President Muhammadu Buhari is currently meeting with governors elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The meeting, it was gathered, was on the forthcoming presidential primary election of the party scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday next week .
All the APC governors are present in the meeting.
Details Later…
Former Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, has been arrested and detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in connection with the agency’s ongoing investigation of the suspended Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris.
Yari was arrested on Sunday at his residence in Abuja a few hours after he won the ruling All Progressives Congress ticket for Zamfara West senatorial election holding next year.
EFCC on May 16, 2022, arrested Idris in Kano state.
The agency said it is investigating the accountant-general for allegedly misappropriating N80 billion.
It said it picked up Idris after he failed to respond to invitations by the commission to answer questions over the allegation.
In April 2021, Yari was detained by the agency over alleged illegal financial dealings and misappropriation of funds.
In February 2021, he was arrested and grilled by EFCC operatives in Lagos, while the Federal High Court in Abuja had, on January 26, 2021, ordered the final forfeiture of funds belonging to Yari, domiciled in Zenith and Polaris banks.
The judgment followed investigations that Yari had suspicious monies stuffed in his bank accounts including the sum of $56,056.75 reportedly lodged in his account with Polaris Bank; N12.9 million, N11.2 million, $303 million, N217,388.04, and $311.8 million said to be kept in different Zenith Bank accounts in the name of the ex-governor and his companies.
A source had told our reporters that there are at least two solid cases of financial misappropriations for which the former governor and NGF chairman is being investigated.
The first was the investigation which opened in February 2021 centering around over N300 billion he allegedly attempted to move from a corporate account linked to him in a commercial bank.
The invitation letter dated April 6, given to Yari to report at the Sokoto EFCC office, was signed by the EFCC’s Director of Operations, Abdulkarim Chukkol.
It stated that Yari’s interrogation would be based on “conspiracy, diversion of public funds and money laundering.”
We gathered that Yari is also being investigated for his alleged role in the judgment debts around the Paris Club refunds as claimed by some private firms.
His handling of the proceeds of Paris Club refunds from 2017, when he was the NGF chairman, to May 2019 when his second term as governor ended, is being investigated.
A court document was filed by the EFCC in 2017 which reveals the suspicious nature of payments by the Yari-led NGF to consultants and firms who were said to have helped the forum recover funds with the London and Paris clubs loan between 1995 and 2002.
In the document, the EFCC had stated that it received intelligence in January 2017, alleging “conspiracy, criminal misappropriation of public funds involving the sum of N19,439,225,871.11 out of the Paris Club refunds made by the Federal Government in favour of the 36 states of the federation.”
The commission had in the court filing, sought an order of forfeiture of N500 million and $500,000 allegedly recovered from Yari.
In a post promoting Yari for the ruling party’s chairmanship position, which was seen by SaharaReporters, the former governor was described as a “loyal and committed member of the party, not driven by hunger or lust for money but can even sacrifice his personal resources to lift the party”.
“One who is not proud and arrogant but accessible to all members of the party,” it also said. SaharaReporters
Super Eagles’ captain William Troost-Ekong on Saturday cleared into his team’s net to gift Mexico a 2-1 victory over Nigeria in an international friendly at Dallas in the United States.
The match was the Super Eagles’ first of two international friendlies lined up by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). It was also head coach Jose Peseiro’s first game in charge of the team, and part of their preparations for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
While Nigeria failed to qualify for this year’s FIFA World Cup, El Tri are using the game to prepare for the event in Qatar.
The match was the first of three friendlies for the Mexicans before their CONCACAF Nations League opener against Suriname in June.
Santiago Gimenez opened the scoring for a makeshift Mexico squad in the 13th minute.
It was with a great finish as they got their international window off to a positive start In front of a healthy crowd in Arlington.
The Mexicans bossed the first half with Gerardo Martino using the second half primarily as an opportunity to integrate Diego Lainez and Edson Alvarez from the bench.
Goalkeeper Francis Uzoho made some superb saves to contain their opponents in the first half and keep the Super Eagles in the game.
Peseiro’s boys however grew more into the game in the second half and got a well-deserved equaliser through Cyriel Dessers in the 54th minute from a powerful header. It was Dessers first international goal for the national team.
However, defender Troost-Ekong inadvertently conceded an own goal in an attempt to clear the ball from a delicate cross into the penalty box in the 56th minute.
The match was thereafter cagey and saw the introduction of a few players from the Nigeria Professional Football League League (NPFL) towards the end, with about 20 minutes left.
Enyimba’s Victor Mbaoma, and Ishaq Rafiu and Chiamaka Madu (both from Rivers United) replaced Terem Moffi (Lorient FC, France), Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France) and Dessers (Feyenoord, Netherlands) respectively.
They helped the team to hold on for a commendable finish.
Troost-Ekong’s own-goal eventually proved the difference between the two sides, in spite of coming barely two minutes after Dessers equaliser for Nigeria.
Super Eagles will face Ecuador on Thursday before attention shifts to the 2023 AFCON qualifiers against Sierra Leone and Mauritius in June. NAN
By Tonnie Iredia
The presidential primaries of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was scheduled to hold on Saturday and Sunday May 28 and 29, 2022. On its part, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had planned to hold hers 24 hours later. As I began putting this article together on the eve of the primaries, a news break indicated that the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) had extended the deadline for the conclusion of the events by one week. Before commenting on the implication of that, let’s not lose focus of the main issue in this article which is the role of delegates in the selection of party flagbearers for elections in Nigeria. So far, the delegates have had a great time deciding those that voters are allowed to choose from. However, not many believe they have done well or would conclude it successfully. For me, I think the general condemnation of delegates is not well thought out because it seems many citizens expect the delegates to act against the run of play. The pointing of accusing fingers is not a surprise anyway because many citizens are used to raising the bar for other people above their own behaviour in similar circumstances.
For governorship and legislative primary elections which have already been concluded, aspirants were blamed for not only bribing delegates but for using foreign currency instead of our blessed naira to get the votes of delegates. Is it only political aspirants that should be condemned for this? Those we empowered to manage our economy, that is, economic delegates who ended up making the naira less attractive in value must share in the blame. Whereas to bribe delegates with whatever currency is a condemnable crime, it makes little sense for anyone to carry huge naira notes around instead of small sized dollars of same value for the same purpose. Even the argument that many of the delegates were making huge demands must be viewed against facts on ground. What is the current standard of doing any transaction in Nigeria? Is the percentage increase of delegates’ demand higher than the percentage increase of the cost of nomination forms? Are we able to quarrel with air flights that now cost over N100,000 per person for a trip from nearby Kaduna to Abuja?
The two major political parties which charged as much as N40million and N100million respectively for presidential nomination had also, even if inadvertently, set a standard for the charges of their delegates. Indeed, the National Assembly had hugely raised the threshold for election expenses. So, if raising inducement charges by delegates is attributed to profiteering, both their leaders and political parties have not shown dissimilar inclination. A further evidence that everyone has a delegate’s attitude, is seen in the argument of the ruling party that she charged high nomination fees so as to harvest enough resources for a non-stop implementation of party programmes for a long time. In the same way, delegates demanded huge inducement so that for the next four years, they can have enough resources to live on, while those they elected become inaccessible. It can therefore be imagined that if those pursuing huge sums of money are delegates, then Nigeria has, by far, too many types of delegates.
One error which many appear to be making is the impression that many delegates are not well educated or exposed enough for what they have become. Interestingly, Nigerian political delegates are not dull at all as we have seen in some locations such as Kaduna where a cerebral personality like senator Shehu Sani could not outsmart them. According to media reports, for refusing to bribe the delegates, he got only two votes but later received calls from no less than 300 delegates who claimed they are the two who voted for him pushing Sani to simply equate them with bandits who demand ransom. They are thus not dullards but smart speculators like other politicians who virtually hypnotize anyone. Here, the experience of a former Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro is instructive. Okiro revealed that after his retirement, he was swindled of his savings having been persuaded to contest election to the senate. That unfortunately is the nature of the zero-sum political system we run and if the nation cannot rise in unison to condemn it and demand reforms, we are all delegates.
The only political group whose members are not delegates in Nigeria are state governors. Understandably, they cannot be delegates because they are the proprietors of delegates, akin to king makers. And because they spend much to make and sustain the delegates which is called political investment, whatever anyone pays to a delegate is immaterial, what matters the most is what his governor decides. Naturally, delegates know that “one good turn deserves another” hence, they make no serious demands of aspirants installed by governors. The delegates have fellows who have different titles. One group is called screening committee whose role as the name implies is to screen-in aspirants in the favoured list and screen-out competitors. This seems to explain why in places like Lagos, Ogun etc. other governorship aspirants, on the day of the primaries, still didn’t know why they were screened out. Some didn’t even know they needed to demand for certificate of clearance.
There are a few delegates in the judiciary and that is a big plus because there is no human institution without its bad eggs. When a court deliberately entertains only political cases for which it has no jurisdiction, despite repeated warnings from the highest professional level, it is hardly an innocent mistake because what each court in Nigeria has powers to handle are well-spelt out. There are other delegate-judges whose pronouncements are usually capable of more than one meaning thereby leaving stakeholders in confusion. Some elements in the judiciary probably warm themselves up to opposite parties in a case thereby making factional-delegates from some states to continue to debate the authenticity of each other until after the primaries.
But is there a possibility that there are delegates in our electoral body? For two reasons, I personally admire the posture of the current INEC. First, I like the way the commission handled the issue of electronic transmission of election results and second, her firm stand in declining the request of the political parties for alteration to the election time table. Therefore, I had discountenanced earlier rumours that there are a few persons in the commission that have not fully had non-partisan background. This faith was shaken yesterday when I heard that INEC had caved-in to the extension request though for only a couple of days. Why can’t election timelines be sacrosanct as in other climes after they are published? I pray there are no delegates in INEC as the new development occurred hours to the national convention of the main opposition party. If the PDP can keep to her date of May 28, 2022, is it the ruling party whose convention is to come a day after, that cannot cope?
It is however gratifying to learn that irrespective of where delegates are hibernating, one day the aspirants who bribed them will take back their booty. Already, there are reports that the process has begun. Adam Namadi, son of former vice president Namadi Sambo has developed a strategy for retrieving the N2million he allegedly paid to each delegate who did not vote for him in the election to the Kaduna North Federal constituency of the House of Representatives. A serving Senator, Ayo Akinyelure from Ondo state has also reportedly retrieved vehicles given to some party leaders and he is now making efforts to get back monies given to seven delegates for failing to vote for him. What remains now is for Nigerians to stand firmly against vote trading as youths of Ibarapa, in Oyo state did the other day when they discovered that a delegate list prepared for their area was fake. It is only such efforts that can stop us all from becoming delegates.
May 29, 2022
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for political parties to conduct their primaries for the 2023 general elections.
INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, announced this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.
This comes hours after leaders of various political parties met with the leadership of the electoral umpire led by the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, at the commission’s headquarters in the nation’s capital.
At the meeting, the politicians under the auspices of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) again appealed to INEC to adjust the timetable for the forthcoming polls.
Chairman of IPAC, Sani Yabagi of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), explained that adjusting the timetable of the election became necessary because of the current timetable which he said was too tight for the political parties.
In response to the appeal, INEC, according to Okoye, was emphatic that the request for a 37 – 60 days extension of the timeline for primaries and the nomination of candidates could not be granted because it would disrupt other scheduled activities on the timetable.
He stated that the parties later pleaded with the commission to use the six-day period between June 4 and 9 to conclude outstanding primaries and prepare to upload the list of candidates and their affidavits on the INEC Candidates Nomination Portal.
The INEC official stated that the commission did not schedule any specific activity during this period in order to give parties time to compile the list and personal particulars of their nominated candidates before uploading same to its portal.
“The commission has decided to allow the request of the political parties since the six-day period does not conflict with the next scheduled activity which is the submission of the list of nominated candidates or any of the subsequent timelines which remain sacrosanct,” he said.
“However, this request is granted in respect of outstanding primaries only without prejudice to those already concluded by political parties. The commission will not monitor already concluded primaries.”
Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, has said Neymar and Lionel Messi can only return to the club from Paris Saint-Germain as free agents.
According to Laporta, it would make “no sense” to pay money for players that both previously played for the club.
“Who doesn’t like Ney? He is an exceptional player, but he has [three] years on his contract with PSG. He is effectively enslaved to money.
“The only way he could come back to Barca is for free. It would be irrational to pay a transfer fee for a player you have already had.
“Leo left how he left. We would all have liked him to end his sporting career here, but because of [LaLiga’s] fair play rules and because of PSG’s offer, it was not to be.
“If he wants to return one day, it would have to be for free. And the technical staff would have to decide if he fits the new project or not” Laporta told L’Esportiu.
A report by the United Kingdom (UK) Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has revealed that between March last year and March this year alone, a total of 7,256 trained Nigerian nurses relocated to the UK. This is contained in the NMC’s latest report.
The 7,256 trained nurses who recently moved from Nigeria to the UK was the highest number recorded in the last 5 years, and the highest annual increase within the period.
In March 2018, the number of trained nurses who migrated to the UK stood at 2,796. The number increased by 8% to 3,021 in 2019 and has increased every other year till it peaked at 7,256 nurses this March, causing even more shortages in the insufficient nursing workforce in the country.
This last set of 7,256 nurses that “japa” make up over one-third of the total 21,067 nurses that have immigrated to the UK in the last 5-year period.
| Year | Number of Trained Nurses that moved from Nigeria to the UK | Annual Increase (Difference between the number of those who left this year and those who left the previous year) | % Annual Increase | Number of Nurses who left for the UK annually as a % of the total that left in the last 5-year period |
| March, 2018 | 2,796 | – | – | 13% |
| March, 2019 | 3,021 | 225 | 8% | 14% |
| March, 2020 | 3,684 | 663 | 22% | 17% |
| March, 2021 | 4,310 | 626 | 17% | 20% |
| March, 2022 | 7,256 | 2,946 | 68% | 34% |
| Total | 21,067 | – | – | 100% |
For as long as one can remember, the Nigerian healthcare sector has been plagued by many challenges. Chief among them is the scarcity of qualified workers to cater to its large population.
As at March 2020, Shakuri Kadiri, Deputy Director, Head of Human Resources, Federal Ministry of Health put the number of registered nurses at 180,709, which translates 88.1 nurses per 100,000 member of population nurses to Nigeria’s population, a ratio of 1: 1,135, according to Business Day report.
On registered midwives, he said there were 120,870, which means 58.9 midwives per 100,000 members of the population.
However, last year, the President of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Abdulrafiu Adeniji, lamented that there were only about 125,000 registered nurses servicing the health needs of the country’s over 200 million population.
He estimated then that the country would need at least 800,000 nurses to meet its healthcare needs. But, it seems this goal may not be attained soon, as data has revealed that nurses are leaving the country in their droves to other destinations, beyond the UK.
A further review of the data shows that the number of Nigerian nurses who emigrated to the UK between March 2021 to March 2022, and who were not trained in the European Union/European Economic Area are among the top 5.
The number of Nigerian trained nurses who left for the UK were the third-highest in the world and highest in Africa.
This mass relocation of trained nurses no doubt has enormous implications for the healthcare sector, which is already understaffed.
With the latest mass relocation of trained nurses in Nigeria to the UK, the nurse-patient ratio might become worse, leading to an overstretch of the already limited nursing workforce. This might push even more nurses to join their colleagues in a more favourable working environment, resulting in further losses to Nigeria.
To avert worsening the current health crisis in the country, the Nigerian government may need to address the factors responsible for the nurses leaving to the UK and others. News Source: dataphyte
While Kylian Mbappe is reportedly set to extend his contract with Paris Saint-Germain and turn down a move to Real Madrid, there are still a number of big players who are expected to be on the move this summer. From Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong, here is a look at the top five players who can change clubs in the 2022 summer transfer window.
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski reportedly has his heart set on a move to Barcelona this summer. The 33-year-old has been a prolific goalscorer for Bayern since joining the Bundesliga giants in 2014. He also played an instrumental role in helping the club win the Champions League in the 2019-20 season.
Lewandowski had recently said he has possibly played his final game for Bayern Munich. The Polish striker is likely to sign for Barcelona this summer, who have already agreed personal terms with him. “It’s very possible that this was my last game for Bayern. I cannot say that at 100%, but it may have been [my last game]. We want to find the best solution for me and for the club,” Lewandowski had said earlier.
The highly-rated Barcelona midfelder has been linked with a move to Manchester United. Frenkie de Jong is regarded one of the best midfielders in the world at present but hasn’t quite managed to make an impact for Barcelona since joining the club in 2019.
Though Barcelona manager Xavi has insisted he would like to keep De Jong at the club, the La Liga giants might have to sell him and cash in on him amid their financial struggles. Manchester United’s newly-appointed manager Erik Ten Haag is a huge admirer of the former Ajax star and views him as a key member for his revival project at United.
Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger is another top player who will be on the move this summer. The German center back has reportedly agreed a 4-year contract with Real Madrid and will join the La Liga giants at the end of the ongoing season. Rudiger played a huge role in Chelsea’s famous Champions League triumph in the year 2020-21.
Talented French midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni is on the radar of several top European clubs this summer. Liverpool were locked in a transfer battle with Real Madrid for his services. However, as per reports, Real have now pulled out leaving it upon Liverpool to pay the French star’s release clause and get him to Anfield this summer. Tchouameni currently plays for AS Monaco in the French league.
Manchester City are likely to move out Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus this summer after the arrival of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez at the club. Arsenal are the favourites to land Jesus and are reportedly set to launch a bid for him soon. Jesus had joined Man City in 2017 and has since won 3 Premier League titles with the club already.
(All Photograph:AFP)
By Tonnie Iredia
Several political aspirants seeking to become Nigeria’s president in 2023, along with many other citizens hold the view that all the country needs now is good leadership.
The strength of the argument is that a good leader with great visionary capacity is best positioned to show the nation, by personal example, the appropriate direction to sustainable development.
The limitation to the theory however, is that leadership is not an independent variable; it does not function on its own. It is instead subject to other variables such as followership, situations and circumstances. The contention is that good leadership is more likely to flourish with good followership.
Personal virtues alone may not be enough. As one analyst aptly put it the other day, the Pope cannot successfully lead a congregation of thieves. That is why it is said that a society deserves the leadership it gets.
Nigerian politicians should therefore tune down their claims of having a monopoly of the required capacity to lead Nigeria aright because an unclean environment can distort the acclaimed capacity of a clean leader.
They should talk less of their so-called qualifications and experiences and emphasize how they intend to use such credentials to overcome the myriad of factors which make their country unclean.
It was for this reason that this column last week, called for strong societal institutions and not just strong leaders. On account of the nature of the Nigerian society, many political leaders often generate several eloquent narratives supposedly for nation building when in reality they have very little motivation to go beyond the subsisting penchant for greed and nepotism that can only serve the self and its acquaintances.
When properly condensed, that inclination is common to many presidential aspirants. Otherwise, how come our expected Messiahs are always general and peripheral but hardly specific about the issues of the moment that are calling for action?
For over a decade, the issue of insecurity has hit the country hard making it perhaps the foremost item presidential aspirants should focus upon. Last week, insecurity in the form of mob action recurred on a large scale in at least 3 locations – Sokoto, Lagos and Abuja.
Those who had to deal with the trend were as expected Governors Tambuwal and Sanwo-Olu of Sokoto and Lagos respectively as well as Mohammed Bello, Minister of the Federal capital territory.
The best story teller would have very little to say about the reactions of our presidential aspirants. While an insignificant few made some tangential references to the subject, many went mute. Instructively, it was an opportunity for aspirants to leave in the hearts of compatriots, their commitment to an end to insecurity.
If the number one Muslim in the country, his eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto was able to condemn mob action on religious issues, political aspirants should have at least issued soothing statements to calm frayed nerves.
It would appear that having failed to say anything about the Sokoto episode, it became difficult to react to the bizarre killings by Okada riders in Lagos and Dei-Dei in Abuja which occurred sequentially at about the same time.
As a result, many aspirants missed the opportunity to transit to agents of national unity. Yet, they are suggesting daily that because the nation has never been this divided, one of their immediate objectives is to unify the country.
One can only hope that Nigeria is not headed to worse days if those whose mission is to unify the country fail to find their voice at the appropriate junction. Indeed, bearing in mind that some of the aspirants have accused the present administration of insufficient capacity to unify the country, how are we sure that the nation’s post 2023 era is likely to be better?
One thing that is certain is that events leading to 2023 are not in any way cleaner than those of previous general elections. First, there is saturated attention of stakeholders to the presidential election; its aspirants who are in search of becoming the flagbearers of their political parties are all over Nigeria overshadowing every other thing.
If such aspirants are everywhere visiting different opinion leaders especially traditional rulers while looking for the party ticket, what they would do when they become candidates for the election proper would be unimaginable.
Meanwhile, the presence of over 40 presidential aspirants who have for the same reason appeared now and again in Ekiti and Osun states whose governorship elections are a few weeks away has become confusing.
In addition, the environment in those states have been quite volatile. In Ekiti State for example, one of the leading governorship candidates, Segun Oni of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and his running mate have more than once cried out for help over assassination attempts allegedly by state actors.
At the same time, campaigns for party primaries have taken over governance throughout the country. Unfortunately, the preoccupation has been how to play one aspirant against the other. Reports of the old culture of conducting delegates elections while hoarding the official result-sheets have resurfaced.
The party officials are themselves unable to prepare their members for a clean contest as they have both eyes on what other parties are doing. This has resulted in hurried packaging of the requirements in the electoral act. In the circumstance, all political parties are on the same page, making passionate appeals to the electoral body to review the already published timetable to provide more room for concluding party arrangements which diligent handling could have dispensed with before now.
INEC deserves commendation for rejecting the request which could open the door for more demands to the detriment of credible elections. At the last count, the list of delegates of the parties have remained uncertain especially as last minute amendments made to the electoral act so close to the contests are still awaiting presidential assent.
The above scenario represents the unclean environment to which political parties are hoping to deliver clean office-holders. For such dirty environment not to overwhelm future leaders, we dare say so much has to be done.
First, Nigerian politicians need to learn to contribute to the progress of the nation irrespective of whatever party they belong to. Although it is not only presidential aspirants that should make such contributions, they happen to be the focus of this piece. Consequently, it would have been exciting if any of them had rescheduled his campaign train and returned to Kaduna to make substantive statements on insecurity and support Governor Nasir El Rufai who has of recent had several security challenges.
Apart from another attack a few days ago on the Abuja-Kaduna road, the governor has raised an alarm that insurgents had begun incursion into his state. Considering that where, when and how a statement is made can be strategic, any aspirant who seized such opportunity would have involuntarily but markedly projected himself as one who would not give insecurity a chance anywhere in the country if elected our next president.
The point to be made is that although Nigeria has many competent presidential aspirants, they need to know that it’s not everything they are harping on right now that Nigerians are anxious to hear.
I know for certain that many people would easily buy the idea that our next president must be ready to move the nation away from consumption to production. Nigerians must eat what they grow and grow what they eat. Such a campaign message is attractive as an obvious solution to a major challenge of the nation.
It is hoped that the media would assist the nation to place emphasis on such messages. It is also necessary to correct wrong narratives, a good example being the credit taken away from former Minister Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba. Whereas Nwajiuba unlike his colleagues resigned before the Presidential ultimatum to do so, Nigerians were erroneously made to believe that he was one of those directed to resign. Placing this story in the correct perspective would put on record that there are still some Nigerians who are honourable enough to quit when it is due.
