APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The launch of the first online portal for passport application in Abuja on Monday by the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
The Punch reports that the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, will today (Monday) launch the first online portal for passport application in Abuja.
He disclosed this during a demonstration session of the online portal on Friday with the Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service, Caroline Adepoju.
According to Tunji, an online passport application platform has been established for both international and Nigerian applicants.
The minister had announced in December that the Federal Government was working to ensure a full automation system of passport application in the country.
At the time, the minister said the automated application system was “99 per cent done,” adding that the process would include uploading passport photos and supporting documents.
He stated that Nigerian applicants who want 32-page passports with five-year validity would pay N25,000, while those who want 64-page passports with a 10-year validity would pay N70,000.
The newspaper says that the Central Bank of Nigeria has paid $2bn to clear a part of its backlog of matured foreign exchange obligations to the Deposit Money Banks.
Reports have put CBN’s forward contract obligations to banks at $7bn. The delay in the payment of the debt has been said to be responsible for the current volatility in the forex market, a situation that has led to the falling value of the naira against the US dollar.
According to a statement by the CBN on Sunday, foreign airlines also received $61.64m from the disbursement, aimed to address the pending matured foreign exchange owed to them.
CBN reportedly owes foreign airlines over $700m.
A statement by the CBN Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi Alia, said the move underscored its commitment to resolving pending obligations and a functional foreign exchange market.
She said, “These payments signify the CBN’s ongoing efforts to settle all remaining valid forward transactions, to alleviate the current pressure on the country’s exchange rate.
“It is anticipated that this initiative by the CBN should provide a considerable boost to the Naira hug against other major world currencies and further increase investor confidence in the Nigeria economy.”
Foreign airlines in Nigeria have grappled with the challenge of repatriating their ticket sales in foreign exchange.
The Guardian reports that the Nigerian Government has suspended evaluation and accreditation of degrees from Benin and Togo Republics.
In a statement yesterday by Augustina Obilor-Duru on behalf of Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, government lamented that “some Nigerians deploy nefarious means and unconscionable methods to get a degree with the objective of getting graduate job opportunities for which they are not qualified.”
It added that the decision followed outcome of an investigation involving the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education and two countries, as well the Department of State Security Services (DSS) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The statement called on Nigerians to cooperate with the committee and provide useful information for lasting solution to the menace of Nigerians obtaining half-baked certificates from foreign universities.
It noted: “The issue of degree mill institutions, i.e., institutions that exist on paper or operate in clandestine manner outside the control of regulators, is a global problem that all countries grapple with.
“The FME has been contending with the problem, including illegal institutions located abroad, or at home, preying on unsuspecting Nigerians and some desperate Nigerians, who deliberately patronise such outlets.
“Periodically, warnings have been issued by the ministry and NUC against the resort to such institutions, and in some instances, reports made to security agencies to clamp down on the perpetrators. The ministry will continue to review its strategy to plug any loophole, process, procedure and deal decisively with any conniving official.
“The ministry has always adopted the global standard for evaluation and accreditation of certificates of all form, which relies on receipt of list of accredited courses and schools in all countries of the world.”
The newspaper says the Nigerian Government, yesterday, announced the approval of N12 billion to clear the debts owed players and officials of the Super Eagles ahead of the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations, which begins on Saturday in Cote d’Ivoire.
The money is also expected to offset the debts owed other national teams of various categories. Current and past players of the Super Eagles, including the immediate past coach of the team, Gernot Rohr and his successor, Jose Peseiro, are owed salaries and outstanding allowances for as long as three years.
A statement on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle, yesterday, stated that the Federal Government has approved the payment of N12 billon outstanding backlog for Nigeria’s national teams of various sports, which includes Super Eagles and others.
It added: “The payment entails the clearing of the senior national team coach’s salaries running up to 15 months, payments of allowances and promises due to the senior national teams, females, and U-20 national team.”
Meanwhile, the Super Eagles had their first test game against a local Abu Dhabi side yesterday with Francis Uzoho, Ahmed Musa, Joe Aribo and Frank Onyeka in the starting lineup.
Other players in the team were Zaidu Sanusi, Calvin Bassey, Chidozie Awaziem, Sadiq Umar, Ademola Lookman, Victor Osimhen and Ola Aina. The friendly game, according to camp sources, was to try some of the players that have not featured regularly for the team alongside some of the A stars.
The Super Eagles will play a more difficult opponent today in the Syli Nationale of Guinea to test the team’s readiness for the opening game against Equatorial Guinea at Cote d’Ivoire 2024.
The Super Eagles are in Group A of the four-week, 24-nation finals alongside host nation Cote d’Ivoire and Africa’s other two Guinean nations – Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau.
The Syli Nationale was one of Africa’s strongest teams in the 1970 and 1980s, winning the silver medals at the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations in Ethiopia, and giving the so-called big teams a good run for their money at the Africa Cup and in FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.
The Super Eagles pipped Syli Nationale 1-0 in a group phase encounter at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. Far back in 1981, Syli Nationale held the Eagles to a 1-1 draw in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Conakry, and in Lagos, Nigeria won with a long-range Henry Nwosu strike to the far corner of Abdoulaye Keita’s goal.
Today’s encounter will hold at the Bani Yas Stadium and is sure to slightly open a window into the mind of Coach Peseiro and how he intends to line out his army when Africa’s flagship football championship begins next weekend.
GIK/APA