24112022

Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022 — 9
PRESENTATION: From
left— Head of
Marketing, May & Baker
Nigeria Plc., Mr.
Obinna Emeribe;
Executive Director,
Pharma Sales &
Marketing, Mr.
Valentine Okelu;
Winner of Professional
Service Award, Prof. Ray
Ozolua; Mrs. Nkiru
Ozolua and Mr. Adeniyi
Akinyandenu, National
Sales Manager, May &
Baker Nigeria Plc, at the
presentation of the May
& Baker Professional
Service Award at the
just concluded PSN
National conference in
Jos.
:Vanguard News
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
Oyo rally: LP Campaign, aviation
authorities bicker over grounded plane
•Our aircraft was grounded by ‘powers that be’, LP Campaign alleges
•Crew of aircraft only made air return after noticing faults —NCAA
•We aren't aware of it —FAAN
•As Obi-Datti Campaign raises alarm over attempts to sabotage PVC collection
By Prince Okafor &
John Alechenu
LABOUR PARTY Campaign
Organisation and aviation
authorities in the country
disagreed yesterday over alleged
grounding of the aircraft meant
to take the party's presidential
candidate, Peter Obi and his
running mate, Datti Ahmed, to
Ibadan, Oyo State for the party's
campaign rally.
This is even as the Obi-Datti
Media Office also yesterday
raised alarm over reports that the
collection of Permanent Voter
Cards, PVCs, was not going
smoothly in some centers across
the country.
The party had alleged that the
aircraft was grounded at the
Nnamdi Azikiwe International
Airport, Abuja, by those it
described as ''powers that be'', but
the Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority, NCAA, which is the
regulatory agency, said no plane
was grounded, adding that the
pilot of the aircraft only made an
air return after noticing some
faults in the plane.
The Federal Airports Authority
of Nigerian, FAAN, in its reaction,
said it was not aware of any such
grounding of aircraft meant to fly
the Labour Party team.
Diran Onifade, head of media
for the LP campaign, said in a
statement yesterday that the
Obidient plane was grounded for
“regulatory reasons”, and asked
supporters of the party to ignore
“mischievous rumours”
suggesting the plane was
impounded.
“The Obidient plane was
grounded today (yesterday) by
the powers that be 'for regulatory
reasons' only. Please ignore any
mischievous rumour. Our
massive rally in Ibadan is going
on as planned,” the statement
read.
Obi is one of the leading
candidates for the 2023
presidential election, alongside
Atiku Abubakar of Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP; Bola
Tinubu of All Progressives
Congress, APC; and Rabiu Musa
Kwankwaso of New Nigeria
Peoples Party, NNPP..
Reacting to the allegation, the
Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority, NCAA, spokesperson,
Sam Adurogboye, told Vanguard
that the agency did not ground
any aircraft as reported.
He said: “I understand NCAA
did not ground any aircraft today
(yesterday). The aircraft being
said to be grounded is mere
sensationalism.
“The reason is that the flight
crew made an air return soon
after takeoff and had issues they
needed to come back and correct.
“This is what is termed as
safety precautionary flight. Let's
be careful not to drag NCAA into
politics in its operations. Our
mandate is to ensure the safety
of all aircraft operating in Nigeria
airspace, regardless of whom
they carry.
“Presidential candidates of all
parties in the country have been
flying around and NCAA’s
mandate is to ensure that every
aircraft flying meets safety
standard.
“We have been grounding
planes not fit for flying before now.
When former President,
Olusegun Obasanjo was
campaigning for a second term,
he wanted to use a particular
plane donated by a Nigerian. We
noticed that the aircraft was not
fit for flying, we grounded it.''
Similarly, the spokesperson of
the Federal Airport Authority of
Nigeria, FAAN, Faithful Hope-
Ivbaze, said they were not aware
of any flight being grounded at
the Abuja airport.
She said: “We are airport
operators and not in charge of
regulating flights movement. We
cannot comment on political
issues.”
Obi-Datti Campaign
raise alarm over
attempts to sabotage
PVC collection
Meanwhile, the Obi-Datti
Media Office Office has raised
alarm over reports reaching it that
the collection of Permanent Voter
Cards is not going smoothly in
some centers across the country.
It said it’s attention was drawn
in particular to Lagos State
where in some identified areas,
prospective voters wishing to
collect their voter’s cards were
being frustrated with all kinds of
excuses to disrupt the PVC
collection.
The Media Office said in a
statement issued in Abuja: “We
are also aware of the large
inducement to some personnel
of the Independent National
Electoral Commission, INEC in
Lagos to lure them into the
dubious nefarious act.
“When we recently charged
President Muhammedu Buhari
and the INEC Chairman Prof.
Mahmoud Yakubu to walk their
talk of their promise to conduct
free and fair elections in 2023,
we expect that they should be
concerned about all pre-election
day activities.
“Concentrating only on
Election Day activities while the
major rigging is taking place
ahead of the election is counter
productive and will defeat all the
good intentions of the President
and the commission.
“There should be no
preferential treatment of any
area or individuals as being
reported in Lagos state and
where such exist should
discontinue immediately and
affected commission officials
seriously reprimanded.
“Obi-Datti Media Office
expects the Commission even
before now to have drummed it
into the ears of their staff, the
critical importance of this election
to the survival of the country and
the need to make their patriotic
contributions at their various
levels by religiously playing by
the rules in all they do before ,
By Juliet Umeh
SPOKESMAN of the Atiku/
Okowa Presidential Campaign
Council, PCC, Daniel Bwala, has
said Rivers State governor, Nyesom
Wike’s non-support for Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023
presidential election would not affect
its chances at the polls.
Governor Wike and his allies in
the G5 have been at daggers drawn
with the leadership of the party since
its presidential primary which threw
up Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as its
presidential candidate.
But speaking in an interview on
Channels Television's breakfast
programme, Sunrise Daily,
yesterday, Bwala downplayed
Wike's influence, saying the party
was poised to win next year’s
presidential election.
He said: “Our party is poised to
during and after the election.
“Also of curious interest to the
Obi-Datti group is the large
number of underaged voters
registered by INEC officials and
to demand that those
Commission personnel involved
in this should be identified,
isolated and prosecuted as
electoral offenders.
“Not to do that immediately by
the commission is to look at the
presence of a rat in your kitchen
and expect to have all your items
intact.”
The Obi-Datti Media Office
claimed it was privy to credible
intelligence that some politicians
and political parties, aware that
the BVAS voting arrangement
might be difficult to manipulate,
had resolved to start the election
maneuvering from the stage of
PVC registration and collection.
It appealed to INEC and
relevant security agencies to see
any move to undermine the
electoral process as a huge crime
against the state and should be
so treated.
“We finally urge all Nigerians
particularly the Obidient family
to remain resolute and ensure
they resist any anti democratic
moves against free, fair and
credible elections in 2023. Taking
back Nigeria is an inevitable duty
for all patriotic citizens,“ the
statement added.
PDP crisis: Wike’s non-support won’t affect Atiku’s
chances, says PCC spokesman
We’ve recovered $1bn looted
funds since 2015 —FG
•As FEC okays new anti-corruption strategy
document
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
ABUJA—THE
Federal
Government said yesterday
it has recovered $1 billion, being
looted funds, since the inception
of President Muhammadu
Buhari’s administration till date.
The Attorney General of the
Federation, AGF, and Minister
of Justice, Abubakar Malami,
who disclosed this while briefing
State House correspondents at
the end of the weekly Federal
Executive Council, FEC,
meeting presided over by
President Buhari at the Council
Chamber, Presidential Villa,
Abuja, affirmed that the
recovered assets had been
deployed to various sectors of the
economy, including poverty
alleviation.
The AGF, while revealing that
preceding government recorded
only 109 convictions before 2015,
said the Buhari administration
has convicted over 3,000
offenders and recovered about
$1b to date.
He expressed government's
concern over sundry cases of
budget padding, describing the
development as worrisome.
While noting that necessary
measures would be explored to
address the menace, Malami
announced the council's
approval of the new anticorruption
strategy document to
strengthen anti-graft fight in the
country.
He said: “FEC approved
validation extension of the
National Anti- Corruption
program to 2026. A new policy
which resulted from cooperation
amongst Justice."
He noted that the anticorruption
initiatives had helped
the government to recover about
By John Alechenu
ABUJA—THE British High
Commissioner to Nigeria,
Cateriona Laing, has said the
United Kingdom, like the rest of
the international community,
would be watching the 2023
general elections in Nigeria very
closely.
This, she explained, is because
of the important position occupied
by Nigeria in Africa and the rest of
the world.
Laing, who stated this during a
meeting with the National
Working Committee, NWC, of
win the election. Wike’s nonparticipation
would affect a little bit
of the margin. So, if we are supposed
to win with nine million votes or
eight million votes, that may reduce
to six million votes or something
like that.
“But this victory is destined by
God and I can tell you that there
can be conspiracy and collaboration
or anything. We know the Electoral
Amendment Act and what it brings.
''We saw it in Osun where some
members of our party even worked
against the party in that state. But
what happened? The ‘dancing
senator’ (Ademola Adeleke) danced
his way to victory because the
people spoke and their voices were
heard.
''This is how we are going to be
looking at this election because the
bigger picture is what we are looking
at. Have you not seen the multidimensional
poverty index?”
Bwala also claimed that the Rivers
State governor “chased” the
Labour Party (LP) presidential
candidate, Peter Obi, Governor
Dave Umahi, and others out of the
PDP.
He, however, maintained that
Atiku is committed to uniting
Nigeria, despite the crisis in the
party.
Bwala also noted that former
President Goodluck Jonathan is on
the side of Atiku Abubakar,
dismissing claims by Wike that the
former president was against his
principal.
''Recall that when our candidate
and his running mate, Governor
Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State,
visited President Jonathan recently,
he addressed Okowa as incoming
vice president. This will tell you
that he (Jonathan0 knows that our
presidential candidate will win the
election,'' he added.
$1billion stolen funds from the
public coffers, adding that “the
new anti- corruption strategy
will strengthen the war against
corruption between 2022 and
2026.“
Malami, while responding to
question on budget padding,
decried the menace allegedly
carried out by Ministries,
Departments and Agencies,
MDAs.
Specifically, Malami’s position
is coming on the heels of several
revelations from the ongoing
MDAs budget defence in the
National Assembly.
Recall that the Minister of
Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster
Management, and Social
Development, Saddiya Farouk,
had blamed the Minister of
Finance, Zainab Ahmed, for
adding N206bn to the
humanitarian ministry’s budget.
Farouq, who appeared before
the Senate Committee on
Special Duties on Monday to
defend the 2023 budget, claimed
that the ministry requested some
projects for the North East
Development Commission and
the National Social Safety Net
Project in the 2022 budget, which
were not released, but was
surprised to see an inflated
amount in the 2023 budget of
the ministry.
Elisha Abbo, the APC senator
representing Adamawa North
senatorial district, had asked the
minister about the inflated N206
billion in the budget.
The minister said: “Yes, we
made mention of the projects for
2022 that were not released, and
part of it was for the NEDC."
Malami, while responding to
questions on the revelations
alleging budget padding, stated
that the federal government was
studying the details and would
do what was necessary to address
it.
2023: UK is watching closely,
says British High Commissioner,
Laing
Peoples Democratic Party, at the
PDP National Secretariat, Abuja,
yesterday, said: “This election is
very important to Africa and the
rest of the world, so the spotlight
will be on Nigeria and the UK will
be watching closely.
“We engage in so many ways,
we have spoken with INEC, civil
societies, we don't support any
political party, it is for the people of
Nigeria to decide who will lead them
at the federal level and state levels.
In that spirit, we are meeting all
the main political parties.
“I met with the chairman in
February, this is our second
meeting and I will be meeting all
the other chairs of the main
political parties.”
Speaking about her concerns for
the elections, she said: “The few
things that are on my mind, just to
make sure that the elections go
very well, number one is security,
and we have been really
concerned about the recent
events.
''52 election violence-related
issues in 22 states, including an
attack on the PDP convoy in
Maiduguri, is a real concern, and
we want to exchange our thoughts
on what you can do as a political
party to ensure that the elections
are as peaceful as possible.
“When people feel intimidated,
they can't get out to vote, the
election itself will not be credible,
that is why violence is of great
concern. On the issue of electoral
violence, you can make a
statement about the last election,
as well as we do have positive
support, since we do have
sanctions in the form of our visa
program.