Obasempire reports that Nigerian TV host and musician Charles Chukwuemeka Oputa, widely recognized as Charly Boy, has termed the federal government’s one-month deadline for lowering food prices as ludicrous and irresponsible.
He voiced his dissatisfaction on Friday in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
This came soon after Tunji Bello, the newly appointed Executive Vice Chairman of the FCCPC, instructed vendors to lower their prices within a month.
Charly Boy labeled the policy as unreasonable, noting that while it aimed to alleviate the hardship of the public, it would likely lead to further complications.
“It’s utterly absurd and irresponsible for governments to introduce policies without proper planning and strategy.
“The recent attempt to reduce food production costs within a month is a perfect example of this reckless approach.
“How can they expect to achieve this when fuel and transportation costs are increasing daily, and the dollar exchange rate is crippling our economy?
“This ill-conceived policy ignores the harsh realities on the ground and will only lead to more problems.
“t’s time for governments to stop making empty policy and start developing comprehensive solutions that address the root causes of issues, rather than just papering over the cracks,” the post read.
Obasempire reports that the Head of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has urged President Tinubu to alter the Nigerian flag, passport, and constitution to enhance prosperity and unity in the nation.
In a statement issued by his media assistant, Osho Oluwatosin, Primate Ayodele highlighted that these elements hold spiritual significance for the country and that modifications are necessary for national advancement.
He elaborated that updating the flag, passport, and constitution would elevate the nation and have a substantial positive impact on Nigeria.
‘’President Tinubu should change the Nigerian flag, constitution and passport to promote unity and prosperity in the country. These national materials are dragging us down but many may not understand it.’’
‘’They have spiritual implications on the country and if indeed we want a greater country, we must first change the constitution, flag and passport. If the president does all of these, it would have a positive effect on Nigeria.’’
Furthermore, Primate Ayodele addressed people that may not understand his message, urging them to seek spiritual clarifications rather than interpreting in the language of mere men.
‘’Many will not understand this message and interpret in their languages. These spiritual matters require a spiritual interpretation and understanding. I urge anyone who may need clarification to seek spiritual interpretation.
The Nigerian flag, constitution and passport are the country’s identity; the president should make moves to change them to set the country on a great path. Nigeria should have gone beyond these but our identity is dragging us down’’
Obasempire reports that independent fuel distributors in Nigeria are anticipating that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery will price its Premium Motor Spirit, commonly known as petrol, at N600 or N650 per litre upon its market release.
Retailers affiliated with the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) believe that the Dangote refinery will lower petrol prices, similar to its impact on diesel.
IPMAN National Vice President, Hammed Fashola, informed our correspondent in an interview on Monday that the $20 billion refinery could reduce fuel costs if it receives adequate support, particularly regarding crude oil supply.
He noted that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the exclusive importer of PMS, has been selling to marketers at N570 per litre, while many IPMAN members purchase from private depot owners at N700 and above.
“We are marketers, we go for the best. We have been buying from the NNPC, but if the opportunity of Dangote comes and the price is favourable, we will grab it. It depends on the price.
“The official price from the NNPC is around N570/litre, but the third parties, the private depots sell PMS to most of our members at N700 and above.
“Plus or minus, we hope Dangote can sell between N600 and N650/litre. N600 is still okay. However, it depends on the cost of the production from Dangote’s end. We have to be factual and sincere to ourselves. The NNPC we are talking about has an element of subsidy or what they now call under-recovery. I think something is hidden there,” Fashola stated.
Speaking about diesel price, Fashola recalled, “We know Dangote refinery crashed the price of diesel. When the refinery started producing, diesel was around N1,600 and it went down to N1,000.
“Now you can buy diesel at N1,150 or N1,200/litre. We expect the same with PMS, but this crude crisis is a major challenge. Even if Dangote is buying crude in naira, if it is at the international market price, it will make no difference. We have to be realistic.”
The IPMAN leader said the association has had business discussions with some officials of the refinery on a possible partnership, saying the marketers are waiting for Dangote.
“The discussion continues. We are on course. I think very soon we will conclude the discussion. We are waiting,” he stated.
Obasempire reports that a faction operating under the banner of 21st Century Youths of Niger Delta and Agitators with Conscience (21st CYNDAC) has come to the defense of Senator Goodwill Obot Akpabio in response to claims that he is accountable for the economic difficulties and food shortages in Nigeria.
They contended that Akpabio has backed legislation designed to address these problems and called on critics to also hold other political leaders, including governors and legislators, responsible.
The faction cautioned that if the unfavorable depiction of Akpabio continues, they would launch an initiative named “Operation Eat Your Gold and Let’s Eat Our Oil,” indicating a focus on resource management and self-sufficiency in the Niger Delta region.
The statement was made by the group’s Coordinator, Izon Ebi, in reaction to the popular hashtag #AkpabiomustGo.
According to the group, “It should be on record that Senator Goodwill Obot Akpabio has facilitated every legislation brought to it by the executive to ameliorate the suffering in the land and as such preposterous for him to be singled out as the poster boy for the hardship and hunger that is prevalent in Nigeria.
We use this medium to advice the fifth columnists to also hold the governors and representatives to account as we in the Niger Delta will also hold our representatives to account. If this trend continues, we will activate operation eat your Gold and let’s eat our oil.”
The declaration was made by a coordinator from the Youth Rights Campaign during a meeting at Gani Fawehinmi Park on Saturday.
Despite a court injunction confining protests to the park, the coordinator announced that demonstrators would leave the park in Ojota and start marching through the streets if their requests are not fulfilled by Sunday night.
He stressed that their next target would be Alausa, the administrative center of the government.
He also encouraged residents to spend Sunday attending their places of worship and praying for national peace. He appealed to the police to monitor and prevent the actions of potential troublemakers aiming to disrupt the protests.
The police have blocked off the service lane on Ikorodu Road for the protesters, leaving the BRT lane and two other lanes accessible to motorists. Traffic congestion was higher on Saturday compared to previous days, and commercial activities in Ojota and nearby areas have started to resume, with additional shops reopening.
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adegoke Fayoade, along with other security personnel, has been present to ensure the safety of the protesters for the third consecutive day. According to SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the Command’s spokesperson, no protesters were detained on Friday.
Obasempire reports that Eedris Abdulkareem, a former member of the defunct band The Remedies, has remarked that the Nigerian Armed Forces’ operation ‘Python Dance’ would have been trivialized if Russian flags were discovered with an Igbo person in the East.
The veteran artist, responding to the surprising display of Russian flags by #EndBadGovernance protesters on his Instagram, noted that the reaction would have been different if Igbos were involved.
According to the multiple award-winning musician, in that scenario, Python Dance would have been a farce, turning into a relentless ‘gwo gwo’ dance in that region.
‘‘Let’s assume that the Russian flag was found with an Igbo man? Python Dance will be a joke, it would be a ceaseless ‘gwo gwo dance,’’ Eedris wrote on his Instagram page.
Obasempire reports that former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticized the way President Bola Tinubu’s administration removed the fuel subsidy, cautioning about the increased difficulties it will create for ordinary Nigerians.
He issued this caution during an interview with the Financial Times.
Obasanjo argued that the government should have focused on alleviating the challenges resulting from the subsidy removal instead of rushing the implementation of the policy.
“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done. Not just wake up one morning and say you removed the subsidy. Because of inflation, the subsidy that we have removed is not gone. It has come back,” he stressed.
The former President stressed the need for investor confidence in Nigeria, advocating for a shift from a transactional economy to a transformational one. “You have to go from transactional economy to transformational economy,” he said.
Obasanjo also expressed deep concern over the growing restiveness among Nigerian youths, triggered by widespread unemployment.
“Our youth are restive. And they are restive because they have no skill. They have no empowerment. They have no employment. We are all sitting on a keg of gunpowder. And my prayer is that we will do the right thing before it’s too late,” he warned.
Obasanjo also said that sinister forces are working against the progress of the Dangote Refinery. He alleged that powerful cabals in the oil and gas sector are determined to frustrate the project because it threatens their lucrative business of importing refined petrol.
“Aliko’s investment in a refinery, if it goes well, should encourage both Nigerians and non-Nigerians to invest in Nigeria.
“If those who are selling or supplying refined products for Nigeria feel that they will lose the lucrative opportunity, they will also make every effort to get him frustrated,” Obasanjo stated.
Obasempire reports that despite President Bola Tinubu’s June declaration suspending import duties and tariffs on essential food items for six months, Nigerian importers report they are still being required to pay these fees.
The presidential order was intended to address rising costs of food, raw materials, and manufacturing inputs, and also included agricultural production inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, pharmaceuticals, poultry feed, flour, and grains.
However, importers claim the suspension has not been enacted, contradicting the Executive Order titled “Inflation Reduction and Price Stability (Fiscal Policy Measures, ETC.) Order, 2024,” issued under the President’s constitutional authority.
Also, the order, effective from May 1, 2024 stipulates that “authorized millers would now import paddy rice at zero duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) for a period of six months in the first instance in order to improve local supply and capacity utilisation of rice millers.”
On importation of rice, it says that from the commencement of this order, the following measures and reliefs shall apply: “Value Added Tax, where applicable, is hereby suspended on the for the rest of the year 2024: basic food items and semi-processed staple food items such as noodles and pasta; raw material inputs for the manufacturing of food items, electricity and public transportation; agricultural inputs and produce and pharmaceutical products for a period of six months.”
Contrary to the Executive Order’s directive to fast-track customs clearance and reduce processing time by at least 50%, the Importers Association of Nigeria (IMAN) reports that its members continue to pay duties on all listed food items, agricultural equipment, manufacturing inputs, and pharmaceutical products, two months after the Order was issued.
The Nigeria Customs Service’s failure to implement the order’s provisions has resulted in ongoing delays and duties payments, contradicting the government’s aim to reduce inflation and stabilize prices.
Chairman of IMAN in Nigeria’s Northern region, Aminu Dan-Iya said, “Customs officials tell our members at entry points that they don’t have any written communication about the suspension.
Obasempire reports that the Bola Tinubu-led federal administration has introduced a new initiative to start providing monthly stipends to unemployed graduates across the nation.
The Education Minister, Prof. Tahir Mamman, revealed this recently while speaking with a group of young Nigerians at his office.
He stated that the federal government has allocated funds for the project but voiced frustration that the news was not adequately covered by the media.
“Also, something which hasn’t come out strongly in the media and people should know in a very robust way is that, every student who has graduated but has not secured a job is entitled to collect an allowance,” the minister said.
“The government has committed a certain allowance for every unemployed graduate in Nigeria. This is very important for graduates and every Nigerian to know,” he added.
Obasempire reports that civil society groups in Oyo State have criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration regarding the management of the #EndBadGovernance protests, including the deaths of unarmed demonstrators.
This was conveyed in a statement endorsed by Prof. Ademola Aremu on behalf of the Joint Action Front (JAF), Socialist Labour, All Workers’ Convergence, Centre for Popular Education (CEPED), CSATF, NATA/ITESIWAJU OYO, and PAM.
The statement observed that the government’s attempts to discredit the protests were unsuccessful.
“This is a victory for the Nigeria working but suffering people. It has clearly shown that Nigerians are not slaves who would be told to surrender their fundamental and democratic rights to resist anti-poor policies. It has also demonstrated that no elected office holder is greater than the citizens of the country,” the statement read.
The groups frowned on the killing of protesters in some states, saying the violence experienced in some places were “largely instigated and provoked by members of the capitalist ruling class in these states either with the security agencies or hired political thugs to drown the movement in blood like they did during the EndSARS”.
They lambasted President Tinubu for failing to address concerns raised by Nigerians in the protest.
They said, “This to us is another gain of the protest except that none of the demands of the protest was addressed in the president national broadcast.
“As far as we are concerned, the national broadcast is just a mere justification for all of the neo-liberal policies responsible for the huge scale of pain and pangs Nigeria working people are going through at the present time.”
The groups also argued that the projects listed by President Tinubu do not have the capacity to bring any significant relief to the masses.
The statement said, “Aside from this, we note that none of the planned projects enumerated in the national broadcast has the potential to bring any significant relief and respite to the masses of the Nigeria working people.
“All achievements highlighted in the national broadcast failed to individually and collectively translate into any meaningful improvement in the life of the working people across the country.
“This is an indication that President Tinubu-led government will not be willing to accede and attend to any of the demands of our coalition except if it is challenged with struggle which is well drawn, determined and well-coordinated.
“Beyond the current ‘end bad governance protest,’ we require a bigger, broader and disciplined movement of the working people and youths for a better Nigeria.”
They also vowed to work with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the media to form a movement aimed at ensuring that Tinubu’s administration accedes to the demand of the people.
Some of the demands listed are: “Immediate reversal of the pump price of petrol to N197, repositioning of all of the public refineries and end to importation of petroleum products.”
They also demanded an immediate reversal of the recent hike in electricity tariffs including renationalisation of the power sector “under the control and management of the elected representatives of the working people”.
Other demands include placing political office holders on the salary scale and allowances earned by the civil servants, free education at all levels and reversal of current regime of fee hike across public tertiary institutions.
The group also urged the national leadership of the NLC and the TUC to convene a Joint National Executive Committee meeting to declare a 48-hour nationwide strike and street protests to support the #EndBadGovernance protests.
