PRESS RELEASE

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of the following as Special Advisers:

1). Dele Alake, Special Adviser, Special Duties, Communications and Strategy

2). Yau Darazo, Special Adviser, Political and Intergovernmental Affairs

3). Wale Edun, Special Adviser, Monetary Policies

4). Mrs Olu Verheijen, Special Adviser, Energy

5). Zachaeus Adedeji, Special Adviser, Revenue

6). Nuhu Ribadu, Special Adviser, Security

7). John Ugochukwu Uwajumogu, Special Adviser, Industry, Trade and Investment.

8). Mrs Salma Ibrahim Anas, Special Adviser, Health.

Signed:

Abiodun Oladunjoye, Director Information, State House,

June 15, 2023

On Thursday, the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja admitted over 18,000 polling unit results sheets as exhibits in Peter Obi’s petition challenging President Bola Tinubu’s victory.

A data analyst subpoenaed to testify as Obi’s fourth witness said the about 18,000 result sheets obtained from INEC’s IReV were blurred.

Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 25 February presidential election, is contesting INEC’s declaration of Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the race, on various grounds.

The candidate, who came third in the polls, accused Nigeria’s electoral commission, INEC, of rigging the election in favour of Tinubu.

At the resumed hearing of the case on Thursday, Obi’s lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu, called the petitioner’s first expert witness, Eric Uwadiagwu, who conducted a data analysis concerning the results of the disputed election.

Uwadiagwu, a professor of mathematics at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, appeared in court on subpoena to testify as a petitioner’s witness.

Led by Ikpeazu, Uwadiagwu adopted his witness statement on oath as his evidence-in-chief.

He confirmed carrying out data analysis on the results of the presidential election obtained from the IReV portal.

The portal is an online platform where photographic copies of polling unit results are meant to be promptly uploaded immediately after the public announcement of results at the polling units.

It was an innovation deployed for Nigeria’s general election for the first time in February to boost the transparency of the election process.

Failure of INEC to keep to its promise to promptly upload the results in most of the polling units across the country during the election in February had triggered an outcry from the camp of the opposition candidates.

Obi and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, who is similarly challenging the outcome of the election, said in their separate petitions that INEC’s failure to upload the results as prescribed in the guidelines for the election was enough grounds to cancel the entire election and organise a fresh one.

The reports of Uwadiagwu’s data analysis of the results from Rivers and Benue states were admitted and marked as exhibits.

One of the reports said results from over 18,000 polling stations contained in four boxes were blurred.

Uwadiagwu, Obi’s fourth witness, could not be cross-examined by the respondent’s lawyers due to the late service of his witness statement by Ikpeazu.

INEC’s lawyer, Abubakar Mahmoud, contested the late service of Uwadiagwu’s witness statement on him.

“We were supposed to be served with the witness’ statement 48 hours ahead of today’s hearing,” Mahmoud said.

Also, Tinubu’s lawyer, Wole Olanipekun and APC’s counsel, Lateef Fagbemi, complained of the lateness in serving them with Uwadiagwu’s sworn statement.

They equally registered their opposition to the tendering of Uwadiagwu’s reports of the data analysis.

INEC Chairman’s address at Chatham House admitted in evidence

The court admitted a video clip of INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu addressing the Chatham House in London.

The video was tendered by Lummie Edeveie, a journalist at Arise Television.

Edevie was the fifth witness in Obi’s suit.

In the video played in court, Yakubu addressed the audience at the Chatham House in January 2023 about the electoral umpire’s preparedness for ensuring the electoral integrity of the general election.

Specifically, Yakubu spoke about the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC IReV portal, which he assured would ensure the credibility of the polls.

For want of time, Mahmoud, Olanipekun and Fagbemi could not cross-examine the two witnesses – Uwadiagwu and Edeveie.

The five-member court panel chaired by Haruna Tsammani adjourned further proceedings until Friday for the cross-examination of the two witnesses.

PT

A representative of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, on Thursday, appeared on a subpoena to tender electoral documents in the case filed by Atiku Abubakar to challenge the outcome of the 25 February presidential election.

The witness tendered tons of electoral documents before the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja, which is conducting a hearing on the case.

The documents were used in the conduct of the 25 February presidential election.

Atiku, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had, through a subpoena, sought Yakubu’s appearance before the court regarding his petition challenging President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the February election.

But at the resumed hearing of the suit on Thursday, Yakubu, delegated Moronkeji Tairu to honour the subpoena on his behalf.

Ms Tairu, a deputy director in charge of certification and complaint at INEC headquarters in Abuja, tendered electoral documents both in soft and hard copies before the court.

Led in evidence by Atiku’s lawyer, Chris Uche, Tairu tendered a series of results from the presidential election for the 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Also, she presented a copy of the final declaration of results for the presidential election, which heralded Tinubu’s victory on 1 March.

The witness further tendered certified true copies of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) machines report of the polls in Rivers and 36 other states, including the FCT.

Tairu equally tendered BVAS machines data report of voters’ accreditation on the day of the presidential election across all the states of the federation.

Finally, she presented Form EC9, which contained Tinubu’s biodata. Six flash drives in a white envelope containing electoral documents from Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones were tendered.

But Uche informed the court that the INEC boss representative only tendered four of the eleven documents he requested from the electoral body.

He told the court that Yakubu was yet to present the voter register used in the presidential election.

The lawyer reiterated that Atiku paid N6.7 million as fees to INEC to certify electoral documents.

INEC lawyer, Abubakar Mahmoud, did not object to the admissibility of the documents.

However, Tinubu’s lawyer, Wole Olanipekun, and APC’s lawyer, Lateef Fagbemi, objected to the admissibility of the documents.

They did not cross-examine Tairu but said reasons for their objection would be adduced at the close of arguments in the suit.

The court adjourned further hearing in the suit until Friday.

Tairu brings Atiku’s total number of witnesses to 22.

PT

US companies are sending $1 billion each year to Russia's state-owned nuclear agency, despite President Joe Biden pledging to cripple Russia's economy, according to a report in The New York Times.

The payments for enriched uranium are one of the biggest sources of cash from the US to Russia since it was hit by wide-ranging sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine, the Times said. 

The money for enriched uranium is received by subsidiaries of Rosatom, Russia's state-owned nuclear agency, which has been running Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant since its forceful capture in March 2022. 

US companies spent about $1 billion in 2022 buying nuclear fuel from Rosatom, The New York Times reported. 

The US imported another $411.5 million in enriched uranium between January and March 2023, Darya Dolzikova, an analyst working for UK-based security think tank Royal United Services Institute told Insider in an email. 

In his State of Union address last year, Biden pledged to damage Russia's economy. "We are inflicting pain on Russia and supporting the people of Ukraine. Putin is now isolated from the world more than ever," the president declared.

While the US has issued wide-ranging sanctions against Russia, nuclear fuel is one of the few energy sources that has not been banned by the West, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The White House did levy some sanctions against Rosatom and several of its executives in late February, per Politico. However, Western firms continue to maintain deep ties with the atomic company, which dominates the nuclear supply chain.

"I think it's fair to say that probably in terms of sanctions [nuclear fuel] has gone a bit below the radar," said Antony Froggatt, deputy director of the Environment and Society Centre of London-based policy institute Chatham House, in an interview with Insider. 

Proportionally, the nuclear fuel market represents a fraction of the amount of money lost by Russia due to the sanctions, per The Washington Post.

However $1 billion does represent a substantial part of Rosatom's foreign earnings, which have been estimated at $8 billion per year, the Post reported. 

"It shouldn't be that any sector is exempt from scrutiny," said Froggatt. "Even though financially it may be less important, I think for an overarching equity of policies it should be put against all energy sources," he said.

Why is the US so dependent on Russia for nuclear energy? 

Russia has been exporting cheap enriched uranium to the US since the Cold War. That's in part because of Russia's dominance in the global market. The country supplies about 43% of the world with enriched uranium. The US, meanwhile, has virtually stopped enriching its uranium, per The Times. 

Because of this, the US has become commercially dependent on Russia, a tie that has not been easy to sever.

According to The New York Times, around a third of enriched uranium used in the US  is now imported from Russia.

And it's not just the US who is heavily dependent. Some central European countries still have working Soviet-era nuclear power plants to operate, and depend heavily on Rosatom to keep them working, Frogatt said. 

"I think it's important to look at Rosatom's ambitions on the global level," he said, adding: "It always has had a very ambitious program of exporting nuclear technology." 

Business Insider

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

How Ukrainian air defense fends off Russian attacks

A few fishermen sat alongside a reservoir in the greater Kyiv area as families nearby on folding chairs enjoyed the sunny weather when a black and green Humvee military vehicle with a mounted Stinger anti-aircraft system suddenly pulled up. The people quickly packed their belongings and checked their mobile phones for a missile warning they might have overlooked.

Two soldiers got out of the vehicle and reassured the people, saying it was only a mobile air defense unit exercise. Oleksandr, the commander, made it clear, however, that in the event of an air attack, everyone should leave the area immediately.

"It is life-threatening to be out in the open near a body of water because from time to time, Russian missiles and Iranian Shahed drones fly along here, which we intercept," the 36-year-old told DW. The other soldier, 39-year-old Ivan, walked the area fully armed, looking closely at everything on the water, on the opposite shore and in the surrounding area.

'Good eyesight and ingenuity'

Ukrainian air defense forces have occasionally shot down targets from the side of the reservoir using a Dual Mount Stinger portable air defense system that can intercept missiles, planes and helicopters from a distance of five kilometers and at an altitude of up to three kilometers. The two men recreate a real combat situation they have practiced many times: They quickly pull boxes with missiles from the vehicle, open them and put the projectiles into the launcher. Oleksandr jumps onto the roof of the vehicle and inspects the airspace, spinning on a special seat.

"I can fire two missiles in five seconds," he said. The radar signals a target in the air before he sees it, transmits coordinates and tells him where to aim. "Once I see the target, I get the 'fire' signal."

With the exception of the Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missile, Oleksandr said he could get pretty much anything out of the sky. Careful not to give too much detail, he said the air defense job takes "good eyesight and ingenuity." The system might see a cloud above a drone as a target, in which case he has to think on his feet to actually get to the drone.

In recent weeks, most of the Russian missile attacks on Kyiv and the region occurred at night. Those were tense situations, Oleksandr and Ivan said, as it is much more difficult to detect targets, and there were far too many of them. According to Ivan, the Russian army aims to diminish the Ukrainian air defense stocks and weaken fighting morale. But they won't succeed, he said.

"We have enough missiles and we have learned not to sleep at night," Ivan said.

Not everyone can stand the strain, said Oleksandr — not even soldiers.

"I'm now used to staying awake for eight hours at night," he said, adding he can fall asleep for a few hours in the afternoon because he knows the night might hold more attacks.

'I am responsible for many lives'

Oleksandr struggled for words when asked about his feelings when he failed to shoot down a target. He said it is very difficult to note that a drone or missile has hit an apartment building, a kindergarten, a school or a hospital.

"I realize then that I failed to save lives. I am responsible for many lives," he said, adding that's why soldiers train constantly. For every enemy target they shoot down, they paint a trident, Ukraine's national emblem, on their vehicle. Their Humvee sports 12 tridents.

The Ukrainian Army's Air Defense Command had never informed the media about the work of the mobile squads. Only now, after more than a year of war, has Oleksandr been allowed to talk about his experience. In the first months of the war, he shot down two Su-25 aircraft and two K-52 helicopters in the Kyiv region, he said, adding that helicopters are particularly difficult to hit because they deflect missiles with a laser.

"They said you can't shoot them down. But anything is possible if you try. I kept changing my position, came under artillery fire, but finally succeeded," he recalled. He said he also intercepted a total of eight drones elsewhere in the Kyiv region and in Kharkiv.

Relief thanks to IRIS-T and Patriot system

According to estimates by the Armed Forces Command of Ukraine, Ukrainian air defenses are now successfully repelling larger missile attacks on the Kyiv area. Success depends on the mobile man-portable air defense systems, which are difficult to locate and can be rapidly assembled and disassembled. Oleksandr and Ivan said it was a relief when Ukraine received the powerful IRIS-T and Patriot missile defense systems from their partners.

Oleksandr, who was a professional soldier before the war, already knew how to use the Dual Mount Stinger. Lithuania provided the portable air defense system to Ukraine and he took a crash course. His orders were to protect the airspace over Ukraine.

"I went to war to protect Ukraine, my family — my wife and child, whom I didn't see for eight months."

Ivan was trained during the war and said he was motivated to serve in air defense because, before the Russian invasion, he worked in disaster response, saving people's lives. He, too, said he is defending his country and his family.

The two men did not reveal how many other mobile air defense units protect the Kyiv area. Everyone would know if there were too few, they argued. They also promised to speak in more detail about their experiences after the war — the success as well as the losses.

** Russia tries to signal normalcy as Ukraine forces advance

Russia announced plans on Thursday to stage elections in occupied parts of Ukraine in just three months, Moscow's latest bid to signal it is in control even as a Ukrainian counteroffensive has pushed its forces back in some areas.

The Ukrainian assault is in its early stages, and military experts say the decisive battles still lie ahead. But corpses of Russian soldiers and burnt-out armoured vehicles lining the roadside in villages newly recaptured by Ukrainian troops attested to Kyiv's biggest advances since last year.

"Our heroic people, our troops on... the front line are facing very tough resistance," Zelenskiy told NBC News in an interview in Kyiv. "Because for Russia to lose this campaign to Ukraine, I would say, actually means losing the war."

Zelenskiy said the news from the front lines was "generally positive but it's very difficult," according to a partial transcript of the interview.

Continuing his campaign for military assistance, Zelenskiy urged the Swiss parliament in a video address to allow other states to re-export Swiss-made weapons to Ukraine, saying such a move by the neutral country would be vital.

Reuters reached the villages of Neskuchne and Storozheve over the past two days, providing the first independent confirmation of the Ukrainian advance several kilometres southwards along the Mokry Yali river into territory Russia had held since the early days of its invasion last year.

Several bodies of Russian soldiers lay in the streets of ruined and depopulated villages. Ukrainian troops in Storozheve told Reuters they had killed around 50 Russians and captured four there.

The Ukrainian military, which had maintained strict silence about the campaign for more than a week, came forward to tout the gains on Thursday, holding its first full media briefing since the counteroffensive began.

Troops had captured at least seven settlements and 100 square km (38 square miles) of territory in two major pushes in the south so far, Brigadier-General Oleksii Hromov said.

"We are ready to continue fighting to liberate our territory even with our bare hands," he said.

The army on the southern front had advanced by up to 7 km (4.4 miles) in the area along the Mokry Yali, as well as by up to 3 km (1.8 miles) on another axis further west near the village of Mala Tokmachka, Ukrainian military officials said.

They also described advances in the east around the ruined city of Bakhmut, which Moscow seized last month as its only major prize for a huge winter and spring offensive that saw the bloodiest ground combat in Europe since World War Two.

Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted this week that Moscow's goals in Ukraine remain unchanged. He claimed that Russian forces were inflicting 10 times more casualties on Ukrainians than they were enduring.

AFRICAN PLAN

African leaders whose countries have been hit hard by the fallout from the war, which has disrupted supplies of grain and other food supplies, aggravated food price inflation and worsened hunger crises, are set to mediate in the conflict.

Senegal's President Macky Sall and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are heading a delegation including leaders from Zambia, the Comoros, and Egypt's prime minister that will travel to Kyiv on Friday and St. Petersburg on Saturday.

They could propose a series of "confidence building measures" during their initial efforts, according to a draft framework document seen by Reuters on Thursday.

Russia's announcement of a plan for elections in occupied territory was the latest effort by Moscow to convey that the situation was stable.

Russia's TASS state news agency quoted election chief Ella Pamfilova as sayingthat both the Defence Ministry and the Federal Security Service (FSB) had concluded that it would be possible to hold the votes in September.

Russia proclaimed its annexation of four Ukrainian provinces last year, although it does not fully control any of them and does not hold the main population centres of two.

Kyiv says any elections staged by Russians on Ukrainian territory would be invalid and illegal.

The big test of Ukraine's offensive still lies ahead. Russia has had months to prepare its defences. Ukrainian troops have yet to reach the heaviest Russian defensive fortifications, which are set back from the front line.

Kyiv is believed to have prepared an attack force of around 12 brigades of thousands of soldiers each, most using newly arrived Western armoured vehicles. Only a fraction of them have been engaged so far.

Russia, for its part, has released images of Western tanks and armoured vehicles it says it has destroyed or captured.

The head of the U.N. atomic energy agency, Rafael Grossi, visited the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and said the situation at the site was "serious" but the level of cooling water was sufficient following last week's devastating breach in the Kakhovka dam downstream on the Dnipro River.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian military shows off double tank kill

The Russian Defense Ministry has released live-action footage from the onboard cameras of an attack helicopter showing two Ukrainian tanks being destroyed by guided missiles in quick succession. 

The grainy footage, which was extracted from the onboard computer of a Ka-52 helicopter and posted to the ministry’s social media on Thursday, shows the Ukrainian tanks targeting Russian positions in southern Donbass. 

The armored vehicles, which appear to be main battle tanks, are standing next to one another. A third object – apparently a military engineering vehicle – is seen near the tanks.

The helicopter’s crew fired two guided missiles in quick succession at the tanks, hitting both of them. The vehicles caught fire and began emitting thick plumes of black smoke, the footage shows. The Russian military said both tanks were destroyed along with their crews in the attack.

The Ka-52 advanced Russian attack helicopters have been extensively used in the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, which has been raging for over a year already. Although the helicopters have been in service for over a decade already, the ongoing hostilities are the first major conflict in which they have seen action.

** Pop legend offers $13,000 for each destroyed Western tank

A group of Russian pop stars has offered a bounty to the country’s servicemen for the destruction or capture of Western-supplied military hardware in Ukraine. Since Kiev’s Western backers announced plans to deliver tanks earlier this year, a number of Russian businessmen and officials have promised similar payments.   

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Wednesday, the leader of the band ‘Zemlyane’ (The Earthlings), Vladimir Kiselev, came forward with an initiative to remunerate Russian troops to the tune of 1 million rubles ($13,000) for each Western-made tank taken off the battlefield.     

Russian singers Grigory Leps and Nikolay Baskov backed the idea, with the former saying: “We do our own thing as we see fit, they do theirs.”    

Leps also vowed to continue “helping our fighters as long as the ground holds us.”    

Baskov explained that he and his fellow musicians support the Russian military not only through their songs but also via other means.      

“I hope that a huge number of our colleagues will join” their initiative, the singer added.     

In February of this year, the Pavel Sudoplatov Battalion, an international volunteer unit created in the part of Zaporozhye Region held by Russia, offered to “pay 12 million rubles [$170,000] for each serviceable captured Leopard, Abrams, or Challenger tank.”     

Several weeks prior, the governor of Zabaikalsky Region in eastern Russia, Alexander Osipov, announced that any local service member who managed to seize a Leopard tank “in working condition” could earn 3 million rubles ($42,909). A bounty of 1 million rubles ($14,303) would be paid to anyone who destroyed one of these German tanks, the official stated.      

Around the same time, the Russian chemical manufacturer Fores came out with a similar initiative.     

Commenting on such proposals, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in February that they were proof of the “unity and the desire of all” to contribute to achieving the goals of Russia’s ongoing military campaign.

DW/Reuters/RT

Sudan war hits two-month mark as peace efforts hit hurdles

The conflict in Sudan hit the two-month mark on Thursday with no sign of a resolution as diplomatic peace efforts hit roadblocks and the risk of a broader ethnic war rises.

Fighting between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which a U.S. diplomat earlier this week described as "suicidal" behaviour, has displaced 2.2 million people and killed at least 1,000, an underestimate according to medics.

It has shut down the economy, plunging millions of Sudanese into hunger and dependence on foreign aid, and shattered the health system.

The army and RSF, which together ousted autocrat Omar al-Bashir in 2019, began fighting in the heart of the capital on April 15 after disagreeing over the integration of their troops under a new transition to democracy.

The fighting has since expanded, hitting key cities in the west of the country, worst of all the city of El Geneina, West Darfur, where activists say 1,100 people have been killed and the U.N. says 150,000 people have fled to Chad.

EL GENEINA ASSASSINATION

On Wednesday, the governor of West Darfur, Khamis Abbakar, accused the RSF and allied Arab militias of carrying out a genocidal attack in El Geneina.

Hours later, Abbakar was killed, and the Sudanese Alliance armed group he led blamed the RSF for killing him while in their custody.

The RSF denied responsibility, saying that Abbakar had actually sought refuge with the forces but that rogue tribal actors had "kidnapped him and killed him in cold blood".

The killing of Abbakar, who hails from the Masalit tribe he said was targeted by the attacks, threatens to expand the fighting in El Geneina which has already brought the city to its knees.

"I saw many bodies in the streets. No one dares to bury them," said one man, asking to withhold his name.

Fighting has also broken out in other Darfur state capitals, including Nyala, Elfashir, and Zalingei and the Kordofan cities of El Obeid and Kadugli, threatening to agitate long-simmering ethnic tensions.

"The longer the conflict lasts, it may end up taking an ethnic and regional dimension in ... parts of the country," said Suliman Baldo of the Sudanese Transparency and Policy Tracker.

The incoming rainy season threatens to make the delivery of already limited assistance and migration of hundreds of thousands out of war zones, often on foot, impossible.

UNSUCCESSFUL DIPLOMACY

The RSF evolved out of the janjaweed militias that wreaked havoc in Darfur in the early 2000s, and in 2017 became a legalised government force under commander General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

Fighting between the RSF, which has embedded itself in residential areas of Khartoum, and the army, which has launched extensive artillery and air strikes, shows no signs of letting up.

On Thursday, residents in Khartoum and its neighbouring cities Omdurman and Bahri reported clashes, artillery shelling and air strikes near residential areas.

After multiple failed ceasefires, U.S. diplomats earlier this week conceded that negotiations in Jeddah had not been successful and were considering other paths.

IGAD, a regional East African organisation, this week also launched a mediation effort chaired by Kenya to bring Dagalo and army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan together at a meeting Ethiopia said it would host.

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But in a statement on Thursday, Sudan's foreign ministry, controlled by the army, accused Kenya of harbouring the RSF, and said it preferred South Sudanese leadership of the initiative.

Meanwhile Khartoum residents have accused RSF soldiers and armed gangs of looting homes. East Khartoum resident Waleed Adam said that two men, one in RSF uniform, showed up at his door pointing an AK-47.

"They trashed my house and stole my money," he said.

The Combating Violence Against Women Unit, a government agency, said that the victims of most of the rape cases it has documented, which it said represent only 2% of real cases, blamed men in RSF uniforms.

The RSF has denied responsibility and says that criminals and Bashir loyalists have been known to steal uniforms.

Reuters

Within minutes of the release of the video of President Bola Tinubu signing the students’ loan bill into law, it was trending on Twitter as was the name of Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, who sponsored the bill in his former life as Speaker.

Apart from the Nigeria Maritime University which was charging N81,500 per semester in 2019 – the highest in a federal university – the average tuition is about N45,000. State universities charge between N60,000 and N120,000, while polytechnics and colleges of education charge less of course, but only slightly less than federal universities.

Strangely, the word, “tuition,” does not exist in the bills of public universities. In the make-believe world of officialdom, tuition is “free,” in the sort of way that salvation is free, but the message is delivered at a cost. Universities still charge under sundry headings like acceptance fees, departmental charges, course registration, result verification and so on, but shy away from calling it tuition.

Private universities are in a class of their own. A number of them charge fees almost comparable to those in schools in neighbouring countries, particularly Ghana, a favourite destination of middle-class Nigerian families.

But the bulk of higher education students — in fact, about 90 percent according to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) — are in public schools. Out of the 110 private higher institutions, only about two or three, particularly Covenant and Afe Babalola universities, are able to fill their quota. The rest are struggling.

If public institutions of higher learning are charging about N90,000, a fraction of what even those below middle class pay for their children in private secondary schools (increasingly the place of choice for Nigerians across income levels), it would seem rather awkward, if not ridiculous, that they’re unwilling to pay more for higher education.

In an article in ThisDay last September 23, former pro-chancellor of Ambrose Alli University, Lawson A. Omokhodion, said he believed that a typical public university could survive on tuition fees of N250,000 per session, whereas universities currently receive only about one-third of that as fees.

How, therefore, can students’ loans be justified under this unsustainable cost structure? I think it can, but not at the scale contemplated by the new law. And certainly not within the existing structure of the public university system. With a few exceptions, the public university system is no longer fit for purpose. The system is retrograde, stifling and underperforming. 

Pouring resources into the system as it currently is, whether directly, or indirectly through infusion of students’ loans, is throwing good money after bad. I’m aware that long-established systems are difficult to dismantle. But the present economic difficulties make it foolish to turn a blind eye to structural changes for temporary political benefits.

Nigeria has 49 federal universities, 59 state-government-owned universities and 110 private universities. The first two categories are underperforming and overwhelmed. It’s difficult to say exactly how much of it is a funding or management problem.

For example, federal allocations to Nigeria’s top 10 federal universities in 2023 range from N25.84 billion to Ahmadu Bello University, to N22.37 billion to the University of Lagos; and from N19.28 billion to the University of Ibadan to N14.31 billion to the Federal University of Technology, Owerri. Yet, the bulk of these sums can hardly cover overheads, a malaise that tends to highlight corruption and sheer lack of imagination.

A number of private universities are glorified secondary schools. On top of the pie sits the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), a federal bureaucracy that struggles to find its left from its right. Except the system is fixed – and quickly – the students’ loan would at best be a waste or at worst an enabler for producing more garbage. 

Students’ loan is not new in Nigeria, and is quite different from bursary which is still provided by a number of states for indigenes, and is not repayable. Some states even provide scholarships for students in specific areas of need. The students’ loan board was set up by Yakubu Gowon’s government in 1974 to provide loans to students repayable after 20 years of graduation. At the time, the loans were disbursed to students through the universities.

Beneficiaries of state or federal government bursaries were excluded from the loans, which targeted the poorest of the poor. But then there were only six federal government universities with an estimated total student population in 1970/71 of about 16,000. 

In 1993, the military promulgated a decree to establish the Nigeria Education Bank and eight years later the university autonomy bill was passed, which was supposed to unleash the creative capacity of the schools, but sadly this has not been the case.

The state of our universities reminds me of what Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, once told university administrators at a time when he had to tackle Israel’s backwardness and unleash its innovative and creative spirit. 

“Even though I have the utmost respect for the study of humanities,” he said, “If I had to share government shekel between Tibetan poetry and microelectronics, I would have no hesitation putting the money in the latter.” Nigeria’s institutions of higher learning, especially public universities, have lost their way, led astray by the military, politicians, and sadly, university administrators, too.

For a start, the federal university system has to be dismantled and reduced to only two or three per zone, at least one of which should be devoted to STEM, the study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The rest can be taken up by either state governments who wish to do so and can afford it or may reorganise into autonomous units for teaching special skills. It’s only after such a restructuring that students’ loans can make any significant long-term impact. And the loan cannot and should not be for all courses, as is contemplated in the current law.

It should be restricted to only students in any of the STEM courses rather than making it an all-comers affair. Also, as it was in the Gowon era, and for wider coverage, beneficiaries of bursary should be excluded and universities must start charging tuition and betting on outstanding STEM students and innovators. 

The financial threshold for the students’ loans should also be adjusted from applicants/families earning less than N500,000 yearly to those earning N720,000 or less. Over time, schools with a demonstrable capacity to attract higher endowments could get slightly more than others.

I find it difficult to understand the rationale for having the Education Bank branches in all 36 states of the country as proposed by the law, if the loans will be disbursed through the schools to the students. With a strong ICT backbone, the country does not need more than two branches of the bank at this time. 

Boards of the numerous parastatals, MDAs and commissions are some of the major public sector waste pipes. We don’t need another 12-member board with all the costs attached to compound our misery.

I understand the temptation among politicians to milk every opportunity, including this one. The branches would yet be fresh dumping grounds for incompetents dispatched by politicians either to fill quotas or to settle IOUs. The danger in multiplying branches, however, is that they would also multiply bureaucracy, inefficiency and sooner than later, we might be spending funds set aside for students’ loans to service overheads.

The bank board should be leaner. I honestly do not know what the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are doing there, whereas the National Association of Nigerian Students is excluded. It doesn’t make sense.

The law is a good start but needs to be saved from the surrounding ruins to be useful to students and serviceable to the schools.

** Ishiekwene is Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP

Getting ahead in today’s competitive world means striving for excellence. In order to achieve excellence, a work culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and high standards must be fostered intentionally. Wiaht...

Getting ahead in today's competitive world means striving for excellence. In order to achieve excellence, a work culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and high standards must be fostered intentionally.

Wiaht that said, here are the key steps to building an organization of excellence.

1. Clarify your vision and values.

Building a culture of excellence begins with establishing a vision. Why is that? Having a clear vision and understanding of your own values will motivate your employees and encourage a more productive workplace.

Moreover, this vision should be accompanied by a set of requirements for employees' behavior and attitude. Additionally, communicate this vision and values consistently to all of your employees.

Is there a way for you to clarify your vision? Keep these pointers in mind:

Your vision shouldn't be a destination, it should be a series of small steps that will lead you there.

Focus on a simple vision. Ideally, you should be able to convey your company's vision in less than 100 words.

Visions shouldn't include unachievable goals. You will be disappointed when you don't reach your goals, which is demoralizing for you and your employees. Instead, establish realistic objectives.

You should set very specific goals for employees and yourself.

As your vision evolves, you should reflect that in your vision statement. Review your progress and distance from your targets every few months.

2. Take the lead.

Inevitably, the leaders of an organization shape the culture of the organization. Leading by example is the best way to demonstrate your values and behaviors. A leader sets high standards, demonstrates excellence in their work, and demonstrates self-discipline.

As Albert Schweitzer said, "The three most important ways to lead people are:… by example… by example… by example."

In short, when leaders strive for excellence, an organization can achieve excellence.

3. Hire the right people at the right time.

Even though it may seem obvious, I cannot stress enough how important it is to hire the right people for your team. That means hiring employees who care about your startup's mission and who will engage at work is ideal. As a result, these people will be your top net promoters and will sustain your growth.

According to Marc Benioff, Founder of Salesforce, "the secret to successful hiring is this: look for the people who want to change the world."

In addition, hire only the people you need. Another way to put it is to avoid over- or under-staffing. To keep them on board, make sure you have the budget to do so. After all, the idea of job insecurity is not appealing to anyone.

If you hire one person to do the work of two people, do not overburden them with responsibilities. You'll lose them if you don't.

4. Growing fast increases your employee turnover rate.

A company experiencing rapid growth may experience instability and uncertainty. Often, the original team becomes managers as they are split up, and new teams are formed.

The result? The workload is larger and more complex. Eventually, this can lead to feelings of anxiety and uncertainty. Using anxiety to your advantage is possible, such as helping you solve problems. When it becomes prolonged and intense, it interferes with daily life.

5. Make learning a priority.

Continuous learning should be encouraged. For example, you can enhance your team's professional development through online courses, in-person workshops, or mentorship.

It is also possible to provide them with challenging opportunities and guide them as necessary. In addition, instead of viewing mistakes as failures, promote a learning environment. Collaboration, feedback, and knowledge sharing are also important components of the process.

When you value learning, you generally encourage innovation, creativity, and excellence.

6. Provide your employees with flexibility.

There is no greater importance than family and health. Flexibility with work schedules is important to take care of both. An astounding 94% of employees want flexibility in their work schedules, according to a Slack survey.

An example of this might be giving someone the benefit of the doubt if they have to work from home to care for a sick child. You may also give your team the option of working from home two or three days a week. Or, you could let them set their own schedule.

7. Let go of your small ambitions.

Being a leader is more important than being a boss. In addition, cultivate leaders by giving them credit and rewarding them. And make sure you build up the right individuals so that your team can surpass you.

When a leader is generous, innovation and creativity thrive.

8. Remove "not in my job description" from their vocabulary.

There are times when employees are forced to do things that aren't part of their responsibilities. A true team player, however, is one who is able to roll up their sleeves and pitch in when a task requires teamwork.

There is no doubt that each person should have a specific responsibility. There are, however, times when these neat boundaries cannot be maintained.

Encourage your team to pull together and reward them for their efforts. Create a culture of helping others rather than standing back and watching the chaos unfold.

9. Establish clear expectations for performance.

Make sure all employees know what is expected of them. You can develop measurable goals and objectives aligned with the organization's vision and values. In addition, provide constructive feedback to employees regularly about these expectations.

And, again, encourage employees to strive for continuous improvement by rewarding achievements that demonstrate excellence.

10. Ensure accountability.

Accountability is crucial to achieving excellence. That means you should encourage your employees to take responsibility for their work and results. Build an accountability culture in which individuals take responsibility for their actions.

How can you accomplish this? You must hold employees accountable for meeting their commitments and delivering quality work. You should provide support and resources to help your employees understand the consequences of failing to meet expectations.

11. Be careful not to micromanage.

Don't micromanage your employees. Instead, trust them by granting them autonomy.

Basically, it means giving employees the flexibility to work in the way that works best for them. In your organization, this might mean allowing them to choose their work hours or setting their own deadlines for projects and tasks.

As a result, they will become more creative and productive. Additionally, you will have more time to devote to the things that are important to you or the business.

12. Don't just stand there…take action.

To be a great leader, one must grow personally and professionally. In the absence of vision, stagnation occurs.

Leading involves prioritizing and ensuring everyone on her team is on the same page. Remember, as a leader, you are always moving forward.

For instance, maybe you just read a book that helped you improve your communication skills. You could pass this information along to your team.

13. Communication and collaboration should be emphasized.

A culture of excellence requires an environment that is collaborative and open. Engage in cross-functional collaboration, and encourage knowledge sharing among team members. In order to communicate concerns, ideas, and suggestions by employees, they should be given a channel.

Also, actively listen to their feedback to involve them in the decision-making process. The higher the employee's sense of worth and empowerment, the more likely they will give their best effort.

14. Celebrate your successes.

The accomplishments of the team and the individual should be recognized and celebrated. By publicly recognizing and appreciating employees for their exceptional contributions, employees will feel pride and achievement.

In addition to celebrating individual achievements, an organization should also celebrate its collective achievements. To encourage others to do the same, sharing success stories and best practices regularly is important.

15. Be a pioneer.

You cannot build a culture of excellence if you settle for mediocrity. By doing this, leaders can create something unprecedented, break records, and achieve results that have never been achieved before.

In order to accomplish this, Eric Christopher suggests in Entrepreneur that you do the following:

Add a unique perspective to a product or service. "Meaningful innovation does not need to be based on outright invention," says innovation and strategy development expert Gabor George Burt. "Rather, there is an exhilarating shortcut. It is based on bold, new combinations of already existing components that simultaneously unlock heightened levels of consumer value and reduce costs."

Introduce a new industry in your area. It is highly likely that others will follow a successful business when it serves a new demographic or geographic area. It is generally these early pioneers who prioritize these underserved markets who achieve significant brand loyalty and achieve the greatest level of success.

Invest in sustainable business practices. Sustainable business practices have become many entrepreneurs' key tenant, or even the primary focus. In the startup world, everything from the Internet of Things devices for homeowners to pay increases to food delivery drivers who use electric or hybrid vehicles is being addressed.

FAQsWhat is company culture?

Company culture is a set of shared values, attitudes, behaviors, and standards. Basically, it's about people's work experience and how that aligns with the external brand and messaging.

Ultimately, a company's culture determines what it's like to work there every day. As a result of good company culture, employees are engaged, committed, and excited to come to work every day. This includes new employees and leaders alike.

Cultures with clear expectations are healthy. Teams are expected to behave in certain ways, such as how they approach work, why it's important, and how they treat one another. Furthermore, the company's values and vision align with how they manifest in the workplace.

Why is company culture important?

For your business to thrive, you must first, ensure that your employees are happy. The culture of your company is crucial to ensuring a positive employee experience and a successful business.

A happy workforce. Those who feel closely aligned with the culture of their employer are likely to be more comfortable and happier at work.

Employees have a sense of belonging. Creating a sense of belonging within a company comes naturally when employees share similar beliefs, so a company's culture shouldn't dictate how a company hires.

Teams are more productive. A motivated and productive employee is one who shares the company's goals and values.

A good working relationship between employees and managers. Cohesive company cultures reduce conflict and increase collaboration by bringing managers and workers together.

Keeping employees on board. It is less expensive to hire and train new employees if employees feel a strong sense of belonging at a company.

Increased opportunity to attract qualified employees. You are more likely tofind qualified employees who share your core values if your company's core values are more specific.

How do you build a company culture?

Would you like to improve the company culture in your organization? Start with your employees from the ground up. According to employees, a great workplace culture consists of six essential elements:

Purpose

Opportunity

Success

Appreciation

Well-being

Leadership

We call them talent magnets because they attract people to your organization and inspire them to do meaningful work. A thriving company culture can be built by focusing on these six areas and doing them well.

Ultimately, a great company culture is one that invests in its employees' success, happiness, and well-being. In addition to feeling better at work, the investment can also help employees advance in their careers.

What is a culture of excellence?

When you create a culture of excellence, you aim for excellence and do not settle for average results. By breaking records and achieving unprecedented results, we can create something that has never been created before.

To achieve this, leaders should prioritize the following characteristics:

Create a sense of meaning and purpose for employees.

Motivate employees to perform well.

Clearly define your goals.

Be open to growth, challenges, and change.

Embrace the pioneer mentality.

Entrepreneur

Suspended chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has submitted himself for interrogation by Nigeria’s secret police, the State Security Service (SSS).

This followed an earlier “invitation” of Bawa by the SSS a few hours after President Bola Tinubu suspended him on Wednesday.

“The invitation relates to some investigative activities concerning him,” Peter Afunanya, Public Relations Officer of SSS, said in a statement.

The SSS’ statement, which was tweeted via the agency’s Twitter handle at 10.48 pm on Wednesday, said Bawa “arrived for interrogation a few hours ago.

Bawa presumably honoured the invitation at the SSS headquarters in Abuja from where Afunaya issued his statement on Wednesday.

It came about two weeks after a confrontation between SSS and EFCC over their shared building in Lagos.

SSS operatives blocked EFCC staff members from resuming work in the building in the hours-long stand-off on 30 May.

It took the directive of Tinubu, who was barely a day old as president, for SSS operatives to allow EFCC staff to access the building.

Earlier on Wednesday, office of the Secretary to the Government of Federation (SGF) had said in a statement signed by Willie Bassey, Director of Information, said the EFCC boss’ suspension resulted from “weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him.”

Without giving details of the allegations against Bawa, the statement said the anti-graft official needed to step aside “to allow for proper investigation into his conduct while in office.”

According to the statement, Bawa has been directed to “immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the Director, Operations in the Commission, who will oversee the affairs of the office of the Chairman of the Commission pending the conclusion of the investigation.”

The specific allegations that Bawa is being investigated cannot be confirmed yet.

Last month, immediate-past governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, accused Bawa of demanding $2 million as a bribe from him.

But the EFCC denied Matawalle’s allegation.

The anti-corruption agency in May revealed that Matawalle was being investigated by it for a N70 billion fraud.

Leadership succession at the EFCC since its inception in 2003 has always been steeped in controversies.

In 2021, Bawa took the helm at the commission under similar circumstances after his predecessor, Ibrahim Magu, was suspended from office by then-President Muhammadu Buhari, over allegations of corruption.

Bawa became the second major appointee of former President Muhammadu Buhari to be suspended by Tinubu.

PT

Naira plunged to a record low as officials look set to phase out currency controls that have distorted Africa’s biggest economy for years.

The naira slid 21% to be indicated at 600 per dollar, in the biggest decline since a devaluation in 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The stock market and government bonds surged as investors welcomed the prospect for the latest in a series of reforms by President Bola Tinubu.

A discussion on letting the currency trade more freely is ongoing at the central bank, a senior banking official told Bloomberg on Wednesday, asking not to be named because the deliberations were private. Directives on the currency could be issued later today or at the latest tomorrow, the person said.

The central bank didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Supply & Demand

Local banks are already being told that going forward, the naira’s exchange rate against the dollar will be determined through supply and demand rather than by the central bank, another senior banking official said. The bankers had said they were expecting a strong depreciation of the naira at the official spot window.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the authorities would let the currency move entirely freely or usher in a more limited move via devaluation with some controls remaining in place. All the same, analysts greeted the report as heralding another step in the right direction for the economy since Tinubu’s election.

“This is absolutely the right decision and a reality check that the country needs, highlighting how the new leadership means business,” said Simon Quijano-Evans, chief economist at Gemcorp Capital Management in London.

Nigeria’s government bonds extended gains, having already surged earlier this week after the surprise weekend ouster of central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele. Emefiele’s removal was adding to signs that Tinubu is moving quickly to reset policies blamed for crippling the economy. The notes maturing in 2051 gained 2 cents on the dollar to 74, compared with around 70 last week. 

Nigeria’s benchmark stock index rallied more than 3%. The potential changes in economic policy should help boost output in the longer term by freeing up budgetary resources and making the economy run smoother, Quijano-Evans wrote in a note.

Black Market

“Mid-term, the increase in efficiency should also help revive growth if the government is able to tackle corruption,” Quijano-Evans said.

Liberalization of the naira under a new presidential administration was expected, but the depth of the drop on Wednesday was surprising, said Mark Bohlund, a senior credit research analyst at REDD Intelligence. 

“My expectation was for a smaller downward shift now and for the naira to end up closer to NGN750/USD by the end of the year,” Bohlund said. “The devaluation will help the federal government to better balance its books as it is still highly dependent on USD-linked oil revenue while spending is in naira.”

Under Emefiele, Nigeria’s central bank offered the US dollar through several windows at tightly controlled rates, with little liquidity, to businesses and individuals. 

That forced many to the black market, where the dollar traded more freely but at about a 60% premium to the official rate. 

Wale Edun, an influential member of Tinubu’s advisory board, told Bloomberg by phone on Monday that the unification of exchange rates was “imminent.” Folashodun Shonubi, a deputy governor in charge of operations at the bank, has been acting as governor since Emefiele’s ouster on Friday. 

Bloomberg