Like his predecessor, former President Buhari, President Bola Tinubu unveiled the portfolios of his appointed ministers. Tinubu has chosen to retain the Ministry of Petroleum for himself, a decision that has raised eyebrows and sparked discussions among political analysts and observers.

The ministry has been split in half, and now there are two ministers of state, both of whom are from the South-South.

Yusuf Tuggar is the foreign minister, and Dele Alake is the new Minister of Solid Minerals. Mohammed Idris will work in the Ministry of Information, and Festus Keyamo will be in charge of the growth of aviation and space.

Nyesom Wike, the former governor of Rivers State, will be in charge of the FCT Ministry. Dave Umahi, the former governor of Ebonyi State, will be in charge of the Works Ministry. Kaduna state will be given the Ministry of the Environment.

The List so far released is as follows:

Minister of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy – Hannatu Musawa

Minister of Defence – Muhammad Badaru

Minister of State Defence – Bello Matawalle

Minister of State Education – Yusuf T. Sunumu

Minister of Housing and Urban Development – Ahmed Dangiwa

Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development – Abdullahi Gwarzo

Minister of Budget and Economic Planning – Atiku Bagudu

Minister of Environment and Ecological Management – Kaduna

Minister of State, FCT – Mairiga Mahmud

Minister of State, Water Resources and Sanitation – Bello Goronyo

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security – Abubakar Kyari

Minister of Education – Tahir Momoh

Minister of Interior – Sa’idu Alkali

Minister of Foreign Affairs – Yusuf Tuggar

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Development –Ali Pate

Minister of Police Affairs – Ibrahim Gaidam

Minister of State, Steel Development – U. Maigari Ahmadu

North Central

Minister of Steel Development – Shuaibu Audu

Minister of Information National Orientation – Muhammed Idris

Attorney General of Federal and Minister of Justice – Lateef Fagbemi

Minister of Labour and Employment – Simon Lalong

Minister of State, Police Affairs – Imman Suleiman Ibrahim

Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs – Zephianiah Jisalpo

Minister of Water Resources and sanitation – Joseph Utsev

Minister of State, Agriculture and Food Security – Aliyu Sabi Abdullah

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo

Minister of Youth, Abubakar Momoh

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu

Minister of State, Gas Resources, Ekperikpe Ekpo

Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri

Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh

Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has advocated for a single term of five or six years for politicians.

Makinde said politicians should emulate the single term leadership of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN).

He was reacting to PFN’s National President, Bishop Wale Oke’s remark that the body’s leadership does not allow for a second tenure.

Oke disclosed this while speaking at the opening ceremony of PFN’s National Executive Retreat in Ibadan.

However, speaking at the event, Makinde said politicians should learn from PFN, stressing that four years might not be enough to achieve one’s aims.

According to Makinde: “I am hearing for the first time that there is no second term in the PFN. Maybe, we need to learn one or two things from that arrangement for our nation.

“I am a supporter of a single term structure. As a matter of fact, I did not want any second term and I told the fathers of faith that four years is not enough to do everything that you want to do bit it is long enough to make your own impact and go your own way.

“If we get the opportunity to discuss this, I think five or six years single term, maybe five years, will really be enough for most of us to do whatever it is that we are supposed to do.”

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) has secured a $3 billion to stabilise the naira.

The Nigerian currency crashed to all-time low last week, reaching N950 at the parallel market.

But on Wednesday, the oil firm signed a commitment letter and term sheet with the Afrexim Bank for an emergency $3bn crude oil repayment loan.

According to a statement from the corporation, the deal was sealed at the bank’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.

“The NNPC Ltd. and AfriEXIM bank have jointly signed a commitment letter and Term sheet for an emergency $3 billion crude oil repayment loan.”

“The signing, which took place today at the bank’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, will provide some immediate disbursement that will enable the NNPC Ltd. to support the Federal Government in its ongoing fiscal and monetary policy reforms aimed at stabilizing the exchange rate market.”

Details later…

Men of the Nigerian Navy NNS Pathfinder, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, have arrested a Marine Vessel, MV Cecilia, laden with about 350,000 liters of petroleum products suspected to be diesel.

Commander, Operation Delta Safe, OPDS, Real Admiral Olusegun Ferrera, announced this on Wednesday.

Ferrera, who was represented by the maritime component commander of the joint taskforce for south south of the operation Delta Safe, Navy Commodore Adedokun Siyanbade, displayed the vessel to journalists in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.

He said the vessel which has not been put in use for two years was converted to a storage tank for illegal refined products.

He said as part of the efforts at optimizing and ensuring that the mandate of the OPDS are actualised, the Commander Joint Taskforce south south of OPDS directed the NNS Pathfinder to conduct a convert operation in the area.

He said they got intelligence that illegality ws going on within the area, adding that the operation which was conducted on 15th of August , 2023, led to the arrest of MV Cecilia.

He said, ” I’m here on behalf of the Commander Joint Taskforce Operation Delta Safe , Real Admiral Olusegun Ferrera. We are here this morning to show you arrest of a vessel that was involved illegalities in this general area.

“As part of the efforts at optimizing and ensuring that the mandate of the OPDS are actualised the Commander Joint Taskforce South south of OPDS directed the NNS Pathfinder base on credible intelligence to conduct a convert operation in this area and the intelligence was based on the fact of illegality going on within this area”

“The operation was conducted yesterday, 15th of August , 2023 and the operation lead to the arrest of MV Cecilia with a vessel that ought to be a service vessel but has been converted to storage tank of illegally refined products suspected to be AGO. The vessel has the capacity all together including the fuel and water capacity of about 350,000 litres.

“The water tanks has been converted as a storage tank for this illegal products and the vessel has not been to sea for the past two years. It was expected to be under maintenance but it’s being used for a different purpose where by people from illegal refinery sites bring their products to this place to discharge whereby other people also come here to purchase the product”

“So, the vessel has been arrested and necessary procedures will be taken in line with extant regulation biding operation Delta Safe operation and I am also to inform you that in Rivers State on Monday two tankers were also arrested the tankers were laden with 30,000 liters of products suspected to be crude oil were also arrested by Joint sector 3 of Operation Delta Safe including land component and water component

“They were caught siphoning crude oil from a dug out pit in Obio general area of Rivers State. So, for this vessel and those tankers as well necessary actions will be taken in line with extant regulation.”

He said the suspects as well as the vessel and products will be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) foe prosecution.

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has eventually revealed why he supported President Bola Tinubu to win the last presidential election, saying that he took the decision recognising that it was time to make a strong decision that would reposition the landscape of Nigeria’s democracy now and not at future elections.

Makinde made this known at the opening ceremony and dinner of the ongoing Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) National Executive Retreat 2023 at the Waniq Event Centre, Jericho, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday, urging all church leaders and Christians at large to continue to intercede for the leaders of the nation according to the scripture.

Quoting the book of Timothy 2:1-2: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority—that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

Governor Makinde urged Nigerians to pray and support the government in power, whether they liked him or not, for the sake of the state and the country.

He also stressed the role of the body of Christ in rebuilding Nigeria, as the Bible has stated the importance of praying for the leaders of the nation.

“As Christians, we can carry out the work God has assigned to us more effectively until we have political stability as a nation. Just as the PFN runs a single term of four years in office, which I am hearing for the first time. I am also a supporter of single-term structures.

As a matter of fact, I didn’t want a second term. I told the fathers of faith that four years is not enough to do everything you want to do, but it is long enough to make an impact and go your way.

But if we get the opportunity to discuss this, I think a five- or six-year single term is good.

“These leaders that God has asked us to pray for are products of who the political parties present to us, and when these leaders have been chosen, we are obligated to pray for them and work with them according to the Book of Timothy 2:1-2.

“Political parties will come and go, but our country remains. We must pray for those in authority. Politics is over; it is time for governance.

Well, if we don’t like those in authority, we have another opportunity in another four years to vote again. But in order to accomplish that, we must start now by joining the political parties.

We cannot become politicians when all the politics has been done.

“I made a conscious effort to join politics because I asked myself, Yes, I can pray, but prayers without work will not bring the result.

We have to make a move, and if we choose to allow the ripraps to keep taking those decisions for us, then those decisions are binding on all of us,” he added.

Reacting to the reactions of his position and perhaps those of the G5 governors at the last election, Governor Makinde said, “We cannot be waiting every four years before we get involved in politics and expect a different result.”

“Fathers of faith came to me and said that they have an issue with the Muslim-Muslim ticket, and I responded to them that they will have me if they tell me the structure of their preference.

Let’s take a step back. A party that I belong to chose a Muslim colleague of mine and former governor of Delta Christian as his running mate.

“I said, okay, this is very similar to where we have come from in the past eight years. It is even slightly lower because, for the past eight years, I was a Muslim and a pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God, and we have moved to a Muslim and a Christian who is not a pastor.

I asked them to tell me, collectively as the body of Christ, the benefit.

“I told them if they cannot tell me what we gained in clear terms, then let us go back and make our own chapter of demand.

What is the vision that we have for the body of Christ within the Nigerian Federation? If we keep doing the same thing every four years, we will be forced to choose from among those we have presented and make decisions based on several facts.

So, we must change our approach now, not when it is a year until the election, but from today,” he said.

In his remarks, the national president of PFN, Bishop Francis Wale Oke, noted that the retreat with the theme “Going from Strength to Strength”, came at a critical time in the history of the nation, urging Nigerians now to focus more on the peace, stability, and progress of the nation as the era of elections is over.

He revealed that the Christian body experienced hot pressure during the last election but that the body stood its ground not to pitch tents with any political party, hence encouraging the over 6.5 million Pentecostals across the country to vote their conscience and promote peace in the nation.

Wale Oke, who also underscored that the 3-day retreat was to mark his second year in office as the president of PFN as well as to refocus and gather renewed strength for the next meaningful half, commended Governor Makinde’s constant effort in promoting gospel in Oyo State and prayed along with other top clerics for the governor’s refreshed strength and wisdom to move the state to a greater height.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the November governorship election in Kogi State, Senator Dino Melaye has cautioned politicians against decamping from one party to another.

Specifically, Melaye sent his warning to those leaving the Peoples Democratic Party for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Going philosophical, Melaye urged them to be wise as “the same rain that beat Okafor will still beat Obinna.”

In his words via Twitter, “Those decamping from PDP to APC listen, the rain that beat Okafor will still beat Obinna. It’s just a matter of time. Be wise….SDM”

In a matter of weeks from the present moment, Nigerian citizens, primarily those employed in civil service, are poised to receive a Survival wage granted by the federal government. As per available information, this Survival wage aims to be distributed in order to mitigate the impact of the removal of fuel subsidies. The disclosure of this development was made by Tajudeen Abbas, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, on Tuesday, April 15th.

From the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja – Tajudeen Abbas, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, has disclosed that efforts are actively underway to ensure that Nigerians receive essential support packages as negotiations continue regarding the minimum wage.

As reported by Premium Times, Abbas conveyed this statement in Abuja on Tuesday, July 15th, during the National Policy Dialogue on Corruption, Social Norms, and Behavioral Change in Nigeria. This event was organized by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in partnership with the MacArthur Foundation. Represented by Hon Oluwole Oke of Osun State, the Speaker expressed:

“The situation where a significant portion of the population’s take-home pay is insufficient to cover their basic needs fosters various forms of corruption. This is precisely why the House of Representatives is deeply committed to the ongoing revision of the country’s minimum wage. On this occasion, the House is dedicated to ensuring that Nigerians receive a sustenance wage that can adequately support them.”

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has said it may have to suspend the foreign aspect of its scholarship program for academic staff as it is having difficulties paying foreign tuition fees and stipends. 

The Executive Secretary, TETFund, Mr Sonny Echono, who made this known at a One-Day Stakeholders’ Engagement on Emerging Issues with the TETFund Intervention in Abuja on Wednesday blamed the development on the scarcity of forex and inadequate allocation of funds.  

Echono said since the Fund’s allocation was barely enough to service programs under its Tertiary Scholarship for Academic Staff (TSAS), the fund was considering suspending foreign scholarships while also considering an upward review of local scholarships. He said the Fund is also discouraging beneficiary institutions from initiating new Benchwork programs.  

Scholars absconding 

Aside from the funding and forex issue, Echono said there are also issues of scholars not returning to serve their bonds at their home institutions upon completion of their programs. 

• “In fact, the challenge of scholars absconding has undermined and complicated the TSAS program and brought it under intense scrutiny. It is for these and other reasons that this engagement was organized. We need to address these challenges and find solutions to ensure the effective and smooth implementation of our scholarship programs,” he said. 

The executive secretary noted that the fund recently signed several MoUs with some prestigious institutions overseas that include universities in Malaysia, India, Brazil, France, and the United States to boost and enhance the TSAS program in the future. 

Focus on in-country training 

Also speaking at the meeting, the former Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Peter Okebukola, called for a monitoring and implementation system to ensure that the academic calendars of universities were adhered to.

Okebukola who spoke on TSAS, emerging issues, and possible solutions, called for reduced TETFund overseas scholarships while encouraging in-country training in TETFund-strengthened PG programs. 

 He said that rather than continuously spending a lot of funds on foreign training, local universities should be provided with state-of-the-art facilities while carrying out accreditation of postgraduate programs. 

• “In offering solutions to these challenges, there is a need to offer TETFund support to top-rate lecturers from overseas universities to come to Nigeria to join local PG training by Nigerian professors. We must send professors (of at least 10 years standing) for capacity building to top-rate overseas universities in carefully selected programs in return to bolster doctoral education and supervision,” he said. 

Similarly, the Acting Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Chris Maiyaki emphasized the need to develop new strategies for funding while ensuring sensitivity to the evolving challenging dynamics through qualitative funding. Maiyaki advised the fund to revamp its monitoring mechanism for quality assurance to have a better return on investment in its projects. 

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the House Committee on TETFund, Mrs Miriam Onuoha said in making essential infrastructure available in tertiary institutions, there was a need to ensure inclusivity, especially with Persons Living with Disabilities (PLWD).

About 40 Senegalese migrants were rescued on Monday aboard a canoe off Cape Verde, but several others died, Cape Verdean and Senegalese authorities said on Tuesday.

The fate of dozens more is unknown, with Cape Verdean police and Senegalese Foreign Affairs reporting on testimonies that there were around 100 occupiers departing from Senegal.

Thirty-eight people, including a Bissau-Guinean, were rescued off Cape Verde aboard a canoe carrying Senegalese nationals, the Senegalese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement released on Tuesday evening and confirming information in from Cape Verde.

According to the testimonies of the survivors, the boat left the locality of Fass Boye (west), on the Senegalese coast, on July 10 "with 101 passengers on board", said the ministry, without further information.

Previously, various Cape Verdean officials had reported about forty survivors and several dead people found in the boat. Cape Verdean police, in a statement posted on their Facebook page, reported information gathered at the time of the rescue on Monday that around 100 passengers had departed on the West African coast.

The boat was spotted about 150 nautical miles (277 km) from the Cape Verdean island of Sal on Monday by a Spanish fishing vessel which alerted Cape Verdean authorities, police said.

A health services official in Sal, Jose Rui Moreira, reported 38 survivors, seven of whom required hospitalization. The forensic institute said it had received the remains of seven people.

All the competent services have been activated to assist the survivors, the police said.

"We must open our arms and welcome the living and bury the dead with dignity," said Health Minister Filomena Goncalves, quoted by the Inforpress news agency.

The Senegalese ministry, "in conjunction with the competent Cape Verdean authorities, has made the necessary arrangements for (the) repatriation (of Senegalese nationals) as soon as possible", he said.

About 90 migrants from Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Sierra Leone had already been rescued in Cape Verdean waters in mid-January.

An Atlantic archipelago located a few hundred kilometers from the West African coast, Cape Verde is on the maritime migratory route taken each year by thousands of Africans fleeing poverty or war for Europe, despite the dangerousness of the journey which cost the lives of hundreds of them.

They travel aboard modest boats or motorized canoes provided by smugglers who pay for the trip. Many land in the Canary Islands, the Spanish archipelago, and gateway to Europe.

[africanews]