Category: Northern Reports

The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps has said the D-G’s Community Development Service Award was instituted to reward the hard work and innovativeness of corps members, dedication and commitment of CDS Officers.

He said the award, which began in 2021, was also initiated to recognise the immense support of our partners towards the successful execution of CDS programmes.

Ibrahim said this during the launch of CDS activities for 2022 and the Director-General of NYSC CDS award in Abuja.

He said: “This is also a unique moment to salute Corps members nationwide, who, as our foot soldiers in the execution of all CDS activities, continue to strive to leave their footprints in the sand of time.”

He further called on other government agencies, non-governmental organisations and the organised private sector to partner with the NYSC in its strides toward a greater Nigeria.

Ibrahim commended the Director and members of staff of the Community Development Service and Special Projects Department for their doggedness in initiating and implementing robust CDS programmes.

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Muhammad Bello, called on Nigerians to support the NYSC in its bid to achieve CDS.

Bello, who was represented by the Mandate Secretary, Social Development Secretariat and Chairman NYSC FCT Governing Board, Hadiza Kabi, commended the patriotism of Nigerian youths who have been able to contribute to social, economic and political development and growth of the country.

through their selfless services under the CDS activities.

On the theme “Harnessing the Gains of Community Development Service for Social-Economic Development of Rural Communities,” the minister commended the NYSC leadership for the giant strides recorded in the past few years.

The minister said: “I call on all Nigerians to support the NYSC in its bid to actualise the goals and objectives of the Community Development Service.

“No doubt, Corps members’ ideas and initiative must be supported by all through the provision of funds and other materials for the benefit of our host communities.”

Director, CDS and Special Projects, Abdulrazak Salaeu said CDS remained an enduring platform for corps members to initiate and execute projects aimed at improving the living standard of their host communities.

“Such projects include construction of culverts and bridges, tree planting, farms, against SOGS sensitisation, digital connectivity, literacy campaign, quality medical services to the rural dwellers, among others,” he said.

The event witnessed the launch of CDS programmes by the Director-General of the NYSC.

Some of the programmes launched included, traditional (group) CDS, year-round (personal) CDS, collaborative CDS, special programmes and awards to deserving corps members and coordinators.

The Network for Best Practice and Integrity in Leadership (NEBPRIL),  has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack all political appointees who declared intention to leave his government on account of 2023 political ambitions, in order to avoid unnecessary distractions and conflict of interest in the remaining days of his administration.

NEBPRIL described the withdrawal of resignation letters by some ministers as unethical, deceitful and self-serving.

It said President Buhari should be wary of such characters and intent of those appointees, as their decision to remain in his government in such controversial circumstances, may not be borne out of patriotism or a true desire to serve, but a deceitful ploy to pursue self-interest that might hurt the integrity and productivity of the government.

The group praised the President for the courage to ask those that wanted to contest the coming 2023 elections to leave his government before May 16, 2022, a directive that subsequently forced many of the appointees who had been grandstanding that they were at Liberty to keep their appointments while still junketing about in pursuit of their political ambitions, to resign last week.

In a statement by NEBPRIL in Abuja, yesterday by its Chairman, Victor Afam Ogene, a former member of the House of Representatives, the civil society group reiterated that it was sheer deceit for public officials to play hanky-panky with their otherwise positions of trust.

“The earlier refusal to resign, or the selfish and shameless withdrawal of resignation and recanting of political ambitions by some of the ministers and other appointees do not only offend the sensibilities of the people, it’s also a clear violation of the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution. And this must not be allowed to stand, as it would amount to enabling unethical practice, bad behaviour and impunity in our democracy and governance in Nigeria.

“Section 306 (2) of the Constitution stipulates that “the resignation of any person from any office established by this Constitution shall take effect when the writing signifying the resignation is received by the authority or person to whom it is addressed or by any person authorised by that authority or person to receive it.

“So, until the affected ministers are reappointed by the President as required by section 147 of the Constitution, and their names submitted to the Senate for fresh screening and confirmation, they remain impostors and should not carry out any responsibility on behalf of the government. That’s the law and we must learn to obey and protect our laws in order to deepen our democracy.”

Ogene queried: “What did the affected ministers leave in government that they want to go back to fetch? Are they recanting their political ambitions based on conviction, or is this a ploy to recoup the huge political expenses they had incurred, as many of them had already distributed branded exotic cars to oil the wheels of their aborted political aspirations? Some others have coerced kith and kin, captains of industry and desperate political contractors to raise funds, ostensibly in pursuit of their willfully terminated aspiration.

“Would it not be tantamount to grand advance fee fraud, to deceitfully take money from hapless citizens, when they knew, ab initio, that they won’t run a full race?

“Do they consider the sensibilities of the people to who their actions may be offensive, or do we take it that they don’t care about public perception of themselves and the government they serve?

“We think it’s high time government appointees stopped taking Nigerians for granted,” NEBPRIL said.

The Interior Designers Association of Nigeria (IDAN) has called on the Federal Government to grant them a license to professionalise the trade.

The association noted that this would bring standards and policies to the profession and regulate its practice.

Founder of the association and the 21st President of the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers, Titi Ogufere, stated that there was a massive gap in its regulation in Africa, hence the need to be licensed by the government.

In a statement issued at the end of its town hall meeting in Abuja, Ogufere said: “We, as a body, are calling for government regulation to enhance the ethical standards and technical competence in the public interest. We will be providing the Nigerian public with the means to identify Interior Designers who have demonstrated the minimum level of competence needed to practice Interior Design.

“With the pandemic, we have all seen the profession’s importance in the built environments where the public’s health, safety and welfare should be of foremost importance. So, it has become necessary to regulate this profession.”

While stating that interior design is often confused with interior decoration, she noted that interior design is the art of understanding people’s behaviour and requirements to design a functional space that will satisfy their needs.

“Interior decorators furnish these spaces but are not involved in planning designs. Interior Designers can decorate, but interior decorators cannot execute the interior design of spaces, the reason for its study as a four-year course in the university, she said.

She explained that in 2019, she led a special task force with 15 professors and educators from all over the world to review the global Interior Design Education Policy.

According to her, this timely project was finalised in February 2020 as a comprehensive, future-focused, inclusive and globally relevant Interior Design Education Policy.

“These guidelines create the basis for evaluating future curricula and accreditation of Interior Design education programs worldwide. The previous document, which came into force in 1979, did not consider developing regions like Africa and a technological world,” she added.

The President of IDAN, Jennifer Chukwujekwe, said more vocational schools are needed in Nigeria with international technical expertise to train world-class artisans.

She said the lack of painters and plumbers among others is a major challenge facing the interior design industry.

The Benue State government has explained why it got fresh approval of a N41 billion loan facility from the state House of Assembly, saying it was rather a revalidation of the 2015 bailouts to states of the federation.

The Nation gathered that the approval for the loan, which was given by the Assembly last week, stirred up a controversy among citizens of the state.

But the State Commissioner of Finance, Dr David Olofu, while reacting to the controversy at a press conference in Makurdi, said the loan was not fresh borrowing but the remaining part of the bailout money not yet accessed by the state.

He further explained that the Benue state government made several efforts over the years to get the N41 billion balance released to it out of N69 billion bailout meant for the state but such efforts could not yield results as the Federal Government was not forthcoming until recently.

“The N41 billion loan facility the Benue State House of Assembly approved a few days ago was therefore only a re-validation of the application for the pending bailout of N41 billion and not a fresh loan approval. Out of the N41 billion, N17 billion will go for payment of the arrears of salaries and pensions at the state level, while N24 billion will go to local governments,” he said.

Olofu noted that the controversy trailing the approval of the loan in the social media was needless, adding that once the fund is released to the state, the government would be able to clear the arrears of salaries and pensions.

“The Ortom administration, like those of other states, in 2015 applied for the bailout which the Federal Government had resolved to give to states to cushion the adverse effects of the recession and enable them to pay the outstanding salaries and pensions.

“The Benue State Executive Council sought the approval of the State House of Assembly and applied for N69 billion bailout, which would have addressed the backlog of the emoluments. The Federal Ministry of Finance and Central Bank of Nigeria, for whatever reason, approved and released only N28 billion of the bailout, leaving N41 billion pending. Out of the N28 billion that came to the state, N15.5 billion was for the 23 local government areas while N12.5 went to the state for payment of the outstanding emoluments,” the Finance commissioner maintained.

The Police Command in Bauchi has confirmed the murder of three persons in a fresh attack by unidentified gunmen at Num village in Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of the state.

SP Ahmed Wakil, Spokesman of the Command, who confirmed the incident on Thursday in Bauchi, said two other persons sustained injuries in the attack.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the attack came barely 24 hours after gunmen attacked Yadagundume village in Ningi LGA, killing three persons and injuring one other.

Wakil said that the gunmen attacked the Num village on April 9 and killed three villagers.

He listed the victims to include Samaila Bello, Kefas Sarki and Paulina Alhamdu.

“We received distress call on May 9, 2022 at about 21:30 hours that some hoodlums armed with AK-47 rifles stormed Num area of Sara village in Tafawa Balewa LGA of the state,

“They opened fire on members of the community, causing death of three persons while two others, Gode Bulus and Zakka Mayo were injured.

“On intensive effort, the DPO, Tafawa Balewa Division and his team rushed to the scene of the crime where they rescued the two victims and referred them to the General Hospital Tafawa Balewa,” he said.

Wakil said the Commissioner of Police, Umar Sanda, had directed the Area Commander in Toro to intensify efforts to arrest the perpetrators of the crime.

While reiterating the commitment of the police to protect lives and property, the CP urged the people to be calm and report suspicious persons and movements in their communities to security agencies.

“The Force will not be deterred from dealing with all criminal elements that try to test its capacity,” he said.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested three suspects in connection with the criminal conspiracy and gruesome murder of one Terungwa Stephenie, a 26 years old youth corps member of City Homes Estate Lokogoma.

Stephenie had been declared missing in Abuja on April 14 before she was found dead with her body mutilated by her killers.

The arrest of the suspects, the police said, was made following the deployment of tactical and intelligence assets at the disposal of the command attached to the Homicide Department of the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID).

The suspected trio, namely Jenifer Tsembe, a 26 years old female; Monday Simon a.k.a Black, a 36 years old male, and Solomon Abu, a male about 35 years old, all residents of Oguta Lake, Maitama area of the FCT, were said to have voluntarily stated their involvement in the perpetration of the dastardly act.

According to a statement issued yesterday by the Police Public Relations Officer of the FCT command, Josephine Adeh, investigation is ongoing to unravel other groundbreaking facts, while effort had been doubled to apprehend the fleeing suspect(s).

She said the suspects would be charged to court upon conclusion of investigation.

Adeh said: “The Commissioner of Police FCT Command, CP Babaji Sunday psc, while applauding the gallantry and result yielding effort of the investigating team, enjoined the good people of the Territory not to relent in cooperating with the police, especially as touching the rendition of prompt and actionable intelligence.

“He further stated that the police will not rest on its oars until unscrupulous elements are fished out their hideouts and flushed out of the territory as a whole.

“To adequately complement the crime-fighting effort of the Command, the good people of the FCT are therefore urged to remain vigilant and report any suspicious or abnormal occurrence to the police.”