The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has described as wasteful and a highway to fraud the claim by Works Minister Dave Umahi that the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will tentatively cost N15.6 trillion.

Atiku also knocked Mr Umahi for altering the project’s initial plan after Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech had been awarded the contract without any competitive bidding.

He said, “Umahi had announced that Hitech would fully fund the project, and based on this, there was no competitive bidding. He (Umahi) then said that Hitech could only raise just 6% of the money for the pilot phase. This smacks of deceit.”

Mr Umahi had, during his media rounds at select TV stations on Thursday, said the road project would cost N15.6 trillion ($13bn at an exchange rate of N1,200/$1) while the rail which will pass through the road would be costed separately.

The minister also said the project would not be PPP but that the government would be providing 15%-30% counterpart financing.

Responding to Mr Umahi’s revelation, Atiku said the tentative cost was the equivalent of the total budget of all 36 states of the federation combined.

He said, “The total budget of all 36 federation states for 2024 is about N14 trillion. If you add that of the FCT, the entire budget of all sub-nationals is N15.91 trillion. This is scandalous. Worse still, they have already awarded the contract but are still not sure of the level of the counterpart funding component of the federal government!

“Umahi had said in September 2023 that Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech had the money to construct the highway and would be PPP. Hitech was to build, operate, and transfer it back to the Nigerian government after years of tolling.

“It was reported by every media organisation, including those owned by Tinubu. It was based on this proposal that Hitech was picked. Why did Umahi then turn around to claim that it was not to be a PPP but that the government would pay 15%-30%?”

The former Vice President noted that in the 2024 budget, the project was captured as the Lagos-Port Harcourt coastal highway and was put at a cost of N500m.

“Although the National Assembly approved N500m for the project this year, the Tinubu administration has released N1.06tn. That is more than 200 times what is in the Appropriation Act. This is what happens when the National Assembly fails in its duties,” he added.

Atiku said it was curious that the N15.91 trillion announced by Mr Umahi did not include the cost of the railway component. He, therefore, wondered how much the project would cost if the railway component is included.

“If N15.6 trillion is for the road component alone, then the total cost could be far higher when the railway is included. We want to know the cost of the railway,” he said.

The PDP presidential candidate also lambasted Mr Umahi for admitting that the project was given to Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech construction company without competitive bidding.

He asked Mr Umahi to stop trying to deceive Nigerians with the claim that only Hitech was competent enough to do the project, wondering if it is the same that has been grappling with the execution of its projects in Lagos.

The former vice president stated, “The essence of competitive bidding is so that Nigerians can get the best value for money. It is so that you can compare prices and pick the company that can afford the project. It is wrong for him to have concluded that only Hitech could handle this project when such a project has been done by other reputable firms in the United States, China and South Africa.

“He claims he didn’t know there was a business relationship between Gilbert Chagoury and Tinubu, but this is another lie because Tinubu has publicly acknowledged this fact.”

Atiku also accused the works minister of attempting to deceive Nigerians as regards the appropriation for the project.

He called on members of the National Assembly to be alive to their responsibilities instead of acting like an annexe of the presidency.

The PDP candidate stated, “Until I exposed the dubious nature of this project, no member of the National Assembly thought it wise to investigate. The total cost was never made known until now. The fact that there was no bidding was never made known until I blew the whistle.”

The former vice president also knocked Mr Umahi for claiming that no money had been released yet to Hitech, which he described as another lie.

“On March 31, 2024, Umahi came on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme where he pointedly said that the sum of N1.06tn was released to Hitech. Only for him to say on TVC on April 11 that the same money had not been released. Which one is true, and which one is false?”

Signed:

Atiku Media Office
Abuja
11th April, 2024.

Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu has claimed that the electricity tariffs that were recently increased, will reduce if the exchange rate falls below N1,000 to a dollar.

Adelabu made this comment when he appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday.

On April 3, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, announced the removal of subsidy on the electricity consumed by Band A customers.

Band A customers now pay N255/KWh, a hike from N68/kWh, while others maintain the old tariffs.

But Adelabu has now given conditions for a possible reduction.

“The tariff is flexible. I can tell you if the naira gains more and the exchange rate comes down below N1,000 to a dollar, it must positively affect the tariff; and the tariff, even for Band A, will come down below the N225/KWh that we are currently charging.

“There are variable factors that go into the composition of the tariff, and we are not closing our eyes to it,” Adelabu said.

The President of the Republic of Liberia, Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., has declared Friday, April 12, 2024, as “National Fast and Prayer Day” and is to be observed throughout Liberia as a National Holiday.

A release by the Foreign Ministry said the day is to be observed as a day of supplication, prayer, fasting and meditation.

The statement said the proclamation was announced so that the nation’s efforts as people may be crowned with great achievements to the common cause of the Nation, the State, and its humanity.

The Proclamation further calls upon all Prelates, Priests, Elders, Deacons, Evangelists, Imams, and all residents, regardless of religious creed, to gather with one accord in their places of worship, in each city, town, village, hamlet and home within the territorial confines of the Republic of Liberia, in simple and non-costly apparel to fast, pray and meditate from 8 in the morning.

The release said all public offices and business houses, as well as marketplaces are to remain closed during the observance, adding that all citizens and foreign residents will cease from their usual daily occupations and avocations in recognition of God’s love and guidance.

“Through the patience and unwavering commitment to democratic principles, Liberians turned up on Election Day in large numbers and exercised their right to vote peacefully that laid the groundwork for the country’s second democratic transfer of power in over 70 years; the resilience of Liberia’s democratic institutions was instrumental to achieving this milestone and serves as an example for the region and the world,” the Proclamation stresses.

The Proclamation further recalled there have been unusual and extraordinary outbreaks of natural phenomenon and man-provoked national crises that have caused much harm, devastation, and destruction in many parts of the world from which our Nation has been spared by the Grace of God.

The Proclamation recounted that there are large numbers of the nation’s kith and kin living in uncertain conditions in the Diaspora, and the need for remembrance in prayers of those who have made the supreme sacrifice remains unfulfilled.

The Presidential Proclamation stressed that the people of Liberia have always submitted themselves, in humble supplication to the Almighty God for guidance and protection as well as for peace in their national life and affairs.

The Proclamation is in consonance with the Patriotic and Cultural Observances Law of the Republic of Liberia, Chapter one, declaring the second Friday in April of each year as a “National Fast and Prayer Day”, as a day of fasting and prayer for the prosperity of the nation.

A former federal lawmaker, Shehu Sani, has said that the late Ogbonnaya Onu was displaced from being the President of Nigeria in 1999.

DAILY POST reported that Onu, an All Progressives Congress, APC presidential aspirant in the 2023 election, died on Thursday.

Onu, who was the first civilian governor in Abia State, died in Abuja on Thursday

Sani, a former lawmaker, who represented Kaduna Central Senatoral District in the 8th assembly, while paying tribute to the former minister, said Ogbonnaya could have been Nigeria’s President in 1999 after he won the APP primaries in Kaduna, attended by the likes of the late Ikemba of Nnewi Chief Ojukwu.

“He was deliberately displaced after a midnight merger with the then AD. The military wanted Obasanjo and Falae.

“The late Chief Onu is one of Nigeria’s most distinguished, decent and disciplined political figures in history.

“He has been an influential figure in Nigeria’s politics for over four decades. A Senator in the second republic,a Governor in the third republic and a presidential candidate, party chairman and minister in the fourth republic.

“He is a rare breed politician who lived as unstained, untainted and unblemished like his white apparel. He was a man who lived and served his country with decorum and impactful anonymity.

“He was a true patriot whose nationalist credentials can’t be faulted by any section of the country. Onu was an unnoticed and unappreciated gentleman and national leader. In words and in deeds, he lived above politics of rancour and controversy.

In 1999, the outgoing military wanted power to shift to the South West. Onu was a simple man.

“His known residence in Asokoro remains the one rented for him by his party, the ANPP, when he was elected its chairman. He remained there throughout his tenure as minister.

May his soul rest in peace.”

Super Eagles forward; Ademola Lookman has said that his game style has been patterned after Senegalese forward, Sadio Mane.

Lookman played for Charlton Athletic, Everton, RB Leipzig, Fulham and Leicester City before moving to Serie A side Atalanta.

The Nigeria international joined Atalanta for a fee in the region of nine million euros paid to Leipzig at the start of the 2022-2023 season.

The winger has scored 24 goals and made 12 assists from 65 all-competition appearances.

The former England youth teamer has now revealed that his game is shaped on former Liverpool star Sadio Mane.

“The guy who I always looked at the most would have to be Sadio Mane,” Lookman told The Athletic.

“Looking at his threat in the box, his threat in those little tight spaces, his movement — I have watched a lot of his game in particular.

“I watch my clips back, and it’s nice to be able to see your performance from a different perspective.

“It gives you more belief in knowing that you’re getting better and developing in certain areas.”

Eddy Olafeso, the former National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the south-west, has said Nigerians have witnessed nothing but hardship under the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Olafeso, who stressed that there is no remedy in sight, maintained that when the opposition party was in power, life was more pleasant for the people.

Speaking in Akure, the Ondo State capital, he expressed optimism that Nigerians will smile when the opposition party returns to the helms of affairs.

The PDP stalwart said, “No matter the challenges we are facing at this moment, we are very sure and confident that the future will be better and that the PDP will take back power and connect to do what it did in the past to develop Nigeria. I am very confident that we will return.

“There’s no middle class anymore; there is poverty in the land; there is insecurity.

“What else can we hope for but the support of the people that will make the PDP’s dream of creating prosperity for this country happen as quickly as possible?

“We are sure that the future will take care of itself, and we are very resolute, and beside that, the future of Nigeria, especially the current situation that Nigerians are facing under APC, can’t continue forever.

“I’m very excited that we are going somewhere. We’re heading somewhere, and that is success; that is victory.”

Mohbad: ‘I’m not the father’ – Oba Elegushi clears air on late singer’s sonPublished on April 12, 2024By Seun Opejobi

The Elegushi of IkateElegushi Kingdom, Oba Saheed Elegushi, has denied claims of fathering Liam, son of late singer, IleriOluwa Aloba aka Mohbad.

Elegushi said the rumours were a desperate attempt to tarnish his reputation.

Since Mohbad died, the issue of paternity has been at the forefront with the late singer’s father calling for a DNA test to ascertain if Liam is his grandson.

A TikToker, Oloriebimusicproduction2, made several posts on his TikTok page, alleging that the monarch might be implicated in the death of the late Mohbad.

It was also alleged that the monarch was leveraging his influence to obstruct justice for the late singer.

Reacting, the monarch described the allegations as baseless accusations aimed at besmirching his character.

Oba Elegushi also disclosed that a petition has been filed against individuals propagating these allegations.

A statement by his media consultant, Deyemi Saka read, “We would like to respond to a new desperate attempt at dragging His Royal Majesty, Oba Saheed Elegushi, into the needless paternity dispute over the son of Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad.

“The widely syndicated falsehood was promoted by some persons with the underlisted profile on the social media app TikTok, namely: Oloriebimusicproduction2, PEKINS RULES, and WESTO4LIVE. Also, the same falsehood is being promoted by Auto Success Ola, Olubukola Jesse, Teni Ologo, and Tolani Ilesanmi.

“This is to inform the public that the allegation is false and a figment of the wicked imaginations of these persons.

“HRM Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi, through his lawyers, has filed a petition against these persons with the Nigeria Police and other relevant security agencies in a bid to enforce his fundamental human rights and protect him from cyber bullies, while he is hopeful the Nigeria Police will collaborate with relevant international security organisations in this quest for redress.”

Oba Elegushi, while extending condolences to the family of the late singer, implored members of the public not to entangle the traditional institution in the paternity dispute.

“It must be stated emphatically that Oba Elegushi, just like many Nigerians, is saddened by the sudden demise of Mohbad, and demands a thorough investigation and a quick dispensation of justice.

“While we pray to Almighty God to grant the Alobas the immense strength to bear this painful loss, we urge people to refrain from dragging the integrity of His Royal Majesty, Oba Saheed Elegushi, and the revered traditional institution he represents into public disrepute,” the statement noted.

Following the fire outbreak which razed over 14 buildings in Dosunmu Market on Lagos Island, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has declared that many buildings with structural defects around the site of the inferno and those that do not comply with the state government’s building regulations would be demolished.

Sanwo-Olu issued the warning yesterday in Lagos during the inspection and meeting with stakeholders, victims of the Dosunmu Market inferno which occured in the highbrow Lagos Island on Monday.

The governor, who said the state government would not shy away from its responsibility in ensuring that building standards are followed, added that, “I am going to shut down this place as long as it takes, there will be zero-tolerance all around here.

“It’s not by force that you have to trade. If you don’t have a conducive environment, go and look for something else to do,” he said.

The governor who condemned the avoidable fire disaster said, “We just finished on-the-spot assessment of the very unfortunate and preventable fire disaster here at Dosunmu Market.

“As you are all aware, this fire started on Monday and immediately, the first responders were activated and we thought it was something that we could bring under control in the first couple of hours.

“But unfortunately, as you can see, our people have been very extremely reckless and access was denied to first responders for a couple of hours. Even 48 hours after, the site is still a live site, we still have an isolated burning site and it is still an active disaster site.”

Sanwo-Olu continued, “This is a complete disaster. It is extremely unfortunate. As at the last count, we had about 14 houses in one form or the other that have been affected and a bit more might still go down after the extensive fit-for-purpose test that will be conducted over the couple of days here.”

“What I have seen here is what could have been prevented. We don’t have a full report yet, so I don’t want to speculate. But the initial report that came to us was just gross carelessness and people don’t understand what it means when we say keep your environment safe.

“We will conduct a proper extensive audit into what led to this. But as you see from the initial assessment, we have had an activation of an advocacy that indeed from the month of December and all throughout the month of May, these are high combustible weather that we have known will come year-on-year.

“We have been advertising on the media that people should know that during the harsh harmattan, the weather is not only hard, that you need to also stay away from combustible materials that can activate easy spread of fire and that is a kind of thing that we have seen here today,” Sanwo-Olu further warned.

He lamented that a lot of residential apartments had been converted into warehouses, as inflammable materials were kept in people’s sitting rooms.

Covenant University has been ranked above the University of Ibadan and the Federal University of Technology, Akure, as the best university in Nigeria for the second time, according to Times Higher Education‘s 2024 rating.

Analysis of the latest ranking on Thursday showed that the university based in Ota, Ogun State, is among the top 1,000 universities in the world.

The 801st-ranked university in the world first gained prominence in 2018 after it got the prize for the best university in Nigeria and the sixth-best university overall.

The University of Ibadan followed Covenant as the second-best university in the country, while the Federal University of Technology, Akure clinched third.

The ranking web said the World University ranking includes 1,904 universities across 108 countries and regions.

“The Times Higher World University ranking includes 1,904 universities across 108 countries and regions.

“The table is based on our new WUR 3.0 methodology, which is carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across five areas; teaching, research environment, research quality, industry and international outlook,: it said. 

Other universities that achieve the top ranking in Nigeria include the University of Ilorin, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Afe Babalola University, the University of Benin, the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Lagos State University, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Obafemi Awolowo University, and the University of Port Harcourt.

Among the 15 top universities, nine are located in the South West, two in the South East, two in the South-South, one in the North West, and one in the North Central.

See full list below:

1. Covenant University
2. University of Ibadan
3. Federal University of Technology, Akure
4. University of Lagos
5. Bayero University
6. University of Ilorin
7. University of Nigeria
8. Afe Babalola University
9. University of Benin
10. Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta
11. Ladoke Akintola University of Technology
12. Lagos State University
13. Nnamdi Azikiwe University
14. Obafemi Awolowo University
15. University of Port Harcourt
16. Abia State University
17. Akwa Ibom State University
18. Alex Ekwueme Federal University
19. Babcock University
20. Baze University
21. Bells University of Technology
22. Benson Idahosa University
23. Delta State University, Abraka
24. Edo State University
25. Edwin Clark University
26. Elizade University
27. Evangel University, Akaeze
28. Federal University of Kashere
29. Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun
30. Federal University of Technology, Minna
31. Federal University of Technology, Owerri
32. Fountain University
33. Landmark University
34. Nassarawa State University, Keffi
35. Niger Delta University
36. Plateau State University
37. Thomas Adewumi University
38. Veritas University
39. Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano

Nigerian football star, Victor Osimhen could be heading to Ligue 1 champions, Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season.

Osimhen, one of the most sought after strikers in football at the moment is wanted by Premier League giants, Chelsea and Arsenal.

But PSG are close to wrapping up a deal with Napoli for the talismanic forward, according to Caught Offside.

The French club are rumored to be willing to pay Osimhen’s entire release clause, which is estimated to be worth €120m.

In addition, they are eager to extend an offer of a four-year contract to the striker, who will make €13m a season at PSG.

Chelsea, unlike PSG, are not in a position to pay Osimhen’s entire release clause due to their financial state.

Osimhen, aged 25, has scored 14 goals in 26 appearances across all competitions for Napoli this season.