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AFR Business

Despite Okupe’s conviction, Peter Obi vows to continue campaign

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Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, has said the conviction of his Campaign Organisation’s Director-General, Dr. Doyin Okupe, over alleged money laundering would not break his resolve to be Nigeria’s President.

Mr Obi said this during a parley with journalists in Uyo at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Akwa Ibom State Council Secretariat on Monday.

Mr Obi said he was undaunted by the conviction and would continue with his campaign and allow the due process of law to take its course.

“I am hearing about it (the conviction) just like you. I am still studying what is coming out of the Court and everything. I believe in the rule of law. It is not going to demoralise me.

“Today, when I arrived Akwa Ibom somebody asked me why I haven’t been using my aircraft because it has been grounded and all that, and I said to him that nothing demoralises me.

“In my life, I have never stayed where they dropped me, otherwise, I would have been where they dropped me before. This election, if they like, let them do anything about people who are around me. I will get there.”

“The structure they have today is the structure we want to destroy. It is the structure of criminality. It is structure that produced 133 million people living in poverty,” Mr Obi said.

DSS says it will remain focused and unbiased amid alleged plot to arrest Emefiele

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Nigeria’s Secret Police, the Department of State Services (DSS) has said that it will continue to abide by its statutory mandate without bias. The DSS made this assertion in a statement Monday night signed by its Spokesman, Peter Afunanya. He said the DSS would remain focused and unbiased in discharging its responsibilities.

Mr Afunanya’s statement came amid allegations that the agency was plotting to arrest Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.

The statement did not mention Emefiele’s name even as the agency pledged not to “succumb to propaganda, intimidation and the desperation of hirelings to undermine it.”

Mr Afunanya said: “The Department of State Services (DSS) wishes to clarify that one of its roles is the investigation of matters of national security dimension. It has always discharged this responsibility in the overall interest of Nigerian citizens. As such, the Service will continue to disseminate actionable intelligence to the relevant authorities devoid of any sentiment.

“While professionally discharging its mandate, the DSS pledges to remain focused and unbiased. It will not, by any means, succumb to propaganda, intimidation and the desperation of hirelings to undermine it. It will also not give room to the use of falsehood and deceit to misdirect public understanding and perceptions of issues of national importance.

“Given not to joining issues, the Service warns those on a wild goose chase to be mindful of their actions. Similarly, it urges members of the public to disregard the vituperations and rantings of misguided elements and not allow themselves to be used as instruments of destabilisation.

“Notably, these elements should remember the ​famous axiom that “you will only deceive some people, some of the time, but not all people, all the time”. To put it succinctly, the Service will not be distracted by persons and/or groups from carrying out its duties to the Nation, citizens, President and Commander-in-Chief. Citizens are, therefore, urged to avoid being used to thwart or undermine the Service and its lawful investigations as those who wish to act in breach will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

Buhari administration says president’s fleet needs $45 million for proper maintenance

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The Presidential Air Fleet says its past years’ budgetary allocation was insufficient to fund the operations fleet and that some $45 million will be needed to maintain the aircraft.

The fleet commander, AVM Abubakar Abdullahi, told members of the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence during an oversight visit in Abuja.

Represented by fleet operations officer Ahmed Dari, Mr Abdulahi said the quality of aircraft maintenance conducted is directly proportional to flight safety and is critical to the importance of safe operations in the fleet.

“It is important for this committee to note that for successive years, the fleet has been grossly underfunded, which has made it difficult to operate. From the fleet records, debts from preceding years are usually carried over to the following year, and this has become the tradition,” stated the fleet commander.

He told the legislators that “most of these debts are owned by service providers overseas. Considering that over 85 per cent of the fleet expenditure is forex, the actual budget figure in dollars is further diminished.”

The presidential fleet commander pointed out to the legislative committee that the average age of the presidential air fleet aircraft “is 11 years and in aviation, maintenance increases proportionately with the age of the aircraft.”

“Based on the fleet experience, the cost of maintaining each aircraft ranges between $1.5 million to $4.5 million depending on the level of maintenance,” said Mr Abdullahi. “Additionally, the year 2023 is an election year which translates to more missions and space requests for the aircraft due to increased usage.”

Ten aircraft were said to be n the presidential air fleet when the regime assumed power in 2015.

Mr Abdullahi said in 2021, the presidential air fleet submitted a budget of N18.76 billion, but only N12.55 billion was approved in the Appropriation Act, and as of December 2021, only N10.90 billion was released.

The fleet commander also revealed that in 2022, N19.47 billion was proposed, and N12.47 billion was approved in the national budget. He explained that the total releases to the fleet as of November 2022 was N11.13 billion, representing 98.07 per cent of the total fund approved.

Giving the breakdown of the releases, he said 99.83 per cent is for personnel cost, 94 per cent for overhead, and 99.99 per cent for capital expenditures.

He further stated that for the 2023 proposals, the fleet requires N15.52 billion, of which N438.57 million is for personnel cost; N11.64 billion is for overhead cost, while N3.44 billion is for capital expenditures.

“Please note that the shortfall in the overhead cost usually affects aircraft maintenance activities in the fleet. The inadequacy of this provision was brought to the attention of the respected committee as it has always during the budget defence and oversight visit,” Mr Abdullahi told the committee.

He stressed that aircraft maintenance, “which accounts for 46 per cent of the overall budget proposal, is an integral” part of the overhead cost.

Mr Abdullahi warned that the shortfall of the overhead “greatly affected aircraft maintenance activities in the fleet” because some “mandatory upgrades were carried out on a credit basis on the fleet’s longstanding relationship with maintenance companies while others have been moved to the year 2023 budget.”

EEDC hikes electricity tariff by 13%, blames worsening economy

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The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), says that the recent electricity tariff adjustment of about 13 per cent reflects economic realities meant to keep the electricity industry alive.

EEDC spokesman Emeka Ezeh disclosed this to in Enugu on Sunday.

The tariff rate for Non-MD customers under R2SB class increased from N58.47 to N66.47 per kilowatt.

Mr Ezeh spoke on the sidelines of complaints by some customers over the surprise increase in tariff per kilowatt they noticed which cuts across all categories of customers within the company’s network franchise area in the South-East.

He said that the minor adjustment, which took effect from December 1, 2022, was approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) some months ago across all electricity distribution companies in the country.

According to him, there is a minor adjustment by some percentage across board in the whole electricity distribution companies nationwide currently and it is not peculiar to EEDC alone.

He said: “Currently, the sector is seriously affected by the high inflationary rate in the country; as it affects our daily operational maintenance and services to our esteemed customers in our network.

“The issue of high foreign exchange rate is affecting our business too in terms of importing most of our spare parts needed for daily maintenance and repairs in the network.

“The high foreign exchange rate also impact on EEDC ever increasing investment on installations to further expand and fortify the network, leading to the improved services customers are experiencing within the South-East.”

The EEDC spokesman appealed for the understanding of its esteemed customers, adding that if the indices mentioned and other factors “turn positive tomorrow; we belief that NERC will review the tariff downwards”.

“The recent development is for us to remain in business, service our customers better and maintain obligations to other stakeholders within the sector/industry,” he added.

However, customers within the EEDC network in Enugu have continued to complain that the increase is already tightening the existing economic hardship.

They were of the view that before now, the high inflationary rate of about 22 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), was even affecting how their families feed daily.

Obinna Nwafor, a resident of Achara layout in Enugu, noted that it was terrible that the residents cannot get any economic respite; “as there are so many struggles to survive in the country”.

Mr Nwafor said: “I wish this increase has not come now; so that at least we can have a sector that is relatively stable and not being affected by the nationwide inflationary trend”.

Jude Onyia, a resident of Uwani axis of Enugu metropolis, urged EEDC to consider those in the lower categories of their tariff line and exclude them from the increase.

“It is clear that those of us in the low category of the tariff cannot easily meet up and other alternatives to electricity are quite costly too,” Mr Onyia said.

APGA candidate Nweke promises better deal for PLWDs in Enugu

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Frank Nweke Jr, the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Enugu State, has disclosed that if elected he will pay special attention to People Living With Disabilities (PLWD).

Mr Nweke stated this on Sunday at a Town Hall Meeting held at Ibagwa in Igbo-Eze-South Local Government Area of Enugu State.

The APGA governorship candidate said he would run an administration that prioritised social equity and inclusion of every member of the society.

He also announced the donation of 10 wheelchairs and crutches to PLWDs in the state.

Mr Nweke said the wheelchairs and crutches should be distributed to the most vulnerable members of the PLWD while a pair of prosthetic legs should be given to their members who attended the meeting.

He decried the current exclusion of vulnerable citizens from opportunities and assured the people that his administration had a robust plan to alleviate the difficulties experienced by PLWD.

“You have mentioned that there are 275 people living with one disability or another in Igbo-Eze South.

“I am glad to know this because the first thing in our plan is to develop a data-driven approach that identifies the vulnerable in our state and integrates everyone in our plans for education, health, human rights, environment and social services.

“I give my word that you will have adequate representation in our government. The APGA philosophy of Onye Aghana Nwanne Ya (Do not leave your brother) will be guiding everything we do and no one will be left behind,” Mr Nweke said.

He said that he would ensure that urban planning, infrastructure, regulations, institutions were developed to foster accessibility, inclusion, protection of rights and implementation of the Disability Act.

“Our goal is to create opportunities for empowerment and self-sustenance but even while doing that, we will be providing welfare packages as well.

“We will embark on reorientation and enlightenment programmes to shift cultural beliefs and behaviours about PLWD,” he said.

Earlier, the Chairperson of the Association of PLWD, Nnadi Ikechukwu, told Nweke that “We appreciate that only you have recognised us. You invited us to the unveiling of your manifesto.

“In fact, another party whose name I don’t want to mention, denied one of us a ticket but in APGA today, after you came in, we have persons living with disabilities as a Ward Chairman and as a House of Assembly candidate.

“All we ask for is good representation and recognition,” Mr Ikechukwu said.