Barely four months after, the eight Akwa Ibom State graduates abducted on their way to the National Youth Service Corps orientation camp in Sokoto State have yet to be released.

PUNCH Metro reports that the fresh graduates were abducted by gunmen on August 17, on a highway in Zamfara State.

The prospective corps members from Akwa Ibom State were travelling in an AKTC bus to Sokoto State for the mandatory national youth service programme for Nigerian graduates.

Since their abduction, parents and relatives of the victims have been expressing concerns that the NYSC authorities and security agencies were not doing enough to secure the release of their children.

In September, the parents took to the street to protest, saying they had spent over N13m in an effort to have their children back.

The kidnappers had demanded that the parents of each of the abductees should pay a ransom of N10m, an amount the parents said they could not raise.

Despite the assurances from security agents that the victims would be released, none of them has been freed as of December 4, 2023.

Meanwhile, Nigerians have taken to the social media to bemoan the inability of government and security agents to rescue the young graduates who were on their way to serve their fatherland.

An X user with the username, @Isidore0001, said: “It is heartbreaking to note that those NYSC members from Akwa Ibom, kidnapped in August on their way to camp, are still in captivity till date; brutalised and raped every day, yet we all moved on. Govt, NYSC, Nigerians, Nigeria failed these youths.”

Another user, @kikkysamuel, stated: “The kidnappers are demanding N10million each from someone that took the risk of travelling from Uyo to Sokoto by road; if they had N10million, they wouldn’t do that.”

@eunice30116 disclosed that “My brother is still there,” wondering how their mother who sells oranges and akara would be able to afford N10m.

The Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, has yet to reply to a text message sent to him by our correspondent as of the time of filing this report.

Some Nigerians have called for the scrapping of the NYSC scheme, while some others opined that individuals be allowed to serve in their geopolitical zones or states.

A former Niger State governor, Dr Muazu Aliyu, has broken his silence on how his administration practically chased out leaders of the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents from the state during his first term in office.

Aliyu noted that if not that he chased the late Abubakar Shekau, the dreaded leader of Boko Haram, and his lieutenant, Abu Qaka, Niger State would have been the foundation of the sect.

The ex-governor spoke at the weekend at the 2023 Annual Public Lecture/Awards and Election of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Kaduna Branch, where he was guest speaker.

He explained that when he took over as governor of Niger State he discovered the camp of the insurgents and got the support of then President, the late Umar Yar’Adua, to disperse them.

Aliyu said, “The primary purpose of government is the security of lives and property of the citizens, which some governors don’t take seriously. As chief security officer of your state, you cannot claim inability to secure your citizens. Yes, the officers of the security agencies might not have come from your state, they are federal officers posted to assist you in your state.

“Being proactive as a leader and follower also helps so much. When I arrived in Niger State, I found a security challenge. Nine people. who went to a village in the Mokwa Local Government Area, had multiplied in 2007 to 7,000 people, and were involved in armed robbery and abducting women in the area. They constituted themselves into a republic.

“I also discovered that many governors had tried to do something but were probably frustrated by Abuja. In fact, two immigration officers sent to investigate the activities of the group became members.

“When I took a census, I discovered that more than 60 per cent of the members were not Nigerians. The original Shekau and Abu Qaga were the leaders. I got the support of the late President Musa Yar’Adua to disperse them after compensating them and providing them fare to their destination in Nigeria and the foreigners were taken to their borders.

“That action probably saved Niger State from being the foundation for Boko Haram as we come to know; they were regularly visiting the River Niger bridge. That the Federal Government would support any governor who has done his homework is not in doubt.”

Speaking further, Aliyu said part of the solution to the security challenges bedeviling the country was proper planning and budgeting.

“Our planning must be people-centred and our budget must be treated as the law that it is.

“If the planning is proper, we cannot be talking of 20 million children out of school, we cannot be described as the poverty capital of the world, we also cannot be facing the insecurity of banditry, Boko Haram, and armed robbery. With proper planning we cannot have the level of corruption we have today.”

Earlier in his remarks, the state Chairman of the NIPR, Haroun Malami, noted the theme of the lecture: ‘Demographic Transition, Ethical Resource, Sustainable Development: Reflections on Northern Nigeria,’ was chosen in view of the rising unemployment among the youth, particularly in the northern part of the country.

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Senate President, Mr Godswill Akpabio to use his leadership position “to promptly reject the plan by the Minister of the FCT, Nysom Wike to spend N15 billion for the construction of ‘a befitting residence’ for the Vice President, Mr Kashim Shettima.”

SERAP urged him to “assert Senate’s authority and constitutional oversight roles to reject the N2.8 billion on publicity for the FCTA and other proposed wasteful and unnecessary spending that may be contained in the 2023 supplementary budget and the 2024 budget proposed by President Bola Tinubu.”

In the letter dated 2 December 2023 and signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “The plan to spend N15 billion on ‘a befitting residence’ for the vice president is a fundamental breach of the Nigerian Constitution and the country’s international anticorruption and human rights obligations.”

SERAP said: “The Senate has the constitutional duties to ensure that Mr Wike’s proposed spending is entirely consistent and compatible with constitutional provisions including his oath of office. All public officials remain subject to the rule of law.”

SERAP also said, “The National Assembly including the Senate has a constitutional responsibility to address the country’s debt crisis, including by rejecting wasteful and unnecessary spending to satisfy the personal comfort and lifestyles of public officials.”

The letter, read in part: “The National Assembly cannot continue to fail to fulfil its oversight function. The Senate must assert and demonstrate its independence by checking and rejecting all wasteful and unnecessary spending by the executive.”

“It would be a grave violation of the public trust and constitutional oath of office for the Senate to approve the plan to spend N15 billion on ‘a befitting residence’ for the vice president at a time when the Federal Government is set to spend 30% (that is, N8.25 trillion) of the country’s 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion on debt service costs.”

“The Federal Government also plans to borrow N7.8 trillion to fund the 2024 budget. Nigeria’s public debt stood at 87.4 trillion naira as of June with 38% owed to external creditors including multilateral and commercial lenders.”

“Should the Senate and its leadership fail to stop wasteful and unnecessary spending and rein in government borrowing, SERAP would consider appropriate legal action to compel the National Assembly including the Senate to discharge its constitutional oversight roles in the public interest.”

“SERAP urges you to refer to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) the allegations of corruption in the spending of the previously approved N7 billion for the construction of a new residence for the vice president.”

“The ‘construction’ was reportedly abandoned but the whereabouts of the N7 billion remain unknown.”

“The Senate has the constitutional competence and legitimacy to compel compliance with the Nigerian Constitution and the country’s international obligations.”

“The Senate ought to assert its authority and vigorously exercise its constitutional oversight roles to check the apparently wasteful and unnecessary spending by Mr Wike especially given the growing debt crisis and the indiscriminate borrowing by the government.”

“It is a travesty and a fundamental breach of the lawmakers’ fiduciary duties for the National Assembly to allow the executive to use national budget as a tool to satisfy the comfort and lifestyle of public officials.”

“Nigerians have a right to honest and faithful performance by their public officials including lawmakers, as public officials owe a fiduciary duty to the general citizenry.”

“Cutting the N15 billion on ‘a befitting residence’ from the FTCA budget would be entirely consistent with your constitutional oath of office, and the letter and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution, as it would promote efficient, honest, and legal spending of public money.”

“According to our information, the Minister of the FCT, Nysom Wike and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) plan to spend N15 billion for the construction of ‘a befitting residence’ for the Vice-President, Mr Kashim Shettima.”

“The plan is contained in the N67 billion FCT supplementary budget which President Bola Tinubu had on Tuesday transmitted to the National Assembly for approval.”

“SERAP notes that Mr Wike proposed plan to spend N15 billion on a new residence for the vice president despite the recent allocation of N2.5 billion for the renovation of the current residence of the VP in the federal government’s supplementary budget already passed by the National Assembly and signed by President Tinubu.”

“The House of Representatives has reportedly approved the plan to spend N15 billion on ‘a befitting residence’ for the vice president.”

“The National Assembly has also approved another N3 billion for the renovation of the vice president’s residence in Lagos State. Mr Wike also plans to spend N2.8 billion on publicity for the FCTA.”

“The proposed plan to spend 15 billion on ‘a befitting residence’ for the vice president is different from the N100 billion for the FCT contained in the federal government supplementary budget.”

“SERAP notes that the Federal Government has also budgeted N8 billion on the two official residences of President Tinubu in Abuja and Lagos.”

“On top of the planned spending of N15 billion on ‘a befitting residence’ for the vice president, billions of naira have been allocated for the purchase of cars for the Villa and the Office of the First Lady.”

“Section 14(2)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 [as amended] provides that, ‘the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”

“Under Section 16(1)(a)(b), the National Assembly including the Senate has the obligations to ‘harness the resources of the nation and promote national prosperity and an efficient, a dynamic and self-reliant economy’, and to ‘secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen.’”

“Under sections 59(2) and 299 of the Nigerian Constitution, the National Assembly including the Senate has legislative powers over money bills including the proposed N15 billion, and other wasteful and unnecessary spending by the Federal Government.”

 

The Federal Government has expressed its readiness to kick-off two programmes targeted at alleviating the impact of fuel subsidy removal.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, who disclosed this weekend, listed the two programme as presidential conditional grant and presidential palliative loan.

“In the presidential conditional grant programme, the federal government will disburse a grant of N50,000.00 to nano businesses across the 774 local government areas in the country.

“The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN, will collaborate with state and local governments, federal legislators, ministers, banks and other stakeholders.

“The eligible nano business beneficiaries should be willing to provide proof of residential/business address in their local government area, and provide relevant personal and bank account information, including Bank Verification Number, BVN, for verification of identity.”

She said the eligible beneficiaries could get more information and apply at the website dedicated to the programme.

On the presidential palliative loan programme, Uzoka-Anite said: “The federal government will, similarly, disburse N75 billion to Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, MSMEs, across various sectors and N75 billion specifically to manufacturers.

“The loan shall be administered to the beneficiaries at a single-digit interest rate of nine per cent per annum.

“While MSMEs can access loan facilities up to N1 million with a repayment period of three years, manufacturers can access up to N1 billion to access financing for working capital with a repayment period of 1 year for working capital or five years for the purchase of machinery and equipment.