9-year-old killed as soldier opens fire around Shehu of Borno’s palace

A soldier identified as Bukar Mustapha Limanti of the Operation Lafiya Dole, has reportedly killed a nine-year-old boy in Maiduguri, Borno state.

TheCable gathered that the victim was killed after Limanti opened fire around the palace of the shehu of Borno in Shehuri north local government area (LGA) of the state on Tuesday.

Two other children reportedly sustained gunshot injuries.

A source who witnessed the incident said the private, who was known for his reckless shootings in the area, opened fire on the three children resulting in the death of the nine-year-old identified as Abdu Tijjani.

He said the two children who sustained injuries were taken to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) unit of the Borno state specialist hospital in Maiduguri for treatment, while the culprit fled the scene.

“The recent incident of reckless shooting may not be unconnected to the murder of the innocent man,” the source said.

“Bukar Mustapha Limanti is the son of the driver of the current chief imam of Borno state and he is serving at Chabbal IDP camp, along Maiduguri-Gubio road.

“He goes every morning to his duty post but comes back to town at night where he terrorises innocent people during the night with an AK-47.

“Two weeks ago, he shot a dog and a goat at Shehuri. This forced Digima Zubairu, the ward head of Shehuri north, to warn him, but he refused to listen and continued with the reckless shooting unabated.”

An unnamed source at the Maiduguri specialist hospital said the two victims who were badly hit were recovering.

The source added that a similar incident occurred two months ago, when an unidentified soldier shot a deaf man selling kolanuts in the same area.

- THECABLE

Premier League terminates China broadcast contract

 

The Premier League on Thursday said it has cancelled its contract with Chinese broadcasters PPLive Sports International after just one season.

The broadcasters, part of retail group Suning, paid around 700 million dollars for three years of English Premier League (EPL) streaming rights from the 2019/2020 season.

“The Premier League confirms that it has today (Thursday) terminated its agreements for Premier League coverage in China with its licensee in that territory.

“The Premier League will not be commenting further on the matter at this stage,” the league said in a statement.

It had been reported last month that the Chinese broadcasters had withheld payments due to the league in March.

In a statement posted on their official company Weibo account, PPLive Sports International said that it had held negotiations over the price of the rights with the league.

“COVID-19 has brought many challenges, and it’s especially obvious during broadcasting rights negotiations,” the statement said.

“After rounds of meetings, PPLive Sports and the Premier League have a disagreement on the price of broadcasting rights. We regret we couldn’t have an agreement with the Premier League.

“The direction of PPLive Sports’ strategic development will not change. Broadcasting rights strategy adjustment is based on objective reality and strategic thinking.

“PPLive Sports will continue to dedicate itself to providing high-quality services to fans, copyright holders and partners.”

The deal with PPLive Sports International was struck during the peak of Chinese interest in international football and marked a huge increase in revenue on the previous deal.

Beijing-based Super Sports Media was the previous rights-holder in China.

Local media reports have suggested they paid more than 1 billion yuan (145.13 million dollars) for a six-year deal until the end of the 2018/2019 season.

The ending of the PPLive Sports International deal is a further loss of income for Premier League clubs following the coronavirus outbreak, which forced a stoppage in play lasting several months.

The League resumed games in June and July without fans.

- REUTER/NAN

Man City takes fresh stance on Messi’s transfer from Barcelona

 

Manchester City will ‘try until the end’ to sign Lionel Messi, according to Guillem Balague.

Messi’s father, Jorge, met with senior officials of the LaLiga club on Monday.

However, both parties failed to reach an agreement over the 33-year-old’s exit, which means he remains a part of Ronald Koeman’s squad.

Balague believes City will continue to monitor the situation unless Messi commits his future elsewhere.

The Premier League has already made it clear they will hand over if there is eventually a legal battle.

City will also not be able to afford a fee of more than €100m, with Messi expected to demand a mammoth salary.

The six-time Ballon d’Or winner is attempting to activate an expired clause in his contract and wants the expiration date adjusted because of the Coronavirus pandemic.

- DAILY POST

OPL 245: Groups ask FG to protect Nigerian whistleblower sacked by Dutch embassy

 

Some organisations, including the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), have asked the federal government to intervene in the sack of a whistleblower by the embassy of Netherlands in Nigeria.

The Dutch ministry of foreign affairs reportedly fired the worker, a Nigerian, after she revealed relevant information expected to aid local and international investigation into the controversial acquisition of OPL 245 oil field involving Shell and Eni oil companies.

She was said to have blown the whistle on Robert Petri, the then Dutch ambassador to Nigeria, for allegedly leaking confidential information to Shell senior officials.

In a petition to Geoffrey Onyeama, minister of foreign affairs, on Thursday, Olarewaju Suraj, chairman of HEDA, asked Nigeria authorities to provide the necessary shield for the sacked worker who lost her job while defending her country’s sovereignty.

“You have the responsibility to take practical actions to protect a Nigerian citizen who was sacked for providing relevant information on corruption and the sovereign wealth of the Nigerian people,” Suraj said.

“We urge you to strongly consider suspending the Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Consultations between Nigeria and the Netherlands signed in 2018 and the 2019 Agreements signed during the Dutch Prime Minister’s visit to Abuja in 2019.

“This dutiful and patriotic Nigerian was sacked by the Dutch embassy for performing her civic duty. It is unfortunate that she has been left to carry her cross, all alone.

“The Dutch parliament is on record to have questioned the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the roles of Ambassador Petri on this, reflecting the concerns of MPs about the ramifications of his actions for the investigations into corruption by Shell and the potential international diplomatic repercussions of his breach of confidence.

“Indeed, her record of employment was unblemished. Her evaluations were always very good and, immediately before she was sacked, her contract had been extended for seven years.”

The groups said as a whistleblower, she should have been furnished with every protection but that instead she has been put through the mill by her former employer, the Dutch ministry of foreign affairs and “not only losing her livelihood but also undergoing the stress of court proceedings to obtain justice and redress whereas the rule of law and the fight against corruption depends critically on whistleblowers.”

- THECABLE

Nationwide curfew now from 12 midnight to 4am, says PTF

 

The nationwide curfew from 10pm till 4am has been adjusted to 12 midnight till 4am.

Sani Aliyu, national coordinator of the presidential task force (PTF) on COVID-19, announced the adjustment at a media briefing on Thursday.

He added that persons on essential services are exempted from the curfew hours.

“We are modifying the curfew to commence from 12 midnight to 4am nationwide, effective from 12:00 hours tonight,” Aliyu said.

“This does not apply to people on essential services and international travellers that might be returning from abroad.

“In terms of other aspects of general movement, no formal restriction will be applied within the country but the risk remains there. For citizens in particular vulnerability groups, the elderly, those with underlying medical illnesses are strongly advised to continue keeping away from mass gatherings and general public and staying at home.

“We will be engaging closely with state governments with regards to the issue of compliance, particularly with face masks because we remain quite concerned about the low level of compliance with this simple intervention measure that we know is quite effective.”

President Muhammadu Buhari had approved a nationwide curfew from 8pm to 6am on May 4, as part of measures to check the spread of COVID-19.

It was later adjusted from 10pm to 4am.

- THECABLE

Electricity tariff, food and petrol price hike – who will bankroll Nigerians?

 The Buhari administration has ruptured the ceiling of liberties it enjoys. Like King Solomon in his last uneventful years, the government has compounded the yoke of the people with the rocketing of the prices of essential commodities. It appears the administration has lost its sensory organ and has become insentient to the ‘’wailing’’ of citizens. And like the Israelites in the twilight of a failing Solomon rule, Nigerians are seeking another ‘’messiah’’.

Just five years ago, President Muhammadu Buhari made overtures of blunting the economic perils Nigerians endure. He seduced citizens with the promise of humbling the dollar and arresting the price of petrol. Buhari once famously said: “Who is subsidising who?’’ This was in reaction to the fuel subsidy controversy and the intransigent price of petrol.

Initially, the president was very unequivocal about retaining the price of petrol. On different occasions, he insisted that the price of the product will not be increased to attenuate citizens’ burden. Perhaps, he did not understand the economics of the oil industry or he was just making political statements. Also, it could be that his genuine intentions do not dovetail with the realities of the oil market – this rests solely on ignorance.

Nigerians took to the streets in January 2012 when the Jonathan administration announced a hiked petrol price. The mass action wore on for weeks. Some of the appointees of the Buhari government were the dramatis personae of that protest. The Buhari campaign seized the citizen angst and deployed it for political advantage in 2015. There were posters of Buhari promising to slice the price of petrol to N87 from N97. Today, the price of the product is about N160 per litre in the retail market.

Really, I submit to allowing market forces govern the price of commodities – in deference to the principles of a market economy. I also believe that the fuel subsidy regime deserved to be couped and banished. It was an egregiously corrupt system. However, my grudge against the current administration and I think that of many Nigerians as well is its insincerity. The government was never honest about its intentions; all its promises were just a gambit. And it has reversed itself in plethora of pledges and aborted its contract with citizens.

Also, these are perilous times for Nigerians. Citizens have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unemployment rate is at its highest – 27.1 percent — and businesses are shutting down and furloughing workers. Who will bankroll Nigerians? It is a contradiction, that while the prices of commodities soar, there is no form of safety net for citizens. Yes, while we allow market forces to play, it is the duty of the government to protect citizens from the crushing effects of this free-for-all – as it is the case in other market economies.

But instead of frontally addressing the economic fallout of the pandemic, the government busied itself with programmes such as — feeding school children at the waning of the lockdown – in which over N500 million was wolfed down. Let us even assume that the children were even fed, have their hunger pangs ceased? Were they given the bread of life? This is simply deodorising a problem instead of surgically attacking it. Lack of access to jobs, education, and growth opportunities foregrounds poverty and hunger.

And while the government was administering the “COVID-19 lottery”, its agencies were going after Nigerian businesses which ordinarily should be protected from the perils of the pandemic. NIPOST announced a new licensing regime for the post and delivery sector, mandating businesses to renew their licence with N20 million. The agency backed down after an outcry by citizens, but this does not obviate the general insensitivity of the government.

A thinking government will identify real businesses (especially SMEs) afflicted by the pandemic and intervene seminally; not this conjuring by the ministry of humanitarian affairs. It is even more complex when the government cannot aggregate the data of businesses needing a lifeline in the country. The economic interventions by other governments in countries in the throes of similar health crisis have been heavily on SMEs.

But instead of protecting businesses, the government is over-burdening them with taxes and tariffs in the heat of a meltdown effectuated by COVID-19. Nigerians need a stimulus not asphyxiation. What has the administration done for Nigerians and their businesses this period? This is the reason for the pushback and outrage over the electricity tariff and petrol price hike. To Nigerians, the government would rather tax than help them through a rough patch.

Really, it appears the response of the government to the concerns of citizens is tax and tariffs. Even if the price hikes are natural, the question still is, what is the government doing to protect Nigerians, especially the poor? I believe Nigerians will pay whatever tax or price there is to pay, if there is an enabling system for their business to thrive and opportunities for jobs and growth.

The concomitant effect of the petrol price hike is the ballooning of the price of foodstuff and other essentials. This is why Nigerians are wailing. If there was a means to afford an adjustment in their lifestyles or living conditions, they would not be railing against it. No job, no business and no medium of survival. How do you extract a toll from a broke man? He can only pay with his blood – and that is by a revolt.

The Buhari administration has failed to “bankroll’’ Nigerians where it matters. Instead of spreading prosperity, it is promoting and perpetuating poverty. The administration will remain an asymptote of hypocrisy and deception long after it is gone.

-Fredrick Nwabufo is a writer and journalist

DAROCHA !! Wike builds, hands over 24 duplexes to Judges in Rivers State

 

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has handed over some finished blocks of duplexes to accommodate Judges in the state.

Governor Wike also announced that N150 million has also been handed to Judges who opted for cash payments to build their own houses.

The Governor made the announcement during the commissioning of the judges’ apartment in GRA, Port Harcourt.

He said the building is in fulfilment of the promise made by his administration in 2015, in a move that is necessary to improve on the living conditions of the judges who contribute to the dispensation of justice in the country.

“The Rivers State government now bears full responsibility to provide befitting accommodation for all Judicial officers of Rivers state origin beyond your service years for life.

“Judges have a choice to receive a properly built house from the state government or opt for cash payments to build or buy their houses by themselves.

“We are putting practical effect on this promise to commission these 24 duplexes.

“The state government spent the sum of six billion naira to build, furnish and landscape this estate.

“Similarly, 23 of the Judges who opted for cash payment have received the approved sum of N150 million each to build and buy their own house,” the Governor said.

The highlight of the event was the commissioning of the Judges Quarters by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad.

The exercise was carried out in Port Harcourt by a justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Mary Odili who represented the CJN.

Speaking during the commissioning of the quarters, Justice Odili thanked Governor Nyesom Wike for building the edifice.

The Rivers Judiciary quarters is named after the late Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chinwe Aguma, the former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General of Rivers State.

- DAILY POST

Kill me rather than destroy my cannabis farm – Suspect begs NDLEA in Kogi

 

A suspected cannabis sativa farmer, Clement Akor, has begged the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA to take his life rather than destroy his 10-hectare cannabis plantation.

Akor, a 42 years old father of six children from Enabo village in Ankpa Local Government Area of Kogi State was arrested by the Kogi State Command of the NDLEA alongside his accomplice David Ameh.

Akor who claimed he had invested so much in the business and cannot afford to lose it to the arms of the law said he learnt the trade in Owo, Ondo State.

The prime suspect who cried profusely to stop men of the NDLEA led by its commander Alfred Adewumi from destroying his farm located in Oketepe in Okula community in Ofu Local Government of Kogi State said he would rather die than watch the officers destroy what he had worked hard for in the last one year.

He noted that he is aware of the law banning the sale of cannabis sativa insisting that it is business which must be followed with risk.

His words” I am the owner of this farm. I learnt it in Yoruba land. When I cultivated one last year, it was stolen. So it is this year that I bought seed from Yoruba land to plant new ones before I was caught.

“Indian hemp business is luck. In this farm, I can get many bags here. I do sell one bag for N20,000 depending on the area I am selling it. It could be more. I spent N12,000 for labour in cultivating this farm. It better you people kill me than destroy this farmland.

“This is my business. I spent a lot to allow this plant to grow up to this level. In the next two weeks, I am supposed to harvest it. Now you people have come here to destroy it. Just kill me, so that I won’t see you people destroying what I have laboured for. I am looking for money because I am illiterate. I don’t want to engage in armed robbery or kidnapping that is why I am into this business of Indian hemp”.

His action forced the NDLEA commander Alfred Adewumi to calm him down insisting that the war against illicit use of drugs is on course in Kogi State.

Addressing journalists on Wednesday, shortly after the destruction of the large cannabis farm, the Kogi State Commander, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Mr Alfred Adewumi lamented the increasing wave of illicit use and cultivation of cannabis sativa in the state.

Adewumi stated that the two suspects were caught through intelligence gathering by officers of his command.

The commander noted that the latest breakthrough in the fight against illicit use of drugs in Kogi State is coming three days after the command arrested the duo of Endurance Samson and Abah Sunday for alleged possession of 36.2 kilogrammes wrap of cannabis sativa.

“Seeing, they say is believing. What you are seeing today is certainly more than three football fields put together. I would let you make your judgment. Just look around, that is the huge expanse. We just left the first farm which is equally a huge cannabis plantation.

“This is very unfortunate. I am worried about this unfortunate development. I have thought that Kogi State will not descend to this point. As things stand today, it will be direct self-denial to begin to say that Kogi state is not planting cannabis sativa because the evidence itself suggests the fact that there is high planting of cannabis sativa in Kogi State. Sadly Kogi State can also now begin to rank among those states where you find cannabis sativa plantations.

“We will not relent in fighting against illicit use of drugs that is why we took the fight to their doorstep. Kogi State is the gateway to other states in the north, south, east and western parts of this country.

Adewumi said all the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.

- DAILY POST

WHO approves corticosteroid drugs for critical COVID-19 cases

 

World Health Organisation(WHO) late on Wednesday updated its advice on treatment of COVID-19 cases, by approving corticosteroid drugs for critically ill people.

The approval came as results of seven international trials found that the steroids reduce the risk of death by 20 percent.

The trials were conducted by researchers in Britain, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Spain and the United States.

The analysis – which pooled data from separate trials of low dose hydrocortisone, dexamethasone and methylprednisolone – found that steroids improve survival rates of COVID-19 patients sick enough to be in intensive care in hospital.

“This is equivalent to around 68 percent of (the sickest COVID-19) patients surviving after treatment with corticosteroids, compared to around 60 percent surviving in the absence of corticosteroids,” the researchers said in a statement.

The WHO’s clinical care lead, Janet Diaz, said the agency had updated its advice to include a “strong recommendation” for use of steroids in patients with severe and critical COVID-19.

“The evidence shows that if you give corticosteroids …(there are) 87 fewer deaths per 1,000 patients,” she told a WHO social media live event. “Those are lives … saved.”

Jonathan Sterne, a professor of medical statistics and epidemiology at Britain’s Bristol University who worked on the analysis, said the trials gave a consistent message throughout.

They showed the drugs were beneficial in the sickest patients regardless of age or sex or how long patients had been ill.

The findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, reinforce results that were hailed as a major breakthrough and announced in June, when dexamethasone became the first drug shown to be able to reduce death rates among severely sick COVID-19 patients.

Dexamethasone has been in widespread use in intensive care wards treating COVID-19 patients in some countries since then.

Martin Landray, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Oxford who worked on the dexamethasone trial that was a key part of the pooled analysis published on Wednesday, said the results mean doctors in hospitals across the world can safely switch to using the drugs to save lives.

The WHO’s updated guidance, published on its website late on Wednesday, said corticosteroids should only be used in treatment of the sickest COVID-19 patients, and not in non-severe cases, since “the treatment brought no benefits (in milder cases) and could even prove harmful”.

The UN health agency also urged countries to maintain sufficient stocks of corticosteroids, “while not maintaining excessive stocks which could deny other countries access”.

Researchers said the benefit was shown regardless of whether patients were on ventilation at the time they started treatment.

*Source: Reuters/NAN

Modric reveals what will happen to Barcelona when Messi leaves

 

Real Madrid’s Luka Modric has said Barcelona can succeed without Lionel Messi.

According to the Croatian, Los Blancos also coped with Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit.

Madrid snatched the LaLiga title from Barca last season, their biggest piece of silverware since Ronaldo left for Juventus in 2018.

Though Los Blancos have struggled in the Champions League since they lost their Portuguese star, they have eventually adapted to his absence.

With Messi pushing for an exit from the Camp Nou, Modric sees similarities between the two situations.

“It would be a huge loss. Like when Cristiano left. But you can’t think about the past. It’s football and that’s it.

“If it happens it will be a huge loss for the prestige of the league. But we need to go forward. Other players will become stars.

“When Ronaldo left, the same thing happened, the life of Real Madrid went on without him and it will be the same for Barcelona and La Liga without Messi,” Modric told Goal.

- DAILY POST

NBA: Singer sentenced to death for blasphemy was denied access to a lawyer

 

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) says Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a musician sentenced to death in Kano state, has been denied access to a lawyer.

Sharif-Aminu was sentenced to death by hanging on August 10, after he was found guilty of committing blasphemy in a song against the Prophet Muhammad.

TheCable had reported how the development stirred an outcry among many Nigerians.

Despite public outcry, the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria asked Kano state government to execute the court judgment.

In a statement on Thursday, Ernest Nduka, NBA national publicity secretary, said the association has constituted a two-man fact-finding committee to visit the singer.

He said the action was initiated by Olumide Akpata, NBA president, in response to allegations on social media by Nigerians and calls by members of the association that the federal correctional centre, Kano, denied Sharif-Aminu access to his lawyers.

The committee comprising John Aikpokpo-Martins, NBA first vice president, and Kunle Edun, its national welfare secretary, was mandated to embark on a fact-finding mission to the correctional centre.

Nduka said the committee visited the correctional centre on Wednesday but were denied access to the singer.

He said the NBA national officers found that the singer was not represented by a lawyer during the trial at the Upper Sharia Court, adding that Sharif-Aminu has been denied access to any lawyer since his conviction.

“At the Correctional Centre, the NBA National Officers were informed that the Controller of the Correctional Centre was not available.  They were granted an audience by the Second in command,” the statement read.

“The NBA National Officers informed the said Second in Command about their mission at the Federal Correctional Centre, Kano. They requested to see Yahaya Sharif-Aminu in order to ascertain the veracity of the allegation that lawyers were not allowed to gain access to him. The said Second in Command informed the said National Officers that he does not have the authority to grant the access sought, but would seek the permission of his boss, the Controller (who was not available as at the time of the visit) before allowing the National Officers access to Yahaya Sharif-Aminu.

“The afore-mentioned National officers were eventually denied access to Yahaya Sharif even after the said Second in Command made the call to his superior.

“However, the said National Officers were able to confirm that Yahaya Sharif-Aminu has been denied access to any lawyer since his conviction. They were further informed that Yahaya Sharif-Aminu was not represented by a lawyer during the trial at the Upper Sharia Court.

“The Nigerian Bar Association states that since the visit was a fact finding mission, the NBA shall take further steps in ensuring that Yahaya Sharif-Aminu is given the requisite opportunity to exercise his constitutional right of appeal and his right to be represented by a lawyer of his choice.  It is imperative that Yahaya is granted access to a lawyer of his choice.”

The United Kingdom had opposed the death penalty on the singer, saying people have the right to freely express opinions and peacefully challenge authorities.

But Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano, said he will not waste time in signing the warrant for the execution of the singer.

- THECABLE

New petrol price like adding insult to injury: NLC leader Wabba

 

Mr Ayuba Wabba, NLC President has rejected the increase in the price of petrol from N148.50 per litre to N162, saying it is “like adding insult to injury”.

He made the stand of labour known on Wednesday in Abuja.

According to Wabba, Nigerians and even the NLC are shocked about the increase and this increase is coming at a time when many Nigerians are passing through very precarious times.

“It is like Nigerians are being taken for a ride.

“The increase in price of petroleum has happened now more than three times in three months, only yesterday they hiked the tariff of electricity,” he said.

The NLC president said that to compound the issue, the CBN also reduced the interest rate of savings which affects mostly the poor and the vulnerable.

“The organised labour therefore rejects the increase in price of the product in the strongest terms.”

According to him, at the end of the day, Nigerians are becoming poorer and poorer, in fact many people are already on the edge. Many workers are already on the edge.”

“Certainly, we cannot guarantee industrial peace and harmony, and we will have to call our organs and we will have to also react but we reject it in its entirety.

“They have betrayed the trust of Nigerians, for Nigerians to be protected against the economic challenge that is affecting us,” he said,

The Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC) in a statement announced that the new price adjustment effective from Sept. 2. 

PPMC increased the ex-depot price from N138 to N152. This serves as basis for an increase in the retail price by marketers.

IPMAN has told its members to sell the fuel at N162.

The last price increase was on Aug. 5, when the price moved from N143.50 to N148.50 per litre..

Some filling stations in Abuja sold petrol for N161 per litre on Wednesday.

Also reacting, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, Professor of Finance and Capital Market, Nasarawa State University, told NAN that the new price will heighten inflationary pressure in the country.

“This is clearly a downside risk to inflation.

“In the coming months, I expect inflationary pressure to heighten as crude oil price recovery in the international market necessitates a hike in domestic pump price of imported fuel.

“This situation will be compounded by naira devaluation,” he said.

Uwaleke, also a former Imo Commissioner for Finance said that to save the situation, the alternative would have been petrol subsidy.

According to him, government cannot afford it now as it not provided for in the 2020 budget.

“Again, expecting a government already saddled with huge debt to borrow to subsidise price of petrol does not make economic sense.

“With all the economic headwinds, there is no question about a spike in cost of living in the coming months,” he said.

He noted that the only solution was for government to ensure the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

“The solution remains passing the Petroleum Industry Bill into law to pave way for investors in the oil refining sector which will put a stop to import of petroleum products well before Dangote refinery takes off to fill the gap,” he said.

- PM NEWS

Okonjo-Iweala takes American citizenship

According to Bloomberg, Okonjo-Iweala, who is running for the office of the director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), took US citizenship in 2019.

Most of the candidates running for the office of the DG at WTO boast of dual citizenship, which experts say may boost their chances at getting the much-coveted job.

Jesús Seade Kuri is Mexican and Lebanese; Amina Mohamed serves as a minister in Kenya, but has Somali roots; Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh is both Swiss and Egyptian.

Some of the candidates flaunt their dual nationality in the uploaded biography, while some others are quiet about it.

Okonjo-Iweala arrived in the US 47 years ago and worked there for more than 25 years without taking up the country’s citizenship.

She ran for the president of the World Bank in 2012 without the backing of the United States and lost the sit to Korean-American Jim Yong Kim.

The GAVI chair holds a Bachelor’s in economics from Harvard University and Ph.D. in regional economics and development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

She has honourary degrees from over a dozen universities worldwide.

Here is how all eight candidates for the WTO top job stand.

- THECABLE