Straight from the Headlines! What Everyone was Talking About This Week

Despite the promise by the Minister of Youth Development, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi that the April allowance of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in the country would be paid by Friday 18th May, 2012, Youth Corps members across the country are yet to recieve their allowances. This has further agitated the Youth Corps members who had been waiting eagerly for their allowances.

In a statement signed by the Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister, Julius Ogunro, in Abuja on Wednesday, Abdullahi said that the delay is not peculiar to corps members alone, but also affects some civil servants in the government service. “It is not deliberate but as a result of the transition to the new and better secured Integrated Payroll Payment System, as part of Government’s commitment to transparency and accountability,” he said.

The non-payment of allowances further sparked up rumours that the Federal Government was cash-strapped and could not pay allowances. However, the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala has denied the rumours saying there is no financial crisis in the country.

Hopefully, the rumours are indeed false and Youth Corps members would be paid soon.

Here’s a recap of some of the events that made headlines across the country this week.

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Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, has disclosed that there is no financial crisis in the country. Speaking when the delegate of the House Committee on Finance paid her a visit in her office, she blamed the current delay in the payment of salaries, allowances and FAAC disbursements on the delay in inflow of government revenue. “There is no such thing as a financial crisis in the country. We have been having some issues with delay in money being disbursed on time for the Federation Account Allocation Committee’s meeting to hold,” Okonjo-Iweala said. “Nigeria is not broke. We have delays in money being disbursed, we are depending on a resource we sell in the market, we may not get the money right away, we sometimes have to wait for few days.

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Unknown gunmen shot and killed three people at a relaxation spot in Tukuntawa area of Kano Municipal Sunday evening. Eyewitness account told reporters that the gunmen arrived on a motorbike and opened fire on people playing cards at the spot. The eyewitness explained that all those fell by the assassin bullets were all civilians, and that “the spot is a hub for meetings of friend at weekends”. The account also revealed that the sporadic shooting that lasted five minutes left several people wounded as residents were forced to lock up. The ensuing pandemonium forced shop owners within the neigbourhood to lock up while human and vehicular movement seized temporarily.

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In an attempt to reduce the volume of cash baggage and security exposure in cash transactions, the Central Bank of Nigeria may be contemplating the introduction of new currency denominations of N2,000 and N5,000. The bank has also made plans to convert N5, N10, N20 and N50 into coins which are all presently notes. The policy would make it easier to move large quantities of cash around with little exposure to risk, but financial critics have suggested that it would be a contradiction to the CBN policy to migrate to a cashless economy.
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The national strike embarked upon by the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) in the country was suspended on Monday 14th May, 2012 till 31st July, 2012. Membership of the striking JOHESU workers include those in the Medical and Health Workers Union, Nurses and Midwives Association of Nigeria, NASU, SSANU as well as the NUPTAN comprising the pharmacists, radiographers and physiotherapists, among others, who control over 80 per cent of operational staff within the medical sector. President of the body, Comrade Felix Faniran disclosed that the suspension of the eight-day-old national strike came after the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity showed some signs of commitment from the Federal Government to the patriotic demands and aspirations of the striking workers.

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President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday 14th May, 2012 assented to the Bill for an Act to further amend the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act No. 11, 1993. According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the new Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Act, 2012, limits the tenure of principal officers of universities to a single term of five years. The law also increased the compulsory retirement age of staff in the professorial cadre and non-academic staff in Nigerian universities to 70 and 65 years respectively. Also on Monday, the President signed the Bill for an Act entitled, Retirement Age of Staff of Polytechnics and Colleges of Education (Harmonisation) Act, 2012. The law harmonises the compulsory retirement age of staff of Polytechnics and Colleges of Education to 65 years.

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At least two people reportedly drowned on Monday in a river along Secretariat-University of Ibadan Road following a downpour that lasted more than one hour. An eyewitness said some motorists plying the route were unaware that the firm handling the project had diverted traffic to a section of the road. He said at least two motorists were swept away while trying to manoeuvre through the flood. Two vehicles, a black Toyota Corrolla with number plate OY 55 –A66 and a Toyota Hiace commercial bus marked XG 85 NRR, were swept away from the road. Another eyewitness, who preferred anonymity, said the occupants of the commercial vehicle disembarked leaving the driver and the conductor in the vehicle. She said the occupant of the government vehicle (a female) also disembarked while the driver made an attempt to manoeuvre.

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The Commissioner in charge of Government and Consumer Affairs at the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Ibrahim Abbah has said that Nigerians will no longer be required to pay for electricity metres with effect from on June 1, 2012. He made this disclosure in Ilorin, Kwara State on Thursday 17th May, 2012 at a forum organised for electricity consumers, suppliers and regulators. He said that Nigerian electricity consumers would no longer be required to pay for electricity metre when the new tariff order takes effect on June 1, 2012. He pointed out that electricity metre, technically belongs to PHCN, adding that PHCN would provide metre for everybody.

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An explosion rocked the Lekki-Ekpe expressway in the early hours of Friday morning. Police officials confirmed that a truck carrying flammable chemicals was at the center of the explosion. According to eyewitness reports, the truck bearing chemical cylinders crashed and exploded a few kilometers from the Abraham Adesanya Housing Estate at about 5 a.m. on Friday 18th May, 2012. A local newspaper reports that the explosion occured at Sangotedo bus-stop on the expressway and caused a backlog of traffic on the usually congested streets. The explosion scared residents who feared that it might be a bomb attack. A police official said two, including the conductor of the truck, were feared dead in the explosion.

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How do you feel about the news that made headlines in the country this week? What other stuff happened that you would like to share?

Have a great weekend!