APC Convention: Kwara Gov backs Saliu Mustapha for National Chairmanship By Omeiza Ajayi

Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has assured one of the frontrunners for the National Chairmanship of the All Progressives Congress APC Mallam Saliu Mustapha of support. A statement issued by the media office of the aspirant in Abuja quoted the governor as giving his words at a banquet in the aftermath of Mustapha’s turbaning as the Turaki of the Ilorin Emirate. He said: “We have come a long way since the days of the Congress for Progressive Change CPC. You have been very supportive of the administration and we will continue to count on your support. And also you should be able to count on our support as you progress in your political career.” Governor Abdulrazaq had earlier noted that Mustapha deserved the title of Turaki of Ilorin based on his antecedents. “it is a well-deserved position based on your great contribution to the welfare of our people. “All I can say is God bless you and we wish you well on behalf of the people and government of Kwara state, and pray that you continue to contribute to the state in the way you have been doing,” he added. Malam Mustapha is the youngest of all the aspirants for APC’s top job and the only one with a long-standing political relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari. Also, ahead of the yet-to-be scheduled National Convention of the APC, a group of professionals within the party has said for the party to continue to maintain its winning streak, it needs a bridge builder to succeed the current National Chairman of its Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee CECPC, Gov. Mai Mala Buni. “He is the political gladiator and muster-point of North Central Nigeria and he possesses the magic wand that will positively increase the fortunes of our great party APC”, he added. Vanguard News Nigeria

Alleged CEO Super TV murder: Witness narrates how victim’s body was found by Abiolapaul

The owner of the rented apartment where Micheal Usifo Ataga, Super TV Chief Executive Officer, was allegedly murdered on Thursday narrated to a Lagos High Court how the body of the victim was discovered. The owner of the apartment, Nkechi Mogbo, made this known while giving evidence as the first prosecution witness (PW1) in the on-going trial of Chidinma Ojukwu and two others. Ojukwu, along with her sister, Chioma Egbuchu and one Adedapo Quadri, are standing trial for the alleged murder of the Super TV CEO. While giving evidence, Mogbo, told the court that she trades in female shoes and operates a self-service apartment. According to her, the apartment is fully furnished like a normal house with cable TV subscription, a 24-hour power supply and a well equipped kitchen. Mogbo said that on June 13, at about 4:00p.m., a lady (suspect) called her on phone with a private number and requested for the apartment. The witness said the lady requested to see the apartment to ensure that the facilities were up to the standard she needed. Mogbo said that she communicated with the lady through WhatsApp message. She said the lady took the apartment and paid for three days, the sum of N125, 000. “The payment was made through a Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) account from one Mr Micheal Usifo, which had a time and date of transfer and my name as recipient. “The security guard at the apartment handed her the key to the apartment but two days later (June 15th) the lady sent message to my WhatsApp stating that her friend would stay for two more days,” Mogbo said. The witness also said that on June 16, at about 10a.m. a second payment of N50, 000 for the two extra days was made from the same GTB account. Mogbo said that when she called her security guard for a different issue, “the security told me that a body was discovered on the ground of the apartment and that the lady left a night before”. “I panicked when my security guard told me about the body. I tried to contact the lady but couldn’t. “I sent her a text that the second payment didn’t go through that she should make another payment, just to initiate a conversation with her. “I got another N50, 000 payment which was made from the same GTB account. “I tried to lure her to the apartment to come and collect the extra N50,000 but she said I should keep it for another extra two days for her friend,” she said. The witness said she informed the police about the development at the Maroko Police station. She narrated how she was taken to Panti police station and how she stayed for seven days in custody so as to help the police to conduct proper investigation. She also narrated how she could not identify Chidinma Ojukwu when she was brought to the station, adding that it was through the aid of a picture she got from her phone that enabled her to identify the suspect. The witness said her conversations with the suspect was done through WhatsApp so she printed out the conversations and also sent it as email to the police. The Prosecutor, Mrs Adeyinka Adeyemi , Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who led the witness in evidence, tendered the printed copy of the WhatsApp conversation as evidence. Counsel to the first defendant, Mr Onwuka Egbu, objected to the admissibility of such document, saying “it is a public document which must be certified before it can be used as evidence”. After the argument of counsels, Justice Yetunde Adesanya, overruled the argument of the defendant counsel and admitted the document as evidence. However, Egbu, asked for adjournment to enable him study the documents recently served on him. Egbu requested for more time to enable him prepare for cross examination of the witness. Justice Adesanya, however, adjourned the case until Nov. 15 for continuation of trial. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the three defendants were arraigned on Oct. 12 on a nine count charge preferred against them by the Lagos State Government. They had allegedly murdered the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Micheal Usifo Ataga. The first two defendants, Chidinma Ojukwu and Adedapo Quadri, are facing the first to eight counts charge bordering on conspiracy, murder, stabbing, forgery, making of bank statements and stealing. The third defendant, who is the first defendant’s sister, Chioma Egbuchu, is facing the ninth count charge of stealing iPhone 7, belonging to the late Ataga. In the charge, the defendants were alleged to have conspired amongst themselves and murdered Ataga on June 15, 2021, by stabbing him severally with a knife on his neck and chest. The incident took place at No. 19, Adewale Oshin St., Lekki Phase 1, Lagos. The duo were also accused of committing forgery by procuring and making bank account statements purported to have been made by the deceased. (NAN)

Police parade 14 suspects over raid on Odili’s residence by Adelani Adepegba

More facts have emerged on the October 29 raid on Justice Mary Odili’s Maitama residence as the police on Thursday paraded 14 suspects involved in the incident in Abuja. The police found out that the team who stormed the apartment were not security operatives. The men were said to have been led by a fake Chief Superintendent of Police, Lawrence Ajojo, who admitted that he was engaged as a consultant by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN. Parading the suspects at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Garki, Abuja, the Force spokesman, Frank Mba, said the suspects involved in the criminal act came from different professional backgrounds. Ajojo told journalists that he was not a police officer, adding that he was a consultant to the AGF. “I am not an officer of the Nigeria Police but a consultant for the AGF; he did not send us to raid Mrs Odili’s house,” he stated. A complement of security operatives had stormed Justice Odili’s Maitama residence on the strength of a purported tip by a whistleblower, Aliyu Umar, who claimed to have observed suspicious activities at the Supreme Court Justice’s residence. Following an order by Chief Magistrate Emmanuel Iyanna, who approved the search warrant by a body identified as the Joint Panel Recovery unit in the Ministry of Justice, on October 29, 2021, the security operatives besieged Odili’s home but they were reportedly resisted. The magistrate later revoked the order, saying he was misled. The incident sparked an outrage with the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, absolving his office of involvement in the operation. The police leadership also said it was not aware of the raid. PUNCH.

Investment in gas remains top priority, Buhari assures investors by Victoria Edeme

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has assured investors that investment in gas has remained a top priority for the country. Buhari said this on Thursday while receiving the Chief Executive Officer of Total, Patrick Pouyanne, in France. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, made this known in a statement titled, ‘Gas Remains Top Priority, Transition Fuel for Nigeria, Says President Buhari in Paris’. The statement read, “President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday in Paris, France, assured investors that investment in gas remains a top priority for the country, considering the huge benefits in terms of returns and utility. “Receiving the Chief Executive Officer of Total, Patrick Pouyanne, President Buhari noted that Nigeria had made huge investments in gas, and will continue to create enabling opportunities for expansion while looking at improving alternatives for renewable energy. “The President said Nigeria remains mindful of the target of zero-emission by 2060 and had already started putting in place necessary natural structures that will ensure balance and safety for citizens and the global community. APC govs lobby Malami to stop Buhari from signing electoral bill “In his remark, the Chief Executive Officer of Total said the French company had been greatly encouraged by the interest and support for investors in the country and would continue to explore and pursue opportunities of mutual interest. “Pouyanne noted that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation led by Mele Kyari had provided a strong support base and partnership for growth, assuring the President that investments in the gas sector will be sustained, with consideration for renewable energy.” PUNCH.

Anambra election: APC candidate, Andy Uba, rejects outcome of poll by John Alechenu

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the just concluded Anambra State Governorship Election, Senator Andy Uba, has rejected the outcome of the polls. Uba said this in a statement titled, ‘Senator Andy Uba Rejects the outcome of Anambra Governorship Election,’ signed by the Spokesman for his campaign organisation, Jerry Ugokwe, on Thursday. He described the results as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission “as a charade” which was not reflective of the wishes and aspirations of the people of the state. The campaign organisation said, “Our popular candidate, Senator Andy Uba is a victim of widespread electoral fraud and manipulation by INEC in cohorts with the Willie Obiano Regime and the security forces deployed to oversee the Anambra State Governorship Election. “The elections were characterised by widespread irregularities, intimidation and voter suppression in order to clear the path for the inglorious ‘victory’ of APGA in the polls. “For instance, in polling units where the Biometric Voters’ Accreditation System malfunctioned, INEC went ahead to conduct the elections manually. There were numerous cases where votes announced by INEC exceeded the number of accredited voters in polling units. “Another clear manifestation of collusion between the Obiano Administration and INEC was the publishing of results on the Social Media handles of APGA even before official announcement by INEC. Yet mysteriously, the votes announced in advance by APGA always corresponded correctly with the official figures released by INEC. “It is inconceivable that our candidate, who polled over 200,000 votes in the APC primary election would be allocated slightly above 43,000 votes by INEC. “It is surprising that APGA that lost almost 80 per cent of its stalwarts through defection to the APC before the election came out ‘victorious’. A sitting APGA Deputy Governor, seven members of the House of Representatives, 10 members of the Anambra State House of Assembly, the APGA party’s member of Board of Trustees, many serving SA’s, SSA’s, in addition to a serving PDP Senator all defected to the APC very timely before the election, yet APGA emerged ‘victorious’. This is quite ridiculous.” The organisation vowed to pursue its “stolen mandate” to the limits allowed by the law of the land. PUNCH.

NIN’ll make identity of Internet users known to FG, says Pantami by Segun Adewole

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has said the National Identification Number will enable the Federal Government and security agencies to know the identity of Internet users in the country. This is as he stated that NIN will be the foundation of the economy and the security of the country. Pantami said this during the Nigeria International Partnership Forum in Paris, France. He said, “Some of these initiatives that happen to be the foundation of even our economy is the introduction of the national identification number. Nigeria has joined the global community by making the use of national identification numbers for both citizens and legal residents mandatory.” “This is going to be the foundation of our economy and also the foundation of our security that whoever happens to go online, his identity will be known by the federal government and also by our security institution. “As in our 1999 Constitution as amended section 14(2)(b), that the primary responsibility of government is security and safety of its citizens, it is because of this that President Muhammadu Buhari is very passionate about that and he has been pushing that we establish the foundation of our economy and the foundation of our security on the national identification number so that identity of our citizens and legal residents will be known, “As it is today, the enrollment has been over 67 million and most importantly we are able to capture the most important category of people that come out to do businesses.” Advertisement The Minister said having NIN is a prerequisite to enjoying government services, adding that it will bring peace of mind to potential investors. He said, “So it becomes a prerequisite to enjoying government services and I believe this will bring more peace of mind to potential investors to know that the government has been doing something significant in that regard. “Recently the country has also launched and commissioned a national centre for artificial intelligence and robotics that focuses more on research and coming up with innovative solutions in the area of security and now the centre in collaboration with security institutions is in the process of developing robots and many more that are going to be deployed to make our country safe and sound.” PUNCH.

Speculators lose billions as naira appreciates, exchanges for 540/$ by Nike Popoola

The naira has appreciated further in the parallel market as the dollar was sold for N540 on Wednesday, with traders saying speculators hoarding dollars would be losing a lot of money. The dollar, which was bought and sold for N578 and N580 as of the end of September, was bought and sold for N540 and N543 at the parallel market on Wednesday. Several Bureau de Change operators who spoke to our correspondent said the demand for foreign exchange was not high. “Many people who travelled have arrived and there is no high demand for forex as many people are not travelling now,” a BDC operator said. Another operator said, “The naira had been appreciating and many who have kept the forex would be losing a lot.” At the Investor & Exporter forex window, the naira appreciated by 0.8 per cent to close at N414.73 on Wednesday, although it fell to a low of N444 during the day. The Central Bank of Nigeria, however, maintained the official rate at N411.37 on its website. As part of efforts to tame the free fall of the naira in recent months, the CBN stopped the sales of forex to the BDCs. The CBN said the BDCs had turned themselves into “agents that facilitate graft and corrupt activities of people who seek illicit fund flow and money laundering in Nigeria”. It also clamped down on abokiFX after accusing the website and its owner of manipulating the currency to sabotage the economy. At the last Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, the committee urged the CBN to take further steps to restrict the activities of unauthorised and illegal dealers in the forex market. It said all forex transactions must be conducted at the I&E window to ensure transparency and stability. The committee called on the CBN to intensify surveillance over forex sales and utilisation by commercial banks and customers, to ensure that operators adhere to stipulated guidelines set by the CBN. The apex bank maintained its resolve to continue to restructure the forex market and pursue all the policies targeted at sanitising the market to improve transparency and proper functioning to eliminate illegal forex dealers in the economy. PUNCH.