ππ½Your oppression, your problem
You can still get your COVID vaccine. The batch Nigeria got expires on June 28th.
In this weekβs issue:
Oil price/subsidy debate
Kaduna strikes begat more strikes
Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, is dead
Military aircraft crash in Kaduna
Your Mobile Equipment Identity is safe(?)
In a press statement released on Friday (21st), the National Communications Commission said the news that Nigerians will soon be required to submit IMEI is false.
"At no time did the Commission issue a Statement regarding the registration of IMEI by subscribers, and it has no plans to do so."
They will, however, soon deploy a Device Management System (DMS) that will automatically take the IMEI.Β
On passports: Passport issuance is currently on hold until 1st of June. Immigration says they're rolling out the backlog of applications and preparing to begin the "New Passport Regime".
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El-Rufai part 1: The committee
Earlier this week at the Nigerian Governors Forum, a committee headed by Kaduna Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, proposed deregulation of petrol in Nigeria.
They predicted that deregulation would raise the petrol cost to β N385 per litre (currently its β N162)
The presidency created the committee to identify Nigerian statesβ finances and propose amendments to members: VP Yemi Osinbajo and Governors Godwin Obaseki, Kayode Fayemi, CBN's Godwin Emefiele.Β
They reported that the FG spends between N70 billion and N210 Billion monthly to subsidise petrol, which is upsetting them because Nigerians use a lot of petrol.
THISDAY confirms that some of the governors asked them to consider hardship for Nigerians.
The committee proposed the FG distribute 113 new buses to major cities to offset the cost.
No word on whether theyβll implement, but Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, says that at least in June, the petrol price will remain the same while they discuss with Organised Labor.
Still on Oil: Shell on Capitalism + neo-colonialism
After years of exploiting Niger Deltaβs oil supply, Shell has decided that Niger Delta is "no longer suitable" for their business. The oil theft and insecurity no longer match their "risk appetite".
In January this year, a Dutch court ordered Shell's Nigerian subsidiary to pay compensation for oil spills that cost people their lives and sources of livelihood.
Shell attempted to blame the oil leaks on the areaβs residentsβ¦ The court didn't believe them.
Note: This case has been on for so long that some of the plaintiffs have died, and their children have inherited it.
Shell is now on that environmentalist* bandwagon to "end carbon dioxide emissions by 2050".
greenwashing*
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This week in Fraud
Abidemi Rufai, a Senior Special Assistant to Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, is in prison for defrauding the United States Government of over $350,000.
In 2019, Rufai allegedly stole the identities of over 100 Washington residents and impersonated them to claim over $350,000 in COVID-19 unemployment benefits from the State.
Rufai's alias, Sandy Tang, is also suspected of unemployment fraud schemes in other states.
Seattle's investigators believe the email address and tactics Rufai used link him to Nigerian fraud organisation Scattered Canaryβ Hushpuppiβs crew.
Rufai is now in prison in the US. No word from Governor Abiodun.
Nigeria's anti-fraud unit
The Federal High Court, on Thursday, ordered the EFCC to pay N1 million to Babajide Adelekan.
They arrested Adelekan in 2018 when he went into the bank to find out why his account was frozen.
EFCC said βmultiple complaintsβ had been filed against the University Professor; The court ruled that they didn't have enough evidence.
But the EFCC now has N805.7 million for equipment to "enhance security", so maybe they can afford criminal arrests.
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El-Rufai Part 2: Strikes are criminal
In April, the Kaduna Government went on a mass-firing spree of workers over 50 without refining the retirement policies or providing compensation. NLC said the government hadnβt paid many of these workers since 2016, and there was no compensation.
This week
In response, the National Labor Congress (NLC) staged a 5-day warning strike.
Banks, schools, hospitals, and other businesses were closed in support and resulting from union workers obstructions.
The 61-year-old governor, through his media aid, called the strike "unlawful" and threatened to fire any staff of the University who didnβt show up to work.
On his Twitter, he declared the NLC president wanted.
NLC [actions are] equivalent to the [that of] the bandits kidnapping and menacing our citizens. Bandits illegally use arms, but the NLC is deploying mob action for exactly the same ends: trying to hold hostage the freedoms, economic interests[...] of the people of Kaduna State.
El-Rufai, in the meantime, fired 3 specific nurses for negligence. "Reports from Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital disclosed that some identified nurses disconnected the oxygen supply of a two-day-old baby in an incubator on Monday, 17th May 2021.β
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, offended by the Governor's actions, threatened a national strike to protest the "abuse of power".
The NLC's strike is now on hold, and negotiations are ongoing.
Zamfara Governor Matawalle revoked all land deeds and commanded every landowner in Zamfara to re-register for an electronic certificate at the state's Geographic Information System (ZAGIS). It's their latest technology-driven economy initiative.
Elsewhere...
PDP condemned the Anambra State Government for deducting civil servantsβ salaries to resuscitate Community Bank, Ndi-Olu Micro Finance Bank.
βPDP is genuinely concerned about the welfare of Anambra civil servants, who are coerced to part with percentages of meagre take-home salaries".
The NLC Anambra chairman says staff agreed to contribute.
He said the deduction is a product of deliberations between labour and the bank; staff who agreed to terms are now shareholders.
βIt is not a government policy; they came in because they are the paymaster, and the circular was based on the MoU between us and the bank[...], so the government is not responsible for itβ.
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Military aircraft crash in Kaduna
A Military aircraft crashed in Kaduna on the evening of Friday the 22nd. Nigeria's Army Chief Lieutenant, General Ibrahim Attahiru, is reported to have died in the accident.
In February, an air force passenger plane believed to have been on a mission to rescue 42 people, including students and staff abducted from their boarding school in Kagara, Niger, crashed outside Abuja airport.
It is unclear what caused Friday's crash, and though it has been confirmed that 11 people were on board, they havenβt been identified.
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Anon Arsonists vs INEC
Last week Sunday, βBanditsβ attacked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Enugu with fire. The Guardian reports that 14 cars burnt, but the fire department saved buildings.
Thatβs the 5th INEC offices in the South-East this month.
Among the items destroyed: 345 ballot boxes, 135 voting cubicles, office furniture.
INEC is in charge of elections, so this raises concerns over how it might affect the 2023 elections.
Arsonists also targeted INEC offices in Osun, Plateau, months before the 2019 elections. hmm
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Things we didn't get into
Have the aliens arrived? (CNN)
EFCC wants you to use your talent against crime. (Paraphrased but same idea via EFCC's Twitter)
Investors in Nigeria's Stock Exchange lose N148 Billion (Vanguard)
IGP declares war on "Biafran agitators and gunmenβ destroying police property in South (Punch)
Israel agreed to stop terrorising Palestine on Friday. Palestinians rejoice (The New York Times)
Justice Minister Abubakar Malami said Southern Governorsβ ban on open grazing is illegal, compares it to Northern Governorsβ banning spare parts trading (People's Gazette)
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Recommended
Black Lady Sketch Show: Itβs hilarious. This video is my favourite from what Iβve seen of the recent season.
For some Navy pilots, UFO sightings were an ordinary event: βEvery day for at least a couple yearsβ (Washington Post)