President Bola Tinubu has sent a letter to the Senate seeking confirmation of Lieutenant General Olufemi Olatubosun Oluyede's appointment as the substantive Chief of Army Staff.

President Tinubu also despatched a similar letter to the House of Representatives.

In the letters addressed today to both the Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, President Tinubu seeks Oluyede’s confirmation in accordance with the provision of Section 218(2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended and Section 18(1) of the Armed Forces Act.

President Tinubu appointed Oluyede as the Acting Chief of Army Staff on October 30 following the illness of Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja.

General Lagbaja, however, died on 5 November.

President Tinubu is confident about the leadership qualities, professional integrity, and experience of Lt. General Oluyede to lead and inspire the army to ensure national security and stability.

Before he was appointed Acting Chief of Army Staff, Oluyede, a member of the 39th Regular Course, like his predecessor, served as the 56th Commander of the elite Infantry Corps of the Nigerian Army, based in Jaji, Kaduna.

He was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1992, effective from 1987. He rose to Major-General in September 2020.

Since his commissioning as an officer, Oluyede has held many command positions. He was Platoon Commander and adjutant at 65 Battalion, Company Commander at 177 Guards Battalion, Staff Officer in the Guards Brigade, and Commandant of the Amphibious Training School.

General Oluyede participated in several operations, including the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) Mission in Liberia, Operation HARMONY IV in Bakassi, and Operation HADIN KAI in the North East theatre of operations, where he commanded 27 Task Force Brigade.

For his meritorious service in various fields of operations, he has earned many honours, including the Corps Medal of Honour, the Grand Service Star, Passing the Staff Course, and Membership in the National Institute.

Others are the Field Command Medal, the Field Command Medal of Honour, and the Field Training Medal.

Oluyede also received the coveted Chief of Army Staff Commendation Award.

He is married and has three children.

Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President
(Information & Strategy)

President Bola Tinubu says his administration’s renewed focus in driving international and local investments into livestock sector of the agricultural value-chain will end the crisis of farmer-herder clashes and promote economic prosperity.

The President also agreed that there is hunger in the land, but said hope is on the way with his administration’s commitment in developing the sector.

Speaking in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the signing of a Letter of Intent between the Nigerian Government and the JBS S.A, one of the top three largest meat processing companies globally, President Tinubu said the livestock investment opportunities in Nigeria is worth over $2.5billion.

He said the agreement will be solving a “problem that afflicted humanity in that part of Africa, clashes between farmers and migrating cows that have caused some life and bloodshed when there is a modern, civilized way to solve the problem and even bring a successful economy out of it.

“We are trying to turn a situation of tragedy, hopelessness into economic opportunity, see through problems and see the opportunity that is involved in it.

“Food security is extremely important. As we talk right now, there is hunger. However, there is huge hope. And you are one of those hopes that we are looking at.”

President Tinubu told the JBS top executives that Nigeria is ready to do business with them, assuring them of a good return on their investment.

Wesley Batista, founder and President of the JBS group, said the company is the largest employer of labour in Brazil with over $79 billion dollars revenue already in year 2024.

“We are glad to work with Nigeria to work together to develop the livestock industry there. We think it’s a good opportunity for our business in Nigeria and Africa as we believe Nigeria can be the center of supply of protein to many countries in Africa. We look forward to working with you.”

Prior to the visit to Brazil, President had commissioned a team of Nigerian officials and private sector players to take the advantage of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Rio to conduct a study tour of Sao Paulo, Brazil and explore the opportunities in livestock development, meat processing, seed development and multiplication for key grains.

In his remarks, the Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Muhktar Mahia, who led the delegation, reported to the President that the team embarked on guided tours of companies on the scale of their global reach, the integrated nature of their operations as well as the deployment of advanced technology.

He added that from their interactions with various companies, JBS S.A. was chosen being the second largest meat processing company in the world with the capacity to process 33,000 cattle daily and over eight million birds daily, using advanced zero-waste practices.

The company employs over 200,000 people across its subsidiaries in more than 50 countries in the world including United States, Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia among others.

[Dailytrust]

Famous Nollywood actor, Bolanle Ninalowo has revealed why he supported his daughter to pierce her navel.

The actor made the disclosure while speaking about his bond with his daughter, Aliyah.

Ninalowo in an interview with VJ Adams, said his 18-year-old daughter, Aliyah had asked to pierce her tongue but he felt uneasy about the tongue choice.

In a now-viral video, the actor explained that he allowed her to pierce her navel because he wanted to bond with her. Noting that a navel ring can be taken out at any time.

Demonstrating his support, Ninalowo stated that he personally drove her to get her navel pierced and also paid for the procedure.

[DailyPost]

The Supreme Court on Friday nullified the National Lottery Act 2005 enacted by the National Assembly because it was made in violation of the powers donated by the Constitution to the federal Legislature.

In a unanimous judgment on Friday, a seven-member panel of the apex court held that the National Assembly lacked the powers to legislate on issues relating to lottery and games of chance.

The court held that such powers only reside with the state Houses of Assembly, which possess exclusive jurisdiction over lottery and related issues.

The lead judgment by Justice Mohammed Idris resolved the two issues, identified for determination, against the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and one other, listed as defendants.

He granted all the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs.

The judgment was on the suit, marked: SC/1/2008 filed by Lagos and some other states.

Justice Idris ordered that the National Lottery Act 2005 should no longer applied in all states, except the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in respect of which the National Assembly is empowered to make laws.

He declared that lottery or games of chance are not one of the items on the Exclusive Legislative List contained in the Constitution in respect of which the National Assembly has the powers to make laws for the whole of the country.

The judge also declared that, having regard to the clear provisions of Section 4(2) & (3) of the Constitution, the National Assembly lacks the powers to make any legislation for the control and regulation of lottery in Nigeria.

He equally declared that, having regard to the provisions of Section 4(4)(a) & (b) and Part 2 of the Second Schedule of the Constitution, matters relating to the lottery are not issues on which the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly have concurrent powers to make laws.

Justice Idris also declared that, having regard to the provisions of section 4(7)(a) & (c) of the First Schedule to the Constitution the House of Assembly of Lagos State and other states have the powers, to the exclusion of the National Assembly, to make laws for the regulation and control of lottery within their states.

He further declared that, having regard to the provisions of sections 4(4)(b), 7(a) and 39, 29(9)(a) of the Constitution, the power of the National Assembly to make laws for the regulation and control of lottery is limited by the Constitution.

The judge also declared that sections 17, 18, 19 20 and 21 of the National Lottery Act 2005 made by the National Assembly are inconsistent with the Constitution, adding that the National Lottery Act is inconsistent with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

He proceeded to issue an order that was made nullifying the entirety of the National Lottery Act.

Justice Idris also issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the first defendant (AGF), either by himself or his agents or any other agency of the Federal Government from implementing the provisions of the National Lottery Act within the territories of the plaintiff states.

He further issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the first defendant, its agents, or agencies of the federal government from continuing to implement or enforce the provisions of the National Lottery Act within the territories of the plaintiff states

The judge made no orders to cost.

Other members of the panel – Justice Uwani Abba-Aji (who presided), Justices Mohammed Lawal Garba, Emmanuel Agim, Simon Tsammani, Stephen Adah, and Jamilu Tukur agreed with the lead judgment.

[TheNation]

I was in London when Kemi Badenoch, a British politician of Nigerian extraction was running against a white man called Robert Jenrick in a bid to become leader of the British Conservative party.

At the same time and on the other side of the Atlantic, Kamala Harris, an American politician of Indian and Jamaican extraction, was running against a white man called Donald Trump in a bid to become the next President of the United States.

I have always been a great fan of Ms Harris because I like her style (especially her cool trouser suits!) and share most of her convictions.

But I’ve never warmed to Ms Badenoch because even though she sometimes talks sense, I don’t like the way she presents herself and think that some of her views are ridiculous.

However, I prayed that both of these black Amazons would win their contests because I reckon that the black race is uplifted whenever any black person who isn’t a crook, psychopath or moron triumphs, especially in white-dominated countries with racist track records.

In other words, even if I don’t agree with everything a black (or brown for that matter) person says or does, I am glad whenever an ethnic minority individual succeeds in the Western World.

This is why I kinda supported Rishi Sunak, Kemi’s predecessor, why I was happy when Kemi won her race on November 2  and why I shed bitter tears when Kamala failed to trounce Trump a few days later.

But, much to my surprise, while most black folks joined me in fervently cheering Kamala on and shared my profound sadness about her defeat, most black folks in the UK and Nigeria either displayed no interest in Kemi’s victory or expressed regret when she won.

I was so taken aback by this widespread refusal to rejoice for Kemi that I set out to find out why she is receiving such scant support from her brethren. I asked almost every black person I’ve spoken to this month; and the answers I got were pretty straightforward.

Firstly, Kemi is widely regarded as a “coconut” – as someone who may be dark on the outside but is white on the inside.

And this objection to Kemi isn’t just about fellow blacks feeling that she is culturally out of sync with most Nigerians and Diasporan Africans. It’s about a belief that she is a cynical OR self-hating traitor who either genuinely dislikes her race or sucks up to influential whites who do not have our best interests at heart because she wants to gain “house nigger” benefits from them.

And Kemi certainly doesn’t help herself by making ridiculous statements like her recent (and frankly insane!) claim that colonialism and slavery did not contribute to Britain’s prosperity.

How can she possibly justify this statement about a nation that grew rich on the back of free labour coerced from millions of slaves and natural resources stolen from numerous colonies?

Another thing that really annoys her detractors is her refusal to identify with Nigeria. She has said that she fled from Nigeria and wants nothing to do with it; and Nigerian Government officials who have tried to congratulate her have said that she snubbed them.

Well, I can understand her anger about this country. Even though both of Kemi’s parents were professionals when she was growing up, Nigeria rarely displays real respect for honest, hard-working professionals.

This is a place in which it is exceedingly difficult to thrive on a normal salary. This is a place in which security challenges abound, inflation is rampant and basic amenities like electricity are scarce.

So I really don’t blame her if her memories of Nigeria are not positive; and I would urge those who criticise her for not viewing her motherland through rose-tinted spectacles to quit their delusional patriotism and remember that some of us have high standards and do not feel lucky to live in a badly governed country.

Still, Kemi should not throw the baby out with the bathwater and should try to adopt a more gracious attitude towards the land of her ancestors.

Rishi and Kamala also come from deeply flawed developing countries, but have never gone out of their way to speak ill of their origins.

One can only hope that Kemi will eventually see the error of her ways. After all, Nigeria has a good side and whites tend to respect you more, deep down, if you know where you are coming from and refuse to kow-tow to their baser racist instincts!

And wouldn’t it be nice if she could come home and be pleasant and receive a rapturous welcome from Nigerians who are thrilled that their girl has done good?!

TAX RUBBISH

President Tinubu has 

transmitted tax reform bills to the National Assembly for consideration. Someone sent me this description of it:

The New Tax Bill marks a major reform in Nigeria’s tax system, offering a comprehensive, unified, and modern framework for taxation. By broadening the tax base, simplifying compliance, and recognising emerging sectors such as the digital economy, it positions Nigeria to enhance revenue generation while promoting fairness and equity. As the Bill takes effect from 2025, it is expected to streamline tax administration, support business growth, and encourage compliance, all while fostering a tax system that is responsive to the needs of a rapidly evolving economy.

I have never heard such nonsense in my life!

No Nigerian government has ever adequately accounted for the billions of petrodollars that have flowed from the Niger Delta.

We all know that most of this cash has been looted…and that very little of it has been spent on infrastructure, education, healthcare, etc.

The guys who run the show are feeding fat on oil money and leaving the rest of us to struggle to survive and thrive.

Why on earth should we have to pay tax as well?

The Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Ekiti State, has cleared a female student, Ramota Olahanloye, to graduate following the re-marking of her final-year examination scripts.

Olahanloye had alleged that a lecturer, Dr. Anthony Agbegbedia, demanded sexual favours from her, and when she declined, he deliberately failed her in two final-year courses.

In a statement issued on Friday by the Special Adviser on Media to the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Wole Balogun, the university confirmed that Olahanloye’s allegations were investigated, and her scripts were re-marked.

“The young lady’s scripts were re-marked, and she performed fairly better than the scores initially awarded by Dr. Anthony Agbegbedia,” the statement read.

According to Balogun, the university management approved Olahanloye’s revised results, which qualified her for graduation.

“The university management has given executive approval for her results to be processed. She has since commenced her final clearance from relevant units of the university,” the statement added.

Balogun also disclosed that Agbegbedia had been sanctioned by the institution for his misconduct.

Olahanloye expressed her joy over the resolution of the case, saying, “I am happy that I have gotten justice, and I really appreciate the university Vice-Chancellor for setting up the committee that investigated the matter.

“I was shown my entire results, including the graduation list with my name on it. I have started my clearance as a graduating student of the university, and I am truly happy.”

Her father, Rasaki Olahanloye, also lauded the university for its commitment to justice.

“I can confirm to the world that FUOYE has served justice to my daughter. I was shown her upgraded results after her scripts were re-marked, and it is clear that she passed.

“The university fulfilled its promise to ensure fairness, and I appreciate the VC, Prof. Sunday Fasina, and the committee members for ensuring my daughter gets justice,” he said.

[Punch]

The price of Bitcoin has climbed to around $97,000, officially signaling its intention to hit $100,000. This historic moment not only symbolizes the rise of the crypto economy, but also indicates that the global economic and financial system is undergoing profound changes.

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[Vanguard]

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery says the federal government’s initiative to sell crude priced in the local currency is faltering, as the plant is still unable to secure adequate supplies.

Edwin Devakumar, the vice-president of Dangote Industries Limited, spoke to Reuters on Friday.

“We need 650,000 barrels per day, (state oil firm NNPC Ltd) agreed to give a minimum of 385,000 bpd but they are not even delivering that,” Devakumar said.

He described the deliveries from Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited under the scheme as “peanuts”.

Also speaking, Mathins Obaze, an acting executive director of the Crude Oil Refinery-owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), said only the Dangote refinery, one of eight refineries in operation in Nigeria, has benefited from the naira-denominated crude sales arrangement.

“Members are still unable to access crude in naira and are currently engaging the government for a resolution,” Obaze said.

On October 5, the federal government said Nigeria officially commenced the sale of crude oil and refined petroleum products in naira — with Dangote refinery focusing on local supply.

A few weeks later, the refinery received four cargoes of crude oil from the NNPC under the naira-for-crude sale agreement.

On November 21, the Lekki-based refinery purchased its first shipment of US oil after a three-month break as the firm sought to increase production.

[TheCable]

THE Dr SOWUNMI OLABODE (aka Docky Show)

"... it was about 9:30 pm along the Jebba- Mokwa road. I was going on about 160 KPH when I heard a sound of something that hit my windscreen." I reversed the car and stopped.

When I came out It was pitch dark and all I could hear were cricket sounds. On searching, I discovered it was a bird. I kicked it off the road and got back in the car"

That was a narrative by my dad to some friends over drinks. It reflected his true spirit - He was intrepid and bold.

Born to Justice Olabode Sowunmi and Mrs Victoria Sowunmi-Idowu on Dec 30 1942; my dad had his fair share of challenges but left incredible memories for us. He had dogged determination and a unique legacy of integrity. By example, he showed to all of us that a man never need compromise for money.

It is to his eternal credit that In my life, I have NEVER known my dad to shift a position for money or related pecuniary gains no matter how small the issue. He thought me and my siblings that integrity is being true to what you are convinced is right and not what people consider right.

Like Prof Wole Soyinka (who was an acquaintance of his) said, "The man dies who refuses to stand up to tyranny". My dad believed that the spirit on integrity from standing on a conviction makes a man's destiny to open up in strange ways.

In the 60s he was a footballer who represented Lagos state in the Junior Academicals team. In the 70s he was engaged as manager in training with Unilever (then Lever Brothers) along with Chief Rufus Giwa and Chief Jubril Martins-Kuye. In the 80s he was part of President Shagari's Green Revolution committee. Later on he was consultant to the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation. In the 1990s he served on the board of Western Livestock (one Oodua group of companies). He also lectured at the United Nations University and the Ogun State University, Ago Iwoye.

Dr Sowunmi was a man of many gifts and many faults. It you focus on his faults, you could not benefit from his gifting. However those who were his friends were incredible for their loyalty. When I met Chief Martins-Kuye for the first time, he had his driver come to the entrance of his estate to lead me as I drove to his house and when I entered, he held me by the hand to his inner living room. "You are Budi Show's child?" ..was his first statement to me. They truly valued their relationship.

Two weeks ago he said he was to visit Europe with his sisters for a cruise. My daughters managed to extract a promise of a visit to the zoo from him. He traveled 4 days ago. He passed on to glory in his hotel room in Venice. When my wife informed the girls that grandpa had gone to be with the Lord, the younger one said. So who is going to take us to the Zoo now? I guess different strokes for different folks. I heard searched only to discover that I had no pictures of my dad on my phone.

Two years ago ago on a Sunday afternoon, our mai guard (security guard) in Kano called his line from nowhere after over 30 years. Why? He was handing over his daughter daughter in marriage in his compound in Sokoto on that day. He wanted my dad to know he was the one the inspired and motivated him to acquire some education. i remembered him faintly as Sumiala.

My dad touched the lives of everyone connected with him. He was a gifted writer and communicator and even in his 70s he was an intellectual. Sir, we salute your legacy. Daddy, rest in the lord till we meet to part no more.