The Head of Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan has approved the compulsory examination for public servants in the Federal Public Service.

Naija News reports the examination is for newly appointed Administrative Officers, Foreign Affairs Officers, Executive Officers, Police Officers, Para Military, and other Professionals in the public service.

The Permanent Secretary, Management Career Service, in the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi, stated this in a circular issued on Thursday.

Ogunbiyi said any officer who fails to pass the examination after three consecutive attempts shall be required to resign or withdraw from the Service in accordance with Public Service Rules.

The circular reads: The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation has approved the conduct/management of the year 2023 Compulsory Confirmation/Promotion Examination for newly appointed Administrative Officers, Foreign Affairs Officers, Executive Officers, Police Officers, Para Military and other Professionals in the Federal Public Service.

“The Examination which is conducted by the Career Management Office of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, is a statutory requirement for the career progression of all staff in the Public Service.

“The Examination has been scheduled to take place throughout the Federation from Tuesday 19– Friday 22 September 2023. B. Any officer who fails to pass the examinations after three consecutive attempts shall be required to resign or withdraw from the Service in accordance with Public Service Rules 060203 and 060204 as stated below: (i) 060203.

“The Permanent Secretary/Head of Extra-Ministerial Office shall ensure strict compliance and enforcement. (i) 060204 – “An officer who fails to take the Confirmation Examination after 3 years of his/her first appointment shall be required to resign from Service”. 4. The categories of officers eligible to sit for the examinations are: (a) Administrative Officers/Professionals (Doctors, Engineers, Teachers, Nurses etc) appointed directly into the Federal Public Service on first appointment; (b) Administrative ~ Officers/Professionals (Doctors, Engineers, Teachers, Nurses etc) promoted from junior posts, who are yet to be confirmed; (c) Administrative Officers/Professionals transferred from other Scheduled Services who at the date of transfer are under the age of 40 years and have not satisfied conditions for confirmation; (d) All unconfirmed Professionals e.g Doctors, Engineers, Architects, Surveyors that are in Government employment; (e) Officers appointed on first appointment as Executive Officers; (f) Executive Officers transferred from other Scheduled Services who at the date of transfer are under the age of 40 years and have not satisfied conditions for confirmation; and (8) Unconfirmed Assistant Executive Officers promoted from junior posts. 5. The registration will be done online via the COMPRO Portal on woww.ohcsf.gov.ng while the examination will be done by Computer Based Test (CBT).

“The candidate(s)’ Head of Department must countersign their printed slip generated from the portal. Slips that are not endorsed by the Director of Human Resources/Administration will not be acceptable during accreditation at the Examination Centre. The letter of First Appointment supporting the candidate’s application should be uploaded while filling out the online Form.”

French President Emmanuel Macron and his Nigerian counterpart, Bola Tinubu, on Thursday, exchanged hugs at the opening ceremony of the Global Financial Pact Summit in Paris, France.

Naija News reports that President Tinubu, who is traveling abroad for the first time as President, arrived in Paris on Tuesday for the two-day Summit.

The Nigerian leader, who was welcomed to the summit by President Emanuel Macron and his wife, share hugs with his host. President Tinubu also posed for photos with the French leader and his wife before the start of the event.

The summit, a two-day event taking place at Palais Brongniart in Paris, is designed to explore efficient ways to combat poverty and the negative impacts of climate change on the global financial system.

See the video below.

• Uber Nigeria confirms fare increase to support drivers facing new living standards due to inflation.
• Fares were updated between June 3rd to June 6th in response to the fuel hike in Nigeria.
• Uber aims to provide better earning opportunities for drivers and maintain an affordable service for riders.

Uber Nigeria has announced an increase in fares between June 3rd and June 6th, aimed at assisting drivers who are grappling with the challenges posed by inflation and the recent fuel price hike.

The company’s decision reflects its commitment to providing better earning opportunities for drivers while maintaining an affordable service for riders.

According to Uber, the fare adjustment is designed to help drivers cover rising operating costs and is part of their ongoing efforts to support their driver community.

In a statement attributed to Tope Akinwumi, Country Manager for Uber in Nigeria, he said:

• “Drivers are at the heart of everything we do, and we continue to work on initiatives and engage with drivers to help make Uber the app of choice for drivers while maintaining an affordable service for riders.
• “Following an in-depth review of the current fuel subsidy removal, Uber updated fares on the 3rd and 9th June on the app to reflect existing economic conditions.
• “We believe these changes have helped better support drivers in increasing their earning opportunities. Furthermore, we lowered the service fee in February 2022 from 25% to 20% to help enable better-earning opportunities for drivers.
• “We want the best for drivers who operate on the Uber platform and frequently engage with them directly through roundtables, surveys, phone, and in-app channels to better understand and receive feedback on the realities they face in their businesses.”

Why did Uber increase fares?

According to Uber, the June 2023 fare increases are designed to help drivers cover the recent increase in fuel costs, not the entire cost of fuel.

The company also said that it is constantly monitoring local dynamics to see what changes can be implemented and when.

Uber also said that its service fee ensures the running of the Uber App and helps it maintain and make continuous investments to enhance its technology designed to meet the needs of riders and drivers.

The company claimed that drivers on its platform earn more than other ride-hailing platforms in Nigeria.

Uber is one of the leading ride-hailing platforms in Nigeria, offering services such as UberX, Uber Comfort, Uber Greenlight Hubs, and Uber Cash. The company has faced competition from other players such as Bolt, InDrive and Gokada.

Backstory

Last year, 2022- the ride-hailing company had several fare increases to help drivers with the spike in operating costs. Following the hike in fuel price at N500/L, inflation of 22.41%, the news fares is a reflection of the current macroeconomic reality in Nigeria.

[Nairametrics]

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party during the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has reacted to the news of a Nigerian lady, Ifeoma Amuche, emerging as the best-graduating student at South West University in China.

In a congratulatory message via his Twitter page on Friday morning, Obi commended Amuche, saying it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to achieve such academic height.

The former Governor of Anambra State also acknowledged that Amuche had brought honour to Nigeria and established herself on the global state through her remarkable academic performance.

“I congratulate Miss Ifeoma Amuche, a Nigerian student who recently emerged as the Best Graduating Student at South West University, China. It takes immeasurable hard work and dedication to achieve such an academic feat and stand out from the crowd.

“You have, by your outstanding academic results, brought honour to our nation and established yourself on the global stage. As a firm believer in education, I know there are no limits to how far one can go by taking their education seriously.

“Every Nigerian youth will be able to attain their full potential if we make the right investments in education. Your outstanding achievement shows clearly that we must spare no effort in the education of the girl child knowing that excellence is no respecter of gender,” Obi wrote on Twitter.

He urged Amuche to remain hardworking, remain of good character, and focus on building a more productive and impactful life.

“Keep the flag flying,” the Labour Party presidential candidate ended his tweet.

[NaijaNews]

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Thursday said that noodles produced in the country did not contain ethylene oxide or its metabolism.

The Director-General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this at a media briefing organised to present the outcome of its investigation on whether noodles produced in the country contained ethylene oxide.

Mrs Adeyeye said the investigation was occasioned by the recall of Indomie Instant Noodles Special Chicken Flavour by Malaysia and Taiwan, on account of the alleged presence of ethylene oxide, a compound associated with an increased risk of cancer.

She said: “At the time of my initial press release on the issue, I assured the public that a thorough investigation of the products would be conducted both at the factory and market levels and that our findings would be communicated.

“As soon as we received the news of the product recalls in Malaysia and Taiwan, immediately I requested the Director, Food Safety and Applied Nutrition to carry out investigation and random sampling of Indomie instant noodles from the production facilities.

“And extend the investigation to other brands of instant noodles offered for sale to Nigerians.

“Imported noodles are not expected to be sold in Nigeria because NAFDAC does not register imported noodles as a result of the ban by the Nigerian government many years ago to foster local production.

“Samples of chicken-flavoured instant noodles of various brands and the seasonings were drawn from the production facilities across the country to ensure robust investigation.

“A total of one hundred and fourteen (114) samples of instant noodles and the seasonings were received, while samples were also collected from Lagos, Abuja and Kano.”

According to Mr Adeyeye, findings show that ethylene oxide or its derivative was not found in any of the instant noodles produced in Nigeria and their seasonings.

Mrs Adeyeye said: “The compound of interest, ethylene oxide, is a colourless, odourless gas that is used to sterilise medical devices and has been implicated as a cancer-causing chemical.

“We did not only analyse for ethylene oxide and its derivative 2-chloroethanol in the noodles and seasonings, we also analysed for other contaminants such as mycotoxins and heavy metals in the samples.”

The D-G explained that the delay in the analytical activities in the laboratory was not deliberate.

She noted that the agency placed orders for the procurement and supply of certified reference materials (standards), reagents and chemicals from overseas.

She reassured Nigerians that the agency would continue to remain proactive and committed to its responsibilities of protecting the public’s health.

(NAN)

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) says about 97,000 passport booklets issued were uncollected in the 36 states nationwide including Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Service Public Relations Officer, (SPRO) Comptroller of Immigration, Mr Tony Akuneme said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.

Akuneme said that the service recently found out that Lagos State had half of the uncollected passports.

He said that there was also a danger that half of the owners of the uncollected passports could not be reached due to lack of proper documentation because of a third party involvement.

He also said that the essence of state of emergency declaration was to draw attention of the media so they could deepened the process for the service as alot of people do not know if their passport were ready for collection.

“Some of them engaged agents to help them in their passport processing and these agents might be doing for alot of persons.

“They end up dropping wrong contacts and thereby making it difficult to reach out to the owners of these passports when they are ready for collection. This is a big challenge, “he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Acting Comptroller General, NIS, Mrs Caroline Adepoju had recently declared state of emergency on passport issues across the country.

The SPRO said that the service recently found out that most applicants complains also bothers on some human factor and technical factor which included slow speed of Internet.

According to him, the CG didn’t want to leave anyone in doubt as to the issue of passport processing being her core area of interest.

“That’s how she came about that term of declaring state of emergency in the passport issues.

“When the acting CG assumed office, she made it very clear that she was going to focus on Passport reforms and staff welfare, “he said.

According to him, the Lagos state Governor is willing to collaborate with the CG in terms of expanding the Passport services on Lagos State.

“So, we went to Lagos State Governor to help in terms of giving us office space where we can set up front desk offices and immediately, the governor was very positive in his response

“So it was a welcome development and you can see that the state of emergency that was declared is already yielding fruits as the governor accepted CGs request on land allocation to build staff quarters in Lagos, “he said.

Akuneme said that the service however, needed the Media to tell Nigerians that people should not think there were no passport booklets.

He said “there are booklets issued that are not collected. It is ironical, we don’t have problem of booklet, we don’t have shortage of booklets.

“What we have had in the last one or two years is a sudden upsurge in the number of Nigerians wanting to travel . We felt it was also related to COVID-19, “he said.

Akuneme assured that the result would be instant as more facilities were going to be put in place to curtail any challenges of passport issuance across the country.

[ThgeNewsGuru]

The philosophy of true born, illegitimates and vagabonds poisons the umbilicus of society, gnawing at the core gradually until it is vanquished by its own internal contradictions.

No society makes genuine progress through classism, casteism, native ordering and social isolation.

The Igbo phylum is a variegated one as it is with other ethnic species. Homogeneity does not exist in the true sense of the word among any ethnic classification. In the south-east, there are subgroups and splinter groups within the entity. There are also many varying derivative dialects across communities and towns, some of which native Igbo speakers may not understand.

The variant of Igbo spoken in my native town is different from that spoken in other towns within the same state. There is also no homogeneity in religion. And there have been cases of clashes among communities over differences bordering on politics, land, and other contentions. In fact, my native town and a neighbouring town do not agree. There is still a disputation over land till date.

But one string binds all within the south-east and parts of the south-south ecosystem – all are Igbo. Nature bubbles in divergence and eclecticism. The beauty and wonders of our world are by the fashioning of heterogenous intelligence. Man was not made to be culturally, socially, morphologically, and linguistically unipolar.

It is the reason I have always argued that Nigeria’s multiformity is not the dominating factor for its seeming ungovernability. Rather, it is the abuse and exploitation of differences; abnegation of civic duty, denuded understanding of citizenship, refusal to submit to the collective interest, native nationalism, and the absence of a rallying identity and cause, that are the denominators of Nigeria’s quandary.

Those who say Nigeria needs to splinter according to ethnic ordering to achieve unity, peace and progress are ignorant of the complexities of natural design. “Presumed homogeneity” does not guarantee unity, peace, or progress among a people.

In fact, a good number of the world’s most successful countries are so endowed by the nourishment and talents of their diverse population. There is wealth in diversity.

So, essentially, the argument that a Nigeria carved up along sectional contours will become united and prosperous is a slothful one. It shows a vacancy of thought and reason. Nigeria’s challenge is not its diversity, but the unwillingness of its people to be deliberate citizens.

The antagonism, prejudice, hate and bias among the Igbo taxonomic category have reached depressing proportions in recent years with the birth of the terrorist group – IPOB. The group has put a dagger to that which holds us together; turning brother against brother; clan against clan, and community against community.

This group has played on the sentiments of the Igbo, weaponising native differences to keep the people in its thrall. According to this group, ‘’authentic Igbos’’ are those who support Biafra, and ‘’fake Igbos’’ are those who are against it. This is the propaganda deployed by the proscribed group to divide the people. IPOB has been decimated, but its dissentious philosophy prevails.

It is concerning that an element of this divisive philosophy has been adopted by some to determine who is true-born Igbo and who is not.

The revulsion to the appointment of Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla as chief of naval staff, who is from Igbo-Eze in Enugu, by people of the same stock is embarrassing. Those opposing his appointment says he is not Igbo enough – that he is from Igala speaking part of Enugu. This is mortifying. This revulsion plays into the prevailing philosophy of the proscribed group.

Does this imply being ‘’Igbo enough’’ means one must be seen as an ethnic crusader; hold corrosive views of division; show prejudices and biases against other citizens? Does it imply one must be seen as representing the clan instead of the country? This is an abhorrent philosophy.

Going by the proclivities of these traducers, it is clear that the only Igbo fitting for appointment is one who represents their biases. How tragic.

I believe Igbo elders led by Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo should take an interest in the declension of Igbo society and in this disharmonious concept of ‘’fake and authentic Igbo’’. Why should a Nigerian of Igbo origin from Delta state, Rivers, Benue, Kogi deny his origins? It is a question we need to address. The reason is partially implicit in this schismatic philosophy.

There are aboriginal Igbo populations indigenous to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, and other countries. But why is there no plan or programme to make them a part of the larger Igbo fold, recognising and giving them a sense of family-hood?

No society makes real progress through casteism, native ordering, and social isolation.

. Nwabufo, aka Mr OneNigeria, is a media executive.

The Federal Inland Revenue Service has partnered with the Market Traders Association of Nigeria to collect and remit Value Added Tax  to the FIRS from the country’s markets, especially in the informal sector.

According to available information, the association has a membership of well over 40 million traders across Nigeria.

This cuts across the country’s 774 local governments, 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, which makes it the biggest player in Nigeria’s market space.

The details of the FIRS’ partnership with MATAN was disclosed at a Stakeholders Engagement Programme on the VAT DIRECT Initiative held on Thursday in Lagos State.

The partnership will see the FIRS collaborating with the association to deploy technology to enumerate traders for collecting and remitting VAT to the Service, consequently leading to an expansion of the tax net and increased revenue for the Federation.

The VAT DIRECT Initiative is a programme designed to foster collaboration between the FIRS and the market place, especially the informal sector, in the collection and remittance of VAT using technology.

Speaking during the Stakeholder Engagement, Muhammad Nami, Executive Chairman of the FIRS, highlighted that the initiative was the first of its kind and that it was crucial to revenue generation and also to eliminating multiple taxation, especially from the informal sector.

The Executive Chairman of the FIRS, who is also the Chairman of the Joint Tax Board, further stated that the government was worried about the multiplicity of taxes.

Nami said the Service and JTB were working on various modalities of addressing this challenge and that this partnership has laid a very good foundation for the government to address the issue of multiple taxation and extortion by tax officials, tax agents and touts in the market place.

He further noted that the Service would collaborate with security agencies, especially the Nigeria Police, to deal with illegal tax collection by touts in markets.

He said: “One important area of our collaboration is the issue of providing adequate security in the markets.

“We are aware of the challenges that you have faced in the past with miscreants, self-imposed tax collection agents and touts.

“I want to assure you that as part of this initiative, we will be collaborating with the relevant security agencies, particularly the Nigeria Police Force, to tackle all forms of touting and illegal tax collection by miscreants and keep them away from your markets.”

Nami further noted that the success of this collaboration would lead to increased revenue for the country and in turn provide government the needed resources to fund infrastructure and other social amenities.

He added: “The successful outcome of this collaboration and additional revenue accruable will have multiplier effects on all sectors of the economy as the government will have more revenue to provide the needed social amenities and infrastructure in critical sectors.

“An improved VAT collection will improve the revenue base of the States and Local Governments at the sub-national level and the citizens will be the ultimate beneficiaries.

“This initiative is very important to the government, particularly at this moment of dwindling revenues from the petroleum sector and therefore, requires that we put all hands on deck and optimally explore all available opportunities.

“The administration of VAT in the informal sector is characterised mainly by a low level of compliance and a lack of awareness in terms of obligation and liability.

“It, therefore, becomes necessary to leverage the MATAN platform to positively change the status quo.”

Nami also noted that to ensure transparency and accountability of the project operations, a combined monitoring and evaluation team comprising both organisations would be formed.

During the Stakeholder Engagement, the Executive Chairman, FIRS also unveiled an Identity Card that is to be given to each trader upon enumeration.

The card contains their tax identification number and other personal details.

The VAT Direct Initiative Stakeholder Engagement was attended by the Secretary of the Joint Tax Board, representatives from Deposit Money Banks, Iyalojas of Markets across the country, members of various trade clusters, representatives from all major markets across the country, as well as officers of the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

[TheEagleonline]

Flutterwave, a leading African payments technology company today announced it is working with Microsoft to build its next generation platform on Microsoft Azure, powering payments infrastructure across the African continent and beyond. This agreement reflects com Flutterwave’s commitment to give businesses and individuals access to global-grade services across all of Africa and drive digital transformation around the world. With Flutterwave and Microsoft’s plans to power payments to-and-from Africa, this collaboration is an incredible opportunity to impact growth across the continent.

Through this engagement, Flutterwave will support the accelerated growth of transactions processed on Flutterwave platform for global clients like Uber, Netflix, and Microsoft, solidifying Azure’s role in facilitating a seamless, reliable, and secure payment experience.

Key Flutterwave products such as Flutterwave for Business, Send by Flutterwave, Flutterwave Store, and Flutterwave for Fintech Platform, are being developed and transitioned onto the robust Azure cloud platform. Moreover, Flutterwave uses Azure OpenAI Service capabilities, enabling the scaling of its product offerings to millions of merchants worldwide.

“Microsoft has been an invaluable partner, providing a platform that allows us to deliver consistently high-quality services to our clients,” stated Olugbenga Agboola, Founder and CEO of Flutterwave. “As we manage high-volume payment processing, particularly during peak periods, the robustness, reliability, and scalability of Microsoft Azure become critical. As such, deepening our collaboration with Microsoft is the most logical step forward for us.” It means Flutterwave will continue to drive the transformation of global commerce, taking full advantage of the diverse and expanding range of services offered by Microsoft.

“Our development on Microsoft Azure has set a strong foundation for Flutterwave,” said Gurbhej Dhillon, Flutterwave CTO. “Their platform provides us with significant developer leverage, which we harness in service of our clients. Looking to the future, we’re excited about the possibilities of scaling with Azure OpenAI Service, which will enable us to serve even more merchants worldwide,” added Dhillon.

“We have proudly supported Flutterwave’s core operations with Microsoft Azure for many years. We are excited to further fuel their growth and innovation through this expanded collaboration,” said Mike Gaal, Microsoft Corporation General Manager. “Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Working with Flutterwave will take us a step closer to achieving our mission In Africa,” added Gaal.

[Nairametrics]

Less than 30 days into the job, President Bola Tinubu is dealing with managing the assets and liabilities inherited from his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.

However, unlike in 2015, the new president is unable to criticise his predecessor on his liabilities considering that they belong to the same political platform, the All Progressives Congress, APC.

During the inauguration of the National Economic Council, President Tinubu admitted that “The situation that we have seen is one- I inherited, and it is fundamental, I inherited assets and liabilities of my predecessor.”

Pro-market people and forces have hailed his reforms particularly, fuel subsidy removal and deliberate attempts to end the multiple exchange rates.

Here are the liabilities President Tinubu inherited from his predecessor, Buhari

N77 trillion debt

The current administration has been left with a debt burden of N77 trillion by the former President.

The figure was given by the Debt Management Office (DMO). This is perhaps the biggest liability the former administration left for the current government.

“The danger with the debt burden is that even with the removal of subsidy, a large chunk of the federal government revenue is going to be used for debt servicing, Lekan Olaleye, an Economist, told DAILY POST.

He added that “The ongoing reforms mean the government cannot afford to introduce any form of new taxation. The government must increase the minimum wage and still deal with the loans.”

Fuel Subsidy

The outgoing administration made provision in the budget for petroleum subsidy till June 30, but Mr Tinubu did not wait for the due date, as he announced that “fuel subsidy is gone” in his speech on Inauguration Day.

While the administration has been able to remove fuel subsidy, however, the question of palliative and other interventions remains to be addressed.

The former government only planned to borrow $800 million as palliatives.

Emefiele/Naira redesign

Nigerians still face uncertainty over the old Naira notes in the pocket as the Supreme Court order still stands till December 31, 2023.

It would be recalled that Nigerians went through biting Naira notes scarcity in the first quarter of the year due to the Naira redesign policy of the now-suspended CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

Mr Tinubu had in his inaugural speech promised to do cleaning in the monetary space, and Mr Emefiele appears to have been the first casualty of the cleaning as he is facing prosecution by the state secret police, the DSS.

But Nigerians still don’t know if the Naira notes in their hands will be of value after December or not.

Census

One other thing the new administration inherited is the 2023 national census. The past administration already expended N200 billion on preparations for the population census, however, it has been suspended.

Population census in Nigeria has always been controversial because of the political implications of census figures.

It remains unclear if the current administration will be willing to continue on this path.

Closed borders

The Tinubu administration also has to decide on the closure of land borders.

Only Atiku Abubakar made his position on the border closure very clear during the campaign.

DAILY POST had reported that the former Vice President had vowed to open the border, a declaration that was criticised by Lai Mohammed, the immediate past former Minister of Information and Culture.

A memo for the re-opening of the Seme land border for the importation of vehicles is said to be awaiting a final approval.

[DailyPost]