The Federal Government has  announced the release of  results of the 2024 National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) into Unity Colleges and Federal Government Academy (FGA), Suleja.

NCEE is for admission into Junior Secondary School (JSS 1) of Federal Unity Colleges and this year’s edition was written on Saturday, June 1, 2024 in Nigeria, Benin Republic and Togo.

Minister of State for Education, Dr Tanko Sununu,  while announcing the results on Tuesday in Abuja said, 71,291 candidates registered for the 2024 NCEE and 66,931 candidates sat for the examination, while 4,360 were absent.

He said: “Out of the maximum obtainable score of 210, one candidate obtained the highest score of 203, while 13 candidates obtained the lowest score of 1”

Sununu noted that this year, 52 candidates (2 candidates from Lagos State and 50 candidates from Rivers State) were involved in examination malpractice.

[DailyTrust]

The Supreme Court judgement on July 11, granting financial autonomy to the 774 local councils and recognising them as the third tier of Nigeria’s governance architecture, was truly historic. It was perhaps the most remarkable judgement ever delivered by the apex court in recent times, as it used its power to interpret the law to give a different meaning to Section 162 of the Constitution.

Since 1999, governors have used this section to withhold and tamper with the funds federally allocated to the councils, using a joint account that has proven to be a honeypot of abuse.

Last Thursday, the Supreme Court described the payment of the allocations to the account as gross misconduct and scolded the governors for dissolving democratically elected councils and setting up caretaker committees.

The court ruled that caretaker committees are illegal and that councils run by them should not receive the federal allocation.

Henceforth, the court ruled that the allocations should go directly to the accounts of the 774 local councils.

Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the lead judgment, said Nigeria runs a three-tier governance structure, where no one tier is subject to the whims and caprices of the other. He criticised the governors and the state assemblies for almost allowing the councils to go into extinction with their treatment of them.

The judgment was generally well received by Nigerians. According to reports, the verdict ignited jubilation by workers in some local councils as they sang the praises of the Tinubu administration.

The Kano State Government on Tuesday filed fresh charge against former governor of the state, Abdullahi Ganduje.

In the charge sheet with case No. K/143c/24, the state government accused Ganduje and erstwhile Commissioner for Justice, Musa Lawan, of Criminal Conspiracy, and misappropriation contrary to Section 308 and punishable under Section 309 of the Penal Code (as amended) CAP 105, Vol. 2, the Laws of Kano State of Nigeria.

The offence, the state government said, is contrary punishable under Section 97 and Section 315.

The state government accused Ganduje and Lawan of abuse of office.

In the charge sheet, the state government said it intends to present four witnesses.

No date has been fixed for the arraignment.

[DailyPost]

Another member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ekene Abubakar Adams, has reportedly died. 

Adams, who represented Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency in Kaduna State as a first-time member, reportedly died after a protracted illness. 

Until he died on Tuesday morning, he was the Chairman of the House Committee on Sports.

An ex-footballer with Remo Stars, he was once a General Manager of Kada City Football Club of Kaduna and elected on the platform of the Labour Party during the last general election. 

He is the second member of the House to die within the last seven days after Hon. Akinremi Olaide representing Ibadan North and the fourth member to die since the inauguration of the House in June 2023.

As at the time of filing this report, the House spokesman, Hon. Akintunde Rotimi and the Chairman of the Kaduna caucus, Hon. Amos Gwamna Magaji could not be reached for confirmation. 

Nigeria’s inflation narratives took a controversial twist yesterday as the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), gives its own figure contradicting that of the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, by a wide margin.

The NBS had released its Consumer Price Index, CPI, for June 2024 reporting that headline inflation rate increased by 0.24 percentage points to 34.19 per cent in June from 33.95 percent in May.
But when contacted by Vanguard for his comment, the President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Kelvin Oye, simply said, “Inflation is over 90 percent”, without giving further details.

Giving its own details NBS, also said that food inflation grew to 40.87 percent in June from 40.66 percent in May 2024 due to increase in the prices of millet whole grain, garri, guinea corn, etc (bread and cereals class), yam, wateryam, cocoyam, potatoes, yam & other tubers class, among other food items.

Meanwhile, financial analysts said the NBS’ figures outstripped both the individual and consensus forecasts.

NBS stated: “In June 2024, the headline inflation rate increased to 34.19 percent relative to the May 2024 headline inflation rate which was 33.95 percent.

“Looking at the movement, the June 2024 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.24 percentage points when compared to the May 2024 headline inflation rate.

“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.4 percentage points higher compared to the rate recorded in June 2023, which was 22.79 percent.

“This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in the month of June 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e. June 2023).

“The rise in Food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of the following items: Millet Whole grain, Garri, Guinea corn, etc (Bread and Cereals Class), Yam, Water Yam, Coco Yam (Potatoes, Yam & Other Tubers Class), Groundnut Oil, Palm Oil, etc (Oil & Fats Class) and Catfish Dried, Dried Fish-Sadine, Mudfish (Fish Class), etc.

According to NBS, in June food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Edo (47.34 percent), Kogi (46.37 percent), Cross River (45.28 percent), while Nasarawa (34.31 percent), Bauchi (34.78 percent) and Adamawa (35.96 percent), recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on year-on-year basis.

Monetary policy is failing- Adonri

Reacting, David Adonri, Analyst and Executive Vice Chairman at Highcap Securities Limited, said : “Despite all the measures taken by CBN, inflation rate continues to rise. Continued application of monetary policy to tackle this kind of stubborn inflation is failing because what is required is not demand management but supply side fiscal policy.

“Should the monetary authority react by hiking interest rate again, it will further increase yield on debt and cause financial assets to migrate more to debt. This may harm ongoing recapitalization exercise of banks. Rising inflation is not good news for equities.”

Commenting on the further rise in inflation, analysts at Comercio Partners said: “Looking ahead, food inflation, the main driver, is expected to taper off because of the short-term federal government’s recent interventions, with a N2 trillion packages announced by Abubakar Kyari, the minister for Agriculture and Food Security, to curb rising prices and speed up stabilization and growth.

“Also, a 150-day duty-free import window has been approved, allowing tariff-free importation of maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas through land and sea borders. This measure, with imported commodities subject to a Recommended Retail Price (RRP), aims to provide immediate relief.

“However, tackling food inflation long-term means addressing underlying issues like transportation and logistics challenges, harvest losses, and regional insecurity. Moreover, discussions around raising the minimum wage could further fuel inflationary pressures.

“On the monetary front, recent interest rate hikes have helped combat inflation, but another hike seems unlikely because of tight macroeconomic environment.

“However, a focus should shift towards addressing the root causes of inflation without stifling economic growth.”

Also commenting, analysts at CardinalStone Finance stated: “The June CPI data indicated that inflation leapt by 24 bases points (bps) to 34.2% YoY, missing analysts’ average consensus of 33.94% and our projection of 33.90%. “Our tamer inflation expectation, based on the stability in the foreign exchange (FX) market was overshadowed by a more pronounced food inflation.

“We perceive that the food basket is still grappling with an uptick in input costs and persisting insecurities in the review period, thus propping up prices.

“The outlook for July’s inflation is likely to be mixed on the back of multiple factors. On upside risk, we expect the recent PMS scarcity and another electricity tariff hike for ‘Band A’ users to increase price pressure.

“Furthermore, FX volatility will likely be prevalent in July, stemming from increased FX demand for vacation and payment of foreign tuition fees.

“While these highlighted factors are expected to increase inflationary risk, we anticipate the base effect to sufficiently moderate YoY inflation.

“Moreover, the government’s decision to suspend duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of certain commodities like Maize, husked brown rice, Wheat, and cowpeas for the next 150 days is expected to lead to lower food prices. “The government’s plan to import 250,000MT of Wheat and 250,000MT of Maize also bodes well for the food price outlook, providing a positive counterbalance to the inflationary risks. “Overall, we expect headline inflation to moderate by 50bps to 33.7%.
“In light of the above, we expect the monetary policy authority to maintain its hawkish stance and hike the policy rate by 50 to 100bps in its July meeting”.

In his own comment Clifford Egbomeade, Public Policy Analyst and Communication expert, said: “The rise in Nigeria’s inflation rate to 34.19% in June 2024 has several significant implications for the economy. First, it reduces the purchasing power of consumers, making goods and services more expensive and diminishing the standard of living, particularly for low and middle-income households. This increased cost of living can exacerbate economic hardship and potentially push more people into poverty.”

“High inflation also creates economic uncertainty, which can deter both local and foreign investment. Investors are likely to be cautious in such an environment, leading to reduced investment and slower economic growth. “Moreover, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may be compelled to further raise interest rates to control inflation, which increases borrowing costs for businesses and consumers, potentially further slowing down economic activities.

“To address rising inflation, the government and the CBN should consider a combination of monetary and fiscal measures. Tightening monetary policy can help curb excessive money supply, although this must be done carefully to avoid stifling economic growth. Implementing prudent fiscal policies, such as reducing fiscal deficits and improving tax collection, is also crucial. Investing in supply-side interventions, such as supporting local production and reducing import dependency, can help stabilize prices in the long run”.

[Vanguard]

The Federal Government has repatriated 190 stranded Nigerians from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Bashir Garga, the National Emergency Management Agency’s (NEMA) zonal director in the North Central, on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said that the returnees were received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Tuesday at 5:57 a.m.

He said the returnees were received by a combined team of government officials led by NEMA.

He said that the returnees were profiled and documented by the relevant agencies and sensitised to behave with decorum and responsibility on their return to Nigeria.

“The Federal Government urges all Nigerians, wherever they may be, to act as exemplary ambassadors of their country, by upholding the fundamental values of patriotism, rule of law, decency, and integrity,” the statement says.

(NAN)

Donald Trump has picked JD Vance, a senator from Ohio, as his running mate for the presidential election.

Vance, a one-time Trump critic turned loyal ally, is now the first millennial to join a major party ticket at a time of deep concern about the advanced age of America’s political leaders.

“I’m a ‘never Trump’ guy. I never liked him,” the 39-year-old had once said in an interview in 2016.

“My God what an idiot.

“I find him reprehensible.”

However, Vance became one of Trump’s steadfast allies a few years later, aligning himself with the former president’s ideology on trade, immigration, and foreign policy, particularly the US’ continued support for Ukraine.

“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network, as the Republican national convention (RNC) got underway in Milwaukee.

Vance had accused President Joe Biden of playing a role in the attempted Trump assassination of Saturday.

“The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” Vance posted on X hours after the shooting.

“That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”

Reacting to Vance’s selection, Biden described the senator as a “clone of Trump”. Other Democrats have portrayed him the same way.

The former president said he has shelved plans to speak on how the US has regressed under Biden at the ongoing RNC.

Trump said he now wants to speak about overcoming the political divide in the country.

[TheCable]

A legal firm, Falana Chambers, has written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) warning the commission against recognizing Julius Abure as the Acting National Chairman of the Labour Party.

The firm, which represents the National Transition Committee of the Labour Party, stated that Abure’s tenure has expired and any further recognition would be in violation of a Federal High Court judgment in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/IC/866/2014 between Labour Party & 3 Ors Vs Com. Salisu Muhammed, and an INEC-brokered agreement of June 27, 2022.

The letter, dated July 4, 2024, and signed by Marahal Abubakar, LP, requested that INEC desist from fraternizing with Abure and his cohorts, and restrain officials from undermining the administration of justice and respect for the rule of law.

The firm attached a report of the mediated settlement and a certified true copy of the Federal High Court judgment to the letter.

The letter noted that the Labour Party has not conducted any election for over four years, contravening Section 233(1)(a) and (2)(a) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, read alongside Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022. It also emphasized that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is the platform of the Labour Party, and that the party has been unable to conduct elections due to the expired tenure of Abure and his National Working Committee.

The legal firm warned that failure to comply with the request will lead to contempt proceedings against the INEC Chairman at the Federal High Court. The letter stated, “TAKE NOTICE that unless you comply with the foregoing request forthwith, we shall approach the Federal High Court and institute contempt proceedings against you.”

[OpinionNigeria]

First, let me thank tosyne2much who helped with the heart of the mocking post explanation, I only added a few edits and did the comparative.

Nigeria is one of the countries in the world that are passionate about football. Both young and old people from this part of the world love football and can go through physical stress to show their undying love for it.

When growing up as a kid, we used to play street football which we call “monkey post”. I know many of us have no idea what monkey post is all about, so let me introduce you to it.

Monkey post is a street football that is played by a few players. It’s a type of football that is usually played in an open place. It could be on the street or an abandoned plot of land. The goal post is usually made with tires, blocks or wood and it’s measured with a player’s foot.

In almost every area, there’s always this undeveloped or abandoned plot of land where people easily convert it to a football pitch until the owner is ready to farm on it or build a house on it. The pitch is sometimes named after popular stadiums like Old Trafford, San Siro, etc

Monkey post allows just a few players on the pitch (let’s 10 players) that’s 5 players from each side, unlike a normal football pitch that can contain 22 players. This type of football doesn’t have a referee, linesman or a goalkeeper. Although, the last man does the work of a goalkeeper but he’s not allowed to use his hands to prevent goals but only his legs

Here are slangs used in Monkey Post

Allow

This is a slang usually made by a player to alert his fellow players that he wants to go on a counter attack and that nobody should impede his movement. As soon as a player shouts “alloooooooow”, he goes on counter attack with the aim of dribbling his opponent and scoring while one of his players is expected to take his position until he finishes the job and returns back.

Lastman

The last man is just like a goalkeeper in normal football just that he’s not allowed to use his hands but his leg to prevent goals. When the ball touches the hand of a lastman, it’s a penalty and that’s why every lastman avoids having a hand contact with the ball.

Ojoro

Ojoro simply means “we’ve been cheated”. In monkey posts, there are no referees or linesmen, therefore, there are usually disagreements in decision making. The norm of monkey posts is that decisions are usually made by spectators, so if the spectators make a biased judgement the word “ojoro” means they made by a team means “we’ve been cheated”. If majority of the spectators decide that it’s penalty or a foul, then it’s a foul and vice versa

Set

Since monkey post is a type of football that allows not more than 10 people on the pitch, other players that want to play will form a group of five people and will be waiting for a team to trash the other so that they will play. This is what we call a set and it’s usually formed by those who came early to the pitch.

Here are some interesting things about Monkey Post

1. Decisions are made by spectators, no referee and lines men except in case of competition ref will be appointed.
2. The match ends when everyone is tired or when it’s getting dark.
3. The owner of the ball is more like a king. If he gets angry he can decide to end the game by taking his ball home. He also decides who plays.
4. The most skilful player always gets automatic selection.
5. The game is usually fun when it’s raining.
6. Most times people play with their barefoot so you need to be very careful so that you will not sustain injury.
7. The match is not more than 10-15 minutes. No first or second half If the match ends in a draw, a penalty will follow suit.
8. Penalty is played from one goal post to the other without anybody trying to prevent it. It’s just a far range penalty without a goalkeeper preventing it, and it is mostly awarded only if an injured player curses a lot.
9. The fat kid was always the defence.
10. No matter how many goals you score, the winner will be determined by the last team to score.
11. If you don’t participate in repairing the ball you are given a match ban.
12. If you’re picked last, you’re a loser.
13. The guy who’s never picked was to fetch the ball from the tree/gutter/other compound when it got stuck, under the car or tunnel to play in the next game.
14. Also, if there is too much argument, we will throw the ball in the air, and the team that gets it continues with the game.
15. No doctor to attend to you when you sustain injury. You just have to be careful.

Now to the main “mocking” or monkey post, in the course of last week, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics stated that Nigerian public officials received at least ₦721 billion (approximately $1.26 billion) in bribes in 2023, which is about 0.35% of Nigeria’s GDP.

– Despite a decrease from 2019, bribery remains widespread, with an average of 5.1 bribes paid per bribe payer, totalling around 87 million bribes nationwide.

– Most bribes (95%) were paid in cash or through money transfers.

– Public officials are more likely to demand bribes, while private sector actors, including doctors in private hospitals, are also involved.

– The average cash bribe increased to ₦8,284, but its value decreased by 29% when adjusted for inflation.

– 56% of Nigerians interacted with public officials in 2023, down from 63% in 2019.

– 27% of those who interacted with public officials paid bribes, a slight decrease from 29% in 2019.

– 70% of those asked to pay bribes refused at least once, with the highest refusal rates in the North-West zone.

– Bribery is becoming less accepted, with fewer citizens viewing it as acceptable to expedite administrative procedures.

– 60% of public sector workers were hired due to nepotism, bribery, or both between 2020 and 2023.

– The use of bribery is lower when the recruitment process includes formal assessments.

– Bribery is more common in rural areas, with rural residents paying an average of 5.8 bribes compared to 4.5 bribes in urban areas.

– Corruption is a significant concern for Nigerians, ranking fourth among the most important problems affecting the country in 2023.

– Confidence in the government’s anti-corruption efforts has declined, with less than a third of citizens thinking the government is effective in fighting corruption in 2023, compared to over half in 2019.

I will conclude by saying that Nigeria’s street football known as “monkey post” epitomizes both the passion and the informality in the country’s daily life, where rules are flexible, and decisions are made by spectators, mirroring the nation’s struggle with corruption.

Just as monkey posts operate without formal referees, the lack of stringent oversight in Nigeria allows bribery and nepotism to thrive, with bribery being more prevalent in rural areas and a significant proportion of public sector workers being hired through corrupt practices. This enduring issue undermines confidence in the government’s anti-corruption efforts, highlighting the need for systemic reforms to restore faith in public institutions—May Nigeria win.

On a bright, randy day in Lagos in the year 2015, a judge hurriedly used the law to dissolve a troubled marriage. Three months later, the woman was discovered impregnated by the tender-hearted judge. I pray that won’t be the case with the benevolent presidency of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Nigeria’s local governments.

Roman orator, Marcus Tullius Cicero, said “the closer the collapse of the Empire, the crazier its laws are.” He is also credited with saying that “the more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.” These interventions from antiquity came to my mind as I read the Supreme Court’s epochal decision on the relationship between our states and our local governments last week.

Local governments are now free to have their money the way they had it before the 1999 constitution tied them to the apron strings of the states. Governors cryptically reacted that the judgment had relieved them of the burden of feeding those who should starve among the councils. I am interested in how the Supreme Court’s order is implemented. I am also interested in knowing the motive and the motivations of the initiators of the case. I hope the councils have not been discharged into the house of death from the bedroom of disease.

How will the states handle this situation? How did Tinubu handle his own 20 years ago? If you are bold and brave and you are in power and you have the Lagos-Ibadan press behind you, the Supreme Court and the law are nothing. On December 10, 2004, the Supreme Court, in the celebrated case on the seizure of Lagos State’s local government funds by the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo, ruled that statutory allocations be released to only the 20 local governments recognized by the constitution. Specifically, the Supreme Court ordered that: “The 57 Local Government Areas established by (Lagos) Law No. 5 are inchoate until the National Assembly passes the Act necessary under Section 8(3) of the Constitution. Therefore, the new 57 Local Government Councils are not entitled to receive funds from the Federation Account. Accordingly, the declaration sought (by the Federal Government) is granted.” That order of the apex court did not stop the then Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu (with his successors) from using the funds of 20 local government councils to fund his illegal 57 councils. He did it yesterday and got what is famously known as Conference 57 – a crowd of well-heeled, monied foot soldiers of the Godfather at the grassroots of Lagos. He is doing it now, enlarging that coast to a potential Conference 774 of Halleluyah choristers. He will do it tomorrow – even if you jump into the Lagoon. Our state governors, if they want, can go learn from him.

In my column of 3 June, 2024, I expressed some fears on what was eventually unveiled last week Thursday by the Supreme Court of Nigeria. I wrote that: “Those who allowed themselves to be distracted slept last night as free people; they woke up this morning in slavery. So, please refuse to be distracted. As you discuss the president’s strange choice of anthem over people’s hunger, pay due attention to everything his government is doing. Pay more than ordinary attention to the local government autonomy case at the Supreme Court. That is a case with a potential to determine (or undermine) your freedom, the health of our country and the safety of our democracy. Why is fox suing hawk in defence of chicken? Autocracy incubates itself in populist confusion. The case is about that. We need vibrant states to checkmate the behemoth in Abuja. We need the local governments to drive development at the grassroots. The rapacious Federal is the elephant unsettling the room. Think of an imperial president with very rich 774 ‘liaison officers’ sitting as council chairmen across the country. Think of a federal government with limitless powers engaging a disparate set of 36 weakened, impotent states. Think of Nigeria as a unitary state. The court case …has the potential to achieve that. The deft moves of today have replicas in history… Think of the aftermath. Think.”

That was last month. I don’t know if it is not too late to think now.