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NDLEA Marks Abba Kyari’s Six Houses, Plaza For Investigation

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, on Monday marked six residential houses and one plaza belonging to the embattled former Intelligence Response Team leader, Abba Kyari, in Maiduguri as being under investigation.

The two-story shopping plaza, Assurance Plaza, located along the Giwa Barracks Road in Maiduguri, has about 100 stores.

Six other residential houses within the Maiduguri New Government Residential Area allegedly belonging to the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police had also been marked by the NDLEA.

This is coming barely 48 hours after the NDLEA announced the arrest of Chief Afam Mallinson Emmanuel Ukatu, the billionaire drug baron behind the N3 billion Tramadol deal involving the Abba Kyari-led Intelligence Response Team, IRT.

A statement by Femi Babafemi, director, Media & Publicity, NDLEA said after months of surveillance and evading arrest, Ukatu who is Chairman of Mallinson Group of Companies has eventually nabbed onboard a flight to Abuja at the MM2 terminal of the Lagos airport, Ikeja on Wednesday 13th April.

Investigations reveal he has been a major importer of large consignments of different brands and high dosages of Tramadol Hydrochloride, ranging from 120mg, 200mg, 225mg, and 250mg, all of which are illicit. Skate owns pharmaceutical and plastic manufacturing companies, which he used as a cover to import illicit drugs into Nigeria. This is in addition to operating 103 bank accounts, most of which are used to launder money.

Skate came under watch last year after five cartons of Tramadol 225mg were seized from his staff on 4th May 2021 when he sent them to sell to undercover police officers (unknown to Ukatu) from the then Kyari-led IRT of the Nigeria Police, Ikeja Lagos. The price of a carton of Tramadol was negotiated at N17million each as against the then black market value that ranged between N18million and N20million a carton in Lagos.

After the arrest of Ukatu’s staff: Pius Enidom and Sunday Ibekwete, Kyaris men were then led by the suspects to Mallinson’s warehouse at Ojota in Lagos where 197 additional Cartons of Tramadol 225mg were seized by the IRT Team. The monetary value of the 202 cartons of Tramadol seized from Mallinson in one day was over N3billion.

BIG STORY

BON Awards Hosts Memorable Book Reading Of Do As You’re Told Baji

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On November 24th, 2024, the Best of Nollywood (BON) Awards organized a captivating book reading of Do As You’re Told, Baji, authored by the renowned writer Lola Shoneyin. The event, held at 11 a.m. in Kwara State, celebrated the power of storytelling and the importance of fostering a culture of reading among families.

Among the distinguished attendees were the First Lady of Kwara State, Ambassador Olufolake AbdulRazaq, alongside notable figures such as Wole Ojo, Cynthia Clarke, Chioma Okafor, Segun Arinze, and Kemi Adekomi, who added prestige and insight to the event.

In her remarks, Ambassador Olufolake AbdulRazaq highlighted the vital role of parents in fostering a love for reading among children. “Parents should cultivate the habit of reading with their children,” she said. “It’s not just about education—it’s about creating lasting memories and strengthening family bonds.”

The reading of Do As You’re Told, Baji showcased Lola Shoneyin’s vibrant and relatable storytelling, leaving participants inspired to embrace literature as a means of cultural and personal enrichment. The event also featured engaging discussions about the book’s themes, celebrating the depth and diversity of Nigerian literature.

This initiative reinforces the BON Awards’ dedication to promoting the arts, literacy, and the celebration of Nigerian creative talents.

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BIG STORY

An Aspirant Gave Each Delegate $30,000 During PDP Primary In 2022 — Dele Momodu

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Dele Momodu, publisher of Ovation Magazine, says he regrets spending about N50 million to buy the presidential nomination form of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2022.

Momodu spoke in a recent interview on Eden Oasis, published on Sunday.

The journalist and politician said the primary was heavily monetised, with a particular aspirant doling out $30,000 to each of the 774 delegates who voted during the election.

The politician stated that he would not vie for any party’s presidential ticket unless he is adopted as a consensus candidate.

“Experience is the best teacher. I have come to realise that there are powers that you can describe as principalities that control Nigeria,” he said.

“Unless a major political party decides to adopt me — where you have a consensus of people who say Dele Momodu is best suited to change and to lead Nigeria. Then I will consider it.

“But if I have to pick my money to buy a presidential nomination form of about N100 million… I spent about N50 million to buy the form for the last one.

“N50 million would have bought me a property. It was a waste. I didn’t get even one vote because everything was monetised.

“One of the candidates paid as much as $30,000 per delegate, and we had 774 delegates.

“So, how do you want to compete with them? They have stolen the country blind and are doing all kinds of deals to make money, especially those in the oil-rich areas.

“It is not easy. You can’t compete with them. That’s why they insult Nigerians anyhow because of the amount of money available to them in raw cash. There’s no country where people buy raw cash like Nigeria.

“The bulk of their money is not in any bank. So, they are not traceable to any bank. So, they have the money. If today you say to some politicians that you need $500 million to become a president, they will find it.

“So, people like us, where will I start from?”

Momodu was one of the presidential hopefuls of the PDP at the time. He did not secure any votes during the exercise.

Atiku Abubakar clinched the presidential ticket with 371 votes to beat his closest challenger, Nyesom Wike, now minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), who polled 237 votes.

Abubakar was defeated by Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 presidential election.

Bukola Saraki, former senate president, scored 70 votes; Bala Mohammed, Bauchi governor, got 20 votes; Udom Emmanuel, former governor of Akwa Ibom, secured 38 votes; while Pius Anyim, former secretary to the government of the federation, polled 14 votes.

Sam Ohuabunwa, a businessman, alongside Momodu and Ayodele Fayose, the former governor of Ekiti, received zero votes.

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BIG STORY

Nigeria Has Saved $20bn From Subsidy Removal, Naira Float Policies — Finance Minister Edun

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Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, says Nigeria has saved $20 billion from “petrol” subsidy removal and market-based pricing of the foreign exchange rate.

Edun spoke at a ceremony recently held to mark the first 100 days in office of Esther Walso-Jack, head of civil service of the federation, in Abuja.

“An amount of five per cent of GDP is what those two subsidies were costing when there was a subsidy on “PMS”; when there was petroleum product generally for a long time and when there was a subsidy of foreign exchange. Between them, they were costing five percent of GDP,” he said.

“If you say GDP was on average, let’s say $400 billion. We all know what five percent of that is – $20 billion of funds that could be going into infrastructure, health, social services, education.”

Edun said these flows now return into the government’s coffers for further deployment to the aforementioned sectors.

“The real change that has happened with the measures of Mr. President is that nobody can wake up and their target for the day or for the week or the month or the year is to get access to cheap funding, cheap funding exchange from central bank, which they can now flip,” Edun said.

“And overnight, they become wealthy from no value added for doing virtually nothing, except you know the right people. Similarly, they can no longer try and be part of a new peak market and very inefficient “petrol” subsidy regime as a way of making money overnight.”

On May 29, President Bola Tinubu said the “petrol” subsidy regime was over.

Three months later, TheCable reported that Tinubu was considering a “temporary subsidy” on “petrol” as crude oil prices and foreign exchange rates soared.

After several denials of the return of “petrol” subsidy by the authorities, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, on August 19, said the federal government owes it N7.8 trillion for under-recovery.

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