Monday
Sex Scandal at the Ivory Tower
Dr. Innocent Igbeneghu, a lecturer, University of Lagos must have woken up like anyone else to welcome a new week with its promises and challenges. Presumably, he would be the centre of attraction that morning as the head of the family. Then this! The British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC began to seep in a story that put Dr. Igbeneghu on the spot of a sex scandal in his place of work. A BBC female correspondent had posed as a 17-year old prospective student in need of the lecturer’s assistance in gaining admission into the University. The lecturer dropped all guards and began to relate with the undercover correspondent in some suggestive manner. Deeper into their encounter some amorous discussions crept in.
Dr. Igbeneghu did not know that he was falling victim of a year-long project by the BBC to investigate the pervasive allegations of sexual harassment, sex for favour in West African Universities. The video clip from the bodycam of the undercover reporter went viral within minutes and everyone that saw it found the lecturer in a compromising mood with the lady that set the bait. The dust over the revelation was still thick in the air when another lecturer in the same University, Dr. Samuel Oladipo was exposed as sailing in the same boat with Dr. Igbeneghu.
Simultaneously, another video was trending on the social media in respect of two dons in the University of Ghana in similar moods with young ladies in their offices. They are Professor Ransford Gympo and Dr. Paul Kwame Butakor. All the four lecturers have accused the BBC of a set up. Meanwhile, they have been suspended from their places of work. Investigative panels have been set up to unravel the mystery surrounding the incidents. For Dr. Igbeneghu, it was double jeopardy. He was suspended as a Pastor of Foursquare Gospel Church.
Tuesday
President Buhari presents 2020 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly
President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2020 Appropriation Bill to the joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives in Abuja. This is the earliest time in four years that the President would present the Bill to the National Assembly. Buhari started on a humorous not when he told the lawmakers that he had a cold which he described as an evidence that he had been working very hard. The budget presentation last year occurred in a rowdy atmosphere during which the opposition booed the President while the ruling party members gave him loud ovations. The situation was expected as Nigeria was about going into 2019 general election and campaigns for the election were underway then. However, Buhari was duly respected as he presented the 2020 Appropriation Bill last Tuesday. The 2019 general election has been long gone.
The President summarized the expenditure profile of the Appropriation thus: “An aggregate expenditure of N10.33 trillion is proposed for the Federal Government in 2020. The expenditure estimate includes statutory transfers of N556.7 billion, non-debt recurrent expenditure of N4.88 trillion and N2.14 trillion of capital expenditure (excluding the capital component of statutory transfers). Debt service is estimated at N2.45 trillion, and provision for Sinking Fund to retire maturing bonds issued to local contractors is N296 billion.”
Buhari enumerated the components of the statutory transfers as follows:
a. N125 billion for the National Assembly;
b. N110 billion for the Judiciary;
c. N37.83 billion for the North East Development Commission (NEDC);
d. N44.5 billion for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF);
e. N111.79 billion for the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC); and
f. N80.88 billion for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), which is now supervised by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
Recurrent expenditure during the year will gulp N3.6 trillion for personnel cost as well as pension costs.
Wednesday
Buhari tells his Economic Advisory Council to begin work
President Muhammadu Buhari met his new Economic Advisory Council for the first time. The Council that was established on September 16, 2019 replaced the Economic Management Team headed by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo. While speaking with members of the Council, the President observed: “Some of the statistics we get relating to Nigeria are wild estimates and bear little relations to the facts on the ground. This is disturbing as it implies we are not fully aware of what is happening in our own country. We can only plan realistically when we have reliable data. As you are aware as a government we prioritized agriculture as a critical sector to create jobs and bring prosperity to our rural communities. Our programme covered the entire agricultural value chain from seed to fertilizer in grains and ultimately, our dishes.” He enjoined the Council to pay attention to humanitarian issues especially the question of the welfare of Internally Displaced Persons, IDP . He said, “In 2017 when the National Emergency Management Agency took over the feeding of some Internally IDPs in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, the amount we spent was significantly lower than the claims by these international organizations.” The Council is to meet once a month or at any other time that it deems necessary. Consultation with the President will be quarterly.
Thursday
When former President Goodluck Jonathan goes to the Villa
Former President Goodluck Jonathan suddenly turned up at the Presidential Villa, Abuja and here he was beaming with smiles with President Muhammadu Buhari. Officially, the visit would have been scheduled. Given the wide gap between the ruling party and the opposition, the visit still sprang an element of surprise. The point must not be lost however, that President Buhari respects his predecessor for the manner he conceded victory and handed over power to him after the 2015 general election. Buhari had been declared the winner of the presidential election then. No statements were issued at the end of the meeting of the two Nigerian leaders.
Emir of Kano weeps over rate of inequalities in Nigeria
It is unusual for a first class traditional ruler to break down in public and shed tears. The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II did that on Thursday in Lagos while addressing an international audience at a United Nations meeting on Sustainable Development Goals. He had narrated the story of a woman who rushed into his Palace in Kano to plead for a sum less than $5 to enable her to buy drugs to save her child. The child died in the mother’s arm while waiting for her turn to ask for the money from him. The Emir narrated.
Friday
Melaye loses Seat
Dino Melaye is a household name in Nigeria now because of his flamboyant disposition on the Nigerian political scene. He was the Senator representing Kogi West on the ticket of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Kogi State National Assembly/State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal removed him as Senator in a judgment delivered on the petition by his opponent, Smart Adeyemi of the All Progressives Congress, APC that Melaye manipulated the result of the election. He appealed the judgment. Today, the Appeal Court sustained the order of the lower tribunal and asked Melaye to vacate his seat in the Senate. The Court has now ordered fresh election to be conducted in the Senatorial District.
Second Wife for the President?
What a day today! Social media had been flying a kite that President Muhammadu Buhari was set to marry a second wife. Fingers pointed at one of his Ministers, Sadia Umar Farouq. Pictures of Buhari and Sadia were sprinkled on social media, most of them obviously manipulations of photo editing software. It got to a stage when the matter was appearing serious enough for even political opponents to mock the Nigerian leader for trying to take a second wife. The speculation gained weight when busy bodies began to peddle the rumour that Buhari and his wife, Aisha were estranged because of the first lady’s long absence from the country. An official statement issued today by one of the presidential spokespersons, Femi Adesina has put paid to the wild goose chase. Sadia Umar Farouq currently serves as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development and she is currently on official assignment abroad.
