**Spiritual Director of the Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria (AMEN), Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka, has revealed that Nigeria is cursed with bad leadership. Speaking during his first sermon at the church’s prayer ground on Friday, the controversial cleric said Nigeria is blessed with everything but cursed with bad leadership.
**The need to put the records straight former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has responded to allegations that he was involved in a plot to steal the presidential election in 2023 and hand it over to Mr. Peter Obi, a candidate running for the Labour Party. The date of the next presidential election, which will be held on February 25th, 2023, has been decided upon by the Independent National Electoral Commission. There have been unconfirmed reports in the media that the former president offered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) N5 billion to manipulate the upcoming presidential election. As a result of these reports, INEC is currently under investigation. Kehinde Akinyemi, Olusegun Obasanjo’s Special Assistant on Media, responded to the rumor on Thursday by sending a statement to the media in which she categorically stated that the allegation is untrue. The statement was sent in response to the rumor that was circulating. Few hours ago, the Guardian newspaper quoted Akinyemi as saying on behalf of former President Olusegun Obasanjo that “The former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is not responsible for the viral tales on some discredited platforms about the impending general elections in Nigeria.” Akinyemi was speaking on behalf of Obasanjo.
**Former President Olusegun Obasanjo while speaking at a virtual engagement of Africa Leadership Group yesterday said he will not be in any campaign train of any political party being not belonging to any of the parties. Hear him: “I am not in campaign train. I have used benefit of my experience and I have put it plainly. “I do not belong to any political party. I will not join any campaign train. I have said what is best for the country”. He also said if he had wanted a third term , he would have got it – “I never asked for a third term. If I wanted a third term, I would have got it. I am audacious enough to know how to get it”. On the Nigeria constitution, “some people blame the constitution for everything in Nigeria. Of course, our constitution is not perfect, and there’s no constitution that is sacrosanct and it can be amended “, he said.
**There was uproar and chaotic situation in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital in the early hours of Friday, January 13, 2023, over the remoured abduction of a Muslim Cleric based in Ilorin, identified as Mohammadu Buhari jamiu. Findings, however, revealed that the real popular and prolific preacher, Buhari Omomusa is safe, hale and hearty contrary to speculation that he had been kidnapped. The voice of the alleged abducted cleric’s wife could be heard in the background of the video clip which has gone viral requesting assistance to enable the family to pay the N5m ransom demanded by the unknown kidnappers. Another male voice from the video clip gave the impression that the unknown kidnappers allegedly demanded N30m ransom but was scaled down to N5m after negotiations. The kidnap incident threw fans of Buhari Omomusa into confusion as they expressed concern and prayed for his safe release from the abductors. While some members of the public view the development as a case of mistaken identity resulting from identical names, others described it as a scam designed to swindle the public and government. Reacting on the radio channel, Buhari Omomusa debunked the report saying he is safe and that no kidnap incident happened to him. When contacted on phone on Friday, the spokesman of the state Police Command, SP Okasanmi Ajayi, described the video clip as fake. He said “The Alhaji Tunde Buhari that was kidnapped in Oluwalose Community in Oko-Olowo area of Ilorin, had been rescued and made public. “Even the second victim kidnapped alongside Tunde Buhari has also been rescued,” he added. The two rescued victims were reportedly abducted at the Oko-Olowo area of the Ilorin metropolis in the state capital recently.
**ABC Nwosu, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) board of trustees (BoT), has resigned from the party. Nwosu, an associate of Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the party, was Nigeria’s former minister of health. In a letter addressed to Iyorchia Ayu, national chairman of the PDP, and Adolphus Wabara, acting chairman of the BoT, Nwosu said he was leaving the party because of its inability to adhere to the zoning arrangement in its constitution. “I hereby resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party and its Board of Trustees with effect from today Thursday 12th January, 2023,” the letter reads.
**In what seems to be like a defense to the hostility from, a member of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Bayo Onanuga, revealed why they sent Arise Television’s Cameraman out when he was livestreaming Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s event with some economists yesterday. According to Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the reason why the cameraman was sent out what because he was not authorized by anyone. Mr. Bayo Onanuga added, “the Arise TV’s Cameraman was obviously on espionage but he got caught.” Speaking further, Mr. Bayo Onanuga asked a question which reads, “is journalism by stealth part of the practice by Arise News?” The question has generated mixed reactions from some followers of Bayo Onanuga. Before today, the All Progressives Congress has made it clear that they do not deem it fit to make their party’s flag bearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, feature (or get covered) in any event organized by Arise television.
**The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Saturday said security agencies in Nigeria should place the presidential flag-bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other leaders of the ruling party on a watch-list. POLITICS NIGERIA reports that according to the PDP, Tinubu is trying to use “violence and underhand dealings” in the forthcoming 2023 election. “The PDP demands that security agencies should place APC leaders on watchlist and take urgent steps to halt APC’s implementation of Asiwaju Tinubu’s directives to his party members, as contained in the recently leaked video, to deploy violence and underhand dealings in the 2023 general elections. “Nigerians are eager to vote on February 25, 2023. They have suffered a lot and cannot wait to kick out the vicious, insensitive and corrupt APC and vote in the PDP and Atiku Abubakar to rescue and rebuild our nation,” the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, said at a media briefing in Abuja.
**With less than two months before Nigerian eligible voters head to the polls to choose the next president that will govern them after Muhammadu Buhari, Major players in the forthcoming 2023 presidential election have been consulting and campaign at various states in order to convince people to vote for them. It would be recalled that Asiwaju Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Kwankwaso as well as Mr Peter Obi are all regarded as strong candidates for the 2023 presidential election. As part of his campaign, the presidential candidate of the Labour party, Mr Peter Obi Visited Enugu states recently where he met with various stakeholders. The former Anambra state also visited the University of Nigeria Business School where he met with the management and students of the school. Before arriving at the venue, there was a mammoth crowd that gathered to receive Mr Peter Obi. However, due to the crowd, Obi had to be Whisked away to a waiting Helicopter.
**The North East All Progressives Congress APC Youth Stakeholders Forum has withdrawn its support for the vice presidential candidate of the party, Senator Kashim Shettima over what it described as the nonchalance of the former Borno state governor to issues afflicting the party in the zone. The forum which prides itself as among those who advocated that Shettima be made the APC vice presidential candidate, lamented that his lackadaisical attitude has made it lose three out of eight million potential votes its members had galvanized for the party. Acting Chairman of the Forum, Hon. Shaibu Baffa Tilde in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, however said they will continue to support the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. “We are saddened to be in the news for what others will interpret as a negative reason at this time, but we are also obligated by our love for our great party, the All Progressive Congress APC, to make this timely intervention before our party’s fortunes in the region sink”, said Tilde. He expressed “deep regret and concern” about the fortunes of the party in the Northeast, adding that APC is on the verge of collapsing “due to the obstinate, careless, and exclusive leadership style of our Vice Presidential Candidate, Hon. Kashim Shettima”.
**Lady Bianca Ojukwu, the wife of late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu the igbo leader, in her message to the Presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, stated that the Igbos need justice, equity and inclusiveness in Nigeria. She made this known while receiving a delegation from the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who visited her at her family’s GRA, Enugu residence. In her message, she noted that most Nigerians are looking forward to a new government which will change the already established norms in the country. Bianca Ojukwu stated that the south east are looking forward to a government that will bring about security, and a government that will alleviate the sufferings of the people. She said, “of course Ndigbo are looking for equity, fairness and inclusion which we have not really been accorded by the Nigerian political class. And this is the message I would want you to take back to the Presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress.
**US medical centre, Jersey City Medical Center has appointed Ije Akunyili as the first black Chief Medical Officer of the hospital. Dr Akunyili is the daughter of a former Nigerian professor, Dora Akunyili. Her appointment was announced in a statement released by the centre on Wednesday via its website, stating that Akunyili’s appointment took effect from January 2, 2023. Her mother, Dora was the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Nigeria from 2001 to 2008. In 2008, Akunyili was appointed Minister of Information and Communications. She resigned from the position on December 16, 2010. She died at a specialist cancer hospital in India on June 7, 2014 after a two-year battle with uterine cancer. “RWJBarnabas Health is proud to add Dr. Akunyili to its executive clinical leadership team. Her experience managing multi-specialty physician groups in integrated health care systems will help support Jersey City Medical Center in providing comprehensive health care throughout the community,” said Andy Anderson, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical and Quality Officer for RWJBarnabas Health. “She will be a tremendous asset to our team.”
**The verifiable achievements of the Labor Pasurulere LGA organizing secretary of Labour Party, Nseabasi Ekanem released a statement during his interview with TVC news an hour ago, where he claimed that Bola Tinubu’s Achievement has never been recorded by the national Bureau of statistics (NBS). However, he also claimed that the national Bureau of statistics (NBS) recorded Peter Obi as the only governor in the history of Nigeria to drop unemployment rate from 51 percent To 13 percent during his tenor as the governor of Anambra state. Addressing the topic during the interview, Nseabasi Ekanem said; “Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Achievement Has Never Been Recorded in any NBS records. The Nigerian Bureau of statistics (NBS) recorded that under Peter Obi’s watch In Anambra State, unemployment rate dropped from fifty one percent To thirteen percent, no Governor dead or alive has achieved that”.
**Nollywood actress, Ireti Doyle has finally confirmed her divorce from veteran broadcaster, Patrick Doyle. The actress who made the revelation during an interview with Chude, said she was no longer married to film producer and actor husband Patrick, with whom she shares six children with “We are officially divorced” she confirmed.
**The need to clear the air on the heinous allegations against the Police, the Force Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Police, Muyiwa Adejobi, on Saturday reacted to a lady who alleged that some policemen from the Rivers State Police Command on patrol hit her dad with a hammer while driving a truck on a highway in the state. Adejobi said he had asked the Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Police Command to act on it, while describing the act as barbaric. The lady, whose Twitter handle is @PrettyYagazie, wrote a series of tweets to Adejobi where she said her 64-year-old father, who is a truck driver, was hit with a hammer by policemen on patrol, causing him to limp home. According to her, the father, who helps people to carry their valuables when they are moving to a new home or while travelling, was stopped by policemen along Etche junction in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, on his way back after he offloaded the valuables of a family in his truck. She added that a soldier who sat with him in the vehicle spoke to the policemen and thereafter asked her dad to continue the journey, but the policemen were said to have chased him with their patrol vehicle, overtook him and started hitting him with a hammer on his legs. She said the situation had made her dad to have problem walking after he limped home as a result of the hammer used to hit him, urging Adejobi to look into the matter as the family wants justice to be done.
**The Central Bank of Nigeria on Friday, January 13, 2023, (CBN) issued a fresh directive to Money Deposit Banks (MDBs) and other financial institutions to unveil beneficial owners of accounts belonging to their customers. The measure to address Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and Countering Proliferation Financing of Weapons of Mass Destruction (CPF). The CBN issued the directive in the guideline titled ‘Guidance on Ultimate Beneficial Owners of Legal Persons and Legal Arrangements,’ saying the directive will take off with immediate effect, according to the apex bank. The apex bank averred that “Financial institutions are required to unveil the beneficial owners of legal persons and legal arrangements in line with provisions of extant AML/CFT laws and regulations.”
The CBN said it issued the guideline to financial institutions (FIs) under the its regulatory purview as defined under the Central Bank of Nigeria (Anti-Money Laundering, Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Countering Proliferation Financing of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Financial Institutions) Regulations, 2022, (CBN AML/CFT/CPF Regulations).
Continuing, the bank averred that the objective of the guidance is to assist financial institutions in identifying and verifying the beneficial owners of legal persons and legal arrangements in line with extant AML/CFT/CPF laws and regulations. The guideline said that, “Beneficial owner (BO) refers to the natural person(s) who ultimately owns or controls a customer and/or the natural person on whose behalf a transaction is being conducted. It also includes those persons who exercise ultimate effective control over a legal person or legal arrangement.”
**Barely eighteen days before the deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for the stoppage of the circulation of the old Naira notes, the apex bank has indicated it won’t extend the deadline. CBN in a Facebook post on its verified page on Friday reminded Nigerians that new notes of N200, N500 and N1000 would cease to be legal tenders by January 31 this year. Recall that the CBN launched the redesigned notes of N200, N500 and N1000 on November 23, 2022, by President Muhammadu Buhari. The new currency notes were circulated from December 15, 2022. The apex bank said Nigerians should return the old notes before the deadline. “A reminder to the general public that the old series of N200, N500 and N1000 notes cease to be legal tender by January 31, 2023. ”You are once again advised to return them to your bank before the deadline,” CBN wrote.
**The fillers from Clearing Agents are pointing to a situation that appears retrogressive in the Customs. There are indications that NCS may have abandoned the e-auction platform for the auctioning of imported vehicles and adopted LOT, The PUNCH findings have revealed. Agents operating in the Ikorodu government warehouse, in an exclusive interview with our correspondent in Lagos on Wednesday, accused the service of allocating LOT to people without considering practitioners. LOT is a number used to identify unserviceable vehicles for auction. It will be recalled that the NCS a few years ago announced plans for electronic auctioning of overtime cargoes including vehicles in the ports. The platform enables interested persons to bid for the goods online and the winner of the bid buys the goods. But a few years down the line, the service may have jettisoned the platform. The Ikorodu chapter Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Mr Martin Ikechukwu, said that the warehouse was still full of abandoned rickety vehicles and other consignments.
**As the 2023 general elections get closer, the Peoples Democratic Party has accused the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress, Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu, of killing the seaports in Rivers State to pave the way for Lagos ports. The Director-General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council in Rivers State and former Minister of Transportation, Dr. Abiye Sekibo, particularly accused Tinubu of connivance in the relocation of major businesses from Port Harcourt to Lagos. Sekibo, speaking while playing host to Arewa Democrats in Rivers State, assured that the presidential candidate of PDP, Mr Atiku Abubakar, will revive the economy of the state. He urged Arewa Democrats not to support those who, according to him, have destroyed the economy of the state. “Tinubu of APC has nearly removed all the businesses in Rivers State to Lagos. All our businesses in Rivers State he connived to remove them to Lagos. “He (Tinubu) wants to kill Onne port, he wants to kill Port Harcourt port and Bonny deep seaport, we will not vote for somebody who will kill our businesses and economy in Rivers State. “We will not vote for somebody whose agenda is to destroy the economy of Rivers State, since you (Tinubu) kill Onne port and Port Harcourt port and made sure that Bonny deep seaport does not come on stream, have you not destroyed our economy?”The PDP stalwart also appealed to Governor Nyesom Wike to sheath his sword and work for the victory of the PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar in the forthcoming election, saying that governor Wike has contributed immensely to the progress, development and sustainability of the PDP.
**It was a splendid night of football action for Nigerian International, Victor Osimhen as he bagged a brace and an assist to help Napoli thrash Juventus 5-1 at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. He scored in the 14th minute to open the scoring before he linked up with Kvaratskhelia in the 39th minute to double the Naples lead. Angel Di Maria pulled a goal back for the Old Lady’s but Napoli responded with three more goals from Osimhen, Amir Rrahmani and Eljif Elmas.
**Al-Nassr assistant coach, Stephane Jobard, has opened up on the club’s new signing, Cristiano Ronaldo’s attitude in training. Ronaldo recently signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Al-Nassr worth a reported €200 million yearly. His arrival at Al-Nassr has brought the world’s focus to the Saudi Arabian league.
May this weekend divinely usher us into favor filled breakthroughs
