The Citizens Quest

Social media has been awash with news of Davido and model Ama Reginald dating each other. The news grew wings when the beautiful model took to her Instagram page to display her newly acquired Range Rover SUV which many claimed was made possible by the singer.

Although many respondents, both from Davido and Ama Reginald’s camps have debunked there is any romance going on between the duo, but happenings around them suggest otherwise.

“Does Ama hang out with David, yes! Has Ama f-cked Davido, no! Did David buy the Range Rover for Ama, NO. Of course if David bought that Range Rover we will give credit to him, what’s there to hide,” a friend of Ama Reginald was allegedly quoted as saying.

Also, a popular blogger called Gistlover had alleged that the OBO is sleeping with the model but not dating her. Whatever that means! How could you be sleeping with a woman without dating her and yet you still hang out with her sometimes?

Meanwhile, a video of Davido and his crew enjoying a boat ride with the model, having a swell time, once surfaced on social media.

Davido just doesn’t show up at events unless there is so much money to be made or the event is of huge importance to him. Yet he showed up at Ama Reginald’s 22^nd birthday in January.

Ama Reginald was the envy of every woman on St Valentine’s Day as her lover, a mystery man, who has been pulling some golden strings in her life, besotted her with Valentine’s gifts that got other women rocking with delight and envy.

The gifts, which the sensationally beautiful and sexy model displayed on her Instagram page consisted of a bouquet of flowers, diamond jewelry and N30M cash in both naira notes and dollars. It was mind-boggling and the model didn’t hide her ecstasy.

It does appear the mystery man has stepped out of the shadows!

Technology

GSM service providers plot 40% increase on voice calls, SMS, data

There are indications that telecommunications operators, telcos in the country are planning to jerk up voice calls and data tariffs by 40 percent.

Reliable sources from the operators who confirmed the plans to Vanguard said it was due to high cost of diesel to operate their businesses, incessant harassments and frivolous taxes and levies imposed on them by all manner of agencies from the three tiers of government.

The telcos, who spoke to Vanguard on the issue, said the development is being handled by their umbrella body, the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria, ALTON.

Vanguard reliably gathered that ALTON has already sent a letter to the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, seeking the upward review of tariffs by 40 percent.

Likely new rates

If approved, the services that will be affected include voice calls, short message services, SMS, and data services.

The telcos want the N6.4 per second current cost of voice calls jerked up to N8. 95 while short message services will move from N4. 00 to N5. 61.

ALTON’s letter to NCC highlighted a few operational issues which the regulator should consider to approve the request.

They include rising cost of business operation due to high cost of diesel, and other energy sources, recent introduction of excise duty of five per cent on telecom services, and increased burden of multiple taxes and levies on the industry.

The telcos say these increments jerk their operating expenses by over 35 per cent.

Letter to NCC

The letter sighted by Vanguard read in part: “As the commission may be aware, the power sector under the supervision of its Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, in November 2020 undertook a review of electricity tariffs to cater for the economic headwinds.

“In view of the foregoing, ALTON considers it expedient for the telecommunications sector to undergo periodic cost adjustments through the commission’s intervention to minimise the impact of the challenging economic issues faced by our members.

“Details are: Upward review of the price determination for voice and data and SMS.

“Given the state of the economy and the circa 40 per cent increase in the cost of doing business, we wish to request an interim administrative review of the mobile (voice) termination rate for voice; administrative data floor price, and cost of SMS as reflected in extant instruments.

‘To serve you we need be in business’

“With respect to voice and SMS cost, ALTON respectfully requests the commission to consider a mark-up approach to address the upward price adjustment desirable for the industry.”

A reliable source and senior official of ALTON, who also confirmed the letter, said: “Although we did not intend that this will be a media issue, I can confirm to you that we sent a letter to the NCC requesting upward review of tariffs.

“But this shouldn’t come to you as a surprise. We have always intimated that this is the only way to go, considering prevailing circumstances.

“Recall that while approaching the federal government to intervene on indiscriminate clamp down on our facilities, particularly the recent one in Kogi over frivolous taxes and levies by all manner of agencies, we did warn that we may be forced to increase tariffs.

“What has happened now is that as law-abiding citizens and responsible corporate entitities, we are going about it the appropriate, responsible and legal way.

“For us to serve you well, we must first of all be in business,” he added.

Money Market

Young people have no business not being in equities — CEO Anchoria Asset Management

Mutual funds represent investment opportunities often ignored or even misunderstood by retail investors. However, the sub-sector has been recording phenomenal growth in the last three years. For example, the sub-sector recorded 48 per cent growth in Net Asset Value to N1.494 trillion in 2020 from N1.006 trillion in 2019.

In this interview, Ete Ogun, CEO of Anchoria Asset Management, a subsidiary of VFD Group, a proprietary investment company, speaks about factors that will shape the sub-sector in 2021 as well as the need for investors to include equities in their investment portfolio.

QUOTE

I also know High Networth Institutions (HNIs) that do mutual funds. I mean in terms of the returns that we have there is no other way you could have made this sort of returns, so why won’t you be in them?

Data from the SEC indicate that the asset management sector had a great year in 2020. Net Asset Value rose to N1.494 at the end of 2020 from N1.006 trillion at the end of 2019, indicating 48% year-on-year growth.

Do you see the sector repeating or exceeding this performance in 2021?

Interestingly 2020 was a year of mixed emotions. It was good in some things and not in some things. If you say that mutual funds enjoyed increased returns on investment, you are not incorrect. But again it is sectorial. If you do the analysis of the sort of mutual funds, then you will be able to determine where those gains come from.

So to start the year, the money market fund was good, the fixed income fund was good, the equity fund was standard. And as the year progressed, they began to increase in returns. But as the year started to end, the money market fund began to dovetail while the fixed income and equity sectors did better. So it is a function of which funds you have.

Luckily for Anchoria, we have the three funds so we had mixed sentiments for the year. We had good performances in the fixed income fund and the equity fund which if you pair them together in terms of returns, you will get about 46% returns, which is not far from the average of 48% that you spoke about. So it is understandable to say it was a good year, but I will rather say it was a year with mixed reactions and emotions, and we are happy that we did not do too badly even though we believe we could have done better.

For the performance of the sector this year, I am an optimist. I always believe that in spite of everything you must always hope for the best, even if you try to plan for the worst.

But as long as people have jobs and businesses thrive, it is about targeting those people and getting them to invest. There will always be opportunities.

What I suspect will drive this year is a value that will be created in equities because of the low yield in the money market. So people should get more yields from equities, but will people come to equities considering that they still have apathy? It is like what I always tell my clients, young people have no business not being in equity. And when I say young people, I mean people below 50 years. They should always have an equity investment, it helps the return on their portfolio.

So I expect 2021 to be a recovery year but we should have some increase in returns in the equity market and if we position bonds well, based on where they seem to be going, things should also pan out. And then for foreign currency investment also, things should work well.

You said young people do not have a reason not to invest in equity funds. Why?

When I say, ‘had no reason not to be’, we will now have to determine ‘weighting’.

So while the person is 50 years, I will say to you because of your age, because of your circumstance, maybe you should be in equity 15 percent, but don’t be out of it totally. The younger person should be in equity funds maybe 60 or 70 percent because they are young. But as they grow older, that percentage should begin to drop. But what I mean is don’t go out of it totally.

So for instance, if somebody does an analysis of your portfolio, you will probably be at 20 percent of your entire, so when they talk about money you put in your business, the money you put aside, in equities, you will probably be at about 15 to 20 percent of your general portfolio. And that is not bad because, by the time you have done the analysis of the dividend that has accrued to you during that period, you begin to see that it has played a certain role. It is just that it is not as substantial so it doesn’t reflect. And if you calculate it over the years, it comes to something that is tangible.

So you believe that people should play more in equities?

I believe that you should not go out of any sector totally. You need to diversify your interest but also you will be mindful of your risk. Equity in particular protects the time value of your risk.

Again Nestle shares were once at N300, and then N1500. Imagine the delight for people who had the opportunity to buy it that five years ago and where they are today. Then talk of the bonuses that have accrued. GTBank shares, some people bought it at N5 and it has done well so far, you don’t just lock yourself out.

What do you consider the major economic factors that will influence the performance of the asset management sector this year?

Like I said, the yield in the money market space, then the investment outlets, and the volatility. Basically, if you can manage those then we should be fine.

Can you elaborate more on the issue of volatility?

When we look at money market rates in 2020, we closed somewhere at 13%, and then by the first quarter of 2020, we were somewhere at 11%. By the second quarter, we were down to 6% and then by the third quarter it was zero. That is really really volatile.

But it is the same thing that pushed the fixed income funds and the equity funds up. That is the double play of it. But those are the things that will happen.

For people who are in the market, it will encourage more people to put aside money if they see less volatility because it helps people plan.

Some analysts have predicted that the CBN will return to a tight monetary policy in the second half of this year.

Should this be a concern for the asset management sector and why?

While I can’t pre-empt what the CBN Governor and his economic team will do, I will then say, what are the opportunities despite what they do for us? So what I would then say is, with this tightening, improvement for FPIs, the OMOs, the question then is, if these FPIs come in, so they will go into OMO bills, but not all of them will go into OMO bills because all the other opportunities are vast.

So what are the opportunities for our sector? They are a lot, as long as you are coming in to invest. We can then create alternative investments around the structured investment, looking for value creation that is tied to all of this money.

So, more than ever, for us, it is to even say, we need to have an understanding of where these policies are headed, then we can create opportunities around them. This is against focusing on whether they are tightening it or not, it is what the opportunities are, that is our key focus.

Your company has three mutual funds, with a combined value of about N1.26 billion, which is less than one percent of the net asset value of the sector.

What are your growth projections for the three funds in 2021 and what opportunities do you intend to leverage to achieve this projection?

Yes, we do have three mutual funds and they have less than this market value.

The equity fund returned about 23 percent last year. In the money market fund, the average yield for us was about four percent. And our fixed-income fund did 22 per cent.

But look at when we came in. We came in 2019 when this monetary loosening started happening. And then COVID-19 came and threw everybody off guard. It was not a good time and we threw away whatever strategic plan we had. Now that the world is recovering, the plan is to compete based on returns and then push our brand name out there. Once we can do that, we should be set for growth. So we can then engage more people across the geographical zones based on those achievements, and we hope that that will in turn push the fund and grow it better.

What is your target market in terms of customers?

We serve everybody. We have a product for everybody.

Including the masses?

There is nobody who is a mass. Every ten kobo counts. You are an important person, your money is important. How can you say the N50,000 I have worked for is not important because somebody has N1 million?

Yes, there is a select crowd for each product but there is a place for everyone, which is in line with our goals, to make wealth accessible to everyone. That is our mission statement, to make wealth accessible to everyone.

So based on the product, we determine where you fit. But we want to cater to as many people as possible. While we are specialists in investment, we are specialists in investment across different strata of society. So for the retail people, you will say the mutual funds. But I also know High Networth Institutions (HNIs) that do mutual funds. I mean in terms of the returns that we have there is no other way you could have made this sort of returns, so why won’t you be in them? And we also have structured products for savvy investors who understand it, so really we are open to everyone for business.

Kaduna 2023: How Uba Sani emerged choice of El-Rufai’s core team

APC members and political cycles in Kaduna are still weighing the emergence of Senator
Uba Sani as the gubernatorial aspirant that the supporters of incumbent Governor Nasir El-Rufai will back in the primaries. Preliminary feelers are that the development has given supporters of the governor direction which some APC members in the state say has strengthened their base.

Persuasion, opinion polls, regular meetings and assessments were said to have all played a role in shaping the decision that has favoured Uba Sani.

On the procedures adopted before the group settled for Sani, a stakeholder said of the governor:”He showed us again that he is a leader that values consultation, allowing divergent opinions to be expressed and skilfully guiding stakeholders to a collective decision.

“El-Rufai is a leader guided by science, data and logic. This allows him to see beyond the emotions that cloud human relations and keep everyone focused on the goal, rather than unhelpful distractions.”

Kaduna APC sources disclosed that there were pressures by some of the aspirants to make their interest public much earlier in the year. But the aspirants deferred to El-Rufai’s counsel that it was more urgent to first safeguard the corporate health and viability of the APC through a national convention before focusing on aspirations that could only be realised through a strong and united party. El-Rufai also admonished the team to prioritise securing a consensus among the aspirants for primaries.

After the successful conclusion of the APC national convention, the Kaduna governorship aspirants revved up their engine. Senator Uba Sani and Muhammad Sani Abdullahi (Dattijo) publicly declared their interest in the job at about the same time, a development that created some confusion since they are regarded as members of the El-Rufai team.

Shortly after, it also became known that the Deputy Governor Dr. Hadiza Balarabe was consulting several key groups about the race. This led to expressions of serious concerns that having three aspirants for governorship from the El-Rufai team would divide party members and invite uncertainty about the outcome of the primaries.

The sense of anxiety was said to have increased considerably as the viciousness the supporters of Uba and Dattijo launched against each other alarmed many party leaders, especially as each aspirant was saying that they had secured El-Rufai’s endorsement to run.

Checks with informed sources in Kaduna confirmed that El-Rufai, senior party leaders and stakeholders were aware of this growing apprehension among APC members and had reminded all aspirants to educate their supporters that this was a democratic process within members of the same team..

“El-Rufai was holding regular meetings with key personalities to reinforce the sense of team cohesion above the emerging ambitions,” a knowledgeable source disclosed.

Sources confirmed that while some of the aspirants were busy building alignments, El-Rufai had also commissioned series of opinion polls to gauge public perceptions of the likely aspirants. The three in-house aspirants had strong credentials and it was considered important to track them on several issues and against other likely aspirants to test their public acceptability.

Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, the first elected female Deputy Governor in the state, had acted as Governor on several occasions and is seen as capable. A consultant in public health, she had led the state’s strong response to Covid-19 and enjoyed unique status as a powerful Number 2 to El-Rufai. On his part, Uba Sani had impressed as an effective and influential first term senator who had gotten two bills passed and signed by the President.

He was political adviser to El-Rufai prior to becoming a senator, and had used his influence to secure funding for the construction of Faculty of Engineering at the permanent site of KASU, among others. Dattijo, the youngest of the three, is an international development expert who served twice as budget commissioner and was El-Rufai’s chief of staff. He is bright and hardworking.

The polls showed that these three aspirants were well regarded, but Uba was consistently the strongest of the aspirants in the rankings. El-Rufai is said to have given Uba the nod to declare after the first set of polls showed that he was most popular within the party and the electorate. El-Rufai is known to commission opinion polls regularly, right from when the APC merger was concluded and throughout his first and second-terms as governor.

Some APC stakeholders did not take the claim of endorsement made by the aspirants at face value. According to a member of the House of Representatives, when they sought clarification from El-Rufai on the matter, he confirmed having no reservations about Senator Uba Sani declaring and encouraging the Deputy Governor to engage in consultations.

He also acknowledged that Dattijo had told him he was joining the race. The federal legislator said that this disclosure further swung momentum to Uba Sani’s way, helped by the fact that the Dr. Hadiza Balarabe did not make a formal declaration of interest after the series of consultations she did.

The latest meeting of the El-Rufai core team was held on Wednesday, 4 May 2022. The major outcome was settling for Uba Sani as the team’s consensus aspirant. His record in the Senate, his experience as a presidential aide in the Obasanjo years and service as a political adviser and senior member of the Kaduna team all helped to swing influential figures behind his aspiration.

As an insider noted, “when El-Rufai made his choice, it was another masterstroke of consultative but bold leadership. Just as he had carried all stakeholders along in the ward, local government and state congresses of 2021, he led the team to a clear choice. He also created a path for Dattijo to continue his political career at the national level.”

Senator Suleiman Abdu Kwari has also been endorsed to retain his seat as the senator representing Kaduna North Senatorial District.

Relieved APC members in Kaduna State now have a clear direction as they await the primaries. Rather than the bickering among supporters, they are now touting the strengths of the members of the team that are pencilled to contest offices.

Party members are now drawing attention to Uba Sani’s contributions in the Senate where he has been ranked as number one over the last three years for bills presented and passed into law. He got the revised Banking and Other Financial Institutions Act passed.

He has earned a reputation as a reformist, proposing bills to create state police and state judicial councils, apart from the landmark laws passed At the Senate, Uba Sani and Kwari have demonstrated loyalty to the governance objectives of the Kaduna State Government.

While declaring his aspiration, Uba said that as governor, he would consolidate on the achievements of the El-Rufai government. It is now his job to persuade the Kaduna APC to give him the ticket at the primaries.

Politics Top Stories

2023: Let’s see who wins, Tinubu challenges opponents, endorses Sanwo-Olu for 2nd term

National leader of the All Progressives Congress and presidential aspirant in 2023 election, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has thrown a poser to his opponents, daring them to try and see who wins the party’s ticket and the election proper. He also observed that the reward system in APC was poor, promising to change the system if elected president next year.

Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State who spoke Thursday evening in Abuja when he hosted the Forum of Former Deputy Governors of Nigeria (FFDGN) also said he would address the economic and security challenges if given the opportunity.

He appealed to the forum to support his presidential ambition and also ensure the unity of the party in their various states to achieve success, starting with Osun and Ekiti elections.

Said he: “Many of you I know, and you have participated in governance and political activities. You have given a value to your various states. When we merged as one and took broom as the symbol of party, broom has a lot of meaning. Let me first of all address our element of constitution, I promise to look into that if elected. Our reward system as APC is very poor, and it was late before I could recognise that. Let me assure you, I won’t repeat that mistake, if I’m elected.

“I know that you still have people who believe in you, in the system. In some states where we have divisions, please, tell us, we have to harmonise and become one. Particularly, Oyo is divided, Osun and Ekiti elections are coming, these elections are precursors to the national election. But for those who have decided to be an opponent, I will not dwell on that, let’s see who wins. But I want to win and I want you to work with me and to convince more delegates,” Tinubu added.

Earlier in his remarks, the national chairman of the forum and former deputy governor of Edo State, Lucky Imasuen pledged the support of APC deputy governors to the presidential ambition of the national leader.

“You can tell from the attendance that the level of enthusiasm was extremely high, when we have a political meeting of this nature, APC members will attend APC meeting and PDP members will attend PDP meetings, same to other political parties, but when we hold meeting, we hold meetings together as one family. We came here to listen to you, we are going to talk less and listen to our leader,” he said
.
Endorses Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat for 2nd term
Meanwhile, Tinubu has endorsed Governor Bababjide Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Dr Femi Hamzat for second term. He gave his approval during a stakeholders’ meeting with APC chieftains and all 2023 polls aspirants in Lagos where he raised the hands of Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat in practical endorsement of the duo for second term ticket in 2023 poll.

The development became necessary to douse the tension created following reports of plan by the power bloc and Governance Advisory Council, GAC of the party to drop Hamzat as deputy and replace him with the present Secretary to the State Government SSG, Folashade Jaji.

The stakeholders’ meeting was convened by Chairman, APC Lagos chapter, Cornelius Ojelabi, on the need to harmonise interests towards the party’s forthcoming primaries and ensure a rancour free exercise.

DELTA 2023: Citizens weigh in on Okowa, Ibori power play

NATIONAL Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, who visited Delta State, last weekend, issued a caveat on the strategic maneuver by two differing power blocs in the state to call the shots in the party.

His words: “Let me counsel that it is normal to have family disagreements within a political party, but whatever the disagreements we may have, let us ensure that it remains a family disagreement. Nothing whatsoever should be done to damage the unity of purpose which has brought about this great development and our winning streak.”

As national chairman of the party, Ayu is believed not only to be familiar with the nitty-gritty which is who determines the party’s 2023 governorship standard-bearer, touching base with the governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, aka Ekwueme gburugburu and former governor, Chief James Ibori, aka Odidigboribo.

Notwithstanding his counsel, it seems improbable that Okowa will genuflect to Ibori on his successor.

Opinions differ on the issue that is not exclusively a PDP affair as the masses and members of other political parties are deeply interested in how the governing party handles the affair given its dominant role in the ruler ship of the state since 1999.

Ibori has sacrificed for PDP — Unagha, Urhobo leader

An ex-PDP stalwart, now an All Progressives Congress, APC, chieftain and Secretary, Urhobo Leaders of Thought, Alhaji Mumakai Unagha, said: “Let me not believe the rumor making wave that Ibori and Okowa are at loggerheads. If it is true, it will be too bad, a bad signal to PDP in the state.”

“In any case, Okowa does not have any reason to do so, because Ibori has made so much sacrifice for the party while his follower, Okowa, is a beneficiary of Chief Ibori’s administration. If Chief Ibori seeks for favor to produce the governor, to me that is not too much for Okowa, except the governor wants PDP to loose Delta state.”

“Ibori’s wealth is today being seized not for the offence he committed alone, but by all his aides. The earlier Chief Ibori and Senator Okowa put their house in order, the better for the party, otherwise, APC will stroll into Government House, Asaba, undisturbed in 2023,” the Urhobo leader foreshadowed.

Odidigborigbo deserves respect —Keme, Ogbe-Ijaw leader

Chief Monday Keme, an Ogbe-Ijoh leader and supporter of Ibori favorite governorship aspirant, Olorogun David Edevbie, asserted: “I know certainly that Chief Ibori and Senator Okowa will meet to resolve the choice of governorship candidate for Delta state very close to the primaries and Sheriff Oborevwori’s camp is aware that the outcome certainly will not favor them, hence the media endorsement.”

“Senator Okowa must accord Chief Ibori some respect because it is Delta Central affair. As a sitting governor, if he consults, he will know which aspirant from Delta Central has acceptability across the senatorial districts.

“Chief Ibori I know would have engaged Senator Okowa, but Okowa keep saying that he knew nothing about Sheriff Oborevwori endorsement, but we know that the governor has a hand in the endorsement as evidenced in the number of persons on his appointment list,” he asserted.

Okowa qualified to pick his successor — Group

However, Deltans Life Matters, DLM, a pan Delta pressure group, Tuesday, contended Senator Okowa has a key role in deciding PDP governorship standard-bearer.

Global Coordinator of the group, Christian Abeh and two others said: “The question is no longer about Governor Okowa making the choice of his successor, as that is certain. Obviously, he has a major role to play in determining the next gubernatorial candidate of the ruling party in the state, PDP”.

”Making a choice of his successor does not suggest imposition of candidate as some may think. It is part of the people’s expectation and mandate committed into the hands of the governor to chart a course on who takes over his seat, come 2023, having led the state satisfactorily for two terms.

”Majority of the three senatorial zones which the governorship seat rotates have agreed that Delta Central should produce the next governor of the state in 2023. This situation has filtered the aspirations of those who wish to run for the number one seat of the state to three persons that the governor can choose from,” the group added.

Support Okowa to repel daring cabal — Atanevu, analyst

A USA-based social critic/public analyst, Prince Okiemute Atanevu, in a social media post, posited that with 2023 fast approaching, Deltans had collectively resolved never to allow the bunch of unscrupulous individuals, who pillaged the state in the past to stage a comeback to plunder the state treasury again.

“ Never again will we be so timorous as to allow those that mean us harm foist a governor on Delta state, therefore, it is imperative that we collectively resist all shenanigans by those who hell bent to produce men of questionable characters as the next governor of the state.

“As such, it is expedient that Deltans must totally support the incumbent governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa in his resolve to resist this dangerous cabal so intent in imposing their obnoxious wishes and invidious political template on Delta state.

Storm over Oborevwori

The buzz, last weekend, from Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, where all the PDP governorship aspirants from the South-South zone went for screening was that the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, believed to be the preferred aspirant of the governor was not cleared for the May 23 governorship primaries.

In fact, while the media aides and supporters of other governorship aspirants took over the social media to parade the clearance certificates of their principals, a noticeably fictitious clearance certificate portraying Oborevwori as having incongruities with his names was posted by cynics.

Informants also went to town with unsubstantiated report that the governor, Okowa, regretted his purported choice of Oborevwori at a meeting with some selected persons last Saturday night in Asaba.

However, the point by his faultfinders that the name Rt. Hon Oborevwori Francis Orohwedor Sheriff which the Speaker allegedly identified himself in INEC form CF 001 submitted to the party and INEC is at variance with the name he submitted when he contested for a seat in the House of Assembly, actually raises cause for concern.

More so, the complainers mentioned the case of a one-time governor-elect of Bayelsa state, David Lyon of All Progressives Congress APC, who lost his victory because the Supreme Court found that the name of the then deputy governor- elect, Degi- Eremienyo, contained in his INEC form CF 001 had no bearing with Degi Biobara in his Primary School Certificate; Adegi Biobarakumo in his Secondary School Certificate; and Degi Biobarakuma Wanagha that he bore in the University.

But Oborevwori, who had intentionally kept his sworn affidavits and newspaper publication on change of name, over the years, at a thanksgiving service, last Sunday, testified: “Last Thursday was the screening of South-South governorship aspirants in Port Harcourt, and I was screened, the first aspirant from Delta to receive provisional clearance certificate. I did not see the urgent need to release it to the public.”

“Suddenly, fake news started flying on social media platforms that I was neither screened nor issued PDP provisional clearance certificate. My detractors did not stop there. They took additional steps by criminally forging several PDP provisional clearance certificates and shared same widely on social media platforms with the evil intention of denting my hard earned reputation and integrity. It was that bad and shameful.

“This morning before coming to Church, I had to release my authentic PDP provisional clearance certificate to the ‘Sheriffied’ media team, and it was published and shared widely on social media platforms to shame my political detractors,” he explained

South-West‘ll produce next president, we‘re united — Akande

Pioneer Interim National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and former governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande has said that the southwest geo-political zone of the country would produce the next president saying the region was united.

Chief Akande who stated this at the end of a crucial South-West APC Elders meeting with presidential, gubernatorial and National Assembly aspirants from the zone said, “the South West is united for the presidency to come to the south-west in the next general polls.” He explained that the stakeholders had a fruitful, mutual deliberation. The meeting, held at Lagos House, Marina behind closed doors, lasted for over two hours.

According to Akande, “We are united as we will ensure that the presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will come to South-West in 2023. We had a fruitful, mutual discussion.”

According to an inside source, “the issue of betrayal was put to rest as the elders affirmed that everyone who desires to run for any political office whatsoever is not encumbered in any way at all.” The leaders and the aspirants all agreed to conduct a rancour-free campaign.

The meeting also resolved that name-calling and other personal attacks should no longer be encouraged by aspirants and their supporters.

While commending the Vice President, being the highest-ranking public officer from South West extraction for a job well done, inside sources disclosed that the APC elders stated categorically that all the aspirants had the right to aspire to be President. But, they enjoined all aspirants to exhibit the ‘Omoluabi’ ethos in their politicking by shunning divisive rhetorics.

While stating that consultations with them would be a continuous exercise, the meeting admonished the aspirants to queue behind whoever amongst them that eventually emerges as the party’s candidate, stating that the cohesion of the South West must be sacrosanct.

The meeting had been convened by the first Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande and a former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Segun Osoba, both of whom served as Co-Conveners.

Present at the meeting were the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, former Lagos State Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi and Lagos State Governor, Bababjide Sanwo-Olu, who is the host

Also at the meeting, apart from the aspirants were the former Governor of Lagos State and Works and Housing Minister Mr Babatunde Fashola, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief Niyi Adebayo, Governors Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo state, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State and Governor Oyetola of Osun State. Others included former Osun State Governor and Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola and the APC National Secretary Otunba Iyiola Omisore.

Aregbesola, who arrived in Osinbajo’s convoy at about 6.45 pm, was the first person to storm out of the meeting. Tinubu, after the meeting, also stayed back to have a light dinner with some caucus members of his campaign team.

2023 Presidency: PDP must present strong candidate who can rebuild Nigeria, says Olisa Metuh

Chief Olisa Metuh, a former national spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has made a call that the party must present a strong and sellable presidential candidate if the party must return to power in 2023.

The PDP chieftain who made the call when he appeared on Arise TV on Saturday morning noted that not only are Nigerians yearning for the return of PDP, but PDP represents the mind of Nigerians.

“We have the issue of zoning, where the candidate must come from, but for me, the presidency of Nigeria must be on the level of experience, somebody with the right temperament, someone who is acceptable to all sections of this country, all regions in Nigerian. someone who will bring us back to at least where we were as of 2015. not necessarily where the person comes from,” the former scribe said.

“If you must talk about where the person comes from, equity demands that it should go to the southeast. And south-east has 3 of the best aspirant in the PDP. Wherever i go, Nigerians are saying Peter Obi and I believe he can take us to great heights.

“Governance is not about your own capability, the people need a symbol and make their sacrifices, Peter Obi has that symbol but delegates’ election is different.

Mr Metuh who is also a lawyer said the country is grossly divided now over the issue of zoning because of the failure of President Buhari.

“Where we are right now, is not an issue is not where you come from, but the best candidate to win the election for the PDP. Peter Obi is one of the symbols that can win elections for us but we have others who can equally win the election for us as well. In the absence of a national consensus, we have to bring the best who can get us to vote across the country, we have Atiku, and we have Tambuwal who has done well as a governor and chairman of the PDP governors forum.

“We need a unifier, someone who has contacts across the nation, the right temperament and knows that he needs to be a team player and have just two candidates who fit into this role but I won’t reveal their names yet. The Delegates know if we must win the election, then they are just two persons. One is Peter Obi and the second one is from the North. I will come back in a week or two to reveal that person.”

Speaking on the political solution for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of IPOB, Mr Metuh said only a political solution for the release of Nnamdi Kanu can save the South East from becoming another North-East.

“If the government had made a categorical statement before now, we won’t be where we are now especially when we had the issue of herdsmen and others. Now to the issue of Nnamdi Kanu, if we believe the way we handled the issue of Boko Haram was a mistake, then we should change tactics and not repeat the same mistake with Nnamdi Kanu.

“Nnamdi Kanu is not just Nmadi Kanu, he is a movement in the south-east but some miscreant has taken the opportunity of that to inflict hardship on Nigerians in the south-east and introduce mafia-like life as it happened in Italy.

“We need to dialogue with Nnamdi Kanu not as a person but because of the millions of people he controls and the President should have a rethink and have a political solution. A legal solution can take 5 to 10 years to finish a case and do we keep having to sit at home? No. So at least for now, let the president sit down with Nmadi Kanu and have a political solution, any other thing is a dismissal of the problems we are facing right now.”

Costa Rica 2022: Falconets to face France, Canada and Korea Republic

Nigeria will play France, Canada and the Korea Republic in Group C of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica in the month of August, following Thursday’s draw that was held at the Teatro Nacional in San José, capital of the Central American nation.

Cup holders Spain will tango with hosts Costa Rica, Australia and Brazil in Group A of the competition slated for 10th – 28th August, while Africa’s other flagbearers Ghana are up against Japan, The Netherlands and three-time champions United States of America in Group D.

Germany, who have also won the competition three times, including 2010 and 2014 when they beat Nigeria in the final, will play Colombia, New Zealand and Mexico in Group B. Mexico was runners-up at the last competition in Uruguay in 2018.

All group phase and quarter-final matches will be played at the Alejandro Morera Soto, which is a hybrid of natural and synthetic grass, called stitched grass. The semi-final, final and third-place matches will take place at the Estadio Nacional.

The draw ceremony at the Teatro Nacional in San José was witnessed by the Head Coach of Nigeria’s U20 girls, Christopher Danjuma and the Team Secretary, Patricia Osuji.

Nigeria’s first match of the competition will be against France, which hosted the 2018 edition. At the 2014 championship in Canada, Nigeria topped a group involving the Korea Republic, beating the Koreans 2-1 in a group phase match. France finished in third place in the same competition as Nigeria finished as runners-up.

I wasn’t brought to Manchester City to win Champions League, says Guardiola

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City have already achieved their aims by being contenders in every competition, insisting he was not brought to the Etihad Stadium to win the UEFA Champions League.

Manchester City’s wait for European football’s top club prize will go on after they lost 6-5 on aggregate to Real Madrid on Wednesday following an incredible semi-final collapse.

But in a lengthy response to a question about his players’ chances of ever winning the competition ahead of Sunday’s Premier League game against Newcastle United, Guardiola had much to say.

He explained how the club view success differently from “the people” on the outside.

“I don’t know [if this team can win it],” he said. “It’s a question I cannot answer. Before Madrid, I did not know if we were able to win it.

“I don’t have an answer to all your questions. Football is incredibly unpredictable –— we saw it.

“This is my feeling, maybe I’m wrong: Abu Dhabi didn’t buy this club and invest in these incredible facilities, invest in players, like a lot of other clubs in the world, to be what we lived the last years.

“It’s not to win just the UEFA Champions League. They did it to be there in all competitions, in every season, compete, compete, compete until the end.

“We will try again next season. It will be difficult because the teams are good. I know the people want to be in that way, I accept it from day one, I have to handle it, but it’s not a problem for me.”

Guardiola insisted he “cannot live” for European glory alone –— and suggested Manchester City would be criticised even if they did win the UEFA Champions League.

Asked if the defeat gave him added hunger, he replied: “No, always I am starving.

“I know the people outside here demand Champions League, Champions League, Champions League, we know it, but I cannot live [just for that].

“The moment we win the Champions League, they’ll say look at the money we spent. If not, they spent all that money and didn’t win the Champions League. We are the only club in the world in the last 10, 15, 20 years who spent money.”

The military in Nigerian sports – an unhealthy ‘divorce’

The Citizens Quest at May 07, 2022 1

History is a very important subject.

A people that wants to make rapid progress in development must take useful lessons from the pages of their history, using previous experiences as a compass into the labyrinthian complexities of uncharted territory that the future is.

Nigerian sport is replete with the stories and contributions of individuals and institutions. One of the greatest contributors to sports development is the military (and, by extension, para-military establishments). As a disciplined force, the military provided the cutting edge as well as ready platforms needed for optimum physical and mental development of athletes. They had the institutions in place that became excellent breeding grounds for athletes across most sports in Nigeria, from even before Independence in 1960.

Of course, producing athletes was not part of their primary mandates, but by the coincidence of responsibilities with sports associations, to train and breed physically fit young men and women, a mutually beneficial convergence of intentions between them developed.

The situation was harnessed by eagle-eyed sports associations to compliment their own primary responsibility of organising programmes and competitions for their members. They interested the military institutions to register and participate in regional and national competitions.

That’s how the Military set up sports clubs within their formations around the country that registered with State and national associations to participate in their programmes and competitions – Tigers of Benin, Super Two in Ibadan, The Scorpions in Jos, Dodan Warriors in Lagos, Lagos Garrison Organisation FC, Police Machine, etc. These clubs across various sports became household names and bona fide members of the sports associations, churning out a steady stream of stars and sports heroes: Jaiye Ajiboye, Sam Igun, David Ejoke, Taiwo Ogunjobi, Ifeajuna, Davidson Andeh, Obisa Nwakpa, Nojeem Maiyegun, Joe Lasisi, Kenneth Olayombo, Sunny Oyarekhua, Samuel Ojebode, Kadiri Ikhana, Inua Lawal Rigogo, Joseph Agbogbovia, Rufus Ejele, Sunday Bada, Chioma Ajunwa, Waziri Ibrahim, and many more.

The Military formations had the advantage of their inherent institutionalised discipline and steady funding from the Federal Government of Nigeria to build first-class sports infrastructure and facilities, with highest-level capacity building programmes for all their personnel involved in physical training and sports development.

National sports associations were the biggest beneficiaries.

It was a glorious relationship because the military provided what most sports associations could not, for proper training of athletes for national competitions.

When the military took over governance in the country, the relationship became even closer, and roles and responsibilities morphed and became unitary. Military personnel became more directly involved in the administration of associations and started to lead several of them by fiat, and often, also, by the merit of the scale of their contributions to the running of domestic sport.

With the return to democratic civilian dispensation in the late 1990s, the influence of the military started to wane as they retired more and more into their barracks and seclusive military interests, leaving a vacuum in the relationship that blunted the very important roles the military can continue to play in national sports development even in a civilian dispensation.

Without serious involvement any more, the facilities and personnel that once fueled sports development for over 3 decades gradually disappeared from the prevailing structures and the whole of sport was the worse for it.

Today, the military clubs, the facilities the military put at the disposition of national associations, and their highly trained personnel have left the sports space and their presence as part of various sports associations has reduced to a trickle. Only one military sports official heads a sports association out of the over 30 in the country.

The result is a big hole in sports development.

I am a member of a group looking at re-structuring Nigerian sports for better and faster development. It is shocking that conversations about the relevance of the military, as a constituency took place. The Military? They are a master key to sports development in Nigeria. They must have almost permanent representation on the boards of all national associations. How to make that happen is now the challenge, not if.

The reality is that for as long as Military formations continue to register their clubs in various sports to participate in the competitions and programmes of associations, they will remain bone fide members of those associations, and should have all the rights and privileges that other members have, including the right to contest for leadership positions on the boards of the association.

With the reduction in their participation in national competitions, there is confusion whether to admit the military as a special constituency, and accord them special status as has been ‘illegally’ done for State Sports Associations, SWAN, the Players Union (surprised?), League Management Company, etc. Or to recognise them to the extent of their participation in the sports leagues to which their Military clubs are registered and participate.

A special status consideration is an unwanted development that has afflicted the constitutions of sports associations and is the reason for all the unending crisis in Nigerian sports – badly ‘mutilated’ articles on elections into the boards to accommodate non-members into the Elective Congresses.

That is another matter entirely beyond this article.

Not finding a happy medium for the relationship with the military has resulted in the diminishing of their participation in sports development. With less public followership of their own programmes, the military has reduced its interest in developing athletes for the country, and limits most of its programmes to lack-lustre military competitions only.

In Nigeria’s sports history, the military and para-military institutions were big contributors. They had the training, capacity, discipline and structures that churned out the best of athletes in most sports.

Somehow, going forward, the country must go back to the past, to find the way to re-integrate military and paramilitary establishments fully into the main stream of national sports development, so that both constituencies benefit from the relationship.

Some of Nigeria’s finest and most successful sports administrators were the product of a carefully cultivated relationship between the military and civil society for over 4 decades. A short list: General Henry Adefope, General Samuel Ogbemudia, Vice-Admiral Jubril Ayinla, General Sani Kontagora, General Joseph Garba, General Shehu Musa Yar Adua, Air Commodore Emeka Omeruah, Colonel Abdulmumuni Aminu, Air Commodore Anthony Ikhazaboh, General Dominic Oneya, General David Jemibewon, and so on.

The military and para-military leadership must wake up and take sports more seriously than they have been doing in the past two decades. They should re-integrate their formations with the programmes of State and national sports bodies. Not having them actively involved is the squandering of a most useful ‘resource’ in Nigerian sports development.

Any sports reforms must include a careful re-absorption of this crucial demography into a new sports development architecture. Nigerian sports must return to forgotten or neglected pages in Nigeria’s sports history, dust them up, learn from them, and chart a new path into a great future in sports, once again.

Remo Stars structure: A template for football development

In a country that prides itself as a capitalist state, but where the government owns almost everything in the public space, including, of course, sports facilities, there are still exceptions. Although there have been calls by a few individuals that sports should be left in private hands with government providing the enabling environment for sports to thrive, the majority of Nigerians still believe there cannot be sports without government involvement, especially funding. Yet, despite the millions of naira sunk into the maintenance of sports facilities across the country, most of them are in very dilapidated state.

Not wanting to let their passion die because of the rot and stagnation in the development of facilities, some individuals have taken to putting their money where their passion lies.

In the outskirts of the quiet town of Ikenne in Ogun State, has sprung a state-of-the-art facility, the Remo Football Academy. It is owned by Kunle Soname, proprietor of Remo Stars Football Club. The club which competes in the Nigerian Professional Football League is one of the surprises of the ongoing 2021/22 football season. This is the club’s first season in the topflight after gaining promotion at the end of last season.

The club is run like any other modern football club anywhere in the world.

They have an academy which feeds the main club with fresh legs. Beside the main turf where matches are played, they have several acres of land that accommodate four other standard pitches.

To cap it all, the academy has a standard hotel within the complex. Other facilities include a clinic, a gym, tennis and basketball courts with several hostels where the young academy players stay and feed for free. It is tuition free as well.

On a recent visit to the academy in Ikenne, we spoke with Soname who expressed delight in what he was doing.

“For me, whenever there is a will, there must be a way.” He said, “I do this strictly because of my passion for football. Whenever there is passion you put everything into it.”

He said because of his love for his young academy players, he moved back to Ikenne in order to keep a close eye on them. “I enjoy seeing little kids play. For me, it is a great pleasure to watch them play. Throughout the week, I watch U12, U13, U14, U15 play and I see them growing. That is what gives me joy”.

He wouldn’t be dragged into the politics of Nigerian football, saying, “it is only in places like this that the NFF is more glamorous than the league itself. We have made being in the Football Association a big deal. What we need to address is the league itself, the NPFL. Once we get it right, every other thing will fall in place. Until we settle the issue of structured football in Nigeria – like the NPFL, the NNL, indeed all the leagues, that is when we can make a headway.

Yes we have been recording some successes but it has been sporadic. Today we succeed, tomorrow we fail. For us to achieve sustained success, every tier of the league has to be very strong. Today we go abroad in search of talents. Yes we get them to come and play for us but it can never be the same as those of us who live here. Even if I play abroad, when the season ends I will come back here and people will shout at me or mock me. We need to have places like this(the academy) so that people here can be better trained. It is the only way.”

Soname said he felt disappointed that Nigeria couldn’t qualify for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup but added, “On a second thought, I think it is good for Nigerian football. It is a wake up call, a time for us to take a step backward and think properly about how to restructure this whole thing. Like I said earlier, it must start from the league.”

Soname’s football haven will not be allowed to rot like government facilities as he said, “this is a private enterprise and we will expect it to be well maintained. We have a structure in place to ensure it remains in top condition.”

On Remo Stars FC, the flagship of his entire project, Soname said he was not disappointed that his club that recorded an 11 match unbeaten run at the beginning of the season suddenly found themselves 3rd in the NPFL table.

“This is our third attempt in the topflight. The first attempt, we came up and got relegated immediately, the second attempt the same experience. So our objective this year is clear: we must not be relegated. Even if the season ends and we are in the 15th position, we will go to church and thank God that we survived the drop. What we want now is to maintain our status. The problem with Nigerians is that we don’t consolidate before we start looking forward. We have just returned to the Premier League and you expect us to be number one?”

As impressed as we were with the facilities, the only minus we found remains the fact that all the pitches, although lush green, are all synthetic pitches. It is our hope that one day, the management would think in the direction of dismantling all the artificial pitches for natural grass, which offers the best turf for playing and mastering good football.

Eagles failure:Let’s stop the drift—Ex-internationals rally for change in NFF

There are strong indications that the forthcoming elections into the Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation will not be business as usual.

And should the wishes of genuinely concerned Nigerians come to pass, the elections are bound to usher in a fresh start to all we have known, for almost a decade now, about Nigerian football.

This assertion stems from facts on ground particularly the general show of concern by Nigerians, especially former Nigeria internationals who have come up to acknowledge the downward slide of Nigeria’s football and openly condemn the status quo, calling for reforms.

Last weekend, we published the views of Jonathan Akpoborie, a former international who called for the total repositioning of Nigeria football through the dismantling of existing structure that has its survival in the current statutes that govern the local game. It was his opinion that nothing meaningful can be achieved without rewriting the NFF Statutes. He called for unity among ex-internationals in the bid to wrestle the reins of Nigerian football from “those who know nothing about football.”

It appears Akpoborie’s appeal is beginning to yield results, as the election which has been fixed for September, 2022 draws closer.

In their statement, signed by Francis Moniedafe(chairman) and Charles Okoye as secretary General, the group which goes by the name Nigeria Ex-Footballers Association lamented the state of football in the country and cried for change. The association was formed about six years ago with the primary aim of assisting indigent colleagues in times of need. For sometime now the group has been making silent donations to members who needed help. Piloted by Francis Onome Moniedafe, Charles Okoye, Chief Femi Olukanmi, the Nigeria Ex-Footballers Association, NE-FA, has other notable names like Paul Okoku, Charles Okoye, Godwin Odiye, Godwin Iwelomu, Ikechukwu Ifoje, Totty O Totty, Emeka Nsuk, Patrick Olalere, among others in their fold.

In what they termed as their “initial response to the issues affecting our football back home,” the NE-FA said, “we write with pains in our fingers, anger in our hearts and our minds full of disgust.”

The group noted, with resignation, how the country’s football development has stagnated since the advent of the current board of the Nigeria Football Federation. Restating their relevance in the scheme of Nigeria football, the group described ideas of the current board as “conditioned by a warped sense of neo-colonization” which has “captured and gripped our football and asphyxiated it.” The ex-footballers identified key areas where the board has failed.

They also observed that under the current NFF administration, Nigeria struggles to qualify major competitions, including continental tournaments, citing the Super Eagles failure to qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup as a case in point although many would not agree with them on that as Nigeria qualified for the Russia World Cup with a game in hand. The ex-footballers’ body also noted that the downturn in the fortunes of Nigeria’s football stemmed from NFF’s total abandonment of previous youth-oriented programmes.

“Instead, the board has shifted attention to seeking youth talent from the European academy structure. A total neglect of the local professional league.” This, the group maintained, has been carried on with high intensity. “The board has led a systemic neglect of the NPFL and has window-dressed this with perfunctory invitations of local players to the national team. At every turn, the board has undermined the importance of local football.

Yet, the focus of Amaju Pinnick, the current board President on oversea-based talent has led to creating a national team laden with players that are not ready to fight with tears and blood for the country’s colors.”

Furthermore, the former footballers lamented the the absence of the league on television, attributing it to lack of league sponsors.

They accused the leadership of the NFF of championing “an NFF Guideline that excludes and shuts the gate against ex-Nigerian footballers.” They asked, “Why is it that a former footballer cannot have multiple or a single vote to determine who administers football in the country?”

They claim that excluding them from the game and how it is being run was not only damning but a big disservice to the development of the country’s football. “Their deep experiences in the game cannot be found among career politicians and those they described as “football hangers on.”

2023: I consider being Nigeria’s president a demotion — Bishop Oyedepo