Buhari Signs Business Facilitation Bill Into Law

By

-

February 14, 2023

To provide an enabling environment for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the country, President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the Business Facilitation Bill 2022 also known as the Omnibus Bill into law.

The Executive Bill was presented as the Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provision) Act, 2023, a legislative intervention by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) which amends 21 business-related laws, removing bureaucratic constraints to doing business in Nigeria.

The new law also codifies Executive Order 001 on Transparency and Efficiency in Public Service Delivery, the Administration’s first executive order, aimed at strengthening ease of doing business reforms across the country.

In her remarks, Dr Jumoke Oduwole stated that “The PEBEC Secretariat was delighted to see the Act come into fruition saying it was a culmination of over four years of collaboration between public and private sector stakeholders, including the Attorney General of the Federation, and the Federal Ministry of Justice.

Others are the Nigeria Bar Association Section on Business Law through the participation of over 40 law firms and consulting firms, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), and the National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER).

She said “We are especially delighted to appreciate the 9th National Assembly for its speedy consideration of this Bill, with immense support from Senator Babajide Omoworare, Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate) for all his efforts.”

The Business Facilitation Act, 2023 consolidates the last seven years of PEBEC-led reforms and demonstrates the Administration’s sustained commitment towards making Nigeria a progressively easier place to start and grow a business.

Kenya Deploys Army Against Bandits

By

Koko Lawrence

-

February 14, 2023

0

Kenya’s President William Ruto has ordered the army to join a security operation against armed bandits in the northern Rift Valley region who have killed dozens of people in recent months.

Report says the order came as the interior minister declared parts of six counties in the region as “disturbed and dangerous,” issuing a 30-day dusk-to-dawn curfew starting from Tuesday.

“The government has determined the security situation currently prevailing in the northern Rift Valley Region as a national emergency. Accordingly, painful and decisive measures must be taken effectively immediately,” Prof Kindiki Kithure said in a statement.

Meanwhile, a government notice said the troops would be deployed to support the police from Wednesday.

It ordered all people holding illegal guns and ammunition to hand them over to the authorities in three days or “meet the full force of the law”.

More than 100 civilians and 16 police officers have been killed by bandits in the past six months, according to the interior ministry.

Report says the government has come under criticism for not doing enough to deal with the problem, even as the armed gunmen have recently become bolder, killing people and stealing livestock despite high-level security meetings in the areas.

As previous security operations have not deterred the armed bandits from carrying out attacks.

Gabon President Proposes Cutting Presidential Mandate

By

Koko Lawrence

-

February 14, 2023

0

Gabon President, Ali Bongo has proposed shortening the presidential mandate from seven to five years.

This comes as he began consultations to prepare for elections this year and measures to prevent violence.

Report says more than two days of deadly unrest followed Gabon’s last elections in 2016 after the opposition rejected Ali Bongo’s victory and alleged fraud.

“On the eve of future general elections, I have today decided to set the term of office for all elections to five years,” Bongo said

The move will require constitutional reform and a vote in parliament.

Meanwhile, there are currently no constitutional term limits in Gabon.

Bongo has been president of the oil-producing West African nation since succeeding his father, Omar, who died in 2009.

He has not said whether he will run for a third term in the 2023 race for which an exact date has not yet been set.

The consultations on the upcoming elections are scheduled to last until Feb. 24.

Edo Education Reforms Receives Global Recognitions

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

-

February 14, 2023

0

Governor Godwin Obaseki administration reforms to transform Edo’s basic education sector and tackle learning poverty has again received global recognition at the first-ever Foundational Learning Exchange (FLEX) Summit, organised by African education stakeholders.

The summit, held at the Freetown International Conference Centre, in Sierra Leone, gathered ministers and other stakeholders from African countries, including Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, and over 80 foreign partners/donors.

EdoBEST: UBEC Partners Agencies To Train Officers on E-Quality Assurance

SUBEB Begins Pedagogical Training for 1,500 Teachers, Headteachers In Edo

Edo State Special Assistant on Media Project, Crusoe Osagie, in a statement, said Edo was the only sub-national invited as a state to the education summit.

He added that the stated has continued to stand out as a sub-national that is demonstrating strong political will and action to accelerate foundational literacy and numeracy.

Osagie quoted the Executive Chairman of Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (Edo SUBEB), Ozavize E. Salami, as saying: “Over the years of the basic transformation programme, we have trained over 15, 400 teachers and up skilled them in modern teaching and learning pedagogy. The programme has also focused on the use of digital instructional materials. All the teachers use tablets and scripted lessons across every local government area in the state, including the hard-to-reach communities.”

Elections Won’t Hold In 240 Polling Units – INEC

By

Koko Lawrence

-

February 14, 2023

0

Elections will not be held in 240 polling units in 28 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has said.

This is because no voter chose the polling units during the last Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) between June 2021 and July 2022.

INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this when he addressed members of the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) at the INEC headquarters in Abuja on Monday.

According to him, the polling units are part of the over 56,000 newly created polling units.

INEC had from 2021 increased the number of polling units from a total of 119,973 to 176,846.

With this development, the presidential and national assembly as well as states and their houses of assembly elections will be held in 176,606 polling units, he added.

“There are 240 polling units without registered voters spread across 28 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). They range from one polling unit to 12 polling units in each State and the FCT, except Taraba and Imo States with 34 and 38 polling units respectively.

“No new registrants chose the polling units and no voters indicated interest to transfer to them during the last Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), mainly for security reasons. This means that no elections will hold in these polling units.”

“You may recall that in 2021, with your support and that of other critical stakeholders, the Commission successfully expanded voter access to polling units 25 years after the last delimitation exercise in 1996. Consequently, the number of polling units increased from 119,973 to the current figure of 176,846,” Yakubu said.

Sacked Osun Teachers Stage Protest In Osogbo

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

-

February 14, 2023

1

Some teachers employed by the immediate administration of Adegboyega Oyetola in Osun State staged a peaceful protest on Monday in Osogbo, asking Governor Ademola Adeleke to reconsider his decision to disengage them.

It would be recalled that about 1,500 teachers recruited into the service between September and October 2022 by the last administration, but sacked through an Executive Order by Adeleke, had written to the governor asking him not to disengage them alongside other workers recruited by Oyetola’s government.

The protesters, who converged on the Olaiya area, carried placards with various inscriptions and also urged relevant stakeholders in the affairs of the state to intervene.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Olufemi Adedeji said their recruitment followed due process and pleaded with Adeleke to return them to their duty posts.

He said, “I am one of the 1,500 newly recruited teachers for both primary and secondary schools in Osun. I was given an appointment letter on September 30, 2022, and the process for this recruitment began in the year 2020.

Senator Adeleke Wins Osun State Gubernatorial Election

Gov Oyetola Approves Gratuity Payment Of 1,887 Retired Teachers

“And immediately we were given appointment letters, and we all reported to our primary places of assignment.

“We have been dutiful, patriotic citizens of this state, and upon resumption, we were gladly received by teachers, students, and the leadership of the Parents and Teachers Association.

“We worked for about four months with no reward for our work until the new government, under the leadership of Governor Ademola Adeleke, ordered a review of our appointment.

“Since then, we have made all efforts to call Mr Governor’s attention and plead for mercy. But we have not received any response from him.

“We are pleading with our Governor and all stakeholders and well-meaning citizens of the state to plead with him to reconsider us and give us a positive response. We are dying in silence.”

The spokesperson to the governor, Olawale Rasheed, could not be reached for comment as calls to him rang out, while a reply to a text message sent to him on the issue was still expected.

New Naira: Apex Bank Insists on Feb 10 Deadline

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

-

February 14, 2023

0

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has said that there was no need to shift the February 10, 2023 deadline.

He said this during a visit on Tuesday to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss the monetary and currency redesign policy of the bank.

BREAKING: CBN Extends Old Naira Notes Deadline

He said, “The situation is substantially calming down since the commencement of over-the-counter payments to complement ATM disbursements and the use of super-agents.

Old Naira Notes Extension: Reps Reject CBN’s 10-day Deadline

“There is, therefore, no need to consider any shift from the deadline of February 10.”

This comes as the Supreme Court earlier restrained the Federal Government from implementing the February 10 deadline for the currency swap.

A seven-man panel of the apex court led by Justice John Okoro, in a unanimous ruling, granted an interim injunction restraining the Federal Government, the Central Bank of Nigeria and commercial banks from implementing the Friday terminal date for the old naira notes.

However, the CBN governor insisted that there was no need to shift the deadline.

He also said that Point of Sale agents who charge above N200 for the CBN cash swap programme will be arrested and jailed when caught.

The CBN governor further said that the PoS operators can come to the CBN to be compensated for any extra cost incurred in getting the new notes rather than charging a higher fee on customers.

NECO: Kwara Govt Fixes Fee at N22,500

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

-

February 14, 2023

0

The Kwara State Government has vowed to sanction any principal who collects more than N22,500 approved examination fees for the National Examinations Council.

The government also outlawed the enrollment of external candidates for the 2022/2023 NECO Examinations.

The State Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development gave the warning at the formal flag-off of registration for this year’s NECO in the state.

Kwara Govt Pays Another Batch of Pre-2019 SUBEB, LGAs N11bn Arrears

According to a press statement by Press Secretary, Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development Peter Amogbonjaye, said that the Commissioner, Saadatu Madibo-Kawu said that the warning was part of ongoing reform agenda to curb all exorbitant charges on external examinations by some principals in the state.

The statement said that the Commissioner while speaking at St. Anthony Secondary School, Ilorin said that “Each candidate should pay N17,800 as examination fee, N1,050 for E-Registration, N1,100 as Administration charge for the school and N500 charge for the four-figure table.

“The Commissioner gave the breakdown of the approved registration fees and other Charges for Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (NECO) 2022/ 2023 as indicated below:

“The total amount to be paid for NECO examination per candidate, according to the commissioner, #22,450 only”, she said.

Modibbo Kawu emphasised that the ministry would not tolerate any indiscriminate charges from any principal, apart from the fees approved by the Ministry of Education And Human Capital Development.

China says US Balloons Entered Airspace More Than 10 Times In Last Year

By

Jamima Joseph

-

February 14, 2023

0

The Spy Baloon Saga Has Taken Another Turn. Now China Says High-Altitude Balloons From The United States Have Sailed Across Chinese Airspace Without Permission More Than 10 Times Since Last Year.

This Is According To The Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Wang Wenbin Who Said “It Is Also Common For US Balloons to Illegally enter The Airspace Of Other Countries, “Since Last Year Alone, US High-Altitude Balloons Have Illegally Flown Over China’s Airspace More Than 10 Times Without The Approval Of relevant Chinese authorities.

A Number of Other Such Devices Have Since Been Shot Down Over The United States And Canada, Though Beijing Has Only Admitted that the First was one of Its own.

Speaking on behalf of the National Security Council, Adrienne Watson said in Washington on Monday that it is untrue to assert that the United States operates surveillance balloons over China.

Watson said that China was responsible for the People’s Liberation Army’s high-altitude surveillance balloon program for intelligence gathering, which was employed to violate the sovereignty of the US and more than 40 other nations across five continents.

“This is the most recent instance of China trying to repair the harm. It has falsely and repeatedly claimed that the surveillance balloon it flew over the United States was a weather balloon, and it still hasn’t provided any convincing justifications for its unauthorized entry into both our airspace and other countries’ airspace.”

But a Three Year Article Posted By The Guardian, Had The Headline “Pentagon Testing Mass Spy Balloons Across The US. The Article Stressed That The Balloons Promised a Cheap Monitoring Platform That Could Follow Multiple Cars And Boats For Extended Periods.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a trip to Beijing that many had hoped would stop the dramatic deterioration in relations over Taiwan, trade, human rights, and threatening Chinese actions in the disputed South China Sea after the balloon incident.

Also on Monday, the Philippines accused a Chinese coast guard ship of deliberately aiming a military-grade laser at a Philippine coast guard vessel in the South China Sea, temporally impairing part of the crew, and violating Manila’s sovereign rights in a “blatant” manner.

UTME: JAMB Registers 1.1m Candidates

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

-

February 14, 2023

0

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) have disclosed that over 1.1 applicants have so far registered for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, stated this while monitoring the ongoing registration exercise in some computer based test centres (CBT) in Abuja.

Oloyede visited CBT centres at Total Child International School, Dutse, JAMB Abuja zonal office, Life Camp, Global Distance Learning Institute and Sascon International College, Abuja respectively.

He also said the Board would not extend the deadline for applicants to register for the examination, warning CBT centres against extortion of applicants.

It would be recalled that the sale of the 2023 UTME commenced on Saturday, 14th January 2023, and is set to close on Tuesday, February 14, 2023.

Over 817 UTME Registrations Cancelled- JAMB

“UTME is not a school based examination, it’s individual candidates and you can see what that school, Stella Maris is doing, collecting N30,000 from candidates in the name of JAMB and then end up mixing up the telephone number of the candidates.

“So once they keep the telephone number of candidates it is unlikely that the candidates, when we are contacting them if we want to make a change in their timetable, you send a text to them, and it will not get to them. After they have graduated from the school and want to change the course, they don’t have access to it.

UTME 2023: JAMB Inspects Registration Centres, Apprehends 6 Suspects

“And that is a way of extorting the parents. We will take adequate steps to make sure that we stop that. One of the reasons is that we will tell every CBT centre to stop doing bulk purchase of pins and bulk registration. So, if the centre sells more than one pin to a source or collects money for more than one pin from a source then we will sanction such centre.”

He urged candidates to report cases of extortion, saying that there was a code for candidates to reach the board when they come across any case of extortion, while promising there will be a reward for such an act.