Rather than address the humongous sum of N500 million approved by President Bola Tinubu as the first instalment of a purported N1bn approval for the inauguration of a 37-man Tripartite Committee on the New National Minimum Wage, the presidency Presidency called for a probe into the civil service structure to rid it of those it called “moles” loyal to the main opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who it blamed for leaking classified documents.
Amidst starvation and soaring inflation in the country, a leaked memo surfaced days ago revealing that President Tinubu allegedly approved N500m out of a total of N1bn to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, for the inauguration of a 37-man Tripartite Committee on the New National Minimum Wage.
However, while it appears the federal government is unaware of the stinging economic crisis, Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Rights Advocate, Femi Falana at the 18th annual memorial anniversary of Dr. Beko Ransone-Kuti, a member of the rights community in his lifetime, called for a social revolution.
Falana at the event reeled out huge and incomprehensible government expenditure in recent times which were at variance with the struggling economy.
Watch the video below of Falana’s thought provoking interventions, questions and more.
How could such a fine gentleman, so generous, warm, humble and respectful die so violently with his wife, son and a friend? Why would such a visionary business leader, Godfearing and kindhearted human being perish so tragically?
The United States aviation authorities should conduct full and detailed investigations into the helicopter crash that took away Dr. Herbert Wigwe, one of our finest and most industrious bankers and business icons, and his family. The callousness of the operators of that aircraft borders on criminal negligence.
It is notable that Nigerian air accident investigators are collaborating with NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board), the agency that investigates air and road accidents in the US, to unearth the causes of this crash. It was in January 2020 that Kobe Bryant, an American basketball star, died in a similar chopper crash with his daughter also in California. If those helicopters in the US are not well maintained, they should not be put up for charter. If the Californian weather is too treacherous in winters, those choppers should be grounded till the conditions improve. It is unconscionable wickedness to carry innocent people to their deaths.
A photo of late Access Holdings CEO, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, Chizoba and son Chizzy, have been shared online.
I am so sad, pained and devastated. This is one loss too much. The outpouring of griefs and the floods of messages from across Africa and around the world; from world leaders, colleagues and ordinary folks testify to Herbert’s extraordinary qualities and outstanding contributions. Millions of Nigerians from all walks of life, including millions of Access Bank’s customers, shareholders and employees, as well as the thousands of workers who are toiling to build Wigwe University are benumbed, stunned and pained by Herbert’s sudden death.
To die at such a relatively young age with one’s wife and son is numbing, and, to say the least, disorienting. How is such a catastrophic calamity explained in the Bible? What does God say about good people dying so painfully and suddenly? Why did this happen, for goodness’ sake? The last time a young Nigerian’s violent and sudden death gripped the nation so painfully was on Sunday, October 19, 1986. If Dele Giwa’s death through a parcel bomb from some military evil planners had frightened the nation, Herbert Wigwe’s death in a helicopter crash in California has transfixed us all.
From all indications, I was chatting with Herbert some hours before his death. It was his habit to read his messages and respond promptly despite his grueling schedule. But when I noticed that he had not opened his phone for close to 15 hours on Saturday, I started developing a dreadful sense of foreboding, and I made a mental note to call him soon after the meeting I was attending that afternoon. But as soon as the meeting ended around 5pm, a call from a friend I haven’t heard from for long confirmed my fears. My hunch hardly goes wrong.
Herbert was an extraordinary human being who did not allow his outstanding attainments to dwindle his humanity. Some people disconnect completely from their roots when they get to the top. Not Herbert. He related well with the high and mighty as well as the low and forgotten. He kept in touch with his secondary school classmates; church members; village chiefs; community leaders as well as former staffs like me and other bank CEOs and Heads of governments. From one end of the spectrum to the other, he remains his witty, kind, humorous and amiable self. He was passionate about our youths and he created several mentorship programs for them. His philanthropic activities through his foundation are well known, but I guess, establishing a university for those he referred to as the ‘fearless’ generation will forever remain a timeless legacy. I am grateful that the people he assembled to midwife the institution have vowed to carry on the dream.
Working with Herbert in Access Bank, I realized early on that he was imbued with courage, boldness, determination and all the epithets that define fearlessness. The vision, mission and values of the bank were underpinned by the drive to conquer all obstacles and excel. It was for nothing that we called ourselves ‘’Access Warriors’’. I first met him on a Sunday afternoon in March 2008 when I appeared before him for an interview to join the bank. I was already used to his cherubic face in the press, but in real life, Herbert looked serious, businesslike and his beady eyes were penetrating. I was slightly uncomfortable, but I was determined not to be intimidated. He asked just a few questions. My five years in the bank turned out to be some of the most rewarding.
The bank’s meteoric growth in the over 21 years he and his friend and partner, Aigboje, have been in charge reflects their collective business acumen. Herbert took over from Aig in January 2014, leading the bank through various growth phases till 2022 when it was restructured into a holding company structure. As the Group CEO of Access Corporation, the holding company, Herbert added economic diplomacy to his huge responsibilities. He visited foreign leaders, spoke about Africa renaissance, the climate crisis, green energy, the roles of tech in finance and the importance of giving our youths the opportunities they deserve as the bank expanded across Africa into Europe and Asia. The bank has invested billions of dollars in the 15 African economies it has operations in. The messages from Presidents Emmanuel Macron of France and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa say it all.
I have reached out to Aig and a few other members of the Access family. The Group has lost three members in as many months. This must be the most difficult moment in the life of the institution, but I’m heartened to note that Aig has pledged to ensure that Herbert’s personal dreams, including the university, are not aborted. Now Herbert’s children are orphans. Losing their parents in such a circumstance could be traumatic. I trust that Aig will now step in to play a fatherly role to them (Proverbs 18:24).
I am told that we should not or cannot question the decisions of the Almighty God. I have also been told that God is not capable of doing bad things. But the mysteries of this life continue to confound me. Why are the good ones dying off so suddenly? While those who have stolen from this country and mismanaged it continue to flourish, others who worked hard to contribute to its development are quickly taken from us, some so violently.
The last message Herbert sent to me was that he would never be discouraged from working to change Nigeria positively. The development of this country was his obsession. May his aged parents, siblings, friends and colleagues be consoled.
An Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State has remanded a 13-year-old boy in Borstal Correctional Centre for allegedly defiling his neighbour’s daughter.
The Chief Magistrate, Bola Osunsanmi, ordered the remand of the teenager after refusing to take his plea on Monday, February 12, 2024.
Osunsanmi ordered the boy to be remanded in Borstal Correctional Centre until April 17 for legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).
The teenager, a student who lives with his parents in the Oshodi area of Lagos, was charged with defilement.
Earlier, the prosecution counsel, ASP Raji Akeem, told the court that the offence was committed in January 2024 at the defendant‘s residence.
Akeem said the boy lured his neighbour’s six-year-old girl to his room when their parents were not around and defiled her.
The offence according to the prosecutor contravened the provisions of section 210 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
Another defiles friend’s 12-year-old twin daughters
“This was the most unkindest cut of all. For when the noble Caesar saw him stab, ingratitude, more strong than traitors’ arms, quite vanquished him. Then burst his mighty heart. And in his mantle muffling up his face, even at the base of Pompey’s statue, which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell.” – Marc Antony in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.
For defiling his friend’s 12-year-old daughter, the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos State, has sentenced Kenneth Mba, a 53-year-old rubber trader to life imprisonment.
The presiding judge, Justice Rahman Oshodi, in a judgement delivered on Monday, February 12, 2024, held that the prosecution proved the charge of defilement against the convict beyond a reasonable doubt.
The judge sentenced Mba to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of the offence of defilement of a minor.
Justice Oshodi said the convict’s confessional statement that he defiled the survivor in his room three times and gave her N200 each time after sex was corroborated with the survivor’s testimony.
The judge described the convict as a pathological liar who betrayed the trust the survivor’s father had for him as they had been friends for over 20 years.
The judge held that the evidence of the survivor was unequivocal, straightforward, and full of clarity.
The judge also held that the confessional statement was consistent with the evidence before the court.
Justice Oshodi, thereafter, convicted and sentenced Mba to life imprisonment.
He also ordered that the convict’s name be registered in the Lagos State Sexual Offences Register.
The judge said: “You have been convicted of defilement and the offence is grave.
“You, at the age of 51, had sex with your friend’s daughter, whom you knew was 12 years old.
“Despite the overwhelming evidence before the court, you came to lie in your oral evidence.
“I hereby sentence you to life imprisonment.
“You shall serve your term in Ikoyi Custodial Centre where you are currently being held.”
The state counsel, Inumidun Solaarin, presented three witnesses, while the convict testified as a sole witness.
Solaarin told the court that the convict committed the offence in the Yaba area of Lagos in April 2021.
According to her, the offence contravenes Section 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
Similarly, an Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court in May 2022 sentenced a 54-year-old pastor, Michael Oliseh, to life imprisonment for defiling his friend’s 12-year-old twin daughters.
Delivering judgment, Justice Abiola Soladoye, described Oliseh, the assistant Pastor of the Anointed Chosen Vessel Ministry in Okota, Lagos, as a “serial rapist” who took turns defiling his friend’s daughters.
She held that the prosecution had convincingly proved the charges of defilement against Oliseh beyond any reasonable doubt.
The judge sentenced Oliseh to life imprisonment on the two-count charge bordering on defilement.
She said, “The testimony of the defendant portrayed him as a serial rapist who took turns to defile the survivors.
“What a disloyal and untrustworthy pastor, who shamelessly and audaciously had sexual intercourse with his friend’s children who were entrusted in his care.
“His conduct is unbecoming of a pastor.
“Having been found guilty as charged with the two offences, the defendant is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment.’’
She said that the sentences should run concurrently, adding that should have his name entered in the Sex Offenders Register of the Lagos State Government.
Soladoye also berated the parents of the survivors for lack of discipline by sending the survivors to stay with the convict.
“Parents of the survivors lack discipline and ought not to have sent their children to go stay in Oliseh’s house.
“Children are not to be entrusted with rowdy adults. They should be kept in the hands of responsible adults who have their goodwill at heart.
“The need for responsible parenting cannot be overemphasized,” the judge said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that five witnesses testified at the trial and five exhibits were tendered.
According to the prosecution counsel, Mrs Olufunke Adegoke, Oliseh committed the crimes sometimes in November 2017 in Ago, near Okota, a suburb of Lagos.
Adegoke said that the defendant defiled the survivors after their father had entrusted them in his care and travelled to the village for a burial.
She said that Oliseh then threatened the survivors that their father would become jobless if they told anyone about the sexual encounter.
She also submitted that Oliseh was caught by one of the neighbours after he had chased one of the survivors in the compound and dragged her with her pant.
NAN reports that the prosecution said the offences violated Section 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
The nude videos of a female Diploma student of University of Calabar (UNICAL), TKJ (not real name), and her colleagues were played in the open court on Monday, February 12, 2024, in evidence against Prof. Cyril Ndifon, the institution’s suspended Dean of Faculty of Law.
The development occurred when the ICPC’s lawyer, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, led Bwaigu Fungo, the 4th prosecution witness (PW4), in evidence in the ongoing trial of Prof. Ndifon and his co-defendant, Sunny Anyanwu, before Justice James Omotosho of a Federal High Court, Abuja.
Fungo, a Forensic and Intelligence Analyst with ICPC, while giving his testimony analysed three nude videos obtained from Ndifon’s Oppo Phone.
The PW4 said the videos were extracted from Exhibit N belonging to the professor.
He said they were videos of TKJ as requested by Ndifon.
“The videos as sent by TKJ to the Exhibit N (Oppo Phone owned by Ndifon) is usually sent by the 1st defendant to another subscriber (another phone number),” the witness said.
He said though about 16 videos were extracted, three were TKJ’s videos.
He said TKJ did the videos on September 26, 2023.
The forensic analyst also played three of the videos of other female students but the judge directed him to limit it to videos relevant to the charge, which were TKJ’s.
When asked why Ndifon would have forwarded the videos sent to him by TKJ to another phone number, Fungo said it was to preserve the video for whatever reason.
Akponimisingha also requested for Exhibit 0 (Tecno Phone) and the witness was asked questions on some of the extractions.
While being cross examined, the defence counsel, Joe Agi (SAN), asked Fungo if from the videos he played, TKJ did it involuntarily.
Student in tears, recounts how she did blow job for Law Professor
The witness said: “The acts of TKJ were involuntarily done.”
He added that from their forensic report, there was a part in the videos where TKJ said she was not comfortable sending the videos.
When Agi asked him if in one of the videos, TKJ displayed a movement and was fidgeting to prove that the young lady did the videos without compulsion, Fungo simply said: “There was movement.”
The court had earlier admitted in evidence two mobile phones seized by the anti-corruption commission from Prof. Ndifon.
Justice Omotosho admitted the mobile devices; an Oppo Phone and a Tecno Pova Phone with their chargers after they were tendered by Akponimisingha, and the application was not opposed by the defence counsel, Joe Agi (SAN).
The Oppo and Tecno Phones were marked Exhibits N and O by the court.
Ndifon was, on January 25, re-arraigned alongside Anyanwu as 1st and 2nd defendants on an amended four-count charge bordering on alleged sexual harassment and attempt to perverse the cause of justice.
Anyanwu, who is one of the lawyers in the defence, was joined in the amended charge filed on January 22 by the ICPC on allegation that he called one of the prosecution witnesses on her mobile telephone during the pendency of the charge against Ndifon to threatened her.
They were, however, admitted to bail on Friday after a female student, identified as TKJ by the court, one of the alleged victims of sexual assault by the don, completed her testimony.
Meanwhile, Justice Omotosho had ordered the management of the Kuje Correctional Centre to allow Anyanwu access a medical facility of his choice with a view to treating himself.
The judge gave the order after Agi moved the application to the effect.
Justice Omotosho adjourned the matter until February 14 for trial continuation.
The land of Samaria was once under intense hunger. There was hunger in the land, occasioned by a serious famine. The famine was caused by the siege laid on the city by another king, Beh-hadad, the king of Syria. The situation was such that cannibalism became the order of the day. Two women agreed to eat their sons. The first one, in her fidelity to the agreement, killed and boiled her son for supper. The duo ate the meal. When the time came for the second woman to also offer her son, she reneged. King Jehoram was passing by. He heard the wailing of the first mother and inquired what afflicted her. The woman narrated her sordid story.
Of course, the king was troubled. He rented his clothes, and put on a sackcloth in mourning. He took a personal oath and promised to have the head of Elisha the prophet, blaming him and his prophesies for the trouble in the land. This account is rendered in 2 Kings: 6 25-31. Every bad leader blames someone else but himself, for the failure of his government. Something similar is already happening in Nigeria. Parents have started selling their children to buy food for others! Samaria is already here. Is President Bola Ahmed Tinubu aware?
In a situation akin to what my people call: omo ina laa ra si’na (you send the child of fire to fire), the Emir of kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, sent the First Lady, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, to her husband, President Tinubu. The emir told Mrs. Tinubu thus: “Tell your husband to address hunger and insecurity in Nigeria”. The emir admitted that the two issues of hunger and starvation “did not start with this government but the situation has become more alarming and needs urgent attention.” Again, the Kano foremost traditional ruler admitted that “although we have several means of communicating to the government on our needs and requests, but your way and means is the surest way to tell the president the actual happenings in the country.” Alhaji Bayero spoke through an interpreter to the wife of the president, who was in his domain to perform a formal duty. Check the emir’s background, you will find him a well lettered individual. But he chose to speak in Hausa to a non-Hausa-speaking guest. There are ways with emirs, when they address ‘aliens’. But I will not delve into that here.
It is rather unfortunate that the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, who lost his tongue for the complete eight ruinous year that the Bayyajida II, General Muhammadu Buhari, ruled this country would suddenly find his voice in the eight months of Tinubu’s administration. It is true that once one is down because of a big problem, the inconsequential ones would seize the opportunity to trample on one’s tummy, and the balls to toys. Where was the Emir of kano when Buhari brought this country to its knees? For eight solid years, where and when did Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero send any message of “urgent attention” to Buhari to address the insecurity and hunger in the land?
Do we blame the emir, or the man, Tinubu, whose masquerade has refused to dance very well in the arena to give one courage to point out and say: “here comes my masquerade? One can only hope that Tinubu will understand that more insults would come his ways from very underserving quarters unless he sits up and act. If there are people in his government putting ‘sand in his gaari’, the president should get rid of them unless he is a ‘sand-sand’ man himself. Nigerians are tired of excuses. Tinubu is the one elected president and not all these guys that are running all over the place, doing nothing like Sisyphus in Hades. So much for emir Ado Bayero and his bad-belle message.
Now, how does one defend president Tinubu in this matter? On what ground should one stand to say what the emir said was, and remains, unbecoming of a man of his stature, given the calamities that have been the lot of Nigerians in the last eight months. However, one must point out the anomalies in the emir of Kano’s message to Tinubu. Our elders say that only a madman will say this is where my brother was disgraced yesterday without doing anything about it. So, I will impose on myself, and briefly too, the role of a devil’s advocate, here, if only to set the record straight.
A lot has been written about the level of hunger in Nigeria today. The last eight months of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government have been horrible for Nigerians and Nigeria. The streets are not smiling. But our new husband, President Tinubu, is behaving like he doesn’t know our situation. Ikún, the deaf squirrel itself, ought to have heard the agony in the land by now; how much more the president. But, if President Tinubu has the tendency of the deaf, we as diviners also have the duty to repeat his divination several times (korokoro laa ró’fá adití). The messages from the divination boards are not good. They are very ominous. Hunger has joined our legion of afflictions. President Tinubu can no longer pretend not to know what is happening. And it doesn’t matter what his hangers-on are telling him. Nobody is happy in Nigeria anymore. That is the bitter truth. The lamentations from those who broke limbs and heads to put Tinubu in Aso Rock Villa are louder. They wail, nowadays, more than those of us they labelled ‘Tinubu’s enemies’. Like I told a very close friend; I have passed the stage of being labelled ‘Tinubu’s enemy’. Why should anyone befriend failure in the first instance? Who romances sheer ineptitude, if not a hypocrite?
Every king has an inner caucus he listens to at critical moments. I witnessed that several times when Kabiyesi Òjó Àmúpìtàn Olúyeyè Òjoyèbugiòtèwó (he who gets to the throne and uproots the tree of conspiracy), was the Onise of Odo Oro Ekiti; the oba of my town. Whenever there was a knotty issue, Kabiyesi would listen to all the people; he would allow them to talk. Then turning to his chiefs, he would ask (depending on the matter), a particular one among them this: “Ngbó Obadòfin, Kú a ti wí? (Listen Obadòfin, what do you say to this?). Once Kabiyesi asked any of his chiefs that question, the one so asked would know that the oba was looking for the truth and nothing less. And he got more than enough pieces of quality advice.
Who is that inner man who can tell President Tinubu the whole truth and nothing but the truth about our condition? Who has that capacity? Who has the boldness, the courage and goodwill to tell the president that Nigerians are dying of hunger in instalments? Or, better still; do we ask, what truth does Tinubu tell himself when he is alone? I read a disturbing piece on Sunday. The author, Taiwo Adisa, Nigerian Tribune’s General Editor, wrote that some close associates of the president could no longer reach him to give him the feedback from the streets. Is that true? Is that why the president has been unfeeling in the past eight months? Who are the ones who see the president as they wish? What do those few privileged ones tell President Tinubu?
I am not a prophet of doom. And I am not afraid to be labelled, also. Disaster looms at the rate we are going. Hunger is already in the land. Unfortunately, there is no market in Nigeria from Nasarawa to Ògún, Gombe to Anambra and everywhere else, where there are no foodstuffs on display. What is lacking is the purchasing power. The quality of our Naira has depreciated so much that a huge amount of money buys nothing from the market. A senior colleague buys a particular brand of milk regularly. He says it has a low cholesterol level. The last time I drove him to the store, a tin was sold for N650! He refused to buy it. I refused to persuade him to buy it. The following day, I asked him how he managed to have his cereal without the milk. He told me that he resorted to taking Cocoa beverages. What a life! That is the situation across the country.
The Tinubu government responded by saying it would release millions of tonnes of grains to the market. I shook my head in pity. Is that the solution? When the stocks from the national silos are exhausted, what will the people resort to? Or, are the stocks from the exalted silos inexhaustible? Besides, how much will it cost a trader in New Benin Market to travel to the silos in Auchi to buy the grains and bring the same back to Benin to sell? In Benin City and adjourning towns and villages, a litre of fuel goes for an average of N660. Due to the bad roads between Benin and Auchi, commuters spend an average of seven hours for a journey of less than two hours before. They are at the same time at the mercy of kidnappers and other felons on the highway. So, Mr. President, if a trader succeeds in making the journey to Auchi and back to Benin after 14 hours, how much will she sell a mudu (measurement) of beans? This is the problem confronting the people all over.
I decided to write this piece at home yesterday. Staying at home afforded me the opportunity to know another level of suffering in the land. Intermittently, I heard people knocking at my gate. Each time I tried to check, I discovered they were people I had never seen in the neighbourhood before. They were carrying all manner of containers, looking for water. I realised that there are boreholes around but no water. Why? In the last one month, there has been no electricity supply in the neighbourhood. One of them told me that they were just approaching any home with overhead water tanks to ask if they could fetch water. I had no choice than to open the outside tap for them to fetch water. That would be at a huge cost of N660/litre fuel to pump the water. It then dawned on me why I saw some fellas who came to the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), secretariat with jerry cans in the booths of the cars to fetch water. The implication here is that once there is power failure and electricity is cut off, the people suffer. This is another area that this government should look into. It is not just about releasing the never-sufficient grains; it is also about providing the means of cooking the grains for the people – water, gas and the ingredients to make the meal palatable.
I am worried for President Tinubu. I am worried that he is the one demystifying himself. Where are the attributes of his ‘Lagos Magic’? They told us he is the sole architect of modern Lagos. Where is the magic wand? In under eight months, everything has collapsed under the watch of the ‘chief strategist’ himself! They boasted that the president would come to government with the best of brains? The last of Thomas Erikson’s tetralogy is titled: “Surrounded by bad bosses and lazy employees”. The first chapter of the 2021 book has this sub-title: “Really Bad Leadership-and Its Appalling Consequences”. In it, the Swedish behavioural expert says: “Good leadership is dependent on the boss and the staff understanding the symbiosis they are working in and both parties realizing that they are dependent upon each other to get the system work”. He goes further: “…Every one of us, at some time or another, has had an incompetent boss and wondered why he or she doesn’t do their job better. Some bosses don’t exercise any leadership at all, which makes them unnecessary. And that raises the question: a boss who doesn’t actually lead – what’s the point? (Page 11).
This is exactly the question Nigerians have been asking in the last eight months. Who is leading this government – the same super magician we were sold in February 2023? Nigerians have also been asking: where are the technocrats, the best brains they told us were coming? Who in this government can match our Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala? Who among the Tinubu boys is in the same league with Oby Ezekwesili? Who among the present lot can compete with Akinwumi Adesina, Frank Iweke Jnr. and the powerful host of technocrats that were in the previous Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s governments that these present lords termed ‘clueless’ and accused of ruining the nation? What sort of leadership is Tinubu providing?
My people said when the lead giant ant misses the road, its followers become a flock without a shepherd. What exactly is the economic drift of this administration? What is its focus? And how long does the government think the people will endure its voodoo monetary policy of “ways and means”, which, in street parlance, is printing of money to pay federal government workers’ salaries every month, before something would snap?
Following the death of Dr. Herbert Wigwe, the former Group Chief Executive Officer, in a helicopter crash alongside his wife, son, and a former chairman of the Nigeria Exchange Group, Abimboloa Ogunbanjo on Friday in California, United States, Access Holdings Plc has announced the appointment of Ms. Bolaji Agbede as the Acting Group Chief Executive Officer.
A statement made by the company’s Board of Directors and dated February 12, 2024, said the appointment was subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“Further to its announcement dated February 11, 2024, the Board of Directors of Access Holdings Plc (‘the Company’) has today announced the appointment of Ms Bolaji Agbede as the Acting Group Chief Executive Officer of the Company following the unfortunate demise of its former Group Chief Executive Officer, Dr Herbert Wigwe, on February 9, 2024.
“The appointment is subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria,” the statement signed by the Group Company Secretary, Sunday Ekwochi, read in part.
Until her recent appointment, Ms Agbede was the company’s most senior founding Executive Director in charge of business support.
She has nearly three decades of professional experience cutting across banking and business consultancy services. She commenced her professional career in 1992 at Guaranty Trust Bank and served in various capacities within the commercial banking and operations functions rising to the position of manager in 2001.
Agbede joined Access Bank in 2003 as an assistant general manager and was responsible for managing the Bank’s portfolio of chemical trading companies.
She became the head of human resources for the Access Bank Group in 2010, overseeing the human capital development of the Group. She held the position until June 2022 when she was appointed the executive director of Access Holdings after the bank transitioned to a holding company.
The University of Lagos alumnus began her professional career at Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), where she rose from executive trainee in 1992 to a managerial position in 2001. She was once GTB’s relationship manager and vault custodian.
Ms. Agbede subsequently served as the Chief Executive Officer of JKG Limited, a business consulting outfit, in 2003.
Yes, I’m not shocked because someone had to lose, after all. What shocked me was seeing some Nigerians (of all tribes) earlier today and few days before, praying hard and speaking out openly for their own country to lose the cup, and (rightly or wrongly) predicating their omnious wishes for Nigeria on the fact that a win for Nigeria would be inconsistent with the current ugly, dangerous situation and debilitating suffering, frustrations in Nigeria. So, and this is very unfortunate, while our boys were busy preparing hard to lift the cup, some of their countrymen at home, were busy praying aloud and fasting for their efforts to come to naught.
Thus, one can say that gallant Super Eagles played against four opponents: (1) the intimidating ivorian crowd in the pitch, (2) the Ivory Coast team itself so hardworking, (3) the match officials unashamedly against the Nigerian side, and (4) some angry, frustrated, disillusioned, disenchanted fellow Nigerians (including those who are either dead, in kidnappers’ den, had lost relatives at home to worsening insecurity, or living in frustration following worsening economy) praying hard for Nigeria’s downfall. No wonder our Super Eagles were disorganized, uncoordinated throughout the match, unlike their previous precious matches; they were battling against both seen and unseen forces!!!!! What an irony!!! What an irony!! What a country of divided citizenship, loyalty!
Something is fundamelly wrong with Nigeria! Sad 😭 The earlier we stop pretending about it, and start looking for the solution, the better for us.
I suggest we sit down and talk as Nigerians. William Jennings Bryan said, “There can be no settlement of a great cause without discussion, and people will not discuss a cause until their attention is drawn to it” George Bernard Shaw said, “New opinions often appear first as jokes and fancies, then as blasphemies and treason, then as questions open to discussion, and finally as established truths”. We should seek by all means in our power, to analyse our challenges, possible causes and solutions, by trying to remove them, through discussions in a spirit of collaboration and good will. We can overcome our challenges and make greater progress if we can start refocussing our priorities and prioritizing the focus of our discussions and action plans. I leave it there.
Meanwhile, dear Super Eagles, sorry. You were/are noble, gallant warriors. Congratulations on your obvious-sterling performance. Sorry about the outcome. While in every contest, someone has to lose for another to win, the question that bothers many a Nigerian (including me) is why it must be Nigeria that had to lose for the Ivorians to lift the cup! Besides, didn’t the Nigerian side deserve that cup considering the high sacrifice , including of human beings (those who had died watching and cheering Nigeria)? We should have won! 😢 😭 Well, all said and done, it’s well with Nigeria. What else should I say for a country I love? May God help us! Amen!!!!!
Although the trial of Prof. Cyril Ndifon, the controversial professor of law and suspended dean of the law faculty at the University of Calabar, over alleged sexual harassment of female students is ongoing, protests have began to fare up concerning another professor of law and former Vice-Chancellor (VC) alleged to have been involved in a similar crime.
Despite the efforts made by the then vice-chancellor of the University of Uyo, requesting the Minister of Education, at the time, Adamu Adamu, to suspend Enefiok Essien’s inauguration as the vice-chancellor because of his indictment for sexual assault and forgery, he was installed as as VC.
Moreover, he got rewarded with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 2017 notwithstanding that his alleged offences were in the public domain.
The accused professor, yet to be held to be properly investigated or prosecuted, is Enefiok Essien, a former vice-chancellor of the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria’s south-south.
Mr Essien was namedin a ruling on 14 July 2005 by the Court of Appeal, Calabar, which affirmed the judgement of the Federal High Court, Calabar, nullifying the university’s expulsion of a female student, Linda Essell, over her alleged involvement in examination malpractice.
Ms Essell, at the time she was accused of examination malpractice in March 1995, was in her second year as a law student at the University of Uyo, while Mr Essien was a senior lecturer then in the university’s law faculty.
Beside denying the allegation of examination malpractice, Ms Essell was able to convince both the trial and the appellate court that Mr Essien manipulated the university system against her because she had refused to accede to his love overtures.
Interestingly, it was Mr Essien, who invigilated Ms Essell in the examination that she was accused of malpractice. It was he who accused her of malpractice. It was also he who chaired the Examination Malpractice Panel that tried Ms Essell, which the courts ruled as being against the principles of fair hearing and natural justice.
Ms Essell also told the court in her affidavit that Mr Essien, as chairperson of the Examination Malpractice Panel, forged and signed the signature of another member of the panel, Mr Akpan, as well as doctored the proceedings of the panel.
The Court of Appeal in its judgement delivered by Justice Dalhatu Adamu declared that Ms Essell’s statements as contained in her affidavit were a “serious indictment on Essien”.
Since there was no counter-affidavit by Mr Essien, the court in its unanimous decision, held that Ms Essell’s allegations “not having been challenged, contradicted and controverted, must be deemed to be true and correct.”
University of Uyo and Mr Essien did not appeal the judgement and Ms Essell went on to complete her first law degree and graduated from the university.
About 10 years later, the University of Uyo ignored Mr Essien’s indictment for sexual harassment and forgery and went ahead to appointhim as the vice-chancellor of the federal government-owned institution, despite PREMIUM TIMES extensive reporting on the matter.
In fact, Comfort Ekpo, a professor and the then vice-chancellor of the University of Uyo, whom Mr Essien took over from, had requestedthe then Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, to suspend Mr Essien’s inauguration as the vice-chancellor because of his indictment for sexual assault and forgery.
The prosecution of Mr Ndifon for alleged sexual harassment, while Mr Essien walks freely and even gets elevated and celebrated highlights the disparity in the application of the rule of law in Nigeria.
“If the NBA is serious at all, they should start with Prof. Enefiok Essien, SAN. Otherwise, they shouldn’t bother with Prof. Ndifon. Indeed, going after Ndifon while Enefiok was given a free pass, would look like nothing if not a proper witch-hunt,” a lawyer, Fidel Albert, said in a Facebook poston 19 August 2023, shortly after the University of Calabar suspended Mr Ndifon.
Akorede Lawal, the national spokesperson of the NBA, told PREMIUM TIMES, on 27 September last year, that the NBA was not only involved in Mr Ndifon’s case but that the association would initiate disciplinary action against the law professor whenever a prima facie case of sexual assault is established against him.
PREMIUM TIMES asked Mr Lawal why the NBA did not take action against the former vice-chancellor of the University of Uyo, Mr Essien.
“I will have to confirm this thing you are telling me because it’s not something that is within my grasp… But what I can assure you is that we will never shield any of our members who bring this profession to disrepute by their personal misconduct,” he responded.
Going by what Mr Lawal said, Mr Essien could still be sanctioned by the NBA if the association establishes a case of professional misconduct against him.
“There is no statute of limitation against any perceived crime of professional misconduct. So if there is substantial evidence or we get somebody to write to us, no matter who the person is, the NBA under the leadership of Yakubu Maikyau will take it up,” he said.
On the professor becoming a SAN despite his indictment for sexual harassment, the NBA spokesperson said the association does not support anyone to become a SAN.
“It’s an individual pursuit,” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES could not get Mr Essien’s comment for the story as he did not respond to calls and a text message from our reporter.
Udoro Udo, the spokesperson for the University of Uyo, did not also respond to calls and a text message from our reporter.
In 2015, when PREMIUM TIMES first contacted Mr Essien for his comment, he said he had nothing to say on the matter.
“Tell me, why should Prof. Ndifon be investigated at all, when Prof. Essien, a confirmed sexual predator of equal standing, with a Court of Appeal judgement to validate his sexual predatory credibility, or discredit, was conferred with SANship for his efforts?” Mr Albert, a lawyer, said in his Facebook post.
This story was originally published by Premium Times on 12 February 2024.
After my week-long vacation during the New Year, it was time for me to return to work. We spent the holiday in two different locations as my children didn’t want to spend the entire holiday in the village.
So, we decided to finish our vacation in Abuja. We took the train for our return journey from Abuja to Warri because we thought it would be more exciting instead of going by air through Asaba. This would have been shorter.
During the 3-hour road trip from Abuja to Itakpe, my children asked me why the train station was at Itakpe instead of Abuja.
I had to go down memory lane to update them on the history of the rail project in this area, the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri Railway project.
Initially, the railway was designed for cargo transportation of iron ore to Ajaokuta (Kogi) and Aladja steel Rolling mills in Delta State and then for the processed steel to be transported to the port in Warri, Delta State. It was supposed to be completed within five years, but the project was abandoned for over 30 years due to a lack of funds.
But was the reason for the abandonment really a lack of funds?
If you asked me, na who I go ask?
In 1987, during Gen. Ibrahim Babangida’s regime, the railway was awarded as the Central Railway Line, but construction was abandoned after 254 kilometres were built, leaving 22 kilometers uncompleted.
In 2009, the Goodluck Jonathan government approved N33 billion to redesign the railway for passenger transportation and complete the remaining 22 kilometers. The new design also included the construction of sidings of the Ajaokuta-Warri rail line up to Delta Steel Aladja and the creation of six stations. The rehabilitation of the completed and vandalized portion of the line was also part of the project.
Unfortunately, the project was abandoned again from 2015 to 2017, with only about 70% of the work completed.
In 2017, the Buhari administration announced the revival of the Itakpe-Warri rail line at an estimated cost of $200 million (N72 billion). The project was awarded to three construction firms: Julius Berger, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), and ZTE.
The rail facilities increased from six initial stations to 12 new stations. Once completed, the railway can accommodate four trains of 32 wagons in its first phase, eventually increasing to eight trains of 64 wagons.
In October 2019, the same government signed a contract worth N1.4 trillion ($3.9 billion) with China Railway Construction Corporation Limited to extend the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri Railway line to the national capital of Abuja.
However, as of January 2024, the extension is yet to be completed. Four years have passed since the payment of N1.4 trillion, and it is surprising that this topic has not been a part of a national discussion.
Here’s a summary of the costs incurred so far: – The initial design cost is unknown during Shagari’s administration – The railway was awarded during Babangida’s regime, but the amount is unknown – Jonathan’s administration approved N33 billion for the redesign – Buhari’s administration spent N72 billion and an additional N1.4 trillion for the extension.
There has been no funding allocated for the project under the Tinubu administration.
Meanwhile, we arrived at Itakpe at approximately 12:15 p.m., leaving us with 1 hour and 15 minutes to organize ourselves and settle in.
After confirming our e-tickets, we proceeded to the waiting lounge, which was already filled to capacity. We couldn’t find a place to stand as passengers’ luggage could be seen everywhere.
We had to look for somewhere to sit and wait for boarding. Eventually, with the help of a staff member, we secured plastic seats outside to wait.
While waiting, we needed to use the restroom and approached the same staff member who had helped us earlier. We went from one cleaner to another, asking to use the restroom, but all of them told us that none of the restrooms were functional.
The only option left was open defecation. All the passengers were practicing open defecation, and we had to choose between following them or holding on and waiting until we boarded, hoping that the restrooms on the train would be functioning.
From the above, it is clear that a project that gulped such whooping sums remains without adequate Water and Sanitation (WASH) facilities. It’s either that or those manning such facilities are not up to their responsibilities. Whichever the case maybe it’s not good enough.
Nigeria has spent so much on getting communities ODF (Open Defecation Free), yet the government is not making enough efforts to facilitate ODF by providing access to facilities that will facilitate open defecation free.
The authorities in charge should urgently ensure that toilets are available in public facilities and that the public is given access to such facilities because open defecation is a risk to public health.
#odf #WASH #Railwaystation #SDG6
Nigeria Railway Corporation, UNICEF, Community Initiative for Enhanced Peace and Development, United Nations, World Health Organization, Comfort ONYAGA (She/Her), USAID.
Egondu Esinwoke-Ogbalor, Executive Director at CIEPD
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