Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called on the country’s budgeting agencies to separate the budget of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) from Nigeria’s annual budget to enable effective implementation of the Fund’s mandate.
ASUU president, Prof Emmanuel Osodoke, made the appeal, yesterday, during TETFund Alliance for Innovative Research (TETFAIR) showcase held at Innov8 Technology Hub, Airport Road, Abuja.
Osodeke, who was speaking against the backdrop of suspicion that the national budget may not enjoy 100 per cent implementation, observed that strangely, for the first time, the government decided to add TETFund’s budget to the national budget.
The ASUU president added that once TETTund’s budget is included in the national budget, „it is finished.”
He also called on Nigerians to deal with the inferiority complex, which allows them to depend on services abroad, stating that every country in the world that wants to develop must use its ideas and use its people and those ideas are in the universities.
Osodeke decried continuous patronage of foreign goods and services by Nigerians even when they can be sourced locally.
“In 2020 we were challenged to produce something better than IPPIS, it took us two months to produce it, UTA, which we have presented to the National Assembly, to the House; then we said let’s test the twin and IPPIS came last; but Nigeria insisted on using IPPIS.
“Every year, the Nigerian government pays $40 to a company in the UK to pay my salary and you reject the one in your university. You want to do anything you run abroad,” he said.
While commending TETFund for the TETFAIR project, he assured that the men engaged in the scheme can solve Nigeria‘s problems, stating that “we must come back home and use our ideas.”
Osodeke also warned against political interference in TETFund from authorities overseeing the ministry.
“Nigeria is in a deep crisis. Our best brains whether in the academic or medical field are leaving the country. Thousands of our colleagues, the good ones, are leaving the country. Some are leaving to go and farm. We must rescue our country. Allow the money for universities go into universities,” he said.
Also, the minister of labour and employment, Simon Lalong, who described the occasion as a celebration of the remarkable innovative achievements over the year, said the scheme serves as a platform for researchers and innovators to showcase their groundbreaking ideas to transform them into tangible solutions.
Lalong expressed confidence that the valuable experiences gained through the TETFAIR will empower Nigerian scholars to contribute significantly to their fields at home and internationally.
Earlier, the executive secretary of TETFund, Arc Sonny Echono, said the fair was organised to support researchers in universities to bring their innovative ideas to fruition.
While reiterating the importance of Nigeria transiting to a knowledge-based economy, Echono stated that the world has moved from a resource rich economy to a knowledge-based one and Nigeria cannot afford to lag behind.
“TETFund, as the foremost interventionist agency in Nigeria‘s Tertiary Education Sector has deepened its intervention in content- based programmes. The Fund is making conscious investments in support of research, innovation and development as it remains the most compelling strategy for accelerating sustainable growth.
“In our bid to promote the institutionalisation of R&D, we have sought effective support for impactful research and innovation through partnership between tertiary institutions/research institutes, industry and government as a national response towards technology,” he said.
On his part, the minister of state for education, Hon Yusuf Sununu, said the TETFAIR was not the only research effort being made towards national development, stating that Nigerian researchers were also engaged in multi prong efforts, including the development of vaccines for preventable diseases in Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
Sununu called on TETFund to scale up copyright ownership protection so that the innovators will not lose copyright ownership of their products and services.
In her remarks, the chairman House Committee on Tertiary Education, Princess Miriam Onouha, expressed satisfaction with the level of research efforts put together by Nigerian academics through TETFund‘s partnership with Innov8 Hub under the TETFAIR scheme.
Onouha expressed hope that gains made in the project will eventually help to address unemployment in the country, while assuring that the legislature will provide the needed support to ensure success of the TETFAIR.
President Vladimir Putin said Friday he will run for re-election in 2024, Russian news agencies reported, allowing the Kremlin leader to extend his decades-long grip on power into the 2030s.
The 71-year-old has led Russia since the turn of the century, winning four presidential ballots and briefly serving as prime minister in a system where opposition has become virtually non-existent.
Putin told Lieutenant Colonel Artyom Zhoga, a Russian military officer, about his decision to participate in the vote following an awards ceremony for army personnel at the Kremlin, state-run news agencies reported.
Putin will not face any major challengers in his bid for a fifth term and will likely seek as big a mandate as possible in order to conceal domestic discord over the Ukraine conflict, analysts say.
Following a controversial constitutional reform in 2020, Putin could stay in power until at least 2036.
Rights groups say that previous elections have been marred by irregularities and that independent observers will likely be barred from monitoring the upcoming vote.
Putin tightened media rules on covering the 2024 election in November, banning some independent media outlets from accessing polling stations.
The election will be held over a three day period from March 15-17, a move that Kremlin critics have argued makes guaranteeing transparency more difficult.
Five major parties have been allowed to submit a candidate for the 2024 vote without collecting signatures, all of which support the Kremlin and the offensive in Ukraine.
Putin’s most high-profile rival, Alexei Navalny, is currently serving a 19-year prison sentence on charges his supporters say are false.
In a statement issued through his team Thursday, he encouraged Russians to vote for “any other candidate” aside from Putin and called the elections a “parody” of electoral procedure.
– Pariah –
Since launching its full-scale assault on Ukraine last February, the Kremlin has waged a sweeping crackdown on dissent that rights groups have likened to the Soviet era.
Thousands of people have been detained and imprisoned for protests, and many thousands more have fled the country in fear of being called up to fight.
The Ukraine offensive has made the Kremlin chief a pariah among Western leaders and his country has been hit by unprecedented sanctions designed to curb its funding for the conflict.
But while sanctions initially prompted an exodus of Western companies and turbulence in industry, the economy has proven resilient and Putin’s domestic approval ratings have remained high.
Moscow has re-oriented much of its energy exports to Asian clients including China, allowing it to continue pouring money into the offensive, now in its 22nd month.
Analysts say Putin has sensed revived fortunes as Western support for Ukraine frays and Kyiv’s counter-offensive fails to pierce heavily entrenched Russian lines.
In a bid to boost turnout at the last presidential election in 2018, which saw Putin win by a landslide in every region, officials cast the vote as a pivotal battle against Western values.
The Kremlin appears to be employing the same strategy this time round, labelling the “international LGBT movement” as extremist in recent weeks, as part of a broader culture war with the West.
2024 Budget: N15bn for VP Residence More Useful To Fuel Police Vehicles, Increase Allowances – Peter Obi
AdminThe 2023 Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on Friday, said the N15 billion budgeted for the new residence of the Vice President could be deployed to fuel police operational vehicles.
Obi said the money could be used to increase police officers’ allowances from N5,000 to N15,000 per day.
Posting on X, the former Anambra State governor faulted the money budgeted for the office of President Bola Tinubu, Deputy Kashim Shettima and their aides.
According to Obi: “Good morning Nigeria. While I am still waiting for the receipt of the full details of the 2024 budget for examination and to ensure the prioritization of the items for growth, I wish to comment on some of the items that are already in the public domain.
“The sum of N15.961 billion has been budgeted for trips for the aides of the president and the vice president. If the aides are spending this much, one can extrapolate that their principals, the President, and the Vice President, will spend twice as much, which will be about N30 billion.
“This means that in 2024 the office of the President and Vice President, and their aides will be gulping over N45b for trips alone. Furthermore, the office of the Chief Of Staff budgeted N20 billion for the renovation of the President and the Vice President’s offices in Lagos and Abuja and their full ‘digitization’.
“If you add N45 billion, being the least that will be spent on transportation, and N20 billion earmarked for renovations, it comes to about N65 billion, which is more than N57 billion, being the amount passed by the Senate last week for the Police Trust Fund, to secure over 200m people. Join me in figuring out the alternatives of what this amount can do in real productive terms for our dear country, especially in a critical area like internal security.
“We have over 5000 Police stations and operations, across the country. Half of these police stations have no functional vehicles. Even those that have are given less than N5000 for fuel in a day, which is why if you are lucky, for prominent people like me, to call the police for any intervention in an emergency, the first thing they tell you is – ‘we have no fuel’.
“Assuming we decide to prioritize our lists and use these resources as most of the trips and the renovations are of no value to our growth and productivity, we can approach local manufacturers like Innoson and others and order 2500 4×4 trucks which as of today cost about N30 million.
“We will be able to get a 20% discount because we are buying in large quantities and paying them upfront. It will amount to N25 million each, which will be N62.5 billion for half of the police stations that do not have operational vehicles today, and which will be taken care of by the money we save from the budgeted travel and renovations.
“The N15 billion budgeted for the new residence of the Vice President can be used for fuelling police operational cars by tripling their fuel allowances from about N5000 presently to N15,000 per day, which will come to N13.687 billion.”
Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, has raised the alarm over the consequences of ongoing divestment of multinationals in Nigeria, saying no fewer than 20,000 direct employees have lost their jobs to such divestments in recent times.
The umbrella body for employers and the voice of business in Nigeria raised the alarm in a statement titled “Urgent action to arrest the growing unemployment rate rate”.
NECA warned that the consequences of the massive job losses across sectors would continue to create insecurity challenges, and increase the occurrence of child labour among others.
The statement by its Director-General, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde said: “We are concerned at the growing rate of unemployment in the country, made worse by the continuous divestment of global businesses and closure of local ones.
“It is worrisome to note that in the last three years, over 15 organisations with a combined value-chain staff strength of over 20,000 employees have either divested or partially closed operations.
“This has dire consequences not only for organized businesses but also for labour, government revenue and the households.”
Expressing the Association’s deep concerns, Mr. Oyerinde warned that “the consequences of this massive job losses across sectors will continue to create insecurity challenges, increase the occurrence of child-labour (as children will be forced to become bread-winners), adversely affect the disposable income of families, erode the purchasing power of individuals and drastically reduce economy’s output.”
While proffering solutions to this malaise, the NECA Director-General urged the Government to urgently address the multi-facet challenges currently being faced by organized businesses.
He noted that “the harsh business environment has made local businesses to be uncompetitive. The government must urgently address regulatory and legislative bottlenecks that tend to stifle businesses rather than promote them.
“Continuous efforts must be made to promote locally-made goods through the provision of critical infrastructures; urgent stabilization of the foreign exchange market and ensuring that Ministries, Departments and Agencies are appraised not only by how much income they generate but also by how many businesses they facilitated or promoted.
“The private sector creates reight out of every 10 jobs and deliberate effort must be made to ensure its sustainability and competitiveness.”
The Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Ahmed Audi, Thursday launched a special squad, the Safe School Response Team to protect schools from all forms of attacks in the North Central region of the country.
This is coming on the heels of the urgent need to strengthen security operations across schools and colleges of education in the region.
The squad, which includes officers from the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Police Force, and the Department of State Security Services, among others are expected to tame the spate of attacks on schools, students and teachers in the six states of the North Central region, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Audi, while speaking in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital at a one-day sensitisation workshop for strategic stakeholders in the North Central geo-political zone on activities of the National Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre and Safe School Project In Nigeria, said the federal government had domiciled the coordination of the project with the Corps.
The CG expressed confidence that the smooth implementation of the initiative would reduce the burden of out-of-school children in the region while calling on stakeholders to support the Safe Schools implementation project to enable the security agencies to achieve their set objectives.
“The National Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre is a product of the National Plan on Safe Schools in Nigeria. The menace of violence and attacks on schools in Nigeria is not a new phenomenon to us. For more than a decade, Nigeria has experienced deliberate targeting of education and destruction of facilities; disrupting schools and keeping children out of school.
“The risk of keeping children out of schools continuously and the consequences thereof can only be imagined. It is in an attempt to address this ugly situation that the Centre was created by the government and domiciled under the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps with the responsibility of coordinating safety and security responses against violence in schools and host communities.
“So far, about 48 cases of planned attacks on schools have been thwarted through the collaborative efforts of the Centre. This workshop is one in the series of several advocacies, awareness creation and sensitization programmes being carried out by the Centre to galvanize support, synergy and collaborations towards tackling the challenge of school attacks and violence which has kept a lot of our children out of schools over a long period,” the NSCDC Commandant General added.
On his part, Brigadier General MBG Martins said in a keynote that the issue of kidnapping and banditry in schools across the nation will soon be a thing of the past while commending the federal government for initiating the National Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre.
“The prevalent state of attacks around the world and schools in particular has been on the rise in recent years. This activity being undertaken by the NSCDC is in response to having safe, secure and violent-free schools. The proactive step taken by the Corps to organise this programme will remain a noble and outstanding one,” he said.
Corroborating him, the Nasarawa State Commandant of the NSCDC, Abbas Bappa-Muhammed, stated that all personnel in the command are committed to ensuring the protection of schools across the 13 Local Government Areas of the state.
Earlier, the Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, donated a building structure to the Commander of the NSSRCC, Tersoo Shaapera, and his team for the smooth take-off of the project in the state. Governor Sule was represented by his deputy, Emmanuel Akabe at the occasion.
THE Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has stated that the Federal Government is determined to completely investigate the accidental bombing by the Nigerian Army in Tudun Biri village, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, and to punish anyone found responsible.
He also promised that the Federal Government would assist the victims of the disaster.
The Vice President visited the victims of the attack at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital in Kaduna State’s capital.
“There is no gain in dwelling too much on this incident that has happened. I am here because the President is deeply concerned; he was deeply touched by what happened.
“Let’s not talk about the numbers, one life lost in cold blood is as gruesome as millions lost in a pogrom. The heart of the President is with the bereaved families. We were at the hospital to sympathise with the victims and be rest assured that the Federal Government stands by the community affected and the government and people of Kaduna State on this unfortunate incident.
“It is already directed by Mr President, an investigation is being conducted with a view to preventing a re-occurrence of the incident and we expect a report to be submitted in the shortest possible time,” Shettima said days after the incident threw the nation into mourning.
The Vice President has paid a visit to the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital to express his condolences and solidarity to the victims and families of the recent Kaduna bombings.
Those killed in the airstrike have been buried.
He further stated that the Federal Government, led by President Bola Tinubu, is determined to eradicating terrorism and banditry throughout the country.
Governor Uba Sani welcomed Shettima upon his arrival in Kaduna State and accompanied him to the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, where he commiserated with the victims.
Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abubakar Badaru, Minister of Defence, and Abdullahi Ganduje, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), were among Shettima’s entourage.
The Vice President’s visit comes four days after a deadly airstrike in the North-Western state killed over 85 people and injured many more.
Local and international watchdogs have uniformly condemned Sunday’s sad tragedy, demanding for investigations and a standardized assessment of procedural actions.
Following the airstrike, there was much confusion, with many blaming the Nigerian Air Force. The agency, on the other hand, was ready to exonerate itself of culpability for the occurrence. Hours later, the Kaduna State government announced that the Nigerian Army had taken responsibility for the unintentional bombing in Nigeria’s North-West region.
The Army has since taken responsibility for the incidence, with the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, pleading with the people and committing that such occurrence will not repeat itself.
“My assessment of that unfortunate incident of Sunday, December 3, 2023, is that it is grave, regrettable. We will do everything possible to prevent such an occurrence from happening again in the conduct of our operations going forward,” he said about one of the country’s deadliest military bombing accidents.
Both the federal and state governments in Kaduna have demanded an investigation into the incident.
The Kaduna state incidence is happening months after another fatal airstrike on Kwatiri, a Nasarawa village which left at least 39 persons were killed and six others injured in the 24 January incident.
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of the State Minister of Petroleum, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri as chairman of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The president also appointed eight other Nigerians as part of the governing council and management team of the board.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Presidential Spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, on Thursday.
According to the statement, the president expects that the following appointees discharge their duties judiciously to enhance indigenous participation in the energy sector.
What the President Said
Speaking further, the president, through his spokesperson, noted that the appointment is in line with Sections71(1), 72, and 73 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (201Saidl
The president also noted that the listed names are regarded as qualified Nigerians who can serve as stakeholders to pilot the affairs of the oil and energy sector, particularly as it relates to the indigenous people in the country.
He said,
- “In conformity with Sections 71(1), 72, and 73 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (2010), President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of qualified Nigerians to serve on the Governing Council and Management team of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB):
- Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri — Chairman / HMS, Petroleum Resources
- Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe — Executive Secretary
- Oritsemyiwa Eyesan — Member / EVP Upstream, NNPCL
- Gbenga Komolafe — Member / CEO, NUPRC
- Bekearedebo Augusta Warrens — Member
- Nicolas Odinuwe — Member
- Rapheal Samuel — Member
- Sadiq Abubakar — Member
- Olorundare Sunday Thomas — Member
- “President Tinubu expects this highly qualified body of experts to discharge their duties with his patriotic resolve to significantly enhance indigenous industry participation in the energy sector as part of the Renewed Hope Agenda’s mandate to achieve the goal of 70% indigenous content and participation in the nation’s energy industry during the lifespan of this administration”
What you should know
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) was established by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act which came into effect on April 22, 2010.
The NOGIC JQS was created in line with section 55 of the NOGIC Act which states that the Board shall establish, maintain and operate a joint qualification system (JQS) in consultation with industry stakeholders which shall be administered by provisions set out in the regulations to be made by the Minister by the provisions of this Act.
Key functions of the Board include:
To review, assess and approve Nigerian Content plans developed by operators. To set guidelines and minimum content levels for project-related activities across the oil and gas value chain.
[Nairametrics]
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has cleared the air on the construction of the Vice President’s Lodge.
Wike gave his reaction while flagging off the resurfacing and rehabilitation of existing roads in the Asokoro District of the FCT.
The construction of the VP residence has been a subject of controversy, but the Minister clarified that the contract was awarded in 2010 by the Federal Government to Julius Berger, at the cost of N7 billion, adding that the project was abandoned for 13 years.
According to Wike, the FCT Administration, as a responsible government, was duty bound to complete the project to avoid the wastage of taxpayers’ money.
“People should not be sentimental and tell lies. We did not award that contract.
“All we are merely doing, because of our policy of not leaving other projects to be abandoned, we felt we should continue with those projects”, he said.
He called for the support of FCT residents for the policies and programmes of the government.
[Dailypost]
Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, is set to return to the All Progressives Congress (APC) about one year after angrily leaving the party for Accord Party, following his inability to secure its governorship ticket for the 2023 general election in Oyo State.
To the surprise of APC members in the state, President Bola Tinubu nominated Adelabu to his cabinet in August despite quitting the party before the elections.
In a letter dated December 6, 2023 and addressed to the Oyo State chairman of APC, titled, “Ceremony To Announce My Return To APC”, by the Minister, a copy of which was obtained by LEADERSHIP, he notified the State Executives and leaders of APC in Oyo State of his intention to officially return to “our Great Party at a ceremony to be held at the Party Office in Oke-Ado on 15 December, 2023.
“I want this ceremony to be anchored by the State Executives with all Local Government Party Chairmen and Leaders in attendance.
“You will recall that I left the party alongside my faithful and loyal followers at the peak of the crisis rocking the party emanating from the manner the state Congress and consequently the Primary Elections were administered. However, having consulted with our National Leaders and National Executives, I have decided to return to the Party. My first demonstration of this was a courtesy visit to the Party National Chairman where we agreed on the imperatives of my return to the party.
“As a serving Minister of Power of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under President Tinubu led Administration, I look forward to a robust working relationship with the State Executive, Party Leaders and entire party members towards achieving the renewed hope Agenda of Mr. President and the party at large, and in particular, in installing an APC-led Government at the State level in 2027 for an unprecedented development of Oyo State.”
Federal allocation to states and local government areas may increase by 109.74 per cent to N14.04tn in 2024.
This is according to the Federal Government’s revenue projections in its Revised 2024 – 2026 Medium-Term Fiscal Framework.
Based on these projections, disbursement to states and local governments has been predicted to increase from the N6.69tn projected in 2023 to N14.04tn in 2024.
Revenue available in the Federation Account is expected to increase by 124.43 per cent to N26.61tn in 2024 from N11.86tn in 2023. This projected rise in revenue is supposed to happen because of exchange rate effects, higher oil production projection, and the removal of subsidy.
So far in 2023 (January to September), revenue available in the federation account was N7.48tn. Of this, states and local governments have received N2.00tn and N1.54tn, respectively.
While presenting the 2024 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly, President Bola Tinubu noted while speaking about revenue, “We are currently reviewing our tax and fiscal policies. Our target is to increase the ratio of revenue to GDP from less than 10 per cent currently to 18 per cent within the term of this Administration. Government will make efforts to further contain financial leakages through effective implementation of key public financial management reforms.”
Meanwhile, while presenting the breakdown of the 2024 budget, the Minister of Finance and Budget Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, highlighted that revenue generation remained the major fiscal constraint to the country’s fiscal viability.
He also stated that the government was reviewing the current tax and fiscal policies, with the intention of improving revenue generation.
Recently, the Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, who was represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr Okokon Udo, at a Federal Account Allocation Committee meeting in Delta, noted that allocation to states has improved from an average of N650bn monthly before subsidy to over N1tn monthly post subsidy.
He said, “The economic reforms which this administration has undertaken since its inception in May 2023 clearly outlined the right steps to transformation of the country’s economy.
“In less than six months of the administration, we have witnessed the introduction of important reforms, such as petroleum subsidy removal, fiscal and monetary policies reforms aimed at removing multiple taxation among others. The Federation Account in particular is witnessing improved revenue inflow since the removal of subsidy from an average of N650bn monthly to over N1tn in the last four months.”
He noted that the Federal Government was ready to restore government revenue, promote fiscal balance and prudent management of government expenditure.
The projected boost in federal allocation to stated and local governments is expected to improve the pace of development in the subnational who are largely dependent on these funds.
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Gunmen believed to be bandits have stormed Gandu community and kidnapped some students at the Federal University of Lafia.
A resident, who lives within the university community but pleaded for anonymity, informed our correspondent that the gunmen came at first in their numbers at about 7:30pm on Wednesday and started shooting into the air to scare the residents of the area, but when they noticed that security operatives were coming after them, they ran into the bush to hide for several hours.
An eyewitness, who also didn’t want his name in print, told our correspondent that the gunmen stormed a conference hotel situated along Makurdi road opposite Nasarawa Housing Estate on Thursday at 2:am and kidnapped five students.
According to the source, the gunmen resurfaced again at Gandu, a students community opposite the permanent site of the university, and shot sporadically, forcing students out of their residence.
They reportedly abducted five students in the process while many were injured.
Our correspondent gathered that the gunmen operated freely for about three hours.
Confirming the incident, Mr. Abubakar Ibrahim, the Public Relations Officer of the university, explained that at the moment, the number of students abducted had yet to be ascertained but said it was between three and five students.
He said, “It is too early to ascertain the exact number of students because those affected are not living within the school premises but off campus.
“From available information, the number of students abducted is between three to five. However, the university is working hard to ensure all students live within the school campus.”
Meanwhile students at the university had embarked on a peaceful protest, demanding an end to persistent kidnapping of students.
Our correspondent reports that abduction of students has become a regular incident in the institution as students now live in constant fear.
Our correspondent also reports that more than 15 students at the university had been kidnapped this semester with huge ransome paid amidst harsh economy.
One of the victims, of the previous attack, who spoke to our reporter in Lafia said, “We were five, including a lady. The gunmen beat and threatened us and kept us walking and running all through the night.
“They later collected N500,000 from my parents and released me. I don’t know what happened to the rest because they could not afford to pay.”
The Presiding Justice, Court of Appeal, Port-Harcourt Division, Justice Joseph Shagbaor Ikyegh has died.
Justice Ikyegh who hailed from Benue State reportedly died Wednesday afternoon at his Makurdi residence located at the Achussa Community area of the state capital.
The death of Justice Ikyegh was reportedly made known when the Chief Judge of Benue state, Justice Maurice Ikpambese during a public function in Mskurdi called for a minute silence in his honour.
Though no official statement has been issued by his family on his demise, it was gathered that the deceased collapse while making a phone call at home and effort by family members to revive him was unsuccessful.
According to the source “he was then rushed to the Benue State University Teaching Hopsital, BSUTH, Makurdi where he was confirmed dead by medical doctors.”
It was gathered that the 65 years old jurist was known for his sound judgements and forthrightness.
The late jurist recently made the list of the 22 Justices of the Court of Appeal shortlisted by Federal Judicial Service Commission, FJSC, and forwarded to the National Judicial Council, NJC, to be promoted to the apex court from the North Central, on reserve basis.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has distanced itself from any coalition or alliance with other opposition political parties in the country.
Recall that the acting National Secretary of the party, Setonji Koshoedo had joined six other political parties including the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) at a meeting where the coalition tagged the Coalition of Concerned Political Parties (CCPP) was announced.
Speaking during the meeting, Koshoedo, who represented the acting PDP National chairman, Umar Damagum said, “This coalition wants to offer strong opposition for the good of Nigeria. Our duty is to offer alternative solutions to government policies.”
But Debo Ologunagba, the National Publicity Secretary of the party told Daily Trust on phone on Thursday that the party was not in any “alliance or coalition with any political party in the country.”
Ologunagba disclosed that the party was presently focused on its reconciliation process and how to organize its members to work together for the good of the country.
He also said the PDP is a party of due process; “we don’t take actions without following our laid-down guidelines, procedures, and processes.”
Recently, the former vice president and presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar, had asked the opposition parties to come together to wrestle power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Atiku had warned against the likelihood of Nigeria slipping to a one-party state and asked the opposition to close ranks and work together
Chief Olu Falae, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Minister of Finance, has said that those who oppose restructuring don’t understand what it means.
Falae stated this during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today.
He said that restructuring would redistribute powers and responsibilities and resources among the various levels of government and communities in Nigeria.
He said, “If there are people who still oppose restructuring after all what happened in the last 30 years, it is because they don’t really understand what it means.
“Restructuring simply means Nigeria should return to the constitutional political arrangement, which served us well which brought us security and competitive development all over the country. There was security and stability, but which we lost as result of some changes in the constitution.
“It means we want to go back to what worked for us constitutionally. Nobody will say he does not want to go back to a better past that served well. It means redistributing powers and responsibilities and resources among the various levels of government and communities in Nigeria such that most people will be happy. They will have employment and be safe. I don’t think anybody will oppose that.”