In a rare twist of events in Rivers State politics, former Governor Peter Odili has endorsed Governor Siminalayi Fubara as the political leader of the state, praising him for defending the interests of the people.

Odili, who served between 1999 and 2007, stated that Fubara, having secured his electoral victory both through the ballot and the courts, is now the political leader of the oil-rich South-South state.

Odili spoke on Thursday at the commissioning of a Primary Healthcare Centre donated by his PAMO Foundation in Ndoni, his hometown in the Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area.

He emphasised the strategic importance of Rivers State, warning that if the state sneezes, the entire nation catches cold. He urged Governor Fubara to act with this awareness in all its decision.

Assessing Fubara’s performance, Odili commended him for making significant strides in critical sectors within his first year in office, particularly focusing on the well-being of the people.

He noted that Fubara’s administration is in alignment with President Bola Tinubu’s agenda, especially in the health sector, following the recent launch of the Primary Healthcare Fellows scheme by the Federal Government.

Odili encouraged the governor to maintain this alignment with the President and his policies to attract federal government attention and support to the state.

The Federal Government will recoup its investment on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project through 15 years of tolling, Works Minister Dave Umahi said yesterday.

He also said the N4b per kilometer road will be ready in eight years, adding that motorists will pay N3,000 per toll gate.

He said contrary to the misleading N8 billion per kilometer given by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the standard gauge design of the road adopted by the Federal government would cost N4.59b per kilometer.

The Minister said the former design by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was not comprehensive, stressing that it was replaced by the standard gauge design that has multiple features of bridges, till plazas, and economic settlements among others.

However, Atiku yesterday maintained that the project is a fraud, chiding Umahi for claiming that the coastal highway will tentatively cost N15.6 trillion.

Atiku also criticised Umahi for altering the initial plan of the project, alleging that it was also awarded to Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech without any competitive bidding.

Umahi, who spoke on a live television programme in Lagos, debunked allegations that the project was awarded to the company out of favouritism.

He said the award followed the due process outlined in the Procurement Act, with considerations given to capacity, competence, and track record as mandated by law.

He alluded to Hitech’s successful projects like Eko Atlantic, which involved controlling the ocean, and previous concrete pavement road projects, saying that the company has a track record.

On the scope of the project, Umahi said: “We’re looking at 700 kilometers with two spurs, one from the Badagary section going to Sokoto and the other African Trans Sahara trade route from Enugu to Abakaliki, Ogoja, Calabar going to Cameroun.

“Phase 1 of 700 kilometers that comes in multiple sections. Section 1 is starting from Zero Point and up from Ahmadu Below Way to Lekki Deep Seaport enough is 47.47 kilometers.

“We have Section 2 that we have already procured. It has been approved by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) waiting to be approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), and that is about 55 kilometers, running from Lekki Deep Seaport going into the border between Ogun and Ondo States.

“We are finalizing the design of Section 3 which is from the end of the project in Calabar, rolling towards Akwa Ibom that is about 65 kilometers.

“So, multiple sections will also come up as we go along but each of these sections, like Section 1 is 36-month duration but it’s going to run independent of Section 2.

“Section 2 is going to run independent of Section 3. That is how the road is going to be? And how long it’s to take, by God’s grace, within eight years of this administration. But the first phase we’re talking about should finish before 2027. 36 months is projected but Hightech is going to complete it before then.”

The minister also clarified that the project was not envisaged by the Federal government under the Public Private Partnership (PPP), but under the Engineering Procurement Construction Plus Finance (EPCF) where the Federal government is required to pay a counterpart fund for the execution of the project

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He said the coastal highway was not the first under such arrangement citing the Abuja-Makurdi highway and the Markurdi to Night mile, Enugu road handled by China Harbour where the Federal government paid 15 per cent counterpart fund for the completion of the projects.

He said the project is an EPC plus F project by Hitech, which was initiated by the President when he was the Lagos State governor, is funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

According to him, Tinubu at that time procured the Right of Way and gazetted it.

He said: “I also have to pay counterpart funding but I took my counterpart fund to build some sections of the road. So part of what we are committing on Sections 1,2 and 3 funded by the Federal government is still going to fall under the percentage counterpart funding of the Federal government when negotiation is completed.”

Umahi said the only design by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), which the former Vice President relied on, was erroneous as the adopted design for execution by Hightech is standard gauge.

He said the figures presented by Atiku were erroneous due to a lack of knowledge of the new design while he ran with the NDDC design for the entire 700km.

He said with the new design, including the Right of Way, modifications were made to meet the standard gauge superhighway carriage way specifications.

He said the initial design was four lanes of carriageways while the train track was not provided for.

He said: “The one we are constructing has 10 lanes, about 23 shoulders, a total of 59 meters of concrete pavement and 23 meters of flexible pavement among others.

“When you run the figures, you’ll find out that under the former VP’s calculation, it is given that 19.% per kilometer. Now divide it by the 22-kilometer stretch they are doing which is about 2.225 times a standard superhighwacarriagewayay which is 11.54

“Whereas what we are doing, if you divide it you will get 5.167. So, when you now diivide, using 1.067, you will get about N4b per kilometer. If you go back to what he (Atiku) has quoted, you will get about N8.something.

“So, using concrete which should be more expensive because of the kind of terrain we have and using flexible pavement which shouldn’t stand the coastal road, you’ll find out that our cost is N4b per kilometer, instead of the N8b he quoted.

“This is an upgraded version of the road with much improvement because what they had before was just a 60-millimeter binder cost and the 40-millimeter wearing costs which is far below the standard of the project of this nature.

“Even at that, when we compare the cost of a similar project, Boddo-Bonny five years ago was about 5.123b per kilometer done on flexible pavement.

“This one has multiple flyovers, multiple bridges among others, so it is the most economical”.

The minister also disclosed that the project would come at no job loss to the communities along the corridor.

He said the fears expressed by an investor, Landmark, that its tourist property would be demolished were not justified because the property was not affected.

Citing the law, Umahi said the 250 meters to the shoreline belong to the government and that 50 meters have been provided which allowed the property and others to avoid demolition.

On tolling the highway, Umahi confirmed that there will be toll gates,.

He said: “In fact, Section 1, which is the most economically viable, I estimate that about 50,000 vehicles per day on the average of N3,000 and we have two points within the 47 kilometers which will net off the cost of the project within 15 years.”

He also confirmed that the project was appropriated in the 2024 budget, even though a figure of N1.067 trillion would not be seen under it, to confirm the buy-in of the National Assembly having followed all due process.

Umahi however, added that the funding of the Federal Government’s part of the project would be sourced from the Infrastructure Fund.

However, Atiku insisted that the Federal Government has more explanations to make on the project.

He said: “Umahi had announced that the project would be fully funded by Hitech, and based on this, there was no competitive bidding. He (Umahi) then turned around to say that Hitech could only raise just 6% of the money for the pilot phase. This smacks of deceit.

“The total budget of all 36 states of the federation for 2024 stands at about N14 trillion. If you add that of the FCT, the entire budget of all sub-nationals is N15.91 trillion. This is scandalous. Worse still, they have already awarded the contract but are still not sure of the level of the counterpart funding component of the federal government!

“Umahi had said in September 2023 that Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech had the money to construct the highway and that it would be PPP. Hitech was to build, operate, and transfer it back to the Nigerian government after years of tolling.

“It was reported by every media organization, including those owned by Tinubu. It was on the basis of this proposal that Hitech was picked. Why did Umahi then turn around to claim that it was not to be a PPP but that the government would pay 15%-30%?”

He added: “Although the National Assembly approved N500m for the project this year, the Tinubu administration has released N1.06tn. That is more than 200 times what is in the Appropriation Act. This is what happens when the National Assembly fails in its duties.

“If N15.6 trillion is for the road component alone, then the total cost could be far higher when the railway is included. We want to know the cost of the railway.”

With the successes recorded by President Bola Tinubu administration’s intervention in the foreign exchange market and resumption of full operations by the refineries, a stronger Naira should be achieved by the first quarter of 2025.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, who made the projection in a brief to State House Correspondents in Abuja on Thursday, said the policy revitalisation in the foreign exchange market is aimed at strengthening the Naira in currency markets.

Ngelale, however, noted that the recent successes in foreign exchange market are not enough for the nation to rest the policies and other efforts to strengthen the Naira.

He further noted with the various refineries, public and privately-owned, resuming full operations and capacity between now and the first quarter of 2025, the position of the Naira should become stronger and reflect on prices of market commodities.

“The President has been very consistent in his view that the labour pains felt by our people and the incredible sacrifices made by our people over the past 10 months would be rewarded across the board.

“The President’s multi-faceted approach to ridding the nation’s foreign exchange market of malign actors and sharp practices have provided a platform for the sustainable strengthening of our national currency against all global currencies and this is what we are seeing.

“But there is still much work to be done and this is not a time for celebration. It is a time for doubling down and working harder to ensure that inflation is sustainably brought down in short order and that consumer protecting regulatory agencies step up enforcement to ensure that our people are not short-changed by enterprises that fail to reflect the prevailing exchange rates on the pricing of goods and services across the board.

“As our private and publicly-owned refineries resume operations between now and the first quarter of 2025, the nation’s cash position will dramatically improve to the extent that Nigerians can rightly expect a stronger Naira and a fair reflection of its strength in the prices of commodities in the market place.

“Once you join the rising spending power of Africa’s population with the historic availability of trillions of naira for consumer credit that will bolster the real sector, you will see why Nigerians will be most pleased that they elected a financial engineer and businessman as president by the end of his first term in office, even as the signs are increasingly more evident today,” he said.

Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma has approved the immediate employment of Mr. Chinonso Oparaji and Mrs. Chipuruime Udeh, two indigenes of the state who made First Class in Law at the Imo State University and the Nigerian Law School.

He gave the approval when the duo, in the company of the Vice Chancellor of Imo State University, Prof. Uchefula Chukwumaeze, the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof. Chimezie Okorie and the Chief Judge of Imo State, Hon. Theresa Chikeka, paid a courtesy call on him at the Government House, Owerri on Monday.

A statement by Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the Governor, Oguwike Nwachuku, noted that the governor was delighted with the news of the two Law graduates who made First Class at the Law School, adding that it was a joyful thing that needed to be appreciated.

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He noted that having distinguished themselves with excellent results worthy of emulation, he was happy to encourage them further with approval for their immediate employment.

Uzodimma said appreciating the duo was to encourage other students of Imo extraction that hard work pays.

He praised Chukwumaeze, and staff of IMSU for bringing back hope to the university “in this period of Renewed Hope Agenda.”

He congratulated the graduates and urged them to correct the ills in the system and society.

Oparaji and Udeh, who were accompanied by their relatives, expressed joy at the governor’s gesture, describing it as reward for hard work.

They encouraged other students reading Law and those in the university to always put in their best if they want to achieve the best.

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, has revealed that financial institutions worldwide lost $12 billion to cyberattacks in the last 20 years.

IMF disclosed this in its recent April 2024 Global Financial Stability Report.

The report stated that out of the $12 billion, a whopping $2.5 billion was lost between 2020 and the first quarter of 2024.

Accordingly, the IMF raised concern over the rising incidents of cyberattacks on financial institutions globally, which may affect confidence in the economic system and destabilize economies.

“Financial firms have reported significant direct losses, totalling almost $12 billion since 2004 and $2.5 billion since 2020,” the IMF stated.

“Attacks on financial firms account for nearly one-fifth of the total, of which banks are the most exposed. Incidents in the financial sector could threaten financial and economic stability if they erode confidence in the financial system, disrupt critical services, or cause spillovers to other institutions.

“Cyber incidents that disrupt critical services like payment networks could also severely affect economic activity.

“For example, a December attack at the Central Bank of Lesotho disrupted the national payment system, preventing transactions by domestic banks,” IMF stated.

“Financial institutions in advanced economies, particularly in the United States, have been more exposed to cyber incidents than firms in emerging markets and developing economies,” it added.

Citing JPMorgan Chase as an example, the IMF said the largest US bank recently reported experiencing 45 billion cyber events daily, while spending $15 billion on technology every year and employing 62,000 technologists – many focused on cybersecurity.

IMF added that cyber incidents are a key operational risk that could threaten financial institutions’ operational resilience and adversely affect overall macro-financial stability.

The Africa Democratic Congress is planning a merger with other political parties in the country with a view to creating a formidable front to dislodge the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, from power in 2027.

The National Chairman of the ADC, Chief Ralphs Nwosu, made the disclosure at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday.

Nwosu said the APC had failed Nigerians and rated the government low on all fronts.

He added that the opposition would not sit idle and watch the downward spiral of the nation.

“The state of the nation is nothing to talk about. It is saddening and arouses morbid fear.

“Therefore, instead of wasting our time engaging in futile debates with those in government, we should continue to strategise on ways to develop a new political system and come together to create a collaborative, value-driven ecosystem that prioritises our people and country.

“We certainly need a new beginning. Pointing fingers of recrimination is not what transformational leaders do,” he said, adding that 22 political parties had joined hands with the ADC to build a new mega party.

“We have resolved to work with all political leaders that appreciate the need for coming together for a new Nigeria.

We discriminate against none; our commitment is a new Nigeria that will lead our dear continent out of its present abyss,” he said.

He pointed out that the APC, which dislodged the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from power in 2015, is a product of a merger of opposition forces.

Following the notable impact of major opposition parties like the Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party, and the New Nigeria People’s Party in the last election, observers contend that a united opposition before the election could have ousted the APC.

Consequently, Prof. Pat Utomi, and more recently, the ADC, had contemplated the formation of a mega party to dislodge the APC in 2027.

The Federal Government has disclosed that Nigerians who plan to ply the Lagos-Calabar coastal road when completed will have to pay N3,000 on average per toll gate.

Nigeria’s Minister of Works Dave Umahi made the disclosure on Thursday when he was featured on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.

Umahi stated that an average of 50,000 vehicles were expected to use the road daily and pass through the toll gate when the monumental project was completed.

He explained that tolling the road was a way of recouping the money spent the project in the shortest possible time.

“Let me leave out the infrastructure along the corridor. Let me just concentrate on the tolls and I put 50,000 vehicles as an average passage on these toll points per day,” Umahi said on the breakfast show.

“I put N3,000 as an average cost. N3,000 because the cars could be like N1,500, and the big trucks could be like N5,000,” he said. “So, we put an average”.

“In 15 years, you make back the money,” he said, dismissing calls that the cost budgeted for the road was high

The road project has sparked controversy in some quarter, with many saying the details of the project, especially how the contract was awarded, are shrouded in secrecy.

Former Vice president, Atiku Abubakar, had called out the federal government and presidency on the vagueness and opaqueness of the contractual agreement of the project, saying important information regarding such project of national significance shouldn’t be shrouded in secrecy.

He implored the Tinubu government to be transparent, forthright and come clean to Nigerians on the cost, design, contractor and other sundry details of the road construction.

Athletics has become the first sport to offer prize money to Olympic champions, announcing that the 48 gold medallists in Paris this year will earn $50,000 each to end a 128-year tradition.

Although the concept of purely amateur competition has long since disappeared from the modern Olympics with athletes often receiving payments from sponsors and professionals taking part for years, the World Athletics (WA) decision is a major shift.

WA President, Sebastian Coe, said there had been no discussion with the International Olympic Committee, only that his organisation had given the IOC a heads-up shortly before announcing the $2.4 million prize pot.

“While it is impossible to put a marketable value on winning an Olympic medal, or on the commitment and focus it takes to even represent your country at an Olympic Games, it is important we make sure some of the revenues generated by our athletes are directly returned to those who make the Games the global spectacle that it is,” Coe told reporters.

“I don’t believe this is remotely at variance with the concept that the IOC often talks about, which is recognising the efforts that our competitors make for the overall success of the Games.”

Norway’s Olympic 400m hurdles champion Karsten Warholm welcomed the news.

“I think it’s good so I want to salute them for it,” Warholm said in an interview. “It doesn’t change my motivation to win because for the Olympics I’m not in it for the money. The gold medal is worth a lot more to me personally.”

The IOC said it was up to each International Federation (IF) and National Olympic Committee (NOC) to determine how to best serve their athletes and the development of their sports.

“The IOC redistributes 90% of all its income, in particular to the NOCs and IFs. This means that, every day, the equivalent of $4.2 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world,” the ruling body said.

A total of $540 million was allocated to the 28 sports at the Tokyo Games, with World Athletics receiving the most at $40 million.

Afrobeats superstar Ahmed Ololade aka Asake said he is not sad over his Grammy loss to South Africa’s Tyla.

The Nation reported that Tyla’s ‘Water’ defeated Asake’s ‘Amapiano’ and other Nigerian songs to win the maiden Best African Music Performance category at the 66th Grammys.

However, speaking in a recent interview with GQ magazine, the ‘Mr Money With The Vibe’ crooner said he doesn’t take it as a loss.

According to him, he is upbeat that he might get more Grammy nominations and probably win next year.

“It [Grammy loss] is not a loss for me. I might just get more next year. In my head, I was not even taking it too seriously,” he said.

On his mind space for his sophomore album, ‘Work Of Art,’ Asake said: “People don’t really know me because I’m quiet.

“So everybody started seeing me as a mystery. ‘Work of Art’ is just for them to know me. You have to understand I’m human, but you can’t just deny the heart in me.”

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mr Mele Kyari, has said that harnessing natural gas resources in Nigeria is crucial in fuelling economic growth and industrial development.

Kyari spoke on Wednesday at the public presentation of a book, ‘The Rise of Gas: From Gaslink to the Decade of Gas’, authored by Charles Osezua.

The GCEO highlighted gas as a crucial energy source that sustains economic growth and drives industrial activities.

Represented by the company’s Head of Relationship and Stakeholder Management, Mrs Oluwakemi Olumuyiwa, Kyari also emphasised the importance of documenting Nigeria’s gas sector.

He underscored the significance of prioritising natural gas production and supply, particularly in the context of geopolitical dynamics and energy security in the global economy.

“With Nigeria boasting substantial gas reserves exceeding 200 trillion cubic feet and a potential to reach 600 tcf, the GCEO said it is pertinent Nigeria leverages the gas resource for sustainable development, energy security, and job creation,” a statement by the NNPCL spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, said on Wednesday.

According to Kyari, the book aligns with the Federal Government’s ‘Decade of Gas’ initiative, which he said aimed to optimise Nigeria’s abundant gas reserves for domestic consumption and international export.

The NNPCL boss added that the energy firm has been leading in advancing the ‘Decade of Gas’ agenda as a key stakeholder through strategic investments in critical gas infrastructure such as pipelines and processing facilities.