President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said that he takes a queue from no nation, but will only advance the interest of the Nigerian state in his approach toward ECOWAS’ handling of the regional standoff, particularly in Niger Republic.
He also received an invitation to a sideline event at the United Nations General Assembly in New York from the US President, Joe Biden, a statement by the Presidency indicated on Saturday.
Tinubu was also said to have advised U.S. Presidential Envoy & Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Molly Phee, to ensure that U.S. policy is intentionally collaborative with independent African democracies at a time when they are under assault by anti-democratic forces within and outside of the continent.
The President noted that American-backed development finance and multilateral institutions, which were designed to support war-torn Europe after World War II, require swift and comprehensive reform to meet the developmental requirements of younger democracies in Africa, which operate in authoritarian-crowded environments, would no longer be manipulated to serve self-seeking demagogues through unconstitutional takeovers of power.
“Yes, the private sector will lead the way within an enabling environment we create for them, but the U.S. Government must be innovative in its thinking and systematically create incentives for U.S. industrial investment in Nigeria.
“Under my leadership, Nigeria stands ready to address their specific regulatory, tax and environmental concerns. I am determined to create prosperity for all Nigerian families,” the President declared.
The Nigerian leader affirmed that the crisis in Niger Republic would not deter him from concluding his economic reform programme successfully for the benefit of Nigerians and that he takes a queue from no nation, but will only advance the interest of the Nigerian state in his approach toward ECOWAS’ handling of the regional standoff.
“We are deep in our attempts to peacefully settle the issue in Niger by leveraging on our diplomatic tools. I continue to hold ECOWAS back, despite its readiness for all options, in order to exhaust all other remedial mechanisms. War is not ideal for my economic reforms, nor for the region, but the defense of democracy is sacrosanct. The ECOWAS consensus is that we will not allow anyone to insincerely buy time,” the ECOWAS Chairman affirmed.
Pledging its support for the position of ECOWAS, the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy expressed the high regard the U.S. Administration has for the leadership of the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Tinubu, and extended an exclusive invitation from U.S. President Joe Biden to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City to advance discussions further in late September.
“We know there is more we can do to incentivize large-scale American investment in Nigeria and we are committed to working closely with you to achieve that, as part of efforts to strengthen the Nigerian economy and the regional economy. We appreciate your willingness to create an enabling environment for that. President Joe Biden is asking to meet with you on the sidelines of UNGA and you are the only African leader he has requested to meet. It is a mark of his high regard for your leadership,” the U.S. Special Envoy said.
The President concluded that he accepts the invitation to meet the U.S. President on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and that the work of perfecting democracy is never done, even in developed democracies, as seen recently in America, as well as other emerging democracies in the world.
Junta puts armed forces on red alert
Meanwhile, the Niger junta has ordered its armed forces to go on highest alert, citing an increased threat of attack.
This was according to an internal document issued by its defence chief on Friday that a security source in the country confirmed was authentic.
According to Reuters, the document, which was shared online on Saturday, indicated that the order to be on maximum alert would allow forces to respond adequately in case of any attack and “avoid a general surprise”.
“Threats of aggression to the national territory are increasingly being felt,” it said.
Meanwhile, the President, Economic Community of West African States Commission, Omar Touray, on Friday said the sub-regional body had neither declared war on the people of Niger Republic nor planned to invade the country.
Touray clarified that the ECOWAS would employ all measures, including the use of standby force to restore civil rule in Niger Republic.
Also, he noted that Niger Republic as part of the West African region bloc subscribed to its rules and regulations to deploy measures to support its fight against terrorism to ensure the restoration of democracy, peace, and security in the community.
President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted July 26 in a military coup led by the former commander of Niger’s presidential guard, Abdourahamane Tchiani.
Leaders in the ECOWAS bloc said that they would keep all options on the table for a peaceful resolution to the crisis and ordered the activation of an ECOWAS standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger.
These are indeed challenging times for parents residing in Nigeria but who have kids in foreign schools as they struggle to raise foreign exchange to fund their children’s education due to scarce foreign currencies amidst rising rates.
Some of the parents, who spoke to Sunday PUNCH on the development, expressed frustration at the falling value of the naira, which they had to use to purchase foreign currencies to pay the tuition of their children as well as other associated costs and living costs.
The naira traded at 915 against the United States dollar at the parallel market on Saturday, while the pound sterling was sold for N1,180.
At the Investors and Exporters’ forex window, the naira commenced trading at 773.29/$ on Friday and hit a high of 799.9/$ before closing at 778.42/$. The currency lost by 0.87 per cent compared to the N771.69 it exchanged for the dollar on Thursday.
The open indicative rate closed at N773.29 to the dollar on Friday. A spot exchange rate of N799.90 to the dollar was the highest rate recorded in the day’s trading before it settled at N778.42.
A total of 73.80 million dollars was traded at the Investors and Exporters’ window on Friday.
A businessman, Mr Kunle Olajide, whose son is in 200 level at a Cypriot university, lamented the stress he is facing paying the tuition and sending money to the Computer Science student.
Olajide stated, “Since the administration of President Bola Tinubu decided to allow the naira to float, it has not been easy to source forex for the purposes of paying my son’s tuition and sending upkeep allowance to him. My business is essentially naira-denominated and you know that the currency has been consistently falling and this is putting a lot of pressure on me. I am currently spending almost double what I was spending on him this time last year.
“I have filled Form A since mid-June to buy dollars at the official I&E rate, but my bank keeps complaining of not having the currency to sell to me. Even the exchange rate on that platform keeps rising. When my son mounted pressure on him about being denied access to the school portal, I had to go to the parallel market to buy $2,500 at N889. I understand that it is now over N900/$.
“Honestly, I don’t know how I will continue to fund his education going forward without crippling my business and affecting the rest of the family. I have two other younger children who are in private secondary schools here in Lagos. When they resume later in September, I will have to cough out a lot of money because the schools have increased the fees in line with the inflationary trend and the after-effects of the removal of subsidy on petrol by the Federal Government.”
A Lagos-based businesswoman, who has two of her children schooling in the United States, Mrs Adebusola Adeyinka, said before the floating of the naira, sourcing forex to pay for her children’s fees and meet other needs was nightmarish.
According to her, the older son, Tinuade, is studying at the University of San Diego, California, while the brother is rounding off his A-levels.
Adeyinka said, “Before now, I would have to apply for the purchase of dollars three months ahead. Earlier this year, when I knew I had to renew my children’s fees after summer, I applied for forex, and up until May, the bank kept pushing me around.
“I made sure I had enough naira in my account, but it was not just that. The officials in charge told me to keep checking with the bank to know when it would be my turn. They claimed that some people were in the queue before me, and the time was drawing closer for me to renew my first son’s accommodation.
“After a few weeks, the schools started harassing the children. I had the money in my account but it was in naira. The school needed dollars. My children were about to lose out on their admissions.
“I got frustrated and used a BDC (Bureau De Change) via peer-to-peer transactions, but the rate was so expensive. I had no choice but to use that option.”
With the floating of the naira, the mother-of-two said things became a bit stable.
“Apart from the ever-fluctuating rate, now, I just apply directly and get the forex within a defined time. The application is done to the CBN through my commercial bank at the official rate. Once the CBN approves, the bank sends the money to my sons’ respective schools and everybody is happy,” she added.
The father of a Medical student in the United States of America, Mr Olabode Rotimi, said he always made sure he applied for forex long before he would need to pay for his son’s fees.
“It is better the money is in the school’s account than for my son to be sent out of school. These foreign universities don’t listen to any complaint or understand the hitches we face here; they simply send your child back home if you can no longer afford to pay the fees,” he said.
On how he used to get the forex before the floating of the naira, he said, “I simply patronised Bureau De Change operators. They are more reliable. They will demand more money, but you are sure to get the forex remitted into your account in due time.
“I haven’t really used them since the floating of the naira anyway because I heard that they are also affected somewhat.”
Another parent, who is also a popular politician in Rivers State, said he used his ‘contact’ in the CBN to facilitate the remittances of forex to his daughters’ universities.
“When I used commercial banks, it used to be problematic. If the forex is not there, they’d say I would have to wait for 90 days. I could not wait. I asked some friends who told me how to apply directly to the CBN and fast-track it,” the source said.
A civil servant in Lagos State, Mrs Bola Hamzat, said her husband, who is an engineer and contractor, was getting very moody in recent times as he struggled to pay the daughter’s tuition in Canada due to the pressure of sending money abroad.
She stated, “I am now very careful with my husband as he gets unusually moody nowadays because of the pressure he is facing to raise our daughter’s tuition and accommodation fee. Our daughter is about to resume for the second year of her degree programme at a university in Alberta. Though things were tough when she started, the exchange rate was, however, not this high. Though it was taking time to get our applications approved, we were still getting forex at official rates, which were about N200 cheaper than the parallel market rate.
“However, after the floatation of the naira, it has become extremely expensive to buy foreign currencies with the naira. Even at the official I&E window now, the rates are exorbitant and the funds are not easily available, so we rely on the parallel market to get forex. At a time before May 29, 2023, we were getting the US dollar at around N460 at the I&E window, but that has almost doubled now.
“My husband had to set aside about N20m from his company’s account as proof of funds when our daughter secured admission after paying about $6,000 for tuition and accommodation. To renew these now, he has to look for almost double naira equivalent and that is driving him mad. He doesn’t want to be seen as abandoning his daughter’s education and at the same time, his firm is battling insufficient funds to execute contracts given to him by clients.
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“I am trying in my own little way to support him, but my brother, how much am I earning as a grade level 14 civil servant? To compound the problem, transport fare is taking a chunk of my salary and we still have to survive at home. My daughter is trying too as she is supporting with the little she is earning by working even as a student.”
This has further led to increased patronage of the parallel market with many students seeking admission abroad reportedly purchasing forex from dealers ahead of the resumption of school activities in September after the summer break.
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the subsequent crash in global oil prices threw into chaos the economies of many foreign exchange-dependent countries like Nigeria.
While the CBN has managed the allocation of forex to banks for the payment of school fees and other invisible transactions since August in 2020 when schools started resuming from the initial global lockdown, the situation has become especially tough for foreign students.
Some Nigerians studying abroad, who spoke to our correspondents on Saturday, said they were frustrated due to the scarcity of Form A to procure foreign exchange for their transactions.
Form A, which is an application form designed by the CBN to pay for service transactions such as school fees, medical fees, and more, allows customers to purchase funds at the CBN or interbank rate to make payments for these services.
A student in the United Kingdom, Williams Awara, who narrated his experience said, “My experience was hell in a handbasket.
“I was hoping to pay my last deposit with the Form A. But the new forex rate made it impossible. I paid in pounds sterling since I got here.
“New students coming in this September have spent so much with this new forex rate.
“A friend of mine paid N5.5m for £5,000. This is what he would have used N2.5m or N2.8m maximum to pay with Form A.”
A Nigerian, who identified herself as Miriam and got an admission into the University of Hull, United Kingdom, said she almost missed the payment deadline due to the non-availability of forex.
Miriam said, “The naira floating is not making things easy. The banks do not have forex. The black market still overshadows everything.
“I had a payment deadline that I almost missed due to non-availability of forex.”
A student of the University Canada West, Jane Idabor, said she managed to escape the challenge, noting that some institutions did not accept forex for tuition.
Idabor noted, “It was way easier for me because back then, Form A was still in use.
“However, it is now challenging for people as some schools do not accept forex for tuition.”
Also, a student of the University of Law, UK, Oluchi Onyeama, said she gave up on getting forex from Nigeria after encountering challenges.
“It was not easy. I had to get pound sterling here rather than wait for Form A from Nigeria,” she stated.
Another UK-based student, Victor Chukwu, said that he was sponsoring himself, adding that forex challenges were affecting his rent, transportation and feeding.
Chukwu stated “I sponsor myself. Obviously, the cost of living and paying fees is very high because foreign students pay higher. Without forex, rent, transport fares and living are impacted.”
Parents too are not left out as they are feeling the brunt of the forex challenges.
An Abuja-based parent, who has his child studying in Canada, Anthony Momodu, said due to the forex challenges, parents might start having a rethink about sending their children to schools abroad or transferring them to cheaper schools, while others might consider withdrawing their children and enrolling them in schools in Nigeria.
Momodu stated “For middle-class families, the foreign exchange challenge has made most parents rethink about sending their children abroad, while for those already studying there, the parents are thinking of transferring their children to schools in other countries that may be cheaper.
“This has caused a lot of trauma for students themselves because their pocket money has been slashed. The parents used all their resources to pay their children’s school fees.”
Another parent, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “Last year’s stress and pain cannot be compared to this year’s.
“It is not easy to get these foreign currencies. It is very difficult and traumatic for parents. The naira has been devalued. It is very difficult to make transfers.”
A Rivers State-based parent, Mr Tamunotonye Ibulubo, said even with the recent floating of the naira and the unification of the exchange rates, getting forex to pay the fees of his son, who is in a university in the US, had been difficult.
Ibulubo said his son was in his second year and studying Social Work at a US university.
He stated, “I have even been duped before by a bank worker, who promised to help me. I gifted him N20,000 to help facilitate it. The banker later said I should pay another N15,000 so that I could join the latest batch of those waiting for dollars. Even after all these payments, I still have not had access to forex.
“Whenever I get a call from my son, I feel sad because I cannot do anything to help him. If not for a church there that he identified with, maybe, he would have been sleeping in the open.”
Ibulubo added that he tried to borrow from his cousins abroad to send directly to the school, but it had not been easy for him to get someone willing to give the sum he needed.
He also claimed to have approached the CBN in both Rivers and Bayelsa states but was told to approach his commercial bank for direction on how to access forex.
“It is frustrating to be honest. I don’t even know. They (banks) even said I would not be able to use the I & E window as, according to them, it is not meant to address my kind of need. I am really confused. I have not been abroad before, but I want my child to have a better life, which was why I sent him there. Now, this country is frustrating me; I need help,” he added.
An Ibadan-based public servant who works for a Federal Government agency, Mrs Oluwaninyo Clement, whose daughter left for Toronto, Canada, two weeks ago for a nine-month diploma course, said if not for the fact that she had a brother in Canada who had been supporting her, the dream of sending her daughter abroad for further education would not have been realised.
She said, “I started buying US dollars more than a year ago when my daughter finished her first degree here and was undergoing the National Youth Service Corps mandatory service year. Initially, my husband and I as well as our daughter were pumping all the naira we could save into buying dollars, but when the CBN made it difficult for the Bureau De Change operators to get the currency, we had to slow down.
“It was at this point that a lifeline was thrown at us by my brother, who is based in Canada, told me that he had a friend who needed naira there and was willing to sell the US dollar to us at N705, which was a very good deal. He also helped us to buy $1,400 Canadian dollars at N530/C$, which translates roughly to US$1,090, and I had to look for N742,000 to send to his naira account in a Nigerian bank.
“He was also very helpful in paying part of the C$21,700 school fees so that my daughter could get her student visa, which will also enable her to work part-time while studying. When she was applying for the visa last year, we had to raise N15m as proof of funds, but I am sure that will be more than N20m now. We also spent around N1.5m on a one-way ticket to enable her travel.
“Since I started working almost 15 years ago, I have not been able to save up to N1m at any given period, but when my daughter’s ambition to study abroad gained traction, I had to look for money from where I didn’t even imagine before. We are just praying that after study, our daughter will be able to get a work permit and permanent residency and pull her sister, who is still an undergraduate in Nigeria, to Canada.
“The stress is too much. If it is now, there is no way we would have been able to send her abroad to study.”
No fewer than 78,679 international students from Nigeria are currently studying in the UK, US, Canada, and Ukraine, according to official figures. The number excludes Nigerians who study in these countries but did not process their admissions from Nigeria.
According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency of the United Kingdom, as of December 2022, there were about 44,195 international students from Nigeria in UK institutions with average tuition fees between £11,000 and £32,000.
The President, National Parents Teachers Association, Haruna Danjuma, had in an interview with Sunday PUNCH pleaded with the Federal Government to intervene in the forex crisis.
Danjuma had said, “If you ask for my honest opinion, I will say the Federal Government should help all those involved because when you look at it, it is not their fault.
“Also, one of the reasons people even go abroad in the first place is because of the situation of things in our institutions. We need the government to work together with parents and academics to find a way in which we can solve the problems in the education sector.”
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has said that the different errors discovered in the certificate of President Bola Tinubu validate his discovery.
Recalls that Tinubu, in response to the petition of Atiku in a Federal Court in Chicago, Illinois, United States, blamed the errors discovered in his academic certificate on the clerk of the Chicago State University (CSU).
Speaking in a statement issued on Saturday, the former vice president argued that documents submitted by his lawyers in the United States and Nigeria showed disturbing discrepancies and circumstantial fallacies in Tinubu’s academic records from the university.
According to him, “One of the documents, for instance, is the certified true copy of the certificate submitted by Tinubu to INEC on 17th June 2022, and according to Atiku’s lawyers, “this, purportedly, is the certificate issued to him by Chicago State University (“CSU”) showing that he attended the school, and evidencing the degree he was awarded.
“In another document is a copy of a letter dated September 22, 2022, from Mr. Caleb Westberg, the Registrar of CSU, attaching a copy of the certificate issued to Bola Tinubu in recognition of the degree he was awarded by the university.
“There is another document, which is a copy of the certificate forwarded by Mr. Westberg, as mentioned above, in response to a subpoena that was issued to CSU in respect of Bola Tinubu’s academic qualifications and achievements.
“There is also a copy of the bio of Dr. Niva Lubin-Johnson. Dr. Lubin-Johnson was the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of CSU from January 2001 to December 2002.
“Also is a copy of the bio of Dr. Elnora D. Daniel. Dr. Daniel was the President of CSU from 1998 to 2008.”
“However, the interesting thing upon further examination of these documents is that while they all speak to the same subject, Tinubu’s academic qualifications from the Chicago State University, they all bear different details.”
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has revealed that the arrest and subsequent indefinite detention of its embattled former Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has not stopped the anti-graft agency from carrying out its statutory duty or probing both high- and low-profile persons suspected of corrupt practices.
The spokesperson for the commission, Wilson Uwujaren made this known on Saturday, in an exclusive telephone interview with our correspondent.
Sunday PUNCH reports that while Bawa has now spent exactly 75 days in the dungeon of the Department of State Service, following his arrest in June, the EFCC has yet to arrest or probe any high profile suspect, including former and incumbent governors and ministers such as Bello Matawalle, Yahaya Bello, and Kayode Fayemi, all of whom were under probe of the commission before the assumption of the acting EFCC Chairman Abdulkarim Chukkol, to office.
In May 2023, under Bawa, the EFCC revealed that it was investigating Matawalle over an alleged N70bn contract fraud. Months before then, the commission had revealed its ongoing probe of the Yahaya Bello and some of his relatives over 14 properties and N400million alleged to be proceeds of corruption; while Mr Fayemi was said to be under investigation and was invited by the commission, over an alleged misappropriation of N4billion.
Intercontinental Marketing & Communication Consortium Limited has apologised to the Advertising Standard Panel, Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, over the usage of an unapproved advert billboard tagged, ‘All Eyes On the Judiciary’.
The company responded to the letter of violation received by the company from ARCON through its Managing Director, Stephen Ogboko.
Ogboko stated, “We sincerely apologise for this and state that our action was not intentional. The truth is that immediately after we received the brief for the said campaign, we sent the artwork to Mr Markus Inji Lukman, an ARCON liaison officer who has helped us vet campaign materials in the past. Mr Lukman assured us that the material would be approved, as he had seen a similar one.”
The company apologised for causing any inconvenience, adding that it would never do anything to threaten or cause disrepute to the country’s judiciary.
FG disbands advertising panel over controversial 'All Eyes on the Judiciary' billboards
Reacting to the development, the ARCON Director-General, Dr Olalekan Fadolapo, stated that despite the apology, the company would face the tribunal.
He said, “They’ll be appearing before the Advertising Offences Tribunal and need to explain their position because it is very unfortunate. Verbal or communication of approval through verbal means or text messages doesn’t constitute approval. They are professionals; they are sworn to the advertising oath to protect the integrity of the profession. So, coming out to say that somebody within the system orally or verbally gave them approval is not acceptable. The damage is done already and they will be appearing before the tribunal.”
Fadolapo said the official who gave the purported verbal approval had been queried, adding that a committee was also looking into the process that led to such permission.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has appealed to Nigerians to stop cursing electricity workers.
Rather, he urged people in the country to support them.
He made this appeal on Friday during a visit to the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Adelabu said his vision for the ministry was to leverage the Nigerian Electricity Act of 2023 which opened new avenues for power provision and encouraged collaboration among states and the Federal Government.
The minister stated that the ministry under his leadership would foster robust partnerships between the private and public sectors and build upon the foundation laid by his predecessors.
“The Electricity Act of 2023 has unbundled electricity generation in Nigeria. So, I will urge all state governors to accelerate the passage of the electricity bill in their states.
“More so, I want to promise that the Ikere Gorge dam generates 20 KVA hydroelectricity. Ikere Gorge Dam is one of the major dams constructed by the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority to tap the water resources of the Ogun River basin,” he added.
Earlier, the CCII President-General, Niyi Ajewole, advised the minister to join hands with Governor Seyi Makinde for the progress of Ibadanland in particular and the state in general.
Lawyers have praised the decision of the immediate past president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Olumide Akpata, to disengage from Templars law firm and participate in active politics.
Akpata had joined the the Labour Party early August and was presented with his LP membership card after attending the party’s meeting at Oredo Ward 6, Benin-City, Edo State.
On Friday, he tweeted his letter of disengagement from Templars, a law firm he co-founded with his cousin, Oghogho Akpata, in 1996.
Apata added that his decision was due to his passion to bring positive contribution to the nation.
“It is therefore with mixed feelings, but with a great sense of pride and responsibility, that I announce my disengagement from Templars with effect from 31st August 2023.
“This decision, which is not one that was taken lightly, became inevitable in view of my recent foray into active politics with a view to contributing towards the critical task of nation building.
“I wish to assure the lawyers and staff at TEMPLARS, our clients, the legal community in Nigeria, and the general public that this decision was a collective one, which accords with the Firm’s governance protocols that I signed up to,” he wrote.
Akpata’s decision came ahead of the Edo state Governorship Elections and he’s expected to officially join the race soon. He has been spotted with the presidential candidate of the Labour party, Peter Obi, a number of times.
Several lawyers considered his move as a step in the right direction.
“Best of luck incoming Governor Edo state,” Christian Tom wrote on his Facebook page.
“You shall be the next Governor of Edo State by God’s grace,” Assoh Mike stated on Facebook.
“Hearty Congratulations! I wish you great success in your pursuit to serve..God shall crown your efforts with glory and great success..The legal profession will miss you,” Favor Joseph wrote on Saturday.
Akpata’s popularity grew after he won the NBA presidential election two years ago.
He was overwhelmingly supported by young lawyers who felt they needed better representation in the justice sector.
U.S. President Joe Biden has extended an exclusive invitation to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to discuss the political standoff in Niger Republic on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in September.
The invitation comes after the Nigerien military ousted President Mohamed Bazoum in a coup d’état on July 26. The coup has been condemned by the international community, including the United States.
In a statement by President Tinubu’s media adviser, Ajuri Ngelale, Biden was said to be interested in speaking with the Nigerian leader on how Nigeria can work with the United States to support the restoration of democracy in Niger.
Biden’s invitation to Tinubu was conveyed on Saturday when the United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, H.E. Mrs Molly Phee, met separately with the President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E Dr Omar Alieu Touray and its chair, President Bola Tinubu, to discuss ways to restore democratic governance in the Niger Republic, among other diplomatic issues.
Tinubu told the US delegation that war in Niger does not align with his economic reforms but assured that democracy would be restored in the country through relevant diplomatic channels.
This was disclosed through the Facebook pages of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and that of Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to TInubu on media and publicity.
At the ECOWAS Commission Headquarters in Abuja, the US diplomat was briefed on the latest efforts of the bloc to restore democratic governance in Niger.
On her part, Phee said the US will support peaceful resolution of the political crisis following the ousting of President Mohamed Bazoum by the junta.
At the presidential villa, Tinubu said the crisis in the Niger Republic would not negatively affect his economic reform programme for Nigeria.
“We are deep in our attempts to peacefully settle the issue in Niger by leveraging on our diplomatic tools. I continue to hold ECOWAS back, despite its readiness for all options, in order to exhaust all other remedial mechanisms. War is not ideal for my economic reforms, nor for the region, but the defense of democracy is sacrosanct. The ECOWAS consensus is that we will not allow anyone to insincerely buy time,” Tinubu said.
Tinubu recommended the need “to ensure that U.S. policy is intentionally collaborative with independent African democracies at a time when they are under assault by anti-democratic forces within and outside of the continent.”
“Yes, the private sector will lead the way within an enabling environment we create for them, but the U.S. Government must be innovative in its thinking and systematically create incentives for U.S. industrial investment in Nigeria. Under my leadership, Nigeria stands ready to address their specific regulatory, tax and environmental concerns. I am determined to create prosperity for all Nigerian families,” the President said.
Responding, the U.S diplomat was said to have “extended an exclusive invitation from U.S. President Joe Biden to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City to advance discussions further in late September.”
“We know there is more we can do to incentivize large-scale American investment in Nigeria and we are committed to working closely with you to achieve that, as part of efforts to strengthen the Nigerian economy and the regional economy. We appreciate your willingness to create an enabling environment for that. President Joe Biden is asking to meet with you on the sidelines of UNGA and you are the only African leader he has requested to meet. It is a mark of his high regard for your leadership,” the U.S. Special Envoy said.
“The president that he accepts the invitation to meet the U.S. President on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and that the work of perfecting democracy is never done, even in developed democracies, as seen recently in America, as well as other emerging democracies in the world,” the statement reads.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Youth Advocacy Front (APC-NYAF) has called on the new ministers appointed by President Bola Tinubu to ensure youths’ inclusion in the governance process.
The group’s national coordinator, Jubril Ekwote, made the call in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.
Mr Ekwote called on the ministers to consider youths that actively mobilised young Nigerians to vote massively for APC during the 2023 general elections.
He urged the ministers to provide employment opportunities for the youths and consider them for appointments into boards of agencies and parastatals.
Mr Ekwote pointed out that Mr Tinubu was known for grooming youths for leadership positions and has demonstrated this by appointing some young persons as ministers in his cabinet.
“We are expecting that the new ministers will reciprocate this gesture by prioritising young people in their governance structure.
“Youths that worked to sustain APC leadership in the country need to be recognised, patronised, and appreciated.
“This could be done through providing employment opportunities and appointments into the boards of agencies and parastatals,” he said.
He explained that the APC-NYAF emerged from the amalgamation of several APC youth support groups across the country.
Mr Ekwote argued that the groups had campaigned vigorously, day and night, online and offline, during the 2023 general election and mobilised voters at various polling units that ensured APC’s victory.
He, however, said the groups were not given the attention and recognition they deserved, considering their contribution to sustaining APC’s position as the ruling party in the country.
“We decided to come together under this platform to agitate, lobby, and push for the inclusion of youths in President Tinubu and Shettima-led administration.
“We are aware that the duo cannot absolve the numerous youths that supported and worked for the success of the party.
“This is why we are calling on the ministers to absorb as many youths as they can in their governance structure,” he said.
(NAN)
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The World Bank has announced that over 148 million Nigerians will be empowered with digital Identity so as to reduce the level of poverty in the country.
The Bank’s Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri announced this at a meeting in Abuja.
He said the move will help improve lives, and create job opportunities for youths while leveraging digital technologies to drive transformation.
Chaudhuri revealed that the registration process will be done through a partnership with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
“Our main mission here in Nigeria is to eliminate poverty, make lives better, create jobs for all Nigerian youth.
“One of the areas that we think have the greatest potential is the area of using digital technologies to transform.
“And to do that, it begins with having this digital national ID. So, one of the main partnerships we have is working with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to ensure the rollout of the registration so that all 220 million Nigerians have a digital national ID.
“This will begin of course with all people of working age and I think the target for that is at least 148 million people by the middle of next year,” he said.
Chandiri also said the bank will assist Nigeria in leading the broadband infrastructure for broadband connectivity because without broadband connectivity, digital technologies will lead to a digital divide.
Reacting to the new development, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani said the government has approved half a billion dollars to fund a local program, that will boost entrepreneurship in the digital sector.
He said, “So we’ve got access to about half a billion dollars to start local funding.”
The minister also added that the beneficiaries of the funding would be Nigerians.
The conference of Southwest Directors of Veterinary services has confirmed the outbreak of two Transboundary Animal Diseases (TADs) in the region namely the African Swine fever in pigs and Anthrax in herbivores.
A release signed by the Chairman of the conference, Dr. Taiwo Jolaoso stated that TADs are contagious epidemic diseases of livestock that have the potential to spread rapidly across the globe with negative socio-economic and public health consequences, and require collaboration of different countries to curtail.
The statement further said that all affected farms and slaughter slabs have been decontaminated and disinfected while modalities relating to issuance of movement permit in the region are being worked out.
The release added that public awareness would be intensified among high risk groups such as butchers, hunters, animal product processors and marketers, as well as livestock farmers to further check the spread.
The conference advised all the pig farmers to improve on their biosecurity measures and refrain from stocking their farms and for the Anthrax they implored all stakeholders to avoid contact with sick or dead animals especially if it oozes blood from the orifices while such cases should be reported to the nearest veterinary office.
[STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE] President Tinubu Tasks U.S. Special Envoy On Deepening Cooperation And Defense Of Democracy In West Africa As U.S. President Joe Biden Extends An Invitation For Discussion At UNGA
AdminPresident Bola Tinubu on Saturday advised U.S. Presidential Envoy & Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Molly Phee, to ensure that U.S. policy is intentionally collaborative with independent African democracies at a time when they are under assault by anti-democratic forces within and outside of the continent.
The President noted that American-backed development finance and multilateral institutions, which were designed to support war-torn Europe after World War II, require swift and comprehensive reform to meet the developmental requirements of younger democracies in Africa, which operate in authoritarian-crowded environments, such that the legitimate yearnings of Africans would no longer be manipulated to serve the narrow aims of self-seeking demagogues through unconstitutional takeovers of power.
"Yes, the private sector will lead the way within an enabling environment we create for them, but the U.S. Government must be innovative in its thinking and systematically create incentives for U.S. industrial investment in Nigeria. Under my leadership, Nigeria stands ready to address their specific regulatory, tax and environmental concerns. I am determined to create prosperity for all Nigerian families," the President declared.
The Nigerian leader affirmed that the crisis in Niger Republic would not deter him from concluding his economic reform programme successfully for the benefit of Nigerians and that he takes a queue from no nation, but will only advance the interest of the Nigerian state in his approach toward ECOWAS' handling of the regional standoff.
"We are deep in our attempts to peacefully settle the issue in Niger by leveraging on our diplomatic tools. I continue to hold ECOWAS back, despite its readiness for all options, in order to exhaust all other remedial mechanisms. War is not ideal for my economic reforms, nor for the region, but the defense of democracy is sacrosanct. The ECOWAS consensus is that we will not allow anyone to insincerely buy time," the ECOWAS Chairman affirmed.
Pledging its support for the position of ECOWAS, the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy expressed the high regard the U.S. Administration has for the leadership of the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Tinubu, and extended an exclusive invitation from U.S. President Joe Biden to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City to advance discussions further in late September.
"We know there is more we can do to incentivize large-scale American investment in Nigeria and we are committed to working closely with you to achieve that, as part of efforts to strengthen the Nigerian economy and the regional economy. We appreciate your willingness to create an enabling environment for that. President Joe Biden is asking to meet with you on the sidelines of UNGA, and you are the only African leader he has requested to meet. It is a mark of his high regard for your leadership," the U.S. Special Envoy said.
The President concluded that he accepts the invitation to meet the U.S. President on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and that the work of perfecting democracy is never done, even in developed democracies, as seen recently in America, as well as other emerging democracies in the world.
Ajuri Ngelale
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
August 26, 2023
Gunmen have kidnapped Kawu Yakassai, the organising secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna state.
Yakassai is said to have been abducted on Friday night in Soba LGA of the state.
No ransom has been demanded for the release of the APC chieftain yet.
Confirming the development on Saturday, Mohammed Shehu, chief press secretary (CPS) to Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna, said his principal has directed security agencies to fish out the kidnappers and rescue Yakassai.
Shehu said the Kaduna government is working to recruit 7,000 vigilantes to complement the efforts of the security agencies in Kaduna.
“Yes, he was abducted on Friday,” the CPS said.
“The state governor has directed security agencies to go after the kidnappers.
“This is partly the reason why the state government is seeking to engage 7,000 vigilantes to complement the efforts of the security agencies in tackling the security issues.”
The state has been combating the menace of kidnapping for years now.