Lagos Staff Bus Driver Arrested For Causing Lagos Train/Bus Accident

 The Managing Director of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr Fidet Okhiria, has blamed the staff bus driver for the train/bus accident which occurred on Thursday, March 9, on the rail track in the Sogunle area of Lagos, IGBERETV reports.

Okhiria who spoke to journalists said the staff bus driver refused to stop for the moving train. He said; 

“According to the information I gathered at the scene of the incident, they said many cars stopped when they got to the level crossing while the Lagos State Staff Bus driver continued moving, which I don’t know why.

” Maybe the driver thought he could pass before the train got nearer to him. He could not pass, and then the train crushed the bus; that is what we gathered.

“The train was coming from Ijoko to Iddo.”

The NRC MD further appealed to motorists not to ignore the point where they should stop.

Addressing a press conference after the accident, Lagos governor, Sanwo-Olu stated that the preliminary investigation shows the accident was caused by the bus driver's error. He said the driver survived the accident and is now in Police custody.

Six persons died in the accident while several others were injured.

They Are Wearing Black, I'm Wearing White - Wike Mocks Atiku And PDP Leaders

Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike on Thursday, March 9, mocked People's Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and other leaders of the party over the recent protest at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission, IGBERETV reports.

On Monday, March 6, the former Vice President led a “black uniform” protest to INEC headquarters alongside PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu; his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa and other members of the party.

Speaking at the commissioning of Igwuruta internal roads in the Ikwerre Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State, Wike stated that he ensured his candidates won their election. 

He said; 

“I won three of the Senate seats – three over three. Ask them, did they win three over three? You cannot win!

“I told them; they said they would conspire against me. Those who said they’ll conspire against me are those wearing black. I am wearing white and they’re wearing black.”

 

Osimhen Wins Serie A Player Of The Month Award For February

 Super Eagles and Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen, has been named Serie A Player of the Month for February by the Italian Footballers Association (AIC).

“Osimhen has been named Player of the Month…Congratulations, Victor!” Napoli Tweeted on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old Nigerian also won the Serie A Player and Goal of the Month award for January.

In February, Osimhen scored four goals in four league appearances for Serie A leaders Napoli.

The player of the month award is coming on the heels of the 2022 Best Foreign Athlete award he won. Makesense Media reports,

He recently bagged the Emerging Player of the Year Award at the 2022 Globe Awards and the 2021/2022 Serie A Young Player of the Year Award.

Osimhen is the top scorer in the Italian Serie A with 19 goals from 21 league appearances.

Ronaldo Took The Worst Free-kick Of His Career For Al Nassr Against Al Ittihad

 Cristiano Ronaldo took the worst free-kick of his career for Al Nassr as they lost 1-0 to title rivals Al Ittihad.

The two sides met in the 'Saudi Superclasico' at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, with Nassr just two points clear at the top going into the clash.

But it was the hosts who picked up a second victory against Nassr in a matter of months courtesy of a strike from Romarinho in the 80th minute.

Ronaldo was unable to add to his tally of six goals in the Saudi Pro League and he received a lot of criticism for a horrific set-piece attempt.

Al Nassr had a free-kick on the right side and it looked like it was shaped nicely for a cross into the box.

There were two men in the wall and Ronaldo fancied his chances. He lined up with his usual stance and legs spread apart and went for his trademark knuckleball technique.

However, the 38-year-old lashed the ball high and wide and into the stands and showed that he's not quite a set-piece specialist these days despite having scored a fair few in his career.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner had the cheek of appealing for a corner, feeling that his poor strike had actually taken a deflection.

Ronaldo was loudly booed by the opposition fans prior to the game and reacted by smiling and nodding his head. He shared a warm embrace with compatriot Nuno Espirito Santo, who managed him when the Riyadh XI took on Paris Saint-Germain in a mid-season friendly.

But his mood was much-changed at the final whistle as Ronaldo fumed over a second defeat against Al Ittihad - which put his side one point behind in the title race.

Al Nassr will look to bounce back on Tuesday when they take on Abha in the King Cup of Champions quarter-final.

Politicians Collected Our Account Numbers Without Paying, Niger Voters Cry Out

 Voters in Niger State have accused politicians of deception by collecting their account numbers before the presidential and National Assembly elections without paying them.

Mrs Felicia Sunday told City & Crime that their account numbers were collected by various political parties but that two weeks after the polls they were yet to receive the money they were promised.

She said, “Our account numbers were collected during the presidential and National Assembly elections and up till now we’ve not heard anything. Some parties promised us N5,000,” adding that, “These politicians are deceitful people. I can’t just trust them again.”

She, however, noted that some parties shared food items like rice, spaghetti, Maggi and salt.

Mallam Danjuma Mohammed shared a similar experience with our reporter, saying that account numbers were submitted during voting.

Mr. Philip Nma, another voter, said he submitted his account to an agent of one of the political parties, who promised to send him N5,000 after the poll but have not done so up till now.

He said many of the voters had decided not to listen to any of them during the forthcoming gubernatorial polls.

A Point of Sale (POS) operator told our reporter that some voters brought dollars to him to buy a day after the presidential and National Assembly elections.

But speaking on the conduct of the voters, a retired police officer, Mr Sunday Ajeromi, told City & Crime on phone that it was a criminal offence for them to collect money in exchange of votes, saying that is what the law refers to as vote selling or buying, which is criminal.

He said instead of them complaining, the law enforcement agents should have arrested and prosecuted them accordingly.

The retired police officer noted that it was a serious offence in the Electoral Act to either buy or sell votes and urged the populace to desist from such in the interest of the nation’s democratic development.

Nigeria’s Misery Index Rises By 12 Points

 Nigeria’s misery index has soared by 11.9 percentage points to 73.05, The PUNCH’s findings have shown.

The misery index is a measure of economic distress felt by everyday people, due to the risk of (or actual) joblessness combined with an increasing cost of living. The misery index is calculated by adding the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate to the inflation rate.

The misery index of a nation is a yardstick of economic distress. It was created by the economist, Arthur Okun.

Professor Steve Hanke of Johns Hopkins University further improved the model for measuring the misery index by defining it as a total summation of the inflation rate, unemployment rate, and interest rate and subtracting percentage change in real GDP per capita (year-on-year).

Since unemployment and inflation are both considered detrimental to one’s economic well-being, their combined value is useful as an indicator of overall economic health. The higher the index, the greater the misery felt by average citizens.

With an inflation rate of 15.92 per cent, an 11.5 per cent interest rate, an employment rate of 33.3 per cent, and a 3.6 per cent GDP growth (2021), Nigeria began 2022 with a misery index of 61.15 per cent.

However, multiple increases in the Monetary Policy Rate, (the latest of which took it up to 17.5 per cent in January 2023), have played a contributory role in causing a significant spike in Nigeria’s misery index.

Another factor that has been responsible for this spike is increased inflationary pressure. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s inflation soared to 21.82 per cent in January 2023 as the country struggled to grapple with persistent fuel and naira crises.

January’s inflation rate was 0.48 percentage points higher than the 21.34 per cent that was recorded in December 2022, after inflation slowed down for the first time in eleven months.

The last factor that influenced the current misery index was the change in real GDP. According to data culled from Macrotrends, Nigeria’s GDP per capita currently stands at $2,066, with an annual growth rate of -0.43 per cent.

Based on Hanke’s model, Nigeria’s misery index now stands at 73.05, indicating an increase of 11.9 points.

Last year, Hanke who publishes a yearly misery index comprising 156 countries said Nigerians were more miserable in 2021 than they were in 2020.

According to the John Hopkins University economist, who analysed 156 countries by calculating their unemployment rates, inflation, prevailing lending rates and GDP growths, Nigeria went from 15th among the most miserable countries in the world’s ranking in 2020 to 11th in 2021.

The figures showed that Nigeria was the fourth most miserable country in Africa, only behind Sudan, Zimbabwe and Angola.

According to the report, the five least miserable countries were Brunei, Switzerland, China, Taiwan, and Japan. The United States ranked 95th, making it the 14th least miserable nation of the 108 countries on the table.

Speaking with The PUNCH, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf cited rising inflation as a key component of the misery index that has eroded the quality of life of the average Nigerian.

He urged the government to identify the key drivers of inflation and also find viable solutions to the unemployment crisis that has pushed millions of Nigerians below the poverty line.

Yusuf said, “One major variable in the misery index is inflation. If we can tackle inflation, that will help to reduce the misery index. Inflation usually leads to a decline in purchasing power, which makes people poorer, generally. Some of us have always argued that the worst enemy of the poor is inflation. So, we need to identify the key drivers of inflation, starting from the ways and means the financing of the Central Bank, which is high-powered money.”

Last year, the World Bank in its poverty assessment report said that sluggish growth, low human capital, labour market weaknesses, and exposure to shocks are holding Nigeria’s poverty reduction back.

According to the report, which brings together the latest evidence on the profile and drivers of poverty in Nigeria, as many as 4 in 10 Nigerians live below the national poverty line.

“It is clear that much needs to be done to help lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty, including boosting health and education, bolstering productive jobs, and expanding social protection,” said World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri.

INEC Rejects LP’s Request To Witness BVAS Reconfiguration

 The Labour Party, on Thursday, knocked the Independent National Electoral Commission, saying the electoral umpire deliberately came up with its idea of reconfiguring the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines after its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, sought to examine the election materials.

This was as the party faulted the commission’s claim of backing up the data retrieved from the BVAS without the presence of independent witnesses and representatives of political parties.

The protest is coming barely 24 hours after INEC rescheduled the planned governorship and states House of Assembly elections earlier slated for March 11 in order to reconfigure the BVAS machines.

The move was made possible after the Presidential Election Petition Court sitting at the Court of Appeal in Abuja granted the commission’s request to reconfigure the BVAS that were used for the presidential poll.

The court had, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of Justices, dismissed objection by the LP and held that preventing the electoral umpire from reconfiguring the BVAS would adversely affect the forthcoming governorship and state Assembly elections.

But the Chief Spokesman for the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, reiterated that it was wrong of INEC to claim that it had backed up the data from the BVAS without any witness.

Tanko further accused the electoral umpire of constantly changing its rule of engagement to cover up some of the anomalies they earlier observed. 

He said, “Are we privy or invited to see what was being backed up? If there is going to be transparency, what INEC needs to do is to invite everybody with their technological experts to see what the commission intends to back up from the original source. Was this done?

“We didn’t want to use that as evidence in the court of law. INEC should not forget that we also have our own results. Anything contradictory to that particular result and what they backed up will be totally unacceptable to us.

“It is clear right from the beginning that INEC deliberately went to court for reconfiguration of the BVAS machines after Obi requested to inspect election materials. Of course, nobody, not even you and I, know the commission can come up with anything like reconfiguration at this time. This was done after we demanded to inspect those machines.

“When you are going into an arrangement, it is always important to tell people about the rule of engagement and ensure you don’t change it. But INEC keeps on changing the rule of engagement in order to cover their shady deals. It is unfortunate that we have to bring INEC down to this particular level.”

While stating that they had lost confidence in the capacity of the commission to hold a free and fair election, the LP campaign spokesman noted that Obi was consulting with his lawyers to determine whether or not to appeal the court ruling on BVAS reconfiguration.

Tanko also warned the electoral body to endeavour to raise its standard and seek to do the right thing to avoid incurring the wrath of the masses.
Similarly, the Peoples Democratic Party expressed strong reservations about INEC’s capacity to conduct the unpcoming governorship and Houses of Assembly polls in a free, fair, and transparent manner.

Speaking with The PUNCH, the National Publicity of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, said the commission’s conduct in the past two weeks had made most Nigerians to doubt its sincerity.

He said, “The governorship and Assembly polls were to hold on March 11, according to INEC, knowing full well that they could not do it. Now, they have moved it to March 18. Why can’t they allow the parties who had got a court order to get that information from BVAS so that they can be sure of their integrity? Given the behaviour of INEC in recent weeks, how can we be sure that they can even conduct acceptable polls this time?

“This is about the integrity and believability of INEC. What is the average Nigerian saying about INEC today? From the behaviour and activities of INEC, during and after the election, it was clear they were not ready to walk their own talk.”

On assurances by the commission that data from BVAS would be secured in a back-end and cloud, and made accessible to the PDP at any time, Ologunagba said, “This election is technologically driven but today, INEC is on its own, deliberately sabotaging a process it promised the whole world it would sanitise.

“On Google, you would realise that there is possibility of losing data when saved in the cloud. There is the risk of losing data. So, if there is a risk of losing data, why is INEC not worried like the rest of us? How are we sure that this data will be preserved? This is the question we want INEC to answer.”

But reacting, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, said the data back-up of the BVAS was an internal affair of the commission and not open to inspection by parties.

“The reconfiguration or data back-processes of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines is strictly an internal affair of the Independent National Electoral Commission, that no external eyes are allowed to witness.

Of course, political parties are free to witness a test-run of the BVAS, and they did during the mock accreditation exercise that we carried out before the general elections.

“However, it is really, really curious that the Labour Party would express any desire to witness such an activity. What exactly do they want to see? Would the party also want to witness when ballot papers and result sheets are designed and printed?

“It is like students demanding to be present when their teachers are determining examination questions. While the commission appreciates and maintains a very cordial relationship with the Inter-Party Advisory Council, the boundaries are well defined and known to both parties,” Oyekanmi said.

Asked when INEC will complete the BVAS reset and storage of data in the back-up, Oyekanmi said “about three days.”