Hope of rapid development for communities which accommodate power generating companies, has been rekindled as President Bola Tinubu signed the Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024, into law.
The bill, which was passed by the House of Representatives on July 27, 2023, and the Senate on November 14, 2023, was sponsored by Babajimi Benson, who represents Ikorodu Federal Constituency of Lagos State.
Ajuri Ngalele, presidential spokesman, explained that the Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024, seeks to address the development and environmental concerns of host communities.
It sets aside five percent of the actual annual operating expenditures of power generating companies (GENCOs) from the preceding year for the development of their respective host communities.
The Bill further provides that the funds set aside for the development of host communities will be received, managed, and administered for infrastructure development in the host communities by a reputable Trustee/Manager to be jointly appointed by the respective GENCO and their host community.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 Northern States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has advised President Bola Tinubu to settle down to enable him address mirage of problems confronting Nigerians.
The Association noted that the ongoing economic hardship as well as increasing security challenges across the country have made life unbearable for ordinary Nigerians.
In a statement on Friday by the Secretary General of Northern CAN, Elder Sunday Oibe advised President Bola Tinubu to settle down to tackle the challenges so that the country could bounce back.
It identified the continued decline in the value of the naira and the seeming inability of the government to address the situation which has completely weakened the purchasing power of ordinary Nigerians.
The Northern CAN also frowned at increasing cases of insecurity in the country, saying, “The situation is further compounded by escalating insecurity occasioned by rampant killings and kidnapping for ransom.
“Government must take urgent steps to address the depressing economic and escalating security situation in the country.
However, the CAN called on Nigerians to support the present administration to overcome the eight years of “calamity and retrogression of the failed administration of former President Mohammadu Buhari”.
Northern CAN noted with concern, the inauguration of a security outfit by a tribal group, Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore in Nasarawa state.
“We find the establishment of the security outfit by a group which some of its members are being accused of banditry and kidnapping across the country very disturbing.
“Northern CAN wishes to state in strong terms that allowing any ethno-cultural group to set up a security outfit, is an invitation to anarchy.
“In the interest of peace and security, government should not handle this issue with kid gloves. No ethnic group should be allowed to form an exclusive security outfit”.
“We find the establishment of the security outfit by a group which some of its members are being accused of banditry and kidnapping across the country very disturbing.
“Northern CAN wishes to state in strong terms that allowing any ethno-cultural group to set up a security outfit, is an invitation to anarchy.
“In the interest of peace and security, government should not handle this issue with kid gloves. No ethnic group should be allowed to form an exclusive security outfit”.
On the issue of relocating FAAN and some Departments of CBN from Abuja to Lagos, the statement said, “Northern CAN also wish to comment on the plan relocation of the headquarters of the Federal Airport Authority (FAAN) and some departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from Abuja to Lagos.
“Since the announcement of the planned relocation, there has been so much noise from some individuals and groups who are opposed to the policy, especially, from the northern part of the country.
“Several individuals and groups in the north, particularly, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Northern Senators as well as several northern groups have been agitating against relocation.
“It is unfortunate that we introduce ethnic and regional sentiments in a harmless policy that is meant to streamline operations and make the agencies more effective and reduce cost. We should learn to look at government policies from an objective point of view rather than from regional and tribal perspectives.
“We call on Nigerians to support the present administration to overcome the eight years of calamity and retrogression of the failed administration of former President Mohammadu Buhari.”
Thousands of Kano residents on Thursday, February 8, 2024, took to the streets to register their displeasure with the prevalent harsh economic situation in the country.
This is even as the acclaimed richest man on African Continent on Friday, February 9, stormed the ancient city to be part of ways to assuage frayed nerves.
The protesters, in their thousands, marched through popular streets and areas such as Bachirawa, katsina road ,Rijiyar lemu, Kurna, Fegge, and decried the excruciating economic situation with its attendant high costs of essential commodities .
They called on the authorities both at the State and Federal levels to take urgent measures to salvage the trend before things get out of hand.
Malam Usman Bello, spokesperson for the protesters, lamented that the high cost of living, occasioned by some difficult Government policies have visited untold hardship and suffering on the masses of kano.
Malam Bello said being that it was the people that voted in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, they are equally calling on him to revisit some of his policies which have been found out to be anti people,adding that they can not continue to pretend that all is well, hence their resolve to embark on a peaceful protest march .
Alhaji Dangote, himself scion of kano, arrived the commercial hub of the North early afternoon on Friday and immediately proceeded on a parley with Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and other top Government functionaries, as well as stakeholders of the state .
Although as at the time of reporting. details of their meeting were not known, but it is widely believed that the harsh economic situation and its possible back-lash on the ever volatile State, as well as means of calming frayed nerves will top the agenda.
To ensure an effective and pragmatic implementation of the Shari’a regime, the Jigawa State Government has sought the assistance of its sister-State Kano.
Chairman of the Jigawa State Hisbah Review Committee and Secretary to the State Government,SSG Malam Bala Ibrahim revealed this when he led members of the Committee on a working visit to the Commandant – General of Kano Hisbah Command, Sheik Malam Daurawa.
The Jigawa SSG noted that Governor Umar Namadi has mandated his Committee to overhaul the Jigawa State Hisbah Legal frame work, with a view to writing necessary changes, hence their decision to seek the assistance of Kano.
Malam Ibrahim whose committee visited Kano on Thursday, February 8, 2024, said they are seeking assistance in the area of effective Hisbah operations.,
The Source reports that the Kano State Government has been involved in the implementation of Shariah laws and operation of Hisbah, its enforcement arm since 2003.
The Jigawa Head of Hisbah Review Committee, said they are aspiring to borrow a leaf from Kano, particularly in the area of improved operations.
“We have consulted with our Emirs, Local Councils authorities, Security Agencies and other relevant stakeholders in Jigawa State. We are now here in Kano to also see how you ( Kano Hisbah command) are operating.” Malam Ibrahim noted.
The Jigawa SSG, lamented the increasing rate of moral degeneration in today’s society ,especially among the youths.
He decried rampant and indiscriminate cases of drug abuse, rape and other criminal activities in the society, adding that one of the primary duties of Hisbah is to combat these criminal activities in collaboration with security agencies.
The Commandant of Kano Hisbah Board, Sheikh Daurawa, while appreciating his Jigawa State counterparts for the visit, noted that Hisbah is a voluntary organization for Muslim men and women out to inculcate moral values and offer humanitarian services.
He said that the establishment of Kano Hisbah Board was part of the general efforts to implement Shariah law in 2003 ,as well as a response to rise in insecurity, and increase in cases of social anomie among youths in the state .
He listed some of the functions of Kano His bah, to include assisting security agencies in the area of crime prevention and detection, humanitarian activities, advising against hoarding and speculations, assisting in traffic control, and emergency relief operations and any other ways as may be determined by circumstances.
Ondo State Chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, has given the State Government seven days ultimatum to implement the approved hazard allowance and address other critical challenges facing health sector.
This is the highlight of Communique issued at the end of an Ordinary General Meeting of the Association, lin Akure.
In the communique signed by the State Chairman, Dr Omosehin Adeyemi-Osowe and the State Secretary, Dr Adeayo Omotehinse, Ondo NMA noted with concern the continuous shortage of manpower and modern medical equipment at various State hospitals.
Dr Adeyemi-Osowe who read the Communique, listed other issues as failure to pay members the hazard allowance, low employment entry point and poor salary structure compare to other neighbouring states.
The NMA Chairman who lamented that doctors in the state are still earning ridiculous five thousand naira as hazard allowance, said there are only 22 resident doctors at UNIMED teaching hospital compared to the previous figure of 150 resident doctors before.
He said the decaying condition of the state health sector, has forced many doctors out of the state service while new ones are not interested in working with the Ondo State government.
“The congress also resolved to give an ultimatum of seven days to the Government of Ondo State to implement the approved hazard allowance. This being the lowest hanging fruits.
“That failure to implement this after the expiration of the seven days, the relative industrial harmony in the state health sector shall no longer be guaranteed. The Congress shall reconvene after the expiration of the stated period to chart a way forward.
“The OGM enjoins the state government to resolve the issues of non-availability of equipment at some critical units in our teaching hospital UNIMEDTHC (The CT scan is non-functional for over 12months, no ventilators at the ICU) etc.
“The Congress would like to plead with opinion leaders, religious leaders, traditional rulers, stakeholders and all Ondo state residents interested in a healthy Ondo state to prevail on our government to declare state of emergency in Ondo state health sector with the aim of proffering effective measures and solutions to the sector’s numerous challenges to achieving a healthy, prosperous and peaceful Ondo state.”
The Lagos State Police Command has announced the rescue of a toddler abducted and sold by a house girl employed to take care of her.
The baby, allegedly sold by the maid for N800,000, has however, been found in a market in the Shomolu area of Lagos State and reunited with her distraught parents.
An X user, #Dannysleek, in a now-deleted tweet, had on Saturday raised an alarm that a maid hired through an agency absconded with the baby.
The maid identified as Ruth Okezie from Anambra State, reportedly absconded with the baby from the home in Shomolu around 2 am on Saturday.
After the report went viral on social media, the maid was said to have been found in Ikorodu, without the baby, where she confessed to selling the baby for N800,000.
In a post on his X handle on Monday morning, the Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed that the baby was rescued by the police after she was abandoned in Alade Market in the Shomolu area of the state.
He wrote, “Due to intense manhunt and pressure from the police, the buyer in the early hours of today abandoned the baby in Alade Market, Shomolu. The baby was promptly rescued by the police.
I don’t know if you still remember this man. The man who, even though he had occupied a high office in our Country, still, publicly, exhibits his crude character; the man who has just chewed more than he can swallow by completely rubbishing, without any proof of evidence, Nigeria’s Court of Appeal, its Leadership, its Judges, and deliberately painted, especially, the character of one of Nigeria’s most accomplished female Judges with tar.
He goes by the name, Elisha Abbo and, sadly, prefixes that name with “Senator.” Not a few people, since he was removed from office, and remembering a couple of his actions now refer to him as “Extinguished Senator.”
If you don’t remember him, you are not to be blamed. You shouldn’t worry. He does not deserve the honour of being remembered, especially, by those who care about character, depth, self- respect, and self-control. People like Abbo, whose recklessness when they talk stink to high heavens, and who are usually in the news for one embarrassing behavior or the other are, for sanity’s sake, better forgotten than remembered.
However, for the purpose of this write-up, bear with me for a brief re-introduction of the man when he chooses, which has worrisomely become frequent, is a bull in a china shop.
Elisha Abbo was the Senator who represented Adamawa North until he was sacked by the Court of Appeal after he was sworn-in for a second term in office.
Not a few people were shocked that Abbo was allowed to become a Senator in 2019. Sure, he won the election then, but he didn’t deserve to be sworn-in. He stripped himself of that privilege when he fell, with his eyes open, from the olympian height to the gutter. It was when he, as a Senator-elect, did the unbelievable. The unprecedented. And should have quietly stood down as a Senator-elect.
Here’s what he did.
While waiting to be sworn-in, Abbo gave notice of his character. He shamed the hallowed Chambers before he even stepped into it. While his colleagues were preparing for the big day, the day they would be sworn-in as Distinguished Senators, Abbo went to an adult shop in Abuja to buy a s*x toy where he exhibited the trait of a bull in a china shop.
We never really got to know what the problem was. Or what transpired between the then Senator-elect and the sales girl. Perhaps, they were haggling over the price. Or the size. But before one could say jack, Senator-elect Abbo had descended on the poor girl. He went physical. The scandal was too much. Its smell rose to high heavens.
That behavior earned him days at a conventional Court, as well as the public Court. In the public Court, outraged Nigerians trounced and trashed him. But finally to everybody’s dismay, Abbo was sworn-in as a Senator even after some, rightly, scandalized women protested.
Initially, Abbo had no regrets over the incident. When the Senate set up a Panel, headed by Senator Oluremi Tinubu to investigate the adult-shop incident, Abbo insulted and talked down on her. Now, the woman she treated with so much disrespect, then, is today, Nigeria’s First Lady.
Later, Abbo apologized, allegedly, on the insistence of his political mentor, Atiku Abubakar, the man whose party, the PDP, Abbo later ditched for the APC.
I hate to think how decent people in other climes looked at Nigeria after Abbo was sworn-in as a Senator. For, such could have happened only in Nigeria.
In more civilized climes, in climes which care about the character of their leaders, especially, one going to the Senate to make laws, nobody would swear Abbo in as a Senator. He should have stood down on his own, and apologized for his disgraceful behavior.
In the aftermath, a number of people blamed the Courts for sparing Abbo. Many women felt let down.
Many were ashamed on Abbo’s behalf, and on behalf of Nigeria, that a man who went physical with a sales girl in an adult shop was sworn-in as a Senator. They felt it put a tar on the high profile office of a Senator. But as they say, it is what it is.
So, how did Abbo perform as a Senator?
I may have missed it, but I didn’t hear much of Abbo’s accomplishments in the Senate. And I didn’t quite hear much of him until he played to the gallery during the 2023 Presidential campaign. He resigned as a member of the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign team to which he was appointed because, according to him, as a Christian, he couldn’t quite campaign for a Muslim- Muslim ticket. When he resigned, he enjoyed a few days of fame which quickly fizzled out because the APC Presidential campaign Team pointedly ignored him.
But this man seems to enjoy his minutes of fame before he descends into the abyss. He clings to straws when he is drowning. He picks on innocent people. After the sales girl, after Senator Tinubu, after Tinubu/Shettima, his next target was the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. Sacked by the Appeal Court from the Senate, Abbo addressed a Press Conference and heaped his woes on Akpabio. He said it was Akpabio who engineered his sack from the Senate because he was not in support of Akpabio’s aspiration to lead the Senate. A couple of days later, Abbo apologized to Akpabio, and pleaded that he was a victim of misinformation. He was forgiven.
But Abbo, it seems, suffers from a diarrhea of the mouth. Those who know him allege he talks before he thinks. Perhaps, they are right because, Abbo has spoken again before thinking.
On 1st February, 2024, he went to town with outlandish allegations against Judges of the second highest Court in the land. The attack was unprovoked. And unprecedented.
And why?
A three-man Panel of the Court of Appeal threw him out of the Senate many weeks ago. But on February 1, Abbo suddenly realized he was no longer a Senator, and descended on the Court and its Judges.
At a press conference, he went overboard. He swam in the gutter and picked gutter words. He painted the Court of Appeal in tar. He publicly dismissed all the Judges of the Court as corrupt. He rubbished all the judgments given under the Presidency of Honourable Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem. He called her corrupt. A bribe taker. He alleged that under her, the Appeal Court has become a bazaar of sorts where justice goes to the highest bidder. He said the Justices usually send their children and cronies to those (politicians) who have cases against them for “deals”. He accused them of something comparable to the dirty old saying: “money for hand, back for ground.”
Elisha Abbo
After dragging the Court and its President, he reserved a special treatment for the Honourable Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme.
The Imo State-born Nwosu-Iheme, a no-nonsense Judge, has just been elevated to the Supreme Court. Nominated and confirmed along with 10 others, and waiting to be sworn-in, Abbo appealed to President Bola Tinubu to withdraw her confirmation and elevation to the Supreme Court.
Why?
Nwosu-Iheme was the Chairman of the Appeal Court Panel which sacked Abbo from the Senate.
So, Abbo dragged her, a woman he does not really know, and would never know; a woman whose achievements and accomplishments tower above Abbo; the first, if not the only female Judge in Nigeria to earn a PhD; an absolutely, according to not a few people, fearless and courageous Judge.
It is difficult to know why Abbo, specifically, picked on Justice Iheme-Nwosu. She was not the only Judge on the Panel. There were three of them. She could not have lorded it over the other two. Or forced them to sack Abbo. They were at liberty to disagree with the judgement. Isn’t that why there are minority or dissenting judgements when the Judges don’t agree on a decision? Nwosu-Iheme’s only crime is that she was the one who read the judgment. Isn’t it amazing that Abbo was so ignorant he didn’t know Nwosu-Iheme was in no position to influence the judgement which threw him out of the Senate?; that the judgement was a collective decision, unanimous?
And here is the most ridiculous.
Abbo alleged that the judgement which was read to sack him was not what was originally written; meaning that the original judgement was substituted. He said he has a recorded version of the judgement read in Court, and is in possession of the “correct version”. He said they were different. He did not say how and where. So, will he please avail us with both.
My elementary understanding is that in appeals, not everything written is read out in Court else it would last for hours. Only the introduction and the decision are read. The rest is contained in the Certified True Copy, CTC, for interested parties to pick.
So, why did Abbo descend on Justice Iheme-Nwosu?
The only reason I can adduce is envy. He doesn’t understand Justice Nwosu-Iheme’s rich resumè. He doesn’t understand how she made an all-round success of her life. Perhaps, Abbo abhors successful women. Senator Oluremi Tinubu. Honourable Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem. Honourable Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme. Let’s leave the poor sales girl here. In that order, Abbo has tackled and ran them down.
But nobody should blame Abbo. For too long, Nigerians have allowed a number of unscrupulous politicians to destroy everything we hold sacred. Every of our values. They destroyed our polity. They destroyed our youths. They destroyed our culture. They took away our innocence and our self-esteem. They reduced us to a state of helplessness and hopelessness.
They have so defamed and desecrated our Judiciary that our Judges, our Judicial Officers, most of them, decent, brilliant and hard working, have been reduced to nothing. They have degraded our Judiciary and made it a laughing stock within and outside the country.
When politicians win a case, they praise the Judiciary for being the hope of the common man, the pillar of democracy. But when they lose, they descend on it and dismiss it as corrupt.
I have always wondered why Judicial Officers don’t defend themselves; why they don’t sue those who defame and libel them; and why the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, keeps quiet, and does nothing in the face of such brazen and reckless allegation against Judicial Officers like Abbo’s. In one fell swoop, Abbo rubbished the Court of Appeal.
When Olumide Akpata was the NBA President, he tackled the then Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, when he tried to rubbish a Federal Judge. Umahi was forced to apologize.
Question is: Why is everybody letting people like Abbo get away with shaming our Judicial Officers before the world?
Abbo’s allegations are weighty. He should be invited to provide proof. He who alleges must prove. He should provide evidence and make public the names of the Judges who send their children and cronies to collect money for them from politicians. He should provide the names of Judges who had ever asked him for gratification or asked any of his colleagues for same.Otherwise, here are what Abbo owes:
A public apology to the President of the Appeal Court, the Honourable Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem.
A public apology to the Honourable Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme, Supreme Court Justice-designate.
A public apology to the Judges of the Appeal Court.
If he fails, Senator Abbo should be sued for everything he has got. That could earn him a seat where he should have been sitting on after his scandalous outing and public exhibition at that adult shop in Abuja.
As they say, the ball is in his court. Your proof “Extinguished Senator”, your proof.
Surrender of be killed the Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, DHQ, has warned terrorists and other criminals causing trouble in the country.
The stern warning was issued by Major General Edward Buba, the Director, Defence Media Operations in Abuja on Thursday while briefing journalists on the ongoing war against insurgency and banditry.
According to the military spokesman, a lot has been achieved by troops in the battle to rid the country of Boko Haram terrorists and bandits, operating mostly in the northern parts of the country.
He called on Nigerians to support troops who put their lives on harm’s way daily to defend the country from internal and external aggression.
He said: “I urge all segments of society to take example from our gallant troops in the frontlines fighting to achieve the goal of liquidating terrorists and insurgents across the country in order to restore peace and security.
“These men and women are from all the nooks and cranny of our country and act shoulder to shoulder as a united force to achieve a common cause of destroying camps of violence in the country,’’ he said.
Giving the breakdown of what troops have achieved, Gen. Buba said 266 terrorists have been neutralized, 463 arrested while 116 hostages have been rescued from kidnappers in the last one month.
He added that a total of 447 assorted weapons and 6,697 ammunitions, comprising 237 AK47 rifles, 26 locally fabricated guns, 18 pump action guns, 55 Dane guns, and 6,807 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, were recovered.
Other items recovered, he stated are 421 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 16 rounds of 9mm and 506 live cartridges.
In the South-South, Buba said the troops, recovered 1,832,150 litres of stolen crude oil, 523,799 litres of illegally refined AGO, 16,716 litres of DPK and 5,200 litres of PMS among others.
The World Bank says 600 million Africans are likely not to have electricity by 2030.
The Managing Director of Operations, Anna Bjerde, made this disclosure while addressing West and Central African Ministers of Finance in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
The magazine reported that the world bank chief is in Nigeria on a 3-day visit where she has been discussing with the country’s officials on how to implement economic reforms.
The Bretton Wood United States Based financial institution said on Tuesday that it has spent close to $15 billion on 30 development projects, including in the power sector across the country.
Bjerde warning that a larger population of people in the continent could face severe power outages comes amidst the worrying trend of constant power cuts in Nigeria.
The national grid had collapsed last Sunday leaving many households and businesses which depend on electricity frustrated.
The Transition Company of Nigeria, TCN, said it managed to restore power after some hitches, even though a major part of the country are still experiencing electricity rationing due to inadequate generation and distribution infrastructure.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, on Thursday, said the problem of electricity in the country is complicated in his response to the unstable power supply problem plaguing Africa’s economic power house.
The Minister who spoke yesterday at a stakeholders meeting, said: “Though they (electricity issues) are simple issues, they are in multiples, complicated and permeate all the sectors in the value chain.
“We discovered that most of the problems in the sector are not all technical or engineering-related, it actually has to do with liquidity, funding, structural or operational issues which anybody, that has the commitment, could resolve. Though they are simple issues, they are in multiples, complicated and permeates all the sectors in the value chain.”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has disclosed that the federal government would have no option to import food items into the country if the current situation of the rising cost of commodities persists.
Already, the administration has ordered the immediate release of 102,000 metric tonnes of grains — 42,000 metric tonnes of maize and 60,000 metric tonnes of rice, according to the Minister of Information and National Orientation. Mohammed Idris.
The government made the decision following complaints by not a few Nigerians that they could no longer afford the high cost of basic food items in the market.
The current development has triggered protests in some parts of the country, including Niger, Kano and Kaduna, with the possibility of spreading across the country, if there is no immediate intervention by the government to arrest the problem, according to experts who said Nigerians are very angry over the prevailing situations.
Idris spoke in Abuja, the nation’s capital after the end of the three days meeting of the Presidential Food Initiative at the Presidential Villa.
Those that attended the meeting include, Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, NSA; Yemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN; Tahir Mamman, Minister of education; Wale Edun; Minister of Finance and Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture, as well as Mustapha Shehuri, Minister of State for Agriculture.
According to Idris, the government is mulling to embark on importation of basic food items to augment the shortfall in possible
He stated that President Tinubu has directed the release of 42,000 metric tonnes of maize and 60,000 metric tonnes of rice.
Meanwhile, experts insist that the effects of the release of food from the nation’s strategic reserve will be hard to see because what the government has just released is a drop in the ocean of what Nigerians need at the moment.
Last August the president gave a similar order for the release of 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains from strategic reserves to households across the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory, FCT, to moderate the higher food prices in the country.
The action has not pushed down the prices of food which have since hit the roof, according to market analysts.
