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Day Two of 2019 Tony Elumelu Foundation Forum Underway with Osinbajo, Kagame, Other African Leaders in Attendance

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It’s the second day of the fifth edition of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Forum holding at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.

Five African presidents, as well as Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, are expected to grace today’s event.

Themed ‘Empowering African Entrepreneurs,’ the forum is arguably the largest gathering of entrepreneurs, policymakers, and business leaders across the continent.

The event kicks off at exactly 10.20 a.m. with a rendition of the Nigerian national anthem

Followed by Rwandan, then Senegalese, and the Democratic Republic of Congo: in that order.

Those in attendance include Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, President Macky Sall of Senegal, President Felix Tshisekedi of the DRC, and Akinwunmi Adesina, the president of the African Development Bank.

Others include Isa Jibril, a senator representing the Senate President; Alhassan Doguwa, Majority Leader, House of Representatives, representing the Speaker; and the Head of Service, Winifred Oyo-Ita.

The governors of Niger, Ekiti, Kwara, and Kebbi states are also in attendance.

A minute silence is observed for the late Tunisian president, Beji Caid Essebsi.

 

The CEO of The Tony Elumelu Foundation Forum, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, in her opening remarks says the event is the beginning of the rise of African entrepreneurship.

She says the movement is creating jobs and generating revenues in their millions.

She says $5 billion will create one million entrepreneurs who will, in turn, create 25 million jobs.


The first plenary for the day will be moderated by Fareed Zakaria, CNN anchor.

Members of the panel include Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation; Akinwunmi Adesina, AfDB President; Benedict Oramah, Director-General, AFREXIM Bank; Sidi Tar, DG, BADEA; Koen Doens, the Deputy DG of the EU Commission; Gilles Carbonnier, VP ICRC; and Mr Elumelu

Mr Zakaria tells the panellist to speak from the heart and do away with cliches.

The first speaker, Mr Adesina, says Africa is no longer arising but “has risen.”

Mr Adesina says 12-13 million people enter the market every year and cannot find jobs.

He says Africa will have about 800 young people in 2050 and a billion people by 2060.

“We can’t keep postponing our liabilities into the future.”

He proposes that African leaders should begin to change from youth empowerment to youth investment.

He says it’s time for African leaders to create youth entrepreneurship and investment banks for African youth.

Mr Tah says microfinance has been instrumental to BADEA’s success in Africa.

He says they are working to develop capacities across Africa

Our vision is to scale up our intervention with all our stakeholders. We are also in the process of creating new financial institutions to cater to those who don’t have access to formal banking systems.”

Mr Doens says they want to show that beyond the issue of illegal migration that there is a continent booming.

He says most of the jobs in Europes have been created by small and medium scale firms and there is no reason why African entrepreneurs cannot do the same.

Mr Carbonnier of the Red Cross says the problem is not always the lack of capital but difficulties in finding bankable projects.

Mr says when he was running an African magazine, they struggled to put a correspondent in one African country because of the difficulties in connecting between the countries.

“It was easier to position a correspondent in London or Paris than anywhere in Africa.”

In his response, Mr Oramah says Africans need to be daring, to take risks.

“If we don’t take our future in our own hands, we won’t be able to take the opportunities that exist in Africa.”

He suggests to TEF to also test the orientation of their beneficiaries before giving them the grants.

Mr Elumelu says the AfDB supported 1,000 entrepreneurs in 2019, and AFREXIM is planning to get on board.

He says it is important to have an opportunity to try ideas.

He says the Red Cross was the first international partners his foundation had.

“The way to support African entrepreneurs must change.”

He says the Red Cross was known for responding to emergencies but now they have started supporting entrepreneurs.


The second session opens – the presidential session – with a keynote speech by Mr Osinbajo.

The vice president begins by telling inspiring stories of some entrepreneurs who are making a difference across Africa.

He says the stories are just a fraction of what is happening across the continent.

He says school curriculums must also emphasise entrepreneurship and not just science, technology and maths that is currently done.

He says those that always talk about the good old days are probably suffering from memory loss.

“Today the smartphones in the hands of our young people have more power than all the computers in the Apollo that landed the first man on the moon.”

Speaking about the impressive ease of doing business in Rwanda, Mr Kagame says his country looked for ways of doing things differently from what people were used to.

“Development is what we must do, prosperity is what we must achieve.”

He says they were aware of where they were coming from and that helped in entrenching good governance.

Mr Kagame is asked if he would be able to create a political legacy that outlasts him.

Mr Kagame says the “legacy is not me, it’s that belief behind me.”

He says they have managed the mindset of the people and united the country.

He says Rwandans working for themselves and for the country is his greatest legacy.

Mr Sall of Senegal says if Agriculture is modernised, it would engage a lot of African youth.

He says the public sector in Senegal is doing reforms to help fight corruption so there would be an enabling environment for people to come and invest.

Mr Tshisekedi of the DRC says there is a similar initiative in his country and invited Mr Elumelu to participate.

He says he is very proud of the “two sons of Nigeria,”

On the issue of corruption in government in Africa, he says it is a big scourge on the continent.

He says before coming to power, he had been at the forefront of the fight against corruption in his country.

“Corruption is something we fight against in all its ramifications, small and big corruption small corruption is at the level of individuals while big corruption is at the level of institutions.”

He says corruption is slowing down Africa’s economy.

“I am very sure that corruption is one of the ills eating down our place and we have to do everything possible to eradicate it.”

Mr Rugunda, the Ugandan PM, says the programme is laudable because it is promoting pan-Africanism.

On women entrepreneurs, he admitted that women are disadvantaged because of the culture of ownership of land and property.

The experience in Uganda, although women are at a disadvantage, when it comes to business they have excelled over the men.”

He says women entrepreneurs should be given more support to overcome property ownership impediments.

He calls on leaders to be innovative and work with young people.

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Trump Claims US Now in Total Control of Strait of Hormuz

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United States President, Donald Trump, says his country is now in “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing tensions with Iran over the reopening of the strategic waterway.

Trump made the claim while speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, saying the situation with Iran was progressing well despite continued disagreements between both countries.

“Iran is going fine – going just absolutely fine. We totally control the Strait of Hormuz. We have control over it; nobody else, only us. Our navy is unbelievable, and things going great for our country,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews.

“I don’t trust Iran. I’m the last person to trust Iran; they’ve lied to me constantly. We have total control over the Hormuz Strait right now; they don’t have control,” he added.

The claim comes as the United States and Iran continue to exchange demands over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, casting further uncertainty over negotiations aimed at ending their five-month conflict.

Although the US has confirmed its involvement in the talks, Iran maintains that it is negotiating directly only with Oman. Tehran has also proposed that the future management of the strategic waterway be shared with Oman.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical global energy route, with about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passing through it before the US-Israel war with Iran began at the end of February.

On Monday, Trump said he would seek compensation from Iran for deaths and injuries associated with conflicts and attacks spanning several decades.

His position followed Iran’s demands for reparations over the war last week, as Tehran said it would not reopen the strait until Washington addresses its political and  economic conditions.

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ADC Rejects ICPC Report on PFIPC, Queries N1.3bn Budget Allocation to Fake Agency

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The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the interim report of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), arguing that the findings leave some of the biggest questions surrounding the scandal unanswered.

The opposition party said the report appeared to focus more on limiting political fallout than establishing how a purported  government agency allegedly gained access to official institutions, occupied  government office space and received other forms of state recognition despite questions over its legal status.

The ADC’s position was contained in a statement issued on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi.

The controversy surrounding the PFIPC has intensified in recent weeks following allegations that the organisation operated as a government agency despite questions over its establishment, with its purported Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi, facing scrutiny from law enforcement agencies and lawmakers.

The party said the ICPC’s interim findings had failed to provide satisfactory explanations for how the organisation allegedly secured office accommodation within the Federal Secretariat, attracted civil servants, obtained official recognition and appeared in the 2026 federal budget with a reported allocation of N1.3 billion.

The ADC recalled that it had previously opposed President Bola Tinubu’s decision to assign the investigation to the ICPC, insisting that an independent panel would have been better positioned to investigate the matter without questions about institutional proximity.

According to the opposition party, the interim nature of the ICPC report made it even more difficult to understand why the commission appeared to be pointing responsibility towards Adeyemi while simultaneously maintaining that its investigation was still ongoing.

“The report is not only predictable, it appears more concerned with exonerating government officials rather than providing clear answers to the serious questions that the scandal has raised,” the party said.

The ADC argued that the controversy could not simply be dismissed as an administrative failure.

It maintained that if the PFIPC was indeed established through fraudulent representations, there were still important questions about how those representations allegedly passed through several layers of government without being detected.

“A forgery may explain the first door that was opened. It cannot explain why every subsequent door appears to have opened as well,” the party said.

For the ADC, the central issue is not simply whether Adeyemi allegedly forged documents or misrepresented himself.

The party wants investigators to establish how an organisation whose legitimacy is now being questioned could allegedly secure office accommodation, civil servants, official vehicles and other institutional support.

It argued that such developments would ordinarily require interaction with multiple government departments and officials.

The party therefore questioned whether the alleged activities were facilitated by negligence, institutional failure or possible complicity within government.

The ADC also raised concerns over reports that the ICPC had identified two other allegedly fictitious organisations linked to Adeyemi.

Rather than viewing that development as evidence of an isolated individual operation, the party said it should prompt investigators to widen the scope of their inquiry.

One of the most significant issues raised by the opposition party was the reported N1.3 billion allocation to the PFIPC in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

The ADC argued that a provision of that magnitude should have generated a clear paper trail involving budget submissions, reviews, approvals and verification.

“Budgetary provisions do not materialise by accident,” the party said.

It consequently demanded to know who proposed the allocation, which government officials processed it and who verified the existence and legitimacy of the purported agency before the provision was included in the federal budget.

The party noted that the House of Representatives had already begun its own investigation into how the PFIPC allegedly found its way into the federal budget.

According to the ADC, the legislative inquiry could provide an opportunity to establish whether the budget allocation resulted from deliberate manipulation, administrative negligence or failures within the government’s budgetary verification system.

The opposition party also criticised the reported recommendation that Adeyemi be prosecuted.

It argued that the ICPC’s decision to single out the purported PFIPC director-general appeared premature if, as the commission itself indicated, its investigation remained ongoing.

“If all that the commission had to present was a preliminary report, why not simply present it as a confidential brief to the President instead of making a public drama of it?” the ADC asked.

The party said the investigation should not be structured around finding a convenient individual to blame but should instead establish everyone who may have played a role in allowing the alleged operation to continue.

The ADC described the controversy as a national embarrassment and called on the ICPC to release the full interim report rather than only selected findings.

It also demanded that any public officials whose actions or negligence enabled the purported agency to operate be identified and investigated.

The party stressed that anyone found culpable should face appropriate sanctions after due process.

“What has happened is a national disgrace in the full glare of the entire world. No serious  government should be satisfied with identifying one culprit for prosecution,” the party said.

The ADC maintained that Nigerians were not asking investigators to manufacture suspects or reach predetermined conclusions.

Rather, it said, the investigation should follow the evidence wherever it leads — including into government offices if necessary.

At the heart of the controversy, according to the opposition party, is a simple question: if the PFIPC is not a legitimate  government agency, how did it allegedly get so far inside the machinery of government without multiple officials noticing?

That, the ADC argued, is the question the ongoing investigations must ultimately answer.

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Atiku Raises Alarm over ‘Mysterious’ Credit into Private Bank Account

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Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has raised concerns over what he described as a suspicious and unauthorised payment into one of his private bank accounts.

In a statement issued on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the transfer originated from an individual or entity unknown to him and carried the narration, “Contribution Electioneering Campaign.”

According to the statement, neither Atiku nor his campaign solicited, authorised or had any knowledge of the payment.

The former Vice President said the account was strictly private and its details were not in the public domain, raising concerns about how the information could have been obtained.

“How did unknown persons obtain the confidential banking details of a private citizen?”

Atiku said the incident raised broader concerns about the security of Nigerians’ financial information, particularly if the private banking details of a former Vice President and presidential candidate could allegedly be accessed without his consent.

“If the private banking information of a former Vice President and a leading presidential candidate can be accessed and deployed for reasons yet unknown, then no Nigerian’s financial privacy is safe.”

He further expressed concern that the alleged disclosure could have involved individuals with privileged access to confidential information.

According to him, if such access is established, it could expose account holders to criminal elements, including kidnappers, terrorists, bandits and fraudsters.

The former Vice President also called the attention of Nigerians and security agencies to the incident, describing it as part of what he termed a series of “suspicious activities” ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“We therefore put the Nigerian public and the security agencies on notice about this latest incident in a litany of suspicious activities leading up to next year’s general elections.”

Atiku also alleged that the incident could be part of an attempt to damage his reputation as political activities intensify ahead of the elections.

He urged Nigerians not to be distracted by what he described as “tired tactics” aimed at character assassination.

“Such desperate antics have failed before and will fail again.”

The ADC presidential candidate said he remained focused on his political agenda and his stated commitment to providing solutions to the country’s challenges.

“The Waziri Adamawa remains focused on offering Nigerians credible leadership and practical solutions to the nation’s challenges.”

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