Cloned Nigerian Anchor

Category: News

  • Sit-at-Home: Any school, market that fails to open’ll be shut down- Gov Mba

    Sit-at-Home: Any school, market that fails to open’ll be shut down- Gov Mba

    Enugu State Government has threatened to shut down schools and markets of those observing the illegal one week sit-at- home order by the self- acclaimed factional leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa.

    This is contained in a statement on Tuesday by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia in Enugu.

    IPOB factional leader, Simon Ekpa had on June 14 in a letter to all Igbos, declared total lockdown from July 3 to 10, excluding July 6.

    According to Onyia, Enugu State Government is alarmed and dismayed by this development and hereby warns that any school that fails to open and function normally on Tuesday will have its licence revoked immediately.

    He added that the State Government also extended the same warning to market unions and shop owners in the state.

    He said, “The attention of the Enugu State Government has been drawn to reports on social media this Tuesday morning that proprietors of private schools in the state are sending messages to their pupils and students to stay at home.

    “This is on account of the illegal one week sit-at-home order allegedly declared by faceless non-state actors in the state.

    “All markets and shops in the various markets must be open to customers from today or be shut down indefinitely.”

    Onyia said the state government reiterated its ban on any form of illegal sit-at-home in all parts of the state, as it was evil and antithetical to all values they hold dear as a people, such as the Igbo spirit of industry, hardwork, creativity and productivity.

    He urged the general public to go about their normal daily activities as adequate security measures had been put in place to protect lives and property.

    “Government will no longer sit by and watch faceless groups and misguided individuals issue illegal orders, dictating to us how to lead our lives, when to go to work or market and when our children go to school.

    “This is no longer acceptable and must be confronted and defeated with every power and resources at our disposal,” Onyia said.

    He further stated that the state government also warned that it would deploy the full instrumentality of the law such as the Cybercrime Act 2015 to go after and prosecute anybody, individuals, groups and organisations intentionally encouraging the illegal sit-at-home order.

    This, he said, include those instilling fear on residents, raising false alarm to disturb public peace and others through fake news sharing and propagation of falsehood connected with the illegal sit-at-home order on social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter.

    “This, however, is by no means, depriving citizens freedom of speech and information as enshrined in the constitution,” Onyia explained. 

  • JAMB bars Mmesoma for 3 years, insists her result is fake

    JAMB bars Mmesoma for 3 years, insists her result is fake

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has reiterated that the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result being paraded by Miss Ejikeme Mmesoma “is patently fake.”

    It has also barred Mmesoma from sitting for its examination for the next three years.

    The board made this known in a statement signed by Dr Fabian Benjamin, Acting Director, Public Affairs and Protocol on Tuesday in Abuja.

    ”In the meantime, the management of the board, after considering the weighty infraction committed by Ms. Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, in line with its established procedures, has withdrawn her 2023 UTME result.

    ”It has also barred her from sitting for the board’s examination for the next three years.”

    The board had on Sunday withdrawn the UTME result of the candidate while accusing the candidate for allegedly manipulating and falsifying her scores.

    However, the candidate had on Monday in a new viral video, denied manipulating her result while saying that there might have been a possible technical malfunction in the board’s system.

    Mmesoma insisted that what she has, was an original printout from the board’s portal.

    JAMB said: ”Consequently, the board would like to reassure Nigerians that its system was neither tampered with nor compromised.

    ”The candidate simply falsified a copy of a result slip of a candidate named Asimiyu Mariam Omobolanle, who sat the UTME in 2021 and scored 138.

    ”It is also instructive to note that the candidate, in her statement, has inadvertently revealed the rightful owner of the result she is parading.

    ”This she did when she pointed out that the QR code on the result slip showed the actual owner of the said result before she peddled a lie in an attempt to obfuscate the truth.

    ”To witness the unassailable position of the board regarding this obvious falsehood, the general public is, therefore, urged to endeavour to scan the QR code on the result slip to see its actual owner before it was mutilated.

    ”It is to be noted that the QR code encapsulates the UTME result of each candidate, hence, what is on the result sheet is nothing other than the interpretation of the information on this QR code.” 

    The board further explained that it stopped issuing Notifications of Result slips in 2021.

    This, JAMB said was for the same reason, that candidates kept falsifying their results through the slips.

    JAMB said it has been issuing actual UTME RESULT Slips (not notification of results) since 2022, complete with the photograph of each candidate.

    “Similarly, the public is also invited to ponder on the fact that out of all the candidates that sat the 2023 UTME, only Ms. Ejikeme Mmesoma parades the obsolete ‘Notification of Result.’

    JAMB said that it has remained unperturbed by the unfortunate development as this was not the first time such fraudulent claims had been made.

    It said: ”This case has, therefore, been rightly handed over to relevant security agencies for a thorough investigation to unravel the masterminds of yet another unfortunate scam.

    ”The board is not averse to public scrutiny and hereby suggests a public session with relevant security agencies, representatives of Ms. Ejikeme, and civil society organisations in attendance without delay.

    ”This is on account of the board’s experience over the years, which showed that these wily candidates confessed to their ignoble acts only when confronted with incontestable facts.”

    The board said that the candidate was set to be honored by the Anambra State Government when one of its top officials called the attention of the board to confirm her claim.

    It further disclosed that the call prompted the board to verify and reveal that Mmesoma had actually scored 249 and not 362, as she claimed, to fraudulently obtain scholarships and other recognitions. 

  • Tribunal admits EU’s final report faulting Tinubu’s victory

    Tribunal admits EU’s final report faulting Tinubu’s victory

    The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) on Monday admitted as an exhibit, the final report of the European Union Election Observer Mission, which faulted the conduct and outcome of the 2023 presidential election that produced President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and others as winners.

    The report tendered by the former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar was admitted as an exhibit in spite of vehement objections by President Bola Tinubu, the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    In the report, the EU election observer mission claimed that the presidential election did not show credibility, fairness, and transparency in the ways and manners it was conducted by INEC.

    The report tendered through INEC’s sole witness and Director of Information Technology (IT), Dr. Lawrence Bayode, said only 31 percent of the presidential election results were uploaded into INEC’s result viewing portal.

    Before the admission of the report, Atiku, through his lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche SAN, had applied that cross-examination of the INEC’S witness must be kick-started by Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress APC in view of their common interests against Atiku’s petition.

    The application was however bluntly opposed by Tinubu and APC through their lead counsel, Wole Olanipekun SAN, and Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi SAN, respectfully.

    However, the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led panel, admitted it as evidence.

  • Many trapped as four-storey building collapses in Abuja

    Many trapped as four-storey building collapses in Abuja

    A four-storey building under construction in the Life Camp area of Abuja in the Federal Capital Territory, on Monday reportedly collapsed, with many feared trapped under its rubble.

    The incident occurred at about 4pm while workers were on the construction site in the swampy Dape Area near the Berger Clinic.

    Officials of the FCT Fire Service and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) are reportedly at the site of the collapse to rescue victims from the collapsed building.

    Meanwhile, the Head of Operations of the FCT Fire Service, Amiola Adebayo, who confirmed the incident to our correspondent, said rescue operations were still ongoing and could not yet confirm any casualties from the incident

    More details later…

  • Grids deployment to small communities expanding productive activities- FFEAA

    Grids deployment to small communities expanding productive activities- FFEAA

    The Foundation for Economic Advocacy and Advancement (FFEAA) has said that thousands of grids deployed in small communities across Nigeria has increased electricity generated and expansion in productive activities.

    FFEAA said this while reacting to recent press release issued by the Coalition of West African Investigative Journalists (COWAFIJ) calling for investigation into the spending of over $550million repayable grant by Nigeria Electrification Project, NEP, a unit in Rural Electrification Agency, REA.

    FFEAA in a statement signed by its National Publicity Officer, Mr. Dolapo Olanrewaju described the entire press conference by COWAFIJ as an attempt at ridiculing the giant strides of the REA under Engr Salihijo Ahmad.

    FFEAA describing COWAFIJ as an arm of the opposition committed to rubbishing the Federal Government stride in the power sector,l. 

    The NGO reminded critics of the World Bank efforts at providing alternative sources of power for rural electrification in the country through an additional commitment of $750m grant to Nigeria.

    World Bank’s Director of Strategy and Operations for Western Central African Region,Elizabeth Huybens had announced the plan of the World Bank to further strengthen Nigeria’s rural electrification success by an additional $750M, during her visit to inspect the 60KwP Mini-Grid Project in Kilankwa Community in Abuja.

    FFEAA maintains that the successes of Nigeria’s Rural Electrification drive have been hinged on the leadership of Engr Ahmad Salihijo, who has constantly pursued the vision and goal of the agency through unalloyed hunger to fulfill the dreams of millions of Nigerians who desire to be connected to electricity.

    He said “As of today, millions of kids can study at night, because of access to electricity. There can be no modern life without electricity and it is hard to think about reducing poverty without access to electricity,” the statement added.

    FFEAA reiterated the commendations made by Rep Philip Agbese (APC), the lawmaker representing Ado/ Okpokwu/ Ogbadibo Federal Constituency, during his courtesy visit to REA. 

    “During the courtesy visit, the Honorable had applauded Engr Salihijo Ahmad on the agency’s post-subsidy removal initiatives, in providing solar energy alternatives to Nigerians in a bid to cushion the effect of subsidy removal on businesses, farmers and households.

    FFEAA alleges that the untiring propaganda against the Engr Salihijo led REA, are the attempts of opposition mischief makers, and corrupt individuals in the power sector who are currently being investigated for various degrees of fraud by the EFCC, and who wish to bring down Engr Salihijo. 

    “They insist that after a flawless administration of the World Bank funds by Engr Salihijo and his REA team, and a clean sheet of affairs, the Vice President, Sen. Kashim Shettima GCON offered him an audience to provide an update on the advancements within the nation’s renewable energy sector.

    “During the meeting with the Vice President, the CEO of REA, presented a comprehensive overview of REA’s strategic initiatives, notable achievements in Nigeria’s off-grid renewable energy sector, and outlined the agency’s proposed measures to mitigate the impacts of the recent removal of fuel subsidy,” He said.

  • Buhari approved my World Bank appointment, says Zainab Ahmed

    Buhari approved my World Bank appointment, says Zainab Ahmed

    Former Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed has said that her appointment as an Alternate Executive Director (AED) representing Nigeria was with the consent of former President Muhammadu Buhari. 

    Zainab made the disclosure on Monday following inquiries over a newspaper report that alleged she nominated herself for the World Bank position.

    An online platform had reported that the former minister surreptitiously got the World Bank job without presidential approval. 

    In a statement by the Media Adviser to the former Finance Minister, Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, Zainab explained that there was no way she could have nominated herself for such a position without the President’s approval.

    She said: “In the first instance, the World Bank is a reputable organization with its rules and processes.

    “Secondly, anyone working at that level of Alternate Executive Director (AED) must be a representative of his or her country and would have gotten such approval and endorsement from his or her government. It will be recalled that the position became available in October 2022.

    “Mr. President was notified and approval was gotten in April 2023, but with the understanding that Dr. Zainab Ahmed cannot report until after the end of her tenure as Minister.

    “Therefore, the former Minister couldn’t have nominated herself and also approved such. I can therefore confirm to you that the former President approved her being the AED at the World Bank representing Nigeria,” he added. 

  • Pope Francis condemns burning of Koran in Sweden

    Pope Francis condemns burning of Koran in Sweden

    Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis has condemned the burning of the Koran at a recent incident in Stockholm when two men burned a copy of the Muslim holy book, saying that all forms of profanation are against “the sense of respect due religious symbols.”

    The Pope, who said he was angry and disgusted at the act, said that any book considered holy must be respected by all.

    “I feel angry and disgusted by these actions,” he said. Local media reported on Monday.

    “Any book considered holy must be respected out of respect for those who believe in it, and freedom of expression should never be used as an excuse to despise others,” he added.

    “Allowing this is rejected and condemned,” the Pope said.

    Two men took part in a demonstration in the Swedish capital where the Islamic holy book was set alight on Wednesday, the first day of Muslims’ Eid-al-Adha holiday.

    Several Muslim-majority countries had condemned the incident and castigated Swedish diplomats, saying the act incited hatred and should not count as free speech.

    The latest was Saudi Arabia, where the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday it had summoned the Swedish ambassador in Riyadh to express the Kingdom’s “categorical rejection of the disgraceful act carried out by an extremist.”

    It called on the Swedish government “to stop all acts that directly contradict international efforts seeking to spread the values of tolerance, moderation, and rejection of extremism.

    “The Swedish government should not undermine the necessary mutual respect for relations between peoples and states.”

    Sweden said that the action was permitted under the country’s freedom of expression laws, but was not appropriate. 

  • Nigeria needs 3.9m toilets to tackle open defecation -UNICEF

    Nigeria needs 3.9m toilets to tackle open defecation -UNICEF

    The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said Nigeria needs to build no fewer than 3.9 million toilets annually to meet the ending open defecation practice by 2025.

    UNICEF Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Dr. Jane Bevan, said this on Monday at the opening of a two-day Maiden Toilet Business Owners Conference in Abuja.

    Bevan said that current toilet construction in the country stood between 180,000– 200,000 toilets annually, describing it as inadequate.

    She said the conference was timely as toilet business owners were key to ending open defecation challenges in Nigeria.

    According to her, there is a need to do things differently by creating demand for toilets. The private sector could play a huge role in sustainability and strengthening sanitation markets in the country.

    Bevan, quoting the 2021 WASH National Outcome Routine Mapping on Nigeria’s sanitation status, said 48 million people practice open defecation, while 95 million were without access to basic sanitation services.

    “About 1.3 percent of GDP or N455 billion is lost annually due to poor access to sanitation – health, health care savings, and productivity.

    “Every dollar invested in water and sanitation results in economic benefits ranging from 3 dollars to 34 dollars.

    “Nigeria cannot continue business as usual or it will miss the target of 2025 and 2030. There is a need to strengthen and scale up proven strategies to reach the country’s goals.

    “The private sector must work closely with all tiers of government and communities to actively create sustainable solutions to address the sanitation needs of unserved and underserved communities and help grow capital investment and human capital.’’

    Dr Didi Walson-Jack, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, expressed optimism that Toilet Business Owners (TBOs) would complement government’s effort towards realisation of the objective of ending open defecation in Nigeria.

    According to her, Nigeria is ready for business and the market is expansive for quicker and bigger returns on investment as long as we are prepared to think outside the box.

    The permanent secretary noted that the outcome of the conference would reinforce other existing initiatives in achieving the national and global goals for the water, sanitation and hygiene sub-sector.

    “TBOs are part of the Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) that would help in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

    “This is particularly noteworthy in Nigeria where the SMEs have contributed approximately 48 percent to the national GDP over the last five years as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

    “Moreover, the SMEs in Nigeria accounted for 96 per cent of all businesses in the country and employed 57.7 million people, representing 84.02 percent of the workforce in 2016.

    “I am therefore confident that with this level of SME participation in the economy, this conference will equip the participants with a better appreciation of the potentials of these enterprises for the Sanitation Sector.”

    Earlier, Mr. Chukwuma Nnana, Executive Director, of Toilet Pride Initiative, said one of the biggest challenges in realizing an open defecation-free environment was the lack of enabling environment for these sanitation businesses to thrive.

    Nnana, who is also the convener of the conference, said that TBOs and sanitation entrepreneurs were yet to be mobilised to their full potential.

    The conference was designed to showcase and create awareness on the contributions of private sanitation enterprises in scaling up sanitation service delivery in Nigeria. 

  • Forge Discharge Certificate go to jail, NYSC warns Nigerians

    Forge Discharge Certificate go to jail, NYSC warns Nigerians

    The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has said forgers of its discharge or exemption certificates risk jail term, option of fine or both as penalties.

    The Director, Legal Services, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, said this on Monday in Abuja during the 2023 Legal Officers’ Capacity Building Training.

    The training has “The Role of the Legal Officer in the Defence of the Public Service in Nigeria” as its theme.

    According to Ibrahim, the NYSC Act contains all the infractions that people should know about. “The infractions are many, like forging the NYSC certificates.

    “Also, persons that are supposed to go for youth service as specified in the Act are not coming for youth service while those that are supposed to come for service will do but will not complete it and abscond.

    “Therefore, the Act itself has specified what is to be done in respect to these instances.”

    Ibrahim also said some attend the orientation camps with forged documents and when such persons are caught, they are arrested by the police for prosecution.

    He said that though such cases abound in court, the exact number could not be determined, adding that they were being followed up.

    “The punishment, first of all, is to arrest them, the police will now charge them to court and it is now left for the courts to decide if it is imprisonment or fine.

    “It is at the discretion of the court to say this is what we are going to do as the term of imprisonment.

    “If you are found guilty by the court, the court can give you two years jail term depending on the type of offence or three years or an option of fine or both jail term and fine.”

    Regarding Corps Producing Institutions’ (CPIs) involvement in such infractions, Ibrahim said that those caught in the NYSC engage in the ‘lifting of the veil of corporate personality’ of such institutions.

    According to him, if they submit names of unqualified corps members they are also guilty and are sent to court.
    He said the punishment to be meted to such institutions was also at the discretion of the court.

    He, however, said that such institutions are not delisted but are allowed to still send the names of their intending corps members for mobilization.

    He also said that it was worrisome that such infractions were coming up day by day.

    On the essence of the training, he said a lot of people were committing a lot of infractions against the NYSC Act.

    He said therefore, it deemed it necessary to ensure that members of the public know exactly what the Act contains and what they should and should not do.

    The Director-General, Brig.-Gen. Yusha’u Ahmed said that the enhancement of capacity building to stimulate efficiency and higher corporate performance was in line with one of the focal areas of his policy thrust to the scheme.

    Ahmed, represented by Ibrahim, said the training was organized to enhance the capacity and knowledge of legal officers in the scheme on their professional roles in the defence of the Public Service in Nigeria.

    He said that the training was expected to harness the potential of the legal officers in the scheme for improved professional services.

    “Over the past 50 years of existence of the scheme, our experience has shown that the decision by management to train and re-train staff of the scheme has proven to be very fruitful.

    “This is especially in the training of legal officers, judging from the laudable achievements recorded so far by the Legal Unit and the professional conduct of legal officers in the scheme.

    “The unit has kept faith with its mandate of rendering quality legal advice to the NYSC management and has shown due diligence in handling cases involving the scheme in different Courts of Law in Nigeria.

    “To further contribute to the achievements of the legal unit, this training is an ideal platform to evaluate the activities of the unit with a view to breaking new grounds towards strengthening the values of the scheme.”

    The training is expected to enhance their competence and practical performance/service delivery in the areas of legal drafting and litigation in both civil and criminal matters.

    Others are legal education involving corps legal activities and general legal advice.