The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II has said that Nigerian politicians are responsible for the decline in societal values.

The monarch stated this on Tuesday at the 2024 Annual Conference of the Nkata Ndi Inyom Igbo (NNII) held in the nation’s capital.

He urged the country leaders to prioritise integrity over material wealth

According to the emir, a person’s true identity is not defined by their official title, wealth, or material possessions but by their character, integrity, and actions.

He said, “If you’re a senator or an emir or a governor or a rich man, it is what you are, not who you are. If you own a house, a big car or an aeroplane, it is not what you are. You are the man who owns that house. They are things outside of you.

“You can have two senators, one is an honest, good, kind and generous man and the other is a thief. They are both senators.

“Who you are is you are a good man or you’re a thief. You are honest or you’re dishonest, you’re kind or you’re cruel, or you’re trustworthy or you’re a traitor, you’re sincere or you’re a liar, that is who you are and that is the most important thing.

“Whether you own a big house or a plane or not, you can have a poor man who is a thief and you can be a rich man and you are still a thief.” 

Sanusi added that public office is a privilege granted by God and a test of how leaders use their power to serve the people.

He stressed that the true legacy of any leader should be what they do for the society, not the material wealth they accumulate.

“People are given opportunities in public service to transform the lives of people for the better. God gave them that opportunity. And as we always say for those of us who are privileged, there is nothing that tells you that God loves you better than the other person he did not give that privilege. It is a test. God makes you a governor or an emir or a president or a senator and he does not make hundreds of thousands or millions…he’s testing you to see what would you do with that position to help those that he did not give. And it is a great opportunity to write your name in gold. But people don’t want to.

“You hold an office for 4 years or 8 years and all you can say is that I was a minister for so many years or I was a senator for this years or I was a President for so many years. So what if you were a president?

“What did you do with the 8 years? What do you want to be remembered for? Is it the houses that you will die and leave that your children will be fighting over? Is it the money that you hid in Swiss accounts that will never even come to your family? And sometimes the family gets it and we have seen the children become drug addicts, they become what we call ‘money miss road’. They spend it on parties and after three or four years, the money is gone,” he stated.

The federal government has approved a special end-of-the-year train service for Nigerians in commemoration of the Christmas and New Year festivities.

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) made the announcement in a statement on Wednesday by its Deputy Director, Public Relations, Yakub Mahmood.

The statement disclosed that the directive was given by the federal government through the Federal Ministry of Transportation.

Mahmood, however, said the modalities for the special train service would be disclosed to the public soon.

The statement read, “The management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), in compliance with the Federal Government’s directive through the Federal Ministry of Transportation, hereby informs the general public that the NRC shall operate end of the year special train services in commemoration of Christmas and New Year celebrations.

“This end-of-the-year special train service on scheduled passenger trains, is part of the government’s gesture towards an enjoyable end of the year celebration.

“Dates and modalities of the end-of-the-year Special Train Service shall be communicated in due course. We wish all our esteemed customers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in advance.”

In other news, the Federal Government has commended personnel of the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) for their active role in the fight against insecurity, ensuring peace for the citizens.

The Minister of Defence, Muhammed Badaru, said there was a need to enhance personnel training to ensure safety during operations.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Ibrahim Kana, Badaru stated this at the NAF Training, Operations and Safety Seminar for the year 2024, on Wednesday in Abuja.

The House of Representatives Committee on Polytechnics and other Higher Technical Education has discovered that the newly established Federal Polytechnic, Ugep, in Cross River State has only 142 students with about 154 academic and non-academic staff.

The polytechnic has also spent about N600 million on personnel and overhead costs with another N38 million spent on local travels by the institution.

The revelation came to limelight when the Rector of the Polytechnic, Professor Edward N.Okey led management of the institution to the House as part of oversight function.

As part of its ongoing oversight of institutions under its purview, the Committee had invited Federal Polytechnics and some other technical institutions from the South-South, including Federal Polytechnic, Orogun; Federal Polytechnic, Ugep; Federal Polytechnic Oil &Gas, Bonny; Federal Polytechnic, Auchi; Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe; Federal Polytechnic Ukana and the National Institute of Construction Technology Management, Uromi to appear before it.

Chairman of the Committee, Fouad Laguda (APC, Lagos) and members were also angered that the Polytechnic established in 2021 we’re spending such huge amount of money as expenditure for just 142 students.

Making his submission before the Committee, the Rector said the it spent N2 Billion take-off grant received by the institution to renovate the abandoned and dilapidated Ugep Community Secondary School to serve as a temporary campus, while putting up structures at the Institute of Technology Management (ITM) which he said they have eventually taken over as their permanent site.

He said: “Our school was established in 2021 and were to start the school at a temporary site in the state Polytechnic called Institute of Technology and Management (ITM). But, when we got there, we could not get the state Polytechnic to start the school.

“The first challenge we had was to identify a temporary site to start the school. That took us more than a year, because Ugep is not a big town and get a school for us to start was not an easy task.

“After going around the village, we ended up with dilapidated buildings of a secondary school called Ugep Community Secondary School. The Principal of that school told us that, those buildings were abandoned for 25 years. So, we have to renovate those buildings. It took us more than one year to renovate those buildings for us to start.

“We started about different 10 projects on the permanent site. Some are at different levels of completion. But getting students and staff in Ugep has not been an easy task, because of some kind of stigma that Ugep carries.

“Even my Council members, the first set, refused to come to Ugep to hold meetings because they are scared of Ugep because Ugep used to have a tradition of eating people. But, that was hundreds of years ago.

“That doesn’t happen again. But, once there is a stigma, its difficult to erase. We have been working to erase that stigma, the people need the school. They need that exposure, but to attract students is not easy.

“Since we started, it was just last month that we were able to take over the school. The state polytechnic in Ugep started in 2012 by former governor, Liyel Imoke. Since 2012, they have a total number of 63 students, and that tells you the difficult nature of the place.

“We started with 16 students, but this year, we have admitted 63, bringing the number to 79. So, invariably, we have performed more than the school that started 12 years ago. Now, we have a total of 142 because took over the students and staff of ITM”.

He also told the committee that “we had a take-off grant of N2 Billion. We use part of it to renovate the school we started with. We used part of it to construct School of Engineering, we also used part of it to construct the Perimeter fence, a Guest House and to buy a Hilux which is the only vehicle I am using now.

However, a member of the Committee, described the spendings by the institution as a waste and unsustainable, saying, “It is high time we tell ourselves the truth. If you have 142 students, that’s like an Elementary school. In my village, we have a primary school. The students there are more than 500.

“A Polytechnic, a federal Polytechnic for that matter having 142 students and your personnel is N496 million, almost N500 million, for a school that has 142 students. Your overhead is N159 million, for a school that 142 students. Your Capital is N25 million. What is the justification for all these spendings?”.

Chairman of the Committee, Laguda expressed the disappointment of the Committee over the poor presentation by the institutions.

He said: “We called schools from South-South for an oversight and… Not one of the schools met the required requirements or did what was expected. Considering the fact that you had over a week notification.

“But you’ve been aware over two months ago that your turn was going to come. Because we’ve been doing this oversight function for a while. Out of seven schools, one of the schools is not even here today. Out of the six schools, only three came with half-baked reports. Three others were not prepared for us.

“And we took our own time, left every other thing that we had to do. To ensure this day, this exercise sees the light of the day. We are going to request that you’re going to come back.

“See the clerk after now to give you requirements of what is expected of your budget review. We would, in less than a week, will recall you here to come and make this presentation.”

The Senate on Wednesday summoned the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace, Festus Keyamo; Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Capt. Chris Najomo; airline operators and other relevant stakeholders over the incessant flight delays and cancellations by airlines.

Adopting a motion to that effect, sponsored by Senator AbdulFatai Buhari (APC Oyo North) during plenary, the Red Chamber particularly charged its Committee on Aviation to unravel the circumstances behind the incessant flight delays and cancellations to find lasting solutions to the problem.

The PUNCH exclusively reported on Wednesday that about 2,000 air passengers lost 19,274 pieces of luggage between January and June this year, according to data from the Federal.

The report stated that data obtained from the half-year report of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, an agency of the Federal Government that regulates civil aviation, further indicated that 19,250 passengers were delayed for long hours during the review period.

Senator Buhari, while presenting the motion, said the problem which he noted had been on the increase in recent times, is all over the media.

“This development is worrisome as air travel is one of the most reliable, dependable, and quicker means of transportation, often undertaken for business/official purposes and to keep other scheduled appointments, which are usually time-bo,” he said.

Therefore, he cautioned that “unwarranted flight delays and cancellations will be counterproductive to the socio-economic growth and development of this country.”

The lawmaker noted that as part of interventionist measures to check unethical and unwholesome practices of the practitioners in the àviation sector, the NCAA is statutory empowered through the enactment of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act, to among other things, provide oversight and guidelines aimed at ensuring that airlines operate within the contemplation of international standards in Nigeria and to ensure that airline customers get value for the services paid for.

Buhari pointed out that “the quest for economic diversification and foreign direct investment, which are parts of the current administration’s policy thrust, will remain an illusion if the country’s aviation industry falls short of the acceptable best practices across the globe.”

“Part 19 of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority Regulations of 2023, makes provisions for consumer protection in the civil aviation industry in Nigeria.”

He added, “However, enforcement has been an issue as most Nigerians are not even aware that they are entitled to compensation for time lost due to unnecessary delay, hence the need for the NCAA to activate this aspect of its regulation so that airline operators will sit up and be alive to their responsibilities.”

Nollywood producer cum actor, Kunle Afolayan, has confirmed that internationally renowned streaming platform, Netflix has stopped commissioning Nigerian original content.

The filmmaker made this known at the 2024 Zuma International Film Festival in Abuja.

Kunle Afolayan said that Netflix’s management had informed filmmakers during a recent party that they would no longer fund Nigerian movies.

Describing the latest development as a big blow, the filmmaker said it would significantly affect the income of producers who invest heavily in filmmaking.

According to Afolayan, he was lucky to have completed seasons two and three of the Anikulapo series, but some filmmakers got their projects cancelled.

He urged filmmakers to continue producing high-quality content regardless of the challenges posed by Netflix.

He said, “They invited our filmmakers to a party. But before then they had spoken to people they had been dealing with, saying ‘Look, we are pulling out’. What you might call a fatal last supper. Things like that should provoke us because if you do not have challenges like that you cannot see opportunities. We cannot rely on them anymore.

“Whatever it is you do if you make a conscious effort to be intentional when it comes to the kind of content that you make, the world will seek. The world will find you. The work will speak for itself.

“I think we should continue what we do. Whether it is in English, Ibibio, or any native language. As long as the story has universal appeal and then the production value is highly considered, you will get on several platforms.

“Coming to Netflix. It is heartbreaking. It is a big blow for us. In my head, I have been thinking about how can we go from earning dollars in films to now thinking about where we will put our films.

“Three years ago, when we signed a three-film deal with Netflix. It was like we were given a contract that in the next three years, we really do not care if you work for other people or do other things, make one film for us per year on being creative because these things are guaranteed and you have funds to make them. The budget you are being given is primarily tied to what they are getting in Nigeria.

“Thank God we have shot seasons two and three of Anikulapo. Because all the other people who were commissioned at the same time as us, their projects were cancelled.”

As the celebration for the 2024 CAF Africa Player award gears up, Cameroon international Flavien Enzo Boyomo is confident that Nigeria international and Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman is the favourite to win the men’s best player award, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Lookman, who made history as the first player to score a hat-trick in a European club competition final during his club’s triumph over Bayer Leverkusen last season, has been getting massive backing from teammates, stakeholders and fans since CAF announced the final shortlist for the award.

Boyomo is the latest to throw his weight behind the Nigerian to claim the honour when the winner will be announced at the CAF Awards 2024 on December 16.

Lookman faces competition from Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi, Algeria’s Amine Gouiri, Ivory Coast’s Simon Adingra and South Africa’s Ronwen Williams.

Despite the stiff competition from other nominees, the Osasuna centre-back remains confident that the Atalanta man will win the award.

“I believe Lookman will win the African Ballon d’Or,” Boyomo was quoted saying by Actu Cameroon.

“He won the Europa League and he is the one who has the best chance of winning the trophy this year.”

Lookman’s nomination comes after a remarkable season that saw him emerge as Europe’s most productive attacking player in the latter stages of the 2023/24 campaign, registering 14 goal contributions (eight goals and six assists) from April onwards, more than any other player across Europe’s top five leagues.

The former Everton striker’s stellar performances reached their pinnacle in the UEFA Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen, where he netted a historic hat-trick to crown a season that saw him amass an impressive 17 goals and 10 assists across all competitions.

The former Everton man has continued with his impressive form this campaign, with the Nigeria international already notching nine goals and five assists in just 16 appearances for La Dea.

Aside from his historic and remarkable Europa League exploits with Atalanta, Lookman emerged as the overwhelming favourite for the 2024 CAF Player of the Year award following his 14th-placed finish at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris in October where he was the only African player nominated for the award.

The Federal Government has fired some civil servants with degrees from private tertiary institutions in Benin Republic and Togo, The PUNCH reports.

The directive affected federal workers who graduated from the institutions from 2017 to date.

The Director of Information and Public Relations in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Segun Imohiosen, confirmed the development to one of our correspondents on Wednesday.

In August, the Federal August announced that only eight universities had been accredited to award degrees to Nigerians in Togo and Benin Republic. 

This followed an undercover investigation report in which a Daily Nigerian journalist acquired a degree from a university in Benin Republic in two months and used it to participate in the National Youth Service Corps scheme.

Following the report, the government banned the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from tertiary institutions in Benin Republic and Togo.

The Federal Government also set up an Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee on Degree Certificate Milling to probe the activities of certificate racketeers.

The then Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, revealed that over 22,500 Nigerians obtained fake degree certificates from Benin Republic and Togo and such certificates would be cancelled.

Mamman explained that the revelation was part of a report submitted to the Federal Executive Council by the investigative committee instituted to probe degree certificate racketeering by foreign and local universities in Nigeria.

He insisted there was no going back on the Federal Government’s decision to cancel the about 22,500 certificates awarded to Nigerians by some “fake” universities in the two francophone countries.

Mamman maintained that the decision to invalidate the certificates was not harsh as Nigerians who obtained degree certificates from such tertiary institutions dent the country’s image.

He said, “Most of those parading the fake certificates didn’t even leave the shores of Nigeria but got their certificates through racketeering in collaboration with government officials at home and abroad.

“The fake universities capitalised on the gullibility of Nigerians patronising such fake schools. The Federal Government, through the offices of the Head of Civil Service and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, would fish out those in the government’s employment with such fake certificates. I also urge the private sector to follow suit.”

Although the exact number of affected civil servants could not be ascertained, it was gathered that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (Cabinet Affairs) had issued a memo to all the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to implement the order.

A source, who pleaded anonymity because she was not authorised to speak on the matter, disclosed that the sacking of the affected workers was based on the inter-ministerial committee’s recommendation.

The official stated, “There was a letter from the SGF cabinet affairs directing all ministries, departments and agencies of government to identify and terminate the appointments of workers employed with certificates obtained from the private universities in the Republic of Benin and Togo from 2017 to date.

 “The decision is part of the recommendations of the committee set up to investigate the certificates of people who graduated from the universities.”

Our correspondent also gathered that some agencies like the National Youth Services Corps have commenced the implementation of the directive.

The NYSC Director of Information, Caroline Embu, confirmed to our correspondent that five members of staff had been sacked in line with the SGF’s directive.

She said, “Five members of staff were affected by the directive contained in the letter from the office of the SGF. No more.”

Naira devaluation raised Nigeria’s external debt by about N30.03tn between 2023 and June 2024 when considered in naira terms, an analysis by The PUNCH showed.

Despite a reduction in the country’s debt when measured in US dollars, the exchange rate shift has made Nigeria’s foreign obligations far more costly in local currency.

Data from the Debt Management Office shows that as of June 1, 2023, Nigeria’s external debt stood at $43.16bn.

At an exchange rate of N770.38 to the dollar, this amounted to N33.25tn. However, by June 1, 2024, the naira had depreciated by 47.6 per cent, with the exchange rate rising to N1,470.19 to the dollar.

As a result, Nigeria’s external debt, which has dropped to $42.90bn, is now equivalent to N63.07tn.

In dollar terms, Nigeria’s external debt dropped by 0.60 per cent or $258.18m between June 2023 and the same month of 2024.

However, in naira terms, there was an increase of 89.7 per cent or N29.82tn within the same period.

The PUNCH further observed that if the June 2023 exchange rate (N770.38/$1) had been used, Nigeria’s external debt would have been N33.05tn.

This further shows that the naira devaluation added N30.02tn to Nigeria’s external debt in one year as the country battles currency weakness and rising total debt.

While the nominal value of Nigeria’s external debt in dollar terms has remained relatively stable, the depreciation of the local currency has caused a steep rise in the naira equivalent.

The PUNCH further observed that external debt accounted for 46.96 per cent of Nigeria’s total debt by June 2024, up from 38.05 per cent recorded in the same month last year.

Further analysis by The PUNCH showed that Multilateral lenders remain Nigeria’s largest external creditors, accounting for over half of the country’s external debt (50.41 per cent or $21.62bn) as of June 2024.

These creditors include the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank Group, the African Development Bank Group, and the Islamic Development Bank, among others.

Nigeria owes $1.61bn to the IMF, making up 3.75 per cent of the total external debt.

The World Bank’s share of Nigeria’s debt totals $16.32bn, with the majority owed to the International Development Association, which accounts for $16.32bn, which represents 38 per cent of Nigeria’s total external debt.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, another arm of the World Bank, is owed $484.0m, or 1.13 per cent.

Nigeria’s debt to the AfDB group is $3.87bn, representing 9.03 per cent of the total external debt.

This includes $1.63bn to the African Development Bank and $991.89m to the African Development Fund.

Nigeria owes $4.97m to Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa a negligible amount relative to the total, at 0.01 per cent.

Debt to the European Development Fund totals $30.72m, or 0.07 per cent of Nigeria’s external debt.

Nigeria’s debt to the IsDB stands at $241.84m, or 0.56 per cent of the total debt, while Nigeria’s debt to the International Fund for Agricultural Development is $273.51m, which is 0.64 per cent of the external debt stock.

Bilateral Creditors, such as China and France, have provided Nigeria with $5.89bn (13.72 per cent of total external debt) in credit financing.

China is Nigeria’s largest bilateral creditor, with $5.07bn owed to the Exim Bank of China, and this constitutes 11.83 per cent of the total external debt.

Nigeria owes $623.55m to France (Agence Française de Développement), or 1.45 per cent of the total external debt and $52.18m to Japan (Japan International Cooperation Agency), representing 0.12 per cent.

The country’s debt to India (Exim Bank of India) is $22.35m, or 0.05 per cent, and to Germany (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau) $115.81m, or 0.27 per cent of total external debt.

Commercial creditors, primarily through Eurobonds, form a significant portion of Nigeria’s external debt.

Nigeria owes $15.12bn in Eurobonds, accounting for 35.24 per cent of the total external debt.

The Eurobond debt is expected to increase by the end of the year, as Nigeria recently raised $2.2bn from its latest Eurobond auction.

Nigeria also has smaller debts to various syndicated loans and financial institutions. For instance, $270m, or 0.63 per cent of the total external debt, is owed to a syndicate of banks.

The PUNCH earlier reported that Nigeria’s external debt might rise to $45.1bn by the end of 2024 as the Federal Government planned to secure additional external funding.

The Debt Management Office revealed in its latest report that the country’s external debt stock increased by $780m in the second quarter of 2024, growing from $42.12bn in March to $42.9bn as of June 2024.

In a related development, the Federal Executive Council approved a $2.2bn external borrowing plan as part of the Federal Government’s 2024 Appropriation Act financing programme.

Although the borrowing plan included a combination of Eurobond and Sukuk offerings, valued at $1.7bn and $500m, Nigeria has raised the entire $2.2bn from its latest Eurobond auction out of over $9bn subscriptions.

Justifying the borrowing, the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, said the external financing initiative aligned with the administration’s broader economic recovery plan, which focused on stabilising macroeconomic conditions, adjusting market pricing for foreign exchange and petroleum products, and supporting local production.

He added that earlier in the year Nigeria’s successful domestic issuance of dollar bonds highlighted the growing resilience and sophistication of the country’s financial market, attracting both local and international investors who showcased confidence in the Federal Government’s economic reform agenda.

The PUNCH earlier reported that the Federal Government spent $3.58bn servicing its foreign debt in the first nine months of 2024, representing a 39.77 per cent increase from the $2.56bn spent during the same period in 2023.

This was according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria on international payment statistics.

The significant rise in external debt service payments shows the mounting pressure on Nigeria’s fiscal balance amid ongoing economic challenges.

The World Bank, in its latest International Debt Report, revealed that developing nations spent an unprecedented $1.4tn on foreign debt servicing in 2023, driven by a surge in interest rates to their highest levels in 20 years,

Interest payments alone reached $406bn, a nearly 30 per cent increase from the previous year, severely impacting spending in critical sectors such as health, education, and environmental programs.

According to the report, the most vulnerable economies, those eligible for loans from the World Bank’s International Development Association, bore the brunt of the financial strain.

Award-winning Nollywood actress Mercy Aigbe has suffered a significant loss as her multi-million naira Lagos mansion was engulfed in flames.

The fire, which caused extensive damage to property and valuables, left the actress heartbroken. Reports suggest the incident might have been avoidable, intensifying the emotional strain on the star.

In a statement shared on her official social media accounts, Mercy Aigbe expressed gratitude that no lives were lost in the unfortunate incident.

She also thanked her fans for their unwavering support during this challenging time.

“Devastated, I thank God no life was lost. It is well,” she wrote.