Governor Hyacinth Alia has approved the removal of Dr John Chem as chairman of the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC), following a recommendation by the state House of Assembly.
The lawmakers had accused Chem of poor judgment, saying his decisions failed to appeal to the majority of stakeholders and fell short of public interest.
In a statement issued on Friday by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, Alia accepted the assembly’s resolution and directed Chem to hand over to the administrative secretary of the commission with immediate effect.
Read Also: Nigeria’s defence chief warns military will step in if violent protests persist
The statement reads, “The Assembly accused the BSIEC chairman of lacking good judgement as to which decision will appeal to the greater majority of all stakeholders, and also that his actions so far in office fall short of the public interest.
“Governor Alia has accepted the resolutions and directed the Chairman of the commission to immediately hand over to the administrative secretary of the commission.”
The move comes amid concerns over the commission’s handling of electoral matters in the state. The governor’s decision is seen as a bid to restore public trust and ensure the integrity of the electoral process.
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Benue Gov, Alia, sacks electoral commission chairman over poor judgement
N2.5bn disbursed as student loan beneficiaries hit 22,120
Data released by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund on Friday revealed that an additional 2,120 students have benefited from the student loan scheme bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 22,120.
A statement by NELFUND’s spokesman, Nasir Ayitogo, in Abuja said the loans disbursed across many institutions totalled N2.5bn.
“In the light of the foregoing, NELFUND has so far further approved student loans amounting now to over N2, 530,235,750, being disbursed across many institutions, benefiting 22,120 students,” Ayitogo said.
Ayitogo noted that the move by the Fund aims to ensure that students who need the funds can continue their education by lowering the burden of financial constraints.
“So far, six of the twelve institutions have received full payment of their institutional fees, covering over 20,000 students. The total amount disbursed to these institutions stands at approximately N2, 026,163,340. A further six will receive their payments in the coming week.
“These disbursements will ensure that Nigerian students can proceed with their academic activities unimpeded, fostering peace of mind much needed for these students and their families.
“In addition to the institutional fees, NELFUND has also commenced the payment of upkeep to students.
“This initiative will provide essential financial support for living expenses. A total of N442,400,000 has been allocated for the month of July. The upkeep payments will benefit all 22,120 students across the twelve institutions, with more to come in the coming weeks and months, reflecting the federal government’s commitment to the overall well-being and academic success of Nigerian students in government institutions.”
The Fund in the statement further reiterated to the general public that disbursements are made based on each institution’s academic calendar (beginning of session).
NELFUND for the first time on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, reeled out data supporting disbursements of student loans, a move which its Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr said was to ensure accountability.
Kano worst hit by #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest — Emir Sanusi
The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has expressed dismay over the outcome of the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests, stating that they have undone years of progress in the state.
The Emir said he was disturbed by the destruction of the Nigerian Communications Commission digital centre, a multi-billion naira facility designed to equip Kano’s youth with digital skills and certify them in internet and computer proficiency.
Addressing newsmen at the Palace on Friday, the Emir said, “Today is a sad day for the people of Kano due to what has happened in the state. We sympathise with the entire indigent population of Kano.
“What has happened is unacceptable, and the people of Kano must ensure that it does not recur. The lives lost and properties destroyed were all for the benefit of the people of Kano. All the destruction inflicted was against the entire people of Kano.”
He added, “Among all the states involved, Kano suffered the worst from these nefarious actions. People should not allow themselves to be used. I urge citizens to report anyone they suspect of trying to cause havoc in their areas.
“People should wake up and do the right thing by rebuilding the state and refusing to be used by those with anti-Kano agendas.”
He appealed to people to return to God and cautioned them against taking the law into their own hands.
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Two students arraigned for hacking MTN computers
The Police Special Fraud Unit has arraigned students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, and Resign Regal Academy, Timothy Oluwabukola and Anthony Odemerho, for allegedly hacking MTN Nigeria Communication Plc’s computers and stealing airtime and data valued at N1.9bn.
Oluwabukola and Odemerho who were arraigned before the Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday are facing four counts bordering on conspiracy, unauthorised access into the company’s web-based platform known as Application Programming Interface and unlawful conversion, preferred against them by the police.
The police prosecution counsel, Justine Enang, told the court that the defendants committed the alleged offences with others now at large.
Enang told the court that Oluwabukola and Odemerho who are said to be students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic Abeokuta, Ogun State, and Resign Regal Academy in Benin City, Edo State, respectively, committed the offences sometime between January and April 2024, in Lagos and Edo states.
He said the defendants conspired and accessed the telco’s Application Programming Interface and obtained data from the said application, which they used to defraud MTN to the tune of N1.9bn.
According to the prosecutor the offences committed contravened Sections 27(1)(b); 6(2) and 28(1)(b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015 as amended in 2024, but punishable under Section 8(2) of the same Act.
He added that the offences also contravened Section 18(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prevention And Prohibition) Act, 2022, punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.
However, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
Following their not-guilty plea, the prosecutor asked the court for a trial date and urged the court to remand them in the custody of a correctional centre till the determination of the charge.
But the defence lawyers informed the court that they had filed their clients’ bail applications and the same had been served on the prosecutor.
The prosecutor confirmed being served with the applications but told the court that he was served while the proceedings were on.
He asked the court for a short date to enable him to study the applications and respond to them accordingly.
Consequently, Justice Akintayo Aluko adjourned the case till August 5, 2024, for hearing of the defendants’ bail applications.
Cure for corruption begins from inside — Soyinka
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Friday, described corruption as a deadly cankerworm that leaves great nations in ruins and puts the people at a great disadvantage.
Soyinka said that without attitudinal change and the readiness of everyone to begin to do the right thing, winning the war against the mounting corruption challenge in the country remains an impossible task.
The world-renowned scholar disclosed this at the 26th annual Wole Soyinka Lectures organised by the National Association of Seadogs, otherwise known as Pyrates Confraternity, to mark the 90th birthday of Soyinka, who, along with six other undergraduates of the University of Ibadan, founded the group in 1952.
The lecture held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta, had as its theme “The Baby or the Bathwater: Navigating The Dark Tunnels of Systemic Corruption to Nationhood.”
Soyinka, while commenting on the lecture delivered by former governor of Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Fashola, said that the challenge of corruption is such that runs from the top to the bottom in Nigeria.
The guru added that only the decision of every citizen to change for the better can help halt its deadly march in the country
He said, “The particular aspect of this lecture that struck me is corruption. Corruption is not just when you change money, it is a cankerworm that eats deep into the fabric of society from the top to the bottom and corrupts our very nature, our very existence.
“And one aspect of the lecture emphasised that a cure for corruption begins from the inside. Yes, we can talk about institutions and government, we can talk about the exercise of power unfairly, inordinately to the disadvantage of the rest of the community, and all that as part of corruption, but ultimately, the solution, short-term, immediate, and long-term, must begin from the inside, and this was one of the motives for establishing Pyrates Confraternity 62 years ago.”
Soyinka also used the medium to disabuse the minds of the people by touching on misconceptions about Pyrates Confraternity, saying that the registered association is not a bloodthirsty secret cult but an association founded to push for justice and advance the betterment of the country.
He lauded the members of the association for organising the event and urged them to continue to push for the ideal of social justice and good governance, which is the core mandate of the association.
Soyinka, along with the former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyanwu, later unveiled a book, “Ship Ahoy,” written to document the 60-year history of the confraternity.
In his lecture earlier, Mr Babatunde Fashola, the former two-term Minister of Works and Housing, described Soyinka as not only a gift to the country, and the continent but to the entire civilisation.
Corruption is condemnable – Fashola
Speaking on the theme of the lecture, Fashola maintained that while corruption in terms of pecuniary gains no doubt stands condemned, the worst form of corruption is that which has displaced our highly cherished moral values and has therefore corrupted the people’s ways of life.
The former governor said that, for instance, the number of lives lost on Nigerian roads every month as a result of wrong attitudes and values is far more than what is lost to the insecurity that everyone complains about in the country.
He said, “When I was in office as a Minister, the Federal Road Safety Corps usually made copies of the monthly reports on road crashes available to me, the report is actually for the office of the Secretary General of the Federation, but I used to get a copy.
“In October 2022, a total of 1111 road crashes were reported across the country, out of which 449 died, representing six per cent of the 6458 people involved in the accident, and 2780 were injured. The analysis showed a three per cent decrease when compared with the previous month but a ten per cent increase when compared with the figure for October 2021.
“This goes to show that an average of 400 people are lost monthly to road crashes in the country, but I doubt if the insecurity, which is always an issue during campaigns, is responsible for huge losses of lives like this every month in the country.”
He said further analysis showed that speed violations accounted for 51.7 per cent of the accidents, fatigue was responsible for 15%, sign rule violations were 5.8 per cent, dangerous driving was 5.4 per cent and route violations were responsible for 4.5 per cent of the accidents.
Fashola said that out of 1613 vehicles involved in the accident, cars constituted 469, representing 29.5 per cent and that 66 per cent of these cars were those being used for commercial purposes.
The former governor argued that the carnage has remained unabated on our roads not because of bad roads but because, out of the corruption of values, people have neglected adhering to highway codes.
He said, “Many people don’t even know the highway codes, they don’t drive with a certificated driver’s licence; many don’t even know that the road is a shared asset, many don’t give regard to the speed limit, these are all corruptions that are making the slaughter continue on our roads.”
Fashola said as a way out, “People must embrace attitudinal change, they must embrace recertification of their driver’s licence and training, and people must respect the traffic rules to stop this disturbing waste of life and property.”
The former Minister also demanded that road safety be introduced into the primary and secondary school curricula, and it is even one of the subjects that must be passed by students seeking admission to instil the culture of road safety in upcoming generations.
In his welcome address, the Chairman of the National Association of Seadogs, Capn. Abiola Owoaje, lauded Soyinka for his consistency and for being the voice of reason against all forms of injustice against humanity.
While wishing the Nobel Laureate a more fruitful year, Owoaje said that the annual lecture has become a credible platform for advocates of sound leadership, good governance, and social justice.
The programme also featured the presentation of the Wole Soyinka Leadership Awards to the three deserving winners.
EndBadGovernance: Deji Adeyanju accuses Nigerian govt of recruiting thugs to loot, cause destruction
Activist lawyer Deji Adeyanju has accused the Nigerian government of recruiting thugs to infiltrate the #EndBadGovernance protest.
Posting on X, the activist lawyer said: “The thugs the government is recruiting will end up looting shops and causing maximum destruction but they will not be able to stop the protest. A word is enough for the wise.
“We have fresh intel of massive mobilization of thugs by the government to attack protesters at the national stadium.
“They are currently taking off and heading to the stadium now. The @PoliceNG must protect protesters.”
EndBadGovernance: Deji Adeyanju accuses Nigerian govt of recruiting thugs to loot, cause destruction
APC, PDP trade words over alleged minister’s house attack
The Zamfara state chapter of the All Progressives Congress and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party have engaged in a squabble over the alleged attempt by some hoodlums to burn the residence of Minister of Defence (state), Bello Mattawalle during the ongoing #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest.
Addressing a press conference on Friday, the APC Publicity Secretary Alhaji Yusuf Idris accused the state’s PDP chapter of trying to use its supporters to attack the Minister of Defence and other stakeholders of the APC in the ongoing nationwide protest.
Idris explained that the PDP officials had wanted to hijack the ongoing peaceful protest to destroy the property of prominent APC leaders in the state if not for the quick intervention of the security personnel.
Idris said, “The Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress is disturbed by the dimension the nationwide supposed peaceful protest took in the state.
“This is because we observed that many PDP thugs were strategically deployed to attack, maim, and destroy personalities and properties of the APC.
“Most disturbing was how on the first day of the protest (Thursday), the already known PDP thugs aimed at the former governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle’s personal residence for destruction of not for the quick intervention of security personnel who blocked them.
“This indicated that if allowed, the thugs who were most likely implementing the directives of their leaders would have razed down the minister’s house and property.”
Idris stated that the PDP thugs also attacked the residence of the APC Senator representing Zamfara North senatorial zone, Alhaji Sahabi Ya,u, and destroyed many items including a vehicle.
He said, “The PDP also attacked the residence of Senator Sahabi Yau in his hometown of Kaura Namoda, where they destroyed many valuables and damaged his Toyota Hilux in the name of peaceful protest.
“We have earlier forecast the possible hijacking of the protest by the hoodlums and other miscreants in the state,” concluded Idris.
In a sharp reaction, the state’s acting PDP chairman, Muktar Lugga described the allegation by the APC as baseless.
Luggage stressed that “As a peace-loving and responsible government, the administration of Governor Dauda Lawal would never plan to attack anybody or cause confusion in the state.”
He said, “The allegation is basely and unfounded.”
“Let me remind the APC that, this is not the time for politicking.”
“Instead of shifting unnecessary blame, let us collectively come together to support President Baloa Tinubu to address the issues at the right time”.
He maintained that the APC was crying foul where there was none because they failed woefully in Zamfara state.
He advised them to wait until 2027, lamenting that, “It is not time for politicking at the moment.”
He also advised the PDP members to stop telling the world that, the house of the Defence Minister was about to be attacked if not for the quick intervention of the security personnel.
“This is shameful as you are exposing the Minister’s unpopularity in his home state,” he said.
Stop profiling Igbo, N’Assembly S’East caucus cries out
The South East Caucus of the National Assembly on Friday expressed deep concerns over the ethnic profiling of Igbos amidst the ongoing nationwide protests.
In a statement jointly signed by the leader of the Senate and House of Reps Caucus, Eyinaya Abaribe and Igariwey Enwo, noted that despite adhering to the guidance of their leaders to abstain from participating in the protests, the Igbos have been unjustly targeted.
The #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest, which aims to raise concerns about hardship exacerbated began Thursday in various parts of the country.
The protest turned violent in some northern states including Kano, Jigawa and Niger, forcing the government to impose curfews. At least five people have been killed in these states and several properties damaged.
The South East caucus noted that the Igbos, following the advice of governors, Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, parliamentarians, and private sector leaders, decided not to engage in the protests.
This decision has contributed to the relative calm observed in the five South Eastern states.
However, the caucus expressed disappointment over the continued scapegoating of Igbos, evidenced by online statements such as the “Igbo Must Go” hashtag and inflammatory posts by certain social media handles like ‘Lagospedia’ on X (formerly Twitter). The caucus condemned these actions as dangerous and unwarranted ethnic profiling.
The statement read, “The attention of the South East Caucus of the National Assembly has been drawn to the unfortunate and dangerous ethnic profiling of Igbos in the ongoing mass protests across the country.
“For the records, the Igbo nation, in obedience to the advice of their leaders- Governors, Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, parliamentarians and others in the private sector- had taken a reasoned and strategic decision not to participate in the ongoing nationwide protests. This is evident in the relative calm experienced in the five South Eastern states.
“We are, therefore, surprised and disappointed, that Igbos are still made scapegoats, and targeted as instigators of protests, as shown in several statements (such as the Igbo Must Go hashtag and call by a certain ‘Lagospedia’ X(Twitter) handle) and videos seen online.”
The South East caucus noted that the dangerous ethnic profiling is unwarranted, and must stop, stressing that it was such profiling that led to the millions of deaths in Nigeria from the 1950’s to the unfortunate civil war in 1967 to 1970.
“Elsewhere in Africa, it led to the genocide in Rwanda and the xenophobia in South Africa. Such should not be our fate again in Nigeria.
“We demand therefore that the security agencies bring to book the purveyors of these hate speeches in line with the cybercrimes act and criminal laws of the country.
“We continue to appeal to Igbos across the country to stay away from the protests, and remain law-abiding,” the statement said.
Police releases #EndBadGovernance protesters in Lagos
The Lagos State Police Command has released all the #EndBadGovernance protesters arrested in the state on Thursday.
The command’s spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed this to journalists on Friday in Lagos.
He said no protester was in police custody in the state.
Hundeyin said: “All protesters arrested on Thursday were released same Thursday.
READ ALSO: Protesters hit streets of Lagos over rising cost of living
“The Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Mr. Adegoke Fayoade, called the State CID to order for their release.”
One of those leading the protests, Mr. Inibehe Effiong, had earlier told the gathering at Gani Fawehinmi Park that at least 12 protesters were arrested on Thursday.
He, however, later corroborated the spokesman’s claim that all those arrested had been released.
He commended the police and other security agents for the professional handling of the protest in the state.
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#EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests wane as soldiers, police clear barricades in Edo
The intensity of the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest waned in most parts of Edo State as police and soldiers removed barricades set up by youths in some remote areas.
Our correspondent, who moved around major places in the state, reported this on Friday.
At Ring Road, the centre of the protest, the organisers were seen fixing the podium, which collapsed on the opening day while the early morning rain poured down in torrents.
On Sapele Road, soldiers came to remove barricades placed by youths at different points of the road.
Also, the police were at the Ramat-Auchi bypass road to remove barricades, while they also dispersed those who resisted the move with canisters.
The Ekhwuan road axis was also barricaded as youths played freely on the ever-busy road. However, the Government Reservation Area witnessed heavy vehicular movement as motorists used the area to connect remote parts of Sapele Road.
Commuters who travelled to Benin from other states were prevented from entering the City at Auchi bypass. Others, who could not wait for buses and taxis to start plying the route, engaged the services of commercial motorcyclists to continue their journey.
A motorcyclist told According Online that the Ramat-Auchi Road was blocked and that he could only take passengers from the bypass to the pipeline bus stop.
“It is difficult to get to Ramat Park because the vehicles are not working due to the barricades on the road. We, the motorcyclists, can only get as far as pipelines. It is dangerous to attempt to go further than that. Due to the risk, our fares also increased.
However, she, who identified herself as Mercy, said she was held up at the Auchi bypass for several hours after arriving in Benin from Abuja early Thursday morning.
“It was a bad experience. We were held up at the Auchi bypass, and to compound the problem, the vehicle bringing us to Benin broke down close to the bypass. A cab that I got on Friday morning said he would collect N3000, and I had to wait for a bus that collected N500 from each passenger from the bypass to Ramat, from where I got another bus to Ring Road.”
Drivers stationed their buses opposite the Central Bank, taking passengers from one part of the city to another, with the protesters’ activities a stone’s throw away.
One of the leaders of the protest, Kola Edokpayi, said that the protest was going on successfully, noting that people from Ogida, Upper Sakponba, and other parts of the state, joined them at the centre.
He added, “The protest is going on successfully, and other people have joined in from other parts of the city to ensure it remains peaceful.”