Four Governors of South-West States on Tuesday met with their ailing Ondo State counterpart, Rotimi Akeredolu, in his private residence in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.
The governors who visited Akeredolu are Seyi Makinde (Oyo); Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos); Dapo Abiodun (Ogun); and Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti).
Akeredolu has remained in Ibadan since he returned from his medical trip to Germany.
Details later…
By Biola Lawal
Abuja (Flowerbudnews): About 288, 266 Nigerian youths have already applied for recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force since the Police Recruitment application portal opened online barely one week ago.
The Police Service Commission (PSC) said in a statement by Ikechukwu Ani, Head, PSC Press and Public Relations, that the development was an indication of high interest of Nigerian youths in the nation’s police force.
The statement was issued with the title ”Police Recruitment: 288,266 applications already received after just barely a week, Nigerian youth’s interest in police force soars ”.
Commenting on the development, the Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Solomon Arase,a retired Inspector General of Police, commended the Nigerian youths for showing greater interest in pursuing a career in the Nigeria Police Force.
Arase ssured that the Commission would ensure that the ongoing recruitment exercise was transparent and merit driven.
He called on the youths to continue to visit the recruitment portal to apply for consideration for recruitment.
The Commission noted in the main statement that just barely a week into the six weeks duration for applications for recruitment into the Constable cadre of the Nigeria Police Force, 288, 266 Nigerian youths have already completed their online applications to be considered for recruitment.
”As at 7pm on Monday, October 23rd 2023, the Recruitment portal www.apply.police recruitment.gov.ng had received 288, 266 applications.
”The portal which opened on Sunday, 15th October 2023 will be closed on the 26th of November 2023 to satisfy the Federal Character Commission requirement of six weeks duration for eligible candidates to apply for any Government Agency vacancies.
”Out of the 288,266 applications already received, 217,105 applications met the basic requirements for further consideration in the subsequent stages of the recruitment process.,’:the statement disclosed.
The Commission added that ”a total number of 217,300 Nigerian youths have so far applied for the General Duty posts while 70,676 applied for specialists posts. 69,426 applications have so far been rejected for its inability to meet the requirements for further consideration out of which 46,868 were rejected for over age.’:
It also disclosed that ‘:51,213 General duty applications were rejected while 18,213 Specialists applications were also rejected.”
The online application requirements include; i Applicants shall be of Nigerian origin and birth and must possess the National Identification Number, NIN; ii.Applicants must possess a minimum of 5 credits in not more than 2 sittings in WAEC/NECO or its equivalent with credit passes in English and Mathematics; iii.
Applicants must be aged between 18 -25 years; ….vii. Applicants must have a valid email address and phone number and SSCE statements of results or certificates relating to examinations taken before 2015 will not be accepted.
The application is without any monetary implications whatsoever and applicants are advised to take note.(Flowerbudnews)
By Flowerbudnews
Enugu:. No fewer than 25 soldiers and an officer are currently facing court martial trial in 82 Division of the Nigerian Army for various offences.
The Nigerian Army personnel facing the court martial trial are drawn from various formations within the Division, which Area of Responsibility (AoR) covers the entire South-East States and Cross River State.
Inaugurating the court martial in Enugu on Tuesday, Maj.-Gen. Hassan Dada, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Division, Nigerian Army, said that the court martial was instituted in pursuant of section 131 of the Nigerian Armed Forces Act of Nigerian.
According to him, court martial is one of the vehicles used by the military to instill discipline among its personnel.
He noted that the accused, who are Nigerian Army personnel allegedly accused to have committed various offences, could not be tried summarily without a due constituted court martial and giving them fair hearing.
The GOC said that just as in civil court, the alleged accused remains innocent until proven otherwise after going through the court martial and given due fair hearing and ability to defend selves.
He noted that the court martial had been empowered to try the accused persons, and if they are not found wanting would be discharged and acquitted of their alleged crimes.
Dada noted that if the accused are found guilty, he or she would be panelized according to the law criminalizing such an offence committed.
“Let me assure you that this court martial will be guided by the principle of natural justice and fair hearing as encapsulated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended and other extent laws and procedures related to your trial.
“The court is free from any external influences and we will ensure adequate time and facilities to ensure you defend yourselves,” he said.
The GOC assured all of justice, adding that evidence and allegation laid against the accused would be clearly verified and authenticated to ensure that “the innocent is never victimised”.
He, however, urged the defense counsel of the accused to avoid unnecessary adjournment and time wasting.
The court martial has a President, Col. Usman Ahmad, leading other 10 members of the panel as well as one awaiting panel member.
The court martial also has a Judge Advocate, Capt. S.A. Sadiq, to duly advise the panel as the proceedings continue. (Flowerbudnews)
The Police Service Commission (PSC) Chairman, Solomon Arase, has praised Nigerian youths for showing intent in their pursuit of a career with the Nigeria Police Force.
He said this while revealing that the PSC had received 288,266 applications to join the force within a week.
Ikechukwu Ani, Head, Press and Public Relations, in a statement on Tuesday, said Arase called on the youths to continue to visit the recruitment portal to apply for consideration for recruitment.
The statement added that as of 7 p.m. on Monday, October 23 2023, the recruitment portal had received 288,266 applications.
According to the statement, out of the 288,266 applications already received, 217,105 applications met the basic requirements for further consideration in the subsequent stages of the recruitment process.
It said 217,300 youths have so far applied for the general duty posts, while 70,676 applied for specialist posts. Sixty-nine thousand four hundred twenty-six applications have so far been rejected for their inability to meet the requirements for further consideration, out of which 46,868 were rejected for over age requirements.
“51,213 general duty applications were rejected while 18,213 specialists applications were also rejected”, it said.
The portal opened on Sunday, 15th October 2023, and will be closed on the 26th of November 2023 to satisfy the Federal Character Commission requirement of six weeks for eligible candidates to apply for any government agency vacancies
He assured them that the Commission would ensure the ongoing recruitment exercise is transparent and merit-driven
The online application requirements include that applicants shall be of Nigerian origin and birth and must possess the National Identification Number, NIN.
“Applicants must possess a minimum of 5 credits in not more than two sittings in WAEC/NECO or its equivalent with credit passes in English and Mathematics. Applicants must be aged between 18 -25 years.
“Applicants must have a valid email address and phone number and SSCE statements of results or certificates relating to examinations taken before 2015 will not be accepted,” it said
It said the application has no monetary implications whatsoever
Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence on Tuesday found the medical director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, Doctor Olufemi Olaleye guilty of raping his wife’s niece.
The judge held that the evidence of the victim and that of the doctor who examined her were consistent.
He also stated that Olaleye’s confessional statement and exchange of WhatsApp and email messages with his wife were enough evidence against him.
Justice Oshodi also held that the statement and undertaking he wrote and signed alongside his lawyer, Olalekan Buruji with his NBA seal at Anthony Police Station, showed he raped the victim and forced her to suck his manhood.
Oshodi found him guilty of the offence of defilement and sexual penetration of a 15-year-old minor.
The judge held that the prosecution was able to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and that all the evidence before the court corroborated that of the victim.
Details later…
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a $3.45 billion World Bank loan application for financing power projects among others in the country.
Mr Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, disclosed this during the FEC meeting in Abuja on Monday.
Edun the council approved the loan request during its meeting at the State House, adding that the Federal Government would begin to receive the $3.5bn “zero-interest” loan.
According to him, the loan is payable within 40 years with a 10-year moratorium which means payments would start from 2033.
“Today at the Federal Executive Council, I presented five memos which were gracefully approved by the Council. They had to do with concessional and, in many cases, zero-interest financing by the World Bank and the International Development Association, which is the very concessional financing arm,” he told State House Correspondents.
“The projects that were approved for funding were in the power sector and then the renewable energy sector. There was funding for states for resource mobilisation programmes to help them with the internally-generated revenue efforts.
“There was a project for adolescent girls’ initiative for learning and empowerment. And then finally the fifth financing that was approved was for Women project.”
“So, those were five loans totalling $3.45 billion. And as you know, the tenure is all around 40 years, with a moratorium period of around 10 years and interest very low, or in the cases of either loans, zero interest. However, some fees would be incurred,” he added.
During the briefing, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, also said FEC approved the creation of a Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund.
The minister said the Fund will help the Federal Government respond promptly to humanitarian situations in Nigeria and that the government hopes to raise at least $5 billion annually into it.
Popular Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh, has joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The development was announced by the APC in a post on its X account on Monday.
Dikeh was the Rivers State deputy governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), in the 2023 general election.
The actress was unveiled at the APC National Secretariat, Abuja on Monday by the party’s national women leader, Dr Mary Alile and deputy national publicity secretary, Hon. Duro Meseko.
“Tonto Dikeh who was the Rivers State 2023 deputy governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress, was unveiled by the national women leader, Dr Mary Alile and Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Hon Duro Meseko at the Party’s HQ,” the post read.
By Ishaq Zaki
The Zamfara State Hajj Commission on Monday said that it discovered N774 million as outstanding balance not refunded to 504 prospective pilgrims in the state from 2019 to date.
The Chairman of the commission, Alhaji Musa Mallaha, disclosed this in Gusau at the commission’s inaugural meeting.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that during the meeting, Mallaha presented appointment letters to the recently appointed five parmanent commissioners and 18 part-time members to the commission on behalf of Gov. Dauda Lawal.
Mallaha further disclosed that from 2019 to date, the immediate past administration had not refunded N775 million to the 504 prospective pilgrims who deposited their money with the commission.
“This commission has been owing N775 million for 504 intended pilgrims from across the 14 local government areas who were not able to complete payment for hajj seats from 2019 to date.
“You know, I was appointed by Gov Dauda Lawal as Amirul Hajj for this state in the 2022 hajj.
“Many people in this state have complained to me that they have deposited their money in the commission for pilgrimage over the years but not refunded.
“I complained to the governor, after my appointment as Chairman to this commission, the governor directed me to investigate the matter and ensure justice for everyone involved.
“We further discovered that the commission had 16 finance accounts in different banks, I requested office of the State Accountant-General to verify all the accounts after which we recovered N254 million.
“We further discovered that parts of the money deposited previously by the intending pilgrims had been used for free hajj tickets and renovation of state’s Hajj Camp by the immediate past administration.”
According to him, currently the commission had total balance of N92 million out of the outstanding N775 million to be paid.
He said the state government would continue with the investigation and make sure that justice was done to the matter.
“You know, government is a continuous process; I am therefore appealing to Gov. Dauda Lawal to pay all the intended pilgrims their rights,” Mallaha added.
NAN
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) recorded a 1.6 per cent year-on-year growth in Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, to N1.92 trillion in 2022 from N1.89 trillion in 2021.
This is contained in NBS report on Internally Generated Revenue At State Level for 2022.
ccording to NBS, the 2022 IGR had two major revenue sources namely; taxes and Ministries, Departments and Agencies’ (MDAs’) revenue.
The bureau sais taxes sub-category recorded in the period are Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Direct Assessment, Road Taxes, Stamp duties, Capital gain tax, Withholding taxes, Other taxes and LGAs revenue.
According to the report: “Similar to what was recorded in 2021, the leading states in total IGR in 2022 were Lagos, Rivers, and the FCT with ₦651,145,633,085.30, ₦172,823,232,535.44, and ₦124,366,774,519.25, respectively.
“While the least three performing states during the year were Kebbi, Taraba, and Yobe with the value of ₦9,146,249,907.83, ₦10,238,110,125.95, and ₦10,456,776,796.18, respectively.”
The report said PAYE was the most contributing revenue source in 2022 with a 67.62 per cent share to the total tax generated revenues nationwide.
The bureau said capital gains tax generated the least in 2022 with a 0.24 per cent share to total tax revenue.
The report said Oyo, Lagos, and Jigawa states led with the highest LGA revenue reported during the year.
“The states recorded ₦11,832,437,020.33, ₦11,505,586,283.35, and ₦8,700,993,591.78, respectively,” the NBS said.
NAN