Delta Gov In ‘Cash For Judgment’ Scandal As TAPL Claims Billions Set Aside To Influence Appeal Court Verdict
Admin…EFCC, ICPC Invited To Investigate Bribery Allegation
Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, has been accused of bribing judges to influence favourable outcomes in petitions challenging his victory in the March 18 governorship election in the state.
The allegation, made by the Transparency and Accountability In Political Litigations (TAPL), claim that Oborevwori diverted N6 billion from the Delta State Government coffers to secure favorable verdicts by the Delta State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
The allegation comes after the tribunal, led by Justice C.H. Ahuchaogu, dismissed the petition filed by former Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, who ran against Oborevwori on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform, for being devoid of merit.
Omo-Agege and other contestants have appealed the tribunal’s decision to the Court of Appeal in Lagos. The court is expected to deliver its judgment before the end of November.
But speaking to journalists in Asaba, the Delta State capital, TAPL’s coordinator, Chief Kinsley Emeka, accused Governor Oborevwori of conveying additional funds in hard currencies from the Government House in Asaba to Lagos for the alleged purpose of influencing the appeal court’s decision.
“It is a very sad time in the history of our state that at a time when we are witnessing so much suffering and hardship, the government is spending our resources in buying court judgments and there are people bragging about it.
“It is even difficult to understand why a government that was elected by the people and claims to be serving the people, is wasting the resources of the state in courts in an attempt to subvert the will of the people.
“Government agents are boasting that nobody can challenge Governor Sheriff Oborevwori as he has Delta state funds under his control to frustrate and jail anybody challenging his move to remain in office against the will of majority of Deltans who’s votes were manipulated,” said Kingsley.
TAPL called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to investigate the allegations of bribery.
Reacting in a phone call with THE WHISTLER, Governor Oborevwori’s Chief Press Secretary, Festus Ahon, denied the allegation.
Ahon expressed disbelief at the claims, asserting that his principal’s election victory was secured through a fair and transparent process.
“I don’t know why people will wake up and begin to make allegations,” Ahon remarked, questioning the rationale behind such accusations.
He challenged the validity of the claims, stressing that the governor recorded resounding victory in 21 out of 25 Local Government Areas, hence doesn’t need to bribe any judge to validate his victory.
“How can the governor bribe judges? For what? An election that we won clean and clear? We won in 21 out of 25 Local Government Areas.
“So what are we scared of? Is it a man that won in four local governments that wants to claim victory over someone who got 21 out of 25 LGAs? Or is it a man who did not even win two wards or his Local Government Area? There’s no iota of truth in the allegations.”
The appeal court has November 30 deadline to deliver its judgment in three separate applications filed by Omo-Agege and the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Chief Kenneth Gbagi and the Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate, Kennedy Pela, challenging Oborevwori’s victory.
OpenAI announced on Tuesday its co-founder Sam Altman will return as CEO, days after he was fired by the board.
“We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo,” it said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
OpenAI’s board sacked Altman last week, with Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella announcing soon after he was hiring Altman to run a new artificial intelligence research team.
But in the fast-moving sequence of events, Altman said Tuesday he had the support of Nadella for his return as OpenAI’s CEO.
“With the new board and w satya’s support, i’m looking forward to returning to openai, and building on our strong partnership with (Microsoft),” he wrote on X.
Hundreds of staff at OpenAI threatened to quit following Altman’s dismissal.
In a letter released to media, the vast majority of the company’s 770-strong staff suggested they would follow Altman unless the board responsible for his departure resigned.
Among the signatories was co-founder Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s chief scientist and a member of the four-person board who pushed Altman out.
“I deeply regret my participation in the board’s actions,” Sutskever wrote on X on Monday. “I never intended to harm OpenAI.”
OpenAI had appointed Emmett Shear, a former chief executive of Amazon’s streaming platform Twitch, as its new CEO despite pressure from Microsoft and other major investors to reinstate Altman
The United Nations (UN) Food Agency has warned that food assistance to 1.4 million refugees in Chad who fled conflict in parts of the Sahel could end because of limited funding.
The UN World Food Program (WFP) gave this warning in a statement issued on Tuesday, November 22, saying most of the refugees escaped the war in Sudan and crossed into Chad in the last six months in numbers not seen in the last 20 years.
The WFP’s Country Director in Chad said, “This forgotten crisis has metastasized as the world’s eyes are on other emergencies … We cannot let the world stand and allow our life-saving operations grind to a halt in Chad,” said Pierre Honnorat.
Sudan plunged into conflict in April when long-simmering tensions escalated between the country’s military and the rival Rapid Support Forces, resulting in the death of more than 5,000 people and displacement of at least 5.2 million people amid reports of mass killings, rapes, and widespread destruction, according to the U.N.
Many of the displaced found their way to neighboring Chad, piling pressure on the already impoverished country as it becomes host to one of the largest and fastest-growing refugee populations in Africa, the WFP said.
“Collectively we must find a way to support the women, children, and men who are bearing the full brunt of this crisis. Cutting our assistance is simply not an option because it will have untold consequences for millions of people, jeopardizing years of investment in fighting hunger and malnutrition in Chad,” Honnorat said.
The WFP said that malnutrition is a huge concern, with nine in 10 new arrivals reporting “poor or borderline food consumption.”
The U.N. Chief Honnorat said that WFP urgently needs $185 million to continue its support to crisis-affected populations in Chad over the next six months. In the absence of that funding, he said, the agency is being forced to make “brutal choices” to prioritize certain needs and groups.
“In December, WFP will be forced to suspend assistance to internally displaced people and refugees from Nigeria, Central African Republic, and Cameroon due to insufficient funds,” Honnorat said.
“From January this suspension will be extended to 1.4 million people across Chad including new arrivals from Sudan who will not receive food as they flee across the border.”
…FRSC Warns Against Passenger Conveyance In Haulage Vehicles
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has once again warned drivers of trailers and haulage vehicles against violating traffic regulations after a road crash at Takalafia village along the Yawuri expressway in Magama Local Government of Niger State on Tuesday.
The incident involved a red commercial DAF Trailer with registration number SRZ446XA, driven by one Mr. Idi Doba.
The crash which was attributed to speed violation and resultant loss of control, claimed the lives of 17 male adults and left several others injured.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday by FRSC spokesperson, Bisi Kazeem, an investigation into the lone crash revealed that it occurred around 3 p.m. on Tuesday and involved a total of 229 people, comprising 220 male adults, 4 female adults and 5 male children.
Kazeem said 206 male adults, 1 female adult, and 1 male child were rescued with varying degrees of injuries, adding that the injured victims were swiftly evacuated to Kantagora General Hospital for urgent medical attention, while the deceased persons were taken to the hospital’s mortuary.
The statement partly reads, “Pursuant to the unfortunate road traffic crash that occured at Takalafia village, on the Yawuri expressway, Magama Local Government of Niger State on Tuesday 21 November, 2023, the Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, Dauda Ali Biu has again warned drivers of trailers and other haulage vehicles to desist from conveying passengers in their vehicles due to the danger they pose to the lives of those passengers and other road users.
“Investigation into the lone crash revealed that it occured at exactly 0300HRS and involved a total of 229 people, comprising of 220 male adults, 04 female adults, and 5 male children. From that number, 206 male adults, 1 female adult and 1 male child were rescued with different degrees of injuries, while a total of 17 male adults were killed by the crash.
“The crash which involved a red coloured commercial DAF Trailer with registration number SRZ446XA driven by Mr Idi Doba, was caused by speed violation which resulted to loss of control.
“The injured victims have been evacuated to Kantagora General Hospital for immediate medical attention, while the dead victims were deposited in the mortuary of the same hospital.”
Gov Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has reportedly spent the whooping sum of N50 million on entertainment and N20 million on gifts to government guests in three months.
According to the state budget performance report, the Imo government spent over N650 million on stationery, gifts to government guests, entertainment and others and expended N30 million on poverty alleviation between July-September 2023.
The report shows that the state government spent the sum of N89,975,000 on office stationery and computer consumables and N21,070,000 on magazines and periodicals (newspapers).
Within the three months, the report analysed by SaharaReporters on Wednesday also showed the state government spent N10,675,820.29 on leave bonuses, while N506,434,736.31 was spent on unspecified items tagged “others.”
The report also shows that the Imo State government under Uzodimma, in the three months under review, recorded zero allocations for items such as “provision of water facilities, hospitals and health centres, libraries and ICT infrastructures.”
The report titled “Imo State Government Budget Performance Report – 2023 Quarter 3,” was “produced by the Account General Department/Ministry of Finance/Ministry of Planning and Budget/Imo State equivalent and published on the Imo State website.”
It stated that “This report includes the originally approved budget appropriation for the year 2023 against each organizational unit for each of the core economic classification of expenditures (Personnel, Overheads, Capital, and Others); the actual expenditures for the quarter Q3, attributed to each organizational unit, as well as the cumulative expenditures for the year to date, and balances against each of the revenue and expenditure appropriations.”
The report also stated that the Imo government spent a total sum of N200,000,000 on Heartland Football Club, while N5,000,000 was spent on constructing and equipping the gatehouse at the deputy governor’s lodge.
The document further showed that the governor spent the sum of N133,886,325.69 on transport within the three months under review, while he approved N30,000,000 for poverty alleviation in the state within the same period.
FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike has recounted how he was defrauded when he was the Governor of Rivers State while acquiring Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) in Abuja.
Wike, during a meeting with estate developers in Abuja, said he was defrauded of N57 million by officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
The minister said he received three fake C of Os from FCTA officials despite the whopping amount of money paid for his land allocations.
According to him, the officials disappeared after payment for the documents was made.
Wike announced that moving forward, a reduced fee of N5 million would be implemented to acquire legitimate Certificates of Occupancy to help address such fraudulent activities.
He said, “When I was governor of Rivers State, we had three C of Os from FCT. It turned out that all were fake.
“The C of O was coming from FCTA as a government, not as an individual. For the plots allocated or said to be allocated, we paid money.
“When I sent the Liaison Officer, the people from FCTA took him to the land, and later, we discovered that it was fake land. Look at the money we had paid.
“The people disappeared. We could not find them again. Over N57 million that we paid. Why? Because that was how it was being done in the FCT. I have said that it will not work again.”
…says, I saved N110bn in 3 months
The Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike on Tuesday raised the alarm of disturbing numbers of fake Certificate of Occupancy ( C of O) being issued by FCTA officials to unsuspecting residents.
Wike said this during a meeting with estate developers and other stakeholders in Abuja.
The Minister said that he had confirmed what he experienced as a Governor when he was issued a fake C of O by FCTA officials.
While he stated that he has saved a whopping sum of N110 billion for the administration in three months, also disclosed plans to introduce some security features into the C of Os, to wade off fraudulent merchants.
He also disclosed that his short stay as FCT Minister has revealed that there are many bad eggs in the system, that forge C of Os to defraud people.
The Minister also noted that he would seek the permission of President Bola Tinubu to add a National Identification Number (NIN) to any C of O that would be given by his administration.
According to him, residents seeking C of O, henceforth will have to pay N5 million and the payment can be spread within four months.
Wike said, ” When I was governor of Rivers State, 3 C of Os were given by FCT on my land and we later discovered that the C of Os given to us were fack after we had paid N57 million for the lands.
“I will seek the president’s permission to link any C of O to the NIN number. The rich men will kick against it but anything that will help our people must be done.
“Support this move. You will attest to the fact that there are changes. How will you feel that at the end of the day, you have a C of O but it is fake? Over 10 years some people have not paid now the 5 million looks big for them”, he added.
30-year-old, Rt. Hon. Gabriel Dewan of the Young People’s Party (YPP) and member representing Pankshin North State Constituency of Plateau State has on Tuesday emerged as the Speaker of the State Assembly following the resignation of the former Speaker, Rt. Hon. Moses Sule, member representing Mikang Constituency
Former Speaker Rt. Hon. Sule who resigned alongside his Deputy Speaker Hon. Gwottson Dalyop Fom while speaking to journalists said his resignation is a personal decision for the sake of the state.
“Resignation is also part of good leadership, because leadership is not all about you, is about the people, as leaders we need to make sacrifices so that things will work for the people of the State, this resignation is born out of patriotism for the plateau to move forward. And nobody forced me to resign, I did so for the growth, progress and stability of the State.
Meanwhile the New Speaker of the Plateau House of Assembly Rt. Hon. Gabriel Dewan while speaking to Journalists after his election pledged to provide purposeful and focused leadership in the House of Assembly.
Dewan assured that he would use his office and reunite Plateau citizens over the lingering political turmoil in the state.
He thanked his colleagues for trusting him with leadership even as a Minority and the Youngest in the House of Assembly.
A Peoples Democratic Party PDP Member representing Riyom Constituency Hon Timothy Dantong was also elected as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly.
The emergence of both the Speaker and his Deputy took place during the Tuesday plenary held at the temporary chambers old Government House, due to the undergoing renovations at the Assembly Complex.
New Telegraph reports that the Plateau state House of Assembly has 24 members, with PDP having 16, seven are of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and one member is of the Young Progressive Party YPP, who is now the Speaker.
However Many view the resignation of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker as a result of the Appeal Court judgement which recently declared sacked Governor Barr. Caleb Mutfwang, National Assembly Members and House of Assembly Members elected under the Peoples Democratic Party.
Popular singer Crown Uzama, aka Shallipopi, has credited his colleague Divine Ikubor, popularly known as Rema, with inspiring him and other young artists from Edo State to believe in their talents.
In a recent interview on The Zero Conditions podcast, the Benin-born singer expressed how Rema, the ‘Calm Down’ crooner, served as a beacon of hope for artists in Benin.
Shallipopi mentioned that prior to Rema’s emergence, there was a lack of confidence among artists in Benin, with many believing that musical stardom was only achievable for those in Lagos and Abuja.
He stated, “Benin as a place, none of us get hope to blow. We just leave am for the squad wey dey do am, the Lagos and Abuja people. We dey see everything, but we no get that hope to say we go dey that spotlight.
Rema’s journey to stardom began with the attraction of his freestyle videos on social media, capturing the interest of D’Prince, ultimately resulting in his signing with Mavin Records.
Shallipopi said Rema’s journey from posting freestyle videos to achieving new heights in the music industry gave hope to aspiring artists in Benin, illustrating that they too could make it in the music industry.
“Na when Rema come, wey D’Pince pick Rema, an when we come sey hope dey. If Rema cross over, we go fit cross over,” said Shallipopi.
He noted that Rema’s journey from Benin to Lagos served as a source of inspiration for artists in Benin, demonstrating that success was not limited by geographical location.
“We go cross over, Rema go Lagos, we dey watch am, we be day one fans. Before e blow, all of us dey watch am, we don be one number one fans since. we dey watch Rema wey dey do freestyle before he drop EP,” he said.
“Na Rema give us hope sey, we for Benin, we go actually make am and dem fit pick us from freestyle.”
Shallipopi, born Crown Uzama, is a Nigerian rapper, singer, and songwriter who first gained recognition with the debut of “Obapluto” in 2023. Shallipopi signed with Dvpper Music Distribution, a Nigerian music record distribution.
Internationally acclaimed for his 2023 hit single “Elon Musk,” Shallipopi reached the pinnacle by claiming the No. 1 spot on the Nigeria Top 100 Apple Music chart.
Shallipopi’s musical journey took off as he began crafting freestyles and sharing them on TikTok and various other social media platforms. His career saw a significant breakthrough with the release of the standout single “Elon Musk.”
Media
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange Binance is expected to pay fines totaling $4.3 billion and its chief is planning to step down, a US media report said Tuesday.
In a deal with US authorities that could allow the company to keep running, Binance chief executive Changpeng Zhao intends to plead guilty to violating US anti-money laundering rules and leave his position, the Wall Street Journal reported citing unnamed sources.
The agreement would end investigations into Binance, which was created in 2017 and cornered much of the crypto-trading market, turning Zhao into a billionaire.
Zhao, who has often been presented as the archrival of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, was due in court Tuesday to enter his plea, the Wall Street Journal report added.
The Justice Department declined to comment and Binance did not respond to media queries.
The $4.3 billion amount includes sums to address a civil lawsuit filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and claims leveled by the Treasury Department, the report said.
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Former Super Eagles number one goalkeeper and captain, Vincent Enyeama, has revealed that he lost the desire to follow the national team after he was forced to retire from the team in 2015.
Enyeama, who began his career spanning over two decades with Ibom Stars, is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers that have come out of Africa.
He made his Super Eagles debut at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and captained the team on several occasions. He won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013, after winning bronze in the 2004, 2006 and 2010 tournaments.
As the Super Eagles continue to face goalkeeping problems after his exit, many fans have suggested that he be appointed a goalkeeper coach so he could mentor another shot stopper in his calibre, but Enyeama hinted that he lost touch with Super Eagles after the spat with coach Sunday Oliseh made him quit the team with 101 caps.
“Sincerely, I’ve not been following Nigerian football right from the day I left and with due respect, I was really treated like shh..,” he told Ufuoma Osusu, Hotsports executive producer in an interview.
“I mean I was treated like a piece of used material; so I decided to put a block between me and the national team and that went on for a long time. It’s now that I’m beginning to follow the goings-on from a distance.
“But I really put a stop to watching Nigerian football and the national team because I was deeply hurt. It’s now I am really becoming gradually at ease. I think I have made personal changes to move on and change chapters and pages to slowly reconcile myself with the system.
“To state the fact, I can’t really say much about the National Team and the goalkeeping and all of that because I am not watching them.”
He added that he was glad with his achievements in the sport.
“I feel accomplished. I feel very accomplished. It’s not easy to achieve the feat that I have achieved all these years. It’s not an easy feat. To God be the glory, I went through all these years, achieved the glories, achieved all the laurels, achieved everything that I’ve got and that makes me feel great.
“I had so many great moments in my career. The truth is that I can’t really specify or single out any particular one as special. But AFCON 2013 remains one of the best moments because we won that trophy and Enyimba 2003 and 2004 also paints a good memory in my career history because we emerged champions of the continent by winning the CAF Champions League twice. These are very memorable moments among other moments for me.”
[Guardian]
Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni has directed the purchase of a house worth N7.5m for the family of a deceased policeman Corporal Mohammed Maina.
The officer was killed in an ambush on the governor’s convoy by suspected terrorists along the Maiduguri-Damaturu way last Saturday.
This purchase was disclosed in a Tuesday press statement by Mamman Mohammed, the Director General of Press and Media Affairs to Governor Buni.
Similarly, the sum of N2m was provided to the family for their immediate needs in addition to N1m for the children’s school fees.
The governor also approved N1m for each of the six other security men who sustained injuries as well as another N2m for their medical bills.
Governor Buni, who prayed for the repose of the soul of the deceased, and the quick recovery of those injured, directed the release of food items to the families affected.
The items were presented to the family of the victims by the Emir of Damaturu, Shehu Hashimi II ibn al-Amin El-Kanemi accompanied by the Special Advisers on Religious Affairs Ustaz Babagana Mallam-Kyari.
Nigerian duo Victor Osimhen and Asisat Oshoala have been nominated for the 2023 Globe Soccer best men and women player awards respectively.
The nominees for the awards were unveiled on Tuesday by the organisers with the Napoli star battling 29 others for the prize.
Other nominees for the men’s award are Nicolò Barella, Jude Bellingham, Karim Benzema, Yassine Bounou, Antoine Griezmann, Ilkay Gundogan, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Robert Lewandowski.
Lautaro Martínez, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, Kim Min-Jae, Luka Modric, Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane, and Vinícius Jr are also in contention for the men’s best player prize for the award.
Last year, the Nigerian forward, who led Napoli to a first league title in over 30 years, got the Emerging Player of the Year gong in the Globe Soccer Awards.
Osimhen’s Year
Osimhen was ranked eighth in the 2023 Ballon d’Or awards, the highest-ever finish by a Nigerian player.
He is also in pole position to win this year’s African Player of the Year prize when the ceremony is held next year.
For the women’s category, Oshoala who won a treble with Barcelona last season including the Champions League, will battle teammate Aitana Bonmati among others.
Other nominees are Sam Kerr, Alexandra Pop, Olga Carmona, Esther Gonzalez, Patri Guijarro, Mapi Leon and Salma Paralluelo
In the coaching category, Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola headlines the list of nominees and is favourite to scoop the award after a treble-winning season with the English Premier League outfit last term.
But he has to contend with Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, Lionel Scaloni, Carlo Ancelotti, Xavi Hernandez, Simone Inzaghi, Luis de la Fuente, Jonatan Giraldez, Marcel Koller and Sarina Wiegmann.
Already, online voting has started for the different categories and will run until December 7th. After this, a 30-member jury from the football industry will then pick the awardees.
The Globe Soccer Awards winners will be unveiled in a ceremony on January 19, 2024.
The ‘empty treasury’ and ‘bankruptcy’ claims by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration have stirred controversies.
This is even as Nigeria’s rising inflation continues to bite harder, pushing more citizens into poverty as the cost of living and purchasing power shrink under the current dispensation.
DAILY POST reports that Nigeria spent over 96 per cent of its revenue in 2022 on debt serving, according to the World Bank, as the country’s total debt stocks rose to N87.38 trillion in the second quarter of 2023.
The government insists the nation is not all gloomy as it continues to ‘take baby steps’ towards solving its economic problems.
However, the recent statements from the presidency have created mixed feelings among Nigerians.
DAILY POST reported that the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, recently disclosed that President Bola Tinubu’s administration inherited a bankrupt country from the previous government.
Ribadu, while speaking at the Chief of Defence Intelligence Annual Conference 2023 in Abuja, claimed that the revenue generated by Tinubu’s administration was being used to repay what was taken from the country.
Before now, former lawmaker, Shehu Sani had in June urged Tinubu to keep aside party solidarity and tell the country the truth about what he inherited from erstwhile President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Sani claimed it was unfair to ask poor Nigerians to make sacrifices without knowing what happened under the last administration.
“The Tinubu Government must set aside party solidarity and tell the country the truth about what they inherited as contained in the handover book.
“It’s unfair to ask the poor masses to make sacrifices without knowing the details of what happened under the last administration,” Sani said.
Meanwhile, DAILY POST findings show that the federal government has saved about N1.45tn from earnings generated from the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, between June and September.
This is according to FAAC allocation documents obtained from the website of Nigeria’s Governors Forum and National Bureau of Statistics.
Recall that Tinubu had, in a nationwide broadcast on August 1, revealed that the Federal Government of Nigeria has saved N1tn in the two months (June and July) since the removal of the petrol subsidy.
“In a little over two months, we have saved over a trillion Naira that would have been squandered on the unproductive fuel subsidy, which only benefitted smugglers and fraudsters,” the President said.
Speaking on the matter, Dr Samson Simon, an Economist of the ARKK Economics and Data limited told DAILY POST that Nigerians deserve to know the details and the true state of the economy.
According to him, the previous and now the current administration have not done enough to tackle oil theft in the country, which he blamed for the paucity of foreign exchange.
Acknowledging that the economy is in a perilous state, the economist stressed that it is the right of all Nigerians to demand accountability and transparency from the nations’ leaders.
He added that it is only when Nigerians have the specifics and understand the nature of the problem then they can contribute their quota towards fixing the economy.
He said, ‘‘The truth is that the Nigerian economy is in a parlous state, and being in a parlous state means that it is bankrupt as they mention.
“Bankruptcy in the sense that they can hardly keep up with their obligations, even to service our debts is a huge challenge. Just to service our debts is a problem, let alone meeting up with other obligations talking about salaries, infrastructure, tackling insecurity. So it is really in a bad state.
‘‘And if you look at it, we are heavily indebted but I understand some people say our problem is not debt, our problem is revenue. Why did they say so?
“Because if you look at our debt to GDP ratio it is largely okay as much as we have accumulated debt and then this devaluation of foreign exchange has also made the external debt to go high.
“The issue is we can hardly generate revenue. We have issues in generating revenue. And if you look at it, our GDP to revenue generation is one of the worst in the world.
“So because we generate next to nothing, at least relatively, and use most in debt servicing, we are in a very perilous state.
‘‘The removal of subsidy, which so many of us have clamoured for, was not done the right way. You don’t just remove fuel subsidies like that, you need to put some things in place.
“That was the mistake the government made. You don’t just say you are unifying the foreign exchange market. There are certain things you need to do. There are certain things you have to put in place. They did not do that. And that is why despite the fact that they claimed that they removed the fuel subsidy, they are still paying for the subsidy.
“Why? Because they did not do the right thing in the same manner they said they unified the foreign exchange market, which is a good thing. But because they did not put things in place, they now have a backlog, there is scarcity of dollars.There is paucity of foreign exchange.
‘‘Generally, they have not done anything to solve that problem. So certain things have to be put in place before some of those things work the way they should have to work.
‘‘If you look at the major problem we have around that paucity of foreign exchange, it is because of oil theft. The major source of foreign exchange to Nigeria has been crude oil. And because of oil theft, the government has been struggling to meet up with the OPEC quota.
“This problem is solvable but are we doing anything about it? We have serious oil theft in Nigeria and it did not start today, it has been a problem for a while now. It got worse under Buhari. What did Buhari do to solve the problem? Next to nothing. What is Tinubu doing to solve the problem of oil theft? Next to nothing.
‘‘So the truth is we are not yet serious about fixing any of our problems. And this affects the state of the economy.
“The truth is nobody is really serious about fixing any of our problems, maybe when we have the right crop of leaders that will take this problem head-on or put anything about their own interest on the back seat and face Nigeria’s problem seriously.
‘‘One of our biggest problems is lack of transparency. If you look at this corruption people talk about, it is because of transparency. If everything was transparent, corruption would hardly exist.
“And we are all Nigerians, nobody is superior. Because you are president today does not make you more Nigerian than others. We are all equal Nigerians and we deserve to know. We are now in a democracy. We are not in a country where we have masters and servants.
‘‘The government owes it to everybody to be transparent. If it is the state of the economy, we know it is bad but we need more details. And we are entitled to know that. I think it is the right of all Nigerians to demand accountability, to demand for transparency.
“If we have the specifics, that will help us to understand what we have to do and how we can contribute our quota to fix the problem, but if we don’t know the exact nature of the problem, you can only be talking in generality, which is not targeted and may not give you what you are looking for.
“I think they owe it to us. Being transparent is the way to go, it will make us a greater country. If all our leaders will be transparent, selfless,” he added.
Also speaking to DAILY POST, the Executive Director of Daniel Ukwu Foundation, DUF, Daniel Nkemaloma Ukwu urged the government to give Nigerians the breakdown of the liabilities left behind.
According to him, the government should set up a probe panel if it is serious, unless it was an empty statement.
He said, ‘‘They are just playing with Nigerians. It is the same political party saying they left the nation bankrupt.
“They should declare what were the liabilities they met on the ground, if they are sincere. But they cannot do that because their lifestyles do not portray what they are saying. At least, they were busy buying SUVs the last time we checked.
‘‘They should stop giving excuses. The time they were struggling to get into office, they did not see bankruptcy. They are just trying to give us excuses whereas they are there to solve problems.
‘‘If they actually inherited bankruptcy, they should reverse it. Just like someone who has a car that its engine knocked, the best thing is to try and put it in order.
‘‘To Nigerians, the excuse is not acceptable. If they insist that is the situation, let them give us the breakdown. Let us know the liabilities left behind and what effort they are making to recover them or even probe the administration, if they are actually sincere.
“But I see that they are just trying to play a game, if not let the administration set up a probe panel so that we will know they are serious, unless it is an empty statement.’’
[DailyPost]