Italians accuse Nigerian cult of taking over their streets, cry for help

The Nigerian cult has been accused of promoting a life of prostitution and drugs in Italy’s dark and narrow alleys; from the north in Turin to the south in Palermo.
The Washington Post writes that “Italian investigators say the Nigerian syndicate meets the definition of a mafia, rather than a criminal gang, because it has a behavior code and uses the implied power of the group to intimidate and silence”.

According to the Italian intelligence agency, the Nigerian mafia has become “the most structured and dynamic” of any foreign crime entity operating in Italy.
The Nigerian mafia began making its presence felt across Europe in the 1980s, according to reports.
In recent years, however, the Nigerian mafia has not only expanded its operational territory, it has also pushed into the one Italian territory where no foreign mob had dared to go.
The Italian city of Sicily was raided by Greeks, Byzantines and Normans. The Cosa Nostra—which specializes in racketeering, gambling and killing– used to be the most famous Mafiosi in Italy. Not anymore.
The Washington Post writes that the Nigerian cult, complete with their ritual handshakes, color-coded blue and yellow outfits—have become lords of the manor in Italy’s crime scene.
“Today’s Sicily is different. Cosa Nostra is hobbled. Its leaders have been imprisoned, one after the next. The group has grown quieter, less openly violent, and over the past decade, a new wave of people has come — hundreds of thousands of Africans, arriving in Sicily, Italy’s de facto front door for migrants until Salvini closed ports last year. Many of the migrants have moved on to other parts of Italy, and even Europe. But some have stayed.
“Investigators say they first saw signs of the Nigerian mafia presence here in 2013 with an uptick in violent assaults. Two years later, evidence emerged that the new group might be cooperating in the drug trade with Sicilian mafia: A taped conversation showed two Cosa Nostra higher-ups describing the Nigerians as “tough young’uns” who are dangerous but know their place. That peace between the groups has held ever since.
“Authorities say that may be because the Nigerian mafia has built much of its business on the one thing Cosa Nostra has never shown an interest in: prostitution”.
Keeping the mafia in check
The Nigerian mafia’s Palermo hub is described as a neighborhood of dilapidated buildings, tight alleys, food vendors and motor scooters zipping by.
Italy’s far right political parties have been trying to shut out migrants for years because of the Nigerian mafia.
Matteo Salvini, Italy’s most prominent politician, says the “African crime bosses pose a growing threat that needs to be eradicated immediately.”
However, Pope Francis thinks it is wrong to blame Nigerians solely for the crime on Italy’s inner city streets. “It was not Nigerians who invented the mafia”, Pope Francis says, “the mafia is ours, made in Italy”.
In any case, the Nigerian mafia continues to be accused of building Italy into a European hub of cocaine smugglers from South America, heroin dealers from Asia, and trafficking women by the tens of thousands from Benin city in southern Nigeria.

NYSC boss vows to dismiss corp members caught smoking marijuana

The Director-General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, on Friday, vowed to dismiss corps members caught smoking Indian hemp
The D-G made this known during the Batch B Stream 2 corps members undergoing orientation at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Sagamu, Ogun State.

“You can imagine how much your parents have invested in you so that they could have rest of mind in their old ages knowing full well you are capable of fending for yourself.
“So, I implore you to always be of good conduct and imbibe the tenets of the scheme for which you were called to serve.
“Unity and discipline, fundamental aspects of your orientation, should guide you throughout the duration of your service,” he said.
He pointed out that if anyone was caught breaking the rules or abusing drugs and substances, such corps member would be handed over to the police and dismissed for good.
“Let posterity guide you in every decision and action you take in life.
“How do you think they will feel if anyone of you is dismissed for bad conduct? Everywhere you go in life they will ask you what happened.
He also urged the corps members to take advantage of the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme put in place by the NYSC to empower the youth develop the entrepreneurship skills to make them self-reliant.
He said the Bank of Industry (BOI) and the Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN ) are ready to provide incentives in form of soft loans to aid corps members’ commercial drive.
He urged corps members to be security conscious at all times while also imploring them to avail themselves with the numbers of security officials at their places of posting.
“Once you benefit from the loan scheme please I beg you not to default so that others too can benefit from the programme.
“Your ID cards are what identifies and enables people to come to your aid if need be. Please have them with you at all times,” he added.
“Gone are the days where you can relax somewhere after obtaining your certificates and expect white collar jobs at the centre.
“You must develop your creative enterprise and make jobs where none exists. Seek to be employers and not employees,” the DG said.

Bribery : Jigawa court convicts INEC official for six years

Justice Yusuf Birnin-Kudu of Jigawa State High Court sitting in Gumel, has sentenced a Deputy Director of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Auwal Jibrin, to six years in jail for unlawful enrichment and gratification.

He was convicted alongside one Garba Ismaila who bagged seven years in jail for benefiting from the $115.010m largesse of a former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, in the run-up to the 2015 presidential election.

The two men were sentenced on Friday following their prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Kano zonal office.

Acting EFCC spokesman, Tony Orilade, who disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, said the two convicts received N45m out of the N250m disbursed in Jigawa State to influence the outcome of the 2015 elections.

Jibrin and Ismaila had pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the six and seven counts against them respectively, thereby setting the stage for full trial during which the prosecution presented five witnesses and tendered 20 exhibits against them.

Delivering judgment, Justice Birnin-Kudu held that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt “all the elements and facts of the case as contained in the charge and the testimonies of prosecution witnesses and exhibits tendered.”

He added that the defence team failed to counter the evidence presented by the prosecution through its witnesses.

The court thus found the first defendant guilty as charged on count two, while the second defendant was found guilty on counts one and three.

The court, however, discharged them on counts four, five and six.

The judge further ordered the final forfeiture of the recovered monies and property attached to the investigation with the exception of a three-bedroom flat attached at No. 1 Hadejia  Road, Birnin Kudu , Jigawa State.

FG moves to convince Nigerians to accept RUGA settlement project

The Federal Government on Sunday strove to convince residents in some parts of the country about the RUGA settlement project for herdsmen.
The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the controversial Ruga settlements being initiated by the Federal Government was not meant to serve the interest of the Fulani ethnic group alone.

The Presidency also stated that Ruga was “voluntary”, saying that no state was forced to give up land for the project.
It explained that the project was meant to serve everyone involved in animal husbandry, but more importantly to “stop roaming of cattle herders with the attendant clashes with farmers.”
The statement read in part:
“Ruga Settlement” that seeks to settle migrant pastoral families simply means rural settlement in which animal farmers, not just cattle herders, will be settled in an organized place with provision of necessary and adequate basic amenities such as schools, hospitals, road networks, vet clinics, markets and manufacturing entities that will process and add value to meats and animal products.
Beneficiaries will include all persons in animal husbandry, not only Fulani herders.
The Federal Government is planning this in order to curb open grazing of animals that continue to pose security threats to farmers and herders.

The overall benefit to the nation includes a drastic reduction in conflicts between herders and farmers, a boost in animal protection complete with a value chain that will increase the quality and hygiene of livestock in terms of beef and milk production, increased quality of feeding and access to animal care and private sector participation in commercial pasture production by way of investments.
Other gains are job creation, access to credit facilities, security for pastoral families and curtailment of cattle rustling.

Stripped of the politics and howling that has attended the recent comments, there is no government plan to seize state land, colonize territory or impose Ruga on any part of the federation. Government has made it clear time and again that the programme is voluntary.
So far, twelve states have applied to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, making lands available for the take-off of the scheme in their states. This number is sufficient for the pilot scheme.
Unfortunately, some state governments that have not signified interest in the scheme and, therefore, are not on the invitation list have been misleading people that the Federal Government is embarking on a scheme to take away their lands.

Mostly, these are state leaders that have no explanation to offer their people for continued non-payment of workers’ salaries. It is true that government at the centre has gazetted lands in all states of the federation but because the idea is not to force this programme on anyone, the government has limited the take-off to the dozen states with valid requests.
We urge states to join the Federal Government at the centre in encouraging all sides to these conflicts to make efforts towards finding a peaceful resolution. As we seek a permanent solution to these unwanted conflicts, efforts must be made to ensure that no innocent person faces any kind of deprivation or loss of right and freedom under our laws.

Nigerian Woman On The Run For Allegely Defrauding Russian Firm Of $1.4m Aircraft Parts

A 46-year-old woman, Ittu Affiong Theresa Tommy, is now on the run after allegedly collecting aircraft spare parts valued at over $1.4 million from a Russian company under the pretext of supplying same to a government agency.

She is also been hunted for receiving over N1 billion from a government agency to execute some contracts which were never done.

Tommy is, however, being hunted by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Agents of the commission have sealed up her last known address in Oko Awo Close, Victoria Island, Lagos.

It was gathered that the suspect used the contract she got from a government agency as a bait for the foreign firm to supply her aircraft spare parts she defaulted in paying for.
The firm petitioned the commission and further probe of her activities and her gang revealed that she had abandoned the contracts she was to execute.

Sagay To Lawan, Stop Misleading The Public, Senators Earn N15m, Not N750,000

The Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), has asked the President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, to stop misleading Nigerians, adding that senators earned N15m monthly and not N750,000 as claimed by Lawan.
Lawan had on Tuesday said there was no such thing as “jumbo pay,” adding that he earns N750,000 as salary.

Speaking with our correspondent on Wednesday, however, Sagay said Nigerians were more interested in how much senators take home monthly in salaries and allowances.

He said Lawan was only speaking half-truth because everyone knew that the bulk of the money earned by senators was embedded in their allowances.
Sagay said, “I respect and like him (Lawan), but what he has done is to give half-truth. He is telling us the actual salary without mentioning anything about the allowances.
“That is where the jumbo pay comes in, when you talk of building, furniture, domestic this or that, 15 items and those items alone bring everything up to N13.5m a month. So, simply mentioning the bare salary, which brings it to over N14m, is not sufficient.\

“So, technically, he is right. That is their salary. But what is his income, take-home pay, at the end of the month? It is about N15m and we are not including many other things we need talk about now.”
Sagay said presiding officers of the National Assembly earned more than ordinary members.
The PACAC chairman, who was the first to expose the jumbo pay of federal lawmakers, said he was still trying to ascertain the allowances of principal officers.

He said, “What I have not been able to do is give details of what the leadership earns. There is the leadership aspect that I hadn’t revealed – the excess that the Senate President and Deputy Senate President, leader of the house; the same thing applying to the House (of Representatives).
“What they get – the current ones – that I have not been able to release. I had the details of the previous house. They were mindboggling; we are talking of one person getting up to N280m a year in allowances for his position. But I don’t know what they had during the Saraki era or what the present group is going to do.”

Social Media Group To Honour Oghenesivbe With Award Of Excellence, Media And Communication Category, on July 4

Renowned Strategic Political Communication expert and Member of the U.S. based International Communication Association (ICA), Dr Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe, is to be honoured with Award of Excellence in Media Politics and Strategic Political Communication, for good governance.

Organisers of the Award - Rescue Mission Social Media Association (RMSMA) and global partners, in a letter signed by it's President, Ambassador Harold Blankson said the Award is in genuine consideration of the creative communication skills of the nominee who adopted and popularize Media Politics and  Political Communication as an integral part of partisan politics, electioneering and good governance advocacy in Nigeria.

The group noted that Oghenesivbe excelled in his assigned responsibility as the Executive Assistant to the Governor of Delta State on Communication, in the first tenure of Gov Ifeanyi Okowa's administration, adding that his dedication to duty through constant interface with mass and heterogenous audiences via his publications, social media activities and regular interviews on Radio and Television stations, gave him out as a highly resourceful and most outstanding media and communication personality between 2015 and 2019 in Delta State, and worthy of emulation.

"The board of directors and global partners of Rescue Mission Social Media Association (RMSMA), reviewed your official activities during the first tenure of His Excellency Gov Ifeanyi Okowa, coupled with your wealth of experience in Media Politics and Strategic Political Communication spanning nearly two decades, decided to honour you (Oghenesivbe Fred Latimore), with an Award of Excellence.

"Your creative writing skills is fascinating and inspiring; well tailored on current issues in politics and governance. You have in no small measures inspired millions of people, especially youth in Delta State and across the globe, on the need to use effective and efficient media politics to deepen our nascent democracy and in the same token promote good governance through partnership and objective criticisms.

"We note with all sense of humility and pride, how you organised the first ever Strategic Political Communication Workshop sponsored by Delta State Government with Prof Godwin Oboh as Chief Trainer; wherein over 120 traditional media, social media and communication persons in government were trained to add value to their career in preparation for the Stronger Delta Agenda of Gov Okowa's administration second tenure which commenced on May 29, 2019.

"Your performance track record is enviable, unique and satisfactory hence you were nominated for this prestigious Award of Excellence in the Media and Communication category.

"The Award shall take place on July 4, 2019 at the Squash Club, Government House, Asaba, Delta State. Congratulations and we look forward to receiving you and your loved ones please," the group said.

Oghenesivbe hails from Kokori in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State. He holds a second class upper division degree in Political Science, an LLB degree in Law, Barrister-at-Law Certificate from the Nigerian Law School, Call to Bar Certificate by the Body of Benchers in Nigeria, Solicitor And Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, et al.

He holds a Diploma in Public Administration, Master Degree in Public and International Affairs, a PhD and presently a part time Mass Communication Scholar at the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, Nigeria.

Oghenesivbe is a Rotarian, twice Secretary of Rotary Club of Akowonjo, Past Vice President, Rotary Club of Akiwonjo, a Fellow of the Civilian Institute of Democratic Administration (FCIDA), Full Member, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Member, International Communication Association (ICA), Member, International Political Science Association (IPSA), Member, American Political Science Association (APSA), Member, Human Right And Political Communication Committee of APSA domiciled at New York University, USA, et al.

He is a politician, a lawyer, human right activist, immediate past Executive Assistant to the Governor of Delta State on Communication.

Oghenesivbe is married with Children and loves traditional ballads, gospel music, media politics and Strategic political discuss.

Housewife who broke Plateau’s crime record

A 32-year-old housewife based in Jos, Plateau State, has added a new dimension to the commission of crime by allegedly involving herself in four criminal activities in one week. After faking pregnancy for nine months, Mrs. Leritshimwa Diyal  sought to cover up her deceit by allegedly stealing a three-month-old baby.

Within the said period, she also arranged her own abduction, demanded ransom and attempted to take her own life when she realised that the game was up.
Hers was an obvious case of a housewife driven by desperation to have a fruit of the womb. Hence, she jettisoned all known moral ethics and civil conventions and adopted some unimaginable options to bear a child for her husband.
Seven years after she got married, Leritshimwa could not bear a child. While her husband resorted to prayers in the hope of a miracle, she could not endure the family pressure on her to produce a baby. With time, her childlessness became a major threat to the survival of her marriage, forcing her to contemplate getting a child at all cost.
She began last year by lying to her husband that she was pregnant. Needless to say that the news of her long-awaited pregnancy excited the husband to no end. While her husband celebrated the belief that God had answered his prayers, the woman capitalised on her fibroid, an abnormal health condition that leads to enlarged stomach, to give him the impression that a baby was being expected.
While the man eagerly awaited the arrival of their first baby, the woman was busy plotting how to justify her pregnancy claims after nine months. Every month, she demanded money from her innocent husband for antenatal care, telling her husband that she was undergoing same at Jos University Hospital (JUTH). The poor man sensed no deceit and looked eagerly forward to a successful delivery of his first child.
On Sunday, May 25, three days to the expected date of delivery (EDD), Leritshimwa told some family members that she had started noticing signs that she was in labour and so was going to the hospital. Having left the house alone, she hid herself somewhere and called his husband and other family members that she had been kidnapped on her way to the hospital.
The news of her abduction sent danger signals to the family and the entire Jos community, spreading like wild fire and drawing curses from sympathisers who could not help wondering why some people would kidnap a woman already in labour. But there was no time to ponder. The panicking husband and the family must do the needful to rescue Leritshimwa and her unborn baby.
While Leritshimwa’s husband was trying to sort out the ransom demanded by kidnappers, she sent a message to him on May 26 that she had been delivered of a female child in kidnappers’ den. The confused husband pleaded with the ‘kidnappers’ to accept the N500,000 he was able to gather for the release of his wife and new baby. Three days later, Leritshimwa emerged with a female baby she claimed she was delivered of in kidnappers’ den. The entire family was happy to see her with a newborn baby girl, not knowing that it was stolen.
Unknown to family members, for all of the three days Leritshimwa claimed she was in captivity, she was actually in the hospital trying to steal a newborn baby. Having served in the hospital as an IT student of the College of Health Technology Zawan, Jos, Plateau State, she used her knowledge of the hospital’s terrain to effect the stealing of a new baby.
First, she wore her lab gown to disguise as a worker in the hospital and went to the labour ward where a woman had been delivered of a baby girl three days earlier. Disguising as a nurse, she told the mother of the newly born baby that the doctor directed her to bring it for a blood test. Believing Leritshimwa to be a nurse, the poor woman released the baby to her and she vanished with it.
A mother in trauma
The 30-year-old mother of the baby, Mrs. Mary Chukwuebuka, who spoke to journalists in Jos, recalled that the baby was taken away from her on Friday, May 31 by a lady who disguised as a medical personnel in the hospital, three days after birth.
Mrs. Chukwuebuka said: “The Lady who took my baby was dressed in a lab jacket just like the hospital staff. She came straight to my bed in the hospital and requested to carry the baby to the children’s ward for blood sample.
“At first, I resisted and said a doctor had just left after an examination but did not say that the baby was sick or there was need to run a test. The lady insisted that she was directed by the doctor to carry the child to the children’s ward for blood sample.
“I willingly released my baby to her, believing that she was a medical personnel working in the hospital. But when I realised that there was a problem, after waiting for a long period and went to the children ward but could not find my baby, I went to complain to the other doctors only to discover that my baby was missing.”
Different strokes for different folks
While Mrs Chukwuebuka and members of her family were devastated by the disappearance of their newborn baby, it was celebration in the family of Leritshimwa, where she was welcomed home with fanfare. On reaching home with the stolen baby, however, she urged the family to take her to a hospital for an examination of the baby. She was taken to the Bingham University Teaching Hospital (BUTH) with the child.
At BUTH, she also lied that she was delivered of the baby in kidnappers’ den, and having been released, she needed proper medical attention. While she was on admission at BUTH, the news broke of a missing child already reported to the police by the management of Plateau Specialist Hospital. The police got an intelligence report of a woman who had brought a child to BUTH.
The Plateau State Police Command promptly wrote to the management of BUTH, requesting their cooperation in their investigation. It was later discovered that the baby that went missing in Plateau Specialist Hospital was the same baby found with another mother in BUTH. That brought an end to Leritshimwa’s antics.
Realising that the game was up, she had no way to defend herself of the crimes. She simply confessed to the police that she stole the baby from Plateau Specialist Hospital. She was promptly arrested and the stolen baby was recovered and returned to the original owner.
The investigation and the recovery of the stolen child took the police two weeks.
Suspect will face trial —Police
Speaking about Leritshimwa, the Plateau State Commissioner of Police, Isaac Akinmoyede, said: “Due to painstaking and diligent investigation coupled with medical reports, the Police discovered that the suspect, Leritshimwa Dungjil Diyal, has not given birth as she claimed.
“When confronted with these obvious and naked realities, she broke down and confessed to the commission of the above-mentioned crime. The police are investigating her claim that the crime was committed by herself alone.”
According to the police boss, “the principal suspect, Leritshimwa Dungjil Diyal, is a 32-year-old married woman who is a student of the College of Health Technology Zawan in Jos South LGA. She perfected her plans to steal the child by leveraging on her knowledge of Plateau State Specialist Hospital where she once did her attachment.
“She also faked her kidnapping story, thinking it would give her strong alibi. She took the child to Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos, with the advice of her mother. The case will be charged to court after investigation.
Paraded before newsmen at the CID Headquarters Jos, Leritshimwa told journalists that she preferred death to the public shame she had subjected herself to. She told journalists in Jos that she stole the baby out of desperation. wish I was dead. I don’t know why I did all this,” she said amid sobs.
Hospital celebrates, set to beef up security
The management of Plateau Specialist Hospital from where the baby was stolen could not hide their joy when the baby was recovered. Handing the baby over to the rightful owner at the hospital in Jos, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Philemon Golwa, expressed delight at the professionalism of the police who helped in recovering the baby and arresting the suspected thief.
Dr. Golwa said: “For this baby to be found alive, he is a miracle baby. We will build a monument in his name for surviving this ordeal at a very tender age. Today is a day of celebration of a life that was thought to be lost but now has been found.
“On that faithful day when we were told that this baby was missing, we were worried. We went to the police, they did their work and most of our staff here were interrogated and kept behind the counter and we had to allow them to do their work.
“I was not sure of what to say throughout the period, but God has made it this way that today, we are celebrating.
“Any baby that comes in circumstances like this, they turn out to be great people in the society. That is why we have to tell the whole world what is happening. We had a breakthrough, and the person that did the technical work of transferring the baby from here to another hospital has been nabbed and she admitted to her fault.
“The Police are trying to demystify how the baby was taken from the ward and how she found her way to another hospital. For us here, we celebrate with the parents. We have seen our lapses. After this, we are taking some measures to correct the abnormalities.
“The incident was very technical. We are going to reinforce some of the basic mechanism of security within the hospital. Not many people will be pleased but you have to bear with us because we need to curtail something like this.
“For the mother, we will follow up and ensure her treatment is completed. We will be monitoring the progress of the baby from time to time. We are going to immortalise the baby, and as part of our contribution, we are taking care of their bills. We don’t expect them to pay any bills again.”
Expressing their gratitude, the parents of the baby, Nwagod and Mary Chukuwebuka, appreciated all those who stood by them to ensure that the baby was recovered, saying they had decided to name the baby Onyiyechi (God’s gift).
Meanwhile, the husband to the childless suspect, Mr. Dunji Diyal, a local teacher in a private school, was livid when he discovered all that his wife had done in an attempt to have a child. Confused and dumbfounded, he was suspected by the police to have conspired with his wife to commit the crimes, but he was not arrested because of his psychological condition. He was, however, being investigated by the police to ascertain his involvement or otherwise. But his mother in-law, who was seen with the child and the suspect at BUTH, was arrested as a suspected accomplice.

FG Begins Pilot Scheme Of Ruga Settlements In Eleven States

Despite the harsh criticism of the planned establishment of Ruga settlements across the country, the Federal Government is set to commence the pilot phase of the project in Taraba, Adamawa, Plateau, Kaduna and seven other states, Saturday PUNCH’s investigations have confirmed.

It was learnt in Abuja on Friday that the execution of the project would start in 11 states including Sokoto, Nasarawa, Kogi, Katsina, Kebbi, Zamfara and Niger.
The source added, “These are the states that have fully shown their interest. But unfortunately, people are talking about this as if the Federal Government is planning to grab land in the states. That’s not true. The plan is mainly for these states that are ready and the Federal Government had a discussion with the governors concerned.

“Some of the governors came here and they promised to provide land because they have seen the benefits they will derive from the initiative. It is not that the Federal Government wants to invade the states, no!”
When asked whether the government would go ahead with the initiative despite its rejection by many other states, the official replied, “Why not? Of course, the government will go ahead with the programme, particularly in states that are willing to have it. For states that are not interested, no problem.”

On Tuesday, the Permanent Secretary, FMARD, Mohammed Umar, said aside from the states where the pilot phase of the programme would start, many other states had expressed their interest in the scheme.
The project is said to be part of the solution to the incessant clashes between farmers and herders.
Umar had said, “The Ruga settlement will attract a lot of investment to Nigeria and it is our belief that in the next five years, each Ruga settlement will provide nothing less than 2,000 employment opportunities. We are collaborating with the cattle breeders associations in Nigeria.”
On May 21, 2019, the immediate past Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, had announced that Buhari approved the Ruga settlement initiative earlier in the same month.

Stop enrolling unqualified graduates into NYSC, DG warns varsities

The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brig Gen Shuaibu Ibrahim, has warned tertiary institutions in the country against enrolling unqualified graduates in the scheme.

The DG said the NYSC would blacklist any higher institution found to be involved in fraudulent mobilisation of unqualified graduates in order to serve as a deterrent to others.

The NYSC is preparing to mobilise its Batch B prospective corps members by June amid reports from the Ministry of Finance that the monthly allowance paid to the members had been increased to N30,000, which is also the new minimum wage.

But the NYSC DG, while addressing Data Entry Officers from tertiary institutions and Deployment and Relocation Officers from NYSC state at a workshop held in Abuja on Monday, warned that unqualified graduates should not be enrolled in the forthcoming mobilisation.

The DG said, “Corps-producing institutions are warned not to enroll unqualified graduates into the mobilisation process of the scheme. I advise all of you, participants, not to fall into the temptation of unscrupulous elements that may want to truncate the mobilisation process.  The NYSC will blacklist any corps-producing institution that is involved in fraudulent mobilisation of unqualified graduates in order to serve as a deterrent to others. As leaders, do the right thing. Let us maintain good integrity and check your data correctly.”

Lawyers hail court verdict on pension for political office holders

Some lawyers have hailed the decision of the Appeal Court that condemned the payment of pensions and severance package to political office holders, saying it would curb wastages by the politicians.
A three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, Abuja had on May 20, 2019 faulted the payment of either severance allowance, pension or gratuity to political office holders and political appointees, insisting that the practice was morally wrong.

Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Lanre Ogunlesi described the judgement as unassailable and heading in the right direction. He lamented that such decisions were needed to check the selfishness of the political class.”It is a pity that our politicians are just selfish. Can you imagine someone who served for eight years appropriating to himself fat emoluments as parting money? We need to get it right.”

Also, Lagos-based legal practitioner, Theophilus Akanwa, who agreed with the judgment submitted that Nigerians were yet to really have true representation by virtually all the houses of assembly and the National Assembly. He stressed that rather than think in the direction of having pension, gratuity and severance package, the lawmakers should as a matter of urgency, drastically reduce the huge tax payers’ money they spend.

“The masses of this country are suffering in abject poverty and lack of basic amenities due to bad leadership in this nation. The houses of assembly and indeed the National Assembly have totally abdicated their responsibilities of oversight function. Pensioners who laboured so hard for this nation die as a result of not having their pension paid, yet the lawmakers were elected to represent the masses.

“They work hand in hand with the governors without minding that they are independent of the executive. Budgets are passed without proper protection of the interest of the masses, but their personal interests are well protected,” he pointed out. Akanwa called on all well meaning Nigerians to rise against the attempt by the lawmakers to appropriate state funds for themselves.

Canada-based legal scholar, Solomon Ukhuegbe said “there is nothing wrong in principle for legislators to get severance pay and pension, what is required is more transparency in the finances of the legislature.”

According to him, “Some give up the opportunity to build a career by serving in legislature. If you serve for 20 years, for example, your contemporaries outside the legislature are about retiring and getting pension.

“What should be done is for severance and pension packages to be streamlined with number of years served in the legislature, so those who serve for only one term may get severance package but not a pension. Also, there should be a contributory pension scheme. In that case, every legislator will get a pension but relative to contribution (which is a factor of how many years served).

“In the United States, for example, Congress members get pension. Currently, members of Congress are eligible for a pension dependent on the member’s age at retirement, length of service, and salary. The pension value can be up to 80 percent of the member’s final salary. Currently, Congressional pay is $174,000 per year, which, at an 80-percent rate, equates to a lifelong pension benefit of $139,200. All benefits are taxpayer-funded.”

He stated that the judges’ ventilation of moral outrage against the action beclouded the legal issue (whether or not there was a legal entitlement to the pay, which the court answered in the negative}, adding that the judges should have stopped there.

Citing the case of Bayelsa and Kano, Ukhuegbe said it was only because the legislature was not financially independent, which was why the request for payment was made to the governor. “The National Assembly does not make such requests. It controls its budget, which is a first charge on the revenue of the Federal Government (i.e. statutory transfer),” he declared.