The National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) has said that over 6.1 million Nigerians were displaced by insecurity and natural disasters.

The NCFRMI Federal Commissioner, Alhaji Tijjani Aliyu, disclosed this during a visit to Gov. Dikko Radda of Katsina State on Friday in Katsina.

According to him, as of 2022, the commission had about 3 million displaced persons, “but with floods and other natural disasters, we now have an additional 100 per cent of such displaced people.”

He explained: “Today, I can authoritatively say that we have not less than 6.1 million Nigerians displaced out of their homes.

“What do we do if all of them cannot go back, how do we fend them? Can the government continue to feed them, providing them succour?

“Absolutely not possible, we have to find a way to teach these individuals trades, give them skills, so that at the end of the day, they can be on their own,” he said.

Aliyu disclosed the commission’s intention to construct three well-furnished skills acquisition centres across the Northeast, from the 2024/2025 budget.

He said the essence of the visit was to distribute food items to about 700 displaced people in the state.

“Before today, the commission has been putting its efforts to ensure that these people were not left in an undignified way. Their children have received educational training funds from us.

“About 120 of them were trained, and also about 70 of their mothers were given some small starter packs to improve their living standard,” he said.

Aliyu said, in addition to that, the commission identified the problem of water in the IDPs camp but immediately intervened by providing a solar-powered borehole.

“We have also built settlement cities in IDPs camp located areas, for those who may not want to go back to their ancestral homes, and Katsina is one of the beneficiaries,” he said.

The NCFRMI boss said the commission also intended to enrol the IDPs in a health insurance scheme to take care of their health challenges.

Responding, Gov. Radda commended the commission’s gesture, describing it as a collective responsibility of both the state and the federal government to ensure the welfare and well-being of the IDPs.

He said the state had recently witnessed a lot of security challenges, especially in eight frontline local government councils of the state.

The governor lamented that the worst affected areas were the food basket of the state, adding that most of the communities were displaced.

Radda, however, noted with satisfaction that with the inauguration of the Katsina Security Watch Corps (SWC), the security situation had improved.

While pleading for more collaboration with neighbouring states, the governor expressed optimism that with the recent deployment of additional security operatives by the federal government, criminals would not be given breathing space.

The federal commissioner later led other officials to flag-off the distribution of food items to the IDPs. (NAN)

The Nigerian Labour Congress has distanced itself from the N500,000 being canvassed as the new minimum wage, saying it has yet to adopt a position on an amount to be presented to the tripartite committee on the new minimum wage for workers.

The President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, disclosed this on Sunday with our correspondent in Yola, Adamawa State.

Speaking at the sidelines of the North-East zonal public hearing by the tripartite committee on national wage, Ajaero noted that the N500,000 and N700,000 being proposed as new minimum wage is unknown to the NLC.

According to him, all the figures flying around should be disregarded because the NLC as a body had yet to adopt a common presentation on the new minimum wage.

He said, “The N500,000, N700,000 you are hearing are being collated at the level of the states. In Lagos and other places, I think they are about N700,000 while in other places they are talking about N500,000 which are inputs collated from geopolitical zones.

“But the NLC secretariat has not made any presentation, these minimum figures are what is coming from the states. When we collate them then we’ll do a central presentation based on the raw materials we are getting from states.

“It (minimum wage) has to be relative to the cost of living in those states. You will agree with me that rent here is not as that in Abuja, and not the same thing as in Lagos. So relatively speaking you won’t have a straitjacket-like presentation by Labour in all the states.”

On his part, the Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, Adamawa State, Dr Solomon Bulus, said the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council backed the implementation of the N500,000 new minimum wage because it would drive down the hardship being experienced nationally.

The Minister of State for Health, Dr Tunji Alausa, on Saturday that the Federal Government had directed that health workers who plan to relocate abroad for greener pastures must henceforth resign their appointment beforehand.

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

The Minister stated this on Saturday during his visit to The Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital in Aro, Abeokuta.

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.

“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 which 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 any health workers going abroad to work should just resign their appointment 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.”

Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), recently shared his thoughts on various aspects of the Nigerian economy, agriculture, and his personal life in an interview with OYETUNJI ABIOYE.

Regarding the current exchange rate of over N1,500 to a dollar, Adesina stated that the Nigerian economy cannot survive under such conditions. He emphasized the need to expand foreign exchange inflows and shift towards an export-oriented industrial manufacturing stance to address the issue. Adesina also highlighted the importance of solving Nigeria’s power problem, stating that the country should aim for a capacity of 60,000 to 70,000 megawatts to support double-digit economic growth.

When asked about the food crisis in Nigeria, Adesina revealed that the AfDB has approved $134 million for the country to implement an emergency food production plan. The bank is supporting the cultivation of various crops, including wheat, maize, rice, cassava, and soybeans, to boost food supply. Adesina also advised the government to revive the electronic wallet system he implemented as a minister to provide farmers with direct access to seeds and fertilizers.

Adesina, who was recently awarded the Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership, expressed his emotional connection to the award, stating that Awolowo’s welfarist policies had a significant impact on his own life and philosophy. He emphasized the importance of people-centric policies and the need for leaders to lead with their hearts.

The AfDB president also discussed the bank’s efforts to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment through initiatives such as the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa, which aims to mobilize $5 billion for women-owned businesses on the continent.

On a personal note, Adesina shared the story of how he met his wife while studying at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University). He credited her intelligence and support for his success. Adesina also expressed his deep commitment to his Nigerian identity, stating that he proudly represents his country in his work at the AfDB.

In conclusion, Akinwumi Adesina’s insights shed light on the challenges facing the Nigerian economy and the potential solutions that can be implemented to address them.

Manchester United legend, Wayne Rooney has hailed Kobbie Mainoo for his performances for the Red Devils so far this season.

The former England striker said Mainoo always makes the right decision on the pitch of play, adding that the youngster reminds him of former Man United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Mainoo has become a key player in manager Erik ten Hag’s midfield, delivering a number of stellar displays.

“I think he is been incredible at such a young age, the maturity he shows,” Rooney told TNT Sports.

“When you see young players come into any first-team they are normally a bit raw and they normally play off the cuff.

“He reminds me of a young Bastian Schweinsteiger, in how he plays, enticing players in.”

He added, “He always seems to make the right decision. So I think he’s got a bright future.”

[DailyPost]

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]