Presidential candidate for the opposition and leadership crisis-ridden Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 General elections, Peter Gregory Obi, has declared unequivocally that he is not desperate to be Nigeria’s President at any point in his life.

Peter Obi also dismissed insinuations that he is preparing to dump the Labour Party anytime soon, saying that it is mere rumors peddled by politicians who are jittery about his political popularity in the country.

He was fielding questions from Journalists in Bauchi on Sunday shortly after he commissioned a hand pump for water supply in Sabon Layi Community, a suburb of the Bauchi metropolis.

According to him, “I am not thinking of 2027, my concern for now is how to improve the living standards and conditions of Nigerians. Nobody should be talking about politics now, the focus should be on good governance that will make Nigeria better.”

The former Presidential candidate of LP stressed that, “The leadership crisis in the LP presently is not an abnormal thing, it is an in house problem and it will be solved amicably as a family.”

He further stressed that, “I have never thought of leaving the LP, I only advocated for peace because I am a man who believe in peace, I am a man who believe in unity, I am a man believes that we are the same. I don’t see any difference between you and me, by the grace of God I always want to do the right thing that is the reason I came here personally, I would have asked someone to represent me, no, I didn’t.”

According to him, “For me, it is not about elections, we spend more time talking about elections, let us spend time talking about how we can put poor people out of poverty, let’s spend time to know how out-of-school children will be back to school, let’s spend time in other areas, it is not about elections,”

He added that,” I have said it before that I am not desperate to be President, I am desperate to see Nigeria work for the people. It is important for me because we cannot continue this way, poor people in this country are suffering alot. I am urging all leaders in and out of office, this is time for us to listen to to the people, it is time to work with them, time to feel a bit of their pains.”

Peter Obi stressed that,”The crisis in the LP will be resolved just like I have been saying and at the end things will get better. Labour Party is not the problem of Nigeria, the problem of Nigeria is beyond Labour Party, so, my focus is not on the Labour Party but on Nigeria, my promise is a new Nigeria and that new Nigeria is what I am focussed and it important that we all remain focussed on it.”

“If we fixed the leadership problems in Nigeria, I would not have been here to provide this water. So, let us talk about issues of this water, let’s talk about how the people will live and eat. I assure that Labour Party will resolve its issue as a family, no family is perfect,” he concluded.

Muhammadu Sanusi II, the 14th Emir of Kano, delivered a thought-provoking message during a virtual Ramadan lecture on Sunday, emphasising the importance of spiritual introspection and condemning societal ills such as greed, selfishness, and corruption.

In his address titled “Some Dimensions of the Concept of Ibadah,” Emir Sanusi expressed a profound perspective on morality, suggesting that actions driven by greed, selfishness, and envy are more egregious sins than those traditionally considered taboo, such as unlawful sex, homosexuality, and gambling.

The former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) highlighted a prevalent issue in Nigerian society, attributing social disorder to a lack of Islamic values in people’s hearts despite religious observances such as prayers and fasting.

Emir Sanusi went further to denounce corrupt practices within political leadership, alleging the misappropriation of public funds by a governor of a state implementing Sharia law. Though he refrained from naming the governor directly, he cited the example of a governor who purportedly embezzled funds to purchase a hotel in Lagos, condemning such actions as a betrayal of public trust.

Sanusi lamented the state of affairs in the mentioned state, branding it as a “most serious example of backwardness,” implying that corruption and mismanagement hinder progress and development.

The revered economist stressed the importance of accountability among leaders, asserting that a consciousness of answering to a higher power for entrusted responsibilities would deter corruption and promote ethical governance.

His words, “On Social order and Ibadah, you know when our hearts are not good, our deeds will not be good,” he said.

“We say we are Muslims, we go to the mosque and pray and Allah says prayer stops evil deeds and wrong deeds. Why is it that we go to pray all the time, we fast all the time and then we are committing this evil?

“How do you get a Muslim to become a minister or governor and all he is thinking of is how he is going to steal public funds to build a big house for himself or have billions for his children and deny people?

“When you know what the prophet has said about leadership. It is a trust and on the day of judgment, it would be a source of bitterness sadness, and regret, for those who do not keep that trust properly.

“When you sit down and know that you are going to account to Allah for this wealth, you are going to answer for it, how do you get to that office and steal public funds? This is why you have a social disorder.

“We even have had state governors who said they were practising sharia, they were leading the implementation of sharia and they were stealing money and buying hotels.

“There was a governor implementing sharia in a sharia state who stole public funds and bought a hotel in Lagos. And he says Allahu Akbar.

AS the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC Limited, moves to end petrol scarcity in Lagos and its environs, Dangote Refinery and oil marketers have intensified efforts at taking final decisions on pricing and delivery of petrol to filling stations nationwide.

Dangote Refinery, which can refine 650,000 barrels per day, bpd of crude oil, intends to commence production and distribution of the product, the bulk of which is currently imported from the global market, in May 2024.

A Checks by our currspondent, weekend, indicated that the parties have been meeting and exchanging notes on the pricing, distribution and margins to stakeholders in the value chain, including transporters and insurers.

Recall that depot owners buy the product from NNPC Limited at N556 per litre and sell to independents at N640 per litre.

It was, however learnt that independent markers have proposed N550 per litre to management of Dangote Refinery who is currently in a discussion with them.

The President of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Alhaji Abubakar Migandi Garima, who confirmed the development yesterday, said: “We have been discussing with Dangote Refinery. The discussion, centering on pricing, margins and other issues, is still ongoing.

“We have proposed that the lifting price should be N550 per litre in Lagos. The price of the product will differ from one part of Nigeria to another because of distance and cost of delivering petrol to different locations.

“We are currently waiting on Dangote Refinery to conclude and communicate the price per litre, so we can plan to lift the product when it comes on stream.

‘’We expect that the price of the locally refined petrol would be cheaper than imported petrol, due mainly to local availability of the bulk of its crude oil and removal of transportation cost.”

The Kaduna State Police Command has arrested a nine-man gang of suspected ritualists under the name of ‘Neo Black Movement, NBM, with one full jerry can of human blood.

The suspected ritualists were arrested at a Cemetery in Dutsen Abba Ward along the Zaria -Kaduna expressway.

ASP Mansur Hussaini, Public Relations Officer of the Command, confirmed the arrest on Sunday.

Hussaini said their arrest followed a tip-off after a source drew the attention of the service formation that some group of people were sighted at the said cemetery, which in turn Saye Lowcost Division was alerted.

He added that those arrested for alleged involvement in ritual activities are, Samson Ezekiel (32), Samuel Francis (27), Usman Nura (34), Gabriel Sheba (23), Haruna Sa’id (37), Bala Lukman (27) and Jabir Rilwan (37).

The PPRO explained, “A search was conducted on their vehicle, a Lexus sedan, with registration number RSH 712 CW, where two locally made pistols, one Beretta pistol, two jacket knives, two calabashes and a jerrycan, full of human blood were recovered.”

He said the suspected ritualists, comprising the new and old members, were apprehended while initiating the new members, saying the gang confessed to getting the human blood after slaughtering an aged man and disposing of his body along the Jaji military cantonment, in neighbouring Igabi Local Government Area.

The suspects also confessed that the man’s vital body parts were dismembered but were taken away by another gang which came from Kaduna.

Following the arrest of the seven suspected ritualists along the Zaria -Kaduna expressway, he said that two other suspects were apprehended by the locals, at ABU Congo Conference Hotels, along old Jos road, stressing that they are Austin Ifinju from Ondo State, aged 28 and Yoruba by tribe and Aliyu Ali Yahaya, resident of Hadu Nasko road Abuja, aged 24. Agatu by tribe and a student of ABU Samaru.

ASP Mansur Hussaini, Public Relations Officer of the Command confirmed the arrest, explaining that investigations are ongoing.

Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has replied his predecessor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, over his claims of failure in his eight-month term in office.

He said Ganduje’s eight-year tenure was characterised by maladministration with massive records of corruption, diversion of public funds and sale of government properties.

Governor Yusuf, in a statement issued yesterday evening by his spokesperson, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, regretted that Ganduje spoke about non-existent failure in the present administration, instead of facing the nemesis of corruption and political violence hanging around his neck.

The governor however emphasised that it would leave no stone unturned in pursuing the dollar video scandal to logical conclusion, urging the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFFC) to release the forensic investigation it conducted on the “Gandollar Saga” in 2018, for public consumption.

He advised Ganduje to buckle up in defence of his already battered image at the court, instead of further exposing his impunity on the media space.

The governor also reminded Ganduje on how his gross penchant for corruption had brought shame and disgrace to the good people of Kano, insisting that no amount of media campaign would hinder the process of bringing him (Ganduje) to book on the glaring cases of corruption filed against him.

Part of the statement reads, “Our eight months in office has remarkably outweighed Ganduje’s eight wasted years of political caricature and maladministration by all standards.

“We wish to reaffirm the present administration’s resolve and readiness to make anyone found guilty of corruption to face the full wrath of the law for their intentional wrong doings.”

Governor Yusuf maintained that his administration is multifacetedly inclined, prioritising attention on socioeconomic and physical infrastructure development for the well-being of Kano and the good people of the state.

A convicted kidnap, Hamisu Bala, better known as Wadume, on Sunday, received a heroic welcome at his hometown of Ibbi in Taraba State after serving his jail term for kidnapping.

Naija News gathered that a large crowd of women and children trooped out to welcome the convicted kidnapper back to his hometown after he was released from Kuje Prison in Abuja, on Friday.

After arriving in the town, Wadumi visited the Chief of Ibbi chiefdom, Alhaji Salihu Danbawuro, at his palace.

Wadume told the chief that he was at the palace to thank him and the entire people of his chiefdom.

He said through out his trial, the chief and his subjects stood firmly with him and prayed for his safety and good health while in prison.

The chief, Saliha Danbawuro, told Wadume that he and his subjects were happy that he is out of prison.

“I and the entire people of Ibbi chiefdom are happy that Hamisu Wadume is now back in Ibbi his home town.” the chief said.

Recall Wadume was arrested by men of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Inspector-General of Police, in 2019, led by the now-suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari,

During the attempt to arrest him in 2019 by the IRT over alleged kidnapping, he had enlisted the help of a Captain of the Nigerian Army, who aided his escape from Police custody when the van of the IRT was stopped at a military checkpoint by gunfire and labelled as kidnappers instead, who had attempted at kidnapping Wadume.

Residents of Ibbi town consequently pounced on the Policemen for daring to kidnap their ‘saviour’, killing about three of the elite Policemen, a development that attracted national attention to the ugly incident.

Wadume then went into hiding there for days before the IRT team smoked him out from his hideout in the Kano metropolis of Kano State.

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi, has said he would rather work to ensure peace for the party to overcome its present challenges than leave it.

Obi stated this in Gombe in an interview with journalists after inaugurating a borehole he donated to Tike Ram Market in Pantami, Gombe State.

He said the rumour that he would leave was not true as he was more committed to the peace of the party.

He expressed optimism that the LP would resolve its challenges and forge ahead as one family.

“No, there is no such thing as leaving the Labour Party. I am for peace; I like peace. I believe we are one people.

“Our concentration should be on peace and I believe that we will resolve all situations,” he said.

On recent speculation of him running for the 2027 presidency with former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, Obi said: “Well, I’m more interested now in Nigeria’s success today than tomorrow.

“We are always concentrating on the election rather than what Nigerians are going through.

“My commitment is about Nigerians living in a better society, given a better life and that’s my concern,” he said.

On why he donated the borehole, the former governor of Anambra State said he had been going round in the spirit of Ramadan to support Nigerians, especially the poor to help cushion the impact of the current challenges.

“I’m here in Gombe and I came to Pantami market to help them in the area of water supply that is the borehole I just inaugurated.

“You can see the business here, all the rams and everything here but they don’t have water.

“We will support some individuals which we will do remotely and send them some little money. About 100, that will be done.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that there were speculations that Obi might have started shopping for another political platform, in spite of being guaranteed the LP 2027 presidential ticket at its convention.

Recall that the NLC spokesman, Benson Upah on Sunday , said the NLC would not stand in the way of Obi, should he decide to defect to another political platform.

Upah said: “The right of choice is available to Mr Obi. If he chooses to leave the party, that is his preference. We can’t sit in judgment over him on that. But if he chooses to remain, of course, Peter Obi is an asset any day. I rest my case on that.”

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi, has said he is more interested in Nigeria’s success today than in the future.

This follows speculations on social media that he was looking to make former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, his running mate in the 2027 polls.

But Obi, while speaking with journalists in Gombe State shortly after donating a borehole to the ram market in Tike Pantami on Sunday, insisted he was not looking far ahead.

When asked about a possible collaboration with El-Rufai, he said: “Well, I’m more interested now in Nigeria’s success today than tomorrow.

“We are always concentrating on the election rather than what Nigerians are going through.

“My commitment is about Nigerians living in a better society, given a better life, and that’s my concern.”

Adejumoke Aderounmu, a popular actress in the series Jenifer Diary is dead

Tragically, the Nigerian film industry mourns the loss of Aderounmu Adejumoke Oreoluwa, a beloved actress renowned for her portrayal of “Esther” in the popular series “Jenifer Diary.”

On April 6th, 2024, at the age of 40, she departed this world, leaving behind a legacy cherished by many.

The somber news of her passing swiftly spread, accompanied by circulating graphics detailing her impending burial arrangements.

Despite the widespread grief, the cause of Aderounmu Adejumoke’s untimely demise remains undisclosed at the moment

In the fast-paced and ferociously competitive airline sector, price wars have become like Siamese twins that can not be separated by the actors, as a surviving strategy.

While price wars are a common occurrence in the airline sector, they represent intense competition that sees airlines cut prices in an attempt to snatch passengers from their competitors. The subsequent implication may automatically trigger reduced margins and profitability. To thrive amid these price wars, airlines need strategy and competitive intelligence, specifically competitive flight price data to survive.

This is what is presently playing out in Nigeria’s air transport sector with focus on international flights since Air Peace, a Nigerian carrier, commenced flights to London Gatwick on March 30, 2024.

Prior to the entrance of Air Peace to the Lagos/London route, foreign carriers had, for many years, not only monopolized the lucrative route, but exploited the Nigerian travelers who were made to pay the costliest fares in the region while neighboring countries like Ghana, Togo and Benin Republic enjoyed very low fares.

The exorbitant fares by the foreign carriers reached its peak following the over $800 million of their proceeds trapped in Nigeria with the mega carriers withdrawing their lowest inventory fares, leaving the highest inventory fares for Nigerians to grapple with.

The withdrawal of low inventory fares by the foreign carriers saw airlines like Virgin Atlantic increase fares on the economy class to N2.353,200 for just a seat while the business class skyrocketed to N5,345,700 on the Lagos-London route.

For Turkish airlines, the economy class ticket for the Lagos-Istanbul route rose to N874,661 while the business class ticket jumped to N1,980,876.

This was the same situation Nigerian travellers experienced with other foreign carriers like British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Lufthansa, KLM/Air France, Air Maroc and Ethiopian Airlines.

Before the foreign carriers ganged up to increase their fares, economy class tickets on the Nigeria-UK route was between N400,000 and N650,000, depending on the booking period while business class was between N800,000 and N1.2 million.

The financial pressure the exorbitant fares inflicted on the Nigerian travelers became so unbearable that those who could not afford it were forced to suspend international trips while some like students shifted their patronage to the neighboring countries where low inventory fares were available.

The rip off continued even after the federal government had paid the substantial part of the trapped funds with the outstanding funds now put around $29 million.

Relief however came with the commencement of Air Peace flights to London.

Immediately Air Peace announced its fares which have been found cheaper and more affordable for Nigerians, the foreign carriers, out of fears of losing their Nigerian, passengers to Air Peace have engaged in price wars for survival.

According to investigations, majority of the foreign carriers operating on the Nigeria/London route have conspired to drastically slash fares to the point of charging fares lower than Air Peace fares.

Apart from introducing new incentives and more friendly marketing strategies, the foreign airlines are neck deep in dangerous battles for market share that is capable of sending weaker airlines out of business and equally wreak havoc on profit margins or even challenge the very survival of Air Peace.

A price list sighted by Saturday Tribune showed Air France luring passengers to book between May 15 and June for economy class seat on the Lagos/London route with N907,782 fares as against the over N2 million for the economy it charged before now.

British Airways has also slashed its fares on the Abuja/London Heathrow to N1,394,536 as against the over N3 million it was formerly charging. Now, an economy class ticket on Virgin Atlantic from Lagos to London has been brought down to N980, 654,000 as against the N2.353,200 it used to charge.

The ongoing price wars and other gang ups by the foreign carriers which has raised concerns amongst key players have been attributed to the desperation of the mega carriers to push out Air Peace out of the Lagos/London route.

The price war strategy adopted by the foreign airlines has been described as one of the unjust engagement of the use of international Aero politics to frustrate any African carrier they see as competitive like Air Peace.

Many of the foreign carriers are said to be uncomfortable with the presence of Air Peace in view of its capacity in the areas of modern day aircraft in its fleet that can compete favourably with those of the foreign carriers.

The global record of the Nigerian carrier as a carrier that had in the past engaged in flight operations between Nigeria and other countries like China, UAE, Israel Brazil and South Africa during the pandemic seamlessly may have caused sleepless nights for the foreign carriers.

Many key players while reacting to the foreign airlines price wars described the market as extremely agile and impatient. They advised Air Peace to urgently change its game plan by making “the world taste what it means to be a truly Nigerian brand. You could see the presence of intentionality in their campaigns. It shows a clear understanding of the market. They are unleashing on Air Peace products of insights derived from the algorithm in their passengers platforms. They know where these customers are, they have their details, they may even be engaging passengers directly.”

The sudden reduction in the fares the key players said will be for the benefit of the Nigerian travelers who are the brides. They, however, expressed surprise at how the foreign airlines that refused to reduce their fares ab initio suddenly slashed the fares just to get at Air Peace.