Euro 2024 winner and Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino has agreed to become a new Arsenal player ahead of the transfer deadline, according to reports in Spain.

Transfer Expert, Fabrizio Romano, revealed that a verbal agreement has been put in place for the Spanish midfielder to the Premier League side.

Romano in a post on his X handle said €32m plus €5m add-ons with favourable payment terms have been agreed on for the player to move to the Emirate Stadium.

Reports in Spain added that the negotiations between Arsenal and the Spanish club have ended ‘in an agreement’ and Merino ‘did not train on Wednesday with his current Real Sociedad teammates due to lower back pain, according to the official version, but everything indicates that he was already living his last hours as a player for the San Sebastian club, as the agreement for his transfer to Arsenal was being finalised.’

Real Sociedad president Jokin Aperribay was ‘seen taking a flight to London’ late on Tuesday and now a deal is set to go through for around €35m.

Arsenal are being tipped by a number of pundits and former players to win the title and their pursuit of Spain international Merino could help them achieve their ambitions.

[Leadership]

A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has granted an ex parte order restraining the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, led by Abdullahi Umar-Ganduje and the Secretary Surajudeen Ajibola-Basiru, from proceeding with the planned Rivers State Ward, Local Government and State Congresses scheduled for October 11, 16, and 26, 2024.

The lawsuit, filed by Peter Ohochukwu and Haija Ndidi-Chukwuma on behalf of themselves and all elected executive members of the APC in the state, named the APC, the Inspector General of Police, IGP, the Nigeria Police, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as defendants.

Justice Godwin O. Ollor, in his ruling on the ex parte motion on Thursday, also restrained the defendants, their representatives, officers, or agents from conducting, supervising, holding, monitoring, or otherwise organizing any elections for the Rivers State executive committee.

Justice Ollor emphasized that his ruling was based on the merits of the application and the oral arguments presented by the plaintiffs’ counsel, Collins Dike.

The court also barred the national leadership of the APC from attempting to suspend the state executives led by Emeka Beke.

The judge further restrained the APC’s national chairman, secretary and the party itself from interfering with the activities of the elected APC executives in the state, led by Beke, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for an interlocutory injunction.

DAILY POST reports that Justice Ollor adjourned the case to September 9, 2024, for the hearing of the motion on notice.

Speaking to journalists outside the courtroom, counsel for the claimants, Collins Dike said, “After the very erudite judgement of My Lord Honorable S. H. Aprioku, the national office wrote a letter in which they disclosed their plans to hold an elective congress specifically for Rivers State.

“Invariably what they intended to achieve with that was to ensure the judgement of Honorable justice Aprioku was rendered a nullity.

“The judgement of Honorable justice Aprioku was very clear, that the tenure of office of the elected executives of the party was still subsisting, was still valid, until the four years term the constitution gave them expired.

“But curiously, these people, in spite of the fact that there’s no vacancy in the various offices that make up the executive committee, went behind and started planning how to hold an elective congress, in-spite of the fact that they are fully aware of that judgement, they have been served with that judgment.

“So, it is for that reason that we said no. They have created a new cause of action by their attempt to proceed with plans to hold an elective congress. And if we do not do anything, they will foist a fait accompli on the court with respect to the judgement of Honorable Justice S. H. Aprioku by purporting to hold that elective congress.

“And it is for that reason that we have gone on to say that no, what they want to do is contrary to the law.

“And we are happy that the court was convinced with the facts we presented, convinced with the argument we presented. And the court has in very clear terms, restrained them from proceeding in the interim pending when the court will be hearing all the parties.”

[DailyPost]

The Enugu State Police Command announced on Thursday that it had apprehended a total of 123 suspects between July and August of this year.

The arrests were made in connection with various crimes, including murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, vandalism, theft, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and cultism.

During a press conference at the Command’s Headquarters, State Commissioner of Police Kanayo Uzuegbu revealed that numerous incriminating exhibits were seized during the operations that took place across the state.

Uzuegbu further stated that many of the suspects have been charged and remanded in custody at the Nigerian Correctional Custodial Centres.

While commending the residents of the state for providing the command information, he still appealed they shouldn’t relent timely and actionable information will help the command to provide better security for all in the state.

A breakdown of the arrests shows that 123 suspects were apprehended and 19 victims of kidnapping and abduction were rescued during the period in question.

He said, “AK-47 and assault rifles recovered -15, Pump action guns recovered – 25, other firearms recovered – 35, live ammunition of different calibres recovered – 710, live cartridges recovered – 187, motor vehicles recovered – 17, tricycles recovered – 11, motorcycles recovered – 8,” the crime summary report indicated.

While confirming the attack on the police checkpoint where four policemen were killed by hoodlums, he, however, refuted the purported kidnapping of some persons around the Enugu State College of Health Technology, Oji-River.

He stated, “Rather, the four persons, three of whom were not students of the school, allegedly kidnapped around the College on August 14, 2024, have all been rescued and reunited with their families.

“Meanwhile, be informed that the suspects involved have been arrested and are undergoing interrogation.

“Also, the peddler of the unwarranted panic news on the incident has been traced and he has been apologizing for the mischievous act.

“Similarly, the sinister plans of the IPOB/ESN secessionist renegades to attack the police operatives and cause collateral damage at 4-Corner, along the Enugu/Port-Harcourt Expressway, on August 18, 2024, were squarely thwarted by the operatives.

“The militants, dressed in security forces uniforms and operating in a snatched Lexus 350 Jeep, suddenly opened fire on the patrol team on approaching the operatives.”

Uzuegbu commended the Enugu State Government, under the leadership of His Excellency, Dr. Peter Mbah, “for taking the bold and pragmatic steps of demolishing houses and facilities used in harbouring and perpetrating acts of abduction and kidnapping in the State.

“Therefore, I call on citizens of Enugu State, particularly landlords, hoteliers, and owners of uncompleted buildings to be mindful of who they accommodate in such structures.”

“This is to ensure that they do not harbour criminals whose activities could bring about the demolition of their building facilities.”

While providing further details on the arrests made within the period, the Police Commissioner said, “Yesterday, August 21, 2024, at about 5 p.m., Police Operatives serving in the Anti-Cultism Tactical Squad recovered an AK-47 rifle at New Artisan, Enugu.”

[Punch]

Agora Policy, an Abuja-based think tank, says petrol subsidy will reach an all-time high in 2024 after gulping N4.2 trillion from January to August.

In a post on Thursday, the organisation said petrol subsidy, which was supposedly ended in mid-2023, “is not only back but bigger than prior era”.

Agora Policy said petrol subsidy stood at N5.10 trillion in 2023 — almost double the record set in 2022. 

“With 4.2t incurred in just seven months, 2024 is set for an all-time record,” the think tank said.

According to data shared by Agora Policy, Nigeria spent N220 billion in 2006 on subsidy, N236 billion in 2007, and N360 billion in 2008.

In 2009, petrol subsidy payments dropped to N198 billion, increasing to N416 billion in 2010, and N1.9 trillion in 2011.

The year after, the petrol subsidy culminated in N690 billion, but dropped to N495 billion in 2013, N482 billion in 2014, N317 billion in 2015, and N99 billion in 2016.

However, in 2017, Agora Policy said the amount spent on petrol subsidy rose to N142 billion, N722 billion in 2018, before declining to N578 billion in 2019, and N135 billion in 2020.

The decline halted in 2021, as the petrol subsidy rose to N1.16 trillion, N2.91 trillion in 2022, and N5.10 trillion in 2023. 

“Out of N20.37t incurred on petrol subsidy from January 2006 to July 2024, the year 2023 accounted for 25.04% of the total while seven months in 2024 alone is responsible for 20.67% of the total,” Agora Policy said.

By contrast, the organisation said 16 years accounted for just 40 percent of the total subsidy.

“Petrol subsidy as a percentage of gross oil revenues in 18 years and seven months: from 21% in 2011 to 126% in 2023, then to 113% between January and July 2024,” Agora Policy said.

“Another dimension: petrol subsidy as a percentage of FAAC net revenues, ranging from 1.9% in 2020 to 50% in seven months of 2024.

“Here’s what petrol subsidy as a percentage of GDP looks like. Petrol subsidy was 2.2% of GDP in 2023, when it was supposedly gone by mid-year.”

Agora Policy said the percentage for 2023 was only surpassed by that of 2011 (3 percent), “regarded as a tipping point”.

TheCable had reported that President Bola Tinubu approved a request by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to utilise the 2023 final dividends due to the federation to pay for the petrol subsidy.

However, on August 19, the national oil company said the federal government owes it N7.8 trillion for petrol subsidy — despite denying the existence of petrol subsidy 

On August 20, the NNPC said it is selling petrol at only half the landing cost.

[TheCable]

The Federal Government has unveiled the new Presidential Jet -Airbus A330 which it acquired against widespread criticism Many Nigerians had argued that the acquisition would be insensitive given the country’s economic challenges; hence suggested that existing aircraft should be overhauled while others maintained that the purchase was a necessity rather than a luxury. The Government as an act of being transparent and accountable should make public the cost of the Jet.

The current presidential fleet consists of old aircraft that have become unreliable and consume high maintenance costs. The President was forced to use chartered flights to Saudi Arabia and from South Africa; the Vice President also had to cancel an official visit to the United States due to faulty presidential aircraft. It is more cost-effective, safer, and convenient to have a functional presidential fleet than frequently chartering flights.  New planes consume less fuel, require less maintenance, and are more reliable than older ones.

The President and the Vice President require a functional and reliable presidential fleet to perform their duties optimally. They are often required to travel to attend summits, and meetings, engage in foreign missions, respond to emergencies, etc. Lest we forget, Presidential Jets are also a symbol of National Pride and the Status of Office. Also recently a good number of high-profile persons including the former President of Iran have died in air mishaps; a call for more caution. New planes have better visibility, navigation systems and are more resilient.

It is important to note that three aging presidential aircraft were put up for sale in June 2024 and that the  Presidential Jet is an asset, not an expense which is expected to be used beyond this administration.  It is an investment that will facilitate effective governance. While wastage in governance should be minimized, cost containment should not be over-emphasized. A leader can save a lot of money during his tenure whilst leaving important things undone; sometimes as a result of lack of initiative. More important is tackling corruption and ensuring that government expenditures pass the cost-benefit assessment before they are incurred.

The outcry over the purchase of the President Jet is understandable considering the current economic hardship in the country, the government should therefore sensitize people on the benefits of the purchase and reassure people that it is working on improving their welfare. The government should also fast-track the implementation of policies that will reduce economic hardship in the country. The cost of the new Presidential Jet should be made public.

Kenechukwu Aguolu FCA,CBAP,PMP
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

In the bustling neighborhood of Ogba, Lagos, I recently encountered a mechanic whose words have since lingered in my mind. As we talked about the challenges of daily life and the state of the nation, he remarked in pidgin, “Na my turn to chop nor good for politics.” This simple, yet profound statement encapsulates a critical issue plaguing Nigerian politics today; the dangerous mentality of self-enrichment at the expense of the public good.

The phrase “Na my turn to chop” has become a common and tacit refrain in Nigeria’s political discourse, symbolizing the entitlement mentality that drives many politicians to seek office. For too many, political office is seen not as an opportunity to serve the people, but as a means to personal enrichment. This mentality is often justified by the argument that it is “my turn” to benefit from the spoils of power, as if governance were a relay race in which the baton of corruption is passed from one politician to the next.

However, the mechanic’s statement, “Na my turn to chop nor good for politics,” challenges this notion. It is a reminder that this mindset is not only morally wrong but also fundamentally destructive to the nation’s progress. When politics is reduced to a feeding frenzy, the very purpose of governance, to improve the lives of the people is lost. The result is a cycle of poverty, underdevelopment, and social unrest.

This culture of “chop” politics manifests in various forms, from the embezzlement of public funds to the awarding of contracts to cronies without regard for competence or public interest. It is a culture that prioritizes personal gain over public service, and it is deeply ingrained in the fabric of Nigerian politics.

The consequences of this mentality are all too evident. Infrastructure projects are abandoned halfway, public institutions are underfunded, and basic services like healthcare and education are neglected. Virtually all Nigerians, who depend on these services, are left to bear the brunt of this mismanagement, while those in power live in opulence.

Yet, the irony is that this culture of self-enrichment ultimately harms everyone, including those who engage in it. When roads are left in disrepair, even the politician with the latest luxury car cannot drive comfortably. When hospitals are poorly equipped, even those in power must seek medical care abroad, at great expense. In essence, the selfishness that drives “chop” politics creates a society in which no one, not even the politicians themselves, can truly thrive.

It is time for a shift in mindset, both among the political class and the electorate. Politics should be about service, not self-enrichment. Leaders should be chosen based on their ability to deliver on their promises and improve the lives of the people, not on their capacity to “chop” the most. The electorate, too, must reject candidates who campaign on the basis of patronage and instead demand accountability and transparency.

The mechanic in Ogba was right, “Na my turn to chop nor good for politics.” It is a mentality that has held Nigeria back for far too long. If the nation is to move forward, this culture must be rejected in favor of one that prioritizes the common good over personal gain. Only then can Nigeria truly fulfill its potential and provide a better future for all its citizens.

Partisan politics, often referred to as “paddy-paddy politics” and “chop-I-chop politics,” has become a significant obstacle to good governance in Nigeria. This form of politics, where alliances are formed based on personal gain rather than the public good, prioritizes the interests of a few over the needs of the many. It fosters an environment where loyalty to political benefactors takes precedence over accountability to the electorate, leading to decisions that serve the elite rather than addressing the pressing issues facing the nation.

The consequences of such politics are evident in the stagnation of critical sectors like healthcare, education, and infrastructure. Instead of implementing policies that would benefit the masses, politicians are more concerned with securing their positions and enriching themselves and their allies. This “chop-I-chop” mentality has led to widespread corruption, with public funds being siphoned off to fund lavish lifestyles while ordinary Nigerians continue to struggle with poverty and lack of basic amenities.

Ultimately, partisan politics undermines the very essence of democracy, which is meant to be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. When politicians engage in “paddy-paddy” alliances, they betray the trust of those who elected them, and the result is a cycle of bad governance that perpetuates inequality and hinders national development. For Nigeria to progress there needs to be a shift away from this destructive brand of politics towards a system that prioritizes the common good and holds leaders accountable to the people.

FIVE days after Comrade Joe Ajaero, former General Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, and Deputy National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, made history as the first NLC President to be elected unopposed at the 13th National Delegates Conference in Abuja, on February 8, 2023, I sat down with him in Lagos for an exclusive interview.

Still basking in the euphoria of his victory, he was hopeful and bullish as he discussed the labour movement, what Nigerians should expect of his presidency and the impending 2023 elections. He was analytical and measured.

Declaring that the NLC under his watch will live up to expectations, Ajaero quipped: “I am assuring longsuffering Nigerian workers that I will be their voice. We will cry their cry. We will carry their burden. We will identify with them. If there is any way we have lost touch with the people, we are reconnecting with them. We expect that they will reciprocate. It is not always that we will be on the streets but if there is need for that, we will be on the streets and we are ready to pay the price, no matter how high, to make sure that Nigeria gets better.”

On the impending elections, Ajaero sounded a note of warning: “NLC will work with whoever emerges President in a free and fair poll in the interest of Nigerian workers. But the NLC, under our watch, will not keep quiet in the face of any electoral malpractice. We will not keep quiet in the face of people winning elections and they are not declared winners. We will not keep quiet while rigging becomes the order of the day. The NLC will show more than a passing interest. We want to know how the elections are conducted, how things are done and we want to ensure that things are done well.”

Despite the assurances, I knew that the tenor of Ajaero’s presidency will be significantly impacted by the outcome of presidential election, convinced that any of the four frontline candidates – Bola Tinubu (APC), Atiku Abubakar (PDP), Peter Obi (LP) and Musa Kwankwaso (NNPP) – who wins the election will naturally show more than a passing interest in the affairs of organised labour. But I was convinced that none of them, except Tinubu, will attempt an outright hostile takeover of the labour movement.

Under the watch of Obi, Atiku and even Kwakwanso, NLC will have its usual run-ins with the government which will typically flex muscles but ultimately sit down with the labour leadership for discussions but a Tinubu presidency will be a totally different ball game. Tinubu is one politician with fascist reflexes and takes no prisoners.

The issue of petrol subsidy has always been a volatile matter that galvanises organised labour into action. So, ordinarily, when Tinubu in his inaugural speech thundered that “subsidy is gone,” and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, subsequently jacked up the pump price of petrol, Nigerian workers would have poured out onto the streets.

Of course, the NLC leadership threatened strike. But the government swiftly swung into action, maximally deploying the devious instrument of ethnic baiting. Joe Ajaero, they lied, is an Obi and possibly Independent People of Biafra, IPOB, sympathiser who wants to call out Nigerian workers in his attempt to subvert the fledgling administration of Tinubu, a Yoruba. Suddenly, a proposed NLC action became an Igbo agenda. It worked. Even before the strike started, almost all the South-West state chapters pulled out. Ajaero, sensing a breakup of the NLC under his watch beat a tactical retreat. The proposed industrial action was called off.

Ajaero assured in our interview that he was ready to pay the price, no matter how high, to make sure that Nigeria gets better. I doubt if he ever imagined how high that price will be in a Tinubu Presidency.

He nearly lost his life when agents of the Imo State government led heavily armed police officers and thugs to abduct him from the Owerri secretariat of the NLC on November 1, 2023. He was mercilessly beaten and blindfolded before they took him away to an unknown destination where he was subjected to indescribable torture. At about 3.30 pm when worried colleagues finally made contacts with him, Ajaero had been severely brutalised and thoroughly humiliated. He was partially blinded and could hardly stand on his feet. The savagery was unconscionable. No other NLC president had been subjected to such demeaning ordeal, not even under military regimes. Till date, the police are yet to make any arrests, not to talk of bringing the pernicious characters who carried out the assault to book.

Then, on Monday, August 19, the Nigeria Police Force bared its fangs accusing Ajaero of committing heinous crimes that include terrorism financing, treasonable felony, subversion and cybercrime. In a letter signed by Adamu Muazu, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ajaero was ordered to appear before the Intelligence Response Team for interrogation on Tuesday, August 20, at 10 am even as they threatened to activate a warrant of arrest if he fails to honour the invitation.

These are crimes that attract severe punishment on conviction. The least, cybercrime, attracts punishment ranging from three to seven years imprisonment or fine options ranging from N5 million to N10 million; subversion attracts a fine of N5 million or seven years imprisonment; while as terrorism financing is a crime, punishable on conviction, with imprisonment for a term of not less than 20 years. Treason is punishable by death and treasonable felonies are punishable by imprisonment for life.

I doubt if there is any Nigerian that genuinely believes Comrade Joe Ajaero committed these crimes. Police know for sure that these are trumped up charges but they are pushing ahead believing that they will get away, once again, with their continued repression of every alternate voice. The idea is to put Ajaero away, if possible, for a considerable length of time because he is seen as the most potent obstacle to their anti-people policies. The Tinubu administration is busy dismantling all democratic guardrails, a prelude to erecting the pillars of a fascist Nigerian state. It is a patriotic duty to resist him. Sitting in our comfort zones and saying that it is not possible will be a grievous mistake.

Those who accuse Joe Ajaero of not pushing hard enough against the anti-people policies of the administration don’t appreciate what it means to be an NLC President in a Tinubu presidency. It is even worse that Ajaero is Igbo in a country where the presidency has unashamedly elevated the political and cultural polemics of ethnic baiting, racial dog whistles and threats to an art.

Ajaero has deployed wisdom and tact in navigating this very treacherous, uncharted waters. It has been a rather delicate balancing act to ensure that NLC is not splintered by the malevolent forces that are poised to do just that. He should not be vilified.

I have heard some Nigerians make snide remarks, insisting that it serves him right. Such people don’t get it. And to them, the 1946 post-war confessional prose by the German Lutheran pastor, Martin Niemöller, on the silence of German intellectuals and clergy following the Nazis’ rise to power and subsequent incremental purging of their chosen targets, group after group, should be instructive.

First they came for the Communists

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me

And there was no one left

To speak out for me

Niemöller, an anti-Communist who supported Hitler’s rise to power, an action tantamount to riding on the back of a tiger, got eaten, literally, when he decided to dismount. That is what happens when people prop despots either by their acquiescence or inaction. This is not about Joe Ajaero. It is about the fate of Nigeria’s democracy. Nigerians must resist this bourgeoning fascism before it is too late. It is a patriotic duty.

Following the seizure of the country’s assets based on the ruling of a French court, former Ogun governor Ibikunle Amosun, put out successive press releases clarifying his role in the embarrassing situation. The first, explaining his responsibility in the matter between Ogun State and two Chinese companies (which culminated in the seizure of three presidential aircraft), was just as self-indicting as the second, a rejoinder to economist Pat Utomi. Both succinctly summarise everything wrong with leadership in this part of the world and why we just never seem to move forward. It is no longer news that we have bad leaders, but it was always distressing to see—through their self-narration—that we are ruled by people who are unethical, unthinking, and unsophisticated.

After reading both press statements, I concluded that the Chinese company’s enforcement of the law against Nigeria should not stop at seizing foreign assets. They should take Amosun with them. They can put him on the plantation for all we care.

Now, let me say that I have taken note that Amosun’s statement on Zhongfu’s duplicity, as much as they give him away as a poor administrator, is also one-sided. Until an investigative journalist can obtain and analyse the legal documents in the four Nigerian courts (where Zhongfu lost their cases) and the Paris arbitration tribunal (where they won) to provide a comprehensive picture of what unfolded, all we have to go by are the self-vindicating statements of each party. I should also add that this is not a defence of either Zhongfu or Utomi. Today, I am not particularly interested in the details of their deals with Ogun to take sides; I am only concerned with the naïve actions of the people who make the decisions that affect our lives.

In his press release, Amosun stated that two Chinese organisations fought over the lawful representative of the original joint venturer, Guangdong Province, China, and the right to manage the Ogun Free Trade Zone. Here is where it gets funny: 

Zhongfu International Investment FXE, pretending to be a concerned and genuine tenant and Zone stakeholder, volunteered very damaging and destructive information about the official representatives of Guangdong Province, the Joint Venturer and lawful Zone Managers, China Africa Investment FXE and subsequently requested to be appointed as Interim Zone Managers.

If a rival agency provides “damaging and destructive information” about its rival, common sense should tell anyone that whatever they are “volunteering” cannot be merely for charitable purposes. Amosun must have been wearing that his signature cap too tight for air to be let into his head because he apparently favoured the gossiping party for no reason other than their takedown of their opponent. According to him, it was only later that they discovered the information was a “tissue of lies.” When I read the part where he stated that unknown to the Ogun Government at the time, Zhongfu International Investment FXE merely sought to de-market China Africa Investment FXE and to surreptitiously covert the state-owned assets of Guangdong Province in China together with the zone ownership and management rights of their business rival, I thought Amosun should be flogged in the market square.

For a state government with an entire bureaucracy at its disposal, it should not have been “unknown” to you that you were being manipulated.  You could have done due diligence by carrying out an independent fact-finding mission before taking decisions rather than letting a self-interested agent do your homework. Also, between 2012 when you appointed Zhongfu as “interim managers” and 2016 when the Chinese government clarified that China Africa Investment FXE was the rightful investor, you did not do any independent work to ascertain the truth? If it would take the Chinese government for you to know what was true, why did you not contact them all along?

But that is one part of his self-indictment. The second part is revealed in his release where he responds to Utomi. He says, Before I came into office, the Ogun State House of Assembly had passed a persona non grata on Utomi, and put its resolution in the state’s black book. So, I was curious when I became governor and called Utomi to ask what the issue was. This was entirely at my discretion and not because he reached out to me. But I reckoned that as one with some degree of name-recognition, that should not be, and I wanted to know what happened.

What you quickly notice is that in his reply to Utomi is the change of tone. In the first statement, he was careful to assume corporate responsibility for the decisions that led to the Nigerian embarrassment. He made sure to use the pronoun “we,” and to state that this and that action was taken by “Ogun” or “our administration.” When he got into the spat with Utomi, he dropped the façade and reverted to the personal pronoun. Unlike the first where he was careful to spread responsibility for the failure of intelligence that has brought Nigeria to this point, the second revealed him as a governor who basically ran a one-man show while in office.

He left me wondering, why would you—as a governor—be curious about the legislature blacklisting an individual to the point of contacting the person? If you need to find out anything, why not read the records? I am sure Ogun lawmakers did not just blacklist Utomi; there had to be a documented reason somewhere. It was not enough that he reached out to someone on the state’s black book, but he also offered them N100m.

He said by their assessment of the project, the expenditure could not have exceeded N35m or at most N50m. So, how did he arrive at N100m as compensation? What bureaucratic procedure reviewed the project and thought N100m was due to the blacklisted Utomi as compensation? The only reason anyone would have needed to award a governor a plaque to cajole him to pay the N100m balance must have been because he personalised the government, and administrative decisions were based on his gut instinct rather than official procedure. Even you confirmed that by saying, But I did not change my position on the refund of N100 million as against his N200 million claim.

And then, the finisher: I challenge everyone, including journalists, to let us meet at the construction site and see the N200 million investment he claimed to have made there. Let them also ask what benefit the project would have been to Ogun State. But this again proves how poorly he thinks and decides. To calculate whether the project was worth the N200m Utomi claims or not, he asked us to meet at the site and assess with our eyes. For a chartered accountant, one would have expected he would provide us with audit documents. Was that how he arrived at the “N35m, or at most N50m” value of the project? He went there and used his eyes to “see.” Now you see why his calculations had a yawning disparity of N15m. If this is how he makes decisions, it is unsurprising that Zhongfu could turn him around.

Then he says after using our eyes to calculate, we should ask “what benefit the project would have been to Ogun State.” So, he did not think that the project would benefit the state, but he offered N100m for it. What kind of administrator does that? If Amosun could arbitrarily spend N100m on a “useless” project, who knows what else he wastefully expended the money that could have benefited the poor people of Ogun State on?

Honestly, the Chinese can keep him as part of enforcing the arbitration award. Except that he is not an asset—not to Nigeria, and definitely not to the business-savvy Chinese.