Serie A Champions Napoli have condemned the sale and manufacturing of a Victor Osimhen doll, detaching themselves from the item.

Images of an Osimhen doll went viral on social media recently and the doll, which has the trademark hair and mask of the Nigerian striker, has been made out of the template of one of the most prominent dolls in Italy. It is, in fact, a new design of the Cicciobello Bomber, which is made by Giochi Preziosi.

It was reported in the media that the doll has been authorised by Napoli and Aurelio de Laurentiis and that it will be sold soon later this month.

But Napoli have released a statement, confirming that the Partenopei never authorised the sale and they condemned the reports which state otherwise. They have stated that the product is ‘unofficial’ and the club never authorised it from their end. The club have now taken actions to protect its interests.

Napoli announced that they will take legal action against the famous Italian toy store for an unlicensed.

“With reference to the news, which appeared on numerous online information sites, relating to the imminent marketing of a children’s game called “Cicciobello Bomber” – a doll that reproduces the features of the player Victor Osimhen, portrayed wearing a uniform clearly referable to the shirt from the Club’s first team – the SSCN specifies that this is an unofficial product, the creation of which has not been authorized in any way by the Club,” Napoli said in a statement.

“The Company has therefore taken steps to protect its interests in the appropriate places.” the statement read.

Osimhen was recently involved in a TikTok video row with Napoli.

The Nigeria international’s contract extension is currently in doubt and his relationship with the Serie A champions remains frosty.

He has scored five goals in nine appearances across all competitions for Napoli this season.

In a country of 133 million multidimensional poor, with youth unemployment at 53.40 percent, it would be a pity if anyone looking for an opportunity to earn a living missed the chance to hear the Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma recently. 

In a campaign speech for his second term, Uzodimma promised, as my father would have said, what Napoleon in all his extraordinary conquests and ambition could not even have dreamed of. 

In my humble view, it’s Japa 2.0, a giant leap forward for the youth delivered in a moment of creative genius, the last of which was seen when the Supreme Court’s ruling on his election petition sprung His Excellency from number four position on the Imo ballot list of contestants in 2019, all the way to the Government House.

I must dispense with any further rigmarole and get to the point, while the governor’s generous offer lasts. The governor told a crowd of excited, cheering youths who came to visit him at the Government House on September 26, that he had finally come up with a plan to put at least 4,000 of them out of unemployment, as part of his “Skill Up Imo” programme. He said he had spoken with representatives of some Canadian and European firms in Nigeria. The companies would not only train these youths, but also send them to different choice destinations in North America and Europe to work. 

As if that was not enough, he then added that his government was prepared to pay the flight tickets of all 4,000 eligible persons once their employment has been processed, with the possibility, I might add, that a few lucky ones may even fly first class!

Upon hearing this bonanza, the crowd roared and roared in raptures of ecstasy. Of course, the governor didn’t have to say this too-good-to-believe offer was tied to the potential beneficiaries voting for him at the November 11 governorship election in the state. Quid pro quo was implied.

Campaign in lullaby

Mario Cuomo’s dictum that politicians campaign in poetry doesn’t really do justice to politicians of the Nigerian variety. They do much better – they campaign in lullaby. 

In 1999, for example, a fellow called Ahmed Yerima campaigned for governorship, promising to make Zamfara the believer’s paradise. He vowed to end corruption and enthrone justice and prosperity through political sharia. The seed of his green-eyed fanaticism has bred a deadly variety of bandits that haunt that state today. 

Another fellow, Saminu Turaki, promised that if he was elected governor, Jigawa would become Africa’s Silicon Valley, with a tablet for every voter. It turned out, however, that the only time there was Internet service in the state for most of his tenure was immediately after he received billions of naira in monthly allocation from Abuja. Once the money entered the state’s treasury all lines to the Government House were unreachable until the next allocation.

There’s even a more recent example of campaign by lullabies, the sort that is now ensuing from Imo State. A gentleman governor called Professor Ben Ayade promised among a litany of things during his campaign that he would build a 260km superhighway from Calabar to Katsina-Ala in Benue State. He also promised a deep-sea port in Bakassi and a cargo airport in Obudu.

Voters bought his snake oil and repurchased it by giving him a second term. After eight years, they woke up to the harsh reality of the empty musical notes of Ayade’s broken promises.

Uzodimma-nistan

Perhaps Uzodimma would be different? What is the price of a vote, anyway, compared with the prospects of a new life, so bright and beautiful that the vistas only compare with a terrestrial realm which, permit my limited imagination, I can only describe as Uzodimma-nistanat this time? 

As I watched the excitement and anticipation in the mostly young crowd, I felt sorry for Uzodimma’s opponents who have so far been thoroughly unimaginative. All they have been doing when they’re not pressing for the Charter of Equity that they say should disqualify the governor from re-contesting, is to talk about some plan to make Imo safe and secure again, and how to end graft and corruption in government. 

After listening to Uzodimma’s extraordinary redemption plan for Imo youths, his opponents should humble themselves and take remedial classes from this man who has been a consummate snake oil salesman long before Imo River. 

The governor’s announcement on September 26 may appear ordinary to the undiscerning, but a friend of mine and obviously a closet Uzodimma admirer expanded the grand dimensions of the governor’s Japa 2.0 programme, totally hidden from my simple heart. 

When I criticised the scheme as a cheap and foolish campaign gimmick, my friend admonished me promptly. How could I compare Uzodimma with Yerima or Turaki or Ayade? Couldn’t I see the governor’s ingenuity, he asked? 

New industry

First, he said, all the talk about insecurity and corruption would vanish once the 4,000 ambassadors started working and remitting foreign exchange back home. And second, how could I not also see that the announcement by the governor, an accomplished salesman, had unleashed a cottage industry of sorts in the state already? 

According to my friend, as soon as the governor promised to provide jobs for 4,000 youths in Canada and Europe and also to pay their airfares, some smart folks in and around government would take the matter to greater imaginative heights 

In the next few days or weeks, for example, expect some people who might start hawking forms for Cohort One of either the Canadian or European editions of “Skill Up Imo.” If these retailers of snake oil charge only N5,000 per form, for example, they would have made N20m, if only 4,000 bought forms – a very conservative estimate in a state with an estimated population of 5.2 million, mostly youths! 

Imagine what that means for both the personal and government internally generated revenue. Between the sale of forms to the multiple rounds of screening, tests and final selection, my friend said, surely the good times would be back again. 

Think of the hundreds, if not thousands, of young people who instead of risking their lives in the desert of North Africa and the perilous Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe now have the opportunity of not only being trained by some of the best companies in the world but also being employed by them. And all of this on Uzodimma’s ticket, just for the price of a vote to return His Excellency to office! 

Reverse migration never looked so potentially profitable and America and Europe should have no difficulty seeing the win-win in this grand scheme. I therefore urge all busybodies trying to fact-check the governor to think about the implication of their action on this laudable and patriotic project and to desist forthwith.

My regret

My only regret perhaps is that non-indigenes registered to vote in Imo may not benefit from this programme, although it is likely that given the wild excitement that greeted the announcement and the likely political harvest, the governor may extend this scheme to non-indigenous voters as well, as long as they vote for him and retain a certified true copy of their ballot paper.

There’s a saying in my neck of the woods that if a fashion designer is offering to make you a special wear you must first look at what he is wearing. Surely, anyone like His Excellency, who registered a company in 2012 with a share capital of N5m and won a dredging contract of N26 billion five years later which was diligently not executed, should be trusted to send only 4,000 Imo voters to the moon and back, without much difficulty.

As they say in the South East, “Ya kpo tu ba!”

For the umpteenth time, Labour leaders have suspended their declared strike action after an eleventh-hour meeting with the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. They said the suspension is for a period of one month. If, at the expiration of one month nothing concrete comes out of the so-called “promisory note” the Labour leaders said they got from the government - as a result of which the latest threat of strike action was suspended - what happens? They will start mobilizing for another strike again! The government will wait for the new deadline to approach before calling them in again for another meeting and another “promisory note” ad infinitum, and ad nauseam!

Who is fooling who? Or is this a combination of both the government and Labour fooling the people? How long will this game of musical chairs go on? That is one problem I have with the Labour leaders and their incessant threat of strike actions which they have been unable to carry through. Another is that I do not believe that strike is the proper weapon to wield at this point in time or that incremental wage increment is the solution to the problems at hand. N35,000, which the government has promised Labour, cannot buy a bag of rice and it cannot fill the tank of an average-size car with petrol that will last for more than one week. And this for only Federal Government workers and for only six months! What happens to other workers and non-workers alike? What happens after six months?

Nigeria’s problems are more structural and fundamental; the FG/Labour so-called MOU makes a mockery of a very serious matter. It’s akin to the so-called palliatives they claim to be sharing all over the place. The mockery of a palliative that palliates nothing apart, another is the callousness of those superintending the sharing in many instances, in that even this measly offering is not allowed to get to those who desperately need it. Our problems are more fundamental than Labour is making of them. For once, they should be patriotic enough not to allow the check-off dues they will cream off workers’ enhanced wages to be the main motivation. If the Labour movement is intent on helping the masses as well as seeing to the prosperity of this country, it has to change its focus and orientation.

There are more lofty ideas it should push forward. There are goals that will better benefit society at large that it should pursue than the tiny, tiny concessions it is disturbing our peace over again and again. This is not the time for the usual “aluta” grandstanding by Labour; our problems are very deep and demand sober reflection. It demands the putting together of heads by government and Labour - everyone, including those who have relocated to Chicago - to proffer solutions that will point the way forward in the right direction. Strike actions will further worsen an already bad economic situation.

The “promisory note” that Labour is gloating over cannot even make a dent in the armour of poverty that has enveloped the entire country. Labour was here when Muhammadu Buhari and his cabals cannibalized the economy and took the country back to the Stone Age. To now pretend and gallivant all over the place, making fiery but deceitful statements purporting that a four-month-old government will just wave a magic wand that will cause all the problems to disappear and usher in an El-Dorado overnight is not only unrealistic, it is also irresponsible.

I expect Labour to address itself to the core problems that need to be tackled and not play to the gallery. Getting the refineries to work so that the price of petrol, diesel and other petroleum products can climb down considerably is one such problem. The belated decision to jointly patrol ongoing work on the refineries by FG and Labour is, in my view, the right step in the right direction. Let the Labour movement keep a round-the-clock watch over the refineries and give the citizens blow-by-blow-account of what is going on there. Will the refineries be ready in December as promised? What of Dangote’s own refinery? Are we producing enough crude to feed the refineries? We must not wait until December before we start threatening strike action again over another botched promise.

Critical and fundamental issues such as restructuring, reducing the cost of governance and a probe of the Buhari administration are what I expect Labour to lead. Carry the elephant on your head rather than use your toes to hunt crickets! The groundswell of opinion is that the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic (as amended) is defective and can only lead the country down the precipice. Does Labour share this view? If it does, it should lead the agitation for a better Nigeria but if it does not, then, it means that it is not in tune with reality.

While the people are demanding for a drastic reduction in the cost of governance, the government at all levels carry on as if nothing is amiss. Governors are appointing hundreds of aides. The National Assembly is buying bullet proof cars in a country that is the poverty capital of the world. If Nigerians have developed a thick skin to evidence of monumental corruption that was taken to dizzying heights by Buhari and his cabals, should Labour also follow suit? If Labour declares a strike over the humongous corruption perpetrated by the Buhari administration, Nigerians will salute it.

Education is being priced beyond the reach of students in our institutions of higher learning. Tears welled in my eyes when two youths in my church, both of them orphans, came to me to announce that they might drop out of LAG, as they call it, because of the increase in fees. Student leaders are in the streets demonstrating against the increase in fees but has Labour joined them? ASUU, an affiliate of the NLC, was at the receiving end of the big stick from Buhari for eight months without Labour lifting a finger. Is payment of the eight months’ salary arrears to ASUU part of the negotiation of Labour with the Tinubu administration?

If Labour partners Nigerian students to resist the commercialization of education; if it partners ASUU to arrest the rot in our institutions of higher learning and lean on the FG to respect its MOU with ASUU, the generality of Nigerians will be better served than the measly and selfish “promisory note” from the FG that Labour is waving in our face. One of the salutary effects of the removal of fuel subsidy, if I may call it that, is that more funds have been available for sharing to the three tiers of government – but will that not translate into more security votes for governors and more money in the pockets of our political leaders? Will it translate into the regular payment of salary and pension arrears, and enhanced salaries as at when due? Will it translate into drugs in the hospitals, good roads, employment of more teachers, doctors, nurses and other essential workers?

I can go on and on! Labour’s approach to Nigeria’s problems is embarrassingly pedestrian. Fortunately, we have had Labour leaders properly so-called in this country. We saw Labour leaders like Pa Michael Imoudu during the colonial era. And we saw Labour leaders after Independence. As a reporter, I covered Labour and I saw Labour leaders like Hassan Sunmonu, Lasisi Osunde and even Paschal Bafyau, Frank Kokori and others. Incidentally, many of the Labour leaders of today were pupils of those leaders but why are they not following in the footsteps of their illustrious predecessors? Labour began to show signs of compromise during the time of Bafyau; Adams Oshiomhole as NLC president, though loud, did not fare better. Running with the hare and hunting with the hound; speaking from both sides of the mouth; leading workers on protest in daytime, making fiery speeches but dining with the “oppressors” in the night hallmarked the Labour activities of that period. In my view, Labour is yet to recover from the shenanigans of that epoch.

Inflation is at an all-time high. Unemployment figures are alarming. The “japa” syndrome has emptied the country of critical professionals; industries and capital are voting with their feet. Insecurity has driven farmers off the farm and food shortages have seen food prices shooting through the roof. Youth restiveness and heightened crime wave are turning the country into the Hobbesian “state of nature of the war of one against all, where life is brutish, nasty and short” A holistic approach to the country’s myriad problems is needed. Labour’s playing to the gallery obfuscates issues. They raise workers' hopes but dash them at the eleventh hour. Is it not safe, then, to conclude that they are part of the problem and not part of the solution?

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has downplayed the gravity of the forgery allegation levelled against President Bola Tinubu by former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

Recall that Chicago State University had during a deposition at a United States Court in Chicago said they did not issue the certificate Tinubu submitted to INEC to contest for the election.

At a press conference yesterday in Abuja, Atiku opened a can worm of Tinubu’s past misdeeds and unpalatable actions, the allegations were mostly based on the documents he obtained from the Chicago State University.

Reacting to allegations against Tinubu, the APC
said that it is unfazed by allegations made against the President by Atiku, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election.

The APC stated that Atiku is deeply resented of Tinubu because, according to them, he believes Tinubu was responsible for his electoral woes in 2007, 2015, 2019 and this year.

The APC, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said that Atiku delivered nothing except the pitiful regurgitation of lies, mindless distortions and deliberate falsehood on his infantile obsession with the academic record of Tinubu

The party said that Atiku has been out there for several weeks now, displaying utter desperation in his bid to become the President of Nigeria.

The APC said that Atiku’s press conference was a calculated attempt to whip up public sentiments and inordinately pressure the Supreme Court.

“We believe Alhaji Atiku Abubakar should have known better than to demonstrate gross contempt of the highest court by making public comments on a matter that he has submitted to the court for adjudication

“The major takeaway from his Yar’Adua Centre show, especially at question time, was that Atiku harbours deep animosity towards Tinubu, whom he believes was responsible for his electoral woes in 2007, 2015, 2019 and this year” the statement read.

Protocol

Gentlemen of the Press, Fellow Citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I consider it important to address and report to you today on issues that define the future of elective government and legitimate leadership in our country.

Political leadership and active citizenship matter because they are ways through which we all work together to build a country that works for all who live in it. Our country is bigger than any of us, and its standing in the world affects the fate of all who come from or live in it. As leaders, it is our duty to advance the well-being of all our people and of the country.

For this purpose, my generation worked hard to return the soldiers to the barracks and to defend the right of the people to elect and establish for ourselves a legitimate government. Our elections are established and governed by law and founded on the constitution from which leadership and government in Nigeria alone derive their legitimacy.

The people look up to us as leaders to respect these rules and, where necessary, to defend them. This is what brings us here.

Today, we are called upon again as a people to uphold and defend the ground rules of elective government in our country. The constitution prescribes the requirements for those who seek the highest elective office in the land.

It should not take months or, indeed, decades, for the institutions concerned to be able to do their work in establishing the credibility of any certificates presented by candidates for public office.

We undertook this journey at great cost and for important reasons. The ground rules for legitimate governance in our country need to be upheld, and the reputation of our country is at stake. That affects everyone, Nigerians everywhere.

I am a democrat by conviction and a citizen of a country that I love. The issues at stake in this case require us once more to re-dedicate ourselves to both the country and our constitution.

Now, we entrust these facts to us all as citizens and as leaders of the institutions charged with interpreting our constitution. I should thank the lawyers both in Nigeria and in the United States, who have assisted us in bringing clarity and definitive answers to these issues that appear to have defied our institutions for nearly a quarter of a century. I also want to extend my gratitude to Nigerian citizens and friends of Nigeria both within and beyond the shores of our country for their patience as we have sought to find the facts and establish the truth.

I wish to pay tribute to the late human rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, who inspired us on this path of discovery. Now, he can truly rest in peace in the assurance that what he started about 23 years ago has come to fruition. Gani’s vindication today gives credence to the saying that no matter how fast a lie runs, the truth will someday overtake it.

Former American President Thomas Jefferson once said, “If I had to choose between government without newspapers, and newspapers without government, I wouldn’t hesitate to choose the latter”. From exposing the Watergate scandal and unravelling the dubious certificates of politicians, journalists have maintained eternal vigilance by bridging the gap and stepping in when other arms of government failed.

It is for these reasons that commendation must be given to David Hundeyin, an independent journalist whose extraordinary work and those of many more young people like him has become a source of inspiration. Special thanks must be given to the millions of Nigerian youths and citizen journalists too who continue to put out the truth online even when no one is listening. Indeed, the price of Liberty is Eternal Vigilance. They have put the country first in their firm commitment to unravel the truth and hold leaders accountable. This gives me the hope that we have worthy partners in the struggle to reclaim the country we call home.

This quest is not for or about Atiku Abubakar. It is a quest for the enthronement of truth, morality, and accountability in our public affairs. In line with this, therefore, I am calling on all well-meaning Nigerians, leaders of thought, our religious leaders, our traditional leaders, our community leaders, our political leaders, and in particular, Governor Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP and, the leaders of every political party in Nigeria, and, indeed, every single person who loves this country, as I do, and who wishes nothing but the best for the country, as I do, to join me in this campaign to enshrine probity, accountability and the basic principles of justice, morality and uprightness in our country and in our government. This is a task for each and every one of us.

Thank you for listening. May God bless you, and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

From his experience last week with the workers of his ministry, David Umahi has now realized that Abuja is not Abakaliki; and federal civil servants are not as docile as the workers in Ebonyi whom he treated shabbily with disrespect, disdain and humiliation for eight years. The minister must have picked up a few lessons in employee relations and the need to be empathetic to others. I commend the workers in the federal ministry of works for making their points succinctly to the minister and I ask all former governors who are now ministers to learn a lesson or two from Umahi’s experience. The minister of works had arrived his office around 9.40 am on Thursday, September 28, and realized that most of the ministry’s civil servants were not in office. Typical of what many a governor would do, he ordered for the late comers to be locked out. If this had happened in Abakaliki or any other state capital, the workers would have begged, crawling on the floor and crying. The governor would probably order them to be flogged; suspended or punished, depending on his mood. But the federal civil servants would have none of that. Instead, they barricaded the gates to the ministry, protesting the minister’s seeming highhandedness and challenging him to do his worst. A rowdy scene erupted at the gates, as nobody was allowed in and out. There were chants of ‘’Umahi must go’’. Suddenly, the minister became a prisoner in his office, locked in by his workers, whom he had locked out earlier. He did not see this coming.

The workers berated the minister for his impulsiveness without due consideration to their plight. They go to work from outside Abuja metropolis, some from as far as Niger State. Without proper mass transit services which all national capitals have; and with the recent hike in fuel price, commuting to work has become a nightmare, especially for low-income workers. When Umahi realized that the workers were not joking, he called for a truce and asked their leaders to come up to meet with him. They refused, and instead, asked him to come down to meet with them at the gate. He obliged, but the workers went further to ask for his apology for his overbearingness. He did. The spokesman for the workers told the minister, ‘’This is not a state; this is the federal capital. You should respect us…’’. Umahi looked visibly shaken, humiliated and disheveled. Never before in his long career in politics and public service has he been this subdued by his workers. ‘’We expect the minister to show better understanding of the situation in the country, instead of trying to run this place like Ebonyi State’’, one of the workers told the press. The revolt of the workers was a clear indication that if pushed to the wall, Nigerians will take their fate in their own hands. It is likely that if the minister had not quickly pacified the workers, something drastic would have happened. It is a lesson to the other big men of Abuja.

As governor of Ebonyi for eight years, Umahi was notorious for abusing, harassing and terrorizing workers and the people of that state. In October last year, he was inspecting construction work at the Ebonyi airport, Onueke, when suddenly he realized that some workers were late to work. Umahi ordered the workers to sit on the floor while his guards (police and soldiers) started whipping them on his orders. It was a scene reminiscent of how slaves were treated in cotton farms in Europe and the Americas over 400 years ago. In October 2019, Umahi ordered the arrest of some motorists whom he claimed had blocked his motorcade on the road. They were mourners returning from a funeral. The following day at a public event in the Government House, the governor bellowed out, ‘’Next time, the ADC should order for them to be shot. It is very illegal to block a governor; and if anybody is killed in the course of that, it is allowed in the law’’. During the COVID-19 lockdown, the governor ordered security men at the state’s isolation centre to gun down anybody who tried to leave the centre. In addition, he instructed that those who do not wear mask should be arrested and flogged publicly.

I recall also the case of a journalist with The Sun newspaper, Chijioke Agwu, who wrote a report on the outbreak of Lassa fever in Ebonyi in 2020. Umahi did not like the report, and he instantly ordered for the arrest and detention of the reporter. After his release, the governor banished him, together with Peter Okutu of Vanguard newspaper, from entering Ebonyi State. The was outrage nationwide, but the governor couldn’t care less. He soon issued a fatwa against the press: ‘’If you think you have the pen, we have the koboko. Let’s leave the court alone; Ebonyi people are very angry with the press, and let me warn that I won’t be able to control them, or know when they unleash mayhem on you if you continue to write to create panic in the state’’.

David Umahi has been in politics and public service for a good part of his working life. He’s been PDP Chairman in Ebonyi; Deputy Governor; Governor and recently a senator. He has become very rich; and with his fabulous wealth, he can get away with anything. But in Abuja, he will have a tough time continuing with his authoritative and arrogant conduct. Civil servants are well protected from harassments, highhandedness and the imperiousness of their bosses by the Public Service Rules; Trade Disputes Act; ILO Conventions; ILO Declarations and Principles on the Right of Work and ILO Declaration on Safe and Healthy Working Environment. In our public service, lateness to work only attracts a query. Even then, it must be ‘’a habitual lateness’’ to attract a query; and in any case, it is not the minister that is expected to deal out any punishment to the workers. This is where the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation should come in and update the ministers on how the civil service works.

The minister’s baptism of fire is a wake-up call to other ministers, especially former governors, who are used to high-level impunity. Nigerians are facing the most excruciating living conditions since the end of the civil war. Many can no longer afford to drive their cars to work due to high fueling costs. While some make do with the unreliable public transport, others walk long distances to get to, and return from work. Some are unable to provide for their families. They are hungry and angry, and any unjustified provocation from any minister or politician may easily result in a combustible explosion. Public officials should therefore be more empathetic, sympathetic and understanding of the plights of ordinary workers and Nigerians. The FCT administration under Mr. Nyesom Wike will have to provide adequate bus service for the residents of Abuja. This was a common sight in the city during the el Rufai administration. I think Wike can repeat that. Across the states, the governors should also take steps to ameliorate the sufferings in the land by providing bus service for the low-income workers and students.

The Nigerian naira recorded a mixed performance against the US dollar on Thursday, appreciating at the parallel market but depreciating at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window.

Data from the black market shows the naira gained ground, trading at N997 to the dollar compared to N1,000 on Wednesday.

However, at the I&E window, the domestic currency depreciated to N775.2 per dollar from N756.21 previously.

This indicates a N18.99 loss in value for the naira at the official market segment.

Consequently, the spread between the parallel and I&E exchange rates narrowed to N221.8 on Thursday, down from N243.79 earlier in the week.

Analysts attribute the naira’s marginal recovery at the parallel market to increased dollar supply following the resumption of international flights by some foreign airlines.

But demand pressures continued weighing on the local currency at the I&E window. Experts project the exchange rate volatility to persist in the near term amid uncertainties over oil earnings and foreign capital flows.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) maintains it will continue to manage both the official and unofficial forex markets while implementing policies to unify exchange rates and stabilize

The Federal Government says sending people to the gallows for corruption cannot become a norm in Nigeria.

The Director General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), Prof. Ayo Omotayo, made this known on Thursday in Abuja.

He opined that Nigeria has not reached the stage where the death penalty would be applied to cases of corrupt practices.

He spoke at the sidelines of the Validation of Curriculum on ‘Institutionalizing Behavior-Change Approaches to Reducing Corruption in the Public and Private Sectors in Nigeria’ organised by the institute.

He said corruption has levels and dynamism, noting that killing someone for minor infraction and misdeeds was extreme and unfair.

“Corruption has levels. If a policeman takes a bribe of N100 from you that is a corrupt practice, would you then execute someone for taking N100 from you? So corruption has levels.

“So killing people for corrupt practices is not something that we would want to encourage. We are at a level where we believe that we need behavioral change and we believe that if we can eradicate corruption events to a 50 percent level, our society will be okay.

The DG said the easiest way to change the attitude of a society is through education hence, the need for the curriculum.

Presenting the curriculum, Prof. Plangsat Dayil of the University of Jos said the curriculum has seven modules, which include Theories and Practices for Behavior Change Initiatives in Nigeria; Social Norms Approach to Reducing Corruption in the Public and Private Sectors in Nigeria; and Behavioral Approaches to Reducing Corruption in the Public and Private Sectors in Nigeria.

Also, the National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Yabagi Yusuf Sani, said that all the modules in the curriculum were relevant to political parties

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar said he would only drop his fight with President Bola Tinubu if the Supreme Court rules in the President’s favour.

Atiku stated this at a press conference to address the issue of President Bola Tinubu’s academic records released by the Chicago State University (CSU) in Abuja on Thursday.

When asked if he would ever step down the legal battle against President Tinubu, Atiku replied, “The case is still in court. I’ll only drop this fight if the court rules. If the court rules that I’m right, fine, if the court rules that Tinubu is right, fine. There’s no other court higher than the Supreme Court. That is where it all ends.”

I didn’t betray Tinubu 

Meanwhile, Atiku also disproved allegations that he betrayed Tinubu, who many see as his former political ally.

His words, “I disagree with Tinubu, yes it’s true that we came together in 2007. In Lagos, at the convention, I emerged winner and got the party’s ticket. After I got the ticket, he sent me about five or six senior party men, and they met me and said Bola (Tinubu) wanted to be my running mate.

“I said, gentlemen, you are all old enough, and asked, what would be your reaction to having a Muslim-Muslim ticket?

“They all answered that they objected to it, I then told them they should have told him and that was the end of the political relationship; he (Tinubu) broke away, and supported Umaru Yar’Adua. So what is the ground for him to say I betrayed him?

“In 2003, the PDP took over all the southwestern states with the exception of Lagos. I stood between Obasanjo and Tinubu and told Obasanjo to leave Lagos, and he left it. I vehemently deny that I stabbed Tinubu in the back.

“Till today, I won’t do a Muslim-Muslim ticket; I don’t have to be president; we are a multi-ethnic and multi-religious people, and our government must reflect our diversity, and our composition must reflect the same.”

Background – Tinubu-Atiku’s legal feud on CSU academic record

Recall Atiku had secured the release of Tinubu’s education records from the CSU through a court subpoena, against the disclosure by the President.

The released records, which came first on October 3 and a deposition on Tuesday, showed that Tinubu’s 1979 CSU certificate he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was different from samples of the certificates the University issued to students that same year.

Under oath, CSU Registrar said he could not authenticate the certificate Tinubu presented to INEC.

The federal government has begun probes into the activities of Meta formerly known as Facebook, a haulage company, DHL, and online payment platform OPay for alleged data breaches.

The companies, if found liable, would forfeit two percent of their annual gross revenue to the government.

Findings by our correspondent revealed that there have been a barrage of complaints against the companies by Nigerians over the violation of data subjects’ rights.

It was learnt that the Nigeria Data Protection Commission has opened investigations into the data processing activities of the affected data controllers.

This is the second time the NDPC would open probes into the activities of some companies, banks and universities in the country over alleged data infractions.

Our correspondent gathered that the National Commissioner of NDPC, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, had warned during the Commission’s presentation of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 to the public that infractions would attract penalties in accordance with the letter and spirit of law.

Olatunji said the commission would not hesitate in “safeguarding the integrity of Nigeria data economy ecosystem.”

He warned data controllers and processors against all forms of data processing which are not in tandem with the Act, insisting that the Chief Executive Officers of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government would be held liable for infractions.

The Nation learnt that complaints against Meta touch on behavioural advertising without explicit consent of data subjects. Approximately 40 million Facebook accounts in Nigeria might have been affected by the data processing under investigation. This also has significant implication for the growth of Nigeria’s digital economy.

DHL on the other hand is facing investigation for allegedly violating the lawful basis and principles of data protection, it was discovered.

Sources privy to the investigations said DHL’s data processing falls short of the confidentiality standard prescribed under the Nigeria Data Protection Act. The Act in section 24(2) (2) notes that “A data controller and data processor shall use appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability of personal data.”

On its part, Opay might be called upon to answer for allegations that it opens bank accounts for data subjects without their consent. If this is true, it would amount to a grave violation of data privacy rights of affected data subjects, our Correspondent gathered.

A report attributed to Opay says the platform has about 40 million data subjects.

Finding by our Correspondent shows that Nigeria Data Protection Commission has served each of the data controllers with Notice of Investigation. The companies, it was learnt, have ample opportunities to defend themselves against the law of the country.