Nigeria Air: HURIWA calls for Sirika’s arrest over alleged fraud

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called for the arrest of the immediate past Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, over what it described as the “fraudulent” Nigeria Air. This is contained in a statement signed by the group’s National Coordinator, Mr Emmanuel Onwubiko, and made available to newsmen in Owerri on Wednesday. HURIWA, a human rights advocacy group, said that the hurried unveiling of Nigeria Air by Sirika on May 26, the last official day of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, was suspicious. The group called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to swing into action and probe the former minister now that the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Aviation had separately declared that the project was a fraud. “The Interim Managing Director of Nigeria Air, Capt. Dapo Olumide, told legislators on Tuesday that the aircraft paraded as Nigeria Air plane belonged to Ethiopian Airlines and not Nigeria, whereas Sirika paraded the aircraft as being owned by Nigeria. “This is a fraud of the highest order and the lawmakers have labeled it so, including the suspension of all activities regarding the sham called national carrier. “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) must swing into action now that both the upper and lower chambers have declared the project as a fraud. The anti-graft agency must swiftly arrest, investigate and prosecute the ex-minister if found culpable. “There are a lot of questions that Sirika must be made to answer, including the whereabouts of the N85 billion splurged on the project. “In fact, aside that the so-called national carrier has not secured a single aircraft for its operations, it has also failed to secure Air Operating Certificate (AOC) from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) “, he said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Federal Government had in July 2018 unveiled the much-awaited new national carrier during the Farnborough Air Show in London. In eight years, the Buhari administration with Sirika as the arrowhead spent over N85 billion on Nigeria Air, as shown in data by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Compilation of Budgetary Allocations between 2016 and 2023. At separate meetings with the Interim Managing Director of Nigeria Air, Capt. Dapo Olumide, on Tuesday, the Chairman of the Senate Aviation Committee, Sen. Biodun Olujimi and the Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji, both agreed that the launch of Nigeria Air was a fraud. Olumide admitted that the Boeing 737-800 aircraft used to unveil the country’s national career was a legitimate chartered flight from Ethiopian Airlines. He said the aircraft returned to Ethiopian Airlines after the unveiling.

Sudan Crisis: JAMB rolls out modalities for absorption of returnee students

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has rolled out modalities for the absorption of returnee students from war-torn countries into Nigerian universities. This is disclosed in a statement by the board’s Head, Public Affairs and Protocol, Dr Fabian Benjamin and made available to newsmen in Abuja. Benjamin said the modalities were follow-ups to the high level meeting between the Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Ministry of Health, JAMB, Nigeria in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), National Universities Commission (NUC) and other critical stakeholders. He said the meeting was on the integration of returnee Nigerian students from war-torn countries into the nation’s tertiary education system. He quoted the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, while presenting the modalities as saying that it was imperative to hold talks with the Vice Chancellors following the peculiarities of each university and the variation in the responses received from them on the matter. Oloyede pointed out that the emergency meeting was, therefore, convened to fashion out uniform standards and minimum acceptable benchmarks for the proposed absorption in line with global best practices. He also stated that the Senate of each university had the right to decide on university transfers and needed not wait for JAMB to initiate such adding that the parley with the stakeholders was to present the modalities for critique as well as receive inputs. He reminded the Vice Chancellors to key into the earlier Advisory sent to universities on the procedures for processing applications for foreign and domestic inter-university transfers. He said that the current Advisory on the returnees does not override the earlier one but  rather served to reinforce it by strengthening the procedures for transfers. ”According to the latest Advisory on procedures for emergency transfers of returning students, each of them is mandated to do a retroactive registration with the education ministry. ”They are to visit the returnee application page on IBASS as accessible from the JAMB website, where the returnee students would upload their registration slips, complete the transfer of personal data. ”The personal data would include their name, NIN, telephone number, active e-mail account, current university, country, city of study and programme, year and current level of study, JAMB said. According to the new procedures, the returnee students would select their preferred university of choice, programme and upload the scanned copies of their current university admission letter, transcript, data page of their international passport and a sworn affidavit confirming the genuineness of uploaded documents. ”The returnee students are directed to click SUBMIT for onward movement to their university of choice, which would receive a notification as well as an IBASS  mail on the application for  evaluation of the returnee’s credentials. If the returnee is found worthy of admission, a notification is sent to him/her on the status of the admission. ”Consequently, successful returnees students would be directed via email and SMS to approach any JAMB Office in person to complete the inter-university transfer application,” he said. The registrar charged the Vice Chancellors to be vigilant and thoroughly scrutinise the certificates submitted to their institutions to avoid any pitfall that could impugn their hard-earned reputation. Stakeholders from the FME, NUC, NiDCOM and Vice Chancellors, who aligned themselves with the position of JAMB, promised to support the initiative.

Speaker Crisis: Police seal-off Nasarawa Assembly Complex

The police has sealed off the Nasarawa House of Assembly Complex, to avert a breakdown of law and order following the emergence of two speakers for the seventh assembly. DSP Ramhan Nansel, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) said in a statement in Lafia.Nansel said that the action was due to a directive by the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Maiyaki Mohammed-Baba. He said that the commissioner gave the directive after consultation with other security agencies in the state.The members-elect on Tuesday, June 6 held two parallel proceedings resulting in the emergence of two different speakers for the assembly. An unusually heavy security presence was noticed at the complex on Thursday morning.

Subsidy Removal: Governors back Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday received the endorsement of his decisions to end fuel subsidy payments in the country and other early policy initiatives of the administration. The president received the support when he hosted members of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), led by its chairman, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara, at the State House in Abuja. The governors expressed happiness with the president’s subsidy removal decision, all-inclusive leadership and statesmanship. They congratulated Tinubu for tackling the fuel subsidy debacle, promising to work with him to ameliorate the short-term impact of the decision. Tinubu had earlier called on the governors to collaborate with the Federal Government in addressing the menace of poverty in the country, saying the level of impoverishment is unacceptable. The president advised the political leaders to downplay their differences and jointly focus on alleviating the sufferings and pains of the people. “We can see the effects of poverty on the faces of our people. Poverty is not hereditary, it is from the society. “Our position is to eliminate poverty, set aside partisan politics; we are here to deliberate about Nigeria and nation-building,’’ he said. Tinubu stated that the country should be seen as one big family. “We are a family occupying one house, and sleeping in different rooms. If we see it that way and push forward, we will get our people out of poverty. A determined mind is a fertile ground for delivering on results,’’ he stressed. The president said that good governance would safeguard the future of democracy. “Present in this room is our diversity in culture and politics, but we are one nation. The unity and stability of the country rest upon us. “We have managed ourselves very well to have a democracy. We have campaigned and arrived at our present destination. We must work for our people,’’ he charged the governors. Tinubu assured them that he would maintain an open-door policy and was prepared to share ideas, strengthen institutions and create bottom-up frameworks that would improve the livelihood of Nigerians. “We need synergy to fight other vices like corruption. We are trying to get smugglers out of the way. How do we work together to galvanize the economy and put resources in place. We must think and perform. “After removing subsidy, there must be savings accruing to the Federation Account,’’ he noted. Tinubu said the education sector must be improved as part of efforts to reduce poverty and penury. He also drew attention to the security problems in some states, urging the governors to put in all efforts to tackle insecurity. The president said he was prepared to share ideas, strengthen institutions, and create bottom-up frameworks that would improve the livelihood of Nigerians. “We need synergy to fight other vices like corruption. We are trying to get smugglers out of the way. How do we work together to galvanize the economy, and put resources in place. We must think and perform. “After removing subsidy, there must be savings accruing to the Federation Account,’’ he noted. Tinubu said the education sector must be improved as part of efforts to reduce poverty and penury. AbdulRazaq promised the president that the governors would support the Federal Government in meeting the targets of human development. He thanked the president for the invitation to deliberate on the challenges of poverty and security, promising that the governors will support the federal government in meeting the targets of human development. 

Subsidy: Bolts drivers threaten 3-day nationwide strike

Bolts drivers in Calabar have announced a three-day nationwide withdrawal of their services to demand an upward adjustment in both their bonus and fare. The drivers, operating under the aegis of the Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transport Workers of Nigeria, announced the planned protest at a news briefing on Wednesday in Calabar. Mr Mike Neji, the Treasurer of the group and Chairman of the task force, set up to enforce the downtool, described the alleged treatment being metted to the union members by the management of the App-Based company as “unfair”. Neji said that the demand for an increase in the fare and their bonus was necessitated by the recent increase in the pump price of petrol and consequential rise in the price of spare parts. He described the terms and conditions given to bolt drivers in Calabar as the “most unfavourable in the country. “Calabar remained the most adversely affected locations as it concerns terms and conditions of driving and earnings compared to other places where the company is operating. “Due to the increase in the price of fuel, we can no longer meet up, we want the management to increase the fare to at least N1,000 as baseline. “They should also reduce the commission they collect from us drivers. “Currently, they are collecting about 35 per cent when you add other components of the charges they deduct. “We are being charged for a lot of things at a time the prices of fuel, engine oil and car maintenance generally have gone up. “In spite of the situation, the management is only adding N1000 or thereabout to the fare, which is not in any way commensurate with the reality on ground,” Nneji said. He said that the group might be compelled to look for an alternative, if the company did not meet its demand.

Birthday Registration: NYSC, NPC, UNICEF partner to document 12m children

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), the National Population Commission (NPC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have partnered to register 12 million children in Nigeria. A joint statement by the three organisations on Wednesday in Abuja, said that they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate and support digitalised birth registration process in 22 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). “This partnership aims to provide a robust framework within which the parties can implement a comprehensive and efficient digitalised birth registration process across Nigeria. “By leveraging their existing resources and facilities, the NYSC, NPC and UNICEF intend to benefit at least 12 million under-five eligible children who will be registered as primary beneficiaries. “Additionally, families, parents, caregivers, communities, households, state and local government areas (LGAs), and ward level administrators will be indirect beneficiaries of this collaboration.” The Director-General of NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Yusha’u Ahmed, said that the deployment of 850 corps members as coordinators and supervisors, spread across 22 states and the FCT will ensure effective monitoring and supervision of the birth registration process. “Together, we will strive to achieve comprehensive data collection and availability, supporting increased birth registration coverage in our respective LGAs,” said Ahmed. He also said that the scheme was honoured to join hands with the NPC and UNICEF in the vital initiative. Chairman of NPC, Mr Nasir Kwarra, said that the NPC, as a key partner, would play a crucial role in ensuring the success of the partnership. “We are committed to supporting the recruitment of ad hoc birth registrars at the ward levels and ensuring the availability of registration materials to coordinators and supervisors. “By distributing protocols, checklists, Frequently Asked Questions and informational materials, we aim to engage local government chairpersons, traditional and religious leaders and communities to promote the importance of birth registration. “Together, we will generate and analyse digitalised birth registration data at the LGAs and wards, ultimately increasing birth registration coverage,” he added. The UNICEF representative in Nigeria, Ms Cristian Munduate, said that as a leading organisation in child welfare and development, it would bring its expertise to the table to support the digitalised birth registration services in focus states. She was quoted as saying that the UNICEF’s “primary focus will be on providing technical assistance and evidence-based interventions. “By integrating birth registration into routine health service delivery, conducting the digitalised birth registration process, and increasing awareness through state and community-level campaigns. “We aim to ensure that every child has access to and benefits from the essential health and birth registration interventions they deserve.” The statement said that through the partnership, the three organisations would be committed to promoting the importance of birth registration within the NYSC programmes and stimulating increased demand for birth registration services in health facilities and at the community level. The collaboration is also expected to foster constructive engagement with local government chairpersons, traditional and religious leaders, leveraging their support to enhance the digitalised birth registration process. Between 2018 and 2022, UNICEF facilitated birth registration for 7.4 million children under the age of five and by 2027, it expects to increase the number to 83 million.

Fuel marketers declare support for subsidy removal

*Pledge 100 mass transit buses The Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) on Wednesday in Abuja pledged its support for Federal Government’s removal of fuel subsidy. The association’s chairperson, Dame Winifred Akpani, made the disclosure at the end of a meeting with President Bola Tinubu. She said the association would also support government’s palliative measures by providing between 50 and 100 mass transit buses. Akpani said the buses would be locally-manufactured and would use Compressed Natural Gas as fuel. “We pledge our support for President Tinubu in the bold decision of removing petrol subsidy. It is an idea that was long overdue. “Removal of subsidy is not about making fuel costly and taking it out of the reach of Nigerians. It is about getting it right on the real issue of petroleum product subsidy. “Who are those enjoying the subsidy? The subsidy ends up being enjoyed by those it was not meant for. “We also spoke to the president about substitutes to petrol as well as creating an environment conducive for investments to thrive in the oil sector,’’ she said. Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun, who led the DAPPMAN delegation, described the subsidy removal as a bold step that portended positive growth for the economy He said fuel subsidy withdrawal was a clear indication of Tinubu’s readiness to address the challenges of the oil and gas sector. “Subsidy has become a N4 trillion per annum issue and its removal will release more funds for economic development. “Subsidy removal will unleash the potential of Nigeria because it will open up a lot of resources for the development of other sectors of the economy. “The National Economic Council will soon begin sitting to propose interventions on the subsidy removal. “The interventions will definitely be long-lasting solution to the effect of fuel subsidy removal on Nigerians,’’ Abiodun said.

Senate moves valedictory session to June 10

Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan on Wednesday,  announced that the Senate has rescheduled its valedictory session from Thursday, June 8 to  Saturday, June 10. Lawan had announced on Tuesday at plenary  that the senate would hold its valedictory session on Thursday. The senate president, however, told members of the senate Press Corps that the shift in the date was due to a scheduled meeting of President Bola Tinubu with the lawmakers of the incoming 10th National Assembly on Thursday. “By the grace of God, we will still hold plenary tomorrow (Thursday) and then our valedictory session will be on Saturday. “It is because tomorrow, the  President will be meeting with the senators-elect and members-elect at 2p.m. “We believe that a session as significant, important,   historical and memorable as valedictory session of the senate requires a whole day. Not one, two, three hours. And therefore,  we pushed it to Saturday,” Lawan said. The Ninth senate would officially end its four-year tenure on  June 11. Lawan also hinted that the 10th senate would be inaugurated on Tuesday, June 13.

Tinubu swears in George Akume as SGF

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has on Wednesday sworn in Senator George Akume as the new Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) at the council chamber. The new SGF took his Oath of Allegiance and Oath of Office in the presence of government officials. Among those present at the swearing-in are Vice President Kashim Shettima; President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan; Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr FolasadeYemi-Esan and the spouse of the new SGF, Mrs Regina Akume. The President had last Friday appointed Akume as the SGF. He also appointed the outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, as his new Chief of Staff while the former Deputy Governor of Jigawa State, Sen. Ibrahim Hadejia, was appointed as Deputy Chief of Staff

Man docked for stealing speaker from Mosque

3[]li=- A 20-year-old man, Halifa Sani, was on Wednesday docked in a Kano Sharia Court in Kano for allegedly stealing a speaker and cable from a Mosque worth N70,000. Sani, who lives in Gadon Kaya, Kano is charged with theft. The Prosecution Counsel, Inspector Abdullahi Wada, told the court that the case was reported on June 2, at the Gwale police station by Malam Nura Muhammed, who is also the complainant. Wada said the defendant stole the speaker, property of Usman Ibn-Affan mosque worth N50,000 and a cable worth N20,000. The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge. The Judge, Malam Umar Lawal-Abubakar, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N10,000 with one surety who should be a blood relation. Lawal-Abubakar adjourned the matter until June 22, for mention.