BREAKING: APC Crisis: Court nullifies Gov. Ganduje led faction Congresses in Kano by Iro Danmusa Metro

A federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja has nullified the congresses of the Kano State All Progressive Congress (APC) conducted by the Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje led faction on Tuesday. The presiding judge, Justice Hamza Mu’azu upheld the congresses conducted by the Senator Ibrahim Shekarau led faction of the party. The Judge ruled that the Shekarau led faction, ”tagged G-7” conducted election that was signed by the 7- man committee of the APC. Solacebase reports that the Applicants in the suit are Muntaka Bala Sulyman with 17, 907 members of the party while the defendants are All Progressive Congress, as first defendant, Mai- Mala Buni , Caretaker Chairman, Sen. John Akpanudoedehe, National Secretary, Independent National Electoral Commission, as the fourth defendant and 4 others in a suit number: CV/2030/2021. The court held that all the congresses conducted by the Ibrahim Shekarau led faction is valid. The applicants were represented by Barr. Nuraini Jimoh, SAN and the defendants were represented by Barr. Sule Usman, SAN, M.N. Duru and Mashood Alabelewe. Solacebase reports that with the development , the court recognized the Shekarau led faction with its Chairman , Alhaji Ahmadu Haruna Zago and other executives. The reliefs sought are as follows: DECLARATION THAT the Plaintiffs are the duly, valid, proper, by the defendants authentic and democratically elected and ought to be recognized by the Defendants as the: a) 27 elected ward executive committee members for each of the 484 Wards in Kano State; b) 5-elected Ward delegates for or to each of the 44-Local Government Areas; and c) 5 – elected Ward delegates per ward for or to the State Party Congress of the 1st Defendant party for all the wards and local governments areas in Kano State in the Ward congress election conducted by the 1st – 8th Defendants and supervised by the 9th Defendant on the 31st July, 2021; DECLARATION THAT the 1st Defendant’s summary result sheets showing the Plaintiffs as: a) 27 elected ward executive committee members for each of the 484 Wards in Kano State; b) 5-elected Ward delegates for or to each of the 44-Local Government Areas; and c) 5 – elected Ward delegates per Ward for or to the State Party Congress of the 1st Defendant; are the valid, proper, authentic and democratic results of the various Ward congress elections in Kano State to be adopted, recognized and relied upon by the Defendant headquarters in Abuja? DIRECTING the Defendants to adopt, recognize and rely on the summary result sheet for Ward Congress, elected delegates and State Delegates submitted at the 1st Defendant’s Office in FCT, Abuja consisting of the Plaintiffs’ names as the only valid and authentic delegates qualified to participate in the forthcoming primary elections of the 1st Defendant; NULLIFYING, voiding and or setting aside any other list of any other report/ directives given by the Defendants on 9th August 2021 or any other date, other than the valid, proper and authentic summary result sheets for Ward Congress, Elected Delegates and State Delegates of Kano State consisting of the Plaintiffs’ names as the duly, valid and democratically elected Ward Executive Committees, Ward Delegates to the Local Government Areas and Ward delegates to the State Party Congress of the 1st Defendant of Kano State; AN ORDER OF PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the Defendants from receiving, accepting and or acting or purporting to act on, rely on or approving any other list or purported list emanating from other than the duly constituted Ward Congress Committee (WCC) of the 1st Defendant consisting of the names of the Plaintiffs as the: a) 27 elected ward executive committee members for each of the 484 Wards in Kano State; b) 5-elected Ward delegates for or to each of the 44-Local Government Areas; and c) 5 – Elected Ward delegates per Ward for or to the State Party Congress of the 1st Defendant.

Sani Dangote: Time And Legacies Of ‘The Friendly Millionaire’ By Ibrahim Musa Giginyu

Late Sani Dangote It is a little over two weeks since the death of Sani Dangote, who was the younger brother of Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote. Late Sani Dangote, known among his friends and those working under him as ‘The Friendly Millionaire’ because of his calm mien to worldly things, died on November 14, 2021, in the United States of America at the age of 61 after battling with colon cancer. He was buried in Kano, his home state a few days after. Death is inevitable and no one will escape when it is time to go, but the departure of Sani Dangote has remained as fresh as the very minute he was announced gone. While his immediate family is still mourning his demise and sharing the wonderful moments they had with him, including the huge vacuum created by his exit, those who worked under him are yet to come to terms with his departure. Also, thousands of people whose livelihood turned for the better because of his entrepreneurial acumen are still narrating how he changed their mindset towards commercial agriculture and other endeavours. Before his death, late Sani Dangote was the group vice-president of Dangote Industries Limited. Those close to the family described him as “a bridge-builder”. One of them said, “Late Sani was the delight of everybody in the family…He took the time to listen to everyone and solve their problems as much as he could. “ “Aliko Dangote has said it all about Sani and the kind of a simple man he was. I am sure it will take a long time for the family especially Aliko Dangote to recover from the shock. May Allah forgive him and admit him in Jannatil Firdaus,” he said. Late Sani Dangote was also the deputy chairman of the African Gum Arabic Producers Association and a two-time president of Lagos Polo Club. He was also a member of several chambers of commerce, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Shipping of Nigeria and president of the Fertilizer Producers and Suppliers Association (FERSAN) as well as the owner of Dansa Foods Limited, Dansa Energy, Sagas Energy Limited, Bulk Pack Services Limited, Dansa Agro Allied Limited and Dangote Farms Limited. He was known for his passion for agriculture and its development in not only Nigeria but across the globe. It was this zeal that made late Sani Dangote to invest over N6billion to establish the Dangote Tomato Processing factory, the largest of its kind in Africa with 1,200tons per day capacity. The plant, situated at Kadawa in Garun Malam Local Government Area of Kano State, has provided employment to a lot of youths in the state and even beyond. The establishment of the tomato processing factory by late Sani has been described as an intervention that has put smiles on the faces of thousands of tomato farmers in Nigeria as it addresses tomato post-harvest losses usually incurred by farmers as well as to save the country’s funds that leak away through tomato paste importation. Late Sani Dangote was also very instrumental in the coming on board of Dangote Fertilizer, which was introduced into the market in June 2021.The brand has been described as the only fertilizer that got accepted by farmers within the first month of its introduction into the Nigerian market. Many people that have either worked closely or stayed with him described him as an easy-going individual whose simplicity earned him the love of many. It was also gathered that late Sani tried in making himself accessible to even the lowest-ranking officers of his staff. Alhaji Abdulkareen Kaita is the managing director of Dangote Tomato Processing Plant who had worked with Sani for decades in several sectors of the Dangote business empire. According to him, late Sani was an interesting personality to relate with, adding that many workers never knew his position until they were told because of his simplicity with his staff. He explained that because of late Sani’s zeal to tackle the waste incurred by tomato farmers as well as his concern to reduce the massive importation of tomato paste when the country can provide more than enough, he (Sani) had sleepless nights until he succeeded in ensuring that the largest tomato processing factory came to life in Kano. “We will surely miss a man who really changed our lives; he was so simple and down to earth in all his activities. No doubt the gap he left behind will remain a gap in our lives forever. Sani has been a friend, a brother and a mentor to many of us and we will always pray for his soul to rest in peace,” said Kaita. Perhaps, this is why Vice President Yemi Osinbajo described late Sani as someone who was instrumental to the development of agricultural policies of the federal government. When the vice president paid a condolence visit to the family of late Sani, he said, “Sani was a good friend of mine and somebody who I consider a collaborator and was very instrumental in our tomato policy and several other agricultural policies and was part of government policies in so many ways. “It was a big shock for us to hear that he had passed on. I want to send my own personal condolence to you and to all members of the family; this is a very, very sad event. But I know that the Almighty God will comfort the family. “He has left behind a very excellent legacy and he was a man who was committed to his country, committed to his state and committed to his people. I hope that the Almighty God will comfort all of us. I pray that we all will live long and we live well and that this country of ours will live well and all will be well with us,” he said. Similarly, in a condolence message, the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje described late Sani as a complete gentleman adding that his death has left behind a gap in Nigeria as a country and the business community. “But to all of us, particularly those from Kano State, we lost a rare gem in the business community,” said Ganduje. Remembering his last moment, the chilling details given by Africa’s richest man Alhaji Aliko Dangote on his brother’s death has indeed touched many souls and also put a new meaning to life. When Dangote revealed that he watched how his brother, late Sani Dangote, was dying slowly in hospital until he succumbed after doctors had told the entire family present by his sickbed that he would give up in the next one hour, people present during the revelation felt the pain the richest man felt. It can be recalled that the revelation was made when the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, paid the family a condolence visit. According to Dangote, “We have always known that when there is life, there is death. We as Muslims don’t know who is next and it can be today, tomorrow or even now. That is why it is good to be good so that when you get there, you can bid for whatever you were asked to do on earth. “I thank you all for all your prayers and your support. This will actually help us to reduce the pain that we are going through. It is a very tough time for us, it’s been very trying for me, and we were actually bonding together. Having a brother like this, once you lose him, is really very painful. He died in front of me, our mother and all his children,” he said. Narrating how the family lost him, Dangote said: “The most painful thing is when you are told that your brother will be passing on in about an hour and you stand by watching as the machine was going down until it stopped working. It was very tormenting.”

Monarch wants NDDC board constituted, Akpabio sacked By Michael Egbejule.

NDDC Ovie of Idjerhe Kingdom, Obukowho Monday Whiskey, yesterday, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari, to rescue the Niger Delta people from the alleged failure of the Ministry of Niger-Delta Affairs and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to deliver its core mandate of driving development in the region. The monarch also called for the sack of the Minister in charge of the ministry, Godswill Akpabio, describing his leadership as counter-productive. Briefing newsmen in his palace at an enlarged meeting with palace chiefs, Whiskey said Niger Delta residents had been disappointed by the non-performance of the minister and the NDDC. He said: “Godswill Akpabio is a son of the Niger Delta, appointed to represent the interest of the Niger Delta. Appointed to uplift the economic standard of the people of the Niger Delta. And for three years, he has failed. I have every justification, physical and spiritual, to call for his sack. Since he has refused to perform as expected of him, we are recalling him as a minister. “We are asking that he should be removed and another person appointed to replace him. President Muhammadu Buhari must live up to his responsibility and do the needful by coming to the rescue of the people of the Niger Delta. Akpabio is not the best that we have, if he is not ready to serve his people, remove him and appoint another person. So many NDDC projects are scattered all over the kingdom abandoned. “ The royal father also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to inaugurate the Board of the NDDC as screened and confirmed by the National Assembly to save the ugly situation faced by many in the Niger Delta region.

Last Man Standing: Alhaji Aminu Dantata By Munzali Dantata

Aminu Dantata was one of the eighteen surviving offsprings of Alhassan Dantata when I was growing up in the 1960s. Most of them lived on the same street founded by their father, around 1910, when he relocated to Kano from the Gold Coast, following the emerging groundnut trade in Nigeria. The kilometre long Sarari Street was lined with warehouses on both sides of the road, with few residential houses sandwiched in between. The first house belonged to Alhassan. The houses of his children followed, including that of my late father – Ahmadu Dantata; my uncle and adoptive father – Aminu Dantata, who adopted me after the death of my father in 1960; as well as Sanusi Dantata, the maternal grandfather of Aliko Dangote, who adopted Aliko after the death of his father in 1965. The warehouses on Sarari Street and adjoining alleys of Sarari District were demolished over the years to pave way for more houses as the Dantata family grew. My house today stands on land where a warehouse stood when I was a child. The warehouse was demolished in 1988 to make way for my house, in line with family tradition. Nigeria was the world’s biggest exporter of groundnuts. Kano was the epicentre of Nigeria’s groundnut trade, and the Groundnut Pyramids the trademark of the phenomenal trade. At its peak in the 1930s, groundnut was Nigeria’s leading export. The image of Groundnut Pyramid – on the Nigerian currency, postage stamps and post cards – doubled as the iconic symbol of Nigeria’s agricultural wealth, when Nigeria was a net exporter of agricultural products. The big three – cocoa, palm produce and groundnuts, accounted for over 70 percent of Nigeria’s exports. The Kano-Lagos rail, opened in 1912, was the first transnational rail in Nigeria, purposely built to carry exports of the north to Lagos. Construction of the Apapa Port, begun earlier than the Kano rail, was the first infrastructural project of the colonial administration in Nigeria, conceived as terminus for the Kano to Lagos rail. Nigeria was a tale of two cities, with Lagos as hub for goods from southern Nigeria ferried to Apapa Port by lorries, and Kano as hub of northern Nigeria, receiving goods by lorries from across the north for trans-shipment by rail to Lagos. This arrangement lasted for ten years before the rail was extended to Port Harcourt, Enugu, Jos and other newly built stations across the country. “Last man standing” is a tribute to Aminu Dantata, as he turns 90, as well as a tribute to his generation who participated in the phenomenal exports of colonial Nigeria and the 1960s. Baba Aminu joined the family business in 1948 after leaving school and was posted to Argungu as a dan-gyada (groundnut buying agent). He was promoted to District Manager of Sokoto Province of Alhassan Dantata and Sons Limited, before eventually heading the company in 1960. Alhassan Dantata and Sons Ltd supplied so much groundnuts to the Nigerian Railway Corporation that it became the only indigenous company granted a private railway siding; a privilege enjoyed by the European companies. Railway sidings connected compounds of major exporters to the main grid of the railway for trains to enter and collect cargo directly from their warehouses. One family’s dominance over Nigeria’s groundnut trade continued after the death of the patriarch. Two brothers – Aminu Dantata and Sanusi Dantata – well into the 1960s and 1970s, between them supplied more than half the annual groundnut purchases of Northern Nigeria Marketing Board, the government agency mandated to buy groundnuts, cotton and other commodities for export. The Groundnut Pyramid was the invention of the Kano merchants. It all began as stopgap for storage of groundnuts when an overwhelmed Kano Railway Station – in its second year of operation – shut its gates to groundnuts in 1912. The weekly train to Lagos could not accommodate any more groundnuts. The European companies stopped accepting groundnuts with warehouses full to the brim. More groundnuts were pouring into the city with the harvest season just beginning. Unlike the annual torrential rain that Kano was used to, the ancient city was not prepared for the sudden downpour of groundnuts. The Kano merchants, rather than turn back the precious nut when European companies stopped buying, continued to accept supplies from the farms. They resorted to piling up sacks of groundnuts in heaps, in front of their homes, and on the streets of Kano. They called the heap “Dalar Gyada”, Groundnut Hill in local parlance. The Colonial administration stepped in to create an official standard for the heap – setting its length, width, height, and number of bags – and officially named it “Groundnut Pyramid” after its pyramidical shape. My generation may be the last to have seen the Groundnut Pyramids, buried under the dust of Nigerian history. Growing up in the 1960s, we played around the Groundnut Pyramids that adorned the landscape of Kano as the major economic and touristic icons of the city. Placing the last sack atop the pyramid was the most interesting aspect of the pyramid. It was difficult and dangerous, requiring both strength and guile. A slip could cause the labourer, and the heavy sack, tumbling down to the ground. “Buhun karshe” was always placed with pomp and pageantry, watched by a huge crowd of spectators, including the owner of the pyramid and invited guests. Drummers and praise singers urged the labourer on as he scaled his way up cautiously with a sack on his head. A prize awaited him immediately he came down, usually a bicycle for himself and fabric for his wife. Dapge was Alhassan’s expert, enjoying the rare privilege of placing Alhassan’s last sack. I never saw Dapge in action for he was a frail old man on Sarari Street when I met him in the 1960s. Newly independent Nigeria was a big construction site in the 1960s, reminiscent of a developing country. This prompted Baba to venture into construction business. He got his big break in 1962, a contract to build the old Nigerian Defence Academy complex in Kaduna city. We were driving through Kaduna to Kano from Abuja one day in 1991 when Baba pointed to the NDA buildings with pride and told us that he built the complex, worth half a million pounds, the biggest building contract ever awarded to an indigenous contractor then. His second big break, he said, came two years later in 1964, building the School of Aviation complex in Zaria which consolidated his position as a market leader in the construction industry. Baba was appointed commissioner in newly created Kano State in 1967. He served for five years before leaving in 1973 to return to his business. By then, the business landscape of Nigeria had changed dramatically, from an export driven economy to an economy driven by imports, supported by only one export – crude oil. The Ground Pyramids had disappeared from the landscape of Kano, I was about to complete secondary school, and Dantata Organization was making its debut. NAMCO (Northern Amalgamated Marketing Company Ltd) was a major importer and wholesale distributor of essential commodities such as rice, sugar and fertilizer. Dantata Motors Ltd held a Mercedes Benz dealership importing saloon cars from Germany. Main Line Transport Ltd – a haulage company, imported trucks from Hino Motors of Japan and was Hino’s biggest African customer in the 1980s. They and many more were subsidiaries of Dantata Organization. The group also invested in companies outside its fold, particularly in the manufacturing sector, such as the Flour Mills of Nigeria, manufacturers of Golden Penny products. Dantata Organization also ventured into the down stream oil sector by the 1990s with Express Petroleum & Gas Company Ltd. I never met my grandfather, Alhassan Dantata. He died in 1955, two years before I was born. I hardly know my biological father, Ahmadu Dantata. He died in 1960 when I was barely three years old, three months to Nigeria’s independence. The two were gladiators of the colonial era. My foster father, Aminu Dantata, is a gladiator of both colonial and independent Nigeria. Born in 1931, he is an embodiment of the old and the new Nigeria. He has seen it all. He came to the world a British subject and is leaving as a Nigerian citizen. An entrepreneur par excellence, he has successfully participated in two diametrically opposed business regimes – the economies of the British colony of Nigeria and the Federal Republic of Nigeria. While the British focused on export of raw materials that greased the machinery of industrial Europe, subsequent Nigerian governments came up with industrialization programs, with varying success, to boost local production and satisfy the needs of teeming population.

FG bans 91 billionaires, VIPs’ jets, insists on N30bn duty by Oyetunji Abioye, Okechukwu Nnodim and Adepeju Adenuga

Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service, Hameed Ali •Top pastors, business moguls, banks and oil firms’ CEOs affected •NCAA, FAAN, NAMA get letter to ground affected planes •Aviation ministry, Customs on warpath over flight ban directive The Federal Government has directed the Nigeria Customs Service to ground 91 private jets belonging to some wealthy Nigerians over their alleged refusal to pay import duties running to over N30bn, documents obtained by The PUNCH have revealed. As such, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col Hameed Ali, (retd.) following a directive from the Presidency, has written a letter to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency asking the agencies to ground the affected private jets with immediate effect. The letter, with reference number NCS/T&T/ACG/042/s.100/VOL.II, which was dated November 2, 2021, was addressed to the Director-General, NCAA, Capt Musa Nuhu. A copy of the letter, which was obtained by one of our correspondents, was also addressed and sent to the Managing Director, FAAN, Capt Rabiu Yadudu; and the Managing Director, NAMA, Capt Fola Akinkuotu. The letter directed the aviation agency regulator (NCAA), the nation’s airspace management agency (NAMA), and airport management agency (FAAN), to ground the private jets by denying them administrative and operational flight clearances indefinitely. Findings by our correspondent revealed that the letters were received by the aviation agencies on November 8, 2021. According to documents sighted by one of our correspondents, the NCS letter to NAMA was delivered with reference code 19755747 by the courier company, while the NCS letter to FAAN was referenced 19755746 by the courier firm. The NCS letter, which was delivered to the NCAA, was also referenced 19755748 by the courier firm. It was titled, ‘Recovery of Aviation Import Duty on Privately Owned Aircraft Operating in the Country.’ The NCAA letter read in part, “The Federal Government in its drive for enhanced revenues has mandated the Nigeria Customs Service to immediately recover from defaulting private aircraft owners the required statutory import duties on their imported aircraft. “You may wish to recall the verification exercise conducted by the NCS, initially scheduled for a 14 day period, but magnanimously extended over a 60-day period from 7th June through 6 August 2021, following a World Press Conference held on 31st May 2021. The outcome of the aforementioned verification exercise is a compilation of all private aircraft imported into the country without payment of statutory import duty. “The Nigeria Custom Service, in line with its statutory functions, is empowered by Part 111 Sections 27, 35, 37, 45,46, 47, 52, 56,63 & 64; Part XI Sections 144, 145, 155, 160, 161& 164 and Part XII Sections 167, 168, 169, 173 & 174 of the Customs and Excise Management Act.” It further read, “In this regard therefore, your full cooperation is being solicited to ensure the success of this initiative and that all such private aircraft owners or representatives are denied administrative and operational flight clearances indefinitely, until an NCS issued Aircraft Clearance Certificate is procured and presented to your organisation as proof of compliance. “For the avoidance of doubt, ALL aircraft operated in accordance with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority’s regulation for the issuance of Permit for Non-Commercial Flight and those issued with Flight Operations Clearance Certificate and Maintenance Clearance Certificate accordingly are affected by this directive. “Please find attached the list of all verified aircraft and indeed others of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority’s register, which may not have come forward for your record and necessary action. Strict compliance with this directive is to be ensured. Please accept the assurances of my highest regards and esteem as always.” Independent findings by our correspondents revealed that some of the 91 private jets directed to be grounded belong to the senior pastors of some popular Pentecostal churches in the country, some Tier-1 banks with one of the banks owning two upmarket jets, the chief executive officers of some indigenous oil companies, and the chairmen of some Tier-1 banks. “The 91 private jets owe import duties in excess of N30bn and the Federal Government has directed that the Customs must recover this money. This is why we have sent demand notices to the private jet owners,” a Customs source privy to the development told one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity. Findings by our correspondents revealed that the NCS had in March this year embarked on a review of import duties paid on private jets brought into the country since 2006. Following the alleged discovery that several private jets owners, under the guise of Temporary Import Permit, had failed to pay the statutory import duty to the coffers of the government, the CG of Customs, Ali, set up a verification panel to review all TIPs and the relevant aircraft import documents of all private jets in the country. At the end of the 60-day exercise, 57 private jets, which had licences for commercial charter operations, were cleared and issued Aircraft Operators Certificate by the Customs. However, 29 private jets, whose owners came for the verification were found to be liable to pay the import duty. The Customs also compiled a list of another 62 private jets whose owners failed to appear for the verification exercise but were found to be liable for import duty payment. However, other private jets whose owners have commenced the process of paying their import duty have been given a 14-day ultimatum to clear the debts, while the list of the 91 private jets whose owners have yet to present themselves for import duty payment has been presented to the aviation agencies by the NCS for the immediate grounding of their flight operations. According to independent findings by our correspondents, some of the owners of the 91 jets have written protest letters to the NCS, arguing they cannot pay import duties on the planes because the jets are under lease payments. The Customs, in its response to the letters, queried the rationale for bringing in the planes and allegedly fraudulently exporting them under questionable documentation processes in the past 10 years. However, in a new twist to the development, there are strong indications that the Ministry of Aviation has directed the NCAA, FAAN and NAMA to suspend the grounding of the flight operations of the affected private jets, according to aviation sources. Sources at the aviation agencies said the aviation ministry had directed the CEOs of the agencies to put the implementation of the NCS directive on hold until a clearance from the ministry was obtained. The development could not be verified as of press time on Sunday but findings from the control towers and NAMA by The PUNCH revealed that some of the jets were still being cleared to fly. When contacted on the matter, the Director, Public Affairs, Federal Ministry of Aviation, Dr James Odaudu, told one of our correspondents that he would find out if the letter from the customs was submitted to the ministry. Odaudu said he was not aware of the position of aviation agencies on the matter and promised to make enquiries from the official who might have received the letter. He said, “I cannot respond to that now because I don’t have the information. But if the Customs letter is in the ministry, I will find out tomorrow (Monday). “When I get to the office tomorrow I can find out who is handling it and revert to you.” Meanwhile, there are indications that the Customs may clash with the aviation ministry over the development as sources said the NCS officers might begin to impound the affected private jets any time soon. A cursory look at the list of private jets shows that majority of them are upmarket aircraft. Some of the top brands among the 29 private jets whose owners came for the Customs verification exercise are: Dassault Falcon 7X, Falcon 900EX, Hawker 4000, Bombardier BD 700 1A10, Bombardier Global 5000, Bombardier Global 5500, Bombardier Challenger 605, Gulf Stream Aerospace, Bombardier BD 700,, and Bombardier Challenger 604. Others are Embraer 505, Bombardier Global 6000, Embraer Legacy 600, Embraer Legacy 650, Bombardier INC CL 600-2B19, Challenger 601 3A-ER, Gulfstream G-IVSP, Gulfstream G450, Gulfstream G550, HS125-B50XP, EMB505 Phenom 300, Cirrus SR 20V, and Hawker 800XP On October 13, 2021, the NCS had published a list of 57 private jets cleared for commercial charter in a newspaper publication, following the 60-day verification exercise. It also published a list of 29 and 62 private jets liable to pay import duty. Some of the jets go for over $50m each, according to finding by one of our correspondents. Meanwhile, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Quits Aviation Services Limited, Sam Iwuajoku, had on October 13, 2021, said private jets operating in Nigeria ought not to be requested to pay any further levy. Iwuajoku reportedly said the NCS ought to know that aircraft registered outside Nigeria does not operate permanently in the country and therefore ought not to pay the tax. Iwuajoku, whose firm operates the Quits Aviation Services Free Trade Zone, spoke against the backdrop of the publication by the NCS on October 14, 2021, asking private jet owners to pay statutory import duties to the Federal Government. “The amount of money these aircraft make for the Nigerian government is more than the cost of registration. They pay for their services in dollars, including landing and parking. “The services they pay for are done in dollars and government agencies are benefiting, so Customs should look at the larger picture. Even if the money is not going to Customs, other government agencies are getting the money. The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency is paid by these operators in dollars,” he added. However, industry stakeholders say there are regulations requiring taxes to be paid on a private jet inasmuch as the aircraft is domiciled in the country or staying for a relatively long period of time, say 60 days or 180 days, depending on the laws of the country. PUNCH.

Will Tinubu be president? By Wole Olaoye

Bola Ahmed Tinubu Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a redoubtable politician and one of the most dexterous political acrobats in the circus called Nigerian politics. Like him or loathe him, you deceive yourself if you say he is not consequential in determining who becomes Nigeria’s next president in 2023. Right now, Tinubu is one of the issues in Nigerian politics. For good or for ill, depending on which side of the political aisle you are entrenched in, Tinubu, the Jagaban of Borgu and Asiwaju of Lagos, is one of those who will determine who becomes Nigeria’s next leader. And that is putting the matter coyly because the word on the streets is that, this time around, the kingmaker wants to wear the crown himself. How feasible is a Tinubu presidential project? I am not one to dismiss it with a wave of the hand because in Nigeria, even a rookie analyst knows that the first law in Prediction 101 is “Never say never”. To my knowledge, Nigeria is the only country where reluctant candidates are foisted on the people, plucked from either retirement, anonymity or other pursuits and planted in the state house to run the show in accordance with the expectations of those who propped him up. In 1978, Shehu Shagari wanted to be a senator. Indeed, we all thought the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) presidential ticket would go to Maitama Sule, but the godfathers of the party drafted Shagari to contest the presidency. He became president after the 1979 presidential election, albeit a reluctant one. He was a good man, incorruptible, but incapable of reining in the vultures surrounding him. Twenty years later, Olusegun Obasanjo was fervently praying that the death sentence passed on him by Abacha’s kangaroo tribunal would not be carried out. Then Fate intervened. Abacha died. The succeeding military government plucked Obasanjo from jail, tidied him up and catapulted him to the presidency in 1999. He was a competent president in many respects, but an authoritarian one; certainly not a democrat. In 2007 a retreating Obasanjo instructed all other contestants for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential ticket to step down for Umaru Yar’Adua and even foisted Goodluck Jonathan on him as running mate. When President Yar’Adua died in office, Jonathan (former deputy governor who unexpectedly became the governor when his boss was impeached in bizarre circumstances) found himself taking the oath of office as president and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. He completed Yar’Adua’s first term and won another four years in his own right. The most charitable thing one can say about the shy, good-hearted zoologist is that he wasn’t the best president Nigeria ever had. Apparently, governing Nigeria demands more than a good heart. Between 2012 and 2013, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, having done a strategic calculation of how the incumbent President Jonathan could be defeated, approached Muhammadu Buhari, a serial loser in past presidential contests, and offered him the presidential ticket based on a merger of parties and pinching of identified heavyweights from PDP. Buhari’s party, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), was controlling only Nasarawa State, while Tinubu’s Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) had six governors, six state legislatures, etc. The attraction for Tinubu was Buhari’s cult following by northern voters, who consistently gave him about 12 million votes. The added forces from ACN, All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the breakaway faction of the PDP, which called itself the New PDP, teamed up with Buhari’s CPC to clinch victory — and Nigeria has never been the same since. But there are two other discernible groups that don’t want Tinubu. There is suspicion that Nasir el Rufa’i, governor of Kaduna State, would prefer a younger person to Tinubu. If you put your ears to the ground, you’ll hear rumours of alliances between el Rufa’i and some southern politicians, notably Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi. Now, we are on the march again. A group of Tinubu’s admirers led by Senator Dayo Adeyeye have launched a pro-Tinubu group, South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA), calling on their mentor to declare his interest in the 2023 presidential race. If you understand the lingo of Nigerian politics, this is one place where politicians routinely organise huge rallies of endorsement, which they themselves had bankrolled. The fact that a man with boiling ambition has to be ‘begged’ to declare interest in a public office is a uniquely Nigerian art form. But will Tinubu be president? One cannot dismiss the amount of legwork that has been done to realise the Tinubu-for-president project. SWAGA gives you one of the ‘official’ reasons why Tinubu ought to succeed Buhari: “It is indeed payback time for our national leader, who had through his years of service contributed to the lives of many others and today you can see his footprints across the country… We shall continue to appeal to him to contest for the position of the President… We need viable, experienced and a man (sic) who understands the diverse nature of Nigerian economy.” Tinubu’s foot-soldiers have gone round the six zones of Nigeria. In the North, they have not been as loud as SWAGA, but their conspiratorial style has been quite effective. The payback referred to by SWAGA strikes a tune with some northern leaders who feel that Tinubu should be rewarded for his role in making Buhari president. But there are two other discernible groups that don’t want Tinubu. There is suspicion that Nasir el Rufa’i, governor of Kaduna State, would prefer a younger person to Tinubu. If you put your ears to the ground, you’ll hear rumours of alliances between el Rufa’i and some southern politicians, notably Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi. The other group deserving of mention is the Progressive Consolidation Group (PCG), which is backing Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023. The group was the first to receive official recognition as a support group of APC from the Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker Committee of the party. According to its leader, Bala Gide, “We deeply appreciate the widening mobilisation and deepening support that PCG and all associated groups working towards an Osinbajo presidency, all our grassroots and national leaders, as well as current governors, federal and state lawmakers along with various labour and professional groups will have further significant roles to play post-2023”. If PDP play their cards right, all they have to do is wait under the mango tree and pray for APC to violently shake it from the top. All that PDP would then have to do is simply bend down and pick the mango. The die is cast. In APC, it will be a straight contest between Tinubu, Osinbajo and a dark horse that may strut into the race course propelled by conspiratorial elements. Given the weaponisation of religion in the country today, the feat achieved by the historic duo of MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe in 1993 with a Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket is inconceivable today. Therefore the following conclusion is inescapable to the dispassionate analyst: If Tinubu is paired with a fellow muslim, Christians in the country will vote for the opposing party; If Tinubu is paired with a Christian from the North, Muslims in the North will not vote for the ticket because they would consider that combination as shutting them out of the power equation; The fact that Tinubu’s wife is a Christian will not have any effect on the equation; If the PDP fields Atiku Abubakar, who is probably their best bet in combination with a strong running mate (I’ve heard Nyesom Wike’s name flung around), and if they are contending against a Tinubu/Christian running mate ticket, northern muslims are likely to vote for Atiku massively; To have a chance of retaining power, a pairing of Osinbajo with a Muslim running mate from the North, appears to be APC’s best bet, especially if he secures the full blessing of his boss, Buhari, and his godfather, the Jagaban himself; Osinbajo doesn’t excite serious negative passions in the South-East and South-South, or any other zone of the country; If President Buhari stands aloof, he may be the first and last president from the APC stable; If Tinubu insists on self above party, the house that those legacy parties built together will collapse on their collective heads;

Osita Okechukwu: PDP untrustworthy, can’t rescue Nigeria. By: Ayorinde Oluokun

osita-okechukwu VON DG, Osita Okechukwu A chieftain of All Progressives Congress, APC and the Director General of Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu, has faulted claim by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that it will plans to rescue Nigeria from the ruling party. He said that going by the antecedents of the PDP, it cannot be trusted to rescue Nigeria . “How can Nigerians trust our sister political party, the PDP, given their antecedents riddled with trust deficit? We know that times are hard; methinks it’s better to allow APC to fix Nigeria. Where do one start from?,” Okechukwu said. He added: “Let’s start from PDP-In-house, by listening to Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo; “I handed over N11 billion in fixed deposit and N800 million in current account when I left as national chairman after seven months. I don’t see what was done with that money. “Millions were raised to finish our national headquarters; we don’t seem to have a trace of where all that money went. Our headquarters is yet to be completed. Today we don’t even have a party account. We have to get back to strict monitoring of our party accounts. “Our internal audit department needs to be strengthened and supported by the party leadership. Very strict sanctions must be imposed on the mismanagement of party funds. “I suggest that we include inviting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC to probe erring officers and members and prosecution of those found culpable. This is the only way to create a deterrent,” Nwodo stated in his presentation.” Going further Okechukwu recalled how Kassim Afegbua alerted the EFCC of the monumental corruption in PDP. He said that PDP’s planlessness and squander mania were uncountable. “Can we forget the squandermania of 23 billion dollars Greenfield Refineries – one meant for Lagos, one for KOGI and one for Bayelsa? A golden opportunity cost to our economy. “Recall that on March 19, 2015, Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) queried Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, then Minister of Finance thus, “May we under the Freedom of Information Act 2011, request for the full disclosure of transactions concerning the three Greenfield refineries and petrochemical plant contract awarded on May 13, 2010 by President Goodluck Jonathan to Chinese State Construction and Engineering Corporation Limited (CSCEC), at 23 billion dollars meant to be located at Bayelsa, Kogi and Lagos States.” “Secondly, why are they dead on arrival as six years down the line, neither the three Greenfield refineries nor petrochemical plant is under construction. The three Greenfield refineries one understands, on completion were to add 750,000 barrels per day capacity to Nigeria’s refining infrastructure and create over a million jobs. “The Greenfield Refineries fiasco happened when our Excess Crude Account had over 40 billion dollars the China State Construction Corporation even upped their equity to 80 per cent. The unfortunate outcome is that 15 billion dollars is fleeced off our national treasury annually for the importation of refined petroleum products for over a decade.” Asked why APC didn’t embark on the Greenfield Refinery in the last six years, Okechukwu answered that from all indications the company was frustrated by the PDP and we were excited by Dangote Refinery.(NAN)

The Investigation Of Tinubu By EFCC Should Serve As A Stern Warning To Other Politicians

The chairman of the Economic Financial Crime Commission has revealed to the public that Bola Ahmed Tinubu is currently under investigation by the Commission. This announcement by EFCC has generated a lot of mixed reactions from Nigerians. However, the basic idea of this announcement is solely to send a strong message to any politician who is intending to embezzle funds that are meant for the development of the country. The current administration running the affairs of EFCC has taken it upon itself to penalise and go after corrupt politicians who are bent on ruining the country with their embezzlement and greediness. Tinubu being investigated by EFCC will serve as a stern warning to others that they are not above investigation. Most Nigerians know how politically powerful Tinubu is, given that Tinubu is also the National leader of the All Progressive Congress. However, the supremacy of the law has brought him under the EFCC to be investigated. Sadly, most of the Nigerian politicians are only after their selfish interest, hence, public funds that are meant in developing the country is being embezzled by these greedy politicians. The only way to curtail the excesses of these greedy politicians is by going after them with the law and this is what the current EFCC administration is doing. This current EFCC administration, no matter who you're in the Nigerian politics if you are under their radar for any slight misappropriation of funds or corruption you will be invited over for investigation. If the EFCC continue this way, surely, the level of corruption by Nigerian politicians will reduce drastically because these greedy politicians will have it in mind that once they are caught misappropriating funds that are meant to develop the country, they will face the full wrath of the law. The extravagances of some of our politicians are what has brought our dear country to this state of pity where the average Nigerian can barely have 3 Square meal in a day. The money that is meant for the average Nigerian is being embezzled by some greedy politicians. Therefore, it is very commendable that the EFCC will go after any politician no matter how politically powerful that politician is. This will go a long way to serve as a stern warning to other politicians that they are not above the law and if they are caught misappropriating funds they will be dealt with according

Bola Tinubu 49 page $460k Forfeiture For Laundering & Heroin - Naija247news

Snippets of the case and subsequent judgement are presented below. The complete document (VERY LARGE pdf file – 4mb) can be downloaded at the end of this report. The United States of America, by its attorney, Michael J. Shepard, United States Attorney for Northern District of Illinois, for its verified complaint of forfeiture, states as follows: This is a FORFEITURE action under 21 U.S.C , ss88 and 18, ss 981….. The DEFENDANT funds are located in the above-described accounts and were SEIZED pursuant to PROCESS ISSUED BY THIS COURT…. … 4…. beginning as early as 1988, Adegboyega Mueez Akande, WITH OTHERS OPERATED a organiszation (sic) which DISTRIBUTED WHITE HEROIN, a controlled substance under Title 21 of the United States Code. 5…. this DISTRIBUTION OPERATION was conducted on a LARGE SCALE and the PROCEEDS of the operation SUBSTANTIAL. The defendant funds represent proceeds of this OPERATION of property involved in MONEY LAUNDERING. 6…. the defendant funds represent proceeds of NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING … and … MONEY LAUNDERING….. the funds are therefore FOREFEITABLE to the United States…. JUDGEMENT: j… Neither a claim nor answer has been filed on behalf of the defendant funds …. accordingly, it hereby ORDERED that the funds in the AMOUNT of $460,000 in account…. in the name of BOLA TINUBU represents proceeds of NARCOTICS or were involved in financial transactions in violation of 18 U.S.C ss 1956 and 1957 and therefore these funds are forfeit to the United States….. Revealed: U.S Federal Agents Link Bola Tinubu to drug Trafficking Ring in Chicago Facts have emerged that the erstwhile Governor of Lagos state, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu may have been involved in a white heroin trafficking network which operated in Chicago and some parts of Indiana and led by one Adegboyega Mueez Akande between 1988 and 1993. The source of the white heroine was identified as one Mr. Lee Andrew Edwards who was incarcerated for attempting to murder a federal agent while the agent was executing a search warrant on him. According to the Verified Complaint for forfeiture in case No. 93 C 4483 which was filed on July 26, 1993 before the Hon. Judge Nordberg of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the United States Government urged the Court to order the forfeiture of funds in accounts Nos. 263226700 held by First Heritage Bank in the name of Bola Tinubu, funds in accounts 39483134, 39483396, 4650279566, 00400220, 39936404 and 39936383 held by Citibank N.A in the name of Bola Tinubu and funds in accounts 52050-89451952,52050-89451952, 52050-89451953 held by Citibank in the name of Bola Tinubu because there was probable cause to believe that the funds in Tinubu’s bank accounts represented proceeds of narcotics trafficking or were monies involved in financial transactions in violations of 18 U.S.C, sections 1956 and 1957 and therefore, was forfeitable to the U.S Government. However, in a tacit defense of the ownership of the funds, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu averred in Court that the funds belonged to himself, his wife, K.O Tinubu and his surrogate mother, Alhaja Mogaji and warranted that they had exclusive right, title and interest to the funds. In an affidavit sworn to by Kevin Moss, a Special Agent with the United States Internal Revenue Service, criminal investigation division in support of the verified complaint for forfeiture of Bola Tinubu’s moneys held in various Bank accounts, the agent gave a vivid account of how he came to the conclusion that the funds were proceeds of narcotics transaction in violation of the U.S law. Mr. Moss averred that prior to and during 1988; the government became involved in the investigation of a white heroin trafficking network operating in Chicago, Illinois and Hammond, Indiana. The investigation disclosed that an individual known as Lee Andrew Edwards was a source of white heroin. The government sources provided information about Lee Andrew Edwards including the identity of a telephone number which activated in electronic pager. This pager according to him was to be called to place an order for white heroin. According to Mr. Moss, this pager was subscribed to by one Adegboyega Mueez Akande who at that time was a resident of Chicago. Mr. Moss further averred that during February 1988, an individual named Abiodun Agbele arrived in the U.S from Nigeria and during investigation by the government, Agbele disclosed that Akande was his uncle who provided him an apartment in Hammond, Indiana. According to Agbele, Mr. Akande returned to Nigeria in1990; however, before he left, he instructed Agbale to serve as a source of white heroin for Mr. Lee Andrew Edwards as a result of which Agbele sold white heroin for Lee Andrew Edwards on numerous occasions. Following a tip off, Agbele sold one ounce of white heroin to a law enforcement agent undercover on November 28, 1990 for $7,000 and was subsequently arrested. After his arrest, Agbele agreed to cooperate with the law enforcement agents regarding the white heroin distribution and network of Akande. According to Agbele, Akande controlled the operation of white heroin from Nigeria in conjunction with other individuals in Nigeria and the U.S. One other individual who worked with Akande according to the affidavit was identified as Bola Tinubu who later became the governor of Lagos state from 1999 to 2007. The investigation also revealed that in December 1989, Akande took Bola Tinubu to First Heritage bank where Bola Tinubu opened an individual money market. In the account opening application, Tinubu, gave his address as 7504 South Stewart, Chicago, the same address used previously by Akande and his company, Globe-Link. This is the same address used as the drop-off point for packages from Nigeria that contained the white heroin. According to bank records, Bola Tinubu also opened a joint checking account in his name and the name of his wife, Oluremi Tinubu. Mrs. Tinubu had previously opened a joint Bank account also in the same bank with Abdrey Akande, the wife of the heroin kingpin, Adegboyega Mueez Akande. Upon opening the account, Tinubu deposited the sum of $1,000 in traveler’s check. However, five days after opening the account, specifically, on January 4, 1990, Tinubu deposited the sum of $80,000 into the account. According to the federal agent, in a credit application dated January 6, 1990, Bola Tinubu disclosed that he resided at 7504 South Stewart and that Mueez A. Akande was his cousin. Tinubu further stated that he was an employee of Mobil Oil Nigeria Limited, Fairfax, Virginia and his take home pay was $2,400 per month. Additionally, Tinubu stated on the application that he had no other sources of income and listed his wife, Oluremi Tinubu as co-applicant for the application for automobile loan. The loan was secured with the certificate of deposit in the amount of $10,000 which Tinubu had purchased with a withdrawal from the $80,000 deposit in his checking account. According to the federal agent, Bank records from First heritage Bank disclosed that in 1990 alone, Bola Tinubu deposited $661,000 into his individual money market account and in 1993; he deposited the sum of $1,216,500 into the same money market account. The agent further avers that in 1991, Tinubu began opening accounts at Citibank in the section known as the world-wide personal banking unit where he transferred the sum of $560,000 from his money market account at the First Heritage Bank. This development prompted the Federal agents to interview representatives from Mobil Oil regarding Tinubu’s employment status and his take-home pay. The Mobil Oil representatives confirmed to the investigators that Tinubu was employed by the Mobil Oil as a treasurer. Mobil Oil further told the federal agents that this position did not involve the transfer of large amounts of money between banking institutions. Mobil oil representatives also stated that under no circumstance would Tinubu be permitted to retain money belonging to Mobil Oil in accounts bearing Tinubu’s name. Finally, Mobil Oil confirmed that the corporation never had any accounts in banks in the southern suburbs of Chicago. On January 10, 1992, the federal agents obtained a court Order freezing Tinubu’s accounts at First Heritage Bank and Citibank respectively. Thereafter, Tinubu contacted the First Heritage Bank to transfer money from his accounts and was advised that the accounts had been seized by the U.S Treasury. On January 13, 1992, Mr. Moss, the Federal agent contacted Bola Tinubu in Nigeria by phone using a number provided to the First Heritage Bank by Tinubu himself. Mr. Moss averred that during the course of the interview, Bola Tinubu confirmed that he knew Mueez Adegboyega Akande. Tinubu further admitted during the interview with the federal agent that he had wire transferred $100,000 to Akande’s bank account in Houston and that the $80,000.00 of the funds used to open the account at First Heritage Bank had come from Akande. Tinubu further admitted that he had other accounts in Fairfax, Virginia and London. Concluding his affidavit evidence, Mr. Moss stated that with all these evidence, there was probable cause to believe that the funds in the accounts held by First Heritage Bank and Citibank, N.A in the name of Bola Tinubu represented property that was involved in narcotics transaction in violation of the U.S law. He therefore, urged the Court to issue an order of forfeiture of the funds. After a protracted litigation in which Bola Tinubu claimed that the monies legitimately belonged to him, his wife, Oluremi Tinubu and his surrogate mother, one Alhaja Mogaji, Bola Tinubu finally opted for a stipulated settlement with the U.S government. According to the settlement Order dated September 15, 1993; Hon. Judge John A Nordberg ordered that the sum of $460,000 held by Bola Tinubu in The First Heritage Bank account be forfeited to the United States Government. The Court also ordered the release of the funds held in the Citibank account and any money held in excess of $460,000 at the First Heritage account to Bola Tinubu in line with the agreement and stipulation reached by Tinubu with the federal agents. Ironically, this case came up at the peak of the struggle against the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election by the Gen. Babagida-led military junta during which time Tinubu as a member and one of the leading financiers of the National democratic Coalition (NADECO) made several “pro-democracy” trips to the U.S ostensibly to press for U.S sanctions against the Nigerian junta. It is, therefore, doubtful whether most of those trips were actually connected with the June 12, struggle after all.

For the MFA, Benin Bronzes are a troubling gift Can a stolen object ever be ethically owned? By Malcolm Gay Globe Staff

Amid growing calls for restitution, museums mull consequences of keeping precious artifacts looted during a colonial era. Portuguese Soldier from the 16th century in the Benin Kingdom Gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts. The museum must decide what to do with this collection, which was looted by British troops during a 19th century military expedition. Portuguese Soldier from the 16th century in the Benin Kingdom Gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts. The museum must decide what to do with this collection, which was looted by British troops during a 19th century military expedition.LANE TURNER/GLOBE STAFF In 2012, the Museum of Fine Arts received what seemed like an unimaginable promised gift: a trove of centuries-old masterworks from the Benin kingdom, located in present-day Nigeria. The gift was not without its complications. Many of the 32 works, known as Benin Bronzes, had been among the estimated thousands forcibly seized by the British in 1897, when troops captured Benin City and ransacked the royal palace. The precious loot would be parceled out over time and scattered to various museums and private troves. More than a century later, intact collections of the Bronzes were not only rare, they were also controversial. But former MFA director Malcolm Rogers was determined to secure the collection for Boston, where the museum had only begun assembling its modest African holdings in 1991. “This is the transformation of our collection,” Rogers said at the time. “It’s some of the greatest art ever produced in Africa.” Today, the MFA finds itself at a crossroads as Bronzes around the world have become a central focus in the ongoing struggle over artifacts looted during that colonial era. The debate has intensified in recent months with a number of European museums moving to return the objects amid intensifying calls for restitution. European museums have moved more quickly in part because they are state-run, said MFA director Matthew Teitelbaum. “There’s reparations happening at the government level,” he said, noting some European governments were involved “in acts of looting themselves.” “American institutions have acquired their Benin collections in transactions in the marketplace.” But that doesn’t change how the Bronzes left Africa to begin with, said Dan Hicks, a professor of contemporary archeology at the University of Oxford. “The question for American institutions is: How many times does a stolen African object have to change hands between Europeans and Americans until it’s no longer stolen?” said Hicks, who is also a curator at Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum. “This is a conversation for Boston.” As a measure of the MFA’s evolving response, the museum told the Globe in July it planned to move forward and accept the promised gift: To date, the museum owns five of the 32 Bronzes on display in its dedicated Benin Kingdom Gallery. The donor, banking scion Robert Owen Lehman, owns the other 27, which he plans to transfer to the museum in the coming years. After the Globe began asking questions about the collection, the museum shifted course, saying it was temporarily “pausing converting promised gifts to outright gifts.” “It’s not the right time to start bringing things into the collection,” said Teitelbaum. “At the same time, we certainly don’t think we should encourage the return of the objects to the donor.” * * * For centuries, the kingdom of Benin — not to be confused with the country of Benin, which borders Nigeria — was a major power in West Africa, where it derived a portion of its wealth from European trade in pepper, palm oil, and, at one point, enslaved people. But by January 1897, tensions were high when a trade dispute prompted James Phillips, an official with England’s Niger Coast Protectorate, to defy the wishes of the oba, or king, and travel as an envoy to Benin City. An attack party ambushed Phillips’s group, killing seven British officials including Phillips along with an estimated 200 or more African carriers. The attack inflamed colonial passions, and within weeks the British had launched a so-called punitive expedition, described by newspapers at the time as a “little war” to avenge the attack and “thrash the bloodthirsty savages.” Traveling by foot and by boat, a large contingent of soldiers made their way inland that February, killing untold numbers as they machine-gunned their way toward the capital, ultimately capturing Benin City and ransacking the royal palace. “They’re making these very precise inland attacks from the ships and then retreating back,” said Hicks, author of “The Brutish Museums,” which reexamines the attack and the role museums played in the colonial enterprise. “Of course, that’s how you’re able to ship the cargo out. That’s how you can do so much looting.” British soldiers surrounded by loot plundered from the royal palace during the 1897 expedition. The objects can now be found in an estimated 160 museums the world over. British soldiers surrounded by loot plundered from the royal palace during the 1897 expedition. The objects can now be found in an estimated 160 museums the world over. © THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM No one knows for certain how many objects the British plundered. It’s believed there are more than 3,000 Benin artifacts, though some estimate the real figure is closer to 10,000. The Benin Bronzes — a catch-all term that includes cast metal heads, figures, and relief plaques as well as other materials such as carved ivory and wood that date from at least the 16th century onward — played an integral role in the life of the kingdom, commemorating past rulers and offering an idealized history of dynastic life. In London, their beauty and technical bravura were recognized almost instantly. One museum curator hailed them as a “new ‘Codex Africanus,’ not written on fragile papyrus but in ivory and imperishable brass”; his European counterpart compared them favorably to the work of renaissance sculptor Benvenuto Cellini. Some of the choicest works, including a pair of ivory leopards, went to Queen Victoria. The British Museum now has more than 900 objects, including many plaques that once ornamented the palace. Some of the works were sold by dealers; others were retained by expedition members as spoils of war. Many more were dispersed around the world. Today, Hicks estimates that more than 160 institutions possess items from the raid, including American museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Chicago’s Field Museum, and Harvard University’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. Precious few of the Bronzes, however, are in Nigeria. “When you ask questions, they tell you, ‘Oh, you can come see it in our museum, we have kept it well,’” said Victor Ehikhamenor, an artist who has long advocated the Bronzes’ return. “At some point, humanity has to prevail.” * * * Lehman, who declined an interview request through a museum spokesperson, assembled his collection over the course of decades, often purchasing from dealers. And while the MFA declined to estimate the collection’s overall value, individual Bronzes can fetch millions even as their sale stirs outrage: Just two years before Lehman’s promised gift, Sotheby’s withdrew an ivory mask estimated at $7 million after the Nigerians denounced the sale. In Boston, it took less than a month after the announcement of Lehman’s gift for Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments to cry foul, sending a letter in July 2012 demanding the MFA “return these works to their home.” But former director Rogers held firm. Mounted ruler (so-called Horseman) from the 16th century. The work is one of thousands taken by British forces during the 1897 attack. It is now on display at the MFA as part of a promised gift from Robert Owen Lehman. Mounted ruler (so-called Horseman) from the 16th century. The work is one of thousands taken by British forces during the 1897 attack. It is now on display at the MFA as part of a promised gift from Robert Owen Lehman. LANE TURNER/GLOBE STAFF “We have every right in the world to own these beautiful pieces and make them available for the world public,” he told the Globe at the time. “It’s one of the most special things that museums do. We move objects into the public domain.” The commission’s director-general, Yusuf Abdallah Usman, fired back: “If these works of art . . . are so wonderful to move into the public domain in the US, would it not be more appropriate if they are first returned to their home?” he told The Art Newspaper. “We demand the return of these looted works.” Oba Erediauwa, whom Rogers approached separately, eventually sanctioned the display, sending a delegation to attend the 2013 gallery opening. The oba, who died in 2016, also instructed Bostonians from Nigeria’s Edo State, whose capital is Benin City, to work with the museum to help interpret the works. “He did not make a statement about long-term ownership issues,” Teitelbaum said. “But he did express pleasure that there was going to be this platform for understanding what these objects meant.” Rogers, who retired from the MFA in 2015, declined an interview request. In the years since, the MFA has continued to engage the Edo diaspora, with free museum admission, youth symposia, family events, and language lessons. Teitelbaum added that there’s a strong argument for exhibiting the works at the MFA, which normally hosts around 1.2 million visitors annually. “There is real value in the representation of culture in international museums like the MFA,” said Teitelbaum. “There’s real value in having those objects here for teaching, and for helping push museums to be more transparent and accountable.” To that end, the museum was among the first to explicitly describe the forceful removal of the Bronzes in its gallery labels, a practice since replicated by other institutions. “The recognition of that history is in itself progress,” said Chika Okeke-Agulu, who directs the African studies program at Princeton University. Even so, he said, “those objects belong to Nigeria.” * * * A growing number of European institutions have reached the same conclusion. Germany, whose combined state museums house roughly 1,100 Bronzes, signed a preliminary agreement with Nigeria last month paving the way to return a substantial number of Bronzes beginning next year. Barbara Plankensteiner, director of Hamburg’s Museum am Rothenbaum, called the decision “a moral obligation.” Several British institutions have also initiated returns. In late October, Jesus College at the University of Cambridge returned a bronze cockerel; the next day, the University of Aberdeen in Scotland returned a commemorative bronze head of an oba that it purchased in the 1950s. Master of Jesus College Sonita Alleyne (left) and Abba Isa Tijani, director general of Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments, spoke before a transfer ceremony for the looted bronze cockerel, known as the Okukur, to Nigeria. Master of Jesus College Sonita Alleyne (left) and Abba Isa Tijani, director general of Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments, spoke before a transfer ceremony for the looted bronze cockerel, known as the Okukur, to Nigeria. JOE GIDDENS/ASSOCIATED PRESS In a statement before the transfer ceremony at Aberdeen, Oba Ewuare II said he hoped other institutions would take note and “see the injustice when they insist on holding on to items,” adding, the “return of stolen art is the right thing to do.” Meanwhile, Abba Isa Tijani, director general of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments, said in a statement at Jesus College that “we would like other museums and institutions across the world to take this opportunity and follow suit.” The returns follow years of work by the Benin Dialogue Group, an international consortium of European museum heads and Nigerian leaders that has been discussing the Bronzes for more than a decade. They also coincide with plans to build the Edo Museum of West African Art, which is being designed by the Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye to display Bronzes and other works. Restitution efforts are slowly gaining momentum in the United States, where a few museums have approached Nigerian officials about returning the objects. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art announced earlier this month it had identified 16 pilfered Bronzes in its collection that the museum would seek to return. “It’s clear the objects were looted,” director Ngaire Blankenberg told the Globe before the announcement. “They were stolen.” Ehikhamenor, who is also a member of the nonprofit trust that is spearheading the new museum, attributed the restitution movement’s current strength in part to a groundbreaking 2018 report commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron that urged the permanent return of objects looted from Africa. “He really set fire at a lot of institutions,” said Ehikhamenor. “Other presidents have no choice but to listen. Other institutions now know that they really don’t have any more moral ground to stand on.” * * * The MFA, which has grown in recent years to become a leader in restitution matters, garnered praise in 2014 when it returned eight items to Nigeria that were likely trafficked in the preceding decades. Kathryn Wysocki Gunsch, the museum’s chair and curator of African and Oceanic art, emphasized that the Lehman collection places the museum in an unusual position: Although all 32 Bronzes are promised to the MFA, the collector still owns most of the works on display. “This sounds duplicitous, but it is something seriously to consider: You can only return something if you own it,” said Gunsch, who specializes in the art of the Benin kingdom. “And you can only return something once.” Gunsch, who is also the MFA’s director of collections, added that despite Usman’s 2012 demand, it remains unclear who has proper standing to make a restitution claim: Is it the oba? Edo State? Or is it Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments? “It is not for art museums to adjudicate which claimant is the right claimant” said Gunsch, who added there has been recent division among the parties. “You have to wait and see how it sorts out. That’s true anytime there’s a claim for our works.” Enotie Ogbebor, an artist and authority on the Bronzes, bristled at the notion that the Nigerians lack a proper claimant, noting the MFA’s European counterparts have proceeded with restitutions. “All other issues about ownership are issues that will be resolved internally,” said Ogbebor. “You cannot pretend to be an ostrich.” So far, the Nigerians haven’t submitted a renewed claim to the MFA. Teitelbaum said that while the museum has been in contact with “a number of interested parties,” he has not had direct contact with Oba Ewuare II. He added that whatever the museum ultimately decides, the process should be transparent. This decision ”will come out of conversations with representatives in Nigeria and in the palace,” he said, noting that “you want to track how the issue moves. . . . Having an active dialogue helps us understand when that tipping point moves, and if it does, we will do the right thing.” In the meantime, Ehikhamenor said, he’s hopeful more Bronzes will return to Nigeria. “The children of the colonized are getting a bit wiser,” he said, noting that Nigeria didn’t gain independence until 1960. “The entanglements of colonialism took hundreds of years — to begin to unwind that is not going to be an overnight thing.”

Nigerian gang forcing women into prostitution busted in Italy.Agency Report

Map of Italy Italian authorities said the criminal network forced 41 Nigerian women into prostitution while nine were forced to beg for money on the streets. The exploitation stretched outside Italy into Germany and Libya, according to dw.com The gang lured dozens of Nigerian women to Italy where it then forced them into prostitution and kept them in a cycle of ‘physical-psychological coercion’ Italian police on Monday announced that they had broken up a Nigerian crime ring operating across the country with the arrest of some 40 suspects. The suspects have been charged with money laundering, facilitating illegal immigration, human trafficking, forced prostitution and slavery, according to a police statement. Authorities say the network was active in Cagliari, Sardinia; Turin in Piedmont; and Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region. Beyond Italy, the network stretched from Nigeria via Libya and up to Germany as well. Police say dozens of other individuals are currently under investigation. Police said the people arrested Monday had been responsible for the fates of 41 women who were forced into prostitution and nine more who were forced into begging. According to investigators, the gang managed to move nearly €11.4 million ($12.5 million) in prostitution, money laundering and begging profits to Nigeria. They did so by using an informal Hawala system that moves money across international borders outside the formal banking system. Police say the group used 11 teams of cash couriers — hiding cash inside retractable luggage handles or pasta packages to elude searches at Italy’s airports. The men arrested Monday were said to have lured young Nigerian women to Europe with the prospect of working in Italy and the payment of their travel costs. Upon arrival the women were psychologically abused and even subjected to “macabre voodoo rituals,” designed to keep them from contacting Italian authorities for help and making them fear harm to their families back home should they fail to repay their expenses or disobey their handlers. Authorities were tipped off by a Nigerian woman who sounded the alarm — saying the women incurred debts as high as €50,000 to be brought illegally to Italy, where they were then forced into prostitution to pay off the debt. Measures taken by judicial authorities in Italy ended up helping the victims break “the ties of physical-psychological coercion which kept them bound” to the criminal network. While sex work is legal in Italy, exploiting prostitutes is a crime.

Will Tinubu Be President? by Wole Olaoye

Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a redoubtable politician and one of the most dexterous political acrobats in the circus called Nigerian politics. Like him or loathe him, you deceive yourself if you say he is not consequential in determining who becomes Nigeria’s next president in 2023. Right now, Tinubu is one of the issues in Nigerian politics. For good or for ill, depending on which side of the political aisle you are entrenched in, Tinubu, the Jagaban of Borgu and Asiwaju of Lagos, is one of those who will determine who becomes Nigeria’s next leader. And that is putting the matter coyly because the word on the streets is that, this time around, the kingmaker wants to wear the crown himself. How feasible is a Tinubu presidential project? I am not one to dismiss it with a wave of the hand because in Nigeria, even a rookie analyst knows that the first law in Prediction 101 is “Never say never”. To my knowledge, Nigeria is the only country where reluctant candidates are foisted on the people, plucked from either retirement, anonymity or other pursuits and planted in the state house to run the show in accordance with the expectations of those who propped him up. In 1978, Shehu Shagari wanted to be a senator. Indeed, we all thought the NPN presidential ticket would go to Maitama Sule, but the godfathers of the party drafted Shagari to contest the presidency. He became president after the 1979 presidential elections, albeit a reluctant one. He was a good man, incorruptible, but incapable of reining in the vultures surrounding him. Twenty years later, Olusegun Obasanjo was fervently praying that the death sentence passed on him by Abacha’s kangaroo tribunal would not be carried out. Then Fate intervened. Abacha died. The succeeding military government plucked Obasanjo from jail, tidied him up and catapulted him to the presidency in 1999. He was a competent president in many respects, but an authoritarian one; certainly not a democrat. In 2007 a retreating Obasanjo instructed all other contestants for the PDP presidential ticket to step down for Umaru Yar’ Adua and even foisted Goodluck Jonathan on him as running mate. When President Yar’Adua died in office, Jonathan (former deputy governor who unexpectedly became the governor when his boss was impeached in bizarre circumstances) found himself taking the oath of office as president and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. He completed Yar’Adua’s first term and won another four years in his own right. The most charitable thing one can say about the shy, good-hearted zoologist is that he wasn’t the best president Nigeria ever had. Apparently, governing Nigeria demands more than a good heart. Between 2012 and 2013, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, having done a strategic calculation of how the incumbent President Jonathan could be defeated, approached Muhammadu Buhari, a serial loser in past presidential contests, and offered him the presidential ticket based on a merger of parties and pinching of identified heavyweights from PDP. Buhari’s party CPC, was controlling only Nasarawa State while Tinubu’s ACN had six governors, six state legislatures, etc. The attraction for Tinubu was Buhari’s cult following by northern voters who consistently gave him about 12 million votes. The added forces from ACN, ANPP, a faction of APGA and the breakaway faction of the PDP which called itself the New PDP teamed up with Buhari’s CPC to clinch victory — and Nigeria has never been the same since. Now , we are on the march again. A group of Tinubu’s admirers led by Senator Dayo Adeyeye have launched a pro-Tinubu group, South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA), calling on their mentor to declare his interest in the 2023 presidential race. If you understand the lingo of Nigerian politics, this is one place where politicians routinely organise huge rallies of endorsement which they themselves had bankrolled. The fact that a man with boiling ambition has to be ‘begged’ to declare interest in a public office is a uniquely Nigerian art form. But will Tinubu be president? One cannot dismiss the amount of legwork that has been done to realise the Tinubu-for-president project. SWAGA gives you one of the ‘official’ reasons why Tinubu ought to succeed Buhari: “It is indeed payback time for our national leader, who had through his years of service contributed to the lives of many others and today you can see his footprints across the country… We shall continue to appeal to him to contest for the position of the President… We need viable, experienced and a man (sic) who understands the diverse nature of Nigerian economy.” Tinubu’s foot-soldiers have gone round the six zones of Nigeria. In the North, they have not been as loud as SWAGA, but their conspiratorial style has been quite effective. The payback referred to by SWAGA strikes a tune with some northern leaders who feel that Tinubu should be rewarded for his role in making Buhari president. But there are two other discernible groups that don’t want Tinubu. There is suspicion that Nasir el Rufa’i, Governor of Kaduna State, would prefer a younger person to Tinubu. If you put your ears to the ground, you’ll hear rumours of alliances between el Rufa’i and some southern politicians, notably Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi. The other group deserving of mention is the Progressive Consolidation Group (PCG), a group backing Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023. The group was the first to receive official recognition as a support group of APC from the Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker Committee of the party. According to its leader, Bala Gide, “We deeply appreciate the widening mobilisation and deepening support that PCG and all associated groups working towards an Osinbajo presidency, all our grassroots and national leaders, as well as current governors, federal and state lawmakers along with various labour and professional groups will have further significant roles to play post-2023”. The die is cast. In APC, it will be a straight contest between Tinubu, Osinbajo and a dark horse that may strut into the race course propelled by conspiratorial elements. Given the weaponisation of religion in the country today, the feat achieved by the historic duo of MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe in 1993 with a Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket is inconceivable today. Therefore the following conclusion is inescapable to the dispassionate analyst: If Tinubu is paired with a fellow muslim, Christians in the country will vote for the opposing party If Tinubu is paired with a Christian from the North, Muslims in the North will not vote for the ticket because they would consider that combination as shutting them out of the power equation. The fact that Tinubu’s wife is a Christian will not have any effect on the equation. If the PDP fields Atiku Abubakar who is probably their best bet in combination with a strong running mate (I’ve heard Nyesom Wike’s name flung around) and if they are contending against a Tinubu/Christian running mate ticket, northern muslims are likely to vote for Atiku massively. To have a chance of retaining power, a pairing of Osinbajo with a Muslim running mate from the North, appears to be APC’s best bet, especially if he secures the full blessing of his boss, Buhari, and his godfather, the Jagaban himself. Osinbajo doesn’t excite serious negative passions in the Southeast and South-south, or any other zone of the country. If President Buhari stands aloof, he may be the first and last president from the APC stable. If Tinubu insists on self above party, the house that those legacy parties built together will collapse on their collective heads. If PDP play their cards right, all they have to do is wait under the mango tree and pray for APC to violently shake it from the top. All that PDP would then have to do is simply bend down and pick the mango. Leadership

APC to hold National Convention February 5, Presidential primaries third quarter of 2022 Businessday

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said its National Convention will now hold on February 5, 2022. BusinessDay also gathered that the ruling party may retain the Caretaker Committee to conduct the presidential primaries in the third quarter of 2022. Some of the chieftains within the Caretaker Committe are said to be lobbying to retain positions ahead of primaries. “I can confirm to you that the National Convention of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), will hold on February 5, 2022 where a new Exco will be elected,” a chieftain of the party said on condition of anonymity. APC members also disclosed that President MuhammaduBuhari had wanted the convention to hold on Decenber 28, 2022, but was persuaded by APC governors to yield to February 5, 2022 date. It had earlier been reported that top leaders of APC had earlier agreed to hold the convention on any of the weekends between the first and third week of February 2022. It was also gathered that APC had decided to zone its presidential candidacy to Southern Nigeria. President Buhari is from Katsina State, North West Nigeria. “The President wants the convention done as soon as possible. February 5, 2022 is the date marked for the APC Convention,” Chieftain of party added.

NNPC Contracts Innoson Motors To Manufacture CNG Cars For Nigerians By Ukpe Philip

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd has contracted Innoson Vehicle Motors (IVM) to produce Condensed Natural Gas cars, the indigenous car manufacturer has said. The Chairman of Innoson Group, Innocent Chukwuma, also revealed that the company is ready to manufacture electric cars. Chukwuma disclosed the mega deal with the state owned company while commenting on the race to face out fossil fuel. The Nigerian government had unveiled plans to sponsor the conversion of one million cars to run on gas. Gas is Nigeria’s transition fuel. The NNPC Ltd, Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, had announced in December 2020 that the Ministry of Petroleum will provide the structure for the free conversion services to enable automobiles switch from premium motor spirit to gas. Speaking to local station, Arise TV, Chukwuma revealed that IVM has been contracted to manufacture cars for the NNPC Ltd. But the businessman did not reveal the details of the deal. The Innoson Group Chairman said, “I am now producing some vehicles with CNG engine for NNPC. I am almost through with the production and I did the best quality of the CNG cars and it was built from my factory. “CNG will help everybody because the consumption of CNG is better than fuel. If people can convert to CNG, it will benefit the nation, transport cost will drop down. Nigeria has a lot of CNG wasting.” IVM has a plant at Nnewi, South Eastern Nigeria that has the production capacity of 60,000 cars. The billionaire businessman was also optimistic of venturing into the manufacturing of electric cars. According to him, electric car manufacturing is not a big deal when the country begins to see demands. Chukwuma said, “The most important thing that am doing in a vehicle is to build the body, I don’t produce engines, I import engines from engine companies. “If I want to do electric vehicle, it is the same vehicle, I will buy the battery and other things. It is the same thing. so, electric vehicle is nothing, I can do it easily, because I have the capacity do it. It is very easy. But it is when the demand comes that I will start.”

New President Of MWAN in Kaduna State, Dr Zainab Muhammad-Idris Inaugurated By; Ibrahim Dahiru Danfulani

The Kaduna State Branch of the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria (MWAN) on Saturday inaugurated Dr. Zainab Muhammad-Idris as its President for the next two years. Muhammad-Idris, a Consultant Public Health Physician with over 20 years experience, was inaugurated at the end of the association’s 8th Biennial Conference and Annual General Meeting held in Kaduna. She was inaugurated alongside Dr Aisha Mustapha, as Vice President, Dr Marufah Lasisis, Secretary and Dr Amina Jelili, Assistant Secretary. Dr. Hassana Yakasai was elected as Financial Secretary, Dr Lubabatu Abdulrasheed, Treasurer, Dr Amina Umar, Zonal Coordinator, Zaria, while Dr Salamatu Akor and Dr Maryam Makarfi are to serve as Public Relations Officer I and II respectively. Others are, Dr Yusra Muktar, Dr Hadiza Muhammad and Dr Elizabeth Ebel as Welfare Coordinators for Kaduna, Zaria and Kafanchan respectively. Also, Dr Hannatu Kachiro was elected as Coordinator of Young Doctors Forum with Dr Jamila Wuyahku as Secretary. Speaking on behalf of the executives, Muhammad-Idris, a lecturer with the Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaduna State University, described her emergence as a “honour to serve” the great association. She pledged to serve the medical women and the people of Kaduna State in line with the motto of the MWAN, “Healing with the Love of a Mother ” to ensure better health outcomes for the people of Kaduna state. She thanked the immediate past president of the association, Dr Anisah Yahya, for the exemplary leadership and for bringing the association thus far. She solicited for the support and cooperation of members such that together, they will move MWAN to greater heights. “We will build on the achievements and legacies of the past leaders of this great association and build strong leadership and commitment of members to move the association forward. “We will strengthen existing partnerships and build more collaborations with relevant stakeholders with a view to serve humanity in our respective areas of expertise,” she said. Muhammad-Idris, a gender and health management expert is currently serving as the Project Coordinator of the World Bank-supported Accelerating Nutrition Result in Nigeria in Kaduna State. She has worked with UNDP-supported North West Zonal Technical Officer, under the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs Conditional Grants Scheme to Local Governments. She also served at different capacities as the Team Lead on the United Kingdom DFID-funded flagship programmes, including Partnership for Transforming Health Systems and Strengthening Nigerians Response to HIV/AIDS among others. Muhammad-Idris equally served as consultant on development of various multi-sectoral strategic plans initiatives at the federal and state levels. She chaired and served as a member of various government and civil society working groups and committees at federal and state levels. She is currently the Chair, Board of Trustees of a Non-Governmental Organisation, Education as a Vaccine, and member of National Steering Committee on Neglected Tropical Diseases among several other positions.

3.4m Nigerians fully vaccinated against COVID-19 By Isaac Ukpoju

Dr Faisal Shuaib, NPHCDA boss The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has said that 3,487, 298 eligible persons in Nigeria have been fully vaccinated against Coronavirus (COVID-19), having received their second jabs. Dr Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director, NPHCDA, disclosed this during the inauguration of mass vaccination exercise for Nasarawa State on Friday in Lafia. Shuaib said that as at Friday, Nov. 26, a total of 6,242, 224 eligible persons in the country had received their first doses of the vaccine. “From the data above, it is clear that Nigeria is still far from reaching its target of vaccinating almost 112 million of its eligible population,” he said. Shuaib said that the Federal Government came up with the mass vaccination campaign in view of the festive period characterised by large gathering with risk of spread of the virus. He said the campaign was geared towards creating access to the vaccines in order to ward off a potential 4th wave of the pandemic. He said the mass vaccination campaign was a carefully designed service delivery strategy to rapidly increase the number of fully vaccinated eligible people and fast track the country’s economic and social recovery. “The main aim of the mass vaccination campaign is to vaccinate 50 per cent of Nigeria’s eligible population by January 2022,” Shuaib added. In Nasarawa State, the executive director pointed out that based on data from the National Population Commission (NPC), about 1.5million persons in the state were eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination. “As it stands, we have only been able to vaccinate 8.1 per cent of eligible Nasarawa residents with the first dose and only 5.3 per cent are fully vaccinated. “This is below our target which is to vaccinate all eligible residents with the COVID-19 vaccines in order to ensure full protection against the deadly virus. “In order to address the logistical problems of getting to vaccination site by Nigerians, the Federal Government in collaboration with the State Government has expanded the vaccination sites in Nasarawa State. “The COVID-19 vaccines are now available in our public health facilities, designated private health facilities, shopping malls, open markets, schools, general hospitals, tertiary health institutions, recreation parks, religious centres, motor parks and other designated sites, he said. Shuaib encouraged Nasarawa residents, who are 18 years and above to come out en masse to receive the vaccines in order to protect themselves, their loved ones and communities. He appreciated the media for their support so far and called on them to intensify actions in mobilising eligible Nigerians for improved vaccination. “We count on your support to ensure the overall success of the mass vaccination campaign across the country. “Please remember, no one is safe from COVID-19 until everyone is safe from it,” Shuaib added. In his remarks, Gov. Abdullahi Sule gave assurance that his government would ensure that every citizen of the state was vaccinated in order to achieve herd immunity and safety of all.