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N200bn Indebtedness: The Reason Behind Andy Uba’s Desperation to Access Anambra Treasury and Why He Must Be Stopped

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By Emeka Anene

Andy Uba has the sort of desperation and indebtedness that is dangerous for Anambra State and its future prosperity. When a governorship candidate is so obviously drowning in debt and bank foreclosure, history shows that trusting such a person with the treasury of the state is an open cheque for the politician to raid the state’s treasury and impoverish the state and its citizens.

Anambra cannot afford to fall to Andy Uba because it will set Anambrarians back 50 years at least.

Recall when Mr. Andy Uba was governor for 17 days in 2007 before the Supreme Court invalidated his win and extended the tenure of Peter Obi until 2010; within 17 days Mr. Uba was said to have sold off key assets of the state including the state-owned Ikenga Hotel Royale.

It is even alleged that he sold it to himself for the paltry sum of N5 million, effectively stripping the state of an asset for his own gain.

As things stand now, Mr. Uba owes Heritage Bank billions of Naira, up to N50 billion Naira when you factor in interest, and he has been evading the bank’s effort to recover the loan. Although, reports suggest that altogether Mr. Andy Uba may be indebted to the tune of N50 billion. The sum is so significant and long-standing that if unpaid it threatens to sink the bank and cause the mass loss of jobs.

While Mr. Andy Uba is personally broke, reports indicate that his campaign is also not well funded. He is hoping on money from APC governors who have been levied N500 million each for Mr. Uba’s campaign, but so far only Hope Uzodinma, the Imo State governor has given him N40 million for his campaign. Governor Hope Uzodimna is making this investment with the hope of turning Anambra into Imo State which is controlled by Fulani elements, and Buhari’s cabal.

Regardless of how much Mr. Uzodinma invests in Mr. Uba’s election, Anambra State is an entirely different landscape and cannot become what Mr. Uzodimna is turning Imo State into. Anambrarians should not stand for it and demonstrate their resistance by voting against Mr. Andy Uba in the November 6 governorship poll.

Currently, Mr. Andy Uba is trying to sell some of his properties to raise money for his election; he is frantic because he is not getting the support; financial and otherwise from APC. Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi is not supporting Mr. Uba. Amaechi is disenfranchised after his prefered candidate, George Moghalu was rigged out of the ticket by Uba and his collaborators in the ruling party.

In addition, the APC governorship aspirant challenging the legitimacy of Mr. Uba’s candidacy in court, George Moghalu is Mr. Amaechi’s candidate and so it’s a no-brainer. Mr. Andy Uba is not getting support from APC bigwigs and APC governors are not putting money into Mr. Uba’s campaign.

It is also ironic that Mr. Andy Uba is getting people to decamp to APC by promising them large sums of money since he is unable to pay them upfront. He has promised some N500m and some others N300m. There are two issues here; one is that he does not have a track record of paying his debts; they should ask Heritage Bank if they will see any kobo from the money he has promised them. (They should also ask former and current staff of the Indepedent National Electoral Commission (INEC) who grumble over promises unkept by Andy Uba in previous elections.)

This raises a further issue raised earlier about Mr. Uba’s plan to raid Anambra’s treasury to settle his huge debts should he win the election. He is not a good choice for Anambra because the state needs a visionary leader who has a good track record of leadership, and a clear plan to advance Anambra along the pathway of growth and prosperity.

Emeka Anene is a political analyst who writes from Awka, the capital of Anambra State

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NARIO Visits Nandap, Urges New CGI to Hit Ground Running 

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The National Association of Retired Immigration Officers (NARIO), on Wednesday, paid a courtesy visit to the newly appointed Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Kemi Nanna Nandap.

A statement signed by a member of the Association’s Technical Committee, Amos Okpu, and available to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), noted that the delegates, led by the interim National President of the association, Assistant Comptroller General of Immigration Ezekiel S Kaura (retd) were at the Service Headquarters, Abuja to congratulate CGI Kemi N Nandap on her well deserved appointment as the 19th Comptroller General of the Service.

In his speech, Kaura enjoined the new Comptoller General to hit the groung running to deliver a well motivated and professional workforce that would place the Service prominently in the nation’s security architecture. He assured of uncommon and timely support from the body of retired personnel to ensuring that the new Comptroller General succeeds and the Service remains relevant in the discharge of its statutory mandate.

He noted that some very experienced members of the association are available to offer useful contributions to protect and preserve our institutional memory.

The interim president also advised the new mangement of the Service, to make concerted efforts to strengthen and improve operational activities at the nation’s borders as well give renewed interests in robust intelligence gathering and migration management. He pledged the association’s readiness to an enduring partnership with management in the areas of staff capacity development activities stressing that the association has members who are ready and willing to coach and mentor new and young personnel in the Service. He called on the new CGI to also enable some welfare programmes for retirees of the Service.

In her response, the Comptroller General thanked the association for the visit stressing that her doors are open for enhanced engagements and collaboration. She assured that the points raised by the association in the document presented will be meticulously examined for possible implementation.

Among members of the NARIO delegates were ACG Usman Abdullahi (retd) CIS Kayode Musa (rtd), and CIS AI Ogar (rtd).

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100 Days in Office: I’ve Kept Faith with My 10-Point Strategic Road Map – CP Fayoade

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The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Adegoke Fayoade, has said that he has kept faith and delivered on his 10-point strategic plan to rid Lagos of crime and criminality since assuming office on December 14, 2023, exactly 100 days ago.

Fayoade made the remarks while addressing members of the fourth estate, including the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP) at the Police Office Mess in GRA, Ikeja, to mark his 100 days in office, and parade criminal suspects as part of his achievements since assuming office.

“Upon assumption of duty, I presented to Lagosians my ten-point strategic road map. I have kept faith with that document and have ensured that all the goal-oriented plans therein are actualized,” CP Fayoade said.

He further noted that “Since I assumed duty, a total of 2,329 suspects have been arrested for crimes ranging from cultism to armed robbery leading to the recovery of stolen property. In the same vein, a total of 2,253 have been prosecuted while many others are currently been processed for prosecution.”

To buttress his point, CP led the media to inspect suspects on parade, who were breakthroughs of the last one month.

“Specifically in the past month, the Lagos State Police Command have arrested sixty-four (64) suspects who have engaged in varying crimes including armed robbery, cultism and unlawful possession of firearms, unlawful possession of illicit drugs etc., and recovered a total of twenty (20) firearms including four toy guns, (120) rounds of toy ammunitions, twenty-eight (28) live ammunitions, fifteen (15) live cartridges and three (3) expended cartridges alongside recovery of (4) vehicles, POS machine, (7) cutlasses, illicit drugs and various charms,” he informed.

CP Fayoade’s last 100 days has been eventful, as he has reduced the highway and traffic robberies to the barest minimum.

“In the past days, I have piloted the affairs of the Command with all sense of professionalism, charging my men to be up and doing and not sparing the big stick on officers found wanting. We have rejigged our township patrol, paying special attention to high-risk areas especially at peak periods. This has helped a lot to reduce traffic robberies,” the Commissioner of Police said.

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Adron Homes Boss Hosts REDAN Chair Aspirant, Advocates Consolidation

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Executive Chairman, Adron Homes and Properties, Aare Adetola Emmanuel-King, has declared his support for the chairmanship aspiration of Dr. Segun Oshundairo for the Lagos chapter of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), advocating consolidation first before transformation.

He made his position known when he hosted the REDAN chairman Aspirant, Dr. Oshundairo, who is the CEO of Arcview Investment Limited. During the Aspirant’s visit, Aare Adetola admonished him on steps to take to ensure that his tenure birth policies that would revolutionize the Real Estate Industry. He urged the Aspirant to embark on Intense Media publicity and collaborative advocacy efforts to influence government policies and decisions affecting the Real Estate Industry.

During this Meeting, The Aspirant talked about his Manifesto which he would implement once he emerges the Chairman. He declared the following Intentions:
– Create a Developers Mortgage Plan. With this, he would be collaborating with the government to create a plan that would ensure that developers can buy affordable estate from the government which would facilitate their ability to create reasonable and affordable houses for the masses.
– Establish an Advisory Board for REDAN. He stated that he would create an Advisory Committee that would consist of 7 stakeholders to advise and train members of the group every quarter on the right policies and procedures to implement.
– Open up lands in rural Areas and convert them to Mega cities. He revealed his intention to collaborate with the government in order to open up lands in Ofada, Papalantoro and environs as well as create affordable real estate in such areas.
– Rebrand and Publicize REDAN: The Aspirant stated that under his tenure, REDAN would have a new look, which would include a new logo, better policies as well as increased visibility .

Aare Adetola EmmanuelKing, In addition to advising the Aspiring Chairman on Strategic Media Publicity for REDAN, also implored him to pay attention to increasing the number of members in the group as well as present comprehensive strategies poised to shape the future landscape of real estate in the country.

He admonished and stated that “There can’t be a greater Lagos without REDAN” He further advised the Aspirant on the need for a Universal market price of Landed Properties for Real Estate Developers in Lagos State when purchasing from the government. Also, this would foster and aid the creation of affordable housing for the good people of Lagos State and Nigerians at large.

The interview session concluded on a positive note in which Dr Segun Oshundairo expressed his enthusiasm and appreciation for the collaboration between REDAN and the CEO of Adron Homes. The Interview Session laid the foundation for future partnership opportunities aimed at driving positive change within the real estate industry. Dr Segun reiterated that once elected, he would set up a board of trustees that would consist of veterans and real estate pillars to serve as an advisory board for the pressure group.

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