This is Zikoko Citizen’s Game of Votes weekly dispatch that helps you dig into all the good, bad, and extremely bizarre stuff happening in Nigeria and why they’re important to you.
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As Nigerians, we’ve accepted that a lot of things will never happen: the price of fuel dropping back down to ₦87 per litre and Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC), attending a presidential town hall.
While we were wondering what else could surprise us, Tinubu dropped another hit this week when he participated in a town hall event at Chatham House, London.
We still don’t understand why he went overseas in the first place after months of ignoring requests from the local media, or why he decided to show his class teacher skills on a global stage by delegating questions thrown at him to his political surrogates, but another interview of him with the BBC dropped the following day on December 6, 2022.
And although this time, he surprisingly went through the interview with no slips of “Balablu” or “PD…APC”, his responses showed he was tired of our endless questions.
When asked if he was getting a share of Lagos’ revenue, he responded that he had been investigated and, at this point, those still with doubts should bring proof. And when asked to explain the source of his wealth to Nigerians who want clarification, his answer was simple:
Despite the second-hand international disgrace we received at Chatham House this week, at least we know now to never say never. Maybe there’s a chance the price of fuel might come down in our near future too.
What Else Happened This Week?
ICPC Wants The Koko Master To Sing
Does anyone remember N-Power? In 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari set up the scheme to fight unemployment. Young graduates were trained, engaged and paid a stipend between ₦10k to ₦30k.
Unfortunately, some government officials diverted some of these funds to the accounts of ghost workers. Years later, anti-corruption officials are accusing Nigerian music star, D’banj, of collaborating with these officials.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) invited him multiple times to talk, but he refused to show up.
This triggered the ICPC to demand his arrest, whether in Nigeria or abroad. The Koko Master turned himself in on December 6, 2022, and has been detained, interrogated, and denied bail because he’s considered a flight risk. The commission has plans to charge him to court soon and he’ll have to tell everyone the koko.
Have you seen this video?
Question of the Week
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), finally released his manifesto. Is it convincing enough to earn your vote next year?
Ehen, one more thing…
With Meffy’s new cash policy, it’s now impossible to withdraw more than ₦100k weekly and also, only ₦200 notes will be loaded in ATMs.
At this point, it’s difficult to tell if Nigerian policies are made to improve our lives or to see just how much trouble we can endure. Here’s how the policy can really affect you.
