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Delegates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna state have expressed their support for the presidential bid of Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation.
Amaechi’s visit to the state comes two days after the Kaduna delegates had enthusiastically assured Bola Tinubu, another APC presidential hopeful, of their allegiance.
The transportation minister met with the delegates for a consultative meeting on Sunday.
Speaking at the event, Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna, addressed the delegates about their preferred presidential candidate.
The governor said the delegates made the choice to support Tinubu without listening to the other contenders.
“I told you when you made that pledge to Asiwaju that others may not come, because of what you have done. You made that choice without listening to anyone else. Today you have seen the difference,” el-Rufai said.
“You’ve heard Amaechi, you’ve seen what he has done. And he has brought a very strong security team. So you know what will happen with our security if he is in charge.
“So I want to ask you two questions. Are we in Kaduna state APC committed, as a matter of fairness and justice, to the presidency of Nigeria going to the south?
The governor repeated the question multiple times and the delegates responded with “yes” each time.
Continuing, he said: “Now the second thing. You’ve seen Governor Amaechi. You’ve heard his history, you’ve listened to his pitch. What are you going to do? Who are you supporting now?”
In response, most of the delegates chanted “Dan Amanar” — Amaechi’s traditional title from Daura, Katsina state — while some retorted with “your choice”.
To clarify their stance, the governor asked again “are you supporting Dan Amanar” and the majority responded with a chorused “yes”.
Reacting, the governor said: “I thought you said you were supporting Asiwaju [Tinubu]. You know, people say that delegates will never see heaven. Because today you say something, tomorrow you do another thing.
“You are the delegates. I have only one vote. You are the leaders of the party in Kaduna. Whatever you decide is what we will do.
“You have a huge mandate on you and you must choose what is best for Kaduna and Nigeria.”
Speaking on behalf of the delegates, Yusuf Zailani, speaker of the state house of assembly, said the Kaduna delegates have reached the conclusion to give all their votes to Amaechi.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has warned the public of an ongoing cyber-vulnerability that allows a nearby hacker to unlock vehicles, start engines wirelessly and make away with cars.
In a statement on Saturday, Ikechukwu Adinde, NCC’s director of public affairs, said the notice was in accordance with the latest advisory released by the Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) of the commission, the cybersecurity centre for the telecom sector.
NCC said the vulnerability is a man-in-the-middle (MitM) attack or, more specifically, a replay attack in which an attacker intercepts the RF signals normally sent from a remote key fob to the car, manipulates, and re-sends them later to unlock the car at will.
It added that the latest type of cyber-attack can manipulate the captured commands and re-transmit them to achieve a different outcome altogether.
“Multiple researchers disclosed a vulnerability, which is said to be used by a nearby attacker to unlock some Honda and Acura car models and start their engines wirelessly. The attack consists of a threat actor capturing the radio frequency (RF) signals sent from your key fob to the car and resending these signals to take control of your car’s remote keyless entry system,” the CSIRT said.
It, however, offered some precautionary measures that could be adopted by car owners to prevent falling victim.
“When affected, the only mitigation is to reset your key fob at the dealership,” it said.
“Besides, the affected car manufacturer may provide a security mechanism that generates fresh codes for each authentication request, this makes it difficult for an attacker to ‘replay’ the codes thereafter.
“Additionally, vulnerable car users should store their key fobs in signal-blocking ‘Faraday pouches’ when not in use.”
It added that car owners in the stated categories are advised to choose passive keyless entry (PKE) as opposed to remote keyless entry (RKE), which would make it harder for an attacker to read the signal as criminals would need to be at close proximity to carry out their operations.
The PKE is an automotive locking system that operates automatically when the holder is in proximity to the vehicle.
The RKE system, on the other hand, represents the standard solution for conveniently locking and unlocking a vehicle’s doors and luggage compartment by remote control.
Additionally, in a related advisory, the NCC, based on another detection by CSIRT, announced the resurgence of joker trojan-infected android apps on the Google Play store.
“This arose due to the activities of criminals who intentionally download legitimate apps from the Play Store, modify them by embedding the Trojan malware and then uploading the app back to the Play Store with a new name,” it said.
“The malicious payload is only activated once the apps go live on the Play Store, which enables the apps to scale through Google’s strict evaluation process. Once installed, these apps request for permissions that once granted, enable the apps to have access to critical functions such as text messages and notifications.”
Consequently, it said a compromised device would subscribe unwitting users to premium services, billing them for services that do not exist.
“A device like this can also be used to commit Short Messaging Service (SMS) fraud while the owner is unaware,” CSIRT added.
“It can click on online ads automatically and even use SMS One Time passwords (OTPs) to secretly approve payments. Without checking bank statements, the user will be unaware that he or she has subscribed to an online service. Other actions, such as stealing text messages, contacts, and other device data, are also possible.
“To avoid falling victim to the manipulation of hackers deploying Joker Trojan-Infected Android Apps, Android users have been advised to avoid downloading unnecessary apps or installing apps from unofficial sources.”
The NCC also advised telecom consumers to ensure that apps installed from the google play store are heavily scrutinised before download.
“In conclusion, NCC recommends that unauthorised transactions be checked against any installed app. Indeed, any apps not in use should be deleted while users are also advised to ensure that a device is always patched and updated to the latest software,” it said.
...parents disagree with state govt over burial
The remains of late Deborah Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto State, have been laid to rest in her hometown, Tungan Magajiya in Rijau Local Government Area of Niger State today amidst controversy.
This is even as the Sokoto State Government allegedly insisted that the body be kept in the mortuary until it concludes its arrangement on the matter.
Deborah was stoned to death and burnt on Thursday by her fellow students for allegedly making a blasphemous statement on a WhatsApp group.
The deceased, it was gathered, had been living with family members in Sokoto since she was in primary school before her death.
It was learnt that while the body of Deborah was being transported home for burial, an official of the Sokoto State Government allegedly called that the body should be returned back as it belongs to the government.
The government had asked the family to deposit the deceased in the mortuary until burial arrangements are concluded.
However, the parents disagreed with the government’s position, while insisting that their daughter’s body would be buried today.
Nigerian Newstrack learnt that since the news of the incident reached the parents of Deborah, the mother has been unconscious while the father has been in a state of grief and pain.
Reacting, the Pastor of the family in charge of 1st ECWA in Tunga Magajiya, Pastor Emmanuel Maaji explained that the family are insisting that their daughter be buried today as against the state government’s position to wait until it completes its own arrangement.
According to him, the parents are not happy with the way and matter the government is handling the issue.
The cleric said the body of the deceased was transported back home in a chartered bus and not a government vehicle.
Maaji further stated that the government only called and said that it is not right for the family to take the body like that without informing them.
They said that they shouldn’t bury the body as the body is for the government and not for the family. They asked them to put the body in the mortuary.
When asked the name of the government official that asked that the body be returned back to Sokoto State, the pastor stated that he cannot recollect the name, but that the person claimed to be a representative of the state government.
Confirming the development, the CAN Coordinator of the Rijau Local Government Area, Reverend Danjuma Doma explained that the family and church are preparing to bury the remains of Late Deborah, adding, “we will update you on the situation as it goes, but we are all here to support the family at this moment of grief.”
Earlier, there was a disagreement over the burial site prepared for her at the town’s cemetery, when some group of youths appeared and claimed that she cannot be laid to rest in it, saying that it was dug for another deceased person in the area.
Also, confirming the development, Pastor Maaji said as a result of the action of the youth, the family and church decided to suspend the burial and deposit the deceased in the morgue to avoid further argument.
” But, when we pravailed on the youth, they saw reason with us and allowed us to burry her in the grave under contention. This is because, the body is burnt and not good to the eyes,” the cleric added.
As protests rocked some parts of Sokoto State on Saturday, some residents, believed to be Muslims, decrying the arrest of the suspected killers of Deborah Samuel, who was lynched on Thursday for allegedly insulting Prophet Mohammed have allegedly destroyed some churches.
According to SaharaReporters, the protesters attacked some churches along Ahmadu Bello Way in the state capital, while demanding the release of the suspects.
A Catholic church and a building of the Evangelical Church Winning All, ECWA, were reportedly destroyed by the protesters. Some shops belonging to indigenes of the southeast who reside in the area were also destroyed during the incident.
Efforts by journalists to reach the Sokoto State Police Command failed as the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Sanusi did not take calls and repeatedly shunned text messages forwarded to him.
Meanwhile, the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, has imposed a 24-hour curfew to curtail the riot.
Muslim youths in Sokoto, on Saturday, trooped out in their numbers to protest against those accusing them of the killing of Deborah for alleged blasphemy.
They also called on the state government as well as security agencies to as a matter of urgency release those arrested in connection with the killing.
Shouting “Allahu Akbar, God is great” while carrying different placards, the youths were all protesting in an orderly manner along Maiduguri road.
The movement started at the roundabout of Zabira mall where they march through Gao-Nama onwards flyover within the metropolis.
Meanwhile, a team of combined security operatives including soldiers from the 8 Division, Police, DSS, and NSCDC were seeing monitoring the protests to avert being taken over by hoodlums while others were stationed in a strategic position accordingly.
The late Deborah Emmanuel, who until her death was a 200 level student of Home Economics at Shehu Shagari College of Education was attacked and killed before her corpse was set ablaze within the school premises on Thursday.
The late Deborah was accused of blasphemy in a voice note she dropped on the WhatsApp platform of her class, in which she was alleged to have used a a bad language against Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Abuja bade farewell to outgoing members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), affirming that a significant number of them have been sufficiently equipped to aspire to higher elective offices, including the Office of the President.
Speaking at a valedictory session for appointees leaving the cabinet to pursue political ambitions, the President said:
”I have no doubt that if the next President emerges from among former members of this cabinet, like any other aspirant, ample competence and outstanding service delivery would be on display. This will be part of our legacies to Nigerians.”
The President, who commended the departing public officers for serving the nation sacrificially, ”with dignity and honour”, had at the last FEC meeting on Wednesday, May 11, 2022 directed that all Ministers and other political appointees who aspire to contest for elective offices in the 2023 General Elections should resign their current appointments.
”I note that some have complied while others are in the process of doing so.
”I would like to use this opportunity to commend your decision and courage to contest for elective offices and your compliance with my directive.
”I also wish to thank you for your invaluable services to this nation through your contributions as Cabinet members.
”I wish you success in the upcoming elections and in your future endeavours,” he said.
Buhari told the ministers that looking back as the head of the team over the years, he had fond memories of incisive and robust discussions during cabinet meetings, rendering of performance reports during special sessions and presidential retreats.
”In 2015, citizens of this country overwhelmingly voted for me to become the President of this nation on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
”Selecting members of the Cabinet went through a careful process so that the best and most competent could emerge. The performance of that class of 2015 proved me right.
”In 2019, Nigerians similarly re-elected me as President. Again the selection went through another meticulous process.
”That re-election was significant because it served as a referendum on our performance during the first term and it inspired me to bring back some of the members of the first cabinet either to their old Ministries or re-assigned to other sectors.
”New Members were also brought on board to inject fresh energies, skills and ideas to enhance the execution of government’s programs and policies.
”With these and much more, I am happy to note that a significant number of cabinet members have become sufficiently equipped to aspire to higher elective offices, including the Office of the President. This shows the impact of the experience gathered while serving as members of the Federal Executive Council,” he said.
The President acknowledged that prior to some of them joining his cabinet; they had made their marks in other areas as governors, legislators, entrepreneurs and core professionals.
He added that the experience and expertise they brought on board have significantly resulted in enormous development in various sectors and the accomplishment of government programmes.
”These include infrastructure, agriculture, health systems, financial management, administration of justice, building social safety net systems,” he said.
Noting that the departure of some cabinet members has undoubtedly created a vacuum that should be filled, the President said appointments would be made without delay so that the business of governance will not suffer.
Buhari urged the remaining members of the cabinet to show more diligence, resilience and commitment to serve Nigerians better, saying ‘‘the journey to the finish line is still very far ’’.
”Like always, there will be challenges to address, programmes to deliver and policies to implement.
”You must therefore brace up for more work and target increased accomplishments.
”The determination to leave important legacies for Nigerians should never be compromised,” the President told members of his cabinet.
The following outgoing members of FEC were present at the valedictory session: ministers of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio; Science, Technology and Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu, State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva; Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige.
Others are the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development, Uche Ogah, Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen and Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Tayo Alasoadura.
Minister of State (Education), Emeka Nwajiuba, who had earlier tendered his resignation, was not present at the valedictory session.
Speaking on behalf of the outgoing ministers, Akpabio thanked the President for giving them the opportunity to serve and contribute their quota to nation-building.
He described working with the President as a ‘‘fantastic and knowledgeable experience,’’ adding that as they step aside they will continue to be great disciples of Buhari.
”As we step aside from FEC, I want you to know that you have disciples in us. I want you to know that it is time for us to propagate Buharism.
”I want you to know that we are going to be working closely with Minister of Information and Culture to take your message of transformation, love, patience, administrative sagacity to Nigerians,” he said.
The Niger Delta Minister told the President that from his interactions with colleagues leaving the cabinet, it was like the story of the Spanish play of ‘‘sadness and joy.’’
”Sadness in the sense that we are going to miss the continuous daily and weekly interaction with a Father and learning from him; joy because we now have an opportunity to go to the wider audience in Nigeria to speak more of your achievements for this country.”
Lauding the President’s deep patriotism, Akpabio said he is the ”best president Nigeria could ever have had at a time of difficult circumstances.”
He prayed God Almighty to grant the President a successful tenure and protect his family, adding:
”May one of us succeed you in order to continue the good legacies you have laid on ground. We have seen and know your vision. We know where you want the country to be.”
Abubakar Malami, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, has pulled out of the race to succeed Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State.
After months of speculations, the Minister joined the race last month, appealing to the people for support.
While addressing stakeholders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital, Malami had said “if you will support me and accept me, I wish to say I am interested in becoming the next governor of Kebbi”.
APC executives in the ward and local government had pledged their support to the minister
Shortly after, some associates of the minister received exotic cars as gifts. Many of the beneficiaries were workers at the Khadimiyya for Justice and Development Initiative, a foundation he established.
This had triggered backlash as some said it was a move to get Malami soft landing ahead of the APC governorship primaries.
But on Friday night, Daily Trust gathered that the minster, who was among those President Muhammadu Buhari bade farewell at Aso Rock earlier in the day, had opted out of the race.
Sources close to the minister told Daily Trust that Malami had withdrawn from the race.
When contacted, Umar Gwandu, his media aide, simply said, “I have not been officially briefed.”
Buhari had ordered his appointees with interest in the 2023 election to step down.
Dangote Group says it is making plans to invest in the steel sector of the economy “in a big way.”
Olakunle Alake, group managing director, Dangote Group, disclosed this on Thursday during a panel discussion at the Infrastructure Solutions Summit organised by the African Finance Corporation (AFC) in Abuja.
Alake said the conglomerate is making plans to expand operations into the steel sector of the economy.
He also said in a couple of years, the company will no longer go to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for foreign exchange.
“We do have something right now that we are trying to complete. I think this is the major project and that is our major focus right now. In another couple of years, we will not go to the Central Bank for foreign exchange for any of our activities, because at the end of the day, it’s a double situation, you import products which means you are creating jobs outside Nigeria and you struggle to get the forex,” Alake said.
“You drill for oil, you export oil, you don’t refine it. That way you are just killing employment.
“Our focus is two things. One, we make sure we look at things that can be produced locally, we create employment that way and we create value that way.
“Apart from the oil and gas project that we are doing, we are also one of the key stakeholders that has supported the government in terms of infrastructure tax credit scheme and we are using local banks to build that capacity across Nigeria.
“For us, steel is one of the key areas. You recall that years back the government decided that steel was major and set up Ajaokuta Steel and Delta Steel. We will want to resuscitate this sector in a big way.”
Scores of travellers have been kidnapped as gunmen hijacked three vehicles along the Emuoha area of the East-West road in Rivers State, according to Punch.
This came few days after three kidnapped passengers along the kalabari-Emuoha road regained their freedom.
In the latest incident, it was learnt that the gunmen diverted the passengers to a nearby forest in the area at about 8 pm on Wednesday, following an ambush in Evekwu -Rumuodogo communities in Emuoha.
A member of local vigilante group in the area who confirmed the incident said the vehicles which were travelling to Port Harcourt from various parts of the country included a commercial bus filled with passengers, a Siena carrying goods and another private vehicle.
The actual number of occupants in the vehicles could not be ascertained as of the time of filing this report, but the source said all the travellers were moved into the nearby forest.
The vigilante said he and some of his colleagues managed to trace the footsteps of the captives after the incident occurred, but could not go further for fear of the unknown.
It was gathered that some policemen from the Rumuji division visited the scene on Thursday morning.
When contacted, the acting spokesperson of the state police command, Grace Iringe-koko, said she was yet to get the report.
PRESS RELEASE
Within the context of the South-South Triangular Cooperation in the global south, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund TETFund) of Nigeria supports the strengthening of human capital within the Nigeria Academia. Just closing from a very successful outing in Brazil, the major outcome of the First Agricultural Research and Innovation Fellowship for Africa- (ARIFA) Symposium, which took place between 28th and 29th April 2022 at the Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Brazil, is the signing of a Memorandum of understanding between the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the Brazilian Association for International Education (FAUBAI) with the endorsement of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) of Nigeria.
The epic signing of the MoU took place on the margins of the symposium tagged “Pedagogic Retooling Strategy for Africa’s Agricultural Research and Innovation System: Lessons from Brazil.
The MoU was signed by the President of FAUBAI, Márcio Venício Barbosa and Yemi Akinbamijo, Executive Director of FARA with endorsement by Sonny S.T. Echono, the Executive Secretary (ES) TETFund. Present to oversee the solemnisation of the agreement was Mohammad Markarfi, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Brazil. The MoU further opens up forty federal universities ready to accept ARIFA Fellows from Nigerian tertiary institutions for postgraduate, post-doctoral and benchwork studies.
The event’s objective was the strengthening of Africa’s human capital for Agricultural Research and Innovation – starting with Nigeria. It was further revealed that the FARA-TETFund partnership is raising the bar to identify five hundred faculty members from Nigeria’s tertiary institutions for skills upgrade in the new TetFund-FARA-FAUBAI ARIFA Partnership. Earlier, the ARIFA Symposium brought together, for the first time, over 50 ARIFA fellows currently undergoing postgraduate training in different disciplines in six Brazilian universities. Also in attendance were six Faculty Focal Leads (FFLs) from TETFund Centers of Excellence (CEO), representatives of participating Brazilian universities, and Vice-Chancellors from Nigerian Universities.
While declaring the event open in his intervention, the Chief Guest of Honor - Mohammad Markarfi, Nigerian ambassador to Brazil, reiterated Nigerian Government’s commitment to supporting initiatives that have improved their core of food and nutrition, which ARIFA encapsulates. Highlighting the agro-eco cultural intersections that present Brazil as a natural partner to Nigeria, the Ambassador encouraged the fellows to remain dedicated to pursuing their studies as they understudy the Brazilian cultural ethics within the context of the Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI).
In his welcoming remarks, Demetrius David da Silva, Rector of the Federal University of Vicosa, represented by Raul Narciso C. Guedes - Dean of Post Graduate school, welcomed the ARIFA fellows and participants, expressing the commitment of UFV to continue to play a leadership role in the implementation of ARIFA in Brazil and the Global South as a whole.
While addressing the Symposium, Sonny S.T. Echono, the Executive Secretary TETFund, lauded the concept of ARIFA, and Nigeria was selected to lead the pack under the ARIFA initiative. He further expressed TETFund’s readiness to expand the program beyond the agriculture sector to other STEM-based disciplines, targeting at least 500 fellows in the next two years. The intended theory of change is that the infusion of six hundred fit-for-purpose fellows into the Nigeria academia would open up a fresh stream of capacities and twinning opportunities to build institutional capacities within the South-South Technical Collaboration context. The new stream from Brazil should provide fresh impetus to strengthen the pedagogic delivery of all participating public tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
While thanking all partners, particularly the UFV team that hosted the Symposium, Executive Director of FARA, Akinbamijo, said: “As we cannot continue to graduate thousands of agriculturists each year with food import increasing yet, the Brazilian advantage as an attempt at a pedagogic retooling of the Nigerian academia one person at a time, by imbibing the culture of excellence and success stories and to see how these can be replicated back home, he further expressed gratitude to the government of Brazil for lending a helping hand in the spirit of the south-south collaboration and our shared cultural heritage.
ARIFA is a joint FARA-TETFund-Brazil initiative with 100% funding support from the Governments of Nigeria and institutional support from Brazil.
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Naira hit a four-month low Thursday, depreciating 0.30 per cent against the U.S. dollar at the official market.
The currency which opened trading at N416.50 closed at N420.00 to a dollar at the close of business on Thursday, data published by FMDQ, where forex is officially traded showed.
This represents a N1.25 or 0.30 per cent devaluation from N418.75 it traded in the previous market session on Wednesday.
The naira hovered within an intraday high of N412.38 and slipped to a low of N444.00 before closing at N420.00 per $1 on Thursday.
This is the weakest rate the naira exchanged officially with the dollar in nearly five months after closing at N422.67 to a dollar on January 5, early this year.
Within the past four months, the currency has been trading between the range of N417.00-N419.00 and above mark before settling at N420.00 at the close of sales Thursday.
Forex supply jumped by 38.20 per cent with $160.00 million recorded at the close of business on Thursday against the $115.78 million posted in the previous session Wednesday.
Similarly, the local currency pushed towards N600.00 to a dollar at the parallel market on Thursday.
Uyo currency dealers exchanged the naira at N592.00 and sold N596.00 to a dollar, while Abuja black market dealers at Wuse Zone 4 said the currency was exchanged at N590.00 and sold at N593.00 per $1 on Thursday.
The police command in Sokoto says two suspects have been arrested over their alleged involvement in the killing of a female student at the Shehu Shagari College of Education.
The student, identified as Deborah Samuel, was said to have been attacked by a mob over remarks considered to be an insult to Prophet Mohammed.
Videos of the student being stoned and beaten with sticks were shared on social media, and the incident was reported to have occurred in the early hours of Thursday.
In a statement on the incident, Sanusi Abubakar, spokesman of the Sokoto police command, said operatives have been deployed to the area.
“At about 0900hrs, a distress call was received from Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, stating that students were rioting over one female student named Deborah Samuel, a level two student, who was accused of making a social media post that blasphemed the holy prophet Muhammad (SAW),” the statement reads.
“Students forcefully removed the victim from the security room where she was hidden by the school authorities, killed her and burnt the building.
“The students banded together with miscreants and barricaded the Sokoto/Jega road.
“Upon receiving the information, the DC Operations led a team of policemen and all other operational commanders in the state to the school where the road was cleared and the situation was brought under control.
“Two students were arrested in connection with the crime committed.
“The school has been closed down by the school authority, and policemen were deployed to give tight security coverage.
“The Commissioner of Police, Sokoto State Command, Kamaldeen Okunlola, is appealing to members of the public to go about their lawful activities and should not panic as the situation is under control.
“Meanwhile, the suspects in the viral video on Twitter were spotted and will be nailed soon.”
Earlier on Thursday, Muhammadu Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, condemned the incident and urged security operatives to ensure that the perpetrators are apprehended.
In a statement by Sa’idu Maccido, secretary of the sultanate council, the Sultan also urged the public to “remain calm and ensure peaceful co-exiatence among all people of the state and nation”.
A Supreme Court judge, Mary Peter-Odili, retired after attaining the retirement age of 70 on Thursday.
Speaking at the valedictory court session held in her honour, Mrs Peter-Odili lamented the spate of violent crimes in Nigeria, which she attributed to youth unemployment.
At the event which held at the Supreme Court in Abuja, the retiring apex court justice, who is the wife of Peter Odili, a former Rivers State governor, warned that the “urgency of what we are all faced with right now calls for necessity in tackling them.
“The massive unemployment of tertiary institution graduates is a tip of the icebergs.
“The millions of idle youth is not unrelated to the insecurity on the ground,” she said.
She said the current strike action by public universities’ lecturers, which has lasted over three months, has compounded youth restiveness.
“The situation is not helped by the perennial strikes which leave students idling away.”
In tackling the problem, Mrs Peter-Odili suggested that “the Head of State should take on the garb of Minister of Youth, Employment and Social Welfare.”
Drawing from her experience as a former First Lady in Rivers State, Peter-Odili said with the president assuming the role of employment minister, he would direct “the implementation of what is put in place without middlemen” hijacking the process.
She advised state governors to adopt same strategies in dealing with youth unemployment.
Furthermore, Peter-Odili in her valedictory speech advocated the urgent “restructuring” of Nigeria.
“My humble view is that the issue (of restructuring) should be given an immediate attention.”
Recalling her over four-decade judicial career, she thanked her husband, Peter, and colleagues for their support.
Eulogies
Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Tanko Muhammad, poured encomium on Peter-Odili for her “irrepressible voice in the temple of justice.”
Muhammad described the retiring jurist as the “epitome of jurisprudential finesse.”
“We are honouring an amiable lady of alluring qualities and excellence that transcend the legal profession,” he said.
The CJN noted that Peter-Odili “offered the best of her intellect to the advancement of the legal profession through her several years of inimitable adjudications at different levels of courts in Nigeria.
“She is a specimen of hard work, industry, discipline and high moral rectitude,” Muhammad said.
Similarly, Wole Olanipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN), praised the retiring justice for her contribution to Nigeria’s judicial system.
But, Olanipekun who spoke on behalf of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, said the “legal profession today faces a lot of problems.”
“Political cases are responsible for the tagging of judiciary as ‘supermarket.'”
He pointed out that the Supreme Court cannot be “insular.”
“Where the Supreme Court gives a judgement in error, it should reverse itself”, adding that “forum-shopping” where lawyers shop for favourable court decisions “has to be addressed.”
Olanipekun urged the executive arm of government to “stop harassing the judiciary. The judiciary can never be inferior to any other arm of government.”
On his part, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami, represented by Beatrice Jedy-Agba, Ministry of Justice’s permanent secretary, noted that Peter-Odili followed the path of honour during her time as justice on the bench of the Supreme Court.
He, however, called on the judiciary to embrace technological innovation to ensure a more effective and efficient justice delivery system.
Profile
Mrs Peter-Odili bowed out of service after attaining the 70 years mandatory retirement age.
She was born on May 12, 1952, to the royal family of Bernard Nzenwa in a highly commercially inclined community of Amudi Obizi, Ezinihitte-Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State.
She made headlines in October last year after 15 suspected invaders, including a police officer, invaded her house to purportedly execute a search warrant.
The suspects are currently standing trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Governor Godwin Emefiele of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says he is having fun with the whole drama around his 2023 ambition.
Emefiele said this while responding to questions from State House reporters after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, on Thursday.
Asked about his reaction to the report that the President had asked him to resign after the purchase of the presidential nomination and expression of interest forms of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Emefiele said: “There is no news now, but there will be news. You heard me, I said there is no news but there will be news.”
But when told that Nigerians were anxious about his position, he said: “Let them have heart attack. It’s good to have heart attack. I am having a lot of fun.”
The governor of the apex bank has been under intense pressure since expression of interest and nomination forms of the ruling APC were picked on his behalf, triggering outrage as many called on him to step down.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, who described Emefiele’s interest in the 2023 Presidency as “a joke taken too far”, had asked Buhari to fire him if he refused to step down.
But in a series of tweets after the development, Emefiele declined the presidential forms bought for him, saying he would use his resources to purchase them if he is interested in the race.
He said God would decide for him “in the next few days”.
But early this week, another twist was added to the development as a suit was filed before a Federal High Court in Abuja over the alleged plan to disqualify him from the 2023 presidential primaries slated for the end of this month.
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has given political parties a deadline of June 3 to submit their candidates for the 2023 elections.
Some lawyers had argued that Emefiele was unfit to run going by Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act.
The section states that no political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.
But in some documents, Emefiele, through his lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, argued that he is not a political appointee and by provision of the constitution, he is expected to resign a month before the February 25, 2023, presidential election.
He also contended that a Federal High Court in Umuahia, Abia State, had nullified section 12 (8) of the Electoral Act.
INEC and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) were joined in the suit.
Buhari had on Wednesday ordered the resignation of political appointees seeking to contest the 2023 elections.
The CBN governor was copied in the circular titled, ‘Ministers, heads of government agencies, ambassadors and other appointees with political ambitions to resign’.
On Wednesday, four of the nine ministers seeking to contest the 2023 elections quit the cabinet.