Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, on Sunday, denied receiving N1.2 billion as security votes for the state.

He stated in Akure, the state capital during the Ondo State governorship election debate organised by Channels Television and its partners.

Aiyadatiwa, who is seeking election in the November 16 governorship election under the All Progressives Congress (APC), accused his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Agboola Ajayi, of telling lies to the whole world about the monthly security allocations.

“You don’t just play politics by coming here to the whole world that somebody is drawing N1.2 billion as a security vote. That is a lie from the pit of hell,” he said, without divulging the exact amount he gets as security votes.

The governor explained that every spending done in government has a budgetary provision for it, arguing that his administration will act above the budget.

He directed the PDP governorship candidate to crosscheck his information before giving out inaccurate information that can be misleading to the public.

“The budget is being published; it is on the net. You will see the appropriation for security votes and other expenditures, both capital and recurrent.

“What he is saying is not true. How can you say that during the Edo election week, I withdrew N1.2 billion? Am I the one contesting for the election? I am surprised you can’t say the truth,” he said.

Ondo Security

During the debate, the governor said the state government has beefed up security to ensure that lives and properties are safe.

He explained that after the deadly attack by gunmen in the Owo area of the state, the local security network, Amotekun, has augmented the efforts of the police and other security agencies.

According to the governor, Ondo State is one of the safest states in the country as lives and properties are safe.

“I can tell you that the people of Ondo State, not just Owo, feel more secure right now because, after that attack, security is one of the mandates of the government.

“We also brought out the initiative that led to the creation of our homegrown security network Amotekun because we believe that conventional security at the time could not handle the security challenges that we faced in Ondo State,” he added.

Police operatives have arrested 130 suspects for cybercrimes and hacking.

Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has appealed to those whose properties were demolished as a result of the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road project to show understanding with the Bola Tinubu administration. 

Umahi said his properties have been demolished for some road projects in parts of the country.

He spoke on Sunday when he held a public engagement in the Victoria Island area of Lagos with stakeholders and homeowners whose properties were affected by the project.

 
The minister was accompanied by federal lawmakers inspecting ongoing infrastructure projects across the nation.

Umahi said, “While the case is going on, we plead for your cooperation so that whatever the court says, we will obey. But please, let nobody take laws into his or her hands.

“I plead with you if you are offended by me or the ministry, please accept our apology. The coast highway must be on land and where there are issues like cables, we will do a flyover or refinery, we will do a flyover.

“In Port Harcourt, my property was also involved in the construction of East-West Road, totally demolished. In Aba, my property was also involved.

“Please, bear with me and know that we have nothing to benefit or hide.”

The minister said the final designs would be produced, insisting that the shoreline belongs to the Federal Government. “The beachside is not your land, the beachside belongs to the Federal Government,” he said.

The minister also said compensations would be paid to those whose houses were brought down.

The Lagos-Calabar Superhighway, estimated to cost about N15 trillion, is designed to connect Lagos to Cross River, passing through Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom states, before culminating in Cross River.

The project, which has caused some buildings to be demolished, has attracted a barrage of intense criticisms from many Nigerians who strongly felt that the timing of the project was wrong but Umahi said the project is in the best interest of Nigerians.

Dangote Refinery has disclosed the price of its petrol, saying that it sells at N990 per litre in trucks and N960 per litre into ships.

The disclosure follows the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) claim of importing the products at cheaper rates compared to that of Dangote.

The marketers had in an earlier interview claimed that they are buying at cheaper rates abroad while calling on Dangote Refinery to engage stakeholders.

But in its reaction, the refinery said that it is only substandard products that can be imported at cheaper rates than its own products.

In a statement released Sunday night and signed by the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, Dangote Refinery noted that it followed the pricing benchmark by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), adding that it went lower in pricing for selling into ships.

It reads, “Both organisations claim that they can import PMS at lower prices than what is being sold by the Dangote Refinery. We benchmark our prices against international prices and we believe our prices are competitive relative to the price of imports.

“If anyone claims they can land PMS at a price cheaper than what we are selling, then they are importing substandard products and conniving with international traders to dump low-quality products into the country, without concern for the health of Nigerians or the longevity of their vehicles. Unfortunately, the regulator (NMDPRA) does not even have laboratory facilities which can be used to detect substandard products when imported into the country.

“Post deregulation, NNPC set the pace by selling PMS to domestic marketers at N971 per litre for sale into ships and at N990 for sale into trucks. This set the benchmark for our pricing and we have even gone lower to sell at N960 per litre for sale into ships while maintaining N990 per litre for sale into trucks.

“In good faith, and in the interest of the country, we commenced sales at these prices without clarity on the exchange rate that we will use to pay for the crude purchased.

“At the same time, an international trading company has recently hired a depot facility next to the Dangote Refinery, to use it to blend substandard products that will be dumped into the market to compete with Dangote Refinery’s higher quality production.

“This is detrimental to the growth of domestic refining in Nigeria. We should point out that it is not unusual for countries to protect their domestic industries to provide jobs and grow the economy. For example, the US and Europe have had to impose high tariffs on EVs and microchips to protect their domestic industries.

“While we continue with our determination to provide affordable, good quality, domestically refined petroleum products in Nigeria, we call on the public to disregard the deliberate disinformation being circulated by agents of people who prefer for us to continue to export jobs and import poverty.”

The two focal candidates for the November 16, 2024 governorship election in Ondo State on Sunday locked horns at the governorship debate in Akure, the state capital.

Though the electoral umpire published the names of 17 parties to produce candidates for the poll, analysts have narrowed the battle royale to a two-horse race.

The two candidates — Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the incumbent Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress (APC) — both have a common history as deputies to the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.

While Ajayi deputised the late Akeredolu during his first term, Aiyedatiwa was the late governor’s righthand man during his aborted second term.

The debate which started at 7 pm on Sunday is organised by Channels Television in partnership with the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and the UK International Development.

According to the latest data from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), 2.053 million registered voters will participate in the election.

The electoral umpire also said 64,273 Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) were collected by voters in the state out of the 89,777 cards delivered to the state.

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent out a message to President Bola Tinubu about the minors being detained by for being alleged traitors.

SERAP urged Tinubu to use his “leadership position and good offices to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN to take urgent steps to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of all the #EndBadGovernance protesters including the 32 hungry and malnourished children.”

SERAP said “these children and other protesters are detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights.”

SERAP urged him “to direct Mr Fagbemi and appropriate law enforcement agencies to promptly investigate the circumstances surrounding the grave violations of the human rights of the children and other protesters in detention, and to identify and bring to justice those responsible, and ensure justice and remedies for the victims.”

SERAP also urged him “to direct Mr Fagbemi and appropriate agencies to ensure the immediate access to medical treatment for all the protesters including the 32 hungry malnourished children for their apparently deteriorating health.”

In the open letter dated 2 November 2024 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “Bringing charges against children and detaining them simply for the peaceful exercise of their human rights is clearly not acting in the ‘best interests of the child’.”

SERAP said, “The detention of the 32 hungry and malnourished children also infringes their right to education. These children ought to be in school, and not languishing in detention.”

According to SERAP, “The apparent ill-treatment of the protesters including the 32 hungry and malnourished children have shined a light on the appalling conditions in Nigeria’s prisons which continue to put lives at risk.”

The letter, copied to Dr. Matthew Gillett, the Chair-Rapporteur of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, read in part: “The continuing arbitrary detention of the protesters creates a climate of fear, discouraging other citizens from freely exercising their human rights, leading to a broader chilling effect.”

“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 48 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.”

“SERAP is concerned that Nigerian authorities are weaponizing the criminal justice system to curtail the rights of the children and other protesters to liberty, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”

“We are concerned that the rights of the protesters to life, health, and safety are being violated in detention. Bringing charges against the protesters and detaining them is neither necessary nor proportionate.”

“The conditions in which these children and other protesters are being detained are utterly inadequate and substantially below international standards.”

“Children have the right to express their views freely in matters affecting them. Children’s ability to engage in political and public affairs depends largely on the extent to which their rights are respected, protected and fulfilled.”

“Your government has the obligations to ensure and uphold the rights of Nigerian children including to life, liberty, education and development, as well as to be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child’s sense of dignity and worth.”

“Your government also has the obligation to provide a safe, enabling and empowering environment for young people to promote human rights.”

“Your government has the obligations to promptly, thoroughly, impartially, independently, transparently and effectively investigate and appropriately punish those responsible for grave human rights abuses against the protesters in custody and to provide the victims with access to justice and effective remedies.”

“Any decision concerning a child must take full account of the child’s best interests including by protecting the children from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and ensuring that the detention of a child is used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.”

“The Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Nigeria is a state party recognizes that children are entitled to a heightened duty of care because of their special status as children, which requires specific measures that take into account their level of development and evolving capacities.”

“The Convention and the Child Rights Act impose binding legal obligations on your government to take specific measures for the development of children taking account of their evolving capacities, best interests and without discrimination.”

“Articles 37 (b) and 40 (2) (b) (ii) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child also provide that every child arrested and deprived of his or her liberty should be brought before a competent authority within 24 hours to examine the legality of the deprivation of liberty.”

“SERAP notes that rules 1, 24, 27 and 118 of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) provide that all persons deprived of their liberty must be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, including by receiving appropriate medical care.”

“Rule 22 of the Nelson Mandela Rules guarantees the right of all detained persons to receive food of wholesome quantity and drinking water.”

“According to reports, 76 #EndBadGovernance protesters including 32 children, were recently arraigned in court for allegedly participating in the nationwide protests in August. The protesters, who have been in detention for three months, were reportedly arrested in the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja); as well as Kaduna, Gombe, Jos, Katsina, and Kano states.”

“Four children/young persons collapsed on the courtroom floor, writhing in pain before being removed to get medical help.”

“The protester were arraigned on 10 counts bordering on ‘treason, intent to destabilise Nigeria and inciting to mutiny’. However, the protest was against economic hardship and poor governance, as protesters called for reduced governance costs, the reinstatement of petrol subsidy, and food security.”

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections, Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has revealed what he would have done differently if he had emerged victorious.

Naija News reports that he disclosed what his administration would have done to help Nigerians in a statement he personally signed on Sunday.

Atiku said he has been inundated with inquiries of what he would have done differently if he were at the helm of affairs of the country.

He, however, said Tinubu is President and the focus should be on him and not on any other person.

The former Vice President said he believes that such inquiries distract from the critical questions of what President Bola Tinubu needs to do to save Nigerians from the excruciating pains arising from his trial-and-error economic policies.

Atiku said he hopes Tinubu and members of his administration are humble enough to borrow one or two things from his team’s ideas in the interest of the Nigerian people.

Read what Atiku would have done if he was President below:

IN GENERAL

We would have planned better and more robustly: My journey of reforms would have benefited from more adequate preparations; more sufficient diagnostic assessment of the country’s conditions; more consultations with key stakeholders; and better ideas for the final destination.
We would have been guided by my robust reform agenda as encapsulated in ‘My Covenant With Nigerians’, my policy document that sought to, among others, protect our fragile economy against much deeper crisis by preventing business collapse; our document had spelt out policies that were consistent and coherent.

We would have sequenced my reforms to achieve fiscal and monetary congruence. Unleashing reforms to determine an appropriate exchange rate, cost-reflective electricity tariff, and PMS price at one and the same time is certainly an overkill. Add CBN’s bullish money tightening spree. As importer of PMS and other petroleum products, removing subsidy on these products without a stable exchange rate would be counterproductive.

We would have been more strategic in our response to reform fallout. We would not over-estimate the efficacy of the reform measures or underestimate the potential costs of reforms. I would recognise that reforms could sometimes fail. I would not underestimate the numerous delivery challenges, including the weaknesses of our institutions, and would work assiduously to correct the same. I would, as a responsible leader, pause, reflect, and where necessary, review implementation.

I would have led by example. Any fiscal reform to improve liquidity and the management of our fiscal resources must first eliminate revenue leakages arising from governance, including the cost of running the government and the government procurement process. I (and members of my team) would not have lived in luxury while the citizens wallow in misery.

We would have communicated more effectively with the people, with civility, tact, and diplomacy.
Transparent communication with the public is essential to build public trust, which in turn is important to ensure that the public understands what the government is doing.
We would have consulted more with all stakeholders to learn, negotiate, adapt, and modify, among other policy goals.

We would have demonstrated more empathy. My Reforms would wear a human face.
We would have been more strategic in the design and implementation of reform fallout mitigating measures. I would not run a ‘palliative economy’ yet, we would have a robust social protection programme that will offer genuine support to the poor and vulnerable and provide immediate comfort and security to enable them to navigate the stormy seas.

SPECIFIC MEASURES

We would have undertaken extensive reforms of the public sector institutions to maximize reform impact.
We would have placed special focus on security viz
• Commenced on day one, the reform of security institutions with improved funding, and enhanced welfare. My Policy Document had spelt out a Special Presidential Welfare Initiative for security personnel that we would implement
• Adopted alternative approaches to conflict resolution such as diplomacy, intelligence, improved border control, deploying traditional institutions, and good neighbourliness.

We would have launched an Economic Stimulus Fund (ESF), with an initial investment capacity of approximately US$10 billion to support MSMEs across all economic sectors.

How would this have been funded?
Details are in my Policy Document.

Alongside the ESF, we would have launched a uniquely designed skills-to-job programme that targets all categories of youth, including graduates, early school leavers as well as the massive numbers of uneducated youth who are currently not in education, employment, or training.

To underscore our commitment to the development of infrastructure, an Infrastructure Development Unit (IDU) directly under the President’s watch would have come into operation. The IDU will have a coordinating function and a specific mandate of working with the MDAs to fast track the implementation of the infrastructure reform agenda within the framework provided herein. The IDU will hit the ground running in putting the building blocks for our private sector driven Infrastructure Development Fund (IDF) of approximately US$25 billion.

To engender fiscal efficiency and promote accountability and transparency in public financial management, we would have committed to a review of the current fiscal support to ailing State-Owned enterprises. We would’ve also begun a process review of government procurement processes to ensure value-for-money and eliminate all leakages.

We would have initiated a review of the current utilization of all borrowed funds and ensured that they were deployed more judiciously.

SUBSIDY REMOVAL

Yes, I have always advocated for the removal of subsidy on PMS because its administration has been mildly put, opaque with so much scope for arbitrariness and corruption. Mind boggling rent profit from oil subsidy accrued to the cabals in public institutions and the private sector.

I would have prioritized the following:
First, tackling corruption. Fighting corruption should have commenced with the repositioning of the NNPCL, which is a huge beneficiary of the status quo. Its commitment to reform and capacity to implement and enforce reforms is suspect. The subsidy regime has provided an avenue for rent seeking, and the NNPCL and its guardians will be threatened by reforms.

Second, paying particular attention to Nigeria’s poor refining infrastructure. We are by far the most inefficient OPEC member country in terms of both the percentage of installed refining capacity that works and the percentage of crude refined. We would’ve commenced the privatization of all state-owned refineries and ensure that Nigeria starts to refine at least 50% of its current crude oil output. Nigeria should aspire to export 50% of that capacity to ECOWAS member states.

Third, adopt a gradualist approach in the implementation of the subsidy reforms. Subsidies would not have been removed suddenly and completely. It is instructive that when I was Vice President, we adopted a gradualist approach and had completed phases 1 and 2 of the reform before our tenure ended. The incoming administration in 2007 abandoned the reforms, unfortunately. The majority of the countries that review or rationalize subsidy payments adopt a gradualist approach by phasing price increases or shifting from universal to targeted approach (Malaysia, 2022 and Indonesia, 2022 -2023). In many EU economies, complete withdrawal often takes 5 years to effect. The gradualist approach allows for adjustments, adaptation and minimizes disruptions and vulnerability.

Fourth, implement a robust social protection programme that will support the poor in navigating the cost-of-living challenges arising largely from reform implementation. We would’ve invested the savings from subsidy withdrawal to strengthen the productive base of the economy through infrastructure maintenance and development; to improve outcomes in education and healthcare delivery; to improve rural infrastructure and support livelihood expansion in agriculture; and develop the skills and entrepreneurial capacity of our youth in order to enhance their access to better economic opportunities.

ON FOREIGN EXCHANGE REFORMS

I also made a commitment to reform the operation of the foreign exchange market. Specifically, there was a commitment to eliminate multiple exchange rate windows. The system only served to enrich opportunists, rent-seekers, middlemen, arbitrageurs, and fraudsters.
What would I have done?

A fixed exchange rate system was out of the question because it would not be in line with our philosophy of running an open, private sector friendly economy. On the other hand, given Nigeria’s underlying economic conditions, adopting a floating exchange rate system would be an overkill. We would have encouraged our Central Bank to adopt a gradualist approach to FX management. A managed-floating system would have been a preferred option.

The Arewa Broadcast Media Practitioners' Forum expressed its shock and outrage, echoing the sentiments of Nigerians, after witnessing visibly traumatized and malnourished youths—some of them minors—paraded before an Abuja court on charges of high treason against the Nigerian state.

The organisation described the action of the police as an “irresponsible act of inhumanity” that has “attracted national and international outrage”, and “will forever be a stain on our national consciousness as a so-called democratic country”.

In a statement issued by its Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Yelwa (Ajiyan Yauri) on Sunday, the group “condemned in strongest terms this inhuman treatment meted on fellow Nigerians, whose only crime was exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights to protest”.

It said, “The revelation by the government that it had uncovered the identity of the sponsors of the #EndBadGovernance protest, made the prosecution of these boys, who probably attended the protests out of childish curiosity, laughable, though tragic.

“We therefore call on the Federal Government to arrest and prosecute anyone found culpable for the detention and mistreatment of these children.

“It's becoming increasingly clear that Nigeria under President Tinubu is fast becoming a police state where the rights of the citizens are daily being trampled upon. 

“Critical national institutions like the judiciary, police and other security services, designed for the protection of the rights of the citizens, have been turned into mere tools for the oppression of the masses.

“As observed recently by the Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria, BON, even the press has not been spared, with journalists being regularly arrested for no just reason.”

‘For the avoidance of doubt, the causes of the social upheaval being witnessed in the country are directly attributable to the destabilizing and debilitating effects of the policies of the President,” it said. 

The organisation lamented that Nigerians have been pauperised beyond measure, with people daily dying of hunger. 

According to Yelwa, this means that people will therefore continue to protest, “especially as the government appears to be insensitive to their plight”.

He said, “We therefore join other Nigerians in calling on President (Bola) Tinubu to order the immediate release of these protesters and arrest and prosecute the real sponsors of the protest if there are any. These physical tormented terrorized boys, scavenging for food in the temple of justice, to any right-thinking mind, are not capable of high treason against Nigeria. 

“The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1984, clearly states that no one shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.

“Unfortunately, Nigeria has failed to uphold this convention, and the recent arraignment of youth and juveniles is a stark reminder of this failure.”

The organisaton called on President Tinubu, security forces, and the judiciary to among others steps, release the 76 detainees and ensure their safety and well-being. It added that the four juveniles who collapsed in the court should immediately be flown to Paris or London for treatment.

It also called for the investigation and prosecution of the real sponsors of the protest the police claimed to have uncovered.

Yelwa called on the government to “address the root causes of the agitation and ensure that the rights of all citizens are protected” and “uphold the rule of law and ensure that the judiciary is independent and impartial”.

It also asked the government to “reverse some of the anti-people programmes of the Tinubu administration that have brought untold hardship to the nation”.

“The Government must offer unreserved apology to the victims and offer them adequate compensation. We urge all Nigerians to stand firm and fight against any injustice and violation of human rights,” it added.

The Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, has emphasized that the economic reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu, though challenging, are necessary to address Nigeria’s pressing issues.

Speaking on Sunday at the flag-off of relief material distribution for flood victims in Akure, Momoh assured that these “painful but necessary” measures are in the country’s best interest and would yield benefits in the near future.

Momoh was in Akure to oversee the distribution of palliatives and relief items, worth millions of naira, intended to aid residents in the nine Niger Delta states affected by recent floods.

He emphasized that Tinubu’s reforms reflect his commitment to Nigeria’s development and a genuine desire to improve citizens’ lives.

Momoh said, “The decisions being taken are painful, but that is the only way by which we can address the problems that have been facing this country. If you want Nigeria to thrive, you must take far-reaching decisions that will initially inflict pains on the people of our country.

“In a very short time, you will begin to see the effects of the decision or the policies of the federal government that have been taken so far.

“I want us to continue to pray for our president because the president means very well for Nigeria. If Nigeria is not better during this administration, it means we are cursed.”

Flagging off the distribution, Momoh said the relief items by the federal government were designed to cushion the effects of the flood on the beneficiaries.

The minister revealed that President Tinubu, in his concern and love for the people of the Niger Delta region, recently approved the relief materials and palliatives to the flood victims in the region to alleviate their challenges.

He listed some of the distributed items to include rice, grains, spaghettis, beans, motorcycles, sewing machines, grinding machines, cooking stoves, and smokeless stoves, among others.

He added, “There was a time there was flood in this part of the country, that is the entire Niger Delta region, and recently too there was another flood. He (Tinubu) said, ‘Minister, you have to go there and take care of your people by making sure that you send enough palliatives because when there is flood, there is always a problem.’

“People are displaced. They don’t have means of livelihood. So he gave approval, and we are doing the symbolic presentation here today. This will take place in the entire state of the Niger Delta region.

“We are handing over to the stakeholders of these very states, which of course include primarily the governor, the traditional rulers, and the members from the ministry.”

The demise of the filmmaker behind the ‘Shanty Town’ series, was made known in an Instagram post by actor, Bolanle Ninalowo.

He wrote, “I love you brother and I will miss you @dimejiajibola May God heal your family and loved ones. Till we meet again dido vox. Rest on Champ.”

Nollywood actor, Samuel Olatunji, also confirmed Ajibola’s demise to Tribune.

Olatunji said the producer died today after battling an undisclosed illness.

Ajibola was celebrated as a creative force and a visionary in the Nollywood industry, blending traditional and digital art forms in groundbreaking ways.

His work spanned film, animation, VFX, virtual worlds, and interactive media.

He held a diverse educational background, having studied filmmaking and cinematography at the New York Film Academy in Universal Studios, advanced character animation at Animation Mentor in San Francisco, and visual effects at VFXLearning.

As the CEO and Technical Director of Flipsyde Studios Ltd., Ajibola built a reputation for excellence and innovation. His work on Hoodrush in 2012 marked Nigeria’s first urban musical film, showcasing his ability to bridge narrative storytelling with rich musical elements.

The film won multiple awards, including Best Movie at the 2012 Green Me Film Festival in Germany, Best Actor and Soundtrack at the Nollywood Movies Awards, and Best Supporting Actor at the AMAA Awards.