The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, on Thursday, warned financial institutions to avoid fraudulent election financing, foreign exchange malpractice, and money laundering in the country.
Bawa, according to a statement issued by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, gave the warning during an interactive session held in Lagos with the Managing Directors of banks in the country.
He said: “At the EFCC, we want to place more emphasis on prevention. We want to pay less emphasis on enforcement, which is investigation and prosecution, and put our energy more on prevention and asset recovery.
In addition, some of the issues we have identified include foreign exchange malpractices and fraudulent election financing.”
The EFCC Chairman said the commission would put bankers on their toes as the 2023 elections draw closer.
He stressed that banks and other financial institutions have a key role to play in the Commission’s efforts at riding the country of financial crimes.
He urged the bankers to comply with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s guidelines on the issuance of Personal Travel Allowance (PTA) and Business Travel Allowance (BTA) to their customers.
Former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) has spoken about the state of the nation amidst preparations for the upcoming Presidential elections in 2013.
IBB ahead of his eightieth birthday anniversary this month, expressed his confidence in the country’s capability to be great due to its human and natural resources.
He spoke on his visualization of who should emerge as president of Nigeria from the 2023 presidential election.
He hinted at a few unnamed individuals, whom he said were in their 60s, had the capacity to become president and could effectively run the country.
He said such a person should be able to transverse the different parts of the country and make friends everywhere, as well as be able to listen to the people and communicate effectively with them at every level.
The former military President made this assertion during an interview with Arise Television on Friday, focusing on the state of the Nation.
That Nigeria has refused to progress and achieve the dreams of the founding fathers was because Nigerians no longer believed in the future of their own country, he opined.
The former leader, who accused the Nigerian people of creating and at the same time, destroying their own country, identified bad leadership as yet a major reason for the socio-economic challenges facing Nigeria.
Regarding leadership, IBB said, “If you get a good leadership that links with the people and tries to talk with the people; not talking on top of the people, then we would be okay.
“I have started visualising a good Nigerian leader. That is, a person, who travels across the country and has a friend virtually everywhere he travels to and he knows at least one person that he can communicate with.
That is a person, who is very versed in economics and is also a good politician, who should be able to talk to Nigerians and so on. I have seen one, or two or three of such persons already in his sixties.”
When asked if the person could emerge victorious in the 2023 presidential election, the Minna-born former military leader said, “I believe so if we can get him.”
He also reiterated his staunch belief in the unity of the country saying, “I do believe in the future of Nigeria, but Nigerians don’t believe in the future of their country. They created and they destroyed.”
Nigerian footballer and former Chelsea midfielder, John Mikel Obi, has said that there is a need for youth leadership in Nigeria.
He stated this while on a courtesy visit to Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi on Sunday in Abuja.
Obi said that it was time for the Youths to come out and take leadership positions across all boards for the betterment of Nigeria.
He pledged support for Bello’s political aspirations, adding that youths should be given a chance to get the change Nigerians clamour for.
He also lauded Bello for his achievement in Kogi in the areas of security, healthcare, infrastructure, education and agriculture.
The soccer star noted that such efforts when impacted at a higher level would bring further development for Nigeria.
“It is an honour for me to finally meet his Excellency personally after all the good things I have heard and read about him from not just the people of Kogi State but from Nigerians.
“My main aim is to come here to show my appreciation and to thank him for all the things he has been doing for the people and also to support him in whatever future political positions he wants to go into.
“I will like to be there to support him, to be there by his side through this journey for him to achieve whatever he wants which is for the betterment of Nigeria.
“What better person to lead the youths than him, because he has been doing all these good works and that is why I am here to see whatever way I can come in.
“To get the youths together to know and see how we can make things better for our country and how we can align to achieve all that”, Obi said.
Responding, Bello thanked Obi for the visit and his pledge to support the course for youth leadership.
He reiterated that it was time for the youths to take the opportunity that had presented itself.
Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike, has disclosed that he is yet to nominate anyone as his successor once his tenure expires by 2023.
Wike further vowed to resist any cabal within and outside Rivers State contemplating to foist a candidate on the people of the state.
The Rivers State Governor made this remarks on Sunday at a special thanksgiving church service in commemoration of the second anniversary of his second tenure as governor at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Diobu, Port Harcourt.
“Let me say it again, I have never sat with anybody to say ‘I will make you governor.’ But as a governor, nobody from anywhere, be it in the party, in Abuja, will impose who will be the candidate of PDP in Rivers State.
Nobody can impose a candidate here in this state. So, if you are running to Abuja, you are wasting your time,” Wike clarified.
Wike reiterated that leaders and stakeholders in the state, would meet at the appropriate time to look at the pros and cons and then collectively decide who his successor will be.
The governor also urged church leaders in Rivers State to pray for a rancour-free transition ahead of 2023.
“I urge you to pray that we will have our transition very smooth. That there will be no crisis.”
Presidential aide, Femi Adesina, says that President Muhammadu Buhari has recorded achievements that will make Nigerians proud of him after leaving office in 2023.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, said this in a statement titled; ‘The Buhari Administration at 6: Counting the Blessings One by One’, on Friday, May 28.
Adesina’s statement outlined the achievements of Buhari’s regime in the last six years.
It read; “The Muhammadu Buhari administration clocks six years May 29, 2021.
This milestone affords the opportunity to reflect, and recount the impact that has been made (and is being made) on different sectors of national life.
“From infrastructure, to finance, education, healthcare, sports, anti-corruption, human development, housing, oil and gas, foreign relations, and many others, the administration is recording giant strides, enough to make Nigerians proud.
“That is, those who are dispassionate and fair-minded, not beclouded by political partisanship and undue cynicism.
“Some people claim: ‘We don’t see what they are doing. We don’t hear about it.’
When the Administration breasts the tape in another two years, by the grace of God, the applause will be resounding, even from the worst of sceptics.
“Facts are undeniable, and always remain so. They are stubborn things.”
The Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi, said on Saturday there is no alternative to Governor Abdullahi Sule and All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state in 2023.
Abdullahi stated this when he hosted individuals and groups that paid him Sallah homage at his Umaisha county home in Toto local government area of the state.
He described Governor Sule as a leader with great passion and zeal for peace, unity, and speedy growth of the state, hence the need for all to rally around him to succeed beyond 2023.
The speaker said: “The handwriting is very clear on the wall, as far as I am concerned in Nasarawa State we have no any other candidate to file in 2023 apart from Governor Sule.
With the antecedence of Governor Sule, especially some of us that are working closely with him know very well that his project, his dream, his thinking day and night is all about Nasarawa State.
“So, what else do we want than to give him all the necessary support to succeed and transform our beloved state because if God spares our lives and by his grace, A.A. Sule will serve for eight years.”
Abdullahi stressed that peace was priceless and the first instrument of development, hence the need for the people of the state to give the governor all the needed support to enable him to succeed.
His peace and developmental efforts are encouraging more investors to the state to boost socio-economic activities,” he added.
National leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, says the the party is loved by Nigerians and has bright chances of ruling the country beyond 2023.
Tinubu stated this when speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He also reassured Nigerians that President Buhari respects the Nigerian Constitution and would vacate office at the expiration of his tenure on May 29, 2023.
He said: “The chances are as bright as a midnight star and we will continue to work for a better Nigeria.
We cannot interject politics and assumption in everything, we have a nation to build.
“We have a baton to pass. You can depend on Buhari that he will not spend one hour beyond his tenure. He will comply with the constitution.”
The APC chieftain also charged all well-meaning citizens to remain united in the wake of current security challenges confronting some parts of the country.
Tinubu said all Nigerians must put aside their religious, political, or ethnic differences and cooperate with security agents to surmount the problem.
He said: “Yes, every nation will go through these curves and difficult times but how we communicate it to the people and what are the areas to make it easier for the people to bear, those are ideas we have to be able to exchange with the leadership of the country.
“It calls for coming together to reduce banditry, move for unity and be able to bring a better Nigeria to the people because the welfare of our people is extremely important.
“This also calls for cooperation and understanding, effective security and effective giving of information.
There is no president who will want to see his country in chaos nor is there anyone who will want to see his citizens exposed to banditry and danger.
No president or a leader that will want to see his nation fractured in tribalism or religious differences and others.
“The current challenges call for serious management, evaluation, and dialogue once in a while”.
The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has cautioned people politicising security issues in the state, saying they were making a mistake.
The governor, who addressed the congregations at the St. Peters Anglican Cathedral, Aremo, Ibadan, on Sunday, maintained that issues concerning the country’s security shouldn’t be politicised
Although Makinde admitted that the state was experiencing security challenges, he stressed that the problem was not peculiar to the state but the country as a whole.
He asked: “If there’s no Oyo State or Nigeria by 2023 because of the politicisation of security; who and what are they going to govern?”
The governor urged individuals politicising the security challenges in the state because of their 2023 political ambitions to seek the face of God instead of engaging in actions that could trigger insecurity in the state.
He said the state government had taken time to investigate reports of insecurity across Oyo State and was making efforts to better equip security operatives.
The Senator representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District, Opeyemi Bamidele, said on Friday the ongoing membership revalidation and registration exercise in the All Progressives Congress (APC) would boost the party’s chances in 2023.
Bamidele, who stated this after he revalidated his membership of the APC at Iyin Ekiti Ward B, Irepodun/Ifelodun local government area of Ekiti State, added that the initiative of the party’s national caretaker committee would also give ordinary Nigerians an opportunity to join the party.
He said: “The issue of registration or revalidation does not call for controversy.
“Some leaders who spoke against it based on certain criteria that bordered on the credibility of the process and cost still participated in the exercise.
I believe that the ultimate reason for the exercise is to allow new members to come into the APC.
“Some Nigerians just clocked 18. If we are still running a participatory democracy, then they have to be given the right of belonging to a party.
“This is necessary, because not all party members joined us at inception in 2013.
“For me, I believe the exercise is in order.”
He, however, noted that the main problem confronting the nation was more than revalidation or registration of party membership.
The senators urged Nigerian leaders to address the problems of poverty, youth unemployment, and insecurity in the country.
“To be able to address this menace, we must be able to warm ourselves into the hearts of Nigeria as leaders of APC.
“I believe that we have a better tomorrow if we are all patriotic and do the right thing,” Bamidele added.
Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike has said that the inability of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to tackle insurgency, banditry and corruption will compel Nigerians to vote out the party in 2023.
Wike noted that with the current economic woes and escalating banditry, it was obvious that Nigerians had realised they made a terrible mistake to have voted for the APC.
Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike
A statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kelvin Ebiri, quoted Wike as saying this on Thursday shortly after inspecting the Greater Interchange and Underpass being constructed by Adamawa Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri in Yola.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has laid to rest widespread speculations that it was planning to woo former President Goodluck Jonathan, to run as its candidate in the 2023 presidential election.
The Governor of Yobe State and APC Interim Committee Chairman, Mai Mala Buni, who spoke on the issue in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service on Tuesday, said there was nothing to the rumour as the party has not entered into negotiations with Jonathan on the 2023 election.
In the past few weeks, there have been rumors that some Northern governors on the platform of the APC were trying to persuade the former president to defect to the party and contest on its ticket in 2023.
The rumours gained more ground after Buni led some APC governors like Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi) and Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), on a solidarity visit to Jonathan on the occasion of his 63rd birthday in November 2020.
However, in the interview, Buni said this was far from the truth as the APC was not in any way trying to convince Jonathan to join the party.
“Those peddling such information they are afraid. But for now, there is nothing in the APC which has anything to do with the aspiration for 2023.
“Even if someone wants to base assumption on our recent visit to him during his birthday, we were there because of his capacity as a former President of Nigeria.
“Again, even if there is nothing, when we are talking of peaceful coexistence, we must give credit to former President Jonathan on the issue of peace. How he accepted defeat in 2015 and resigned to fate. That has qualified him to be a statesman and he is now among our fathers.
“Our visit to Jonathan was pronounced because of his status as a former president; that could be why some may think there was something beneath.
“There are numerous of such visits to leaders of PDP, APC, why are others not being mentioned but Jonathan?
“Even in America where we got this democracy, I’ve not seen where people are being confined to a limit.
“You are talking of democracy and at the same time talking of giving him, don’t forget even when President Buhari went to revalidate party membership in Daura, he said it is the people at the grassroots that will select leaders upwards, that no one should expect to be crowned from Abuja.
“This has shown that in APC now, it is from the lower level upwards. Not that people would be imposed from the top. Then who are we to say we are considering Jonathan? How? It has to be a party affair and once it is a party affair, then we are talking about the people.
“So we have nothing like that in our agenda. What we have now, and is of importance to us, is to ensure peace amongst party members. Also, to bring members of other political parties, whichever party it might be, whoever wants, should come in to the APC.
“This is our plan for now. We are yet to start talking about aspirants, we are not in any discussion about aspirants.”
The Niger State Governor, Sani Bello, said on Wednesday the All Progressives Congress (APC) national membership registration and revalidation exercise would improve the party’s chances in the 2023 general election.
Bello, who is the chairman of the APC national membership registration and revalidation committee, stated this during the inauguration of members of the committee in Abuja.
He said the registration exercise was conceived to expand the party’s membership base ahead of 2023 general election.
The governor recalled that the last membership registration in APC was done in 2014, adding that while some members had died, a few others had left the party.
Bello said: “We believe that when we are done with the exercise, it will increase our membership base and our chances in the coming elections.
“We have very few members that had left the party and many had also joined us. We have young boys and girls that have turned 18 between 2014 and today.
“And we believe they should be given opportunity to register as members of our great party.”
He expressed optimism that the exercise would afford everyone, including those who decamped from other political parties, the opportunity to be fully registered in APC.
Bello assured that the party would ensure that no one is left behind during the exercise.
He, however, warned that the APC national leadership would tolerate the hijack of registration materials by any group or individual.
“We should also know that domination of the registration process by an individual or group will not be accepted.
“I appeal to the chairmen and secretaries of this committee to stand their grounds and ensure that justice and fairness prevailed.
“I pray that Allah protect our party and our leaders, especially President Muhammadu Buhari, all our governors, National Assembly members, Council Chairmen, and all our party members so that we can flourish and excel,” the governor added.
A member of the Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC), Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, on Wednesday declared his 2023 presidential bid.
Ohuabunwa, who declared his presidential bid during the inauguration of the newly-formed political group, New Nigeria Movement (NNM) in Abuja, said only an Igbo presidency would end the agitation for the Republic of Biafra by secessionist groups in the South-East.
He said the country was being run in an “opaque manner and urgently needed a redirection for the good of all.”
Ohuabunwa said: “Every Nigerian who wants unity must support power shift. Igbo presidency will stop Biafra agitation which asks for equity, fairness, and freedom; even other agitations will stop. Igbos are for justice and equity.
“We are not coming with anger and recrimination, but with equity; we need to come out and make Nigeria work. God has put it to my heart to come and contest for the office of the president of Nigeria.
“I am making myself available; it must not be me, but an Igbo of character. Ndigbo must present their best. God has given me the motivation and what it takes to lead Nigeria to get a country that works for everybody. It is not about the South-East, it is about Nigeria.”
Ohuabunwa is the current President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN).
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