Category: Lead

The Federal Government has declared Monday May 1 as public holiday to mark this year’s Workers Day celebration. 

The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government. 

The Minister, in a statement by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry,  Dr Shuaib Belgore, said the celebration be marked with a title “SOLIDARITY FOREVER:  CELEBRATING THE COLLECTIVE STRENGTH OF NIGERIAN WORKERS”.

Aregbesola quoted from the International Trade Union Anthem to express deep solidarity with workers. 

Read Also: Govt declares April Friday, Monday as public holidays

He congratulated workers across the country on this year’s celebration.

He commended workers for their resilience, hard work, diligence and sacrifice noting that their contributions are essential for the greatness of the country and her dignity. 

“There is dignity in labour.  The nation will continue to celebrate workers’ dedication and commitment to work because their services are vital to nation building and African Renaissance,” he said. 

Aregbesola enjoined workers to imbibe the culture of productivity, saying “The end of work is productivity. It is productivity that leads to value creation, satisfactory provision of goods and services and wealth creation. It is therefore the path to national and individual prosperity.”

The  Federal Government has insisted that the payment for fuel subsidy will come to an end in June, 2023.

A statement from the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning gave a clarification on recent report the Federal Government had shifted the exit date for fuel subsidy payment.

A statement from the Federal Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning stated that there has been “no change in the overall policy direction regarding the petrol subsidy envisaged by June 2023”. 

The Special Adviser, Media and Communications to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, told The Nation that “by the principles and letters of the 2023 Appropriation Act and the PIA laws, there is no provision for subsidy after june 2023”.

He noted that some members of the incoming government were “brought into the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting so as to consolidate on that decision of fuel subsidy removal”.

Read Also: Mixed reactions trail subsidy removal shift

In a statement he signed, Abdullahi stated that government “has not suspended the removal of fuel subsidy, but has rather expanded the subsidy removal committee to include teams from the incoming administration and the state governors”. 

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zaniab Ahmed, after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, chaired by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo told reporters that the NEC “came to the conclusion that the subsidy must be removed as it is not sustainable, but there is a need for further consultations, especially the need to involve members of the incoming administration and representatives of the state governments.”

• Buhari to spend retirement in Kaduna

Overconfidence and poor tactical moves led to the failure of the opposition to defeat the ruling party in the February 25 presidential election, President Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday.

Besides, the President explained that the All Progressives Congress (APC) got its act together by employing cautious confidence and hard work to retain power, won by President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He defeated Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).

The President criticised the PDP and LP for relying on external backers.

Speaking to APC governors during a visit to his residence at Aso Villa, he said: “They were already telling their foreign backers that they would defeat the APC.”

He added: Our Party blended confidence with caution. We worked hard and won. Now, their overconfidence is creating more problems for the opposition than anyone else. 

“They are finding it hard to convince those who supported them from outside why they are unable to beat us.”

Speaking further on the election, the President added: “An important reason I congratulate Asiwaju (Tinubu) on winning is that the opposition got support and false hope from outside and went on to create the impression that they will win, that they will defeat us. How more wrong could anyone be?” he asked. 

He charged the Progressive Governors to stick together and openly address issues among themselves. 

“Try and keep solving problems. Be courageous to discuss them openly among yourselves. This is the best way to survive politically in Nigeria,” said the President.

He urged that to “have a programme to meet regularly and to discuss issues and how to maintain the party nationwide.” 

The governors also met with Tinubu and Vice President-elect Kashim Shettima at the President-elect’s residence, where he urged them to remain on the same page with the party leadership in the plan for the election of the principal officers of the National Assembly.

Buhari to spend retirement in Kaduna

On his retirement plan, President Buhari said he intended to be at his home town Daura (Katsina State) for six months before moving eventually to Kaduna, where he will be staying. 

He thanked Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai for the infrastructure he has provided to make life easy for him in retirement.

He explained that Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje had equally done the same thing, but he did not elaborate on it. 

Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu, said the visit was to say “Happy Sallah” to the President and to thank him for the leadership he had given to the party and the nation. 

He congratulated the President on the party’s victory in the Presidential election, saying: “Your party won the Presidency, a majority in the Senate and for being the leading party in the House of Representatives. These successes would not have happened without your support. 

“History will remember you kindly. Around the world, the election is being celebrated because of the turbulence in the region and in the developing world, all courtesy of your leadership. 

‘We won by sheer hard work, the same thing you have always encouraged us to do. We thank you immensely for everything.” 

Governors in attendance are Simon Lalong (Plateau), Hope Uzodimma (Imo), AbdulRahaman AbdulRazaq (Kwara), Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), El-Rufai (Kaduna), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Ben Ayade (Cross River), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Aminu Masari (Katsina), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun) and Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa).

Deputy governors of Kano, Gombe, Borno and Ebonyi also attended the meeting as well as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.

• NLC, LCCI, NECA, others state positions

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)   and  Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) yesterday welcomed the decision by the National Economic Council (NEC) to temporarily halt the planned removal of petrol subsidy in June.

But some economists  — Dr Muda Yusuf and Prof. Leo Ukpong — differed, say the action amounted to postponing the evil day.

NEC, at its valedictory session in Abuja, resolved to form an expanded committee to look at the process for the removal of subsidy to avert hiccups in its implementation.

The latest stoppage of the subsidy removal makes it the second time in the last two years that the Muhammadu Buhari administration has changed its mind about the policy.

Last year, the Federal Government spent over N6 trillion subsidising petrol.

In this year’s budget, over N3trn is budgeted for petrol subsidy between January and June.

Removal of petrol subsidy is a major component of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021. The Act’s full implementation was shifted by 18 months, a period that is due to end in June 2023.

Giving reason for the  U-turn, the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo-led  NEC  said that it needed to work with various segments of government, including state governors and representatives of the incoming administration, on the issue.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning  Zainab Ahmed, who briefed reporters after the meeting, said: “Today (yesterday),  I was in the NEC, where we discussed the issue of post-subsidy removal. Council agreed that the timing for the removal of subsidy should not be now, but that we should continue with all of the preparation works that needs to be done and that this preparation work has to be done in consultation with the states and other key stakeholders, including representatives of the incoming administration.

“Council agreed that the first subsidy must be removed earlier rather than later because it is not sustainable.

“We cannot afford it anymore. We have to do it in such a way that the impact of the subsidy is as much as possible, mitigated on the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

“So, this will require looking at alternatives to the post-subsidy that needs to be planned for and subsequently put in place but also what needs to be done to support the people that would be most affected as a result of the removal.

“So, we will be working together with representatives of the state. We will have a plan that we will start working on putting the building blocks towards the eventual removal of fuel subsidy.

“If I may remind the forum,   the budget for 2023 has a provision for subsidy only up to June 2023 and also the  PIA has a provision that requires that all petroleum products must be deregulated 18 months after the effective date of the PMS (Premium Motor Spirit) or fuel  removal and that period is also up to June 2023.”

Asked to be specific on the removal date,  the minister replied:  “What I said is that it is not going to be removed now, which means it will not be removed before the transition is completed. But then, we have two laws that have inadvertently made the provision that we should exit by June.

“So, if the committee’s work, which will include the representatives of the incoming administration, determines that the removal can be done by June, then the work plan will be designed to exit as at June. “But if the determination is that the period is extended, it will mean that as a country,  we will have to revisit the Appropriation Act for example, because the 2023 Budget only makes provision for up to June.

“If we are extending beyond June,  it means we have to revisit the Appropriation Act or amend the PIA. These are the reasons why we had to do this consultation to get inputs from governors. They are  going to provide us with their representatives to work together with us to have a defined process that will take us towards the removal.”

The NLC, which backed the decision by NEC, said the plan would have thrown the country into crisis.

The congress, in a statement by its Head of Information,  Benson Upah, said the government needed to “make our local refineries work,” before contemplating subsidy removal.

It said: “We are delighted that the Federal Government is beginning to see the light. The kind of subsidy removal that they (Federal Government) had in mind was clearly a recipe for plunging this country into anarchy. This is because it has no human face.

“It is okay with us that the Federal Government has seen the wisdom in not implementing this kind of agenda.

“For us, we believe that subsidy as conceived is a scam and if however, there is a genuine content to subsidy claims, the only viable and sustainable way to remove the subsidy is to make our  local refineries work…”

Also, NECA  and a former Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) Registrar, Dr Uju Ogubunka, separate interviews,  advised the government to use the period of the shift to complete the turnaround maintenance of the nation’s refineries.

NECA’s  Director-General  Wale   Oyerinde said once the refineries begin to work optimally, diversion of fuel to neighbouring countries, stealing of crude oil and other atrocities in the oil and gas sector would stop.

His words: ” It is a welcome development and we want to believe that the Federal Government heeded our cry on the need to suspend subsidy removal as we see it as a scam.

“Government seemed to have reasoned with us on the need to complete the turnaround maintenance of our refineries.  Government should use the opportunity to complete the turnaround maintenance of the refineries.

“However, the incoming government should be ready to address the consequences and the challenges that may come after. The big task is carrying out turnaround maintenance,   fighting and dealing with those who are scamming the country in the name of fuel subsidy, among others. We know that it is going to be tough, we hope that the incoming government will be bold enough to address the situation..”

Ogubunka noted that life is already very difficult for the common man. He argued that the removal of fuel subsidy would aggravate the challenges.

“If life is this hard on the people when the subsidy is there, what happens when it is eventually removed? It is good that the government had a rethink,” he said.

Ogubunka advised the government to be more prudent and invest borrowed funds in projects that support the economy.

• Egypt clear Air Peace, NAF to fly Nigerians

The airlifting of Nigerians who left Sudan for Egypt is expected to begin today.

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Air Peace and other airlines have been cleared to fly to Egypt.

Thirteen buses conveying them safely arrived at the Aswan border, which is between Egypt and Sudan.

Because the border was closed when the convoy got there, they will leave early today for the airport from where they will be flown to Nigeria.

The non-stop flight time between Cairo and Lagos is 6 hours.

The remaining seven buses were getting set to leave. 

Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who provided the updates, confirmed that some of the buses stopped midway into the journey.

The drivers refused to continue because they were allegedly not paid, but the issue was resolved.

Hours after their departure, a video surfaced on Twitter of some students in an unidentified location claiming to be stranded.

One of them said: “Can you imagine that we have been stuck in this desert for five hours? We don’t know the situation we’re in and our money has finished.

“And the drivers said they’re not moving because they (the government) did not give them money. 

‘Look at this place; we don’t even have a compass to know our location. Everything has finished, we are in an unknown location and in very big danger.”

The video shows some buses parked in a deserted area.

But, Mrs Dabiri-Erewa said some of the transporters insisted they wanted to collect their cash before moving.

“Don’t forget that in a war situation, transferring money is a problem,” Mrs Dabiri-Erewa told The Nation.

The NIDCOM chief also spoke at the weekly Ministerial Briefing organised by the Presidential Communication Team, where she said all 5,500 students in Sudan would be evacuated.

She, however, said more Nigerians have expressed interest in returning home than previously indicated.

“The mission is now being bombarded with people that never registered, that never showed presence, saying that they want to come,” she said.

Mrs Dabiri-Erewa said there were over three million Nigerians residing in Sudan and efforts are on to evacuate as many as possible, with children, students and women prioritised.

She said the evacuees will be given some stipends to help them settle on their return home.

Mrs Dabiri-Erewa, who also appeared on Channels, said universities in Nigeria have offered to admit those returning from Sudan as was done with some of those evacuated from Ukraine.

“We did it with Ukraine when they came back. There were plans to continue education for them.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs created a division for that and ensured that those who wanted to continue their education did.

“Universities are already offering and have reached out to us that when they (those from Sudan) do come back and they want to continue their education, they should contact them, so all that shouldn’t be a problem at all,” she said.

Sudan’s army has expressed willingness to extend a shaky ceasefire for a further 72 hours amid continuing battles with the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the outskirts of the capital Khartoum.

The army said late on Wednesday that its leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, had given initial approval to a plan to extend the truce – due to expire late on Thursday – for another 72 hours and send an army envoy to Juba, the South Sudan capital, for talks.

There was no immediate response from the RSF to the proposal from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional bloc.

The military said the presidents of South Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti worked on a proposal that includes extending the truce and talks between the two forces.

“Burhan thanked the IGAD and expressed an initial approval to that,” the army statement said.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat have also discussed ways to work together to end the fighting in Sudan, the US State Department said in a statement.

African Union leadership remained “essential in pressing the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to immediately cease military operations and allow unhindered humanitarian access,” it added.

Some of the heaviest battles on Wednesday were in Omdurman, a city on the northern edge of Khartoum where the army was fighting RSF reinforcements from other regions of Sudan, according to the Reuters news agency.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said evacuation efforts in Sudan will be “potentially impossible” once a ceasefire ends.

Cleverly said there is no guarantee of further evacuation flights once an agreed halt in fighting expires on Thursday night.

It comes as the government faces domestic and international criticism over its response.

The British evacuation mission from the African country has seen 536 people taken to safety on six flights so far, according to the latest official figures.

“We cannot predict exactly what will happen when that ceasefire ends but what we do know is it will be much, much harder, potentially impossible,” he said.

“So what we’re saying to British nationals is if you’re hesitant, if you’re weighing up your options, our strong, strong advice is to go through Wadi Saeedna whilst the ceasefire is up and running.

“There are planes, there is capacity, we will lift you out. I’m not able to make those same assurances once a ceasefire has ended.”

Hundreds of people have been killed in nearly two weeks of conflict between the army and a rival paramilitary force – the RSF – which are locked in a power struggle threatening to destabilise the wider region.

Canada conducted its first evacuation operation in Sudan yesterday, airlifting over 100 hundred people, including Canadians and other nationals, on two flights from the war-torn North African country, senior government officials said.

The Canadian defence ministry said it was deploying about 200 troops and positioning two C-130 Hercules aircraft to coordinate evacuations from Sudan.

The United Nations said so far, 1,053 families have so far fled to Chad from neighbouring Sudan where an armed conflict is in progress.

According to Laura Lo Castro, Chadian representative of UNHCR, UNHCR Chad and its partners began preliminary registration (fixing) of the influx of Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad on April 25.

He said 1,053 refugee families were registered, and 102 families of Chadian returnees were identified.

Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), yesterday dismissed allegations of missing 48 million barrels of crude oil valued at about $2.4 million.

Speaking when he appeared before the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating the alleged missing crude, he said probes ordered by his office established a case of fraud against those who raised the allegation.

He said they wanted to be paid by the government for recoveries not made.

The minister said those involved were arrested and arraigned before the FCT High Court in Jabi in 2019.

According to him, while some of those involved jumped bail and are currently on the run, one of them was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an allegation of another case of fraud and is being detained.

Malam refused to make the case file available to the committee, saying it would be sub-judice.

“The Committee or the National Assembly can apply to be joined as an interested party in the case. We will not object to that,” he said.

Dismissing the allegation of missing crude, Malami said: “The allegations relating to the 48 million barrels of crude oil are baseless. The allegation is unfounded. It lacks merit and indeed substance.

“The allegation in its own right is devoid of any reasonable ground pointing to a material suspicion cogent enough to invoke the constitutional oversight of the committee.”

On allegations that his office approved payment of over $200 million to whistleblowers and his involvement in the management of recovered funds, Malami said all recovered funds were managed by the Ministry of Finance and the office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

 ”In 2020, the Office of Attorney-General was instrumental to the recovery of 311.4 million dollars from Benwick Jazzy US and UK. 

‘That money was lodged into the asset recovery account of the Federal Government maintained in the Central Bank, opened at the instance of the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General.

“Nobody in the Office of the Attorney-General was a signatory or responsible for the operation and coordination of the account. 

“Again, there was an additional amount of $ 5.4 million recovered in 2020 from Northern Ireland relating to Abacha. 

“The same amount was lodged into the asset recovery account of the Federal Government being maintained at the Central Bank.”

The Federal Government has justified its decision to return the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu back to the country after he allegedly jumped bail.

The Fed Govt, in an amended notice of appeal before the Supreme Court, stated that Kanu was extraordinarily renditioned to the country to enable him to face his ongoing trial on charges of treasonable felony.

The Fed Govt said its appeal, marked: SC/CR/1361/2022 is against part of the October 13, 2022 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja where it held that the extra-ordinary rendition of Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria robs the trial court of its jurisdiction to try him on the seven-count charge on which he was being tried before he jumped bail.

In the 13-ground amended notice of appeal filed by David Kaswe of the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Fed Govt stated that Kanu was brought back to enable him to attend his trial.

It contended that the Justices of the Court of Appeal erred when they “held that the extraordinary rendition of the respondent (Kanu) robbed the trial court of the jurisdiction to entertain the charges pending before that court even before the respondent illegally jumped bail and absconded.

“The respondent was standing trial on a 5-count charge preferred against him by the appellant (Fed Govt). In the course of proceedings, the respondent illegally jumped bail and absconded from Nigeria.

“The respondent was only returned to Nigeria to continue his trial before the court.

“The illegality or otherwise of the rendition of the respondent is not relevant to the charges that were already pending before the court a the time the Respondent jumped bail,” it said.

The Fed Govt also faulted the Court of Appeal, arguing that it failed to consider that it was the illegality of Kanu jumping bail and his refusal to make himself available for trial that necessitated his return to Nigeria by the appellant, who is under a legal duty to bring hint before the Trial Court to answer the charges preferred against him.

At the mention of the case on Thursday, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Okoro granted permission to the Fed Govt to file additional nine grounds in its appeal.

The court granted permission while ruling on a motion for leave moved on Thursday by a lawyer to the Fed Govt, Tijani Gazali (SAN).

The court equally granted leave to the Fed Govt to include the additional nine grounds as part of its amended notice of appeal filed on April 26.

Kanu’s lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN) informed the court about a couple of motions filed by his client, including one in which he is praying to be relocated to Kuje prison from his current place of detention in a facility owned by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Ozekhome claimed Kanu was seriously ill and required proper medical attention, which, he believed, his client could access at the Kuje prison.

Further hearing in the case has been adjourned till May 11.

The National Economic Council (NEC) has agreed that the plan to remove petrol subsidy should not be executed yet. 

It however said all preparatory plans with various segment of government, including States and the incoming administration should be intensified.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, who disclosed these to journalists after the Valedictory NEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, however added that Council agreed that the subsidy regime must be removed eventually as it is not sustainable.

“Today I was in the National Economic Council, where we discussed the issue of post-subsidy removal. Council agreed that the timing for the removal of subsidy should not be now, but that we should continue with all of the preparation works that needs to be done and that this preparation work has to be done in consultation with the states and other key stakeholders, including representatives of the incoming administration.

Read Also: Ahead subsidy removal, Fed Govt plans six-month petrol stockpile

“Council agreed that the first subsidy must be removed earlier rather than later because it is not sustainable. We cannot afford it anymore. We have to do it in such a way that the impact of the subsidy is as much as possible, mitigated on the lives of ordinary Nigerians. 

“So, this will require looking at alternatives to the post subsidy that needs to be planned for and subsequently put in place but also what needs to be done to support the people that would be most affected as a result of the removal. 

“So, we will be working together with representatives of the States. We will have a plan that we will start working on putting the building blocks towards the eventual removal of the fuel subsidy. 

“If I May remind the forum, that the budget for 2023 has provision for subsidy only up to June 2023 and also the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has a provision that requires that all petroleum products must be deregulated 18 months after the effective date of the PMs removal and that period is also up to June 2023,” she explained.

Details Shortly…