Institutional reforms and rapid development will get immediate priority from the incoming administration, President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said.
The target of the reforms is to bring help to the downtrodden and vulnerable Nigerians, Tinubu added.
Besides, he pledged to unify the country and ensure the continuation of the positive relationship between Nigeria and the United States (U.S.).
Tinubu spoke during a 20-minute discussion with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday night.
It was the first direct talks between the U.S. top diplomat and the president-elect, who is currently in Paris, France.
The phone call was initiated by Blinken.
Separate statements from the Tinubu media office and the U.S. Department of State confirmed the telephone interaction.
But the Blinken telephone call to Tinubu left the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in February 25 election Atiku Abubakar fuming.
The statement by Tunde Rahman of the Tinubu Media Office quoted the President-elect as expressing his determination to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy and faithfully serve the people.
Tinubu recalled being granted asylum by the U.S. when he was forced into exile during his struggle for the restoration of democracy in Nigeria.
He expressed his absolute belief that the result of the election which he clearly won reflected the will of the Nigerian people.
He further urged the U.S. to factor in Nigeria’s place in Africa and provide needed assistance in areas of security and economic investment in order for the nation to lead the way and be a shining example to the rest of the continent.
Blinken assured that Nigeria should expect a good and mutually beneficial relationship with the U.S.
He promised to play his part in ensuring and sustaining a cordial relationship between the two nations, saying a democratic and peaceful Nigeria is important to the U.S. as it is to Africa.
Blinken’s office statement by Matthew Miller said: “The Joe Biden administration is committed to strengthening ties with Nigeria.
“He emphasised his continued commitment to further strengthening the U.S.-Nigeria relationship with the incoming administration.
“The Secretary noted that the U.S.-Nigeria partnership is built on shared interests and strong people-to-people ties and that those links should continue to strengthen under President-elect Tinubu’s tenure.
“Secretary Blinken and President-elect Tinubu discussed the importance of inclusive leadership that represents all Nigerians, continued comprehensive security cooperation, and reforms to support economic growth.”
Students seeking admission into universities underwent tough times following the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s insistence on physical registration, SHARON OSAJI writes.
It was cold and windy on the night of Thursday, May 11. It had drizzled in some parts of Lagos State, including Ojora Road, Ikoyi, where the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board National Headquarters Annex Office is located.
At exactly 11.13 pm, The PUNCH observed some youths, probably between 18 and 24 years, loitering around the street.
They were clad in sweaters.
As this reporter went down the street and approached the JAMB office entrance, she observed a large number of youths, both male and female, lying along the sidewalk; some having chitchats in clusters.
They were armed with cartons and wrappers that served as their sleeping tools for the night.
They used the cartons as their beds, the wrappers to cover their bodies from the cold night and mosquitoes, and sweaters for warmth.
Our correspondent later discovered that some of the students had been sleeping outside the JAMB office for days.
It was gathered that on Monday, May 8, over 100 students slept along the street, while on May 9, 162 students slept outside.
It was learnt that the youth travelled from the outskirts of Lagos to register for the 2023 Direct Entry, which would enable them to gain admission into the 200-level in university.
Our correspondent further discovered that many of the students lived in Badagry, Epe, and Ikorodu areas, including Sango-Ota, Ogun State.
A student, who identified himself only as Damilola to avoid victimisation, said he came from Badagry.
“I have been coming to the JAMB office since last month (April). But I started sleeping here on Tuesday, May 9. I just had to get this done as the deadline is this weekend. This is my second year doing nothing; I don’t want to wait anymore.
“I spent over N6,000 on transportation both on Monday and Tuesday and when I saw that I had to be early in order to register, I decided to sleep here with the others. That Tuesday, we counted ourselves and we were 162 that slept here. But this is Thursday night and they have still not attended to us,” he added.
This year, JAMB said it would only recognise and accept 13 qualifications/certificates for the exercise.
For the first degree, University Diploma, Higher National Diploma, Ordinary National Diploma/National Diploma and Nigeria Certificate in Education holders will have to upload their certificates and letters of admission offered by JAMB for the certificate obtained.
Also, for Interim Joint Matriculation Board A’ Level, Joint Universities Examination Board A’ Level, NABTEB Advanced National Business Certificate, NABTEB Advanced National Technical Certificate, Higher Islamic Studies Certificate by NBAIS, International Baccalaureate and National Registered Nurse/National Registered Midwife, candidates were expected to upload their certificates and letter of admissions from the bodies conducting the examinations.
In March 2023, JAMB’s Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, announced the reopening of the 2023 Direct Entry registration from March 20, 2023, to April 28, 2023, after it was previously suspended in February.
It was, however, extended to May 6 and then to May 13.
JAMB made this year’s registration in-person, cancelling the online registration it practised over the years.
Also, it was compulsory for every candidate to apply manually for registration using their biometrics at the permanent testing centre in every state nationwide.
“The issue is having only one office attending to thousands of people. I can’t comprehend how they expected this to work without adequate provisions for the number of people.
“We have posted pictures and videos online demanding that JAMB treat us better and make the process easier but they have continued to turn a deaf ear. Why do we have to struggle for everything in this country?” Damilola wondered.
He continued, “When I came here last month, I was given an appointment for this Tuesday. I first came on Monday, May 8 to see things for myself and decided to come early on Tuesday, but I was told that the appointment had been nullified and I should go and write my name again and come back next week Tuesday, whereas the deadline is this Saturday.”
A female student, Arowosaye Jumai said, “I have been here since Monday. If I go home, I’ll be spending at least N3,000 per day on transportation and that is too expensive. I live near Sango-Ota and my area falls under Lagos State, so I was asked to come here for registration.
“Despite us sleeping here and queuing up very early in the morning, some officials still bring candidates in by connection and they get to register before us. Most times, they are even more than those that queue up and we end up staying throughout the day without achieving anything.”
Another student, Bello Victor, said JAMB officials sometimes urged them to return home while promising to attend to them.
“But even when we agree to go home and come back, it is still the same result. Registration is ending in two days and that means we will have to wait another year before we can get admission,” he added.
The students said their parents were unhappy with the situation but noted that they did not have a choice as some of them had spent years waiting to get admission.
However, a female student who lives in Badagry and spoke on condition of anonymity, said even after some parents accompanied their children to the centre, they were left unattended to.
“They didn’t even let them pass the gate,” she added.
The young woman said her parents did not subscribe to her sleeping along the road, and as a result, she had to return home every day.
She, however, noted that she had to leave home as early as 3 am in order to get to the JAMB office in time, risking her life in the process.
Despite the sacrifices, in a conversation with our correspondent on Saturday, she said she could not register.
“In previous years, we could register from a JAMB-accredited centre near our houses, but they suddenly came up with a new policy that we must register at only their centre,” she stated.
JAMB had set new guidelines in March 2023 for the registration of the 2023 Direct Entry nationwide to check the high level of forgery of the ‘A’ Level certificates used for the registration.
Oloyede had said that the joint operations of the Federal Ministry of Education and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission on direct entry qualifications brought to light some of these “unsavoury and nefarious activities.”
The registrar also stated that the 2023 direct entry registration would only be restricted to JAMB professional testing centres and would also be done under strict supervision.
“I understand they may be trying to make the process more transparent to avoid fraudulent registrations and may want to see all our documents physically to ascertain the authenticity, but there should be better ways to do it. How can all the DE candidates in a state go to only one location at this time and age? It can never make sense to me.
“The deadline is today (Saturday, May 13) and they have told us that they do not work on Saturdays, even though some people still slept there on Friday night. So, it is already too late for some of us,” the young lady stated.
Our correspondent searched through the Internet to find out the state of direct entry registration in other parts of the country.
Surprisingly, a similar trend was playing out in some other states across the federation.
While many posted photos and videos about their plight at the Lagos office, a Twitter user @theunusualtosin took to the micro-blogging site on May 9 to post videos of students in their numbers at the Ilorin, Kwara State JAMB office.
“Students are held stranded at JAMB office Ilorin over DE registration,” the tweep wrote.
“They kept us mute without prior information. These are thousands of Nigerian youths fighting for their fate over registration. Do we still have a working system?” the Twitter user questioned, as he tagged JAMB’s official handle.
In Kaduna, another Twitter user, on May 10, said students were being treated “like animals,” as he also shared a video from the zonal office showing students who flooded the gate of the building.
“Please JAMB do something about 2023 DE registration,” @elbadoosneh wrote.
“We are suffering; why would they be treating us like animals? Sun, transport money, feeding money. (With) over 23 LGAs in Kaduna, how can a single centre deliver these services? Please JAMB do something,” the user added.
Responding to the tweets, another user @Orifunke, who said her sister was one of those at the Lagos office seeking registration, also took to the social media platform on Friday to register her displeasure.
She wrote, “The incompetence of JAMB is incredibly alarming. How do you ask all direct entry students to come to Ikoyi to get their biometrics done and still not have adequate means to respond to them?”
“Students are even going there by 2 am to no avail! Some people are even sleeping over. I am alarmed at this level of incompetence, I can’t lie.”
When The PUNCH reached out to JAMB’s Head of Media and Information, Dr Fabian Benjamin, he said the Lagos office closes at 6 pm and “nobody has slept there.”
But when our correspondent told him about her visit to the area on Thursday night and encounter with the students, Fabian simply said, “I am not aware.”
In another conversation with our correspondent, however, a JAMB official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that students had been sleeping outside the Lagos office.
He said it was too late for anyone who hadn’t registered as the deadline had elapsed, but said the board might consider another postponement because of the number of students who had yet to register.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has told the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stubbornly refused to produce 70 percent of the electoral documents he requested for the prosecution of his petition.
Obi who came third in the February 25 presidential election is challenging the conduct and outcome of the polls at the tribunal.
He told the tribunal at Wednesday’s hearing session that the election was manipulated in favour of the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
His lead counsel, Dr Livy Uzougwu, SAN, specifically told the Justice Haruna Tsammani five- member election tribunal that he could not access documents used for the election in Rivers and Sokoto States.
Obi who was present in court at the pre-hearing session lamented that the electoral body demanded a huge fee of N1.5m to process election materials from Sokoto state.
Uzougwu told the tribunal that “in the case of Rivers State, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) bodly told us they do not have any form EC8 to give us.”
He drew the attention of the court to two previous rulings directing INEC to grant access to Labour Party for the inspection of electoral documents like the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) machines that were deployed for the conduct of the presidential poll.
In one of such rulings, the Court had on March 3 and 8 directed the electoral body to make available certified true copies of result sheets and other data obtained from the BVAS machines to tender same to aid the petitioner’s case. Uzoukwu equally referred to five separate letters that were written to INEC chairman, Yakubu Mahmood, requesting that access be granted to inspect and obtain relevant electoral documents to strengthen the petitioner’s suit at the court.
However, counsel to INEC, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), who denied the allegations, said his client was ready to cooperate with all parties in the petitions and the court.
He told the court that Obi’s legal team declined to attend a meeting that was called to streamline issues around documents to be tendered before the court.
“We agreed to meet on Monday and Tuesday (15 and 16 May). But on Monday, 15 May, I received a call that the Labour Party legal team had not turned up at the venue for the inspection of the documents,” Mahmoud told the court.
Mahmoud explained that LP was given some electoral documents in Rivers, “but they insisted on collecting all the documents that were required.
“The commission has not refused to produce any document,” Mr Mahmoud said.
But quickly, Obi’s counsel, Uzougwu responded that his team did not walkout of the meeting.
It was the turn of the APC,whose lead counsel, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, agreed with INEC’s position regarding access to electoral documents.
“All public documents coming from INEC and duly certified will not be objected to, but other documents may be objected to with reasons given and arguments presented at the end of the day before judgement.
“We are ready and willing to cooperate with the court,” Fagbemi assured.
On his part, lead counsel to Tinubu, Wole Olanipekun, said he had no issues accessing documents from the electoral umpire.
“We will reserve our objection to documents until the end of the trial,” Mr Olanipekun said.
After listening to all parties in the petition, the court adjourned proceedings until 19 May.
The Federal Government has started paying the withheld salaries of some university lecturers, especially members of the newly-registered Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics, NAMDA, leaving out other teaching staff.
It was gathered that members of NAMDA at the University of Maiduguri and the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, have been paid.
Reacting to the development, the National President of the Congress of University Academics, CONUA, Dr Niyi Sunmonu, told our correspondent that his union was following up on the process of getting his members paid too.
“It is a process and we are following up too. We are hopeful that members of our union would be paid,” he said.
Asked whether his union was given any assurance by the FG, Sunmonu reiterated that it was a process and that his union was following up.
When contacted, the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said the matter would be discussed at the National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of the union.
“We have our NEC meeting coming up soon and there, we are going to deliberate on the matter and other issues,” he said.
Recall that when ASUU when on strike on February 14, last year, before it called it off after eight months, the FG registered NAMDA and CONUA.
CONUA and NAMDA have always claimed that they did not go on strike, and that they were working until campuses were eventually shut down by the authorities.
The government subsequently asked the two unions to provide evidence of working during the said period and it was based on that that the FG started paying the withheld salaries.
During the course of the strike, the FG invoked the ‘no work, no pay’ policy and refused to pay eight months salaries of the lecturers.
Meanwhile, the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Abuja, has slated May 30 to decide the suit filed by the FG against ASUU regarding last year’s strike.
ASUU suspended the strike on October 14 based on the orders given by the court.
President-elect Bola Tinubu went down memory lane in recalling how he was granted political asylum in the United States during the regime of General Sani Abacha in 1995.
The former head of state had clamped down on human rights activists, lawyers, doctors, journalists and some groups.
The President-elect was at the time a member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), a group that gave the Abacha regime a tough time.
Tinubu had fled the country as a result of the pressure from Abacha.
Speaking during a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, Tinubu recalled how America sheltered him in the troubled days.
Tunde Rahman, spokesman of the President-elect, disclosed this in a statement.
“During the talks that lasted about 20 minutes, President-elect Tinubu spoke about his long and eventful sojourn in America, recalling how he was granted asylum by the US when, due to his determined struggle for democracy in Nigeria, he was forced into exile by the late General Sani Abacha’s military junta,” Rahman said.
He quoted the President-elect saying that among his immediate priorities would be to deliver institutional reforms and development programs to deepen the country’s democratic institutions and bring help to poor and vulnerable Nigerians.
Responding to Secretary Blinken, the President-elect said without national unity, security, economic development and good governance, Nigeria would not become a better place to live in or play her proper role in the comity of African nations.
“He urged the US to factor in Nigeria’s important place in Africa and provide needed assistance in the areas of security and economic investment in order for the nation to lead the way and be a shining example to the rest of the continent.
“Secretary Blinken assured that Nigeria should expect a good and mutually-beneficial relationship with the US,” the statement read in part.
Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor, is expected to be sworn-in as the 16th President of the country on May 29, 2023.
President-elect Bola Tinubu went down memory lane in recalling how he was granted political asylum in the United States during the regime of General Sani Abacha in 1995.
The former head of state had clamped down on human rights activists, lawyers, doctors, journalists and some groups.
The President-elect was at the time a member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), a group that gave the Abacha regime a tough time.
Tinubu had fled the country as a result of the pressure from Abacha.
Speaking during a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, Tinubu recalled how America sheltered him in the troubled days.
Tunde Rahman, spokesman of the President-elect, disclosed this in a statement.
“During the talks that lasted about 20 minutes, President-elect Tinubu spoke about his long and eventful sojourn in America, recalling how he was granted asylum by the US when, due to his determined struggle for democracy in Nigeria, he was forced into exile by the late General Sani Abacha’s military junta,” Rahman said.
He quoted the President-elect saying that among his immediate priorities would be to deliver institutional reforms and development programs to deepen the country’s democratic institutions and bring help to poor and vulnerable Nigerians.
Responding to Secretary Blinken, the President-elect said without national unity, security, economic development and good governance, Nigeria would not become a better place to live in or play her proper role in the comity of African nations.
“He urged the US to factor in Nigeria’s important place in Africa and provide needed assistance in the areas of security and economic investment in order for the nation to lead the way and be a shining example to the rest of the continent.
“Secretary Blinken assured that Nigeria should expect a good and mutually-beneficial relationship with the US,” the statement read in part.
Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor, is expected to be sworn-in as the 16th President of the country on May 29, 2023.
Private school owners in the country have taken a swipe at the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) for consistently accusing them of aiding examination malpractice and other sharp practices, particularly in its school-based May June West African Senior School Certificate Examination(WASSCE).
They said WAEC is not being fair but discriminating in its claim as cases of malpractice are also being recorded in public schools.
They said even though private schools are not at anytime supporting examination malpractice and will never do so in both external and internal exams, WAEC should not make it looks as if cases of exam malpractice is restricted to private schools
Nigerian Tribune had earlier reported WAEC’s concern over lingering malpractice in its various diets in the country, blaming the societal challenge not on public or private schools alone but also on students, teachers, principals, operators of the so-called miracle centres, and dubious websites, the exam officials, as well as parents and urged all to join hands in the fight against the menace.
But speaking to Nigerian Tribune in an exclusive interview when his reaction was sought over the accusation that the rate of exam malpractice is high in private schools, the National President of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Yomi Otubela, said private schools have always been the target of WAEC about “its inability to conduct malpractice-free exams.”
He queried whether private schools are supervisors in charge of WAEC exams or the ones determining rules and regulations guiding the conduct of candidates and exam officials.
He also asked if all those found culpable of rules infringement in its exam are strictly from private schools with none from public schools.
He said he is aware that malpractice cases are also being recorded in public schools but would hardly WAEC talk about them.
“So, why should WAEC leave out public schools in such an accusation,” he further queried, even as he urged the examination body to stop passing its responsibility to conduct malpractice-free exams to a third party.
On the late registration of candidates for the school-based exams, which WAEC also blamed private schools for being fond of, the NAPPS boss said WAEC is also goofed on.
Otubela said WAEC has the liberty, just like every other examination body around the world, to decide candidates’ registration deadlines and adhere strictly to them.
He said, so, WAEC claiming that private schools are the ones that always prolong the registration deadline and calling for an extension now and then is untenable.
According to him, WAEC should be able to go by its own set rules and regulations, including the time -frame for registration, and stop blaming private schools for everything.
Telecommunication operators may soon begin to charge bank customers’ airtime or data for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data transactions, The PUNCH has learnt.
This was due to a proposal from a Central Bank of Nigeria-led stakeholders’ forum organized to resolve the lingering billing and debt crisis between telecommunication companies and Deposit Money Banks in the country.
Banks and telcos have been in a running battle over N120bn USSD debts which the former has refused to pay over issues bothering on technical disagreements.
Earlier, the CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communication, Dr Abdulmumin Isa, had disclosed that the apex bank was intervening in the crisis.
He said, “The CBN is very much aware of the protracted dispute between the banks and telcos and has been engaging all stakeholders to ensure an amicable resolution.”
According to him, the direct intervention of the CBN in March 2021 has resulted in a per session price of N6.98 (including settling any outstanding fees) between the banks and telcos.
He added that the issue between banks and telecom operators was due to a technical crisis, which has led to high debt.
“As far as we are aware, since 2021, DMBs continue to collect the USSD fees and remit the same on behalf of the telcos based on that agreement.
“We understand the latest dispute concerns technical issues regarding the definition of a successful transaction from a bank and telco perspective.
“USSD fees are charged by DMBs using an automated system which bills the customer for a successful transaction only after a banking service is consumed. For the Telcos, a successful transaction happens once the customer has dialed the USSD short-code which may not lead to the consummation of banking service. Whilst such truncated transactions are not registered on the DMBs collection platform and thus not billed to bank customers, telcos expect the DMBs to charge customers once the short code is dialed, whether or not a financial transaction is consummated,” Isa said.
The Acting CBN director also disclosed that the CBN had proposed a direct billing model to allow telecom operators to have telcos full visibility of USSD transactions and allow them to charge their customers directly.
However, he added that the feasibility of the model was still being worked out by the relevant stakeholders.
When contacted by our correspondent on Tuesday for more information on the direct billing model, the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, disclosed that the direct billing method would involve charges made through airtime or data.
He said, “The direct billing is end-user billing and that would be charging from the airtime or your data, and the bank will charge from the account.”
He, however, stressed that this method is not a resolution to the rising debt, which needs to be cleared.
“That is what they are talking about but that is not the issue. The issue we are talking about is the payment of the outstanding debt. Direct billing is for the future. No matter what billing method they adopt, it doesn’t deal with the outstanding,” he added.
The PUNCH observed that the debt owed by banks to telecom operators rose by 275 per cent from N32bn in 2019 to N120bn currently.
In an earlier report, the ALTON chairman disclosed that the operators had sought regulatory approval to implement partial removal of the USSD services.
He noted that the disconnection would be done in batches, starting with the highest debtor subject to final approval.
The NCC finally granted the approval recently, which will lead to a disruption of USSD services.
Speaking on Monday during the launch of the Financial Literacy e-Learning Platform, called ‘SabiMoni’, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, stressed the need to deepen the payment system infrastructure while addressing the issue between banks and telecom operators.
He said, “We will find that deepening the payment system infrastructure needed to be taken seriously and that is the reason you would have seen that between 2014 and even till now everything had been done to deepen our payment infrastructure through various mechanisms. At some point, we also said we will bring the telcos into it and then there was a tug-of-war between the banks about how they should share the income and of course, you have heard the story about USSD, which we are making a deliberate effort.”
He added that the apex bank would help to resolve the crisis because if it is not resolved, people will suffer.
“I am very certain that we are going to get to the end of it because if we do not resolve the problem, the people who will suffer when this kind of disagreement goes on will be those who are the users of the banking sector,” the CBN governor said.
According to Emefiele, the USSD has been very useful as a part of the mechanism for financial inclusion noting that he will not allow the services disrupted over the sharing of the income between banks and telecommunication companies.
The CBN governor also noted that one of the key drivers of financial inclusion is financial literacy, adding that “It is a prerequisite for greater financial inclusion, which would lead to the stability of the financial system and ultimately economic growth and development.”
In light of this, the apex bank launched the SabiMONI e-Learning Platform to provide a knowledge base for financial literacy.
Emefiele said, “The SabiMONI is a fully digital national e-learning platform that provides a knowledge base for financial literacy. It is aimed at providing individuals with the opportunity to be trained and to become Certified Financial Literacy Trainers through self-service. The platform is aimed at supporting our efforts towards ramping up the number of experts that can be used to drive financial education in the country and perhaps beyond.”
He added, “There is no gain saying the fact that the SabiMONI Financial Literacy e-Learning Platform will enable us drive financial education physically through the Certified Financial Literacy Trainers at the locations where it is most needed. It will enable us to drive Digital Financial Literacy thereby boosting consumer confidence in the uptake and utilization of Digital Financial Services.”
Also speaking at the launch of the platform, the Director of the Consumer Protection Department of the CBN, Mrs Rashida Monguno, said the platform seeks to improve the low financial literacy penetration currently standing at 64.1 per cent.
She added that the reason for the poor score may be due to a shortage of skilled financial literacy trainers and limited avenues or channels for financial education.
United States Secretary of State, Antony J Blinken, has told President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu that the Joe Biden administration is committed to strengthening ties with Nigeria.
Blinken, according to a statement by Matthew Miller called Tinubu on Tuesday.
“Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke this morning with Nigerian President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu to emphasize his continued commitment to further strengthening the U.S.-Nigeria relationship with the incoming administration.
“The Secretary noted that the U.S.-Nigeria partnership is built on shared interests and strong people-to-people ties and that those links should continue to strengthen under President-elect Tinubu’s tenure.
“Secretary Blinken and President-elect Tinubu discussed the importance of inclusive leadership that represents all Nigerians, continued comprehensive security cooperation, and reforms to support economic growth,” the statement reads.
An eyewitness on Tuesday who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent how officers of the Lagos State Police Command stormed the Akin Osiyemi residence of Afrobeat musician, Seun Kuti, off Allen Avenue, Ikeja, for a search, while also seizing his wife’s mobile phone.
The eyewitness said, “The police officers invaded Seun’s home here on my street, Akin Osiyemi, and he was in the vehicle with them while in handcuffs.
“They stormed and searched his apartment. But they also seized his wife’s phone before driving off with Seun Kuti.”
Guinness World Records has released an official statement on Nigerian chef Hilda Bassey Effiong popularly known as Hilda Baci.
Baci, the Akwa Ibom native surpassed the record for the longest cooking time by an individual, held by an Indian chef, Lata Tondon, who had completed the task in 87 hours, 45 minutes, and 00 secs in Rewa, in 2019.
The statement which was published on the body’s official website on Tuesday read, “She’s hoping to snap up the record title for the longest cooking marathon (individual) which currently belongs to Lata Tondon (India) with a time of 87 hr 45 min”.
“Hilda began cooking on Thursday and continued through to Monday, reportedly whipping up 55 recipes and more than 100 meals in a whopping 100-hour stint.
“Officials on our records team look forward to reviewing the evidence and hope to be able to verify Hilda’s efforts as a new record very soon,” it also read.
According to the British reference body, one of its spokespersons said: “are looking forward to receiving the evidence for its Records Management Team to review before we can confirm the record is official.”
She was initially scheduled to stop at 4 pm today culminating in her former 96-hour target surpassing the current Guinness World Record holder but eventually surpassed the 96-hour target and has now achieved a 100-hour record time.
