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JUST IN: Fayemi Joins 2023 Presidential Race, Unfolds Agenda

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Ekiti State Governor and Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Kayode Fayemi will formally declare his intention to run for the position of President of the country on Wednesday in Abuja.

His Chief Press Secretary, Yinka Oyebode, made this known in a statement issued to journalists on Tuesday.

According to him, Wednesday’s declaration, tagged, ‘Unveiling My Nigeria Agenda’, would lay to rest speculations on whether Fayemi would run for the Presidency or not.

Oyebode said his principal had discussed his plan to run for the number one office with the President, Muhammadu Buhari, traditional rulers, and political leaders across states in the Federation.

The statement was titled, ‘2023: Fayemi Joins Presidential Race, Unfolds Agenda After Nationwide Consultations With Leaders’.

It partly read, “Dr. Fayemi’s engagements with political and traditional leaders went on side by side with consultations with his colleague governors, especially those elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress. As of date he has conferred with and shared his vision with no fewer than 20 of the 22 APC governors, in the consultation process that is expected to run till the party’s primaries, later in the month.”

“The NGF Chairman said the engagements with the traditional rulers and political leaders provided an avenue to share and listen to their perspectives on the ideal approaches to building a united country based on justice, freedom, equity, and the rule of law. The aggregate opinion, counsel, and goodwill received during the consultation period will form the crux of his declaration on Wednesday at the nation’s capital city,” the statement added.

Born on February 9, 1965, Fayemi had chaired the party’s National Convention Planning Committee that produced Buhari as presidential candidate for the 2015 general election.

He was Governor of Ekiti State between 2010 and 2014 before he returned in 2018. He also served as Minister of Mines and Steel Development from 2015 to 2018.

With today’s confirmation, Fayemi, an associate of APC leader, Bola Tinubu, is officially in the ring with the ex-governor of Lagos State.

Also in the APC presidential race include Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba; Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige; Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi; Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello; former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha; former Abia State Governor, Orji Kalu; and former Ogun State governor, Ibikunle Amosun.

Fayemi is also in the race with his predecessor, Ayodele Fayose, of the Peoples Democratic Party. Other PDP aspirants include ex-Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi; media personality, Dele Momodu; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim; former Senate President, Bukola Saraki; ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal; Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed; amongst others.

Both the PDP and the APC presidential primaries have been scheduled for the end of May while Nigerians watch with rapt keenness as the two prominent parties elect their flagbearers at their conventions in four weeks.

Whilst the APC pegged its Nomination and Expression of Interest Forms for N100m, the PDP sold its own for N40m.

BIG STORY

“Twin Warrior”: Paul Okoye Accuses Peter Of Song Theft, Vows To Release ‘Original Version’

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Paul ‘Rudeboy’ Okoye, the Nigerian singer, has accused Peter ‘Mr P’ Okoye, his twin brother, of alleged intellectual property theft.

Mr P recently released the single ‘Winning’ — just a few months after the brothers confirmed that Psquare, their shared music group, was no longer active.

However, in a recent Instagram post, Rudeboy claimed that the song was his, stating that it was meant to feature on his upcoming album. He further alleged that the producer hijacked the track.

“Written and sang by Rudeboy. Produced by same producer. Now how come? Now am I supposed to release another version? Mr Producer, your case is for another day,” he wrote.

“Just a simple thing, bring 6 songs, let me bring 6 songs. I submitted 6 songs to the so-called management. Why re-singing my own song? word for word. Song that was supposed to be in my album next year June.”

In another post, the singer vowed to release “original versions of any copied songs,” adding that “the days of manipulation are over.”

“The days of manipulation are over. And to the management, make I hear any song wey na only me sing, I go release the original version. Oloriburuku! Music is not that hard,” he wrote.

Psquare split in 2017 following a feud between Peter Okoye and Paul. Though they reunited in November 2021, their reconciliation was short-lived.

Paul recently revealed another fallout, accusing Peter of orchestrating his arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Peter, however, denied the allegations and accused Jude Okoye, their older brother, of diverting millions of dollars from their joint account into a secret company.

Paul also expressed frustration over his past role in the music group. He claimed to have done most of the work while others benefited.

Mr P has yet to respond to his brother’s recent allegations.

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US Court Sends British-Nigerian To Seven Years In Jail Over $5m Cyber Fraud

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Oludayo Adeagbo, a British-Nigerian, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar business email compromise (BEC) scheme.

According to the US Department of Justice, Adeagbo, who also goes by John Edwards and John Dayo, conspired with others to steal over $3 million from various entities in Texas, including local government bodies, construction companies, and a Houston-area college.

Adeagbo and his co-conspirators also defrauded a North Carolina university of more than $1.9 million.

The case began in August 2022 when Adeagbo and two other Nigerian citizens, Donald Echeazu, 42, and Olabanji Egbinola, 44, were extradited from the United Kingdom (UK), where they had been residing, to face charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering.

The US Department of Justice stated that the offences were committed in North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.

On April 8, Adeagbo pleaded guilty in two cases against him in North Carolina and Texas for participating in a business email compromise scheme, which is also referred to as a “cyber-enabled financial fraud” scheme.

A business email compromise scheme can be initiated by scammers creating fake accounts that mimic companies a business regularly deals with.

Court records revealed that Adeagbo and his co-conspirators gathered information about significant construction projects across the United States, including a multi-million-dollar project at a university in North Carolina.

“To execute the scheme, Adeagbo, Echeazu, and others registered a domain name similar to that of the legitimate construction company in charge of the university’s project and created an email address that closely resembled that of an employee of the construction company,” the Department of Justice said.

“Using the fake email address, the fraudsters deceived and directed the university to wire a payment of more than $1.9 million to a bank account controlled by an individual working under the direction of Adeagbo and his co-conspirators.”

Adeagbo and his co-conspirators employed the same tactics in Texas, targeting local government entities and universities by impersonating construction companies. They stole over $3 million from the scheme, bringing their total haul to $5 million.

Adeagbo has been ordered to pay $942,655.03 in restitution and will serve seven years in prison.

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Nigerian-American Oye Owolewa Re-Elected To US Congress

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Oye Owolewa, a Nigerian-American Democrat, has been re-elected as the shadow representative for the District of Columbia (DC).

Owolewa, a PhD graduate from Northeastern University in Boston, made history in November 2020 when he became the first Nigerian-American elected to Congress.

He secured 164,026 votes, or 82.84 percent of the total votes cast in DC.

His role, while not officially recognized by the US government as a full member of Congress, is to advocate for the district’s interests, particularly its bid for statehood.

On Thursday, Owolewa expressed his gratitude to DC voters via a post on X, thanking them for their continued support.

“Thank you DC again for giving me chance to serve. I also want to thank the organizations that have supported, partnered with and endorsed me,” he wrote.

While shadow representatives like Owolewa do not have voting power in the US House of Representatives, they play a key role in pushing for recognition and state-level advocacy for DC residents, who are otherwise disenfranchised at the federal level.

Owolewa has consistently championed the cause of DC statehood, which has become a central focus of his work.

The re-election took place on November 5, the same day as the US presidential election.

In that election, former President Donald Trump defeated Vice-President Kamala Harris, securing over 270 electoral votes to win a second term.

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