April 2021 – Page 14

Post Date : April 25, 2021

JAMB announces new date for 2021 mock-UTME

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Sunday announced the rescheduling of its 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination to May 20, 2021. The organization said the change of date was due to some ongoing adjustments in its operational processes. A statement by the Head of Public Affairs and Protocol in JAMB, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, however, said it would not affect the other schedules, including the date for the UTME fixed for between June 5 and 19 2021. The statement read, “The 2021 mock examination earlier scheduled to hold on Saturday, April 30, 2021, has now been rescheduled to hold on Thursday, May 20, 2021. “This change of date is owing to some ongoing adjustments in the Board’s operational processes. The change, however, would not affect the mock examination and other schedules including the date for the UTME fixed for June 5 to 19 June, 2021. Candidates who have registered and have chosen to sit the mock and other critical stakeholders are to note this change of date. “Similarly, it is necessary to inform all stakeholders that the 2021 UTME/DE registration exercise is ongoing and it is to end on May 15 2021. The Board has, however, noted with concern that some candidates in trying to generate their profiles are sending their details wrongly to 55019. “The right process is to send the word “NIN” allow one space in between, then insert the eleven digits NIN number to 55019 e.g. NIN 00000000000. Any other process is wrong and would not generate the profile code for the candidate. “It is also necessary for the candidate to know that only the SIM that is linked to his/her NIN can be used to send the NIN to 55019.”

Post Date : April 25, 2021

Uzodinma: South-East governors, monarchs, others meet behind closed doors

THE South-East Governors, on Sunday, met with leaders of the religious, traditional and socio-political institutions in the zone at the Government House, Enugu. The PUNCH gathered that the meeting may not be unconnected to the Saturday’s attack on Governor Hope Uzodinma’s residence at Omuma in the Oru East Local Government Area of the state by unknown gunmen. The hoodlums were said to have burnt the governor’s house and vehicles parked at the compound during the attack. The PUNCH had reported that combined military, police, DSS killed the Commander of the Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB, security outfit Eastern Security Network (ESN), Ikonta and six other IPOB members when they raided their hideout on early hours of Saturday morning. A source told our correspondent that the Governors summoned the meeting following the heightened tension in the South East zone, occasioned by the report of northern traders in Enugu State attacking police and government officials with AK-47 rifles, blocked Enugu-Port-Harcourt road and razed down about 10 vehicle, including police patrol van.

Post Date : April 25, 2021

Four feared killed as gunmen attack JTF checkpoint in Rivers

No fewer than eight security operatives are feared killed when gunmen suspected to be members of the Indigenous People of Biafra launched a night attack on two checkpoints along the Airport Road, Omahwa in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State. According to The Punch, This is coming barely a week after the state police command said it had beefed up security at border towns following threats of an attack by members of the proscribed IPOB in the state. The attacks, which took place about 11:30 pm on Saturday, were at the Joint Taskforce checkpoint in Omagwa and the Nigeria Customs Checkpoint at Isiokpo, also in Ikwerre LGA of the state. Sources in the area said the attacks were launched simultaneously on the two security locations. The source said, “Two burnt corpses were recovered at the JTF checkpoint. While three were recovered at the Customs checkpoint and three other dead corpses were also recovered at the scene.” When contacted, spokesman for the state police command, Nnamdi Omoni, said an official statement on the incident would be made public soon, while spokesman of the 6 Division, Nigeria Army, Major Charles Nkwocha was yet to respond to calls to his mobile.

Post Date : April 25, 2021

Fayose: Pantami saga has exposed Buhari’s hypocrisy

Ayodele Fayose, former governor of Ekiti state, says the controversy over Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, has exposed the hypocrisy of the Buhari administration. Some Nigerians and groups have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sack Pantami over the minister’s past comments supporting Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. But reacting, the presidency through Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, said the government stands by the minister. Fayose, in a statement on Sunday, said the controversy over Pantami has further exposed the government’s hypocrisy. “The present situation of Nigeria, where the Presidency has become the employer and defender of Boko Haram terrorists and armed bandits is so appalling,” he said. “The issue of Isa Pantami has further exposed the govt’s hypocrisy and complicity. So saddening and worrisome that spokesmen of the president were the ones going from one media house to another to defend someone who openly supported terrorists.” The former governor said it is painful that Nigeria is being governed by people who were at one time nominated as Boko Haram negotiators. He said because of the government’s inability to take decisive decision against terrorists, the country is no longer safe to live in. “It is funny that today, if those running the affairs of the country are not telling us that armed bandits must be seen as innocent until proven guilty, they will be saying offence of forgery is more grievous than open declaration of support for terrorists,” he said. “Because of their inability to take decisive actions against these terrorists that they appear to have sympathy for, Nigeria is no longer safe for anyone to live in. “Our roads have been taking over by terrorists while Nigerians, including traditional rulers are now being abducted right inside their bedrooms.” Fayose asked Nigerians to avoid travelling around the country and to leave isolated areas. “It is therefore my counsel to Nigerians that they should stay in their domains at this period and avoid travelling around the country,” he said. “Those staying in isolated areas should also endeavor to move to where there are more people. “It is my prayer that God will restore peace and normalcy to our country.”

Post Date : April 25, 2021

Boko Haram Hoist Flag In Some Parts Of Yobe Community

Boko Haram has hoisted its flag in some parts of the Geidam community, in Yobe state. This comes two days after the terrorists reportedly attacked Geidam local government area of the state. Geidam is the hometown of the acting Inspector General of Police, Mr. Usman Alkali Baba. Some of the residents confirmed to Channels Television that, the insurgents have hoisted their flags in some parts of their community, moving from house to house preaching to them to accept their ideology. Although the Army battalion in Geidam is still present in the community, it has not stopped the insurgents from propagating their missions. Already, some telecommunication networks have been tempered, thereby hampering communication. Many families have been thrown into panic as they are unable to communicate with their relatives in the community.

Post Date : April 25, 2021

Bandits Break Into Church In Kaduna, Kill Worshipper

At least one worshipper was shot dead after suspected bandits invaded a church in Chukun Local Government Area of Kaduna State. Details of the incident which happened on Sunday morning are still sketchy but Daily Trust gathered that some worshippers were abducted while others sustained injuries. Chukun has been under siege by bandits and all efforts to secure residents have not yielded the desired result. On Friday, corpses of three students of Greenfield University, a private institution in Chukun LGA, were found three days after their abduction. Gunmen had abducted many students after killing the security guard at the school on Tuesday night. Details later…

Post Date : April 25, 2021

Nigeria can fly again- Kumuyi declares

THE Founder and General Superintendent, GS, of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi, Sunday, speaking on state of the nation declared Nigeria can fly again. Kumuyi made the declaration while fielding questions from newsmen after a special Sunday Worship Service as part of the ongoing 6-day ‘Soaring Above’ Crusade in Abuja and for the 19 northern States via Zoom and other social media platforms. He expressed hope that God is still interested in Nigeria, therefore urged Nigerians to stop hate and killing of one another including use of divisive utterances that could dampen the expected change. He also counseled that Nigerians should not give up on their country but should believe that things will get better when they focus on God and do that which is expected of God from them by loving each other and making use of the resources God has blessed the nation with. He said: “We thank the Lord for what the Lord has done, and doing this we are doing together, seeing the Lord rolling away problems that people did not think will easily be rolled away like that neither seeing the people who are lame walking, people deaf and dumb the Lord healing them, and things like that. “What God does for an individual He does it for the family, and what He does for the community, and what he does for the community He can do for the country. “The point is these people that received this divine touch they did not give up, did not think is all over, they knew that God can still do something, the country would have to adopt that same mindset, and know that whatever we are going through stop accusing this and accusing that while we are pointing accusing fingers we are trying to say let you be on you own and let me be on my own; let the East go and let the West go, and this one go. “If we are thinking like that we will not expect the solution God wants to give us but when we have hope and we know yet we have gone through some deep waters things are going to change, our God has the possibility to make things change. I believe that we will fly again. “And I believe and declare things will become better for our country, things are going to turnaround and we will still remain in life to enjoy the goodness of the Lord for our families and ourselves in the same country, and we are going to raise our heads and say this is my country, and God will do it and we will live to see the fulfillment.” On the area of economic hardship Nigerians are currently passing through the clergyman said the nation should believe in the brains here and look inward for solutions to the current challenges, which is to make things conducive for them to take the nation out of the situation to the path of rapid economic growth. “God has given us a mind, brain and also given us fertile ground, and said we should till the ground, cultivate and do things we ought to do, and whatever we sow is what we reap in the natural as well as in our interaction with each other. “If we will do less of talking and less of fighting, and we put our energy into cultivation and production we have the brain. “If you think of Nigerians almost in any nation in the West you find out that governments in those countries recognise those Nigerians who are there specially. “And when you go to America you see one in the Senate, and that one is working along with the President and this one is doing that, we have the brains here instead of killing each other let us look inwards and make use of what we have for the benefit of the whole nation instead of having this brain-drain that goes to the West to lit those countries up, and here we are, let us make the place conducive so that those who are here can do their work”, he stated. However, noting the report that Nigeria is now world’s poverty headquarters despite the nation is rated a praying nation, he asserted that prayers can only be answered by God when there is positive talks and actions towards each other as citizens. He said: “We are praying and if we are praying and criticizing, we have hatred for one another, in that environment prayer cannot work in an optimal and maximal way but if we understand and stop identifying this person is my enemy and problem, that tribe is the problem, and if we stop all that and just look up to God and love one another. “And understand we came to this by some steps we are taking as an individuals and leaders, we retrace our steps and we wish for the best, so that we desire the fulfillment of the prayer we are praying. “If I pray that God should give us peace and I come out and fighting against you and him I contradict my prayer. “So being a praying nation is good we should also be practical, positive, loving nation we know that it becomes compact with the prayer we are praying and God will do it.”

Post Date : April 25, 2021

FG’s loan: States need 3times current IGR to offset debt burdens ― Report

In the face of declining Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and remittances from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), pieces of evidence abound that state governments in Nigeria will need an amount that is at least three times their present IGR to settle their debt obligations, including the Budget Support Loans given to them by the Federal Government. In a report made available to Tribune Online, a Lagos-based investment Banking and Research firm, Afrinvest (West) Africa Limited observed that oil revenue which for over two decades accounts for more than 60 percent of remittances to FAAC purse has declined significantly from a peak of N8 trillion in 2012 to a threshold of N3.5trillion. Consequent to this and the inability of most sub-nationals to substantially increase IGR, states debt portfolios have increased nearly four-fold from N1.8trillion to N5 trillion in 2020. “A pitch of IGR numbers against total debt shows that all except for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at 114 per cent have their annual IGR printing below 41 percent of total debt stock in 2020. “This implies that all state governments except FCT will need a minimum of three times their 2020 IGR to offset their debt burden as of 2020,” the firm noted. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele recently said that state governments must begin to pay back the Budget Support Loans given to them by the Federal Government. Emefiele said this while reacting to claims by Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki that the Federal Government printed money to augment the March revenue shared by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). The governor alleged that the Federal Government is borrowing without a sustainable plan to sort out the debt load. Analysts are concerned that at the level of IGR of the states, non may have the capacity to pay back such loans in the near term. In July 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari approved $2.1billion as an intervention package to help bankrupt states pay salaries and offset contractors’ obligations. Government revenue had dropped at the time because of the fall in the price of oil. However, except for Lagos (78.3%), FCT (57.9%), and Ogun (57.4%), no other sub-national have their IGR equal to or exceed 50 percent of total available revenue in 2020. “Given the expectation that Nigeria’s earnings from crude oil will remain low over the medium term due to the innovation of cleaner energy sources and COVID-19 impact on the global oil market, we expect sub-national’s financial vulnerability to heighten in the near term,” the team of experts from Afrinvest Research stated in their weekly market update. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s total public debt portfolio for the States and the Federal Government as of December 31, 2020, stood at N32.92 trillion. The report said that the total States and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) domestic debt was put at N4.19 trillion with Lagos State accounting for 12.15 percent of the debt stock. It added that Jigawa had the least debt stock in this category with a contribution of 0.74 percent. It should be remembered that in April 2020, the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) urged the Central Bank of Nigeria to suspend all funds deductions from states and restructure their debt repayments to cushion the impact of Coronavirus on the states’ finances. Developments in the global economy, particularly in the year 2015, grossly affected developing countries. Examples of which include the happenings in the crude oil market, where the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was unable to reach an agreement amongst its member countries, while Non-OPEC producers, such as the US, were not prepared to cut down on production, Iran’s nuclear deal, amongst others. The overall effect has been negative as indicated by the performance of most developing economies, which rely heavily on crude oil. The Nigerian economy is one of such economies affected by these developments. State governments became unable to pay salary and pension arrears alongside huge debts and falling internally generated revenue, hence the call for a bailout.

Post Date : April 25, 2021

Bokoharam: Yobe Governor Seeks Intervention As Geidam Residents Flee Homes

Yobe state Governor, Mai Mala Buni, has sought for special military intervention to safeguard Geidam town which has been under persistent attacks from Boko Haram insurgents. Daily Trust reports that Geidam residents are currently fleeing their homes in numbers as Boko Haram attacks hit harder in the town for two consecutive days. It was gathered that the insurgents were sighted around Fulatari area in the eastern part of the town, forcing people to vacate the area since Saturday. The attackers first struck in the town on Friday evening but they took cover following airstrike by the military. Daily Trust reports that attackers cut off both Airtel and MTN masts in order to execute their mission. A local source, who escaped to neighbouring village, Kabir Gaidam, confirmed to our reporter in a telephone interview that “People are just heading into bushes with no idea of where to go”. According to him, both aged people and children were trekking distance to find safety, saying some have collapsed half way. He said, “This is fasting period, but we had no option than to break our fast to this hardship, we can’t withstand this hot weather with long distance trek without food and water. “We patiently stayed indoors for over 22 hours whether the insurgents would leave but to our surprise they keep on advancing their mission with low resistance from the side of security forces.” Another resident added that, “They almost capture the town, because they are positioned in almost all the locations. He said, “Government and security forces need to sit up. The situation is beyond issuing statements from Abuja.” The development is coming after military in a statement Saturday signed by its spokesman, Brigadier General Mohammed Yerima said its inflicted heavy casualties on the terrorists. The governor of the state, Mai Mala Buni had also said efforts are being intensified to curb the incessant attacks. Buni in a statement signed by his Director-General Press and Media, Mamman Mohammed assured to work closely and to support the security agencies to find a new approach to safeguarding the lives and property of the citizenry. According to him, the governor had been liaising with security authorities to find a lasting solution to the resurgence of attacks on the community. He urged people of the state to use the holy month of Ramadan to continue to pray for Allah’s mercy for the state and country to have a lasting peace. “Meanwhile, the State Emergency Management Agency SEMA has been directed to provide the people with relief materials.” The statement added.

Post Date : April 25, 2021

20-Year-Old Man Drowns In Kano Open Well

A 20-year-old man, Hamisu Ahmed, on Saturday drowned in an open water well at Samegu behind Sahad, Kano State. This is contained a statement issued to newsmen in Kano by Alhaji Saminu Abdullahi, the Public Relations Officer of the Kano State fire Service. The PRO said that the victim who was a mechanic went to take a bath after repairing a car when he got drowned. “We received a distress call at about 07:31 a.m. from one Muhammad Abdulmalik. “On receiving the information, we quickly sent our rescue team to the scene at about 07:43 a.m,” he said. Abdullahi said that Hamisu was brought out of the water dead and his corpse was handed over to his father, Alhaji Yahaya Usman of Dorayi Chiranci Quarters. (NAN)