Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals, has given illegal miners a 30-day deadline to join artisanal cooperatives.

Speaking at the unveiling of the ‘Agenda for the Transformation of Solid Minerals for International Competitiveness and Domestic Prosperity’ in Abuja on Sunday, Alake vowed that defaulters would face the full force of the law.

The minister also stated that the ministry is establishing a security tax force and mines police to assist the country in combating illegal mining and smuggling, as well as a comprehensive review of all mining licenses and the establishment of six (6) Mineral Processing Centres to focus on value-added products.

He stated that the ministry will focus on a seven-point agenda, which will include the establishment of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, joint ventures with mining multinationals, and the collection of big data on specific seven priority minerals and their deposits.

For the last time, let me declare that the Ministry is giving such persons 30 days grace to join a miners’ co-operative or find another vocation to do. On the expiration of the period, the full weight of the law will fall on anyone seen on a mining site without a determinable status. This message will be interpreted into Nigerian languages and broadcast on the radio to ensure no one is ignorant of this directive.

From October, a rejuvenated security regime will become active in the solid minerals sector. This will include the Mine Police, sourced from the Nigeria Police and specially trained to detect illegal mining and apprehend offenders. The new Mines Surveillance Security Task Force will coordinate the Mines Police and proactively address high risk incidences of breach of Mining Laws. The Federal and State governments will also be encouraged to allocate the prosecution of cases against illegal miners to competent courts, the minister said.

He said the ministry will add at least 50% to the Nigerian economy, just as he said the Ministry is poised to attract Foreign Direct Investment.

President Bola Tinubu has taken firm, courageous decisions that have reset the logic of the Nigerian economy. The removal of subsidy and the adoption of a single exchange rate are among the fundamental transformational policies of this administration. This radical approach to making the economy resilient in the long term is the guiding principle of the management of the Ministry.

The Ministry has to take the bull by the horns if the country must reap the harvest of the trillion dollars worth of minerals under the ground across the country. To achieve this laudable objective, there has to be a paradigm shift in the strategy by re-positioning the sector in terms of the human and capital factors that can drive its transformation, the minister said.

On creating the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, the minister said;

Mining is big business. Nigeria must assert its presence in this environment by replicating its strategic positioning in the petroleum sector by setting up a corporate body in this field. Consequently, the Ministry shall work towards incorporating the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation.

Barely a week after the immediate past governor of Rivers State and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, criticised AIT for misrepresentation, the Rivers State Government has demolished the TV station alongside the Raypower FM owned by Daar Communication.

Wike had criticised AIT in the past week for what he said was misrepresentation on the date he announced he would fix Abuja.

Wike, who was speaking few days after he assumed office as FCT Minister had said, “I watched AIT yesterday and I was surprised. That AIT could report that I said that I will fix Abuja in six days’ time.

“All I said to the directors who are responsible! you have six days to let me have what it would take to implement or execute the short term deliveries. That’s what I said.

“I never said Abuja would be fixed in six days’ time.”

But on Sunday when it was raining heavily in Port Harcourt where the stations are located, bulldozers were ordered into the premises to bring down the facility housing the media outfit.

Wike had failed to demolish the stations when he was governor following uproar from the public and media groups which saw his move as “executive recklessness” and an attempt to extend the disagreement between him and the Chairman of the media house.

THE WHISTLER had reported the Rivers State government during Wike’s time as governor had served a 48-hour quit notice to the management of DAAR Communications, owners of Raypower and AIT to vacate the premises.

The letter dated March 20, 2023 and signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Rivers State Ministry of Works, Ebere Emenike, explained that the government would demolish the structure and commence construction of proposed Government Residential Area (GRA) phase 5 in Ozuoba.

There was also no love lost between Wike and the late Raymond Dokpesi, now late, who was the chairman and founder of the stations concerning their differences in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The current Rivers Governor, Simi Fubara was Wike’s anointed for the PDP ticket in the 2023 governorship election despite having a running battle with the Economic and Financial Crime Commission when he was an accountant in Wike’s government.

Fubura, to show his loyalty to Wike, has hailed his emergence as a minister in the All Progressives Congress administration despite being a PDP member.

This paper could not get confirmation from the state government that a new letter was sent to the station informing it of the demolition, sources in the media house said no new letter was received.

But the operations of the TV and FM Stations were shut down with reports on the media organisation’s website, explaining that the demolition was carried out by telecommunications engineers contracted by the State Government.

The station said the engineers were accompanied by armed security operatives as they stood by watching the engineers disconnecting the wave guard from the antenna on the mast while riggers were seen dismantling the mast.

The TV station ran a live broadcast of the demolition. A statement issued by the station said, ‘Bulldozers were also deployed by the Rivers State Government to demolish the Transmitter Complex at the DAAR Communications PLC Broadcast Centre in Port Harcourt.

“Management of the Company has been taken by surprise following the sudden turn of events as efforts were in top gear to resolve issues with the State Government amicably but the no notice incident is a heavy source of concern.

“Some officials of the telecommunications contractor told AIT that they were working on a directive from above to start demolition on Sunday despite the heavy rains as against a later date.”

The United Kingdom issued some 132,000 visas to Nigerians in the first half of the year, Jonny Baxter, British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He revealed the number in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday.

Baxter, however, could not readily give the total number of applications received from Nigerians during the period.

“In the first half of the year, we granted approximately 132,000 visas, and those are all sorts of visas which include visit, work and study visas.

“In the previous full year before that, we issued about 324,000. The UK, in that year, issued about three million visas, and of those three million visas, 324,000 were issued to Nigerians, which is about 10 percent.

“ If you think about Nigeria’s population, relative to the world, that’s actually a higher proportion of Nigerians taking up those visas and coming to the UK which I view is a good thing.

“The UK has a huge number of Nigerian students in the country, and in terms of foreign students in the UK, Nigeria is second only to India.

“We welcome and value the many Nigerians that we have coming to the UK to study or settle, as long as they are coming through legal routes, and it is important that the country’s rules are followed and respected,” he said.

Baxter reiterated that change in the rules of students bringing dependents was a necessity, based on an international challenge.

“ In 2019, Nigerian students going to the UK brought in 1,500 dependents. By 2022/2023, that number had risen to 52,000 dependents, that’s a massive increase.

“ Nigeria is not unique, as it has happened for many other countries and indeed, this change on the dependents is an international challenge.

“It is not surprising that a country, Britain in this case, that is facing that kind of change to the numbers of people coming in the country, wants to look at the policy and would want to change and amend their policy.

“This is definitely not a case of saying that we don’t want students to come, we definitely want students still to come, and the new policy would come in in January 2024.”

He explained that UK government reviews its visa fees on a regular basis, noting that increments are taken when it becomes a necessity.

“What the British government has decided to do is they review fees all the time, and they’ve decided that because of the cost of processing visas, those costs that people applying for visas need to pay should go up as well.

“The other thing that I think is probably not often recognized is that, for some of those people who are going to the UK and are in some limited circumstances, those people will access services when they are in the UK and those services cost money.

“So, part of the money out of the fees in the visa process will be to pay for those services that in certain circumstances, some people may need to access when they’re there. So for me, that’s an entirely justifiable thing.

“But I completely understand it is important for us to explain it so people understand reasons for increment,” he said.

He advised the public to always apply for visa well ahead of their scheduled travels, noting that there are processes and time frames in granting visas. (NAN)

...as ex-President responds to allegations over P&ID contract

Former President Muhammadu Buhari has praised his administration for, according to him, coming on a rescue mission and effectively saving Nigeria from corrupt undertones that were planted to expose its economy to imminent collapse.

He said that the success of the administration in the fight against corruption was unprecedented.

This is contained in a statement issued on Sunday by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, in response to the allegations raised against him by former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, over Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID), Paris Club, and the Ajaokuta steel company.

The statement noted that the cases cited by Adoke as a reference point for the Buhari administration’s corruption were cases that originated in a government in which he was the man responsible for the administration of justice.

While noting that the contract and incidental judgement in the P&ID were inherited by his administration, Buhari maintained that, to his credit, he succeeded in stopping its execution even when the previous administration that was responsible for the creation of the liability watched helplessly and exposed Nigeria to over $10 billion in liability.

The statement added: The Paris club saga that Adokie cited as an example of corrupt practises of the Buhari administration is not in any way different in origin and circumstances from the case of P&ID. It was rooted in administrations that predated that of President Muhammadu Buhari. Adoke was a product of the administration that planted the evil foundation and the judgements that resulted therefrom.

“The logical conclusion any reasonable person can draw on P&ID, Paris Club, and Ajaokuta is that President Buhari came on a rescue mission and effectively saved Nigeria from corrupt undertones that were planted to expose its economy to imminent collapse. The success of the Buhari administration in the fight against corruption is unprecedented.

“New legislation was introduced, major recoveries were made at home, stolen monies were repatriated from abroad, and they were judiciously deployed in infrastructure development. High-profile convictions were recorded in unprecedented numbers, with enhanced percentages over and above the records in existence.

“It is in international recognition of these efforts that the African Union chose the former President as its African Continental Anti-Corruption Champion. Additional recognitions by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Corruption (UNODC), among others, were also lauded by the former president and his administration.

“Adokie also made some wild allegations in the aviation sector. The efforts of the Buhari administration in aviation are known: They were visible in terms of capital infrastructure development, safety, and policy; they changed the face of the aviation sector into an attractive one for investment, resulting in new airlines coming on board. No major commercial airline incident was recorded throughout this period.”

“All Nigerians, by right, can say whatever they want about the Buhari administration. No one is offended by their actions, right or wrong. But when you come out with innuendos of corruption written all over your face and say that you want to moralise and pontificate, Nigerians in different walks of life will have problems with that,” the statement declared.

Citizens of Gabon, the small Central African country and former bastion of French colonialism in the Congo Basin, broke out in spontaneous celebration at the news of the ouster of President Ali Bongo Ondimba, on 30 August 2023. This is the 22^nd coup attempt in Africa since 2013, and the 11th successful coup across eight countries since Zimbabwe’s soldiers sacked President Robert Mugabe in 2017.

This is also the third coup attempt in Gabon’s history and the first to succeed. The coup began on the fourth day of a nation-wide curfew accompanied by a shutdown of the airspace, borders, and the internet and  shortly after Gabon’s electoral Commission announced under cover of darkness that President Bongo had won another seven year term in elections in which he allowed no observers.

Rather than celebrate Bongo’s supposed election victory or resist his overthrow, the citizens broke out in revelry over his ouster. The only explanation was that Bongo lost the election by a significant margin but, rather than respect the will of the people, he chose to toy with it and manipulate the results. After 56 years of running the country like a private estate, he was not short of willing enablers.

Nearly 59 years before this latest coup, on 17 August 1964, a group of Gabonese and French soldiers led a coup which momentarily toppled Gabon’s founding President, Léon M’ba, replacing him with his former foreign minister and supreme court president, Jean-Hillaire Aubame. The new regime lasted a mere three days before France assisted in restoring President M’ba to office.

Shortly after surviving the coup, it became evident that President M’ba was quite unwell with what was later diagnosed to be terminal cancer. While hospitalized in Paris in November 1966, the president issued a decree designating 30-year old, Albert-Bernard Bongo as his Vice-President, replacing Paul-Marie Yembit in that role. The month after President M’ba died at the end of November 1967, Bongo – who took the name Omar, after his conversion to Islam – was installed as president, ruling until his death in June 2009.

Omar Bongo’s son, Ali Bongo, took over from his father in 2009 for a full term of seven years but Gabon had always struggled to fall in love with him. Claims that he was a displaced child of the Nigerian civil war adopted by Omar Bongo had significant following among many segments of Gabon when people treasured their relationship with metropolitan France. Upon taking power in 2009, his court marginalized his elder sister, Pascaline, who had mastered the networks of power in the country as her father’s long-standing Chief of Staff during a period when Ali was busy enjoying the life of a playboy.

Pascaline was married to Jean Ping, son of Chinese entrepreneur and a Gabonese mother who had wormed his way into Omar Bongo’s court. The day after Gabon’s presidential election of 27 August 2016, Mr. Ping who had become the opposition candidate, claimed victory, calling on his opponent, Ali Bongo, to congratulate him. Bongo’s response was an African proverb: “You must not sell the skin of the bear before you’ve killed him.”

Ping had served Bongo’s father, Omar, in various ministerial capacities before becoming Gabon’s longest-serving foreign minister in 1999. In 2008, Africa’s leaders installed him as the Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union in Addis Ababa. In that capacity, Ping had responsibility for implementing the continent’s standards concerning elections and governance. At the end of his tenure in Addis Ababa, Mr. Ping returned home to Gabon, emerging ultimately in 2016 at the head of a united opposition front to wrest power from the Bongos.

On 31 August 2016, Gabon’s electoral Commission awarded the election to Ali Bongo, giving him a margin of 5,594 votes over Jean Ping, who won in six of the country’s nine provinces as well as the overseas votes. Bongo’s winning margin came from his native Haut-Ogooué region which recorded an impossible 99.93% turnout, 95.46% of which was allocated to him. While the European Union questioned the deep flaws in the election, the African Union ignored those, directing its attention instead to the violence that followed the declaration of results in which some persons were killed and Gabon’s national assembly burnt.

Mr. Ping reluctantly heeded the appeal of the African Union to take the matter to the constitutional court, which curiously issued its decision around mid-night on 23 September, 2016, affirming Bongo’s victory. Marie-Madeleine Mborantsuo, who headed the court, owed her appointment to her role as a “long-time mistress of Omar Bongo”, Ali’s late dad and predecessor in the presidency. Everything was in the family. The Bongo system was not a democracy.

Ali Bongo used the crisis of post-election violence in 2016 to consolidate power with generous assistance from Gabon’s neighbours, but while visiting Saudi Arabia in October 2018, he was hospitalized for a prolonged period. It later emerged that he had suffered a stroke, surviving with significantly diminished cognitive and motor capabilities. The Ali Bongo who survived the stroke would have been unfit for work in any other sphere of life. But what politics cannot do does not exist. So, despite much diminished capabilities, Bongo clung on to the presidency.

While he was recuperating in Morocco, soldiers back in Gabon unsuccessfully attempted to unseat him at the beginning of January, 2019. In surviving the 2019 coup attempt, however, the Bongo dynasty also arguably used up its spare political lives.

News of the ouster of the Bongo clan sent Gabon’s citizens into wild celebrations but a disoriented Ali Bongo, supposedly under arrest, managed to cut a video clip, asking his supporters to “make noise.” Brice Oligui Nguema, the recently promoted Brigadier-General, who has been named at the head of Gabon’s military-led transition, is a former aide-de-camp to Omar Bongo, who returned in 2019 as head of the presidential guards. He is also a cousin to Ali Bongo.

The focus on what appears to be a contagion theory of coups in Africa misses the clear dimensions in which Gabon differs from other recent coups on the continent. First, there was no democracy left in Gabon to overthrow. What was overthrown – if any – was the head of a family business. The family’s business model is not endangered. Thus, despite the appearance of a coup in Gabon, political power remains in the Bongo Clan.

Second, General Oligui Nguema is not some anti-colonial or anti-French ideologue. On the contrary, he is a regime insider who has been named in credible investigations of corruption and can be trusted to protect the family.

Third, this coup clearly prevents the opposition from taking political power, which they won in the election. Gabon’s long-term stability may depend on persuading the Bongo clan to retire itself voluntarily.

By the end of the week, an extraordinary summit of heads of state of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) rising from a meeting in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, had dutifully issued a customary condemnation of the Gabon coup accompanied by a call on the transitional rulers to respect the physical safety of Ali Bongo and ensure a rapid return to constitutional order, although it is unclear what that means in Gabon. Shamefully, these same rulers had all been eloquently silent in the worst excesses of over half a century of the Bongo system.

In 2016, Ali Bongo warned that you must not sell the skin of the bear before you have killed it but stopped short of offering any advice as to how to verify that the bear has been truly killed. In Gabon, it may be a few more weeks before we fully find out.

“When the righteous are in power, the people rejoice but when the wicked rule, the people groan” — Proverb 29:2

I watched in horror as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at his inauguration on 29th May 2023, rather flippantly, announced the removal of fuel subsidy without having any plans that would mitigate the resultant pain on citizens. One would have expected that before taking such serious policy decisions, he would study the financial status report of the country, assemble his cabinet and consult widely particularly with his national security team on the policy’s national security implications.

Those that know his antecedents say that this semingy rushed policy announcement was not accidental but a premeditated plan to roll out these bitter pills before assembling his cabinet after which he would direct them to go and convince their people to accept the painful policy that they had no input in enacting.

There is a real concern that President Tinubu’s government will be run by a shadowy few with his cabinet having little or no input in the formulation of important policy matters. This dictatorial style of governance which to me smacks of contempt for the people, is said to be the way he ran Lagos state as its governor.

This singular policy action has exposed either President Tinubu’s inexperience at the national stage or crass arrogance or both. It is obvious that he is advised by some elitist, shadowy, armchair theoretical economists who know absolutely nothing about the sufferings of our people.

These armchair economists were clearly acting out a script handed to them by the World Bank which has been pushing for this type of shock therapy to Nigeria’s economy without regards to the consequences on its citizens. My suspicion was partially confirmed by the presence of the Bank’s representative in Nigeria sitting next to the Chairman of the newly created fiscal and tax policy committee at its maiden press conference given at no less a venue than the Presidential Villa.

The World Bank representative was effusive in praising President Tinubu’s economic policy describing it as being bold and timely. This painful policy is a lethal prescription handed down to Tinubu by the World Bank.

This policy is nothing but a cocktail of impulsiveness, chaos, hubris, and incompetence which has negatively impacted the lives of all Nigerians. The immediate and debilitating rise in the cost of living resulting from the removal of fuel subsidy debunked the official propaganda that only a few Nigerians and citizens of countries neighboring Nigeria benefited from the subsidy.

No one doubts that the current fraudulent “subsidy” regime is unsustainable but, the timing and the rushed and poorly thought through approach is wrong. No country, no matter how strong it’s economy can withstand the shock of a combination of sudden removal of fuel subsidy, currency devaluation, increase in energy prices, excruciating debt burden, astronomical rise in inflation, very high interest rates and increase in the cost of living. Other shocks are, shutting down of businesses and massive layoff of workers, hunger in the land, hopelessness and the real possibility of citizens unrest in a country beset with multiple existential security challenges.

President Tinubu in his desperate bid for legitimacy from his masters in the West, seems uncaring about the immediate and far reaching negative impact this reckless and impulsive policy on fuel subsidy removal and massive devaluation of the Naira is having on the citizens or Nigeria, a country that is heavily import dependent.

In a country with 65% (133m) of its population in multidimensional poverty, he has added millions more in one fell swoop, healthcare is more inaccessible now than ever, millions more children have been added to the 20 million children already out of school. Most importantly, there is real hunger in the land, a bag of Maize, the most common food staple in the north, now sells at N60,000 (at N1,300 per Mudu) which is way out of the reach of the average citizen. In many of our villages, no one can give you a change for N1,000. This is how poor our people are.

I watched a heart-rending viral video that depicts the daily sufferings of our people all across the country. It was taken in Katsina town showing a mother of four children aged between 3 -10 years whose husband had abandoned them and left town because he could not feed his family. This single mother of four young children would go out daily to find food for her children. Unfortunately, she got hit  by a motorcycle that fractured one of her legs.

The family went hungry because she was unable to pay for healthcare or go out to bring food home for days. In the video clip, this mother and her 4 children looked severely malnourished (Marasmic) as one would see in refugee camps in a war zone. She is the lucky one because her story was told to the world. There are millions of Nigerians, mostly women and children, in much worse situations.  

The President’s response to this self-inflicted suffering he brought on the people is like that of a drowning man flailing his arms and gasping for breath. His nonreassuring national broadcast was full of lamentations, complaints and empty promises with numbers that just didn’t add up. A simple example is when he said that he had directed the release of 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains from strategic reserves to households across the country not knowing that the federal grain silos are literally empty.

The government’s plan on rolling out palliatives is a case study of voodoo economics that will not make any meaningful impact on this self-inflicted pain. Tinubu’s government hasn’t learnt any lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic when state governors were given money and foodstuffs which they hoarded in warehouses and used for their political campaigns. This is exactly what will happen to the N5b and five trucks of rice given to each state especially with the looming possibility of a rerun of the Presidential election.

How more insensitive and disconnected from the sufferings of the people can our politicians be? I wondered aloud. At a time when millions are groaning under excruciating economic hardships, the National Assembly just allocated N40bn for buying 465 exotic and bulletproof cars for their members and principal officials, and N70bn as ‘palliatives’ for new members.

Our leaders should be very very worried by the complete silence in the country in spite of the excruciating difficulties people are going through. Millions of Nigerians cannot feed, commute, pay school fees or afford basic necessities of life. It does not seem like these leaders care about the pains they have inflicted on the citizenry these two months.

A wise man once said that “democracy means nothing to a hungry, angry, insecure, homeless and unemployed citizen”.

I urge all men and women of conscience to raise their voices and call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to as a matter of urgency abandon this disastrous economic policy.

SILENCE IN THE FACE OF EVIL IS ITSELF EVIL.

Usman Yusuf is a Professor of Haematology-Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation.

Former Chairman of the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Lauretta Onochie, has denied reports that she was thrown out of an apartment in the United Kingdom.

Reports had emerged on Saturday that Onochie, who also served as a special assistant on new media to former President Muhammadu Buhari, became stranded after she was kicked out by family members.

She, however, dismissed the reports via X social media platform on Sunday, saying it was her cousin whom she sheltered that wanted to force her out.

Onochie said she retrieved her house from the said family member after a long-fought battle that did not allow her have access to her belongings.

She wrote on X, “WHAT A BATTLE, I RECOVERED MY HOME.

“My Cousin, Victor Ashiedu Fejokwu and his wife, Ruth Emereze were stranded, infact homeless at the time. I took pity on them, took them in, to house them in my home.

“A year ago, when I started making plans to return to continue housing them, they blocked my phone number. I had no access to my letters. Consequently, I missed quite a number of appointments.

“Having the key to the property, I turned up at the door, twice. They installed bolts and bolted the door from the inside and refused to let me in.

“They stopped contributing to the rent when they both have jobs, preferring to host lavish parties.

“I tried again for the last time. When I knocked, his wife sneaked from the garden into the house, to bolt the front door against me.

“Miraculously. Miraculously. She forgot to lock the garden door through where she sneaked into the house. I got access to the house through that door.”

Onochie further stated that they became nasty and when she called the police, they were dealt a heavy blow and told to vacate the house.

She added that they moved out two days ago and they will reap what they did to her.

Onochie said, “They became nasty. Of course, I called the police who dealt them a heavy blow, telling them they must vacate for me unless I was willing to continue to house them. The cowardly thug ran away before the arrival of the Police. The other young lady, went to my bed and spread herself out. Of course, I got her out.

“Then they started pleading to stay.

NO WAY! Two days later, they shamefully moved out.

“BUT WILL I BE NICE TO PEOPLE AGAIN?

Absolutely! It’s my nature to help. I will continue to be me. We reap what we sow.

“Ashiedu and his wife, will reap what they did to me. Bountifully.”

The General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has predicted the possibility of Naira bouncing back and this time greater than the United States dollar.

Our correspondent reports that based on findings in the black market buying rate of the dollar is about N915, and sells at N918.

Sequel to the upward slide, businesses and the cost of living of Nigerians coupled with the fuel subsidy removal have been badly affected.

Adeboye gave this prediction during the church’s monthly thanksgiving service on Sunday, monitored by our correspondent with the September theme; ‘Uncommon Miracles’.

According to the revered Clergy, there was a period when Naira, competed favourably with United States dollars.

He said, “The days when Naira will be stronger will come back; those glorious days will return when that happens you will know.”

Adeboye noted that miracles connoted something that is unique, stressing that a lot of times they may not be comprehensible by many.

He explained how God granted him usual testimonies, some of which many people couldn’t believe.

“Miracle is totally unusual. God can give you a miracle that will be difficult to share,” Adeboye added.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has emerged victorious in all 18 Local Government Areas in the Edo State local government.

The election was held on Saturday in all of the local government areas in the state.

The results released by the state independent electoral commission showed that PDP swept the votes in all the local government areas in the State, according to Channels Television.

Apart from the PDP, other major political parties that participated in the election for Chairmanship and Councillorship of all the wards include the Labour Party, LP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC.

At the time of filing this report, the APC and the LP are yet to issue an official statement on the outcome of the election.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, says no fewer than 8.3 million Nigerians are in dire need of humanitarian assistance in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.

Edu said the figure is part of the total 16 million Nigerians affected by various humanitarian crises, with the three states worse hit.

The minister said this in a statement by her Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Mr Rasheed Zubair, on Sunday in Abuja.

She said aside from the North-East, Benue in the North/Central had been tagged the capital of humanitarian crises in Nigeria by the United Nations.

“We have a huge task on our hands, as we speak now, over 16m Nigerians are affected by humanitarian crises either man-made or natural disaster with over 8.3m of them based in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

”Several states in the North Central; and others spread across the country.

“The UN said Benue had become the humanitarian need capital in Nigeria, and as such, a lot of work needs to be done in the humanitarian angle,” she said.

She added “One of the agendas of Tinubu’s administration is to ensure that poverty is alleviated in Nigeria in line with the SDG goal one.

“The president is coming up with a very robust program to lift Nigerians out of poverty.

“Our work is to see how we can get those in poverty out and those on the verge of getting into poverty increase to social safety to protect them from falling into poverty.

“In a couple of weeks, we will be fully launching into this plans to take over 136 million Nigerians out of poverty as implementation has started to help cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal.”

She said the ministry had come up with innovative ways of thorough verification of the social register for accuracy and transparency.

“We are bringing innovations to ensure transparency in Conditional Cash Transfer by carrying out a thorough verification of the social register, validating and then expanding it to accommodate more persons.

“We will be working with the World Bank while seeking approval from the President to begin the Conditional Cash Transfer to Nigerians,” she said.

The minister promised to upgrade, rejig and expand the social safety net programme to accommodate more people through a transparent process.

“We want to increase the Social Safety Net for Nigerians in a transparent manner by counting the numbers together just as we counted COVID-19 cases using a digitalised system.

“We are very conscious of the fact that Mr President’s passion and true intentions are to ensure that we can lift Nigerians out of poverty.

“Party politics is over, now is time for governance, President Tinubu is a president for everyone irrespective of political party,” she said.

She therefore assured Nigerians that the ministry would soon come up with an accurate and acceptable social register to curb the challenge associated with disparity in the register.

”Ministry would soon come up with a more acceptable Social Register, one that will be verified, validated.

” It will also be expanded to include those who should be there while taking off those who no longer belong within that bracket.

”We will also work with all tiers of government as well as various communities to identify persons eligible for the scheme.” she added.