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FLASHBACK: How Tinubu criticised Jonathan over Petrol Subsidy Removal
During his inaugural address at Eagle Square, Abuja, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu exclaimed “Subsidy is gone”, resulting in an instant increase in fuel price from N198 per litre to N540.
According to the president, fuel subsidy had become a clog in the wheel of progress and needed to give way for the country to survive. Tinubu, who said subsidy was fueling corruption, vowed to pump the money saved from it into others aspects of the economy.
“You have paid attention to the subsidy removal. Why should we in good heart and sense, feed smugglers and be Father Christmas to neighbouring countries, even though they say not every day is Christmas? The elephant that was going to bring Nigeria to its knees is the subsidy.
“A country that cannot pay salaries and we say we have potential to encourage ourselves. I think we did the right thing,” Tinubu had told some monarchs who visited him at Aso Rock a month after subsidy removal.
Interestingly, Tinubu, as the national leader of the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), condemned the removal of petrol subsidy by the administration of Goodluck Jonathan in January 2012.
He called it “Jonathan tax” and accused the then president of breaching his social contract with the people.
In a piece titled, ‘Removal of oil subsidy: President Jonathan breaks social contract with the people’, he noted that with the subsidy removal, the people would become “enslaved to greater misery.”
The piece read partly: “By taking this step, the government has tossed the people into the depths of the midnight sea. Government demands the people swim to safety under their own power, claiming the attendant hardship will build character and add efficiency to the national economy.
“It is easy to make these claims when one is dry and on shore. Government would have us believe that every hardship it manufactures for the people to endure is a good thing. This is a lie. The hardships they thrust upon the poor often bear no other purpose than to keep them poor. This is such a time.
“I am not calling President Jonathan an evil man. I do not believe he is perverse. However, the economic ideas controlling him are so misguided that they have a perverse impact. Because he is slave to wrong-headed economics, the people will become enslaved to greater misery. This crisis will bear his name and will be his legacy.
“The people now pay a steep tax for voting him into office. The removal of the subsidy is the ‘Jonathan tax.’ This situation shows that ideas count more than personalities. People may occupy office but how that person performs depends on the ideas that occupy his mind.”
Daily Trust
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Baltasar Engonga: Wife of Equatorial Guinea ANIF boss sextape with another man leaked
Wife of the sacked Director General of Equatorial Guinea’s National Financial Investigation Agency, ANIF, Baltasar Ebang Engonga, has been caught in extra-marital affairs.
Video footage emerged of Engonga’s wife having an intimacy with another man.
This was disclosed by popular social critic, Martins Ortse aka VeryDarkMan via an Instagram post on Saturday.
Sharing pictures of the Engonga’s wife from the video footage, VeryDarkMan said: “Just when I thought it was all over about this Equatorial Guinea man, the whole thing is getting more interesting. I just saw a video of his wife and another man, if you watch this video; it’s crazy. If you see how another man was na*cking his wife.”
Engonga was recently caught with about 400 sex tapes with several women during an investigation into a fraud case.
The leaked videos have continued to generate controversy via the social media space.
Reacting, First Lady Constancia Mangue Obiang expressed outrage over the scandal during a meeting with Prime Minister Manuel Osa Nsue.
Mrs Obiang called for immediate government intervention to uphold the dignity of Equatoguinean women and protect their privacy in the digital age.
Following the discovery, Engonga was relieved of his duty and subsequently arrested. He was remanded in prison on Friday.
News
Three police officers arrested for torturing student to death in Kwara
Three police officers, who allegedly beat a student of the Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, Suleiman Olayinka to death at Tanke Bridge in Ilorin, the state capital, have been arrested and detained.
The spokesperson of the state police command, DSP Ejire Adeyemi Toun, disclosed this in a statement in Ilorin on Friday.
Reports said that the incident occurred on Tuesday around 2 p.m. when the victim got off a motorcycle and was approached by three officers who then dragged him to the ground.
An eyewitness claimed that the victim had arrived to collect N1,000 he had already transferred to a Point of Sale (POS) operator, intending to give the money to the rider who brought him.
“I was with him, as soon as he got the money, the officers came out of a tricycle and dragged him to the ground. The victim kept asking what offence he had committed, but they didn’t let him speak,” the source said.
The witness further explained that the victim pleaded with the officers, informing them that he was asthmatic, but they ignored his pleas.
In a reaction on Friday, the spokesperson said, “the Kwara State police command is aware of this unfortunate incident which led to the sudden death of Suleiman Olayinka (M) 27yrs.
“A complaint of cheating and criminal breach of trust was reported against the deceased. Police detectives were immediately detailed to investigate the case.
“Meanwhile the officers involved in the incident have been identified, arrested and detained for further investigations as regards the death of the suspect.
“Further updates will be provided promptly as investigations unfold,” the statement added.
News
400 sex tapes: Equatorial Guinea’s Baltasar remanded in prison
The former Director-General of the National Financial Investigation Agency in Equatorial Guinea, Baltasar Engonga, has been remanded in Malabo’s Black Beach Prison, Saturday PUNCH has reported.
The embattled former anti-graft chief was arrested days ago for allegedly recording over 400 sex tapes involving the wives of prominent figures in the country.
This scandal surfaced during a fraud investigation into the 54-year-old economist, resulting in an impromptu search of his home and office by ANIF officials, who reportedly discovered several CDs that revealed his sexual encounters with different married women.
As the footage leaked online, causing a media uproar, Equatorial Guinea’s President, Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, dismissed Engonga.
According to Decree No. 118/2024, dated 4th November, the dismissal was due to “irregularities committed in the exercise of his functions, as well as inappropriate family and social conduct for the performance of public duties.”
A viral video surfaced on social media on Friday, showing Engonga handcuffed on both hands and legs during a court appearance.
Confirming the situation, French online blog Afrikmatin reported that Engonga, who was officially removed from his role on November 6, 2024, was subsequently chained and transferred to Malabo Central Prison.
He faces charges of corruption and embezzlement.
Additionally, online newspaper UGStandard reported that the sex tapes began circulating on social networks while Engonga was already held at Malabo’s notorious Black Beach Prison on charges of embezzling public funds, as reported by state television, TVGE.
In a fact-checking report published Wednesday, Dubawa verified that Engonga had indeed been taken into custody on corruption charges and is currently being held in Black Beach Prison.
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