Vice-Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Governor of Delta, Sen. (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, on Wednesday assured Nigerians that they would rejoice again as the nation would overcome its present travails after 2023 general elections. Okowa gave the assurance at the 2022 Annual Convention and Christmas Concert of Christ Holy Church International, Asaba, with “Immanuel” as theme, and urged Nigerians to pray to God who alone could turn situations around for the good of the people. He said that the sufferings of today would definitely pass away and a new life would come for Nigerians, adding that “rather than grumble and blame people, spend the time to pray to our God because He alone can turn things around. “But, God alone who had allowed us to pass through the last seven years there is a lesson to be learnt from this.” The governor, who took the only lesson of the occasion, said that the Christian faith was nourished daily by the word of God and expressed belief that the people were gathered to nourish their faith through the word of God. “The convention is for us to be enriched such that when we leave for our various homes, we would have been assured that our lives have been affected positively. “As Christians, we all know that God always want to be with us. But the question is, are we ready to be with God? “The benefit of Christian life is to allow God to be with us and dwell in our lives and as children of faith we can do nothing without Jesus so we must struggle daily to abide in Jesus,” he said. The PDP Presidential running mate said that Nigeria was facing challenging times which required the people to go into self-retrospection. He stated that a very challenging period was prevailing in the country and that people were wondering if this was the Nigeria of their dream. Okowa said “this, certainly is not the Nigeria of our dream; so, what do we do in this time? It is to call on the name of our God to touch the lives of our people so that we will do His will. “These are interesting times for politics and politicians because as we talk to the people it is only God that knows our hearts and He alone knows those He has prepared to lead at this time. “Our people must be prayerful and watchful so that God will truly lead us as a church and as a people so that we don’t act with the trauma of the times.” In his sermon, President, Christian Association of Nigeria and General Superintendent, Christ Holy Church International, Most Rev. Daniel Okoh, said that the theme of the convention, “Immanuel”, was an assurance that God was always with the people. He said that God did not abandon His creation, adding that Nigeria would not break because God was with the country. “The coming election will not break Nigeria. As a matter of fact, 2023 is the year of golden opportunity for Nigeria. 2023 is year of opportunity to elect leaders who will turn around the fortunes of Nigeria. “God has already chosen those who will lead the people come 2023 and since God is interested in the government and the economy of men, then the people should be involved because God will use people to turn things around for the country. “Do not be afraid because we have God who dwells among us to chose our leaders and watch over them and to hold them accountable,” the cleric stated. The CAN President condemned those attacking INEC offices and urged Nigerians to be prepared to vote for the candidates of their choice to lead the country out of its present travails.

  Ademola Adeleke, governor of Osun, has ordered the immediate suspension of all mining activities by firms operating on the state’s mining licences. Olawale Rasheed, spokesperson to Ademola Adeleke, the Osun governor, announced the development in a statement on Wednesday. Rasheed said the affected operators are to report to the state’s assets recovery committee with copies of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with the state. “In furtherance of his bid to reform the state’s Solid Mineral Sector, Governor Ademola Adeleke has directed immediate suspension of all mining firms operating the state’s mining licences,” the statement reads. “All operators are to report to the Committee on Assets Verification and Recovery chaired by Dr B.T Salami with copies of their Memorandum of Understanding which governs their relationship with the state government. ‘The suspension of the operators is to remain in force until the conclusion of the ongoing review of the MOU between the state as the owner of the licences and the operators. “All operators are to report to the committee on Monday by 12 pm.” Checks by TheCable revealed that Osun has 100 mineral titles, of which six belong to the state government. On Monday, while inaugurating a committee to monitor and regulate mining activities in Osun, Adeleke decried the death of residents from the adverse effects of illegal mining activities in the state. The governor had also said he would ensure that mining companies pay for the cleaning up of the state’s rivers and environment.

  Three young men suspected to be ‘Yahoo plus’ boys have raped a male tricycle operator in Anambra state. The rapists allegedly had forceful carnal knowledge of the commercial tricycle rider for ritual purposes. According to a source, the young men negotiated the services of the tricyclist and took him to their house in Okpuno, a suburban town in Awka, where they lured him into their room and took turns raping him. It was gathered that the incident happened on Monday. Moreso, the Anambra state police command has confirmed the incident. The command’s spokesperson, DSP Toochukwu Ikenga said that one of the suspects has been arrested, while his allies have taken to their heels. Ikenga who confirmed the incident said the state police commissioner has ordered the transfer of the matter from Central Police Station (CPS), where it was formally lodged to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID). “The Commissioner of Police has ordered the transfer of the case to state CID for a discretion investigation. Preliminary information showed that the suspect hired the victim who is a tricycle rider and lured him into a room before having carnal knowledge of him. “Meanwhile, the result from the doctor’s report showed that there was penetration into his anus, but the arrested suspect has denied it. Further details will be communicated as investigations is still ongoing,” the PPRO said.

  The whistleblower policy has lost momentum due to fears about safety, the federal executive council (FEC) said on Wednesday. The policy, launched in December 2016, encourages Nigerians to disclose information on fraud, bribery, looted government funds, financial misconduct and any other form of corruption to the ministry of finance. Speaking on the initiative after the FEC meeting at the presidential villa, Abuja, Zainab Ahmad, minister of finance, said a draft bill was introduced to save the policy. “The ministry of finance, budget and national planning presented a number of memos today. The first is the draft whistleblower bill for 2022. This memo has been reviewed by council and approved with a provision to ensure alignment with the Evidence Act,” she said. “The purpose of operationalising and putting in place a whistleblower bill is to strengthen the fight against corruption and to also enable protection for whistleblowers that provide information for use by government. “As you know since 2016, the council had approved the setting up of the presidential initiative of continuous audit (PICA). PICA has been working in partnership with EFCC, ICPC, DSS, NFIU as well as the office of the attorney-general of the federation. “We noticed that the whistleblower policy response has lost momentum. We embarked on engagements in the six geo-political zones and one of the main outcome that we found is that people are concerned about their safety as a result of providing information. So this bill is critical to ensure the effectiveness of the retention of the whistle policy.” The policy allows whistleblowers to earn 2.5% to 5% from the recovered funds by the Nigerian government. The minister noted that the council approved the draft bill to strengthen the fight against corruption and ensure the protection of whistleblowers.

  refugee who won the NY State chess championship in 2019, and his family have been granted asylum by the government of the United States of America. Asylum is referred to as the protection granted by a nation to someone who has left their home country as a refugee. Tani’s family had reportedly fled Nigeria for the US to seek religious asylum on account of the Boko Haram crisis in 2017. At 8, he made the headlines after winning the 2019 New York chess championship by defeating 73 other opponents while living in a homeless center. Last year, Tani won yet another competition to officially become a national chess master in the US. Trevor Noah to produce movie on 8-year-old Nigerian chess champion Eight-year-old Tani According to Washington Post, the little boy was thrilled after his family’s request for asylum was granted by the US government. “It feels amazing because it’s been such a long journey. I’m just grateful that we’ve gotten this opportunity,” he said. Kayode Adewumi, Tani’s father, said the whole family is excited, adding, “we feel so relieved, everybody is so happy.” The development also comes as a relief to the chess champion whose career was somewhat hindered because of the pending application. He had been unable to travel to compete in tournaments all over the world. In November 2019, Trevor Noah, the South African comedian, earlier said he will produce a movie about Tani’s feat. The movie, which would be adapted from three yet-to-published books on the Adewumi family, would follow the story of a Nigerian household that escapes terrorism and sought asylum in New York, against all odds. As the family is caught in the struggle to find a better life, their son’s accomplishments in the game of chess go viral and the family’s story becomes an inspiration to many.

  After a delayed plenary on Wednesday, the Senate asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to considerably adjust its recently announced cash withdrawal limits in response to the public outcry against the new policy. The upper chamber, in its resolution, also asked its Committee on Banking and Finance to embark on aggressive oversight of the apex bank as it implements the policy and give periodic reports to the Senate. The Senate’s resolution was reached after an exhaustive debate by the lawmakers who attended Wednesday’s plenary session. Some lawmakers argued that the withdrawal threshold set by the CBN is unrealistic considering the economic situation in the country. Some lawmakers faulted the CBN for not holding wide consultations on the policy before its announcement while some legislators argue that the policy will put Point of Sale (PoS) operators out of business.   In addition, some lawmakers said the policy will adversely affect Nigerians in the informal sector, the unbanked, and those in rural communities. On Tuesday, the Senate postponed its debate on the policy. However, Wednesday’s plenary session recorded a poor attendance of lawmakers. The plenary session also started later than usual on a day lawmakers had planned to debate the new CBN cash withdrawal policy. The plenary started at 12:30 pm. Sessions typically begin by 11am. The Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, was nowhere to be seen between 11am and 12:30pm and no explanation was given. The Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege eventually showed up by 12:30pm and presided over plenary but also offered no explanation for the lateness in commencement of legislative proceedings. An opposition lawmaker, Senator George Sekibo raised a Point of Order, expressing his annoyance at the late commencement of plenary but the Deputy Senate President did not offer an apology and instead ruled him out of order. Background The CBN on Wednesday pegged maximum daily withdrawals via Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and Point Of Sale (PoS) terminals at N20,000. The CBN said the new policy is a sequel to the launch of the redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 23, 2022. It directed banks to ensure that weekly over-the-counter (OTC) cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities do not exceed N100,000 and N500,000, respectively. The Senate, House of Representatives and legal luminaries like Femi Falana have since faulted the policy.