President Muhammadu Buhari has extended the tenure of the acting Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Isah Idris Jere, till May 29, 2023.

           

Comptroller Tony Akuneme, Public Relations Officer of NIS, disclosed this on Friday. According to him, the development was contained in the letter of extension from Buhari, signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari.

There has been uncertainty and bickering over Jere’s retirement.
The latest development would bring respite to the Service.

Airstrikes, artillery continue as Sudan fighting enters 3rd week.

The sounds of air strikes, anti-aircraft weaponry and artillery could be heard in Khartoum early on Saturday and dark smoke rose over parts of the city, as fighting in Sudan entered a third week.

         

Fighting between the army and a rival paramilitary force continued despite the announcement of a 72-hour ceasefire extension on Friday, when strikes by air, tanks and artillery rocked Khartoum and the adjacent cities of Bahri and Ombdurman. Hundreds have been killed and tens of thousands have fled for their lives in a power struggle between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that erupted into violence on April 15, derailing an internationally-backed transition toward democratic elections.

The fighting has also reawakened a two-decade-old conflict in the western Darfur region where scores have died this week. The army has been deploying jets or drones on RSF forces in neighbourhoods across the capital.
Many residents are pinned down by urban warfare with scant food, fuel, water and power.
At least 512 people have been killed and close to 4,200 wounded, according to the United Nations, which believes the real toll is much higher.

More than 75,000 people were internally displaced within Sudan just in the first week of the fighting, according to the United Nations. Only 16 per cent of hospitals were operating as normal in the capital. The latest ceasefire, brokered by foreign powers, is supposed to last until Sunday at midnight.
The RSF accused the army of violating it with air strikes on its bases in Omdurman, Khartoum’s sister city at the confluence of the Blue and White Nile rivers, and Mount Awliya.

The army blamed the RSF for violations.
The violence has sent tens of thousands of refugees across Sudan’s borders and threatens to stir instability across a volatile swathe of Africa between the Sahel and the Red Sea.
Foreign governments have evacuated diplomats and citizens to safety over the past week, including with airlifts.
Britain said its evacuations would end on Saturday as demand for spots on planes had declined.

The U.S. said several hundred Americans had departed Sudan by land, sea or air. A convoy of buses carrying 300 Americans left Khartoum late on Friday on a 525-mile (850-km) trip to the Red Sea in the first U.S.-organised evacuation effort for citizens, the New York Times reported.

In Darfur, at least 96 people had died since Monday in inter-communal violence rekindled by the army-RSF conflict, UN human rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said.
(Reuters/NAN)

Buhari approves postponement of 2023 Census.

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the postponement of the 2023 Population and Housing Census.

         

Buhari made this disclosure after a meeting with some members of the Federal Executive Council and the National Population Commission on Friday night. He said the earlier scheduled Census which was to hold from May 3-7 will be determined by the incoming administration

A statement signed and issued by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed on Saturday said, ”In arriving at the decision to postpone the Census, the meeting reiterated the critical need for the conduct of a Population and Housing Census, 17 years after the last Census, to collect up-to-date data that will drive the developmental goals of the country and improve the living standard of the Nigerian people.”

He said Buhari noted that with the completion of the Enumeration Area Demarcation of the country, conduct of first and second pretests, the recruitment and training of ad hoc workers, procurement of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and ICT infrastructures, appreciable progress had been made in the implementation of the 2023 Population and Housing Census.

Buhari further directed the Commission to continue with preparations for the conduct of the 2023 Population and Housing Census in order to sustain the gains already recorded and provide the basis for the incoming administration to consolidate those achievements.

Workers’ Day: FG declares Monday public holiday.

To mark this year’s May Day, the Federal Government has declared May 1 as public holiday.

         
The government also commended Nigerian workers for their hard work, diligence and sacrifice.

A statement yesterday issued by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, quoted the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, as saying that Nigerian workers were largely responsible for the greatness of the country.

“The Nigerian workers’ efforts are largely responsible for the greatness of the country and the respect it now commands in the comity of nations.
“There is dignity in labour, we have to have dedication and commitment to the work we do because it is vital to nation building,” Aregbesola said.

He enjoined Nigerian workers to imbibe the culture of productivity, stressing that the end of work was productivity.
“It is productivity that leads to satisfactory provision of goods and services and wealth creation. It is therefore the path to national and individual property,” he added.

Aregbesola urged the nation’s workers to raise the bar of their trade in line with the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration drive to upgrade the vehicle of governance and make all Nigerians derive maximum benefit from the nation.

The minister assured Nigerians that the present administration was fully committed to the security of lives and property of Nigerians and foreigners alike in the country and would not slowdown in any area as the administration winds down.

He, therefore, urged Nigerians to be part of the nation’s security architecture by being vigilant and reporting suspicious individuals and activities to the law enforcement agencies nearest to them.
The minister added that security was everybody’s responsibility, urging Nigerians to also make use of the N-Alert Application on Android or IOS.

PSC Chairman, Arase vows to end rift between PSC, NPF.

Arase speaks on fued, Court cases between PSC, Nigerian Police Force

       
The Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Dr Solomon Arase has pledged to end rift  between the Commission and the Nigeria Police Force.

A statement by Mr Ikechukwu Ani, the Head of Press and Public Relations of PSC on Friday in Abuja said Arase gave the assurance when he hosted some members of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

He described the existing rift between the two organisations as embarrassing, saying it was fueled largely because of misconceptions and suspicion.

Arase said it was in the greater interest of the country for the two organisations to work in harmony and a more transparent, responsible and responsive manner.

“My appointment as the chairman of the commission came at a critical time in our national life, when the Commission and the Nigeria Police Force have engaged in a seemingly intractable disputations.

“This rift over roles and powers has regrettably compounded and degenerated into series of litigations.
“In the raging disconcertment and belligerency, it is the Nigerian people that suffer as neither PSC nor Nigieria Police can function effectively without the support and cooperation of each other,” he said.

Arase therefore said he would continue to take conscious steps to bring about the required peace, cordiality and harmony between the two critical institutions of government. “I set out with a vision and mission to de-escalate and contain the raging conflict, douse the disquiet and restore peace, understanding and cooperation between the two institutions,” he added.
According to him, this is necessary in order to actualise the country’s Security Sector Reform.

The PSC chairman said synergy between the two organisations would also ensure greater results and success in their operations.
Arase said so far, peace was being restored and trust being built between PSC and the Nigeria Police, adding that all the knotty issues would soon be amicably resolved.

NDLEA Defends Tinubu In Alleged Drug Case, Knocks PDP, Dino Melaye.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has objected to a suit instituted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a party chieftain, Dino Melaye, against the president-elect, Bola Tinubu.

       

 Dino Melaye and the PDP are seeking an order of mandamus to compel the NDLEA to arrest and prosecute Tinubu over the alleged forfeiture of some funds in his bank accounts in the United States over two decades ago.

NDLEA, in its notice of preliminary objection signed and filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, by its Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, Joseph Sunday, submitted that the application by the PDP and Melaye, as first and second applicants, was incompetent. The anti-narcotics agency added that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain it and, as such, should be struck out.

The NDLEA claimed neither PDP nor Dino Melaye had the legal right to institute the suit. The agency said the only underlying specific interest of the first applicant then becomes political.

According to the NDLEA, the investigation and prosecution of Tinubu were targeted at removing him as a bona fide candidate in the presidential election. The agency argued that an order of mandamus was an equitable remedy and should only be applied in good faith, and should not produce an indirect or underlying result.

It said: “The doctrine of judicial self-restraint precludes this honourable court from delving into matters with political colouration or matters aimed at getting direct or indirect political goals.” While noting that the foundation of the PDP application was the proceeding of the US District Court of the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, it said the judgment in the proceeding was given “with prejudice.”

It added that “the said proceedings and judgment have no judicial value, and as such, the supposed cause of action of this suit as constituted is baseless and legally unsustainable.”

In an affidavit in support of the agency’s preliminary objection, a litigation officer attached to its Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services, Chia Depunn, said that as an independent agency of government saddled with the responsibility to investigate, arrest and prosecute persons involved in drug trafficking and other related offenses in Nigeria, the NDLEA had a healthy relationship with the government of the United States of America.
It stated further that the name of Bola Tinubu “by whatever acronyms or combination of names” had never featured in the exchanges it had with the US.

Depunn further claimed that the name of Tinubu had also not featured in the radar and database of the agency as a person arrested, investigated, or prosecuted in connection with drug or other related offenses.

The agency noted that though it relied on intelligence and information from foreign and domestic partners as well as public-spirited individuals, PDP and Melaye had never, since the establishment of the agency in 1990, made any complaint on Tinubu relating to illicit activities on drug matters until January 17, 2023.

Sudan crisis: Nigerians stranded at Egyptian border — FG.

People fleeing war-torn Sudan queue to board a boat from Port Sudan on April 28, 2023. – Fighting raged in Sudan despite rival forces agreeing to extend a truce aimed to stem nearly two weeks of warfare that has killed hundreds and caused widespread destruction. (Photo by – / AFP).

As Egyptians govt insists on Visa by all Africans on transit.
The Federal Government said yesterday that hundreds of Nigerians who were evacuated from war-torn Sudan and were to be airlifted from Egypt back to Nigeria yesterday were stranded as they were not allowed to cross the border into Egypt since their arrival on Thursday evening.

Nigerians in Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, (NiDCOM), Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in a statement issued yesterday by Mr Gabriel Odu, Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit, NiDCOM in Abuja said Nigerians were among the over 7,000 nationals denied entry by the Egyptian authorities who were insisting on visas by Africans to transit to their countries.

The Commission Chairman, therefore, called on “those concerned with passages and movement of persons and services along the borders of Sudan to create a humane condition for them to have access to their various destinations”. She also said the Nigerian mission in Egypt had been working on the issue and appealed to the Egyptian authorities to kindly allow the travellers to transit to their final destinations in various countries in Africa.

It will be recalled that the Nigerian students who were being conveyed to the Egyptian border in buses contracted by the Federal Government had raised an alarm on Wednesday that there were stranded in the middle of the desert as the drivers complained they had not been paid for their services

The crisis in Sudan reportedly started on April 15 between the Sudanese army and paramilitary RSF, both headed by army generals.

NiDCOM and NEMA at different times announced that about 1,600 Nigerian evacuees from Sudan were expected in Abuja on Friday. Officially, there are about 5,500 Nigerian students who are expected to arrive from Sudan in the evacuation that commenced on Wednesday.

According to NEMA, 13 buses conveyed the first batch of the evacuees from Khartoum in Sudan to Egypt from where they will be airlifted to Nigeria.

Sources within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told an online publication, PREMIUM TIMES that, “As of 0700hrs on 28th April 2023, nine buses have arrived at the Sudanese side of the Arkin border, and four buses have also arrived at the Wadi Halfa border. They are waiting for clearance from the Sudanese end to cross to the Egyptian side.

“Wadi Halfa border is the one approved for our people, and this was communicated to our Mission in Khartoum. However, the fact that some of the drivers chose to go to another border post (about 200 km) away from the approved entry point, we have raised another team to go there and assist.”

The source added that there are thousands of people at the borders and as such there will be delays in getting Nigerians into Egypt. In a similar tone, the source at NiDCOM noted that there are “not so serious” diplomatic hitches at the border and the Nigerian embassy in Egypt is trying to get diplomatic cover for the students.

Details Of Tinubu’s Meeting With APC Governors Emerge.

The details of the meeting between the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have emerged.
This Media platform reports that Tinubu had received the governors under the auspices of the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF), at the Defence House in Abuja.

           
Addressing the governors, Tinubu urged them as stakeholders of the party to join hands with the party leadership and the National Assembly on the election of principal officers of the National Assembly.
The president-elect also appealed to the governors to unite in spirit and faith and work in line with the party.
He, however, promised to carry everyone along in the incoming administration, saying that “whether you return or not, this is our government.

FG Files Nine Fresh Grounds To Oppose Nnamdi Kanu’s Release.

President Muhammadu Buhari-led government has filed nine fresh grounds of appeal before the Supreme Court to oppose the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu from detention.
The Supreme Court on Thursday granted the request of the Federal Government to include the fresh grounds in its amended notice of appeal dated October 28, 2022.

The ruling followed an application that was moved by a government lawyer, Tijani Gadzali, SAN, who equally sought an adjournment to respond to Kanu’s request to be transferred from the detention facility of the DSS to the Kuje Correctional Center.
Gazzali, SAN, told the court that he would need time to file a counter-affidavit to oppose Kanu’s request.

A five-member panel of the apex court led by Justice Inyang Okoro adjourned the case till May 11 for a definite hearing.

10th NASS Leadership: Tinubu Reveals Preferred Zone For Senate President.

The President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is reported to have told the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that he prefers that the Senate President seat for the 10th National Assembly be zoned to the south rather than micro zoning it to the south south.

       
This was said to be part of the discussions on Wednesday between Tinubu, APC leaders, and some National Assembly members over the zoning of the leadership of the incoming 10th National Assembly.
It was gathered that some members of the APC leadership and three South West senators urged that the Senate Presidency be zoned to the South-South but Tinubu outrightly rejected the request.

According to sources quoted by The Sun, the President-elect argued that it was wrong to propose zoning the post of Senate President to South-South only as he said leaving it open to the entire South will give all the qualified aspirants from South East and South-South to go into a fair contest just like APC delegates picked the presidential candidate of the party prior to the election without micro zoning.
Tinubu was said to have told participants at the meeting that in the interest of fairness, equity, religious and regional balancing the southern region, and not just the south south should be allowed to contest for the Senate President seat.

APC National Chairman, Adamu Speaks On Tinubu’s Health.

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Adamu, on Thursday, said the President-elect, Bola Tinubu is hale and hearty.

         

According to Adamu, Tinubu took time off because of the rigours of the campaigns of the 2023 presidential election. Adamu said Tinubu is ready to work, upon his return to Nigeria from Paris, France.

The APC National Chairman also pleaded with Nigerians not to withdraw their support for President Muhammadu Buhari when he leaves office on May 29 after the inauguration of Tinubu.

He stated this when members of a pro-democracy group under the auspices of the Natives paid him a thank-you solidarity visit at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Thursday.

Your Sins Are Unforgivable, IPOB Tells Buhari.

Outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has reacted to an apology from President Muhammadu Buhari calling on Nigerians to forgive him for whatever hurt he may have inflicted on them in his eight years in power.

     

The pro-Biafra group in a statement on Wednesday issued by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, took a swipe at the president’s apology, saying Buhari’s sins are too numerous and grave to be forgiven.

The Igbo separatist group said Buhari would not be saved from the atrocities he committed against Nigerians in the eight years he has been in the saddle as Nigeria’s president.
“His crimes will find him out by the time he finishes relocating,” the group stated.

“IPOB will continue to expose him because we know that he is from Niger Republic. Before now, nobody believed IPOB, and currently, the fake Buhari or the impostor has made it open that he is going back to where he came from.
“So this man wants Nigerians to forgive him for… the killing of indigenous people, terrorists, ethnic cleansing, destabilizing the country, Fulani enthronement, nepotism, national treasury looting, public deception, and many unforgettable and unforgivable crimes as a pseudo President?” the group said.

Continuing, it added: “Very sad indeed. Which of the sins and attrocities he committed does he want to be forgiven? Does he really want Nigerians to forgive him?

“As long as IPOB is concerned, the sins he masterminded and implemented are unforgivable. “I guess this Buhari and his managers believe that Nigerians are fools, rightly so because it beats any common sense that they allowed him a copy of the dead Buhari to rule them in place of the dead Buhari.

“How will the people of Benue, Plateau, Southern Kaduna, Yorubas, and many other indigenous nations in Nigeria who have been massacred by the Nigerian government imported terrorists from Sahel forgive him? “This same government enthroned Fulanis in all government agency appointments in their quest for the fulanization of Nigeria.

“Which of the grievous sins does he want Nigerians to forgive him of?
“It’s better he relocate his generation to Mars and Jupiter because Niger Republic will not be far enough from Nigeria or sufficient enough to protect him from IPOB’s watchful eyes. His shenanigans will be uncovered at the right time.

“The supposed Buhari and his Fulani cabals callously murdered more than a 1000 unarmed IPOB protesters and illegally detained 2,523 innocent citizens of Biafra.“Only gullible minds will forgive the oppressors, but in IPOB, we don’t forgive beasts and mass murderers and their generations.”
“Buhari’s statement of relocating far away from Nigeria and to Niger Republic in particular confirms what Mazi Nnamdi KANU said, that the impostor is from Niger Republic who took over after COVID-19 killed Jubril from Sudan in 2020.

“Impostorism is setting in as a tradition in Nigeria. No secret is hidden forever under the sun. It’s just a matter of time. In the future, Nigerians will understand that Mazi Nnamdi KANU is a prophet of God. “Let the man Buhari and the cabal in Aso Rock begin appeasement for their numerous sins against Biafrans by releasing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally as ordered by Nigeria Courts and UN Working Group.”

Security Has Improved Under Buhari’s Government – Presidency.

The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina on Thursday claimed that security in Nigeria has improved under Buhari’s administration.
According to Adesina, Nigeria’s Armed Forces moved from seventh to fourth place rating in Africa.

       
Speaking on Channels TV on Thursday, Adesina said insecurity would have run over Nigeria if not for the intervention of President Buhari.

He said, “In 2014, Nigeria’s armed forces were rated seventh in Africa regarding combat readiness and equipment. Today, we are fourth because the President had spent a lot in equipping the military, training and moral boosting. Our efforts were windless as, in 2015, the country had four or five serviceable aircraft. Do you know how many scores we have today, including Super Tucano and other sophisticated aircraft?
“In terms of arming the military, this administration has done well because if it did not, by now, Nigeria would have been overrun by so many insecurity challenges, banditry, insurgency and terrorism.

FG Makes U-Turn On Removal Of Petrol Subsidy, Gives Reason.

President Muhammadu Buhari-led government has revoked the plan to remove subsidy from Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), better known as petrol by June 2023.

     
The federal government had severally announced the plan to end subsidy on fuel this year so as to increase its revenue.
However, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed on Thursday that the National Executive Council (NEC), which comprises State Governors deliberated on the issue extensively and came to the conclusion that it will not be wise to remove subsidy as soon as the new administration is trying to settle down to governance.

Ahmed made this known shortly after the NEC meeting chaired by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo. She also noted that the existing committee that has been discussing the fuel subsidy issue needed to be expanded to enable more input from concerned Nigerians.

APC Crisis Deepens As Vice Chairman, Lukman Drags Adamu, Omisore To Court Over NEC Meeting, Writes Buhari.

The National Vice Chairman (Northwest) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman on Thursday dragged the National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu and National Secretary, Iyiola Omisore before a court over their refusal to convene a meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).

       
Lukman in a letter addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari explained why he dragged the duo to court.

According to Lukman, he had no option as they failed to heed his call to be guided by the party’s constitution.
The letter was addressed to the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) through its chairman, Governor Atiku Bagudu, and Members of the APC National Working Committee (NWC).

Lukman who charged President Buhari to view the April 5 letter he (Lukman) wrote to Adamu, said he made nine demands seeking immediate compliance with the provisions of the party’s constitution bordering on accountability.

Buhari Was Not Aware Of Many Promises Made To Nigerians In 2015 – Femi Adesina.

The special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Femi Adesina on Thursday said his principal has no knowledge of many political promises made to Nigerians in 2015.

     
The presidential media aide submitted that many campaign promises were flying around in 2015 and many of them didn’t officially originate from Buhari who was then a candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Speaking on Thursday during an appearance on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily, Adesina stated that there were a lot of rash promises from some support groups that were being passed off as party manifestos but were not official documents or utterances. He added that when he resumed as a media aide and asked the President about some of them, Buhari told him he knew nothing about them.

“Undue, Unlawful And Invalid” – Atiku Tells Tribunal Why Tinubu Can’t Be President Of Nigeria

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has advanced reasons why Asiwaju Bola Tinubu should not have been declared as the President-elect of Nigeria.

       
Tinubu who contested on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared as the winner of the February 25 presidential election in Nigeria by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
However, Tinubu’s victory is been challenged in court by Atiku.

According to a response to Tinubu’s preliminary objection filed before the presidential election petition court in Abuja, Atiku claims among other things that the dual citizenship possed by Tinubu disqualifies him from contesting the presidential election.
Recall that Tinubu’s reported citizenship of Guinea which surfaced after the election has been a trending topic on both social and conventional media.

A Guinean ambassador to African Union (AU) for Agenda 2063, Ousmane Yara later clarified that the former president of Guinea, Alpha Conde recognized Tinubu as a special envoy.
Notwithstanding, Atiku in the response filed by his lawyer, Chris Uche maintained that Tinubu’s declaration as the winner of the 2023 presidential election was “undue, unlawful and invalid” because he did not meet the constitutional requirements.
The PDP flag bearer further argued that Tinubu didn’t disclose facts of his constitutional qualifications in his Form EC9 submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

Buhari approves postponement of 2023 Census.

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the postponement of the 2023 Population and Housing Census.

   

Buhari made this known after a meeting with some members of the Federal Executive Council and the National Population Commission on Friday night.
He said the earlier scheduled Census which was to hold from May 3-7 will be determined by the incoming administration.

A statement signed and issued by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed on Saturday said, ”In arriving at the decision to postpone the Census, the meeting reiterated the critical need for the conduct of a Population and Housing Census, 17 years after the last Census, to collect up-to-date data that will drive the developmental goals of the country and improve the living standard of the Nigerian people.”

     

He said Buhari noted that with the completion of the Enumeration Area Demarcation of the country, conduct of first and second pretests, the recruitment and training of ad hoc workers, procurement of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and ICT infrastructures, appreciable progress had been made in the implementation of the 2023 Population and Housing Census.