Uti Nwachukwu responds to the rape allegations against him

Uti Nwachukwu is a Nollywood actor and the winner of Big Brother Africa Season 5. He was recently in the news when he was called out on the grounds of rape.

An IG user with the username @kambilikorie had gone on Instagram to drag Uti for allegedly raping her some years ago.

However, there's a twist to the event of things as the handle used to accuse the actor has been deleted. None, Uti has spoken up on the allegations levelled against him. 

He took to Instagram to say,

"I didn’t want to be speaking this unfortunate allegations gain; but it’s also important that I update you all on recent developments. •

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My accuser- who’s account was created only recently to accuse me of this horrendous crime, has been deleted before investigators could identify her. •

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This is unfortunate because it doesn’t fully exonerate me from the accusation the way the courts would have done; I REALLY needed the opportunity to prove my innocence so this culprit could face the full penalties. •

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However, I am still going to continue to work and cooperate with the police to get to the bottom of this. 

Victims of sexual abuse need to be heard and believed, and it’s why I will continue to pursue this to prevent anyone else from making it even harder from victims to speak out. •

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Thank you all for your messages and show of support; it’s been a difficult period, but I appreciate how so many of you who know me, have stood by me.🙏🏾"

Osunbor talks about the depth of crisis between Obaseki and Oshiomhole

Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor, a former Governor of Edo State has revealed that the warring between Adams Oshiomhole and Godwin Obaseki is way bigger than was anticipated.

According to the statesman, Nigeria’s billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote, reportedly intervened in the crisis between the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, and Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki. However, his efforts to reconcile the two politicians failed.

In a statement, Osunbor also said that efforts to broker peace between the warring APC chieftains by the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, were not successful. Part of the statement read, 

“Given my position in the party, I have made efforts outside of public glare towards bringing about reconciliation by speaking to the two leading protagonists, the National Chairman Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and His Excellency the Governor of Edo State Godwin Obaseki as well as some of their supporters.

I also tried to rally some elders of the party from the State to broker peace. It is common knowledge that our revered royal father, His Royal Majesty the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II made his own efforts including appealing to our President Mohammadu Buhari to help broker peace among these two illustrious sons of Edo State.

It is also believed that their mutual friend Dr. Aliko Dangote made repeated efforts at reconciliation to no avail. So did a number of others that I know.”

The Professor of Law lamented that National Reconciliation Committee which was reconstituted in February 2020 has not yet completed its assignment.

With this, Osunbor warned that it was not advisable for the party to proceed with its primaries ahead of Edo 2020 as planned.

The APC chieftain cautioned that the party would emerge victorious in the governorship election but might lose in court. He said, 

“The reason that reconciliation is imperative is that if the Party conducts rancorous primaries and goes into the governorship elections divided, winning will become more difficult than it should be ordinarily, given the weakness of the opposition in the State.

There is no doubt at all that the APC Candidate will win the forthcoming election but we must be mindful not to lose the victory in court because of a flaw in the process that produced the candidate.

For now the signs are not good. There is danger ahead. We must avoid pitfalls. I, therefore, make this clarion call on the APC national leadership to act urgently and decisively to put our house in order by fostering reconciliation before it is too late. We need to tread with caution.”

COVID-19 : Runaway patient arrested in Ondo market

A female patient suffering from the coronavirus disease has escaped from her point of treatment. However, she was arrested on Saturday evening at the popular Oja-Oba market in Akure.

She was picked up where she was selling second-hand clothes popularly known as ‘okrika’.

The lady was diagnosed with the deadly disease in Imo State before she travelled down to the Ondo State capital without submitting herself for treatment.

The Independent reported that Ondo state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Wahab Adegbenro said that Imo and Ondo Governments mounted surveillance for the patient upon discovering that she escaped.

Dr. Adegbenro said that while the patient is being treated at the state Infectious Disease Hospital, in Igbatoro road, Akure, contact tracing of the patient’s family, friends, and neighbours had begun. 

Those who transacted business with the woman have also been urged to report for come in for testing.

COVID-19 : Food prices skyrocket to 15.03% in two years

Reports have it that for the first time in two years, food prices have hit 15.03% in April. This is reportedly the the highest it has gotten since March 2018. 

It is safe to say that the skyrocket was caused largely by the coronavirus pandemic crisis, which trigger the hike in inflation. We learnt that the inflation was quickened by rise in food prices.

According to its May report, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports that Nigeria’s annual inflation rate rose to 12.34 per cent in April, from 12.26 per cent recorded in the previous month.

The calculation of the statistical office showed that the lockdown of Abuja, Lagos and Ogun States for almost two months to contain the COVID-19 pandemic largely impacted the rise in food prices.

Within that period, consumer prices rose 1.02 per cent, picking up from the 0.84 per cent increase seen in March, according to FocusEconomics report.

To say that the food sector is greatly feeling the impact of COVID-19 is to say the least. Our checks revealed that the sector experiences severe impact of the disease on each stage of the value chain.

As earlier predicted by stakeholders that a prolonged outbreak of the pandemic would lead to economic instability and inflation, Nigerians are already feeling pains of high cost of food.

For now, 50kg bag of rice (premium Local) which sold for N18, 000 is now N21, 000; a paint bucket of Garri, that went for N300 and N350 is now N1, 300; a kilogram of chicken previously sold at N1, 100 is now N1, 500/kg; 50kg basket of tomato initially sold for between N4, 000 to N5, 000, currently sells for between N13, 000 to N15, 000; medium sized tuber of yam sold for N500 now N1, 200; 25 litres keg of palm oil from N9, 000 to N11, 000. This cuts across almost all categories of produce.

It was learnt that a bag of flour that sold N9, 000 before COVID-19, now goes for N13, 000, while a bag of sugar now costs N24, 000 as against the former price of N13, 000. Butter is now N12, 000 against N7, 500, while a bag of milk, which was N29, 000, now goes for N52, 000.

Two weeks ago, the Lagos State chapter of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria, threatened to increase the price of bread by 60 per cent if there is no urgent intervention from government to halt the rising prices of baking materials.

They claimed that aside the prices of flour, sugar and other materials that have gone up, packaging cost has also increased from N10, 000 to N12, 000, likewise prices of salt, yeast and other baking materials, hitting the rooftop.

Founder of Menitos Farms, Tolulope Daramola, attributed the rising price increase to problem of transportation and dearth of farm hands. 

“Food prices at the farms are still pretty much at the same price. Some foods have had their prices reduced at the farms due to storage issues. So products price increase is quite relative to how often it is transported before it gets to its destination.

Another serious issue is that farms are actually stalling operations due to lack of labourers and where available, they come at a high cost. A number of farms are selling out their harvest, but not replanting, this is adding to prices of the produce.”

Daramola said in a situation when dying from hunger becomes a reality, priorities are shifted. She added that education and healthcare would take the back seat for most citizens, especially when the risk of exposure to COVID-19 is added.

“Unfortunately, I am hearing the budget allocated to these two (Education and healthcare) has also been cut. I foresee prices going higher, so I propose that more people should try their hands at growing basic, even if it’s just for home consumption to checkmate the potential famine.”

To the Co-founder, Farmvilla Resource Centre, Oyo State, Yinka Adesola, food wastage, especially perishable goods due to the period of the lockdown and problem of transportation are largely responsible for the current inflation.

“Currently, there is food scarcity even on the farm. There is no food import from neighbouring countries, it seems they are also badly affected by the food losses. So, the few in circulation will be for the highest bidder.

We should buckle up for more inflation. The farmers that make those COVID-19 losses may not be able to produce another again due to finance. Food production will be massively reduced, while food price will keep going up.”

FG to tax Facebook, Netflix, others

There are plans in motion for the Federal Government to tax foreign digital service providers offering services to Nigerians and earning revenue in naira.

These service providers which include video streaming sites, social media platforms, and companies that offer downloads of digital contents are expected to pay digital tax to the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, had issued the Companies Income Tax (Significant Economic Presence) Order, 2020 as an amendment of the Finance Act 2019.

The order aimed to impose tax on a foreign entity with respect to certain services or digital transactions if it had a Significant Economic Presence in Nigeria.

It further stated that the finance minister may by order, determine what constituted SEP in Nigeria.

Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, among others are some of these foreign companies that offer digital video and advertising services to Nigerians.

Others like Alibaba and Amazon generate revenue from Nigeria by processing and transmitting data collected about users in Nigeria, provision of goods or services directly or through a digital platform or offer intermediate services that link suppliers and customers in Nigeria.

The new regulation would apply to companies with income of N25m or equivalent in other currencies from Nigeria in a year and those with a Nigerian domain name (.ng) or a website address in the country.

The SEP order mandated foreign companies with sustained interactions with persons in Nigeria and customising their digital platforms to target persons in Nigeria by stating the prices of its products or services in naira to pay taxes.

According to the Act, a foreign entity providing technical services such as training, advertising, supply of personnel, professional, management or consultancy services shall have a SEP in Nigeria in any accounting year if it earns any income or receives any payment from a person resident in Nigeria or a fixed base or agent of a foreign entity in Nigeria.

However, payments made to employees of a foreign entity or for teaching in an educational institution are exempted.

Analysts at PricewaterhouseCoopers said some of the affected foreign digital companies would be required to register for income taxes in Nigeria and file annual tax returns even if they did not have a physical presence in Nigeria.

They added that Nigerian resident businesses (as well as the fixed bases of non-resident companies) that have transactions with the affected non-resident companies would also be required to account for withholding tax on some of the payments made to these foreign companies.

PwC raised concerns as to how the FIRS would enforce compliance without international consensus, as a number of the companies affected might be outside the territorial reach of the agency.

According to the consulting firm, the problem will also be exacerbated where the companies sell their products and services directly to individual consumers in Nigeria.

Omo-Agege - "I didn't ask EFCC to prosecute Akpabio"

Omo-Agege Ovie, who is the Deputy President of the Senate, has called a letter purportedly written on his behalf by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Nelson Ayewoh, fake.

The letter began to make rounds on the various social media platforms since Sunday morning, and was allegedly written by the Clerk on Omo-Agege’s behalf to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu.

According to the discredited letter, Omo-Agege allegedly urged the EFCC boss to commence investigation on the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, over allegations of corruption levelled against him.

The National Assembly is currently probing allegations that the Interim Management Committee of the NDDC, allegedly mismanaged N40bn in three months and had demanded written explanations from Akpabio, whose Ministry supervises the activities of the intervention agency.

But Omo-Agege, through a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yomi Odunuga, denied asking the Senate Clerk to write any letter to the EFCC Chairman.

Describing the document as fake, the DSP insisted that he never instructed the Clerk or any other person to contact the EFCC to investigate any individual. Part of the statement read, 

“The attention of the Office of the Deputy President of the Senate has been drawn to a letter dated 7th May, 2020, purportedly written by the Clerk of the Senate acting on behalf of the Office of Deputy President of the Senate requesting the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate and monitor the Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and one other.

This Office hereby states that the said letter is false, fake, malicious, mischievous and vexatious. This Office never instructed the Clerk of the Senate, or in fact any person, to write to or contact the EFCC in relation to any person.

In the light of the foregoing, we wish to urge the public to disregard the fake letter, same being the handiwork of a person or persons with criminal intents."

Benue : Troops repel gunmen, 5 feared dead

In Benue State, troops of the joint military operation with the code name, Operation Whirl Stroke, have reportedly killed five gunmen in Guma Local Government Area.

The troops were said to have acted in response to the distress call made by the authority of the local government over the invasion of three villages: Torkula, Kponko and Kaseyo.

It was reported that five of the invading gunmen were killed during the counterattack.

When contacted, the Force Commander of OPWS, Maj. Gen. Adeyemi Yekini, declined making a comment on the attack but referred our correspondent to the Defence Headquarters Information Directorate.

However, Benue State Command Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Catherine Anene, confirmed the incident.

She said that the command was yet to ascertain the number of casualties as of the time of filing this report.

Anene confirmed that the intervention of the joint military troops averted further attack on the affected areas.

New Zealand : 3 killed as car crashed into pond

In New Zealand, three people have been reported dead after a car crashed into a pond on Sunday.

In a statement, the New Zealand Police said that the attention of emergency services were called to the report of a vehicle underwater at a central North Island farm near the town of Raetihi.

“Tragically the three people were deceased when recovered from the pond by emergency services,” the police said.

Police are working to support the family of those killed. Worksafe, the government agency that oversees workplace health and safety, has been notified.

Airlines to cut passenger loads on government's order

While the airlines have made it clear that that they'll stick with the directives of the Federal government with regards to passenger reduction, they have asked the government to speed up its aviation intervention programmes.

All domestic airlines operations in Nigeria is set to kick off on June 21. It can be recalled that this is the date that was announced by the Federal Government for the commencement of domestic commercial flight operations.

On June 2, the Federal Government had announced that domestic flights would resume on June 21 and directed airlines to take between 50 and 70 per cent of passengers on any flight. The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, had said, 

“The modality of operations by airlines and the passenger numbers will certainly drop and the load factor will also drop.

Only 50 or 70 per cent of the passengers should be taken. These are some of the things that we have been looking at.”

Reacting to the aviation minister’s remarks, the Communications Manager, Dana Air, Okwudili Ezenwa, said the directive was done in good faith and would be complied with, but was quick to state that the government had to support airlines. He said, 

“It depends on what the government will be putting on the table in terms of support for the airlines because we know that the industry is not booming right now.

There are certain things we’ve been asking for before now, like the removal of VAT and the rest of them, which have not been implemented at the moment. So if the minister advises that we should do between 50 and 70 per cent, there’s no problem.”

Ezenwa said it would be tough to forecast how the business would pan out once flights resume fully and urged the government to fast-track its intervention in order to help airlines implement its recent directives. He said, 

“We know the advice is in good faith, but we don’t know how the business is going to pan out upon resumption.

So it will be nice for the government to fast-track its intervention for airlines so that jobs can be sustained and the aviation business can thrive.

So it is in good faith and we accept his advice as the minister and at the same time ask that some of the things we’ve been asking for should be implemented.”

The Dana Air spokesperson further noted that all other guidelines of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority were being implemented by the carrier.

“The NCAA reeled out some guidelines recently and also requested trainings. It outlined some procedures and we are doing all that at the moment,” he stated.

On the serviceability of their airplanes based on the fact the machines had not been flown since the lockdown period, Ezenwa said, 

“We kept our engineers on ground all through the lockdown as part of safety consciousness.

This is because there’s no way you can keep an aircraft on ground for too long without flying it. So we applied for passes for our engineers and they’ve been on ground for the past two months ensuring our aircraft are sound. We are set to fly.”

The spokesperson for Air Peace, Stanley Olisa, said the airline was ready to comply with the demands of government as regards the resumption of flights. He said, 

“With respect to the date announced by the Federal Government, we are ready technically and operation-wise and we are complying with all the protocols that have been laid down by the NCAA and the aviation ministry. So we are ready.”

On the mandate by government that airlines should carry between 50 to 70 per cent passenger volume in any flight, Olisa said Air Peace was ready to obey the mandates of aviation authorities.

“What I can tell you is that we are ready to comply with the conditions given by the Federal Government. That is what I can say,” he stated.

The Corporate Communications Manager, Arik Air, Banji Ola, said Arik was set to also begin operations. He said, 

“There are guidelines put in place by the NCAA and just like other airlines, we are complying with those guidelines. Everything related to the restart of operations as spelt out by the NCAA, we are complying with them. So we are ready to start operations by June 21 as directed.”

Reacting to the reduction of aircraft passengers as directed by the government, Ola said, “All I know is that we are ready for the guidelines set by the NCAA and also ready to fly from June 21.”

IPOB using Christianity to wage war against Nigeria - Presidency

The Presidency has raised alarm over the misleading campaign spearheaded by the so-called Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), using false allegations of persecution of Christians against the Nigerian State.

Malam Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, in a statement in Abuja, said that the Federal Government had since uncovered two interconnected campaigns being run concurrently by the IPOB in that regard.

According to him, both are using the cover of Christianity – and calling for a US Special Envoy to be appointed to stop the “genocide” of Christians in Nigeria.

He said the real purpose was to drive a wedge between the Nigerian government and its US and UK/European allies.

“IPOB leadership of course self-proclaims as “Jewish,” a position not shared by the generality of the members.

“For reasons of convenience, it claims to have an interest in the welfare of Christians – but this is a ruse.

The case for independence, IPOB leadership believes, is strengthened by `proving’ the government of Nigeria is `autocratic’, engaged in a `silent slaughter’ of citizens along religion and ethnic lines – and that, therefore, the only viable option for the unique religious and ethnic minority is a sovereign Biafra separate from Nigeria,’’ he said.

The presidential aide therefore advised Nigerians and the international community to be wary of this divisive campaign, “which available evidence shows is being funded with a monthly spending of $85,000 USD since October 2019, with no records of the source of this largesse’’.