NEWS
10 INEC directors retire from service
Ten directors in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) heading different departments have officially retired from service, after attaining the mandatory 60 years of age, or 35 years of service.
The INEC National Commissioner, Prof. Mohammed Adams, who spoke at the send-off for the directors in Abuja on Sunday, advised them to use their retirement to engage in meaningful activities that would yield them good income.
He advised people in active service not to be scared of retirement, but to create a niche for themselves in whatever capacity they found themselves.
NEC Secretary, Mrs Rose Oriaran-Anthony, commended the retired directors for their hard work and dedication to service.
Oriaran-Anthony, represented by the Director, INEC Secretariat, Mrs Maryam Musa, congratulated them and wished them well in their future endeavours.
The INEC Director of Training, Dr Binta Kasim, encouraged the retirees to use their retirement to engage in whatever they derived pleasure in doing.
Labour plans meeting over new minimum wage
The Nigeria Labour Congress is planning to meet ahead of the resumption of negotiation between the Federal Government and the organised labour on the new minimum wage.
This came as the NLC vowed not to be deterred by the recent assault on workers and their leaders in Imo State, which it said posed a grave threat to freedom of association and collective bargaining as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution and the ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining.
The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, stated this at the opening session of the NLC 2023 Harmattan School with the theme: “Building Workers’ Skills for Policy Engagement” in Abuja on Monday.
He implored participants to approach the training with a quest and thirst for knowledge by asking questions and sharing experiences with the facilitators and with one another.
N150 Billion Loan Disbursed to Business Owners by Federal Government
The sum of N150 billion in form of grants and loans, have been approved for disbursement by the federal government to business owners nationwide.
The government noted that the funds would be disbursed through the Presidential Conditional Grant and the Presidential Palliative Loan programmes.
The programmes, according to a statement by the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, are designed to tackle the effect of the fuel subsidy removal by President Bola Tinubu.
“In the Presidential Conditional Grant Programme, the federal government will disburse a grant sum of N50,000.00 to nano businesses across the 774 local government areas in the country,” Ms Uzoka-Anite said.
She added, “The eligible nano business beneficiaries should be willing to provide proof of residential/ business address in their local government area, and provide relevant personal and bank account information, including Bank Verification Number (BVN), for verification of identity.”
A breakdown of the N150 billion showed micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in various sectors would receive N75 billion, while manufacturers would receive N75 billion.
The minister stated that the loan shall be administered at a single-digit interest rate of nine per cent per annum.
Presidential aircraft for sale, NAF calls for bidder
The Nigerian Air Force has put up the Falcon 900B aircraft for sale, calling on interested persons to submit their bids for the purchase of the aircraft, which is a part of the presidential air fleet.
Details about the sale was contained in a flyer shared on the X page of the NAF late Monday. According to the flier, the aircraft was put up for sale following the approval of the Federal Government.
The announcement partly read, “The Federal Government of Nigeria has approved the sale of Falcon 900B aircraft owned by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).
“In compliance with provisions of the public procurement Act 2007, the NAF hereby invites all interested parties to submit bids for purchase of the aircraft. The bids can be submitted by email or physically.
“If submitted by email, the bids are to be password protected and sent to dproc@airforce.mil.ng while the password is to be sent separately to d proc2@ airforce.miI.ng.
“For physical submission, the quotations are to be enclosed in an envelope and sealed while the envelope is to bear the name and address of the interested company/entity as well as the description and reference to the request.
“It should also bear the statement, ‘DO NOT OPEN BEFORE 24 DECEMBER 2023’.
“Please note that the bids would be processed immediately after expiration of the deadline for submission.”
Tinubu Orders Probe into The Kaduna Bomb Incidence
President Bola Tinubu has ordered an investigation into a military air strike that accidentally killed at least 85 civilians in Tudun Biri village, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said his principal has ordered “a thorough and full-fledged investigation into the incident,” calling for “calm while the authorities look diligently into the mishap”.
“President Tinubu describes the incident as very unfortunate, disturbing, and painful, expressing indignation and grief over the tragic loss of Nigerian lives,” Ajuri said on Tuesday.
Sunday’s incident is one of the country’s deadliest military bombing accidents.
The army acknowledged one of its drones aimed at armed groups had accidentally struck the Tudun Biri village as residents were celebrating a Muslim festival. Though the army did not give any casualty figures, residents had said 85 people, many of them women and children, had been killed.
FG allocates N138m to tackle fake news, print calenders
The Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, will be spending N138,066,187 to combat fake news and print calendars.
This is contained in the details of the 2024 Appropriation Bill currently before the National Assembly.
Part of the sum will also be used to facilitate media appearances for ministers and organise engagement with social media influencers among others.
In the 2024 budget, N24.5m has been allocated for a “special enlightenment campaign on government’s programmes and policies, testimonial series to gauge the impact of government policies on the citizenry.
“Advocacy against fake news, hate speech, farmers-herders’ clashes, banditry, rape, etc.”
The details also showed that the government would spend N40m to produce calendars; N30m was voted for external publicity and engagement with foreign media; N20.7m was voted for media interactions by ministers, influencers, and analysts on print and social media.
Gov Makinde presents N434.2bn budget for 2024
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, on Tuesday, presented a budget of N434.2bn for 2024 to the state House of Assembly for consideration and approval.
Makinde said when implemented, it would mitigate the harsh effect of fuel subsidy removal on the people of Oyo State.
The budget tagged, “Budget of Economic Recovery,” has N222.3bn capital expenditure and N211.8bn recurrent expenditure.
He noted the capital expenditure was 2.4 per cent higher than the recurrent expenditure.
The education sector got the largest share with N90.6bn or 20.8 per cent of the budget, followed by infrastructure with N74.3bn or 17.1 per cent.
The health sector got N40.9bn, which is 9.4 per cent, while Agriculture had N15.8bn, being 3.6 per cent of the total budget proposal.
SPORTS
Osimhen named Italian FA Footballer of the year
Super Eagles attacker, Victor Osimhen has won the Footballer of the Year prize for 2023 at the AIC Oscar del Calcio Awards.
Osimhen also became the first African player to win the Golden Boot in the Italian league.
He was instrumental for Napoli as they raced to their first Serie A title in 33 years earlier in the year.
The Nigerian scored 26 league goals to land the gong at the Italian Footballers’ Association Footballer of the Year award ceremony on Monday night.
“Victor Osimhen is the 2022/23 Footballer of the Year,” the awardees tweeted while announcing the 24-year-old as the winner.
Apart from winning the individual prize, Osimhen also earned a spot in the Serie A Team of the Year alongside teammates Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Kim Min-jae.
