President Bola Tinubu has expressed deep sadness over the passing of a former minister and chieftain of the All Progressives' Congress (APC), Senator Bello Maitama Yusuf.

The President extends his deepest sympathy and condolences to Senator Yusuf’s family and friends, as well as the government and people of Jigawa State.

"A true believer in Nigeria’s unity and stability, Senator Maitama Yusuf contributed immensely to the socio-economic development of this country. In the public service, he was selfless. He was dedicated to effective service delivery in order to improve the lives of Nigerians. He served Nigeria meritoriously as the Honourable Minister in the Federal Ministries of Interior and Commerce, before being elected into the Nigerian Senate by his people.

"Senator Yusuf was widely regarded as an advocate for good governance, transparency, and youth empowerment during his time in the Senate. Later in life, he was engaged in business, and he made success out of it.

"Nigerians will fondly remember and honour his memory, particularly for the courageous and pivotal role he played in countering attempts by anti-democratic forces to undermine the country’s democracy by seeking to extend the constitutional term limits of elected leaders," the President affirmed.

President Tinubu prayed that Almighty Allah grant the soul of Sardaunan Dutse eternal rest and give succour to all those who grieve over this irreplaceable loss.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

As part of efforts to prioritize effective and efficient working synergy between the Presidency and Federal Ministries, President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointments of professionals who have prior working experience within the architecture of the Federal Ministries they will be coordinating with, in addition to duties that will be carried out at the President's discretion:

Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy — Mr. Bayo Onanuga

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation — Ms. Delu Bulus Yakubu

The President wishes the new presidential aides well in the discharge of their duties.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his solidarity with Palestine amidst the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

In a video posted on his official X account, President Ramaphosa offered condolences to both the people of Israel and Palestine. He voiced his deep concern about the unfolding atrocities in the Middle East and emphasized his support for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.

Ramaphosa’s stance reflects the growing international attention on the conflict, with prominent politicians expressing their support for the Palestinians in the wake of the recent attacks by Hamas in Israel. The conflict has escalated into total military warfare in the Gaza Strip, resulting in significant casualties on both sides, as reported by humanitarian organizations.

Ramaphosa’s message underscores South Africa’s solidarity with Palestine during this challenging period in the region.

Watch the video below:

Former President of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) has described the President Bola Tinubu-led administration as the toughest in history of Nigeria.

This comes on heels of the backlash he received following media blackout on the Chicago State University, CSU, certificate saga of Tinubu pending the Supreme Court decision on the matter.

Agbakoba, in a recent interview with Vanguard, decried the hike in food prices as a result of the subsidy removal by the Tinubu-led administration.

According to him, Tinubu has a lot of controversies to contend with: The socio-economic crisis occasioned by the policy of subsidy removal, the unified single exchange rate, the threat by the Labour Congress to shut down the country, the struggle to provide palliatives to calm frayed nerves, and now the issue of credibility as a result of the Chicago State Certificate saga.

“President Tinubu has taken on a very challenging assignment. Let us assume that President Tinubu is the captain of an aircraft. Tinubu takes off from the runway; he has to climb out to a particular altitude. You know, in climbing, some pilots have a very smooth climb, while others have very turbulent climbing. Tinubu has been contending with two major headwinds.

“One is the issue of the removal of subsidies, and another is the exchange control issue. How he handles them will depend on his skills as a pilot. But the climbing is very difficult.

“When you are climbing out and you hit the headwind, you have to be in full focus. So, the climb-out has been extremely tough.

“There is no doubt about it. What I think is that he ought to be using full power because when a pilot is climbing, he has the power to trot. What I see Captain Tinubu doing at this stage is using only 50 percent of his throttle power.

“He needs to push that throttle to the limit so that the climb-out can be great. I will say that the turbulence will continue until the Supreme Court makes its final decision.

“What is obvious is that Nigerians have to go through a very tough time. It has been the toughest time in the history of this country since independence, as garri, rice, vegetables, and other staple foods are way out of the reach of the common man,” he said.

Following the high cost of feed due to the fuel subsidy removal, Poultry Farmers Association of Nigeria (PAN) Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter has raised alarm over the shutdown of over 127 poultry farms in Abuja and the loss of over N100 million in last 3years.

Musa Hakeem, the Secretary of PAN, while speaking with journalists during the World Egg Day celebration in Abuja said the poultry industry is faced with series of challenges.

Hakeem said while the Industry is struggling to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cashless policy by the central Bank set in, now fuel subsidy removal, high cost of maize, unavailability of materials for feeds is making many of the farms shut down.

While harping on need for urgent intervention by the authorities of the FCT, Hakeem stated that many farms in the FCT are finding it difficult to stay afloat.

He further lamented that since the post COVID-19 pandemic era in 2020, poultry farmers have yet to get any support from the government.

He said despite reporting the cases of destruction of some farms in the FCT by wind early this year to the Animal Husbandry department of the FCT, they still have not received any support.

“We are calling on the FCT minister to ensure that poultry industry in the FCT is well supported so that more investors can come in to provide employment opportunities for the women and youths.

Another member of PAN FCT chapter Abdullahi Abduljabar said that the challenges is not limited to the FCT but the entire poultry industry, saying the industry is daily losing investments, huge sum of money from investors who genuinely wanted to contribute to the growth of the Industry.

“The increase in price is not because the farmers want to create burden on the consumers, but because of the challenges as the cost of feed vary from time to time”, he said.

Furthermore, Abduljabar pointed out that recently, they observed that the quality of poultry feeds have dropped significantly, which has reflected on the production margin of the layers saying for instance, a farm that use to produce 50 creates of eggs can hardy produce 15 creates of eggs.

“We are calling on the relevant authorities to look into these challenges so that the sector does not collapse”, he said.

Ibrahim Lamidi, an ex-officio, North Central PAN, said the price of an egg from the farm gate is N2500. “So we are pleading to the FCT minister to include them in the school feeding program as egg is important for school children”.

Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has provided insight into why he accepted a role in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet, despite their affiliation with different political parties. Wike spoke at a press conference held in Abuja on Friday, emphasizing the attributes that led him to join Tinubu’s government.

The former Rivers State Governor highlighted Tinubu’s leadership capacity, political will, and the absence of quality leadership in the country as compelling reasons for his collaboration with the President.

Wike explained that upon assuming his ministerial role, he uncovered a law that established a civil service commission for the FCT, which had not been implemented. When he brought this issue to Tinubu’s attention, the President swiftly approved its initiation, demonstrating his willingness to take necessary actions.

Wike expressed his belief that one of the fundamental challenges in Nigeria is the absence of effective leadership. He emphasized that many people are hesitant to take action, and taking action will inevitably have varying reactions from different quarters.

He discussed the 2018 law passed by the National Assembly, which established a civil service commission for the FCT and was assented to by the former Vice-President Osinbajo while serving as acting President. However, the law had yet to be implemented, as no one demonstrated the political will.

Wike concluded by stressing the importance of upholding the law, even if it means reducing the powers of specific individuals, as it is ultimately about the institution and the betterment of the nation.

In a thrilling night of football, three national teams secured their qualification for the 2024 European Championship, as France, Portugal, and Belgium emerged victorious in their respective matches.

France, led by star forward Kylian Mbappe, overcame the Netherlands with a 2-1 victory to secure their spot in the Euro 2024 finals. Mbappe, who played a pivotal role, scored twice, with the first goal coming just seven minutes into the match.

He added another early in the second half, while Quilindschy Hartman scored a consolation goal for the hosts late in the game. France has maintained a perfect record, winning all six Euro qualifying matches, confirming their place in the tournament with two matches to spare.

Belgium secured their qualification with a hard-fought 3-2 victory against Austria. The match in Vienna was a winner-takes-all contest, and Belgium emerged victorious to top Group F with 16 points, securing their place in the finals. The match was intense and closely contested, but Romelu Lukaku’s performance helped Belgium win.

Portugal also secured their qualification to the Euros after a thrilling 3-2 victory over Slovakia. Goncalo Ramos opened the scoring for Portugal, and Cristiano Ronaldo added two goals, including one from the penalty spot. David Hancko and Stanislav Lobotka scored for Slovakia, but Portugal held on for the win. Portugal won all their qualifying matches, and they join France, Belgium, and Germany as the teams qualified for Euro 2024.

The competition promises to be an exciting showdown, with these three strong teams booking their places in the tournament.

Bauchi state Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir, has decried that the civil service no longer has the Technical people, the Engineers, the Accountants as well as the Administrative officers to effectively and efficiently run it.

“They are all gone, even our Extension workers are not there, how do we progress, our education system is producing graduates, and we are not absorbing them, our system is very poor, and yet we sit here and delude and deceive ourselves, paying N6 to N7 billion monthly while not employing”, the Governor decried.

The Governor, therefore, said that already, people of the state have been assured that not fewer than 10,000 of them will be employed in order to fill all existing professional cadre in the service.

Bala Mohammed also lamented the increasing monthly wage bill despite the fact that the state was not employing new workers over the years.

The Governor was speaking on Friday during the closing ceremony of a 3-day retreat organized by the Office of the Head of Civil Service in conjunction with the at the state Hajj Camp Friday, regretted that despite migration of workers who retired to pension platforms the nominal roll is increasing.

Bala Mohammed stressed that, “Of course, somebody has just spoken about the nominal roll, the nominal roll is developed by the service, we, the Politicians are frustrated.”

According to him, “Yesterday, somebody talked about stress, anytime I see the Accountant General, it stresses me, even when he was talking, he was stressing me because I didn’t understand what he was saying.”

“People are retiring, they are migrating to pension platforms, but my salaries, the portfolio is increasing, and we are not employing and nobody will come and give me any explanation as to what is happening”, the Governor said.

The Governor added that, “Yesterday, Dr Ishaku spoke very well and this is a challenge to our civil service and to our political appointees, all of us, the new Commissioners are here, you are to drive the nominal roll, we have to get tangible and measurable savings from the salary portfolio otherwise we cannot get money to employ.”

According to him, “some people are earning what they don’t work for, period, and we cannot develop the data, so, it’s a challenge”.

Bala Mohammed urged the need for a change of mindset towards public service regretting that people believe they will sit down in their offices and get double salary.

“We have to change mindset, mindset of all of us. People believe that they will sit down in their offices and get double salary or in their local government and input people that will be collecting money or in our Emirate Councils or our local Councils,” he added.

He stressed that, “We have to make the change because, this is Haram, mind you, we are Muslims or Christians, this is Haram money. That is why may be, we are not progressing, because we are all living on Haram, educating our children on Haram, living above our means.”

The Governor further said that, “I have studied very well, our system is rotten, we try to eat what we cannot afford.”

According to him, “Somebody has spoken about education, how many of us are taking our children to government schools, even though they have Teachers, they have everything, in some Primary Schools, you don’t even have the Teachers on reality checks but on paper you have so many of them, so we have to change.”

He further stressed that the state Primary Healthcare Development Agency has to work, revealing that the over 1000 Primary Health Centers have been built in partnership with development partners.

He however, observed that hospital rooms do not make a Clinic without the human capital, adding that the state cannot employ because ghost workers have taken the job spaces.

A visibly worried Bala Mohammed said that, “I am always frustrated, we want to employ, pre-service employment of Doctors, Nurses and Midwives, when we were growing, this is how it was done, seamless migration after graduation, at least you will get the trained Nurse in a PHC.”

He however lamented that, “We don’t have them anymore, we have revolving fund that we established when we came, but they have been encroached upon, equipments that we bought in the hospitals are been stolen and nobody is doing anything, no penalty, our punishment and reward systems are not working.”

He further noted that: “I think, that is the essence of coming here for us to sit down and talk to ourselves that we need to change”.

In this investigation, a Daily Trust Saturday reporter went undercover to unmask the law enforcement agents and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC)-designated driving schools within Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that are working together to compromise the country’s driving standards, thus contributing to road accidents.

Concealing a recording device, our reporter went round the streets of Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, in an attempt to test the tripartite arrangement of the country’s driver’s licence procedure and how underage and unqualified drivers find their way behind the wheels.

Visiting the first driving school to enquire if this reporter, with no driving experience, could be issued a driving certificate, one of the first requirements for a driver’s licence by the FRSC, the staff expressed readiness to subvert the process.

“Don’t worry, we can issue you the certificate. Since you came through us, there is no problem,” a staff of a driving school accredited by the FRSC, who simply identified himself as Hamza said, even when he was repeatedly told that this reporter did not have any driving experience.

This readiness to circumvent the process was visible even among staff members of the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), popularly known as Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO), who are mandated to engage in the training and testing of drivers before they are issued licences.

“No need to attend any driving school,” a staff of the VIO had told this reporter and offered to ensure that he went through a seamless process to get the licence that would authorise him to join the country’s numerous but undocumented and unqualified drivers.

Statistics by the World Health Organisation revealed that an estimated 1.3million people around the world die annually as a result of road traffic accidents, with Africa leading with the highest death rates. Nigeria is topping the African list with the most traffic accidents causing fatalities.

At the 7th United Nations Global Road Safety Week in May, the corps marshal of the FRSC, Dauda Biu, said over 40,000 people died annually in road accidents, and that road traffic crashes were the leading cause of deaths and disability in the country. Nevertheless, data from the FRSC Statistics-Digest showed that over 11, 361 persons had been killed and 65,814 wounded due to road accidents in 2022.

But the FRSC identified human factor as the major cause of these accidents.

Speaking with Daily Trust Saturday, Honey Ogundayo, the head of the FRSC National Traffic Radio said, “Ninety per cent recklessness, carelessness and not thinking about other road users are part of the human factors that cause road accidents.”

In Nigeria, the driver’s licence, a permit produced by the FRSC, is the only recognised document that certifies an individual to drive a vehicle on any road. To secure this licence, the Board of Internal Revenue, FRSC and DRTS in the FCT work in a tripartite arrangement.

However, Daily Trust Saturday reports that corrupt government officials connive with FRSC-accredited driving schools to hike the licence fees and subvert the process by issuing the documents to unqualified drivers within Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, thus contributing to road accidents.

The process of obtaining a driver’s licence

Information obtained from the FRSC portal revealed that a three-year valid driver’s licence cost N10,000 while that of five years cost N15,000. However, Ogundayo, who spoke to our reporter on behalf of the FRSC, said there was an update on the fee, which is yet to be updated on the portal.

She said N10,350 was the government-approved fee for a three-year valid driver’s licence and N15,450 for that of five years.

To get a step-by-step process of obtaining a licence, our reporter reached out to the appropriate government agencies, where he was told that it was a tripartite arrangement that involves designated driving schools, the Board of Internal Revenue and the VIO.

Findings from the FRSC portal revealed that there are 91 FRSC-approved driving schools within the FCT.

Speaking on the tripartite arrangement, the head of the FRSC National Traffic Radio, Ogundayo said, “You must visit a driving school and have 26 sessions with them. When you pass the 26 sessions, then you can pick up a form from the Board of Internal Revenue.”

Ogundayo explained that visiting the VIO was equally necessary to test the applicants’ driving skills, while the FRSC produces the driver’s licence.

“No certified FRSC driving school can process a driving certificate for an applicant who does not undergo the driving training and testing. It means that you are robbing the name of the FRSC in the mod, which the Corp Marshal will frown at,” she added.

Acquiring a driver’s licence is a process and “you cannot jump from one to another,” she said and assured that FRSC-accredited driving schools would do the right thing.

“They will not just collect money and give somebody a certificate without passing through the process,” she reiterated.

At the DRTS, Kalu Emetu, the public relations officer, said that to be a licensed driver, one must pass a driving test administered by the Service.

“We always encourage our staff to do the right thing. We have our operational guideline and we don’t expect anybody to go outside it,” Emetu said.

He added that it is the reason the DRTS created the Department of Driving, Testing and Training. “When we test you and notice that you are not fit to be on the road, we will not give                                  

How FRSC-accredited driving schools undermine process

To test the tripartite arrangement, this reporter randomly selected three out of the 91 FRSC-accredited driving schools in the FCT to find out if an individual without any driving experience could access the driving school certificate for the licence process.

On a visit to Access Driving School, with FRSC number FRSC/00296/FCT/00244 at FHA, Nyanya, Abuja, this reporter posed as an applicant in need of a driver’s licence even though he did not have any driving experience.

“As far as you come through us, nothing will happen.  We will be the ones to help you do the online test. All that is needed is N30,000 for a five-year valid licence, Hamza, a staff of the FRSC-accredited driving school said.

Moving onto another driving school, our reporter met Simon at Aso Driving School, with FRSC number FRSC/00070/FCT/0003 at Central Area. He explained how the driving school would use its influence as a licensed gatekeeper to ensure that our reporter’s name was included on the list of those qualified to be issued licences even though he did not have any driving experience.

“They will assume that all the candidates we put on the list are drivers,” he said.

He demanded N35,000 for the school to circumvent the process and ensure that this reporter is issued a driver’s licence, but warned that acquiring the licence would be at the reporter’s risk.

The case was, however, different at Chidon Driving School, with FRSC number FRSC/ 01067/FCT/0064 in Zone 3. A staff of the driving school, identified as Philomena, was resilient as she insisted that our reporter must participate in driving classes before the driving certificate would be awarded. Philomena engaged our reporter on a discussion on why learning to drive was paramount before proceeding with the licensing process.

When informed about how driving schools were ready to compromise the standard, the head of the FRSC National Traffic Radio, Honey Ogundayo expressed doubts that an accredited diving school would engage in illegal processing and issuance of driving certificates.

However, all driving schools sampled and visited were from a list of accredited schools uploaded by the FRSC on its website. On the website, there are two documents, one pasted and unnumbered, while the other is a pdf format. Our correspondent verified that, but for the arrangement of names, the two lists contain the same names. On the first list, Aso Driving School appeared as the first school on the first page, while Access Driving School appeared as number two on the third page. Chidon Driving School, which insisted on following due process, is the 9th school on the sixth page of the FRSC site.

On the pdf list, it was noticed that Access Driving School is listed as number two, while Aso Driving School is number four and Chidon Driving School is number 53.

VIO officials also compromise standard

“If you pay N30,000 now, the moment the certificate is out I will call you and let’s go. I will stand beside you and tell them that you are my brother and they should capture you. There will be no test or interview. No be we de handle everything?” an official of the DRTS in FCT said.

The official, popularly called Oga Aaron, is a Vehicle Inspection Officer at the Nyanya unit in Abuja and had boldly told this reporter that he could boycott the driving school, driving tests and CBT in order to secure a driver’s licence.

In late April when this reporter visited the VIO office opposite Nyanya market as a driver’s licence applicant, Oga Aaron walked him to his office, where he displayed samples of driving certificates he claimed to have facilitated for others. He assured that he could boycott driving schools and get licences.

He said, “All these ones are for our friends. They did not go to any driving school; there is no need. You will just give me your data (information) and I will forward it. Inasmuch as you have told me the truth, I will back you up,” he said, pointing at the certificates.

Again, this reporter reiterated that he had no driving experience, but the government official assured him that as soon as the certificate was printed he would send him to a particular driving school for capturing. He requested N30,000 to process a five-year valid driver’s licence and N25,000 for that of three years.

When Daily Trust Saturday visited the DRTS in Abuja and presented its findings, they promised to launch an investigation into the matter. The public relations officer, Kalu Emetu, said they would sanction anyone caught in such acts, but stressed, “We are not so autonomous to hire and fire. The FCT Administration hires for us. So, when disciplinary cases come up, we do our investigation and submit our report to the Transport Secretariat.”

[DailyTrust]

Former Manchester United goalkeeper, Ben Foster, has suggested that Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk is the best centre-back that has ever lived.

Speaking on the Fozcast, Foster said: “I have got one I think we probably will put in the top 10 [defenders list],” ‘Some people would say about longevity, but I still think in the whole pantheon of centre-backs, this guy stepped the game up a little bit. I really do. Virgil van Dijk.

“I think for three years in a row, he was the best centre-back in the world. He had a bad injury and is probably still finding his feet from that.

“Virgil van Dijk, at the peak of his powers, is the best defender that has ever lived. I genuinely believe that. When Liverpool are winning the Champions League and Premier League, Virgil is the number one.

“People have just got short memories and the cruciate ligament injury has probably taken a yard of pace off him.”

Van Dijk joined Liverpool from Southampton in 2018.

[DailyPost]