Category: National Issue

• 

This was disclosed in a statement issued on the social media platform of the House, titled, ‘Insecurity: House asks FG to postpone 2021 census.’

The statement partly read, “Leading the debate on the motion, the lawmaker told the House that several factors would work against the accuracy of the figures that would be obtained and the overall success of the exercise due largely to insecurity.

“For instance, Beji said, the safety of enumerators would not be guaranteed in many parts of the country.

“He also stated that many households would be unwilling to make family members available for enumeration because of the fear of the unknown.

“He added that it would be unwise in the prevailing circumstances to post enumerators to some parts of the country currently considered to be volatile.

“Beji argued that the fact that many locations would not be reached by enumerators was enough a reason to suspend the planned exercise.

“The key prayer of his motion urged the House to “call on the @NigeriaGov to suspend the exercise until the security of the country stabilises.”

“The prayer was endorsed by the House in a majority voice vote.

Punch

• 

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, said the FG was working to reduce the high cost of governance by doing away with unnecessary expenditures.

Disclosing this at the policy dialogue on corruption and cost of governance in Nigeria organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission in Abuja, she said the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has directed the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission to review the salaries of civil servants as well as the number of federal agencies.

Ahmed urged all government agencies to come together to trim the cost amid the country’s dwindling revenue.

She said the government also intends to remove some superfluous items from the budget in order to cut the cost of governance in the country.

She stated, “We still see government expenditure increase to a terrain twice higher than our revenue. The nation’s budgets are filled every year with projects that are recycled over and over again and are also not necessary.

“Mr President has directed that the salaries committee that I chair, work together with the Head of Service and other members of the committee to review the government payrolls in terms of stepping down on cost.’’

Punch

• 

The Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges directed the Nigeria Customs Service to return the bags of rice and money which its officials allegedly seized recently from some shops in the Oja Oba market in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The Senate Committee at its sitting, condemned the act and described it as totally unacceptable.

The panel then asked the Comptroller General of Customs, Hameed Ali, represented by his Assistant Comptroller General, Garba Mohammed, to ensure that the seized goods were returned to the affected traders within two weeks.

It also directed that their shops should be unlocked while money taken from the shops must be equally returned.

Members of the panel were unanimous in their condemnation of the NCS, insisting that its action was a breach of the Customs Act and the Executive Order signed by former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in 2007.

The legislation empowers the agency to only impound smuggled goods, 40 kilometers radius to the border.

Punch

• 

The Federal Government has approved the activation of new SIM card registration with mandatory National Identity Number linking, starting from April 19, 2021.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Technical Assistant (Information Technology) to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Femi Adeluyi.

The statement said, “For IoT/M2M activations, SIM security protocols would be implemented on the SIM profile to ensure that SIMs can only be used for point to point data services specific to the URL they are working with. All other services will be barred.

“In the event that a data only service is particular to individual use (eg home car tracking, WiFi, MiFi services, etc), the standard NIN registration process will be followed. A Telecoms Master will also be required for Corporates requiring IoT/M2M activations.”

He stated, “The implementation of the policy will commence on Monday, 19th of April 2021. The issuance of new SIMs and other suspended activities will resume on the same date, as long as verification is done and the guidelines are fully adhered to.

“The minister has also directed Nigerian Communications Commission and NIMC to ensure that the provisions of the policy are strictly followed by all operators and subscribers.”

Punch

• 

After over two weeks of stay in London, United Kingdom, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), arrived at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja .

The President had travelled to London on March 30 for a “routine medical check-up”, according to presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina.

However, Buhari’s “short rest” at the Abuja House in London has been marred with the #HarassBuhariOutOfLondon protest organised by Reno Omokri, an ex-aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan. A counter-protest or a solidarity protest was soon organised in support of the Nigerian president in what could be described as absurd drama.

Buhari has been criticised for his medical trips abroad despite the huge amount allocated to the Aso Rock clinic annually.

• 

The Federal Government has extended the deadline for linking Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) with valid National Identity Numbers (NIN) by one month.

This was contained in a statement by spokesperson of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Kayode Adegoke.

The statement reads: “The meeting took place on Thursday, April 1, 2021 and approval was given to extend the period of the NIN-SIM linkage to the 6th of May, 2021.

“The request for the extension was presented to President Muhammadu Buhari and he endorsed it.”

Meanwhile, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami, has disclosed that the current ban on registration of new subscriber identification module, commonly known as SIM, to Nigerians will stay in place for a while longer.

“The ban on new SIMs remains in place for security reasons. We know this ban is painful, but very necessary.

“In the past, SIM registration processes were compromised, most of the SIMs were improperly registered, hence we have most of the SIMs used to commit crimes in the country.

“So what we are doing now is matching all the SIM cards with NIN. This has become necessary for security purposes.

“The ban may affect our economy, but when addressing the issue of security, the economy takes back stage.

“People used the biometrics of one person to register about 100 SIMs, after people are given money, this is even as some SIMs were improperly registered.

“This is one of the most difficult decisions taken as a minister. It is a very painful decision, but we had to take it,” he said.

• 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will begin a nationwide Continuous Voter Registration on June 28 across the 774 Local Government Areas ahead of the 2023 general elections.

INEC’s chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this during a briefing in Abuja.

According to him, the registration exercise would be carried out continuously for over a year until the third quarter of 2022.

He said: “The CVR could not recommence in 2020 due largely to the COVID-19 pandemic. In line with the general advise by health officials regarding events involving large groups of people, we considered it inauspicious to restart the CVR at the height of the pandemic. In the light of the pandemic, the commission promised the nation that it would recommend the CVR in the first quarter of 2021.

“The first quarter of 2021 ended yesterday (Wednesday) and obviously the commission was unable to restart the CVR exercise. In consideration of these challenges and the measures we have taken to overcome them, the commission is now in a position to announce Monday June 28 2022 as the date for the recommencement of the CVR exercise nationwide.”

TheNation

• 

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, has assured airlines and passengers of a hitch-flight operation from 1st April 2021.

The assurance came following recent flight delays and cancellation as a result of the hazy weather conditions experienced over the north and central parts of the country in the last few days.

Giving reasons for the dust haze, the Central Forecast Office (CFO), of the Agency in a release stated: “The dust event is as a result of the passage of the mid latitude wave which helped in strengthening the surface pressure over the Sahara Desert region.”

“This activity resulted in the strengthening and intensification of the Saharan high-pressure cell, which progressively pushed down the Inter-Tropical Discontinuity (ITD), from a latitudinal position of 10.8 degrees north on Wednesday 24th to 7.8 degrees north on Tuesday 30th of March, 2021.

“The dust situation is expected to persist till Thursday 1st of April when the Saharan high-pressure belt is projected to weaken and horizontal visibilities should improve to between 1-3 kilometers over the extreme north.”

It continued: “Following this, the region is then expected to experience sunny and slightly hazy conditions over the northern cities, while cloudiness to the south and parts of the central region.

“The implication of this is that Nigerians should expect flight operations to run smoothly without fear of delay or cancellation from Thursday 1st April 2021 over the extreme north.”

• 

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said it was not necessary for the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to transmit power to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo because he would be away for a few days.

Shehu said this while featuring on Channels Television’s programme, Politics Today.

The presidential aide said, “He (the President) will continue from wherever he is.

“The requirement of the law is that if the President is going to be absent in the country for 21 days and more, then that transmission is warranted.

“In this particular instance, it is not warranted.”

He added, “It is a medical trip and there is absolutely no urgency, no emergency; the President is not in any sick condition.

“It is a routine medical check-up; the President has undertaken this with a set of doctors that he has retained over many years.”

Shehu also said sponsors of terrorists and their accomplices, including bureau de change operators, would soon be named.

Punch

• 

A Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed April 16 to decide whether Mohammed Adamu can continue to operate in office as the Inspector-General of Police after his retirement from the force in February.

Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed arrived at the date to deliver his judgment in the suit seeking to remove Adamu as IGP.

That was after lawyers in the case adopted and argued their written addresses for and against the suit.

A legal practitioner, Maxwell Okpara, had dragged the federal government to court over the elongation of Adamu’s tenure in office despite attaining the compulsory retirement age on February 1, 2021.

During the resumed hearing , the plaintiff’s lawyer, Ugochukwu Ezekiel, told the Court that hearing notice, as well as other court processes, have been served on all respondents in the suit.

He urged the court to uphold his submissions and grant all the reliefs being sought by his client.

However, the lawyer representing Buhari, AGF, and the Police Council, E. V. Elodimuo, urged the Court to dismiss the suit for being incompetent.

Adamu’s lawyer, Dr Alex Izinyon (SAN), similarly urged the court to dismiss the suit for lacking in merit.

After listening to submissions of all parties for and against the suit, the Judge adjourned till April 16 to deliver his judgment.