TOP NEWS In Nigeria This Evening, Monday, November 2, 2020

1. Enugu lifts curfew in three LGAs

The Enugu State Government has lifted the curfew imposed on Enugu East, Enugu North, and Enugu South Local Government Areas of the state.

This is contained in a statement by the state’s Commissioner for Information, Mr Nnanyelugo Aroh, in Enugu, on Monday.

Aroh said the decision to lift the curfew followed a review of the situation in the three LGAs.

He said the action was in furtherance of the government’s commitment to return of normalcy and sustained economic activity in the state.

“Consequently, normal social and economic activities resume effective from 6 a.m., on Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, without prejudice to all existing regulations put in place by the Federal Government as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Enugu residents, are therefore advised to go about their lawful social and economic activities while remaining vigilant and law-abiding as usual,” he said.

2. Northern governors, Buhari’s CoS, IGP, monarchs, others meet in Kaduna

A meeting of the Governors of the North, the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, as well as the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, is currently in progress in Kaduna State.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar lll, is leading traditional rulers drawn from all parts of the north to the meeting which is being held at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, Kaduna in the state capital, Monday.

Also at the high-powered meeting which started around 12noon, was the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello, and Northern lawmakers from both chambers of the National Assembly.

The meeting is being held behind-closed-doors as journalists were only ordered to take pictures and leave for the business of the day to commence.

As of the time of filing this report, the Governors of Gombe, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kaduna, Zamfara, Niger, and the Deputy governors of Katsina, Kogi States among other deputies were also in attendance.

Though the regional governors had met last week over the violence and tension which arose from the nationwide #EndSARS protests, it was learnt that the meeting would deliberate on various issues affecting the North in terms of peace and security as well as other developmental issues on the region.

3. FG approves N4 billion naira bailout for domestic airlines

The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika Monday said the federal government has approved N4 billion Naira bailout fund for domestic airlines to mitigate the adverse effects of covid-19 pandemic on them.

However, the Senate Committee on Aviation chairman, Senator Smart Adeyemi said the approved amount is small and urged the government to increase the amount.

In a related development, the Minister revealed that the domestic airlines are owning Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, about N19.3 billion naira non-remitted TSC money collected from passengers on behalf of NCAA

Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika made all the disclosure yesterday in Abuja during a three day public hearing to repeal and enact Acts of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and that of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

Sirika also said that the Federal Government approved additional N1b for aviation agencies to also ” cushion the sorry state of most of them which has made payment of salaries difficult for many of them”. He added that the funds will soon be released to both the airlines and the agencies.

Meanwhile, not impressed with the paltry N4b to airlines , Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Smart Adeyemi urged the Federal Government to do more.

Adeyemi said : “N4b is very little to solve some of the problems of the airlines who are battling to survive. We urge the government to take charge of the sector. They need to give them more and they also need to support in all ways”.

“Yes, the airlines are in business but we cannot continue to look at them without offering them assistance. I am not comparing Nigeria with the United States, but I think we can do better than the N4b we are assisting them with”.

While noting the plea of Adeyemi, Sirika tasked the National Assembly to give more financial support to the airlines and pleaded with the lawmakers to grant approval for funds to struggling airlines.

He further revealed that the domestic airlines are currently owning Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, N19,365,374. billion naira non-remitted Ticket Sales Charge,TSC, collected from the passengers on behalf of the agency.

The TSC is normally collected by NCAA from the airlines and shared among the other aviation agencies, namely FAAN, AIB, NCAT, NIMET, NAMA and the NCAA.

4. Looting: It will be difficult for Cross River to recover ― NLC

The Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress, Cross River Council, Com. Ben Ukpebi has asserted that it will be difficult for the state to recover from the devastating destruction that was carried out by hoodlums in the state capital and beyond.

Ukpebi made the assertion while taking journalist round the Secretariat of the NLC which vandalized and all office equipment looted at the weekend.

He also said that nothing can deter Labour from pressing home demands for improved workers welfare in the state.

Comrade Ukpebi also charged members not to be discouraged by the vandalization of the Union Secretariat by hoodlums adding that they must remain dogged in joining their voices with the leadership of the Union to press home for workers welfare.

The NLC boss who condemned in its entirety the level of destruction at the Secretariat stressed that the destruction is beyond human imagination.

His words:” The destruction is devastating and beyond human comprehension and it would be very difficult for Cross River to come out of this.

“From the damage, I have seen so far, it will take over N200 million to fix this place to its former state. Our power generating set was carted away, the conference halls were vandalised and the chairs and tables looted, the vehicles in the compound and our Information and Communication Technology (ICT) room were burnt down.

“Although the vandals have inflicted a huge blow to this state, it will not deter us a labour movement, we will continue to hold our meetings and take actions that will benefit the workers even if it is under a tree.

” As we condemn in totality the act of destruction and vandalism by suspected hoodlums in the state, I appeal to my congress that this is a challenge to make us stronger in our quest of championing the course of the people,” he said.

5. NCC approves e-SIM trial for MTN, 9mobile

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Monday said it has granted approval for two mobile network operators (MNOs), MTN Nigeria and 9Mobile, to carry out trial on the workability of embedded Subscriber Identification Modules (e-SIM) Service in Nigeria.

The regulatory body added that the trial would run for a period of one year, noting that it would involve testing 5,000 e-SIMs by the two networks.

A statement by the Public Affairs Director of NCC, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde said the trial is subject to compliance with a number of regulatory conditions.

Dr Adinde announced that the conditions include full compliance by the MNOs with the Registration of Telecoms Subscribers Regulations 2011; the Mobile Number Portability Regulations and Business Rules 2015.

He added that guidelines on SIM Replacement 2017; and non-degradation of the Quality of Service (QoS) experience by users of e-SIMs are part of the conditions.

The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, was quoted as saying that the primary objective of the e-SIM trial is to assess the technical performance of the e-SIM on telecoms service providers’ network towards eventual rollout, if satisfactory.

According to the EVC, the e-SIMs is a technology that will eliminate the need for physical SIM card slots on mobile devices in the near future, adding that the trial is in line with the Commission’s forward-looking regulatory approach to ensure Nigeria’s telecoms ecosystem is in tandem with global best practices.

Dr Adinde further explained that an e-SIM is a small chip that is embedded on a mobile phone or smart devices. “It is designed for convenience, flexibility and simplicity.

“The e-SIM makes it easier for subscribers to choose a pre-paid plan provider and switch between network operators, he said.

“The information on the e-SIM is rewritable by operators and the identification information can be updated over time,” Dr Adinde added.

6. WAEC withholds results of 215,149 candidates

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Monday disclosed that it has withheld the results of 215, 149 candidates who wrote the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Nigeria.

WAEC said the results of the candidates representing 13.98% of the total number of candidates who wrote the examination are being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice.

Patrick Areghan, head of WAEC Nigeria, broke the news at a briefing in Lagos on Monday morning while announcing the official release of this year’s WASSCE results.

According him, “The cases are being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate Committee of the Council for determination in due course. The Committee’s decisions will be communicated to the affected candidates through their various schools.”

He added; “81,718 candidates, representing 5.31% have a few of their subjects still being processed due to some errors on the part of the candidates. Efforts are, however, being made to speedily complete the processing to enable all the affected candidates get their results fully processed and released, subsequently.”

7. #ENDSARS: Amotekun hands over suspected looters to Police

The Ondo State Security Network Agency otherwise known as Amotekun Corps has handed over some suspected #ENDSARS looters to the Nigeria Police.

It said the suspects involved in burning of police stations and looting of shops were arrested from different parts of the state.

Military paraphernalia and motor-cycles carted away were recovered.

Amotekun Head of Intelligence, Adebayo Ayeni, said the suspects have confessed to the crimes.

Ayeni explained that the suspects were picked through its intelligence gathering network.

Commander of Ondo Amotekun Corps, Chief Adetunji Olu-Adeleye, said efforts were on to arrest other looters and arsonists.

One of the suspects, Oyewale Olayele, said he only picked some things from the a police station and a high court already set ablaze with a view to selling them scraps.

Olayele stated that he didn’t knew it was an offence to pick things in troubled areas.

He said the police cardigan he wore was picked up from a burning police station.

Femi Ibine said the military paraphernalia found in his room belonged to his late grandmother who was a Colonel in the Nigeria Army.

He claimed he joined others to fight a man who called him a thief.

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