The Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo has ordered a comprehensive review of all recruitment exercises carried out by the Godwin Obaseki-led administration between May 2024 and November 2024.

A statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Musa Umar Ikhilor, also ordered the suspension of recruitment into the state’s civil service until further notice.

Okpebholo, however, accused heads of various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of carrying out clandestine recruitment exercises into the state’s civil service. The statement made available to newsmen on Friday in Benin City stated that preliminary investigations revealed that backed-dated employment letters were issued without due process.

According to the statement, “The Governor of Edo State, His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo is in receipt of the report of the clandestine activities being perpetuated by some Commissions, Boards, Parastatals and Agencies of Government in the State.

“Preliminary investigation reveals that these bodies have continued to issue back-dated letters of employment to their cronies without due process. “For the avoidance of doubt, this administration believes in the principle of fairness and equity which expects that all employment exercise should be merit-based, competitive and accessible to all Edo indigenes.

“In light of the foregoing and in order to arrest this ugly trend, the Governor of Edo State, His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo has directed the immediate suspension of all employment processes as well as the review of all appointments carried out since May 2024 by Commissions, Boards, Parastatals and Agencies of Government.

“Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies are to note and comply with the above directive”, the statement added.

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC Joe Igbokwe has said that President Bola Tinubu’s son Seyi Tinubu does not possess the required capacity to be the governor of Lagos State.

This comes amid reports urging the president’s son to run for governor in 2027.

Reacting to this development, Igbokwe in a Facebook post criticized those advocating for Seyi to be Lagos governor.

The APC chieftain described the calls as a distraction and an attempt to pull Tinubu down.

He further noted that to govern a state like Lagos is not a job for “boys.”

“Who are these faceless people pushing Seyi Tinubu for Lagos Governor? This is a needless distraction.

“To pull PBAT down is their target. Please allow PBAT to do his very engaging and tasking job. Ruling Lagos is not the job of boys? ” he wrote.

A mystery fire on Thursday night broke out at the College of Health Sciences of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi, gutting a building in the institution.

A source said the building which is in the physiology department of the institution was totally razed by fire.

It was, however, gathered that the fire was stopped from extending to other buildings as it was immediately attacked and put off.

So far, there has been no explanation as to the cause of the fire.

A senior official of the institution who confirmed the incident said an investigation was still on to unravel the mystery.

Though the fire destroyed the building and some properties within it, no life was reported lost in the incident.

A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, ordered the remand of 109 foreigners, charged over allegations bordering on cybercrime, in Kuje and Suleja Correctional Centres.

Justice Ekerete Akpan gave the order following an application by one of the defence counsel, James Onoja, SAN, for an adjournment to allow the prosecution to reflect the defendants’ names correctly on the charge sheet.

The foreigners, who are said to be citizens of China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, Brazil, Malaysia and Myanmar, were recently arrested by the police.

They were apprehended in their residence at Plot 1906, Cadestral Zone 807, Katampe District of Abuja, where they were said to be engaging in cybercrime by allegedly promoting “a fraudulent and unregistered gaming platform.”

In a six-count charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/599/2024 filed in the name of the Inspector-General (I-G) of Police, the foreigners were charged with cybercrime, money laundering and unlawfully residing in Nigeria.

At the resumed hearing on Friday, Onoja informed the court that while conducting Know-Your-Customer (KYC) procedures for his clients, he discovered that their actual names were not reflected on the charge sheet.

“This information came to light when we were discussing the possible terms of bail for the defendants.

“We told them that the court would ask for their travel documents, and they said the names on the charge sheet were not their names,” he said.

The senior lawyer said he had discussed the matter with the prosecution lawyer, A.A. Egwu.

He said they requested the defendants’ travel documents so that their proper names could be reflected on the charge sheet.

He emphasised that it was the defendant’s responsibility to provide their correct travel documents for the plea and trial to proceed smoothly.

Onoja, therefore, proposed that the arraignment be adjourned in the interest of justice.

Egwu, who appeared for the police, responded that the court could make an order for the defendants’ respective embassies to provide their travel documents.

“We do not oppose the request for an adjournment,” he said.

A fire engulfed a block of classrooms at Limawa Day Secondary School in Minna, Niger State, on Thursday evening, with eyewitnesses attributing the blaze to suspected hemp smokers.

The fire, which caused significant damage, was swiftly contained by firefighters from the Niger State Federal Fire Service.

Eyewitnesses claimed that a group of young boys frequently gathered on the school premises to smoke hemp.

Ibrahim Mohammed, a local resident, described how their careless actions may have sparked the blaze.

“These boys always come here to smoke weed, and with this harmattan season, things catch fire easily.

“Yesterday, they dropped a burning butt in one of the classrooms, which eventually ignited the fire,” Mohammed explained.

He added, “We’ve seen them smoking here before, and it’s clear their reckless behavior led to this unfortunate incident.”

The school’s principal, Datti Dauda, confirmed the incident, stating he was alerted by a neighbor about the fire.

“I received a call from our neighbor, the headmaster, who told me the school was on fire. I immediately contacted the fire service, and they responded promptly to extinguish the flames,” Dauda said.

Ruling out electrical faults as the cause, Dauda noted that the affected part of the building had no electrical connections.

He attributed the fire to possible actions of intruders, given that the school premises were often encroached upon.

The principal estimated the damage at over ₦1.5 million, citing the cost of repairing destroyed planks and other materials.

A senior official from the fire service commended the swift response of his team, noting that they arrived at the scene within five minutes of the alarm being raised.

“We acted immediately and successfully contained the fire, preventing further damage,” the official said.

In light of the incident, authorities have urged residents to remain vigilant, particularly during the harmattan season, when fires can spread rapidly.

The school has also called for enhanced security measures to prevent unauthorized access and ensure the safety of its facilities.

The supreme court has nullified the enforcement of provisions of the National Lottery Act 2005 in the 36 states of the federation.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday, the seven-member panel held that the national assembly lacks the powers to legislate on issues pertaining to lottery and gaming.

In March 2005, former President Olusegun Obasanjo signed the national lottery bill into law.

The legislation provides the framework for the operation of the national lottery and the establishment of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission.

The commission is charged with regulating the business of lottery in Nigeria as well as establishing the national lottery trust fund.

In 2008, the Lagos state government filed a suit against the federal government on whether the control and regulation of gaming and lottery businesses in each state is under the exclusive list.

In October 2020, the Ekiti government joined Lagos as co-plaintiff in the suit.

In November 2022, the supreme court joined 33 state governments as co-defendants in the suit.

In the judgment, the apex court ruled that only state assemblies have the powers to legislate on lottery and gaming businesses.

The supreme court ruled that legislation cannot be enforced in all states, except the federal capital territory (FCT), since the national assembly is empowered to make laws for the country’s capital.

Nigeria has become less stable in the past year and can now be categorised as ‘vulnerable’ based on an instability risk index, according to a new report.

SBM Intelligence, a pan-African think tank, ranked Nigeria as a ‘vulnerable’ country and one of the “biggest losers” in sub-Saharan Africa on its instability risk index. This was disclosed in its recent Africa Country Instability Risk Index (ACIRI) which assesses the political, economic and social factors frustrating stability in African countries.

The report spotlighted 48 West, Central, East and Southern African countries. These countries, according to the report, “were grouped by region as delineated by the African Development Bank.”

However, the think tank explained that North Africa was “exempted because of the sub-Saharan focus of this study.”

Although Mauritania and Western Sahara are mapped to West Africa, they were exempted from the study due to what the SBM Intelligence described as “a paucity of data, geopolitical considerations and a cultural and economic affinity with North Africa.”

The report sheds light on three key factors — history, economy, and geopolitics, as well as leadership and governance — and how they contribute to political instability in these countries.

It also evaluates the stability of the 48 African countries by considering indices like ethnic tensions, coup history, dominant ethnic groups, food security, poverty rate, debt sustainability, conflict and vulnerability, and economic diversity.

Countries are therefore categorised into six levels of stability — Red Watch, Critical, Warning, Vulnerable, Stable, and Safe.

The firm explained that a higher score indicates a higher level of political risk to business. According to it, a country that scores 70 and above is categorised under Red Watch.

Countries that scored between 60 and 69 are categorised as critical while those that score between 50 and 59 are placed under warning. Countries like Nigeria that scored between 40 and 45 are marked as vulnerable. Those that scored between 30 and 39 are marked stable while those that scored below 30 are marked safe.

“A lower score shows how stable a country is, while a higher one tells the opposite,” the firm noted.

‘Biggest losers, biggest gainers’

Countries like Botswana, Seychelles, Namibia and Zimbabwe joined Nigeria to earn the title of biggest losers.

Analysis by SBM Intelligence showed that Nigeria’s instability worsened as it ranked 45th this year, unlike the previous year when it ranked 39th and was marked “stable.”

This deterioration could be blamed on unfavourable government policies that weakened the country’s currency and eventually forced some big investors out of Nigeria.

It would be recalled that some multinational companies, including Kimberley-Clark, Procter & Gamble (P&G), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer (GSK) Nigeria, Equinor, Sanofi and Bolt Food, recently withdrew from the Nigerian market.

The exit was attributed to various challenges, such as foreign exchange shortages, rising energy costs, and declining consumer purchasing power amid high inflation.

“Botswana experienced a GDP decline of nearly 2% in the first quarter of 2024, and Zimbabwe experienced economic challenges such as debt and currency crises,” SBM Intelligence says, adding: “Nigeria, Africa’s fourth largest economy, ended the year with a score change of -6, following the exit of foreign businesses over weaker currency, rising inflation and other economic challenges.”

Meanwhile, five countries were crowned the “biggest gainers.” They include Angola, Burundi, Chad, Togo, and Madagascar.

“A cutback on governance costs drove Angola’s performance, while Madagascar’s GDP growth improved to 4.4 per cent in 2023 from 4.3 per cent in 2022,” the think-tank noted.

Regional perspective

The report indicates that Central African countries had the most representation in the top ten, with four countries present: Angola, Central African Republic, Chad, and Gabon.

West Africa followed closely in the top ten with three countries: Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

“The regions with the lowest representations are East Africa, with 20% represented by Burundi and Madagascar, and Southern Africa, at 10%, with Eswatini as its sole representative. The worst-performing entities are shared by Eastern and Southern Africa, at 40% each–represented by countries such as Seychelles, Kenya, Mauritius, and Comoros on the East side and Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Zambia on the South,” the report noted.

However, Southern Africa retained its spot as the most stable region for the second year with a score change of -1.3, the report disclosed, noting that “Central Africa was the least stable, ending the year with a score change of 6.78, performing worse than East (1.07) and West (2.47). This performance can be explained by an improvement in South Africa’s economy, which grew by 0.4% in the second quarter of 2024 from 0.1% in the first quarter.”

While the raging conflict between the Rwanda-backed M-23 militia and Congo “contributed to the relatively poor performance in Central and East Africa”, attempted coups and Islamist insurgencies “contributed to West Africa’s poor outing.”