General News
Chibok Parents, Leaders Fight Over FG’s N100m Cash Gift
Parents of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls and the community’s leader are at loggerheads over the sharing of the N100m cash gift allegedly given to the parents of the students by President Goodluck Jonathan.
The money was allegedly given by the President after a meeting in Abuja on July 22.
But Dr. Reuben Abati , special adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, denied the report that money was given to the Chibok delegation.
But the BBC Hausa Service said that the sharing formula for the N100m cash gift sparked a serious disagreement between some of the parents and leaders of the Chibok community in Abuja as the parents complained of being shortchanged in the sharing of the money.
There were reports that the Presidency allegedly released the fund to the leaders of the Chibok community in Abuja, as a palliative measure, for onward distribution to parents of the kidnapped girls after the meeting.
However, trouble started when some of the parents who felt cheated with the sharing of the largesse accused the leadership of the community in Abuja of shortchanging them.
One of the parents told BBC Hausa Service: “I got only N200,000 out of the said N100m allegedly received by our leaders in Abuja. Some of us got N300, 000 and some less than that,” he said.
The aggrieved parent said that he was not happy with the way the money was shared as he felt shortchanged.
“Our leaders in Abuja are using the girls to enrich themselves. In fact, some of the parents were screened out of the entourage by the Chibok leaders in Abuja. Many of them are residents of Abuja, not parents of the kidnapped girls,” he said.
Another parent, who was screened out of the delegation that visited the President, said he got only N7,000 out of the money that was shared.
“I was at the farm when they brought the N7,000 to my house and I collected it. Some of us got even less, N300 and below,” he said. aggrieved parents stressed that they were not selling their daughters and that the money from the President just came to them without their asking or expecting it.
One of the community leaders, Pobu Bitrus, who is also a member of the House of Representatives, was at the meeting with the President.
Bitrus told the BBC that after the meeting with the President, money was distributed to the parents in envelopes.
“After we met with the Presidency, the parents were given money in envelopes and that’s all. All other things they are saying about N100m, I don’t know about that,” he said.
Tsambido Abana, chairman of the community, described as false allegations that the money was shared among the parents and that some were short changed by the leadership of the association.
Abana, in a telephone interview yesterday, said there was no truth in the report that Presidential officials doled out N100m to the parents and the escaped girls that held a parley with the President.
He said: “There is no iota of truth in that report. I don’t even want to talk about it because I don’t know how such a story came about. The money that was shared to the parents was handled by presidency officials who gave out envelopes to the parents, so I was not involved in the sharing and I can’t say anything about it.”
In his reaction, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati denied the report that money was given to the Chibok delegation.
“Nobody distributed any envelope after the meeting. The meeting was held in the Villa, a public place. After the meeting, the President left and the parents as well as the children went into their buses in the presence of the media,” he said.
According to him there was no time for money to be given after the meeting.
“The President is not part of will never do anything to bribe anybody. This issue is not about money. We are talking about human lives here.
“The allegation is completely wild. What they are claiming is unknown to the President. Whoever is claiming it should prove it because no such thing happened.
“The commitment of the President is to get the girls back safely. It is not about bribing anybody. This is a very serious matter and we will like to appeal to those who want to play politics with it, using all kinds of tricks to ridicule the efforts of the administration, to always appeal to their individual conscience and realise that what we are dealing with here is a very serious matter and not a matter of mischief,” he added.
Meanwhile, not fewer than eight persons were said to have been killed and a major bridge in Yobe State destroyed when gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect attacked Katarko village on Monday, residents and a security official said.
According to reports, the gunmen, who came in large numbers, could not be matched by the soldiers at a check point about 300 metres away from the village.
“They came at 7:30pm,” said Lawan Ali, a resident of Katarko who spoke from Buniyadi, the headquarters of Gujba Local Government Area of the Yobe State, where he sought refuge after the attack.
“They stormed our village with some vehicles and many motorcycles, shooting and chanting Allahu Akbar (God is great).
“Some of them could be mistaken for solders because of their dressing which resembled that of the Nigerian soldiers. “The soldiers in Katarko had to flee after seeing the large number of the attackers.
“After attacking the village and killing about eight persons and injuring others who were not so lucky to escape, we later heard a thunderous explosion at the location of the bridge; we all fled into the bush. But in the morning, we found out that the bridge had been destroyed with bombs,” Lawan added.
Residents of the village lamented that with the destruction of the bridge, the village would be cut off from other part of Yobe State as the rain intensified.
The attack on Katarko village was the first on the community despite its proximity to Sambisa forest.
Abbas Gava, a member of the Nigerian vigilante group in Borno State, who also confirmed the incident, said he was communicating with his colleagues in the state on the incident.
The meeting took place after a meeting with the visiting Pakistani teenager, Malala Yusoufai, who champions the cause of girl-child education.
Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC), has said that there are plans for Nigeria to begin to generate electricity from nuclear sources.
Mr Anthony Godwin Ekedegwa, chief executive, NAEC stated this when he recently visited Mr Umar Yusuf Girei, acting managing director, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA),in Abuja.
He was at NIWA’s office to solicit the support of NIWA in achieving the numerous advantages of using nuclear energy technology in the country.
According to him, the partnership of critical stakeholders in Nigeria will position the country well in developing and maintaining its nuclear power plant.
The NAEC chief said Nigeria intends to begin the generation of electricity from nuclear sources instead of fossil-based power plants and hydro-based power plants, stressing that for Nigeria to develop, there is a need for the country to diversify its energy needs.
In his remarks, Mr Girei assured NAEC of his agency’s readiness to collaborate on the advancement of a nuclear power plant in Nigeria.
He promised the full support of NAEC for the success of a nuclear power plant in the country, saying that as the organisation saddled with the responsibility of regulating and developing Nigeria Inland Waterways, his entity is strategically positioned to play a critical role in the federal government’s quest for sustainable energy through the new technology.
In a powerful call for continental solidarity, Ralph Mupita, Group CEO of MTN, has asserted that the future of the African continent depends on the dismantling of xenophobic barriers.
Speaking at the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation (KMF) Winter Seminar, Mupita framed migration as a fundamental characteristic of the African identity, urging South Africa and other nations to embrace integration over exclusion.
He emphasised that the survival of African enterprises depends on a borderless approach to trade and talent. “The digital economy we’re fast moving to knows no borders.” Mupita declared, noting that the mindset of exclusion is an outdated relic that hinders the continent’s ability to compete globally.
He argued that for Africa to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the psychological barriers of xenophobia must be eradicated.
Providing a stark financial justification for this stance, Mupita highlighted MTN’s own operational reality as a blueprint for Pan-African success. “We earn about 80 to 82% of our earnings from outside South Africa,” he revealed, illustrating that the prosperity of South African-born entities is inextricably linked to their success across the rest of the continent. This figure underscores the interdependence of African economies and the danger of isolationist policies.
Mupita’s stance was strong advocating for unity: “The future of Africa will not be determined by the borders that separate us, but by the economic opportunities that connect us. Governments must set predictable policy and regulations.
Businesses will follow and allocate resources and capital. Together, we can build a continent where opportunity is more evenly shared and prosperity is more widely created.”
Analysts observing the seminar noted that Mupita’s remarks come at a critical juncture where economic volatility often fuels nationalist rhetoric. By tying the fight against xenophobia to the balance sheet, MTN is positioning Pan-Africanism beyond the moral imperative to its function as a business necessity. The CEO stressed that “Migration is part of who we are,” suggesting that the movement of people is the primary engine for the movement of capital and innovation.
Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the Federal Government and the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to suspend the proposed increase in Nigeria’s mandatory pension contribution from 18 per cent to 21 per cent, warning that the policy would raise the cost of doing business, threaten jobs and undermine enterprise sustainability at a time of mounting economic pressures.
Dr. Chinyere Almona, director general of the LCCI, said while strengthening retirement security remains an important policy objective, increasing mandatory pension contributions by three percentage points would impose additional financial burdens on businesses already grappling with high borrowing costs, persistent inflation, foreign exchange volatility, rising energy prices and multiple taxes.
According to the chamber, the proposed increase comes at a period when many businesses, particularly micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), are struggling to remain profitable amid Nigeria’s challenging operating environment.
The LCCI noted that Nigeria’s existing mandatory pension contribution rate of 18 per cent comprising 10 per cent by employers and 8 per cent by employees is already broadly aligned with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average of 18.8 per cent.
It argued that raising the contribution to approximately 21 per cent would place Nigeria above several comparable economies, including the United Kingdom, where mandatory contributions stand at 8 per cent; the United States at 12.4 per cent; Kenya at 12 per cent, subject to earnings caps; and South Africa, where there is no equivalent mandatory private-sector pension contribution.
The chamber warned that implementing the proposed increase would significantly raise employment costs for employers, discourage new recruitment, constrain wage growth and place disproportionate pressure on MSMEs, which account for a substantial share of employment in Nigeria.
According to the LCCI, the higher payroll obligations could also reduce Nigeria’s competitiveness as an investment destination, encourage non-compliance with pension regulations and push more businesses into the informal sector.
“A stronger pension system cannot be built on weaker businesses,” the chamber stated, stressing that economic sustainability and business growth remain critical to expanding pension coverage over the long term.
The LCCI therefore called on the Federal Government to defer the proposal until a comprehensive Nigeria-specific actuarial and economic impact assessment is conducted to determine its implications for businesses, workers and the broader economy.
It also urged policymakers to engage in extensive consultations with organised private sector groups, labour unions and other key stakeholders before implementing any changes to the country’s pension contribution framework.
According to the chamber, the government’s immediate priority should be restoring business confidence, preserving existing jobs, encouraging investment and expanding the formal economy, which it described as the most sustainable pathway to improving retirement savings.
As an alternative to increasing contribution rates, the LCCI advised PenCom to focus on developing more innovative investment instruments capable of generating stronger returns on pension assets.
The chamber said improving investment performance would enhance contributors’ retirement savings without imposing additional financial obligations on employers and employees already facing difficult economic conditions.
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