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S’court gives governors 7 days to file defence in LG autonomy suit
30 mai, par UnknownThe supreme court has ordered governors of the 36 states of the federation to file their respective defences to a suit instituted against them by the federal government.
In the suit marked SC/CV/343/2024, the federal government is seeking full autonomy for the country’s 774 local governments.
The federal government is also asking for an order preventing the governors from arbitrarily dissolving democratically elected councils.
At the court session on Thursday, a seven-member panel of the apex court also ordered the governors, who were represented by the state attorneys-general, to file their responses to the originating summons within seven days.
The court also ordered Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation (AGF), to file his response within two days after receiving the responses of the states.
Garba Lawal, who led the supreme court panel, agreed with the AGF that abridgment of time was necessary in the case due to its national imperative.
The supreme court held that filing of all processes and exchanging of same must be completed before June 10.
The court then fixed June 13 for hearing of the suit.
Lawal ordered that the eight states that were not in attendance during Thursday’s proceedings must be served with fresh hearing notices.
The eight states are Borno, Kano, Kogi, Niger, Ogun, Osun, Oyo and Sokoto, whose attorneys-general were absent in court despite being served with hearing notices.
BACKGROUND
It is commonplace for governors to sack elected councils and impose caretaker committees in their stead.
In the suit filed by Fagbemi, the federal government also requested the supreme court to authorise the direct transfer of funds from the federation account to local governments — in accordance with the constitution.
The suit is hinged on 27 grounds.
“That the constitution of Nigeria recognizes federal, states and local governments as three tiers of government and that the three recognized tiers of government draw funds for their operation and functioning from the federation account created by the constitution,” the originating summons reads.
“That by the provisions of the constitution, there must be a democratically elected local government system and that the constitution has not made provisions for any other systems of governance at the local government level other than democratically elected local government system.
“That in the face of the clear provisions of the constitution, the governors have failed and refused to put in place a democratically elected local government system even where no state of emergency has been declared to warrant the suspension of democratic institutions in the state.
“That the failure of the governors to put democratically elected local government system in place is a deliberate subversion of the 1999 Constitution which they and the President have sworn to uphold.
“That all efforts to make the governors comply with the dictates of the 1999 Constitution in terms of putting in place a democratically elected local government system, has not yielded any result and that to continue to disburse funds from the federation account to governors for non existing democratically elected local governments is to undermine the sanctity of the 1999 constitution.”
The federal government asked the apex court to invoke sections 1, 4, 5, 7 and 14 of the constitution to declare that the governors and state houses of assembly are under obligation to ensure democratically elected systems at the third tier.
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Senate asks FG to probe unpaid stipends of stranded international students
30 mai, par UnknownGodswill Akpabio, the senate president, has directed a probe into the financial struggles of Nigerian students abroad.
The inability to pay the tuition has also forced some of them to juggle jobs or take loans from fellow African students.
They also seek help from family members whose monetary aids have become insignificant due to foreign exchange fluctuations and the depreciating value of the naira.
Sometimes, these students also sell personal belongings to make ends meet.
During plenary on Tuesday, the senate urged the federal government to punish officials who may be responsible for the challenges faced by the students.
Salihu Mustapha, the lawmaker representing Kwara central senatorial district, raised a motion on a matter of urgent importance.
“These scholarships are part of a broader initiative to promote specialised education through partnerships with foreign institutions, facilitated by entities such as the Federal Scholarship Board (FSB), under the federal ministry of education,” he said.
“There are reports of Nigerian students facing hardships in Algeria, China, Morocco, Russia, and the United Kingdom due to non-payment of tuition and living stipends, leading to negative media coverage and national embarrassment.
“The recurrence of these issues suggests systemic failures, despite previous interventions by this distinguished chamber to prevent such situations.
“The federal government’s failure to meet its financial commitments under these international agreements for over 10 months will jeopardise the welfare and academic progress of the affected students.
“The failure to fulfil these obligations not only undermines our national reputation but also poses significant diplomatic concerns and risks, pushing our students towards unlawful activities to sustain their livelihood abroad.”
In its resolution, the senate summoned Tahir Mamman, the minister of education, and the FSB over the delay in the payment of outstanding grants to the students.
The lawmakers asked Mamman to submit a detailed report on the status of all Nigerian students under international scholarship programmes, including an analysis of their unpaid entitlements.
The upper chamber asked Akpabio to carry out a holistic investigation into the matter and ensure that necessary measures were taken to rectify the situation.
Akpabio also directed relevant committees to probe the matter.
BACKGROUND
Nigeria has a bilateral education agreement (BEA) with some countries in Africa, Europe, North America and Asia.
Some of the countries are Russia, China, Hungary, Morocco, Venezuela, and Algeria among others.
These countries hand annual scholarship slots to Nigeria’s federal scholarship board, which then proceeds to nominate indigenous applicants by merit. The arrangement is meant to go both ways.
The host country undertakes to cover tuition and provide hostel accommodation for the scholars, alongside some monthly or bi-monthly allowance, depending on what is obtainable.
All Nigeria has to do is pay the awardees yearly allowance of $200 for health insurance, $500 annually for medicals, and $500 in monthly stipend for nutrition, books, equipment, and transport.
Slots for student lodges in destination varsities are always limited. This means that most Nigerians end up paying $200 to $300 in monthly rent, while depleting their $500 stipend which hardly arrives on time.
FSB is yet to resolve this with the BEA countries or provide alternative accommodation.
The board continues to default, sometimes going for months without disbursing these funds.
As of the time of writing, the latest spell has subsisted for 12 months.
This has forced the students, some of whom are either orphaned or have public servants living on N30,000 ($20.6 at N1,450/USD) monthly minimum wage, to work long hours in odd underpaid jobs, squat with foreign nationals, beg for alms, face eviction due to unpaid rent, ration food, and be ridiculed abroad.
In 2023, Nigeria had 1,532 active BEA beneficiaries for which N6.8 billion was budgeted for in 2024 at N800/USD 1 FX benchmark.
Government sources cite paucity of funds as the reason for the unpaid stipends. Embassies in destination countries are out of options.
The ministers of education in Nigeria say they are taking the matter up with the finance ministry.
The house of representatives is also looking to constitute a probe panel to investigate the issue.
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Champions League final : Ancelotti blocks one Madrid player from travelling with squad
30 mai, par Fashola MC POSCABAReal Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti, will not allow Andriy Lunin to travel with the rest of the squad for this weekend’s Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund.
The Sun reports that the goalkeeper will not make the trip to London after coming down with flu earlier this week.
Lunin has played most of the game in the competition following injury to Thibaut Courtois.
He was a hero of the penalty shootout victory over Manchester City in the quarter-finals.
Madrid are looking to win the title for a record-extending 15th time.
Ancelotti’s squad will arrive in London on Thursday while Marca reports that Lunin will touch down on either Friday or Saturday to reduce the chances of him transmitting his illness.
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FCCPC launches nationwide market investigation over high food prices
30 mai, par Fashola MC POSCABAThe Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, is currently conducting investigations across the country to uncover the reasons for the high cost of food prices in Nigerian markets.
This is to enable the commission to provide suggestions to the federal government on how to address the ongoing food crisis.
The Head of the FCCPC, Lagos Office, Suzzy Onwuka, recently led a team of investigators to engage with marketers and traders’ associations in Lagos State to understand the reasons behind the ongoing increase in food prices.
Similarly, in Rivers State, the FCCPC, under the guidance of its South-South Zonal Coordinator, Uchegbu Chukwuma, also conducted fact-finding sessions with traders’ associations and marketers to identify the factors contributing to the continuous rise in food prices.
In Lagos, the fact-finding investigation at the Mile 12 International Perishable Market and the Oke-Odo Market in Agbado/Oke-Odo LCDA was described by Onwuka as a mission to collect firsthand information from key sources and stakeholders. This included engaging with market union leaders, sellers, and consumers in these significant food markets.
A statement from the FCCPC yesterday, reads: “FCCPC’s surveillance efforts suggest that participants in the food chain and distribution sector, including wholesalers and retailers, are allegedly engaged in conspiracy, price gauging, hoarding and other unfair tactics to restrict or distort competition in the market, restrict the supply of food, manipulate and inflate the price of food indiscriminately.
“These obnoxious, unscrupulous, exploitative practices are illegal under the FCCPA.
“Following this exercise, the commission would develop a concise report of its inquiry and make recommendations to the government in accordance with Section 17(b) of the FCCPA and initiate broad-based policies and review economic activities in Nigeria to identify and address anti-competitive, anti-consumer protection and restrictive practices to make markets more competitive while also ensuring fair pricing for consumers.”
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One year in office : We’re walking the talk – Tinubu
30 mai, par UnknownPresident Bola Tinubu has said his administration in the last one year has performed optimally, stressing that his government is walking the talk.
Tinubu, who said this on Wednesday, also praised Nigerians for 25 years of unbroken democratic rule, urging the citizenry to build a nation for generations unborn.
He, however, warned against risking the nation’s democracy, saying as Nigerians, “we must continue to collaborate, work together and build our country against the backdrop that we do not have another country we can call our own.’’
The President said this at a joint sitting of the National Assembly, where he officially flagged off the recitation of the old national anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee.”
Recall that he had earlier signed into law the bill dropping the current national anthem, “Arise O Compatriots’’ for ‘’Nigeria, We Hail Thee,’’ that was passed on Tuesday by the Senate and last week by the House of Representatives.
He, therefore, assured that his address would be on June 12, which is Democracy Day.