The foremost governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress and the State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, are engaged in a war of words over the visit of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Ondo State on Wednesday.

The aspirants accused Aiyedatiwa of preventing the aspirants and party leadership from receiving the president during his visit to the state.

Speaking on behalf of others, the former finance commissioner and governorship aspirant, Wale Akinterinwa, said the governor deliberately sidelined other leaders and aspirants of the party to receive Tinubu.

Akinterinwa, in a statement issued by the spokesperson of the Wale Akinterinwa Campaign Structure, Segun Ajiboye, in Akure, said the aspirants were aware of plans by certain elements acting for and on behalf of the Governor of Ondo State, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

“This is to prevent members of our party and leaders who are not in his camp from receiving Mr President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in Akure.”

Ajiboye, who said that all the aspirants rejected the dictatorial order by the governor, said, “This to us is the most undemocratic, disrespectful, unreasonable, and disdainful attempt by any chief executive in the history of democracy in Nigeria.

“Ordinarily, we would not have responded, but based on the intelligent report at our disposal that he and his supporters have perfected plans to unleash mayhem on our people both at Owo and Akure, it is necessary for us to bring this to the attention of peace-loving Nigerians. 

“The directive that no supporter or aspirant should come to the airport to welcome Mr President, who is on a private visit and not on a state visit, is a directive from ignorant minds in Alagbaka. 

“It is a tradition that whenever the President visits any state, members of his party offer him their love and support by welcoming him in their droves. It does not matter whether it is election year or not. 

“We reject affirmatively the directive that neither our leader, Wale Akinterinwa, nor his supporters should come near the airport to welcome Mr President. 

“We further reject the assertion that the governor is in charge of the president’s safety in Ondo State during this visit. 

“It must also be put on record that the airport is under federal law supretended by FAAN. So, Mr Governor cannot give any order or lay claim to any powers he does not possess. 

“The attempt by Ayedatiwa and his henchmen to prevent, intimidate, harass, or threaten our supporters and party men will not work and will not be tolerated. 

“For us in WA, we are already mobilised and ready to show solidarity, love, and support to our leader, mentor, and Commander in Chief both at Owo and Akure. 

“We state without any ambiguity that the WA phenomenon will be focused and consistent in our pursuit of our goals towards Alagbaka in 2024. The momentum of our campaign will remain steady, peaceful, and consistent. 

“Let it be known that the WA team is already on the ground to show the affinity we have for Mr President.” 

However, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan, said that the President’s visit is a state affair and not a political or campaign one. 

Adeniyan added that only government officials and those accredited by the government will have the opportunity to receive the president at the airport, not a campaign crowd.

The Ghana Parliament has approved the bill regarding human sexual rights and family values, commonly referred to as the anti-LGBTQ bill.

The bill, called the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, was introduced by Sam Nartey George, the MP for Ningo-Prampram.

GhanaWeb reports that the bill, known as the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, was a Private Members Bill led by Sam Nartey George, the MP for Ningo-Prampram.

The bill prohibits LGBT activities and makes it illegal to promote, advocate, or fund them, as reported by Citinewsroom.

Local media also reports that individuals caught engaging in the activity could face a jail sentence ranging from six months to three years, while those who support or promote the activity may be sentenced to three to five years in prison.

More details later…

Despite recording 22.4 percent or N547.1 billion sales increase, Nestlé Nigeria PLC, has declared N79.5bn Profit After Tax Loss for the 2023 financial year, a situation the company attributed to the devaluation of the naira.

The company’s Managing Director, Mr Wassim Elhusseini, made the disclosure in the Nestlé Nigeria PLC Full Year 2023 financial results on Wednesday in Lagos.

Elhusseini revealed that while the company’s operating profit jumped by 41.2 per cent, reaching 122.7 billion; its Profit After Tax (PAT) was negatively impacted by the devaluation of the Naira.

He added that while its gross profit totalled N217.2 billion, representing a 39.4 per cent increase from N155.8 billion in 2022, the devaluation of the Naira had an adverse impact on its PAT resulting in a loss of N79.5 billion for 2023.

“I thank every member of our team for the unwavering commitment and dedication which resulted in the strong revenue growth and operating profit vs 2022 in spite of the challenging economic environment.

“The devaluation of the Nigerian Naira in 2023 which led to a revaluation of our foreign currency obligations undoubtedly impacted our financing cost and consequently the profit after tax.

“However, we remain optimistic of our capacity to overcome the current economic difficulties and emerge stronger,” he said.

The Nestlé Nigeria Managing Director expressed the company’s dedication to its purpose of unlocking the power of food through responsible local sourcing and confection of high-quality nutritious food and beverages for families across Nigeria.

“We also remain steadfast in optimising our operations to ensure the availability and accessibility of affordable and nutritious products to our consumers in anticipation of a timely turnaround in the business environment,” he said.

Nestlé Nigeria is a leading food and beverage company in Africa, known for its quality, excellence, and commitment to creating shared value.

The company in 2023 received recognition for its contributions to society through its CSV initiatives.

Some of them include Sustainability, Enterprise and Responsibility (SERAS) CSR 2023 Awards for Best Company in Rural Population Integration, Best Company in Food Security, and 2nd Runner-up for Most Responsible Organization in Africa among others.

(NAN)

Seventeen individuals have been apprehended and two vessels loaded with unlawfully refined automotive gas oil (diesel) have been seized by the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe (OPDS) in Rivers State.

Rear Admiral John Okeke, the Commander of OPDS, revealed this information during a press briefing held at Onne, Rivers State, on Wednesday.

The detained individuals were crew members of the seized vessels.

One of the vessels, named MV King James, was found carrying 400,000 litres of diesel, while the other, MV Messiah 1, was transporting 100,000 litres of diesel.

Both vessels were intercepted by OPDS at the Federal Ocean Terminal in Onne, and the crew members were apprehended on the Onne River.

MV King James was seized along with its seven crew members, while MV Messiah 1 had ten crew members onboard at the time of arrest.

The confiscated petroleum products have been transferred to the Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder, and assurances have been given by Okeke that the detained individuals will be handed over to the appropriate authorities for potential prosecution.

Furthermore, it was highlighted that the vessels lacked the necessary approvals and legitimate documentation for transporting the oil products.

“The OPDS which I represent for the navy is the statutory agency for oil approvals. It means that when a vessel is found without requisite documents, it has defaulted,” stated Okeke.

Okeke also urged those involved in oil theft, illegal oil refining, and other illicit activities to cease their actions and pursue legitimate ventures, warning that they will face legal consequences if they continue to operate outside the law.

The House of Representatives has mandated its Committee on Finance to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the non-remittance of tax revenues amounting to N1.8 trillion ($342 million) to the federal government by Multichoice.

This followed the adoption of a motion moved by Sa’idu Abdullahi at the plenary on Wednesday.

Presenting the motion, he said the investigation was necessitated due to suppression of information discovered from the submissions in the company’s home country, South Africa.

He said, Multichoice, a prominent multinational corporation operating in Nigeria, has been accused of non-remittance of tax revenues due to the federal government, as evidenced by the suppression of information.

Abdullahi said that the Nigerian economy was facing significant challenges, with dwindling revenue posing a threat to the overall fiscal stability and development of the country.

He added, “The Federal Inland Revenue Service had engaged a consultant in 2021 under a whistle blowing contract to carry out an audit of the tax obligations of Multichoice Nigeria and MultiChoice Africa with a view to ascertaining the company’s tax indebtedness to the country. Their findings led to a back audit and investigation carried out by the FIRS from 2011 to 2020.

“The previous attempts by FIRS to recover the unpaid taxes through legal means, including court proceedings and the subsequent resolution to settle out of the court by both parties, have not yielded the desired result.

“The systems audit and investigation revealed enormous indebtedness to the tune of over N1.8 trillion in back total taxes for MultiChoice Nigeria, and $342 million in Value-added tax, for MultiChoice Africa that had never paid any taxes since they started business operations in Nigeria. Both amounts were levied upon the Multichoice Group by the FIRS”.

He further stated that, there were arrangements to sell Multichoice Nigeria and other Multichoice Group subsidiaries in Nigeria to a foreign Interest, while the tax indebtedness remained outstanding.

He added, “If urgent actions are not taken to recover these tax revenues from the Multichoice Group, Nigeria may lose such huge revenue that can inject life into the economy.”

The House adopted the motion and cautioned potential buyers of Multichoice Nigeria, Multichoice Africa or other subsidiaries of the Multichoice Group operating in Nigeria to be aware of the alleged outstanding indebtedness which may have been covered in their papers.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has revealed that its members and leadership were threatened and intimidated against carrying out their planned two-day nationwide protest.

The Labour Union, however, revealed that despite the threats, it went ahead with the protest on Tuesday.

The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, who made this known in a press conference on Wednesday, also disclosed that the union got information that several agents were mobilized to cause violence along protest routes, and that is part of the reasons they had to suspend the second day of protests.

It would be recalled that the NLC had declared a two-day nationwide mass protest for February 27 and 28, 2024, over the economic hardship and rising cost being faced by Nigerians since the removal of subsidy on petrol in May 2023.

However, after Tuesday’s successful protest across various state capitals and major cities, the NLC announced the suspension of its planned second-day protest, saying the objectives of the protest have been achieved on the first day.

Shedding more light on the development, Ajaero on Wednesday revealed that the cancellation of the second day protest was a strategic move on the part of the NLC.

He however added that if the federal government fails to comply with the demands of the union withing the new ultimatum given, the National Executive Council of the NLC would reveal the next line of action.

“We were threatened with all manners of consequences that would be meted on us if we went ahead,” Ajaero said during Wednesday’s press briefing.

“We were, however, not perturbed as lifting the heavy yoke of suffering upon Nigerian workers and masses left us with no option than to press on.”

The NLC president said the congress has evidence from Tuesday’s protest of the “importation of agents who were mobilised to the protest routes and grounds to cause violence against the peaceful protest”.

“God is, however, always a step ahead of the enemies of the workers and the Nigerian people. That was also one of the reasons we had to restructure on the second day of the nationwide protest,” he added.

“You may have noticed that almost all the routes to our office have been militarised this morning. It took a lot of time to access our office. These are not things you expect from a democratic society.

“We want to reiterate that if the government fails to comply within the specified time frame, the NEC will convene again to decide on the next line of action.

“The NLC remains steadfast in its commitment to defending and promoting the interests of Nigerian workers and the downtrodden masses, who will not succumb to intimidation,” he added.

[NaijaNews]

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has advised the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to increase oil production in order to take part in the $14 trillion investment opportunity in the global oil market in the nearest future.

According to the Secretary General of OPEC, Haitham Al-Ghais, around $14trillion in investments will be required by the year 2035 to fulfill global demand for energy, even in the face of increasing pushback against oil and gas across the globe.

Al-Ghais made this disclosure during a visit on Wednesday to the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Mr. Mele Kyari, at the NNPC Towers in Abuja.

A statement by the NNPCL spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, revealed that OPEC agreed with NNPCL’s view of broad-minded perspective on energy, opposing the perspective being advocated in some quarters that consider certain energy sources as adverse.

The statement read in part: “Furthermore, the Secretary General of OPEC noted that the oil bloc is striving to ensure market stability, adding that only through a stable market climate can Nigeria attract investment.

“We will continue to ensure that the market is stable. The global market has to be stable in order for Nigeria to be able to attract investors. If there’s volatility, if there’s no stability in the market, it will only create havoc for everybody, whether it’s a producer or consumer country. So, we will continue to do that in OPEC. We count on Nigeria’s support.”

On his part, Kyari said NNPCL was working very hard to recover lost production and provide the right fiscal environment to attract investments.

Despite achieving the highest figures of oil production at 1.6 million bpd earlier this year, Nigeria is still falling short of its 1.8 million bpd quota set by OPEC.

Nigerian citizens have heard promises from major stakeholders like NNPCL and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources that the country will increase its oil production to meet the quota.

However, numerous challenges continue to hinder crude oil production within the country.

One of the major problems is crude oil theft. The Federal Government is collaborating with NNPCL, security agencies, and third-party security organisations like Tantita Security Limited to combat the menace.

Despite efforts, the problem of crude oil theft persists and keeps evolving with new dimensions emerging daily.

It is crucial to note that, despite plans by the Tinubu administration to transition to natural gas for various applications such as industrialization, transportation, clean cooking, and fertilizer production, gas supply remains unavailable due to crude oil theft.

On a weekly basis, NNPCL records hundreds of crude oil theft incidents across the Niger Delta.

These incidents encompass illegal connections, illegal refineries, vessel arrests, and vessel AIS infractions.

[Leadership]

Senator representing Borno South Senatorial District and Chief Whip on the Senate, Ali Ndume on Wednesday disclosed that plans were afoot to provide strict sanction against the rejection of people living with disabilities.

This, he said, would be done through amendment of laws establishing the National Commission for Persons with Disability.

Speaking on Wednesday, when the FCT Para-soccer Team honoured him with an award in Abuja the lawmaker lamented the discrimination and refusal of some Ministries, Departments and Agencies to engage persons living with disabilities.

He said, persons living with disabilities with relevant qualifications in their field of study should be employed to contribute their quota to the system.

He said: “This is the Para-soccer team of the FCT. They want to honour me. We’ve been supporting people with disabilities. These people have families and they have made us proud. They’ve won laurels for Nigeria. This team was founded over 30 years ago.

“I want to donate N1 million to support FCT Para-soccer. I’ll arrange for you to meet the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike. He will give you all the support.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu believes in his Renewed Hope Agenda. We’ll have the national event in a grandeur manner and all major political leaders will be there. We can arrange that this year. This year will be a year of Renewed Hope for every Nigerian.

“We’ll make it mandatory for every MDA of the government to employ people with disabilities. They’ll be placed in offices and respected, become chief executives of such government agencies, and permanent secretaries. We’ve had a disabled senator who was the Chief Whip.”

[DailyPost]

Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has instituted two separate judicial commissions of inquiry to probe the management of the state’s resources and assets under his predecessor, Samuel Ortom’s administration.

Alia charged the two commissions of inquiry, which he inaugurated on Monday night, to scrutinize the former administration between 2015 and 2023.

He urged the two panels—the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Income and Expenditure of Benue State Government (from May 29, 2015, to May 28, 2023) and the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Sale/Lease of Government Assets, Companies and Markets (both state and local government-owned markets), as well as Moribund Companies (from or before May 28, 2015, to May 28, 2023)—to do a thorough job.

The governor explained that the setting up of the two commissions of inquiry to look into the activities of the outgone administration has become necessary in response to the desire of the people of the state, who are the major stakeholders and owners of the resources.

In their separate responses, the Chairman of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Income and Expenditure of the Benue State Government 2015-2023, Justice Taiwo Taiwo (rtd), assured that they would do a thorough job within the space of time available to them in line with their terms of reference.

Also, the Chairman of the Judicial Commission on Sale/Lease of Government Assets, Companies, and Markets, Justice Apollos Paul Idi (rtd), expressed readiness to work in line with the terms of reference given to them and come up with recommendations that would help the government move the state forward.

The Commission of Inquiry on the Income and Expenditure of Government Funds from May 2015 to May 2023 has Chief John Ochoga, Henry Tor, Tom Ujah, Ode Igbade Nick, Iorpenda Tarnguhar, and Terfa Gbande as members, while Barr. Ajinge Sar and Dr. Abraham Gberindyer are to serve as government counsel and secretary, respectively.

The Commission of Inquiry on the Sale of Assets, Companies and Markets from 2015 to 2023 has Clement Nenge Beetse, John Ogah, Dr. Terungwa Adzende, and Hon. Abraham Atotse as members, while Victor Nyamtamen (Esq.) and John Edigbo serve as government council and secretary, respectively.

Meanwhile, Ortom has said he welcomed the inauguration of the two judicial commissions by his successor to probe the activities of his administration between 2015 and 2023.

The former governor, through his media aide, Terver Akase, on Tuesday expressed willingness to cooperate with the probe panels as long as the investigation is carried out in line with the law.

Ortom stressed that his administration was built on transparency, accountability, and good governance as he emphasized his readiness to provide any information or clarification as may be required, urging his former appointees to equally make themselves available whenever called upon to provide clarifications.

The Senate has constituted a nine-man committee to investigate the N30 trillion Ways and Means advances the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) extended to the federal government.

Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who presided over the plenary, announced Senator Jibrin Isah (Kogi East) as chairman of the panel during Tuesday’s sitting.

The Red Chamber had, last week, resolved to probe how the loan was used after adopting the report of its joint Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Finance, National Planning, Agriculture and Appropriations.

The Ways and Means is a loan facility the CBN gives the federal government to fund budget shortfalls.

The loan facility has been a subject of controversy, with experts expressing concern that CBN had exceeded its lending threshold to the federal government, against extant laws.

Barau, in his remark before announcing membership of the committee, said the excessive borrowing caused inflation in the country.

He said: ““The financial obligation to the CBN now stands at N30 trillion. It is therefore imperative to interrogate the loans of the N30 trillion Ways and Means with a possibility of recovering whatever possible.”

Other members of the ad hoc committee are: Ekpeyong Asuquo, Mohammed Tahir Monguno, Victor Umeh, Olamilekan Adeola, Sani Mohammed Musa, Aliyu Wadada, Abdul Ningi and Ipalibo Banigo Harry.

They were given four weeks to turn in their report for further legislative action.