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Enugu-born Kevin Abonyi got the shock of his life when a medical laboratory test he underwent in preparation to take a wife turned out positive. Mr. Abonyi had walked into a medical laboratory centre in Obollo Afor, Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State to find out his blood group, genotype and HIV status, having resolved to settle down as a married man.
A Mass communication graduate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Mr. Abonyi could not understand what the lab attendant was talking about.
He literally and technically became deaf. He saw his world caving in but as a devout catholic with a strong faith in God, and knowing that he had lived a morally-upright life all his youthful age, he immediately regained his consciousness, remained calm, cool and collected, courageously approached his would-be wife and broke the sad news to her.
He also assured the girl that he did not believe the result and promised to conduct further tests in Lagos for a proper diagnosis.
However, after he visited a laboratory in Lagos, his HIV turned out negative. This sharply contradicted the earlier result and at the same time rekindled his hope of getting married to the woman of his choice.
Satisfied and highly elated at the turn of events, he travelled back to his village to break the good news to the lady, who also tumbled with joy. Together, they visited Bishop Shanahan Hospital, Nsukka, as well as the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, for further medical examinations and the result was the same – HIV negative.
Today, Mr Abonyi and the woman live together as husband and wife, and the marriage has produced four lovely children, two boys and two girls.
Narrating how she felt when she got the first news about her husband’s HIV status, his wife said: “When he told me that the laboratory test result from Obollo-Afor said he was HIV positive, I was devastated.
“Although he remained calm, promising to visit a better facility in Lagos, I was confused.
“When I told my elder brother, he plainly asked me if I loved him. When I answered in affirmative, he told me to go ahead with the marriage, despite his HIV status.
“I had already made up my mind to take my brother’s advice when he came back with the news that the result from the Lagos lab had pronounced him HIV negative.
“Although I did not doubt him, he insisted that we should visit Bishop Shanahan Hospital, Nsukka and UNTH for further examinations. Both hospitals’ results confirmed that he was actually negative contrary to what the first result from Obollo-Afor said.
“My joy knew no bound and I give God all the glory because many people would have done some terrible things as soon as they were told that they were HIV positive, but in his own case, he took it with maturity, calmness and absolute faith in God, and at the end of the day, it turned out to be a case of wrong diagnosis. So, I thank God for his life.”
Kevin was lucky but the same cannot be said of a 42-year-old young man, simply identified as George whose unfortunate and sad death recently, according to his younger brother, was as a result of wrong medical diagnosis.
The father of three from Enugu State was said to have been diagnosed of ulcer and he had all along been treating ulcer until his condition became too critical.
According to the deceased’s younger brother, when he was taken to a specialist hospital for a proper medical check, it was discovered that he had been suffering from Hepatitis B, which had already eaten deep into his liver.
All efforts to save the young, ebullient George by doctors proved abortive as he painfully gave up the ghost, leaving behind a young wife and three kids; no thanks to wrong medical diagnosis.
Also, Mr James Kayode and his wife went for medical checks to know their blood group, genotype and HIV status as usual before they got married and every result turned positive.
They got married and had their first child. But trouble started after the baby kept falling ill quite often, barely one year after he was born.
During one of their many visits to the hospital, a test was carried out on the child and it turned out that the baby has Sickle Cell Anaemia, meaning that the baby’s genotype is SS.
The parents were confused, because while they had all along believed that they were both AA as the lab result showed before they got married, the reality is that they were both AS.
They ran a fresh test which confirmed that they were both AS, meaning that the test they had before marriage was wrong. That was how the Kayode family was thrown into medical troubles that they did everything to prevent.
Much as the incompetence and carelessness of some lab scientists have sent many to early graves, nullified potential marriages, caused wastage of financial resources and psychological torture, it is also dismantling a lot of marriages.
In Africa, it is common knowledge that special attachment is given to male children. It is believed that male children will continue with the family lineage when their fathers are dead, and as such, male children are highly prized.
In Nigeria, the Igbo people of South East attach very great importance to male children because of the above reason.
A woman who is unable to give birth to a male child is most likely going to have marital problems. It is either her husband considers taking a second wife or he makes life miserable for the woman by continually reminding her that she could not perform the simplest duty of bearing a male child like other women.
Sometimes, the woman is mocked by society because she did not have a male child.
At some other time, she is stigmatized depending on the kind of family she is married to. Such is the gravity of importance attached to male children in Igbo land.
Some men have taken second and even third wives in the quest for a male child, while others have terminated their marriages because of their wives’ inability to have male children.
Mrs. Chioma Ezeadi was told by her doctor in a private clinic in Ago area of Lagos State that she would bear a female child during her first pregnancy.
According to her, she was worried because her husband had already told her that he would want a male child first. It did not matter if she would have female children subsequently. What mattered was that her husband wanted their first child to be a male.
She said she could not tell her husband what the doctor told her because she was not sure what his action could be, even though it was her first pregnancy.
But, contrary to the scan result as was pronounced by her doctor, she was delivered of a baby boy eventually to her surprise. Today, she has three male children.
A similar incident happened to Mrs. Gloria Ibe from Abia State. She has had three children already, two girls and a boy. The scan result of her fourth pregnancy said she would give birth to a baby girl.
The medical prognosis was corroborated with a prophetic pronouncement. She said a pastor in her church equally told her that she was carrying a baby girl.
So, with the mouthpiece of God corroborating what the medical science had said, she was left with no iota of doubt as to what the sex of her unborn baby would be.
She went ahead to buy baby clothes and other things in advance bearing in mind that a baby girl was on the way.
However, she ended up giving birth to a male child but unfortunately; her husband did not live to see the baby. He died a month before the baby was born.
The negative effects of wrong medical diagnosis, ranging from suicide to cancelled marriages, broken homes, economic wastage, emotional and psychological torture among others, are catholic and of grave concern to many Nigerians.
Lab scientist speaks
Throwing more light on the subject, a Medical Laboratory Scientist, with one of the medical diagnostic centres in Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos, Abuchi Kingsley, said wrong medical diagnosis is a product of many factors.
He said such factors as personnel, equipment as well as reagents could lead to wrong outcomes.
He told DAILY POST that: “Like the person that had Hepatitis B and was told he had ulcer, it is possible he actually had ulcer but it depends on what test that was sent to the lab to be done.
“In other words, if you come to run a test for ulcer, a laboratory scientist will not go further to check if you have Hepatitis or any other ailment. He will only do the ulcer test, which you requested for.
“For patients who go for Genotype tests, I can say that some labs do not employ qualified personnel. They often engage the services of quacks and they go about giving wrong results to people.”
He also attributed the ugly trend to the inability of some lab diagnostic centres to carry out what he termed quality control.
He said: “Some labs do not have what we call quality control. A quality control is what you do before you start a patient’s test. It will tell you whether the kit you want to use is good or not.
“Simply put, it means using known positive and known negative samples to run your reagent.
“For instance, if your reagent gives you a known positive sample to be negative, then you know that the reagent or the equipment is not good to function that day.
“Again, for those tests that don’t give positive or negative but a value like blood sugar, before you use your equipment to run a blood sugar test, there are some pathological samples that have high sugar level, normal sugar level and low sugar level.
“You run all these on your equipment and if they show that these controls are what they are, you know that you are good to go and you will have confidence in any result you are releasing.
“But some labs do not carry out this quality control, either because they want to minimise cost or they don’t know they are supposed to do it.
“Another factor has to do with the sample or specimen. If you collect the wrong sample for a particular test or you put the sample in the wrong bottle, it will definitely give you a wrong result because in the collection of these samples, we have different bottles and different containers.
“Some tests require collecting the specimen at a particular time. Some tests require that you collect the specimen before the patient eats in the morning.
“A patient that wants to do a Fasting Blood Sugar test should not eat in the morning before coming because if the person eats before his/her specimen is taken for the test, it will give a wrong result.
“The same thing applies to a patient that wants to do a Fasting Lipid Profile. It is also the same process for culture tests, like blood culture or urine culture. The samples should be collected in a sterile bottle.
“If the sample is collected with bottles that are not sterile, you will already be getting something that is not from the patient. So, sample collection and the time of such sample collection is very important in determining the accuracy or otherwise of a lab test.”
He summed up his submission, saying, “In summary, the factors that lead to wrong diagnosis are categorised into pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical errors. There are errors that happen prior to analysis.
“There are some that happen during the analysis while others happen after the analysis. After analysis occurrences have to do with reporting.
“A lab scientist can do a proper test but a typist can mess everything up. It can also be during transmission of the result.
“That is why professionalism and training for anybody that works in the lab is very important. Everybody needs to be trained and retrained regularly.”
Gynaecologist speaks
Also, sharing his experiences as a gynaecologist of many years standing, Dr. Chikodi Onyemkpa of The Healthcare Hospital, THH, Festac, Lagos, said he has seen so many of such cases; some of them actually creating very difficult social issues to manage.
“In our culture, we have a tendency towards male gender preference and that is related again to some economic considerations, and so, these two standing together, tend to mount enormous pressures on the pregnant woman.
“There is often a tendency to want to know the gender of the baby in the womb. Sometimes, it comes off very well; sometimes that prediction might be wrongly done. So we see them often,” he told our correspondent.
Asked to give an instance, Dr. Onyemkpa, who also doubles as a sonologist, continued: “I have come across a situation where a woman was expecting a female child because the scan had told her so, but eventually when we did a surgery and brought out the child, it was a male child.
“It was a good disappointment in the sense that she was hoping that that would be her last surgery.
“But if it was a female child like the scan had said, that meant that she would go for another surgery again because she usually gave birth by surgery. But it turned out a male child; so that was a good disappointment to her.
“I remember another young girl, who became a second wife because her husband was looking for a male child. She did a scan and she was told she was carrying a male child.
“Her husband started treating her like a queen. Eventually, the baby was born and it was a female child. It was such a disappointment that the father was not interested in even allowing the woman to go for the immunisation of the new born baby.
“The disappointment was so devastating because they were anticipating a male child and they had already prepared for the ceremony that would follow.”
Considering what follows when the anticipation turns the other way round, many would argue that it will be advisable not to reveal the sex of the unborn baby to the pregnant mother after the scan, but, Dr. Onyemkpa would not toe that line of argument.
He gave reasons the practice would continue, particularly in certain parts of Nigeria.
He said: “In some jurisdictions, it is unlawful to reveal the gender of an unborn child. I easily remember India, where a doctor’s licence was seized for six months because he did gender determination by scanning for a pregnant woman.
“Some cultures are that strict but in Nigeria, we have no such law. You can do gender determination and state it clearly here in Nigeria.
“Interestingly, some persons will come for a scan basically because they want to determine the sex of the baby and if you want to exchange shoes with them, you will see why it is very important for them to know.
“Until the very landmark judgement by the Supreme Court recently, a female child had no right to inherit property from her parents in Igbo land; she is married off in life and whatever she gets during her wedding is what accrues to her.
“If the parents die, whatever they left cannot be accessed by the female child and so, you see that if a woman is married into an average Igbo family, until she has a male child, she likens her marriage to a temporary residency permit because in the demise of her husband, whatever she laboured for with her husband, will be passed on to the relations of her husband, who are males, since her own female children are forbidden by culture to access their father’s inheritance.
“However, the Supreme Court’s judgement has put paid to all that because by that judgement, it has to be noted that the constitution of Nigeria is superior to the customary law which is almost followed to the letter.
“So, there is always the eagerness for a wife from that environment to know what the gender of her unborn baby is. If you give birth to a male child, people will say that you have now firmed up your position in your husband’s house.
“Until then, the woman has not really legitimised her permanence in her husband’s house. So, if she is pregnant, you will see why she wants to know the gender.
“If she has the first, second and even the third one all girls, you understand why some of us in the hospital will see a woman who has had a baby but she is not happy because much as she has had a safe delivery, the baby can still not firm up her marriage.”
On what could be responsible for the wrong outcome of scan results, he said: “One of the fundamentals in scientific inquiry is to learn about measurement.
“Why you need to learn about measurement is that there can be errors. In fact, in any human designs, there is a margin of error that is allowable.
“That is why in scientific research, you say that something is significant or not because it is actually about making provisions for those errors.
“So, we know that there can be a false positive result or false negative result. For instance, if you come into this room and there is a pin on this floor and you looked around and didn’t see the pin and you declare that there is no pin in this room, you have made an error; you have declared a false negative result or a false absence of pin, but there is a pin.
“In another situation, if there is no pin on the floor and for whatever that is happening to your eyes, you looked very well and declared that there is a pin, you have just declared a false positive result because you said there is a pin, whereas there is no pin.
“So, in every measurement, provision is made for that possibility. By the same token, you find that if you do a scan and you say it is this while what you are saying is not there, it is actually in that false positive result declaration because you have stated what is not there.
“So, scientific measurements and enquiries know that this is a possibility. And when you make a measurement, you bring a lot of things together such as the person taking the measurement, the instrument with which the measurement is taken and the environment determining finally what happens.”
He went further to draw an analogy of what could lead to wrong medical diagnosis with a motor accident.
He said: “When there is an auto accident, the investigator will try to establish whether it was a human error, mechanical error or environmental error.
“You want to find out what actually went wrong. In like manner, when there has been a result that is not expected or that has tended to have deceived everybody, there is the need to go back and check what could have been the cause.
“Easily, we will place the blame on the shoulders of the observer but in fairness, it just may not always be the case because the machine and other sundry issues are also involved. That is why the person that did the test, and what the clarity of picture quality is, are important.
“There are some pictures you see in two dimensions, but if you can see such pictures in three dimensions, it will be better.
“So, even in scan machines now, there are 2D machines, there are those that are said to be 3D and you even have the 4D scan machine. So, apart from the depth, you see action.
“Occasionally, I have been scanning and the baby in the womb urinates and I showed the mother and she is excited because it is not just that her tummy is swollen; what is inside her is living and she is seeing the action it is performing.
“If you use a certain machine, you will see clearly; it is not just that you are seeing the flash of the urine, you will even see the place that the urine is coming from.
“Every party can relate to that. Those that are in the industry will know about the scan machine that creates baby face; the scan machine that can create picture in 3D format; even colour picture, so that parents are able to see the face of the baby in the womb or even look at the pelvic region and be able to see the gender.
“So, it will not be what the scanner said. If for any reason in future, we have a different outcome, it is what I saw that you saw; that is actually how I report.
“Errors can come from the observer if you are using a 2D machine because you may not see the female genital as well as you could see if it is a 3D machine.
“There are chances of error if you read the lines wrongly, and of course, the issue of machine is generally going to reduce or enhance the result accuracy.”
[DailyPost]
Federal Ministry of Education has clarified that it has not stopped students who are not up to 18 years old from writing the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) exams.
The Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu, made the clarification in Abuja yesterday while fielding questions from journalists at an event to mark the 2024 International Literacy Day (ILD).
Sununu said that the public misconception and misinterpretation of what was said by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, was highly disappointing.
He said that the minister was actually speaking on the 18 years entry age into the tertiary institutions as was practiced in the 6:3:3:4 system of education.
“We have agreed that we are going to consider it as a work-in-progress. The National Assembly is working and we are also working.
“It was shocking to say that a university in this country gave admission to children at ages 10, 11 and 12 years. This is totally wrong.
“We are not saying that there are no exceptions, we know we can have talented students that have the IQ of an adult even at age 6 and 7, but these are very few.
“There must be a rule, and the ministry is looking at developing a guideline on how to identify a talented child, so that parents don’t say we are blocking their children’s chances.
“Nobody said no child will write WAEC, NECO or any other examination unless at age 18. This is a misconception and misrepresentation of what we have said,” he said.
Speaking on the International Literacy Day, Sununu underscored the critical role of literacy in fostering mutual understanding, peace and socio-economic development.
He reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to addressing literacy challenges through the Education for Renewed Hope roadmap (2024-2027).
He highlighted youth and adult literacy as key components, while emphasising the importance of using learners’ mother tongues as a medium of instruction.
[TheNation]
Two brothers from Nigeria were sentenced to 17 1/2 years in federal prison Thursday after pleading guilty to sexually extorting teenage boys and young men across the U.S., including a 17-year-old from Michigan who took his own life.
A federal judge sentenced Samuel Ogoshi, 24, and Samson Ogoshi, 21, after hearing emotional testimony from the parents and stepmother of Jordan DeMay, who was 17 when he killed himself at his family's home in Marquette, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
The Ogoshis, both from Lagos, Nigeria, had previously been extradited from Nigeria to stand trial. The brothers each pleaded guilty in April to conspiring to sexually exploit teenage boys.
They were accused of running an international sextortion ring in which they posed as a woman, a scheme which resulted in DeMay's March 2022 suicide. The siblings were accused of inducing DeMay to send a naked picture of himself and then extorting him. Federal prosecutors said their sextortion schemes targeted more than 100 victims, including DeMay.
“Today’s sentencing of Samuel and Samson Ogoshi sends a thundering message,” U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said in a statement. “To criminals who commit these schemes: you are not immune from justice. We will track you down and hold you accountable, even if we have to go half-way around the world to do so."
Sexual extortion, or sextortion, involves persuading a person to send explicit photos online and then threatening to make the images public unless the victim pays money or engages in sexual favors. The offense has a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 30 years.
U.S. District Judge Robert J. Jonker, who also sentenced the Ogoshis to five years of supervision following their release, said he would decide what restitution the brothers must make once he receives additional information.
Before sentencing the brothers, Jonker said the case called for long sentences. He said both of the defendants had shown a “callous disregard for life," while noting that the siblings had continued their sextortion scams even after learning that DeMay had killed himself.
“The continuation of the overall scheme even after there was certain knowledge that one individual, the individual in this case, took his own life points to the need for a high sentence,” the judge said during Samson Ogoshi's sentencing hearing.
DeMay’s mother, Jennifer Buta, told the court during Samuel Ogoshi's sentencing that her son's death had left her “shattered to the core, infuriated and trapped in grief.” She said the last text her son sent her was “Mother I love you” — a text she awoke to and thought was endearing until she learned that Jordan had killed himself in his bedroom.
“What I thought was an endearing message from Jordan was his goodbye and his reassurance of his love for me,” Buta said. “I would never have imagined that while I was asleep both of the defendants hid behind their screens and tortured Jordan for hours while he was alone.”
DeMay's stepmother, Jessica DeMay, said during her tearful testimony that she and Jordan's other relatives will “never again experience pure joy” because every happy moment would be tainted by “a small cloud of sadness around it” that comes from Jordan's death.
The teen's father, John DeMay, told the court he is haunted by the image of "my son laying on his bed dead with a gunshot wound to his head."
“Jordan was an amazing young man. He was resilient, he was smart, he was educated, he was an athlete. He was my only son. And you got to talk to him for the last time in his life. That's horrifying to me,” he said.
Samuel Ogoshi’s attorney, Sean Tilton, said his client has cooperated with authorities and has written a letter of apology. He said Samuel Ogoshi is remorseful “and feels a tremendous sense of guilt of the loss of life in this case.”
Samson Ogoshi’s attorney, Julia Kelly, said during his sentencing that her client is “very remorseful” and that he was 18 when he began taking part in extortion and scam attempts. She said such scams are common in Lagos, Nigeria, and he saw those as a quick way to make money.
Kelly wrote in a court filing that “hundreds of people just like him were involved in similar scamming.”
“He was told who could get him a hacked account, how to make a fake profile, how to boost accounts and, because English is not his first language, was given a script of what to say," she wrote.
[ABC News]
A Kaduna State-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has said politicians are not funding the unrest in the northern part of the country.
In recent times, insecurity has continued to increase in the region, particularly the North-West.
Many, including the monarch of Gobir in Sokoto State, have been killed by bandits and other criminals.
In 2021, the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, alleged that politicians were sponsoring the banditry being witnessed in parts of the country.
However, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, Gumi dismissed the allegations that politicians were behind the unrest in the region.
He said, “This is an unintelligent allegation. No politician is sponsoring these people. We are all victims. The opposition is not even behind this. This is a natural reaction of people neglected for centuries without education.
“Now they are exposed to the world and they want education. These people are exposed to the Internet and they see how much they are deprived. They want to fight back. This act is not by anybody.”
He further stated that the people were expressing a strong desire for a better future for their offspring.
“We went to a village between Abuja and Kaduna and we built schools for herdsmen. To our surprise, over 600 of them with their families have started schooling there. They told us that they do not want their children to be like them. Imagine if we did that all around the country.”
[Punch]
•Suffering to even continue beyond that unless . . .
•Say economic recovery dependent on key factors
•Recommend what govt must do for a turnaround
Against the backdrop of this week’s thunderstorm across the economic space over further spike in petrol crises, economy and financial experts have painted a grim picture of the short and medium-term outcomes of the Federal Government’s economic policies and reforms.
'My songs will make you buy bedsheets'- Ironha, who took hawking when fire razed his Yaba shop
This is also coming against the backdrop of FG’s consistent promise of a turn-around soon urging the citizens to endure and wait for the turn-around. The experts, looking into the immediate future, indicated that it may take up to 2027 to begin to see recovery from the present hardship.
However, they also indicated that such recovery and the time frame may still fail if the government does not take certain measures to stem the tide of hardship currently pervading society.
The petroleum sector authorities had earlier in the week effected a fresh hike in the pump price of fuel amidst a seven-week-long scarcity which appears unending as of the time of filing this report.
With the current pump price at between N900 and N1,200 per litre, many analysts are predicting a further round of economic downturn leading to further hardship for the citizens.
The key economic pain points include inflationary pressures, rising unemployment, declining purchasing power, rising utility bills and cost of living all of which have combined to create a steady decline in standard of living.
Looking into what the future holds for Nigerians, the analysts noted that the economic recovery would largely depend on key factors such as oil sector recovery, foreign exchange and interest rate stability, and agricultural productivity.
However, they also said that on all the factors odds are stacked much higher than positive expectations.
As if in confirmation of this grim reality, Nigeria’s key economic power base, the crude oil export, suffered a significant setback during the week when the price of its crude oil grade, Bonny Light, tumbled to $73 per barrel, the biggest drop so far this year.
Nigeria’s budget implementation is threatened at the current price as the budget revenue was based on $77 per barrel. The crude oil price slump is an added headache to the persistent difficulty in reaching the budgeted oil production benchmark level of 1.7 million barrels per day (mbpd).
The country has been struggling to produce an average of 1.4 mbpd since this year. The combined impact of these circumstances in the oil sector is an abysmal performance of the fiscal plan in 2024, less than four months to end. This also means that the economic recovery target for the year is already lost.
The significance of the oil sector performance is that it determines the performance of the economy which is about 80 percent oil dependent. In particular, the drop in oil revenue means a blow to the external sector, especially the foreign reserves which had just lost over $500 million in the last week of August 2024, slipping back to $36.3 billion.
This also puts significant pressure on the exchange rate with the Naira falling to N1,630 to a Dollar this week, against an average of N1,570 recorded in August 2024. Connected to this development is the impact on inflation where the external sector is now piling much pressure on the imported inflation component of the composite consumer price index.
With these developments, analysts believe short to medium-term recovery is difficult, while some of them said it is difficult to predict the exact time frame for the economic recovery as this will depend on the successful implementation of reforms, global economic trends, and domestic stability.
However, for most of them typically, significant improvements may begin to manifest within two to three years if the government effectively addresses key issues such as infrastructure development, inflation control, currency stabilization, and boosting local production. But the turnaround, according to them, will likely be gradual and not provide immediate relief.
Economy will take quite some time to fix —Prof Uwaleke
Prof. Uche Uwaleke, President, Association of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria, ACMAN, expressed the view that no turnaround should be expected in the next two years.
He stated: “I am afraid it will take quite some time to fix. Certainly not in the next year or two years. The inherited legacy challenges are humongous, especially in the power and petroleum sectors which are compounded by insecurity. Until these structural constraints are dealt with, inflation and exchange rates will remain elevated over the short and medium term.”
Pains may extend beyond normal timeline —Highcap Securities boss
Providing his own insight into the current economic hardship, David Adonri, Analyst /Executive Vice Chairman, of Highcap Securities Limited, a Lagos-based finance and investment house, believes the government’s approach to economic reform is wrong-headed.
He stated: “There are short-term pains associated with demand management reforms. However, FGN is approaching the situation wrongly such that the pains may extend beyond normal expectations. FGN is not extending the reforms to public spending which ought to be in austerity mode so that inflation can reduce. Additionally, there is no seriousness on the part of FGN to eliminate excruciating rural insecurity in order to close the supply gap in agriculture and other rural-based production activities. Now, rural communities in parts of the country are embarking on self-defence to prevent their extermination since FGN has left them to their fate. So far, FGN has failed to mobilize the country’s idle factors of production to domestically create wealth and generate productive employment. As a result of these lapses, it may be difficult to predict economic revival even in the next 5 years.”
FG should rejig economic team — ASBON boss
Commenting on the hardship and the outlook for a turnaround, President of the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON), Dr. Femi Egbesola, noted that the degree of poverty and hardship is deepening by the day, and called on the federal government to re-jig its economic team.
His words: “People’s disposable income is being eroded, many are hungry and angry, local businesses are closing down, international businesses are relocating out of Nigeria, so many avalanches of challenges. This is a direct indicator that something is wrong with our fiscal policies, macro economy and largely our policymakers.”
Conflicting events have undermined reforms – CEO, Emerging Africa Capital
Speaking to Vanguard on the outlook for the Nigerian economy, Mrs Toyin Sanni, Group CEO, Emerging Africa Capital Group, said though the current hardship being experienced by Nigerians was induced by ‘bold reform initiatives’ of the present administration, she stated that promised turnaround is, however, filled with several conflicting events that have continued to mar progress of the initiatives.
She stated that the expectation for a turnaround is contingent upon various factors aligning and projected a 2025/2026 timeframe for any visible impact and changes in the economy.
She said: “In recent times, the economic landscape of Nigeria has been shaped by bold reforms initiated by the new administration. These reforms, though necessary, have resulted in significant economic hardships for the average Nigerian. The government’s stance remains one of perseverance, urging citizens to endure the current challenges with the promise of a brighter future.
“However, the path to this promised turnaround is fraught with complexities as several conflicting events and structural challenges have continued to undermine the progress of these initiatives.
“For example, while the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has taken an aggressive stance against inflation, raising interest rates from 18.5% in June 2023 to 26.8% in June 2024, inflation has continued to rise, touching 33.4% as of July 2024, a 28-year high. This is due to persistent challenges such as insecurity in food-producing regions, high logistics costs, inadequate transport infrastructure, and the ongoing depreciation of the naira. These factors have limited the effectiveness of the monetary tightening measures.”
Continuing, she stated: “The expectation for a turnaround is contingent upon several factors aligning effectively. Studies have shown that the impact of monetary policy changes, such as interest rate hikes, takes time to filter through the economy—often between 12 to 24 months. However, in Nigeria’s context, this period could be extended due to the underlying structural issues that amplify economic vulnerabilities. Therefore, a tangible turnaround in economic conditions might not be evident until late 2025 or early 2026, provided that complementary fiscal policies are also implemented effectively.”
Immediate realities remain difficult —Egbomeade
Responding to the economic hardship in the country, Clifford Egbomeade, Public Analyst & Communications expert said: “The economic hardship in Nigeria has been exacerbated by certain government policies, and while the government urges citizens to be patient and anticipates a future turnaround, the immediate reality remains difficult. It is difficult to predict the exact time frame for economic recovery, as it depends on the successful implementation of reforms, global economic trends, and domestic stability. Typically, significant improvements may begin to manifest within 2 to 3 years if the government effectively addresses key issues such as infrastructure development, inflation control, currency stabilization, and boosting local production. However, these changes will likely be gradual and not provide immediate relief’’.
Recommendations for a turnaround
For Nigeria to witness a lasting turnaround in its economic fortunes and improvements in the lives of the average citizen, Mrs Toyin Sanni, Group CEO, Emerging Africa Capital Group, highlighted the need for the government to strengthen security in agricultural regions, invest in infrastructure development, enhance policy coordination between government agencies, encourage private sector investment, support the development of technology and economic inclusion of women and youths.
She also emphasised the need for general societal and socioeconomic cohesion, strengthening of sociocultural ties and long-term economic diversification among others.
She stated: “The government must prioritize security in key food-producing areas. Addressing insecurity will not only boost agricultural output but also help stabilize food prices, which is crucial for controlling inflation. The government should fast-track investments in critical infrastructure, particularly in transportation and logistics. Improved infrastructure will reduce the cost of doing business, enhance competitiveness, and support economic growth.
“Effective policy coordination between the monetary and fiscal authorities is essential for a successful economic turnaround. The CBN’s efforts to control inflation must be complemented by government policies that promote growth and stability. This includes ensuring that fiscal measures do not counteract the effects of monetary policy. The government should create an enabling environment for private sector investment, particularly in critical infrastructure sectors. Public-private partnerships could play a vital role in addressing some of the infrastructural deficits and driving economic growth.
“Nigeria must accelerate efforts to diversify its economy away from oil dependency.
Investing in agriculture, manufacturing, and technology sectors will create more resilient and sustainable economic growth. The government should actively support the growth of the technology sector through the establishment of industrial parks, provision of subsidies, and funding opportunities for technology founders. These initiatives will foster innovation, create jobs, and position Nigeria as a hub for technological advancements in Africa,” she said.
Mrs Sanni added that, “Women and girls make up nearly half of Nigeria’s population, and citizens under 35 years old account for at least 70% of the population. However, the full potential of these groups is often constrained by unequal access to power and resources, along with exclusionary norms, practices, laws, and policies. To harness the full potential of Nigeria’s population, the government must prioritize the empowerment of women and youth by ensuring equitable access to education, resources, and opportunities.
“Nigeria, with its rich diversity of over 250 ethnic groups, has long faced challenges related to tribal tensions and ethnic divides. This has contributed to a lack of unity as well as insecurity in some regions of the country. To achieve national unity and foster economic progress, it is crucial to strengthen societal cohesion and sociocultural ties through shared prosperity across regions. The government must prioritize policies that promote inclusivity, reduce inequalities, and encourage dialogue across different communities to build a more harmonious and prosperous society,”
On recommendations for a possible turnaround, President of the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON), Dr. Femi Egbesola, said: “My immediate recommendation will be for the government to rejig the economic team if really we expect different results. There is also a need for the government to prioritize the immediate and remote welfare of the citizens, particularly in the areas of their immediate needs. The government should be intentional about fighting corruption headlong as it is the root cause of the other many challenges we now contend with and is the monster fighting against some of the laudable policies of the government.
“Fighting corruption will also make the government more transparent. When the government is transparent and its citizens are able to see and understand the workings of government, they will also be able to contribute to the government’s development agenda and will naturally be more cooperative. The government must focus heavily on improving the ease of doing business and developing the key economic sectors, one mainly is the MSME sector which creates 96! of businesses and employs 84% of the workforce. This sector which also includes agriculture, must be supported to grow and scale up to the point of not just sustaining our local production demands but should be able to actively export to earn enough forex to the country. We just must improve and support non-oil exports.”
On his recommendation to fix the economy, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, President, Association of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria, ACMAN, said: “Going forward, what has become obvious is that the energy sector requires urgent reforms beginning with the NNPCL. I also think that fiscal and monetary authorities must acknowledge that the Agric sector holds the key to lower inflation, job opportunities and inclusive economic growth and should join hands to tackle the challenges. On its part, the CBN should reform and resuscitate targeted interventions in the Agric value chain while at the same time rethinking the current monetary policy stance that over-relies on blunt traditional tools.”
In his recommendation, Clifford Egbomeade, Public Analyst & Communications expert said: ‘‘To facilitate a turnaround, the government should focus on policy reforms that prioritize economic diversification, job creation, and social safety nets to cushion the impact on vulnerable populations.”
The political commission of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) says it was not consulted before the national caretaker committee of the Labour Party (LP) was constituted.
On Wednesday, the 29-member committee chaired by Nenadi Usman, a former minister, was set up following a stakeholders’ meeting of the party convened by Alex Otti, governor of Abia and the most senior elected government official of the party.
Earlier, Julius Abure, a factional chairman of the party, rejected calls for the stakeholders’ meeting.
Also, Callistus Okafor, another factional national chairman of the LP, declared the Usman-led caretaker committee illegal.
Okafor said Otti should provide a letter issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that recognised the meeting that he convened.
However, in a statement, Theophilus Ndubuaku, acting chairman of the commission, said the NLC acknowledged the committee.
Ndubuaku said the commission was not involved in the formation and selection of caretaker committee members, “especially such critical officers as chairman and secretary”.
Ndubuaku said the commission initiated the push for the removal of the Abure-led national working committee (NWC).
“Even though the commission and its NTC were not consulted, the commission believes that Peter Obi and Alex Otti are reasonable leaders who desire the unity, harmony, and rancour-free cohesion of the Labour Party,” the statement reads.
“We demand that the commission and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) be given the right to ratify the appointment of the chairman and secretary of the caretaker committee, as well as the composition of the remaining proposed 27 members of the committee.
“We also believe that if there is a need to expand the proposed national caretaker committee beyond their present proposed 29-member mark, they will do so.
“That will demonstrate that they are listening leaders who understand that every stakeholder, especially critical blocs like the NLC, TUC, and other entities of our party, should be carried along to have a sense of belonging for our overall membership growth, national expansion, and progress.”
[TheCable]
EXPLAINER: Is colourless petrol the best? - What Dangote’s petrol product colour really means
AFOLABI
On Tuesday, Aliko Dangote showed off the new colourless petrol from his refinery — a stark contrast to the colour which Nigerians are used to, which is typically yellowish or reddish-pink. This made people question the quality of petrol in Nigeria.
“You might think it looks different, but this is the real thing,” Dangote said, while pointing at the bottle.
“You will now have good petrol and your car engines will last longer. You won’t have engine problems like we used to. It won’t happen at all.
“The quality here is as good as anywhere in the world. We will make sure nobody beats us on quality.”
This statement and the colourless appearance of his product have stirred conversations and doubts about the quality of petrol in Nigeria.
Some think the yellowish or reddish-pink colour widely distributed in the country is of inferior quality because of Dangote’s comments. But does the colour really matter?
WHAT IS PETROL?
Petrol or gasoline is fuel for cars. The National Geographic Society describes the fuel as liquid that is clear, yellowish, and burns easily. Petrol is made from crude oil, which is usually black or dark brown. But crude oil can also be yellowish, reddish, tan, or even greenish.
WHAT IS PETROL’S TRUE COLOUR?
Car from Japan, a car marketplace in Japan, says petrol has no original colour, as it is a mix of various other gasoline and hydrocarbons. The marketplace said hydrocarbons, typically heptane and octane, also come in different types for different vehicles.
According to the platform, the colour can vary from yellow, orange, or brown depending on what is added to it.
“So, the answer is that the colour can vary! It will be no wrong if we say that gasoline has no colour or it is simply clear. Take a glass of clean water and see how it looks; this is how exactly the gasoline looks, in reality. It is only after we mix other substances into it when it becomes yellowish in colour. So, next time someone asks you what colour is gasoline, the answer would be it has no colour, it is clean,” the website stated.
IS COLOURLESS PETROL THE BEST?
Joe Nwakue, former chairman of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, said the colour of the petrol can change during production.
“When you produce it (petrol), it’s light. It’s almost like water. If you want to distinguish between different grades, you can colour them differently. You can put a colour agent,” Nwakue told TheCable.
“If nobody does anything to alter the properties, the colour on its own does not signify the quality. But the maker can decide what grade of petrol they’re producing and colour them differently so the person either selling or buying it knows which one it is.”
HunterLab, a colour measurement spectrophotometer manufacturer in Virginia, US, said checking the colour scientifically helps ensure petrol is made to the right standards.
“When it is tested right, you can identify the genuine quality of the gasoline. After that, you can decide which one is good and which one has a bad effect on the car’s engine,” HunterLab stated.
“Colour is a key indicator of quality in petroleum-based products and developing a colour range is an important part of the refinement process.
“A colour range can often be used for monitoring contamination and quality control. Petroleum-based products make up a wide variety of manufactured goods; with consumers relying on colour for acceptability, it’s crucial to meet the quality standards of visual perception.”
Akpunonu Okey, a professor of petroleum geosciences, Nnamdi Azikwe University, told TheCable that the type of crude oil used is also a determining factor for the colour of petrol.
“What determines the colour is the type of crude oil, not the quality,” Okey said.
“What determines the colour is the presence of sulphur and then the imperial history of petrol determines the quality whether it will be light crude or heavy crude. Imperial history is determined by the temperature, they work hand in hand.”
Hence, it is safe to say that the colour of the petrol does not necessarily indicate if it is of good or bad quality.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says the suspension of duties on imported food items will be implemented as soon as it receives the list of beneficiaries from the ministry of finance.
Abdullahi Maiwada, spokesperson of the NCS, spoke on Thursday at a joint press briefing of security agencies, organised by the strategic communications inter-agency policy committee (SCIPC) in Abuja.
The development comes almost two months after the federal government directed the suspension of duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of food staples through land and sea borders to reduce inflation.
On August 14, the NCS said it had begun implementing the policy to allow the importation of maize, husked brown rice, beans, millet, and wheat.
The waiver, which took effect from July 15 and billed to end on December 31, is part of measures to combat rising food inflation across the country.
Providing updates at the news conference, Maiwada said the directive is yet to be implemented because the ministry of finance has not provided the list of those who will benefit from tax exemptions.
“The issue of food security. You made mention of the policy that was announced by Mr. President and we have issued a statement on the guidelines on how to benefit from that policy,” he said.
“Well, I would like to discuss in such a way that the common man would understand how these things work.
“People think that me and you can just go and import rice. No, that is not what the policy is all about. We have policy issues that have a long-term effect. We have the medium-term and we have the short-term effects.
“So, while formulating policies that are related that have a short-term effect, we have to do it in such a way that it will not have adverse effects on long-term policy issues.
“Our responsibility as an agency of government, NCS, is to implement government policies.
“That’s why the statement we issued is based on the guideline issued by the federal ministry of finance.”
Maiwada said the ministry of finance issued a guideline on the conditions and the requirements for participation in the zero import duty scheme.
“We have three lines, six lines of tariff line with the HS code (harmonized system code) with initially a duty of 35% and leave you some of the items and they have all been waived,” he said.
“However, the policy stated clearly that you must be a miller, you must be a taxpayer, you must have been into operations for a certain number of years and there will be a quota that will be issued by the federal ministry of finance.
“So, the list of those who benefit from those exemptions will come from the ministry of finance and our role as an agency of government is to implement the directives of the government. So we are policy implementers, not formulators.
“So, by the time we get those lists, within the twinkle of an eye, we are going to implement those directives from the federal ministry of finance.”
‘OVER N277 BILLION REVENUE COLLECTED IN AUGUST’
Speaking on revenue, Maiwada said the service collected N277.5 billion in import duties for the month of August.
He said the service also collected N15.8 billion in excise duties, reinforcing its commitment to optimising revenue generation.
According to the NCS spokesperson, the agency recorded 83 seizures across various commands as part of its efforts to curb smuggling.
“The NCS also intensified its Operation Whirlwind” (OPWW) to combat the smuggling of petroleum products, especially in border states,” he said.
“The operation over the months has led to the interception of seven PMS trucks, the sealing of 12 retail outlets, and the seizure of 466,000 litres of PMS and 23 vehicles.”
Maiwada said the investigations had resulted in the prosecution of seven suspects, while three marketers were fined by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
He added that the sealed filling stations were handed over for further action.
The Plateau State Police Command says it has arrested a teenager for having sexual intercourse with three sisters in the state
The state’s Commissioner of Police, Emmanuel Adesina, made this known in Jos on Friday while briefing journalists on the operational breakthroughs recorded by the command in the state capital and other parts of the state
According to the Commissioner, the sixteen-year-old suspect identified as Miracle Igwebuike was arrested in the Tudun Wada community, Jos North Local Government Area, after having carnal knowledge with the victims aged 6, 9, and 12
The Commissioner said, “On 24/08/2024 at about 4:30 pm, one Victoria Livinus and one Kauna Stephen, both female of Tudun Wada Jos, reported at the ‘A’ division Police station that one Miracle Igwbuike male, 16 years of the same address, has been having carnal knowledge of their daughters, one Josephine Livinus, 9 years old, one Jennifer Livinus, 6 years old and one Blessing Stephen, 12 years old, all female of same address.
“Upon receipt of the report, the suspect was immediately arrested by officers attached to the division and brought to the station for interview.
“He confessed to the crime and further stated that one Bongkat Dombin, female, 38 years of the same address, had been seducing and having sexual intercourse with him since he was 13 years old.
The said Bongkat Dombin has also been arrested, and she confessed to the crime.
The commissioner also paraded over 20 other suspects for various offences, including armed robbery, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy, extortion, illegal possession of firearms and intimidation, among others.
He said all the suspects would be charged in court after the investigation was concluded
“I want to take this time to appreciate the members of the press for cooperating with the police and for ensuring that you feed the good people of Plateau State with accurate information.
“I also wish to appreciate the government of Plateau State for the overwhelming support given to the command.
“To the good and peace-loving citizens of Plateau State, I want to thank you for collaborating with us and feeding the command with accurate, timely, and useful information that has helped us in our job of securing lives and properties,” the commissioner added.
A United States Court has sentenced two Nigerian siblings to 17 years and six months in prison over sextortion.
Aside from the 17 years and six months, the two convicts, Samuel Ogoshi, 24, and his brother, Samson Ogoshi, 21, from Lagos, Nigeria, would also undergo five years of supervised release.
The two brothers were extradited to the US to be tried on charges of conspiring to sexually exploit multiple minors.
Their scheme led to the death of a 17-year-old high school student, the US Justice Department said in its announcement of the judgment on its Facebook page on Thursday.
The victim, Jordan DeMay, was a male school student in the state of Michigan.
Aside from DeMay, the Ogochi brothers were said to have exploited more than 100 victims, including 11 minors.
“These defendants sexually exploited and extorted more than 100 victims, including at least 11 minors, resulting in the tragic death of a 17-year-old high school student,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in the same Facebook post.
Also reacting to the judgment, US Attorney Mark Totten for the Western District of Michigan, said, “To criminals who commit these schemes: you are not immune from justice. We will track you down and hold you accountable, even if we have to go halfway around the world to do so,”
According to the details shared on its Facebook post, the Ogoshi brothers used hacked social media accounts to create fake profiles.
They also conducted online research about their victims to learn where they lived, attended school, worked, and the identities of their family and friends.
After their research, they solicited their minor victims to produce sexually explicit images of themselves, and once they received the images, they created a collage of pictures that included the sexually explicit image with other images of the victim and their school, family, and friends.
The Ogoshi brothers threatened to disclose the collages to the family, friends, and classmates of the victim unless the victim agreed to pay money using online cash applications.
The Ogoshi brothers were charged in November 2022 alongside Ezekiel Robert, also a Nigerian national, in connection with the sextortion scheme that led to DeMay’s death.
They were extradited to the US in August 2023 and pled guilty in April.
The third Nigerian Robert’s extradition is pending following an appeal in his home country.
More...
Nigerians were taken aback earlier this week by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announcement of a new petrol pump price.
The NNPCL increased its retail price from N617 to N857 per litre on Tuesday, a development that has worsened the suffering and hardship in the country.
Petrol queues across the country, especially in Abuja, have lasted over two months now, but the situation has now worsened amid the present pump price increase, with only few filling stations dispensing the product.
Meanwhile, there are also concerns that even with the high price of the commodity, the meters are being adjusted by the filling stations, including the government-owned ventures, thereby short-changing the people.
This comes just as the NNPCL management admitted that it was facing a debt challenge to the tune of $6billion from its supply chain abroad.
The pump prices had varied since the May 29, 2023 removal of subsidy by the Nigerian government. While the NNPCL had retained its fuel price at N617 per litre while other retailers sold at different higher prices.
The company, through a statement by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, had subtly confirmed that the debt was the cause of fuel queues springing up in filling stations across the country, lamenting that it is impacting supply sustainability.
There were speculations that the national oil company began struggling to meet fuel supply demands.
Even at that, the Federal Government had consistently debunked claims that it was still subsidizing petroleum products.
The latest development is having a ripple effect on the masses, with private retailers selling at N900 and above. The queues have also refused to clear up.
Meanwhile, DAILY POST reports that the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has demanded an “immediate reversal” of the pump price of petrol across the country.
The union claimed they felt betrayed by President Bola Tinubu, after the NNPC, increased the official price of fuel from N617 to N897 per litre which has seriously affected the new minimum wage agreement it reached with the President Tinubu administration
In the same vein, the Network Against Corruption and Trafficking (NACAT) has kicked against the increase and demanded an end to what it described as the imposition of toxic economic hardships by the current administration.
DAILY POST spoke to some Nigerians on the streets of Abuja and it was nothing but an expression of agony and disappointment.
“It is a terrible situation we’ve found ourselves in this country. No wonder people are running away to other countries, even the ones poorer than Nigeria.
“This morning, I paid N500 from Lugbe to Berger [which used to be N100] and as I’m returning home this evening [the same day], it has increased to N700, some are even charging N800.
“I’m a businessman. I sell shoes at Utako Market and I must go to my shop every day. Now how do I make gains? While at the shop, won’t I eat?
“They said the government has increased the price of fuel again, this means that the price of foodstuff and other basic needs will also increase.
“It’s getting harder for everybody,” an aggrieved passenger at Berger bus stop, Ejeh Samuel told Daily Post.
Many passengers sighted by Daily Post were reluctant to pay the new fare as they preferred to wait for the big buses which are very few on the road.
Speaking, a taxi driver, who gave his name as Toffik Musa, said, “It’s not the passengers’ fault. We’re all in this together.
“That you drive a car doesn’t mean all is well. ‘Fuel don increase and na so transport go increase’. Everybody knows that one. For us drivers, our problem is double. We can’t even see the fuel to buy. There’s no fuel.
“Like yesterday, I entered one of the long queues in Utako here and ended up not buying. I had to buy from black market. ‘Things don spoil and everybody dey suffer am. My joy be say, passengers know say no be drivers like me dey cause am’”.
“You people, you journalists are not reporting this government the way it is.
“It seems everybody is afraid,” a civil servant in the Ministry of Agriculture, who refused to say his name, told Daily Post.
“Now, what is the effect of the new minimum wage? When I deduct my transport fare from my salary as a junior staff member, I’m left with almost nothing. I have a family.
“And if you take the money to the market, you can’t buy anything. We are suffering. We are in pain.
“But we have a government only interested in buying private jets, building big houses and buying big cars for themselves. Now that fuel is N1000, food and other things, everything will add money. Nobody cares about us,” he lamented further.
On his part, Owoicho Emmanuel, civil servant told DAILY POST: “It’s not funny, it started yesterday when I was going home. I almost went back to my office to spend the night.
“We usually have a lot of vehicles at the park to choose from but that’s no longer the case because of the fuel scarcity. As of yesterday, vehicle owners were the ones making the selection on whom to enter their buses.
“Just going home yesterday, I spent an extra N500. It’s not easy. This administration is just a year old and the suffering is more than what Buhari did in four years.
“Buhari used koboko on us but Tinubu is using scorpion sting. All the people that shouted ‘jagaban’, I hope they have their special market.
“Commercial motorists insisted on collecting N1500 from Berger to Bwari and everybody refused to enter.
“We waited until one El-Rfai bus came and parked all of us like canned fish for N400. If Tinubu cannot handle the issues of this country, can’t he just resign? Is it when everyone dies?”
Another aggrieved Nigerian, Onwa Amadi, said, “I wonder what this government wants us to do. My problem now is not to buy a litre of fuel for N1000.
“The major issue is- where do I see the fuel to buy. I can’t stand in the queue for three hours and still pay such money. It’s painful what we’re going through in our country in the hands of our fellow citizens.”
Speaking to DAILY POST on the subject matter, Eleojo Joseph, an Energy Expert, said the increment was done in bad faith.
According to him, “The decision to increase the pump price at this time is done in bad faith.
“Foremost, Nigerians are going through the most excruciating pain of the sudden fuel subsidy removal and yet NNPCL has the guts to increase it again. It is the most insensitive thing ever.
“Two, I think it was done to paint Dangote in a bad light that nothing will change despite his refinery coming on stream or just to spite him. Don’t forget the battle is still on between Dangote and NNPCL/cabal.”
On the scarcity of the product, he added, “The long queues will persist until Dangote ramps up production. NNPCL does not have funds to import and their credit line with suppliers is exhausted due to debt as the foreign companies are not ready to give any line of credit to NNPCL.
“It’s the hard reality we find ourselves in due to bad decisions and corruption over the years.”
Eleojo further stated that, “Pump adjustment has been with us for a long time. The regulatory agency is corrupt and the marketers too are fraudulent.
“It’s a Nigerian thing as we take joy in cheating each other in all spheres of our lives. Unless the regulator enforces the law on the petroleum marketers, the sleaze will continue.
“On the whole, it’s about time the government removed the MD of NNPCL and other regulatory agencies in the petroleum sector.
“Give Dangote refinery more crude and stop breathing down his neck. Ultimately, Dangote will excel and stabilize the sector.”
Meanwhile, just yesterday, Thursday, the federal government assured Nigerians that the fuel crisis will soon be a thing of the past.
Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), gave the assurance while briefing State House reporters after meeting with Vice-President Kashim Shettima, joined by the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari.
It is left to be seen how the meeting will resolve the twin issues of pricing and scarcity.
A Lagos Chief Magistrate’s Court has ordered the detention of Ganiyu Oyedepo, popularly known as Koko Zaria and a prominent member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), for allegedly assaulting Nollywood actor Alhaji Ade Adele, also known as Baba Lawori.
Oyedepo was arraigned on charges of conspiracy, assault occasioning harm, and conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace.
The incident occurred on June 5, 2024, at Idimu, Lagos, where Oyedepo and his associates allegedly attacked Adele, injuring him with a bottle.
Presiding over the case, Chief Magistrate B. Sonuga remanded Oyedepo in custody after he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecutor, Morufu Animashaun, from the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID), informed the court that the defendant’s actions violated sections 411, 173, and 168 of the Lagos State Criminal Law.
The charges read, “That you Ganiyu Oyedepo on or about the June 25, 2024 at Idimu, Lagos in the Lagos Magisterial District, Lagos conspired to commit Felony wit: Assault Occasioning Harm and committed an Offence contrary to Section 411 of the Criminal Law Ch. C17, Vol. 3, Laws of Lagos State
“That you Oyedepo on the said date unlawfully procured one of your boys (now at large) who unlawfully broke bottle and inflicted injuries on the head of one Alhaji Ade Adele and committed an Offence contrary to Section 173 of the Criminal Law Ch. C17, Vol. 3, Laws of Lagos State 2015.
“That you Oyedepo conducted yourself in a manner likely to cause breach of peace when you threatened and procured one of your boys (now at large) to break bottle on the head of Adele and committed an Offence contrary to Section 168 (l)(d) of the Criminal Law Ch. C17, Vol. 3, Laws of Lagos State 2015 and punishable under Section 168 (2) of thé same Criminal Law Ch. C17, Vol. 3, Laws of Lagos state 2015.”
However, Oyedepo denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
His legal team, led by S. Bello and S. O. Ajetomobi, applied for bail, arguing that the charges against their client were bailable.
They urged the court to grant bail on the most lenient terms possible.
After considering the submissions, Chief Magistrate Sonuga granted Oyedepo bail set at N2 million, with two sureties in like sums.
The sureties, as stipulated by the Chief Magistrate, must have good character, provide proof of employment, and reside within the court's jurisdiction.
Additionally, the sureties were required to present evidence of three years' tax payments and have their addresses verified.
Chief Magistrate Sonuga adjourned the case to October 29 for mention and ordered Oyedepo's remand in the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) until the bail conditions were met.
Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Mathew Hassan Kukah, has urged the leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to come up with a way to reduce the current pump price of fuel.
Recall that there has been an increment in the pump price of petrol to ₦855, ₦918 or higher depending on locations.
Reacting to the development, Kukah lamented that Nigerians are hungry and urged those in power to find a way to combat the situation.
He spoke on Friday in Abuja during the official unveiling of The Progressive Institute (TPI).
He said, “We Nigerians are hungry. Find a way of reducing the price of fuel.
“Unless democracy is anchored on sound foundation, we will be building on sand. I am concerned about the quality of democracy in Nigeria. We need to fix the problem with democracy in Nigeria.”
APC leaders at the event, which is ongoing at the Abuja Continental Hotel, are the APC national chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje; President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio represented by the deputy Senate president, Senator Barau I. Jibrin; and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume.
Others are the Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) and Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma; Ondo State governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa; ministers; APC state Chairmen; and many others.
The EFCC on Friday, handed over 53 recovered vehicles and 180, 300 dollars to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on behalf of the victims of financial crimes in Canada.
Ola Olukoyede, Chairman of the anti-graft agency handed over the recovered assets to the representatives of RCMP in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that RCMP was represented by Nasser Sadiou, its Regional Officer, and Mr Robert Aboumitiri, First Secretary, Deputy High Commission of Canada, Nigeria.
Okukoyede said the vehicles were stolen from Canada and tracked to various car stands in Nigeria.
He said that nine of the vehicles were tracked to a customs port, where they were awaiting clearance.
According to him, 164, 000 U.S. dollars was recovered for a Canadian, Elena Bogomas, in a romance scam, while 16, 300 U.S. dollars was also recovered for another Canadian, Sandra Butler.
He said one of the fraudsters used his proceeds to buy an estate and was later arrested, prosecuted and jailed, while the property was sold to recover the funds.
“It’s common knowledge that financial crimes have taken a new turn all across the globe.
“The people who perpetrate these crimes do it in such a way that we discover that their activities are quite borderless and barbaric,” he said.
According to him, they employ all kinds of means to ensure that they move across various jurisdictions.
“That’s why it has become very necessary and imperative for us to collaborate with our friends across the world. People share the same objective and mandate with us.
“What the EFCC is doing today is doing on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“It is also demonstrating the fact that the President has given us the mandate to extend our hands to ensure that this particular problem is resolved and that is exactly what we are doing here today,” he said.
Olukoyede said the exercise was a demonstration of the EFCC’s commitment to inter-agency cooperation in the country.
He said it was also a demonstration of the fact that the Nigerian government does not tolerate financial crimes.
“Not only that, we are going to pursue it, because not only that, we will investigate, we will recover, we will prosecute and we will ensure that the victim is restituted.
“We have recovered money, financial assets, and also we have recovered vehicles on behalf of the victims in Canada.
“As a matter of fact, the 53 vehicles were recovered on behalf of the victims.
“In one instance, we had 164,000 U.S. dollars given to a Canadian victim known as Elena Bogomas.
“Also, we have here, which we will present to you today, another sum of 16,300 U.S. dollars stolen from another victim known as Sandra Butler,” he said.
Sadiou, in his remarks after the signing of documents for the transfer of the recovered assets, thanked the Government of Nigeria and the EFCC in the fight against corruption.
“I am really happy to be here. I feel like being home. I am very happy with the recovery and we appreciate the EFCC on the job they have done.
“It is a testimony of your professionalism and commitment in the combat against financial crimes.
“EFCC is one of the key partners in the fight against financial crimes in the world and West Africa in particular,” he said.
Aboumitiri in his remarks, lauded the partnership between the Canadian government and the Federal Government of Nigeria.
He said the partnership had been yielding positive results