The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says the air component of operation Hadarin Daji has killed 80 terrorists in Gidan Kare village under Faskare LGA of Katsina state.

In a statement on Monday, Edward Gabkwet, the NAF director of public relations, said the airstrike was carried out on June 15, adding that 15 motorcycles belonging to the terrorists were burned.

Gabkwet said the air raid followed intelligence that over 100 terrorists were burning houses at a settlement about five kilometres away from Gidan Kare Village.

He said at about 8:30pm on Saturday, several houses were observed to be on fire, with the entire village in pandemonium.

Gabkwet said 12 motorcycles were later seen departing the village, adding that they were trailed along a footpath to a location near Gidan Kare Village and Kuka Shidda camp, where they joined up with a large number of their cohorts.

“Other terrorists were also observed arriving at the location from different directions, an indication that the location was a massing up point with the terrorists likely planning to further attack nearby villages,” the statement reads.

“Having been presented such a rare opportunity, authorization was sought, obtained and the location was immediately struck at exactly 9:40pm, with over 80 terrorists confirmed eliminated and about 45 motorcycles burnt down, while few surviving terrorists were observed fleeing or limping off.

“Further intelligence received after the strike also revealed that the terrorists were closely linked with notorious terrorist kingpin Yusuf Yellow and his close associate Rabe Imani.

”These strikes, along with others before now, have no doubt disrupted terrorists’ activities in the area.”

The NAF spokesperson said Hasan Abubakar, chief of air staff, commended the efforts of the air component in diminishing the capabilities of terrorist elements in the north-west.

He urged the troops not to relent in their efforts and dedication to the fight against terrorism and all forms of criminality in Nigeria.

“As we continue the fight against insurgency and banditry bedevilling our dear nation, I want to commend and appreciate your resoluteness and gallantry,” Gabkwer quoted the air chief as saying.

Residents of Idekan Farm Settlement in the Ijebu-Ode area of Ogun State were left shocked when a man named Matthew James killed his 55-year-old wife, Etim Mary, due to suspicions of her having an extramarital affair.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the incident took place around 8:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Our correspondent learnt from several community and police sources that the suspect, now in police custody, committed the crime after suspecting that his late wife was having an extramarital affair with another man in the community.

An eyewitness, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the police operatives from the Ijebu-Igbo Division had taken the suspect into custody.

The eyewitness further told our correspondent that the suspect claimed he and the deceased woman had a “blood covenant” not to betray each other.

The source said, “They had a blood covenant that they would not leave each other. He suspected the wife was having an extramarital affair. The woman had been married before she met James. He married her when the woman was already ageing. She had grown up with children before James married her.

“James is claiming they both had a blood covenant not to leave each other for any reason. He just returned one morning with a machete and hacked the woman to death. He didn’t run away after committing the crime. He just stood beside her after.”

The spokesperson for the state police command, Omolola Odutola, commenting on Monday’s shocking incident, stated that the wife was pronounced dead by the attending doctor after being rushed to the hospital by other residents.

She said, “She was found lying in the pool of her blood just in front of the house about 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. She had deep cuts on her forehead, shoulders, and other parts of her body. The husband was found with the blood-soaked machete he was believed to have used to commit the crime.

“The body was taken to a general hospital in Ijebu-Igbo, where she was certified dead by a doctor on duty. Her corpse has been deposited at the Alayangbe Private Mortuary in Oke-Agbo, Ijebu-Igbo, for the autopsy.

“We will move the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Abeokuta as soon as the preliminary investigation is concluded.”

PUNCH Metro reported a similar incident in April in Ekiti, where a suspect named Dare Onipede allegedly killed his wife, Arinola, during a dispute over accusations of her having an extramarital affair.

The suspect allegedly stabbed his wife, the mother of three, to death during the incident.

The Federal Government through the Nigerian Customs Service has begun a fresh move to clamp down on operators of improperly imported private jets into the country, findings by The PUNCH revealed.

Consequently, no fewer than 80 operators of private jets are expected to appear at the headquarters of the NCS in Abuja with their aircraft import documents.

The special aircraft import verification exercise, which begins on Wednesday (tomorrow), is expected to last for 30 days, according to a public notice issued by Customs.

The notice, sighted by one of our correspondents, read in part, “The Nigeria Customs Service announces a verification exercise for privately owned aircraft operating in Nigeria. This exercise aims to identify improperly imported private aircraft without documentation, ensuring proper imports and maximum revenue collection.”

According to the notice, owners and operators of private jets in the country are to come with some relevant documents.

These include aircraft Certificate of Registration, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority’s Flight Operation Compliance Certificate, NCAA’s Maintenance Compliance Certificate, NCAA’s Permit for Non-Commercial Flights, and Temporary Import Permit (if applicable).

The latest plan to clamp down on operators of improperly imported private jets came more than one year after the Federal Government suspended the action.

In the past three years, the government had planned to recover import duty running into billions of naira from some private jet operators who had used certain technical loopholes to evade the payment of import duty.

A few private jet owners paid the mandatory import duty after the Hameed Ali-led NCS took some significant steps to recover the revenue. However, several owners and operators of private jets in the country have yet to pay the statutory duty.

Many private aircraft operators in the country have allegedly explored technical loopholes in the regulation to fraudulently obtain a Temporary Import Permit from the Nigeria Customs Service instead of paying the statutory import duty on their imported aircraft.

The TIP, which is valid for an initial period of 12 months, can be extended by six months twice, according to the regulations.

However, several operators of private jets in the country have continued to extend the TIP indefinitely, a development that prompted the Customs to effect past clampdowns.

According to new findings by our correspondents, no fewer than 80 private jet operators are expected to present their aircraft import documents for verification during the one-month exercise.

“Based on the data we have, we are expecting no fewer than 80 private aircraft operators for the verification exercise. These include operators of about 20 private aircraft that have been imported since the last verification exercise,” a top official close to the verification exercise told The PUNCH on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter

The exercise is expected to lead to the payment of the mandatory import duty, while aircraft operators who fail to pay may have their jets grounded.

The TIP has been described by some stakeholders as a fraudulent means of evading the mandatory import duty. Importers of private jets, especially foreign registered private jets, are expected to pay five per cent of the value of the private jet as import duty.

However, due to the high cost of private jets, some owners often prefer not to pay the import, according to Customs officials.

Instead, the operators prefer to obtain a TIP under the guise that the aircraft is coming into the country for a temporary period, quoting the International Civil Aviation Organisation Convention Article 24 which focuses on Customs waiver for commercial aircraft operating in a country temporarily.

But the new leadership of Customs appears poised to get all operators to pay the import duty.

Unconfirmed sources said the government might get close to N100bn in unpaid import duty on imported private aircraft due to the high exchange rate.

This analysis is however dependent on whether the Customs chooses to implement the 25 per cent penalty fee such aircraft owners are meant to pay for delayed payment. The 25 per cent penalty fee is in addition to the statutory five per cent import duty.

It is unclear If the private aircraft operators will be willing to cooperate with the government to pay the duty.

Some operators had in the past gone to court to stop the government from collecting the revenue.

Meanwhile, National Public Relations Officer, NCS, Abdullahi Maiwada, on Monday, confirmed the verification exercise, which is scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

In response to enquiries by The PUNCH on what actions the agency would take after the verification exercise, Maiwada simply said, “All we are doing is to ensure maximum revenue collection for the Federal Government. Relevant sections of our extant laws and regulations will guide our actions and inaction during and after the exercise.”

Sometime in 2021, about 17 owners of foreign-registered private jets, comprising top business moguls, leading commercial banks, and other rich Nigerians, dragged the Federal Government to court, seeking to stop the grounding of their planes over alleged import duty default.

This came after the Federal Government approved the decision of the Nigeria Customs Service to the ground about 91 private jets over their alleged refusal to pay import duties running to over N30bn.

The NCS had in a letter directed the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency to ground the affected private jets with immediate effect.

However owing to issues bothering on inter-agency rivalry and disagreements, the relevant government agencies could not ground the private jets.

The jet owners who sued the government were seeking a judicial review as to whether it was lawful for them to pay the controversial import duty on their private jets or not.

They had sued the government using the foreign shell companies and trustees through which the foreign-registered jets were purchased.

Oftentimes, Nigerians and corporate bodies buy their foreign-registered private jets through foreign shell companies and trustees. Experts believe Nigerians prefer to register their jets in foreign countries like the United States, United Kingdom, and Isle of Man, among others, to preserve the value of the aircraft in the event they want to sell it. This also helps them to pay cheaper insurance premiums.

According to the court document, the 17 applicants, which are mostly foreign companies of the Nigerian jet owners are Aircraft Trust and Financing Corp Trustee, UAML Corp, Bank of Utah Trustee, Masterjet AVIACAO Executive SA, and Cloud Services Limited.

Others are MHS Aviation GmbH, Murano Trust Company Limited, Panther Jets, SAIB LLC, Empire Aviation Group, and Osa Aviation Limited.

The list also includes BUA Delaware Inc., Flying Bull Corporation Limited, Air Charter Inc., Sparfell Luftahrt GmbH, WAT Aviation Limited, and ATT Aviation Limited.

The NCAA and Customs were listed as respondents to the suit.

However, in a written address in support of the first respondent’s objector notice of preliminary objection, the court paper had read in part, “The brief facts of this case are that the first respondents, having discovered that some operators of aircraft imported them under the guise of Temporary Importation Permit, were permanently imported into Nigeria and given TIP status to evade payment of lawful customs.”

The NCS had in 2021 embarked on a review of import duties paid on private jets brought into the country since 2006.

Following the alleged discovery that several private jet owners, under the guise of Temporary Import Permit, had failed to pay the statutory import duty to the coffers of the government, the then CG of Customs, Hameed Ali, set up a verification panel to review all TIPs and the relevant aircraft import documents of all private jets in the country.

At the end of the 60-day exercise, 57 private jets, which had licences for commercial charter operations, were cleared and issued Aircraft Operators Certificates by the Customs.

However, 29 private jets, whose owners came for the verification, were found to be liable to pay the import duty.

The Customs also compiled a list of another 62 private jets whose owners failed to appear for the verification exercise but were found liable for import duty payment.

However, other private jet owners seeking to pay their import duty were given a 14-day ultimatum to clear the debts.

The number of jet owners who later paid the duty is still unclear. It is still unclear to what extent the new management of Customs is willing to get the powerful private jet owners to pay their import duty.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has paid a visit to the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.

The First Lady’s Media Aide, Busola Kukoyi shared the photos of the visit via her X handle on Monday.

Kukoyi stated, “Former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Senator Oluremi Tinubu after receiving the Former President who came felicitating on the Sallah Celebration on Monday 17th June.”

Obasanjo’s visit is coming barely 48 hours after the former President was seen donning a cap with President Bola Tinubu’s emblem.

Recall that a video of Obasanjo wearing a cap branded with Tinubu’s insignia at an event attended by some African dignitaries.

As Ondo govt activates surveillance for immediate response

THE Lagos State government, yesterday, explained that the strain of cholera in Lagos is highly aggressive and contagious.

Recall that Lagos has recorded 17 confirmed cases of cholera and 15 fatalities so far.

It also said laboratory investigation has confirmed the strain to be cholera sub-type O-1, adding that the subtype is associated with more severe diseases.

The Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, in a post on X, said the identified strain is “highly aggressive and contagious, with potential for widespread dissemination.”

Abayomi said through community-based case finding and contact tracing, the government observed that the number of cases “has peaked and is now significantly declining.”

He said: “The geographical distribution of suspected cases by Local Government Area showed that Lagos Island is the epicentre of the outbreak with 106 cases, followed by Kosofe with 49; Eti-Osa with 38; Lagos Mainland with 30; Ojo with 17; Ikorodu with 16; Shomolu with 11; Surulere with nine; Apapa with eight; Mushin with eight; Ifako Ijaiye with eight; Alimosho with four; Ajeromi-Ifelodun with four; Oshodi-Isolo with three; Ikeja with three; Ibeju Lekki with two; Badagry with two; and Amuwo-Odofin with one.

“We are receiving support from the NCDC and International partners, including the WHO Nigeria and UNICEF Nigeria.

“Local Non-Governmental organizations are actively involved in raising awareness and conducting community-based surveillance efforts.” 

Ondo govt activates surveillance for immediate response

Meanwhile, the Ondo State government said it has activated its surveillance for immediate response to any case of cholera in the state.

The Health Commissioner, Dr Banji Ajaka, noted that there were two cases in the Okitipupa council area early in the year, adding that it was curtailed by the Rapid Response team of the state
Ajaka said: “The surveillance team was also strengthened by the COPREP programme with community informants/contact tracers trained and placed on stipends for eight months; they however would be deployed for active case search in preparation for cholera outbreak.”

People in Africa’s most populous nation are suffering as the price of food, fuel and medicine has skyrocketed out of reach for many. 

Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in decades, with skyrocketing inflation, a national currency in free-fall and millions of people struggling to buy food. Only two years ago Africa’s biggest economy, Nigeria is projected to drop to fourth place this year.

The pain is widespread. Unions strike to protest salaries of around $20 a month. People die in stampedes, desperate for free sacks of rice. Hospitals are overrun with women wracked by spasms from calcium deficiencies.

The crisis is largely believed to be rooted in two major changes implemented by a president elected 15 months ago: the partial removal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the currency, which together have caused major price rises.

A nation of entrepreneurs, Nigeria’s more than 200 million citizens are skilled at managing in tough circumstances, without the services states usually provide. They generate their own electricity and source their own water. They take up arms and defend their communities when the armed forces cannot. They negotiate with kidnappers when family members are abducted.
But right now, their resourcefulness is being stretched to the limit.

No Money for Milk

On a recent morning in a corner of the biggest emergency room in northern Nigeria, three women were convulsing in painful spasms, unable to speak. Each year, the E.R. at Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital in Kano, Nigeria’s second-largest city, received one or two cases of hypocalcemia caused by malnutrition, said Salisu Garba, a kindly health worker who hurried from bed to bed, ward to ward.

Now, with many unable to afford food, the hospital sees multiple cases everyday.

Mr. Garba was sizing up the women’s husbands. Which source of nutrition he recommended depended on what he thought they could afford. Baobab leaves or tiger nuts for the poor; boiled-up bones for the slightly better off. He laughed at the suggestion that anyone could afford milk.

More than 87 million people in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, live below the poverty line — the world’s second-largest poor population after India, a country seven times its size. And punishing inflation means poverty rates are expected to rise still further this year and next, according to the World Bank.

Last week, unions shut down hospitals, courts, schools, airports and even the country’s Parliament, striking in an attempt to force the government to increase the monthly salary of $20 it pays its lowest workers.

But over 92 percent of working-age Nigerians are in the informal sector, where there are no wages, and no unions to fight for them.

For the Afolabi family in Ibadan, in southwestern Nigeria, the descent into poverty started in January with the loss of an electric tuk-tuk taxi.

Forced to sell the taxi to pay his wife’s hospital bills after the difficult birth of their second child, Babatunde Afolabi turned to occasional construction work. It paid badly, but the family managed.

“We had no thoughts about starvation,” he said.

But then, he said, cassava — the cheapest staple in many parts of Nigeria — tripled in price.
All they can afford now, he said, is a few biscuits, a little bread, and for their six-year-old, 20 peanuts a day.

A Country Built on Gas

Nigeria is a country heavily dependent on imported petroleum products, despite being a major oil producer. After years of underinvestment and mismanagement, its state refineries produce hardly any gasoline.

For decades, the national soundtrack has been the hum of small generators, fired up during daily power outages. Petroleum products move goods and people around the country.

Until recently, the government subsidized that petroleum, to the tune of billions of dollars a year.
Many Nigerians said the subsidy was the only useful contribution from a neglectful and predatory government. Successive presidents have pledged to remove the subsidy, which drains a hefty chunk of government revenue — and later backtracked fearing mass unrest.

Bola Tinubu, who was elected Nigeria’s president last year, initially followed through.

“It was a necessary action for my country not to go bankrupt,” Mr. Tinubu said in April, at a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia.

Instead, many Nigerians are going bankrupt — or working multiple jobs to stay afloat.
Mr. Garba, the hospital worker, used to be solidly middle class, even though 17 family members, including 12 children, depended on him.

After shifts at the hospital, where he is setting up the first statewide ambulance service in addition to working in the emergency room, for which he is paid $150 a month, he heads to the Red Cross. There he occasionally receives a $3.30 volunteer stipend for helping tackle a severe diphtheria outbreak.

At night, he works at the pharmacy that he and a colleague set up. But few people have money for medicine anymore. He sells about $7 worth of medication per day.

Last year, Mr. Garba sold his car when the gas subsidies were removed, and now takes a tuk-tuk to work. Unable to power the generator, he reads medicine labels at the pharmacy by the light of a small solar lantern. He can only afford to buy rice and cassava in small quantities.

Life under the previous government was very expensive, he said, but nothing like today.
“It’s very, very bad,” he said.

It’s gotten so dire that there have been several deadly stampedes for free or discounted rice distributed by the government — including one in March at a university in the central state of Nasarawa where seven students were killed.

Mr. Tinubu promised to create a million jobs and quadruple the size of the economy within a decade, but has not said how. The International Monetary Fund said last month the state has started subsidizing fuel and electricity again — though the government has not acknowledged this.

“There’s still very little clarity — if any — on where the economy is headed, what the priorities are,” said Zainab Usman, a political economist and director of the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The Tapping Craze

A spate of new crypto-mining games that promise to generate income the more the user plays has people across Nigeria spending all day tapping on their smartphone screens, desperate to earn a few dollars.
People tap as they pray, in mosques and churches. Children tap under desks at school. Mourners tap at funerals.

There’s no guarantee any of them will ever benefit from the hours they put in mindlessly tapping.
Then again, they can’t count on the national currency, the naira.

The government has twice devalued the naira in the past year, trying to enable it to float more freely and attract foreign investment. The upshot: It’s lost nearly 70 percent of its value against the dollar.

Nigeria cannot produce enough food for its growing population; food imports rise 11 percent annually. The currency devaluation caused those imports — already expensive because of high tariffs — to explode in price.

Nigerians can become paupers almost overnight. So they’re searching for anything that might hold its value — or ideally, get them rich.

“People are looking for me everywhere,” said Rabiu Biyora, the undisputed king of tapping in Kano, opening one of his five foldable phones to add to his 2.7 billion taps on the TapSwap app. “Not to attack me, but to collect something from me.” 

A relaxed, businesslike 39-year-old followed everywhere by young tech-savvy acolytes, Mr. Biyora would only say that he made “over $10,000” from the previous tapping craze.

He profits from everyone else’s taps, so he encourages them in posts on social media, and by providing free internet to anyone willing to sit outside his house. Nigerians don’t need much encouragement — despite the risks and volatility, Nigeria has the second highest cryptocurrency adoption rate in the world.

So every evening, struggling young men gather by Mr. Biyora’s home and tap.

Pleas for Help

In much of Nigeria, it’s normal to share with your neighbors and give alms to the poor.
Every day, people come to the gate of Kano’s Freedom Radio station to drop off sheets of paper containing heartfelt appeals for help paying medical bills or school fees, or to recover from some disaster.

A radio presenter chooses three to read out daily, and often a sympathetic listener calls in to pay the supplicant’s bill.

But lately the appeals have multiplied, and offers of help have dried up.
Good Samaritans used to come to the E.R. and pay strangers’ bills for them, Mr. Garba said. That rarely happens now either.

Still, Mr. Garba said, the number of patients coming to his hospital has almost halved in recent months.
Many of the sick never even make it. They can’t afford the 20-cent bus ride.

•This article, which the Presidency reacted to, was first published in the New York Times on June 11, 2024.

There is no denying the fact that the living conditions in the several internally displaced persons camps across Benue State are full of agonies, pains, and discomfort, Arewa PUNCH’s investigations have revealed.

Regrettably, women and children make up the majority of inmates in the 14 official camps scattered across the state.

Worse still, most of the inmates have lived in the camps for almost eight years now, where they suffer from the lack of potable water, food, security, and healthcare.

Ironically, in spite of the despicable and harrowing lifestyle in these camps, many of the male and female inmates still manage to copulate and have children, this is according to very reliable sources and data available to Arewa PUNCH.

Our correspondent reliably further gathered that hardly does a month runs through without recording the birth of a new baby in the camp.

The cluster nature of living in these camps, marked by overcrowding couples, infected with varying types of diseases already at different degrees, according to checks does not discourage the inmates from making out time to mating in very unusual, dirty and unsightly secluded areas such as the makeshift toilets, dusty barefloor, and overgrown bushes within and around to the camp sites.

Checks at the State Emergency and Maintenance Agency office in Makurdi further revealed that no fewer than 25 new births were, for instance, recorded within two months in seven designated camps in the state.

Although, Arewa PUNCH was informed by the camp managers that there are 14 designated camps across the state, a quick look at them showed that, from May 2024 till date, the Agagbe Camp in Gwer West LGA has officially recorded nine births, while the Otese Camp in the Guma LGA recorded six births.

The Daudu II Camp also in Guma LGA recorded two newborn babies so far and the Naka Camp in Gwer West LGA has two recorded births whereas, inside the Ukpiam Camp, four newborn babies were recorded.

At the camp in NEPA, also, one birth was recorded just as the same birth record was noted a piece in both the ApIchwa and Anyiin camps located at Logo LGA.

A thirty-year-old female inmate who simply identified herself as Akpeku Nyemana of room 2 RCM Primary School IDP camp, Agagbe in Gwer West LGA, opened up to Arewa PUNCH that she had lived in the camp since 2020.

She narrated, “I became pregnant here at IDP camp and gave birth to a baby boy this month.”

However, she declined to speak further on how she got pregnant who is responsible for the baby boy and the circumstances that led to her pregnancy despite the overcrowded, undignifying, and dirty lifestyle in the camp.

However, Nyemana commended the state government and other partners for caring for the numerous pregnant and nursing mothers in the Agagbe camp.

Further investigations reveal that the living conditions of the internally displaced persons in all the camps are extremely challenging due to substandard shelters, insufficient sanitation facilities, and scarcity of food and other essential items needed for living a decent lifestyle but which are absent at all the camps visited.

Another inmate, 32-year-old Tondo who lives inside the Ichua camp located along the University of Agriculture road in Makurdi told Arewa PUNCH that all the able-bodied male inmates engage in farming and menial jobs to augment what the government and corporate bodies donate to the IDPs.

“Life in the typical IDP camp is horrible because there is no place like home. You can not get those necessities of life from these camps.

“What we do now is that we encourage the adult males in camp now to engage in farming within the nearby communities to augment whatever the government provides.”

Corroborating Tondo, a volunteer in the Agagbe camp, Terna Jacob disclosed to our correspondent on Wednesday that the Agagbe camp is faced with inadequate shelter, toilet facilities and food items.

He added that due to inadequate shelter, the inmates are camped in five locations which are: RCM Primary School, St Francis Xavier Secondary School, Police Station, Sisters Convent and St Patrick’s Primary School all in Agagbe.

Jacob stressed, “The major problems at the IDP camp Agagbe is shelter and hunger. Though the state government has taken it upon itself to be distributing food and non food items to displaced persons in all the camps across the state on a monthly basis.

Arewa PUNCH recalls that the last exercise on the distribution of food and non food items was held on May 30, 2024, by the Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency, James Iorpuu and among other items he distributed were 2440 bags of 25kg rice, 729 bags of beans, 160 bags of garri, 1520 cartons of Indomie,175 gallons of groundnut oil, 157 gallons of red oil, 905 cartons of Maggi, 185 bags of salt and 60 bags of sugar.

Iorpuu who decried the alarming rate of IDPs in the state called on all stakeholders, including the government’s agencies, non-governmental organisations, and the international community to continue to collaborate with the state government to attend to the humanitarian needs of the state.

He noted, “the monthly distribution of food and non-food items to the internally displaced persons underscores Governor Hyacinth Alia’s unwavering commitment to alleviating the suffering of those who have been displaced from their homes and are currently residing in IDP camps across the state.

The SEMA boss lauded the United Nations agencies for their relentless support and invaluable contributions towards improving the living conditions of the IDPs.

He insisted, “We appreciate the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for deploying seven of their critical sectors in our state. Their efforts in camp coordination and camp management, shelter and non-food items, livelihood, water and sanitation, and transitional recovery have been instrumental in ensuring that our IDPs receive the necessary assistance and support.

“We also extend our gratitude to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Population Fund, and Plan International. Your continuous support and resources have made a significant impact in addressing the multifaceted challenges faced by our IDPs.

“Your contributions in providing essential services, enhancing protection, and promoting sustainable development are deeply appreciated.

“To our IDPs, I assure you that your plight is at the forefront of Benue-SEMA. We are committed to working tirelessly to secure the resources and support to improve your living conditions and to facilitate your eventual return to your ancestral homes,” Iorpuu assured.

Salihu Lukman, the former National Vice Chairman (North West) of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has said the party has done badly in meeting its campaign promises.

Lukman stated this in an interview with Arise TV on Monday.

This is coming after Lukman resigned from the party.

He said APC’s performance on key campaign promises like security, economic stability, and anti-corruption, has been poor.

The former APC chieftain said he hoped that the new leadership would depart from the practises of the previous administration of President Buhari.

He said: “I admit that in terms of meeting up with our campaign promises, we have done badly, no doubt about it.

“And what are those campaign promises? Issues of security, the economy, fighting corruption. We have done badly and people are free to reach the conclusion whether or not APC is worse than PDP.

“But as of 2023, before the election, I had the hope that because our leaders were not in denial of the challenges facing us, they would be humble enough to admit that we have not done what we needed to do between 2015 and 2023.

“That’s why I was practically very very confident that he would not really do business as usual the way President Buhari did.

“Unfortunately, here we are. He’s doing business as usual. And as it is, we are going to end up in a worse situation.

“So to that extent, you might be right in criticising some of us who were in APC and who supported President Asiwaju.”

Faults subsidy policy

The former national vice chairman of the APC noted that one of the most contentious decisions made by President Tinubu was the immediate declaration of the end of the petroleum subsidy with its lack of planning and preparation.

Lukman said the abrupt decision has led to a significant deterioration in the country’s living conditions.

He said, “One of the biggest mistakes that President Asiwaju made was making that declaration on his inauguration day, declaring petroleum subsidy is gone without even sitting down to put up a plan and today. No plan to respond to that challenge.

“And that is why the living condition in the country is crashing and the government is just grandstanding.

“All of us in the party have become onlookers. We are not able to even access President Asiwaju and influence decisions in terms of what needs to be done.

“From the way things are going, my prediction — which is why I had to act the way I acted — is that by the end of this year, if we don’t take time, the campaign for 2027 will start and people will be forced to just queue behind any leader.

“And out of anger, out of frustration, with the reality before us, we’ll end up even electing a worse successor to President Asiwaju and all the challenges of the country will even get worse.”

Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway…

Lukman also cristisised the government’s major spending on infrastructure projects like the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, while neglecting urgent needs in education and health.

He highlighted that the allocation for education is insufficient to address such a critical issue.

“APC was founded on the vision of being a social democratic party. A social democratic party prioritises the wellbeing and condition of living of the citizens.

“So, issues of education, issues of health, issues of social welfare should have been the priority and that should be reflected in public investment driven by government.

“Unfortunately, what are the first steps President Asiwaju took? Apart from the fact that on account of corruption, social investment has been suspended, which is why the question of responding to hardship is so weak, also look at the major decisions of President Asiwaju.

“Spending 15 trillion naira on Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. Imagine if a fraction of that amount is invested in education and in terms of education, we talk about 10 million out-of-school children in the North.

“You cannot solve that problem by business as usual, allocating a pittance in education and expect classrooms to work, teachers to be recruited, teaching material to be procured with the pittance that is going on now.

“So you need extra-budgetary activities to be able to respond to that and mop up the out-of-school children out of the street. 

“In terms of mopping up, the advantage of it is that it will also reduce the vulnerability of the nation in terms of insecurity.

“Imagine a fraction of 15 trillion naira invested in our armed forces by way of procurement of military hardware, and training.

“And talking about even responding to security challenges, we’ve been deviating as a nation for God knows how long about (whether or not to have) state police.”

Ramaphosa was re-elected as South Africa’s president after a historic coalition deal between the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and opposition parties.

After losing its controlling majority in last month’s election for the first time in 30 years since the end of apartheid, the ANC struck a merger with the Democratic Alliance (DA), the main opposition, and smaller parties.

Following two weeks of intensive talks with opposition parties, the decision to re-elect Ramaphosa was reached on Friday.

A statement issued Monday by Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, said Tinubu will depart Lagos, where he is observing the Eid-el-Kabir festival, for Ramaphosa’s inauguration.

Tinubu and Ramaphosa last met in New York at the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2023.

The Nigerian president asked Ramaphosa to deepen the economic relations between the two countries.

Tinubu stressed that Nigeria and South Africa are the countries with the most potential to improve Africa’s economic outlook when they partner effectively.

Ngelale said Tinubu will return to Nigeria after the inauguration ceremony.

Sevilla FC have completed the signing of Nigerian forward Chidera Ejuke.

The 26-year-old joins the Spanish club as a free agent, having successfully completed his medical examination and agreed to a three-year contract.

The announcement was made on the same day the Spanish side revealed Sergio Ramos would depart the club after a year following a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2023.

Ejuke is Sevilla’s first acquisition of the summer under head coach García Pimienta.

The club, which struggled in La Liga last season, is aiming to bolster its squad with quality players to improve its performance in the upcoming season.

Primarily a left winger, Ejuke is versatile and can play on both flanks.

He will face competition for a spot in the starting lineup and is expected to make an immediate impact.

Before joining Sevilla, Ejuke made 65 appearances and recorded 18 goal involvements for his previous Russian club, CSKA Moscow.

He spent the last two seasons on loan at Hertha Berlin and Royal Antwerp.

Chidera Ejuke was part of the Nigerian national team squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, where he featured in two matches.

Ejuke’s last appearance for the Super Eagles was in 2022 during an international friendly against Algeria.