Killed As Insurgents Raid Village Near Chibok On Christmas Eve

 7 Killed As Insurgents Raid Village Near Chibok On Christmas Eve

At least, seven people have been killed and some houses razed down when gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram insurgents attacked a community near Chibok town on Christmas eve, sources said.

The incident happened at about 5 pm when the insurgents raided a remote village of Piyemi about 10 kilometers away from Chibok town in southern part of Borno State.

According to Bitrus Yohaanna, a local vigilante in Piyemi village, seven people lost their lives to the invaders and some houses were burnt down including churches.

“Exactly a year after, yesterday [Thursday], at about 5.00pm Boko Haram, marched to Piyemi and killed seven people, burned down two churches, dispensary and many homes and vanished back into the Sambisa Forest.

“These people have kept attacking us without any course.

“You could recall that last year the same thing happened.

“They targeted people when we are cooking. and that’s when they would come to kill, destroying and stealing all our Christmas foods. It is frustrating,” he lamented.

Top security source confirmed the incidents, but claimed six persons were killed not seven.

Students Will Embark on Mass Protest if ASUU Resumes Strike- NANS

 Students Will Embark on Mass Protest if ASUU Resumes Strike- NANS

The National Association of Nigerian Students has said its members would embark on a mass protest should the Academic Staff Union of Universities resume its just suspended strike.

NANS President, Sunday Asefon, stated this in an exclusive interview with Reporters on Thursday.

He said it is embarrassing and ridiculous for ASUU to threaten a fresh strike after wasting the academic time of Nigerian students for nine months.

Asefon said, “It is a slap on us for ASUU to say they are calling off the strike conditionally. If they call it off conditionally, we will also put on hold our plan to engage the Federal Government and ASUU on a mass action. But if they also resume their strike, we will also go to the streets, if that is the only language they understand, we will speak it to them.”

The Reporters had earlier reported that ASUU National President, Biodun Ogunyemi, on Wednesday in Abuja, “conditionally” suspended its nine-month-long strike after a lot of foot-dragging in negotiations by the Federal Government and the lecturers.

Ogunyemi, who said the suspension of the strike takes effect from Thursday, December 24th, 2020, had also warned that the union would resume the industrial action without notice if the government failed in meeting its part of the agreement.

But the NANS president said, “Never again should we have a repeat of this strike and stakeholders must make commitments to ensure that this ugly scenario does not repeat itself.”

He also urged the Federal Government to be “committed to fulfilling its agreement with ASUU while ASUU must be wary to go on strike. ASUU must seek to exhaust every window of alternative resolution before deciding on industrial actions”.

“Future negotiations must involve students representative as we believe this will bring a sense of urgency to the table as the parties will be compelled to understand that students across the country are the grass when the elephants of ASUU and FG fight,” Asefon stated.

Strike Suspension: SSANU, NASU, NAAT Kick As FG Moves To Release N40bn

 Strike Suspension: SSANU, NASU, NAAT Kick As FG Moves To Release N40bn

The Non-teaching staff in Nigerian Universities, on Wednesday, warned the federal government not to create another round of problems in the institutions with alleged imbalance in the sharing formula of the about N40bn Earned Allowances (EA) it is about to release.

This warning given by the three unions in institutions – Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), came few hours after the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) announced suspension of its nine-month-old strike.

The workers, who vowed not to go back to their respective duty posts until the government corrected the imbalance, alleged that the government gave ASUU about 75 percent of the Earned Allowances, leaving 25 percent for the other three unions.

N40 billion conundrum

The part of the agreements the government reached with ASUU at Tuesday’s meeting was to release N40 billion as the Earned Allowance and N30bn for the revitalization of the university system bringing the total payment to N70 billion.

Reacting to the sharing formula of the N40bn, the President of NAAT, Comrade Ibeji Nwokoma said anyone thinking that the non-teaching staff unions in the universities would resume with the recent development was day-dreaming except the government corrected the imbalance.

He said the union was making frantic efforts to reach Directors and Permanent Secretary, Ministries of Education and Labour and Employment to draw their attention to the fresh brewing crisis.

“FG not ready for peace”

Also speaking, the President of SSANU, Comrade Mohammed Haruna Ibrahim said it appears the government does not want peace in the university systems, insisting that his union would not take the lopsided sharing formula.

He stated, “Honestly, I believe that this remains a rumour even though I know it could be true, I have seen 75 percent and 25 percent. But truly if it is that, we have stated in no uncertain terms that we will not take this kind of lopsided allocations again, because what is the scientific measurement used to give this money?

“We have stated before now that the least we can take is 50-50, they are not more in numbers. And even if they want to do something like that, maybe this is my own personal opinion,

I may not insist on 50-50 but at least something reasonable. We have so many numbers.

“If they give for example 60-40, do you think the noise will be there? Government does not want peace if it is giving 75 percent to only one union and giving 25 percent to three unions, does it make sense?”

Glo issues shortcode for NIN integration

 Glo issues shortcode for NIN integration

Globacom has unveiled a shortcode for its subscribers to seamlessly complete the process of linking their mobile lines to their National Identification Number.

The unveiling of the code was in response to the recent directive of Nigerian Communications Commission for all SIM registration records to be integrated with a National Identification Number, the company said in a statement issued on Sunday.

Globacom stated, “All our esteemed customers can now link their National Identification Number to their mobile numbers by simply sending ‘UPDATENIN NIN FirstName and LastName’ to 109. For example, send ‘UPDATENIN 12345678903 Chidera Abdul-Ola’ to 109.”

The company advised customers without NIN to visit a NIN enrolment centre to get registered and obtain one immediately.

Oyo College Suspends SUG Excos Over Protest Against Animal Attacks On Campus

 Oyo College Suspends SUG Excos Over Protest Against Animal Attacks On Campus

The students of the institution had in November embarked on a protest against attacks by some dangerous animals on students on campus. The management of Oyo State College of Education, Lanlate on Monday announced the suspension of its Students’ Union President, Muhammad Yusuf Olaitan, and Speaker of the union, Opoola Abel. 

Other suspended executives are: Clerk of the House, Sheu Lawal; Chief Justice, Qozeem Qudus and Abdullahi Yusuf.

The students of the institution had in November embarked on a protest against attacks by some dangerous animals on students' campus.

The protest, according to the management of the school led to the damaging of school property and the subsequent setting up of a committee of enquiry to investigate the incident.

The suspension of the students, which was communicated to the students in separate letters, was the recommendation of the panel of enquiry.

According to the letter, a panel of investigation found them guilty of “active participation in the wanton destruction of the college property.” The governing council of the institution also approved the recommendation of the panel.

The management therefore in a circular dated 20th December 2020 ordered all students of the institution to pay a reparation fee of N10,000 for the destruction allegedly caused during the protest.

This Could Be The End Of Banditry And Terrorism! See What Gov El - Rufai Has Done

 This Could Be The End Of Banditry And Terrorism! See What Gov El - Rufai Has Done

Nigeria has been under the plagues of banditry, terrorism, Bokoharam, armed robbers, and many other criminal activities.

The fight seems to be a lost cause as reports of killings and several criminal activities keeps overwhelming credible news media around the country.
It has even grown to be a new dawn in Kaduna state with viral reports of insurgency, banditry and terrorism.

The Kaduna state authorities however has now taken a bold step which now seems like this could be the end of banditry and terrorism in the state.

The government of Kaduna state is now set to distribute vehicles, power motorcycles for security employees, and also the installation of CCTV cameras in the fundamental streets throughout all the strategic government's locations in Kaduna state for extra security.

These steps taken by the authorities will convey more problems for bandits, Boko haram, and different criminal pastime that have since overwhelmed the state.

This is also extremely a good achievement and development with the aid of Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasir Elrufai.

This was mande known through the governor's verified social media account.

You can affirm this report below by viewing the attached photographs too.

The First Nigerian Lawyers From All Regions

 The First Nigerian Lawyers From All Regions

Abdulganiyu Folorunsho Abdulrazaq was the first lawyer in Nigeria from the north

The first Nigerian lawyer from Northern Nigeria was Abdul Ganiyu Folorunsho Abdulrasaq (SAN). He was born in Onitsha, Anambra State and his ancestral home can be traced to Ilorin, Kwara State.

Abdul Ganiyu was fluent in all three major Nigerian languages and he was once the President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. In the first Republic, he was Nigeria’s ambassador to Cote d’Ivoire.

This distinguished legal practitioner was educated at the then University College, now University of Ibadan in 1948. He was a member of the 49-man constitution drafting committee that brought about Nigeria’s 1979 constitution as a draft.

2. First Nigerian Lawyer From The East

Picture of Sir. Louis Mbanefo, first Igbo lawyer in Nigeria

The first Nigerian lawyer from Eastern Nigeria was Sir. Louis Mbanefo (1911-1977). He was born in Onitsha, in the old Eastern Region.

He was extremely intelligent, disciplined and diligent and he applied himself with single-minded dedication to his profession. Sir Mbanefo was called to the English Bar in 1937.

3. First Nigerian Lawyer From The West

Picture of Christopher Sapara Williams, first Yoruba lawyer in Nigeria

The first Nigerian lawyer from Northern Nigeria was Christopher Sapara Williams. He was born on December 14, 1855 in Sierra Leone to the family of Alex Charles Williams and Nancy Johnson Williams. 

Sapara Williams   He was born on December 14, 1855 in Sierra Leone to the family of Alex Charles Williams and Nancy Johnson Williams. Sapara Williams was called to the English Bar in 1879 and he was believed to have come from Ijesha Land.

One of his best quotes was that “The Legal practitioner lives from the direction of his people and the advancement of the cause of his country”.

Photos of Nigerian soldiers guarding and assisting people of Zabarmari as they harvest their farm produce

  Photos of Nigerian soldiers guarding and assisting people of Zabarmari as they harvest their farm produce

A Facebook user, Bello Inua Anka on Friday, December 11, posted photos of Nigerian soldiers guarding and assisting the people of Zabarmari farming community in Jere Local Government Area of Borno while harvesting their farms produce at Koshebe village.

This is coming weeks after Boko Haram terrorists slaughtered over 43 Zabarmari rice farmers at Koshebe village in Mafa Local Government Area of the state while working in a rice field.

While many commended the military for their efforts, they, however said guarding farmers is not sustainable. Another Facebook user Hadiza Suleiman wrote;"This is good but unlikely to be sustainable. The army needs to be proactive and not reactive.

They need to take offensive action against the terrorists and not wait for them to attack. The US could rescue one of their citizens in Nigeria using intelligence that I hope is also available to our security age" See more photos below…

3,650 Teachers Fail Professional Qualifying Exam, Says Council

 3,650 Teachers Fail Professional Qualifying Exam, Says Council

The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) said 3,650 teachers failed in its second series annual Professional Qualifying Examination conducted between 12th and 14th November across the country.
Registrar/Chief Executive of TRCN, Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, who stated this in Abuja on Friday while briefing journalists on the achievements recorded by the Council, said a total of 17,602 candidates sat for the examination that qualifies one as professional teacher.

He added that 11,487 candidates passed while 3,650 teachers failed in the exercise.

“A total of 17,602 candidates took the examination, 11,487 passed which is 75.9percent while 3,650 candidates failed, which is 24.1 per cent,” he said.

According to him, the number of those who passed put the number of qualified teachers to about 2.2 million, adding that TRCN will in no too distant time release the present figure of quacks operating in the nation’s teaching profession.

While noting that the announcement of special salary package and other benefits for teachers by President Muhammadu Buhari remains top as its greatest achievement for 2020, the TRCN boss expressed delight that the National Council of Education has recently approved all as announced by the President during the recent World Teachers Day.

Strike: We Have Done Everything Possible To Please ASUU—Labour Minister

 Strike: We Have Done Everything Possible To Please ASUU—Labour Minister

The minister, in a statement by his Media Officer, said only ASUU leaders could tell why members were yet to return to the classroom to the frustration of students and their parents.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, Thursday, said the Federal Government had done everything possible to please the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, to end its protracted strike that had paralysed academic activities in universities for about 10 months.

The minister, in a statement by his Media Officer, said only ASUU leaders could tell why members were yet to return to the classroom to the frustration of students and their parents.

He dismissed as baseless and dishonest, the statement credited to the University of Jos chapter of ASUU, led by Dr. Maigoro, that the minister was responsible for the prolonged nationwide strike.

"It is rather ASUU, which has bluntly refused to reciprocate the Federal Government offers by refusing to either teach, conduct research or engage in other academic values for which they are paid, that should be held responsible," the statement quoted Ngige to have said.

The statement further read, "Strangely, ASUU claims 'patriotism' as the basis for this prolonged industrial action, forcing every patriot to raise concern over this weird definition of patriotism by ASUU officials.

"Living by its words, the Federal Government has fulfilled all the demands over which ASUU went on strike on March 9.

"The visitation panels to the universities have been approved by the President and will swing into action once the universities reopen.

"The office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, on the other hand, is also rounding off the gazetting of the panels while the National Universities Commission, NUC, has received the approved list which will be published later next week.

"Also, the revival of the Renegotiation Committee for the 2009 ASSU/FG Agreement demanded by ASUU has been set up by the Ministry of Education with Professor Munzali as Chairman, replacing the ex-chairman, Dr Wale Babalakin(SAN).

"The new committee is currently meeting. Similarly, the government has also acceded to a hybrid payment platform which is not 100 per cent IPPIS, for the payment of salaries and Earned Academic Allowances/ Earned Allowances.

"This pending the result and conclusion of the integrity and usability test on the University Transparency and Accountability Solutions, UTAS, by the National Information and Technology Development Agency, NITDA.

"Besides, the government has also processed for payment the sum of N70 billion, comprising N40 billion for Earned Academic Allowances/Earned Allowances and N30 billion for the revitalisation of the universities.

"The Accountant-General of the Federation at present awaits the accounts details from the Federal Ministry of Education and the National University Commission for the remittance.

"Of note is that even while ASUU was on strike during the COVID-19 lockdown, the government on the insistence of the Minister of Labour and Employment, and out of compassion, paid them February, March, April, May and June salaries to cushion the effects of the Covid-19 on them and their families.

"He further made every entreaty to them to come onboard virtual negotiations, with a view for an early call-off of the strike, to enable students to benefit from virtual/online classes, fashionable at the time, and even now, all over the universal academic community, but ASUU bluntly refused," Ngige added.

Here Are 173 Approved NIN Registration Centres Nationwide

 Here Are 173 Approved NIN Registration Centres Nationwide

In a bid to ensure proper registration of SIM cards, the Federal Government has approved 173 centres and 30 state government institutions to conduct the enrolment of all persons into the National Identity Database (NIDB) on behalf of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

NIMC announced the move on its website on Wednesday. 

Recall that after a story obtained by rReporters on sales of pre-register Sim card, the federal government gave a two-week ultimatum to telecom service providers to block phone numbers without NIN. 

On Wednesday Daily Trust reports that the Senate extended the deadline by eight weeks.

In other to beat this deadline, registered persons can retrieve their NIN by dialling *346# on their registered phone number for MTN, Etisalat, Airtel and Glo.

Below is a list of NIN approved centres in Nigeria.

CATEGORY A: PRIVATE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY

1. Adebola Sobanjo Company Ltd

2. Afritech Multiconcept Ltd

3. Airtel Network Limited

4. Aliph Technologies Ltd

5. Amex West Africa Ltd

6. AndyzInegrated Services Ltd

7. Atl Activate Tech Limited

8. Basaleh Global Services Ltd

9. Basmak Technologies Ltd

10. Bellokano.Com Ltd

11. Beu-Synergy Solutions Ltd

12. Biosec Solutions Ltd

13. Biosecureone Ltd

14. Blackstones Engineering Ltd

15. Citizen Helpline Ltd

16. Cobaz Projects Ltd

17. Cynox IT Ltd

18. Dantata Universal Services Nig Ltd

19. Datamining Company Ltd

20. Datees Global Concept Ltd

21. DavedestInegrated Service Ltd

22. Dune Engineering & Construction Ltd

23. Electronic Payplus Ltd

24. Estabet Synergy Ltd

25. Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services Limited (9Mobile)

26. Etranzact

27. File Solutions Limited

28. Fingertips Enterprises Int. Partners Ltd

29. FlexisafEdusoft Ltd

30. Globacom Limited

31. Greenmozis Ltd

32. Hunter & Cook Ltd

33. Ibolda Health International Ltd

34. Interra Networks Ltd

35. Jetlink Limited

36. Joeson Consult Ltd

37. Joma Investments Ltd

38. Juads Technologies Ltd

39. Kevone Consult Ltd

40. Khahus Consulting Solutions Ltd

41. Kimberely Matt Nig Ltd

42. Knowledge Resource Ltd

43. Knowledge Square Foresight Ltd

44. Kruggerbrent & Co Ltd

45. Lasventures Global Services Ltd

46. Laukamz & Co Ltd

47. Leema Investment Nig Ltd

48. Lexington Technologies

49. Liviasoft Technologies Ltd

50. MTN Nigeria Communications Plc.

51. Multibase Investment Ltd

52. Nehemic Nig Ltd

53. Ninto Company Nigeria Limited

54. Nolia Consult Ltd

55. Nouveltech Ltd

56. NQLB Nig Ltd

57. Office Machines Nigeria Limited

58. Pandus Powell’s Nig Ltd

59. Paychex International

60. Payvision Plus Nig Ltd

61. Pen Prime Ltd

62. Phase Point Platforms Ltd

63. Pyrich Group Ltd

64. Research and Data Solutions Ltd

65. Rhino Niger Networks Ltd

66. Samuiky Global Ltd

67. Sanstonz Consultancy Services Ltd

68. Seamfix Nig Ltd

69. Service Management Consultancy Ltd

70. Slogani Consults Nig Ltd

71. Socket Works Ltd

72. Softcom Ltd

73. Solcorn Technologies Ltd

74. Succesory Nig Ltd

75. Tech Systems Ltd

76. Tenece Professional Services Ltd

77. Thrixes Technologies Lt

78. Unified Payment Services Ltd

79. Vantage Management Consultancy Ltd

80. VDT Communications Ltd

81. Verifix Concept Ltd

82. Verifyme Nig Ltd

83. Verse It Ltd

84. Volsus Energy Ltd

85. Xptech Power Ltd

86. YWC Technologies Ltd

87. Zebra Multi Services Ltd




CATEGORY B: NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION AND CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS

1. Africa Youth Growth Foundation

2. An Nadaa Educational Foundation

3. Arrida Relief Foundation

4. Excellent World Foundation

5. Hadejia Ina Mafita Initiative Community Based Organization

6. Mimido Initiative & Development

7. Murna Foundation

CATEGORY C: START-UP COMPANIES AND SMALL, MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

1. AA&T Consulting Services

2. Agile Talata Enterprise Ltd

3. Andy Links GPS Data Tracking Services Ltd

4. Avas Tech Ltd

5. Azera Data Ltd

6. Babalola Olawale & Kadeba Ayodele Globacom Office

7. Data Formula Global Concept Ltd

8. De Blue Shangarilla Limited

9. Digidynamics Technologies Ltd

10. Dtrexx Continental Services Ltd

11. Ebe Data Services Ltd

12. Ekuleku Innovation System Ltd

13. Emjeh Multi-Investment Ltd

14. Gefau Global Services Limited

15. Grayhart Ltd

16. Improved Data Solutions & Information Technology Ltd

17. Joreal Nigeria Limited

18. J-Mech Distribution Ltd

19. Kable Premium Hub Ltd

20. Kamanda Global ICT International Nigeria Limited

21. Kasu Global Consult Ltd

22. Layonas Engineering Nig. Ltd

23. Legelege Entries & Travs Ltd

24. Linx Spatial Systems Ltd

25. Moriah Rock International Ltd

26. Napi Technologies Ltd

27. OAR College of Health & Technology

28. Omokhoje Sam-Jegede & Co

29. Pomade Consulting Ltd

30. Oridum Limited

31. Prestigious ICT Investment Ltd

32. Prioclen Limited

33. Primeage Success Team Ltd

34. Randaframes Engineering

35. Rayons D’or Ltd

36. Reffi Global Ltd

37. Rovins Global Services Ltd

38. Ruks Enterprise International Global Ltd

39. Sabon Sara ICT Global Concept

40. Seas Data Resources Ltd

41. Simpson Ventures Limited

42. Spaceblog Technologies Ltd

43. Spherical GIS & RS Ltd

44. TBL Quantum Digital Tech Ltd

45. Teenth Integrated Global Services Ltd

46. UGS Technologies Ltd

CATEGORY D: SMALL, MEDIUM ENTERPRISES SMEs (B1)

1. A.F. Partnership

2. AA & MM Masterclass Enterprises

3. Abuchi Ed Ogbuchi & Co

4. Adeoye& Associates

5. Ajiboye Adeoye & Co

6. Best Internet Café

7. Bin Khalifa Global Resources

8. Friends Café & Gen Printing Services

9. Fx-Keyplus Concepts

10. Gomfid Multi Services

11. Himbell Company Ltd

12. Hub House Global Limited

13. IsahNguru Ventures

14. Jibyes Consulting

15. Jubilee Computers and Logistics

16. Kayode Ogunro & Company

17. Lukadol & Associates Ltd

18. Maydan Associates

19. Miandkay Enterprises

20. Micropro Global Comm

21. N. A. Samuelson Business Consult

22. New Age Computer CBT Enterprises

23. OAR Educational Services & Innovation Centre Ltd

24. Olusuyi Agboola & Co

25. Parity-Bit Systems

26. Pentium Paul Ltd

27. Primetouch Computer

28. Real Positive Friends

29. Stanford Exclusive Associates Ltd

30. Taju Audu & Company

31. Theo ICT Integrated

32. Yudee Integrated Resources

33. Zincom Technology

PUBLIC SECTOR INSTITUTIONS – STATE GOVERNMENTS

1. Abia State Government

2. Adamawa State Ministry of Special Duties

3. Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Science & Technology

4. Cross River State Government

5. Delta State Ministry of Economic Planning

6. Ebonyi State Ministry of Information & State Orientation

7. Gombe State Government

8. Lagos State Residents Registration Agency

9. Kaduna State Residents Registration Agency

10. Katsina State Institute of Technology and Management

11. Kano State Ministry of Special Duties

12. Nigeria Postal Service

13. Ogun State Government

14. Oyo State Ministry of Finance

15. Sokoto Investment Company Limited




16. Zamfara State Government







1. Abuja Enterprise Agency

2. Central Bank of Nigeria (Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems Plc)

3. Corporate Affairs Commission

4. Defence Space Administration

5. Economic and Financial Crimes Commission

6. Independent National Electoral Commission

7. Joint Tax Board

8. Military Pensions Board

9. National Agricultural Extension & Research Liaison Services

10. National Commission for Refugees, Migrants & Internally

Displaced Persons

11. National Health Insurance Scheme

12. National Pension Commission Nigeria Communications commission

13. National Population Commission

14. Nigerian Postal service

MTN Direct Link to Update Your Records

 To Capture Customer NIN details.

Y’ello, Please Note . This is solely for the purpose of collating NIN pending when verification of the submitted NIN is completed through NCC/NIMC, the status of the NIN submitted is unverified; this means you might be required to visit again for verification/validation based on outcome of the verification exercise. Thank you!

BREAKING: Nigeria Reopens Land Borders

 BREAKING: Nigeria Reopens Land Borders

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the reopening of four land borders with immediate effect.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, who disclosed this after the 28th virtual FEC meeting, said other borders would be reopened subsequently.

The minister, who said restriction on the importation of some commodities, like rice and other products, would continue to be enforced, listed land borders to be opened to include Seme Border in the Southwest, Ilela Border in the Northwest and two others.

Details later.

Senate Considers Bill To Establish Peace Corps, Hunters Council

 Senate Considers Bill To Establish Peace Corps, Hunters Council

The Senate, on Tuesday, considered a bill seeking to give statutory backing to the Nigerian Peace Corps. 

Special Assistant (Press) to President of the Senate, Ezrel Tabiowo, in a statement on Tuesday, said the bill was sponsored by Senator Ali Ndume (APC – Borno South).

The bill was first read about a year ago on Tuesday, 17th December, 2019.

Leading debate on the bill, Senator Ndume said; “the core mandate being sought by the Nigerian Peace Corps (Establishment) Bill is to develop, empower, and provide gainful employment for the youth to facilitate peace, volunteerism, community services, neighbourhood watch, nation-building.”

The lawmaker added that the piece of legislation, when passed into law, would give statutory backing to the existing Peace Corps of Nigeria, which according to Ndume, currently has over 187,000 members comprising of regular staff and volunteers with well-structures network of branches in 36 States of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory.

Meanwhile, a bill seeking to establish the Nigerian Hunters Council of Nigeria also scaled second reading on the floor during plenary on Tuesday.

Sponsored by Senator Biodun Olujimi (PDP – Ekiti South), the bill seeks to among other things, provide community policing, maintenance of law and order in communities; and provide synergy with other security agencies to ensure peace and security.

“Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, this bill seeks to control and prevent crime from within the community as doing that from outside the community entails recruiting strangers who might not be familiar with crime terrains as well as criminals in the community.

“The bill seeks to enact a law that will legalize the activities of various hunter groups in Nigeria to provide against the notion that these groups lack the constitutional powers to act and therefore are arrogating such powers to themselves,” Olujimi said.

The Nigerian Peace Corps Bill and the Nigerian Hunters Council of Nigeria Bill, after scaling second reading, were both referred by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to the Committee on Interior for further legislative inputs.

Why Reps Stopped Commencement Of FG’s 774,000 Jobs

 Why Reps Stopped Commencement Of FG’s 774,000 Jobs

The House of Representatives has called on the Minister of State for labour, Festus Keyamo, to stop with immediate effect all processes for the take off of the 774,000 Special Works programme in January 2021.

This followed the adoption of a motion moved by Rep. Olajide Olatumbosun during plenary on Tuesday where he raised some issues that are needed to be sorted out for the smooth take off of the programme. 

He argued that the program should be put on hold until the list of beneficiaries compiled by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in each state is used as a basis of selection.

According to him, most Nigerians who have submitted their names to the NDE offices in their respective states have been unjustly excluded from the programme.

“If this programme is allowed to go ahead without following due process, a bad precedent would have been set for implementing programmes of this nature in the future institutions are being gradually undermined,” he said.

In his contribution to the debate, Rep. Onofiok Luke condemned the sacking of Director General of NDE,Mohammed Ladan Argungu, saying it was ill advised.

The House, therefore, called on the Minister of Finance not to release funds for this programme until all issues that are related to noncompliance to due process are resolved.

It also mandated its Committees on Labour and Productivity and Legislative compliance to ensure compliance with the resolutions and report to the House in the next one week.

“If this programme is allowed to go ahead without following due process, a bad precedent would have been set for implementing programmes of this nature in the future institutions are being gradually undermined,” he said.

27 States Not Qualified To ‘Borrow’ From Pension Funds

 27 States Not Qualified To ‘Borrow’ From Pension Funds

Pension administrators can’t invest in states with weak revenue profile’
It’s wrong to give our money to governors – Workers

The inability of 27 states to fully or substantially implement the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) is the reason Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) will not invest pension funds in such states.

Data sourced from the National Pension Commission (PenCom) show that despite clamours by state governors to access pension funds for infrastructural development, most of them are either not implementing the new pension scheme or are slow about it.

While relevant pension laws would not allow them to borrow, the inability of the affected states to implement CPS is also putting millions of pensioners under the new scheme at risk.

As of August 31, 2020, the pension assets under the management of PFAs were worth N11.35 trillion.

Governors have declared interest to borrow from the fund, but the Pension Reform Act, 2014 (PRA, 2014) prohibits such borrowing.

Section 89, subsection 1, paragraph C of the PRA, 2014, provides that a PFA shall not “apply any pension fund assets under its management by way of loans and credits or as collateral for any loan taken by a holder of retirement savings account or any person whatsoever.”

Similarly, section 2, subsection 6 of the 2019 Regulation on Investment of Pension Fund Assets issued by PenCom provides that “A PFA shall not engage in borrowing or lending of pension fund assets.”

Faced with these legal hurdles, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Aisha Dahir-Umar, said recently that states can access pension funds if they have “safe and viable investment outlets” which PFAs can invest pension funds.

She said PenCom forbids PFAs from investing in states, which have not fully or substantially implemented the new pension scheme.

Data from PenCom show that 27 states are still implementing the old Defined Benefits Scheme by not remitting pension under the new scheme.

The hurdles for the states

To be adjudged as implementing the new contributory scheme, a state must draft a CPS Bill modelled after the PRA being implemented by the federal government and the private sector, pass the bill into law, set up a contributory pension board or Bureau, appoint a PFA, conduct an actuarial valuation to determine accrued pension rights, open a Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund Account (RBBRFA) with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), start remitting employer and employee monthly pension and also put in place a Group Life Insurance Policy for employees.

Details of the level of implementation of the CPS at the state level obtained from PenCom show that as at the end of September 2020, only nine states and the Federal Capital Territory.

(FCT) have substantially implemented the new pension scheme by remitting employer and employee pension contributions.

These states are Lagos, FCT, Osun, Kaduna, Delta, Ekiti, Ondo, Edo, Benue and Anambra.

Records show that Kebbi State is remitting only employee pension contribution in violation of the CPS law which requires the state government to also remit its employer contribution.

While 25 states have enacted laws on CPS, seven are still at the bill level more than a decade and a half since the scheme came into existence at the federal level.

States yet to enact laws on CPS include Kwara, Plateau, Cross River, Borno, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi and Katsina.

Jigawa, Kano, Yobe, Gombe and Zamfara states operate other pension schemes different from the contributory pension scheme.

Out of 25 states that have enacted laws on CPS, only 15 have pension boards or bureaux and they include Lagos, FCT, Osun, Kaduna, Delta, Ekiti, Ondo, Edo, Benue, Kebbi, Niger, Rivers, Ogun, Bayelsa and Kogi

PenCom’s records show that only eight states have conducted actuarial valuation, which is a critical component in the implementation of the scheme for ease of transition from the old to the new scheme in such a way that pension entitlements of workers before the scheme are determined and factored into the new scheme.

These include Lagos, FCT, Osun, Kaduna, Delta, Ekiti, Rivers and Anambra.

However, out of the eight states that have conducted actuarial valuation, only six are funding the accrued pension rights of workers determined during the valuation. The states include Lagos, FCT, Osun, Kaduna, Delta and Anambra.

It is worth noting that only Lagos, FCT, Osun, Ondo and Edo states have valid Group Life Insurance for their workers. This means that at an event of the death of any employees in other states, their families may have no insurance cover to fall back on.

Despite the low implementation of the CPS at the state level, and by implication not qualified to access pension funds through bonds, treasury bills and other investible financial instruments, governors declared they wanted to borrow pension funds even when the PRA, 2014 is clearly against it.

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) recently disclosed that it had asked President Muhammadu Buhari to instruct the Director-General and Board of the PenCom to stop the 36 state governors from borrowing and/or withdrawing from the pension funds for infrastructural development.

In a statement on its official Twitter handle, the advocacy organisation said, “The governors last week reportedly proposed to borrow around N17trn from the pension funds after receiving a briefing from Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, Chairman of the National Economic Council Ad Hoc Committee on Leveraging Portion of Accumulated Pension Funds.”

Urging the president to stop the proposed borrowing, SERAP said it would lead to serious losses of retirement savings of millions of Nigerians.

Similarly, the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) has kicked against the plan to borrow from the pension fund, noting that the government has no authority over the money and should, therefore, not tamper with it.

NUP’s Head of Information, Bunmi Ogunkolade, said the governors have no authority over the money as it does not belong to them.

“How can they approve a proposal to borrow part of the workers’ pensions, which many of them (governors) are not contributing to? Do you know that many of the states are not paying the contributory pension?” he queried.

Pension funds not near N17trn



Meanwhile, checks show that governors cannot borrow the said N17trn for several reasons.

To start with, the entire pension fund and assets under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) is not up to N17trn.

In any case, even if the nation’s total pension assets are more than N17trn, the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014 would not allow the governors to withdraw or borrow the said fund.

This simply means that governments at federal, states and local levels can only access pension fund assets through investments made by the PFAs in Treasury Bills issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria or Bonds (including Sukuk) approved by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and other relevant Institutions.

The PRA 2014 and the 2019 Regulation on Investment of Pension Funds stipulate the allowable financial instruments in which pension fund assets can be invested and these are Equities; Federal Government Securities; State/Local Government Bonds; Corporate Debt Securities; Money Market Instruments; Open/Closed-end Funds; Infrastructure Bonds & Funds; Private Equity Funds and any securities/instruments that may be approved by PenCom, from time to time.

In any case, even if the governors hide under state securities to access pension funds for infrastructure development, they will still not be able to make PFAs invest in them because most of the states do not comply with the CPS.

The low compliance with the CPS at the states may not be unconnected to the low investments by PFAs in state securities.

For instance, PenCom reported that as of August 31, 2020, only N148.13bn pension fund has been invested in state securities, translating to merely 1.31 per cent of the total pension assets of N11.35trn.

It is important to note that such investments are not loans as the PFAs can divest from such investments at any time, have limitations on the percentage of pension funds to be invested in each security, and only invest in them from expert analysis based on projected returns on investment and safety of the funds.

PenCom boss, Dahir-Umar, said “there are limited Infrastructure Bonds and Funds available for pension funds to invest. It is expected that PFAs would continue to make pension funds available for infrastructure financing as long as the products offered are viable, bankable and meet the requirements of the Regulation.”

Similarly, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Shamshuna Ahmed, recently dispelled rumours of government borrowing from pension funds.

Fielding questions when she met with capital market stakeholders this year in Lagos during a visit to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mrs Ahmed said, “We won’t borrow from pension fund assets. Pension funds are very sensitive, so we have to be careful.”

Meanwhile, the chairman of Kebbi State chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Umar Halidu Alhasssan, and his counterpart of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Danladi Aliyu Dabai, said Kebbi State Government has not been remitting the pension contribution of primary school teachers for the past 72 months.

The duo said the organised labour in the state would embark on strike should the state government refuse to resume remittance and upset the backlog of the pension contribution as one among other reasons for the strike.

When contacted, the Kebbi State Commissioner of Basic Education, Muhammad Magawata Aliero, did not pick the call placed to him and also did not respond to the text message sent to him.

On why Nasarawa State is not remitting pension contributions as required by the Contributory Pension Act, and how soon the state intends to start remitting, the Public Relations Officer of the Nasarawa State Pension Bureau, Ibrahim Dawayya, said: “The Director-General of the Board, Alhaji Abdullahi Osaze, is supposed to respond on pension policy in this state, but he is busy.”

Meanwhile, a senior officer with the Borno State Pension Office in Maiduguri who preferred anonymity said successive governments did not make efforts to join the Contributory Pension Scheme, “for reasons best known to them.”

He said state and local government employees are yet to open accounts with Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).

The officer said the inability to join the scheme had left the state lagging behind its peers in pension matters.

He, however, said Governor Babagana Zulum had early this year set up a committee to work out a plan on joining the scheme immediately.

“The permanent secretary was supposed to go to Jigawa State with her team and understudy the scheme to properly implement it here. The exercise was not as successful as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. I believe, very soon, the team will be in Jigawa, and when they return, the scheme will become operational,” the officer said.

Some workers said they hope the federal government will put an instrument that will compel states to comply with the new pension scheme.

“Honestly most of the governors are putting our lives in jeopardy by not complying with the new pension scheme,” Said Shehu Salihu, a civil servant in one of the states in North-West.

“I think the idea of the new scheme is to protect workers, to assure them that after they retire, there is something for them.

ASUU, FG Meet Wednesday After Failed Agreement

 ASUU, FG Meet Wednesday After Failed Agreement

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has accused the leadership of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of breaching a ‘gentleman agreement’ reached at their last meeting which held November 27 as regards calling off a nine-month-old strike.

This is as the minister scheduled another meeting for Wednesday with leadership of ASUU to iron out grey areas.

Ngige, while reacting to claims by the President of ASUU, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, that federal government had failed to deliver on the timelines on offers made to the union, maintained that the timelines had been complied with and “faithfully implemented”.

The minister, in a statement from his media officer, stressed that ASUU agreed at their last meeting with the government team to call off the strike before December 9.

“The truth of the matter is that a ‘gentleman agreement’ was reached at the last meeting in which ASUU agreed to call off the strike before December 9, 2020, and the Minister, in turn, agreed that once the strike is called off, he would get a presidential waiver for ASUU to be paid the remainder of their salaries on or before December 9,” Ngige stated.

It would be recalled that the union leader had blamed government for the union’s failure to call off the strike, saying the lecturers would not return to classes until their salary arrears were paid.

Reacting to the claims, the labour minister noted that it is false and discomfiting for ASUU to wrongly inform the public that the government agreed to pay all withheld salaries before it would resume work, noting that the timelines attached to the various offers made to the union had been complied with.

He stated, “For instance, the Federal Government promised to constitute a Negotiation Committee for the 2009 Agreement and has fulfilled it with the last week’s inauguration of the committee that has Prof Muzali as chairman.

“The N40b Earned Academic Allowances have also been processed just as the N30b revitalization Fund, bringing it to N70 billion. Likewise, the Visitation Panels for the Universities have been approved by the President but the panel cannot perform its responsibilities until the shut universities are re-opened.

“The gazzeting is also being rounded off at the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation while the Ministry of Education is ready to inaugurate the various visitation panels.”

Strange Stories Of Abuja’s Keepers Of The Dead

 Strange Stories Of Abuja’s Keepers Of The Dead

The watchmen and gravediggers of Abuja live interesting lives among the dead. From normal days at the cemetery when all they have to do is dig graves and help bury the dead, to strange ones with snoopy visitors to the graveyards or with strange and disturbing apparitions.

Every occupation relies on certain traits.

For watchmen and gravediggers, strength and courage are essential to overcome not just spooky tales of the land of the dead but also the constant reminder of what becomes their fate in life.

For a meagre pay, these brave men devote their lives to guarding the remains of strangers, both high and low, they met only through shrouds or caskets.

One of them is Garba Aliyu, 37, for who the life-threatening danger of penury pushed him to be a resident among the dead at Abuja’s Gudu Cemetery.

A few months after he started work at the cemetery, Abuja, was forced into the COVID-19 lockdown.

With bodies piling-up from the pandemic, a new section was carved out for victims of the disease and Garba was contracted by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, to be one of its gravediggers.

“I started by assisting people here before I was employed by NCDC so anytime I am needed, I would be asked to dig the grave before the body arrives,” he said.
                                    
He spends his days and nights at the cemetery and if there are other entities there with him, Garba says, he is ready to meet them.

“I am here all day and move around more at night. I have nothing to be scared about.

“People do harp on spirits but if truly they exist, I am here for them,” he said. “If I can control them, they would go back and sleep.

“But if they see me, because I do hear strange sounds at night, that means they carry on with their duties while I do mine.”

Every morning is the same and not the same.

He wakes up and says his prayers thanking God for “waking me among the living as I slept among the dead, so since I wake up among the living, those who have died may their soul rest in peace and we who are still living, may you continue to be our guide, granting long life and posterity.”

His phone rang. They wanted him to dig a grave for someone who died from COVID-19.

He said he felt a pang for the victim and the people they are living behind. He said a prayer for them.

With the slowdown in deaths from the disease in Nigeria, he is not as busy as he used to be a few months ago.

His resolve to be a gravedigger has not diminished.
But he has to juggle between jobs to make ends meet.

“Now there have been no burials but I go out hustling to get what to eat.

“I am into car wash operation and work as a security guard for a billboard company but if there is a death for me to dig a grave I still do that,” he said.

Abode of the death, sustenance for the living

The vast lands of the Muslim Community Cemetery in Kubwa, Bwari District, while holding the remains of the dead, provide sustenance for the living.

At the entrance, a generator repairer could be seen trying to trick life into a generator.

Next to him, a tomato seller waits in his shed for the next customer.

Inside, stalks of corn planted in several rows, in a show of camaraderie, wave their leaves as if to greet visitors to their macabre farmland.

A thoroughfare cuts across the cemetery serving as a border between those ensconced in the ground and the farmland providing corns, pepper and beans for the living.

The section was first cultivated some years back to rid it of snakes and weeds.

Mallam Jafaru Sule, who has been working at the cemetery for 26 years, said with snakes roaming in the overgrown weeds and no donations forthcoming to make it friendly to visitors, the cemetery committee decided that those working in the cemetery and their families could cultivate the land.

“Now the situation has changed with the farmland in the cemetery,” he said. “A visitor would not have been able to go far into the graveyard in its former state due to snakes and weeds.

“Also, we have been getting help from people in the community and recently, serious work was done.”

Aminu Ibrahim is 31 and hails from Sokoto.

He said he started working as a guard at the cemetery when introduced to it by his dad. He has been at it for seven years.

He and Malam Jafaru take turns watching the cemetery and in the daytime manage the tomato business they opened in its vicinity.

Sometimes they have to keep an eye out for mischief-makers, who visit the grave for dubious reasons.

They had to put laws in place on when visitations are to be made.

“Some visit the cemetery to bury some fetish materials but anytime we notice them, we do all our best to chase them away.

“To forestall any nocturnal activities, the committee overseeing the cemetery enacted a law.

“So, when it is 7 pm no corpse would be buried till the next morning,” he said.

The size of the land has also caught the attention of land grabbers.

“Land is a precious commodity in Abuja and three years ago, some people came to inform us that the side used for farming was theirs and that they have come with blocks to demarcate the place from the rest of the grave.

“We called the police and they ran away before the police could arrive,” Malam Sule said.

At the Gwagwalada Cemetery, in Gwagwalada district, one of the satellite towns surrounding Abuja, Muhammad Sani, 70, said that hoodlums who turned the extreme end of the cemetery into a smoking joint disturbed the burial ground.

It took the intervention of the police to put an end to their menace.

In his 12 years working in the cemetery, he had seen relatives returning after burials saying they had forgotten something but often he had noticed they were up to something suspicious and had ended up driving them away.

But in those dozen years, there has been one experience that has remained with him.

“I was digging a grave in the middle of the cemetery around noon when a lady appeared to me. Allah brought her.

“I raised my head to see who she was but I could not see her body from the waist down,” he said.

“I summoned the courage to ask her who she was looking for in Hausa but she responded that she doesn’t understand Hausa. Then I asked her again in English.

Responding, she said, pointing to a grave, ‘Na me kill this one.’ I told her to wait for me to finish what I was doing but couldn’t find her again.

It was a scary moment for me but that didn’t make me leave the job because I know I am receiving a reward for what I am doing.”

While awaiting their rewards in heaven, after they too join the ones they have been keeping watch over all these years, they still aspire to live decent lives, especially as they age.

Strike: Varsity Crisis Deepens As NAAT Warns FG Against Accepting ASUU’s UTAS

 Strike: Varsity Crisis Deepens As NAAT Warns FG Against Accepting ASUU’s UTAS

The National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) has warned the federal government against accepting a salary payment platform designed by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) called University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).

It said the government must not allow itself to be blackmailed by any union to accept the lecturers’ platform, adding that NAAT had also worked assiduously to produce its own platform called Tertiary Institutions Integrity Payroll System (TIIPS).

It would be recalled that the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), had recently notified the government about their separate platform that will serve as an alternative to the controversial Integrated Payroll and Payment Information System (IPPIS) introduced by the Federal Government.

The new platform introduced by SSANU and NASU was University General Peculiar Payroll Payment System (UGPPPS).

Addressing newsmen after its 44th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting during the weekend, President of NAAT, Ibeji Nwokoma, vowed that the association would also resist any attempt where the sharing of the recently approved N40bn Earned Allowance released by the federal government is skewed to favour a particular union to the detriment of its members.

He explained that its members were being owed the sum of N71 billion in arrears as part of the 2009 agreement with the federal government.

According to him, NAAT is also demanding that the sum of N100 billion be made available immediately and N5 billion annually for the next five years to equip laboratories, workshops & studios in the nation’s universities to bring them to international standard in the interest of students, production of quality graduates and National development.

The union leader also criticised the Chairman of the Federal Government Renegotiation Committee, Prof. Munzali Jibrin, over his comment on the sharing of the earned allowance, noting that the former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission has made himself the mouthpiece of ASUU.

He explained that “members of NAAT (Technologists) are trained professionally to impact practical knowledge, but the right atmosphere is not provided, it becomes difficult for Technologists to perform their duties properly.”

He, therefore, called for the immediate auditing of equipment in the University Laboratories, insisting that their position against UTAS does not mean they accepted the controversial IPPIS.

“The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) organized series of meetings to educate unions on the workings of the IPPIS where the Consultant, Infinix demonstrated and produced copies of payslips in which all allowances were said to have been captured with assurances that NAAT peculiarities would be taken care of.

Unfortunately, this was not the case as all our allowance contained in the 2009 FGN/NAAT agreement was removed,” he added.

U.S. Varsities Offer $2.17Million Scholarships to 19 Nigerian Students

 U.S. Varsities Offer $2.17Million Scholarships to 19 Nigerian Students

This feat was made possible through the Opportunity Funds Program of the United States Consulate General in Lagos, with support from Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited.

No fewer than 19 high achieving, low-income students from southern Nigeria have received full scholarships totalling $2.17million to attend American universities and colleges for the 2020/2021 academic session.

This feat was made possible through the Opportunity Funds Program of the United States Consulate General in Lagos, with support from Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited.

During a reception held in Lagos in honour of the US-bound students, the United States Consul General, Claire Pierangelo, congratulated them on their success, while urging them to make the most of their opportunity to get a top-notch education.

“The U.S. Mission in Nigeria is pleased that our two major Education USA centres in Lagos and Abuja helped brilliant, deserving and high achieving students defray the cost of applying to study in the U.S. You have successfully navigated the daunting U.S. college and university admissions process, and we are so excited for your future.

“During your time in the United States, please take full advantage of every opportunity you have, not only to learn but to expand your horizon. You have excelled in Nigeria, and I have no doubt that you will continue on that path of academic excellence in the United States,” Consul General Pierangelo told the departing students.

Izunna Okpala, one of the 2020 Opportunity Fund Program scholars, received full funding for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programme in Information Technology with a concentration in Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing at the University of Cincinnati.

He described the Education USA Opportunity Funds Program as a “game-changer” in his quest to receive an international education.

The 19 departing students — two undergraduates and 17 graduate students —will be studying a variety of majors including Infectious Diseases, Biomedical Sciences, Engineering, Chemistry, Climate Change and Climate Variability, Geology, and Political Science.

The list of acceptances includes the University of Massachusetts, Boston, Purdue University, Duke University and Northwestern University.

Now in its 11th year, the Opportunity Funds Program assists talented and determined, low-income students who are good candidates for financial assistance from U.S. colleges and universities but lack the financial resources to cover the up-front cost of obtaining admission.

Following a competitive selection process, the successful students received financial aid that covered expenses involved in the college application process such as payment for standardized tests, application fees, visa and SEVIS fees as well as air travel to the United States.

Education USA advisers also worked closely with the students through regularly scheduled meetings and seminars to assist them throughout the application process.

According to the latest Institute of International Education Open Doors Report, Nigeria retained its top ranking as the number one source of African students studying in the United States. About 13,762 Nigerians study at more than 1,000 U.S. colleges and universities.

US Removes Visa Fees For Nigerian Citizens

US Removes Visa Fees For Nigerian Citizens

United States government has removed all visa reciprocity fees for Nigerian citizens seeking visa to the United States.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of foreign affairs, Ferdinand Nwonye, said in a statement that the eliminated reciprocity fees for Nigerian citizens is with effect from December 3, 2020.

He said the positive development is in line with the removal of excess visa application, processing and biometric fees for United States citizens applying for Nigerian visas by the Nigerian Government.

“Prospective Nigerian travellers to the United States are hereby advised to visit: www.travel.state.gov for details,” the statement read.

It would be recalled that the Nigerian government reduced its visa fees for Americans travelling to Nigeria a day after the United States announced increases in its visa fees for Nigerians as a way of retaliating Nigeria’s high fees.

According to the U.S. State Department, the visa fees were increased after 18 months of consultation with the Nigerian government, to make its visa fees for Americans proportional failed.

Nigerians whose American visas have been approved had paid extra fees ranging from $80 to $110 (N28,800 to N39,600), depending on the type of visa being applied for, the State Department said.

Nigeria has now reduced the visa fees for Americans traveling to Nigeria from $180 to $150.