Don’t Worry About ‘Japa’, Nigeria Will Train More People — Tinubu

 

With Nigeria’s unemployment rate at a new record high of 33.3 percent, the mass exodus known as the ‘Japa’ phenomenon is in full swing. 

President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, assured Nigerians not to be bothered about the mass exodus of skilled workers from the country, assuring the citizens that the Federal Government in collaboration with sub-nationals will train more persons to fill the professional gap now conspicuous in health, tech and other sectors.

The President spoke in Owerri, the Imo State capital, during the second term inauguration of Governor Hope Uzodimma.

Addressing the people of the state shortly after the governor took the oath of office, Tinubu said the education of children and youths is a priority for the administration of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“You see the priority in industrialisation. Healthcare will receive more allocation and more attention.

“Don’t worry about what you are hearing about the Japa syndrome, we will train more people and we will supply them self,” he said.

The President also assured the people of the South-East that “the peace you are enjoying here will be better and we will work more to achieve that peace”.

‘Japa’, a colloquial for the emigration phenomenon that hit Nigeria hard since the COVID-19 pandemic, has caused unprecedented shortage of skilled manpower in many sectors, especially the health sector which contends with myriad issues like poor pay and welfare package.

The United Kingdom, the United States and Canada are top destinations for Nigerian youths who are relocating in pursuit of better education, employment and security purposes, among other reasons.

With Nigeria’s unemployment rate at a new record high of 33.3 percent, the mass exodus known as the ‘Japa’ phenomenon is in full swing.

Ghana Secures Debt Deal As Part Of IMF Loan

 

Ghana received its first $600 million tranche of the IMF loan in May last year.

Ghana has reached an agreement with external creditors for a debt restructuring that was key to its $3 billion credit line with the IMF, the government and the lender said.

Fund (IMF) to help shore up its public finances and better manage its heavy debt load.

Ghana’s economic outlook will be a major part of campaigning for the presidential election in December when President Nana Akufo-Addo’s New Patriotic Party will seek an unprecedented third term in office.

Ghana received its first $600 million tranche of the IMF loan in May last year.

The external debt deal helps clear the way for approval of another $600 million payment.

“This development constitutes a significant positive step towards restoring Ghana’s long-term debt sustainability,” a Finance Ministry statement said late Friday.

Last year Ghana successfully carried out a restructuring of its domestic debt.

Ghana suspended payments on the majority of its external debt, essentially defaulting due to challenges in addressing its substantial balance of payments deficit.

The restructuring parameters encompass both bilateral and commercial debt, including Eurobonds.

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva welcomed Ghana reaching “an agreement in principle with their official creditors on a debt treatment, consistent with the objectives of the IMF-supported program, which aims to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability”.

She said the deal “clears the path for IMF Executive Board consideration” of the first review of Ghana’s three-year agreement “in the next few days”.

The Ghanaian government expects approval from the IMF Board will also prompt the World Bank Board to review $300 million in development financing for the country.

Tinubu Approves N683b As 2024 Intervention Fund For Public Tertiary Schools

 

The Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, Sonny Echono, made this disclosure on Friday at the Fund’s strategic planning meeting with heads of beneficiary institutions in Abuja.

President Bola Tinubu has approved N683,429,268 billion as the 2024 intervention fund for public tertiary schools in the country.

The Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, Sonny Echono, made this disclosure on Friday at the Fund’s strategic planning meeting with heads of beneficiary institutions in Abuja.

According to him, from the total, 90.75 per cent is earmarked for direct disbursement, 8.94 per cent for some designated special projects, and 2.27 per cent is budgeted for response to emerging issues.

He also disclosed that each university shall get for the Year 2024 intervention cycle, the total sum of N1,906,944,930.00, polytechnic N1,165,355,235.00

while each College of Education has N1,398,426,282.00.

The intervention fund is expected to go a long way in addressing the long the decades-long calls for better funding of schools in Nigeria. Lecturers in the country’s public schools have often resorted to strikes to drum home their demands which also included better pay and improved facilities for learning institutions.

In late 2022, university lecturers suspended an eight-month strike over pay, welfare, and crumbling facilities, the latest industrial dispute to hit Africa’s most populous nation.

The strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had shut down federal government-owned universities since February 14 that year despite talks with the government to find a truce.

That strike was the second longest by ASUU, known for its work stoppages. In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the university teachers went on strike for nine months.

The demands of the lecturers are the same as in previous strikes — higher pay, improved welfare, increased funding, and upgraded facilities.

Supreme Court Affirms Lawal’s Election As Zamfara Governor

 

The apex court set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal Abuja, which had declared the Governorship Election as inconclusive and ordered a re-run in three Local Government Areas of the state.

The Supreme Court was affirmed the election of Dauda Lawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Zamfara Governor.

Abuja, which had declared the Governorship Election as inconclusive and ordered a re-run in three Local Government Areas of the state.

Also read: Supreme Court Reverses Sack Of Gov Yusuf, Affirms His Election

The Court of Appeal had in November nullified the election of Lawal’s election.

He was declared the winner of the March 18 governorship election. In a shocking victory that dislodged then-incumbent Bello Matawalle of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he polled a total of 377,726 votes. Matawalle scored 311,976 votes.

The APC candidate, now serving as the Minister of State for Defence, had accused INEC of subverting his victory at the poll by failing to include the results of some ward areas.

In an earlier ruling on September 18, the Zamfara Election Petitions Tribunal held that the petition was devoid of merit. While upholding Lawal’s victory, the tribunal awarded the N500,000 fine against the petitioners.

An unsatisfied Matawalle, as observers expected, took the matter to the Court of Appeal in Abuja, to challenge the decision of the lower court.

Respite came for Matawalle at the appellate court as the three-member panel led by Justice Oyebisi Folayemi, nullified the return of Governor Lawal as the winner of the governorship poll.

Justice Sybil Nwaka ordered INEC to conduct a fresh election in three local government areas of the state, where elections had not been held previously or where results from various polling units were not counted.

But the governor proceeded to the apex court to seek redress.

Supreme Court Reverses Sack Of Gov Yusuf, Affirms His Election

 

Justice Okoro held that the tribunal was wrong in deducting the votes accrued to the governor.

The Supreme Court has upheld the election of Abba Yusuf as Governor of Kano State, reversing the decision of the Court of Appeal and the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which sacked the governor.

Justice John Okoro, who read the lead Judgement, said the Court of Appeal was wrong in affirming the decision of the tribunal, which held that Yusuf did not win the majority of lawful votes cast in the governorship election of March 18, 2023.

Also read: Supreme Court Affirms Sanwo-Olu’s Election, Dismisses LP, PDP’s Appeals

In determining the case, the apex court raised two issues: whether the lower court was right in deducting 165,616 from the votes the Independent National Electoral Commission announced for the governor and whether the lower court could determine the issue of party membership.

In the judgement, Justice Okoro held that the tribunal was wrong in deducting 165,616 votes accrued to Yusuf in the election on the grounds that the ballot papers were not signed and stamped by officials of INEC.

According to him, Section 71 of the Electoral Act relied upon by the tribunal to deduct the disputed votes does not apply in the instant case.

The Supreme Court panel of five Justices, subsequently went ahead to restore the deducted 165,616 votes to reinstate the victory of Yusuf in the governorship election.

On the second issue, the Supreme Court again faulted the Court of Appeal for holding that Yusuf was not a member of the NNPP as of the time he contested the election, adding that the issue of nomination and sponsorship is a pre-election matter and outside the jurisdiction of the court.

Justice Okoro observed that contrary to the appellate court, the tribunal never held that Yusuf was not qualified to contest the poll but that his name was not in the NNPP’s membership register submitted to INEC.

The apex court subsequently set aside the judgment of the two lower courts for being perverse and restored the electoral victory of Abba Yusuf.

Gov Yusuf’s Court Of Appeal Sack

A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal led by Moore Adumein, in a unanimous judgement in November,  sacked Governor Yusuf and declared Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the 18 March election in Kano State.

The Court of Appeal, in addition to that, disqualified Governor Yusuf as a candidate in the election, on the grounds that he was not a member of the NNPP as of the time of the election.

The three-person panel would also deduct 165,663 votes from Yusuf’s total votes claiming the votes are invalid because the ballot papers were not stamped or signed.

In its judgement, the court maintained it acted in the public interest when it permitted the APC to tender papers during the trial since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had given the APC access to materials piecemeal to undermine the petitioner’s claim.

It also ruled that the 1999 Constitution did not support Yusuf’s lawyer, Wole Olanipekun’s contention that the APC should have included its candidate Yusuf Ganuwa as a party in the tribunal proceedings because a candidate is allowed to be represented by his political party during legal procedures.

According to the court, political parties are required by the 1999 Constitution to maintain a membership register and provide it to INEC and the tribunal upon request.

AFCON2023: Onuachu Replaces Injured Umar Ahead Sunday’s Opener

 

Umar now joins the likes of Leicester City's midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi and Bayern Leverkusen's, Victor Boniface on the injury list.

Paul Onuachu will replace the Real Sociedad forward Sadiq Umar, who has been ruled out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to be held in Cote d’Ivoire.

Umar reportedly suffered a knee injury in Nigeria’s 2-0 loss to Guinea in a friendly game in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

He now joins the likes of Leicester City’s midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi and Bayern Leverkusen’s, Victor Boniface on the injury list.

A post on X by the Suoer Eagles handle revealed this on Friday and It read: Sadiq Umar is out of the AFCON 2023 squad due to injury; Paul Onuachu replaces him.”

Onuachu had been named in the  Super Eagles’ provisional 40-man squad for the AFCON but was dropped for the final 23-man list by Jose Peserio.

Umar  is expected to return to Spain for treatment Peserio’s men will kick start their campaign against Equatorial Guinea in their Group A opening game on Sunday, January 14th.

Supreme Court Affirms Sanwo-Olu’s Election, Dismisses LP, PDP’s Appeals

 

 

The apex court affirms the judgement of the Court of Appeal Lagos, dismissing the appeal of Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party for lacking in merit.

The supreme court has affirmed the election of Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Governor of Lagos State.

Also read: Supreme Court Set To Deliver Judgements In Kano, Plateau, Five Gov Disputes

The five member panel in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justices Lawal Garba and Adamu Jauro, affirmed the declaration of the APC’s candidate as winner of the March 18, 2023 governorship election, after dismissing two separate appeals challenging his victory.

Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party (LP), who came second and Abdulazeez Adediran popularly known as Jandor of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who came third had challenged the election of Sanwo-Olu on grounds of alleged irregularities, malpractices non-compliance as well as non-qualification.

They had specifically argued that the Deputy Governor, who acquired citizenship of the United States of America, is not qualified to contest elective position and as such his nomination as deputy Governor was unlawful null and void.

They also argued that his alleged unlawful nomination affects the qualification of Sanwo-Olu, hence the court should nullify their participation in the governorship election.

However, both the tribunal and the Court of Appeal in their respective decisions dismissed the two appeals for failure to prove allegations made in their petitions.

The apex court in its judgement, held that it has found no cogent reason to deviate from the concurrent judgments of the tribunal and Court of Appeal which held that Sanwo-Olu was lawfully elected as Governor of Lagos State.

The appellate court in a unanimous judgement held that acquisition of a foreign national those not bar any citizen by birth from contesting election.

Justice Lawal stated that the only condition a citizen with dual citizen can lose his right to be elected as governor is when he denounces his Nigerian citizenship by birth.

The apex court subsequently dismissed the two appeals for lacking in merit.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the APC had polled 762,134 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Rhodes-Vivour, who scored 312,329 votes, with Jandor coming a distant third with 62,449 votes.