Kidnapped Kaduna Catholic Priest Regains Freedom

 A combination of file photos of the map of Kaduna State and a gun recovered from crime suspects.

Reverend Father Joseph Shekari who was kidnapped by gunmen has regained freedom after 48 hours in captivity.

The Chancellor of Kafanchan Catholic Diocese, Reverend Father Emmanuel Okolo confirmed the release to Channels Television.

He said Reverend Father Shekari was released at about 10:00 pm on Monday night.

Okolo however, did not state if any ransom was paid to the gunmen or not before they released the Reverend Father.

He appreciated those who offered prayers for the quick release of the priest and prayed for the repose of the soul of the cook who was killed during the kidnap.

The bandits on Sunday night stormed St. Monica’s Catholic Church, Parish, in Ikulu Pari of Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State and made way with the priest.

The gunmen also killed the Reverend Father’s cook, who is a secondary school student, before taking the priest away to an unknown destination.

It was also reported that the gunmen carted away an unspecified amount of money realised from a thanksgiving service on that Sunday.

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2023: Why I Won’t Disclose My Preferred Successor’s Identity – Buhari

 Like many of the major political office holders in the country completing their term, it is believed that the President also has a candidate whom he prefers to succeed him.

However, President Muhammadu Buhari is not willing to reveal the identity of his anointed candidate for the safety of such a person.

While responding to a question about who his preferred candidate was during an exclusive interview with Channels Television on Wednesday, he said “It is (a) secret.”

“No, I wouldn’t say because he may be eliminated if I mention. I better keep it,” the President stated with a smile.

When asked if he was interested in who eventually succeeds him, he responded, “No. Let him come, whoever it is.

“All important things, I’ll make sure that they are on record. Nobody should ask me to come and give any evidence in any court, otherwise whoever it is, he will be in trouble because all important things are on record.

“I think my legacy is that I try to make sure that we conduct ourselves with integrity. That means we stopped all the stealing as much as the system can allow; we stopped misappropriation and for Nigerians that is very important.”

President Buhari stated his readiness to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, if the National Assembly would include the options of consensus candidate and indirect primary to the mode of selecting a candidate for an election, as against the initial direct mode as the only option to conduct primaries by political parties.

“There should be options, you can’t dictate to people and say you are doing democracy. Give them other options so they can make a choice,” he said

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NLC Rejects FG’s Plan To Increase Tax On Carbonated Drinks

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is rejecting plans by the Federal Government to increase taxes on non-alcoholic and carbonated drinks.

NLC’s position is contained in a statement signed by its President, Mr Ayuba Wabba, which was circulated to journalists in Abuja.

The government had announced the increased taxes as a way of discouraging over-consumption of sugar, checking obesity, and also generating more money to fund the 2022 budget.

But the union believes implementing increased taxes on non-alcoholic and carbonated drinks, which is one of the provisions in the 2021 Finance Act, will impose more hardship on the citizens.

The NLC, therefore, asked the National Assembly to urgently amend the sections of the Finance Act which re-introduced excise duties on non-alcoholic and carbonated drinks.

Read the full statement below:

On the 31st of December 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law the Finance Act. Some of the provisions of the Finance Act includes the imposition of excise duties on locally produced non-alcoholic, carbonated, and sugary drinks.

The reason offered by government for this decision was to discourage the consumption of sugar by Nigerians as it has led to upsurge in obesity and diabetes. In a letter dated 27th November 2021, the Nigeria Labour Congress wrote to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR and the leadership of the two chambers of the National Assembly pleading that government should suspend the implementation of the excise duties on non-alcoholic, carbonated and sugary drinks.

The Congress provided a number of very cogent reasons why government should not go ahead with the decision to impose fresh taxes on soft drinks. One of the reasons we advanced was that the re-introduction of excise duties on non-alcoholic, carbonated and sugary drinks will impose immense hardship on ordinary Nigerians who easily keep hunger at bay with a bottle of soft drink and maybe a loaf of bread.

Our concern is the mass hunger that would result from the slightest increase in the retail price of soft drinks owing to imposition of excise duties as it would be priced beyond the reach of many Nigerians. Congress was also alerted by the complaint of manufacturers of soft drinks in Nigeria that the re-introduction of excise duties would lead to very sharp decline in sales, forced reduction in production capacity, and a certain roll back in investments with the certainty of job losses and possibly shut down of manufacturing plants.

Nigerians would recall that this was also the complaint of tyre manufacturing companies such as Dunlop and Michelin which was overlooked by government until the two companies relocated to neighbouring Ghana. A similar situation is playing out with the soft drinks manufacturing sub-sector. Government should pay attention.

With 38% of the entire manufacturing output in Nigeria and 22.5% share representation of the entire manufacturing sector in Nigeria, the food and beverage industry is the largest industrial sub sector in our country. The food and beverage sub-sector has generated to the coffers of government N202 billion as VAT in the past five years, N7.3 billion as Corporate Social Responsibility and has created 1.5 million decent jobs both directly and indirectly.

There is thus no gainsaying the fact that the industry is a golden goose that must be kept alive. The health reason proffered by government as reason for the reintroduction of the excise duties seems altruistic. Yet, we are amiss why the government did not place the excise duties on sugar itself as a commodity rather than on carbonated drinks.

The truth of the matter is that an additional increase in the retail price of carbonated drinks would put more Nigerians at risk of serious health challenges as many people would resort to consuming sub-standard and unhygienic drinks as substitutes for carbonated drinks.

The appeal to rescind the re-introduction of excise duties on non-alcoholic drinks becomes even more compelling when the projected immediate revenue expected from the policy is weighed against the potential long-term loss to both manufacturers and government. The beverage sub-sector will lose 40% of its current sales revenue.

This translates to a loss of N1.9 trillion. While the government will only make total projected receipts of N81 billion from the proposed reintroduction of the excise duties. Government also stands to will lose N197 billion in VAT, Company Income Tax and Tertiary Education Tax as a consequence of expected downturn in overall industry performance should the excise duties be effected as being planned.

In light of the foregoing, we ask the National Assembly to quickly amend the sections of the Finance Act that re-introduced excise duties on non-alcoholic and carbonated drinks. We also ask government to extend COVID-19 palliatives and support incentives to the Food and Beverages industry to cushion the shock and haemorrhage that the industry is trying to recover from.

Finally, we demand that Government should engage Employers in the subsector and Organized Labour in sincere discussions on other options that can deliver a mutually satisfying win-win solution to this issue. We hope that the current situation will not be allowed to degenerate into a breakdown in industrial relations in the sector and generally in the country.

Comrade Ayuba Wabba, mni

President

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Mane, Ndidi And Other Stars To Watch At The Cup Of Nations

 

As the Africa Cup of Nations begins in Cameroon on Sunday, here are stars to watch out for at the tournament:

The Nigerian midfielder has been a mainstay for Leicester City following his move from the Belgian side, Genk, in 2017.

To date, the 26-year-old has played over 130 times for the FA Cup holders and was instrumental in their run to that trophy.

Aside from Ndidi’s tackling and defensive attributes, he also brings physicality to the game. His incredible work rate will prove handy for the Super Eagles on a quest for a fourth continental crown in Cameroon.

His performances for the Foxes have also seen him likened to some of the best midfielders in Europe.

Choupo-Moting was dismissed at times during his two-year stint at Paris Saint-Germain, where he was a back-up in attack to superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. Yet he still popped up with some important goals and has netted 17 times in 44 appearances since signing for Bayern Munich in 2020.

The 32-year-old, who stands 1.91m tall, was born in Germany and notably played for Hamburg and Schalke at the start of his career before a stint in the Premier League at Stoke City.

Eligible for Cameroon through his father, he represented the Indomitable Lions at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups and captained them at the AFCON in 2015 and 2017. He did not go in 2017 when Cameroon won the trophy in Gabon but is the biggest name in the hosts’ squad this time as they look to win the trophy for the sixth time.

Senegal are the leading African side according to the FIFA rankings and Liverpool forward Mane is their star player. A former African Footballer of the Year who also came fourth in the Ballon d’Or rankings in 2019, Mane will be hugely missed by Liverpool as he heads to Cameroon -– he has 10 goals this season for his club.

However, the 29-year-old is desperate to win African football’s biggest prize after Senegal lost to Algeria in the 2019 final. The West African country has never won the Cup of Nations.

At 23, right-back Hakimi is starring for PSG having already played for Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, and Inter Milan, and is arguably the best-attacking full-back on the planet today. He will therefore be the man to watch in a Morocco side among the leading contenders to go all the way.

Hakimi, who joined PSG from Inter last July for 60 million euros ($71 million), is, in theory, a defender, but he is chiefly a key creative and attacking outlet down the right. Born and brought up in Madrid to Moroccan parents, Hakimi was just 18 when he scored on his competitive debut for the Atlas Lions.

Salah 'Almost 100%' Certain To Play In Egypt Opener, Coach Says

Many scoffed when Salah came seventh in the final Ballon d’Or rankings in November. It could be argued there is no better player in the world right now than the 29-year-old forward, who has scored 54 times for Liverpool since the start of last season.

Jurgen Klopp’s side will miss him and Mane while they are gone for up to a month, but Salah carries the hopes and dreams of 100 million Egyptians on his shoulders. He is the headline act in a squad made up largely of home-based players as The Pharaohs chase a record-extending eighth African crown.

Salah played in the team that lost the 2017 final to Cameroon before losing to South Africa as hosts in the last 16 in 2019.

Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City and Algeria)Another former African footballer of the year, Mahrez captained Algeria to victory in 2019 and is again the star man as they look to defend their title.

The winger has been in fine form for Manchester City, with 13 goals in 25 games this season for the Premier League leaders. Now 30, Mahrez was born and brought up in the Paris suburbs but Algeria was the land of his late father’s birth and Riyad made his international debut just before the 2014 World Cup, not long after he first moved to England with Leicester City.

The tall 27-year-old striker has been one of the stars of this season’s UEFA Champions League, scoring 10 goals in the group stage for Ajax. He became just the second player to score in all six group games, following Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017.

Haller, who has 22 goals this season, joined Ajax last January from West Ham United for 22.5 million euros ($27.5m), calling time on a disappointing spell in England to return to the Dutch league, where he was based previously.

Born and brought up in the Paris suburbs, he played for France Under-21s but opted to represent the Ivory Coast –- the land of his mother’s birth -– after getting the call aged 26

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2022: Lasun Yussuff, Adeoti, Najeem Salam Join TOP, Vow To unseat oyetola

Three prominent leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, today expressed their readiness to work together to rescue the party from what they described as imminent collapse and electoral loss.

Immediate past deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Lasun Yussuff, former Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Hon Najeem Salam and former Secretary to Osun State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, jointly declared that APC cannot win the 2022 governorship election if it fields the incumbent, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.

The trio who also contested the ticket of the party with Oyetola in 2018 lamented that the governor has been playing politics of exclusiveness and disunity since he took over.

Speaking at a special meeting of The Osun Progressives TOP, a caucus of the party, Salam said it was disheartening that genuine APC members who worked for the emergence of Oyetola, were being treated as outcast and nonentities by the governor and his people.

According to Salam, Oyetola was mismanaging the party because he is an opportunist, who got the party’s ticket on a platter of gold.

He said Yussuff, Adeoti and himself have resolved to downplay individuals’ political interest, accept and work with whoever emerges among them as the candidate of the party in 2022.

The former Speaker urged party members to work in unison to realise the dreams of the majority in a bid to salvage the party and the state.

Speaking in the same vein, Yussuff, the former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, said it was painful that the APC in the state is in the hands of an impostor, stating that the party is in disarray and needed to be restructured.

Yussuff said he decided to join hands with other leaders of the party in The Osun Progressives because of his love for progressives, his relationship with the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aragbesola and the need to take the party back to the genuine progressives in the state.

Accoding to him, APC ran into problem in 2018 because its leaders refused to allow collective leadership to play out, accusing them of imposing Oyetola on the APC members.

He submitted that this time around, the leaders of the party are ready to embrace collective leadership which will start from presenting a candidate from their camp against Oyetola during the primaries of the party.

In his address, Adeoti, the governorship candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) in 2018, said it was surprising that a governor that won with just 482 votes would be chasing away quality APC members and leaders.

Adeoti said it was hypocritical and unfair for Oyetola to be dissociating himself from policies, programmes and projects of Aregbesola’s administration, disclosing that he was actively involved in every decision of the government as a Chief of Staff to the governor.

The former SSG accused elders of the APC of nonchalant attitude to settlement of misunderstanding in the party before it snowballed into full crisis.

He specifically accused the former Chairman of the party, Prince Gboyega Famodun of being a party to the crisis, saying that the former Chairman of the APC was also not willing to relate with anybody that has relationship with Aregbesola.

Adeoti concluded that the window of reconciliation has been closed, stating that what is needed was to be united to rescue the party from sinking.

All the three governorship aspirants jointly promised to work together, restructure the party and position it for victory in 2022.

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AFCON: European Clubs Threaten To Withhold Players

 

AFCON trophy. 

Europe’s top clubs are threatening not to release players for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon over fears surrounding its Covid-19 health protocol.

The European Club Association, which represents leading clubs across the continent, made its concerns known to FIFA in a letter seen by AFP.

“With regards to applicable protocols, as far as we are aware, CAF (the Confederation of African football) has not yet made available a suitable medical and operational protocol for the AFCON tournament, in the absence of which clubs will not be able to release players for the tournament,” the ECA told football’s world governing body.

The Cup of Nations, which was already postponed last year due to the health crisis, is due to start in Cameroon on January 9 and run until February 6.

Many of Africa’s leading players are based at clubs in Europe, including Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City, Achraf Hakimi, and Idrissa Gana Gueye of Paris Saint-Germain.

The ECA also raised concerns about the danger of players being unavailable for even longer periods due to the potential for travel restrictions or mandatory quarantine being introduced, in particular in relation to the emerging threat posed by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

According to FIFA’s rules for the release of players for international duty during the pandemic, clubs can retain players if “there is a mandatory quarantine of at least five days on arrival” in the place “where a national team match is supposed to take place” or when the player returns to his club.

An executive board meeting of the ECA — which represents almost 250 European clubs — on December 2 said these principles “must be strictly respected”, according to the letter sent to FIFA Deputy Secretary General Mattias Grafstroem.

“Should this not be the case…players (should) not be released for international duty”.

 ‘Unmanageable’ 

Clubs could lose players who are called up for the 24-team tournament from as early as December 27, which is particularly problematic for those based in England, where there is a busy schedule of matches over the holiday period in late December and early January.

“For certain clubs expected to release players, including English and French clubs, domestic competition matches are due to take place up until early January and hence the overlap of the 2022 AFCON release dates…are unmanageable,” added the ECA, whose chairman is Qatar’s Nasser al-Khelaifi, also the president of PSG.

CAF general secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba is currently in Cameroon overseeing final preparations for the delayed tournament.

The organisation refused to comment on the ECA threat when contacted by AFP but, in an update on its website, said that Mosengo-Omba “urged everyone to work around the clock to ensure that everything is in place for the opening game”.

However, the pandemic would appear to pose a far bigger threat to the successful staging of the tournament than concerns about the host nation’s readiness.

The CAF update said its president, Patrice Motsepe, had been in discussions with the Cameroonian government “on sanitary approach and Covid-19 protocols”.

When contacted by AFP, a senior official in the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot) dismissed any suggestion the tournament could be called off as “fake news”.

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Alleged Sexual Assault: Lagos State Closes Case In Baba Ijesha’s Trial

The prosecution team of the Lagos State Government has closed its case against Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju James popularly known as Baba Ijesha.

He is standing trial at the Sexual Offences Court sitting in Ikeja over allegations of defiling a minor.

The Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mrs Olayinka Adeyemi told the court on Wednesday that it was closing its case after the cross-examination of the sixth prosecution witness.

Following the DPP’s statement, the defence counsel, Mr Kayode Olabiran announced to the court that the defence team intends to file a no-case submission.

Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo said the no-case submission will be taken in the year as “the court is rounding up” for 2021.

Before this, the court ruled on the confessional statement made by the defendant to the police.

Justice Taiwo held that it was admissible as evidence.

She also ruled that there was no evidence before the court that proved that the Nollywood actor was tortured into giving the statement to the police.

She noted that there was no corroboration to the defendant’s claim that a police officer, one Inspector Abigail Omane had promised to set him free if he owned up to the allegations. She described as an afterthought the defendant’s application stating the same.

“Sitting on the floor does not vitiate the confessional statement. The statement is found to be relevant and admissible,” the judge said.

Following the ruling, the last prosecution witness, Inspector Abigail Omane resumed her evidence.

The police officer told the court that after she had taken the evidence of the defendant, she had taken all the parties in the case to the office of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO).

“Thereafter the case was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Panti,” she said.

R being cross-examined by Olabiran, Omane threw more light on why the defendant’s shirt was torn when he was brought to the police station.

“The survivor told us that she was the one that beat him. There was no report of harassment of the complainant at the police station.

“I’m not aware if the police were informed prior to the installation of the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) at the complainant’s house,” she said.

The case has been adjourned to January 26 for the adoption of the no-case submission of the defendant.

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