President Bola Tinubu says collaboration and inclusiveness are invaluable to achieving global food security, addressing collective challenges, and driving innovation across a chain of interests for a more stable and prosperous world.

Speaking during a high-level panel session at the World Economic Forum Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday, President Tinubu said “collaboration and inclusiveness”, especially with regard to Africa, are elemental to building a future of hope, peace, and progress for all.

He said capital mobilization, which is needed to spur economic growth and associated advancements in Africa, cannot be overlooked any longer.

The President posited that the continent is richly endowed but that the diversity of its resources must reflect in its wherewithal and economic realities.

“The capital formation that is necessary to drive the economy, agriculture, ensure food security, innovation, and technological advancement must be an inclusive programme of the entire world. No one should be left behind.

“I am glad the world is recognizing the need for cooperation, and that with the type of population growth that Africa is experiencing; the diversity of its resources must be married with economic opportunity. We must collaborate to achieve that,” President Tinubu said.

The President called on global leaders to pay attention to the developments in the Sahel, emphasizing the need for a studied understanding of the vectors of the current situation, while suggesting collaboration in the pursuit of enduring solutions.

“We are encouraging the entire world to pay attention to the Sahel and the other countries around us. As the Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, I have wielded the big influence of Nigeria to discourage all unconstitutional change of government. Equally, we have eased the sanctions. We need to trade with one another; not fight each other. It is very necessary and compulsory for us to engender growth, stability, and economic prosperity for our people in West Africa.

“The rest of the world needs to look at the fundamentals of the problem; not just geopolitically, but at the root. Has the world paid attention to the poverty level in the Sahel and the rest of ECOWAS? Have they facilitated the infusion of capital and paid adequate attention to ensuring the exploitation of resources and the creation of opportunities presented by the mineral resources available?

“Are we going to play a big-brother role in a talkshop without taking necessary action? We just have to be involved in the promotion and prosperity of that region in order to see peace, stability, and economic growth,” President Tinubu said.

Detailing the steps taken to set Nigeria’s economy on the path of expeditious recovery, the President said he had to take tough but essential decisions like removing fuel subsidy – with its attendant perils – and managing the nation’s currency, effectively removing corruption-laden arbitrage.

“Concerning the question of subsidy removal, there is no doubt that it was a necessary action for my country not to go bankrupt and to reset the economy and the pathway to growth. It was going to be difficult, but the hallmark of leadership is making difficult decisions when they need to be made.

“That was necessary for the country. Yes, there have been drawbacks. Yes, there was the expectation that the difficulty would be felt by a greater number of people. But, of course, it was the interest of our people that was the primary focus of the government. Along the line, there was an arrangement to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal on the vulnerable population of the country. We shared the pain across the board. We cannot, but include those who are very vulnerable.

“Luckily, we have a very vibrant youth population interested in innovation and highly ready to leverage technology, good education, and who remain committed to growth. We were able to manage that and partition the economic drawback and the fallout of the subsidy removal equally; engendering transparency, accountability, and fiscal discipline for the country. And that, to me, is most important, which is focusing on what direction we should head in. I will pursue that rigorously.

“The currency management was necessary, equally to remove the artificial element of value in our currency. Hence, our local currency finds its level and competes with the rest of the world’s currencies as we remove corrupt arbitrage and opaqueness. That, we did. At the same time, that is a two-engine problem in a very turbulent situation for the government. But we are able to manage that turbulence because we prepared for this with inclusivity in governance and rapid communication with the public,” the President concluded.

In her remarks, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva commended President Tinubu for offering insights on how to execute strategic economic reforms.

“President Tinubu has emphasized the right things about what world leaders must consider primary in the execution of strategic economic reform. He said there is a need to ensure that reforms are accompanied by a human touch. The needs of people must be identified and catered to as governments implement tough but necessary reforms,” the IMF Managing Director said.

During the session, the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, who was also on the high-level panel, said:

“I am happy that the Nigerian President spoke on the need for inclusive economic growth. Africa is the stage for an expanding middle class. As the growth of the middle class in developed economies stagnate, Africa’s middle class is growing. It is our human resources and not natural resources that make our continent strategic and central to the global community moving forward.”

President Bola Tinubu has expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of the fire incident caused by an articulated vehicle conveying petroleum product at the Eleme section of the East-West Road in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Commiserating with the government and people of Rivers State on this tragedy, which resulted in the loss of precious lives and property, President Tinubu prays for the speedy recovery of those injured in the incident.

The president, through his media aide, Ajuri Ngelale, directed federal agencies in the state to continue liaising with the state government to provide the much-needed immediate support to all victims of the incident.

He lauded the first responders in Rivers State for their bravery and dedication in assisting those affected by the accident, while expressing confidence that stricter safety regulations for the transportation of petroleum products will be implemented to prevent such tragedies in the future.

.… As NDLEA intercepts Italy-bound illicit consignment, arrests another lady producing drug-laced cakes in Bayelsa, couple in Edo

Two notorious drug kingpins: Uwaezuoke Ikenna Christian and Agbo Chidike Prince will now spend the rest of their lives in jail, bringing an end to their years of criminal enterprise of exporting cocaine across continents following their arrest and diligent prosecution by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

For 43-year-old businessman Uwaezuoke, his journey to a lifetime in jail began when he was first arrested by NDLEA operatives on 19th March 2022 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja during the inward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia after he was found to have ingested 100 big wraps of cocaine weighing 2.243 kilograms.

He was subsequently arraigned at the Federal High Court, Abuja Division in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022 and was granted bail on certain conditions after he pleaded not guilty. He thereafter absconded, leading the court to revoke his bail and issue an arrest warrant against him.

In a curious twist, Uwaezuoke was again arrested by NDLEA operatives on 1st August 2023, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos while attempting to export 1.822 kilograms of cocaine to India through ingestion using a different passport and under a different name, Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi.

He was again arraigned before Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division in charge number FHC/L/554C/2023.

He pleaded guilty to the two counts charge and was convicted and sentenced on 18th October 2023 to a total term of seven years of imprisonment or a fine of ₦1, 500,000.00. He paid the fine and was transferred to Abuja to face the importation case pending against him.

He was re-arraigned on 20th March 2024 at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022 before Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik, where he pleaded guilty again.

Despite his plea, the court, noting his lack of remorse, the seriousness of drug-related offences and the fact that he is a repeated offender, convicted and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

In the case of 42-year-old Agbo Chidike Prince, he was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja during the outward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines flight to Hong Kong on 21st October 2023 for ingesting 49 wraps of cocaine weighing 998.73grams.

Upon his arraignment before Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, the defendant pleaded guilty to the one count charge, prompting the prosecution to present evidence and review the facts of the case.

Despite the plea of allocutus by the defendant’s counsel, the court, noting the nature of the case and the commercial quantity of the drug, emphasized the seriousness of drug-related offences, convicted and sentenced the defendant on 15th April, 2024 to life imprisonment.

Meanwhile, NDLEA officers at the gate C departure hall of the Lagos airport on Friday 26th April arrested a passenger, Yahaya Danjuma Oturah, while attempting to export 4,000 pills of tramadol 225mg to Malpensa, Italy on an Ethiopian Airline flight.

The psychoactive substance was found concealed in women wears and granulated melon packed in the suspect’s backpack and another bag containing food items.

In his statement, Oturah who is a frequent flyer confessed he was hired to courier the drug for 700 Euros on successful delivery of the consignment in Italy.

In Bayelsa, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 24th April arrested 28-year-old Jennifer Iliya at Amarata area of Yenagoa for producing and distributing cakes laced with illicit drugs especially cannabis sativa.

At the time of her arrest, substantial number of the drugged cakes weighing 1.5kg were recovered from her.

A 20-year-old hair stylist, Josephine Odunu and a dispatch rider, Edesemi Ikporo, 30, had been arrested on Sunday 10th March by NDLEA operatives for in Yenagoa for a similar offence.

Two suspects: Joseph Dadik, 47, and Bensha Yari, 32, were arrested with 24,180 ampoules of pentazocine injection weighing 135.5 kilograms at Sabon Tasha, Kaduna, while Adamu Umar, 18, was nabbed with 20.700kg cannabis when his house in Shuware area of Mubi, Adamawa state was raided on Friday 26th April.

No less than 310.7kg cannabis was recovered on Thursday 25th April when NDLEA operatives raided parts of Mushin in Lagos state.

While 300kg was seized at Olatunji Street, Mushin, 10.7kg of same substance was retrieved from two suspects: Tijani Wasiu and Suleiman Aishaat Anifowose, Mushin.

While Stanley Chukwudi, 43, was arrested with 5,900 ampoules of pentazocine injection at Sabon Gari area of Kano State on Thursday 25th April, a couple, Fredrick Odion, 53, and Gladys Odion, 52, were nabbed with 50kg cannabis at Iruekpen, Esan west LGA, Edo state by NDLEA officers on Wednesday 24th April.

With the same zeal, the various commands of the Agency across the country
continued with the War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, advocacy campaign in the past week. Some of them include: WADA sensitisation lecture for students and staff of Federal Government College, Nise, Anambra; Royal Institute of Health Technology, Ifo, Ogun state; Akpugo-Eze High School, Oji-River, Enugu; Modibbo Adama University, Yola, Adamawa; and Jubilee Secondary School, Ore, Ondo state, among others.

While commending the officers and men of the Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services of the Agency for the diligent prosecution of Uwazuoke and Agbo cases, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) said the success rate of cases prosecuted by the agency has shown that there’s no escape route for those involved in the illicit trade of drug trafficking.

He equally applauded those of MMIA, Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Edo, Adamawa and Bayelsa Commands as well as their counterparts in all the commands across the country for intensifying their drug supply and drug demand reduction activities.