The Katsina State Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has set the nomination form fee for those contesting for the seat of local government chairman at five million naira.

Katsina APC Deputy Chairman Alhaji Bala Abu Musawa confirmed this after a meeting of the working committee, other state executives, and chairmen and secretaries of the party from the 34 local governments, held at the presidential banquet hall, Katsina Government House.

He stated that those contesting for councillor seats would pay a fee of N1.5 million (one million five hundred thousand naira).

Alhaji Bala Abu emphasized that all payments for the forms must be made directly into the party’s account.

However, he clarified that sales of the forms will commence from May 1st to May 4th this year.

He added that all contestants must return their completed forms to SIEC by Thursday, May 9th.

Quoting provisions from the election timetable issued by SIEC, the APC deputy chairman announced that primary elections for council chairmen would be held on Saturday, May 18th, while councillor elections will follow on Wednesday, May 22nd.

He stated that the final list of candidates emerging from the primaries must be submitted to the state electoral commission on Monday, May 20th.

Alhaji Bala Abu appealed to all contestants to adhere strictly to the guidelines, particularly regarding election campaigning.

The US Supreme Court heard arguments Monday on whether cities can ban homeless people from sleeping outside, as the country grapples with increasing rates of Americans living on the streets and a lack of shelter beds.

The case centers around laws in the city of Grants Pass, in the western state of Oregon, which banned camping or using any kind of bedding on public property as tents, blankets and cardboard filled its public parks.

Homeless advocates have argued that banning people from camping when there is nowhere else to sleep amounts to “cruel and unusual punishment” — prohibited by the US Constitution’s Eighth Amendment. The Ninth Circuit Court agreed in a 2022 ruling, which is now being appealed to the country’s high court.

The ruling from the nine justices will carry high stakes, with a record 653,100 people homeless across the country according to a 2023 count, as cities struggle to manage poverty, mental health issues, addiction and housing shortages.

Cities across the country use camping bans to sweep homeless people out of parks and other public property.

“The cruel and unusual punishments clause governs which punishments are permitted, not what conduct can be prohibited,” Grants Pass’s lawyer Theane Evangelis said in oral arguments.

“This court should reverse and end the Ninth Circuit’s failed experiment, which has fueled the spread of encampments while harming those it purports to protect.”

Grants Pass, population 40,000, does not have a municipal homeless shelter and instead relies on private charities.

Lawyers challenging the law argued to the conservative-majority Supreme Court that Grants Pass sought to “force its homeless residents into other jurisdictions” via the camping ban.

“The plan was to inflict fines and jail time on the City’s homeless residents until they were ‘uncomfortable enough’ that they left Grants Pass,” they wrote in written arguments.

The ordinances “nominally prohibit camping, but in reality make it unlawful for homeless people to sleep or rest anywhere on public property at any time with so much as a blanket to survive the cold, even if they have no access to shelter,” the lawyers argued.

Asked by Chief Justice John Roberts what the city would do if its appeal failed at the Supreme Court, Evangelis said its “hands will be tied.”

“It will be forced to surrender its public spaces,” Evangelis added.

In addition to poverty, drug addiction and a lack of shelter beds propelling homelessness, economists argue the country’s market-rate housing stock is woefully behind target — leaving the United States short of millions of homes needed to meet demand and increasing prices for existing housing.

[AFP/VANGUARD]

ThankGod Ikoma, a survivor of the tragic boat accident that claimed the lives of Nollywood actor, Junior Pope, Engr Precious Ofurum, and others has received a life-changing donation of N2 million from Billionaire Prophet, Jeremiah Fufeyin.

In a remarkable display of compassion and selflessness, Prophet Jeremiah Fufeyin, who is the Senior Prophet of Christ Mercy Land Church and renowned for his philanthropy, recently donated N10 million to the family of the late Engr Precious Ofurum.

The senior prophet also extended his kindness with a substantial sum of 2 million naira to Mr. THANKGOD Ikoma, to take care of his needs.

The news of these extraordinary acts of kindness has resonated deeply across social media platforms, with Nigerians from all walks of life expressing admiration and gratitude for Prophet Jeremiah Fufeyin’s generosity.

Netizens have flooded online platforms with prayers and blessings, acknowledging the senior prophet’s unwavering commitment to supporting individuals in times of adversity.

@CHIBUZOR_Nelson shared his sentiments, stating, “TBH, Prophet Jeremiah Fufeyin is just one of a kind. This is so amazing; he blessed Engr Precious’s mother with 10 million naira, and now Mr. THANKGOD with N2 million.

Tunde Onakoya, the 29-year-old Nigerian Chess Master who has just broken the World Record for the longest chess marathon is most appropriately an embodiment of the Nigerian can-do spirit, the capacity of the average Nigerian to snatch victory from the depths of despair, indeed just when you think it is over, the Nigerian is so resilient, he keeps foraging for faith.  Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has praised Onakoya’s audacity. He has been hailed as a worthy ambassador, in whom the spirit of excellence flowers by Vice President Kashim Shettima, former Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo, and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwoolu. He has done well. He is doing well. Nigerians have every reason to be proud of him. He has demonstrated that the true Nigerians are not those who bemoan their fate and resort to the antics of the lower depths, but those who turn even the smallest of opportunities that come their way into an avenue for glorious achievement with determination and hardwork. 

And so it is with Tunde Onakoya, who played chess from Wed, April 17, 2024 till Saturday, April 21 (2. 40 a.m.), to beat the world record of 56 hours, 9 minutes and 37 seconds set in 2018 by two Norwegians – Hallvard Flatebo and Sjur Ferkingstad. Tunde Onakoya teamed up with the American Chess Master, Shawn Martinez, to play chess for 60 hours non-stop. He was unbeaten in more than 170 games.  The World Guinness Book of Records organization requires for its purpose two players, playing against each other and others, with short breaks of five minutes for every hour or a longer 30-minute break every six hours. The new record is yet to be officially announced, this may take a few weeks, but Onakoya’s feat was not hidden- it was in the open, at the Times Square in New York, with spectators watching every move on the board of play. History has been made and it has come from the most unlikely place for Nigeria – chess, in a country that often fails to pay attention to other sports. Onakoya himself alluded to this when he said that “it is possible to do great things from a small place.” 

Indeed, it is possible for small things and small places to result in significant human experience of great proportions as we have seen in that novel titled “The God of Small Things” (1997) by Indian writer, Arundhati Roy, and the 2008 British movie, “Slumdog Millionaire” set in Mumbai. The idea of the slum as place and metaphor is a strong referent in Nigerian popular imagination more so the fact that great things do happen in small places. It is not the smallness of things that matter but the greatness, the humanity that is embedded in the most unthinkable places. Ajegunle, for example, is a slum neighbourhood in the city of Lagos: it is probably the most popular location for most of the creative outputs in the country, the source of the music of contemporary artistic talents such as Daddy Fresh, Daddy Showkey, Baba Fryo, Oritsefemi, Nico Gravity, Father U-Turn, Don Jazzy, Basket Mouth, KC Presh and the artistry of some of Nigeria’s well-known footballers – Peter Rufai, Taribo West, Samson Siasia, Victor Agali, Emmanuel Amunike, Odion Ighalo. The slum as an incubation hub for talent and innovation is a fascinating subject for further inquiry into the interconnectedness of space, spirit and effort.

Tunde Onakoya, the chess-master, it must be noted, learnt to play chess in a slum in Ikorodu, Lagos State, precisely at a barber’s shop. Now something about the barber’s shop is that it is a very traditional meeting point in communities in parts of Nigeria, very much like the newspaper stands of old which produced “Free Newspaper Readers Associations” across the country. The barber’s shop was an ecosystem for games. While you waited to have your hair cut, or you just happen to show up as a spectator, you were bound to see people playing draught, chess, ludo, card, snake and ladder, or the more local, ayo game. Somewhere in a corner would be a board displaying all the possible hair styles: “Girls Follow Me”; “Rico Bay”, “Gorimapa”, but over the years, the haircut styles became trendier: “Line Up”, “Waves”, “Twisted Curls”, “Afro”.  The barber has always been a wise man: he attracts customers and company with games and music. I know one person who shall remain nameless, a veteran of the barber’s shop ayo games of old, who went on to become a Governor and an elder statesman. The same ecosystem has now produced a World Champion in Chess. 

The good news about Tunde Onakoya is his kindness and the fact that he never forgot his humble beginnings. He kept playing chess, and ended up as the Number 13 Chess player in Nigeria. As a student at the Yaba College of Technology, he won prizes playing chess. He is also a board member of The Gift of Chess, a non-profit in New York, United States. In 2018, he established a volunteer non-profit group known as Chess in Slums Africa under the auspices of which he trained young persons, mostly from the slums like Makoko in Lagos, and through partnerships, the group promoted chess as an educational tool. By 2021, Chess in Africa Slums had trained over 1,000 children, and organized chess competitions that even produced a 10-year-old-boy with cerebral palsy as a chess champion. One of his students once defeated the acting Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Kevin Tokar in a chess exhibition game. He plans to train over one million children within the next five years. Onakoya has pursued his passion further by seeking to break the extant Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon, not for personal glory, but to raise US One million dollars for the education of children in Africa, and to build a free chess academy and a STEM innovation lab in Lagos. He may not have immediately achieved the $1million mark, but he has given more popularity to chess, and provided an opportunity for the appreciation of the Nigerian spirit. While the marathon happened, many Nigerians trooped to New York Times Square to cheer him on. The cheer leaders included music stars, Davido and Adekunle Gold, drummers, and Nigerians in Diaspora in general who counted the hours and were inspired by the enthusiasm of being Nigerian, witnessing the possibility of another Nigerian making history. The weather was wintry cold, but it did not matter. During the intervals, the Nigerians played music and danced. It was no longer just chess, but culture, nationalism, art and diasporic fraternity all rolled into one capsule, to create memories and history.   

This trope, for me, was strongly captured in Tunde Onakoya’s post-victory statement on his X handle (@Tunde_OD) when he wrote as follows: “Catching up on social media now and I’ve constantly fought back tears. Love you guys very much. I’ll do a proper post when I find the right words to express all of the emotions I feel right now. Let me delve into this Jollof rice for now. It’s my first meal in almost four days. I had some food poisoning during the marathon so I couldn’t eat anything at all. Just water.” Such endurance. Such patriotism. Onakoya was advised to discontinue the marathon when he developed stomach problems, but he insisted he would see the mission to the end, and he did. He didn’t eat for four days.  “Just water.”  He refused to quit on the kids. This is the stuff of endurance and determination. And when the goal had been reached and victory secured, his first meal was Jollof Rice. Those who know would proclaim the symbolism of the choice of jollof rice. It is a subtle way of flying the Nigerian flag.  Jollof rice is a special delicacy for Nigerians and the argument has not yet been resolved about which country cooks the best jollof rice in West Africa, between Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal. Onakoya has projected Nigerian Jollof Rice, as the choice brand by announcing it as his first meal after his victory at a Marathon. May the God of Nigerian Jollof Rice continue to bless him! 

But I suppose the more important thing about the euphoria would be the lessons that we can learn from his example. He is a young man of 29, who has never seen what a silver spoon looks like, but with the talent that God has given him, he has tried to help encourage and assist street children and the underprivileged to give them hope. Many Nigerian leaders who have been wielding stolen silver spoons have no vision of doing anything for anybody. It is always about their self-interest, and not public interest and it is the reason there is so much angst and despair in the land, and so much lack of trust between Nigerian leaders and the people. We need leaders, including those who are products of privilege to learn to commit to the common good, not their own ego and insecurities. It is encouraging that Nigerian leaders including the President are full of praise for Tunde Onakoya. It is people like him that should be on the next National Honours List of Nigeria, not the money-miss-road, chieftaincy title crowd. Every year, we miss out most people who are true ambassadors for our nation and give big honours to the most undeserving. President Tinubu must reverse that ugly trend.  

Meanwhile, Tunde Onakoya is the latest Nigerian to seek and emerge, pending confirmation, as a Guinness Book World Record holder. The frenzy would seem to have hit the roof when Ms Hilda Effiong Bassey, Hilda Baci for short, won a marathon cooking record with 93 hours and 11 minutes in May 2023. Her record was surpassed later that same year by Irish chef Alan Fisher but her feat ignited a World Record fever in Nigeria, the imprint of which continues to endure. Nigerians love opportunities. When they identify one, or someone points them in a direction, they would rush as if they were competing for gold. Hilda Baci became an instant celebrity: receptions were organized for her by governments and companies, she got plots of land and many gifts, she became an actress, and with her beauty and culinary skills, she became the darling of suitors and men who ogled her pictures. The Madonna University graduate had done everyone so proud that many Nigerians actually wanted to cook too. Less than a month after her victory, one Chef Dammy of Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State entered the kitchen in search of a Guinness World Record that would beat Baci’s record. In Ondo State, there was a Chef Deo who wanted to cook for 150 hours.  In Oyo State, there was Chef Adebayo, a 140-hour aspirant. There have been other attempts as well. A computer Science lecturer, Joshua Hassan Bature of the Department of Computer Science, Federal University of Technology, Ado Ekiti reportedly announced a 150-hour teaching marathon.  

There was also Alejo Pataki who announced a 200-hour singing marathon. In Ekiti State, one Sugartee proposed a kissing marathon – kiss-a-thon.  He ended up not kissing anybody, but Sugartee generated some interest and even got invited to Government House! One Joyce Ijeoma embarked on a body massaging Marathon. She collapsed in the process.  In more recent cases, there is Zahan Isaac Kuma (aka Mr. Reliable) who wants to do a marathon Ironing Festival in pursuit of a Guinness World Record (23 – 28 April, 2024) in Abuja at the Jabi Lake Mall, he says - “for the sake of that little child on the street.”  When. Mr. Reliable appeared on The Morning Show of Arise News yesterday, I had asked him questions about electricity supply – availability and cost - considering the fact that the Jabi Lake Mall is a Band A location on the electricity spectrum. He sounded upbeat and confident. He said people should bring their clothes for ironing. I pray he does not burn anybody’s cloth, just in case he gets tired or there is a power surge -because that could add a new twist to the story.     

What is noteworthy is that the attempts by Nigerians have inspired others across the border in Ghana and also in Cameroon, where one lady said she wanted a sex-a-thon – sex with strong men for 200 hours. Imagine! 

Tunde Onakoya sets a different example and represents a far more ennobling engagement. The Nigerian government should through his Times Square outing see that chess has the potential of becoming an important sport in Nigeria and thereby make the necessary effort to promote it in the country. Onakoya was raised in a slum in Ikorodu, now he is in New York, jollofing! The first time he boarded a plane and travelled abroad was only about two years ago. Now his story is on every major news channel in the world, and the front pages of newspapers, all because he started playing chess in one small place on the map called Ikorodu, and turned it into a life-long passion.  Truly, “it is possible to do great things from a small place” – an inspiration for every young person out there in search of meaning and purpose.  Congratulations, Tunde Onakoya and to everyone who supported him along the way, well done. 

The price of Household Kerosene (HHK) paid by consumers in Nigeria rose to N1,354.40 in March 2024.

The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, disclosed this in its March HHK price watch.

The figure represented an increase of 1.00 per cent compared to N1,340.94 recorded in February 2024.

However, on a year-on-year basis, the average retail price per litre of the product rose by 18.55 per cent from N1,142.46 in March 2023.

On state profile analysis, the highest average price per litre in March 2024 was recorded in Kaduna with N1,875.00, followed by Benue with N1,773.74 and Niger with N1,719.36.

Conversely, the lowest price was recorded in Rivers with N1,070.79, followed by Sokoto with N1,095.33 and Kwara with N1,110.90.

Dangote refinery will start supplying petrol in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to Standard and Poor’s’ Global Commodities, S & P.

Kelly Norways, an African energy expert at the S&P, disclosed this in a podcast titled ‘Exploring West Africa’s oil product flows in a changing refining landscape’.

She said the Dangote refinery will significantly reduce energy imports across the West African sub-region, putting the figure for petrol as much as 290,000 barrels daily from 2024 to 2026.

“We are starting to see signs of activities, but all eyes are on when we’ll start to see gasoline production commence from that project. There is significant pressure from the Nigerian government for significant volume of that supply to be sent to the domestic market.

“When we see that start scale-up is still subject to debate. Dangote has recently been espousing some punchy timelines. They have most recently been saying that they are looking to produce gasoline by May. But in reality, our analysts expect that would be something like the fourth quarter of this year in a more realistic timeline,” he said.

The Dangote refinery was officially commissioned in May 2023 but has been unable to operate at full capacity. However, it began receiving crude oil around December and finally started distributing diesel to marketers in the local market in March.

Last week, the refinery announced the reduction in diesel price to N1,000 per litre from N1,600 per litre price.

Meanwhile, the Dangote refinery and oil marketers have hinted at the commencement of petrol sales next month.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has described state police as a non-negotiable entity that Nigeria must establish.

Dr Jonathan, who was president from 2010-2015, said the conversation must shift to the prevention of abuse by governors.

He stated this on Monday at the ongoing dialogue on state police organized by the House of Representatives.

He said most times governors abuse institutions, however, the challenges are not sufficient to stop the creation of state police.

The former president said state police was wildly accepted by the delegates at the 2014 Confab.

“We can only end kidnapping and other forms of insecurity through the creation of state police,” Dr Jonathan said.

Mr Jonathan’s stance contradicts the position of the inspector general of police, Kayode Egbetokun, who opposed the establishment of state police.

Earlier, in his opening remarks, the Deputy Speaker of the House, Ben Kalu argued that the current security situation in Nigeria requires a multilayer approach to insecurity.

He stated that over N5 billion has been paid in ransoms to kidnappers, a figure that starkly exposes the alarming growth of this criminal enterprise in the country.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun believes the country is not “mature” for state policing despite the myriad of security challenges facing it. 

He spoke on Monday during a national dialogue on state police held in Abuja with the theme ‘Pathways to Peace: Reimagining Policing in Nigeria’.

“On the issue of state police, it is the submission of the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) that Nigeria is not yet mature and ready for the establishment of state-controlled police,” the IGP, represented by AIG Ben Okolo, said at the event organised by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas.

The IGP argued among other factors, that “there is the potential for abuse of power by the state political leadership.

“State governors could use the police forces under their control for political or personal gain and undermine human rights and security.

“There would also be a conflict of jurisdiction,” he said.

But he suggested other things to make the police better in securing the country.

“First, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Road Safety to form a department under the Nigerian police,” he said.

According to the police chief, there is also a need to ramp up the yearly recruitment of officers. This, in addition to more training for police personnel among others, are essential to securing Nigeria.

At the event attended by several top shots in the country, former president Goodluck Jonathan, however, believes that despite the challenges, state police has become “non-negotiable”.

He said the spite of kidnapping and other crimes make state police a must-have in present-day Nigeria.

Apart from Jonathan, the event also had Vice President Kashim Shettima in attendance and he expressed President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to building a better police force for the country.

He said his principal is ready to listen to submissions from the national dialogue.

The National Security Adviser, Mr Nuhu Ribadu has said Nigeria has resumed the prosecution of Boko Haram terrorists.

He stated this on Monday while giving his speech at the African Counter-Terrorism meeting in Abuja, which has President Bola Tinubu in attendance.

The two-day high-level summit is being held under the theme ‘Strengthening Regional Cooperation and Institution Building to Address the Evolving Threat of Terrorism’.

The objective of the summit is to enhance multilateral counter-terrorism cooperation and reshape the international community’s collective response to terrorism in Africa, while emphasizing the importance of African-led and African-owned solutions.

The summit will provide a platform to review the nature and severity of the threat of terrorism on the continent, with a view to agreeing on concrete strategic priorities and measures to address this scourge. It will also foster deeper regional collaboration, enhancing the institutional capacity of member states and facilitating the exchange of best practices and knowledge to combat the multifaceted threat of terrorism in Africa.

Heads of state and government and high-level government officials across Africa, representatives of international organizations and multilateral institutions, members of the diplomatic corps, and members of civil society groups are expected to attend the summit.

A former federal lawmaker, Shehu Sani has called for the demolition of a Chinese supermarket located in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, for allegedly barring Nigerians from shopping in the facility.

Reports had earlier emerged alleging that the management of the supermarket situated at the China General Chamber of Commerce, along Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Road in Abuja, directed security officers in the facility not to allow Nigerians in.

The development has triggered reactions from concerned Nigerians who demanded that the Nigerian government should force the supermarket to admit citizens

On his part, Shehu Sani, a former federal lawmaker said the facility should be pulled down in accordance with the laws of the Country.

In a post on his official X handle on Monday, Shehu Sani wondered why a supermarket in Nigeria would not be accessible to the citizens.

Reacting to the development, Sani said, “Any Supermarket in our Country that is not accessible to the Citizens of Our Country but to foreigners, should be forcibly opened or be pulled down in accordance with the laws of our Country”.