The National Association of Nigerian Students on Thursday, rejected the bill seeking a single term of six years for the President and state governors, describing it as “anti-democratic” and an attempt to stifle citizens’ choices. It will be recalled that 35 members of the House of Representatives, under the auspices of Reformed-minded Legislators, had last week proposed a bill seeking a single term of six years for the President and state governors. The lawmakers are equally seeking for rotation of the presidency among the six geopolitical zones of the country, arguing that the proposition if implemented would lead to a reduction in the cost of governance. However, NANS while reacting to the bill, called on Nigerians, pro-democracy groups, organised labour and trade unions to mobilise against the bill.   Speaking at a press conference in Abeokuta, Ogun State on Thursday, the National Clerk of the Senate of NANS, Yekini Adewale described the bill as “a smokescreen” to divert the attention of Nigerians from the current economic pains and agonies that Nigerians are facing. The apex student body threatened to mobilise students across the country in a protest against the bill. Adewale said that if the bill is passed into law, it would erode accountability, probity, transparency and responsibility on the part of political leaders.   ‘Yes, democracy thrives on the pedestal of a synergy between the three arms of the government, but when a key arm such as the legislature, proposes bills and peradventure, passes laws that stifle people’s choices or throw spanners at the wheel of the tenets of democracy, then, it is disheartening and must not be allowed. ‘NANS as a non-governmental organisation and the only pressure group that has been agitating for the continued survival and sustainability of our hard-earned democracy from being truncated does not only condemn the proposed bills but calls on Nigerians to move against such step aimed at achieving a selfish agenda by some unscrupulous politicians. ‘If the proposed bills are allowed to see the light of day, then, our democracy is in total jeopardy. ‘Any president or governor who realises that he cannot seek a second term in office, may rather busy himself feathering his own neat instead of delivering good governance to the electorate. “Expunging the second term from our constitution is synonymous with extinguishing the only power the electorate has to vote out any non-performing president or governor. ‘As a student body in the country, we shall mobilise our members massively against these bills seeking to efface accountability, probity, transparency and responsibility from the elected executives and lawmakers. ‘To further demonstrate our rejection of these anti-democracy, anti-people and anti-progress bills, a day will be set aside for Nigerian students to embark on a mass march against the National Assembly,” Adewale said.

  The Kano State Anti-corruption and Public Complaints Commission says it has arrested two suspects and invited three permanent secretaries for questioning over an alleged employment fraud. Muhuyi Magaji, chairman of the anti-graft agency, told TheCable on Thursday, that the arrest and invitation followed “fraudulent activities” uncovered at the offices of the head of service, civil service commission, Kano secondary schools board and health service management board. He said an investigation is ongoing to identify and bring those responsible for the alleged scam to justice. “Preliminary investigations have uncovered fraudulent activities at the office of the Head of Service, Civil Service Commission, Kano State Secondary Schools Board, and Health Service Management Board,” he said.   ”The two suspects in custody are cooperating with the investigation, which has led to the shutdown of a fake employment portal. The commission is working to root out corruption and ensure justice is served in the employment fraud scandal that has defrauded thousands of job seekers.”

  A former senator representing Kaduna central, Shehu Sani has called on President Bola Tinubu to pardon the EndSARS protesters, who are still in detention. Sani made this call while speaking at a dinner marking the 2024 Democracy Day on Wednesday. FG’s failure to make fresh offer stalls wage talks0:00 / 0:00 Recall that many Nigerian youths protested across the country against the excesses of the now-disbanded special anti-robbery squad (SARS) unit of the police in October 2020. After a series of protests, many protesters were arrested in cities such as Lagos, Rivers, and Ibadan, some of whom have remained in detention. Reacting to the development, Sani said the Nigerian youths who protested against the SARS took after Tinubu, who, according to him, was at the forefront of the struggle for the return of civilian rule in the country. He saod, “Mr. President, there are some people who are still in detention as a result of EndSars’ protest. They were young people who were protesting for justice, freedom, and democracy,” Sani said at the event attended by Tinubu. “Any young protester in Nigeria today should learn from you because you were the father of protest in Nigeria. Do something about it. Give them the freedom; give them the pardon.” “You taught us; you funded us to stand up and fight. So, they are your children and grandchildren; give them pardon.” The former senator also urged Tinubu on the need to foster freedom, equity, and justice in the country. “Mr. President, I would like to draw your attention. A national anthem cannot unite a nation. A national pledge or a constitution cannot unite a nation. “A nation is united by the ideals of freedom; a nation is united by equity and justice. Many younger generations of today have not and couldn’t know the sacrifice we have made to restore democracy to this country. “It is important that we bring attention to those who were not here in those days of struggle. “Democracy wasn’t a gift given to us by the military. It wasn’t a lottery that we won. It was a product of struggle and sacrifice. There were people forced into exile, like the president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the likes of Wole Soyinka. “There were people who were sent to prison like us. We are supposed to spend the first 15 years of our lives in prison, but by the magnanimity of God, we were out. There were many who were dead. This democracy is a product of struggle. “The Academic Staff Union of Universities made sacrifices, and the media made sacrifices. The NUPENG, headed by the likes of Frank Kokori, made sacrifices, and the National Association of Nigerian Students made sacrifices. “This democracy was a product of that struggle, a product of determination, and a product of sacrifices. “Mr. President, you have a duty to succeed. If you succeed, we will share your glory because you came from the trenches, that period of struggle. Mr. President, if you fail, they would say those of you who fought for democracy have nothing new to offer to Nigeria.”

  Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to focus on investigating more important issues. Speaking in an interview with Arise Television on Wednesday, Obi said arresting Nigerians over naira abuse should not be the main focus of the anti-graft agency. Obi said the arrest of Bobrisky, the self-acclaimed crossdresser, and others for abusing naira notes “are minor issues”. “If it is not budget padding today, it would be undisclosed subsidy payment, inflated contracts, and all sorts of things,” Obi said. “These are issues I want our agencies like EFCC to start dealing with but not arresting Bobrisky and Cubana Chief Priest. These are minor issues. “Our agencies should face budget padding squarely not arresting Bobrisky because he dressed like a woman and spent N500 notes.” In March, the upper legislative chamber suspended Abdul Ningi, senator representing Bauchi central, after he alleged that the 2024 budget was padded by N3 trillion — but the red chamber recalled Ningi before the three months elapsed. The senator claimed that the national assembly approved N25 trillion while the president signed N28.7 trillion. Similarly, there are claims that President Bola Tinubu has returned part of fuel subsidy that was abolished on May 29, 2023, but the presidency denied the claim, insisting that fuel subsidy is gone. Speaking further, Obi compared Nigeria’s situation to the “Titanic”, as well as an airplane going through turbulence. “When you enter a plane, there is bad weather; there’s going to be turbulence. The pilot says, we’re going to go through bad weather, it’s going to take us maybe one hour, two hours because of this weather, and he follows it through,” Obi said. “That is not the time everybody, even the crew, are asked to sit down. That’s not the time to start serving food and wine when everything is up and down. “I always say what happened to the Titanic is what is happening in Nigeria. While it was going down, people on the upper deck were busy dancing until the whole thing collapsed. That’s what is happening now.” He berated the federal government for its frivolous expenditures, spending over N21 billion for the accommodation of Vice-President Kashim Shettima. Obi said Nigeria has not really achieved much in the last 25 years of democratic governance. He said Nigeria is not practising true democracy and has deteriorated into “dictatorship and classical state capture”. “While we may say that in 1999, we started in earnest in the right direction, today we have deteriorated into what can be classified as classical state capture. Instead of benefiting all, it has become a deprivation for all,” Obi noted.

  The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ibrahim Lamuwa, has been suspended by the Office of the Head of Service over sexual harassment allegation. The Head of Service, Folashade Yemi-Esan, said the permanent secretary would be on suspension pending the outcome of a probe into the allegation against him. “The permanent secretary has been suspended pending the outcome of the probe by the committee set up, “ a senior director in the OHCSF told our correspondent in Abuja. It was learnt that following a petition submitted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, against Lamuwa, the HoS constituted a committee to look into the matter.   The complainant in the petition submitted by Tuggar was one Simisola Ajayi, who accused Lamuwa of serial sexual harassment. Ajayi, in the petition filed by her lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), outlined alleged instances of harassment. In a letter addressed to the Head of Service on May 27, 2024, Tuggar expressed his concern over the serious nature of the allegations involving the permanent secretary. “I am compelled to write to inform you of a formal complaint against the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ibrahim Adamu Lamuwa, on allegations of sexual harassment. “Bearing in mind the gravity of the matter, I feel it necessary to draw your attention to it and ask that you handle it accordingly,” the minister stated in the letter. An official familiar with the case told our correspondent on Wednesday that following the receipt of Tuggar’s letter on the allegation against Lamuwa, the HoS had set up a probe panel. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter, said, “Yes, the Head of Service has set up a committee to probe the whole matter. There are pieces of evidence, which will be tabled and witnesses who will also be invited to speak on the matter, so it is not a matter that will be swept under the carpet. “The minister (Tuggar) is also very much interested in the outcome. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a special ministry that operates even outside the shores of the country, so you can’t expect that an issue of such gravity will be swept under the carpet.” Ajayi had, in a petition dated May 29, 2024 and addressed to Tuggar, accused the permanent secretary of serial sexual harassment. The petition, signed by Adebayo A. Oniyelu LP of Falana & Falana’s, was titled “Request For An Investigation Of Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa’s Conducts Of Sexual Harassment At The Place Of Work, Abuse Of Office, Official Intimidation And Discrimination.” According to the petition, Ajayi narrated multiple instances of harassment allegedly by Lamuwa, which had created an unsafe and uncomfortable working environment. She claimed for instance that during a policy retreat on October 7, 2023, Lamuwa allegedly made inappropriate advances towards her, suggesting she joined him in his hotel room. He reportedly continued with inappropriate remarks throughout the retreat. She also cited an incident on November 10, 2023, where Lamuwa allegedly invited Ajayi to travel to Hong Kong, promising significant personal benefits from the trip

  Thursday 13 June 2024 N80bn fraud: EFCC accuses colleagues, others of shielding Yahaya Bello Govs demand refund from $10bn NIPP investments #EndHunger protesters seek end to economic hardship Inspector sentenced to death for killing phone dealer CDS: Simon Ekpa must be prosecuted — Finnish government giving him support Tinubu speaks on Eagle Square stumble, says ‘democracy worth falling for’ NLC counters Tinubu, says no agreement reached with FG on minimum wage Nigeria’s Crude Oil Production Drops To 1.25mbpd In May — OPEC Our Democracy Was Midwifed By Dictatorship — Fashola Lukman says APC can no longer win elections without rigging 4 die in Enugu auto crash Sallah Durbar: Bayero Writes CP, Requests Special Security No godfather needed for student loan — NELFUND Visit a newspaper stand this morning, buy and read a copy for yourself…

  President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, slipped while boarding the parade vehicle at the venue of the 2024 Democracy Day celebration. The President had approached the vehicle shortly after he arrived at the Eagle Square, Abuja venue of the programme. It was observed that the President lost his footing momentarily as he was about to step into the vehicle and slipped while he was quickly attended to by his security personnel. In this report, PUNCH Online highlights other world leaders aside from Tinubu, who had had clumsy moments and were caught on camera while boarding vehicles or disembarking official aircraft. 1. June 1975 – US President Ford slid down the Air Force One stairs The then United States President Gerald Ford slid Air Force One in 1975 while visiting Vienna in Austria for talks with Egyptian President Anwar Sada. 2. October 2004- Cuba leader, Fidel Castro falls from stage Cuban leader Fidel Castro, in 2004, fell off of the stage in Santa Clara, Cuba. Castro broke his knee and arm in the fall, sources say. The fall brought back memories of when he collapsed two years before the 2004 fall. 3. February 2015 – Zimbabwe President, Robert Mugabe, slid the Airport staircase Zimbabwe’s 90-year-old President Robert Mugabe fell down a staircase as he walked off a podium after addressing supporters at Harare International Airport, an AFP correspondent said. He had just returned from Ethiopia, where he took over the rotating chairmanship of the African Union. 4. March 2015 – Barack Obama recovers after near fall down steps of Air Force One US President Barack Obama came close to falling down the steps of Air Force One. Obama was returning to Washington DC from a golfing trip in Florida when he bounded from the door of the plane only to lose his footing. He recovered and continued across the tarmac with the same spring in his step. 5. June 2020 – V.P. Mike Pence Falls Up The Steps Of Air Force Two Vice President Mike Pence had a moment remarkably similar to President Biden’s upward slip. Pence was filmed running, then tripping, up the staircase of Air Force Two. 6. March 2021 – President Joe Biden trips three times on Air Force One stairs President Joe Biden trips three times on Air Force One stairs while scaling the steps to Air Force One to Atlanta to meet with Asian-American community leaders on a massacre. 7. October 2023 – Senator Tommy Tuberville Senator Tommy Tuberville, who has previously criticised President Joe Biden for falling in public view, was mocked online after a video showing him falling down a flight of plane stairs himself went viral. Alabama Republican, who at the time was coaching the University of Cincinnati football team, appeared to lose his footing after three steps and slid the rest of the way down. 8. Yemen 2011 – Hillary Clinton The then-Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, was boarding a plane to Yemen when she slipped to her knees at the doorway and was only saved from further embarrassment when an aide gave her a helping hand. Credit: Punch