₦airaland Forum

The Central Bank of Nigeria has reported a $172m increase in direct remittances in one month.

The latest CBN data analysed by PUNCH Online showed that the remittances totalled $138.56m in January, $39.14m in February, $104.90m in March, $193.31m in April, and $365.44 m in May 2024.

The data indicates a surge of 90 per cent ($172m) from April to May, reaching $365.44m, and 163 per cent from January to May, indicating a robust growth in foreign-currency inflows, a positive development for the economy amid rising debt and efforts to diversify revenue sources.

This increase is reflective of efforts by the CBN to enhance foreign currency remittance flows through formal channels.

In response to challenges hindering remittance flows, the CBN recently approved in principle 14 new International Money Transfer Operators.

This initiative aims to streamline processes and eliminate bottlenecks, thereby encouraging more remittances through official channels.

The Acting Director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, Sidi Ali, emphasised the bank’s commitment to facilitating smoother remittance transactions.

“We are wasting no time driving progress to remove any bottlenecks hindering flows through formal channels permanently. We have a determined pathway and a sequenced approach to tackling all challenges ahead, working hand in hand with key stakeholders in the remittance industry,” she said.

Earlier regulatory changes also contributed to this positive trend.

In January 2024, the CBN removed the exchange rate cap previously imposed on IMTOs, allowing for more flexible currency quoting.

This regulatory adjustment was complemented by revised operational guidelines and increased licensing fees for IMTOs, underscoring the CBN’s efforts to strengthen the sector’s operational standards and financial requirements.

This current surge is pivotal as Nigeria seeks to stabilise its economy amidst rising external debt obligations.

Recent reports indicate that the Federal Government spent $2.18bn on debt servicing between January and May 2024, underlining the significance of foreign exchange earnings from remittances.

The increase in remittance inflows aligns with broader economic strategies aimed at diversifying revenue sources away from oil-dependent revenues.

The Nigerian government, despite focusing on domestic borrowing, faces substantial external debt servicing obligations.

This fiscal challenge underscores the critical role of remittances in bolstering foreign exchange reserves and mitigating external debt pressures.

The CBN’s proactive measures and collaborations with IMTOs are expected to sustain this positive momentum in remittance inflows.

As Nigeria continues to navigate economic reforms and external debt dynamics, the resilience of remittance inflows provides a crucial buffer against fiscal vulnerabilities.

An economic expert at Lotus Beta Analytics, Shadrach Israel, noted that a ” substantial increase in direct remittances to Nigeria underscores the effectiveness of recent regulatory reforms and strategic initiatives by the CBN.

“These efforts not only enhance the transparency and efficiency of remittance channels but also contribute significantly to Nigeria’s economic resilience amidst evolving global economic landscapes.”

In two months, Nigerians will begin utilising the services of the proposed three-in-one identity card, the National Identity Management Commission has confirmed.

It said the single multipurpose card combining multiple functions of identity, financial and social services will be made available to citizens across the country by August this year.

A high-ranking member of the implementation team, who asked not to be named, disclosed the new information during an exclusive interview with Saturday PUNCH on Friday.

The official stated that the commission had been working tirelessly to meet its goals, adding that the plan remains on track and would be launched in the upcoming months.

He also disclosed that the commission has begun the testing and deployment stage.

The official said, “We actually plan for July although there have been a few delays but we are still hopeful that it would come in July. So we are hoping to get it done between July and August. We are still on plan and if there is any shift, the public will know.”

The official added, “When you are deploying a new technology, there is a lot of work to be done, you need to configure the card, enable the outlet, and enable the wallet to work. We also have to do tests and that is what is ongoing.

“The deployment is ongoing, the portal that people need to access the service has to be deployed, and we have to make sure that it is scaleable and those are the ongoing works.

“There are integrations that all the banks need to do to enable the card and all of those little details are ongoing. We have that target and we are working extra hard to make sure that we achieve that.”

On Friday, April 5, 2024, the NIMC announced that it had launched a new card layered with payment capabilities and social service features in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System.

It explained that the identity solution was equipped with payment capability for all types of social and financial services.

According to a statement issued, the initiative represents a collaborative effort to offer increased options for domestic consumers while fostering the delivery of services in a more innovative, cost-effective, and competitive manner.

The identity cards will include a bank-enabled National ID card, a social intervention card, and an optional ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card.

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, on Sunday, said contrary to the claims in circulation, President Bola Tinubu immensely benefited from his goodwill.

Atiku said but for him, Tinubu’s political career might have been terminated while he was governor of Lagos State in the early part of the Fourth Republic.

On Thursday, Vice President Kashim Shettima stated that both Atiku and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, once benefited from Tinubu’s political support during their times of persecution.

Shettima specifically said Tinubu’s residence in Bourdillon, Ikoyi, Lagos, served as a refuge for Atiku when he faced harassment and expulsion from the PDP.

“He (Tinubu) has been a veritable sanctuary for victims of political witch-hunts. When Atiku Abubakar was harassed in the Peoples Democratic Party, it was Bourdillon he ran to for support and it was in Bourdillon that he got the needed support and later contested for the presidency of this country,” Shettima stated during the inauguration of the Vice Presidential Lodge constructed by the Federal Capital Territory Administration in Abuja.

Reacting through a statement by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, on Sunday, Atiku said Shettima “goofed,” adding that “truth be told, it was Tinubu that actually benefited immensely from Atiku’s goodwill.”

The former vice president stated that without his support, Tinubu would not have enjoyed his tenure as Lagos State governor and might have been impeached.

He stated, “But for Atiku’s support, hinged on his pro-democracy instincts and the rule of law, Tinubu’s tenure as governor of Lagos State would have been rough with a wide possibility of termination of his political career.

“For some time, and especially leading up to the 2023 election, there has been a deliberate attempt to distort the history of the politics of the early Fourth Republic by ascribing the AC, the political platform that Atiku ran in 2007, as Tinubu’s party.

“Nothing can be further from the truth. Vice President Shettima, obviously carried away with the euphoria of the unveiling of his official residence as Vice President, repeated the same lie.”

Atiku urged Shettima to avoid commenting on topics about which he had little or no knowledge.

“Shettima needs to be reminded that Atiku did not run under the Action Congress of Nigeria, but Action Congress. AC came out of a coalition of Advance Congress of Democrats, formed mainly by PDM members and other associates and Tinubu’s faction of Alliance for Democracy.

“Moreover, Tinubu was not in a position to lend the platform to Atiku as erroneously suggested, as he (Atiku) was nominated by all the delegates from all the states.

“The delegates to the primary of the election that threw up the former Vice President as the party’s presidential candidate included Atiku Abubakar himself, Lawal Keita, Amb. Yahaya Kwande, Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo, Alexis Anielo, Titi Ajanaku, ex-Governor Rashidi Ladoja, Chief Tom Ikimi, and Chief Dapo Sarumi. Others were Chief Sergeant Awuse, Alh. Lawan, Dr Chris Ngige, Prof Ango Abdullahi, Dr Farouk Abdul Azeez, Chief Audu Ogbeh, Chief Ejiofor Onyia, and Dr Iyorchia Ayu, among others.

“From the Tinubu’s Alliance for Democracy were Bola Tinubu, Chief Segun Osoba, Chief Adebayo Adefarati, and Chief Bisi Akande, among others,” the statement noted.

To sustain the economic drive of the Federal Government and expand the Nigerian economy for accelerated revenue and job creation, about nine ministries will be submitting a fresh working policy document to the Federal Executive Council in the next six weeks, Sunday PUNCH has gathered.

The Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa-Musawa disclosed this in an interview report made available to our correspondent on Saturday.

Recall that the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, on Tuesday presented to President Bola Tinubu an Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan (ASAP), designed to address key challenges affecting the reform initiatives and stimulate development in various sectors of the economy.

According to reports, the plan has given an insight into how the administration seeks to address some of the many problems hindering the effective delivery of some of the economic reforms so far implemented by the current administration.

The plan reportedly captured the Federal Government’s eight priority areas to stabilize the economy and it is broken down into Agriculture and Food Security Sub-Committee plan, Energy Sub-Committee plan: Oil, Energy Sub-Committee plan: Gas, Energy Sub-Committee plan: Power, Health and Social Welfare Sub-Committee plan, and Business Support Sub-Committee plan.

But in a statement on Thursday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the ASAP policy proposals has not been made official because it will still be subjected to further scrutiny and analysis before being presented to the public.

However, in her interview seen by our correspondent on Saturday, Musa-Musawa said the Federal Executive Council would receive a fresh economic expansion proposal in six weeks which would have inputs from nine ministries in a bid to raise the sum of $100bn to increase the country’s Gross Domestic Products by 2030 and create jobs for no fewer than two million Nigerians in the creative and entertainment industry.

She said, “Last week, the Minister of Trade and Investment and I set up a committee that is going to look into ensuring that within the span of four to six weeks, we have IP protection and securitisation. Already, we have a working document.

“IP protection cuts across the span of many ministries. You have about nine or eight ministries that are involved. So we have to get inputs from all these ministries involved in terms of what they need to be captured within the kind of documents that we are already working with.

“Hopefully, within the next six weeks, we will present that to the executive council and ensure that we have IP securitisation that is needed not only to give the protection of people in the industry but also to ensure that people in the industry can use their IP as collateral.”

She noted that her ministry had been collaborating with eight other ministries to put together the new policy working document owing to the important roles strategic partnership plays in the economic stability of a country.

She said, “Policy framework is central when you talk about building a foundation. We decided to look at all the policies that are needed, the issue of culture policy, creative economy policy, and infrastructure policy. These were some things that we felt were very important. Of course, there is the issue of stakeholder engagement.

“The issue of strategic partnerships is very key. One of the things that we looked at in terms of the potential of the industry was its ability to create an economic expansion. We came up with a very ambitious goal of trying to contribute at least $100bn to increase the GDP by 2030 or 2031. It’s the potential to bring in economic growth.”

On how the Federal Government plans to achieve the $100bn target set for 2030, the minister said, “It is doable. The numbers that we have are based on the metrics out there already.

“The kind of numbers coming in from Spotify, YouTube, and NETFLIX; you look at the number from the great Funke Akindele’s movie, which grossed a billion plus with hardly any major cinema. Can you imagine the numbers that can be generated if we can expand the cinemas?

“If you do that and you can give them infrastructure, you can draw a lot of concerts coming into the country. Nigeria’s movie industry is the second biggest in the world, but they don’t have the infrastructure and the proper backing to be able to produce good productions.

“The productions that we can gross are billions that we are talking about in Bollywood and Hollywood. If you can give them that enabling environment, those numbers are not very difficult if you look at what South Korea and Japan are doing.

“I am just looking at the movie industry, but we have the fashion industry, the music industry, and the culinary industry. Can you imagine the kind of money that we can make just by monetising our jollof or monetising our food? It is not very difficult. It is not something that can be done overnight, but we need to put in place an enabling environment that would be able to foster a certain amount of growth from 2027 to 2030,” the minister added.

On job creation, she further said, “We hope to create at least two million jobs by 2027. That is our hope, and I think with what we have done so far, we will be able to do that. Part of our mandate is to engage a younger demographic in almost everything that we do. This is almost all part of job creation, and I have all my agencies pursuing that goal.”

President Bola Tinubu has again acknowledged the economic challenges confronting Nigeria, assuring citizens that his administration is “retooling” the financial system to ease their economic difficulties.

Tinubu, former Lagos governor, who was sworn in as Nigeria’s President on May 29, 2023, said it has been “a very challenging time for us in the country”.

“Up till now, we are still retooling and rejigging our financial system to bring prosperity and relief to the people of this country,” the President said when he commissioned the Guzape Lot II Infrastructure Project in Abuja on Saturday.

He said the completion of the project was testament to what could be achieved through “diligent planning, collaboration and shared commitment to excellence”.


The President said commended the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, for delivering on the infrastructure renewal promises of the Federal Government to the people of the FCT.

“Nyesom Wike, you have provided exceptional leadership at a trying time for the country,” Tinubu said. “You’ve (Wike) demonstrated the capacity to build a team, to lead a team and to deliver on promises. I commend you. Well done.”

‘Pursue Dialogue, Not Litigation’
The President also urged the stakeholders in the FCT to pursue dialogue and not litigation to resolve land disputes.

“To all of you here and the district head of Guzape or representing the district head, litigation is not the answer, conversation is the answer,” Tinubu said.

“Development that is focused on the people for the economic prosperity, the benefit of all, is what should reside in us.

“Of what value is the land that is blocked by these high mountains and rocks that you cannot access, nor provide drinkable water?” the President queried.

“It’s not a personal thing. I stand here as the President. I don’t have a plot here but I have the people’s support and the mandate to deliver good quality of life and living environment. That should be enough for all us to share in the joy of commitment, dedication, perseverance, and the gifts that God has endowed us with.”

The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; and the FCT Minister of State, Mariya Mahmoud; among other dignitaries were also at the event.

Prices of food and basic commodities have gone through the roof in the last weeks, as Nigerians battle the country’s current economic crisis sparked by the current government’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of forex windows.

On Sunday, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, assured Nigerians that food prices would come down in the coming months.

“Inflation, yes, it is high at 33.65%, food inflation at 40.5% is worrisomely high but the fact is that inflation is coming down, month-on-month. It is slowing and it is expected to reduce as we continue the dry season harvest and then we go into the wet season harvest.

“That is the place to focus on and a lot of emphasis is being placed on that to get agriculture output up, to get prices down, and that will be a big factor in bringing down inflation.”

The President of Nigeria’s Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has described the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), as Nigeria’s Cambridge and Harvard Universities.

Akpabio, who made the comparison at the permanent site of the Institute in Abuja, said the infrastructure and conducive environment provided for teaching and learning were akin to what were obtainable in Cambridge, Harvard and other top rated Universities in the world.

“The Institute’s impressive facilities, vision and focus, make it a very significant potential contributor to Nigerian democracy.

“With this infrastructure, Nigerians no longer need to travel overseas for legislative training. This is our own Cambridge and Harvard”, he said.

Akpabio was accompanied on the visit by the leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, Senate Minority Whip, Senator Osita Ngwu, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong and Senator Adetokunbo Abiru.

At the event, the Director General of NILDS, Professor Abubakar Sulaiman, unveiled NILDS’ latest publication, “25 Years of Democracy and Development in Nigeria,” which features a foreword by the President of the Senate.

The publication chronicles Nigeria’s democratic journey and development since 1999.

In a similar development, the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Rt. Hon. Maimounatou Ibrahima visited NILDS to seek the institute’s assistance in the capacity development of parliamentarians and their support staff.

The Director-General, Sulaiman assured her of the Institute’s readiness to provide its services to the ECOWAS Parliament, emphasizing their commitment to the advancement and overall well-being of the sub-region.

The US government has filed a civil forfeiture action to recover $5.3 million linked to a business email compromise (BEC) scheme that defrauded a Massachusetts workers union.

In January 2023, a spoofed email led the union to transfer $6.4 million to a fraudulent account.

The funds were then routed through various international banks and cryptocurrency exchanges.

US authorities have seized money from seven domestic accounts connected to the scheme.

These were stated in a Wednesday press release obtained from the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusets website on Thursday.

“BEC fraud schemes present a serious threat to businesses and individuals nationwide, causing significant financial and emotional harm to victims by exploiting trusted communication channels they rely upon every day.

“Today’s civil forfeiture action demonstrates that when victims report such misconduct to the authorities there may be steps we can take to recover stolen funds.

“We hope today’s action helps restore some level of stability and justice for those impacted by fraud,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy.

Issued in Boston, the statement also admonished that “members of the public who believe they are victims of a cybercrime – including cryptocurrency scams, romance scams, investment scams and business email compromise (BEC) fraud scams – should contact USAMA.CyberTip@usdoj.gov.”

According to the press release, the fraudulently obtained funds were then transferred through a series of intermediary bank accounts, with some funds transferred, or attempted to be transferred, to a cryptocurrency exchange or various bank accounts located in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, and Nigeria.

“The United States filed a civil forfeiture action today to recover approximately $5,315,746 alleged to be proceeds of a business email compromise (BEC) scheme targeting a Massachusetts workers union, as well as property involved in money laundering.

“The complaint alleges that in January 2023, a workers union located in Dorchester received an email requesting a change of payment information from someone it believed worked at an investment consulting firm.

“The complaint also alleges that the email came from what initially appeared to be the consulting firm’s true email address but was in fact a spoofed email address that had been changed by one letter. The spoofed email instructed the workers’ union to make a $6,400,000 transfer to a different bank account than had been previously arranged, which the workers union did, in fact, do.

“The spoofed email, however, was a fraudulent communication intended to mislead the workers union into unwittingly transferring funds to an account controlled by someone other than the intended recipient.

The fraudulently obtained funds were then allegedly transferred through a series of intermediary bank accounts – with some funds sent or attempted to be sent, to a cryptocurrency exchange and various bank accounts located in Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Nigeria.

“Investigators were able to trace proceeds of the scheme to seven domestically held bank accounts, the contents of which were subsequently seized by U.S. authorities,” it read.

PUNCH Online reports that this announcement implies that the US government is taking legal action to recover funds allegedly obtained through fraudulent means.

It involves cooperation between various law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to pursue the case.

The statement also highlights the legal process involved in civil forfeiture, indicating that the government must provide evidence to prove its case before any forfeiture can be ordered by the court.

Other parts of the statement read, “Acting U.S. Attorney Levy; Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and Andrew Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Boston Field Office made the announcement today.

“The civil forfeiture action is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Lyons of the Asset Recovery Unit along with Trial Attorneys Jasmin Salehi Fashami and Adrienne E. Rosen of the Justice Department’s Money Laundering & Asset Recovery Section.

“The accusations in the complaint, and the description of the complaint, constitute only allegations that certain property is subject to forfeiture.

“The United States must prove, by a standard of preponderance of the evidence, that the property is subject to forfeiture. If the United States prevails, the court will order all interests of any potential claimant forfeited.”

A BEC scheme is a type of sophisticated fraud scheme targeting businesses that use wire transfers as a form of payment.

BEC schemes affect large global corporations, governments, and individuals, with current global daily losses estimated at approximately $8 million.

Criminals compromise legitimate business email accounts through various hacking schemes, including social engineering and the use of malware.

The Imo State University in Owerri, Imo State, has been under investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board over an allegation of admission racketeering involving some staff members of the institution.

PUNCH Metro gathered that JAMB officials, after observing that its admission portal had been compromised, traced no fewer than 230 fake admission letters to IMSU.

In a bid to get the matter investigated, the JAMB officials were said to have alerted officials of the ICPC to the fake admissions traced to the university and the commission, during the investigation, invited staff members linked to the fraudulent act for questioning.

While some of the staff members linked to the admission racketeering allegation were reportedly arrested in the office of the institution’s VC, Prof. Uchefula Chukwumaeze, some were said to have been arrested at the offices of the Registrar, Dr. Julius Osuagwu, and the Director of Admissions, Ndubuisi Ubaku, among other offices in the institution.

Speaking with our correspondent on Monday, the spokesperson for JAMB, Fabian Benjamin, confirmed that close to 10 employees of the institution were arrested, adding that during a joint operation involving JAMB and ICPC officials, the 230 students whose names were on the fake admission letters traced to the school were also interrogated.

He said, “Yes, 230 fake admission letters were traced to IMSU. We took the matter to the ICPC and close to 10 staff members were arrested. Those involved in the admission office of the university were arrested and the VC was helpful as he ensured that all staff members involved, even those in his office, were not spared.

“Even the 230 students whose names were on the fake admission letters were also interrogated and their admission would be withdrawn. Some of the students are in the 400 level, and some are in the 300 level but whoever is involved will certainly lose that admission.

“How we discovered it is that we have automated our admission processes. We have what we call a matriculation list. So, when the university submitted their matriculation, we automated the admission process on what we call the Central Admission Processing System (otherwise known as CAPS) in such a way that we would monitor the movement of students from the point of admission to their progression and graduation.”

Benjamin said when JAMB was monitoring the admission process at IMSU, its officials discovered that the numbers differed from what was approved by JAMB.

He said, “It was at that point that we involved the ICPC because we didn’t have the power to prosecute. When we invited the ICPC, we also discussed with the VC, who was very helpful and supportive because he also said he had been suspecting but did not have the evidence. He said he wanted a situation where we could help in cleaning the system and that is what we have done.

“Close to 10 workers were arrested at the offices of the VC, Registrar, and Admissions Office. The ICPC and JAMB formed a team during the investigation and the 230 students were interrogated.

During the interrogation, we were able to ascertain that money was exchanged between the students and some of the staff members. We will withdraw the admissions of the students and the ICPC will take over from there.”

Benjamin, while describing the affected students as conspirators in the admission racketeering at IMSU, advised admission seekers to desist from accepting admissions printed on any university’s admission letter.

He said, “If a university gives you an admission letter, it is a red flag that you should be careful. The instruction is that no admission should be done outside of CAPS. So, if somebody comes, and creates a pseudo-admission letter, do not accept it because the admission must come through JAMB.

“We don’t offer admission. But we created a process where the university will make recommendations, send them to us and we will approve if they fall in line with the rules and regulations. So, any admission that is not approved through us, do not accept it.

“But some institutions are still giving candidates admission using their institutional admission letters, despite the minister of education making it clear that institutions should stop giving candidates their institutional admission letters and that the only admission letter candidates should collect should come from JAMB.

“These candidates, out of desperation, the university will give them an admission letter and they will go and register, and when they get stuck in the middle of nowhere, they will now be mounting pressure on JAMB that the institution said they should come to JAMB for regularisation. And when we refuse to regularise such admission, they will be saying we are frustrating them.”

The spokesperson for the ICPC, Demola Bakare, when contacted, said the commission had gathered credible evidence to prosecute those linked to the admission racketeering at IMSU, adding that the case would be charged to court soon.

Responding to our correspondent’s inquiry on the commission’s investigation of IMSU on admission racketeering, Bakare said, “It is true; the ICPC is undertaking some investigations at IMSU. The focus (of the investigation) is on admission racketeering, as reported by JAMB.

“The JAMB admission portal CAPS was compromised and 230 fake admission letters were traced to IMSU. Four individuals, including one Dr. Simon, were detained for two days only at a facility in Owerri, Imo State, but they now report every Tuesday at the ICPC office in the state.

“Though further investigation is ongoing, there is enough evidence to sustain prosecution. The IMSU registrar and the admission officer were interviewed in Abuja but never detained. The investigation is continuing. The matter will soon be in court.”

Meanwhile, a source, who spoke anonymously to PUNCH Metro over fears of being sacked, said the case of admission racketeering was a lingering issue in the institution, adding that staff members were fond of selling admission to non-qualifying applicants who scored low in JAMB’s UTME.

The source, during a conversation with our correspondent on Monday, said some of the staff members invited by the ICPC regarding the case include the institution’s Director of Admissions, Ndubuisi Ubaku; the registrar, Dr Julius Osuagwu, and others.

The source said, “The school management has been exploring all available options to ensure the matter is not public knowledge. This is admission racketeering, bordering on the fraudulent sale of admission to non-qualifying applicants who scored low in the UTME.

“At IMSU, admission is sold to the highest bidder, particularly children whose parents are wealthy. Admission to study medicine is sold at N1.5m; getting admitted into the law faculty, medical laboratory, nursing, optometry and other health sciences-related courses attracts N1.2m.

“All other disciplines’ admissions go between N300,000 and N800,000. The accused staff members invited by the ICPC included the Director of Admissions, Ndubuisi Ubaku, the registrar, Dr. Julius Osuagwu, and others.”

Explaining further, the source said aside from the sale of admission, the agents, who collaborated with some of the accused staff members, usually produced fake JAMB registration numbers to give irregular admissions to non-qualifying candidates, adding that when the students got to their final year, the agents reportedly demanded between N100,000 to N200,000 for JAMB regularisation from the students.

“All these people go to the ICPC office in Owerri every two days to register and sign, to ensure they will not run away. The investigation is ongoing. Imo citizens need to be aware of what is happening at the institution,” the source added.

The spokesperson for IMSU, Ralph Njokuobi, in his reactions to the allegations levelled against all the staff members mentioned in this report, said the case was still under investigation.

Njokuobi said, “Some of them (the staff members mentioned) were invited to come and explain. It is an allegation until it is substantiated. The investigation is ongoing and I don’t need to comment, even though the case hasn’t gone to court.

“The law says you are innocent until proved guilty. It is an allegation and if it is substantiated, they will face the music. There is no doubt about that. But they (accused officials) have continued to go to the ICPC for interrogation.”

Njokuobi, however, explained that the school did not know who was behind the 230 fake admissions issued to people who had been parading themselves as students of IMSU.

He added, “The management went on air to inform the general public that almost 230 students were given fake admission and whoever was behind it, we didn’t know because we have scammers who have surrounded both in and out of the university, which is a very large place.

“So, we announced the names (of the students with fake admission) to the public because JAMB officials came to our university and brought it to our attention that they didn’t clear them. We told the public that they (students with fake admission) were just parading themselves as our students and that they were not our students.”

The Police Service Commission has announced the approval and release of a list of 10,000 successful applicants for recruitment into the constable and specialist cadres of the Nigeria Police Force.

The commission noted that to ensure fairness and justice in the recruitment process, it worked with guidance from relevant stakeholders, including the Nigeria Police Force, the National Assembly, and the Federal Character Commission.

It added that it ensured equity in the spread of successful candidates across the 774 local government areas of the country.

The spokesperson for the PSC, Ikechukwu Ani, made the development known in a statement on Tuesday.

Ani said, “The Police Service Commission has approved and released the list of 10,000 successful applicants for recruitment into the constable cadre of the Nigeria Police Force.

“The commission today, Tuesday, June 4, 2024, received the report of the Police Recruitment Board. 9,000 applicants were approved for recruitment for General Duty, while 1,000 applicants were recruited for the Specialists cadre.

“To ensure fairness and justice in the Recruitment process, the Commission worked with guidance from relevant stakeholders including the Nigeria Police Force, the National Assembly and the Federal Character Commission. It ensured equity in the spread of successful candidates across the 774 local government areas of the country.”

The commission had earlier inaugurated a Recruitment Board – a broad-based stakeholders’ body populated by representatives from the PSC, the NPF, the Ministry of Police Affairs, the Federal Character Commission, Police Colleges, and the Police Trust Fund to Superintendent over the recruitment process and report back to the PSC.
Interested Nigerian youths were invited to apply online for consideration for the subsequent stages of the exercise through paid advertisements in several national media.

Interested applicants were given six weeks to conclude the online applications (October 15, 2023 to November 26, 2023) in line with the Federal Character requirements.

The PSC revealed that a total of 609,886 applications were received, while 416,323 applicants who met the advertised requirements were shortlisted for the second stage of the exercise, which was physical and document screening.

This stage was held in the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory between Monday 8, January, 2024 to Monday 29, January 2024.

The commission, after the physical and credentials screening, shortlisted 171,956 applicants who met the requirements for the Computer Based Tests (conducted by the Joint Admission and Martriculation Board, JAMB an organisation renowed for its expertise in computer based tests.

Ani on Tuesday noted that, “15,447 General duty applicants who did well in the CBT were further invited for medical screening to determine their health status. The 55,645 Specialists who were shortlisted from the Physical and credentials screening were subjected to practical tests and later medical screening. Each stage of the Recruitment process was carried out with a high level of scrutiny and care.

“A total of 10000 applicants made up of 9000 General Duty and 1000 Specialists were recommended for final selection.

“The selection of specialists was done in conjunction with the Nigeria Police Force on the need assessment ensuring capability and balance of geographical representation.

“The Chairman of the Commission, Dr Solomon Arase, retired Inspector General of Police declared that the rigorous recruitment process was to enhance the capacity and effectiveness of the Nigeria Police Force and to reinforce its commitment to community rooted and service oriented policing.”

Arase noted, “I am filled with optimism because these young men and women represent the future of our nation’s security and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that their journey begins on a foundation of integrity, transparency and excellence.”

The PSC Chairman disclosed that the entire process reflects a deliberate effort to build a Police Force that is competent, reliable, and truly representative of the best that Nigeria has to offer.

He noted that the final selection process was meticulously structured to ensure fairness and inclusivity with 10 candidates selected from each of the 774 local government areas as advised by the National Assembly in its Plenary decision of Thursday February 29th 2024 aimed at creating a representative and diverse Police Force.

The PSC Chairman disclosed that to uphold the highest standards of confidentiality, “list of successful candidates must be presented to the public in a manner compliant with the Nigeria Data protection Act of 2023.”

He noted that this would ensure that the personal data of recruits entering a sensitive security organisation remained secure, thereby protecting their personal and family safety.

Ani noted that candidates are invited to check the status of their application through the Police Service Commission dedicated Web page, which can be accessed on computers and mobile devices on www.policeservicecommission.cloud.

Applicants are also to contact the PSC recruitment help desk on WhatsApp numbers 08094767777 and 09031318499 for complaints or inquiries.

The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Commission has commenced the liquidation process of failed Heritage Bank with verification and payment of the bank depositors.

NDIC disclosed this on Monday following its appointment as liquidator of Heritage Bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria, who announced the revocation of the licence of the bank.

In a statement signed by the Acting Director of Corporate Communication, Sidi Ali, the CBN said, “This action has become necessary due to the bank’s breach of Section 12 (1) of BOFIA, 2020. The board and management of the bank have not been able to improve the bank’s financial performance, a situation which constitutes a threat to financial stability.

“This follows a period during which the CBN engaged with the bank and prescribed various supervisory steps intended to stem the decline. Regrettably, the bank has continued to suffer and has no reasonable prospects of recovery, thereby, making the revocation of the license the next necessary step.”

In its capacity as the liquidator of the bank, NDIC issued a statement signed by the Director, Communication & Public Affairs, Bashir Nuhu, where it revealed that depositors will be get up to N5m.

“Depositors of the bank that have an alternate account within the industry will be paid up to the insured amount of N5m per depositor using their Bank Verification Number to locate their alternate account. Depositors with funds in excess of N5m will be paid liquidation dividends upon realisation of the bank’s assets and recovery of debts owed to the bank.

“Verification and Payment of Depositors Without Alternate Bank Account: All depositors of the defunct bank without alternate bank account in the industry are advised to visit the nearest branch of the bank with proof of account ownership, verifiable means of identification such as driver’s license, permanent voter’s card, National Identity Card, together with their alternate account and Bank Verification Number for the verification of their deposits and subsequent payment of insured sums or file an online claim on the NDIC website,” part of the NDIC statement read.

The corporation urged the bank’s creditors to visit the nearest branch of the bank to file their claims or via the online platform.

It explained that the creditors would be paid after depositors, adding that the failed bank’s debtors, who were yet to complete the repayment of loans, were advised to do so.

“The NDIC wishes to assure the entire banking public of its commitment to the continued safety of depositors’ funds in all licensed banks. As such, depositors are urged to continue their banking businesses without fear, as banks whose licences have not been revoked remain safe and sound,” NDIC concluded.

Meanwhile, the Bank Customers Association of Nigeria has supported the revocation of the licence of Heritage Bank by CBN.

In an exclusive chat with The PUNCH, the President of the Bank Customers Association of Nigeria, Dr Uju Ogubunka, opined that the apex bank’s decision provided safety for the banking sector.

Ogubunka told The PUNCH, “The CBN cannot just take action without considering the implications. If a bank has been run aground, of course, it has implications for others. Other banks have dealings with it, and other institutions and individuals deal with the bank. So, if you put all of these together, that institution can jeopardise the system as a whole if the authorities do not take the necessary actions.

“The CBN would have considered the position of the bank; if irredeemable, for instance, from whatever status it is, can it be redeemed? Can it be acquired by another bank or merged with another bank, or can it be allowed to raise more money to shore up its capital and fulfil other obligations? If those questions are answered in the negative, the authorities will have no alternative. Instead of everybody being affected, let just one go and that is exactly what has happened.”

He noted that CBN would have arrived at the decision having engaged with the bank’s senior management and directors.

“They would have been asked to do one or two things they had been unable to do and the situation gets critical. The regulator would have no choice but to take the necessary steps within the law. Whatever CBN had done would be within the law and after several requests from those who are managers or directors of the bank to do certain things,” he asserted.

He added that while the CBN’s move was the right one, it would bring some inconvenience for bank customers, “especially those who have accounts with the bank and those who have relationships with the bank, even fellow bankers because the business is connected”.

“Bank customers, except those who are indebted to the bank, are the ones who will be bothered so much because they are the ones who are supposed to pay back some money to the bank, but if you have credit in your account, you just have to wait until NDIC takes over the bank, sees what is there and how they are going to repay those who have credit,” Ogubunka explained.

Professor of Capital Market, Uche Uwaleke, echoed similar sentiments, saying, “I think the revocation of the license of Heritage Bank by the CBN is a step in the right direction.

“This proactive step by the CBN is in the overall interest of financial system stability. With the NDIC taking over the liquidation process, efforts should be made to protect the depositors as well as the interests of employees using liquidation dividends.”

Also, the House of Representatives has pledged its commitment to engage with relevant stakeholders, to ensure the safety of depositors’ funds with Heritage Bank.

In a statement issued by its spokesman, Akin Rotimi, the House said it was aware of the revocation of the licence of Heritage Bank and the appointment of the NDIC as the liquidator under the provisions of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act.

“We assure the public, particularly depositors and stakeholders of Heritage Bank, that the House is committed to carrying out its constitutional oversight functions to ensure that this development does not negatively impact Nigerians. The relevant House Committees on Banking Regulations and Insurance will be up to their duty, to thoroughly examine the circumstances surrounding this decision and the subsequent steps taken by the NDIC.

“Our priority is to safeguard the interests of all depositors and maintain the stability of the financial system. We will engage with the CBN, NDIC, and other relevant stakeholders to ensure a transparent and orderly resolution process, providing necessary support to mitigate any potential negative impact on the public.

“We urge the CBN and NDIC to establish clear channels of communication to allay the fears of the public and prevent any loss of trust in our financial system. Effective public engagement is crucial to maintaining confidence during this period,” the statement read in part.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Banking Regulations, Mohammed El-Rufai, stated, “The committee will closely monitor the liquidation process to ensure that the rights of depositors are protected and that the process adheres to the highest standards of transparency and accountability.”

Similarly, the Chairman of the Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters, Ahmed Jaha, said, “We will work diligently to oversee that the NDIC executes its mandate effectively, ensuring the protection of depositors’ funds and maintaining confidence in the financial sector. The NDIC Act and the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act are clear in their provisions that depositors’ funds are insured and protected.”

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has seized codeine-based syrup and Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain worth over N2.1 billion at the Port Harcourt seaports and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

This was made known in a statement signed by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, and shared on the agency’s website on Sunday.

Additionally, NDLEA operatives arrested a 70-year-old grandfather with 57.2kg of cannabis in Nasarawa State, and two suspects with 426kg of cannabis in Ekiti State.

Other arrests were made in the FCT, Katsina, and Nasarawa.

The statement said, “Large consignments of codeine-based syrup and Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis worth over N2.1bn in street value have been intercepted at the Port Harcourt seaports, Onne and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

“At the Lagos airport, NDLEA officers with the cooperation of other security agencies on Friday 31st May 2024 intercepted a large consignment of Loud, packed in eight suitcases, containing 320 parcels with a total weight of 164.50kg of the strong psychoactive substance coming from Canada on a KLM flight via Amsterdam, Netherlands.

“The consignment estimated to be worth N960m which was brought in by a passenger, Ughenu Nnaife Francis was discovered at the E-arrival hall of the airport by personnel of NDLEA, Customs and others during a joint search operation by the security operatives while the suspect was attempting to smuggle the suitcases out of the hall.”

Suspect
Suspect
According to the statement, the suspect arrested at the Lagos airport claimed he was recruited to transport drugs from Canada to Nigeria for a fee of 6 million naira.


He said he was a resident of Germany but travelled to Toronto to collect the drugs. He was caught with a large consignment of Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain, worth 960 million naira.

NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex seized a container from India containing 1,750 cartons of codeine, weighing 26,250kg and valued at N1.225 billion. The container marked TEMU 6807401, was destined for Enugu and was discovered during a joint examination by NDLEA, Customs, and other security agencies.

NDLEA operatives also arrested a 25-year-old woman, Blessing Thomas, in Abuja on May 31st, after finding 1kg of methamphetamine in her possession. She was travelling by bus from Lagos to Yola, Adamawa state, when she was caught along the Kwali-Gwagwalada expressway.

The statement added, “In the same vein, operatives in Nasarawa state on Wednesday 29th May nabbed a 70-year-old grandfather, Muhammadu Ibrahim, with 57.2kg cannabis in Lafia, the state capital.

“Two suspects: Suleiman Kazeem, 35, and Sunday Gbenga, 20, were arrested when NDLEA officers raided Ara forest, Ara-Ekiti in Ekiti state where they recovered 426 kilograms of cannabis sativa already processed and packed in big sacks, while they destroyed over 4,000kg of same substance on 1.66 hectares of farmland on Thursday 30th May.

“In Katsina state,76 blocks of cannabis weighing 42kg were seized from a Nigerien, Suleman Audu, 29, when he was arrested by NDLEA officers along Zaria – Malumfashi road on Wednesday 29th May.”

A suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, has been released from the Kuje Custodial Centre in the Federal Capital Territory after spending 27 months in detention.

Kyari was detained following his arrest on February 14, 2022, by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for alleged involvement with an international drug cartel.

Kyari, along with four members of the Police Intelligence Response Team—Sunday Ubia, Bawa James, Simon Agirigba, and John Nuhu—was arraigned on March 7, 2022.

Two suspected drug traffickers, Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne, who were arrested at Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, were also charged.


While Kyari and the IRT members pleaded not guilty, Umeibe and Ezenwanne pleaded guilty and were convicted.

Despite multiple applications, Kyari’s requests for bail were repeatedly denied until a recent decision by a Federal High Court in Abuja.

On May 22, 2024, Judge Emeka Nwite, granted Kyari bail to allow him to conclude the burial rites of his mother, Yachilla Kyari, who died on May 5.

As part of his bail conditions, Kyari was required to deposit his passport with the court and report to the nearest NDLEA office during the bail period.

The court scheduled May 31, 2024, for the hearing on Kyari’s main application for bail about the drug trafficking charges.

Giving updates, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Correctional Service of the Federal Capital Territory Command, Adamu Duza, confirmed to our correspondent on Friday night that Kyari met his bail conditions and was released on Friday.

Duza said, “DCP Kyari has perfected his bail conditions, and has since been released today.”

The Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bago, has said that the state generates N10 billion monthly as Internally Generated Revenue.

The governor, who averred that the government was working towards generating N100 billion by 2025, noted that the state inherited N4 billion from the previous administration, noting that his government has surpassed it.

Bago made this known on Wednesday during his one-year anniversary lecture, where he pointed out that the new Niger agenda of his administration was not just a mere slogan but a dream that is realisable with the support of the people of the state.

“We are ambitious and bold about what we want to do. We will not spend people, but we will spend money to have people live. Don’t worry about where the money will come from. Only worry about how we will spend the money.

Niger gov grants 30 prisoners amnesty
“Our New Niger Agenda is not just a slogan. The ongoing projects across the state are just the beginning of the plans. We are determined to give the best to the people and ensure they benefit from every sector.

“When we do these works, don’t thank me. It is your right, it is not a privilege but your right. It is your right for us to provide you with basic necessities. If you do not have, task us and we will give you. We need to give to the society what the society has given to us,” Bago said.

Bago expressed appreciation to his team and the other arms of the government for making the state’s programmes, projects, and policies a reality and thanked them for their patience, prayers, and support in the last one year.

In their lectures, former Minister of Commerce Mustapha Bello and former Vice Chancellor of IBB University, Lapai, Nasiru Maturate, urged the Governor to remain focused on his transformation drive and not allow himself to be distracted.

Justice Peter Lifu, of an Abuja Federal High Court, on Friday, granted Chioma Okoli, bail in the sum of N5m and two sureties in like sum.

The judge held that one of the sureties must be the defendant’s spouse or a blood relative with a variable source of income who resides within the jurisdiction of the court.

The judge also ordered the sureties to deposit a passport photograph each.

He instructed the defendant to also deposit her international passport if any.

Okoli is facing a two-count charge bordering on cybercrime.

Okoli was sued over a Facebook post she shared on September 17, 2023, where she made some commentary on Erisco Foods Limited’s tomato paste.

In her post, she claimed she purchased Nagiko Tomato Mix from Erisco Foods, the day before and found it utterly sugary.

She mentioned that she normally buys Gino or Sonia brands, but they were out of stock.

Her post, however, generated reactions and forced the management of the company to involve the police through a petition to the Inspector-General.

The controversy also got the attention of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control.

This prompted NAFDAC to embark on a scrutiny of the product’s registration and an overall inspection of the Erisco Foods’ Nagiko Tomato Mix’.

The trial judge, in his ruling, on Friday, agreed with the arguments of the defendant’s lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, that the offence with which Okoli was charged was a bailable one.

Justice Lifu further held that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty under Section 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Justice Lifu also held that denying her bail is a wrong application of discretion which will amount to a pre-trial judgment and judicial rascality.

He equally based the ruling on the health status of Okoli.

On this ground, he granted her bail request while he adjourned the matter until June 13 for further hearing.

She was arraigned on Tuesday before Justice Lifu.

Although she pleaded not guilty to all the counts, the judge ordered her remand till today to deliver a ruling on her bail application.

Earlier, the prosecution counsel, Abdulrashid Sidi, urged the court to reject the bail application that was moved by the defence counsel, Effiong.

Sidi had objected to the bail application on the ground that given the history and antecedent of the defendant, there was a likelihood that she would jump bail.

The prosecution informed the court specifically that the defendant had, while on administrative bail, refused to honour the bail terms and would most likely jump bail.

The police also alleged that initial investigations revealed significant evidence suggesting Okoli’s involvement in breaking existing laws, especially concerning the appropriate use of cyberspace.

Those who live by their strength may readily explain how they surmount odds. Those who live by the power of the Almighty need no such explanation. They work hard but they let God be God, directing them as unmoved mover creatively structuring their paths that eventually yield boundless rewards. That is the story of the Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, as he clocks three scores plus four and five years in the saddle at the Gateway State, Nigeria’s top investment destination.

For many governors, May 29 is just the day they assumed office. For Abiodun, it is the very day of his birth, and so the celebration is always multi-pronged. The Royal Air Force has a motto that both instructs and motivates and captures Abiodun’s trajectory: Per ardua ad astra (through difficulty to the skies). It’s been a long, tortuous, often lonely journey for the Ogun state helmsman that many loved to mock in the days he sought a lawmaking ticket: those days when he swiftly congratulated the winners and immediately collapsed his structures into their own in the interest of the party, elevating the future above the present, confident that his time would come, and trusting in the grace of the One who gives and, adds no sorrow to it.

In his epochal document, My Early Life (1968), the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, left as a gem for all generations: “After rain comes sunshine. After darkness comes the glorious dawn. There is no sorrow without its alloy of joy. There is no joy without its admixture of sorrow. Behind the ugly terrible mask of misfortune lies the beautiful soothing countenance of prosperity. So, tear the mask!” When you look at the trajectory of Dapo Abiodun’s political life, you see that the words of Nigeria’s sage fit right into the tapestry of his odyssey. Abiodun got into office decades after he first thought of doing so, and the battle when he announced his interest in the Oke Mosan top job couldn’t have been fiercer. Those for whom he literally put his life on the line in the days gone by decided that he was an enemy that must be stopped by all means. The yellow vests usually worn by his supporters were treated like disdainful rags and his posters and billboards were pulled down in blind rage. Abiodun did not have the luxury of a handover note, and even the vehicle in which he rode on inauguration day was borrowed from a neighbouring state. What a truthful but incredible story!

If getting into the Government House was arduous, living in it has been war. There was no trick the naysayers, confounded in their refusal to embrace the reality of their exit from power, did not deploy to take him down. They deployed hack and hired writers buoyed by the rustle of currency notes. They deployed blackmail and character assassination. They scoffed at his projects, including international airports and dry ports altruistically designed to lift the Gateway State into international reckoning. For each road he did across the state, they mocked him for the one not yet done. They called him a non-performer but could not fault the verdict by local and international agencies that recognised his genius in ICT, agriculture, business development, education, arts, health and housing sectors. When he would not budge, they went after his men, cooking up stories to break marriages and demoralise his leadership but they failed with embarrassing rapidity.

The last four years have been so turbulent for his administration. The Iperu-born prince and business mogul has faced character assassination and political betrayal by diverse camps of crooks and laissez-faire personalities. But when many believed that there should be a casting down, the Almighty God decreed a lifting up. Today, as he celebrates his 64th birthday, it is evident that God has put an end to his political travails. When you look at what he has gone through in the last four and half years, you can only give thanks to the Almighty God. Court cases, blackmail, the threat by his predecessors and opposition vote buyers, the treachery by certain devious party men who hobnobbed with the opposition after riding to power on the ticket of his generosity; the list was literally endless. Many thought the music had ended for Abiodun after his first four years but God did his wonders. Many naysayers believed he would not survive the grand betrayal but he did, and today treachery has buried those who hatched by it in hot lava. They are like fish out of water, and birds shorn of wings. Abiodun is 64, in good health, and with a great record. It is the Lord’s doing and it is marvellous in our sight.

The night is past, and Ogun is on the way to a glorious dawn. Those who thought he could not do well in government and cast aspersions on his personality are now serenading him for what he has done. It is no coincidence that his remedy for the economic anguish in the land remains unmatched, his palliatives alluringly novel. From students to civil servants, and artisans to market (wo)men, everyone has a sense of belonging. Ogun students in higher institutions got N50,000 each while their counterparts from other states got nothing. Those in the lower levels got N10,000 each. Thousands benefited from his festival of surgeries, civil servants enjoyed cash and food packages, and rice was sold at half the price. Buses, tricycles and bikes running on CNG crashed transport costs, and special food markets charging half the normal prices of foodstuff eased the pains of the populace. Close to 600km of roads have been built, but of course, much more remains to be done because of Ogun’s massive size. Recognising his genius, the Federal Government appointed him a member of its economic team. The economy is recovering, thanks to the President’s ingenuity and vision in appointing Abiodun as part of Nigeria’s economic brain box. Most analysts say that Abiodun’s ISEYA mantra has been a massive success, yet he is conducting a multidimensional survey to solidify the feedback mechanism.

Significantly, the political atmosphere is calm. Ogun, once a war zone, is at peace. Blood flowed before him. Now, it is commerce conducted in the tranquillity that pervades the state. Instead of thugs and touts, entrepreneurial youth rule both the public and private spaces. Those who fed from trouble and piled up weapons of war in the dark days have been pushed into irrelevance. In Abiodun’s Ogun, peace is the common currency of life, and troublemakers have no hiding place. The governor has no enforcers, only supporters who love good governance. As the international relations and public policy experts Roshan Paul and Sarah Jefferson contend, “Peace is a pre-requisite for development as a whole because it creates an enabling environment for the fundamentals of a society’s progress: human capital formation, infrastructure development, markets subject to the rule of law, and so on. In the absence of peace, education and health structures break down, systems to provide infrastructure disintegrate, and legal commerce is crippled. Critically, peace also frees up resources, both financial and human, that would otherwise be diverted to controlling (or creating) violence.”

Abiodun is a man of his word, and the people love him for it. Says the Bard of Avon: “The purest treasure mortal times afford is spotless reputation—that away, men are but gilded loam, or painted clay.” As he moves into the middle of his second term, we wish him greater strides in office.

Happy Birthday to the people’s governor.

Akinmade is the Special Adviser on Media and Communications to Ogun State Governor

Controversy has surrounded the death of a final-year student of the Ebonyi State University Abakaliki, identified as Favour Ugwuka, on Wednesday night.

Our correspondent gathered that Ugwuka took her life in her hostel at the Ishieke Campus of the school in Abakaliki.

Further investigations revealed that the deceased, a final year student in the Department of English, passed all her courses but repeatedly failed a particular course, whose lecturer was said to have vowed she would never pass.

It was learnt that the late Ugwuka went into depression after several attempts to pass the said course and was frequently seen on the campus wandering alone until she decided to take her life on Wednesday night.

In a video seen online by our correspondent, a woman said to be the deceased’s mother blamed a lecturer for making her daughter commit suicide.

According to the woman, who was seen lamenting in the video, “The lecturer said he is the best, that nobody can teach like him. He should come and carry my daughter who has committed suicide.”

Also, a graduate of the institution who identified himself as Rex Nwome claimed that the girl committed suicide because she had been failing a particular course repeatedly.

He said, “Favour was my classmate and a best friend to me in the English Department. The above-mentioned lecturer did vow never to allow Favour to graduate.

“You could imagine where she later passed all the courses except that lecturer’s that, she had to pay another extra year tuition fee to rewrite.

“Unfortunately the man failed her again. What resulted in this intense depression is the latest NYSC names that were recently shortlisted, and her name wasn’t there.”

He added, “The girl suffered a lot of depression because she was only left wandering about the EBSU seeking help. She was very desperate to graduate and serve. This and many more of the disgusting stories resulted in this suicide mission.

“I wish she didn’t go this far to end her life. R. I. P. Ugwuka Favour till we meet to part no more.”

The Ebonyi State Police Command confirmed the incident on Thursday.

The command’s spokesman, DSP Joshua Ukandu, told our correspondent that the matter was reported to the headquarters.

He said, “Yes, the command received the report of a suicide by a female student.”

As of the time of filing this report, efforts to get the reaction of the university proved abortive

A Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the interim forfeiture of $4,719,054, N830,875,611, and several property linked to the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.

The order was issued on Friday, by Justice Yellim Bogoro after an ex-parte motion by EFCC counsel Bilkisu Buhari and C.C. Chineye.

The forfeited funds, held in various banks, were linked to Omoile Anita Joy, Deep Blue Energy Service Limited, Exactquote Bureau De Change Ltd, Lipam Investment Services Limited, Tatler Services Limited, Rosajul Global Resources Ltd, and TIL Communication Nigeria Ltd.

Emefiele’s properties forfeited to the federal government include;
1) 94 Units of 11 Storey building under Construction at 2, Otunba Elegushi 2nd Avenue (Formerly Club) Road, iKoyi, Lagos;
2) AM Plaza, 11 Story Office Space, Situate on 1E, Otunba Adedoyin Crescent, Lekki Peninsula Scheme 1, Lagos;
3) Imore Industrial Park 1, Esa Street, Imoore Land purchased with (Deep Bive Industrial Town, Oriade LCDA, Amuwo Odofin LGA, Lagos;
4) Mitrewood and Tatler Warehouse (Furniture Plant at Bogije) near Elemoro Lagos, Owolomi Village, Ibeju-Lekki LGA, Lagos
5) 2 properties purchased from Chevron Nigeria, Closed PFA Fund, Block B.Lot.Twin Completed Property Lakes Estate. Lekki, Lagos.
6) One plot measuring 1,038.069 sqm, at Lekki Foreshore Estate Scheme, Block A, Plot 4, Foreshore Estate, Eti-Osa, LGA;
7) Estate located at 100, Cottonwood Coppel Texas Drive, Coppel, Texas, Owned by Lipam investment Services;
8] a Land at 1, Bunmi Owulude Street, (Maruwa), Lekki Phase 1, Lagos and a Property Situate on 8, Bayo Kuku Road, lkoyi Lagos.

The EFCC had sought an interim forfeiture of the monies and properties under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, Section 44(2)(b) of the Constitution, and the court’s inherent jurisdiction.

Specifically, the anti-graft agency requested “an interim order forfeiting to the Federal Government of Nigeria the funds held in the accounts listed in Schedule ‘A,’ which are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.”

“An Interim order forfeiting to the Federal Government of Nigeria Properties provided in 2nd Schedule ‘B’ which are proceeds of unlawful activities.

“An Order directing the publication In any National Newspaper, the interim order under reliefs 1-2 above, for anyone who Is interested in the properties and funds sought to be forfeited to appear before this Honourable Court to show cause within 14 days why the final order of forfeiture of the said properties and funds should not be made in favour of the Federal Government of Nigeria.”

In granting the ex-parte motion, Justice Bogoro after he had taken submission of the EFCC’s counsel held; “I have listened to the submission of the applicant’s counsel and also perused the motion just moved, together with the affidavit in support.”

The case was, however, adjourned to July 2, 2024, for the motion for final forfeiture.

The 210,000-barrel-per-day Port-Harcourt refinery may finally commence operations by the end of July after several postponements.

The new date was disclosed on Monday by the National Public Relations Officer, Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Ukadike Chinedu.

He stated that the development would stimulate economic activities, reduce the price of petroleum products and ensure adequate supply.

Last year in December, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, announced the mechanical completion and flare start-off of the biggest crude refinery in Port Harcourt.

The refineries comprise two units, with the old plant having a refined capacity of 60,000 barrels per day and the new plant has 150,000 BPD.

The refinery shut down in March 2019 for the first phase of repair works after the government secured the service of a technical adviser of Itay’s Maire Tecnimont to handle the reviews of the refinery complex, with oil major Eni appointed technical adviser.

On March 15, 2024, it was reported that the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, stated that the Port Harcourt refinery would commence operations in about two weeks.

The NNPC boss disclosed this during a press briefing after he appeared before the Senate Ad hoc committee investigating the various turnaround maintenance projects of the country’s refineries.

He said, “We did a mechanical completion of the refinery that was what we said in December. We now have crude oil already stocked in the refinery. We are doing regulatory compliance tests that must happen in every refinery before you start it, and I assure you that this Port Harcourt refinery will start in two weeks.”

However, the machinery had yet to begin operations two months after he made the promise.

In an exclusive interview on Monday, the IPMAN official stated that the work done represented a complete turnaround, not just rehabilitation, emphasising that every effort would be made to meet the July deadline.

Ukadike said, “Yes when we visited the place, the MD told us that the refinery was almost ready and by the end of July, they would start producing. It has been turned into a new one they changed all the armoured cable to brand new and everything there is almost like a brand-new refinery.

“The turnaround on maintenance is very massive and the job is being done day and night. All hands are on deck to make sure that they meet that target. By ending of July the refinery should be ready.”

When reminded of several promises by the government to kick start the project, Ukadike replied, “Yes, there have been delays but they didn’t tell us any reason for the delay of the last deadline given in April.

“They are not facing any challenges at all; I can say the refinery is 99 per cent ready.

“What we want is competition. I am very sure that with the two refineries, the price of petrol will be reduced. Dangote is coming soon and the Port Harcourt refinery is almost ready too and that is very good. We need that competition for the benefit of the nation.”

The new timeline coincides with a proposal by the Dangote Refinery to commence petrol production by ending of next month (June).

The Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, while speaking at the Africa CEO forum annual summit in Kigali, assured Nigerians that following the laid-down plans of the Dangote Refinery, Nigeria would no longer need to import petrol starting next month.

According to him, the refinery can meet West Africa’s petrol and diesel needs, as well as the continent’s aviation fuel demand.

With an average monthly consumption of 1 billion litres, Nigeria currently spends approximately N520bn on the importation of PMS every month.

This means the government may cut approximately N6.2tn yearly import bill.

Commenting, the NNPCL Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Femi Soneye, said regulatory approvals from international bodies were the only impediment stalling the operational commencement of the refinery.

Soneye in an exclusive interview with our correspondent on Monday reiterated that mechanical completion had been achieved, and all pipes were operating flawlessly, transporting crude oil supplied by Shell.

He said, “We have said that the mechanical completion has been done and every other thing is done. There is crude oil and all the pipes are working; we are only waiting for regulatory approvals. Like I said, some of our materials and the things we use have to do with nuclear and we need the nuclear authorities to give us approval to use all those things at the site.

“And some of these approvals come from bodies outside of Nigeria. Until they give us those approvals, we can’t begin operations. We are ready to go but if something happens without it, which would be another issue. Everything has been completed in terms of our work, and once we get those approvals, it will start operations.”

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi has said that improved salaries and allowances for judges and other judicial officers was a step towards judicial independence in the country.

Fagbemi stated this on Monday in Abuja in his address at a public hearing on “A Bill for an Act to Prescribe the Salaries and Allowances and Fringe Benefits of Judicial Office Holders in Nigeria and Related Matters Bill 2024,” organised by the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria noted that the upward review of judges and other judicial officers’ salaries has become imperative given the inflationary trends being experienced in the country in the past few years.

He said, “This bill will birth an appropriate and commensurate remuneration that will ensure judicial independence and integrity.

“Sometime in July 2023, the National Judicial Council forwarded a Proposed Review of Consolidated Salaries and Allowances for Judicial Officers for consideration by the President. The NJC proposal was the revision of the remuneration package earlier proposed by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission which was not consummated before the end of the previous administration.”

Ahead of the formal opening of the Students’ Loan portal this Friday, the Nigeria Education Loan Fund has said it will commence with students in federal tertiary institutions.

This comes as the Fund has said only students whose institutions have uploaded their data on its dashboard would be eligible to apply.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Fund, Akintinde Sawyerr, stated this on Monday at a Pre-Application Sensitisation Press Conference in Abuja.

He said 1.2 million students from federal government-owned universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and technical colleges would benefit from the first phase of the scheme.

While calling on students in federal tertiary institutions to visit the website, www.nelf.gov.ng to apply from May 24, the Managing Director said students in state universities and vocation skills centres would apply at a later date.

He said the requirements to apply include the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board admission letter, National Identity Number, Bank Verification Number, and a completed application form from its website.

“The loan application process has been streamlined to ensure easy access for all eligible students in federal tertiary institutions.

“Applicants can access online support to assist with any questions or concerns during the application process.

“We believe that education is a vital investment for the future. We envisage that the student loan initiative of Mr. President is a testament to this commitment,” he said.

One of the key features of the programme, he stressed, is the absence of physical contact between the loan applicant and NELFUND.

According to him, the portal provides a user-friendly interface for students to submit their loan applications conveniently.

He encouraged students in federal tertiary institutions to take advantage of this opportunity to secure the required financial assistance for their education, even as he urged applicants to submit their applications as soon as possible to ensure timely processing.

He revealed that in addition to the interest-free loan, applicants will also receive monthly stipends for upkeep. He, however, did not state the amount, saying: “That figure will be capped.

We will look very closely at each application and make a decision based on several factors as to what fees will be paid to them.

“The fees for the institution are going to be paid not to the students but to the institution.

And that will be paid at the maximum of that fee per session. We will only pay for a session at a time. Because people drop out of institutions, they change institutions.”

The NELFUND boss also pointed out that institutions have vital roles to play in providing the Fund with data on fees payable by students at the institution, departmental, faculty and other levels.

Sawyerr said the agency is also working with security agencies to ensure that people do not take advantage and defraud the process.

President Bola Tinubu had last month signed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024, into law, with a promise that no student would be denied the opportunity to build his future regardless of background.

The Act empowers the Nigeria Education Loan Fund to provide loans to qualified Nigerian students for tuition, fees, charges and upkeep during their studies in approved public tertiary institutions and vocational and skills acquisition establishments in the country.

The new law which repeals the Student Loan Act, 2023, removes the family income threshold so Nigerian students can apply for these loans and accept responsibility for repayment according to the Fund’s guidelines.

The Nasarawa State Police Command has arrested one Gabriel David, a 400-level student at the State University, Keffi, for allegedly raping a 100-level student of the same institution.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ramhan Nansel, made this known while speaking with our correspondent in Lafia on Saturday.

Nansel said the suspect was arrested by police operatives attached to the Agwan Lambu Division close to the university in the Keffi Local Government Area of the state for allegedly raping the 100 level student on May 9, 2024.

He said, “Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect travelled to the village where he and the victim come from. So the victim’s parents gave the suspect some foodstuff to give to the victim since they are schooling in the same school.

“When he brought the food items, he l called the victim to come over to his place of residence to collect the foodstuff sent by her parents.

“On her arrival, he lured the victim into his room and had unlawful carnal knowledge of the victim.”

Nansel further explained that upon his arrest, the suspect was immediately transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Lafia, where he confessed to committing the crime.

“He will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigation into the matter,” he added.

The Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, says contrary to what many people have been saying, his administration has achieved a lot silently without blowing trumpet.
Fubara said this on Friday during the inauguration of Emohua/Kalabari Tema Junction Road in Rivers State.

Explaining details of the project, the governor said it is “for those who said that we have not been doing anything to know that we have been doing a lot silently, not with noise or media exaggeration.

“Let me assure our people, as I have said before, this government is a government this is focused, this government is a government that wants the forgotten people to feel the impact of governance.”

According to him, the total budget for the project is N21.2 billion of which the previous administration committed N6 billion while the current administration completed the balance of N15.2 billion.

He said that 70 per cent of the job was done by his administration and therefore he can boldly say that the project was delivered by his administration.

The governor said that the success of the administration should not be ascribed to another administration, as government is a continuous process.

Fubara assured the people of Rivers that the government would continue to carry out its function without entertaining sycophants.

The governor also announced that he has directed the permanent secretary in the ministry of works to immediately commence the process of extending the road project from Tema Junction to Abonnema, eliciting a rousing joyful noise from the crowd.

Former governor of Bayelsa State, SeriakeDickson, was a special guest of honour at the road inauguration which had in attendance other political leaders in the state as well as traditional rulers.

Justice Nyesom-Wike Suzzette, wife of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyseom Wike, has been recommended for promotion to the Court of Appeal.

Suzzette, a former First Lady in Rivers State, features among 21 others recommended for going up the judicial ladder to the Court of Appeal.

She is a Justice at the Rivers State High Court.

Also, Ariwoola Oluwakemi Victoria, the daughter-in-law to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola, was among the list of 12 judges recommended for elevation to the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Suzzette and Victoria are among the 86 judges listed for recommendation by the Interview Committee on Appointment of Judicial Officers of all Superior Courts of Record in Nigeria, under the National Judicial Council, during its 105th plenary meeting held between May 15 and 16, 2024; a statement from the council noted.

However, “all recommended candidates are expected to be sworn in after the approval of the NJC recommendations to the President and their respective State Governors,” said, the council’s Director of Information, Soji Oye, in a statement dated May 16, 2024, and sighted by PUNCH Online on Friday, May 17, 2024.

The NJC had resolved to issue warning letters to Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court; Justice G. B. Brikins-Okolosi of the Delta State High Court and Justice Amina Shehu of the Yobe State High Court, after the trio was found guilty of different degrees of misconduct.

Ekwo and Brikins-Okolosi were barred from elevation to a higher Bench for two years and three years, respectively.

As part of the measures to tackle incessant power outages in the country, President Bola Tinubu has approved the gradual payments of power sector debts estimated at over N3.3tn.

Consequently, about N1.3tn owed power generating companies by the Federal Government will be paid via cash injections and promissory notes, while about $1.3bn (N1.994tn using the current official closing rate) owed to gas companies will be paid via cash and future royalties.

Already, the Federal Government has commenced payment of the cash part of the N1.3tn debt owed Gencos and concluded plans to settle the second part via promissory notes within a timeframe ranging from two to five years.

The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, disclosed this at the 8th Africa Energy Marketplace held on Thursday in Abuja.

The event was themed, “Towards Nigeria ‘s Sustainable Energy Future: Policy, Regulation and Investment – A Policy Dialogue for the National Integrated Electricity Policy and Strategic Implementation Plan.”

The government is subsidising electricity by shouldering the gas payment component for power generation.

But over the years this payment has not been steady, leading to humongous gas debts as well as indebtedness to power generation companies.

Disclosing the solution to the issue, Adelabu stated that Tinubu had directed the Minister of Finance to make immediate payment of N130bn from the Gas Stabilisation Fund, being part of the N1.3tn owed Gencos. The rest will be spread over some time.

The power minister further explained that the payment of $1.3bn legacy debts owed gas producers would be sourced from future royalties and income streams in the gas sub-sector, a solution deemed satisfactory by the gas-supplying companies.

He said, “It is true that I mentioned that Mr President has approved the submission of the Hon. Minister of State Petroleum (Gas) to defray the outstanding debts owed to the gas supplying companies to the power sector operators.

“The payments will be in parts. We have the legacy debt and we have the current debt. For the current debt, approval has been given for a cash payment of about N130bn from the Gas Stabilisation Fund, which the Federal Ministry of Finance will pay, if not already paid.

“The payment for the legacy debts is going to be made from future royalties and streams of income in the gas sub-sector which is quite satisfactory to the gas supply companies. The last amount that was being quoted was $1.3bn, which we believe will go a long way to encourage these gas companies to enter into firm supplying contracts with the power generating companies.”

He further explained, “The situation we are in now is on a best endeavour model, which means there is no firm contract between the gas companies and the majority of the power generating companies. The day they can supply gas, they will, the day they cannot supply gas, there is no penalty. But once there is a firm contract they will be under contractual obligations to supply gas to these power-generating companies so that we can have a consistent power generation.

“So, that is the situation and the model we want to adopt for the gas segment of the power sector value chain.”

Continuing, the minister voiced concerns about the lack of policy coordination in the power sector, assuring the sector however that the current administration was committed to eliminating all bottlenecks in the industry.

Adelabu also justified the Band A tariff hike, saying that only 15 per cent of Nigerians were affected.

He disclosed that without proper billing, the power reform agenda of the present administration might not be achieved.

The minister also revealed that with the generation of 700MW from the Zungeru hydroelectric power plant, the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry has recorded a new feat of 5,000MW.

Regarding the power-generating companies, he noted that the president had approved cash injections and promissory notes, providing significant encouragement to the companies and incentivising them to further invest in generation capacity.

The minister explained, “For the power generating companies, the debt is put at N1.3tn. I can also tell you that we have the consent of Mr. President to pay on the condition of settling the reconciliation of these debts between the government and the power-generating companies.

“And this, we have successfully done, and it is being signed off by both parties now. The majority have signed off, and we are engaging others to ensure we have a 100 per cent sign-off from the power-generating companies. And the modalities for paying this will be in two ways. Of course, there will be a cash injection, immediate cash injection.”

He added, “Government is not buoyant enough to pay down N1.3tn once and for all in terms of cash. But there is a fraction of it that will be paid in cash while the remaining fraction will be settled through a guaranteed debt instrument, preferably a promissory note. That is more like a comfort to these companies that in the next two, three to five years, the government is ready to defray this debt finally. This will go a long way to encourage the power generating companies to incentivise them to even invest more in generation so that you can know our generating output from the level it is now to a higher level because as I mentioned, there is an opportunity for demand locally and across the border. And that is a source of foreign exchange earnings for the country.”

Adelabu, who said the supply of electricity had increased due to the implementation of the Electricity Act 2023 and the Band A tariff, added that the Discos were requesting more load for onward distribution to their customers.

The power minister had stated in February that Nigeria must begin to move towards a cost-effective tariff model, as he revealed that the country was indebted to the tune of N1.3tn to electricity generating companies, while the debt to gas companies was $1.3bn at the time.

On March 1, 2024, The PUNCH reported that the Federal Government had paid $120m out of the $1.3bn indebtedness to gas companies for the supply of gas to run gas-fired power plants across the country.

Nigeria is currently suffering from low power supply because gas supply has been reduced after some operators stopped supplying the commodity to power-generating companies due to the indebtedness of the Gencos to gas-producing firms.

Adelabu recently revealed that the crash in power generation and attendant poor supply in January was because gas suppliers stopped supplying gas for the generation of electricity due to the indebtedness of the sector to gas producers.

Nigeria gets more than 70 per cent of its electricity from thermal power plants that run on gas. The remaining amount of electricity comes from hydropower-generating plants.

Speaking at the 7th Nigeria International Energy Summit in Abuja in March, the Director, Decade of Gas Secretariat, Ed Ubong, expressed excitement that the Federal Government had cleared $120m out of the $1.3bn gas debts.

The Decade of Gas Secretariat is under the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources (Gas). The Federal Government is subsidising electricity by paying for the gas used in generating power, as Nigerian power users are currently not paying the exact amount for electricity.

“As of last year, that (gas debts) was about $1.3bn, depending on how you add up the numbers. But I am pleased that between October and the end of January, the government has paid over $120m to offset some of that money,” Ubong stated.

Meanwhile, the African Development Bank is set to seek board approval for a $1bn policy-based operation with a significant energy component to support the reforms initiated by the new Electricity Act, of 2023. This funding aims to actualise the outcomes expected from the NIEP-SIP and attract sustainable investments.

The Vice President, Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth Complex at the AfDB, Dr. Kevin K. Kariuki, disclosed this at the African Energy Market Place held in Abuja on Thursday.

The AEMP special edition focuses on the “National Integrated Electricity Policy and Strategic Implementation Plan,” reflecting the Federal Government of Nigeria’s ongoing reforms to enhance the power sector’s effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity.

Kariuki emphasised the alignment of the event with the bank’s “Light Up and Power Africa” initiative, which is part of its High 5 development strategy for the continent.

With Nigeria holding the highest electricity access deficit globally, the success of the reforms, including tariff adjustments and regulatory improvements, is crucial.

Kariuki highlighted the need to utilise over 13,000,000MW of installed capacity, improve transmission, reduce supply interruptions, and achieve financial viability across the power sector.


The VP noted that the success of the Electricity Act would hinge on its ability to rapidly provide quality electricity access to all Nigerians, thereby addressing the country’s status as having the world’s highest electricity access deficit.

“With 90m Nigerians lacking electricity, the reforms are poised to utilize over 13 Gigawatt of installed capacity, improve transmission, reduce supply interruptions, and enhance the financial viability of the power sector.

“No economy can grow in the dark,” the VP stated, emphasising the critical role of reliable power in economic growth, industrialisation, and competitiveness.

The AfDB’s investments include the $256.2m Nigeria Transmission Expansion Project and the $200m Nigeria Electrification Project, which will construct transmission lines, substations, and mini-grids.

Furthermore, the AfDB is financing a study to explore the deployment of Battery Energy Storage Systems to stabilise the grid and promote renewable energy.

Nigeria’s participation in the $20bn Desert to Power initiative to generate 10,000MW of solar power in the Sahel region, was also mentioned as a key step toward increasing renewable energy in the country.

The AfDB boss expressed confidence that the AfDB’s multi-faceted approach, including policy support, infrastructure financing, and capacity building, would ensure a viable and sustainable power sector in Nigeria.

He called for a collaborative spirit among governments, the private sector, and partners to craft policy recommendations that would lead Nigeria to universal access by 2030 and zero carbon emissions by 2060.

Obi, Nnaji speak

Meanwhile, a former Minister of Power, Barth Nnaji, and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, have advised the Federal Government to declare an emergency in the power sector.

The duo spoke at the inaugural Dele Momodu Leadership Lecture held Thursday at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Lagos.

Nnaji also called a super grid to end the incessant collapse of the national power grid.

Nnaji, who was the Guest Speaker at the event, said the current national grid kept collapsing because it was not well structured.

The PUNCH recalls that the national grid collapsed more than two times in the first quarter of 2024, plunging Nigerians into darkness.

Touching on the theme, ‘Politics of Energy: The Way Forward’, Nnaji stated that the power ministry under his watch had years ago sought the approval of the Federal Executive Council to build what he called a super grid, a 765KV network that would rise above the existing 330 KV.

According to him, the 765KV is large enough to take power from high-capacity plants like the Manbilla Power Plant.

He revealed that the country has yet to have a transmission network that could wheel power from Manbilla when completed.

Nnaji explained, “Another critical area in Nigeria’s power sector is the transmission network. I believe that having the national grid the way we have it still going to be a problem. First, it is not robust, and it is not well structured. My advocacy is for multiple grids, autonomous but connected to the national grid. So that the national grid still operates, and will be more robust. It will begin to cure the regular incident of the failure of the national grid.

“When I was in government, we asked the Federal Executive Council to approve what we called a super grid, a 765KV network that will kind of rise above the existing 330KV network. Right now, Nigeria has 330KV and 132KV, but none of them is robust. But the 765KV network will be very important to take power from power plants such as the Manbilla that has been on for a while. Over 10,000 megawatts of power will come from Manbilla. So, the question is, which transmission infrastructure will take that power suppose that we finish it now? We need a super grid to take that power so that Nigeria can take power from various plants and transmit it to wherever we want it.”

The Chairman of Geometric Power commended Adelabu for reviving the super grid project.

“I am happy that the current Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu is reviving this super grid, and I think we have to spot him on that because it is a very important project. Our conception was that it would be done in sections by various companies so that it would not be one of these white elephant projects,” he said.

Nnaji expressed concern that still suffers gas shortages in the power sector despite its abundant natural gas reserves.

He wondered why the nation keeps exporting gas that is not yet enough for domestic use, calling for a state of emergency in the gas sector.

“A state of emergency needs to be declared in the gas sector. The declaration will save the power sector and allow the government and other stakeholders to address fundamental issues in the gas sector in a robust manner. The issue will include how to strike a healthy balance between producing gas for export and gas for domestic consumption,” he noted.

The former minister regretted that the Federal Government has not executed a power project since almost nine years ago, adding that some ongoing ones were abandoned by successive administrations.

“The development of the power sector has also been stalled for years because of the suspension of what we developed that time called partial risk guarantee to support power purchase agreement. A government that is buying power has to issue a power purchase agreement to the producer of power, and the agreement must be guaranteed.

“We were able to do this but only one project was completed, that is the Azura-Edo project, a 461MW power plant; and then it was stopped nine years ago. The outcome is that for this period, Nigeria has not commissioned a government-sponsored power project. And the former President of Ghana said you need to be adding over 12 per cent of energy to your country yearly. If you want to grow the economy, that’s what you need. If in nine years, we have not added anything, you can imagine. I want to tell you that because of that partial risk guarantee, four or five major projects had been fully developed but stopped. I encourage the government to reawaken those projects. They are very critical,” Nnaji added.

Earlier in his speech, former Ghanaian President, John Mahama, disclosed that Ghana had been able to power generation capacity to 5454MW, saying the country had been exporting electricity to other neighbouring countries in the West of Africa like Togo, Benin Republic and others.

Mahama remarked that Nigeria could achieve energy security for itself and other African countries, adding that a nation must plan because the energy demand will keep rising by 10 per cent yearly.

On energy transition, Mahama urged African leaders to decide their modalities with Nigeria showing leadership.

Speaking, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, posited, “When the former president of Ghana said they are generating and distributing 5,000MW, I was wondering; Ghana with one-seventh of our population generates and distributes more than us. We must declare an emergency in power. The way to go is very simple, we need embedded power, with gas supply. We have gas all over the place. Yes, we need the dollars, but I think making Nigeria more productive and pulling our people out of poverty, especially in the north, will give us far more value and dollars than focusing on exports. I think it is time to declare an emergency. We should encourage an embedded power”.

The organiser of the lecture and publisher of Ovation Magazine, Dele Momodu, maintained that Nigerians pay for electricity without getting the same being delivered to their homes.

In his welcome address, the veteran journalist wondered why the electricity challenges in Nigeria have defied all solutions.

“Why can’t we stop this endless energy crisis in Nigeria? We pay for electricity, but it can’t be delivered. The more we pay, the less we get,” he said.

Momodu lamented that the humongous money invested in the power sector over the years has not yielded any result.

This, he stated, informed his decision to organise the public lecture in commemoration of his 64th birthday.

Others at the lecture were Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State; former Governor Rabiu Kwankwanso of Kano State; former Governor Donald Duke of Cross River; the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi and others.

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that unbeknownst to young cryptocurrency traders in Nigeria, terrorists are using their trade to fund terrorism in the country.

The EFCC boss said some of the people who receive money to trade in cryptocurrencies do not know that their financiers are sponsors of terrorism.

He added that some of the 1,146 bank accounts recently frozen by the anti-graft agency were conduits for terrorism funding.

Olukoyede revealed the development during an event organized by some Civil Society Organizations in Abuja.

The programme, titled, “Multi-stakeholders’ national dialogue on preventing terrorism financing and violent extremism,” was held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotels, Abuja on Wednesday.

Olukoyede revealed, “Some of you are aware of our activities in the area of investigating virtual currency trading and the likes of cryptocurrencies.

“They are potential platforms to fund terrorism. A lot of us don’t understand that. Some of our discoveries during the investigation of some of these platforms were mind-boggling.

“We thought Binance was a major one. Yes, it was. We are prosecuting them. But there are other platforms we have discovered.

“They used some of these young men. Some of them don’t know that the people who gave them money to trade are people who fund terrorism.”

The EFCC boss further said there is a need to adopt technology in tracking money used to fund terrorism in the country.

Olukoyede narrated how he was informed by a friend in the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, that dollar bills across the world can be tracked with technology.

“It is important for us to adopt the use of technology,” he said.

“I was comparing notes with an assistant director in the FBI — a friend of mine. He said: ‘My brother, from our systems in the US, we can track every printed dollar anywhere in the world’,” he added.

The EFCC boss added that Nigeria must get to that stage where technology can be deployed to track naira notes used for terrorism funding.

The Senate has asked President Bola Tinubu to kick-start advocacy for full autonomy of local governments in the country to curb insecurity, rural-urban migration, decaying infrastructure, and widespread unemployment.

The upper chamber also asked the President to convene a national dialogue involving governors, state legislators, local government officials, civil society organizations, and community leaders to discuss the road map towards achieving full local government autonomy.

Other lawmakers, who have described the local government as the most abused system, have equally called for an amendment of the 1999 constitution to catalyze such independence.

The senate minority leader, Senator Abba Moro, recalled that over 17 states are currently operating a caretaker committee in the local government, creating an impasse in the administration of the LG.

He insisted that no effort should be spared in investigating the abuse of the system.

Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, who represents Anambra South, revealed that Anambra State has not conducted local government elections in the last 18 years.

He asserted that the non-implementation of the 1999 framework has become a major impediment to the independence of the local government system.

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate has increased to 33.69 per cent in April 2024 up from 33.20 per cent recorded in March 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics has said.

This represents a month-over-month increase of 0.49 per cent points in the headline inflation rate, according to the Consumer Price Index report, the NBS stated in a report on Wednesday.

Comparing year-on-year data, the inflation rate in April 2024 was 11.47 percentage points higher than in April 2023, where it stood at 22.22 per cent. This indicates that the headline inflation rate has risen significantly over the past year.

Additionally, on a month-to-month basis, the inflation rate for April 2024 was 2.29 per cent, which is 0.73 per cent lower than the 3.02 per cent recorded in March 2024. This suggests that the rate at which prices increased in April 2024 was slower than the rate in March 2024.

So This Happened (247) reviews Wofai Fada's engagement, a fake medical doctor, others0.00 / 0.00

The report read, ” In April 2024, the headline inflation rate increased to 33.69% relative to the March 2024 headline inflation rate which was 33.20 per cent. Looking at the movement, the April 2024 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.49% points when compared to the March 2024 headline inflation rate.

“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.47 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in April 2023, which was 22.22 per cent. This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in April 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., April 2023).

“Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in April 2024 was 2.29 per cent, which was 0.73 per cent lower than the rate recorded in March 2024 (3.02 per cent). This means that in April 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is less than the rate of increase in the average price level in March 2024.”

Food inflation however reduced by 1.11 per cent caused by a fall in the rate of increase in the average prices of basic food commodities.

“On a month-on-month basis, the Food inflation rate in April 2024 was 2.50% which shows a 1.11 per cent decrease compared to the rate recorded in March 2024 (3.62 per cent). The fall in Food inflation on a Month-on-Month basis was caused by a fall in the rate of increase in the average prices.”

This year’s edition of the annual traditional ‘Oro’ festival, usually held in Ikorodu, Lagos State, has been scheduled for May 16, 2024, daytime and nighttime.

This was disclosed in a letter issued by the Ayangburen Palace and signed by the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Kabiru Shotobi; a copy of which was sighted by PUNCH Online on Sunday.

The letter, dated April 16, 2024, was addressed to the Medical Director of the Ikorodu General Hospital.

The letter, titled ‘Notification of Magbo (Oro) Festival 2024,’ read, “This is to notify you of the above festival, which is slated for Thursday, May 16, 2024.

“According to tradition, all females are advised to remain in their respective homes and avoid moving around the town during the Oro festival.

“Please note that your organisation is affected by falling within the Oro traditional jurisdictions. You are hereby advised to adhere to the traditions of the town.”

The Oro festival, among others, is a prominent festival in the Yoruba tradition.

It’s celebrated by male descendants and usually characterised by a daytime procession and high-pitched sounds in some areas or across the community as the case may be.

It’s believed that females mustn’t be present during the ritual rites of the festival.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotosho; and the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, did not take their calls when our correspondent called to get their reaction on Sunday.

They have also not responded to the text messages sent to them.

Efforts made to get more clarification on the matter from the Ikorodu Palace also did not yield positive results as the calls made were unanswered.

Namitra Bwala, the student at the centre of a recently viral video depicting her being bullied by fellow students, on Monday, has initiated legal proceedings against Lead British International School, Gwarimpa, Abuja.

On April 22, an X user, #mooyeeeeeee, posted videos of a female student of Lead British International School, who was seen being bullied by her classmates.

In one of the videos, the victim was seen being slapped repeatedly by another female student while asking “Who broke my heart?”

In another video, the victim was seen sitting next to a male classmate who was heard saying “I spoilt her relationship”.

However, the lawsuit, filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory under case number FCT/HC/CV/2341/24: MISS NAMTIRA BWALA v LEAD BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL LTD, seeks damages from the educational institution for its alleged failure to provide a safe and conducive learning environment for the plaintiff.

According to a public statement on Monday issued by Marvin Omorogbe., the founding partner of the law firm representing Bwala, the legal action is aimed at holding the school accountable for its negligent conduct regarding the highly publicized incident.

The lawsuit further requested, “the Defendant to issue a public apology to the Clamant in two national daily newspapers.

“An order directing the Defendant to pay the Claimant the sum of N500,000,000.00 (Five Hundred Million Naira) as general damages for the Defendant’s breach of the duty of care it owes to the Claimant, and its negligent conduct in failing to prevent the assault, torment, emotional distress, pain, trauma and breach of privacy suffered by the Claimant while under the Defendant’s custody and supervision.”

The law firm emphasised its client’s hopes that the lawsuit would catalyse meaningful changes and prompt the implementation of adequate measures to prevent similar occurrences within the school premises.

“Our client hopes that this lawsuit will bring about drastic changes and adequate measures to prevent a reoccurrence of similar issues in the school,” the statement added.

The viral video, which sparked widespread outrage and condemnation, depicted Ms Bwala being subjected to bullying by her peers, raising concerns about the school’s ability to ensure the safety and well-being of its students.

The National Assembly and the 36 state assemblies of the federation as well as their agencies will spend about N724bn this year, an analysis of their 2024 budgets by The PUNCH has shown.

Further findings also showed that the salaries and allowances for federal and state lawmakers would cost the country about N50bn this year.

This means that the federal and state governments earmarked N673.94bn for the national and state assemblies as well as their related agencies in the 2024 budget.

The salaries and allowances are based on data collated from a document obtained from the website of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission.

However, the overall allowances exceed the reported figure due to undisclosed amounts for several of the lawmakers.


An analysis shows that 109 members of the senate will get N8.67bn in salaries and allowances while 360 members in the green chamber will get N24.43bn in salaries and allowances.

A breakdown shows that the annual basic salary of the President of the Senate is N2.48m each year (about N9.92m in four years) while that of the Deputy President is N2.31m yearly (about N9.24m in four years).

Out of 19 allowances assigned to the Senate President and his deputy, only five allowances were assigned a specific figure.

The disclosed allowances include constituency allowance (250 per cent of the basic annual salary), duty tour allowance (N50,000 per night), Estacode ($1,300 per night), Recess (10 per cent of the basic annual salary) and severance gratuity (300 per cent of the basic annual salary).

The allowances of the Senate President will gulp about N33.29m, which includes a N6.21m annual constituency allowance, N248,424.25 annual recess allowance, and N7.45m for severance gratuity, which is paid at the end of the tenure.

The allowances of the Deputy Senate President are expected to cost the nation about N30.94m, which includes N5.77m annual constituency allowance, N230,916.70 annual recess allowance, and N6.93m for severance gratuity.

Other senators get N2.03m as basic annual salary (a total of N8.12m in four years) and a total allowance of N72,137,440 for each of them.

The salaries of the 107 senators will cost N868.3m, while their allowances will cost N7.72bn.

In the section for the salaries and allowances of other senators, out of the 20 allowances mentioned, only 15 were disclosed.

Similarly, the Speaker of the House gets an annual salary of N2.48m (about N9.92m in four years), while the deputy gets N2.29m (about N9.16m in four years).

The allowances of the Speaker are about N18.33m which includes N2.48m annually for constituency allowance, N247,711 annual recess allowance, and N7.43m severance gratuity.

The allowance of the deputy speaker was pegged at about N17.16m and this includes annual N2.29m for constituency allowance, N288,703 for recess, and N6.86m for severance gratuity.

Other members of the House of Representatives get N1.99m each as basic annual salary (a total of N7.94m in four years), while each got N58.76m as allowance.

The salaries of the 358 House of Representatives members will cost N2.84bn while their allowances are estimated at N21.04bn.

Also, the Speaker of a state assembly will be paid N1.64m (N6.56m in four years) as an annual basic salary while the deputy speaker gets N1.45m (N5.8m in four years).

In total, the 36 speakers will get about N59.04m as annual basic salary or N236.16m in four years while the 36 deputies will get about N52.1m as annual basic salary or N208.40m in four years.

The allowances of the speaker will gulp about N5.58m (N22.30m in four years) which includes N409,968 annual constituency allowance, N163,987.50 annual leave allowance, and N3.28m severance gratuity.

The deputy speaker will be paid about N4.92m (N19.67m in four years), and this includes N361,495 constituency allowance, N144,598 for annual leave, and N2.89m severance gratuity.

In total, the basic allowances for the 36 speakers and their deputies will cost the nation N1.51bn.

There are 784 members in the 36 state Houses of Assembly each of whom is entitled to N1.34m annual salary or N5.34m in four years and an allowance of N12.97m.

In total, the 784 members cost their states about N4.19bn in salary and N10.17bn in allowance.

Meanwhile, checks by The PUNCH indicated that the government approved a total sum of N294.7bn for the National Assembly, its affiliate bodies and infrastructure construction.

Details of the National Assembly’s 2024 budget showed that the assembly office got N36.73bn for its activities. The Senate got an envelope funding of N49.14bn while the Representatives got N78.63bn.

The political arm of the National Assembly has the Senate and the House of Representatives with 109 and 360 members, respectively, while the administrative/bureaucratic arm has the National Assembly Management headed by the Clerk of the National Assembly and the National Assembly Service Commission.

The federal parliament has affiliate bodies including the National Assembly Service Commission which got funding of N12.33bn, the National Assembly Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies (the academic arm) got N9.1bn while the headquarters got N4.5bn.

Further checks showed that the legislative aides were given N20.34bn, the Public Account Committee of the Senate got N130m while N150m went to that of the green chamber.

Office of the retired clerks and permanent secretaries were allotted N1.2bn, the service-wide vote was N15.2bn; general services got N30.81bn, National Assembly Library building got N12.12bn while books procurement for the library got N3bn; Appropriation Committee Department – Senate (N200m); Appropriation Committee Department – House (N200m). The construction of the NASC will also gulp N10bn.

‘State Assembly’s budgets’

The statutory budgets of a state assembly and its agencies surged to N379.28bn in the 2024 budget.

An analysis of each state’s 2024 budget showed that Akwa-Ibom, Kaduna, Delta, Edo, Imo, Lagos, and Ogun governments gave the highest funding to their lawmakers.

This funding includes appropriation for the service commission, civil servants and capital expenditure.

Abia State assembly got N6.43bn, Akwa-Ibom (N5.84bn), Anambra (N7.23bn), Bauchi (5.45bn), Bayelsa (N2.04bn), Benue (N6.18bn), Borno (N8.1bn), Cross-Rivers (N10.82bn), Delta (N14.17bn), Ebonyi (N2.39bn), Edo (N26.17bn), Ekiti (N2.8bn), Enugu (N6.23bn), Gombe (N5.61bn), Imo (N26.85bn), Jigawa (N7.17bn), Kaduna (N17.11bn), Kano (N10.08bn).

Other states including Katsina (N4.83bn), Kebbi (N6.72bn), Kogi (N7.77bn), Kwara (N5.03bn), Lagos (N70.56bn), Nasarawa (N6.03bn), Niger (N4.15bn), Ogun (N14.41bn), Ondo (N11.34bn), Osun(N4.13bn), Oyo (N9.68bn), Plateau (N10.15bn), Rivers (N5.02bn), Sokoto (N10.16bn), Taraba (N9.5bn), Yobe (N3.99bn), and Zamfara (N3.83bn).

Reactions
Meanwhile, some state parliaments have reacted. The Ondo State House of Assembly said the amount earmarked for the budget of the assembly would not be enough to take care of all its expenses in 2024.

A check on the state’s website showed that a sum of N14.9bn was earmarked for the Ondo assembly for this year.

Speaking on the budget, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information and Orientation, Mr Olatunji Oshati, said the sum was not enough, calling for the implementation of the assembly autonomy which has been signed into law by the President.

Oshati said, “The money (budget) is not enough; even though we have been agitating for the release of our constituency allowances to carry out our constituency projects, it has not been granted. We would be happy if the money could be increased to enable the House to function well.

“It would be great if the assembly autonomy law that has been signed could be implemented, it would enable the house to address its financial challenges without any influence of the executive. The house would also function maximally”.

Edo
In Edo, the State House of Assembly was allotted the sum of N13bn in the state’s budget for 2024.

The Speaker of the House, Blessing Agbebaku, had disclosed this early this recently during a function.

However, efforts to get the breakdown of the budget at the weekend proved abortive as a principal officer told the PUNCH that the breakdown could only be obtained from the Ministry of Finance.

Also, the Minority Leader of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Lukman Adeleye, on Sunday, said the budgetary allocation for the legislature was around N12bn.

Adeleye, however, said that the figure was only on paper, as precedence has shown that the actual budget performance has hardly been 30 per cent.

He said, “In this case, the actual performance, I mean the money the assembly will be able to get for a whole year, may not be more than 30 per cent of the entire budget going by the past performance of the budget.

‘’The budgetary provision was designed to take into consideration the implementation of the autonomy of the state houses of assembly as enacted during the tenure of President Mohammadu Buhari.

“The budget is to take care of both the capital and recurrent expenditure like payment of salaries for the civil servants, the salaries for the lawmakers, the constituency projects, running of the assembly, training, oversight functions among other things to aid the effectiveness of the legislature.

“But as I have earlier pointed out, the budgetary allocation is on paper because I don’t know of any governor that has implemented the autonomy law, we are still at the mercy of the executive arm of the government”.

Groups react
Meanwhile, some anti-corruption groups have reacted to the issue.

The Deputy Director of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, Kolawole Oludare, said the NASS lacked transparency and accountability, saying, “The transparency part is letting the people be aware of how much and the process of allocation. The accountability aspect is also for the actions and the procedures of the National Assembly.

“For context, the National Assembly was allocated just under N200bn in the 2024 budget in the appropriation, and they increased it on their own by say, more than 50 per cent in the 2024 appropriation before it was passed into law. So you will see that the NASS is lacking in the transparency and accountability mechanism in the way they handle their appropriation, both recurrent and capital. And perhaps that is why also the state legislature is taking a cue from the NASS”, he stated.

On his part, the Executive Director, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Musa Ibrahim, lamented the “discrimination and exploitation” in the unequal pay between the legislators and officials in the security agencies, describing it as unfair.

“Because the Nigerian government has created unequal pay, some Nigerians that are contributing immensely to the growth and development of this country are being neglected, and are not being given necessary support, especially those who are even giving their lives to save the country and save Nigerians.

“There’s no way you can continue to impoverish public officials, especially serving security officials with this peanut and then you expect them to go and put their lives, to protect you and the rest of the people. I think this is unfair, we cannot continue to do this exploitation and discrimination in pay. We cannot be pampering political appointees and politicians siphoning the public taxpayers’ money when there is not much to see in terms of the contribution they are making,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Chairman, the Centre for Accountability and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, stated that the lawmakers’ bogus pay was insensitive.

“Ordinarily, any emolument that is not recommended by the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission is against the law and anybody that earns such income has committed an offence that is supposed to be criminal in nature. But what we have in Nigeria is that our leaders behave as if they are above the law, and they behave as if they have been elected to enjoy on our behalf.

Basically, what they have done is insensitive, is actually wickedness, and it will get to a time where Nigerians will not be able to bear it anymore, and it will snowball into a conflagration that they will find difficult to douse,” he said.

Internet connectivity was disrupted in several East African nations on Sunday due to faults reported on the East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) and SEACOM cables, Internet monitoring groups said.

NetBlocks, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), stated, “Network data show a disruption to Internet connectivity in and around multiple East African countries.”

It was noted that Tanzania and the French Island of Mayotte were experiencing a high impact on Internet connectivity, while Mozambique and Malawi were seeing a medium impact.

Another Internet firm, Cloudflare, also confirmed on X that connectivity disruptions were ongoing in Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar.

Earlier, Safaricom, Kenya’s biggest telecoms operator, announced that it had activated redundancy measures to minimise service interruption and keep subscribers connected as they await the full restoration of the cable.

The telecom operator, however, said subscribers would experience reduced Internet speeds.

In March, Internet outages were reported in West African countries, including Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso, as well as South Africa.

The outages were attributed to damage to four sub-sea cables off the west coast of Africa, which disrupted connectivity across the continent.

The affected cables included the West Africa Cable System, MainOne, South Atlantic 3, and ACE sea cables, which are critical for telecommunications data.

The Chief Executive Officer of West Indian Ocean Cable Company, Chris Wood, said it could result in collective repair costs of about $8m for the four digital infrastructure companies affected.

The cable firms might need to allocate between $1m and $2m for the complete restoration of a single subsea cable, depending on the severity of the damage incurred, he explained in March.

I was unconscious for seven hours, neglected by Jos hospital over N80,000 deposit – Ex-minister Dalung

A former sports minister, Solomon Dalung, said he was abandoned for about four hours due to “nonpayment of admission deposits” at the Rayfield Medical Services, in Jos, the Plateau State capital.

Dalung, who stated this on Friday via social media, said he became unconscious for “about seven hours” after he managed to pay the admission deposit.

He stated, “I took ill on Wednesday, arrived at the hospital, and shortly became unconscious after doctor’s interviews. Was ferried into the emergency ward but abandoned for over four hrs due to non payments of admission deposits. Regained partial consciousness, later did the transfer of deposit.

“After that, I fell into unconsciousness again for about seven hours. To God be the glory, I have been discharged after three days and recovering. Were it not for partial consciousness to pay the deposits, I would have been Mr. late. Many Nigerians have gone this way. Where is our humanity?”

In a telephone chat with our correspondent late Friday night, Dalung said he asked his aides to take him to the hospital Wednesday evening when he realised he was “gradually transiting into unconsciousness.”

He said that despite passing out and couldn’t make payment through his phone, officials of the hospital insisted on the payment of N80,000 deposit before they could treat him.

He told The PUNCH, “We left the house around 3:30pm and got to the hospital around 4 pm, but the doctor did not come out. Instead, he said I should come in. He didn’t even produce a wheelchair to take me in. So, my orderly and driver held me and took me to the doctor’s office.

“He asked me the normal questions, but then I was already transiting into subconsciousness, so I was not even hearing what he was saying. I managed to tell him, ‘I can’t sit anymore. Can I lie down?’ And he said I should lie down in the bed in his office, and he concluded his questions. I remember him saying, ‘admission’. I shook my head in response.

“Then three of them came. Instead of taking me to the ward, because it’s a hospital I’m familiar with, I was ferried into the emergency ward. Why emergency ward? I couldn’t do anything, so I lied down and just went off. I didn’t know what was happening. They administered an intravenous injection on me. They brought the medication to me, but it was kept in the room.”

He added, “After four hours, I suddenly became very cold, so I became conscious. And I raised my head and saw some drugs in a cartoon but I couldn’t move or do anything, so, I was just there for few moments, then my orderly came in and then the drama of deposit started. Deposit about what? Take me into admission. They said they couldn’t administer the drugs on me, that I had to pay the deposit before I would be taken to the ward, and then they would administer the drugs. Then, my consciousness became erratic again.”

Dalung wondered why he was treated in that manner by the hospital’s management, despite being their client for several years.

“I’m not even new to the hospital. That’s where my medical records are. The last two months I had my medical checkup, it was there. I’ve been admitted there a couple of times. That’s where my wife died. They’ve been treating my family members. That’s why I’m yet to come to terms with how I was treated.

“They discharged me without even telling me what they treated me for, so I insisted I wanted to see the doctor and that I won’t leave until I saw him. I went on to see him, and I asked him, ‘You have discharged me. What did you treat me for?’ He told me it was high malaria concentration and infection. I walked out,” Dalung told The PUNCH.

He added, “I intend to lodge a protest to the management of the hospital because I would have been forgotten if I had not recovered partial consciousness.

“Even at that, when I was transferring the money, it was an experience between two worlds because I could hear them speak, but when I spoke, I spoke to a different world. But they were talking about money, money, money.

“So, I asked my PA what was happening? He was talking, but I wasn’t listening because we were operating on completely different wavelengths. I could only see them, but they were not in my own world. So, he (PA) now stretched his hand to indicate money, money, and money. I asked him how much, and he said they needed N80,000 deposit.

“I heard that, and maybe that was the grace, but it took me some time because I would start punching my phone, and I would go off. After some time, I would come back (regain consciousness). It went on like that until I was finally able to send the money to them, and I went into unconsciousness again. So, they took me to the ward.”

The Jos-born politician added that he couldn’t give account of what happened thereafter until Thursday morning, when he became conscious.

“So, I asked my aide, ‘why was I abandoned?’ He said we had not paid the deposit. Deposit from an unconscious person? I couldn’t walk from the doctor’s office, three of them could not even hold and walk me to the emergency ward, and you were asking for a deposit? Was it that I could not produce the deposit? I would have been forgotten by now. That would have been the end.

“What has been on my mind is that many would have died from similar situations. It constituted a sort of psychological problem that recovery within that environment became an issue, and I had to leave.”

When our correspondent called Rayfield Medical Services on Friday night, an official who identified himself simply as ID, said he was unaware of the issue.

“I don’t have any information on that,” he said.

The facility is a full-service medical clinic and specialist hospital that provides eye treatment services, ENT, family planning, endoscopy, laparoscopy and emergency health care for trauma and other life-threatening conditions.