Index to Nigerian Newspapers

Counsel for some #EndSARS protesters, Mr Adesina Ogunlana, has questioned the N61m budgeted by the Lagos State Government for the mass burial of 103 corpses recovered in the wake of the October 2020 #EndSARS protest.The state government had on Sunday confirmed the authenticity of a leaked letter indicating planned mass burial for 103 corpses. The letter, dated July 19 2023, The letter, signed by the Director-General of the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, Mr Onafowote Idowu, But Ogunlana, who represented some#ENDSARS protesters who claimed to have either been shot or witnessed soldiers shooting protesters at the Lekki tollgate on October 20, 2020, expressed dismay at the sum budgeted to give mass burial to unclaimed bodies. The activist-lawyer said, “My concern is not about the people that died but the fact that somebody is saying he wants to carry out a mass burial with N61m – the mass burial of unidentified bodies, of degraded bodies that died about two years ago, roughly about 20 or 19 months ago. 

You want to use N61m for mass burial! It should not even be up to N1m. Is it not just digging a big grave and putting the bodies there? That shows you the exploitation of the ruling class that we have, who are telling the people to bear the pain and to bear with the government.”

The Akwa Ibom State government has started the ejection of illegal miners from their places of operation to protect the environment.

The Commissioner for Environment and Mineral Resources, Chief Uno Etim Uno, revealed that the government ejected a Chinese mining company, Ruitai Mining Company from its operation base in Esuk Ikim Akeme community, Ibeno Local Government Area, where it was illegally mining titanium ore. 

Speaking on Tuesday in Uyo, Uno stated that he, alongside the Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security, Brig. Gen. Koko Essien (rtd), on an inspection of Ruitai Mining facility discovered that it was involved in illegal mining.

He explained that the product, black clay-like minerals, was discovered in sack bags of 50kg. However, the Managing Director and Director of the company, Zeng Zhonghuan and Huang Ying, were absent at the site, while the available staff members could not provide any information or documents on their right to operate in the area. 

 He explained that upon the discovery, the government invited the police and army to take over the site pending when the company was cleared to operate, adding that Ruitai was given until Friday this week to present documents qualifying them to mine the mineral.

He stated that further enquiry revealed that the company was an exploration company, whose Board of Directors comprised only Chinese persons, therefore, not eligible to acquire the small-scale mining license as they claimed.

A man identified as Mohammed Faworaja has met his untimely death in Ilorin, Kwara State capital while running away from a dog.

PUNCH Metro gathered on Thursday that the incident occurred around Asa Dam, the Warah-Osin area in the Ilorin West Local Government Area of the state. 

A source who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “The dog, a German shepherd, got loose and chased the deceased who hit his chest on an electric pole. He died of internal bleeding and the canned fish (Sardine) which he went to buy dropped and was seen beside the pole at the scene of the incident.

“He was a very friendly man and cannot be more than 33 years of age. He was the breadwinner of the family. The police are involved in the matter.

Former head of state and special envoy of the Economic Community of West African States to Niger Republic, General Abdulsalami Abubakar(rtd.) has assured that the political crisis would be resolved diplomatically, but the African Union suspended the country yesterday. He gave this assurance yesterday while interacting with newsmen at the state house meeting  with President Bola Tinubu, who doubles as Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the ECOWAS. Responding to question on possibility of military action in Niger, he said “hopefully diplomacy will see the better of this. Nobody wants to go war, it doesn’t pay anybody but, then again, our leaders have said if all fails… and I don’t think all will fail, we’ll get somewhere; we’ll get out of this mess.”
Abubakar, who had last weekend held a meeting with the ousted President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, and the leaders of the junta in the country, said he had delivered the terms of the Abdouramane Tchiani-led junta to ECOWAS. According to him, correspondences had opend between the West African regional bloc and the military in Niger, noting that the line of contact opened by ECOWAS through his appointment as envoy has been very fruitful, expressing hope that something concrete would soon come out of it.
Hisv wods: “As you are aware, the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government have made me an Envoy to Niger Republic and we were there over the weekend to see the military people and discussed to find a way out of the lacuna we find ourselves.

The Kano State Government, on Sunday, said it had activated contact tracing as the diphtheria outbreak in the state has spread to 31 out of the 44 local government areas of the state.

The state epidemiologist, Dr. Abdullahi Karaunmata, who disclosed this in a chat with newsmen, said over 100 patients were on hospital admission, while about 2,000 patients who were treated and had recovered had been discharged.

The resurgence of diphtheria, according to him, may be linked to the aftermath of the COVID-19  pandemic, which resulted in a lockdown and disruption of routine immunisation of children.

Karaunmata said, “Recently, the NCDC  released a list or an update outlining the number of states affected, with the total number of confirmed cases, including the mortality among the children. The report has categorised  Kano among the states with the highest number of diphtheria patients. 

“Currently, we have more than 100 cases on admission. We have treated and discharged over 2,000.

“The diphtheria has been reported in 31 out of the 44 LGAs in the state.

“Through the epidemiology unit, we have now established contact tracing teams across the high-burden LGAs. The team is actively searching for the children, with symptoms of diphtheria. With this development we have focused our searchlight on all the nooks and crannies of the state, searching for these patients.” 

In the bid to avoid another national disaster, the Federal Government has issued a formal notice to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to take necessary measures to safeguard the lives and property of Nigerians against imminent flood, as Cameroon authorities set to open the Lagdo Dam floodgate.

The notice was contained in a letter with Reference No: CC.16/3/11 dated 23rd August 2023, issued by the Federal Ministry of Forever Affairs (East and Central African Division) and addressed to the NEMA Director General, Mr. Habib Mustapha Ahmed. 

The letter signed by the Director of African Affairs, Ambassador Umar Z. Salisu on behalf of the Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, read: “I have the honor to inform you that the Ministry is in receipt of a Note Verbale from the High Commission of the Republic of Cameroon informing that Cameroonian Officials have resolved to open the flood gates of the Lagdo Dam on the Benue River in days ahead due to the heavy rainfall around the Dam catchment area in Northern Cameroon. “According to the Note, it is pertinent to note that when the release of water becomes necessary, the authorities of the Lagdo Dem will be releasing only a modulated variable small amount of water at a time in order to mitigate’ and avoid damages that the released water may cause along the River Benue basin in both Cameroon and in Nigeria.

 

Organised Labour has issued a two-week deadline to governors to commence negotiations on the N35,000 wage award for workers in their states in line with the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Federal Government, the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.

The state chapters of the NLC and TUC, which handed down the ultimatum on Tuesday, said they had written to the governors to fast-track the necessary protocols and implement the award meant to assuage the subsidy removal pains. The unions pointed out that the deadline for payment of the wage award would expire in the next two weeks, and they asked the governors to begin the implementation process.

This came as President Bola Tinubu Tuesday inaugurated the N1tn cash transfer programme to 15 million households to cushion the economic shocks of the fuel subsidy.

Each household will receive N25,000 for three months. With 15 million households getting  N25,000 each for three months, about  N1.13tn will be spent on the programme. At the event, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, said about 61 million Nigerians would benefit from the cash transfer.

The national leadership of the NLC and TUC had on October 1 reached an agreement with the FG to pay N35,000 to all federal workers beginning from September, pending when a new national minimum wage is expected to have been signed into law.

The resolution provided that the wage award would be paid to the federal workers for six months while states were encouraged to extend the same benefit to their workers.

Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda has approved the release of N2billion for the construction of 75 junior and secondary schools across the all 34 Local Government Areas of the state. The amount represents 20 percent initial advance payment to contractors. Without a doubt, this capital project will significantly boost education in Katsina State. The construction is supported by the World Bank AGILE Project to enhance secondary education opportunities for adolescent girls in the state  

The two-day meeting between the Federal Government and the organised labour ended in a deadlock on Tuesday, with the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress leaders vowing to begin a nationwide protest against the removal of fuel subsidy.

This came as oil workers under the aegis of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association began an indefinite strike on Tuesday, citing inhumane treatment by the management of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, an agency of the Federal Government.

The strike and planned protest by the organised labour slated for Wednesday (today) over the fuel subsidy removal by the Federal Government may shut down the country and paralyse the economy.

Oil workers had earlier on Tuesday staged a protest and shut down the commission’s office in Lagos, while also vowing to shut down the agency’s offices nationwide. 

Speaking on the planned strike on Tuesday, the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said the organised labour had no reason to suspend the planned national protests and strike.

Ajaero spoke a few hours after another round of meeting of the Presidential Steering Committee on Palliatives held at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, deadlocked.

Troops of the 6 Division Nigerian Army have destroyed eight active ovens used for illegally refining stolen crude oil at Ogbokoko and Atu in Warri South Local Government Area (LGA) of Delta State.

The troops also destroyed 14 storage reservoirs containing stolen crude oil estimated at 200,000 litres and 90,000 litres of locally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) in the area. Army spokesperson, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu disclosed in a statement yesterday that the illegal refining sites were destroyed during an anti-oil theft operation on Wednesday, August 23 in line with extant guidelines of Operation Delta Safe. The army spokesperson urged the public to report any suspected act of sabotage or criminality to security agencies “to enhance ongoing operations to curb economic sabotage in the country.” 

Nwachukwu said the thieves fled the scene on sighting the advancement of troops.

“Investigation is ongoing to arrest the fleeing criminals,” he said.