They were stacked full of commodity including rice, pasta, sugar, cooking oil and other food items.

The Kano State Public Complaint and Anti Corruption Commission (PCACC) on Sunday confiscated essential goods running to several millions of Naira stocked in ten warehouses at Dawanau international comodity market in Kano metropolis.

The Commission had set up an intelligence mechanism and launched a manhunt on food hoarders who Imposed untold hardship on the citizens.

In a grand operation, the Chairman of the Commission, Barrister Muhyi alongside the personnels of Commission clamped down on warehouses and stores engaged in hoarding of assorted foodstuff across the state.

All the owners of such warehouse were nowhere to be found during the operation but those opened were stacked full of commodity including rice, pasta, sugar, cooking oil and other food items.

The Chairman of the Anti-graft Agency said, some of the owners of the warehouses have been issued notice to report to the anti graft Commission preparatory to facing charges before the court of law for their illegal activities.

“As you can see, the Kano state Public Complaint and Anti Corruption Commission (PCACC) has made true it’s promise that we are going to embark on fight against hoarding of essential commodities in the state.

“We started last Thursday and we have made a significant impact towards stopping the instant rise in the price of essential commodities. It was such that within a week, rice had jumped from N52,000 to N61,000 within a week.

“Alhamdulillah form what we have done so far, we are certain that there is impact. From here we are going to the market to ascertain the situation.

“Firstly, we were able to stop the instant increase in prices of the commodities and secondly we have the belief that if we sustain the tempo we will be able to bring down the prices from where they have gotten to.

“As you can see now we are going round the warehouses and we met a lot of issues which after we go back to the office we are going to digest. “One fundamental problem is each stalk we enter they will be claiming that it is the World Food Program Store. We wonder if the world food program will starve the country while taking the food somewhere else.

“You can see, I was told here today that the price of maize has jumped from N30,000 to N60,000. So you see, a hundred percent increase, this is unacceptable. You can see these stores, there are hundreds of millions of Naira worth of hoarded commodity.

“We are taking over the stores now and we are going to make some certain arrests because these will not be tolerated. This is not a market, this is a warehouse. We have activated our intelligence mechanism and they have come up with reports on where and how they are hoarding it” he explained.

Ahmad Sorondinki in Kano

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in Abuja unveiled the registration of two million businesses as part of efforts to curb rising unemployment and achieve the 50 million job creation target for Nigerian youths.

The Registrar-General and CEO of the CAC, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji SAN, at a ground-breaking ceremony in Abuja, said the registration was part of efforts to simplify the burden for young Nigerians who want to contribute meaningfully to the Nigerian economy.

“The registration of the new business was part of the CAC’s contribution to the realisation of the present administration’s economic revival plan in collaboration with moniepoint to develop the MSMEs sector, in line with the current administration target of 50 million jobs,” he said.

He said the president has youth employment as priority and the first step is to ensure that those willing to engage in different ventures donot encounter hurdles because when they start their enterprises, they will also be employers of labour.

President Bola Tinubu has warned Nigerian universities against indiscriminate award of honorary degrees, saying that it undermines the very core values of academic integrity and must be discontinued.

In a recent communication, President Tinubu brings attention to the issue of universities awarding honorary degrees without sufficient scrutiny. The President highlights the need for universities to carefully assess individuals before bestowing such significant recognition.

Tinubu, expressed his cautionary advice during the joint occasion of the graduation ceremonies for the sixth, seventh, and eighth batches of students from the Federal University of Lafia (FULafia), which took place in Lafia, the capital city of Nasarawa State, yesterday.

The Acting Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission (NUC), Mr. Chris Jibreel-Maiyaki, on behalf of the president, clarified that degrees are granted to individuals who demonstrate both exemplary character and learning.

In his viewpoint, he asserted that honorary degrees ought to be bestowed upon deserving Nigerians who have made significant contributions to the advancement of society. He stated that academic proficiency and professional education are only a small part of the criteria necessary to construct a robust and thriving nation.

He said: “Moral training and ethical standards must be coupled with the best form of academic development for universities to fulfill their purpose.

“Therefore, universities’ management and the general environments of teaching and learning must model the highest standard of integrity, probity and moral discipline.

“In this connection, I must draw your attention to the tendency of some institutions to devalue the quality of their degrees by giving out honorary doctorate degrees indiscriminately against the common universities’ community practice.”

President Tinubu has additionally committed to consistently and optimistically address the requirements of universities and their communities, in an effort to restructure and improve outcomes effectively.

PRESS RELEASE- 08 FEBRUARY, 2024

NERC Sanctions Eleven (11) DisCos Over Non-Compliance with Capping of Estimated Bills for Unmetered Customers

The public may recall that in 2020, the Commission issued the Order on Capping of Estimated Bills (Order No: NERC/197/2020) and subsequently issued monthly energy caps which aimed to align the estimated bils for unmetered customers with the measured consumption of metered customers on the same supply feeder. A review of the Electricity Distribution Companies (“DisCos” billing of unmetered customers for 2023 has revealed non-compliance with the monthly energy caps issued by the Commission.

In response to this and in a bid to safeguard unmetered customers from arbitrary billing by DisCos, the Commission, pursuant to Section 34(1)(d) of the Electricity Act 2023 (“EA 2023”, has issued the Order on Non-Compliance with Capping of Estimated Bills (Order No: NERC/2024/004-014) which stipulates the following:

i. Credit Adjustment to Customers: DisCos are to issue credit adjustments to all overbilled unmetered customers for the period January to September 2023 by the March 2024 billing cycle.

ii. Public Notice: DisCos have been directed to publish the list of credit adjustment beneficiaries in two national dailies and on their website no later than 31* March 2024.

iii. Regulatory Sanctions: The Commission shall deduct a sum of 10,505,286,072 from the annual allowed revenues of the eleven (11) DisCos during the next tariff review, to deter future non-compliance with the energy caps approved by the Commission.

The Commission reaffirms its commitment to regulatory compliance and consumer protection within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

Signed

Management