Tag: profile

  • CAC to commence publishing profile of company owners

    CAC to commence publishing profile of company owners

    The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) will henceforth make public profiles of owners of companies.

    The Registrar-General of CAC, Alhaji Garba Abubakar, made this known at the commission’s International Peer Learning Workshop on the use of Beneficial Ownership Information Register.

    The event heralds the launch of Nigeria’s Open Register of Beneficial Ownership of Companies.

    He said the register when unveiled, will be open to the public where everyone can view records of shareholders of companies online free of charge.

    He said that the initiative was aimed at supporting anti-corruption efforts in Nigeria and the world.

    “The essence of getting the beneficial ownership information is to support the anti-corruption initiative of the government.

    “Companies are the vehicles being used for corruption, illicit financial flow and for terrorism financing.

    “When our investigating agencies are doing their investigation, they will be able to track those responsible for some of these illegal activities,’’ he said.

    While emphasising that innocent people do not have anything to worry about the initiative, Abubakar said that companies are required to disclose the persons that own the companies from the point of incorporation.

    “In the past, the law allows one to incorporate companies using corporate arrangement that makes it impossible to know the ultimate beneficiaries of these companies

    “The concept of separate legal personality has changed, they are now required to disclose the natural persons that own these companies from the point of incorporation and when there is any change.

    “So, this information is for use by investigation agencies, the media, civil society and the whole essence is to ensure transparency and make this information available.

    “If we have information to the contrary as to what is actually disclosed in the register then we can escalate

    “The register is supposed to support the anti-corruption initiative of the government and it is a global requirement,’’ Abubakar said.

    Also speaking, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) described the initiative as apt in the fight against corruption.

    People will like to know who owns what. So, because you are aware when you are registering a company you are now ready to provide those information.

    “And when you provide those information it puts you on your toes to obey the laws, observe the business ethics and be transparent and be accountable especially in payment of taxes and observance of public entity.

    “Because we know that the owners of the company are known, if anything goes wrong it will not be a problem to track them.

    “But when you own a company and people don’t know who you are, you can use that office to perpetrate all kinds of crime knowing that you cannot be found.

    “When you know that your profile is well documented then you are most likely to comply with public ethics,’’ Orji said.

  • Prof Stella Ifeanyi Smith profile

    Prof. Stella Ifeanyi SMITH holds a PhD in Medical Microbiology from the College of Medicine, University of Lagos with special interest in Molecular epidemiology, microbiome and antimicrobial resistance of infectious diseases such as Helicobacter pylori, Salmonella spp, Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli and Enterohaemorraghic E. coli 0157:H7.

    She is a Director of Research, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research and Professor of Microbiology at the Mountain Top University, Ogun State.

    Her lab is one of the main labs in Nigeria where actual culture and diagnosis of H. pylori is done for improvement of diagnosis and treatment of this pathogen.

    She is the only African H. pylori Consultant in the Maastricht VI project, a European consortium from 29 countries.

    She is also the President of the African Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Group, a Group comprising Renowned scholars from eight African countries including Nigeria. The countries include: Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Senegal and Morocco.

    She is also a consultant to the R.E.G.A.I.N project an European consortium on Real World Gastritis Initiative Project that spans 29 countries with me as the only African.
    She was also recently elected a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science (FAS).

    Prof. Smith had her pre-doctoral training with an European Union scholarship, (EU) in Manchester, UK from 1993-1994, with her PhD programme fully paid for by the EU scholarship.

    She had her post-doctoral training at the Technical University Hospital, Dresden, Germany with an Alexander von Humboldt (AvH) Fellowship between 1999-2000, INSERM Fellowship at the Laboratoire de Bacteriologie, Universite from May – July 2001 and then a return Humboldt Fellowship at the Max von Pettenkoffer Institut, München from April–September 2003.

    Prof. Smith is a reviewer to several national and international journals and a member and reviewer of the African German Network of Excellence in Science (AGNES).

    Prof. Smith was listed under the 19th Edition of ‘Who is Who in the World’ in 2001. She has been listed under the ‘List of 10 Nigerian women pulling their weight in Science’ by Leadership newspaper, 2017 as well as ‘List of 16 Prominent Nigerian women that excelled in Science and Research,’ silverbirdtv.com 2018.

    Prof. Smith is a member of the National Technical Working Group on AMR Research in Nigeria. A member of the Technical Working Group on Biosafety and Biosecurity in Nigeria organized by Sandia Laboratories US.

    She is a member of 13 learned Societies and external examiner for MSc, PhD thesis in Nigeria and South Africa.

    She has won eleven research grants, four equipment grants, two book awards and one award for hosting an international conference.

    She has been involved in several capacity building as well as infrastructure development and has organized several molecular biology hands-on-training workshops since 2009 with 400+ participants in attendance. She has co-supervised fifteen PhD students (three on-going) and twenty-five MSc students and several BSc students some of whom she was direct supervisor.

    She has 182 peer-reviewed publications and two book chapters. She has over 50 attendances at both international and national conferences. Her Google scholar citation is 2956

  • 2023: Peter Obi’s lavish education, career profile

    2023: Peter Obi’s lavish education, career profile

    The upcoming presidential contest looks set to parade a crowded field of formidable contestants in both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and other political parties.

    However, only one aspirant from any of the parties will eventually fly the banner of the party in the presidential contest and, if elected, the person will take over President Muhammadu Buhari’s plum job next year.

    Consequently, we will run a profile of all the aspirants to enable the electorate to make informed choices in the 2023 general elections.

    A presidential aspirant on the platform of the PDP, Mr Peter Obi, has released his bio-data, showcasing a copious profile that casts him as standing tall among PDP presidential aspirants.

    Obi, born on July 19, 1961, in Onitsha, Anambra, had his early education at the famous Christ the King College, Onitsha, from where he gained admission to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, one of Nigeria’s first generation universities.

    The former governor of Anambra is viewed by political analysts as a top contender in the equally crowded PDP camp, which parades over a dozen contenders for the top job.

    Obi is the fourth son of a devout Catholic and entrepreneur mum and dad, who ran a popular supermarket in Onitsha, the commercial hub of the Southeast more than 50 years ago.

    Young Obi took to international trade after leaving university, where he studied philosophy.

    Now 61, Obi made a huge success in his business endeavor and subsequently, ventured into politics.

    He was later to enroll at the Lagos Business School in Ajah, near Lagos, where he undertook a course designed for chief executives.

    Obi also attended the Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts, for the mid-to-mid marketing course and another short course on Changing the Game in same school.

    He was later to attend the London School of Economics for a course in Financial Management and Business Policy as well as the Institute for Management Development in Switzerland.

    Obi also attended the U.S. Kellogg Graduate School of Management and Oxford University in England, where he attended a course in Advanced Management and Leadership.

    He had a short stint at Cambridge University’s George Business School in Cambridge, England.

    Obi got elected as governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2014, shaping the economy of the state and positioning it as first among equals, especially in the secondary education sector.

    As governor, Obi was also a member of the Presidential Economic Management Team as well as Special Adviser to the President on Finance.

    He was also vice-chairman of the influential Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Chairman of the South-East Governor’s Forum from 2006 to 2014.

    The PDP presidential aspirant was also a former chairman of the board of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    He was chairman of Fidelity Bank Plc., Guardian Express Mortgage Bank and chairman of Future Views Securities Ltd.

    The presidential aspirant was also a former chairman of Chams Nigeria Plc.; Paymaster Plc. and Next International Ltd., the expansive supermarket chain, located in Abuja and Port Harcourt.

    Obi is a member of many professional bodies, including the Nigerian Economic Summit Group; Nigerian Chartered Institute of Bankers and a member of the British Institute of Directors.

    In 2012, Obi received an award by the Methodist Church of Nigeria for his prudent management of public resources and in 2013, he along with former Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State were named Silver Bird Men of the Year.

    Analysts are waiting anxiously to know who will emerge the flagbearer in the PDP as the countdown to the high-stakes presidential election gets underway.

  • How to prevent strangers from finding your Facebook profile

    How to prevent strangers from finding your Facebook profile

    Facebook is a social network where you can find anyone just by knowing their name, phone number or email, even if they are in another country or continent.

    To prevent strangers from locating you with this information, we will teach you how to configure the aforementioned app of the Meta company in order to reinforce the privacy and security of your account.

    It is important to clarify that this trick can be done if you are browsing from a computer, laptop, smartphone or tablet with Windows, Mac, iOS and Android operating systems.

    HOW TO PREVENT UNKNOWN FROM SEARCHING FOR YOUR FACEBOOK PROFILE ON PC

    • Log into Facebook , then tap the downward-pointing arrow in the upper right corner.
    • Now, click on ‘Settings’ and ‘Privacy’, then tap on ‘Settings’.
    • Here you will see several options on the left, go to the ‘Privacy’ tab.
    • Scroll down until you find the ‘How others can find you’ section.
    • Configure so that you decide who (Everyone, friends of friends, friends, only you) can send you a friend request, who can see your friends list, who can find you with the number, email address or name and finally, if you want have search engines outside of Facebook link to your profile.

    HOW TO PREVENT UNKNOWN FROM SEARCHING FOR YOUR FACEBOOK PROFILE ON SMARTPHONE

    • Open Facebook and press the icon with the three horizontal stripes in the upper right corner.
    • Enter the ‘Settings and privacy’ section, then tap on ‘Settings’.
    • Unlike the PC, here the section changes and you identify it with the following name: ‘Public and visibility’.
    • Finally, configure who will be able to find your Facebook account with the options that we previously mentioned.
  • Profile of new governors-elect in South West

    Profile of new governors-elect in South West

    The governorship election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on March 9 has produced quite a number of new faces that will be saddled with the affairs of the various states from May 29.

    Starting with the South West, TNG will bring you profiles of the new governors-elect across the states.

    Dapo Abiodun, Governor-Elect, Ogun State (APC)

    Dapo Abiodun was born May 29, 1960. He is the Governor-elect of Ogun State. Abiodun is the board Chairman of the Corporate Affairs Commission. He is the managing director of Heyden Petroleum and the founder of First Power Limited.

    He hails from Iperu Remo in Ogun State and belongs to a royal family. He was born into the family of Dr Emmanuel and Mrs Victoria Abiodun from Iperu Remo, in Ogun East senatorial district.

    He studied civil engineering at the Obafemi Awolowo University Ife, Osun State and subsequently, Accounting at Kennesaw State University, Atlanta Georgia, United States of America (USA). He is the managing director/CEO of Heyden Petroleum Ltd (HPL), an indigenous player in the downstream, midstream, and upstream oil and gas industry in Nigeria. He is also reportedly the founder of First Power Limited.

    Abiodun was a member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State. He defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) after the 2015 general elections.

    Oluwaseyi Abiodun Makinde Governor-Elect, Oyo State (PDP)

    Oluwaseyi Abiodun Makinde, the Oyo State governor-elect, was born December 25, 1967. He is the Group Managing Director of Makon Group Limited, an indigenous oil and gas company in Nigeria. He established his first oil and gas private business called Makon Engineering and Technical Services, (METS) at 29 in 1997, after earning years of work experience with international oil and gas companies.

    Makinde contested for the Oyo State 2015 gubernatorial seat on the platform Social Democratic Party (SDP).

    He was born to a renowned teacher turned accountant, the late Pa Olatubosun Makinde and Madam Abigail Makinde of Aigbofa compound in Oja’ba, Ibadan. He is the third child of the family.

    Makinde went to St Paul Primary School, St Michael Primary School, Yemetu, Ibadan, Bishop Phillips Academy, Monatan, Ibadan and the University of Lagos (Unilag), where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering.

    Babaji Sanwo-Olu Governor-Elect, Lagos State (APC)

    Lagos 2019: Tinubu’s anointed, Sanwo-Olu kick starts campaign, appoints coordinators [Full list]

    Lagos State Governor-elect Babajide Sanwo-Olu was born on June 25, 1965. He is a graduate of the University of Lagos, the London Business School, Lagos Business School and the John F. Kennedy School of Government. He was the Managing Director/CEO of Lagos State Property Development Corporation (LSPDC).

    He holds a B.Sc in Surveying and an MBA from the University of Lagos. He is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) and Fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Training and Development (NITAD). He was the treasurer at former Lead Merchant Bank from 1994 to 1997 after which he moved to the United Bank for Africa as the head of foreign money market. He then proceeded to First Inland Bank, Plc (now First City Monument Bank) as a deputy general manager and divisional head. He was the chairman of Baywatch Group Limited and First Class Group Limited. He is a board member of the Department for International Development (DFID/DEEPEN) Fund and Audit Committee of Caverton Offshore Services Group, PLC.

    He began his political career in 2003, when he was appointed Special Adviser on Corporate Matters to the then deputy governor of Lagos State, Femi Pedro. He later became acting Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget and the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry. In 2007, Sanwo-Olu was appointed Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions.

  • 2019: Profile of Atiku's running mate, Peter Obi

    2019: Profile of Atiku's running mate, Peter Obi

    Former vice president Atiku Abubakar who is the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has picked former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi as his running mate for the 2019 presidential election.
    Here is Obi’s profile:
    NAME : Mr. Peter Gregory OBI, (CON)
    DATE OF BIRTH : 19th July 1961
    PLACE OF BIRTH: Onitsha, Nigeria
    NATIONALITY: Nigerian
    MARITAL STATUS: Married with two children
    EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ATTENDED
    · Christ the King College, Onitsha (W.A.S.C.)
    . University of Nigeria, Nsukka (B.A. Philosophy)
    · Lagos Business School, Nigeria (Chief Executive Program)
    · Harvard Business School, Boston, U.S.A. (Mid to Mid Marketing)
    · Harvard Business School, Boston, U.S.A. (Changing the Game)
    · London School of Economics (Financial Mgmt/Business Policy)
    · Columbia Business School, New York, U.S.A. (Marketing Mgmt )
    · Institute for Management Development, Switzerland (Senior Executive Program)
    · Institute for Management Development, Switzerland (Break-Through Program for CEOs)
    · Kellogg Graduate School of Management, U.S.A. (Advanced Executive Program)
    · Kellogg School of Management U.S.A. (Global Advanced Mgmt Program)
    . Oxford University: Said Business School, (Advanced Mgmt& Leadership Program)
    . Cambridge University: George Business School (Advanced Leadership Program)
    PREVIOUS POSITIONS
    · Governor, Anambra State of Nigeria (2006-2014)
    · Honorary Special Adviser to the President on Finance (till May, 2015)
    · Member, Presidential Economic Management Team (till May, 2015)
    · Vice-Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (2008-2014)
    · Chairman, South-East Governors’ Forum (2006-2014)
    . Former Chairman: Board of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
    · Former Chairman: Fidelity Bank Plc.
    · Former Chairman: Guardian Express Mortgage Bank, Ltd.
    · Former Chairman: Future Views Securities, Ltd.
    · Former Chairman: Paymaster Nigeria Plc.
    · Former Chairman: Next International (Nigeria) Ltd
    · Former Director: Guardian Express Bank Plc.
    · Former Director: Chams Nigeria Plc.
    · Former Director: Emerging Capital Ltd
    · Former Director: Card Centre Plc
    MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS
    · Member, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG)
    · Member, Nigerian Chartered Institute of Bankers
    · Member, British Institute of Directors (IOD)
    MEMBERSHIP OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEES
    In my capacity as the Governor of Anambra State, I served as a member of:
    *Federal Government Committee on Minimum Wage
    *Federal Government Committee on Negotiation with Labour on Subsidy
    *Federal Government Committee on Mass Transit
    *Federal Government Committee on Natural Resource
    *National Economic Council Committee on Power Sector Reform
    *National Economic Council Committee on Sharing of MDGs Funds
    *National Economic Council Committee on Accurate Data on Nigeria’s Oil Import and Export
    *Agricultural Transformation Implementation Council
    *Sub-Committee on Needs Analysis of Public Universities in Nigeria
    *National Economic Council Review Committee on the Power Sector
    AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
    2015: Golden Jubilee Award from Catholic Diocese of Onitsha for outstanding contribution to quality healthcare delivery in St. Charles Borromeo Hospital in particular and Anambra State in general, on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee celebration of the hospital.
    *2014: Nigerian Library Association Golden Merit Award for remarkable improvement of libraries in Anambra State, exemplified by our Government’s construction of the Kenneth Dike Digital State Library, remarkable upgrade of the Onitsha Divisional Library, and provision of library facilities in secondary schools across the State.
    *2014: Champion Newspaper Most Outstanding Igbo Man of the Decade.
    * 2014 The Voice Newspaper (Holand) Achievers Award for Outstanding Example in Leadership and Governance.
    *2013: Silver Bird Man of the Year (with Governor BabatundeFashola of Lagos State).
    *2012: Business Hallmark Newspaper Man of the Year.
    *2012: The Golden Award on Prudence – by the Methodist Church of Nigeria as the Most
    Financially Prudent Governor in Nigeria.
    * 2012: Leadership and Good Governance Award by The Ezeife Leadership Foundation Award for restoring peace and harmony to Anambra State.
    * 2012: Best Performing Governor on Immunization in South-East Nigeria – by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
    * 2012: Outstanding Financial Planner and Manager – by the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion for my resourcefulness and creativity in governance.
    *2011: Zik Leadership Prize.
    *2010: ICT Governor of the Year – by the West Africa ICT Development Award.
    *2009: Champion Newspaper Nigeria’s Most Trustworthy Governor Award.
    *2009: Thisday Newspaper Most Prudent Governor in Nigeria.
    *2007: The Sun Newspaper Man of the Year Award.
    **The Nigerian MDGs Office/UNDP Best Governor in the Implementation of the MDGs in Nigeria
    INTRODUCTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER MAJOR CHANGES IN NIGERIAN POLITICS
    *He was the first gubernatorial candidate in Nigeria to legally challenge to its logical conclusion, his governorship electoral victory that was denied him. He won in the Courts and reclaimed his mandate.
    *He was the first Governor in Nigeria to legally challenge his wrongful impeachment and was reinstated by the Courts.
    *He was the first Governor in Nigeria to seek the interpretation of tenures of Governors when INEC allowed elections to take place in Anambra State when his tenure had not expired; the election already concluded was cancelled and he was allowed to complete his tenure.
    *He was the first Governor to serve a 2nd term in both the new and old Anambra State, that is, almost 40 years after creation of the State.
    *He was the first Governor, whilst still in Office, to be appointed a Special Adviser to the President.
    *He was the first serving Governor to be appointed into the Presidential Economic Management Team.
    *He was among the first Governors to be honoured with a National Award in 2011, while still in office.
    *Though the only Governor whose political party was in government in only one State, he was elected Vice-Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum twice.
    *Though the only non-PDP Governor in the South-East (made up of 5 States), he was elected by the other 4 PDP Governors as their Chairman for 8 years rather than the usual one year.
    FUNDAMENTAL ACHIEVEMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF ANAMBRA STATE (PARTIAL LISTING)
    1. Anambra was the first State to commence Sub-Sovereign Wealth savings, the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa. At a time many other Governors were leaving huge debts, I left the equivalent of $500 million Dollars in investment as well as local and foreign currency, including $156 million in Dollar-denominated bonds.
    2. For the first time in the history of Anambra State, Ambassadors and High Commissioners of notable countries such as United States, Britain, Russia, European Union, South Africa, Belgium, Israel, the Netherlands, Canada, among others, visited the State. Before my tenure, Anambra was practically a pariah state blacklisted by the Diplomatic Corps and international development partners.
    3. Development partners such as UNDP, UNICEF, the World Bank, DFID, the European Union etc., which hitherto were not in Anambra State started working with the State. Anambra was consistently adjudged one of the best states in development partnership and commitment to reforms for good governance.
    4. He was recognised as Best Governor by the Millennium Development Goals Office (OSSAP-MDGs) and the UNDP in the implementation of their programmes in Nigeria.
    5. The Nigerian Debt Management Office (DMO) rated Anambra as the least indebted state in Nigeria. In spite of visible and measurable achievements recorded in various sectors, the State under him did not borrow or raise bonds for her various projects.
    6. The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria rated Anambra State as the most financially stable state in the country.
    7. The State’s ground-breaking return of schools to their original owners – Voluntary Agencies (Churches) on 1st January 2009, and subsequent partnership with the Agencies in Education, saw the State move from 24th position out of 36 States to Number One in National Examination Council (NECO) and West African Examination Council (WAEC) examinations for three consecutive years. This made the World Bank to commission a study, led by the renowned Prof. Paul Collier of Oxford University, on this revolutionary partnership and phenomenal achievement.
    8. The State also entered into strategic partnership with the Churches in the Health sector. This symbiotic relationship resulted in a tremendous boost to health care because of the services offered by health institutions owned by Voluntary Agencies, while the State restored grants to the agencies and made available to them more than 50 million Dollars in various types of support.
    10. Through partnership with the Church in the Health sector, his Government funded the transformation of -:
    a: Iyienu Hospital, Ogidi;
    b: Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Ihiala;
    c: St Charles Borromeo Hospital, Onitsha;
    d: Holy Rosary Hospital, Waterside, Onitsha; and
    e: St. Joseph Hospital, Adazi-Nnukwu.
    His Government also built the Joseph Nwilo Heart Centre in St. Joseph, Adazi-Nnukwu, where heart operations are now being performed.
    11. His Government won the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (1 Million dollars) as the best-performing state in immunisation in the South-East. With complementary funding from our Government, they used the money to build 10 Maternal and Child Care Centres across the State, particularly in rural communities, in partnership with the Churches.
    12. The State was the first to procure and distribute more than 30,000 computers to secondary schools, including 22,500 from HP. The Managing Director for Personal Systems Group HP Inc, Mr. FabriceCampoy described the deployment as the biggest of such projects in the Middle-East and Africa.
    13. Anambra State Government provided Microsoft Academies to more than 500 secondary schools, which the Head of Microsoft in Nigeria (Mr. Ken Span) described as the biggest such deployment in Africa so far.
    14. The State provided Internet access to more than 500 secondary schools, which the CEO of Galaxy Backbone (Mr. Gerald Ilukwe) characterized as incomparable to any in the country.
    15. More than 700 buses were provided to secondary schools in the State by our Government.
    16. Boreholes were provided in schools all over the State.
    17. Numerous classrooms were built in all the 177 communities of the State.
    18 As part of the efforts to turn around the economy of the State, a number of companies were attracted to build their facilities in the Anambra State. A case in point is SABMiller, the 2nd largest brewery in the world, which built their first Green Field facility in the State, which is today one of the most successful facilities they operate globally.
    19. A number of other companies followed the SABMiller initiative and were all supported and encouraged under our Government; a good example is INNOSON Motor Manufacturing Company, from which our government bought more than 1,000 vehicles.
    20. Anambra State for the first time started close collaboration with recognized government security agencies (the Police, Army, Navy, Department of State Security, Civil Defence, among others), offering them various types of support including provision of more than 500 security vehicles. The improvement in security was phenomenal, such that the former IG of Police (Abubakar Mohammed) lauded Anambra State for not witnessing any bank robbery in my last three years in office.
    21. To further enhance security, Anambra State provided at least one security vehicle to each of all the 177 communities in the State as well as various organizations such as markets and Churches.
    22. His Administration conceived and built, from scratch, the first state-owned Teaching Hospital, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu teaching Hospital, Awka.
    23. His Government commenced the planned development of the Igbariam Campus of the ChukwuemekaOdumegwu-Ojukwu University, including the fencing, construction of internal roads, electrification, construction of the Faculty of Law, Auditorium, Administrative Block, Faculty of Agriculture, Management Building, among others).
    24. His Government attracted the World Bank support on erosion – National Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) – to Anambra State.
    25. His Government was the first to do Poverty Mapping in Nigeria, as a guide for the effective implementation of our poverty-alleviation strategies.
    26 His Government, for the first time, undertook the aerial mapping of Awka as well as the production of Structure Plans for Awka Capital Territory, Onitsha and Nnewi.
    27. During his tenure and with his Government’s support, Anambra State became an oil producing State.
    28. He built the first Secretariat Complex to house State Government Ministries that were hitherto scattered around the State.
    29. His government commenced the development of the ‘Three Arms Zone’ comprising Government House/Governor’s Lodge, Legislative Building/Speakers Residence, and Judiciary Building with Chief Judge’s Residence.
    30. By the end of his tenure in 2014, more than twelve (12) health institutions, including two hospitals, had secured accreditation; when we took off in 2006, no health institution in Anambra State was duly accredited.
    31. Anambra State was the first to undergo national peer review, which scrutinised State Governments for good governance, through the State Peer Review Mechanism (SPRM), an initiative of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum in collaboration with the DFID.Peter Obi’s profile. Man pass man. Abeg if you have a politician with a more result-oriented profile/CV than this, please drop it, make we see?
    =====
    NAME : Mr. Peter Gregory OBI, (CON)
    DATE OF BIRTH : 19th July 1961
    PLACE OF BIRTH: Onitsha, Nigeria
    NATIONALITY: Nigerian
    MARITAL STATUS: Married with two children
    EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ATTENDED
    · Christ the King College, Onitsha (W.A.S.C.)
    . University of Nigeria, Nsukka (B.A. Philosophy)
    · Lagos Business School, Nigeria (Chief Executive Program)
    · Harvard Business School, Boston, U.S.A. (Mid to Mid Marketing)
    · Harvard Business School, Boston, U.S.A. (Changing the Game)
    · London School of Economics (Financial Mgmt/Business Policy)
    · Columbia Business School, New York, U.S.A. (Marketing Mgmt )
    · Institute for Management Development, Switzerland (Senior Executive Program)
    · Institute for Management Development, Switzerland (Break-Through Program for CEOs)
    · Kellogg Graduate School of Management, U.S.A. (Advanced Executive Program)
    · Kellogg School of Management U.S.A. (Global Advanced Mgmt Program)
    . Oxford University: Said Business School, (Advanced Mgmt& Leadership Program)
    . Cambridge University: George Business School (Advanced Leadership Program)
    PREVIOUS POSITIONS
    · Governor, Anambra State of Nigeria (2006-2014)
    · Honorary Special Adviser to the President on Finance (till May, 2015)
    · Member, Presidential Economic Management Team (till May, 2015)
    · Vice-Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (2008-2014)
    · Chairman, South-East Governors’ Forum (2006-2014)
    . Former Chairman: Board of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
    · Former Chairman: Fidelity Bank Plc.
    · Former Chairman: Guardian Express Mortgage Bank, Ltd.
    · Former Chairman: Future Views Securities, Ltd.
    · Former Chairman: Paymaster Nigeria Plc.
    · Former Chairman: Next International (Nigeria) Ltd
    · Former Director: Guardian Express Bank Plc.
    · Former Director: Chams Nigeria Plc.
    · Former Director: Emerging Capital Ltd
    · Former Director: Card Centre Plc
    MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS
    · Member, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG)
    · Member, Nigerian Chartered Institute of Bankers
    · Member, British Institute of Directors (IOD)
    MEMBERSHIP OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEES
    In my capacity as the Governor of Anambra State, I served as a member of:
    *Federal Government Committee on Minimum Wage
    *Federal Government Committee on Negotiation with Labour on Subsidy
    *Federal Government Committee on Mass Transit
    *Federal Government Committee on Natural Resource
    *National Economic Council Committee on Power Sector Reform
    *National Economic Council Committee on Sharing of MDGs Funds
    *National Economic Council Committee on Accurate Data on Nigeria’s Oil Import and Export
    *Agricultural Transformation Implementation Council
    *Sub-Committee on Needs Analysis of Public Universities in Nigeria
    *National Economic Council Review Committee on the Power Sector
    AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
    2015: Golden Jubilee Award from Catholic Diocese of Onitsha for outstanding contribution to quality healthcare delivery in St. Charles Borromeo Hospital in particular and Anambra State in general, on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee celebration of the hospital.
    *2014: Nigerian Library Association Golden Merit Award for remarkable improvement of libraries in Anambra State, exemplified by our Government’s construction of the Kenneth Dike Digital State Library, remarkable upgrade of the Onitsha Divisional Library, and provision of library facilities in secondary schools across the State.
    *2014: Champion Newspaper Most Outstanding Igbo Man of the Decade.
    * 2014 The Voice Newspaper (Holand) Achievers Award for Outstanding Example in Leadership and Governance.
    *2013: Silver Bird Man of the Year (with Governor BabatundeFashola of Lagos State).
    *2012: Business Hallmark Newspaper Man of the Year.
    *2012: The Golden Award on Prudence – by the Methodist Church of Nigeria as the Most
    Financially Prudent Governor in Nigeria.
    * 2012: Leadership and Good Governance Award by The Ezeife Leadership Foundation Award for restoring peace and harmony to Anambra State.
    * 2012: Best Performing Governor on Immunization in South-East Nigeria – by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
    * 2012: Outstanding Financial Planner and Manager – by the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion for my resourcefulness and creativity in governance.
    *2011: Zik Leadership Prize.
    *2010: ICT Governor of the Year – by the West Africa ICT Development Award.
    *2009: Champion Newspaper Nigeria’s Most Trustworthy Governor Award.
    *2009: Thisday Newspaper Most Prudent Governor in Nigeria.
    *2007: The Sun Newspaper Man of the Year Award.
    **The Nigerian MDGs Office/UNDP Best Governor in the Implementation of the MDGs in Nigeria
    INTRODUCTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER MAJOR CHANGES IN NIGERIAN POLITICS
    *He was the first gubernatorial candidate in Nigeria to legally challenge to its logical conclusion, his governorship electoral victory that was denied him. He won in the Courts and reclaimed his mandate.
    *He was the first Governor in Nigeria to legally challenge his wrongful impeachment and was reinstated by the Courts.
    *He was the first Governor in Nigeria to seek the interpretation of tenures of Governors when INEC allowed elections to take place in Anambra State when his tenure had not expired; the election already concluded was cancelled and he was allowed to complete his tenure.
    *He was the first Governor to serve a 2nd term in both the new and old Anambra State, that is, almost 40 years after creation of the State.
    *He was the first Governor, whilst still in Office, to be appointed a Special Adviser to the President.
    *He was the first serving Governor to be appointed into the Presidential Economic Management Team.
    *He was among the first Governors to be honoured with a National Award in 2011, while still in office.
    *Though the only Governor whose political party was in government in only one State, he was elected Vice-Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum twice.
    *Though the only non-PDP Governor in the South-East (made up of 5 States), he was elected by the other 4 PDP Governors as their Chairman for 8 years rather than the usual one year.
    FUNDAMENTAL ACHIEVEMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF ANAMBRA STATE (PARTIAL LISTING)
    1. Anambra was the first State to commence Sub-Sovereign Wealth savings, the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa. At a time many other Governors were leaving huge debts, I left the equivalent of $500 million Dollars in investment as well as local and foreign currency, including $156 million in Dollar-denominated bonds.
    2. For the first time in the history of Anambra State, Ambassadors and High Commissioners of notable countries such as United States, Britain, Russia, European Union, South Africa, Belgium, Israel, the Netherlands, Canada, among others, visited the State. Before my tenure, Anambra was practically a pariah state blacklisted by the Diplomatic Corps and international development partners.
    3. Development partners such as UNDP, UNICEF, the World Bank, DFID, the European Union etc., which hitherto were not in Anambra State started working with the State. Anambra was consistently adjudged one of the best states in development partnership and commitment to reforms for good governance.
    4. He was recognised as Best Governor by the Millennium Development Goals Office (OSSAP-MDGs) and the UNDP in the implementation of their programmes in Nigeria.
    5. The Nigerian Debt Management Office (DMO) rated Anambra as the least indebted state in Nigeria. In spite of visible and measurable achievements recorded in various sectors, the State under him did not borrow or raise bonds for her various projects.
    6. The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria rated Anambra State as the most financially stable state in the country.
    7. The State’s ground-breaking return of schools to their original owners – Voluntary Agencies (Churches) on 1st January 2009, and subsequent partnership with the Agencies in Education, saw the State move from 24th position out of 36 States to Number One in National Examination Council (NECO) and West African Examination Council (WAEC) examinations for three consecutive years. This made the World Bank to commission a study, led by the renowned Prof. Paul Collier of Oxford University, on this revolutionary partnership and phenomenal achievement.
    8. The State also entered into strategic partnership with the Churches in the Health sector. This symbiotic relationship resulted in a tremendous boost to health care because of the services offered by health institutions owned by Voluntary Agencies, while the State restored grants to the agencies and made available to them more than 50 million Dollars in various types of support.
    10. Through partnership with the Church in the Health sector, his Government funded the transformation of -:
    a: Iyienu Hospital, Ogidi;
    b: Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Ihiala;
    c: St Charles Borromeo Hospital, Onitsha;
    d: Holy Rosary Hospital, Waterside, Onitsha; and
    e: St. Joseph Hospital, Adazi-Nnukwu.
    His Government also built the Joseph Nwilo Heart Centre in St. Joseph, Adazi-Nnukwu, where heart operations are now being performed.
    11. His Government won the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (1 Million dollars) as the best-performing state in immunisation in the South-East. With complementary funding from our Government, they used the money to build 10 Maternal and Child Care Centres across the State, particularly in rural communities, in partnership with the Churches.
    12. The State was the first to procure and distribute more than 30,000 computers to secondary schools, including 22,500 from HP. The Managing Director for Personal Systems Group HP Inc, Mr. FabriceCampoy described the deployment as the biggest of such projects in the Middle-East and Africa.
    13. Anambra State Government provided Microsoft Academies to more than 500 secondary schools, which the Head of Microsoft in Nigeria (Mr. Ken Span) described as the biggest such deployment in Africa so far.
    14. The State provided Internet access to more than 500 secondary schools, which the CEO of Galaxy Backbone (Mr. Gerald Ilukwe) characterized as incomparable to any in the country.
    15. More than 700 buses were provided to secondary schools in the State by our Government.
    16. Boreholes were provided in schools all over the State.
    17. Numerous classrooms were built in all the 177 communities of the State.
    18 As part of the efforts to turn around the economy of the State, a number of companies were attracted to build their facilities in the Anambra State. A case in point is SABMiller, the 2nd largest brewery in the world, which built their first Green Field facility in the State, which is today one of the most successful facilities they operate globally.
    19. A number of other companies followed the SABMiller initiative and were all supported and encouraged under our Government; a good example is INNOSON Motor Manufacturing Company, from which our government bought more than 1,000 vehicles.
    20. Anambra State for the first time started close collaboration with recognized government security agencies (the Police, Army, Navy, Department of State Security, Civil Defence, among others), offering them various types of support including provision of more than 500 security vehicles. The improvement in security was phenomenal, such that the former IG of Police (Abubakar Mohammed) lauded Anambra State for not witnessing any bank robbery in my last three years in office.
    21. To further enhance security, Anambra State provided at least one security vehicle to each of all the 177 communities in the State as well as various organizations such as markets and Churches.
    22. His Administration conceived and built, from scratch, the first state-owned Teaching Hospital, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu teaching Hospital, Awka.
    23. His Government commenced the planned development of the Igbariam Campus of the ChukwuemekaOdumegwu-Ojukwu University, including the fencing, construction of internal roads, electrification, construction of the Faculty of Law, Auditorium, Administrative Block, Faculty of Agriculture, Management Building, among others).
    24. His Government attracted the World Bank support on erosion – National Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) – to Anambra State.
    25. His Government was the first to do Poverty Mapping in Nigeria, as a guide for the effective implementation of our poverty-alleviation strategies.
    26 His Government, for the first time, undertook the aerial mapping of Awka as well as the production of Structure Plans for Awka Capital Territory, Onitsha and Nnewi.
    27. During his tenure and with his Government’s support, Anambra State became an oil producing State.
    28. He built the first Secretariat Complex to house State Government Ministries that were hitherto scattered around the State.
    29. His government commenced the development of the ‘Three Arms Zone’ comprising Government House/Governor’s Lodge, Legislative Building/Speakers Residence, and Judiciary Building with Chief Judge’s Residence.
    30. By the end of his tenure in 2014, more than twelve (12) health institutions, including two hospitals, had secured accreditation; when we took off in 2006, no health institution in Anambra State was duly accredited.
    31. Anambra State was the first to undergo national peer review, which scrutinised State Governments for good governance, through the State Peer Review Mechanism (SPRM), an initiative of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum in collaboration with the DFID.Peter Obi’s profile. Man pass man. Abeg if you have a politician with a more result-oriented profile/CV than this, please drop it, make we see?
    =====
    NAME : Mr. Peter Gregory OBI, (CON)
    DATE OF BIRTH : 19th July 1961
    PLACE OF BIRTH: Onitsha, Nigeria
    NATIONALITY: Nigerian
    MARITAL STATUS: Married with two children
    EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ATTENDED
    · Christ the King College, Onitsha (W.A.S.C.)
    . University of Nigeria, Nsukka (B.A. Philosophy)
    · Lagos Business School, Nigeria (Chief Executive Program)
    · Harvard Business School, Boston, U.S.A. (Mid to Mid Marketing)
    · Harvard Business School, Boston, U.S.A. (Changing the Game)
    · London School of Economics (Financial Mgmt/Business Policy)
    · Columbia Business School, New York, U.S.A. (Marketing Mgmt )
    · Institute for Management Development, Switzerland (Senior Executive Program)
    · Institute for Management Development, Switzerland (Break-Through Program for CEOs)
    · Kellogg Graduate School of Management, U.S.A. (Advanced Executive Program)
    · Kellogg School of Management U.S.A. (Global Advanced Mgmt Program)
    . Oxford University: Said Business School, (Advanced Mgmt& Leadership Program)
    . Cambridge University: George Business School (Advanced Leadership Program)
    PREVIOUS POSITIONS
    · Governor, Anambra State of Nigeria (2006-2014)
    · Honorary Special Adviser to the President on Finance (till May, 2015)
    · Member, Presidential Economic Management Team (till May, 2015)
    · Vice-Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (2008-2014)
    · Chairman, South-East Governors’ Forum (2006-2014)
    . Former Chairman: Board of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
    · Former Chairman: Fidelity Bank Plc.
    · Former Chairman: Guardian Express Mortgage Bank, Ltd.
    · Former Chairman: Future Views Securities, Ltd.
    · Former Chairman: Paymaster Nigeria Plc.
    · Former Chairman: Next International (Nigeria) Ltd
    · Former Director: Guardian Express Bank Plc.
    · Former Director: Chams Nigeria Plc.
    · Former Director: Emerging Capital Ltd
    · Former Director: Card Centre Plc
    MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS
    · Member, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG)
    · Member, Nigerian Chartered Institute of Bankers
    · Member, British Institute of Directors (IOD)
    MEMBERSHIP OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEES
    In my capacity as the Governor of Anambra State, I served as a member of:
    *Federal Government Committee on Minimum Wage
    *Federal Government Committee on Negotiation with Labour on Subsidy
    *Federal Government Committee on Mass Transit
    *Federal Government Committee on Natural Resource
    *National Economic Council Committee on Power Sector Reform
    *National Economic Council Committee on Sharing of MDGs Funds
    *National Economic Council Committee on Accurate Data on Nigeria’s Oil Import and Export
    *Agricultural Transformation Implementation Council
    *Sub-Committee on Needs Analysis of Public Universities in Nigeria
    *National Economic Council Review Committee on the Power Sector
    AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
    2015: Golden Jubilee Award from Catholic Diocese of Onitsha for outstanding contribution to quality healthcare delivery in St. Charles Borromeo Hospital in particular and Anambra State in general, on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee celebration of the hospital.
    *2014: Nigerian Library Association Golden Merit Award for remarkable improvement of libraries in Anambra State, exemplified by our Government’s construction of the Kenneth Dike Digital State Library, remarkable upgrade of the Onitsha Divisional Library, and provision of library facilities in secondary schools across the State.
    *2014: Champion Newspaper Most Outstanding Igbo Man of the Decade.
    * 2014 The Voice Newspaper (Holand) Achievers Award for Outstanding Example in Leadership and Governance.
    *2013: Silver Bird Man of the Year (with Governor BabatundeFashola of Lagos State).
    *2012: Business Hallmark Newspaper Man of the Year.
    *2012: The Golden Award on Prudence – by the Methodist Church of Nigeria as the Most
    Financially Prudent Governor in Nigeria.
    * 2012: Leadership and Good Governance Award by The Ezeife Leadership Foundation Award for restoring peace and harmony to Anambra State.
    * 2012: Best Performing Governor on Immunization in South-East Nigeria – by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
    * 2012: Outstanding Financial Planner and Manager – by the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion for my resourcefulness and creativity in governance.
    *2011: Zik Leadership Prize.
    *2010: ICT Governor of the Year – by the West Africa ICT Development Award.
    *2009: Champion Newspaper Nigeria’s Most Trustworthy Governor Award.
    *2009: Thisday Newspaper Most Prudent Governor in Nigeria.
    *2007: The Sun Newspaper Man of the Year Award.
    **The Nigerian MDGs Office/UNDP Best Governor in the Implementation of the MDGs in Nigeria
    INTRODUCTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER MAJOR CHANGES IN NIGERIAN POLITICS
    *He was the first gubernatorial candidate in Nigeria to legally challenge to its logical conclusion, his governorship electoral victory that was denied him. He won in the Courts and reclaimed his mandate.
    *He was the first Governor in Nigeria to legally challenge his wrongful impeachment and was reinstated by the Courts.
    *He was the first Governor in Nigeria to seek the interpretation of tenures of Governors when INEC allowed elections to take place in Anambra State when his tenure had not expired; the election already concluded was cancelled and he was allowed to complete his tenure.
    *He was the first Governor to serve a 2nd term in both the new and old Anambra State, that is, almost 40 years after creation of the State.
    *He was the first Governor, whilst still in Office, to be appointed a Special Adviser to the President.
    *He was the first serving Governor to be appointed into the Presidential Economic Management Team.
    *He was among the first Governors to be honoured with a National Award in 2011, while still in office.
    *Though the only Governor whose political party was in government in only one State, he was elected Vice-Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum twice.
    *Though the only non-PDP Governor in the South-East (made up of 5 States), he was elected by the other 4 PDP Governors as their Chairman for 8 years rather than the usual one year.
    FUNDAMENTAL ACHIEVEMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF ANAMBRA STATE (PARTIAL LISTING)
    1. Anambra was the first State to commence Sub-Sovereign Wealth savings, the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa. At a time many other Governors were leaving huge debts, I left the equivalent of $500 million Dollars in investment as well as local and foreign currency, including $156 million in Dollar-denominated bonds.
    2. For the first time in the history of Anambra State, Ambassadors and High Commissioners of notable countries such as United States, Britain, Russia, European Union, South Africa, Belgium, Israel, the Netherlands, Canada, among others, visited the State. Before my tenure, Anambra was practically a pariah state blacklisted by the Diplomatic Corps and international development partners.
    3. Development partners such as UNDP, UNICEF, the World Bank, DFID, the European Union etc., which hitherto were not in Anambra State started working with the State. Anambra was consistently adjudged one of the best states in development partnership and commitment to reforms for good governance.
    4. He was recognised as Best Governor by the Millennium Development Goals Office (OSSAP-MDGs) and the UNDP in the implementation of their programmes in Nigeria.
    5. The Nigerian Debt Management Office (DMO) rated Anambra as the least indebted state in Nigeria. In spite of visible and measurable achievements recorded in various sectors, the State under him did not borrow or raise bonds for her various projects.
    6. The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria rated Anambra State as the most financially stable state in the country.
    7. The State’s ground-breaking return of schools to their original owners – Voluntary Agencies (Churches) on 1st January 2009, and subsequent partnership with the Agencies in Education, saw the State move from 24th position out of 36 States to Number One in National Examination Council (NECO) and West African Examination Council (WAEC) examinations for three consecutive years. This made the World Bank to commission a study, led by the renowned Prof. Paul Collier of Oxford University, on this revolutionary partnership and phenomenal achievement.
    8. The State also entered into strategic partnership with the Churches in the Health sector. This symbiotic relationship resulted in a tremendous boost to health care because of the services offered by health institutions owned by Voluntary Agencies, while the State restored grants to the agencies and made available to them more than 50 million Dollars in various types of support.
    10. Through partnership with the Church in the Health sector, his Government funded the transformation of -:
    a: Iyienu Hospital, Ogidi;
    b: Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Ihiala;
    c: St Charles Borromeo Hospital, Onitsha;
    d: Holy Rosary Hospital, Waterside, Onitsha; and
    e: St. Joseph Hospital, Adazi-Nnukwu.
    His Government also built the Joseph Nwilo Heart Centre in St. Joseph, Adazi-Nnukwu, where heart operations are now being performed.
    11. His Government won the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (1 Million dollars) as the best-performing state in immunisation in the South-East. With complementary funding from our Government, they used the money to build 10 Maternal and Child Care Centres across the State, particularly in rural communities, in partnership with the Churches.
    12. The State was the first to procure and distribute more than 30,000 computers to secondary schools, including 22,500 from HP. The Managing Director for Personal Systems Group HP Inc, Mr. FabriceCampoy described the deployment as the biggest of such projects in the Middle-East and Africa.
    13. Anambra State Government provided Microsoft Academies to more than 500 secondary schools, which the Head of Microsoft in Nigeria (Mr. Ken Span) described as the biggest such deployment in Africa so far.
    14. The State provided Internet access to more than 500 secondary schools, which the CEO of Galaxy Backbone (Mr. Gerald Ilukwe) characterized as incomparable to any in the country.
    15. More than 700 buses were provided to secondary schools in the State by our Government.
    16. Boreholes were provided in schools all over the State.
    17. Numerous classrooms were built in all the 177 communities of the State.
    18 As part of the efforts to turn around the economy of the State, a number of companies were attracted to build their facilities in the Anambra State. A case in point is SABMiller, the 2nd largest brewery in the world, which built their first Green Field facility in the State, which is today one of the most successful facilities they operate globally.
    19. A number of other companies followed the SABMiller initiative and were all supported and encouraged under our Government; a good example is INNOSON Motor Manufacturing Company, from which our government bought more than 1,000 vehicles.
    20. Anambra State for the first time started close collaboration with recognized government security agencies (the Police, Army, Navy, Department of State Security, Civil Defence, among others), offering them various types of support including provision of more than 500 security vehicles. The improvement in security was phenomenal, such that the former IG of Police (Abubakar Mohammed) lauded Anambra State for not witnessing any bank robbery in my last three years in office.
    21. To further enhance security, Anambra State provided at least one security vehicle to each of all the 177 communities in the State as well as various organizations such as markets and Churches.
    22. His Administration conceived and built, from scratch, the first state-owned Teaching Hospital, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu teaching Hospital, Awka.
    23. His Government commenced the planned development of the Igbariam Campus of the ChukwuemekaOdumegwu-Ojukwu University, including the fencing, construction of internal roads, electrification, construction of the Faculty of Law, Auditorium, Administrative Block, Faculty of Agriculture, Management Building, among others).
    24. His Government attracted the World Bank support on erosion – National Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) – to Anambra State.
    25. His Government was the first to do Poverty Mapping in Nigeria, as a guide for the effective implementation of our poverty-alleviation strategies.
    26 His Government, for the first time, undertook the aerial mapping of Awka as well as the production of Structure Plans for Awka Capital Territory, Onitsha and Nnewi.
    27. During his tenure and with his Government’s support, Anambra State became an oil producing State.
    28. He built the first Secretariat Complex to house State Government Ministries that were hitherto scattered around the State.
    29. His government commenced the development of the ‘Three Arms Zone’ comprising Government House/Governor’s Lodge, Legislative Building/Speakers Residence, and Judiciary Building with Chief Judge’s Residence.
    30. By the end of his tenure in 2014, more than twelve (12) health institutions, including two hospitals, had secured accreditation; when we took off in 2006, no health institution in Anambra State was duly accredited.
    31. Anambra State was the first to undergo national peer review, which scrutinised State Governments for good governance, through the State Peer Review Mechanism (SPRM), an initiative of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum in collaboration with the DFID.Peter Obi’s profile. Man pass man. Abeg if you have a politician with a more result-oriented profile/CV than this, please drop it, make we see?
    =====
    NAME : Mr. Peter Gregory OBI, (CON)
    DATE OF BIRTH : 19th July 1961
    PLACE OF BIRTH: Onitsha, Nigeria
    NATIONALITY: Nigerian
    MARITAL STATUS: Married with two children
    EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ATTENDED
    · Christ the King College, Onitsha (W.A.S.C.)
    . University of Nigeria, Nsukka (B.A. Philosophy)
    · Lagos Business School, Nigeria (Chief Executive Program)
    · Harvard Business School, Boston, U.S.A. (Mid to Mid Marketing)
    · Harvard Business School, Boston, U.S.A. (Changing the Game)
    · London School of Economics (Financial Mgmt/Business Policy)
    · Columbia Business School, New York, U.S.A. (Marketing Mgmt )
    · Institute for Management Development, Switzerland (Senior Executive Program)
    · Institute for Management Development, Switzerland (Break-Through Program for CEOs)
    · Kellogg Graduate School of Management, U.S.A. (Advanced Executive Program)
    · Kellogg School of Management U.S.A. (Global Advanced Mgmt Program)
    . Oxford University: Said Business School, (Advanced Mgmt& Leadership Program)
    . Cambridge University: George Business School (Advanced Leadership Program)
    PREVIOUS POSITIONS
    · Governor, Anambra State of Nigeria (2006-2014)
    · Honorary Special Adviser to the President on Finance (till May, 2015)
    · Member, Presidential Economic Management Team (till May, 2015)
    · Vice-Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (2008-2014)
    · Chairman, South-East Governors’ Forum (2006-2014)
    . Former Chairman: Board of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
    · Former Chairman: Fidelity Bank Plc.
    · Former Chairman: Guardian Express Mortgage Bank, Ltd.
    · Former Chairman: Future Views Securities, Ltd.
    · Former Chairman: Paymaster Nigeria Plc.
    · Former Chairman: Next International (Nigeria) Ltd
    · Former Director: Guardian Express Bank Plc.
    · Former Director: Chams Nigeria Plc.
    · Former Director: Emerging Capital Ltd
    · Former Director: Card Centre Plc
    MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS
    · Member, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG)
    · Member, Nigerian Chartered Institute of Bankers
    · Member, British Institute of Directors (IOD)
    MEMBERSHIP OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEES
    In my capacity as the Governor of Anambra State, I served as a member of:
    *Federal Government Committee on Minimum Wage
    *Federal Government Committee on Negotiation with Labour on Subsidy
    *Federal Government Committee on Mass Transit
    *Federal Government Committee on Natural Resource
    *National Economic Council Committee on Power Sector Reform
    *National Economic Council Committee on Sharing of MDGs Funds
    *National Economic Council Committee on Accurate Data on Nigeria’s Oil Import and Export
    *Agricultural Transformation Implementation Council
    *Sub-Committee on Needs Analysis of Public Universities in Nigeria
    *National Economic Council Review Committee on the Power Sector
    AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
    2015: Golden Jubilee Award from Catholic Diocese of Onitsha for outstanding contribution to quality healthcare delivery in St. Charles Borromeo Hospital in particular and Anambra State in general, on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee celebration of the hospital.
    *2014: Nigerian Library Association Golden Merit Award for remarkable improvement of libraries in Anambra State, exemplified by our Government’s construction of the Kenneth Dike Digital State Library, remarkable upgrade of the Onitsha Divisional Library, and provision of library facilities in secondary schools across the State.
    *2014: Champion Newspaper Most Outstanding Igbo Man of the Decade.
    * 2014 The Voice Newspaper (Holand) Achievers Award for Outstanding Example in Leadership and Governance.
    *2013: Silver Bird Man of the Year (with Governor BabatundeFashola of Lagos State).
    *2012: Business Hallmark Newspaper Man of the Year.
    *2012: The Golden Award on Prudence – by the Methodist Church of Nigeria as the Most
    Financially Prudent Governor in Nigeria.
    * 2012: Leadership and Good Governance Award by The Ezeife Leadership Foundation Award for restoring peace and harmony to Anambra State.
    * 2012: Best Performing Governor on Immunization in South-East Nigeria – by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
    * 2012: Outstanding Financial Planner and Manager – by the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion for my resourcefulness and creativity in governance.
    *2011: Zik Leadership Prize.
    *2010: ICT Governor of the Year – by the West Africa ICT Development Award.
    *2009: Champion Newspaper Nigeria’s Most Trustworthy Governor Award.
    *2009: Thisday Newspaper Most Prudent Governor in Nigeria.
    *2007: The Sun Newspaper Man of the Year Award.
    **The Nigerian MDGs Office/UNDP Best Governor in the Implementation of the MDGs in Nigeria
    INTRODUCTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER MAJOR CHANGES IN NIGERIAN POLITICS
    *He was the first gubernatorial candidate in Nigeria to legally challenge to its logical conclusion, his governorship electoral victory that was denied him. He won in the Courts and reclaimed his mandate.
    *He was the first Governor in Nigeria to legally challenge his wrongful impeachment and was reinstated by the Courts.
    *He was the first Governor in Nigeria to seek the interpretation of tenures of Governors when INEC allowed elections to take place in Anambra State when his tenure had not expired; the election already concluded was cancelled and he was allowed to complete his tenure.
    *He was the first Governor to serve a 2nd term in both the new and old Anambra State, that is, almost 40 years after creation of the State.
    *He was the first Governor, whilst still in Office, to be appointed a Special Adviser to the President.
    *He was the first serving Governor to be appointed into the Presidential Economic Management Team.
    *He was among the first Governors to be honoured with a National Award in 2011, while still in office.
    *Though the only Governor whose political party was in government in only one State, he was elected Vice-Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum twice.
    *Though the only non-PDP Governor in the South-East (made up of 5 States), he was elected by the other 4 PDP Governors as their Chairman for 8 years rather than the usual one year.
    FUNDAMENTAL ACHIEVEMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF ANAMBRA STATE (PARTIAL LISTING)
    1. Anambra was the first State to commence Sub-Sovereign Wealth savings, the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa. At a time many other Governors were leaving huge debts, I left the equivalent of $500 million Dollars in investment as well as local and foreign currency, including $156 million in Dollar-denominated bonds.
    2. For the first time in the history of Anambra State, Ambassadors and High Commissioners of notable countries such as United States, Britain, Russia, European Union, South Africa, Belgium, Israel, the Netherlands, Canada, among others, visited the State. Before my tenure, Anambra was practically a pariah state blacklisted by the Diplomatic Corps and international development partners.
    3. Development partners such as UNDP, UNICEF, the World Bank, DFID, the European Union etc., which hitherto were not in Anambra State started working with the State. Anambra was consistently adjudged one of the best states in development partnership and commitment to reforms for good governance.
    4. He was recognised as Best Governor by the Millennium Development Goals Office (OSSAP-MDGs) and the UNDP in the implementation of their programmes in Nigeria.
    5. The Nigerian Debt Management Office (DMO) rated Anambra as the least indebted state in Nigeria. In spite of visible and measurable achievements recorded in various sectors, the State under him did not borrow or raise bonds for her various projects.
    6. The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria rated Anambra State as the most financially stable state in the country.
    7. The State’s ground-breaking return of schools to their original owners – Voluntary Agencies (Churches) on 1st January 2009, and subsequent partnership with the Agencies in Education, saw the State move from 24th position out of 36 States to Number One in National Examination Council (NECO) and West African Examination Council (WAEC) examinations for three consecutive years. This made the World Bank to commission a study, led by the renowned Prof. Paul Collier of Oxford University, on this revolutionary partnership and phenomenal achievement.
    8. The State also entered into strategic partnership with the Churches in the Health sector. This symbiotic relationship resulted in a tremendous boost to health care because of the services offered by health institutions owned by Voluntary Agencies, while the State restored grants to the agencies and made available to them more than 50 million Dollars in various types of support.
    10. Through partnership with the Church in the Health sector, his Government funded the transformation of -:
    a: Iyienu Hospital, Ogidi;
    b: Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Ihiala;
    c: St Charles Borromeo Hospital, Onitsha;
    d: Holy Rosary Hospital, Waterside, Onitsha; and
    e: St. Joseph Hospital, Adazi-Nnukwu.
    His Government also built the Joseph Nwilo Heart Centre in St. Joseph, Adazi-Nnukwu, where heart operations are now being performed.
    11. His Government won the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (1 Million dollars) as the best-performing state in immunisation in the South-East. With complementary funding from our Government, they used the money to build 10 Maternal and Child Care Centres across the State, particularly in rural communities, in partnership with the Churches.
    12. The State was the first to procure and distribute more than 30,000 computers to secondary schools, including 22,500 from HP. The Managing Director for Personal Systems Group HP Inc, Mr. FabriceCampoy described the deployment as the biggest of such projects in the Middle-East and Africa.
    13. Anambra State Government provided Microsoft Academies to more than 500 secondary schools, which the Head of Microsoft in Nigeria (Mr. Ken Span) described as the biggest such deployment in Africa so far.
    14. The State provided Internet access to more than 500 secondary schools, which the CEO of Galaxy Backbone (Mr. Gerald Ilukwe) characterized as incomparable to any in the country.
    15. More than 700 buses were provided to secondary schools in the State by our Government.
    16. Boreholes were provided in schools all over the State.
    17. Numerous classrooms were built in all the 177 communities of the State.
    18 As part of the efforts to turn around the economy of the State, a number of companies were attracted to build their facilities in the Anambra State. A case in point is SABMiller, the 2nd largest brewery in the world, which built their first Green Field facility in the State, which is today one of the most successful facilities they operate globally.
    19. A number of other companies followed the SABMiller initiative and were all supported and encouraged under our Government; a good example is INNOSON Motor Manufacturing Company, from which our government bought more than 1,000 vehicles.
    20. Anambra State for the first time started close collaboration with recognized government security agencies (the Police, Army, Navy, Department of State Security, Civil Defence, among others), offering them various types of support including provision of more than 500 security vehicles. The improvement in security was phenomenal, such that the former IG of Police (Abubakar Mohammed) lauded Anambra State for not witnessing any bank robbery in my last three years in office.
    21. To further enhance security, Anambra State provided at least one security vehicle to each of all the 177 communities in the State as well as various organizations such as markets and Churches.
    22. His Administration conceived and built, from scratch, the first state-owned Teaching Hospital, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu teaching Hospital, Awka.
    23. His Government commenced the planned development of the Igbariam Campus of the ChukwuemekaOdumegwu-Ojukwu University, including the fencing, construction of internal roads, electrification, construction of the Faculty of Law, Auditorium, Administrative Block, Faculty of Agriculture, Management Building, among others).
    24. His Government attracted the World Bank support on erosion – National Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) – to Anambra State.
    25. His Government was the first to do Poverty Mapping in Nigeria, as a guide for the effective implementation of our poverty-alleviation strategies.
    26 His Government, for the first time, undertook the aerial mapping of Awka as well as the production of Structure Plans for Awka Capital Territory, Onitsha and Nnewi.
    27. During his tenure and with his Government’s support, Anambra State became an oil producing State.
    28. He built the first Secretariat Complex to house State Government Ministries that were hitherto scattered around the State.
    29. His government commenced the development of the ‘Three Arms Zone’ comprising Government House/Governor’s Lodge, Legislative Building/Speakers Residence, and Judiciary Building with Chief Judge’s Residence.
    30. By the end of his tenure in 2014, more than twelve (12) health institutions, including two hospitals, had secured accreditation; when we took off in 2006, no health institution in Anambra State was duly accredited.
    31. Anambra State was the first to undergo national peer review, which scrutinised State Governments for good governance, through the State Peer Review Mechanism (SPRM), an initiative of the Nigerian Governors’ ForuPeter Obi’s profile. Man pass man. Abeg if you have a politician with a more result-oriented profile/CV than this, please drop it, make we see?
    =====
    NAME : Mr. Peter Gregory OBI, (CON)
    DATE OF BIRTH : 19th July 1961
    PLACE OF BIRTH: Onitsha, Nigeria
    NATIONALITY: Nigerian
    MARITAL STATUS: Married with two children
    EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ATTENDED
    · Christ the King College, Onitsha (W.A.S.C.)
    . University of Nigeria, Nsukka (B.A. Philosophy)
    · Lagos Business School, Nigeria (Chief Executive Program)
    · Harvard Business School, Boston, U.S.A. (Mid to Mid Marketing)
    · Harvard Business School, Boston, U.S.A. (Changing the Game)
    · London School of Economics (Financial Mgmt/Business Policy)
    · Columbia Business School, New York, U.S.A. (Marketing Mgmt )
    · Institute for Management Development, Switzerland (Senior Executive Program)
    · Institute for Management Development, Switzerland (Break-Through Program for CEOs)
    · Kellogg Graduate School of Management, U.S.A. (Advanced Executive Program)
    · Kellogg School of Management U.S.A. (Global Advanced Mgmt Program)
    . Oxford University: Said Business School, (Advanced Mgmt& Leadership Program)
    . Cambridge University: George Business School (Advanced Leadership Program)
    PREVIOUS POSITIONS
    · Governor, Anambra State of Nigeria (2006-2014)
    · Honorary Special Adviser to the President on Finance (till May, 2015)
    · Member, Presidential Economic Management Team (till May, 2015)
    · Vice-Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (2008-2014)
    · Chairman, South-East Governors’ Forum (2006-2014)
    . Former Chairman: Board of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
    · Former Chairman: Fidelity Bank Plc.
    · Former Chairman: Guardian Express Mortgage Bank, Ltd.
    · Former Chairman: Future Views Securities, Ltd.
    · Former Chairman: Paymaster Nigeria Plc.
    · Former Chairman: Next International (Nigeria) Ltd
    · Former Director: Guardian Express Bank Plc.
    · Former Director: Chams Nigeria Plc.
    · Former Director: Emerging Capital Ltd
    · Former Director: Card Centre Plc
    MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS
    · Member, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG)
    · Member, Nigerian Chartered Institute of Bankers
    · Member, British Institute of Directors (IOD)
    MEMBERSHIP OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEES
    In my capacity as the Governor of Anambra State, I served as a member of:
    *Federal Government Committee on Minimum Wage
    *Federal Government Committee on Negotiation with Labour on Subsidy
    *Federal Government Committee on Mass Transit
    *Federal Government Committee on Natural Resource
    *National Economic Council Committee on Power Sector Reform
    *National Economic Council Committee on Sharing of MDGs Funds
    *National Economic Council Committee on Accurate Data on Nigeria’s Oil Import and Export
    *Agricultural Transformation Implementation Council
    *Sub-Committee on Needs Analysis of Public Universities in Nigeria
    *National Economic Council Review Committee on the Power Sector
    AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
    2015: Golden Jubilee Award from Catholic Diocese of Onitsha for outstanding contribution to quality healthcare delivery in St. Charles Borromeo Hospital in particular and Anambra State in general, on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee celebration of the hospital.
    *2014: Nigerian Library Association Golden Merit Award for remarkable improvement of libraries in Anambra State, exemplified by our Government’s construction of the Kenneth Dike Digital State Library, remarkable upgrade of the Onitsha Divisional Library, and provision of library facilities in secondary schools across the State.
    *2014: Champion Newspaper Most Outstanding Igbo Man of the Decade.
    * 2014 The Voice Newspaper (Holand) Achievers Award for Outstanding Example in Leadership and Governance.
    *2013: Silver Bird Man of the Year (with Governor BabatundeFashola of Lagos State).
    *2012: Business Hallmark Newspaper Man of the Year.
    *2012: The Golden Award on Prudence – by the Methodist Church of Nigeria as the Most
    Financially Prudent Governor in Nigeria.
    * 2012: Leadership and Good Governance Award by The Ezeife Leadership Foundation Award for restoring peace and harmony to Anambra State.
    * 2012: Best Performing Governor on Immunization in South-East Nigeria – by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
    * 2012: Outstanding Financial Planner and Manager – by the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion for my resourcefulness and creativity in governance.
    *2011: Zik Leadership Prize.
    *2010: ICT Governor of the Year – by the West Africa ICT Development Award.
    *2009: Champion Newspaper Nigeria’s Most Trustworthy Governor Award.
    *2009: Thisday Newspaper Most Prudent Governor in Nigeria.
    *2007: The Sun Newspaper Man of the Year Award.
    **The Nigerian MDGs Office/UNDP Best Governor in the Implementation of the MDGs in Nigeria
    INTRODUCTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER MAJOR CHANGES IN NIGERIAN POLITICS
    *He was the first gubernatorial candidate in Nigeria to legally challenge to its logical conclusion, his governorship electoral victory that was denied him. He won in the Courts and reclaimed his mandate.
    *He was the first Governor in Nigeria to legally challenge his wrongful impeachment and was reinstated by the Courts.
    *He was the first Governor in Nigeria to seek the interpretation of tenures of Governors when INEC allowed elections to take place in Anambra State when his tenure had not expired; the election already concluded was cancelled and he was allowed to complete his tenure.
    *He was the first Governor to serve a 2nd term in both the new and old Anambra State, that is, almost 40 years after creation of the State.
    *He was the first Governor, whilst still in Office, to be appointed a Special Adviser to the President.
    *He was the first serving Governor to be appointed into the Presidential Economic Management Team.
    *He was among the first Governors to be honoured with a National Award in 2011, while still in office.
    *Though the only Governor whose political party was in government in only one State, he was elected Vice-Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum twice.
    *Though the only non-PDP Governor in the South-East (made up of 5 States), he was elected by the other 4 PDP Governors as their Chairman for 8 years rather than the usual one year.
    FUNDAMENTAL ACHIEVEMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF ANAMBRA STATE (PARTIAL LISTING)
    1. Anambra was the first State to commence Sub-Sovereign Wealth savings, the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa. At a time many other Governors were leaving huge debts, I left the equivalent of $500 million Dollars in investment as well as local and foreign currency, including $156 million in Dollar-denominated bonds.
    2. For the first time in the history of Anambra State, Ambassadors and High Commissioners of notable countries such as United States, Britain, Russia, European Union, South Africa, Belgium, Israel, the Netherlands, Canada, among others, visited the State. Before my tenure, Anambra was practically a pariah state blacklisted by the Diplomatic Corps and international development partners.
    3. Development partners such as UNDP, UNICEF, the World Bank, DFID, the European Union etc., which hitherto were not in Anambra State started working with the State. Anambra was consistently adjudged one of the best states in development partnership and commitment to reforms for good governance.
    4. He was recognised as Best Governor by the Millennium Development Goals Office (OSSAP-MDGs) and the UNDP in the implementation of their programmes in Nigeria.
    5. The Nigerian Debt Management Office (DMO) rated Anambra as the least indebted state in Nigeria. In spite of visible and measurable achievements recorded in various sectors, the State under him did not borrow or raise bonds for her various projects.
    6. The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria rated Anambra State as the most financially stable state in the country.
    7. The State’s ground-breaking return of schools to their original owners – Voluntary Agencies (Churches) on 1st January 2009, and subsequent partnership with the Agencies in Education, saw the State move from 24th position out of 36 States to Number One in National Examination Council (NECO) and West African Examination Council (WAEC) examinations for three consecutive years. This made the World Bank to commission a study, led by the renowned Prof. Paul Collier of Oxford University, on this revolutionary partnership and phenomenal achievement.
    8. The State also entered into strategic partnership with the Churches in the Health sector. This symbiotic relationship resulted in a tremendous boost to health care because of the services offered by health institutions owned by Voluntary Agencies, while the State restored grants to the agencies and made available to them more than 50 million Dollars in various types of support.
    10. Through partnership with the Church in the Health sector, his Government funded the transformation of -:
    a: Iyienu Hospital, Ogidi;
    b: Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Ihiala;
    c: St Charles Borromeo Hospital, Onitsha;
    d: Holy Rosary Hospital, Waterside, Onitsha; and
    e: St. Joseph Hospital, Adazi-Nnukwu.
    His Government also built the Joseph Nwilo Heart Centre in St. Joseph, Adazi-Nnukwu, where heart operations are now being performed.
    11. His Government won the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (1 Million dollars) as the best-performing state in immunisation in the South-East. With complementary funding from our Government, they used the money to build 10 Maternal and Child Care Centres across the State, particularly in rural communities, in partnership with the Churches.
    12. The State was the first to procure and distribute more than 30,000 computers to secondary schools, including 22,500 from HP. The Managing Director for Personal Systems Group HP Inc, Mr. FabriceCampoy described the deployment as the biggest of such projects in the Middle-East and Africa.
    13. Anambra State Government provided Microsoft Academies to more than 500 secondary schools, which the Head of Microsoft in Nigeria (Mr. Ken Span) described as the biggest such deployment in Africa so far.
    14. The State provided Internet access to more than 500 secondary schools, which the CEO of Galaxy Backbone (Mr. Gerald Ilukwe) characterized as incomparable to any in the country.
    15. More than 700 buses were provided to secondary schools in the State by our Government.
    16. Boreholes were provided in schools all over the State.
    17. Numerous classrooms were built in all the 177 communities of the State.
    18 As part of the efforts to turn around the economy of the State, a number of companies were attracted to build their facilities in Anambra State. A case in point is SABMiller, the 2nd largest brewery in the world, which built their first Green Field facility in the State.

  • FG probes PDP, firm over alleged hacking of Buhari’s profile

    The Federal Government has raised a committee to scrutinise the reports of the data mining firm, Cambridge Analytica, which swiped the data of over 50 million Facebook users to sway elections in many countries, including Nigeria in 2015, instigating a campaign to perpetuate discord and hack into personal records of the the then opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari.

    A Presidency source told State House correspondents that the committee would investigate whether Cambridge Analytica’s work for the Peoples Democratic Party in 2007 and 2015 general elections’ campaigns breached Nigeria’s laws or infringed on the rights of other parties and their candidates.

    He said this might, depending on the outcome of the investigation, result in the appointment of a special investigator and possibly, criminal prosecutions by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said though he had not been briefed on the issue, Nigerians deserved answers immediately from the PDP, Facebook and Cambridge Analytica “on how and why they improperly obtained and used data to interfere in Nigerian elections.”

    Shehu said an investigation should help to determine if there was a linkage between the various kilings and maimings that had characterized Nigeria’s elections since 2007 and the misinformation activities of the Cambridge Analytica (CA) data flows.

    Shehu added that the investigation would also help President Buhari achieve his wish to leave a legacy of improved elections.

    The source, who told spoke on condition of anonymity, recalled that a whistleblower, Christopher Wylie, who worked with a Cambridge University academic to obtain the data, had told the Observer, a UK newspaper that ‘We exploited Facebook to harvest millions of people’s profiles. And built models to exploit what we knew about them and target their inner demons. That was the basis the entire company was built on.’

    He stated: “Among those whose personal data was hacked into in 2015 was the then opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari. Cambridge Analytica, according to the reports, worked with Israeli hackers who were instructed to get dirt on Muhammadu Buhari during the presidential campaign.

    “According to those reports, SCL Elections, a public relations firm that later became Cambridge Analytica, manipulated Nigeria’s 2007 by organising campaigns to weaken the chances of opposition parties.

    “As part of its engagement, the company organised ‘anti-election rallies’ to demoralise opposition supporters from voting in the elections, which saw the emergence of Umar Yar’Adua as Nigeria’s president.

    “The Cambridge Analytica team came up with a video to portray Candidate Buhari as a leader who would enforce Sharia Law in Nigeria. It was intended to sway the minds of millions of Nigerians and vote for the PDP candidate.

    “Currently, the Cambridge Analytica and Facebook are the focus of an inquiry into data and politics by the British Information Commissioner’s Office, the United States Special Counsel Robert Mueller and, separately, the U K Electoral Commission is also investigating what role Cambridge Analytica played in the EU referendum.”