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Otti names Okonjo-Iweala, Sanusi, Balogun, to drive ambitious Abia economic programme
Alex Otti, Governor of Abia State, on Thursday, named Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Lamido Sanusi, former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Bolaji Balogun, Nigeria’s foremost investment banker and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chapel Hill Denham, in a 19-man team of Nigeria’s cream of financial experts, to drive an ambition economic agenda for his government.
The team, also included Arunma Oteh, former Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and former Vice President of the World bank, Chidi Ajegbu, former President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Victor Onyenkpa, Chief Operating Officer & Risk Management Partner, KPMG, and Ifueko Omoigui Okauru, former executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service of Nigeria (FIRS).
The governor also named Uche Orji, Ndidi Nwuneli, Chika Nwobi, Olugbenga Adesida, Ndubuisi Ekekwe, Clement Owunna, Uzodinma Iweala, Ezinwa Okoroafor, George Agu, Mazi Uzo Nwankwo, Mr Chinedu Azodoh and Dr. Benedict Oramah, in the body named, Abia Global Economic Advisory Council (AGEAC).
Otti, who also appointed himself, Ikechukwu Uwanna, Attorney-General, Kingsley Anosike, his Budget and Planning counterpart, Michael Akpara, Finance and Chimezie Isaac Ukaegbu, Commissioner for Trade, Commerce and Industry, all drawn from the State Executive Council, would represent the state government on the council, part of his administration’s strategic plan to ensure the overall economic development of the state.
Stressing that the 19 wise men, all with global records was aimed at building Abia into a self-sustaining economic hub, Otti, who lamented that the economy of Abia State has suffered neglect and became fragile due to untold economic sabotage, over the years, said his administration since its inception on May 29, 2023, has commenced the socio-economic re-engineering of the state from what he described as the wreckage of over the last two decades.
He said: “Our programmes are already re-positioning and rebuilding Abia State as the economic pride of Nigeria. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that its economic development strategy is founded not only on a thorough understanding of the local economic environment but also on the dynamics of the emerging forces now shaping the future of the global economy.
“The newly appointed members bring a wealth of experience and expertise in various sectors, enhancing the diversity and dynamism of the Abia State Global Economic Advisory Council. Their collective knowledge will play a pivotal role in shaping policies that drive innovation, attract investments, form solid partnerships, and ensure the overall economic resilience of our great state.”
With the secretariat of the Council to be managed by Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu, Principal Secretary to the Governor/Chief Strategy Officer, and Charles Egonye, Technical Assistant to the Governor, and supported by Victoria Onwubiko and Amaka Okonkwo from the private sector, the body would serve as a key advisory body, offering strategic insights and recommendations to guide the state’s economic and investment policies.
The Advisers will collaborate closely with the relevant State Commissioners to address the unique challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, ensuring that Abia State remains at the forefront of innovation and economic development within the region and globally.
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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