilike of Action Peoples Party

*Isaac Iwuanyanwu of Boot Party

*Ben Ofunzeh of New Nigeria Peoples Party

*Cole Okwara of National Rescue Movement

*Ishiodu Uchechukwu of People’s Redemption Party

*Bright Ekwebelem of Social Democratic Party

*Chino Opara of Young Progressives Party

*Andy Chibuike of the Zenith Labour Party.

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Good morning to you and welcome to Vanguard, the dependable news source. Today is the off-cycle governorship election in three states — Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi.

After over one year of preparation, the stage is finally set.

We’ll, as usual, bring you live updates on the elections from across the states in exciting briefs, pictures and videos.

The candidates

In October 2022, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, released the timetable for the elections.

The tenure of Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State will end on January 14, 2024. Those of Yahaya Bello of Kogi and Senator Douye Diri of Bayelsa will end on January 26, 2024, and February 13, 2024, respectively.

The three governors are facing the political battles of their lives. While Diri and Uzodimma are fighting for re-election, Bello is battling to get his anointed candidate, Usman Ododo, elected.

Voters in these states will be making choices among 52 governorship candidates. Of these, 50 are males.

Furthermore, there are 45 deputy governorship candidates, while seven are females.

The voters

Bayelsa

For Bayelsa State election, there are 1,056,862 registered voters. However, those with PVCs are 1,017,613. Uncollected PVCs are 39,249, while the number of parties contesting is 16.

There are two female governorship candidates and five female deputy governorship candidates.

Imo

In Imo State, below is how it is:

*Registered voters: 2,419,922
*Uncollected PVCs: 101,003

*Voters with PVCs: 2,318,919
*Number of parties contesting: 18
*Two female deputy governorship candidates running.

Kogi

*Registered voters 1,932,654
*Uncollected PVCs 107,715

*Voters with PVCs 1,824,939
*Number of parties contesting 18
*Five female deputy governorship candidates

For this Bayelsa Imo Kogi election, stay with us for from-the-scene updates…

[Vanguard]

Ola: Men are foolish, very foolish.

Lola: Ah ah, what’s biting you? How can you just wake up and make such a blasphemous declaration?

Ola: How did blasphemy come into this matter? You don’t even know what I’m talking about.

Lola: I’m itching to find out, trust me. You, a man declaring that men, all men are fools. I’m a woman and I will not even say such a thing. You can call men overgrown babies. They love breasts and are never weaned from them. They love to be petted and pampered but they are no fools. No, I totally disagree with you.

Ola: By the time I’m done, you will agree with me.

Lola: Okay, I can’t wait.

Ola: Okay, start by explaining this. NYSC pays all corps members the same salaries and allowances, right? But when they get to mammy market, the male corper dips his hands into his pockets and like a fool buys drinks and pepper-soup for the female corper. The female corper saves her money after having a good time.

Lola: So, the Bobo corper is a fool because of that? That is so totally unfair. He’s just being a man. You don’t expect the babe to pay for suya when her boo is able and capable?

Ola: So, the babe is disabled and incapable?

Lola: Nooo, it’s just the way of the world.

Ola: When the Bible said a fool is easily parted from his money, don’t you think it was Nigerian men that it was referring to?Lola: Oh please, stop this nonsense. Don’t turn the Bible upside down.

Ola: Okay, explain that little scenario

Lola: The explanation is simple. Men are wired to give. Women are wired to receive.

Ola: Eeeeeh? What did you say? Did you come up with that all by yourself or it’s a quote from somewhere?

Lola: You heard me right. Men give. Women take. It is the way we are wired. We are just wired differently.

Ola: Who did the wiring?

Lola: God now.

Ola: This kind of wiring is electrocuting men. I don’t like it.

Lola: No. It is only when a man is trying to rewire himself that sparks fly. There is only trouble in Paradise when men refuse to follow the lines of their divine wiring. Once a man is willing to give, we are willing, always ready to receive.

Ola: Like Ever Ready battery?

Lola: Yes o. Consider how babies are made. The man gives and the woman receives and a new life is born.

Ola: Aaah, when we give in that way, we give painfully. The poor man will shudder, shake and groan before delivering the goods.

Lola: Don’t even go there. What painful shudder? The whole movement is divinely blissful or blissfully divine. It is the screeching to a halt that is done in a way to prevent the man from crossing to the other side of cloud nine, you know. Come on, you know it is a pleasure made in heaven, part of the way a man is wired. You groan and moan and send your millions of little men to work. The woman receives them and is in trouble for nine months, spitting and vomiting. You guys get all the pleasure.

Ola: You are a woman, how would you know if it is painful or pleasurable?

Lola: Someone should take a picture of your face when you are shaking and shuddering on top or below a woman… In any case, if it is painful, how come you guys want it so much, so often, in every way and at all cost? A man would do anything to achieve that blissful shudder.

Ola: I don’t know what you are talking about.

Lola: Ah ah, suddenly you don’t know what I am talking about, right? Were you not the one who asked me to explain the logic behind ‘men are wired to give’?  It is not that men are generous willingly. It is because that is the only way they know how to live.  They even pay to give a woman pleasure.

Ola: Can you imagine? If it is not foolishness, why would a man pay to give a woman pleasure?

Lola: Sometimes they even queue to pay for that pleasure.

Ola: Like say dem swear for us?

Lola: They are just fulfilling destiny.

Ola: Chaaaai, there is God oooo. Who did this to us?

Lola: You should be grateful to us too because I hear that if a man carries his full load around for too long without downloading, he may fall ill.

Ola: True. It may even cause a dangerous ailment.

Lola: Or make him misbehave and start seeing double.

Ola: True. When a man is too loaded and can’t find a woman in need, it can be catastrophic.

Lola: You see my point now? God has blessed men so much they have to continue to be generous givers.

Ola: Thank God women are programmed to receive, otherwise there would be trouble. God is a perfect God. He had it all figured out. He gave men what to give and women the capacity to receive.

Ola: That last part is arguable. Some men have more capacity than their women can cope with.

Lola: You have a point but it is usually something that can be worked out. Sometimes the woman wants more than the man can give. They just need to work on it and find a middle road. Where I have problem with men is their propensity to open branch offices everywhere.

Ola: When a man has so much to give, he has to continue to distribute. If a business is big, it spreads so more people can benefit from it.

Lola: Isn’t that why some men die in active service, when they become General Overdoer of the Sinners Chapel?

Ola: Those are the ones who don’t know when their pipeline has gone broke or empty. Wise men always know when to stop shopping and shuddering so the groan of pleasure does not become a groan of death.

Lola: So, you now see that women and men are created for different purposes? When a woman can’t receive, she cannot function like a full woman and when a man can’t give, he feels like half a man or no man at all.

Ola: That sounds a little complicated. Please expatiate.

Lola: If a woman is a breadwinner, picking all the bills and taking care of the man, she begins to lose her feminity. She becomes cranky. She is not so warm in bed. She begins to lose the tenderness and capacity to receive. Because she has started to give instead of receiving. Everybody starts blaming her for being rude, arrogant and bossy but a woman is not wired to give and receive. She is programmed to play only one role. She can only do her God-given duties. When circumstances force her to play a role written for a man, she starts acting deformed.

Ola: And a man forced to receive?

Lola: That is a man bent out of shape.

Let’s begin by discussing Kurt Vonnegut Jr, an American writer and humorist known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. Kurt, profoundly posited: “Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts. And don’t put up with people that are reckless with yours.” The trajectory of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election in Nigeria, Peter Gregory Obi, was summarised by Kurt’s profound statement.

The Labour Party candidate was reckless with the emotion and sentiments of the unsuspecting gullible followers.

Having written extensively on the mathematically impossibility of Peter Obi’s presidency, it signposts, indeed confirms, the illusion of the project. You’ve got to be audacious enough to set goals that make you stretch and give you clarity of vision and purpose. But you have to have the humility to know that this work is hard, sometimes impossible, and that you might not get there. If you start off talking about all the reasons that you’re not going to get there, you’re not going to get there. And so it’s holding that balance of not being reckless, but also having a huge element of fearlessness. It becomes wickedness and heartless.

With all due respect, maybe Peter Obi could’ve made a better impact if he was able to avoid the false binary of some “politicians” from the South East, the victims mentality or persecution complex that sees everything through the lens “it’s because I’m Igbo….” Often, it’s because you’re not agreed with, possibly because you’re wrong or because you’ve failed to convince other political groups that this idea or that scheme benefits them. And this reflex of southeastern politicians thoroughly irritates most of the rest of the country. We see it as blackmail of a type.

As encapsulated in one of my recent articles: “Of Phantom Stolen Mandate And Delusional Audacity,”: “Peter is an accident waiting to happen, any discernible mind can see that. It shouldn’t be a surprise if the ‘Headless mob\ all decide to swallow his statement and continue in rascalism. The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Tuesday wondered why the All Progressives Congress did not present their presidential ticket to the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo. Obi while speaking at Dele Momodu’s birthday in London said he told the APC to present Osinbajo if they want Nigeria to work. Is it for having a weaker candidate to contend with as an opposition candidate or could it be part of the efforts to expand the frontier of religious bigotry?”

Additionally, as posited by “The Holistic Psychologist,” Nicole LePera: “Most people don’t want the truth. They want their beliefs reinforced. The truth is appreciated by those who have control over their ego. Who are invested in reality even when it makes them uncomfortable.” 

I have been ruminating: Could it be a case of “blind optimism or arrogance of ignorance” that is driving the Obi-dent’s project? I wished that I was wrong. I know that I am not wrong. Because, I am a pragmatist as much as I am a realist.

Fast-forward: Obi has described the Supreme Court judgment of October 26, 2023 as a breach of the confidence of Nigerians in the judiciary. Obi stated this in a statement titled: “From Courtrooms to National Conscience: Our Democracy is the Victim,” delivered at a Press Conference. The audacity with which these nefarious politicians drag Nigerians into their disappointments is crazy! Let me say it straight away:

Dear Presidential-candidate Peter Obi, kindly say the Obi-dients have lost confidence in the judiciary, not Nigerians. Let it be noted that the same judiciary returned your mandate to you in 2006 as the legitimate governor of Anambra State. The same judiciary validated your candidature as the standard flag bearer of the Labour Party in the presidential election.

Now that you could not win your petition against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, you want to force Nigerians into disregarding our judicial system. Sir, there is need to be properly guided and deal with your frustrations alone. Nigerians are already suffering their fair share of the mess you and your colleagues in politics have thrown them into. 

Finally, I like to conclude this contribution that focuses on our political views and future with the golden words of Leo Tolstoy, a Russian writer regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time. He received nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature every year from 1902 to 1906 and for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, 1902 and 1909.

Leo Tolstoy profoundly posited: “If the source of power lies neither in the physical nor in the moral qualities of him who possesses it, it must evidently be looked for elsewhere—in the relation to the people of the man who wields the power. And that is how power is understood by the science of jurisprudence.”

. Odusanya writes from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Supervising Presiding Officer (SPO) assigned to registration area 06 in Ossioma, Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, has been abducted.

The INEC official, whose identity was not known as at the time of filling this report was abducted at Amassoma Community in Southern Ijaw LGA while waiting to board a boat at a jetty in the area.

Also, a boat carrying election personnel to registration area 17 in Koluama Community, Southern Ijaw LGA capsized and election materials. including result sheets, got lost.

INEC Head of Department, Voters Education and Publicity in Bayelsa State, Mr Wilfred Ifogah, who confirmed the two incidents, said no life was lost.

He added that 12 personnel and boat operator were rescued.

He said: “We wish to confirm that a boat carrying personnel to registration area 17 (Koluama) in Southern Ijaw LGA capsized, fortunately, no life was lost as all the election personnel numbering 12 and the boat operator were rescued.

“We however lost our result sheets, power banks and luggage containing personal effects of staff.

“The total number of registered voters in the affected registration area is 5368 and the number of PVCs collected is 5311. INEC is making efforts to ensure the conduct of election in the affected area.

“INEC also reports that its SPO assigned to registration area 06 (Ossioma), in Sagbama LGA was abducted while waiting to board a boat at Amassoma jetty. The security agencies have been notified,” he said.

The police spokesman in Bayelsa State, CSP Asinim Butswat, had not reacted to the incident as of the time of this report as he neither picked calls nor responded to messages as of the time of filing this report.

Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, is a sharp-shooter and newsmaker any day. As far as our national political issues go, he hardly sits on the fence, so his abstinence from those public commentaries that draw attention to him, has raised a few eyebrows.

Penultimate week, however, he came out of his ‘hiding’ to headline TheNiche public lecture in Lagos and he was at his singing best. The news is not what he said at the public lecture, the reason he gave for restraining himself from commenting on political and governance-related matters, is somewhat curious. Since he crashed out of the presidential nomination contest in the All Progressives Contest, very little has come from him.

“What is there to talk about, anyway?” he asked rhetorically, when Nigerians have become so docile, numbed if you like, that they “are not bothered about anything anymore.” He is worried about many things but one was more troubling: inspite of the fact that many of our leaders do not possess the certificates they claim, “Nigerians know and still vote for them” while situations that elicit citizens’ reactions in other countries have little impact in Nigeria.

In frustration, he obeyed his publicist and kept to himself.

Surprisingly, Rotimi Amaechi spoke so passionately about the nation’s inept and insensitive leaders. He comes across as a man who now advocates for good governance and moral rectitude. Surprisingly!

Rotimi Amaechi

He is right but that is just partly. While there is really nothing new to say to rouse the average Nigerian from docility, the truth which Amaechi did not admit is that he is also out of public attention because he has been outmaneuvered, politically, on all fronts. A man who is used to being in charge of affairs will always find it awkward watching from the sidelines like he has been confined of recent.

He was two-term Speaker of the Rivers state House of Assembly; former Chairman of the conference of Speakers; two-term governor of Rivers State; former Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Director-General of Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential campaign Council and two-term minister of Transportation. And now, for the first time in 25 years, the self-styled Lion of Ubima is chased out of his usual hunting ground.

“What is there to say, really”?

Not much, but there are things to do and think about. Amaechi can spend his quiet moments reviewing how much he has contributed, in real terms, to the rot in the politics of his Rivers State and Nigeria. He should look back and think about his place in history. Will history be kind to him or not?

By insisting that Nigeria’s greatest problem is a followership that is comfortable with the poor state of affairs, he just states the obvious. It may be convenient for him now to blame Nigerians for the acts of their leaders, but has he evaluated his role in that anomaly in recent years?

For a man who spent so much time and the resources of his state to foist one of such inept leaders on the country, will history be kind to him? For a man who is believed to consistently pursue personal glory at the expense of the people’s general wellbeing, how will he like to be remembered?

In response to his recent sermon in Lagos, I also ask: when did it begin to worry him that in spite of the inadequacies of those who present themselves for political positions, Nigerians still go ahead and make the wrong choices? When?

Amaechi is simply shedding crocodile tears. As someone said, he has not fully come out of the rude shock of losing the APC presidential ticket to Bola Tinubu. That in itself is good riddance for a man whose tenure as Minister of Transportation was, at least to his own geopolitical zone, a complete disaster. While he busied himself with developing the rail lines in other zones, and extending to the cities of neighbouring Niger Republic, it never bothered him that not one kilometer of a new rail track was laid in his zone and the entire old Eastern region.

Amaechi has not found it easy settling down since he returned to what should be his political home base. And he won’t for a long time. His one-time protégé and immediate past governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike is not just the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party in his state, he has effectively encroached into the rival APC and succeeded in sidelining Amaechi in his own party.

Amaechi didn’t need a publicist to tell him to shut up. And it may be too late in the day for him to try rewriting our recent history.

Sheddy Ozoene, Editor-in-Chief of People&Politics, is the Vice President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors

Nigeria and Indonesia share a lot in common. While Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the world’s sixth-most populous country, with a land mass coverage of 923,769 square kilometres and a population of over 200 million, Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelagic state and the 14^th largest country by area with 1,904,569 square kilometres. With your over 278 million people, your country is the world’s fourth-most populous country.

Again, while Nigeria is a federal republic, a multinational state that is inhabited by more than 250 ethnic groups who speak 500 distinct languages and who identify with a wide variety of cultures, Indonesia is also a presidential republic with 38 provinces of which nine have special status.

Our country Nigeria and Indonesia have come a long way. On both political and economic spectra, both nations have related in mutually beneficial circumstances that have uplifted the lives of our peoples.

Our countries have also had economic relations that have remained positively consequential to both Nigeria and Indonesia. For instance, Nigeria has been Indonesia’s second-largest trade partner in Africa after South Africa.  The economic relations between Nigeria and Indonesia are so robust that, as at today, your country has over 200 companies that are currently operating in Nigeria. Some of these are, Indofood (producer of the popular Indomie noodles); Indorama (major shareholders of Eleme Petrochemical Refinery); Kalbe Farma, (in a joint venture with Orange Drugs Nigeria); Wings Group (producer of So Klin Detergent); PT. Timah, (mining and smelting company); PT. WIKA (energy procurement and construction company), among others.

Consequently, it comes as no surprise to any discerning observer that the trade volumes between Nigeria and Indonesia are continuing to grow and are currently above the $2.6 billion mark. I understand you have set for yourselves a target to lift those volumes to $4 billion before the end of December. Given your current trajectory and your antecedents, I have no doubt you will achieve this objective. I also recognise the efforts of all you individual Nigerian and Indonesian businesses here today, without you there would be no chamber and certainly this forum would not be happening. We appreciate you for making this event a priority today.

In my view, the holding of an elaborate Investment and Trade forum like this, involving businesses from both Indonesia and Nigeria is not only a good idea, but also is only natural, given the broad similarities between both our countries.

Beyond our similarities, it is also only fair to acknowledge and applaud Indonesia’s performance in terms of economic growth since its independence. The Country’s GDP has risen to an impressive $1.4 trillion, with the productive sector prominently driving the growth of the economy. Your industry now exports important industrial products like steel, machinery, textiles, footwear among others, while you still maintain a leading position in the areas of agriculture as exemplified by your production of Palm Oil and its derivatives, Rice, Cassava, rubber, cocoa, coffee etc.

More impressive still, is the fact that these great developments have been achieved despite many challenges that might have been expected to limit the growth of any normal country. These have ranged from your diverse ethnic and religious groups within the Country, to the unique geography of the Country (given the largely marine and dense vegetation of Indonesia). It is thus to your credit that you have not only surmounted these challenges, but you have converted many of them to advantages and opportunities that have now formed stepping stones for your rise.

With these levels of performance despite all odds, Indonesia certainly has much that should be emulated. Certainly, my Country will need to borrow a leaf from Indonesia in a number of areas including the development of a thriving agricultural sector, the evolution of a strong industrial base to add value to local produce, and of course the development of a strong and diversified export culture that reduces reliance on crude oil proceeds.

This collaboration and emulation for joint benefits is already taking place to some extent. To illustrate this, let me share with you two anecdotes that in my view show you that there is already a strong commonality between Nigeria and Indonesia. First is the story of Indorama Ventures, an Indonesian Group that many of you would have no doubt heard about. They first entered Nigeria to take over a moribund Government owned petrochemical facility in 2006. Today, the facility is not only the largest Olefins plant in West Africa, it is virtually a monopoly supplier of polyethylene resin in Nigeria. In fact, the company has in 2016 expanded into the production of urea fertiliser and is only the second producer of urea in the country. As we speak today, Enugu State offers similar opportunities with a number of potentially attractive Government enterprises which require improved management from experienced managers to unlock their potential.

The Second anecdote is also close to home. It is about the Indonesian Company Indofood, who entered the Nigerian market to promote their noodle brand Indomie in 1995. Today, not only is the brand a household name, the generic name for noodles in Nigeria is ‘Indomie’. This is the sort of market re-defining opportunity I hold before you here today. Because of the similar culinary tastes of our countries there is in my view scope for the introduction of other similar food and snack products leveraging produce available in Nigeria to produce proven products from Indonesia within Enugu State.

As you know, while I am proudly Nigerian, I also currently serve as the Governor of Enugu State, one of Nigeria’s 36 states. My State is located in the South-Eastern part of Nigeria. You may also know that Enugu State is a state of great historical consequence in Nigeria. Our capital city, Enugu town, has been a major administrative centre since the colonial times, and served as the administrative capital of Nigeria’s Southern provinces in 1920s. The town of Enugu had initially become pivotal to the colonial government due to its extensive deposits of extremely good quality coal. Coal production which resulted from this discovery helped to power economic growth both at home and abroad as an import into Britain. To facilitate the transportation of the large volumes of coal produced, a rail line was constructed from Enugu to Ports at the Coast some 230 kilometers away. In addition, the coal also facilitated the development of a thermal power plant at Oji River also within today’s Enugu State. This early power generating plant was crucial in terms of energy supply in Southern Nigeria before independence and even thereafter.

Upon independence, Enugu has continued to be relevant, serving as a capital territory to the Eastern Nigeria region, which comprised up to 9 states in modern day Nigeria.  In my view, it was not by accident that Enugu and by extension Enugu State was selected to play these central roles. The parties behind those decisions must have perceived the homely but industrious nature of Enugu people, that makes the state a conducive base for productive activity.

A lot of time has since passed since those days of yore, but we believe Enugu State is still uniquely positioned to act as a vantage location from which to address not only the Nigerian markets but indeed also some of the markets in Central Africa given its road connections to Cameroun. To realise this potential, we appreciate that we would need to do a number of things differently than hitherto.

It was this line of thought that led me to set for our State the objective of raising our GDP from the current level of $4.4b to a new level of $30b, and by doing this, eradicate poverty across all areas of our State. Our understanding of what is required to achieve this objective makes it obvious to us that these levels of growth cannot be achieved without extensive attraction of private sector investment and utilisation of strong partnerships both within Nigeria and internationally. These partnerships may be either through relations with Nigerian private investors, or in partnership with government through Public Private Partnerships. It is in view of this, that we are here today reaching out to the government and business community in Indonesia to let you know in the clearest way possible that Enugu is open for business!

I enjoin you to stretch out your hands and take this opportunity to redefine your businesses for a better tomorrow both for you, your Nigerian partners and Enugu State as a whole. 

To depict our strong commitment to welcoming you to Enugu State, we are also enhancing the ease of doing business environment within Enugu, to make the State even more conducive for investment and business.

Enugu State has established a functional One Stop Centre, which centralises and facilitates all of a prospective investor’s interaction with the Government and regulatory agencies regarding licenses, permits etc. With this agency in place, no longer does a prospective investor have to oscillate from government office to government office attempting to resolve innumerable administrative challenges. Now all you need to do is report at the One Stop Shop and an associate from that centre will be detailed to interact with the relevant agency and address your needs.

We have also just last week launched a massive urban and rural road reconstruction effort, that will result in the construction of 3 major strategic roads and the repairs and modernization of up to 81 urban roads. This will result in improved ease of logistics for the business and industrial community to enable them seamlessly convey raw materials into the factories and evacuate finished products to their customers.

In addition, we are facilitating agriculture by establishing a major land bank with about 300,000 hectares of land which would be provided to serious businesses both for corporate farmers and for the operation of special agro processing zones which will facilitate the location and operation of businesses. These will take in fresh produce for processing into semi-finished or finished products.

Enugu state is also establishing Free Zones across the State to shield productive businesses from local taxes and facilitate production for re-export across the West African and Central African markets.

We have crossed a major hurdle in the journey to creating a free market for Electric Power in the State by recently signing into law an Enugu State Electricity law which will for the first time permit the State to license all electricity market operators within the State.

To provide a conducive hosting for hyper scaler businesses like Amazon, Tik Tok, E-Bay etc. Enugu State is also in the process of developing a Tier 4 Hyper Scale Data Center. This will also boost the quality of internet services available to businesses located within the State, and create an enabling environment for the emergence of an outsourcing industry in Enugu as well as the development of an ICT start up entrepreneurship culture in the State.

Finally, we are investing in other far-reaching reforms to boost the Ease of Doing Business Ranking of Enugu State especially with specific reference to issues like ease of enforcement of Contract, ease of procurement of land titles (with our recent e-government initiatives, title to land can now be procured in 72 hours), ease of procurement of approvals for property development.

Beyond the matter of Ease of Doing Business, Enugu State also appreciates that high rates of investment in the state will require that the State is conducive for workers in the new and emerging businesses that will operate in the State so they can live safely in the State with their families. Consequently, we are also boosting the capacity of our social services to make our cities pleasant and liveable by implementing initiatives like:

We are expanding the State’s security networks to ensure high speeds of response and high levels of deterrence which will assure all residents of the State of a tranquil environment to live and work. This has involved making extensive investment in the security agencies including installing world class surveillance and security command and control facilities.

We are improving Schooling systems which will have the quality to provide world class education both to indigenes of the State and families of foreign workers. We are also revamping our healthcare facilities at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels to provide quality healthcare not only for residents of the State, but also for the needs of neighbouring states many of whom currently travel outside Nigeria at the costs of over $1 billion annually for quality healthcare.

We have also adopted a number of strategies to support investors and reduce the risks typically inherent in international investment. Some of these initiatives include the following:

Enugu State is prepared to provide access to land for serious investors in key strategic industries, and the State is also able to facilitate the speedy completion of all procedures related to the procurement of land titles and development approvals.

We have earmarked a number of Special Industrial zones across the State, where industrial investors can benefit from world class infrastructure such as roads, access to power, water, waste treatment etc.

In instances where it is warranted, the State is willing to co-invest with investors to assure them of sustainable alignment of interests with Government in the businesses they have established.

We are earmarking and developing several Special Economic Zones, which will offer businesses land for lease, access to power, water, waste management, security etc. For Businesses requiring location outside the special economic zones, Government is prepared to undertake all host community interactions on behalf of the Investors to enable them focus on their core businesses

The Government is also committed to supporting Indonesian and other foreign businesses playing in the State by stepping in to defuse any challenges the business may have as it works towards commencing operations whether with community groups or with the activities of any government ministries, departments and agencies.

In general, the Government of Enugu State is positioned to provide all investors the required policy as well as physical support they may require in operating their businesses. 

With all of these in place, I can say unequivocally that there is no better place to invest for any investor looking to enter the Nigerian market.

We appreciate that the core objective of the investor is sustainable profit, so I will take some time to share with you a selection of the business opportunities that Enugu has on offer.

In the area of Agriculture, Enugu is blessed with 100% arable fertile land with a high factor of productivity and good access to both surface and subterranean water that makes all year-round agriculture possible. The State population is heavily agrarian and so there is no lack of employable labour required for the operation of large farms. The State is climatically disposed to the production of key produce like Cassava, oil palm, Cashew, spices of various types (including our unique variant of yellow pepper known locally as Ose-Nsukka). These areas offer not only the opportunity for primary agricultural production, but also the opportunity to invest in industrial facilities to add value to these produce for local consumption as well as export.

The State is also blessed with significant deposits of minerals. In the area of petroleum, Enugu State has proven deposits of oil but more importantly has extensive deposits of natural gas which can be developed either for the purpose of power generation or production of clean gas for industrial and automobile use. Either of these applications would find huge waiting markets not only within Enugu State but even in neighbouring Nigerian States. Other minerals within the State include Coal (which has been globally acclaimed to be of a very clean variety) and which is the basis for the State’s sobriquet of ‘coalcity state’, Gold, some of the best quality kaolin in the world, Gypsum, clay of various varieties and limestone. This makes Enugu ideal not only for mining but also for the siting of key industries like cement manufacture, tile manufacture and ceramics production which require these minerals as raw materials and fuels.

Enugu is also a naturally endowed state blessed with scenic hills, rivers, lakes and other topographical features that lend themselves to development for eco-tourism.

As I alluded to initially, the State capital being the political capital of the South East holds an emotional place in the minds of people from this region. This makes the State particularly attractive for the development of real estate as people of this region irrespective of where they reside all yearn for a home in Enugu town.

In the area of Information technology, the State is again uniquely gifted as it hosts the highest numbers of tertiary institutions of all the States in Nigeria. This has given the State a large population of young and technologically aware people, such that with minimal training the State can evolve into an African Bangalore or Bukit Algoritma (Indonesia’s domestic silicon valley).

In terms of location, Enugu State sits strategically between the North Central region and the South Eastern and South South regions, which have significant populations of middle- and high-income people, an attractive market for every investor. On account of this, Enugu State is a perfect location for the aggregation of agro produce from the North and processing into secondary and tertiary products to feed the needs of the Southern markets. In addition to this as I mentioned earlier, the State is on the Nigerian-Cameroun highway, offering easy evacuation of products to the Central African markets.

Enugu is also taking steps to ensure that the positive strides we have made are sustainable by building strong institutes across the State. These include building the capacity of the government bureaucracy through automation and capacity building to make government processes more effective as well as automation of key judicial processes and procedures as well as creation of specialised courts to facilitate dispensation of justice and the settlement of civil disputes.

I hereby invite you all, Lets forge relationships and partnerships that will make Nigeria and Indonesia even more prosperous. The time is ripe for this entry into Enugu State because the State is led by a Governor who is business friendly. As you may recall, I mentioned at the beginning of this address that I came from the business sector. Consequently, I know on a personal level what investors go through. Yes, I feel your pain. While I was still a corporate CEO I recollect how exasperating it could be at times when I had to spend sometimes 70% of my time dealing with issues stemming from external factors which government ought to deal with, and I have resolved that businesses will not have to endure such under my watch. I will take whatever steps are necessary to de-risk your businesses at least to the extent of external factors. In the light of these, I can assure you that Enugu is on the cusp of an unparalleled growth over the next 4-8 years, that would be a huge boost for investors and businesses who enter the market at this time.

The options for entry are numerous and the possible mechanisms for entry include either a direct investment similar to that executed by Indofoods, or a joint venture with the Government of Enugu State through a Special Purpose Vehicle, such as that which resulted when Indorama invested in the Government owned Eleme Petrochemicals plant all those years ago. Alternatively, Indonesian Investors could also consider relationships with Nigerian Businesses already in Enugu State either through Equity or Technical partnerships, or even initially just through supply agreements. These Nigerian partners would give the Indonesian partner an immediate access to the market as well as the benefit of their existing deep insights of the marketplace. This model has seen extensive success in the case of the partnership between Orange Drugs, a relatively new entrant in the Nigerian pharma industry which is now a market leader, and Kalbe Farma of Indonesia.

In line with these, some other areas which, in my view, lend themselves to collaborations and technical partnerships with Indonesian businesses include, collaborations with Indonesian businesses in the areas of oil palm plantation management and processing, partnerships in the areas of petroleum gas processing and general petrochemicals, value addition to cassava to produce its numerous upstream products such as flours, starch, dextrins, ethanol etc.

To quicken and facilitate these relationships between the Indonesian business community and the domestic business community in Enugu, I would suggest the organisation in the near future of an Indonesia-Enugu Investment forum, where Indonesian businesses interested in entering the Nigerian market can interact with screened Nigerian businesses in Enugu State to provide a platform for the consummation of truly lasting and mutually rewarding partnerships.

This keynote speech was presented by Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State at the Nigerian Indonesian Investment and Trade Forum in Jakarta last week.

The National Industrial Court (NIC) has restrained the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) as well as their affiliates from embarking on any form of strike or industrial action.

The two major labour unions were on Friday evening ordered to stop their nationwide strike action scheduled to commence on November 14.

President of the Court Justice Benedict Kanyip issued the restraining order following an ex-parte application brought before the Court by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

Justice Kanyip invoked Sections 17 and 19 of the National Industrial Court Act to issue the restraining order against the labour.

The Federal Government and the AGF through their lawyer Tijani Gazali had in the ex-parte application prayed the court to stop the planned strike action so as to stop untold hardships that would be inflicted on innocent law-abiding citizens and their businesses.

While arguing the ex-parte application Gazali, drew the attention of the court to a series of hardships suffered by Nigerians.

He says that unless the planned strike action is stopped, there may be a likelihood of a breach of peace and tranquility in the country.

In a short ruling, the judge said that it is within the power of the court to intervene by way of a restraining order to ensure peace and tranquility.

He proceeded to grant all the requests of the Federal Government as contained in the motion paper.

Besides, Justice Kanyip directed that the restraining order be pasted on the wall of the Labour House being the last known address of the two defendants to draw their attention to the Court’s position.

The judge also directed that the order along with the originating and other processes be served on the defendants by publication in two major national dailies.

Meanwhile, the case file has been transferred to Justice Olufunke Yemi Anuwe who was said to be handling similar labour dispute-related matters between the two same parties.

Justice Anuwe, the Court President said, would issue a hearing notice to the parties at the appropriate time.

Founding National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Chekwas Okorie, has said it is suicidal and dangerous for governorship candidates in the off-season elections of Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa states to trust the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He advised all the contestants to ensure that they have their trusted agents in all polling units where the elections will take place, adding that failure to do so would be regretted by them.

Okorie stated this in a statement titled: “Candid advice to all governorship candidates for the November 11, 2023 elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states,” on Friday.

The elder statesman backed his argument with how the evidence of polling unit results helped former Anambra state governor, Peter Obi to claimed his mandate from his predecessor, Dr Chris Ngige, after three years.

“It cannot be over-emphasised that elections are won and lost at the Polling Units. Any candidate who has not planned to have polling agents at all the Polling Units (PUs) during elections has obviously planned to fail ab initio,” Okorie said.

“The PU results entered and signed by the INEC Returning Officer and counter-signed by the designated Political Party Polling Agents on Forms EC8A are superior to whatever INEC may wish to upload on any of its platforms, whatever name called, whether BVAS or IREV. Two instances will suffice to support this assertion.

“In the 2003 governorship election in Anambra State, INEC declared Dr. Chris Ngige of the Peoples Democratic Party as the winner of the election. Mr. Peter Obi’s Director of Campaign, Hon. Dr. Okey Umeano, meticulously assembled and collated results returned by APGA Polling Agents from over 7,000 polling units in Anambra State.

“The aggregate result showed that Mr. Peter Obi clearly won the election. The weight of evidence was overwhelming and the Election Tribunal declared Peter Obi of APGA the winner of the election. Dr. Ngige’s incumbency advantage including having a larger financial war chest and INEC complicity did not help him.”

The 70-year-old said after 20 years that the nation’s electoral body failed in the election of Anambra state, the same was repeated in the Kogi senatorial tussle, but Senator Natasha Apkoti-Uduaghan also used polling unit results proof to defeat Abubakar Ohere at the court.

The septuagenarian said, “About 20 years after, in 2023, Senator Natasha Apkoti-Uduaghan recovered her mandate as the elected Senator for the Kogi Central Senatorial District of Kogi State basically on the weight of the evidence of Polling Units results presented at the Election Petition Tribunal. Again, INEC’s conspiracy against her election failed.

“I venture to warn that it is risky and indeed suicidal to trust INEC. The trust deficit of the Commission is at an all-time low.”

“Finally, I advise that candidates who have lost the election at the polls and are convinced that they lost having done their homework as prescribed here should show the gallantry of a sportsman and congratulate the winner. Similarly, the winner should demonstrate magnanimity in victory. I join other leaders and organisations that have prayed for peaceful elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States.”