The wife of the Abia State Governor, Mrs. Nkechi Okezie Ikpeazu, has rescued one Mrs. Amarachi Okechi, who was accused of witchcraft, assaulted, and held hostage for several days in Umueghu Amaegbuato community of Nkpa in Bende Local Government Area of the state.
A video that went viral on social media at the weekend captured the moment Okechi, an alleged widow, was being flogged by youths in the community.
Mrs. Ikpeazu rescued the woman on Monday and arranged for her to be taken to a hospital for treatment, said her Chief Press Secretary, Chika Ojiegbe.
Ojiegbe said, “the First lady Mrs. Nkechi Ikpeazu is particularly thankful to the member representing Bende South, Emmanuel Ndubuisi, the Bende LGA Chairman and his wife Mrs Leticia Onwuchekwa, as well as the traditional ruler of the area, for the role in successfully extricating the woman from the volatile area”.
Okechi’s assault by the youths had attracted wide condemnation from the public.
Hon. Chijioke Chukwu, Minority Leader of Abia State House of Assembly, described the act as barbaric and wondered why the community should take laws into their hands.
He called on the Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Janet Agbede, to immediately arrest all those involved in the dastardly act.
The lawmaker also pledged to liaise with the DPO in Bende and Uzuakoli and officials of government from the area to ensure that all involved are identified, arrested, and punished according to the law.
The National Correctional Service (NCoS) on Monday, confirmed the death of an inmate in the Kuje medium security custodial centre.
The correctional service spokesperson, Chukwuedo Humphrey confirmed the development following unrest in the centre earlier in the day.
Humphrey disclosed that the deceased was earlier diagnosed with some chronic ailments upon a mandatory medical examination in 2019 when he was admitted into the centre.
“He was immediately placed on special medical management by a combined team of medical personnel in the facility as well as occasional referrals to the University of Abuja Teaching hospital, Gwagwalada, Abuja when necessary.
“Unfortunately, when the inmate’s health deteriorated over the weekend, all effort by the medical personnel to resuscitate him failed,” the statement read.
However, reports revealed that the inmate had recently fallen ill and was being treated by medical personnel before he was referred to the teaching hospital.
The inmate was reportedly scheduled for a medical appointment today when he had his last breath.
But the Controller of the Command, Ahmed Ahmed while expressing his condolences, reassured his commitment to upholding the health and general welfare of the inmates and staff of the facility.
“He further advised those on special medical attention to ensure strict adherence to expert instructions to overcome health challenges since drugs are available to them at no cost,” the statement said.
2023 Budget: We will Need to Borrow over N7trillion to Pay Petrol Subsidy – Minster of Finance
Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed
The Federal government has proposed to borrow over N11 trillion to finance the proposed 2023 budget deficit, a development far above the stipulated threshold in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, said this on Monday while appearing before the house of representatives committee on finance to defend the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).
She said the government’s budget deficit is expected to exceed N12.42 trillion if the federal government keep the petroleum subsidy for the entire 2023 fiscal cycle.
Reeling out numbers to the committee, Ahmed said the 2023 budget proposal is based on two options.
On the first option, the deficit is projected to be N12.41 trillion in 2023, up from N7.35 trillion budgeted in 2022, representing 196 percent of total revenue or 5.50 percent of the estimated GDP.
Based on this, Ahmed said the federal government would spend N6.72 trillion on subsidy payments.
On the second option, if the federal government keeps subsidy payments till June 2023, the budget deficit would amount to N11.30 trillion, which is N5.01 trillion of the estimated GDP. In this option, the PMS subsidy is projected to gulp N3.3 trillion.
The minister further said the first option is not likely to be achievable based on the current trend, while the second option would require tighter enforcement.
She said the new borrowings would come from local and international sources. Ahmed said N9.32 trillion in new borrowings, comprising N7.4 trillion from domestic sources and N1.8 trillion from foreign sources, adding that the government is expected to generate N206.1 billion from privatisation proceeds and N1.7 trillion in multilateral project-tied loans.
On the two proposals, Ahmed said they have budget deficits far above the stipulated threshold in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
The fiscal responsibility law provides a limit of 3 percent threshold for sustainability but the president can “exceed the ceiling if there is a clear and present threat to national security or sovereignty of Nigeria”.
In 2020, the federal government exceeded the fiscal borrowing threshold, citing the COVID-19 pandemic.
2023 BUDGET BENCHMARK PROPOSALS
The minister said oil production for 2023 would be pegged at 1.69 million barrels per day. A real GDP growth rate of 3.7 percent and an inflation rate of 17.16 percent for the year. She added that the budget would be premised on $70 per barrel of crude oil and an exchange rate of N435.57 to the dollar.
REVENUE
Ahmed said the government was projecting revenue of N8.46 trillion for 2023 — N1.9 trillion of which would come from oil-related sources while the balance would come from non-oil sources.
ON SUBSIDY
Ahmed said the petrol subsidy regime would remain up to a mid-2023 sequel to the 18-month extension announced early in 2021.
She added that N3.36 trillion would be provided to pay the subsidy in 2023.
The minister also told the session that there would be tighter enforcement of the performance management framework for government-owned enterprises “which would significantly increase operating surplus/dividend remittances in 2023”.
DEBT SERVICING
She said there were no projections that Nigeria would default on her debt services in the nearest future.
While the amount currently used in debt servicing had overshot appropriation in the 2022 budget, she said systems are put in place to manage the situation.
“We planned that 60 percent of revenue would be spent on debt servicing, but in some months, the ratio went up to 90 percent,” she said.
“We have been able to, consistently without fail, service our debt, and we do not have any projections even in the near future that we will fail.
“We actually follow the Medium Term Debt Management Strategy very strictly; the debts are not taken haphazardly, and they are planned.
“They are appropriated, and then we borrow against appropriation.”
The minister acknowledged, however, that the government was under pressure to manage debt servicing following the drop in revenue generation.
Police Service Commission Shut As Workers Begin Indefinite Strike
On Monday, the Joint Union Congress of the Police Service Commission (PSC) Chapter commenced an indefinite strike to press home its demands.
The strike kicked off against the backdrop of a purported hijack of the police recruitment exercise by the Force and an allegation of PSC’s complicity with the police authorities to rid staff members of their constitutional duty to recruit prospective officers.
The President of the Union, Adoyi Adoyi, in an interview with THE WHISTLER on Monday, said the shift in mandate gradually falls short of its core reasons for its existence, contained in Part 1, the Third schedule of the 1999 Constitution.
The Union accused the Management of the PSC of nepotism while stating that the situation is stuttering the commission’s growth.
Adoyi said, “There is growing indolence. You know the idle man is the devils’ workshop. People go to work and return; they are not doing anything substantial. The commission is starved of funds; some staff are being owed entitlement as far back as 2012 and 2014, and many have not been paid.
“The commission is pending to a halt. We are suffering the brunt of it all. The condition of the commission staff is poor. Many staff do not have sitting space. No desk, no chair. There is an ongoing site of the commission which has not been completed for reasons that have been very difficult to understand.
“The commission is saddled with the responsibility of oversight function, recruitment, promotion, discipline, populating policies and those items are not capitalised. The commission, by nature, is supposed to be operating on a first-line charge,e but it lives on envelop budget which is hardly enough every month.
When asked how it affects the members of staff of the commission, he replied, “It is killing our morale, you cannot talk about a good experience on the job. We are desirous at making the place work for Nigerians first, then for ourselves, because we will become victims of the charge of the insecurity and all social ills you see when we do not carry out our functions. We will become an accomplice, meanwhile, we are all suffering the brunt of its all.”
Aside from the recruitment saga, which has remained the crux of the disagreement between both parties, Adoyi demanded that the PSC responds appropriately to the “provocative and insensitive” comments of the Police PRO, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi during a live broadcast.
Recall that the Police Spokesperson had asked that Nigerians disregarded the call of the PSC to apply through the commission’s portal for police constables.
The Police claimed that it could not train new intakes, and the commission had failed to carry the Force along in the process.
But, Adoyi reiterated his displeasure over the response of the PSC towards the Police comment, noting that the commission’s statement, “left us neither here nor there, interpreted by the media to mean that the commission has poured to IG’s pressure and capitulated”.
He added, “And it is coming against the backdrop that several other infractions are being committed which staff are aware. Staff have been complaining. There is a police recruitment exercise ongoing at the Police Academy in Kano.
“It is the process of recruiting Cadet officers at the level of ASP. As we speak, it is ongoing and the commission is not involved meanwhile there is a court judgment of the Appeal Court.”
Adoni noted that the long rift between the PSC and the Police is an ego war, and it was pertinent for the latter to understand that people manning guns, especially as a civil force needs to subject themselves to civil authority.
The civil authority, he noted, is exercised by the President through the Police Commission.
“The easy quest of the Police authorities to kick against that is nothing but a kick-off to anarchy,” Adoni said.
He added, “You see the police suffer a lot to maintain internal security, there is a shortage of manpower. People are supposed to be recruited regularly, the commission is also administrative support of the police and the same police wants to take away the attention from internal security and come into issues that are supposed to be purely administrative”.
The disagreement between the PSC and the Police backdates to 2019 following President Muhammadu Buhari’s call to recruit at least 10,000 Constables into the Police Force.
The mandate, which constitutionally falls on the PSC to execute, turned cold war when the police on the grounds of Section 21 of the Police Act, as appealed insisted they had the right to be involved in the recruitment process since they do not only determine the criteria for entry but train them into prospective officers.
However, legal practitioners have noted that any law that contradicts the 1999 constitution as amended is null and void.
Former Chief of Army Staff and Nigerian Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, Lt Gen (Rtd) Tukur Yusufu Buratai has become the first bearer of security torch in the whole world. This Honour was bestowed on him at the World Peace Symposium by the World Institute for Peace (WIP) on August 28 in Lagos.
Buratai was highly praised by the ambassadors of World Institute of Peace as a result of his committed efforts at ensuring peace in Nigeria that has been under attack by Boko Haram insurgents.
One of the ambassadors from Greece, Amb. Rania Angelakoudi, called Buratai an extraordinary soldier who devoted his life for the safety of life and property in Nigeria.
She congratulated Buratai for the great feats he has achieved as the First Bearer of the Security Torch.
A staff of honor was also presented to Buratai to commend his service to Nigeria.
In his acceptance speech, Ambassador Buratai noted that the issue of security should be of utmost concerns to everyone because “Nuclear arsenal is on the rise globally. About 27 countries are currently engulfed in conflicts worldwide and two billion people live in war affected areas. In this, children are mostly affected.
“Therefore, I dedicate my life to defend Nigeria, Africa and the world as I wholeheartedly accept this honour as a global touch bearer of peace and a for runner of global peace,” he stated.
The event was graced by various dignitaries such as Honorable Jafar Ribadu, Mr Salaudeen Hashim, Princess gloria akobundu, Alhaji Manzo Daniel, Commissioner of Police, Lagos, Alhaji Hassan Sultan and many others.The event was graced by various dignitaries such as Senator Gbadamosi, Senator in the Benin Republic, Honourable Suleiman Turawa Ribadu, Member, House of Representatives, Princess Gloria Akobundu, National Coordinator, of the African Union Development Agency and Chief Executive Officer of New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDAD/NEPAD), Major General OC Ajunwa, GOC 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Hundeyin Parker, Deputy Commandant, NAFRC Oshodi, His Royal Highness, Oba Adetokunboh Tejousho, Olu of Oriel-Kinta, Ogun State, Commodore MB Teidi (rtd), President of 29 Regular Course Foundation, Major General II Abbah (rtd), former Military Secretary (Army), Alhaji Usman Nan-Nam, Alhaji Manzo Ahmed, a representative of Commissioner of Police, Lagos, as well as Alhaji Hassan Sultan and many others.
In a move expected to finally bring an end to their months-long rift, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State met face-to-face on Thursday to resolve their differences.
Atiku chose no other place than The Carlton Tower Jumeirah, one of London’s top luxury hotels, to meet and pacify Wike who had become aggrieved at the outcome of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primary election won by him.
After the primary election, Wike was reported to have lobbied Atiku to pick him as his vice-presidential running mate but the Turakin Adawama would eventually settle for Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate.
The choice of Okowa over Wike which Atiku had described as a “difficult decision” resulted in constant jibes from the Rivers governor toward him.
After several failed attempts at reconciliation, Atiku and Wike later resolve to constitute committees from their individual camps to meet and resolve their quarrel.
While the committees’ first scheduled meeting did not hold due to failure to settle for a location, their second meeting did not yield the desired result as Wike was reported to have insisted on his demand for the resignation of Iyorchia Ayu, the party’s national chairman.
While the agenda of Thursday’s meeting in London has yet to be made public, it is strongly believed to be connected with the reconciliation moves.
Photos being circulated on social media showed that the meeting had in attendance Governors Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, who are some of the members of the reconciliation committees.
The photos also showed that the party leaders had dinner at The Carlton Tower Jumeirah which is dubbed “One of London’s Top Luxury Hotels” by Forbes.
Findings by THE WHISTLER showed that a night at the hotel located at 1 Cadogan Place, London, costs as high as N3 million for the Royal Suite.
Owned by The Jumeirah Group, an Emirati state-owned global luxury hotel brand, the hotel underwent a $134 million (£100 million) renovation in 2019.
The five-star hotel is surrounded by some of London’s most fashionable shopping areas and boasts facilities such as private gardens and tennis courts, a restaurant, a bar, and spar treatment.
According to Forbes, the hotel’s “entry-level rooms feature many luxurious touches such as Dyson hairdryers, 55-inch widescreen HDTVs with high-definition streaming and device pairing, Nespresso Coffee machines and Fellow Stagg tea-making facilities, and valet boxes.”
Its flagship restaurant, Al Mare, offers modern Italian cuisine and traditional hotel breakfasts that guests can enjoy in a relaxed and luxurious atmosphere.
Its equivalent in Nigeria is the Transcorp Hilton Abuja. Rooms at the hotel range from N104,500 for ‘Two Double Beds Guest Room’ to N587,068 for the ‘Executive Presidential Suite’.
“When I was told that it was a hostile crowd – I am a banker, trained by one of the best bankers in the world. I am a Jim Ovia boy – I deliberately wore sneakers to snub at them.”
The Vice Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Kashim Shettima, has said he wore sneakers to the 62nd Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference deliberately to “snub at the hostile audience.”
In a video posted on Twitter, Mr Shettima said he sent a team, who briefed him that the crowd at the conference was hostile.
Mr Shettima, a former governor of Borno State, became the butt of internet jokes after the photograph of him wearing gym shoes on his loose-fitted suit hit the Nigerian Twittersphere.
At the event held on Monday, Mr Shettima represented the APC presidential flag bearer, Bola Tinubu.
The outfit of the vice presidential candidate birthed a fashion trend spearheaded by GenZ tagged ‘#Shettimachallenge.
Mr Shettima, a former banker, said he used his experience as a former banker to distract the audience with his choice of sneakers.
He claimed that one of the presidential candidates sponsored agents to create mischief. He did not, however, name the candidate.
“When I sent my recon team, one of the presidential candidates, he funded his agents, they held meeting for three nights consequently, to plan mischief.
“When I was told that it was a hostile crowd – I am a banker, trained by one of the best bankers in the world. I am a Jim Ovia boy – I deliberately wore sneakers to snub at them,” he said.
Mr Shettima also claimed that the NBA conference was largely funded by the Lagos State Government.
“The conference was held at the Eko Hotel, which was largely funded by the Lagos State Government. Subsequently, they moved to Atlantic City, a product of an idea by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,” he said.
A Lagos resident, Billy King Tokunbo, captured in a viral video harassing and manhandling a police officer has been arrested on Friday and arraigned in court for assault.
Tokunbo, suspected to be in his late 40s, was seen dragging a police officer with a rifle by his trousers for over 20 mins to and fro a short distance for reasons, yet unknown.
The officer remained calm throughout the period while maintaining his composure. His conduct is believed to have been motivated by the recent dismissal of officers who became victims of unprofessional conduct against civilians.
His conduct also received seamless applause from Nigerians on the macro blogging App, Twitter while many called the attention of the Police Force to immediately arrest the suspect for such an embarrassment.
Reacting to the incident, the Force Spokesperson, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi assured Nigerians that the Lagos police command will see to his arrest regardless of what may have transpired between both parties.
On Friday, SP Ben Hundeyin, the Lagos Police Spokesperson, disclosed in a tweet that Tokunbo had been arrested, and his Toyota Corolla with registration No: LSR 430 FT was impounded.
Hundeyin said the command will give subsequent updates on the matter.
Earlier, the Force Spokesperson, Adejobi had described Tokunbo’s action as criminal and suicidal, and one that should be avoided.
“That is what we call ‘Suicide by Police’, many want to die, but want to connect their deaths to police action. The policeman was just being careful because of social media posts, if not he would have reacted in an unprofessional way,” he said.
His assertion received mixed reactions, especially from those who believed that the video only captured a part that favoured the officer and did not reflect previous actions that may have led to Tokunbo’s reaction.
But, Adejobi responded by saying: “But whatever the policeman did, was not captured in the video. It’s like the way you guys video our men when they goof, and we will use the same method to deal with this case. In as much as we can’t see anywhere, the policeman maltreated him.
He further noted, “Get it right you don’t rough-handle a policeman on a uniform, it’s not allowed. It can only happen in Nigeria where we allow our cultural values and anger to override our legal framework, which is bad. No one should try it, in fact, we don’t encourage anyone to act in this manner. No”.
The Force spokesperson further enjoined Nigerians to report misconduct and avoid any attempt to attack an officer because such could lead to “so many things”, which he did not expatiate.
Recall that the police authorities had dismissed three officers from Kogi, Lagos and Akwa-Ibom State commands respectively, in 15 days over gross misconduct and assault on civilians.
The development is believed to have reawakened the spirit of professionalism among officers deployed to sensitive areas.
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SGP limited is creating a truly African Digital Ecosystem (microblogging site) that is interactive and self-governing. A unique concept that makes use of social media for Economic Growth Development in the country.
Latest SGP limited Recruitment 2022 Positions Nationwide – Full Time & Part Time
1. Content Managers
3. Regional Supervisors
The link for the app to be used to recruit the candidates is at www.sgplimited.com
It is also available as SGPL on both Google Play Store, for Android users and Apple Store for iPhone users.
The Job Application Closing Date: Wednesday August 31 2022.
SGPL is committed with Digital Social Responsibility towards a Greater Nigeria.
A former presidential aspirant and publisher, Ovation magazine, Dele Momodu, has narrated what transpired between him and Senator Remi Tinubu, wife of the presidential flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, during the funeral of chieftain of the APC, Kemi Nelson, in Lagos.
Momodu, in a terse statement posted on his verified Instagram page via @delemomoduovation on Friday, stated that he chose to place Nigeria above friendship.
The media mogul, who is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), disclosed that he rejected Remi’s proposal to back her husband in next year’s election.
He said, “Only two people, apart from the photographers, witnessed what happened between me and Senator Oluremi Tinubu yesterday, at the funeral service of Chief Kemi Nelson, at (the) Archbishop Vining Memorial Church in Ikeja, Lagos.
“Before some people add salt and pepper to it, I need to state precisely what happened…
“Senator Tokunbo Abiru and Dr Tunji Olowolafe and I had walked in about the same time and we went to greet my very dear sister, Senator Oluremi Tinubu. Immediately she saw me, we exchanged our usual pleasantries and then she asked me, ‘So Bob Dee, you’re not going to campaign for my husband…?’ I smiled and remained very calm before replying: ‘Your Excellency, I’m in PDP…’ She apparently didn’t find it funny and regaled us with the past I shared with her husband and I tried to calm her down.
“Anyway, I went back to my seat and pondered on what just happened and I soliloquised: ‘Before the PDP Primary, I had been asked repeatedly by journalists if I’ll dump (the) PDP if I don’t get the ticket, my answer was NO. So if I had gotten the PDP ticket, would I step down for Tinubu of (the) APC, the answer is No.’
“I joined (the) PDP because the APC was leading Nigeria to Golgotha. The APC candidates are promising to continue Buhari’s ‘good works!’ I joined the PDP in order to sack APC from power and to do this I needed a strong opposition party. I had preached to my younger friends that only a mainstream party like the PDP can achieve this in 2023.
“This remains my conviction. I practise what I preach. Those who disagree are in other parties and I respect their opinions and wish them well. I’m in PDP.
“I love Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We’ve truly come way back. I love Professor Yemi Osinbajo. I love Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi… And all my APC friends… But the APC has done too much damage to Nigeria.
“I choose to place Nigeria above friendship… I will try my best to support and encourage our PDP candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to do the right things in our party and to rescue our dear beloved country from the vestiges of oppression, religious intolerance, poverty, terrorism, infrastructure decay, economic wows, unemployment.
