Gunmen killed one person during an airport attack in the northern Nigerian state of Kaduna on Saturday afternoon, three sources working at the airport said, the latest in a series of attacks by gunmen in the north of the country.

A ground crew and two airport officials said armed men entered the airport premises through a perimeter fence from a nearby forest and started shooting sporadically to scare workers, Reuters report.

"They opened fire on the NAMA (Nigerian Airspace Management Agency) security staff, killing him instantly and tried to invade the runway to prevent (an) aircraft from taking off," said the ground crew, who declined to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the press.

The two airport officials said armed security managed to repel the gunmen, preventing them from gaining access to the main airport complex.

A police spokesperson for Kaduna state did not respond to calls or text messages seeking comment.

Gunmen have spread terror across Nigeria's northwest, where they have attacked and killed villagers and security officials and kidnapped hundreds of school children and villagers for ransom.

Carcass of Alpha Jet which went missing almost one year ago has been found in Sambisa Forest, Borno State according to a Daily Trust report.

The Nigerian Army which disclosed this in a brief statement on Saturday said troops of Operation Desert Sanity uncovered the wreckage.

The aircraft (NAF 475), which had two crew members on board, had gone off the radar on March 31, 2021.

The statement read, “Troops of Operation Desert Sanity on clearance patrol in Sambisa Forest, Borno State, have uncovered the wreckage of crashed Alpha Jet aircraft (NAF475) that went off the radar with two crew members on 31 March 2021. Further exploitation (is) ongoing.”

The more connection you feel between who you are now and who you will be, the greater your later life satisfaction and well-being says Inc.

Imagine yourself 10 or 20 years in the future. Not physically--because 40-year-old me would not have been happy with 60-year-old me--but in terms of who you are inside.

How you answer that question tends to put you in one of two basic camps.

Some people see themselves as basically the same: Where you live might change, your profession might change, your circumstances might change, but deep inside you see yourself as roughly the same. As social psychologists put it, you assume a strong continuity between today you and 20-years-from-now you.

Others see their future selves as very different from who they are today. They see little connection or continuity. They assume--or at least hope--that someday they will become very different.

My guess is you see where this is going: People who think their future self will be very different tend to be less "responsible" in terms of behavior.

Research bears out that assumption. One study shows that people with greater "present-future continuity" tend to exercise more. Another shows that those people tend to be more financially prudent and more likely to save money. Another shows that those people tend to behave more ethically, both personally and professionally.

Another shows that the degree of continuity you feel with your future self can actually predict your overall life satisfaction and well-being 10 years later.

As the researchers write:

When people are better connected to their future selves, they have an enhanced ability to recognize the consequences of their present-day decisions on their future selves.

And that's going to help them put the brakes on these behaviors.

Intuitively that makes sense. When I was young, I thought future me would somehow be different: That he would decide to get fit. Or save for retirement. Or just quit acting like such a doofus.

Who I was then and who I would someday be? Big disconnect.

Slowly, though, I realized that what I did today built the foundation for what I would become. That who I would be in 10 or 20 years would be the accumulation of the actions I would take in the years to come.

That someday being fit, relatively financially secure, or a lot less of a jerk--who I would be would result from the choices I made on a daily basis.

Choices that would either work for or against my hopes for future me.

Because consistency, not intensity, is what produces long-term results.

Want to someday be a successful entrepreneur? You won't get there by assuming that someday you'll magically be different. What you do now--gaining skills, forging connections, analyzing opportunities, etc.--will accumulate over time, and help you get there.

Want to lose weight? The choices you make now--improving your diet, exercising more, etc.--will accumulate over time and help you get there.

If you hope your future self will be smarter, or kinder, or wealthier, or more generous, or more successful--whatever you imagine your future self to be--see that person not as a stranger, but as fundamentally the person you are today.

Except different, due to the choices you make today.

And every day.

All Progressives Congress (APC) has selected its consensus candidates for national and zonal offices of the party.

The list, which was signed by governors of the party, came as delegates gathered in Abuja for the ongoing party’s national convention.

Aside from the office of the zonal legal adviser (south-south), a total of 54 consensus candidates were approved.

According to the party’s ‘Endorsement List’, Abdullahi Adamu, senator representing Nasarawa west, was selected for the position of national chairman of the party.

Other consensus candidates are listed as follows:

Abubakar Kyari (senator from Borno) as deputy national chairman (north)

Emma Eneukwu (Enugu) as deputy national chairman (south)

lyiola Omisore (Osun) as national secretary

Fetus Fuanter (Plateau) as deputy national secretary

Muhazu Bawa Rijau (Niger) as national vice-chairman (north-central)

Mustapha Salihu (Adamawa) national vice-chairman (north-east)

Salihu Lukman (Kaduna) as national vice-chairman (north-west)

Ijeomah Arodiogbu (Imo) as national vice-chairman (south-east)

Victor Giadom (Rivers) as national vice-chairman (south-south)

D.I. Kekemeke (Ondo) as national vice-chairman (south-west)

Ahmed El-Marzuk (Katsina) as national legal adviser

Uguru Mathew Ofoke (Ebonyi) as national treasurer

Bashir Usman Gumel (Jigawa) as national financial secretary

Suleiman M. Argungun (Kebbi) as national organising secretary

Betta Edu (Cross River) national women leader

F.N. Nwosu (Abia) as national welfare secretary

Felix Morka (Delta) as national publicity secretary

Abubakar Maikafi, senator from Bauchi, as national auditor

Abdulahi Dayo Israel (Lagos) as national youth leader

Tolu Bankole (Ogun) as special (persons with disability (PWD) leader

Ibrahim Salawu (Kwara) as deputy national legal adviser

Omorede Osifo (Edo) as deputy national treasurer

Hamma-Adama Ali Kumo (Gombe) as deputy national financial secretary

Nze Chidi Duru (Anambra) as deputy national organising secretary

Yakubu Murtala Ajaka (Kogi) as deputy national publicity secretary

Christoper Akpan (Akwa Ibom) as deputy national welfare secretary

Olufemi Egbedeyi (Oyo) as deputy national auditor

Zainab Abubakar Ibrahim (Taraba) as deputy national women leader

Jamaluddeen Kabir (Zamfara) as deputy national youth leader

Oluwatoyin Opawuye (Kwara) as national ex-officio (north-central).

Sirajo Dahuwa (Bauchi) as national ex-officio (north-east)

Allyu Ahmed Yako (Kano) as national ex-officio (north-west)

Agunwa Anekwe (Anambra) as national ex-officio (south-east)

Diriwari Akedewei (Bayelsa) as national ex-officio (south-south)

Bunmi Oriniowo (Ekiti) as national ex-officio (south-west)

Yakubu Mohammed Adamu (FCT) as zonal secretary (north-central)

Mohammed Wali Shettima (Yobe) as zonal secretary (north-east)

Bello Goronyo (Sokoto) as zonal secretary (north-west)

Azobu Innocent Itapa (Ebonyi) as zonal secretary (south-east)

Ita Udosen (Akwa Ibom) as zonal secretary (south-south)

Vincent Bewaji (Ekiti state) as zonal secretary (south-west)

Hadiza Aliyu (Kogi) as zonal legal adviser (north-central)

Dauda Chakpo (Taraba) as zonal legal adviser (north-east)

Bashir Usaini Dutse (Jigawa) as zonal legal adviser (north-west)

Mayor Ogbona Earnest (Ebonyi) as zonal legal adviser (south-east).

Isma’il Kolawole Majoro (Oyo) as zonal legal adviser (south-west),

Ahmed Attah (Kogi) as zonal organising secretary (north-central),

Abubakar Adamu Musa (Taraba) as zonal organising secretary (north-east)

Salisu Uba (Zamfara) as zonal organising secretary (north-west)

Dozie Ikedife (Anambra) as zonal organising secretary (south-east)

Blessing Agbome (Edo) as zonal organising secretary (south-south)

Lateef Ibirogba (Lagos) as zonal organising secretary (south-west)

John Okoho (Benue) as zonal publicity secretary (north-central).

Six Nigerians have been blacklisted by the United States of America, USA, following their support for Boko Haram insurgents, in addition to the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons.

This was disclosed in a statement by the spokesperson of the American Department of State, Ned Price which gave the identities of the blacklisted Nigerians as: Abdurrahman Musa, Salihu Adamu, Bashir Yusuf, Muhammed Isa, Ibrahim Alhassan, and Surajo Muhammad in a Penpushing report. 

“The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has added Nigerian nationals Abdurrahman Musa, Salihu Adamu, Bashir Yusuf, Muhammed Isa, Ibrahim Alhassan, and Surajo Muhammad to the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons”, the statement reads. 

‘The six Nigerians were blacklisted for financing the activities of the terrorists group, Boko Haram, who have in at least the past 10 years been responsible for insecurity in Northeastern Nigeria as well as in neighbouring countries’.

The statement reads, "it is on record that, the group’s activities have caused over 100,000 deaths in Northern Nigeria since 2009, according to official figures, noting that the American action follows the United Arab Emirates’ prosecution and conviction of the individuals for supporting terrorism.

“Pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of,

"The Department of State designated Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist Organisation on November 14, 2013.

The six persons were convicted by an Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over alleged funding of the terrorist group, while two of the convicts, Surajo Muhammad and Salihu Adamu, were sentenced to life imprisonment

The remaining four, Ibrahim Alhassan, AbdurRahman Musa, Bashir Yusuf and Muhammad Isa were jailed for 10 years each.

..president Buhari arrives convention ground

Six persons vying for the position of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, have stepped down from the contest according to a Punch report.

The six former candidates have backed Senator Abdullahi Adamu, the candidate of President, Muhammadu Buhari as their consensus candidate.

This was contained in a letter sent to the Chairman of the APC Election Sub-Committee on Friday, signed by Senator George Akume, who was also among those vying for the position.

President Muhammadu Buhari  arrived the convention ground around 8.23 pm, while formal activities commenced. 

In the meantime, there was chaos at the entrance of Eagle Square, Abuja, on Saturday as security agents fired several rounds of teargas at delegates as well as officials finding their way into the venue of 2022 All Progressives Congress national convention.

Despite the over 1000 security agents deployed to ensure decorum at the venue, it was observed that the entrance of Eagle Square was disorganised.

Several security agents were seen wielding whips, teargas canisters and stun guns.

Amidst the tussle, some individuals reportedly lost their valuables such as mobile phones and cameras.

According to the schedule of events released on Thursday by the Chairman of the Media and Publicity Sub-Committee for the APC 2022 National Convention, Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, accredited national delegates, Caretaker Committee members and Chairman, APC State Governors, lawmakers, the President and Vice President would arrive between 10:00 am until 03:30 pm, when the Convention begins proper.

APC unveils Adamu as consensus National chair 

Meanwhile, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, last night, unveiled Senator Abdullahi Adamu as its consensus candidate for the national chairman of the party according to vanguard.

Speaking on behalf of the party at the national convention holding at Eagles Square in Abuja, the Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi (APC Kebbi North) said that Adamu’s emergence was the decision of every stakeholder in the party.

He said: “We have allowed one of our members for the position of the national chairman of our party through consensus, Senator Adamu Abdullahi. He’s a 3 term Senator and we wish him the best”.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has approached a federal high court in Abuja to seek the invalidation of the outcome of the All Progressives Congress (APC) national convention as reported by the Cable.

This suit is coming less than a day to the ruling party’s convention scheduled for Saturday.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CR/389/2022, the PDP is equally praying the court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising or having any business whatsoever with the APC as a registered political party.

INEC, APC, registered trustees of APC, APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) and national chairman of the CECPC are cited as defendants in the matter.

PDP is praying the court to determine “whether upon a consideration of section 223(2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as altered, the leadership of the 2nd defendant (APC) can be made up of only 13 members as presently constituted by the 4th defendant and forwarded/registered with the 1st Defendant, and if answered in the negative, whether the 2nd defendant has any valid leadership, properly so called, forwarded/registered with the 1st Defendant in compliance with section 222(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as altered) and whether any act done by the said leadership is valid and founded in law.

“If the answer to the 2nd and 3rd legs of the issue in paragraph 1 above is further in the negative, whether the 2nd defendant is not liable to be de-registered as a political party pursuant to sections 222 (a), 223 (2) (b) and 225 (a) of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria (as altered)”.

Upon determination of the legal questions, the opposition party is seeking “a declaration that by the express provisions of section 223 (2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria (as altered), the leadership of the 2nd defendant cannot be made up of only 13 members as presently constituted by the 4th defendant and forwarded/registered with the 1st defendant.

“A declaration that the 2nd defendant has no valid leadership, properly so called, forwarded/registered with the 1st defendant in compliance with section 222(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria (as altered).

“A declaration that all the prior actions and subsequent actions undertaken by the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th defendants are null and void and of no effect whatsoever.

“A declaration that the 2nd defendant is liable to be de-registered by the 1st defendant as a political party pursuant to section 222 (a), 223 (2) (b) and 225A of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as altered.

“An order de-registering the 2nd defendant as a political party having failed to meet the requirements of section 222(a), 223 (2) (b) and 225 of the 1999 Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, as altered.

“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the 1st defendant, either by itself or through its officers, employers, assigns, privies or agents from recognizing, communicating with, dealing with or having any business whatsoever with the 2nd Defendant as a registered political party.”

A date is yet to be fixed for the hearing of the suit.

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the de-registration of 22 political parties by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as reported by Premium Times.

The parties were among the 74 scrapped in 2020 by INEC following their dismal performances in previous elections.

Respondents in the appeal are the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and INEC.

The parties include the Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD), Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP), All Blending Party (ABP), All Grand Alliance Party (AGAP), Alliance of Social Democrats (ASD), Change Advocacy Party (CAP), Democratic People’s Congress (DPC), Green Party of Nigeria (GPN), Masses Movement of Nigeria (MMN) and Mega Party of Nigeria (MPN).

Others are New Generation Party of Nigeria (NGPA), Nigeria For Democracy (NFD), Peoples Coalition Party (PCP), Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), People for Democratic Change (PDC), Young Democratic Party (YDP), Re-Build Nigeria Party (RBNP), Save Nigeria Congress (SNC), Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN), United Democratic Party (UDP), United Patriots (UP) and We The People of Nigeria (WTPN).

The parties had won at the Court of Appeal, which reversed their deregistration and ordered INEC to restore their registration. INEC had further appealed to the Supreme Court to challenge the judgement.

Delivering judgment on INEC’s appeal on Friday, a member of the Supreme Court’s panel, Ejembi Eko, voided and set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja division which had nullified the de-registration.

Eko held that the appeal court on its own raised the issue of lack of fair hearing in favour of the 22 scrapped parties and arrived at a conclusion without hearing from other parties in the matter.

“This appeal by INEC is meritorious and is hereby allowed. The decision of the court below is set aside,” Eko said.

The court held that the Court of Appeal took the issue of fair hearing out of the context of the notice of appeal filed by the political parties, and refused to do the needful in order to be fair to others in the matter.

It said that the Court of Appeal erred in law by raising the issue of fair hearing in favour of the political parties suo motu and declined to give opportunity to other respondents to address it on the matter in order to arrive at a just conclusion.

Eko said that proceeding to give judgement in such a situation as done by the Court of Appeal ran foul of the pillar of the same fair hearing and as such, its findings and conclusion cannot stand.

Background

INEC had on February 6, 2020, deregistered 74 political parties for failing to win any political office in the last general election.

The Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) and 21 other parties sued at the Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge their deregistration by INEC.

In a judgement on June 11, 2020, the Federal High Court dismissed the suit on the grounds that INEC was empowered to de-register parties that failed to win elections.

The court held that Section 225(a), (b) and (c) of the Constitution could be construed “disjointively” to imply that INEC possesses the power to deregister parties.

The Court of Appeal, in its judgement in August 2020, said although INEC could de-register parties, it was wrong to have deregistered ACD and 21 other parties while their case was pending in court.

Delivering judgment on August 10, 2020, a panel led by Monica Dongban-Mensem, president of the Court of Appeal, unanimously overturned the judgment of the lower court.

The court held that INEC ignored due process in exercising its powers under section 225(a) of the constitution (as amended).

The panel noted that the parties already filed their suit at the lower court which was yet to be determined before the deregistration.

Also, the appellate court held that INEC failed to give reasons to the parties on why they could no longer exist.

The court held that section 40 of the constitution gives citizens the right to the freedom of association, and as such, the right conferred on a political party cannot be taken away except in accordance with the provisions of the law and due process.

Ms Dongban-Mensem said the appellants did not challenge INEC’s powers as enshrined in section 225(a) of the constitution but the process by which they were deregistered. 

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Beatrice Jedy-Agba as solicitor-general of the federation, as reported by the Cable. 

Her appointment was contained in a statement issued on Friday by the office of the head of civil service of the federation.

Prior to Beatrice’s appointment, Mohammed Umar, director of public prosecution, was acting solicitor-general following the retirement of Dayo Akpata in July 2021.

Beatrice, a former executive secretary of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and other Related Matters (NAPTIP), was also appointed as a permanent secretary alongside three other persons.

The development comes weeks after 37 out of 74 directors in the federal civil service were said to have failed a promotion examination for the position of permanent secretary.

Following the release of the results, the directors who passed the examination were invited to an “ICT proficiency test”, which held on February 24 at the Muhammadu Buhari Centre, National Intelligence Agency in Abuja.

A statement issued on Friday by Ahmed Abdullahi, deputy director of press and publicity in the office of the head of civil service of the federation, noted that the development comes after the selection process conducted by the federal government.

According to the statement, Folasade Yemi-Esan, head of the civil service, said the other appointed permanent secretaries and their states of origin are as follows: “Ogbe Mary Ada, Benue; Shehu Ibrahim, Jigawa; and Daju Kachallom Shangti, Plateau”.

“A date for the swearing-in and deployment of the new appointees will be announced in due course,” he added.

Nigeria generated a total of N2.03tn from Value Added Tax collections in 2021, data from the National Bureau of Statistics have shown.

The revenue generated from VAT in 2021 according to Punch represents an increase of N530bn when compared to N1.53tn generated in 2020.

According to a report released by the NBS on Friday, the country earned N563.72bn from VAT in Q4, showing a growth of 12.63 per cent, quarter-on-quarter.

However, on a year-on-year basis, VAT collections in Q4 2021 increased by 23.98 per cent from Q4 2020, the report added.

In the first, second, and third quarters of 2021, total VAT collected were N496.39bn, N512.25bn, and N500.49bn respectively compared to the corresponding figures of last year at N324.58bn, N327.20bn, and N424.71bn respectively.

“This shows higher revenue in the first three quarters of 2021, revealing an improvement in collections.

“On a year-on-year basis, this upsurge shows growth rates of 52.93 per cent in Q1 2021, 56.56 per cent in Q2 2021 and 17.84 per cent in Q3 2021,” the NBS had said.

Looking at the sectoral distribution of local revenue generated over the period, collections from the other manufacturing activity; professional services activity; and state ministries and parastatals accounted for the top three largest shares of revenue in Q1 2021 with N49.41bn (21.97 per cent), N42.5bn (18.9 per cent), and N26.96bn (11.99 per cent) respectively.

Nevertheless, the NBS added that non-import VAT (local) was N224.85bn, non-import (foreign) VAT amounted to N171.66bn, while NCS-Import VAT stood at N99.88bn.

Similarly, other manufacturing activity; professional services activity; and commercial and trading activity accounted for the top largest collections in Q2 2021 with N44.89bn (23.95 per cent), N29.30bn (15.63 per cent) and N21.96bn (11.71 per cent) respectively.

Non-import VAT local was N187.43bn in Q2, lower than Q1; non- import (foreign) VAT stood at N207.69bn, higher than Q1, while NCS-Import VAT rose to N117.13bn, an improvement from the preceding quarter.

For Q3 2021, NBS data shows that manufacturing activity; Information and Communication Technology activity; and mining & quarrying activity accounted for the top three largest share of total revenue collected sector-wise, representing 30.87 per cent (N91.20bn), 20.05 per cent(N59.25bn) and 9.62per cent (N28.44bn) respectively.

Under the quarter, the bureau said collections of non-import VAT (local) and NCS-Import VAT were higher than the Q2 2021.

For Q4 2021, the NBS said, “In terms of sectoral contributions, the top three largest shares in Q4 2021 were manufacturing with 30.86 per cent; information and communication with 18.72 per cent and mining and quarrying with 9.91 per cent.”