TheNewsGuru

Tag: Nigerians

  • Despite looming strike, Tinubu to leave for Republic of Benin with six govs

    Despite looming strike, Tinubu to leave for Republic of Benin with six govs

    Despite looming industrial action scheduled by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for tomorrow President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will, on Tuesday, travel to the Benin Republic to attend the 63rd independence anniversary celebration of the West African country.

    This was confirmed in a statement by former Presidential Spokesman, Dele Alake on Monday, that the president would be accompanied by six state governors.

    TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) reports that the president’s trip is only for a day before the nationwide strike by the organised labour over the hardship brought on Nigerians by the Tinubu administration’s harsh economic policies.

    Tinubu’s trip to Benin Republic would be the second time the two leaders will be meeting after their initial interaction at the summit on the New Global Financing Pact in Paris, France.

    They also met at the 63rd Ordinary session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS held in Guinea-Bissau and, more recently, at the State House, Abuja, where the Benin Republic President honoured the invitation of President Tinubu.

    To accompany him in the one-day visit will be six governors: Governors of Ogun, Lagos, Oyo, Kwara, Kebbi and Niger: Dapo Abiodun, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Seyi Makinde, AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq, Nasir Idris and Mohammed Umar Bago including the president’s aides.

    The statement reads: “Tinubu, six governors head to Benin Republic on Tuesday. President Bola Tinubu will on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, honour an invitation to attend the 63rd independence anniversary of the Republic of Benin.

    “The President, who is also the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States, will be the Special Guest of President Patrice Talon at the ceremony.

    “President Tinubu had first met with Talon on the sidelines of the summit on New Global Financing Pact in Paris, France, later at the 63rd Ordinary session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS held in Guinea-Bissau and more recently at the State House, Abuja along with leaders of three other West African nations, where the Benin Republic President invited him for the anniversary.

    “President Tinubu had drawn the attention of the Beninese leader to the need to review and strengthen cultural, trade and economic relations between their two countries, highlighting joint border patrols by the Customs and harmonizing regulations on the frontlines.

    “The President will be accompanied on the one-day visit by six governors, who were invited by President Talon, and his personal aides.

  • State of the nation: Tinubu’s broadcast inspires renewed hope for Nig – MD ADSC, Oluwafemi

    State of the nation: Tinubu’s broadcast inspires renewed hope for Nig – MD ADSC, Oluwafemi

    …appeals to Nigerians to be patient with president Tinubu as there’s ray of hope

    …begs NLC to shelve tomorrow’s nationwide industrial action

    The CEO of the Africa Development Study Centre (ADSC), Ambassador Victor Walsh Oluwafemi has said President Bola Tinubu’s last Monday state of the nation broadcast has rekindled renewed hope for all Nigerians as his planned measures would catapult Nigeria’s economy into quick recovery.

    This was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday and personally signed by him.

    Amb Oluwafemi hailed Tinubu for the strategic measures put in place to rejig the economy for sustainable growth and development after the fuel subsidy removal.

    He said that President’s speech on his road map to addressing the pains of Nigerians is welcoming and it inspires renewed hope particularly from the perspectives of clear actionable plans to deliver value for the citizens.

    “Particularly important in his view is the planned spend of ₦75bn between July 2023 and March 2024 to strengthen the manufacturing sector, increase its capacity to expand and create good paying jobs and fund 75 enterprises with great potentials to kick start a sustainable economic growth, accelerate structural transformation and improve productivity amongst others.

    Oluwafemi also applaud the President on the plan of targeting 75 manufacturing enterprises to access ₦1bn at 9% p.a. with the maximum of 60 months repayment for long term loans & 12 months for working capital.

    In the same vein the speech also addressed the most critical sector of the economy- the Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises and the informal sector with ₦125bn.

    “By removing the subsidy, government is saving N1trn monthly which will go a long way in helping to stabilize our economy and ending the multiple exchange rates was necessary to correcting the imbalances bedevilling the Nigerian economy.

    He appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other strategic stakeholders to engage with the government to chart a pathway to national development by calling off the planned protest and join hands with other Nigerians to make the initiatives and the socio- economic interventions to succeed in the interest of nation building.

    He explained that “an industrial action of this magnitude will do no one no good as Tinubu has good intentions to take Nigeria to greater heights of excellence without abandoning any segment of the Nigerian economy.

  • State of the Nation: 14 nuggets from President Tinubu’s nationwide broadcast

    State of the Nation: 14 nuggets from President Tinubu’s nationwide broadcast

    President Bola Tinubu in his nationwide broadcast on Monday, in a bid to move Nigeria out of the throes of looming collapse promised to cushion effects of his economic policies.

    In the broadcast, Tinubu empathised with Nigerians and also explained why his administration had to take certain hard decisions, saying it was for the greater good of the country.

    See some of the nuggets from his broadcast:

    *Monitoring the effects of the exchange rate and inflation on gasoline prices.

    *Fuel subsidy that cost the country trillions yearly only benefited some few individuals.

    * Previous administration of President Muhammadu Buhari seeing the danger of continuing with the fuel regime, only made provision for it until June 2023.

    *By removing the subsidy, government is saving N1tn monthly

    *Ending the multiple exchange rates was necessary to correcting the imbalances bedevilling the Nigerian economy.

    *Federal Government already working with state and local governments to work out interventions that will ease current economic burden

    *75 manufacturing enterprises will access a N75bn fund with each accessing N1bn credit at 9% interest rate per annum payable within 60 months for long term loans and 12 months for working capital.

    *From the N125bn conditional grant budgeted for the MSMEs, 1,300 very small businesses will be given N50,000 across 774 local government areas, 100,000 MSMEs will have access to N500,000 and N1,000,000 loan with nine per cent interest rate payable within 36 months.

    *To ensure affordable food for all, both on the short and long terms, government has released 200,000 metric tonnes of grains to households across the country at affordable price.

    *Government will invest N50bn each to cultivate 150,000 hectares of rice and maize, N50bn each will be invested in cultivating 100,000 hectares of cassava and wheat.

    *The already approved Infrastructure Support Fund for States will improve rural roads to aid smooth transportation of farm produce.

    *To ease high transport cost, N100bn will be spent on the purchase of 3,000 units of 20-seater- CNG fuelled buses to be shared amongst major transport companies as well as accessing nine per cent credit facility payable within 60 months.

    * Discussion ongoing on the review of a national new minimum wage for workers. Once agreed, provisions will be made for it in the budget

    *The private sector commended for their interventions in the form of salary raise for workers.

  • Certificate of Origin Issuance: Nigerians alarmed over widespread fraud

    Certificate of Origin Issuance: Nigerians alarmed over widespread fraud

    … urge Govt to beam searchlight on corruption at subnational

     

    Federal and state governments in Nigeria have been alerted following a spate of forgery cases and disregard of due process in certificate of origin issuance at Local Government Area (LGA) offices across the country.

    The alarm was raised by the Executive Director, Partners West Africa-Nigeria, Kemi Okenyodo, during an anti-corruption radio programme, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by PRIMORG, Wednesday in Abuja.

    Investigations published by TheCable recently exposed how officials at LGAs in Lagos, Ogun, Nasarawa states and Abuja jettison due process for bribes in issuing certificates of origin to the people.

    Speaking during the radio programme, Okenyodo, who was not surprised at the absence of integrity in the local government system, noted that the development is a breeding ground for security and transparency challenges the country continues to grapple with.

    She called on the government to beam the searchlight on corruption at LGAs and introduce reforms geared towards strengthening the anti-corruption fight at the subnational. She added that the government should devise means of better informing and sensitizing the people about the process of obtaining a certificate of origin to save the unsuspecting public from extortion.

    “The duty of the government is to make obvious and put into the public space the process for getting certificates of origin, the cost and the duration.

    “The information should be out there in a dialect that people would understand and in a form that is easy and accessible to them so that those who do not avail themselves of the information have the responsibility to get the information and follow through and know where to report what is wrong.

    “The government should make things transparent. They should make the process for not only for a certificate of origin but other services at the local government level open and transparent.” She stated.

    Okenyodo also urged the government to strengthen the National Identity Management Commission and leverage data from National Identification Number (NIN) in building a national data bank while calling on massive awareness of the citizens on the dangers of certificate forgery.

    Speaking on the report, investigative and multimedia journalist at TheCable, Samad Uthman, lamented the lack of a proper national database while revealing that massive trading of certificates of origin and other documents for money was going on at local government offices across Nigeria.

    Uthman revealed that applicants of certificate of origin in Kokona LGA, Nasarawa state, pay up to N10,000 to get the document without due process; At Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAc), applicants pay between N20,000 to N25,000 to obtain the same certificate at the council office without submitting necessary prerequisite documents, adding that the scenario is not different from their findings in Lagos and Ogun states.

    He lamented that further research on the issuance of certificate of origin on Twitter shows that lack of due process is prevalent in every part of the country and could be worse at border towns in northern Nigeria.

    “The investigation took place in Abuja, Nasarawa, Lagos and Ogun states. In Abuja, we visited AMAC and Bwari Area Council; in Nasarawa state, Kokona and Keffi LGAs; in Ogun, we visited Ife and Shagamu LGAs; while in Lagos, we went to Ikeja, Olumosho, Oshodi-Isolo LGAs and we realized that only in Ikeja that officials insisted on due process when it comes to issuing the certificates.

    “We realized that the situation is prevalent in all parts of the country, especially the north and the southern part of the country; when the story was published, we received tons of evidence from the public, even when we had a Twitter space meeting on certificate issuance people spoke on it,” Uthman explained.

    Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program PRIMORG uses to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.

    The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation.

  • GWR opens up on Nigerian who went partially blind during Cry-A-Thon attempt

    GWR opens up on Nigerian who went partially blind during Cry-A-Thon attempt

    The Guinness World Records (GWR) has publicly distanced itself from a Nigerian man who went partially blind for attempting to break a record for the longest crying Marathon by an individual.

    TNG recalls it was reported that a Nigerian man identified as Tembu Ebere confirmed that he partially went blind while attempting to cry for seven days to set a record in the Guinness World Records.

    This is as the craze to achieve feats of endurance sweeps across the country after a chef, Hilda Baci, in May officially broke the record for the longest cooking marathon (individual), with a time of 93 hours, 11 minutes.

    Ebere who confirmed his health issues said that he forced himself to cry for seven days for the record but along the line, he went temporarily blind.

    Ebere, who has been attempting to cry non-stop for seven days said that he experienced headaches, puffy eyes and a swollen face and went partially blind for 45 minutes amid his efforts.

    He had told BBC, “I had to re-strategise and reduce my wailing,” adding that he was determined to cry for one week as he planned despite the difficulties he encountered.

    Reacting, Guinness World Records distanced itself from such a record, stating that it did not approve it as it would never be able to monitor such a record.

    “Just to quell some recent rumours, we wouldn’t ever monitor a record for the longest marathon crying. Here’s what can be monitored by our team,” the body wrote.

  • Endure the pains of subsidy removal – Akume urges Nigerians

    Endure the pains of subsidy removal – Akume urges Nigerians

    Following the removal of fuel subsidy, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, has urged Nigerians to continue to endure the pains.

    He gave Nigerians the reassurance that the suffering would soon end and that living conditions would improve.

    Akume on Monday pointed out that Bola Tinubu, the president, had good intentions for the nation and had promised Nigerians that he wouldn’t let them down.

    He spoke during a visit from a team of the North Central People’s Forum led by Senator Jeremiah Useni of the Sardauna Plateau.

    “This government will not disappoint Nigerians. The President means well but we can go wrong. When we go wrong, correct us.

    “President Tinubu so far has taken bold measures which have impacted the national economy and sent positive signals to policymakers, local and international, that the government means business.

    “I urge Nigerians to bear the pains of the removal of subsidy on petrol and its negative impact on the cost of living. I want to assure you that after the pain there will be a significant improvement in living standards generally.”

     

  • Just In: CBN reduces Merchant Banks cash reserve from 32.5% to 10%

    Just In: CBN reduces Merchant Banks cash reserve from 32.5% to 10%

    The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has reduced cash reserve requirement of merchant banks from 32.5percent to 10percent effective August 1, 2023.

    TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) reports this was contained in a circular signed by the apex bank’s Director, Banking, Department, Haruna Mustafa.

    It was expressly stated in the circular that:”The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) hereby informs all Merchant Banks that it has approved a reduction in their cash reserve requirement from 32.5 per cent to 10 per
    cent effective August 1, 2023.

    “The above regulatory measure is in recognition of the nuanced business model of the
    Merchant Banks, in particular their wholesale funding structure, regulatory restrictions
    from the retail market and permissible activities vis-a-vis conventional commercial
    banks.

    “The measure is expected to boost the banks’ ability to avail increased infrastructure,
    real sector and other long-term financing needed to support the development of the
    Nigerian economy.

    “The CBN will continue to monitor market developments and implement measures to
    address unique challenges faced by the merchant banking sector.

    Please be guided accordingly.

    #

  • NIS warn Nigerians against illegal migration

    NIS warn Nigerians against illegal migration

    The Comptroller of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in Kwara, Mr Aminu Shamsuddin, has advised residents of the state to desist from illegal migration to avoid risks associated with such act.

    The comptroller gave the advice in an interview in Ilorin on Thursday.

    Shamsuddin identified two types of migration; regular migration and irregular migration.

    He explained that regular migrants were people that have all the required documents, including international Passport

    “It is when you have Passport that you can apply for visa and be given, though, there are conditions attached to getting a visa.

    “This conditions includes financial capability, invitation by an individual or organisation abroad, purpose of going, duration of stay and type of visa, whether medical, tourism or work permit by companies abroad,” he explained.

    The comptroller however said that irregular migration is illegal, saying that the people involve always lie and refuse to obtain travel documents and sometimes deny their identity.

    He noted that the irregular migrants may travel abroad by road, sea, or even smuggle themselves in to the Aeroplane in order not to be caught.

    “Some illegal migrants go as far as hiding inside container on the sea, just to travel abroad, in the process, they get tired and weak, thereby die before they reach their destination,” he said.

    Shamsuddin said travelling abroad through illegal means has lots of disadvantages and risks, as there was no official knowledge and as such anything that happens during the process would not be known.

    He said that there are lots of wicked people waiting to get illegal migrants for their evil plans, such as slavery, organ harvest, trafficking, drug transporters and many unspeakable things.

    The comptroller further said that illegal migrants are usually deported, while some are left in the prison without the knowledge of their relatives, depending on where they were caught.

    He however said that the deportees were of different categories; while some are deported due to over stay, others as a result of trafficking and would be handed over to the right agencies.

    On blacklist of migrants, the comptroller explained that foreign countries blacklist migrants due to various reasons, especially violating the laws of their country, which stopped them from entering the country in future.

    Shamsuddin added that those blacklisted would not be able to enter the country for 10 years or forever, depending on the nature of the offence.

    The comptroller reiterated that those blacklisted cannot hide, as their travel history is documented and would be revealed as soon as they thumb print on the office machine.

    “Once a person thumb print on our machine, his details will appear and it will show that the person has a passport before and the reason for being blacklisted will be revealed.

    “This is what we did to curb crimes and protect the country’s image, because years back, Nigerians find it difficult to get foreign visa, as many are assumed to be criminals,” he explained.

    Shamsuddin thereby advised Nigerians to always go through the official process of obtaining their travel document, abide by the rules of the country they are going and be a good Nigeria citizen, anywhere they are.

     

  • There must be order to hold govs accountable to find criminals defiling religion – Bishop Kukah

    There must be order to hold govs accountable to find criminals defiling religion – Bishop Kukah

    The Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, has said there must be an order to hold governors accountable to find criminals defiling religion in Nigeria.

    Kukah made this assertion at the 60-year celebrations of call to bar of Afe Babalola, SAN, on Monday.

    The Bishop said for ver 40years now we have been going back to rebuild our churches whenever they are burnt, the Nigerian state doesn’t care; there must be an order that holds a governor accountable, to finding criminals who are defiling religion, who are accusing people in the name of religion, they have no right to kill even their own people.

    “A woman cannot say that I gave birth to this child, I carried her in my womb then I am going to kill her, even if she does, because she is exercising what she thinks is a right, the system may tell her, you may have carried her in your womb but you have no right over her life.

    “A country where anybody can just wake up and say you are accused of blasphemy, we are not in a theocracy, we are in a democracy, there must be therefore sanctions and punishment because if somebody goes and burn a church or mosque, what are the consequences?

    “So for me, these are some of the fundamental issues, the constitution is very clear about the boundaries of religion.

    “But we have a country where, right now as I am talking to you, there are many federal universities where there are no churches, there are no mosques, what are the reasons?

    “Many universities, land has been provided for the building of churches but vice chancellors, chairman of governing councils, are turning a blind eye.

    “I therefore demand that the president of Nigeria by executive order must say that every federal institutions, whether it is medical, whether it is educational, must reflect what Nigeria reflects.

    “The fact that Afe Babalola who has sold everything to build a university, to make him vice chancellor of either Usman Danfodio or University of Nigeria Nsukka, it is unthinkable because like joke, like joke, we have come to a point in Nigeria where the federal government is spending money on some universities, prejudices, ethnicity and deepening the cleavages of local class.

    “We cannot be a people, so when Nigeria talk about ethnicity and so on, it is because the government has not done enough to enforce that because if you insist that the vice chancellor, because the impression that government create is that we built this university for this community.

    “So you go to many universities as I said, even in state universities, the governor now take pride in ensuring that only our son and that is why the universities have become so convoluted in Nigeria, every day strike because people who are holding the reins of power, most of them are not eminently qualified, they are just qualified by virtue of religion or they are qualified by ethnicity.

    “So I close by saying Nigeria needs to grow, Nigeria needs to develop, Nigeria needs to be democratized but that it is important that to make Nigerians to treasure democracy, to make Nigerians feel comfortable democracy, we must appreciate the democratization of development.

    “That is that the federal government must make sure that it says, it has earmarked that tells where citizens are because if you don’t democratized development, you cannot develop democracy.

    “So my conclusion is that, the democratization of development leads to the development of democracy.
    THE END

  • 55,000 Nigerians benefit from World Bank/FG APPEALS project, says Coordinator

    55,000 Nigerians benefit from World Bank/FG APPEALS project, says Coordinator

    The World Bank/Federal Government Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihoods Improvement Support (APPEALS), Project, says the project has lifted over 55,000 Nigerians out of poverty.

    Mr Mohammed Jobdi, the National Project Coordinator of APPEALS disclosed this during the inspection of the level of implementation of the project in Enugu State on Saturday.

    The officials of World Bank, FG and APPEAL were among the team that visited the state.

    The team visited Poultry Processing Centre at Amechi Awkunanaw and Rice Mill Processing Center at Nara in Enugu South and Nkanu East council areas of Enugu state respectively.
    The coordinator said that the project started in 2017 Nigeria with the five components adding that more than 55,000 beneficiaries were supported.

    “I can categorically tell you that more than 55,000 beneficiaries have u been supported,” he said.
    He listed the beneficiaries to include farmers, producers, processors and marketers as well as youths and women whom they had empowered through capacity building.

    The national coordinator said the World Bank/ FG support project was being implemented in six states namely; Cross River, Enugu, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi and Lagos States.

    He however, disclosed that the project would come to closure by September.

    Jobdi said their mission in Enugu State was to access the level of implementation in different participating states which Enugu State was one of them.

    Jobdi who rated Enugu state high on project performance said, “We have visited two centres in Amechi and Nara and what we saw is encouraging and they assured us that necessary machine will be installedin two weeks for completion.

    “We have 15 number of aggregation and Cottage Centres with facilities that were proposed for Enugu State

    “Under the women and youth empowerment program, about 1,700 people had also been supported in each participating states in which five per cent of the physically challenged were trained because social inclusion is very important,” he said.

    The World Bank Task Team Leader, Dr Manieve Sene, said they were in Enugu state to get the beneficiaries’s success stories as well as their challenges and how to tackle them.

    Mrs Ihuoma Eze, the APPEALS Project Coordinator, Enugu State, while commending World Bank and FG for extending APPEALS project to Enugu State said the project had touched many lives.

    She explained that World Bank and FG had invested N350 million on APPEALS project in Enugu State to support farmers in the value chain of poultry, rice and cashew production.

    “We have 15 number aggregation and Cottage Centres in each senatorial zones of the state.
    “We have in Amechi Awkunanaw, Nara, 9th Mile, Udi, Orba, Ezeagu, Adani, Ehamufu and others,” she said.

    He thanked Gov. Peter Mbah for his support and pledge to sustain the project in the state.

    Some of the beneficiaries while thanking World Bank/ FG for the project, promised to maintain the centres and machine to ensure food production in Enugu S tate and Nigeria in general.

    Mrs Chinyere Iwundu, a member of Divine Cooperative, Amechi Awkwunaw said the project had empowered them and added value to their lives.

    “The facilities provided for us will enable us to store our farm produce and sell them later when the price is high,” she said.