News
Staff Audit: Stakeholders Besiege NDDC, Demand Umana’s Sack
Stakeholders of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Monday besieged the commission’s premises in protest against what they described as an “unwarranted audit” of staff of the Commission by the newly appointed Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Umana Okon Umana.
The protesters also faulted Umana’s “deep” involvement in the administrative affairs of the Commission which they claimed is contrary to his assigned role as a supervisory minister of the NDDC.
Speaking on behalf of the staff of NDDC, Mr. Victor Idaye Briggs said that it was wrong for the Minister to call for the audit of staff of the Commission, an exercise he claimed was carried out years ago before the commencement of the forensic audit in the commission.
Briggs alleged that the main intent of the Minister was to sack some staff of the Commission and bring in his cronies as a way of compensating them for political reasons.
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He said, “We have discovered that his actual intention is to recruit those he will use for the 2023 politics and we will never allow that to happen.
“We are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of urgency stop the minister of the Niger Delta Affairs from destroying the Commission with the ulterior motive of sacking genuine staff of the Commission and replacing them with political cronies. They are our breadwinners. They pay our school fees. If they are sacked now, where do we go to?
“We will be here as long as possible until Mr. President responds to our request. This is very unfair and we don’t want a situation where the region is plunged into an avoidable crisis. You can see that we are all young people who are dependent on their parents or relations in this Commission”.
A staff of the Commission, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “undue interference of Umana in the affairs of the NDDC has already gone beyond his supervisory role. He is going too far about the issues affecting the NDDC despite the fact that the office of the director general had since carried out an audit on the staff and contracts in the Commission.
“About two years ago, we did biometrics and all the data for staff audit were submitted to the Head of Service when this Commission was still at Aba road. Umana has no right to order his own staff to carry out a staff audit in NDDC because this is a Commission duly established by law.
“As a supervisory minister then, former Minister Godswill Akpabio never tried that kind of a thing. What is happening in NDDC right now is a clear annexation of the Commission. It is equivalent to what Russia is doing to Ukraine. On that note, we are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently inaugurate a substantive board to run the affairs of the Commission, going forward”.
Others said the protest came at the right time to forestall the possibility of using the Commission as a cash cow to fund the coming elections.
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“First of all, it is our constitutional right to protest peacefully against anything that is against the interest of the staff of this Commission and by extension the Niger Delta region. Our collective demand is that the federal government should do the needful by giving the NDDC a board in accordance to the Act that established the NDDC.
“Secondly, we want the staff of the Commission to be protected from undue interference by politicians. We have discovered that what Umana Okon Umana is trying to do is to politicize this place for political reason. We don’t want that and we will never allow that to happen.”
Some of the placards read, “NDDC not a ground to settle political acrimonies”, “Mr President return NDDC to the office of SGF”, “Umana/perm Sec leave NDDC staff alone” and “President Buhari sack Umana now”, among others.
Efforts were made repeatedly to reach the Corporate Affairs Department for reactions but to no avail.
News
N5m, N10m Zero-interest Loans: SheVentures Opens Applications For Women Entrepreneurs
First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has opened a new round of applications for its SheVentures proposition, offering zero-interest loans of up to ₦10 million to women entrepreneurs to ease access to working capital and support business growth.
The facility provides loans ranging from ₦500,000 to ₦5 million under a general category, and ₦5 million to ₦10 million for sector-specific businesses, with funding capped at up to 50% of an applicant’s average monthly turnover.
At the centre of the offering is a 0% interest rate, with all charges embedded in a transparent structure.
Repayment is structured over four or six months, allowing businesses to match obligations with their cash flow cycles.
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Yemisi Edun, Managing Director and Chief Executive of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), said the initiative reflects a deliberate approach to inclusive growth.
“Inclusive growth requires access to capital and the right conditions for businesses to deploy that capital effectively.
“Women-led enterprises are critical to economic activity, yet they face structural barriers.
This intervention aims to help close that gap by providing financing that supports job creation, business expansion, and long-term sustainability for women entrepreneurs.”
“Access to affordable finance remains a major constraint for women entrepreneurs,” said Nnenna Jacob-Ogogo, Group Head, SheVentures and Impact Segments at First City Monument Bank (FCMB).
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“By removing the cost barrier and offering quick, flexible funding, this zero-interest loan is designed to safeguard existing jobs, enable businesses to invest in growth initiatives, and foster resilience in challenging economic conditions.”
Women-owned businesses account for a significant share of Nigeria’s small and medium-sized enterprises but continue to face high borrowing costs and limited access to credit.
Through these efforts, SheVentures tackles persistent financing gaps facing women-led businesses, combining targeted funding with broader support to empower women entrepreneurs, encourage business innovation, and enhance their ability to compete on a national scale.
Applications for the zero-interest loan are now open.Apply now.
News
Xenophobic Attacks: Oshiomhole Tells FG To Retaliate Against South African Companies In Nigeria
Senator Adams Oshiomhole has called on the Federal Government to retaliate against South African businesses operating in Nigeria following the recent attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.
Speaking during plenary on Tuesday, Oshiomhole said the Federal Government should consider revoking the working license of South African owned companies such as MTN and DSTV.
He argued that Nigeria must respond firmly to what he described as persistent hostility against its citizens.
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“I am not going to shed tears. If you hit me, I hit you. I think it is appropriate in diplomacy. It is an economic struggle,” Oshiomhole said.
He argued that while some South Africans accuse Nigerians of taking their jobs, Nigerians should return home and take over employment opportunities created by major South African companies operating in the country, including MTN and DSTV.
“When we hit back, the President of South Africa will not only talk but will also go on his knees to recognise that Nigeria cannot be intimidated.
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“We will not condone any life being lost. If a crime has been committed under the South African law they have the right to bring any such person to justice, but to kill our people as if we are helpless, we will not allow that,” Oshiomhole added.
DAILY POST reports that several Nigerians in South Africa have reportedly been attacked, and their businesses destroyed, in ongoing xenophobic attacks in the country.
News
IGP Orders Officers Display Name Tag On Uniform, Gives Update On State Police
The Inspector General of Police, IGP, Tunji Disu, has ordered all police personnel to always have their name tags on their uniforms for easy identification.
Disu disclosed that only police personnel who are undercover are exempted from displaying their name tags.
Speaking on Tuesday, Disu said: “All police officers should have their name tags. All of us on the high table have our names apart from the undercover among us so if you look at all the Commissioners of Police we have our name tags, so it’s not our standard.
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“All the Commissioners of Police are here and that is why we called this meeting, we have list of things like this that we will want to discuss with the Commissioners of Police, we have told them earlier and we will still let them know that every that happens within their area of jurisdiction falls under their control.”
On the issue of state police, the IGP said: “Since we got the signal that the Federal Government of Nigeria intend to establish State Police and since we are the federal police, we decided to take the bull by the horn and put down our own side of what we believe on how the state police should be run.
“A lot of things were taken into consideration, a lot of comparative analysis was done and it has been transmitted to the National Assembly.”
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