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Sports Minister Denies Bash Ali’s Bribery Accusations

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Senator John Owan Enoh, Minister of Sports Development, has vehemently denied bribery allegations made by former world boxing champion Bash Ali.

In a letter titled “BASH ALLI AND HIS SERIAL BLACKMAIL MUST BE CONFRONTED AND DEFEATED,” addressed to the press, Enoh rebuffed Ali’s sudden and unfounded criticism, stating that it undermines core values such as decency, honesty, and integrity.

This response comes after Ali’s claims gained attention through a trending video and an open petition to the President.

Ali alleged that Senator Enoh demanded an additional one million dollars to endorse his proposal for hosting what he referred to as the oldest boxers’ fight in Nigeria.

The statement reads “I  am constrained to address you today to speak to the trending video and open petition to the President wherein Bash Alli, a former World Boxing Champion threw caution and decency to the wind to allege that I demanded the sum of ‘another ‘1 USD( One million dollars) from him inorder to endorse his plan to stage what he calls the oldest boxers fight in Nigeria.

“When Bash Alli released his video and open letter to the President,with the sole aim to defame and destroy my reputation and integrity, some friends and associates advised that I totally ignore him and his blackmail gambit. They believe that by responding to Bash Alli and his vile campaign of calumy, I will validate and bring him to the limelight.

“After a deep reflection, I have come to the inevitable conclusion that to ignore him will be a profound mistake. My reason for this is twofold. First, the perception in the public domain is that those in the public service are either thieves or kleptomaniacs who mindlessly pillage our Commonwealth.

“This assumption, no matter how widely held, is not true. Despite our challenges as a nation, there are men and women who continue to serve our country with honesty, integrity, and patriotism. I AM ONE OF SUCH. Secondly, ignoring Bash Alli and his tradition of deploying blackmail and gutter tactics now,will further embolden and enable him to continue in his usual trajectory even after I have served out my mandate as minister of Sports, without consequences.

“Gentlemen of the press, you are aware that before I was appointed to the office of Minister of Sports Development, Bash Alli had sought to mindlessly impugn the character and reputation of some of my predecessors in office, without any shred of evidence.

“In my own case, he has exhumed and redeployed this hydra headed monster and gone overboard because past Ministers perhaps treated him and his wild allegations with kid gloves. To simply walk away from this baloney, for me, is not an option. “Bash Alli’s allegation that I demanded for “another 1 million dollars”as if I had received a first tranche of one million dollars from him,or perhaps any of my predecessors had done so,is a manufactured lie from the pit of hell.

“At no point in time did I demand for any form of gratification from Bash Alli. The questions to ask are these: One million dollars from where? If Bash Alli had one million dollars, why has he not staged his fight? His spurious allegation suffers from fatal deformity and is based on the erroneous impression that government in Nigeria is a cash cow at the mercy of public servants to pillage at will.

“Let me be clear. Bash Alli desperately wanted to meet me in my very early days as Minister of Sports Development when I had hardly settled down on the job. In the deluge of his desperate attempts, I decided to meet him against the advice of the staff of the Ministry who were familiar with his character and antics. Against their advice,I decided to meet him out of respect for his age and based on the open door policy with which I am currently leading the Ministry.

“Conscious of the advice of some key staff of the Ministry,I sought to insulate myself and the office from any blackmail that may emanate from this meeting by making sure that my team was present at the meeting. He presented the issue of his pet project, and I told him to be patient while i get more briefing from the Ministry.

“All my life, the said meeting is the first and only time I ever met Bash Alli. There were no follow-ups after that one-off meeting, and I did not introduce any of my aides to him. After the said meeting, I politely refused to meet with him to this day in spite of his numerous requests and pressures.

“His incessant messages to me will speak to his desperation. “Gentlemen of the press, as you know, Bash Alli’s plan to stage his boxing fight in Nigeria has a long history spanning almost two decades. To achieve this personal aspiration, he has deployed all manner of strategies including naked blackmail and under hand tactics in his desperate effort to arm twist the Federal Government to spend upwards of $50m USD to stage his fight.

“Successive Ministers of Sports have rightly told him that his plan to stage this fight is not the responsibility of the government but a business that should be executed by the private sector.

“In concluding this statement, gentlemen of the press, I sincerely believe that, in spite of our numerous challenges, our country still has a soul. Our humanity will be irretrievably destroyed the day we lose our soul. Bash Alli’s desperate and unprovoked withering attack on me is an attack on decency, honesty, and integrity.

“The move to clear my name has just started, and there will be no let up until I achieve this sacred mission. In addition to other remedies under the ambit of the law, I have instructed my lawyer to write Bash Alli demanding an immediate public retraction of his allegations and to render a public apology.

“He will have just one week to do this; the failure to do this on his part will leave me with no option than to approach the courts to both clear my name and seek damages.” he added

 

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BREAKING: Presidency Urges Atiku To End Grand Illusions, Fantasies

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The political warfare between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gained momentum with increased firepower from the Presidency on Sunday.

The Special Adviser to the President, Information & Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, fired the salvo in a statehouse statement in  Abuja, on Sunday.

According to the statement, issued under the subject ‘time for Atiku Abubakar to end his grand illusions and fantasies,’ the “former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has shown more interest in undermining President Bola Ahmed Tinubu than in addressing his party’s implosion”.

He declared “We can only urge him to purge himself of the petty, derisive politics of a sore loser.”

ALSO READ: Atiku Congratulates Trump, Calls For Support For Free, Fair Elections In Nigeria

Political pundits are of the view that the hot exchange between the gladiators is setting the tone for Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election.

Onanuga wrote, “Since his defeat in the last election, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has shown more interest in undermining President Bola Ahmed Tinubu than in addressing his party’s implosion. We suspect he is envious of Tinubu’s position — an office he has unsuccessfully sought six times.

“It is perplexing that he would elevate his untested, hypothetical proposal, which Nigerians soundly rejected during the 2023 Presidential Election, and seek to present it as a superior alternative to the multi-faceted reform programmes implemented by the Tinubu administration. If his plan lacked popular appeal, he must acknowledge that merely repackaging it will not resolve the social and economic challenges his People’s Democratic Party (PDP) bequeathed after 16 years in power.

“Atiku’s economic analysis demonstrates a significant misunderstanding of Nigeria’s realities. His narrative, “What We Would Have Done Differently,” indicates an inability to engage with the pressing economic realities being revitalised multidimensionally under President Tinubu’s leadership.

“What reforms would Atiku propose at the onset of his hypothetical and fabled presidency? While he suggests a consultation period upon assuming office, the reality is that the Nigerian economy requires immediate and decisive action. A leader must be prepared to tackle challenges from Day One, as President Tinubu has done.

“Atiku, going further to accuse President  Tinubu of “stealing his presidency,”  exposed his sense of entitlement and his disconnect from the electorate. The truth is that Tinubu rightfully won the presidency, a position Atiku was simply unqualified for due to his arrogance, insensitivity to Nigeria’s diversity, and the decision to disregard his party’s power rotation arrangement between the North and the South after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Atiku’s idea of a consultation period upon entering office shows a troubling lack of awareness regarding the state of the economy, which was in dire need of urgent action. The Tinubu administration came prepared with a firm action plan to address the shortcomings that persisted during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s time when Atiku was vice president.

“We can only speculate what detrimental impact Atiku’s proposed lengthy town hall and Village Square meetings would have had on Nigeria’s economy if he had been elected president and taken such an approach. The country needed a proactive leader such as Tinubu, who immediately set to work on addressing economic challenges rather than one who would have squandered precious time on consultations and a questionable privatisation agenda.

“Atiku’s critiques of Tinubu’s presidency are mere harebrained propositions devoid of realistic alternatives. He must reckon with the decades of mismanaged economy inherited by the current administration, including exorbitant subsidy expenditures far exceeding government earnings from crude oil. As of mid-2023, the landing cost of fuel was between N500 and N600, while it was sold nationwide at an average of N200. The 2023 budget allocated N3.36 trillion for fuel subsidies until June 2023 against a projected N2.23 trillion in oil revenue for the year. The Nigerian state was on life support.

“Instead of conjuring imaginary scenarios, we expect the former vice president to engage with these urgent realities.

“The estimated N5.4 trillion savings from subsidy removal in 2024 are being actively directed toward infrastructure development and social intervention programmes, initiatives that will benefit all tiers of government and enhance Nigerians’ quality of life.

“We expect Atiku to commend what the Tinubu administration has done concerning revenue generation for the Federation. Without factoring in oil sales, revenue proceeds generated by the Federal Inland Revenue Service almost doubled in the first half of 2024, compared with the level Tinubu met in 2023. The states and councils are more prosperous because of it, as many states have increased the minimum wage for their workers to between N70,000 and N85,000.

“Atiku’s proposal to privatise the four government-owned refineries, which collectively can only meet a fraction of the nation’s daily fuel consumption when activated, lacks originality.

“In 2007, investors were only willing to offer $160 million for 51% equity in the Port Harcourt Refinery, while the Kaduna Refinery had an offer of $102 million. According to industry experts and the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, Nigeria’s Head of State at the time, who cancelled the sale of the refineries by the Obasanjo-Atiku government, the offered bids were considered scrap value.

“As vice president, Atiku oversaw the sale of the nation’s assets to private individuals and cronies at low prices. Today, most public enterprises Atiku sold have been stripped and become dead assets.

“The model of farming the completely rehabilitated refineries to private sector managers at an agreed-upon rate of return to the government, as adopted by Tinubu’s government, is more practical and value-laden than selling our national patrimony to some private interests that are not technically capable of operating the refineries. The Tinubu administration focuses on revitalising these refineries while supporting modular refineries and the Dangote Refinery, which has greater capacity.

“This approach will guarantee domestic production and stabilise retail prices by reducing foreign exchange challenges. It includes selling crude oil to the refineries in Naira, enabling potential cost reductions that could reflect in retail prices.

“Regarding Atiku’s allegations of corruption within the NNPC, the fuel subsidy has historically been the leading corruption enabler in the state-owned oil company. President Tinubu’s removal of this subsidy eliminated the most significant incentive for corruption within the NNPC. During his eight-year tenure as Vice President, Atiku and his boss had an opportunity to address this issue but failed to make any significant reforms in the oil sector.

“In any case, is it not ironic that an Atiku, who was entangled in corruption allegations, including one in which his wife was indicted and his business associate, former US Congressman William Jefferson, was jailed for 13 years, is now talking about corruption matters?

“The suggestion of phased-out subsidy removal is an outdated approach that has historically led to fiscal challenges for countries like Indonesia, which Atiku references. Nigeria has gradually phased out subsidies since 1978, with numerous adjustments made. Fuel prices were adjusted 22 times between 1978 and 2020. Rather than pushing for unrealistic timelines, Atiku should recognise the necessity of President Tinubu’s bold reforms.

“Notably, while Atiku peddles his economic fantasies, he has yet to denounce President Tinubu’s removal of the fuel subsidy because he knows that the reform was necessary and correct. We can only urge him to purge himself of the petty, derisive politics of a sore loser.

“To alleviate the effect of the fuel subsidy removal on the very poor and vulnerable, the Tinubu administration has embarked on an active social intervention campaign involving cash transfers and the distribution of palliatives. So far, 20 million Nigerians are being targeted for direct cash transfers, an established social protection mechanism described as economically transformative by the World Bank and many development partners. The Tinubu administration has designed well-targeted social inclusion programmes, including student loans, consumer credits, and the Presidential CNG Initiative, all initiated within the first 12 months.

“In his foreign exchange management proposal, Atiku declared that a fixed exchange rate system was out of the question. Yet his managed float proposal, another gradualist approach, is still the same as the old fixed exchange rate system, which stagnated the national economy by subsidising forex up to $1.5 billion monthly to a privileged few.

“Atiku should remember that a managed float is also known as a dirty float because of its inherent flaws. The system combines elements of fixed and floating exchange rates. The CBN will still have to set the exchange rate and make it available to people and businesses. Access is not guaranteed to all, as it is now.

“In conclusion, Atiku’s economic proposals fail to present a viable alternative to Tinubu’s decisive reforms. We encourage him to reassess his approach and repair his reputation as a statesman. The rejection of his proposals in the 2023 election indicates that Nigerians will be reluctant to entertain his future political ambitions.

“President Tinubu remains focused on leading Nigeria toward a prosperous future and addressing our nation’s real challenges. Atiku Abubakar should abandon his politics of distraction and fantasies and focus on constructive discourse.”

 

 

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GEJ Congratulates Trump, Optimistic About Quality Leadership

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Nigeria’s former president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ) has congratulated Donald Trump on his reelection as president of the United States of America.

The former governor of Bayelsa State conveyed his goodwill message to Trump in a statement on his verified handle on micro-blogging site, X on Sunday.

He expressed optimism that Trump’s leadership would “not only advance the American dream but also promote the cause for global peace, stability and progress”.

ALSO READ: Obama Congratulates Trump, Applauds Extraordinary Harris

GEJ wrote, “Dear President Trump,

“I extend my warmest felicitations to you on your election as the 47th President of the United States. Your impressive victory is a testament to the American people’s faith in your leadership and vision for the future.

“I am optimistic that your Presidency will not only advance the American dream but also promote the cause for global peace, stability and progress.

“Please accept my heartfelt congratulations, once again. – GEJ”

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Some People Are Behind My Dismissal – Gwarzo

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Abdullahi Tijjani Gwarzo, the immediate past Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, has alleged that political machinations were behind his removal from office.

Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa on Sunday, Gwarzo expressed surprise over his dismissal, insisting that it was not due to any wrongdoing or poor performance during his tenure.

READ MORE: Filmmaker Andy Boyo To Chronicle Fela Kuti’s Legacy In Groundbreaking Biopic

“I was surprised because I wasn’t found guilty of any wrongdoing or poor performance. And I was a minister of state working alongside the senior minister, who handled a large portion of the ministry’s activities,” Gwarzo said.

He further explained that before the announcement, President Buhari had informed him about the decision, citing an overload of political officers from Kano North and the need to balance the representation.

Despite the President’s explanation, Gwarzo remained skeptical, hinting at a deeper political agenda. “From there, I began to suspect that some people are behind this,” he remarked, describing the reasoning given for his dismissal as unconvincing.

Gwarzo also questioned the allocation of the ministerial slot for Kano, suggesting that the position should have gone to Nasiru Gawuna, the 2023 gubernatorial candidate and a prominent political figure in Kano Central.

“If it’s true that the ministerial slot will be allocated to Kano Central, we have our 2023 gubernatorial candidate, who is also our leader in Kano Central. Why not consider giving him the slot?” Gwarzo argued.

He emphasized that Gawuna, as a key political leader in the region, should have been the first to be considered for the position.

“Gawuna should be offered the position first, unless he declines, in which case it could be given to someone else,” Gwarzo added.

He pointed out that candidates from other states, such as Plateau and Zamfara, who contested in the 2023 elections, were given ministerial appointments, further fueling his belief that political factors played a role in the decision.

 

 

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