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When will Nigerian university students return to school?

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned the Federal Government against reopening tertiary institutions without taking concrete steps to curb the spread of  COVID-19; but the question remains: when will students get back to classes?

The answer remains hanging as ASUU has restated its position that its members will not return to classes and government officials remain mute.

Zones of the union said social distancing and other COVID-19 protocols were practically impossible in public tertiary institutions, which were always overcrowded in the country.

They, therefore, warned that any attempt to reopen the institutions would not only be suicidal,  but also worsen the spread of coronavirus.

Also, the National Vice –President of the union, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, in an interview with The PUNCH, called on the Federal Government to upgrade the education sector,  if it wanted universities across the country to resume.

Recall that the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba had, on August 22 said  tertiary institutions shut in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic in March, would reopen “very soon.”

During a Nigerian Television Authority programme, Nwajiuba said the Federal Government was also working to end the strike embarked upon by ASUU.

But the National Vice–President,  Osodeke, in the interview with The PUNCH, called on the Federal Government to upgrade the education sector,  if it wanted universities across the country to resume.

Osodeke said that if government believed that the education sector was critical, it should meet the COVID-19 guidelines which it prepared for school reopening.

He maintained that a topnotch procedure was created at airports because the elite children needed to be kept safe while returning to school abroad, whereas other  Nigerian children were asked to go back to campuses which were not  COVID-19 complaint.

Osodeke stated, “If government believes that the education sector is critical, they should try and meet those rules. They met them for the airports, you are aware. If you get to an airport before you board a  plane,  there is a procedure you will pass through because the airport is for the elite.  Their children are going back abroad for studies so the airports should be okay so that they can go back to school. Meanwhile,  they want these children to go back to schools where there are no health facilities, no good accommodation; lecture theatres are so small for the students and you want them to go and have a high rate of infection.

“We expect the parents, students and our colleagues in the media to put it to the government that they have spent so much money on COVID-19 since it started, why can’t they spend money on the education sector and upgrade the facilities so that the children can go back to school? That is what we should be talking about.”

Osodeke said that he expected government to meet the rules it set for schools but was surprised at its refusal and the sudden call for resumption.

He stated, “It is not safe to return to school. The government set the rules for schools on what should happen before schools can reopen.  Has the government met the rules? No, they have not. Do we have enough space where the students can keep social distancing? A room that is going to contain two students, we have between 10 and 20 students, will they change that?  The lecture theatres too… Do they have improved medical facilities in case of an emergency. These are not there. We expect government to meet those rules before it thinks about reopening.

Also, the Lagos Zone of ASUU, during a press conference at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State,  said the Federal Government should be ready for any possible negative consequences if it reopened the institutions without putting necessary measures in place.

The zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Prof Olusiji Sowande, who addressed the press conference lamented that government made arrangements for special bailout for airline operators and other private individuals, but did not extend such to public universities.

 He cautioned that it was not enough to have the students back on campuses,  but that the atmosphere and conditions must also be right.

The coordinator said hostel accommodation was inadequate, adding that there were no facilities to ensure physical distancing in large and crowded classes.

He declared that years of neglect of both education and health sectors in the country had resulted in inadequate infrastructure and lack of well-equipped diagnostic, testing, treatment and research laboratories in both sectors.

Sowande said, “The response of the public universities to the call by the National University Commission for their readiness to reopen indicates that public universities are not ready.

“Hostel accommodation is inadequate; there are no facilities on ground to carry out physical distancing in large and crowded classes;  water and electricity supplies are not reliable.

“Reopening tertiary institutions without taking concrete steps to address these issues will be suicidal. While government made arrangements for special bailout for airline operators and other private entities, no such arrangement was made for public universities.

“ Therefore, government should be ready to take responsibility for any possible negative consequences after reopening of universities.

“If government has faithfully implemented the 2012 Needs Assessment report which identified the intensity of the rot in education sector and tertiary education in particular, Nigerian public universities would have been more involved in COVID-19 testing and developing solutions through cutting edge research in well-equipped laboratories.”

Speaking on the ASUU  strike, Sowande said the union had written to relevant government agencies with a view to finding steps to put an end to the industrial action.

He said, “It seems to us that some government officials are benefiting from the prevailing situation. We demand that the OAGF (Office of the Accountant General of the Federation) must immediately remit all illegally withheld dues and other third party deductions with accrued interests

On its part, the Abuja Zone of ASUU advised the Federal Government to strictly adhere to the guidelines of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control about COVID-19 before reopening public universities.

The Coordinator of the zone, comprising University of Abuja, Federal University of Lafia, Federal University of Technology, Minna; Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai and Nasarawa State University Keffi;  Prof. Theophilus Lagi, stated this at a news conference in Abuja.

He said, “The union is not insensitive to the general clamour for the reopening of public universities in Nigeria in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic. We advise that this should happen only when the following actions have been taken by government: Government must as a matter of urgency implement the memorandum of agreement of February 7,  2019, signed with ASUU.

“They should adhere to the NCDC protocols of safeguarding the lives of students, lecturers and workers in the universities such as provision of the means of maintaining social distancing in all hostels, classrooms, lecture theatres and auditorium in all the public universities in the country.

“There should be provision of hand sanitisers, temperature taking devices, face masks, running water and soap facilities for students and staff in the universities at all times. Provision of testing centres and isolation facilities in all public universities is also necessary.”

He said the ongoing strike by ASUU was to demand the release of the revitalisation fund, payment of arrears of the Earned Academic Allowance and constitution of visitation panels to public universities, among others.

According to him, the quest for the revitalisation of the university system and the welfare of ASUU members have always been on the front burner of the union’s struggle and cannot be compromised.

Lagi said, “We have pointed out to the government to expend more funds to upgrade existing universities to the world-class standard instead of the ongoing proliferation of universities by both state and federal governments.

“Government must as a matter of urgency implement the MoA of February 7 2019, which it signed with ASUU. This, we believe, if attended to, will upgrade these universities and address the impunity and corruption seen in the university system.

Main report by The Punch

What we told Army chief about Southern Kaduna crises

By Luka Binniyat, National Public Relations Officer

The Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), over the weekend met with the Commander, Operation Safe Haven,  Major General Chukwuwemeka Okonkwo  and some top  members of his command in Jos. This was based on his invitation, as he had earlier met with leaders of Hausa and Fulani communities in Southern Kaduna. SOKAPU took time to brief the General on the nature of the violence in Southern Kaduna and assured  him of our desire to see the end of the violence.  He also told us what he was doing to return normalcy to Southern Kaduna and assured us of his neutrality in the crisis.

 We told him that contrary to ongoing narratives, “Southern Kaduna” is not the same as “Kaduna South Senatorial Zone”. While the latter is made up of only eight  LGAs in the enclave, Southern Kaduna is made up of 12 LGAs and holds 51.2% of the population of Kaduna state, based on the  2006 census population figures.  And that out of 46,000 Sq km, Southern Kaduna covers 26,000sqkm and has 57 registered ethnic nationalities with us, out of the 67 identified ones.

On the nature of the violence, we debunked the ongoing narratives that “the crisis has a long history.”   We told him that past crises were largely urban based, and looked unplanned, but triggered by identified reasons and that it could take years before reoccurrence. We added that previous violence was always between Muslims and Christians of any state of origin within affected areas. But the current one looks preplanned, daily, with our rural communities as the targets of mass slaughter, destruction, and ejection by the invaders, who eventually take over some of the communities.  We told him that 109 communities have been “captured” by Fulani militia. We insisted that there is an agenda to force us out of our lands and be occupied by the invaders.

SOKAPU assured the OPSH commander that with no other alternative place or land to fall back to, Southern Kaduna indigenes are much more desirous of peace than any other party.

We also used the opportunity to thank him for the recent fast response rate of his troops to distress calls from communities under attack or the threat of attacks, unlike in the past.

We also noted his humanitarian assistance to all parties in Southern Kaduna as exceptional.

Again, we showed appreciation with his deployment of large numbers of troops to  Zangan District, in Atakad Chiefdom, Kaura LGA which eight communities  had been totally displaced since last year  and occupied by armed herdsmen. We acknowledged reports reaching us that the villagers have started returning and many of them, who can afford it, are rebuilding their homes.

Based on the above, we requested that other displaced  communities in 4 LGAs of Southern Kaduna should also be assisted to return home.  We then gave him a list of the remaining occupied villages in our report and called for urgent actions to retrieve the occupied lands and bring culprits to justice.

On his part, he promised to be a neutral party in the crisis. He said he was equally desirous to see that peace and safety returns to Southern Kaduna as the violence was bearing its brunt on the image of the country and posed an avoidable stress to his troops and resources.

On this note, SOKAPU wishes to thank the Federal government for the redeployment of more troops to the troubled areas of Southern Kaduna.

With this,  thousands who may wish to return home cannot. Because their homes have been completely ruined. Also, hundreds of Hectares farmlands of affected communities have been ravaged by cattle on the loose. We also have thousands living under subhuman conditions in various IDPs or at homes of relations. We are therefore calling for assistance from the government, NGOs and  good spirited individuals for building materials, food, medicine and any form of aid that will improve the situation of the victims.

On this note,  we are  calling on all our members at home to give maximum cooperation to men and officers of Operation Safe Haven.

Again, we want to appeal to our youths not to initiate any act that will be interpreted as violent to anyone trespassing on any farmland, but report such incidence to community leaders, the police or any nearby military formation of Operation Safe Haven.   

Any action that will be inimical to the good image of our area and to the peace and wellbeing of all residents of Southern Kaduna must be shun by our people, but we  must not compromise our rights to self-preservation within the law.

As indigenous owners of Southern Kaduna, SOKAPU  endorses all peaceful, fair and sustainable means of restoring normalcy to our troubled mother land and we urge our members to do the same.

Everyday

Should we forget the right to be forgotten?

‘’The internet never forgets’’ as they say, for good and bad.

The right of Data Subjects (whose information are being processed) to have their personal data forgotten or erased by Data Controllers and Administrators (“right to be forgotten”) have become an increasingly pertinent issue across the globe.

Between July 2019 to December 2019, Google received over 925,944 content removal requests from Governments and courts in 19 countries. Nigeria issued the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation 2019 (“NDPR”) providing a legal basis for Data Subjects to approach the courts to enforce the “right to be forgotten”.

In this article, Templars Associate, Ijeamaka Nzekwe analyses the right to be forgotten under Nigerian law including its historical background, scope, practicability, limitations and applicability in comparison with other jurisdictions including recommendations for the Nigerian courts where this right will be determined.

Click here to read full publication

STEPS TO MAKE COMPLAINTS AGAINST AN ERRING BANK

In this day and age, every single person has at least one bank account, some people even have multiple accounts. Banks are great institutions, they help you keep your money, and they facilitate financial transactions. They provide this and many other services and charge fees.

Bank transactions generally happen smoothly and with no issues, however there are times when the bank fails in its service to you, or there is some kind of issue which you need sorted. Due to the nature of the service the bank provides to you – dealing with your money, when things go wrong, it can indeed be an extremely frustrating and stressful time.

Most banks have in place robust customer complaint/handling systems in place, and there is a structure in place for customers to channel any grievances, however most bank customers are not aware of this. That is why we have written this post, to briefly lay out the steps customers should follow when they want to make complaints about banks (or indeed any other financial institution).

Some of the issues bank customers face are unfair or unexplained charges, poor customer service by bank staff, unauthorised transactions on customer accounts through bank transfers or ATM withdrawals etc.

Step 1

Once the problem arises, the first step is to contact the bank through the quickest channels available. In this case, you can either call them on the customer care numbers available, or even contact them on social media (Facebook, Twitter etc.). This should always be step one, because most times the information you need clarified can be done quickly and relatively painlessly. However, whatever communication channel you choose, please make note of the details of the communication e.g. if a phone call, take down details of when you called, who you spoke to (the adviser’s name), what you said, and the response you received. All phone calls are recorded so this can easily be reviewed if there are issues later.

Step 2

If the issue remains unresolved, then you need to commence the official customer complaint process. All banks (and other financial institutions) are regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the CBN set out the process to be followed in its Circular – FPR/DIR/CIR/GEN/01/020 in 2011.

The customer is to send a complaint letter to the Bank. The CBN states that the banks must provide email addresses for complaints, so you may initially send the complaint by email, and then take a copy of the complaint to the bank branch. To ensure that the bank receives the complaint letter.

Step 3

The CBN guidelines say that the bank must resolve your complaint within 14 days of receipt of the complaint. If for some reason, the Bank has not satisfactorily resolved the complaint, you may take the issue to the Consumer Protection Department of the CBN. They will then attempt to resolve the complaint. Please note that you can only take the issue to the CBN after you have made a complaint to the bank and given them 14 days after receipt of the complaint, to resolve it. Apart from resolving the complaint, the CBN also has the powers to impose financial penalties on the Bank for failure to resolve your complaint.

Send your complaint via email to: [email protected] OR you may file a complaint using an online form provided by the CBN here – http://www.cenbank.org/Contacts/Complaints/

Step 4

The CBN does not provide any timelines for dealing with the complaints, but this should be done within a reasonable time. Hopefully, the CBN resolves the complaint between you and the bank. However, if the CBN fails to resolve the complaint, you have the right to take the case to court. In any situation, you always have the right to take any complaint to court, but you have to exhaust all pre-court resolution options first. This final step should only be taken as a last resort, because taking a case to court is a fairly involved process and also potentially expensive. You should only take this step if the amount involved is considerable, and the decision to not resolve your complaint by the bank and the CBN is manifestly unjust.

Alternative Step

You should also note, as an aside that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission is an available outlet for you to air your grievances. They may be able to assist you in putting pressure on the bank to resolve the complaint. However, please note that as banks and other financial institutions are regulated by the CBN, the CBN is the only body with the responsibility for reviewing complaints from those institutions, and so any complaints should be channelled there.

JUST: IPMAN orders members to sell fuel at N162 Per litre

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has directed its members in the Southwest region of the country to begin sales of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly referred to as petrol at N162 per litre.

The southwest Zonal Chairman of IPMAN, Alhaji ‘Dele Tajudeen in a telephone chat with journalists in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, said his members would be left with no other option than to dispense the product at a price of N162.

Tajudeen said, the directive followed the increase in the deport loading price of the product by the federal government, which placed a new price regime of the product at N151. 56k.

He explained that since the federal government has decided and puts the price of the product at N151. 56k, IPMAN has no option than to sell at N162 to be able to meet up with the overhead cost.

Tajudeen said IPMAN members would have to make provision for the cost of diesel to run generator that will power the dispensing machines; pay the cost of transporting the fuel from the depot to their respective filling stations and also settle their statutory levies with the appropriate regulatory agencies.

That by the time they finish paying all these levies, the cost of discharging fuel at the petroleum filling stations would have shored up to N160, hence dispensing the product at N162 will enable IPMAN members to be able to pay the staff bills and the stations’ gains.

BREAKING: Petrol price now N151.56 per litre ― PPMC

By Udeme Akpan

The price of petrol has been increased to N151.56 per litre, according to Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

In a statement obtained by Vanguard, D.O Abalaka of the PPMC, stated: “Please be informed that a new product price adjustment has been effected on our payment platform.

“To this end, the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) is now one hundred and fifty-one naira, fifty-six kobo (N151.56k) per litre.” He added: “This takes effect from September 2, 2020.”

Vanguard News Nigeria

Woman seeks divorce because husband ‘doesn’t fight’ with her, says he loves her ‘too much’

You might think that every woman wants to be extremely loved by her spouse. Well that could be true for most women but not in this case.

A woman in Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh, India, has sought a divorce from her husband just 18 months after her marriage.

The woman’s reason for approaching the Sharia court in Sambhal to seek a divorce is because her husband loves her too much and does not fight with her, reports India Today.

According to a report in Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, the woman said she could not digest her husband’s “too much” love for her. The woman said she has never had a fight with her husband in the past 18 months and she was “fed up”.

The woman said her husband even helps her in cooking and performing household chores. “Neither he [husband] ever shouted at me nor he ever disappointed me over any issue. I am feeling suffocated in such an environment,” the report quoted her as saying.

“Whenever I make a mistake, he always forgives me for that. I wanted to argue with him,” she said.

She says she does not want a life where her husband agrees to everything.

The cleric of the Sharia court was baffled when he heard the reason for the divorce and rejected her plea, terming it as frivolous.

The cleric also asked the woman if she had any other reason for the divorce. To which, she responded in negative. After the cleric refused to decide on the plea, a local panchayat heard the matter. But it also refused to give a ruling.

According to the report, her husband has said that he does not think he has done anything wrong and only wanted to be a perfect husband.

He also appealed to the Sharia co urt to ask her wife to take back the case, following which the court rejected her plea. The Sharia court has asked the couple to resolve the matter by themselves.

(India Today)

TOWARDS RESTRUCTURING NIGERIA

Restructuring of the federation is long overdue, writes Sonnie Ekwowusi

Last week, the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on the Review of the constitution, which has commenced the process of further amendment to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), formally requested the general public, executive and judicial bodies, civil society and others to submit memoranda for further amendment on the following subject matters of the constitution – gender equality; federal structure and power devolution; local government/local government autonomy; public revenue; fiscal federation; public revenue/fiscal federal and revenue allocation; Nigeria Police and Nigerian security architecture; comprehensive judicial reforms; electoral reforms; socio-economic and cultural rights; strengthening the independence of oversight institutions and agencies; residency and indigene problem; immunity; the National Assembly; state creation and other matters capable of promoting good governance in Nigeria.

Undoubtedly the aforesaid constitutional amendment if pursued with probity, earnestness and sincerity of purpose, might assuage the hunger for actualization of the sovereignty of Biafra, dampen the quest for Oduduwa Republic and other secessionist clamours. Politics apart, restructuring of the Nigerian federation is overdue. The fact remains that the deep-seated political, economic, social and cultural imbalances plaguing the Nigerian enterprise right from Nigeria’s independence in 1960 or even before have engaged the attention of both successive Nigerian governments and the Nigerian people. For example, all the constitutional conferences that were held in Nigeria, from the 1957 Conference, 1994/1995 Constitutional Conference, 2005 National Political Reform, 214 Constitutional Conference to the Oputa Panel Report (which unfortunately is yet to be released to the public let alone implemented ) were all geared towards addressing and remedying these imbalances in the Nigerian federation. It is apposite to affirm that the Nigerian crisis is a crisis of failed federalism. Historically, the 1914 amalgamation wrought by the British was to further accentuate her selfish interests in the colony. The amalgamation was a potpourri or assemblage of irreconcilable ethno-religiously and culturally diverse kingdoms and nationalities. That was why the concocted amalgamation failed on arrival. It was a forced marriage that was, at the outset, bound to wobble. Owing to the clear absence of espirit de corps and cohesion amongst the nationalities which were forcefully amalgamated, Chief Obafemi Awolowo had referred to Nigeria as a “mere geographical expression”. With all the natural resources and minerals at the disposal of different regions at independence, everything was working well for Nigeria. But it was short-lived. Under the pretext that it was a corrective and cleansing regime, the military (during the military interregnum) perpetuated indescribable atrocities in Nigeria. Apart from institutionalizing official corruption in Nigeria, the military destroyed the hitherto viable national institutions and systems in Nigeria especially the educational system. The current 1999 Constitution (which is substantially similar to 1979 Constitution) is General Abdulsalam Abubakar’s military constitution, not the much-vaunted people’s constitution. It is not autochthonous constitution. No inputs from the people who are supposed to be the sovereign in presidential democracy. Simply put, the 1999 Constitution is an inconvenient, inequitable constitutional contraption being used to perpetuate injustices in Nigeria. The constitution over-concentrates power (as could be gleaned from the long list of federal powers in the Exclusive List of the Constitution) in the hands of the federal government thus leaving the federating units at the mercy of the federal government.

This is the main reason for the consistent clamour for a people’s constitution and, by extension the restructuring of Nigeria. You will recall that in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/367/2007, Chief Anthony Enahoro, Prof Wole Soyinka, Ikemba Odimegwu Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, Chief Ralph Uwazurike, Yerima Shetima and others had dragged the federal government to the Federal High Court in 2007 to, inter alia, challenge the legitimacy of the 1999 Constitution. In fact, one of the declarations being sought by the plaintiffs in the aforesaid suit is that the following words, “We the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria…do hereby make, enact and give to ourselves the following Constitution” is a big lie because there was no time the Nigerian people met either directly or indirectly to enact for themselves the people’s constitution. Recently, eminent socio-cultural leaders from South-South, South-East and Middle-Belt represented by Chief E. K. Clark, Chief Rueben Fasoranti, Dr. John Nwodo and others, have, in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/595/2020, equally dragged President Buhari to the Federal High Court claiming, inter alia, the sum of N50 billion over marginalization of the people of the region in the appointments to security, quasi-security agencies and strategic agencies of government. Why this suit? Because President Buhari’s political appointments are skewed in favour of the North. And President Buhari unabashedly says that nobody should begrudge him for doing that because he is giving 95% to those who voted for him. Is this not a hate speech? How can a President of the whole country single out a section of the country for marginalization and punishment on the allegation that they did not vote for him at the last elections? Of the 14 current heads of security agencies in Nigeria, 11 are from the North, two from South-West, one Chief of Naval Staff from the South-South, none from the South-East. Is this not marginalization per excellence? The nauseating aspect is that when some youths from the same marginalized South-East organize a peaceful gathering, armed soldiers are dispatched to kill them as occurred at Emene, Enugu last week. Mind you, the Emene killing of unarmed civilians is not the first of its kind. On February 9, 2016 the Nigerian soldiers shot and killed countless unarmed pro-Biafra civilians who were peacefully holding prayers inside the football field of Ngwa High School, Aba in Abia State. The photographs of the murdered victims were circulating on whatsApp at a time. Then on May 30, 2016, over 30 Igbo civilians were killed and many injured by the military after the several clashes involving the military, police and members of IPOB and MASSOB at Nkpor-Agu, Niger Bridge, Onitsha and Asaba respectively. The question begging for an answer is: why shoot and kill defenceless civilians holding peaceful prayer or meeting or rally? The paradox is that the same soldiers and security agents who would not dare arrest the murderous Fulani herdsmen let alone open fire on them would readily turn around to open fire and kill unarmed civilians.

This is why Nigeria must be restructured. If you don’t want Biafra, Oduduwa Republic, Mid-West and so forth, do the right thing: eliminate nepotism and provincialism that breed secessionist and separatist agitations. Stop killing unarmed civilians. Correct the lop-sided political appointments. Allow the citizens to exercise their right to freedom of religion. Appoint competent technocrats to run the government irrespective of their tribes and tongues. Let commutative justice reign.

thisdaylive.

Atiku Writes Lawan, Cautions Against New Loans

By Jude Opara, Abuja


Former vice president and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 elections, Atiku Abubakar, has written to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on the need for the National Assembly to reject any new loan requests except those for income-generating projects.

Abubakar in the letter dated August 19, said the federal lawmakers should not continue to watch while the country goes deep into financial crisis occasioned by indiscriminate borrowings.

“Nigeria risks insolvency if it continues to borrow money, adding that previous loans were spent on non-viable projects,” the 2019 presidential hopeful of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said.
Recall that as of March 2020, Nigeria’s total public debt stands at ₦28.6 trillion ($79.3 billion), of which about ₦10 trillion ($27.6 billion) is external debt, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO).

“On May 29, 2015, Nigeria’s total national debt stood approximately at N12 trillion. As of August 2020, our national debt has tripled to N28.63 trillion,” Abubakar noted.


“Even more alarming is the fact that the foreign debt portion of our national debt has risen from less than $10 billion on May 29, 2015, to almost $30 billion in August 2020,” he added.


“A further cause for concern is the fact that not all of these debts are necessary. A study of the use to which these monies have been put to, show that much of it has gone towards items or projects that are non-productive or viable,” he said.


Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have approved all three loans from President Muhammadu Buhari.
In June the $5.513 billion foreign loan request by the president got legislative nod, a week after another $22.7 billion foreign loan was approved by both Houses.


The approval was preceded by the approval of another ₦850 billion borrowing request made by the president, which is to be sourced from domestic markets.

dailyasset

New electricity tariff: Prices of goods will increase – Adegbite, ex-MAN chair

A former chairman of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Ogun State, Wale Adegbite, says the new increment in electricity tariff will have consequences.

He told Nigerians to expect a hike in prices of goods.

The implementation of the new Service Reflective Tariff Plan commenced September 1.

The increment ranges from 60 percent in Ikeja, to 73 per cent in Abuja, and 78 per cent in Enugu.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Adegbite stated that the tariff increase was not justifiable.

Adegbite said electricity was a significant input in the production process.

“The development will eventually lead to increase in prices of goods produced by manufacturers, which will automatically result to increase in inflation.”

Adegbite urged the federal government to assist manufacturers to thrive.

He noted that players have endured numerous challenges already.

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