Nigerian chef, Damilola Adeparusi, popularly known as Chef Dammy, on Thursday, honoured an invitation from the police, on the petitions filed by Ekiti-base cleric, Prophet Adegoke Jeremiah, better known as Billion Dollars Prophet.
Naija News reports that Dammy was invited for questioning by men of the Police AIG zone 17 in Akure, Ondo state, following a lawsuit of N22 million, filed against her by her pastor, Jeremaiah.
The spokesperson of AIG Zone 17, DSP Hakeem, who spoke with LIB, said the police received a petition against Chef Dammy and she was invited for questioning.
He said Dammy honoured the invitation and was thereafter granted administrative bail after providing a surety.
He said, “She is not in our custody. She was not detained.”
Recall that Chef Dammy came to the limelight after she attempted to cook for 120 hours, days after celebrity chef, Hilda Baci broke the Guinness World Record for the Longest Cooking Hours by an individual.
The Minna Chief Magistrate Court has handed down a two-year prison sentence to dismissed Inspector Yahaya Mohammed from the Niger State Police Command.
He was found guilty of theft and the sale of an AK-47 magazine and ammunition to suspected armed bandits within the state.
Mohammed, who previously held the position of second in command at the armoury of the Niger State Police Command headquarters, was dismissed from his role.
The Court revealed that he had collaborated with Ndaman Gana, another officer in charge of the state police command’s armoury department, to carry out this illicit transaction.
Mohammed faced charges on two counts: Criminal Conspiracy and theft of an AK-47 magazine, as well as unlawful dealing in the sale of the AK-47 magazine and ammunition.
The police prosecutor, DSP Ahmed Saidu, presented the case, highlighting that the charges contravened sections 97(2), 288(1) of the penal code, and section 27(6)(111) act 28 law 2004.
The Police First Information Report (FIR), presented in Court and obtained by our reporter, disclosed that credible information from a reliable source within the Department of State Service (DSS) attached to Rafi Local Government Area, Kagara, Niger State, indicated that an unknown individual transported goods suspected to be weapon inside a ‘Ghana must go bag’ to Kagara motor park.
In response, police detectives took swift action, leading to the arrest of Inspector Yahaya Mohammed, a former police officer who was previously attached to the Department of Operation and served as the second in command in the state’s Amory in Minna.
“During police Investigation, you ex-police inspector conspired with Ndaman Gana, officer-in-charge of state armoury attached to the department of Operation OPs Minna, and both of you stole 22 magazines and 61 life ammunitions of different Calibre property of the Niger State Police Command.
“Both of you sold each magazine at the rate of N1000; each ammunition was sold at the rate of N650 to one corporal Sani Mohammed formerly attached to Mopol 12 Minna,” the First Information Report stated.
Upon the reading of the charges by the presiding Chief Magistrate Hajiya Fati Umar Hassan, Inspector Yahaya Mohammed pleaded guilty to the accusations.
The Prosecutor, DSP Ahmed Saidu, then told the chief Magistrate to invoke the provision of Section 190 of the administration of Criminal Justice Law of Niger State by convicting him summarily.
The Prosecutor also told the Court that the convict was diagnosed with cough hemoptysis and that the medical report is attached to the First Information Report.
“Your worship the disease in question is contagious, and I pray the Court will take cognizant of the medical report to see how the convict would not join other inmates in order not to infect them with the disease as it is a communicable disease. That is my humble prayer,” the Prosecutor told the Court.
In her judgment, Chief Magistrate Hajiya Fati Umar Hassan conveyed her disappointment with the conduct of the convict, particularly highlighting his role as a police officer entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding the lives and property of citizens.
“It is quite unfortunate that as a police officer saddled with the responsibilities of Protecting the lives and property of the citizens, you now engage in selling ammunition to armed bandits that are terrorising and killing innocent citizens across the country.
“I will be lenient with you while convicting you with an option of fine as a result of the contagious disease, especially with the medical report attached to the first Information report.
“If not because of the disease, I would have convicted you without an option of fine, but for other inmates not to be infected with the disease, you are hereby sentenced to two years imprisonment with an option of N100,000 fine.”
The Chief Magistrate, however, issued a directive for the convict to be transferred to the Chanchaga Leprosarium Colony to serve his jail term in the event that he is unable to pay the fine.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, on Thursday, said it would end the importation of refined petroleum products by December 2024 as all the country’s refineries would be operational by then.
It also projected that the national oil firm would grow its revenue to N4.5tn at the end of 2023 adding that the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, under NNPCL’s management, would be completed by December this year.
The Group Chief Officer of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, disclosed this when he led officials of the company to a meeting with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, where the lawmaker called for the privatisation of Nigeria’s refineries.
Also, oil marketers, on Thursday, confirmed the readiness of the Port Harcourt refinery, as they stated that its operations, which could begin in January 2024, would lead to a considerable drop in the prices of refined petroleum products.
At the meeting in Abuja, Kyari declared that Nigeria was on track to stop the importation of refined petroleum products in 2024 and would emerge as a net exporter of the commodities in the same year.
He also provided explanations on the commencement of operations of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries
The company’s helmsman said all refineries would become fully operational, adding that the country would become a net exporter of petroleum products by the end of 2024.
Fuel subsidy
He blamed the petroleum subsidy for inactive refineries in Nigeria over the years, stressing that the removal of the subsidy was already attracting a lot of private-sector investments.
Kyari stated, “I can confirm to you that by the end of December this year, we will start the Port Harcourt refinery; early in the first quarter of 2024, we will start the Warri refinery and by the end of 2024, Kaduna refinery will come into operation.
“This is the commitment we are giving today and you can hold us accountable for this. In 2024, many of the initiatives including the rehabilitation of our refineries and also the efforts of small-scale refineries, and the upcoming Dangote refinery, will make Nigeria a net exporter of petroleum products in 2024.
“We will no longer be talking about fuel importation by the end of 2024. I am very optimistic that this will crystallise,” he said.
Kyari pledged that by the end of 2023, the expected government revenue from the company would hit N4.5tn, as NNPCL now returns value to shareholders in compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act.
In October 2023, The PUNCH reported that Nigeria was spending about N843bn monthly on the importation of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, following the halt in oil swaps by NNPCL.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority stated in July this year that between June 1 and June 28, 2023, which was described as the post-deregulation period, the total petrol consumption across the country was 1.36 billion litres, while the average daily consumption was put at 48.43 million litres.
The average ex-depot price of petrol from the only importer of the commodity, NNPCL, is about N580/litre.
But the NNPCL and oil marketers stated on Thursday that this huge oil import fund would drop soon as the Port Harcourt refinery would start producing refined petroleum products from January 2024 barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Confirming the readiness of the plant, the President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, told one of our correspondents that he visited the facility to get first-hand experience and saw that it was ready.
The Federal Government announced in August this year that the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery would be completed in December 2023.
When contacted on Thursday to tell the current stage of repairs at the facility, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, replied, “Scheduled for the end of December 2023, the Port Harcourt refinery project is proceeding as planned without any issues. The delivery date stands. The work is ongoing.”
PETROAN president
The PETROAN president said the Port Harcourt refinery was on course to begin operations, based on findings by the oil union at the facility.
Gillis-Harry said, “I can confirm to you that the refinery is getting set for production. I’ve been there and I’m still going there tomorrow (Friday) morning. One area is going to be active but I want to be there and take a photograph of the place, with me standing by it and I will send it to you.
“The Port Harcourt refinery is on course. I am working on a committee that is reviewing these issues. I won’t tell you the name of the committee because it is a secret mission. However, I can assure you that they are already set.’
“There are quite a lot of products there and it is not difficult for them to set it up and start pumping. So they should be set to produce and deliver by January, and tomorrow (Friday) if you call me in the morning I’ll be in the refinery and I’ll speak to you on video for you to know what I’m talking about.”
Gillis-Harry stated that anytime the Port Harcourt refinery kicks off, the cost of PMS would drop.
“It is simple, there are so many inputs that are going to be removed from PMS cost, such as cost of importation, ports rate, and shipping. From here, you can load products and move them to far locations in Nigeria.
“So all we need to do is just to ensure equitable distribution of what is being produced. Therefore once the refinery starts pumping out products it will save forex for the Federal Government.’’
On his part, the National Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief John Kekeocha, urged the NNPCL to ensure that the Port Harcourt refinery begins operations as targeted.
“The refinery will, of course, help to augment fuel supply by addressing the crisis of fuel shortage and its high cost in Nigeria. Once it begins operations in December or January as the case may be, it will augment supply both in price and quantity.
“So if they can do that, fine. And maybe after that, they can shift to the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries. This will help a lot and we don’t want excuses this time. They must work hard to meet this target because the impact on the economy is going to be massive.’’
Meanwhile, Kekeocha explained that since crude oil was a significant component in the production of refined petroleum products, the cost of the commodity would still determine the price of products that would come from the refinery.
“When the Port Harcourt refinery begins to produce, since we are practising deregulation, if the price of crude drops, the refined products will be cheaper, but if crude oil increases in price, it will make the price of these refined products rise.
“This is because the crude oil refiners are going to buy the product based on its international rate. But the only way it will not affect us is if we are practising subsidy.’’
‘Privatise refineries now’
At the meeting with NNPCL officials, the Speaker of the House of Representatives called for the privatisation of oil refineries in the country to address the perennial crisis bedeviling the oil sector.
While describing the state of the refineries as shameful, Abbas added that NNPCL workers’ work hours in the last 20 years could be less than a month, yet they get paid, promoted, and cared for.
He said, “There is a need to make these refineries have multi-dimensional uses. If there is no crude oil, are there other activities that can make the workers active so that what they earn is deserved? I need you and your management to look at how we can turn around these decades of losses.
“One way to do so is to find a way to privatise these refineries. We have spent so much money and time deceiving ourselves that some businesses can be run by the government.
“In the case of the refineries, we have now realised that some sectors of NNPCL
business can only be handled by the private sector and our refineries are one of those.
“The inadequacies will become manifest as soon as the Dangote refinery comes on board because the competition will be there and inefficiencies of the refineries will become more naked.
“I want you to put it as part of your cardinal objectives ways to privatise our refineries so that they can be active. Shortly, they will be able to compete with new refineries that will come up,” he said.
Abbas said that the NNPCL is central to the economic development of Nigeria pledging the commitment of the house to supporting the company to succeed.
According to him, the House is concerned about the high rate of oil theft, saying it is draining revenue, affecting forex availability, and causing inflation in the country.
The Speaker maintained that the House had inaugurated a special committee on oil theft to interface with stakeholders to address oil theft in the country.
[Punch]
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Thursday seized expired pharmaceutical products worth N15 million from a pharmacy in Jos, Plateau State.
This is has the Agency also confiscated unregistered alcoholic beverages worth more than N30 million from shops in Jos and in the nearby Bukuru metropolis of the state.
The Director of the North Central Zone, NAFDAC, Mr Shaba Mohammed who disclosed this said the agency had earlier received reports that the pharmacy sold expired drugs.
According to him, the pharmacy tampers with expiry date markings on pharmaceuticals to revalidate their shelf lives.
Mohammed explained that during NAFDAC’s raid, it found a room in the pharmacy packed full of drugs with their expiry dates cleaned off, awaiting the imprint of new dates.
“During the raid, we discovered that the pharmacy has a room where expired dates were cleaned off and the drugs revalidated.
“These pharmaceuticals consist of both oral and injectable,’’ he said.
He, however, said NAFDAC has closed down the pharmacy and has arrested the pharmacist who failed to produce his current licence of practice as a pharmacist and the current operational licence of the pharmacy itself.
Speaking further, Mohammed warned the general public against buying pharmaceuticals from unregistered pharmacies.
He added that complaints about drugs should be made promptly to the nearest NAFDAC office or through a call to their telephone number: 08033034666.
He also warned consumers of drinks and packaged foods to always look out for NAFDAC registration numbers on such products.
Mohammed assured that raids on pharmacies and shops in Plateau would continue until the state is rid of unwholesome products.
President Bola Tinubu has been urged to intervene in the fight between Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and his deputy, Aiyedatiwa.
The call was made by the leader of Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, and some elders in Ondo State.
Fasoranti, who led other elder statesmen under the aegis of Ondo State Elders and Leaders, disclosed that the political crisis, particularly the absence of the governor, has been affecting governance in the state.
A communiqué signed by the Afenifere leader and the group’s secretary, Bakitta Bello, after an emergency meeting in Akure, the state capital, asserted that some people have hijacked the governance of the state.
The elders also maintained that if the development is not quickly addressed, it will no doubt affect the preparation of the 2024 budget.
While decrying the absence of the state in crucial national events due to the crisis, the elder statesmen stated that there is no clear direction within the state’s civil service.
The communique states: “The Elders also call on the state and national leadership of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, to provide the required guide to those in government as well as ensure discipline amongst their fold.
“The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is hereby passionately called upon to intervene and end the present constitutional crisis in the state, to avoid the looming breakdown of law and order in Ondo State.”
Chairman of ECWA Igbaja DCC, Rev S. B Oladunni, alongside two others who were abducted by gunmen in Agbeku community in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, have regained freedom.
TORI reported that the gunmen abducted the victims and killed one person on Saturday, November 11, 2023.
According to Daily Trust, their freedom was secured after the payment of a N6.5million ransom raised by the families of the victims and the community.
The kidnappers had initially placed a N53m ransom on the three victims, according to the traditional ruler of Agbekuland, Oba Abdulazeez Shola Agboola.
But a senior member of the community who was involved in the process of their release told the publication on Wednesday, November 22, that they paid lesser.
“The three victims have been released after the payment of N6.5m, drinks and recharge cards they demanded, which we gave,” he said.
Popular Nigerian actress, Doris Ogala has alleged that Stella Maris, the wife of ailing actor, Mr Ibu is requesting for a house with the funds donated by well-meaning fans for her husband’s medical care.
According to Doris, Stella Maris is asking for a new house to be bought for her because the one she lives in is leaking.
This is as N2.5 million of the donation was moved to Stella’s account for upkeep.
Doris Ogala posed a crucial query in a different post, asking why Mr Ibu disregarded his wife if she is good as she claims and added their son as a signatory to his account.
In her words: “Ibu’s wife is demanding for a house saying that her house is leaking water. That they should get her a new house from the house contributed for Ibu’s treatment. They transferred a total of 2.5 million to her account for upkeep from the money. Hmmm.
“My question is why did Mr Ibu take his second son to the bank and make him a signatory if the wife had been good as she claimed? Why didn’t Ibu make the wife signatory to the account? So many things are not adding up, there is more to it”.
See her post below;
On Thursday, November 23, two persons were arraigned at the Akure Magistrates’ Court over a missing 14-year-old girl.
The suspects, Omolola Adebayo, female, 32 and Oluwatimilehin Agunloko, male, 17, were alleged to have conspired to commit felony to wit: abduction and thereby committed an offence.
Inspector Simon Wada, the police prosecutor, said the suspects on Oct. 28 committed the offences in Owo in Owo Local Government Area of the state.
He explained that Agunloko was the boyfriend of the missing girl while the other suspect was believed to have had the last phone conversation with her.
Wada said the offences contravened Sections 516 of the Criminal Code Cap 37, Vol. 1 Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria 2006 and Section 3 of the Anti Kidnapping and Anti Abduction Law of Ondo State.
However, the defendants each pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Ruling on their bail application, the Magistrate, Mr Damilo
The Makurdi Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) apprehended five individuals suspected of engaging in internet fraud in the Makurdi metropolis, Benue State.
This was made known on Thursday in a post on the anti-graft agency X handle.
The statement said they were arrested on Thursday following credible intelligence on their alleged involvement in internet-related offences.
The suspects listed in the statement include Stanley Tochukwu, Desmond Tochukwu, Dennis Emeka, George Ebuka and Arinze Odo.
The EFCC disclosed that some items, including phones, power bank, ATM cards and some cash, were recovered from the suspects.
It further added that they will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.
The price cap on energy bills for most UK households will rise this winter, regulator Ofgem said Thursday, further fuelling a cost-of-living crisis that is forecast to worsen.
Bills will climb from January on rising wholesale energy prices, which have increased due to key producer Russia’s war in Ukraine, Ofgem said in a statement.
The annual amount suppliers are able to charge an average household consuming electricity and gas will increase to £1,928 ($2,418) from £1,834, it added.
“This is a difficult time for many people, and any increase in bills will be worrying,” noted Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley.
Consumer Prices Index inflation slowed sharply to 4.6 percent last month on easing energy bills, achieving Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s target to halve the key figure.
However, households and businesses continue to pay high energy bills after the government scrapped last year’s costly subsidies, while food-price inflation remains in double digits.
Britons face a record drop in living standards in 2024-2025, the Office for Budget Responsibility warned on Wednesday alongside a budget update from finance minister Jeremy Hunt.
The fiscal watchdog forecast real household disposable income per person will sink by the largest amount since records began in the 1950s. It is not expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2027-2028.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Hunt admitted Thursday that many families were still suffering.
“People are feeling under pressure because of all the increases in inflation and shopping baskets and filling up the tank,” Hunt told BBC radio.
“We need to continue on the path of bringing inflation down.”
Hunt launched plans Wednesday to stimulate growth and woo voters for the next general election, delivering a massive sweetener for workers but also forecasting sharply lower growth and stubbornly high inflation.
The most eye-catching tax cut was an overhaul in national insurance, a payrolls levy paid by employees and employers that will be slashed from January.
But the OBR slashed economic growth forecasts to 0.7 percent in 2024 and 1.4 percent in 2025. That compared with prior guidance of 1.8 percent and 2.5 percent respectively.
In further gloom, the OBR predicted inflation would not fall to the Bank of England’s official two-percent target until the second quarter of 2025.
That is one year later than previously forecast and raises the prospect that interest rates will stay higher for longer, in turn hitting the cost of commercial loans for consumers and businesses.
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The Lagos Coroner Court sitting in Ikorodu on Wednesday heard that the most crucial aspect of autopsy to determine the cause of death of the late singer Ilerioluwa Aloba aka Mohbad is being conducted in the United States (US).
State Counsel, Oluwaseun Akinde, told the coroner, Magistrate Adetayo Shotobi, that the autopsy into the external body of the deceased has been completed.
He said, “The toxicology test, which has to do with internal body, is being done in the US.”
Akinde made this known following insistence of other counsel to the father of the deceased, David Fadimu; that of the TNKay Music Worldwide, David Nawoola, representative of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ikorodu, O.S.A. Aranmolaran and Jennifer Nina.
The coroner asked to know why the toxicology was taken abroad when there are toxicology laboratories in Nigeria.
Akinde told the coroner that Lagos State decided to do it in the US because of the nature of various substances alleged to have either been injected or taken by the deceased and the need to prevent controversy over the autopsy report when finally presented.
He said it was also because the death of the deceased had become a worldwide issue.
He said there was no point in inviting Prof. Soyemi, the pathologist in Lagos to present an uncompleted report.
Binance boss Changpeng Zhao has become the most powerful cryptocurrency figure to fall in a two-year period chaotic even by the standards of the notoriously volatile industry.
Zhao stepped down as CEO of Binance — the largest crypto exchange in the world — after he and the company pleaded guilty on Tuesday to sweeping US money laundering violations and agreed to fines of more than $4 billion.
Here are three of the highest-profile crypto executives who have fallen foul of the law since last year:
– Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao –
Born in China in 1977, Zhao moved with his family to Canada in the 1980s and later got a degree in computer science from McGill University, according to his profile in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
He founded Binance in 2017 in Shanghai, and led the company’s explosive growth into the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange.
An outspoken celebrity in the crypto world with 8.7 million followers on X, Zhao became the richest known figure in the nascent industry. His net worth peaked at around $65 billion in 2022, according to a Forbes index.
With the prestige and wealth came increased scrutiny of Binance’s operations, as prominent crypto firms around the world began to buckle under a wave of criminal investigations.
The United States accused Zhao and Binance of multiple violations, including knowingly allowing transactions to militant groups such as the Islamic State and in barred jurisdictions such as North Korea and Iran.
On Tuesday, they pleaded guilty. The firm has agreed to total penalties of nearly $4.4 billion, while he will pay $50 million, according to court documents.
Zhao resigned as CEO of Binance and while he will reportedly retain his shares in the company, he has been banned from any involvement in its business. He is expected to face sentencing later.
Forbes listed his net worth as $10.2 billion as of Wednesday.
– Sam Bankman-Fried –
If Zhao was the richest and most powerful person in crypto, Sam Bankman-Fried was easily the most famous.
Born to Stanford University professors, Bankman-Fried graduated from MIT with a degree in physics.
In 2019, he founded FTX, which skyrocketed to become the world’s second-largest crypto exchange.
Along the way, Bankman-Fried built up his image as the unofficial ambassador for the cryptocurrency industry, with high-profile appearances in the media and even the US Congress.
At one point in 2022, he had a net worth of $24 billion, according to Forbes.
But he had been walking a dangerous path — his team used customers’ money for everything from buying posh real estate to covering risky moves by affiliate Alameda Research.
It all came crashing down when these moves were revealed in the media in November 2022. Within hours, rival CZ Zhao said Binance would sell all the FTX tokens it held.
It sparked a stunning collapse of FTX and Bankman-Fried’s empire, his fame turning to notoriety.
Arrested in the Bahamas in January, he was found guilty this month of what US prosecutors described as “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history”. He faces up to 110 years in prison.
During his trial, the 31-year-old admitted to making “mistakes” but denied trying to defraud anyone.
– Do Kwon –
South Korean entrepreneur Do Kwon co-founded Terraform Labs in 2018, developing the cryptocurrencies TerraUSD and Luna.
The Stanford grad successfully marketed them as the next big thing in crypto, attracting billions in investments and global hype.
Media reports in South Korea described him as a “genius”.
But in May last year, the value of these currencies — marketed as “stablecoins” — plummeted, wiping out around $40 billion in investments and sending a shock wave through the rest of the industry.
It led to more than $500 billion in further losses on global crypto markets, industry data suggested.
Experts said Do Kwon — whose full name is Kwon Do-kyung — had marketed a glorified Ponzi scheme.
Brash and outspoken on social media, Do Kwon left South Korea before the collapse and spent months on the run.
He was arrested in Montenegro this year after being caught trying to catch a flight using fake Costa Rican travel documents.
He faces multiple criminal charges in the United States and South Korea.
• With new requests, total varsities to hit 528, private-owned 418
• Only 30% of student population have access to lecture theatres, laboratories, libraries – NUC
• Varsities not meeting mandate, experts say
Despite public concerns over proliferation of mushroom universities and inadequate budgetary allocations to the education sector in general, the Federal Government is again, considering 270 fresh applications for private universities.
If approved, the new request is estimated to bring the total number of universities to 528, among which 418 are private-owned.
Findings showed that Nigeria currently has not less than 258 universities. Among them are 50 federal, 60 state-owned and 148 owned by private individuals and organisations.
But the geometric progression in the number of universities over the years has not rubbed off on education standards, and much for concerns among stakeholders.
It will be recalled that in the eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, not less than 90 universities were approved for operations in the education sector.
According to data obtained from the National Universities Commission (NUC), 10 Federal, 22 State and 58 Private universities were established from 2015 till date.
The NUC data showed that in 2015, the government approved one state and nine private universities for establishment. In 2016, four state and five private universities were approved. In 2017, two state and four private universities; in 2018- three federal, one state, and one private university were approved.
In 2019, two state and four private universities were approved; in 2020- two federal, and two state universities were approved; in 2021- four federal, three state, and 18 private universities. In 2022, one federal, six state, and 12 private universities were approved. For 2023, the Buhari administration approved one state university and 37 private universities.
Universities, by their nature, are drivers of socio-economic, cultural and political development, and global innovation. They help in acquiring academic skills, professional expertise and knowledge through teaching, researching, and disseminating existing and new knowledge.
However, analysts observed that university education has performed very poorly in terms of focus on innovative works and entrepreneurship, as well as the commercialisation of research findings.
Besides, they disclosed that Nigerian universities relatively underperform on research, as they produce only 44 per cent of the scholarly output of South Africa and 32 per cent of Egypt.
According to experts, Nigerian universities only focus on their traditional role of training scholars and leaders, but remain weak in the practical application of knowledge and are unable to respond to the demands of the job market.
With 528 universities, analysts noted that there should be increased competition, which should lead to better standards, but experts expressed fears that as the institutions increase, the standards seem to decrease.
Given Nigeria’s peculiar circumstances, experts stated that universities should close the gap in the life skills of leadership, entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology adoption.
A survey by the NUC showed that only about 30 per cent of the country’s student population have adequate access to lecture theatres, laboratories and libraries.
Every year, the number of candidates seeking admission to universities is higher than the available capacity. The majority of the candidates prefer relatively affordable government-owned tertiary institutions, but many, who could not secure admission, eventually settle for private universities.
Between 2018 and 2022, over five million of the candidates who applied for admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions were unable to secure placement.
Out of 1.8 million candidates who applied in 2022, about 600,000 (representing 33.3 per cent) were admitted.
At a British Council workshop in Abuja recently, Acting Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Dr Chris Maiyaki, hinted that about 270 private universities have applied for licences to commence academic activities.
As the authorities keep approving the establishment of new universities, there have been divided views on the implication.
While some said it would give candidates wider choices, and reduce enrolments in schools to what they can manage, others averred that what is needed is a conscious effort to upgrade existing ones, especially the federal and state-owned ones to offer quality education to citizens.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), had, at different times, called on the Federal Government to halt the establishment of new universities, when it has failed to adequately fund existing ones.
Apart from lack of funding and adequate facilities for existing institutions, stakeholders also observed that establishing new ones poses huge problems, especially in recruiting qualified academic staff, and meeting global standards, among other challenges.
The union argued that attention should be on carrying capacity, rather than the number of universities.
ASUU lamented that the pressure on available facilities has led to rapid deterioration and overcrowding across ivory towers in the country.
It noted that there has been an upsurge in students’ population without a corresponding improvement in facilities and other student services.
For some stakeholders and education experts, the licensing of more private universities has been a curse more than a blessing.
They described the quality in private universities as very low, and called on the government to fund and strengthen existing ones to be able to accommodate the teeming admission seekers and churn out quality graduates that can compete globally.
A research assistant at the University of Jos, Isa Daniel, said emphasis should be laid on providing infrastructure for already existing institutions.
He said: “One thing we have failed to realise is that universities have hectares of land; what they need are infrastructural inputs – large classrooms, quality sitting halls, modern infrastructure, modern edifices that can accommodate students, and a good environment for quality learning for lecturers, students and researchers.
“We need to revamp, equip and modernise already existing ones, which is where we have failed and we keep failing. We need to go back to the drawing board,” he said
A leader of ASUU at the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago Iwoye, Dr Adigun Ogundele, warned that granting approvals for more private universities would spell doom for public universities in the nation.
According to him, many of the private universities do not have manpower and facilities to run the programmes for which they were accredited by the NUC, which was why they always engaged human and non-human resources in public universities, thus ‘overstretching’ the public schools.
But the secretary of the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU), Prof Yakubu Ochefu, has described enrolment into the nation’s universities as very low, saying it sits at about eight per cent, below the African average of 13 and the global average of 33 per cent.
He said many of those who sit for entrance examinations and qualified to go to universities are denied because available spaces could not absorb all.
Although Nigeria has the highest number of universities in Africa, Ochefu said they are not enough as far as the population index is concerned.
Dean of postgraduate studies, Bayero University, Kano (BUK), Prof. Usman Ahmed, said private universities would continue to increase because of the diversity of people in the country.
“What is important is that we should keep our eyes on standards because the fear is that when people come into something that should ordinarily be for public good, the tendency is to bastardise the system. You can see what has happened to private primary and secondary schools. Now, we have more private schools around the neighbourhood and everybody is using all forms of gimmicks to continue to make profit out of it,” he said.
Ahmed charged NUC not to let down its guard, which he said was important in terms of personnel, material equipment and infrastructure.
He noted that in terms of regulation, NUC should ensure that private universities run only programmes they had the resources to offer, noting that even public institutions do not run all their programmes at a go.
Former Vice Chancellor, Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU), Arakeji, Osun State, Prof. Sola Fajana, said private universities have provided opportunities for young people with the ambition to obtain degrees and diplomas, while responding to the unemployability of Nigerian graduates through entrepreneurship education.
He added that private universities are helping to meet Nigeria’s manpower needs.
“We need to understand the fact that whether federal, state or private universities, our goals are the same – which is, to produce an educated workforce that will meet Nigeria’s needs in the 21st century,” Fajana stated.
[Guardian]
Tinubu: 'I took Lagos from zero to Africa's 5th largest economy' - I Deserves Guinness World Records
AdminPresident Bola Tinubu says his past exploits paved the way for his emergence as president and that he deserves to be listed in the Guinness World Records (GWR).
Speaking to a group of investors on Tuesday at the 10th German-Nigerian Business Forum, Tinubu credited his success to overcoming investment obstacles in Nigeria.
The President said noteworthy accomplishments should be acknowledged and quipped that he was determined to actively pursue the inclusion of his name in the revered Guinness World Records (GWR).
“If you have the fear of various hurdles, just look at me — I am from the private sector, one of you. I was trained by Deloitte and worked for ExxonMobil until I got to become the treasurer of the corporation. So, define corporate governance in any way, and I am in it,” he said.
The former Lagos governor also stated that during his eight-year tenure, he successfully transformed the state from ground zero to become the fifth-largest economy in Africa.
“I governed Lagos for eight consecutive years and, today, I can brag, beat my chest that Lagos is on the horizon; it’s the fifth-largest economy in Africa from zero,” Tinubu said.
“That is a track record that I can use to assure you and that is the track record that got me into this office as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Emphasising his commitment to reforms, he humorously remarked that if not recognised, he would strive to insert himself into the Guinness Book of Records for his achievements as Nigeria’s president.
“Nigeria voted for me for reforms and from day one of my inauguration, I started the reforms. To me, if you didn’t mention me in the Guinness Book of Records, I’d strive to find a way to insert myself because I did it without expectation,” he said.