By Fred Femi Akinfala In Nigeria, the demand for higher education continues to rise, leading to an increasing need for financial assistance among students. One of the ways students can fund their education is through student loan schemes provided by government and financial institutions. Having served as a lecturer and student advisor for over a decade, I have encountered numerous instances of ‘ghost’ students within educational institutions. These individuals, though not spectral beings, are essentially fake students who either gained improper admission, deliberately forged admission letters or students’ ID cards or were removed from the school’s records due to academic…
Author: Michael Chibuzo
Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has said that employing more civil servants into the Abia State civil service is not the priority of his administration currently. The governor who stated this during an interactive session with journalists in Umuahia, said that the issue of employment would arise when the government has finished dealing with what it met in the civil service. Gov. Otti revealed that he placed an embargo on employment and that it was still in place. Alex Otti lamented that the monthly wage bill for both state and local government workers is about four billion Naira, which he…
By Fredrick Nwabufo The intangibles of leadership are as potent and profound as the corporeal manifestations of governance. A people must not only see the brick-and-mortar elements of leadership; they must also feel and sense leadership in its quantum of compassion, healing, solace, and capacity to inspire unity, as well as foster peace and progress. In fact, the incorporeal constituents of leadership are so important that citizens may not see utility in improved economic well-being and massive industrial transformation, if the leadership does not manage the delicate confluences of social and psychological needs. In some of my treatises as a…
Contrary to misleading reports published by many online news blogs and amplified by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi, technology giant, Microsoft has affirmed that it has not exited Nigeria and has no plan to shut down its operation in Nigeria. Microsoft said that its restructuring is only going to affect its operation in the Africa Development Centre housed in its Lagos Office. The company said it would continue to operate in Nigeria, while continuing to prioritize and invest in strategic growth areas. Microsoft therefore described the story that it is…
The United States has confirmed that it has no plans to establish a military base in Nigeria contrary to rumours making the round that it was set to build a military base in Nigeria. Some days ago, a couple of northern leaders alleged that the US and French governments have been lobbying Nigeria establish military presence in the northern part of the country, which would allow them to redeploy the troops that have been expelled from some French West and Central African countries under military rule. The northern leaders went as far as writing a letter to President Bola Tinubu…
The Association of Local Government Areas of Nigeria (ALGON), Rivers State chapter has accused Gov. Siminalayi Fubara of withholding the funds meant for the LGAs since April 2024. ALGON made this accusation during a press conference on Wednesday in Port Harcourt. ALGON Rivers Chairman, Allwell Ihunda, who is also PHALGA chairman said that Governor Fubara deliberately refused to hold the joint account allocation committee meeting in the state. “It has come to the notice of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, Rivers State chapter, that the Rivers state government, under the leadership of His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has…
The lingering crisis in Rivers State between Governor Sim Fubara and FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike took new turns yesterday with the emergence of Hon. Victor Jumbo, the lawmaker representing the Bonny constituency as the factional speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly. Hon. Victor Jumbo was elected on Wednesday by the two other lawmakers loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The selection of the new Speaker ostensibly took place inside the government house complex. Shortly after his ‘election’, Hon. Jumbo said he had directed the clerk of the house to inform the Governor that a new leadership had been elected…
The Federal Government has reacted to the allegations by the crypto currency platform, Binance accusing some “unknown persons” within the Nigerian government of asking a bribe of $150 million payable in crypto currencies to make its legal problems with the Nigerian government to “go away”. In a press statement signed by Rabiu Ibrahim the Special Assistant to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, the federal government described the allegations by Binance as falsehood and lacks any iota of substance. The federal government added that the bribery allegation is nothing but a diversionary tactics by the company to overshadow the…
By Temitope Ajayi Since his first trip abroad as President of Nigeria to Paris in June last year, where he joined other world leaders at the New Global Financial Pact Summit convened by President Emmanuel Macron, President Bola Tinubu has undertaken many other important trips where he has drawn global attention to the new realities in Nigeria and indeed Africa. On those trips, he emerged as the chief salesman of Nigeria and Africa. Like his previous travels where he had forcefully spoken, with admiration, on behalf of Nigeria or for West Africa as Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Head of…
Reactions have trailed the announcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directing banks and other financial institutions including mobile money operators to begin deduction of 0.5% Cybersecurity levy on some categories of electronic bank transfers effective 20th May, 2024. The directive, the CBN said is in compliance with Section 44(2) (a) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act 2024. However, following the announcement by the apex Bank via its latest circular released on Monday, many Nigerians have taken to the social media to express their confusion and displeasure with the new CBN directive. Some described the directive as…