News
Labour to Down Tools Tomorrow over N1Bn Pension
Organized labour made up of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Trade Union Congress (TUC) and civil society groups has declared tomorrow (Wednesday) work-free day for the mass protests in Lagos and Abuja to the attention towards the plight of pensioners, who are owed some N1 billion in pension arears.
Mr. Abdulwaheed Omar, president, NLC, said the mass protest was targeted against corruption and impunity in government across states and federal levels, explaining that it was decided that the Lagos and Abuja mass protests hold under the joint umbrella of Labour and Civil Society Coalition (LASCO).
He urged Nigerians across the country to participate actively in the rallies and protest marches to support the demand for a review of the pension fund in order to ensure living pensions and its prompt payment to senior citizens.
Omar, said that pensioners who are not physically fit to start the procession from union’s secretariat at Yaba, Lagos should assemble at the Nigeria Civil Service Union’s secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja from where they would proceed to join the mass movement on arrival at the Lagos State Secretariat.
Elsewhere, National Mirror reported that Mr. Abiola Aremu, Joint secretary of LASCO, said the protest would take off by 8 a.m. from the NLC Secretariat, Yaba, after which the procession would move through Ikorodu Road, Maryland, Ikeja roundabout and terminate at Lagos State Secretariat.
According to Aremu, the NLC’s Central Working Committee, CWC, comprising presidents and general secretaries of the affiliate unions of the congress have condemned the growing level of corruption in the country and the crisis in the pension industry, adding also that all efforts to get the attention of government including two letters sent to the Presidency for intervention over the hardships faced by the nation’s senior citizens were ignored.
He said the CWC has expressed concern that despite the unprecedented scam in the pension regime and the raging war of words between the executive and the National Assembly, pensioners remained the main victims with a large number of them not being paid their entitlements.
“The congress had written at least two letters to the Presidency calling for its intervention in the pension crisis. Coupled with the correspondences, the leadership of congress had reached out through other channels to the Federal Government. The congress leadership had also made public pronouncements on the avoidable, but painful pension crisis.
“The Presidency neither acknowledged the letters nor responded to the issues the leadership of the congress publicly raised on the plight of pensioners. Convinced that the congress had exploited all the lawful channels of communication to the government to no avail, congress is certain that nobody wants to listen to the plight of pensioners,” he said.
Aremu said labour and civil society groups are worried that the continued silence of the government means more hardship for its members in the fold of the National Union of Pensioners, NUP, and that labour is determined to ensure justice for its members who are owed billions of pension arrears.
“The CWC resolved that on April 10, 2013, all NLC affiliate unions and state councils across the length and breadth of the country will mobilise workers on a protest march to the Presidency and state government houses,” he added.
Mr. Peter Esele, president general of the TUC, said the congress was unhappy with a situation where the destinies of “our fathers and mothers who served the country with their blood are being toyed with,” and that if the congress fails to fight for change now, today’s workers may be treated the same way when they retire.
“How do we explain it that every now and then they invite these old people for verification and in the end nothing comes of it after all? Some die on the verification ground without receiving their money, subjecting their wards to avoidable pains,” he said.
Esele reiterated that this injustice must stop if the country must move forward, pointing out that in the African tradition the younger ones have so much respect for elders, but that it is unfortunate the reverse is now the case to the extent that money meant for elders is now being stolen by the youths.
The labour chief stated that any nation that abandons its elders will not succeed, while lamenting that the administration of pension funds has been enmeshed in unprecedented corruption with some public officers, institutions of government and banks taking undue advantage of the pensioners to enrich themselves.
“More painful to the congress is the way and manner government, in spite of the cries and agony of the victims and the criticism of concerned citizens, has kept mute over the matter and shown no concern or care since the agitation of the pensioners began,” Esele added.
Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, MHWUN, has also vowed to join the rally. The group made known their decision yesterday in Abuja at a briefing to mark its 2nd Medical and Health Workers’ Week.
Ayuba Wabba , MHWUN’s chairman, , said as part of activities to mark the Week, MHWUN free medical services would be offered children in all senatorial districts across Nigeria.
This, he said, would take the form of de-worming and health education on personal hygiene.
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday said that banks in the country lost over N8 billion to internet fraud, otherwise known as Yahoo-Yahoo Boys, in 2022.
Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the commission, also disclosed how Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi state allegedly moved a staggering $720,000 from the state account to pay his child’s school fees.
Olukoyede, who made the disclosure during an interactive session with media executives in Abuja, narrated how cyber crime has hurt the companies and its negative effects in attracting direct foreign investment for the country. He lamented that no fewer than 71 percent of companies operating in Nigeria were victims of cybercrime in 2022 even as he argued that the Commission’s war against internet fraud is about safeguarding the country’s future.
“In 2022 alone, I’m waiting for the report of 2023, we discovered that more than 71 percent of Nigerian industries, companies and firms fell victim to cyber crime. Now, which country or company would thrive with this kind of thing? “You want to attract foreign direct investment; the moment you come in, Yahoo boys will attack your platform. You start losing money and you think they would stay?
“Is that not what we are seeing? We are rescuing the future of Nigeria by going into this cyber crime investigation and prosecution.
“Now, within that period, the Nigerian economy lost $706 million (via) these companies through cyber crime, to the activities of these Yahoo Yahoo boys because we don’t take them seriously now, not knowing that we are sitting on a keg of gunpowder.
“The alarming statistics continued with Nigerian banks losing over N8 billion to electronic transfer fraud in the first nine months of 2022.
“A system lost over N8 billion to a particular scheme of fraud and you are asking EFCC to close its eyes to that kind of situation. Are we even fair to ourselves?”
He said the agency is prosecuting two of its operatives for violating the agency’s code of conduct.
He said the commission has made some reforms to enhance its fight against corruption, including the creation of the directorate of fraud risk assessment/control and ethics/integrity.
Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has said that students in tertiary institutions and approved vocational centres would start repayment of the loan two years after graduation.
However, NELFUND management specifically stated that the repayment of the loan would commence if the students secured a job or went into business.
Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, managing director, NELFUND, said the Act specify a moratorium of two years after graduation for the students to begin repayment of the loan.
Sawyerr said if the students start work, his employer would be expected to remit 10 percent into NELFUND dedicated account.
He added: “The loan does not have a specified repayment tenure. It makes it easy for students to apply for the loan. NELFUND would pay according to the documents provided by the institutions. We cannot put tenure on the loan; some will die, drop out, ‘Japa’ or refuse to pay. While those who went into business would pay into same account.
“It is a revolving a loan. We will not put students under pressure to get the loan and we are not going to state a tenure because it is not a commercial loan.’’
According to him, the loan is meant for students in public universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and vocational institutes, who apply via NELFUND portal and are expected to present their JAMB admission letter, NIN and BVN.
He explained that non-students would not have access to the loan and that NELFUND has put the necessary machinery in place to ensure that beneficiaries can be reached when the need arises.
His words: “We are using technology to run the new system. The process of application is online through our dedicated portal and we are limiting human contact as much as possible. Once you have a Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identification Number (NIN), which are parts of the requirements, we will have access to your data and all your accounts. This will also help us to know if you are qualified or not,” Sawyerr stated.
The MD disclosed that students already in institution are eligible to apply for the loan at any level of their study and must be at the beginning of each academic session.
He noted that such students would have to provide their admission and matriculation details in addition to BVN and NIN.
Sawyerr added that about 1.2 million Nigerian students in tertiary institutions and government-recognized vocational centres would be among the first batch of beneficiaries and that the figure would increase as time goes on.
The NELFUND boss disclosed that the scheme would be funded from one per cent of the total annual revenue by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which would amount to N194 billion if the agency meets its projection.
Sawyerr observed that the loan would be paid in two segments, the first, being the school fees, which would be paid directly to the institutions while stipend would be paid into students’ account for their day-to-day upkeep.
He added that the amount individual students would access varies because of the course of study, school fees and geographical location of the institutions.
“You don’t start paying back the loan until two years after your National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme and you have secured a job or business. A beneficiary can defer repayment if he has not secured a job, but if after due diligence, he/she defaulted, then the student becomes a criminal and we will work with government agency that can help us get the money back, for example, EFCC, ICPC,” Sawyerr stated.
Global Prolife Alliance (GPA), global health organization, has told the National Assembly that the intended malaria vaccine currently proposed by Bill Gates, American billionaire, for Nigeria can trigger meningitis in the populace.
Dr. Philip Njemanze, chairman of GPA, gave the warning in a statement released to newsmen in Owerri, the Imo state capital.
Njemanze, known for being pro-health in the Catholic church, charged the national assembly not to be in a hurry to succumb to the pressure of the bill currently before the house.
He said the vaccine may trigger the deaths of millions of Nigerian children prone to cerebral meningitis, especially in the northern part of the country.
Part of the letter read “Among the side effects is a tenfold increase in cerebral meningitis. Nigeria is endemic for cerebral meningitis. A tenfold increase could cause the deaths of millions of children, especially in northern Nigeria.
“Please intervene and call for a public hearing, for an open public discussion on the pros and cons with expert opinions from both sides. This will help the Nigerian people to be better informed about granting or withholding consent for the vaccination.
“Your intervention could save millions of lives, especially in northern Nigeria, where meningitis is most endemic, particularly at this time of serious insecurity,” Njemanze warned.
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