The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) has said that the Inspector General of the Nigeria Police Force, Kayode Egbetokun, has been informed about the purported suspension of its National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje.

The party executives maintained that non-APC members sponsored the suspension and that the perpetrators would be brought to justice upon police investigation.

The ruling party’s latest action was disclosed in a statement yesterday in Abuja by APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka.

According to Morka, the purported suspension of Ganduje is downright criminal and has no effect whatsoever. He asserted that the opposition party plotted the political event to create confusion with the APC.

The statement reads: “The attention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been drawn to media reports of the purported suspension of the National Chairman, HE Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, CON, from the party by the Executive Committee of the Ganduje Ward in the Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano State.

“The purported suspension was the devious act of a group of impersonators of ward officials out to cause mischief and create confusion in the otherwise peaceful Ganduje Ward chapter of our party. The perpetrators of this criminal act are not card-carrying members of APC in the ward but are individuals affiliated with senior officials and representatives of the NNPP.

“This act procured by officials of the ruling NNPP in Kano is part of the despicable programme of political persecution launched by the administration of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf against Ganduje, a former Governor of Kano State.

“The purported suspension is downright criminal, and of no effect whatsoever. The legitimate Executive Committee of the Ganduje Ward has since denounced the action and reaffirmed Dr. Ganduje as a bonafide member of the Party in the Ward, and in good standing.”

Determined to unearth the mastermind behind the suspension, Morka said: “The party has filed a petition with the Inspector General of Police, requesting an expedited investigation of this matter and that the perpetrators and their sponsors be brought to justice.”

Earlier, the APC’s Kano State chapter warned party ward leaders who falsely declared the suspension of Ganduje, stating that they will face legal action.

During a press conference held in Kano yesterday, the ward chairman of the party in Ganduje’s area of residence, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Koko, declared that the party intends to sue the ward leaders for their involvement in “conspiracy, impersonation, and defamation”.

He said: “The purported suspension was null and void, and would have no any effect on the national chairman.

“The ward and local government executives, having identified the persons involved in this unfortunate situation, have already prepared to charge them to court for impersonation and calculated attempt to embarrass and dent the image of the party and that of the national chairman.

“We call on all party members to disregard the purported suspension and remain calm.”

Multiple video clips where Pascal Okechukwu, popularly known as Cubana chief priest, was seen abusing the Nigerian Naira have surfaced on social media after his arrest on Tuesday evening.

Naija News had earlier reported that Cubana chief priest was arrested on Tuesday evening for abusing the Naira.

His arrest came Naija News reported that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would arraign Cubana Chief Priest over alleged abuse of the Naira.

According to reports, the anti-graft agency will arraign Cubana Chief Priest on a three-count charge of allegedly spraying and tampering with the Naira notes at a social event contrary to the provisions of the Central Bank Act of 2007.

In the charge filed on April 4 by the EFFC’s prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), and seven other lawyers representing the executive chairman of the anti-graft Commission, it was alleged that Okechukwu Pasca on February 13, 2024, at Eko Hotel, within the jurisdiction of the court, while dancing during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (Five Hundred Naira) notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same for two hours, and thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007.

In count 2, it was alleged “that you, Okechukwu Pasca,l sometime in 2020, in Lagos during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (Five Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same for two hours, and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007.”

In count 3, it was alleged: “that you, Okechukwu Pasca,l sometime in January 2024, in Lagos during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (Five Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007.”

Recall that the EFCC on April 5 secured the conviction of a popular cross-dresser, Idris Okuneye, also known as Bobrisky, on similar charges for which he was sentenced to six months imprisonment.

However, upon news of his arrest, multiple videos of the socialite abusing the Naira have continued to make rounds on social media

See One of the Videos Below:

A fresh survey has revealed that some filling stations in Lagos State have implemented a downward review in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol.
It is understood that previously, fuel in the filling stations sold for between ₦640 and ₦660 per litre, but currently, the stations observed have reduced the price of petrol to ₦620.

The reduction in price is attributed to the strengthening of the Nigerian Naira against the US Dollar in recent weeks.

Also, a fuel station manager who spoke with Legit on the development said they are able to offer petrol at a cheaper price of ₦620 per litre because they got a new supply, which is cheaper than what they used to pay at the depot previously.

“For days, we have been closed and have just received our supply. Although other stations around us sell at N650, we are able to offer it at a cheaper rate because we just got a new supply which is less than what we paid previously,” the station manager, identified as Kunle Ademola, told the publication.

Although the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has not officially announced any reduction in the price of petrol, its stations sell the product at N580 per litre.

If sustained, the reduced price of petrol is expected to result in cheaper transport costs over time and a reduction in the price of commodities as marketers pay less to move their goods.

The Minister of Interior, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, says corruption and corrupt practices fuel insecurity in the country, calling for all hands to be on deck to fight the menace.

The minister said this, when he paid a courtesy visit to Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, the Chairman of Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), on Tuesday in Abuja.

Tunji-Ojo said the purpose of his visit was to strike a synergy between his ministry and the ICPC.

He expressed the belief that collaborating with anti- corruption agencies could help to tighten the belt and block loopholes even within the administrative processes.

“We know the Ministry of Interior is responsible for the enhancement of internal security and, of course, corruption is one of the biggest threats to security in Nigeria.

“So, we don’t need to move too far before we get to the point of intersection, where our interests remain.

“We believe that in leveraging and collaborating with ICPC, we might just be saving our country from a lot of effort that is needed in righting the wrongs.

“We believe that all over the world the language is pro-activeness, the language is prevention, the language is no more detection or correction,” he said.

According to him, the world is moving and is moving so fast.

He noted that as product of the 20th and 21st century, there was the need to learn the language of the 22nd century.

“And, the language of the next generation, which we must learn as a country is to build strong institutions.

“One believes that the strategic relationship between these two agencies can of course block a lot of reports, can prevent and, of course, can deter even the imagination of ill doings.

“If we do not do that, we will continue to run after the criminals. And, once we are running after the criminals, it becomes a game of fun to the criminals,” he said.

He explained that all over the world the criminals would be running after the state to meet up with the state, not the state running after the criminal.

“It means we have to up our pace.

“And we believe that the management of ICPC is well poised towards ensuring that a new Nigeria, not just built on hope, but on renewed hope comes to life.

“I realise that a lot of errors that people or mistakes that people make in government are actually very avoidable. That’s the truth.

“And, I believe that the lack of knowledge transfer has created a lot of lacuna and has reduced the level of performance of government officials.

“So, we are looking at the area of capacity building, strongly collaborate with you in areas of capacity building.

“As the saying goes, you will always be a slave to what you don’t know. So, we need to collaborate, we need to build capacity or run capacity,” he said.

He stressed the need on collaboration with the agency to tighten the belt and block loopholes within the administrative processes.

“How do I mean by that? I’ll tell you, I sincerely believe that if we have a functional unit of ICPC officers saddled with certain responsibility of going through certain decisions before they are activated, we might save ourselves a lot of stress in detection.

“I sincerely believe, and I say this with all utter insincerity, that I think the Ministry of Interior will be where we can use to test this particular idea,” he said.

The ICPC chairman in his remarks said that the commission had been trying as much as possible to discharge its mandate within the confines of the law.

“This is to ensure that we have Nigeria, which is less corrupt and a country whereby people have confidence within and outside the country.

“This is because I keep on saying that we need investments.

“And two major key issues that you need to have on ground to have investment in the country, is one secure environment, which the Minister of Interior has responsibility in ensuring that Nigeria is secure.

“Also, there is less corruption because no investor will come to a country whereby you will feel insecure. And there is also challenge of bribery and corruption,” he said.

Musa said that he had always tried to see how ICPC could achieve its mandate of prevention, enforcement, education and enlightenment to combat the serious challenge facing the country.

“I have been in discussion with the minister; we have discussed a lot about how we can partner to ensure that ICPC, Ministry of Interior and its agencies work closely to ensure that we help this country in fighting this challenge of corruption.

“The only way we can do that is by coming together like the gathering we are having today and also to sit down and carefully look at how we can work closely,” he said.

The Naira experienced a significant rally against the US Dollar, breaking through critical resistance levels to trade below N1,000 in some segments of the black market as of late Sunday.

This performance aligns with earlier predictions by Goldman Sachs and comes amid heightened global geopolitical tensions.

“The Naira’s current bullish momentum is projected to persist, potentially pushing the exchange rate below N1000 per US dollar in the upcoming months,” economists from the American investment bank, Goldman Sachs, commented.

This upturn in the Naira’s value follows a period of volatility where it suffered considerable devaluations since last June. Efforts by Nigerian financial authorities, including successive interest rate hikes now pegged at 24.75%, and strategic foreign exchange interventions have notably contributed to this stabilization.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) aggressive monetary policy adjustments and the implementation of new market strategies have been central to the recovery of the Naira from its prior losses,” a CBN spokesperson stated during the latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.

Additionally, the geopolitical landscape has influenced market movements. The recent Iranian strike on Israel spurred a flight to safety, which bolstered the US dollar against other currencies.

However, the dollar steadied after initial gains, with Israeli ministers indicating no immediate plans for retaliation, which somewhat eased market fears.

Goldman Sachs had earlier adjusted its forecast in March, predicting that the Naira would strengthen to N1200 per dollar by 2024. The firm cited increased capital inflows and a series of policy initiatives aimed at bringing stability to the foreign exchange market as key drivers behind this optimistic outlook.

Finance Minister Wale Edun also unveiled plans for higher inflows of US dollars, including the sale of foreign currency bonds in the second quarter. This move is part of broader efforts to attract overseas capital with high-yield short-term debt products.

Despite the rallying Naira and strategies to boost economic inflows, Nigeria’s gross foreign reserves have declined, even as global commodity prices, particularly crude oil, continue to rise. Nigeria’s oil grades are currently trading at a premium over the ICE Brent benchmark, which could potentially offset the negative fiscal impacts of reduced production volumes.

“The ongoing geopolitical unrest in the Middle East and the anticipation of further instability have had significant ripple effects on global markets, influencing commodity prices and currency valuations alike,” explained an industry analyst.

The immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai has described states’ electoral commissions as rigging tools of the state governors.

El-Rufai stated this on Monday in Maiduguri, in his lead paper presentation titled: “Capacity Building Workshop on Enhancing Skills of Government Officials In Policy Implementation and Productive Human Resources Management”.

The former governor recalled the success recorded through electronic voting for local government areas elections he conducted during his tenure as governor.

He also narrated how a Northwest state governor wanted to use his pattern, but after availing him of the technique used in conducting the elections, he went back to his state and wrote results of the local government elections he conducted instead of conducting it electronically.

The former governor who expressed total support of abolishing state electoral commissions stressed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) could be handling all local government elections.

“While I was the Governor of Kaduna State, I introduced electronic voting and conducted local government election with it. After the election, we lost about three to four local government areas to the opposition, because of the credibility of the election. And because we were transparent in the election, some of those opposition candidates decamped to our party because of our fairness in the election.

“I remember that one governor from the Northwest who loved the conduct of the election through electronic voting asked me to assist him with the technology I used in the election, but because it has the state logo, I told him that it would not cost more than 10,000 US dollars, so that he can get the equipment to conduct his state LGA election electronically. But after that conversation, I did not hear from him again, he went back home and conducted his election by writing the results as usual,” El-Rufai said.

On the demolition exercise in Kaduna during his administration, El-Rufai said prior to assumption of office, the people knew who he was, and that he was very careful at ensuring that every demolition carried followed due process.

He added that his government’ is adherence to the process was responsible for the absence of court cases after the exercise.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission will on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, arraign a businessman and socialite, Pascal Okechukwu, popularly known as Cubana Chief Priest, before the Federal High Court in Lagos, over allegations of abusing the naira.

Cubana Chief Priest will be arraigned before Justice Kehinde Ogundare on a three-count charge of allegedly spraying and tampering with the naira notes at a social event contrary to the provisions of the Central Bank Act of 2007.

In the charge filed on April 4 by the EFCC’s prosecutor, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Rotimi Oyedepo, and seven other lawyers representing the chairman of the anti-graft commission, it was alleged that “Okechukwu Pascal on February 13, 2024, at Eko Hotel, within the jurisdiction of the court, while dancing during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same for two hours, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007.

In count 2, it was alleged “that you, Okechukwu Pascal sometime in 2020, in Lagos during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same for two hours, and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007.”

In Count 3, it was alleged: “that you, Okechukwu Pascal sometime in January 2024, in Lagos during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying the same and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007.”

The EFCC, on April 5, secured the conviction of popular cross-dresser, Idris Okuneye, also known as Bobrisky, on similar charges for which he was sentenced to six-month imprisonment.

The National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, says the Federal Government has rescued over 1,000 victims of verified mass abduction across the country without paying ransom.

Ribadu disclosed this on Monday, in Abuja while receiving 22 rescued students and staff of the Federal University Gusau, that the covert operations were conducted in the last few months.

He said the successful rescue operations were testimonies to the efforts of the government to free all those being unlawfully held in captivity.

“We have so far released over a thousand of such victims without noise and in complete respect for their privacy and safety.

“We released people from Zambara, Sokoto, Kaduna, Katsina, Taraba, Adamawa, and so many other states.

“Thousands, but never said a word and we thank God for that, and maybe that is the reason why we are so far very successful.

“This occasion marks a final juncture in a series of rescues we have undertaken in the last few months to free victims of recent cases of mass abductions that are verified.

“It is making a difference, it is a matter of time and we will see the outcome of the work we are doing,” he said.

The NSA said the victims were rescued unhurt and without any of the female abductees molested, adding that it was a marked departure from what had been the case in the past.

According to him, going forward, the government is strengthening law enforcement and security measures to prevent further abductions.

He added that the government would strengthen physical security across vulnerable communities in the country.

“This work is done by our security forces, our armed forces, our police, our intelligence agencies.

“All of us collectively have done this work together and we all are fully participating and this is the outcome of it,” he said.

Ribadu commended the leadership of President Bola Tinubu for working assiduously to address insecurity in the country.

According to him, the efforts have led to great improvement in recent times in taming terrorist attacks.

Recall that those rescued were abducted from the school on September 22, 2023, when bandits attacked three off-campus students’ hostels at Sabon Gida in Gusau.

Those kidnapped from the university included female students, some male artisans, a private security guard and a protocol officer.

Aisha Galadima, a political ally of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS), has confirmed her release.

Although the reasons for her arrest are uncertain, reports revealed that the strong ally to the former governor may have instigated the current administration with her political views targeted against its principal, Governor Uba Sani and shared via her Facebook page.

Operatives of the DSS were said to have stormed her residence in the Tudun Wada area of Kaduna on Sunday afternoon and was whisked off in a Hilux. Her phone lines were subsequently unreachable.

But the Kaduna government when contacted by the press, expressed its ignorance of the situation.

“I’m not aware that a woman was arrested for posting a negative comment against His Excellency. In any case, you should direct your enquiries to the DSS, not the Kaduna State Government,” the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Muhammad Shehu was quoted to have said.

Checks by THE WHISTLER on her Facebook page discovered most posts by Galadima to have expressed an unwavering support for Nasir El-Rufai, accompanied with his pictures, while others had a direct and indirect criticism of the present administration’s policies, and happenings in the state.

As frequent and engaging as her posts are on her page of over 11,000 followers, Galadima’s last post before her purported arrest was on Sunday. It read, “Living with integrity is better than living with leadership Malam Nasir El Rufai (sic).”

Twenty-four hours after she was reported to have been released, Galadima posted, “Alhamdulillah”, translated — “Praise be to God” — with over 132 comments congratulating her on her release.

Galadima in another post said, “Even If I will be killed, I am with you Malam Nasir El-Rufia”.

She continued, “These are signs of their failure in 2027”, alluding to the former governor’s victory in the 2027 presidential election.

Confirming her release to Daily Trust, Galadima said she was harassed and beaten by operatives of the secret police.

“I was inside my room about to take my bath when they came in and dragged me out. I saw four of their Hilux outside the gate. They pushed me inside and drove away,” she said.

According to her, the DSS had accused her of making some posts against the governor in February.

Recall that Governor Sani revealed that his administration inherited a burden of $587m and N85bn debts as well as 115 contractual liabilities from El-Rufai, noting that the fluctuating exchange rate worsened the state’s capacity to repay almost triple the monies borrowed his former principal.

Sani lamented that a significant amount of the state’s federal allocation goes into servicing the debts while stating that in March alone, N7bn out of the N10bn federal allocation to the state was deducted for debt servicing, leaving just N3b to cover expenses.

However, Bashir El-Rufai, son of the former Governor fired back accusing Sani of negligence of duty, contract inflation, and speculative financial practices.

Bashir accused the governor of lobbying and approving the loans while he (Uba Sani) was a senator.

Governor Sani was the Kaduna Central Senator in the 9th Senate before he emerged as the state governor in the 2023 elections.

The President of the Premium Bread Makers Association of Nigeria (PBAN), Emmanual Onuorah has explained that the 15 per cent Wheat Development Levy on bread and the cost of other inputs are responsible for the high cost of the commodity despite the appreciation of the naira against the United States dollar.

The PBAN president revealed this on Tuesday during a presentation on Arise News’ Global Business Report.

The price of a loaf of bread rose to around N2,000 in February after bakers reported an increase in a bag of flour from N37,000 to N42,000 and sugar from N62,000 to N72,000.

The naira has gained against the dollar from N1,700 in February to nearly N1,000 in April.

Onuorah explained that wheat constitutes 60 to 65 per cent which are imported from Ukraine, Russia, and other parts of the world.

He said, “Since this crisis (Russia/Ukraine war) started about three years ago, it has led to an upending of our pricing structure as regarding wheat. As a country Nigeria produces, we can grow wheat in 15 states.”

The PBAN president said bread makers pay 15 per cent Wheat Development Levy which is transferred to the final consumers.

He said, “For instance, they (federal government) take 15 percent for every bread that you eat, for every flour that we buy, 15 percent of it is taken for wheat development level.

“Cumulatively, the duty on wheat is 30 per cent and 15 per cent Wheat Development Levy that Jonathan initiated in June 2012 and was supposed to be adopted or a stopgap. But it’s still their till today.

“They are supposed to use it for R&D and all of it. But it’s still the same thing, redoing corruption and all that. We are not getting the benefit of that. And that’s why we’ve been asking the government, to remove this thing, and place a moratorium on wheat import since Nigerians are hungry.

“So, we’ll keep pushing on the pressure. That’s why we are a pressure group. And we must use our platform to ensure that Nigerians also get cheap bread.”

He also said the cost of diesel, electricity bills and other inputs are responsible for the prices.