JAMIACA’S Danielle Willams has emerged as the winner of the 2023 world women’s 100m hurdles champion at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
Williams who finished in the top position of the race ended with 12.43 seconds to deny Nigeria’s medal hopeful Amusan, who finished 6th with 12.62.
Puerto Jasmine Camacho-Quinn and USA Kendra Harrison ended at the second and third positions with 12.44 and 12.46, respectively.
Amusan’s sixth position also denied her a podium finish.
The Nigerian road to the final saw her begin her campaign from the heat 5 qualification, where she emerged at the top with 12.48 seconds to progress to the Semis, where she finished as winner with 12.56 seconds.
Last year, Amusan emerged as the World Champion in Oregon in the women’s 100m Hurdles.
THE National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its latest report, the organisation said the unemployment rate has fallen to 4.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, translating to 8.2 million unemployed Nigerians based on the estimated 200 million population.
The report, covering the fourth quarter of 2022, revealed that 5.3 per cent of the population, equivalent to 10.6 million Nigerians, were unemployed during that period. The data showed a significant drop by over two million.
NBS clarifies report
The ICIR had earlier reported that the Bureau disclosed another figure totally deviating from the unemployment statistics highlighted on the summary page of its report. On a separate page, it reported that 4.1 per cent, estimated to 8.2 million, are unemployed for the fourth quarter of 2022, while in Q1 2023, 3.3 per cent, which is 6.6m Nigerians are unemployed.
However, the bureau told The ICIR that the page reflected the proportion of the working-age population and not the unemployment rate.
Unemployment rate by NBS
153 million Nigerians are employed…
Based on the employment rate for Q1 2023, as highlighted by the Bureau, about 153 million Nigerians are employed. This shows that most people were engaged in some jobs for at least one hour in a week for pay or profit.
The data also show a significant increase to that of the fourth quarter of 2022 as 73.6 per cent of that age bracket work for at least one hour in a week.
The report also showed that about one-third of employed individuals, 36.4 per cent in Q4 2022 and 33.2 per cent in Q1 2023, worked fewer than 40 hours per week during both quarters. This trend was particularly prevalent among women, individuals with lower educational attainment, younger age groups, and residents of rural areas.
This marks a significant decrease in joblessness within the country compared to the from 2020.
In 2021, The ICIRreports that NBS in its report titled ‘Labour Force Statistics, Unemployment and Underemployment-Q4 2020,’ stated that 33.3 per cent of the current population of Nigeria is unemployed, meaning that one in three Nigerians was without a job.
According to the NBS, the 33.3 per cent is a 23 per cent increase from the 27.1 per cent rate recorded in the second quarter of 2020 (Q2) 2020.
Underemployment rate declined from 28.6 per cent in Q2 2020 to 22. 8 per cent in Q4 2020.
Although Nigeria has a huge population of young people between the age of 15-34 years, the data revealed that the unemployment rate within this age group rose to 42.5 per cent in Q4 of 2020, from 34.9 per cent in Q2 2020.
Underemployment for young Nigerians declined to 21.0 per cent in Q4 of 2020, from 28.2 per cent recorded in Q2 of 2020.
NBS data showed that during Q4 2020, 46.49 million Nigerians were with jobs, with 30.57 million fully employed and 15.915 million underemployed (working 20-29 hours per week).
Tinubu’s promise on job creation
Tinubu, had in different reports, promised to create meaningful opportunities for youths to reduce the unemployment rate in the country.
In his inaugural promises, he reiterated that his administration would create one million jobs through the digital economy for the teeming youths in Nigeria.
He said, “My administration must create meaningful opportunities for our youth. We shall honour our campaign commitment of one million new jobs in the digital economy,”
“My administration must create meaningful opportunities for our youth. We shall honour our campaign commitment of one million new jobs in the digital economy.
“Our government also shall work with the National Assembly to fashion an omnibus Jobs and Prosperity bill. This bill will give our administration the policy space to embark on labour-intensive infrastructural improvements, encourage light industry and provide improved social services for the poor, elderly and vulnerable.”
THE Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, has dismissed an interlocutory appeal by the governor of Kano state, Abba Kabir Yusuf, seeking to nullify the ruling of the Kano governorship tribunal.
The presiding judge of the tribunal, Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay, on July 13, granted the All Progressives Congress (APC) leave to call a subpoenaed witness, Aminu Idris Harbau.
But in an appeal with reference number CA/KN/EP/GOV/KAN/05/2023, Yusuf argued that the judges of the Election Petition Tribunal erred in law when they granted the application of APC and sought its nullification.
The Court of Appeal, in its ruling on Thursday, August 24, affirmed the tribunal’s order, maintaining that it is allowed in Election Petitions to call subpoenaed witnesses and testify on issues related to the petition.
The Cout described Yusuf’s appeal as “frivolous, vexatious and deserve penalty of dismissal.”
The Kano election tribunal on Monday, August 21, reserved ruling on a petition filed by the All APC against the victory of Yusuf.
APC, through its lead lawyer, Offiong Offiong, is contesting the victory of Yusuf as the winner of the governorship election held on March 18.
Additionally, the APC claims that Yusuf’s name should have been added to the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) membership registry thirty days before the election.
They requested that the tribunal uphold the APC petition and provide all requested reliefs.
According to the lead counsel for Yusuf, Adegboyega Awomolo, Yusuf is a legitimate member of the NNPP.
He added that it is not the APC’s business to decide whether someone is a NNPP member.
Awomolo requested that the tribunal dismiss the APC case since it was seen without merit.
After hearing from all the addresses, the three-judge panel, presided over by Osadebay, reserved a day for a ruling.
The judge added that all parties would be notified when the judgement would be ready.
The ICIRreported that the Kano State Police Command has banned all protests in the state with immediate effect.
The command, in a statement on Monday, August 21, signed by the Commissioner of Police (CP) Mohammad Usaini Gumel, said intelligence received by the command indicates that two dominant parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) have gathered a crowd to launch a protest.
The police added that information gathered indicated that some members of both political parties are pressuring Civil Society participants to make this choice purely out of concern for their safety and to get ahead of the election tribunal’s ruling.
THE Presidency has reacted to the barring of almost twenty-five journalists from covering activities at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
In a chat with The ICIR on Thursday, August 24, the special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, said the move was an internal attempt to reduce overcrowding across all departments of the State House.
He added that the reduction did not affect only the media department.
“This is an internal effort to reduce overcrowding across all departments of the State House, not only the Media department.
“The number of print photographers was bloated and reduced to ensure the efficient use of more than six remaining photographers, which does not include dozens of videographers still present, due to security concerns raised by State House officials and visiting dignitaries concerning the overcrowding of the press gallery area that blocks the walking path to the President’s Office,” Ngelale stated.
According to Ngelale, initial notice of the cutdown was made known to the entire Press Corps well ahead of time.
He added that 62 other Press corps members remain, including all major print, online, and electronic media houses.
There were reports over the weekend that President Bola Tinubu ordered the withdrawal of the accreditations of 25 journalists covering the Villa.
Findings by The ICIR indicate that security operatives stationed at the main gate of the Villa on Friday, August 18, told the affected journalists to submit their accreditation tags.
Further findings show no reason for withdrawing the journalists’ accreditations was given.
In a chat with The ICIR, one of the journalists covering the Villa who chose to remain anonymous confirmed the incident.
According to the source, the media personnel affected by the withdrawal were mainly online journalists and cameramen.
He confirmed that the press gallery at the state house is bloated, hence the need to reduce the numbers.
“Yes, I can confirm that about 25 journalists were stopped from covering the Villa.
“Most of those affected are from online media houses and cameramen. Most of the camera operators still have their reporters there.
“We have over 100 journalists covering the Villa and most of them do not represent any credible media house. Most mainstream media houses were not affected. We still have a large number there,” our source stated.
He confirmed that the incident happened on Friday.
According to reports, the affected journalists include reporters, cameramen, and photographers from various broadcast, print, and online media outlets.
The affected media outlets have been asked to rely on their colleagues for video clips and other news content.
While resuming as the special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Ngelale promised to uphold a free exchange of information between the Presidential Villa and members of the press.
Ngelale gave the pledge on Tuesday, August 1, while speaking to the State House Press Corps members in Abuja.
Ngelale, appointed by President Tinubu in August, made a commitment to be more accessible than ever before in terms of granting information to radio networks, television networks, newspapers, and online news media.
Two people have died in a building collapse at Lagos Street in the Garki area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Thirty-five others were injured in the collapse and have been taken to hospitals around the area. The incident occurred at about 11.30 pm on Wednesday, August 23, according to Head of public Affairs, Nkechi Isah.
Minister of the FCT Nyesom Wike who arrived at the scene on Thursday, August 24, promised to foot the bills of those injured in the collapse.
“This is why cities are planned, to forestall this kind of incident. I sympathise with those who have lost their lives. The government will take over the bills of those who are alive. I want everybody to support those who are working here to make sure they get to the last level so that if there are people that are still there, God willing, we will save them,” Wike said.
He also noted that the area will be sealed and ordered the immediate arrest of the property owner.
“We must identify and arrest the owners of this property. It is very important, and the government will take over the area and make sure that no further development is carried out and I want all the stakeholders to work with the government.
“These are the things we have been saying. Nobody knows whose turn it will be and therefore, it is important that when the government says they will take actions on certain areas that we believe are illegal to build or buildings that don’t comply with the standard, it is not as if anybody has any personal vendetta,” Wike said.
Wike reacted after director, of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, said the building was an unplanned structure.
FCT Senator Ireti Kingibe was also at the scene of the building collapse on Thursday.
“Everybody should get proper documentation and approval for their buildings; this is an old building there was no approval. The agency should also have a process in which they go regularly to evaluate old buildings, we the people need to comply then the agencies will do their work,” she said.
There have been at least three other cases of building collapse within the FCT in 2023.
In February, a three-storey building had collapsed in Gwarimpa, resulting in at least three deaths.
Two workers died in Wuse 2 on April 19, after an adjacent fence fell on a building under construction, trapping six workers.
In July, a four-storey building collapsed at the Life Camp area of the FCT, trapping workers in it.
Despite meagre resources and economic woes, projects worth N1.3 billion were awarded to non-existent companies between 2019 and 2021 during the tenure of former Governor Gboyega Oyetola. The government flouted its noble promises of promoting competition, efficiency, and equal opportunities, as well as the laws and standards.
By Taiwo Fatola
AMIDST the bustling reception of the Osun Public Procurement Agency (PPA), located behind the Governor’s Office inside the state government secretariat, Osogbo, a commanding roll-up banner takes center stage, boldly displaying the state’s ‘governing rule on public procurement.’
Quoted with pride from Section 23(1)(b) of the Osun State Public Procurement Law 2015, the banner resounds with the promise of “Promotion of competition, economy, efficiency, and equal opportunities to all parties eligible and qualified to partake in public contracts.”
A noble principle etched in ink, but beneath the surface, an investigation into projects awarded during the administration of the immediate past governor, Gboyega Oyetola, between 2019 and 2021, unravels an unsettling truth. OSUN DEFENDER’s in-depth scrutiny of the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) portal on the state PPA website has unearthed a startling contradiction—a government that not only disregarded its sacred rules but veered from the very essence of fair public procurement.
The in-depth review showed non-compliance with neither the state public procurement law nor the public procurement manual. These crucial documents were intended to serve as beacons of transparency and accountability in the public procurement process for government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), but investigations show that they made awards to non-existent companies, among other alarming irregularities.
Osun State PPA
For instance, on 29th January 2020, the Osun State Ministry of Works and Transport awarded a contract for the rehabilitation and spot patching of the popular Okefia to Old Garage Road, Osogbo, to Jescon Tech Nig. Ltd at the cost of N3,256,697. The ministry adopted selective bidding for the contract. According to Chapter 7.2 of the procurement manual, for selective bidding, quotations must be obtained from at least three reputable contractors.
Further checks show that only Jescon Tech Nig. Ltd submitted a bid and was subsequently awarded the contract without any competition from other bidders. Findings show that Jescon Tech Nig. Ltd, has no discernible online presence. The company cannot be found through a search at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), which is the designated authority responsible for registering companies in the country and issuing certificates of business registration.
Moreover, Chapter 5 of the state procurement manual requires certified or notarized copies of essential documents, like business registration certificates, for eligibility to bid. Regrettably, these requirements were not followed.
Current State of the Old-Garage – Oke-Fia Road in Osogbo
Chapter 5 of the manual provides that “the eligibility criteria should be clearly stated in the bidding documents for each procurement. To ensure that these criteria are met, signed statements or documentary evidence may be requested to certify the eligibility.”
The document further listed certified or notarized copies of the bidder’s certificate of business registration, certificate of incorporation, business license or similar document and certified or notarized copies of the bidder’s tax registration, tax clearance certificates or similar document as some of the documentary evidence for eligibility.
Sensitive examination materials in the hands of unregistered contractor
In June and July 2021, the Osun State Examination Board awarded four contracts to another non-existent company. On June 9, 2021, a contract for the printing of 306,782 copies of assorted question papers was awarded to Adex Emma Success Global Resources at the cost of N10,353,960.
Osun State Examination Board Office
On June 30, 2021, Adex Emma Success Global Resources received two more contracts for printing 140,000 and 280,000 units of answer and continuation sheets respectively, costing N1.4m and N5.6m, respectively.
Similarly, on July 9, 2021, the Osun State Examination Board awarded Adex Emma Success Global Resources another contract for printing 125,502 continuation sheets. Notably, in all four contract awards, the selective tendering method was utilised, as observed in the case of the road rehabilitation contract awarded by the Ministry of Works and Transport.
Surprisingly, for all these contracts, Adex Emma Success Global Resources was the sole bidder, contrary to the requirement of at least three bidders, as outlined in the public procurement manual.
No trace of Adex Emma was found anywhere online. No website or social media handle related to the name was found. It is apparently not a registered entity as a search on the CAC portal and other online company directories including B2bhint and Ng-check, turned up nothing.
Duplicate contracts awarded to non-existent entities across multiple years
During the 2019 budget year, Osun State allocated funds for drilling boreholes in 332 primary health centres. However, what is worrying is that two separate procuring entities embarked on the same projects with different budget IDs and OCID IDs. The budget ID and OCID ID serve as unique identifiers for government projects on the OCDS portal, making this apparent duplication all the more alarming.
For example, the state Ministry of Health awarded the contracts for the ‘Drilling of 150 Nos of Boreholes with stanchion and overhead Tank in 150 selected Primary Health Care Centers across the State of Osun’ and ‘Drilling of 182 Nos of Boreholes with stanchion and overhead Tank in 182 selected Primary Health Care Centers across the State of Osun’ on 5th April 2019 and 23rd May 2019, respectively.
The contracts
Remarkably, both contracts were awarded to the same company, F. OTOT Nigeria Limited, indicating that the agency indulged in contract splitting. The OCID IDs for these projects are ocds-xwwr9a-000490-OS/HLT/02 and ocds-xwwr9a-000506-OS/HLT/02, respectively, with sharply differing Budget IDs – 000489 and 000505, respectively.
The reason behind splitting these projects into two remains unknown. However, the state procurement law in section 71(2)(f) expressly forbids and incriminates the act of splitting tender.
According to section 71(2)(f), “It shall be an offence to split tenders to enable the evasion of monetary benchmark set.”
The Ministry of Health used direct contracting for the projects, but it is unclear if drilling of boreholes across the state met the criteria for direct contracting in the state procurement law and manual. According to the public procurement manual direct contracting method can only be used under exceptional circumstances when the goods and services required are only available from a supplier or contractor, or when there is an urgent need for such goods or services.
Curiously, on July 7, 2020, another state agency, Osun Road Maintenance Agency (ORMA) awarded the same projects, with identical titles and budget sum (of N288,750,016 and N350,350,016 respectively), but different OCID IDs once again to the same company, F. OTOT Nigeria Limited. The agency used the selective tender method and, surprisingly, no other contractor submitted bids for the project apart from F. OTOT Nigeria Limited.
Details of the contracts awarded F. OTOT Nigeria Limited
The OCID IDs for the two projects, titled “Award of Contract for the Drilling of 150 Nos of Boreholes with stanchion and overhead Tank in 150 selected Primary Health Care Centre across the State of Osun” and “Award of Contract for the Drilling of 182 Nos of Boreholes with stanchion and overhead Tank in 182 selected Primary Health Care Centre across the State of Osun,” are ocds-xwwr9a-000954-OS/RMA/05 and ocds-xwwr9a-000976-OS/RMA/05, respectively.
These projects identities differ from the one awarded by the state Ministry of Health in 2019. The budget ID of the contracts facilitated by the Road Maintenance Agency are 000953 and 000975, respectively.
Findings by this newspaper showed that there is no trace of F. OTOT Nigeria Limited on the portal of the CAC or any other companies directory on the internet. However, a company with a similar name – F.OT OT Construction Services was found in the vendors list on the state public procurement website.
However, one Mr. Hamzat Adebayo, who identified himself as a director at F.OT OT Construction Services Company, said there was possible mismatch of identity. He said: “There must have been a mistake somewhere because government cannot award contract to an unregistered company.
“F.OT OT Construction Services Company was registered in 2013 and we have been using it to execute project. As of September 2022, we upgraded it to F.OT OT Construction Company Limited. But the contracts that were given to us were given to F.OT OT Construction services. We’re duly registered.
“Also, there must have been a mismatch because F.OT OT Construction Services Company did not receive any contract of borehole drilling from the Ministry of Works. Whoever is making an enquiry should get his or her information correct.
However, the reasons why an unregistered F. OTOT Nigeria Limited was awarded the contract could not be ascertained since F.OT OT Construction Services was also found on the state PPA website to have also bid for and won some award contracts.
Upon visiting primary health centres across Irepodun and Orolu Local Government Areas, it was evident that the boreholes were indeed installed. However, a significant number of them are not functioning. The installations were reportedly carried out around June 2020.
Among the non-functional boreholes is the one at Ehingbo PHC in Erin-Osun, Irepodun LGA. During a visit to the facility, a community health worker who identified herself as ‘Mrs Adepoju’, said that the borehole stopped working about a month after its construction in June 2020. As a result, staff and patients are compelled to search for water from outside the facility.
Similarly, at Bolorunduro PHC in Ifon-Osun, Orolu LGA, the borehole was also non-functional. It was revealed that a staff member at the PHC had personally funded the borehole’s repair, but the person has not been reimbursed for the expenses incurred.
Non-functional borehole at Bolorunduro PHC, Ifon
Olaniyan Akinwale, who works at the Bolorunduro PHC, expressed concern over the lack of water supply in the facility. He stressed that they have to contract someone to fetch water from outside the facility on a daily basis. Akinwale estimated that the health facility uses about 500 litres of water daily.
However, the borehole facilities at Araromi PHC in Ifon-Osun, Anwo PHC in Ilobu, Eleesi PHC in Ifon-Osun and Oke-Ila in Erin-Osun were functional at the time of the visit to these facilities.
Osun MDAs keep mum
After initial attempts to obtain reactions from the concerned MDAs failed, Freedom of Information (FOI) Act requests were submitted to them, but no official response has been received.
During a visit to the Ministry of Works and Transport, Bashir Bello, an engineer and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry attributed the delay in response to the FOI request to the need to obtain clearance from the Ministry of Justice before disclosing the information.
The Ministry of Works in a response signed by one M. A. Ojebode, an engineer, asked that the request for the information on the road project be directed to the state Ministry of Justice.
Similarly, in response to the request for information on the projects facilitated by her agency, the Registrar of the State Examination Board, Mrs. Bukola Akintola, directed that the information being sought should be directed to the Ministry of Justice.
Osun State is bound by the Nigerian Freedom of Information Act 2011, which states that if a public institution receives an application for access to information and believes that another public institution has greater interest in the information, it has a responsibility to transfer the application to that institution.
The referral to the justice ministry is curious as it has no interest in these projects. Also, Chapter 4.3(2) of the state public procurement manual states that the accounting officer of the concerned MDAs is responsible for ensuring compliance with the law and liable for breach or contravention of the law.
Zacchaeus Ategbero, an engineer and the General Manager of the Osun Road Maintenance Agency, claimed ignorance of the borehole projects despite evidence of his agency’s involvement on the PPA website. He promised an official response to the FOI request but has not replied as of the time of filing this report.
Similarly, at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Isiaka Adekunle, the permanent secretary, stated that clearance has been sought from the Ministry of Justice, and they are awaiting approval for the release of the information.
When reached for comment, Ismail Omipidan, the Chief Press Secretary to former Governor Gboyega Oyetola, questioned why the present government of the state is not being investigated, suggesting a potential witch-hunt against his principal.
He emphasised, “There is no such contract like rehabilitation of Oke-fia/Old Garage road. Kindly cross-check the information.”
Omipidan’s stance is founded on comments made by the then Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Jamiu Olawumi, affirming that the awarded contracts for printing examination papers followed the procurement law, and all processes were meticulously adhered to in their allocation. Olawumi’s response was in respect of a report by Dataphyte on the violation of the state public procurement laws in the award of some contracts by the Osun State Examination Board.
Despite the evidence presented by the medium, the Special Adviser to the former governor maintained that due process was followed without providing any concrete proof to back his assertions. However, a look at the Dataphyte’s story shows that the investigated contracts are different from the ones investigated in this report.
“I do not think we have anything new to add on that,” Omipidan stated.
“We don’t have power to do anything aside exposing issues like this”
Anthony Adejuwon, the Team Lead of Urban Alert, a Civic-tech initiative aimed at holding public institutions accountable, domiciled in the state, expressed his regret over the award of contracts to non-registered companies by the state government he added that his organisation has discovered such issues in the past but nothing was done to those indicted till date.
“It is saddening that in flagrant disregard for its own law, the Osun State Government seems to have institutionalised impunity in awarding contracts. This act can be identified as one of the reasons why projects are poorly executed, leading to lack of value for money. More painful is the perceived unwillingness of public institutions to address this corrupt practice that has further impoverished the people of Osun,” Adejuwon stated in a chat with this reporter.
He added that if the procurement law is not strictly adhered to, public funds will continue to stray into pockets of individuals who cannot deliver quality and timely projects.
“With some journalists in the past, we have discovered this impunity and published them on many news platforms. Nothing was done till date. As an organisation, we don’t have the power to do anything aside from exposing issues like this,” Adejuwon concluded.
This report is supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR).
The project aims to strengthen the capacity of the media to promote transparency, accountability and good governance in Nigeria, particularly in the Northwest and is supported by the United States (U.S) Embassy in Abuja under their “Public Diplomacy Small Grants Programme”.
Additionally, the project is set to allow Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to advocate with journalists in order to enable them to share information, data, and intelligence, which can be the basis for accountability and transparency reporting that both parties will work on in Northwest Nigeria.
File: Journalist
The project also aims to boost capabilities and offer financial backing to chosen journalists collaborating. The focus will be on producing investigative and data-driven articles addressing transparency and accountability concerns in the North West region of Nigeria.
The centre plans to enhance its ongoing efforts for open contracting and procurement by empowering journalists and CSOs. This empowerment involves strengthening their abilities in real-time investigative reporting to ensure accountability and transparency, thereby keeping the government responsible.
A total of 20 journalists have been selected across the Northwest states of Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa and Zamfara from print, electronic and digital media. The list of successful candidates and their respective organisations are as follows:
S/N
NAME
ORGANISATION
1.
Musa Rabiu
HotPen Media
2.
Idris Kamal Ibrahim
WikkiTimes
3.
Abdulwaheed Sofiullahi
Freelancer
4.
A’isha Ahmad Isma’il
AllnewsNG
5.
Mohammed Bawa Abduljalil
Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Birnin kebbi
6.
Ahmad Shereefdeen
The News Digest Press
7.
Abdulrasheed Hammad
Freelancer
8.
Bello Bahara Hafsat
Premier Radio
9.
Adamu Ibrahim
New Nigerian Newspaper
10.
Sardauna Francis
ThisDay Newspapers
11.
Annagu Francis
The Nigerian Voice
12.
Muhammad Abubakar Tahir
Blueprint Manhaja Newspaper
13.
Suleiman Shafa’atu
RMTimes Newspaper
14.
Aminu Alhussaini
Vision FM Sokoto 92.5
15.
Ekwenugo Nonye Juliet
Leadership Newspaper
16.
Bello Abdulrazak Kaura
Radio Nigeria (Pride FM Gusau)
17.
Saidu Khadijat
The Nation Newspaper (Vintage Press Limited)
18.
Andrew Sabatu Machika
Kebbi Broadcasting Corporation
19.
Usman Salihu Danjuma Zulaiha
Kano Focus Newspaper
20.
Adamu Mustapha Yauri
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
Table showing names of successful candidates
Note:The list was updated to remove Shehu Muhammed Shehu and Adamu Sadiq while adding Andrew Sabatu Machika and Sardauna Francis.
THE head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been reported ‘dead’ after a plane crash in north of Moscow on Tuesday, August 22.
While it remains uncertain whether Prigozhin definitively boarded the flight, his name was listed as one of the passengers on the plane.
According to Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Situations there were 10 people on board, including three crew members. Preliminary information confirmed all those on board died.
The plane, which crashed 60 miles north of Moscow, was flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
Al Jazeera reported that reports in the Russian media, though unverified so far, suggested that air defence systems could have taken down the aircraft.
“Prigozhin was among those on board or was at least listed as among those people on board.
“Some journalists report they’re in touch with his press secretary, who is refusing to confirm that. A second jet was also in the air that’s turned around and gone back to St Petersburg,” Al Jazeera reported.
Russia state-media RIA news confirmed that the Country’s Federal Air Transport Agency has launched an investigation into the crash, which happened in the Tver region of Russia.
The ICIR reports that the Wagner Group Chief, Priogozhin, led a surprise rebellion against the Russian leadership in June.
The Wagner Group briefly claimed control over military facilities in parts of Russian cities, prompting armed troops to march toward Moscow, but the fight was called off after an agreement between Putin and Prigozhin.
He accused the Russian military leadership of being corrupt and incompetent, complaining of inadequate munitions and supplies for his fighters serving on the front lines of Putin’s war in Ukraine for months.
He also claimed that the Russian army deliberately attacked his forces.
In 2014, Prigozhin founded the mercenary firm the Wagner Group, though he repeatedly denied running the group until last year.
His group had reportedly been involved in many war, including
Moscow in the annexation of Crimea and the Russian-Ukraine war.
The ICIR also reports that the Wagner group has emerged as a staunch advocate of the military coup in Niger Republic.
Prigozhin publicly supported the coup in Niger through a social media message and suggested that his Wagner Group mercenaries would be available to work for the military leaders if needed.
He defended the Niger coup, attributing it to the historical legacies of colonialism and accusing Western countries like the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and others of sponsoring terrorism in the West African nation, stating that these events had been unfolding for years.
The minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike, has promised that required funding would be provided to ensure the rapid completion of the Abuja metro rail systems.
He disclosed this while taking a tour of the rail transport systems in Abuja with the FCT minister of state Mariya Mahmood and staff of the FCTA on Wednesday, August 23, 2023,
Wike also described rehabilitation of the rail transport system as a short-term goal of his administration.
“Transport is one of those things that we can do in order to reduce the level of traffic within the city, and we know that we have this metro station here, and it’s not working. Why is it not working? Can we fix it within the short term so that people will say yes, this is now working.
“So, our position is that whatever it is, the company that it has been awarded, we will sit down to say for how long do you think you can complete this and then ask ourselves, do we have the resources to make sure that we don’t come back to explain to members of the public, this is why it was not finished,” he said.
Commissioned by former Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari in 2018, the Abuja Rail Mass Transit was aimed at relieving transportation challenges for residents of the city.
The rail systems were estimated to cost about $824, with 60 per cent of the sum to be sourced from the Exim Bank of China.
Work, however, stopped on the Abuja Rail Mass Transit for nearly three years, leaving residents to struggle with the scarcely insufficient number of commercial vehicles in the FCT.
This is despite the creation of the Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company, which mostly filed due to a lack of proper planning, The ICIRreported in December 2021.
THE Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has debunked reports alleging a planned demolition of 6000 buildings in 30 areas of the city.
The director of press, office of the FCT Minister Anthony Ogunleye, confirmed this to The ICIR on Wednesday, August 23.
“It is not true. I am issuing a statement to that effect now,” he said.
The director of FCT Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, also told The ICIR that he was not aware of any plans by the administration to carry out demolition exercises in 30 areas.
“I am not aware of that,” the director said.
According to reports by some outlets on Wednesday, the FCTA approved the demolition of about 6,000 buildings in 30 slums, including Apo Mechanic village, Byanzhin, Dawaki, Dei Dei, Durumi, Dutse, Garki village, Gishiri, Gwagwalada.
According to the reports, the newly inaugurated FCT Minister Nyesom Wike gave approval for the demolition.
During his inaugural briefing on Monday, August 21, Wike had threatened to demolish illegally built houses and revoke ownership of some pieces of land within the FCT.
He also warned against random siting of markets across the city, stating that the administration would no longer tolerate it.
“All those people who are distorting the master plan of Abuja, too bad. Too bad. If you know you have built where you are not supposed to build, it will go down. Be you minister of anywhere, be an ambassador; if you know you have developed where you are not supposed to develop, your house must go down. Those who have taken over the green areas to build, sorry,” Wike said on Monday.
However, there was no approval given for the demolition of specific areas or number of buildings in the speech.
Demolition is not an uncommon occurrence within the FCT, and several residents have lost homes and businesses due to the construction of houses on illegally acquired land.
![[UPDATE] We must arrest owners of Abuja collapsed building- Wike](https://www.icirnigeria.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Building-collapse-768x432.jpeg "[UPDATE] We must arrest owners of Abuja collapsed building- Wike")
