The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria News Today

  • FG working hard to sanitize pension system, says Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday assured that his administration was working hard to sanitize the rot it met in the pension system in 2015.

    He gave the assurance during the launch of the Micro Pension Plan floated by the Nigeria Pension Commission at the Old Banquet Hall, Presidential villa, Abuja.

    The President also promised to resolve all pending issues on pension payment.

    The dignity of public servants, who worked tirelessly and sacrificed for the greatness of Nigeria, he said, will be restored.

    Buhari also observed that retired public servants deserved better treatment and effective service that meets their needs to carry on after retirement.

    He said “We are also working tirelessly to sanitize some of the rot within the pension system we inherited.

    “I want to assure all Nigerians that this government remains committed to resolving all pending issues on pension payment in the federal public sector despite the lean resources of Government.

    “The dignity of retired public servants who sacrificed their lives for this country will be restored. We will ensure all hard working Nigerians in the private sector, both formal and informal, can retire without fear,” he said.

    The President also said that the Federal Government will continue to support the National Pension Commission to ensure a successful roll-out of the Micro Pension Plan, which will capture citizens that are not fully captured in the formal corporate sector.

    He urged trade associations, unions, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders in the informal sector to join hands with the government and pensions industry to enlighten their members and general public on the benefits of Micro Pension Plan.

    He said, “Today, millions of traders, farmers and other entrepreneurs in various cottage industries are completely excluded from the different pension programs in existence.

    “The Micro Pension Plan is the natural next step. The program guarantees that when these hard working citizens retire, they can still live in dignity and comfort.”

    Towards efforts to diversify the economy and create a more inclusive and enabling environment for all Nigerians, President Buhari said the government has provided grants, concessionary loans and technical support through Small and Medium Enterprises clinics to farmers, traders and SMEs.

    Also speaking at the event, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha, said the new scheme will provide more security for Nigerians in the informal sector, and expand the country’s pension coverage as well as boost the economy.

    “This scheme also benefits the government because it has the potential to generate a pool for investible long term funds that can drive economic development,’’ he said.

    In her remarks, the Acting Director General of National Pensions Commission, Hajiya Aisha Dahir–Umar, said the Contributory Pension Scheme had recorded huge success since it was launched in 2004, with the formation of long term domestic capital, represented by N8.7 trillion worth of pension assets as at January 2019.

    The funds she explained belong to 8.46million formal sector participants.

    “The Micro Pension Plan is remarkable because it unveils a unique financial product, which democratizes the saving culture in Nigeria in a systematic and efficient manner,’’ she said.

    Dahir–Umar said the plan was designed after wide consultations with stakeholders, noting that the product is flexible with contribution amount and channel of remittance of contributions to respective pension accounts.

    She said N6.51trillion representing 73 percent of the total pension asserts have been invested in Federal Government securities issued to finance various activities.

    The acting PenCom DG said N95.31billion of the funds have also been invested in infrastructure while N7.19billion have been invested in the N10.67billion Green Bond issued by the federal government.

    She said the Micro Pension Plan launched by the President targets significant majority of Nigerian working population who operate in the informal sector.

    Micro Pension Plan is designed to fit the peculiarities of these informal sector groups. The National Pension Commission has issued a robust guideline on micro pension plan to the provision of section 2(3) of the pension reform act 2014.

    ”The product is flexible with respect to contribution amount and the channel of remittance of contributions to the respective pension accounts. Access to accumulated contributions is also flexible, seamless and facilitated by technology through varied payments system platform,” Aisha said

  • Court strikes out JAMB worker’s suit over failure to prove case

    The National Industrial Court on Tuesday struck out a suit filed against the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), for failure of the claimant to prove that his dismissal was unlawful.

    The claimant, Suleyman Sanni approached the court to declare his dismissal unlawful and sought for reinstatement, payment of his salaries and entitlements.

    Sanni told the court that due process of fair hearing was not accorded him before his dismissal, and therefore, the terms and conditions of service as stated in his employment letter was breached.

    Delivering judgment, Justice Rakiya Haastrup, said that the inability of the claimant to tender his letter of employment as material evidence of fact to determine whether or not his dismissal was unlawful had truncated his case.

    Haastrup said that the inability of the claimant to present the employment letter made it difficult for the court to determine how the defendant breached the terms and conditions of his employment.

    On the issue of due process not followed as alleged by the claimant, the judge said that the claimant was given opportunity to defend himself on the allegation against him, contrary to his assertion that he was not accorded fair hearing.

    The claimant’s counsel, Yusuf Kadiri, in his argument said that the claimant’s employment was governed by his letter of employment and the Public Service Rules (PSR), 2009.

    The counsel further averred that procedures, as stipulated in the PSR, were disregarded in the dismissal of the claimant.

    He said that by virtue of letter of employment and the PSR, due process was not followed and the power to dismiss his client from service was vested on the board of the defendant.

    He said that as at the time the claimant was dismissed, JAMB did not have a governing board.

    Kadiri added that the claimant was dismissed on the directive of the minister of education, which made the dismissal unlawful.

    Fortunatus Bonire, the defense counsel, in his submission said that the claimant was dismissed over his engagement in unauthorised admission exercise in 2016.

    He insisted that due process was followed before the claimant was dismissed.

    Bonire said the claimant was issued a query, faced a disciplinary panel which indicted him and was subsequently dismissed from the service of the board.

    He said that the Minister of Education, by powers vested on him by the JAMB Act, could perform certain functions of the board as was done in this case.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that similar suits filed against JAMB by dismissed workers were struck out by the same court over their failure to either tender their conditions of service or employment letters.

  • Breaking: Buhari receives report on Minimum Wage funding

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday received advisory report on how to fund the newly increased workers’ minimum wage.

    The bill to increase the minimum wage to N30, 000 is still before the National Assembly.

    Buhari received the report from the Technical Committee on the Implementation of the new minimum wage at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Buhari thanked the committee for submitting the report before the bill was passed into law.

    He assured that the government will expeditiously study the report towards its implementation.

  • Navy tests personnel strength in 10km walk

    To test the physical fitness of its personnel, the Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC) at the weekend embarked on a compulsory 10km route march across the 11 units and schools under it.

    In Lagos, the march saw the assembly of over a thousand officers and ratings marching from the command’s headquarters in Apapa to the National Stadium and back.

    All dressed in their camouflage and boots, the personnel who were not bearing arms, however, had armed squadrons marching confront and behind them in case of any eventuality.

    Speaking to reporters after the route march, Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) NAVTRAC Rear Admiral Stanfford Enoch said it was the command’s first quarter route march for 2019, adding that it is aimed at ensuring that personnel were physically and mentally ready at all times to discharge their duties.

    Read Also: Navy seeks effective prosecution of maritime offenders

    Enoch who was represented by the command’s ashore officer Commodore Adesola Adesope said from observation during the exercise, the personnel were ready for any emergency, adding that they were fit to discharge their duties creditably.

    He said NAVTRAC was aware of security challenges facing the country and would ensure training is tailored to address these problems in line with the directives of the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas.

  • Ortom will lose supplementary poll, Akume vows

    Despite loud boasts and expression of confidence, Governor Samuel Ortom and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are bound to lose Saturday’s supplementary election to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator George Akume has declared.

    Speaking with our correspondent, Akume, a former governor of Benue state pointedly asserted his former political associate Ortom has no record of achievement to genuinely woo citizens for votes.

    “Find out from this man: precisely what are your achievements? Sometimes I look at this and laugh because one of the achievements he claims is a private initiative in my village, a privately-owned soya processing factory.

    “Those who go to Benue will weep for that state. This is a state that has all the potentials of feeding the entire West Africa sub region.

    “I know the type of industries i tried to set up, agro -based, cassava processing plant, fertiliser plants, the special project in Makurdi which was expected to produce plastic.

    “But since he (Ortom ) came in, what has happened? Recently I heard that he bought 50 tractors to distribute to farmers and what is 50 tractors?

    “When I went to Government House during President Buhari’s visit, I saw ten tractors and i don’t know whether it is just for show man ship but when Sokoto bought two thousand tractors over two years ago, Kebbi got 1,500.

    “The Benue farmer is very hard working, the Benue man is an intelligent person but they also need an enabling environment to enable them express themselves maximally and efficiently in agricultural sector in particular, but it is not happening.

    Read Also; Ortom edges towards victory in Benue

    “The schools in Benue state, if not because of school feeding, primary schools would have been dead; the teachers go there, they don’t teach because they are not being paid,” Akume said.

    The former governor stated that his former political associates whom he helped to uplift will suffer divine retribution for their betrayals.

    According to him: “As a Christian and God-fearing person, I believe in doing good to people. We are enjoined to forgive. In whatever I do, I lay down every consideration.

    “That is part of my philosophy of life, in the political arena and in Benue state in particular.

    “I know and people know what I have done but today fighting Akume, ganging up against Akume is their way to deconstruct but they know very well, my contribution to their political uplift.”

  • Buhari mourns Etsu Patigi, District Head of Kafur

    President Muhammadu Buhari has condoled with the family, government and people of Kwara State on the passing of the Etsu Patigi, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Ibrahim Umar.

    The President, according to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, commended the monarch’s commitment to the peace, stability and development of not only his domain, but also the entire state.

    He urged for his worthy legacy to be sustained.

    President Buhari has also commiserated with the family, the government and people of Katsina State on the transition of the District Head of Kafur, Alhaji Rabe Abubakar, Dan Galadiman Katsina.

    The President described the late traditional ruler as a deeply religious, peaceful and kind-hearted man who was committed to the welfare and progress of the people in his domain.

    President Buhari prayed that God Almighty would comfort the bereaved families, friends and associates of the departed royal fathers and grant peace to their souls.

  • Akpabio serves Ekpenyong petition to appear at tribunal

    Senator Godswill Akpabio has served declared winner of the Akwa Ibom North West senatorial district election, Chris Ekpenyong, a copy of the petition to appear before the election petition tribunal.

    Ekpenyong acknowledged the receipt of the petition from the tribunal’s secretary on Tuesday at his EEMJM hotel, Uyo, the state capital.

    But Ekpenyong, who last week received his certificate of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said he was not perturbed by Akpabio’s summon.

    ”He (Akpabio) is only embarking on a futile journey to change the course already designed by God,” he said.

    He told his teeming supporters to “remain calm as your mandate has been rescued by the divine arrangement for peace, development and even spread of the dividends of democracy to thrive.

    “You should not be afraid of Akpabio, your mandate is secured in me. The God that allowed your votes to be counted will stand by us to get justice at the tribunal and in various courts.

    “We are ready to defend the will of the people of the people of Ikot Ekpene at all times,” he stressed.

    Akpabio, who currently represents Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District (Akwa Ibom North-West), has taken his petition to the state elections petition tribunal.

    Read Also: Akpabio challenges loss at tribunal

    Counsel to Akpabio, Mr. Sunday Ameh (SAN), filed the petition on the embattled Senator Akpabio’s behalf on March 16, 2019.

    Ameh, had penultimate week withdrawn the earlier suit filed at Apo District of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja high court, seeking the invocation of an order of mandamus, ordering INEC to review the results of the poll in his Senatorial District due to improper process.

    The tribunal sitting in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital, would soon begin hearing on all post 2019 general elections’ matters.

    Akpabio, former Senate Minority Leader, according to a statement by his Media Aide, Comrade Anietie Ekong, is seeking to upturn the outcome of the February 23 National Assembly poll, for which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), declared Ekpenyong, winner.

    In announcing the winner, the Returning Officer (RO), Dr. Nsikak Senam of the University of Uyo (UNIUYO) Department of Communication Art, said Ekpenyong polled 118, 215 votes as against Akpabio’s over 83,158.

    But Akpabio faulted the results, claiming however, that “incontrovertible result sheets from INEC office showed different figures that I secured 138, 256 votes over Ekpenyong’s 123,843”.

    He alleged the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), who superintended over the exercise, colluded with the PDP to pre-determine the outcome in favour of Ekpenyong.

    However, the former Deputy Governor, who had last Thursday obtained Certificate of Return (CoR) from INEC in Abuja, maintained he won the poll through a free, fair and credible process and urged Akpabio to accept defeat in good faith.

    His counsels, he said, would be at the tribunal to disproof all the allegations that would give the clean bill to effectively discharge his legislative responsibilities at the Red Chamber.

    Working with other federal lawmakers, Ekpenyong said his immidiate task would be “to ensure Nigeria works again by allying with the Executive and other arms to address challenges of fixing the country”.

  • Alleged N25m fraud: EFCC arrests former NBA, Ikeja chairman

    Former chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Yinka Farounbi, was on Monday arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged N25 million fraud in the association.

    Farounbi’s arrest during the general monthly meeting of the NBA, Ikeja Branch held at the Bar Centre, old Secretariat, Ikeja GRA, was sequel to his refusal to honour an invitation sent to him by the commission.

    Three members of the NBA, Ikeja including Gabriel Opayinka, were alleged to have petitioned the EFCC alleging N25 million fraud during the last administration led by Adesina Ogunlana.

    It was gathered that Ogunlana was recently released after spending three nights in EFCC custody over same issue.

    Ogunlana was said to have been arrested at his Ikorodu Road, Onipanu law firm after his initial refusal to honour the anti-graft agency’s invitation.

    It was gathered that Farounbi was invited for interrogation by the EFCC when investigation revealed that he was still signing bank cheques despite that his tenure had lapsed.

    It was gathered that Farounbi and another signatory were prevailed upon to sign some cheques to execute some urgent programmes of the NBA Ikeja branch as the Ogunlana led executive were yet to effect change of bank signatories as a result of the crisis that engulfed the bar after their election.

    A source within the bar said the meeting of the lawyers was in progress when it was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of the EFCC.

    On arrival, the EFCC operatives were said to have enquired for Farounbi, that they wanted to arrest him.

    The chairman of the branch, Dele Oloke was alleged to have identified Farounbi to the EFCC operatives for arrest, a development infuriated the lawyers.

    It was said that Gabriel Opayinka and two others owned up to the petition submitted to the EFCC alleging N25million fraud in the bar.

    The source said the situation turned into chaos as lawyers, who were not happy about the invasion of their meeting by the EFCC operatives, resisted the arrest of Farounbi and chastised the branch chairman, Oloke for not protecting the former chairman of the branch.

    In crisis that ensued, a female operative of the EFCC was allegedly assaulted.

    The development made the EFCC operatives to call for reinforcement from their office following their initial failed attempt to arrest Farounbi.

    However, before their arrival, Farounbi gave himself up and was driven away in a Toyota Hiace bus marked BWR 643 GA at about 15.35 p.m.

    With the arrival of the reinforcement, the female EFCC operative, whose jacket was torn and had an injury on her neck as a result of the assault, and her colleagues said they would not leave the NBA, Ikeja Bar Centre until those who assaulted her were arrested.

  • Plumber docked over alleged N170, 000 fraud

    A 35 -year-old plumber, Emeka Nwanga, on Tuesday appeared in a Yaba Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State for allegedly obtaining N170,000 by false pretences.

    Nwanga, with no fixed address, is charged with two counts of stealing and obtaining by false pretences

    Police prosecutor, SP Thomas Nurudeen, told the court that the accused committed the offence on April 24 at 12 p.m. at Ogba area of Lagos.

    Nurudeen alleged that Nwanga, charged the complainant; Mr Segun Adeyemo, N170,000 to drill a borehole for him.

    He further said that the accused had then requested for additional N8,000 to complete the job.

    While transferring the money, the prosecutor said that the complainant mistakenly paid N800,000 into the accused’ bank account.

    Read Also: How Ajudua duped me of $8.4 million, by Bamaiyi

    “My Lord, upon realising that he mistakenly paid N800,000 into the accused account, the complainant tried to inform the accused to return the money.

    “The accused disappeared with the money. It took us a few months to apprehend him and charge him to court,” Nurudeen said.

    The offence, he said, contravened the provisions of sections 287 and 312 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised).

    After the charges were read to him, the accused pleaded not guilty.

    Chief Magistrate K.B. Ayeye admitted granted the accused bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum.

    Ayeye ordered that the sureties must reside within the court’s jurisdiction, show two years evidence of tax payment to Lagos Government and be gainfully employed.

    The case was adjourned until Jan 29 for further hearing.

  • Three dead, five missing in Lagos boat mishap

    Three persons have been confirmed dead as a boat carrying 20 passengers capsized between Liverpool and Coconut Under Bridge in Lagos.

    Mr Adesina Tiamiyu, the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), said that the incident happened on Wednesday at 8:20p.m.

    Tiamiyu said that the rescue team were still searching for five other missing passengers.

    The boat enroute Ojo from Liverpool capsized few minutes after take-off.

    He said: ”12 of the passengers were rescued alive by the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) officials and local divers.

    Raed Also:Two men face trial for public smoking in Ogun 

    ”Two males and one female were confirmed dead, while search and rescue operation have been put on hold till the following day for the remaining five missing people.

    ”The three bodies have been bagged, and the men were handed over to the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit (SEHMU) to be deposited at the morgue.

    ”The woman victim, identified as Alhaja, was handed over to her family after proper documentation by the Marine Police Officers,” Tiamiyu said.