The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, on Friday, said that intelligence at the disposal of the Force has revealed that foreign mercenaries are involved in the proposed nationwide protest.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, Egbetokun urged all Nigerians to exercise caution and think twice before joining any protest group.

Egbetokun said, “We have been monitoring development surrounding protest threats. While some groups call for violent protests, emulating Kenya’s recent events, others advocate for peaceful demonstrations.

“However, some individuals promote peaceful protests with violent undertones, raising concerns about their sincerity. We have our history of violent protests in Nigeria, and I don’t believe we have to look to other countries to note the dangers of unchecked demonstrations. We commend patriots who have withdrawn from the protest due to the apparent sinister motives and ignorance of those calling for violence.

“We note those who have spoken out against any form of protest at this critical juncture, fearing enemies of our country may be manipulating the process. We confirm their fears are genuine, as we have credible intelligence on foreign mercenaries’ involvement in this planned protest. The Nigerian police urge all Nigerians to exercise caution and think twice before joining any protest group.”

Mallam Olawale Rasheed, Spokesperson to the Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, has said that the governor has neither borrowed a kobo nor draw security vote in the administration of the state ever since he took office.

Olawale Rasheed made the clarification in a press statement he signed himself, and made available to The Boss.

The clarifications in response to questions from reporters who quoted some opposition figures alleging the state Governor of increasing Osun debt, and of accessing security votes to the tune of billions of naira.

Mr Rasheed attributed such allegations to pure mischief, ignorance of public finance and deliberate misinterpretation of state data, noting that Governor Adeleke is pursuing his many governance initiatives within the confines of available resources from federal allocations and internally generated revenue.

According to the Spokesperson, the state Governor is achieving so much through fiscal discipline, deliberate curtailing of overhead cost and widening of revenue nets, all which resulted in fiscal and financial health of the state.

Mr Rasheed posited that opposition figures displayed ignorance by ignoring the impact of the exchange rate crisis on the inherited external debt stock of Osun State, explaining that the weak naira increased the naira value of the state debt stock.

“The Debt Management Office is the national debt data repository. According to the DMO, Osun owed foreign lenders the sum of $91,779,393.97 as of December 31, 2022, and by December 31, 2023, the external debt profile of Osun stood at $87,247,488.51.

“From the figures above, Osun’s external debt dropped. The noticeable difference in the naira value of Osun external debt was due to the significant devaluation of naira. In 2022, a dollar averaged at N460, and so, the naira value of $91,779,393.97 Osun’s external debt in 2022 was N41bn compared to 2023 when a dollar averaged N1,400, which is essentially why despite the fact that Osun debt reduced to $87,247,488.51, the naira equivalent was N78bn”, the Spokesperson narrated.

“On the allegation of security services votes included in the uploaded budget performance report, let me clarify that the subhead only referred to the cost of various security services and operations across the state which is different from the conventional concept of security votes as drawn by most state governors.

“The security service funds in the identified subhead were used among other interventions to service special peacekeeping operations, provide logistics support to quench inter communal clashes and support the operations of the different security agencies across the state”.

“The funds meant for various security related services are accessed through normal approval processes with appropriate records kept. We however firmly affirm that Mr Governor did not and is not drawing any personal security votes as is the convention before his assumption of office. This is in line with his avowed commitment to free state resources to execute his ambitious five point agenda,” the Governor’s Spokesperson noted.

He described as defeatist the recent penchant of the opposition to twist state finance data to support false narration, submitting that such failed strategy confirms the opposition has run out of ideas and initiatives in the face of Governor Adeleke’s widely acknowledged exceptional performance.

Telecommunication services provider, Globacom, has celebrated the eighth year of uninterrupted connectivity for Glo 1, the international submarine cable which is solely owned by the company.

Glo 1 has, since 2016, not experienced any disruption in its operations, thereby ensuring uninterrupted connectivity for individual and corporate customers who derive  their internet requirements from the network.

The company said in a press statement that  Glo1 submarine fiber cable infrastructure recently upgraded to ensure maximum utilization and enhanced service delivery.

Globacom exclusively financed  the entire end-to-end architecture of Glo 1, including access systems, the national fiber-optic backbone, the international cable systems, International gateways and data centre services. Globacom’s presence in several countries and its fibre optic networks entail that it can offer last mile and domestic long haul services to Glo 1 customers. Earlier this year,   when most submarine cables in Nigeria and West Africa experienced fibre cuts which caused widespread internet downturn, Glo 1 was unaffected and was about the only source of succour for internet users in the country.

Glo 1 successfully powered financial institutions, internet service providers, and data consumers throughout the period.  Industry watchers posited  that Glo 1 international submarine Cable’s resilient architecture  and durability made the  cable impregnable to disruption.

Glo 1 connects directly to London with lowest latency, thus guaranteeing  ultra fast and reliable internet connectivity. Latency refers to the length of time it takes for data to travel from one point to another across a network

The Glo 1 capacity boost effectively compliments the ongoing technical expansions and upgrades of Glo network infrastructure to ensure unique calling and browsing experience on the Glo network.

Globacom disclosed that the Glo 1 facility offers customers the most guaranteed solutions to their business needs and has customized services to address the requirements of a wide segment of clients including Oil and Gas companies, Manufacturers, government, education and medical institutions.

“The cable facilitates teleconferencing, distance learning, disaster recovery and telemedicine, among several other benefits for the African people” the company said.