Nigeria is being considered to key into the new United States International Development Finance Corporation (USIDFC), which provides $60 billion for investments in developing nations.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud, today, October 30, received in audience, President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria in his palace in Riyhad, Saudi Arabian federal capital.
Also on hand to receive President Buhari at the palace of King Salman were the Ambassador of the Kingdom to Nigeria, Adnan ibn Mahmoud Bostaji (first from right) and other top Saudi government officials.
South African communication giant, MTN, operating in Nigeria, has announced a revenue of N856.48 billion for nine months ended September 30, 2019.
The revenue figure is on the company’s nine months unaudited result posted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) website.
The unaudited result showed that the revenue represented a growth of 12.03 per cent when compared with N764.46 billion achieved in the corresponding period of 2018.
Profit after tax dropped to N148.32 billion during the period under review in contrast with N157.19 billion achieved in the comparative period of 2018, a decrease of 5.64 per cent.
Also, profit before tax stood at N212.01 billion in contrast with N227.08 billion in 2018, representing a decrease of 6.63 per cent.
The company’s Earnings Per Share stood at 729k during the review period and lower than 772k achieved in the comparative period of 2018.
The company said that its mobile subscribers during the period increased by 0.1 million to 61.6 million.
Also, active data users increased by 1.6 million to 22.3 million, while service revenue rose by 12.1 per cent to N854.9 billion.
Commenting on the performance, Mr. Ferdi Moolman, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, said that it was currently exploring financing options to diversify funding sources.
Moolman said that the company’s performance was very encouraging and also demonstrated the resilience of its business despite challenging environment.
“We sustained double-digit growth in service revenue led by growth in voice and data revenue.
“We are currently exploring financing options, including the issuance of Commercial Papers as part of our debt strategy to diversify our funding sources and optimise overall funding costs.
“In the remaining quarter of the year, we will continue to prioritise the expansion of our 4G network, coverage and drive active data subscriber growth.
“We expect voice and data revenue to continue to grow on the back of subscriber growth and increasing demand for data services.
“Having launched our Super-Agent services, our goal is to build a network of 100,000 agents by year-end.
“Super -Agent has always been a part of our MoMo plan and obtaining the licence shows we are on track with our plans.
“While we continue to engage with the Central Bank of Nigeria regarding obtaining a Payment Service Bank licence, we are fully harnessing opportunities that Super-Agent licence brings,” Moolman said.
President Muhammadu Buhari has advised the opposition, especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to assume its role of holding the government to account.
His advice today, October 30, came on the heels of the Supreme Court verdict that dismissed the case brought before them by former vice-president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a statement, President Buhari thanked Nigerians for the mandate they gave to him to run the affairs of the country for another four years.
“From building economic empowerment and opportunities for the nearly 200 million Nigerians, 60 percent of whom are youths bubbling with energy, to defeating the twin ills of terrorism and corruption, there is much work to do.
“So too must the opposition be afforded the right to focus directly on their vital role of holding the administration to account for its decisions.
‘‘The governance of a democracy only functions as it should when those checks on the executive are in place – and utilized.
“The opposition, as much as the government, must now move on – and without the need for further distractions.”
Saying that with the Supreme Court verdict, the result of the February 23, 2019 presidential election has been settled after eight months, Buhari said that it is time the country is afforded the right to move on, in the interest of all Nigerians, regardless of how they voted.
“The elected President, and his Government now must be enabled to focus solely on addressing the issues that concern the country.
President Buhari was re-elected by an absolute majority of 55.6 per cent of the national vote, with Nigerians casting nearly 4 million more votes for President Buhari than his nearest challenger – representing a margin close to 15 per cent of the total vote.
In the statement, President Buhari recalled that Atiku and his political party exercised their rights, under the Nigerian Constitution and electoral laws, to petition the courts and dispute the result, and extended gratitude to Atiku and his party for undertaking their campaign through protestations to the courts.
‘‘In this regard they have conducted themselves in line with the laws of the country they sought to lead.”
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested and paraded a 27-year old Mohammed Bello Kolo, suspected to have impersonated the Minister of the FCT and defrauded unsuspecting members of the public to the tune of N52 million.
Speaking to newsmen, the FCT Police Commissioner, Bala Ciroma, said that the suspect was arrested following the receipt of a complaint by police operatives attached to the State Intelligent Bureau of the FCT Command.
Bala Ciroma said that preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect, who claimed to have access to classified information, which he gleaned while on his one-year National Youth Service in the FCT Administration, had defrauded his victims of the sum of N52,000,000 which he allegedly received in installments under the pretense of securing contracts for his victims.
The Police Commissioner said that efforts are being made to arrest one Simon“M” and Idris suspected to be Mohammed Kolo’s cohorts who are posing as FCTA’s Director of Procurement and Personal Assistant to the FCT Minister respectively. The suspect, he added will be arraigned in court at the conclusion of investigations.
Also addressing newsmen, the Special Assistant (Media) to the FCT Minister, Mallam Abubakar Sani advised members of the public to be wary of fraudsters and impersonators who will attempt to dupe members of the public with juicy offers of contracts and other such things.
He said that neither the FCT Administration nor the FCT Minister conduct official government business on Facebook or other social media platforms. Members of the public he said should seek information from official platforms if the need arose.
When questioned by newsmen, the suspect said that while he did not impersonate the FCT Minister, he got the sum of N9.5M from the alleged deal.
Items recovered from the suspect include: a Peugeot 206 salon car with registration number, ABJ 856 SU, a tricycle with registration number, KEF 807 WT, a “55” and a “46” Samsung Plasma TVs and a Hisense Deep Freezer.
Others are a dining set, 10,000 watts Fireman Generator set and a washing machine.
All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has described the verdict of the Supreme Court dismissing a petition by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar over the February 23 Presidential election as an affirmation of the People’s collective voice.The APC leader also commended PDP and Atiku for the energetic electoral campaign they conducted and for their tenacious pursuit of what they believed was their legal remedies”.
He said that the PDP and its former presidential candidate should now channel the energy and intellect deployed in the electoral and legal processes toward joining APC to move this nation more rapidly and assuredly forward.
The statement, titled: “Presidential Election: Supreme Court Affirms Will of The People” reads: “On February 23, the people tendered the foremost expression of their sovereign, democratic will by voting for the reelection of President Muhammadu Buhari. Today, the rule of law conclusively affirmed the collective voice of the people by dismissing the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and their presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. The sun rose high in the Nigeria sky today to shine its light over the entire land.
“This decision and this day will be recorded as important milestones on Nigeria’s insuperable march toward perfecting democracy and the rule of law across our land. Democracy has been affirmed and strengthened. By its ruling, the Supreme Court also affirmed that the rule of law is paramount; that the law is to be applied objectively, without regard to fear, friend or foe. The law is the law. Nothing is to be added to it and nothing subtracted from it. No one should enjoy undue favor or suffer unjust prejudice from its application.
“I thus commend the Supreme Court for its expeditious and highly competent treatment of this important matter. In so doing, it undergirded its reputation as the highest court in the law and the ultimate guardian of the rule of law in our nation. By extension, I must recognize the vast majority of the judiciary for the impartial administration of justice in electoral and other matters. Improvements are still needed in some areas but we have come far and are faced in the right direction.
“I congratulate President Buhari and the entire APC on a well-deserved legal affirmation of a hard-won electoral victory. The victory is a result of the President’s hard work and of the trust the people have in him as a committed leader. With these electoral and legal victories now behind us, the APC must give due honor to the faith the people have reposed in us. They expect us to govern in a way that produces the shared prosperity and enlightened future they deserve. We must commit ourselves fully to this profound and august task.
“I must also give due respect to the PDP and former VP Atiku for the energetic electoral campaign they conducted and for their tenacious pursuit of what they believed was their legal remedies. Although they lost at the polls, they did not seek to overturn the system. Instead, they respected the system that had so often decided in their favor in previous elections and judicial proceedings.
“They behaved like good democrats by seeking redress through the courts as is their right. This was the legal and moral thing to do. Although we are political opponents, I must commend them for following the pathways of democracy and peaceful, legal resolution of their grievances. This is as it ought to be. In an election there can only be one winner. By conducting themselves as they have, the PDP may not have gained the verdict they wanted in court.
“However, the verdict of history will be that their comportment thus far has helped strengthen our political democracy and its legal safeguards. I pray that they recognize the importance of this and that this service to the nation provides them a degree of solace going forward. I ask them to now channel the formidable energy and intellect they deployed in the electoral and legal processes toward joining with us, to the extent possible, to move this nation more rapidly and assuredly forward. As I stated before, I know the magnanimity of President Buhari. His hand is extended to them in friendship and cooperation. For the good of the nation, I urge them to take it.
“Most importantly, it is fitting to commend the people of Nigeria. You are a law-abiding and good people. You voted in peace and good faith and you awaited the judicial process in like manner. You expect nothing from government but what it ought to do for you. You are the backbone and best hope of our land. President Buhari and the APC shall work for your benefit and on your behalf in order to realize our common dream of a better nation.
“Today we moved a step closer to that dream.”
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar | ReutersPresidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has accepted the ruling of the Supreme Court, dismissing his petition against the presidential election of February 23, 2019, vowing to continue to fight for democracy in Nigeria.
In a statement today, October 30, which he personally signed, Atiku said: “I must accept that the judicial route I chose to take, as a democrat, has come to a conclusion.
“Whether justice was done, is left to the Nigerian people to decide. As a democrat, I fought a good fight for the Nigerian people. I will keep on fighting for Nigeria and for democracy, and also for justice.”
The PDP flagbearer said that the Supreme Court is not final because it is infallible, “but that it is infallible because it is final. While I believe that only God is infallible everywhere, and only Nigerians are infallible in our democracy.
“I thank all Nigerians who have stayed the course since the commencement of trial in the petition on the February 23 presidential election.
“The judgement is part of democratic challenges we must face as a nation.
“The Nigerian judiciary, just like every estate of our realm, has been sabotaged and undermined by an overreaching and dictatorial cabal, who have undone almost all the democratic progress the Peoples Democratic Party and its administrations nurtured for sixteen years, up until 2015.
“Can Nigeria continue like this? Recently, former United States Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, averred that Nigeria had rolled back the democratic gains she made in 2015. When democracy is rolled back, the economy, the society and the judiciary will not be far behind. Today, the nail has been put on the coffin and the gains we collectively made since 1999 are evaporating, and a requiem is at hand.
“In a democracy, you need a strong judiciary, a free press and an impartial electoral umpire. Nigeria has none of those three elements as at today.
“One man, one woman, one youth, one vote, should be the only way to make gains in a democracy. And when that is thwarted, the clock starts to tick.
“Two and a half millennia ago, Sophocles said “If we are to keep our democracy, there must be one commandment: “Thou shalt not ration justice.” Nigeria will do well to observe this warning.
“To those who think they have broken my spirit, I am sorry to disappoint you. I am too focused on Nigeria to think about myself. I gave up that luxury twenty years ago. The question is not if I am broken. The question is if Nigeria is whole?
“This is not a time for too many words. It will suffice for me to remind Nigeria of this – we are an independent nation and we are the architects of our fate. If we do not build a free Nigeria, we may end up destroying her, and God forbid that that should be the case.
“I was a democrat, I am a democrat, and I will always continue to be a democrat. May God bless Nigeria.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has finally heaved a sigh of relief as the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, over the 2019 presidential election.
A 7-man panel led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, today, October 30, dismissed Atiku’s appeal for lacking in merit, CHANNELS TV reports.
Justice Muhammad, who spoke on behalf of other Justices stated that members of the panel had read all the documents and exhibits filed in the case for about a fortnight, within which the panel discovered that the appeal was lacking in merit.
The CJN noted that the reason for the apex court’s decision would be made known on a latter date which would be communicated to all concerned.
From left, Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba; Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, Vice President and Chairman of the National Economic Council (NEC), Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who presided over the NEC meeting today, October 29, 2019, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja
Since Nigeria’s return to civilian rule in 1999, Deputy Governors have always tended to have issues with their bosses, that is the Governors, and the Governors in turn have often had problems with their Godfathers. Whatever shape the conflict takes, it has been more of a blight on our democratic process and the health of the polity. Mini-dictators converting a democratic dispensation into an opportunity for self-aggrandizement and childish power games end up hurting us all.
As Governor of Anambra state in 2003, Chris Ngige, now Minister of Labour and Productivity, had problems with a certain Godfather known as Chris Uba. In those days, Uba had the ears and eyes of the Nigerian Presidency. Ngige’s offence was his refusal to do the bidding of the Godfather and the Godfather of the mini-Godfather in his state. In July 2003, a letter of resignation from office was circulated on Ngige’s behalf. He was also abducted by a faction of the Nigeria Police (the then Inspector General of police would later disown that “faction”). Ngige insisted that he had not resigned. Subsequently, he was shown half-naked purportedly swearing to an oath of allegiance at what was then known as the notorious Okija shrine. He was named. He was shamed. The spectacle of a sitting Governor in shamanic garb looked really ugly. Ngige’s detractors finally got him out of office in 2006. They made him. They unmade him.
In Oyo State in 2006, Rashidi Ladoja, now the Osi of Olubadan, meaning a potential Olubadan of Ibadanland was pushed out of office because he refused to share the state’s security vote with Chief Lamidi Adedibu, the famous originator and promoter of alimentary politics in the politics of Ibadan and the South-West. Alimentary politics is known locally as “amala politics.” It was re-defined in Ekiti State by Governor Ayo Fayose as “stomach infrastructure.” Real meaning: “you-chop -I-chop” politics.
Fayose himself fell foul of the powers that be when in his first term as Governor of Ekiti State, he made the fatal mistake of saying openly that he would not support a Third Term agenda for the Obasanjo administration. The witches and wizards of Aso Rock went after him. Fayose, who is ordinarily very boisterous, had to escape from the Ekiti State Government House in the trunk of a car. He was chased out of office in an overnight raid by a specially assigned police squad. He took the famous NADECO route and gave Nigeria a wide berth for a while. Again in 2006, Joshua Dariye, serving a second term as Governor of Plateau State, was impeached by eight members of the state’s 24-member House of Assembly. He protested about the fact that 8 out of 24 members did not amount to a quorum. Nobody listened. His supporters protested. Two of them were gunned down by the police. Dariye was impeached. His offence was his refusal to respect the powers that be. The Supreme Court later returned him and Ladoja of Oyo state to office, but I doubt very much if they have both recovered fully from taking on those secret manipulators of the Nigerian political process.
But while state Governors often get into trouble with their Godfathers, what we have seen is that the Governors themselves are just as power drunk as their own Godfathers. The target of their fascism is usually the persons they choose or who are appointed to serve as their Deputies. Since 1999, no Governor has made any conscious effort to hand over to his Deputy. In Plateau, and Oyo states, Deputies became Governors by sheer default: Michael Botmang in Plateau (2006 -2007), and Adebayo Alao-Akala in Oyo State (January – December 2006) not because their bosses wanted them as successors. In an exception to the rule in Kano state where Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso was succeeded by his two-time Deputy (1999 -2003; 2011-2015), the Deputy as Governor has shown great contempt and animosity towards his former boss, clearly indicating that there was never any love lost between them while they worked together. The kind of passion that Abdullahi Ganduje has devoted to rubbishing and undoing his former boss is astonishing.
But the battle between Governors and their Deputies is not just at the state level; at the level of the Presidency, the story is not much different. During President Olusegun Obasanjo’s second term, Nigeria was saddled with a divided Presidency. I covered the politics of that crisis in a series of columns tilted “The Bolekaja Presidency”. Going further, the story is often told of how under President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, his then Vice President – Goodluck Jonathan was completely sidelined by a cabal that hijacked Presidential power and authority. The only job President Yar’Adua’s people wanted Dr. Jonathan to do was to just read newspapers. They made sure his office got a good supply of newspapers and a short supply of state news. They showed their hands when they made it clear that they didn’t want him to succeed his boss who fell ill and had become incapacitated. President Yar’Adua died in office. It was a great ordeal to get Dr. Jonathan to succeed him. Concerned Nigerians had to stand up physically and emotionally, for the letter and spirit of the Constitution to be respected. Even when Jonathan became President, the cabal did not leave him alone. They made every day difficult for him.
I have gone on this long, retrospective, voyage to draw attention to a few points: One, that Nigerian politics, even with the exit from military rule in 1999 is still based on a principle of clientelism and godfatherism. Some people just assume that Nigeria belongs to them and they must dictate what happens within its borders. Two, people get into offices not because they are the best persons for the job but because they are the right clients. How many got elected because they swore to an oath in Okija or elsewhere? How many paid fees to get a nomination form? How many of these guys have become big men and women today because they had to trade off? When such persons try to stand up and assert themselves, they are shot down. Three, Nigerian politicians have little regard for the Constitution.
It is also important to note that in real terms, Deputies in Nigerian politics are at best spare tyres. The Constitution gives them no real roles. This is why it is possible for Governors and Presidents to treat their Deputies shabbily. In Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu trashed two Deputy Governors between 1999 and 2007. When Mrs Kofo Bucknor Akerele tried to stand up to him; she was shut down. Otunba Femi Pedro, her replacement also thought he could act like a man. He was shown the exit door. He would return later to beg and genuflect. His own assistant, someone he brought to the party is now the Governor of Lagos State, obviously in an attempt to complete his humiliation. I don’t see the current Governor of Lagos State fighting the powers that be. He only needs to look at Bucknor-Akerele, Femi Pedro and Akinwunmi Ambode, the immediate past Governor in the mirror.
What am I trying to say? I am saying that Nigerian politics is dirty, crazy and incomprehensible. In the last 20 years, it has been overtaken by Godfathers, cabalists and fascists. They do what they like. If you stand in their way, they crush you. In effect, fear rules the land. In an environment dominated by power-mongers who parade themselves as good men and women, you can no longer trust anybody. Nigerian politics has never been so terrible.. In politics as in society, the picture of a mentally ill community looms large.
But of all the things that I have heard and seen in the last 20 years, permit me to say that the most shocking, the most objectionable, the most fearful happened in Kogi state the other day with the purported removal from office of the Deputy Governor, Simon Achuba. Simon Achuba’s offence is that he is no longer in good terms with his Governor, Yahaya Bello. When a State Governor no longer likes his Deputy, he tells him to jump, if the guy refuses to jump, he pushes him. If the guy refuses to be pushed, the Governor gets the House of Assembly, obviously the largest collection of nitwits since 2019, to help push the Deputy Governor through the vehicle of impeachment. We have seen one or the other strategy adopted in Lagos State with Kofo Bucknor-Akerele and Femi Pedro by Bola Tinubu in Lagos, Rochas Okorochas against his deputies- Jude Agbaso and Eze Madumere in Imo, and Ibikunle Amosun against Segun Adesegun in Ogun State. In the case of Achuba in Kogi state they just threw the Constitution completely out of the window. The 1999 Constitution of Nigeria spells out the procedure for the removal of a Governor or Deputy Governor from office. In Kogi State, the State House of Assembly just decided to do whatever suited it. State Houses of Assembly are appendages of Government House. The Governors in the process become so powerful that once they don’t like anybody’s face they can get rid of him politically or buy him or her. Nigerian politicians can be bought and converted like commodities. Nigerian politics is a market.
In Kogi state, Deputy Governor Simon Achuba chose to differ with his Governor. He got accused of all kinds of things which a House of Assembly in recess interpreted as “gross misconduct’ and then decided to put him up for impeachment and removal. A cash and carry House of Assembly set to work. The state Chief Judge was asked to set up a panel to impeach the Deputy Governor. A seven-man panel was indeed set up led by Mr. John Baiyeshea, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). The panel returned a verdict of not guilty on all the charges. What the Constitution says in Section 188, is that once the panel thus returns a verdict of not guilty on all counts, there shall be no further proceedings or process. The word “shall” in law is mandatory. It is a command. Still, in their wisdom, the House of Assembly in Kogi State, which is not even sitting, proceeded to sack the Deputy Governor. If anyone is looking for a classical rubber stamp Assembly and the most conscienceless legislature in Nigeria’s democracy since 1999, Kogi State House of Assembly fits the bill. It has been more than a week since then and Kogi state is just hoping that this comedy of absurdity will disappear. It is a shame on all the people of Kogi state who have chosen to keep silent, and the most worrisome is that the Federal Government and indeed the National Assembly and the Attorney General of the Federation who is the chief law officer of the Federation by virtue of Section150 of the Constitution have all chosen to be quiet in the face of this brazen abuse of the letter and spirit of the Constitution thus setting a dangerous precedent for the continuous abuse of the Constitution, the very fabric that holds the nation together.
It is a rape of the Constitution, a slap on the rule of law. Members of the Kogi State House of Assembly should cover their heads in shame for projecting themselves as law breakers and persons who do not have the interest of the nation at heart. But the biggest scandal is that of the Chief Judge of Kogi State, Nasir Ajanah. The biggest problem with the Nigerian Bar and Bench is the cancerous proliferation of a body of lawyers and judges who believes that justice is a mere slogan, who thinks equity is sheer nonsense and who behaves as if conscience is for the religious and not the legally minded. This is precisely what happened in Kogi State the other day. The panel set up by the Chief Judge in accordance with the 1999 Constitution reported back to the House of Assembly a verdict of not guilty on all counts. There is no way the Chief Judge could have claimed ignorance of this finding. Having been aware of this, the Chief Judge should not have gone ahead to commit an act of illegality by standing the Constitution on its head. It is not enough for him to claim that he is not a Father Christmas to act, suo moto, on a matter that had not been properly placed before him.
Simon Achuba should go to court. Whether the eventual determination would be academic or not, let him fight for his rights and put the matter on record. His seat is not vacant in the eyes of the law. Edward Onoja has merely usurped the seat of the Deputy Governor of Kogi State, illegally and without conscience. Political vendetta cannot replace the tenets of the law. The fact that other Governors also behave badly does not justify the reign of idiocy in Kogi state.
When the Kogi Governor, Yahaya Bello was elected in 2015, he was advertised as a poster boy for the No-Too- Young-To-Run Campaign. He was seen as the young man who would make a difference. He was the youngest Governor in Nigeria. But he has dropped the ball in the same manner in which one Elisha Abbo, youngest Senator in the 9th National Assembly (Adamawa North, PDP), has also dropped the ball. What’s the latest on Elisha Abbo? Young Nigerians want to be part of the governance process, but unfortunately, the ones who show up in the arena are the strange, unprepared types who gamble with the opportunities that they have been given. Our belief that young Nigerians in politics will turn out to be change agents is defeated daily. Yahaya Bello, playing dirty games with the removal of his Deputy, does not deserve a second term in office. The people of Kogi state would be stupid to vote for him on November 16.
The absurdity in Kogi state should not be allowed to stand.
