April 2021 – Page 48

Post Date : April 9, 2021

ALERT: US embassy issues visa fraud notice to Nigerians

The United States Mission to Nigeria has warned Nigerians against a fraudulent visa report being circulated on social media. The fraudulent visa press release had claimed that the US was issuing a new type of work visa to Nigerians. But the US Mission on Friday in a visa fraud alert urged Nigerians to disregard information stating that a new work visa has been created. The statement read, “The U.S. Mission to Nigeria is drawing the general public’s attention to a fake “press release” claiming to offer a new type of work visa to Nigerians. “Scammers and fraudsters circulate this phoney information that the new work visa applies to Nigerian citizens aged 40-55. The U.S. Embassy in Abuja and Consulate in Lagos is warning Nigerians not to fall victims to the scam. It is the same old scam, but in fresh packaging – don’t become a victim! “If you have questions about whether visa information is legitimate, please refer only to official sources: travel.state.gov, ng.usembassy.gov/visas, and www.ustraveldocs.com/ng.”

Post Date : April 9, 2021

Disquiet in Zamfara APC over Matawalle’s alleged planned defection

The race to secure 2023 All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship ticket is already causing ripples in Zamfara State chapter of the party. It was gathered that crisis is brewing in the party as the state executive insist they are in the dark about the planned defection of Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). On Monday, Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum and Kebbi Governor, Atiku Bagudu, had led the party’s bigwigs to commiserate with the governor over a recent market fire in Gusau, the state capital. On the entourage was Chairman, APC Caretaker/Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee and Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, and Jigawa counterpart, Abubakar Badaru. But, sources privy to the meeting said the visit was “to cross the i’s and dot the t’s of the governors defection to the APC.” “There were discussions across board and the governor’s movement to APC has been concluded at the highest level of the party. What is not clear right now is whether his deputy would move with him to the APC,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Don’t also forget that even the APC was fractured in the state until recently the Chairman of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Mai Mala Buni and his exco were able to calm frayed nerves and reconcile the two factions, but the undercurrents in the ruling party in the state is that they don’t want the governor in their midst,” the source added. However, some party faithful are angry that they were not “carried along” in the “negotiations to bring in Matawalle and vowed to scuttle the move. A senior party official, who asked not to be named, said they got to know of the visit of the top-ranking APC members to the governor on social media. “We only got to know of the visit on social media. How do you expect us to feel about that? You are bringing somebody to our house and the occupants have not even been informed? Is that how to go about party hegemony and unity? Besides, what were the terms of negotiation? Can somebody just come into the party and you hand it over to him? Just like that?” he queried. State Chairman of APC, Alhaji Lawal Muhammad Liman, told journalists, yesterday, that the party was not consulted on the governor’s planned defection. “We have not been consulted. I have not been briefed officially and nobody has consulted me, but we have heard the rumour.” However, checks at the PDP headquarters in Abuja indicated that the opposition party is wary of losing Zamfara to and has opened negotiations to prevent his exit. A member of the party’s National Working Committee, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the matter said: “We know that the APC wants to poach Matawalle, but we are not sending the governor away from our party.

Post Date : April 9, 2021

Benue Residents: Soldiers Killed Over 70 Innocent Persons, Demolished Hospitals

The people of Mbator in Shangev-Tiev of Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue State on Friday claimed that at least 70 innocent persons were killed during an invasion by soldiers. Our correspondent reports that rural Bonta village of Mbator in Shangev-Tiev of Konshisha LGA and the Okpute-Ainu in Oju LGA have endured several decades of land tussle which usually prompt the deployment of security operatives to quell crisis. Renewed hostility broke between both communities five days ago and this led to the deployment of soldiers. However, a local militia allegedly ambushed and killed 11 soldiers, a development which led to the military invasion. Addressing a press conference in Makurdi, Benue capital, on Friday morning, a group known as Shangev-Tiev Assembly (STA), stated that at least 15 other surrounding communities have been destroyed by the military since the aerial and ground raid against the villagers began three days ago. One Elder Tyoh Jude, who spoke on behalf of STA, said, “The army has so far razed and demolished farms, schools, hospitals and residences of Bonta, Tse-Jembe, Tse-Anyom, Gbinde, Mbaakpur, Aku, Agidi, Gungul, Adoka, Guleya, Awajir, Shiliki, Achoho and Ullam in Gwer Local Government Area, and are still planning to do same to other neighbouring towns within Konshisha LGA. “Our unarmed people are being killed intentionally in large numbers by armed personnel of the Nigerian Army. Presently, over 70 persons are reported dead and more than 100 people are missing, mostly women, children and the elderly and hundreds of thousands displaced with its attendant humanitarian consequences.” They called on the Federal Governments to prevail on the military to stop the ongoing killings of their people with immediate effect, while urging the Benue State government to ensure that the land under dispute is amicably demarcated. “A panel of enquiry to include civil society organizations should be setup to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the crises and the roles of the military. Anyone found wanting should be punished in accordance with the laws of the land. Compensations should be given to all victims in Shangev Tiev,” the group stated.

Post Date : April 9, 2021

Queen Elizabeth’s husband Prince Philip dies at 99

Queen Elizabeth II’s husband Prince Philip, who recently spent more than a month in hospital and underwent a heart procedure, died on Friday, Buckingham Palace announced. He was 99. “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,” it said in a statement. “His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. “The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.” The palace added that further announcements would be made “in due course”. Fears over the health of the Duke of Edinburgh, as he was formally known, had been heightened after he recently spent a month in hospital for treatment. He left the hospital on March 16 following what was described as a successful procedure for a pre-existing condition and treatment for an unspecified infection. He was first admitted on February 16 on the advice of his doctor after he complained of feeling unwell. Philip had returned to Windsor Castle, west of London, where he had been isolating with the queen — Britain’s longest-serving monarch — since the start of the coronavirus pandemic last year. He was due to turn 100 in June. The news of his death saw television channels interrupt regular programmes and start special coverage marking his life. The BBC announced his death and played the national anthem, “God Save the Queen”. Philip had increasingly struggled with his health in recent years and had retired from public life. In the run-up to Christmas 2011, Philip was taken to hospital by helicopter after suffering chest pains. The Greek-born former naval officer was then treated for a blocked coronary artery and had a stent fitted. AFP

Post Date : April 9, 2021

Here is why we must love Nigeria

By Frederick Nwabufo We abide in wilful fatalism. We see only doom and gloom about Nigeria. We make cynical projections on our country and hold up to ridicule narratives that do not fit into the gloom-ridden portrait. Blood, sorrow and tears saturate the public discourse as if there is no ‘’light, love and life’’ in any corner of the country. It is all doom, gloom and doom. We could as well be living through doomsday. I must admit, the egregious state of security and the occasional revelries of blood somewhat instigate this negativity about our country today. But are kidnapping, banditry, insurgency and corruption all there is about Nigeria? Is it all bleak with no crevice of illumination? While I cannot attenuate the staggering challenges, particularly on security, gnawing at the country, it will be defeatist to say there is no hope of calm in this tempest. It will also be cynical of me to say it is all rain and no sunshine. Nigerians are beautiful people. They love life. They love people. Where you find bigotry, you can also find tolerance; where there is hate; there is love, and where there is tension; there is also good neighbourliness. Even under the cumulus of ethnic tonguefire, they do not relent in helping one another when the occasion demands it. I will cite an example of Nigerians’ expansiveness and why this is a reason we should appreciate one another the more. The ‘’farm to classroom’’ story of Emmanuel Nworie, a first-class mathematics graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, who was tilling away his destiny at the backwaters of Ebonyi state, accents the congeniality of Nigerians. Nworie, a 27-year-old, graduated with a cumulative grade point average of 4.92/5.00 – unarguably a mathematical genius. A diamond in the rough. But life gave him a raw deal. He could neither secure a job nor capital to go into business. He lived in abominable squalor. A first-class graduate of mathematics! But he rerouted his talents into tilling the soil in the forgotten corners of Ebonyi – the most unlikely places an Einstein prodigy can make a genius of his ability. “I started having challenges in 2005 when we struggled with the health of my dad. He gave up in January 2009. I have long wanted to be a mathematician. But after my dad passed away, I was deterred because at some point when I was trying to save for undergraduate studies and after two years I couldn’t save enough, so I was frustrated,” he apprised TheCable of his trials and tribulations in an interview. But Nworie’s dream of becoming a scholar and of parlaying his talents turned to gold when Michael Taiwo, a US-based Nigerian and sponsor of MT Scholarships, and Suraj Oyewale, founder of JarusHub, a career and education platform, picked Nworie during the selection of candidates for scholarship. Taiwo and Oyewale are both Yoruba – Nworie is Igbo. But while selecting candidates for the scholarship sponsored by Michael they did not consider where he came from, his religious background or the status of his family. They selected Nworie strictly by the content of his mind. In a statement on March 3, Taiwo announced Nworie’s selection for a fully-funded PhD in mathematics at the Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas. He said Nworie received three offers from universities in the southern part of the US. Taiwo: “Today, I am pleased to announce that Emmanuel Chinweuba Nworie has accepted a fully funded offer to study for his PhD in Mathematics at the Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas. SMU is a prestigious private research university. Emmanuel prefers locations with warm weather. He received three great offers, all from schools in the southern part of the US. Mentors are our secret sauce. It is hard to exaggerate the role Dr. Busayo Aworunse, Emmanuel’s assigned mentor, played in delivering the outcome we celebrate today. Busayo, thank you. Help me congratulate Emmanuel. I cannot wait to see what he does with a Math PhD from SMU!” The cost of attending SMU is over $75,000 per year, but Nworie will not be paying a dime. His living expenses are also covered. The life of a lowly citizen, who could have been another statistics in the number of jobless and frustrated Nigerians, is changed forever. Grass-to-grace stories like that of Nworie abound in the country. Some Nigerians chanced on fortune by the benevolence of Nigerians from other ethnic groups. In fact, some owe their breakthrough, status, wealth, and influence to that Nigerian from the other side who looked beyond their ethnic and religious backgrounds. We can also consider the way Nigerians mobilise themselves to fight for justice when one of their own suffers prejudice in an alien country. I have witnessed how Nigerians go the whole hog in protecting their countrymen/women abroad. The solidarity of Nigerians in South Africa during the xenophobic killings and in the recent cases in Ghana and Cote d’ivoire accentuate this unvarnished quality. We should celebrate that which makes us one of the kindest, loving and most accommodating people in the world. We are not all bad, corrupt, nepotistic and bigoted. We have a redeeming quality. We are Nigerians. Fredrick ‘Mr OneNigeria’ Nwabufo is a writer and journalist Twitter @FredrickNwabufo

Post Date : April 9, 2021

Yusuf Buhari: No One Should Attempt To Disagree With My Mum… She’s A Fighter

Yusuf, the son of President Muhammadu Buhari, has described his mother as a fighter. First Lady Aisha Buhari is known for expressing her mind, irrespective of how controversial an issue is. In “Aisha Buhari: Being Different”, the biography of his mother, the first son spoke on the bond he has with the first lady. He said he cannot do anything without telling his mother but there have been times when he would go ahead to do things that she does not agree with. The book, which was authored by Daji Sani, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration and Women Affairs, was launched at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday. “She is very loving and caring. I call her a doctor, an unofficial doctor. She has a prescription for everyone’s problems ; she has a solution up her sleeves for whatever issues may be brought before her. She is very funny, and she is a fighter, whom no one should attempt to disagree with as well. She goes all the way, till she sees the end of issues. She makes her point known and finds a way to make it stick,” the author quoted Yusuf to have said. “She dedicated most of her life, if not all to Adda, Halima, Zahrah, Hanan and she has been there for us, all the time. Her nurturing and love have been nothing short of divine as she gives of herself time and time again, to ensure that we are whole. “We really don’t know how to appreciate her, because nothing anyone can do right now, will be enough to equal her attention and sacrifice. It will take a lifetime to pay her back, even more, I believe. “She has a keen sense of things and tends to know everything. She is also very involved in, and inquisitive about our lives as individuals, she actually wants to know it all, and she has the right advice to offer in most cases. I can’t do anything without telling her, and even when I know she will disagree, I still have to tell her. “Sometimes, when she disagrees, I still go ahead to do what I want and then she will let me learn the hard way, still with no judgment.”

Post Date : April 9, 2021

Inmate who escaped from Imo prison arrested in Akwa Ibom – Police

Police in Akwa Ibom State said they have arrested an inmate who recently escaped from the prison in Imo State, Nigeria’s South-east. The police spokesperson in Akwa Ibom, Odiko MacDon, identified the arrested inmate as David Ubong, from Ibaka in Mbo Local Government Area of the state. “(The) suspect confessed to be one of the inmates who escaped from the Nigerian Correctional Service in the recent jail break at Owerri, Imo State on 5/4/2021. Until his conviction, the suspect was a resident of Obinze in Owerri, Imo State,” Mr MacDon, a superintendent of police, said in a statement issued on Friday in Uyo. “Suspect will be sent back to face his jail term,” he added. Recall that 1,844 were freed when gunmen attacked the prison headquarters in Owerri on April 5. The police headquarters in the state was similarly attacked by gunmen. Francis Enobore, the spokesperson of the correctional centre, said the gunmen used explosives to blast their way through the centre’s administrative block before gaining entrance into the prisons yard. “Six inmates have so far voluntarily returned to the facility while 35 inmates refused to escape from custody during the attack,” Mr Enobore had said in a statement, shortly after the incident. Several states in Nigeria are grappling with various security challenges, including kidnapping for ransom, communal conflicts, and frequent clashes between herders and farmers. The security challenge is getting more complicated with the spate of gun attacks on police and other security agencies, especially around Nigeria’s South-east and South-south regions.

Post Date : April 9, 2021

Gunmen kill 11 soldiers in Benue

Ten soldiers and one officer have been killed by suspected criminals in Benue State. The Nigerian Army said the troops came under attack while on routine operational task. According to a statement on Thursday night by the Army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Yerima, the troops were initially declared missing but their bodies were later found by a search and rescue team in Konshisha Local Government Area of the state. The statement titled, ‘Unprovoked attack on troops on stabilization operations in Benue State,’ said, “Nigerian Army troops operating in Benue State came under attack while on routine operational task. “The troops comprising one officer and 10 soldiers were initially declared missing which prompted the deployment of a joint search and rescue team comprising NA troops and personnel of Operation Whirl Stroke. “The search and rescue team, unfortunately, found all the missing troops dead in Konshisha LGA of Benue State.” It added that the bodies of the slain troops were evacuated immediately, while efforts were ongoing to track down the perpetrators of the heinous crime with a view to bringing them to justice. ” The NA under the leadership of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru remains resolute in ensuring stability in Benue State as well as other parts of the country that are affected by the activities of criminal gangs,” the army stated. It further said the NA was determined to ensure that the unprovoked attack did not disrupt the general peace being enjoyed by the residents. Yerima said the COAS has directed commanders on the ground to ensure sustained efforts in order to fish out and deal decisively with “these bad elements who are threatening the peace in the area.” The NA appealed to the public to volunteer useful information that could lead to the arrest of the attackers.

Post Date : April 9, 2021

Resident Doctors Will Account For Any Death During Strike – Senate Committee

Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, on Thursday, appealed to the striking resident doctors to return to work, saying “any single soul that dies as a result of the strike is in the hands of the doctors.” He spoke in Abuja at a public hearing on ‘Federal Medical Centre, Mubi, Adamawa State (Establishment) Bill, 2021’. Oloriegbe said the National Assembly was surprised that the resident doctors went on strike after meeting with their leadership to shelve the plan. “I’m a doctor myself. We took oath to serve and save life. On no circumstance should we through our action endanger any life to be lost due to our personal interests. “We know as doctors, we’ve to take care of our welfare, but we’ve taken an oath to serve. “I’m appealing to them that we should go back to work while negotiations and discussions on outstanding issues will go on,” he said. Meanwhile, the Federal Government will again meet with the striking resident doctors today. The spokesman of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Charles Akpan, in a statement yesterday, said the meeting became imperative due to the havoc the strike was wrecking on the sector. The doctors had on April 1 embarked on a nationwide strike to press home certain demands. The News Agency of Nigeria yesterday quoted Tanko Sununu, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Healthcare Services, as saying a large number of resident doctors working in federal institutions were receiving multiple salaries. Sununu said this while briefing newsmen yesterday in Abuja over the resident doctors’ strike. “Let me cite an example, in the list of names submitted to the Budget Office, there were many names of doctors appearing in multiple hospitals. “An account is receiving salary payment more than once in a month, which I was called by the Budget Office that if I can sign an undertaken, then their salaries will be paid,” he said. He, however, said he insisted on a no answer, adding that the right thing must be done and the list was sorted out to correct the anomaly. He said those that had received multiples salaries and the hospitals involved were sorted and forwarded to the committee. He said that the committee would table it before the house for necessary action, adding that the right thing must be done to end the current NARD strike.

Post Date : April 9, 2021

Why we restored financial services channel — MTN

MTN Nigeria has shed more light on the negotiations that trailed the suspension and restoration of digital banking services last week. In a statement yesterday, the telecom giant said it would revert to its previous cost of sales structures with banking partners until a new long-term agreement can be reached on a sustainable pricing structure going forward. According to the statement, “Following the temporary suspension of sales of MTN products through our banking channel partners on April 2, 2021, services were restored on Sunday, April 4, 2021 with customers able to access all services. This was agreed on the basis that MTN would revert to its previous cost of sales structures with banking partners, until a new long-term agreement can be reached on a sustainable pricing structure going forward. “Consequent on the intervention of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, the Nigeria Communication Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria, since April 6, 2021, MTN has been participating in a series of meetings to align on longer-term pricing structures. We will provide a further market update once these discussions have been concluded. “The streamlining MTN undertook is an international standard and best practice as the scale is built along distribution channels. We are confident that partners in the banking sector will work with us to ensure this process concludes as quickly as possible to the benefit of the entire industry.”