Author: Lawal AbdulSalam Olawale

The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan, says it’s been “humbling” to find out through a genealogy test that she is partly Nigerian as she met with women in the West African nation Saturday.

 

On her second day in Nigeria, where she is visiting for the first time with Prince Harry to also promote mental health for wounded soldiers and young girls, Meghan acknowledged Nigeria as “my country,” according to Associated Press on Saturday.

 

She added: “It’s been eye-opening to be able to know more about my heritage.”

 

“Never in a million years would I understand it as much as I do now. And what has been echoed so much in the past day is, ’Oh, we are not so surprised when we found out you are Nigerian,” she said at the event on women in leadership co-hosted by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a Nigerian economist and head of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

 

“It is a compliment to you because what they define as a Nigerian woman is brave, resilient, courageous, beautiful,” Meghan told the audience.

 

 

 

The Duchess of Sussex had announced on her podcast in October 2022 that she found out through the DNA-based test that she was “43% Nigerian.”

 

Her first reaction after finding out was to tell her mother, she said at the event in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. “Being African American, part of it is really not knowing so much about your lineage and background … and it was exciting for both of us,” she said.

 

Mo Abudu, the anchor and chief executive of EbonyLife media group, then asked the audience to suggest a Nigerian name for Meghan.

 

“Ifeoma,” someone shouted from the excited crowd, a name from Nigeria’s Igbo tribe which means ‘a treasured thing.’ “Omowale” another suggested, from the Yoruba tribe, which means ‘the child has come home.’

Meghan joined female industry leaders such as Okonjo-Iweala to discuss the importance of mentorship for young women and the career challenges women face in a country like Nigeria, where it is not common for women to be in top leadership and political positions.

Asked by the anchor about how she feels about becoming the first woman and first African to lead the WTO, Okonjo-Iweala said it was long overdue.

 

When I will feel right is when we stop saying, ‘the first woman to do this … to do that’. I have very mixed feelings about being the first woman because I think women should have been there already.” She also spoke about mentors who have helped her career, including as Nigeria’s former finance minister.

 

One way to mentor young girls is by “returning home” to be closer to them, Meghan said, citing the case of Okonjo-Iweala as an example. “You need to come back home, you need to, at least, be a familiar face for the next generation to say, ‘Oh she looks like me and I can be that’,” she added.

 

Earlier in the day, Meghan watched as Harry and his Invictus Games team lost to the Nigerian military’s team in a sitting volleyball game. It featured soldiers recovering from injuries sustained in the country’s fight against Islamic extremists and other armed gangs in the country’s conflict-battered north.

 

 

 

After the match held at the Nigerian Armed Forces’ Mess in Abuja, Harry and Meghan were surrounded by players, their families and a group of women who gifted Meghan a Nigerian fabric.

 

“We are friends and family supporters of Harry and Meghan,” said Peace Adetoro, 57, a member of the group. “They are a beautiful couple and we love them so much. We support them 100%.”

The Minister of the Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has regretted his decision to launch Governor Siminalayi Fubara to power in 2023, saying it was a mistake he would correct at the appropriate time.

Wike attributed the mistakes to error of judgement and asked the Rivers people, especially the LGA and political family to forgive him.

He said at the right time, they would correct the mistake while vowing to continually make his detractors angry so they would keep making mistakes.

want to say this clearly, in life we have made a mistake. I have made a mistake. I own it up and I say God forgive me. I have said all of you forgive me. But we will correct it at the appropriate time. I am a human, I am bound to make a mistake. So forgive me for making a wrong judgement. So nobody should kill,” he said.

 

The FCT Minister while reacting to some issues arising from the camp of Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara, on the ongoing political crisis in the State, said no injunctions obtained at 2am or 4am would stop the law and due process from taking its course in the state.

 

Wike also reacting to Fubara’s remarks that he would not worship anybody, saying he had never asked the Governor or anybody to worship him.

 

He spoke on Saturday at the grand Civic reception at Ogu-Bolo held in honour of Chief George Thompson Sekibo to celebrate his 20 years of service at the National and 36 years of his life in public service.

 

“If they like they can go to anybody by 2am or 4am to get injunction. The law will take its course. We must follow due process.

 

“It is not easy to be a public officer and the people decide to honour you. Let me thank the Ogu council of chiefs and the entire community who insisted that their son should be honoured.

 

“You have refused politics to divide you. It shows that you have the interest of your community in mind. I came because I respect people, who appreciate what God has used people to do for them.

 

“God uses people to help others. So when you have been helped, you appreciate them. God will know you have appreciated him. Nobody can worship man. All of us believe that it is only God we will worship.

 

“As politicians we appreciate people who have helped us. When I came to ask you to support me, you supported me. Did I worship you? Did I ask you to worship me. If you had not supported me, I would not have been where I am. Did you tell me to worship you? So where does the issue of worship come from?”

 

Most political associates of Wike such as Senator Magnus Abe; Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Dr. Samuel Ogbuku; NDDC Director, Finance and Administration, Boma Iyayi, House of Assembly members, local government chairmen, senators among others attended the event

 

Wike told the lawmakers not to be afraid saying nobody would remove them as assembly member

 

Don’t be afraid nobody will remove you as a lawmaker. Most of you don’t understand. This is our work. Our business is to make them to fear. That is what I am doing. We will make them to be angry everyday and they will continue to make mistakes.”

The former Governor said he would continue to maintain peace in the state and called on his supporters to pursue peace.

 

He said: “So don’t worry yourselves. We won’t give money to anybody to go and buy arms to kill anybody. I have maintained peace and I want to beg all you to continue to maintain peace. Nobody will tell me that I can’t live in my house or go to my house. But all of you should maintain the peace. Follow law and sue process..we will get to the end

 

“As you see me I stand straight. I think well. I came with senator Magnus Abe. I work with people that have brains. On politics, when people with brains agree they disagree. Those, who don’t know what to do but said they would bring me down, who born them? They are nowhere. When you are in charge, you are in charge.

 

“Everything will calm down. All these people running around, they would come down. Boma worked for his appointment, he showed loyalty and commitment and that is why God placed him there. Don’t worry.

 

“Let me also advised you, forget about how they abuse us. You must be alive for people to abuse you. If you are dead, will they abuse you? At the appropriate time when the results will be announced, we will know who is who. We have defeated them severally.

 

“Some.of them ran to Abuja but when I went to Abuja, they ran back here. Have you not seen the way Abuja is moving? No amount of propaganda can help you. Ogu people have shown loyalty and I want to thank you”.

 

Reflecting on his political journey, Wike said: “In 2014 to 2015, we didn’t have anybody. I came here and you said you would work for it and you worked for it. We had nobody in government. Did we not win? What are you afraid of?

 

“While in a government I had a problem, I had a federal government that was hostile to me, did we not succeed? They are giving excuses. If you know you. When somebody cannot do something, say you cannot do it.

 

“At the appropriate time, people will speak of the projects in the state. They will tell you who did what. It is not people who come now and claim what they didn’t do. Ogu continue to support your people, your politicians have done well. Sekibo has done well.

 

“Don’t mind these buccaneers, I know how to handle them. Leave them for me..they have been my children. I will continue to handle them. Let’s work together”.

 

The former governor added: ” It is not easy to be in power and begin to give excuses. You continue to run away from promises you made to people. Look at all the council chairmen, the assembly members, these were people I spoke to for the interest of all of us.

 

“They all responded but today somebody said they are nobody. Will you accept that? Assembly people sat down in their various constituencies. You never brought a dime. I never knew you were rich that your father was a managing director of shell before and now you are paying their school fees. It is unfortunate

 

But Ogu people I will never abandon you. There are some chiefs I wanted to recognise as traditional rulers. Their people said no. But I dared it and I did it. Nobody bothered to recognise the traditional rulers from 1999 down to 2014. It was me that came and recognize most of them. I did what I did because it believed it was the right thing to do. It takes he who has the balls to talk.

 

“Now you said you are making them first class. Who made them second class and third class before you are making him first class? Be grateful to whatever God has given to you. Anywhere you are as a traditional ruler, check your conscience, who lifted you up. They said the list of caretaker committee was released but it was fake. Everything is fake with them

Nigeria’s former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Michael Aondoakaa has advised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to follow due process in its handling of the investigation of former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.

Giving a background into the ongoing controversy surrounding the matter, Aondoakka noted that the EFCC had made an error by including Bello in a charge relating to events predating his tenure as governor and that it was on the basis of this and other antecedents that the Governor approached the court to enforce his fundamental human rights.

The former minister, who spoke on Arise TV on Thursday, said, “There was an error in the Charge by the EFCC. He was being roped there because he was Governor but they referred 2015 conspiracy for him. In 2015, the man said I was not even a Governor. I was a Governor in 2016.

 

“That was the premise on which he went to enforce his fundamental human rights before a state high court. The State High Court and Federal High Court have concurrent jurisdiction to enforce fundamental human rights.”

 

He said the controversy around the whole issue was unnecessary and advised the EFCC to follow the rule of law.

 

According to the Benue-born former AGF, once charges are in court, the agency is no longer in a position to arrest.

 

“Once charges are in court, it is no longer the agency that will arrest, it is the court that will issue Summons against Yahaya Bello. And if he doesn’t appear, the EFCC will ask for a bench warrant to bring him to come and answer charges.

 

“But in the subsequent order, the court said because of your antecedents, you should file charges in a court first. The court will then serve Yahaya Bello to come and appear. But don’t arrest him, don’t detain him. I think it is a very fair judgment,” he noted.

 

The former Justice minister pointed out that there was a provision to appeal a judgment if an institution deemed it as unfair.

 

“The position of the law is this: it is not for me or anybody or any agency to interpret a judgment of the court. Where you see that the judgment of the court is unfair, you go on appeal. Luckily, the superior court, the Court of Appeal saw this problem and …created a fast-track system. The rules specifically made it easier for EFCC or any organisation to approach the Court of Appeal. Filing of briefs is only 14 days. Filing of Respondent’s brief is 10 days, reply is five days. So the whole trial on such Appeal can only be about one month and judgment will be given,” he explained.

 

He gave an example of how he adhered to the rule of law on principle while he was AGF, and followed due process in a particular case involving former Governor Orji Kalu, even when he had sympathy with the EFCC.

 

He said the issue of restraining order was about protection and the Judiciary, not about an individual.

 

The former minister said, “The issue of having restraint is not because of the person. It is not about Yahaya Bello. Yahaya Bello is not above the law. But the institution, the Judiciary. We protect.

 

“I had a similar situation when I was a Minister of Justice involving Orji Kalu. Of course Orji Kalu got orders and EFCC felt strongly they should arrest him. Well, I had sympathy with them but I followed the law. I said, look, there is a court order, go and vacate the order, and they went to vacate the order.”

Some protesting students of the Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State, have reportedly attacked some buildings on the campus of the polytechnic, where they also vandalised vehicles belonging to some staff members.

 

According to some eyewitnesses, the incident occurred late on Thursday as some people suspected to be students invaded the campus of the polytechnic following a raid on some hostels around the Owode-Ede area by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, where some students were arrested and taken to Ibadan zonal office of the anti-graft agency.

After the raid, the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Joint Campus Committee, Osun axis, in a release co-signed on behalf of the student body by Taiwo Ogungbe and Faruq Afolabi, as the Chairman and General Secretary of the association respectively, had claimed that EFCC operatives engaged in a night raid of hostels where the students were residing, arrested an unspecified number and whisked them to Ibadan, Oyo State.

 

The student group which condemned the act, demanded the immediate release of all those arrested and warned that failure to accede to its demand would compel NANS to move against the agency.

 

But the management of the polytechnic, while reacting to enquiry by journalists in a release signed by the institution’s Public Relations Officer, Sola Lawal, said the identities of those students reportedly arrested could not be immediately ascertained.

 

Lawal, however, said the institution had yet to receive any correspondence from the EFCC to either confirm or deny the said arrest and the involvement of its students.

Displeased by the development, sources on the campus of the polytechnic, said some yet-to-be-identified students vandalised some buildings within the premises and vehicles.

 

Two students living in female hostels located within the premises of the polytechnic campus, who were close to the scene when the incident happened, but preferred anonymity for security reasons, said those involved hurled pebbles at some buildings including the staff club, and damaged some vehicles.

 

One of the students said, “The students were protesting the arrest of their colleagues by the EFCC. They hurled stones at the administrative building, but they concentrated on the staff club. They damaged some vehicles there. Those involved came to campus between 7 pm and 8 pm on Thursday.”

When contacted on Friday, the institution’s PRO, Lawal, who confirmed the incident, said, “The management of the Federal Polytechnic, Ede, condemns the act of vandalism carried out last night (Thursday) by some misguided students which led to the vandalism of staff vehicles at the staff club.

 

“Lastly, the management is using this medium to warn mischief makers whose agenda is to disrupt the ongoing first-semester examination, as any students or fifth columnist caught disturbing the peace and tranquility of the institution will be dealt with decisively; to be forewarned is to be forearmed

 

The Management of Federal Polytechnic Ede, Osun state said on Thursday that it was yet to confirm the identity of the people alleged to have been arrested by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Ede community.

 

Even as the school confirmed that there was a sting operation of the anti-graft agency in the town but specified that the raid was carried out at Owode-Ede.

 

It noted that the school was yet to receive any correspondence from EFCC to either confirm or deny the said arrest and the involvement of its students.

 

 

This was made known in a statement issued by the school Public Relation Officer, Mr Sola Lawal on Thursday.

 

Blueprint had earlier reported that the Students’ leaders in the school accused the EFCC of illegal invasion and arrest of students in Ede community.

 

Reacting through a statement, the Ede Poly management said: “ The attention of the Management of Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State has been drawn to a purported arrest of students of the institution by operatives of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which has gone viral on social media platforms.

 

 

“It is, therefore, imperative to intimate the general public that the said raid was carried out at Owode-Ede and we are yet to ascertain the identities of those alleged to have been apprehended by the security agency.

 

“Also, we are yet to receive any correspondence from the EFCC to either confirm or deny the said arrest and the involvement of our students.”

 

The management, however, called for calm adding that the school will appropriately keep the public informed on further developments.

 

Meanwhile, the students’ leaders in the school vowed to storm the Ibadan Zonal Command of the anti-graft agency in Ibadan, to protest the alleged arrest of their colleagues

All fintech companies, also known as Point-of-Sale operators (PoS), are to register their businesses with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) within two months.

 

The commission disclosed this via its official X handle.

 

It said this was the agreement reached at a meeting between Fintech companies and Hussaini Magaji, its Registrar-General/Chief Executive in Abuja on Monday.

 

The commission said the measure was to safeguard the businesses of fintech customers and strengthen the economy.

 

It also said the move was in compliance with “Section 863, Subsection 1 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, CAMA 2020 as well as the 2013 Central Bank of Nigeria’s guidelines on agent banking.”

 

The commission said that the deadline for the registration, which will expire on July 7, 2024, was not targeted at any groups or individuals but genuinely aimed at protecting businesses.

 

“Several speakers from the fintech industry pledged to collaborate with the Commission to ensure hitch-free implementation of the directive.

 

“Some of them, however, stressed the need for adequate and collective sensitisation to ensure that the exercise achieved the desired results,” the commission said. (GBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed deposit money banks in the country to start charging 0.5% cybersecurity levy on transactions

This was contained in a circular dated May 6, 2024 by the apex bank to all commercial, merchant, non-interest and payment service banks as well as mobile money operators and payment service providers.

 

“Following the enactment of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024 and pursuant to the provision of Section 44 (2) (a) of the Act, ‘a levy of 0.5% (0.005) equivalent to a half percent of all electronic transactions value by the business specified in the Second Schedule of the Act’, is to be remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund (NCF), which shall be administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA),” the circular partly read.

 

The apex bank said that the implementation of the levy would start two weeks from the date of the circular.

 

“The levy shall be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution. The deducted amount shall be reflected in the customer’s account with the narration, ‘Cybersecurity Levy’.

Deductions shall commence within two weeks from the date of this circular for all financial institutions and the monthly remittance of the levies collected in bulk to the NCF account domiciled at the CBN by the fifth business day of every subsequent month,” the circular added.

 

Exempted from the levy include loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer, intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank.

 

Also exempted from the levy were inter-branch transfers within a bank, cheque clearing and settlements, ⁠Letters of Credits, ⁠Banks’ recapitalisation-related funding only bulk funds movement from collection accounts, savings and deposits including transactions involving long-term investments, among others.

 

The apex bank recently stopped fintechs firms like Opay and Palmpay from onboarding new customers and directed banks to deduct 0.375 per cent stamp duty charge on all mortgaged-backed loans and bonds.

No fewer than 33,636 persons in Jigawa, Kano and Katsina States have benefited from assorted food items donated by the Saudi Arabia King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief).

This is contained in a statement by Mrs Zubaida Umar, Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency, issued to newsmen on Friday in Kaduna.

 

According to her, the Saudi Arabia-based KSrelief , donated the food items to provide humanitarian aid and relief to those in need, outside the Kingdom’s borders.

She said that a total of 5,606 households comprising of 33,636 persons had benefited from the gesture.

The number of households that received the items in Kano was 2,056, with 1,750 households each in both Jigawa and Katsina States, respectively.

The food items distributed were in baskets that consisted of 25kg rice, 25kg beans, 4kg masa vita flour, 2litres vegetable oil, 2kg tomato paste, 0.8kg seasoning cubes and 1kg salt.

 

“Beneficiaries of the food items were jointly enumerated by NEMA and the State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMA) of Jigawa, Kano and Katsina States,” she explained.

 

The director-general further revealed that no fewer than 50 food baskets were also given to vulnerable persons in camps and host communities, identified by an NGO Maiduguri in Borno.

 

Umar commended the staffers of the agency for ensuring the equitable distribution of the food items to the beneficiaries in the affected states. (