Akpabio Gets 14 Days Ultimatum to Reverse Ningi’s Suspension

Constituents of the Bauchi Central Senatorial district in the state have given Senate president Godswill Akpabio a 2-week ultimatum to reverse the suspension of Senator Abdul Ningi. Ningi, a former majority leader in the upper chambers, was suspended for three months for expressing sincere concern about irregularities in the 2024 national budget. The constituents, under the umbrella of the Youth Coalition of Bauchi Central Senatorial district, said the Senate should instead investigate the irregularities with a view to addressing them in the best interest of the country. The coalition at a press conference addressed by its Chairman, Nazeef Abdullahi Rio in Bauchi, said, “We demand that the Senate should immediately reverse its decision of suspending our Senator. Recall him back to his seat so that he will continue representing our dear Constituency and the Country at large. “To our total dismay, instead of the Senate to commend Senator Ningi for his patriotic discovery investigate the irregularities with a view to addressing them for the best interest of the Country, it ended up unjustifiably suspending him thereby denying his rights as Senator and a Nigerian. “This is the highest level of injustice meted on any Senator and any Senatorial district in the history of our dear country. “As people of Bauchi Central, we declare our total support and solidarity to Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi. We equally strongly commend him for standing firm to represent our views and fight for our rights and that of the entire Nigerians. “We also demand that the Senate should fully investigate all the alleged irregularities in the 2024 budget so that nobody will take Nigerians for granted and so that the image of the Senate will not be painted black in the eyes of Nigerians. “If the Senate fails to meet our demands within two weeks, as constituents of Bauchi Central Senatorial District, we will be left with no option than to take legal action so that our constitutional rights would be upheld.”j

Why I Regret Not Marrying Earlier – Timini Egbuson

Nollywood actor Timimi Egbuson has shared his regret about relationships, saying he regrets not marrying earlier. The 36-year-old movie star said this in a recent podcast interview with content creator Kamsi Nnamani, emphasizing that he values the peace of mind a partner can provide over superficial qualities like looks. While revealing his struggles with relationships, Egbuson acknowledged that despite committing to several in the past, none have panned out. He also shared his regret about not settling down earlier, reflecting that he might have had a 14-year-old child by now if he had married sooner.

Ex Benue Governor Joins PDP Chairmanship Race

Former Benue State Governor, Senator Gabriel Suswam has thrown his hat into the ring for the national chairmanship of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Suswam stated his intention to vie for the position, aiming to complete the tenure of ousted Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, asserting that it rightfully belongs to Benue state and the North Central region. Speaking in Katsina-Ala on Friday during a meeting with the Benue North East PDP expanded caucus, Suswam emphasized his consultation with key party figures in the state, including Samuel Ortom, David Mark, Abba Moro, and the PDP’s State Working Committee. Highlighting the constitutional backing and historical precedent, Suswam underscored the north central and Benue’s right to finish Senator Ayu’s truncated tenure, advocating for party unity and mobilization ahead of the 2027 elections. He urged reconciliation post-2023 polls, emphasizing the PDP’s role as the foremost vehicle for Nigeria’s progress.

Customs Intercepts Arms and Military Uniforms at Lagos Port

The Tin-Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has intercepted a cache of arms and ammunition allegedly being smuggled into the country by a criminal gang. Among the items intercepted are military camouflage and illicit drugs such as Colorado. The recovered arms include automatic single-barrel rifles and pump-action guns. Though details of the interception are still sketchy, sources report that the arms were discovered during an inspection of imported consignments. It remains unclear if any arrests have been made at this time. This interception follows previous seizures, including 31 arms of various types at Tin-Can and Multi-Purpose Terminals (PTML) ports in Lagos eight months ago. During that seizure, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that two suspects were arrested. But not much has been made public regarding the prosecution of those arrested.

NANS Reacts As FG Postpones Students Loan For Again 

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has voiced discontent over the federal government’s decision to postpone the implementation of the student loan program.  The initiative, aimed at alleviating the financial burden on indigent students following the announcement of increased tuition fees in federal universities, has faced indefinite delays, as announced by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration on Tuesday. Initially conceived to cushion the impact of tuition hikes, the program’s repeated postponements have left financially disadvantaged students scrambling to find alternative means to cover their educational expenses. In response to this setback, NANS President, Pedro Chibuzo Obi, expressed frustration.  He emphasized the urgent need for dialogue between the union, the fund’s management, and the government to address the challenges obstructing the commencement of the student loan scheme. Obi underscored the importance of ensuring the program’s effectiveness and alignment with the interests of Nigerian students. He highlighted concerns regarding the ongoing academic session, noting that the delay may compromise the scheme’s ability to provide adequate support during this period. He asserted, “The delay is regrettable, but we are committed to facilitating the scheme’s prompt commencement to benefit the Nigerian student community. Despite the current academic session being halfway through, we urge swift action to ensure the program’s rollout without further delay.”

The Fleecing of Nigeria by a profligate Corrupt Legislature… our senate has become the den of thieves

While we might have all been distracted by the drama and hoopla generated by Senator from the north, we all might have missed the bombshell revelations the scandals revealed yesterday. Earlier, a ranking senator from the south made an allegation that some senior senators each received 500 million Naira padding in the 2024 budget. Padding is the code name for the legislative fleecing of our commonwealth with illegal budget allocation in the name of constituent projects. It is a blackmail tactic that Sister Ngozi Eweala made a lot of noise about as the Minister of Finance and the de facto prime minister in which she alleged that senators and House of Rep members routinely blackmail the executive to include these graft as the conditions to pass the annual budget and to fund the budgetary proposals of the executive arm. Well, we just watched the confession video in the speech of Senator Bamidele on the floor of the senate. We might be tempted to gloss over the big news he made during that speech. He confirmed the allegation that some senators actually received 500 million Naira, an allegation by a ranking senator, which the other senators tried to shout down earlier today. Our senate is the den of thieves, who are totally disconnected from the daily struggle and anguish of the citizens. Not only did these leeches allocate hundreds of millions of Naira to order plush SUV for meeting the majesty of their highly exulted offices while their citizen starve to death, but the rut goes even deeper. This Senator Opeyemi Bamidele just confirmed on the floor of the senate the allegations that they each received 500 million Naira. He asked their constituencies to hold them accountable if they didn’t implement more than 500 million Naira investments in Constituent projects like boreholes and solar panels. For goodness sake, in 2024, our senators are celebrating borehole and solar panels, both signs of retrogression and underdevelopment. These people have no respect for us, and it’s our fault because we have abandoned politics to the worst of us and to the degenerates. When did they change the constitution to grant the legislature the executive power to fund and implement projects using their personal bank accounts with no accountability? We need to disband the house of thieves called the Nigerian legislature, where many are double dipping, drawing their pensions as former governors while fleecing our commonwealth through obscene renumeration plus the weekly deposits of illicit fund in their bank accounts. We all heard it on life TV when Senator Akpabio announced hefty Christmas payments into his colleagues’ accounts. It used to be Ghana-must-go bags and mobile phone airtime and wifi credits. Today, it is direct deposits or using the budget of MDAs to launder the fund, which is then clandestinely diverted to their personal account. We learned recently that ministers in the executive branch routinely use their personal bank account to transact official government expenditure. Sister Ngozi Eweala made a lot of noise about the corruption ridden constituency projects, which our legislators routinely used to blackmail the executive branch to pad our annual budget or risk the budget not being passed. No wonder the Senate has become the retirement gig for corrupt ex-governors. They are also bankrupting the country with one of the highest legislative remuneration in the world in a country with one of highest concentration of the poorest of the poor living on less than $2 a day. What an outrage. We need to thrash the plagiarized American presidential constitution and replace it with a homegrown, institutionally, culturally, and financially compatible one. We can’t no longer afford to support these super leeches who are bleeding us to death. They very quickly shot down today with alacrity, a member of cult of thieves who went rogue by spilling the beans about the sleece in the Nigerian Senate. We must break open the code of silence.

Popular Abuja Market On Fire

A fire has erupted at Wuse Market Abuja’s bustling commercial hub, on Tuesday evening.  The fire prompted immediate evacuations and a swift response from emergency services. The cause of the inferno has remained unknown, but the rapid mobilization of firefighters and security personnel to the site shows the gravity of the situation.  The market, known for its extensive array of goods and services, experienced an abrupt halt in activities as traders and shoppers alike were seen fleeing the vicinity. This incident follows a tragic event on February 29, 2024, where a fire claimed three lives in a residential building within EFAB estate, Karsana District, near Gwarinpa. The fire reportedly originated from an explosion linked to a diesel drum, leading to a fierce battle against the flames by both residents and the Federal Fire Service (FFS). The current fire at Wuse Market has caused significant concern among the populace, given the market’s prominence and the recent memory of the EFAB estate tragedy.

Too Few Women Breaking Corporate Glass Ceiling – Grant Thornton

  Concerned about what it referred to as the slow pace of the race towards attaining parity in the rate of women versus men in senior management positions, global professional services and accounting company, Grand Thornton has released a report to commemorate the international women’s day titled “Pathways to Parity: 20 Years of Women in Business Insights.” “While the percentage of women in senior management roles globally has increased from 19.4% to 33.5% over two decades, progress remains disappointingly slow with just a 1.1 percentage point increase from last year. At the current rate, parity won’t be achieved until 2053” it lamented in the report that marks two decades of devoted research into the representation of women in senior executive positions around the globe in mid-market businesses. The report delineates three distinct avenues by which businesses can expedite their journey towards gender parity in senior management. These avenues include designating a female senior leader and a C-suite member as the respective recipients of responsibility for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I); executing an independent DE&I strategy with quantifiable objectives; and providing flexible work schedules. Adding voice to the report, Grant and Thornton Managing Partner and CEO in Nigeria, Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Ogwo, says “In today’s world, it is essential for women to be an integral part of DE& I (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) leadership teams, as they bring unique perspectives, experiences, and insights that contribute to the creation of a more balanced, empathetic, and effective workplace culture.”  Others who commented on the report were Peter Bodin, CEO of Grant and Thornton International Ltd (GTIL). She says: “Our Women in Business research has been a significant contributor to the global debate on equity in the workplace for 20 years. While we’ve seen some positive change over that time, we also know that sustainable change takes an intentional effort and clear accountability from leadership at every organisation. Through the Grant Thornton International Business Report research and the pathways, we identify, we aim to give mid-market organisations a roadmap to accelerate progress and build more diverse, resilient and successful businesses.” “Mid-market companies have the agility to drive significant change,” says Karitha Ericson, global leader of network capability and culture at Grant Thornton International Limited (GTIL). “By adopting the pathways to parity outlined in our report, achieving 50% representation of women in senior management within the next five years is within reach.” The Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR), the world’s preeminent mid-market business survey, provides information for the Women in Business (WiB) report by conducting biannual interviews with about 5,000 senior executives from listed and privately held companies across the globe. The report, which was first released in 1992 in nine European nations, currently conducts annual polls of almost 10,000 business executives across 28 nations, offering insights into the commercial and economic concerns influencing the growth prospects of organizations worldwide. About 5,000 chief executive officers, managing directors, chairs, and other senior decision-makers from all industrial sectors in mid-market companies across 28 countries were interviewed between October and November 2023, from which the conclusions in this research were derived.  

‘Nigeria is so complex to govern’ says Buhari

Given the prevailing circumstances in Nigeria, the immediate past President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, said there is nothing much anyone can do to salvage the situation as Nigeria is a complex country to govern.  The former president gave the remark when he received the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi and members of the management team of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Daura, Katsina State, at the weekend. Buhari maintained that his successor, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has performed very well since his assumption of office nine months ago. Addressing Adeniyi and his team, Buhari said Nigeria is a hard nut to crack, enjoining the citizens to endure the economic hardship in the country and support the policies and programmes of the current administration. “I thank you very much for coming. I very much appreciate it. I thought Tinubu has done very well,” Buhari said. “Nigeria is so complex. Really, there isn’t much anybody can do.” Tinubu has faced wide criticism over some of his economic policies, including the removal of fuel subsidy and unification of the exchange rate windows. Reacting, Adeniyi thanked the former president for his unprecedented role in supporting the NCS Act 2023. The CGC also paid a courtesy visit to the Emir of Daura, His Royal Highness, Dr Farouk Umar Farouk. “This legislative milestone grants the NCS expanded authority to implement policies aimed at bolstering revenue generation and facilitating trade, thus contributing significantly to Nigeria’s economic growth trajectory,” Adeniyi said. He also spoke about trucks carrying food items seized at the border, saying, “I will also use this occasion to brief you on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directives that all trucks of food carrying exports across borders that were seized by customs be returned to the traders with the hope that they would plow them back into the Nigerian markets.” It should be noted that this was not the first time Buhari made a remark about Nigeria being a tough job for leaders to govern. In November 2023, during an interview with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Buhari said the country was difficult to rule. “Nigerians are extremely difficult. People know their rights. They think they should be there, not you. So, they monitor virtually your every step. And you have to struggle day and night to ensure you are competent enough,” he said.

Senate Forms Ad-Hoc Committee to Probe Financial Controversies

Amidst mounting controversies surrounding the financial operations of the Buhari administration, senate president, Sen. Godswill Akpabio has inaugurated the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on Ways and Means on Monday. The committee’s primary mandate, driven by concerns over fund management, includes a thorough investigation into the utilization of resources, notably focusing on the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme and other financial avenues. In his address to stakeholders, the Senate President emphasized the critical need for transparency, accountability, and good governance, especially in light of recent financial controversies. He highlighted the significance of the committee’s mandate and urged members to execute their duties diligently and professionally, prioritizing the interests of the Nigerian people. The establishment of the committee followed consultations with the Federal Government’s Economic Management Team and a subsequent report by the Joint Committees on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions; Finance; National Planning; Agriculture; and Appropriations. The report identified concerns and irregularities in fund utilization, prompting decisive action from the Senate. Furthermore, the Senate President reiterated the importance of the committee’s task amidst ongoing financial debates in Nigeria. He expressed confidence in the committee’s ability to conduct thorough investigations and called for a commitment to justice, fairness, and the public good. Senator Isah Jibrin (Echocho), appointed as the committee’s chairman, emphasized the significance of the Ways and Means controversy and assured Nigerians of a thorough and impartial investigation. He urged stakeholders to cooperate and provide necessary documents for scrutiny. The committee, composed of distinguished senators, is poised to embark on its mission to investigate and address concerns regarding fund management in Nigeria, guided by principles of transparency, integrity, and accountability. Members of the committee include: 1. Senator Isah Jibrin (Chairman) 2. Senator Sahabi Ya’u (Vice Chairman) 3. Senator Adamu Aleiro 4. Senator Adetokunbo Abiru 5. Senator Asuquo Ekpeyong 6. Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno 7. Senator Victor Umeh 8. Senator Solomon Olamilakan 9. Senator Sani Musa 10. Senator Abdul Ningi 11. Senator Aliyu Wadada 12. Senator Ipalibo Banigho 13. Senator Jimoh Ibrahim 14. Senator Ibrahim Mohammed 15. Senator Joel Thomas Onowakpa 16. Senator Dafinone Ede 17. Senator Aminu Iya Abbas 18.