Nelson Ugwuagbo

President Bola Tinubu has given his approval for a 20% increase in pension benefits for Armed Forces personnel, as announced by the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, on Thursday.

This statement was made at the 2024 Accounts and Budget Seminar themed “Optimising Nigerian Navy Non-Public Fund Opportunities In A Dynamic Economic Environment: The Nigerian Navy Personnel In Focus.”

Represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans, Naval Headquarters, Rear Adm. Joseph Akpan, Ogalla addressed the two-day event, held from July 25 to July 26 at the Naval Dockyard, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, commended President Bola Tinubu for his commitment to improving the welfare of serving and retired Armed Forces personnel, citing the recent 20% pension increase, which took effect in January, as a key initiative to enhance morale and productivity.

“This seminar is timely as we explore strategies to generate funds independently from budgetary allocations to address welfare needs and enhance living standards for personnel,” Ogalla stated.

“Such initiatives are crucial for operational efficiency, as the human factor is key to the success of any organization, including the Nigerian Navy.”

He emphasized the importance of optimizing non-public funds to improve personnel welfare, which in turn helps retain skilled personnel and enhance operational effectiveness.

Ogalla highlighted several schemes the Nigerian Navy operates to support its personnel, including navy insurance, car refurbishing loans, and welfare loan schemes, managed by the Directorate of Non-Public Funds.

“These schemes are vital for protecting our maritime environment, essential for the nation’s economic prosperity, a responsibility entrusted to the Nigerian Navy,” Ogalla said. He stressed the need for transparency, accountability, and continuous evaluation in managing these schemes to meet personnel needs.

“I am pleased that this seminar includes lectures designed to elucidate these factors and develop innovations to utilize non-public funds for personnel welfare. Discussions on packages like mortgages could contribute to a more resilient and capable naval force,” he added.

Ogalla urged attendees to use the seminar to brainstorm on critical policy issues related to non-public fund opportunities to improve operational efficiency and personnel welfare.

He expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for his guidance and unwavering support to the service, particularly for enhancing welfare packages for the Armed Forces. “We remain committed to carrying out our statutory mandate for economic prosperity and poverty eradication in line with your renewed hope for Nigeria,” Ogalla concluded.

China’s President, Xi Jinping has extended an invitation to President Bola Tinubu to pay a state visit to China in September.

China’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chen Xiaodong delivered the invitation to Tinubu at the Aso Villa on Thursday.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made this known in a statement issued via his social media handle on Friday.

According to the statement, Tinubu has accepted the invitation and hoped that it would strengthen Nigeria-China bilateral relations and the proposed currency swap agreement.

The statement added, “Chen, who came with a large entourage, said President Xi would also welcome First Lady Remi Tinubu during the visit.”

Details Later….

Nigeria’s local refinery owners, including the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, claim they can end the country’s reliance on imported refined petroleum products within 18 months, provided the Federal Government collaborates with and supports their plans.

The refiners, who spoke under the aegis of the Crude Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria, said there are other refineries at different stages of completion to join the 650,000-capacity Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

In an interview, CORAN Publicity Secretary, Eche Idoko, told The PUNCH that the Dangote refinery and others in the country can satisfy the fuel needs of the nation.

Idoko’s comment is coming at a time when the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed, said the country would not stop fuel importation to break the Dangote monopoly and ensure energy security.

The CORAN official argued that there was no way the government would tackle rising inflation if it did not address the high cost of fuel, especially by working with the local refiners.

“You can’t tackle inflation if you don’t address the pump price of petroleum products. You cannot say you have a plan to step down inflation and you are not involving the key sectors like the refineries; you have to involve us, let’s work together.

And CORAN is saying that, in 18 months, if the Nigerian government will work with our programmes and plans, in 18 months, we can stop the importation of petroleum products completely. There are refineries in different stages of completion. In 18 months, we can produce what Nigeria will consume,” he stated.

Idoko said Nigeria has enough crude oil to feed Dangote and other refineries but noted that crude theft has been the major challenge to the upstream oil sector.

“We have the crude oil to feed these refineries and more fields are being licensed by the day. So, there will be crude to feed the refineries. Our production figure is dropping because of the crude that is being stolen daily.

“When we have local refineries, crude theft will be reduced. People steal crude through the pipelines and most of the refineries are located close to some of these fields. What this does is that the crude oil producers will no longer need to pump their crude through the pipelines to the terminal for export.

President Bola Tinubu is presently holding a meeting with APC Governors at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, under the auspices of the Progressive Governors Forum..

The meeting which began at minutes past 01 pm follows growing calls for nationwide protests against economic hardship.

Although the agenda of Thursday’s meeting is unknown, it may be connected to the planned protests scheduled for August 1 – 10.

The protests, organised under the hashtag ‘EndBadGovernance,’ have gained significant traction on social media even as the organisers remain largely anonymous, with no group officially claiming responsibility.

This meeting follows an earlier conclave of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum on Wednesday night and comes after a last-minute cancellation of the National Economic Council meeting earlier scheduled for noon Thursday.

Our correspondent also spotted the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, Ministers of Finance and Budget & Economic Planning, Wale Edun and Abubakar Bagudu, respectively.

Yakubu Mahmood, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stated that INEC is willing and able to conduct local government elections if the responsibility is assigned to it.

Speaking on Thursday, when he appeared before the joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission and Electoral Matters on preparations for the upcoming governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States, the Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood, said that INEC can handle the local government elections, but that would only be possible pending the amendment of the Constitution.

Yakubu, who noted that the Commission had been conducting area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, which has been devoid of the problems associated with the conduct of local government elections, said that there has never been a time when one political party has won all the seats at the elections, as is common in the states.

Renowned journalist and Ovation Magazine publisher, Dele Momodu, has expressed his concerns regarding the proposed nationwide youth-led protest, slated to take place from August 1 to August 15.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Momodu said there are risks associated with protests led by faceless individuals.

Drawing from his extensive experience with protests, which spans 46 years since his time at the University of Ife in 1978, Momodu stated: “I have 46 years experience in protests, since 1978 at the University of Ife.

“There’s nothing riskier for a nation than faceless people or a mob leading protests. It is the right of everyone to protest but not the right of anyone to cause mayhem… And government has the right to protect lives and properties.”

He reiterated that while protesting is a fundamental right, it must be conducted in a manner that does not lead to violence or destruction.

The protest is being organized in response to the escalating economic challenges facing Nigerians, particularly the rising cost of living.

In a show of solidarity, indigenes of Southern Borno converged on the Unity Fountain in Abuja, demonstrating their outrage and disappointment over the ousting of Senator Ali Ndume from his position as Chief Whip of the Nigerian Senate.

The protesters said that Ndume was ousted from office for merely drawing the attention of President Bola Tinubu to the sufferings of Nigerians.

Ndume’s supporters, under the aegis of the Southern Borno Development Association, defied the rains to hold the protest.

The leader of the association, Mohammed Ibrahim Biu, in an address during the peaceful demonstration, said, “We are here to register our displeasure over the action of the Senate concerning our Senator, Ali Ndume.

“He was removed from office as Senate Whip based on a complaint by the National Chairman of the APC for saying what others have been saying.

“Nothing he said was new. We believe President Tinubu, being a listening leader, has started implementing some of the advice given by Senator Ndume which is why the new minimum wage bill was recently passed and approved by him.

We wish to appeal to the Senate President and the Senate to reconsider this decision.

“He was occupying that position as the only position occupied by the Southern Borno Senatorial District in the National Assembly.”

According to Biu, the ousted Senate Chief Whip is a consistent and forthright leader who had always spoken out in favour of his constituents in particular and downtrodden Nigerians in general, adding that he should be supported and not vilified for speaking and standing by the truth always.

Meta Inc, the owners of Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram, announced on Wednesday that it has taken significant action against online scammers in Nigeria by removing 63,000 Facebook accounts.

These accounts were linked to individuals using Meta’s social media services to blackmail targets after soliciting intimate photos.

They also deleted thousands of additional accounts, pages, and groups that were distributing scripts on how to blackmail and sexually extort users. The Facebook accounts were involved in financial and sexual extortion scams, primarily targeting adult men in the United States.

Nigerian online fraudsters, often referred to as “Yahoo boys,” are notorious for various scams, including posing as individuals in financial distress or as Nigerian princes offering lucrative investment returns. In this instance, the scammers used fake accounts to mask their identities and engage in “sextortion,” threatening victims with the release of compromising photos unless they paid to prevent it.

Meta revealed that the removed accounts included a smaller, coordinated network of about 2,500 accounts linked to a group of roughly 20 individuals. These scammers mainly targeted adult men in the U.S., but there were also attempts against minors, which Meta reported to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in the U.S.

The investigation showed that most of the scammers’ attempts were unsuccessful. Meta utilised new technical signals to identify and combat sextortion activities. Additionally, some accounts were found to be providing tips and guides on conducting scams, as well as links to collections of photos for creating fake accounts.

Online scams have grown in Nigeria as economic hardships worsen in the country of more than 200 million people. Scammers operate from various locations, including university dormitories, shanty suburbs, and affluent neighborhoods.

Meta’s crackdown aims to protect users and maintain the integrity of its platforms, which include Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, from fraudulent activities and exploitation.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has taken into custody Alhaji Sulaiman Jimoh, also known as Temo, a high-profile drug lord who allegedly headed the notorious Mushin, Lagos drug cartel.

After a prolonged period of running and hiding, the 57-year-old suspect was finally arrested at his secret hideout, where he was found to be accompanied by armed associates who initially attempted to thwart the capture.

The arrest was announced in a statement by NDLEA’s Director of Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Wednesday.

According to the statement, Temo had managed to avoid capture for years, despite being linked to several large drug consignments worth billions of naira.

Babafemi observed that confrontations with the suspect’s gang frequently escalated into intense shootouts, making the successful capture of the suspect a notably difficult achievement.

“In the last two years, the NDLEA had intercepted large consignments of illicit drugs worth billions of naira owned by Temo but he has remained largely evasive while a few encounters with him and his armed gangs in his Mushin enclave had resulted in gunfight,” the statement read.

Some of Temo’s recent drug shipments intercepted by the NDLEA include 14,524.8 kilograms of Ghana Loud, a potent strain of cannabis sativa, smuggled into Lagos from Ghana.

These were seized in two trucks and a J5 bus at Ojuelegba, Lagos, in January 2024.

During these operations, Temo’s men often engaged NDLEA operatives in violent confrontations.

Despite his notoriety and constant movement to evade arrest, Temo was finally captured on Monday, July 22, 2024, at Igbarere Street, Mushin.

The statement added that the NDLEA’s surveillance teams had been tracking Temo, and a reinforcement of about 50 operatives was mobilised to the area when he attempted to escape in a Mercedes Benz SUV GLE 350.

His effort to mobilise hoodlums to distract the operatives failed, and he was eventually overpowered and arrested.