Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
Members of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the Adamawa House of Assembly have assured Governor Murtala Nyako of their block votes ahead of the party’s primaries for the state governorship election in 2012.
The development was sequel to a motion moved by Alhaji Umaru Ahmadu, the Majority Leader of the House and member representing Madagali Constituency.
The motion was seconded by Mrs Wilbina Jackson (PDP-Guyuk).
Moving the motion, Ahmadu said all the 20 PDP members in the Assembly had mandated him as their leader to present their position and resolved to give Nyako full support at the party’s governorship primaries and main election.
He said the governor had delivered in all sectors of the economy in his first tenure and deserved to continue in office for a second term.
The lawmakers passed the motion at their session presided over by Speaker Ibrahim Sadiq,
Nyako and a former lecturer, Dr Umar Ardo, have been cleared by PDP for its primaries scheduled for October 24.
Benue
Prof. Chukwudi Obinne of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, has stressed the need for adequate sensitisation of farmers on various aspects of agriculture to ensure food security in the the world.
Obinne, who made the call in an interview with newsmen in Makurdi, said that farmers in developing countries did not receive the relevant training in farming.
The professor also said that if farmers were encouraged to venture into mechanised farming through necessary incentives, the level of food production would drastically improve.
He said that adult farmers got weaker because of the manual labour associated with agriculture and because they had little understanding of new technologies available to them to improve production.
FCT
The Senate Committee Chairman on Science and Technology, Sen. Robert Boroffice, has assured the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Senate’s cooperation to boost its programmes.
Boroffice gave the assurance on Monday, in Abuja, in an interview with newsmen at the opening of a workshop on the International Space Weather Initiative.
He said that the committee, which was made up of committed members, would do its best to address the challenges facing the sector.
“Working with the Ministry of Science and Technology, we are sure that we would be able to ensure that adequate funding is provided for the sector. ’’
He said that the committee would equally collaborate with the Executive arm of government to develop the sector.
Jigawa
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has indicated interest to partner with Jigawa government on job creation.
The UNDP Resident Representative, Mr Douda Toure, gave the indication when he paid a visit to Gov. Sule Lamido in Dutse on Monday.
Toure said the organisation would collaborate with the state government on job creation for the youth and women.
He said that UNDP was also willing to cooperate with the government in other areas to enhance development in the state.
In his response, Lamido said the state government would partner with UNDP and other interested organisations in its drive to boost development in the state.
Kaduna
The Kaduna State Chapter of the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Kaduna have suspended their planned strike over the non-implementation of the N18,000 minimum wage in the state.
Addressing newsmen, the Chairman of the NLC in the state, Mr Adamu Ango, said the strike was suspended because of the agreement between labour and the government over the new table which covered grade levels nine to 17 that were excluded from the previous chart.
Ango said the two unions had agreed and adopted the new table after studying it and decided on the suspension of the proposed strike.
Kano
The Parent-Teacher Association of Gwammaja Model Primary School in Dala Local Government Area of Kano State has donated 50 chairs and two sets of computer to the school.
Presenting the items, the Chairman of the association, Alhaji Isa Salihu, said similar donations of books and other teaching materials had been made to the school in the past.
He advised the Education Department of the local government to deploy additional teaching staff and strive to provide a conducive atmosphere for learning in the school.
Receiving the chairs and computers on behalf of the school, the Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, Alhaji Yakubu Adamu, reiterated the commitment of the state government to raise educational standards.
Kogi
The Chief Judge of Kogi, Justice Nasir Ajanah, has decried the poor performance of lower courts in the determination of cases brought before them.
Speaking at a special court session to herald the commencement of the 2011/2012 Legal Year in Lokoja, he said that courts in the state received 29,096 cases in the out-going year, out of which 15,150 were disposed of.
The remaining 13,919 cases, he added, were allowed to spill over to the new legal year, noting that a great percentage of the carry-over were from the lower courts.
Ajanah said that of the 1,845 cases pending in the state High Courts in the out-going year, 1,210 were fully determined, leaving 635, while the 38 magistrates’ courts received 3,768 cases, and disposed of 1,920.
Lagos
The Lagos State House of Assembly (LSHA) has passed a resolution to organise a public hearing on the planned removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government
To this end, the House has raised a seven-man committee to organise the hearing, scheduled for October 27.
In a motion moved on the floor of the House by Mr Sanai Agunbiade (ACN-Ikorodu I), the lawmakers expressed concern over moves to remove fuel subsidy in 2012.
The committee chaired by Agunbiade, includes Mr Rotimi Olowo (Somolu I), Mr Yishawu Gbolahan (Eti-Osa), Mr Hodewu Avoseh (Badagry II) and Mr Hakeem Masha (Lagos Island).
Others are Mr Sultan Adeniji-Adele (Amuwo-Odofin) and Mr Abiodun Tobun (Epe II).
Niger
Governor. Babangida Aliyu of Niger State has said the State Government had so far spent about three billion naira on Millennium Development Goals MDGs projects between 2008 and 2009.
Aliyu made the remark while receiving an award of‘“The International Millennium Development Ambassador” by Global Educator for All Initiative at Government House, Minna, saying the money was expended on quick-win projects and conditional cash transfer.
He cited some constraints militating against the country in meeting its MDGs’ targets by 2015, expressing the hope that the country could meet the target five years after the deadline.
Ogun
Small-scale farmers under the aegis of Association of Small-scale Agro-Producers in Nigeria (ASSAPIN), Ogun State Chapter has decried poor funding of agriculture by the three-tiers of government in the country.
They, however, urged governments at all levels to increase budgetary allocation to agriculture to avert food crisis in the country.
The farmers were gathered in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun yesterday to examine the theme for the 2011 World Food Day: “Food Crisis: From Crisis to Stability”.
They said that there was an urgent need for government at all levels to invest more in agriculture to avert looming food crisis.
Mrs Ireti Disu, the Assistant Director of Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Ijebu-Ode Catholic Diocese, said that the poor funding of agriculture had resulted in increased prices of food.
Plateau
A Federal High Court sitting in Jos yesterday discharged and acquitted six suspects accused of participating in the January 20 crisis in the Plateau capital.
The suspects are Alhassan Mohammed, Abubakar Samaila, Abubakar Shuaibu, Buhari Dahiru, Ibrahim Musa and Nasiru Idris.
They were charged with terrorism after allegedly participating in the crisis in which many lives were lost and property worth millions of naira destroyed.
A federal Prosecution Counsel, Mr Gbenga Walington, had earlier told the court, presided over by Justice Ambrose Allagoah, that he could not press charges against the accused.
He said that he was in a “precarious situation,’’ having failed to trace the military officers who arrested the suspects on the day the violence erupted.
Yobe
More than 8,000 youths in Yobe are beneficiaries of the World Bank credit facility under FADAMA III programme, Governor Ibrahim Gaidam has said.
The governor made this known when participants of the National Defence Course 20 visited him at the Government House, Damaturu.
He said that the programme, geared toward dry season farming, had been part of the measures taken by his administration to improve the economic status of people at the grass roots.
He pointed out that the scheme, designed to to encourage self-reliance, was also a source of revenue for the state government.
Gaidam said the government was also developing a Gum Arabic plantation to check desert encroachment and that there were youth empowerment farms in the 17 local government areas of the state.
On measures to boost the state’s internal revenue, he said government had constructed a 3-Star Hotel in Damaturu apart from organising local festivals.
Nation
SIM-NIN: Subscribers Kick Against Today’s Deadline, Demand Extension
The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers has requested that the Nigerian Communications Commission extend the deadline scheduled for the disconnection of telephone lines not linked to National Identification Numbers beyond Friday, March 29, 2024.
The subscribers’ body argued that telco agents were failing to capture all necessary information needed for verification, just as it also cited difficulties in uploading the captured data on the National Identity Management Commission’s server.
The President of NATCOMS, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, told The Tide’s source last Wednesday that NCC needed to order telcos not to disconnect telephone lines, considering the ongoing difficulties faced by subscribers.
The telecom regulator had insisted that there would be no changes to the deadline for the next phase of disconnection
The disconnection process was rolled out in stages, with the second phase scheduled for March 29, 2024, following the initial phase that occurred on February 28, 2024.
The third phase is slated to commence on April 15, 2024, as previously announced.
Earlier, the Director of Public Publicity at the NCC, Reuben Mouka, told The PUNCH, “We issued a publication that you can refer to. We specified certain deadlines and stipulated that subscribers who do not comply with the directive would be barred. And that has not changed.”
The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers has requested that the Nigerian Communications Commission extend the deadline scheduled for the disconnection of telephone lines not linked to National Identification Numbers beyond Friday, March 29, 2024.
The subscribers’ body argued that telco agents were failing to capture all necessary information needed for verification, just as it also cited difficulties in uploading the captured data on the National Identity Management Commission’s server.
The President of NATCOMS, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, told the source on Wednesday that the NCC needed to order telcos not to disconnect telephone lines, considering the ongoing difficulties faced by subscribers.
The telecom regulator had insisted that there would be no changes to the deadline for the next phase of disconnection
The disconnection process was rolled out in stages, with the second phase scheduled for March 29, 2024, following the initial phase that occurred on February 28, 2024.
The third phase is slated to commence on April 15, 2024, as previously announced.
Earlier, the Director of Public Publicity at the NCC, Reuben Mouka, told the source, “We issued a publication that you can refer to. We specified certain deadlines and stipulated that subscribers who do not comply with the directive would be barred. And that has not changed.”
At the last deadline on February 28, 2024, about 40 million lines that were not linked to NIN were barred.
The NATCOM president said before the first deadline, subscribers had appealed to the NCC for a one-month extension.
However, the NCC explained that there was no issue as the process was designed to occur in phases.
According to the president, the Operator’s Consumer Centre stands as the primary location for consumers to complete their registration fully, with data provided there being verifiable.
However, the president noted that telecom agents were bypassing crucial information during the registration process, resulting in incomplete registrations of subscribers.
“For example, during interactions with telecom representatives, some agents fail to collect all required the information from subscribers.
“If a subscriber cannot provide certain details, agents often leave the registration incomplete. Consequently, these incomplete registrations are deemed unverifiable,” he said.
Further, Ogunbanjo noted that NIMC also shares responsibility in this process.
He said the challenges often arise when telecom companies attempt to upload collected data on NIMC’s server, owing to network issues.
“These network difficulties, beyond the control of subscribers, hinder the timely completion of the registration process,” he said.
“NIMC’s inadequate network infrastructure exacerbates the problem. While they intend to accept data uploads, technical issues prevent them from doing so effectively.
“We urge the NCC to address NIMC’s shortcomings, improve their services, and acknowledge that meeting the deadline will be challenging given the current issues,” the president added.
NIMC is a statutory Nigerian organisation that operates the country’s national identity management systems.
NIMC’s enrollment figures as of December 31, 2023, stand at over 104.16 million unique records.
About 530,345 Nigerians in Diaspora have gotten NINs. 59.12 million male and 45.04 million female Nigerians have NINs.
When The PUNCH reached out to NIMC for comments on technical glitches, the Head of Corporate Communications, Kayode Adegoke, clarifies that the commission’s server has consistently remained operational, debunking reports suggesting otherwise.
He emphasizes that the NIMC’s services are fully functional and accessible to all users
“Our server has never been down. You can go to the various NIN centres and confirm.
Adegoke further explained the process for subscribers to link their NIN to their SIM cards,
“These individuals only need to submit their NIN and complete the verification process through their respective telcos providers.
He encouraged those who have not yet obtained their NIN to visit any NIMC centre for enrollment.
Adegoke assured Nigerians that upon enrollment, individuals can expect their NIN to be available within three hours.
However, for those requiring corrections, such as rectifying date of birth errors, the process may take up to 72 hours.
Last week, the National Identity Management Commission and the NCC issued a joint statement unveiling a strategic partnership aimed at simplifying the NIN-SIM linkage procedures for telecommunications subscribers nationwide.
Both agencies reaffirmed their dedication to enhancing the processes involved and improving efficiency regarding the NIN and SIM card linkage initiative.
They acknowledge the importance of this initiative in bolstering security measures and enhancing service delivery across the country.
The SIM-NIN linkage initiative is a crucial step towards improving the integrity of subscriber data and enhancing security measures within the telecommunications industry.
The NIN-SIM linkage policy was initially introduced by the Nigerian government in December 2020. This directive requires all telephone line users in Nigeria to associate their SIM cards with their NIN.
In December of the previous year, the NCC issued a directive stipulating that all telecommunications operators in Nigeria, including major providers like MTN, Airtel, and Globacom, among others, must enforce complete network barring on all phone lines for which subscribers have not provided their NINs by February 28, 2024.
Barely two weeks ago, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project issued a warning to take legal action against the NCC if it does not revoke the directive instructing network providers to block the phone lines of individuals who have not linked their SIM cards to their NINs.
Nation
Reps Query N15bn Payment To Remita
The House of Representatives’ Public Accounts Committee has queried the N15billion payment made to Remita from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation for two years.
This is just as the committee accused the Central Bank of Nigeria and commercial banks of complicity in the sharing of the N15billion remittance.
The committee’s Chairman, Bamidele Salam, made the allegation at the resumed investigative hearing on revenue leakages in Abuja yesterday.
Remita is a payment solution that helps individuals and businesses make and receive payments, pay bills, and manage their finances.
The round table: Delta Bloodbath: Senate Meets Service Chiefs As Troops Comb Creeks.
Salam said that the Remita payment from the OAGF from 2016 to 2018 was questionable, adding that the OAGF paid the money without agreement or contract.
“The money is an illegal payment. There was no budget provision. So, where did they source the money from?” the chairman queried.
“If someone pays N150,000 as a Remita, you will pay 7.5 per cent Value-Added Tax in addition to it.
Salam said that the Remita payment from the OAGF from 2016 to 2018 was questionable, adding that the OAGF paid the money without agreement or contract.
“Ordinarily, that whole sum of VAT ought to go to the Federal Inland Revenue Service, but what they are doing in this transaction is that they will now add that VAT to the N150.000.
“They will add it up, gather the money together, and take it to the CBN,” he claimed.
He said, “System Spec and Remitta, both collecting revenue for the Federal Government, will share 50 per cent, while the banks and the CBN will also have their share.”
He said that by the time the committee finished its reconciliation, “I am very sure that hundreds of billions of naira will be the VAT component that was not remitted to FIRS.”
Salam stated that each bank ought to take the money and directly remit it to FIRS.
“Now, Remita is saying that each of those collecting the money will come and calculate the money that has been shared into shreds. Now, how do we track this kind of money? “he asked.
The Director, Banking Services, CBN, Mr.Ahmed Abdullahi, said it was necessary to source for an alternative way of remitting revenue, adding that Remita and System Spec were selected because they had been rendering similar services to banks.
The Chief Accountant, Treasury Single Account Department, Oyewole Adewale, representing the Accountant-General of the Federation, accused the CBN of not honouring its letters to reconcile the revenue accrued to the country through the Treasury Single Account.
He noted that the OAGF had developed a system where all revenue generated by the Ministries of Departments and Agencies of Government could now be monitored with little or no interference.
The Director, Remita Payment Services Ltd, Aderemi Atanda, while reading the summary of the TSA collection record, maintained that 10, 20, and 50 per cent were shared among CBN, commercial banks, and Remitta respectively.
Collections, he noted, often vary, saying, “In 2015.
Nation
Nigeria Needs Community-Driven Police, Not State Police -Shekarau
Former Governor of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, has said that the country needs to adopt community-driven police rather than establish state police.
Shekarau noted that it would be more effective in addressing the current security challenges in the country.
The former minister of education spoke in Akure at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) during the launch of a book titled ‘The Psychology of Growing Old: A Personal Experience for both Young and Old,’ written by Sehinde Arogbafa.
Shekarau argued that community police would be better controlled than state police as well as devoid of political and religious leaders’ influence.
He the involvement of communities in state policing would enhance trust, cooperation, and collaboration between the police and the citizens.
Shekarau argued that community police would be better controlled than state police as well as devoid of political and religious leaders’ influence.
He the involvement of communities in state policing would enhance trust, cooperation, and collaboration between the police and the citizens.
“I’ve been an advocate of community policing. It is different from what is being paraded as state police. Community policing means community watch.
“There is hardly any community in Nigeria that does not have what we call the vigilante group. All we need to do is the government should organise them, the government should own is up, and the government should promulgate a law.
“If I may give you an example of Kano, I’m sure you must have had experience with the Hisbah Guards; that is community watch. We set up a committee of 12 elders in every ward to do the selection of 20 responsible and respected young men for the Hisbah Guards. And we recruited them and mandated that the local government take charge of them. We’re paying them allowances. And they know everybody in the community.
“Within one to two years in Kano State, ask anybody; we don’t have any vices, no drugs, nothing in all the communities because that is community watch.
“We have over 10,000 Hisbah Guards in Kano; I did not nominate a single one; not a single party leader nominated one. It was all the elders in the community. The government created a law; we didn’t leave it in a vacuum. The number one assignment of the Hisbah Guards was to support and complement the work of all the Nigerian armed forces and the police. And they were working with them peacefully.
“Ask anybody in Kano today, and they will tell you that people prefer to report their cases to the Hisbah Guards office rather than even the police stations or even going to court. What we need in Nigeria is community watch, not just when you ask a state to create 2000 to 3000 state police bombarded by party thugs, and you will find out that you are going back to the same intimidation. There will be abuses by political leaders.
“But if you allow the communities to select with the backing of the government, the government will pay them all their allowances, provide vehicles for them, and support them, and there is a chain of command from the state to the local governments, to the wards, and even to the villages.
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