Nation
THE STATES
Borno
The 7 Division of the Nigerian Army yesterday reviewed
the curfew in Maiduguri to cover the period from 7pm to 6am daily.
A statement from Colonel Sani Usman said: “It is now to last from 7 pm to 6 am daily. All must comply with this directive. Anyone found flouting this directive will be arrested, dealt with decisively and prosecuted.”
Before the review, the curfew was taking effect from 9pm.
Though no reason was given for the review, sources said the measure may be related to rumours of impending attacks on Maiduguri.
Benue
Benue State Deputy Governor, Chief Steven Lawani has
urged the Tiv people of the state not to panic over power shift to the Benue South Senatorial District of the state.
Chief Lawani who is aspiring for the governorship seat in the next election made the remark in Kwande local government area of the state during consultation with his Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders and traditional rulers at the weekend.
He noted that, in view of the close affinity between the various groups in the state and for the fact that the people have lived peacefully together for generations, it had become imperative to discard any form of suspicion about power shift to the Idoma speaking area.
“The fears, suspicion and doubts of the people over power shift to Benue south senatorial district are largely unfounded and baseless, as the ethnic groups in the state have lived peacefully together for generations. This is not by accident but by divine act.
“I want to assure that power shift will not affect the inalienable rights of the majority in the state. We will do everything to erase such fears by embracing all groups in the state,” he said.
Ekiti
The Ekiti State government has urged the Peoples Demo
cratic Party (PDP) in the state to focus on ways of ensuring a smooth transition in the state and how to record laudable achievements during the next administration instead of its “campaign of calumny against the present government”.
The Commissioner for Infor-mation and Civic Orientation, Mr Tayo Ekundayo, who gave the advice in Ado-Ekiti, said the PDP in the past couple of weeks has “been churning out lies as part of a sinister plan to generate public disaffection against the Fayemi’s administration”.
The commissioner cited instan-ces of false and misleading reports found to have originated from the PDP camp to include the allegation that the Fayemi administration recruited over 3,000 workers into the state civil service after the June 21 gubernatorial elections.
He said the allegation was far from the truth, adding that 500 mathematics and some core science subjects teachers were recruited in November, 2013, based on existing vacancies while 493 civil servants were recruited in February, 2014, to fill vacant positions.
“In any case, what is wrong in recruiting Ekiti indigenes into the state civil service if there are vacancies and budget provision to take care of such?” he said.
FCT
A female patient on admission in the same hospital with
the late Port Harcourt doctor Sam Enemuo, tested positive to the Ebola virus, bringing the confirmed cases to 16, Health Minister Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu said in Abuja yesterday.
He was speaking at an emergency meeting of the National Health Council.
The minister said the doctor’s wife also showed symptoms of the disease and has since been quarantined.
“It is expected that a few more contacts will develop the disease especially in Rivers State before Nigeria sees the last case of Ebola,” he said.
“While it is encouraging that so far, all confirmed cases of the disease have their roots in the index case, Mr Patrick Sawyer, great vigilance is required particularly at our ports of entry to ensure that we do not have cases of Ebola from other sources other than Sawyer.”
Jigawa
Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido yesterday disowned
the endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2015 election by the North West zonal stakeholders of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday.
Lamido did not personally attend the zonal meeting in Kaduna, but he was represented by his deputy, Alhaji Ahmed Muhammed Gumel, who led the state’s delegation that comprised party officials and others.
A communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, which was attended by Vice President Namadi Sambo, said the zone decided to call on Jonathan to declare his re-election bid as he had achieved a lot for the North West and the country.
But Lamido yesterday said Jigawa State was not part of the endorsement as the communiqué was prepared even before the meeting was held.
The governor, who spoke in Dutse through the deputy governor, added that the president had also not fulfilled his campaign promises to Jigawa and therefore the state had no basis to support his re-election bid.
Kano
Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State has
concluded arrangements to formally declare for the presidency in 2015, a reliable source in Kano Government House has confirmed.
The source said Kwankwaso would formally declare his ambition this month.
Our correspondent gathered that the governor who has been at loggerheads with President Goodluck Jonathan is set to contest the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) so as to confront President Jonathan in the general elections.
Kwara
Intending pilgrims from Kwara State have been warned
against taking illicit drugs to the holy land.
Chairman of the state Muslim Pilgrims’ Welfare Board, Imam Uthman Olosun, told the intending pilgrims that death penalty awaits anyone caught for drug peddling.
He spoke at the enlightenment programme organised by the board where various agencies including the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), among others were invited to sensitize the intending pilgrims.
The chairman specifically warned pilgrims against going to Hajj with Tramadol tablets, saying the drug has been banned by the Saudi authorities.
Also speaking, Executive Secretary of the board, Hajia Fatimah Abolore Jimoh, said the intending pilgrims are expected to travel in five batches as soon as the inaugural flight takes off on September 6.
Lagos
Mrs Ganiat Fawehinmi, widow of human rights activ
ist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to resign his position if he feels he cannot tackle insurgency in Nigeria.
Mrs Fawehinmi made the call in Lagos, at a press briefing organised by the Gani Fawehinmi Memorial Organisation (GAFAMORG) to announce activities marking the fifth anniversary of the lawyer’s death. She said “the apparent helpless-ness of the president in the face of continuous bombing and the kidnap of school girls in Borno are enough to demand his resignation”.
“Look at the case of Chibok girls who were kidnapped; if they were the president’s daughters, wouldn’t he have acted? Look at how he acted when a relative of his in-law was kidnapped? He swung into action immediately and the person was found.
Nasarawa
The Nasarawa State House of Assembly yesterday de
nied reports of a fresh plan for another impeachment notice with additional allegations against Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.
The House Committee Chair-man on Information, Mohammed Baba Ibaku, told newsmenthat the House had no such plan as reported yesterday.
”An impeachment notice is not told, it is done. If we are compiling fresh allegations against the governor, we will do so. It will not be the media that will urge us to do so with speculations. I don’t want to react to speculations, especially as there are no names mentioned in the report,” Ibaku said.
Osun
A lecturer with the Department of History and Interna
tional Studies in the Osun State University, Mr. Wale Farawe, died yesterday from injuries he sustained in an auto crash a fortnight ago.
The lecturer who was receiving treatment at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital in Osogbo had gone into comma after the crash which occurred during an excursion with students of the university’s Faculty of Humanities and Culture to the Ayinkunnugba waterfalls in Oke. A student, David Binuyo and the driver of the vehicle died in the crash.
Sokoto
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad
Abubakar, yesterday harped on the importance of education and need for all well-meaning and wealthy Nigerians to complement the efforts of government in the funding of education.
He said the era was gone when funding of the sector and general infrastructural development of schools at all levels were left to government alone.
The Sultan, who made the call when members of the Federal Government College, Sokoto Old Boys Association, visited him, urged former students of schools at all levels to support their alama matar.
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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