Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto on Saturday directed Muslims to look out for the new moon of Dhul-Hijjah 1444 AH from Sunday.
Abubakar, the President General Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) gave the directive in a statement signed by Prof. Sambo Junaidu, Chairman Advisory Committee on Religious Affairs, Sultanate Council, Sokoto.
Dhul-Hijjah is the 12th and the last month in the Islamic calendar in which Muslims perform annual pilgrimage (Hajj) and celebrate Eid-el-Kabir festival.
The statement said, “This is to inform the Muslim Ummah that, Sunday 18th June, which is equivalent to 29th day of Dhul-Qadah shall be the day to look for the new moon of Dhul-Hijjah 1444 AH.
“Muslims are therefore requested to start looking for the new moon on Sunday and report its sighting to the nearest District or village Head for onward communication to the Sultan,”
The statement prayed Allah to help all Muslims in the discharge of their religious duty. (NAN)
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has revealed what the founders of Boko Haram in the North-East told him about insurgency in Nigeria.
Obasanjo said the founders of the terrorist group told him that poverty and unemployment drove them into the insurgency.
The former president made this revelation at the launch of a book titled, ‘Pillars of Statecraft: Nation-building in a changing world’ authored by his daughter, Dr Kofo Obasanjo-Blackshire in Lagos on Saturday.
He, however, warned that the country’s over 20 million out-of-school children were a breeding ground for more ‘Boko Haram members of the future’ if not urgently tackled.
On why government policies had become more political than people-centred in recent times, Obasanjo said part of the country’s major problems was looking for scapegoats for its problems.
He stated, “During the early days of Boko Haram, when the man who started the movement was said to have been killed, I said I wanted to meet with the members of the group to talk to them and know what they wanted.
“I met with their representatives and found out that they needed nothing but a better life for themselves. Can we blame them for wanting a better life for themselves?
“They said they believed in Sharia Law. I told them that Sharia was not a problem in Nigeria. It is part of our constitution.”
According to Obasanjo, some of the members of the insurgent group told him that they went to school but had no jobs.
He said, “Do we blame them if after four years, they have no jobs? Are they not entitled to a livelihood? This boils down to one of the P’s of nation-building – politics – which talks about governance and leadership.
“If that (leadership) is not properly taken care of, every other thing will go haywire,” he said.
He also added that Nigerians must learn to face their own problems squarely rather than blaming others for it.
He said, “We must ask, ‘What do we do with our people? How do we raise and value them? How do we value them?’
“We have over 20 million out-of-school children. Google how many countries in the world have less than 20m. That doesn’t worry us? Are you thinking there will be no Boko Haram tomorrow?
“Those are the foundations of your Boko Haram tomorrow. That should be our concern. We should not say it is externally induced. Is poverty also externally induced? Poverty is the conscious, unconscious choice of our leaders. If we say no; it would be no. If we say yes; it would be yes.”
The Department of State Services, DSS, says it has identified persons and groups planning to stage campaigns of calumny against it and the government over the suspension and investigation of Mr Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
The DSS also claimed “the groups intend to gather at different points in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and Lagos in the coming week with placards depicting the Service and government in bad light as well as calling for the immediate release of Emefiele.”
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Saturday by Peter Afunanya, the DSS’s Public Relations Officer, National Headquarters Abuja.
The Service claimed it was mindful of orchestrations to infiltrate its fold for the purpose of using disloyal staff for subversive aims against its leadership, warning the plotters to desist forthwith from their plans.
The statement read: “The Department of State Services (DSS) has identified persons and groups planning to stage campaigns of calumny against it and the Government over the suspension and investigation of Mr Godwin Emefiele.
“Such groups intend to gather at different points in Abuja and Lagos in the coming week with placards depicting the Service and Government in bad light as well as calling for the immediate release of Emefiele.
“The Service is, therefore, aware of a cheap propaganda aimed at demotivating and distracting it from professionally executing the onerous responsibilities assigned to it.
“It has also noted the misleading commentaries, speculative narratives, storylines and videos being circulated in the social media by uninformed parties, critics and/or desperadoes.
“It is mindful of orchestrations to infiltrate its fold for the purpose of using disloyal staff for subversive aims against its leadership. While these efforts are considered as hatchet jobs designed to distract, the Service warns the plotters to desist forthwith from their plans.
“This is more so that the arrow heads are already under watch and will be apprehended when and if it becomes necessary.
“It is instructive to state that the Service had granted the family of Emefiele, medical officials and appropriate persons access to him, right from the day he was taken in and long before the court order requesting so.
“The Service implements Standard Operating Procedures on Suspect Handling and Investigation to the latter. It conducts its affairs transparently, professionally and respects the rule of law in compliance with democratic governance.
“For the avoidance of doubt, it assures of its professionalism in the current matter(s) under its purview. It will, however, not be distracted or intimidated.”
Adamu Bulkachuwa, Senator who represented Bauchi North in the 9th Assembly, has denied that he influenced the decisions of his wife, Zainab Bulkachuwa, while she was the President of the Court of Appeal.
Bulkachuwa on the floor of the Senate at the valedictory session of the 9th Assembly, before he was interrupted by the former Senate President Ahmad, had Lawan claimed that he used his position to ask favour for his colleagues from his wife.
“I look at faces in this chamber whom have come to me and sought for my help when my wife was the President of the Court of Appeal, and I’m sure…
“And I must thank particularly, my wife, whose freedom and independence I encroached upon while she was in office, and she has been very tolerant and accepted my encroachment, and extended her help to my colleagues…,” he had said.
But in his interview with BBC Hausa, Bulkachuwa said his words were misrepresented, adding that it was the former President of the Senate interrupted him while he was explaining.
He said, “Well, I was not even allowed to finish, I just started with some words like thanking her, saying she was patient with me as she was legal practitioner and I am a politician.
“I wanted to elaborate on the specific nature of the help she provided, as there exists a wide range of support that professionals in various fields, such as legal practitioners, doctors, or engineers, can offer in their respective roles.
“Note that this assistance does not involve any illegal or unethical activities.
“In my personal relationship with her, I have never imposed upon her professional autonomy or attempted to influence her judgment in handling cases or running her office. Such matters are not even discussed in our home.”
Bulkachuwa’s comment had elicited outrage, with Olisa Agbakoba, former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), calling for the arrest of the former lawmaker.
“Senator Bulkachuwa’s statement at the valedictory of the 9th senate is a monumental disgrace for our institutions. This man deserves to be taken up immediately by the authorities. It is a blight on my confidence in our systems.”
“We lost in 3 courts. Senator Bulkachuwa seems to suggest why.” Agbakoba had said in a statement.
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo socio-cultural organization has urged President Bola Tinubu to wade into the demolition of the Alaba International Market in Lagos State.
Ohanaeze urged Tinubu to prevail on Governor Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State to temper justice with mercy on Igbos in the state.
On Friday, the Lagos State Government began the process of removing distressed buildings in the Alaba International Market in Ojo Local Government of the state.
The enforcement team of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA, and the Lagos State Task Force embarked on the joint exercise.
The team, which went round to re-seal several buildings that had been marked with previous multiple quit seal notices by LASBCA, said the measure was to prevent disaster.
Reacting, Ohanaeze’s Secretary-General, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, warned Igbos in Lagos State to stop playing bad politics.
According to Isiguzoro, bad politics was affecting Igbo businesses in Lagos.
Speaking with DAILY POST, Isiguzoro said: “We have been informed that the demolition of some parts of Alaba International Market has began; most of those who called us said they were given only three hours.
“Most of them complained that they are being witch-hunted due to the 2023 general elections; they complained that they are systematically trying to make them leave Lagos by destroying their properties.
“We want to beg Mr President to call Sanwo-Olu that the best thing to do at this point is to temper justice with mercy. We would not accept that this is a political witch-hunt or issue threats on the crisis that has befallen Igbos in Lagos.
“At this moment in time, Igbos should stop politics and concentrate on what they are looking for in Lagos.
“Ohanaeze has already told Igbos to relocate the headquarters of their businesses back home to have a fallback position when politics are targetted against them.
“Our Republicanism should end in the Southeast; they should not take it to Lagos. Some people threatened Igbos to leave Lagos, but we won’t leave any part of Nigeria for anybody because we have contributed to the development and building of economies with every state and local governments in Nigeria.
“Igbos are Nigerians, so Ohanaeze is saying that the demolition of Alaba International Market is a wake-up call for Ndigbos to come and invest in Eyimba economic city.
“Ndigbos should stay in Lagos, but they should stop playing bad politics because it’s affecting their businesses.
“We supported Sanwo-Olu during the elections, even when Tinubu lost Lagos, so we urge him to halt further demolition of Alaba and other Igbo-populated markets as this would make Igbos to continue supporting Asiwaju’s government and make him to succeed.”
Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has expressed grave concern over the negative use of technology and social media, saying it is now in the hands of ignoramuses.
He stated the wrong usage of technology is fast taking humanity backwards due to the use of profiling and abusive words.
Soyinka, who spoke on Friday in Lagos at the unveiling of his latest interventions volume, titled: “The Putin Files,” at Freedom Park Lagos, confessed to not being a fan of the social media.
He said: “I don’t tweet, I don’t WhatsApp. I tried WhatsApp but I stopped.”
Reading from the book, Soyinka said: “Project Nigeria, I must confess, has become near terminally soul-searing. Do I still believe in it? I am no longer certain, but first we must rid ourselves of the tyranny of the ignorant and the opportunism of time-servers.
“In any case, there is not much else to engage one on a foundation of ownership stakes. There is, of course, always the possibility of a revolution, with a clarity of purpose and acceptance of all attendant risks, including costly errors.
“Revolutions are not, however, based on the impetus of speculative power entitlement. No matter, until that moment, the structures that ensures just and equitable cohabitation must be protected from partisan appropriation – be it from material inducement, fake news or verbal terrorism – the last being the contribution of one who is positioned to assume co-leadership of the nation, no less.”
According to him, the whole concept of democracy needs to be re-examined.
He added: “Revolution is not about lining up behind nearest available symbol. When a symbol does emerge, however, we are still obliged to examine every aspect of what is fortuitously an offer, and continue to guard our freedoms every inch of the way.”
He said Putin, as used in his book, is a metaphor and reality, adding: “We can’t be shielded from what is happening.”
He however described EndSARS as one of the most successful movements in this country because it was based on truth.
Former Brother Naija reality star, Doyinsola David, simply known as Doyin, has said that ladies should have at least N5 million to 10 million before getting married.
She stated this while answering a question from her colleague, Chizzy who was a guest on the latest episode of her podcast, Doyin’s Corner.
Chizzy asked: “How much do you think a lady should have in her bank account before getting married?”
Doyin replied: “I think a lot of people are going to find it ridiculous. But I think you should have between N5-10 million.
“Love is not enough at the end. Money is very very important.”
Chizzy added that people shouldn’t get married if they are poor.
He said, “No matter how we want to paint it, money should be involved. Very important.
“If you don’t have money, don’t get married. Let me put it out there. Quote me anywhere. If you don’t have money, don’t get married. Please, leave that girl alone. She should go and find someone that has money that can take care of her.”
Say Statements That Give Impression Of Religious Dominance, Superiority In The Country Reprehensible
The Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) yesterday reiterated the constitutional secularity of the country and added that no religion is superior to the other.
NIREC made the submissions in a joint statement by the co-chairmen of the body – President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Daniel Okoh and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar.
While affirming that Nigeria is a multi-religious state under God, the organisation called on religious leaders to resist political manipulation of religion that could lead to anarchy.
The NIREC co-chairmen said they were disturbed by the ugly trend occasioned by the hate speeches before and after the 2023 elections.
The statement said, “Weaponising religion for selfish, political gains is capable of causing religious conflict in Nigeria. NIREC therefore condemns, in strongest terms, the statements that give the impression that one religion is superior to the other. NIREC affirms that Nigeria is a multi-religious state under God.
“NIREC condemns statements that give the impression of religious dominance and superiority in the country. We wish however that every Nigerian could be a true Christian or a true Muslim as that would promote the religious values that could transform the nation. Given that most politicians in Nigeria practice one religion or the other, the Christian and Muslim politicians should proclaim the fear and love of God by caring for the common good and welfare of the citizens.”
NIREC called on religious leaders in the country to resist political manipulation of religion that could lead to anarchy.
“We condemn the antics of politicians whose main goal is to achieve their political interest by whatever means possible, including using religion as a cover. NIREC calls on our political leaders to use their platforms to sue for peace, unity and harmony while also refraining from making statements or comments that are capable of aggravating the already heated polity in the nation.
“NIREC calls upon all politicians to play politics with the fear of God, dignity, honour and decorum by eschewing the politics of division and sectionalism. NIREC appeals to the general public to note that the elections are over and various cases are in court challenging the outcome and must therefore give the judiciary the opportunity to do its work,” said the inter-religious body.
NIREC urged Nigerians to continue to be patriotic, law-abiding and peace-loving and oppose “all acts of machinations and manipulations by leaders who are using religion to tear the nation apart.”
It urged prayers for a nation that will continue to promote justice and peaceful co-existence.
“The task of building a prosperous Nigeria is the task of every citizen. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” declared NIREC.
Asari Dokubo’s bombshell: My men employed by FG in charge of Abuja-Kaduna security, not military
AdminAsari Dokubo, the leader of the Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF), on Friday, met with President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Villa, Abuja, declaring that his men, “employed by Nigerian government” are the ones securing Abuja-Kaduna road and not Nigerian Army.
Speaking with newsmen after the meeting, Asari-Dokubo accused the Nigerian military of blackmailing the security architecture of the country describing it as “shameful”.
His words;
“There is a full-scale war going on and the blackmail of the Nigerian state by the Nigerian military is shameful. They said they do not have enough armament and people listen to this false narrative. They are lying. They are liars. I repeat they are liars because I am a participant.“I am a participant in this war. I fight on the side of the government of the Nigerian state in Plateau, Niger, Anambra, Imo, Abia and Rivers. And in Abuja today, you are travelling to Kaduna on this road. It is not the army that makes it possible for you to travel to Abuja or travel to Kaduna, and vice versa. It is my men, employed by the government of the Nigerian state, stationed in Niger.
“Today, you travel to Baga, you go to Shiroro, you go to Wase. We have lost so many men and in all these engagements, we don’t even have one per cent of the armament deployed by the Nigerian military.
“One per cent and we have had resounding success. So, this blackmail must end. They have enough resources to fight. Instead of fighting, they are busy stealing. They are busy making the government spend unnecessarily.”
AIT Broadcaster, APC Disagree Over Transmission Of Result
The anchor of the Democracy Today program on AIT, Ijeoma Osamor on Friday, maintained that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (Prof Mahmood Yakubu) did not declare that the results of the February 25 presidential elections will no longer be uploaded and transmitted in real-time.
Osamor disagreed with the counsel for the All Progressives Congress at the Presidential Election Petition Court where the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, are disputing the results of the presidential election.
One of the grounds raised by the petitioners in support of their prayers to invalidate the return of the president, Bola Tinubu was that the commission, specifically its chairman, reneged on his promise to upload the results sent to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System to the INEC Results Viewing portal in real-time.
So far, video evidence tendered before the PEPC by the petitioners has bordered around clips showing the INEC chairman at different times assuring Nigerians of the use of technology in the presidential election.
The court, again on Friday admitted in evidence another flash drive and played in the open court a clip of Mahmoud delivering a speech emphasising the deployment of BVAS and IReV for the elections.
The event was aired live on AIT’s Democracy Today program anchored by Osamor who was subpoenaed to appear before the court.
During cross-examination of the witness, counsel for the APC, Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN) asked the reporter if she was aware that a few days before the election, the INEC chairman made a press statement saying the election results will no longer be uploaded in real-time.
Owonikoko SAN raised the issue and cited that there was a publication by The Tribune on February 23 to that effect.
However, the reporter insisted that while covering the beat, she was present during the press briefing and at the collation center, particularly on the said day.
She said that Mahmoud did not make the statement.
However, she said while her news organisation was focused on live coverage of events and programmes, the newspaper publication could have been based on an interview with the reporter.
After the witness was discharged, the five-man panel of the court adjourned to Monday, June 19 for further hearing in the petition by LP and Obi.
Earlier in the proceedings, a Professor of Mathematics at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Eric Ofoedu, told the court that he analysed some of the results of the presidential election that INEC uploaded on its IReV portal.
Under cross examination, Prof. Ofoedu told the court that he embarked on the analysis, as an academic exercise that would benefit his students.
Professor Ofoedu disclosed that a total votes of 2, 565, 629 accredited voters were not reflected in the final result of the February 25 presidential election announced by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Yakubu Mahmood.
Ofoedu, who is a Professor of Mathematics at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra, explained to the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) why he employed the use of projection in his analysis of election results from Rivers and Benue States.
Led in evidence by counsel to the petitioners, Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), the subpoenaed witness
The professor was led to give his evidence in chief by the lawyer representing the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, Onyechi Ikpeazu SAN, he alleged that when the blurred results he downloaded were matched with Form EC8As (polling unit results) given to Labour Party agents at the affected Polling Units, votes of 2,565,269 accredited voters were not reflected in the final results announced by the INEC Chairman.
“I observed that, from IREV portal, scores on Form EC8As of 39,546 polling units were inaccessible – contain uploads were not connected with the Presidential Election.
From the IREV portal, 18,088 polling units’ results were blurred. This number of PUs negatively impacted the votes of 2,565,269 accredited voters and 9,165,191 voters that collected their PVCS,” the professor had said in his statement on oath.
He had tendered in evidence, reports of Data Analysis from the Results of Nigeria’s February 25, 2023 presidential election in Rivers and Benue state among other documents.
Ofoedu had told the court that he downloaded 18,088 blurred polling unit results from the INEC Result Viewing Portal, IREV.
He explained why he used projection for Rivers and Benue during cross-examination by the legal team of the Independent National Electoral Commission, President Bola Tinubu, Kashim Shettima and All Progressives Congress.
During his cross-examination by INEC’s lawyer, A.B Mahmoud SAN, Ofoedu said while he voted in the election, he was on February 20 requested by the Labour party to produce report on the election results on IREV and he eventually accepted for the purpose of using his assessment to educate his students.
He agreed with INEC that his primary source of data was the IREV portal.
Asked his reference to INEC Form EC8As (polling unit results) were same with the scanned results uploaded to the IREV, he said there was difference between several hardcopies of Form EC8As and what was uploaded on IREV.
“In place of uploaded Form EC8As, there were blurred copies on IREV,” the witness added.
At this point Mahmoud asked, “You made reference to 18,088 blurred polling units results on IREV. You referred to Form EC8As received by Labour party agents. Did you attach them to your report?”
The witness said he did not, adding that he thought they were already tendered (by Obi’s lawyers) to the court.
Mahmoud told him he was not an election expert and could not have competently determined what constituted compliance or non compliance to the Electoral Act 2022.
“It depends on what you mean by that. I can determine electoral compliance,” the witness replied.
In their cross-examination, counsel to Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, Akin Olujimi SAN, asked the witness to confirm whether the results already declared from polling units to the National Collation Centre by INEC “will change” if there is failure to transmit results from polling units to IREV , or if the results he claimed to download from the portal were blurred.
The witness said ” It will not change if it (Form EC8As) is properly used.”
The professor agreed that IRev is not a collation centre but it was meant to serve as a checker.
“Your report covers only two states, Benue and Rivers states?,” Olujimi asked him.
“Not only two states, but two states stand distinctively. Actually, we did analysis of all the states,” the professor replied.
Olujimi then asked that apart from Benue and Rivers, which other state did he mention in his reports.
The witness said he mentioned no other state.
When pressed further, the professor made it clear that he worked only on available data and if he had access to all the data, his results assessment will be different.
Olujimi asked him that if he was engaged by Labour party on February 20 to carry out data analysis of the Presidential Election and determine INEC compliance with Electoral Act, the witness responded in the affirmative.
Olujimi told him he already had a premonition about who should have won the election.
“I accepted to do the analysis because of my students,” Ofoedu told the court.
APC lawyer, Abiodun Ikoko SAN, also cross-examined the professor: “The report you tendered was based on blurred results you downloaded from IREV?,”
The witness said his report was not just limited to the blurred results he already tendered in court.
He was asked what aspect of mathematics he engaged to analyse the blurred results, to which, he answered that there is no theory in knowing that something is blurred.
The APC asked him what theory he used in choosing Rivers and Benue state as the touch stone of his analysis.
“It was a random pick,” the professor said.
He was asked if the total number of polling units in Rivers and Benue adds up to the 18,088 polling units he said were blurred on IREV.
“My lord, the 18,088 blurred results are not connected with the polling unit results in Rivers and Benue states,” Ofoedu said.
He added that the data he analysed was an “exact data”, while he randomly picked Rivers and Benue state from all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
He told the court that the most important INEC form to analyse in an election is Form EC8A, that is, polling unit results.
The witness was subsequently discharged.
After him, Arise News staff, Lumic Edevbie came forward for cross-examination by the respondents, as the petitioner’s fifth witness.
APC legal team asked him to summarise his understanding of the INEC Chairman’s briefing at the Chatham House, London.
“In summary, INEC and its official decided to use technology for the 2023 elections,” he said, and was subsequently discharged.
In his evidence, the sixth Petitioners witness (PW6), a staff of African Independent Television(AIT), Ijeoma O tendered a video of the television station’s Democracy Day program, which featured the INEC Chairman, Yakubu Mahmood, saying election results will be uploaded from polling units on election day in real-time.
The case was further adjourned to Monday by the five-man panel of the court led by Justice Haruna Tsammani.
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The Olisa Agbakoba law firm has called for a review of the Student Loan Act recently signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, particularly the sections that listed the criteria for accessing education loans.
The Student Loan Bill which was sponsored by the former speaker of the 9th House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila, was signed into law by Tinubu as part of the federal government’s measure to boost access to higher education for Nigerians.
The development has, however, drawn mixed reactions from the relevant stakeholders in the education sector, including the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.
As stipulated in the Act, for one to be eligible for the loan, the following criteria must be met:
“Applicants must have been admitted into any Nigerian university, Polytechnics, College of Education, or any Vocational School established by the Federal and State Government of the Federation.
“Applicant or family income must be less than N500,000.00 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira) per annum.
“Applicants must provide at least Two Guarantors. Each of the Guarantors must be a Civil Servant of not less than 12 years in service, or a Lawyer with at least 10 years post-call experience; a Judicial Officer, or a Justice of Peace.”
Section 18 of Act also stated that repayment of the loan will commence two years after completion of the beneficiary’s National Youth Service Corps programme, to which a two years imprisonment or fine awaits defaulters.
The act was analysed by Babatunde Ogungbamila, a partner at Olisa Agbakoba Legal, who heads the firm’s Dispute Resolution Practice.
Ogungbamila wrote that while the Act is innovative, its implementation and operations will be difficult for indigents.
On the requirement that loan is accessible by students whose parents earn below 500,000 annually, the firm’s partner said the Act set out the financial benchmark based on current realities without anticipating future improvement in standards of living.
“The threshold for financial qualification is that applicant and their families who earn less than five hundred thousand naira every year may make the vast majority of the vulnerable unqualified. Whenever the minimum wage is reviewed for an increase, most students would be ineligible to apply for a loan because they would no longer qualify due to the increase in the minimum wage.
“The Act also fails to take into account parents who have many children attending higher institutions and are making more than Five Hundred Thousand Naira a year.
“Parents who earn above five hundred thousand naira per annum with more than one child in higher institutions may be unable to take advantage of the law,” he stated.
He advised the government to reconsider the financial threshold for qualification, so as to accommodate even parents who earn above N500,000 monthly.
He added, “The Act may have unwittingly destroyed the very fundamentals of its creation by leaving many vulnerable outside its net. With the enactment of this Act, there is a great possibility of an increase in school fees, making it difficult for individuals who are not eligible to apply for loans to pay their tuition.”
Ogungbamila explained that it will be very difficult for poor Nigerians to get lawyers with ten years of post-call experience as their guarantors.
“Further, given that the Student Loan Act is to assist poor Nigerians, the stipulation that the applicant must furnish at least two guarantors, each of whom must be a civil servant with at least 12 years of service may be an herculean task for the poor.
“It may be a big challenge for the poor to get a lawyer with ten years of post-call experience as a guarantor. How is a student who lacks the funds to complete his study going to be able to find a lawyer with ten years of post-call experience to serve as a guarantor?
“The statute has to be reconsidered because few poor Nigerians will be able to utilize this student loan program as a result of this clause,” he added.
He maintained the repayment plan is “impractical” because there is no possibility that those who pass out from the NYSC will get a good job after two years of service.
“It is not news that some graduates struggle to find employment in the years following NYSC due to a lack of job opportunities in Nigeria,” the partner stated on the firm’s official website.
…Seeks Severe Sanctions For Culprits
Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA), on Saturday, called on President Bola Tinubu to set up an independent panel to unravel the unending mystery surrounding oil theft in Nigeria and probe oil bunkering and allied crimes, especially from 2015 till date.
HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said the government must not spare the culprits identified at the end of the probe but name and shame them and sanction them severely.
The group’s call comes hours after the allegations by prominent Niger Delta leader and former agitator, Mujahid Asari Dokubo, who accused the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Navy of being culpable of oil theft in the oil-rich Niger Delta area.
Dokubo, who met the President on Friday at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, said, “The military is at the centre of oil theft and we have to make this very clear to the Nigerian public that 99 per cent of oil theft can be traced to the Nigerian military, the Army and the Navy especially.”
“The Army and Navy are behind oil theft. They intimidate civil defence, who are by law expected to protect installations. They tap directly from the oil head. What has been happening in the last eight years is unprecedented anywhere in the world.
“The livelihood of the people is being destroyed. The main culprits are the army and navy. There are notorious army commanders who are known to be the ones behind oil bunkering,” the former militant stated.
The Nigerian Army has since responded to the allegations, saying it has been vigorously engaged in the fight against illegal oil bunkering, oil theft, illegal oil refining and other sundry crimes in the region with positive results.
Also, the Nigerian Navy has challenged Dokubo to produce the names of officers involved in crude oil theft.
In its reaction, HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “The allegations by Dokubo are startling and damning and these allegations must be thoroughly investigated.
“We ask that the President set up a seven-man independent panel of criminologists drawn from reputable global fora to investigate the larger cases of crude oil thefts from 2015-2023.
“The panel should identify, prosecute and sanction culprits in the severest of mechanisms and recover to the last dollar public funds diverted through those stolen crude oil by these rogues no matter their statuses.
“Also, Dokubo who made the allegations must provide irrefutable evidence or be prosecuted for providing false information which is a criminal offence.”
Oil theft has become a malignant cancer in Nigeria for years. Last October, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited said it uncovered an illegal oil connection from Forcados Terminal that operated for nine years with about 600,000 barrels per day of oil lost in the same period.
Similarly, former militant leader, Government Ekpemepulo, popularly known as Tompolo said about 58 illegal oil points have been discovered so far since the operation to end oil theft on the waterways of Delta and Bayelsa states began.
The arrest was made while the criminals were pumping crude oil from an illegal connection which they had fixed to a Chevron pipeline in the Warri River.
One week later, another illegal oil pipeline was uncovered which was used by criminals to steal crude oil from Forcados Terminal in Delta State.
The illegal pipeline was located in
Okuntu Community which is a few metres away from the Forcados crude oil export terminal
The illegal 6 inch pipeline was connected to the 48 inch Trans Forcados Export Pipeline connecting the high sea where crude oil is being loaded into vessels.
It was connected with the primary intention to steal crude oil from the main pipeline operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company and Agip.
The distance from where the illegal pipeline was connected and where it was being used to load stolen crude oil into the ship is between five to six kilometers.
So far, Tantita Security Services working in collaboration with NNPC has discovered over 60 illegal connections to the trans-Escravos, trans-Forcados, and other major trunk lines by oil bunkers in Delta and Bayelsa states.
The Chairman of Heirs Holding Ltd had on Wednesday during the NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS) 2023 Annual Value Assurance Review (AVAR) in Lagos lauded the NNPC for the effort it is making in curbing crude oil theft.
According to Elumelu, due to the efforts of the NNPC Ltd, Heirs Oil & Gas has witnessed 96 per cent recovery rate.
Elumelu said, “When I listened to the Group CEO speak today (Wednesday), talking about us moving to 2.5 million barrels we challenge him to do more. I believe that it is achievable. From losing 97 per cent of our 50,000 barrels production, interestingly and it will be bad of me to have this platform and not share this here.
“That day, I got a call from the GCEO and I thought he was going to kill me for speaking up, to my greatest surprise, he said to me Tony we are sorry about what is happening, we are doing something about it, it will be corrected.
“They worked as a team and the Board of the NNPC, the FG, the security agencies, and last month our recovery factor was 96 per cent. So GCEO NNPC, you have delivered.
“I speak from experience, a beneficiary and one who cried out before and today standing up today to say we have improved our production and that is what we need to encourage more investments in the industry.”
He added, “Today (Wednesday), we lifted 501,000 barrels of oil bringing our total lifting this year alone to 2.6m barrels of oil. I am a great beneficiary of the new NNPCL
The Central Bank of Nigeria on Friday said that the 43 items restricted from accessing Foreign Exchange from the official window remain banned from the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window.
This means the restriction of foreign exchange allocation for the importation of the 43 items still stands.
The bank said this in a series of Q&A tweets Friday afternoon to explain the operational changes to the foreign exchange market.
“The status quo remains on the 43 non-eligible items. The items are not permitted to be funded from the I&E window,” the CBN said.
The apex bank had Wednesday announced the collapse of all forex windows into the Investors & Exporters (I&E) window in its efforts to unify all segments of the Nigerian forex market.
“All transactions will now be done through the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, where the exchange rate will be determined by market forces. Applications for medicals, school fees, BTA/PTA, and SMEs would continue to be processed through deposit money banks,” the bank said in a statement.
In June 2015, the Central Bank announced that some 41 items were “Not Valid for Foreign Exchange”, on the grounds that they could easily be produced in Nigeria rather than being imported into the country.
Some of the affected items include rice, cement, margarine, palm kernel, palm oil products, vegetable oils, meat and processed meat products, vegetables and processed vegetable products, poultry, tomatoes/tomato paste, soap and cosmetics, and clothes.
Other items include private airplanes/jets, Indian incense, tinned fish in sauce, cold rolled steel sheets, ggalvanised teel sheets, roofing sheets, wheelbarrows, head pans, metal boxes/containers, enamelware, steel drums and pipes, wire mesh, steel nails, wood particle boards, and panels.
Equally affected were security and razor wire, wood particle and fiber boards and panels, wooden doors, furniture, toothpicks, glass/glassware, kitchen utensils, tableware, tiles (vitrified, ceramics), textiles, wooden fabrics, plastic/rubber products, polypropylene granules, and cellophane wrappers.
The apex bank subsequently added fertiliser and maize/corn to the list of banned items.
According to the apex bank, the I&E market functions by a “willing buyer, willing seller” system, where an entity with demand for FX seeks out another entity with FX to sell at an agreed price through an authorised dealer.
The Editor of Vanguard Newspaper, Mr. Eze Anaba, has been elected President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE). He polled 250 votes to defeat his opponent, the former Managing Editor of THISDAY, Mr. Bolaji Adebiyi, who polled 81 votes.
The NGE is the umbrella body of the highest strata of working journalists who have attained the exalted position of editors in the journalism profession.
The election took place at the NGE’s Biennial National Convention which was held in Owerri, Imo State from 15th to 17th June 2023. The convention held at the Rockview Hotel was declared open by the Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma.
Sheddy Ozoene
The Director of News, Radio Nigeria, Mrs. Husseina Bangshika was elected unopposed as Deputy President while the Editor of Guardian newspaper, Kabir Alabi Garba and Umoru Ibrahim of Triumph Newspaper Kano were also elected unopposed as Vice President (West) and Vice President (North), respectively.
In a keenly contested election for the Vice President (East), the Editor-In-Chief of People&Politics, Sheddy Ozoene defeated Mrs Boma Nwuke of Rivers State Radio Corporation by 204 to 119 votes.
Editor with THISDAY Newspaper, Iyobosa Uwugiaren defeated Lanre Oyetade to be re-elected as the Guild's General Secretary. Others elected include Steve Nwosu as Treasurer, Gabriel Akinadewo as Assistant Secretary and Charles Kalu, formerly of Silverbird TV, as Social/Publicity Secretary.
The Managing Director of Sun Newspapers Onuoha Ukeh, Rose Moses and Oluwole Sogunle of the News Agency of Nigeria were elected members of Standing Committee (West). Others are Chinedu Egere and Dom Isute as members of Standing Committee (East) while Muhammad Sanusi and Paulyn Ugbodaga of AIT/Raypower Abuja are members of the Standing Committee (North).
The results were announced by the Chairperson of the election committee, Maimuna Garba.
Anaba takes over the Guild presidency from Mustapha Isah of Voice of Nigeria. The new exco would pilot the affairs of the NGE for the next two years.
Over 400 editors are in Owerri for 2023 NGE biennial convention with the theme: ‘Post 2023 Election: Promoting Professionalism for Enhancement of Democracy and Good Governance.”
The Convention had the Vice President, Kashim Shettima as Special Guest of Honour while the Keynote Speaker was Dr. Chido Nwakanma; Father of the Day was the former Governor of Ogun State, Segun Osoba, while Dr. Tony Onyima was the Chairman of the Convention.
Speaking after his election, Mr Anaba thanked members of the Guild for the confidence reposed in him and promised not to let the Guild down. He thanked the outgoing president, Mustapha Isah, for his leadership attributes and for organising a successful elective convention.