Month: January 2023

The Senate has once again asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the deadline for the stoppage of the use of old naira notes from January 31 till July 31, 2023.

With one week to the deadline for the termination of the use of the old naira notes, federal lawmakers in the Senate said the policy should be extended as banks are still dispensing old naira notes because of insufficient new naira notes.

The lawmakers also lamented the hardship the policy is causing Nigerians as they said there are long queues at banks across the country because people are trying to deposit their old notes and get new ones.

Some legislators also asked the Senate to concur with the House of Representatives which had earlier called for an extension of the policy and compel the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele to extend the deadline.

The calls by the legislators coincided with a statement by the CBN governor who on Tuesday at the end of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja said the apex bank’s January 31, 2023 deadline for the validity of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes remains.

The Presidential Campaign Council PCC of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC on Monday made a U-turn on its decision to not respond to the resignation of one of its directors, Hajia Naja’atu Mohammed, saying she was sacked for incompetence and being a mole in its cold.

It said it received with amusement Mohammed’s hasty “resignation” from her position as Director of Civil Society Organizations “just before she was sacked for incompetence, quarrelsomeness and after being uncovered to be a mole planted in our winning campaign in order to leak sensitive information to our desperate opponents”.

Hajia Mohammed resigned last Saturday, saying her conscience would not allow her to continue in the APC PCC. She had also said the party’s standard bearer, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was too sick and possibly suffering from Alzheimer’s disease as he could not hold a teacup when she visited him in London some time ago.

Special Adviser on Public Affairs at the Tinubu Media Office, Mahmud Jega in a statement issued Monday night in Abuja said although Mohammed deceived the gullible public by claiming that she resigned, “her sack letter with ignominy from the campaign and the party had just arrived at her desk”.

“Her desperate, fact-free, machination-filled and imaginary utterances since her sack from the campaign has proved beyond doubt that she was unfit to serve in the first place, until it was discovered that she was actually a mole.

“Not being a medical doctor but whose profession in the last three decades was as a political jobber and expert name-dropper, she nevertheless issued a pseudo-medical report on our presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, after a brief meeting in London.

“Even the association of native doctors would sack her for quackery and for reaching a medical conclusion without any test”, he stated.

He said despite his position as the clear front runner in the 2023 presidential race, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has been running the most punishing campaign schedule of any of the presidential candidates, and has already visited many parts of the country with an almost non-stop schedule of rallies, town hall meetings and meetings with professional, community, business and religious groups and associations.

“Naja’atu claimed that when she asked Asiwaju what plans he had for the North, he answered that he had none. This is strange and questions the integrity of the woman and her story.”

“Asíwájú has unfolded an Action plan for the whole country, in which problems bedevilling the North got very comprehensive attention. Asiwaju also attended the Arewa Summit last year, at which he unfolded and elaborated on these programs.

“As conclusive proof of her unstable and unreliable character, Naja’atu said in her pre-emptive “resignation letter” that she was quitting party politics as the political parties have no ideological differences and her values and beliefs no longer align with party politics.

“Within a day, pictures surfaced in the media showing her meeting with the PDP presidential candidate and declaring her support for him.

“All Nigerians must be wondering what kind of “values and beliefs” she has apart from opportunism, selfishness and greed.

“We were least surprised about her dramatic exit, coming after she went on TV to disparage our party and President Muhammadu Buhari. Only a mole could behave in such a manner.

“We urge our supporters all over the country to ignore the antics of this political soldier of fortune and concentrate on the job of delivering the Tinubu/Shettima ticket at the polls in barely a month from now”, Jega added.

Authorities of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, has restricted candidates obtaining 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, not to choose Biochemistry and Petroleum & Gas Engineering as their preferred courses.

In an interview with The PUNCH, Public Relations Officer, UNILAG, Mrs Joke Alaga said, “We can’t accommodate those two courses right now and it is for those currently buying UTME form.”

A statement by the institution read, “All prospective UTME and Direct Entry candidates for the 2023 admission exercise should please note that the University of Lagos will not run two programmes, namely: Biochemistry and Petroleum & Gas Engineering. Hence, there will be no admission into the two programmes.

“Candidates are hereby advised not to choose these two programmes, while those who have done so already should change to other programmes.”

The Academic Union of Universities (ASUU), has fumed over the ‘slim-fitted payment’ of check-off dues by the federal government.

Check-off dues refer to the money deducted from staff salaries by the employer and paid as membership fees to the union or organisation representing the workers.

The federal government deducts check-off dues from the salaries of all lecturers of federal universities as the fee for their membership in ASUU.

The dues are usually remitted to ASUU’s account after deduction from members’ salaries.

According to TheCable, the federal government only released half of the deducted dues to the union for the month of November.

Christian Opata, chairman of ASUU at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), confirmed the development to TheCable on Monday.

“It’s true. Well, I don’t have the records of all the universities, but judging by my own university (UNN), what we get as check-off dues do not reflect the number of academic staff we have in the university,” Opata said.

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“That happened even before Congress of University Academics (CONUA), that’s the situation.”

When asked about the particular month the check-off dues were not fully paid, he said: “It has been like that in my own university, let me say for the past six to seven months. In fact, since IPPIS started”.

When contacted, Emmanuel Osodeke, ASUU president, told TheCable he would revert after reaching out to the union’s branches.

“I need to get information on that from the branches. When I do that, I’ll let you know,” he said.

The ministry of labour and employment had earlier attributed the withheld dues to the failure of ASUU to submit its audit reports as required.

Lecturers under ASUU have been at loggerheads with the government since the strike ended, over non-payment of their salaries for the period the strike lasted.

The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) says the CBN’s naira redesign policy has fuelled the currency’s stability at the parallel market.

ABCON president Aminu Gwadabe stated this on Sunday in Lagos.

Mr Gwadabe spoke against the backdrop of the outlook of the naira as the January 31 deadline approaches for swapping the old naira notes with the new banknotes.

“The naira redesign and the security surveillance of the financial system have stemmed the volatile demand pressure in the parallel market. This explains the stability witnessed at the retail end of the parallel market,” Mr Gwadabe said.

The ABCON chief added that the naira had traded within a stable band of N750 to $1 since the introduction of the policy to date. He said the exchange rate had remained stable in the face of the shortage of supply of the dollar in the market.

According to him, the lack of available new naira notes has continued to raise fears and concerns among average Nigerians.

He urged the CBN to continue its advocacy and stakeholder engagement to transition old notes to new ones seamlessly.

(NAN)

The Nation Newspaper

Gunmen have beheaded the Sole Administrator of the Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State, Christopher Ohizu.

His abductors carried out the act after allegedly receiving a N6millon ransom.

The gunmen, who called themselves separatists, reportedly tied his hands backward with a rope before he was slaughtered.

The council boss was kidnapped with two others on Friday after his country home at Imoko community in Arondizuogu area of the LGA was razed.

He was shot on the legs before he was whisked away by his abductors.

It was learnt that the sole administrator was beheaded on Sunday two days later in the forest.

Videos of his beheading surfaced online on Sunday evening.

Travel to Gashaka Gumti National Park

A source said: ”They beheaded the Ideato North Sole Administrator on Sunday. They posted the video of his beheading with his phone on his own WhatsApp status. This was how people got to know that he has been beheaded.

“He was sliced after collecting a ransom of N6millon. He was killed in such an inhuman way. The videos are terrifying. May God heal our land.”

Also in the video the separatists said: “We are not ESN, we are not IPOB, we are fighting to gain our freedom and there will be no election in the Southeast.”

When contacted, Imo Police spokesman Henry Okoye, confirmed the incident to the Nation.He said: “Mr Christopher Ohizu was abducted and two others were abducted in the early hours of 20th Jan 2023. He is the

Sole Administrator SOLAD of Ideator North.”

The Congress of University Academics (CONUA) has enjoined the Federal Government to pay the withheld salaries of its members and those of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

CONUA said it was not part of the strike by ASUU and so its members should be paid because they did not refuse to teach.

It also urged the government to tackle accreditation fraud in universities.

These are contained in a communique issued by its President Dr Niyi Sunmonu at the end of its maiden National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at the weekend.

It was held at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

The union urged the Federal Government to make education cheap by ensuring an uninterrupted academic calendar in universities.

CONUA also urged the government to reduce the number of out-of-school children and curb massive unemployment without further delay.

Sunmonu said: “CONUA has consistently maintained before now, that it didn’t declare any strike and by the provision of Section 43 (1B) of the Trade Dispute Act, ‘no work, no pay’ should not affect us.”

He insisted that CONUA was not established to destabilise ASUU.

Sunmonu said: “CONUA was founded on strong ideologies that emanated from flagrant disrespect for the constitution.

“He who comes with equity should do so with clean hands.

“If you want to tackle or engage government, you must also not have issues within yourselves.”

On the forthcoming general election, CONUA urged the government to ensure a transparent, free, fair and credible elections.

It said: “Since the country runs a democracy, INEC must ensure that political parties evolve to the point of clear ideologies so that Nigerians can have better choices.

“CONUA totally condemns the burning of INEC offices in various parts of the country as this portends a grave threat to our democracy.

“It also encourages all Nigerians of voting age to participate in the forthcoming election.

“On security, CONUA applauds all the various security agencies for their sustained efforts at curtailing the security threats in the country and encourages them to do more to secure the nation.”

“CONUA frowns at banditry, kidnapping, terrorism and other security threats in the country but strongly encourages the government to reduce the out-of-school children thereby reducing the massive unemployment without further delay.”

Punch Newspaper

More facts have emerged on the death of a 300-level student of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Oluwapelumi Olona, who allegedly committed suicide at his off-campus residence in the Aule area of Akure, Ondo State.

The Industrial Design student allegedly hanged himself in his room.

The President of the Students’ Union Government, FUTA, Jesunifemi Asoore, while speaking to one of our correspondents on Sunday, disclosed that Olona left a suicide note.

He said, “He left a suicide note and titled it ‘Death note’. There were some messages in it but we have not been able to interpret it. The note is now with the police.”

PUNCH Metro gathered that the deceased might have taken his life over a fraud allegation levelled against him in his department.

One of his friends, Omoniyi Enoch, who spoke to the Union of Campus Journalists of FUTA, said Olona had a money issue with his department.

Olona was said to be the financial secretary of his department until his death.

Enoch’s interview was found on the Facebook page of the union.

He said, “When school resumed for the 2021/2022 session, the treasurer of the department was not around to receive payment for dues. Joseph (Olona) decided to receive the payments from students.

“The president requested that he should send N100,000 to him for a departmental project. Joseph sent it using his digital bank – Carbon. He was debited but the president did not receive the payment.

“Several mails were sent to the bank but the issue wasn’t resolved. Due to that, he was pressured about it and everyone secluded him. He hadn’t attended lectures since we got back from the Christmas break because of the pressure.”

Enoch said last Friday, the deceased informed him that the head of department called his dad to say he was involved in fraud.

The friend said the development disturbed him.

“He requested to follow me to my office at the Students’ Union Building because he did not want to stay alone. I left him at the office to attend to the homecoming event that held at T.I. Francis Auditorium and also watched the Awopegba match.

“When I got back to the office, he had already locked the office door. He came back to give me the keys and left. When I got home, I forced him to eat. At 7.40pm, I knocked his door but he didn’t open. I left, thinking he was still angry with me for leaving him at the office. At 8.30pm, I knocked again but there was no response. At 10.01pm, I tried again but there was no response and went to sleep.

“This (Saturday) morning, I went to knock around 8am but there was no response. I had to go and check through his window and I saw him hanging from the ceiling,” he added.

The Head of Media and Protocols Unit of the institution, Mr Adegbenro Adebanjo, said his parents had been informed.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, confirmed the incident.

“His body has been taken to a morgue and investigation has started to unravel the reasons behind his action, but it was a case of suicide,” the PPRO stated.