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5 GAMBIAN MIGRANTS REPORTED DEAD IN NIGER
At least five Gambians are reported to have died in Agadez, Niger, due to a lack of food, water, and extreme wind conditions; The Standard was reliably informed yesterday. The five were among several Gambians who were sent out of Tunisia to the Algerian border and later to Niger.
“I can confirm to you that Gambian migrants are seriously suffering here. Just these past days, five young Gambians died, and were buried in the desert,” Kekuta Darboe, a migrant in Niger, said.
He revealed that several other Gambian migrants are extremely sick, with no proper medical attention.
“We don’t have enough food or water, and the weather conditions are extremely bad here. There is a lot of pollution. We are really suffering here. If you go to the hospital, they give you the same medicine all the time,” he said.
Manneh said the majority of them were part of a group of migrants sent out of Tunisia.
“We were among the Gambians driven from Tunisia and dumped at the Algerian border, and then to the Niger border. We are calling on the government and Gambians to evacuate us from this place,” he said.
He said other countries are rapidly evacuating their citizens, but the Gambia’s process is too slow.
“We need help because this place is a death trap,” he said.
In early July, Human Rights Watch accused Tunisia of expelling hundreds of sub-Saharan Africans to a desert area near the Libyan border following violence against migrants in the city of Sfax. The Gambia government responded to the development with the immediate repatriation of 87 of its citizens from Tunisia and Libya.
The Standard contacted the ministry of foreign affairs where the director of diaspora affairs, Musa Camara said they are aware of the case of the Gambian migrants in Niger and discussions have started with the IOM to facilitate their repatriation.
Camara confirmed that the migrants were from Tunisia and their movement to Niger was facilitated by the government with support from the IOM who airlifted them out of Tunisia.
“We have instructed our embassy in Abuja, Nigeria to deploy the migration focal person to Niger and meet the migrants and the IOM authorities to facilitate their return,” he said.
He said the government is aware that the migrants are impatient with the conditions they are in. “The political situation may also increase their worries and even their families as well so it has become a priority,” he said.
He appealed to the migrants to exercise patience and allow government to facilitate their return. Camara said he could not confirm the reported deaths but the ministry will find out.
Credit to: Standard.gm
Niger Coup: Nigerian Islamic scholars meet Tinubu, seek mediatory role
Hours after the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) declared its opposition to the use of sanctions and military deployment in Niger, some prominent Islamic scholars met with President Bola Tinubu to seek his permission to mediate the crisis.
The clerics led by the national leader of the Jama’a tul Izalatil Bid’ah wa Iqamatis Sunnah, Sheikh Bala Lau, advised the Nigerian leader against the use of force in Niger.
“We want to find a lasting solution. We want peace and harmony to reign not only in Nigeria but in the sub-Saharan region and globally. So, the whole Ulama advised Mr President, that we want peace and reconciliation,” Mr Lau told journalists after the meeting with the Nigerian leader.
He said President Tinubu “accepted” their offer to intervene in the crisis.
Credit to: premiumtimesng.com
23 youths arraigned for disorderly conduct
Alpha Dampha, Janko Sanyang, Babucarr Secka, Arfang Badjie, Ebrima Camara, Wa Saidyba, Alieu Khan, Malick Nyang, Muhammed Jobe, Pierre Jatta, Papa Khan, Ebrima Jallow, Musa Sallah, Ebrima Camara, Lamin Manka, Macho Ceesay, Babucarr Jallow, Yerro Saiday, Abdoulie Dibba, Musa Saidykhan, Alpha Omar Jallow, Sheikh Tijan Faye and Muhammed Touray were yesterday arraigned before Principal Magistrate Omar Jabang of the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court and charged on two counts of idle and disorderly contrary to Section 166( C ) of the Criminal Code and common nuisance contrary to Section 160( 1 ) of the Criminal Code.
Prosecutors alleged that the accused persons in the month of August, 2023, at Serrekunda and diverse places, in the Kanifing Municipality of the Republic of The Gambia, they, while in a public place, conducted themselves in a manner likely to cause breach of the peace.
They were also alleged to have obstructed or caused annoyance and inconvenience in exercise of a common right. They denied any wrongdoing.
ASP Oley Bobb, the prosecuting officer, objected to bail for the accused persons. She stated that if they were granted bail, they would continue causing havoc to the society. She further argued that the accused would go on the rampage and would not allow their community to have a peace of mind. “I urge the court not to grant them bail but remand them at Mile 2 Prison, pending the hearing of the case,” she told the court.
However, the accused persons appealed to the court to grant them bail. They posited that the offences they were charged with are bailable.
At this juncture, the presiding magistrate adjourned the case until the 17th August, 2023, to rule whether they would be granted bail or not.
Credit to: thepoint.gm
We may be pushed to invade Niger — US tells coup plotters
The United States of America has warned the Niger junta that America may be pushed to be involved militarily if the country’s military rulers do not return to constitutional order.
The US acting Deputy Secretary, Victoria Nuland, in a special briefing on Niger disclosed this via a teleconference on Tuesday.
She noted, “…There is still a lot of motion here on many sides with regard to where the governance situation will go.
“So we will be watching that closely and there are a number of regional meetings coming up and consultations with allies and partners that we need to make.
“So we’ll be watching the situation, but we understand our legal responsibilities and I explained those very clearly to the guys (Niger junta) who were responsible for this and that it is not our desire to go there, but they may push us to that point, and we asked them to be prudent in that regard and to hear our offer to try to work with them to solve this diplomatically and return to constitutional order.”
Nuland noted that President Joe Bden has been in constant touch with President Tinubu, the ECOWAS Chairman as well as many other European allies.
Read more: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/08/we-may-be-pushed-to-invade-niger-us-tells-coup-plotters/
Credit to: Vanguardngr.com
Today in African History
On 9 August 1956, about 20 000 women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest against legislation aimed at tightening the apartheid government’s control over the movement of black women in urban areas.
NIGER COUP: ECOWAS ultimatum not Nigeria’s mandate —Tinubu
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu said yesterday the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS Heads of State and Government’s ultimatum against the military junta in the Niger Republic was not that of Nigeria.
He also ordered the acting governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi to make another financial sanctions against individuals and entities relating with the military junta that overthrew the democratically elected government of the country.
Tinubu spoke as fresh bids by the United States, the United Nations and the African Union to come to the negotiating table was rejected by the junta.
The African Union (AU) planned to send a joint mission with representatives of the UN and ECOWAS to Niger on Tuesday, but it was denied permission by the junta, which has closed Niger’s airspace, French magazine Jeune Afrique reported.
Read more: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/08/niger-coup-ecowas-ultimatum-not-nigerias-mandate-tinubu/
Ministerial screening: Senate withholds El-Rufai’s confirmation over security checks
The name of the immediate-past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, was on Monday missing from the list of the ministerial nominees confirmed by the Senate.
Also missing on the list was the name of Senator Abubakar Danlandi from Taraba State and former Nexim Bank Managing Director, Stella Okotete (Delta State).
The Senate approved and confirmed 45 out of the 48 nominees sent by President Bola Tinubu.
According to impeccable sources in the Senate, the unconfirmed nominees are currently undergoing security checks.
One of the sources noted, “Based on the findings, the nominees are currently undergoing security checks, having found some things against them.”
Another source told The PUNCH that, “We are observing them and we believe that there are some things that are incriminating against them. So, we have sent their names back to the executive for necessary checks.”
Read more: https://punchng.com/ministerial-screening-senate-withholds-el-rufais-confirmation-over-security-checks/
UPDATED: WASSCE 2023: WAEC withholds results of over 200,000 candidates, records 79.81% pass
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), on Monday, announced the release of the results for the 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates.
The examination body said out of a total of 1,613,733 candidates that sat the examination, the results of 262,803 candidates are being withheld “due to reports of cases of examination malpractice.”
The Head of Nigeria’s Office (HNO) of WAEC, Patrick Areghan, who made the announcement in Lagos, also hinted at his exit from the examination body as he is set to retire in a few weeks.
Meanwhile, Mr Areghan announced an improvement in pass rate by candidates as a total of 1,361,608 candidates, representing 84.38 per cent, obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects with or without English Language or Mathematics.
Also, 1,287,920 candidates, representing 79.81 per cent of the total candidates, obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects including English Language and Mathematics.
In 2022, 76.36 per cent of the 1,601,047 candidates that sat the examination, obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
The release of the 2023 results would offer a ray of hope for candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions.
Some of the admission seekers who sat the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) did not provide the required SSCE results in their application forms but declared they were awaiting their results.
Read more: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/614971-updated-wassce-2023-waec-withholds-results-of-over-200000-candidates-records-79-81-pass.html
Credit to: premiumtimes.ng
HER EXCELLENCY DR FATIMA JABBE MAADA BIO: THE GAME CHANGER FOR SIERRA LEONE’S FUTURE
Over D500K covid-19 funds to media undisbursed: Report
The NAO indicated that they could not confirm if this balance was subsequently used or paid back to the account as bank statements to verify the balances were not provided. The report further stated that the failure of the grantee to keep and maintain proper and up-to-date records of any transaction carried out is a violation of the grant agreement.
A supplementary appropriation bill was passed by the National Assembly in which D15,000,000.00 was approved as support to the media houses. The support to the media houses was provided through the Ministry of Information Communication and Infrastructure which was delegated to manage the funds and distribute them amongst the media houses – private or community media outlets – print, broadcast or online (newspapers, radios, TV, web).
According to NAO, the money was later transferred to the account that was opened by the Gambia Press Union (GPU) as directed by the Grant Management Committee. Furthermore, the report noted that a compliance audit was performed on the support to media houses mainly on the disbursements of funds to the media houses and whether those funds were utilised by the respective media houses in accordance with the policy put in place
On the non-submission of financial and narrative reports by the grantees, the report states: “No financial and narrative reports were received from some grantees contrary to the provisions of the grant agreement. As such, the use of the fund received for the intended purpose could not be established. Full payment to media houses should only be completed after the submission of financial and narrative report.”
In its conclusion, the NAO states that based on the information and documentation obtained during the audit, the management of covid-19 funds allocated to media houses substantially complied with the laws and regulations that govern them.
Credit to: Thepoint.gm
D5 Creation