A group loyal to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA) Thursday officially launched in Lagos State.
Tinubu, a leader in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007.
Tinubu is rumoured to be interested in succeeding incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023 after the expiration of his second term in office.
However, despite a campaign by these loyalists, Tinubu is yet to make any public pronouncement about his ambition.
Meanwhile, Thursday’s public launch of SWAGA in Lagos was attended by the state Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and hundreds of Tinubu loyalists across the country.
“With serious determination to succeed, Lagos shall stand still for Swaga 23,” said the leader of the group Dayo Adeyeye.
In the last few months, the APC leader has been in London where he is recuperating after undergoing surgery.
SWAGA’23 has already been launched in Oyo, Ogun, Osun, and Ekiti.
“It is indeed a payback time for our national leader, who through his years of service contributed to the lives of many others and today you can see his footprints across the country.
“We shall continue to appeal to him to contest for the position of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because governance is not what to be experimented with.
“Therefore, we need a viable, experienced and a man who understands the diverse nature of the Nigerian economy,” SWAGA said in a statement.
500 Nigerians lose jobs as UAE declines renewal of work visas
Over 500 Nigerians have lost their jobs and are stranded four months after the United Arab Emirates stopped granting or renewing Direct Employment Visa for Nigerians in the Asian country.
Over 500 Nigerians have lost their jobs and are stranded four months after the United Arab Emirates stopped granting or renewing Direct Employment Visa for Nigerians in the Western Asian country.It was gathered that while many of the affected persons had returned to Nigeria, hundreds of them are still in UAE in the hope that Abu Dhabi would reverse the decision.
The UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr Fahad AI Taffaq, had said there was no official communication on the issuance of work permits for Nigerians living and working in his country.Taffaq, who stated this when he received the Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, at the Embassy in Abuja, in August, noted that he read about the ban in the social media, stressing that “UAE has no restrictions against any nationality.”
But giving an update on the situation in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Wednesday, a UAE resident, Mr Chukwudi Kalu, said he has presented the list of over 500 Nigerians who lost their jobs due to their inability to renew their work visas to the Nigerian Embassy in Abu Dhabi. headtopics.com
Kalu explained that the Federal Government through the embassy and the NIDCOM had held talks with the Emirati government.He stated, “It is a diplomatic issue between the two countries and there are still ongoing discussions between Nigeria and UAE. It has been very difficult for Nigerians out here. Over 500 Nigerians are affected.”
He added, “Most of those who lost their jobs have gone back home (Nigeria) while some are still here trying to see when this issue would be discussed. Nigerians are losing their jobs in high numbers, that’s the fact. Read more: The Punch Newspapers »
BREAKING: EFCC Arrests Former Senate President Ekweremadu Over Alleged Fraud
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday arrested former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, for alleged fraud and failing to explain how he came to own 22 properties in Nigeria, the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
According to SaharaReporters, EFCC sources said Ekweremadu was interrogated for several hours in Abuja and allowed to go home later. He is expected to return to the commission for further questioning at a later date.
“Ekweremadu returned to the EFCC to offer explanations on how he acquired many choice properties in Nigeria, United States of America and United Arab Emirates.
“He was with us two weeks ago and also on Monday,” a source said.
This comes three years after Ekweremadu fell ill during interrogation by operatives of the anti-graft commission.
The politician in 2018 took ill after some hours of questioning at the EFCC office in Abuja and was released to seek medical attention.
He was reported to have exhibited symptoms of high blood pressure.
The Nigerian government had in March 2018 sought an interim order of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to temporarily seize 22 prime properties/assets of Ekweremadu located in London, Dubai, Florida, and Abuja, that were not declared before the CCB.
The motion ex-parte filed by Festus Keyamo (SAN) on behalf of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property was brought before the court pursuant to Section 330 of The Administration Of Criminal Justice Act, 2015; Section 8 Of The Recovery Of Public Property (Special Provisions) Act and Section 44 (2)(K) of the 1999 Constitution.
In an affidavit deposed to in support of the motion ex parte by Yohanna Shankuk, a litigation clerk in Festus Keyamo Chambers, he stated that from 1999 till date, Ekweremadu had been a public officer and had not earned anything outside his salaries and allowances as a public officer
He, therefore, wondered where the lawmaker got the money to acquire such properties.
The undeclared assets were identified as: 11 Evans Enwerem Street, Apo Legislative Quarters, Apo, Abuja; Plot 2633 Kyami, Abuja; Housing Estate; Plot 1106 CRD, Cadastral Zone 07-07, Lugbe, Abuja; Plot 2782, Asokoro Extension, Abuja; houses at Citi Park Estate, Gwagwalada, Abuja and Plot 1474, Cadastral Zone BD6, Mabushi, Abuja.
Other properties allegedly undeclared by the senator include Congress Court, Abuja; Flat 1, Block D25, Athletics Street, (24th Street), Games Village, Abuja; and Plot 66, 64 Crescent, Gwarimpa Estate, Abuja.
Drama As Hungry Photographer Deletes All Photos After He Was Denied Food At Wedding
A wedding photographer has allegedly deleted a couple’s wedding photos after they reportedly refused to let him eat at the wedding.
According to the hungry photographer, who took to Reddit to explain that he was a friend of the groom and they had approached to take pics at their wedding so that they could save on costs. “it’s ‘my thing’ if that makes sense,” he said.
The anonymous photographer further explained that he was following the bride around all day with no time to eat or drink, and when it came time for the wedding party to sit down, there was no spot for him, no bar, and he was not allowed to leave to get food.
Speaking about the incident, a beautician who was a guest at the wedding gave more insight as she narrates what really transpired between the couple and the photographer.
She said; “the photographer was a friend of the groom doing a favour for 250 dollars and after 10 hours working, the groom told him that if he wanted to stop taking photos to eat/drink he wouldn’t pay him. So he deleted the pictures and dipped.”
Lagos govt shuts roads ahead of World Cup qualifier
The Lagos State Government has directed the closure of some roads around the National Stadium in Surulere ahead of the 2022 World Cup qualifier between Nigeria and the Central African Republic, billed to kick off by 5pm on Thursday.
The latest development was disclosed by Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, the state’s commissioner for transportation.
Oladeinde stated that vehicles will not be able to access Surulere from the Teslim axis from 12noon.
This includes the service lane inbound the National Stadium from Alaka and Teslim Balogun Stadium from Ojuelegba.
Motorists heading towards Costain, Lagos Island from Masha/kilo and Surulere are advised to use Adeniran Ogunsanya or Bode Thomas to link Iponri or Eric Moore. Alternately, they can use Adelabu to connect Babs Animashaun/Eric Moore axis to link Brewery and access Costain or Eko Bridge.
Those heading towards Ikorodu Road from Surulere have been advised to make use of Akerele to link Ogunlana Drive inwards Itire road and connect Ojuelegba to their destinations.
The commissioner assured Lagosians that the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, in collaboration with other security agencies will be available to enforce the latest directive.
BREAKING: Court sentences Abdulrasheed Maina’s Son Faisal to 14 years in Prison
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Thursday sentenced the son of former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Taskforce Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, Faisal, to 14 years imprisonment.
Presiding Justice, Okon Abang, found Faisal guilty on three counts of money laundering.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC successfully established that Faisal, operated a fictitious bank account with the United Bank for Africa, UBA, through which his father, Maina, laundered the sum of N58.1million.
Court documents reveal that the money which was kept in the account and operated under the name ‘Alhaji Faisal Farm 2’ was sequentially withdrawn by the Defendant and his father, between October 2013 and June 2019.
Abang expressed satisfaction with the EFCC’s case against the accused adding that Faisal should have known that inflows into the bank account formed proceeds of an unlawful act of corruption by his father.
While the court sentenced the Defendant to 5 years in count 1 and 3 of the charge, he was sentenced to 14 years on count 2 of the charge.
The court held that the charge would run concurrently, starting from Thursday.
The Shocking Details In Pandora Papers That Exposed Tinubu, Oyetola UK Mansion Fraud
It was a meeting of two of Nigeria’s most influential politicians in London – President Muhammadu Buhari was visiting political kingmaker and senior member of his ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu.
In July, the presidency announced that Mr Buhari was heading to London for an education summit. The office also added that the president would also see his doctors for “medical check-up”.
Coincidentally, Mr Tinubu, who had travelled to London earlier, was also
receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment in the British capital. So, a perfect setting for both men to meet was created.
Media handlers of the two men later flooded social media with photos of both men having what seemed like a jovial conversation in a London house. Another photo of both men standing, with their face masks drawn underneath their chins, was also shared.
“President Muhammadu Buhari this evening in London, the United Kingdom, visited Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,”Bashir Ahmad, one of Mr Buhari’s media aides, captioned the photos on Facebook on August 12.
Certainly, it was not the first time both men were meeting, and photos of their encounter were released to the public. However, on this occasion, the release of their photographs angered many Nigerians.
Many called out the two politicians for releasing photos of themselves on medical tourism while doctors in public hospitals in the country were on strike.
But what most Nigerians did not know was that the property at which the duo met was linked to one of the biggest corruption scandals in the country since Mr Buhari became president in 2015.
A PREMIUM TIMES investigation has now revealed that the mansion where Mr Tinubu welcomed President Buhari is not only embroiled in a multi-billion fraud scandal, the Buhari government had actually secured a freezing order on the property from a Federal High Court before the previous owner, who is now an international fugitive, sold it at a huge discount to an offshore company owned by the governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola, a known proxy and a relative of Mr Tinubu.
This revelation emerged as part of the ongoing global Pandora Papers reporting project, led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and in which PREMIUM TIMES is a key participant.
The project involved 600 journalists from 150 news organisations around the world sorting and analysing a trove of almost 12 million confidential files, tracking down and interviewing sources, and adding context using public records and documents.
The leaked files were retrieved from some offshore services firms around the world that set up shell companies and other offshore entities for clients, many of them influential politicians, businesspersons, and criminals seeking to conceal their financial dealings.
The Mansion at 32 Grove End Road, London
The property, which is situated at 32 Grove End Road, in the wealthy Westminster neighbourhood of London, has become a sort of mecca to associates of Mr Tinubu, and politicians of the ruling APC, after the former Lagos governor started staying there for what appears to be recuperation.
Apart from Mr Buhari, other politicians who have visited Mr Tinubu at the expanse 6,975 sq ft property are the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; a former governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun; Mr Amosun’s successor, Dapo Abiodun; the governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi; the governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu; members of the Lagos State House of Assembly; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; a contingent from Kano State led by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje; top fuji musician; Wasiu Ayinde, among other dignitaries
The 32 Grove End Road villa exudes stunning opulence. According to an advert brochure of the property released by popular United Kingdom real estate company, Savills, the estate is made up of two buildings – a five-bedroom property with a formal reception, a study, a master bedroom with an en suite dressing room, bathroom and a cinema suite with a balcony overlooking the rear garden. Two of the other four bedrooms in the property are en suite.
The second building on the estate is a self-contained two-bedroom flat which is built above the property’s double length garage. The property comes with a gym, two guest cloakrooms, a carriage driveway that can park up to eight cars, and front and rear gardens, and an electric gate.
Bought from a fugitive at a £8 million discount
Documents obtained from the UK property register revealed that in July 2013, the property with title number 340992, was bought for £11.95 million by Zavlil Holdings Ltd, a shell company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, a notorious tax haven. Further documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES revealed that Zavlil Holdings Limited is owned by Kolawole Aluko, an international fugitive wanted by law enforcement agencies in Nigeria and the United States for money laundering.
Kola Aluko and his associate, Jide Omokore, were indicted in the U.S. and Nigeria for multi-million-dollar fraud and money laundering violations allegedly in collusion with a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
Kola Aluko
In 2016, the Federal Government of Nigeria filed a Mareva injunction at a Federal High Court in Lagos seeking to confiscate a list of properties belonging to Messrs Aluko and Omokore valued at $1.8 billion.
A Mareva injunction is a Court order which freezes the assets of a defendant pending the outcome of a litigation.
In the suit against Messrs Omokore and Aluko, alongside their companies, Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited and Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited, the Nigerian Government asked the court to grant it seven orders to prevent the accused from disposing the assets. The government alleged they were acquired through fraudulent means.
The third prayer the government made to the court was to grant it an order restraining the accused “from giving any instruction, demanding, accepting, receiving payments and/or transacting, transferring, mortgaging or howsoever dealing in any manner with assets of the Defendants in both houses and land in Abuja and Lagos and others located outside Nigeria.”
The government then listed 17 properties in Abuja, Lagos, the U.S., Canada, Dubai, Switzerland, and the UK.
Among the listed properties was “Grove End Road, London”.
The court granted the government all its prayers. In October 2017, an attempt by the defendants to dismiss the Mareva injunction granted on the properties was subsequently dismissed by Oluremi Oguntoyinbo, the trial judge.
But just around the time (on October 18, 2017) the court dismissed the defendant’s attempt to dismiss the injunction, documents obtained from the U.K. property register revealed that Mr Aluko sold the house for £9 million to Aranda Overseas Corporation, an offshore company incorporated in the British Virgins Island by two of Mr Tinubu’s most trusted surrogates – Adegboyega Oyetola, formerly chair of Paragon Group of Companies and incumbent governor of Osun State and Elusanmi Eludoyin, Mr Oyetola’s successor at Paragon.
The huge discount at which the property was sold is curious and raised questions of whether Mr Aluko desperately needed to sell the property even while a court of law had placed a freeze order on it.
The United Kingdom, especially the greater London area, is noted for rapid increase in the value of properties. According to PREMIUM TIMES’ calculation of the likely value of the property when it was bought by Aranda Overseas Corporation done on the website of UK’s National Building Society, which is the largest building society in the world, the property should be worth approximately 17 million pounds. Thus, Mr Aluko sold the property at a discount of £8,000,000.
How we used public photos to confirm Identity of London villa
In the application filed by the Nigerian government, the house number of the property on Grove End Road was omitted. However, PREMIUM TIMES’ extensive investigation in Nigeria and the U.K., including a detailed analysis of photographs of visits to Mr Tinubu, has shown that the APC leader is staying at the same property the Nigerian government wants forfeited.
We were also able to determine that it was at the same property that Mr Tinubu welcomed Mr Buhari on August 12 as well as other politicians who visited him.
Our reporters carefully analysed some of the photos of these visits. Sources close to Mr Tinubu also confirmed that he stays and welcomes guests, including Mr Buhari, at the property.
Two photos of the visit of Mr Abiodun, the governor of Ogun State, were particularly helpful in making the initial connections.
We compared the photos with those of the estate published in an advertisement brochure for the property by the real estate firm Savills, and they matched with features seen in some of the photos shared by those who visited the political kingmaker and presidential hopeful.
In one of the photos, Mr Abiodun, wearing a blue jacket and brown pants, stood beside Mr Tinubu, who spotted a white robe just behind. Double door entrance in front of a staircase. They smiled as they touched each other with their elbows in what seems like a playful coronavirus “shake”.
The floor tiles of the doorway and the intricate mental work of the railings of the staircase are identical to one of the photos in the advertisement brochure of 32 grove End Road published by Savills.
In another photo, Messrs. Abiodun and Tinubu were captured having what seemed like a hearty laugh. A comparison of the concrete rectangular concrete slabs around the garden with those of the garden in the Savills brochure showed that they are identical.
Beyond analysing photographs of the interior and exterior of the building, we also sent representatives to visit the location and determine that the APC leader stays there.
We put our findings to Tunde Rahman, the spokesperson for Mr Tinubu. He promised to get back within 24 hours when we reached him on the telephone. Four days after, we are yet to hear from him.
When reached for comments, Garba Shehu, the senior special assistant on media to Mr Buhari, asked that questions be emailed to him. We did as he instructed. However, we did not hear from him subsequently.
How Oyetola broke the law
In November 1999, eighteen years before it was used as a vehicle to purchase the London property, Mr Oyetola and his billionaire partner, Mr Eludoyin, sought the service of a Bristol, UK-based international company registration agent, Jordans Limited, to help them set up a company.
They wanted a kind of setup that would guarantee some secrecy and on November 11 of that year, the company was registered.
Leaked confidential records revealed that Messrs Eludoyin and Oyetola became the shareholders and directors of Aranda and we did not see any record that the latter resigned from the management of the company even as he served as chief of staff to his predecessor, Rauf Aregbesola, thereby breaking Nigeria’s law.
In Nigeria, a person is statutorily obligated to withdraw from engaging in or directing a private business, except if it is farming, upon becoming a public officer, Section Six (6) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act stipulates.
Apart from Aranda, Mr Oyetola has another footprint in the offshore shadow economy. He and Mr Eludoyin, in 2003, incorporated another shelf company in the
British Virgin Islands, Global Investments Offshore Limited.
He ran the company as a director almost throughout his term as Mr Aregbesola’s Chief of Staff. However in June 2018, months before he became governor, he withdrew from the company and made his children – Rukayat Oyetola, Hafiz Oyetola, and Rasheedat Oyetola directors.
He also transferred his shares in Global Investments Offshore Limited to Mr Eludoyin and his son Haifz in June 2018. A register of directors we saw shows that all the formalities for the transfers were concluded and signed on June 1, 2018.
By remaining a director of Global Offshore for the entire period he was Chief of Staff to Mr Aregbesola, Mr Oyetola violated Nigeria’s code of conduct law and could be arraigned before the Code of Conduct Tribunal if authorities decide to prosecute him for the infraction.
It however remains unclear why Mr Oyetola would rush to buy a property his country was pushing to confiscate due to well-known corruption allegations against its then owner.
Also unclear is why Mr Tinubu, who apparently wants to become Nigeria`s president, would agree to stay at the controversial property.
As for Mr Buhari, it is yet unknown why he would visit Mr Tinubu at a property suspected to have been originally bought by Mr Aluko from the proceeds of alleged theft of Nigeria’s oil money.
Mr Oyetola ignored multiple requests for him to comment for this story. His spokespersons declined to revert days after they promised to do so.
As indicated earlier, the spokespersons for Messrs Buhari and Tinubu also declined to comment for this report despite multiple requests by our reporters.
Governors have turned Nigeria to Turn-by-Turn Plc – Peter Esele
A public affairs analyst, Peter Esele has accused governors of turning Nigeria to Turn-by-Turn Plc ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The ex-Trade Union Congress (TUC) President told them to focus on the emergence of the best presidential candidate rather than the zone.
Esele told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that governors should be more concerned about the development of their states and security challenges in the county.
The former labour leader told them to disagree on services delivery to the people who put them office and not political matters.
Esele warned that arguments based on ethnicity, region or religion would polarize the nation and its citizens.
“What you have now is governors from the North and South, indirectly by commission or omission, dividing this country into republic of Northern and Southern Nigeria.
“These governors have not met in the South to say this is a roadmap to security we should adopt and implement for the safety of our region; same with governors from the North.
“What they are always quarreling about is, it is my turn, it is your turn. They have turned Nigeria to a Turn-by-Turn PLC”, he declared.
Nigerians Are Passionate About BBNaija than Their Welafre – Reno Omokri
Nigerian life coach cum relationship expert Reno Omokri has slammed the teaming Nigerian youths who were enthusiastic about the BBNaija show and gave out their all to support it.
According to Reno, the organizers of the show including DSTV and their partners have airlifted the monies they made from Nigeria back to their home country of South Africa to help build their economy.
Reno Omokri lashed out at Nigerians for supporting a not-so-worthy cause at the expense of reallying their support for things that truly have meanings.
Taking to his Instagram page he wrote:
I am stunned that 1 billion votes were recorded for #BBNaija in 2021. Of course there were multiple votings, but this puts the 27 million votes recorded in the 2019 elections to shame.
Nigerians are just more passionate about entertainment, than about their welfare! See how we have enriched the organisers of BBNaija. 1 billion votes!
I can’t even begin to imagine how much money DSTV and the BBNaija organisers made. Money that will be transferred to their home country, South Africa.
Meanwhile, we Nigerians won’t donate money if a honest, capable Presidential aspirant needs it.
Oyo Tragedy: Alaafin Visits Tree Which ‘Fell And Rose Again’ After Killing Four People
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, has been troubled to visit the scene where a tree had fallen and rose again in Oyo town.
According to reports, the tree which is popularly called Igi Odan trapped at least four people on Monday night. However, while residents were still mourning their beloved ones, the tree reportedly rose up before sunset the following morning.
Moreover the tree has been at the location for over 100 years now. It came as a shock to residents to have seen the fallen tree whose branches had been already been hewn mysteriously back up on Tuesday.
Sources had told The Punch that the Odan tree was uprooted by the wind during the downpour on Monday night. They were, however, left in shock seeing that the fallen tree is now back standing firmly rooted to the ground where it was uprooted from a day earlier.
In photos and videos which were circulated online, the root of the tree was seen uprooted from the ground and the trunk was lying on the ground. The branches were later cut off but the second series of photos and videos show that the tree had been rooted back to the ground but there were no leaves on it and the branches which had been cut off did not join to the trunk.
The development prompted the Alaafin of Oyo to visit the scene and commiserate with the families of the people killed by the tree earlier.
The monarch’s media aide, Bode Durojaye, when contacted on the phone said Oba Adeyemi had visited the scene to commiserate with the bereaved families and to see the mystery.
He said, “He went there. The fallen tree rose back again mysteriously. Kabiyesi commiserated with the people there over the sad incident.”
On his account when interrogated, the Chairman of the Sabo Market where the incident happened, Akeebu Alarape, said four different loggers invited to cut the tree did not succeed until a fifth logger was able to cut parts of it before the rescue operation could begin.
The Head of Operations of the Western Nigeria Security Network, aka Amotekun Corps, in the Atiba area, Akeem Ojo, said the tree fell on the victims who were mostly traders at around 6 pm.
“A female student of the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo; a woman with a baby strapped to her back and a boy she was holding, were pulled out from under the tree.
“One person was seriously injured and taken to a private hospital in the area, while motorcycle and minibus parks under the tree were damaged,” Ojo added.
