Folarin Kehinde

Nurses under the aegis of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Abuja chapter, on Monday, protested against the new verification certification guidelines released by the Nigeria and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.

The nurses expressed displeasure over what they described as an attempt to hinder their freedom to pursue career opportunities, asking the council to address nurses’ welfare, salary scale, shortage of staff, and other rights.

The protest monitored by our correspondent was carried out at the NMCN’s office in Abuja.

The NMCN had on February 7, 2024, issued a circular revising the guidelines for requesting verification of certificates for nurses and midwives.

The council’s circular was released after The PUNCH reported the deactivation of the verification portal on NMCN’s website since December 2023.

The circular signed by the Registrar of the council, Dr Faruk Abubakar, read in part, “A non-refundable fee per application shall be paid for verification to foreign boards of nursing as specified on the portal. This shall cover the cost of courier services to the applicant’s institution(s) of training, place of work, and foreign board.

“Eligible applicants must have a minimum of two years post qualification experience from the date of issuance of the permanent practicing licence. Any application with a provisional licence shall be rejected outright.

“The council shall request a letter of good standing from the chief executive officer of the applicant’s place(s) of work and the last nursing training institution attended and responses on these shall be addressed directly to the Registrar/CEO, NMCN. Please note that the council shall not accept such letter(s) through the applicant.”

The council also stated that applicants must have active practising licences with a minimum of six months to the expiration date, and processing of verification applications would take a minimum of six months.

It added that the implementation of the guidelines takes effect from March 1, 2024.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the nurses and midwives were at the NMCN office singing and wielding placards around the premises .

Some of the inscriptions on the placards read, “Address unemployment among nurses, address quakery, address nurses welfare, and “#No to verification rules. Stop frustrating the Nigerian nurses, we are going through a lot already, Protect nurses, protect healthcare, NMCN, we say no to the verification rules, NMCN, don’t reduce nurses” among others.

Details later.

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, has said the problems facing Nigeria are spiritual.

The clergyman stated this on Sunday while visiting the Governor of Kaduna State, Uba Sani.

He stated that Nigeria needed urgent spiritual help to overcome the challenges confronting the nation.

According to Adeboye, the challenges facing the country were more than political, but problems that required spiritual solutions.

“We don’t want a situation where people begin to think of taking their own lives.

“Nigeria needs the help of God and it needs the help urgently,” he said.

He, however, expressed hope that the problems would not last forever and things would soon be better.

According to him, his tour of Nigeria, which brought him to Kaduna, was not just to organise crusades and pray for the people and Nigeria, but an opportunity to gather people together to let them know that, tomorrow is going to be alright if Nigerians can be a little more patient with God.

He said, “I am delighted to be here again. I was here about two or so years ago with the former governor; at that time, I came to pray for some of my members who were kidnapped and they were miraculously rescued. I came to encourage their families to let them know that all will be well.

“I have come again this time around because it has become more and more clearer to us that, the problem our nation is facing is more than political. Our problems will require a bit of spiritual solution.

“We as a country are blessed; we are blessed with people with great intelligence, we are blessed with all manners of resources and yet we have so many problems.

“And it is not as if people in authority are not trying their best; they are doing as much as humanly possible. And then we found out that when you have problems that are beyond human ability to solve, you call on the Almighty. The reason we call Him Almighty is because He has the power to solve all problems.

“So, we have been going around in our little way to support the efforts of all the various governments and parastatals to call on the Almighty to come to our aid, because we need help. We need help and we need it urgently.

“Because, as much as our leaders are doing their very best to help us solve our problems, the problems seem to have persisted, and in some areas, the problems seem to be getting worse. But we trust in Almighty God that, this problems will not last forever. We trust God that the problem will even be over sooner than later.

“That is why we have been going round holding crusade and the crusade are just a means of gathering people together to let them know tomorrow is going to be alright if we can be a little more patient with God. We believe very strongly that people need this kind of encouragement so that they don’t lose hope.”

Federal civil servants in about 90 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are yet to receive their January salaries, Daily Trust can report.

The affected MDAs include the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHoCSF), the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, the Ministry of Education, the National Population Commission, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Voice of Nigeria, among others.

According to Premium Times, the workers lamented and said their December 2023 salary delay experience ought not to have been repeated.

“As I am talking to you, myself and three of my colleagues have not been paid. The situation is not fair not with the current situation of the daily increment of prices of food items and other things in the country,” one of the workers said

Others alleged that the delay in the payment of their salaries was an indication that the government was insensitive to the sufferings of the masses.

The delay in the December salary payment had been attributed to technical issues relating to upload and harmonization of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

The delay in the payment of January salaries was blamed on the technical glitch on the Government Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMIS) platform by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).

GIFMIS is an IT-based system for budget management and accounting put in place by the federal government to improve public expenditure management processes and enhance greater accountability and transparency across ministries and agencies.

A January 31 memo titled, ‘Delay in the Payment of January 2024 Salary’, from the bursary department of the National Mathematics Centre, Abuja, to all its staff, signed by the acting bursar, Pius Ukwah, said, “We wish to inform you that January 2024 salaries will be delayed beyond normal.

“As of today, the OAGF is still working on finalising the 2024 appropriation on the GIFMIS platform and as a result, the personnel warrant for January is yet to be released”.

In separate interviews with Daily Trust and Premium Times, the workers lamented and said their December 2023 salary delay experience ought not to have been repeated.

“As I am talking to you, myself and three of my colleagues have not been paid. The situation is not fair not with the current situation of the daily increment of prices of food items and other things in the country,” one of the workers said.

Others alleged that the delay in the payment of their salaries was an indication that the government was insensitive to the sufferings of the masses.

A January 31 memo titled, ‘Delay in the Payment of January 2024 Salary’, from the bursary department of the National Mathematics Centre, Abuja, to all its staff, signed by the acting bursar, Pius Ukwah, said, “We wish to inform you that January 2024 salaries will be delayed beyond normal.

“As of today, the OAGF is still working on finalising the 2024 appropriation on the GIFMIS platform and as a result, the personnel warrant for January is yet to be released”.

The memo, which copied the Director/CE, the Registrar and pasted on all notice boards, stated further, “The same situation applies to all MDAs and not just the centre. We regret the inconvenience caused by this delay.”

In Ekiti State, some of the workers who spoke with Premium Times included staff of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti (FUOYE), Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti; Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN); National Orientation Agency (NOA), and Federal Ministry of Information, among others.

An official of FUOYE, Wole Balogun, said with the hardship being faced by the people, it was inconceivable that salaries could be delayed longer than necessary.

Balogun, who blamed the delay on an unnecessary bureaucratic bottleneck associated with the payment platforms, urged the federal government to expedite action on the payment, “because the situation is becoming unbearable.”

A staffer of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti, Folashade Daramola, also lamented the delay. She noted that many members of staff have loan obligations that they ought to have paid as at when due, which have remained pending.

Also, Owoeye Ilesanmi, who is a staffer of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), said that in addition to delay in the payment of January salary, the federal government has reneged on the payment of the wage award.

In Katsina State, many federal workers spoken to also said they had not been paid their salary and palliatives support from the government.

In separate interviews with Daily Trust and Premium Times, the workers lamented and said their December 2023 salary delay experience ought not to have been repeated.

“As I am talking to you, myself and three of my colleagues have not been paid. The situation is not fair not with the current situation of the daily increment of prices of food items and other things in the country,” one of the workers said.

Others alleged that the delay in the payment of their salaries was an indication that the government was insensitive to the sufferings of the masses.

In Ekiti State, some of the workers who spoke with Premium Times included staff of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti (FUOYE), Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti; Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN); National Orientation Agency (NOA), and Federal Ministry of Information, among others.

An official of FUOYE, Wole Balogun, said with the hardship being faced by the people, it was inconceivable that salaries could be delayed longer than necessary.

Balogun, who blamed the delay on an unnecessary bureaucratic bottleneck associated with the payment platforms, urged the federal government to expedite action on the payment, “because the situation is becoming unbearable.”

A staffer of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti, Folashade Daramola, also lamented the delay. She noted that many members of staff have loan obligations that they ought to have paid as at when due, which have remained pending.

Also, Owoeye Ilesanmi, who is a staffer of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), said that in addition to delay in the payment of January salary, the federal government has reneged on the payment of the wage award.

In Katsina State, many federal workers spoken to also said they had not been paid their salary and palliatives support from the government.

Some of the affected workers told Premium Time that the delay was affecting their work schedule, as they now find it difficult to go to work, especially those living in areas far from their offices.

“I work in a department that requires me to go to the office every day, but I’ve finished my savings and I’m finding it difficult to travel to Dutsin Ma to undertake my responsibility,” Faruk (surname withheld), who is an engineer with the department of Physical Planning and Works at the Federal University, Dutsin Ma, said.

Another non-academic worker of the Federal Polytechnic, Daura, who asked not to be named for fear of victimisation, said the delay in salary payment was affecting her activities, especially because she travelled daily from Katsina to Daura.

An official of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) in Edo State, Jude Abugu, described the delay in payment of salaries as commonplace in recent months.

A memo from the Accountant-General’s Office said work was ongoing towards finalising the 2024 budget on the GIFMIS platform.

When contacted last night, the Director of Press and Public Relations at the OAGF, Bawa Mokwa, told Daily Trust that about 90 offices across the MDAs were affected, including some universities and polytechnics.

He, however, said many of the workers had started receiving their salaries on Thursday; while others did on Friday and at the weekend.

“The issue was attributed to issue of uploading the 2024 budget and making it current because the salary was paid from the 2024 budget instead of the tradition where they overlap the budget,” he explained.

“All has been finalized on Friday. They are supposed to have started getting since yesterday (Saturday). If they don’t get, maybe it is from the banks, from tomorrow (Monday) morning, definitely they will get it”.

A top official in the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, who insisted on not being named, said the delay in salary payment was not a punishment for workers.

He confirmed receiving his salary, but said he was aware that some of his “superior officers and some junior workers are yet to receive theirs.”

Source: Daily trust

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has canceled a scheduled trip to Abidjan, the capital city of Côte d’Ivoire.

Obi had earlier planned to watch the finals of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) football tournament, between Nigeria’s Super Eagles and the Ivorian national team.

Obi, took to his X handle on Sunday to express sadness over the death of a close friend and Chirman of Access Holdings, Herbert Wigwe, his Wife, Son and a seasoned Nigerian banker, Abimbola Ogunbanjo, who died along with others in a helicopter crash in California, the United States.

A statement from his media office said Obi had purchased a return ticket and was to depart Nigeria by 1pm on Sunday when he received the news of the helicopter crash.

The statement reads: “Obi’s love for football dates back to his days as a student at Christ the King College, CKC, Onitsha during which he was also an ardent supporter of Rangers International of Enugu and the old Green Eagles.

“As a Governor he further demonstrated his love for the game when he renamed the Onitsha township stadium in Fagge, Onitsha after the first National team Captain Godwin Achebe.

“But he will not watch the epic match today following a helicopter crash in California, USA on Saturday that killed two Nigerian seasoned bankers, a sector Obi professionally belongs, the Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, his wife and son, and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the former Group Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group).

“As a result, Obi is in shock, and mourning and can no longer Tavel to Abidjan as already scheduled but his heart remains with the boys as he wishes them victory to bring home the trophy.

“Writing about the disease in his X handle, Obi said “I’m deeply saddened by the tragic news of the passing of my dear friend, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, CEO of Access Holdings, along with his wife and son, and another close friend, Abimbola Ogunbanjo, former group chairman of NGX Group. This loss is profoundly felt across the nation.

“I first met Herbert during his early days, on the brink of starting his marital journey. I vividly remember assisting him in preparing for his traditional wedding and being there for the ceremony with his wife, Chizoba, from Achina, Anambra State. Since then, I’ve maintained a connection to his endeavors in my own modest ways.

“Herbert, a determined and forward-thinking individual, led Access Bank to new heights following his brother Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede.

“His noteworthy contributions extended beyond the professional realm, with commendable philanthropic efforts in health and education, exemplified by the establishment of Wigwe University, showcasing his deep commitment to education as a driver of development.

“The loss of such an exceptional individual reminds us of life’s fleeting nature, encouraging us to live with a purpose that contributes to the betterment of humanity.

“My heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with Herbert, his beloved wife, his son, and all those who lost their lives in the tragic plane crash.

“May God grant them eternal rest and provide strength to Herbert’s family, Access Holdings, and all of us mourning this irreplaceable loss.”

United States authorities have travelled the cause of a helicopter crash which led to the death of of Group Chief Executive Officer, Access Holdings Plc, Herbert Wigwe.

Speaking during a media briefing on Saturday night (3am Nigerian time, Sunday), a National Transportation Safety Board member, Michael Graham, said preliminary reports suggest that a wintry weather condition was among the factors that contributed to the chopper crash that killed Wigwe.

Wigwe, his wife and son were onboard the helicopter when it crashed in California near the Nevada border on Friday, February 9, 2024.

Also on board was the former group chairperson of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, Abimbola Ogunbanjo.

Graham said officials were on the scene to gather perishable evidence adding that the team was “methodically and systematically reviewing all evidence” and considering all potential factors to determine the probable cause of the crash.

He noted that although the information provided was only preliminary, witness reports suggested that a wintry weather condition was among the factors that contributed to the accident.

“The crew consisted of a pilot in command and a safety pilot. The accident flight was operated by Orbic Air LLC as a Part 135 charter flight,” Graham said.

“Witness reports of the weather conditions at the time of the accident suggest rain and a wintry mix.

“The helicopter was not equipped with a cockpit voice recorder or a flight data recorder. This helicopter was not required to be equipped with those types of recording devices,” Graham added.

Asked about more information on the passengers, Graham stated there were no details but added that “any names will be released through the coroner’s office” without specifying a time frame.

He added that the NTSB would look into the chopper’s airworthiness; maintenance and structure of the helicopter, operations, meteorology, and air traffic control.

“Parties to the investigation include the FAA and Orbic Air LLC. As the investigation continues, other parties could be named,” he said.

“The BEA — the French aviation accident investigation agency — will serve as an accredited representative because France is a state of the manufacturer of the Airbus helicopter and the Turbomeca engine.”

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced a scheduled six-hour power outage on Saturday for parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

This outage is necessary to conduct annual preventive maintenance on the 132kV line 1 at both Gwagwalada and Apo Transmission Substations.

According to Ndidi Mbah, the spokesperson for the commission, the maintenance will occur from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Consequently, there will be a power interruption at the 132/33kV Kukwaba Transmission Substation during this period.

Areas affected by the outage include parts of Lokogoma, Kabusa Garden, TradeMore, Pyakasa, Aherita, Chika, Games Village, Stadium, Wuye, Utako, Life Camp, and Idu.

Mbah apologized to customers for any inconvenience caused by the outage and assured them that power supply would be restored after the maintenance work is completed.

It’s important to note that the TCN Gwagwalada-Kukwaba-Apo 132KV Transmission Line 1 in the Abuja axis was previously vandalized by suspected vandals in December, leading to disruptions in power supply.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has issued a fine of N10.5 billion to be paid by all eleven Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) for their non-compliance with the mandated capping of estimated billing for unmetered customers across the country.

This was contained in a statement signed by the management of the commission and dated February 8.

According to the statement, the Discos have defied the mandated credit cap for unmetered customers, opting instead to levy arbitrary charges on them.

NERC noted that this action is in violation of Section 34(1)(d) of the Electricity Act of 2023.

The statement reads in part,

“In response to this and the bid to safeguard customers from arbitrary billing by DisCos, the Commission, pursuant to Section 34 (1)(d) of the Electricity Act 2023 (EA 2023) has issued the Order on Non-compliance with the capping of estimated bills which stipulates the following:

Credit Adjustment to Customers: Discos are to issue credit adjustments to all overbilled for the period of January to September 2023 by the March 2024 billing cycle.

Public Notice: DisCos have been directed to publish the list of credit adjustment beneficiaries in two national dailies and on their website no later than 31st of March 2024.
Regulatory Sanctions: the commission shall deduct a sum of N10, 505, 286,072 from the annual allowed revenues of the eleven (11) DisCos during the next tariff review, to determine future non-compliance with the energy caps approved by the Commission.

“The commission reaffirms it’s commitment to regulatory compliance and consumer protection with the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.”