The assertion by the Chairman of, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, that corruption in the education sector is stealing the future of the country is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Wednesday.
The Guardian reports that Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, the Chairman of, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has described corruption in the education sector as stealing the future of the country.
Owasanoye stated this in Abuja at the annual ceremony of the 4th National Summit on Diminishing Corruption in the Public Sector with the Theme: Corruption and the Education Sector.
The event was organised by ICPC in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
It is aimed at highlighting corruption issues bedevilling the Education Sector and providing solutions to tackle the menace.
The ICPC boss said that the commission in collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education and Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to prevent corruption in the education sector.
“This year we have chosen the theme: Corruption and the Education Sector because corruption in education has been rightly described as stealing the future education being the medium for the transmission of knowledge and values.
“Once the education sector is corrupted the foundation for future ethical leadership and labour force is destroyed,” he said.
Owasanoye stated that corruption in education manifests in different ways such as the recruitment of unqualified or unfit persons to teach at primary, secondary or tertiary levels.
He said admission racketeering; examination malpractice, diversion of revenue for and within the sector, operation of illegal academic institutions especially at the tertiary level, abuse of power and procurement rules by management were things of concern.
The newspaper says that the Ministry of Aviation, yesterday, issued a disclaimer denouncing recruiting agencies and online platforms scheduling interviews for the new national carrier, Nigeria Air.
The ministry issued the caveat emptor after receiving over 20,000 applications for various categories of positions that have neither been created nor advertised.
The push for the new airline recently gained traction following the announcement of partners and public advertisement for Boeing 737 pilots.
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, had earlier announced that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the new national carrier. Sirika said the public-private partnership (PPP) model shall allocate only a five per cent stake to the government, 46 per cent equity share to Nigerian investors and 49 to foreign partners.
He said the airline would surpass the Federal Government in job creation, employing about 70,000 Nigerians. The airline will also serve multiple international routes and the Single African Air Transport Market Agenda (SAATM) of the African Union.
Special Assistant to the Minister, James Odaudu, said the attention of the Management of Nigeria Air Limited had been drawn to some recruitment advertisements and announcements by certain “unscrupulous elements” claiming to be agents or staff of the long-awaited carrier.
Odaudu said the agents had created a host of fake websites and links supposedly for the submission of applications by unsuspecting members of the public.
The Punch reports that the Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, on Tuesday, announced that the NNPC as a corporation grew its profit after tax and assets from N287bn and N15.86tn in 2020, to N674bn and N16.3tn in 2021, respectively.
Kyari, who disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja, said the 2021 profit was contained in the Group Audited Financial Statement of the oil firm for the year ended December 31, 2021.
He also told journalists that all major trunk lines conveying crude oil to export terminals were currently shut down in order to avert further oil theft in the Niger Delta.
He was, however, quick to state that efforts by the oil firm, security agencies and surveillance contractors were paying off, as about 400,000 barrels of crude would be added to the country’s output in the next few days.
The NNPC boss said, “In September 2021, Mr. President graciously approved the publication of the 2020 NNPC Group Audited Financial Statement, in which NNPC declared a profit after tax of N287bn for the first time in its 44 years.
“Despite our challenging operating environment, we strongly believe that NNPC has the potential to sustainably deliver better value to its esteemed shareholders.
“Today I am happy to announce that the Board of NNPC Limited has approved 2021 audited financial statements, and NNPC progressed to a new performance level, from N287bn profit in 2020 to a N674bn profit after tax in 2021, climbing higher by 134.8 per cent year-on-year profit growth.”
He added, “The group’s financial position recorded an increase in total assets from N15.86tn in 2020 to N16.27tn in 2021, while our total liabilities decreased by 8.3 per cent from N14.68tn in 2020 to N13.46tn in 2021.
“Our shareholders fund position grew to N2.81tn, representing 144 per cent year-on-year. The performance would have been greater if the operations in the year under review were free from incessant vandalism, crude oil and products’ theft among others.”
Asked to state the main drivers of the profit, Kyari replied, “Our core business is upstream, gas and power. So the key drivers to this performance are coming from the upstream and the gas and power.”
The newspaper says that the World Bank has said that public debt in Nigeria is concerning due to the rising debt service-to-revenue ratio.
According to the bank, the debt service to revenue ratio could stand at 102.3 per cent by the end of 2022.
The Washington-based bank said this in its latest Africa’s Pulse report, which is a biannual analysis of the near-term macroeconomic outlook for the region, published around the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual meetings each April and October.
The report read in part, “Albeit at a low level (37.6 per cent), public debt in Nigeria is a concern as the country recorded a high debt service-to-revenue ratio (118.9 per cent) between January and April.
“Debt pressures have increased as debt service to revenue is projected to increase to 102.3 percent by end 2022.
“This suggests that high oil prices do not translate into government receipts due to elevated subsidies for petroleum products. The combination of low production in the oil industry and unsustainable subsidies is one of the main obstacles to attaining debt sustainability.”
The bank further said that a number of countries were either in or at high risk of debt distress due to the removal of the Debt Service Suspension initiative.
It further noted that oil-exporting countries were expected to reduce government debt significantly, except Nigeria.
The bank added that economic growth was subdued in Nigeria, with annual growth slowing from 3.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2022 to 3.4 per cent in the second quarter.
According to the bank, the growth was affected by the underperformance of the oil sector.
GIK/APA