News

Fraud Allegation Hits TAN

Published

12 years ago

October 13, 2014

The Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), a group passionately campaigning for a second term for President Goodluck Jonathan, has been hit by allegation of fraud, with some members of the group accusing it of staging a crowd in support of the president and refusing to pay them as agreed.
TAN has conducted regional rallies in support of Jonathan since August, with the last of its six conventions held in Kano, for the North West, which comprises Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, and Kaduna states.
The Kano event held September 27, like the previous five regional rallies, was attended by senior officials of the Federal Government, and thousands of supporters.
Much of the crowd at the event was rented, some aggrieved members of the group have told our correspondent.
The politicians, who are members of the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), in Kano State, and were drafted to be part of the TAN rally, narrated how they were asked to rent a crowd for the president for an agreed fee, only to be left stranded without money to compensate hundreds of youth and women hired for the rally.
The matter is threatening to tear the support organization apart with the aggrieved members gearing to seek redress and expose the sham they claim was on parade at the events.
The aggrieved agents now have a pile of debt to settle and some of them, who spoke with our correspondent, say they do not know who to talk to about the money they spent in bringing in supporters.
One of the agents, Ibrahim Lawan, who claimed to be the secretary of the PDP Youth Awareness Initiative, Kano, told our correspondent that he was instructed to bring in 500 youth and women and to hire buses that will transport them to the venue of the rally in Kano city.
The arrangement, according to Lawan, was that each participant would be paid N500 on arrival, and N2, 000 for each bus. Those contracted to rent the crowd hired, at least, 50 busloads of supporters, he said.
The story changed once they arrived at the venue, Lawan told our correspondent.
“But to my utmost surprise and confusion, as we entered the venue, we tried to locate the organizers but we could not see them. When I called them, they said I should be patient as they would settle everything after the event. But almost immediately, we realized that the whole thing is a scam because nobody was talking to us again,” Lawan said.
He said they were left to source money and settle some of the youth who became restive and attacked them and their personal vehicles, and seized their belongings, including phones.
“This left us in rancour with over 600 angry youth who went wild due to frustration of spending lots of hours, no food or water, and also no available transportation back to their various destinations,” he said.
Lawan said he managed to escape while two of his guards were injured in the fray that followed.
Students in the state, who were also asked to put up a showing at the event, were treated the same way, he said.
Another agent, Bello Dan Alkarya, also told ou correspondent that he was asked to bring in women and youth to the venue and would be given N500 for each of them.
Alkarya said he did, but unlike Lawan, he was short-changed as only N300 was paid for each person transported to the rally venue.
Our investigation revealed that TAN has no official representation in Kano.
Our correspondent, who made findings in Kano, was told the group has only two resource persons who are responsible for the entire North West.
One of the officials, who agreed to speak, but on the condition his identity be protected, said he had received several complaints of people short-changed by the group after the event.
“I simply told them I am not an insider on the activities of TAN because I don’t know much about them. We are only two of us in the whole of North West region, and we don’t have any office. The only way I get to them is when they call me, I don’t know anything about them,” he said.
“In fact, the only person who holds everything is the owner of the group, Ifeanyi Uba. He is the one who directed one Jibrin to make sure that they get some people to bring in women and youth. Now, you can see that there is a problem in the whole thing,” the man said.
TAN’s Director of Communication and Strategy, Udenta Udenta, told our correspondent in a telephone interview last Saturday that the association was not aware of the issue, and could not have been involved in such an arrangement.
“Kano rally was our last rally. The response of Nigerians to our objective and rallies was spontaneous and they are full of passion and conviction. From the South East rally to the North West, that has been the trend.
“However, stakeholders, including those contesting elections, can mobilize people to come to the rallies. It is not like TAN is doing the entire mobilization. It is like a market place. TAN only set up a platform to accommodate various interests. Therefore, whoever made the accusation (you are talking about) should be clear on it; he should state clearly who is responsible, when the agreement was reached, date and if not, such a story should be dismissed,” Udenta said.
Lawan said he and others affected have decided to reach out to the media, the PDP leadership and the police.
“Till now, those in charge of the mobilisation and payment of transport fares and feeding stipends are nowhere to be found or contacted,” he said.
“It’s indeed a pity to see how things are being organised by TAN North West (Kano). Please, PDP, GDG and TAN members, come to my aid, I am currently under pressure and threatened by angry PDP youth to pay them their stipends,” Lawan lamented.
TAN has been at the centre of controversy before.
During its earlier rallies, the group staged the events at the peak of the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria, defying complaints and warnings from Nigerians about the possibility of helping to spread the deadly virus.

News

NDLEA Alerts Parents After Uncovering Drugs In Cookies, Gummies

Published

2 days ago

August 10, 2026

The Tide

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has cautioned parents to closely monitor their children’s craving for cookies and gummies, warning that some of the products may contain illicit substances being smuggled into the country.

In a statement posted yesterday, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said recent seizures by the agency’s officers had revealed attempts by criminal elements to introduce prohibited substances under the guise of everyday snacks.

“As parents, if your kids and young ones always crave for cookies and gummies, you may have to pay a little more attention. There may be more to it than ordinary cookies and gummies,” Babafemi wrote, sharing images of seized packages.

The photos showed colourful pouches of “Cookies Delta 8 Gummies” in flavours such as Hawaiian Rain Pineapple Guava and Thai Mango, labelled as vegan and hemp-derived, alongside the actual gummy products.

The warning comes amid a major interception by the Nigeria Customs Service at the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos.

Officers seized two 40-foot containers containing large quantities of cannabis-infused products concealed among legitimate imports such as used vehicles, generators, batteries and fabrics.

The consignment included thousands of Delta-8 cannabis pre-roll cookies, packs of cannabis-infused gummies and other cannabis-infused cookies, with a combined estimated street value of about ?373.8m.

The items were subsequently handed over to the NDLEA.

NDLEA officials described the products, which originated from the United States and were packaged to resemble ordinary vegan snacks with appealing flavours, as an emerging public health threat.

They noted that the attractive packaging could appeal especially to children, students and young people, raising the risk of accidental consumption of concentrated cannabis.

News

RIWAMA, PCRC Join Forces To Curb Illegal Waste Dumping In Rivers

Published

2 days ago

August 10, 2026

The Tide

The Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA) has announced plans to partner with the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) to strengthen efforts at combating illegal waste dumping and improving environmental sanitation across the state.

The partnership was unveiled during a meeting between officials of RIWAMA and the leadership of the Rivers State chapter of the PCRC in Port Harcourt, recently, where both organisations pledged to work together to restore the Garden City status of the state capital.

In his speech, the Supervisor of Market and Community Sanitation in RIWAMA, Mr. Omereji Ukoha, said the collaboration was in line with the vision of the agency’s Managing Director, Dr. Ibimina Wokoma, and the Board Chairman, Dr. Samuel Nwanosike, to promote a cleaner and healthier environment.

Ukoha described the PCRC as a strategic grassroots partner capable of mobilising communities and driving behavioural change through sustained public enlightenment on proper waste disposal.

He expressed concern over the increasing rate of indiscriminate refuse dumping in parts of Port Harcourt, particularly in New GRA, where blocked drainage channels and illegal shanties have continued to contribute to flooding and environmental degradation.

According to him, the agency is determined to intensify enforcement against environmental offenders, warning that unregistered cart pushers and residents who patronise them would be prosecuted in accordance with the provisions of the RIWAMA Act, 2014.

The RIWAMA official urged residents to embrace proper waste disposal practices and patronise only government-approved waste operators in order to safeguard public health and protect the environment.

Responding, the Chairman of the Police Community Relations Committee in Rivers State, Dr. Voke Emore, commended RIWAMA for seeking collaboration with the committee in addressing environmental challenges confronting the state.

Emore said the PCRC would deploy its community-based structures across the state to support public sensitisation and encourage residents to comply with environmental sanitation regulations.

He also called on local government councils to play more active roles in waste management, noting that they collect sanitation levies and should complement the efforts of the state government in maintaining a clean environment.

The PCRC chairman described indiscriminate refuse disposal as a serious environmental and public health concern, stressing that sustained collaboration among government agencies, community leaders and residents remained critical to achieving lasting sanitation goals.

Both organisations expressed optimism that the partnership would promote cleaner communities, reduce environmental hazards and strengthen public participation in efforts to ensure a healthier and more sustainable environment for the people of Rivers State.

King Onunwor

News

Police Nab Kidnap Syndicate, Arrest Five In Rivers

Published

2 days ago

August 10, 2026

The Tide

The Rivers State Police Command has arrested five suspected members of a kidnapping syndicate allegedly terrorising communities in Oyigbo Local Government Area of the State.

The State Police Command disclosed this in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, ASP Blessing Agabe, in Port Harcourt, recently.

The suspects were arrested during a coordinated operation at Oyigbo, following directives by the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command, CP Olugbenga Adewole Adepoju.

Those arrested were Ezekiel Emmanuel, 44, from Benue State; Chukwuma Mbanefor, 51, from Anambra State; Nicholas Diala, 65, from Imo State; Ndubuisi Uwakwe, 49, from Abia State; and Ifeanyi Nwakwo, 51, from Imo State.

The Command said the arrest represented another significant operational success in its ongoing efforts to dismantle criminal networks operating in the State.

According to the Police, preliminary investigation indicated that the suspects were allegedly involved in kidnapping operations within Rivers State.

The suspects, during interrogation, allegedly confessed to their involvement in kidnapping and further admitted participating in several operations carried out in Kom-Kom, Railway, Obeama and Afam communities.

The Command said investigation was ongoing, with efforts intensified to identify and apprehend other members of the suspected syndicate who may be connected with the criminal activities.

The Police boss said the operation reflected the implementation of operational directives and the intelligence-driven policing strategy of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, psc, NPM.

Adepoju reaffirmed the Command’s determination to sustain aggressive intelligence-led operations against kidnapping, cultism, armed robbery and other violent crimes across Rivers State.

He warned kidnappers and other criminal elements operating in the State that there would be no safe haven for them, stressing that the Command would relentlessly pursue, arrest and ensure that those found culpable were brought to justice.

The Commissioner further assured residents of the Command’s commitment to protecting lives and property, urging members of the public to remain vigilant and cooperate with security agencies in the fight against crime.

He appealed to residents to provide the Police with credible and timely information capable of assisting security operatives in preventing criminal activities and apprehending suspected criminals.

The Command urged members of the public who may have useful information on the activities of the suspected kidnapping syndicate or other criminal elements to contact the Police through its emergency lines, assuring that such information would assist ongoing investigations.

King Onunwor