The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) FCT Command has arrested no fewer than 100 traffic offenders in the last one week during the ongoing “Operation Green Light Enforcement” in the city centre.

FCT Sector Commander, Muta’a Chorrie, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

Chorrie lamented that most motorists, especially commercial drivers, have made it a habit to disregard traffic lights.

He warned that the Corps would continue to sanction traffic offenders, regardless of their status, to ensure sanity on the roads.

He also addressed the issue of indiscriminate parking by commercial drivers, saying that the Corps had increased the mobility of patrol personnel to check the excesses of road users. 

“The FCT Command has been engaging with Transport Union Leaders in regular meetings to address the menace in the six area councils of the territory.

“We arrested 100 traffic offenders within seven days in FCT. We will not relent until sanity is restored on our highways,” he said.

Chorrie however, appealed to motorists to avoid overloading, as the Corps would not tolerate those who dent the country’s image.

The FRSC boss also advised Nigerians to avoid boarding overloaded vehicles, as they were difficult to maneuver during emergencies.

“With the rainy season setting in, we urge road users to drive within approved speed limits and park at convenient places when the rain is heavy,”he said.

(NAN)

U.S. President, Joe Biden’s personal physician on Tuesday stated that the president had not seen a neurologist outside of his annual physical examination.

This was as a result of the U.S. media reports about a Parkinson’s specialist visiting the White House multiple times.

Biden’s personal physician, Kevin O’Connor, said in a letter published on Monday that neurological specialist Dr Cannard examined President Biden for each of his annual physicals.

“Biden has not seen a neurologist outside of his annual physical,” he said.

O’Connor said Cannard had been visiting patients at the White House for a dozen years and was not chosen because he was a movement disorder specialist.

The statement by Biden’s personal physician comes after a heated debate had broken out at a press conference between journalists and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

The New York Times, citing official visitor logs, reported that Cannard had visited the White House eight times since last summer.

Jean-Pierre refused to respond to questions about why Cannard had been visiting the White House regularly over the past few months.

According to O’Connor, the results of the neurological examination by Cannard were made public each time, most recently at the end of February.

The published health report stated that there were no indications of possible strokes or Parkinson’s disease, and that the president showed “no tremor, either at rest or with activity,” the letter said.

Biden, 81, has increasingly faced questions about his mental fitness since his TV debate with Republican challenger Donald Trump.

A debate was sparked in the U.S. over whether Biden is the right Democratic presidential candidate for the November election due to his age.

Biden has rejected any doubts and refuses to take a cognitive health test to assess his mental abilities.

The White House’s recent action is uncommon and indicates the increasing pressure.

The release of the letter likely aims to dispel any rumours suggesting the possibility of Parkinson’s disease.

Jean-Pierre told the press briefing that he was not being treated for the disease.

(dpa/NAN)

Former Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino has embraced a new calling, announcing his ordination as an evangelical pastor at the age of 32.

The Brazilian footballer shared the news on his social media accounts, revealing a significant transition in his life.

Firmino, alongside his wife, was ordained as a pastor at the church they founded three years ago. The dedication ceremony took place last Sunday in his hometown of Maceio.

“Since our encounter with Christ, a longing burns in our hearts… that people may know this love that has reached us. Now we have another responsibility… To be pastors according to the heart of God and to cooperate with the Kingdom,” Firmino stated.

He also extended his gratitude to pastors Jairo and Keila for their belief and encouragement in his spiritual journey.

Firmino enjoyed a prolific career at Liverpool from 2015 to 2023, during which he secured seven major titles, including the 2019/20 Premier League and the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League.

One of his standout moments was scoring the decisive goal in the 2019 Club World Cup final, securing the title for the Reds.

Last season, Firmino played 34 games for Al-Ahli, scoring nine goals. He also represented the Brazilian national team, participating in the 2018 World Cup.

Currently, Roberto Firmino continues his football career with the Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli, where he played 34 matches in all competitions last season, scoring nine goals and providing seven assists.

Vanguard News

Every presidential election cycle in the US comes with its own peculiar dramas that sometimes influence the outcomes of the race. Usually, these dramatic events come up in October, a month to the election, giving rise to the term ‘’October Surprise’’ coined in 1980 by William Cassey when he served as Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign manager. But even before 1980, there had always been unpredicted political developments that affected the results of elections. This year, the October Surprise came in June and President Joe Biden is fighting hard to save his legacy and reelection bid. I stayed up late to watch the Biden-Trump debate on June 27 (1am Nigerian time) and was surprised at how poorly the President performed, especially in the first few minutes. He stared blankly into space, stumbled on words, lost his trend of thoughts and left sentences uncompleted. On the other hand, his opponent, Donald Trump, was in his elements, lying through his teeth and looking more determined and stronger. The difference was stark and I was embarrassed for the President.

As soon as the debate ended, a fierce political firestorm erupted in the Democratic party, with many leaders, commentators and analysts asking the president to drop off the race because he had showed signs of cognitive decline during the debate. For the first five days, the administration was besieged, the Biden campaign was unsettled and the President himself was quiet. He later acknowledged that he had a bad night due to a cold, sore throat and jet lag. He had just returned from a G7 Summit and had gone straight to attend a fund raiser a day to the debate. Yet the calls for him to exit the race was growing louder and louder. They claimed that an afflicted Biden would not be able to beat Donald Trump in the November 5 election. But the president quickly recovered from the shock and embarrassment, and insisted that he’s the only one who can defeat the Republican nominee, recalling how he came out victorious in the 2020 race and the 2022 midterms despite similar negative predictions.

It's been two weeks since the debate, and in terms of public relations and crisis management techniques, how has President Biden and his team handled the situation? Crisis management is anchored on deployment of effective communication strategy and broadly, there are ways of doing that: The five C’s of crisis communications developed by Prof. Joe Zaldarriaga, a renowned communications specialist. They are: care (concern for the wellbeing of the customers); commitment (relevant, factual and updated information); competency (a team of competent and credible staffs should be out there to speak for the organization); community (stakeholder relationship-building) and continuity (continued and consistent engagements). In the last two weeks, the Biden team has been more focused on fending off calls for him to drop off than amplifying the president’s major achievements and laying out his vision for the next four years. In his first term, the president has recorded important legislative achievements like gun control and climate control bills; got more people working than at any point in US history; rescued the economy and changes the course of the COVID-19 pandemic; rebuilt infrastructure; lowered costs of medications and expanded benefits and services for veterans exposed to toxic veterans. It is a surprise that the president did not tout these in the debate and so far, the campaign is not pushing them aggressively. A major drawback in crisis management is allowing yourself to be overwhelmed by the talking points of the opposition, instead of focusing on your own records and agenda.

But Biden and his team have done well for acknowledging his pitfalls and being truthful to the public. The president earned my sympathy when he announced at a campaign rally soon after the debate, ‘’I don’t debate as I used to; I don’t walk as swiftly as I used to, but I know how to do this job and I will always tell Americans the truth’’, an indirect dig at his opponent. Truthfulness, forthrightness and admitting your wrongs are good in crisis management.

The White House Communications team has also been very professional under intense media scrutiny, upright, forthcoming and factual. They have not issued threats to the media as we saw in Nigeria in 2022 and 2023 when Bayo Onanuga, the spokesman for the Tinubu campaign, was busy threatening the media and insulting people of different ethnic backgrounds. Over one year after the elections, our media is still under constant threats, intimidation and assaults, with many journalists detained or kidnapped or killed in Nigeria. President Biden has also been busy in the last one week granting interviews, addressing rallies and speaking to donors and party leaders. On Monday, he wrote a beautifully worded letter to party chieftains, urging them to close ranks and get ready for the election.

 This week, Biden will host a NATO summit in Washington during which he will meet world leaders and address the US and international media. The summit is an opportunity for the president to showcase his foreign policy credentials for which he’s well renowned. Fixing a PR crisis is all about taking action and proving your point to counter the negative narratives. It is also notable that the major leaders of the Democratic Party, including House Majority Leader, Hakeem Jefferies; former Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer; majority of the Democratic governors and even former President Barack Obama are with the President. Building a formidable stakeholder relationship is an important ingredient in managing a crisis. As a leader, you must build a consensus, lay out your gameplan and motivate the team to follow you to the battle.

As you execute your plans, there may be slips on the way. You have to recover quickly and move ahead. Joe Biden told ABC News interview over the weekend that if he ends up failing the election, he’d be satisfied that he had done his best. That turned out to be a dump answer, given the circumstances. To fix it, he called into a talk show on Monday morning and was asked the same question. He bellowed: ‘’I will not lose the election. The question of losing does not arise. I am the man to beat Trump’’. His supporters loved that. In all, the president has managed this crisis fairly well. In our last general elections, Bola Tinubu failed to show up for the debates with his opponents. His team accused the media of bias, but we knew better. Looking back and taking everything into consideration, we can now understand why presidential candidates should subject themselves to the scrutiny that a debate offers.

S&P Global tours Dangote Refinery, says it can solve Nigeria’s forex problems; catalyse economic devt

… As Dangote reassures on the commencement of petrol production this July

International financial analytics corporation, S&P Global, has described the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals company as capable of resolving Nigeria’s foreign exchange (forex) issue and its huge pressure on the local Naira currency, while also catalysing the country’s economic development. 

S&P Global, headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, disclosed this during an onsite visit to the Dangote Refinery at Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos as part of its sovereign credit ratings assessment of Nigeria. The team from the international rating agency were accompanied by officials from the Federal Ministry of Finance.

S&P noted that the largest single-train refinery complex in the world would bolster Nigeria's oil sector and, more importantly, also have a positive impact on its growing economy. 

Director and Lead Analyst, Sovereign and International Public Finance Ratings, S&P Global Ratings, Ravi Bhatia, who led the delegation to Lagos, said Dangote refinery would transform Nigeria into a net exporter of petroleum products. He added that this transformation is expected to boost revenue generation and alleviate the current pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.  

“It is a very impressive facility, able to process 650,000 barrels a day, when in full capacity. It is the largest single-train refinery complex in the world. It came out quite quickly. Nigeria is a big exporter of crude but has issues with importing refined fuels. So, there is a gap in the market where crude can be refined in Nigeria, save money that way, and potentially save some foreign exchange. This will be positive for the economy in the medium term. It looks positive from our assessment,” Bhatia said after an over four-hour tour of the facility. 

Also, in a chat with the media, Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Devakumar Edwin, who led the team during the tour of the facility, reiterated that by harnessing Africa’s abundant crude oil resources to produce refined products locally, the company aims to catalyse a virtuous cycle of industrial development, job creation, and economic prosperity.  He also revealed that, as earlier promised, the company will start the production of premium motor spirit (PMS), this month (July). 

Noting that products from the $20 billion facility are of high quality and meet international standards, Edwin said it can meet 100 per cent of Nigeria's demand for petrol, diesel, kerosene, and aviation Jet, with surpluses available for export. 

The S&P team commended the President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, for integrating advanced technologies and quality control measures, including a state-of-the-art Central Control Unit ensuring smooth automation of operations. 

Other members of the team of the international rating agency include the Associate Director, Sovereign Ratings, Maxmillian McGraw; Director, Corporate Ratings, Omegu Collocott; Senior Analyst, Bank Ratings, Charlotte Masvongo, and Director, Financial Services, Samira Mensah. 

Currently operating at 350,000 barrels per day capacity, Edwin said the refinery is slated to scale up to at least 500,000 barrels per day capacity by July/August, commencing the refining of petrol and ultra-low sulphur diesel. 

He noted that the refinery, designed to process a wide range of crudes including various African and Middle Eastern crudes, as well as US Light Oil, conforms to Euro V specifications. In addition, it is designed to comply with US EPA, European Union (EU) emission norms, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) emission/effluent norms, and the African Refiners and Distribution Association (ARDA) standards.  

While noting that most refineries were built by foreign companies, he said it is a thing of pride that a Nigerian company designed and built the world’s largest single-train refinery complex while acting directly as its own Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor. The refinery also incorporates a self-sufficient marine facility capable of handling the world's largest vessels. 

“The refinery can produce the best quality products in the world, Euro V grade. It is one of the energy-efficient refineries and it is highly environmentally friendly. It is sophisticated with a high level of automation. The largest single train refinery in the world is 100 per cent designed, engineered, and constructed by a Nigerian company as EPC contractor,” he said. 

Nigeria, one of the world’s leading oil-producing countries, exports all its crude oil for refining and subsequently imports refined products due to a lack of operational refineries. It is estimated that Nigeria imports at least 50 million litres of petrol per day to meet domestic demand. 

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Foreign Trade Statistics for the Fourth Quarter of 2023, Nigeria spent approximately N12 trillion on the importation of petroleum products in 2023, including premium motor spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol. This figure marks an 18.68% increase compared to the N10 trillion spent on fuel imports in 2022.

Associate Director, Sovereign Ratings, S&P Global Rating, Maxmillian McGraw; Senior Analyst, Bank Ratings, Charlotte Masvongo, Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Devakumar Edwin; Director and Lead Analyst, Sovereign and International Public Finance Ratings, Ravi Bhatia, and Director, Corporate Ratings, Omegu Collocott during S&P Global Ratings' site visit to the Dangote Refinery as part of its sovereign credit ratings assessment of Nigeria at the weekend

 Associate Director, Sovereign Ratings, S&P Global Rating, Maxmillian McGraw; Senior Analyst, Bank Ratings, Charlotte Masvongo, Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Devakumar Edwin; Director and Lead Analyst, Sovereign and International Public Finance Ratings, Ravi Bhatia, and Director, Corporate Ratings, Omegu Collocott during S&P Global Ratings' site visit to the Dangote Refinery as part of its sovereign credit ratings assessment of Nigeria at the weekend

Members of S&P Global Rating delegation at one of the laboratories during S&P Global Ratings' site visit to the Dangote Refinery as part of its sovereign credit ratings assessment of Nigeria at the weekend

2nd from right: Director, Corporate Ratings, S&P Global Ratings, Omegu Collocott; Associate Director, Sovereign Ratings, Maxmillian McGraw; Senior Analyst, Bank Ratings, Charlotte Masvongo; Director and Lead Analyst, Sovereign and International Public Finance Ratings, Ravi Bhatia, and Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Devakumar Edwin in a group photograph with staff of the laboratories of Dangote Refinery during S&P Global Ratings' site visit to the Dangote Refinery as part of its sovereign credit ratings assessment of Nigeria at the weekend

In pursuit of national development, effective project management is a critical success factor. According to the Project Management Institute ‘” Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. It’s the practice of planning, organizing, and executing the tasks needed to turn a brilliant idea into a tangible product, service, or deliverable.”. Developed countries increasingly acknowledge the pivotal role of project management, reflected in the competitive compensation of professional project managers.

According to the Project Management Institute,’ A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create unique products, services, or result. It can involve anything from the glamorous events of Fashion Week to humanitarian aid efforts overseas. More specifically, a project is a series of structured tasks, activities, and deliverables that are carefully executed to achieve a desired outcome.’’

Abandoned projects in Nigeria have not only led to financial losses but also represent missed opportunities for societal advancement and economic growth. This can be prevented by projects being managed by professional project managers. Whether in construction, healthcare, or social interventions, rigorous project management practices ensure that projects stay on track, delivering intended benefits to communities.

The definition of project scope involves comprehensive requirement gathering to outline what needs to be achieved. By establishing a precise scope from the outset, project managers can mitigate scope creep—uncontrolled changes in a project's scope. This clarity helps in setting realistic expectations and provides a roadmap for project execution.

Task scheduling and time management are prioritized in project management. Tools like critical Path Analysis (CPA) and Gantt charts are essential in this regard. CPA helps identify the sequence of critical tasks that determine the minimum project duration, while Gantt charts provide a visual timeline of the project schedule. Using these tools, project managers can allocate resources efficiently, identify potential bottlenecks, and ensure adherence to timelines, thereby avoiding unnecessary delays.

Project managers employ robust cost management strategies to monitor expenditures and prevent budget overruns. Quality assurance measures are implemented to guarantee that deliverables meet predefined standards. This dual focus on cost and quality enhances stakeholder satisfaction and trust, ensuring that projects deliver value.

Project managers facilitate open channels of communication among team members and stakeholders, ensuring transparency and alignment of expectations. Effective stakeholder engagement fosters collaboration, secures buy-in, and minimizes conflicts. Regular updates, feedback sessions, and stakeholder meetings are crucial for maintaining engagement and addressing concerns promptly, thus enhancing project outcomes and sustainability.

Efficient resource management is critical in optimizing project performance. This involves the strategic acquisition, allocation, and utilization of resources—whether human, financial, or material. Effective resource management ensures that resources are used responsibly and efficiently, minimizing waste and maximizing productivity. Furthermore, effective procurement practices ensure that goods and services are acquired at the right time, cost, and quality, contributing to overall project efficiency.

Project management integrates proactive risk management strategies to anticipate, assess, and mitigate potential threats. By identifying risks early in the project lifecycle, managers can implement contingency plans and safeguards to protect project objectives and minimize disruptions. Risk management involves continuous monitoring and adaptation to changing circumstances, ensuring that potential issues are addressed before they escalate.

The Government should establish dedicated project management offices (PMOs) within government agencies to standardize project oversight, enhance accountability, and optimize resource utilization. By institutionalizing project management practices, governments can mitigate the risks of project failure, promote sustainable development, and maximize socio-economic impact.

Project Management remains key to National Development. . Project management principles offer a structured approach to addressing the challenges of abandoned projects and inefficiencies. By institutionalizing these practices, fostering stakeholder collaboration, and prioritizing efficient resource management, Nigeria can ensure that projects deliver their intended benefits, driving national development and improving the quality of life for its citizens

Kenechukwu Aguolu   FCA, PMP, CBAP

Abuja, Nigeria

With pain, I have changed my mind: I ask you, President Biden, to think again and please decide to pass the torch to your vice president, Kamala Harris. Friday night’s George Stephanopoulos interview changed my mind. 

Last week, I wrote a column in this space:  

Mr. President, to repeat: I am not asking you to withdraw. I am asking you to be a lawyer and look at the evidence, test yourself as to whether you can defeat Donald Trump and do the job for the next four years, and then – make the right decision for yourself, for your family, and most importantly, for your country. I know you well enough to be confident, and to trust you to make the right decision. 

Mr. President: Now that I have seen your interview on Friday night, I cannot honestly say that I trust you to make the right decision. There were four answers to George’s questions that led me to that extremely painful conclusion.

First and probably most important to me, you were asked what your reaction would be if you ended up being defeated by Donald Trump. Your response was: “I’ll feel as long as I gave it my all and I did the goodest job as I know I can do, that’s what this is about.”

With all due respect, Mr. President: No, you’re doing the “goodest job” is not what “this is about.” What this election should be about for you is saving us from a man whom everyone in the Democratic Party – our political party, sir – believes poses a grave threat to the country and the Constitution. 

Second, I worry that many of your words during the interview seemed to deny political realities, reinforcing the worry about your mental condition. For example, George said to you: “I’ve never seen a president with 36% approval get reelected.” And you responded: “Well, I don’t believe that’s my approval rating. That’s not what our polls show.”

Mr. President, yes, of course individual or small numbers of polls can be incorrect snapshots of a moving picture. But to disbelieve sites aggregating all polls with job approval average percentages in the mid-30s – such as  RealClearPolitics – is to deny facts, to deny realities. That is worrisome. It circles back to the troubling impression you left during your debate, which was an inability to recall, appreciate, and articulate facts. 

Third, you repeatedly ducked George’s question about taking a cognitive test, and you never explained why you were refusing to take one. That left an unavoidable impression you feared the results, which reinforced the impression, wrongly or not, that what happened at the first debate, as Nancy Pelosi said, was not just an “episode” but a “condition.”

And fourth was your answer to George’s question about whether you watched last week’s debate. Your response was: “I don’t think I did, no.” 

This one tipped the scales for me to write this column. You couldn’t even recall for certain if you had watched the debate that brought all this to a head – a debate that took place eight days earlier? Mr. President, how could you not be certain whether or not you watched the debate? And more important: Why didn’t you watch the debate – not once, but again and again and again? To be able to do what I wrote in my column last week that I expected you would do, as a great lawyer and politician – to gather the evidence of your capabilities as a candidate to beat Donald Trump – or not. 

Finally, it is not correct that if you withdraw, that must mean a divided Democratic Party that would make Donald Trump’s election even more likely. History and the evidence are to the contrary.

Kamala Harris was your pick to succeed you if anything happened to you. She still should be. She won five out of five elections in California, including two terms as attorney general and then as a U.S. senator, succeeding the great Barbara Boxer. According to the most recent CNN “A-rated” poll, she is in a dead heat with Donald Trump now – stronger than you or any other Democrat by a good margin. Other polls back that up.

I know – there are some who think her performance in 2020 shows she is not a good candidate – plus there are negative perceptions of her as VP.  

That is BS – and I can’t believe the same would be said if she were white and male. If you give her the nod, there will be a unified convention and she will inherit all the funds you and she have already raised together. No other candidate can legally do that. 

Then, at the convention, you, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton will introduce her. And finally, she and her running mate – perhaps selected by an open convention vote, as occurred in 1956, when John F. Kennedy sought the VP nomination and lost in a contested vote to Tennessee Sen. Estes Kefauver. And the nominated vice president will probably be one of the half dozen or more outstanding Democratic sitting governors with proven records of executive leadership and accomplishment, such as Illinois’ JB Pritzker, Kentucky’s Andy Beshear, or California’s Gavin Newsom – who will receive an enthusiastic standing ovation by a united Democratic Party. And as in 1992, the profile of the ticket first published in media across the nation will mark the turning of a new generation of leadership for the Democratic Party.

And then, in front of more than one hundred million people, Kamala Harris will deliver a stirring acceptance speech reminiscent of Ronald Reagan: We can have “morning again in America,” without the darkness and division and carnage and chaos of the first Donald Trump term. We can feel good about America again – and know that we will be shoulder to shoulder with our European democratic allies, including helping the heroic Ukrainian people defend themselves from the man Donald Trump hero-worships, Vladimir Putin.

“Yes, we can,” as Barack Obama loved to remind us. The general election would be neatly framed between an optimistic future with new younger leaders vs. Donald Trump’s darkness, retribution, and feeding off lies and division. 

That is the frame that will almost certainly carry the Kamala Harris Democratic ticket to victory … and a promise by the vice president to build a bipartisan coalition composed of Democrats, Nikki Haley Republicans, and independents in her future Cabinet.  

We can be civil Americans again – learning how to disagree agreeably. And our long national nightmare of the dark and divisive Donald Trump will be over.

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Lanny Davis is the founder of the Washington, D.C., law firm Lanny J. Davis & Associates. He is co-chair of the global public affairs and strategic communications firm Actum LLC. From 2018-2024 Davis served as a legal advisor for Michael Cohen, but for the N.Y. DA trial Cohen is represented by experienced N.Y. counsel. Davis uniquely operates at the intersection of law, media, and politics to solve client problems. From 1996-98, Mr. Davis served as special White House counsel to President Bill Clinton. In 2006, he was appointed by his Yale College friend, President George W. Bush, to serve on a special post-9/11 White House panel to advise the president on privacy and civil liberties issues. He is the author of six books on politics, government, law, and crisis management. He has been writing his “Purple Nation” column since 2010

It is sad that the Tinubu government has resorted to intimidating, threatening, and blackmailing individuals and the media for exercising their constitutional right to freedom of expression by commenting on the Samoa LGBT Agreement, which Nigeria has unfortunately signed. The Tinubu government is reportedly either threatening to sue or has sued the Daily Trust Newspaper over its fair comment on the Samoa LGBT Agreement. Blinded by misplaced sycophancy, Doyin Okupe was quoted as saying that "deliberate misinformation" on the Samoa Agreement is treasonable. This is very childish. No reasonable Nigerian takes Doyin Okupe seriously. Mr. Okupe used to be the Labour Party spokesman, but now he is the spokesman of the ruling party simply because of money. He speaks from both sides of his mouth depending on where the money is coming from.

There is an ARISE TV video clip that has been trending on WhatsApp and social media platforms. It is the clip wherein Sonnie Ekwowusi, a lawyer and Chairman of the Human and Constitutional Rights Committee of the African Bar Association, explained the Samoa Agreement and the implications of Nigeria signing the Agreement. Commenting on this video clip, the government or its agents tried to blackmail Sonnie Ekwowusi by alleging that he is a member of the pro-Peter Obi campaign and that there is no provision for any LGBTQ rights in the Samoa Agreement.

This is untrue. I have just finished listening to a Channels TV video clip which is also circulating on social media. In the clip, Sonnie Ekwowusi explained the Samoa Agreement and the implications of Nigeria signing the Agreement. He stated that the Samoa LGBT Agreement contains Articles 2(5), 29(5), and 36(1)(2) promoting LGBT, Comprehensive Sexuality Education, abortion, and transgender issues, which violate Nigerian cultural and religious heritage and Chapter 2 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, and Articles 2, 8, 17, 18, 28, and 29 of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, which are now part and parcel of Nigerian law. Barr. Ekwowusi also said that during the negotiation stages of the Agreement, which he attended, the European Union was requested to expunge the aforesaid offensive articles from the Agreement, but it refused. Instead of doing so, the European Union went about bribing different African government officials to sign the Agreement. He also mentioned that the Samoa Agreement has no glossary or interpretation section to define the words and phrases in the Agreement.

 He further said that the Agreement is like giving an open cheque to the European Union because, in the coming months and years, the European Union will be making dangerous decisions binding on Nigeria and other countries that signed the Agreement. He said that the European Union does not care about the ratification and domestication of the Samoa Agreement by Nigeria and that since Nigeria has signed the Agreement, the European Union will be sending their envoys to Nigeria for the implementation of the Agreement.

So, how can the Minister for Information and the Minister for Budget and Planning go about denying that the Agreement contains the aforesaid offensive provisions? He who asserts must prove. If the two Ministers are asserting that the copy of the Agreement signed by Nigeria does not contain the offensive provisions, they should make it available for the public to see. Merely blackmailing someone or threatening the Daily Trust for speaking the truth is in bad taste. The difference between our political officeholders and those abroad is that the latter admit the truth when they err. For example, look at the humble manner in which the British former Minister Rishi Sunak came out in public to apologize to the whole world for the failure of his government. Can this happen in Nigeria? No. Can any Nigerian political officeholder come out in public to admit failure? No. Most political officeholders in Nigeria are arrogant and proud. They want to always appear in a good light in public even when they are wrong.

By virtue of section 39 (1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution, every person in Nigeria is entitled to freedom of expression, including the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference. Since 1859, when Rev. Henry Townsend’s Iwe Irohin Yoruba (the first newspaper in Nigeria) made its debut, the print media has effectively performed its traditional function as a societal watchdog in Nigeria to the best of its ability. Given its role in constitutional democracy, the press is dubbed the Fourth Estate of the Realm, after the Legislature. In common parlance, the press is simply referred to as the watchdog of society. Therefore, the press is not a societal nuisance. Nigerian journalists come within the purview of the law, and their activities are governed by law.

Therefore, any individual in Nigeria can freely express his or her opinion in public. Under the law, he or she can freely criticize the government. Similarly, a newspaper or a publisher of a newspaper cannot be punished for commenting on matters of public interest. In Akinrinsola v. A.G. Anambra State (1980) 2NLR 17, the court held that a publication of a general comment on a matter related to a court proceeding presided over by a judge cannot be held to be contemptuous of the court. Remember the case of Tony Momoh? Tony Momoh, a lawyer, journalist, and Editor of the Daily Times from March 1976 to May 1980, ran a column in the Daily Times named "Grape Vine." On February 4, 1980, Momoh published in his column a story entitled "MPs, Senators, and Cards." In the story, Momoh insinuated that some members of the National Assembly were taking advantage of their privileged position as MPs to enter government offices and obtain contracts. The story caused a significant stir at the National Assembly. After exhaustively debating the matter, the Senate resolved to invite Momoh to come to the Senate and disclose what he knew about the members of the National Assembly who were abusing their privileges, as well as disclose the names of the legislators referred to in his "Grape Vine." On February 11, 1980, this resolution was communicated to Tony Momoh.

On February 18, 1980, Momoh went to court to challenge his invitation by the Senate. His lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, argued that the invitation by the Senate was a complete violation of his fundamental rights, including the right to express his opinion. In his ruling, Justice Candidate Johnson (then Chief of Lagos State) granted Momoh’s prayer and agreed that the Senate's invitation violated Momoh’s right to freedom of expression. The judge also emphasized the importance of the freedom of the press in Nigeria. He stated that any attempt to force a person like Momoh, who disseminates information through the medium of a newspaper, to disclose the source of his information apparently given in confidence is an interference with the freedom of the press. The Senate got annoyed and appealed against the ruling. While ruling that the Senate had no power to invite Momoh, the Court of Appeal said that the Senate could only invite a member of the public to the Senate when they wanted to gather facts for the purpose of enabling them to make laws on a matter.

More importantly, the Freedom of Information Act is aimed at placing information in the public domain. The major value underlying freedom of information is society’s need for the maximum flow of information. It is the duty of the press to keep the citizens informed of the different opinions being expressed and what is happening in the seat of government so that the citizens will be able to make better political decisions. With the Freedom of Information Act, a journalist can walk into any government office and demand information or documents exposing any corrupt public servant.

What this translates to is that the people enjoy the freedom to express themselves as well as criticize the government in our constitutional democracy. A government that does not accept criticism or opposition is an irresponsible government. The Tinubu government must understand that the people are the sovereigns in our presidential democracy. Power belongs to the people. Our political office holders are mere servants of the people and should be accountable to the people for all their deeds and misdeeds.

Under the different military dictatorships and totalitarian regimes in Nigeria, the people and the Nigerian press suffered emasculation, intimidation, suppression, and proscriptions. However, with the restoration of democratic government in Nigeria since May 29, 1999, the fundamental human rights enshrined in sections 33-46 of the 1999 Constitution are enforceable. The 1999 Constitution is rooted in national ethos. The government cannot blackmail anybody or any media outlet for exercising their right to freedom of expression. Freedom of expression is not negotiable.

Mrs. Adebayo*, a criminologist, writes from Ogun State.

President Bola Tinubu condoles with the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, over the passing of her beloved mother, Mrs. Victoria Immaculata Uzoka.

President Tinubu also commiserates with the entire family of the deceased, and extends his prayers and support to them at this difficult time.

While praying for the repose of the soul of the departed, the President urges the Minister and the Uzoka family to find strength in the peace, charity, and good deeds that the late matriarch's life was defined by.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

In the past ten years, the South-East and North-East geopolitical zones, more than other geopolitical zones, have been sites of experiments on insecurity and militia reign. Either terrorists, kidnappers, or militias were testing the will of the government to see how long it would take for a determined state to take charge, or it was just a playground of absurdity. The result is known. Political leadership and the elite failed the people irredeemably. Admittedly, insecurity on a national scale abhors partitioning. The factors at play in a place may owe their origins to factors emanating from a totally different region, but there is good reason to focus on the two zones.

In the two zones, the persistent violence had three distinct features: first, the impunity with which Boko Haram and its affiliates, and unknown gunmen have been allowed to operate; second, the helplessness of the residents; and third, the seeming indifference of the political elite. These defining features fuel existential anger among the people.

Somehow, lately, it appears governors from both regions have found their mojo and courage to rise to the challenge, and that deserves examination and commendation. The source of this new energy and focus is unknown. One thing is clear: the federal government has done its best to redeem the situation, but its best is not good enough. The federal government just did not know how to deal with the situation beyond a military-centric option, and the military deserves commendation for the successes they have recorded so far. Both regions have never been safe places for residents and businesses.

The connection between concrete development and the decimation of militia-led insecurity and related complications has long been established as a theoretical and practical fact. This has been lacking over the years in both regions. Save for a few cases, there has been a substantial disconnect between the people’s development aspirations and the area’s government. Actual development, especially education, helps fight violence, terrorism, and its like. Lately, we have begun to see development programs in a handful of states in both regions, which impacts insecurity in the area.

Besides, the people, too, are beginning to resist the domination of their areas by these non-state actors. Community leaders are now more involved in intelligence gathering. The locals have started organising themselves into quasi-security formations and are beginning to be the first resistance point even before the organised formal security apparatus of the state is involved. This calls for more synergy between the informal and formal security structures and systems in these areas for better operations.

Also, the people’s sensitisation to the fact that these non-state actors purportedly fighting for unknown causes are not doing so for the collective interest of the locals. Instead, the locals in their various communities are the casualties of the needless violence and murderous orgies meted out on them. This new consciousness must be harnessed efficiently to the advantage of the communities. The fight against insecurity is becoming local, and interestingly, the public sphere and media framing the conflicts as banditry and criminality rather than a fight for freedom, self-determination, or religious zealotry is helping matters. I sincerely think that even the perpetrators recognise the impact of this new approach and have turned to symbols of the state for their attacks to legitimise their acts as actions against the state when they are not.

There is a temptation to believe that the insecurity in the northeast and southeast is a scam and a cash cow for interested parties due to its persistence and nature. Additionally, there is a general belief that the security establishment deployed to secure the southeast has found collaboration with criminals and conflict merchants to exploit the separatist agitation. In the northeast, we also find that Sahelian jihadist insurgency had been increased by socioeconomic pressures from the most impoverished states in the nation.

The southeast represents a false agitation for self-determination, whereas the northeast’s insurgency is neither ideological nor religious. Both cases involve ordinary criminals acting as agitators and religious zealots. The criminal colonisation of both regions for an extended period is horrible and disastrous. The political and traditional establishments of both geopolitical zones, led by the governors and National Assembly members, must band together, seek support from wherever possible, and bring this tragedy, which is economically strangulating and socially demoralising, to a stop. Tomorrow is too late.

Recent attacks have shown the ruthlessness of these criminals and demonstrated unequivocally the need for exorcising this evil madness from our communities. A pattern is beginning to emerge: shoot-and-run attacks on soft targets and targeting military/police personnel to instill fear in the people. Unknown gunmen, who were said to have been enforcing the sit-at-home directive of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), on May 21st opened fire on a military checkpoint in Obikabia junction in Aba, killing five soldiers. The response of the state government was decisive. The least we expected from the federal security apparatus was to fish out these culprits and use them to demonstrate the new vigor of fighting criminality posing as agitators. We seem to have lost this opportunity to prove a point. This applies to the recent twin bombing in Gwoza, Borno state.

In Ebonyi state a few weeks ago, gunmen invaded Ishieke Divisional Police Headquarters and started firing sporadic shots. They killed and maimed people, although the report shows that five of the gunmen were killed. Hours before the attack in Ebonyi, gunmen wreaked havoc in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State where they killed six people. A few days later, gunmen killed two police operatives and injured two others in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia state. Between 22 and 26 May 2024, a non-state armed group attacked communities in Gujba local government area in Yobe State. The incident displaced 732 households and resulted in three fatalities and 12 injuries. Among the affected were 2,720 children, 1,038 women, and 976 men. These incidences are ongoing, and the casualties are increasing daily. There is a need to quickly optimise the power of collaborative strategy between the federal security apparatus, emerging regional architecture, state governments, and communities.

On the issue of historical injustices, especially in the southeast, unfortunately, the FGN since 2015 has not addressed the grievances; they just looked away. However, the elite of the southeast have realized that there is a need to change their strategy. One of the manifestations of this change in strategy is the resolution by South-East Governors, supported by members of the National Assembly from the zone, to approach the president to release Nnamdi Kanu. Governors of the South-East had earlier resolved to fight insecurity decisively in the region, individually and collectively, in partnership with the federal government of Nigeria and other stakeholders. Though the details of how they intend to fight insecurity are scanty, at least they have found their voice.

As Chief Security Officers of their respective states, governors must demonstrate significant commitment to confronting perpetrators of violence and resolving core causes of insecurity in their states and, by extension, the geopolitical zone. The sign that governors appreciate the enormity of the challenge is there. The next logical step is to confront the monster from its root. The battle is not just kinetic in nature. It is a battle to win the hearts and minds of people, both the perpetrators and their victims. The perpetrators of these heinous crimes are often community members and are known to the local people.

The ideological prism which has held many people hostage to support the call for Islamic militancy or Biafra romanticism resonates with people who are disenchanted or dissatisfied with the existing system. This is rooted in deep-seated anger against a system they feel is holding them hostage and from perceived development. I am sure that when we put good governance and leadership that brings dividends of democracy such as economic and infrastructural development, social justice, and the rule of law, the level of agitation will reduce, and people will have little reason to want to upturn the system.

It is time the states addressed the interconnected concerns such as unemployment, poverty, bad governance, injustices, resource competitiveness, and the development of an inclusive society. Effective governance at the state and grassroots levels is critical to resolving the issue of extreme violence and criminality. Regional cooperation among states and between states and the center is beginning to bear fruit, albeit only in terms of psychological effect and public perception.

We must all work together, irrespective of geopolitical zones, to create a better future for the affected communities, states, and regions. Conflicts have their place in the agitation for change. However, as we see in these and other regions, permanent conflict will only reduce the affected areas to barbarism and put them further away from modernity.