₦airaland Forum

The Federal Government, led by President Bola Tinubu, allocated a total of N14.77 billion for the repair and maintenance of Nigeria's presidential air fleet over an 11-month period, according to a State House report.

The payments, executed in 11 separate tranches spanning from July 16, 2023, to May 25, 2024, were processed through the 'Presidential Air Fleet Transit Funds' account at the State House headquarters, a report by Sunday PUNCH said.

The allocation coincides with ongoing deliberations in the National Assembly regarding the acquisition of two new aircraft. This move comes after concerns were raised about the functionality of the President's 19-year-old Boeing 737 and other aircraft in the fleet, which have experienced operational challenges.

A report from the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence highlighted the urgent need for additional aircraft, estimating the procurement cost at over $623.4 million or N918.7 billion. The committee stressed the critical importance of maintaining a reliable and safe fleet, crucial for the duties and security of the President and Vice President of Nigeria.

The condition of the presidential air fleet has sparked significant debate, despite substantial past expenditures by previous administrations. The current situation has led President Tinubu to occasionally charter private jets, while Vice President Shettima had to cancel international trips due to technical faults with official aircraft.

According to the Sunday PUNCH report, as of now, the Presidential Air Fleet consists of six main aircraft: a Boeing 737, Gulfstream G550, Gulfstream GV, two Falcon 7Xs, and a Challenger CL605, alongside six helicopters. During the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari, N62.47 billion was expended on the fleet's operation and maintenance. However, pledges to reduce fleet size to cut governance costs were not fully realized, with allocations fluctuating over recent fiscal years.

GovSpend, a civic tech platform, confirmed that President Tinubu's administration authorized the disbursement of N14.77 billion within a year of assuming office. This expenditure excludes costs related to the President's and Vice President's domestic and international travels.

Payments commenced with N1.52 billion approved in July 2023 for maintenance, followed by subsequent disbursements: N3.1 billion in August, N1.26 billion in November 2023, N2.54 billion in March 2024, N6.35 billion in April 2024, and N1.27 billion in May 2024.

Last Wednesday, SaharaReporters reported that President Tinubu departed Lagos for South Africa to attend the inauguration of the country’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa in a private jet belonging to his Lebanese ally, Gilbert Chagoury.

The Nigerian President arrived at Waterkloof Air Force Base on the outskirts of Pretoria, South Africa’s administrative capital, on Tuesday evening.

Video and pictures released by the South African presidential media team showed Tinubu disembarked from a Dassault Falcon 8X aircraft.

However, SaharaReporters gathered that the private jet marked 9H-GRC was owned by Chagoury Group, a conglomerate owned by Gilbert Chagoury, a known business partner of the Nigerian President.

A further check by SaharaReporters on an aircraft registration database revealed that the private jet and others owned by the group are operated by Hyperion Aviation.


The Dassault Falcon 8X was first operated by Aviation SA before it was transferred to Amjet Executive.

The aircraft was also briefly registered under Chagoury Group for some days before its operation was moved to Hyperion Aviation.

Hyperion is an air charter company operating business jets, headquartered in Malta.

SaharaReporters had reported how a Boeing Business Jet (Boeing 737-700) marked 5N-FGT owned by the Nigerian government incurred parking charges running into millions of Naira since it was transported to Germany on March 25 for repairs.

The amount accounted for the aircraft’s parking charges for over 80 days, at the rate of €5,000 (N8million) at the rate of N1613 to €1.

In April, the President was forced to travel to Saudi Arabia on a charter flight for the World Economic Forum in Riyadh from the Netherlands.

At the time, the President left Nigeria on a Gulfstream Aerospace GV-SP (G550) with registration number 5N-FGW and serial number 5310 (Mode-S 0640F2) because the Boeing 737-700 marked 5N-FGT was undergoing rehabilitation in Germany.

However, the second aircraft he was travelling on developed a fault in the Netherlands.

The Nigerian leader arrived in The Hague on April 23 from Nigeria for a series of economic and diplomatic engagements at the instance of Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

It was reported that the Nigerian President learnt shortly before he was scheduled to depart the Netherlands that his plane had suffered unspecified problems, one of which an official identified as including an oxygen leak.

The president and his delegation left the presidential aircraft behind and opted for a charter jet company to take them to Saudi Arabia for the forum.

The aircraft, a Gulfstream G550 class, was originally dedicated to Vice President, Kashim Shettima.

benuejosh:
i blame Peter Obi for giving you a say.

iwaeda:
APC has brought tears and sorrow (apology to baba 70), we are not in conventional wars, but millions are living in IDPs, Nlfpmod. You wonder how people still vote for these heartless leaders.

Anunakeeh:
23 trillion pere. The thing no even much.

iwaeda:

iwaeda:
The builder of Lagos, throwing the whole nation into monumental debts just in a year, but people that don't want Nigeria to be free are supporting their own slavery. Nlfpmod, they are only ruling by propaganda. Travel through from cities to cities, check the roads.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) of Nigeria has announced that the nation’s total public debt has increased significantly to N121.67 trillion (approximately $91.46 billion) as of March 31, 2024.

According to a statement from the DMO, this figure encompasses the combined domestic and external debts of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), the thirty-six state governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

In comparison, the total public debt as of December 31, 2023, stood at N97.34 trillion (approximately $108.23 billion). This represents a substantial increase of N24.33 trillion or 24.99% within a three-month period.


The increase is driven majorly by naira devaluation, as the total debt is reduced in dollar terms.

The breakdown of the total debt as of March 31, 2024, shows that the domestic debt component was N65.65 trillion (approximately $46.29 billion), while the external debt component amounted to N56.02 trillion (approximately $42.12 billion).

Bobloco:
I use to think that LASTMA is a traffic management Authority, have they now become a revenue generating agency.

Anyways, revenue must be generated anywhere, anyhow

President Bola Tinubu has said that Nigerians are not the only ones facing poverty in the world.

While admitting that there are poverty and suffering in the land, Tinubu said the challenges must be tackled.

One of the ways of tackling them, he explained, is to eliminate banditry and terrorism so that farmers cab return to the farm.

According to a statement on Tuesday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Ajuri Ngelale, the President said this in Lagos on Monday when he received a delegation from the National Assembly who came to felicitate with him on the occasion of Eid-el-Kabir.

The delegation was led by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, alongside the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, among others.

According to him, it is imperative for Nigerians to have a change of value system for the nation to make progress.

“Yes, there is poverty; there is suffering in the land. We are not the only people facing such, but we must face our challenges.

“We must find a way to eliminate banditry and terrorism so that farmers can bring out food from the farmland.

“If you do not have good roads to bring the food to the population, even if you grow the food and you are losing 60-70 per cent to damages, you will pay the price,” the President said.

He challenged citizens to have a change of mindset about Nigeria if the nation is to overcome its current challenges.

“The need (for some citizens) to change the rent-seeking mindset and become more productive to the economy is a challenge. The need to stop smuggling and all economic sabotage.

“Why should we have people removing rail tracks and all that, stealing electric cables and sabotaging the economy?

“We must embrace the campaign to change our value system. We must tell our people that the challenge we face is for all of us to change our mindset about our country,” Tinubu stressed.

The President also commended the leadership of the National Assembly for the support extended to his administration, which he said had resulted in some of the important developments recorded by his administration.

“It is great pride for me to have the best of partners in the National Assembly. We have to drill down and be all-inclusive in our bid to satisfy our people.

“It is daunting, but we cannot run away from the fact that this country must survive the hardship,” he stated.

The President acknowledged the challenges and the task ahead, assuring the nation of his unwavering determination to turn things around.”

Fresh indications have emerged revealing that some domestic airlines’ operators may close up shop due to inability to access forex required to either return or take their aircraft outside the country for checks.

Vanguard learnt that the country’s 12 scheduled airlines with different range of airplanes from Boeing 737 series, Airbus A320-300, A220-300, ATR, Embraer CRJ, Embraer E2, Embraer ERJ-145, Dash 8 to MD 83, among others, had suffered severe fleet depletion, leading to reduction in capacity.

It was also gathered that the instability in exchange rate was affecting the cost of aircraft spare parts, forcing operators to constantly adjust airfares.

Stuck aircraft

A senior member of Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, and the Chief Executive Officer of Top Brass Aviation Limited, Captain Roland Iyayi, lamented the paucity of rex, calling for an urgent fix.

He said: “I know of a domestic carrier that has as many as 13 aircraft stuck at various maintenance facilities worldwide. The same operator, in the course of putting in bid for forex, has domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, $14 million worth of naira. A year and half on, he is yet to receive the dollars.

“They have a situation where, because of this paucity or unavailability of forex, they are stuck with having about 30 per cent of their operational fleet stuck with maintenance facilities worldwide.

‘’That has depleted their fleet availability and schedule reliability. So, when you hear a lot of domestic airlines cancelling and delaying, it is not completely unconnected with the fact that they have not had FX available to be able to recover their airplanes to optimize operations.

Unsustainable

“It is not sustainable. That is the reason a fleet of about 30 aircraft is now down to 21. Some airlines with about 10 airplanes are now down to four. What that translates to ultimately is an increase in fares because if there is no capacity and demand is higher, fares will increase. The lack of forex is a major factor in how domestic airlines fare.

“Right now, I think government should declare a state of emergency in aviation. If we continue at this rate, the fleet size of the domestic market may be reduced to as low as between 35 and 50 per cent within the next three months, meaning airfares will increase.”

Instability

Also speaking to Vanguard, the Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, said: “There is no part of the aircraft that is manufactured in Nigeria. So, whenever there is a rollercoaster of exchange rate, it translates directly to the price of spare parts being bought. ‘’That is what has translated to the number of aircraft we currently have in the country. The aircraft that are down for maintenance is a direct relationship to the exchange rate.

“If the foreign exchange could be stable, the airlines will adjust their tickets to reflect the foreign exchange. The problem lies in the rollercoaster of foreign exchange. And that is where airlines experience challenges to remain in business.

‘’However, when there is long-term stability in the FX market and the margin between the naira and dollar is not so wide, then one can plan.

Fiscal policy

“Thank God the fiscal policy of current government is showing that we will probably have it stable between N1,400 and N1,500. If it remains, then I believe airlines can now adjust their tickets prices to reflect the exchange rate that would give them a good picture to plan ahead and make a good budget.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund has urged the Lagos State Government to urgently provide high-standard water and sanitation facilities to communities to curb the cholera outbreak in the state.

Chief of UNICEF Lagos Field Office, Celine Lafoucrier made this call on Saturday following the current cholera outbreak in the state which has spread across multiple Local Government Areas with 17 confirmed cases and 15 deaths.

To reduce fatality associated with the disease, UNICEF asked the state government to strengthen its healthcare systems and make them capable of responding to the demand in times of outbreaks.

The international organisation also urged the state government to lead educational campaigns on cholera prevention to protect children and the population at large.


Lafoucrier said the cholera outbreaks underscore the urgent need for improved access to clean water and sanitation in many areas.

The state Ministry of Health, on Saturday, confirmed 350 suspected cases of cholera in 29 wards across multiple LGAs in the state, with 17 confirmed cases and 15 deaths.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday said Nigeria recorded 65 confirmed cases of cholera with 30 deaths from 1 January to 11 June across 96 local governments in 30 states.


Cholera is a highly contagious food and water-borne disease. It spreads through direct transmission by eating or drinking contaminated food or water, and indirect transmission due to poor sanitation and lack of handwashing.

Symptoms of cholera include acute, painless watery diarrhoea of sudden onset, with or without vomiting. It may be associated with nausea, profuse vomiting, and fever.

Lafoucrier noted that despite the state government’s efforts to provide water to its population, the current outbreak demonstrates the need for an urgent government focus on ensuring the water provided to the population was clean and risk-free.

She said, “Addressing the challenges of cholera outbreaks requires a deliberate focus of state policies to provide high-standard water and sanitation facilities, as well as strengthened healthcare systems capable of responding to the demand in times of outbreaks, and state-led educational campaigns on cholera prevention to protect children and the population at large.

“To alleviate cholera outbreaks, a comprehensive approach is essential. Sustainable WASH infrastructure and strengthened health systems capable of anticipating epidemics as well as, effective community engagement strategies are crucial to halt transmission.”

According to her, preventing cholera ultimately centres on good sanitation and hygiene practices.

“This includes enhancing water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure, implementing rapid surveillance, promoting social mobilisation, administering treatment, and utilizing oral cholera vaccines.



“Key actions include proper disposal of faeces, eliminating open defecation, and ensuring access to potable water. Regular handwashing with clean, running water and soap is vital.

“Additionally, avoiding the consumption of uncooked vegetables, unwashed fruits, raw or undercooked seafood, and food from street vendors is important to reduce the risk of cholera infection,” she said.

Lafoucrier affirmed that good water and sanitation infrastructure play a crucial role in reducing disease outbreaks, such as cholera, which causes an estimated 100,000 deaths annually.

She noted, “Water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions are fundamental in preventing and responding to cholera epidemics. Safe water supplies, hygienic sanitation, and effective water management are key elements in this effort.

“Increasing access to safe drinking water, improving sanitation and hygiene, and better water management can prevent almost one-tenth of the global disease burden.

“Community access to sanitation, like simple latrines, prevents drinking water contamination from human waste, reducing infections.”

She also disclosed that regular handwashing with soap and safe drinking water storage are also high-impact practices.

“Investing in drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, and water resource management systems is economically beneficial.

“Each dollar invested yields up to eight dollars in benefits. Safer water could annually prevent 1.4 million child deaths from diarrhoea, 500,000 deaths from malaria, and 860,000 child deaths from malnutrition, and protect 10 million people from serious illnesses like lymphatic filariasis and trachoma”, she said.

She also emphasised the impact of the disease on the health of children saying recurrent cholera outbreaks critically affect children and populations at large.

She noted that these vulnerable groups face substantial health risks, particularly those under five who are prone to severe dehydration and higher mortality rates.

Lafoucrier added, “Educational disruption is yet another critical consequence of cholera outbreaks, as illness and the need to care for sick family members lead to school closures and reduced attendance, hindering children’s learning and development.

“Similarly, post-recovery issues in children can include malnutrition, stunted growth, and weakened immune systems, increasing susceptibility to other diseases.”

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose by 0.26 percentage points to 33.95 percent in May from 33.69 per cent in April.

The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, disclosed this today in its Consumer Price Index, CPI, report for May 2024.

NBS also said that the food inflation also increased to 40.66 percent in May from 40.53 percent in April.

This was due to increases in prices of Semovita, Oatflake, Yam flour prepackage, Garri, Bean, etc (which are under Bread and Cereals Class), Irish Potatoes, Yam, Water Yam, etc (under Potatoes, Yam and other Tubers Class), Palm Oil, Vegetable Oil, etc (under Oil and fat), Stockfish, Mudfish, Crayfish, etc (under Fish class), Beef Head, Chicken-live, Pork Head, Bush Meat, etc (under Meat class).

According to the bureau, Kogi State had the highest rise in food inflation year-on-year,YoY, with 46.32 percent while Gombe State had the highest MoM rise with 4.88 percent .

NBS said: “In May 2024, the headline inflation rate increased to 33.95 percent relative to the April 2024 headline inflation rate which was 33.69 percent .

“Looking at the movement, the May 2024 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.26 percent points when compared to the April 2024 headline inflation rate.

“On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.54 percentage points higher compared to the rate recorded in May 2023, which was 22.41 percent.

“On the contrary, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in May 2024 was 2.14 percent which was 0.15 percentage points lower than the rate recorded in April 2024 (2.29 percent). “

On food inflation, NBS said: “The Food inflation rate in May 2024 was 40.66 percent on a year-on-year basis, which was 15.84 percentage points higher compared to the rate recorded in May 2023 (24.82 percent).

“The rise in Food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of the following items: Semovita, Oatflake, Yam flour prepackage, Garri, Bean, etc (which are under Bread and Cereals Class), Irish Potatoes, Yam, Water Yam, etc (under Potatoes, Yam and other Tubers Class), Palm Oil, Vegetable Oil, etc (under Oil and fat), Stockfish, Mudfish, Crayfish, etc (under Fish class), Beef Head, Chicken-live, Pork Head, Bush Meat, etc (under Meat class).

“Like the month-on-month headline inflation, the month-on-month Food inflation rate in May 2024 was 2.28 percent, also shows a decrease of 0.22 percentage points compared to the rate recorded in April 2024 (2.5 percent).

“The fall in the Food inflation on a Month-on-Month basis was caused

by a fall in the rate of increase in the average prices of Palm Oil, Groundnut Oil (under Oil and Fats Class), Yam, Irish Potato, Cassava Tuber (under Potatoes, Yam & Other Tubers Class), Wine, Bournvita, Milo, Nescafe (under Coffee, Tea and Coco Class).

“In May 2024, Food inflation on a Year-on-Year basis was highest in Kogi (46.32 percent), Ekiti (44.94 percent), Kwara (44.66 percent), while Adamawa (31.72 percent), Bauchi (34.35 percent) and Borno (34.74 percent), recorded the slowest rise in Food inflation on Year-on-Year basis.
“ On a Month-on-Month

basis, however, May 2024 Food inflation was highest in Gombe (4.88 percent), Kano (4.68 percent), and Bayelsa (3.62 percent), while Ondo (0.02 percent), Yobe (0.95 percent) and Adamawa (1.02 percent) recorded the slowest rise in Food inflation on Month-on-Month basis.”

Police did not rescue us, abductors collected N40m before releasing us – Nasarawa poly student

A student of the Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa, who was kidnapped alongside 29 others, has disclosed that the kidnappers collected about N40 million in ransom before they were granted freedom.

DAILY POST reported on Monday that about 30 travellers, including some students of the polytechnic, were abducted by kidnappers along the Abuja-Nasarawa Highway on Friday.

Recall that the kidnappers ambushed the vehicles transporting the travellers and took them into a nearby bush in the Uke area of Nasarawa State. A student among the abductees was travelling to her family in Abuja at the time of the incident.

Speaking with newsmen on Tuesday, the victim recounted how the seven-man gang ambushed their vehicles, shot at the tyres, and robbed them of their belongings before abducting them into the bush.

She further explained that once in the thick bush, the kidnappers allowed the victims to rest upon realizing some were exhausted.

She disclosed that around midnight on Saturday, the kidnappers instructed the captives to call their relatives to demand a ransom of N10 million each.

The victim also stated that after several pleadings, the kidnappers grouped them into students and non-students, demanding that students collectively pay N10 million while others should pay N10 million each.

She added, “We, who are students, started calling our relatives and money was rallied around to make the payment.

“There is an Alhaji among the other group who raised about N20m and other people raised about N10m. The total money they got was about N40m.

“During the whole incident, we did not see any police officer come around till we were released. It was after they said they had got the money that they allowed us to go. We have gone to the police station but were told to write a statement.”

A relative of the victim earlier stated that the victim had reached out to her family, notifying them of her release.

“She contacted us this morning, saying they had been released. I am on my way to the police station because the number she called us from has been unreachable since,” the relative said.

Efforts to obtain a response from the Nasarawa State Police Public Relations Officer, Rahman Nansel, were unsuccessful, as messages and calls to his phone went unanswered at the time of filing this report.

As the 2024 Eid Kabir celebrations approach, the prices of perishable and non-perishable food items have soared in major markets in Lagos by over 300 per cent.

A survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria in major markets (Mile 12, Oyingbo, Surulere and Ajah) on Tuesday and Wednesday showed that prices of all food items jumped by almost 400 per cent in some cases within the space of one year.

A 50kg basket of tomatoes which was sold for N35,000 in 2023 has risen to N100,000 at Mile 12 and as high as N120,000 in high-brow areas of Lekki and Ajah.

The price of a 50kg bag of Scotch Bonnet popularly known as “rodo” or “atarodo” pepper jumped by over 600 per cent, selling for N120,000 against the previous N18,000.

Similarly, a 50kg basket of bell pepper also called “tatashe” rose to N95,000 from N21,000 while the same quantity of red chilli pepper also known as “bawa or shombo” rose to N110,000 from N22,000 in 2023.

The survey also showed that a[b] 100kg basket of onions is now selling for N70,000, up from N25,00[/b]0 in the period under review.

NAN also reports the price of a 50 kg bag of local rice which sold for N48,000 last year, currently goes for N65,000 while the same quantity of imported Rice pegged at N55,000 in 2023 is being sold between N80,000 and N90,000 depending on purchasing power.

Also, prices of animals used to celebrate the festival such as rams, cows and goats have soared astronomically.

A medium-sized ram ranged from N350,000 to as high as N700,000, a cow ranged from N800,000 to N1,000,000 and a goat from N75,000 to N120,000 depending on bargaining strength.

Eggs and chickens have also jumped as a crate of egg which was N1,800 in 2023 was now N4,500 as of Tuesday and chicken of N8,000 now goes for N12,000 of old layers and N15,000 for broilers.

The Spokesperson for Mile 12 International Market, Lagos, Femi Odusanya, attributed the increasing prices in food commodities to high levels of insecurity for farmers.

According to him, farmers are no more farming because of banditry, kidnapping and wanton killing on farmlands across the country.

Odusanya added that the high cost of transportation also contributed greatly to the inflation currently being experienced on food items.

He said that the government at all levels would need to subsidise the entire agricultural value chain and provide adequate security to encourage more people to go into farming.

“The state government’s contributions to agriculture are abysmal and there should henceforth be competition in the area of comparative advantages at the state level.

“We have arable lands in all the states but the governors must do much more in the area of agriculture and reduce reliance on the largesse from the Federation Account Allocation Committee.

“You can count on your fingers the number of large-scale mechanised farmers we have in the country as it is in the developed climes.

“Furthermore, to make agriculture attractive, we need to take the issue of value addition seriously by supporting local processing,” he said.

Meanwhile, a cross-section of Nigerians have continued to bemoan the country’s current inflationary pressures and are seeking interventions from governments at all levels to mitigate its impacts on ordinary citizens.

A nutritionist, Fatai Akomolafe, stated that pockets of malnutrition incidences were beginning to crop up in different parts of the country.

Akomolafe noted that when citizens were not able to afford a basic meal consisting of critical nutrients, different forms of sicknesses and diseases were bound to attack the body.

“Ordinary egg, which is supposed to be one of the cheapest sources of protein, is now almost N200. You cannot even imagine the price of soya beans, beans and other sources of proteins such as beef and chicken.

“When vegetables, proteins, and carbohydrates become luxury for the common man, then sickness becomes the norm and with the japa syndrome the country is currently facing, we do not have enough doctors to address sicknesses that plague people as a result of malnutrition.

“The time for local, state and Federal governments to find means of getting critical food components to the needy is now to reduce the mortality staring us in the face,” he said.

A businesswoman, Charity Ephraims, stressed that the number of begging Nigerians on and off the streets had increased in the last year.

“Whether on suit or in rags, people begging to eat, begging to be transported, begging to buy drugs, have increased. One is even afraid to pick calls these days, particularly from home, because the needs are overwhelming.

“It has also become very fearful to go to the market these days because the price you met last Saturday is definitely different from what one would see this coming Saturday.

“I wonder how those with high blood pressure are coping. May we not have incidences of people collapsing in markets once they hear the price of an item.

“We beg government to do whatever can be done to reduce the price of food as it is only a person who has eaten that is strong enough to be productive and contribute their quota to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), she said.

Alhaji Bala Tanko, a pepper trader, revealed that even as a seller, he could not afford to consume what he was selling at the price it was currently being sold at.

He urged the government to deploy more security surveillance to farm areas, particularly in the middle belt and the north, to match the forces of bandits and encourage farmers to return to feeding the nation.

Tanko also appealed for subsidised transportation systems and reduced levies to aid the transportation of food components across the country until prices become reasonably lowered.

NAN

[PICTURES] Democracy Day: Protest begins in Lagos amid tight security

Protesters, on Wednesday morning, stormed the Ikeja Underbridge in Lagos as the country marks the 2024 Democracy Day.

There is, however, a heavy security presence, as policemen and officials of the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps are sighted at the venue.

The protesters, in their number, chanted solidarity songs as they wielded placards and banners.

Some of the placards had inscriptions like: ‘President Tinubu, let the poor breathe’, ‘For another general strike with mass protest now’, ‘Payment of living wage to all Nigerian workers now.”

PUNCH Online reports that some civil society groups, including the Take It Back Movement, the Education Rights Campaign, the Coalition for Revolution and the Socialist Workers League, are spearheading the protest.

The Federal Government has declared Wednesday, June 12 as public holiday to commemorate this year’s Democracy Day.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo in a statement on Tuesday by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Aishetu Ndayako, congratulated Nigerians on the celebration.

The statement partly read, “As we mark another Democracy Day in the history of our dear country, let us all reflect on the efforts of our founding fathers and ensure that Nigeria remains a united, secured, peaceful and indivisible entity.”

He urged Nigerians to remain steadfast on the tenets of democratic governance.

Tunji-Ojo added that President Bola Tinubu is committed to positive reforms to revive the nation’s economy and enhance security.

“The minister also called on Nigerians and friends of Nigeria to appreciate the progress that has been made, and look forward to a better future for Nigeria’s Democracy,” the statement added.

At least two soldiers sustained injury when terrorists attacked a military base in Tegina, Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.

One of the bandits was reportedly killed in the gun duel with soldiers during the attack that happened on Monday.

Sources said the terrorists were crossing to Mashegu and Wushishi Local Government Areas when they launched the attack.

Chairman, Rafi Local Government Council, Alhaji Ayuba Usman Katako, who confirmed the incident, said the injured soldiers were responding to treatment at IBB Specialist Hospital, Minna.

He called for prayers and support from communities through useful information to enable the security agencies fight the attackers.

Lagos residents are raising concerns about continued increase in the price of beans, their major source of protein.

They said that consistent rise in the price of beans since 2024 had become unbearable, urging governments to intervene.

The residents spoke in interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos.

NAN reports that a 40kg bag of beans, which sold for N26,000 in January, now sells for N115,000, while a 100kg bag which sold for N55,000 at the beginning of the year, now sells for N230,000.

This made the staple food beyond the reach of many of the residents.

Mrs Uloma Chigozirim, a housewife and mother of four on Santos Estate, Akowonjo, expressed worry that children might be malnourished following the high increase in the price of beans.

“Beans used to be the cheapest food; now, we do not even understand what is going on.

“Every other week, the price keeps going up; even traders cannot tell us the reason for the hike.

“Beans used to be the cheapest source of protein for the average resident, but the produce is now too expensive to afford.

“We really need government intervention, else a lot of us will be malnourished,” Chigozirim said.

Hinting on the possible reason for the hike in the price of the produce, Mr Uche Ikenga, a beans farmer at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, noted that the produce was not an all-season crop.

“It has the time it is cultivated.

“The peak period for beans harvest is usually at the end of the year. Then we have enough supply for the growing demand of the produce.

“However, harvest time is the time some cattle are foraging everywhere for food.

“Last year, a lot of farmers lost their harvest because their beans farms were consumed by the foraging cows.

“The produce is scarce and expensive this year because the harvest of last year was low,” Ikenga said.

A beans trader at the Dry Foodstuff Section of Ile-Epo Market, Agege, Mr Ahmed Yusuf, said that beans might not be unavailable in the coming months.

“We sold a small bucket of beans for N6,500 last two weeks but now the same quantity sells for N 8,000.

“The price just keeps soaring everyday, and we sell as we buy. We no longer keep because of the price unpredictability.

“We are not even sure if we will have beans to sell by this time next month because the produce is unavailable,” he said.

Yusuf told NAN that demand for beans had been high but farmers did not have enough because so many of them could not cultivate crops this year.

“There is nothing we can do about the price hike, it has gone beyond our control,” Yusuf said.

A seller of jewellery, Mrs Bunmi Arowolo, called for intervention of the federal and Lagos State governments in the situation.

“Early in May, I bought a paint (small) bucket of beans for N7 500 as against N3,000 previously.

“As common form of protein, I now manage the little quantity for my family.

“I want to appeal to the governments to tackle insecurity so that farmers can go to their farms again and make the produce available and affordable,” Arowolo said.

Emphasising the importance of beans in Nigerians’ diets, Ms Adaeze Oparaku, a nutritionist at the Lagos Teaching Hospital (LUTH), said: “The produce is an important source of protein, carbohydrates, dietary fibre for both adults and children.

“It contains micronutrients such as the Vitamin Bs, good source of minerals such as phosphorus, copper, manganese, iron.

“Beans should be a regular staple in children’s diet, if they like it.

“However, given the rise in the price of the produce, it can be substituted with other protein sources in children’s meals.”

Mrs Eugenia Uloma, a trader at the popular Kotangora Market in Abule-Egba area, said that beans had been a major part of the Nigerian diet and important to every Nigerian.

“The produce is so expensive, but we still buy the quantity we can afford because it is our major source of protein.

“Other protein sources are even more expensive.

“We do not need so much from the government, if it can address this growing food inflation, we will be grateful.

“Let us just have food to eat, that is what most of us are asking. We need to feed our families to live, especially the children,” Uloma said.

A vegetable farmer, Mrs Barinedum Legbara, called for adequate planning for increased local production of beans.

“We buy beans as a basic necessity in our diet. Government should do something about the beans issue.

“We need adequate planning for strategic cultivation of beans so as to avoid this scarcity and hike.

“We have everything in this country to feed ourselves. Farmers should be empowered to cultivate crops for food security.

“Nigeria is fertile, we just need to be more strategic in our crop cultivation to give us sizeable yields and good prices,” Legbara said.