Headlines

The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, will declare open the Expanded National Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Business Clinics in Abeokuta, Ogun State on Tuesday.

Shettima, who will embark on a one-day visit on Tuesday, will be hosted at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta.

The Expanded National MSMEs Business Clinic is an initiative of the Federal Government executed in collaboration with state governments.

The clinic, the government said, would allow small business owners to meet regulatory bodies like the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Corporate Affairs Commission, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, and others as well as feature grant presentations to qualified MSMEs.

The Vice President, Sunday PUNCH learnt, would also be opening the Fashion Hub project at the Old OGTV auditorium, where over 150 pieces of state-of-the-art tailoring equipment have been provided for stakeholders in the fashion industry.

Shettima will also unveil the Adire shared facility at Asero, Abeokuta.

Meanwhile, Shettima was in Katsina State on Saturday during which he met former president, Muhammadu Buhari, the Emir of Daura, Umar Faruq, and the Emir of Katsina, Dr Abdulmumin Usman.

Although it was said to be a private visit, the Vice President was welcomed to the state by Governor Dikko Radda at the Musa Yaradua International Airport shortly after which he moved to Daura.

The Vice President arrived at the former President’s residence around 1 p.m. and stayed with him for about 30 minutes.

Those who accompanied the Vice President to the former President’s residence included the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu; the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Muhammad Abubakar, and former Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha.

The team later left for the Emir of Daura’s palace where the Vice President also briefly met the royal father.

Many subscribers to the MTN network in Nigeria are now stranded as the telecommunications giant disconnected their lines over failure to link their National Identity Numbers to their Subscriber Identification Module cards.

This is coming after several warnings by the Nigerian Communications Commission and the telecoms company that subscribers must link their lines to their NINs.

On Friday, MTN Nigeria reported that over 4.2 million lines were disconnected from its network after the February 28 deadline given by the NCC.

The firm disclosed this in its Earning Report for the year ended December 31, 2023.

It also noted that 19 million lines on its network were currently being verified, adding that 4.3 million had been verified as of February.

MTN noted, “We also had approximately 4.2 million lines disconnected for which the subscribers did not submit their NIN. Several of these lines were low-value subscribers, minimising the revenue impact.

“We are actively engaging the authorities to accelerate the NIN verification process. We have also increased our engagement with the affected customers, providing various channels for verification to minimise service disruption.”

The disconnected lines are part of an industry-wide directive requiring telecom operators to bar subscribers whose lines have not been linked to their NIN.

The NCC had in December 2023 issued a directive to MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9Mobile to fully bar phone lines not linked to subscribers’ NINs by February 28, 2024.

Those who had submitted their NINs but were not verified were also subject to barring.

For lines with submitted but unverified NINs, the directive mandated barring on or before March 29, 2024, for five or more linked lines.

For less than five linked lines, our correspondent learnt that barring would occur on or before April 15, 2024.

The NCC emphasised the need for biometric and biodata verification before unblocking the affected lines.

Industry sources noted that about 12 million lines across the networks might have been disconnected after the February 28 deadline.

President Bola Tinubu has celebrated the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, as he marks his 82nd birthday anniversary.

In a statement issued on Friday, March 1, by his special adviser on media and publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, President Tinubu thanked Pastor Adeboye for his constant prayers and wise counsel.

The statement read: “President Bola Tinubu celebrates the grace of stewardship and leadership upon the life of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, as he marks his birthday on March 2, 2024.

“The President congratulates Pastor Adeboye on hitting another milestone and joins the Body of Christ in thanksgiving for the General Overseer’s remarkable life of impact that transcends cultures and borders.

“President Tinubu thanks the Lord’s own servant for his regular prayers for the country and his wise counsel, noting his patriotic zeal and manifest determination to see Nigeria succeed.

“The President prays for the continual well-being of the General Overseer and his wife, in addition to many more years in the service of God Almighty.”

Prison inmates at the Correctional Centre in Jos, the Plateau State capital, on Friday protested increased hardship in the cramped facility.

The inmates also expressed displeasure over the plan by prison officials to reduce their food ration.

It was gathered that the protest erupted after the inmates got a wind of the plan to reduce their daily food ration which most of them considered inadequate.

During the protest, the inmates refused to take orders from the custodial officials and also shunned breakfast.

More to follow…

The Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions have threatened to disrupt industrial peace in universities should the government fail to release the withheld salaries of members.

The salaries were seized by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari during their strike in 2022.

The unions, in a joint letter signed on Friday by the President of SSANU, Muhammed Ibrahim and General Secretary of NASU, Peters Adeyemi, questioned the rationale with which the government released four months withheld salaries to members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities but failed to release the withheld salaries of non-academic staff.

The unions noted that they would no longer be able to assure the government of industrial peace in universities should the amounts owed by the government are not released.

Earlier, the unions wrote protest letters to the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, on February 13, 2024, over the exclusion of the Non-Teaching staff from the payment of outstanding four months salaries.

The letter read, “We are therefore shocked that two weeks after the letters had been sent and received by the appropriate quarters, the Federal Government has remained quiet and refused to take any step towards addressing this very sensitive issue and it seems as if the Federal Government is taking our maturity for granted.

“We like to confirm through this medium once again to the Federal Government that the pressure on us has intensified and we have done everything possible within our ambit to prevail on our members to maintain industrial peace and tranquillity.

“While we appreciate the Federal Government for paying our Academic counterpart, we also deem it necessary that our members are also paid. The various feelers we are getting from our members in the universities and inter-university ventres indicate that we can no longer guarantee and be able to sustain industrial peace in the university sector.

“We therefore use this opportunity once again to call on the Federal Government to do the needful within the next seven days as the Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU should not be held responsible should the wheel of administration and corporate governance be grounded to a halt in the University sector, as we have exercised enough patience.

“If nothing is done by the Federal Government to positively address this situation and respond to our previous letters to them, the members of the two Unions may be forced to meet soon to take all lawful and stringent decision on the matter.”

The British Council Nigeria has announced an increase in the prices of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) for the second time in 2024.

The hike comes amidst ongoing concerns about the exchange rates of the Nigerian Naira against other foreign currencies.

An update on the Council’s website on Thursday attributed the new rates to what it described as “prevailing market dynamics.”

“The change in fees is due to the evolving market dynamics and increased costs in the delivery of our exams.”

The Council added that the new prices for the IELTS range of tests are effective from 1st of March

With the new prices adjustment, applicants willing to write IELTS computer academic and general training modules will now pay N266,000, while those opting for paper academic and general training modules are required to pay N256,500; UK visas and immigration (UKVI) applicants will pay N285,500 and IELTS life skills now costs N249,000.

The Council had only in January effected a 29 per cent increment on the price of writing the test from the initial N107,500 being paid for the test prior to last month.

The January prices had the IELTS on computer academic and general training modules set at N139,000; IELTS on paper academic and general training modules pegged at N134,000; while the UKVI was increased to N149,000, Life skills, N130,000; and one skill retake (O.S.R) at N87,570.
IELTS scores are internationally recognized English language assessments for migrants aspiring to study overseas and skilled workers applying for jobs abroad.

The Nigerian government has been at the centre of criticism over the recent weakening of the Nigeria Naira against other foreign currencies.

The wife of Abia State Governor Mrs. Priscilla Otti, has distributed 600 bags of 50kg rice, 1,000 rubber of 2.5 litres of groundnut oil, and cash to support Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) in the state.

Addressing the beneficiaries at the event held in Umuahia, Mrs. Otti emphasized her commitment to supporting PWDs amid the economic challenges.

She reiterated her dedication to offering assistance and opportunities for vulnerable individuals, expressing confidence that the palliative support program will lead to positive outcomes in the future.

“I know that members of your community might not have fully benefitted from them. We are going to work assiduously to ensure that you are included in these interventions,” Mrs. Otti stated.

Mrs. Otti expressed her joy at witnessing the remarkable efforts of many members within the disabled community who have utilized their exceptional abilities to achieve self-reliance despite facing challenges.

She assured Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) of the government’s commitment to providing support and opportunities for self-sufficiency, with the goal of significantly improving their lives.

She urged philanthropists and individuals with goodwill to support the government’s efforts in enhancing the welfare of PWDs.

Speaking with journalists Mrs. Otti discussed her ongoing data collection initiative for PWDs to gather relevant information for providing tailored interventions to meet their specific needs.

She explained that this process would involve collecting details such as names and bank information to facilitate targeted support.

She said, “Also, beyond giving the palliative, these people need other forms of help that would meet their needs, especially for those that need assistance to improve their means of livelihood to be self-reliant”.

In a desperate attempt to salvage the naira, the Bola Tinubu-led federal government has slammed Binance, a fine of $10 billion in its continued crackdown on the cryptocurrency exchange platforms operating in the country.

The special adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made this know in an interview with the BBC on Friday morning.

According to the presidential aide, Binance profited substantially from its “illegal transactions” in Nigeria while the nation suffered inexplainable losses.

Details shortly…