The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the establishment of consumer credit scheme and the extension of payment of social security to NCE graduates upwards.

The decision was reached at the FEC meeting presided over by President Tinubu at the council chambers, state house, Abuja. The President Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga disclosed this on his X handle this afternoon as part of decisions reached.

According to him, the President established a committee to be headed by the Chief of Staff, Rt. Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, with members as the Minister of Budget and Planning, Atiku Bagudu, Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi SAN, and Mr. Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance.

He stated, “Here are some of the highlights of the far-reaching decisions taken today at the Federal Executive Council meeting, chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“Social security payments to be extended to graduates from NCE and upwards.

“Consumer Credit to be established very urgently. Chief of Staff to lead a committee that includes Budget Minister, Attorney-General, Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Finance, to make the scheme a reality.”

Also, (FEC) has approved a N1.06 trillion contract for the construction of the first phase of the coastal road from Lagos to eight other states.

Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, who disclosed this to newsmen yesterday after the council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, explained that the phase was part the 700 kilometer road spanning nine states and with two spurs leading to the northern states.

According to him, FEC approved funds for the first phase made of the 47.47 kilometers dual carriage way of five lanes on each side and a train track in the middle, adding that the project would be constructed with concrete.

His words: “Today, we had the the approval of FEC for the construction of 700 kilometer of coastal routes running from Lagos through the nine coastal routes or states up to Cross River, meaning that it goes to Lagos, the Lekki Deep Seaport, Ogun State, Ondo State, Delta, Bayelsa, Port Harcourt and Akwa Ibom.

“But we also have two spurs that leads to the north, from the ongoing Badagry-Sokoto route and the one that leads to the transSahara route that goes from Ogoja down to Cameroon.

“Now, it is a dual carriage way. And each carriage way has five lanes and a provision for a train infrastructure that will be at the middle.

“The October 30th, FEC had approved that this project be procured under EPC+ Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing. And so in favour of High Tech Construction African Limited, which means that they were supposed to search for the funding.

“They already have started searching for the funding, but hitches here are there. And so, the Ministry had to go back to Mr. President to ask for two things and that was on January 18. We asked can we fast track this?

“Since this project was going to be procured in two phases and multiple sections, can we get the federal government to fund the phase one, which is what is 47.47 kilometers running from Ahmadu Bello in Lagos down to Lekki Deep Seaport? Mr. President graciously approved.

“We also have the challenge of a lot of infrastructure on the road corridor. So, we requested Mr. President to approve that we realign the road, so that we move closer to the ocean shore, and then avoid those properties which could lead to litigation. Mr. President also approved.

“But then that led to a new challenge. And the challenge is the need to start the project as quickly as possible as to protect, the communities along the corridor.

“So today, we have procured the first section, which is 47.47 kilometers, under 10 lanes and FEC graciously approved the contract for N1.067 trillion with no objection.

“FEC also approved that the second section be procured, you know, to be funded by federal government, which is about 57 kilometers. And that runs from Lekki deep seaport to the boundary between Ogun and that section two of phase one.

“And then the third section is to start from the end of the road, which is Calabar. And so that’s about 50 kilometers, and is procured under section three of phase one, and is running from you know, Calabar and going towards Akwa Ibom and towards Port Harcourt.

“Then the other sections and other places, will still be under EPC+F in favor of High Tech Construction Africa Limited. The company is very well known in this kind of infrastructure development.

“An example is the Eko Atlantic Ocean such that would have swallowed the entire Victoria Island, and they’ve been able to conquer it under the same procurements.

“But let me also announce that the road is going to be constructed with concrete and they are masters in that and you can see example in Apapa-Oshodi expressway, which will usually have seven hours trucks to do that, but today is a tale of joy. They are also the same company that is constructing the deep seaport under the same concrete technology.

“Besides that, we also have good news about some of the projects that were awarded between 2006 and 2018. And of course, you know, the prices of construction materials, like in 2006 should be expecting asphalt to cost about N2000 per square metre, and today’s constant between N27,000 and N30,000 per square metre.

“The same thing goes with diesel, the same thing goes with cement. And so, some of these projects are stuck. And you know, one of such that was lifted today is the dualization of Kano-Maiduguri road, section four, Damaturu-Maiduguri, it was awarded in 2006. And it has stopped because the contracts can no longer carry it.

“But today it’s been argumented from N39billion. It has breath now and they can now go on. And then we have another project that is the maintainance of Pankshin-Gindiri Road in Pankshin in Plateau state. It was awarded in 2017 and that the project has stopped. But today it has gotten great momentum from 10 billion to N20 billion.

“And then we have the third route the same thing, the route that is going from Mayo-Belewa-Jega-Kanya-Tungur road in Adamawa state. It was awarded in 2018 and today it has been argumented from N21 billion to N43 billion in line with the realities of the construction market prices.

“And then the last one is a road that is going from Yakasai-Badume-Damagum-Makin Zali in Kano state. This was awarded in January 2021 and it’s been argumented from N12 billion to 17 billion.

“Let me end by saying that we’re going to be having a number of these roads tending to stop. But Mr. President graciously has directed that such projects should be reviewed in line with the realities of the present construction basic materials.

“So, we have over 1,000 roads that are going to undergo this kind of process to keep them alive and in line with the directive of Mr. President. Most of them are inherited projects from the past administrations.”

The meeting between representatives of the Federal Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has ended in stalemate.

In last-minute efforts to prevent the protest, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, had invited Labour leaders to his office.

Aside from the SGF, Ministers of Agriculture; budget and national planning; Labour and Employment; Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Head of Service of the Federation, as well as the Director General of the Department of State Service (DSS), attended the meeting.

A source at the meeting said that government officials appealed to the labour leaders to shelve the protests because it may lead to breakdown or law and order.

They said isolated protests in some states were nearly hijacked by hoodlums before the security agents curtailed the situation.

As the meeting progressed, the labour leaders took a break from where they broke into another meeting for consultation.

At the end, NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, said despite the intervention to avert the nationwide protests, it would go on as scheduled.

He however, urged the security agents to protect the protesters.

When asked on the warning from the DSS, he said, “I would say despite the warning from the DSS, the rally goes on, but it is part of their (security agencies) constitutional responsibility to make sure that the rally is peaceful.

“And while we are going to try our own side to make sure it’s a peaceful rally, that’s all.”

When asked on the unions protesting at the National Assembly, Ajaero said, “Usually, there is no rally that we just do for the sake of walking around. We have demands that we present. Maybe by Tuesday when we present these demands, a copy of it will be made public.”

Government representatives were, however, not available for comments.

Pockets of protests had broken out in Kano, Niger, Oyo, Edo, Lagos, Kano, Sokoto, Borno and Osun, among other states, with protesters urging the government to take decisive steps to bring the hardship to an end.

The leadership of the NLC had declared a two-day nationwide protest for February 27 and 28 after government failed to implement some of the agreements reached with the congress.

The Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt, has ordered the Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule and 24 other members of the House to appear in court on subsequent sitting dates, following a motion filed before it by some elders of the state.

Ten members of the Rivers Elders Forum approached the court, seeking a leave to serve the lawmakers court processes on a suit they filed, questioning the lawmakers rights to remain in office after defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The lawmakers had defected from PDP to APC following a recent political altercation between the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara and the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

Not comfortable with the actions of the lawmakers who are loyal to the former governor, Wike, the elders insisted that their interest are no longer protected with the 25 lawmakers still occupying their officers, hence they approached the court for interpretation of their actions.

First, the elders approached the State High Court in Port Harcourt, to grant them an exparte order of subsistence service to the lawmakers, but the trial judge, Justice Chinwendu Nwogu struck out the motion, even before parties’ appearance in court.

Yesterday, the matter was filed before an Appeal Court in Port Harcourt, presided by a three man panel of judges led by Justice Oluwayemisi Williams-Dawodu, the court agreed that Amaewhule and 24 other lawmakers be served through subsistence means or WhatsApp.

The lead counsel for the applicants, Wilcox Abereton, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) had informed the court that it had been difficult and life threatening to serve the Speaker and the Assembly, as a result of tight security details around them occasioned by the political tension in the State.

The SAN also informed the court on how the bailiff of court who went to serve the respondents, was allegedly warned and threatened not to come to serve any further process, but that he can paste it if he has the order of court to do so.

Amongst the other prayers granted by the court, include an order of accelerated hearing of the appeal. The court however, adjourned the matter till April 8, 2024 for accelerated hearing.

Speaking with journalists outside the courtroom immediately after the Court order, one of the counsel for the applicants, Emmanuel Erukari, said: “Before now, the purported House of Assembly members defected from PDP to APC or wherever, and so we have gone to court on behalf of our clients to say no, that they do not longer have such powers to run the state House of Assembly.

“We went to the court with our clients who said their interest is no longer protected if they continue to allow Martins Amaewhule to continue to oversee the affairs of the Assembly. So as Rivers people they felt their interest should be protected, that is why they approached the court”.

One of the parties in the matter, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe expressed satisfaction at the proceedings of the court, saying that “Rivers people are very interested in and want justice to be done”.

He said Nigerians should be on the alert on the natter to know if the country has a constitution that embraces rights, equality and justice.

First Word: There is hunger in the land. Prices of food items are skyrocketing daily resulting in increased number of Nigerians who cannot afford food. The Nigerian government needs to act beyond providing food stamps. Short term measures should be replaced by longer term approaches to solve the hunger problem in Nigeria which in part is caused by food terrorism nuanced with the present insecurity experienced in Nigeria. To stem the tides of insecurity as a long-term approach to solving hunger, there is need for the government and law enforcement to clamp down on those who make inciteful statements that have the tendency to stir up violence.

A Crime Punishable by Law

Recently, a video of an Islamic Cleric speaking in Hausa against Nigeria's First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu for being a Christian went viral on social media. In the video, the cleric declared that the First Lady deserves to die for not just being a Christian but also a pastor. According to him, the First Lady is not the kind of “people of the book” that Prophet Muhammed said a Muslim man could marry. In Hausa, he said: "Now, Tinubu, his wife is an infidel. As an infidel, she is a leader among the infidels. “God's judgement says she must be killed. She's a pastor . . . a leader of infidels (Christians); Allah says they must be killed . . . " Publicly calling for the assassination of a First Lady is a crime punishable under Nigerian law which prohibits any threat to kill or do bodily harm to a public official - in this case the President - or his family. This is not only an issue of religious intolerance but of public order and national security. Although the cleric in a subsequent video, has offered an apology for his incendiary remarks, the reality is that the brazen disregard and levity with which the lives of Christians are treated in Nigeria is a serious threat to national unity and internal security. It is strange that Christians who believe in God and are followers of Christ, something recognized in the Koran as people of the book will be referred to as arne or infidels by some Muslims. In reality, prescribing death warrants on innocent people in the name of religion is anti-religious and goes against the grain of any godly belief system. This manifestation of religious bigotry and intolerance are hallmarks of radical extremism. It MUST be stopped through constitutional/legal means. Our collective silence on such matters is our collective doom as a nation and we become a laughing stock of nations.

Why the Silence?

The recent threat on the life of Nigeria’s First lady for the singular reason that she is a Christian, married to a Muslim, who is moderate and a nationalistic leader should be condemned by all well-meaning and progressive Nigerians. The Muslim community and leaders in particular cannot afford to remain silent. There needs to be a major release by the Sultan, who commands the respect of many both Muslims and Christians. Why is there yet to be a word from MURIC which claims to be fighting for justice. Why has there not been total condemnation by JNI? Even though notable Muslim voices such as Hon. Mohammed Bello El-Rufai and Sen. Shehu Sani have condemned the cleric’s pronouncements and called for his prosecution. Is it a crime for her to be a Pastor? Recall that this dignified citizen of Nigeria, our First Lady, was at some point a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. How audacious for a cleric to resort to such deadly tactics, dressed in religious bigotry, to intimidate a public official of such high standing! The cleric is also heard saying the Muslim-Muslim ticket that brought President Bola Tinubu to power was a scam. Furthermore, he accuses the President of not being able to convert his wife. And so, what? Is the ability to convert a non-Muslim wife to Islam a qualification for becoming President of Nigeria? Is that what the Muslim-Muslim ticket is all about? Well, I have had one or two occasions to listen to both the President and the Vice President speak and they sounded both as if they want to work for a better Nigeria. They claim to be ready to serve this nation and we need to give them the chance to prove themselves. Religious extremism exhibits ignorance and selfish ambition, and will lead us nowhere, except towards anarchy and chaos.

Therefore, as a Social Justice and Peace Advocate group, we condemn this unprovoked call for the death of the First Lady in its entirety. Such flagrant threats to public safety should not be ignored, or there will be no Nigeria as we know it. Clerics who resort to such extremist ideologies and tactics should be condemned within Christendom and more frequently within the Muslim community where such has been rampant. In this instance, it is the responsibility of Islamic leaders not to allow such voices to go uncensored within their fold.

An Affront to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB)

Many problems are currently plaguing Nigeria. One is the total disregard for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). Due to Nigeria’s multifaceted complexities, the disregard for FoRB has ripple effects that have resulted in violence and have a tendency to spiral out of control, if care is not taken. Consequently, we declare that the Federal Government must take this threat seriously and deploy its legitimate instruments to ensure that nothing happens to Senator Pastor Oluremi Tinubu.

Our country is currently battling a protracted insurgency that has lasted for over a decade. FoRB issues such as this must be handled within the full ambit of the law. Freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right which Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees everyone. Chapter 4, Section 38 of the Nigerian constitution also gives every Nigerian the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. To protect the rights of everyone, the government must be seen upholding the rule of law without prejudice or preference. In doing so, government must be bold enough to call a spade a spade. Failure to do so had caused impunity to abound. When religious clerics like the one in the video make such outrageous public remarks, they promote disaffection and ill-will, and give their followers reason to perpetuate mayhem and violence in total disregard for FoRB. Their hate speech and politically-motivated religious rhetoric is a threat to social cohesion and peaceful coexistence because it breeds religious intolerance and disregard for human dignity and life. Such religious leaders are not patriots, as they do not have the interest of the nation at heart.

Recommendations

1. Leading religious leaders, through NIREC, should meet over this threat to the First lady. This should be addressed and tackled in the open and not through a back door approach.

2. Mr President should give priority to peace building and conflict transformation approach on a national scale.

3. A National Peace and Reconciliation Commission should be set up to promote peaceful coexistence among Nigerians.

4. Respect for Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB) should be elevated to the level of national discourse and social action as a conversation, practice and structural framework.

5. The public use of words that depict religious intolerance such as arne (infidel) and kafir (pagan) amount to hate speech and should be outlawed not only in our Criminal and Penal Codes, but also in our Constitution.

Conclusion

Religious diversity should not be a source of grief for Nigerians. True religion should be an instrument of peace not destruction and death. Like Maya Angelou said, “We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.” She added: “Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.” And as the current UN General Secretary, Antonio Guterres, said: “We have to transcend our differences to transform our future.” Nigerian religious and political leaders need to instill these social and religious truths into our national consciousness and discourse in word and practice. The Revd Dr Gideon Para-Mallam (President and CEO