The Northern Senators Forum has vowed to meet President Bola Tinubu over alleged N3trillion padding it ‘discovered’ in the 2024 budget.

The Chairman of the Forum, Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP – Bauchi Central) disclosed this during an interview by the BBC, Hausa Service.

Ningi said the forum has commissioned consultants to thoroughly scrutinise the 2024 budget to reveal how N3trillion was surreptitiously added to the amount passed by lawmakers.

He also said the Forum would soon confront Senate President Godswill Akpabio with its findings concerning the N3trillion alleged ‘padding.’

On plans by the forum to review the 2024 budget, Ningi said: “This is true, for the past three months, we have engaged consultants to review the budget for us. We have some experts that are working on it line by line.

“We have seen the huge damage that was done not only to the north but the entire country in that budget. We are supposed to sit with the Senate President to inform him about what we have observed.

“We want to show him what we have seen in the budget that is not acceptable, we will not accept them and we don’t want the country to continue spending money on those things.

The Nigerian government says citizens in the Diaspora can now apply for the issuance of their international passports seamlessly online.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this in a statement on his official X handle on Saturday.

According to the Minister, Nigerians in the Diaspora can now apply for their passport in the comfort of their homes through Nigeria’s official passport issuance website.

“Dear Nigerians in Diaspora, the sweet experience is here,” he wrote.

During an interview on Channels Television two months ago, Tunji-Ojo said that Nigerians in the Diaspora can apply for passport issuance in the comfort of their homes starting March 8.

He noted that the development would be the third stage of the ongoing automation of Nigeria’s Immigration Service Passport issuance system.

Ola-Wura Adepoju, the former Comptroller General of NIS, had corroborated with the minister’s assurance on the commencement of automated passport issuance.

Earlier on January 9, the automation of the passport issuance process had commenced for applicants within Nigeria.

The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Tunji Alausa, on Saturday, said that the Federal Government had directed that health workers going abroad to seek greener pastures must henceforth resign their appointments before embarking on such journeys.

Alausa said the era of health workers exiting to other countries in search of better offers after applying for a leave of absence is no longer acceptable.

The minister said that the ban on the leave of absence for health workers emanated from the executive order issued by President Bola Tinubu as part of drastic steps to combat the challenge of brain drain fondly called ‘Japa Syndrome’ confronting the nation’s health sector.

This is just as Alausa also revealed that the FG has commenced the production of manpower in the health sector such that the annual enrolment of nurses which used to be 28,000 is now 68,000 and that by the end of this year, it would have gone up to 120,000.

The minister stated this on Saturday during his visit to the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

He said that the President considered the biggest asset of the country to be the people and has not only vowed but has taken proactive actions to ensure the health sector is in good shape so that the health of the citizens won’t suffer.

Speaking on the challenge of manpower shortages across the FG-owned health institutions, Alausa said, “The government is not unmindful of the Japa effect on our manpower in the health sector and the President has ordered for massive production of manpower such that when people go, there will always be replacement.

“It is against this background that we are working intensely on the enrolment of our nurses. What used to be 28,000 is now 68,000 and our intention is to take it to 120,000 by the end of the year, so there will always be abundant skilled manpower to take over from those leaving the job.

“We have equally doubled our enrolment for doctors, dentistry, pharmacists among others

“Again, we didn’t say anyone who wants to move or japa to the UK or Australia to take up appointments there should not go, it is a free world.”

The minister continued, “However, you cannot eat your cake and have it. If you are going, just resign your appointments with the Federal Government, rather than applying for leave of absence, that is the Presidential executive order that has been communicated to all the Chief Medical Directors of Federal Government-owned health facilities to implement.

“The problem with the leave of absence is that such a fellow is out there in the UK or Australia working, making money but his name still appears on the payment roll of the government and so to replace him is difficult because he is still being considered as a staff whereas he has left the country.

“So, to solve this problem, the President has directed that health workers going abroad to work should just resign their appointments and not apply for leave of absence. This way, you won’t be blocking others who want to work and of course piling burdens for your colleagues that you left behind.”

Responding to some of the demands of the hospital such as increased funding, infrastructural development, among other welfare packages, Alausa said that the ministry would leave no stone unturned to do all that is necessary to improve the fortunes of the health sector in the country.

Speaking earlier, the Provost and Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Paul Agboola, lauded the Minister for his selflessness and passion to turn things around for good in the health sector.

The CMD said that as a result of the approval given by the Minister, his administration had started projects such as the Institute of Psychiatric for the hospital which had been in the pipeline for about 40 years, amongst others.

[Punch]

Bandits have reportedly abducted some Tsangaya students at Gidan Bakuso in Gada LGA of Sokoto.

Tsangaya is a school that combines Islamic and Western education.

The students were said to have been abducted at about 1a.m. on Saturday.

Multiple reports quoted Liman Abubakar, the proprietor of the school, as saying that  15 students were unaccounted for after the attack.

Abubakar noted that the bandits invaded the town, shot one person and abducted a woman before attacking the school. 

He added that it was not the first time the village was attacked by bandits.

“As they were leaving the town, they sighted our students rushing into their rooms and they kidnapped many of them,” Abubakar said.

“We have so far counted 15 who are missing and we are still searching for more.”

Ahmed Rufai, the police spokesperson in Sokoto, could not confirm the incident at the time TheCable reached out to him.

Rufai said operatives from the police headquarters have been deployed to the area to ascertain the situation of things.

[TheCable]

The remains of the late Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, Chizoba and son, Chizi, have been buried in his hometown of Omueke, Isiokpo, in Rivers State.

The 57-year-old banker Plc, his wife and his son were laid to rest in a private interment following a funeral service at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Isiokpo, Ikwere Local Government Area of the state.

Naija News reports that their burial followed a week-long funeral rites to celebrate the life of the founder of Wigwe University.

Several business leaders, friends, captains of industry, family members and associates had paid tributes to the late banking guru at the events held in Lagos.

The funeral service for the esteemed banker and philanthropist commenced promptly at 11:00 am today, with friends, associates, and well-wishers from both local and international communities, gathered to pay their final respects.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers, Rivers Commissioner of Police Olatunji Disu, former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike, business leader Aliko Dangote, former Emir of Kano, HRH Muhammadu Sanusi II, Governor Alex Otti of Abia, and Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun were present at the service.

Others are former Senate President Bukola Saraki, Governor Babajide Sawno-Olu of Lagos, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa, and a former Nigerian diplomat, Dr. Godknows Igali.

His Eminence, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has said that it was time for Nigeria to change to a system of government that would reduce corruption and bring government closer to the people.

The Emeritus Catholic Bishop of Abuja, stated this at a policy dialogue on new governance structure for Nigeria, organised by Abuja School Social and Political Thought (ASSPT), in Abuja.

“It is time for a change. One thing is definitely sure, we cannot continue the way we are going.

”If we decide to retain the system we have now, it must change the way it is been practiced.

“If the easiest way to change is to change the system, then let’s go ahead and change the system to parliamentary, with all its advantages and disadvantages,” he added.

According to him, anything that will bring government closer to the people, reduce discretion for stealing and corruption will be good for the nation.

“My understanding is that the parliamentary system is built in such a way that will not be so easy to steal such humongous sums of money, and misuse of our natural resources legally.

“The problem of this nation is that government people are stealing legally, they don’t even feel that they are stealing.

Onaiyekan cited the provision of pension for governors, saying it was not fair after being well paid to be legally entitled to houses, cars and other things, while a retired police officer goes home with meagre sum as pension.

He also said that restructuring, not constitutional amendment will save Nigeria.

The Cardinal said that the Nigerian constitution has consistently failed to provide a clear framework for governance and religious affairs, resulting in confusion and inefficiency within the governance system.

He also advocated decentralisation of power to allow for effective governance and decision-making at the local level.

The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Mr Kingsley Chinda, an advocate of parliamentary system, said Nigeria needed to move from a system with so much baggage to the one that provides for reward and sanctions.

Chinda is one the 60 members of the House of Representatives that introduced three bills seeking to alter the current Constitution to parliamentary system of government.

“The presidential system we adopted from US is peculiar to their country, not Nigeria,” he said, adding that the parliamentary would solve most of Nigeria’s problems.

Chinda said that the members that proposed the bill welcome observations and contributions from Nigerians to enrich its content.

A representative of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Dr Akin Fapohunda, called for the provision of clearly defined process for the restructuring of the country.

“The bottom line is that we have no process. We are seeing the good but we have not defined the process, milestones and timelines that’s what is missing.

“We agree that the house is rotten and it needs to be pulled down and we should design an alternative model, which you are now selling,” Fapounda said.

A Catholic priest, Fr George Ehusani, said integrity is key to nation building and national prosperity.

Ehusani added that “elite idiocy” would ruin any nation, no matter how perfect its structural blueprint.

The Director of ASSPT, Dr Sam Amadi, argued that the parliamentary system of government was better than the presidential system currently being practiced in Nigeria.

According to him, the parliamentary system is less expensive to run when compared to presidential system, and provides better mechanisms for peer review and accountability.

“Evidence shows across the world that only few countries with presidential system of government are doing well economically,’’ he added.

Amadi said that the school believed it was key to first discuss with critical stockholders before adoption of the parliamentary system of government in Nigeria.

He said that the discussions would be escalated to include different national institutions, religious groups and regions, so as to agree to a win-win system of government.

“We want to get more people from the north and the south and the east and the west, to come together and have them shape issues,’’ Amadi added.

(NAN)

WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has hailed Anthony Joshua following his victory over former UFC champion Francis Ngannou on Friday night in Saudi Arabia.

Joshua sent the 37-year-old Cameroon-born former UFC heavyweight champion, a two-fight professional boxing novice, to the canvas in the opening round with a straight right to the chin.

The “Knockout Chaos” fight then lived up to its billing in spectacular fashion. Joshua sent him crashing again in the second, first with a right-left combination and then an explosive right after he had beaten the count.

The referee stepped in and stopped the fight, with Joshua declared the winner by knockout victory and Ngannou out cold and receiving treatment before getting back, stunned, to his feet.

Fury, who watched the game, said he has a ‘bigger fish to fry’ against Usky and stated that he is available to face Joshua after his rematch in October.

His words: “Me and Usyk have got an undisputed world heavyweight championship coming up.

“He [Joshua] just had a show fight in Saudi Arabia, which is fantastic for the show, but for the actual real boxing, it is me and Usyk who fight for the number one and number two positions for the undisputed championship of the world.

“So that [the fight with AJ] is on the back burner for now. Great performance from AJ, fantastic, but unfortunately I have got bigger fish to fry in Usyk on May 18, and then we have a rematch in October.

“So, after that, if he is still available and I’m still available, let’s get it on.”

Fury is scheduled to face Oleksandr Usyk on May 18 in a historic, undisputed showdown, with the winner potentially facing Joshua in the future.

[OpinionNigeria]

Gender equality is a fundamental human right and a key driver of social and economic development. Recognising the importance of promoting gender equality, Plateau State has established the Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission to address gender disparities and promote equal opportunities for all individuals. This essay explores the significance of the GEOC to Plateau State, its journey under Olivia Dazyam’s leadership, perspectives and insights on GEO laws, basic concepts of gender, and the gender situation in Plateau. 

Additionally, it extends congratulations to the state governor for the establishment of the commission.

Importance of the Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission:

The GEOC plays a pivotal role in advancing gender equality and empowering marginalised groups in Plateau State. By addressing gender-based discrimination and promoting inclusivity, the commission contributes to the overall well-being and development of the state. Through its programs and initiatives, the GEOC aims to create a more equitable society where every individual, regardless of gender, has equal opportunities to thrive.

Journey under Olivia’s Leadership:

Under the leadership of Olivia and her team, many of them pioneers, the GEOC has made significant strides in advancing gender equality and promoting women’s empowerment in its short span of existence. Olivia’s commitment to social justice and gender equality has guided the commission in implementing effective policies and programs to address gender disparities and promote inclusivity. Through strategic partnerships and community engagement, Olivia has raised awareness about gender issues and mobilised support for gender-sensitive initiatives.

Perspectives and Insights on GEO Laws:

GEO laws serve as a framework for promoting gender equality and protecting the rights of women and girls in Plateau State. These laws encompass a wide range of issues, including access to education, healthcare, employment, and political participation. By enforcing GEO laws, the commission aims to eliminate gender-based discrimination and promote gender-sensitive practices across all sectors of society. 

However, challenges remain in fully implementing and enforcing these laws, including cultural barriers and inadequate resources.

Gender Situation in Plateau:

Plateau State, like many other regions in Nigeria, faces challenges related to gender inequality. Women and girls often experience discrimination in education, employment, healthcare, and political participation. Gender-based violence, including domestic violence and harmful traditional practices, remains prevalent in the state. Despite these challenges, there are also positive developments, including increasing awareness about gender issues and efforts to promote women’s empowerment and gender equality.

Congratulations to the State Governor:

I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the state governor for the establishment of the Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission. By prioritizing gender equality and investing in institutions like the GEOC, the state is taking proactive steps towards building a more equitable and inclusive society for all its residents. Indeed the time is now, and together, we can work towards achieving gender equality and promoting social justice in Plateau State and beyond.

Before I conclude, let me take the risk of mentioning names, more like a roll call of honour. His excellency, former Governor Jang played a pivotal role, and one can say that this is his baby, and the Plateau State House of Assembly, several of them, Gad Peter Shamaki, Nene Dung, Mary Izam, Katdapba Gobum, now late Ladi Madaki, and Suzan Yigo, Fatimah Sulieman, Peter Iorapuu, Justina Ngwobi,  Ruth Abwo, Madam Jessica, Sese, Chris, Jummai Madaki, the Nigerian office of the UNWomen, Peter Mancha, and several development partners like WRAPPA, the state ministries of women affairs, and also that of justice and many other names I must have skipped, trust me it was not intentional, it is the risk associated with name calling, but be assured that many of us made this happen, and time will tell. You are all appreciated!

Conclusion:

The Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission plays a crucial role in promoting gender equality and empowering marginalised groups in the state. Through its initiatives and programs, the commission contributes to the overall development and well-being of Plateau State. With continued commitment and support, the GEOC can continue to advance gender equality and create a more inclusive society where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive.

Over the last few months, I have unconsciously transitioned from keyboard diarrhea to mental constipation and have pulled back from social media engagements. I even struggle to write my weekly columns.

 It’s precisely because toxic, unthinking, IMF-manufactured, right-wing economic populism has become hegemonic and taken firm roots in Nigeria. Blaming Tinubu for his right-wing economic policies while ignoring the fact that his opponents subscribe to the same policies is the kind of hypocrisy my mental, emotional, or ideological constitution is incapable of tolerating. 

Right-wing or conservative economic populism manifests differently in different countries, but its core lies in weaponizing the general population's concerns and frustrations, particularly around economic issues, to advocate poisonous, anti-people, market-centric, neoliberal economic policies while blaming an invisible elite or establishment class that supposedly controls power and resources to the detriment of the majority.

In Nigeria, conservative economic populism consists of the intentionally deceitful and absurd but nonetheless successful (at least for now) demonization of subsidies, especially petrol subsidies.

 Nigeria’s elite-created economic woes are fraudulently attributed to the dispensation of subsidies. The masses of unsuspecting chumps in the country are then whipped into a senseless frenzy about an invisible, unidentified class of “subsidy thieves” who putatively suck up our commonwealth through petrol subsidies and who would wither and perish when subsidies are removed.

 That’s classic right-wing economic populism. Well, experience is showing that it’s actually the masses that are withering and perishing after petrol subsidies have been removed. An acquittance who passionately opposed my recommendation to Tinubu to not remove petrol subsidies in my April 29, 2023, column by regurgitating the banal talking points of hard-hearted neoliberal hawks reached out to me a few days ago to admit that he was a gormless fool to believe the propaganda that petrol subsidies didn’t benefit the masses.

It took the collapse of his small transportation business and the descent of his previously thriving relatives into the dark depths of despair and poverty in less than one year after the removal of petrol subsidies for him to come to the realization that citizens of every country need subsidies.

Another central plank of Nigerian right-wing economic populism is the advocacy for the devaluation of the naira. It’s also known by the fancy name of “floating the naira.” The idea that the naira is “over-valued” and should be allowed to find its true worth in the crucible of demand and supply is a standard arsenal in the rhetorical armory of conservative economic populists in Nigeria.

Yet another favorite shtick of the treacherous tribe of neoliberal vampires in Nigeria is to capitalize on the well-known inefficiency of civil service bureaucracies to advocate the privatization of everything and the mass retrenchment of workers.

Yet these are really old, discredited Structural Adjustment Program policies that the IMF and the World Bank imposed on developing countries, which devastated national economies, caused the untimely deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, which the IMF was compelled to slyly apologize for amid mounting evidence of their tragic failure. 

The same rotten and venomous policies have been repackaged, aromatized, and re-presented to developing countries as new and effective elixirs. Every developing country that has embraced them is now coping with potentially explosive internal turmoil. 

Like Nigeria, Egypt recently accepted to devalue its currency by more than 68 percent and remove subsidies that lighten the burden of existence for ordinary folks in exchange for an $8 billion loan from the IMF. 

Everyone within striking distance of becoming president in Nigeria in 2023 subscribed—and still subscribes—to the consensus that the IMF and the World Bank are inviolable economic oracles that must not be disobeyed, that subsidies must be eliminated and the poor be left to fend for themselves, and that the market is supreme and should be left to determine the value of everything. 

In fact, the other day, PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar put out a press statement titled “Argentina’s Javier Milei approach to reforms should serve as a lesson for Tinubu” where he extolled the dangerously right-wing Argentinian president Javier Milei whose rightwing economic populist policies are destroying the fabric of his country. 

“I read a recent report in Reuters titled: ‘Argentina’s market double down on Milei as investors ‘start to believe’,” he wrote. 

Well, the same Western financial establishment is already praising the outcome of Tinubu’s economic policies. A March 8, 2024, report from Bloomberg, for instance, has said that “Foreign investor demand for Nigerian assets surges as reforms instituted by President Bola Tinubu’s administration starts paying off.”

Similarly, one David Roberts, identified as a former British Council Director in Abuja, bragged the other day that Nigeria’s economy “posted a GDP growth of 3.46% in quarter 4” as a result of Tinubu’s economic reforms. 

He wrote: “Why would a country with a severe infrastructural deficit invest more money on a wasteful expenditure such as cheap petrol, instead of building schools, hospitals, dams and a national railway system? It is evident that it had to go.

“We joined the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in saying as much to the Nigerian government. And at long last, it is gone.”

People outside Nigeria reading about Nigeria in the Western financial press would think Nigerians are now living in El- Dorado as a result of Tinubu’s “reforms”—just like Atiku thinks a favorable Reuters story about the anti-people economic policies of Milei, who is called the “Madman of Argentina,” is already yielding excellent outcomes. 

If you do the bidding of the Western establishment, they will always make up statistics to show that your economy has grown. I called attention to this in my June 28, 2023, column titled, “Why Tinubu’s Hiring and Firing Frenzy Excites Nigerians.”

I wrote: “What shall it profit a country when it pursues policies that cause the economy to ‘grow’ but cause the people to growl? After the economy has ‘grown’ but the people still groan, where is the growth? The most important growth isn't the rise in abstract, disembodied, World Bank/IMF-created metrics but in the improvement of the quality of life of everyday folks.”

Milei’s Argentina that Atiku is praising is almost in the same right-wing economic hellscape as Nigeria is. Like Tinubu, Milei began his presidency by removing subsidies for petrol and transportation and devaluing the Argentinian peso by more than 50 percent. In addition, he threw scores of workers into unemployment when he reduced the number of ministries in the country. 

He is so market-centric he scrapped a whole host of rules designed to reign in the greed and exploitation of private enterprises.  He did this by getting the parliament to approve the principle of "delegated powers" to the executive for one year, which allows him to rule by decree like a military dictator in the name of "economic urgency."

The result? Like in Nigeria, most Argentinians are having a hard time finding food to eat. A February 1, 2024, CNN story captures it: “‘I don’t know how I will eat.’ For the workers behind Argentina’s national drink, Milei’s reforms are turning sour.”

Argentinian workers periodically go on strike to protest Milei’s punishing right-wing policies. On February 28, all flights were cancelled in the country because air travel workers went on a crippling 24-hour strike.

A March 4, 2024, Bloomberg report said Milei’s policies had caused spending to plunge at shops in Argentina, that firms were seeing double-digit sales declines for third straight month, that the worth of salaries had plummeted amid a paralyzing 250% inflation, and that recession was deepening in the country.

The lead to the story says it all: “Consumers in Argentine are running out of options to shield themselves from runaway price increases as President Javier Milei’s austerity measures send the country deeper into recession.”

That’s Atiku’s exemplar for Nigeria. Peter Obi is, of course, no different. Tinubu, Atiku, Obi, and in fact Yemi Osinbajo are united in their love for rightwing economics, which invariably leads to an increase in poverty, suffocation of workers, rolling back of welfare for common people, etc. 

In a perverse way, they are actually worse than Buhari because they are self-conscious conservative economic ideologues. Buhari is merely a know-nothing, bungling, kakistocratic power monger. 

The real tragedy is that the vast majority of Nigerians who are ensconced in the narrow ethno-religious political silos built around the personalities of the major 2023 presidential candidates don’t realize that on economic policies, which is what really matters, Tinubu, Atiku, Obi, and Osinbajo are more alike than unlike. 

Sadly, Nigerian leftists, who used to be the bulwark against the dangers of conservative economic totalitarianism, have either been coopted or silenced. Only Femi Falana, Majeed Dahiru, I, and a few others consistently stand up to the forces of economic conservatism.

This state of affairs will ensure that Tinubu’s successor will be another neoliberal ideologue who will bludgeon his way to the presidency using religion and ethnicity as cudgels. When he deepens the misery he inherits, he will blame his predecessor for not being a faithful practitioner of the neoliberal gospel. His own successor will replicate his template.

 After three terms of this right-wing baloney, Nigeria will be irretrievably gone. The time to pivot from the IMF and the World Bank and to reject everyone who is their poodle is now.