Politics

Nigeria: Lawmakers reject bill, insist public officers’ children can study abroad

Published

3 years ago

March 4, 2022

The House of Representatives which is the lower chamber of Nigeria’s bicameral National Assembly has again rejected a bill to prohibit public officials from sending their children and wards to schools abroad without approval of Minister of Education. The bill was sponsored by Sergius Ogun, a member of the main opposition in the country – People’s Democratic Party (PDP) representing Esan North-East federal constituency of Edo. Ogun had introduced a similar bill in the 8th Assembly, but the lawmakers rejected the bill.Mr Ogun argued that the bill will help to address the fallen standard in Nigerian public schools.“This bill is proposed against the background of fallen standards in our educational system and the need to bring the sector up to speed with global best standards.”“Unfortunately, as a result of the inability of the government to provide quality education in its public educational institutions, Nigerians have resorted to private schools and foreign schools for their education,” he said.Some members of the house argued that not all public officers control public funds and should not be prevented from giving their children the best education that they can afford.Nicholas Ossai from Delta State said the bill violates the individual rights of Nigerians. He requested that the bill should be withdrawn. “This bill when passed into law will engender the actualization of the provisions of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, to which Nigeria is a party”.The rejected bill also proposed that the Minister of Education shall conduct investigation to verify the authenticity of the documents submitted for approval. It also provides a fine of N1 million or three years’ imprisonment for breach of the law.The bill also highlights that “a public officer shall not send his ward or children oversea for studies without declaration of interest subject to approval.”“A public officer declaring interest in sending his ward or child abroad for further studies shall submit the following documents for consideration:Meanwhile, Lecturers in Nigerian universities under the umbrella of The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on 15, February commenced a four-week strike over failure of the Nigeria government to meet an agreement that dates back to 2009.

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Politics

Sudan’s RSF chief accuses Egypt of bombing troops

Published

22 hours ago

October 10, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a speech that was released on Wednesday, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, the leader of the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), accused Egypt of carrying out airstrikes on the group’s soldiers.

The army of the nation, which has just gotten the upper hand in the fight that has devastated the nation for nearly eighteen months, was also accused by him of receiving drones and training from Cairo.

Later, in a statement, the Egyptian foreign ministry refuted Hemedti’s claims that Egyptian aircraft was involved in the continuing conflict in Sudan.

“While Egypt denies those claims, it calls on the international community to ascertain the evidence that proves the truth of what the RSF militia leader said,” the foreign ministry added.

Egypt has joined Saudi Arabia and the United States’ efforts to resolve the situation, despite the perception that Egypt is close to the Sudanese army and its commander, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Earlier this year, Cairo played host to meetings between opposing political groupings. Hemedti said in his prerecorded video message that Egypt had attacked using American munitions.

“If the Americans were not in agreement these bombs would not reach Sudan,” he added.

In addition, he mentioned the presence of mercenaries from Tigray, Eritrea, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine in the nation and restated claims that Iranians fought with the army.

The army has recently advanced towards the southeast Sennar state and the capital Khartoum, Sudan; Hemedti said that his men were forced to retreat from the vital Jebel Moya region by purported Egyptian airstrikes.

The head of the RSF stated: “This war will not end in one or two, three, or four years,” seemingly shifting the tone from earlier remarks in favour of peace initiatives. We will soon exceed one million soldiers, as some have mentioned.

Since the conflict in Sudan broke out in April 2023, about 10 million people have been pushed from their homes, famine and widespread hunger have been brought on, and waves of violence motivated by ethnic differences have been mostly attributed to the RSF.

Politics

Rwandan foreign minister claims Congo refused M23 peace offer

Published

5 days ago

October 6, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Rwandan Foreign Minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, has claimed that his Congolese colleague had refused to sign a pact to address the M23 rebel violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Since 2022, the Tutsi-led M23 has been fighting in the violence-torn east of central Africa, displacing over 1.7 million people.

Congo, the UN, and others accuse Rwanda of providing troops and ammunition to the group. Rwanda denies aiding M23 and accuses Congo of fighting alongside the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which has attacked Tutsis in both countries.

Both nations took part in peace talks in late August to reduce the hostilities, which have exacerbated the humanitarian catastrophe in the area and occasionally stoked concerns about a wider war.

Nduhungirehe told Reuters that a strategy “for neutralising the FDLR and lifting Rwanda’s defence measures” had been agreed upon and signed by participants in the negotiations, including the head of military intelligence for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

He made this statement on the fringes of a conference in France between leaders of French-speaking nations, saying that ministers were expected to sign this accord on September 14.

“We were ready to sign … but the Congolese minister refused. She first commented on the report and then later, after consultation, she came back. She told us she was opposed to adopting the report.”

According to Nduhungirehe, the plan called for Rwanda to ease its “defence measures” a few days after the activities against the FDLR, however, the Congolese minister objected to these not occurring at the same time.

An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by a Congolese government representative.

Paul Kagame and Felix Tshisekedi, the leaders of Rwanda and the Congo, were present at the meeting in France. Though a three-way meeting was suggested by French President Emmanuel Macron, the two ultimately had separate private encounters with Macron.

“The situation is still too tense (for a three-way meeting),” Macron told reporters later on Saturday. It “calls for efforts on both sides,” he said calling on the two countries to reach an agreement.