President Bola Tinubu on Friday approved the appointment of eleven new Chief Executive Officers for agencies under the Ministry of Art, Culture, and Creative Economy.

Ajuri Ngelale, President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity made the disclosure in a statement made available to newsmen in the State House.

According to the statement, Tinubu mandated the appointees to discharge their duties in accordance with the highest standards of professionalism, diligence, and patriotism with a view to making the creative sector more vibrant and robust.

The new appointees in the Art, Culture, and Creative Economy sector are as follows.

(1) Tola Akerele — Director-General, National Theatre

(2) Dr Shaibu Husseini — Director-General, National Films and Censors Board

(3) Obi Asika — Director-General, National Council for Arts and Culture

4) Aisha Adamu Augie — Director-General, Centre for Black and African Arts and Culture

(5) Ekpolador-Ebi Koinyan — Chief Conservator, National War Museum

(6) Ahmed Sodangi — Director-General, National Gallery of Art

(7) Chaliya Shagaya — Director-General, National Institute of Archeology and Museums Studies

(8) Hajiya Khaltume Bulama Gana — Artistic Director, National Troupe of Nigeria

(9) Otunba Biodun Ajiboye — Director-General, National Institute for Cultural Orientation

(10) Ali Nuhu — Managing-Director, Nigerian Film Corporation

(11) Ramatu Abonbo Mohammed — Director-General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments.

…Says Humanitarian Ministry Purpose Vehicle for Looting

The outcome of the last general election has thrown up the Labour Party (LP) as the country’s third political force with its presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi making appreciable showing in the race that polarized the country along its major fault lines. In this interview, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Obiora Ifoh talked about the poll, the aftermath as well as what the leadership is doing to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) come 2027. Excerpt:

Litigations relating to the outcome of the last rounds of elections are rounding up, your party is one of the major opposition parties in the country, going forward, what will now form the basis of political engagements in the build up to the 2027 poll?

As you stated, we just concluded the election and the legal processes that came up afterwards. The legal processes culminated at the Supreme Court. As you also know, we lost at the Supreme Court. Currently, we are trying to digest the import of that judgment, which we felt was not justiciable because every fact pointed to the reality that we actually scored the highest number of votes in that election. By the wisdom of the electoral body and the corroboration of the courts, they thought otherwise. As a party, we have moved on but we are looking at a situation of having a formal post mortem where we would get all the critical stakeholders across the nation including the party officials, including the Obidient Family both at home and in the Diaspora, including the youths who form a great number of our support base to x-ray what happened.

In the end, we will take the good and we will look at the bad as well as the ugly. Together, we would come up with a resolution on how we can go ahead in future elections. It is not an easy thing to just come up and tell you what we intend to do because we didn’t go into the election by ourselves alone. We are going to see all of us that participated in one way or the other in the election on how to carry us all along. Together, we will come up with a way we can work towards future elections as a united indivisible family.

You talk about the youth forming a large chunk of your party’s support base, how do you intend to wow them again to re-enact the feat that the Labour Party performed in the last election?

For us, the youths are our main catchment segment because Nigeria is all about the youth. It is unfortunate that the leaders of the country today are unwilling to yield space for the younger ones. Our party came into the scene with necessary programmes that are youths friendly. These are programmes that have been tailored towards giving the youths hope for a better country and better tomorrow. These were programmes that will midwife a new Nigeria. These are programmes for the possibility of Nigeria making recourse to its God giving abilities, programmes that would change the situation of Nigeria as the potential leader in the African continent.

Amongst the youths, you have personalities, I mean people with different back- grounds and orientation, who are exposed who are willing to return home to help develop the country. Unfortunately, the prevailing situation in the country has made everything impossible for the youth to contribute to the development of the country. We now find ourselves in a situation whereby many youths are leaving the country in droves. Many of these youths are doing beautiful things in different areas of human endeavours in the countries that they have found themselves. Many of these youths are in medicine, in technology, in IT, banking, financing doing wonders.

They are making Nigeria as a country proud in their various countries of residence and they are willing to come back home to replicate what they are doing in the countries that they reside in. the government has made it practically impossible for them to return. The government has made it impossible due to its inability to put in place the primary responsibility of providing security for them. Investment in the country has become a very difficult thing to do. The Labour Party has continued to tell them that a new Nigeria is possible. A Nigeria where things will work again, I mean a Nigeria where youths won’t be labeled as fraudsters or ritualists.

What is your party’s assessment of the current regime since it came into power eight months ago?

There is no gain saying the fact that the government of President Bola Tinubu has pushed the country and the citizens into serious pains and penury. Things are getting harder for the people on a daily basis. I was just reading a few minutes ago a story of a young banker who committed suicide leaving a note to say that he did what he did because the situation was getting harder for him. We have countless numbers of people who on a daily basis jump into the lagoon in Lagos. Armed robbery is now on the rise. A lot of children are currently out of school. The economic outlook is bad, as we speak inflation is now in the region of 30 per cent. Many Nigerians are so poor today that they cannot buy food to eat or to feed their family. Nigerians can’t move around for their daily business activities because they can no longer buy fuel to power their vehicles.

The Nigerian currency is doing badly today against major international currencies. As we speak today, the rate of exchange to the Dollar is N1,300 as against the rate that they met when they came which was below N500. So far, for Nigerians across board, their reality since the coming on board of this government has been a tale of woes. People are losing their jobs in droves. I can tell you that most of the people that travelled outside their bases this yuletide to their villages will not come back to the cities again. This is because they can’t even afford to stay in the cities again. This is what this government has pushed us into in the last few months since it came into power.

You are painting a gloomy outlook, are you accusing the government of being rudderless and clueless?

I can tell you that the situation will get worse in months to come. This is because all the economic policies that they’ve come up with have always somersaulted. Most of them have backfired and are not working at all. Is it not in this same country that a serving minister within three months has stolen N585m into a private account. Is it not in the same government that the minister has paid the sum for so-called consultancy services to a company allegedly belonging to another member of the Federal cabinet. I told you that the level of corruption in the country is spiraling under this current government.

It is unmatched by any previous government. We used to think that the last immediate regime was terrible in terms of corruption but now, I can say that we have jumped from frying pan to fire. So, that is the situation that we have found ourselves in.

How do you see the intervention of President Bola Tinubu who has suspended the minister and handed her over to the EFCC?

What the president has done is purely a political optics. It’s just to create the impression that the government is fighting corruption. Far from it, he (the president) did what he did because this one came into the open. A lot is going on in the various ministries and government establishments that have not been touched. We had to be waiting for the investigator or journalist to bring the fraud into the open before we could now do something about it. By now, the minister of the Interior ought to be fired because a company that he has interest in received a whooping over N400m as consultancy fee. The question is, what is the said company consulting?

With regards to the suffering of the people, the President once said that he felt the pains of the people and those things would get better?

The sufferings have come to stay and it will only get worse as time goes by. Up till this moment, the current government does not have a clear cut policy that it hopes to use to take the country out of the current economic woes that it is currently facing. Recall that when they came into government eight months ago, they came up with a series of intervention programmes and part of it was to use CNG to power vehicles for transportation, part of it was to pay students loans for their studies. They also talked about poverty alleviation. Everyone can see what is currently going on in the country as we speak. To us, this ministry of Humanitarian Affairs is a special purpose vehicle used by government officials to enrich themselves and prepare themselves for future elections.

That is what the ministry is all about. Sadly enough for everyone to see, the ministry is not intervening in any poverty alleviation. It is solely to enrich those in government only. I believe that we have not heard the last of the scandal because we believe that the minister did not act alone. I believe that there are some other people that connived with her in carrying out that fraud. If she should open up, a lot of heads will roll. We heard that some highly placed government officials in Aso Villa were actively involved in the scandal.

[NewTelegraph]

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday approved the establishment of the National Philanthropic Office (NPO).

The Vice President, Kashim Shettima made the announcement during the inauguration of the Local Implementation Committee of the NPO at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Shettima assured that the success and positive impact of the newly established office is guaranteed under the President Tinubu administration.

According to him, Tinubu has been a firm believer in giving back to society, and as such, his enduring spirit of bettering the lives of citizens is enough of a guarantee for the NPO to make a huge success and impact.

The Vice President further disclosed that the NPO is set to raise $200 million in grants and non-financial investment through local and international teams to support startups in key sectors of the country’s MSMEs space.
“Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, this initiative proposes to raise $200m in grants and non-financial investment, through local and international teams, to provide support to startups in the key sectors within the MSMEs space that drive job creation in Nigeria,” he stated.

Noting President Tinubu’s knack for giving back to society, Shettima said his boss’s commitment to philanthropy had always been the mark of his identity.

“Long before stepping into the realm of public service, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been a steadfast believer in the ideals of giving back to society. This commitment to philanthropy has always defined his identity.
“The Country Chairperson of the National Philanthropic Office (NPO), Mrs. Thelma Ekiyor, can rest assured that this initiative is in secure hands. Mr. President’s enduring spirit of societal betterment is enough to guarantee its success and impact,” the VP stated.

Shettima acknowledged what he called gaps existing in philanthropy, saying “there’s an unmistakable inadequacy of philanthropy,” even as he added that this “has led to the establishment of the National Philanthropic Office.

He said: “Through this office, we aim to kindle a spirit of support for vulnerable enterprises and ideas that hold the key to our collective progress,” he explained, noting that there is no place in the world “where government thrives in isolation, and without collaboration with private individuals and organizations bound by the virtue of empathy, this practice of philanthropy“.

Shedding more light on the operations of the NPO, the VP said, “While the NPO is 100% driven by the private sector, enjoying government support, it thrives on the reality that worldwide, governments are increasingly exploring alternative funding methods for vital projects and economic sectors through collaboration with the private sector.

“The objective is to create twelve industrial value-chain hubs and accelerators nationwide. This will focus on digitized shared workspaces, agro-processing, and shared industries. The overarching aim is to generate one million jobs directly and indirectly within the MSME ecosystem.

“Additionally, eligible MSMEs will receive grants ranging from 5 million to 10 million. Emphasis will be placed on supporting women-led businesses, constituting 50% of the startups.”

While inaugurating the Local Implementation Committee of the NPO, the Vice President implored members of the committee to do their job with a collective vision.

The NPO, an initiative driven 100 percent by the private sector, with full support from the government, is part of efforts by the Tinubu-led federal government to raise alternative funding for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMSEs) and other vital economic programmes through collaboration with the private sector.

The office is saddled with the responsibility of establishing 12 industrial value-chain hubs and accelerators for startups and small businesses across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria.
On her part, the Country Chairperson of the NPO, Thelma Ekiyor-Solanke, said Philanthropy and Impact Investing are two important avenues of supporting MSMEs that can encourage innovation and provide catalytic capital to entrepreneurs.

She noted and commended the Vice President’s visionary commitment to the initiative, saying it will transform philanthropy and impact the country’s investing landscape.

Ekiyor-Solanke disclosed that, among other programmes, the office will support the establishment of 12 shared office spaces for StartUps across the six geopolitical zones.
Members of the Local Implementation Committee chaired by Ms Thelma Ekiyor-Solanke include the Managing Director of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni; Managing Director of Bank of Industry, Mr Olasupo Olusi; Managing Director of Access Bank, Mr Roosevelt Ogbonna; Chairman, Impact Investors Foundation, Mr Afolabi Oladele, and Founder, Sambo Foundation, HRH, Samuel Sambo.

Others are the Managing Director of BUA Foundation, Mr Ubon Udoh; Executive Secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Mr Felix Ogbe; CEO of Brownvalley Partners, Mr Terlumun Ikya, and Mrs Ayodele Olojede from Wema Bank, while Mr Temitola Adekunle-Johnson will serve as Secretary of the committee.

Operatives of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, Amotekun, have arrested a scavenger who kidnapped an eight years old girl in Akure, the state capital.

The suspect who disguised as a scavenger abducted the girl and put her in a sack after hitting her with an object suspected to be charms.

Luck however ran out of him when the young girl started crying, attracting her grandmother who raised the alarm and the suspected kidnapper was apprehended by men of the Amotekun at the area.

Speaking, the 30-year-old father of the victim, Mr Bose James, said; “I was outside, washing my clothes and my mother was inside watching television. My little daughter, who is eight years old said that she wants to use the toilet and I asked her to go to the backyard to do that.

"Her cries attracted my mother’s attention who went to the backyard and confirmed that an “Aboki’ whom we mistook for a scavenger had kidnapped and hidden her inside a sack.

"It was my mother who ‘shout for help’ that made me rushed there and before I could get there, he had hit my mother with a heavy wood on her chest while she was struggling to rescue my child from him

"The kidnapper continued to attack whoever attempted to rescue my child from him, but I held on to him, preventing him from escaping.

“It was an Okada man who saw the scene that alerted men of Amotekun Corps stationed at Maronu area who swiftly arrived, rescued the girl and arrested the suspected kidnapper."

Speaking on the arrest of the suspect, the State Commander of Amotekun, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, explained that the cry of the young girl attracted the residents of the area.

According to him, the suspect who pretended as a scavenger attempted to run away with the girl while the grandmother of the girl raised the alarm

“The alarm raised by the woman attracted the residents who attacked the suspect with different objects and attempted to burn him but they were stopped by men of Amotekun operatives who subsequently arrested the suspect,” he explained.

"Upon interrogation, we discovered that he is actually a kidnapper and he confessed that he has been in the trade for a while. Investigation continues on his case before we would finally hand him over to the court.

"Luckily, the eight years old child is mentally okay, despite the degree of the injury she sustained from the firewood attack, she is equally responding to treatment from our health facility”, he explained.

Adeleye warned parents and guardian to always keep an eye on their children anytime they are playing around, saying, “all these scavengers, majority of them are armed robbers who are surveying your premises and come to attack you in the night, most of them are informants to kidnappers and armed robbers.

"So we are seriously discouraging the scavengers within our society and I want to appeal to members of the public, to be more watchful and careful this times with their children.

"The long arm of the law has caught up with this one and we will make sure diligent prosecution is carried out to serve as a deterrent to others who are into the trade.

"Like we have been telling members of the public, we remain resolute and committed to the provision of adequate security of lives and property to residents in Ondo State

"Equally, we want to plead with them to always avail us with timely and quality information that we can act on and we are also reassuring them that the state is safe, economically viable and we assure investors to come into Ondo State and transact business without any fear of robbery attacks and kidnapping.

“Again, like we told you in November, that there was not going to be any robbery or kidnap incidents and till date, all such attempts have been foiled by officers and men of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, Amotekun Corps and other security agencies through our joint patrol team, comprising of the Army, police, NSCDC the DSS, the Correctional Centres and the Amotekun Corps.”