A legal practitioner, Chris Ekemezie, says the Enugu State Governor-elect, Peter Mbah, has no reason to forge a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate. The NYSC certificate which Mbah presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2023 general elections has become a subject of public discussion after the NYSC repeatedly denied the certificate. But speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Ekemezie who represents the Enugu State Governor-elect wondered why NYSC had to deny that the certificate with Mbah was issued by them. “If a man has passed through all the rudiments at the camp, did the primary assignment, deferred it, and returned and completed his primary assignment at the NYSC, why would he now begin to forge a certificate to that effect? “A certificate he didn’t have to pay for; it’s not an exam certificate. It’s just for you to be present and do the primary assignment then you get it. When he completed, it was given to him,” Ekemezie said According to him, Mbah was posted to Lagos State where he finished camping, and was posted to a law firm for primary assignment. He added that Mbah deferred his service to go to law school but returned to complete it. “If you posted him to Lagos, he served; posted him to place of primary assignment, he served there. He applied for a deferment of his service so he can go to law school and he was allowed to go to the law school. He finished law school, returned, and was reposted to the same place of primary assignment and finished. So, why would NYSC deny the certificate issued at the end of the day?” he queried. Ekemezie claimed Mbah had approached the Director General of the NYSC to explain that the certificate was not forged but the DG has refused to listen to reasons and that is why the Governor-elect has now approached the court to prove his case.

  In search of better education and quality of life, a total of 128,770 Nigerian students enrolled in universities in the United Kingdom between 2015 to the end of 2022, analysis of the data obtained from the Higher Education Statistics Agency of the UK has revealed. The number of Nigerian students has continued to grow over the years, as Nigerians try to escape the horrors of bad governance, and the disruption of academic activities by tertiary-institutions-based unions such as the Academic Staff Union of Universities, and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, among others. In the 2015/2016 academic year, statistics indicate that 16,100 Nigerians were enrolled in UK universities. During the 2016/2017 session, there was a sharp decline as only 12,655 Nigerians were enrolled, with experts blaming the recession back home in Nigeria for the drop. In 2017/2018, the number of enrolled Nigerians reduced to 10,685 while it rose marginally to 10,810 during the 2018/2019 academic session. A total of 13,020 students were enrolled during the 2019/2020 academic session while 21,305 were enrolled during the 2020/2021 session representing a 64 per cent increase. The latest data available by HESA revealed that 44,195 students were enrolled for the 2021/2022 session, the highest so far since Nigeria’s independence in 1960. A breakdown of the HESA statistics shows that in the top 10 international students list, Nigeria ranked third behind China and India. The PUNCH reports that foreign tertiary institutions and their respective countries have continued to benefit from the migration of Nigerian students to oversea institutions. For instance, in 2021, Nigerian students and their dependants in the United Kingdom contributed an estimated £1.9bn to the economy of the UK, according to a report by SBM Intelligence. An education activist and Programme Director, Reform Education Nigeria, Ayodamola Oluwatoyin, who had spoken to our correspondent earlier, listed poor government policies as one of the reasons Nigerians seek better opportunities abroad. Meanwhile, The United Kingdom is set to announce new restrictions that will most likely stop Nigerian students and other nationalities studying in the UK from bringing their families over. According to an exclusive report by The Sun UK, this crackdown will be announced this week.

  Monday 22 May 2023 Presidential poll tribunal: Parties disagree as court rules on live broadcast today Japa: 128,770 Nigerian students move to UK in seven years NDLEA arrests baron in Lagos hotel over N567m seized drug Two pilots killed in Afghanistan Military helicopter crash Residents doctors end warning strike, resume today At Least Five Killed In Taraba Attack Peter Mbah’s Lawyer Questions NYSC’s Denial Of Gov. Elect’s Certificate Gunmen Kidnap Catholic Priest In Imo State Four Dead As Explosion Rocks Sokoto Community Buhari Did His ‘Best’ And Is ‘Fulfilled’ Leaving Office, Says Presidency Manufacturers in dire straits as unsold goods hit N470bn 1999 Constitution: States reduced to pathetic beggars —Akeredolu Melaye: Kogi has no business with poverty… we’ll rescue state from hunger NAFDAC: Over 70% of food exported from Nigeria rejected abroad Court orders FG to account for $460m Chinese loan spent on failed Abuja CCTV project ASUU strike: Falana kicks as Ngige asks FG to pay withheld salaries of UNIZIK lecturers Melaye: Kogi has no business with poverty… we’ll rescue state from hunger Plateau Crisis: We Lost Over 100 Herders, 200 Missing – MACBAN Visit a newspaper stand this morning, buy and read a copy for yourself…

  The Catholic Diocese of Okigwe has confirmed the abduction of one of it’s priest, Rev Fr Jude Kingsley Maduka. In a statement by the Okigwe Diocesan Secretary, Fr Princewill Iwuanyawu said the priest was abducted on Friday evening. His words, “I am directed to inform you that one our priests, Rev Fr Jude Kingsley Mmaduka was kidnapped on the evening of Friday, May 19, 2023. Fr Princewill said the kidnapped priest who was ordained priest on September 22, 2012.is the parish priest of Christ the King Parish, Ezinachi/ Ugwuago in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State. Stating that he was kidnapped from his new adoration site at Ogi village in Okigwe Local Government Area while on inspection at the new site. “We solicit fervent prayers he may come back to us safe and sound. We are collaborating with DSS to trail, arrest kidnappers – Imo police spokesperson Henry Okoye, the Imo police spokesperson has said that the command has began trailing of the kidnappers. Speaking with our correspondent on Sunday afternoon, Okoye said the command’s intelligence unit in the State will collaborate with the Department of State Services (DSS) to trail and arrest the priest’s abductors. Recall gunmen kidnapped a priest with Okigwe Catholic Diocese in Imo State, Rev Fr Jude Maduka. A priest who confirmed his kidnap to our correspondent said that the diocesan leadership had been informed about the kidnap of the priest. A Catholic faithful who doesn’t want to be mentioned because who was not authorized to speak to the media on the matter said that the kidnap of the priest had unsettled the parish and the diocese. He said ” it is true. Rev Fr Jude Maduka of Okigwe diocese was kidnapped this morning. He is the parish priest of Christ the King Catholic church at Ezinachi/ Ugwuago in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State. “He was kidnapped while preparing for the Sunday Mass. I don’t know why they are targeting Catholic priests. It hasn’t been long they kidnapped the Catholic priest of St Paul’s Catholic Paris Osu in the Isiala Mbano Local Government Area located in the same Okigwe Catholic diocese.

  The United Kingdom is set to ban most foreign students from bringing their families over to Britain in an immigration crackdown being announced this week. Most foreign students to be banned from moving family to the UK in major immigration crackdown The United Kingdom is set to ban most foreign students from bringing their families over to Britain in an immigration crackdown being announced this week. But the Prime Minister’s Office has rejected calls by the Home Office to lift the salary threshold for foreign workers from £26,000 to £33,000 to bring down numbers. According to The Sun UK, the move comes as official figures out this Thursday are expected to show that net migration has rocketed to 1 million. It was reported that some Tory MPs have broken cover to call for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to curb the rocketing numbers. Scrambling to get ahead of the bad news, ministers are expected to announce the immigration clampdown on Tuesday or Wednesday.   The crackdown will affect all master’s students and many other postgraduate students and it will prevent them from bringing family over. The ban will not apply to PhD students, whose courses usually last between 3 and 5 years and are very highly skilled, The Sun UK reports. Home Secretary Suella Braverman and her deputy Robert Jenrick also wanted to lift the salary threshold but were overruled after kickback from the Treasury. Currently, foreign workers have to meet a £26,000 salary threshold to move to Britain. But the Home Office wanted to raise this to £33,000 – which is the average wage of a worker in Britain. Rishi Sunak is expected to come out fighting on immigration – pointing out they are figures he inherited as they date back to the year ending December 2022 – two months after he became PM. There has been an explosion in the number of people coming to Britain piggybacking on their relative’s student visa, including Asians and Africans, many of whom are Nigerians. Students brought 135,788 family members to Britain last year – nine times more than in 2019. Last year, 59,053 Nigerian students brought over 60,923 relatives. One Tory MP told The Sun on Sunday: “We have got to get a grip.”

  The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have arrested Charles Chinedu Ezeh, a suspected drug lord and two others over a large consignment of methamphetamine intercepted at the SAHCO export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos. Two other persons arrested were identified as a freight agent, Nwobodo Chidiebere and a female suspect, Chioma Lucy Akuta. This was made known in a statement issued by Femi Babafemi, the agency’s director of media and advocacy, on Sunday, in Abuja. Babafemi noted that the consignment was concealed in powdered custard containers as part of a consolidated cargo going to London, United Kingdom. According to the statement, the illicit drug consignment weighing 30.10kg with a street value of N567 million was detected and seized by NDLEA operatives at the airport on Tuesday, May 16. The statement reads in part, “Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have intercepted a large consignment of methamphetamine concealed in powdered custard containers as part of a consolidated cargo going to London, United Kingdom at the SAHCO export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos. “The illicit drug consignment weighing 30.10 kilograms with a street value of N567 million was detected and seized by NDLEA operatives at the airport on Tuesday 16th May. “This was swiftly followed by a series of follow-up operations that led to the arrest of a freight agent, Nwobodo Chidiebere; a female suspect, Chioma Lucy Akuta and ultimately the drug lord behind the shipment, Charles Chinedu Ezeh, who was arrested at Sotel Suites, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos on Thursday, 18th May.   “Ezeh claims he’s a businessman and deals in articles in Onitsha, Anambra State but investigations reveal he lived with his wife and children in London until 10th December 2022 when he fled to Nigeria after his involvement in a drug-related offence in the UK. “Though he claimed to have been living in hotels since his return to Nigeria last December, operatives were, however, able to locate his mansion at No. 1 Hawawu Abikan Street, Lekki, on Friday, 19th May, where a search was conducted and his travel and property documents among others were recovered. “Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Adamawa on Monday 15th May arrested a 32-year-old notorious drug dealer, Prince Ikechukwu Uzoma, in Mubi area of the state with 1kg of skunk. Ikechukwu had twice been arrested in the past, and convicted for the same offence. “He was in 2017 sentenced to six months imprisonment and in 2019 he was again sent to two years in jail. “In the same vein, a trans-border trafficker, Faisal Mohammed, 27, was on Wednesday 17th May arrested in Mubi following the interception of a truck from Onitsha, Anambra State, where a total of 2,376 sachets of tramadol comprising 23,760 pills were found concealed in three blue rubber Jerrycans which were hidden underneath the body part of the trailer. The suspect admitted the opioid was to be taken to Cameroon. “In Oyo state, two suspects: Osas Susan, 35, and Thomas Biodun, 23, were arrested at Igbon, Gambari in Ogbomoso North LGA with 2.13kg cannabis while Idris Muhammed, 55, was nabbed with 4,500 pills of tramadol when a commercial bus conveying him and other passengers was stopped and searched along Lagos-Ibadan expressway. “Similarly, Bulus Mikah, 63, was arrested at Kafanchan, Kaduna state with over 5kg opioids including tramadol, diazepam, rohypnol and exol-5, just as a total of 965kg cannabis was seized from Shehu Muhammadu Dandare, 25, at Maraban Jos, in Igabi local government area of the state. “While 552kg cannabis was recovered from a warehouse in a bush when operatives stormed and destroyed 1.5 hectares of cannabis farm in Uhodoua forest, Esan South East LGA, Edo state, 10 suspects were arrested with a total of 5.587kg cannabis sativa, 144.4grams of methamphetamine and 48, 260 capsules of tramadol in different parts of Onitsha, Anambra state on Friday 19th May. “In Kwara, two suspects: Mohammed Isa, 47 and Mohammed Haman, 36, were arrested on Friday 19th May along Ilorin/Lagos Road in a commercial bus on their way to Maiduguri, Borno state with 6kg cannabis, 50grams of methamphetamine and 20 pieces of military camouflage caps and uniforms. The same day, operatives in Jigawa state nabbed one Ibrahim Abdullahi, 53, with 120kg cannabis at Sara town in Gwaram LGA. “Not less than 628 bottles of new psychoactive substance, skuchies when operatives raided a drug joint at Idanre where four suspects were arrested. They include: Olamide Olusola, 26; Abiodun Tijjani, 21; Fatope Temidayo, 29; Agba Obi, 30 and Olafisoye Festus, 26. In the same vein, a suspect, Kayode Hakeem, 22, was arrested at Hawan Dawaki, Kano with 293 blocks of cannabis weighing 211.6kg.” “Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has commended the officers and men of MMIA command for their professionalism and speed with which they were able to track and arrest another drug kingpin, Ezeh Chinedu Charles. He charged them and their colleagues in Adamawa, Oyo, Kaduna, Edo, Kwara, Jigawa, Ondo and Kano as well as those in other commands and formations across the country not to rest on their oars,” the statement added.

  The Federal Government has removed the Managing Director of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, Capt Rabiu Yadudu. This is as the FG approved the appointment of the current Manager, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Kabir Mohammed, as the new FAAN managing director. He is expected to assume duty next week. Mohammed before his appointment as the new FAAN boss was also the Regional General Manager, North Central. He was appointed as the Chairman of Aviation Roadmap Implementation Committee in January 2022 by the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, a position he effectively combined with his office as the General Manager, Special Duties at FAAN. Details of why Yadudu was removed were still sketchy as of press time.

  The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye said over 70 per cent of food exports from Nigeria are rejected abroad. Prof Adeyeye said this at the official commissioning of the New NAFDAC Office complex for the Murtala Muhammed International Airport/NAHCO in Lagos. In a statement by the Resident Media Consultant to NAFDAC, Sayo Akintola, on Sunday, Adeyeye said the incidence of rejection of food exports from Nigeria in some European countries and the United States of America may soon become a thing of the past if collaboration between the agency and other government agencies at the ports is strengthened. Adeyeye said the deplorable state of export trade facilitation for regulated products leaving the country has continued to be a serious cause for concern for the agency, adding that a trip to NAFDAC Export warehouses within the international airport will explain the major reason for the continuous rejection of Nigerian exports abroad. She, however, noted that the agency is responding to the challenge by collaborating with the agencies at the Ports by ensuring that goods meet the regulatory requirements of the importing countries and destinations. ‘’The mandate to safeguard the health of the populace through ensuring that food, medicines, cosmetics, medical devices, chemicals, and packaged water are safe, efficacious, and of the right quality in an economy that is overwhelmingly dependent on the importation of the bulk of its finished products and raw materials could never have been actualised without the effective presence of NAFDAC at the ports and land borders,’’ she said. Commending the Nigeria Customs Service, she said, ‘’Without customs, we will not be able to do a lot of what we have been able to do. The collaboration between Customs and NAFDAC is huge. NAFDAC is a complex organisation. We are scientific. We are police and we work with the Department of State Services. We work with Interpol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation because of the few unscrupulous stakeholders. “NAFDAC collaborates with Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Services to ensure that due diligence is done because over 70 per cent of the products that leave our ports get rejected. Considering the money spent on getting those products out of the country, it is a double loss for both the exporter and the country. ‘’Without the police, we cannot do much in terms of investigation and enforcement. We have over 80 policemen with us in NAFDAC. They help us a lot when we are doing raids or investigations as the case may be’’.

  A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to “account for the spending of $460 million Chinese loan to fund the failed Abuja Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) project.”   The court also ordered the government to “publish the total amount of money paid to Chinese and local companies and contractors, specific details and the implementation of the project.” Hon. Justice Emeka Nwite made the orders while delivering judgment in a Freedom of Information suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/1447/2019 brought by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP). This was contained in a statement on Sunday by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare.   According to the statement, the suit followed the disclosure in 2019 by the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed that “Nigeria was servicing the loan,” adding that she had ‘no explanations on the status of the project.’ She reportedly said, “We are servicing the loan. I have no information on the status of the CCTV project.” In his judgment, Justice Nwite agreed with SERAP that “there is a reasonable cause of action against the government. Accounting for the spending of the $460 million Chinese loan is in the interest of the public. It will be inimical for the court to refuse SERAP’s application for judicial review of the government’s action. Justice Nwite also said that, “The Minister of Finance is in charge of the finance of the country and cannot by any stretch of imagination be oblivious of the amount of money paid to the contractors for the Abuja CCTV contract and the money meant for the construction of the headquarters of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). Justice Nwite also ordered the government “to provide the details clarifying whether the sum of N1.5 billion Naira paid for the failed contract meant to construct the headquarters of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) was part of another loan obtained from China.” Justice Nwite’s judgment, read in part: “SERAP’s core objectives are to promote human rights, transparency and accountability and anti-corruption in Nigeria.” “I am of the humble view that there is a reasonable cause of action against the government [through the Minister of Finance] and I so hold that SERAP has made out a case to be entitled to the reliefs sought. “The law is well settled that where a document or letter is sent by post, it is the law that same is taken or presumed to have been delivered. “Following this principle of law and relying on exhibit OS2, SERAP’s Freedom of Information request sent to Ms Ahmed is deemed to have been delivered. Therefore, the averment by the government [through her] that they were not served with the letter is hereby discountenanced. I so hold.”   Joined as defendants in the suit are Ms Ahmed and the Minister of Police Affairs. Justice Nwite granted the following orders of mandamus against the Nigerian government: An order of mandamus is hereby made directing and compelling the government [through the Minister of Finance] to provide and make available to SERAP information on the total amount of money paid to contractors, with specific details of names of companies local contractors involved, from the $460 million loan obtained in 2010 from China by the Federal Government of Nigeria to fund the failed Abuja CCTV contract. An order of mandamus is hereby made directing and compelling the government [through the Minister of Finance] to provide the details of the local companies and Chinese contractors that have received funds from the $460 million loan for the finance of the Abuja CCTV contract as well as details of the status of implementation of the project. An order of mandamus is hereby made directing and compelling the government [through the Minister of Finance] to provide the details clarifying whether the sum of N1.5 billion Naira mobilisation fee reportedly paid to the contractors for the construction of the Headquarters of the Code of Conduct Bureau in Abuja was part of another loan from China. This is the judgment of the court. “The onus is now on President Buhari to immediately comply with the court’s orders. We commend Justice Nwite for his courage and wisdom, and urge President Buhari and Abubakar Malami, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to immediately obey the court orders,” SERAP deputy director said. “This is a victory for justice, rule of law, transparency and accountability. The judgment shows the way forward in the fight against corruption and impunity of perpetrators. We will do everything within the law to ensure full compliance by President Buhari with this ground-breaking judgment on Chinese loans. “We call on President Buhari to use the judgment as the basis for publishing details of spending of all Chinese loans and other loans obtained by his government since May 2015.” Nigeria’s total borrowing from China climbed from $1.39 billion to $4.29 billion between June 2015 and December 2022, according to data from Debt Management Office (DMO). Nigeria’s 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) revealed earlier in the year that the federal government will spend N6.31 trillion on debt servicing in 2023, which amounts to about 74.6% of the government’s projected revenue of 8.46 trillion for the year. Nigeria risks losing key national assets to China in the event that it defaults in paying back loans obtained from China. According to a report, Nigeria may have defaulted on Chinese loan repayment and stands the risk of paying a penalty amounting to N41.31 billion. The report quoted the Debt Management Office (DMO), which said Nigeria has failed to fully service its debt to China, which has accumulated to N110.31 billion in the last two years. It would be recalled that SERAP had in December 2019 filed a lawsuit against Ms Ahmed over failure to “disclose information and specific documents on the total amount of money paid to contractors from the $460 million loan obtained in 2010 from China to fund the apparently

  The Federal Government says it is working with the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) to begin home delivery of passports but noted that it is for those who opt-in.   Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola said this at the opening of the Nigeria Immigration Service Passport Front Desk Office in Auchi, Edo State, on Saturday. “We are also in the final stage of concluding negotiations with NIPOST to begin the usage of its speed mail service to deliver passports to Nigerians wherever they are in the world after production,” the minister tweeted on his official handle.   He noted that the launch of the passport office is the sixth of its kind in 2023 and is part of efforts to “bring passport application processing closer to the people”. “It is our projection that by the time we open more front offices like this, the waiting period will not be more than three days. Indeed, the more front offices we have, the less the waiting period,” he added.   “Our long-term plan will be to involve private operators who will provide the lounge for a fee, but the equipment and personnel will be provided by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).”