The Abuja Vacation Judge of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, His Lordship, Hon. Justice Ibrahim Galadima has granted an order of interim injunction restraining the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, the National President, Akwa Ibom State Chapter President and Secretary of the Union from conducting the State delegates’ election scheduled for 24th September 2020 until the determination of the motion on notice by the substantive Judge of the Uyo Judicial division.

Justice Galadima made the order sequel to an ex parte application filed by the applicant Comr.  George Ekong and four others through their counsel, Samuel Ikpo Esq.

The Court also directed that the order of restraint shall have a life span of 14 days.

The Comptroller of Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Muazu Abdulrazaq, has said that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), activities across the country have sustained and stabilized the nation’s economy in spite of coronavirus outbreak.

He said that the fight against corruption would not have survived the day light in  the country without intelligence inputs of the anti-graft agency personnel in curtailing crimes.

Abdulrazaq, who argued that the commission has tremendously achieved strides in the fight against corruption, stressed that the establishment of EFCC was an added advantage to law enforcement agencies.

The immigration boss disclosed this when he received the Enugu zonal head of the Commission, Oshodi Johnson, who paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.

Abdulrazaq, through a statement made available to newsmen, noted that there was no better time to strengthen the existing relationship between the EFCC and NIS than now, adding that the country is going through corruption-induced economic trauma.

On his part, Johnson stated that the critical roles of NIS in the fight against corruption have continued to pave way for EFCC to combat money laundry in the country.

According to him, we cannot talk of combating money laundering and other forms of capital flight in Nigeria today without mentioning the efforts of the Nigeria Immigration service.

“International passport of any foreign national, is critical in ascertaining not only the person’s identity, but also his criminal status and because of this, there is a need for all security and anti-corruption agencies to work as a team with each playing its assigned role,” he said.

Also, the Enugu deputy zonal head of the EFCC, Aliu Naibi, commended the NIS for its assistance to the EFCC in document verifications and noted that there was a need to put in place, a technology that would verify those who truly lost their passports and those who are on the run from law enforcement agencies, such as the EFCC.

Abdulrazaq disclosed that the NIS already had the technology and that anyone who has been reported by law enforcement agencies as having committed any crime, is usually flagged while seeking for a new passport, adding that the request of the Commission for the NIS to first cross-check with the EFCC before re-issuance of any lost passport would be transmitted to NIS’ head office for attention.

In a bid to ensure smooth transition process for Nigerians after the Federal Government put an end to subsidy regime, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has warned marketers against using the opportunity to exploit customers at the filling stations.

It would be recalled that the Federal Government, through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), recently announced an end to the payment of subsidy for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, in the country.

But, the DPR said that the need to ensure marketers do not hide behind the petroleum product price to exploits unsuspecting Nigerians who are still grappling with electricity tarrifs hike and that of hardship occassioned by outbreak of coronavirus.

The Operations Controller, Zamfara State DPR Field Office, Yusuf Shehu, said that although there was increase in the price of petrol at both depots and retail outlets as a result of removal of fuel subsidy, marketers should not engage in sharp practices to exploit buyers.

Briefing newsmen on Wednesday in Gusau, Shehu said that the department would not allow customers to be cheated and that measures would be put in place to mitigate any form of exploitations.

“Marketers should desist from selling lower quantity than what they display in the pump. They must make sure that one litre is up to one litre before selling to customers. Any marketer found selling less than a litre, the department will deal with him,” the controller said.

While appealing to owners of filling stations to make sure that their pumps were working efficiently, Shehu enjoined marketers to always get their products from licensed depots in order to be sure of the quality.

“We are to ensure that there is equity between the marketers and buyers, we are also to make sure that the quality and quantity of the petroleum product is guaranteed”, Shehu said.

“Members of the public should always report to the department in case of any irregularity. In case you buy products and you doubt the quality or standard, you should report to the department,” he said.

As part of activities to commemorate this years’ Independence Day, President Muhammadu Buhari, has unveiled the 60th independence anniversary logo with the theme, ‘Together’, saying the country must remain united irrespective of differences.

He explained that the need to forge a united front and ensure the current generation bequeath a befitting country to future generation necessitated a logo that would resonate with Nigerians and spur everyone to work for the betterment of the country.

President Buhari said that the diamond anniversary demands utmost retrospect from Nigerians to bury their differences and embrace a path of peace to ensure a prosperous nation everyone would be proud of.

Speaking while unveiling the theme and logo for the commemorative activities to celebrate 60 years of independence in Abuja on Wednesday, the President described Nigeria as the most prosperous black nation in the world.

Nigeria at 60 theme, ‘Together’,  with the logo was projected and unveiled virtually on the 12 by 20 feet screen at the Council Chambers, before the commencement of the e-Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Buhari.

Through a statement released by his spokesperson, Femi Adesina, the President performed the exercise in the presence of some cabinet ministers and other members of the council who joined the meeting online.

According to him, the country was standing on the threshold of history as we formally begin a series of activities commemorating Nigeria’s diamond anniversary.

‘‘The task history has saddled me with today is to proclaim a theme that will keep us united, help us forge ahead and unveil a logo that will form the critical pillars which our 11-month modest commemorative activities would rest on. Celebrating sixty years of independence really calls for pomp, but the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced all nations in the world to think and act differently, has also foisted on us the imperative of a low-keyed celebration.

‘‘Operating within the limitations placed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we created an internet challenge for Nigerians to make a choice from a set of four pre-selected logos that would appropriately define the theme. Of these four options, Nigerians from all walks of life participated in making a choice and I am happy to let you know that the logo I would be unveiling is a product of choice from the Nigerian people,” the statement quoted Buhari as saying.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has disclosed that its litigation team has won the Leading Case Counsel Team of the 2020 Africa Arbitration Awards after saving Nigeria from billions of dollars in liabilities.

It explained that the award followed the corporation’s legal team’s excellent performance at the 8th Edition of the East African International Arbitration Conference (EAIC) which held recently in Nairobi, Kenya.

The NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, revealed that the conference was aimed at promoting commercial arbitration and showcasing African lawyers and law firms that have performed well in arbitration practice over the years.

Through a statement released to newsmen on Wednesday, Obateru said that the national oil company’s legal team gave a presentation on the challenges and lessons learnt from arbitrations and the successes recorded during the conference which held virtually with participants joining across the African region.

According to him, the NNPC team’s entry for the Leading Case Counsel Team category of the Africa Arbitration award was adjudged the best amongst entries from 100 other institutions across Africa resulting in the award besides the presentation.

Obateru noted that the award reflects commitment of the legal division and staff of the corporation to the transparency, accountability, and performance excellence agenda of the Mallam Mele Kyari-led NNPC management.

“Among the successful arbitration cases showcased by the NNPC Legal Team at the conference were the IPCO (Nigeria) Vs. NNPC in respect of the dispute over the Bonny Export Terminal Project in which $367.5m was saved after 13 years of litigation and ESSO E&P Nigeria Limited Vs. NNPC in respect of the dispute over the interpretation of the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) covering Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 209/Oil Mining Lease (OML) 133 in which the enforcement of $2.7bn claim was dismissed.

“Other recent arbitration cases presented at the conference include ESSO & Others Vs. NNPC in respect of alleged breaches in interpretation and implementation of the PSC covering OPL 222/OML 138 with over $380.141m saved and the Atlantic Energy Group vs. NPDC in respect of allegation of wrongful termination of Strategic Alliance Agreements over eight OMLs resulting in the award of $1.6bn in favour of NPDC,” the statement said.

In a bid to improve the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the sector has requested for additional  four thousand centers to ensure  speedy enrollment  and ensures proper registration of citizens.

It noted that establishing new centers were imperative since majority of people find it difficult to locate their ways to NIMC offices, as a result of  distance which in turn  discouraged  them from coming to register.

The commission, in celebration mood of National Identity Day, said that Nigeria currently has one thousand registeration centers and that  such can not cover population of people that have attain registeration age.

Director-General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Aliyu Aziz, said though the  commission had so far registered 42 million Nigerians on the national Identity database, the coutry is requested to establish more centers.

Speaking during an interactive session with newsmen on Wednesday, in Abuja, Aliyu informed the gathering that the idea behind the introduction of digital Identity Ecosystem was to enable government have easy access to accurate data of citizens for the provision of social services.

Aziz, said through the system, the commission was working on modalities to capture 2.8 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) within two to three months.

Accoording to him, the commission was able to collate 14 million data from other government agencies through its data harmonisation process.

Aziz also charged members of the public to report any act of extortion by members of staff of the commission especially during enrollment process as well  encouraged Nigerians to come out enmass to enroll and obtain their national identity number (NIN).

” Our major focus now is the NIN because the card is for convenience”

” With your full cooperation, participation and consistent support, we can bequeath a robust and sustainable system of national identity to our dear nation and future generations”. he said.