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The 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has expressed deep concern over Nigerians’ severe economic hardships.
His comments came during a ceremony for the distribution of free fertiliser to 52,800 smallholder farmers across Kano State’s 44 local government areas on Thursday.
Addressing the gathering at the Government House, alongside the newly appointed second-class Emirs of Gaya and Karaye, Sanusi highlighted the dire situation many Nigerians find themselves in.
“People are in a dire situation. I’m aware that people now resort to buying half pepper because of the high cost of food items. This is unbearable. But I think with efforts like this, people can get some relief,” he stated.
The initiative, which aims to alleviate economic hardship and promote food security, will see each farmer, including women and persons living with disabilities, receive 25kg of fertiliser.
The Emir praised the Kano State Government for the initiative but urged further action to mitigate the ongoing economic challenges.
On his part, Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, said, “We are determined to support our farmers and ensure that food is available and affordable for all.”
The Emirs of Gaya and Karaye also voiced their support for the programme. Emir of Gaya, Ali Ibrahim, said, “This distribution of fertiliser will significantly contribute to food security in our state.” Similarly, the Emir of Karaye, Mahammad Mahraz, expressed optimism that the initiative would benefit the farming community.
Representatives of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) were also present, expressing their gratitude for the government’s gesture. “This initiative will help bring down the cost of food items in the state and provide much-needed support to our farmers,” remarked AFAN official Ibrahim Inuwa.
Dayo ‘D1’ Adeneye, the co-founder of Kennis Music, has revealed how he has maintained his over 40-year friendship with Kenny Ogungbe.
In a recent interview with Teju Babyface, the comedian, Adeneye said his bond with Ogungbe, 63, goes back to their college days, where they were practically inseparable.
He said they graduated together and frequently spent time at each other’s homes.
“Keke and I have known each other for over 40 years, going on 50 years now. As a matter of fact, we graduated on the same day, both our undergraduate and graduate,” he said.
“If you were looking for Kenny in those days, just go to my house. He had his own apartment, but he was always at my house. If you were looking for me, I’d be at Kenny’s house.”
Adeneye also revealed that their friendship is built on mutual support and contentment.
He said they ensure that they never pursue ambitions at the expense of their bond.
He added that they handle disagreements privately, without seeking external intervention.
“That has always been the way we approach life: what is yours is mine, and what’s mine is yours. The thing is, what do we achieve together? It’s not like we don’t fight, but we don’t let it get to the level where we need to people to intervene after a quarrel,” he added.
“We’ve never taken things out of context. We are both contented individuals. We aspire for a lot in life but not at the expense of our friendship.”
Adeneye and Ogungbe founded Kennis Music, their record label, in the late 1990s.
The record label was home to artistes like 2Baba, Jaywon, Eldee, Sir Shina Peters, and Tony Tetuila, among others.
The duo have received several recognitions, including induction into the Hip-Hop World Hall of Fame at the 2006 Headies.
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The naira traded at N1,620 on Thursday, extending its depreciation streak to five days at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market.
The local currency depreciated by 0.3 percent from the N1,615 per dollar traded on July 17.
Currency traders, known as bureau de change (BDC) operators, quoted the buying rate of the naira as N1,600 and the selling rate at N1,620 — leaving a N20 profit margin.
According to the FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees official FX trading in Nigeria, the local currency appreciated to N1,566.82 per dollar on Thursday — a 0.94 percent decline from N1,581.65 traded the previous day.
The local currency traded at a high of N1,620 and a low of N1,500.
A FIVE-DAY LOSS STREAK
On July 11, the local currency appreciated at the black market to N1,530/$ — from the N1,550 traded on July 10.
Abruptly reversing the gain, the naira depreciated to N1,545 on July 12, and further to N1,555 on July 15.
Between July 16 and July 17, the local currency depreciated to N1,585 and N1,615, respectively.
Meanwhile, the official market recorded marginal fluctuations. Data from the FMDQ Exchange showed that the naira appreciated to N1,554.65 on July 11 — from N1,561 on July 10.
The local currency fell to N1,563.80 on July 12 at the official market. The decline continued at N1,577.29 on July 15, before the naira recovered again to N1,576.66 on July 16.
However, the local currency, on July 17, fell to N1,581.65 against the greenback.
On July 15, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN) called for the stabilisation of the naira’s value.
“The recent fluctuations in the value of the naira have made it difficult for companies to plan and invest,” the association said.
“This is one major reason why multinational companies are leaving. It’s not the fear of subsidy removal.”
According to the association, fixing the FX rate would reset the manufacturing industry.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on July 13, said it has sold foreign currencies worth $122.67 million to 46 authorised dealers in two days to ensure stability and reduce FX market volatility.
On July 18, the CBN approved the sale of FX to eligible BDC operators at N1,450 per dollar “to meet the demand for invisible transactions”.
Philip Shaibu, the former deputy governor of Edo, and Monday Okpebholo, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, escaped death on Thursday when their convoy was attacked in Benin City by suspected gunmen.
Witnesses said the incident happened Thursday afternoon near the Benin airport, shortly after the two politicians arrived to a rousing welcome by their supporters.
TheCable understands that their convoy came under attack at the exit gate of the airport when some gunmen in a Sienna car opened fire at them.
There was an exchange of fire between the assailants and the security operatives attached to the APC candidate and the former deputy governor, according to a witness.
“The intervention of the mobile squad of the Nigeria Police brought the situation under control,” a witness said.
Several officers continued shooting to disperse the attackers as they fled in a Toyota Sienna bus.”
However, a police officer identified as Okon, attached to the APC candidate, died during the shootout.
On July 17, a federal high court in Abuja nullified the removal of Shaibu as deputy governor of Edo state.
In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, James Omotosho, the presiding judge, held that Shaibu’s impeachment violated the provisions of the law.
The court declared that Shaibu’s ouster on April 8, 2024, by the Edo state house of assembly was politically motivated.
Consequently, the judge ordered his reinstatement and directed the inspector-general of police (IGP) to immediately restore the plaintiff’s security.
In June, Shaibu declared support for the APC candidate, noting that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is parading an outsider as its flagbearer.
The off-cycle governorship election in Edo is slated for September 21.
Mohammed Ali-Jajari, the 2023 gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Borno State, has decried the spate of insecurity in the state, saying the threat makes rubbish of the Federal Government’s victory claim over the Boko Haram insurgency group.
Ali-Jajari made this declaration via a press statement obtained by Arewa PUNCH while condoling with the families of the last Gwoza bomb blasts in the state.
Our correspondent reports that the government had confirmed the loss of over 20 lives, resulting in the triple suicide bomb blasts resulting from the offensive launched by the insurgents.
The statement partly read, “My heart goes out to the people of Gwoza, there has been terrible news and great sadness in our dear state Borno and Nigeria at large.’’
“A bomb blast in Gwoza has killed dozens and so many injured. Indeed, it was a terrible affliction.
“While the present government is claiming to have disrupted and dismantled criminal networks, Boko Haram, Kidnapping and banditry continues to ravage the lives of many ordinary citizens of Nigeria.
“Whereas, from the President to the lowest political office holder in Nigeria are protected by security personnel, the ordinary masses whom they the (political office holders) swore to protect their lives, provide security and welfare are left unattended.
“The debilitating and grinding poverty afflicts us all. There’s utter disconnect between ordinary Nigerians and public office holders.
“We call on the Federal Government, States and Security agencies to stop the empty rhetoric and act now,” Ali-Jajari advocated.
The Minister of State for Environment, Dr. Iziaq Salako has disclosed that traditional open fire cooking causes over 77,000 deaths in Nigeria annually through lung and heart diseases.
The Minister who said this at the National Clean Cooking Fair in Abuja on Thursday, also stated that open fire cooking also causes vision impairment, low birth weight and put people at a higher risk of suffering burnt injuries.
“The gathering of firewood exposes women and girls to gender based violence, snake bites and other physical injuries,” he said.
Salako added that cooking with firewood in open fire is a major driver of deforestation in the country which contributes to the loss of nearly 400,000 hectares of forests annually.
“Emissions from residential cooking represent about 55 million metric tonnes of CO2e and about 700,000 metric tonnes of harmful fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions. This constitutes a significant proportion of Nigeria’s total greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.
He stated that Nigeria has pledged to provide access to cooking gas for 28.8m households and improved biomass cook-stoves for 7.3m by 2030, adding that the intervention when delivered is expected to save over 30,000 lives per annum, build a domestic clean cooking industry and create new jobs, reduce deforestation.
He added that the intervention will assist the government in meeting its climate change commitments like the pledge to reduce Short Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCP) and improve the lives of women and girls in general.
“To achieve this clean cooking targets, a strong regulatory framework is needed. The Federal Ministry of Environment has therefore developed a National Clean Cooking Policy which was recently approved by the Federal Executive Council to provide a clear direction and specified pathway for Nigeria to achieve clean cooking outcomes,” he said.
Salako hinted that the Federal Ministry of Environment developed a National Clean Cooking Policy which was recently approved by the Federal Executive Council in order to provide a clear direction and specified pathway for Nigeria to achieve clean cooking outcomes.
…As Police Await Mental Assessment Result
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Commissioner, Bennett Igweh and human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju will empower Shaibu Yusuf, who attempted to commit suicide 10 days ago with funds to start a business.
Yusuf had attempted to create awareness of the sufferings of Nigerians by climbing a broadband mast, at ASO Radio in Katampe, Abuja.
THE WHISTLER gathered that the command released Yusuf to Adeyanju on bail on Thursday.
The FCT Police command released the Borno-born nine days after it referred him to the Social Development Secretariat for mental assessment.
Adeyanju’s latest post shared across social media also confirmed this. The post was accompanied by pictures of him at the office of the FCT CP, Benneth Igweh along with the suspect and the command’s spokesperson, Josephine Adeh.
The caption of the post further read: “We have secured the release of Shaibu Yusuf who protested climbing a mast in Abuja after a week of back & forth. Let me appreciate the collaborative effort of the FCT CP, Benneth Igwe and FCT PRO, @Jossy_DANNYKING in this regard. CP Igwe & I are supporting Shaibu to start a POS business.”
Recall that the FCT command said that Yusuf’s mental assessment and evaluation were relevant following his troubling action, which stirred apprehension in the polity.
The incident which attracted wide attention had the presence of security agencies, and government agencies like the FCT Emergency Department at the scene, pleading to Yusuf to climb down and halt any attempt to take his life.
However, THE WHISTLER gathered that at the time of Yusuf’s release, “he was sane”. He was only said to have suffered personal and financial setbacks, making him suicidal.
Speaking to our correspondent on the matter, the spokesperson of the police command, SP Josphine Adeh said, it was the state of Yusuf’s living that led the FCT CP to assist the suspect in starting a POS business to gain a certain level of financial freedom to avoid suicidal thoughts.
When asked about Yusuf’s mental assessment result, Adeh said, “It is not out yet”, noting that the command had released Yusuf on bail under the supervision of Adeyanju pending the outcome of his mental assessment.
Adeh did not also reveal when the mental assessment report was scheduled to be out but pointed out that Yusuf’s action was due to the economic situation of the country.
President Bola Tinubu has started the distribution of the first batch of cheques to beneficiaries of the student loan scheme, launching the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND.
Yesterday, the President presented cheques to students from the six geopolitical zones.
Mr Akintunde Sawyer, the Executive Secretary of NELFUND, announced that N32 billion was currently available for disbursement to kickstart the programme.
He added that over 110,000 had applied, and more than 160,000 had visited the Fund’s site.
According to the President, the student loan is key to fighting poverty.
Who can apply for how much, how to
In May, Sawyer said the loan scheme will start with students of federal universities.
Eventually, he said, state-owned institutions, and then a programme on loan provision for those who want vocational skills or vocational qualifications will follow.
He urged students of state-owned institutions to apply, but that they would have to wait until it was their turn.
Also, how much you can apply for depends on your tuition fees and other payments you need to make. This is because NELFUND will pay the institution directly.
Besides, the Fund will also pay a monthly stipend. However, Sawyer did not say how much it will be.
To apply, you have to visit the NELFUND website and create a profile.
You then enter the name of your school, your matriculation number, upload the required documents, and verify your student status.
Disqualification …
NELFUND will run background checks. And you can be disqualified if you have borrowed money from any financial institution and have not paid.
Also, you won’t be eligible for the loan if you submited fake documents, or engaged in exam malpractices.
Again, if your institution does not upload students’ data on the NELFUND portal; or you are involved in fraud, forgery, drug offences, cultism, felony, or any dishonest dealings, you won’t get the loan.
How to pay back the NELFUND loan
Beneficiaries will start to pay back the loan two years after participating in the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, scheme.
If the beneficiary gets a job, the Federal Government will deduct 10% from the person’s salary until the loan is repaid in full.
However, when the person is without a job, but is self-employed, the government will take 10% of his monthly profit. In this case, the NELFUND beneficiary will be paying the money into the appropriate government’s bank account.
Failure to repay the loan attracts a fine of N500,00 or two years imprisonment or both.
Salihu Lukman, former National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has criticized the removal of Senator Ali Ndume as Senate Chief Whip and his alleged expulsion from the party.
Lukman claimed that President Bola Tinubu may not stay for a second term in office due to these actions.
On Wednesday, July 17, Ndume was replaced by Senator Tahir Monguno as Chief Whip of the Senate.
The decision came via a directive from the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, and National Secretary, Senator Basiru Ajibola, citing Ndume’s alleged rabid outbursts against President Tinubu.
In a statement titled “Fanatical Mindset” released on Thursday, Lukman expressed concern over the attack on free speech in Nigeria, comparing the current situation to the era of Nigeria’s late military dictator, Sani Abacha.
“The way things are, it is almost as if President Asiwaju Tinubu has resolved that he will only be a one term President. Under his watch living conditions of Nigerians is continuously getting worse. Instead of making effort to develop clear plans to address the situation, the government is becoming more intolerant to criticism.
“In the last one week, the government has developed a fanatical mindset of condemning and criminalising criticism so much so that it is resorting to bribing religious leaders to declare that protests are ungodly. Everything is being done to suspend free speech in the country. It is almost as if we are back in the Abacha era, or even worse. As it is, personal liberties of citizens are being threatened. Fair hearing is no longer guaranteed. Sadly, we are having democracy without democrats,” said Lukman.
According to him, the APC Constitution does not grant party officials, including the National Working Committee, the authority to summarily remove National Assembly principal officers.
He condemned the APC Senate Caucus for allowing this “act of illegality,” warning it sets a dangerous precedent undermining the National Assembly’s independence.
“Any democracy that cannot accommodate criticism is no democracy. A democracy that subverts fair hearing is a dictatorship. A democracy that permits a ruling party to demobilize its organs and inadvertently expel its members is worse than a military government,” he stated.
Lukman further called on patriotic Nigerians to ensure the defeat of the APC and Tinubu’s government in 2027, and suggested that their current trajectory is self-destructive.
“So long as APC, its leadership and Asiwaju Tinubu’s government have taken the self-destructive path, which is equivalent to a declaration of working end their tenure in 2027, patriotic Nigerians must help them to ensure their defeat in 2027!,” he added,
…Strategic Equipment Damaged
Some vandals have been arrested while carrying out an operation at the Port Harcourt Refinery in Rivers State.
Some of the suspects intercepted at night were caught with various items like Motorised Valva (MOV), termination cable assembly and copper cables.
Other items include hack saws, pliers used for cutting cables and rubbing used to shroud stolen materials and other vital equipment.
The suspects were discovered to have pilfered other expensive equipment like armoured cables.
Videos seen by THE WHISTLER showed that two inches of long pipeline connections were used to illegally tap petroleum products to feed suspected bunkering stations, located outside a plant.
The pipeline has an estimated stretch of 800 kilometres illegally tapped from Indorama, a company based in Eleme, Port Harcourt.
The vandals were said to have connected the pipes at a diversion on the Indorama line close to the Port Harcourt refinery police station.
The suspects were said to have also stolen the anodes installed in a storage tank to protect the tank from corrosion.
Each storage tank contains at least 70 sacrificial anodes, each up to one meter in length and weighing 10-20 kilograms, welded to the bottom of the tank internally.
Storage tanks’ sacrificial anodes are made from highly-priced aluminium or magnesium alloys and hold great rewards to vandals if they succeed in their quest to cut and move the anodes to the black market.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Mele Kyari had last Monday assured that the Port Harcourt Refinery will begin operation by August this year.
Kyari said this during an interactive session with members of the joint committees of the National Assembly on Finance.
He added that in few months time, oil production level for the country will hit two million barrels per day as every measures have been put in place to achieve that target.
He said, “Mr. Chairman and members of the Joint Committee. Let me just give confirmation that NNPCL and the oil and gas industry is very critical in bringing a turnaround in our current economic situation, and we understand the importance of this. We are taking every step that is practical for us to achieve this..
“We have already seen growth in our oil and gas production because of certain actions that Mr. President personally took, and also the very mere truth that we have also declared a war on production activities, and this is yielding the required results.
“The combination of these two has now seen us restoring production in our country, and we believe that, as the Honorable Minister has said, we will soon hit the target of two million barrels oil production per day.
“I’m aware that there are several comments in the public space around refining business and domestic production, including production that will come from the commissioned Dangote refinery.
“Yes, this country, as we have said, will be a net exporter of petroleum products by the end of this year. We’re very optimistic that by December , this country will be a net exporter. That means a combination of production coming from us, and also from Dangote refinery and other smaller producing companies that we know are in line to do this.
“So, I can confirm to you, Mr. Chairman, that by the end of the year, this country will be a net exporter of petroleum products.
“Specific to NNPC refinery, we have spoken to a number of your committees, that it is impossible to have the Kaduna refinery come to operation before December, it will get to December. Both Warri and Kaduna but that of Portharcourt will commence production early August this year.”
THE WHISTLER had reported that following the mechanical completion of the Old Port Harcourt Refinery in December, last year, a total of one million barrels of crude oil has been supplied to the plant by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd as refining of petroleum products from the facility.
THE WHISTLER gathered that the one million barrels of crude oil were supplied to the refinery in two tranches with the latest coming in last Wednesday.
About 170 litres of refined petroleum products can be obtained from a barrel of crude oil. This implies that the one million barrel supplied by the NNPC to the Port Harcourt refinery can provide an estimated 170 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol and other refined products.
The Newspaper further reported that the importation of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly called cooking gas, would reduce as the refinery starts pumping out refined products.
THE WHISTLER’s investigations had also revealed that in preparation for commencement of refining of petroleum products, the license for the refinery had been issued by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has approved 140 as the cut-off mark for 2024 admission into the nation’s universities and 100 for polytechnics and colleges of education respectively.
The cut-off mark for 2024 admission into tertiary institutions was arrived at on Thursday during the 2024 annual policy meeting on admissions, which was held at the Body Benchers, Headquarters, Abuja.
The meeting was held following the successful conduct of the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). A total of 1,989,668 registered candidates for this year’s UTME.
Out of the 1,989,668 registered candidates, 80,810 were absent while a total of 1,904,189 sat for the UTME within the six days of the examination.
The policy meeting was chaired by the Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, and decided following recommendations by the heads of institutions.
Registrar of JAMB Registrar, Is-haq Oloyede, who announced the cutoff marks, explained that individual institutions were at liberty to raise their minimum benchmark approved at the policy meeting but could not go below what was approved for various institutions.
Gunmen terrorising Nigeria’s south east region have abducted eleven travellers in Enugu state
The passengers were kidnapped at the Amechi-Idodo axis of the Enugu-Abakaliki federal highway.
They were said to have been kidnapped on Tuesday while returning to Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, from Anambra State.
A source familiar with the incident disclosed that some tertiary institution students are among the kidnapped victims.
They left Awka, Anambra State capital, before they were intercepted by the heavily armed men at the notorious Amechi-Idodo area in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The kidnappers are now said to be demanding for N30 million to free the victims.
The Enugu State Police Command is yet to confirm the incident
Three candidates scored 367 during the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and by that emerged as the highest scorers for the examination.
This was revealed at the ongoing 2024 policy meeting by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Thursday in Abuja.
JAMB identified the names as: Olowu Joseph from Ondo State, Alayande David from Oyo State, and Orukpe Joel from Edo State.
In 2023, Umeh Nkechinyere emerged as the highest scorer with a 360 aggregate score.
JAMB had earlier said it won’t announce the 2024 highest scorer to avoid a repeat of the “Mmesoma matter.
Recall that Ejikeme Mmesoma, a 19-year-old student, claimed to score 362 as against her actual score of 249 in the 2023 UTME JAMB portal.
“It is common knowledge that the Board has, at various fora, restated its unwillingness to publish the names of its best-performing candidates, as it considers its UTME as only a ranking examination on account of the other parameters that would constitute what would later be considered the minimum admissible score for candidates seeking admission to tertiary institutions,” Oloyede said.
A 40-year-old lawyer, Abayomi Oladire, has been reportedly stabbed by his client’s husband, Kunle Kuteyi, for assisting his wife to file a divorce suit against him.
The lawyer was stabbed in various parts of his body with a broken bottle by the suspect who accosted him while on his way to his sister’s baby naming ceremony in Ondo West Local Council of Ondo State.
According to sources in the area, Kuteyi had accused Oladire of allegedly having an affair with his wife to the extent of helping her file for divorce against him.
A resident in the area, who gave his name as Seyi, stated that after the suspect fled the scene of the crime, the victim, who was bleeding profusely, was rescued by sympathisers who took him to the hospital for treatment.
He said: “We saw the two standing together, and later the suspect hugged the victim and pushed him away. The next thing we saw was the suspect bringing out a broken bottle and starting to stab the victim.”
While recounting what happened, the victim said: “The wife of the suspect brought a judgement to me and said her husband was ordered to pay N2 million by the court to a complainant in a case instituted against them. After going through the judgement, I observed that both the husband and wife were asked to pay N2 million each, and I explained this to her.
“She went to the complainant’s lawyer and paid the said amount. Then, she later asked me to prepare divorce papers because her husband had lied to her about the case. When I prepared the divorce papers, she later came back to me, that she was no longer interested because her husband’s family had intervened and begged her to forgive him.
“I told her that I would inform the judge on the next adjournment date. On the day of the incident, I was going to my sister’s baby naming ceremony when I saw the suspect. He said he had been looking for me because I prepared divorce papers for his wife.
“He accused me of dating her and of preparing a divorce letter for her. But I explained to him that his wife had told me she was no longer interested in the divorce and that we were going to withdraw the case on the next adjournment date.
“The suspect hugged me and bit me on the jaw, then brought out a broken bottle and started stabbing me. All I could do was guard myself to prevent him from stabbing me in the neck or other dangerous parts of my body.
“In the course of performing my legal duty by preparing a divorce for his wife, the suspect attempted to kill me by stabbing me viciously. He is walking freely in the town, and all the police stations in Ondo can’t arrest him.”
When contacted, the police command disclosed that the suspect is on the run but will soon be apprehended.