President Bola Tinubu has informed the Court for the Northern District of Illinois that the application by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, seeking to obtain his academic records is not relevant to his petition in Nigeria. Tinubu also informed the court that relevant details of the certificate obtained by an Atiku witness in 2022 contained errors from the clerk of the university which made it different from the one filed at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the election. Atiku had on July 11 filed a petition seeking to obtain further details of Tinubu’s academic records at the Chicago State University. Documents sought by Atiku, through his counsel, Angela M. Liu, include record of his admission and acceptance at the university, dates of attendance including degrees, awards and honours attained by Tinubu at the university, among others. The court presided by Judge Jeffrey Gilbert then held that it has the jurisdiction to entertain the action and gave Tinubu till August 23 to file a reply. In his reply through his lawyers: Victor P. Henderson, Christopher Camichael and Oluwole Afolabi, filed August 23, Tinubu asked the court to deny Atiku’s application as he is not an interested party in another petition in Nigeria “where the material could potentially be relevant.” The lawyers submitted that the focus of Atiku’s petition at the Presidential Election Petitions Court was that he would have won the February 25 presidential election but for “calculation errors”, non-compliance, and corrupt practices. Referring to Atiku’s witness at the tribunal (Michael Enahoro-Ebah), who first obtained Tinubu’s academic records from Chicago, which center around a self-proclaimed Nigerian ‘public interest litigator’ “who utilized a Chicago law firm to unilaterally (without court approval) issue a subpoena to Chicago State University “to test the truth and veracity of Mr. Tinubu‘s assertions that he attended various educational institutions located in the Chicagoland Area. “Unfortunately, in responding to the illegal and invalid subpoena, CSU made several errors, CSU issued a new diploma for Bola A. Tinubu, but incorrectly wrote the date of graduation as June 27, 1979. (Exhibit 8, CSU Registrar Affidavit, 5.). The correct date was june 22, 1979, but that scrivener’s error — along with a change in the CSU logo, the font on the diploma, and leadership at CSU who signed the diploma.” Tinubu had earlier asked the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Chicago, USA to quash a subpoena filed by Atiku Abubakar for being an “improper fishing expedition.”

  Scammers posing as United Kingdom (UK) skilled worker visa agents are offering non-existent jobs to unsuspecting Nigerians. A Sky News investigation has found that these job offers are costing victims huge sums of money. Blessing, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, told Sky News that she paid £10,000 to an “agent” in Nigeria for the job of a carer in the UK. After she arrived in the UK three months ago, Blessing said she discovered that she had paid for a non-existent job Blessing, who now relies on handouts from a Nigerian food bank, said she did not make the application herself because it is difficult to tell real from fake in her home country. “It makes me feel as though I’m a fool,” Sky News quoted her as saying. “I would have done it myself but there are so many frauds on the internet [in Nigeria] you don’t know what’s real. “I’ve always provided for myself. I’m a very hard-working, diligent person. “So for me to be here depending on people to eat, coming to the food bank to get food, isn’t ok with me. “There are so many. Dozens. I met a lot here and so many are still coming after I’ve come. There’s a big scam going on,” she added. ‘WE ARE OVERWHELMED’ For a skilled worker visa, the UK government charges from £625 to £1,423, depending on the applicant’s location and extent of stay. An annual healthcare surcharge of £624, and an availability of £1,270 for the applicant to prove that they can support themselves in the UK, are also required. Interested persons are required to apply directly to the UK government while providing supporting documents. Health and care workers represented 86% of long-term sponsored work visas granted and over half of all work visas granted to applicants in 2022, according to the UK’s Home Office. Mary Adekugbe, founder of the Nigerian Community Centre in Rochdale, a town in Greater Manchester, told Sky News that she has been overwhelmed by it all. “About 15 of the 35-40 people who generally come to the weekly food bank have skilled worker visas,” she said. We are overwhelmed, people are desperate. It’s so worrying.” Rishi Sunak, UK’s prime minister, has consistently re-echoed his plans to control immigration. Some of the measures taken so far include restricting foreign students from bringing family members with them, a change in the visa switch route, and a review of the funds needed for upkeep.

  The President National Association of Nigerian Students, Usman Barambu has called on the House of Representatives to amend the student loan act to allow all Nigerian Students who desire loan to have access to them. This is as they asked the House to include student representation on the board and capture Polytechnics and Collages of Education on the board instead of only National University Commission (NUC) which was earlier captured. Speaking at the legislative summit on students loan and access to higher education held by the ad-hoc committee on thursday in Abuja, Barambu said criteria for access to loan in the current act was too stringent adding that the method of payment of 2years was too short but should be reviewed to at least 4 to 5years. He also called that the list of guarantors to access loans to be looked into, adding that most student will not be able to meet the guarantors requirement. He said “student loan is for us and in the board no student representation on the board. The board only captured NUC sidelining the polytechnic and colleges of education, they should all be inclusive for fairness and equity. “Also the method of payment should be looked into as most student are not able to find their ground financially two years after graduation, it should be revised to 4 to 5 years . The act also gives no room for forgiveness in cases of death especially for security officers, that should also be looked into. Also speaking at the summit, the JAMB registrar Professor Is-haq Oloyede who was represented noted that the Students loans represent a turning point in the history of higher education in Nigeria, in the 21st century. Oloyede tasked the lawmakers on the feasibility of the loan covering other areas. He stressed the need to review the Act to cover cost of other things beyond school fees as students now pay more for accommodation, feeding and transportation. JAMB also canvassed the development of a conducive environment for the repayment of the loan even as it noted that the Act should be calibrated to factor in market instability, inflation pandemics and force major. Another recommendation by JAMB was that the the loan should not be one amount at all times adding that guarantees should be inserted so that it will be above inflation. JAMB however urged parliament to develope an accountability frame work for the loan and called for measures that would guarantee it’s sustanance. On its part, the Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Muhammad Nami said that the FIRS is committed to working with the parliament on the students loans project. The revenue collection body maintained that as soon as the mandate is giving, the funding will be made available. The body however expressed concern about the 1% federal government revenue meant for the funding and suggested that instead of federal allocation only the parliament should seek amendments that will allow the funding to be drawn from a federation account where all states can contribute too. Speaking earlier on behalf of the Speaker of the House, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, the Deputy Speaker, Rep Benjamin Kalu said that the summit which was aimed at addressing the issues emanating from the Student Loan Act 2023 – a law that promotes more equitable access to quality higher education for our children. Kalu further noted that education is integral to the development of any nation, and no country can afford to toy with the future of its young people. “The legislature, as you know, plays a crucial role in providing access to quality education in the country. Our role in this regard is multifaceted. It involves enacting laws and policies that govern education, allocating resources, and overseeing the implementation of these policies and laws as well as the utilization of appropriated funds. “Through these actions, the legislature contributes significantly to creating an enabling environment for quality education and ensuring that the right to education is upheld for all Nigerians. In this respect, the Student Loan Act is a transformational piece of legislation. “This is quite critical given that education is considered a fundamental right in Nigeria. The legislature as custodians and defenders of citizens’ rights, play an essential role in safeguarding this right. This informed the initiation and passage of the Student Loan Act by the 9th House of Representatives. “The purpose was to create seamless access to credit facilities for quality higher education. The legislation finds its relevance in the recognition that one of the key barriers to accessing higher education is the high cost associated with tuition fees, accommodation, textbooks, and other educational expenses. “Many talented and deserving students are unable to afford these costs, leading to a significant disparity in educational opportunities. As a result, we are witnessing a situation where only a privileged few can access quality higher education while the majority struggle to make ends meet contarily, we cannot afford to have majority of our citizens uneducated. “The Student Loan Act is a legislative framework designed to address the financial challenges faced by young Nigerians to accessinghigher-qualityeducation.By accessing credit facilities, the Act aims to ensure that deserving students are not denied educational opportunities due to financial constraints. He said however, concerns have been raised about the conditions for accessing the loan as contained in the Act, hence the need for a review. ” It is feared that these conditions might hamper the good intentions of the legislature, which is to create access for as many Nigerians as possible who desire quality higher education. It is due to this fact that the summit was convened to harness the opinions of stakeholders and experts on the improvement of the Act, ” he added.

  Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.1% in the first quarter of 2023 from 5.3% in the fourth of 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said. This was contained in a report titled, ‘Nigeria Labour Force Statistics Report Q4 2022 & Q1 2023’ which was released on Thursday by the NBS. The NBS said it enhanced its methodology of collecting labour market data through the Nigeria Labour Force Survey (NLFS) in line with International Labour Organisation (ILO) guidelines. “About three-quarters of working-age Nigerians1 were employed – 73.6% in Q4 2022 and 76.7% in Q1 2023. This shows that most people were engaged in some type of jobs for at least one hour in a week, for pay or profit,” the Bureau said. “About one-third (36.4% in Q4 2022 and 33.2% in Q1 2023) of employed persons worked less than 40 hours per week in both quarters. This was most common among women, individuals with lower levels of education, young people, and those living in rural areas. Underemployment rate which is a share of employed people working less than 40 hours per week and declaring themselves willing and available to work more was 13.7% in Q4 2022 and 12.2% in Q1 2023.” It added that most Nigerians operate their own businesses or engaged in farming activities. “Unemployment stood at 5.3% in Q4 2022 and 4.1% in Q1 2023. This aligns with the rates in other developing countries where work, even if only for a few hours and in low-productivity jobs, is essential to make ends meet, particularly in the absence of any social protection for the unemployed. “22.3% of the working age population were out of labour force in Q4 2022, while it was 20.1% in Q1, 2023. The rate of informal employment among the employed Nigerians was 93.5% in Q4 2022 and 92.6% in Q1 2023.”

  Troops of Operation Delta Safe have destroyed an illegal refinery site in the general area of Ogbokoko and Atu in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State. The development followed the troops’ anti-oil theft operations in South-South on 23 August 2023. According to a Thursday statement from the Director of Army Public Relations Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, during the operations, the troops destroyed eight active ovens used for illegal refining of stolen crude oil, 14 storage reservoirs containing stolen crude oil estimated at 200,000 litres and 90,000 litres of locally refined automotive gas oil. The oil thieves fled the scene, on sighting the advancement of troops. The Illegal refining site was destroyed in situ in line with the extant guidelines of Operation Delta Safe. Investigation is ongoing to arrest the fleeing criminals,” the statement added. He explained that the illegal refining site was destroyed in situ in line with extant guidelines of Operation Delta Safe and investigations are ongoing to arrest the fleeing criminals. The Nigerian Army is urging the public to report any suspected act of sabotage or criminality to security agencies

  Some students of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, on Thursday, staged a protest around the school over alleged sexual harassment and intimidation in the institution. The aggrieved students, mainly females, called on the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Charles Esimone, to release the Prof. Obi Oguejiofor panel report which indicted some members of staff. As a result, they also petitioned the Federal Government to intervene to protect them against incessant sexual harassment which they claimed had been rocking the school in recent times. The students wondered why nothing had been done to those indicted in the panel report. One of the students, who gave her name simply as Ugonna, said, “The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Charles Esimone, set up the Prof. Obi Oguejiofor panel to look into cases of sexual harassment when he assumed office, but before then, other panels had been set up that tried and equally indicted the culprits, yet, nothing was done. “Why are they not being punished or sacked? Why is the VC sitting on and hiding the Oguejiofor panel report? Even the married women among us are not free from harassment,” she added. In their remarks, the students threatened to make the institution ungovernable if the Vice Chancellor and the management failed to sack the indicted lecturers within two weeks Reacting to the development, some of the lecturers who spoke on condition of anonymity expressed fears that if nothing was done to their “randy” colleagues, the students would continue to be molested. One said, “This issue has become an everyday affair in UNIZIK and the VC has refused to act on it. “The ugly thing about it is that when the issue comes up, the indicted lecturers will go and start rolling on the ground before the VC and he will pardon them. They will now start boasting that nothing will happen. It’s so unfortunate. Another opined, “The students, we believe, got the morale from the University of Calabar issue where the HoD was suspended and they are now querying why the same treatment cannot be given in UNIZIK.” It was gathered that the school authorities had summoned a meeting of all the heads of departments and principal officers on Thursday to deliberate on the sexual harassment issue. In a memo to that effect signed by the Deputy Registrar, Ogonna Nwokeke, and sighted by our correspondent, all the principal officers of the department will be meeting at noon to deliberate on the development. Although the Vice Chancellor recently admitted to having such an issue in the institution, he said his management had stepped up in fighting the menace. He said one of the lecturers in one of the departments in the school was sacked recently in the Law Faculty as a result. Every effort to get the reaction of the Vice-Chancellor of the institution proved abortive as his telephone line did not connect. However, when contacted on the development, Emmanuel Ojukwu, the Media Aide to Esimone, confirmed that the school had set up a sexual harassment committee which is treating the matter “very strictly”. Ojukwu added that the bottleneck in tackling the issue of sexual harassment in the institution is that the students who levelled the allegations don’t usually come forward to testify before the panel. He said, “We have a sexual harassment committee headed by a professor and UNIZIK is very strict when it comes to protecting students. If there is any case of sexual harassment, it will be treated very strictly and there will be consequences. “First and foremost, there is no protest going on, maybe, there are some students silently agitating over one issue or the other. “All cases of sexual harassment that were known to the institution, the institution has brought the culprits involved before the panel and cautioned them by giving them letters of warning and removing them from any official position they were holding “The reason for this is that the institution wanted the students who made the allegations to come forward, but they refused, so that is the hindrance. You know, the university has to be careful so that it does not miscarry justice, because if the lecturers concerned go to court, it will be a liability on the school. “This is because the students who lay complaints don’t usually come forward to testify and what the institution has done is to warn the lecturers pending when the students would come to testify. “The VC is meeting this afternoon with all the staff concerned to warn them that any act of intimidation or harassment will not be tolerated,” he concluded.

  The Court of Appeal in Owerri, Imo State, on Thursday, sacked Julius Abure, and recognised Lamido Apapa as the National Chairman of the Labour Party. The court also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to immediately recognise and publish the names of all the governorship candidates produced by the Apapa-led National Working Committee in Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi states. The court also dismissed the governorship candidature of Senator Athan Achonu of Imo State, and others belonging to the Abure-led LP faction. In April, Apapa said his suspension as a member of the party was invalid, noting that he remained the ‘legitimate acting chairman.’ On August 14, the PUNCH reported that a Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City, Edo State capital, affirmed Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party. This was disclosed in a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh. Prior to this, on May 26, The PUNCH reported that a State High Court sitting in Edo dismissed the notice of suspension issued against Abure by some party members at the ward level. The judge, Justice Emmanuel Aihamoje, threw out the case for lacking merit.

  The Nigerian Air Force says it is set to receive 18 attack helicopters from the United States and Turkey to strengthen its fleet. The Chief of Air Staff, Hassan Abubakar, who made this known during a one-day tour of formations and units under the NAF 115 Special Operations Group in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Wednesday, said he was in the state to commiserate with the families of the NAF pilots and crew that died in the helicopter crash in Niger on August 14. Abubakar said the force is saddened by the recent loss of its airplane (MI 171 helicopter) but they are unfazed because they have a lot more coming in. He said, “We are not deterred by recent developments as the Federal Government has approved the acquisition of 12 AH1 Zulu Cobra and six T129 helicopters from the United States and Turkey, respectively. The first two T129 helicopters are scheduled to come into operation by September to enhance our operational capabilities.” The MI 171 helicopter which crashed on Monday, August 14, took off from Kaduna en route Minna, the Niger State capital, when the incident occurred