THE convoy of Governor Godwin Obaseki was stranded at the dilapidated and flooded RCC junction on the Benin- Sapele-Warri highway that has become a nightmare to road users.

This came as the governor said conflicting Federal Government’s position on federal roads in states had made it impossible for his administration to fix dilapidated federal roads across the state.

In a viral video of the incident, a background voice was heard urging viewers to share the video to show that it was payback time for leaders, who fail to take needed action to help the people.

The background (male) voice said: “The governor is the one inside the vehicle but it has stopped moving. This is his vehicle, he cannot come down as he is ashamed. Everyone is feeling the brunt of bad policies in the country.”

Meanwhile, Obaseki, during a visit to the Edo State secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, said: “The position and location of Edo, particularly Benin City, which has been a blessing is now becoming a curse. A blessing because we are very centrally located in Nigeria and we are one state where all major federal trunks pass through.

“We are a transport hub, so you have the dual carriage coming from the West, one coming from the East, one coming from the South-South and one is supposed to be going to the North.

“And a federal policy relating to its roads is very confusing. In the past, we could go as a state, rehabilitate and give the Federal Government the bill for refund. At one point, they said states can apply to take over those roads but I am yet to see one state that they have given a federal road to.

“The Auchi-Ibillo Road was so bad that some of our contractors couldn’t go to their quarry site. We appealed to the Federal Government to do palliative work on that road but they refused, saying the road is under contract.

“If I want to do the same to Benin-Sapele Road, I am not allowed to because first, it is not our road and second, the Federal Government said it had already given it out to a contractor. So, I cannot do anything on that road. So, we are in a very difficult situation in Edo.

“It is like our hands and our legs are tied and they say we should run because the only government people know is their state government.

“I am not here to criticise the Federal Government but I am here to say that we are all Nigerians and it is only fair and proper that the Federal Government, which has 52 per cent of our revenue allocation should treat Nigerians as human beings and that they all come from this country.

“You don’t have to vote for a Federal Government for the government to care about you but it is like there is nobody to talk to. Nobody cares about us in Abuja.”

A Senator representing Edo North Adams Oshiomhole has said they did not promise miracles to Nigerians when they campaigned for the election of President Bola Tinubu.

Oshiomhole, a former National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), said this on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.

The former Edo State governor said Nigerians need to be patient with the new government, noting that the president is not a magician that will immediately solve all problems in the country.

“They know they were not electing a magician. And nobody promised a magical solution,” Oshiomhole said.

“You don’t need to give me an example. I know what we (APC) promised more than you who was reporting it. Whatever you reported, we were the source. We did not promise a 24-hour solution. We did not promise miracles. We did not promise an overnight solution.

“You show me any document that says in 48 hours, this will be done. In 14 days, this should be done. In 21 days, this should be done.

“I think you are the one who has the illusion that once a promise is made, automatically once you get into office, either spiritually or by miracles, solutions will emerge.”

The former Edo State governor said since the removal of fuel subsidy, Tinubu has taken steps to address the impacts of the decision.

“What Nigeria needs is what President Tinubu has demonstrated the courage to make decisions and to be humble to admit some of the unintended consequences of those decisions, and, the will to deal with those consequences. And he has put in place instruments to deal with them.”

On the N30,000 minimum wage in the country, the former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president described it as a criminal wage.

“What we call minimum wage is a criminal wage,” he said. “If you exchange N30,000 at N800 or N700 to the dollar, what does that translate to? So, the value of that minimum wage when it was N125 – when it was first introduced under, I think, (Shehu) Shagari’s government – is about two times or three times the value many years later, even in the public service.”

Parents, under the aegis of the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria, NAPTAN, have called on President Bola Tinubu to apply the brake to the spate of increment in tuition fees and others by government-owned schools.

The parents said life was being snuffed out of them as a result of such increases in almost all sectors, such as fuel, electricity and now school fees.

According to them, the increases are becoming too many and pouring on the citizens like a heavy rainfall.

Speaking in a chat with Vanguard yesterday, the Deputy National President of NAPTAN, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, urged the President to, as a matter of urgency, put a stop to the tuition fee hike in public schools.

“It is unfortunate. We support the President regarding the removal of oil subsidy, but it does not mean everything should just be hiked at the same time.

”You still want to remove subsidy on electricity, and also hike tuition fees at the same time. That will be too killing on parents and their children.

“The President should by tomorrow, mandate schools to revert to their old fees. They should not snuff life out of parents and their children.

”He should temper justice with mercy. The moment the government increases fees payable in its schools, others will follow – the state governments and private school owners. He should just stop it,” he stated.

Giving advice to the President on how to bring down the cost of fuel in Nigeria, Ogunbanjo said though licenses had been given to some importers to bring in fuel, the solution did not lie in that step.

He said: “Prices of petroleum products would still continue to be on the high side as long as they are imported and the process is dollar-denominated.

”What he needs to do is to encourage modular refineries. That will bring succour to the people and the country entirely. He should address that and set standards for those operating such modular refineries if he is not pleased with what they are doing now.

“While the modular refineries are working and meeting the people’s needs in their own little ways, then the big ones, such as Dangote Refinery, can come on stream.

”The huge impact of the subsidy removal is already affecting businesses and many may close down. If that happens, it is still parents that will be the worst for it if they lose their jobs and still have family commitments to handle.”

Recall that federal government’s unity colleges recently increased fees from N45,000 to N100,000 and federal universities have done same.

The University of Lagos, UNILAG, for instance, weekend increased fees from N19,000 to N190,250.

Parents are apprehensive that by the time new session begins for primary and secondary schools in September this year, a number of parents might find it difficult to cope with fees and buying books.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, had expressed fears that the introduction of the Student Loan Scheme by the government would lead to hike in tuition fees.

Presidents of both unions, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke and Dr Anderson Ezeibe, had said the government would just be referring any indigent student who cannot pay fees to approach the Student Loan Board, but wondered how many of such students the board would be able to assist.

They also faulted the repayment method and timelines.

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Abubakar Atiku has pleaded with the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to summon enough courage to do substantial justice to his petition seeking the nullification of Ahmed Bola Tinubu as winner of the February 25 election.

Atiku said on Sunday that contrary to the threat of Tinubu, heavens would not fall when he (Tinubu) is sacked by the tribunal as Nigeria’s president on the account of massive electoral fraud that brought him into office.

In his final written address, Atiku dismissed Tinubu’s threat as an empty one deployed to scare the tribunal from upholding justice in the petition challenging Tinubu’s election.

In the final written address by his lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, the former Vice President recalled the courageous position of the Supreme Court in the case of Rotimi Amaechi, where the apex court held that heavens would not fall when justice is done in the manner prescribed by law.

Justice George Adesola Oguntade, who delivered the Supreme Court judgment in the cited authority, had said: “I must do justice even if the heavens fall. The truth, of course, is that when justice has been done, the heavens stay in one place and in peace.”

Atiku asked the tribunal to invoke the courage displayed in the past Supreme Court judgment to settle his petition against Tinubu by disregarding the threat of monumental chaos issued by Tinubu to shield himself from justice.

The former Vice President maintained that Tinubu had lost the moral and legal rights to be in office as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, having admitted a punitive forfeiture of $406,000 in a narcotics and money laundering-related matter.

Besides, Atiku accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of manipulating the results of the presidential election in the most corrupt manner in favour of Tinubu and thereafter, unlawfully proclaimed him (Tinubu) the winner of the election.

Citing the alleged brazen subversion of the popular will of the voters by INEC in favour of Tinubu, the former Vice President appealed that the proclamation of the electoral body is voided and set aside and in its place, declare him the winner of the election having convincingly scored the majority of the lawful votes.

The naira maintained its downward trend against the dollar as it traded for 876/$ at the parallel market on Sunday.

Some Bureau de Change operators, who spoke to News-men, said the local currency had earlier exchanged to the dollar at 820 a week earlier.

Since the unification of the exchange rates in the country by the Central Bank of Nigeria in recent weeks, the naira had continued to slide to the dollar, due to liquidity crunch, speculations, and other challenges.

Speaking with our correspondent, a BDC operator in Lagos, Alhaji Sanni Abdul, stated, “Naira is currently bought and sold at 850/$ and 876/$. The exchange rate has not been stable for some time now.”

Another BDC operator, Alli Ibrahim, said, “Things are getting more expensive. As of Friday, we were buying and selling the naira at 850/$ and 865/$.”

Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr. Muda Yusuf, said the foreign exchange market was evidently under pressure as a result of a number of factors.

He said there was a curious surge in monetary expansion in the last month.

Yusuf said, “Money supply grew by an unprecedented 15 per cent in one month between May and June 2023. Broad money grew by over N9tn, from N55.7tn to N64.9tn. This surge in monetary growth is unprecedented. Obviously, this must have had an effect on the exchange rate.”

He said the monetary authorities should investigate this drastic growth in money supply and take steps to curb subsequent expansion.

“Such dramatic growth in money supply poses a significant risk to macroeconomic stability, especially price stability,” he said.

Over the last few years, he said, there had been a cumulative backlog of unmet foreign exchange demand, running into billions of dollars as a result of acute illiquidity in the foreign exchange market.

With a more liberalised forex market, he said, the pressure of the backlog of unmet demands and other maturing forex-related obligations had been unleashed on the investors’ and exporters’ window.

However, at the Investor & Exporter forex window, naira appreciated by 3.24 per cent against the dollar in the previous week.

According to the data from the official trading platform of FMDQ Securities, there was a slight appreciation of the naira by 3.24 basis per cent, bringing its value to 777.82/$. It ended the previous week at 803.90/$.

As of Friday, the naira traded at an intra-day high of 855/$ and a low of 665/$ with a total turnover of $77.99m.

The National Vice Chairman, Northwest, of ruling All Progressives Congress APC, Salihu Lukman, said yesterday that the level of impunity under the leadership of the erstwhile national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, reached its height when he sought to unilaterally impose a presidential candidate on the party.

He said apart from freezing statutory organs of the party, Adamu wanted to foist then Senate president, Ahmad Lawan, on the party but was swiftly cut to size by state governors and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who was then an aspirant.

Lukman in a statement, said it was, however, regrettable that the APC had continued to move from one leadership crisis to another, lamenting that today, the National Working Committee, NWC, had become a distant observer in the process of recruiting a new national chairman.

He said: “After winning the campaign to get the caretaker committee organize a national convention, which produced the current NWC, led by Senator Abdullahi Adamu, in no time the party was returned to the old mode of business as usual where statutory organs of the party were frozen.

”No meetings of party organs were taking place and the NWC became practically an observer whereby the National Chairman and National Secretary basically usurped the powers of all organs of the party.

“The height of it was when the national chairman attempted to impose Senator Ahmad Lawan as the 2023 presidential candidate of the party. Progressive Governors and many members of the NWC had to rise to the occasion and check his excesses, which produced President Bola Tinubu as the candidate of the party for 2023 elections. The rest, as is often said, is now history.

“However, we continue to move from one unhealthy situation to another during both the 2023 electioneering campaigns and the process of negotiations to produce leaders of the National Assembly after the elections.

”It was as if the party under the leadership of Senator Adamu was either contesting the authority of President Tinubu or at the least working at cross purposes.”

Agreed zoning formula favours North Central

Lukman also reminded President Tinubu and the Progressives Governors Forum, PGF, that the agreed zoning formula in the party ceded the position of national chairman to North Central.

According to Lukman, restoring constitutional order to APC will require some demonstration of commitment to give life to the statutory organs of the party, so that the debate about replacing the national chairman and all existing vacancies, including that of the national secretary, would be done within the structures of the party.

Lukman was again reacting to reports that former Kano State governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, had been tipped to replace Senator Adamu as the next national chairman.

According the him, the inability to revive statutory organs of the party will suggest that the process of replacing existing vacancies will be manipulated to suite some narrow interests within the party, even if it meant violating provisions of APC constitution.

Says some lecturers haven’t collected salaries for 30 months

Advises Tinubu on who to appoint education minister

President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, has described the education sector under former President Muhammadu Buhari as catastrophic.

He also said the administration of former President Buhari was the worst thing to happen to the country, lamenting that no government had ever given the education sector a paltry five per cent as the administration did.

He further noted with dismay that some lecturers had not collected salaries for about 30 months, while some had yet to collect the consequential adjustment paid about two years ago.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Vanguard, the ASUU boss advised President Bola Tinubu to ensure that the person he would appoint as the minister to oversee education sector was someone who knew what education was all about.

Asked to rate Buhari’s administration in terms of funding of the education, he said: “It was catastrophe, that was the worst that even happened to this country. There is no regime that had given five per cent to education but he did and even that five per cent was not monitored.

“As I speak today during that regime, University of Lagos, University of Ibadan, Ife, ABU get just eleven million per month for overhead cost.

”Meanwhile, my university (Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Abia State) spent more than N20 million on diesel a month, UNILAG should spend not less than N50 million to N100 million on diesel a month but the government just gave N11 million. Here (Michael Okpara University), they gave N5 million and it’s hardly released.

“The take home pay of one senator is more that what have you have as overhead cost of University of Ibadan and Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife. How will that run? That’s why we have the problem we have today, nobody is interested.”

Further asked what kind of minister of education he would recommend to Mr. President, Osodeke said: “Such a minister should be somebody who knows what a university is and who knows what education is. Two, it should be somebody who will have the interest of Nigerian pupil, young boys and girls at heart.

”Three, the person should be somebody who must have his family in Nigerian university system, secondary and primary schools, not somebody whose child is outside, you go and do matriculation and convocation there but you don’t have a child here.

“So those are some of the things that should be considered in appointing the next minister of education. A person who believes in Nigeria and not those who believe Nigeria does not exist, we must go abroad. ‘You have headache you go abroad, a president had toothache, he ran abroad for treatment.”

On ASUU’s expectations of the present administration, Professor Osodeke said: “If you have watched, most of the past leaders have really not given the attention to the education system for growth. That is why we are having these problems, especially the issue of funding.

“If you check in West Africa, Ghana, Cameron and even South Africa, no country gives less than 15 per cent of its budget to education but last year, we got 5.3 per cent and it has never gone beyond 10 per cent in the past ten years.

“So that’s the critical issue. In the early 60s and 70s, the regional government, especially the western region, was giving 30 per cent. In some countries, they give up to 30 per cent because of the importance of education, but here we don’t regard it.

”Do you know why? Because the children of those who should ensure that it is done are not in the country.

“The first six months of last year we paid $600 million as tuition fee to UK universities. If you multiply that, it is more than N200 billion. That is what we have been saying should be put in education every year to revamp it but they are not interested. So that is the reason we are having this.”

The Federal Government, through the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, has issued a cease-and-desist order to Point of Sale operators from conduct that constitutes an infringement of the law.

This follows the move by PoS operators, under the umbrella of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria, to fix new prices for PoS transactions.

The new pricing model began on July 17, 2023.

According to the commission, PoS operators that are found in violation of the order will pay N10m for corporate entities and N1m and, or, a prison sentence of up to three months for individuals.

The FCCPC, in a statement signed by its Executive Vice Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer, Babatunde Irukera, on Monday, said, “The Commission advises PoS operators that violation of an order of the Commission attracts additional consequences apart from the underlying illegal conduct that is the subject of the order such as up to N10,000,000 for corporate entities; and N1,000,000 and or a prison sentence of up to three months for individuals.”

The commission noted that it has not sought to limit the prerogative of PoS service providers to determine and set prices for services in a manner of their choosing, subject to Section 127 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, which prohibits manifestly unjust or exploitative prices.

It stated that it respects and encourages a pricing methodology that is the product of market forces in a free, competitive, and undistorted market. However, it said there is no evidence that the PoS market lacks sufficient players or competition in Lagos or anywhere else.

The commission said, “While the Commission continues to provide consideration to, and for small businesses, enforcing the law must remain non-negotiable.

“Accordingly, the Commission, in escalating this in accordance with the FCCPA and ancillary instruments, has entered an Order & Notice (ONC) of the Commission to AMMBAN, persons identified as executives, members, and non-member PoS operators to Cease and Desist from conduct that constitutes an infringement of the law.”

It said the ONC had been served on AMMBAN. It was also noted that not all members can be personally served or will become aware through service on AMMBAN.

It further stated, “In addition, some persons, such as non-AMMBAN members, may become subject to the ONC. Accordingly, the Commission has, and is by this again publicly disseminating the ONC. Members are however invited to consider sufficiency of service of the ONC under Section 158(4) of the FCCPA which deems such service on their association or executives as adequate and acceptable.”

According to the commission, it had tried the cautious and collaborative approach but has now adopted the ONC to convey its will to enforce the law, including, and up to prosecuting violators and affiliates who may otherwise be statutorily liable for the conduct of a violating company or business.

It added, “In addition to stipulated statutory consequences, although the Commission prefers not to disrupt the business and operations of small enterprises, it will (if it becomes necessary) prohibit merchant services and privileges to PoS operators or AMMBAN members who persist in conduct that is inconsistent with law and economic efficiency.”

There are indications that many shop owners will have their shops revoked today in Enugu State for their failure to open for businesses.

Mondays have been observed as sit-at-home in Southeast states since 2021 following the arrest and detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, in Kenya and his subsequent rendition to Nigeria. His faithful declared sit-at-home to pressure his release.

The Enugu State governor, Mr Peter Mbah, ordered the resumption of businesses in the state on Mondays, describing the continued sit-at-home as wastful to the state, individuals and corporate bodies. He had invited some stakeholders and informed them to call off the order.

Despite his assurances of security, the compliance with his directive has recorded little success as motorists, shops, banks, schools, filling stations and other businesses have not been optimally functional since the campaign.

Chidebere Onyia, the secretary to the state government, in a statement, threatened to revoke licences of corporate bodies and shops of traders that do not open on Mondays.

According to him, “Any shop that is not open for business with effect from July 24, 2023 will be sealed and re-allocated to some other persons who are willing to do businesses or have their licences revoked in the case of corporate bodies.

“This notice serves as a final warning to all shop owners or corporate bodies who are yet to comply with this directive.”

A survey conducted by THE WHISTLER early Monday morning shows absence of vehicular movements, private schools shut, as well as shops under lock and key.

A trader, Chidebere Eze, said, “I may open if I hear that others are opening. The problem is that even if you open, nobody comes to buy. It is no more about IPOB, but frustration. The recent hike in prices of petroleum products makes even moving around expensive. So going to shop is expensive for me.”

A school owner at Uwani, Pauline Ezea, said, “You don’t expect me to risk lives of my pupils. We now teach on Saturdays to make up. Let them bring Kanu out, let’s see if this won’t end.”

A commentator, Maureen Ekwe, said, “People think Kanu’s release is being sabotaged by Igbo leaders. It’s true that we lose a lot in terms of economic activities and gains, but many feel the sacrifices are worth it.”

In a shocking development, the Lagos State Government has come forward to admit that 103 victims of the #ENDSARS protest will be laid to rest in a mass burial.

The revelation, which was exposed in a leaked memo, comes three years after both the state and federal governments vehemently denied loss of lives during the October 20, 2022 #ENDSARS protests, which were sparked by nationwide outrage against police brutality.

The #ENDSARS protests in Lagos, like in many other parts of Nigeria, saw thousands of youths take to the streets to demand an end to police brutality and the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a controversial police unit notorious for human rights abuses.

The largely peaceful protests took a tragic turn on October 20, 2022, when a violent crackdown by security forces resulted in the loss of several lives and injuries to many others.

Following outrage over the development, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Health, issued a statement claiming that the dead bodies prepared for mass burial were not from the Lekki tollgate.

For years, the Lagos State Government, as well as the federal government, had consistently denied that many people were killed in the protests, despite heart-wrenching accounts from some witnesses and victims’ families.

The refusal to acknowledge the lives lost during the demonstrations sparked anger and frustration among Nigerians, further straining the relationship between the citizens and the authorities.

The full statement reads:

RE: MASS BURIAL OF ENDSARS VICTIMS (MISCHIEF MAKERS AT WORK)

The attention of the Lagos State Government has been drawn to some social media publications about a purported mass burial plan for casualties of the 2020 #EndSARS incident. Peddlers of the news are deliberately misinterpreting and sensationalizing a letter from the Lagos State Government Public Procurement Agency titled: Letter of No Objection – Mass Burial for the 103, the Year 2020 ENDSARS victims, to misinform the public, stir public sentiment and cause public disaffection against the Lagos State Government.

While the Lagos State Government would not have dignified the mischievous elements peddling such news with a response, we consider it appropriate to set the records straight and draw the attention of well-meaning citizens to the antics of some unscrupulous elements who are hell bent on disrupting the peace and tranquility of Lagos with distorted news and half-truth about the PPA letter.

It is public knowledge that the year 2020 #EndSARS crisis that snowballed into violence in many parts of Lagos recorded casualties in different areas of the State and NOT from the Lekki Toll Gate as being inferred in the mischievous publications.

For the records, the Lagos State Environmental Health Unit (SEHMU) picked up bodies in the aftermath of #EndSARS violence and community clashes at Fagba, Ketu, Ikorodu, Orile, Ajegunle, Abule-Egba, Ikeja, Ojota, Ekoro, Ogba, Isolo and Ajah areas of Lagos State, including a jailbreak at Ikoyi Prison. The 103 casualties mentioned in the document were from these incidents and NOT from Lekki Toll-gate as being alleged. For the avoidance of doubt, no body was retrieved from the Lekki Toll Gate incident.

In the aftermath of the #EndSARS violence, the office of the Chief Coroner invited members of the public Throughout public adverts and announcement who had lost loved ones or whose relatives had been declared missing between 19th and 27th October 2020 from various clashes as mentioned above, to contact the department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to help with identification of these casualties deposited in State-owned morgues. Relatives were to undergo DNA tests for identification purposes. It is important to state categorically that nobody responded to claim any of the bodies.

However, after almost three years, the bodies remain unclaimed, adding to the congestion of the morgues. This spurred the need to decongest the morgues – a procedure that follows very careful medical and legal guidelines in the event that a relative may still turn up to claim a lost relative years after the incident.

Decongestion of our public morgues is a periodic and regular exercise approved by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to free up space in mortuaries that have a large number of unclaimed bodies.