APC national chairmanship: Defunct CPC bloc in dilemma over Almakura, Mustapha

APC national chairmanship: Defunct CPC bloc in dilemma over Almakura, Mustapha

Mallam Saliu Mustapha Ahead of the national convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), members of one of its legacy parties, the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) were in a dilemma over who to support between a former governor of Nasarawa state Tanko Almakura and a former deputy national chairman of CPC, mallam Saliu Mustapha. This dilemma, according to sources who were in the defunct CPC with both Almakura and Mustapha, was as a result of chances and credentials of the two party chieftains. While the former Nasarawa state governor was the only governor CPC had then, Mustapha is also said to have been a long standing ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, who was the leader of CPC. The APC leaders argued that the Bola Tinubu-led defunt Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) had produced both the interim national chairman, Chief Bisi Akande and the first substantive national chairman, Chief John Oyegun, hence it is the turn of CPC to produce the next national chairman of the APC. One of the sources who is of the CPC legacy party told our correspondent Monday in Abuja that “with the calibre of our people in the race for the position which we believe is ours this time, I can tell you that many of us are divided on who to back. “Al-Makura enjoys the support of some of us who count on his antecedents as a former governor and his clout among his fellow former governors but Mustapha is a founding CPC member with a strong background in party administration and was a driving force in The Buhari Organisation (TBO). “His support base among CPC members is one that cannot be dismissed especially as he seems to be a rallying point for many stakeholders within our group and also younger people in the APC”, he added. According to the source, the reason CPC elements have narrowed it to Al-Makura and Mustapha is because of the belief that the position may be eventually zoned to the North-central. Another source said: “Yes we have 3 CPC members who have indicated interest, Al-Makura from Nasarawa, Mustapha as you know is from Kwara and Barrister MB Mohammed from Taraba who may have been zoned out of the race. “So we have those two from the geopolitical zone but we are concerned about two other contenders from the North-central, former Benue state governor George Akume and Senator Sani Musa from Niger who have their origins in ACN and ANPP respectibely, so we are keen on insisting that it is CPC’s turn to occupy that seat. “We have good ground for this because the two other legacy parties have previously produced National Chairmen and none of our people is likely to seek the Presidential ticket after President Muhammadu Buhari. It is however not clear if CPC elements in APC would eventually settle for a consensus candidate between Al-Makura and Mustapha.

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;