The Federal Government, on Sunday, released a list of recipients of special national awards for 2023, with former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Nations, Chief Emeka Anyaoku topping the list with the second highest honour of the land, Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).
The list obtained by NIGERIAN TRIBUNE includes Justices of the Supreme Court, Justices of the Appeal Court, traditional rulers, politicians, outgoing ministers, entertainers, sports personalities, bankers, legal practitioners, among others.
Listed to be awarded Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), are Honourable Justice Chima Centus Nweze, JSC; Hon Justice Amina Adamu Augie, JSC; Hon Justice Uwani Musa Abba Aji, JSC; Hon Justice John Inyang Okoro, JSC; Hon Justice Lawal Garba, JSC; Hon Justice Helen Ogunwumiju, JSC; Hon Justice I.N.M. Saulawa, JSC; Hon Adamu Jauro, JSC; Hon Justice Tijjani Abubakar, JSC and Hon Justice Emmanuel A. Agim, JSC.
Also to be conferred with CFR are Major-General Samuel A. Adebayo; Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele; a former Secretary-General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mohammed Bakindo (posthumous); Malalam Mamman Daura; All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains, Chief Bisi Akande and Chief Olusegun Osoba; traditional rulers, including the Olubadan of Ibadanland, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Dr (Sen) Olalekan Mohood Ishola Balogun; HRM Matthew Alaji Opaluwa Oguche Akpa; HRH Mohammed Sani Haliru Dantoro Kitoro IV; HRH Mohammed Hamim Nuhu Sanusi; Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe;Engineer Olumuyiwa Bernard Aliu and Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Abubakar Sirika.
Former and serving governors, outgoing ministers, senators, traditional rulers are among 75 recipients listed for the awards of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).
The list included: Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos); Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq (Kwara); Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (Kano); Yayaha Bello (Kogi); Adedapo Abiodun (Ogun); Senator Hope Uzodinma (Imo). Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe); Mohammed Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa); Udom Gabriel Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom) and Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri (Adamawa).
Former governors Adegboyega Isiaka Oyetola (Osun); Senator Muhammad Adamu Aliero (Kebbi); Sen Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko (Sokoto); Sen Henry Seeiake Dickson (Bayelsa); Sen Ali Mosu Sheriff (Borno) and Sen Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe) will also be conferred with CON, alongside incoming First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu; Sen Lady Lilian Ekwenife; Sen Abu Ibrahim; Sen Ibrahim Abdullahi Gobir; Sen Philip Tanimu Aduda; Sen Kabir Garba Marafa; Sen Babgemi Ojudu; Sen Absullahi Abubakar Gumel; Sen Babajide Omoworare.
The outgoing ministers listed included, Sunday Dare; Enginee Suleiman Hussein; Sadiya Umar Farouq; Mohammed Hassan Abdullahi; Sen George Akume; Dr Chris Ngige; Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami; Architect Olamilekan Adegbite; Dame Paullen Tallen; Sen Adeleke O. Mamora; Mu’azu Jaji Sambo; Engineer Abubakar Aliyu; Goddy Jedy Agba; Festus Keyamo SAN; Geoffrey Onyeama; Sharon Ikeazor; Ambassador Maryam Katagum; Mustapha Baba Shehuri; Peince Clem Ikanade Agba; Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu; Sen Gbemisola Saraki; Ambassador Zubair Dada.
The Executive Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa; legal luminaries, Chief Adeniyi Akintola SAN and Augustine Oyarekhua Alegeh SAN; Rotimi Jacobs SAN, among others also made the CON list.
Justices of the Court of Appeal (JCA) R.C. Agbo; J.O. Bada; J.H.C Sankey; A.A.B. Gumel; H S.Tsamanni; I.G.Mbaba; U.I. Ndukwe-Anyanwu; H.S.Ikyegh; O.O.Daniel-Kalio; M.I. Shuaibu are listed to be conferred with the award of Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR).
The immediate past chairman, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Melvin Pinnick, some military officers, senior lawyers, Kehinde Olamide Ogunwumiju SAN; Oladipo Aigbedo Okpeseyi SAN; Sunday Ibrahim Ameh SAN; Wale Edun, Dr Yemi Ogunbiyi, among others, are also on the OFR list.
Afrobeat maestro, David Adeleke popularly known as Davido; formee Super Eagles captain, Augustine ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha; Nollywood filmmaker, Kunke Afolayan; Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu; spokesman to the outgoing Vice-President, Laolu Akande; Lanre Gbajabiamila; pop star, Tiwatope Savage; spokesmen of the Tinubu/Shettima presidential campaign council, Bayo Onanuga and Dele Alake, among others, are listed for Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).
Super Eagles and Napoli striker, Victor James Osimhen; Justice (Mrs) Titi Mabogunje and 51 others are listed to be conferred with the award of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR), while 23 others will be honoured with the award of the Member of the Order of the Niger (MON).
Three individuals, Mrs Jumoke Janet Awosigede; Alade Doris Pamella and Mohammed Hakeem Abiodun, are to be conferred with the award of Federal Republic Medal I.
General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has expressed optimism toward a new Nigeria in a new song he composed, titled ‘There shall be new Nigeria.’
Pastor Adeboye composed this song with an optimistic feeling toward the new regime.
This song is to be sung by the congregation in the Sunday service on 28th March 2023.
See song below:
*“There shall be a New Nigeria!”*
(Tune: ‘There Shall Be Showers of Blessings’)
(Anchor Scripture: Job 22:28)
1. “There shall be a new Nigeria!”
This decree we all must make.
We’ll see the nation of our dream,
As we commit to prayers.
New Nigeria, new Nigeria I see!
Our story is changing for good,
A great nation shall be born.
2. “There shall be a new Nigeria!”
The good news will spread abroad,
That a great nation has emerged,
If believing we will pray!
3. “There shall be a new Nigeria!”
We all will tell the story,
Of how God destroys our spoilers,
Giving us rest on all sides.
4. “There shall be a new Nigeria!”
The Lord her soul will preserve;
And by the shed-blood of Jesus,
Better things will be spoken.
5. We shall see a new Nigeria,
With righteousness permeating;
God’s fear will rule all our leaders,
Always God’s will shall prevail.”
President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, says incoming administration of president-elect, Bola Tinubu, must be ready to take some hard and tough decisions in order revive Nigeria’s struggling economy.
He said this at the inauguration lecture which is part of activities lined up for Monday’s swearing-in of Tinubu as Nigeria’s next president.
Speaking on the topic, “Strengthening Nigeria’s Economy”, Adesina noted that the incoming administration must be decisive in removing the petrol subsidy that, according to him, is a drain the nation’s purse.
“The place to start is to remove the inefficient fuel subsidies. Nigeria’s fuel subsidies benefit the rich, not the poor, fueling theirs and the government’s endless fleets of cars at the expense of the poor. Estimates show that the poorest 40% of the population consume just 3% of petrol.
“Fuel subsidies are killing the Nigerian economy, costing Nigeria $10bn alone in 2022. That means Nigeria is borrowing what it does not have to… if it simply eliminates the subsidies and uses the resources well for its national development,” he said.
He said that instead of the current policy of doling out monies for fuel subsidies, funding, support towards establishing private refineries and modular refineries will lead to efficiency and improved services.
“The newly commissioned Dangote Refinery by President Buhari, the largest single train petroleum refinery in the world, as well as its petrochemical complex will revolutionise Nigeria’s economy. Congratulation, Aliko Dangote for his amazing $19 billion investment,” he said.
Adesina noted that data from the Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO), which indicates that “Nigeria now spends 96% of its revenue servicing debt, with the debt-to-revenue ratio rising from 83.2 percent in 2021 to 96.3 percent by 2022.
He said “Nigeria currently faces huge fiscal deficits, estimated at 6% of GDP. This has been due to huge federal and state government expenditures, lower receipts due to dwindling revenues from export of crude oil, vandalism of pipelines and illegal bunkering of crude oil
“Some will argue that the debt to GDP ratio at 34% is still low compared to other countries in Africa, which is correct; but no one pays their debt using GDP. Debt is paid using revenue, and Nigeria’s revenues have been declining. Nigeria earns revenue now to service debt not to grow.”
Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural group, has expressed willingness to meet with the incoming President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to discuss the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
WITHIN NIGERIA reports that the pro-Biafra agitator has been held by the Department of State Services (DSS) since his re-arrest in Kenya in June 2021.
The Federal Government has filed charges of treasonable felony and terrorism against Nnamdi Kanu.
The spokesperson for Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Alex Ogbonnia, expressed disappointment to The PUNCH about President Muhammadu Buhari’s failure to release Nnamdi Kanu despite several requests from stakeholders.
He said;
Ohanaeze is not happy; we are sad that in spite of all the requests, pleas, and efforts, they have not been able to release Nnamdi Kanu.
The President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, has said that releasing him will be the greatest thing Buhari will do for us now that he is leaving the office. It is unfortunate; I don’t know why he has refused to listen to us. In fact, that was the last wish of late President-General, Prof George Obiozor; that was his last wish, and President Buhari did not listen. We are not happy about that.
Asked if the group would meet with Tinubu after his inauguration, he said;
Sure we will; the government continues. The institutions of government will always remain. The struggle continues, and we will continue to appeal to them to understand. It is also possible that on the day Buhari makes his last speech, he would release him.
The Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has said he will never call the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, his president.
The cleric and politician, during a webinar on Saturday, alleged a series of malpractices during the 2023 elections, saying the Independent National Electoral Commission made a mess of the electioneering process.
He said this while responding during a Question & Answer session after delivering his speech on the Zoom programme titled ‘Building the New Nigeria: The Role of the Diaspora’ organised by the PTB4Nigeria In Diaspora Group.
The meeting, which began 7pm and was monitored by our correspondent, had over 200 participants.
While speaking earlier during the programme, he said the 2023 elections were below acceptable standards.
When asked if he would be happy to work for the new government as a Minister of Diaspora Engagements, he laughed and said he would say what he said to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), last week.
He said he told Buhari that sometimes he called him President of Nigeria and other times, he called him “My President.”
Bakare said, “Last Wednesday, I was at the Glass House where he (Buhari) has been restricted now because the main house is being renovated. I said I have done that for you. I want you to know that, because of the circumstances of your flying into power on the wings of integrity and incorruptibility, but you’re now passing onto someone who does not have that value.
He said that at “any public lecture anywhere, before this mess is cleared off, I will address Asiwaju (Tinubu) as a President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria but I will never call him my president.”
He said he didn’t participate in the elections, and therefore, no one could say he lost.
Bakare, who participated in the All Progressives Congress presidential primary in June 2022, where nomination forms were sold for N100 million, polled no single vote.
Briefly touching this, he said, “I participated in the primary, and there were hundreds (of persons) who participated only by stepping down, so there is no shame in what we have done. We spoke truth to power.
“I wasn’t there when they voted, I wasn’t there when they scored (me) zero, but we won that badge of zero and badge of honour,” he said, adding that this was because some defeats were more triumphant than victories.
Answering the question, he said if he was called to be a minister under the incoming government, there would be conditions to it, “but I am not desperate to be a minister, not at all. I was offered before but I turned it down. My life is not just to take photographs with the president and shake hands.
“But we will do if it will benefit even one citizen.”
Tinubu will on Monday, May 29, be sworn in as the President of the country.
On Thursday, Tinubu was handed the transition report by Buhari, where he also promised not to disappoint Nigerians.
He pledged to address the security and power crises, among other challenges confronting the country.
Canada has introduced a new and faster means of visa processing that allows families to be together while they await their permanent residence permit.
This was made known by Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Sean Fraser.
According to Fraser, applications will now be processed within 30 days, with spouses and dependents applicants benefitting from the new visa rule.
This is as this new application process has seen an approval rate of 93 per cent.
The minister tweeted via his official handle, @seanfraserMP, “families belong together,” to explain the reason for the new visa rule.
In a statement on Friday, the minister said, “Family reunification through immigration is not only a matter of compassion; it is a fundamental pillar of Canadian society.
“Today’s announcement is a mandate commitment to help build inclusive and resilient communities.
“We are supporting Canadians and newcomers by reuniting families faster, and also allowing them to work and support themselves more quickly once they’re here.
“By doing so, Canada is helping newcomers achieve their true potential, while also strengthening Canada’s economy and social fabric.”
He explained the reason for the new policy in a tweet saying, “New ability for families to come to Canada temporarily while awaiting PR.
“Faster TRV processing times & new processing tools for spousal applicants.
“A new open work permit for spousal & family class applicants.”
With this new visa processing route, dependents will now be able to apply for and receive an open work permit as soon as they submit a complete permanent residence application under the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class or other family class programmes.
He further revealed that spousal applicants and other open work permit holders, whose permits would expire between August 1 and the end of 2023, will be able to extend their work permits for an additional 18 months.
This development comes just a few days after the UK announced a new visa restriction policy that seeks to place a lid on the rising number of immigrants into the country which according to them has hit a million.
Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad have arrested two women for attempting to sell a two-month-old baby.
This was made known in a statement posted on the force’s Twitter page on Saturday and signed by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin.
The statement said, “Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad on Friday, May 26, 2023, successfully foiled an attempt by two women to sell a two-month-old baby.
“The deal was uncovered in Oshodi when one Oge Okolie, aged 25, the intermediary between the mother of the baby and prospective buyer, was suspected of stealing the baby.
“Passengers on a public bus noticed ceaseless crying from the baby with Okolie and questioned why she could not breastfeed it if it were her own biological child.
“The suspect was about to be lynched when RRS operatives quickly stepped in to rescue her as well as the baby.
“Preliminary investigations led to the arrest of the mother of the baby, one Maria Ahmadu ‘f’ aged 26. Commander of the Rapid Response Squad, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi, has since transferred the suspects and baby to the Gender Unit of the Command for further investigation and prosecution.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has apologized to Nigerians for the hardship caused by some of the decisions taken by his administration over the last eight years.
The Nigerian leader gave the apology in his farewell address to Nigerians on Sunday morning which was monitored by Naija News.
Buhari admitted that some of his administration’s policies caused “temporary pain and suffering” to Nigeriansmstressing that they were not intentional.
The President remarked that although the decisions were difficult choices, the measures were taken for the overall good of the country.
He said: “In the course of revamping the economy, we made some difficult choices, most of which yielded the desired results.
“Some of the measures led to temporary pain and suffering for which I sincerely apologised to my fellow countrymen, but the measures were taken for the overall good of the country.”
President said despite some of the harsh policies of his government, he will be leaving the country better than he met it when he took over from President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.
Buhari said he feels fulfilled that he has started Nigeria’s re-birth by taking the initial critical steps, and believes the incoming administration will continue with the process to see a Nigeria that fulfills its destiny to be a great nation.
He also thanked millions of Nigerians who prayed and supported him during his illness in the first term of his office, saying he is constantly praying for them and the nation to thrive in peace.
He said: “I also want to use this opportunity to express my appreciation to a good number of Nigerians who provided their support and encouragement to help me navigate the exciting journey of moving Nigeria forward.
“I cannot and will not forget the millions who prayed for me during my illness in my first term of office. I am constantly praying for you and for Nigeria to thrive in peace.
“As I retire home to Daura, Katsina State, I feel fulfilled that we have started the Nigeria Re-Birth by taking the initial critical steps and I am convinced the in-coming administration will quicken the pace of this walk to see a Nigeria that fulfills its destiny to be a great nation.”
The final pay in office for the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, state governors and other political appointees about to leave office may cost the country about N64.72bn, findings by The PUNCH have shown.
The figure also covers the pay for ministers, commissioners, National Assembly members, and special advisers.
It, however, does not include special assistants and state assembly members.
The allocations by the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission for salaries and allowances for one month, as well as severance gratuity (300 per cent of basic salary), were analysed to arrive at the figures.
More specifically, aside from the basic for the last month in office, the figure includes allowances, such as hardship allowance (50 per cent of basic salary), Consistency allowance (250 per cent of basic salary), motor vehicle fueling allowance (75 per cent of basic salary), entertainment allowance (45 per cent of basic salary), among others.
As stipulated by RMAFAC, Buhari is expected to get N1.71m, which includes basic salary and a few allowances and N10.54m as severance gratuity.
Vice-President Osinbajo is expected to get N1.01m plus N9.09m severance pay.
The eight special advisers in the Presidency are expected to get N590,957, which includes basic salary and a few allowances, and N5.83m severance pay each.
In total, N51.37m will be spent on the special advisers under the Presidency.
There are 44 ministers under Buhari, consisting of 27 federal ministers and 17 ministers of state.
While each minister is entitled to N6.73m (which includes basic salary, some allowances and severance pay), each minister of state is entitled to N6.5m.
In total, they would get N292.21m, with ministers getting N181.71m and ministers of states receiving N110.5m.
Each special adviser under the minister is entitled to a final pay of N6.42m. With each minister having one special adviser, the total sum of N282.48m will be spent.
The PUNCH checks indicate that about 327 National Assembly members would not be returning to the office.
This is made up of 76 Senators and 251 members of the House of Representatives.
While the senators will get N7.14m each, the House of Representatives members will get N6.75m each.
In total, the final pay in office of the 327 National Assembly members will cost the country about N2.24bn.
Although governorship elections were held in about 28 states, no fewer than 18 state governors will hand over to their successors on May 29, 2023.
The outgoing governors include Nyesom Wike (Rivers State), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta State), Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom State), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano State), Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa State), Bello Matawalle (Zamfara State), Ben Ayade (Cross River State), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia State), and David Umahi (Ebonyi State).
Other outgoing governors include Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu State), Samuel Ortom (Benue State), Darius Ishaku (Taraba State), Abubakar Bello (Niger State), Abubakar Bagudu (Kebbi State), Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna State), Simon Lalong (Plateau State), Aminu Masari (Katsina State) and Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto State).
The outgoing governors will be completing two terms of eight years in office on May 28, 2023, except Zamfara’s Matawalle, who lost his re-election attempt.
Each governor is entitled to a final pay of N7.32m while the deputy governor gets N6.96m. In total, state governors will get N131.76m while their deputies would be paid N125.28m.
With each commissioner entitled to N4.42m, a total of 356 state commissioners will get N1.57bn.
Special advisers at the state level are by law entitled to N4.13m each. The 18 states have about 14,529 special advisers in total, which would cost the public treasury over N60bn.
Rivers State is expected to pay out a huge final pay on account of the high number of political appointees engaged by Governor Nyesom Wike, who last year appointed 14,000 special advisers.
The beneficiaries of the end-of-tenure pay also include the eight commissioners.
The Enugu State House Assembly has a total of 24 seats while the executive arm boasts 25 commissioners with an undisclosed number of special advisers.
Governor Tambuwal of Sokoto State was reported to have appointed over 50 special advisers. The governor recently appointed another 15 special advisers to compensate the members of his party who lost out in the Peoples Democratic Party primaries. The state also boasts of about 21 commissioners supervising different ministries.
The PUNCH earlier reported that no fewer than 18 outgoing state governors will retire into lives of luxury with generous pension benefits despite mounting debts and unpaid workers’ salaries.
The PUNCH investigations showed that the governors, who will hand over to their successors on May 29, 2023, would be leaving behind at least N3.06tn debt for the incoming administrations.
According to data from the Debt Management Office, states’ debts included N2.27tn domestic loans and $1.71bn foreign borrowing.
In a report, a senior economist with SPM Professionals, Mr Paul Alaje, described the pay and benefits as a burden on the states.
He said, “The pension is a burden for any payer, the government and the state. It only shows that people think they don’t have a life outside political offices and that is why such an amount will be budgeted for somebody who is no longer in office and who is not contributing directly to the growth and development of the state… It is unrealistic for this practice to continue. More than 60 to 70 per cent of our states are bleeding in terms of financial boost and this continues every four years.
“What we are doing is, we are deliberately plunging our country into a coma. A time will come and we are close to it when all we are generating as internally generated revenue will just be enough salaries and pensions, and only take care of political officeholders without any infrastructural development. We must condemn in strong terms the spending of the little resources we have to better the lives of politicians at the detriment of the states.”
Suspected Yoruba Nation agitators on Sunday hijacked Amuludun 99.1 FM in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital According to a staff, the station, owned by the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), was hijacked around 6am by the suspect with various forms of charms.
“That is what we witnessed this morning. They hijacked the station around 6 am. But they had been at the station before that time.
“They came with various forms of charms. They woke our staff, who were sleeping. Some of our staff have fled. We are yet to see some of our staff. But the security personnel are on ground now,” the staff said.
Its General Manager (GM) Stephen Agbaje confirmed the development but said the situation has been brought under control by security agencies.
He added that some arrests have also been made.
“Some group of agitators came around in the night, and took over the station but the situation has been brought under control by the security agents. They were able to recover the station, and some arrests have been made,” he said.
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The Federal government has conferred Nigerian citizenship on 385 foreigners who applied and qualified either by naturalization or registration.
President Muhammadu Buhari who conferred the citizenship on the foreigners yesterday in Abuja, said the conferment is a testament to the efforts government is making to make Nigeria investor attractive and a tourism destination for many.
Represented by vice President Yemi Osinbajo, he said the task of “nation building is not a walk in the Park nor is it a day’s work.”
Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola explained that government is determined to encourage and attract foreigners; investors, resourceful individuals and people with rare talents and unbounded energy into the country.
He said “Today’s conferment ceremony will be granted to 385 foreigners who have gone through diligent checks by the relevant agencies of state as stipulated by the Constitution and have fulfilled all statutory and administrative requirements.
“I need to state that the acquisition of the Nigerian citizenship is a great privilege and not everyone that applies becomes successful.
“However, that we have a high number of foreigners willing to become Nigerians is an indication that the ongoing efforts of the Federal Government to make Nigeria a destination for investment and peaceful coexistence is beginning to yield good fruits as we continue to welcome foreigners to do business.”
Permanent Secretary Ministry of Interior, Dr Shuaib Belgore, pointed that “The Economic contributions of these awardees to their local communities and Nigeria’s development was a key criterion in arriving at decision to grant Nigerian Citizenship to these successful Foreign Nationals out of numerous applications received by the ministry.
“Mr President, among the 385 deserving foreign nationals are 317 whom have been granted citizenship by Naturalization and 68 by Registration. Among them are people of American, Canadian, Italian and Lebanese extraction to mention a few. This shows that despite our challenges as a nation, Nigeria remains a destination for hospitality, tourism and investments.
[Guardian]
Four jostle for Ondo ministerial slot
In line with tradition, President-elect Bola Tinubu is expected to make his first appointments after being sworn in as President tomorrow by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
There are at least three appointments that ordinarily should be made by the new President to keep the wheel of government moving pending when other appointments that must have the seal of the National Assembly will follow.
The three appointments are the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief of Staff and presidential spokesperson.
There has been a jostle for appointments, including ministerial, under the Tinubu administration since the president-elect emerged after the February 25 presidential election.
Names have been mentioned as those being considered by Tinubu including those of very close associates but Sunday Vanguard was made to understand by sources close to the president-elect at the weekend that nothing was certain on appointments under the incoming administration including those that announced must, as a matter of tradition and necessity, be made tomorrow or Tuesday.
The president-elect, it was learnt from multiple sources close to him, yesterday, has kept allies and close associates, among others, guessing over those that will form his cabinet.
Sunday Vanguard was reliably informed that Tinubu has refused to disclose the list of potential appointees at any level be it personal aides, Presidential Villa officials and ministers.
This, it was understood, is a source of intense anxiety among those lobbying to be appointed to the next government.
Meanwhile, there were insinuations that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila; Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola; Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State and Mr James Faleke, a federal lawmaker from Lagos, are likely to play some roles in the Tinubu cabinet.
It has been reported that el-Rufai alongside two other outgoing governors – Aminu Masari of Katsina State and Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State – are in the race for the SGF office.
Former Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State is also, according to reports, in the jostle for ministerial appointment. He is said to be highly favoured for the External Affairs portfolio.
Traditionally, top members of the ruling party who lost governorship election in their states are usually compensated with ministerial appointments and this may also play out in the unfolding Tinubu government.
Multiple sources, however, said Gbajabimila was facing huge opposition to the possibility of emerging as Chief of Staff to the President.
There has been no word on who will emerge as a presidential spokesperson but there are high-profile professionals around the president-elect who fit the bill.
Some of them served in the Tinubu Presidential Campaign and they include Mr Bayo Onanuga and Mr Dele Alake.
Tinubu keeping list secret – Source
A source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, disclosed that all the names being peddled for appointments in the Tinubu administration remained in the realm of speculation.
The source said: “President Tinubu is likely to make his first appointments on Monday or Tuesday because he wants to hit the ground running.
“But all the conjectures about who is in and who is out in the cabinet and other appointments are in the realm of speculations.
”Everyone has continued to speculate but from what I know, the list is with the president-elect. “He is keeping it close to his chest. All those who go to him, he promises them but he won’t say anything.
“You know that Tinubu is also a politician but no one knows those on the list. Even the speculation about Femi Gbajabiamila being considered as Chief of Staff is dicey and not something anyone can confirm and, as you know, Gbajabiamila is going with him all over the place. I’m not sure if Gbajabiamila will get the Chief of Staff slot.
“We have also heard the names of Mr Babatunde Fashola who is speculated as being considered as the Attorney-General of the Federation as well as Mr James Faleke and Mallam Nasir El-Rufai who may be among those to be appointed”.
Ondo
Reports from Ondo said four persons are in strong contention for the ministerial slot for the state.
They are Chief Olusola Oke, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Hon Tajudeen Adeyemi Adetisoye and Prince Ademola Adegoroye.
Whereas Oke is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Aiyedatiwa a former Deputy Governor and Adegoroye a member of the outgoing federal cabinet, Adefisoye, fondly called Small Alhaji, is the outgoing member of the House of Representatives (Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency).
Adefisoye, the Deputy Chairman of the House on Army, is said to be a grassroots mobilizer and he enjoys large support of youths in his federal constituency and state at large. The Idanre-born politician is still very young and he may just fit into Tinubu’s plan to accommodate youths in his administration. The young man had surprisingly at the age of 34 contested and won a House of Representatives seat in 2019.
Anger Grows in the North over Gbaja
In a related development, a source said at the weekend that Speaker Gbajabiamila may lose out in the scheme of things over the zoning of the presiding officers for the 10th National Assembly.
It was gathered that some northern leaders are not disposed to Gbajabiamila’s involvement in the choice of Mr Tajudeen Abass as the next Speaker and Mr Benjamin Kalu as Deputy Speaker.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), backed by President-elect Tinubu, had zoned the speakership to the North-West and micro-zoned the office to Abbas (from Kaduna State) while zoning the deputy speakership to the South-East and micro-zoning it to Kalu (from Abia).
A source, who expressed the North’s anger over the alleged imposition of Abbas, told Sunday Vanguard: “The last five days have been very instructive because the issues of public concern have just been falling on one another.
“Our first concern was when Vice President-elect Kashim Shettima had to arrange a meeting between the Deputy Speaker, Mr Idris Wase, and the president-elect.
“We consider that as someone playing a double game because we even learned he was the one who pressured Asiwaju to have an audience with Wase.
“Ever since then, a lot has happened and there is serious tension and anger in the North. It is as if the South-West is trying to impose someone on us and the people of the North hate that type of perception.
“For now, if we say we have the required numbers, we are deceiving ourselves because since the National Chairman made that remarks about our choice, Abbas, people are confused.
“I can tell you that what we have on Senator Godswill Akpabio’s side is less than 40 senators while about 73 are undecided especially those in the opposition parties.
“For Abbas, unless we break the G-6 alliance, the opposition may gather over 200 members-elect on their side because, by next week, if we don’t break them, we won’t be able to do so again because the opposition parties are determined to work against our party. For real, those who have made up their minds for Abbas in our camp are less than 100 Reps members-elect. I can tell you for free.
“The whole North is already painting us as if we from the North are betraying one of our own, Wase, who had served as deputy to Gbajabiamila.
“Deep down in us, we know Wase had been very faithful and loyal to the Speaker. But what do we do once the party has spoken?
Pressure on Tinubu
“For now, we know that the president-elect has washed his hands off because there is enormous pressure on him from Yoruba leaders who have warned him to calm down on this speakership issue so that it will not look as if there is a North-South tussle.
“We know the number of traditional rulers who have called to discuss with us, including their apprehensions about the potential Chief of Staff who they claim is using his closeness with Tinubu to maltreat Wase.
“For now, the North has the feeling that someone from the South-West is oppressing a northerner.”
Nigerian investigative journalist, David Hundeyin, has alleged that the newly unveiled Nigeria Air plane which arrived in the country last week Friday, has headed back to Addis Abba.
Naija News reported that the Nigeria Air plane landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja for the first time for the proposed airline.
The flight, which took off from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia arrived in the country on the 26th of May, 2023.
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika also took to his Twitter page to share a video of the plane’s arrival, saying the project has been long, tedious, and difficult.
He however thanked God for the eventual success as well as every stakeholder for their support.
However, checks by Daily Trust revealed that the aircraft is owned by Ethiopian Airlines as the world ‘ET-APL’ is written on the wing of planes operated by Ethiopian Airlines.
This generated outrage online with many Nigerians criticizing the federal government for claiming ownership.
In a post via Twitter on Saturday, David Hundeyin accused the federal government of engaging in a hurried paint job that would be removed in Addis Ababa.
He wrote: “Behold your freshly commissioned “Nigeria Air” Boeing 737 heading back to Addis Ababa right now as we speak, where the hurried paint job will be removed and it will go back into @flyethiopian regular service. Job done for @hadisirika
“Expensive stage prop has been returned to its owner safe and sound after being used to entertain 200 million mumu with press photos”
[NaijaNews]
Various hotels and event centres in the Enugu metropolis have been booked ahead of the May 29th inauguration of elected political officeholders in the state, THE WHISTLER reports.
Owners of some of the facilities who spoke to our correspondents said however that the rush did not increase the prices of their facilities. Michael Onah, a manager of a guest house located at the GRA, Enugu, said, “Prices for our rooms did not change despite the rush. The non-increase of the prices however is because some of them were booked about two weeks ago. We wouldn’t have increased the prices then. If it were presently, we would have likely increased the prices because the demand suddenly became something else.”
At Trans-Ekulu wing of the metropolis, it is the same brisk business. A check revealed that guests who lodged in various hotel were denied booking beyond Saturday. Ijeoma, a worker in a hotel, said, “Most of our guests were not happy. But we couldn’t help the situation. The rooms were paid for about a week ago. When we asked some guests not to pay beyond Saturday, they were not happy. Some actually came for the inauguration, and had to relocate to far places like 9th Mile, Nsukka and Garki.”
It was however found out that most of the hotels were booked in proxy.
Chibuzor Okwesili, a chieftain of a political party in the state, said, “Some business men hijacked the sector. They booked those rooms, and are currently allocating them to visitors at exorbitant prices. I know somebody that booked entire hotel rooms for about N5000 each, and sold them out at N10, 000 each. He had the receipts and simply issued his own as a consultant.”
The same story is applicable at event centres in the metropolis. Mbadiwe Eze said, “All the venues for receptions have been booked. We looked for a reception venue for a House of Assembly-elect member, who will be sworn in. We couldn’t find any. We had to resort to a private primary school where we paid an unimaginable price.”
Our correspondent reports that the 17 local government chairmen in the state have planned their respective reception in honour of the state governor-elect, Mr Peter Mbah.