Over one million Nigerians have lost their jobs under the N-Power programme of the Federal Government following the indefinite suspension of the scheme by the government.

The N-Power programme was established by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari to address youth unemployment as beneficiaries were paid N30,000 monthly stipend.

It is a component of the National Social Investment Programme put in place by the previous administration through the on-boarding of 1.5 million unemployed Nigerian youths (mostly graduates), providing capacity building, targeted tenured employment and structured of-boarding unto various career paths.

In February this year, figures obtained from the Humanitarian ministry in Abuja indicated that the programme had enrolled 200,000 youths in Batch A; 300,000 in Batch B; 510,000 in Batch C1; and 490,000 in Batch C2.

Although the number of beneficiaries who had exited the scheme could not be confirmed at the time of filing this report, it was gathered that virtually all enrolees in batches C1 and C2 were still enrolled in the scheme, representing about one million persons.

Many N-Power beneficiaries teach in primary schools across the country.

But on Saturday, the Federal Government announced the indefinite suspension of the programme and vowed to investigate the funds spent on the scheme.

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, announced the indefinite suspension of the programme during a live interview on TVC News.

Edu said the programme had been marred by irregularities, adding that the government had launched an investigation into the utilisation of funds since the inception of the scheme.

She added that some of the beneficiaries of the programme were not found in their places of assignment, yet they were receiving monthly stipends.

Edu also stated that some of the N-Power beneficiaries ought to have exited the programme in 2022, but were still on the payroll.

She said, “We must go back to look into N-Power and understand what the problems are; so we will basically suspend the programme for now until we are done with proper investigation into the utilisation of funds by the N-Power programme.

“We want to know how many people are basically on the programme right now; how many people are owed and the amount they are owed. We are totally restructuring N-Power and expanding it.

“There are lots going on. We met people who were supposed to have exited the programme since last year and they are still claiming that they are teaching.

“Sometimes, we contact the schools or the places where they are working and they are not there. They are not working, yet they keep claiming that they are being owed eight or nine months’ stipends. About 80 per cent of them are not working, yet they are claiming salaries.”

Previous investigations

The N-Power scheme has been marred by irregularities as the humanitarian ministry had in a response to an enquiry by The PUNCH in December 2022 detailed how some of its officials were being investigated.

In the response, which was signed by the immediate past Permanent Secretary, Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, the ministry said it was aware of publications regarding ongoing investigations in relation to fraud allegations in the programme.

It said, “We wish to state as follows: the ministry has deployed a well-rounded mechanism for the selection of eligible beneficiaries from across the country and this has been in place since the inception of the programme.

“Working with our service provider, programme beneficiaries are on-boarded, trained and deployed to pre-selected places of primary assignment.

“When it came to our notice that there might have been sharp practices by some personnel of the payment service provider involved in the payment processes of the beneficiaries, the matter was immediately referred to the ICPC for a thorough investigation.

“We are aware that certain persons have consequently been invited for interrogation as part of the ongoing investigations.”

The former permanent secretary said the ministry had carried out thorough reinforcement of its systems to eliminate all anomalies and prevent similar occurrences in the future.

He added, “To this end, we are in close collaboration with the ICPC to support the successful determination of the investigation.

“The public may wish to note that in a bid to ensure transparency and accountability in the implementation of the N-Power and other National Social Investment Programmes, namely the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme and the Conditional Cash Transfer, the ministry has over time involved other government MDAs, security agencies and Civil Society Organisations in monitoring and compliance checks across the 36 states of the country and the Federal Capital Territory.

“We want to assure all N-Power beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s continued commitment to the programme and the subsequent exit/of-boarding channels activated.”

The ministry had also urged all programme beneficiaries to continue to apply themselves to their utmost at their places of primary assignment.

“All monthly stipends will continue to be paid in line with programme expectations,” the ministry had stated.

It also called “on members of the public to come forward with information on any irregularities noticed in the implementation of the National Social Investment programme” through some email channels and phone numbers at the time.

Punch

Hamas militants broke out of the blockaded Gaza Strip and rampaged through nearby Israeli communities, killing at least 250 people and abducting others in an unprecedented surprise attack during a major Jewish holiday Saturday. Israel responded with strikes in Gaza that killed 232 and signaled more as its prime minister said the country is at war and vowed to inflict an “unprecedented price.”

In an assault of startling breadth, Hamas gunmen rolled into as many as 22 locations outside the Gaza Strip, including towns and other communities as far as 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the Gaza border. In some places they gunned down civilians and soldiers as Israel’s military scrambled to muster a response.

Gun battles continued well after nightfall, and militants held hostages in standoffs in two towns. Militants occupied a police station in a third town, where Israeli forces struggled until Sunday morning to finally reclaim the building. An Israeli military spokesperson said Sunday morning that the hostage situations had been “resolved,” but did not say whether all the hostages had been rescued alive.

Twenty-four hours after the start of the Hamas attack, the Israeli military had still not given an all-clear. In some towns, civilians’ bodies lay where they had encountered advancing gunmen. At least nine people gunned down at a bus shelter in the town of Sderot were laid out on stretchers on the street, their bags still on the curb nearby. One woman, screaming, embraced the body of a family member sprawled under a sheet next to a toppled motorcycle.

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza intensified after nightfall, flattening residential buildings in giant explosions, including a 14-story tower that held dozens of apartments as well as Hamas offices in central Gaza City. Israeli forces fired a warning just before.

At least 232 people in the Gaza Strip were killed and 1,700 wounded in Israeli strikes, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

Israeli media, citing rescue service officials, said at least 250 people were killed and 1,500 wounded in Saturday’s attack, making it the deadliest in Israel in decades. Hamas fighters took an unknown number of civilians and soldiers captive into Gaza.

The conflict threatened to escalate with Israel’s vows of retaliation.

In a televised address Saturday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military will use all of its strength to destroy Hamas’ capabilities. “All the places that Hamas hides in, operates from, we will turn them into ruins,” he added.

“Get out of there now,” he told Gaza residents, who have no way to leave the tiny, overcrowded Mediterranean territory.

Overnight, the Israeli military issued warnings in Arabic to communities near the border with Israel to leave their homes for areas deeper inside the tiny enclave.

Gaza’s 2.3 million people have endured a border blockade, enforced to varying degrees by Israel and Egypt, since Hamas militants seized control in 2007.

Previous conflicts between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers brought widespread death and destruction in Gaza and days of rocket fire on Israeli towns. The situation is potentially more volatile now, with Israel’s far-right government stung by the security breach and with Palestinians in despair over a never-ending occupation in the West Bank and suffocating blockade of Gaza.

The strength, sophistication and timing of the Saturday morning attack shocked Israelis. Hamas fighters used explosives to break through the border fence enclosing Gaza, then crossed with motorcycles, pickup trucks, paragliders and speed boats on the coast.

In an amateur video, hundreds of terrified young people who had been dancing at a rave fled for their lives after Hamas militants entered the area and began firing at them.

Among those killed Saturday was Col. Jonathan Steinberg, a senior officer who commanded the Israeli military’s Nahal Brigade, a prominent infantry unit.

Before daybreak Sunday, militants fired more rockets from Gaza, hitting a hospital in the Israeli coastal town of Ashkelon, said senior hospital official Tal Bergman. Video provided by Barzilai Medical Center showed a large hole punched into a wall and chunks of debris scattered on the ground of what appeared to be an empty room and a hallway. The military said patients had been evacuated from Barzilai before the strike.

School was canceled across Israel.

Around 3 a.m., a loudspeaker atop a mosque in Gaza City blared a stark warning to residents of nearby apartment buildings: Evacuate immediately. Just minutes later, an Israeli airstrike reduced one nearby five-story building to ashes.

After one Israeli strike, a Hamas rocket barrage hit four cities, including Tel Aviv and a nearby suburb. Throughout the day, Hamas fired more than 3,500 rockets, the Israeli military said.

The shadowy leader of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, said the assault was in response to the 16-year blockade of Gaza, and a series of recent incidents that have brought Israeli-Palestinian tensions to a fever pitch.

Over the past year, Israel’s far-right government has ramped up settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, Israeli settler violence has displaced hundreds of Palestinians there, and tensions have flared around the Al-Aqsa mosque, a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site.

“Enough is enough,” Deif, who does not appear in public, said in the recorded message. He said the attack was only the start of what he called “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm” and called on Palestinians from east Jerusalem to northern Israel to join the fight.

The Hamas incursion on Simchat Torah, a normally joyous day when Jews complete the annual cycle of reading the Torah scroll, revived painful memories of the 1973 Mideast war practically 50 years to the day, in which Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, aiming to take back Israeli-occupied territories.

Comparisons to one of the most traumatic moments in Israeli history sharpened criticism of Netanyahu and his far-right allies, who had campaigned on more aggressive action against threats from Gaza. Political commentators lambasted the government and military over its failure to anticipate what appeared to be a Hamas attack unseen in its level of planning and coordination.

Asked by reporters how Hamas had managed to catch the army off guard, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli army spokesman, replied, “That’s a good question.”

The abduction of Israeli civilians and soldiers also raised a particularly thorny issue for Israel, which has a history of making heavily lopsided exchanges to bring captive Israelis home. Israel is holding thousands of Palestinians in its prisons. Hecht confirmed that a “substantial” number of Israelis were abducted Saturday.

Associated Press photos showed an elderly Israeli woman being brought into Gaza on a golf cart by Hamas gunmen and another woman squeezed between two fighters on a motorcycle. AP journalists saw four people taken from the kibbutz of Kfar Azza, including two women.

In Gaza, a black jeep pulled to a stop and, when the rear door opened, a young woman stumbled out, bleeding from the head and with her hands tied behind her back. A man waving a gun in the air grabbed her by the hair and pushed her into the vehicle’s back seat.

Thailand’s government said that two of its citizens may have been abducted, though the Israeli government could not immediately confirm the details.

Thousands of Thai citizens work in Israel, many of them in the agriculture sector. Israeli TV reported that workers from the Philippines were also among the captives.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has put the country’s air force on standby to evacuate its citizens if needed.

A major question now was whether Israel will launch a ground assault into Gaza, a move that in the past has brought intensified casualties. Netanyahu vowed that Hamas “will pay an unprecedented price.” But, he warned, “This war will take time. It will be difficult.”

Israel’s military was bringing four divisions of troops as well as tanks to the Gaza border, joining 31 battalions already in the area, a spokesperson said.

Hamas said it had planned for a potentially long fight. “We are prepared for all options, including all-out war,” the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Saleh al-Arouri, told Al-Jazeera TV. “We are ready to do whatever is necessary for the dignity and freedom of our people.”

In Gaza, much of the population was thrown into darkness after nightfall as electrical supplies from Israel — which supplies almost all the territories’ power — were cut off. Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that Israel would stop supplying electricity, fuel and goods to Gaza.

U.S. President Joe Biden said from the White House that he had spoken with Netanyahu to say the United States “stands with the people of Israel in the face of these terrorist assaults. Israel has the right to defend itself and its people, full stop.”

Saudi Arabia, which has been in talks with the U.S. about normalizing relations with Israel, called on both sides to exercise restraint. The kingdom said it had repeatedly warned about the danger of “the situation exploding as a result of the continued occupation (and) the Palestinian people being deprived of their legitimate rights.”

Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group congratulated Hamas, praising the attack as a response to “Israeli crimes.” The group said its command in Lebanon was in contact with Hamas about the operation.

The attack comes at a time of historic division within Israel over Netanyahu’s proposal to overhaul the judiciary. Mass protests over the plan have sent hundreds of thousands of Israeli demonstrators into the streets and prompted hundreds of military reservists to avoid volunteer duty — turmoil that has raised fears over the military’s battlefield readiness.

Palestinians demonstrated in towns and cities around the West Bank on Saturday night. Palestinian health officials said Israeli fire killed five there, but gave few details.

AP

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Biden mulls asking $100 billion check for Ukraine – Telegraph

US President Joe Biden is reportedly plotting a potential “one-and-done”Ukraine aid request that would be so big that he wouldn’t need to seek any more funding approvals from Congress until after the 2024 election, The Telegraph has reported on Saturday. 

The new Ukraine aid request could be as large as $100 billion, enough to avoid continued legislative controversies that could hinder Biden’s re-election bid next year, the British newspaper said, citing people familiar with the White House discussions. Such a proposal would dwarf the $24 billion funding request that US House lawmakers stripped out of the stopgap spending bill that they passed last week to avert a government shutdown.

“The big package idea is firmly supported by many throughout the administration,” the newspaper’s source said. “Supporters of Ukraine want this to be a one-and-done, big bill, and then not have to deal with it until after the next election.”

Biden’s administration is scrambling to find temporary ways to keep the money and weapons flowing to Kiev, supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russian forces, until a major aid bill is passed by Congress. For instance, a US State Department grant program could reportedly be tapped to provide about $650 million in funding. The White House officials were quoted by the media as saying that only a few weeks remain before a potential lapse in Ukraine funding, which they have warned could have devastating consequences on the battlefield.

Republican lawmakers have become increasingly critical of Biden’s Ukraine policy, with some arguing that massive aid to Kiev is only prolonging the bloody conflict at the expense of bigger domestic priorities. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was voted out of his leadership post earlier this week, the first such congressional ouster in US history, reportedly after some of his fellow Republicans heard that he had promised Biden a separate Ukraine aid bill to be approved after passing the stopgap funding measure.

The Biden administration won’t decide on whether to propose a one-and-done aid package for Ukraine until after a new House speaker is elected, possibly next week, according to The Telegraph’s report. Getting a $100 billion bill passed might require the president to make concessions to conservative Republicans on such issues as illegal immigration.

US Representative Lauren Boebert, one of the Republicans who have been critical of Biden’s Ukraine policy, suggested in an interview on Friday that the new House speaker might have to pledge opposition to passing more funding for Kiev. She noted that a majority of Republicans in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted against a $300 million Ukraine aid bill last week.

“For the first time, we saw that Ukraine funding alone does not have a majority of the majority’s support,” Boebert told US podcast host Steve Bannon. “Any speaker has to recognize that and not allow more funding for Ukraine to come to the floor. We are absolutely tired of spending it.” 

Congress has already approved four rounds of Ukraine funding, totaling about $113 billion. The Pentagon warned last week that it had exhausted “nearly all available security-assistance funding for Ukraine.” 

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

One civilian killed in Ukrainian shelling of Russia's Belgorod region, governor says

The governor of Russia's Belgorod region said on Saturday that one civilian had been killed in the village of Urazovo, near the Ukrainian border, as a result of Ukrainian shelling.

Russian air defence systems downed three Ukrainian missiles over the region, he said earlier.

Attacks on regions of Russia adjoining Ukraine have become an almost daily occurrence in the last few months.

Kyiv does not typically claim responsibility for attacks on targets inside Russia.

** Russia hits Odesa grain facility in overnight missile strike

Russian forces carried out an overnight missile strike on Ukraine's southern Odesa region, damaging port infrastructure, Ukrainian authorities said early on Saturday.

Governor Oleh Kiper said four people were wounded in the strike, which hit a boarding house and a portside grain facility. He did not specify where the attack took place.

Ukraine's military said the strike involved supersonic Onyx missiles fired from Russian-occupied Crimea.

Russian forces have carried out regular missile and drone strikes on port infrastructure in recent weeks, making it difficult for major grain producer Ukraine to export its products.

Moscow quit a deal in mid-July that had enabled Black Sea grain shipments and helped combat a global food crisis.

RT/Reuters

Who is the man who today sits atop the presidency of Nigeria? What is his name? Who are his parents? Who are his childhood friends? What was his childhood like? What primary school did he attend? Where did he attend secondary school? Or, the university? Is he a criminal? Is he a serial forger? On account of the above, can we trust him? Can he be trusted with the destinies of over 200 million Nigerians? Can the rest of the world trust him as the embodiment of Nigeria?

Last year, I wrote about the history of certificate forgeries and identity theft in Nigeria which is about a century old. In the 1940s, with the colonial government underscoring the essence of certificates, the ingenuity of Nigerians as fabulists, concoctionists and fraudsters assumed frightening notoriety. On the social plane, one such character who the colonialists made an example of his academic fraudulence was a Prince Modupe, known also as Modupe Paris and David Modupe. Modupe lived in America under a number of fantastic disguises. In 1935, he claimed to have graduated from the Jesuit College, Oxford. When some Nigerians did an Atiku Abubakar inquisition into this fabulous claim, Oxford University denied having any name of such variant in its records. In March, 1947, Modupe appeared in San Francisco, claiming that he was “His Royal Highness Prince Modupe of Dubrica.” Seven months later, in the same San Francisco, he claimed that he was the “Crown Prince of Nigeria.” His soul mate in confidence trickery was another Nigerian by the name of Prince Peter Eket Inyang Udo, who lived in America and Britain for about 17 years. The colonial government had him in its records for his dubious commercial claims.

At the political level, the highest in ranking among politicians of colonial and immediate post-colonial Nigeria who made dubious claims about their academic attainments was a man called Okechukwu Ikejiani. A strong member of the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) and a major acolyte of Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ikejiani was appointed by the Federal Government, of which Zik was president, as the Pro-Chancellor of the Ibadan University College. A visiting University of Toronto scholar was said to have raised issues with the Doctor of Science (DSc.) degree which Ikejiani flaunted. Ikejiani was later appointed chairman of the Nigerian Railways Corporation, an appointment which immediately erupted in chaos. Calls were made for Ikejiani’s sack for misrepresentation of his attainment. While he was certified to have earned a medical degree as a doctor from the University of Toronto, Ikejiani’s claim to a DSc. degree was later found to have been false.

So many of such characters have lived and survived under false identities due to the Nigerian misconception that certificates define a man. Many of these rogues have been celebrated as national mascots, and today, it looks as though being a bona fide crook is a passport into and, indeed, one of the criteria of eligibility to Nigerian heroism. This fakery is also fueled by a conspiracy of silence in Nigeria. Many who fake certificates work in critical sectors and their fraud is known by many, without any whistle-blowing, thereby enabling them to inflict their fraud on the people. They then continually harvest victims of their concocted identities in the process.

In Austrian, British philosopher, Karl Popper’s Open society and its enemies, critical questions on the identities of our leaders appear as the oil that greases the engine of democracy. In the book, Popper made a strong defence of the open society which democracy represents and attacked its enemies who want a close society. Popper’s book is regarded as one of the most important books of the 20th century and “an uncompromising defense of liberal democracy.” In it, he argued that by not asking fundamental questions that help to reinforce free speech and good governance, we are abetting “the intellectual origins of totalitarianism.”

So when Atiku Abubakar, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the last Nigerian presidential election, approached an American court to mandate the Chicago State University (CSU) to release details of Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu’s academic records, he was merely obeying the Popper injunctions and fulfilling the requirements of an open society. You may not like Atiku; he may not represent your ideal activist seeking purity in Nigeria’s democratic space; you may even conveniently tag him a meddlesome interloper; he may be suffocating under the legal jargon where he is currently subsumed, as someone on a fishing expedition, but the truth is, Abubakar’s courageous effort in approaching CSU for the truth will invariably lead to the strengthening of the health of Nigeria’s democracy. And Atiku would not be the first, nor the last. It is forgers and identity thieves who should amend their ways.

When Yoruba elders take a deep breath and say, “Ogede nbaje, e l’o npon,” they have taken a peep into their binoculars and sensed tragedy. “Ogede nbaje…”, literally translated, is an impending rot in the banana/plantain that is selfishly interpreted as a fruit at the thick of ripening. In such circumstance, elders have seen otherwise good people attempting to excuse or rationalize evil. They know that the end will not bode well for society. And the kingpins involved are otherwise respected and respectable. 

“Ogede nbaje…” is an aphorism where a binary view is made of an indisputably straightforward issue. If you see the banana/plantain as ripening when it is in fact rotten, you are in cahoots with the devil to disrupt existence. The wise-saying is an explanation of the calamity that lies ahead when society becomes victim in the hands of those who see the pleasure of today and not the challenge of tomorrow.

In 1999, Nigerians were unanimous in seeing a rotten banana/plantain, rather than an inviting fruit. The country had just entered the current Fourth Republic. The Nigerian press was at the vanguard of that fight. It did not call the emerging rotten fruit of the banana/plantain a ripening beauty. The press called it by its real name. At the time, that press was still bursting at its seams with the residue of its activism against military dictatorship. The press seemed to have sworn to prevent impurity from having a place to hibernate in Nigeria’s hard-earned democratic governance. That press fought against colonial government. So, in a cover story it did in February, 1999, TheNews 

magazine burst the bubble of Fourth Republic’s maiden Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Salisu Buhari, a young man who epitomized the energy and verve of youth that was needed to kick-start the Nigerian democratic Turbo engine.

In the thick of the fanfare of return to democratic governance, on February 16, 1999, the magazine’s investigative journalism revealed that Buhari was an identity thief. Born January 3, 1970, Buhari swore on oath that he was born in 1963. This he did to escape the provision of section 65(1) of the constitution. That law stipulated that anyone gunning for this office must be 30 years old. On his claim to have been an alumnus of the prestigious University of Toronto in Canada, TheNews put a lie to the claim. Not only didn’t Buhari attend Toronto, he never attended any known university. The Speaker’s claim to have observed the National Youth Service at a Standard Construction Company in Kano was also defoliated and found to be untrue. When confronted with these serial allegations of fraud, Buhari at first fumed, threatening to sue the magazine for libel. However, confronted with irrefutable evidence which showed that his shrew had escaped, with only peels of its tail left in his hands, on July 23, 1999, Buhari owned up to the binge of forgeries. Weeping profusely, he pleaded, “I apologize to you. I apologize to the nation. I apologize to my family and friends for all the distress I have caused them. I was misled in error by a zeal to serve the nation, I hope the nation will forgive me and give me the opportunity to serve again.”

In tow, the press felled the big elephants of similar identity and certificate forgers in the room. Senate President Evan(s) Enwerem fell, having been alleged to have forged his identity. With the same vigour which completed a cycle of peering searchlights round the tripod of Nigeria, Tinubu, then governor of Lagos State, also got caught in the puddle. Tinubu, like Salisu Buhari, had multiple of allegations hanging on his neck, ranging from identity theft, forgeries to perjury. Three of the schools he swore on oath as having attended were found to be outright forgeries. From St. John’s School, Aroloya; Government College, Ibadan to University of Chicago, the press effectively tar-brushed him.

About 23 years after the Nigerian press mounted that Olympian height and became a pride of the profession for dismantling houses moulded with dross, its has become the case of the proverbial “Ogede nbaje…” For instance, Bayo Onanuga, Editor-in-Chief of that investigative journalism magazine, TheNews who spearheaded that brilliant Salisu Buhari revelation has today become enmeshed in that systemic rot, feeding even fatter than and becoming indistinguishable from the maggots in the Nigerian political sewers. In a tweet he did last Thursday on the recent inquisition into Tinubu’s alleged forgeries, Onanuga said that any attempt at drilling into the president’s certificates was “an infantile obsession” and “a display of utter desperation,” as well as “a calculated attempt to shamelessly whip up public sentiments.” The man whose medium reached out to Toronto to authenticate Salisu Buhari’s certificate said a similar expedition today was a “purposeless judicial voyage,” and a “needless negative exposure of Nigeria and the institution of the presidency in (a) foreign land.” Was exposing Buhari’s forgery a voyage different from today's Tinubu's? Salisu Buhari was Nigeria's number four when the press unclad him in the market square. By the time he woke up, cloths thrown at his Omoye was unable to save her as she had walked naked into the market square.

“Ogede nbaje…” Indeed, the Onanuga banana/plantain is already bringing out maggots. At its prime, a ripe banana lures all with its fair complexioned beauty. It is enticing and exciting. Everyone wishes to have a bite of it. However, the reality is that, at that ripening state, the banana/plantain is at its autumn. It is exhausting its glow and biding its time to enter the next state of disintegration. All of a sudden, that beautiful, inviting and captivating fruit begins to lose its colour and savour. Dark patches appear on its trunk, disfiguring the otherwise beauty that myopia or greed hid from the eyes awhile ago. Tanning, sallow shades take over the fruit. The beautiful coat loses its drape and the tasteful fruit turns into a sour bite. Rottenness takes it over. In forecasting the unfavourable outcome that will ultimately be the lot of the ephemeral beauty of the banana/plantain, Yoruba elders use this allegory of the banana/plantain to warn against equating the luxuriant beauty of today with an enduring pride of tomorrow.

That courageous Nigerian press of 1999 which called politicians’ banana/plantain a rotten fruit is today celebrating the same fruit’s vanishing beauty. If you do a content analysis of the press’ reportage of that shameful inquisition into Nigeria in Chicago last week, you would notice that the fruit has turned full throttle in its rot. Apart from courageous reports on the social media that belled the cat, the traditional press was like a cat that tucked its tail behind its bum. It was on sabbatical, either self-imposed or a result of huge financial compromise from serial forgers and identity thieves.

The Atiku Abubakar voyage to Chicago in search of the true colour of Nigeria’s president, Tinubu, has confirmed that Nigeria is in a more serious mess than she may think. When a people arrive at a straightforward road but assume it is an intersection where three footpaths meet, they provoke elders to see calamity ahead. How could anyone have imagined that a day would come when political convenience, ethnicity and willful desire not to rock the boat would make Nigerians moralize forgery? And debate whether underhand cyclostyling of a certificate was forgery or legitimate?

Nigeria was on trial last week in the United States of America. No, Tinubu was not on trial. Nigeria was the one who presented a simultaneously attended 1970 Cambridge GCE A-Level result and a school certificate from a Government College, Lagos that was non-existent as at the time of graduation. This is because Tinubu today embodies Nigeria. As if that was not tragic enough, responses to the deposition in America last week reveal that truth has different colours and texture in Nigeria. Those who showed open disgust and disdain for evil a while ago have suddenly wrapped a shawl of tarpaulin round themselves. Yoruba, whose forefathers and fathers denounced Ikejiani, Salisu Buhari and other serial forgers have suddenly lost their voices. Professors say it does not matter. Scholars say, “but the man is churning our great policies!” The question to ask is, can our university’s vice chancellors bail Tinubu out by coming out to announce to graduates of their universities who can't find their degree certificates to start using their individual office computers to design and print replacements of the lost “diplomas”? It will help Tinubu and his spin doctors to silence puritanical critics!  

The Chicago saga is very lean on law but very robust on morality. What the Supreme Court says about the matter is very minute in representation to the totality of our being as Nigeria and Nigerians. No issue is as important in Nigeria today as the potential incineration of our national integrity that the certificate issue portends. Not even the tumbling Naira, nor the excruciating economy is as important as the Chicago saga. If we do not succeed in convincing ourselves and the rest of the world that we do not have a serial forger in Aso Rock, we are done for. Tinubu too must help us by personally addressing this thick web of claims of his dubiety.

For us in the media, we must be very ashamed of ourselves. The Nigerian press which unearthed Salisu Buhari is almost dead today. Replacing this big media elephant in the room is a young man called David Hundeyin who is now a representation of all we have lost. I can see elders heave a deep sigh and mutter that indeed, “Ogede nbaje, e l’o npon!”

When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils ~ Luke 11:21-22.

Introduction

Times come in our individual lives, families or nations when we are faced with dangerous challenges. At such times, if you don’t know the way out, you remain under the desperate circumstances. Albeit, having problems has never been a problem, but not knowing how to come out of them.

Happily, we have long discovered through search that “dominion walk” is the easiest and cheapest way out of any unwanted situation (Genesis 1:24-28; Zechariah 1:18-21).

Dominion is at the heart of the Christian message: it is a main essence of Christian living. Until a man holds the spiritual rod of dominion, his liberty is not guaranteed (Genesis 27:40). It is either one rules or is overruled; either he reigns with Christ or he dwells in ruin perpetually (Psalms 110:2).

Man is the visible head of God’s kingdom of creation. He is made in the similitude of God, designed to function like God and fitted to represent Him here on earth (James 3:9). Besides, man is the epitome of God’s handiwork, and he is His visible representative on earth (Genesis 1:24-26).

Man is a spirit! He has incredible capabilities for the knowledge, ways, power and acts of God: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”.

Image represents, likeness corresponds! No wonder God’s Word affirms that “ye are gods”. This is a notable position of peculiar dignity, honor and nobility! But we need to understand it before we can enjoy the offer (Psalms 82:5-6).

As believers in Christ Jesus, we constitute God’s great army of saints on earth today, and in order to succeed in winning territories for Him, we need to know who the evil “strongman” is and his methods of operation, so as to be able to handle him successfully, and retrieve his stolen goods.

For the avoidance of doubt, Satan is that malevolent “strongman”, and he normally operates in cohorts with his demonic entities in their various hierarchies in the evil domain (Ephesians 6:10-16). Happily, Jesus Christ is stronger that them all! Alleluia!!

Some of these evil angels have satanic assignments over tribes, people groups, countries, regions, cities or business lines, and they incessantly seek to encroach upon our own spiritual territories. We must stand our grounds, wrestling and launching the offensives, whenever necessary, to reclaim whatever they had stolen.

In the natural world, most battles are territorial in nature, that is, they are about defending or gaining territories, and fighting for ownership or rights over territories. Now, spiritual warfare is not much different.

Spiritual warfare is a regular war between the angels of God and the agents of Satan, which has always impacted on the way events unfold here on earth. It is the victories we receive in the spirit realm that eventually translate into physical realities (2Corinthians 10:3-6).

However, unlike physical battles, the theater of spiritual warfare is the human mind (2Corinthians 10:4-6). The devil always strives to pollute the minds of vast sections of the human society, building his fortresses to scare people away from their divine provisions such as: salvation, healing, deliverance, glorious future, prosperity, spiritual authority, and true freedom in Christ Jesus.

Notwithstanding, God has given us the authority to destroy every satanic hold anywhere they’re found. The believers in Christ are the light of the world, and we should bear spiritual illumination to the darkened minds of men (Matthew 5:14; Ephesians 5:8).

It is our mission to tear down satanic strongholds, spreading the Gospel and expanding the territories of God’s Kingdom in our personal lives, homes, communities, schools, businesses, finances, Churches and nations.

Indeed, it is our particular Christian duty to arrest every ugly satanic trend through our dominion exercise to bring the human minds into the obedience of Christ’s government.

Understanding the Dignity of Dominion

Now, the Hebrew word, “radah”, translated “dominion” also means: to “tread down”, “subdue” or “subjugate”. It infers: “to rule”, “influence” and “have control” over something.

“Dominion” also comes with a sense of being exalted as head above all other nations and creations (Deuteronomy 28:1,13). God’s original plan is that all other creatures should submit to the headship of man.

Man was never to fear but to be feared (Genesis 9:2,6). Even after the fall, the subject of man’s dominion remained so important to God that He bought and brought us back to it via the redemptive work of Christ! Thus, anytime Satan acts to upturn that dominion right, he’s simply acting as a pure thief (John 10:10).

The believers have both the right and power in the Holy Ghost to drive Satan out of our territories, enforcing the dominion of heaven on earth (Matthew 11:12). Undoubtedly, we were made to dominate, and never to be decimated (2Corinthians 10:4).

Winning Strategies for Spiritual Warfare

Basically, in order to maximize our dominion benefits and win in our regularly forceful territorial contests, we must consistently exercise ourselves in the power of the Lord’s Presence and in the force of His righteousness (Exodus 33:14-15; Psalm 140:13).

We must gallantly fight the fight of faith (1Timothy 6:12). Every square inch of the Promised Land that Israel gained was accessed through battles. If you won’t fight with faith, you cannot win by it. Faith is saying it is so, even when it is not yet so, so that it might be so because God said so!

The process of establishing dominion in any pertinent area of our lives – politics, social positioning, spiritual strata, business, faith, etcetera – usually calls for a duel. The evil “strongman” must be confronted through strategic prayers, tackled and bound before his stolen goods — souls and glories of men — can be recovered (Matthew 11:12).

To conquer, you must confront! Confrontation is the only valid pathway between two irreconcilable kingdoms. Thereafter, your “bombshells” of prayer will loosen the holds of territorial spirits over your heritage.

Very importantly, David’s lifestyle provides us vivid examples of the importance of spiritual intelligence. Before every battle, he always inquired of the Lord for specific instructions (1Samuel 23:2-4; 30:8; 2Samuel 5:19, 23).

He was always fully prepared by revelation knowledge. For instance, he took five smooth stones in his quiver because he knew that, even though he was going then to face Goliath that would require only one stone, there were four other giants he needed to tackle (1Samuel 17:40; 2Samuel 21:22).

Today, our aggressive evangelism is a strategic means to confront the territorial spirits in our environments (2Corinthians 4:3-4). This is the wisdom our Master Jesus left for us, and we cannot ignore it if we intend to be effectual in our spiritual warfare to gain territories for Christ.

Friends and brethren, it is high time we stood our grounds and fought back, spiritually. Never forget though that the rule of the game in our territorial battles against the devil, the flesh, sin or lack is, “no fears, no retreat, no surrender and no negotiations” (1 Samuel 11:1-11).

We must never give up the fight of faith. Whenever we pray and act aright, God’s angels will fight against the demonic powers on our behalf, and incredible victories and advancement shall be our testimonies.

Your victory is sure and certain! You will soon recover your lost heritage in Christ, and you will truly celebrate. You won’t miss this, in Jesus’ Name. Amen. Happy Sunday!

____________________

Bishop Taiwo Akinola,

Rhema Christian Church,

Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Connect with Bishop Akinola via these channels:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bishopakinola

SMS/WhatsApp: +234 802 318 4987

If I were to ask you for the two most powerful words in the Bible, you might not be able to answer. Well, I am going to tell them to you today because God visited me in a dream. In the dream, I saw myself preaching those two words.

I woke up and immediately decided to study them in the Bible. What I discovered amazed me and strengthened my faith. I discovered that the two words He gave me were two of the most powerful words in the Bible, if not the most powerful.

These two words are: “But God.”

Powerful words

Everywhere in the scriptures, we see the power of the words: “But God.” Something was lost “but God” found it. Someone was dead “but God” brought him back to life. Someone was blind, “but God” restored his sight. There was no way, “but God” made a way.

“But God” prefaces the intervention of the Almighty in the scriptures. With “but God,” God redeems. With “but God,” He raises the dead. With “but God,” He makes all things new. All seems lost “but God” appears and rights all wrongs.

Think about it, your life is full of “But God” revelations. God is the God of the comebacks. It is never over until you get your “but God” intervention.

First principle

Never ever say anything about God and then say “but.” That is the height of disrespect. People say God did this and that, but… That is rubbish. God helped me, but I still lost everything. Balderdash! I thought God would heal the man, but he died. He died because you are blind.

My auntie told me: “God is powerful O. God is powerful O. But we need to also apply our local abracadabra.” That is hogwash! Do not fall for such deception. Never fall into that trap of the devil.

Say whatever you like and end it with “but God.” Say: “The economy is bad, “but God” will make a way. Say: “There is no food in the house, “but God” is our provision. Say: “There is no money in the bank, “but God” is our accountant. Say: “The doctors insist the disease is incurable, “but God” is our healer. Say: “We lost all hope, “but God” renewed our strength.

End a sentence with “but God” and you have glorified God. End it with “but God” and you have released the power of God. Say: “But God” and the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in the saints become available to you. Seek refuge in “but God” and the exceeding greatness of God’s power toward you emerges. Acknowledge “but God” and you will realise the working of God’s mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. Proclaim the virtues of “but God” and you will know that there is Balm in Gilead.  

With “but God,” the impossible becomes possible. When you say: “But God” you will see that: “(God) is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that (you) ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20).

With everything, God is the resolution. God is the answer. God is the redemption. God is the provision. God is the healing.

Grace in action

There are many examples of “but God” in the scriptures. No two words better express the grace of God more fulsomely in the Bible than “But God.” “But God” speaks eloquently of the mercy of God. It speaks of the lovingkindness of God. It speaks of the goodness of God. It speaks of the forgiveness of God. It speaks of God’s longsuffering nature, of God’s compassion, and of God’s faithfulness.

Paul says, for example: “You He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:1-6).

Once we were dead in trespasses and sins, “but God.” Once we walked according to the dictates of the devil, “but God.” Once we conformed to the evil ways of this world, “but God.” Once we conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, “but God.” Once we lived by gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature, “but God.”

Once we habitually fulfilled the desires of the flesh and of the mind, “but God.” Once we were by nature children of wrath, “but God” redeemed us.

Once we sat in darkness, blinded by our sins, “but God.” Once we jumped when the devil said jump, “but God.” Once we were imprisoned, enslaved by fleshly lusts, “but God.” Once our Lord and master was the prince of the power of the air, but God. Once we were driven and tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, “but God.” Once we were lost, deaf to the voice of the Good Shepherd, “but God” rescued us.

“But God” who is rich in mercy, “but God” who is full of lovingkindness, “but God” whose love is from everlasting to everlasting, “but God” whose faithfulness reaches to the clouds, “but God” whose compassions fail not, “but God” whose goodness endures continually, reached out to us and saved us.

He saved us and redeemed us from our sins. He washed us in His blood. He came down to earth to die for us. He brought us out of a horrible pit. He lifted us out of the miry clay. He set our feet upon a rock. He established our steps.

“But God” is the assurance that God will work every and any bad thing that will happen in your life for good; to the glory of His name.

Final say

Inscribe this kingdom principle of “But God” in your heart and mind. It ensures that you never rule out God. Do not do any addition or subtraction without Him. Include God in every calculus of life.

God is our secret weapon. He is plenteous in redemption. He gives double for trouble. “He is a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat.” (Isaiah 25”4). Weeping may endure for a day, but joy comes in the morning.

“But God” is a principle of life. It expresses God’s positioning in the life of every man. God is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the Beginning and the End.

That means everything ends with God. It does not end until God says: “The End.” And God Himself is The End. That End is a revelation of God. That End is the realisation of His mighty power.

It never ends in the valley. It always ends on the mountaintop with a transfiguration. But only if we wait for God. Therefore, in every situation, do not give up. In every situation, wait for God. He is never late, and He is never early. He is always just on time.

This is His promise: “Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers; they shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick up the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord, for they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.” (Isaiah 49:23). CONTINUED.

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Summary: Living in disadvantaged neighborhoods not only influences food choices and weight gain but can also alter the brain’s microstructure.

Researchers found that poor food quality, high-calorie intake, and inactive environments common in such areas disrupt brain regions crucial for emotion, cognition, and reward processing. A direct link was established between brain cortex changes and high trans-fatty acid intake, prevalent in such neighborhoods.

These findings emphasize the urgent need to improve dietary quality in deprived areas for better brain health.

Key Facts:

1. Disadvantaged neighborhoods can lead to changes in the brain’s cortex related to reward, emotion, and cognition due to poor dietary habits.
2. The study included 92 participants and used advanced MRI scans to study the brain structure in relation to the Area Deprivation Index (ADI).
3. High intake of trans-fatty acids from foods, common in these neighborhoods, directly impacted specific areas of the brain’s cortex.

Source: UCLA

You are what you eat, according to the adage. But it’s not just the body that’s impacted. According to research from UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, living in a disadvantaged neighborhood can affect food choices, weight gain and even the microstructure of the brain.

The study, appearing in Communications Medicine, finds poor quality of available foods, increased intake of calories from foods high in trans-fatty acids, and environments that do not foster physical activity, all prevalent in disadvantaged neighborhoods, disrupt the flexibility of information processing in the brain that is involved in reward, emotion regulation, and cognition.

Previous research showed that living in a disadvantaged neighborhood can impact brain health, but in this study, researchers did a detailed analysis of the brain’s cortex to determine how living in a disadvantaged area can change specific areas of the brain that play different roles.

“We found that neighborhood disadvantage was associated with differences in the fine structure of the cortex of the brain. Some of these differences were linked to higher body mass index and correlated with high intake of the trans-fatty acids found in fried fast food,” said Arpana Gupta, PhD, co-Director of the Goodman-Luskin Center and Director of the Neuroimaging Core.

“Our results suggest that regions of the brain involved in reward, emotion, and the acquisition of knowledge and understanding might be affected by aspects of neighborhood disadvantage that contribute to obesity,” said Gupta, senior author. “This highlights the importance of addressing dietary quality issues in disadvantaged neighborhoods to protect brain health.”

Neighborhood disadvantage is defined by a combination of such factors as low median income, low education level, crowding, and lack of complete plumbing.

This study included 92 participants – 27 men and 65 women – from the greater Los Angeles area. Demographic and body mass index information was collected, and neighborhood disadvantage was assessed as to its area deprivation index (ADI) using University of Wisconsin School of Medicine’s Public Health’s Neighborhood Atlas.

Earlier studies have found that people living in disadvantaged neighborhoods are at higher risk of obesity due to the poor quality of available foods, increased intake of calories from foods high in trans-fatty acids, and environments that do not foster physical activity.

In this study, researchers focused on the relationship between ADI and neuroimaging results at four levels of the brain cortex to investigate in more refined detail the connections between neighborhood disadvantage and brain structure. Participants underwent two types of MRI scans that, when analyzed in combination, provide insights into brain structure, signaling and function.

“Different populations of cells exist in different layers of the cortex, where there are different signaling mechanisms and information-processing functions,” said Lisa Kilpatrick, PhD, a researcher in the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center focusing on brain signatures related to brain-body dysregulation, the study’s first author.

“Examining the microstructure at different cortical levels provides a better understanding of alterations in cell populations, processes and communication routes that may be affected by living in a disadvantaged neighborhood.”

According to the results, worse ADI ratings were associated with communication changes in brain regions that are important for social interaction. Other changes occurred in regions involved in reward, emotion regulation, and higher cognitive processes – and these changes appeared to be affected by trans-fatty acid intake.

Together, the findings suggest that factors prevalent in disadvantaged neighborhoods that encourage poor diet and unhealthy weight gain “disrupt the flexibility of information processing involved in reward, emotion regulation, and cognition.”

Authors Gupta and Kilpatrick are both corresponding authors. Other authors, all from UCLA, include Keying Zhang, Tien Dong, Gilbert Gee, Hiram Beltran-Sanchez, May Wang, Jennifer Labus, Bruce Naliboff and Emeran Mayer.

Funding This research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, including R01 MD015904 (AG), K23 DK106528 (AG), R03 DK121025 (AG), T32 DK07180 (TD), ULTR001881/DK041301 (UCLA CURE/CTSI Pilot and Feasibility Study (AG), R01 DK048351 (EAM), P30 DK041301; and pilot funds provided for brain scanning by the Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center. These funders played no role in study design, or the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data.

Neuroscience

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar, has filed new documents against President Bola Tinubu before the Supreme Court in which he accused the President of forgery and lying under oath, and should therefore be disqualified and removed from office.

The evidence filed by the former vice president was the academic records of Tinubu, which were handed over to him by the Chicago State University on Monday following the order of an Illinois court in the United States of America instructing the institution to release the academic records as requested by Atiku.

The PDP candidate had requested the documents for use in Nigerian courts to support his argument that Tinubu forged a certificate he claimed to have obtained from the CSU in 1979 and submitted to the country’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission, for the 2023 presidential election.

In an interview with one of our correspondents on Friday, one of Atiku’s lawyers, who pleaded anonymity, said Tinubu’s academic records had been submitted to the apex court.

 “We have filed (the fresh evidence) but I do not have a copy (of the filing). You can approach the Supreme Court for a copy of the process,” the lawyer said.

But Atiku’s lead counsel at the tribunal, Chris Uche, said the process was being worked on.

“I am sure they are working on it. I will get back if I have any information on it,” he said.

A media consultant to the former vice-president, Paul Ibe, confirmed to one of our correspondents on Friday that the lawyers would file the fresh evidence on Friday to complement the grounds of appeal filed earlier.

“I am yet to get any briefing from the legal team, but it (fresh evidence) will be filed on or before 12 midnight of today (Friday), which is the deadline.”

Asked about the specific prayers of the PDP candidate on account of the fresh evidence, Ibe added, “The extra evidence or the new evidence, which has to do with the certificate that Tinubu submitted to INEC, based on the petition, the discovery and deposition, which is what we have been waiting for, will help. And that is not the only ground; the initial filing we made to the Supreme Court was on 35 grounds.

“The Chicago evidence is just extra evidence in support of the application.”

In text messages to one of our correspondents, members of Atiku’s legal team, Chris Uche and Mike Ozekhome, also confirmed that the new evidence would be filed on Friday.

They, however, refused to reveal the content of the fresh filing. A source in the camp of Atiku told our correspondent that the grounds already included allegations of forgery and perjury, saying the former vice-president was determined to see the matter to the end.

The source noted, “We have pointed out repeatedly the issues of forgery and perjury as regards the Chicago State University certificate and what the APC candidate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

“So, on one hand, he lied to INEC under oath, and on the other hand, the university said it didn’t issue the document Tinubu submitted to INEC, which means whatever was submitted was not the valid certificate.”

One of the counsel for Atiku, Kalu Kalu, had said at the press conference by the former vice president on Thursday, “One, that Tinubu forged the certificate he presented to INEC. Two, the qualifying certificate from South West College to Chicago State University bears a female name, indicating that that document does not belong to Tinubu.

“Three, the Chicago State University admission form has a claim that Tinubu attended Government College Lagos and graduated in 1970 when indeed the school was established in 1974.

“The same document has it that the owner of that document is a black American and in the document Bola Ahmed Tinubu submitted to INEC, he denied having dual citizenship, which means it does not belong to him. Then, the same document, oral deposition, said the A in Bola A. Tinubu is Ahmed, but the NYSC certificate Bola Ahmed Tinubu submitted to INEC has Adekunle. I don’t know where Adekunle emerged from.”

Punch

Federal Government paid an interest of N912.32bn in the first quarter of 2023 on the loans it got from the Central Bank of Nigeria through Ways and Means Advances.

This amount was stated in the Q1, 2023 Budget Implementation Report by the Budget Office of the Federation.

The amount spent paying interest on this loan is 161.47 per cent higher than the N348.92bn spent in the same quarter of 2022.

As earlier reported, the Federal Government planned to spend N1.2tn on servicing the loans it got from the CBN through the Ways and Means Advances.

This meant that the government planned to spend about N300bn quarterly.

However, it had spent about 76.03 per cent of its budget for the interests on the ways and means advances.

Ways and Means Advances is a loan facility used by the central bank to finance the government in periods of temporary budget shortfalls subject to limits imposed by law.

According to Section 38 of the CBN Act, 2007, the apex bank may grant temporary advances to the Federal Government with regard to temporary deficiency of budget revenue at such rate of interest as the bank may determine.

The Act read in part, “The total amount of such advances outstanding shall not at any time exceed five per cent of the previous year’s actual revenue of the Federal Government.

“All advances shall be repaid as soon as possible and shall, in any event, be repayable by the end of the Federal Government financial year in which they are granted, and if such advances remain unpaid at the end of the year, the power of the bank to grant such further advances in any subsequent year shall not be exercisable, unless the outstanding advances have been repaid.”

The Act placed a limit of five per cent on how much the Federal Government could borrow, although the previous administration severely violated the limit.

However, the House of Representatives of the 9th National Assembly, amid protest, approved an amendment to the CBN Act, raising the ceiling of Ways and Means Advances from the apex bank from five to 15 per cent of the Federal Government’s previous year’s revenue.

The House gave the approval at an emergency sitting, in concurrence with the Senate, which held an emergency plenary to consider and approve some economic bills.

The National Assembly made the move amid criticisms that the Federal Government had obtained WMAs beyond the five per cent threshold of the CBN.

Punch

At least nine people were kidnapped in an attack on Friday by gunmen in Nigeria's northwest Zamfara state, residents said.

Kidnapping for ransom by armed gangs is rife in northwest Nigeria due to high levels of poverty, unemployment and the proliferation of illegal firearms.

The Zamfara police and local government did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on Friday.

Residents of Tsohuwar Kasuwa community in Kaura Namoda local government area of the state said the gunmen stormed their village in an early morning raid on motorcycles.

"They abducted my two children and they were taken to an unknown destination." Rabe Sarkawa, a resident of the community, told Reuters by phone. "I am in pain right now."

Five members of resident Sabitu's household were among those abducted, and his herd of cattle was taken.

"Apart from unrest from the abductions for ransom, and the loss of innocent lives, we're also not allowed to carry out our daily livelihood in peace," Sabitu said.

Attacks in the northwest are part of widespread insecurity in Nigeria, with a 14-year Islamist insurgency in the northeast, and gang and separatist violence in the southeast.

Deadly clashes also frequently occur between farmers and herders.

On Wednesday gunmen kidnapped five female students from a university in the neighbouring Katsina state, police said.

President Bola Tinubu is yet to detail a plan to address the widespread insecurity.

Labour unions have criticized Tinubu's economic reforms, which include removing a costly fuel subsidy and freeing the naira, saying they have raised the cost of living.

Reuters