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Alpha-Beta Former MD, Who Accused Tinubu Of Fraud, Makes U-Turn, Endorses Him, Says “He’s The Best”

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Oladapo Apara, former managing director of Alpha-Beta Consulting, has endorsed the presidential bid of Bola Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In an article published in ThisDay Newspaper, on Sunday, Apara said Tinubu is the “best man” to succeed Muhammadu Buhari as president.

The former Alpha-Beta Consulting MD said he picked Tinubu as the “most suitable” contestant after a “dispassionate assessment” of all the candidates in the presidential race.

In 2020, Apara, who was sacked as the managing director of Alpha Beta Consulting in 2018, accused Tinubu of owning the firm by proxy, which led to his dismissal and withholding of his share profit for the period he worked for the firm.

He also made allegations of money laundering, tax evasion, forgery, and a number of other corporate fraudulent practices against the company and its owners.

In September 2022, Apara withdrew the case from the court after reaching an undisclosed out-of-court settlement with the former Lagos governor.

“My choice of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the best man for the job is based on a dispassionate assessment of his previous public office records and superlative antecedents, all writ large in Lagos state — Africa’s fifth largest economy were it to be a country on its own,” Apara said.

“My pick of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the most suitable candidate for President in 2023 is also informed by a direct experience of the phenomenal Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu having worked with him for over twenty (20) years in various capacities, including at a point in my career when I worked at ALPHA-BETA Consulting, which company I eventually led as managing director/chief executive officer and honourably disengaged from in order to pursue other interests.

“I make bold to say that the great successes we recorded at ALPHA-BETA Consulting, especially the exponential increase in the internally generated revenue (IGR) of all our clients — local and international have everything to do with the capacity and competence of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a colossus in public revenue generation re-engineering.

“Such was the undeniable results of ALPHA-BETA Consulting as a professional firm that many states in Nigeria across party divides discarded politics to engage ALPHA-BETA Consulting as their IGR consultants, including some West African nations.

“As a humble recipient of a cache of prizes in financial management and intermediation in Nigeria and across the world, I am convinced that at this juncture in our national journey Nigeria needs a president prudent and pragmatic in financial management like Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is an extraordinary manager of human and material resources. As president, he would fix round pegs in round holes for a rapid socio-economic transformation of Nigeria into the country of our collective dreams.”

He said Tinubu is a “famous and credible name” associated with big businesses on the global stage and as president, Nigerians are poised to see more foreign capital and investment pouring into the country like never before.

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Inflation: Real Reason Indomie Reduced Prices Of Popular Staple Food Item Revealed

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In the face of mounting inflationary pressures in Nigeria, Indomie Instant Noodles, a major brand under Dufil Prima Foods Limited, has announced a substantial price cut to ensure affordability for consumers.

The move was made to preserve availability to this well-liked essential food item in response to the growing economic difficulties that Nigerians were facing.

And this is supported by a recent survey that was carried out at a number of Lagos-based stores and found that the costs of Indomie goods had significantly dropped. When compared to the previous month, the price of the 70g pack of Indomie Regular Chicken noodles dropped to N250.

Additionally, the price of a 40-pack carton of Indomie dropped from N12,000 to N10,000 within the same timeframe. Prior to this adjustment, Indomie’s prices had surpassed those of competing brands such as Mimee (N200) and Honeywell noodles (N250).

Temitope Ashiwaju, the group corporate communications & event manager at Dufil Prima Foods Limited, attributed the price reduction to favourable changes in operational costs.

He emphasized the company’s commitment to passing on benefits to consumers, stressing their dedication to fairness and affordability.

“We are never going to be taking advantage of the populace. We want to make profit, but in a fair way,” the spokesman added. “That is why we are determined to keep our products affordable to Nigerians.”

Contrary to speculations suggesting low patronage as the driving factor behind the price adjustment, Ashiwaju reaffirmed that the decision was rooted in the company’s ethos of customer-centricity and fairness.

Industry experts have hailed Dufil Prima’s move as influential, predicting a ripple effect that could prompt other brands to follow suit because Indomie’s dominant position in the market has positioned it as a price setter, prompting expectations for broader shifts in pricing strategies across the industry.

The price reduction by Indomie comes amidst a backdrop of economic challenges in Nigeria, characterized by soaring inflation rates.

Over the past nine months, Nigeria has witnessed a steady rise in headline inflation, driven primarily by government reforms such as the removal of petrol subsidy and naira devaluation.

As a result, food inflation has surged, exacerbating the financial strain on households and leading to an increase in poverty levels.

Despite these economic headwinds, a recent report by Euromonitor International indicates robust growth in the sales value of noodles within Nigeria’s formal market.

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Lagos State Government Disburses N4.48bn In Pension Benefits To Retirees

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  • Governor Sanwo-Olu Upholds Commitment to Pensioners’ Welfare with Timely pay

 

The Lagos state government on Thursday, March 28, paid a total of N4.48 billion in pensions to 1,455 retirees for the month of March.

The payment was given at the Lagos State Pension Commission’s (LASPEC) 104th retirement bonds certificate presentation.

When LASPEC paid N3.2 billion in accrued pensions to 1,013 retirees during the 103rd retirement bonds certificate ceremony in February, the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had promised to pay at least N4 billion in March.

To settle all pending accrued pensions by the middle of the year, the governor guaranteed that the state government would pay an additional N3 billion in April.

While he acknowledged the backlog in the payment of accrued rights, Sanwo-Olu noted: “Our attention is focused on systematically eliminating the backlog.”

He also expressed optimism about the actualisation of the government’s dream of a “Pay-As-You-Go” model before his term ended.

At the presentation, LASPEC Director-General, Babalola Obilana, said that the monies were released for civil personnel who retired before the start of the Contributory Pension Scheme in 2007.

Obilana expressed gratitude to Sanwo-Olu for his steadfast dedication to the well-being of the state’s residents.

The governor, he pointed out, had consistently placed pensioners’ interests first and supported measures to lessen their financial difficulties.

He assured that by mid-2024, retirees from the state would receive their benefits as they departed from government employment, emphasising that the governor had kept his word to clear all pension arrears.

Obilana said: “On behalf of Gov. Sanwo-Olu and the entire Lagos State Government, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of you present at this memorable event.

“Lagos State is thankful for your accomplishments and the enduring contributions you have made throughout your distinguished careers.

“You have exemplified the values that define Lagos State – integrity, commitment, and excellence.

“Your dedication and hard work have contributed to the dream of a `Greater Lagos’.

You are a source of inspiration for us all. Your legacy will undoubtedly continue to resonate within the public service.”

LASPEC DG further urged retirees to be cautious of fraudsters and choose suitable pension investments. He highlighted the transition from professional life to leisure and hoped their future would be full of happiness and fulfillment from a rewarding professional life.

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Federal Government To Grant Mining Licenses To Only Companies That Process Locally

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Nigeria will only grant new mining licences to companies that present a plan on how minerals would be processed locally, under new guidelines being developed, a government spokesperson confirmed on Thursday.

This is a departure from Nigeria’s long-standing practice of exporting raw commodities, as governments around Africa work to increase the value derived from their substantial mineral reserves.

To spur investment, Nigeria will offer investors incentives including tax waivers for importing mining equipment, make it easier to secure electricity generation licences, allow full repatriation of profits and boost security, Segun Tomori, a spokesperson for Nigeria’s minister of solid minerals development said.

“In exchange, we have to review their plans for setting up a plant and how they would add value to the Nigerian economy,” Tomori said. He did not say when the guidelines would be finalised or come into effect.

However, last week the minister of solid minerals development, Dele Alake, said it was now government policy to make value addition a condition for obtaining licences so as to create jobs and help local communities.

Alake, who also chairs an African mining strategy group comprising mining ministers from Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Botswana, Zambia and Namibia, is pushing for a continent-wide effort to get maximum local benefit from mineral exploration.

Nigeria, Africa’s top energy producer, has struggled to extract value from its vast mineral resources due to poor incentives and neglect. The underdeveloped mining sector contributes less than 1% of the country’s gross domestic product.

Last year Nigeria exported mostly tin ore and concentrates worth about 137.59 billion naira ($108.34 million), mainly to China and Malaysia, according to the country’s statistics bureau.

The government aims to drive more investment into the sector by issuing more licenses. It has set up a state-owned solid minerals corporation offering investors a 75% stake and established a special security unit tasked with fighting illegal miners.

The government is also trying to regulate artisanal miners, who dominate the sector, by grouping them into cooperatives.

Foreign mining companies operating in Nigeria include Canada-based Thor Explorations which is involved in gold exploration, Chinese-owned Xiang Hui International Mining which partnered with a local company to process gold, and Indian-owned African Natural Resources and Mines, which is building a $600m iron ore processing plant in northern Nigeria.

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