I will empower you, create jobs for you – President Tinubu promises Nigerian Youths

President Bola Tinubu on Monday said the Federal Government would continue to prioritise the development of the digital economy to enhance youth empowerment and job creation.

The President made the pledge while receiving a report titled “Digital Economy, Youth Empowerment and Sustainable Job Creation in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities,” presented by participants of the Senior Executive Course 46 National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru.

In their eight-point recommendation, the course participants urged the Federal Government to expedite the enactment of the Digital Economy and e-Governance Bill 2024 and encourage states to waive the Right of Way fees on deployment of telecoms infrastructure.

The participants also recommended that the President issue an Executive Order mandating all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to migrate to the OneGov.ng portal.

They advocated adopting a Quintuple-Helix Model to promote the digital economy, youth empowerment and sustainable job creation.

Other recommendations were: promoting long-term funding for the 3MTT scheme, accelerating the transition from IPv4 to IPv6, establishing Digital Health Innovation Hubs across Nigeria, and developing a preventive maintenance application for the nation’s automotive industry.

Responding, President Tinubu directed the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy to coordinate with the group and present their recommendations to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Head of the Civil Service for streamlined implementation.

Emphasising the importance of youth empowerment through innovation and digital skills development, President Tinubu said: “At the core of our administration is youth empowerment. We cannot relent on that, and we need everyone’s collaboration.

“I have listened carefully to your recommendations and the thorough work you did. We will continue to engage the Institute as a resource centre and Think Tank.

“As Nigeria’s foremost policy Think-Tank, you have highlighted the overlap of some government agencies, and we’ll look at that.

“You are an asset to our country, and I thank the participants for their dedication to their studies. We will continue to collaborate with you for the prosperity of our country.”

Highlighting the importance of data in national planning, President Tinubu told the meeting he had earlier met with officials from the National Population Commission to discuss the upcoming census.

Prof. Ayo Omotayo, the Director-General of NIPSS, said during the year-long engagement, course participants undertook study tours across Nigeria and abroad, exploring the theme of their study.

“We recognise that in an era where technology drives innovation, Nigeria must aggressively leverage its youthful population to build a thriving ecosystem. The opportunities are boundless, from Fintech to Agri-Tech, E-Commerce to Artificial Intelligence.

“However, systemic challenges such as infrastructural deficits, inadequate digital skills, and regulatory bottlenecks must be addressed.

“Our findings highlight the urgent need for targeted policies that foster an enabling environment for startups, enhance access to finance, and expand broadband penetration,” he said.

Mr Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, announced that the Digital Economy Bill, currently before the National Assembly, would undergo public hearings in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory before its passage in the second quarter of 2025.

According to him, this is the first time legislation will be subjected to such an extensive review.

Regarding Right of Way fees, the minister said 11 states had responded to the Federal Government’s request to waive the charges, a move aimed at facilitating broadband infrastructure expansion.

He expressed optimism that all states in the federation would comply with this initiative before the end of the second year of the Tinubu administration.

On Nigeria’s progress in internet protocol transition, Tijani stated that the country was on track to become one of the first in Africa to migrate fully from IPv4 to IPv6.

He added that in 2024, the Federal Government approved a two billion-dollar investment into 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic cables to ensure nationwide broadband coverage.

He said the project would have the third-longest fibre network in Africa, following South Africa and Egypt.

According to the Minister, the project has made significant progress, with support from the Ministry of Finance and a 500 million-dollar commitment secured by the World Bank.

In his intervention, Mr Wale Edun, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, noted that the ICT sector contributed 16 per cent to Nigeria’s gross domestic product in 2024.

He emphasised the government’s commitment to prioritising the sector as crucial for economic stability and job creation. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

UPDATED; Kano Senator suspended from NNPP over anti-party activities, reacts

The representative for the Federal Constituencies of Rano, Kibiya, and Bunkure, Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, has vehemently objected to his dismissal from the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), describing it as a blatant act of contempt of court.

Rurum stressed that he and his colleagues were never a part of the section that changed the party’s emblem in a statement in response to the suspension notice given by Hashim Sulaiman Dungurawa, the chairman of the Kano NNPP.

Rather, he clarified that they are part of a distinct NNPP faction.

Rurum and Madakin Gini had publicly distanced themselves from the Kwankwasiyya movement and aligned themselves with the NNPP faction using the fruit and basket logo. Rurum pointed out, “Since they changed the party’s logo, we have not been with them. We are in the NNPP with the fruit and basket logo, while they are with the book logo. We also have a court judgment that dismissed their claims.”

He accused the Kano NNPP leadership of ignoring legal rulings and acting in defiance of the court, stating, “What they did is a contempt of court. They are not legitimate party leaders. After our victory, they took us to an Abia High Court, and even this week, we were in court again. They are deceiving Nigerians.”

Rurum also linked the suspension to the recent wedding of Senator Kawu Sumaila’s daughter, which he said had been attended by prominent Nigerians. He alleged that the party leadership, including National Leader Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, had been invited but opted not to attend.

“The real issue disturbing them, which shouldn’t even be politicized, is the wedding of Senator Kawu Sumaila’s daughter. Honourable Nigerians were in attendance, and all of them, including Kwankwaso, were invited, but they refused to show up,” Rurum said.

Dismissive of the suspension, Rurum asserted that his faction operates independently, declaring, “Everybody in this country knows we are on two different lanes. They have only suspended themselves because we are not with them.”

Rurum’s remarks further deepen the divide within the NNPP, as ongoing legal battles and mounting political tensions fuel the rift between the two factions.

JUST IN; Fuel Scarcity looms as IPMAN threatens to halt operations, gives reasons

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has threatened to shut down operations if the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) failed to pay an outstanding N100 billion bridging claims.

The Gombe Depot Chairman of IPMAN, Alhaji Abdul Ibrahim, made the position of the Association known at a press conference in Abuja on Monday.

“One year after our last demand requesting the payment of more than N100 billion owed to our members in bridging claims, the management of the NMDPRA has ignored our demand,” he said.

Ibrahim said that members of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) mentioned the same IPMAN bridging claims as part of their demands before the strike action would be called off.

He said that NMDPRA promised to offset the bridging claims within 40.

“40 days have today become months with no hope of our payment.

“The nine northern depots comprising of Jos, Gusau,, Suleja, Kaduna, Kano, Gombe, Yola and Maiduguri depots have become completely grounded over this lingering debt.

“This debts being owed to us are monies belonging to marketers and which were deducted from us at the point of payments for products, in order to settle our bridging allowances.

“We have also continued to record deaths of our members, closure of their businesses, retrenchment of staff and the take-over of their business premises by the commercial banks.

“These are all arising from this refusal of the NMDPRA to pay us our monies,” he said.

Ibrahim said that IPMAN was giving the NMDPRA seven days to make the payment.

“As law-abiding Nigerians, we sincerely believe that we have given the NMDPRA enough time to pay us our monies in bulk and clear the bridging claims.

“But in view of their constant refusal, we have therefore decided to liaise with our sister organisations, the Petroleum Tankers Driver (PTD) and NARTO in order to take a collective action in due course.

“As members of IPMAN, it is important to state that we also own sizeable numbers of the PTD, and we may be forced to withdraw our tankers from loading petroleum products,” he said.

He said that another worrisome development was the alleged NMDPRA’s imposition of several abnormal levies on its members.

“NMDPRA has made things very difficult for us, as they have also subjected our members to paying bizarre levies whenever we deem it fit to renovate our petrol outlets.

“There are many distressing levies they have forced on us that are not only anti-developmental, but also unconstitutional and we are demanding their immediate suspension,’’ he said.

The IPMAN chairman called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the prolonged disputes between IPMAN and NMDPRA. (NAN)